Through the cold, merciless winds and the choking ash-laden air Antonio forged onward, ignoring the continuous protests from his swollen ankle and frozen muscles. He searched under every crevice, behind every nook, across every field. Any time the possibility of giving up, or even pausing, appeared in his head, he only needed to think of how Lovino felt to be running back across the senseless landscape with renewed pace.

But his efforts were so far proving fruitless, and tension was rising faster than ever in his panic-streaked heart. Thoughts tumbled endlessly around his confused and contorted mind and, as his anxiety grew, his methods grew ever more slapdash, until Antonio found himself where the town used to be, with despair clogging his veins and no idea where he had and hadn't searched.

He collapsed on the flattened and charred remains of a stone bench, finally allowing his constricted throat a chance to breathe and hack the ash out of his lungs. Running for hours – at least it had seemed like hours – in this air surely wasn't healthy. Even if he wasn't actually here, it was more than clear that the effects transferred back to the normal world, and he didn't fancy waking up with a mouthful of soot.

But, as much as his throat burned, it wasn't the first thing on his mind, or even the most painful. A horrible, empty sense of loss was slowly beginning to suffocate him from his very core. And Antonio knew it was only a matter of time before he woke up and it completely consumed him. He was going to let himself down, let his friends down, let Romulus down. And Lovino's grandfather had really seemed to believe in him.

Even if he hadn't made any sense half the time.

Admittedly, the elder Italian had given Antonio some useful advice, as well as a pivotal insight into Lovino's mindframe, but all of that would be useless if Antonio couldn't find Lovino. There must have been some way for Romulus to locate Lovino – he'd pretty blatantly hinted at it – so why hadn't he told Antonio? If he wanted his grandson to be happy, or at least for this to be over once and for all, he'd have at least said something.

Antonio shook his head pointlessly and stared out at the deserted fields, listening to the haunting echo of the wind whistling around the hills. It almost seemed to have a tune to it, a gentle, harrowing melody that was the perfect accompaniment to the hopeless situation. But then, it would do, it would suit how Lovino felt, and currently that was far from happy. And Antonio felt even worse when he remembered, for perhaps the millionth time, that it was his fault.

To the bottom of a dark pit, they had both fallen, forever destined to be apart.

And remember, even when everything has fallen, there is always something that remains. The words echoed through Antonio's mind as his sombre thoughts awakened his slumbering memory. Romulus had said them earlier, just before he left, but with no explanation. What had pretty much been his final words to Antonio, what could have been something really helpful in making up with Lovino, was actually complete philosophical gibberish. Thanks, Romulus.

Antonio bolted up ramrod straight as a thought struck him. Wait. Could it have been a clue of where he could find Lovino? Antonio sighed tiredly. Well, there was no harm in trying. He'd pretty much exhausted all other possibilities, aside from continued haphazard searching, and he had to be running within an hour or two of seven o'clock now. He'd never viewed the prospect of waking up to be scary before, but now it really was. His time was running out fast, and he could feel the familiar light-headed and numbness that overwhelmed him when he thought of Lovino hating him forever.

Well, if what Romulus said had been a clue, what had remained when everything else had fallen?

Trying to pick back up the determination he'd had earlier, Antonio looked around, scouring the bleak obsidian fields for even the slightest sign of something out of place against the devastation. Nothing stood out. The landscape was how it had been for the entire time Antonio had been there; black, plain and deserted. What would be as it had been before after all of this, and, more importantly, why would Lovino be there in the first place?

Then it hit him. The one place that hadn't been properly hit by the warp earlier, the one place that had only had its surroundings affected, not its form. The one place that always seemed to be apart from everything else, innocent and unique. A locked chest in Lovino's mind, a secret hideout, a read-only file, an unreachable star.

The fountain.

As if he'd been struck by lightning, Antonio leapt to his feet, depleted batteries instantly recharged, and started off running towards the house, oblivious to the uneven ground threatening to trip him at every step. Guided by his capricious internal navigation, he leapt over rocks and ash, flashing feet barely touching the ground and his eyes firmly fixed on the horizon and his goal. He hoped beyond the most impossible of hopes that the fountain was there, that Lovino was there, that his hunch was right.

But, to Antonio's surprise and relief, the fountain was indeed still there, surrounded by scuffed and broken pathways that were all that remained of the maze. Clearly it too had been harshly affected by the transformation of the world. Crystal clear water no longer gushed in waves from its top and off the sides, and bedraggled brown weeds had grown around its edge and up the middle. It, like everything else, was covered in a fine layer of mud and ash, and the once proud stone base was cracked in several places. It looked like it had been abandoned for years.

Yet this wasn't what caught Antonio's attention. For at the base of the fountain, looking almost like a spectre, sat a figure slumped against the broken stone. Although shadowed, grimy and motionless, it was obvious even to someone who didn't know the world's lack of population that it was Lovino.

Antonio swallowed, fighting the terror in his mind and the strange tingling rising in his limbs as he padded closer, almost stalking across the ash-strewn grass. The slightest noise could scare Lovino off before Antonio could say something.

Once he was within ten feet, he stopped, pausing to focus his mind. This was the last place where he wanted to break down. Or maybe it was just procrastination, drawn from insecurity. Now that he was here, he had little idea what to do, what to say, where to start. The words of apology that had been circling in his brain suddenly seemed imperfect and inappropriate, and he just stood there anxiously. Luckily, Lovino's mind seemed to be far elsewhere, for the Italian remained oblivious to Antonio's presence. Antonio wanted nothing more than to close the final distance between the two, envelop the younger in a powerful hug and press kiss after kiss to his face and lips until Lovino understood just how sorry he was and how much he loved him. But situations were never solved like that – even Antonio knew this. He was balanced on a knife-edge in a blistering wind, and the slightest wrong move would send him falling to oblivion.

Time for the moment of truth. He couldn't delay it any longer.

"Lovino?" Antonio tried to say, but his voice came out as little more than a croak, barely audible to his own ears, let alone Lovino's. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Lovi?"

Instantly, Lovino jolted out of his trance-like state, his eyes flicking wide open and swivelling to face Antonio with a look of disbelief and anger on his pale face. "The hell? What part of 'I don't want to see you again' don't you fucking understand, bastard?" he spat, scrambling to his feet and glaring hard at Antonio, trembling hands curling into fists by his sides.

Antonio swallowed, unsure as to whether Lovino was about to completely flip out or not. "Probably the 'don't'," he replied, surprised at how even his voice sounded when his mind still felt in a tumultuous whirl. He hadn't planned to say that line, and it was an awfully risky presumption. Everything he had planned to say evacuated his head in a panicked frenzy, and he was just left with disorganised fragments echoing as he paused in uncertainty. "Lovi...please just give me one last chance. I'm so sorry for hurting you. That's been the worst part of this. Not my mistakes, not how much I hurt, not the thought that you hated me, but how much I hurt you. I...I know it's hard for you to trust people, and I betrayed that trust with what I did. And for that, I am deeply sorry. I honestly would never say something like that unless all the evidence pointed in that direction, and even then it was inexcusable. I'm not sure if I deserve forgiveness, even though it was an honest mistake, but whatever happens, I don't want you to suffer. You don't need to shut yourself off like this, Lovi. You'll just be so much worse for it." Antonio sighed, knowing what he was saying probably made no sense, but carrying on regardless. "Hell, I don't even care if you don't forgive me, as long as you're happy again, Lovi. I can't bear to see you this way, and I would much prefer for you to hate me, banish me from here somehow and be alright, than to forgive me and still be sad. I...I know you're hurting, Lovi, but if you hated me, surely you wouldn't be torturing yourself like this? If you hated me, wouldn't you have just exacted your revenge again like yesterday, but this time gone through with it properly?" Antonio was mentally hitting himself at letting his mouth run away with itself here. It really wouldn't be a good idea to remind Lovino of what he hadn't quite accomplished yesterday.

"Tch," Lovino muttered dismissively, face still creased in a glare. "Don't think much of me, do you, bastard? You weren't intended to fucking die, damn it. Didn't you notice how you fell into the water as your alarm clock went off? Sure, I was pissed – am pissed – and I hate your fucking guts, but I don't want you dead. Yet," he added darkly.

Antonio was beyond reassured at this – Lovino hadn't been trying to kill him after all, and it meant that a part of him, a part of no little significance, still cared for him. And it was this part that Antonio had to coax back out. Easier said than done.

He smiled, but gently, cautiously. "I'm glad, Lovi. That you don't want me dead, that is. It's a start, at least."

Lovino scoffed, folding his arms and giving Antonio that heart-wrenching expression of marbled hurt, sorrow and anger. "A start? Of what, exactly? 'Cos it certainly isn't forgiveness, damn it! You can't just turn up and spout a load of nonsensical bullshit at me and expect me to just forget all this happened. Che palle! Nothing you've said from the start has made the slightest bit of sense, and I've about had it with you. I'm saying this one final time; get the fuck out of here and never talk to me again." He spun swiftly on one heel and started striding away through the thick ash as the sky darkened once more and the already faint light dimmed further.

Antonio could feel his heart snap at the words, and it took a few seconds and everything he had to be able to react.

"Lovi, wait!" Antonio called desperately, and, to his surprise, the Italian paused, his expression doubtful. Antonio dug in his pocket and extended the folded piece of paper from within to Lovino. "If you won't believe me, at least believe Feliciano, please. You ran before I had a chance to give this to you earlier, but he wrote a letter for you. Are you so mad at me that you'll deny your brother too?" Antonio looked pleadingly at Lovino, half dreading that he would just turn back walk away from this without reading. Which would be devastating for both of the separated brothers, even if the elder would naturally deny it.

It was several seconds before Lovino responded, eyeing the note with a wary stare. But eventually, he turned back, cautiously took the letter from Antonio and retreated back to a safe distance a few metres away, much to Antonio's unspoken disappointment. Standing back by the dilapidated fountain, he unfolded the paper and silently began to read, golden-brown eyes flicking back and forth in the growing light.

Once again, uncertainty rose in Antonio's blood, clamping icy tendrils around his mind. Every moment seemed like eternity. He hadn't read Feliciano's letter, partly out of respect for their privacy, partly down to the fact it hadn't crossed his mind at first, and he had no idea of what it contained, let alone whether it would in any way change Lovino's mind. Yes, Lovino trusted his brother, but did he trust Antonio not to have faked the letter? And was it written well enough to convince him of what had happened? The world felt like it had dissolved away until only Lovino and himself remained. Even the bitter wind had dropped, although Antonio was too tense to shiver as the residual chill nipped at his skin.

Perhaps two minutes later, but what felt like two long and painful hours, Lovino pocketed the letter and looked back up at Antonio, his expression conflicted but overall indecipherable. But he didn't reply, just stood there, blinking, as if waiting for some sort of justification.

At least he wasn't running away. Feliciano must have said something important, at least. But this really put the pressure on whatever Antonio was about to say next, as it was quite probably his final chance before Lovino made his decision. Even though Antonio felt like he'd had several final chances today, the pressure was almost killing him, and, if it didn't, then Lovino's answer possibly would.

Antonio released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and spoke up, feeling like there was a ten-tonne weight sat atop his shoulders. "Lovi, I don't know what else I can say that I haven't said to you already, so...this is how it is. I'm sorry for what happened, and how I hurt you. I never wanted to see you like this, especially not to have caused it. Anything that I can do to make this right, I will do. No matter how what it is or long it takes. I love you more than I ever possibly thought I could love someone. So, I'll let you have the final word on this, but please, make the decision that will make you happy. If...if you would really prefer it if I just avoided you from now on, I'll never come near you again, no matter how much that will hurt me. But, if you choose to forgive this idiot for his stupid misconceptions, then I promise, on everything that I am, that I have, and that I ever will be, that I will make this up to you, and that this will never, ever happen again. You are the love of my life, and if there is a part of you that still loves me, then..." Antonio's voice faded out, but his meaning was more than clear.

The longest silence passed once again between them as the two locked eyes; pleading emerald staring lovingly into inscrutable hazel. Antonio was almost despairing, as he couldn't find even the slightest hint at what Lovino was thinking and he could almost feel the world beginning to sway beneath his feet. He couldn't break the frozen eye contact between himself and Lovino, watching the unmoving orbs sparkle hypnotically in the breaking sunlight. With everything he had he was trying to convey some sort of emotion to Lovino's motionless face.

Finally, Lovino sighed tersely and resumed his familiar glare. "Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. You are quite possibly the biggest idiot I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. There are no words to describe just how utterly stupid your actions have been, or the extent to how that affected me, and I'm not going to try find them. Normally in this situation, I would just punch you in the face and run, never to see you again, and a large part of me is tempted to do just that. It's probably the wiser idea. However..." Here Lovino sighed again and paused, as if contemplating his words. Antonio held his breath, anxious, fragile heart jumping into his throat. The lack of swear words had made Lovino's speech more potent than anger could have, and it was clear every word was deliberate and precise, so much so that they were almost like knives. "However. For quite possibly the first time in your life, you're right. I ought to do what makes me happy, for once."

Antonio swallowed. "And that is?" he asked tentatively, his voice choked and little more than a whisper above the silent atmosphere.

There was another short, terrifying pause, then Lovino stepped forward, hands on his hips, his expression still hard and unrevealing. "That, while you may be an idiot, you..." He sighed in exasperation. "Ah, fuck it. You're the one that makes me happy, alright? And I can't really blame you entirely for this. No one, least of all dumbass gullible Spaniards, is perfect, especially when they're being duped by two potato bastards and a pervert. Plus, it's pretty clear you're sorry about this whole ordeal. If I'd have put my mind to it, it's quite possibly you'd have been on your knees and begging me to forgive you." He paused again and drew a deep breath. "But the main thing is, and always has been, is what I told you at the start of this whole fucking ordeal. I'm not quite sure why, but... Anch'io ti amo, bastardo."

The most unbelievable wave of relief washed over Antonio, knocking his mind senseless, and he felt like collapsing. It was a beautiful, stunning, indescribable explosion of happiness as a full spectrum of colour burst back into his world. Unable to find words, Antonio leapt forward and pulled Lovino into a tight hug, never wanting to let go again, and buried his head into the crook of Lovino's neck before the Italian could quite comprehend what was happening. But, after a few moments, Lovino slipped his arms around Antonio's back and quietly muttered, "Idiot." Antonio had to agree. But he was a happy idiot, a loved idiot, and in the end that was all he wanted.

It had been worth all this searching, all this uncertainty, just to be here in this moment.

Antonio could have happily stayed there hugging Lovino forever, soft hair nuzzling his face, warm body pressed against his own, but after a few amazing, spinning minutes, Lovino shifted slightly and Antonio guessed that was probably a cue to let go. He complied, but somewhat reluctantly, realising that it wasn't a good idea to push his luck too far at the moment.

Bright sunlight pierced his retinas as he pulled away and reopened his eyes. Antonio squinted, blinking hard, and for a moment wondered if he'd been teleported to yet another world. All trace of darkness and ash had vanished completely, replaced by the soft, verdant grass that had carpeted the land previously. The golden sunlight sparkled down from the azure blue sky, eliminating the chill wind and bringing back the soft, welcoming warmth of before. Little seedlings, the beginnings of the maze, were patterned across the ground and gradually stretching skyward.

Mouth half open in awe, Antonio looked around dazedly before his eyes came to rest on Lovino, who was scowling again and stubbornly refusing to look Antonio in the eye. His form hadn't improved as much as the world had, as there were still dark marks under his eyes, but his eyes were brighter and there was more of a lustre to his previously bedraggled hair.

"Not a word, bastard," he warned. "Not a word."

Antonio smiled and took Lovino's hands in his. "Aw. So cute~." He was so glad the world was repaired, or at least on its way to being so, and he felt that if one more thing improved even slightly he would burst from an overload of euphoria.

"Shut the fuck up," Lovino glared. But Antonio didn't mind the glare. Lovino was happy; that much was obvious, and that was all that mattered. Or at least happier. Things wouldn't be completely back to normal for a while – Lovino was good at holding grudges, either secretly or subconsciously – and it would take time before he completely trusted Antonio again, but Antonio was happy to wait for that. It was more than he deserved for being such a fool.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Lovino poking him in the arm and gesturing back in the direction of the house behind them. "Oi, bastard. I'm going, 'cos otherwise this maze is going to grow again and I can't be arsed to get lost at the moment. You coming or not?"

Antonio nodded and chased excitedly after Lovino as the younger strode away. He felt like taking Lovino by the arms and swinging him around the garden in a crazed, euphoric dance until they both collapsed from laughter and exhaustion. But Antonio doubted that Lovino felt like complying with that at the moment, and, besides, he was perfectly content how he was, walking beside Lovino and watching how the world slowly began to repair itself. He knew there would be some structural damage elsewhere, damage that would take time and healing before it was as strong as it was before, but Antonio didn't mind the wait, and wanted to be there every step of the way and watch it grow more beautiful than it had ever been.

Antonio stretched out one hand and entwined his fingers in Lovino's as the two walked back towards the house, careful to avoid the delicate little saplings of the maze as they took the birds-eye route instead of following the scuffed pathways. He gave Lovino a blinding grin, only a tiny fragment of a display of the happiness he felt at that moment. "You feeling better, Lovi?"

"Hmph." Lovino scowled, but didn't withdraw his fingers from Antonio's, for which the Spaniard was thankful. "You're just lucky that fratellino makes more sense than you, jerk. He may be an idiot, but at least he can tell a story from start to finish. I didn't get what the hell had happened before I read his note, apart from you'd somehow managed to lose that stupid letter I gave you. Useless bastard."

"But everything's ok now, right, Lovi?" Antonio asked urgently.

Lovino gave him an evil smirk, eyes glinting a hundred shades in the sunlight. "Oh, not just yet. I'm still thinking of the ways in which you can make it up to me. You did say anything, didn't you, bastard?" He chuckled mischievously and Antonio suddenly felt a shiver of nervousness run up his spine as he thought of the arduous and possibly humiliating scenarios that Lovino was bound to come up with until he felt justified. Not that Antonio was going to back out of this now, mind. He'd said anything, and he was going to go through with it, as Lovino was worth more than anything he could put Antonio through.

Although, part of himself was still rather annoyed at never actually explaining anything to Lovino. He'd gotten so caught up in apologising that he forgot that Lovino didn't know everything that had happened, only the confused fragments that Antonio had been spouting. Lucky for them both, Feliciano seemed to have gone into a much deeper explanation. Antonio wondered what the note had said, but was far too afraid of seeming rude or presumptuous to ask Lovino if he could have a read.

The two settled in the flower garden of Lovino's grandfather's house, watching peacefully as the colour sedately burst once again into the surroundings. The house seemed to be restoring itself quite fast, but, at Antonio's guess at least, it would do so, as Lovino's past wouldn't have been affected by the recent happenings. Neither of the pair said anything much, partly out of content, partly out of uncertainty. Antonio wasn't entirely sure if things were completely back to normal yet, and Lovino seemed to still be his usual insecure and stubborn self, wondering if he'd made the right decision and thinking it over in his mind. But the silence wasn't uncomfortable, and too many words felt like they would overcomplicate things, so they just sat together, appreciating and thinking.

But, after a short time sat by the slowly blooming patterns of vivid colour, Antonio remembered how things had been when he'd left, and the ending of their current situation. "What time is it?" he asked Lovino hesitantly, dreading the answer. Now things were back to how they'd been, or at least they would be in time, he was back to his previous desire of not wanting to leave.

Lovino looked up, surprised. "Quarter to seven, or about that," he replied. "In the morning. Why? You don't wake up for hours on Saturdays."

"Not today," Antonio sighed, mentally gasping in relief at how close he'd cut things. He slipped an arm around Lovino's waist and resting his head against Lovino's. "I'm being woken at seven sharp today. It was part of the emergency plan to stop a repeat of last night."

"What? Emergency plan?" Lovino asked incredulously. It was clear Antonio had lost him again.

"Ludwig, Feli, Franny and Gil are over keeping an eye on me. I kinda got a bit hurt yesterday and they were worried it'd happen again," Antonio explained quickly, half afraid Lovino would run away if it sounded like he was making excuses for leaving.

Lovino scowled and muttered something incomprehensible that sounded vaguely like 'mi dispiace', deliberately avoiding Antonio's eyes. Antonio ran a hand gently through Lovino's hair and murmured, "So cute."

"Shut up, damn it," Lovino growled, swatting at Antonio's invading hand. "I'm not cute."

Antonio deftly caught the attacking hand and laced the fingers between his own. "Oh yes you are," Antonio smiled. "Like a little tomato."

Lovino shook his head and slammed his forehead into his spare palm. "Why. The fuck. Do I bother," he muttered. "You crazy jerk. So Feli and the bastards are all on nightwatch guard duty then?"

"Sí," Antonio nodded. "Or at least two of them will be. They'll have to sleep at some point, I think it was in shifts." He couldn't really remember much of what had happened then; he'd been a bit too preoccupied with his own worries for any of the words to penetrate his ears, let alone his brain.

"Tell them they're paranoid idiots," Lovino replied, blunt as always. "Not that I'm in the least bit bothered, damn it. The point of this place is so I can be by myself. No Spanish bastards to annoy me. Can't wait for that to be back."

"Well, if that's the case, shouldn't we just enjoy the short amount of time we have left, then?" Antonio asked, slightly mournfully, although he knew Lovino wasn't being serious – he just didn't like admitting to things. Especially after events like this had just happened; he was very reluctant to open himself up.

Lovino sighed. "Fine. But only because I can't be bothered to move anywhere else, bastard. Oh, and tell Feli I'll write him back tomorrow. Don't have time now."

"Of course, mi cariño," Antonio replied. "I'm sure he'll be delighted."

Lovino shrugged. "It's not exactly hard to make Feliciano happy. He's delighted if you make him a plate of pasta, or even just tell him hello one morning. Stupid cheerful bastard."

Antonio laughed. "He just likes looking on the bright side, finding good in the little things. It's his way, I guess. But a letter from his brother, who he hasn't seen in a month, will really cheer him up, even more than normal."

"Whatever," Lovino shrugged. "I told you, I don't have time now. There's only-" Lovino broke off mid-sentence and looked down, suddenly unsure. "It's six fifty-eight, bastard. If the potato jerk's taken charge, then everything's gonna be done precise. So you're gone in less than a hundred and twenty seconds." His cheeks lit up crimson. "I mean, thank God for that."

Antonio sighed. In the beginning he'd been thinking seven was far too late to be woken up, and now, it was several hours too early. But he tried not to let the disappointment affect him too much for their last two minutes. "Well, I guess it's goodbye for a while, Lovi." He shuffled slightly closer and pulled Lovino into a tight hug, trying to convey so many thoughts into the one simple action. Admittedly he'd see Lovino again later that night, but right now it felt to be weeks away as opposed to hours. Too soon to be parted after being happily reunited.

After a growl and a scattering of muttered profanities, Lovino returned the embrace, but it didn't last long before Antonio tilted the younger's head up and brought their lips together in a sweet kiss. It was more gentle than it had been previously, chaste and cautious, but Antonio could sense the silent longing that was hiding in Lovino's mind. It, once again, was something he never wanted to end, but Antonio had only seconds to say goodbye now. So he pulled away, noting with delight the look of disappointment that flickered across Lovino's face for a fraction of a second.

"Until the day ends, then, mi amor," Antonio breathed softly, staring into the depths of Lovino's beautiful golden-brown eyes. He only had time to see Lovino nod slowly before there was a strange, disconnected shaking and the world blurred and plummeted down hard through his stomach.

XxxxX

Dismayed and disorientated, Antonio sat up, waiting for the stars to stop chasing each other from in front of his eyes. A confused tangle of voices was assaulting his ears, but failing to make any sense. It all sounded rather far away, but something felt close, gently covering him. He moaned quietly, rubbed his eyes, and suddenly the world spun into full focus.

With a pair of worried golden eyes staring two inches from his face. Antonio let out a yelp and jumped backwards in shock, before realising it was just Feliciano failing to understand the concept of personal space. Two sheets and a thickish blanket fell away from his body as he wriggled out from under them, his shoulders banging painfully into the headboard after he'd moved less than a foot.

"Feliciano, give Antonio some space, please," Antonio heard Ludwig ask from somewhere off to his left. Feliciano pouted slightly, but backed off a couple of feet and settled next to Antonio's outstretched feet.

The younger Italian drummed his fingers impatiently on the bedspread, bright eyes wide and looking like he'd eaten slightly too much sugar. "Ve~, Toni, Toni, what happened? Did you meet fratello? What did he say? Did he get my note? Ooh! Did he write one back?"

Gilbert laughed. "Feli, he can't answer if you're talkin' over the top of everything. Give him a sec to wake up and stuff. Glad to see you're not dead, by the way, man. That would have been so un-awesome."

"Quite," Ludwig agreed. "There were a couple of points at which we were debating to wake you up or not, but since you didn't seem hurt we gave it the benefit of the doubt. You were very cold for the most of the night, though. Even when we put several blankets on top of you it didn't seem to have much of an effect."

Antonio nodded, recalling how things had been when he first arrived. "It was quite cold there for most of the time."

"Hmm," Ludwig said thoughtfully. "Ah yes. The rest of my doubts have been fully removed, you'll be pleased to know. We got your pocketful of...something...about ten minutes after you fell asleep."

Feliciano held up his blackened hands delightedly. "Ve~! It's like soot! And it made my hands all dirty when I touched it. Also your bed is, because I kinda spilt it everywhere and Ludi got mad." His face switched from happy to apologetic as he glanced over the various black smudges marking the fabric, before returning his attention to Antonio with his worried but eager expression. "So what happened, Toni? Is fratello ok?"

Antonio paused for a moment, watching the expectant faces scattered in front of him, and then nodded, causing a giant smile of relief to spread across Feliciano's face and the auburn-haired boy to launch himself at him in a hug with the force of a cannon.

"Ve~. I knew you'd do it, Toni," Feliciano beamed, practically radiating sunbeams despite the dark circles under his eyes. From the looks of it, he hadn't slept the entire night out of frenzied worry.

Francis was giving him a curious look. "How did you do it, Antoine? Surely it would not have been that easy to convince Lovino that your actions were the result of accident and misunderstanding. Your tired face says that this was indeed a trial, though it was one with a happy ending." Of course Francis would have noticed something like that. The guy was a master at reading body language, especially when it came to relationships.

So Antonio launched into his recount of the last few hours, even though his mind felt like it was filled with cotton wool. All the spinning, switching sadness and euphoria had developed and interchanged so much, to the point that they neutralised each other and morphed into a distant kind of numbness. To use a cliché that was as much a literalism as it was metaphorical, it felt just like a dream.

Yo! Sorry this is up about a week later than I intended it. Blame my new Pokémon emulator, A-level results, and some parts of this which were just damn hard to write. But yes! all be happy now. Only a couple chapters left, by my reckoning, until I've tied up all the loose plot threads. Probably. :D

Oh, and well done to Yuri n' Chuka for correctly guessing the plot. :) And thank you to all my awesome reviewers.