About: Hello! This one is a human AU of Hetalia. It may be kind of dark and depressing.
Drama, supernatural, comedy, romance and Yaoi (USUK/UKUS, FRUK – nothing explicit). They can be kind of OCC.
Summary: As a tragedy falls what will the self proclaimed hero (Alfred) do? Arthur has a plan but will it work? There's more people interested in this little situation trying to turn it over.
Notes: My writing style may be kind of strange but it's the way I found to get it a little less messy. I use - and " for talking and thoughts, respectively. English is not my main language and even though I reread it around 4 times, there can (and probably will) have some mistakes. Also, it's funny to think about UK giggles as those evil giggles the Anime character makes.
Warnings: Homosexual relationships, character death, health situations (blood, curative, performance in emergencies), lots of curse words, violence, google translated French words, OOC.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia and its characters, this story was purely made for fun.
Bargain
-x- Chapter 1 -x-
He simply had lost his hold over his world. No, no it was a disgusting mix of a nightmare and horror movie. He walked over the hallway in circles, trying to digest the information while waiting for news.
"This is simply great man! A hospital hall!" he sighed "Who am I trying to fool? Mattie, be okay man... How can I be heroic if you..." the hall was bustling with nurses and doctors coming and going, no one heard the sob he was hopelessly trying to hold. He put his hand on the back of his head and caressed his hair. "Oh God...". He felt a hold on his shoulder and, as he turned, an almost breathless blond frowned at him, damn, those big eyebrows could make him almost laugh every time he saw them.
- Hey Artie... Howdy? Haha...
His laugh failed and he felt arms around him. He was pushed to the wall and the impact made his head uncomfortable but the warmth was welcome. He felt his eyes burn, "oh no...", he hugged back the smaller man, the feeling of his hand touching the fabric, the heat his body transmitted... it was all too much, he supported his head on the other's shoulder and let it go. He swallowed the murmurs and pities, but was praying for his brother, the only real family he had.
- Alfred Jones?
A voice called, he had to realign himself and look up. A nurse was calling him with what must be the news. He couldn't read her facial expression because his glasses were foggy with all the crying. "Damn it! Heroes do not cry!" he thought as he tried to move his arms and was washed with the feeling of a body trembling before him. He held the other's shoulder and looked into his eyes.
- Artie, they got news about my brother, wanna come with me?
For a moment there was silence, and then the other answered.
- Yeah... I think so... Bloody hell, what... What, in the fucking hell, happened?
- I'm not sure... We should go.
Arthur, or Artie for the ones close to him (the guy didn't like the nickname at all but who cares?), was his British neighbor. Okay, he thought himself to be more like an overprotective big brother for them and had such awesomely big and strange eyebrows, but he was a nice fellow. Alfred trusted him and felt safe. Annoying the hell out of the Brit as much as he could, was one of his hobbies. As they walked over the receptionist desk, Alfred tried to collect everything that led him there…
-x-
It was an awesome day to be a hero. He woke up, ate a burger - nothing better than a burger the first thing in the morning, living beside a McDonalds helped a lot! Took a shower (had to hear an annoying neighbor scold him about his eating habits... annoying Englishman thought he was his parent or so it seems) and went school. His degree was physics, yeah he didn't really like math that much, but for the space he could go through it. He competed with an irritant smart ass Russian over some questions in class. Damn, someday he would definitely kick his fatty ass! Yes, the idiot was fat, he wasn't and didn't need to hear the eyebrow talk to him like he was!
Now all that he had left was his club, it was something like drawing and other manga things. They never let him draw, only do thinks using a computer, he didn't quite get why, he was a master of art! Walking to the other building he jumped feeling his cell vibrate, when the hell did he put it in the thigh pocket? No matter. "Hum? Mattie?"
- Hello, your hero speaking!
- …
- …?
- Are you a relative of Mathew?
- …. Yeah? He's my bro, who's speaking?
- My name's Lane and I'm a coworker of him...
Silence, Alfred didn't like it at all.
- So... why are you calling from my bro's phone?
- Sir, keep calm and listen, there was an accident with your brother...
- Ah, O...kay... WHAT? WTF man, that's no joke, what are you talking about?
His loud voice was even louder, making people around him keep distance and share some strange looks.
- Sir, keep calm! He's... Okay... I think... Anyway, we sent him to hospital, he should be alright, but I think it would be good if you went there. I can drive you, where are you?
Alfred looked the sky, rubbing his neck. "Wtf... It's not even April fool's, he won't get me! Hahaha! He's not that smart eh? Calling from his cellphone was a mistake, I'll scare him to death!"
- Okay, it would be nice man...
He said trustingly the address, he was not one to be afraid of silly jokes.
- I know where it is, I should be there around five minutes.
And true to his word, in five minutes he was there, driving like mad to the hospital. The trip started with an unbelievable silence. Alfred didn't really like it, "If it's a damn joke you don't need to be like this man..."
- So... What's up with my bro?
The man seemed to make some uncomfortable faces. He was tense and looked like he was about to despair over something, but sighed and said,
- Matthew and I had this visit to one of our partner companies, t-to see how things were going and since h-he's studying hard, to see h-how to improve product and all else.
There was a pause, the man swallowed hard, his eyes seemed watery. The pause let the blond restless on his seat. When he resumed to speak, his voice seemed broken.
- T-The thing is, I-I don't know what happened. H-He's a nice guy, hell, a g-great guy, but he's kind of... O-Out, like he has n-no presence at all, m-man sometimes I thought he was even a g-ghost!
The man laughed forcibly, he paused, sighed again and keep on. His face was pale and Alfred saw his hands trembling, this story wasn't sitting well for him, he started to get more and more nervous. It was like he had gotten punched in the stomach, breathing was difficult, painful, and his mind was thousand miles away, thinking maybe yeah, this was shit.
Being overcome by new feelings, he lost some of what the man was saying.
- … l-like I told you, it was so fast... F-Fortunately everyone was working around the m-machines so the emergency button was p-pressed within seconds b-but... Oh man... T-There... T-There was...
His voice trembled even more, they were almost in the hospital, last traffic light to wait.
- T-There was so much blo-blood in t-there...
The man sobbed. Eyes as impossible wide as it could be, Alfred locked his vision on the hospital building, few meters away.
- My brother...
- W-We got him down, called rescue and in the meantime the security team came to do some f-first aid... He was breathing hard, writhing in p-pain and I... I couldn't l-look, when the ambulance arrived, everyone was yelling, I don't k-know what they said, they loaded him quickly, I could hear the b-buzzer... b-but there was such a huge pool of blood... They... T-They told me to get his family and bring them to the h-hospital.
Alfred felt dizzy and panic overtook him. He lost his hold, like the world had just vanished under his feet. He kept quietly sitting and waiting, it felt like hours was passing within each second, waiting for the light to turn green. No this couldn't be happening... He felt a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. They had arrived.
The building was simple. Well kept but simple, hell, it was a hospital not a hotel. He could see people waiting near the entrance and as he stepped out of the car, he let his bag fall. Trembling, he knelt and put everything hastily inside. They walked to the receptionist's desk.
- I'm here with Matthew's family, he got here early from Abilis Blueware company.
The receptionist looked some papers and took the phone.
- Just a moment sir.
"The hell 'just a moment sir', where's my brother?" Alfred shook all over, his legs barely holding his weight. Eyes wet, holding back. "I'm here bro, the hero has come... I'm sorry for thinking this was a joke, okay? I'm really sorry, so don't leave me all alone, please...". He felt anger rise as the receptionist took her time to speak with someone, looking him from time to time. "The hell... Stop looking! I'm a candy, I know, but c'mon, I wanna see my brother!"
- Sir, I regret to inform you, but you'll have to wait here. He's in an unstable state and visiting hours are still far from now. You can go home if you want and come back later.
- THE HELL? I WANNA SEE MY BROTHER NOW!
He yelled with all the strength he had. She must be mad if she thought he would stay still while no one told him what the fuck had happened!
- Sir, I ask that you refrain from yelling, it's a hospital.
- I fucking KNOW that this shit hole is a fucking hospital!
He smashed the table with his left fist.
- … And I guarantee you that I'm not here because I wanna be. I don't even know what happened to my BROTHER and no one cares to tell me! I won't sit still while he may be... di... no, I wanna see him NOW!
The woman seemed a little scared with the outbreak, but even so said,
- Sir, I know it must be hard, but if you don't keep calm and respect the rules I'll have to call the security. The only info they told me is that your brother is unstable and they were trying to fix that. I can call you when there's news about him. Now, please, step aside and wait.
Saying that she eyed the next one in line.
-x-
- So I was saying...
The voice brought him back to the present moment, tears still on his cheeks. He felt exhausted, after that he had to wait for what seemed endless hours... was it really hours? Who cares...
Arthur frowned.
- Alfred, I know it must be hard for you, but you need to hold it together! We'll talk with a doctor now and we need to understand everything that happened!
A sigh was heard, he caressed his own hair and let his hands fall to the sides.
- Artie... I pray my bro's alive man... I won't be able to keep on if he... if...
He couldn't finish, reality was just too hard for him to accept.
He was grabbed roughly and hugged as strong as the smaller blond could afford. It felt invasive but that didn't matter right now, he felt secure, as, for the first time since this madness broke out, he had something under his feet. He felt the smell of the other's hair; rain and tea. He loved his scent.
- I... I'll be here, no matter what happens...
They stood in front of the door, holding hands tightly as if for dear life.
- Al, if you want, I can go there with you... or wait here...
Arthur spoke with a crack on his voice, even though he was shaken with the news, he was an English gentleman and had to help his dear, oh dear, friend.
- Yeah, let's go, I need to know how Mattie is, n-no matter what.
He made a hero's pose, as if it would reassure his friend.
-x-
- Bro, what happened to you?
Weak, that's how he sounded. Alfred stood beside his brother's bed in ICU. Relived that he wasn't dead but fearful for what was to come. The doctor said he was stable and let him visit for a minute. As it wasn't visiting time, he had to argue with a nurse but was able to convince her.
Matthew simply looked awful: a tube ran through his throat so he could breath, an ominous looking curative in the right side of his chest, near the third rib. It seemed that some ribs were broken, they were partially exposed and partially puncturing the pleural space, letting blood and air inside the thorax cavity. This rewarded him with a 36º F chest tube to drain the unwanted fluids and air, allowing his lungs to expand and therefore breath. This tube was connected to a collection bottles, or water seal. They said it worked using gravity or something like that, he didn't really care, but it was kept in place by a wire in his skin, he could see it and didn't like it at all. The area around the curative had big bruises and hematoma, looking a painful red and purple.
The right leg had some pin and also with a big curative on it, The leg was swollen all over and dark, he could see the curative soaked with red, brown and something that looked like yellow – yellow is not good, he didn't like it. What someone called a urinary catheter was connected to a bag on the bed side and had, he guessed since it was kind of obvious, urine, but it too was kind of reddish – not good at all. There were two blood transfusion bags on his arms and he thought it looked like a saline containing drugs.
He kissed his cheeks, then held his hand. They were colder than usual, Alfred didn't like it, it was as if his brother was dying. He felt the tears and fought back the sobs and whimpers, he was a HERO, he couldn't cry... not like that... not in front of everyone.
He hated the place, the smell of medicine and antiseptics, the constant noise of the machines, the staff that eyed him angrily, the fact that his brother's eyes were closed...
Suddenly he heard some loud beeps, the monitor connected to his brother's chest was crazily displaying the lack of heart beat, but before he could process what was going on, a hand grabbed him. He was shoved outside and frenetic nurses and doctors were making their way in yelling orders.
- Listen, I need you to go outside and wait while we try to bring him back.
-... … W-wait... WHAT?
The woman vanished in the middle of the mess.
- 1mg epinephrine.
He couldn't register what was going on, just stood there.
- After the next CPR we'll defibrillate. Now, everyone away...
TUMP
The body arched.
- 40 IU vasopressin, keep doing CPR.
No more. That was what he heard because the world went black around him.
-x-
Green observed him, soothing hands on his hair, the ghost of a kiss on his ear and a whisper: "I'll save him this time, don't worry". Everything was soothing and calm and white and...
- Alfred? Alfred?
"Ugh... Shut up, I can hear you just fine", but the voice kept on, he felt his body being shaken and it hurt.
- The hell! Stop! It hurts!
- The bloody princess finally awoke! What the hell happened?
- Arthur? Gosh, my body and head hurts all over, what happened?
- That's what I'm asking! You fainted and was brought here! On top of it all you got a nice injury on your fucking windy empty head! But, the doctor said you'll be fine.
Alfred felt dizzy, but even so pulled his friend and hugged his waist, the strength he normally had no where to be shown.
- Bro... Mattie... He...
A sob was heard and as his trembling lips were going to say something more...
- He's okay.
Alfred tensed and seconds after felt relived, it still seemed like someone shoved his hands inside his thorax and was holding tightly at his heart, it was hard to breathe, as if his muscles didn't want to move, his breath was superficial and fast.
His face was slapped.
- Alfred, no use freaking out now! Hold on! Breath correctly, bloody hell!
The younger blond inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to calm himself.
- Haha... I don't look like a hero eh...
He sighed. "Mattie, be alright, please..."
- He's fine Alfred, they got him back within 4 minutes, he's stable again and they are keeping a close eye on him. Looks like there was blood still going inside his thorax and the transfusion wasn't fast enough. Fortunately, they had electrolytes and a big saline going down his veins fast at the time. They fixed whatever was bleeding and his blood pressure and heart beat are okay. They will keep him sedated for now, they don't want his lung fighting the machine.
Alfred looked up for the first time since awaking. He had puppy eyes but they held no brightness.
- Thanks... Artie... Thank you so much...
Arthur had to hold back, that face was simply... to appealing for him.
"You're a gentleman, no time to waste with this!". He cleared his throat.
- They said you can go home and wait, what do you think?
- Yeah... I so want to go home, eat a burger and play video games.
He tsked.
- Do you think of ANYTHING that's not burger or video games?
- C'mon man. No problem, no problem, I'm a free man and in great need to do something before I try to sneak inside my bro's hospital room again...
There was a pause, a tense and very disturbing one, followed by a sigh.
- … I need to get my head out of it and pray that he gets better, I can't stay here right?
- Sure you can't, it's a hospital, dolt, not a hotel and he's in an ICU bed. You'll be able to see him tomorrow. Have faith Alfred.
They were walking to the hospital doors.
- Yeah... I suppose so... let's go back, can you stay with me tonight?
The wind carried a scent of flowers that somehow soothed Alfred' heart, his face had a new light. Arthur couldn't help but look at him.
- Ah... Yeah... I kind of suppose so... Haha...
Arthur was as red as a tomato.
- Great, I'll call for burgers, if you cook anything, I'll be the one in an ICU...
- YOU FREAKING IDIOT!
-x-x-x-
Cheers for the lovely beta that helped me a lot: NatureLuvMaple, you're awesome!
