Germany x Reader - Ten Steps - Part 4

"Speak to her? But I already-"
Gilbert scoffed, interrupting his younger brother. "When we say talk, we don't mean "Oh, hey [Name], nice weather, isn't it?" – We mean actually talk!"
"Vee~" Feliciano decided now would be a good time to step in and help his confused friend. "What he means is that you should speak to her like you speak to us!"
Ludwig was even more confused than before. "But, what do you mean just-"
"You can't speak to her about your DVD collection, though. Heck, that'd probably put her off..."
"Bruder!" was all that Ludwig could exclaim.
"Well, if she is your friend, and we are your friends, then just talk to her like you talk to us!" Feliciano continued. Both Ludwig and Gilbert paused to turn around and listen to the Italian. "And if bella [Name] feels the same way that you do for her, you'll both become good friends, no?"

~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~   ~*~   
Speak to her, just like a friend. Speak to her, just like a friend. Speak to he-
"Hi Ludwig." There she was – standing right in front of him, smiling so brightly that he felt confused, all of a sudden. What am I supposed to be saying, again?
"G-Guten tag." He managed to stutter out. Before he even had the chance to think of anything to say, she spoke, though.
"Today, drinks on me, okay?" They were back in the pub where he'd seen her first – when they really got to talk, for the first time, properly.
"It...wouldn't be proper." Ludwig frowned. This wasn't part of the rules, was it? The man always had to pay!
"Oh, don't worry about all that!" She laughed. "Since when did friends care about propriety?" Her chiming laughter sent his mind in a muddle, again, and he found himself murmuring agreement.

"Hey, Ludwig, you'd told me that you had three dogs, right?" She asked, as she sipped her [drink of choice]. Ludwig just nodded in reply. "Tell me about them!"
"A-Are you sure?" Ludwig had no idea why he had just asked that.
"Well, of course! I just want to know more about you!"

Ludwig froze, momentarily, as his mind made so many strange connections.
What was it Feliciano had said? That if she feels the same way as me, then she...no, we would become good friends. She could just be acting polite, and asking about him, she does not necessarily have to be interested in him, and even if were, romantically would be a far possi-

"Plus, I just like hearing you talk."
That was when Ludwig completely lost his chain of thought.

The rest of the evening was spent in pleasant chatter, and company.
When Ludwig returned home - there was only one thing that he was sure of
He'd fallen deeper for [Name]

Step 4 - Speak to her - achieved