A/N: prompt: post/120183984695/person-a-is-dying-a-slow-death-all-alone-either
Prussia drew in a breath slowly, wincing slightly as his lungs burned. They'd been doing that more and more recently. It hurt. It hurt a lot. He lay with his hands on his stomach, staring at the ceiling.
His lips felt dry and cracked. His head was fuzzy and filled with static and butterflies. When he closed his eyes, visions swam. It was sort of awesome, in a way. Like dreaming but being awake. The only problem was, Prussia knew he was dying.
He wanted to get up. Get up and see his brother one last time, go annoy Roderich one last time. No. He wanted to see Matthew again. Why was he alone? Why?
And then, out of the blue, came a familiar pair of soft purple eyes. Prussia's face lit up and he turned to the Canadian as quickly as he could. He felt his bones creak and shudder under pressure. He almost collapsed.
"Hey there, Gil," Matthew smiled. "How are you? It's been a little while, huh?"
Prussia forced a grin. "Ah...not so awesome. But I'll be ok. Say, where's my bruder?"
Matthew shrugged and grinned gently. "Somewhere. Probably hanging out with Italy, eh?"
Prussia rasped a laugh, weakly wiping tears from his eyes. He could feel a glowing heat building up in his stomach and chest, a mixture of emotions. It was impossible to push down.
"W-when's he even gonna get with him, anyways?! In the end...I guess I just wanna see West happy, huh..."
Prussia swore that he could see tears build up in Canada's eyes. "You always want what's best for people, Gil. Deep down in your heart. I know that. Ludwig knows it too."
Prussia's smile weakened a little and he let out a long sigh, reaching out with a trembling hand. "I care about you, Birdie..."
He touched Canada's knee. His knee was light as air. It was less than a feather, less than a beam of sunshine. Less than nothing.
Prussia closed his eyes and gave a mix of a sob and a laugh. Matthew was nothing more than a translucent, wavering ghost.
Colours faded and swirled. Prussia loved to daydream.