This was it. This was the end of all things.

Lovino didn't mind if he and the whole world was blown to nothing more than a speck in the large expanse they called outer space, he didn't care one bit. But.. Not Alfred. He wouldn't let Alfred die. Amidst his newfound emotionless self, there was one person he still cared for. One person who hadn't died yet, and one person who still had the heart to love someone like him. The dark haired man's dull eyes searched the crowd for Alfred as he stumbled along. Lovino could hear many things; people were yelling, people were screaming. Others were crying. Some wouldn't move. He watched as a mother passed her child to a man on the other side of the gate, and the small, fragile looking girl hid her face, unable to look at the woman.

It was at that moment that the Italian's attention was diverted by someone yanking him away by the arm. To Lovino's relief, he was being pulled into a tight embrace by the former country of America. "Hey, are you okay? You look... more out of it than usual. I'm sorry I left you, but we've got to go now, okay?" Lovino's amber orbs searched the other's concerned baby blue ones, and he turned to the packed shuttle terminal again. His lips parted slightly as if he were going to protest, but he shut them tight once again and reached for Alfred's hand, his own trembling slightly.

He remembered why he was this way, and he remembered well. He wasn't sick, nor was he injured in any way, yet all he could feel was pain. A few months prior, the first meteor strike had left bits of Northern Italy in chaos, and a few hit in Austria, but the real damage had been done when Feliciano hadn't turned up. It was true, the city where he was last had been hit.. But he couldn't be dead, right? Days had passed. Germany had been searching for days on end, but he hadn't found anything at the time. It was only a week or two after the strike that Antonio had approached him, sorrow in his eyes. It had taken the bedridden italian an agonizing minute to process what he'd said,

"They um.. The found the body.. Amorsito, I'm so sorry, I..."

After that it was just numb.

Numb from the disbelief, and numb from the weight of the whole situation crashing down on him. He locked his doors, and hid in the bathroom. Lovino couldn't bring himself to face the world, nor did he think he ever could. Antonio stopped visiting, or trying, at least, giving the shattered Italian space.

There were a lot of things Lovino thought about in the silence. Why did it have to be Feliciano? Why was it him and not Lovino? This was his fault. It had to be. In some way he'd caused all of this, and it was his fault, no one could tell him otherwise..

He'd lost track of the days after a while, because he didn't care to count. It was the day he'd started scratching his skin raw that he heard a deafening crash from the front of his house. Antonio's shaking voice barely reached Lovino, "Lovino? Are you still here? We have to lea-"

"Yo! Hey, Romano, buddy!"

Lovino lifted his head and turned to stare at the bathroom door, listening half heartedly to the approaching footsteps, and.. partly confused to what he assumed was Alfred's being here. The door knob jingled, but didn't turn. Right.. He'd locked that too. "Hey, Romano? I don't know if you're in there or not, but we seriously have to go, and Antonio refuses to leave you, and I'm a hero so you know, I can't really leave you behind either. Um, point is, either you gotta unlock this, or step back so I can bust it down." Lovino silently refused to either unlock the door or move, so instead he pulled his knees up to his chest and embraced them tightly. "Sooo, you aren't unlocking it or anything, so I'm just going to break it, okay?"

He was sure when the american had broken the door down, it must have been loud, but the background noise seemed to die away, Lovino trying his best to simply just block it all out. Though, before he knew what was going on, Alfred was carrying him out bridal style, and his bomber jacket was wrapped around the italian like a blanket, it's warmth comforting in it's own way. He shut his eyes closed and breathed in slow jagged breaths. In a way he felt as if, maybe, he had waited much longer, they'd have found him dead. Though, he would have left for something to eat most likely. He would starve himself yes, but he'd never have the nerve to starve himself to death. Antonio and Alfred's conversation broke into his thoughts, "Are you sure he'll be okay? He looks as if he hasn't eaten in days, oh my god..." "Antonio, I swear, he'll be okay. Let's just be glad he was still there, alright..?"

"...I just want to get us all out of here as soon as we can, it's not safe anymore,"

"Yeah... Mattie's back at the shuttle station, he got caught under the rubble...Broke his leg...No, I've been alright..Virginia got hit pretty hard," Their words started to become quiet mumbles that were hard for Lovino to understand.. and he felt himself start to slip away into a dreamless sleep.

That would bring them back to the present, lovino staring at the ground as they walked. Alfred's bomber jacket was slightly bigger on him, so his fingertips poked out of the sleeves like a mouse peeking out of it's hole, and he nervously picked at the loose thread on the inside. Between the first strike and now, a lot had happened. Feliciano was presumed dead, Ludwig refused to leave without him.. And Antonio stayed behind to help him. He didn't really know much beyond what was happening with the Axis, or some of his closer friends. Alfred sometimes told him about the Allies.. but mostly about how they had a few shuttles for themselves, and they were gathering as many countries that they could in order to ensure their saftey. Despite their differences, to lose another country was like losing family. "...And we're going to try and reach Keplar.. hey are you listening, bud?" Lovino glanced up at Alfred, breathing out a quiet sigh. He went over what the other had said, or at least, what bit he'd heard near the end. Lovino's voice came out in a croak, "...Keplar's far."

"Well of course Keplar's far that's where Iggy comes in- you talked, holy crap," The end of Alfred's sentence was hushed and serious, seeing as these were practically the first few things the Italian had said since he and Antonio had found him. Lovino jumped in alarm when the American turned on his heel and grabbed him by the shoulders smiling like an idiot, "You talked!" "...I talk.. It's not the end of the world.." Well, okay. That was a lie, because it technically was. Alfred seemed flabberghasted by it all, and even though it was broken whispers that came from the other, it was still something. Lovino averted his eyes, falling back into an uncomfortable silence. The Americans smile dropped, and he let go of him, brushing off his shoulders awkwardly, his face flushed. "I- Ah, I'm sorry Roma-" The darker haired man shot him a look, "...Lovino, I'm sorry, Lovino. Er, we should hurry up and get back with every one else, alright?"

The Italian nodded his head and quietly extended his hand, taking the other's gingerly once more.