Feliciano lay in long, sun drenched grass with Ludwig beside him, smiling, a ray of orange sunlight turning his hair to gold. He reached for Feliciano and pulled him close with warm, strong arms. Feliciano gasped, ran his fingers through that golden hair, shuddered at the soft touch of Ludwig's lips on his neck. All was silent around them... no one else existed in the entire world. Feliciano threw his head back and moaned. "Ludwig..."

A deafening bang exploded in his ears and Feliciano's eyes shot open, blinking in the sudden soft light. It took him a few moments to remember where he was, and when he did, he could hear Lovino's frantic breathing cut through the silence of the bedroom. He turned his head to see Lovino limp heavily from the front door to the dresser, take the glass tomato Antonio had given him from its surface, and clutch it tightly in his hand before smashing it suddenly to the ground. Feliciano blinked in shock and pushed himself upright, the last vestiges of sleep falling away. "Lovino, what are you doing?"

Lovino barely noticed him. He just dropped to his knees, placed the lantern on the ground and searched through the shards of glass until he found something. He held the tiny object up to the light. Lovino stared at it, unmoving, breathing heavily, before he closed his hand over it and clutched it to his chest. He laughed bitterly. "Bastard."

Feliciano pulled himself out of bed, confused and worried. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." Lovino put his head in his hands briefly. "Oh God, it's nothing, nothing."

Feliciano dropped to the floor beside Lovino, grasping his hand and opening it to see what he held. It was a plain, silver ring. Lovino did not protest when Feliciano took it and held the ring up to the light, turning it over in his fingers. There were letters inscribed on the inside. Feliciano read out the unfamiliar words. "Te quiero. What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Lovino repeated firmly. "Forget it." He snatched the ring back and thrust it in his pocket. "Just forget you saw it, and I'll forget I saw it, and we'll all just forget that any of this ever happened." Feliciano got the feeling he was talking about something other than the ring.

"Forget that what happened? Lovino? What happened?"

Lovino just shook his head and pulled himself to his feet. "Nothing," he repeated.

"What's the time? Why are you home so late? Where is Antonio? Grandpa said you hurt your ankle, are you all right? Lovino, you look like you are going to fall over."

"Feliciano," said Lovino as he limped shakily to his bed. "Go back to sleep."

Feliciano nodded reluctantly, realising that was the most he was going to get out of Lovino tonight. "Will you at least let me bandage your ankle?" Lovino responded, but it was muffled by a pillow. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, Antonio already did that. Now shut up."

Feliciano smirked at that. He quickly swept up the broken shards and discarded them, a little disappointed as he watched them fall into the bin. It was a shame that Lovino had to break something so pretty just to find out what was inside it. Te quiero. He would have to find out what it meant. Feliciano sighed and climbed back into bed, hoping that he could fall back into the same dream he had been woken out of.

.

The wind carried with it a deep and bitter chill as Feliciano walked through the cold morning air. The winter had been unusually mild so far, and even though the day before had been unseasonably warm, there had been a sudden change almost overnight. Feliciano could even make out snow on the mountains. Along with the sudden freeze, dark clouds had settled on the horizon, and Feliciano watched them uneasily as he strolled along the road. He never had liked winter storms, with the freezing rain and the piercing lightning and the thunder that rolled off the mountains and echoed back twice as loud. When Feliciano was little, Grandpa Roma used to say that the thunder was the old Gods fighting each other. That just scared him more.

Feliciano was fairly sure Ludwig would not be waiting for him this early, but he made his way towards the oak tree anyway. And when he made out the familiar military uniform and blond hair in the distance, his heart leapt and he ran.

"Ludwig! Ludwig, you came!" Feliciano stumbled as he reached the tree and laughed breathlessly when Ludwig grasped his arms to steady him.

"Careful," said Ludwig, but his lips twitched in a small smile.

"I was worried you wouldn't come ba -" Feliciano stopped himself. "I was worried you would be too busy."

"I am busy, but... not enough to keep me away." Ludwig shrugged helplessly. "I think only one thing would be."

The words sent a dizzying thrill through Feliciano, even as they filled him with dread. He did not ask what that thing would be... he did not want to think about that now. Today he wanted to forget the dangers, forget the right and wrong. Today, he just wanted to be with Ludwig. He looked down and realised with a jolt that Ludwig was still holding him by the arms. Ludwig noticed at the same time and immediately dropped his hands, turning red. "I'm sorry, I..."

"Come with me." Feliciano did not give Ludwig a chance to finish, to start overthinking and grow embarrassed. "I want to show you a place." He grasped Ludwig's hand then turned and headed across the field. "You like walking, don't you? That's good because it's fairly far away. Oh, but don't worry, we'll get there before noon. I'm not going to lead you into the mountains, Ludwig!"

"Uh... just where are we going?" Ludwig sounded a little surprised, but as though he was trying to hide it.

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise!"

"It's a surprise?"

Feliciano laughed gleefully. "It is now!" Actually, he was not even completely sure himself where they were heading. But he was sure he would find the perfect place. A place where no one could find them; where they could be all that existed in the entire world. A place far enough away that by the time they walked there and back, they would have spent the whole day together.

Usually this field would be well tilled, but lately there had been little time for the usual work. The green grass brushed almost to their knees, occasionally brightening to yellow when the sun broke through the dark clouds. Feliciano was relieved to see that the darkest of them remained at a distance. Ludwig's hand remained warm and firm in his as they ambled side by side, heading towards the sloping hill at the end of the field. Feliciano swung his basket by his side and wondered if he would miss the market again today. He hoped so. After all, how could be not prefer to spend the day wandering over the countryside hand in hand with Ludwig? It almost felt like they could just keep going... keep going towards the mountains, away from everything, and never come back. Feliciano snuck a sideways glance at Ludwig to find him looking back. They both immediately looked away.

"The weather has certainly turned," said Ludwig quickly.

"They say a storm will hit before the spring," said Feliciano, before remembering the sentence as his code from the previous day. He glanced nervously at Ludwig, but he did not seem to have noticed anything unusual.

"It looks like it, doesn't it. Are you cold?" asked Ludwig.

Feliciano shook his head and smiled happily at the concerned tone in Ludwig's voice. "I'm fine."

Ludwig nodded. "And... how are you? After yesterday, I mean. Are you all right, Feliciano?"

Feliciano suddenly remembered the events in the town square and wished he hadn't. Today he was supposed to be forgetting all that. "Well... yes. Thank you for being there to... thank you for being there." Ludwig had not released his hand yet. Feliciano clutched even tighter to it.

"I did not want you to see that. You should not have to see things like that." Feliciano's chest leapt but he kept his eyes on the grass beneath their feet. Ludwig was silent for a long time. "We're not all like that," he said finally, almost a whisper.

"I know that. Of course you're not." Feliciano was certain, beyond any doubt, that Ludwig was one of the best men he had ever known. To compare him for a moment to those police in the square, whose job was to torture and maim and murder, was unthinkable. "You're a good man. I can tell."

Ludwig turned his head sharply, looking almost upset. "I've always been able to control things. But I am not strong enough to control everything, apparently."

"What a silly thing to say, Ludwig. No one is strong enough to control everything. Not even Grandpa Roma. And he's the strongest man I know. Once a tractor broke down in the field and Grandpa pushed it all the way home by himself. With Lovino and I sitting on it and yelling at him to go faster."

"He sounds a bit like my grandfather."

Feliciano was always so happy hearing even the smallest thing about Ludwig's life. He tried to imagine Ludwig's grandfather; if he was tall and strong and handsome like Ludwig, or as different from him as Grandpa Roma was from Feliciano. "Maybe our Grandpas would be friends if they met."

Ludwig gave a small shrug, but he did not look convinced. "Who knows."

The grass grew shorter beneath their feet as they reached the edge of the field and headed up the sloping rise. Clusters of trees dotted the landscape before them, the mountains rose in the distance, and the green rolling hills on all sides were splashed with patches of red and orange and purple. Ludwig stayed silent for the most part, letting Feliciano ramble on and point out the landmarks below as they climbed - the broken down tank that had sat by the roadside for a year, the outline of the village in the distance, the rows of farm houses growing smaller below them. With his stomach fluttering madly and a sort of wild excitement running through him, Feliciano felt the concerns and dangers and fears melt behind him the further away he walked with Ludwig. He felt practically giddy as he looked down at their hands still clasped... Ludwig had not moved to pull away. He passed his basket to Ludwig before leaning down to pluck a flower. He then placed it carefully in Ludwig's jacket. "That's a giglio bianco." Ludwig smiled and Feliciano's heart skipped a beat.

"White lily."

"Esatto!" said Feliciano, smiling back. He rattled off the names of the flowers he recognised as they passed. "And there is an agno casto, and those are valeriana rossa. And oh, here, we grow this in the garden." Feliciano plucked a sprig of rosemary and pressed it into Ludwig's jacket buttonhole next to the lily. "And there's rosmarino."

"That's for remembrance," said Ludwig. Feliciano blinked quizzically. "It's from Shakespeare. Hamlet," Ludwig explained.

"Oh!" said Feliciano in understanding. "Yes, Grandpa read that to us a few times. 'Pray you, love, remember.'" He smiled wistfully. Grandpa always used to read English stories to him and Lovino, back before the war started and there were too many more important things to do. "Well there you are, Ludwig, now you will not forget me!"

"Feliciano, I don't need a sprig of rosemary to remember you. Nothing could ever make me forget." Feliciano laughed happily as Ludwig cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. "You're not too cold?" he asked again.

"It is not so bad while walking." Feliciano gave Ludwig a strange look. He had already answered this question. "Are you cold?"

"No. Your winters here are very mild compared to my home."

"Really? Does it also rain a lot, like in England? Do you get lots of snow? Is it... oh, Ludwig, look, let's stop over here!" Feliciano noticed a small copse of trees, like a little dark island in the middle of the vast rolling green, and pulled Ludwig over to it. It was darker under the overhead foliage, but the sunlight still streamed through and bathed the thicket in gold and shadow. Feliciano finally let go of Ludwig's hand to wander between the tree trunks, leisurely reaching up and picking a leaf off each one. He twirled them absently between his fingers. "Do you miss it?" he asked, peering back up at Ludwig through a low hanging branch. "Your home?"

"Of course. Very much. And my grandfather. And my brother." Ludwig followed Feliciano at a short distance as they wandered under the dark cover of leaves. He seemed quite content to follow wherever Feliciano led today.

"And your friends?"

Ludwig scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I've never had many friends."

Feliciano was surprised. "No friends?"

Ludwig shook his head. "Gilbert was always the popular one. Usually people just seem afraid of me. Or I suppose I just don't talk enough to..." Ludwig shrugged. "I don't know."

Feliciano found that strange. He was usually afraid of everything... and yet Ludwig did not scare him at all. He reached up and plucked another leaf from a tree. "I'm not very good at making friends either, Ludwig. Although it's not because I don't talk... actually, I think that might be the problem. I mean, I always try to be nice to people, but they usually end up saying 'Shut up, Feliciano, you're so annoying!' or 'You're nothing like your Grandpa, are you?' or they just look at me strangely and walk away. You don't ever do that, though. You never tell me to shut up."

"That is because I do not want you to shut up."

Ludwig always seemed to know the exact thing to say to make Feliciano's heart leap and his knees weaken. He turned quickly to hide the silly smile that spread across his face, continuing to weave between the tree trunks and pick leaves. He came to one where the branch was too high and jumped a few times, his fingers straining to reach the leaf just centimetres out of his grasp. Then his stomach tightened when he felt Ludwig walk up behind him. He could smell the familiar scent of his jacket; could feel Ludwig's chest inches from his back, his close presence like an electrical charge. Ludwig reached up, his arm brushing Feliciano's shoulder, and plucked the leaf from the branch before pressing it into Feliciano's shaking hand. Feliciano just stared at it dazedly, suddenly overwhelmed with that increasingly desperate desire to touch Ludwig. He turned, almost in a daze. Ludwig was still so close behind him. But it wasn't close enough. Feliciano reached up and planted the leaf in Ludwig's buttonhole, his fingers lingering too long on the firm chest. Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

"Soon I will have a garden in my jacket."

Feliciano laughed, forcing himself to drop his hands and look at the ground. He tried to breathe deeply; tried to remember how. He took a reluctant step back and shivered.

"You are sure you're not too cold?" asked Ludwig.

"No," said Feliciano immediately, hiding his shaking hands in his pockets.

Ludwig sounded unconvinced. "Your jacket does not look warm enough."

"It is just a little colder under the trees, that's all." Why did Ludwig keep asking if he was cold?

Feliciano heard a shuffling and looked up in surprise to see Ludwig shrugging off his jacket. He turned red and held it out, staring at his feet the whole time. "Here."

Oh. Because he was trying to give him his jacket. Feliciano bit his lip. It was such a silly gesture... something that Grandpa Roma would do to make the girls in town giggle. And yet Feliciano felt lightheaded, like his chest would burst, and his lips pulled into a smile he could not control. He was filled with such ridiculous happiness at the insistent gesture.

But then he looked at the jacket. The military grey, the decorations on the chest, the lines on the shoulder, the badges at the collar. The lily and rosemary; the eagle and the swastika. Feliciano's stomach dropped. Could he wear that? What would that mean? Before he could make up his mind, Ludwig took a step towards him and placed the jacket over his shoulders. Feliciano gasped, a sharp breath, inhaling the clean and warm scent. The jacket fell heavy and much too wide over his shoulders. He pushed his hands slowly through the arms and laughed when they did not reach the cuffs. Then he smiled up at Ludwig. Ludwig gazed back intently, his blue eyes bright. And Feliciano knew it was all right. It had to be all right. Because right now, it wasn't a military jacket. It was Ludwig's jacket.

"We're nearly there, Ludwig," said Feliciano, still unsure where they were headed. But he just took Ludwig's hand again and drew him out of the trees, into the sunshine and further up the green hill. They continued to climb as the sun rose higher and the chill of the air around them lessened. Feliciano was not sure if the new warmth that flooded him was from the sun, the jacket, or the fact that Ludwig again made no move to pull his hand away.

It did not take much longer before Feliciano found a suitable destination, a ruined structure that sat close to the highest point of the sloping hill. The ceiling of the old church had long since crumbled, but a few broken pillars and stone wall remnants remained scattered around a cracked courtyard. Grass and weeds pushed insistently through cracks in the stone floor, and long, green tendrils grew twisted around the few remaining arched windows.

Feliciano jumped up onto the eroded barricade that encircled the ruins, Ludwig holding him steady by the hand. He pointed out over the fields that spread out below them, the houses and roads and buildings that looked like a tiny doll's village. "And look, Ludwig, there's our oak tree."

"Yes, it is very beautiful," said Ludwig, looking not at the view, but up at Feliciano. "Don't fall."

"Don't be silly Ludwig, you're holding my hand, I won't fall. And if I do you'll catch me." Feliciano made his way unsteadily along the rocky wall, clinging firmly to Ludwig's steady grip. He walked until they reached a spot where a few tall stone fragments blocked the direct sunlight. Feliciano smiled down into Ludwig's worried face. "Tell me more about your home. Tell me about your village."

"Very well, but only if you stop and get down before you hurt yourself."

Feliciano laughed and let Ludwig help him down. He sat on the broken wall, gesturing for Ludwig to sit beside him. "Well?"

"Well," said Ludwig thoughtfully as he sat. "It is small. And very similar to what you have here... farms, and fields, and trees. And yet different... wilder, almost. There is a beautiful castle that overlooks the town. And it is very old... I believe the castle dates from the fifteenth century. And in the village there is a beer hall, one that I go to with Grandfather and Gilbert every Sunday after church." Ludwig smiled slightly. Feliciano reminded himself to breathe. "All our lives we have gone to that same beer hall. And everyone knows each other; we have known each other our whole lives. It is warm and friendly. It is wonderful. It is home." Ludwig's face was alight, and the remainder of his awkwardness seemed to fall away. Feliciano was transfixed.

"I'd like to go there one day." A sudden low, muted roar broke the stillness of the morning. The familiar sound of distant bombs echoed off the mountains, but Feliciano determinedly ignored them. "Can we go there one day, Ludwig?"

Ludwig closed his eyes briefly. "Yes. We can go there one day." At that moment, the sun broke through the clouds and rose above the ruins behind them, shining down brilliantly, illuminating the green sloping rise, the clusters of trees, the bright patches of colour, the wide open fields and the scattered houses below them. Looking across the beautiful and familiar view, Feliciano could understand Ludwig's love for his home; his need to fight for and protect it, to serve in its name. It was something Feliciano understood far too well.

"I'd bet your village is just as pretty as this, Ludwig," sighed Feliciano. Pretty, beautiful, glorious... just like this day that he wanted to last forever. "Ooh, I know, I'll photograph it for you!" Feliciano reached into the basket Ludwig had placed on the ground and took out his camera. He hefted it up and angled it towards the stunning view before him. Ludwig immediately sat up straighter and leant over to look more closely.

"What's this?"

"My Grandpa's camera! Isn't it fantastic?" The camera was for the rare occasions he might have to take photographs of strategic positions. Instead Feliciano liked to take photographs of birds and flowers and pretty girls. "Lovino taught me how to develop the pictures and everything. Smile!" Ludwig didn't, but Feliciano took a photograph of him anyway. "Here, now take one of me."

Feliciano pressed the camera insistently into Ludwig's hands and tried not to think of the irony of handing a German a camera which was intended to be used against him. He just gave Ludwig a bright smile, almost laughing as Ludwig took the photograph. "There. Now, I'll develop them tonight and show you tomorrow." Feliciano waited for Ludwig to hand the camera back, but he just turned it over in his hands, staring at it intently. Feliciano waited as Ludwig looked it over thoroughly before finally looking up apologetically.

"This is a very good camera. One of the best."

"Really, is it? I don't really know much about that. Machines like this confuse me. I can never get the radio to work properly, I always seem to get someone yelling in Russian. And the first time Grandpa let me use the telephone I somehow had a thirty minute conversation with a man in Dublin. He was very nice but he kept calling me Fred." Ludwig laughed and Feliciano's stomach flipped. He so rarely heard that wonderful deep laugh.

"Well, it is certainly a wonderful machine." Ludwig placed the camera back in the basket. "And you are a strange, wonderful man, Feliciano. You are..." Ludwig stared at him in that way which confused Feliciano, delighted him, made him nervous and made the world stop around him. "You make me question everything I ever thought I knew."

"Um... I apologise?" said Feliciano, unsure if that was the correct response.

"Don't." Ludwig managed a smile and Feliciano's heart thrummed. He was fairly sure he was going to burst from happiness soon. It could not be possible to be this content just sitting and talking to someone. But this whole day had been wonderful, and Feliciano could never remember a time when he had been happier. He wondered if this was how Lovino might feel around Antonio if only he would calm down a little. Which reminded him...

"Ludwig," said Feliciano. "Te quiero." Ludwig turned white, then red, looked for a moment as though he was going to fall over, then began stammering a response before Feliciano interrupted him. "Do you have any idea what that means?" Ludwig paused, closed his eyes, and let out a long, shuddering breath.

"Oh. Oh, I see." He shook his head and almost laughed. "Why?"

"Do you know what it means? I think it might be Spanish."

"It is."

Feliciano was incredulous. "Why didn't you ever tell me you spoke Spanish, Ludwig, that's not fair, no wonder it is so easy for you to learn Italian when German is really hard for..."

"I don't speak Spanish," interrupted Ludwig. "It's just that my brother had a good friend who was Spanish, before the war, and he taught us to say a few words."

"Oh." Feliciano almost felt embarrassed. He was not used to the feeling. "But you understand 'Te quiero'?"

Ludwig turned red again. "Well, it means... from what I remember, which might be wrong, I think it means... I love you." Ludwig said the words in a rush. Feliciano was not sure he had heard them correctly.

"I lo... oh." Feliciano stared into the distance, a little dazed. "I love you? Really?"

"Yes." Ludwig shifted uncomfortably and smoothed his hair absently.

"Oh." So Antonio was in love with Lovino. Feliciano could not say he was surprised, really. That would certainly explain a lot. And was really quite obvious, come to think of it. No wonder Grandpa Roma was worried. Maybe he thought Lovino would run away to Spain. Feliciano broke out of his thoughts and looked sideways at Ludwig, who stared fixedly at the ground. "What is 'I love you' in German?"

"It's... well, it's..." Ludwig went still and took a steadying breath. "Ich liebe dich." Ludwig said it so softly Feliciano could barely hear.

"I'm sorry?"

Ludwig looked up out across the fields, clenched his hands into fists, then turned to face Feliciano. "Ich liebe dich."

Feliciano froze, caught in those eyes, the colour of the sky behind the clouds. Ludwig was so close. So warm, so real, so everything... "Ti amo." Ludwig blushed deeper and Feliciano stumbled over a few words, trying to explain while at the same time realising that he meant it. More than anything else he had ever said, he meant it. "In Italian, it is 'Ti amo.'"

"Ti amo."

Feliciano shivered at the words, even though Ludwig was only repeating them. A familiar silence settled around them, heavy with hope and tension and uncertainty and confusion. It was abruptly broken when a massive roar tore through the sky. Feliciano looked up to see three planes flying in a triangle formation overhead. He still had not quite gotten used to the planes that were always flying overhead these days.

"Those are ours," said Ludwig, a hint of relief mixed with the pride in his voice.

"Wow," said Feliciano, watching as the planes disappeared into the distance almost as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving three white trails in their wake. "Is that what your plane looks like, Ludwig?"

"Yes."

"What is it like to fly in one of those?"

"It is..." Ludwig paused for a moment, searching for a response. "There is no word for it. Not in English, not in German. It is... indescribable."

"You love it. Flying." It was obvious when Ludwig spoke about something important to him. His eyes shone brighter and his carefully composed stiffness almost drained away. It was mesmerising.

"It is everything to me."

Everything. Feliciano nodded and absently plucked a weed that grew through the stone wall. He listened to the gentle sound of the wind rustling through the grass as the roaring of the planes finally disappeared. Then he took a deep breath and came to a decision. Some things are just worth the risk... "Do you have a girlfriend, Ludwig?" He was fairly sure Ludwig would have mentioned by now if he did, but Feliciano did not know another way to ask what he wanted to know.

"No," said Ludwig firmly. "My only girl is my Messerschmitt."

"Who's Mrs Schmitt?"

Ludwig almost laughed. "No, my plane. She's a Messerschmitt Bf 109. Her name is Greta."

"Your plane's name is Greta?"

"Yes."

"Greta Schmitt."

This time Ludwig did laugh. "Just Greta. We all name our planes. They are very special to us."

"But there is no special girl." Feliciano was aware that he was treading dangerously, but he did not want to stop.

Ludwig answered slowly. "No."

"Why?"

Ludwig's eyes flashed as he suddenly stared heatedly at Feliciano. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing!" said Feliciano quickly, leaning back, a small shock running through him. So Ludwig could look scary after all. "I didn't... I mean, I just... you're just such a nice guy and all I thought you would have had a girlfriend, I'm sorry if I upset you, I really didn't mean to."

Ludwig's eyes softened then he sighed and looked at the ground. "No, I am sorry. I just... no, I do not have a girlfriend."

"Why is that?" asked Feliciano carefully.

"Because... well..." Ludwig sat stiffly, on guard once again, far from his relaxed demeanour of earlier and nowhere near his normal composed and controlled self. "This is nothing, forget about it."

Feliciano's heart started to pound. "But, it sounds like there is a reason, tell me."

"Please, Feliciano." Ludwig's eyes were wide and he almost seemed to be trying not to panic. "Just leave it."

"I don't want to leave it, there's something you want to say, but you're not telling me! What is it?"

Ludwig did not answer right away. "You could never understand," he said finally, then immediately winced as though he had said too much.

"Maybe..." A small hopeful suspicion started to swell in Feliciano's chest. "Maybe I could. Understand, that is."

The silence was absolute as their eyes met. Feliciano felt like he was waiting on a knife's edge and he couldn't move, his body rooted to the spot, unable to look away, his breath coming too fast as the air became heavy with tension around him. How did time always seem to stop when Ludwig looked into his eyes like this? Ludwig finally tore his eyes away, his expression pained and conflicted. "Maybe I will explain another time."

Feliciano shoulders sagged as he let out a deep breath. "Oh." He was filled with frustration and disappointment once again. He did not even know what he had been waiting for, but he was fairly sure this wasn't it.

"I will explain, I just..." Ludwig leant forward briefly, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "I need to think."

"That's all right. I can wait, Ludwig. I don't mind waiting." Feliciano hesitantly reached out and placed his hand on Ludwig's, half expecting him to push it away. But Ludwig immediately clasped it in his. "I'd wait forever."

The hours flew by like seconds, until to Feliciano's surprise and anguish, he noticed that the sun was swiftly descending to late afternoon. He did not want the sun to descend. He did not want the day to end. He never wanted to leave this place. Feliciano was starting to love these places - these magical spots scattered across the countryside where it felt like the world stopped and he could forget about everything but the grass beneath his feet and the sky above him. Places like the little thicket of trees and the oak tree and the golden field around it. Places he sat and spoke with Ludwig like they were somewhere else, somewhere only they existed, where they were not enemies and there was no war and no Resistenza and no sunset when Ludwig had to turn and leave.

"You will miss the market again today?" Ludwig's voice almost startled Feliciano.

"Yes." Feliciano did not know what Grandpa Roma would say now that he had missed the market three days in a row. Neither did he know how he would explain it. And he wasn't really surprised to find that he didn't really care.

"We had better start walking back."

That familiar sinking feeling settled in Feliciano's stomach. "Yes."

Ludwig stood slowly, pulling Feliciano reluctantly to his feet. They walked back slowly, silently. They did not need to speak. It was one of the first times in Feliciano's life when he was completely comfortable walking beside someone in silence. As they headed across the rise, down the hill, into the field, their steps grew slower and smaller until they were ambling and almost pulling back as they approached the oak tree. It was only when they reached the tree that Feliciano finally spoke, looking down at Ludwig's jacket as he prepared to reluctantly take it off. "Oh, I lost your flower."

"That's all right, I still have the other one you gave me." Feliciano blinked in surprise. "The red flower... the other day," Ludwig explained. "You had it in your pocket."

Feliciano's eyes widened in understanding. His chest swelled with joy, that Ludwig would remember and keep such a silly little thing. "You kept that?"

"Of course. I keep it in Greta's cockpit. It is my lucky charm."

But that joy turned into a now familiar ache when he looked up into Ludwig's face, into his eyes. Because Ludwig would soon be leaving him again, and Feliciano could not be certain he would come back, and this time the thought physically hurt. Feliciano shrugged off Ludwig's jacket, feeling immediately colder. He handed it over reluctantly. "Be careful tonight. Come back to me. Please. Tomorrow."

Ludwig nodded, his eyes dark and conflicted. "Yes. Tomorrow, Feliciano." Then he turned to walk away. And something inside Feliciano snapped.

"Wait, no."

Ludwig stopped short and turned back, looking worried at the almost panicked tone in Feliciano's voice. "Feliciano? What is it?"

Feliciano clenched his hands, tried to remember to breathe. Had he really said that? Was he really going to say this? But he had no choice. He could not let another day end like this. "Don't leave like this again."

"I don't..." Ludwig's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "It is getting late, Feliciano. You know I have to leave."

"Not like this. Please don't just say goodbye and walk away and..." He was unable to stop speaking the words. "I don't want you to go, Ludwig. I don't want you to go into battle. I don't want you to move base. I don't want you to go home to Germany. I want you to stay here with me, forever." Feliciano could not look at Ludwig. He could not bear to see the way he might be looking at him.

Of course the tears came. Feliciano did not bother trying to stop them. He was unsure of what he was saying, unsure of what was happening. All he knew was that he could not stop. "I'm sorry, Ludwig, I am. I don't know what I want but I... I know that if you just say goodbye and walk away again I won't be able to stand it, I won't, because every time you do I feel like I'm dying and it hurts so much." He finally looked up to find Ludwig staring at him with an expression he could not read, almost like he was angry, and still Feliciano could not stop. "Please, Ludwig, don't just walk away this time, please stay and... and I just need... I just need you to... I need you closer, and..."

Feliciano clenched his eyes shut, angry at himself that he did not know what he wanted to say, or how to say it. He jumped when he felt Ludwig's fingertips cold on his cheek, then pressed into them, so scared that Ludwig would push him away. He opened his eyes to find Ludwig's burning into his. His fingers felt like icy fire as they traced over Feliciano' cheek and into his hair. Feliciano was just about to lose control and fall against him when Ludwig reached out and pulled him close until their bodies pressed together. Feliciano gasped at the stunning, perfect feeling. Yes, like this. Closer, like this - this was what he wanted. And then Ludwig leant down and his lips were against Feliciano's ear and Feliciano nearly cried out from the feeling.

"I said I would explain..."

"I... what?" Feliciano could hardly concentrate on Ludwig's words. All he could feel, all he could think was Ludwig's arm around him, Ludwig's fingers in his hair, Ludwig's lips whispering against his ear...

"Earlier. I said I would explain... another time. Not now." Ludwig spoke with barely suppressed urgency, his grip on Feliciano almost painful. Feliciano tried to lean further into it.

"Why, Ludwig?" Feliciano clutched the front of Ludwig's jacket with shaking hands, pressed closer, inhaled the smell of his hair. "Tell me..." He could feel Ludwig's heart beating... why was it so steady when Feliciano's was pounding like a drum?

"Meet me here tomorrow."

"I'll be here." Feliciano tried to hide himself in the curve of Ludwig's neck, to block out the sky and the world and everything in it until nothing existed but the two of them. "I promise I'll wait. I'll always wait for you." Ludwig straightened and pulled back, even as Feliciano tried to stop him. His eyes still held that familiar look of conflict, but they seemed calmer somehow. Feliciano wished he could feel the same but all he felt was devastation that once again Ludwig was leaving him. He swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart."

"Bello, ciao." Ludwig held him for one moment more before tearing himself away and marching towards the road. Feliciano turned immediately and looked up at the growing storm clouds with wide, wet eyes. He was breathless, confused, stunned. And he could no longer watch Ludwig walk away.