A phone call always comes on Tuesday:

"Hello, Feli."

"Oh! Hi, Grandpa, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Feli. What I want to know is: how are you doing? Are you still in Pre-Law?"

"Uh, yes, I'm still in Pre-Law."

…

"Grandpa?"

"Feliciano, you're a very talented boy."

"Thank yo—"

"That being said, it disappoints me to no end to see you wasting your skills becoming a lawyer."

"But Grandpa, I like Law, and I'm doing so well, and I'm still working on my art—"

"I'm paying a lot of money to send you to that school with your brother."

"I… I know."

"I think it's all well and good that you have this—this hobby, with Law, but I want to know when you're actually going to buckle down and work on your artistic career."

"In… In a couple of years, maybe. But I really like Law, Grandpa. I really do."

"I just don't want you doing this because you feel like you have to—to prove something."

"Grandpa, I'm not. Really. How is everything going at the restaurant?"

The rest is mundane chatter. The beginning is always the same.

.-.

Feliciano had settled into college and was trundling along happily. He had been there for little over a month, but Feliciano already had a good feeling about the rest of the year. He loved his classes—except for Calculus—and he loved the friends he had made so far. Feliciano was turning out to be a very good Pre-Law major.

Feliciano was supposed to be studying for a quiz that was tomorrow, but like most of the time, he was distracted by Alfred. The blond was throwing Twizzlers at Feliciano across the kitchen table, grinning from over his Biology book. Feliciano munched on the most recent projectile, eying Alfred nervously for the next one.

"You should study," Feliciano chirped, World History book poised to deflect the next candy.

Alfred smiled and shook his head. "Nah, only losers study," He threw another Twizzler, trying to reach around Feliciano's book so it would hit him.

Feliciano chuckled and stood up, shutting his World History book. "I think it's the other way around, but whatever you say! I'm going to visit my brother for a little bit, okay?" Feliciano gathered a couple other books for homework, and was almost out of the door when he turned back around, dawdling. "You're coming to the model UN, right?"

Alfred mumbled a reply around the ten Twizzlers he was munching on.

Feliciano turned one foot sideways, face warming up. "Come on, I told you I would let you be America if you showed up for the first meeting," he bribed. "Come onn." Feliciano brightened, "Oh, but I'm baking a cake!"

Now, this caught Alfred's attention. In all Feliciano's time at college, he hadn't really put his baking skills to good use. Alfred had only tasted the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it came to the pancakes that Feliciano made for breakfast, but this new prospect was exciting. He casually leaned back in his chair, "What, ah, what kind of cake are we talking about?"

Feliciano smiled. "Chocolate, I think. I'll change each flavor with each meeting, so come to each one, okay?" Feliciano bounced out of the dorm, waving behind him in farewell.

Feliciano trotted through the dorm hall, waving at the people he recognized. Feliciano had been lucky enough to be placed in the same dorm as Lovino, and he made frequent visits to his older brother, walking around campus with Lovino when the older wasn't studying or working. Thinking of it now, Feliciano had only seen his brother once or twice the past two weeks. He stopped in front of his brother's dorm and knocked on the door, but was only met with Lukas' bland expression.

"Oh, hi, Lukas!" Feliciano greeted, "Is Lovino in there? I thought I could study with him, because he's usually studying anyways when he's not at work, so I thought he would be quieter than Alfred, who listens to music and eats really loud. Is he here?"

Lukas shook his head, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows. "Nope."

Feliciano nodded, "Good, good. Do you know where he is?"

"Nope. I don't actually keep track of where he wanders off to, because I couldn't care less. I assume he made a lunch date with someone. Try the café," Lukas said, slowly inching the door shut.

"Do you think he's with that Gardener you guys keep talking about?" Feliciano asked quickly.

Lukas paused and seemed to consider, hand reaching up to play with the little clip that kept his bangs out of his eyes. "That could be true. But I don't know where the Gardener takes him, so you're on your own." He shrugged, door edging a little closer to its frame.

"Oh, make sure you stop by the Model UN this Friday! Extra credit to those who attend, and I'm baking a cake," Feliciano smiled and riffled through his Foreign Affairs text book, pulling out one of the fliers he had stashed and handing it to Lukas.

Lukas' eyes held a glimmer of interest, and he nodded once at Feliciano. "As long as Mathias isn't coming, I guess. What kind of cake?" Feliciano opened his mouth, but Lukas cut back in, "Oh, no, it's fine, it's fine. I'll be there, go study." And the door finally slid shut.

Feliciano sighed, turning away from Lukas and Lovino's room. He walked down stairs and through the sitting area, looking for a familiar face. Most students had sprung for classes later in the day. Feliciano, who had been late signing up for classes, had been stuck with mostly early morning classes, and was left with almost no people to sit with on the weekdays. Kiku, the exchange student from Japan who Feliciano had befriended in Biology, was one of these people. Feliciano walked outside into the chilly, late-afternoon air, arms staring to ache with the weight of his textbooks.

Something barked.

Feliciano looked down to find a filthy golden retriever sitting at his feet. Feliciano grinned and maneuvered all his textbooks into one hand, leaning down to pat the dog on the head. Feliciano had thought dogs weren't allowed on campus, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Oh, what a good puppy!" Feliciano cooed, laughing when the dog licked his hand.

"Berlitz?"

Feliciano stood up, turning toward the voice. "Oh, no, I'm Felic—Ludwig! Hi!" Feliciano waved with his free hand before switching his arms holding his textbooks. "Is this your dog?"

Ludwig, who had appeared from the right side of Feliciano's dorm, stepped off the grass and onto the sidewalk but didn't venture any closer. "No, he's not mine."

Feliciano nodded and reached over to pet the dog again. "He just ran up to me, and when you came over here and said—is that what you call him? Berl…?"

"Berlitz, no. I don't call him anything."

Feliciano laughed as Berlitz flopped on his side and offered his belly to Feliciano, who happily obliged the dog. "Well, that's what I' going to call him, because you saw him first, and he probably already thinks he's Berlitz! Where do you think he came from? I hope his owner didn't bring him here and then leave."

Ludwig's shoulders rose in a slight shrug. "I don't know." Feliciano saw Ludwig shift from foot to foot from where he was crouching.

"Personally, I've always been more of a cat person, but I love dogs just as much." Feliciano said, finally growing tired of his books and throwing them on the ground, scratching Berlitz with both hands now.

"Are you going to study with someone?" Ludwig asked loudly.

Feliciano looked up, concerned that Ludwig was angry with him. The blond was staring intently at Feliciano's Foreign Affairs textbook, looking like he was in pain. Feliciano brushed it off, shaking his head and smiling. "No, all of my friends are busy. Oh! Ludwig, I've had a wonderful idea. I could study with you, couldn't I? I'm studying for that quiz tomorrow, and are you good at Calculus, because I can't figure out the lesson from yesterday?"

Ludwig nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm good at Calculus. And I'm not busy so—"

"Excellent!" Feliciano cheered in Italian, collecting his books and standing up. "Here," He continued in English, "we'll just study in my dorm. Come, Berlitz!" Feliciano opened the door of his dorm, ushered the golden retriever in, and waited for Ludwig.

"Dogs aren't allowed inside campus buildings," Ludwig said, refusing to enter the dorm.

Feliciano smiled, waggling his eyebrows, "I'm not gonna tell anyone. Besides, everyone is gone! Come on."

Ludwig sighed and reluctantly followed Feliciano inside. Feliciano settled in one of the comfortable reading chairs that his dorm provided, throwing his heavy books on the side table. Ludwig took the nearby loveseat, taking his backpack off and pulling out his own Foreign Affairs book. Berlitz curled up by the heating vent where a fireplace would have been more appropriate.

When Feliciano had first seen his dorm's sitting room, he was immensely disappointed. The rest of the school tried so hard to maintain some of its ancient charm, that when Feliciano had stepped inside the dorm common area, he wondered if the school had run out of funding when it came to furnishing this room.

However, Feliciano had grown to love the sitting area. The reading chairs and loveseats were surprisingly comfy, despite being from Walmart and assembled half wrong. The vending machine, while not gourmet, was always fully stocked with cheap food for hungry studiers. The broken Pac-Man arcade game was being fixed by a Computer Science major that the college was paying. The ancient TV that sat in the corner had a working DVD player, a couple of communal gaming consoles, and always broadcasted the important sports games.

Feliciano had found the sitting area was one of his favorite places to study, and he loved bringing friends there to study or to talk. When Kiku, who lived off campus, had first visited, he had disliked the place, too. Feliciano was still working on that opinion.

Ludwig and Feliciano studied in silence for a while, with the soft snores from Berlitz being the only noise besides the rustling of book pages. Feliciano noticed that Ludwig sat very straight, with both feet placed squarely on the ground, while Feliciano studied with his legs crossed.

Surprisingly, it was Ludwig who broke the quiet.

"Feliciano?"

"Hm?" Feliciano looked up from his book, blinking. He had accidentally started to doze, and was struggling to remember if Ludwig had asked him an actual question, or just his name. "What is it, Ludwig?"

"What's a… MNNA?" Ludwig asked, taking off his reading glasses and massaging his eyes. "I've kept seeing the word and I can't remember what's referring to."

"Oh, that's a major non-NATO ally." Feliciano smiled, returning to his reading, intent on not falling asleep this time. He looked up when he felt that Ludwig's attention was still on him. Feliciano tilted his head. "Are you okay?"

Ludwig's eye widened slightly and he looked back down at his textbook. "How are you so good at this?" He asked, gripping the book in his lap tightly.

Feliciano laughed, leaning back in his chair and shutting his textbook. "You know, you're not the only person who's asked me that. I don't know what to tell you, I mean… I just like politics." He smiled at Ludwig when he looked up. "No one ever asked me that in high school, you know."

Ludwig's posture relaxed slightly when he shut his textbook and he exchanged it for his Calculus book. "Oh? Why's that?"

Feliciano sighed and rested cheek in the palm of his hand, leaning against the arm rest. "I think they all expected me to be an artist. Because I was good at art, you know? They never asked my why."

"Why didn't you become an artist, then? If you were good?"

Feliciano smiled, remembering the first day of World History at high school. When he had left, he had never looked forward toward tomorrow's class more fervently. "I didn't like art. Not like I liked History or Government."

Ludwig opened his Calculus book, flipping through the pages and searching for the previous day's lesson. "Seems like it would be smarter to do something you were talented at," he said, glancing up at Feliciano pointedly.

"Maybe, but I've always done what makes me happy, so…" Feliciano spread his arms, grinning, "Here I am!" Feliciano pulled out his Calculus homework, looking over at Ludwig. "How do you do question nine? Because I can't figure it out at all!"

Thanks for the new reviews! Guest, willowsettlement, Alya Spruce, and kheelwithit, you guys are awesome. :) To those who Followed and Favorite'd, you guys are awesome-sauce too.

In other news, the wonderful kheelwithit has become this story's Beta! And what a lovely Beta, indeed~ :D

As always, critiques are welcome.