Despite the throbbing pain centered around his ear and his pulled shoulder, Ludwig was in a fairly good mood that day. He and Felicia now sat next to each other in their one shared class, as well at lunch, where it had become an unspoken agreement that Kiku, Mei, and Eliza would help the two abused students as best they could. Ludwig tried, on several occasions, to make it up to them, but was always waved away.
"Do not try, Ludwig-san." Kiku said rather firmly. "I am happy to assist those who go through the same things that I once did."
"It's my pleasure." Eliza said cheerfully.
Mei merely shook her head, a shy smile on her face.
Ludwig and Felicia always walked together through the halls. Felicia was very small for her age, and not quite strong enough to protect herself. Ludwig used to belong to a gym before his parents died, and had finally rejoined one here, so he was rather strong, his body trim and muscular. People saw Felicia walking with him and they backed off instantly. All except for the Hasser, of course.
"Hey Luddy?" Felicia asked, skipping along by his side.
"Ja?" Ludwig replied, scanning the halls instinctively, looking for danger. He usually never saw the Hasser until it was too late.
"I was thinking..." Felicia said, taking Ludwig's hand and swinging it with hers as they walked. "Maybe we can go out on a date tomorrow night~"
Ludwig looked down at her, a bit surprised at the girl's forwardness as a faint flush covered his cheeks. He looked determinedly ahead, not looking the pretty Italian girl in the face.
"J-Ja, okay." Ludwig mumbled, feeling his face get redder as Felicia cheered beside him.
"Hey." came a chilling voice from behind him, followed by the sound of someone getting slammed rather hard into a metal locker. Ludwig and Felicia whirled around instantly, and Ludwig realized that he recognized the boy, that dark red hair.
"Lovino!" Felicia shrieked, tears welling up in her eyes as the Hasser closed in on her brother, who had crumpled to the foot of the lockers.
Felicia's hand clamped down on Ludwig's like a vise, and she looked up at him. Pleading, wide honey eyes, her desperate fear written across her face, and Ludwig knew what he had to do. He released Felicia's hand and ran forward, putting his body between that of Ivan's as the Russian student aimed a kick at the fallen Italian. the blow connecter instead with Ludwig's shin, and Ludwig didn't even flinch, cocking his fist back before slamming it forward with all of his strength at Ivan. However, before the blow could connect, Sadiq grabbed the arm, wrenching it down and sending Ludwig to the floor. Ludwig barely got his arm down in time to keep from breaking his nose on the floor, and, seeing Sadiq's boot right in front of it, grabbed it and yanked it hard, causing the Turk to fall on his ass. Before Ludwig could savour that small victory, however, a small shoe (likely belonging to Natalya) lodged itself in his ribs, and he grunted as blows continued to rain down on him. He was tempted to just submit to the beating, but his mind pulled up a picture of Felicia, and he thought about how scared she must be to see this.
With a renewed strength, Ludwig surged to his feet, upsetting Natalya and causing her to stagger back. Not for the first time, he wondered where all of the goddamn teachers were in this school. Desperate to get in at least one good hit, Ludwig used one arm to block a hit from Sadiq, before nailing his free fist directly into Ivan's jaw. He felt a surge of triumph as the heavy set Russian staggered back, nearly running into Natalya. Seizing the opportunity, Ludwig grabbed Lovino, slinging the still unconscious boy over his shoulder and barreling off down the hall, grabbing Felicia's hand as he passed her.
"Luddy, are you okay?!" she whimpered as she was pulled along.
"Ja." Ludwig puffed, his ribs hurting quite badly. "Stay with me. We're going to go see the nurse."
They hurried through the halls, attracting many odd looks, but not daring to slow down in case the Hasser were chasing them. Finally, they all but slid into the nurse's office, where Nurse Demeter looked up from her desk in surprise.
"Oh my goodness! What happened?!" she exclaimed as Ludwig gently deposited Lovino on one of the beds. Nurse Demeter came forward instantly, sliding on a pair of gloves and gently probing the back of Lovino's head.
"He got slammed into a locker." Ludwig explained, a bit breathless from both running and his injuries. "Is he okay?"
"Yes." Nurse Demeter said after carefully examining Lovino. "I don't think he has a concussion, but he will have quite the headache when he wakes."
And suddenly, Felicia was hugging Ludwig tightly around the middle. "Thank you, Luddy!" she cried, burying her face in Ludwig's shirt. "Grazie~ You saved mio fratellone!"
"Ja, ja, but please let go, Fels." Ludwig said, wincing as she squeezed his sore middle. The Italian girl stepped back quickly, hands level with her shoulders in a "my bad!" position.
"Sorry, Luddy.." she said apologetically. "I forgot that you got beat up too."
At these words, Nurse Demeter looked up, stripping her gloves off easily and pulling on a fresh pair as she came over to where Ludwig stood. "You got injured as well? Can you show me?" she asked.
"J-Ja." Ludwig said softly. Hesitantly, he shrugged out of his blazer, setting it aside, and pulled up his shift where the Hasser's blows had rained down on him. He saw Nurse Demeter and Felicia both wince sympathetically when they saw the dark bruises beginning to colour his fair skin.
"That looks painful." Nurse Demeter said, fetching an ice pack and handing it to Ludwig. He pressed it against the tender flesh, grimacing a bit. "Just try to be careful."
"Danke." Ludwig said.
Lovino began to stir, groaning from the pain in his head, and after a time had passed, the three of them headed to their respective homes. Ludwig limped the entire walk home, his body sore and wanting nothing more than to just fall into bed and sleep. Finally, at long last, he reached his home, where a very anxious Gilbert was pacing the front porch.
"Lud!" Gilbert called as the blond approached. "Lud, Bruderlein, are you okay?!"
"Ja, bruder, I'm alright." Ludwig said, climbing the porch steps with a bit of difficulty. "Where is Opa?"
"I don't know." Gilbert shrugged. "He's not here. Maybe he finally wandered off to die?"
"Don't get your hopes up." Ludwig said, going past Gilbert and into the house.
"So what happened to you, Lud?" Gilbert asked, following his little brother back into the house. "You look like absolute hell... Did the Hasser get you?"
"They got Lovino Vargas. Knocked him out." Ludwig explained, going to the freezer to get a new ice pack for his ribs. "And Felicia was giving me these goddamn puppy dog eyes..."
"You went against them for her? D'awww!" Gilbert snickered as Ludwig flushed in embarrassment.
"Shut up..." he muttered, slamming the freezer closed with more force than was necessary. "Anyways, I basically got the shit beat out of me."
"Did you get any good hits in, at least?" Gilbert asked, following Ludwig upstairs.
"Ja." the younger brother said. "Straight into Ivan's jaw. Hopefully knocked the damn Russian down a few pegs."
Gilbert laughed at this, patting Ludwig on the shoulder. "Little Luddy gets himself a girlfriend and all of a sudden he's beating people up!" the albino laughed.
"That makes no sense." Ludwig mumbled, pitching himself into bed with a weary sigh. "Also, do me a favour, bruder."
"Depends on the favour." Gilbert said, shrugging.
"Take my wallet, go to the grocery store so we can actually have real food to eat, okay?" Ludwig asked, holding out his wallet to the albino. "I'd go myself, but I think I'm honestly going to pass out."
"Ja, sure thing, Bruderlein." Gilbert said, taking the wallet. "I'll be back soon, so you just rest and watch out for Opa, ja?"
"Ja." Ludwig groaned in response, wincing as his sore ribs throbbed. He was out cold before Gilbert had even left the room.
.~*~.
Amazingly, it wasn't until the next morning that he woke. He lay in bed for a moment, feeling like a beached whale, and honestly debated just staying in bed, but then he remembered. He had a date with Felicia that evening.
Thus, the incredibly sore German hauled himself out of bed, going to his brother and prodding the albino.
"Gil, it's time to get up." Ow. Even talking made Ludwig's busted ribs burn with pain. Let alone lifting his arms over his head to change his shirt. From behind him, Gilbert climbed out of bed, going to his brother and helping him pull his shirt on.
Ludwig and Gilbert were more than used to nursing each other through their worse injuries, Opa inflicted or not. Once, when Gilbert had broken his hand playing basketball, Ludwig had dutifully been his brother's scribe, so Gilbert could hand in his homework on time. When Ludwig had gotten his tonsils taken out, Gilbert, six at the time, had brought his brother ice cream and popsicles nonstop until the wounds healed. Now, living in a home with Opa and less than a month until Gilbert graduated and turned eighteen, their codependence on each other helped keep them alive.
"Ready?" Gilbert asked as Ludwig adjusted his tie and carefully pulled on his blazer. The albino brother had gotten dressed quickly, ready to stand by in case Ludwig needed his help.
"Ja. Danke, bruder." Ludwig said, picking up his shoes to put them on in the kitchen. The two brothers headed downstairs, talking.
But as soon as they reached the kitchen, they froze. They had been careless, with their thunking footsteps and Gilbert's rather loud voice. Now, standing in the entrance to the kitchen and seeing Opa sitting at the table, they realized their mistakes. Ludwig grabbed Gilbert's arm, and the brothers backed away, quietly, step by step, hoping Opa wouldn't pay them any attention.
Ludwig felt his body freeze as Opa stood, turning to look at his charges. For a moment, Ludwig expected the long haired blond to come after them. But instead, something truly extraordinary happened.
Opa's eyes were clear, their striking blue colour untainted by alcohol for once. "Would you boys like some breakfast?" the older man asked. In English.
Both Ludwig and Gilbert merely gaped for a moment. Opa was recently bathed and shaved, his long blond hair brushed, his clothes clean. It was like looking into a mirror of the past, when Opa had been a formidable military officer.
Gilbert was the brave one, stepping forward with a smile on his face. "Ja, Opa." he said, sitting at the table. Ludwig could still only stare as Opa turned to the stove. "Come on, Lud." Gilbert said, gesturing for Ludwig to join him.
Finally, Ludwig moved forward, sitting hesitantly at the table. Sure enough, Opa made them breakfast. Ludwig all but inhaled his food, his stomach reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the night before.
By the time they arrived at school, Ludwig was in a fairly good mood. He had eaten that morning, he had his date with Felicia to look forward to, and to top it all off, he saw Ivan walking in the halls later with a nice dark black eye. Ludwig had never been more proud of the hours he had put in at the gym.
But where was Felicia? The little redhead usually would have found Ludwig by this point, but she was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Lovino, but that didn't surprise Ludwig too much. The older Italian had taken quite a blow to the head the previous day.
The bell was about to ring, and Ludwig still had not found Felicia. He had to admit that he was beginning to worry about the pretty Italian girl. With no more time to waste, he slid into his seat with a sigh. Second before the bell rang, the classroom door slammed open, and Felicia darted through the classroom, moving with a pronounced limp, her head bowed. She sank into her seat.
"Felicia, are you okay?" Ludwig asked in a whisper as the bell rang.
She didn't look up, didn't respond at all.
"Fels?" Ludwig asked softly. He was definitely worried.
Still nothing.
And the class continued like that: Ludwig trying to talk to Felicia, and Felicia refusing to even acknowledge his presence. The class seemed to drag on forever for Ludwig, and when the bell finally rang, he blocked off her escape route quickly.
"Felicia, what is going on with you?" Ludwig asked in a low, deep voice. And finally, the girl looked at him.
Her normally tan skin was pale, and dark shadowed accented her honey eyes, which were rimmed in red, and it was easy to see from the marks on her cheeks that she had been wiping tears away for hours, maybe even all night. The small crease that developed between her brows when she was upset seemed to be chiseled there , and her face looked ready to crumple into tears at any moment. Ludwig's eyes moved down to Felicia's arms, and with a jolt of shock, he realized that there was bruises shaped like finger marks on each of her slim biceps, visible even through her white shirt. His gaze moved back to her face, and then to her eyes. The honey colour was flat, unseeing, broken. Ludwig swallowed, feeling a bit sick.
"Feli...?" he tried again, his voice rang with concern and blatant fear. "Fels, what happened to you...?"
"I-I'm sorry.." the Italian whispered, holding her school things close to her and shaking delicately. "I can't see you anymore."
She pushed past him, fleeing the room. Ludwig stood alone in the now empty room, confused and hurt and...
Scared.