It had been a week since the Italians last run in with the soldier, and he was still thinking of it, always blushing- he figured the embarrassment of his idiocy was why. He needed to go out again today, but this time it wasn't for food, it was just his wanting to go to church. It was Cathedral Di San Lorenzo, after it was bombed in 1941 they had left it open still, and repaired it the best that they could at the time, but Feliciano never stopped going to the home of the Holy Grail.
He walked carefully down the streets, keeping his eyes turned away from the half-naked women and extremely malnourished immigrants that littered the sides of the streets. He had noticed he had also been more careful with how he was walking, he walked a little slower, took in more surroundings and anytime he saw a blonde, tall man he tried to get a look if it was his soldier. Except Ludwig wasn't his, he knew that, but he felt they had bonded and he wanted to see him again, so he was always careful to notice him. He didn't know the exact reason for it, but he knew that there was one somewhere in his mind.
It was now January in Italy, one and a half weeks in, and he was cold, though he lived in a very sunny country, it was still cold to him during the winter. His arms were growing cold, as he began to regret not bringing a jacket with him to the church but he didn't complain much mentally about it, he just wished he had brought a jacket. His curl bounced lightly with every step he took, and he lightly waved his arms as he walked, he was just excited to go to the church again.
Him and Lovino, his brother, hadn't gone to it in a few months, it was in quite a bit of rubble after the British had bombed it, and he had thought of it a miracle that the bomb never actually went off. He felt unnerved, however, when he had walked past a group of Italians, one with a small scar on his jaw, who spoke in hushed whispers. He had heard about the anti-fascists in Genoa, he never thought he'd see them, but he could assume that's who they were. It wasn't the actual people there who unnerved him, it was the outline of a gun in the tan one's shirt that made him nervous.
He slowed down before he got to them, looking around to see if anyone was staring at him or them for that matter, he knew what they were doing was good he was just nervous about how they did it. Then, just across the street near an alley, he could see a German soldier, eyeing them down as inconspicuous as possible, if he hadn't been specifically looking he wouldn't have noticed. He sped up, approaching the group as friendly as possible, tapping the closest one's wrist and when they looked, he nudged his head to the soldier. He nodded, and smiled, the entire group split and Feliciano waved, smiling at them.
Feliciano wasn't involved with them, he would never be and didn't necessarily want to be, and neither was his brother, but they m, made sure that they always warned the anti-fascists whenever there were soldiers nearby, or if they overheard anything from the Germans. It was kind of a messenger system, because sometimes they would get a basket of bread and they always knew where it came from, Lovi always told him it was just being smart, and that as long as he never made serious contact or discussed anything with them they couldn't get into any real trouble with the Nazi's.
He lived a bit away from the coast of Linguaria, where most of the antifascists met and lived, so it was always kinda weird seeing them this close to the middle, but he figured they were beginning to spread out even further. He had seen the soldier stare at him as he walked away, and tried to keep his head down a bit, but left his hands out of his pockets, allowing them to swing a little as he walked to the cathedral, he knew how to avoid suspicion and the stares of people, a little bit anyway.
Streets became more and more crowded and he had realized that more people were around the church than normal, he found that weird, but pleasant. He liked seeing people around the cathedral, it reminded him of before the war when Italy still had a lot of money and people were genuinely happy to be about and outside. He never had to see a skinny child or possibly dead bodies on the side of the street, never had to see women who obviously didn't want to be sex workers have to work as them just to get money for their children, the father of probably dead. it was heartbreaking, seeing the people of the country he lived in suffer, knowing there wasn't much he could do about it, if anything, without risking being tortured or killed for answers.
So when he saw all of these people, he smiled, because he thought, keyword thought, that they were all around the area to go to the church. Then, he heard it. The scream of a child sounded through the air, and he could hear the sound of something beating on flesh. His smile dropped, and he rushed and pushed through the crowd, jumping and pushing on people's shoulders to see what was happening to the child. Eventually, he was able to get close enough to the front to see what was happening, a soldier was beating a child. His stomach dropped, and his eyes faded out, tearing slightly at the sight in front of him. Other soldiers stood idly by, not a care in the world to combat what was happening, and it was at that moment Feliciano had truly discovered disgust in the soldiers and the entire nation that had stolen them.
Ludwig, however, was approaching the crowd, the higher ranking German had the crowd parting like the red sea once they saw him. He growled at the other soldiers, yelling at them in German.
"What are you idiots doing!? You don't beat some KID in the middle of the day, in broad fucking daylight in front of a goddamn church!" He was absolutely furious at this point, he knew protocol said they could technically do whatever they wanted within reason the town but this wasn't acceptable to him.
The man dropped the club, looking at the blonde wearily, "He um, he took something from a lady! I swear he did!" His reply came in German as well, clearly trying not to get the blond even more pissed.
"I. Don't. Care." he growled, stalking over to the other soldier, a deathly glare casting his face in shadows, "I said, don't. So pick the boy up, apologize to him and what looks like his family over there, " he pointed to a sobbing set of what looked like parents with a baby, " and tell them you will be speaking with me immediately."
The other nodded, picking the boy up and muttering an apology, walking over to the family, going on a long ramble of "sorries''. That's when Ludwig spotted Feliciano, and the memories of his constant thinking of him rushed through his mind. The Italian looked distant, scared and confused, and the German almost felt genuinely bad, almost. So, as gently and calm as he could after just about biting somebodies head off, he walked over to the brunet, biting his cheek as he approached the shorter male.
He tapped his shoulder, immediately putting his hands behind his back, "Feliciano was it? Are you okay?" His accent peaked through a little thicker than normal as he spoke to him.
"Ve~ I can't believe that just happened, I just, I can't," He looked at the German, eyes shakey, unable to make perfect contact.
"Me either, it was out of line, I do not believe he will go unpunished, however, I will see to that," he glared at the man across the opening.
"At least you stopped him... he could have died. "
"Ja, I know. That's the main reason I had him stop. I wasn't going to have the entire city of Genoa watch one of my fellow soldiers kill a child with a club."
"It's just a bambino, no older than five, maybe six, how could he even do that?"
"I haven't the slightest clue. Why were you over here anyway?"
"Ah," Feliciano sighed, speaking softly, with a sense of fondness. "I was going to the cathedral. I haven't been in so long, and I am okay with the ruble still being cleaned. It's just been so long since I have been able to come, to speak with the Lord in an intimate way... I fear in Genoa, we are slipping from grace..."
Ludwig eyed him, such a fondness for the Lord, it was something missing in these times, and Ludwig knew it, he was glad someone was concerned. It had been so long since he had seen such innocence, pure and untainted, a heart of compassion, in someone and he was glad he could see it in him.
"I'm beginning to as well. I've been thinking that maybe my own people may be taking this too far. It's- It's not a good thing to be okay with beating a child." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the family comforting their child as they walked off.
"I believe we need something to grip onto, religion is fading here. I have seen it... Ve~ brother and I haven't gone to church in so long, and I assume you have seen the people littering the streets as well?" He turned to face the German.
Ludwig nodded.
"I do wish the British had not nearly blown up our cathedral, I believe it is the main reason we have slipped..." The Italian went silent, eyebrows peaking in the middle, casting a sad gaze to the building of worship.
"Ja, I do not believe that was at all necessary either. My apologies though, I need to go and see to it that this Mistkerl is given a set punishment. Ciao, mein sonnenschein," Ludwig said, turning and walking away, knowing his subordinate would follow.
Feliciano had absolutely no clue what his last two words meant, but his stomach grew very bubbly, it must have meant the German hadn't hated him as he had feared. For now, he was just afraid of what would happen if he angered the German, so he would try his best to avoid it in the future.
Feliciano decided it would be best if he went home, his view of the church wouldn't be the best for a while anyway. So, he began his walk home, thoughts of the soldier weaving through his mind, holding it in a vice grip he couldn't seem to wriggle free from for some reason. He passed by the same people, none from the resistance this time, on his way home, and upon seeing his brother and his house he ran, eager to tell his Fratello about his helping the resistance. Lovino always gave him praise for it, telling him that he was doing good for his own country and the rest of the world, so that nobody else would have to put up with the 'Bastardo potatoes,' as he put it.
Feliciano always admired his brother, he was a lot tougher than him, he knew a Spaniard who was high in the resistance and he would sometimes lend a bit of overheard information, but they always made sure to stay out of it. He happily swung open the door, ready to see his brother, closing it behind him as he walked into the kitchen, greeted by the Spaniard, Antonio, and his brother, Lovino.
"Did you guys see what happened in front of the Cathedral today?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.
"No, what happened Feli?" Antonio inquired.
Thus, Feliciano began, leaving out the talking to Ludwig unconsciously, maybe he knew it was wrong to have contact with him... Maybe...