Chapter 7
~
"You'll be home tonight?" Ludwig asked, addressing Feliciano staying late at work with Aaron.
He and Feliciano were standing in a
hallway near the elevators having a conversation, trying to avoid what happened a few days prior.
"Of course." Feliciano nodded and smiled. "I'll see you later."
"Alright." Ludwig took a quick glance around the hallway, making sure they were alone before he cupped Feliciano's face in his hands and kissed him quickly.
Feliciano kissed back and then smiled as they pulled apart. He watched as Ludwig walked down the hall, towards the elevators.
Back to work.
Feliciano stood there for a moment before turning around and coming face-to-face with Aaron. He started to panic.
Did he see us? Is he going to tell someone?
"How long have you been there?" Feliciano asked, his voice wavering.
"Five minutes." Aaron lied.
Feliciano believed him and let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't seen anything.
"Let's get back to work. The deadline is in three days." Feliciano motioned for him to follow.
They ended up back at the desk they were working at and picked up where they left off.
250 pages to go.
~
Aaron and Feliciano had gone through about eighty pages that night when the clock showed 7:00 PM, the time Feliciano had promised Ludwig he'd be home.
"Does this woman know how to spell?!" Aaron exclaimed. "I don't think she went to school. But damn, she's a great author with interesting storylines and awesome characters. I can't pass this up."
Feliciano smirked as he shrugged on his jacket. "I haven't had a manuscript of my own in weeks. At least, I'm getting paid overtime for this."
"Where are you going?" Aaron asked, turning to face the Italian.
"I promised L... I mean, I have something else to do tonight so I can't stay." Feliciano grabbed his laptop bag and slung it over his shoulder.
Aaron nodded and stood up. "I'll walk you down to the main floor."
The Italian tried to dismiss it but Aaron insisted. They rode the elevator down to the ground level and stepped off.
"Is your car parked near by?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah, just over there." Feliciano pointed to a silver Mazda 3 parked out in front of the building. He suddenly felt hands on his hips. "A-Aaron, what are you-"
The Italian gasped as the other man kissed him hard. He tried to pull away but Aaron just pulled him back in.
Turning his head away, he put both of his hands on Aaron's chest and shoved him back. He stared, shocked at his co-worker and utterly confused.
Feliciano frowned at him. "I-I'll see you tomorrow."
The Italian shook his head and walked quickly to his car. He turned on the ignition and sped away, feeling guilt settle inside of him.
"I have to tell Ludwig." He whispered to himself.
No you don't. His conscience bit back immediately.
"Yeah, I do!" Feliciano knit his eyebrows together in frustration.
If you tell him, he's just going to get mad. You don't want that, do you? He might even blame you.
"Maybe I won't tell him." The Italian hesitated. "I don't know!"
~
Feliciano could still feel Aaron's kiss on his lips and he shivered uncomfortably. He stalked down the hallway and knocked on Ludwig's door, just dying to tell him what happened.
The door was swung open and Ludwig flashed a rare smile.
"Hello, Feliciano." The German greeted and let him inside his apartment.
Feliciano had never seen Ludwig's apartment, surprisingly. He stepped inside and looked around. It had pretty much the same layout as his but Ludwig's furniture was in a different arrangement.
I can't tell him. Who knows what he'll do to Aaron? Or even me?
All Feliciano was sure of was that he didn't want his last kiss of the day to be from Aaron.
He turned to face Ludwig and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him down and kissed him. The German put his hands on Feliciano's hips and kissed back.
The Italian hummed appreciatively as he slowly pulled back. Gazing up into Ludwig's cobalt eyes, he felt a smile tugging at his lips.
"I just needed to do that." Feliciano whispered.
"Don't hold back if you ever need to do that again." Ludwig smirked and kissed his nose.
Feliciano blushed and rest his forehead against the German's chest. He felt so guilty. Why won't he just tell him?
It wasn't even my fault! Aaron was the one that kissed me.
The Italian wanted so badly to tell his boyfriend but he knew he would lash out.
It was only once. I won't tell him and I'll just let it slide. I'm sure it won't happen again.
Feliciano hugged Ludwig tightly and pressed his ear to his chest, listening to the German's steady heartbeat as he decided for sure that he wouldn't say anything.
~
Ludwig and Feliciano sat on the couch together, the Italian sitting cross-legged with his laptop resting on his thighs.
He vigorously pressed the arrow keys as he maneuvered Mario through a set of pipes.
"Go, go, go!" The Italian shouted animatedly at the screen.
Ludwig chuckled and watched as Feliciano jumped on a Goomba's head.
"YES!" Feliciano glanced at Ludwig who shook his head smiling.
"You crazy Italian, you're so funny." Ludwig snaked an arm around his waist and stole a kiss.
He felt Feliciano kiss back and he took the laptop, placing it on the coffee table before he gently pushed the Italian onto his back on the couch, not breaking the kiss once.
Feliciano wrapped his arms around Ludwig's neck, keeping him close. The need for air forced them apart and Feliciano glanced at the computer screen which now had a colorful message saying 'Game Over'.
"You made me die, Ludwig." Feliciano pouted. "Not fair."
"Would you rather play Mario than have me kiss you?" The German asked, a smile playing on his lips.
"No..."
"That's what I thought." Ludwig chuckled lightly before kissing the Italian again.
~
Feliciano whimpered and shoved the other man back.
"Stop kissing me!" He shouted at Aaron.
That was already the fourth time that week. Even though Feliciano wasn't the one doing the kissing, he felt like he was cheating on Ludwig.
"Why, are you seeing someone?" Aaron taunted.
"N-no." Feliciano stuttered, he and Ludwig had promised to keep their relationship secret around the office.
"Don't lie. I saw you with Ludwig." Aaron shrugged and pinned the Italian to the wall, kissing him again. "Just forget about him for now..."
The Italian turned his head away, pushing him back again.
"You're lucky I haven't told him yet." Feliciano threatened.
He walked back to his desk and sat down, burying his face in his hands. It had been two weeks since the first time Aaron had kissed him and one week since they finished the manuscript. Feliciano couldn't even count how many times Aaron had kissed him.
I need to file a harassment complaint. It'll go straight to Human Resources and Ludwig won't find out or lash out and this can be settled peacefully.
But what the Italian didn't know was that all complaint files were run by the Vice President and the President of the company.
Vice President - AKA Ludwig Beilshmidt.
~
To be continued...