Rome lay on the crude cot, eyes closed, shirtless, wounds hardly bandaged. All his concentration was fixed on the act of breathing, and each breath came out as a mangled gasp.
Germania knelt by his side and looked down at his old friend, wondering how he got this way and whether he, Germania, would ever be in his place.
Amber eyes opened and gazed up at the blonde.
"G-Germania," Rome choked, "I think… I'm ready to go."
"No," Germania insisted. "You're going to recover. Every nation has his ups and downs, you'll get better, I know it…"
Rome laughed dryly and ended up coughing. "Look at me. I'm old and washed-up and way too big for my britches. I'm not going to be around for much longer… you know that as well as I do."
Germania said nothing. Rome studied his face intently, noticing for the first time the age spread across it. The bags under the eyes, the crow's feet, the wrinkles… Germania was bound toward the same fate he himself was suffering. The last thing Rome wanted was for him to endure this pain.
"L-listen to me," he began again. "Don't put all your effort into being the biggest fish in the pond. Stop and enjoy life's pleasures, focus on raising your kids, stuff like that. It's okay to let others be more powerful than you. Intelligere?"
Germania didn't fully understand, but he nodded just the same.
Rome reached up with a calloused hand to caress the blonde's cheek. "And look out for my boys when I'm gone, will you, please?"
Looking away, Germania reached up to his face and put his hand on Rome's. A tear ran down his cheek. "Please don't leave me," he murmured.
"I have no choice," Rome said softly. With a sad smile, he shifted his hand from Germania's cheek to the back of his head and pulled him down into a slow, passionate kiss.
When they finally parted, Germania was completely in tears. He'd witnessed many deaths before, but to lose someone so close to him….
"Please," he repeated, begging this time, "don't leave me."
"I'm sorry…" Rome's eyes began to glaze over as he whispered, "Ego amare…."
"I love you too," Germania sobbed.
Rome smiled once more and closed his eyes, releasing a deep sigh. Before long he had completely ceased to move.
Germania stared at him for a moment, then collapsed weeping onto his bare and scarred chest.
After what must have been hours, Germania finally wiped his tears and stood up. He stared down at Rome's now lifeless form and pondered how peaceful he looked, the content smile still on his face. He didn't look dead. He looked asleep.
Germania knelt down one last time to run his hand through the empire's unkempt hair before turning and leaving. He walked home in silence, numbing himself to his own emotions so as to not have a meltdown right there in the middle of the dirt road.
His sons greeted him at the door. Germania walked right past them without a word, entering his house and plopping down in a chair, where he proceeded to cry for another half-hour.
At last, once he'd quieted down, Prussia gathered up the courage to ask, "Vatti? What is it?"
Germania only looked at him. Austria whispered, "Rome," in his brother's ear. Prussia nodded and sympathetically put is hand on his father's arm.
After a while, Germania rose from his seat. "I think I know what to name your little brother," he said softly. He strode into the other room, where sat a cradle. Reaching into it, he picked up the sleeping child with blonde hair that matched his own.
Turning to his other three sons, who stood in the doorway, he commanded, "Roderich, I want you to go to Rome's house and see if they need help with the little ones."
"Yes, Vater," Austria murmured, exiting the room.
Germania turned back to the baby he held in his arms. He looked like a little angel, with his blonde hair and fair skin. An angel… just like Rome was now.
"Someday," Germania said aloud to the child, "you will become great and strong and powerful. Like a god, you shall rule all of Europe. You will follow the example set by a man who was lost today, a man who was nothing short of great."
After a brief pause, he continued. "That is why I dub you, Ludwig, the Holy Roman Empire."
As if on cue, the baby opened his cerulean eyes and stared up at his father with a content little smile. Germania looked up at the two remaining boys. "Vash? Gilbert? Would either of you like to hold him?"
The albino stepped forward and clumsily took Ludwig into is arms. His brother grabbed his shoulder to steady him.
Smiling at his sons, Germania went over to the window and stuck his head out. He gazed up at the clouded sky and sighed.
"I'll never forget you," he whispered.
The sky seemed to lighten a bit, just a little bit, and a small stream of sunlight broke through the clouds and fell onto Germania's face. His lips curled into a small smile, and he let a few more tears fall from his eyes.
"My own time here is limited," he continued. "I'm getting old. Soon I'll be up there with you…" After hesitating a moment, he added, "… and I think I'm fine with that now."
Germania stood there for a moment, with his head out the window, then finally went back inside, where Switzerland was showing Prussia how to properly hold an infant.
Holy Rome laughed in that way babies do, and it caused Germania to melt.
This child would somehow be forever bonded to the man after whom he was named. And someday, even after Germania was gone, his children and Rome's descendants would still be close allies. The two families would live intertwined paths for all time. The bond between Germania and Rome would never be completely broken.
Of this Germania was certain.
~finis~