Smiles:(Youtube) watch?v=fYOl_PuvsMg
Feliciano was up and out of bed before he could even process what day it was. It was Christmas. Christmas day. He heard something crash down the stairs and suddenly Gilbert burst into the room.
"Feli, Feliciano," Gilbert tripped over Feliciano's name in excitement. "Jeez your name is long. C'mon, let's wake up Ludwig and Lovino."
Gilbert was out the room again and it took a lot of effort on Feliciano's behalf to catch up with him. As they barged into Ludwig's room they were a bit disappointed to see him already up and ready to go. Nonetheless both men bounded up to Ludwig letting their sheer delight for what day it was be known. Gilbert and Feliciano made Ludwig dizzy by jumping in circles around him. Feliciano was babbling about being able to walk on Christmas and that Antonio wasn't there but that was okay, and that they needed to wake up Lovino. Gilbert agreed and they left the room as fast as they appeared, leaving Ludwig in a half daze.
Upon entering Lovino's room, it was dark, dull and there was a Lovino-sized lump on the bed. Feliciano took this opportunity to leap onto his brother. This was met with a groan.
"Come on, Lovi it's Christmas!" Feliciano bounced excitedly on the bed.
"You fucking Bastard, go away." He groaned. "What time is it anyway?"
"6:52am" Ludwig said from the doorway. "And we should start cooking the dinner soon."
"Can I help?" Feliciano hopped off the bed and ran to Ludwig.
"Um, sure. Can you cook?"
"He can fucking cook better than me." Lovino mumbled from under the duvet.
Ludwig seemed to be surprised by this and Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Okay, we'll have to see then."
Feliciano waved a hand dismissively "Nah, I haven't cooked anything in ages. Lovino's better."
Lovino buried himself into the duvet a bit more. "Go away." He whined.
Downstairs, Feliciano sprung into the kitchen after Gilbert and Ludwig, ready for anything. What he wasn't ready for, however, was the plump dead bird on the cutting board, ready to be prepared for dinner. He immediately clung onto Ludwig at the sight.
"Is it dead?"
"I should hope so." Gilbert chuckled and sauntered over to the bird. "I shot it yesterday. It's not a turkey, but it'll do." He patted the still remaining feathers. "Matthew helped me find it actually." He was very proud of this.
Ludwig seemed dumbfounded. "How? Actually don't answer that." He sighed.
"Matthew?" This must be the man in the attic Feliciano had bee waiting to see.
"You haven't met him yet, have you Feliciano?" Gilbert rejoined the two in the centre of the room and ruffled Feliciano's hair.
Feliciano shook his head. "I'd like to though, I mean he seems like an interesting guy."
"Okay I'll introduce you." Gilbert started to lead Feliciano towards the stairs. "We'll leave Ludwig to the preparation."
Ludwig scowled in their direction as they left.
"Do you think he'll be alright on his own?" Feliciano fretted as they climbed the stairs.
"Nah, it's Ludwig. Plus I was looking for an excuse to leave, I wanna be as lazy as possible today."
Feliciano nodded, knowing this feeling. Lovino was waiting at the top of the stairs so he could pass by them. Feliciano waved at him.
"We're going to meet Matthew." He explained.
"Listen up, then." Lovino started to trot down the stairs when they reached the top. "The guy's quiet as fuck."
Once in Gilbert's room Feliciano could finally see the mystery man in the attic.
"Matthew, this is Feliciano. Feliciano, this is Matthew."
Matthew was lanky and tall with floppy golden-brown hair which reminded Feliciano of Francis. He also had a pair of glasses perched on his nose, with cloudy blue eyes staring through them. He held out a pale hand.
"Nice to meet you." He was very quiet indeed, but Feliciano didn't mind; this was an opportunity to make a new friend. He took the hand and shook vigorously.
"Hello, you don't sound German. Lovino said you were an enemy, that is not my enemy, but Germany's enemy. Lovino also said you and Gilbert were in a relationship like Antonio and Lovino. Does that mean you're married like Antonio and Lovino? Except I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that. Are you American? I've never been to America before. I heard it's a lawless place and people get hanged for no reason. Are there any laws in America?"
"Uh," Matthew was taken aback by this large babble of questions. In the he could only manage one statement. "I'm Canadian."
Later on, just after everyone finished dinner, Gilbert stood up and cleared his throat.
"Although we don't have much, I've managed to get some Christmas presents for you all." He ducked under the table and brought up a box. He sifted through for a moment until he suddenly threw a knitted scarf at Lovino. "One for you," He threw a similar one at Ludwig. "One for you," He pointed at Matthew. "Matt's is in the bedroom." He turned to Feliciano. "Feliciano, I didn't have much time to knit you anything, so here you are instead." He reached into the box and brought out a pendant, a Teutonic Knight's Cross on string. Ludwig was surprised at the sight of it.
"Thank you." Feliciano didn't know what to make of it. He held out his hand and Gilbert let the pendant drop in his open palms. "I feel bad now, I didn't get anything for you guys." Feliciano fiddled about with the cross. Ludwig reached over and took it out of his hands.
"Here, I'll put it on you." Feliciano shifted until he had his back to Ludwig and Ludwig tied the string round his neck in a neat little bow. Lovino stood up then, and walked towards the pantry at the back of the room. He returned with a plate at hand, and placed it in the centre of the table.
"There's your fucking Christmas present." He slumped into his chair.
"What is it?" Matthew asked.
"Grispelle. Enjoy."
"Grispa-what?"
Feliciano clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh I haven't had these in ages." He started eating immediately.
"I say again, grispa-what?" Gilbert persisted.
"God damn potato doughnuts, you fucking idiot."
"It's a traditional Southern Italian Christmas dessert." Feliciano explained. "Doughnuts made out of sweet potatoes." And with that, the plate was cleared almost immediately.
Licking his fingers, Feliciano remembered something. "Oh Ludwig, I have a Christmas present for you, but it's upstairs."
"Oh, I see how it is." Lovino was very offended. "You get the potato bastard a gift but not your own brother."
Feliciano bowed his head solemnly. "Sorry, I'll make it up to you next year." He stood up and escorted Ludwig to his bedroom. Feliciano shut the door behind him and led Ludwig to the bed. As they both sat down Ludwig raised an eyebrow.
"So? What is this 'Christmas present' of yours?"
Feliciano smiled knowingly. He held up a finger to indicate Ludwig would have to wait. Keeping the finger where it was, he leant back to the bed side table and dimmed the oil lamp. It had already become dark outside so the soft orange glow set the perfect mood for a good night's sleep, something Ludwig was itching to get to since he had to work the next day. Feliciano then had to use both hands to get something from underneath the bed. It was a gramophone, the one from Gilbert's room by the looks of it. It already had a record in place, so Feliciano just had to wind it up to get it going. 'Smiles' the English song Feliciano had sung to Ludwig many weeks ago started playing. Ludwig couldn't help but smile at the familiar tune.
"How did you get this? I thought it was still at the camp."
Feliciano tapped the side of his nose twice in secrecy. "I wanted you to listen to it on Christmas day." Feliciano smiled sheepishly down at the floorboards. "I also wanted to hear it again, with you."
Ludwig felt a flutter in his chest which was unfamiliar to him and yet a feeling he wanted to welcome whole heartedly. Before he knew what he was doing, Ludwig scooted a little closer and gently turned Feliciano's chin until their eyes met.
"I'm glad you did." Oh God what was he saying? He quickly drew his hand away and tore his gaze down to his hands on his lap, then flickered it up to the spinning record just behind Feliciano. Feliciano was smiling brightly at him. Smiling brilliantly. Smiling beautifully. Ludwig didn't know if he deserved to look at his beaming smile, which seemed to radiate, to fill the room with sunshine. Then the singing started. Feliciano sung along, naturally. Ludwig couldn't, wouldn't hear the song any other way.
"There are smiles that make us happy, there are smiles that make us blue."
Ludwig couldn't keep his eyes away from the melodic sound of Feliciano's voice.
"There are smiles that steal away the teardrops, as the sunbeams steal away the hue."
The two inched closer in the amber glow, their fingers entwining on the bed.
"There are smiles that tell us in their meaning, that the eyes of love are all they give"
The two were so close, but not as close as the other day. Ludwig decided to join in with the last line.
"And the smiles that fill my life with sunshine, are the smiles that you give to m—"
Once again, Feliciano couldn't finish the song. Last time he had been interrupted by an illness, this time was far less bitter. This time he had been interrupted by lips being pressed hotly against his own. He gave into built up desires he didn't know were present and leant back while melting into Ludwig at the same time. Ludwig had never felt such pleasure dance through his veins and out his fingertips. Each touch of skin on skin became electric and addictive. Ludwig drew his hand up to stroke Feliciano's soft cheek. They both moaned into each kiss and soon they both followed a rhythmic gentle rock into one another. Falling delicately back onto the pillows, Ludwig started to unbutton Feliciano's shirt while nuzzling into the Italian's neck. Feliciano dragged his fingers through Ludwig's hair and lightly kissed his forehead. The record had stopped playing but neither of them cared. Feliciano had never felt such an indulging sensation, never thought he would do. But here he was, in bed with Ludwig. Feliciano couldn't help but smile at remembering what Antonio had said so long ago: 'we will be here to support you and your love.'
'Your love.' His love. The idea was no longer alien to him. He had found his love, after all. And he could not stop smiling about it.
To be continued...