A/N: Sorry I took so long I was typing up another one shot that a reviewer won. Go check it out. The title it, A Resurfacing pain, maybe the title isn't set in stone but I like that one so I might stick with it. Anyway, you guys have been patient so I will get to typing the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, the rights belong to HimaPapa

Enjoy!

Chapter XXII

Gilbert's POV

A massive wave of relief washes over me as I see Matthew's eyes open. I'm so happy to finally see mein liebe's beautiful eyes again, yet my heart clenches at the pain and sadness that I can see deep within them. I reach up slowly, not wanting to spook him. I place my head gently upon his cheek as tears fill the eyes of the one who holds the key to my heart, whether he knows it or not.

"Birdie…," I say softly, my voice barely a whisper. I want to say something, anything, but my mind is blank; there's nothing I can say. I just stare into Matthew's eyes, wiping gently away the tears which spill forth from their lavender beauty.

"Gilbert, I'm so sorry. I'm so horrible; I couldn't keep my promise to you. I'm so terrible," Matthew sobs out. It breaks my heart to see him in such a state, apologizing like this, when he's done nothing wrong. I quiet him with a finger placed lightly upon his lips. There's a moment of silence in the room before I speak.

"Birdie…stop. Just….stop. You have absolutely nothing to be apologizing for. You have done nothing wrong. You just did what you thought you had to do in order to protect me. It's not you who is horrid and terrible, but the ones who forced you to do such a thing. You are amazing and wonderful, and I could never even hope to find someone better and more perfect than you. You are, in my eyes, absolutely perfect, in every way possible," I say, looking into his eyes the whole time to make sure that he understands.

His lavender orbs are full of sadness and uncertainty as he as me, "But Gil, how….how can you love someone like me? Someone….someone who is so broken and tainted by their past."

Tears have once again begun to stream forth from his eyes. The clear liquid is the manifestation of the pain in mein Vӧgelchan's heart. It makes my own break in my chest as I see it. I brush his tears away, my hand moving to cup his cheek.

I look into his eyes and continue softly, "Matthew, I don't care about any of that stuff. No matter what, you will always be perfect to me, and nothing you can say or do will EVER make me think differently of you."

"But how, Gil? I'm so terrible. I broke my promise to you, "He cries, turning to look away.

I move so that I'm sitting on the edge of the hospital bed next to him and hold his face in my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes, as I tell him in a serious, yet gentle, voice,

"Birdie, Matthew, ich liebe dich. I love you. Je' taime. I could say it in every language in the whole world- the entire universe, even- and it still wouldn't be enough to ever hope to fully grasp or explain what I feel for you. A broken promise sure as hell isn't going to make that change. You are so beautiful and perfect and awesome, words can't even describe it. I don't care that you broke the promise. I understand that it was out of your control. You had to do it. It's killing me inside to see you beating yourself up over this. Please, Matthew…Birdie…liebe….stop this."

Matthew stays perfectly still, not making a sound as I speak. When I finish, a pregnant silence falls over us as I wait for him to respond. More tears well up in his eyes, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I wonder if he's ever going to run out of tears to shed. Shakily, he wraps his bandaged arms around my waist and buries his face into my chest. He breaks down into sobs, his hands fisting into my vest on my back as he clings to me. I wrap my arms around his small frame as he shakes violently from his sobs. I stroke his hair and back, whispering soft, sweet words of reassurance and love to him in a mix of German, French, and English.

In between sobs, he manages to choke out, "Oh Dieu, Gil, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. How could I have ever been so dumb? I was just so ashamed that I'd broken my promise to you. I thought that you would hate me and be disgusted with me. I was so foolish, and I almost died because I was too stupid and blind to see what was right in front of my nose. Please, can you ever forgive me?"

I pull him back so that I can look into his eyes. They're red and puffy from all his crying, but they are still the most breath-taking and beautiful eyes in the whole world. I place a soft kiss on Birdie's forehead and look back into his eyes as I whisper quietly, "I was never angry to begin with, mein liebe."

Matthew's POV

A rush of relief goes through my body at Gilbert's words. I smile up at him; I'm crying still, but this time, my tears are not ones of sorrow, but of joy. I press my face into Gilbert's chest as I allow myself to be enveloped in his warmth as he returns my hug. Breathing deeply, I take in the scent of violin polish, wurst, and a muskiness that can't be named but is unique and belongs solely to Gilbert. I smile as I allow myself to just indulge in the loving and comforting embrace of my boyfriend and first love, which I've been denying myself for the past week. It feels so wonderful to be held by him again. I finally feel safe once more.

He's stroking my hair and back; I love it when he does this. It makes me feel so loved, especially when he's whispering such sweet things to me. I can't understand most of what he's saying in German, but I still love it when he speaks in his native tongue. Usually German sounds so gruff and harsh, but when Bear is the one speaking it in his deep voice, it just sounds so wonderful.

I realize, after a moment, that I used my pet name for Gilbert: Bear. I pleasantly recall the night I came up with the nickname. We'd been at my house watching the Tigger Movie, and he'd cried a bit. He did, no matter how much he denies it. I thought it was so sweet, and had jokingly said that he seemed all tough on the outside, but he's really just a big, cuddly teddy bear on the inside. He laughed and replied, 'only for you Birdie."

After that, the name just seemed to fit and it stuck. I smile a bit in my mind at the happy memory.

Gilbert's POV

It takes a while before Birdie calms down and stops crying. Even after he does, I continue to hold him, pulling him to sit on my lap, being careful of the wires that keep him hooked up to the I.V. and the heart monitor. We stay like this for a while, perfectly content.

After a bit, I say quietly, "Birdie?"

"Yes, Bear?" He replies, looking up at me with those wide, curious eyes of his, looking so utterly adorable in the way that only he can. My heart flutters a bit when he uses his nickname for me.

I press my face into his soft hair, whispering, and "Promise please, that you won't try to end your life again? Please, I was so scared; you have absolutely no idea. It was so utterly terrifying, I was so afraid that I was going to lose you forever. That thought scares me more than anything else in the whole world. I beg of you, please don't ever worry me like that ever again."

Birdie's arms tighten around me, and he answers me in a voice so soft that most people would probably have missed it, but I hear every word. "I won't, Gil. I swear, I won't try to end my life again, just so long as you promise me something in return."

"Anything," I tell him, wondering what he could want.

"Promise that you will always be by my side."

Smiling down at him, I give him a gentle squeeze and lean down to whisper in his ear, "I swear the space besides you shall never be vacant, for I will always be there to occupy it. Your world will never be quiet, since I shall do my very best to fill every moment with words of caring and love and laughter. Your face shall never again know the strain of a frown, as I am going to do everything possible to keep your smile, so sweet and pure, upon it. You will never be cold again, for I will always be at your side to warm you with my embrace. As I told you before, never will words exist which can properly express my feelings for you. You are mine, Matthew, and I promise, I swear, to love you now and forever."

In my arms, Birdie's body is shaking. I look down at him, worried that I said the wrong words and upset him. Pulling back a little, so that his face can be seen, it shows itself to be wet once again with his tears. My heart and mind race as I try to figure out what could possibly be causing him to cry this time. Surely it couldn't be what I said, could it?

"Matthew, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" I ask frantically.

He quickly shakes his head, wiping away his tears as he says, "Non, you didn't say anything wrong, Bear. It was perfect."

"Then why are you crying?" I inquire, growing confused now.

He smiles and replies, "Because those are the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful words that anyone has ever spoken to me in my whole life."

I return his smile with one of my own, and press my forehead against his, telling him,

"Well it's all true. I would never lie to you, birdie."

"I know, Bear. It just makes me so happy," he says, his smile widening a bit upon his face as the happy tears roll down his cheeks. Pressing a loving kiss to his lips, I wonder how it's possible for there to be someone in this world who is so utterly perfect. He deserves a better life than the one he's had thus far. I make a silent promise to myself in that moment. Never again will I let Matthew experience such pain and loneliness as he has had to suffer up until now. I will always make sure that he's happy and smiling, even if I eventually have to let him be with someone else to let that happen.

My mind, for a moment, drifts back to think of our families in the waiting room. Birdie's family is probably beside themselves by now, wanting to know how he is. I should go tell them that he's awake now. When I move away from Mattie, he looks at me confused.

"Is something wrong, Bear?" His eyebrows knit together in a way that makes him look so cute.

I chuckle and kiss his nose, "Nothing's wrong, liebe; just thinking that I should go tell your family that you're awake. They're in the waiting room along with my family. They let me come in to see you first, even though, according to the hospital rules, only family is supposed to be able to see patients. They convinced the nurse to let me see you before they did. They're probably really anxious to know how you're doing."

Mattie tenses a little at the mention of his family. He looks down at his hands as they lay in his lap, becoming quiet. I place one of my hands over his and use the other one to lift his head so that I can see his face.

"You're worried about how they'll react…aren't you?" An affirmative nod is my only answer.

"What am I supposed to say to them, Bear?" He asks me, fear and nervousness obvious in his voice.

"Shhh. You don't have to tell them anything, Birdie; I already did. I'm sorry, but I had to. They deserved to know. They were so distraught; they were blaming themselves for what happened, and I knew that you wouldn't want that. I told them what you said in the letter, about how it isn't their fault. Please don't be mad at me for telling them," I tell him, stroking his hair, hoping to help calm him down a bit, praying that he won't be upset at me for revealing his secret.

He looks at me shocked, "S-so…th-they know?"

I nod my head solemnly and he says, "I…I guess it's alright. As you said, they deserved to know the truth. I'm just a little scared of what they're going to do when they see me."

"Matthew," I say to get his attention, "They love you a lot. I promise that you'll be okay. They're not mad at you one bit," I assure him, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear and using my thumb to stroke his soft, slightly tear-stained cheek.

"If you don't want to talk to them yet, you don't have to. We can wait until you're ready; I know that your family will understand."

He shakes his head no, "Non, I…I want to see them. C-can you go get them for me?"

Smiling at him, I nod my head and whisper quietly, "Birdie, I just want you to know that you are the bravest and the strongest person I have ever known. I love you so much. I'm going to go get your family now, okay? I'll be right back, and you just sit tight."

He smiles and nods as I leave to get his family. Closing the door to the room, I see Matthew's doctor walking down the hallway towards me. I wait for her to come closer, as it looks like she wants to speak with me.

"I need to do a few tests on Matthew and ask him some questions if he's awake now," She tells me in a level and professional voice.

"I was actually just about to go get his family. Would it be okay if they can talk to him first?" I ask, not wanting Birdie to go through the tests and questioning alone and then have to go through seeing his family for the first time since he woke up.

The doctor nods. "Actually, I was hoping that you and his family could be there for the questions."

"Um, sure but, why me?" I ask, confused. It makes sense to want Matt's family to be there, but I don't see why she wants me there as well.

"Well it seems that you are the closest one to Matthew, and you might be able to help answer some questions that he may not be comfortable with answering himself," she explains to me.

I nod my head in understanding and the doctor continues. "Good. I'm also going to check Matthew's vitals and such, but if you think he would be more comfortable, I will wait to start the tests until you come back with his family."

"If you could wait, that'd be great."

"It's no trouble, so long as you hurry."

"Nodding yes, I hurry towards the waiting room. Matthew and my families are sitting where I left them. When I'm close enough for them to hear, I clear my throat to make my presence known.

They look up and Francis asks, "How is he?" Arthur and Alfred's eyes mirror the concern in Francis'.

"He's woken up and is feeling better. He wants to talk to you. Also, the doctor wants you and, surprisingly, me to be there when she runs a few tests on Birdie and asks him some questions," I tell them. You can see all three of them visibly relax and breathe a sigh of relief before they stand to follow me back to Birdie's room.

Before we go, I turn to my own family and say, "You guys can go home if you want. You don't have to stay here."

Opa nods in understanding and replies, "Call us if you need anything."

"I will."

Roddy and Liz nod in agreement, Roddy saying, "You can call us as well if you need anything."

I smile and tell them. "I will, and thank you all so much."

Liz returns my smile and says, "Gilbert, you are important to us, and it is easy to see that Matthew is very important to you. If he's important to you, then he's important to us."

She gives me a hug before she and Roddy leave, Opa and Ludwig following, and Feli going with them. I turn back to Matthew's family and start to lead them to Birdie's room.

End of chapter XXII

A/N: so what did you guys think? Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out to you soon. This one took a while I guess and hopefully I'll be able to get you the next one by next Thursday. Until then, please keep leaving your reviews. They make me so happy. They have kept me from just giving up on this. SO yeah, I'm not sure what else to say so here is a word from my lovely beta Sakura414:

I honestly have nothing to say right now... Thank you all for reading and supporting the lovely Wolf-chan!

And as always, I love you guys to death for supporting me through this and liking this. I've been going through a tough time where love is concerned so your support and love really helps me. Thank you all so much and I can't wait until next time.

Until next time.

Wolf-chan out