Antonio had been awake for a while now. He sat in the brisk cold, waiting for the silence to be broken by something, anything, because the dull white noise his mind was creating to busy itself was becoming too annoying to bear. His teeth where chattering together, his limbs shaking as the temperature of early morning began to nip at him. He was still rendered blind, but he could tell he was in the pit. He could feel the cold dirt beneath his legs and back.

How long had he been out here? Three days? It sounded right. But then again he couldn't be sure. The last thing he remembered was blacking out from the pure inability to maintain himself. His nerves still felt as if they had been frayed, his lungs felt burnt. It made his chest ache to breathe.

Straining his ears past the ringing for any noise but his mind and his thoughts, he began to make out something.

Water.

That was water.

But, to his dismay, that was all he could hear. Anywhere could have water. He could be in Rome for all he cared, and Romano could be just a few streets away.

"Feli?"

There was no response. He could feel his stomach churn. Was he alone here? He didn't want that. But then again, he could have fallen for the grip of unconsciousness as well. Then, he should feel happy for the other.

"Hnn?"

"Feli?" He asked again.

"Ch-Che?"

"Are you okay?" He knew his voice sounded urgent and afraid.

He could hear the other stifle a sniff. "No... Toni it hurts."

"What happened?"

"I... Mhn..."

"...Feli. Answer me."

The other let out soft whimper, and Antonio could hear the other make an attempt to shift. There was a weak, frantic cry.

"Feli-!"

"It's stuck! Toni, piacere ..." Feliciano began to cry.

Antonio made a futile attempt to shrug off the blindfold, do anything he could to get it to shift, even just a little. He heard Feliciano begin to sob openly, loud cries of pain echoing about the small pit. In the frantic struggle Antonio was putting up, the blindfold slipped, just slightly. Just enough to see.

He looked around quickly, the blindfold continuing to slip past his eye completely, the other side beginning to fall off as well. Antonio let out a sharp gasp as his eyes landed on Feliciano.

The smaller of the two was curled up against one of the dirt walls, tears streaming down his face rapidly. His coppery hair was a ragged, bloody mess, and it was splattered all over his side, down his loose sweater and shorts.

A large carving knife stood like a beacon, protruding from his thigh as if it was some sort of marking. The blade was bent awkwardly, and it looked as if his skin as being torn apart from the strain of standing upright. His breathing was ragged, and weak, his teeth clenched in an attempt to hold back his tears. Every time he shuddered, the knife wiggled, causing him to let loose another sob. But the blood. There was so much blood, all over Feliciano, all over the dirt wall, so much that the floor was almost muddy, and Antonio didn't realize it until just then, all over himself.

Shakily, Antonio made his way over, shuffling on his knees to try and get to Feliciano.

"Feli I-"

"Just get it out. Please take it out..."

Antonio didn't know what to do. He knew Feliciano was in tremendous pain, judging by the fact that the knife was beginning to shift slightly in its tiny case of flesh. There was only one solution.

"Fina." Antonio whispered. "But try to stay quiet. We don't want them to come back, si?"

Feli nodded quickly biting his lip anxiously. His blindfold had been retied sloppily around his face, but it seemed as if he hadn't moved for hours. As if he had been huddled up in the corner, crying all night long. Antonio's stomach lurched as he thought about that.

He took a deep breath, before leaning forward. Within moments, the slick handle of the knife was between his teeth. The blood tasted disgusting. It was metallic, and cold. He nearly pulled away then.

"Toni... Please just get it out..." Feli mumbled, tears streaming down his face.

Antonio simply grunted in response, before pulling back abruptly.

Feliciano began to bleed again, and he let out a wail of pain, his throat almost sounding like it was going to burn up.

Antonio quickly spit the knife away, rubbing his face on his shoulder, trying to get rid of the blood. He pulled himself closer to Feliciano, who was shuddering, trying to bite back sobs of pain.

"Lo siento..." He murmured comfortingly as Feliciano cuddled up next to him.

Feliciano didn't respond for a long time, simply shivering.

He wanted to go back home.