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Candles. Ch. 7

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Candles Ch. 7 Potential Flame

Needless to say, Feliciano was starting to act more like his usual self the closer they got to their destination. However, he wasn't quite the same. He wasn't as cheerful and energetic as he had been earlier that day. Feliciano would normally chatter nonsensically from one subject to the next, but now he only spoke when asked something. Ludwig frowned.

"Feli, are you okay?" Said Italian looked over and smiled as he usually did.

"Sí, I'm okay~" Ludwig nodded.

"Good. Sorry, it's just that you were spacing out and it's not really like you." Feliciano nodded understandingly.

"I know, it's just... I can't figure out why he started acting the way he did." Ludwig glanced over. An unusual, pondering look had come over the Italian's face. He didn't know what he meant until it occurred to him that he was talking about Lovino.

"What do you mean?" he asked, but wanted to take it back, not meaning to pry.

"Fratello." Ludwig didn't know every word in the Italian language, but his time around Feli and the context of the conversation gave him the meaning.

"Oh... That might've been my fault." Ludwig said in a penitent manner. Lovino never really liked Ludwig and thought that he could be the root of Feliciano's familial problems. Feliciano turned to look at him as the German drove, shaking his head.

"N-no, it wasn't you! Actually, it's been going on for a while!" Feliciano rushed to say. Ludwig was stunned at this revelation. Exactly how long had this been going on? Feliciano seemed to have read his mind as he continued.

"It was a couple weeks ago. Fratello had just sent a text, but he was very adamant to not let me see the message, though I could see that the recipient was Antonio. Fratello kept waiting for a reply, but the longer he waited, the more easily agitated he got. One time, Alessandra said she wanted to go out with Herakles, but fratello refused and reprimanded her for I don't know what. He muttered something about if he couldn't, nobody could."

Ludwig thought about it as he drove. All this over a text message? At the first listen-through, it sounded like a bad teenage, afterschool drama plot. Then again, Romano often had a very bad temper. Paired with his very low patience, it was like fire and gasoline.

"Hmm. I wonder why he didn't get a response. Regardless, he shouldn't take his stress out on you two." Ludwig said. Feliciano nodded.

"I know, but I never got the courage to convince him of that. I was afraid he'd do something. After he yelled at my sister, I tried to tell him to find different ways to vent. He told me to shut up, that I didn't know anything..." he trailed off and a tear dripped down his cheek as he sniffled. That hadn't been the best day of his life. Ludwig noticed. They were at a stoplight, so he was able to root through the organized glovebox and give him a tissue, which the Italian took.

"Don't worry. It's going to be alright." He said. The stoplight shifted to green and the car continued on its way. Feliciano wiped the tears away and blew his nose while he was at it.

"Sí. Grazie, Luddy~" he smiled. Ludwig blushed and nodded, continue driving and not sure what else to do. Eventually they arrived at Ludwig's house. He stopped the car but didn't get out. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Feli, I know you're going through some rough times. I genuinely want to help you, but I'm awkward. B-But I want you to you to know that I do like you despite how I may act." he looked away from the Italian, his face pink with a blush.

Feliciano took what he said into consideration. He smiled tenderly. Knowing that Ludwig was helping him and doing his best to do so was helping in itself. Feliciano thought he almost didn't deserve someone as strong and loyal as Ludwig... but he was very lucky that Ludwig had seemed to genuinely want to help and be close to him.

"... Grazie, Luddy. It's okay; I can tell~" he said as he leaned over and kissed his cheek. He immediately got out to get his suitcase, missing the chance to see Ludwig's face turn rose red. Ludwig pulled his act together and pressed the button that unlocked the trunk. He opened his own door and stepped out of the car. Feliciano was just opening the trunk.

"D-do you need any help?" Ludwig asked. Feliciano peeked around the open trunk of the Volkswagen at the German and shook his head, with his trademark smile.

"No thanks, I'm fine~" Ludwig nodded and waited for him. With a little effort, Feliciano finally managed to get his belongings out of the back. He followed after Ludwig, who was getting his key out of his pocket. The German put the key in the lock and ,with a turn, unlocked the door. Italy went in the house.

The house was so clean and neat, one would've thought somebody had just moved in. Of course, Ludwig prided himself on keeping things neat and orderly. Italy looked around as he let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding. He didn't know why but he felt much more comfortable in Ludwig's house. Ludwig closed the door and went into the house himself.

"There's a guest room down the hall upstairs. Feel free to look around, but don't make a mess." Italy nodded.

"Okay~ Grazie, Luddy~!" he smiled as he dashed upstairs with his suitcase in tow. Ludwig sighed. He hadn't expected any of this to happen at all. Feliciano came back downstairs, apparently situated in the room. Ludwig's Doberman, Berlitz, had been sleeping on the living room couch and, hearing the sound approach again, decided to investigate what exactly the sound was.

The black, short-coated dog with a brown muzzle, eyebrow markings, brown paws, erect ears, and docked tail would've normally intimidated most people. However, Feliciano was not afraid. The dog padded over to the Italian. Feliciano held out his hand gently in proper human-dog etiquette. Berlitz sniffed for a minute and realized that the Italian human was a friend. He sat on his haunches, allowing the Italian to pet him.

The Italian smiled, his amber eyes bright. He tended to be a bit of a cat person, but dogs were cute too and they tended to like him. He knelt down and scratched between the dog's ears as he glanced at the name tag around the Doberman's neck.

"Hi, Berlitz~" he smiled softly. All this attention was making the Doberman's tail wag. Ludwig smiled at the two, but especially at Feliciano. He had cheered up so much compared to earlier. Ludwig went over to them and knelt as well so he was more or less at the same height as Feliciano.

"You two seem pretty close already." Feliciano nodded happily.

"Yep~ He's so cute~" Ludwig chuckled.

"Have you met the other two?" Feliciano looked up at him with incredulity.

"Ve~? There are others?" Berlitz whined and waved his paw in the air to get Feliciano's attention again. The Italian's hand traveled back to the Doberman's head and scratched gently as he waited for Ludwig's answer. The latter chuckled and nodded. He held up three fingers.

"There are a total of three. The others are probably with Gilbert." Feliciano nodded.

"Hm~" Feliciano continued to scratch behind the dog's ears as he pondered what the dogs looked like. He remembered what Ludwig had said about Gilbert's behavior at this time of night.

"Would you like to see them?" Ludwig inquired. Feliciano thought and nodded. The German chuckled.

"Alright." he stood up and headed over to the basement door, Feliciano following. Ludwig carefully opened the door and made a gesture to 'be as quiet as possible'. Feli nodded, understanding. Ludwig started carefully down after flipping a light switch, enabling vision to see the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, he tugged on a cord that turned on the basement lights. The underground room was a little bleak compared to upstairs, but it was a basement. It wasn't supposed to fashionable, just functional. The walls were grey with the concrete that formed them. There were some boxes around the room that stored various items not currently being used, a TV, and a couch. This couch was not uninhabited.

There was a certain Prussian, sleeping, thank heavens. He was sprawled on the couch under a blanket and two dogs. His arm had fallen to the floor, holding a TV remote, near some empty beer bottles. His companions were a brown German shepherd with the defining black saddle, black muzzle, and ears cropped like Berlitz' and a golden dog with soft fur that looked like a golden retriever, but was called a Hovawart.

They heard someone approach and looked up. Seeing their master, they relaxed but did not get up. They were too comfortable to move. Instead, Feliciano went to them. Ludwig smiled at his typical older brother.

"What are their names?" Feliciano whispered carefully to not wake up Gilbert. Ludwig gestured first to the German shepherd then the Hovawart.

"The German shepherd is Blackie, and the Hovawart is Aster," he answered carefully as well. Feliciano smiled and nodded, carefully petting the Hovawart's head. Despite the current apathy towards strenuous movement from both dogs, Aster lifted his tail and wagged it a bit. He liked this attention and, therefore, this person. Ludwig smiled at him.

"Aww~ they're so cute~" Feliciano cooed about the dogs.

"Ja, they're good dogs..." he commented. Feliciano smiled and nodded.

"They really are~" he went to pet Blackie. The brown and black dog did the same as Aster, his tail-wagging saying more than a bark. Ludwig smiled gently at how the Italian was getting along with his dogs.

"I think they'll like having you here." he said. Feliciano blushed and smiled.

'I know I'll like being here~' he thought to himself. All was quiet for a moment. Aster stretched out and jumped off of the sleeping Prussian, heading for the stairs. Gilbert stirred at the movement. Feliciano froze, afraid he would wake up. Thankfully, he remained asleep and Feliciano released a sigh.

"We should head back upstairs before we wake him up," Ludwig whispered quietly, glancing cautiously at his inebriated, unconscious brother. Feliciano nodded and stood up.

"Okay~" Ludwig let him go up first so he could turn out the lights in the basement and leave Gilbert to sleep off his impending hangover. When he got upstairs, he saw Berlitz bound up to the Italian, whimpering for attention as if Feliciano had been gone for a very long time. Feliciano complied and kneeled to pet him.

"I'm sorry I left! Was Berlitz lonely?" he cooed to the Doberman, who was instantly happier. Ludwig smiled. Then it hit him: Feliciano belonged here; not just at the house, but near him, in his life.

For a while, Ludwig thought his house and life had everything he would ever need. But around the time that he recognized that he liked Feliciano, something was missing. His house felt bigger and emptier but something personally felt off that he couldn't quite identify. When Feliciano proved that Ludwig's feelings for him were mutual, everything seemed a lot clearer, made sense, was lighter. Even though he had been treated brutally by Feliciano's older brother, he would go through it ten thousand times over to keep the sweet Italian happy safe and by his side.

He snapped out of it and looked down at Berlitz and Feliciano. The latter had spaced out for some reason and his brown eyes were unfocused, as if he could see something Ludwig could not.

"Are you okay?" he inquired. Something in the Italian snapped back to normal and he looked back at Ludwig, his eyes golden-brown with the arresting shine they were famous for. He nodded.

"Ve? Sí, I'm fine. Did I space out again? Man, I've been doing that a lot lately~" he rubbed the back of his neck with a playful smile. Ludwig nodded and nodded,

"I guess you've got a lot to think about." Feliciano nodded, a slightly mellow look over came over his face at the remark. Berlitz had rolled onto his back for a belly-scratching to which Feliciano complied.

"I suppose so." A minute later, he felt his eyelids droop and a yawn exit his mouth. He glanced up at the mantle clock and saw that it was getting late. Ludwig glanced down at him.

"Did you find your room alright? You look tired." Feliciano nodded and stood, leaving the Doberman to his own devices.

"Yeah, I am kinda tired. I think I'm gonna head to bed." He turned to Ludwig, still a head shorter than him. Feliciano gently wrapped his arms around him and Ludwig blushed at the action. He hugged Ludwig out of love and gratefulness for all that Ludwig had done for him.

"Sogni d'oro, Luddy~" he whispered softy. Ludwig hugged back awkwardly.

"G-Guten nacht." After a while, Feliciano gently pulled away and went upstairs to his room. Ludwig sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He hated being so awkward. He retired to his own room as well, thinking of ways to help the Italian.

Feliciano got ready for bed. Normally, he would try to go to sleep in Ludwig's bed, but he was too tired to do so. He laid down under the covers, gazing up at the ceiling, pale by the moonlight in the dark, nighttime room. He remembered what Ludwig had said in the car; that he wanted to help but he was awkward. Feliciano thought that aspect about him was adorable.

'He can be so adorable... sometimes...' He thought to himself as sleep overtook him and lead to the next morning, starting a new chapter in both Feliciano's and Ludwig's lives.
Hey guys! The next Candles chapter is HERE~! There was a bit of writer's block so ~xXSmokeNMirrorsXx and I have switched who writes the even-numbered chapters and who writes the odd-numbered chapters. And I finally decided to put a preview image with this story, so here you go~! :)
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2pitlalybrothers's avatar
ooh interesting, i love the storyline for this and it's very interesting keep up the awesome work XD