PREPARE YOURSELVES
~Awesome Maple
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. I hope you people would have understood that by now.
Chapter 10
Two months later…
Matt was suddenly awoken from the shrill ring of his home phone. He bolted out of bed, knowing what was coming. As he ran to the phone, he pulled off his pyjamas and slipped on clothes as he answered the phone,
"Hello?"
"Hello Matt," one of the nuns was calling and Matt grabbed his car keys, pulling on his socks in the dark of his house, "Gilbert is passing away at this moment. He still has about an hour and a half left."
"I'll be there," Matt hung up and called Ludwig on his cell phone as he drove, telling him of the situation at hand.
Gilbert was fighting. He was fighting the darkness. He didn't know why, but something didn't feel right; something was missing. No—somebody was missing.
Suddenly the door opened to reveal what Gilbert was looking for; the blond man with long hair. He felt at peace, but something was nagging his brain. He knew this man! He knew him, he knew him…
His eyes opened wide as his life flashed before his eyes, the gaps of memory being filled. The most important image, the most important and most frequent person that came to mind was that man. He searched for a name, a relation, and then it clicked.
This whole time, the man was Matt. Not just any 'Matt'—Matt Williams-Beildschmidt, born July 1st and married October 1st; the love of his life. The man with long hair that visited him every day was his Matt.
Gilbert stared at Matt; trying to utter some words that would make Matt feel good. He was suddenly aware that he was… Dying. He wanted to fight as his vision began to tunnel and neurons fired off, creating darkness around the edges of his vision and a bright centre was formed. He took a deep breath, and squeezed Matt's hand, which he didn't realize had snaked into his.
"I…" Gilbert took another breath, trying to get his last words out, "I love you, Matt."
That was all it took to use the last of his energy. He felt a warm pair of lips on his and he savoured the last moments of his life surrounded by his love for Matt. It was a romantic ending, and Gilbert was at pure peace as he heard an uttered "I love you, Gilbert," being whispered, barely audible.
He lost all of his senses, starting from his taste and feeling and hearing and eventually seeing, Gilbert floated towards the tunnel of light amidst the darkness.
His last thought was an image of Matt, and all he could feel was peace.
And then he breathed his last, succumbing to the unknown.
Matt felt Gilbert's hand grow stiff in his own as he saw the last of Gilbert's life leave his eyes. Ludwig burst into the room, a few seconds late.
He was gone.
Matt looked up to see early morning rays of oranges and yellows and pinks and reds streaking across the sky, and melting the frost on the grass and the window and all the plants. Winter had come early this year—it came at the wrong time. It was an untimely frost, much like Gilbert's life. It was taken too soon.
But the sun continued to rise and Matt knew that while he lost the most influential person in his life, he had gone in peace. His last words were "I love you, Matt." While he had lost the most important person in his life, he still had memories to cling to: memories that would never fade. Or at least he hoped so.
Matt let go of Gilbert's hand and thus let go of Gilbert's physical, old, broken body. His spirit was free and would always be with Matt, guiding him through the last few years of his life. Yes, it would be tough, but Matt was happy that Gilbert's suffering came to an end. He no longer had to worry constantly of what was happening to Gilbert when he was away.
Matt and Ludwig looked down on Gilbert open eyes, void of life, and Ludwig reached over and closed them. Matt tried to savour the last moments he would have with Gilbert's body.
Sometimes life is snuffed out by an early frost, but he still had the memories to remind himself of Gilbert's life with him. It was better to have loved Gilbert and lost him, rather than to have never loved Gilbert at all. The rays of sun kissed his face, and then Matt's.
Gilbert Beildschmidt-Williams had died the 1st of October—the anniversary of their wedding, Matt realized, and smiled bitterly. The day we were joined and the day we were separated. What a coincidence.
Matt took a deep breath, clearing his mind. All he had to do was to live his life and move on. Yes, he would miss Gilbert, naturally. But he would forever remember this wonderful, loud, partially albino man.
And Matt knew, deep in his heart, that their love would be eternal.
Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff.
Life and these lips have long been separated.
Death lies on her like an untimely frost
Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.
–Romeo and Juliet, Act 4, Scene 5, lines 26-30
THE END
The legacy of Matt and Gilbert has officially ended.
~Awesome Maple