February 17th, 1947.

You stood alone at the top of the hill, overlooking Berlin, Germany, with eyes full of hatred and pain, perfectly masked behind your cold expression. You watched as the capitol burned with grim satisfaction. As a member of the Allies, you had been tasked with taking down the capitol. With help from America's bomber plans, you had managed just that. World War II had finally come to a close thanks to you and the Allies, but the violence and disarray left in its wake was disastrous. You regretted each action you had to take against the Axis, for Japan, Germany, and Italy and Romano were some of your closest friends, but what could you do? Your guardian, England, had commanded you attack, so you did.

And you could see him now, far in the distance, rushing toward one of the burning buildings, shouting orders, raising his sword…. You stiffened as he turned around to yell at one of his soldiers, but his gaze fell on you, far away on that hill. His crimson eyes narrowed, and fury blazed in his eyes. His fingers drifted to his neck, to the Iron Cross that rested at his collarbone. Beneath that, however, was something you'd given him so long ago. A black eagle on a silver chain, the symbol on his flag. Prussia kept his eyes on you as he slowly removed the second necklace from around his throat. The representation of your friendship was thrown to the ground, to the dusty, ashy, cracked road. He slowly raised his sword above the delicate object, and—

Present.

"HEY! Mädchen! Vhat are you doing, staring at z'ose papers like z'at? I z'ought ve vere going to z'e park vith Gilbird und Ludvig!"

"H-Huh?" You jumped to your feet, hiding the documents behind your back as you did so. "A-Ah….yeah, Gil, I'm coming!"

"You sure? You look like you could stay here und stare at z'ose papers forever!" He teased, fingers tapping on the armrest of his wheelchair. "Besides, you know I can't get z'ere by myself!"

How can you joke about that, Gilbert? How can you keep smiling? You forced your own smile and nodded. "Sorry. Let's go!"

"Hey, liebe, ah….could you get me z'at pen? I've got to write to Francis und Antonio…."

"Sure." You stood from your spot at the kitchen table and brought the writing utensil to him, even though it was only a few feet from where he was sitting in his wheelchair, by the desk in the corner of the room. "You realize you could just write an email…?" You suggested as you watched his pale hand streak across the paper.

"Ja, ja, I know. But modern z'ings still confuse me. I'll just stick vith z'e basics." His hand shook a little as he wrote, and your brow furrowed.

"Gilbert….are you all right? You look a little….pale. Paler than normal."

"I'm fine, (Name). Just a little tired."

"Are you certain? Gil, I'm worried—"

Gilbert twisted around with a smile on his face. "Don't vorry about any'z'ing, (Name). I'm really okay. I just….need to go to bed sooner, you know? I just stayed up late again vatching z'ose horror movies. Halloveen vas yesterday, after all."

You nodded slowly. "If you say so…." You started to walk away, then stopped and hurried back to him, leaning down to place a kiss on his cheek. "Hey, Gil? You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"….I know, (Name). I know."

Then why do you lie to me?

"Vhat vould you do if I had to leave?"

"What?" Startled, you glanced up from your book and stared at him, concerned. "Why would you ask me something like that?"

Gilbert looked out into the frontyard of the Beilschmidt Mansion, sighing quietly. "I….don't know, (Name). But….can you answer?"

You shifted uncomfortably in the chair you occupied on the porch before replying, "I'm not sure, Gilbert. I don't know what I would do. And I don't really want to prepare myself for something like that in the first place."

He smiled sadly and murmured, "I don't vant you to, either. But...z'ink about it, all right? Just….just in case."

"Why would I need to?"

"Life is full of surprises, (Name)….not all of z'em good. So please….do it for me?"

"O-Okay Gilbert. But what brought this up?"

"Hm? O-Oh….I'm just reading z'is interesting book, und it just made me z'ink, you know?"

You're not holding a book, Gilbert."Okay."

"(Name)? Could you….could you come here for a minute?"

You replied immediately, "Of course, Gilbert!" You quickly got to your feet from your position on the floor and rushed to his bedroom. "Is something the matter?"

"Vheel me outside, vould you?" He asked softly, brilliant red eyes downcast.

"Sure!" You took hold of the handlebars and gently began to push him outside, to the front porch. Once you had reached the front door, you opened it slowly and pushed him out into the cool night air.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly, allowing the refreshing breeze to wash over him and fill his lungs. After a moment of silence, he whispered, "Let's go for a valk down to z'e center of town."

You nodded. "All right." You began to once again wheel him down the road, all the way to the edge of the Beilschmidt's property. You exited the gate, allowing them to clang shut behind you, and started down the sidewalk, walking the way you knew by heart. You were both silent until you reached the very heart of Berlin. "Here we are, Gil," you said softly.

Gilbert coughed once before smiling at you. "Danke." His eyes wandered over to a certain place in the middle of the square. "Do you see z'e monument, (Name)?"

"Yes."

"Z'at z'e place vhere I vas standing vhen I saw you on z'at hill. Seventy-two years ago," he began quietly. "I vatched you, my heart breakng slowly, as you stared back vith cold (e/c) eyes. So, to symbolize vhat I z'ought vould be z'e end of our friendship, I took off z'e necklace you gave me and destroyed it vith my sword." Your eyes closed as wet tears pricked the corners of them. But then Gilbert added, "Or maybe not." Setting his thin, weak arms on the wheels of his chair, he pushed himself over to the monument, sweat beading on his forehead.

"G-Gil, stop, y-you're going to—"

"(Name), I have to."

You stopped talking and watched him in silence, tears streaming silently down your cheeks. He rolled himself to the monument and stopped quickly, gasping for breath. You wanted to help him, but something told you that help was unwanted. He grasped the armrests of his wheelchair and did something you hadn't seen him do in seventy years.

He stood.

"Gilbert!" You could bear it no longer and cried, "You're going to hurt—!"

"(Name), pl-please…." He was beginning to stutter. "I….I v-von't be able to….if you're crying….s-so please….j-just vait." He slowly staggered over to a stone that sat in the center of the memorial, then he collapsed at its base. His fingers fumbled in the soil that surrounded it before he brought something to his chest, clasped tightly in both hands. He then forced himself up against the stone and gazed at you. "C-Come on, liebe…." He said hoarsely, "c-come sit vith m-me…."

You scrambled toward him, trying to get there as fast as humanly possible. You threw yourself to his side and wrapped him in a tight hug. "G-Gil….I know what y-you're doing…." You started to sob. "P-Please…p-please don't leave me!"

Gilbert opened his mouth to say something, but he coughed violently again. His chest heaved and he brought his hands to his mouth to wipe away the red. He gave a bitter chuckle and looked you in the eyes. "(N-Name)….my body is….it's failing. I'm….I'm…."

You interrupted, "Don't say it!" You buried your face in his chest and cried.

Gilbert rested a shaky hand on the top of your head and gazed down at you. "(Name)….it's my time. I'm….I'm dying." He smiled a pained smile, and your heart broke. "But vhat did you expect? My c-country dissolved long….long ago. I have n-no reason to e on z'is E-Earth….anymore."

Stop it. Stop it. You're still lying to me, Gilbert!

"Z-Z'e only reason vhy….vhy I tried to hold on….vas for you, (Name). Before I go….I've vanted to tell you s-some'z'ing for z'e longest time." His eyes filled with a warm emotion, something you'd never seen before. "….I love you. So I vanted to give you z'is….b-before I go see H-Holy Rome and Ancient R-Rome….und Vati Germania….I'll s-see my guardian again, (Name)….s-so don't cry…." He opened his hands and quickly clasped something around your neck, letting its coolness rest against your throat.

"The….this is your…." Your eyes welled with even more tears. "This is the necklace I gave you!" You wailed.

Gilbert nodded slowly. "B-But….I have s-something else for you…." He managed to smirk in that way Gilbert only could, and your heart shattered even further beyond repair as he leaned forward to press his lips against yours. You kissed back weakly, your cheeks still wet with tears. Gilbert wiped them away, a small smile on his face. "Th-Thank you, (Name). I….I'll always love you."

He closed his eyes and slumped against the stone, that smile slowly growing until it was that full-grown smirk you had always loved. Your hands shook as you gazed at the former body of Gilbert Beilschmidt, the man who was your best friend, your partner, who could've been….your lover.

You threw back your head and shrieked, the agony of heartache ripping through you.

He's gone….and he knew it was coming! He's gone…!

As you cried and sobbed before the corpse of Gilbert, you failed to see that the so-called "monument" was actually something else. The German man had known all along that he was going to die; everyone did, though some refused to accept it. But the Prussian had faced the harsh truth head-on and prepared himself a resting place. He had overseen the construction of his own grave. The gravemarker Gilbert was now slumped against had words engraved into it:

Here lies Gilbert Beilschmidt, the Fallen Kingdom of Prussia.