Ludwig's room (Eridanus Hotel)

Feliciano held his breath as the water poured on his face, and then let Ludwig guide him out of the spray again. He rubbed his eyes before opening them again, blinking a bit before he could focus on the man standing in front of him.

He took the shampoo and pour some on the palm of his hand, humming cheerfully as he did so, all determined to return the hair washing. When he looked back at the other again, he realized he would have needed a ladder or a chair to do that properly, given how tall the man was, but, well, they would have to do without, he guessed.

He stretched out his hands to stroke Ludwig's hair back, his fingers disappearing among blond locks and white bubbles of soap.
"Ve, could you bend down a bit?" he asked.

He was mildly hit by the thought that there was a very high potential of awkwardness in the situation, but he didn't really care, and went on with his cheerful humming as he massaged slowly the other man's temples.

Ludwig tilted his head down and bent his knees slightly to give Feliciano easier access to his hair. He couldn't say that the man was the first he'd dated who was shorter than him. If Ludwig had a "type," Feliciano fell into the category and then some. Ludwig liked men who reminded him nothing of his past or his work. In their personalities at least. Feliciano was, unfortunately, also part of his work, even if he didn't know it.

He let out a low hum of approval as he felt Feliciano's hands massaging his temples. It felt good, not just the sensation of it, but having someone take care of him, even if it were a small way of doing it.

"Is this good enough?" he asked.

"Perfect~" he hummed in response, fingers playing with the wet hair on the German's head.
Having that tall man bend a bit to have his hair washed was extremely sweet, and Feliciano was almost beaming for contentment.

He leant to leave a kiss on Ludwig's head, nose and lips sinking in the lather, and then moved down to kiss the man's nose as well, leaving a puff of white foam on its top.

He then tried to wash the shampoo away from Ludwig's hair with the same care the man had had with him, although it didn't work out as well, given the position they were in.
"Ah, sorry..." he said, as he watched a drop of foam drip inexorably towards his right eye. He wept it away carefully.

Ludwig kept his eyes closed, enjoying the other man's attention. He let the Italian do his work, smiling at the small kisses he received in between. He heard the apology and felt the foam being wiped away from his right eye. He could feel that some had managed to get in his eye, regardless of the Italian's efforts, and he winced as it began stinging.

It would pass quickly, though. Some tearing up would wash away the offending shampoo, and perhaps Feliciano wouldn't even know if Ludwig just tilted his head back to the spray to hide the fact his eye was watering now. He didn't want the chef to think he'd hurt him.

"Don't worry about it," he said, as he let the water trickle over his face slightly. He hoped Feliciano hadn't noticed.

Feliciano directed the spray elsewhere, and didn't miss the small wincing of Ludwig's eye.

"Are you sure?" he leant forward to leave a soft kiss on the eyelid. "I always ended up crying when I got shampoo in my eyes, when I was a child. I also try to be as careful as I can when I give Chibi a bath, but apparently I'm always as clumsy as ever." he said, a bit nervously. Now, a bit of foam in the eye shouldn't be too much of a problem, but still.

"Does it hurt? I heard that people with light-colored eyes are more sensitive, and you have such beautiful blue eyes... I hope it didn't get all red and itchy..." he added, mortified at the thought of having hurt him.

"They will be fine," he said, though there was some truth to them being sensitive. "They are already feeling better. Though I wouldn't know anything about them being beautiful. They are just simple blue eyes. Your eyes are far more unique. Like caramel and chocolate." He moved himself from beneath the spray and blinked a few times.

He opened his eyes fully once he was sure the shampoo was gone. He kissed Feliciano on the lips, though he had to admit he was curious if his eye was a bit red. "See, just a small bit of shampoo. Nothing dangerous."

"It is red." Feliciano complained as Ludwig could finally open his eyes, just as if he was the one suffering. Now, that really wasn't a big deal - just a small bit of shampoo, as the German had said, but it was true that the flush in the blond man's eye was made worse by the contrast with his pale skin.

"But hey, I really think they are!" he added, a smile promptly appearing on his lips as Ludwig's mouth left them. Feliciano moved his fingers to comb the blond locks away from his eyes, which were of a deep, multi-faceted blue.

"I can't imagine blue eyes being simple, they're always so special... or at least, yours are~" he said, still looking straight into them, admired.

Ludwig looked straight into Feliciano's eyes. "Then maybe it's better that we get to look out of them and at one another's instead of the other way around." He kissed him gently again. "Though, I'm not done washing you yet."

He grabbed the soap from the ledge on the wall and worked it up to a lather before he began rubbing it over Feliciano's shoulders. He knew he'd need to be careful as he worked his way down. After the night before, Ludwig was certain the smaller man had to be a little bit sore, at least.

Feliciano looked back at him a bit puzzled, not sure of what the man had meant, but he was happy to let him go on, his hands rubbing gently over his shoulders and back. As they did, Feliciano sighed in contentment - whatever they did to his body, those hands never stopped to feel good.

Once again, he couldn't refrain his mind from straying to the memories of the night before. True enough, now that his friends' fingers were massaging it again, he could feel a hint of ache in his back's muscles, but the hot water of the shower and said fingers were immediately making everything better.

He rested his chin on Ludwig's wet chest, looking up at him, eyes half closed, lips curved in a sheepish and happy smile, not bothered by the fact that the thoughts now passing in his mind were mildly reflecting in the lower part of his body as well.

Ludwig let his hands roam over Feliciano's shoulders and back and stomach. He couldn't help but notice that the other man's body was responding to him. Rather than rush on to Feliciano's sex, he washed over the man's thighs and then legs.

He straightened himself back to his full height and placed a soft kiss on Feliciano's lips. He pulled back so he was looking at Feliciano's face before he gently cupped the hardening member and began a slow stroking that, if Feliciano wanted him to stop, he could easily dismiss as a simple washing.

Feliciano blushed, although his face was already feeling a bit hot due to the water and the steam filling the shower box.
"Uhm..." he looked down, almost surprised, although not entirely, and then looked away, blushing more.

"...weren't we supposed to hurry up..?" he said softly, a small smile on his lips proving that he didn't mind those attentions at all. It wasn't like him reminding others that they were running out of time - Feliciano had often a very personal conception of being on time - but he also wondered whether he had already stolen enough time from Ludwig...

Still, he wasn't going to oppose at anything the other was going to do to him. To make it clear, he wrapped his arms around his waist, squeezing it slightly.

"I don't really have anywhere to be today." He would likely visit some of the businesses were suspected of gang activity, but he wouldn't do much more today. He kissed the man on the forehead. "My bosses want me to get to know the town a bit, but I can do that at any time today."

He let his soapy hands move to Feliciano's hips. "But you do need to get back to your restaurant, don't you?"

He kissed Feliciano's lips again. "I don't want to cause you problems with your work. We can always pick this up at a later time" He could feel himself getting harder than he already had been at the idea, but he tried to show some restraint.

Feliciano sighed briefly as Ludwig's hands shifted away from his sex and back to his hips. He kissed him back, smiling, then stepped back to grab the foam bath bottle and then poured some on Ludwig's chest, rubbing his hands over it in small circles, pressing gently his fingers in his flesh, slowly going down towards his stomach and belly-button.

"Mh-mh, I guess I need to go back there and cook..." he replied, nodding slowly. Of course he was up for picking it up later, but it looked like Ludwig's body was dissenting slightly from what the man's mind was suggesting.

His fingers stopped to play with a small amount of bubbles and foam that had gathered inside Ludwig's belly-button, humming softly, a playful smile still indulging on his lips. Of course, he knew he was supposed to head soon back home, but all of it was just... so tempting.

Ludwig closed his eyes as he felt Feliciano's hands roaming over his chest and stomach. The muscles twitched lightly as they couldn't prepare for where or how the other man's fingers would touch him, but it never reached the point of quite tickling him. "There is a good chance I will be here for weeks," he said, trying to ignore the heat pooling in his stomach. "Plenty of time to resume without affecting your business."

It had been far too long since he'd had this kind of intimacy with anyone, the kind that involved gentle touches and shared showers, but Ludwig didn't want to cause trouble for Feliciano. Trouble in the business the Vargas family could be much bigger than just being a little behind in his cooking. The penalties could be dangerous. And that made some of Ludwig's desire ebb, actually quite a bit of it.

"I don't want you to get in trouble with your family," he said and meant it.

Feliciano pouted a bit, his mouth curling down for a short moment, before it went back to his usual smile - a quieter one, this time, as he nodded briefly. Ludwig sounded really concerned about him, and that helped convincing him that the man wasn't just dismissing him because he had had enough of his presence around.

"Yeah, well, I guess my brothers would be disappointed if I'm late..." he replied, while his hands resumed their work on Ludwig's skin, proceeding towards his back and rubbing it. They reached his shoulders and massaged them, while Feliciano stretched on the tip of his toes.

He liked how the foam collected and underlined the profile of the man's muscles, perfectly delineated under his pale skin. "You go to the gym a lot, ve?" he asked, just for small conversation - something to keep his mind distracted with, since Ludwig didn't seem to wish to profit of their shared shower.

"A fair bit," Ludwig said, "it helps me from getting lazy with work." He closed his eyes, hoping he hadn't hurt Feliciano's feelings. There were a number of things he'd like to do with him, to him, but if he really was involved with the mafia, he didn't want to risk the man's life or well-being.

"I think, though, if we do this again, I'm waking you up earlier so we have more time in the morning." He hoped that pacified Feliciano. "Either that, or I could find a more pleasant way of waking you."

He turned around to let the suds rinse off of his body and let his hand cup the man's cheek. "But I'd hate to be a bad influence on you when it comes to your restaurant. I think the customers would hate me if I interfered with that delicious food you make for them."

"Sounds nice~" he was about to add that he knew a couple of cool gyms in the neighborhood, but then thought that he also knew the people who run them, and that he could as well refrain from suggesting Ludwig to go to places where dangerous people would hang around.

He made a face at the thought of being awaken even earlier, but then he chuckled, while he wiped away from the German's back a puff of foam that the water hadn't reached.
"A more pleasant way? Like with coffee and brioches? Well, I'm looking forward to it, then~" he said, leaving a kiss on the skin between the man's shoulder blades.

He placed his hand over Ludwig's, rubbing his cheek on his palm. "Mmh, I see. Let's not take the risk." he answered, eyes closed as he moved under the spray again. He didn't know about getting angry if he didn't put much care in the food - although his brother could get mad at him for that - but some of the customers would possibly get curious about Feliciano's new friend, if they saw him around too much, and neither Ludwig nor Feliciano would like it.

Ludwig smiled and leaned down to kiss Feliciano. Later, sometime when they had time, Ludwig would take advantage of the spacious shower and his Italian lover, but for now, he would keep it to a soft kiss that he broke shortly after to turn the shower off.

"Though I'm sure I could handle myself with your customers, I would rather not cause you any problems," he said as he opened the shower curtain to grab a soft white towel that he wrapped around Feliciano's body. "That's the last thing I want."

He kissed Feliciano again before grabbing a towel for himself and beginning to dry off a bit before stepping out of the shower.

Feliciano smiled grateful as the other covered him with the towel, rubbing his own body lazily. He followed Ludwig outside, dripping some water around before rubbing his wet hair as well.

"You against a whole horde of hungry people craving pizza and pasta?" he giggled "Actually, I can see you win!" he poked his arm, with some satisfaction. Still, most of the people Feliciano was thinking of wouldn't face Ludwig just bare handed.

He stopped beside the taller man, and hugged him, squeezing maybe a bit tighter than he meant.

"You really shouldn't worry about causing me any problems." he said quietly, his forehead pressed against Ludwig's back. The contrary was quite true, instead. But still, Ludwig wasn't going to stay for more than a few weeks, and as sad this could be for Feliciano, this also meant that it wasn't likely people would get too worried for his presence around.

"I think I could manage it. Like you said, I work out," he joked, but then he felt the other man holding him tightly. "You know, I would take you back to Germany with me, if I could, or if you wanted me to, after my work is done here." He was so close to just telling the man. He knew he'd see rejection in his eyes, have to tell his bosses that his cover was blown and he'd be back in Berlin, far away, but probably still worrying about the chef running the cover restaurant for the mafia.

"It could be a month or more that I'll be here, you know. A lot of time for you to get tired of me," he said, avoiding the confession he'd nearly made earlier. He let his hands cover Feliciano's at his waist. "Or time to convince you I should abduct you and your little brother so you can be my personal chef and he can fill my walls with his art." He tried to smile at the thought, not that he was lying to the other man, sort of.

Feliciano hid his face in Ludwig's back. The right thing to do would have been telling him the truth. The man would have probably kicked him out, or even called the police, but at least he would have been safe. But Feliciano knew he wasn't brave enough to tell him, to tell anyone.

"You're really too kind." he replied, lacing his fingers with the other's. The German seemed brave enough for both of them, Feliciano thought - although there was no "them", not yet, at least. And not ever, if he kept lying, he knew that. He was already scared at the idea of losing him, though, and it was ridiculous because he could very well see that "losing" Ludwig because he had decided to not see him anymore was definitely better than losing him because some of his brother's "business partners" had decided so.

"A month would be also enough for you to get tired of me, or of my food, as well." he said, in a playful tone that still sounded rather forced. Anyway, a lot of things could happen in a month. Ludwig could really decide he had enough of his company even without knowing that he was involved with the mafia... He didn't want to think about that now, anyway. "But hey, we still have our coffee to drink, ve?" he said, more cheerfully this time, and let go of him after one last squeeze.

Heading back to the room to gather his clothes, he realized they were scattered around, and chuckled. At least, that past night had been rather worth it, and he wouldn't regret it, whatever might happen next.

Ludwig followed Feliciano into the room, watching him gather his clothing. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Feliciano, I know ..." He stopped his confession short. "I know I can't get tired of you or your cooking. I can't see it happening."

He kissed the man's lips softly before he went to go and pick up. He grabbed the scattered clothing. The fact that his own clothing was discarded so haphazardly just proved that he had been caught up in the passion of the moment. That didn't happen often, for him to lose that sort of control. All over this beautiful young man who looked as uncomfortable as he felt.

He wondered at what point he'd become such a coward, not even able to at least ease the other man's mind of this much. "I already know, Feliciano." He looked up from his suitcase at the other man. His hand wasn't far from his badge, and coincidentally his gun, but he didn't think he would truly need that. "I found out the day after I got here about your family connections."

That was part of a confession, but he didn't know if he could finish it with the rest, by telling Feliciano he was essentially his brother's enemy.

Feliciano laughed, delighted. "Well, I can barely imagine someone who gets sick of Italian food, this is true~" he replied. Things were different when it came to him, though, but Feliciano didn't want to underline that. The conversation had already took enough angsty turns, that morning, and he was well determined to enjoy the breakfast together with Ludwig.

But, apparently, this wasn't meant to be. Pants already on, he was slowly buttoning up his shirt when Ludwig simply stated that he already knew.
Feliciano started and turned, unable to hide the shock on his face.
"... you... already knew...?" he gasped, looking at Ludwig, eyes widened.

Feliciano didn't know what that could mean, if that meant that Ludwig himself had connections with organized crime, if Feliciano had just fallen victim of a trap - and still, he had trusted the German from the start...

He didn't dare to move. Ludwig 's hands were fumbling inside his suitcase, and Feliciano had no idea of what they could take out from there. Was he connected somehow to who kidnapped their father? Was Feliciano going to end the same way? And still, he was too astonished to do anything a part from staring at Ludwig.

Still, a part from the possible danger he maybe was in, there was another question that bothered him even more. "...is this why you came to us?" And was that the only reason he found himself in his hotel room, now?

"I found you accidentally," Ludwig said, pulling out his badge. He still wasn't even dressed, just wearing the towel around his waist. "Your family isn't even an interest to me. You aren't the problem for us. There are drug deals and human trafficking that we think have Russian connections."

He held out the badge. "Even though my bosses know I've met you, which was how they told me about your own family's connections, this..." He gestured between the two of them. "isn't their business. I don't operate like that."

He offered his badge to Feliciano to see. "None of this... none of it was what they wanted. They don't like us to get involved beyond friendship if they have us undercover. If I tell them I told you, let alone that we made love last night, my position here would be compromised, I'd be sent back to Germany and you'd never have to see me again. I have an otherwise spotless career, but I'm sure this would follow me, anyway."

He closed his eyes, unable to look Feliciano in the face, to see him hurt. "I was being selfish last night because I wanted to be with you, and I knew you would hate me once I told you the truth."

Feliciano swallowed, everything but relieved as he saw Ludwig pull out what totally looked like a police badge from his suitcase. He gave a short look at it, taking notice of how shiny it was - not that he knew much about police and that stuff to understand if it was true of fake, anyway.

"...you're a cop?" was more or less all he could say in the end. Jesus, that was even worse than the idea of him being a criminal as well.

Feliciano was really tempted to run out from the door just as he was, bare feet and everything, but Ludwig didn't even try to get closer to him, nor frighten him in any way. As he went on talking, he could see that the man was almost as worried as he was by the situation. Seeing him like that, eyes closed, his voice guilty, Feliciano was tempted to reach him and hug him tight, but he was still paralyzed by surprise and apprehension.

"So you.. aren't going to just, uh, arrest me and bring me to jail...?" he asked, still not sure he understood Ludwig's explanation completely.