First I'd like to say a huge up yours to whoever reported Backstage and got it taken down, you're rude. And it meant I couldn't upload for 2 days. SIGH
I'll be putting backstage back up soon.
Anywhay here's chapter 11.
Feliciano closed his eyes as the makeup woman touched him up, talking quietly with her as she worked. He loved morning shows, he loved watching them almost as much as he liked appearing on them, they were always so nice to him, inquiring about his life and how his tour went.
He knew now they were done with the basic questions they would ask about Ludwig, how could they not, there were videos everywhere of their intense kiss on stage, with rumour following quickly that 'other stuff' had happened later that night, which it had, but he didn't plan to give too much detail about it.
"So who's this guy?" was the first question the interviewer asked when the cameras began rolling again.
They played the familiar clip of Ludwig and Feliciano kissing on the small tv screen by Feliciano's wheeled chair. Feliciano blushed, he could feel the interviewer's eyes pinned on him, deepening his blush.
"Uh, that's my boyfriend, Ludwig," Feliciano said with a small smile, his voice heightened with slight embarrassment.
"Oh," the interviewer cooed, "No chance for us girls now then? Was there any chance for us in the first place?"
Feliciano forced a smirk, "Well Amelia I wouldn't say no to anyone," he glanced at the camera, "But I love Ludwig with all my heart, unfortunately you girls have missed your chance."
The woman chuckled softly and nodded, "That's very sweet," she paused for a moment, "So how long have you known you were gay, Feli?"
The boy frowned, "Uh, I'm not," he said, forcing a smile, "I've always been interested in girls and boys, I'm bisexual."
"But you're going out with a boy now?" she questioned, frowning softly.
Feliciano bit his lip, "Yes, but that doesn't change my sexuality, it just means I'm going out with a boy now."
The interviewer nodded, looking through her notes, "Everyone wants to know, me especially, how long have you been going out with him? And have you done anything more than just kissing?" she held up her hand, "Keep in mind that this is a family show."
Feliciano blushed, smiling to himself and glancing away, "We've been going out around 3 months now. But I'm not going to tell you what we've done together, you'll have to make do with just seeing the kiss."
"Why did you kiss him on stage, it's such a bold statement," she asked, letting out a small chuckle, "Did it mean anything?"
Feliciano tried to suppress a frown, he had no idea what sort of statement he might b trying to make, he had been lost in the moment, completely astounded by how happy Ludwig looked, his eyes had entranced him, he couldn't do anything but kiss him. "It means that I love him, what else could it mean?"
The interviewer chuckled and shook her head, "Of course… You're not the type for political statements."
Feliciano couldn't help the frown he was holding back from ghosting his face, "I wouldn't make any kind of statement about it, I-I'm just loving who my heart chooses, there's nothing political about it… it's my heart…"
The woman nodded, "Well that's good for you Feliciano…I think we'll take a break now, you're looking a little pale."
"I've not eaten since 5," Feliciano admitted, glancing down. "I would like a break."
The woman nodded, pulling away from him as they got the word that the cameras had stopped. Feliciano got up and walked to the snack table, huffing softly as he got out his phone to see if Ludwig had contacted him.
He frowned to himself; he had three missed calls, two messages.
He listened to them, frowning more so at Ludwig's uneasy tone, he'd never heard him sound anything close to upset, but in these messages he sounded almost in tears, it was unnerving, he needed to call back.
Without telling anyone he slipped out of the building, finding himself by a pond, he dialled Ludwig's number, hoping he'd not yet gone to class.
"Feli," Ludwig's voice came weakly down the phone, to Feliciano's relief.
"Ludwig," Feliciano cooed back, his face breaking into a smile at the sound of the German's voice. "Are you ok? You said you wanted to speak to me… you sounded upset…"
"I'm not upset," Ludwig dejected, shaking his head down the phone. He lay himself back on the wood chipped floor, looking up at the sky as he began to explain to the Italian what had happened to him.
Feliciano frowned softly down the phone, "…I see," he said, his tone filled with pity. He often wished he could go to school like a normal person, but hearing Ludwig's experience made him happy he wasn't, especially in his own country where homophobia ran much more rampant.
"I'm sorry," he almost whimpered, "Ludwig, please don't be upset… I love you, it doesn't matter what they think they're all jerks."
Ludwig huffed and nodded, feeling better though just listening to Feliciano and talking about what had happened. "I agree… Are you able to talk for long? I've got 20 more minutes for lunch."
"I can talk as long as you want Ludwig," Feliciano chuckled.
"I don't want to keep you from anything."
"You're not," Feliciano said calmly, "…I love you."
He really had no idea what to say, he'd never had to comfort someone over the phone, he'd never had to talk to someone who was sad without being able to hug them, hearing it from Ludwig, not being able to hug him and tell him everything would be alright… it was painful.
"I love you too," Ludwig said down the phone, "I'm just finding it hard to adjust I suppose. I saw this coming but… I don't know, the reality of it is harsher than I imagined."
Feliciano frowned to himself, swallowing hard, "I'm sorry Ludwig. I wish I could fix it for you."
Ludwig huffed softly, playing with the woodchips by his feet, "I miss you, that's all. If you were here it wouldn't be as bad."
"…I'm sorry I'm not there," Feliciano said, his voice weakening. He forced a smiled, "Well I'll video call you tonight, just think about that until you get home."
Ludwig nodded, smiling softly, "Yeah…" he cleared his throat, looking around to check no one was nearby, "Actually I've been thinking about… you know," his smile widened, "What happened in the dressing room, that's what been keeping me going."
Feliciano giggled, feeling himself blush, "Well," he half-sang, "Then don't think about video chatting, think about me," he giggled again, blushing, "Think about me sucking on your… uh," he frowned, "Wh-what was the word..?"
"Wurst," Ludwig said with a growl, his teeth gritting slightly as he smiled.
Feliciano giggled again, "Think about me sucking your wurst."
Ludwig chuckled softly, smiling down the phone, the mere idea calmed him, oddly enough, he loved it… Just the thought of being alone with him made him feel so calm and content.
"I love you Feliciano," he said softly, sighing and closing his eyes, listening to the boy's soft and bright chuckling.
Feliciano smiled, sighing softly, "I love you too," he glanced over, seeing a security guard walking towards him, no doubt to pull him back into the building.
"Ludwig," he said weakly, "I have to go," he frowned, "I'm sorry, I'm doing an interview… I'm talking about you."
Ludwig bit his lip, "Don't go into too much detail ok? I…" he huffed softly, "You know what it doesn't matter, say whatever you want Feliciano, I don't really care anymore, I can't get any more ignored…," he huffed, "It's ok, just, have fun ok? I know how much you love doing interviews," he tailed off slightly at the end as the image of Feliciano's face entered his mind, the sweet smile he made when he was being interviewed.
"Ok," Feliciano said softly, "I love you, I'll talk to you after ok?"
I hope you enjoyed, please leave a review :3