The last chapter... is finally up! It's very long, too... And because this will be my last AN until the next fic... I'm gonna dedicate this AN section to answering your questions. iPastalia: I love your name! And thank you for reviewing! Glad that I've made you a fan of ItaLiech and AmeriLiech and hope that you'll continue reading my next fic! Sparklypandas: Epic finale, indeed! I'm ecstatic that I've given you such a reaction because of the cliffhanger 8D I'm so happy that my story is keeping you on the edge of your seat. Ayumi Kudou: Wow! You've been with me from the first chapter, and you always support me! Thank you! To answer your question, I tend to stay away from M-rated stories, so I'm pretty bad with writing them. They also make me kinda queasy, so I'm just gonna stick with the less mature ratings for now. And also, thank you so much for giving me the links of ItaLiech! Pimp with a chainsaw: Daddy! xD You make me laugh every single time I read your review, and I'm really happy to have you with me since I started this story. Props to you! Random person: Sometimes I wonder if two people both review as 'Random person', what will happen... But anyway, I loved your little skit! And thank you too, for staying with me throughout this story! Liechtenstein's Lover: A Pirate!England and Liechtenstein fic sounds interesting... I shall consider that idea. And thank you for your praises! I'm just a beginner in writing, but your comments really help boost my confidence. WOW: I don't mind yaoi or yuri, and I rather like reading those, if they don't get too lemony or too overated. Liechtenstein pairings are my OTPs, but I'm willing to write anything! Except that I've realized that I officially suck at writing one shots. They tend to get too long and turn into a full-out fic. But I do write drabbles to get my inspiration going, though. Maybe I'll post some of those. So now... on with the story!
XXVI. Darkness... and Light
As Liechtenstein's fingers grazed the Darkness's waiting hand, she felt no regret. The chaotic world around her slowly disappeared; the screams and the desperate cries for help slowly faded away. She was... being propelled through a dark void, with her violet ribbon and her hair fluttering and brushing against her cheeks. The Darkness ahead didn't end.
She realized that she wasn't scared. She had allowed the Darkness to take her willingly, because she loved her friends. She hadn't given up out of fear or worry for herself, but because she wanted others to survive. She didn't mind giving away all her Light because of that reason.
Simply moving through the void of Darkness, Liechtenstein's memories rushed into her mind. She knew that she had changed, a lot, for the better. Before Switzerland had left, she had been much of an introvert. She was shy and only kept to herself, her brother, her two closest friends: Iceland and Sealand. She followed her brother to world meetings, spent the holidays with him, and went along with him everywhere. Her whole entire life, since Switzerland had taken her in, revolved around him. She'd never let herself share a little happiness; whatever her brother wanted was what she would do. Switzerland wouldn't ever know, but the amount of gratitude and love she felt for him had been what her entire life was about. She always kept to herself, staying away from others, just to please him. She was quite comfortable with that, and she had always told him she was happy, but subconsciously, she'd always yearned to become an individual.
She had become friends with Sealand because he was almost the exact opposite of her. She admired his never-ending strive to become a nation, his cheerfulness and his happiness. Not many identified him as a real nation, but they all knew him as Sealand. And she was just known as Switzerland's quiet and polite little sister. And then she'd come to admire Iceland because he was similar to her in many ways. Although he chose to remain a bit cold and aloof at times, he had been her savior in tight situations. He had been her former hero. Sealand and Iceland were the ones she was closest to.
Of course, she still remembered Prussia. He was also a close friend after coming to babysit her so much, and she'd gotten quite used to his "awesome" streak. But becoming so close gave her a bigger opportunity to understand him. She had always thought of him as an extrovert, very loud and so vain to the point of irritation. But getting to know him more made her realize that maybe Prussia had been hiding behind a mask. Sure, he was kinda vain, but that just made her admire him more. She knew that he had been through a lot: Falling out as a nation, separated from his brother, and then coming back to a world where not a lot of nations respected him. Liechtenstein knew all this, and she used her knowledge of his hardship to come up with the right things to say to comfort him. When she was able to help someone was when she was really feeling herself, like the Austrian princess she had once been. But most of the time, she was also hiding behind a mask, interpreting others' hidden feelings but never coming out with her own.
But when the Darkness sighting provoked Switzerland to go away, she had started to open up to others. Life didn't revolve around her brother anymore. She had become friends with America against all odds, become closer to China although he had been the enemy, get acquainted to Japan and Canada, and many more nations. She had experienced a lot, and grown emotionally, and of course she still remembered the little incident with Russia. Oh, and she'd fallen for Italy, too.
The Darkness was pressing closer to her, and if she just reached out, she could feel the cold, black sides of the void. The Darkness was extracting her Light, leaving her a soulless body in the end. She wasn't afraid, but she clung on to the Light and the last of her memories.
It hadn't been a "love at first sight" kind of thing, with Italy. No. When she first met him, he was just another nation for her to interpret, to be curious about. But his enthusiasm was contagious, and she soon fell under the spell. She was really... happy with Italy. She didn't feel like she had to hide behind the polite, quiet mask, because he would be her friend no matter what. So she laughed with him, she cried with him... Come to think of it, Italy was the only one that had seen her cry.
For a while, she didn't feel anything more for Feliciano. He was just a very close friend, someone who she could be herself around, someone who could really understand what she needed most. Happiness. But the day that he had found her crying in the rain, longing for Switzerland, was the day that she had started seeing him in a different light. He wasn't just the symbol of happiness; he really cared about others. He could really be serious, deep inside, although he might seem oblivious to the world on the outside. And because he understood her, at least partially, she let him in.
That had been the best decision she had ever made. Italy had taught her to be a true individual, to think for herself, to have feelings. Now, thinking about it, Liechtenstein wondered why she was the Light instead of Italy. He was the purest of them all, the most innocent one. He was the one that had changed her the most. She loved him, because he was him, and because of everything that he had helped her through, although she doubted that he acknowledged that fact. Italy now knew that she really loved him and admired him, but she wondered if he knew the extent of her love. It had been like a blossoming flower, her first fragile feelings of love. That one thing that Switzerland had warned her about was what she had come to feel. And she didn't regret it.
In fact, she didn't regret the Darkness coming along. Because of it, she had changed. And so she was ready to embrace it now, to save all the people that had helped her understand herself.
"Danke!" She cried out in the blackness, her voice echoing in the void. "Danke!"
And suddenly, everything stopped for a second, and then all the darkness broke apart before her like shattering glass, and she was propelled forward into the Light.
If the Darkness had been a girl, a rather prissy and annoying one at that, it would have jumped up and squealed the moment Liechtenstein took its hand.
But it wasn't a girl. In fact, the Darkness didn't even have a gender to it. Maybe it was just... a gender-neutral dark thingy. Yeah, probably. But that wasn't the point.
The point was that the moment Liechtenstein's fingers touched its pale hand, the shape of the boy had instantly melted away and resumed its original mass of blackness. And Liechtenstein, her body, anyway, had frozen in front of it, while her soul had been sucked into the void of Darkness. It would extract her Light there, take all her power, and then kill her soulless body. And with that power, it would take over the rest of the damned planet. Easy.
And really, the Darkness enjoyed being as it was. Because when you were Light, you tend to become too naive, just like the little Liechtenstein. She had fallen into its trap, just because she had followed her heart instead of listening to her mind (and her beloved Italy). Did she really think that maybe it had a good side to it? The side that would let her make a simple deal and then be gone with it? No, the Darkness had been planning to take over the moment it finished sucking away her life.
Snickering to itself and sneering at the wide-eyed nations surrounding it, the Darkness felt pleased. It had done a good job. Sure, the little nation was smart, but it was smarter. And this was the end of her.
"P-Please, let her go." The nation known as Italy pleaded to him. The Darkness lashed out at him, creating yet another wound.
"Hey! Release my sister now!" An angry voice shouted from behind it, and Switzerland came tumbling right through it. The Darkness assumed that the stupid nation had tried to give it some kind of injury, and was, of course, unsuccessful. Growing impatient, it lashed out from all sides with its blackness and the nations were instantly unmoving again, just like before. The Darkness was so close to gaining the core of the little nation, and it wouldn't have interruptions.
"So close."
But suddenly, something stopped.
"Danke!" It heard from somewhere deep within. "Danke!"
The frozen body of Liechtenstein was starting to twitch. The Darkness immediately realized in horror what she had done to it, but it was too late. It had been too early in celebrating its victory, and it hadn't thought about the alternate situation. Now it could only watch as Liechtenstein regained all her movements. As the blonde nation felt the energy pulse in her blood once more, she whirled around to face the Darkness, shimmering under a halo of Light. And the Darkness could do nothing as it burst into millions of specks of dust and rose into the air.
Liechtenstein's hands were poised in front of her, just in case something happened, but then they slowly fell to her sides. The nations around her were starting to twitch slightly, and then it was as if the whole world was coming alive at once. The eerie silence had given way to a deafening roar of joy. Liechtenstein stood, head bowed low to hide the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. Tears of happiness.
"Liech!"
"Liechtenstein, ve, you did it!"
"Liechtenstein, aru!"
"Mein schwester!"
"Hai! Liechtenstein."
"Ve!" A body slammed into hers suddenly, and she fell to the ground, Italy right on top of her. Quickly, he held out his hand for her to take, and as soon as she was upright once more, he slid his arms around her in a giant bear hug.
Italy gives the best hugs, she thought.
Liechtenstein blushed into his shoulder. "I-Italy, you can let go now." She told him quietly, although she didn't really want to. It was a comforting change from the cold darkness she had gone through.
"I don't want to, ve! We can stay this way forever!" Feliciano replied, but the moment was cut short when Switzerland tugged her away.
"Liechtenstein, you did it." He told her, and she had to strain to hear his voice over all the nations calling each other.
"I-I guess I did." She said, and a huge smile broke out on her face. She took her brother's hand, because she wanted to be his little sister again, not the one that had disobeyed his orders, and she wanted to feel his brotherly touch. "I'm sorry, big bruder. For everything."
"You better be!" He scolded her, and worry instantly made the blood rush to her cheeks. "You almost gave me a heart attack when I saw you there with the Darkness. And when you agreed to give yourself up-"
"Ich liebe dich, big bruder!" Liechtenstein flung her arms around him. "I'm ok now. You don't need to be worried anymore." She pulled back to smile at him, and then squinted her eyes slightly in confusion. "Actually, do you know what just happened? I couldn't have defeated that thing by myself, could I?"
Switzerland glanced at the string of dust that was rising to the sky, which was brightening fast. The dark and dreary surrounding had turned brighter in just a matter of minutes. "I don't know, actually, but I think it couldn't take away your Light. It couldn't convert you to Darkness."
"But I gave up. I... let it take me."
"I don't think the Darkness really... takes you. I think it just says that so you would lose all hope, and then extract your Light so you would be left with nothing but an emotionless soul. But I guess it couldn't take away your hope. You must have done something to make it realize that."
"Oh." Liechtenstein followed her brother's line of sight toward the brightening sky, smiling to herself. "I guess I did."
The yells and calls of the many nations around her had suddenly died into a silence, and America was the one that broke the heavy silence. "Dudes! It's January 1st! And because this whole thing is over, the hero invites you all to his house this evening for a world meeting and then a par-tay!"
Liechtenstein giggled slightly, and the other nations seemed to agree with the idea. Everyone seemed strangely cooperative and tolerant of each other, but Liechtenstein supposed that it was because of the fact that the danger was over. She was about to go find America in the midst of the crowd, when everybody seemed to be moving toward her.
"For Liechtenstein, our heroine!" America's voice rang out loudly, and the remaining nations echoed his cry. And then it seemed like the whole world was embracing her all at once.
"Danke, Darkness."
This was worth fighting for.
Liechtenstein sat beside her brother at the world meeting, quietly watching as the nations argued with each other. It seemed like life had returned to normal once again.
"Hey! Hey! We came here to have a world meeting and discuss the ways to recover from the Darkness, not to fight, dudes!" America shouted, trying to break the fight between China and Russia.
"Oh, America is actually serious for once." England mocked, but then he turned to give an encouraging smile to America.
"Yeah! So listen to me, everyone!"
The noise didn't cease.
Liechtenstein glanced at Germany, who was sitting at the head of the long conference table. She was counting down the seconds to when he would explode. And seeing as his eyes were starting to twitch and grow considerable darker, she suspected that it wouldn't be long. 5, 4, 3, 2-
"Would you all just shut up! We are here to discuss the damage the Darkness has left behind, which is a very serious matter for us nations, and look at what you are doing, you dummkopfs!" Germany slammed his papers on the table, and the entire room immediately fell silent. Well, except for the bickering in the corner.
"This is all your fault, aru! If you hadn't tried to conquer Liechtenstein, the Darkness wouldn't have come!"
"Hey, that is not true, da."
"Of course it is! I mean-" The sudden silence caused China to let go of Russia's coat collar and turn to face the entire roomful of nations gaping at him. Seeing this, they both let out nervous chuckles.
"Germany, da! Go back to what you were saying, please." Russia gave a calm smile.
"Big bruder, I don't think this is good." Liechtenstein told Switzerland, who had tensed up and was now drawing his gun.
"W-Wait! Conquer Liechtenstein? What are you talking about?" America said, sweeping his confused blue eyes around the room and landing on Liechtenstein.
"Hai, what is going on?" Japan piped up, looking around with a mildly confused expression.
Before Liechtenstein could reply and assure them that everything was fine (she really didn't want anyone to know about the previous incident, it would just raise worry and suspicion), Switzerland has cocked his gun.
"Anyone who asks questions will be shot." He said matter-of-factly, holding his arm protectively in front of Liechtenstein.
She blushed, obviously flustered, as all the eyes in the room turned on her. Sometimes she really wondered if Switzerland was sane. Luckily, Prussia saved her from the tight situation. "Hey, the king of Awesomeness would like to remind you all of the fact that Liechtenstein here did save the world, and it's not our job to poke our noses in her business, ja?"
"H-He's right." Came Canada's small voice, although it went unnoticed.
This time, America also came to her rescue. "That's right, dudes! Liechtenstein is totally our heroine! And the party tonight is all for her!"
Quickly, the room became noisy as more as all the nations shouted out their opinions and thanked Liechtenstein, and then started bashing each other again. A small sigh came to her left, and she turned to see America pushing up his glasses and smiling weakly at her.
"Hosting a world meeting is tougher than it seems." He chuckled, and then dashed out the door. "Meeting over everyone! Par-tay in the living room!" He shouted, and immediately, chairs were overturned as the nations stampeded out the door. Liechtenstein stayed glued to her chair to avoid getting hit, and patiently waited for the nations to file out the door.
"Liechtenstein, wait for me here, okay? I have to go thank the aristocrat." Switzerland suddenly told her, flushing slightly.
"Mr. Austria?"
"Yes. He's done a good job taking care of my most treasured possession." Vash answered curtly, turning away.
"Y-Your gun?" Liechtenstein called after him in confusion. But Switzerland didn't answer. Instead, he only said "No, you." and then proceeded to walking away as quickly as possible. Lilli noticed the red spreading to the tips of his ears.
"Liechtenstein, ve! I'll wait with you!" Feliciano bounded over to her, beaming like a ray of sunshine. She couldn't help but smile back, but that quickly faded away when she saw China approaching with Russia in tow.
"M-Mr. Russia." She bowed her head slightly, and Italy immediately grabbed her wrist, his amber eyes fixed on the tall Russian.
"No, no. He's not gonna hurt you or anything. He's gonna explain everything, aru." China said, giving Russia a stern gaze. Liechtenstein watched them in surprise; China was really gaining more of the control that he should have instead of just being used by Russia.
Russia sighed, and for a moment, he looked childish and forlorn. "I apologize, Liechtenstein. It was just... I wanted power. And you had that power. You had the Light. The Darkness had sensed the evil in me and so it came along, and you were the one that had to suffer it all. I'm sorry."
Liechtenstein's green eyes widened in surprise, and Italy glanced at Russia with a bewildered expression, too. "Mr. R-Russia, it wasn't your fault. The Darkness was discovered before that incident happened. And there's no need to apologize, really." She told him quietly, and China was the one that gave her a look this time.
"Ve, we forgive you, and the Darkness wasn't your fault. It came by itself." Italy defended her, and then he gave a smile. "But everything is just fine now!"
"R-Right, aru." China gave them both an uncertain look, but then he smiled at Liechtenstein and dragged the widely smiling Russian away.
Switzerland arrived back soon enough, and Liechtenstein followed him into America's huge living room. Surprisingly, everything had been set out neatly. This party wasn't one like France's fancy Christmas party, but it was more like a crazy celebration party. Loud music blaster from the stereos set in the corners of the room. Liechtenstein soon lost sight of her brother in the thick crowd, but she still had Italy.
After making their way through the crowd and arriving at the opposite side of the room, Liechtenstein discovered where she had ended up. Right in front of a bar, with a drunken France heading toward her.
"Ma cherie!" Francis greeted her, the cup of wine tilting back and forth in his hand.
An oblivious Italian greeted him back. "Big brother France!" He cheered, and then took a closer look at France. "Why is your face so red, big brother?"
France ruffled Italy's hair shakily, and then grinned at Liechtenstein. "Now that you've saved the world and everything, it's time to relax and have some fun, non? Come with me, and I'll tell Alfred to find us a bedroom somewhere here, since my mansion has, unfortunately, broken down." He winked at her and reached out for her hand.
Liechtenstein gaped at him, and then shrank back against Italy. She didn't know what he was talking about, but she sure wasn't going to find a bedroom with France...
"Ve! Big brother, don't say things like that!" Italy half-glared at France, but he couldn't pull off the look very well, as he obviously didn't know what he was talking about either. But once again, America came to the rescue.
"France, dude, you aren't going anywhere with Liechtenstein." He looked at him skeptically, and took Italy's spot next to her as Italy chased after France to ask for, no doubt, an explanation.
Liechtenstein beamed up at America, who returned it with his own sheepish grin. "So, you're our heroine, eh?"
"I wouldn't say so. Everyone has helped me through this, so they're all considered heroes." She said modestly, smiling at the ground.
America's gloved hand lifted her chin up. "Nah, you're the true heroine. And you know what the heroine gets?"
Liechtenstein stared back at him, big green eyes blinking innocently. "What?"
"She gets the hero!" He replied, pumping a fist into the air.
"Oh, about that... Hey Alfred, did you ever get that girl that you wanted?" She asked, thinking back to what he had told her a while ago about the hero always getting the girl. She wondered if he had gotten Taiwan, or Belarus, or whoever his girl was.
America seemed to mentally slap himself, and Liechtenstein's eyebrows furried slightly. When it came to these kinds of things, she was as oblivious as Italy, apparently. Or maybe his clueless-ness had rubbed off on her. But she didn't know why America was once more chuckling at her like he had when she had tried asking the same question before.
"You're our hero, and you're funny and outgoing and nice and everything. What nation wouldn't love you?" She tried again with a bit of a teasing note in her voice.
Instead of answering her question, America stared down at the floor. Liechtenstein hurriedly put a hand on her shoulder. "A-Alfred, did I say something wrong?" She asked worriedly. But America only shook his head.
"Nah, I decided that we would only be friends. It's good enough for me. I mean, she already has somebody, and they seem happy, so I wouldn't want to break up their happiness." This time his blue eyes bore into hers.
"Oh." A thoughtful look sprang over her face, and she smiled at him. "You're a very considerate person, you know. I really like that. And I'm glad that you're my friend."
America's smile was bittersweet. "I'm very glad, too."
Liechtenstein was about to reach out to hug him when England pulled America away, grumbling something about "... hitting on girls and not tending to the alcoholic beverages." She turned away and stretched up on her toes to find Italy, her big brother, Hungary, or Sealand and Iceland. But somebody knocked her to the ground.
"Aru! Are you ok, Liechtenstein?" China's amber eyes sparkled at her as he pulled her up. Liechtenstein nodded, and glanced in worry at his bandaged hand. Noticing her gaze, China chuckled slightly.
"It's from the Darkness." He explained.
"Did it hurt you?" She grabbed the hand and inspected it, but he shook his head.
"No, aru. I'll be fine tomorrow. Nations heal quickly."
Liechtenstein laughed. "Well, I'm glad that you're okay now." She told him. "It must have been horrible when you were stuck inside that room with no way to escape."
"Aru." He frowned slightly. "You were the one that defeated the Darkness, though. But that was such a risky thing to do! Do you have any idea how worried I was? If you died, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
Thinking back of how cold and deserted she had felt inside the black void, but still struggling to stay alive using only her memories for reassurance, Liechtenstein felt weak at the knees. Out of the blue, she threw her arms around China and squeezed her eyes shut. "Es tut mir leid. I'm sorry." She spoke quietly. "I really thought that I was going to die and the Darkness would let you go."
China was stunned into silence for a few seconds, but then he regained his speech. "Darkness doesn't make deals, Liechtenstein. It breaks them, aru. It wanted to have all your power so that it would be forever invincible."
"I'm sorry for thinking that it would have willingly let us come out alive." She pulled back from his grasp and scowled.
China patted her shoulder reassuringly. "But your sacrifice was what defeated the Darkness, Liechtenstein. You did the right thing, and we're all safe now."
"But if it ever comes back..."
"We'll deal with that later, Liech. Right now, we're just gonna party. And it's a brand new year, aru!" He grinned at her, and spun her around, pushing her toward the direction of Italy. "Enjoy your moment."
Blushing furiously, she stuck her tongue out at him, indulging herself in a moment of Italy-like childishness, and then walked away.
Thirty minutes afterwards, Liechtenstein deeply regretted getting herself involved in a game of 'Seven minutes in Heaven'. Of course, at the time, she hadn't known what kind of game it was, and Switzerland wasn't there with her. Unfortunately, no one else bothered to tell her how to play, but they (Spain, Prussia, and a half-sober France) had all insisted that she pick a name out of the hat. So she did.
Luckily, she unfolded the paper to see Italy's name written on it. Before she could utter out a word, though, Prussia shoved her into a dark closet, and told her to wait while he went to find Italy. She hadn't known what to do, so she just sat in silence and listened to France and Spain chatting as they stood guard on the outside.
"It was smart of us to rig the game, non?" France slurred.
"Si! It's so nice to see little Veneziano growing up." Spain laughed, and Liechtenstein's eyes widened at the combination of 'oh hon hon hon' and 'fusosososo'.
And now she was still stuck inside the closet by herself. When was somebody going to let her out? Tired of waiting, Liechtenstein proceeded to pushing the wooden doors and climbing out by herself, when suddenly, the door was yanked open and Vash peered in.
"Who put my little sister in here?" He demanded, helping her out. Once Liechtenstein stood firmly on her feet, she tugged her brother's hand. "It's okay big bruder. It was no big deal." And luckily, no one had noticed Vash's outburst as the music was still turned up all the way. Prussia, France and Spain were nowhere in sight.
Although she tried to assure her brother that everything was fine, Switzerland quickly put an end to her partying and brought her home with him. Needless to say, many nations crowded around her and thanked her, saying that she was brave and everything, but Vash just pulled her through the crowd. At home, he sat her down on a kitchen chair and lectured about 'games adults play' and 'staying away from France'. Eventually, they had dinner, and she returned to her room after giving her brother a big hug and claiming how happy she was that things were finally returning to normal.
There was a knock on her balcony door.
Liechtenstein put down the thick book that she had just picked up a minute ago and walked over to the knocking, pulling the door wide open. Her eyes grew big as she stared at Italy and his bouquet of flowers.
"I-Italy." She managed to say.
"Ciao, Liechtenstein! I was going to give you these after the party, but Switzerland didn't let me in the door. America showed me this way instead." His eyes sparkled in the rising moonlight. "There are lilies, Alpine red roses, and daisies. They're our national flowers. And the lilies represent your human name, as well." He beamed at her and held out the bouquet.
Liechtenstein blushed, but she accepted the flowers and set them to the side. She was sure to find the best vase in the house to put them in and make sure they lasted for a long time. "What brings you here, Italy?" She asked him, although she really didn't mind. "It's late."
"Oh, I just wanted to thank you, ve. You saved us all." He smiled cheerfully once more.
"I-I did what I felt was right. And I really don't mind giving myself up, as long as it's worth it. This time, it was for my friends, my brother, and for you."
Liechtenstein's blush grew darker when Italy didn't speak. "That was really brave of you, ve." He finally said quietly. "I never thought that someone would be willing to sacrifice themself for me."
Liechtenstein gave him a slightly confused look. "Many nations would do that, and well, you mean a lot to me."
"Really? I mean, you said it before, but I just thought it was a spur of the moment thing. And I'm not good enough for you, ve. You deserve someone like America or China." Italy made a move to climb back down from the balcony, but Liechtenstein held him back. Understanding each other without a word, Italy let her pull him down until they sat with their back against the balcony columns.
"You know, I wondered why I was the Light instead of you. You're far purer than me." Liechtenstein said quietly.
Italy looked thoughtful. "I don't think it's all about innocence and everything. It's more. If I was in your situation, I wouldn't be able to give myself up like that. I would just surrender out of fear. For myself." He turned to her. "You deserve the title of Light."
Liechtenstein giggled slightly, and then settled back to the peaceful silence. "Italy?" She said, suddenly feeling shy.
"Ve?"
"Y-You do mean a lot to me, you know." She blushed, trying to still her shaking hands. "And it's like... I need you." Her heart was working double-time now; she felt like she would explode, and she wasn't even sure if that was the right thing to say.
Feliciano smiled slightly. "Si. It's hard to say how I feel, but it isn't a silly crush, like Ludwig said." He slipped his hand in hers, and her heart jumped.
"Hey Liechtenstein." Italy suddenly said.
"Ja?"
"Baciami. Kiss me." He told her.
Liechtenstein's green eyes gaped at him. She had done it once, but she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to do it again. But really... She stared into his soft amber eyes, which were now open and seemed to be looking deep into her mind.
"If you don't, then I'll kiss you!" This time, Italy let out a playful chuckle and then pressed his lips to hers. Liechtenstein, taken by surprise, squeaked slightly, but then she relaxed against Italy's hold. Her hand tightened around his, and her cheeks felt hot. Italy tasted like... pasta sauce, but she liked that. She even liked the feeling of a million fireworks exploding in her mind.
"L-Liechtenstein, ti amo." He smiled at her as he pulled away. "Si, ti amo, ve!"
Liechtenstein, blushing brilliantly, didn't reply right away. Instead, she muttered out "Ich liebe dich" quietly, and leaned back against Italy's shoulder.
And suddenly, she realized that everything that had happened... everything had really been worth it. Even the Darkness had helped her find her happiness. Allowing a smile to grace her lips, she closed her eyes in contentment. And this time, no dark words were whispered in her mind. There were no hoarse voices, no mockery, no torments, nothing. It was just her and Italy's soft breathing, and the moon, and the slight breeze that blew by. She had finally come to recognize her happiness. Her love. Her light.
And she wouldn't let it go, no matter the price.
Tightening her hold around Italy, Liechtenstein drifted to sleep peacefully at last.
I had tears in my eyes while writing this... My first fan fic... is complete! Thank you everyone, for reading, for reviewing, for adding to their favorites list, for subscibing, for... everything that's left. i love you all! Ti amo and ich liebe dich! Yes, "What should have been" shall be up soon. I hope to see you all back with me on my second fic! Goodbye for now!