Hey guys, I just want to quickly say thanks for reading my story!

Unfortunately, I'm having some difficulties being able to read reviews lately, so if you have posted a review please pm it to me as well, as I would love to be able to actually read the comments that you put on this chapter.

Thanks and enjoy the chapter :)

–BW

Chapter Four:

Feliciano was running as fast as he could, the voices growing louder and louder as he towed Ludwig back towards their home. Ludwig was gripping his hand tightly, tense as his eyes flickered around their surroundings. Feliciano was out of breath. He wasn't used to exercise, if he was being completely honest with himself. He was just about to turn down their street when a stern voice hollered

"Halt!"

Immediately Feliciano froze. Ludwig tugged on his hand to get him walking again, but Feliciano couldn't find it in himself to move.

"Feliciano, we need to leave, now." Ludwig growled, looking past said Italian and tugging on his hand again. "Feliciano, come on. They aren't after us at the moment. We need to go!" Feliciano shook his head a little, trying to clear his mind. The germans were here. They were in the streets directly behind them. They were going to find out. They were going to kill them–"Feliciano!" Ludwig grabbed onto his arm and threw him onto his back before taking off into an alley. He dropped him onto the ground behind a pile of trash before kneeling in front of him. Feliciano looked up at him blankly, still tightly holding onto the bag of clothes. He gently stroked his cheek, and the Italian immediately looked back down again. "Feliciano?"

Feliciano looked up again, tears in his eyes. Ludwig felt startled, but he still continued to stroke his cheek. Feliciano tried to say something, but his voice caught in his throat. He sniffed a little before trying again.

"Ludwig," he started, swallowing. "Luddy, are we going to die?"
Ludwig sighed, looking down. This time he was unable to speak. He looked up again, decided. "I don't know," he said finally, watching as the hope in Feliciano's eyes started to fade. He sighed again, looking down.

"Why are we here?" Ludwig looked confused, so Feliciano continued. "I mean, in this alley? I mean, we're only a few blocks away from home." Ludwig seemed to relax, and he dropped his hand onto Feliciano's shoulder, allowing a sense of comfort to still remain present for him.

"It's out of the way. It's better to get off the streets before you have a mental breakdown in front of a squadron of Nazis." Feliciano smiled a little at him, then leaned his head against the wall of the alley, closing his eyes.

"Ludwig?"

"Hm." Feliciano opened his eyes again, amber meeting blue.

"What did you mean, 'I don't know'?" Ludwig sighed, breaking the eye contact. "Ludwig," Feliciano grabbed his chin and lifted it up, forcing him to meet his eyes. "please." Gunshots were heard in the distance, and Feliciano flinched, retracting his hand. He watched as the German's eyes softened.

"We're in the middle of a war, Feli. War's unpredictable." He shifted his gaze towards the road before sliding them back to the Italian's face. "It can change in an instant." Feliciano bit the inside of his cheek, hard. He felt the skin tear in between his teeth and the taste of blood filled the right side of his mouth. Ludwig continued, "In times like these, you need a constant. Something small, something that you know won't change. Something to keep you sane." He kept eye contact, lifting his hand up, attempting to tuck the stray curl behind his ear. It popped back up. Ludwig smiled again. Feliciano flinched as more gunshots were heard, this time closer. "It's okay, Feli–Feli, look at me." He cupped his cheek. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." He looked down briefly, then back up again. "I'm going to keep you okay." Feliciano smiled at him as Ludwig stroked his cheek with his thumb. "Feli–"
Ludwig was interrupted as Feliciano grabbed the back of his neck and brought him forward, letting their lips touch. He tried to pull away, but his hand remained steadfast. Ludwig was frozen, and Feliciano reacted, gently pulling away, looking down.

"Ludwig, I'm . . ." He allowed his hand to drop down, unintentionally making it land in the other's lap. "I'm sorry." He finished. He looked up at the German, who was staring at the wall behind him, eyes distant. He blinked then, his eyes snapping back into the present. "Ludwig–"

This time Ludwig initiated the kiss, roughly grabbing the back of the Italian's head, making him grunt a little into the other's mouth. Feliciano melted into his touch, and Ludwig allowed his hand to relax and drift down the other's arm. Feliciano wrapped his arms around Ludwig's neck and pulled him closer, almost desperate. Ludwig pulled away to catch his breath, then crashed his mouth against his again. Feliciano groaned a little, running his hands down the German's back. The sounds of the army faded away as they battled each other. Feliciano broke off, leaning his head down, resting against the bridge of the other's nose and panted slightly for air. Ludwig gently nudged the Italian's head before wrapping his arms around him. They didn't say anything for a while, simply lying in each other's arms as the sounds of the gunshots came and went. The chill of the winter wind hit them, and Ludwig drew away.

"We should head back." He said quietly. Feliciano simply nodded in response, grabbing the bag and getting to his feet. Ludwig was on guard the entire way back, standing slightly behind and to the right of Feliciano. Feliciano didn't say anything as they walked, all that they could hear from the other was the scuffing of shoes upon the sidewalk and the breathing of the other person. Every now and then gunshots and yelling could be heard in the distance.

Feliciano opened the door and held it for Ludwig, then closed it, quickly locking it in place. He wasn't going to be taking any chances. Ludwig was standing next to him, staring past him at something, but Feliciano had no idea what. Gently, he tugged on Ludwig's sleeve.

"Lud, are you–" He cut himself off when he saw what the German was staring at.

A man stood next to the table where Antonio was sitting, staring (more like glaring) back at the two of them. His jaw was set, and he held himself up with a sense of forced pride. His right arm was tucked into a sling. His hair was slightly disheveled, and the uniform that he was wearing was worn out and dusty. His eyes flickered to Feliciano's. He smiled slightly.

"LOVI!" He cried, running across the room and throwing himself at his brother. Lovino winced when he caught him, but ran his left arm up and down the other's back as he tried to calm his sobbing brother. Feliciano couldn't form words, he was too busy clutching onto Lovino as if he was going to disappear into thin air. Lovino let out a deep breath, coughing slightly. His brother let go, laughing with tears streaming down his face. "You're alive." He said, holding the other at arm's length. Lovino let out a snort.

"You could say that." He grumbled. Antonio hit him lightly on the side.

"Be a little more positive, amigo." Lovino groaned.

"I forgot that you spoke Spanish all the damn time." Antonio smiled brightly up at him. Ludwig was confused. Feliciano gestured for the German to comeover.

"Luddy, this is my brother, Lovino!" He said with almost a sense of giddiness. Ludwig nodded at him, and Lovino frowned.

"You're the asshole that ran into me yesterday." He spat. Now it was Feliciano's turn to look confused. Ludwig narrowed his eyes slightly.

"My apologies." The frown turned into a scowl. The other two could feel a sense of tension building between Lovino and Ludwig.

"You're German." Lovino stated bluntly. Ludwig gave a slight nod, much to the other's dismay. Lovino took a step back, the glare vanishing from his eyes to be replaced by fear. "You're German." He repeated, voice shaking slightly. Antonio stood up and tried to comfort him, but he immediately shook him off. Instinctively, his left hand reached up to cover the right side of his neck. He continued to back up. Feliciano grew increasingly worried.

"Lovi, it's alright. He lives with us now. He's not going to hurt you." Lovino shook his head back and forth rapidly.

"No no no no no." He looked desperately at Antonio. "Antonio–"

"It's alright." Antonio stated, wrapping his arms around the other and holding him tightly as Lovino burst into tears. Ludwig glanced over at Feliciano.

Feliciano was in a state of shock. Even though he was watching the entire scene, he couldn't comprehend what was going on in front of him. Ludwig gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and he seemed to relax a little more. He reached up and gently squeezed the German's hand in a silent thank you before allowing it to drop back down to his side. Lovino was slightly calmer now, though he was still covering his neck. As they all went upstairs, Antonio escorting Lovino, he didn't take his gaze off of Ludwig the entire time.

"I don't think that your brother likes me." Ludwig said, gesturing to the waiter for another beer. Feliciano laughed a little before downing his drink.

"Lovi doesn't like anybody." He smacked the German's back, making the ice rattle in his otherwise empty glass. Ludwig sighed.

"You saw how he reacted." He mumbled, swishing the melting ice around. Now it was Feliciano's turn to sigh. They didn't say anything for a little while, Ludwig sipping on his beer as Feliciano swung shots. Finally, Feliciano cleared his throat and flipped his shot glass upside down.

"There was a draft." He glanced at Ludwig. "I'm sure you probably knew that already, but that's how it went." He flicked the side of his empty glass. "My grandfather is a well-respected man, so only one of us had to go. Everywhere else it was any able-bodied young man." Feliciano sighed. "Classically, the oldest would automatically be sent, but Lovi has . . ." He paused, drumming his fingers on the counter as he tried to put what it was he wanted to say together. "problems." He stopped again, then flipped the shot glass over and gestured to the bartender. Ludwig sighed, flipping the glass back down.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Feli." He mumbled, sliding the glass away from the Italian. Feliciano whined a little, but didn't say anything, instead reaching over and downing the German's beer. Instantly he gagged, spitting most of it back into the glass and pushing it at Ludwig. The German looked down sadly at his ruined drink. "Was that entirely necessary?" Feliciano waved him off.

"Anywhore–"

"Feli . . ."

"Fine! Anyways, I was the only other one in our family that could go. Lovi didn't like that and– well you know the rest." Feliciano sighed, looking over at a table in the corner of the bar. German soldiers were sitting there drinking and laughing, their hats sitting next to their cups as they drank and sang in German. "I don't know what happened when he was away Lud," he stated, not taking his eyes off of the soldiers. Ludwig followed his gaze. "Something happened, that much I know. He's. . . different now. Something bad happened that changed him." Ludwig looked away from the soldiers, instead focusing on Feliciano's face.

"War changes people, Feli. Things happen, and it changes a man. It can't be helped. Once you're exposed to something horrible, there's no going back." Feliciano sighed, dropping his gaze down to the ground.

"How did it change you?" Ludwig froze. He tried to remember a time when he wasn't in the army. Nothing came up at first, just vague memories of his brother and his father when they were younger. Then something clicked in his head. It was the time when he was first inducted into the army, before the war broke out. All he could remember clearly was feeling afraid. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"I'm not afraid anymore." He said, looking at Feliciano. The other tilted his head slightly.

"That can't be true." Ludwig looked lost, so the Italian continued. "You have things to lose; you have to be scared. When you've got something to lose, you should be afraid of losing it, otherwise those things mean nothing to you." Ludwig didn't say anything, instead taking a sip of his beer. It was lukewarm, and there was white stuff floating at the top of his drink. Immediately he spit it out, remembering where that beer had been, much to the Italian's amusement. The soldiers continued to get drunk in the corner.

The two of them got back around twelve in the morning, knocking chairs over as they tried to get upstairs, but Feliciano kept falling over and taking Ludwig with him. Ludwig groaned as his elbow hit a table leg, and Feliciano giggled, poking his throbbing arm. He tried to get up, but stumbled and gripped onto the edge of a table, letting a low chuckle escape his lips. Feliciano followed after him, tripping on Ludwig's foot before crashing into the front of the German. They stayed like that for a while before Feliciano giggled again and poked the other's nose.

"You know, you're funny when you're drunk." He managed to get out, though his words were slightly slurred. Ludwig simply grunted in response, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to speak English in this state. Instead, he grabbed Feliciano and pulled him closer to himself by his hips and crashed his lips onto the other's. Feliciano responded immediately, though sloppily as he had taken a few too many shots. Hell, they both had a few too many alcohols. Ludwig groaned a little as he circled his thumbs on the bare skin on Feliciano's hips. The Italian didn't say anything, just took the other's lower lip in between his teeth and pulled gently, making the other grunt with satisfaction. He giggled again, causing Ludwig's lip to snap back to its rightful place on his face. Feliciano looked up at him before licking his lips. Ludwig didn't verbally respond, but his grip on the other's waist tightened. Feliciano lunged forward, attacking Ludwig's pale neck with his mouth, sucking and licking along the right side of the German's neck. Ludwig groaned and leaned into the sensation. Unfortunately, he leaned too far. The next thing that Feliciano knew, Ludwig had lost his balance and had fallen over, knocking his head against the side of the table on the way down. He lay crumpled at his feet, and Feliciano yawned. It was late. Well, late or early, depending on how you looked at things. He prodded the German with his foot. Ludwig didn't move. Feliciano shrugged before lying down next to Ludwig, resting his head on the unconscious man's shoulder. He managed to fall asleep almost instantly, the slight buzz of liquor still present in his head.

Feliciano woke up around three AM with a throbbing headache. He tried to sit up, but found that there was a weight slung across his chest. With a groan, he managed to turn his head to the left. To his surprise, there was Ludwig, soundly asleep nuzzled into his left shoulder with his arm across Feliciano. Feliciano sighed before moving the German's arm off of him before attempting to stand up. He wobbled a little, but managed to catch a table, allowing him to be able to steady himself. Holding his head with one hand and attempting to navigate the darkness with the other, Feliciano managed to find his way into the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass of water, downed it and repeated that sequence multiple times until he felt like he could think semi-clearly again. He grabbed a rag and doused it with water, tying the cloth around his head to help ease the pain a little bit better. He wandered back into the main dining area again. Feliciano was about to head upstairs and back into bed, but he caught a glimpse of Ludwig lying on the ground. He couldn't make out much, but he could see the dark silhouette of the German on the floor, slightly accented by the moonlight. Feliciano sighed again. He couldn't just leave him there. Making a choice, Feliciano wobbled over to the figure on the floor and bent down, slinging one of the German's arms across his shoulders before standing up, groaning at the weight of the other man. He could do to loose a couple pounds of muscle mass.

Slowly, Feliciano managed to cross the dining area to the door to the apartment. He propped Ludwig up against the wall as he fished the key out from under his shirt. After unlocking the door, Feliciano picked Ludwig up again and groaned as he looked up the steep stairs. "You owe me one, Luddy." He grumbled before kicking the door closed behind them. He took them one at a time, and after nearly fifteen minutes Feliciano managed to get both of them upstairs with minor injuries. Ludwig had a bruise on his arm where Feliciano had been gripping it too tight and Feliciano had a severely bruised ego. Maybe he should work out more often. The Italian took a short break, putting Ludwig on the ground in a way so that he wouldn't fall down the stairs as he grabbed another glass of water from the kitchen. What could he say, hydration is important. As Feliciano was heading back to retrieve the somehow still asleep German, he spotted a large blob on the couch. Feliciano allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness a little better.

On the couch lay Lovino, lying on his left side with his head towards the kitchen. Behind him lay Antonio, an arm draped protectively around the Italian with his head resting against the back of Lovino's neck. They were both sound asleep. Feliciano sighed. Looks like he was going to have to take Ludwig all the way to his room.

Another groan and a lot of shuffling later, Feliciano managed to get Ludwig back into his own bed. Almost out of spite, his headache came back immediately after he put the German down, making the Italian wince. He made a quick decision and went with it. He brought the sheets up around Ludwig and himself and snuggled into the pillow, allowing himself to fall asleep to the sound of Ludwig's breathing.