Hi, new chapter... I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to upload, I'm not going to bother with excuses, you'll just have to accept it and move on~~
Feliciano flashed a reassuring smiled as they approached the house, opening the door and standing by it, waiting for Ludwig to feel safe enough to enter by himself. His head twitched towards the door, urging the foreign man to go in.
There was a small squeak as Ludwig stepped on the loose floorboards of the house, even that was enough to startle him and make him recoil. Feliciano giggled and walked passed him, smiling and turning to him, "You don't have to be scared," he forced his smile wider and opened his arms slightly in welcome, "This is my home."
Feliciano watched the man's eyes dart around the room, as if he were checking that the place was safe.
He seemed worried, jolting again as Feliciano closed the door. Feliciano chuckled, "Don't be so scared, you're worse than the bunnies." He walked to Ludwig's side and took the rope tied to him, beginning to loosen it, biting his lip in focus as he untied it, "There…" he said softly as he pulled the wires off, "Now you're free." He walked over to the small kitchen and opened the draw they'd filled with homemade medical creams and bandages, he took some and walked back to Ludwig, he hadn't taken his eyes from him, Feliciano smiled and chuckled softly. "I'm not going to hurt you, this is to help," he said quietly as he applied some cream to the cuts and rolled the bandages around his wrists.
Ludwig watched intently and smiled softly, looking at him wide eyed and giving a slow nod of thanks.
"Thank you," Feliciano said pointedly, giving him the word to use, he nodded and smiled, Ludwig did too in return but he didn't speak.
Feliciano exhaled happily and looked around, finally noticing that Romano wasn't there and that the rabbit's had gone. He must have cleaned them and taken them out himself.
Of course he would have known if Romano was there because the air would be red at the sight of this foreign man. Feliciano frowned softly; he hadn't thought of Romano when he made the choice to take this man in. But he'd had no choice, he couldn't have left him there, he couldn't have. That would have been wrong, he couldn't bare to think about what would have happened.
He should try to settle Ludwig in as much as he could before Romano returned and caused a fight. He smiled widely and looked Ludwig up and down, watching the man inspect his bandages.
Feliciano walked to one of the old reclining chairs at the end of the room, keeping his eyes on Ludwig as he moved. "Ludwig," he said to get his attention, he smiled as the man looked over at him, "This will be your bed," he patted the seat and slowly unfolded it, laying it flat so it resembled a bed.
Ludwig stared at the seat, frowning softly, "Feliciano?" he said softly, putting the word as a question, not knowing how to question him further.
Feliciano pulled an old checked blanket over the seat, patting the cushioned head rest that would act as a pillow, "Bed," he repeated, nodding his head and smiling, "For you," he pointed to Ludwig and then again to the bed.
The man smiled softly, pressing his hands to his chest then pointing to the bed and nodding again.
Feliciano grinned, "Yeah! That's right. It's for you to sleep in." He took Ludwig's hand and pulled him closer to the bed, he tentatively placed the man's palms on the makeshift bedspread, "It's for you."
Ludwig's smile widened slightly and he gave a small nod, turning himself to sit on the bed and quietly muttering a short sentence in his native language. He looked up at Feliciano and gave another nod, his facial expression was a lot softer now, Feliciano could tell he had settled.
"And I sleep here," Feliciano said, the smile still on his face as he moved across the room, pulling back a beige curtain to reveal two small beds on the floor. "Uh…" he pointed to his chest, "Feliciano," he pointed to the bed, "Sleeps here." He stepped back towards Ludwig, pointing at him, "Ludwig sleeps there."
"Ludwig sleeps there," the man repeated, pointing between himself and the bed, looking for conformation. Feliciano chuckled and nodded, it was close enough, he closed the curtains and walked back over to Ludwig, making sure to keep smiling at him, hoping he felt safe now.
"You learn very fast," Feliciano said happily, sitting on one of the chairs and watching Ludwig inspect his bed, smiling softly at him.
Some of the this was obviously familiar to him, but he seemed fascinated by the mechanism that allowed the chair to be pulled out into a bed, playing with it and pulling the chair back into an upright position, his eyes wide. He pulled back the cover and lifted up the cushions to see how it worked, moving the chair and watching the cogs and wires move slowly. He looked up at Feliciano, glancing down at the chair again, "Feliciano?" he asked softly, obviously far calmer now than he had been only ten minutes ago.
Feliciano chuckled softly, standing up to reaffix the cushions to the chair, "Ludwig it's just a chair, they all do this." He moved over to the chair he'd just gotten up from, lifting the worn cushion and pushing the chair back, showing him how the mechanism moved.
Ludwig smiled, watching Feliciano play with the chair, he let out a small huff and moved his own chair upright again, he turned to sit on it, letting out a small moan as he sank into the comfortable seat, his eyes slowly closing, letting out a slow breath.
He was exhausted, Feliciano could see that, he wasn't sure how long it'd been since he'd had the opportunity to sleep, or maybe he had had the opportunity but had simply been too scared? Who knew.
He was dirty too, filthy, he looked like he hadn't bathed in a week. Feliciano frowned properly for the first time since they'd met, and he pulled himself out of his chair and walked over to the kitchen. He took a bowl of water from the side, the one he'd been meaning to use to clean his knives after he'd gutted his rabbits, and he carried it over to him, taking a sponge from a counter as he passed it.
"Ludwig," he stated softly, nudging the man softly, smiling again as he opened his eyes, "You should clean yourself." He pushed the bowl into Ludwig's lap, taking his hand and placing the sponge in his hand. "You know how to, right..?" he asked, suddenly unsure of the man's capabilities, he had after all seemed confused by the chairs.
Ludwig smiled at the sight of the water and nodded at Feliciano as if thanking him. He got to his feet and placed the bowl on the seat, dipping the sponge in and quickly wiping his face and torso, rubbing it into his hair too. The water quickly turned a disgusting brownish-red colour as he dipped the sponge back in, repeating the process a few more times before letting out a soft and happy sigh.
The water was almost black now, Feliciano took the bowl and tipped the filthy liquid out one of the windows, turning back and smiling at the foreign man. "…I would get you a clean shirt," he said softly, "But I don't have any that'd fit you, I don't think," he huffed softly, looking Ludwig up and down, "I don't think I've seen anyone as big as you before, ever, you've got such a big chest. I-I mean, not that that's a bad thing, I've just not seen it before," he chuckled softly, "…But you can't even understand me can you? So I don't need to say…"
The man sat back on his chair, seeming a little happier now that his top half was clean, Feliciano wondered for a moment about his bottom half, but he cleared his throat and forced his mind elsewhere. He smiled softly and sat back down as he watched the man sink back into the chair, his eyes closing again.
"You want to sleep, Ludwig?" Feliciano asked quietly, "I'll let you, I don't mind, I won't hurt you or anything I promise, just sleep ok?"
Ludwig let out a soft hum, pushing his chair back to lie down. Feliciano watched with a smile as the man's breathing started to slow, his mouth lulling open a little as he began to fall asleep.
Feliciano lay back on his own chair, feeling himself grow drowsy, he wasn't sure if it'd be a good idea to fall asleep now, with a man he barely knew, but he almost couldn't stop himself, watching people sleep always made him tired. He was sure he'd be a terrible prison guard.
I hope you enjoyed it, please please leave a review!