Romeo and Romeo

Chapter 12

The rest of the day went quickly, after the mouth wateringly delicious breakfast of crepes and maple syrup, they all went on a walk in the woodlands that was five or so minutes from the house.

Despite the sun shining in all it's glory, and the rare lack of clouds and wind, it was chilly. There was no snow to bee seen but the frozen morning dew left an satisfying crunch whenever you took a step in grass or fallen leaves from autumn and early winter.

Despite his best efforts to keep warm, Feliciano's teeth were chattering and his breath came in clouds of warmth in the air. He attempted to enjoy himself and the beautiful crystal scenery around him but the uncomfortable coldness clung to him like a child not wanting to leave the circus. Feliciano tugged his sleeves to cover his hands and wrapped his arms around himself willing for it to magically warm up.

He quickly glanced at the others to see if they were cold as well and too his relief, others were also expressing signs of feeling ice-bitten. Everyone apart from Arthur, Ivan, Matthew and Ludwig, who were all surely used to this cold weather. He stared a little longer at Ludwig.

His beautiful blue eyes contrasted against the white background. His golden hair shone as we strode with big, long steps, gently swinging his muscular arms. But you could get lost in those eyes for hours, and even then, there will be more shades of blue that you hadn't even seen yet hiding in the depths.

He is so handsome. Feliciano shook his head slightly, what was he thinking? That kind of thinking could get him killed and he had always been attracted to girls. Or had he?

All of the young girls Feliciano had talked to had been pretty, yes, but did Feliciano actually like them? His heart started beating faster. He was always known for his ability to talk to women. But Feliciano remembered that he only talked to them to disguise his friendship with a young boy. He was only young then, so that can't have been love. He just always wanted to be close to him, and it physically hurt him when he left. But didn't they kiss? Or was that just another memory, coated in a layer of lies like most of his childhood memories.

Feliciano realised that he was still gawking at the tall man beside him.

At that moment, Ludwig looked down and noticed Feliciano staring at him, a slight frown flickering across his eyebrows. He quickly looked away and he could feel blood rushing from his heavily beating heart to his cheeks. Why was he looking at him? He looked cold. The proper thing to do in this situation was to give the person your jacket, but that was only to be polite to women. Feliciano may take it as an insult.

He was so stupid! He should have looked away, but he didn't, he couldn't. Feliciano looked down at the leaves beneath him, sniffing. Suddenly he felt a weight on his shoulders and soft faux fur lining brushing his was. He looked up to Ludwig as he realised he had given him his coat as an act of selflessness. He must've realised he was colder than everyone else.

'Ah, thank you Ludwig! I was really cold.' Feliciano smiled at Ludwig before pulling him into a squeezy hug. Ludwig patted his back awkwardly and blushed even more furiously, grimacing at the thought of how foolish they must've looked in front of everyone else. He wanted to hug him forever, but regrettably he pulled away and murmured a 'Your welcome.'

Ludwig looked off, away from Feliciano, trying to hide the blush tickling his cheeks and calm his heart.

He felt a cold hand slide into his, steeling the warmth. Ludwig's heart skipped a beat as he looked back to see Feliciano grinning sheepishly up at him.

'Haha, sorry Ludwig, but your hand just looked so warm...'

Ludwig's eyes widened, Feliciano was shaking slightly. He must've been very cold. Ludwig considered pulling his hand away, but decided against it, not really having any reason apart from getting closer to the beautiful young Italian that had stolen his heart.

Instead he moved his step closer to Feliciano so their arms brushed occasionally, making his stomach do backflips. Ludwig was grinning like an idiot.

'Luuudwig, you have a pretty smile, Ve~'

'Your smile is prettier.' Ludwig replied before he could stop himself. He had only realised what he said when he heard an adorable tinkling giggle from Feliciano. 'Ah, I mean-' but before he could make up an excuse, Feliciano interrupted.

'Thank you Ludwig, but you really shouldn't say those things, you should see yourself for what you really are. Plus, we all know that's a lie...'

Really? How could Ludwig reply? He was completely dumbstruck. How could this timid, yet bubbly Italian be so smooth? It was like he had practiced for years! And no one had the guts to interrupt him. But before he could say anything back, he was interrupted yet again.

'D'aww, that's cute.' Said a voice behind him that he had come to recognise to be Alfred's. Ludwig bristled at that, he had completely forgot about everyone else.

'Alfred, be quiet, someone may hear. You too.' Arthur said aiming that mostly at the pair holding hands.

'Francis wanted to say um... have you ever been in love yourself Arthur? Do you know how hard it is to remember where you are?' Matthew still translated for Francis sometimes.

'Of course I've been in love! I mean em...' Arthur looked towards the ground, red covering his cheeks.

In front of them was the quiet sound of inaudible whispers from Kiku who was also blushing, to Hercules.

Conversation died down after that and Feliciano was left to his thoughts. Was he really in love with Ludwig? Well, they were holding hands. But that was just to warm up wasn't it? Could that have been a lie? He was pulled abruptly from his thoughts by Ludwig dropping his hand.

'We are not in love.'