Hey guys! Quick warning, this get graphic for the first couple of paragraphs, so watch out! Also, if you like star wars imagines or fanfiction, head over to and look for works by AllessaRen2198, she takes requests for imagines as well. Also, if you are interested in other fics by me, my account on archive is quizzletriangle3. There are other one-shots and stories there if you wanna check them out. Thanks for reading guys! More soon.


Ludwig felt like he was drowning, all he could see was blue as he choked on cold salt water. He could hear the crash of waves pounding against his head, the heat of fire near his body from broken parts of the sinking submarine, the pressure of the cabin trying to suck him down in a whirlpool to the bottom of the ocean. He could hear his fellow men cry out before gurgling, being plunged under by the suction. All around him was the destruction of the U-Boat, the metals pieces on fire, making them too hot to cling onto to float. The American ship loomed in front of him, the others that were able to swim hard enough to remain above the water crying out for mercy in broken english.

"Fire, boys!" was all Ludwig heard before the crack of the ship's machine guns roared to life. With each pound, Ludwig's heart matched the beat. He forced his head under to water, trying not to move so they would think he was a floating corpse not worth shooting. If the bullet missed a man, the water would absorb it and its sound. When it hit men, all he could hear was crying out or silence, the thud of a bullet going into meat being heard all around him. He was fading, no oxygen. To breath, he'd look up for a second, seeing blood spurt in a misty cloud into the air for a split second before the man would either slump over and float aimlessly, or sink beneath the cold blue waves. Once the guns stop, the engine of the ship moved it away. Ludwig remained face down in the water for an hour after the ship was gone, only moving for breath. He looked up, red was everywhere. The sky, red dawn, the ocean waters, red, his uniform, red. He grabbed onto a scrap of the U-boat that was not aflame, floating along until he passed out. He woke up to blue, blue everywhere. Blue sky. Blue ocean. Blue eyes. The deepest shade of blue eyes he had ever seen. He couldn't breathe, but it wasn't the ocean that prevented him from breathing, that he knew.

Ludwig woke up with a loud gasp, taking in as much air as his lungs could hold. A nightmare, that's what he had. What he couldn't figure out though was why he saw Alfred's eyes staring into his own with so much warmth. Ludwig shifted around the bed, sitting up, gently trying to stand. He didn't know what he was doing, he faintly thought about looking at the house he was in. He noted that it was still dark out, middle of the night. He opened the door gently, finding himself in a small, dark hallway. The floor creaked a little as he moved down the hall to his left. He walked into the opening of what looked like a living room. A couch was placed against a wall, beneath a window on the left, on the right was the kitchen. Ludwig saw the door straight across the room. He walked over to it, opened the door, and found himself facing the ocean. It was a beach house. He was about 20 meters from the ocean. Still over 7000 kilometers from Germany. From home. And he had no idea of he would ever be allowed back into his home country. He wouldn't be allowed to just go, not during the war. But he was in enemy territory. He was not safe. He felt as though he never would be safe again, stuck here forever. He missed his home, his family, his dogs, his friends, he missed his food, his songs, his language. It was all gone. Ludwig walked down to the water's edge, looking as far as he could into the horizon, hoping that if he tried hard enough, he could see Europe.

He knew that was a foolish thought, but he just wanted to get home.

"Hey, you 'kay?" Ludwig jolted at the noise, turning around to see Alfred reaching out for him.

"What are?" Ludwig tried to ask.

"I could ask the same of you." Alfred smiled. "It's around 2 in the morning, and you're on the beach. Are you ok?" Alfred's faced looked concerned.

"Just a nightmare, is all." Ludwig admitted.

"The ocean help you out?" Alfred stood next to Ludwig, looking out into the dark.

"No."

"Then why are you out here?" Alfred asked, looking at Ludwig now.

"I don't really know." Ludwig looked down at the sand, gently kicking the grains into the ocean.

"Was it about your ship crash?" Alfred asked.

Ludwig nodded. "I just don't know if I could go back home."

Alfred looked puzzled. "I hadn't thought about that, honestly." He looked like he was focusing. "Where are you from anyway?" Alfred piqued.

"Here."

"This town?" Alfred's eyebrows rose up.

"No, America."

"I know that, but where?"

Ludwig knew nothing about American geography. He threw out a city he had heard of before. "Chicago." He looked away from Alfred.

"That's really far off." Alfred noted, rubbing his eyes.

Lucky guess. "Yeah." Ludwig agreed.

"But, why wouldn't you be able to go back?" Alfred fully faced Ludwig.

"My family died when I was a teenager, I joined the war efforts to get off the streets." Ludwig lied.

"Wow, your life really, it's shitty." Alfred chuckled in shock.

You have no idea. Ludwig thought.

"You wanna stay here then?" Alfred asked.

"What?" Ludwig turned around to face Alfred.

"Stay here, in my beach house. I'll find you work, stay KIA and start over, forget your past." Alfred smiled.

Ludwig's heart was racing. Alfred sounded like he knew what Ludwig was hiding, but he seemed so genuine. "Forget your past," what was he insinuating? "I don't know," Ludwig backed up.

Alfred stepped forward. "You don't have to, but just know that you don't have to go back to the streets. You have a home here." Alfred's eyes shone a darker shade of blue in the moonlight. His eyes, were so kind, so open. Ludwig felt his heart race faster, but he couldn't figure out why. Alfred reached out for his shoulder. "I wanna help you, I don't know why, but I feel like I should help you, so I will." They stared at each other for a moment before Ludwig nodded.

"Thank you." Ludwig said.

"Not a problem," Alfred responded. They walked back up to the small house together, the tension in Ludwig finally gone. Alfred stopped in front of his door. "Get some sleep, we'll try finding you work tomorrow."

Ludwig smiled. "Ok, good night."

Alfred nodded in response, closing his door gently. Ludwig walked into his room, laid back down on his bed, and shut his eyes. He didn't have his home, he didn't have his family, he didn't have his language, but he had Alfred's kindness, he had Alfred's friendship, he had his trust, and he had a friend in a land of enemies. I can do this, I will survive this war. Ludwig thought before falling back asleep.