Walter says: Welcome to the last chapter people.

CHAPTER 6

The ride to the airport was a raucous trip. It felt like no one was going away. Ludwig joined, riding in Andersen's Dodge Grand Caravan, seated at the back with Berwald. With Andersen right behind the wheels, Lukas by his other side, that left Tino and Emil on the second row's passengers seat.

The entire trip had a jovial mood, lighter than he expected. Andersen still cracked jokes, and that earned some playful punches from Lukas. They laughed, shared some stories, exchanged tidbits of the past, reminisced once more. For the last time.

Tino turned around to face Berwald. "Don't forget about us, okay?" he smiled, but his eyes glistened with tears that threatened to fall. He reached out to him and ruffled the Swede's pale locks.

"'Course I won't. How could I?"

"Does this include me?" Ludwig shyly asked. It was meant to be a joke, but Berwald smiled charmingly and replied, "How could I?"

Yes, and how could I? Ludwig thought.

The question still bothered him til the present, after all these years since Berwald's departure. Three years have collapsed into a less exciting life, packed with dull mornings, mundane afternoons, and empty nights.

How could I? He caught himself asking this question to himself, again; the question with no answer. It was the question that pulled him back to his original place, under the waiting shed. Reminiscing had killed time. The afternoon was slowly morphing into a dark night.

The sound of traffic and the rain welcomed him back. Some buses stopped by the shed, but he knew better than to hope for some miraculous serendipity. He was on his own. His daydream had already slipped away, just like the years, jumped off to a hole in the past. He was back on earth, with the rain, in the waiting shed, on a bad day after work.

Rain drummed a harsh rhythm against the waiting shed's roof. It made puddles on the pavement and licked the roads slippery wet. The canal gurgled as it surged inside the grimy underground.

Cars dashed past him; metal bodies and windows all glistened with drops. Dim headlights flashed as they came, but they were all private cars, taken taxi cabs, or buses. He just needed an empty cab to lift him to another city, away from this place that strong memories clung to the very ambiance of the place.

"What a shitty day…" Ludwig huffed.

"Hey."

Ludwig's eyes grew wide. "Ich mein-"

"Ludwig?"

He spun around to face... "Oh... it's you, Andersen."

The Danish man cracked his signature grin and ran a hand down his wild locks. He opened his mouth, no joke flew out, but instead... "When life slopes down, it's just taking a slow-mo to prepare itself back up." He looked straight at Ludwig. "It secretly makes up wonderful surprises, too. So get ready, you're up for an unexpected ride."

"What?" The German was surprised at quite a profound thing to say on a moment like this.

"What brings you here? Bus? Cab?" Andersen asked, as if nothing happened and he didn't hear the German's inquiry.

"Ah... cab." Ludwig hesitantly told him.

"Heh. Berwald used to..."

"Yes. We met up here, eight years ago."

"Knew that. He told me."

They both sighed loudly into the chilly atmosphere.

"I miss him." Andersen dropped the words, heavy and leaden on his tongue. Oddly, he was smiling.

"Very much," Ludwig added in helter-skelter.

A parade of raindrops stomped harder as the night fell upon the city. Ludwig stared out the awakening streetlights. Orange light bathed the dark pavements. Outside the window, the world blurred into vague colours. The taxi's movement was speeding down the road, but he didn't care nor worry. He couldn't bring himself to, not when thoughts of missing someone was plaguing his head. His heart banged slowly, achingly, as nostalgia coursed through his bloodstream.

It was still raining when Ludwig got out of the cab and walked into the suite. He pushed open the front doors. The lobby slapped him with an air of coldness.

"Good evening, sir," greeted the woman behind the reception desk. She gave off the obligatory smile that accompanied her greet, just as usual. And Ludwig nodded in acknowledgement, just as usual. He took long strides to get to the elevator by the side of the lobby.

"Ah, sir-"

He halted. Turned his head. Raised a brow. A questioning face.

"I..." the receptionist spoke, sounding slightly guilty with her eyes cast down on the carpet. "Your guest has already arrived in your room, sir."

"Guest?" The tone of his voice sounded incredulous.

"Y-yes, sir. A guest. Were you expecting someone, sir? He seemed to know you very well. I gave him the keys, he insisted on it, sir. I'm so sorry! Should we call for security, sir?"

But Ludwig shook his head and said, "I think I can handle that so-called guest myself. Thank you." And he strode to the elevators.

Up it went, to the 20th floor. The polite ding of the doors opened to a corridor of dark green carpet and pale cream walls. He turned left,then right. Soon, he stood in front of room 2014. He jammed the keys in. The lock clicked. The door creaked. Total darkness beamed from the other side. Nothing felt wrong or off-course.

He flicked on the lights. His living room was illuminated. Nothing changed. No presence of another being in sight. "Hello?" he called out warily, stepping inside.

"Had a bad day?"

Ludwig jolted in surprise. He darted his eyes around the room. But there was no one on the living room. The door to his bedroom was closed, so was the bathroom. He dashed to the kitchen. It was clean and empty. He slammed his fists on the counter. God, you're hallucinating... But... no, it was... too real. Right?

Then a strange air of chilliness ghosted over his neck. He cocked his head back, then noticed the doors to the terrace were opened wide. Curtains were billowing by the doors. Rain continued its symphony outside. Something moved. He sprinted to the open doors, advancing towards the terrace til the rain touched him.

In the dark, he could see a figure, donned in dark blue. From the edge of the terrace, a tall blonde man turned around from the railings and looked at Ludwig with the most lovely piercing blue eyes. The rain drummed harder against their bodies. The chilliness was melted with a bubbling heat.

Berwald came closer and wrapped his arms around Ludwig. The heartwarming embrace stabbed him in a soft spot and that sent Ludwig sobbing, in both disbelief and delight. Thank god for the rain, but his shoulders heaved up as he convulsed. "I thought I lost you." he cried against the Swedish man's chest.

Berwald pulled his chin up, then planted a well-placed his on Ludwig's lips. Lips locked for a moment as the rain hammered upon them.

When they pulled away, laughter rose up and echoed into the night. Such sweet smiles were shared. Berwald rested his forehead upon Ludwig's own. He spoke in a soft voice that sent butterflies to the German's stomach.

"Can I have this dance?"

Unexpected. I cut the feels. Hope you enjoyed it! But I can promise that this won't be the last SweGer I'll be writing!