I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this, I don't know what's been going on recently but I've been unable to write, I'm getting back into the swing of it now though!
Feliciano stretched as he came out of the cinema, smiling to himself and blinking rapidly in the soft sun. The film had been nice, it was in German though so he hadn't been able to understand a thing, luckily he'd seen it three times already so he knew what was happening regardless and he just sat there laughing at how funny Germans sounded.
He looked down at his phone, Ludwig had send him a message, presumably during his lunch, 'I'm looking forward to seeing you, this'll be fun,' the message read. Feliciano smiled to himself, finding a wooden bench to sit on outside the cinema as he waited for his bodyguard to come out of the restroom.
'My film is over, I don't know what to do now… I could come and disrupt your lesson?' he typed in reply. He didn't receive an answer, he let out a small huff and decided to browse the internet. He soon found that, as they had speculated, Feliciano's fangirls had indeed started drawing fan art of Feliciano and Ludwig together. He could barely stand looking at anything more than kissing.
The idea made him blush, he had a hard enough time not imagining it without fangirls pushing it in his face.
There was something about Ludwig, everything he said made Feliciano smile, he couldn't stop himself looking at the photos on his facebook page, he had even saved a few to his phone.
It would be such a bad idea for him to pursue it though. This was his first friendship outside of work, he was probably just over excited due to that, and his mind was overcompensating for the fact that he'd not had a girl or boyfriend in almost two years, and the last one he had had was just for publicity.
He didn't want Ludwig to think he was doing it for publicity, it was the complete opposite of that, he wasn't sure why, but wanted to keep this secret, it was their relationship, no one else's, he regretted making their friendship public, he wouldn't let anything else get out.
This was probably the only thing he'd ever had that was just his.
He smiled as his bodyguard reappeared, "Hi, Berwald" he said as he got to his feet, "Um… I think I'd like to go shopping, I'm meeting someone later, I thought I might buy them a present."
The taller man nodded in response, "Lead the way," he said lowly, a small smile coming to his face as he followed the child down the road; he preferred watching over Feliciano, he was so much more polite than his brother.
Feliciano walked round the shops, trying to find something nice for Ludwig, something small and delicate, he settled on getting him a notebook, small with blue purple and silver details, it looked like something someone would get tattooed on their arm, Feliciano thought it was pretty and for some reason thought Ludwig would like it.
He wrote a small note on the inside, 'My best friend Ludwig, from Feliciano'. He didn't want to put in anything too heartfelt, after all he didn't know if Ludwig felt the same way, and the thought of his feelings being unrequited almost killed him.
He smiled up at his bodyguard as they walked out of the shop, "I'm going to see my friend now, you can walk with me to his school but when he comes out I'd like you to leave," he said, trying to sound as polite and as not pushy as possible. He knew he wasn't meant to be left alone, but he trusted Ludwig.
Berwald huffed and nodded, "Ok," he said, softer than Feliciano expected. He'd never seen the young man so excited and he didn't want to ruin it for him.
Feliciano smiled in surprise, nodding as he began to walk towards the school.
Ludwig got up from the seat of his last class, taking out his phone immediately to check if Feliciano had messaged him, happy to see that he had. 'No don't buy me anything' he replied instantly, 'you don't have to buy me anything!'
'Too late!' Feliciano replied, 'I'm outside, where are you?'
Ludwig bit his lip to hide a smile, 'I'm still in my class,' 'I'm packing,' 'I'll just be a minute.'
"You're really meeting him?" Kiku asked, trying to sound nonchalant, "Today?"
Ludwig nodded, still trying to stay calm and not seem too happy, "He's waiting for me outside," he informed him, "Do you want to come and say hello?" he asked politely.
Kiku's eyes widened slightly, "Are you sure? Ludwig, I-" he smiled softly, "I'd like that very much… it's a good idea to have someone with you when you first meet an online friend, just to make sure they are who they say."
Ludwig let out a small chuckle, throwing his bag over his shoulder and walking out the room, Kiku swift on his heels, "I know Feliciano is who he says he is, no one can act that well."
The smaller man nodded, letting out a tiny huff, "You can't be sure Ludwig, how would you feel if you had been tricked? If something happened to you…" he cut himself off, gritting his teeth slightly.
Ludwig frowned down at him, "Kiku…is something wrong? I know you think this is a bad idea, but he's my friend."
Kiku looked down at his feet, "…I'm your friend too, Ludwig. He's all you've talked about today, you didn't even ask how I was."
Ludwig frowned, that was true, but he'd been excited to have a new friend, Kiku knew already that Ludwig did this sometimes when he found a new interest.
"I'm sorry, Kiku," Ludwig said gently, "I didn't mean to," he frowned softly, disappointed in himself, he didn't know it was so obvious.
Kiku huffed and nodded, "I know you're just overexcited… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."
Ludwig shook his head, his good mood considerably lessened, "It's ok Kiku, don't worry about it."
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Ludwig chewing his lip to stop himself smiling, he still felt happy of course, but now he felt guilty about it. Part of him wished he hadn't invited Kiku to meet him.
He looked around for Feliciano as he exited the building, unable to see him. He looked down as his phone bleeped, another message from the Italian, 'I see you!'
As he read it he heard a shout from his left, and felt something slam into him, he let out a slight grunt and turned his head, seeing his idol clasped to his side, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Ludwig!" the smaller man shouted, looking up at him and beginning to jabber in Italian, "I got so worried you weren't coming, I've been waiting almost 20 minutes I got so bored Ludwig." He chuckled, "I've been looking forward to this for so long, I missed talking to you properly today," he pulled out of the hug, patting Ludwig's arm, "But I am seeing you in real life! It's amazing!"
Ludwig grinned, letting out a small chuckle and running his hand through his hair in disbelief. He had just hugged him, Feliciano Vargas had just hugged him, Feliciano Vargas had just told him he'd missed him, he couldn't believe it, he could barely bring himself to speak.
"Feliciano," he managed to say, his voice shaking along with the rest of his body.
Feliciano giggled and nodded, grinning almost as widely as Ludwig was. He was used to this kind of reaction but not from someone he admired in return. "…Who is your friend?" he asked politely, smiling at Kiku.
Kiku bowed his head slightly and held out his hand, "Kiku Honda, it's so nice to meet you sir, I admire your work."
Feliciano giggled again, shaking his hand enthusiastically, "You speak Italian!" Feliciano said happily, "Are you Japanese? That's so funny, your accent is so strange, it's worse than Ludwig's."
Ludwig couldn't help feeling a small pang of jealousy as he listened to Kiku talk, he knew he didn't really care for Feliciano… at least he was being polite, but Kiku was always polite to strangers.
"Feliciano," Ludwig said again, taking the man's attention back, "I almost didn't expect you to come, I-I am so happy you could do."
Feliciano nodded, he let out a small hum and held out the plastic bag he'd been holding, "Here, I got you something." He smiled as Ludwig took the bag and opened it, waiting for his reaction.
Ludwig pulled the notebook out and looked at it, flicking through the pages, his eyes widening, "…This is fantastic, Feliciano, you didn't have to, I-I didn't get you anything."
The smaller man shook his head, "I don't expect anything Ludwig, I had time to shop, you've been in school, it's ok," he giggled, "You can buy me some coffee if you want?"
Ludwig nodded softly, he still couldn't believe this was happening, "…Shall we go then? There's a Starbucks down the road."
Feliciano nodded, still smiling happily, he took Ludwig by the arm, pulling it close to his chest, "Ok let's go, you can lead the way," he held the man's hand tight, taking away his breath.
Ludwig looked back at Kiku, not wanting to leave him out, but not wanting him to come with them, he wanted some privacy, he wanted to sit with Feliciano by himself and listen to him talk, he didn't want anyone else there, just them.
Kiku gave them a small and obviously fake smile, "I have to go home," he said shortly, trying not to sound annoyed, and failing.
Feliciano looked back at him and waved in goodbye, "…What's wrong with him?" he asked softly, squeezing Ludwig's arm, "Is he always like that?"
Ludwig shook his head, "No… I don't know why he's acting so strangely."
"Oh…" Feliciano frowned softly, "I hope he's ok."
"I think he might like me," Ludwig said quietly, looking down at his feet, "And he feels upset that I'm…friends with you."
Feliciano looked back at Kiku, watching him walk off, "Oh no, I'm sorry… I hope I don't ruin your friendship. I don't want to make any trouble."
Ludwig bit his lip and nodded, leading Feliciano towards the nearby coffee shop. He didn't want to continue talking about Kiku, but he knew it was a subject he couldn't run from forever, it would come up eventually.
"I don't like him back," Ludwig settled on saying, "I'm just his friend, I don't want anything more from him."
Feliciano smiled up at him softly and nodded, "That's ok, you don't have to like everyone who likes you," he bit his lip slightly, glancing away, "But…" he smiled softly, "What about me?"
Ludwig felt himself slow, his grip on Feliciano's hand slackening, "What about you?"
Feliciano nodded, a slight blush coming to his face, "Yeah... Do... Do you like me?"