((This is the usual warning about violence, yaoi and smut. Head it or not, it is up to you. Glad to have people reading this and telling me that they would like more. It keeps me going. I apologise for the long delay between chapters. Thank you for reading!))
Ludwig kept following the river downstream, his canteens full to bursting, knowing the water running beside him was contaminated by the blood and bodies of his friends. He had left both as he passed by for the second time except for Miss Hungary; he cleaned her face where he had soiled it the previous day. It just seemed right to do that but after, he just left. No burial, no words of passing, nothing. He made camp that night, hoping to get some actual rest. The dead seemed to be avoiding him lately. Ludwig fancied that they could communicate and had told tales of their ferocious battles where he, the mad German, had always emerged victorious.
As Ludwig lay on the grass near the river, his small campfire provided far too much warmth, the air was stale and hot. He tossed some dirt on it, then rolled and faced the river to sleep. Feliciano was in Ludwig's dreams again that night; he was in his dreams almost every night. A lot of the times they just lay together on a beach watching the sunset. Neither of them said anything until right before the dream ended; Feli would whisper, "I'll always love you, Ludi. Always." It never failed to make his heart ache with loneliness and pain but he still loved the dream, the Italian's voice still sounded the same and everything was peaceful for a while. He missed Feli.
The morning was bright and what remained of the birds sang in the morning light. In a few hours it would get hot again. Ludwig washed out the cut across his face, hissing as the water from his canteens stung the cut. After, he tore part of his shirt and, once having cleaned in the river, he wrapped the strip of shirt around his head. The wound throbbed for a while then subsided. Ludwig walked on, headed toward the sea, thinking of life and what it had once been.
Three days after finding Feli in the Chinese restaurant, reports of the epidemic had begun in United States. He remembered listening to the American reporters, panicked voices saying calming phrases, trying to reassure the American people that nothing really was amiss. Ludwig found later that there had been a lot of government censorship then; Alfred didn't even know about it until the epidemic had become public knowledge. Ludwig and Feli would be leaving for Matthew's soon, sooner than planned anyway; they didn't want to be in Alfred's way if his country had to deal with something serious.
Alfred had insisted on accompanying them to Matthew's, saying, "Don't worry about it; my government can run without me for a week. They did fine when I disappeared for months in Japan." He was so light hearted and would not relent. They drove in Alfred's little car up to the Canadian border and were only let in because all three were countries. The borders had been closed except to dignitaries and immortal countries.
Feli had kept quiet the whole ride over, hours and hours of driving with only a single stop; Ludwig was worried about him. Maybe he had gotten sick or something. It took the trio the rest of the day to reach Matthew's cabin. After they had gotten into the woods, Feli began to talk again. Ludwig watched him and noticed him watching Alfred a lot. He wondered if this reminded Feli of when Rome disappeared. The trip to his cabin didn't take too long and the three relaxed and unwound with Matthew. He had heard of the epidemic too; being so close to America's borders had made him watchful.
He said, "W..why aren't you with your government, Alfred? Y...you could be a huge help to them." Alfred retorted, "They'll be just fine. No worries. I'm on vacation." He laughed and added, "I'm not a country now. I'm just Alfred F. Jones." He kept laughing and started coughing; Ludwig had been sitting next to him and saw that his hand had come away with fine dots of blood on it. Alfred saw that Ludwig had seen and said, "You know I'm fine. You were almost half dead in 1945; don't you start worrying about me now."
Ludwig rested near the creek that he knew he couldn't drink from anymore and thought about how, in times of crisis, countries reflected their people. The worse was in wartime; whole limbs could disappear or sight or something. After the war, Ludwig was missing his left leg. It was humiliating, not only being defeated but having to be pushed around to peace talks. Ludwig sighed, he remembered seeing Feliciano there. He was so scared, the first day he sat through the whole meeting shaking. The second day, he sat next to Ludwig. Although Ludwig could barely get to the restroom on his own, Feliciano still sought protection and comfort. This had made Ludwig so protective of him; he wanted to always comfort and protect Feliciano. Always.
((~Doitsu))