Three weeks have passed since Ludwig has returned to Germany. The two of them have talked every day, but because of the time differences it's hard for them to talk to each other on the phone so they decided that whenever Feliciano woke up, he would call Ludwig, and whenever Ludwig decided he was going to go to bed he would call Feliciano, that way they would both be awake during those times.
They both have started their classes back up again, and every time Feliciano walks into his Art History class he has to go through the pain of seeing the now empty seat beside him. He can't sneak any more sly pictures of him while he is working on the assignment, or while he is trying desperately to pay attention even though he knows that he can't because Feliciano is purposely distracting him.
He can't bring himself to go back to the willow tree just yet, but he has managed to go back to the café with his friends, even though it took him about two weeks.
After some thinking and some help from his friends, Feliciano decided to change his major from Art to Culinary and he has also decided to take another course in Restaurant Managment. After thinking about what Ludwig had mentioned to him a while ago about opening his own restaurant around here, he decided that he would do it. He loved to cook and he kind of always wanted to be the owner of a restaurant, and he can still paint and stuff in his free time so it's not like he's giving that up.
He didn't know quite yet what he would want to name his restaurant since he wanted to follow in his Grandfather's footsteps and make it an Italian restaurant, but Vargas's Italian was already taken by him. He'll think of something when the time comes.
Over in Germany Ludwig has continued on his own line of schooling, and his old friends are glad to see him, but he still misses the group back in the States and especially Feliciano. Ever since Feliciano told him that he switched his major to Culinary he wasn't surprised, he was a wonderful cook, but the reason behind it was a secret "until he thought the time was right to tell him" as Feliciano had put it.
Whenever Ludwig told Folkert about Feliciano like he had promised he had instantly liked the little Italian man and that he wishes to meet him one day. Ludwig had told him not to worry because he hopes that they will see each other again soon.
* * *
Nine months later -Christmas Eve-
Lights covered the house in decoration for the festive holiday. Presents were littered underneath the tree and the smell of baking gingerbread filled the air. Everyone sat in the living room, on the couches, chairs, and floor; Feliciano unconsciously leaving a space next to him on the floor for the man that he hoped would text any minute now to say that he was leaving.
"Has he got on the plane yet?" asked Gilbert.
Feliciano checked his messages, "No, he's still stuck at the airport. A bunch of the flights are being cancelled because of the weather, but he said that it looked like his flight was still good, it's just that they are pushing it back a few hours."
Gilbert sighed and rubbed his head, "I don't know if I do, or don't want him to get on that plane," he said to himself.
"Why," asked Francis.
"Because if the weather is bad enough to postpone the plane at all then I- eh nevermind."
Feliciano reached for another gingerbread cookie as his phone buzzed and he checked his messages once again.
Still at the airport
He quickly typed a reply.
Hopefully you can board soon, stay safe
All he had time to do was hit send before another message came through.
I love you, save me a present
He added on to his previous message before hitting send.
I already got you a few, I love you too
They all sat around and played games and enjoyed their Christmas Eve Party to the best of their abilities, but as the hours began to tick by, and Ludwig was saying that he was still at the airport, they began to worry.
"Maybe he's already on the plane, but he's telling you that he's not just to mess with you?" suggested Alfred.
Feliciano would like to consider that thought but he knew that it wasn't true.
"He wouldn't be able to text if he was on the plane you bloody idiot," said Arthur.
In the midst of their bickering, Feliciano's phone began to ring and he answered it immediately. A hush enveloped around the group.
"Hello?" he said into the phone.
"Feliciano," said Ludwig, "I have bad news."
The others looked on intently as they watched Feliciano's face fall.
"What is it?" he asked even though he felt like he already knew the answer.
"My flight got cancelled, all flights are cancelled out of this area until further notice. It looks like I won't be able to make it to the States for Christmas... I'm really sorry Feliciano."
Feliciano's heart felt like it had just been thrown away and stomped on. He stayed silent as the others looked at him, waiting for their share of the information being passed through. This was going to be their first time seeing each other in person since Ludwig left for Germany, and now it wasn't going to happen, now they would have to wait even longer.
"Feliciano?" asked Ludwig over the phone.
"Yeah..." he said, trying not to sound hurt, "I kind of guessed that that would happen, considering they kept pushing it back so much."
"Hey... Feliciano, I'm really sorry. Next time I promise I'll see you again, and soon. I hope you have a good Christmas."
Feliciano felt as if there was a huge weight that had just been settled on his chest. "You too. Merry Christmas, I love you," he whispered.
He could hear Ludwig sigh through the phone, mostly in frustration. "I love you too, I promise I'll find my over there somehow soon." He hung up.
"So?" asked Antonio timidly. They all knew by the look on Feliciano's face that the news wasn't the kind that they were wanting.
"His flight got cancelled, he's not going to be able to make it," said Feliciano, throwing his half eaten gingerbread cookie down on the floor next to him, on the spot where Ludwig was supposed to sit.
Lovino just looked away, trying not to show that he cares, but it was obvious that even he felt a smidge of disappointment that Ludwig wasn't going to be able to come.
Feliciano just stood from his spot, grabbed three boxes out from underneath the Christmas tree and went to his room, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
Three weeks after Christmas Feliciano came home from classes one day to find that he had a package sitting on his porch. He brought it into the house and sat down with it on his bed.
Feliciano looked at the label and noticed that it had come from Ludwig. His heart skipped a beat. He didn't tell me that he was going to send me something, he thought to himself.
He opened the box and on the inside of it was a blank cookbook along with a pen, a jar of Prego sauce, a note, and an even smaller box that was wrapped with snowflake wrapping paper.
This is so you can record all of your recipes whenever you start your restaurant, and I remember you saying that you have a secret sauce... not so "secret" anymore? Sorry that not everything is wrapped, I ran out of paper.
Feliciano smirked at the note. He was grateful that he remembered what he had told him about wanting to start his own restaurant, and that he had put thought into this. He moved on onto the smaller box, it couldn't have been bigger than the size of his fist.
Once he tore off the wrapping paper, he realized that it was a jewelry box, and to be more specific, a ring box. He could feel his heart stuttering with each passing second as he slowly opened it and watched as another note fluttered onto his lap. He picked it up before he could look at what else was inside.
I'm really sorry that I couldn't have given this to you sooner. I was planning on giving it to you on Christmas but we both know how that turned out... so I don't know when you will get this but I hope you like it. Feliciano, I love you so much and even though we are thousands of miles apart, I hope that we can keep this going until we see each other again, but until then whenever you think of me you can just look at this ring and know that I am still loving you, even if I am across the ocean. So I hope you like it, and I hope it fits.
I love you more than you will ever know, ~Ludwig
He put down the note and returned to the small ring box. Inside was a promise ring, it was simple and yet not; he loved it. It was silver along the edges and on the inside. Almost like a band around the ring was a pearl pattern that shifted colors with the light, but it seemed to mostly remain on a teal blue color. Most of all, the inside was engraved with a shortened version of their names, Feli&Lud, and he couldn't have been happier.
Very carefully, he pulled the ring from the box and put it on his ring finger. It fits. He sat there, admiring his ring with a huge smile on his face before he quickly stood and grabbed his laptop from his dresser. He opened it and clicked on the Skype icon, found Ludwig, and just as he was about to hit call he checked the time to make sure that he probably wasn't busy. 2:24, that means that it's about 9:24 where Ludwig is. He pressed call.
He positioned himself so that his head was casually leaning on his left hand, his ring clearly visible to the camera. He waited, with a stupidly huge grin, for Ludwig to answer, after four rings he finally picked up and his face and disheveled wet hair filled the screen. Feliciano blushed.
"Feliciano!" said Ludwig happily, "I wasn't expecting this, I just got out of the shower like a minute ago."
Feliciano's grin just grew wider as he tapped his fingers along the side of his face.
"I see you got my present," said Ludwig, running a hand through his hair, "I hope you like it, oh look." He disappeared for a few seconds, "I have one too," he said as he slipped it on his own ring finger.
God damn he's sexy, how'd I get so lucky?
Feliciano couldn't hold back any longer and let his poor attempt at keeping his composure fall. "Ludwig I love it! I can't even say how much I want to thank you because I don't know how!" He ran a finger over the top of the ring, stroking it. "I just really love it, this is the best gift I've ever gotten."
"I'm glad you like it, hey did you get the other stuff too?"
Feliciano laughed, "Yes I got them, and my sauce isn't Prego, but nice try."
Ludwig leaned back, a smirk on his face. "But did you try it?"
"Try what?"
"The sauce."
"No?"
"The only thing Prego about that sauce is the container, I made my own and put it in the Prego jar. You should try it and see if I got close."
"Oh my god..." said Feliciano as he reached over and pulled the jar from the box. He opened the jar and dipped his finger into the sauce to taste it. Ludwig watched with a smirk on his face at Feliciano's surprise.
"You're close..." he said, putting the jar back in the box, "but not close enough. Mine's still better." He retaliated with his own smirk.
Ludwig groaned, "Do you know how long it took me to get that close? Come on what am I missing? A basil leaf? I swear to God if all I have to do is throw a leaf in there..." he trailed off, laughing to himself. "Feliciano you make my head spin. I want to see you again so bad and you're just the cutest and sexiest person I've ever seen and your God damn pasta sauce is to die for. I mean, you have it all! And I have you." He raised his hand so that his ring was in view of the camera. "Forever right?"
Feliciano could feel his face heat up as he raised his own hand, showing his ring. "Feli and Lud, forever." He tapped his ring, "I promise." He admired his ring for a few seconds before turning back to Ludwig. "Oh hey did you by any chance get a package in the mail recently?"
Ludwig smiled, "No, why? Did you send me something too?"
Feliciano bit his lip, "So I guess they haven't arrived yet. Well, now that you know I guess it won't really be a surprise anymore."
"I'll be on the lookout," he said. About a second later the sound of something clicking on came through the computer from Ludwig's room and he looked up. "Ahh, hold on the air just kicked on and it's blowing right on me. Let me put on a shirt." He stood and walked over to an area behind him that Feliciano could tell was his closet.
Only now did he realize that Ludwig was not wearing a shirt, but only sweatpants. He really wasn't kidding whenever he said that he had just got out of the shower, he could still see a few drops of water on his back. Feliciano watched as Ludwig sifted through his closet before pulling out a plain white shirt and pulling it over his head. The shirt was snug in all of the right places, making his muscles stand out. Feliciano couldn't take his eyes off of his body as he walked back over to his bed where the laptop was.
"Okay I'm bac–" His attention suddenly shifted to the doorway.
"Ludwig! I thought I told you to go get your laundry from downstairs! I need to do a load but yours is still in the dryer! Now g–"
"Hi Mr. Beildschmidt!" said Feliciano, interrupting Folkert. Folkert shifted his gaze from his grandson to the laptop in front of him that currently had Feliciano on the screen.
"Oh, hi Feliciano! I haven't talked to you in awhile, how have you been?" he said, walking over to stand next to Ludwig.
"I'm doing good thank you. Did you see what Ludwig got me?" he said happily as he raised his hand to show him his ring.
Folkert held his hair back and leaned towards the screen to get a better look. "He did tell me about it but he never showed me them. It looks very nice," he said smiling at the two of them. Ludwig just turned away shyly from his grandfather at the look that he gave him. "Well, I'll leave you too alone again, I didn't mean to interrupt. Have a nice night Feliciano, I look forward to meeting you in person," he said as he began to leave the room.
"You too Mr. Beildschmidt!" called Feliciano.
He paused at the door, "Please, call me Folkert, we've been over this, and Ludwig, at some point you need to get your clothes." After that he left the room, closing the door behind him.
"I like your grandpa," said Feliciano, "I like that he accepts us."
"Yeah, he's good with that kind of stuff. He once told me that he had relationships with, you know, both genders when he was younger. He's a good man." Ludwig laughed to himself, "I'm just glad I put on a shirt when I did. If he would have seen me shirtless and talking to you he might have gotten the wrong idea." He looked away, flustered. "Not that we would do that..." he trailed off.
"Do what?" asked Feliciano innocently, but truthfully he knew exactly what Ludwig was talking about. He just enjoyed to see him flustered.
Ludwig but his lip, "You're cruel you know that?" he said jokingly.
Feliciano laughed, "I know I am."
For the remainder of the night and for Feliciano, throughout the afternoon, they continued to talk through Skype. Just like they always do, they talked about everything, no matter how small the subject was it didn't matter as long as it meant that they got to keep talking it was okay. Whenever they finally stopped talking it was because Ludwig was drifting off, but it was obvious that he was trying really hard to stay up.
After they signed off Feliciano lied back in his bed and admired his ring, watching as the pearl pattern shifted colors with the light. He loved the ring almost as much as he loved Ludwig, and to him, this was more than just a promise of love, this was a promise of forever. He knew that no matter how far apart they were, and no matter how long they go without seeing each other, they will still love one another unconditionally.
Standing up, he picked up the note from the jewelry box and pinned it up on his corkboard so that he can reread it over and over again whenever he wanted to; right next to the picture of him and Ludwig kissing underneath the willow tree that he had taken from Ludwig's phone.