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Rome is a beautiful city, breathtaking even: it's deeply chaotic, full of contradiction, but undeniably charming. Aldrich knows it well by now, he has come here many, many times through the course of his life, both alone and with his family. Trastevere, in particular, it's probably the most fascinating neighborhood, one of the few places that still manages to be so profoundly Roman while welcoming anyone willing to walk its street and corners with respect.
This time Aldrich has decided to bring his grandchildren with him in the Eternal city: spring is the perfect season to visit it, not too hot during the day and the nights refreshed by a pleasant breeze, and it's been a long while since he has spent some quality time with all of them together like when they were kids. He had sent the invitations, and fortunately all his grandchildren had responded with enthusiasm at his proposal - after all, it's a fully paid vacation in another country - and took advantage of the Easter holidays to travel. Aldrich knew what to expect on some level: Gilbert and Roderich bickering with each other over everything, Ludwig insisting on keeping track of their itineraries with maniacal care, Basch glaring at every male specie man that even dares to look in the direction of Lily, Lily who would be probably the only one that will enjoy the trip fully.
Despite this, everything had gone even worse than expected: Gilbert and Roderich straight up refuse to agree on something on any matter - at some point Gilbert had argued that the sky isn't actually blue just out of spite to his cousin; Ludwig had been forcing the whole family to follow the chosen itinerary, screaming orders around when things didn't go his way; Basch had more than once almost started a fist fight with the locals just because they had dared to give his little sister a compliment. Lily is the only one that is behaving like a normal human being, much to Aldrich's relief.
That is why he didn't felt sorry at all when he concocted a little... 'Revenge plan': on the second to last day of their stay in Rome he brought his grandchildren to a famous gay club, where Basch had been almost kidnapped by a group of drag queen Lily had made friends with so she could flirt in peace with the young bartender from Belarus that had caught her eye; Roderich had 'accidentally' lost himself in the Roman forums and had been 'rescued' by the Spaniard who had the room on the same floor in the same hotel as them, much to Roderich's embarrassment.
And now, on the last day of their trip, it's Ludwig and Gilbert's turn.
They are having dinner in Trastevere, at a restaurant Aldrich had been plenty of times at the point that has become acquainted with the owner, a jovial man named Romolo Vargas. The restaurant is famous for his gnocchi, which is what most of them have ordered with the exception of Basch who has ordered a steak. The food had been brought by Romolo's two grandchildren, Lovino and Feliciano, who work occasionally at the restaurant and that Aldrich had known since they were two pr-adolescences. Year after year he has seen them grow into two handsome young men, both studying hard respectively in the field of archeology and modern art to pursue their dreams but never forgetting about their dear nonno.
Aldrich likes them. Ludwig and Gilbert two like them, judging by the way they look at the two waiters every time they pass by or bring them their plates: Ludwig blushes whenever he looks at Feliciano, which happens a lot because he can't seem to keep his eyes off of him, and Gilbert boasts all his 'good qualities' in a mix of German and English whenever he Romano walks nearby, much to the latter and the whole restaurant's annoyance.
Aldrich doesn't stop him, and neither reprimands Ludwig for staring: he lets them dig their graves more and more until it's time for the dessert. That is when he strikes.
Feliciano and Lovino had been serving them their tiramisù and panna cotta along with the coffees when Aldrich stops them from leaving.
"Excuse me," he says, smiling internally at the way his grandchildren look at with confusion.
"Si? Everything alright signor Aldrich?" Feliciano asks him with a polite smile. Lovino, bored, waits for him to continue.
"Can you please call your grandfather? I need to tell him something."
They two brothers nod and go to retrieve Romolo.
"Opa, what happened?" Lily asks him, worried. Aldrich just raises a hand.
Romolo arrives a few minutes later, patting his shoulder with his usual strength and a large smile on his face: "Aldrich, vecchio mio, tell me, what is it? Was everything good?" he asks in English with a heavy accent. Feliciano and Lovino wait behind him, looking at them curiously.
"Everything was good, like always," Aldrich replies also in English, knowing that the people at the table will understand him perfectly, "But I actually wanted to apologize to you and to your grandchildren."
"Oh?" Romolo tilts his head, "About what?"
Aldrich point at Ludwig: "He has stared inappropriately at Feliciano the whole time we have been here and he," he points at Gilbert, "Has bothered the whole restaurant with his blathering about his qualities in a pathetic attempt to impress Lovino."
The reaction his words cause is priceless: Ludwig and Gilbert pale before blushing furiously, immediately trying to defend themselves from the accusations; Lily, Basch and Roderich look at each other briefly before focusing on their desserts, trying to ignore the whole situation; Romolo's eyebrows shoot up, and he turns to Ludwig and Gilbert with an unreadable expression on his face; Feliciano and Lovino blush slightly at the blunt confession, exchange a look and start laughing.
"I taught them manners but they forget them when they see someone they like."
"Opa what the fuck!?" Gilbert exclaims, eyes going from his grandfather to Lovino and Feliciano.
"And I know that this is inappropriate for me to ask, but these two idiots will never have the courage to do what they actually want to do so," he turns to Romolo: "Could they please have Feliciano and Lovino's numbers?"
"Opa!" Ludwig and Gilbert exclaim at the same time, a furious red on their faces, flabbergasted by what just happened; both hide behind their hands and, slowly, slide from their chairs on the ground.
"Oh," Romolo scratches his head, looking at the two 'culprits' with a deep frown. Behind him Feliciano and Lovino keep snickering. The rest of the restaurant is suddenly silent, invested in what is going to happen.
Then, Romolo bursts out laughing: "Oh vecchio mio, what a nice prank you made," he shouts, patting Aldrich's shoulder this time with too much force, "I almost fell for it!"
Aldrich doesn't say anything to that, nor acknowledges the reprimanding looks of Lily, Basch and Roderich. He reaches for his coffee, adds a few tablespoon of sugar, and drinks it all in one go, then starts eating his panna cotta.
Ludwig and Gilbert, in the meantime, have both hidden under the table, hissing curses in a mix of English and German. Feliciano and Lovino shake their heads, amused, and go back to do their job.
"Ah, dear Aldrich, I love German humor," Romolo gives him one last pat before going back to take care of the other tables.
Aldrich waits a few more minutes before bending down to look under the table: "Get up you two," he orders them, firm. Ludwig and Gilbert glare at him before climbing their chairs and sitting down again, eating their dessert in silence and refusing to look up.
He does feel a bit sorry, but that quickly disappears when the bill comes and he looks inside. He huffs a laugh, takes the receipt and turns the bill towards his two grandchildren. Ludwig and Gilbert blush again when they see the small paper with two phone numbers on them and a winking smiling face. This time, they look up and look around the restaurant: when they meet their eyes, Feliciano smiles warmly and Lovino shows them the middle finger.
"You can thank me by paying for the trip next year," Aldrich says as he stands up and walks to the counter to pay for the dinner, smiling at the way Lily snatches the bill and gasps when she sees the number, Roderich shakes his head in disapproval only to blush when Basch reminds him of the night he spent with the Spaniard as a 'thank you' for 'rescuing him.'
He looks fondly at his grandchildren, shakes his head, and pays the due amount, wondering what will happen next year.