hetalia | Second Chance 2/3

Title: Second chance
Pairings: mentions of Austria x Hungary and Germany x Italy but mostly Prussia x hungary
Rating: T to be safe
Summary: Prussia isn't allowed to die. Instead he is made to wander the earth as
an imortal without a nation. His guardian angel isn't seeming to be
much use either, seeing as how she'd rather be out claiming more souls.
Warnings: Character death, guess who.
Notes: I really don't like this chapter very much...but yeah...anyway enjoy

Chapter Two

Gilbert took another drag from his cigarette, the smoke curling and dancing until it joined the vast cloud that obscured the ceiling of the crowded meeting room. God living forever was boring. He knew that angel had said he’d only be alive until he atoned for his sins, but he figured he’d need forever to do that, plus she hadn’t shown her face since then. If it wasn’t for the ever-present emptiness he would have thought it was all a dream, and he’d cured himself through his own awesomeness.
Though that was still entirely possible, he smirked to himself. It wasn’t all bad, though, at least he didn’t have to attend those stupid meetings—oh wait he was attending one now! Well how did that happen?! Oh yeah, his stupid brother decided it would be fun to drag him along! Damn West, he obviously wasn’t raised right.

And who’s fault is that?

Gilbert spun around. It wasn’t the first time he thought he’d heard something. Ever since that whole purgatory thing he’d been plagued by ghostly arms accidentally brushing against him, a female voice that would comment on his thoughts every once in a while, and sometimes he’d see a face or a wing or a set of eyes. At first it freaked him out, but then he remembered the angel of death, well maybe if she existed other angels existed too.

“Hey Gil let’s go! What are you waiting for?!” An annoyed boy held his sword in the starting position.
“I’m just praying,” The Prussian crossed himself.
“To who?” He growled, frustrated, “Come on! Just hurry up so I can kick your ass already!”
“Oh shove it Eli!”
“You’re the one who should shove it! Who’s so important anyway?!”
The albino shifted nervously, “I-It’s my guardian angel?!”
Eli laughed, “Are you kidding me?”
“Shut up!”
“Let’s just train!” Eli lunged at his opponent. They fell into combat. At first they seemed pretty evenly matched, but Gilbert left his right side unguarded and Eli took advantage quickly. He was about to win when he tripped over something in the brush. Gilbert pinned his friend to the ground.
“Ahahaha! Never mock the angel!”

“Gil!” a hand came into contact with the back of his head.
“Ow! Shit Mangary!”
“What are you still doing here?!”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Germany already left with Italy!”
“So?! Oh…crap.” His damn brother! Why was it that whenever Italy came around, West completely forgot about him.
“Idiot!”
“Well what are you still doing here Mangary?!” The Prussian shouted back, “We’re the only ones left!”
“I was waiting for Mr. Austria—”
“Oh yeah, I forgot it’s always specs,” He said, not a little bitterly.
“Yeah it is, he’s my hu—friend.” She replied, slipping.
“Whatever.”
There was a long silence.
“Do you want a ride?” She sighed.
He didn’t really want to walk all the way back to Germany, “Yeah…thanks, I owe you one.”
“You owe me a thousand,” She smiled a bit.

She led him to her car. Before she stepped in she lit a cigarette of her own. Without thinking Gilbert blurted out, “Hey you shouldn’t smoke!”
She looked at the cigarette in his own hand, not willing to dignify his comment with a response.
“It’s different for me!”
“Are you kidding me?” she stared at him.
“J-just forget I said anything!” He rolled his eyes.
“Yeah…I will,” she slid into the driver’s seat.
“Yeah...Thanks…”
There was another awkward silence. It seemed like that happened a lot these days. As a rule they refrained from talking about her marriage, and generally avoided the topic of her ex-husband if possible. She probably thought he was being considerate. It was a touchy topic for her, and every time she thought of him, every time she saw him, every time she heard his name, or even piano music old wounds were reopened, he could see it in that small frown that flashed over her face in these moments. She’d even quit playing violin, despite having promised Bartok himself that she’d never stop.
Just another promise that man made her break
They ended up spending the rest of the drive in silence. When she reached his house he sighed, knowing he’d just let another opportunity slip away. He never cherished the time he had with her. “Ich liebe dich...”
“What?!”
Oh shit…did he actually say that out loud?!
She stared at him with a huge blush on her face. “What did you just say?!”
“Ich…Ich…” he couldn’t think of anything stupid to make up. God why did he say that?! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
Oh well…he already screw himself over why not go all the way with it? He grabbed her chin and pulled her into a kiss. Finally! He buried his fingers into her hair, he drank in her soft skin for the first time. Her lips were warm and a bit salty. He probably wouldn’t see her for a long time, so he might as well savor this moment.
That was when she plunged her tongue into his mouth.
Damn woman, she wasn’t cute at all.
He felt himself being pushed back into his seat against the window. Her body pressed against his as she took just as much of him as he had of her. It went on like this for what could have been minutes or years. When she finally broke away it was for air. She was the first to speak.
“What was that about loving me?”
“I’m not sure words can describe how I feel right now,” He smirked. Now she acted girlish, blushing and looking at him innocently. Evil, manipulative, ensnaring, tempting, teasing, cruel, cold, bitter, wicked woman.
“Then don’t use your words.” She hovered over him, unfortunately as she did this she opened the door, making the two of them fall into the street. Gilbert only felt the sensation of falling and then a sharp pain in the back of his head. Then he noticed Liz was sprawled out on top of him. Her face was very close and he was looking into her deep green eyes, not listening to her talking when he heard something disturbing.
“…bleeding!”
“What?”
“Gil! You’re bleeding!” She scrambled up, though he didn’t want her to, screw the blood. Then he saw her hand was covered in blood. He wrinkled his nose at the sight. “Come on; let me get you a bandage.” She pulled him into the house.
He just followed her, starting to feel dizzy. When they entered the house they could hear Feliciano’s high pitched voice chattering and Ludwig’s baritone responses. Elizaveta placed her friend on the couch and darted away. She appeared again, only to put something on the back of his head that stung. When he protested she smirked and said, “Take it like a man!”
So he grumbled and let her press, prod and sting him. Finally it was over and he hesitantly raised his hand to let his fingers brush against a patch of fabric.
She looked into his eyes for a while, “I don’t think you have a concussion…” She said. Most of the nations had enough wartime experience to treat any injuries they or those around them might acquire.
“Well that’s good,” He laughed nervously, “Wouldn’t want to kill anymore brain cells would I?”
Thankfully Ludwig burst into the room. “Bruder! What happened?!”
“This one jumped me,” He gestured to Elizaveta.
“Wh-what?!” She blushed, “You kissed me first!” and then she blushed darker, realizing that she just confirmed that they’d been kissing, a claim made every other day by the Prussian.
Ludwig looked between the two, but Feliciano, who had just entered, ran up to Elizaveta and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Ve~ Hungary~” Those two were always hugging and cooing at each other.
“Already in the arms of another,” Gilbert smirked, growing in confidence, “what an easy woman.”
“Be quiet or I’ll need to give you another bandage.” She smirked back, returning to her usual sardonic self.
“Italia…” Ludwig said with a knowing look, “Let’s leave these two alone.”
“Ve~ Can we play soccer?” Feliciano said, now clinging to the German. Ludwig looked at his brother and sighed, “Alright, but only one game.”
They were alone. “So…” Gilbert said looking at her.
“So?”
“So, what was that, earlier?”
She blushed, and then she looked away. Something changed in her face, “It was a mistake.”
He felt a familiar pang in his chest, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”
“I...This was a mistake Gil.”
“At least look at me when you break my heart,” He growled.
She looked surprised, as if she didn’t think he had a heart to break. “What are you talking about?”
“I love you! I don’t know why, because honestly you’re a real bitch,” He said standing up, “You’re always off with Specs! And you’re always acting like you’re so perfect and so innocent! Like you didn’t know that I love you! How could you not know?! Everyone else knows! West knows! France knows! Spain knows! Even Feli knows, and Feli doesn’t know anything!”
She had retreated within herself, now all he could see was that cold exterior she presented to people she hated.“Are you done?”
“Ja,” Damn it, why did she have to make that face at him?
“I love you.” She said, but the words fell flat when she said them like that, “I love you enough to know that I’m not good for you. I really wish I was, but I’m not. I know I’m a bad person, and I know I’m selfish, and I’m just going to break your heart. Earlier I slipped, but I won’t let it happen again.”
She turned to go, but he caught her wrist. Hugging her from behind, he pressed his face into the crook of her neck, “Liz…” He felt like an idiot acting like this. Everything she’d said was right, and everything he’d said was right, but he couldn’t help it, he almost wanted her to break his heart, at least it meant she was still there. “Don’t go…don’t look at me with that face.”
She gently slipped out of his arms, “I wish this hadn’t happened Gil,” she turned and looked at him sadly, letting all her emotions slip through her eyes. “If you ever need me, I’ll be there for you, that’s a promise.”
“ I need you now.”
“See you around, Gil.”
“Liz, It was just a kiss,” He begged, “We can pretend it never happened! Let’s go back to how things used to be!”
“Gil,” She sighed, “You know that this is about more than one kiss. It’s better that we don’t see each other, we just keep hurting ourselves.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?”
“Sorry.” She was out the door before he could say anything.

From the right hand corner of the room the angel watched this exchange. She had grown to love her ward, though she herself wouldn’t understand that until much later in the story. At the moment she watched the girl leave impassively. The boy—for she still thought of him as a boy—didn’t cry this time. He just stared at the spot where she used to be for a long time. Then he went outside to interrupt his brother’s soccer game.
She watched as he found out a few weeks later that the woman he loved had gotten back together with her ex-husband. She watched when he found out they broke up again. He didn’t cry then either. Slowly it began to start, until one night she appeared to him in his room.
“Oh,” He looked up, uncaringly, “It’s you.”
“Yes.” She walked up to him, and for the first time she understood pity. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I think I know what I’m supposed to do.” He looked at her, “I thought that I was given a life extension…but it’s more like a new life all together. The thing is…I just can’t let go of my old life.”
“You have to forget it,” The angel replied.
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“It’s already starting,” She replied, “You’ve already forgotten many things.” She touched his chest, “You must not forget your heart, that is something you must keep with you through all your lives.”
He took her hand, “I didn’t forget you. You’ve been here the whole time.”
“Yes,” She smiled a bit.
“How much time do I have left?” He said softly.
“Five years.”
“I wish it was longer.”
“It’s alright,” she drew away and began to fade, “Every ending is just another beginning.”