Chapter 8
Marc Lucien Braginski-Williams breathed a low sigh of relief when the subway finally came to a stop, his fists clenching as the conductor's voice crackled over the intercom.
"Qu'est-ce qu'ils disent? (What the hell are they saying?)" he grumbled.
Saichi smiled slightly at his frustration and patted his shoulder soothingly.
"I think that this is our stop," she murmured. A small frown crossed her smooth features and her fingers tightened for a brief moment on the sleeve of Marc's beige jacket. "...Have you thought of how we're going to get in?"
Marc shook his head and flashed a protective glare towards a grubby teen that had gotten too close to Saichi's side. The teen gulped and slipped hurriedly out of the doors of the train. Marc sighed and gently pulled Saichi out after the teen, his brow furrowed thoughtfully beneath his messy platinum-blonde hair.
"To be honest, I haven't been able to think of anything," he admitted.
"...Neither have I," Saichi murmured. "Perhaps they weren't able to get in either?"
"They might be in jail, then," he sighed. "I don't know what happens to people who try to get into the United Nations without permission... Magnus said that they were going with someone, though. What if he got them in?"
Saichi groaned quietly and ran a hand through her hair, her green eyes tightening when her fingers encountered several knots along the way.
"...We'll have to call a cab," she observed quietly when they walked out of the station.
"We don't have the money," Marc shot back. "C'mon, we might as well start walking. It'll take us a while before we get there."
He heard Saichi sigh again and resisted the urge to wrap a supporting arm around her shoulders. His violet eyes darted around him to take in the crowded New York City streets, his muscles tensing at the sight of the pulsing mob that rushed around them.
Mon Dieu, please keep me strong...
XXX
"Shit... Shit... Shit... Mierda! (Shit!)"
Cielo kept up a steady stream of curses as the elevator continued to rise, his foot tapping impatiently against the rumbling floor in an effort to drown out the infuriating elevator music.
Dammit, why the hell are they even playing this crap in an elevator?
The teen groaned and rested his head against the cool metal walls of the elevator, the blood draining from his cheeks when the doors slid open with a low beep. Without thinking, Cielo pushed violently away from the wall, ran out of the elevator...
...And nearly ran headlong into a slender man with dark auburn hair and weary yellow eyes.
The man stiffened as Cielo skidded to a stop in front of him, his amber eyes flashing while a strange curl on the left side of his head seemed to bristle with annoyance.
"Dio, si guarda dove stai andando? (God, will you watch where you're going?)" he growled.
Cielo tensed and glared at the other man, a small tinge of unease going through him at the sight of the stranger's cat-like yellow eyes. Dio... Why- that color- why was it so much like his own?
"Why don't you watch where you're going, gilipollas (asshole)?" he snapped.
The stranger snarled and took a step forward, his eyebrows rising when Cielo didn't back down.
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to right now, you little-" He froze suddenly, his eyes widening as they raked over Cielo's body, taking in his tanned skin and curly dark hair. The stranger's bright amber eyes locked with the teen's, his lips falling open into a perfect "O".
"Cielo," the man gasped. "Mio Dio... Cielo..."
Cielo gulped and took an uncertain step back, his features paling with sudden fear. "H-how the hell do you know my name, bastard?"
The stranger gave a startled laugh and covered his face with shaking hands, his shoulders trembling with an emotion that Cielo couldn't read.
"Oh my God," the man choked. "You ended up like me after all... God, what will that Spanish bastard say when he hears that..."
Cielo shook his head and took another step backwards, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
"S-shut up," he hissed. "J-just shut up... What the hell are you talking about? How do you know me?"
The stranger slowly lowered his hands, his lips quirking upwards into a hesitant half-smile.
"Would you believe me... if I said that I was your mother?" he whispered hoarsely.
Silence. Cielo stared at the stranger that he had been cursing mere moments before, his cheeks suddenly wet with tears that he couldn't remember shedding.
"P-prove it," he croaked.
The stranger straightened his shoulders and gave the teen a defiant glare.
"You full name is Cielo Romano Carriedo-Vargas," he growled. "That Spanish bas- er, your father, gave you my nation name for your middle name... God knows why." After a moment, he added "You have his hair, you know... You look exactly like him, except for the eyes."
"I have your eyes," Cielo murmured. "And you... You are Southern Italy?"
The Italian man nodded. "Romano is shorter... My friends and family call me Lovino though... Except for that damn tomato bastard, he calls me-" Lovino's cheeks flushed a bright red and he looked away. "Never mind."
Cielo frowned and decided that he really didn't want to know... Not now, anyways.
"Can I... I mean..." he started, his flushed cheeks the same shade as Romano's as his voice died in his throat.
Lovino smiled, his eyes suddenly soft. Without a word, he pulled the young man into tight hug, his arms trembling as they wrapped around his son.
"C'mon," he muttered hoarsely. "There's someone I need you to meet."
Cielo nodded mutely and allowed himself to be led away from the elevator, his brow furrowing when he was pulled gently through an open door into a nearly-empty room.
A tanned man with curly dark hair stood in front of the lone window in the room, his back facing them. Romano huffed in annoyance and stepped away from Cielo's side with a final squeeze of his hand.
"Oy, bastard," the Italian called, his gentle tone belying his harsh greeting. "You drunk again?"
The man chuckled bitterly and shook his head. "No."
Lovino sighed and took a few more steps, stopping just inches from the man's side. The dark-haired man turned his head to look at the Italian, revealing tired green eyes.
"Is something wrong, Lovi?" he asked quietly.
Cielo choked out a strangled laugh, immediately grabbing the attention of the others.
"Lovi," he whispered. "Is that the nickname that you hate, mamá?"
The man stared at Cielo, his golden skin turning a deathly pale.
"You... found him," Antonio Fernandez Carriedo whispered.
Without waiting for Romano's answer, Spain stumbled forward and fell to his knees in front of his son, his lips curving into a watery smile.
"You've gotten so big," he chuckled thickly.
Cielo gulped and nodded nervously. "...Papá?"
Antonio nodded and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair, his fingers shaking. "Sí... soy su papá (Yes... I'm your dad)." The Spaniard's hand trembled and fell from Cielo's hair to rest on the floor in front of him. "Perdóname (Forgive me)..."
Cielo sniffed, his jaw clenching with the effort of holding back tears.
"C-can I ask you something?" he asked, his voice abnormally timid.
Spain glanced up and nodded fervently, his emerald eyes bright. "Sí... Anything."
The teen took a deep breath to steady himself, his breath catching in his throat when Romano silently moved to his side.
"J-Just... Don't l-leave me alone again, okay?" he croaked. I-I know I can b-be a bit of a d-dick bu-but I'll try and g-get better so-"
Antonio laughed breathlessly and wrapped his arms around Lovino and his son, simultaneously pulling the two Italians into his arms.
"No," he chuckled. "No, we won't leave you. Besides, you can't be any worse than Lovi~."
"What did you just say, bastard?" Romano growled with a chuckle.
"Nothing, mi tomatito~!"
XXX
Achilles really wanted to sleep now.
Honestly, he deserved one after the day that he'd been having. Since leaving the bar with Prussia and the others, he hadn't had a single nap, and running up the stairs after Alyson- whom he had basically lost after she kicked down a door somewhere around the second story yelling about bad fairy directions- had pretty much depleted his energy levels.
Too bad Cielo's not with me, the Greek mused sadly. I like taking naps with him...
He sighed and stumbled out of the stairwell, his eyebrows disappearing beneath his messy brown hair when several cats greeted him with low meows.
"... I like cats."
"...That's good..."
Achilles jumped and stared in the direction of the new voice, his brown eyes narrowing when a man appeared out of nowhere beneath a pile of more cats, his moss-green eyes dull with the remains of sleep.
The man greeted Achilles with a nod, locks of his wavy brown hair plastered onto his olive-toned skin.
"...You look tired," he noted.
Achilles nodded and settled onto the ground beside the sleepy man, a small sigh of satisfaction breaking through his lips when several cats nudged affectionately against his hands.
"...Cielo's hair always reminded me of cat fur," he told the stranger.
"...So does Kiku's," the man replied quietly. "...So did my kids'."
Achilles glanced at the man, intrigued. "You have kids?"
"Had. They're gone now."
"Why?"
The stranger shrugged, his expression darkening with a sadness that Achilles couldn't begin to understand. "...I didn't get there in time. They were taken away."
Achilles nodded slowly and ran a hand through his hair, his lids closing slowly over tired brown eyes. "...I wonder... if that's why we got taken..."
The stranger glanced at Achilles. "We?"
"Ναι (Yeah)" Achilles sighed. "I never asked Saichi why our parents didn't come... I didn't want to know, I guess."
The man nodded slowly, his green eyes suddenly alert. "... What's your name?"
"Achilles... What's yours?"
The man smiled and rested his head against Achilles's, his calloused hands brushing against the teen's hair as gently as he would a cat's fur.
"...Greece... But call me Heracles."
Achilles simply smiled and allowed his father to pull him closer, his eyes finally closing as he slipped into a contented sleep.
Heracles chuckled and continued to brush his hand against his son's hair, his half-lidded green eyes flickering upwards as a Japanese man stepped out of the stairwell.
Kiku blinked and stared down at Heracles, his eyebrows rising when he saw the teen that was cradled in his Greek lover's arms.
"Who-?" he began.
"Shh," Greece murmured. "Achilles is sleeping... I don't want to wake him up..."
Japan was silent for a long moment, his brown eyes now locked on the sleeping teen.
"Kiku..."
"...H-Heracles?"
"...Please don't cry."
Japan nodded and brushed his fingers against the tears that had begun to roll down his cheeks.
"...I'm sorry," he croaked softly.
"Don't apologize..."
Kiku nodded numbly and slipped onto the ground beside his family. "...I knew that he would be like you."
Heracles merely smiled and wrapped his free arm around the Asian man, his smile widening when Kiku failed to object.
"...You want to take a nap?"
Yeah, I wanted to put in the USUK and GerIta reunions, but then it would've been a bit too long so~
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome, and I am thankful for every single review that I get. Thank you so much!
As always, please continue to keep my speech coach's wife in your thoughts and prayers, and please remember those who died in the Japanese tsunami last year.
Because I'm in a really sentimental mood today (no idea why...) I'll leave you with this:
Never forget how special, blessed, and amazing you are. No matter what happens in your life, remember that you're never alone and that you're never without love. There's always something good on the horizon, and always something to live for. :)