Times of the Past. Ch. 3
A/N: Please be sure to read and review! I'd love to know how to improve my writing!
Disclaimer: Hikari does not own Hetalia.
Gentle waved lapped up against sandy shores. Sea gulls squawked and flew in search of a meal. A gentle breeze combed over the trees and underbrush, cooling down the humid air. The beach was empty albeit the animals and two small boys with their grandfather.
If the day had been normal, they would have stripped to their bathing suits and charged into the water with shrieks of joy. However, the two brothers had constantly been at each other's throats for the past few days. Their grandfather, Germania, was hoping a trip to the beach would put a halt to their constant bickering.
The two brothers silently stomped down the hill leading to the beach with their arms crossed over their chest. They both avoided eye contact but searched for any chance to ridicule the other. The ocean caught their attention and neither could resist the temptation to go for a swim and cool down.
The waves splashed up against their bellies; Ludwig's significantly tanner than Gilbert's milky white albino skin. It was a rare treat for Germania to let Gilbert go to the beach. His skin was exceptionally sensitive to the sun and the sun could easily damage his scarlet eyes. Despite their argument, Gilbert couldn't resist grinning at this rare treat and let out a burst of dynamic laughter.
Ludwig cast a side glance at his jovial brother splashing around euphorically in the salty waves. Gilbert was generally a very titillated person but seeing Gilbert enjoying his treat alone didn't seem right.
"Hey boys, come look at this!" Germania called from the shore, halting Ludwig about to splash his brother in mid-action. Gilbert reluctantly walked out of the water; clearly surprised by how easy it was to move when a wave washed past him as opposed to when it ebbed away.
The two brother's eyes followed Germania's pointing fingers to where they could see a beautiful sunset. A sliver of a sun could just be seen over the horizon. The sky around it was a mosaic of deep purples, vibrant pinks and stunning blues.
Gilbert took a glance and quickly dismissed the scenery. He had little interest in sunsets (though he would near the end of his life when he little things he had taken for granted suddenly held so much meaning) so instead he investigated the rest of the beach. It seemed to stretch endlessly, much to his astonishment. Thin trees grew about 50 feet away from the shore in the sand. There weren't many big trees as a result of this which disappointed the avid tree-climber. He scanned the sand nearby for anything interesting. Near the tree line away from the shore was a grayish blob that instantly caught Gilbert's attention.
He left his guardian and his brother to look at the sunset while he went to examine the blob. As he neared he realized it was a huge fish. The fish was at least a foot and a half long. Most of the scales and skin had rotted away except for most of the head and tail leaving ashen bone exposed in the middle. What made Gilbert inquisitive about was the size of the fish and the distance between it and the water.
"Germania! Germany, come look at this!" he hollered. Both blonds turned their head and joined Gilbert by the fish. Ludwig's blue eyes widened and nearly bugged out of his eyes when he saw the huge fish.
"Woah! That's so cool! Look at that fish! It's huge!" Ludwig squealed. Germania looked at it indifferently. He turned back to look at the sunset while the two boys crowded the dead animal. Ludwig bent down and scooped up a large pebble.
"What are you doing, Ludwig?" Gilbert asked curiously.
"I'm going to see if I can break its head open!" Ludwig exclaimed proudly. He threw the rock down to the fish but narrowly missed. With a frustrated sigh, Ludwig picked up another pebble.
Gilbert was oddly disturbed by this sight. This was a huge fish; a grand fish that any fisher would be proud to catch. In hungry times, Gilbert would later on dream of this fish with a strong desire. He'd wake up with saliva dripping from his jaws and his stomach rumbling loud enough to wake an army. He hated to see his brother trying to destroy the beauty of the fish. It was already dead and had no use to anyone other than an almost mystical thing to see and Ludwig was trying to destroy its beauty.
"Ludwig, stop!" Gilbert shouted angrily. Ludwig scowled, now angry at Gilbert again for trying to tell him what to do. He threw the rock down again. This time, it struck the fish's head but didn't break it. If Ludwig had been paying attention to his brother, he would have seen his cringe or the unusual look on his face.
"Ludwig, stop!" Gilbert repeated, his tone even sharper than before.
"You're not the boss of me!" Ludwig retorted, throwing yet another rock at the fish. Gilbert glared at him murderously.
"Gott, you're such a pain! I hate you!" Gilbert shouted, his face turning beat red in anger. He couldn't stand to see Ludwig trying to bash its head open any longer. He turned on his knee and stormed away from Ludwig and Germania and retreated down the beach, back straight and shoulders back as a soldier would.
He marched down the beach, getting even madder with each step. He lost track of how long he walked but he found that he would start to relax and forget about the fish but would get even angrier than before when he would find another dead fish. He must have walked for hours since the sun went lower in the sky and he was able to count 23 dead fish and 13 dead birds. He ended up turning around eventually and walked back.
Germania and Germany soon appeared at the same area. Gilbert felt his heart sink. For one matter, no one had tried to follow him or even looked concerned. For another matter, Gilbert was probably going to be in big trouble.
He was correct of course, both Germania and Germany yelled at him and cast him angry, scornful looks. Gilbert stated away from them, hating the numb feeling he felt whenever he did things like that. He liked it better when he got in trouble and he could feel excited over his achievement. He had only achieved in running away from his problems for only a few hours but at least he had calmed down.
Ludwig and Gilbert eventually went back to acting their normal selves within a few days although no one ever admitted that they acted poorly or that they were sorry (much to Ludwig's and Gilbert's regret).
Being brothers, they shared an unbreakable bond that nothing could ever break. War, bosses, land and personal life tried to create a rift between them but they were able to overcome any obstacle and still stay best friends. Even death was just a mountain for them to overcome. Ludwig missed his brother more than he could ever say but he knew he would meet him again one day along with Germania and Fritz. He would just have to live his life to the fullest until the time came that he would join his family on the other side of the mountain where they could mend any regrets and go swimming in the ocean without worrying about being burned by the sun.