Sorry it took me so long to write this, life and stuff... y'know...
"I have a surprise for you," Feliciano told Ludwig, smiling up at him, the first thing he said other than the usual 'hello's and 'I love you's' that they usually shared at the beginning of their days.
Ludwig's smile softened, he held Feliciano close and turned him slightly in his arms, looking down at him, "What's that..?"
Ludwig assumed it would be the usual small gifts that Feliciano had taken to giving him. He'd received a package per week from the Italian since the news about his depression had come out, they usually included heartfelt notes, small bags of Italian sweets and a cuddly toy or two. He was expecting more of the same seeing him in person.
How Feliciano treated him had changed in the past month, but not drastically, the boy would ask how his day had been before telling about his own, he would stop mid conversation to change topic if he felt the subject was becoming too morbid, and he'd become generally more attentive and less self-centred, not that he was overly so to begin with.
The point was, though Ludwig could tell he was being treated differently, he didn't feel he was being treated as if he were ill or damaged, simply treated a little more delicately, which he didn't mind, he felt like he needed it. And it felt so nice now Feliciano knew, he didn't have to hide his sadness or lie about where he'd been. Feliciano knew all about the bullying now, the rumours he'd been sleeping with his teachers being the most shocking in the younger's eyes.
Feliciano sat him down in his living room before revealing it, "Here you go," he said happily as he presented a deep green jacket, brand new and obviously tailor fitted.
"For the interview?" Ludwig asked with a frown, "It's handsome," he said, struggling to find anything good to say about it.
Feliciano's smile dropped, and he laid the jacket on the sofa, "You don't like it?"
"No," Ludwig almost stuttered, "I do, it's nice, but," he swallowed hard, looking away, "I'm not sure about the interview."
"Why not? Everyone will love you, they already know a lot about you I talk about you all the time."
Ludwig swallowed hard, chewing his lip. Feliciano looked him up and down, obviously disheartened by Ludwig's unenthusiastic reaction. "It'll be fun Ludwig. And it'll make you feel happy, they always make me feel happy."
Ludwig huffed softly, he couldn't just reject something Feliciano had worked to arrange, and he seemed so happy about the idea, he seemed so sure Ludwig would like it.
"Ok," Ludwig said after a moment, forcing a smile and nodding, "Ok, I'll give it a try."
Feliciano let out a squeak and a small 'yay', pulling Ludwig into a hug and nuzzling into him.
Ludwig leant back on the sofa, hugging Feliciano to him, letting him half-lay on him. "So when is the interview?"
"At 10:15," Feliciano said, closing his eyes and pressing his head onto Ludwig's chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart. "I told you last night."
Ludwig nodded, that gave him an hour to mentally prepare himself, he was sure it'd be fine as long as he could keep calm.
"Where's Gil?" Feliciano asked quietly after a few moments of silence.
"Upstairs," Ludwig said, letting his eyes close, "He's with Romano in his room, playing games I think."
Feliciano giggled, "I think Romano likes Gilbert," he whispered. "He talks about him all the time and he's not as grumpy now."
"Really?" Ludwig asked, smiling, he let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
Feliciano nodded, sighing softly and nuzzling into Ludwig's chest, closing his eyes. He loved Ludwig's laugh, he wished he laughed more.
"Did you like the things I sent you?" he asked softly, pressing himself against the German.
Ludwig nodded, smiling softly, "Yeah, of course Feliciano," he pulled out his phone, showing off the fact that it was held by the green-lego phone case Feliciano had sent him, "See?" he waved the phone slightly, "This is my favourite."
The smaller man let out a small squeak and a giggle, "Good," he smiled, lifting himself up to give Ludwig a kiss, pulling on the collar of his shirt to lever himself, "I'm glad you like it… You're always so serious but I knew you'd love all the cute things I sent."
Ludwig smiled and nodded, letting out a small sigh, he loved how much Feliciano 'got' him. He always knew what Ludwig really meant, he'd go off on tangents when he was talking, trying to explain what happened or how he felt, and somehow Feliciano understood it. Ludwig wished he could return the favour but he was so bad at interpreting Feliciano's innate chatter, but he guessed it was due to his somewhat gentle grasp of the Italian language, when Feliciano got going he really got going, Ludwig knew even Romano had trouble keeping up with the boy sometimes.
"I did love them, especially the little rabbit, I have it by my bed," Ludwig explained, Feliciano's smile widening as he spoke, lifting up for another kiss.
"…Romano doesn't like that I buy you so much," Feliciano said slowly, his hand playing on Ludwig's chest, playing with one of his buttons.
Ludwig frowned, "What?" he huffed and shook his head, "But it's your money isn't it? He shouldn't tell you what to do with it."
Truthfully Ludwig didn't like that Feliciano was spending so much on his either, he agreed with Romano, he thought Feliciano should be saving, he wasn't going to be able to be a popstar forever and he needed money to live on when this dream life of his was over.
Of course he'd never voice that opinion, he couldn't, this was Feliciano's way of dealing with Ludwig's illness and he needed to let him do it.
"He said I should be saving for my future," Feliciano said, an odd acidic tone to his voice that Ludwig had never heard before.
He bit his lip, unsure of whether or not he should speak, eventually deciding to say, "Well shouldn't you be? You do have a future, and it probably won't be cheap."
Feliciano shrugged, a smile snapping to his face, "In my future I marry you, I won't need money."
Ludwig smiled widely, he hadn't realised that Feliciano had considered a future with him. "What so I'll pay for everything?"
Feliciano let out a small hum and shook his head, "Well no of course not. I'll stay at home and do my art and singing, I'll make money from that won't I?"
The Italian beamed at him, as if he'd got it worked out in his head, Ludwig wished he could do that, blindly believe that everything would be ok. Ludwig didn't even know what he wanted to do after school, part of him didn't think there would be an 'after school'.
Ludwig let out a small sigh, pulling the smaller man into a tight hug and kissing into his hair. "I love you, Feliciano," he said softly, "I love you so much…"
The fact that Feliciano could see a future with him made him so happy, it made him feel more complete.
Feliciano giggled and pulled away, "I know you love me, I love you too…" he pouted slightly, "You want to marry me too, right?" he bounced slightly where he sat, "I'll let you have as many dogs as you want."
Ludwig nodded, "Of course I do, I'd love to marry you Feli, you make me so happy."
"Good," Feliciano stated, "That's what I want."
Was that a proposal…? Ludwig's eyes fixed on Feliciano, but the boy said nothing else, just turned to nuzzle against him again, humming happily. No? It can't have been, just a… verification that they both wanted to get married in the future.
Ludwig had to save up for a ring, he'd not even thought of that before now.
After a moment Feliciano let out a small huff and straightened up, "I should go and get Gil and Romano, we have to leave soon."
Ludwig watched as he got up, nodding and smiling, "Ok," he chuckled softly as Feliciano began to walk towards the stairs, "Remember to knock Feliciano, you don't want to walk in on anything."
The younger boy laughed loudly, glancing back at Ludwig and smiling. Ludwig couldn't stop himself from smiling back, Feliciano's smile was always so bright, nothing could bring him down.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review!