ｔｈｅ ｂａｌｃｏｎｙ ｂｅｌｏｗ ｍｅ

[zombles]

Ludwig gave the other's hand a little squeeze in thanks for opening the door for him, heading down the darkened hallway again. He shook his head. "He's fine without me. When I do this, he calls me twenty minutes later asking if I can pick up beer on my way. That's the only reason he wants me to 'help' him." The blond chuckled, recalling the memories of every time he went to help Gilbert do something that involved cleaning. "I'd rather stay with you..." He said, blushing and turning his head to the side. All he seemed to do was embarrass himself.

Though he couldn't help but chuckle and the only comfort he could give was squeeze his hand again to get Feli to stop shivering. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head a bit. "No clue. It will probably end up me rushing them to the hospital because they all got hypothermia."

[vault]

Feliciano made a small, happy noise. "If you're sure! But if you need me to do anything, please just ask." Apart from Antonio and Lovino—and even that was a stretch with his brother, sometimes—few people let him be as touchy-feely as he just naturally tended towards. Because of that, he was so, so happy he could cling to Ludwig like this, even if it may be like he was an excited puppy on a leash. He wasn't about to let go, so Ludwig could easily steer him around, no matter how distracted the little Italian got.

"I don't want to stop you from having fun with your family, though, so I won't be upset if you have to go." Feli added cheerily, ensuring that the other could tell he was 100% serious. Feliciano was extraordinarily bad at lying, he became really upset and obvious. Because of that, he steered towards the absolute truth whenever he could, leading him to his lack of tact. "But if you don't go, we'll have to do something fun." Leading him into thought, that spurred an "I have no idea what, though. I thought I'd be sleeping today. so my plans aren't working."

[zombles]

Ludwig led the other towards the staircase. "I'm not going to go," he repeated, making sure he even understood that. This time he actually had something better to do than hang out with his older brothers! Giant leap for Ludwig today. Besides, doing anything with Feliciano was bound to be more interesting and less predictable than being with his brothers.

"Well, start thinking of things to do because I have all day." The blond said, taking a couple steps up the stairs, not so fast so the other didn't end up out of breath by the time they reached his floor. He had to get rid of the baskets.

[vault]

[ If the thing that Feli's curl does when it makes a little heart was writable, he'd be doing it right now jfc he's v happy ]

Smiling brightly at Ludwig's certain response, Feliciano followed the other man up the stairs, managing only to stumble on one or two steps on their way. He didn't fall, luckily. "Well, we could go out, somewhere." He chirped, excited. "There are some things I should pick up, but I was waiting until my brother wasn't busy... and if we're out, we could go to that shop you told me about!" Growing more excited every second, he kept up with Ludwig's stair climbing. He was really happy at the prospect of just doing something with the German.

Speaking of... "I haven't really hung out with anyone for a while," Feliciano admitted, embarrassed. "So I don't know what we're supposed to do. But I'm pretty sure anything would be fun. I'd be happy just staying in and letting you read that manuscript." He shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. "Just being with another person would be great." Specifically, being with Ludwig. But he probably shouldn't say that, right? Feli ran his hand through his hair, distracted.

[zombles]

[ that curl is LIFE ]

Tilting his head back in thought, Ludwig shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind what we do. Unless you don't want to do anything Feliciano, I don't want to waste your time." He added, hesitantly. Looking through shy blond eyelashes, the other glanced over at the happy brunet besides him. "Feli, if we do go out, do you mind if we stop at a record store? I just need to grab an album."

Ludwig was taken aback in surprise, causing the crease between his eyebrows to deepen. Honestly, he had thought that Feliciano had a ton of friends and or a girlfriend. He was a down to earth guy and was good at continuing conversations. "I'm glad... I mean that uh, you have a friend now." The German said. "I know this is all of the sudden, and probably to much of a persona question and that it's none of my business." He sounded like an idiot. The words were getting choked up in his throat. Was it normal to ask people if they were dating? For all Ludwig's concerns, Feliciano maybe even married! Well, it wasn't like he had gotten to the point of romantic attachment to Feliciano, but still he was just curious.

But once that got to Ludwig's floor did he finally find the question on the tip of his tongue. "Are you dating anybody? I-I'm just curious." He sounded like a damn pervert. You messed this up this time! It sounds like you're trying to make a move on him! God! He's never going to want to talk to you again. Nice.

[vault]

[ also I love that jealous!Lud thing you mentioned because he's just so gentle he'd just be mad at himself and hELP ]
[ his curl is actually a genuinely ridiculous percentage of my life yes ]

"Waste my time? Ludwig, I was sleeping." He looked curiously up at the other. "Do you think you're less important than sleeping?" It was rhetorical, but he asked it all the same. "Anyway, of course we can! That sounds great." Feliciano shrugged as the other continued. "I have lots of friends, but... well, mostly they're at home in Italy, so that's not accessible, and usually people here... they're busy, uh, it's probably not me, but... they just have lots to do. London's a busy city." He made a quiet, thoughtful noise. "I mean, I guess I become a recluse when I get this deep in my art and schoolwork." Looking down in shame, he added "I snap people, at least," in a very quiet voice. "And I always call my family."

Glad for a change, to Feliciano, the master of discretion, this question wasn't out of the ordinary at all. "No, I haven't dated since I started school. Too busy to look, honestly. I've been on a couple coffee dates, I guess, but nothing serious. People seem to think I'm looking for a fling, and I'm really not interested in that. I dunno, I think my personality is just... too much, sometimes." He snorted, more at himself than anything. "I think it's important that people feel important, so I could understand why people would gravitate to that." A kind smile returning to his face, he added "But I like myself, so it's really not too important what others think." Registering the beginning of that statement, he added, "So... wait, that was the personal question?" in a mildly shocked tone.

[zombles]

Turning his head with a shrug, Ludwig had to admit that he didn't really think of himself as important. Sleeping was better than hanging out with him. He was a deadweight who couldn't even carry on a conversation to save his life. He gave Feliciano's hand a reassuring squeeze, though with his voice dying out at the end made it sound like Feliciano didn't want to continue on the matter. Ludwig could respect that. Whatever the other wanted to talk about it was fine with him. Whatever he didn't want to talk about was okay, as well.

A small piece of Ludwig felt a little bit hurt at the way Feliciano described himself. Even though it wasn't about him in any shape or form, but Feliciano deserved to feel important. It was just the blond's fault. The German was mentally hitting himself in the face for not mustering up the courage to say something, compliment him at least.

It took Ludwig at least ten seconds to realize that Feliciano had said something, drowning in his own thoughts about potential sentences to say to perhaps brighten his mood. Sadly, the words that escaped his lips were only to reply to the Italian's question. "Oh, uh, yes."

[ this reply was ridden with errors, so sorry. i have to remember to reread them ]

[vault]

Giggling, Feli mused "That wasn't personal to me, don't worry." He shook his head, firmly clearing that up. "You can ask me anything. I'm an open book. No secrets." Staring at the taller man, a flicker of concern crossed his face. "Are you alright?" He hoped he didn't make Ludwig uncomfortable. Was that too honest?

Trying to think ahead for once in his life, Feliciano moved on. "Well, we should probably wait until the laundry is done, right?" Pondering this, he looked down at his boots and pajama boxers, which showed his bare knees. "I should also get dressed, huh. Can't really go out in this." With a wide smile—what else is new, really—he looked at the other. "I'll wear lots of sweaters." Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, he questioned "How long do you think that'll take?" before pausing to correct himself. "I mean, what should I do first? What should we do first? Is it time to get ready, or should we just wait for a bit?"

[zombles]

Ludwig unlocked the door to his apartment and took a step inside. His head turned to the side to confirm Feliciano's remark that he, indeed, needed to get dressed. He was basically naked with some clothes and a blanket wrapped around him. Ludwig inhaled deeply and then proceeded to scold him. "Usually washing takes about thirty to forty-five minutes while drying takes about an hour or more. You should get dressed, but I'm not sure you'll have any clothes left since the majority of them were on the floor." The blond dumped the baskets in the corner of the room before finally letting go of Feliciano's hand. Poor Feliciano. "We honestly don't have to go out. I was planning on just watching television today."

He was still 'sick' today, and Netflix was a great option to spend a day off. Since he'd found Feliciano, though, this day had been better than he originally planned. He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it bit before noticing the brunet's one stubborn curl. The temptation to pull it was starting to crawl into his mind...

[vault]

[ scghsdhjhsfkdj the curl ]

As Ludwig scanned him and sighed before scolding him, Feliciano laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're very helpful, Lud." Acting mock offended, he added "You haven't seen my closet if you think that's all I have to wear. I'm Italian," he trilled, pulling out his accent on each syllable, "I'm very fashionable." Spinning in show, he added "Look at these pajamas. They're the hottest thing in Milan." Of course they weren't, but it's not like they were cheap, either. Thank god he didn't buy them himself.

"I don't mind. I just wanna be with you today." There, just out and say it. He was blunt about everything else, why on Earth did that feel weird to say? "What would you be most comfortable with?" Shocked, he suddenly remembered. "If you're still not feeling well, I don't want to stress you out. I love going out, but it's not worth it alone, especially in this cold." He looked pointedly at Ludwig. "It would be worth it with you. But if you're not up to it, we could also save it for another day. That said, what sort of things do you like to watch?" Eyes sparkling, he gasped. "Do you play games?" Finally letting the other speak, he wiggled his toes in anticipation as he waited. He wasn't patient at all.

[ oh god they could play fifa and just argue the whole time help me ]