"Ludwig, Ludwig, what are you painting?" The cheerful Italian asked as he leaned over to look at his roommate's canvas. The two of them had left the dome along with a few others and were now sitting in the grass of a small hill. There was a lush and unusually colourful garden surrounding the glass building, but instead of staying there they'd gone further east to a few open fields. The landscape on the east side of the island was very wide and open, only cut off by a dark forest approximately 100 meters away. Wildflowers grew all over, painting the green hills in different shades of red, blue and violet.
"Ein Kaninche- rabbit. I am painting a rabbit." Ludwig answered, examining the creature on his canvas sceptically. It was supposed to be a rabbit, but it looked more like a failed cartoon character from a discontinued children's show. The German had never been very gifted artistically. He'd always preferred physical activity over anything creative, and his parents were just fine with that, so practising on his painting skills wasn't exactly a daily occurrence for him.
"Oh, I see..." Feliciano paused, trying to make sense of the – apparently supposed to be – animal. "It's very cute!"
"You think?" Ludwig looked up from his painting and into a pair of gleeful, amber eyes.
"Of course, it's very unique!"
"Thank you... What about you?" The other boy tilted his head slightly in confusion, imitating a lost puppy, but with joy still radiating from his eyes. "What are you painting?"
"Oh, this!" Feliciano picked up his painting and held it up in front of Ludwig. A gasp escaped the German as his eyes widened in disbelief. An extremely detailed and well-drawn church was placed on the hills before them, contrasting but still somehow managing to blend in with the colour-dotted grass. Ludwig was no art expert, but he was pretty sure that the painting easily could place in any art gallery.
"Y-you painted that? And in this time?"
"Yes! It's a church from home. Me and Romano used to go there all the time."
"Oh, I see, it's beautiful. But you don't do that anymore?"
"Well, I do, but fratello stopped a couple of years ago... Our parents still think he does though, so don't tell anyone!" A mix of uncertainty and questionable trust settled in the Italian's eyes at the last statement as he looked at Ludwig with a still childish, but serious expression.
"Oh, I promise I won't. But I thought Catholics were pretty strict about that."
"Yes, of course we are. I'm not sure why he stopped coming, but he said he didn't want to talk about it, so I never asked..." Something sad swept over Feliciano's features, washing away the last of his previous glee, and his eyes became distant, staring off into a flower-clad hill. To see his mood change like that somewhat troubled the German and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd done anything to cause it – even though it obviously was because of the mention of his brother. Ludwig hadn't realised how much he'd enjoyed the other's easy-going nature and vibrant smile before now. At first it had been a bit annoying but he easily grew used to it after learning that it was the Italian's natural behaviour. The depressed and down character didn't fit him in the least, and Ludwig desperately wanted do say something to brighten up the mood, but seeing how doing such never was his strong side; he simply remained under a painful silence.
A sudden cold breeze swept over them, causing both of the boys to shudder.
"It's getting a bit cold, huh?" Feliciano remarked while clutching his arms, moving his hands rapidly to regain some heat.
"Yes, but fall will be here soon so we might as well get used to it."
"Ah, sì. I guess the flowers actually are a bit wei- is that Francis?"
Ludwig turned his gaze towards the mansion and saw that Francis indeed was running towards them, a hand gripping his black beret tightly so that it would fly off his bouncing golden locks. Behind him he thought he could glimpse a second blond figure as well, but didn't pay any further attention to it as the Frenchman started shouting.
"You two! Hurry, hurry!"
"What?" Feliciano said weakly, more meant for Ludwig to hear than the two incoming blonds.
"Is something wrong?" Ludwig asked when they were within hearing distance. Now he could see that there indeed was another blond accompanying Francis. He only knew him as the twin of Alfred, seeing how the American had made quite a bigger impression than his brother the previous day.
"That Scandinavian boy," he panted, "he fell."
"What do you mean 'he fell'?"
"Well, unfortunately not for my charm- OUCH!"
"This is serious, Francis!" The shorter blond said, now stepping forward – it appeared as if he'd stomped on the Frenchman's foot, thus earning the other's cry. "Lukas, the Norwegian, fell from the top floor of the greenhouse!"
"What? Oh no." An expression of alarm and utter horror came across the Italian's face, much to Ludwig's dislike.
"W-we were told to gather in the lobby immediately" Alfred's twin stuttered – or panted – out, pulling at his roommate's sleeve as if to hurry up the process. Feliciano let out a stressed 'okay' while Ludwig nodded, both immediately rising to their feet after grabbing their stuff. Soon, the four boys were on their way back towards the mansion.
God, his head hurt. What had happened? He couldn't remember a thing. Completely surrounded by darkness with none of his senses responding, it felt like a nightmare. Wait a second... He knew that voice! It was that loud and obnoxious voice that seemed to have called his name non-stop for the last 24 hours. That loud and obnoxious voice which belonged to an equally loud and obnoxious Dane. It was now calling his name once again, only difference was that this time it was in a desperate and pleading way, unlike that usual begging-for-attention one.
It was terribly annoying to be able to hear nothing but those calls – he wasn't even able to cover his ears! Come to think of it; he actually couldn't feel his ears, or his hands for that matter. He couldn't feel anything at all.
"Lukas, Lukas, please! C'mon, please wake up! LUKAS!" Mathias was sitting on his knees by the Norwegian's side, begging to the limit where he was almost sobbing, for the other to open his eyes. The Dane had never handled sad endings of any sort – neither in reality nor stories – very well, so seeing his roommate lie motionless before him was breaking his heart. Well, he wasn't entirely motionless; his chest kept rising and sinking, though very slowly, signalling that the boy still was alive. It was a miracle that he still was breathing; it wasn't every day that someone survived a fifteen meter fall, if ever. Perhaps he'd fallen into some rich bushes and thus dampening his fall, Mathias wasn't sure. He actually hadn't seen where his roommate fell, too caught up in the moment; he'd simply panicked and dashed for the stairs.
Mathias hadn't been able to reach his roommate before, even less now, and it was close to tearing him apart. If the other boy ever woke up – or even survived – the Dane was more determined than ever to befriend him. To not be able to communicate and get in contact with others had always been one of his greatest fears, and he wouldn't let himself fall prey for it. Actually, he figured, perhaps it wasn't lacking contact that scared him; maybe it was being alone that he feared the most. His parents never paid him much attention or gave him the love he needed when he was younger, so he'd turned to friends instead. Now that he thought about it; he actually hadn't spent much time at home, even at night he was usually sleeping over at a friend's. That was one of the reasons why the invitation to the mansion had been so appealing to the Dane, to be able to escape his home even if just for a couple of weeks was a chance he'd jump for any day. The fact that it wasn't for a couple of weeks but for an undetermined time (though they'd been told it wouldn't be longer than eight weeks) had made it even more tempting.
He hadn't counted on this though. The cruel twist of it all was laughing him in the face, and never before had he wanted to reverse time so bad.
His body and mind remained in trance until a light touch was placed on his shoulder.
Everything had happened so fast. From the first scream to the panicked cries that followed, Alfred had a hard time registering it all.
Arthur had leapt from the bench, quickly making his way towards the plants in which Lukas seemed to have fallen into. Alfred's hero instincts – yes, he'd gained them from watching too many overly American movies (and not to mention the comics) – instantly kicked in and he too rushed to the Norwegian's aid, if it was possible to aid him at all that is.
As he got closer he saw that Mathias had already run down from the top floor and was now sitting by his roommate's side, roughly shaking his shoulders while screaming his name.
"Oh God, what happened?"Arthur asked as he got closer.
He didn't receive any reply though. Mathias was too consumed in own thoughts and actions to take notice to the arriving people.
Shortly after; Antonio and Lovino were down as well, panting rapidly from the run.
"Is he alright?"The Spaniard asked. "What happened, Mathias?" He wasn't answered either.
"Didn't you see anything? You two were up there as well, weren't you?" The two dark-haired boys shook their heads.
"No, he just stepped back and fell."
"He did what?"
"What happened to the poor boy? He's not... Is he still alive?" The two grown men were now there as well, both appearing relatively calm considering the situation.
"Yes, he appears to be breathing." Arthur had walked over to the unconscious Norwegian and was kneeling by his other side, not daring to move any further though, as he didn't want to disturb the sobbing Dane who was clinging onto the boy.
"Good, good, we must get him inside, then. Will you tell everyone to meet us in the lobby?" Mr. Rome turned to Germania who gave a stern nod before running out of the dome. "Now let's get him back to the mansion."
"I'll help!"Alfred immediately offered, tired of just standing useless by the side. He walked over to the three boys and patted Mathias gently on the shoulder. The Dane looked up for the first time since the small chaos broke out and stared at the American with moist and blurry eyes. It was evident that he'd cried, though he wouldn't likely admit it later.
"Dude, we need to move him." Alfred received a nod before Mathias rose to his feet, picking up Lukas bridal-style. "I can carry him if you'd li-"
"I'm strong enough." Alfred nodded. "Where to?"
"The lobby."
Mathias answered with an 'okay' before carrying his roommate out of the dome as quickly as his legs would let him.
"Wait; there is no one with medical education here?" The looks on the two boys' faces as they exchanged glances of disbelief was a mix of equally as much surprise as anger.
Arthur and Yao had gone to confront the project-leader about their future plans once Lukas was placed on a sofa in the lobby – there was no sign of Germania, but almost all of the teens had arrived and kept Mathias company. Rome had walked up to the third floor via the giant staircase and that was where the two boys caught up with him. "What if he's got an internal bleeding or something like that?" Their interrogation had already gone on for quite some time.
"I swear I'll sue both you and Gerry if anything happens to any of us!" Yao's gaze was as intense and full of dismay as his voice was sharp.
"Now, now", The Italian raised his hands in a defensive gesture, "let's calm down-"
"And just why should we? Someone almost... might still die! Since when was that a reason to remain ca-"
"CALM DOWN NOW!" Both of the teens flinched back at the sudden outburst from the grown man – they certainly hadn't expected that from the cheerful and easy-going Italian. They couldn't other than remain silent under shock at the sight of Rome's raged face. "The boy will NOT DIE and he DO NOT suffer from internal bleeding. NOW, will you two please go down and wait in the lobby with the others?" A smile had returned as the man uttered the last few words, the rest of his face still remaining grim though. The boys were too traumatized to answer, so they simply decided that action spoke louder than words and began to walk back to the staircase. Arthur spared the dim lit hallway one last glance before heading downstairs, but the project-leader had already gone elsewhere.
"What was that?"Yao asked when they were halfway down "I didn't just imagine it, did I?"
"No. No, you did not."
The teens waited in the silent lobby for nearly an hour before Rome returned again – Germania had disappeared as soon as the group was gathered (it almost appeared as if he didn't care about Lukas' well-being at all). He said that everyone was free to finish their painting if they wanted to since the drastic event had ruined the earlier mood. Some did just that and went outside – even if they didn't feel like it any longer, painting seemed to be the only way to make time flow and avert their minds from the accident. Mathias, Alfred, Arthur and Antonio were the only ones left remaining in front of the fireplace – Lovino had gone back to his shared room (while he wasn't unaffected by the event, he simply didn't see the point in staying by the 'dead' guy's side).
"Shouldn't we get him to a hospital?"Arthur asked after a while. "He obviously needs to be examined and I don't think we can expect any help from here."
"Yeah, but... they clearly told us that we couldn't leave the island before the project was over," Antonio stated, a frowning expression of though on his face (which really didn't fit him).
"To hell with the rules! W-what if he dies? I... We can't let that happen!"Mathias snapped at the Spaniard, releasing all his built-up misery on the nearest man. "You were the last to arrive, right?" He turned to Alfred who nodded. "Do you know where the old man parked the boat?"
"Sorry, but I sorta ran ahead of him and Matt. I think he just left it at the shore, but my bro'd probably know."
"Yes, yes, it's all good that we've found a boat, but shouldn't we just ask instead? Surely they wouldn't keep him here in his conditio-" Arthur fell silent as he remembered his and Yao's earlier encounter with the Italian man. "Never mind. Shall we go and find your brother, Jones?"
"Dude, it's Alfred! Jeez... But, yeah, did anyone see where he went?" Silence. "Well, uhm... Let's split up and look?"
"You do that; I'll stay with Lukas." The three boys nodded at the Dane before wandering off in different directions. Alfred and Antonio went outside while Arthur roamed around the mansion – some of the teens had gone back to their rooms, so that was where he decided to check first.
He couldn't remember where the two French-speaking boys' room was situated – had he even learned in the first place? – so he strolled around the ground floor for quite some time, opening countless of doors only to either find the room empty or realise that he'd wandered in circles. Numerous low curses could be heard echoing through the hallways for nearly an hour before the Briton found the right door. Yes, the door was indeed the right one, but the person inside most certainly wasn't.
"Ah, mon cher, miss me already?"
'Oh, bloody hell, no.'
"'Ello Frog." Arthur sent the Frenchman a disapproving glance. "Would you happen to know where your roommate is?"
"You seek Mathieu? What interest could you possibly have with him?"
"None of your business." Arthur eyed the other suspiciously; the small smirk and mischievous glint in his eyes were very unnerving. "Well, do you know or am I wasting my time?"
"Ah, I can assure you that I am never a waste of time," Francis said as he winked and sat up on the bed on which he'd been lying. 'Oh, that's it. I'm out of here', was what went through Arthur's mind as he slowly stepped back to exit the doorway, still facing the Frenchman.
"Sod off, wanker." Arthur turned to exit the room when a hand shot out and grabbed around is wrist, stopping him abruptly.
"Now, now, why don't you stay for a while? It's clear that you've missed me, mon cher." The hand pulled Arthur around and he found his own emerald eyes staring into a pair of blue ones.
"Unhand me, you bloody wanker!" A heavy scowl fell upon Arthur's face as he tried to yank his hand away from Francis' grip, but to no avail. "It's been over six months, and I think I made it quite clear back then that I never wanted to see your bloody face ever again!"
"Ah, your words hurt me, Arthur. How can you be so cruel?" Francis stepped forward out into the hallway and pushed Arthur playfully up against a wall. The impact was not strong nor meant to hurt, but Arthur grunted anyway, though more from annoyance than pain. He wriggled under the Frenchman's grasp as the other took a hold of both his wrists and pinned him against the wall.
"Go die in a fucking ditch, Frog," Arthur spat with so much detestation that it was enough for three persons. It was not any weird or unsuspected reaction, because quite frankly; he hated Francis. The memory of the two of them together felt more like a nightmare than a horrible memory. Who knew, perhaps that was just what it was; a long-gone unpleasant dream. His current feelings towards the other made it almost impossible to imagine that he'd ever liked him, ever harboured the slightest of feelings besides those of hate for the Frenchman.
"Now, mon cher, don't be like that," Francis purred as he let go of Arthur's left wrist and rose his hand to brush against the Briton's cheek – which went a faint shade of red from the touch, whether it was from embarrassment or rage, not even Arthur was sure.
"Git, get away from me!" Arthur started to panic and pushed at Francis' shoulder with his free hand as the other leaned in closer to his face, his lips curved in a mischievous smirk. "UN-BLOODY-HAND ME NO-"
"HEY, let go of him!" Arthur and Francis spun around simultaneously at the call from down the hallway, both equally surprised by the sight of Alfred leaping towards them, as if he would be attempting to break an invisible brick wall. Francis immediately let go of Arthur and took a couple of steps back when he realised that he most likely was the American's target. Arthur started massaging his wrists (more for the effect than need) as Alfred reached his side, eyeing him with concern before turning to the Frenchman. "Seriously, dude, what the hell do you think you're doing?"Alfred asked – or more like barked – at Francis, who barely flinched at the so far only verbal assault. Alfred didn't look like he'd physically charge the Frenchman, seemingly satisfied with just threatening this time. If he'd actually done anything further against Arthur's – or anyone's – will, Alfred told himself, he wouldn't be so lucky, though.
Francis' surprised, if slightly thoughtful, expression turned into an amused grin as he tilted his head to the side with a small chuckle leaving his mouth. "My, my, Arthur," Francis said as he turned his gaze to the Briton, "found ourselves an américain, now have we?"
Arthur's still slightly pink cheeks went a deeper shade of red, and his face scrunched up into an only half-hearted scowl. "H-he's my roommate, wanker! What the hell are you implying?"
"Ah, mon cher, I was not implying anything. You are simply misinterpreting my innocent remarks," Francis chuckled, a couple of decibels louder than before.
Alfred watched as his roommate turned his flushed face to the floor, staring rather intensely at his shoes – he was happy that the warmth that'd crept to his face at Arthur's question didn't seem to show. "L-leave him alone, Franklin," Alfred blurted out quickly, satisfied with his almost unnoticeable stuttering. He was glad to have finally silenced the Frenchman, though the other was giving him a rather odd look.
"My name is Francis, américain."
"Oh, yeah, of course it is." Now Alfred was sure that his blush just had to be showing. 'Fuck this perv-'
"W-what is going on?" Going unnoticed by now, a second boy appeared to have come with Alfred, silently trailing behind his back.
"Mathieu, how wonderful to see you! Arthur here was just looking for you."
"Ah, yes, of course," Arthur said as he averted his gaze from the floor to look at the smaller blond. "Hello, Matthew." Matthew greeted him back with an uncertain smile.
"Right, so we should go now." Alfred grabbed around Arthur's arm and gestured for his twin to follow them back through the hallway. He stopped after a few meters though, and glanced back at the Frenchman. "If you try anything on him again, I'll fucking kill you."
"Alfred!" Matthew looked up at his brother in surprise. Alfred just continued to drag Arthur down the hallway, inwardly making a mental note to question Arthur later. Matthew couldn't other but follow after shooting his roommate an apologetic glance. Francis simply smiled at him, the amused expression never once leaving his face as the others disappeared around a corner.
"Yes, he just left it there," Matthew confirmed as he sat down in one of the scarlet armchairs. Alfred had explained everything to him when he'd struggled to drag him away from Gilbert and Roderich – they'd been having a quite heated discussion about whether Prussia still counted as a country or not, in which all three had slightly different opinions. The two of them almost hadn't noticed Matthew leaving. You'd think he'd be disappointed, but he'd grown used to it over the years. He always seemed to be forgotten in the shadows, a lot of times because he was overshadowed by his loud brother.
"Great, let's go then!"Alfred said and rose from his spot on the sofa.
"Hold on, shouldn't we at least tell someone we're going?"Arthur asked as he forcefully pulled on the sleeve of Alfred's jacket, forcing him to sit down once again.
"Yes, about that," this time it was Antonio who'd spoken, "all of us going would just be a nuisance, and I think it'd be better for me to stay here. I can tell Rome that you've left."
"That'd be great, thank you. But we don't have the keys to the boat, so we'll need to ask for permission any-"
"I got the keys," Mathias said, cutting Arthur off. He received weird and quizzical looks from all in the small gathering (except from Lukas, of course), so he quickly added: "I didn't steal them from him or something! They were just laying in the staircase."
"Oh, so he just happened to drop them on the stairs, and you just happened to find them?"Arthur asked suspiciously. "Quite convenient, huh?"
"Oh, c'mon, I'm not a thief! Really, I swear," Mathias tried again. The look on Arthur's face said clearly that he wasn't convinced, but he didn't bother paying it more attention, and settled for an exasperated sigh.
"Well, what matters is that we've got a boat. I still think it'd be wise to test the keys first before bringing Lukas down though."
"Right, Artie and I will head down first then," Alfred said and rose from his seat once again, bringing Arthur with him this time, "keys, please?"
After receiving the keys from Mathias, Alfred dragged Arthur with him towards the doors, ignoring the continuous protests of 'my name isn't Artie, you git!'
Antonio left the others shortly after to retreat to his room – if he went and informed the project-leader about their plans earlier, there was a risk they'd be stopped. And Matthew was once again forgotten, choosing to go back to his room as well as he was curious about the earlier event involving his roommate.
"What the fuck?"
After a hurried walk down to the shore, the two boys stood frozen in place, staring out over the water. The boat was there just as Matthew had said, but that wasn't what caused the boys' confusion. The surface of the water – and probably more – was frozen. Ice crystals shimmered as far as they could see, glimmering from the warm afternoon sun. It didn't add together.
It had been unusually warm ever since they set foot on the island, and some of the teens had even worn t-shirts earlier that day. Now, the ice seemed to stretch over the water as far as they could see, killing their plan of escape.
"What the fuck," Alfred repeated again, "How is this even possible?"
"Mind your language, git. We're heading towards autumn, so technically it isn't that weird. The climate might work differently here?"
"Are ya kidding? It's freaking warm, dude! And there's no way all this froze over night."
"Well, obviously there is a way because it bloody happened," Arthur said, trying to think logically, though there really wasn't any explanation that made sense in his mind. A sigh. "We won't be leaving here this way."
"Right, we totally gotta tell the others about this!" Excitement took over Alfred's voice as he jumped around and began to walk back to the mansion, Arthur following him deep in thought. "This place is so weird!"
He'd heard their voices as they'd made plans of getting him to a hospital. He would've agreed with them and told them to hurry if it weren't for his senses being shackled to some unknown part of his brain which he could no longer access. Besides hearing, nothing in his body was responding. At first he'd thought about at least trying to open his eyes, but that thought was sent away as he couldn't feel his eyelids.
'What I'd do for a hot bath.'
He heard sounds of somebody walking, their footsteps slowly fading away, indicating that they were leaving. Soon, Mathias' voice filled his ears again with calls and reassuring words. He really didn't get why he still spoke to him – was he even aware that he heard him? 'Well, perhaps it's more for his own than my sake', he thought. He was very grateful that his mind still worked perfectly, though perhaps it would've been easier to just sleep considering that he didn't know for how long his body would stay immobile. He didn't even want to consider the fact that he might never open his eyes, never truly feel anything again.
After a while, the people from before returned; this time accompanied by yet another pair of footsteps. A new voice quietly spoke before the others broke out in conversation again. Soon, he could once again here them all leave, and the Dane resumed his quiet chant.
"It'll be alright, Lukas. We'll get you to a hospital. There's no need to worry; you'll be okay. Everything will be allri-"
Mathias stopped his attempts at soothing as the body beneath him twitched. "Lukas?"
'That was weird', Lukas thought. He hadn't tried to move, yet his arm had surely jerked, as if on its own accord. He was happy to actually feel his arm again, but as he tried to shake some motion in it, the arm wouldn't budge.
"Lukas? Lukas!" Mathias eyes widened as the unconscious boy started to toss slowly, still with his eyes closed.
Something was wrong. Really, really wrong. He felt his body move – he felt himself move – but he was not in control of it. It was like lying still with someone else deciding your movements. His motions grew more vivid and he could feel his arm slapping against something above him. 'Probably Mathias,' he thought.
Suddenly, he stopped moving and fell back upon the sofa before slowly feeling movement creeping into his limbs again. He sat up stiffly and could hear a quiet, curious call for his name before he opened his eyes. At first his vision was blurry, but the sharpness soon returned, and his head turned to the left. His eyes met with the surprised ones of the Dane.
"Lukas," Mathias exclaimed and pulled him into a warm embrace, resisting the urge to sob into the crook of the other's neck.
"Hello, Mathias."
Lukas froze inwardly. He had not spoken those words. They left his lips with his voice, but the words were not his. He hadn't chosen to speak them. Something – or someone – else had.
A/N
Did I mention this would contain past FrUK? Oh, I didn't? Well, it will :3
Anyway, last a/n was a bit long, so I'll try to keep it short this time.
Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts, and please keep 'em coming! They're pretty much what encourages me to write, so the more reviews, the faster updates you'll get.
If you got any questions at all or thoughts of my *cough*horrible*cough* grammar, feel free to ask :3
I'm also pretty open for ideas to this fic, so if you got any; please share!
Thank you for reading!