Hmm...not as big of a opening as I thought...are any of the readers avid followers of 'Coming Down'?

Nonetheless, I continue! I would like to welcome home however Elizabeta, who was glad to know it has returned via reviews. It is back Eliza!

~( Inspired by 'Pride ~Nageki no Tabi (Pride ~Journey of Sorrow) by AKINO for Sousei no Aquarion)~


The day went along well spent. Ludwig and Feliciano came back with the family near panicking, wondering where the hell they went. After a lengthy, drawn-out explanation and lecture, they were let off the hook for wandering off and all went smoothly. They played along with all of the resort's toys, enjoying the water park, the all-you-could-eat buffet in which Gilbert and Feliciano got into a food battle and Feliciano won when Gilbert passed out with an enlarged food coma, the random shops and stores and got to adventure into the town closest. Feliciano and Ludwig had already been around the fringes of the town and were greeted with little hesitancy when they toured around. People greeted them and offered even free services, proud of their fights through life.

By mid-day, the family was lagging back to the hotel, ready to settle and relax into their large rooms. Ludwig and Feliciano thought settled with touring the tour a little longer, settling for one of the more interesting shops set up.

A medium.

Feliciano opted out, but Ludwig wanted to try it. So Feliciano waited outside for him as he walked in and locked eyes with a ginger-haired girl turning over a set of cards.

"Ludwig Beilschmidt, welcome. You're welcome to take a seat" the medium spoke, setting her cards back into the deck. "I am Olivia"

Ludwig took the offered seat, not voicing his confusion on how she already knew him. She simply looked into his eyes, like she was observing his soul, and played with her card deck.

"I sense you do not want my normal services Ludwig. You seemed undecided on what you want. I think…..a reading will work, but a reading not so stereotypical. I want to see what your past holds"

"My past? Why would you want to look into that horrid thing?" Ludwig questioned.

"Because even with its darkness, there is light that made you what you are. Will you honor me and let me see?" Olivia asked as she offered a hand to him. The palm of the hand was decorated with elaborate symbols and designs. Ludwig cautiously took the hand, letting Olivia hold it with both of hers. She seemed to enter a trance, looking into his past. She opened her eyes, staring deeply into his.

"You hide much dark events in your past, ones that adults couldn't handle, and yet you stand calm and firm, showing no harm by these events. I sense a fog as well that barley lingers. Did you lose these memories once Ludwig?"

"Yes, I did, and only recently did they come back."

"Car accidents. Who knew they could unlock and trap so much within us?" Olivia joked, though she tried to push it aside, realizing that it came out rather offensively. Ludwig understood her use of it and felt no offense to the question.

"But you have someone that understands them, someone that can directly relate to them. Ludwig, instead of hiding your feelings for these memories, you should express them to Feliciano. By doing so, you will understand more of what is hidden, and how they played a part in this journey"

Olivia sat back, watching her advice take hold in Ludwig. He seemed fazed, but it settle quickly, Ludwig knowing that she was right; no medium needed to tell him that. He thanked her for her time and set a small amout of money on her table, but it was pushed back.

"Keep it. Having you here is enough"

"Luddy! It's starting to rain! We need to get back!" Feliciano shouted as he ran inside, his shirt already spotted badly with rain drops.

"Alright, let's go Feli" Ludwig bolted out with Feli on his tail, arms up in defense of the falling rain. They were able to find little cover as they ran through the town, sloshing through mud trails and jumping over large puddles. They weren't going to make it home before they were soaked though, Ludwig knew it. By the time they could see the hotel, Feli made a mistake in his steps, driving his right foot into a bad mud puddle, which ripped his stride down to nothing, yanking him down to the ground with a startled cry and a whine for help. Ludwig turned as best he could and helped Feli out of the mud puddle, noticing that only his legs were muddied. Feli's eyes flooded with tears, one of Feli's hands numbly reaching for the ankle.

"It hurts…" Feli cried softly.

"Get on my back; I'm not risking you hurting yourself more"

So now they ran the rest of the way, Feliciano clinging to Ludwig's shoulders as they ran through the storm and tried to find cover from it. Feli got used to the bumpy ride on Ludwig's back, actually lulling him to sleep for a bit before his injured foot swung out and hit straight into a tree, eliciting a yelp and more tears. By the time they got into the lobby and into the elevator, Feli and Ludwig were shaking from the rain and cold, splattered in mud and Feli could feel his hurt ankle throbbing.

The elevator dinged, and they got off, dragging themselves up to their door. Ludwig flashed their Entry card and slid them both in, tugging off his muddy clothes and shoes. He felt no embarrassment as he tugged Feli's ruined and muddy pants off, tossing them with the rest of the muddy things needing a good wash. He tugged Feli's wet shirt off and helped him off the floor and onto the bed, where he grabbed their blanket and wrapped himself up. He hissed as he tried to move his right foot and let it stick out. It was looking red and puffy. Ludwig was shedding his clothes in the bathroom and replacing them with dry articles. He walked out with a white box with a red cross on it; their first aid kit. Ludwig kneeled down in front of Feli.

"Mind if I check your ankle?"

"Please…go ahead Luddy"

Gently flexing the injured ankle, Ludwig tested it for any breaks, any fractures and anything wrong. He gently moved it side to side and up and down, eliciting a lot of whines and sharp words from Feliciano as he did so. Feli kept on doing so, not happy with the discomfort he was feeling. Ludwig thought needed to do this to make sure nothing bad happened. As he pressed his thumbs down on one spot on the ankle, he was slapped upside the head by Feliciano. Ludwig caught the next attempt that was swung at him.

"Ouch! That hurts, stop it!"

"Okay. It looks like you just sprained and bruised the hell out of it. Keep still and I'll wrap it up so you don't hurt yourself more"

Feliciano complied, keeping his ankle straight and letting Ludwig readjust it so he could slowly wrap it with soft ace bandages. They were nice and cool, like the rain that fell outside and Feli really was happy for that fact. As Ludwig finished his nurse job and secured the ace bandages correctly, he collected up the first aid kit and slid it under their bed for a later time. Feli rolled the ankle experimentally and hissed as a bolt of pain shot up his leg. He stopped instantly, and then started shivering; finally noticing that he was freezing cold.

Ludwig noticed before Italy even started to shiver, knowing he would be cold after being carried through the rain, and had also started a warm bath to help get the chills away when he went searching for the first aid kit.

"L-luddy…." Feli stuttered, captured by the cold chills running freely up and down his body. Ludwig scooped up Feliciano into his arms again and carried him into the medium sized bathtub already filled with warm water, propping up the injured ankle on the rim. Feli settled into the water, letting it warm him slowly. He felt a little better now.

"Will you join me Luddy?"

Ludwig barely had time to stutter out an answer, nothing coherent coming out of his mouth. His face once again had turned bright red, and nothing so innocent ran through his thoughts at that moment. Feliciano giggled into the water, peering over the edge of the tube. Feli had to admit as well nothing really innocent ran thought his head but he didn't have to let Luddy know that. Ludwig though opted out at last for joining and bolted out of there, shouting out promises of clean clothes later for him. As the door to the bathroom closed, Feli sank into the water again, giving a resigned sigh. He had hoped Ludwig would pass out of the awkwardness of this. He wanted Ludwig.

He wanted that ugly scar of his 'first time' gone.

"No, no no, stop it" Italy bit back as it came again, the unsettling memories, the scars still etched in his mind. He curled up defensively as his body shook with fear. The memories did not stop, going well past what he usually dreamt, and dove into the actual rape. He was sobbing and crying out again, unable to handle the horror again. He wanted it to end, he wanted Ludwig here.

He was about to start screaming as Ludwig walked back in, and changed his entire agenda to grab Feli and help fight away the day nightmare. Feli was pulled out of the tub and up against Ludwig on the floor, sobbing and screaming and muttering into his chest. Ludwig kept him as close as he could, not saying anything and stroking Feliciano's damp hair. He never needed to say anything; he never hesitated when this happened. He promised himself he would forget everything to help Feliciano through this, no matter what it took. Feliciano was scarred and left alone for long enough and Ludwig never wanted it to happen again. Though now instead of completely focusing on Feliciano, Ludwig felt his own sickening memories bubble up from their prisons. He saw his own horrors, his own scars, from long ago. His ghosts haunting him, and took solace in only the fact that Feliciano was back in his life.

Ludwig for the first time since he regained his childhood memories cried for his own losses.

They both cried as they faced the darkness haunting them.

They barely made it back into their actual room before they were too tired to stay awake due to their crying. That night Feliciano was graced with no dreams.

Ludwig was another story, and it did not play out well at all.

'Walking back to class alone was never a good idea', Ludwig chastised himself as he walked down the dim hallways, clutching his small learning book with shaking hands. 'You know that you should have left earlier with the rest of them and not stayed back to catch up'

He took his steps as quietly and carefully as he could as he walked back to his current room in the Personify Country Jail and Make-Up School. He never liked it here, and he was never really accepted here. Everyone was bigger and meaner, and all seemed to be hell bent on either killing him, bullying him to bleeding or tying to….t-to…to rape him. He never liked it that the boys did it the most, dirty disgusting hands pinning him and reaching for his pants, tugging his shirt away and leaving marks on him. The guards and teachers didn't care about him, but more on that they wanted to leave. Even the girls would as well, shoving him into dark corners and trying to get him to do bad things to them.

These weren't students failing; these were bad, juvenile kids! They were the next batch of prisoners! Why was Ludwig here?

As Ludwig turned the last corner to his cell-turned-room, he ran into something solid and fell back, his book flying out of his reach.

"Took 'ya fucking long enough Lud. What did you do after class, suck off the teacher?"

Ludwig looked up in fear as the four middle-school students loomed over him, three guys and one girl; the biggest bullies and cons within the repeating grades. They were among the oldest, sitting in the failed seventh grade, and they were the meanest, most disgusting kids he met. They were the main force in his horror here. They laughed at the kid's joke, and the girl, Liara, stepped up grabbing Ludwig's fallen book and tossing it into his open room.

"Lud, Luddy, Lud-Lud. The youngest kid to end up here, in the fourth grade no less!" Liara cooed at him, tugging him off his back by the front of his shirt. "We're going to have fun before this replacement semester ends"

"No!" Ludwig shouted back, trying to squirm free from her grip. He was grabbed by two of the others, holding him in place and leaving no gap for him to escape.

"No?" the last remaining male, Han, spat. "No? You think you have an opinion you little bitch? You don't, not here. Welcome to school jail, prison bitch"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Clawed hands ripped at his last barriers from being exposed, tearing at the fabric, ripping holes and openings for his attackers to use. They bit at open skin, palmed his crotch, and did what they wanted, all within ears not a few feet away, but they didn't listen. The others didn't even move. They ignored his pleas and cries for help. No one was going to interfere with these four and their captured prey. Ludwig fought back with little results, trying to keep his legs closed and his pants on, but his legs were kept forced open, open to attacks by Liara and one of the boys.

Han went for groping him, and the other nameless attacker worked on ripping everything that was clothing off him. Ludwig soon had no fight left in him, unable to fight back. He was losing the battle, and he was already half-naked, sitting in the hallway of the Jail with the four of them still at it, unable to break through his pants for an odd reason. He fought back the ripples of pleasure, knowing they were wrong and bad. His body reacted against him.

"This bitch must like it for what's throbbing underneath here" Liara sneered. "Wish we could see what it was~"

"P-please stop…." Ludwig tried one last time to make them, but he found no answer but Han's hands choking him, keeping him silent until they released him into a coughing fit. Ludwig was pretty sure there were going to be bruises rising soon.

"Ludwig, I would shut the fuck up. Slip them off…." Han ordered, and Ludwig could hear his zipper start to go down.

'This is it. I've lost. This is going to happen after all' Ludwig thought, trapping his sobs. He had no more strength to fight back. 'They're going to rape me and no one will ever know'

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU FOUR DOING TO HIM?!"

Ludwig opened his eyes to look up at his teacher, who was just a few steps down the hall, wielding her only yard stick. She was sort of kind to him, and now she was here to rescue her. Han and Liara started to bolt, only to be flanked and captured by guards coming down Ludwig's immediate right hallway. The other boys bolted but ended up in the same situation as the other two. The teacher walked up to Ludwig and helped him up, folding what was left of his shirt over his chest, and helping him to get decent. His assaulters, now fighting against the guards holding them, shouted at the teacher.

"You four are finished assaulting this boy. I will see to it personally that you spend extra time here for what you've done. Come on Ludwig, I'll see if I can find you some new clothes"

Ludwig let the kind teacher carry him on her back, resting his heavy head on her shoulders. He wanted to fall asleep. He felt bruised and contaminated and dirtied and wrong. He wanted to scrub it all away. He eventually fell asleep silently sobbing into the teacher's shoulder.

"LUDWIG! WAKE UP! Wake up, snap out of it! Luddy, please stop it!"

Ludwig's head pounded badly, making him scream as his headache and bruises and claw marks flared in an angry rush of pain. He could hear Liara and Han laugh at him as he disappeared into the unsettling darkness of the jail. He could still hear his tormentors yell as he was carried away to freedom.

"LUDDY! Wake UP! Please, snap out of it, WAKE UP!"

Before his pain captured him into his subconscious, he could see a shadow figure in the hall, waving at him like a friend. It looked like Feli. As his head felt like it was split open, he waved back, and finally succumbed to his body's wishes.

"BURN IN HELL LUDWIG!" was the last thing he heard from Liara as he dropped out of the world in the pitch black subconscious cage he made.

Ludwig gasped out of his memory-dream, launching into the awaiting arms of Feliciano. For a moment, he couldn't connect to reality, and sobbed softly into Feliciano's shoulder, unable to control himself. He still felt like he was living out his memories again.

"Luddy, what happened, what did you see? You were tossing and turning and crying and screaming, and I didn't know what was happening, ARE YOU OKAY!?" Feliciano demanded. Ludwig's tears stopped on order, and he answered him.

"I, I was reliving the most painful memory I have. I never thought….it hurts. Just let me come back to reality, Feli…please, just…..let me come back…."

Feliciano was relieved, but sudden sorrow wringed at his heartstrings. Ludwig now faced the horrors of his past, trapped within his subconscious during sleep to forcibly watch as dark things bubble underneath his skin. Feli tightened his grip on Ludwig.

"It's okay Ludwig. I have you, come back as soon as you can" Feli told him. Ludwig's tears quickly returned, curling up against Feli's shoulder and chest, refusing to let go of the security he felt in his arms. Feliciano welcomed it with an open heart, feeling more trust between them. Not once had he seen Ludwig cry and break down to such a level, or even react to his memories in such a sorrowful state. He knew Ludwig's history was full of bullying and hate and horror, but how much of it was pure devastation?

"You're safe Luddy. I'm safe as well. You don't need to hide it anymore" Feli told him, running a soothing ran up and down his back. Ludwig's body was racked with sobs, seemingly endless tears. He couldn't keep a hold of what was happening.

"I wish that your journey here was better than mine. No one deserves harsh punishment like this. Wake up Luddy, I'm waiting for you"

Ludwig sobs starting to subside and soon Ludwig was still in Feli's arms, just letting his body and mind calm back down to normalcy. Feli, tired out from his previous sob session and from sitting here helping Ludwig out for long, looked about ready to pass out, and right before he succumbed to his drowsiness, Ludwig's lifted himself up and looked Feli in the eyes. Ludwig's eyes were red and puffy, and tears too small to hold back still fell. Feli smiled and hugged Ludwig again, the motion quickly followed.

"Thank you Feli" Ludwig thanked him, "I couldn't thank you enough"

"Trusting in me while that happened is enough Ludwig" Feli replied, "I take pride in knowing that this relationship works both ways when we're haunted"

"I'll tell you about it later, alright?"

Feliciano nodded. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment again, something new joining in the field of emotions swimming in them. They couldn't pinpoint it, but it was strong. Sleepiness soon captured them both again, and both fell asleep in the comfort of each other's arms, Feliciano curling up into Ludwig. Quickly, they fell into their well-needed sleep, no memories of haunting nightmares chasing them through the dark. They finally got a peaceful sleep cycle. As the last light in their room flickered off, the door, now noticeably opened, slowly closed. Gilbert, who had heard the commotion, was glad to see both of them finally find some peace to sleep. He was worried when he heard his brother start screaming.

He hadn't heard his brother scream like that.

At least he took some solace in knowing that he wouldn't have to worry so much about his brother's wellbeing and mental stability.


How do you like 'dem feels? Huh? review and let me know if it hit you hard enough. Luvs you all!