The Feliciano twin (Lovino) after several lectures and flinching away from Ludwig gave (threw) him Feliciano's address.
"And don't try any funny business! I'll be over there eventually after dinner time!" Lovino wagged his finger warningly before turning to run towards his blue car.
"Hey!" Ludwig called after him.
"What?" Lovino turned, looking at him with a worried glance.
"What kind of car is that?"
Lovino sneered. "Well, it's a Murciélago! Not that you would know!" With that the driver's side popped up and Lovino climbed inside quickly, nervousness clear on his face as he pushed the start.
"Actually I would…" Ludwig mumbled as the Lamborghini sped out of the parking garage. He sighed and turned towards his own car. Who even had the kind to spend that much on cars? He looked down at the address scrawled out in messy hand writing. It was about 40 minutes out from the city, but nowhere out of Ludwig's reach.
Feeling a pang of guilt, he remembered the ride back that Feliciano gave him. Honestly, the brunette was kind. A little too silly for Ludwig's taste, but kind enough. He supposed it would only make sense to go apologize after how he had acted.
Even if Feliciano had misread things.
The car ride there was quiet; Ludwig didn't even turn on the radio for the weather. He felt nervous. Mentally he made a list of things to say to Feliciano, but seemingly they all sounded… Fake to him.
I'm sorry.
I really wish I could change things.
I'm sorry for yelling.
I'm sorry for publicly embarrassing you.
I'm sorry I slept with-
Wait! That was still being debated! But the dreams that Ludwig was getting at 2 in the morning weren't exactly helping his case.
In the end, he decided that no matter how he apologized, he would not win. Feliciano would probably either cry with him sitting there feeling horrible or not even let him inside.
As a child, Ludwig had learned to deal with many different kinds of people. His brother had especially been a special case, and Ludwig had to learn how to do with Gilbert being… Horrible. Ludwig became the big brother to his older brother, and Gilbert became… Gilbert. He had tried his best, read books on people, took classes in college about dealing with people in the workforce…
But in his car, in front of this giant house with an Aventador in the driveway, Ludwig was at a loss.
Sighing, he switched off the car and opened the door. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that there was a small path leading to the front door-framed with tiny blue-eye creeper flowers. The flagstones that lead up the walkway to a menacingly large doorway (which Ludwig did not remember) made him even more uncomfortable. It also confused him.
Why would Feliciano be working in the mail room of a large corporation if he could afford such an extravagant home? Ludwig could only dream of owning such a home, he'd have dogs; Gilbert could have his own personal maid and suite where Ludwig would never have to deal with him. He'd have many children, and a big breasted wife that was-
Ludwig blushed a little at his own fantasy, and walked carefully up the steps to the cherry wood door. On it was a brass knocker and on the warm stucco walls surrounding was a door bell. Ludwig reasoned that hearing the knocker would be harder than hearing the doorbell, and if he tapped just light enough, Feliciano wouldn't hear and he could just high tail-
"Ludwig?"
The large door was propped over slightly, and a single brown eye stared back at him as he stared back at it. He sputtered.
"Were… Were you going somewhere?"
The brunette sniffed, "N-newspaper."
"O-oh!" Ludwig turned to see the daily paper near a bricked over mail box at the end of the driveway. "I'll get it."
"Thank you." Feliciano sniffed a little before closing the door.
What now?
Ludwig panicked, he hadn't expected to actually see Feliciano, well maybe he had but that was beside the point! After several minutes he walked back to the door-plastic covered newspaper in hand. He rapped lightly on the wood. It creaked open.
"Y-yes?"
"The newspaper." Ludwig held it up for identification.
"Oh yeah. Thank you." A small hand darted out and grabbed it.
As the door began to close Ludwig panicked. "Feliciano!"
It paused, "Yes?" a small voice asked.
"We should talk."
The next reply was through sobs. "Lovino threatened you to come!"
"N-no! He told me how upset you were so I came!"
"That's a lie Ludwig! Lovino threatens everyone!"
"Okay! He threatened me! But I didn't realize how upset you are and I just want to say I'm sorry!"
A pause. "…Really?"
"Yes!" Ludwig rubbed his temples furiously, feeling a headache coming on. "I am sorry. I apologize for my behavior."
The door swung open, revealing an extremely naked Feliciano with a grin that almost split his face in two.
"Oh Ludwig! I forgive you!" Hands reached for his blonde hair. "I'm sorry! I should've known that doing something like this in public would embarrass you! We'll only do boyfriend stuff in private if you want! Oh Ludwig I love you!"
"What? Feliciano!" Ludwig stumbled slightly, picking up the man by his arms and moving them inside. The brunette kept scrambling, climbing up Ludwig and cuddling him. He was slightly sweaty and sticky and smelled like three days of doing nothing.
"That's it!" Ludwig set him firmly on the couch. Smiling lazily, the Italian splayed himself on the couch, motioning his finger towards Ludwig's coat. Immediately the blonde's face reddened and he covered his eyes in embarrassment.
"Ludwig…"
"No, this is a misunderstanding. We are not going out."
Feliciano's face fell. "Yes we are! We agreed at Vinci's that night-
"I don't remember anything from that night Feliciano."
It was a firm statement, and the Italian looked down at his hands like they would explain something.
"You don't…" the green blanket beside Feliciano was pulled to cover his body "Remember what I told you?"
"No, and I'm sorry if it was important. Sometimes when I drink I forget things. I apologize." Ludwig felt especially uncomfortable, he felt like he had told the Italian his best friend had just passed away.
Maybe it is better this way.
Feliciano whimpered a little, then sobbed, and soon broke into all out wailings as he grabbed a throw pillow and sobbed intently into it. Ludwig was on the verge of a mental breakdown, he felt horrible and still had no idea how this had happened.
Awkwardly, he sat down and patted the exposed part of Feliciano's back, rubbing soothingly in small circles. He thought carefully, trying to figure out exactly what to say.
"I mean… It must've been very important what you said."
"Very!" was the brunette's muffled reply.
"I was so dumb for forgetting."
"Stupid head!"
"I'm so sorry."
"You should be!"
"I know; you have relatives in Bayern."
"What?"
"Nevermind."
After several attempts of failing to make the brunette feel better, Ludwig turned to drastic measures. He didn't exactly want to know what happened, but the Italian would not stop crying.
"W-what was it that you said?"
"Not telling because you are mean!"
His headache was definitely apparent now.
"Uh… How could I make this up to you?"
Suddenly Feliciano's head was raised. "You want to… Make this up to me?"
"Yes…" he was regretting this already.
Feliciano sniffed, and wiped a bit of dribble from his nose before looking over and staring Ludwig in the eye.
"Go on a date with me."
When Lovino arrived later that night, he was unimpressed and a little annoyed at Feliciano's lack of giving details about the situation. Feliciano was cleaning his face after a shower and giving short answers, Lovino did not like to be brushed off by anybody.
"Everything is fine between us." The younger of the two picked at his teeth a bit before flossing and subsequently crying a little at the discomfort. Lovino sat on the close toilet seat with his knees drawn to his chin. Feliciano was being very mature about the entire situation, almost too mature for someone with the attention span of a six year old.
"I think you're hiding something. Something that stinks!" Lovino hissed the last part of the sentence and watched as Feliciano left the bathroom to fetch clean underwear. He heard a tinkle of laughter. "I told you, we are just going on a date." Lovino frowned at the word "Date". He never had gone on a date, whatever he did with Antonio-those were not dates. They were get togethers, dinners, or hanging out. Anyone was welcomed to join them. It wasn't just for Antonio and Lovino. Anyone could come. So there.
"Why do you need to go on a date? Have you ever even been on one?" Feliciano reappeared towel drying his hair and smiling. "Oh yes! Plenty with pretty girls! Haven't you Lovino? Don't you go on dates with Anton-
"Those are not dates! What are you talking about? Are you stupid? You're stupid!" Lovino talked loudly and waved his hands a bit, redness taking over his face. Feliciano smiled warmly. "Lovino, I realize now that I know very little about Ludwig, he's a shy person and I want to get him to open up. If he can open up, then maybe he'll love me and see that I love him. So we are having dinner tonight so I can learn about him!"
Lovino rolled his eyes. "Feliciano, you have such a childish view on things. You're a hopeless romantic. You'll never just make him fall head over heels for you. It doesn't just happen."
"I know, I know! But maybe he'll-
"Feliciano! Stop acting so childish!" Lovino was annoyed now. His brother did not understand what a relationship was or how it worked. He was so set on his fantasy that he wouldn't even see what could happen. Lovino had seen enough of his brother crying. He didn't want this…this…Bastard to hurt his brother again.
Face red, and voice indignant, Feliciano puffed out his cheeks. "I'll do what I want and if it doesn't work out then we should just be friends at least! You can't tell me what to do!" He fled the room stomping. "No one can! I can do what I want!"
Lovino snorted a bit, and then scowled once more. It looked like he was going to have to stay at Antonio's longer if Feliciano was going to be mad at him. Then again, "Feliciano! You can borrow my red scarf!"
"Ve? Really? Oh thank you brother! You're the best ever!"
That afternoon Ludwig sat down and made himself type up a list of things not to do on the impending date that night.
drinking, not even a little
letting Feliciano pay
Gilbert
blacking out.
Ludwig paused a bit at the last one and rubbed his eyes. If he stayed away from alcohol everything probably would go smooth. He just had to stay in control. Yes, control. Control was good; it was easy to control yourself.
Suddenly another "Do-not" popped into mind. Ludwig's face reddened before quickly typing in
staying overnight
Yes. That eliminated any kind of false signals. Besides, Ludwig liked women. He liked breasts, blonde hair, soft skin…
Rubbing his eyes, he closed the program and locked his computer (to prevent Gilbert's creeping hands) and went to the bathroom to get ready.
He had to pick up Feliciano at six; the brunette had told him that he would pick the restaurant. Ludwig only hoped it was affordable, but judging from the kind of house the brunette lived in, his tastes could range from expensive to very expensive and he had to pay for Gilbert's pay-per-view still…
Groaning, he leaned against the mirror; he honestly couldn't believe that he was actually getting ready to go on a date with a man.
After a shower, a quick shave, and picking out his clothes Ludwig went back to his computer to reread over his list one more time.
"What is that Ludwig?"
The lid of the laptop was slammed shut. "Nothing."
"Something for work. No, it couldn't possibly be, you wouldn't hide work stuff. What is that? Porn? Lemme see!" Gilbert began looking to pry the lid while Ludwig tried feverishly to keep it tightly shut.
After several minutes of struggling, Gilbert finally managed to pry the laptop from Ludwig's fingers and flip it open.
"What is this? A list of what not to do? You pay for the date? How old-fashioned."
"Shut up!" Ludwig blushed furiously while Gilbert's smile grew wider. "Ah, who is this Feliciano? Is she pretty?"
Ludwig stared at his brother in amazement at his stupidity before shaking his head. Whatever Gilbert didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "It is no one Gilbert."
"Don't give me that!" Gilbert closed the laptop and smirked, his red eyes growing into slits. "Is she from work? Is she popular?"
Ludwig straightened his tie a bit, "She is someone you know." Gilbert's face brightened at that. "Really? Who?"
"She worked in the mail room with you." Gilbert stared at him in amazement. "Really? I don't remember any girls from that department. Let's see… Feliciano… Feliciano… Wait… Feliciano as in the ital-
The door slammed shut before Gilbert could finish.
After several minutes of psyching himself up, Ludwig got out of his car and walked deliberately slow up the steps to Feliciano's door.
Maybe he wasn't home. Maybe he forgot about the date. Maybe he wouldn't answer. Maybe he changed his-
Ludwig knocked cautiously on the door, and rang the doorbell for good measure. He counted the seconds carefully. If Feliciano didn't affair within half a minute he was out of the-
"Ludwig?" the door opened fully to reveal a neatly dressed brunette, a smile on his face. His light brown jeans hugged close and looked handsome with the white button-up and light blue vest. After several minutes of staring Ludwig coughed a little.
"H-hello." Ludwig suddenly realized how empty his hands were and how overdressed he was. It wasn't a suit, but a nice pair of slacks and a button-up as well; he even added tie to show(or convince himself) that he was serious. He thrust his hands into his pockets-embarrassed at not bringing anything for Feliciano. The brunette either didn't notice or didn't seem to care before leaning against the doorway smiling.
"Do you want to come in?"
"Sure, sure." Ludwig quickly stumbled into the nice home and was assaulted with the scent of garlic. Something was cooking, and from the half way that separated the foyer and the kitchen he could see steam rising towards the light fixture in the ceiling. Suddenly his throat went dry.
Feliciano had cooked for him.
"You… You made dinner?" there was a click behind him as Feliciano shut the door. "Mhmm. Just some pasta. I thought it was quicker and cheaper than eating out."
Ludwig nodded. "Yes." This was already breaking the rules! Judging from Feliciano's house, his lifestyle was already extravagant. Ludwig honestly did not want to know how much the ingredients had cost to make him this. Feliciano didn't exactly look like a Ragu or Prego kind of cook. He had not even been on the date for five minutes and he had already broken number two.
Feliciano walked passed him with a smile. "Come sit." The brunette sat in the chair beside him and smiled warmly at Ludwig slid uneasily into his chair. Water on the stove across from them steamed away, and Ludwig could hear little puffs coming from Feliciano's breathing. Slowly and deliberately he turned and stared back at Feliciano.
"What do you like to eat in your country?" It was a simple question, but in reality it was a way for Feliciano to break the ice, and in a way it was working. Ludwig immediately felt more comfortable; food was a safe subject, a subject anyone could go into detail about.
"Um, sausage."
Feliciano gestured towards his ear. "What?"
"German sausage. Sauerkraut."
"Oh." Feliciano leaned over the counter and grabbed at a long necked glass bottle. Immediately Ludwig began to worry, and began practicing ways to decline a drink in his head. Feliciano looked at him and smiled again before grabbing two glasses. "What is sauerkraut? I have heard about it, and Alfred from your department calls you that sometimes. What is it?"
Ludwig's face darkened a bit. "Kraut, it is slang from the war. Alfred does not care for me."
"Why?" Feliciano tilted his head.
Ludwig waved his hand dismissively, "His great-grandfather was killed in the war by a German Luftwaffe. He carries that resentment that his family passed down. Atleast that is what Antonio tells me."
Like Alfred, Ludwig did have relatives who served in the army during the war. Occasionally he came across those like Alfred who still held old wounds fresh in their heart. It wasn't something that bothered him much, but Alfred… Alfred knew how to burrow underneath his skin.
Feliciano continued fiddling with the wine bottle-making Ludwig wonder if he at all needed help.
"Do you nee-
"No! I got it! Now what is sauerkraut?" he kept digging his nails into cork and pulling.
"Erm, it is fermented cabbage."
Feliciano stared at him. "That's disgusting! Why would you eat that? Wouldn't it taste nasty? And why do you eat sausage? How much sausage? Is that all you eat? What about cheese? Do you like cheese? Do you like breads too? What kind of-
The extent of questioning threw Ludwig off a little, and he stared in amazement at the rapid fire of Feliciano's mouth. While terrifying, it was slightly amazing at that the Italian could spit out information so quickly-ah, he was on a new topic.
"My favorite cheese is mozzarella! Do you like mozzarella? It's very good with anything! You can eat it on bread or crackers. You can put it in soup! It gets super stringy when melted! When Lovino and I are bored we make our own! Have you ever made something homemade? What about-
"Yes…" Ludwig said uncertainly.
"What have you made before hm?"
"S-sausage."
"I know how that is made! You take intestines in put the meat inside! But you have to be fast otherwise you'll ruin it! Right?"
"Y-yes…"
"Have you made homemade mozzarella? We should make it! After dinner we'll make some!" Feliciano seemed satisfied and returned to attempting to open the wine bottle. Finally he sighed and puffed out his cheeks.
"I can't do it. Lovino put it on so tightly…"
Ludwig smoothly took the wine bottle from the brunette and with a quick twist popped the cork off. Feliciano stared in amazement.
"Wow! You're really strong! How did you do that so easily?"
"U-um… I just twisted it." He blushed a little.
"You must be very smart! I wish I was so smart. Lovino says-
This… this was nice! Ludwig was actually having a great time. There was no awkward silence with Feliciano. He talked so damn much there was no time to be silent. In fact he was sure that even after Feliciano died they would have to remove his mouth otherwise he'd just keep talking.
"And then they said that it had to be removed! Grandfather was so upset that I swallowed so many-
"Feliciano."
"Hmm?" Feliciano looked up at and smiled.
"Wh-what do you like to do for fun?"
"Oh! I like cooking! And drawing and painting! What do you like to do?"
Ludwig blushed again. "Um… I like to read."
Feliciano smiled wider. "Really? What kinds of books do you like?"
"…Manuals."
Feliciano tilted his head a little. "Manuals? Like how-to-do-this books? Why?"
"Th-they are interesting."
"Oh."
The water was boiling, and Feliciano stood up and put in the pasta and check another pot that was bubbling away. He wiped his hands and turned towards Ludwig.
"So you read manuals?"
"Y-yes."
"So you're good at reading directions?"
"Okay. So plug in the blunt end into the square opening."
"Like this?"
"No, that's the rhombus opening."
"What's a rhombus?"
Two plates of ravioli sat halfway eaten on a pristine mahogany coffee table, while a brunette Italian looked confused between two plugs, not sure exactly where they went inside the xbox 360. Ludwig rubbed his eyes in annoyance and tapped the white manual on his crossed legs. After trying to assemble this xbox he wondered if Feliciano could even tie his own shoes correctly.
Once again Feliciano made a stab at the wrong side of the plug before Ludwig finally had enough.
"Let me see."
"I got it, I got it."
"No, you do not."
Ludwig scooted over behind the brunette and grabbed the plug from his hands. With little effort he plugged the cable into the correct slot, and did the same with the other. Reaching in front of Feliciano, he grabbed the controller and pressed the middle button. The xbox sprung to live and quickly switched the screen to the game's menu screen. Feliciano turned to him and grinned. "Thank you so much Ludwig!"
A kiss barely pressed Ludwig's cheek, and the blonde froze. Instantly Feliciano regretted it and looked down. "I-I'm sorry."
Ludwig shook his head and shook off his nervousness. "No, I'm fine. It's okay."
Feliciano looked up at him in hope. "Really? Can we be-
"Feliciano. We should do a lot more together before we get that involved."
"What do you mean? Should we have sex-
"NO! I mean, no. Not that I wouldn't like to-wait. I mean we should wait-I mean…" Ludwig rubbed his face in embarrassment.
Okay, so he liked Feliciano. He was funny and kind and little helpless. He liked how Feliciano's hair fell into his eyes, how one blasted piece went out on the side of his head like a curlicue. He liked how Feliciano's eyes were so honest and so full of innocence. He liked how the brunette smiled when he mixed up English and Italian. He liked how Feliciano didn't talk over him when he did let someone speak. He liked how comfortable Feliciano was. He liked that Feliciano showed everyone how he was feeling.
He was nothing like Ludwig, he was an anomaly.
And Ludwig liked him.
Ludwig was a little shocked at his own conclusion. He couldn't believe how easily he had come to that conclusion in one night. He was a little worried and scared. Ludwig had never even been in a relationship, at least not in one where he shared the same feelings with his partner.
Ludwig covered his face in embarrassment.
He had always said that he loved women, but now he was crushing on an Italian man.
"I mean… We should date."
There, he said it. He wanted to date Feliciano. Not that he was really worried about the brunette saying-
"Yes! Oh yes Ludwig! Oh I have to call Francis, and you should tell Gilbert! We should call Lovino and Antonio! But they are probably busy right now!"
"Feliciano."
"And Grandfather will be so happy! I should call! What time is it? Maybe he is awake now! Oh Ludwig-"
"Feliciano!"
"Yes?" the brunette smiled warmly at him.
"L-lets finish dinner."
Carefully the brunette laid a kiss on Ludwig's lips.
"Yes."
A/N: Chapter 3! Yay! This is unbeta'd but I read through it a couple times. Sorry if they're any mistakes! Also, I will be MIA for week or so due to that I will be out of the country! I'm super nervous! If you have any questions or anything you'd like me to know, please go to my tumblr which is linked on my profile!
Thank you for all the ninja-faves and alerts and everyone that has reviewed! 3