[Archive] Spanish Civil War [Germany, Spain]

[Spain]

Spring 1936

The late morning sun shone through the window of a humble café in Madrid. Lately mornings were rarely as peaceful (hardly any quieter), especially in a country torn by war with itself. Since the elections of 1933, deep bonds that tied the different Spaniards together under one crown found themselves in conflict with each other. There were days when the streets would be filled with riots as people protested against the regime, willing to even shed the blood of relatives and close friends in order to stand up for their views. Fathers fought their sons as best friends killed each other daily in the streets -- all over the country. During days like that, the streets are not only flowing with blood, but filled with wails as women hold the bodies of their lovers or their children all over the kingdom.

But here, the café served as a refuge for those who wanted to get away from the conflict and drown themselves in a cup of freshly ground coffee with a splash of milk. Aside from physically shielding those inside from flying spent shells, it also provided a barrier from the conflict that sometimes took place out in the streets. Occasionally, the patrons would enjoy the beverage with a batch of churros and other pastries. Oddly enough, cheerful banter filled the room, a sign of the fact that the conflict could temporarily cease, albeit probably due to the fact that insurgents had decided that they would launch their next attack in the afternoon. The barista wandered amongst the tables, taking orders from the patrons as needed. His sunny demeanor, coupled with his cheerful tone helped lift the spirit of some of the more weary souls that had wandered into the shop.

"Café con leche," he chirped as he slid the beverage in front of an elderly gentleman, his grin beaming as he placed a basket of freshly fried churros in front of him. The man looked up at the youth in surprise and shook his head as he started to push the basket away. However, it only caused the barista to laugh as he shook his head. "You look like you could use a pick me up, señor, so I thought that I would give you some on me," he said before he leaned in, almost as if to share a intimate secret, "mi madre makes a mean batch of churros if I say so myself, she would cry if you turned them down!"

Satisfied when the man began to consume the churros as he sipped his drink, the barista smiled again before he returned to the counter. However, it was not before a voice called out to him from behind the grinder.

"Antonio! Now is not the time for chitchat, I didn't hire you to have you serve cold coffee!"

The scolding caused Antonio Fernández Carriedo to walk briskly, his long apron sweeping as his long legs carried him across the room. His straight posture only to accent his proud carriage, something that had been instilled in him prior to becoming Reino de España. Running a hand through his rich, chocolate brown hair, the Spaniard leaned against the counter as he looked on at the owner and waved his hand dismissively at him. "I got this under control, no need to worry about the drinks. Look! The milk that was poured into the café is still steaming so we are all good!"

As if to reassure the owner of his capabilities, Antonio smoothly served the orders, using his charming smile on everyone who walked in, albeit unintentionally. When he was done, he returned to behind the counter to help make preparations. As people trickled in, his skillful hands ground the coffee beans, pulling out the drawer to delicately tap the contents into the cup. In the background, he could hear the soft sizzle as uncooked dough is dropped into the pan of hot, boiling oil in the back. It had been a couple years since he had started working at this particular shop, determined to find a second job to help him relieve the stress brought on by the number of conflicts that he had been dragged into the past few decades. Despite he sometimes left the café feeling incredibly exhausted, he could not help but feel a bit satisfied that he was able to be able to put smiles on stranger's faces with what he made.

Sighing happily, Antonio rested his head in his left hand, propped up by an elbow as he kept his eye on the door, the rest of the room in his peripheral as he let his mind wander. For the last month, he had spent the mornings working in the shop, lazily waiting for the next siesta. It was not that Antonio was particularly lazy, but rather it served as a nice break in the day, especially when it became really slow (or when they had to close shop because of the fighting outside). Inside, he wondered about other kinds of people would come in, would they be soldiers, rebels, friends or lovers? A feeling of anticipation sunk deeply in the back of his mind as he softly hummed and waited for the next customer to come in.

Just then, the door chimed as it swung open, causing him to look up, a smile ready in anticipation for the next guest. Tilting his head, he pushed off the counter and smoothed out his apron with his hands.

"Buenos dias, señor, what would you like today?"

---

Notes:
- The research I found said that the Germans didn't really jump in until July, so I figured that having them meet before that happened makes sense?
- I hope that this post is all right! Let me know if you anticipated it taking place... in another way. I'll leave it up to you how you want Ludwig to approach this.

[geist]

Here and there, between the shadows of buildings, the sun fell in brilliant golden stripes, highlighting reminders of a once-beautiful city: a bit of painted tile, the end of a carved cornice or wrought-iron fence, a group of flowers blooming in a small patch of earth. But these were remnants: pieces of a different past that had the fortune to escape destruction, for now. With the escalating tensions, fights appeared to be breaking out in plenty of neighborhoods in the area, at least given the state of things. All of the buildings on this street were pockmarked with bullet holes, and despite the late hour, the area remained eerily deserted, save for one tall figure who had stopped to take a look at some of the damage.

Clad in a long black coat that made his fair complexion and tidy blond hair seem even more pale, he stood in front of a red brick brick wall, damaged just like its neighbors. After a moment, he examined one of the bullet holes with a gloved hand, watching rust-colored fragments break from the hole and settle on his fingers. The political conflict had officially erupted some five years ago, but the momentum on both sides showed no signs of slowing. The current world powers, however, seemed perfectly content to let Spain destroy itself. The country hadn't been a threat for a long time. But that certainly didn't mean that absolutely nobody had been following the story of upheaval in the news.

Shaking the brick dust from his glove, Ludwig Beilschmidt withdrew a piece of paper from his pocket and re-examined the address on it, before setting off purposefully down the street. Old bullet holes were not his concern right now. He had come on a mission, and shouldn't have been wasting time, no matter how confusing the streets of Madrid were. It didn't help that all the locals seemed to be hiding inside - probably from future bullet holes. He doubted he would have been able to ask them for help anyways; he felt like a ghost, completely weird and out of place, in these sun-baked streets.

Emerging from the broken shadows of the alleyway, Ludwig held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden onrush of sunlight; as he did, a café sign across the way caught his eye, and abruptly, he recognized the name as the one written on the paper. He wasn't a believer in luck, but obviously, Ludwig knew, he'd been wandering in the right direction. Shaking his head a little at himself for taking so long to find the café, he crossed the road and let himself inside with a little chime of bells.

"Buenos dias, señor, what would you like today?"

Ludwig recognized the voice before he spotted the familiar dark-haired man behind the counter. It was somewhat reassuring that Antonio didn't appear to have lost any of his energy, even in these uncertain days. The same certainly couldn't be said for the patrons; many of them hardly gave Ludwig a passing glance, their weary eyes focused on their coffees. Inclining his head in greeting after a moment, Ludwig answered.

"Café solo, por favor," he attempted, in rather heavily accented Spanish, before switching to something easier. "Why don't you join me? You look like you could use a break," he added, remembering that Antonio had stood up hastily from leaning on the counter in what Ludwig assumed was weariness. And while the café wasn't empty, the atmosphere was almost forcibly laid-back. A few minutes wouldn't be too much to ask.

A cursory glance around the room revealed an empty table near one of the windows; Ludwig claimed it, sitting a little stiffly in one of the chairs and peeling his gloves off, shaking the last of the lingering brick dust from the leather onto the ground. The street outside this window, too, remained mostly empty, although a few passers-by hurried along it, preoccupied enough not to take their time looking at the scenery - which included more marks of violence. Heaving a short, quiet sigh, Ludwig settled back to wait for the other man to join him.

---

Notes:
- That sounds perfect to me! It looks like a time in which a lot of things were starting to compound.
- Your post was great! I apologize for the delayed reply; it certainly wasn't my intention. I hope this is a good continuation!

[Spain]

This was not a typical customer that he saw every day.

As the door swung open, he could see that the customer was a foreigner, distinguishable by his pale complexion and golden hair. However, that was not the one feature that caused some of the guests, who were more aware of their surroundings, to be any less weary of him. Rather, it was the clothes that hung on his confident frame that was caused the citizens to be alarmed – foreigner. After all, in the past, foreign troops that have come through this country have been less respectful to the locals (such as the French, who wrecked havoc when they were here) and it seemed that the late influx of foreign soldiers entering into the kingdom caused its citizens to feel a bit frazzled. However, it appeared that the man was well aware of his environment since his strides were more cautious as he entered into the room.

“Hola amigo, ¿qué tal?”

Antonio had finally realized that he had been looking a little too long and called out cheerfully to the man as he pushed off the counter, leaving his perch as he walked towards him proudly. It was not as if Antonio gawked at the sight of fair hair, after all, though the Spaniards were known for having a darker complexion due to intermingling with the Moors in the distant past, there were a fair number of Spaniards who bore a pale complexion. Rather, the Spaniard was delighted to see someone who he had not seen in a while. Now that he had thought about it, Antonio could not decide if he had seen the German since he was a child. After all, the man was quite capable of taking care of himself (and his people), however, the brother-complex Gilbert had sometimes made it difficult for Antonio to find enough alone time with Ludwig to chat with others. However, even without engaging in a conversation, the Spaniard was convinced that Ludwig had something that he had wanted to say, after all, the man rarely ever did come here outside the course of business.

When Ludwig replied with, "Café solo, por favor," Antonio beamed proudly, pleased with the fact that the German was able to mutter a few phrases in his native tongue, albeit that it was thickly accented. Granted, the Spaniard generally found it cute whenever someone tried their best to speak Spanish. At least they are a bit more willing than Lovino, who practically needed his teeth to get pulled before he even made an attempt to mutter “hola.”

Taking note of the order, Antonio mentally jotted down the order as he nodded. “Oh, that’s it? Un momento, por favor,” he said in response to Ludwig's request, pausing a bit at the odd request. “Join you?” he repeated, tiling his head as he looked the German in the eye, “well…” After taking a quick look around the room and seeing that everyone had been taken care of, Antonio nodded in affirmation, “sure, let me get you your order.” With that, he returned to the counter, this time to grind a fresh cup of coffee. Taking the beans out, he threw dropped a few into the grinder before churning them until he could smell the general smell of freshly grounded coffee. After pausing to take a few whiffs, he prepared the drink and proceeded to heard back to the table.

“Café solo,” he announced as he slid the drink carefully in front of Ludwig. Pleased with his creation, Antonio slid into the seat opposite of the German and shifted around until he was comfortable, stretching out his legs in the process. Since he did not have a drink for himself, Antonio propped his elbows on the table for a lack of something better to do with them and rested his cheek in one of his hands. Though he looked a bit more lazy this way, he could really care less as long as he was comfortable – at least it would be a nice break before the owner started to yell at him again. Curiosity caused him to gidget in his chair slightly as he cut down to the chase.

“So what brings you to Spain, Ludwig? Though I had to admit this because I think any time is perfect, but I would imagine that you would not usually pick this time to visit Barcelona or Madrid.”

---

- Of course, you write so well, I feel myself tearing up. ;A;

[geist]

The fact that Antonio welcomed his unannounced visit warmly and easily brought some small relief to Ludwig; he had been prepared for suspicion, in fact. Ignoring the occasional curious glances he earned from the other patrons, the German waited patiently for his drink, listening idly to the sounds of the coffee grinder and muted chatter. Although he couldn't identify the topics of conversation, Ludwig knew the atmosphere well. This was Life As Usual: forcing oneself to follow the familiar as the surrounding world splintered. It happened with all wars, affecting most everyone involved, and had turned the lively little café into something of a sanctuary.

Looking up as Antonio joined him, Ludwig took the coffee gratefully and set his hands against the heated porcelain cup, waiting for it to cool a little. "Dankeschön," he replied, inclining his head a little. "But you did not get yourself anything?" Realistically, he knew Antonio still had a job to do, and despite how important Ludwig felt this meeting should be, the Spaniard apparently had yet to realize he hadn't come here as a sightseer. Always a little quick to be suspicious these days, it even crossed his mind that maybe Antonio wanted him out of here quickly. But the other man looked rather like he was enjoying the little break, and Ludwig let his worries fall aside.

"Perhaps I didn't want to deal with the seasonal tourists?" he suggested in an attempt to keep the conversation light. "I don't mind the cold weather so much." In truth, he'd never been to Spain outside of political trips, although he'd always wanted to travel around, especially to see some of the older castles and architecture. The past decade hadn't been kind to him or his wallet, however, and then the economy and politics had started picking up, little by little, so now Ludwig had the money... just not the time. Rotating the coffee cup a little in his hands, he bit back a sigh. Some day in the future, for sure.

"I have to admit I'm mostly here on political business," he explained, picking up the cup at last and taking a sip of the hot, bitter drink. "You probably know that everyone has been keeping an eye on the fighting here. It has a lot of people worried." Spain hadn't been a world power for at least a century, but the political divisions on each side of the fight reflected divisions across the continent as a whole. Ludwig had heard plenty of rumors flowing in from Britain and France about purposefully not taking sides, in order to keep a larger conflict from breaking out.

And the German government couldn't have disagreed more.

Ambassadors had already received a few letters and visits from some high-ranking Nationalist leaders, asking for military support. That had caused quite a lot of debate, but the hatred for Communism and Socialism seemed to have convinced everyone that acting would be a good idea. And just a year before, the German military had been rebuilt; a reoccupation of the Rhineland would begin in another week or so. Ludwig could easily see war on the horizon, and if he and his government helped Spain, Spain would be obliged to repay the favor should things turn sour: the Nationalists had come to them first, after all.

Not that Ludwig viewed any of this poorly. He genuinely liked Antonio, even if the other had a reputation for being rather laid-back; if he could count on his memories, the other had been kind to him when Ludwig had been little. And the German believed there should be no denying the Nationalist forces the aid Antonio's countrymen so obviously needed - it was a cause he himself believed in that the men were fighting for. And at the very least(he could say this from experience now) the brunette certainly made a good cup of coffee.

"How have things been going for you personally?" he asked, setting the cup back down on the saucer with the slight change of topic. "I saw the bullet holes in the walls outside," Ludwig went on, nodding towards the nearest window, "although it's nice to see this place looks intact." While he had to admit he hated small talk, the pleasant atmosphere had swayed his outlook a little; once he'd finished up here, he had orders to return straight to Berlin and to be honest, Ludwig felt like dragging his feet. Work awaited him, and not the pleasant diplomatic kind that involved meeting over coffee in a café. Of course, he wasn't about to disobey orders, but the thought was certainly tempting.

---

;A; You are way too nice. I write like a crazy person because I worry about forgetting my English!

But your post was lovely! Pretty much all the writers on the forum intimidate me with their awesome XD

[Spain]

"But you did not get yourself anything?"

"Oh, don't worry about me!" Antonio said cheerfully, tugging on his apron a bit as he winked, "the boss wouldn't like it if I was drinking on the job, ajaja... but really, you have no idea quickly I would have poured myself a cup if I could. But hey, the Boss is leaving me alone for once so I can talk to you, so I don't mind!" Apparent bias aside,Spanish café was well made and best tasted without any of the added ingredients. but no other shop served it as well as they did here. Perhaps it was something about the water they used and the amount of attention thatwas spent in the preparation, but to him, it was divine. And amongst some other things, this was one of the aspects of Spanish life that had not changed much since the conflict broke out.

"Perhaps I didn't want to deal with the seasonal tourists? I don't mind the cold weather so much."

"Hm?" the Spaniard replied, stranghtening himself up, though his tilted his head in curiosity. Then realizing that Ludwig was (most likely than not) joking, the Spaniard grinned widely as he chuckled; he should not expect anything less from the brother of the Kingdom of Prussia.Gilbert had always shared a decent amount of quick wit and humor whenever they saw each other and so it would not be surprising if the younger German would be the same way. "Well, if you like cold weather, that's good... though I definitely start missing the summer when it gets so cold " the Spaniard whined at the mention of cold weather -- the winter this year killed him, especially when the sun did not come out.

Then his mind drifted over to more seroius matters. Antonio was plesantly surprised to see Ludwig show up by himself, for he was always in the company of his leaders or at least, his brother. Plus, their interactions had mostly consisted of passing remarks, perhaps an exchange of polite greetings. He would have never really expected Ludwig to be paying particular attention to Spanish political affairs, especially since he had descended the world stage over two centuries ago. But considering the fact that his leaders had been depsperately sending out messages for help to practically anyone of some influence, he upposed that there was no real reason to be too shocked that he would happen to know about his domestic woes.

"Oh, did you?" he finally said, smiling a bit sheepishly at the mention of others being worried, "I guess there's not much you can do when the people are looking for a change and others are trying their best to keep things the way they are. We tried to keep this contained, but it looks like it didn't work so well, did it?" He stopped at that point, a small frown playing on his lips as he recalled the political unrest that had taken place all over the country, stories of peasants gunned down as they tried to prevent the Army from chopping down their trees.

"As for myself, I've been all right... I guess I did get a bit feverish a few months ago, but now I'm fine... kind of, doing paperwork when the Boss needs me to... working in this nice little shop. I always wanted to work in one, but it wasn't right for someone like me, ya know?" Antonio replied albeit a bit distractedly. There were things that he could not exactly say outright, he could not bring himself to do so. The economic downturn in Spain was most likely brought out by the huge cold that Alfred had suffered when the United States of America suffered a huge depression. Though he should have probably rested, he had been spending the day working, concerned that if he did not, his people would not make it. They were suffering as much as he was.

Ludwig's mention of the holes in the wall, traces of gun fights that plagued the city was enough, was enough to caused Antonio to tense a little inside. No, it was not as if he was trying to hide the fact that unity amongst the leadership was falling apart, but it was not exactly something that he wanted to explicitly discuss over café. "Oh... the holes in the wall right there, but dontcha think that it gives it a bit of character?" his question was flavored with light-heartedness, hoping that it would help lighten the mood a bit.

No, he was not going to dwell on things like that, it was not like him... nor did he have the time to do so. Suddenly getting up, Antonio smiled at Ludwig and gestured outside. "Have you had a chance to see the city yet? Knowing you, you've probably been busy.. we can walk and talk 'bout things, yeah?" He paused to wait to see Ludwig's reaction before he waved at the manager to indicate that he was going to head out for a bit, taking off his apron. The man's expression dropped a little, but his sharp eye could tell that the German was a pretty special visitor and merely nodded and waved the Spaniard off. Smiling, he waited for Ludwig to be ready before taking his cup from him and placed it at the counter before turning to him.

---

Notes:
- A little messy, but I guess it kind of gives you the feeling of how frantic Antonio felt when talking about this.
- Um. I just kind of took the liberty to start dragging Ludwig around, but he can always fight back and go, wait, what, no!
- I'll leave it to you on where you want them to wander, I figured that he conversation was the important part. <3
- And no, I think you are a great writer! Don't berate yourself! :c

[geist]

As he let the Spaniard ramble on a little about his boss and his job, Ludwig easily masked the awkwardness he felt at being the "guest" in this situation, that he was interrupting Antonio in the middle of work that so obviously clashed with his own. To him, it made no sense that the other's boss would allow breaks but not a little cup of coffee, for as far as Ludwig could tell, there hadn't been any strict rationing imposed. "You might as well enjoy it while you can," he suggested, and then realizing that sounded rather ominous, quickly added, "while you are on a break, I mean." But he quickly let the matter drop. It wasn't what he was here for.

However, Antonio didn't seem too concerned about that subject either. And as extending these trips as long as he could would be Ludwig's vacations from now on, the blond man decided not to interfere. Besides, what "cool weather" equalled in Spain was downright pleasant compared to a German winter. He had never been fond of the heat, although it was plain to see on the other's face that he missed the sun and the warmth: Spain had a reputation for being a sunny country, after all. Ludwig almost felt bad for Antonio, but surely warmer weather would come soon enough, so there was nothing gained in daydreaming of it now.

Upon seeing Antonio's surprise at the news people were worried about him, Ludwig offered a small nod. Truthfully, it was a bit of a lie: the only concern most people had about Spain at the moment was that they wouldn't be dragged into the country's affairs. But that didn't have to mean they weren't worried.

"Ja," he answered. "It is not fair to those so far away from the main conflict, that they have to be dragged into it... but you are not an island. It couldn't be helped." As Antonio frowned unhappily, Ludwig kept his face blank, unsure of what else to say. Conflict had this unhappy way of spreading, as everyone decided to take sides, and he couldn't offer much in the way of advice. In a way, the economic problems that had affected America so recently had worked in the same manner: everyone was just too connected to their neighbors to avoid being hurt. Those times had been especially bad for Germany, and even the wealthiest people were dragged into hardship.

"Mm. I am glad you have recovered a little." Ludwig finished his coffee and set the empty cup aside, wondering if the other was telling the sincere truth. Recently, he'd gotten good at detecting lies, and Antonio's heart didn't seem that into the conversation. The escalation of production in his own country had slowly begin to drag Germany out from under the depressed global economy, but Spain had none of those resources. Perhaps he could persuade his own leaders to offer financial help too... that would sway Spain more easily to their cause.

He couldn't help raising an eyebrow as Antonio wrote off the bullet holes as "character". Character? Well, the holes made the walls unique, certainly, but they also weakened it. If Antonio wanted to be optimistic, that wasn't any of his business, but to Ludwig, the holes were just more cause for concern. Deciding to use that topic as a segue into his request, he was instead cut off by Antonio, who had a suggestion of his own.

"See the city? This isn't a vacation, you know." But he'd been repeating that to himself over and over in his mind and honestly, Ludwig didn't know when he'd get this chance again. After a moment of reluctance, he nodded, "Alright. Just for a little while. It's a pleasant day." Slipping some money onto the small table, he adjusted his gloves and coat and followed the brunette man towards the door of the shop, nodding gratefully to the manager for his understanding. Truthfully, he was looking forward to stretching his legs a little, now that the opportunity had come up. And he could just let his government know that persuading Spain had taken longer than expected.

---

- Sorry for the delay - the earthquakes and nuclear problems here had me completely out of whack for the longest time, and I just didn't feel like I could do this place justice.
- It's fine with me, and Ludwig would love to see the sights!
- All the posts on this forum are still so amazing, so sorry if mine is a little disjointed... I need to write more frequently, get back in the good habit!

[Spain]

As Ludwig stood up, Antonio sized him up, noting that the man was now taller than him, his rigid posture a reflection of his personality. But despite the serious tone that the man had, the undertones of urgency lining his voice as his spoke, the Spaniard could see that the man was merely keeping the interests of others in mind as he voiced his concern. Yet he could tell that the German was feeling antsy, perhaps because of recent developments in Madrid, but probably because of the fact that the last few times his affairs went out of control, the rest of Europe was pulled into the conflict. Granted, these years, Spain was no longer the center of the world, let alone a major mover and shaker. Not to mention, the last few wars were merely succession related or another way to further dissect what was left of the former glory of the Spanish Empire.

Despite the pitiful state that he was in at the end of the nineteenth century, aside from the mild economy-driven illness, Antonio was looking as chipper as ever. Smiling olive green eyes conveniently hid the dark circle that had started to form under these eyes, signs of numerous late nights spent up and trying to strategize and fix the country’s problems. “Thanks for your concern,” he said cheerfully as they walked down the street. For the most part, the street was deserted, with the exception of a few civilians who were not scared off by the fighting that had engulfed the entire region.

Ignoring Ludwig’s comment about vacation, the Spaniard dismissed it with a wave of the hand and laughed lightly. “Now there,” he said, adopting a mockingly defensive tone, “just because you are travelling on business does not mean that you cannot take any time to explore the area. It is our nature to not only be able to serve our masters, but to also gain a greater understanding of our surroundings, or something like that. Someone said that to me a while ago,” Antonio’s voice trailed off in the end as he looked mildly whimsical, his olive green eyes looking off in the great distance before he averted his gaze at the German again. Smiling lopsidedly, Antonio then wagged a finger at the taller man, “And don’t forget, all work and no play makes a German dull, boring and sad. Applies to Austrians a- actually, it can be applied to everyone!”

Mildly proud of himself, Antonio beamed as they walked on, tugging on Ludwig’s arm as he lead him through the Parque del Retiro. Though it was a public area, the place was quiet enough for a serious conversation to be had, though the Spaniard picked this place primarily because he had developed a liking for the fact that it had not quite been destroyed by conflict and a place that he had been frequenting often to take his mind off his troubles. But with the fact that the gardens had been maintained even with the dissolution of the throne, the sight was something to behold in the midst of the chaos.”I’m sorry that you have to see my country in this shape and my people not as cheerful as they would be, but I hope that you would still find this city to be almost as lovely as it would be without all this happening.”

With that, Antonio started to look around until he found a small stone, smooth on the bottom. Deciding that it would do, the Spaniard threw it across the pond, watching it skip as he picked up another and handed it to Ludwig. “Wanna join in?” he said waiting for the other’s reaction before he leaned against the railing, running his hand through his hair as he watched the ripples of water gently across, reflecting the surprisingly blue sky that was filled with white, towering clouds. Then finally, he looked over at the German again, smile on his face as studied his expression.

“So I think that you wanted to talk about something?” he inquired, his eyes inquisitive as he looked back at Ludwig’s sky blue eyes. Considering how serious the man had looked when he had walked into the coffee shop and again, how he wanted to push conversation along, he could only assume that it had to be something that had been weighing on his mind. That in itself, caused Antonio to worry inside, his sides tensing as he contemplated the possibilities before finally forcing the thoughts from out of his mind when he decided that whatever happens would happen anyway. Yet, he still listened intently to the man curiosity gripping him as he waited with anticipation.

---

Notes:
- Oh Dios, stop worry about your posts, I have liked every single on that you have written so far... you have no idea. ;A; You are wonderful, believe it!
- I guess we should get the discussion rolling, yeah?