Chapter 2.
Feliciano walked to the enforcement centre and looked at the woman behind the old front desk, "I need to speak to Kiku about the man you're holding, where is he I need to talk to him now."
She looked up and smiled, she'd traded with Feliciano in the past and knew him vaguely, well enough to know that he was a nice boy, and that he could be trusted. "Of course, he's in his office," she pointed to an archway, her smile widening slightly, "Just through there."
Feliciano nodded and sped down the narrow hall, walking into the room and seeing the short, black haired man sitting and writing down notes. He swallowed hard before interrupting him. "Sir, sir. Kiku," he said quickly as he approached the front desk, "I saw a man in the woods with a large bag, and I heard that you have a man held here but he doesn't look the same as the man I saw, I don't think they're the same man sir, I don't want an innocent man to die."
Kiku looked at him, placing his notes down. He huffed slightly, "Mr Vargas," he said slowly, "Are you saying you're an eye witness and you didn't come here straight away?"
"No, I…" he took a deep breath, slowing himself, "I saw a man in the forest, running, I thought it was strange but I didn't realise until my brother came home that it was important. The man you're holding is a different man to the one I saw."
Kiku chewed his lip, swinging gently in his chair as he thought the situation over, "We have no other eyewitnesses. We found this man by the edge of the woods, acting suspicious, he refuses to talk to us." He raised himself to his feet, "Feliciano come with me, I need you to be sure that this is not the man you saw."
Feliciano nodded, following Kiku as he walked out of the broken down room and down some stairs. Feliciano had never been to the under levels of the city, they were off limits to everyone except the enforcers.
It was so dark and cold. There were torches on the walls but they did nothing but add a creepy glow to the walls. Even though he knew nothing was wrong he felt his breath shorten through fear.
There was a loud squeak as Kiku opened a door, Feliciano had never seen doors like this either, they were heavy and partially made of glass.
"Here," the shorter man said, leading him into a well-lit room. Feliciano frowned, unsure why they'd make this room so bright and leave the hall so dark.
The boy's eyes fixed on the man in the centre of the room, he frowned at the state of him; he was shirtless, marked with dirt, and he hadn't looked at them as they'd come in, he seemed terrified.
He approached the bound man, shaking his head, "No this is not the man I saw," he gasped slightly as he looked down; the wire tied to the man's arms were cutting into his flesh, he could see how red and scratched they were even in this light. "Kiku why's he tied like his, it's hurting him!" he dropped to the man's side to try and loosen the wire ropes. The man stared down at him wide eyed, panting slightly. Feliciano looked back at him and shushed him, "I want to help you," he said softly. The man looked so scared, Feliciano had never seen anything like it, it was almost painful.
"Feliciano," Kiku said from across the room, "Step away from him. Even if he's not the man we're looking for he may still be dangerous. He's not one of us Feli… You have to be careful."
Feliciano frowned at Kiku, "He's not dangerous, he's scared and hurt!" he looked up at him, untying him completely, "He needs help Kiku."
The man groaned slightly as Feliciano untied him, letting his arms hang limp at his sides, he dared not move, he had no idea where he was or what was going to happen to him, but he didn't want them to see him as a threat.
Feliciano smiled softly as the man seemed to relax a little, "See. I told you he's not dangerous Kiku."
Kiku huffed, crossing his arms, "Even if he's not I can't just let him go. He's an outsider."
Feliciano frowned to himself, standing upright, the man's eyes following him, "Then let me take him. I don't want him to be left here."
Kiku crossed his arms, frowning slightly and leaning against the door frame, "You expect me to let you, a nineteen year old boy, be the guardian of a dangerous outsider?" he shook his head, "Feliciano I would be reprimanded. "
"Please!" Feliciano said loudly, making the captive man jump slightly, "He's not dangerous and just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't take care of him, Romano will help too, I'll make him!"
The older man sighed slightly, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes closed, amazed at what he was about to say, "Fine. For three days, then we'll check on him. We need to find where he came from and send him back… and I need to send out search parties to find whoever really committed the crime so I don't have enough manpower to keep an eye on the foreigner anyway."
Feliciano smiled softly, trying to hide it, shifting slightly on his feet, "So I can take him..?"
Kiku nodded, "Fine, yes," he huffed loudly, "I want you to keep him tied though, until you get home, so he won't run off on your way there… Let me tie him." The black haired man walked towards the blond, the latter cowering slightly as he approached, glancing over at Feliciano with those large fear-filled eyes.
"It's ok," Feliciano repeated, smiling at the man and nodding, hoping he'd understand, "You're going to come with me," he gestured between them, thinking it would help reinforce his words.
The blond man grit his teeth and closed his eyes as Kiku came behind him and re-bound his hands, tensing at every touch.
Seemingly uncaring of the man's discomfort, Kiku tied him and held out the end of the wire string for Feliciano to hold. He took it reluctantly, slackening the string as to not put too much pressure on the poor man's wrists.
"Be careful," Kiku warned, heading for the door, "Come with me I'll lead you out."
Feliciano nodded, looking between the blond man and the door, the man seemed reluctant to stand, he was unsure if he could even walk. "Come on," Feliciano urged quietly, giving the string a weak tug, "You have to come with me."
Kiku huffed and rolled his eyes, walking behind the man and giving him and small shove. The man lulled forward and lifted himself to his feet. "Feliciano you need to be firm with him," Kiku said slowly with a slight shake of his head, "Come on."
"Sorry," Feliciano whispered under his breath as he tugged at the string, forcing the man to move, "I'm sorry…" He bit his lip as he tugged the string again, the man walking unevenly forward, his eyes on his feet and his breathing forced.
Feliciano kept his eyes on the man, his stomach turning with each tug of the rope as he walked him from the building. He wasn't sure what about doing this made him feel so uneasy. He didn't like that he was leading a human like a disobedient dog. The way Kiku talked about him you wouldn't have thought he were human.
Kiku lead them to the door and watched as they left the concrete structure, the man seemed to relax as they left his sight, and Feliciano was able to look over him properly.
He was incredibly tall, taller than the deer that lived in the forest, with muscles more than twice the size of Feliciano's. He had dirty, matted blond hair and bright blue eyes, and he still looked so scared.
Feliciano let his arm hang, slackening the rope between them, he hoped letting the man dawdle would help him calm down so they moved at a snails pace towards the house by the forest.
"I would like for you to talk to me," Feliciano said softly, trying to sound as calming as possible, "I know I can't understand you, but I would like to know your voice, or what your name is," he nodded, "Let's try that…" He stood facing the man, holding his hand to his chest, "My name is Feliciano," he patted his chest and repeated himself, "Feliciano."
He reached out his arm and placed his hand on the man's chest, watching him flinch slightly at the touch, "What's your name?"
The man frowned, looking down at Feliciano's hand beginning to talk quickly in a language Feliciano didn't know, he sounded angry. Feliciano pulled his arm away quickly, slightly shocked at the man's deep voice, Feliciano wasn't sure what he'd expected but it didn't seem to fit him.
"Ok," Feliciano said, still trying to stay quiet, "You don't want to tell me your name? That's ok, I'll learn it later." He moved away from him, giving the rope a tiny tug and looking towards his house, "I want to show you where I live."
The man frowned at him as they began to walk again, trying to stay at his side as they moved. He kept looking between his feet and Feliciano, not wanting to stumble or fall but not wanting to take his eyes off his captor. Feliciano's eyes were still pinned on him.
"You need a name…" Feliciano said gently, "Even if I don't know your real one, I must call you something. Everyone needs a name." He hummed thoughtfully, chewing his lips and looking around in thought, "I know!" he shouted, making the bound man jump, "I'll call you Angelo," he smiled and nodded, "It's a nice name, it suits you."
He stopped and faced him again, patting his own chest as he had before, "I am Feliciano." He placed his hand on the blonde's chest, "You are Angelo," he tapped between their chests and repeated "Feliciano…Angelo."
The man watched his hand and frowned, "Ludwig," he said quietly.
"What?" Feliciano asked with a smile, "Is that your name?"
"Ludwig," the man repeated, louder this time.
Feliciano tapped the man's chest, "Ludwig…" He pulled away and began walking again, "Ok, Ludwig's a pretty name too. Not as pretty as Angelo, but at least I know your name now."
"Feliciano," the man said, looking him up and down pointedly, unable to reach out and touch his chest .
Feliciano chuckled slightly and touched his own chest, smiling widely, "Feliciano, that's right!" he reached over to touch the man's chest, "And you're Ludwig."
Ludwig smiled slightly and nodded, walking slightly faster now, seeming surer of himself. The man leading him had made an attempt to bond, he'd wanted to know his name, that had to mean that he didn't want to hurt him at least.
I hope you enjoyed this please leave a review.
New chapter next week.