"I really wanted you to stay with me this time. I didn't want you to leave, to go to some faraway place. I wanted you here, at my side, where we could laugh together, as friends."

It was the sound of the birds that finally awoke Feliciano from his seemingly endless slumber. The Italian opened his eyes a crack and was met with warm sunlight. At first, he wondered if he had fallen asleep under his tree again. Oh no. That meant Lovino was going to yell at him, and he didn't want to be yelled at this early in the morning.

When his brown eyes opened wider, however, the sight was not that of his neighborhood at all. He saw hard, brown plastic forming an almost-box around him, and beyond that, a chain-link fence. Beyond even that were green trees and a long river. It wasn't a place Feliciano was familiar with, and as he wracked his brain for answers, he felt himself growing worried. He tried to sit up, to see where he was and how to get home, but a sharp pain ran through his back, causing him to cry out in surprise. Why was he so sore? At a small stinging on his cheek, he lifted his fingers to his face. The skin there was uneven, and he flinched at his own touch. Withdrawing his hand, he tried to remember where he had gotten that cut on his face.

Antonio's house, a call from work, staying late, running home, a storm, the scary lady…

The scary lady.

With wings.

And a knife.

Feliciano paused as the memories from last night came flooding back to him. The scary lady with knives caught him, but someone fought her off, then Ludwig…

Ludwig had saved him, and flied him off to this place. Where this was remained a mystery, but Feliciano felt himself relaxing back up against the wall. He still couldn't quite come to believe it. He hadn't seen Ludwig in an entire year, but when he did, he found out that Ludwig was actually an angel. It still seemed a little hard to believe, but he figured his current state of weakness spoke for itself. That hadn't been a dream.

Feliciano's senses became more alert as he looked around. Ludwig had brought him here, but so far, he saw no sign of the other man. With worry beginning to prick at the edges of his mind, Feliciano once again tried to sit up. As he did, he felt something under the palm of his hand. Looking down, a small, white feather sat, as if it were waiting for Feliciano to pick it up. The Italian's nimble fingers plucked the feather from the ground and brought it up to his face, where he inspected it curiously. It was the same pure white as Ludwig's wings had been the night before. The memory of Ludwig settling down beside him and holding him close flashed through Feliciano's mind, but without any hint as to where Ludwig was currently, Feliciano didn't know what to feel.

Ludwig wouldn't leave him again…would he? The thought ran through Feliciano's mind, and as unwanted as it may have been, it was completely plausible. Maybe Ludwig had to get back to whatever he was doing the night before. Maybe something came up and he couldn't stay.

Maybe he left as soon as you were asleep in order to get away from you.

Feliciano shook his head at the dark thought, but his anxiety was quickly overcoming his sense of mind, and he forced himself to his feet, despite his body's protests. Once he crawled out of the small space, he stumbled to a standing position and looked around. There was no sign of his blonde hair or stark blue eyes anywhere, Feliciano realized with a start. So he had left. Ludwig had left again after a whole year of waiting, and he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye this time.

See, little Feli? He's got more important things to do than stay with you.

Oh, how he hated that voice in his head. Feliciano felt tears form in his eyes, but he tried to blink them away. He knew it was right, that Ludwig already had enough to deal with without someone like him dragging him down, but…

…But he at least wanted to be able to say goodbye…

"Feliciano?"

Feliciano's breath caught in his throat as he turned around. Ludwig was standing there, watching him with a curious gaze; his wings were no longer visible, but Feliciano barely paid any attention, instead running over and throwing himself at the larger man. Ludwig stumbled backward upon being tackled but kept his footing. He stared down at the Italian who had wrapped himself around his waist, his face buried in the fabric of Ludwig's clothes.

"Feliciano, you really shouldn't jump at someone like that-"

"Ludwig…"

The voice was muffled, but Ludwig managed to hear it anyway. Concerned, he tilted Feliciano's head up. Tears were lightly running down Feliciano's face, mixing with the dirt and blood caked to his skin. He watched Ludwig with watery eyes before snapping his eyes shut and hiding his face in Ludwig's shirt once more.

"I-I thought L-Ludwig left me again, and h-he didn't even say goodbye, he ju-just l-left me all al-alone…" Feliciano cried, his voice shaky and muffled.

Ludwig stared at the smaller man at his waist, unsure of how to go about comforting him. Slowly and awkwardly, he lowered his arms to pat Feliciano's back in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. "W-Well, I didn't, ah…leave you, so it's okay, you don't have to cry. Don't cry, Feliciano…"

The Italian sniffled and looked up to meet Ludwig's eyes, which were staring back helplessly. Feliciano nodded and took a step away, wiping his sleeve over his eyes to rid his face of tears. Some of the dirt came off and smudged on his sleeve, but he didn't particularly care. He winced upon rubbing the cut on his face, however.

Ludwig noticed Feliciano's reaction and watched him with concerned eyes. He bent down a little and reached out, lightly brushing some of the dirt away from the wound. Upon feeling Ludwig's touch on his face, Feliciano froze, staring up at the angel with wide eyes. Ludwig backed away slightly, but his brow was furrowed in thought. "We still need to take care of your wounds, don't we."

"Ve? It's just a scratch, Ludwig, it'll be fine."

Ludwig stared at Feliciano as though he'd gone mad. "And your other injuries? If they get infected, Feliciano, it'll be bad news. We need to get you back to your house, where you can clean yourself up properly."

At the suggestion, Feliciano smiled for the first time that morning. "Ve, Ludwig's really nice, isn't he? Ludwig, you're like my guardian angel or something," Feliciano laughed. Ludwig made no indication he intended to reply, instead just taking Feliciano's hand and walking toward the exit of the playground. Feliciano stumbled after him, quiet laughter still escaping his lips. Ludwig opened the gate and motioned for Feliciano to go through, then followed suit. The gate clanged shut behind the two men as Ludwig once more took the lead, walking through what was probably a park towards some unknown destination. His laughter having died down, Feliciano now found himself faced with a somewhat awkward silence as he trailed behind Ludwig like a stray cat waiting for food. If only to start a conversation, Feliciano asked, "So, we're not flying, then?"

Ludwig didn't look back. "No. If I were to fly above a town in broad daylight, especially with another man in my arms, I'm sure I would attract attention."

Feliciano cocked his head at that. "Ve…so, if I was a girl, Ludwig would fly then?"

Feliciano watched as Ludwig's ears burned red, and when he turned to face the Italian, he saw the rest of his face was flushed, too. "Your gender has nothing to do with it!"

Feliciano giggled to himself as he stared at Ludwig's face. For someone so strong and stoic, he sure blushed easily. Still, through some inherent generosity on his part, Feliciano chose not to tease him further. Instead, he said, "Well, I'm kinda glad we're not flying again, anyway."

"Because of your fear of heights?" Ludwig's attention was once again focused on where he was walking.

"Mhm!" Feliciano nodded, even though Ludwig couldn't see it.

"Why do heights scare you, anyway?"

Feliciano narrowed his eyes in thought. "I dunno. Fratello always said it was because I was dropped on my head as a baby which made me afraid of falling, but I think that's just him being mean. But, I guess I am afraid of falling, so maybe."

Ludwig looked over his shoulder to fix Feliciano with a discerning stare. His eyes burned with some unfathomable emotion, and Feliciano's stomach twisted into knots, and his heart tripped over itself. He was completely entranced, and when Ludwig next spoke, it was with such a strong certainty he had no choice but to believe him.

"We're all afraid of falling, Feliciano. But sometimes, the view alone is worth the risk." He paused and looked up to the dawn sky longingly. "One day, you should see it. Don't close your eyes up there ever again. The sky's too beautiful for that."

Feliciano watched Ludwig as he spoke. Every motion of his face as he talked about what it was like up there in the sky screamed that he would love nothing more than to stretch his wings and fly forever, and Feliciano found himself a bit jealous. Feliciano didn't have wings. If Ludwig took to the sky and never came back, there was no way Feliciano could follow him. "It means a lot to you," he stated in a hushed tone. "Flying, that is."

Ludwig looked back at Feliciano and nodded. "Ja, it does."

"Then why don't you? You have wings. You could get away from here, and no one could stop you."

Ludwig's gaze hardened, and he returned his attention to his path. They were finally out of the park area and were on a small dirt road that seemed to go endlessly in two directions. Ludwig did not hesitate as he walked forward. "That's something I've thought about many times, Feliciano. But I always come up with the same answer."

Feliciano didn't necessarily want to pry, but Ludwig didn't speak further, so he pressed on. "What is it?"

"If I leave now, everything I believe in would be pointless. I would be free, but at the same time, trapped in my own cage. That's not the kind of life I want to live, Feliciano."

Trapped in your own cage, huh? Feliciano's gaze lowered to the ground as it moved by at an even pace. Suddenly, Ludwig slowed, and Feliciano almost ran into him. "Ve? What is it, Ludwig?"

Ludwig sent Feliciano a serious look. "When we get back to your place, your brother and the neighbor are going to be there, right?

Feliciano nodded affirmatively.

"When we get there, you can't tell anyone about the angels. Do you understand? If people knew about us, it would be…bad. For everyone."

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "Ve…but, Lovino and Antonio are really good people, Ludwig, and I'm sure they wouldn't tell anybody…"

"I'm sure they wouldn't, Feliciano. Be that as it may, it's for their own good. If they get involved, there's a chance they may be targeted by some of the... less friendly angels." Ludwig's eyes were hard, and Feliciano got the feeling there was no talking him out of this. Reluctantly, he nodded.

"Okay, Ludwig. I won't tell."

…

The rest of the walk had been filled with some idle chatter and bouts of silence, but more than once Feliciano had to stop in order to keep himself from stressing his injuries further. At some points Feliciano had even needed to lean on Ludwig for support. Those were usually where the bouts of silence came in. Finally, though, they had reached Feliciano's neighborhood.

"Ve, Ludwig! Now you'll get to see what my house looks like when you're not all scared of everything!"

Ludwig growled under his breath. "For the last time, Feliciano, I was not scared. I was alert. I had no idea what kind of person you were."

Feliciano's face puffed out in annoyance. "You sure seemed scared to me! And anyway, you stole my knife and just about ran me over while I was cooking pasta!"

Ludwig shook his head. He was about to retort, but a loud yell cut him off before he could even begin.

"FRATELLINO, YOU JERK!"

Feliciano turned his attention back down the road just in time to get tackled by his darker-haired older brother. Lovino grabbed his little brother's arms and stepped back just enough to take in his appearance. "Whoa, what the hell?! What kind of shit did you manage to get into overnight, Feliciano? I mean, I knew something was wrong when you didn't come home last night, but seriously!"

Feliciano fidgeted a little nervously. "I tried to call you since there was a storm, but you didn't answer your phone."

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Stupid piece of shit ran out of battery."

"And Antonio's, too?"

Lovino waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, that jerk fell asleep almost as soon as you left. And anyway, I think he lost his phone again." Then his eyes widened, and he smacked his own forehead. "But that's beside the point! What the hell happened to you last night, Feliciano?"

"I was attacked by these scary people, but Ludwig saved me! You remember Ludwig, right, fratello?"

Lovino's eyes widened as he looked at the man standing on Feliciano's left, probably noticing for the first time someone was standing there. Once he registered just who it was he was looking at, his face twisted into a furious snarl and he moved to stand between Ludwig and his brother. "Vaffanculo! Get out of here, damn jerk! Get the hell away from my little brother!"

"Wait, wait, Lovi, he saved my life…"

"I don't give a shit if he saved your life or not, he's bad news! He needs to go!"

"But Lovi, that's not fair, he…!"

"LOVIIIII!"

As if the previous chaos wasn't enough, an energetic Spaniard had just so happened to drop by, throwing himself at Lovino and wrapping his arms around the Italian's waist. This started a vicious bout of cursing from Feliciano's older brother, but Feliciano simply turned to Ludwig and smiled like this was an everyday occurrence.

"Ve, Ludwig, when we get inside, do you want me to cook you pasta? I won't burn it this time, so you'll like it even more, I promise!"

Ludwig looked from Feliciano to Lovino and Antonio then back to Feliciano. With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose and hung his head. "Feliciano, we need to take care of your injuries first, remember? Everything else can follow later."

Upon hearing Ludwig speak, Antonio looked up from behind a flailing Italian and smiled. "Ay caramba, if it isn't Ludwig! So you did run into Feli again, after all! See, Feliciano? I told you!"

Feliciano smiled and laughed. "Sì! You did!"

"Let go of me you damn jerk!" Lovino snarled from within Antonio's grasp, glaring daggers at Ludwig with a violent look in his eyes.

"But Lovi, you'll just attack Ludwig! And he's our guest, right, Feliciano?" Antonio winked.

"Yeah!"

"There's no way that muscly jerk is going to be a guest in my household! At least not while I'm around!"

To that, Antonio smiled deviously. "Well then, I guess it's settled." At Lovino's confused glare, he rested his chin on the Italian's shoulder and closed his eyes. "You're coming to my house for now. We're going to let these two get all patched up first, sí?"

Whatever indignant reply Lovino had died in his throat as Antonio placed a lazy kiss to the base of his neck. Instead of speaking, his face instantly burned a bright red color and he shoved Antonio off of him with enough force to break a door. He cast one final glance toward Feliciano, sent Ludwig the most dangerous look he could manage right now, then stormed off in the direction of Antonio's house. The Spaniard flashed one last smile at the two.

"I'll hold him for as long as I can, but you should probably hurry. When he gets back, I don't think even I can stay his wrath." And with a laugh, Antonio turned and ran after Lovino, leaving Ludwig and Feliciano standing in the middle of the road like nothing had happened.

Ludwig tried to wipe the concerned look from his face as he turned to Feliciano. "I, ah...I think we should heed your friend's advice. Come on, let's get you inside and patched up."

Feliciano nodded in agreement, the smile on his face never wavering. The brunette bounced down the road with Ludwig trailing behind him, and they passed the tree in the front yard and entered the Vargas house.

This time, when Ludwig walked inside, he didn't try to get away. "Feliciano," he called out to the Italian in front of him. When he turned around with a confused look on his face, Ludwig continued. "Once you're all taken care of, I think I'll take you up on that pasta you said you'll make."

To that, a smile as bright as the sun warmed up Feliciano's face.

Vaffanculo (Italian): Screw you

Ay caramba (Spanish): Goodness gracious

Here's another chapter of Without Wings! I'm sorry it's been a while, I've been stuck as far as writing this thing goes. I want it to keep being interesting, but I only have one idea for how something's going to end up come the next chapter, but I feel like it may be rushing it...

Do you all think I'm moving this along too quickly? If so, please tell me. And if you have any advice on how to pace a story, I'm all ears. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or its characters.