Romeo and Romeo

Chapter 20

Feliciano suggested they go to the beach so Ludwig could learn to skim stones. There was also a short hill with a cliffed edge nearby with a nice view of the sunrise. If was still pitch black and freezing, so they brought a torch. The trip felt spontaneous and adventurous, as they had to find their way to the rocky beach he had only seen in passing, in the dark.

Ludwig kept their torch low to the ground so they could see where they were going, and because if they put it eye level, the light would get sucked in by the darkness, but they had to judge on where they were going from memory.

'Ve~ Ludwig, I'm scared!' Feliciano gripped tighter to the strong arm he was holding onto for dear life.

'Don't worry, we should be almost there.' Said the voice belonging to the arm.

Feliciano felt very much comforted by the soft yet stern voice. He felt as though he wasn't alone, despite the fact that he couldn't see anything other than the ground in front of him. They guided each other through the woods, unsure of where to go, yet knowing somehow they will get there eventually.

'Ludwig, please talk to me.' He couldn't stand silence.

Ludwig pulled his arm out of the grasp of the Italian (who squeaked quietly in response) and put his hand firmly around his waist, pulling him closer. Feliciano held onto his jacket instead.

'What would you like to talk about?'

'I don't know... what's it like in Germany?' He was desperate for a conversation topic.

'Well, despite what people say, Germany is very pleasant. It is a wonderful place to live.' He paused, feeling homesick and not sure of what else to say. 'What's it like in Italy?'

'It's carina, pretty. It's very nice and beautiful. It has rolling hills and sandy beaches and cities and towns!' Feliciano smiled fondly at the memories.

There was another silence until Ludwig broke it.

'Do you know where we are?'

'Yes.' Feliciano made Ludwig put the torch up. 'Ah, we must turn here.'

They heard the wooshing of the waves and smelt the salty sea air. Feliciano sniffed and whipped his nose with his sleeve.

'Here we are!'

Feliciano instantly looked to the ground and bent his knees to find the perfect skimming stone. He picked a particularly flat and round one up and brushed the small fragments of seaweed off it before handing it to Ludwig.

'Thank you. How do you skim stones?'

In the very dim light of the slow sunrise, Feliciano taught Ludwig how to skim stones, with little success. He tried to show him but the stones just hit the water with a large splash. He resorted to putting his arm around Ludwig's and holding his hand, sort of moulding around him.

He guided his arm into the perfect motion to skim a stone and Ludwig let go at the precise moment he was supposed to. They both watched in awe of the stone that skipped three times before landing with a sploosh in the water.

Feliciano clapped his hands and stepped back to the side of Ludwig. The small Italian found another rock and handed it to Ludwig for him to try himself. With, yet again, no success. Turn after turn of them throwing rocks into the water. Feliciano's high score was four and Ludwig still failed to achieve any skips. Ludwig was about to give up when Feliciano encouraged him to have another shot. Ludwig reluctantly picked up a stone and threw it carelessly at the water. It skipped gracefully twice before being eaten by a wave.

'Well done! You did it!' Feliciano hugged Ludwig tightly.

'Feliciano.' A rare smile was audible in his voice.

'Yes?' He looked up at the tall blonde man who was pointing at the sky. The tip of the sun was showing. 'Ludwig we need to go to the cliff to watch the sunset! Come on!'

They jogged slowly, hand in hand and stumbling on the rocks, to the top of the grassy hill that rounded off the small beach. Feliciano patted the grass to make sure it was dry before sitting down followed by Ludwig.

The two sat in silence for a while, watching the sun slowly creep up the sky. But of course, Feliciano grew restless. He tried to think of something to say and he frowned slightly. He did have something to tell Ludwig but he kept putting it off, or being interrupted by other people. Surely this was as good a time as ever to tell him?

'What's wrong?' Ludwig said suddenly, startling Feliciano who whipped his head around to see him looking at him intently, as if he had been studying him the whole time.

'L-Ludwig I...' Feliciano didn't know when to start so he paused, and decided to tell a bit of a story. 'When I was younger, there was a boy that I met. We became friends but I thought he saw me as an annoyance. Then... then he had to leave and when he said goodbye he... he kissed me. Ludwig, I had never felt so in love in my life... and I have never felt this way about a girl...' Feliciano squeezed his eyes shut as to mentally prepare for the repercussions of what he had just said.

'I understand.' Ludwig looked directly into Feliciano's eyes, which were now glassy.

The sun was now fully risen but there was still an eerie but beautiful amber glow surrounding them.

'Really?' Feliciano leaned closer, stretching out his arms for a hug when he felt a hand on his chest, holding him back.

Slowly, Feliciano's arms dropped.

'How do you say goodbye in Italian?'

Feliciano paused and assessed the question before grinning cheekily. 'Well, for very good friends, you kiss them on both cheeks.'

'That's not what I-'

Feliciano leaned in and kissed both of the German's cheeks. He giggled when he sat back again, a faint blush visible in the early morning light. Ludwig's stomach was filled with butterflies and his heart was at his throat. Where Feliciano's lips had met his cheeks, there was a strange burning sensation, but when he touched the spot, there was no fire.

'How do you say goodbye in German?' Feliciano was still smiling at how brave he was.

'You say "goodbye".' Ludwig broke the eye contact by looking down. 'There is something I need to tell you as well.'

Feliciano shuffled forward as if trying to hear a secret. 'What is it?' He whispered.

'I... I like you.'

'Haha! I know. You can put up that tough guy act all you want but we all know. We're friends aren't we?'

'Yes Feliciano. But that's not quite what I mean. I... Ich liebe dich.'

'Wha...? No Ludwig you must tell me what that means!' Feliciano sounded genuinely distressed.

'Use some detective power to find out what that means.' Ludwig stood up, a heavy weight was now lifted off his shoulders.

'Aww...' Feliciano knew that it was no use trying to argue with Ludwig, so with the sunrise at their backs, they walked back towards the house.