Sssshhh, here's a quick chapter before I go to school. Hope you like it, I was pressed for time.

Shit.

Shit shit shit shit shit!

Generally, falling in love with your friend is a terrible thing. It can damage or ruin a relationship altogether, can make things awkward; can destroy the people's opinions on each other. And worse yet, Feliciano was a guy! Ludwig wondered when he'd turned gay. What the hell? This had never happened before. He liked girls. Hot girls. Like sports illustrated magazines! He still read those! He couldn't be gay, that's impossible!

Yet, it was all right there. He couldn't help but let his thoughts drift to Feliciano whenever he had a spare moment, and caught himself getting a little too excited to see the boy when he had a chance. Mentally slapping himself, he forced himself to believe that it was a lie. He could never fall for that red-brown hair, or olive skin, or the way his eyes crinkle up when he smiles- wait, fuck.

Ludwig forced himself to sit the hell down and start his homework. His classes had been getting tougher lately, assigning more and more work for him to do (as if he wasn't stressed enough). He'd been trailing a bit, trying to get his social life in order while maintaining decent grades, at the least. He'd never exactly done bad in school, but he'd been nothing more than an average student since elementary school.

He started working on his math homework, geometry. His grade had been steadily declining, and he'd decided that it was time to step it up a little, and really concentrate on trying to bring his grade up. Starting on the first problem, he'd determined that it would only take about an hour to finish his assignment, then maybe he would have time to watch a movie or something before he had to go to bed. Maybe he'd surf the internet for a while.

After only a few problems, however, he heard the phone ring. He debated picking up or just leaving it to ring; he needed to finish this assignment. If he didn't, he'd lose valuable points for his grade. However, he decided to pick it up around the fourth high-pitched ring. Picking up the wireless phone beside him, he pressed the pound button.

"Hello?" He greeted the caller.

"H-hello. Ludwig?" The voice of Feliciano, quiet and hoarse, asked from the other line.

Ludwig's heart tightened for a moment. Why did Feliciano sound so… scared? "Ah, Feliciano. What is it?"

"It's… um." He paused to take in a shuddery breath. "I'm at the hospital right now. It's Lovino- he- he got hit- by a car-r," His breath shuddered in his lungs, making his voice come out in a strange high tone. Ludwig heard more deep breaths. He was trying to keep his composure.

Oh. Oh god. At the hospital?

Ludwig nearly panicked. "Which hospital!? Do you need me to come up there?" He stood from his desk, turning around, ready to grab some shoes and his keys and go right then.

"I… Y-yes, please. He's unconscious, a-and I'm alone here," His voice still shook.

He told Ludwig where the hospital was, and the blonde told him he'd be up as soon as he could. He reassured Feliciano more than once before he hung up that he'd be there soon. Forgetting all about his homework, Ludwig ran downstairs, slipping on a black jacket and grabbing his keys. He left the house without even telling his father, deciding he can just text him on the way.

He got into his silver car quickly, backing out of the driveway and getting out of his neighborhood in a fair amount of time. He drove onto the main road, pushing the speed limit a little at all times. The hospital was only about a twenty minute drive from his house.

The entire time he was a knot of tension behind the wheel, leaning forward slightly as he ran a red light. He sped toward the hospital, praying the entire time that Feliciano and his twin would be okay.

Pulling into the hospital parking lot, he cut off a middle aged woman who honked her horn at him and flipped him off. This put him just in time to snag the close parking spot she'd been going for; he pulled in quickly and jumped out of his car, locking it as he walked briskly toward the door.

He stepped inside the inner doors and headed up to a receptionist, asking her where the emergency wing was and where a boy named Lovino Vargas could be found. She responded hesitantly, but the urgency in Ludwig's voice probably keyed her in that this was incredibly important to him. She pointed him toward the emergency wing, telling him to go through a set of double doors down the hallway to the left. He nodded his thanks and set off at a near run.

He pushed through the double doors to enter a waiting area with padded benches; the fabric of the pads was annoyingly psychedelic, Hawaiian flowers mirrored on a green and orange background, as if to try and cheer up the panicked people who were fated to wait in the room for their loved ones.

That is, in fact, exactly what Feliciano was doing. He was sitting on one of the benches, clutching his cell phone in his hands and looking at the ground. Tears fell from his eyes and onto the regulation hospital carpeting. The grey carpet had dark spots on it from where his tears had impacted.

An equally distressed kid stood next to the bench, pacing back and forth and muttering panicked rambles under his breath. This boy, Ludwig recognized, was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, a senior from his history class. The kid spoke fluent Spanish, and seemed to be slipping into it now, accented syllables audible from where he spoke.

"Feliciano!" He called out, and the red-head looked up. His eyes were filled with a horrified emotion, a mix of fear and sadness and anxiety, that overflowed in his damp brown eyes. Antonio glanced up, almost scared that he was someone coming to tell them bad news. Feliciano shot up from his seat, standing up as Ludwig pulled him into a tight hug. The two of them embraced as Feliciano shuddered and shook, his nervousness causing his hands to shake violently.

Ludwig released him, taking his hand and sitting them both down on the ugly floral bench. Antonio looked them over, a worried brow wrinkled in a look of nervousness. "How is he?" Ludwig asked, not quite excited to hear the news. He didn't really like the red-head's twin, but he didn't think anyone deserved this. He was afraid, for Feliciano as much as Lovino, since he knew the younger twin loved his ornery brother very much. Such a loss could mean a lot for Feliciano, even to the point where he would lose his house if Lovino couldn't work. Their grandfather made an income, of course, but Ludwig doubted it would be enough to support the two of them alone.

"He's… not doing well. He's in bad condition. N-not critical, but still not good." Antonio answered him, and Feliciano sniffled. Ludwig watched more tears sliding down the face he was so in love with.

"Well… what happened?" Ludwig knew that he'd been hit by a car, but the details had been left out.

A shuddery breath was drawn in by lungs that needed it. "He was with A-Antonio. And th-then they were just crossing the street, and there was a drunk driver, and he pushed Antonio out of the way, but he got h-hit, and his he-ead hit the ground an-nd-" Feliciano couldn't finish, so Antonio said the rest.

"I… called an ambulance that picked him up. Then I drove by their house and got Feliciano," Ludwig paused to strangely note the accented way he spoke. "Now… we're just waiting until they say he's in stable condition." His voice broke on the last word, as if he believed it would never happen. It had to; It had to! Ludwig was worried, too.

He pulled a crying Feliciano to his side, and watched as Antonio resumed his pacing.

It was several hours later. Now the three of them were in an elevator.

They had been notified that since Lovino's condition had become stable, they could visit him, although he'd have to stay until his injuries were healed; He'd received a massive blow to the head from the concrete that had fractured his skull and given him a major concussion. He'd broken his right tibia (one of the bones in your shin, just above your ankle), and his left ankle from the impact of the car. His right wrist had been broken in two places from where he'd reached it out to try and shield himself instinctively from the oncoming vehicle. Gashes marked his knees, elbows, legs and shoulders where he'd skidded along the concrete; he'd lost a lot of blood from them.

The hospital staff notified the three of them that he'd been moved to the sixth floor of the hospital where he'd be staying in a single-patient room. Feliciano had called their grandfather, who said he'd call their insurance company immediately. He said he'd come up to the hospital later.

They'd reached the sixth floor, where immediately they jumped out of the chrome-covered elevator, looking around for 6-210, the room number on the piece of paper Feliciano was holding. The place was eerily quiet, other than their loud footsteps and the beeping of machines in the rooms they passed.

They finally found the room, opening the door to find Lovino lying in a bed with a nurse standing over him, checking his IV fluid. The medication in the clear bag above him was almost certainly painkillers. Lovi himself was unconscious, his dark brown hair looking greasy and disheveled. His slight form was outlined by the blanket, limbs bent awkwardly. His right leg was elevated by a sling that hung over the bed.

Antonio raced to the bed, mouth open, but he didn't say anything. He was clearly blaming himself, especially after seeing what a state Lovino was truly in. They'd just waited several hours; Ludwig now realized what guilt Antonio must have been going through. Feliciano rushed to the bedside as well, falling to his knees as the nurse finished what she was doing. She gave a sad look to the boy laying in the bed, and a weak nod to Ludwig, who was standing near the door as she walked out.

Feli was nearly in tears again, though he'd been prepared for what he was seeing. He didn't touch Lovino, besides curling his fingers in the white sheet that draped off the side of the bed.

They'd spent a while like that, thinking their own thoughts in silence, almost worlds apart from each other. Feliciano had worried about how lonely he'd be at home while Lovino was in the hospital. Sure, sometimes his brother was cruel to him, but he now realized how much he really would miss him. He provided at least some solace, some company, in his otherwise estranged life.

Later, it had been determined through the thick silence that coated the room that Lovino wasn't going to wake up until at least the next day. Ludwig didn't think he could bear watching Feliciano so sad, watching the unconscious body of his injured brother, any longer, so he suggested they come back another time, perhaps when Lovino woke up. They'd have the hospital call Feliciano's house and notify him when Lovino was conscious.

"Feliciano… It's getting late. We should go." Ludwig said, laying a hand on Feliciano's shoulder. "It's going to be alright,"

Feliciano looked back at the bed, and then at Antonio, who still stared at the boy's injured form. "I… I guess so. Antonio, are you going to go home? Ludwig can take me back to my house."

The seventeen-year-old frowned at the thought. He would have to leave at some point, and he supposed that since they'd been here for almost an hour, and visiting hours would be over at some point as well. "I'll be fine. I'm going to stay with him for a while longer." He looked weakly at Feliciano and Ludwig.

Ludwig helped the red-haired boy up off the floor where he sat, then pulled him by the hand toward the door. "Keep in touch, Antonio. Let us know if you hear anything, or if he wakes up."

Antonio nodded, agreeing to do so. "I'll see you guys later."

The two of them stepped out into the hallway of the sixth floor, now heading back to the elevators. Everything in the hospital smelled a bit like antiseptic. They passed many closed doors with frosted glass panes in them, some showing yellow reading-lights through them, and some being pitch dark. The sun had already set. It must've been around 8:00 at night by then. "I'm… really sorry this happened." Ludwig said.

"It's… alright. It's got to happen to somebody, right?" Feliciano sounded tired. "I just… really hope he's gonna be okay."

"Me too."

The two of them stepped into the chrome elevator, a bit surprised to see someone else going down in it. There, standing in the back corner of the hospital elevator on the sixth floor, was Alfred Jones. He stood with his hands in the pockets of his brown bomber-jacket, rocking back on his heels and leaning on the chrome handrail on the side of the elevator. He seemed a bit serene as he looked around, eyeing the two of them as if pretending they didn't know him. "What floor ya' going to?"

Ludwig found himself speechless for a moment, pausing before saying "Uh, one." It was in a voice he wouldn't quite describe as sounding like his. He stood between the cowering Feliciano in one corner and Alfred in the other as the dirty-blonde leaned forward to tap the circular button with the number one on it.

Ludwig couldn't help but notice that the button for floor four was already pressed. Must've been where Alfred was going. Sure enough, the elevator only moved a few more seconds before slowing to a stop and opening up to a sign for the fourth floor.

Floor 4, Cancer Treatment Center

The door closed after Alfred got out, leaving a confused Ludwig and a relieved Feliciano going down in the polished chrome elevator.

Alfred F. Jones stepped from the elevator and onto the fourth floor of the hospital, into the familiar hallways that always smelled like antiseptic, cough syrup, and lilac scented laundry detergent. He whistled a quiet tune as he nearly strutted down the hall, passing dark rooms with tired tenants contained within. He approached a door that looked the same as all the others- light stained wood with frosted glass windows and a label that said the number just under the windowpane. The number on this door was the same as always; 4-271.

He didn't knock before entering; he'd seen a light on the inside that showed that the occupant of the room was awake. He was probably reading a book or something. Maybe he was just sitting awake.

"Mattie!" He exclaimed, perhaps a little too loud.

"Oh, hey Al!" Matthew's voice was nearly a whisper. Alfred came over to the bed, sweeping his brother up in a huge hug. Matthew squirmed a bit in the embrace, but ended up hugging back.

"Ehehe, did ya' miss me? Sorry I didn't come to visit yesterday." Alfred had draped his arm over his little brother, smiling at him.

"Ah, yeah! Of course I did." Matthew replied, still quietly. "It gets really boring here all day alone."

"Oh, yeah! I brought you a present." Alfred pulled a brown paper bag out of the pocket of his bomber jacket, handing it to Matthew.

Opening the crinkled paper, Matthew gasped a little, and Alfred chuckled. "Al, you're not supposed to give this stuff to me!" The bag was full of candy, everything from sour patch kids all the way to sweet-tarts.

"If you can stomach this, I'll bring you more. A lot more." Alfred tempted him.

Matthew scowled. It had been harder to eat lately, since his chemotherapy had just started again. The last time he'd had chemotherapy had been several years prior, when he was twelve. Now fifteen, he'd grown out his hair nice and long, and he'd gained weight and gotten taller, the cancer in his immune system had come back. He'd been throwing up sometimes from the chemo nowadays, and he was going to lose his soft blonde hair again, but that's okay. As long as he has a chance of getting cured, it was worth it.

For a while, Alfred had been convinced that there'd been a mistake. He'd refused to believe that his little brother had Leukemia. He'd argued with hospital staff, made them go over scans and samples and x-rays again and again, and there was no denying it. The tests were positive. It was now a matter of severity, and it seemed they'd caught the cancer in an intermediate stage. It wasn't too late yet.

Nowadays, Alfred visited his brother almost every day. The only days he didn't were his work days, where he helped foot their parents' bill for the hospital, and also for bills at their home.

He set the brown paper bag to the side. "… Fine. I'll try to eat it. I'm gonna have to hide it from the nurses, though! They're health freaks, I tell you!"

"Dude, but aren't you the master of that?" Alfred chuckled.

"Ahaha, seems so."

The two of them laughed a little more about old jokes regarding hiding things from the nurses; once, when he was thirteen, he'd hidden four bags of Swedish fish that Alfred had brought him in his mattress.

"So, uh. The doctors said today that I'd get my results kinda soon. Not really soon, but within the next month definitely." Matthew approached the subject lightly with Alfred.

It seemed that Alfred didn't really want to hear the test results. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to be told the worst news of all. He didn't want to go through that himself. "… yeah. That's good." He dismissed the subject with a reluctant agreement.

A tense moment passed between the brothers, but Alfred didn't make it last long.

"Yo, do you wanna battle Pokémon, bro?" Alfred challenged Matthew.

"Hell yeah!" Matthew reached over into the drawer in the bedside table for his black DS Lite, while Alfred fished his white one out of his pocket. "I've been working on this one, I trained my Swampert up to level 85!" He popped a Pokémon sapphire cartridge into the DS.

Alfred turned on his white DS, selecting the Pokémon ruby that was already in the port. "Aww, hell no! I got my Sceptile up to level 100!"

"Dude, everyone knows that Swampert beats Sceptile ten to one!" Matthew squabbled with his brother.

The two of them were peaceful, even in the midst of their game. Matthew didn't have to move his weak body, and Alfred's mind was put more at ease knowing his brother was happy.

They heard footsteps coming down the hall, then receding as they talked. Probably just a nurse coming to make sure all visitors were gone; Alfred had become an exception over the past half-year, appearing nearly every day for as long as he could. He could pretty much stay as late as he wanted as long as he didn't cause a fuss. But, unfortunately, that's what he tended to do anyways, so he ended up being kicked out more than once.

Not tonight, however. Tonight, the boys quietly enjoyed each other's company, together, as brothers.