Summary: For street urchin Feliciano Vargas, it seems Christmas for him will be the same as usual. By some stroke of fate, Feliciano stumbles upon a kind stranger, Ludwig Beilschmidt, who delivers a miracle to the Italian's life- and strange feelings he's never felt before...

Pairing: Ludwig x Feliciano (Germany x N. Italy, AU)

Ludwig quickly caught Feliciano before he hit the ground and placed the Italian in his bed. I.. didn't expect him to react like that... he thought as he pulled the covers over him. Ludwig looked over at the clock. It was about 2 am Christmas Eve.

Feliciano's breathing returned to normal after a few minutes as he rolled in his bed and drifted off to sleep. Instead of a dream, various images passed through Feliciano's head- ones of him passionately kissing Ludwig under the mistletoe, cuddling up to him in front of a fireplace, and being held by him bridal-style. Feliciano didn't know what to think about these images. He loved Ludwig with all of his heart, but he was still not sure whether the German loved him back. After all, it was the middle of the night. Surely, it was a misunderstanding. At least that was what Feliciano tried to tell himself, but Ludwig's actions earlier prevented the Italian from fully believing his own words.

Ludwig watched over Feliciano for the rest of the time he was able to keep himself awake. He ended up falling asleep once Feliciano's breathing returned to normal.
Ludwig ended up thinking about what had all just happened, trying to figure out why he did what he did. He never really had a relationship before, other than with his family members, so he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. Maybe I went a little too far? he thought in his sleep.

For the next few hours, Feliciano continued to take in these images, constantly wondering if he would ever get to experience such romantic moments with Ludwig at all. Surrounded by his innermost desires, he tossed and turned while sleeping, hoping Ludwig shared the same feelings. He no longer was assuring himself it was all a mistake- he wanted to believe it was real.

Ludwig woke up at 6 sharp and noticed the unrestful pattern of Feliciano's sleep. He leaned over and stroked Feliciano's hair. Are you okay...? he wondered.

Feliciano's eyes fluttered open, a blush forming on his face again. Seeing Ludwig's face renewed his motive to turn the images in his dream into reality. For the first time, Feliciano decided to take the initiative.

"I'm f-feeling much better, b-because you're here with me~," Feliciano told Ludwig nervously, trying to sound as affectionate and romantic as he could. "Can I have a good morning kiss, per favore~?"

"Ah, okay," Ludwig replied. He bent down and kissed Feliciano lightly good morning.

It's just a good morning kiss, nothing special about it, Feliciano thought, blushing a little more. Now that he thought about it, he wanted a bit more from Ludwig, considering last night's dream.

Feliciano wanted to fix what happened last night, though. "Ludwig, about last night... I just wanted to tell you... you didn't overdo it..." he confessed. "What you did... was exactly what I wanted. It was because of my dream last night, after I had fainted..." he began explaining. "I dreamed of you and me sharing a passionate kiss together. And you and me cuddling by the fireplace. It was the best dream I ever had..."

Ludwig was about to respond when he suddenly heard the front door open and slam.
"Hold on, wait here please," he said before getting up and walking out of the room.

All Feliciano could hear were the footsteps going down the stairs and Ludwig's faint voice mixing with that of a louder German's with an odd laugh.

The pup from before was having a hard time sleeping with the noise and crawled out from under the bed. After yawning and stretching, it noticed Feli's presence and barked happily.

Feliciano smiled and picked up the puppy, placing it in his lap. He gently massaging the pup under his chin, steadying his breathing, relaxing himself, and trying to ignore the voices downstairs.

The pup wagged her tail and kissed Feliciano's hand.

There was a laugh followed by two sets of footsteps.

"Osten! You are not meeting our guest until you sober up!" Ludwig ordered the other person.

"Alright, alright, Westen. Kesese~" the new voice replied.

Ludwig sighed and walked back in. "Sorry about that, my bruder decided to finally return home from last night it seems," he explained. "I honestly thought he got home while we were asleep.."

He then noticed Feliciano was holding the pup. "I see Blackie seems to like you," he smiled.

Feliciano giggled as the puppy licked his hand. "Veee~ I love dogs~. There's a lot of stray ones around Firenze," he said, his smile changing to a frown. "They can never find food... I've tried to help find them good homes, but no one would take them in..." he explained. "Every time I saw one of those stray dogs... it reminded me of my current state. No food... no home... no love..."

Feliciano tilted his head down sadly, his eyes looking up at Ludwig. "Every year... I looked at all the happy couples on Christmas. I wanted to feel that happiness too, but everyone just ignores me..."

"Well, this year is different then, huh?" he said. "This year you have someplace to stay and food."
Blackie then looked up at Feliciano and licked his cheek.
Ludwig chuckled, "and love too."

"Speaking of food, would you like to join me downstairs for breakfast?" he asked.

Feliciano perked up at Ludwig's mention of food. "Oh-! Si, si~! Of course~!" he exclaimed, tightly hugging Ludwig and grateful for finally eating a decent meal.
Right then, Feliciano thought again of last night. Surely, after what had happened, Ludwig wouldn't mind...

"Uh, Ludwig~ can you carry me downstairs~? Can you hold me in your arms like the really happy couples do~?"

Ludwig chuckled and smiled at Feliciano.

He was slightly confused by the question, but nodded. "Sure, I guess I can do so as long as it doesn't become a habit," he said as he picked him up.

Ludwig carefully maneuvered through the house and down the stairs. He gently set Feliciano down.
"Would you like to help me make breakfast?"

"I don't really know much about that... but I'll try and help~! Although you'll probably wind up helping me, ve~" Feliciano said cheerfully. "And don't worry about carrying me~. You won't have to do that all the time..." he told Ludwig, blushing a bit. He really wanted to express how much he wanted to get closer to Ludwig, but now wasn't the time.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Ludwig stated, completely oblivious to the other's true feelings.

"How about we get started. We won't make anything too difficult."
Ludwig led him into the kitchen and got out a few things he needed: a mixing bowl, a spoon, a spatula, a skillet, a couple eggs, milk, pancake mix, vanilla extract, and a stick of butter.
He took the eggs, milk, pancake mix, and vanilla extract, following the instructions in the recipe, and placed them in the bowl.
"Alright. Do you think you can stir the ingredients together?" he asked, looking at Feliciano.

"I need you to cuddle me, hold me, kiss me..." all the things Feliciano wanted to say but couldn't. And what was wrong? Nothing, really. Feliciano just had a strong desire to get closer to Ludwig.

"Vee~ n-nothing's wrong~," he lied. Although it was a small lie that wouldn't do anything but hide Feliciano's true thoughts. "I'm just n-nervous about cooking~."

Ludwig felt that he should help Feliciano a bit with the stirring, he still wanted to be able to cook them. He stood behind Feliciano and placed his hands over top of the other's gently, guiding them as they stirred. "You have to remember to scrape the edge of the bowl, or the batter may not be that good," he said softly into the Italian's ear.

Feliciano's eyes opened wide as a bright red blush formed on his face again. His heart began racing as Ludwig held his hands. The Italian smiled, the lovely sound of Ludwig's voice reaching his ears. He couldn't focus on the stirring anymore, for he was too mesmerized by Ludwig's presence.

Ludwig continued to help Feliciano stir until the batter seemed ready. He noticed how soft and fragile Feliciano's hands seemed to be in his own rough hard worked hands.

He then let Feliciano go so he could prepare the pan to cook the pancakes on.
"Do you think you can help flip the pancakes?" he asked.

"I-I'm not sure. Maybe if you hold my hands again then I can try," Feliciano suggested. "Y-you can do that, right? I-I like it when you hold my hands~" he told Ludwig, before suddenly realizing what he had just said. "Uh... b-because when you hold my hands it really helps me cook! Si, that's it~."

Ludwig had a slight bit of blush forming on his cheeks from Feliciano's statement.
"Alright," he said, "if you think it will help."

Ludwig got out a plate to put the finished pancakes on before helping Feliciano pour out the batter for the first pancake, guiding the Italian's smaller hands with his own. After the one side was cooked, he helped Feliciano flip it to cook the other side.

The smell of sweet pancakes wafted through the house as more pancakes were made. The two made enough for each other and another person.

Ludwig's older brother smelled the sweet breakfast and made his way downstairs. When he saw Ludwig help Feliciano cook the final pancake he chuckled.
"Kesese~ Oi, Westen, are we training him to be a good house wife?" he teased.

Ludwig closed his eyes out of irritation and sighed, letting go of Feliciano, before turning to his brother. "Just sit down and wait for your food," he snapped back.

Feliciano sat down at the table, waiting paitiently for the food and thinking about Ludwig again. The Italian couldn't keep Ludwig out of his mind, it was impossible for him. He continued to think about last night, and how he ruined a possible romantic moment with Ludwig. Wondering how he should ask Ludwig about it, he continued to wait for his first real breakfast to be served.

Ludwig placed a couple pancakes on everyone's plates and served them. He then placed a bottle of syrup in the middle for anyone who wanted it before going to make coffee.

"Feliciano, I am making coffee for bruder and me, do you want some or would you prefer milk or water?" he asked.

Ludwig's brother watched Feliciano, trying to pick out what was going on in his mind.

"Water would be nice~" Feliciano answered, before taking a bite of his first pancake and dipping it in syrup. The sweet taste of the pancake nearly overwhelmed him, having never tasted anything like it. The sweet taste reminded him of Ludwig, and his kindness. Come to think of it, all of these new things he was experiencing reminded him of Ludwig.

Ludwig turned his back as he fixed the drinks and waited for the coffee maker to go.

The brother leaned his head in his hand and looked at Feliciano.
"You like mein bruder, don't you?" he asked quietly enough so only Feliciano could hear him.

Feliciano snapped out of his thoughts as soon as he heard the other's question. His face instantly turned red. "Uh... m-maybe I do... h-how could you tell...?"

The brother chuckled. "It's written all over your face, that's why."
He took a bite of his pancake. "By the way, I'm Gilbert."

Ludwig came back with the drinks and placed them down. He looked at Feliciano and asked, "Are you okay, Feli?"

Feliciano's face turned even redder as sweat dripped down his face. "A-ahhh... n-nothing's wrong~. I-I'm alright, don't worry!" he assured Ludwig, taking a sip of water from his glass and trying to focus on the fresh-tasting water instead of Ludwig. The water is far more important, he decided, considering he hadn't had water like this since 2 weeks ago.

"...okay," Ludwig replied.
He wasn't sure if Feliciano was telling the truth or not.

Gilbert snickered a bit, only to get a glare from his brother, then returned to eating his breakfast.

Feliciano was still having difficulty keeping the thoughts out of his head, and it was evident all over his face. He tried hiding the blush by eating his pancakes, but it wasn't working at all.

Ludwig continued to eat his breakfast quietly.

Gilbert on the other hand was observing the two, thinking of how to get Ludwig to open up to Feliciano.

Romantic thoughts continued to pile up in Feliciano's head until he couldn't take it anymore. He immediately ran out of the room in tears, making his way to his room before hiding under the covers and crying into his pillow. His cries could be heard throughout the house, even though they were muffled by the pillow.

Ludwig jumped a bit when Feliciano ran out of the room. "Should I make sure he is okay?" he asked Gilbert.

"Ja, you dummkoff!" Gilbert replied.

Ludwig got up and nodded to his brother, following Feliciano upstairs. He knocked on the door and asked, "Feliciano, is there something bothering you?"

Feliciano shuddered and stopped crying for just a moment when he heard the knock on the door, but not wanting to say the reason why he was crying. It would make everything even more embarrassing, that was for sure. He resumed crying into his pillow, hiding the truth under a flurry of tears.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long chapter and late update. There will be more soon!

Translations

dummkoff= "idiot" (GERMAN)