A/N: Y'all, I have absolutely no excuse for not finishing this story a year ago. Sure, things have been quite busy, but that's no excuse for not updating in my case. I've recently taken on the responsibility of raising my sister's children, and the younger one has taken an interest in writing. She actually watched me type until she passed out from exhaustion. It was adorable! But anyway, here is the epilogue to the (possibly) final story of the InkVerse! It was a three-year journey to write that entire series, and I'm so glad that I was able to complete it! Now I just need to focus on the other series I made, haha! There are many more stories to come and I plan to finish each and every one of them! Thank you all for reading and reviewing! It reminded me just how important this project really is to me! I love you all!

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1945, A Small Italian Village

Feliciano looked all around him, marvelling at the sites he thought he would never see again. There was the bakery where he and his brother went to buy bread for their grandfather. Down the street was the park they would run around in on sunny days. Three streets over was the school he had attended. And walking right beside him was the man he had fallen in love with over the past few years. He still couldn't believe that any of it was real.

He took in every last detail that he could, seeing as how the small village barely changed during his absence of the past few years. His family had no idea that he was on his way home, and he hoped to surprise them. Yet as he began to think about it, he wondered if they even remained in this town after all of those years.

In his head, Feliciano could hear his nonno's voice telling him that they would all be waiting there for him when he came home. It reassured him, reminding him that, unlike Ludwig, he still had a family and a home to return to.

Smiling cheerfully up at Ludwig, he said, "It's not too much further down this road. Nonno and Lovi are going to be so excited to see us! There might even be a huge celebration! Everything is going to be great, Ludwig, you'll see!" He began to hum happily as he unknowingly picked up his pace. "I think you'll like it here!"

"Yeah?" Ludwig asked, observing the town for himself. It did have a nice aura about it. This place was unlike anywhere he had been in the last ten years. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed, especially now that the war had ended. If he had to make a quick judgement, he would have to see he liked the village. "It seems like a nice enough place."

Feliciano beamed up at him. "It really is!" he wholeheartedly agreed. "I have lived here since I was a baby! There has never been another town that I loved more!" Seeing as he had been humming before, the young Italian man burst out into bright and cheerful song as they strolled along together, waving to and greeting anyone who passed by them.

As Ludwig watched Feliciano's pleasant exchanges with the people around them, he felt a sinking feeling in his chest. It were as if his heart that always felt so light around the other man suddenly turned to lead and sunk down into his stomach. He felt as if his mind was trying to counteract his happy feelings with what people would say to him if they knew that he was once a German soldier.

We don't want someone like you here.

"There it is!" Feliciano cried out, pointing to an old, almost run-down looking shop. "Nonno and Lovi are probably just inside the door, tending to their customers!" He grabbed onto Ludwig's sleeve, pulling him along. "Come on, Ludwig! It's right this way!"

The German man could only let himself be dragged along by his lover, but his feeling of doom only strengthened as they made their way toward the shop. He was about to meet Feliciano's family, his grandfather and his brother.

His mind suddenly flashed to the Spaniard who lay half-dead in the prison cell, the man he had helped escape. Would the man Feliciano so warmly called "Antonio" be in there as well? Was Antonio even still alive? If Antonio had died on his way home, would Ludwig be blamed for it? Suddenly, Ludwig's mind became a prison of overwhelming thoughts. Did he even deserve to go to the Vargas home after all that he had done during that war? Had Lovino even forgiven Feliciano for what had happened?

Little did Ludwig know that Feliciano was being plagued by similar thoughts as well. As Feliciano got closer and closer to the shop, the tiny voice in his head grew louder and louder. "You aren't welcome here anymore, not after what you did!"

The young Italian man suddenly froze in place, nearly at the threshold of the shop. His voice was small and timid as he said, "Maybe this isn't the best idea." He looked up at Ludwig with tearful, bronze eyes. "What if Lovi still hates me for what happened?" His gaze then sorrowfully turned to the door of the shop. "I don't know what will happen if we go inside. Nonno and Lovi might not want me there."

"You will never know if you never go," Ludwig stated, working through his own personal anxieties about the visit to help his lover muster the courage to go inside. "I am here beside you, Feliciano. Let me be your strength."

Feliciano took a deep breath and then nodded to himself. "You are right, Ludwig," he said, his smile returning to his face. "If I can't face them now, then I never will." After one more deep breath, he opened the door to the shop and stepped in, Ludwig right behind him.

There was no one at the counter, but the shop still seemed welcoming. The peaceful strums of a guitar could be heard coming from the living quarters as well as a melodic voice belting out a tune to go with it.

"I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim.

I just want to be the one you love," the voice sang.

As Feliciano listened closely to the music he was hearing, he realized that the person singing was none other than his own brother. Before he could think, he ran through the shop and into the living quarters in the back, throwing himself at Lovino and wrapping his arms tightly around his brother as if he would disappear if he even slightly loosened his hold.

Lovino let out a yelp of surprise, dropping the guitar to the floor, but when he realized who had him in a vice grip, his brain stopped functioning. All he could say was, "Feli. You're home."

"I'm home, fratello!" Feliciano sobbed, not even bothering to hold back his emotions as he clung to Lovino. "I'm home!" His body became limp from crying, but he could feel Lovino supporting him. "I'm home," he repeated, voice growing weaker and weaker with sobs. "I'm home, Lovi."

Turning to face his brother, Lovino hugged him back, unaware of anything else at that moment. "Yes, Feli. You're home. Welcome home." Every bitter feeling that he had felt for his younger brother vanished upon seeing him alive and well. Nothing else mattered at that moment.

"What in the world is going…" Roma Vargas's voice trailed off as he entered the room and saw his youngest grandson for the first time in years. It were as if he were looking at a ghost. "Feli?" he weakly asked. "Is it really you?"

Feliciano let go of Lovino and stumbled over to Roma before losing all leg strength and tumbling into his grandfather's arms. "I'm home, Nonno," he softly said, clinging tightly to the man who had raised him. "It's really me. I'm home."

Roma held Feliciano tightly, gesturing for Lovino to come over and join their hug, to which Lovino reluctantly agreed. "My boys," he sobbed. "Both of my boys are home. I have waited for this day for so long! My boys are back!" He clung tightly to Feliciano and Lovino, nearly suffocating them in his desperate grip. "My heart is so full!"

It was only after they heard a light gasp from behind Roma that the Vargas family remembered where they were and what had separated them for so many years. They all pulled away as they realized there were now two more people in the room.

The youngest Vargas suddenly locked eyes with Antonio. "Toni?" he softly asked. He could barely contain his joy as he let go of Roma and Lovino to immediately embrace the slightly dazed Spaniard. "You're alive! I knew it! I knew you made it alive!"

There was suddenly a firm hand on Feliciano's shoulder that yanked him backwards and away from the man he had been hugging. "Get off of him!" Lovino angrily shouted, startling his little brother. "Don't act all chummy with Antonio when you barely even know him!" He sulked a bit, his jealousy obvious.

Antonio laughed heartily. "Are you jealous, Lovi?" he teased.

"Shut the hell up! Who would be jealous over you?!" Lovino barked back at him.

The Spaniard ruffled Lovino's hair fondly. "That's my Lovi for you," he claimed with a smile. His eyes then rested on the only unnoticed person in the room and he stiffened slightly due to past trauma. "Lieutenant Beilschmidt?" he weakly asked, horrid memories that he had worked so hard to bury resurfacing in his brain.

"I am glad that you are well, Antonio," Ludwig slowly said, thinking hard to choose the correct words. "Feliciano and I worried for you since we last saw each other. I prayed that you would live through it, and now I see that there is a god. I'm glad to see you alive."

Antonio stood there for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Thank you, Lieutenant Beilschmidt," he said after a moment, bowing his head in gratitude. "If it wasn't for you, I would have died behind those bars. You two saved my life."

Feliciano turned to look at Ludwig with fond eyes. "Ludwig is amazing," he breathed. "He saved me as well. There is no one I trust more."

Lovino tensed up, looking at the blond in the doorway. "You," he snarled. "Who are you? Are you the man who tortured Antonio? I'll never forgive you!"

The eldest man in the room clapped a hand down on his escalated grandson's shoulder. "Calm down, Lovi," he said, a broad smile on his face. "Did you not hear the exchange between him and Toni? This man is the one who saved our Toni." He then looked to Ludwig. "May I have you name?"

"My name is Colonel Ludwig Beilschmidt," Ludwig answered, his blue eyes never wavering from the older man. "It is true that I committed treason and aided in the escape of Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. And it is also true that I did so upon Colonel Vargas's request."

Feliciano bashfully smiled, walking over to Ludwig and attempting to shrink behind him. "I just didn't want fratello to be sad without Antonio," he sheepishly explained, face bright red.

"Idiot!" Lovino scoffed. "As if I would be sad without this jerk around." He shot a look over to Antonio, trying to hide their interlocked hands behind his back so no one else would notice. "He just lays around and plays the guitar all the time. Lazy jerk!"

"I can tell that my fratello is fond of you," the younger brother stated, beaming at the Spaniard. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't be acting like this."

Though the atmosphere was devoid of tension, something just didn't sit right with Ludwig. He could feel Roma's eyes on him, sizing him up. Was he trying to see if he was good enough for Feliciano? Then again, did Roma know about Feliciano or the relationship the two of them shared? His mental state was crumbling the longer they all stood there, laughing together and joking. It was nerve-wracking and made him feel like he really didn't belong in the company of such pleasant people.

"I will go and make dinner," Roma announced after awhile. "This is such a happy occasion that I will make Feliciano's favorite."

It were almost as if there were legit stars in the young Italian's eyes as he exclaimed, "Nonno, that sounds wonderful!" His smile was almost too big for his face. "Grazie!"

The older man just smiled. "Anything for my precious grandson. Welcome home, Feli." And with that, he headed up the stairs to the living quarters.

Lovino was tending to customers in the shop as Antonio napped on the couch. The Italian man kept coming in and out to check on his sleeping lover with a frequency that was almost comical to his younger brother. "It would just be a pain if that idiot fell off the couch and hurt himself," he defensively said, searching for any excuse that he could.

After one of the many times that Lovino left after checking on the sleeping man, Feliciano turned to Ludwig, who was sitting at his feet as he himself sat on an armchair. The Italian ran his fingers through the slicked-back hair of his lover. He hummed happily as he lovingly petted his love.

"What do you think?" Feliciano gently asked, voice nearly melding with the previous hums coming from his lips. "Do you enjoy being here?"

"So much so to the point that I feel as if I don't belong here," Ludwig quietly admitted. "Everyone is so happy and carefree, yet I feel the dread of terrible things that could happen gnawing at my brain. I would love to stay here with you for as long as you would like me here, but do I really belong?"

Feliciano placed a kiss on the top of his lover's head. "Ludwig, I need you to understand exactly what I'm trying to say. Please listen well, even though I am willing to repeat myself as many times as needed to make myself clear. Are you listening?" Only after Ludwig nodded to confirm that he was listening did he continue. "I want you to stay by my side until the end of my days, Ludwig Beilschmidt. You will always belong wherever I am."

Ludwig's eyes widened at his lover's words. Did Feliciano really mean that? Was he really allowed to live that happy of a life until the end of his days? He was allowed the purest of all happiness even after fighting in a war like that? His heart almost couldn't take it. Words could not express how happy he was to hear what Feliciano had said.

Considering that he was at a loss for words, Ludwig turned his head up and pulled Feliciano down into a kiss. "Ich liebe dich," he muttered against his lover's lips. "I'll stay as long as you'll have me."

Feliciano then gently tumbled off of the armchair and into Ludwig's lap. "Then you're stuck with me forever," he breathlessly said when they came up for air. "I hope you don't mind that."

"Not even for a moment," Ludwig assured. "Forever sounds like a miracle if I get to spend it with you." He kissed Feliciano's forehead. "Yeah, I guess that should be long enough."

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Venice, Italy, 1985

"Come on, Ludwig!" Feliciano called from across one of the many bridges that loomed over the canals the enveloped the city. "We can't keep them waiting any longer!"

Ludwig sighed as he looked down off of the bridge and into the canal below him. "They wouldn't be waiting like this if you hadn't overslept, you know," he sighed. Though his irritation with his lover was always short-lived, there were days where he was more irritated with Feliciano than not. This would be one of those days, starting from when he overslept to him lecturing him about being late. Yet his irritation never changed the amount of love that he held in his heart for the other man.

Though he was most definitely older, Feliciano's carefree and borderline childlike personality still remained. He stayed as fit as he could so he could still do everything he had always enjoyed. Due to that, he easily skipped back to where Ludwig stood on the bridge. "But look at me now!" he laughed. "I'm wide awake!"

The German man couldn't hide his smile, no matter how hard he tried. Even if he had wanted his irritation to last, there was no way it could have with the way Feliciano was smiling at him. Every time Ludwig saw that smile, even after over forty years, he felt like the luckiest man alive, especially when that smile was directed at him.

"I can see that now," Ludwig laughed. "But you couldn't have said the same a half hour ago."

"We're old now, Ludwig," Feliciano defended. "We can afford to be late to things and relax. Time isn't real for us anymore."

Ludwig chuckled to himself. "Is that why we are in such a rush to meet up with your brother and Antonio right now? If time isn't real and we can afford to be late to things, then why are we rushing to the cafe?"

"Time only exists when it comes to my fratello," the Italian man corrected. "The reason it only exists with Lovi is that I don't enjoy getting punched for keeping him waiting."

"Then maybe you should try being more punctual," his lover stated as they stepped off of the other side of the bridge together. "If you worked hard at that, then your brother wouldn't yell at you nearly as much as he does."

Feliciano muttered to himself in Italian, mocking Ludwig and praying to every known deity that he would not overhear. "But that's not the way to live an exciting life," he finally told him. "A life not lived to the fullest isn't the kind of life to be desired."

"So you enjoy Lovino using you for a punching bag when you're late?" he asked. "Is that how you truly see your fullest life?" He raised an eyebrow in mock question after seeing the expression his lover was making. "Is that what you find fun?"

"You're too perceptive," Feliciano grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in a sulk.

"No, I just know you better than anyone else does," Ludwig stated as if it were common knowledge. "After all of these years we spent together, I am a Feliciano Vargas expert."

A smile played on Feliciano's lips when he heard his lover's words. His heart swelled in his chest as he turned to face him, stopping them both in their tracks. "An expert, you say?" he teasingly asked. "If you are such an expert, then tell me exactly what I am thinking right now."

The German man gazed at him for a couple moments before saying, "You're thinking about the past forty years we have spent together. Your mind can't even begin to wrap around the fact that someone cares about you and loves you as much as I do. Even at this moment, you're wondering how I know the exact thoughts going through your head as you think them. But the reality is because I'm thinking them at the same time. You're now wondering how that could be, but the cold, hard truth is that I think you're a man born of sunshine who only makes my life brighter and better with each passing day. Did I miss anything?"

Bronze eyes gazed back at him with so much intensity that the blond felt he was being nearly assaulted. "You didn't miss a single thing," Feliciano softly stated. "In fact, you got everything so perfectly that it's almost like we have the same mind." He grabbed Ludwig's arm and pulled him into an alleyway before wrapping his arms around him and kissing him passionately. "I love you, Ludwig. So much. You are so amazing," he told him between breathless kisses.

Helpless against the onslaught of kisses, Ludwig quickly gave in and pressed Feliciano against one of the building walls as the kisses became more and more passionate. He loved losing himself in Feliciano. It was the most magical feeling in the world for him. Whenever it happened, he lost all sense of time and self.

Ludwig's mind suddenly snapped back to the situation at hand. "Feliciano, what about Lovino and Antonio? Shouldn't we get going to them? You remember that they're waiting for us right now, right?"

To silence his lover, Feliciano pressed his lips once more to Ludwig's, getting caught up in their moment together. He wasn't going to let his brother interfere with such a magical feeling. An infectious smile played on his lips as he winked at Ludwig.

Only one sentence escaped his lips before he pulled Ludwig back into another passionate kiss. "Let them wait."

The End