Warning: Swearing is included in this chapter
The American prison guard Alfred Jones wandered into the prison staff room, clutching a mug of steaming hot coffee. It was very early in the morning and the prisoners had yet to be woken up and taken to breakfast. An early riser as always, Arthur Kirkland was already there, sat at the kitchen table enjoying a hot cup of tea; he was hunched over slightly as he was sat reading something on top of the table. Alfred took a sip of coffee, placed the mug down on a work surface before creeping up behind the Brit. "What are you doing?"
Arthur yawned slightly, turning over the page. "Just going through some things..." he muttered softly.
Alfred smiled, placing his hands on the Brit's shoulders, rubbing them slowly. "Hey come on, technically we're on break."
The Brit shrugged him off. "Not at work Alfred." he grunted.
Alfred pouted, falling across the Brit's back. "Loosen up babe..." he murmured softly into his ear.
Arthur gave him a displeased look, trying to push him away. "Get off you arse, I'm reading-hey!" he cried as the papers beneath him disappeared; Alfred had snatched them hurriedly, jumping up off the Brit.
Alfred read the page as he wandered around the tiny kitchen. "Feliciano..." he read the name at the top. "Why you reading his file again?" he asked the Brit.
Arthur sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm just reviewing his case...it seems ridiculous." he muttered.
Alfred nodded, tossing the file back onto the table. "Yeah...the guy's way too soft, can't imagine him even squishing a bug let alone beating a guy almost to death."
Arthur nodded. "Exactly, completely wrongly convicted if you ask me." he said sternly, not seeming to notice Alfred shrugging beside him. "He's so fragile..." the Brit murmured, wincing slightly. "...oh dear, I think I might have to stand guard when he's in the showers..."
Alfred looked slightly horrified. "The fuck dude? What, is my body not good enough for you all of sudden you wanna drool over the Italian guy?" he demanded, glaring at him.
Arthur sighed irritably, whacking him in the stomach. "Oh shut up Alfred, I'm just terrified the poor kid's going to get raped that's all."
Alfred frowned, stepping back and rubbing his stomach. "I have no doubt he will at some point."
"Reassuring as always." Arthur muttered with a roll of the eyes, bringing his tea cup to his lips.
Alfred frowned. "Well why the hell do you care?" he asked.
Arthur took a sip of tea, glaring slightly at the American over the rim on his tea cup. "Alfred part of our job is to prevent that sort of thing!" he snapped, practically slamming the cup back down on the table. "You know I've heard that there's actually some kind of sex auction thing going on around here." he said with a slight shudder.
Alfred pulled a disturbed face. "Creepy...but come on Arthur, there's only so much we can do, we can't guard them twenty-four seven." he pointed out, jumping up to sit on the edge of the table.
Arthur sighed. "Well I wish we could, or the prison would at least hire more men, bloody budget cuts." he grumbled bitterly.
"Didn't know you were so testy about rape," Alfred muttered. "I mean I know it's terrible when a woman gets raped," he added hurriedly when the Brit looked shocked. "...but if it's a guy in prison getting ass raped who the hell cares?"
"Alfred!" the Brit barked. "It's a terrible thing no matter what the circumstances!" he hissed, glaring at him. "Dear God...Feliciano is petrified at the best of times imagine what he'd be like after that kind of ordeal!"
Alfred let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay okay, I didn't mean it...anyway Ludwig hasn't done it to him, so that's good." he said, taking a sip of the Brit's tea, nose wrinkling in disgust at the taste.
"Ludwig doesn't do that kind of thing Alfred, you know that." Arthur muttered, snatching his tea cup back.
"I guess...surprised he hasn't beat him up though." Alfred said with a hint of wonder, sitting crossed legged on the table.
Arthur nodded. "So am I, but if Ludwig tries it I'll be having some very stern words about putting him in isolation again." he said firmly, draining the rest of his tea cup.
Alfred gave him a confused, disgruntled look. He jumped down from the table, folding his arms moodily across his chest. "Arthur why the hell are you so nice to Feliciano? You got a crush on the guy or something?" he demanded.
"No!" Arthur snapped, eyes narrowing. "I just feel sorry for the kid, he was wrongly convicted and now he's going to spend up to two years of his live in a hell hole like this."
"How do you know he's innocent, were you there?" Alfred asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised.
Arthur rolled his eyes, getting up from the table to put his tea cup in the sink behind him. "You're the one who said he wouldn't squish a bug."
Alfred shrugged. "Maybe the kid has a secret dark side." he suggested, ignoring the incredulous look the Brit shot him. He sighed slightly. "...I still don't get it Arthur, you've never been this nice to any inmates we've ever had in here before."
"Yes well I've never met an inmate as pathetic as him," Arthur said softly, washing the inside of his cup. "...if we don't look out for him he's going to get raped or killed." he glanced back at the American. "...or raped and then killed."
"I didn't see you standing up for any of the other pathetic guys in here." Alfred said pointedly, leaning back against the table.
Arthur sighed, drying his hands on a tea towel. "Alfred surely you've seen the way everybody in here looks at him."
"Yeah I know..." Alfred muttered, scratching the back of his head. "But even still; it's not our job to decide who's innocent dude, we're not barristers, we just keep the convicted ones in line." he said his a shrug as if that was final.
The American jumped slightly as the Brit suddenly whacked the towel down on the counter. Arthur turned around to fix him with a dark stare. "For God sake." he growled.
Alfred looked confused, eyes shifting about uncomfortably. "What?"
Arthur sighed in frustration, shaking his head. "You never understand do you?" he muttered coldly.
Alfred just stared at him. "What's there to understand?" he asked in bewilderment. "Feliciano was convicted and brought here...we shouldn't give him any special treatment."
Arthur shook his head in disgust, turning back to the sink. "Forget it." he grumbled.
Alfred sighed, pushing back from the table he walked forward and placed a hand on the Brit's shoulder. "Arthur-"
"You know this is just like what happened when Ludwig was brought here five years ago!" Arthur glowered, spinning around to slap the American's hand away.
"For fuck sake not this again Arthur..." Alfred muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Arthur frowned. "What?"
Alfred glared at him. "Ludwig belongs here Arthur!" he cried in aggravation. "He was convicted for a damn good reason, he's not innocent!"
"It's not as simple as that!" the Brit snapped irately.
"It never is with you is it?" Alfred spat darkly. "You always gotta see things from the other side, even when it's our side that's right!"
"I am very open minded Alfred!" Arthur glowered. "I understand Ludwig!
"Oh my God Arthur," Alfred gripped the back of his neck, staring at him in disbelief. "...you can't possibly be defending him!" he cried in alarm; the American couldn't believe what he was hearing, he glared at the Brit, pointing a finger at his chest. "Don't you ever try and defend him Arthur, there was no just reason for what he did!"
Arthur took a deep breath, calmly knocking the American's hand away. "You know the reason Alfred," he said slowly, eyes narrowing. "...same as I, and no I'm not defending what he did, but I can understand why he did it."
Alfred sighed, just giving him a defeated look. "The laws the law dude, he broke the law, and justice is being served." he said simply, shrugging.
Arthur slowly shook his head, cold eyes boring into the American's own. "You only ever see the world in black and white, don't you?" he said in a hushed whisper; the Brit shrugged past the American, storming out of the staff room.
Alfred heaved another sigh, leaning against the kitchen sink. "Fuck sake..."
~0~
Feliciano once again woke with a start to the new day. Not that he could tell whether or not it was the early morning or late in the evening with the lack of sunlight being able to penetrate through the thick confinements of their cells. Ludwig jumped down from his bunk and waited for Arthur and Alfred to let him out as they had done the day before. Feliciano was sensing a lot of awkward tension between the two guards as they walked him to the cafeteria that morning. Alfred seemed to be making a point of not walking near the Italian, rather he went ahead and stayed with the rest of the block D inmates, whilst Arthur did exactly the opposite and remained at the back of the crowd, stuck right by Feliciano's side. The Italian couldn't help but be wary that he might be the cause of a slight rift between those two.
Feliciano was dreading breakfast, once again. It was only his second time but he was indeed sensing a pattern with the other inmate's behaviour towards him. He could almost hear the inner workings of their minds, thinking that the second the scrawny defenceless Italian picks up his tray it was going to be knocked right out of his hands before he even had the chance to worry about where to sit. The Italian hesitated by the entrance, wondering whether or not he dared to ask Arthur to accompany him to the serving station and safely seat him somewhere. However what with the American guard shooting him daggers with his eyes and the other inmates snorting at how pathetic he was; Feliciano decided against it. It would be momentarily appealing until he got out into the courtyard later and the other inmates beat the shit out of him for sucking up to a prison guard. As nice as the guards were to him he sensed they weren't very well liked among the other orange jumpsuits.
The Italian gingerly approached the serving station, once again he was the last person to get his breakfast. He was handed a plastic cup of lukewarm coffee, two pieces of soggy looking toast and a ripe banana. Feliciano stayed put with his tray on the metal railings of the serving station, thinking about the possibility of just eating it there. The manly looking woman behind the counter however was giving him a disapproving glower that made the Italian shiver, and he hastily retreated, tray in hand.
Feliciano heard a few snorts from the tables near by as he skidded past them, he made sure to keep well out of proximity of their legs as he clutched the tray to his chest, struggling not to wobble it as he moved quickly. He kept almost right up against walls, skirting all around the large room to keep out of people's way; Feliciano was all too aware of how ridiculous he must have looked.
The Italian came to an awkward stop at the back of the cafeteria, he glanced around briefly and almost dropped his breakfast when he realised he'd inadvertently stopped right by Ludwig's table. The German was sat right in the centre of the wooden bench on his own, sipping coffee and avoiding any kind of communication with anybody in the room...as if he wasn't even aware of them. Feliciano didn't want a repeat of last time so made no move to sit with him, however he just dared to stand near by, hoping no inmates would try anything, for fear of enraging Ludwig.
He awkwardly grappled with his tray as he attempted to eat off it standing up, trying to ignore the harsh laughs and comments that were being made by people who were watching. Ludwig must have heard them because he too was looking, his expression unreadable. Feliciano tried to ignore him as he continued his failing pursuit, one piece of so called toast was already lying in a small heap on the floor.
The Italian jumped in surprise at a sudden scraping noise from very close by. He dared a glance at Ludwig and saw, to his amazement; the German had just pushed the bench opposite him backwards slightly with his foot, creating a gap between it and his table. "Sit." he grunted to no one in particular. Feliciano gazed vacantly for a moment, not sure if it was to him the German had spoke, he was still fiddling anxiously with his tray. Ludwig looked up at him with annoyed expression. "You deaf? I said sit." he tried again, hitting the bench with his foot almost violently.
Feliciano jumped again, hurrying to the table, but faltering just short of it as anxiety kicked in. Was this some kind of trick? Was the German going to yank the seat out from beneath him before he could sit down? Sending him crashing to the floor and humiliating him in front of the entire room? Was this pay back for yesterday's fiasco? Feliciano hesitated, however Ludwig had simply gone back to his breakfast, not seeming to care one way or the other, and his feet were both tucked back beneath his own bench.
He placed the tray down gingerly on the table first, just short of being opposite the German, in case he did knock him over he didn't want to be holding food. Another few moments of dithering the Italian bit the bullet, scrambling onto the bench before Ludwig could change his mind (although if he did Feliciano knew he'd be up like a shot). The blond simply raised an eyebrow at the Italian's erratic movement but said nothing.
However the German's invitation had obviously stunned inmates near by. Shocked and confused and even some irritated faces were staring over. A few large skinheads on a very crowded table opposite seemed to think it was fair game; they stood up from their own bench and moved confidently to the German's table, slipping into the seats opposite.
Ludwig on the other hand, was clearly not in the mood to share to just anyone. "HEY!" he snarled like a vicious dog to the men who had just joined them. "You think this is an open bar or something!? Get the fuck out of here!" he bellowed, hurling his half full cup of coffee savagely in their direction.
In a flash they scattered in all directions as quickly as they could, panic written all over their ugly faces. Feliciano himself had jumped to his feet at the German's sudden outburst, frightened heart beating an unnaturally fast rhythm. Ludwig looked up at him with disdain. "Not you." he said in an almost disbelieving way, as if amazed at how truly stupid the Italian could be.
Feliciano let out a tiny nervous laugh, awkwardly sitting back down again, however the Italian was in no way comfortable, his fingers drumming across the edge of the table. He bit his lip, clearing his throat slightly. "Um...Ludwig-"
"Look." the German growled, throwing down his spoon with a clatter. "You can sit here so you can get some gott verdammt food down your throat without it getting knocked out of your hand." the Italian blushed slightly with embarrassment. "Just don't talk to me, got that?" he grunted, going back to his cornflakes.
The Italian nodded rapidly, opening his mouth to thank him when he realised what Ludwig had just told him, and he snapped it shut again. He couldn't distinguish between fidgety anxiousness or disbelieving relief at being sat at what seemed to be the most exclusive table in the room.
~0~
Outside in the courtyard the hot sun was once again blaring down, scorching them from the clear blue sky. The Italian wandered outside of his own accord; it seemed Alfred and Arthur had gone to settle their disagreement somewhere, and Feliciano was, for the moment at least, no longer their top priority. Ludwig was one of the last to leave the cafeteria, of which Feliciano was eternally grateful, as he was certain that if he'd have been left by himself on the German's table the other inmates might have tried to ambush him if Ludwig wasn't there for protection.
Not that the German was actually protecting him however; Feliciano knew he just felt sorry for him, but not even a kind hearted way. The Italian must have looked unbelievably pathetic if a man as violent and cold hearted as Ludwig was pitying him. Not that he minded of course, sticking with the German made him feel...safe. Although perhaps safe was the wrong word to use...less afraid? No, there was no dent in that barrier whatsoever; Feliciano couldn't think of the right word, but he felt different around the German, that's all he knew.
However Ludwig obviously had no intention of babysitting the Italian, despite them leaving the cafeteria practically together the blond made no acknowledgment of him as he swept across the courtyard, inmates parting like the red sea to let him past. The German didn't go to stand by the tree this time; Feliciano watched him from the entrance as he strode up to the outdoor gym towards the pile of different sized dumbbells. All of them were already being used, but when the German got within range several inmates immediately dropped them back down on the ground when he approached and retreated hastily.
Ludwig leant down and retrieved a pair of heavy dumbbells that had been dropped. Feliciano couldn't help but notice that every time other inmates went out of their way to keep the German happy, it was done so naturally, as if they were all following a strict routine. Ludwig stood amongst the other, more brawny inmates, lifting the heavy weights steadily, doing reps. Most of the pumped up men doing the same didn't seem as afraid of the German as most other people, probably due to their large stature however a slight distance was still kept and no one made a move to retrieve any of the dumbbells Ludwig wasn't using that still lay by his feet.
Feliciano stood dubiously a good few yards from the outdoor gym. As intimidating as the German was he couldn't deny that he was the only person who would ensure he wasn't picked on...although he couldn't just stand awkwardly by his side whilst he was lifting weights could he? No, that was utterly pathetic. Maybe if he himself lifted some weights he could away with it, but from the looks of the large, lumbering dumbbells, some of which looked almost as large as one of the Italian's arms, something told him he wouldn't have much luck before his arms gave out.
The Italian slowly shuffled over across the gravely tarmac, heart squeezing anxiously the closer he got. A few inmates looked up but said nothing, they seemed to be similar in a way to Ludwig, keeping to themselves, not wanting to cause trouble. This relieved Feliciano slightly as he tentatively bent down, selecting the smallest of the dumbbells from near one of Ludwig's ankles. The blond hadn't seemed to notice him, arms working furiously on the large weights, eyes fixed firmly ahead. The Italian attempted to stand but found that he couldn't, embarrassingly the overall weight of the two dumbbells in his hands meant he couldn't even pull himself back up.
Blushing slightly and quickly checking to make sure people weren't watching, he let go with one hand and attempted to lug just one of the dumbbells with both hands. Straining and grunting slightly with the force, Feliciano eventually managed to get back to his feet, a substantially heavy weight held insecurely in both hands. The Italian held it up in triumph, unfortunately this turned out to be the worst possible move. The sudden lunge of the weight into the air toppled him dangerously off balance. Feliciano let out a slight squeak, dropping the dumbbell with a loud clatter he stumbled forcibly into the back of another inmate, knocking heavily into them.
The giant, muscled jumpsuit spun around with a look of pure fury across his red face. Feliciano hadn't even caused him to wobble, it was like falling into a brick wall, he didn't even leave a scratch. However this clearly was beside the point for this powerhouse, black haired man. "OI!"
Feliciano immediately began blurting out apologies, rapidly backing away. "S-Sorry! I'm so sorry, I didn't, I mean it was an accident-"
He gasped out as a large hand fisted into the front of his jumpsuit, dragging him back towards him. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" he snarled, bearing his pointy shark-like teeth.
Feliciano shook his head desperately, frightened tears springing to his eyes as his feet were almost dangling off the ground. "S-Sorry, please...I'm sorry!" he shrieked, struggling in the clamp-like grip.
"You will be." he growled into the Italian's fearful face, bulging veins popping out on his large neck.
A loud clatter momentarily faltered the man, he looked up to see Ludwig watching him with his arms folded, having dropped the dumbbells to the ground. The two pairs of dark eyes met and the German stepped closer. "Let him go, Blake." he said deliberately slowly.
Blake quirked an eyebrow yet his hand did loosen around Feliciano. "Why might I do that?"
The Italian was alarmed that this man didn't seem to fear Ludwig. However the German kept his strict composure, quirking a blond eyebrow. "Because bad things happen to people who don't do what I say." he growled in a low voice that made Feliciano shiver. "...und I don't know what those things might be, because people have always done what I say."
Blake gave him a disgruntled look, dropping the Italian harshly to the ground. "I'm getting pretty sick of you parading around here like you're a fucking king." he spat, squaring up to the blond. For the first time since he'd met Ludwig; Feliciano actually feared for him, this man towered a good five inches above the German and was noticeably larger in body mass. Other inmates in the gym had now stopped to stare, open mouthed at the confrontation, all holding their breath to see how Ludwig would react.
Ludwig merely gave him a nasty smirk. "Then why don't you do something about it?" he said almost in an inviting voice.
Feliciano didn't know whether Ludwig expected the inmate to take him up on the offer or back off, however the German was clearly prepared for whatever he dared to throw at him. Blake's large, fat fist shot out to slam hard the blond in his face; Ludwig simply blocked the attack with his own hand, turning the tables on him he yanked the man's arm forcibly behind his back, forcing him onto his knees. The Italian could only stare in shock as Blake was reduced to a whimpering child whilst the German held him down, he began spurting out apologies in a similar way Feliciano himself had done moments before.
Ludwig eventually got bored and released him, giving him a look of disgust. "Get the fuck out of here." he hissed; Blake slowly got to his feet, intense rage mingling with pain was spread across his face but then he stormed off across the courtyard, leaving his dignity behind him.
Feliciano's mouth was still hanging open as he too got to his feet; Ludwig said nothing and tried to go back to the dumbbells. However the Italian had another idea, a very bad idea. Before he could stop himself he'd lunged forward and grabbed the German's sleeve, staring up at him in awe. "Ludwig..." he breathed, almost beaming. "Grazie-"
On some sort of built in instinct Ludwig had whipped back around and socked the Italian right across the jaw, sending him sprawled out on the ground. Feliciano gasped out in pain, clutching at his face as he curled up into a ball. Ludwig shook his head, slowly bending down he leant over the whimpering Italian. "Did I forget to mention that the no talking to me rule also included a no touching me rule?" he muttered sharply into Feliciano's ear. "Maybe I should have made myself clearer." the German got back to his feet, stepping over the Italian he left him there writhing in pain as he went back to his work out.