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Italy didn’t have the resources to fight in the war. As representative of Italy, Feliciano had known this, but Ludwig had held him captive twice. First literally, during World War I, and second during the post-war recession, when Feliciano felt the familiar stirrings of infatuation. He needed to possess Ludwig. To do so would be to possess Germany, and the seed of his empire would spread its roots through Europe. He had been advised by his brother Lovino to take the country by force, but that wasn’t Feliciano’s style. He would instead turn himself into the lapdog of the German representative. Loyal, and innocent, and close to heart, he would learn everything about the country’s government without the obstacles of discretion and suspicion. And then, still treated with affection by everyone around him, he would seize control. But the duplicity of his methods consequently tore him between two desires. Both were to pursue Ludwig to the end of time, but where one was in pursuit of power, the other was in pursuit of love.
He’d taken hundreds of lovers. Surely with his charms he could have both Germany and Ludwig without compromising either in theory , but could he do so in his heart? His priorities began to skew as he forgot about the German government in favour of spending time with Ludwig. Lovino reminded him that he needed to be more careful.
He couldn’t forget the promise shared by all descendents of Rome: that the Roman Empire would live on.
After Japan joined the Axis Powers, and after several training sessions and a few battles, Feliciano was pulled aside by Ludwig.
‘Italy!’ Ludwig shouted, approaching him with long, powerful strides.
‘Yessir!’
When they were less than a metre apart, Ludwig dropped his tone confidentially.
‘Come to my office.’
As much as Feliciano wished his heart could pound with excitement, he lacked both the blood pressure and inexperience for it. The only kind of news delivered in Ludwig’s office was bad. When they entered, Ludwig took a seat at his desk and signalled for his assistant to leave. The tension in Ludwig’s arms and back made him stiff, his lips drawn into a thin line and the veins in his temples bulging slightly. Feliciano feigned obliviousness by looking around the room.
‘Japan and I have discussed the state of affairs in Europe, and we have decided to go into hiding. Everything will have to be very… underground from now on. No imports, no exports.’
Cazzo.
‘What? But why?’
He wondered if his pout looked too fake as Ludwig paused for a moment.
‘Because the Allies are gaining on us. Italy has been marked as a weak spot in our operations because your equipment is outdated and your officers are pussies. I’m assigning you to the medical team.’
‘Yessir!’
That pause was too long for his comfort, and the fact Kiku helped inform the decision made him prickle with jealousy. If he lost Germany to Japan, he’d have no way to get it back without giving up the marshmallow act, and he wasn’t going to win in a fight. He was backing himself into a corner.
His cheery expression had dropped a little as he thought, which he only noticed when he saw Ludwig staring at him curiously. The assistant returned with a message before either of them could say anything.
‘We intercepted a call from the Allies, boss. They plan to invade Sicily.’
‘ Scheisse ,’ Ludwig hissed. He stood up to follow the messenger but paused in the doorway. ‘I’ll come back to discuss the hospital arrangements. Sit tight, ja?’
‘Okay!’
When Ludwig left the office, Feliciano waited for his footsteps to fade before picking up the phone and dialing for Lovino. A hint of anxiety welled in his stomach as the phone rang and rang, his face grave. Lovi had said this number would be reliable for the time being. Had he already moved on?
‘What do you want this time?’ came his brother’s groggy voice.
‘Oh, thank God. I didn’t think you’d answer.’
‘But I did.’
‘I wanted to tell you that I can’t see you again. Not for a while, anyway.’
Silence. Feliciano wondered if his brother had hung up before he heard him stir at the other side of the line. From the sound of it, he had still been in bed.
‘Why?’ Lovino asked warily, drawing out the word.
‘Because we’re going into hiding. The Allies have been on our trail, and Ludwig says﹣’
‘To hell with that potato-eater! We’re on the same side, he has no right to cut us off like that. I’m coming to get you.’
‘You forget that we need you in Spain to keep up the negotiations.’
Silence again. Lovino was only ever silent when he was thinking really, really hard.
‘Spain’s already told us they’ll only send troops to fight against the Soviet front. He won’t do anything to help you, if that’s what you’re expecting, and that’s not why I’m worried. Will you be able to sustain yourself for however long this shutdown lasts?’
‘Of course! That’s why I called. I’ve been put on the medical team.’
Lovino’s harsh, cynical laugh made him smile.
‘They put a wolf to tend to the sheep.’
‘Yep. Which is why you don’t have to worry about me anymore. It’ll be much easier to feed with a constant supply of blood bags.’
‘What? Were rotting corpses not good enough for you? Always a gourmet.’
‘That’s disgusting!’ Feliciano laughed. He heard Ludwig’s footsteps returning and dropped his voice.
‘Ludwig’s coming back. I have to let you go.’
‘Be careful, mio fratello .’
Lovino hung up.
Feliciano quickly replaced the phone and turned to see Ludwig coming through the door with a packet of papers and a uniform in a plastic bag. The curious look was still on his face.
‘Were you talking to someone?’ he asked.
‘No..?’
Ludwig shrugged, appearing to accept the answer more than believe it, and sat back down, laying the papers out for Feliciano to see.
‘These are the hospital layouts. You will be an aide and assist treatment on all floors. Here is your uniform.’
He handed the bag to Feliciano. Inside was a set of blue scrubs not unlike his current uniform, a matching cap, and white gloves.
‘You will be working with some of the best-trained nurses and using state-of-the-art German technology. It will be foolproof so long as you do what they say and don’t touch anything you don’t know how to use.’
‘ Grazie ,’ Feliciano beamed. Ludwig nodded.
‘I’m trusting you to do your best.’
‘Don’t worry, I will.’
Ludwig watched him as he gathered his things and walked out of the office. When Feliciano was at a safe distance, he let his face relax into a more serious, somber resting expression. That smile was hard to hold for long periods.
He began his work in the medical division that same day. He’d become proficient at first aid over the course of centuries, and all vampires were experts of the circulatory system. When Ludwig came to check on him at the end of the day, he made a point to linger over the body of a soldier whose arm had been torn by shrapnel and required tendon surgery, stitching the skin back together under the guidance of a doctor. He worked the needle lithely as he talked to Ludwig.
‘Where’d you learn to do that?’ Ludwig asked.
‘I had to do all the mending as a kid.’
‘And the gore doesn’t bother you?’
‘Not really. I just think about how I’m helping the person, and it makes the queasiness go away. It helps to count in my head, too.’
The gore did bother him, just not in the way Ludwig expected, and it made the dark pit of his heart patter with giddiness. It was fun to have a secret, and even more fun to reveal slips of it to an oblivious observer. One day Ludwig would find out the real reason why. It was just a matter of threading the needle and pulling it through…
***
Time flew with how busy the hospital became. By the end of three months, Feliciano had established a routine. He worked with a doctor whose office looked out over the ground floor lobby and he knew all of the nurses by name.
The blood bags were stored in refrigerators in the main storage room. He took them out and brought them to a smaller, neglected storage room in the basement, which he had cleared out by pushing all the old equipment away from the centre. It would be more comfortable to feed upstairs, but the lack of privacy made it risky, and there was no good way to dispose of the empty bags - it wasn’t like he could throw them in the trash. So he just threw them on the floor when he was done and forgot about them. He’d ask Lovino to take them away next time they saw each other. There were still some drops of blood sticking to the sides, but he wasn’t particularly bothered. His activities hadn’t been noticed and nobody had any reason to question him or use the basement.
Ludwig, meanwhile, had noticed something suspicious going on in the hospital, though he didn’t yet suspect foul play of a supernatural sort. There was a shortage of blood bags in the field, even though they were taking as much blood as they could from both civilian and military donors. It wasn’t adding up. He wondered if Italy had been wasting them by doing transfusions for every injury or botching them, but further thought convinced him that that didn’t add up either. Italy was under orders to let the nurses do the more sophisticated work, and the nurses were under orders to take over if they caught him doing something he wasn’t prepared for. He knew he could rely on both sides.
‘Japan,’ Ludwig started, rubbing the back of his neck. Japan was in the conference room pouring over a map of Asia and looked up when he began speaking.
‘Yes?’
‘Have you noticed how fast supplies go in the medical ward? We’ve gone through dozens of blood bags, but it never seems to be enough.’
‘This is war, after all.’
‘Yes, but…’
‘Do you think there’s a plasma thief?’
A chill went down Ludwig’s spine. The idea of someone stealing blood made him think of all the stories Gilbert had told him when they were children - and the nightmares that came with them.
‘Ja, maybe.’
‘In that case, it’s worth investigating. We should ask staff if they’ve seen anything suspicious and set up a log system to catch unauthorised taking of blood bags. It wouldn’t hurt to ask the patients about it either. In the meantime, I will devise a substitute.’
Ludwig nodded. He wasn’t sure how Japan would procure this ‘substitute,’ but it was surely in good hands, and he had enough to worry about with his campaign. He could afford to leave the medical details to Italy and Japan.
***
A few more weeks passed before Japan visited the hospital. He cautiously approached the nurses’ station where Feliciano was chatting with a few of the nurses.
‘Kiku! Hello!’ he called, stretching out his arms.
‘Please don’t call me by my real name.’
‘Sorry, Japan.’ He dropped his arms. For once he was grateful he kept his eyes closed all the time, otherwise he’d have rolled them. Humans could be so conceited with their patriotism. ‘What can I do for you?’ he asked.
‘I came to discuss business, but first, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you in private.’
The nurses nodded their heads respectfully and left the station. Japan’s gaze shifted around the room before resting on Feliciano.
‘How many transfusions do you perform in a day?’
Feliciano felt a little nervous.
‘Uh… I dunno. Usually the doctors do that and write it down in the logbook.’
‘How many bags do they use?’
‘Just one.’
Japan’s eyes were hard and narrow as he stared at him, darting up and down as if lies appeared on flesh.
‘Are you aware of the blood shortages on the field?’
Cazzo. He’d gotten careless.
‘What? No! That’s terrible!’
Japan didn’t say anything for a few moments, continuing to stare at him. Finally satisfying some doubt in his mind, he nodded and revealed a heavy clipboard from inside his jacket, setting it on the desk and pointing to it for emphasis.
‘This is a new ledger system to keep better track of medical supplies. You’re the representative of Italy, so I thought it should be shown to you first.’
What a system. It was so thorough, any edits he made would be recognised immediately by doctors, so there was no way for him to continue taking the bags. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more Japan wanted to say that he was choosing to withhold. He pushed the ledger back to Japan.
‘It looks good. We’ll start using it right away.’
‘I’d also like to speak with some of the patients and staff here.’
Ugh. Leave.
‘Why?’
‘To see if they’ve noticed anything… suspicious.’
Feliciano nodded as good-naturedly as he could and released Japan onto the floor to snoop around. The nurses had dispersed, so he allowed his expression to fall as he watched Japan walk down the hall and around a corner. He knew better than to believe that Japan, who had been minding his own business for most of the war, would investigate on his own. Ludwig had put him up to it, which meant that they had been talking again. Without him. Damn his stupid persona. Even if they didn’t suspect him of malicious intent, they didn’t trust him due to his projected incompetence. He could not lose Ludwig to Japan.
He went back into the office and shut the door, making sure the blinds were secure before picking up the phone and frantically dialling for Lovino.
‘It’s been a while. How are things?’ his brother said.
‘Things are terrible. I just got rid of Japan. They’ve caught on that some of the blood bags have gone missing and are trying to stop it.’
‘You idiot. You couldn’t pace yourself?’
‘I did! They’re smarter than they seem!’
After some silence, Lovino said: ‘ E allora ? Just feed off one of the nurses. You’ve always had a way with women.’
‘I… can’t…’
‘Why not?’
Feliciano had never found prey he hadn’t fallen in love with. He would always set out to emulate his big brother and feed without emotion, but infatuation started small, and before he knew it, he had devoted himself mind and heart to a mere mortal. It was woven into his being to spread his empire through the siring of more descendants.
‘It’s just that… None of them appeal to me. There’s someone else I have in mind.’
‘It’s that German brute, isn’t it?’
‘...Yes. Wouldn’t it be easier to be honest with him? Then I wouldn’t even need the blood bags, and he and Japan can stop treating us like the “soft underbelly of Europe.”’
‘You’re not thinking of turning him, are you?’
Feliciano bit his lip.
‘Feli, no. We can’t go through this again.’
‘But I think it could work this time. Germany is the perfect place to start our empire.’
‘He’s their representative.’
‘Isn’t a representative that will never expire a good thing?’
‘Only if they agree with you a hundred percent of the time.’
His brother groaned. Any further refutation would only make him angry, so Feliciano held his tongue.
‘I can’t believe you’ve fallen for that dirty, stinking dog . Rome’s blessing isn’t light, fratello. You need to be more careful with it.’
‘I don’t think it’s a blessing. Would Grandpa Rome really want us to live like this?’
A moment of silence.
‘Whatever,’ Lovino huffed. ‘Either way, I’m not taking care of him this time if things get out of hand.’
‘I didn’t ask you to kill any of them in the first place.’
‘There were too many. It was either let you have your harem or let our secret out, and I think I made the right choice.’
Feliciano wound his fingers through his hair with a frown.
‘ Va bene . You win. But if I can’t turn him, what should I do? Can I at least tell him?’
‘No way - too risky. Just lie low for a while and I’ll see if I can get to you. Can you take any sips off patients?’
‘What if they die?’
‘That shouldn’t be a problem for you.’
‘It will be if they notice patients dying too.’
‘Cazzo. Have you tried plasma?’
‘Will that work?’
‘It will for a while, yes. You say they only log full bags?’
‘Yes?’
‘Then suck it up.’
‘...Did you do that on purpose?’
‘No.’
They both laughed, a little nervously, before Lovino cleared his throat.
‘I’ll get back with you later, fratello. I’m needed on the Southern front.’
‘Thank you, Lovi. I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t. I like feeling needed. It brings me back to the good times.’
‘Ah. The tenth century.’
‘The empire…’
They hung up at the same time. Feliciano stepped out just as Japan was returning from his investigation, though Japan didn’t give him any hint of what he found. He was only told that additional locks would be placed on the main storage fridges.
***
Vampires could go a few days without blood, but just like humans, the weakness set in fast, and it wasn’t good to drink meagrely either. Feliciano rationed out the last bag he’d taken for a week. Then he was on his own. The Allied invasion of Sicily meant neither Ludwig nor Lovino were available, and the separation from both his brother and his obsession intensified the hunger pangs. Though he continued to work, his self-control was beginning to erode. Counting to one hundred to distract himself from his thirst wasn’t working anymore. Real danger came when the fog settled on his mind, but he didn’t know how long he had until that happened.
On a night made quiet by exhaustion, he crept into the primary storage room, where the refrigerators standing against the wall towered imposingly over him: a trespasser. Saliva pooled beneath his tongue at the thought of all the blood inside, but he swallowed it down. He opened the plasma fridge and took out a bag. Wasn’t it supposed to be yellowish? He poked a hole in the top and wrinkled his nose. Here goes.
He pressed his lips together to keep himself from spitting. Plasma was tangy, but what he had was some kind of saline-coconut water solution. It was terrible. No vital energy meant it was useless.
Japan had done it. He was the only one on the Axis with the knowledge to instate plasma substitutes to compensate for a shortage. With a frustrated hiss, Feliciano dumped the contents down the sink and threw the bag in the trash. So what if someone found it? He was at the end of his line anyway. He wished Lovino were there with him. He wished Ludwig was in on his secret. Tears burning in the corner of his eyes, he pushed out of the storage room and paced the hallways until it was time to go back to work, his mind rotating on the axis of bloodlust.
Days turned into smears. He had slipped away into the eastern wing during a surgery to avoid the nurses, each of them becoming more delectable by the hour, and hidden himself in an empty room. He clutched his stomach. The pain was becoming too much to bear - he hadn’t felt so famished since the early days of his country, when Italy was annexed by Austria and he was unable to get any blood. He’d been lucky to have Holy Rome and that century’s Hungary representative to help him, but here he was all alone, and his only source of sustenance was locked inside a stupid ledger system. He slumped against the wall as the strength drained out of his legs. He didn’t have long before instinct took control.
He could barely hear the click of heels in the hallway through his mental fog. One of the nurses was out there calling his name. As if in a dream, her voice passed through his head and dissipated into the air as his body moved on its own. The nurse had passed the room he was hiding in at a brisk pace. His vision blurred. He followed her and clamped a hand over her eyes, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. He sank his fangs into her soft flesh before she had time to scream, and by the time her blood met his tongue, the feeling was too pleasant for her to even want to. Her blood was smoky and a little thick, but he liked it. It was a nice change from the mediterranean napes he had grown accustomed to. He wondered if Ludwig tasted similarly and pressed his lips harder against the nurse’s neck. Then she began to wilt in his arms.
He pulled away slowly as he came out of his daze, and then let out a cry of shock. The woman, who was about two centimetres taller than he was, had passed out, and his back hit the wall as he struggled to maintain his balance.
Oh God. Please don’t be dead.
He hadn’t killed a human in over seven hundred years and he hadn’t lost control in even longer. He hovered a finger over the nurse’s nose and sighed with relief when he felt her breath. Her heartbeat was slow, but steady. She would be fine. He laid her down on the floor and licked the bite clean to seal it, pausing for a moment to admire her beauty. Then he hurried away. He was still starving, one human would only buy him a bit more time, and he needed to get away before he attacked anyone else. He needed to escape the facility.
More voices came from down the hallway. Cazzo. No time to run. He ducked into the basement and down the stairs as someone cried out. Had he been seen? Unable to risk it, he ran to the storage room where he kept all his blood bags and crouched in the dark. Time ticked slowly. The voices didn’t approach, and nobody came to investigate the basement, but he knew it would be stupid to go back up. There was no way the woman would admit to being bitten by a vampire, and there was no way she could know it was him for certain, unless he showed his face again. He had trapped himself down there.
***
Word of the injured nurse quickly reached the main headquarters. According to the reports, the nurse was found unconscious in the east wing with two puncture wounds in her neck similar to those of a bat bite. When questioned, she denied any memory of the incident, but was noticeably pale and feverish, and steps were being taken to bat-proof the derelict wing. Ludwig read over the report multiple times. The report had been filed by one of the doctors, who said that Italy had abandoned his post before the incident and had not reappeared. Had Italy also been attacked? Or did something else happen? The situation made Ludwig’s skin crawl. He arranged another hospital visit.
‘Have you seen Italy?’ he asked. Japan shook his head without looking up from the hospital ledger.
‘I haven’t. And since his disappearance, the blood bags have been in steady supply.’
‘You don’t think﹣’
‘One can never be too sure.’
Ludwig clenched his fist. There was no way Italy was a profiteer. A deserter and a coward, yes, but it was beyond unforgivable to rob his own team’s hospitals of valuable supplies. To rob them of life. If Italy really was the culprit, something had to be done. He left Japan in the lobby and looked around the building. Italy wasn’t at the nurses’ station, and none of the workers there had seen him since the day before. Italy’s patients were a bust, too. Ludwig felt his eye twitch with anger. Where was that bastard?
As he investigated the scene of the attack, he saw out of the corner of his eye that the basement door was slightly ajar. It was strange that the nurses didn’t keep a place like that closed off. What if a patient got confused and fell down the stairs? He reached out to close it. From the darkness, a muffled scratching could be heard, followed by what sounded like squeaks. Scheisse. A mouse. As if things couldn’t get any worse.
He started down the stairs. About halfway down, the noises stopped. It was a smart little rodent. Reaching out for a light and finding none, he stepped onto the basement floor and began to feel around. Surely there was - found it. He pulled on a chain and dirty light filled the room. Old medical equipment and shelves cluttered the space from the centre to the walls, beds and machines in all stages of decay huddled together as if afraid. A prickle of unease caused sweat to bead on his forehead. It was just a basement. Nothing lived in basements besides spiders and pesky little mice.
From behind a door at the back of the room, he heard a sniffle. Slightly startled, he crept through the clutter and pressed his ear to the door, his own breathing loud in the silence. There was another sniffle. Italy. He’d recognise that bastard’s crying anywhere. Ludwig threw open the door with a shout and immediately his anger turned to confusion.
The room was even colder than the previous one. Plastic blood bags littered the floor, perfectly clear as if licked clean, and Italy was staring at him with eyes that flashed yellow in the light like a cat’s, his sunken features cast in shadow by a single fluorescent bulb and his skin white as death. All the shine and sun-kissed vitality was gone, replaced by something colder, more feral. Something that was hungry . In that moment, Ludwig was staring into the face of the monster that had haunted his every dream as a child.
Italy hissed at him, setting his hair on edge. Then he lunged. Ludwig dodged just in time and Italy flew past, ignoring the open door as he turned to face Ludwig again. Italy continued to swipe at him, every muscle poised to spring as he turned all his focus on Ludwig, whose reflexes were heightened by adrenaline. He slammed the door just in case Italy tried to escape. When Italy sprang again, he was slammed into the concrete wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him, but recovered fast. He grabbed Italy’s collar and threw him to the ground. Pulling a pistol from the inside of his jacket, he cocked it and pointed it to Italy’s forehead. The latter sat panting for a few moments. In the quiet interval, Ludwig found himself staring into his eyes, seeing them for the first time and studying their amber colour. He could see sadness beneath the glaze of ferality.
‘Italy?’
No response. Ludwig repeated his country’s name a few more times to no avail.
‘Feliciano?’
The vampire whimpered.
‘Feli..?’
At the nickname his brother used for him, light returned to Feliciano’s eyes. He blinked a few times and rasped: ‘Ludwig?’
Then a tear slipped down his cheek.
‘Th-this is﹣I’m sorry! Did I hurt you? I… I’m so sorry.’
Feliciano began babbling in Italian as he stood up and backed away, his legs buckling beneath him. In his hundreds of years of existence, he had never felt so weak and embarrassed.
‘Please, I’m sorry. Don’t hurt me, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to hurt you, I…’
His back hit the wall. Ludwig slowly approached, pistol still in hand, until they were close enough for Feliciano to smell the adrenaline pulsing off the other man in waves and hear his thundering heartbeat. There was something in Ludwig’s eyes that made him feel so ashamed of himself. A flash of childish fear, so unlike Ludwig, that made him feel like a monster for the first time in his life. He wasn’t a monster. He’d made sure of it. So why…
‘I never thought I’d see my nightmares come true.’
Ludwig’s voice was shaky, and his words shot to Feliciano’s core.
‘I wanted to tell you, but there’s no good way…’
‘Is your brother one too?’
‘N-no. Only me,’ he lied. Ludwig was fidgeting with the gun in his hand, clicking the safety on and off, and the sound made Feliciano nervous.
‘That’s a lie.’
‘No﹣’
‘Feliciano, stop this! No more.’
Ludwig threw the gun down and kicked it across the floor, making himself vulnerable. He revealed two more guns from the pockets of his jacket and threw them, along with the jacket, away also.
‘See? I trust you. Doesn’t that mean anything?’
‘I…’
The blood beneath the German’s skin was illuminated by the harsh lighting, giving him a flushed appearance.
‘Please tell me the truth.’
Ludwig’s breathing was ragged with frustration and fear. Feliciano was obliged to give an explanation, and so cleared his burning throat.
‘I’ve been alive for 1,043 years, but my brother is a bit older.’
‘ How ?’
‘I don’t know! I don’t think we were always this way, but it’s just how we are now.’
The process of revealing himself to his lover had always been one of silky bed sheets and soft, heated whispers, followed by pants and moans that spiced the blood flowing across his tongue with love. It was passionate and intense, and the tension building up to the climax was his favourite part. But Ludwig was neither his lover nor panting wantonly beneath him, and all his power was stripped away by it. He was laying everything bare in a cold concrete room with unflattering lighting. He felt so helpless.
Ludwig sat criss-cross on the floor and rested his chin on his fist, his face scrunched with consternation. Feliciano sat down across from him. After a few moments of fidgeting, he asked: ‘How did you know I was lying?’
‘Because you hesitated again.’
Feliciano’s breath hitched.
‘A-are you mad..?’
‘What kind of question is that? I’m furious. You’re a liar, and a coward, and a… a…’
He knew Ludwig had stopped himself from saying ‘monster,’ but he wasn’t sure why. His mind was too clouded by thirst.
‘I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me. Please don’t tell Kiku. I’ll leave the Axis and never bother you again, I promise! It’ll be like you never met me!’
Sometimes the ‘act’ he put on wasn’t really an act. He just wanted Ludwig to accept him. The silence was driving him insane.
‘Forget about me, pretend I don’t exist, but please don't hate me. Don’t treat me like a monster.’
‘ Keine Angst, keine Angst . Control yourself.’
Ludwig rubbed his eyes and dropped his face into his hands, fingers curled into his hair. At last he sighed, and his fear was subdued a little.
‘I… can’t hate you. I’m angry, ja. And I still need answers. But for now, I’m willing to let it slide.’
‘Really? Thank you!’
Feliciano went to throw his arms around Ludwig, but felt woozy with hunger and collapsed back onto his knees.
‘You really were the blood thief,’ Ludwig said. ‘You’ve been starving since the bags were locked up.’
He nodded miserably. Ludwig laughed softly, and he gave him a look of hurt and confusion.
‘I’m not laughing at you. It’s only that I thought you were a profiteer, and then I only came down here because I thought you were a mouse.’
He mustered some of the last of his strength to laugh in response. In spite of everything, Ludwig really was naive. One would assume the representative of a country with such rich supernatural history would be able to tell the signs of a vampire right away. When Feliciano wilted again, Ludwig closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he felt ready, he said: ‘You have my permission to bite me.’
‘Are you sure..?’
‘Why are you hesitating? You’re on death’s door… again?’
Feliciano didn’t want to be scolded twice. Ludwig unfolded his legs as Feliciano crawled, shakily, across the floor, and straddled his lap, cradling the German’s neck in his hand for support. He swiped his tongue over the area he wanted to bite to numb it, though it still stung when he bit down and the venom in his saliva met the bloodstream. Ludwig hissed out a breath. Almost immediately afterward, he relaxed beneath Feliciano, and Feliciano smiled into his neck knowing that pleasure was coursing through him. He drank with soft sucking sounds that fueled both their libidos, a sigh escaping his lips as the deprived fog receded from his mind. One hand trailed down Ludwig’s chest. He wasn’t smoky or coarse the way the nurse had been. His blood was hot to the touch, every cell pulsing with vitality and power from years of intense focus and war. But there was a muted quality to it. Not quite bland, but devoid of overwhelming flavour. Feliciano imagined he could instead taste the longing in Ludwig’s veins. The loneliness and the anxiety, the fears he kept buried since childhood, all binding them closer as vulnerability brought Ludwig’s most sensitive side to the surface. The sensation of drinking from a human he had pursued for so long far outclassed any previous drink’s. Being denied what he wanted made its attraction more powerful in his mind until the bubble burst and he was overwhelmed by satisfaction. He wanted Ludwig to be his companion. He wanted everyone to know that he had claimed him and that they had been entwined by desire. He retracted his fangs and placed a stinging kiss over the site to mark it with his unique stamp. Whether Ludwig was now considered a member of the Neo Roman Empire became irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was that he was Feliciano’s. He pulled away before Ludwig could fall unconscious, grateful for his high blood volume, and licked a drop of blood from the corner of his lips. A flicker of lust in the German’s eyes did not go unnoticed.
‘Feliciano, I…’
Like a fly in a spiderweb, he was sedated by venom and all barriers were down. As if conscious of this, he averted his eyes. Feliciano smiled at Ludwig’s embarrassment, his arm still wrapped intimately around his neck. Closing the gap between them, he pressed their lips together, and they both melted into the kiss. It was soft and sweet. Barely any pressure was applied, and when Feliciano pulled away, Ludwig tilted his head forward to follow him. Feliciano repressed the urge to smother him with more kisses and embraces. It was clear he was still in shock, and the vitality now flowing through Feliciano’s veins was making him overly sensual.
‘ Amore mio ,’ he whispered.
Humanity burst through the cloud over his mind. Though his darkest secret had been revealed, Feliciano still wasn’t ready to admit his devious schemes. He wanted to be the sweet, innocent Italy a little longer, and forget the coldness of his condition, even if it was too late for that. With a firm hand, he helped Ludwig to his feet. He swayed a little, but the venom was being neutralised by his system, and he was regaining control. Feliciano guided him out of the storage room and back up the stairs.
‘I hope you know this doesn’t excuse the lives you took,’ Ludwig breathed. Feliciano scrunched his eyebrows.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean the theft.’
Feliciano looked away.
‘From now on, if you need it, you come to me,’ Ludwig said.
‘Is that not too much to ask?’
‘One life is not worth more than a hundred.’
To agree with that statement as a vampire would be contradictory, so Feliciano only shook his head. He brought Ludwig to the nurses’ station without being seen, only to find Japan waiting there. His heart would have skipped a beat in fear if it could.
‘There you are,’ Japan said coldly. ‘Where have you been?’
‘I… uhm…’
Japan saw the dazed state Ludwig was in and his eyes widened.
‘That’s just like﹣’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Ludwig interrupted. Looking down at Feliciano, he said: ‘I’m going to tell him.’
‘Wait, don’t.’
‘If we’re going to work together as a team, we have to trust each other. No secrets.’
Feliciano’s grip on his sleeve tightened, but he nodded his assent. Japan’s features were unreadable as Ludwig related a summary of what Feliciano had told him in the basement. Feliciano kept his eyes trained on the tile at his feet. He felt his face heat up at the way Ludwig’s voice wavered when he said ‘vampire,’ as if he was afraid or embarrassed to say it. When Ludwig was done explaining, Japan was quiet for a few moments before closing his eyes and bowing his head respectfully.
‘I’m sorry. I was not aware of your condition.’
His hands hesitated at the edge of the hospital ledger. Was he planning to rip it? He instead placed the clipboard on the counter and stood up.
‘While I understand and tolerate your needs, you need to take responsibility for what you did.’
‘I know, I won’t steal anymore. Lu-er-Germany’s offered to be my donor.’
Japan nodded solemnly.
‘In that case, I will also be your donor.’
Feliciano knew Japan didn’t understand the implication of that offer, but was touched anyway. Under the influence of vitality and his own affectionate nature, he threw his arms around Japan.
‘Thank you! You’re such a good friend!’
Japan went stiff as a board in his arms.
‘N-not yet, I’m not ready yet. Please don’t.’
He shoved him away, one hand over his neck as Feliciano gave him a confused stare. Before he could ask any questions, he noticed Ludwig swaying and hurried to tend to him. Japan watched as he bandaged the bite.
‘So that’s what it looks like…’ he muttered. ‘Is it painful?’
‘No. The venom numbs it and makes it feel good,’ Feliciano answered. Ludwig blushed for an instant.
‘V-venom? Like a snake? Japan asked.
‘Not exactly.’
‘Can it get infected?’
‘Maybe?’
Japan rubbed his neck with a concerned frown. After the bandage was applied, the three stood and mulled over the situation to themselves. It had been a little embarrassing for Feliciano to look at his stamp after the spell had worn off, though there was still that part of his core that revelled in the idea of Kiku not only knowing about what he was, but knowing that Ludwig belonged to him, and therefore Germany was his to claim.
‘You’re awfully calm about this, Japan,’ Ludwig said suddenly, breaking Feliciano’s train of thought.
Japan shrugged.
‘I’m not entirely unfamiliar with blood-sucking demons, though I’ve never heard of any under the name of “vampire.” I’m willing to look past this for the sake of our cause.’
Feliciano once again felt like there was something more he wanted to say. He felt nervous about how Kiku was handling the situation, unsure of how his perception had really changed, and wondered if he would expose him to other nations. Feliciano felt his smile melt into despair.
‘Italy..?’ Ludwig asked.
He’d forgotten about Lovino. He was going to be in so much trouble...