Of Letters and Secrets

It was a dark, muggy night in Italy. The distant sounds of gunshots filled the air and the moon was high in the sky as General Ludwig Beilschmidt patrolled the small city.

'How much longer can zhis var possibly last?' he thought to himself for about the hundredth time that day. 'I'm sick of mien people dying. If it goes on for much longer I'll-' he was brought out of his revere by a frightened voice coming from the alley he just passed.

"Mi scusi sir! Can-a you please help me?" the voice called out.

He looked down the alley and to his surprise there was actually a boy at the end. From what he could see from the dim moonlight he had brown hair and big copper eyes. His hair was messy and disheveled except for a curl on his left that seemed to defy gravity. He was wearing a male messenger uniform but the tie was missing. The general walked slowly until he was right in front of the strange boy and crouched down to look into his eyes.

"Vhat are you doing out here alone? Vhat happened?" he asked as softly as he could as to not frighten him any more than he probably was.

"I-I was on my way to deliver a letter to the German base, I'm a messenger you know, but I think some other people thought I was a spy or something and started a-shooting at me! One bullet went into my shoulder and another went into my leg and I've tried my best to stop the bleeding in my leg but it would be best if I got medical attention as soon as possible so do you think you could help me out?" he said all in one breath.

Ludwig blinked in surprise by how fast he was talking but didn't think twice before picking him up bridal-style and standing. As he walked to the medical tent he looked down at the boy's calf where his tie was tied to staunch the bleeding.

"Zhat vas very resourceful, using your tie to stop zhe bleeding I mean," he told him with a small smile.

"You mean to say it was… Smart?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

"Ja, very smart."

The boy then proceeded to wrap his arms around the general's neck in a death grip (hug), thanking him over and over again in him language.

"Grazi! No one's ever called anything I did smart before!" he finally reverted back to English.

"Ja… Can't… Breath…!" Ludwig choked out.

"Mi dispiace!" the boy said with a gasp as he released the poor soldier.

"You know, for such a tiny man, you are very strong," he coughed as they walked into the medical tent.

"T-Thank you. By the way, what's-a the name of my hero?" he asked with a slight blush.

"Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt," he told him with a smile.

'That-a name… So familiar…' he thought as he was taken away by a doctor.

"Now to find out zhe name of my damsel…" Ludwig thought out loud to himself as he sat in the waiting room.

Rather than go home and rest, Ludwig stayed in the hospital all night, waiting to hear news about the strange man he saved. It wasn't until about 3 in the afternoon that the doctor came out of his room.

"Oi! You're the potato bastard that saved my brother?" he asked with a pissed-looking expression.

"Umm… I guess so. I vasn't avare zhat he vas your brother," Ludwig said, standing from the stiff chair and popping his back.

"You got that right you potato bastard. Now just walk right out that door and forget this ever happened. He's been hurt too much already," the doctor told Ludwig, glaring at him harshly.

"Nein. I'm sorry but I vill not abandon him," Ludwig told him, now matching his glare.

"You little-" the doctor was about to say before a nurse came up to him.

"Sir, he keeps asking for a man named Ludwig," she informed the doctor.

"Zhat's me. I'm the one who brought him here," Ludwig said, taking a step towards her.

"Zhen follow me," she said, leading him to the girl's room.

'Ludwig! Oh Ludwig! Please-a come help me!' the doctor mocked in his head, glaring after the general. 'Makes-a me sick Stupid potato bastard.'

As said potato eater was following the nurse down the hall, he couldn't help but think.

'Her brüder vas very protective… I vonder vhere mien brüder is now…'

Yes, his brother. Gilbert was his name. Tall, tan, with snow white hair and blood red eyes. He was always a little narcissistic, but that couldn't really be helped. Ludwig knew that he was in Canada with his girlfriend Madeline; he just didn't know his exact address.

"I just hope he's safe," Ludwig mumbled without realizing it.

"Oh he is! I promise! And if you need anything, just call for Elizabeta!" the nurse, Elizabeta herself, said cheerfully before walking away.

Ludwig hesitated a moment before slowly opening the door. Inside lies an angel. The boy was fast asleep, his hair even more disheveled (is possible) with that same gravity defying curl bobbing with his even breathing. The general felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw him, a small blush rising to his cheeks.

'Zhis feeling… it's so familiar…' he thought, walking slowly towards the boy's bed.

It felt as though all the pressures of this war were lifted and Ludwig felt something he hadn't felt in a long while: happiness. He softly brushed a stray piece of hair from the boy's eyes, causing him to unconsciously nuzzle into his hand.

'Gott verdammt! Get ahold of yourself Beilschmidt! You don't even know zhis boy!' he mentally scolded himself.

Still, he couldn't help looking at him fondly, as if he had known him forever.

'Maybe it vas vhen I vas a young child… zhose times I can't remember…' he tried to reach far back into his mind but only drew a blank.

Ludwig sighed as he sat in the chair by her bed. If he did know this boy then he apparently didn't recognize him.

'If only, if only as zhey say,' he thought with another sigh.

Ludwig was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the boy beside him stir into consciousness.

"H-Hey…! It's-a you!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up and a smile stretching across his face.

"J-Ja. How are you feeling?" he asked, startled slightly by the sudden noise.

"Oh much-a better! Grazi!" he thanked him, hugging him as best as he could.

"G-Gern geschehen," he stuttered, blushing slightly.

"So why are-a you still here?" he asked with wide eyes as he looked up to the tall general. "I would have-a thought that my fratello would kick you out before you could even think about coming in my room."

"Ja, I met your brother. He doesn't seem very…. Fond of me, I vill admit, but not even he could stop me from making sure you vere alright," he admitted with a slight blush.

'Oh wow… He's-a very brave to-a be able to stand up to fratello like that…' he thought with a big goofy grin.

"So… You said you vere a messenger, ja?" Ludwig asked, trying to move the conversation along.

"Hm? Oh si! Why?" he asked, blinking.

"I vas just vondering who you had to deliver a letter to is all," the soldier said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh…" he sighed, his eyes downcast. "The ones who attacked me took it away…"

"Oh really? Do you know vhat zhey looked like?" he asked, trying to keep dark tones out of his voice.

"Hmm… They were-a both girls… One had-a long silvery hair and the other had blonde hair cut like a man's but she-a had big boobs so I could tell it was a girl," he disclosed casually.

'Oh no…' Ludwig thought fearfully. "Vhat about zheir clothes?"

"Umm…. From what I could tell the one with-a long hair was wearing something that looked like a military slash pirate shirt with a really short skirt and long boots," he recalled. "And the other one was-a wearing a tank top and military pants."

"Anyzhing else?" He asked.

"The girl with-a long hair had scary red eyes," he said, starting to shake. "I remember those the most!"

Ludwig facepalmed. Of all the people who had to attack him, it had to be his own sisters. The one described with long silver hair was Gillian, Gilbert's twin while the one with the short blonde hair was Ludwig's own, Monika.

"Zhis ist bad, zhis ist very bad…" he muttered.

And right as he muttered those words the unthinkable happened. The door slammed open and standing there were the two girls who attacked Ludwig's poor damsel.

"Luddy!" Gillian cried, attacking him in a bear hug. "Vhen zhey told us you vere in the hospital I zhought you vere dying!"

"Gillian bitte," Monika sighed, trying to pull her sister off her brother.

No one seemed to notice that the poor Italian boy in the bed was starting to shake. He was scared out of his mind while trying to think of ways to escape, finding none.

"Schwesters," Ludwigs said sternly, making all three others go rigid. "Did you shoot anyone today?"

"Only one! It vas zhis spy zhat me und Monie saw just valking zhrough zhe streets! He vasn't a very good one…" Gillian muttered the last part.

Just then, Monika saw the still shaking man in the bed. She automatically backed up and pulled out her gun.

"Brüder, schwester, move avay bitte," she commanded.

Gillian followed her line of sight and copied her sister's actions.

"Vhat are you two doing?" Ludwig asked, crossing his arms.

"Move! Zhis spy's going down!" Gillian proclaimed, cocking her gun.

"Nein. Put down your veapons!" He commanded.

"P-Please don't-a shoot me anymore…" the man whimpered.

"Zhey von't hurt you anymore," Ludwig said, looking back at him with a soft gaze.

"Are you out of your mind?! Move!" Monika yelled.

Ludwig then kicked the guns from their hands and unloaded them, rendering them useless.

"Sit," he ordered, pointing to two chairs.

The sisters complied and sat, rubbing their hands that Ludwig kicked. They're lucky they'll only be bruised, not broken.

"Zhis man ist not a spy. He ist simply a messenger sent here to deliver some letters. Got it? Gillian?" Ludwig said and asked sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Gillian pouted.

Throughout all this, the man was still trying to remember why Ludwig's name sounded so familiar.

"Ludwig… Ludwig Bielschmidt… Bielschmidt…" he thought, coming to a realization "Hey! Do either of-a you have my bag?" he asked.

"Ja," Monika answered, picking up the bag by the door where she left it when they first came in.

"Grazi, grazi, grazi…!" the man said, rifling through the bag.

Ludwig could see a tiny sewn in inscription on the bag that read 'Feliciano V. Vargas'.

'So zhat's his name…' he thought, glad that he now knew this information.

After a few more minutes, Feliciano pulled out a small parcel with a letter attached to the top.

"This is-a for you Mr. Bielschmidt!" he told the soldier happily.

Ludwig carefully took the box and saw that the stamp on the letter had a maple leaf on it. The maple leaf was the symbol of Canada...

'Brüder…' he mentally sighed as he ripped open the envelope containing the letter.

'Dear West,

Guess who~! It's your awesome brüder! I know you haven't heard from me since I moved here but that's okay! I'm writing to tell you that I'm awesome, more so than usual if you can believe it! And guess what, you're gonna be an uncle! That's right, the awesome me got married and is gonna be a dad! Tell Gilly and Monie that they're gonna be aunts~

Yours awesomely,

Gilbert (Awesome) Bielschmidt

P.S. In this box is something that's only for you so don't let anyone else see~'

Ludwig chuckled as he read the note, happy to have heard from his brother again.

"Vhat does it say?" Gillian asked, peeking over his shoulder.

"Brüder vanted to tell us how he's doing," Monika's eyes went wide. "Und zhat I'm going to be an uncle und you two vill be aunts."

"Zhat's… Awesome! I'm gonna be zhe best aunt ever!" Gillian squealed, jumping up and down.

Monika smiled and sat in the chair again.

"Good for him. He needs to settle down," she chuckled.

Ludwig smiled and tucked the box under his arm for later. He didn't want to go against his brother's instructions and let everyone see the contents. But what nobody noticed was that while they were distracted, Feliciano raced out the door.

"Fratellooooo!" he yelled, running down the halls.

The doctor came running around a corner, eyes wide and looking pissed.

"Fratello! Cosa c'è di sbagliato?" he asked, grabbing the frightened boy's shoulders.

"Ci sono tedeschi spaventosi nella mia stanza!" he whined.

The doctor then glared at said Germans, who ran to catch Feliciano when he yelled.

"I'm-a gonna send the freakin mafia on all your asses!" he yelled, holding Feliciano protectively.

"Did you just threaten military personnel?" Monika asked darkly.

"I threaten anyone who-a makes mi fratello cry!" he snapped.

"Sounds like Luddy and Gil," Gillian mumbled.

"Get out of my hospital. Now," the doctor ordered darkly.

All three Germans stood their ground until Ludwig heard the Italian man sniffle. He was the first that walked out, head hanging. Next came Monika, then Gillian, though the girls kept their heads held high.

As Ludwig got outside though, his head slowly rose up, staring at the destruction and death in the streets.

He finally reralized why he acted the way he did around Feliciano. Although they just met, he... He loved the Italian. Whether it was love at first sight or what, he didn't know. All he knew was that as long as this war was going on they couldn't be together, what with all gays along with Jews, gypseys and the like being sent to the extermination camps. Ludwig finally made his final decision.

"All zhis… It's going to stop. It has to," he proclaimed, clenching his hands into fists.

"Vhat is?" Gillian asked.

"Zhis var. All zhe descrimination und death. I'm bringing it down," he said, clenching his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Brüder bitte, zhat's impossible. One person can't stop a whole var," Monika told him.

"It von't just be me. You two are going to help," he decided, turning to them.

"Hmm… Stop a var und become even more awesome?" Gillian asked with a smirk. "Definately count me in!"

"I guess I'll help too. Just so I can make sure you two don't get killed," Monika said with a sigh.

"Alright zhen," Ludwig said, cracking a smile.