I had to force this one out last night. I was up really late doing it... Hope you like it. I don't even know.

They came into the hospital again the next day, Feliciano dressed in a sweater to protect himself against the wind, and Ludwig donning a long dark blue coat. It was starting to get cold out, early November cold biting through sweatshirts and demanding that coats and scarves be worn. They headed up to the room Lovino was staying in, now familiar with where they were going.

Feliciano's facial expression remained the same for the entire elevator ride. He was shaken, and shocked that something like that could even have happened just the day before. He'd spent the night alone with his grandfather the previous night, watching re-runs of old TV shows and listening to his i-pod. He listened to all of Lovino's music; they shared an i-tunes account on Lovino's laptop. Feliciano liked bands like Foster the People and Starfucker, while Lovi usually listened to Placebo. Actually, both twins liked to listen to Starfucker. They liked all of each other's music, generally. He'd been listening to Placebo that night, thinking it fit the mood to a point. Mellow tunes like theirs were bound to.

Feliciano and Ludwig arrived on the 6th floor, dragging their feet down the hallway to room 6-210. It was around 2:50 in the afternoon; Ludwig had woken up around 10:00 and made himself some sausage for breakfast—well, brunch. He'd called Feli at this point, concerned about the redhead's emotional well-being. He'd seemed pretty shaken the previous day, out of deep concern for his brother, and with good reasoning, too. The brunette's condition seemed worse as they entered the room that Sunday; he looked pale and thin lying under the white sheets. There was another IV dripping into his arm, with more clear liquid in it that was labeled with a bunch of numbers. They stepped into the room, surprised to see Antonio sitting in a chair near the bed; he looked up as they entered, standing.

"Oh. Um, h-hey there. I got here a while ago." Antonio said. Feliciano was shocked, even. He hadn't expected to see the senior at all, especially so soon.

They'd left him here yesterday in the same spot; it was like he hadn't even moved at all. He had, of course, in reality. He'd gone home and slept horribly; there were awful circles under his eyes and he rubbed the sleep out of them. He'd had nightmares, dreams about horrible things happening to him. In one of the dreams (the one he'd have to say hit home the most) he was blamed by Lovino for the accident. He'd screamed at him 'It's your fucking fault!' and cradled his broken wrist like it was something to be coddled.

Antonio had woken in a terrible cold sweat, and hadn't slept again. He'd stayed up reading, trying to tell himself that it was just a dream, just a dream. Lovino wouldn't blame him; would he? Maybe he would. It was him, in fact, that was in the way of the car. Lovino had pushed him out of the way, had saved him! But that meant Lovino had gotten hurt for him.

He looked back down at the brunette laying on the white sheets, wondering if he'd forgive him. Hell, if he'd remember him. He'd had a fractured skull and a major concussion; there was no telling how much he'd remember, how he'd recover. The predicted he'd make a full recovery, but what if they were wrong? What if his ankle sets badly, and he never walks again? What if he got brain damage and his mental capacity was skewed? Antonio worried himself further.

Why did he have to ask Lovino out on that day? He'd been so close to telling Lovi his feelings, and something like this happens? It was like fate was trying to hurt Antonio; first toying with his emotions, making him go through a horrible insecure period of time where he wasn't sure if he was really in love with Lovino, then as soon as he's about to make a move, something tragic like this happens. Well, not definitely tragic. They certainly hoped not.

"I… really need to be there when he wakes up." Antonio explained to Ludwig and Feliciano. "I feel like… I need to apologize. He got hurt because of me."

Feliciano was mostly silent, standing beside Ludwig with his hands in his pockets. "No… Antonio, it's not your fault."

"Yeah, it's that damn drunk driver's fault." Ludwig stated adamantly. He'd been filled in on the minor details later the previous night by Antonio via text. He didn't want Antonio to blame himself either; it really was no one's fault but that irresponsible driver, as the two boys had been crossing at a crosswalk when the light was red. The car had sped completely through the light, right at them.

Antonio shifted. "I guess. I still feel responsible, somehow! There were things I could have done to prevent this altogether. I was with him when it happened. I just want to see him when he wakes up." It was an entirely realistic possibility (although unspoken) that this would take quite a bit of time. The boy had trauma to the head, and his body had shut down into a coma-like state. The nurses had him on antibiotics and a lot of pain medication as well, so his body was drug-filled and weak. He now slept on, not even shifting the slightest bit as they conversed in the room.

Ludwig had gone home that previous night and tried to sleep the best he could. He'd texted Antonio for a very long time, the brunette giving details on the incident and updates on the health of the often ornery twin. He'd also texted Feliciano, offering to drive him that morning to the hospital, and maybe to go out to lunch or dinner, whatever time it was then, afterwards. (Ludwig was concerned he'd sound like he was asking Feliciano out on a date, but it probably hadn't even crossed the red-head's mind. He was presumably straight, correct?)

Feliciano had accepted, and here the two of them were, making a stop that would probably become routine after school if Lovi wasn't discharged soon. It didn't appear that he'd be coming home any time soon, anyways. He was now wearing a light blue hospital gown under the sheets.

"E-even so. I still want to apologize. See, I'm… er, I was going to… ask him out." Antonio seemed hesitant in admitting this, a pause taking over the room.

"Eeehh?! You were?" Feliciano exclaimed, clearly surprised. Antonio flinched at the reply.

"I… yeah. I was." He turned away slightly, sounding suddenly dejected.

"That's so cool!" Feliciano's reply was clear this time, now obviously positive. Antonio's head snapped up, a hesitant smile appearing on his face. "I hope he says yes, Antonio."

Ludwig stood in the midst of the conversation, feeling suddenly awkward. He was a bit surprised to hear him say it like that, but it had been a little obvious from Ludwig's point of view. He felt like he was in Antonio's position from the other side He felt himself slightly jealous of Antonio, gaining the support of the younger twin almost immediately. . Lovino didn't even like him at all. Lovino hated him, even. He'd made up a resolve in his mind to ask Feli out at some point, but just… not now.

Antonio looked relieved. "I'm glad, Feli. Thank you." He looked back to the brunette unconscious on the hospital bed, wondering when he'd wake up.

They visited for a while, Antonio telling the two of them what the nurses had told him earlier; Lovino was going to be unconscious for some time, most definitely. They would need to keep him in the hospital until he woke up, then a few days after that to make sure he's alright.

They talked for a bit, letting the conversation drift over to school, plans for after high school, etcetera. Ludwig complained about his car getting low gas mileage, and Antonio sympathized with him. Feliciano whined that he didn't have a car in the first place. At one point, a nurse came in to check on Lovino, changing his IV fluid to something supposedly weaker. She greeted them kindly, and they continued their conversation on cars, and how if Feliciano did in fact have one, he'd probably fall asleep behind the wheel with his laziness. Feliciano had whined, saying his afternoon naps were sometimes the only thing keeping him going.

At some point, Feliciano and Ludwig decided that it was time to go. They'd been there only about an hour and a half, but it was time they got out to the restaurant they'd planned on going to in the first place. They said goodbye to Antonio, who pulled out his homework and started doing it even while sitting by the bed. Ludwig pulled the door shut after them.

They shuffled back down the hallway toward the elevator, getting in an empty one this time. Yesterday's memory finally came back to Ludwig; he'd seen Alfred Jones get off the elevator on the cancer treatment floor. Certainly Alfred wasn't an outpatient himself, was he? No, he couldn't be… He would have told people, there would be rumors that everyone was guaranteed to hear. He'd lose his hair—wouldn't he? Wasn't that one of the side effects of the treatment?

No, there would have to be someone here that he was visiting. Ludwig wondered for a moment just how often Alfred came here. Just how long had he known someone with cancer? It sounded like a terrible prospect to Ludwig, anyways.

Feli and he reached the first floor, stepping out into the lobby and chatting idly about their favorite car companies; Feliciano liked the sleek Italian sports cars, while Ludwig liked trucks and German engineering. They stepped out into the parking lot, watching as a blue car pulled into the lot on the far side. They walked to the left of the doors towards Ludwig's gray car, climbing in the front seats as Feli still ranted about how Italian sports cars are the best.

It would take a while to get to the restaurant, the hospital being a bit farther away than they would like. It was about a twenty minute drive from Ludwig's neighborhood, so that meant a solid fifteen minutes from the downtown area in their town where the restaurant was. The place was a small family restaurant; owned by some friends of the family. They served rather good food, and it was at a decent price.

They enjoyed their ride downtown, while Feliciano fiddled with the radio and settled on a loud pop song which he sang along with; a song about hitting on a girl and getting rejected. Ludwig had never heard it before, and didn't know the title or the artist. Feliciano's singing voice ended up being pretty on tune, not wavering at the high notes like expected. He wasn't exactly surprised, as the red-head seemed to be good only for sleeping, eating, and making noise, he ought to be good at it.

They pulled into the parking lot and Ludwig quickly snagged a spot in the tiny lot. There were only about six other cars, some probably belonging to employees. One car Ludwig recognized as belonging to a friend of his dad's. They walked into the building through the heavy push door, walking past a gumball machine to wait to be seated. Feliciano looked around, taking in the place.

It was getting kind of dim inside as the sun set behind the horizon; it was truly becoming winter, wasn't it? The sky was getting darker earlier every day now. Tables with placemats were scattered throughout the place, sitting on the dark carpeting. The walls were painted a dark red-purple, almost a wine shade, creating an even darker space. Feliciano imagined the lights above the tables would come on at any moment now.

Ludwig and Feli selected a table, away from the few other patrons in the restaurant. They were greeted by a server, who took their orders for drinks. Ludwig ordered a water and Feliciano wanted a Cherry Coke.

"So. Um, do you remember seeing Alfred Jones in the elevator yesterday?" Ludwig asked on a whim. Maybe Feliciano had heard more than him.

"Ah, yes. I do, ve?" Feliciano scratched his head. "I wonder what he was doing there."

"Well, did you see what floor he got off on?"

Feliciano shook his head. "I wasn't paying attention."

"The cancer treatment floor."

Feli's jaw dropped at this. "Ve!? Are you sure you didn't just look at another floor, or maybe he got out on the wrong one?"

Ludwig shook his head. "No, I'm sure it was the cancer treatment floor. I don't think he has cancer though, somebody would know about it. I think maybe he knows someone there who has cancer?"

Feli thought about it for a minute. Alfred was a huge bully, so wasn't it good that he was hurting? Why wasn't he happy? "That's…" Feliciano couldn't think of a word to describe it.

"…good? Bad?" the blonde questioned. "I thought he was a bully to you."

"No—I mean, he is, but I just… I don't want anyone to have cancer! That's awful!"

At this time, the server came back with their drinks, giving Ludwig a steady look while setting down a cool glass of water for him. She took their orders, Feliciano having one of the restaurant's signature sandwiches, and Ludwig ordered a cut of beef. He'd had it before, it was incredible here.

"Ah. Sorry." Feliciano apologized. "I was speaking kind of loudly ahaha. But what do you think? Do you… are you friends with Alfred?" The last question was more of a plea than anything else.

Ludwig shook his head in a hurry, looking into the big brown eyes. "N-no! I just didn't think… you'd say anything like that. If I were you, I'd have a bad grudge against him…" He trailed off.

Feliciano looked a bit estranged at this, confused with his own self. "I guess I do have sort of a grudge against him, but I could never do anything about it anyways, so why have one in the first place?" He sighed. "I guess that doesn't make sense, ve?"

Ludwig's brows knitted together. "No, I guess it does. It's better logic than most people have, in fact."

Feliciano shrugged. "I'd rather nap peacefully than hold a grudge, wouldn't you?"

This conversation would spark much thought from Ludwig in the future. What was the purpose of holding grudges, anyways? To retaliate? No… maybe to keep the person at bay from you. Maybe to desire revenge someday, but most people never got it anyways.

The server showed up with their food after a few more minutes of waiting. They thanked the server, who still gave them strange glances.

"What do you think of that whole group, anyways? You know, Ivan and Alfred, Francis, Arthur, Yao…" Feliciano rattled off the names he could remember.

Ludwig thought for a moment before carefully replying, "I guess they need to think about things a bit more. They shouldn't take things out on you. You didn't do anything to them, unless I'm missing something here." He took a bite of his beef. "I don't like them much, though. Too much noise. Especially Francis and Arthur; always arguing."

Feliciano seemed content with this answer, and they moved on to less serious topics, like the new episode of Doctor Who. Feliciano had seen it the previous day, and Ludwig had yet to watch it. Ludwig adamantly refused spoilers, while Feli wanted to tell him what happened so badly!

They finished their meal, waiting for the bill to come. They continued the conversation as Ludwig stealthily paid for both their meals before Feliciano could see. He insisted on being a polite gentleman in this, didn't he? Always a stickler for rules.

Feliciano suggested they walk around a little downtown before most of the shops close; he'd wanted to buy a book from the used books store down the street from the restaurant, but he hadn't had the chance. Now that he did have it he figured, Hell, why not take advantage? He grabbed Ludwig by the elbow and pulled him down the sidewalk before he could protest.

The sky was dark, and the streetlamps were on. The black pavement was bathed in yellow light from the old streetlamps, one of them in front of a jewelry store flickering. It was probably only around 7:00, but since the sky got dark so fast nowadays, the sun set at around 5:00. There was nobody on the street at all, the whole town seeming empty.

Ludwig listened to the evening sounds; their footsteps, a distant car horn, the voice of a man in one of the buildings nearby. He looked down to his left, to Feliciano.

The red-head was facing forward, looking into the buildings ahead of them. He looked absolutely stunning; his hair ruffled into a perfect mess, a wayward curl in the waves of red-brown. His turtleneck opened wide enough that his smooth collarbones were visible, pale skin glowing in the dim light. His amber eyes shined with the reflection of the streetlamps. Ludwig didn't realize he'd been staring until Feliciano looked up, stopping their slow pace of walking and turning slightly towards the blonde.

"L-Ludwig, is something wrong?" His voice was quiet.

"I… n-no, nothing's wrong. I'm sorry. It's… nothing." Ludwig sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"Ve, something is bothering you!" He pouted slightly, biting his lip, and Ludwig thought he just looked so kissable.

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd grabbed Feliciano's shoulders with a step towards him. In that moment, the world disappeared for Ludwig. All conscious thought had fled his mind, disappearing into the darkest corners of that dim evening. Their eyes met, amber to blue, for just a moment. Feliciano seemed confused at this, about to say something again, and then Ludwig was kissing him, lightly, innocently, holding the sleeves of Feliciano's coat.

Feliciano was shocked. He just couldn't move, for an instant. He stood there and let Ludwig kiss him, dumbfounded. The world spun, panic working its course through Feliciano's mind. Then he hunched his shoulders and reached out his arms, pushing Ludwig away. What… what was this!? With just the extension of Feliciano's arms, the two broke apart, Ludwig letting go of Feliciano's sleeves.

Both of them inhaled, gasping, two pairs of wide eyes meeting again.

Feliciano stumbled backwards, turned and ran. He spun on his heel and took off as fast as he could back the way they'd come.

Ludwig was almost ready to run after him, but his feet were nearly glued to the concrete in utter disbelief of himself. You're an idiot, a fucking idiot. What the hell was that? You IDIOT.

He heard rapid, running footsteps receding from him in the quiet night air.

You fucked it up. Good job, you fucked it up.

Hope you like it? I need some sleep...