Chapter Text
Settling in.
That's what this process was often referred to as. The odd feeling that came with it was no different than melancholy, creating a sense of smallness. Even for someone as presently imposing as Ludwig, what with his tall and broad stature. He could not find himself making a mark in this vast new atmosphere.
The new high school where he taught was new ground to explore for him. Ludwig could only hope that the people were not overly territorial creatures. Especially not after the last time he had transferred districts. He had once been overwhelmed by that sort of hostile environment, and never wished to repeat the experience. Thus, for the sake of his own comfort, he took his solitude with no hesitation or gripe.
For him, solitude was its own joy. No noise, no distractions, and no feelings of doubt so long as he had a list. That's what Ludwig believed in, lived and breathed. He believed that structure and solitude were the best ways to succeed.
Though, life had other plans, and his solitude would be incredibly short lived.
"Ciao~!" A voice from his doorway, coy and playful all at once. Though a pleasant tenor, it seemed almost too happy to be true. Especially in these conditions.
Ludwig brought his eyes up from the small screen in his hands, examining the opposite figure. He had to adjust in his seat to see the other properly, squinting with the slight adjustment in focus for his eyes. Nearsightedness could be a real pain. As soon as he could see, he tensed in place, and not just out of fear.
The other man was color and chaos incarnate, seemingly stained from head to toe in each color of the rainbow. It was like witnessing a rainbow-colored bird dance across the nearly-fallen limb of an unsteady tree. He looked clumsy, and overly cheery, to boot. It made Ludwig's skin crawl to think of how he endured the feeling of drying paint on his hands, or even just the wrinkled clothes. He found the man confusing, but somehow, he felt inclined to know more. However, at the same time, he felt like he needed to retain his solitude, for loneliness was comfort.
He couldn't voice that thought, burying his head into a screen again. Instead of responding, he only stared at the other, caught in what could best be described as a terrified trance.
Coward, a voice not his own in the back of his mind jeered. Shut up, Gilbert.
"I guess you're not very talkative! Or you're just shy! My name's Feliciano Vargas!" The visitor walked far too close, extending a hand. From the looks of it, he'd just been through a rather intense finger painting section.
"That could cause a rash." Bluntly, Ludwig pointed to the paint stains. He didn't know what else to say.
"Oh, I guess so, huh! Anyways." The man with the painted hands didn't seem off-put by the bluntness. "I'll wash my hands later, don't worry! Right now I want to know your name, so come on, tell me! Please? I'll tell you mine!" He begs as if that's a substantial exchange to make. He nearly sung his last demands to the other man, leaning deeply into the desk.
"Oh, well..." Ludwig leaned away, keeping his personal space. "You may call me Ludwig Beilschmidt-"
"Feliciano Vargas!" He extended a hand, interrupting Ludwig. "But you can call me, Feli, Feliciano, or whatever you want really!"
"So you said..." He shook the hand, looking away. If asked, he would admit his intimidation, but it didn't seem to matter to Feliciano anyways. Not if he was so fixated on introducing himself that he did it twice. "So be it, Mr. Vargas."
"Aha, that's too formal, you know~ I'd happily be your friend. So c'mon, Luddy." Feliciano smiled brightly, and it almost seemed like he had a halo around his head.
"Why are you so insistent that we should be friends?" Ludwig blinked, sufficiently astonished, if not just flustered.
"Because. Why can't that be a reason?"
"Because it's not? It's just... because."
"Well I think because is just fine." Feliciano giggled a bit, turning about-face and heading to the door. " I think I'm gonna go wash my hands now! Since you said something! Nice to meet you Luddy!" Now Feliciano was leaving, smiling and still harnessing the light of the sun.
Ludwig felt his face burn, forced to turn away from the light.
Instead, he was now faced with the more familiar burn of blue light on his eyes. A computer screen still showing his lists. Safety in familiarity, in stability. Even though he'd be forced to wear his glasses, a fitting punishment for that which he found comforting.
Feliciano bounced with every step he took towards the faculty lounge. As excited as he was, he couldn't forget to let himself get one of the little desserts a coworker was bound to have brought in. As excited as he was to meet with a certain someone held dear to him and tell him all about the new Physics teacher, he did wonder, had he talked enough? Physics teachers didn't stay long. This one already looked ready to go. Maybe in his mind he was already gone?
What was that guy's full name again? Oh well.
Instead of dwelling on it, he sought out his boyfriend. Luckily, his hunch had been right, and he found the History teacher by the electric kettle upon flinging open the door of the faculty lounge. The smaller man startled at the intrusion, no doubt in the middle of a ritual to create something that brought him peace. Probably tea.
Feliciano didn't mind that. He still ran forward, wrapping the full wingspan of his body around his lover's. "Kiku! Amore mio! So good to see you!"
"Feliciano, why?" Kiku tilted his head to the side, putting down his mug and stirrer. He didn't sound too upset, but he was still a little shaken.
"Did you see the new guy? Big tall blonde? Built like a brick wall?" Feliciano inquired, his head dipping down to press a kiss to Kiku's cheeks and chin.
"Why?" Kiku responded, thinking, and then pulling his hands to his sides before doing much else.
"I think you should get a look at him. He has the body types of those guys from the mangas. Square shapes, solid composition... muscle-y." Feliciano grinned slyly.
"Oh." Kiku looked around, then back at Feliciano, who would continue to smile. "I have seen him." Implying he hadn't yet greeted the man. "He looked professional. Maybe not the manga protagonist type."
"You should go say hi. You should do that now! Please?" Feliciano leaned in close to the other, giggling. "I'll come with you!"
"Well, okay... I have an idea." Kiku grabbed a small cup, pouring coffee from a nearby pot into it. He also grabbed a small plate and some sugar and cream packets, for the sake of convenience, and for the fact that he really didn't know if the man in question would like his coffee black. "I'll give him this as a welcoming gift and a gesture of gratitude."
"Well, if you think that's for the best."
"I do. Hospitality is crucial when it comes to... as you say, brick walls."
"Okay! Let's go!" The art teacher hopped up from his leaning stance, walking with the same energy, but slower so that his love could follow with ease. That proved to be the right choice; Kiku was especially cautious with the coffee. He refused to let any spill, refusing even the smallest uptick in speed for care's sake. Feliciano sighed seeing this. Seeing him. He's so considerate.
Feliciano opted to wait outside, gesturing Kiku in, grinning again as he mouthed a phrase: Good luck. You will need it.
What does that mean?
As Kiku stepped into the doorway, he beheld a sight for the ages. The classroom was devoid of decor aside from some diagrams and formulas written in Times New Roman. The teacher himself looked like he could have come from the military, wearing clothes that were congruent with the straight, sharp lines of any soldier's uniform, down to the way his shoelaces were tied. Perfectly structured and straight-laced.
There wasn't much more to say about it at first. Then, the smallest detail: a faint paw-print pattern on his tie. Something Feliciano might have missed in favor of broader shape language. Something indicative of... Kiku washed the narrative out of his head. He knew that assuming what a man was like without talking first was bad. For all Kiku knows, he could just love dogs.
Ludwig looked up from his computer, glasses slightly askew, upon hearing footsteps coming his way. He had looked up just in time to see a new face there, looking away out of awkwardness. He was never that good at greetings, after all.
"I thought I would bring you a gift." Kiku, the guest, made his point clear and concise. "Welcome to the school.l
"It's a nice favor... I think." Ludwig clicked his pen, thinking. "You can come in."
"Thank you." Kiku stepped in, set the plate with the coffee and add-ons down, then gave a small bow. Just a simple habit, and nothing more. Polite niceties. "If you ever need anything, my name Honda Kiku- or, Kiku Honda as you would say it... Forgive me, I can never get used to the name ordering in the west."
Ludwig extended his own hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Honda. Am I saying that right?" His face went a little pink with embarrassment. His cute, clueless face. Attached to the body of one of those statues that Feliciano liked to draw. Or the form of the depiction of a god from some Greek myth his friend from the library talked about...
Kiku had a problem.
"I promise, the effort itself is better than nothing." Kiku smiled a bit, friendly and calm. He put up a dull mask, keeping as many secrets as possible. Even if inwardly he panicked, because-of course-Feliciano didn't bother to warn him about this gorgeous blushing man.
It felt almost like Feliciano all over again, and Kiku began to regret his evident taste in Europeans. This time, instead of overwhelming brightness, he was faced with the feeling of intense pressure in his chest. Not nearly as calming, but it felt like he was being put under a weighted blanket.
The poor sweet blushing man wasn't aware of his effect on his visitor, but maybe that was for the better. Kiku wasn't about to make a home wrecker of this new physics teacher. Instead he opted to distance himself a bit, feeling guilty for his inability to control his... well, immediate and intense reaction to being attracted to someone.
"Are you alright?" Ludwig may not have been the best at being a personable figure. However, he was observant, based especially on the concerned glint in his eyes. The way he moved to stand, to try and help, to offer his assistance, made his colleague back away slightly.
It scared Kiku halfway to death. Not because Ludwig himself was caring, but because he hated to feel the same way he did when he first met Feliciano. Not because of Ludwig, but because of his heart, which nearly stopped in his chest.
Kiku made his swift escape, muttering an apology back through the doorway.
How could I face Feliciano after that?
Feliciano was just outside, just out of earshot. His expression? That of a cat getting away with killing the canary. This whole thing was a setup to fluster Kiku. "So how was he? Tell me everything!" Feli whisper-yelled.
"I think he's... okay." Kiku put his hands at his sides, expression softening just a little. He's embarrassed, and his love knows it by now.
"He seemed pretty shy when I talked to him. Besides, from what I heard, everything certainly sounded like you enjoyed it, amore~." If there was anyone who would understand people, it was Feliciano. Damn him for understanding so well.
"Well, ah... Yes. He is... as you described." Kiku didn't say much more, but Feliciano knew, taking him to walk a lap around the building's halls. "For someone so big and intimidating... Doesn't he have cute pink cheeks?"
"Hehe, my love is finally understanding me!" Feliciano leaned over to press a kiss into Kiku's lips this time, pausing their walk for the moment. "We should return to invite him out, no?"
"...no, yes. Let's do that." And Kiku's resolve joined Feliciano's.
See, the thing is, Feliciano and Kiku weren't the most standard of couples. Yes, they were gay, but they both agreed that if they both found the same man attractive, they would invite that man into their lives. It didn't have to be serious, in fact, it could just be to bring some extra liveliness to their relationship. Completely ethical, of course, and this was the first time they found someone they both thought was rather cute and handsome.
They were both smiling to themselves as they turned the final corner, meeting Ludwig's classroom door for the last necessary time. There sat Ludwig still, who had his face buried in the blue light. Though, now, he seemed to ponder something to himself.
He's so blue, Feliciano mused mentally, hands moving with his thoughts in grand flourishes. Sky blue, cobalt blue, royal blue, prussian blue navy blue, it's his color! Blue is such a lonely color though... I think I should make a blue portrait of him, and-
Kiku gently grasped and tugged on Feliciano's sleeve, unintentionally pulling his attention away.
Oh, Kiku! Mio violetto... Forced to stop and think, he looked at his boyfriend for a moment. Immediately, his vision went purple, and for a moment he was blinded with his own thoughts. He had to close his eyes and sort through them, finding it difficult to concentrate amongst all of the adoration he felt. But he had to say something...
"Hey, Ludwig, want to come to lunch with us?" Feliciano asked through the door. It seemed like Kiku was in a too-shy mood to express his own thoughts, but he agreed.
"Uhh... Yeah." Ludwig replied, seeing the pair holding hands. "I will be there."
"Great, thank you!" Feliciano said, moving away quickly, and dragging poor frozen Kiku behind.
When they returned to the lounge just before the day started, Feliciano grinned, and Kiku smiled softly in return. "It's going to be okay," Kiku started to ask, a part of him wondering about the worst, as he tended to do. "Right?"
"Of course." Feliciano kissed his forehead, all too fond of his lovely boyfriend. "And if anything goes wrong, you can lean on me! Okay?"
"Okay."
The sight of spreadsheets and guidebooks began to burn itself into Ludwig's mind, overwhelming him with monotony. Lesson plans were usually a source of comfort, but the spontaneous visits he'd received today made him think. The more he tried to be rid of his mind's wandering ways, the more he thought back on the artist and his sunny disposition. The more he buried himself in his work, the more waves of memory forced him to relive the second visit, and the way he'd so abysmally made it awkward with the history teacher. He wanted to remedy these feelings, but...
"I thought I would bring you a gift."
"Well, I think because is nice!"
They couldn't possibly both think he was worthy of their friendship.
Could they?
Ludwig stood from his desk, needing to move his legs a bit. He finally noticed the aching in his joints, just in time for a certain pair to walk outside of his doorway. The artist and historian from earlier, holding hands and chatting casually. He realized then that maybe it would be easier to follow them before they had to trouble themselves getting him away from his work.
It was lunchtime now, after all.
He managed to pull himself from his chair with a pained wince, walking quickly to follow the pair to their destination. He could only pray he didn't seem too odd. Even though he actually just seemed timid.
Feliciano looked back and waved at him, smiling as brightly as ever. He said something, not that Ludwig's hearing was cooperating right now. Ludwig smiled and waved back. Kiku looked to him as well, eyes studying his new coworker. He had intelligent eyes, and it was like he needed everyone to know it.
Feliciano was so fitting for his position as the art teacher, it almost made too much sense. He was art in human form. Kiku, too, was perfect and wise in every way. He was well-equipped for a position like that of a history teacher too, then.
The very facts made Ludwig just the right amount of nervous. What do these two have planned for him? What will they ask? What will they say? Is he going to really be invited into their circle? Am I even worthy of being around two people who seem to know so much? He hoped for the hammer of rejection not to fall on his head once again.
I suppose only time will tell.