Protector. Chapter 2
A/N: Sorry this is so late. I didn't get a chance to write at all over the break. My iPod died and my horsie got hurt but he's fine so it's all good, yes? Urgg! I sound like a French person. DX Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews. Not too much action in this chapter but trust me there will be lots of action later on. Also, I'm not allowed to swear yet so in able to keep Romano in character I replace swear words with foreign swear words which should be obviossus or abbreviations like arse or shiz or effin'. In your mind, just imagine it's the real word. Also, my iPod broke, which is were I do all of my writing. So, updates will be slow so I apologize ahead of time. Thankies!
Warnings: Blood, character death, violence, mild yaoi (mostly just stuff you can imply. Though there will be a kissing scene soon) and implied swearing.
Disclaimer: Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.
On the way to the airport, Feliciano babbled the entire time about how excited he was to see Romano again. He hadn't seen his fratello in a while. Ludwig hardly heard him, his thoughts still locked on the murder.
He didn't know why this particular case bothered him so much. He just had a certain feeling about it that made him uneasy. It was like when he walked down the road and felt uncomfortable walking past a certain ally and later that night learned that someone was mugged, or murdered or raped there.
"Ludwig!" Feliciano suddenly shouted. Said German snapped into reality and slammed on the brakes just to avoid hitting pedestrians. One person flipped him the bird which Ludwig promptly ignored.
"Sorry Feli." Ludwig said quietly, hearing his loud breathing.
"Ve~ that was really scary!" Feliciano said. Once the light turned green and the pedestrians left, Ludwig proceeded. Traffic was horrible so they were late in picking up Romano.
The elder Italian was standing outside the air port, bag at his feet, arms crossed over his chest and scowling.
When Ludwig parked the door, Feliciano flung the door open.
"Look before you cross the street!" Ludwig called as the younger Italian burst from the car. He usually loved his energy but on occasions, it felt like Ludwig was babysitting the Italian instead of dating him.
Feliciano sprinted towards his brother, stopping traffic. Ludwig sighed and hurried after him. When Romano realized that Feliciano wasn't stopping, he stuck his arms out in a protective reflex.
Feliciano easily evaded Romano's outstretched arms and enclosed his fratello in a tight hug.
"Get off of me, bastardo!" Romano shouted angrily.
"Ve~Romano! I missed you!" Feliciano exclaimed, ignoring his brother. Ludwig caught up to them and stood there awkwardly. Romano didn't keep his hated for Ludwig a secret.
When Romano's gaze caught Ludwig, he scowled darkly.
"Che palle! Are you still with this dumb bastardo!" He asked Feliciano.
"Romano, that's just Luddy!" Feliciano said. He released Romano from his hug and looked at him confused.
"I know that, dumb arse! I mean are you dating him still?" Romano shouted, earning him a few sideways glances from passing people.
"Ve~ yes!" Feliciano smiled. "You'll love him if you got to know him better. He's strong and he's really gentle...at least in bed!" Feliciano said.
Ludwig blushed deep red. Romano gawked, disgusted.
"Ve~ what's the big deal? Almost everyone has sex at some point?" Feliciano said. It was beyond Ludwig how the Italian could be so naive.
"But not everybody shouts it out!" Romano shouted angrily "and not everyone does it with a guy!"
"Ve, but you did." Feliciano said. Both Ludwig and Romano sighed and slapped their forehead.
"Just don't say things like that in public. It's not very polite and people will stare at you." Ludwig said softly.
"Aww! Ok." Feliciano frowned, his shoulders drooping.
Romano picked up his bag. "Let's go. I'm tired of being at this stupid effin' airport because you bastardos couldn't get here on time!" Romano snapped.
Feliciano immediately perked off and took off across the street, earning him more honks and middle fingers. Ludwig and Romano blushed in embarrassment and hurried after him.
Feliciano hurried into the car and was bouncing excitedly. Romano got in beside him, since Feliciano had gotten into the back seat. Ludwig calmly slid into the driver's seat and started the car. He pulled away from the airport, trying his best to ignore the angry stares.
"Fratello, why did you dump Antonio?" Feliciano asked. The question earned him a glare from Romano.
"I don't want to get into this fratello." Romano mumbled.
"Aww! But I want to know! Toni was so nice!" Feliciano exclaimed.
Romano sighed, "Ok fine. I broke up with that Spanish bastardo because my old girlfriend called me up and told me she was moving to Italy and wanted to get back together."
"Ve~ which girl is it?" Feliciano asked excitedly.
"It's Bella. She's living in New York for a few more weeks." Romano said. He blushed a light pink. "S-she said she's very excited to go to Italy. She's always loved the weather and the atmosphere," Romano said. He very quietly added, "And me."
Feliciano closed his eyes and grinned. He clapped his hands together excitedly, "Ve~ fratello! I'm so happy for you!" he exclaimed.
"What is her name, Romano?" Ludwig asked, his eyes glued to the road. He had made sure he heard their conversation, wanting to hear why Romano dumped the Spaniard.
"Shut up, potato bastardo! No one is talking to you!" Romano shouted, not that Ludwig didn't expect him not to, "And her name is Bella."
"Ve~ is that the really pretty girl from Belgium?" Feliciano asked excitedly.
Romano blushed again and nodded, "We're going on a date tonight. She lives in New York." Ludwig could see his face clearly in the rear view mirror and he was surprised at how enthusiastic and head over heals Romano was. Antonio had been one of the best guys he ever dated. He had treated him very well and was very affectionate.
Antonio was certainly better then the Turkish man he used to date that used to abuse him. Ludwig remembered seeing Romano's slumped shoulders when he walked around the apartment when he stayed with Feliciano and Ludwig for a few weeks. He winced at every loud noise or quick movement. Dark purple and black bruises marred his tan skin on his face and chest. Feliciano had cried to Ludwig about it for a while and had prayed to God to help Romano find a nice person. When Romano started going out with Antonio, who had been childhood friends with Romano, it seemed as if their prayers were answered.
To hear that Romano was dumping Antonio, who had helped him to rebuild his life and had been patient with him, for another girl was just surprising. He didn't know Romano could be so ungrateful to the man who had given up so much for him.
"Y-yes. She's from Belgium and has been to Italy, America, England, Chad, Brazil, China and Russia…and of course Belgium." Romano explained, "Though she only lived in Italy for a year and America for a few months."
"What does she do to work at places like that?" Ludwig asked. He knew he would most likely be yelled at but he was curious none the less.
To his surprise, Romano didn't yell at him though he did not look happy, "She inherited some 'old money' which she uses to deliver medicine to sick children and donates to finding cures for cancer."
"Ve~ she sounds really nice!" Feliciano smiled. "I think I remember her too. Did Luddy and I come to visit you when you were dating her?" Feliciano asked.
Romano scowled and looked out the window in thought, "I think so. Che palle, I don't know!" he exclaimed.
"Ve~ So why are you visiting New York, Lovi?" Feliciano asked happily.
Romano half shrugged, "Work. I'm only going to be here for a week or two." He said.
Feliciano pouted, "I wish you could stay longer." He said glumly.
Romano wasn't a soft person who gave out hugs or even a kind word often but he wasn't cruel, "Yeah. That would have been…fun" he said.
Feliciano giggled cutely, "Ve~ Luddy, can you drop us off at Times Square?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig shifted so he could see Feliciano in his rear view mirror.
"Bastardo, what do you mean 'us'?" Romano yelled.
"We're going to go shopping. You need to get Bella a gift and you need to get some new clothes for your date!" Feliciano smiled excitedly. Romano sighed but didn't protest.
"I'll drop you guys. Just call when you want me to pick you up." Ludwig said. Feliciano smiled.
"Yay! Thank you Ludwig!" he exclaimed.
After dropping off the two brothers, Ludwig took Romano's bags to their apartment and set them on the bed of the guest room. As he walked down the hallway he thought of the murder and the poor man who had been so close to escaping. He had fought despite all of his injuries and despite his courage, he had died anyway.
Ludwig looked at one of the many pictures on the wall. It was a picture of him and Feliciano taken by a photographer in the park. It was at night and they stood beside each over by a pond, looking across the pond and joined together by the stars. Ludwig smiled seeing the lithe body of his lover with the carmel hair that he loved and the stubborn curl that always stuck out on the side of his head. Instead of his closed eyed grin, he wore a gentle smile giving the looker the idea that he was in love.
Ludwig knew he was in love. He had been in relationships before but they never seemed to work out. They all crumbled one by one under the stress of Ludwig's job. For a while Ludwig thought he would stop dating until he found Feliciano.
Feliciano was different from all the others though. He was devoted to Ludwig and never made him feel guilty. Ludwig wasn't the warmest person, though he wasn't as harsh as Romano, but he truly did love his Italian.
Ludwig strolled past more picture frames of him with Feliciano, him with his brother, Gilbert who resided in Germany, and Feliciano with his brother. Memories flashed back at a single glance, Ludwig celebrating his 21st birthday with his brother who was, as usual, stoned. Ludwig on one of the first dates with Feliciano. Feliciano with an award for his restaurant. Ludwig getting promoted to detective. All of the happy memories.
His thoughts drifted again to the murder victim. What memories did he have? Who was close to him and who would mourn him? What dreams had he had and what had he accomplished in his life? Was he in love or did someone secretly love him and forever lost there chance to tell him?
Hopeless questions plagued Ludwig's mind. He thought of his Feliciano and shuttered to think of Feliciano lying stretched out by a window with his chest bloody. He quickly banished the thought from his head. He didn't want to think about his precious Feliciano like that. Ludwig grabbed his brief case from its position by the door and headed out to the station.
Some of the others were still working on their own private cases and some were working on the case of the Frenchmen. He went to the evidence and took out the card found at the scene. He pulled on a pair of gloves and got some tweezers so he didn't have to touch it more then he had to. He examined the card and looked at the numbers, trying to decipher what it meant. He looked at the numbers and put it in correspondence with the alphabet.
"Aabbbd?" Ludwig read aloud looking at his paper. He tried unscrambling to see if there was a secret message but couldn't think of anything. He sighed and put it into Google to see what came up. He glanced down near the bottom of the page and saw a link for a Mon Cheri dress website. (A/N: the dress part is real. Anything beyond this part is made up)
Ludwig clicked on the link and browsed the website. He saw that it was for a dress shop in New York. It was owned by a Russian named Ivan Braginski who had started out making dresses for his sisters to wear. The website provided Ludwig with a picture of the large Russian beside his sisters, one with huge breasts and another wearing a death glare.
Something about the Russian seemed familiar. He ran his name through a data base and looked into his file. Ivan had several arrests and a few days jail time for public drunkenness, unruly conduct, and several harassment complaints. For his picture, the Russian wore a sweet smile. It gave Ludwig the creeps to look at the man. He could easily imagine him killing Francis Bonnefoy.
He printed out the Russians file and took his notes to Kiku's office. He knocked on the open door and stepped inside. His black haired friend turned to face him.
"Oh, Konnichi wa, Ludwig-san." He said. He stood up from his chair and bent over at the waist. Ludwig nodded awkwardly.
"I got a suspect." He said. He set the paper on the desk. Kiku glanced at them, scanning the page, "I put the numbers into Google and came up with a link to his dress shop." Ludwig said.
"That seems a little obvious, don't you think?" Kiku asked looking up. Ludwig shrugged.
"Ever hear those dumb criminal's stories?" he asked. Kiku allowed a small smile knowingly.
"Good point." Kiku joked lightly.
"Have you found anything else?" Ludwig asked, leaning against the desk.
Kiku sighed and shook his head, "We've found nothing. It was as if the person was a ghost. No print or weapons or witnesses. Nada. We have no suspects…until now. This might be a good place to start. From the looks of his file, he might have been able to commit a crime like this." Kiku said.
Ludwig sighed, "I must admit, this particular case seems different. Something about the victim and the lack of clues…" Ludwig said, "I'm getting a bad feeling."
Kiku nodded in agreement, "I agree with you. It's not a normal case." Kiku said, "I feel bad for that poor man. His family didn't think they'd be saying good bye to him forever." He said.
Ludwig sighed. He wanted to avoid the subject. He kept seeing flashes of Feliciano lying on his back with a man with a knife on top of him, "I'm going to head back to work. I'm going to talk to Yao." He said.
Kiku nodded, sitting back down, "Ok. I think he just finished the autopsy." He said. Ludwig sighed and waved good bye. Kiku waved back, neither of them saying anything else then that.
Ludwig went down the building to the autopsy room. There, Yao was just stitching Francis up, signifying Ludwig that he was finishing up. Ludwig entered the room.
"Hello Yao." He greeted him. The Chinese man looked up, startled. It was said that if he concentrated hard enough, he wouldn't hear anything anyone told him. He pulled his gloves off and threw them into the trash.
"Ni hao, Ludwig. What can I do for 'ya, aru?" Yao asked.
Ludwig sighed, "What are the results?" he asked.
"Nothing more then just a stab wound. This guy was pretty healthy." He said sighing, "Sorry."
Ludwig half smiled, "No. That's good. Thank you. Keep me updated if something happens that I should know about." He said.
Yao nodded, "I will." He said, "I will."
Ludwig's cell phone vibrated in his pocket, startling both him and the small Chinese man. Ludwig quickly pulled it out and checked his messages.
'Can u come pick Roma and I up outside of Forever 21?' the text read from Feliciano. Ludwig smiled gently.
"See you later, Yao." He waved, eager to pick up his boyfriend and make sure he was ok.
Ludwig parked the car outside of the Forever 21 store. Feliciano hurried into the back seat, jacket pulled tight. It would be Christmas in a few days and New York City was even busier then usual.
"How was it?" Ludwig asked seeing Feliciano's tomato red cheeks and nose. He cranked up the head to thaw out the Italian who looked out of place with his natural tan skin.
"Ve~ it was fun. Romano got Bella a necklace and Romano got him some fancy clothes!" Feliciano smiled.
Ludwig chuckled, "Glad to hear you had fun. Do you want a ride, Romano?" he asked seeing Romano already dressed.
"No. I'm going to walk to the restaurant. It's not too far from here." Romano said. He was buttoned up tight in a winter jacket, not being used to cold weather. He looked freezing cold.
"Ok. Have fun." Ludwig said.
"Ve~ ciao fratello!" Feliciano exclaimed waving. Romano raised his hand in a slight wave. He started walking down the street with his shoulders slumped in his jacket. Ludwig pulled out into the street. He listened to Feliciano's cheerfully babbling the entire night.
That night, they ate pasta and watched a movie with nothing eventful. Later on, they lay in bed. Feliciano was tired from a day of shopping and Ludwig had worn his brain out with the case. Feliciano lay down on his side of the bed. Ludwig wrapped his strong arms around him and pulled him to his chest. Feliciano smiled and nuzzled into the nooks and crannies of his body. They seemed to fit perfectly together. Ludwig draped and arm over his waist and they fell asleep together.
A/N: Did you hear MJ's killer only gets four years in prison? Ok, technically it's manslaughter and he might only serve two years but I bet you he's gonna get killed in prison…and I'm gonna be a horrible person, but I wouldn't be sad if that happened. I get really attached to people/animals and I just stopped crying when MJ's songs come on in public. Oh and I know there are some hard core MJ haters out there so if you post any hate messages, don't expect a reaction from me. Haha. Anyway, back on track, thanks for reading! Please review and check out some of my other stories. I wanna start writing some poetry and short stories and I have a few ideas and requests stored up but I'm starting a mass inventory for when I get off my lazy butt! Haha. Thanks again and review!