(AN: PLEASE PICK A YIRUMA SONG AND LISTEN TO IT WHILE YOU READ. I'M GOING TO WARN YOU: THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR CRYBABIES. I DO NOT OWN AXIS POWERS HETALIA. ALSO, FOR THE BEST EXPERIENCE, I RECCOMEND USING DARK VIEW. MARCH ON, MEN!)
The rain was much worse than ever the forecasters on television had expected; lightning went off more than once in a minute, thunder boomed straight from the coast, and the ice disguised as harmless raindrops beat down on the shoulders of everyone brave enough to stay inside. The beach was no longer what stereotypes would make you think of when you thought the word "beach"; this was a hole of mud, a useless little tourist trap for people obsessed with Hawaiian shirts and large balls of twine. Even the locals would turn a blind eye on their usually beautiful town on a rainy day such as this one.
Feliciano had never thought much about rain or weather in general. When he needed to go somewhere, he needed to go somewhere; the weather wasn't going to keep him cooped up at home. Today he woke up and realized that he needed to be somewhere... and that's just what he did.
Feliciano realized the full streets he was used to were now empty. No more tomato stands, no more photo booths, no more people in sweaty costumes holding obnoxious signs hoping to get a quick buck, no more laughing children, no more guitar players, no more sweet air... everything he came to love was shattered on a rainy day like glass.
No... his memories. They were like glass. And they had shattered.
But at that moment he didn't realize that; he needed to get to Ludwig, and fast. He had nearly forgotten where his house was, and he blinked ferociously to see through the water drops soaking his eyelashes and attempt to go in the right direction. After 10 minutes of blind searching, he reached out. There had to be something, anything, he could rest on. Maybe he shouldn't have left where he was...
But where was he? And why was he there? Most importantly... where was Ludwig, and why wasn't he there? He laughed a little, realizing how close those sentences were to eachother. At last, he found himself heavily breathing, leaning over a silver mailbox. His head acted as an umbrella so he could stare down at the sidewalk, watch the beautiful tears of the sky fall into sidewalk cracks. These sidewalks...
He remembered learning how to walk as a child. First he crawled, then walked, then jogged, then ran. Now he's gone from running to jogging to walking to... crawling. He had been reduced to a baby once again. The baby he always knew he was.
He could hear echoing voices in the distance, voices he could barely make out. "Fe...fe...felic...felici..."
"Heh heh, Feliciano? That sounds like someone's name. Ooh, that's my name. Maybe they're calling to me?" he whispered to himself, not wanting anything to get any more louder than it was already. He began to believe his ears would burst as he clapped his hands over his ears and tried focusing on the blooming lavenders in a little patch around the silver mailbox.
"FELICIANO!" He heard a cry, muffled by the rain drops and blinded by the grey clouds. He could no longer see... things began to go black...
"FELICIANO!" Why was he even living? What was the point? If he was only going to impose on the people he cared about...
"FELICIANO!" Maybe he should just die...
"FELICIANO!" Maybe he should just die...
"FELICIANO!"
"Maybe I should just die."
His words were abrupt, sharp, and not attached to anything strung out. But shortly after the words were said, he wished he hadn't said them. Not because he didn't believe they were the truth, but he didn't want to beleive they were the truth. Not ever again. He was truly disappointed in himself when tears reached the flaps of his eyes and overflowed.
"I heard him... I swear I did, Mother. I swear." He could hear a familiar voice in the distance, the person crying for the man named Feliciano, the person crying for him. "It has to be... if it ends here, where am I going to go?" A few tears were shed as he repeated. "Where am I going to go?"
"Ludwig!" he tried shouting, but his voice slipped out from under him and he croaked.
"Feliciano?"
"Ludwig!" He let go of the silver mailbox and leaned out in front of him.
"Feliciano!" A murky figure started to appear before him.
"Ludwig!" He reached forward even more, hoping the same could be said for the other person.
Finally, they reached eachother. Finally, they could rest in eachother's arms. Finally, they had eachother. Finally, they could rest.
"Ludwig..." he had to stop and catch his breath in between his words, "I'm... sorry... that... I... did... this... to... you... all..." he began coughing madly, not being able to handle the cold for much longer in his hospital gown.
"Feliciano... I don't want to be mad at you, but I am." He took the heavy coat that protected him off of his own body and wrapped it around his friend's, then his scarf, his boots, and his hat. "How could you run off and leave us all worried?"
"I... wanted... to... see... you...so...bad...ly..." he stopped to sneeze and cough a little more, and when they looked down on the sidewalk he was facing, there was blood. Shocked and outraged, Ludwig crushed Feliciano's body into his. "I didn't realize... where I was... or what I was doing. Can we please... go..." he couldn't finish, because there was no breath left in him.
"We can go home now, Feliciano." He squeezed his friend's hands, then did something he didn't expect.
They wrapped eachother's arms tightly around one another and pulled into a kiss.
...
"Feliciano!" Elizaveta wrapped herself around Feliciano's unconscious body, and it was obvious she had shed a few tears. "Why did he leave...?" She then turned to see the room was a mess from his exit. She looked to stare at the awkward blonde man standing in the doorway. "Oh, don't mind me. I'll clean the room, so you can visit with him." She looked up after a few minutes of him simply standing there and tried to break the silence, "Ludwig, right?"
"Oh... yes."
She whispered sweetly, "In his sleep, he's been calling for you."
Ludwig knew now was the time. He awkwardly grabbed another uncomfortable plastic chair and started talking to his friend. "Feliciano... you're going to be alright, okay? Try hard. Remember our promise. Remember our promise to remember."
There was a pause as he recalled how hot the thick air was, how Feliciano's smile filled the room yet again.
He found himself smiling yet again.
And even though he didn't know it, Feliciano was smiling too.