[Cologne] Do to others as you would have them do to you (Ludwig)

They were leaving the landing. Bruno stood at the tail of the boat and watched the skyline of the city. The departed from Cologne Cathedral. Soon  Great St. Martin Church came into view and soon enough he got to see his favourite view - the old Gothic cathedral, the Romanesque church and the Rheinauhafen with its Kranhäusern. Bruno liked to see the contrast between the Gothic and Romanesque mixed with modern architecture. This view which only lasted for a couple of minutes was the only thing he could really appreciate on these boat rides. Once the boat got further down the Rhine and there was nothing spectacular to see anymore, the boy couldn't but focus on the ongoings aboard.

Even though he was of age now, Bruno still felt like he always had when it came to the family business that made his parents so proud - he found it terribly embarrassing. He did not want to entertain a group of frustrated middle aged couples. This was not his thing. While he had no problem with the nautical aspect of the business this was hardly what he wanted to do  after graduation. His parents had asked him if he wanted to become the captain of the boat one day and the boy had refused. In fact, saying that he had refused did not quite cover the intensity of his reaction. The seventh year had found quite a few drastic words to express his feelings on the matter.

However, Bruno was not entirely sure what he really wanted to do with his life - aside from finding his own place and leading his own life mostly disconnected from his family, of course. The boy was still in denial of his true feelings. No matter how tough Bruno Baumann tried to appear, he was secretly longing for appreciation and love - also from his family. He knew he wouldn't get it. He wasn't the type of guy that his parents would be proud of and his siblings? Well, Sieglinde was definitely not looking up to her big brother and Ludwig? Ludwig loathed him and it was all Bruno's fault.

The boy turned around once the Cologne Cathedral was entirely out of sight. Only now he realised the music, the lampions, the crowd... The boy had long stopped to try and put on a smile. He watched some couples dancing on deck, heard the laughter of a small group of people, passed a couple that leaned against the rail kissing passionately. Nobody but him seemed to be alone. Nobody but him and his brother. He spotted Ludwig standing there alone as well and a lopsided grin spread across his face. His parents had not stopped talking about Ludwig's new student position over lunch. However, as Bruno stepped closer to his brother no snarky comments came to his mind. In fact, Bruno had a strange feeling that he had trouble to interpret. Was it jealousy? No, it was not that kind of negative feeling. In fact, he felt rather... fond of his brother. The closer he came to the Ombrelune, the clearer became the shocking fact that he was indeed proud of his little brother.

"Hey," he said calmly as he reached his brother and gave him a soft but awkward pat on the shoulder. "You know... mum and dad might be really awkward in expressing how they feel about you being the new musketeer but..." his voice trailed off and he turned to watch the scenery. He could not say it, could he? If he told his brother how he felt, Ludwig was bound to take this the wrong way. The Bellefeuille suppressed a sigh. "How do you really feel about it? Are you happy?" He turned to face his brother gain. He was really interested in hearing the answer and if anyone looked at him properly his face showed sincere concern. He could imagine that for his brother this was less of an honour than a burden but he could be wrong, of course. They were not that close, after all. This sudden realisation made Bruno feel somehow sad. What would happen after he graduated? Would they stay in touch at all? It felt quite strange to think of a life without his little brother whom he could tease and whom he still didn't want to miss. Even though he would never admit it, he could not bear the thought of anyone but him teasing and tormenting his little brother. 


@Christine
I hope you can work with this. Let me know if any changes are necessary. <33

Every day this summer had been the same: wake up, avoid the family, study, get on the boat, avoid the family, study, go to bed. Ludo didn’t mind; he liked the routine. But today? Ludo didn’t like today, he didn’t like the lack of routine. They had received their school letters that morning and as usual in a house with little privacy, their mother had opened them to compile their supply lists, arrange any hand me downs they already owned, check up on Bruno’s surprisingly passable exam grades.

Ludo hadn’t been expecting anything special. Sure, he knew there would be a new Musketeer as the last had graduated, but he wasn’t expecting his mother to bring him the news that Beauxbatons wanted him. Or, Maxime ‘cordially extended an invitation to become’ Ombrelune’s musketeer -- he wasn’t sure which method of hearing the news was worse -- and his mother had already replied that he would accept.

His father shook his hand; his mother smoothed a stray bit of hair off his forehead. They were proud, or as close to it as possible, but there was still a business to run and no matter what sort of ‘accomplishment’ he had made, he was still expected to work. Thankfully Sieglinde was the people-person, and Ludo really only needed to take tickets and give the little lecture about life jackets.

He should have been studying, but he couldn’t focus. Ludo rested his forearms on the railing, staring down at the water and how their boat was cutting its way through it. It was mesmerizing almost, interesting in a way that it usually wasn’t, probably because he knew he ought to be doing something else.

Ludo turned at the sound of his brother’s voice, blinking twice as he looked from the hand on his shoulder to Bruno’s face. He didn’t respond immediately, really having no space left in his brain to also deal with whatever Bruno had to say to him. But whatever he was expecting -- a threat to throw him overboard, showing him the newest spider he had found, telling him dad wanted Ludo to clean the toilets -- was not what Bruno had to offer. Mum and Dad were awkward? Bit of an understatement, right? Ludo nodded, watching his brother even after he turned away.

“Am I happy?” How did he feel? Was he serious? What was the catch? “Of course not.” Bruno’s face was weird, not filled with the usual contempt Ludo was used to seeing. “Do I look happy?” He was sure he didn’t, but it wasn’t like Bruno to know the difference. “If they think I’m going to lead a first year by the hand to his class…” He trailed off and shook his head, sure that Bruno would say something like ‘I’d pay to see that’ and he really wasn’t in the mood. Was Bruno looking for some sort of reassurance that they would see less of each other this coming year, what with all the additional responsibilities he would have?

He shrugged and resumed his leaning on the railing. “I don’t have time for this. Mum didn’t even ask before telling them I’d do it.” He assumed it was the sheer fact that there was no real exit from this conversation -- except over the railing -- that was making him so talkative.

Bruno did not want to be an exemplary big brother. He did not strive for family harmony. It was way too engaging to quarrel with his little brother and that worked better when Ludo thought that he was not his friend. Yet, sometimes Bruno wanted to spend time with his younger sibling, sometimes he wanted Ludo to confide in him. Admittedly the Bellefeuille did not really know how to achievev this while still keeping up the facade. The Ombrelune was after all quite different from him and also suspicious as soon as he approached him. Truth be told, Bruno had asked his parents once, when he had been younger, if they were really related. While he had not made a blood test to prove that they were brothers, Bruno had come to accept it as a fact anyway.

Ludo nodded and did not seem too appalled by his approach now. It was reassuring in a way. Now that Bruno was about to start his last year at Beauxbatons he thought about his future quite frequently. He could hardly wait to move out of his parents' place but what did that mean for his relationship with his brother? He would not go as far as wishing to have Ludo move in with him after he'd graduate but he still feared that they'd part ways and only meet for Christmas or other such occasions in the future.

As his little brother said that he was not happy at all, Bruno nodded thoughtfully. That was exactly what he had feared. Their parents were almost enthusiastic but he had felt quite positive that Ludo was not excited at all. He wondered how he himself would have felt in such a situation. However, he probably had too much of a bad boy reputation to be honoured with a student position. While the staff sometimes picked outsiders they did not want students as mousquetaires that were trouble makers. Nonetheless, Bruno tried to imagine how it had to feel like for Ludwig. He assumed that it felt embarrassing, awkward and also like quite a pressure.

"No, you definitely do not look happy," Bruno agreed, trying not to look too compassionate even if he felt with the younger Baumann. When Ludo spoke again Bruno nodded thoughtfully and hesitated to respond as he tried to imagine how his brother would lead young students by the hand. The poor boy was so afraid of germs that it was a picture that his brain failed to create.

"Yeah, fat chance you'd do that. Do they really expect that though? Can't imagine many people who want to do that anyway." The seventh year shrugged and looked into the dark water.

"Mum replied in your name to say that you'd do it?!? I didn't know that. That's rude of her. If you like I can have a word with her but... I suppose it's all settled now anyway, isn't it?" He had turned to face his brother again and really looked like he was mad at their mother for being so audacious. "If you want revenge though, I can help you prank her or whatever you'd like." He offered a slight grin and hoped that his brother would not think that he had ulterior motives this time.

Bruno didn’t walk away and Ludo sighed, figuring he could ignore him anyway. He shrugged off his brother agreeing that he didn’t look happy. It had been a rhetorical question and Ludo didn’t have the time nor the energy to explain to Bruno what that meant. “How should I know?” There had been no instructions accompanying the invitation to be musketeer. Seemingly everyone just knew what was expected of them. Ludwig would be asking for a handbook, however; rules, the lot of them.

He supposed that even if he was required to escort children by the hand, he wouldn’t bother. He’d rather quit. Fat chance -- Bruno was right, for once. Ludo mirrored his shrug.

“It’s settled,” he agreed, shrugging again. He didn’t know what Bruno thought he would be able to accomplish with talking to their mother; her mind was made up; things were more than settled now. Bruno looked upset, and Ludo couldn’t figure out if that was directed at him, at his being musketeer, or at their mother. Maybe a bit of all the above? That seemed likely for the eldest Baumann, anyway. But revenge? “No,” Ludo said quickly. “Thank you.” As much as he didn’t appreciate his mum speaking on his behalf, in the few hours since he had come to the conclusion that he probably would have accepted the position anyway. If anything, it would make his post-Beauxbatons resume look better, certainly better than Bruno’s.

“These extra duties don’t even count as a student service. I’m still expected to work on top of this musketeer nonsense and studying.” He had realized all of that, too, in the past few hours. He hadn’t expected to be so candid with his brother. “You’re lucky it’s your last year, you know.” Ludo turned and leaned back against the railing, his elbows propped up on the highest rail; if it was any person other than Ludo, he might almost look cool and casual.