This is it, the last chapter. Enjoy!
Tino went back to Finland before the spring was over.
Emil had helped him get into contact with his family, and when they saw him off, he cried. He thanked all of them, but mostly, he thanked Berwald. He found he couldn't say much to him other than a short farewell, since his own eyes had started to water, but they hugged each other tightly before he left. He promised to write, and then waved goodbye. This time when he left, Berwald knew he would miss him, but he felt happy that he was going home. He would be alright.
The rest of them left Iceland only a few days later, finally heading back to Sweden. Berwald almost couldn't sleep, only able to think about how much he wanted to see his home again, but Ludwig held his hand and Hana happily pawed at his shoelaces. A few days really wouldn't be so bad.
Upon landing, Berwald loaded them up in their car almost singlehandedly and then went over the speed limit the whole way to Mathias and Lukas' house, which would now include Emil. They dropped them off, and although they lived less than twenty minutes away, they all got out of the car to embrace each other. Berwald even hugged that damned Mathias.
Still, the pain of stopping now when he was so close quickly became too much, and he practically threw Ludwig back in the car when he spent too long talking with the others. He laughed, but a few minutes into the drive, he seemed just as eager. Ludwig put his hand over Berwald's though, and kept it there the whole way. There was no better way to come home.
Once they arrived at the small house on top of the familiar hill, however, Berwald almost felt like crying. The small building was suffering from what was now years of neglect, as all of the windows were broken and the roof was beginning to sag, but this was it; he was home.
"The place looks like shit," Ludwig said, coming up on his side.
Berwald grinned and corrected his thought. They were home.
"Yep. Better get to work, then." he said, pulling their bags out of the car and unlocking the front door with the key in his pocket.
Ludwig laughed and followed him with the rest of the bags. They both stopped as soon as they were inside, however, though Hana ran ahead to explore. The place looked almost exactly the way they had left it, give or take a bit of water damage and the eerie layer of dust. Still, Berwald could very faintly pick up the smell of firewood, and smiled.
"You know, if there're any more wars, I think we should just ignore them." Berwald muttered.
Ludwig chuckled. "Good plan."
It didn't take half as much time to fix up the house as Berwald had expected, as Ludwig was an amazingly dedicated worker. He absently thought that the house looked even better than before; everything seemed to shine after Ludwig worked on it.
About the time the house was finished, Emil had succeeded in getting in contact with some people who knew Gilbert. Somehow, he managed to get them both on the phone with each other, and when they were done talking, Ludwig had cried when he hugged the short Icelander. It seemed that Ludwig's brother was safe for now.
A few weeks later, Ludwig received a long letter from Gilbert, in which he told him that he shouldn't be ashamed of what had happened, and that when things were more stable, he would welcome him home to see Germany again, although he seemed to sense that his little brother had found a new home. He told him to never forget where he came from, but that he shouldn't live under the guilt and shame of something that was now becoming the past. It was over, he wrote, and we still have our lives to live.
At the end of the letter, he was forced to tell him that their grandfather had died in the winter of 1943. However, he said that he would have been very proud of him, and that he was everything he had meant for him to be. Gilbert too, was proud of him, and said he would always be his brother. And that he would also be very cross with him if he didn't write every week.
Ludwig cried at that too, a perfect mixture of pain and joy, and Berwald held him all though the night.
The years passed as they always had, and although Germany was unstable for many years after, Gilbert's letters were always hopeful. One Christmas he even appeared on their doorstep, just as he had the first time Berwald met him. They happily had him for the holidays, along with Lukas, Mathias, and Emil. Tino wrote to them from Finland, and always sent them each small gifts, although he only came to visit a few times over the many years.
On the Christmas that Gilbert had arrived, he had been curiously staring at his brother's left hand almost the entire evening, though Ludwig shyly tried to hide it from view. Still, the albino German insisted on seeing the object in question, which was firmly situated around his forth finger. When he saw a matching band around Berwald's hand, which he proudly displayed, he laughed and teased his brother loudly. Yet, when Ludwig got a hold of a worn picture of someone playing the piano, the teasing was silenced for the rest of the evening.
Ludwig still sometimes had nightmares about the war, and they both still cleaned their guns together on occasion, but Berwald only kept a few weapons in the house anymore. The extra space was quickly filled up with all sorts of toys and bedding for Hana, however, and he piled dry food where he had once piled rifles. He had to admit that, of all the change they had undergone, he could honestly appreciate that one for what it was.
A few years later, Mathias, with the help of Lukas and Emil, opened his own furniture store in town, and after another few years of convincing, Berwald and Ludwig joined in. The store was a large success in the town that he remembered as being fairly small, but which had seen a sudden burst in population. Thus, people needed things to fill their new houses with, and they made the best pieces of furniture in town.
In 1961, a wall dividing East and West Germany was built, and there was a very tense period before they heard from Gilbert again. He informed them he was safely situated on the western side, but Berwald urged Ludwig to tell him that if he needed anywhere to go, even if only for a little while, their door would be open to him. He never took them up on their offer, but Ludwig often worried if Gilbert waited too long to contact him. The fear the war had instilled never really lost its edge, and soon there was a new power ominously rising in the east that Gilbert often spoke of.
Yet, even when things felt like they were becoming too stressful, at the end of the day, Berwald and Ludwig had each other. Somehow, though the mess of events that had unfolded in those few years, they had managed to find each other, and now held on. That was why they wore their rings; it was a promise to love each other and to never let go.
When Hana died, Berwald cried as they buried her. Yet, before he threw away her bed and toys, Ludwig had talked him into going to town with him. He forcefully dragged him to the pet store, and despite the fact that Berwald had been utterly convinced he wouldn't accept any other animal as a replacement for Hana, they somehow left with three new puppies in their arms. The small pups grew up into fine dogs, and sometimes on stormy evenings when they all sat together near the fire, Berwald felt himself nearly brought to tears; would could have asked for better?
Inevitably, Ludwig went to visit his brother in Germany. But, to Berwald's horror, he went alone. It had taken nearly a month of convincing, but Ludwig insisted that it was better that he stayed in Sweden. His first night alone was the hardest in years. Ludwig still called him every day, as he had promised, but the day before he returned, he received a letter. On the entire sheet of paper, there were only four words written: Du bist mein Licht.
When Ludwig returned, Berwald didn't let go of him for almost an entire hour. Ludwig hugged him back, but with a hint of sadness he told him he doubted if he would be going back for a long time. That was why had had wanted to go alone.
Berwald wasn't sure if he had quiet understood, but he knew that Ludwig was back, and that he wasn't leaving him again. If he tried, he would threaten follow him anyway. He couldn't be without his German, not ever again.
Seasons passed and the world transformed as it grew up around them. Yet, despite everything that had changed, Ludwig still always fixed his scarf for him before they went out, and always woke up him up with the sun. Berwald still always fell asleep after him, watching the way the same moonlight contrasted his sharp, stern features, and was always able recognize his steady breathing pattern. Somehow, that always gave him comfort.
Even when both of their blond hair began to grey, and Berwald teased Ludwig that he looked like his brother, they still sat together in the living room and read every evening. And in the end, Berwald thought that despite so much change, they had somehow managed to hold on to what mattered most. They had held on to each other.
He remembered that every time he looked at his ring, and out at the forest that surround their house.
And that concludes my first fan fiction! Thank you all so much for reading, and I'd love to hear what you thought about it, so feel free to post a review or send me a PM.
Thanks again!