Ch 3

It was the following afternoon and the late summer breeze was rolling about. Ludwig was driving his grandfather's truck and Feliciano was on the passenger's side, his head sticking out, letting the wind play with his auburn hair, on their way to the little farm where Feliciano and Lovino live with their grandfather. Lovino was sulking in the back, staring out the window, losing himself in dreamland.

"So is it that little house to the right?" Ludwig asked Feliciano. Nodding, Feliciano brought his head back in and smiled back at Lovino.

"This beats riding the bus, doesn't it, Lovino?" Feliciano examined the interior in wonder. He then began to chatter off about some people on the bus and how he and Lovino are always the last ones off. "Oh! Look! It's Grandpa Max!" Feliciano pointed at an older man riding a bike. Feliciano stuck out the upper half of his body, causing Ludwig to yell at him to get back inside. Feliciano ignored him and called out, "Ciao nonno!" Feliciano waved vigorously as they drove by the older man. Sitting back down on the seat, Feliciano turned the the slightly irritated Ludwig. "That's our grandpa! He's really fun, You'll like him!" Ludwig grunted. He was annoyed with Feliciano for pulling a stunt like that. "A-are you mad at me?" The worried tone made Ludwig's irritation slip away.

"I'm not mad at you. Just don't do that again. I don't want you falling out."

"Oh, Okay."

Taking a right, Ludwig eased the truck next to the small house. The old man followed suit. He got off his bike and let it rest on the house, then pulled out a bag of groceries that were in the basket and strolled towards the truck as the boys got off.

"You must be Ludwig!" The man had the heaviest Italian accent out of all three. His voice was loud and full of life. "My name is Maximo Vargas, but you can just call me grandpa Max!" Max and Ludwig shook hands as Feliciano skipped ahead to open the door. Max suddenly stared at Ludwig in confusion with a hint of what Ludwig thought was recognition, but shook his head and smiled. "I'm very glad you want to help my grandson with his math. If he fails, he won't be able to graduate on time and follow his dream."

Both entered a gate where a row of rose bushes were lined against the fence and a nice green lawn was interrupted by a small sidewalk leading to the front door.

"What's his dream?" asked Ludwig. Max smiled and simply said "You'll see." They entered the house after Lovino and what Ludwig saw left him in awe.

Paintings of sunsets and landscapes covered the walls of the living room. Acrylic faces smiled from what was once a white expanse of nothingness.

Ludwig walked around the living room, gazing at the paintings. He stopped in front of a painting of a woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes.

"That's my daughter, Renata, Lovino and Feliciano's mother. She died when Feliciano was just in kindergarten. It's a wonder he remembers her face perfectly." Max smiled sadly at Ludwig. Ludwig looked back at the portrait. Feliciano and Lovino take after their mother, gently edged face and innocent eyes.

"Hey Luddy!" Feliciano called from the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Just water, thank you." Ludwig continued to gaze at the paintings. He stopped at an easel situated by the front window and stared at the base of a new face. It couldn't be either of the brothers because both had soft features. The painting had a strong jawline and a prominent chin. It's as if though he's seen this shape his whole life...

"Here you go, Luddy!" Feliciano walked up to him, holding a glass of crisp, clear water. Ludwig took the glass and thanked him.

"Who's this?" asked Ludwig, pointing at the painting. He thought he saw Feliciano's face turn red, but he wasn't sure.

"Um, it's someone... vague." Feliciano laughed nervously. Ludwig raised an eyebrow in question.

"You two stop flirting, and let's get started with homework," Lovino was leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. Ludwig slightly blushed, even though he knew they weren't flirting. Feliciano laughed again, but this time it wasn't nervous.

"C'mon Ludwig!" Feliciano grabbed Ludwig's hand and dragged him towards a small dining table in the kitchen. Lovino already had his books out for studying. Feliciano grabbed his backpack and started searching for his homework. "Oh no! I can't find my homework! I'm pretty sure I stuffed it in here!" Peeking into the backpack, Ludwig nearly gasped at how stuffed it was. It was a hurricane of papers and notes. Feliciano began to take out wads of papers until he found his homework. "I found it!" Feliciano grabbed the wad he had pulled out and was about to stuff it back in when Ludwig stopped him.

"What are you doing?" Ludwig asked, eyebrows arched in confusion.

"I'm putting this back...?" Feliciano resembled a puppy, huge eyes staring directly into Ludwig's. Ludwig couldn't help but feel something blossom in his heart as he tried to find his next words. Wind softly rustled the curtains though the open kitchen window as seconds ticked away. Ludwig could not stray away from the golden eyes that always attract and warm the soul with the promise of innocence and trust.

"Hey." Lovino's voice yanked Ludwig back from his hypnotized reverie. Ludwig blankly glanced at Lovino as he glared back. Ludwig quickly regained his train of thought.

"Don't just shove the papers back in," Ludwig quickly said. "You should be more organized. Here," he pulled out an empty 2-inch binder from his backpack and a packet of new dividers. "I'll help you organize after we finish." Feliciano nodded vigorously as Ludwig pulled out a few loose-leaf papers.

After an hour of teaching, working, reteaching, and checking, Feliciano finished his homework with confidence of earning a good grade.

"Thank you so much! I'm going to practice some more!" Feliciano opened up his math book and began to work out some problems for practice (and extra credit). Lovino stared at him incredulously. He then explained to Ludwig that Feliciano was too lazy to work extra problems for practice. Smiling at the fact that he's motivating Feliciano with school, Ludwig checked his work and helped him organize. Max walked into the kitchen, whistling. He watched his youngest grandson work hard, and smiled.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? We are having lasagna," Max offered.

"I don't want to impose-"

"C'mon! Stay for dinner! It will be fun and grandpa's lasagna is the best," Feliciano begged with his puppy eyes, threatening to make Ludwig lose himself in them, again.

"I'll have to call my Opa to tell him I'm staying for dinner," Ludwig said. Feliciano clapped his hands in happiness, Lovino didn't care, much, and Max happily patted Ludwig on the back as he led him to the house phone. Ludwig called his grandfather and told him he's staying for dinner.

"Have fun, be back before ten," Heinrich said.

"I will."

"Oh, can I also speak to Mr. Vargas?" Ludwig said yes and looked for Max.

"My grandfather would like to speak to you," said Ludwig, handing the phone to Max.

"Hello?" Max walked off into the living room as Ludwig sat down next to Feliciano, who was distributing the lasagna.

"Feli, you're drooling. Lovino said. Feliciano wiped his mouth and apologized to Ludwig for being rude.

"I do that too when it comes to cakes," Ludwig admitted as a square piece of lasagna was placed on his plate. "Especially the ones my grandfather makes for his bakery."

"You're grandfather's a baker?" Feliciano asked, eyes twinkling in delight.

"Yes, his own little bakery by our house, and I sometimes help. Before he retired to become a baker, he used to be-"

"A doctor." All three boys turned to look at the kitchen door. Max was standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. "I-I owe him so much." Tears glittered the man's lashes. "He tended to my daughter during her last moments of life." Then Max stared at Ludwig again. "No wonder you looked familiar. You're the spitting image of your grandfather, though younger." He was pulled pulled back to the past again. "He comforted her, he even promised to take care of Lovi and Feli, even though we were strangers... I..." Max wiped away the tears that were threatening to cascade from his eyes. "I then took them away and... that horrible event happened," tears spilled and glided down his cheeks. "Oh, I was horrible for that-"

"Aw, nonno," Feliciano got up from his place at the table and went to his grandfather. "Come, sit and eat some delicious lasagna!" Feliciano led his distraught grandfather to the table. "Besides, Luddy is here! Let's enjoy his company and sing and dance!" He then grabbed a napkin and wiped away some of the tears. "Besides, sad doesn't suit you." Max smiled and nodded.

"You're right Feli, let's sit and eat!"

Ludwig was driving home, smiling to himself. The Vargas family really know how to entertain guests. After dinner, Max brought out his guitar and began to sing an Italian love song. Feliciano sang along while he and Lovino watched. Then the rhythm changed and Feliciano forced Ludwig to dance with him. Feliciano flawlessly danced while Ludwig kept tripping over his own two feet. Then Feliciano guided him through the steps pf the dance. Ludwig was still a little sloppy with the steps, but he promised Feliciano he would practice.

It was almost ten when Ludwig arrived home. He kept humming the little tune he and Feliciano danced to as he walked into his home.

"Welcome home Ludwig," Heinrich said, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Hello Opa," replied Ludwig, smiling. He set down his backpack near the staircase, humming.

"You seem jolly tonight. How was it with the Vargas family?" Heinrich inquired, watching as Ludwig sat on the chair next to him.

"They are excellent hosts. For dinner, we ate lasagna, which was delicious, and then they began to sing. Feliciano made me dance with him," Ludwig went quiet for a bit and thought. The leaves lightly tapped at the window, motivated by the wind's influence. "Why did you want to talk to Mr. Vargas? It caused him to remember a few things and got sad."

Heinrich remained quiet for a bit before responding. "I asked him if he was the Maximo Vargas that I met ten years ago, at the emergency room where I was tending to a miss Renata Vargas." Heinrich closed his eyes and let that certain memory flood in. "I remember that day too well. Maximo Vargas was holding his two grandsons, crying, muttering in Italian. The boys, so young, too young to lose their mother, were also crying. This happened a month after your father had died, so I understood their pain. So I walked up to them to comfort them. He asked 'Is my Renata going to be alright?' He already knew, he could see the answer in my eyes, but he asked for the sake of the boys. 'We're doing the best that we can, Mr. Vargas,' I answered. The smallest boy, Feliciano, I'm assuming, was about to ask me something but a nurse urgently needed me and I told him to ask me later. He nodded and watched as I left in a hurry. I tended to the patient who needed attention and went back. 'Can we see Renata?' I nodded and led them to the room she was in. I thought maybe if she saw her sons, she would gain strength."

Ludwig asked, "What happened to her?"

"She was in a terrible car accident. When her father sat next to her, she immediately asked for her boys. 'They're fine, Renata, they're with me,' he replied. 'Mama!' the smallest one cried out. Maximo set both boys on his lap and both held their mother's hand. 'My boys,' she whispered, 'please take care of your grandpa.' The older one squeezed her hand and said, 'We will, but with you.' She smiled weakly and looked at her father. 'Papa, please take care of them a-and let them know- that I will always- love them-' Tears leaked from from his eyes as he blinked to keep them from falling. 'I promise,' he swore. Then the beeping of the heart monitor flat-lined I immediately rushed to her and tried to revive her, but she was already gone. 'Renata? Renata? Wake up... Rena-ta...' He set the boys down as he stood up. He gingerly held her face in his hands as he fell to the floor, and broke out in heart-wrenching sobs."

"'Mister Doctor sir?' I heard the younger one say. 'What is it, little one?' I asked. 'Is mama in heaven?' My heart broke oh so more. I didn't have the heart to say a word, so I just nodded. Fresh tears fell from all of them. 'I'll leave you with her..' With my heart heavy with pain, I left to do some paperwork. I couldn't focus on it, though. Empathy sometimes crushes your heart with memories... I promised Max, who was poor at the time, I'd help him with the boys, but he moved away. What a coincidence we'd end up living in the same town ten years later." There was a moment of silence. Ludwig didn't know what to say, but he felt the empathy that gripped his being. He and Feliciano had more in common than he thought. They lost their parent at a young age. Ludwig lost his father to terminal cancer, oh the pain he felt back then, even though he was only five, and Feliciano lost his mother in a car accident. "It's past ten. You should get ready to go to bed." Ludwig nodded and headed upstairs.

While brushing his teeth, Ludwig thought about his grandfather's story. His heart ached immensely and wanted to hold his friend tightly. Ludwig looked up at the mirror and stared at his own eyes, looking deeply into his own soul.

"Poor Feli," Ludwig left the bathroom to sit in his room. "I wonder what he felt when he painted his mother."

A sudden rush of apprehension came over him as the "Golden Rules" crossed his mind. "I'm not directly involved with a delinquent, so I guess it will be okay to remain friends with Feliciano," Ludwig thought about it for a while. A small spark of conflicting feelings began to glow within Ludwig as he lay down to sleep. "I mean, he's a good friend, even though he is a bit ditsy. I- I honestly don't know."

(A/N) Whatever you do, do not read this chapter while listening to "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade on repeat.

The song came on while I was typing up the chapter and I had to stop for a bit because I was in the verge of tears.

But if you want a more emotional experience, you can do so.