Chapter Text
"Come on, bella!" Feliciano persisted, pulling the curtains open and letting warm morning sunlight enter the cold room, receiving a groan from the girl who had herself wrapped around white sheets.
"Feli, I know you're trying to cheer me up and all, but I'm perfectly fine" She said, as Oatmeal climbed onto her bed and licked her face.
"But look bella" He gestured at the window "The sun is shining. Let's go outside! Outside is good, si?"
"If outside is so 'good' why do we pay so much money for houses?" She asked with a teasing smirk.
"Um... I dunno but—come on, bella!" Feliciano pulled her arm, "Please? Pretty please?"
"No, not the puppy-dog eyes!" She uttered as Feliciano brandished his strongest weapon: the left-in-the-rain-sulking-puppy-pout.
"Uh, alright. Oatmeal and I could use the exercise" She said, laughing and he jumped back on the ground.
"Yay! I'll go call big brother Romano!" The Italian bounced out the room.
Finally forcing herself up from the bed she washed up and changed into a sweater and jeans. Upon finding Ludwig outside, she greeted him.
"Good morning, too" He replied, reading the newspaper on the couch "Want some breakfast?"
"Sure, what do we have?"
"Uh... sausage, and orange juice, and... more sausage" He said regrettably, remembering that she was vegetarian.
She smiled "Good thing we have a free fruit bowl" She sat down next to him after swiping an apple from the coffee table "Thanks for letting me stay here"
"It's no problem" He reassured "That's what friends do, right?"
"Right" She nodded "But are you sure you don't want me to pay you back my share?"
"Well..." He tapped his chin "You're a good cook"
She laughed "Okay, I'll be your personal chef for the week"
"Bella, you ready?" Feliciano's voice rang from the hall.
"Be there in a minute!" She called back. She patted Ludwig's thigh "See ya later"
"Careful"
"Wanna go shopping, ragazza?" Feliciano asked as they walked pass a boutique.
"Nah, just looking at that salesgirl's makeup tells me that I can't afford a sock from that store"
"Well if you're not going to shop then let's go eat. I haven't had any breakfast yet" Lovino grumbled.
"Sure, what do you guys have in mind?"
"Figures" [Name] whispered as they stood in front of a rustic Italian bistro, "Can we eat in one of the booths? I don't want to leave Oatmeal out here"
"Si, of course. Here" Feliciano pulled out a seat for her and she sat down thanking him. Neither of them heard the older Vargas curse his brother.
A twenty-something-year-old waiter came and handed each of them a copy of the menu, "Good morning, welcome to Pascal's. I'm your waiter, Ross"
"Do you have any recommendations for a vegetarian?" [Name] asked, opening the menu.
"Well, personally, I recommend the pizza"
"Oh, can I have a small-sized one of that?" She smiled at him.
He must've gotten the wrong message because he flashed a flirty smile which did not go unnoticed by the Italian brothers. The waiter bent down to rub the underside of Oatmeal's jaws, "Cute dog"
"Oh, thanks. His [Name] is Oatmeal"
"Oatmeal? That's a nice [Name]. I'm guessing you like oatmeal?"
"How on earth did you know?" She said sarcastically but lightheartedly and they chuckled.
"You know, my mom loved this show—Friends—and they named me after one of the characters" He tapped his [Name] tag "Ross"
"Friends? I love that show!"
"I know, it's great. I love it too—"
Lovino couldn't take any more of it and smacked the menu onto the waiter's stomach "Si, I know and I love tomatoes but you don't see me flaunting it"
The other two gave their orders and Ross left with an awkward bye.
"What a nice waiter" [Name] commented earning baffled looks from the brothers.
"Hey that's it!" She exclaimed.
"What is it, bella?" Feliciano asked.
"I'll apply as a waitress"
"Wait, here?" Lovino asked, almost knocking over a glass of water.
"I dunno, maybe? I wonder if they're hiring..."
"No, no" Lovino protested "You can't work here"
"Why not?" She rested her chin on her palm. Lovino's cheeks glowed red and he looked away.
"Because I don't want him to flirt with you bella!" Feliciano said out of the blue, surprising his companions.
"I'm sorry?" She asked, eyebrows extending upward.
"Because I like you" He said innocently "And I don't want you to date someone else"
"Idiota!" Lovino smacked his head causing Feliciano to cry, snapping [Name] out of shock and forcing her to step in before they could fight.
"So" Feliciano's voice was full of concern "Bella, are you okay? I hear that a snake got inside the bathroom while you were in the tub. That must've been scary"
"Obviously, stupido" Lovino grunted.
"It was but I'm fine" She sipped on her iced tea "No harm done"
"They said that you spent the night crying every time you woke up" Lovino mentioned.
"That was last night but now I'm over it" She waved them off.
"Don't lie, bella" Feliciano patted her hand "We're friends, we're right here for you"
She grinned "I know"
"Is it okay if I take you guys looking for a decent apartment" [Name] said as they—more precisely, the Vargas who insisted—paid for their early lunch.
"What for?" Feliciano asked.
"Well, I can't stay with Ludwig and Gilbert forever" She said "So will you?"
"Of course" They replied in unison. They didn't say it aloud but it was pretty clear that they were thinking "It's better than you sleeping in the same hotel suite with those two Germans".
"Feli—look out!" [Name] grabbed Feliciano and pulled him back to the sidewalk just as a silver sports car came screeching into his path. However, she pulled him too strongly and he ended up toppling over her on the ground.
"That was close" She sighed, but Feliciano remained silent as his face hovered a centimeter just above hers. His face was pink.
"Are you two idiots alright?" Lovino dragged Feliciano off [Name] with surprising strength and offered her a hand.
"We're fine. Feli?" She turned to the younger Vargas who nodded quietly.
"Well, that's taken care of. Let's go now before it turns dark"
"Hey, guys" [Name] opened the door with the spare key Ludwig lent her and went inside the suite with Oatmeal following her. After finding a decent place to live in, she went grocery shopping with the Italian brothers.
"Hey" Gilbert was feeding Gilbird "Where have you been?"
"Just went out with Feli and Lovi" [Name] replied, kicking the door closed before moving over to the kitchen where Ludwig helped her carry the two brown bags.
"Thanks"
"What are these?"
"Groceries. I thought I'd make you guys some supper since I'm your personal chef for the next few days" She started emptying the bags.
"'Next few days'?"
"I went out looking for a new apartment this afternoon and I found one"
Gilbert got on his feet "Wait, what?"
"I know, isn't it great?"
"Um... yeah" Ludwig put his hands on his hips "B-but what's wrong with living here?"
"Nothing. I mean I can't live here forever"
"Yes, but didn't you say that you'd look after New Year?" Gilbert walked over to them.
"Yes but I thought that maybe I'd save you guys the trouble and just move out early—oh, wait. I gotta pee" She scampered to her bedroom with Oatmeal.
"Can you believe this?" Gilbert whispered "She's moving out"
"We both know that this wasn't meant to be permanent, bruder" Ludwig smiled sadly, "I'm gonna miss her... You know when she voke up the first thing she did was ask me what happened to the snake. She was relieved when I told her I handed it over to pest control instead of killing it"
"Hn..." The silver-blonde smirked, "You like her"
Ludwig's cheeks burnt red and he looked away "I do not! I mean I do... just not in the vay you think. Besides...She is your girlfriend"
"What—" The albino paused when he saw [Name] come back.
"Um..." She licked her teeth and fidgeted "This sounds weird but c-can one of you guys stand guard outside the door?"
"Scared?" Gilbert teased.
"No, just... cautious"
"Fine, I'll come with you" Gilbert followed her but not before murmuring to Ludwig "We are not dating"
Once [Name] was inside the bathroom, Ludwig spoke with Gilbert in a hushed tone "What do you mean she's not your girlfriend? Wait... Don't tell me you're playing with her. I knew it! Bruder, how could you? She's our roommate und friend!"
"Vould you stop?" Gilbert murmured "I took her out on a date because she missed dating and I wanted to cheer her up. I'm not interested in an inexperienced granola chick like her—hey!" Gilbert was cut short when Ludwig pinned him to the door, clenching his collar.
"Don't talk about her like that" The blonde hissed "She happens to be one of my friends"
Despite himself, Gilbert smirked "Are you sure that she's nothing more?"
Ludwig's left brow twitched but then [Name]'s voice spoke "Gil, are you okay? I heard a bump"
"... Yeah" Gilbert replied "West just tripped on the furniture"
"Today's breakfast is blueberry pancakes" [Name] slid a tower of pancakes in front of the two Germans who had bags under their eyes. Ludwig was more irritable but Gilbert still had his awesomendrrogant personality.
"Danke, frau" Gilbert gave her a thankful smile before stacking his own plate with the pancakes.
"Maple or honey?" [Name] asked.
"Surprise me"
"Maple it is" She handed it over.
While Gilbert poured—drowned his pancakes with the syrup, she turned to Ludwig who kept poking his breakfast with a fork.
"Ludwig, are you okay?" [Name] sat down between them.
"...Fine" He grumbled, not looking at her.
"He's just upset 'cause of a girl he likes" Gilbert said over a mouthful of blueberries and pancakes.
"What? Why?" She didn't notice Ludwig glaring at his brother. Gilbert shrugged, not answering the girl.
Nonetheless she tried to comfort the blonde "I dunno what's going on but whatever it is, you can tell me"
Before he could reply, Gilbert cut in "He won't admit it but he likes her"
"Shut it, bruder"
[Name] patted Ludwig's arm "I'm not good with advises... usually I'd come up with something sarcastic but I think it's best if you told her"
"Really?" He tilted his head.
She nodded "I mean if she doesn't like you back then... then so what? You're a sweetheart. It's her loss. And if you don't confess you'd end up regretting it. Of course, I rarely take my own advice so..."
There was a knock on the door before he could reply. She stood up, pushing back her chair "I'll get it"
"Kiku?"
The Japanese man bowed "Good morning, [Name]-kun"
"Good morning. Want some pancakes? They're fresh"
"Uh, no, thank you. I came here to invite you to watch new seasons of the anime you've been waiting for"
"Oh, my gosh, really?"
"Hai"
"Great. Let me just grab my purse. Come in" She made way.
"Thank you" He said and she hopped inside her room.
"Good morning, Japan" Ludwig raised his glass, "Milk?"
"Good morning and uh... no thank you"
"Hey, Kiku" [Name] came out with Oatmeal in her arms "Can he come along?"
"Yes, sure"
"Great" She turned to the Germans "I'll see you guys at lunch"
"Bye"
Once the door closed with a click, the phone started to ring and Ludwig picked it up "Yes, hello?" He then looked at Gilbert and covered the microphone "It's that new apartment [Name] applied for. She put us down for references"
Before Ludwig could return to the caller, Gilbert snatched the phone out of his hand.
"Yes, [Name]?" Gilbert scratched his chin "Yeah she's great, but um... she has this dog you know. A really aggressive dog that just loves barking"
Gilbert dodged Ludwig's arms "She also has her own karaoke set. She just loves to sing—in fact, she's a part of this a capella group... Yep, and she's a real party girl, too. Really crazy... Hello?" He then threw the phone on the sofa wearing a victorious grin.
"What the Hell?" Ludwig had his brows creased.
"It's perfect" Gilbert said matter-of-factly "She doesn't get the apartment"
"How's that perfect?"
"For instance; we get extra days with her. Don't you vant that?"
"Of course I do, I love her!" Ludwig's blue eyes widened but Gilbert narrowed his ruby eyes at him.
"I knew it!" Gilbert pumped the air with a fist.
"Look, it-it doesn't matter! She was really happy to have found a new apartment. It's not our choice if she gets to keep it or not"
"You're right, you're right... But we can always find her a new place"
"You mean you'll find her a new place"
"Why me?"
"I have to go handle some paperwork, I'll see you, bruder" Ludwig bit off a pancake and went inside his bedroom leaving a whining Gilbert.