Y-Yao!" Alfred let the scream ring out, despite knowing how the other didn't want attention. The others were all on the fifth floor, anyway, so it wasn't as if anyone would hear. Apparently the Asian nation came to realize this, a he only stared into the eyes of the American with a look of pity.
"I'm sorry, Alfred. But I had to do it, I had no choice."
Silence fell between them as the said American held back tears. At this point, he wasn't sure of what he was feeling. Pain? Sadness? Pity? His mind was overwhelmed, it was difficult to tell.
"But why…" A sob made it's way through, and he avoided eye contact with the Chinese man. "Why you, of all people…? You had a choice Yao, there were so many other things you could have done, hell…"
"You really shouldn't get involved with this. Please, Alfred, it's in your own best interest. You need to just-"
"I only want a reason, is that too much to ask? Why my friend is dead on the ground?!"
Yao remained silent. Yes, he had been the murderer of the German, but he had a reason. However, he couldn't tell, even if it destroyed him from the inside. No matter what, his betrayal had to remain a secret, or, knowing Alfred, all would likely result in chaos.
"It was because I love you."
The statement wasn't completely a lie, after all. In a simplistic man's words, it could even be the exactly reason. However, Yao was anything but simple-minded, and the details were far more complex.
And yet, he would never dare to tell them.
Tears were running down the American's cheeks, dripping to the ground. Yao kept a straight face.
"How dare you… Pull a joke like that…"
"Just don't get loud, Feliciano could still be right outside."
The two stayed there without words for another few minutes. Yao was waiting, waiting patiently. In turn, Alfred was bawling. It only seemed to stop when an announcement rang out.
"̶à cor̛pѕ̛è ̕н̡a͘ѕ ̕в͠ee͏n̷ ғ̷oυ̕nd!"̶
Yao sighed. "They found Antonio."
The other nation looked up at Yao's words. How he could say something like this with a straight face, he would never understand. "Why… Why this… Don't you know that you're going to die?!"
"I wouldn't have murdered twice if I didn't mean to leave such evidence."
And anger. Sooner than not, a Chinese man was pinned against the wall. Yet, he still wore a straight face.
"Alfred, stop with this nonsense, you shouldn't do something you regret, right? After all, I'll be found out in the trial, if you give me away or not." Yao forced a smile, and perhaps Alfred finally noticed the pain the he held in his eyes.
"How dare you do something like this! I thought we were all friends! I thought we were finally-!"
Alfred was faced with a slap stinging his cheek, and 'Texas' flew across the room.
"In this mansion of murderers? Why would you think such a thing!?" Another slap, "How dare you play this off as some kinda game!" And another "Everyone's dying, or have you been too dense to notice?"
Alfred backed away, tears streaming down his face as he yelled, "And what did you gain from adding onto it? Not a single damn thing! All you're doing is helping the puppetmaster, or have you been too full of yourself to realize? Hell, I should-"
Alfred stopped mid sentence. Was Yao… crying?
"Alfred, please, stay out of this. What I gained was your life, you must know. And you shouldn't throw that away as simply nothing."
"I would rather die than end up alone."
Alfred's tears were drying up, leaving his cheeks puffy. "And if this keeps happening, who knows, I might just die anyway. It's not something I can really predict or avoid. Yao, you're not making sense." And then, a spark of realization. "Yao, were you…?" He wanted to say 'the mole', 'the mastermind', 'a puppet', anything, but the words never slipped out. Anything… It would fit the puzzle together.
And then, a kiss.
Alfred took it by surprise, and if this were any normal situation, he would of enjoyed it more. But it was soft, delicate, and… it made him feel broken. He should of been falling into the moment, but somehow, he couldn't return it. For some reason, he shoved Yao away, to scared to continue. After all, whatever happened now would only be thrown away after the trial, when Yao would be executed in the most brutal way possible. The pain would be too much to bear if he let this continue.
"Why would you do it? Why would you ever think it was a good idea?"
Yao sighed, a bit heartbroken not knowing if his feeling were returned or not. He could always play the kiss off later as a failed tool of manipulation, but for now… "I was promised my life, that I would be able to see my family again. It was the only hope I had left. No-one here particularly likes me, if you haven't realized. However, he began using you, and…"
"I'm not going to lose you. You're young, and more than anything I hate seeing anyone die young. Especially if there was so much hope for them to begin with, so much love, so much passion. I'm worn out as it is, it's time I left; I'm sure my family can make it without me." Yao laughed, "Once I'm gone, you can forget about your debt too, isn't that nice?"
"Yao…" Alfred couldn't force himself to make eye contact with the other.
"Don't worry about it, Alfred." The man hesitantly pecked the younger one's lips, still not sure if his feeling were returned. However, it was like kissing a rock; Alfred was cold, and no reaction was given. "I'll be fine, alright? If I'm still intact, you can revive me after you escape."
"But what if you're not? You broke your deal with the Puppetmaster by doing this, you know. He could do something brutal, something beyond repair."
"Then my time is up. There's really nothing we can do now, is there?" He smiled, "You'll have to move on. I'm ready for this, Alfred, so you shouldn't worry." However, he was anything but.
For a change, Alfred kissed the Chinese man. It was passionate, as Yao tilted his head, but full of sadness and regret rather than enjoyment. It didn't last long enough before Alfred pulled back in choked sobs. The other only rested his head on the other's chest, holding him close.
However, it was no later into the moment that footsteps could be heard outside. Yao sighed, "Kiku is back." And with that, they pulled away from each other, returning to a certain German's dead corpse as if nothing had even happened.