the gray division

"Just because I let you be in charge of tomatoes does not mean you can take them, idiot," Lovino scolded, ripping the box out of Antonio's hands. "One day unemployed and you already result to stealing food! Shame on fucking you!"

"I promise I am not going to take them," Antonio grinned. "I was just admiring them. They are very red."

Lovino shifted his load of produce to put a hand on his hip. "Yeah, well, why don't you admire something else."

Antonio didn't move a muscle and just stared. "Okay."

Lovino issued a frazzled snort and turned, throwing a glare over his shoulder, walking away quickly to presumably finish closing up shop.

"Ooh, now you are very red, too!"

"I swear to God I will put you right back in that cellar."

As if the words had summoned him, Feliciano popped up from the corner market's basement, piles of extra boxes in his arms. He huffed as he dropped them onto the counter, wiping at his hands. "Woo! Thank you for much for helping me close today, you guys!"

Antonio smiled at Feliciano, but Lovino scowled. "Do not thank them; they are useless!" Lovino predicted Antonio to protest, so he cut him off beforehand. "I don't mean you. I am talking about your fuck ass friends." He gestured to Francis and Gilbert, who were sitting out on the curb outside like vagrants.

Francis seemed to mishear. He turned around and blew a lazy kiss.

Lovino seethed, but told himself it wasn't worth a response. He had dealt enough with these people that letting himself get annoyed wasn't worth it anymore. He managed a sigh and turned back to his baby brother. "You still have that envelope with the money I gave you? I want to get a real security system for this place."

Feliciano began to nod. "Um, but I thought we were going to use it to…" He trailed off, his eyes locking on something down the street.

"That better not be who I think it is," Lovino mumbled, but looked as well.

Signore Feliciano Vargas's life had changed.

He saw it as he watched Elizabeta and Ludwig approach from down the street, the slowly sinking afternoon sun backing them. All he could think about was his impending freedom, and with his brother and Ludwig now able to be in the picture, freedom was beginning to take a shape. He didn't care about living a new, debt-absolved life, but rather he just cared about living with the people he cared about. That was freedom enough for him.

"This is crazy!" he laughed to himself. None heard him but his brother, who rolled his eyes and continued sorting the produce away, Antonio trailing him like a dog. Feliciano fell against one of the market's wooden columns and watched Ludwig approach his own brother on the curb. While Elizabeta looked on, Gilbert jumped up and patted Ludwig on the back, exchanging words and questions with him in German. Feliciano felt his chest inflate with happiness seeing the Beilschmidts senza handcuffs. Now Ludwig didn't have to be so stressed and sad all the time, and he had his family back, and he could be happy…

"Lovino? What would you do if I was locked up and taken away from you?" Feliciano breathed.

"Celebrate," Lovino answered without looking up.

Feliciano grinned and danced back to him. "You don't mean that!" Lovino began to go red again. "You would have no one to yell at, and you would be sad and lonely. I would cry every day if it were you! Ludwig didn't cry every day, though, because he's strong. Or at least he didn't do it in front of me, but I do think with me he became a little more...sensitive."

"Good for you," Lovino sighed. "Now, are you gonna help me close or what? We gotta go home and get these ex-agents off our backs!" A snide look at Antonio, who only laughed.

But Feliciano wasn't listening. He hadn't even noticed himself step off the porch, until he was on the concrete and Ludwig and Gilbert were two meters from him. The brothers' conversation slowly came to a halt as Gilbert took in Feliciano, grinned, and gave Ludwig a slap on the shoulder. He muttered something Feliciano didn't quite catch and then sauntered off to stand by Elizabeta. Ludwig and Feliciano were left staring at each other.

"Um," Ludwig began, the tips of his ears already pink. Feliciano's glee swelled.

"Let's take a walk," he decided, clasping his hand in Ludwig's and lightly tugging him away. Ludwig did not hesitate to follow. Francis whistled after them while Lovino scoffed at their backs, but neither Feliciano nor Ludwig paid any mind. Ludwig waited until they were a block away to speak.

He cleared his throat professionally. "I want to ask you something."

"Okay," said Feliciano, content. The sunset had just started to dip below the skyline of the taller buildings to the west. It reminded him of two days ago when… Had that only been two days ago? He cleared his mind of thoughts related to the kidnappings and the circle. This was the now.

Ludwig paused to examine him, but instead of the familiar suspicion Feliciano was used to seeing, he actually looked a bit sheepish. Feliciano smiled wide, unaware Ludwig could ever wear such a face. Ludwig cleared his throat again.

His voice was much softened by the time he got out, "I want to ask if you...if you would like…"

"If I would like…" Feliciano prompted, his heartbeat beginning to pick up speed.

Ludwig closed his eyes. "If you would like. To go on a date."

Feliciano almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. He laughed out loud. "With you? Sincerely?"

Ludwig nodded.

"Not just a fake business dinner, but where we can still look all nice? And you can hold my hand this time, finalmente? And eat fancy food again?"

Ludwig nodded a bit more aggressively.

"Then of course!" he exclaimed. "I was wondering how long you would wait to ask! I was just about to do it myself!"

His heart pounded as Ludwig looked down bashfully, cheeks all rosy. He was perfect. Ludwig began to mumble something, then stopped, then laughed to himself and seemed to catch his breath. His electric blue eyes slowly, carefully met Feliciano's.

And Feliciano couldn't help but kiss him right there. He stood tall and cupped Ludwig's cheek in his hand, releasing a satisfied hum as their lips met. Ludwig eased up to wrap him in a gentle hug, much less intensive and heat-of-the-moment than their first kiss, and all the more amazing. Feliciano leaned and fell into it, relishing the feeling of them together like this, the feeling of being full and complete, the feeling that he had been striving for for so long. He knew he wanted more of this. Oh, yes, he wanted more of this.

Brushing his hands over Ludwig's shirt collar, he declared, "I'm really sorry for pulling a knife on you the first time. You're as sweet as chocolate!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, but didn't let go of him. "And you're an absolutely terrible, shameless flirt, Feliciano. But—I am glad to have you."

"Me too." He spun them around in a silly little circle on the sidewalk, grinning. "And I am glad that we made it through."

"Yes," Ludwig agreed, his face all lit up. "Very much."

"You are so beautiful when you smile and laugh," Feliciano sang softly, tracing the curve of his lips. His heart was throbbing and he was sure Ludwig could feel it. "You make me want to stay for forever."

Ludwig pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then stilled. "Stay...what do you mean? I thought you were not going back because of the…" He trailed off, waiting. Feliciano didn't elaborate—only allowed his own smile to grow into a simper. Ludwig raised his eyebrows. "You're doing it again."

"What?" Feliciano merely asked.

"Oh, you do not have to pretend to be innocent anymore," he huffed. "Frankly, you are too smart for your own good. You made a very good spy, but I think that you could do anything if—" He cut himself off. "You're just so...special. You are the most special person I have ever met."

"Oh." He fell silent. Warmth blossomed between them. Feliciano had been called many things in his life, but when Ludwig said it, he believed it. His heart didn't want to ever leave this.

And he was free now, he reminded himself.

"You make me the most happy I have ever been," he told Ludwig, embracing him tightly, then loosening away. The sunset baked him golden. He winked. "And I am sorry for teasing you so much."

Lovino waltzed quickly down the street, waving the money-filled envelope. "Andiamo, fratellino," he warned. When he turned and saw Antonio, Gilbert, and Francis following him, he burst into a dead sprint, fading right into the busy, chaotic, mysterious city surrounding them.

And Ludwig—bless him—tried to hold onto Feliciano's hand, but Feliciano slipped right through his fingers. "Stay," Ludwig urged.

"Oh, I will stay," Feliciano promised, stepping backwards, "but only if you can catch me, one last time." He let go of Ludwig, threw another wink over his shoulder, and took off running.

Ludwig did not hesitate to follow.

Elizabeta Héderváry observed it all.

She did not run after them, nor did she even flinch when they were gone. She always had been a good observer, and, yes, these agents and spies and hackers had captivated her. This whole underground world of lies and truths and veiled love was like nothing she had ever experienced.

She stood there, in the middle of Washington, D.C., alone, for a very long time. She watched the yellow sun caress the horizon, the clouds change from orange to pink to purple. She brushed her hair over her shoulders and allowed her awe to consume her for a few blissful moments.

She had imagined it would end this way.

And yet—would it end? Did anything ever, truly, end? She wondered this as she finally turned and began to walk back into reality, dreamlike breezes passing over her. Stuff changed, yes—but nothing in the universe ever ended. There were always successions, other things happening on the other side. Perpetual motion.

Pondering this, Elizabeta almost missed the insistent buzzing emanating from her phone. She pulled it out of her pantsuit pocket and examined it curiously.

She had imagined it would continue for forever.

Glancing up and around her, she answered the call and stepped back into the world.

oops!...i did it again - britney spears

;)

You guys already know. Holy wow. Just wow.

I want to say thanks to everyone for reading this story, whether you commented or not, whether you finished or not, whether you even started. I'll tell you that I had never imagined this would become a huge part of my 2018, but because of y'all it was a possibility. I'm proud of all of you, and for myself for managing to finish all near 90,000 words of it. Even though some parts may not have been the best they could have been, and my life constantly got in the way, I still feel like this experience was a success and I know I'll always be glad for it.

Dear god it's gonna be weird without this.

And I'll be honest—I don't know what comes next. Whether or not I have the wherewithal to keep writing and creating for this base, whether or not I'll be able to stick around. But I love you guys and I'm so thankful we met and I'll never regret making this weird little story. It helped me through a lot of tough shit. The inspiration from this came from my friends and an early morning art class and the Internet, of course, and I'm always thankful for that, too. I'm never done.

So happy holidays to everyone, and may you be safe and well at the end of this year and into the next! Please tell me your final thoughts if you want, as well, because that's always an added bonus. I hope this thing made you as happy as it did for me.

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