Germany woke a few hours later to an aching back. He grumbled, feeling old and exhausted. He observed his sleeping lover for a moment, and ran a hand through Italy's brunette locks. He then stood, giving Italy's hand one more kiss before standing to stretch. Germany felt his bladder pushing at him, and left the room to find the nearest bathroom. Walking felt nice, his legs were sore from sleeping in a strange position.
The firing of guns was all he could hear. This wasn't any battlefield he had ever been on before, but in the end, they were all the same. Italy ran past soldiers in retreat and still fighting. Bullets flew close to his head, but he didn't stop running. Never. Stop. Running. A body appeared out of nowhere and he tripped. Slowly getting back up despite the pain, a barrel was placed against the back of his neck.
"Finally, I can kill you, you bloody bastard." Italy closed his eyes as the United KIngdom fired.
The sound deafened his ears as he shot awake, only to find it was raining outside. He looked for Germany, but he wasn't there. Another loud bang from lightning that struck nearby had Italy, already in a cold sweat, struggling to get out of bed. He ripped the cords from his arm and stood beside his bed breathing hard. Another bang and he took off out the door and down the hall. The lights flickered and he ran faster. Left, left, straight, right. He found himself in a corner. No one was around. He fell to his knees, hugged himself, and began to cry.
Hearing a thunderclap as he washed his hands, Germany sighed. "Verdammt... Italy must be scared..." he murmured to himself, drying off his hands. He walked the short distance from the bathroom to Italy's room. He was prepared to see Italy cowering in the corner, or having the covers over his face.
What he wasn't prepared to see was an empty bed, the IV dangling from its bag, and a heart monitor that was recording no heartbeat. "Shit!" Germany yelled, running to the nurse's station. "The Italian in there, he ran!" he called in frantic German, getting the attention of about three nurses.
"Why would he leave his bed?" one nurse asked worriedly.
"He's scared of thunderstorms," Germany explained, extracting a confused look from all three of the nurses. "Please, find him! He's... he's like me!"
The head nurse, a plump lady with grey hair, stared at him with worry and then ordered the nurses. "Quickly! Find that man!" Germany separated from them, deciding to run to the left of the room. He'd also look for Italy.
Another crash from the storm had Italy shaking down to his very core. The lights flickered again and he cowered more into himself, shutting his eyes tightly. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to ever fight again. He didn't want to keep having these dreams about death. He wanted his love. He wanted to be safe in his arms. He said he would be there and he wasn't. He...wasn't...there. His breathing was becoming harder and harder and it was starting to hurt. He coughed into his hand and gasped when he saw blood. No... His breathing was becoming more and more labored. "Lud...wig..." Another cough. "Ludwig!"
Rounding another corner, he found Italy on the floor, curled into a ball and his breath labored. "Italien!" He ran to his lover and pulled him into his arms. "Why did you leave? What were you thinking, Italy? You could have died!" He kissed the Italian's head and face several times, his voice on the border of hysteria. "Feliciano, don't do this to me!"
"...Dis...piace...dispiace...scared...he's...he's...death...I can't...I don't wanna die..." He buried his face into the German's shoulder and cried harder.
"Gott, Feliciano, if you don't want to die then don't rip out your IV!" He pulled Italy up in his arms, carrying him bridal-style. "You're still too weak. I swear, I leave for five minutes!" Germany rushed to get him back to his room, catching the nurse's attention while doing so.
They placed him in the bed and began putting the IVs in. Italy was so hysterical, the one nurse looked to Germany. "I'm going to have to put him out."
Italy started screaming as loud as he could muster. "No! No! He's going to kill me! I can't go back! Don't make me go to sleep! Please! Ludwig!"
"Feliciano! Calm down!" he said in Italian. He turned to the nurse, blocking her hand. "He's having night terrors! You can't put him to sleep or he'll do it again!" he told her in German.
"But he's hysterical! We can't treat him like this!" the nurse protested.
"Give me a moment with him, I'll calm him down," Germany said in his most commanding voice. The noise in the room halted, silenced save for Italy's whimpers of fear. The nurse gave Germany a hard look before leaving. "Liebling," Germany cooed in Italian, "you have to calm down. They'll let you stay awake if you calm down."
He silenced as much as he could and bit his tongue to keep himself quiet. His body still slightly jerked as he sobbed.
Germany pulled the Italian close to him, rubbing his back and talking into his brunette hair. "Sh... sh, Feli. Calm..." he cooed, trying to slow his lover's heartbeat. "I'm here, I never left..."
"Y-you didn't?"
"No, I went to the bathroom! Christ, you think I'd leave you?" He tightened his grip, burying his nose in Italy's soft hair.
"Mi dispiace..." he whimpered.
Germany took Italy's face in his hands, looking the boy in the eye. "Listen to me. I'm not leaving." When he saw Italy's eyes tear up, the hesitance in the boy's face, he repeated, "I'm not leaving. Not now, not ever."
"Ti amo." He leaned forward and nuzzled Germany's neck. The sensation he missed finally returning. He felt safe and slowly began to calm down.
Germany continued to rub Italy's back, relieved to feel the boy's frame stop shaking, his heart slowing. "Ich liebe dich..." He kissed the top of Italy's head. "Don't do this to me again, ok? You had me so worried."
"Mi dispiace. I...I keep seeing him when I sleep." He gulped and snuggled closer into the blond.
"I... I see." Germany held Italy tighter. "Feliciano, please know I'll never let him have you. Mein Führer and I are taking measure to ensure this never happens again. Mussolini must report his every action to my boss, and in the case that we leave the country, Hitler and I will be taking you and Romano with us."
He nodded. "G-grazie..." Now if only his mind would take that into accord and leave him alone. A thought. "Doitsu? Why does...he...want to kill me? Or any of us? Why is he so mean?"
Germany bit his lip, unsure how to answer. "Because... this is war. And that's just how war is. He thinks we're wrong, just as we believe he is wrong."
"Oh..." That was just stupid. "Why can't we all just say 'we're all wrong' and be friends? War is stupid..." He sighed and cuddled with Germany more. "I love you so much. Sei la mia vite."
Germany smiled at Italy's innocence, and prayed to himself that Italy would never lose that innocence. "Ja... I love you too, Feli. Du bist mein ein und alles."
Scaret: Heya, guys! Huhu! Some translations:
Ti amo/Ich liebe dich: I love you (Duh)
Mi dispiace: I'm sorry
Sei la mia vite: You are my life
Du bist…alles: You are my one and all.