Chapter Text
14 August. 1938
Late summer brought a heavy yet comforting sense of stillness, as though life held its breath waiting to be reborn in autumn. Scorched by the familiar thirty-degree heatwave, plants gradually lost their vivid, renewed colors of spring to the near tropical, bleak greens you'd otherwise only see by the Mediterranean Sea. Insects buzzed quietly in the vegetation and gathered in greater numbers as the sun approached the horizon. Though affected by the lethargic aftermath of an eventful summer, plenty of people still ventured out to enjoy a milder, more managable afternoon.
When Ludwig left Berlin, it had been with a sense of elation. The capitol city was always bustling with life, crowded by masses moving along the old streets like a bloodstream circulating in a heart, visiting restaurants, stores, corner street shops and the intriguing sites. Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag, Berliner Dom and Charlottenburg Castle. And around these historical remnants, the pittoresque apartment buildings built in a nostalgic architectual style easily recognized as Central European; Paler, elegant and old-fashioned yet cozy facades three stories high, with tile roofs in warm shades ranging from brown to red. Despite standing there through centuries, the city was in constant development and modernized to suit the new era of reform.
He had no need for anything on the way out. In fact, he'd left in search of the countryside tranquility where only scarce encounters were to be expected along the thin gravel roads cutting through the massive fields. He walked on without any particular destination, soon caught up in a rare indulgence of daydreaming. Ludwig seldom allowed his mind to wander; he had too many responsibilies to tend to on a day-to-day basis. Today was different. It was an unremarkable summer's eve with an open schedule and all work, urgent and non-urgent, taken care of by midday. Leisure time was a rare commodity these days. It seemed reasonable to make use of these brief hours before they'd passed and let the mind rest. He was prone to developing tension headaches, after all, and Ludwig was keenly aware of their root cause: Overexertion.
Sometimes people joked that he seemed to carry the burdens of the whole nation on his shoulders, quickly followed by praise of concern for his grueling efforts, whichever they prefered to show. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate their concern and means to offer support, but Ludwig Beilschmidt wasn't the ordinary, mortal man they believed him to be. How blissfully unaware those people were, that they would not for a moment suspect their witty remarks touched on a secret he and only a select few were aware of. When those people passed of old age, surrounded by grandchildren and memories of a life gone by, he would remain untouched by time as he'd been when they first met him. Ludwig had watched numerous generations come and go, and was assigned to do so for the foreseeable future.
As long as there existed a nation known as Germany…
"Germany! What are you doing here?"
Abruptly woken out of his train of thought, Ludwig looked up to find he'd wandered further than anticipated. Standing on a steep hillside leading up to the towering heights of the Alps, a familiar figured waved excitedly at him.
Feliciano Vargas. A man of a shorter, more slender stature and bright, brown eyes shining with delight. His short, recklessly maintained chestnut hair looked wilder than ever in the frisk winds these altitudes brought, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Ludwig couldn't help but note with an inkling of frustration that he hadn't buttoned up his marine blue uniform properly, and in fact had the jacket sloppily tied around his waist.
"Italy. Aren't you freezing walking around like that?" Ludwig sternly asked.
Feliciano just laughed and began to run down the hill to greet him. "Not at all! It's a wonderful summer evening, and the sun is still up! Have you come here to visit Rome? I was just there, you know, and some people said there was going to be a play tonight by the Amphitheatre! It's about Julius Caesar. I'm not sure who that is, though…"
"You don't know who Julius Caesar is?"
"Obviously I've heard of him!" Huffing with feigned indignation, Feliciano stopped in front of him and crossed his arms. It didn't look half as intimidating as he'd hoped, especially not when he was still smiling. "But that was before my time, and I have plenty of things to worry about in the present. The cities have an overbundance of stray cats, and it seems not everyone is treating them nicely. That's horrible! Cats are precious creatures, they deserve good homes and plenty of food to eat."
Now Ludwig found himself smiling, too. It had been a year since they last met, but he was still passionate as ever about the misfortunate animals roaming the cities. It wasn't that the cats were treated cruelly; Ludwig strongly suspected this had more to do with him spotting a starved, tricolored stray cat begging for food at a café they visited, promptly bursting into tears and nearly offering up his plate before Ludwig intervened and promptly informed him cats couldn't eat human food. Feliciano was a rather strange, albeit harmless individual. He represented a nation just like Ludwig, but was totally absent-minded, uncoordinated and carefree. It was as if he hadn't quite realized his own nature, or hadn't felt interested in acknowledging it.
"I thought the restaurant owner adopted Calico?" Ludwig asked, as he'd been more interested in practical solutions at the time. "She's probably a very happy cat, thanks to your efforts."
Almost immediately, Feliciano brightened up. "That's right, I forgot!" Laughing sheepishly, he ran a hand over his neck in evident embarrassment. "Time just flies by at a strange pace, you know? Sometimes I don't even know what year it is."
"I understand what you mean." Ludwig sighed. "But that's to be expected. We live longer than what is natural, and as a result the days flow together and become indistinguishable. So, what brought you this far up north?"
"I was looking for clovers, for good luck. You know what I mean, right?"
"Of course." It wasn't surprising at all to hear that such a mundane, spontaneous task brought him here.
"You could have one, if you like!" Feliciano began digging through his pockets to bring out his findings, eventually pulling out a rather mushed clover. "Here."
Ludwig hesitantly took it, inspecting the small plant as it laid in the palm of his glove covered hand. "Well, thank you. I'll try my best to keep it alive."
"Um, and…What was I gonna say…"
Feliciano grew restless, moving his arms and legs about as if to rid himself of excessive energy. He'd averted his gaze, unsure of himself. Ludwig suspected the other man still found him somewhat intimidating, though they'd known each other for a long time.
"What is it, Feli?" He asked, careful not to let that more stern, harsh tone of voice creep in. Whatever he wished to say seemed to hold some importance.
"I don't know…I just had this strange feeling now, that something awful might happen in the future." He mumbled. "You'll be careful, won't you?"
Ludwig patted him on the back. "I should be worrying about you, not the other way around. But I'll be careful, I promise."
"That's good." He smiled again, but it felt somewhat forced and rigid. "I'm probably just being weird, right? My brother says I eat too many carbs, and that's why I feel that way. Of course things are going to be alright! Well, bye then! I have to deliver these clovers to the theatre!"
"Very well. Say hi to Romano from me, will you? I have to return home, too."
They went their separate ways, waving goodbye and then heading back to their respective homes. But Ludwig lingered for a while, perplexed by this odd sensation of doom that only gnawed more insistently at him once the sun set, and temperatures dropped to an unexpected chill.
"Feli…" He quietly spoke to himself. "Don't tell me you're having some sort of premonition of the future? No, that would be absurd. Things are better than they've been in a long time..."
That's right. Ludwig had to appreciate how well things were going for him. The economy flourished, infrastructure vastly improved and he felt largely at peace with a renewed purpose and discipline. The difficult years of recession and unemployment were far behind them, and people were happy. It was something rare.
…Yet, he couldn't quite shake this feeling of having missed something crucial.