Hetalia is owned by Hidekaz Himaruya, this fanfiction is owned by me. (For added effect, listen to Rosalia's Bloom while reading this)
It's just another morning.
At least, that's what Antonio tells himself as he quietly slips out of bed, taking extra care not to wake the man laid next to him. His dear Arthur always slept so peacefully, far too peacefully. When he was like this, Antonio remembered just how easy it'd been for Arthur to hide his demons, and he was transported back to last night.
"Arthur, what the fuck are you doing?!"
"Ending it all…I'm sorry, Antonio…I love you, but I can't go on like this!"
"Don't you dare pull the trigger!"
He was never going to forget that night. No, regardless of how badly he wanted to push it to the back of his mind and forget what had happened completely, the image of Arthur sat on the floor sobbing, pistol in hand would forever be burned into his brain.
Antonio attempts to take his mind off the horrible images flooding him by continuing his morning routine. Let's see…wasn't it about time for breakfast? Cooking would keep him occupied for a bit, right?
Antonio absentmindedly potters around the kitchen as he makes breakfast, until he hears Arthur's footsteps in the hallway.
"Good morning," Arthur greets casually, trying to keep the mundane morning routine going.
Antonio turns to face him, and responds, "Same to you. How are you feeling?" though he already knew the answer.
"I'm alright," Arthur lies.
Antonio thinks about confronting him right there and then. He thinks about demanding to know why Arthur had become had become so miserable that he wanted to take his own life. He thinks about talking to Arthur about getting the help he clearly needs. But then he thinks "Will Arthur want to deal with this right now?" and goes back to what he's making.
But perhaps Arthur does want to tell him everything. Perhaps he is on the verge of exploding and he needs to get it all out as soon as possible…
"I'm sorry," Arthur says quietly as he approaches Antonio.
"For what?" Antonio replies, turning to face him.
"For last night," he says ashamedly, as his memories of his suicide attempt flood his mind. How Antonio had flown at him and snatched the gun away before he could end his life. And how he'd laid there sobbing in Antonio's arms, telling him he was sorry, as Antonio threw the words "I love you" at him.
Antonio gently takes Arthur in his arms, holding him protectively. "Don't be. I get it, you're really hurting, you thought the pain would go away if you died, right?"
"Yes," Arthur mumbles, burying his face in the other man's chest.
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I'd be hurting too if you were gone?" Antonio asks him.
"You don't need someone like me in your life," Arthur says miserably. "If you'd just have let me die, you'd just have forgotten about me eventually and found another man."
Antonio's protective embrace tightened to a death grip. "Arthur, what are you saying?! I could never replace you!" he shouts, his voice breaking. "I love you, and I do need you. I want to help you get through this," he finishes quietly, beginning to cry.
As Antonio lets him go, Arthur says, "If you really mean that…Let me tell you everything."
"Go ahead," Antonio replies, and for several hours Arthur just pours his heart out to him, letting himself come apart in Antonio's arms…