By the book... (Germany and N.Italy only)

An unpleased groan escaped Ludwig as Feliicano drew away, already missing the delicious warmth of the lips he had kissed. His eyes fluttered open and he licked the still remaining taste of Feliciano's lips off of his own. "Eh... I..." Ludwig glanced at his friend through heavy lidded eyes as he suddenly noticed how close the had become during the kiss. "I think I learned that it feels really good to kiss someone you like..." He nervously swallowed, trying to force his rapidly beating heart to calm down.

"Thank you for helping me..." Ludwig let go of Feliciano and took his hands up, placing them on the other's arms to carefully tangle them away from his own neck. Somehow this kiss had left him even more confused then the earlier hugs. Nothing was cleared up in his mind. The blond took a step backwards, away from his friend. "Ah, I... uhm, I think I should go to the bathroom and fix myself..." He turned half around and reached for the doorknob. Ludwig really felt like he needed some time for himself to clear his mind.

"I am sorry, but I am afraid it is already to late to play soccer. You should finish your homework and I will pick you up at six. Then we can go and have dinner together." Eating together had been on the list after all, so it seemed to be a proper activity for this evening. Ludwig took an other deep breath and opened the door to leave the room.

The Italian didn't resist when Ludwig peeled his arms from his neck, Feliciano clasping his hands together and twisting them nervously as the blond moved away, not able to exactly meet his eyes. Yes, the kiss had felt good, but now so many strange thoughts and feelings were running through his head--was this normal? The kiss really had felt good...he still wanted more! More kisses, maybe kisses in other places, Ludwig holding him tighter, hands trailing down--

Ah! Feliciano shook his head to himself a bit to clear such thoughts; He really shouldn't be having these thoughts! It would be horrible if Ludwig could read his mind!

Speaking of Ludwig, he had barely caught the blond's words, snapping to attention and pushing the strange, warm thoughts to the back of his mind. "A-Ah, y-yes, i-it was no pr-problem! Glad to have helped, e-eh heh!" His eyes were now glued to the floor, cheeks flaming in embarrassment. "A-Ah, yes, dinner! Eh heh heh, I would l-like to eat dinner with Ludwig, st-still! Even if we can't play soccer, i-it's okay, ve!"

He knew he was rambling, but now he couldn't help it! He didn't feel bad, but every passing second left him more and more confused! So many new feelings, things he had never thought or dreamed about before were all assaulting him at once. He and Ludwig were...he and Ludwig were...

"Oh!" Feliciano looked up suddenly as Ludwig opened the door, the sound snapping him out of his thoughts again. "So, u-um...is this...like...um, a...ve..." Squirms overtook him, voice dying off a bit as he looked up at the man through his lashes, finding it hard to keep eye-contact all of the sudden. "A...date?"

Ludwig slammed the door close at the word 'date'. There were possibly students on the hallway, they didn't need to hear this! He turned around, staring at his Italian friend. A date? usually it would be just eating together. They had done that quite often already. And now it was not just eating together but dating? Did the kiss really change it like this? Damn, again Ludwig's new time-line. After the kiss everything seems to be so different.

"Uh... Well. I want to eat out with you as usually when we go and eat together..." Ludwig frowned and stared at the floor. Were was the difference between just eating together and dating? The blond's mind couldn't find sense in this logic.

He looked up, his glance catching a sight of Feliciano. His friend seemed so embarrassed and bashful. Almost uneasy. What was wrong? Didn't he like the kiss? What if it didn't feel as good for his friend as it had felt for Ludwig? The stern man shook his head lightly, trying to get rid of these thoughts.

"I guess it could count as date..." Ludwig took a deep breath before he spoke out his next words. "Feliciano... Would you like to date me?"

"Ah! I would--"

Feliciano paused again, more embarrassing thoughts erupting in his mind, causing his checks to glow and even brighter shade of red, nervous fidgets taking over him again. He wanted to date Ludwig? Well, he loved spending time with the blond, a lot of time! And he really liked Ludwig! And dating was like that, right? Spending a lot of time with the person you like.

So...the answer was yes?

"I would love to date Ludwig! I-I mean, if Ludwig doesn't mind, right? I d-don't want to f-force Ludwig if you don't want to, ve..." He took a step toward the blond, eyes still fixed on the floor. "But, I want to, I really want to!" He looked up at the German, a small, but vibrant smile on his lips. "S-So I guess it's a date! R-right?"

I mean, Feliciano did like the blond a lot...and the kiss had felt really good...so it wouldn't be bad to date? It would be a good thing!

"If you want to... You can call it a date." Ludwig's blush deepened and he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Well, Uhm. As I said. I will be here at six to pick you up. Make sure that your homework is done then so we don't need to work on it all night long." He turned his head towards the door, reaching again for the doorknob.

Usually he would just leave at this point, but could he just go after what happened? How do you part away from someone who is special enough to get such a intimate kiss? Ludwig frowned, holding the doorknob in his hand. He once had to read a romance novel for his writer class... How did they do it there? The blond tried hard to remember, as it suddenly crossed his mind.

"Feliciano..." Ludwig suddenly moved and leaned forward to brush a kiss onto Feliciano's blushed cheek. "Don't take an other nap, I will be on time!" With that he opened the door and rushed out of the room.

Closing the door behind him he leaned his back against it and took a few deep breathes before he rushed down the hallway almost fleeing off into the bathroom.

Feliciano raised a hand slowly up to his cheek as Ludwig rushed off, still feeling the phantom touch of lips on his skin. The brunet stared at the door for a moment longer, hand still on his cheek, blinking at the events that had just unfold. Well. That was not how he expected the day to go! First Ludwig visiting him, and then a kiss, and then a date? He would've never guessed--

...wait.

Another hand drifted up to his other cheek, feeling the red-hot blush burning his skin as he eyes grew even wider.

Wait! Wait just a moment! All of that stuff, all of that stuff that just happened...

Wait a second!

Feliciano's mind ran blank for a moment, a sudden wave of confusion hitting him like a tsunami. He and Ludwig had...! They had...! What had just happened, how did all of this happen?!

The Italian had to sit, plopping onto the edge of the bed before tossing his head back into the sheets, staring at the ceiling. He and Ludwig were...dating? Were they dating? Was this dating? He was dating Ludwig now? How, why, what had happened, when did this all happen?

He let out a squeak, rolling onto his stomach and burying his face into the blankets. They were dating? Were they really dating now? Was this just a date, or were they dating? Well, it wouldn't be bad if they were dating, he really did like Ludwig! But he had never expected it to turn out this way, never expected it! Ludwig really liked him that much? Everything had happened so fast!

And the kiss! They kissed! Like a real kiss! Not exactly like a make-out kiss, but a kiss kiss! He had kiss kissed his best friend! More squeaks came from the Italian, squirming into the blankets and rolling himself into a cocoon of confusion. It had felt wonderful, and right, and perfect, and great, but now he was so confused! Thoughts, strange thoughts he usually didn't have popped into his mind, only making his blush worse. He really hoped Ludwig couldn't read his mind!

Feliciano flopped, stopping his squirming as he tried to think hard about the issue at hand. A date. They were going on a date. Even though it was just dinner, but it was a dinner date. Okay. Okay! He could do that. He and Ludwig were...something? They had kissed, so that was something, right? Maybe Ludwig would know. Ah, Ludwig! Even thinking of the blond made him squirm at this point! How did this all happen?

Ludwig rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He turned his head, staring into the mirror above the sink. Was this really him? The face that stared back from the mirror was so messed up, a fierce blush on the cheeks and his hair out of place, messed up by Feliciano's hands running through it, gripping blond locks to pull Ludwig closer, tasting more of him, feeling him and to press their chests close enough to feel their hearts beating together.

The usually stern man reached up, rubbing his cheeks to make the blush go way, but his thoughts only made it worse. He had kissed a man... TWICE! Not even just a man, his best friend! And now he had a date coming up and only... Ludwig gave a fast glance onto the watch on his wrist. Only two hours to prepare himself for it. Ludwig turned on the water and washed his face, cooling himself down. He had work to do the next two hours. The stern man brushed his fingers through his hair to fix it and left the bathroom without drying his face off. There was work waiting for him.

The library was his first place to go. Ludwig knew this place very well. It was one of his favorite rooms on the campus. The knowledge of history was available here. And he liked to relay on it. Just like now. Dating books, books about physical relationships and books about how to treat your partner would surely give the blond good advice for this evening. This was his first date after all. Ludwig wanted to make sure he wouldn't make any kind of stupid mistakes.

With a pile of useful books he returned to his own room and put them down onto his table, sitting down on his chair. His notebook was on his desk as usual. So he could write down and note the most important informations he would find in the books. Ludwig flipped open the first book and started working out a list of things he had to pay attention to during his date with Feliciano.

The Italian wasn't one to obsess over such things like the future (even if the future held a date with his best friend), so it wasn't long before Feliciano found something to distract himself with. He started with his art project, the real one that he had to finish. Art was always good for the Italian; it was one thing that he could lose himself in, devoting all of his focus on every single small stroke. Ruler and charcoal in hand, it wasn't long until Feliciano had fleshed out an entire building from the depths of the paper, impressive arcs and stark pillars almost jumping from the page.

Art was one thing, but biology...

It was the complete opposite with biology. He knew Ludwig told him to do it, he remembered! But it was just...so hard to do! The words stared as he stared blankly back at them, the concepts and ideas behind the words not clicking with his mind at all. He didn't...understand it! He couldn't focus at all, and more than once found himself doodling abstract shapes on his notes. It was only once he started seeing Ludwig in the shapes did he force himself to focus--it was not a good time to get lost in thoughts about the blond! They only brought the blush back to his cheeks, squirming in his chair as he tried to force himself to learn biology. He had told Ludwig he would do it, and he was going to do it!

And it was with great difficulty that he finally got it done. Feliciano wasn't sure if it was right...but at least it was done!

And now that his biology was done, he could turn his thoughts to more important matters. Like getting ready for that date! The Italian rushed to his closet, rummaging for something to wear other than his school uniform.

It took the blond man about one hour and 30 minutes to look through the books and get the most important informations about how to handle a first date. A few pages of notes would help him through his evening. Ludwig leaned back in his chair and focused his attention to the books in front of him. He had only flipped through the first few chapters of them. How to treat the one you like and invite him, taking that person out to a date. The rest would come later within the next days when he had more time. All these books were about man/woman relationships, but the German guessed it would also count for him and Feliciano.

Glancing at the huge clock on the wall he noticed that it was time to get dressed and go out to pick up his friend. Ludwig decided on a simple white business-shirt with a plain, dark-blue tie and black jeans. He was sure that a school uniform would not fit for a date, but he also didn't want to overdo it and maybe embarrass himself. He was already nervous enough and it took him four tries until he got his tie wrapped up and his glasses right and clean.

At exact six PM he arrived in front of Feliciano's room again. Ludwig had enough money with him to pay for them both, he was the one who asked for a date and the books had said the one who asks need to pay. The useful notes were neatly hidden in the back pocket of his jeans as Ludwig swallowed down his uneasiness and knocked on the wooden surface of the door, awaiting the other's answer.

It wasn't that the Italian had MEANT to take a nap, it just had happened!

After he had gotten dressed (just khakis with a nice shirt and jackets and boots--the boy was unintentionally fashionable when it came to clothes), there was little more for him to do than wait for Ludwig and fret about the date. And the Italian was never good at waiting, and all the fretting he did only made him sleepy!

However, the knock at the door had roused him from sleep almost instantly, Feliciano jumping up at the sound. "Ah, wait a second, I'm coming, wait a second, ve!" One quick check in the mirror for wrinkles and his hair and Feliciano was at the door, tossing it open wide to greet Ludwig. "Ah, ciao again, Ludwig!" His earlier bashfulness was gone and forgotten for the moment; he was honestly just happy to see Ludwig again! He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he walked out of the room and closed the door, turning around to face the other.

"I got my biology done like you asked! Aren't you proud, ve? It was really hard, but I tried my best!" He shot a vibrant smile up at the blond, giggling happily at his accomplishment. "Now I'm really, really hungry! We should go somewhere with a lot of good food for our...a-ah, our date!" A small blush spread across his cheeks at the mere word, the brunet beginning to squirm with nerves again. They were really going on a date! This was so strange!

Ludwig instantly stiffened once Feliciano appeared and joined him in the hallway. It was kind of an awkward moment to meet up after what happened at their last meeting each other. "Ah, okay. For once I will leave the correction of possible mistakes in your homework to your teacher. Only for the fact that I am hungry myself." He gave a stern nod, trying to control his uneasiness and act as natural as possible.

"Uhm, I think we can just go to the restaurant down the street like usually." Ludwig started to walk down the hallway towards the stairs that leaded down to the huge hall and the front door of the dorm, knowing his friend would follow him. "The food there is pretty eatable and not very expensive." He turned his head halfway to glance at the other one.

Ah! There was something written in of the books about meeting each other at the beginning of the first date, wasn't it? Ludwig frowned and stopped in the middle of huge entrance hall, rumbling in his mind to remember what it was he was supposed to do.

Then it suddenly popped up in his mind. "Feliciano..." A blush immediately colored Ludwig's cheeks in a slight red. He couldn't fight it. "Y-You look really nice. I admire your sense o-of fashion..." The blond was not used to praise his friend, especially not with compliments so he just turned and kept walking towards the door after speaking his words. This part of his mission to bring up the perfect first date was successfully done.

"Ve, that sounds good~ They have a lot of good pasta there! And pasta is always good~" Feliciano hurried after Ludwig, not wanting to be left behind, shoving away any nervousness he might have felt. This was supposed to be fun, right? And he was hungry! And it was just Ludwig, so it wasn't that bad, even if they might be dating now--which he really needed to ask Ludwig about that!--and they were going to the restaurant they often went to, and he knew Ludwig wasn't mad or sick or anything--

"Nngh!" Feliciano let out a squeak as he almost ran into the blond, too lost in his own thoughts to notice when Ludwig suddenly stopped. "Ve?" He looked up as the stern German turned around, his cheeks seeming much brighter than usual.

The compliment took Feliciano off-guard for a moment--this wasn't like Ludwig at all! His own cheeks lit up a slight red at the words; was Ludwig sure he wasn't sick? He never acted like this! After a moments pause he shook off all the doubts assaulting his thoughts, deciding to just smile and hurry after the blond again. It may not have been like Ludwig at all, and was a little strange feeling, but at least it was nice!

"Grazie, Ludwig, thank you! I'm glad Ludwig likes it!" He hummed happily to himself, trailing a bit behind the other. "You look nice too, but Ludwig always looks nice!"

They left the building and Ludwig frowned at Feliciano's words. He didn't mean to look 'nice'. It was just proper dressing the blond was wearing. But if the other thought it looked nice, well, then it was his opinion. He walked down the street always a step faster then Feliciano. Somehow it would be embarrassing for Ludwig to have his friend notice that the stern blond took out his notes and giving a fast glance at the handwritten words. Ludwig needed to check what was to do as next step.

Just as they arrived at the restaurant Ludwig had checked his notes and stopped on the door. "Feliciano." Ludwig lightly bowed, facing his friend. "May I invite you to enjoy dinner with me?" He reached for the door, opening it for Feliciano to enter the restaurant.

The notes had told him to treat his partner nice and be polite. Holding the door open was one of the first ideas that popped into Ludwig's mind. "You can choose the dish if you like to." Letting Feliciano choose the food was the second thought. The Italian was a gourmet after all and Ludwig knew that.

"E-Eh? I-I thought we were on a date already?" The Italian tilted his head as Ludwig opened up the door for him, becoming confused once again. The blond was acting so strange again! Usually they would just walk in the door together, the two chatting (well, mostly Feliciano babbling) about classes and things, but for Ludwig to be so...formal. It was weird!

Well...he was a little flattered because Ludwig was being so nice, but it was still weird!

But with the mention of food, any doubts and confusions faded, mind filled with thoughts of pasta and pizza and pastries and soups, trying to pick a good meal for both of them. "Hmm~ Ve, this place has a lot of good food though, Ludwig~" He looked for a table, wading his way through the tables and chairs to a table in the back corner where they could be mostly alone.

"What about pasta? Does Ludwig want pasta? Or we could get pizza!" He slid into his seat, grabbing the menu that he had almost memorized by this point. "What about pasta with sausage? I know Ludwig likes sausage a lot! Ooh, do you want dessert? We could get cake!" He smiled up at the blond, excitedly waiting for an answer.

Ludwig followed Feliciano through the restaurant and sat down at the table the other had chosen. The place was filled with other students like usually. None of them put attention to Ludwig and Feliciano. They were used to see them together here and none of the other guests would guess that this was more then a normal meeting. More a date. Ludwig relaxed a bit. It seemed that a date was actually not that different to a normal meeting.

"We have been here often enough and you might have noticed what kind of food I prefer." Ludwig gave the Italian a shy smile. "You can choose. I don't mind. But cake for dessert sounds good." He leaned back in his chair, glancing over to the bar. His mind was working hard to find a topic to talk about. A part of him wanted to talk about the actions that took place between them earlier this day. But they were on a public place after all, hugging and kissing might not be a good thing to talk about right now.

The blond took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Feliciano. "The portrait you made for homework... Is that supposed to get published somewhere?" The thought of having a drawing of himself hanging around somewhere in public, for everyone to see, was kind of disturbing. Even if the picture was made by someone so skillful as his Italian friend.

The Italian was completely fine ordering for them both; he motioned the waiter over, ordering two big plates of pasta for them. He couldn't help it; he really liked pasta, and the pasta here was really good! And he made sure to get extra sausage for Ludwig; he would like that, Feliciano was sure!

He was as cheerful and carefree as could be until the question about the portrait threw him off. He blinked a few times, taking a moment to realize what Ludwig was talking about. "Ve? Oh! O-oh..." He squirmed, smiling nervously. Ludwig still didn't know that the portrait wasn't for class at all! He debated on telling the blond for a moment before deciding against it. "Um...n-no! It won't be shown anywhere, i-it was just...practice! S-So the teacher will just look at it, not take it or anything!" He giggled sheepishly, looking away from the blond for a moment. Maybe he should change the subject so Ludwig wouldn't find out?

"So, Ludwig! Um!" He tried to think of a subject change, failing as he could think of nothing to talk about! That was strange, he could always find something to talk about with the German! "Um...ve, well...are we going out now?"

The words flew from his mouth before he could stop himself, the Italian covering his mouth once he realized what he said. That was a bad subject change, Feliciano, bad subject change! He squirmed again, face turning slightly red and he looked down at the table, deciding to roll with it. "Um, w-well, I-I mean, I know this is a date..." His voice lowered a bit, glancing shyly up at the blond. "But I mean...a-are we...um...d-dating?"

The waiter came and put down a beer in front of Ludwig. The blond didn't even need to order it. He was well-known here and every waiter knew that the German had at least one beer with his meal. Ludwig wrapped his fingers around the cold mug, staring into the foam as if it would give him an answer to Feliciano's question. Sadly enough it didn't. That would have made some things pretty much easier.

In Germany there were no difficulties like 'going out' or 'dating'. If you like someone in a romantic way you just make your intentions clear from the beginning on. Building up a relationship in small steps one after the other was nothing Ludwig was used to. Not to mention his nonexistent experience in the topic of romance and affection.

Feliciano was waiting for an answer, Ludwig knew that very well. Would it be a yes? it was obvious that the German liked his Italian friend. Feliciano was cheerful and the time they spend together was something Ludwig always kind of enjoyed. The fact that he was from Italy just proved that Feliciano would be a great mate as romantic partner. Italians were not known as skillful lovers for nothing. On the other hand... The were friends. Wouldn't a romantic relationship ruin it for them? Or would it just add a new, maybe wonderful facets into their being together? But there was still the fact that his possible partner was a MAN! Homosexual relationships were so damn improper, they would have to stand a lot of flaming or bullying. Even in modern times like this. So, what was the answer? Yes or no?

Ludwig sighed, looking up from his beer to meet Feliciano's eyes. The Italian was quite cute actually. So bashful and shy right now. Ludwig had to admit that. He really had to fight down the urge to jump up and hug his friend right now. Hugging Feliciano had felt really good, the kisses even better. The blond had to swallow and turn away his glance, staring at the floor as the memories of the afternoon popped back into his head. Did he really have so much tension boiled up?

"Feliciano..." Ludwig had to swallow again, his voice sounded unnaturally high. "I, uhm.... I must admit that I feel rather confused." He reached up and scratched the back of his head, searching the right words. "Thinking back I have to say that I really.... enjoyed the actions we shared earlier in your room." Embarrassment colored his cheeks with a pink blush. "But right now I feel a bit nervous actually. I am not sure if I can handle the current situation." Ludwig looked up to meet Feliciano's eyes.

"I can not give you an answer to your question... I mean not yet." A slight shimmer of adoration blinked up in Ludwig's blue eyes. "But I... w-would like to give it a try..."

Feliciano couldn't help but squirm as he waited for the other to answer his question, the long silence that had erupted between him almost driving him insane. He knew Ludwig liked to think about things fully before answering, but...it was taking too long! The Italian couldn't stand the tension!

And then the answer he got...was confusing, to say the least.

At first it seemed like Ludwig was going to say no; Feliciano couldn't help but droop at the prospect. Droop? Why was he drooping? Did he really want to date Ludwig that much? Ludwig had enjoyed it, but didn't want to do things like that anymore? What did that mean?

But then the German met his eyes, and...

...the Italian was still confused! But the answer was better than the way things seemed to be going, right? Right? It wasn't a no, but it wasn't a yes...What did that mean? Feliciano sat up a bit in his chair, no longer drooping, leaning in a bit toward Ludwig as he thought hard on his friends words, trying to understand what he meant. "So...Ludwig wants to...try? Because you...liked that kinda stuff we did before?" He worded his words carefully, for both Ludwig's and his own sake. Feliciano would figure it out!

After a moment's pause, he leaned back again, a small and cheery smile on his face, cheek still tinged slightly red with his blush. "Well then...okay! We can try!" It wasn't a no and it wasn't a yes, but it was a maybe? Well, Feliciano could take that! "Then Ludwig can think about it more, I guess!"

Ludwig nodded at Feliciano's questions, not really sure what else to answer. Yes. He would give it a try and maybe... eventually he could get used to the thought of actually loving the one who was his best and closest friend.

"You know..." Ludwig paused his words as the waiter came, putting two plates of steaming Pasta in front of them. He ignored the waiter thinking of the words he was about to say and then continued when the man left them alone. "I still need to figure out all the details of actual dating. This is a pretty new experience for me." He grabbed the fork and poked up a piece of sausage but did not eat it yet. Though he stared at it, kind of glad he had something to focus on instead of aimlessly looking around the room.

"But I know that both partners need to like each other and have some kind of deeper... f-feelings for the other." He shyly glanced up, trying to read Feliciano's expression at his words, hoping he would listen good enough despite the Pasta. "Feliciano... Do you have feelings for me that are strong enough to wanting to really date me...?"

He finally ate his piece of sausage and focused on his friend, waiting for an answer. "I mean... I really don't know how far this will go and what will happen between us, I actually never had a date... before..." Ludwig felt suddenly bashful at this statement and broke his glance from the other, staring down at his plate with a nervous blush.

There was not much that could distract the Italian from his pasta, but Ludwig seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it at the moment! As soon as the plate had been set in front of him, Feliciano had wasted no time in starting to dig into the steamy and delicious food with a happy hum, half of his attention still on the German's words; Ludwig always seemed to think too much on these things!

But then it was obvious that the blond's attention was on him, the conversation taking a different turn again. He paused in his gorging to look back at Ludwig, sauce on his cheeks and eyes wide as he thought on what the German was asking him.

"Do I want to date Ludwig?" He titled his head for a moment, face blank with confusion. However, it only took a moment for a wide smile to replace the look of confusion, cheeks turning the same shade of red as the pasta sauce on his face. "Of course I do! Ve~"

The answer came to him without much thought--he didn't have to think hard about it! But...you were supposed to date someone you like, right? And he really did like Ludwig! he liked spending time with Ludwig, and talking to Ludwig, and eating with Ludwig...and the kisses and hugs felt really nice, so why not date?

Of course, it was a bit strange, since Ludwig kept doing strange things! But...he wasn't unhappy, he was really happy, actually! "I mean, I wouldn't mind it at all, I would like it!" He reached over the table, giving Ludwig a small pat on the shoulder and a bright smile. "You just have to do what feels right, ve! It's not hard!"

What feels right? Did it feel right to date Feliciano with the intension of building up a possible relationship? Of course it did. The hugs had felt right, the kisses also. So maybe this would not be such a bad idea. It might be just Ludwig's mind that was working against him, dragging him into embarrassment and forcing this treacherous blush onto his usually pale cheeks.

"O-Okay... I will try to give my best." Of course he would, Ludwig always gave 100% at everything he did. But this seemed to be so much harder to handle then every touch math test.

Ludwig didn't really know what else to say and so he focused on his dinner, it would be a shame to let this go to a waste. Feliciano would agree to that. Ludwig frowned and stared at his plate while he ate. For some reason the little Italian kept popping into his mind, no matter what he thought about. This was kind of disturbing, but maybe it belonged to the fact of dating? Ludwig had to check that later.

He swallowed one bite after the other, sometimes glancing over to Feliciano, giving him shy and bashful smiles. They were really dating. A weird thought, but not a bad one actually.

The silence was strange, but not completely uncomfortable. He knew Ludwig was thinking (the German was always thinking--didn't he get tired from thinking so much), and the answer was still a maybe, so maybe Feliciano should just let him think some more? Besides, he had pasta! Pasta! So the Italian dug into his own plate of food, pushing back any worries or doubts to the back of his head for now, humming happily and smiling to himself.

But I didn't stop him from glancing up at the German once in a while, catching the blond glancing at him once or twice, bringing a little blush to his own cheeks. This was...new. Strange and new, but not bad! There was just...a lot of thinking to do, right?

There was less excuse for him to keep silent after his pasta was gone (he ate much faster than Ludwig--but it was always so delicious!), so the Italian racked his head for subjects to talk about. It always seemed so easy before--why wouldn't anything come to his head now?

"Ve~ Um, so~ Since I finished my homework, I don't have anything else to do tonight! D-Does...ve, does Ludwig want to do something, then?" He looked at the German, smiling brightly just as he would any other day, words beginning to roll from his tongue in rivers. "I mean, we could do something together! Like, um, watch a movie or take a walk? I know Ludwig said he would try, and we do that stuff anyways sometimes, right? Ah, unless Ludwig doesn't want to!" He raised his arms, waving them slight to get his point across. "I mean, maybe Ludwig is busy? I don't know, do you have all your homework done? We don't have to do anything else! I mean, if you want to, is all! If not, it's okay!"

The Italian scratched his blushed cheek sheepishly, giggling. "Eh heh heh...t-there's always tomorrow, too! So, if you don't want to, it's okay!"

"Tomorrow is school, I don't think we should stay up late to watch a movie. We can do that next weekend." Ludwig didn't really think of the words he spoke, he didn't even notice that he had implied a second date for the weekend. "But we can take a walk after we finished the dessert. That wont take much time and you can still go to bed early and get enough sleep so you wont fall asleep during class again." He leaned back in his chair after finishing his pasta, waiting for the cake to come.

Ludwig relaxed a bit. This doesn't seem to go bad. The date currently felt like a normal meeting, the way they used to gout and eat together before the disturbing affections from the afternoon happened. Feliciano chatted like always and Ludwig listened and answered his friends occasional questions. But the light blush on Ludwig didn't seem to fade away this evening.

The cake came and gave ludwig a new reason to act natural. He was more a man of strong and tasteful food, but cake was nice for dessert and as sweet with coffee in the afternoon. Suddenly Ludwig remembered the notes in his pocket and in his mind he called up the details of dating. Right. He acted TO normal. This was a date after all and so he went back to praising.

"Your choice of food is really good. Thank you very much." He gave a brief nod into Feliciano's direction and gave him a gentle smile.

"Ve, it's not my fault! I get sleepy during the day, especially after lunch! And some classes are really boring and it's hard to stay awake, even if I sleep all night!" Which he did, mostly--the Italian was not one to skimp out on sleep. He laughed, smiling at Ludwig. "But if Ludwig wants me to go to bed early, I can try! And then I'll try really, really hard to stay awake in class!" He would try...he just didn't think he would be very successful!

Feliciano's thoughts were completely derailed at the appearance of their dessert; he barely had time to thank their waiter before he was shoveling bites of cake into his mouth, humming in approval at every morsel. Cake wasn't as good as pasta (in his opinion, at least!), but it was some very delicious cake regardless!

He had to look up as Ludwig broke the silence, confusion stretching across his features again. "Ve? But...we come to this restaurant a lot, and I always get this." The brunet blinked; Ludwig was saying such silly things! But, the German was smiling at him, so it couldn't be bad, right? "But, grazie! I'm glad Ludwig likes it!" Feliciano smiled back brightly, confusion replaced with glee.

It didn't take Feliciano long to finish the cake (much like the pasta; he was just a fast eater!), tongue darting out to lick the chocolate and crumbs from his lips. "But it was good cake! And pasta! That's why I like this restaurant! It's close and has delicious food, ve~"

Ludwig turned his head away from Feliciano, resisting the urge to get a tissue and wiping off the crumbles from the corner of his mouth. He nodded towards the waiter and demanded the bill.
"I would really like a walk right now, we could just take the longer way home. Through the park."
Once the waiter arrived Ludwig payed for them both and then stood up and walked around the table towards his friend, holding out his hand for him to take. He just wanted to help him up, as the advice books had told him to do.

He pulled his friend up and kept holding his hand as they left the restaurant and turned to walk down the street, towards the park. The sun was already setting when they walked down the road silently, Felicinao's hand felt warm against Ludwig's. And it seems to fit so perfectly into his palm as their fingers gently held onto each other.