I can't stop, here's another. Beta'd by Issy.
The Americans disperse after only about 10 more minutes, and after going through the various bits and pieces following a tour - talking to his boss a little, having an all-important snack etc. - it's 4 o'clock and he realises he has 2 whole, glorious hours in which he can do two of his most favourite things: talk, or more specifically, talk about art, and interact with the guard, which despite being a very recent hobby, is already his favourite. He lives to see that gorgeous blush again.
Ludwig is already standing by the doorway as he approaches. The look he receives could so almost be a smile, if you looked past that frown-mask (At this rate, he'll be achieving his objective early!).
"Guten Tag, Feliciano."
"Buongiorno, Ludwig! I love that you're German. I'm gonna get you to speak all nice and German to me at some point, hmm? I think that would be great. Oh, I have a good idea! I could talk to you in Italian too! This would be very cool, but neither of us would be able to understand each other and that would be a shame. Oh, I'm so sorry, we ought to get started, where do you wanna start? It's a large room." He looks at Ludwig expectantly to find that the German has resumed his (rather familiar) bewildered expression. He looks so cute like this - like he's never quite expecting so much sound to come out of Feli's mouth.
Realising that he should probably answer Feli's question, the German appears to stumble internally for a second for words.
"Um, how about we start with that one. Uh, the one with the cloth draped over it?" He points to the nearest statue. It just so happens that this is the only figure in the entire room that is fully clothed. The figure is of a woman in prayer, with a veil draped over her face: Monti's The Veiled Vestal.
"Oh come on, Ludwig! You only picked that one because it's wearing clothes!" The slight blush he receives in return is all the answer he needs. "Come on then, we have to start somewhere."
He leads the German over to the kneeling virgin. "I believe this one was made in about 1830. Let me check…" He peers briefly at the plaque. "Yes, I was close, 1847, by Raffaelle Monti. At the time these vestals were a popular subject matter, and - oh, sorry! I forgot to mention that a vestal was a special priestess they had in Roman times. They were all virgins, and their job was to keep the eternal flame of the gods alight. Anyway, what was I saying?"
"That they were a popular subject matter at the time."
"Oh yes! That was certainly true, because Pompeii had been excavated in the 18th century and many were artists inspired by the temple of Vestals that they found there. And when I say inspired I mean that many men fancied the idea of a temple full of beautiful virgin priestesses…" He trails off with meaning.
Ludwig gives a sort of hiccup-y cough sound. Right there is Feli's favourite shade of red, spread all over his face and neck. But this time the German seems to recover faster. (Maybe his recovery time improves with practise. How awful it would be if such a gorgeous sight would become less common over time.)
"Regardless of the intention, I think this is a beautiful statue. At least it's decent."
"Are you telling me, Ludwig, that you can't handle nudity?"
"N-no, I'm just saying that it seems a little, ah, inappropriate. That's all."
This makes Feli huff a little. "The human body is, of itself, a work of art. It's so complex - a million million different systems all crammed elegantly into one space. And we can move with such fluidity, such beauty. Have you ever seen a proper ballet performance? On a different note, probably the only art form that those Russians are better than us at. But why hide all of that elegance? Bare skin is not something to be ashamed of."
His outburst gives the German a thoughtful expression.
"I just, I guess it's always been, well, weird. For me. I've never quite been comfortable with public nudity. I mean, um, in private, thats fine." Ludwig is such a beautiful shade of pink. Feli feels oddly proud of him for managing to complete that sentence at all.
"Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with getting nice and naked every now and then." He feels like he's watching his own personal show right before him. The noises that Ludwig is trying to suppress are so, so wonderful. "Besides Ludwig, we're all humans, nothing to be ashamed of. And on top of all that I don't think we should have to hide our eyes from a beautiful piece of artwork, clothed or not." Feli sighs in appreciation while looking around the room.
"...It's hard to believe some of these figures are actually just sculpted rock."
"Yes, yes, exactly Ludwig! That's the spirit. We'll make an art appreciator of you yet, come on! There's so much more you have to know!"
So the art historian spends two lovely hours dragging a stiff German guard around most of the works in the room. At first the blond was very 'why are you touching me, please remove your hands from my person' but then resigned himself to 'he's Italian' towards the end. Which suits Feli just fine. He feels like a sculptor himself, working away at the hard surface of the guard's composure a little each day. He's made a great deal of progress on this particular day, but even so he worries about his deadline. Maybe he ought to gain himself more hours outside of their brief three-days-a-week interactions…
But for now he focuses on pulling out all those juicy, delicious nuggets of information on Donatello and Michelangelo and Rodin.
"I definitely recognise this one." says Ludwig, gazing at the Thinker.
"Ah yes, probably the most famous work in the room. This is by Rodin, who did those others over there, " He gestures, and Ludwig nods, recognising the statues which they had already covered. "This was originally a figure on the Gates of Hell, and is often used to reference Philosophy. Some say he is meant to represent Dante, pondering his great poem, but I think Dante kept mentioning that he was clothed in the poem or something so some people say that the Thinker can't be Dante. To be honest, I'm never really sure why some artworks become more famous than others. I mean, The Gates of Hell is far more impressive than this, but if you ask a stranger about Rodin they will always mention The Thinker…"
The guard's face is set in concentration as he absorbs more of Feli's words. The Italian has never had a more receptive or interested student.
"I think it's because you can almost feel him thinking; he is lost in thought. You forget that he's a statue because you can imagine that he's so absorbed in his thinking that he forgot to move. I like this Rodin person. He was certainly very skilled at creating almost-life out of a hard material."
The blond has also proved to be a natural art historian. Feli can't believe he hadn't thought to talk to him sooner. He's perfect.
"He's one of my favourites too."
They both just wander and absorb the remaining few statues. The Italian wishes he could sculpt like these greats, but sadly he's never had the money. He'll stick to his paintings. The German looks equally lost in thought, but Feli doubts he's thinking along the same lines. He wonders what the German does outside these walls. What he does on the four other days of the week. Where he's been. Where he wants to go.
"Feliciano, thank you for my tour. It has been incredibly informative."
"You're welcome Ludwig. It has been my pleasure. Oh no! It's six already?"
He can almost taste the smile on the German's face. It's so close to a smile anyway.
"Yes, it is six now. So my shifts over, but I…um, I mean. In all my time here, I've never had a look at the rest of this place, if you, um…" Feli practically bursts out of skin.
"Ludwig, I'll show you! We truly are just getting started, there is so much to see, there's the Turners! Oh and the small contemporary art exhibition we've just put up in the left wing, and the portrait gallery with the newer exhibition on war heroes. How have you never been? The best part about working here is the free exhibitions! You have no idea how much money I used to spend on the tickets alone and now look at me, walking free every museum I pass. This is the life, huh? Come on Ludwig, let's go!" He rambles, taking the overwhelmed guard by the hand and leading him away.
The German tries to make several feeble protests about signing out and changing out of uniform but the iIalian just waves him off. Their boss won't care in the slightest and won't Ludwig just loosen up, he's not even working any more.
Feli realises that he could potentially have the whole evening with his German all to himself, in his favourite museum.
Thank you for reading! We start to get into some real plot in a bit...
Reviews are love :D