Hetalia is owned by Hidekaz Himaruya, this fanfiction is owned by me. (AN: I decided I'd write a sequel to In My Time Of Need, since I wanted to give Antonio a slightly happier ending :D)
Bright white.
That was the first thing Antonio saw when he awoke. The pristine white of the ceiling above him made him fear the worst, to begin with. Made him fear that his body had disobeyed Arthur's command not to die, and that his own desperate fight to stay alive had resulted in defeat.
He sighed in relief as his senses came to him, and he realised he was in fact, still alive. The rhythmic beeping of a life support machine, as well as the tightness from a thick bandage around one arm led him to conclude that he'd been brought to a hospital. But where was the light grip on his right hand coming from…?
"Good to see you're awake."
He turned in the direction in the voice, and found those same green eyes that'd kept him from giving in before. The face they belonged to had worry etched upon it, mixing with a new flood of relief.
"Arthur…I'm…alive?"
"Of course you are, you stupid git," Arthur retorted. "Don't you remember anything that happened the other night?"
Antonio's face fell a little, as he was not keen on recounting the pain and humiliation of when he'd last been conscious. All he remembered was fainting in Arthur's arms mere minutes after he told him to stay alive…
"Mm…" was all Antonio could manage to get out in reply.
"Oh, what am I saying? It'd be a miracle if you could remember anything at all, with the state you were in," Arthur said apologetically, tightening his grip on the Spaniard's hand. Antonio winced a little as he felt his palm being squeezed by the Brit. But why was he holding his hand at all? And why was he at his bedside?
"Why'd you help me?" Antonio enquired, looking earnestly into Arthur's eyes.
Arthur suddenly became extremely enraged, his face becoming dusted with scarlet. "Why'd you help me?! What kind of stupid question is that?!" he began, "Maybe I didn't want to see you die out there! Maybe I happen to care about you an awful lot, OK? Perhaps I even…Love you!" Arthur finished, a single tear sliding down his cheek.
Shocked by this revelation, Antonio felt his cheeks turn scarlet to match the Brit's. "Love me?"
Arthur tenderly stroked Antonio's cheek. "That's right. I love you." he said softly.
"Hey Arthur? Could I ask a favour?" Antonio replied.
"Name it." Arthur whispered, cupping his chin gently.
"Deme un beso."
"What?"
"Kiss me."
Arthur delicately placed his lips against Antonio's, tenderly kissing his new lover…