Disclaimer: Hetalia - Axis Powers © Hidekaz Himaruya. I gain no material profit from this fanfiction.

keep this as a symbol by revabhipraya
for AusHun Week 2021

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Of all possibilities between his and Elizabeta's relationship, the one thing that Roderich never expected was their separation. It was possible to happen, indeed, but he never thought that it would actually happen. The reason was simple: most countries formed an empire together because they were struggling to deal with country business on their own, so joining another country would make them have a friend to struggle with. However, usually those countries in an empire did not like each other, which was why they tended to be tense even though country business was mostly fixed. Roderich saw his empire with Elizabeta, and the two never even once hated each other. In fact, they loved each other, so the man thought that their empire would last forever.

Apparently, he was wrong.

Roderich came into Elizabeta's room when the woman was packing her belongings. She did not realize his arrival, but Roderich assumed it was because she was too focused on her activity. He did not mind that. Roderich walked slowly, approaching a cabinet near the door. Some drawers on that cabinet were opened and empty. Those drawers were enough to tell Roderich that Elizabeta had finished packing up her stuff from this cabinet. However, Roderich's keen eyes spotted a green ribbon in one of the drawers. He squinted both of his eyes and decided to take it. It must be one of Elizabeta's ribbons, but why did she leave that in the cabinet?

"Liz, I think you missed this one." The man naturally spoke as he stepped towards the woman. Of course, he did not expect Elizabeta to jump, but again, she did not know he was there so it would make sense for her to be surprised.

"Oh, Roddy." Elizabeta chuckled, embarrassed. She took the ribbon that Roderich gave to her. "I didn't realize you're here, and certainly didn't realize I missed this one too. Where did you find it?"

"In the cabinet." Roderich moved her head as a gesture to point at the mentioned cabinet. Elizabeta naturally followed his gaze. "The other drawers are empty though, it's the only thing left there."

Elizabeta nodded. For a few seconds, the woman just stared at the ribbon with a serious expression. Something seemed to bother her mind, but she did not say anything about it. A few seconds went by, and suddenly, she gave the ribbon back to Roderich. "Keep this."

"Oh?" Roderich was confused, but he accepted it anyway. "Why?"

"Consider it as a souvenir." She answered. "A witness of our few years of living together. A symbol of how powerful we were when we were together." A sad smile showed up on the woman's face right before she started to burst into tears. "A … sign of our ... new … beginning."

Elizabeta could not continue her words because now, all she could do was cry. She cried, and nothing was heard in the room except for her own sobbing. Roderich still stood up in front of the lady and was not sure of what to do. However, following his instinct, he slowly got down on one knee in front of Elizabeta. Then, he tried to wrap his arms around the woman and pulled her into a tight hug. Roderich did not say anything. He just let the woman cry behind his shoulder. He just let her pour all the feelings she had tried to keep for the last few days. He let her admit that she did not want them to separate. Not like this.

"Look." Roderich started speaking, but he still let Elizabeta cry in his arms. "I will keep this ribbon as a form of gratitude because of our last few years together, and I will also keep this ribbon as a form of strength because of our new beginnings … not living together anymore."

The woman did not reply. She was still sobbing, so Roderich gently stroked her hair.

"We can do this, Liz." He smiled in pain. A tear started to run down his left cheek. "I know we can."

They ended their day by comforting each other through a quiet hug. Both of them knew that they would never stop caring for each other, but yet, their countries could not stay together just because of love. Let that day be the last day for the two to hold each other because both of them also knew that tomorrow, days like that one would never exist anymore.

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FIN