Feliciano finished peeling is his last potato, he'd lost count of how many spuds he'd shed with the blunt peeler. The Italian dropped the potato into the bucket by his feet now almost full to the brim with spuds, drying his hands on his trouser legs. Beside him Johan still had a considerable amount of potatoes piled up, he'd been peeling agonisingly slowly in the last hour; the three manly cafeteria women were conversing in gruff voices somewhere behind them. The prison kitchen was rather small and grotty, with a greasy stove, mucky tiles and no windows; Feliciano was sure that had to be health hazard. It wasn't as bad as he'd imagined however, time was slipping away relatively quickly and every now and again he and Johan had managed to sneak a grape or two from the fruit basket sat beside the sink when they went to wash their peeled spuds.
"Need some help?" Feliciano asked kindly, holding out his hands.
Johan glanced up with a distorted smile and pushed a handful of potatoes over to him across the counter. "Thanks, I've never been too good at this stuff." he muttered, staring down in annoyance at the grimy peeler in his hands. "You're fast at this."
"I get a lot of practice." Feliciano said with a shrug. "I kind of like it, it's relaxing...although we do ever even get given potatoes? I don't remember ever eating any..." he muttered thoughtfully, glancing up at the large grey shutters above the counter that separated them from the cafeteria; they were usually wide open during meal times over the serving station but now that it was the afternoon and lunchtime had past they were locked closed again until dinner later in the day.
Johan nodded slowly. "Yeah...I think they just mash them up and put them in the stew and stuff." he said quietly; his hands fumbled slightly over the peeler and he almost dropped it to the floor.
Feliciano watched him curiously. "...are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah fine." Johan gabbed hurriedly, beaming up at him with his wide grin.
The Italian smiled in an unnerved sort of way. "Okay." Feliciano went back to his potato peeling, much slower this time to try and match Johan's pace. Something about the way the man peeled his spuds didn't seem to be purely his inability to use a peeler well; he held it correctly against the potato in his hand yet seemed to drag it agonisingly slowly across the spud to scrape away the skin. Feliciano glanced behind him when he smelt a powerfully strong aroma of cigarette smoke; the three broad women had started smoking beside the rusty cooker despite the sign above their heads on the wall clearly stating it was not permitted to smoke inside the kitchens.
Johan almost slammed his peeler down on the counter, glaring slightly at the women over his shoulder. "Excuse me, but I think that sign says no smoking in here." he said in a harsh tone; the Italian jumped.
One of the women in a black hair net and with a rather large moustache narrowed her eyes. "...and you're telling us because...?"
"I have bad asthma, and I'd hate for it to come about again and to have to tell the physician it's a result of you three breaking the rules." Johan said darkly, the potato and peeler trembling slightly in his hands. The three of them looked momentarily unaffected by his words, then a slow dawning became apparent, they gave the two of them a sharp look before stalking out of the kitchen into the cafeteria, where they heard them leave through the backdoor into the empty courtyard.
Feliciano looked at Johan in concern, gently tapping his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked quietly, he'd never seen the man act quite so edgy before.
Johan dropped the things he was holding to the counter, stretching his thin mouth into that wide grin once more. "Yeah fine, just get a little touchy about smoking you know?" he tried to brush it off as a joke but his smile was wavering, as if it was taking immense effort to keep it fixed in place; the man's smile had never reached his cold eyes, but Feliciano had never noticed it as much as he did now.
The Italian managed to smile back before hurriedly going back to the potatoes; the two of them were completely alone in the silent kitchen, for a few moments Feliciano just continued to peel, until he slowly realised that he was the only one doing so. "...um, are you not carrying on?" he questioned softly, Johan was staring straight ahead of him at the grey shutters, his arms at his sides.
"Yeah, I'm just...just going to see if they have a better peeler, this ones nowhere near sharp enough." Johan said, slowly slinking away to the opposite side of the kitchen; the Italian heard him shuffling through one of the drawers and remove a utensil. Feliciano wondered why on earth the drawers weren't kept locked, people could easily steal from them surely, although then again the women who worked in the kitchens weren't exactly a bright bunch.
After another few moments of silence Feliciano heard Johan knocking his fist quietly on top off of the kitchen counter; the Italian glanced over in slight befuddlement, not entirely sure what the man was doing, and he could have sworn some of his knocks didn't correspond with the taps he was hearing. "...um, did you find one?"
"Huh?" Johan almost jumped, spinning around to smile at the Italian. "No, couldn't find any...hey I think we're running low on potatoes." he interjected quickly, glancing over at the rather large pile still on the counter.
Feliciano looked around in slight confusion. "Are we? I think we're alright..."
"Well with the rate you peel them they'll be gone in five minutes!" Johan laughed a little too loudly, his lips still twitching uncomfortably to keep his happy grin in place. "They keep them in here, can you help me carry a sack?" he asked, sliding across the kitchen to a closed narrow door that the cafeteria women had retrieved the potatoes from when they first arrived. Johan creaked it slowly open, holding it out for the Italian to enter first. Feliciano was still a little confused but relented; he left his peeler where it was and crossed to the other side of the kitchen to enter the small storage room, followed closely by Johan.
There were no windows in here either, the Italian flicked on the light which illuminated a dull glow from a single bulb above their heads. Wide metal shelves ran all along the inside of this box-shaped room, carrying huge pots and pans and various boxes of expired canned food. At the back of the storage room large wooden crates were stacked up almost to the ceiling and sacks of potatoes congregated in a pile in front of them. Feliciano edged slowly into the dark room, approaching the potato sacks; behind him he heard the door shut and the lock click into place.
Feliciano was just leaning over to grab hold of a full sack when he turned around in surprise. "Johan...what are you doing?" he asked almost anxiously; the man had his back to him, his hands still braced on the handle of the door that he'd now locked firmly shut. The Italian's anxiety was steadily increasing as Johan didn't respond, he bit his lip slightly. "...Johan?"
Still Johan refused to answer; the man was breathing heavily, his face almost pressed into the closed door. Feliciano took a tentative step towards him, feeling deeply uncomfortable at the uncharacteristic silence. He opened his mouth to speak again and his heart just about leapt into his throat when Feliciano heard and felt the presence of two more men in the tiny storage room. The Italian swivelled around on his heel and let out a squeak of shock, rapidly backing away as they emerged out from behind the stacks of crates.
"Blake! Eric!?" Feliciano cried in distress, staring up at these large brutes with fear-stricken eyes as they started to advance towards him. "What's going on?" he whipped around widely but Johan was still at the door, not facing him. Simultaneously the inmates lunged towards the tiny Italian and grabbed an arm each, hauling him upwards into their tight grasps; Feliciano yelled out in panic. "Ah! Johan help!" he squealed, kicking his legs helplessly as they dangled to the floor.
"Where do you want him?" Blake grunted suddenly at Johan, his meaty fists digging into the young man's arms and side as he held him up between Eric.
Feliciano's wide eyes turned to stare at the back of Johan's head. "...Johan?" he whispered shakily.
Johan slowly lifted his head, his hands dragging down the door to rest at his sides. "Just hold him there." he muttered coldly.
Eric and Blake hoisted him up further to ensure he couldn't escape, their hold was so strong the Italian couldn't even move his arms. Feliciano's heart was pounding a furious rhythm, his head shifting rapidly from Eric's pig-like face to Blake's beaten up, bruised skin. "Johan...what, what is this? What's happening?" the Italian pleaded, staring helplessly at Johan's back.
"Feliciano..." Johan drawled softly, slowly rotating on the spot to face the three of them. "...sweet, innocent Feliciano..." he strode closer towards them, once out of the shadows the glow from that single bulb was now lighting up the sharp features of Johan's face. "...did Ludwig not teach you anything about trusting others?" he asked innocently, his lips slowly twisting into a sadistic smile.
Feliciano stared at him with wide eyes; Johan's face had never looked so vulture like before, his dark eyes were a soulless, piercing black. The Italian stared up at the men holding him then back to the man stood in front of him. "You're...you're friends with them?"
Johan smirked slightly. "Well, I wouldn't say friends...exactly." he muttered, glancing up at the ugly faces staring down at him.
"Johan, what's going on? Why are you doing this?" Feliciano asked, his voice quaking in the men's hold.
Johan almost choked out a disbelieving laugh. "...you really don't have any idea who I am, do you?" he questioned slowly.
Feliciano's heart sank. "What?"
Johan continued to smirk, lazily shaking his head. "Funny...I'd have thought Ludwig would have told his sweet, trusting punk everything about himself, including who I am." he muttered, letting his gaze find Feliciano's, his menacing stare contrasting greatly to the fearful one that stared back. "God knows he trusted me, and we were nowhere near as close as you two."
Feliciano shook his head, what the heck was going on? What on earth had happened to Johan!? It was as if a stranger was standing before him, Feliciano did not know this man, with this cruel smile and low growl. "...what do you mean? Who are you?" he stammered.
Johan continued to stare at him, his eyes unblinking. "Tell me something Feliciano, does the name...Gerard, ring any bells?" he asked softly, tapping his finger against one of his hollow cheeks. "Surely Ludwig must have told you that sad tale of his pathetic life." he added with a smirk.
Feliciano's panicked mind was failing him, he could have said any name in the world and the Italian would have still drawn a blank. He swallowed slightly, his eyes flitting around the dark room for some kind of inspiration, it sounded familiar, it sounded... "...Gerard." Feliciano whispered and his eyes widened. "...that's, that's the horrible man who killed Gilbert!" he blurted out suddenly, staring at Johan in shock.
The cruel smile on Johan's sharp face dropped. "I think you mean to say, the brave man who was brutally murdered by Ludwig." he said in a low growl.
Feliciano's face contorted in confusion. "How do you know all this stuff?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. "Ludwig wouldn't tell you!"
"He didn't need to, I was lucky enough to be involved from the start." Johan drawled, rolling his eyes when Feliciano's confused face didn't change. "...no I wasn't a witness to the murder itself, but it affected me just as much as it affected him."
The Italian did not understand what the man in front of him was talking about. "...what?"
"Gerard was my father." Johan growled, his hands clenching into fists that trembled at his sides. "The man Ludwig killed was my dad."
Feliciano stared at him, his mouth gaping open in shock. He could suddenly recall every detail of Ludwig's story clear in his mind; who the man he killed was, and why he had gone to confront the German in that bar in the first place. "But...but that would mean...you and Ludwig...?" the Italian stammered quietly, his forehead still creased in confusion.
Johan nodded and Feliciano felt his stomach drop. "My first, and my last, male lover." he said slowly, his voice trembling along with his fists. "To think, what one moment of weakness would do to my entire life...Ludwig's deceitful nature and cunning charm, he lured me into a false reality, tricked me into getting into bed with him, to lie with another man!" he spat darkly, his sunken eyes twitching. "Then the sick bastard killed my father when he dared to confront him about it."
Feliciano frantically shook his head. "But...but your father was-was mean! He wouldn't accept that you were gay!" he cried insistently.
Something dark flashed in Johan's eyes. "I am NOT gay!" he snarled, and in an instant he'd forced a clenched fist into the Italian's stomach. Feliciano gasped out in pain, hunching over as much as was possible in the strong grip of Eric and Blake still forcibly holding him up by the arms. Johan leant in closer to Feliciano, growling into his ear as the young man moaned softly in pain. "I have nothing against those who are but Ludwig forced me into his arms, took my innocence and tormented my father with that fact...it drove him insane, it drove me insane! He used me for sex and then left me to wallow in self pity." Johan's quivering voice steadied as he slowly pulled back, straightening himself up his mouth curved into a smirk. "...and it's clear from what you've told me Feliciano, that he did the same thing to you, he used you too."
Feliciano ignored the throbbing pain in his stomach to throw the man a look of confusion. "What? No...no he didn't."
"Is it not true that you've slept with Ludwig?"
"S-Sì...but he didn't use me!" Feliciano implored, shaking his head. "He didn't..."
Johan snorted derisively. "Maybe it's time someone told you the truth about Ludwig, Feliciano." he muttered coldly.
"I know the truth...I know who he is, you don't know who he is!" Feliciano shot at him, feeling a strange surge of courage even as the thick fingers grasping his arms tightened. "He wouldn't use me...he cares about me!"
"Is that why he allowed himself to be put in isolation away from you? Even though he knew it would happen if he started fighting?" Johan questioned innocently, folding his arms across his chest.
Feliciano shook his head. "That wasn't his fault! It was..." he trailed off, unable to say the name of the man currently holding onto him, he shifted his gaze upwards and shivered when Blake's cold eyes met his.
"What? All Blake's fault?" Johan replied with a harsh laugh. "I don't recall Blake hitting him back, nice job by the way." he added, nodding up to the large man covered in bruises. "You held your own; I wasn't sure whether you'd be able to hold back any longer."
"Just as long as you hold up your end of the deal." Blake muttered darkly and Feliciano felt the hands on both of his arms tighten.
The Italian looked swiftly from Blake to Johan, and from Eric to Johan. "What? You...you're all together on this?"
Johan rolled his eyes. "My my nothing gets past you Feliciano." he drawled with a smirk.
Feliciano stared at him. "...but why?"
"Why!?" Johan spat, his smug face breaking into anger and disgust. "Did I not state the fucking obvious before!? Ludwig KILLED my father!" he bellowed, his voice exploding in the confined space.
"But he killed Ludwig's brother!" Feliciano protested insistently.
"Completely by accident!" Johan hissed, his soulless eyes narrowing. "I don't know what Ludwig has told you about that brain dead sidekick of his, but Gilbert was an idiot if I ever saw one; a self-centred little prick who looked down on everyone for not living their lives the way he and his muscle head brother did." he said coldly, waving a dismissive hand. "Frankly his death was not a huge loss to anyone."
"It was to Ludwig!" Feliciano cried out, what little courage he had had yet to burn out. "Gilbert was all he had!"
Johan smirked. "You think I don't know that?" he queried with a quirked brow. "Ludwig spilt his bullshit life story to me some time before we slept together...brought tears to my eyes it did." he clutched his heart in an overly dramatic fashion, causing Eric and Blake to chortle from either side of the Italian.
Feliciano glared at him. "You're a monster."
Johan returned the dark look. "I'm not the monster, Ludwig is...once a murder, always a murderer." he growled, all the laughter now absent from his voice.
"Just like your dad." Feliciano let slip before he could stop himself.
Johan's face soured and the Italian received a second brutal punch to the stomach that had him recoiling in pain, he hung limply in the men's arms as Johan leant in close. "You're in a very vulnerable position here Feliciano, I'd watch what you say." he hissed darkly into the young man's ear.
"Are you done yet?" Eric suddenly barked from Feliciano's right, hoisting the man up further as he flopped like a rag doll.
Johan's thin lips curved into a grin "Patience, Eric, patience..."
Feliciano unscrewed his face, straightening up as best he could. "What do you want with me?" he moaned softly, panic rising through his chest again. "If you hate Ludwig then why am I here?"
Johan just smirked at him. "You're the missing link I've been waited for Feliciano, for three long years..." his voice trembled as he spoke, almost spitting out each word.
Feliciano stared at him in confusion. "...what?"
"I couldn't let it lie." Johan said simply with a shrug. "I testified against Ludwig in court, cried during my statement to the jury about how the heartless killer had slaughtered my poor father...of course they were on my side, and banged him up for life." he continued, a lazy smile tugged at his lips before it faltered. "At first I felt pleased, I'd done what I set out to do and put Ludwig away for life...but as time went on, I couldn't stop thinking about it. My poor mother was going insane without my father, I had to get a second job to help pay the bills she could no longer afford, our entire family was falling apart...I knew I needed revenge."
"But you got your revenge!" Feliciano argued, shaking his head. "He's in prison for life! Is that not enough?"
Johan was silent for a few moments, his dark eyes fixed on the single light above their heads. "...I thought it was." he said softly after a while. "But prison wasn't nearly enough for what Ludwig deserved, especially in this place!" he glowered, snapping his head back down to glare at the Italian. "The rules are so lapsed here it might as well be fucking day care! No..." he shook his head slowly. "I needed to take something of his, like he took my father."
Feliciano gave a feeble attempt to pull himself free of the men's grip. "...Gilbert was taken, and he meant more to Ludwig than anything!" his arms were being clamped onto too forcefully, he couldn't budge.
"That was before he killed my father." Johan muttered darkly. "No, I wanted to be the one to take something of his, something that would torture his soul while he rotted away in here, driving him to insanity before his pro-longed, agonising death." he took a moment to calm himself, his voice shaking with the tremors of his fists. Johan put on a slight smile, a much colder, psychotic smile than Feliciano was used to seeing on this man's sharp face. "I set about a plan to get myself incarcerated here so that I could get Ludwig on the inside, it was simply a matter of high jacking a car, landing myself a few years in here in order to get my revenge...a sacrifice I was willing to make." he added in a growl. "Annoyingly I wasn't put in the same block as Ludwig, but at least inside here I could watch him, observe him, find out everything about him...granted he wasn't too happy to see me wandering around in here but there wasn't anything he could do about it, not unless he wanted the entire prison knowing about his past."
"You got yourself put in here just to get revenge?" Feliciano asked incredulously.
Johan ignored him, his jaw clenching just a little. "But there was lose end...Ludwig had no one." he glowered. "The only flaw in my otherwise perfect plan; how the hell was I supposed to take something away from him when he didn't have anything? Not a friend, not an acquaintance...the exception being that pansy British guy, but I couldn't very well do anything to a guard now could I?" Johan asked of the Italian, rolling his eyes into the back of his head; he clenched his fists at his sides, gritting his teeth. "Five years...how can a man be alone for so long!? I was going mad, I started to think this whole ordeal had been a waste, he was a such a loner I didn't think there would ever be hope..." the man slowly turned to fix Feliciano with a sly grin. "...and that's when a little ray of sunshine walked into my life, you, Feliciano."
"...me?" Feliciano whispered with a shiver.
"Of course." Johan answered with a twisted smile. "I've been watching you both, and God only knows how you did it, but you broke down Ludwig's barriers, got him to open up, got him to be your friend, got him to..." the man's smile grew. "...care about you." Johan took a step back, surveying the scene in front of him, letting out a sigh of content. "It was perfect, my plan was starting to formulate. I just needed to check, I needed to check that you meant something to him, that you weren't just a toy he was playing with, and that's where these two came in." he held out his arms to indicate to two brutes holding the Italian up. "I needed a test, something simple that would let me know he wasn't playing a game with you...I had Eric here test his loyalty to you." the large skinhead grinned down at Feliciano, making him shudder.
Johan smiled, "Simply by trying to take possession of you from Ludwig I was able to see his reaction, and when Eric here confirmed to me that Ludwig had been infuriated, and defended you immediately...I knew you were the one." the man drawled softly, slinking closer to him. "You'd gotten to him, in a way I never did..." Johan trailed off quietly, his eyelid twitching, then he carried on in the same morbid fashion. "I knew he'd go insane at the idea that something had happened to you, but first I needed him out of the way, he never let you out of his sight. Hence where Blake came in." another squeeze on the arm from Feliciano's left made him jump. "By providing him the information he would need to set Ludwig off into a blind rage I was able to have him put away, out of sight and out of mind." he said simply, brushing off his hands.
Feliciano's eyes widened and he stared widely around at all three of them. "But...but why would they help...?" he asked in complete bewilderment.
Johan gave him a cold look. "Do you know what it's like for inmates being stuck in here with Ludwig? It's hell." he muttered stiffly. "So everyone tells me; he's an arrogant son of a bitch who looks down on us all and expects everyone to do as he says, despite him being nothing more than a killer..." Johan smirked slightly. "I'd have had a harder job finding people not willing to help me destroy him."
Feliciano swallowed slightly. "...destroy him?" he squeaked.
"Mentally, at least." Johan said with a smile, lifting a hand up to gently caress the Italian's cheek. "Imagine Ludwig's horror, the anguish and devastation at finding his poor little, defenceless Italian lover dead...with nothing he can do to prevent it." he uttered softly with a pout, pinching Feliciano's cheek.
Feliciano's heart dropped, the same intense panic he'd felt on his first days at the prison resurfaced; the Italian stared at him with fear-stricken eyes, desperately trying to tug himself free of the clamps on his arms, kicking and struggling in their hold. The three of them laughed at him as he tried to escape; Feliciano bit his lip, staring beseeching at the man in front of him. "Johan...Johan please!" he begged, his panicked breath hitching in his chest. "I...I'm sorry it didn't work out with you and Ludwig!"
Johan's cruel smile dropped instantly into a cold, hard stare. "...what?"
Feliciano whimpered softly, biting his lip. "...th-that's what this is about isn't it? That...that you're not with him anymore, your father wouldn't accept your relationship, and that now Ludwig and I-"
The Italian cried out in pain when he received not one but several forceful punches to the stomach in quick succession, Johan had a hold of the hair at the back of his head. "You really think." he snarled dangerously, slamming his fist repeatedly into his stomach. "That I give a FUCK about that son of a bitch in that way!?" he roared, taking his knee sharply to the Italian's stomach; Feliciano gasped out, painful tears starting to well in his eyes as he hunched over, hanging limply in the air. Johan took a step back, breathing heavily. "I've told you, this is about revenge, pure and simple." he growled, reaching into his jumpsuit pocket. "My father took away his brother in a freak accident, Ludwig deliberately stabbed him to death..." he slowly drew something out, brandishing it for Feliciano to see. "...and now I'm going to kill the one person Ludwig cares more about than his own selfish hind."
Feliciano went numb at the sight of the razor sharp kitchen knife Johan was tightly grasping in his hand, the man was advancing and the Italian was too petrified to move; Eric grunted irritably. "...you're not forgetting us I hope?" he growled down at Johan before he could do anything else.
Johan halted his movements, his eyelid twitching irritably as he was mere inches away from Feliciano, the knife held up in front of his face. "Oh for fuck sake." he spat up at him, lowering the sharp blade. "Fine. Do with him as you please but make it quick." Johan retreated into a dark corner of the room, the knife held firmly at his side.
Feliciano was momentarily vexed until suddenly he was forcibly shoved into Blake's arms where he was turned around and the man restrained him from behind, both of the Italian's arms locked firmly behind his back. The young man's chest was rapidly rising and falling with his panicked breath, the feeling the dread for whatever it was they had planned for him. In front of him he saw Eric hurriedly fumbling with the buttons on the bottom half of his jumpsuit, yanking them open; the Italian paled.
"What? NO! No get off me! You're not doing that to me!" Feliciano shrieked, twisting and turning in Blake's hold for all it was worth, using his legs to kick at the man's knees as he desperately struggled for freedom.
Eric glared at him, striding towards the young man he forced a hand around his throat, dragging him closer. "Listen you little bitch." he glowered in the Italian's face. "This should of happened weeks ago, and it is going to happen now. I've got a penis, and Johan's got a knife...and whether you like it or not one of them is going inside of you." his hand tightened around Feliciano's neck as his other was wrenching down his clothes.
Feliciano choked under Eric's hold, bringing his legs up he swiftly kicked the man in the stomach and managed to prize him away. "No! Get off!" he cried, using the full force of his body to struggle from side to side, fearful tears starting to spurt down his face.
"Squirmy little shit, stay still!" Blake hissed irritably as he grappled with the Italian in his arms.
"No! Let go!" Feliciano screamed, shaking his head from side to side. "Ludwig! LUDWIG!"
Johan advanced quickly from out of the shadows, fisting a hand into the front of the Italian's jumpsuit he pressed the knife threateningly against his side. "You'd better keep quiet, or this will turn ugly very quickly." he breathed softly into the young man's ear; Johan slowly twisted the blade so the point was pressed into him and in one slow, tortuous movement he slid the knife into Feliciano; it cut straight through the flesh and sent a stream of blood pouring onto the floor. "I don't think Eric will care one way or another whether you're dead before he does it, so if you can stop screaming long enough you'll get to enjoy it."
Feliciano's body shook uncontrollably, his senses had frozen with complete shock and he could only inhale rapidly as the sharp intrusion sliced into his side. The Italian had gone numb, his vision blurring from a combination of tears and fear, he could feel a large figure moving towards him in the dim light of the room, several meaty hands on his fragile body, wait, what was that loud bang just now? The hands around him hesitated, he felt the tight grip on his arms loosen until he was suddenly dropped to a heap on the floor at Blake's feet.
"...shit."
"Oh fuck."
Feliciano blinked up blearily, there was more light in the storage room now, and only when he felt the numbness begin to fade and his senses come back to him did the Italian realise the door had been kicked off it's hinges and was hanging wide open, the light from the kitchen bursting through. An intense throbbing suddenly enveloped the Italian, hot white pain bursting from his side and the young man crumbled on the floor, howling in distress. He could no longer comprehend what was going on through the torturous burning in his side, only that something was happening to the three men in the room; there was a lot of shouting, banging and angry snarls. Feliciano managed to squint open his eyes a fraction, whimpering in desolation as he lay on the cold floor.
"Feli..." someone was on their knees by his side, gently cradling his face in their shaking hands. "It'll be okay, everything is going to be fine." the Italian was hastily yet carefully lifted off the floor into a pair of strong arms; Feliciano opened his eyes and saw what had become of his torturers. All three men were unconscious on the storage room floor; Eric had blood pouring out of his nose, Blake's face was considerably more battered and bruised than it had been and Johan was lying face down in the smashed remains of a crate of canned fruit.
Feliciano's trembling hands found the handle of the knife still protruding from his side, he gasped sharply as he felt it, burrowing into the chest in front of him as he sobbed in pain. His inner body was shaking with tremors and he gazed up at figure holding him protectively and carrying him hurriedly away from the scene. "...L-Ludwig?"
Above him the German was backing into the kitchen door, racing through the cafeteria to get back into their block, his face was considerably pale, his eyes heavily shadowed and sunken. "Feli just hold on okay? Don't pull the knife out, just keep your eyes open." he told him firmly, his voice shaking noticeably as he spoke. He heaved the Italian closer to his chest, clutching him close as two people were racing down the block corridor towards him.
"Oh God!" Arthur skidded to halt, staring in horror at the blood oozing from the Italian and soaking the front of Ludwig's jumpsuit. "What happened?"
"No time Arthur!" Ludwig yelled, pushing past him. "He needs to see Elizaveta." he tore down the block towards the exit with the guards close on his tail.
"Arthur what the hell is he doing out of isolation!?" Alfred demanded, glaring at the back of the Brit's head.
Arthur ignored him, hurriedly following after Ludwig, tearing his keys out of his belt. "Where's Johan?"
"He's incapacitated in the storage room." Ludwig growled.
"Oh for fuck sake." Alfred snapped. "What the hell is the matter with you Arthur!? Just look what's happened!"
The Brit scrambled to unbolt the heavy metal door, wrenching it wide open; he turned to glare at the American. "Just leave it Alfred! Go to the kitchen and see what's happened but let me deal with these two, okay!?" he yelled dangerously, slamming the door in his partner's face once Ludwig had ran past with Feliciano held securely in his arms. "Jeff get on the phone to the general hospital we're going to need ambulances on stand by." he called to the man behind the glass in the main office who looked startled.
The German burst into Elizaveta's office, heaving the heavily bleeding young man onto the narrow bed; Elizaveta herself had been enjoying a cup of coffee at her desk and almost knocked it to the floor in her haste to get up and see what was going on. "Oh my Gosh! What happened!?" she shrieked, racing to the bed she tried to survey Feliciano but Ludwig refused to let go of him.
"He was stabbed in the side, he's bleeding a lot, please you need to help him!" Ludwig implored, staring wide eyed at the Hungarian beside him.
Elizaveta nodded determinedly, hurrying back to her desk she dragged her chair to the side of the bed, manoeuvring the German into it. "Of course, but sweetie please stay out of the way I need to have a look." she rolled up her sleeves and pushed her long hair back further into her yellow bandana, then she leant over Feliciano and got a good look at the knife handle sticking out of his side, where a large patch on blood was staining his jumpsuit. "Right, I need to get him undressed." the Hungarian dove beneath the bed where the metal frame held many boxes and trays in shelves; she located a big pair of scissors and hastily began to cut through the fabric of Feliciano's jumpsuit.
Ludwig helped to peel the jumpsuit off Feliciano's body; the Italian whimpered in distress when he had to let go of his side, the pain increased without his tight hold over it. Elizaveta grabbed a thick cloth and pressed down over the wound around the knife, mopping up the blood. "Okay, okay shhh...Ludwig can you hold this for me a second?" she grabbed the German's hand and placed it firmly on top of the cloth. "Just continue to compress the wound okay? I need to see Feliciano's file."
Ludwig nodded, pressing down on Feliciano's side he gently turned the Italian over onto his opposite side to face him, compressing down on the wound. "Just hang on Feli...it'll be okay..." he whispered, clenching his muscles in an intense effort to stop his arms from trembling.
Elizaveta whipped out the Italian's file from her desk and scanned through it as she hurried to the doorway where the pale Brit was watching the scene unfold. "Arthur, I need you to go downstairs to medical storage and grab me a blood bag, blood type A." she said, ushering him away.
Arthur shook his head hesitantly. "But I...I'm not really supposed to leave you alone with inmates, prison guidelines state-"
"Oh Arthur for goodness sake neither Ludwig or Feliciano are going to hurt me now please can you do as I have asked!?" Elizaveta snapped, rushing back to Feliciano's bedside. "Right come here sweetie..." she took the cloth from Ludwig and continued to press down on the wound. Feliciano moaned softly, his stomach convulsing in pan.
"Should we get him to a hospital?" Ludwig asked, his forehead creasing with concern.
Elizaveta bit her lip but shook her head. "No, no that takes too long, the hospital has to be called, ambulance needs to get here, security needs to be called up to escort him and the warden and parole officer need to be notified and give their permission for him to leave." she muttered, dabbing carefully around the knife. "No it's too much messing around getting prisoners to hospital, I better just do it here."
Ludwig nodded numbly, leaning over in his chair to cup Feliciano's face, gently stroking his cheek. "You'll be okay..." he murmured, his eyes bright with worry. Feliciano could only feel pain, he squinted to see the German in front of him, tried to open him mouth to speak but only moans and whimpers escaped him. He felt the Hungarian rubbing some kind of gel around the stab wound and within minutes the pain was slowly starting to numb to a dull throb.
Arthur was soon back and Elizaveta was hurriedly getting out a drip stand from beneath the bed, snapping the poles into place and wheeling it to stand beside Feliciano's bed. "Thanks Arthur." she checked the bag was the correct blood type before hooking it up to the drip; Elizaveta then attached a needle to the tube at the bottom and gently took hold of Feliciano's hand. "Right come here sweetie."
"He'll really need a blood transfusion?" Ludwig asked in a quaver as the Hungarian gently slid the needle into the top of Feliciano's hand, the German was holding down the cloth again over the wound.
"He's going to lose a lot of blood when the knife is pulled out." Elizaveta told him, she grabbed a pair of medical rubber gloves from a box on the counter and tugged them on. "It's going to get quite messy."
Feliciano let out a soft whimper, squeezing his eyes closed as he felt Ludwig's hand draw away from the cloth on his side as the Hungarian's replaced it. He felt Ludwig's soft fingers on his cheek again, trying to calm him. Elizaveta retrieved some sutures and a needle for stitching, some antiseptic gel and laid them on the bed before she grabbed the handle of the knife, ready to pull. "Okay, this may hurt sweetie but just hang on okay?"
"Feli." Ludwig tipped the Italian's chin back towards him as he tried to glance down at what Elizaveta was doing. "Don't watch okay? Just look at me, talk to me Feli."
The Italian stared up at the German with fear in his eyes, his breath coming out in sharp gasps. "L-Luddi..." despite the numbness in his side he could feel the knife being removed and the warm gush of blood that followed and poured down his body. He cried softly into the pillow at his head, his body trembling uncontrollably even as a cool gel was dabbed into the wound.
"Feli look at me." Ludwig said firmly, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Feli...what's your cafe called?"
"W-What?" the Italian croaked out, gazing up at the man leaning down over him.
"What's your cafe called? Talk to me Feli, it'll distract from the pain." the German said gently, scooping his fingers into the young man's hair.
"U-Umm..." Feliciano swallowed heavily, wincing as he felt a sharp intrusion slide into his skin. "V-Vargas' Place, it's called Vargas' Place..."
Ludwig nodded slowly, gently stroking his hair. "Ja, und where is it?"
"It's um...it's on Rutland street, near...near the-the church..." Feliciano stammered, his breath catching in his chest.
"Und what kind of things do you serve there?"
Feliciano couldn't answer Ludwig's next question, he searched through his mind for an answer but suddenly everything went blank and his eyes slid shut. Ludwig stared at him, gently tapping the man's face. "Feli, Feli stay with me..." he whispered, shaking his head desperately. "Feli! Open your eyes! Stay awake! FELI!"
"Ludwig it's okay-"
"Feli you can't go! Don't do this!" Ludwig wailed, shaking the man beneath him but his head flopped lifelessly against the pillow.
"Ludwig-"
"NEIN! This can't be happening! NOT AGAIN!" Ludwig bellowed, tears brimming in his eyes as he cradled the young man in his arms. "Feli don't leave me! You can't do this! I lo-"
"Ludwig!" Elizaveta shook him suddenly, yanking him away from Feliciano. "He's not dead!"
Ludwig fell back in his seat, staring up at her, his heart thudding dangerously fast. "...what?" he croaked.
Elizaveta smiled concernedly, gently lifting one of Feliciano's hands she placed it in Ludwig's own, curling his bruised fingers around the Italian's wrist she placed his middle and index finger against the veins. "Can you feel that?" she whispered; Ludwig stared down numbly at his hand, and he felt the unmistakable bump of a heartbeat beneath his fingers. "He's still got a pulse, he just must have passed out from pain, or the shock." Elizaveta said gently.
Ludwig took a long moment to come to terms with it, he nodded slowly, large tears starting to pour down his pale face as he held Feliciano's limp hand in his own. Elizaveta gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, softly rubbing his back. "He's okay, I promise you..." she murmured, showing him the stitch work she'd done on the Italian's stab wound. He was still lying in a large pool of his own blood, the blood from the bag slowly starting to replace it.
Elizaveta left the emotional man with Feliciano for a moment as she quietly grabbed a form from her desk and went to the doorway to meet Arthur just as he was getting back from the office. "Can you take this to the warden to sign Arthur? I want to keep Feliciano here over night to keep an eye on him and I need his permission." she said, quickly filling in the name of the inmate and the date.
Arthur nodded slowly, glancing behind her at the two men. "Will he be okay?" he asked softly, taking the form from her.
"Yes he will be..." she whispered, shaking her head in disgust. "...who did this to him?"
"Some block C inmate, as far as I can tell...there were three of them, they're being looked at by block C and A's physicians but I think they said that they'll probably need to go to the hospital."
"Why what happened to them?" Elizaveta asked in slight shock; Arthur sighed deeply, nodding to Ludwig. "Oh..." the Hungarian bit her lip. "Arthur please promise me you'll fight for him." she murmured.
"What?"
"You know what." she said firmly. "When people ask what happened, don't let them do anything to Ludwig, tell them how he saved Feliciano's life...and they should let him off."
Arthur nodded, glancing one last time at the broken down German in the seat beside Feliciano's bed. "I hope so...and I hope they let me off too." he muttered softly before he left with the form in hand.
Elizaveta smiled sadly after him before slowly approaching Ludwig again. "Sweetie do you need a glass of water or anything?" she asked kindly, gently kneeling down beside him.
Ludwig slowly shook his head, he still had his fingers pressed firmly against Feliciano's pulse as he gazed despondently at the young man, tears still seeping silently down his face. The Italian was completely out cold, lying on his side in the blood stained bed, his wound neatly stitched up and his chest slowly rising and falling with uneasy breaths; the pulse beneath the German's fingers the only reassurance that Feliciano was alive. Elizaveta gently patted Ludwig's shoulder, smiling up at him. "Sweetie, do you mind holding him for a second for me so I change the bedding? Don't really want him to be sleeping in all that." she said gently, helping to shift the young man over to the edge of the bed so that Ludwig could take hold of him.
The German carefully scooped the young man into his arms, lowering him gently onto his lap, he was sure not to knock the tube attached to the Italian's hand as he did so. Elizaveta went about making up the bed, removing all of the blood stained sheets and blankets into a bundle before she retrieved some fresh ones from underneath. The Hungarian made quick work of re-making the bed until it was done up with clean sheets ready for him. "There we are, you can lie him back down now...Ludwig?"
Ludwig didn't respond. He had his head burrowed in the back of Feliciano's neck; the Italian was completely limp against his chest and the German's arms were wound tightly around his back, cuddling him protectively against him. The German sniffled occasionally and brushed his lips against the warm skin of Feliciano's bare shoulders. Elizaveta smiled sadly, gently touching the top of Ludwig's head. "Sweetie...he really needs to lie down, it's bad for his stitches in that position..."
Almost immediately the German had stood on his trembling legs and carefully placed Feliciano back down on the clean bed. Elizaveta gently rolled him over onto his back, bringing up a soft cotton blanket to rest over the Italian. "There...he just needs to keep warm now and to get some rest." she said softly, checking the tube was still attached to the back of his hand.
"...can I stay with him?" Ludwig asked suddenly, one of his hands resting against the Italian's cheek.
Elizaveta bit her lip, looking incredibly hesitant. "Oh...no, no I'm really sorry sweetie but you can't."
"Please." Ludwig implored, gazing up at her with his bloodshot eyes. "I won't get in the way, I just...I need to stay with him."
"Sweetie I really can't, the warden would never allow it...I'm not even really supposed to have you here now." Elizaveta said apologetically, gently placing an arm around his shoulders as he sighed. "...but I promise you I'll take very good care of him."
Ludwig nodded. "Ja...I know you will." he murmured softly, glancing up at her in an almost thankful way, yet he couldn't quite manage to smile.
Elizaveta gently kissed his cheek, rubbing the back of his neck as Arthur reappeared in the doorway. "Ludwig, I need to get you back to your cell now so I can deal with everything." he said tiredly, handing the form back to the Hungarian.
Ludwig slowly got to his feet. "Alright. But please keep me updated on anything that happens with him." the Brit agreed to this and the German hesitated slightly by the bed before leaning down over Feliciano again. "You'll be okay..." Ludwig breathed quietly, pressing a lingering kiss to the Italian's forehead. He sighed deeply, nuzzling lightly into him. "...everytime I open my heart to somebody, something like this happens..." he breathed, kissing his head again.
Elizaveta smiled sadly, taking Ludwig's hand she had to tug him over to Arthur to get him to leave. "Get a good nights rest sweetie, I promise you everything will be okay and you'll see him tomorrow."