Ludwig's room (Eridanus Hotel)

Ludwig shook his head. "I haven't seen you do anything worth arresting you for, other than driving very fast," he said as he tossed the badge on the bed. He looked up at the other man. "And even if I saw you do something worth arresting you for, I already know I couldn't."

Ludwig crossed his arms at his chest. "And the fact that we are ... or were, if you'd rather, lovers means that anything I'd have you arrested for would be questionable." He sighed. "I'd still rather just take you to Germany and avoid all of this."

He walked back over to his suitcase and began to get dressed, packing the discarded clothes. He knew Feliciano would reject him, and when he did, Ludwig would admit to his superiors what had happened and be shipped back to Germany.

Feliciano sat on the bed; his legs felt suddenly weak for the revelation. Silently, he stared as Ludwig packed some of his stuff.

"Are you really going to be sent back to Germany because of what happened between us?" he asked. This... this was sad. Just a moment before, they were talking about having time to do things together. They were talking of showering together, of making love together again. Feliciano's mouth curled down, his eyes started to prickle. Was he being left behind, in the end, anyway?

He stood up and slowly walked towards Ludwig, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.
"Hey, I don't hate you. I'm just scared." he told him. Scared that Ludwig would turn into an enemy after all the things they'd shared, scared that he would take him and Lovino away from Chibi - who was ever going to care about their brothers if they were sent to jail?
Scared at the idea of being used by him to get closer to the crime world. Also, scared that everything they had lived so far - a short everything, maybe, but still so intense - was a just a foam bubble, meant to disappear from one moment to another.

He hid his face in Ludwig's neck. He didn't care if he was harmless, now, if he was hugging him instead of running away as fast as he could - if Ludwig wanted, he only had to turn, grab his wrists and handcuff him, it wouldn't take much effort.
"You promised me you were going to wake me up with coffee and brioches, remember?"

Ludwig couldn't hide the noise that escaped his lips, the surprise that Feliciano was wrapping his arms around him and not telling him to leave. If he were the type, he might have cried at the sound of the man's helplessness, of the fact that he wanted to continue this so that Ludwig could wake him up with coffee and pastries, probably a bit more, as well. He wasn't the type to cry; that had been beaten out of him as a child.

Instead, he held Feliciano and ran a hand through the man's hair. "If you still want me to, I would gladly. For as many mornings as I can." He kissed his forehead and held him tightly. "You are the one with the power, though. My career is in your hands," he said. "Which means I won't dare touch your family. I wouldn't want to rip you and Chibitalia apart."

There was passion and affection for the chef, far too much too soon, but it didn't stop Ludwig from feeling both intensely. "But all you have to do is tell me to go and I will."

He sighed, holding him tighter. He hadn't been wrong, after all, Ludwig had never meant any harm to him, and that was all he needed to know.

"I don't want you to go." he said, shaking his head slowly. Also, he would never do anything like compromising Ludwig's position in the police, not even if he was in the position of doing it - which Feliciano wasn't in, anyway. "And be sure that I would never do anything like that. I won't tell anyone. Nobody has to know."

He took Ludwig's face between his hands, blowing away from his forehead a lock of wet hair. Nobody had to know, that was for sure, especially since Ludwig was a cop.
"It's going to be dangerous, you know. It doesn't matter if you're not interested in us, if the people who come to my restaurant start seeing you around too much, they'll do research on you, and if they find out your identity, well..." he squeezed him again.

Ludwig looked down at Feliciano and gave him a small smile, then let his eyes fall closed as he felt warm hands on either of his cheeks. He could grow used to these kind of touches from the smaller man. "I know the dangers. It's where most of the scars you were tracing last night came from. But if it's too dangerous for you, I will promise you I'll leave you alone.

"As for them finding out about me, I'm not really known, as a police officer or anything else, really. I work in a very secluded portion of a German agency most Americans don't even know or care exists. It's why they brought me in. Because I'm not easy to trace here in the U.S. And because they trust me not to be corrupted by money."

Admittedly, something far more dangerous was shifting Ludwig's priorities, but he didn't much care. He'd put his job first for most of his adult life. This with Feliciano, reckless as it was, was for him.

He opened his eyes again and smiled again at Feliciano. "I believe you needed some coffee before you headed back to your kitchen, and I probably need to get to know this town a bit better." He leaned down and kissed Feliciano soundly on the lips.

He kissed him back, realizing that his lips now tasted even better, although such bitter words had came out from them in the last few minutes.

"I am sure you know..." Feliciano nodded. So many scars. That made sense, of course, now that he knew about Ludwig. "Just, be careful. They already took my dad away from us... yeah, sorry if I lied, about this." he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "What I mean is that, uhm..."

Yeah, what did he mean? He didn't want someone else to disappear because of them, and especially not Ludwig. This said, he was going to be the happiest person on earth if he still decided that hanging out with him was worth the risks.
He stared at the other man for a while more, not knowing what to say. Therefore, he kissed him back again, eventually letting his lips mirror the smile that had appeared on the man's face.

"Coffee sounds good, sì~" he nodded as the smile grew bigger.

Ludwig gave him a tight squeeze and went back to his suitcase to grab his shirt. "We can go to the shop today, then while you are at work, I will have to find a place that serves good brioches and some decent ground coffee for the machine in here." In the meantime, he might end up getting to know the area of the city and see if he couldn't still manage to do his job.

He pulled on a brown dress shirt and slid his feet into a pair of brown shoes. "Now... I believe I need to get some caffeine into your body." He held out an arm for Feliciano to take.

This would be risky, and it was a bit stupid, but Ludwig felt Feliciano was worth it.

Always smiling, he grabbed the strong arm that was offered to him, squeezing it a bit. He did feel a bit dizzy, maybe because of the fright, or of the early awakening, or just because he really needed some coffee before he could declare the day officially started.

Forgetting that he was previously buttoning his shirt up, he only cared about putting on his black sneakers, without even caring about undoing the laces (they were already a bit warped by his habit of never doing it). He grabbed his jacket and shook his head energetically, in the hope that the several locks popping out would go back into their normal shape.

"I do know a pretty place not far from here, and I'm quite sure the owners aren't involved with, well, you know." he waved his hand to indicate the whole list of bad things he was implying with that "you know".

Ludwig saw Feliciano hadn't completely buttoned his shirt. He turned to face his lover and began fastening his shirt. "Well, that sounds like a good place to me," he said before kneeling on the floor and beginning to tie the man's shoes. He could see they were left untied often, but as long as he was with Feliciano, he had every intention of taking care of him.

That included using his resources to find out what had happened to his lover's father. He didn't know if he would be able to get very far in his research, but he certainly hoped so. Regardless of Feliciano's father's involvement in the mafia world, the son still loved his father, regardless, and looked hurt at the thought of him being gone.

He stood back up and took Feliciano's arm before leading him out of hotel room door. "Let's go to this coffee shop of yours."

Feliciano looked a bit surprised as Ludwig finished buttoning up his shirt and knelt down to fix his shoes. It surely was helpful, but he didn't expect his friend to do that much for him.

"Ve, thanks~"
If, on one hand, Feliciano knew how to dress smartly when he felt like doing so, there were a lot of moments in which he just couldn't care less, or simply forgot to. Sure enough, he thought looking at how Ludwig was already neat and presentable, he should have paid more attention. But well, he thought as he clung to his arm, now that the man had taken care of him, he surely was ready to go out.

They went downstairs, crossing the empty corridors of the hotel - apparently, it was still too early for most of the people there.
Feliciano felt relieved at the discovery. Not that he really thought that there was going to be any danger in the hotel, but, although he was happy at the idea that the two of them had resumed their plan of having breakfast together, he still felt worried and uneasy at the whole situation.

Ludwig walked with Feliciano to the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. "Is there any chance I'll be able to pull you away from your restaurant again soon?" he asked as the doors closed. He had every intention of coming to visit the smaller man that evening, but given what they'd admitted earlier, it was possible that Feliciano would need some time to think.

He let the arm that was wrapped around Feliciano's shift enough that he could place his hand on the smaller man's. "Will we be able to walk to this coffee shop you've found?" he asked, seriously hoping he wouldn't be required to drive. Then, with a smile, he reminded himself that he'd convinced Feliciano to take a taxi rather than drive them to the hotel that night. He knew that Feliciano could be a very dangerous hitman if he wanted to. All he would have to do would be to chauffeur people around the town. At least half of them would die of a heart attack.

Undoubtedly, he felt more at ease once they were both alone in the elevator.

"Well, yes... as long as you think it's safe, that is." he replied, looking up at him a bit anxiously. He didn't want to risk too much, but although he was worried and scared of the possible consequences, he definitely wanted to see Ludwig as much as he could. Oh, hadn't been for the whole business going on at their place, and for the things that had just come out, he would have invited him to stay over at his house as long as he needed.
But then again, Ludwig was the cop, and Feliciano trusted that he would know if something would be too dangerous or not.

"And yes, indeed~ It's just five minutes away from here, I believe."

The elevator's doors opened, and Feliciano carefully popped out his head to check that no creepy mafia man was waiting for them in the hall.
Unaware of the thoughts in Ludwig's head, he was regretting not having taken his car the night before... he would have felt safer, given that the run away speed he could reach by feet - which was still quite impressive - wasn't even comparable to the one that driving his car allowed.

Ludwig smiled. "I think so. After all, I'm just the businessman from Germany who's unbelievably attracted to a young chef he met at a wonderful little Italian restaurant."

He gave Feliciano's hand a squeeze. He didn't trust his cover entirely, but he knew he shouldn't be easy to find information about. He was such a poor kid, such a nobody for most of his life, it had seemed to carry over into his career, mostly. "If the shop isn't far, we can walk rather than call for a taxi."

He walked through the lobby, looking for the sleepy owner of the hotel but not seeing him. With Feliciano's hand in his, he walked out into the street, giving the other man a quick glance to assess how comfortable he was with this. The day before, the touches had been easy and comfortable, but he doubted they would continue to be so now.

That didn't stop him from hoping, though.

Feliciano chuckled, then remembered how he believed they were in a sort of incognito mission, and shut up.
"It sounds funny, though!" he replied in a whisper "And I was lucky to be given the role as the chef~" he blinked to Ludwig with a smile. Sure enough, if he had only been a simple chef, that small summary would have been a perfect prologue for all the sorts or romantic love-stories he liked... but well, Feliciano didn't mind playing, so he could as well pretend that everything was just simple and plain as Ludwig had described... without forgetting the incognito mission!

"No need to call a taxi!" he assured, as they walked through the automatic doors at the entrance of the hotel. He stretched to look at the street, but among the few people walking, he couldn't spot anyone suspicious.

As the other squeezed his hand, he looked back at him with grateful eyes. Feliciano still wasn't sure of the reason, but although he was a bit worried, having that hand squeezing his made him walk down the street without hesitation.

He led the way, slightly unused at walking in that neighborhood so early in the morning, but quickly guiding Ludwig through the small roads.

Ludwig followed him, hand still in Feliciano's. He hated that some of the seeming innocence of their little affair was gone, but it had never really been innocent anyway. They had both been worrying about their real identities and what it would mean if they revealed them.

"I am glad you know this city so well," he told him as they went from one street to another. Finally, he saw a quaint-looking coffee shop ahead. He assumed that it was the one Feliciano had been describing.

"Is this it?" he asked, hoping so and also hoping he could find a bakery not far from here to offer pastries of some sort for the other man the next time he stayed the night.

Feliciano nodded.
"They have Italian coffee too, although they're from here." he explained, as they entered the coffee. The inside was small, with only a few, thin tables for the customers to sit down. But only one of them was already occupied by a man sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper, and Feliciano sat down on the first table next to the entrance.

"I'll have a cappuccino, please!" he said cheerfully to the woman behind the counter, who nodded at him with a smile, then looked at Ludwig to see what he wanted to order.

Feliciano waited for the man to say what he wanted, then looked at him intently, elbows on the table and chin resting on his hands, then smiled.
"You know, I'm surprised." he said in an almost serious tone before pausing a moment, when his train of thoughts took a completely different direction from the one he wanted to follow. "Ah, we need to ask the lady if they have fresh cake, I've eaten their pies here a couple of times and they were delicious~"

Ludwig sat at the table, ordering Italian coffee and asking for some cake. "Whatever kind he likes best," he told the woman, gesturing to Feliciano.

He watched her go about his work and stretched out an arm across the table between them, palm up for Feliciano to take if he chose. "You are surprised by what?"

He didn't know where this conversation was going, but he knew at some point, he was going to have to talk to him about being so paranoid. That would attract more attention than if Ludwig were just dating him. Already, Ludwig had noticed the odd behavior, and surely people who knew the laid-back young man would wonder why he checked every room or street now.

Feliciano blinked, as he realized his mind had shifted away from what he was previously thinking.
"Right, uh... surprised because of this." he waved his hand between him and Ludwig, maybe a few times more than necessary to explain what he was referring to.

"I never thought I would ever date a cop, and anyway I always thought cops were absolutely scary and, and... yeah. But we're here, and despite the things that came out, you know... that would have been awkward, maybe, while it's not awkward at all, is it?" he asked, letting his hand slip over Ludwig's. He lowered the tone of his voice, as he leant forward to speak in a whisper.
"I mean, I was terrified at the thought that you could discover everything, and, sure, I was, when you told me you actually knew. But for as strange as it may seem, I'm relieved, because you know, and I know, and everything is somehow easier now, and we can... rely on each other?" he said, looking at him expectantly.

Feliciano wasn't really counting on Ludwig to help him out with mafia business. But, as strong and decided Ludwig seemed, he thought that his new friend and lover would offer warm arms to wrap him when everything was too scary for Feliciano to deal with it.

"Most people think I am absolutely scary," Ludwig said with a smile as he held Feliciano's hand in his own. He let his fingers lightly play against the other man's palm. "I suppose I'm not so bad if you're not scared of me." He watched as the woman walked over with their coffee and cake, waiting until she left to say anything to the last part of what Feliciano had said. He had to admit that, as far as breakfasts went, this one certainly looked good. Much better than what he often ate while undercover.

He thanked the owner as she set the cake on the table, and once she left, he looked at Feliciano. "I definitely think that we can rely on one another. I was, honestly, expecting you to run out of the room this morning after I told you. I was certain of it, but I hoped you wouldn't."

Having blown his cover would have been bad enough and would have cost him this part of his police career, but to have Feliciano in danger and be able to do nothing about it would have made him feel much worse. He felt like he was now in a position to protect his new lover.

"Mh, well, yes, I can see that." Feliciano chuckled. Ludwig was still quite tall and burly, and could look intimidating to a good number of people. "But I can't think as you as scary for me after tonight." he admitted with a sweet smile.

He shifted back to let room on the table for the woman to serve their breakfast. He happily smiled at her too. "A wonderful breakfast served by an even more wonderful maid~" he said her, almost humming. Of course, that was just for a simple "thank you", and nothing more. It couldn't have passed for a real flirt in any case, since Feliciano was still playing with Ludwig's hand in a way that explained everything.

"Well, I thought I was going to run away as well... but yeah. You said you weren't going to anything, and I like you... and trust you." he stated simply.

He took a piece of the cake on his fork and tasted it. Sweet and soft, oh yes.

Feliciano trusted him, which was surprising since he'd lied to the man about himself. Still, the fact that he did made Ludwig feel a bit warmer inside.

He chuckled as he watched Feliciano savor the flavor of his cake. He decided to follow the other man's example and take a bite of his own piece. Feliciano was right; it was very good.

"I'm glad you recommended that we come here. This is delicious." He took another bite before taking a drink of the coffee. "This makes for a very good start to the day."

"I know, I know!" he replied, satisfied and happy that Ludwig like the place and the food. "Breakfast is important, especially when you need to face a hard day..." suddenly, he remembered what Ludwig was supposed to do here, and his smile disappeared quickly.

He glanced around; the man was still reading the newspaper, the empty cup of his coffee was left forgotten in the corner of the table. Nothing showed that he was interested in what they were saying, but Feliciano had seen too many movies to not know that every man hiding behind a newspaper was actually listening carefully to what other people in the room were saying.

"And... are you going to have a tough day, today?" he asked Ludwig, lowering the tone of his voice again, and giving him a look which underlined that, with "tough", he meant a "shoot&capture criminals with bloodshed and great danger" kind of day.

"I am just here for information," he said quietly. "No day should be too tough. They just want someone who is capable of handling himself if it does." He slid his chair over beside Feliciano's and wrapped his arm around the smaller man's shoulders. "Mein schatz, you can't spend every moment we are out together worrying about the people around us. It will look even more suspicious than the fact that you are dating someone."

He kissed his lover on the cheek. "Treat me like you would have yesterday and no one will think anything more of it. They might look me up, but my background isn't easy to find."

He nuzzled Feliciano's neck and pressed his lips to his jaw. "I've done all of this before. Covert information-gathering missions, undercover investigations. Trust me that being normal is the best thing to keep us both safe." He got a bite of cake on his fork and offered it to Feliciano. "Besides, I think we could both do with pretending we're both normal."

Feliciano nodded slowly and accepted the bit of cake Ludwig was giving him, chewing it thoughtfully, while leaning against the man's side, and allowing himself to emit a satisfied noise of pleasure as the other nuzzled against his neck and face.
The German had a special way to make him feel like everything was alright, and Feliciano relaxed. He barely noticed that the woman behind the counter had given them a weird look, and didn't care.

"Okay... I'll try my best!" he nodded energetically. He could do that, sure. After all, he went on everyday pretending that he wasn't involved with the mafia, but just a normal chef like all the others. Although this was something he often pretended with himself as well. He shrugged and went on eating his cake, dipping it in his cappuccino.
Normal people did normal things. Eating cake and drinking coffee and hugging was a perfectly acceptable normal thing to do in the morning.

"But be sure to do your best too.. You know, if you need me to.. introduce to, uh, my friends, I could." Feliciano added, winking to underline a couple of words - winking a bit too hard, probably. He then looked quickly at the man in the corner. Still reading his newspaper. Good.

"I would definitely appreciate an introduction," Ludwig said, taking sip of coffee. "But I think it's probably best to get you involved as little as possible. Unless it's absolutely necessary, of course."

He wanted to keep Feliciano safe as much as he possibly could. As much as he joked about kidnapping the man from all of this, he wasn't entirely joking. It didn't seem right that Feliciano was involved in this kind of world. He seemed a very bad fit for the mafia.