A/N: Part 3 of 4 for my Holiday Series!
Description: Ludwig hasn't been acting like himself lately, and Feliciano's trying to figure out why.
Originally Published On: December 24th, 2018
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The duo walked around the store, Feliciano thinking about what he was going to get for his brothers. It was Christmas Eve, and he gotten a gift for everyone he knew, except he broke the original gifts he was going to get for his brothers. So here they were, at nine at night, walking around a store while trying to find last minute gifts.
"Exactly why did you ask me to come along with you? I mean, they're your brothers, and one of them has something against me for some odd reason," Ludwig asked, helping Feliciano look on the higher shelves.
"Well, you're tall so you can grab stuff that's higher, and maybe you can find something that he'll like. Also I didn't really want to go alone if I'm being honest..." Feliciano blushed slightly, scanning the almost bare shelves of this particular aisle, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ludwig stood around idly, glancing around at some of the other things. He heard muttering from Feliciano, who was standing with his chin on top of his hand.
"Hmm... well Romeo got something similar to something like that... no... that was from Lovino to Romeo... but what would they like... they never told me anything..." Feliciano rambled on, a trait of his that wasn't commonly seen but was there.
'Sure, he does daydream and goes off into his own world often, and he doesn't listen, he does care about people and puts a lot of thought into them, especially at this time of year.' Ludwig thought, smiling slightly at the Italian, who finally grabbed something and brought it over, asking him for his opinion.
"Umm... what was the question again?" He asked, glancing around nervously as he felt his face heat up, the slight embarrassment of not paying attention and instead staring at him got him.
"I asked if this was good for Romeo, then I realized you haven't really met him besides that one time when he came over while Lovi was yelling at you for some reason," Feliciano Are you feeling okay?" He placed the back of hie free hand on Ludwig's forehead to check for a fever, the latter gently pushing it off his head, reassuring him that he was feeling okay.
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After looking for another twenty minutes, they were on their way to the register, Ludwig finding something on the top of a shelf (earning him a "See? Told you that you would find something!"). Feliciano hummed a song, the normal bounce in his step being more noticeable as he walked. Ludwig walked behind him, his normal stern face being replaced with a softer, smiling face instead. Maybe it was his tiredness from walking around for what seemed forever, or maybe it was the joy of it being the holidays, or maybe it was even just being around the Italian that made him happy. Could've been all three, but the last one was the biggest factor.
"That'll be €16.78," The cashier said, trying to sound as cheerful as he could. Feliciano was about to get out the money to pay, but Ludwig stepped in instead.
"Umm... you don't have to do that, you know?" He interjected, going over to grab the bag from off the counter.
"It's fine. I got it," Ludwig replied, handing the exact change over to the cashier. They walked out of the store into the chilly night, Feliciano digging his face deeper into his scarf. They walked down the lit up street, the sound of chatter from other couples and groups over the soft holiday music filling up their ears.
"Hey... Ludwig..." Feliciano started, moving his scarf down so his full face was exposed to the cold once again, causing him to shiver slightly, "You've been acting nicer than usual recently, and it's kinda freaking me out a little bit. Honestly, are you feeling okay? Cause you were red in the store and then you offered to pay for stuff that isn't for you and... it's different that how you normally are. Usually you're yelling at me and being mad at everyone else. I mean, not all the time, but it's been happening less often." Ludwig stared in confusion, finally realizing his change of personality in the past few weeks. Sure, he did notice, but he didn't realize how much he's really changed since he finally came to terms with how much of a thing he has for Feliciano a few weeks ago. Ever since he finally realized that, he's tried to be nicer to him, maybe trying a little too much.
"Well... I guess I'm trying to improve myself as a person. I mean, I didn't realize how much I actually changed until you told me. So, I'd like to apologize for that," He replied, a bit surprised about his recent changes.
"It's fine. But you didn't have to change this drastically. Sure, I like not being yelled at for things, like accidentally catching a pot of pasta on fire when I tried to make something new and burned half of my kitchen by accident which is why I kept you out of there all day--" Feli went on, earning an intense glare from Ludwig.
" Wait a minute . You caught the oven on fire and didn't tell me? How the hell did you even manage that? And I even told you, 'Don't try cooking anything new unless...'" He let himself go off in front of everyone, going back the person he said he didn't want to be for Feli. But... he felt better afterwards for some reason.
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They both were sitting down on a bench in the middle of a park, Ludwig with his face in his hands. He felt bad for yelling, but felt good for some reason, like there was a wave of relief that just washed over him.
"Can you tell me why you were acting so nice for these past few weeks?" Feli asked, looking down at his hands, which were folded on his lap. Ludwig looked up at him, sighing heavily as he explained why.
"There's someone... special to me," He admitted, earning a small gasp from the Italian, "When I finally stopped beating around the bush and accepted my own feelings, I pledged to myself that I would stop being such a serious and act nicer towards others. But, I think I went a bit overboard, accidentally changing my whole personality to one that wasn't really me. I was... scared, I suppose. I was scared that the person wouldn't return my feelings because of how strict and serious I could be, and that if I told them, they would run away and leave. It's been a strange past few weeks, and even after trying to be this person, I broke and let my anger out again." Ludwig looked at Feliciano, talking one of his hands into his own. It was warm, which felt nice.
"Ludwig, you really didn't have to change. I'm pretty sure the person loves you for you, even though you can be a bit scary and serious a lot of the time," Snow started to fall around the two, Feliciano continuing on, "And though you can be strict, a neat-freak, a slight perfectionist, you do have a nice and sincere side, which was probably the side you were trying to show to everyone, and made sure it was the only side they saw. But both of those sides define you, and... I know I love both of those sides. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He smiled softly, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Was it from the cold or him expressing his feelings he didn't know, but he did know that they both had deep feelings for each other, the two of them finally letting it show. They both stood up, facing each other as the wind blew, the cold not even bothering them anymore.
"Ready to go?" Ludwig asked, adjusting his grip on Feliciano's hand, the latter nodding slowly. Feliciano stood on his toes, placing a quick chaste kiss on the other's lips, the other happily returning it.
"So... about the pasta... were you lying about it or...?"
"Umm... about that..."
"Felicano!"
"I'm sorryyyyyyy!"
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FanfictionA collection of all my one-shots that were/are posted on AO3! (Please be aware that although this story is not marked as mature, some one-shots contain topics that may make some readers uncomfortable. One-shots like this are either marked as mature...