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

"When you stuff your clothes into the closet like that they'll get crinkled and you'll have iron them again before you can wear them..." Ludwig lifted his eyebrow and just wanted to take the others clothes out of the drawer again to neatly fold them when Feliciano's comment distracted him.
"Huh? Well, I uhm..." The blond blushed and reached up to cover his cross-shaped necklace with his palm. Usually it was not visible and covered by his shirt. For a second he thought about buttoning his shirt up more. These clothes made him slightly embarrassed, making him feel oddly uncomfortable.
"I thought casual clothes would fit better for a special day like today." Ludwig took in a deep breath to calm himself and straightened his shoulders, giving Feliciano's hand a slight squeeze.
He turned his head and took a closer look at his friends outfit. "You look nice too..." Ludwig's voice was more a mumble and he turned his head away again to hide his spreading blush. The Italian looked really good. Fashionable but still cute.

"We should leave." Ludwig's glance had ended up at the door and he suddenly remembered the time. "So we can eat something before the movie starts." He tugged Feliciano's hand slightly. "Are you ready?"
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I decided to see a movie. ewe -dark place and stuff-

"I think the casual look works for you! It makes you look...handsome and cool! Not that Ludwig doesn't look that way all the time, but maybe the clothes just make you look...more cool?" He didn't know why Ludwig was acting so strange, the clothes really did suit him! But the Italian blushed at the other's barely audible compliment, squirming with delight and giving the hand a squeeze in return. "Eh heh~ But, grazie, Ludwig! I wanted to look nice for tonight since it's special and all! And if Ludwig likes it, then I must've picked right!"

Feliciano nodded at the German's suggestion--he didn't want to leave late and not get to eat! Dinner was important, and if he didn't get to eat, he wouldn't be able to enjoy the movie as much because he would be distracted by his stomach! "I'm ready to go!" He reached over with his free hand to grab his jacket from the chair, draping it over his arm. "I hope the restaurants and stuff aren't too crowded!"

The brunet reached to open the door, but paused for a moment, turning around to stand on his tip-toes to give Ludwig a quick kiss on the lips. "I didn't get to give you a "hello" kiss, yet!" He smiled up at the German for a moment, cheeks tinged with a slight blush, before turning away to open the door, leading the other out into the hallway.

A little smile ghosted over Ludwig's lips to answer Feliciano's kiss. But he reached up with his free hand and rubbed his cheeks against the blush right afterwards.
"I called the bar next to the cinema and pre-ordered a table. So we wont have a problem to get one." Ludwig kept holding the others hand. It had become casual for them to be seen like this so the blond didn't cared about everyone seeing them holding hands. "It might still be crowded but we will have our own table."

Ludwig leaded his friend out of the building and down the street. The mall with the restaurants and the cinema was not to far away, but they still needed to walk about 15 minutes to reach their place of destination.
The blond lightly rubbed his thumb over the back of Feliciano's hand. The sun was about to set already and since it was just February the air was chilly. Ludwig turned his head, glancing down at the smaller man next to him.
"Are you cold? You should maybe put on your jacket..."

The brunet nodded at the German's layout of the evening, content to just grip his hand and let him lead him wherever they were going. Ludwig was much better at planning than him anyways; he hadn't even thought to make reservations or anything! But luckily the German did, and Feliciano was sure everything would go well, so he just continued to swing their arms as they walked, humming and hugging himself to the German against the cold.

"Ve?" He looked up at Ludwig as he mentioned the jacket, almost forgetting that he had grabbed it in his excited rush out of the room. "Oh yeah!" The Italian let go of Ludwig's hand, sliding his arms into his jacket and buttoning up the front, patting himself down before reaching to grab the hand once again. "I guess I should've brought gloves too, I forgot it was this cold outside!" He readjusted his scarf with his free hand, stuffing it into his pocket to keep warm.

"Does Ludwig know what movie we're going to watch?" There had to be some good movies showing at a time like this!

Ludwig tightened his hold on Feliciano's hand and lifted it slightly to let both their hands slide into the pocket of his jacket. This way they wouldn't need gloves to keep their hands warm.

"There were a lot of cheesy romantic movies in the program of the movie theater for tonight." Ludwig frowned as he leaded his friend around the corner and over the huge square place by the mall. It was surrounded by shopping places, cafes and restaurants. The theater and their restaurant were on the other side of the place so they had to cross it and pass by the fountain.
Ludwig stopped and turned half to Feliciano, looking into the splattering water of the well beneath the fountain.
"No really intellectual movies were shown. So I choose an action related film. It is about the attack of Pearl Harbor during the second world war."
He turned his glance away from the fountain and towards the smaller man to look at him.
"Did you pay enough attention to the history lessons to know what it is about?"

Feliciano looked around the plaza, amazed at how many couples were already out and about, sitting together, holding hands, and even the occasional passionate kissing scene (which only made the Italian blush a bit, turning back to the conversation at hand).

"Pearl Harbor..." The name was familiar, and memories of the advertisements for the movie with that name filled his mind moments later, making him crinkle his nose a bit. The only thing that he could remember about the film were explosions and gunfire, two things Feliciano wasn't fond of.

"I-Isn't that a war movie? Isn't it scary?" He moved even closer to the German, hugging himself to his arm. The Italian would've honestly much preferred one of the cheesy romantic films Ludwig had mentioned; at least no one got killed in those.

"It is an historical film Feliciano..." Ludwig opened the door of the bar where he had ordered a table. "It is set during the second world war, but it is not all about the war." He held the door open so his friend could enter and closed it behind the both of them.
"The summary said there will be also a love story. I think they don't show movies without romantic background today."
The blond turned to a waiter that passed by and let him show the table that was set for them.
He pulled one of the chairs back to offer it for Feliciano to sit down.

"Of course I didn't read the full summary of the movie. It wouldn't be interesting to watch if I'd already know all of the storyline."
Ludwig took the seat on the other side of the table and ordered drinks for them both. A beer for himself and a glass of mild wine for Feliciano.
By now he had paid enough attention to the others usual choices to know what the Italian liked.

Feliciano took the offered chair with a smile, plopping down and scooting closer to the table to scan the menu--even though he would probably get something pasta related, he was sure. It was just too delicious to pass up!

But he still wasn't completely convinced by Ludwig's choice of movies. A historical war film on Valentine's Day? Even with a love story, that wasn't very romantic! War stories were just sad and scary, he'd rather just see a romance-romance without the guns! "Historical films make me sleepy though...and this one just seems scary if it's about war! Even with a romance! What if the lovers never get together or someone died, that would be too sad!"

He was distracted for a moment by the wine, taking it from the waiter--good food and drinks could distract him from the worst of thoughts, which his mind was certainly doing now. The Italian took a sip, letting out a hum of consideration. "Ve, but maybe it wont be that bad...do you think you'll like it, Ludwig?" At least if the German liked it, he couldn't be completely upset with the choice!

"From the movies they offered today I think I'd like the one I choose the best." Ludwig took the menu-card himself and scanned it for a good meal. "And if you fall asleep I'll wake you up. No worry."

The blond ordered potato salad and boiled Wurst for himself. Feliciano's choice of food was left open. The Italian could best order for himself.
Ludwig dropped the card onto the table and let his eyes roam though the room. Every table was used and the waiters kept themselves busy by bringing food and drinks.
The blond took closer attention to the other guests and observed if one of them are known by him.
But all he could see were couples that were only focused on themselves. Soft smiles were shared and hands were held.
Ludwig swallowed dryly and took his glance from the other guests. He could feel a blush creeping up into his cheeks. His attention was now focused on their own table and he watched Feliciano while the other ordered his own food.

Feliciano's hands were so unsteady and restless... He flailed and moved them while talking to the waiter and Ludwig wondered if he would have the change to hold one of these hands during their date like the other couples seemed to do so easily.

Knowing Ludwig would at least be happy with the choice did make Feliciano happy, just as he thought. At least Ludwig would have fun, and Ludwig need to have fun much more than he did! Although, if he fell asleep, he wasn't so sure he wanted to be woke up...at least he might be able to sleep through all the scary war stuff!

The Italian looked up at the waiter after a moment of glancing over the menu, ordering his favorite dish--pasta, of course, a shrimp and basil pasta that looked absolutely delicious at the moment. And he was sure it would taste good--it was such a nice restaurant after all!

Feliciano looked around for a moment, appreciating the atmosphere. So many nice couples together, with such nice music and such beautiful decorations and warm colors surrounding him...It was very romantic! He bounced in his seat, heart feeling light at all the nice feelings. Valentine's Day was just too wonderful!

"Well, we can worry about the movie after dinner! Ve, this is such a nice place~" The brunet looked at the blond, an unbelievably bright smile on his lips. "Maybe one day I could own a nice restaurant. Or a studio! Hmm, maybe it would be too hard to cook and paint, though, and owning a restaurant seems like a lot of work..." He rambled on, excitement getting the best of him and making him scatterbrained, hands flailing as he tried to emphasis his points to the German. "But wouldn't it be so cool to be a chief? Would Ludwig eat at my restaurant? I want to make you a lot of amazing food!"

Ludwig tried really hard to pay attention to Feliciano's chatting but his mind and eyes kept wandering off towards the other couples in the room.
Why did they seem to feel so much more comfortable then the blond did right now? No, he was not ashamed to be here with his Italian friend on such an evening, but somehow it was still unfamiliar.
He shrank a bit into his seat and placed his hands in his lap. It should be better to turn his focus back towards his partner and Ludwig turned his head to look at Feliciano.

"Oh, Of course I would eat at your restaurant if you would own one." The blond frowned slightly and tilted his head. "Though I am planning on working for the German government when I am done studying. That is supposed to be a lot of work, so it would be better if your restaurant would include delivery service so I can order food made by you." Ludwig was not sure if that made sense to Feliciano and if his friend was paying enough attention to actually understand Ludwig's words.

The waiter came and delivered their food with a bright grin which Ludwig answered with a confused scowl. Did that man have a reason to grin at the both of them like that? But it didn't matter for now since the man anyways left them alone with their meals.

"This looks delicious as always." Ludwig tugged his plate closer to himself and turned it so the sausage was facing him.

"Delivery?" The Italian thought of the logistics of this as the waiter brought the food to the table, Feliciano making sure to compliment how wonderful the food looked before the waiter could leave. "Ve it looks so delicious~" He couldn't resist picking up his fork and taking a bit, humming in delight at the flavor. It only made him wish for a big kitchen to cook in at school--it had been so long since he was able to cook a nice, big meal for people.

And thinking of cooking made him remember his earlier line of though, dropping his fork onto his plate for a moment. "Ah, but it would be hard to deliver stuff like this, wouldn't it?" He gestured at their plates, a little frown on his face. "It would get all cold and mixed up! But...ve, if Ludwig is working and not eating, then I can try to send him something special!" Feliciano gave himself a nod, serious pout on his face. "Because eating is important, especially if you're going to be that busy!"

The Italian leaned in excitedly, a bright smile back on his face in a matter of seconds. "But! You have to try to come into my restaurant in person, at least once! I could personally make you a special meal! I'll even practice some German cuisine for you!" The more the idea of owning his own restaurant grew in his head the more ecstatic Feliciano became, dreams blowing up out of proportion.

"If I owned a restaurant I might not have time to paint, but maybe I could paint the walls all nice, and hang pictures! Ah, it would be so cool to repaint every year, don't you think? I guess it would be a lot of work though, but fun, too!"

"Owning a restaurant would fit you well." Ludwig nodded and cut a piece of his sausage to eat it. It wasn't as good as the sausages in Berlin, but it was a good after all. The blond chewed and frowned while he pondered his next reply to Feliciano.
"Is that all you are studying for?" He swallowed down his bite and took an other one, this time from the potato salad.
"I mean, your plans for the future. Haven't you thought about what to do after your done with school?" Ludwig himself had every detail of his future life for the next few years planned. At least of his work-life. Private life was something else. He seemed to be not able to plan that ahead. As his relationship with Feliciano proved.

"Having your own restaurant sounds like a nice idea, but are you really working on fulfilling this plan?" Ludwig looked up to face his partner while he took an other bite of his now half-eaten meal.
What were the others plans for the future? And was Ludwig part of it? That was something the blond worried about. Since his life was planned ahead so far, it would be necessary for Feliciano to adjust his own plans to Ludwig's. At least if they wanted to stay together...

Not that Ludwig was worried about the future of their partnership, but he kind of wanted to know what Feliciano thought about this.

Plans? For the future? The thing he was studying for? Feliciano had to pause in gorging on his pasta to begin to wrap his head around the waters Ludwig had begun to steer their conversation into.

"Well...eh heh..." The Italian scratched his cheek as he thought--though there wasn't much for him to think about at all. As to be expected, Feliciano wasn't much of a planner. It was hard enough for him to decided what to wear the night before, let alone big issues like his future. "...I don't really know! I mean, it would be nice to own a restaurant, and I really do like to cook...but I guess I'm not doing much to prepare for it. It looks like a lot of hard work!"

It wouldn't be bad to have a plan, he supposed...but why make everything set in stone? How could he explore and discover new things he liked if he was set on one path?

...And besides, the classes he would have to take to achieve such a goal would be boring!

"What if I change my mind and want to be a painter? Painting would be fun for a living too! I wouldn't be able to feed people, but at least they could have something nice to look at? And it seems like a lot less work than owning a restaurant! That, and I could siesta throughout the day `till I found inspiration!" The Italian let out a little laugh, shoveling more pasta into his mouth again. "But I haven't really thought of what I want to do after graduating...it's too hard!" He still had a lot of time until after school, right?

So Feliciano did not really have any settled plans for the future. Fine. That could make it easier to find a way to stay together after school would be done for both of them.

Though Ludwig was possibly to far into the future with his thoughts. He should focus more on what was going on right now. With a few last bites he finished his meal and sat back into the chair to let his eyes briefly roam over the room and observe the other guests once again. The atmosphere had become a slightly bit more private between the other couples around them. The most of them had also finished their meal and now had gentle conversations with each other. The girls where mostly blushing and giggling, possibly because they got nice compliments from their partners.

That could be something to try out for Ludwig... He turned his attention back to Feliciano who was fully focused on the last bites of his pasta. The blond eyed his partner from the corner of his eye, trying to think of some compliment to address him with.

Ludwig cleared his throat and awkwardly fumbled with his napkin. "Uhm, Feliciano..." He immediately noticed that his voice did sound unsteady, but he could not really do anything against it.

"It doesn't really matter if you become a chef or an artist, you are very good at both jobs." Ludwig blushed in embarrassment and kept his look down on the napkin in his hands.

"Ve?" The Italian looked up from his pasta again (he was so close to finishing it off--it was too delicious) as Ludwig cleared his throat, confused by the stutter in Ludwig's voice. It was cute, but Ludwig had been acting off all evening. Of course, Ludwig always acted this way when it came to dealing with his affection (something Feliciano knew long before they had even began to go out), but Feliciano could never truly understand why.

However, the compliment did please him.

"Eh heh, you think so?" He beamed at his date, squirming with joy. "Grazie, Ludwig!" Knowing that he wasn't the best in many things (especially academically) only made Feliciano feel more pride for his cooking and art--and a compliment on his efforts almost made his heart flip.

Feliciano finished of his pasta in a few more bites, washing it all down before continuing. "I'm sure Ludwig will be really good at your...government thingy, you're really smart, after all!" The Italian wasn't sure what Ludwig would be doing exactly, but was there anything Ludwig couldn't do?

"It is not a 'government-thingy'." Ludwig leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms, closing his eyes with a sigh.
"I am working on a career as secretary in the political main office of Berlin. When I'm doing well, I can become private secretary of the German chancellor. Whoever it will be by the time I'll reach that goal."
Ludwig opened his eyes and glanced over to Feliciano, feeling comfortable in the conversation now.
"My work will be to organize meetings and make sure my boss will be updated about important news. I will be able to travel a lot at the side of high class politicians and meet important people all over the world."

The blond reached up and scratched his chin in thoughts. "Before collage I considered to join the army and become a soldier. But the army is absolutely overrated these days. Conflicts are not anymore solved by war, but by words. Politics are way more important in these modern times then guns and tanks."
Ludwig didn't seem to notice that he lost himself in his rant. He didn't even took notice to the waiter when he came to take away their empty plates.
"I am sure that I can have a more successful career in politics then I can have in the army."

Everything that Ludwig had said only confirmed his thoughts that, yes, Ludwig was doing some government-thingy after all. It was all politics, and politics were all the same to him!

"Well, being a secretary sounds less scary than being in the army! You don't have to deal with guns and fighting..." The Italian shook his head at the mere thought. He would never go into the army if he could avoid it--and he was glad Ludwig wasn't going to either! It would just be a constant worry for Feliciano. "Fighting isn't worth it! I'm sure whatever Ludwig does will just be as helpful!"

He reached over the table to pat the German's hand, smiling brightly. "And I'm sure you'll do really well! Politics wont know what hit them when you get out of school!" Another encouraging nod and a pat on the shoulder had Feliciano flop back into his chair, taking a sip of his drink. Ludwig was just as prepared as he was unprepared for life after school...but tonight was no night to think of such things! Feliciano pushed such questions to the back of his mind, eyes wandering to the dessert menu the waiter had left on their table during Ludwig's rant, mouth salivating.

"We should get some cake, Ludwig? We can share it if you want!"

Ludwig's eyes followed Feliciano's glance towards the dessert menu. He had just finished his meal and was yet not done with his beer. Ludwig didn't really feel like having dessert. Not that he didn't like sweets. Just not now.
The blond took the menu anyways and observed the offers. But he couldn't find something for his liking.

"No dessert for me." Ludwig dropped the menu and looked at Feliciano while he leaned back in his chair. "I was planning to have snacks in the cinema to eat during the movie. Dessert would be to much for me now."
The blond fixed his partner with a glance and gave him a small, short smile.
"But you are open to order dessert for yourself if you want to. There is still enough time to have it before we need to leave to be on time for the movie."

A brief glance at his watch proofed Ludwig right. Still about one hour until they had to be at the cinema. And since the cinema was right next to the restaurant anyways, they would be on time for the movie for sure.

Dessert or no dessert, Feliciano would probably still want snacks at the cinema too (popcorn was good when watching movies, and he'd need plenty of distraction during the scary parts). But there was just a chocolate cake on that menu that was calling to him.

"Then I'll get something and if you change your mind you can have a bite!" He snatched the menu back up from the table, staring at the cake he could already almost take. Chocolate drizzled in chocolate syrup and topped with whipped cream and strawberries...How could Ludwig resist dessert when there was stuff like this on the menu?

The waiter was soon in beckoning range and the Italian called him over, bouncing in his set as he ordered his chocolate delight. "Everything else was really good here, I'm sure the dessert will be just as tasty! I hope it doesn't take long..." He glanced back at the kitchen--maybe if he stared it would get here faster?

"The cake is surely already baked and just need to be cut and served." Ludwig leaned back in his chair and placed his hands in his lap. "They might need to whip the cream though, but even that might not take long."

And Ludwig had been right. The waiter appeared quite soon with a plate of delicious looking cake. It was as nicely decorated as the picture in the menu was showing it off. The strawberries on top of the whipped cream formed a heartshape. Possibly to celebrate todays special event of valentines day. The man put it down in the middle of the table right between Ludwig and Feliciano. Then he set up a huge grin and placed two forks along. One in front of Ludwig and an other one in front of Feliciano. The man nodded at the two and then left to hurry back to serve the other costumers.

"Huh?" The blond frowned and looked back and forth between the fork and his partners face. The confusion in his face was barely hidden. "Why do I get a fork too?"
Ludwig picked up the fork and gazed at it with a slight tilt of his head. "It was you who ordered the cake." He turned his head into the direction the waiter had disappeared into, but the man was nowhere to seen.
"Did he think we were planning to share this cake?"

Ludwig looked up to Feliciano, his expression still rather confused.

"I guess he thought we were sharing or something!" Feliciano shrugged, not minding if there was an extra fork or not--the cake already looked like it was too good to be true! "I told Ludwig I don't mind sharing--and look, you already have a fork now!"

But the Italian wasn't going to waste anytime trying out the tantalizing dessert. He swiped a finger into the whipped cream and sucked it into his mouth, letting out a hum in delight. It had to have been made fresh to be this good. "Even the topping is good! Ve~ The cake must be amazing then!"

Feliciano picked one of the strawberries from the heart, making sure to swirl it into the whipped cream before popping it into his mouth with another noise of pleasure, closing his eyes in bliss. "Even the strawberries taste fresh! You picked out a really good restaurant, Ludwig! The dinner was delicious and the dessert might even be better!"

The Italian picked another strawberry and covered it in whipped cream a bit, barely noticing the bit that covered his fingertips. "You should try it, Ludwig!" He held the berry out to his date, giving him an encouraging smile. "I know you said you were holding out for snacks, but one bite can't hurt, right? Try it, try it!"

Ludwig backed away a slightly bit and gazed at Feliciano with a frown, a blush spreading over his cheeks*
"D-Don't eat with your fingers." What was the smaller man thinking? This was a public place after all. "You've gotten a fork, just like me!" Ludwig held his own fork up to show it to his partner.
His eyes were still locked to the other man, but Ludwig found his blue eyes soon fixed on the strawberry Feliciano was holding out to him. Again these fingers. Just a few moments before they had been licked by the Italian himself, the whipped cream sucked off these slender, skillful digits.
Ludwig's mouth was suddenly oddly dry and he had to swallow and blink a few times to keep his focus.

"I said..." The blond was still transfixed by the sweet fruit that was held out to him, his eyes gazed mesmerized at the cream that flew over the berry, threatening to drip down onto the white of the tablecloth. "...use a fork..."
He leaned a bit closer, his eyes briefly turning to Feliciano to give him an unsteady glance. Did his partner notice Ludwig's uneasiness? He must at least tell by the fierce blush that now covered both of the taller mans cheeks.

He needed to end this situation before anything weird or embarrassing could happen.
Ludwig could just yell at Feliciano and scold him because of this behavior. But in this public place it would just cause the others guests to turn their attention towards the dating couple. Not a good idea then.
The blond swallowed again and decided it would be the best to play along. He opened his mouth and closed his lips around the strawberry. For a brief second he could feel Feliciano's fingers in his mouth, against his lips and some of the cream melted on his tongue before he drew back and turned his gaze towards the table in front of him, chewing the sweet fruit while his heartbeat drummed in his ears and static blurred his thoughts.

"Why use a fork when it's just a strawberry?" Feliciano knew his boyfriend was easily flustered, but it was just a strawberry, right? "Just try it, I'll use the fork on the actual cake!"

Ludwig really seemed embarrassed about it though--the blond's cheeks had turned the cute shade of pink they got when the German was uncomfortable (which seemed to happen a lot around him for some reason!), but Feliciano couldn't fathom why! It was just a strawberry!

He had to laugh a bit when Ludwig finally indulged though, his lips barely tickling Feliciano's fingers as he took the fruit from them. So much hesitation over a strawberry! Did Ludwig hesitate like this for all he's desserts? He had never noticed it before--maybe it was a way he kept so muscle-y. Feliciano had no qualms against eating lots of dessert, of course.

"Well? Did it taste good?" The Italian stuck his fingers in his mouth, sucking away the remaining cream before picking up another strawberry for himself, plopping it in his mouth. He tilted his head a bit as he chewed, trying to catch the German's glance as he stared at the table.

Ludwig answered Feliciano's question with a bashful nod and kept his glance fixed at the table. He is right. It is just a strawberry, nothing weird and nothing to worry about. Why is this dessert so damn embarrassing? The blond kept telling himself to calm down while he swallowed the bite in his mouth down heavily. He seemed to build up some kind of tension and Ludwig didn't like it. There was actually no reason to be nervous. They were on a date, nothing special. Just Feliciano and himself. They would finish eating and then walk to the cinema and watch the movie. Ludwig would take his boyfriend home, kiss him good night and that would be it.

But still... something kept tingling in the back of his mind as he lifted his head back up to look at his partner. Ludwig couldn't put a finger onto it, but it was still there. A lingering thought about something more then just a casual goodnight kiss. A distracting craving for something deeper and more intimating.

"It was delicious, yes." The blond managed to bring up enough nerves to finally answer Feliciano's question. "Please finish your cake soon, I don't want to be late for the movie." Ludwig gave the other a shy smile while he leaned back into his chair and stretched out his legs under the table.

He shifted his legs to cross then as his foot brushed against something firm. Possibly the leg of the table... Ludwig tapped it briefly and just kept his foot there while his glance trailed back to Feliciano's half finished dessert.