"That's right!" Gilbert wrapped an arm around Ludwig's shoulder. "High school, the place where your stern, bookish ways really started showing. Nothing could pull you away from your study time, not even your awesome big brother…" His tone was different as he said this last sentence, almost as if it was filled with a sort of melancholy, but when Ludwig turned to him Gilbert was grinning as usual. "…Except for a certain cute Italian, that is."
The scene changed again. Now they were inside the dilapidated building, where the tiles were either chipped or missing from the floor, the lockers were discoloured from rust and the doors seemed like one strong push away from snapping off their hinges. The hallway they were in was especially bad, as teenagers of all ages were shouting and barging into each other, occasionally knocking into the walls and cracking the already weak plaster. Despite all of this, Ludwig had many fond memories of this place. Although, pretty much all of those memories involved Feliciano, some even before they started dating.
Ludwig turned. The hallway was filled with random chatter, but only one voice stood out to the German. Feliciano Vargas, looking considerably younger, was skipping down the hall with a big happy smile.
"And there's our little Feli now!" Gilbert announced. "During this Valentine's Day, I guess you both were about 16, maybe 17? Ah, whatever. What matters is that Feli transferred to this school about a year ago. Being the adorable, friendly guy he is, he attracted a lot of attention from the girls at this school. But about a year later, during this vision thingy I'm showing you now, you started falling for him. Hard."
The blond watched as Feliciano bounced the way he normally would, waving to any pretty girl he saw. He skidded to a halt suddenly, paused for a second before another cheery smile took over his face.
"Lud~wig~!" Feliciano started waving wildly. Ludwig stiffened. Could… Could Feliciano see him? But hadn't Gilbert said something about not being able to interfere with these visions? So, how…?
But then the Italian ran straight past him, and an eerily familiar voice said, "Honestly, Feliciano, I expect you to be on time when you were the one who wanted to see me in the first place."
Behind Ludwig stood…himself. Well, sort of. This Ludwig was younger than him, although not as young as the first vision, and could only have been a teenager.
The German shook his head. Even though he should have expected it, seeing his younger selves felt strange.
"Even before you confessed," Gilbert continued to narrate, "the two of you were really close. No one was sure how. Feliciano had seemed completely terrified of you at first, but the next thing everyone knew you were best friends. You were practically inseparable."
"What did you want to talk about?" His own voice caught Ludwig's attention, and he focused on his other self and Feliciano again.
"Well~" Feliciano swayed on the balls of his feet, an endearing action Ludwig was starting to miss. "It's Valentine's Day, right? Here, I gotcha something!" He reached into his bag and pulled out what looked suspiciously like a bouquet of roses.
Both Ludwigs' faces turned a bright shade of red. The older blond remembered this all too well. He had felt embarrassed, self-conscious and wondered if anyone else had seen this…but he had also felt rather happy.
"Feliciano," the other Ludwig said, his cheeks still very, very red, "you shouldn't do things like this." He glanced at the people around them, who were too absorbed in their own lives to have noticed anything. "People will get the wrong idea."
"Huh?" Feliciano frowned, putting his head to one side. "'Wrong idea'…? What do you mean?"
"You know… They might think…" He trailed off with a shake of his head. "Never mind.
"This little event must have done something to your head, 'cause after that you started acting really weird around Feli," Gilbert said suddenly, surprising Ludwig. "If I ever asked about him at home, you would start blushing and stuttering like crazy. Seriously. Watching you act like that was a weird mix of worrying and hilarious."
Ludwig glowered at him.
"Um…anyway…" Gilbert scratched the back of his head. "A year later…" The area around them seemed to jump, like static on a TV, but they were still in the same place. The only difference was that the sun could be seen setting out of a nearby window, and the hallway was empty, save for two people.
"Feliciano…" Ludwig, the other one, spoke quietly, staring at the Italian gently. "I… You see, I…"
"Ludwig?" Feliciano looked confused. "What's wrong? It's weird for you to call me out here like this. Everyone's already gone home, so won't we get in trouble if someone notices we're still here?"
"I know, I know, I just… I needed to talk to you privately."
It seemed as if Ludwig did not know how to continue, and Feliciano frowned after a few seconds of patient silence.
"What about?" Feliciano pressed, trying to stay cheerful. It was obvious that Ludwig's behaviour was starting to worry him.
"You see, Feliciano, for a while now…" Ludwig was blushing, although he hadn't seemed to have noticed. He breathed in. "I like you, Feliciano. A lot."
"Oh!" Feliciano relaxed. "That's good, 'cause I like you lots too, Ludwig! I-"
"No, no," Ludwig interrupted. "I don't think you understand. When I say I like you, I… I didn't mean as a friend."
Feliciano's expression was unreadable. He nodded, as if telling Ludwig to continue.
"Feliciano… I think I love you."
For a while, nothing was said. Even the scene's two observers were content with just watching, waiting for something to happen.
Then Feliciano jumped forwards and squeezed Ludwig in a tight hug.
"You do?" he asked as Ludwig tried to reclaim the air that had been knocked out of him. "You really, really, really do?"
"Yes," Ludwig managed to gasp. "Yes, I do. I don't know when this started, but… I love you."
Feliciano smiled at him. "Well, I…" A frown. "Oh, but… I guess…but… It… Um…" There seemed to be some kind of conflict going on in Feliciano's mind.
"Feliciano?" Ludwig sighed. The other's sudden happiness had confused him, and also made him feel rather hopeful, but what was with Feliciano's sudden change in emotion? "Listen, I understand. It was rather silly of me to say this to you and expect anything. After all, you always flirt with girls, and-"
"Ah, no, no!" Feliciano waved his arms worriedly. "I'm not… Ah! I mean-" He shook his head. "I… I think I do too, but… I said I'd wait for him…"
"Fel-?"
"M-morning!" Feliciano stammered. "I-I need to think about this, I need to think! So give me till morning, please? I'll go to your house really super early, and I'll tell you my answer. But until then, I need to think!" The Italian seemed close to tears. He was practically begging.
"Morning?" Ludwig was definitely confused. Was he being rejected or not? "I suppose that's fine-"
He barely had time to finish his sentence as Feliciano had darted away almost immediately. He spared Ludwig an apologetic glance before turning the corner, now out of sight.
"…Wow." Gilbert's mouth had fallen open. "That was so…awkward. Really, Luddy? That was the best you could do? I would have expected you to do something awesome and romantic. I mean, the sunset was a step in the right direction, but at your school? You need more help than I thought."
Ludwig, the older one, did not reply. He simply stared forwards, at the scene in front of him. He could remember all of this. He had been so scared during the following night, worried that Feliciano would reject him anyway. But Feliciano had arrived early, as promised, with a big smile on his face, and that had arguably been the happiest moment in Ludwig's life. He knew his answer, even before the Italian had opened his mouth and let loose his normal rambles.
He had promised himself that he would make Feliciano happy, as happy as seeing his beaming face every day made Ludwig. He hadn't realised, however, that he had almost forgotten that simple promise. It had been pushed and shoved to the back of his mind by a sudden onslaught of work and business.
-Chapter end
I finally managed to write this ^0^ Sorry it's been a while, but I went away on holiday for two weeks and there wasn't much internet ^^' I only just got back XD But at least it's here now X3 Well, please review and tell me what you think ^_^