Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Side note: This is the final chapter of this rollercoaster of a story. Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and followed this story and my others – it really means a lot to me!

Please enjoy~ x

Chapter 18

The knock came again as Arthur moved to answer the door, pulling it open begrudgingly. Pearce stood there, his expression stony and almost unreadable as it usually was, but Arthur thought he saw the glint of tears in the old butler's eyes.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Master Arthur, but I was instructed to give you this…" Pearce reached into the inner breast pocket of his uniform, pulling out a pristine white letter concealed in an envelope with one word scrawled on the front in pretty writing: 'Arthur.'

The Englishman immediately recognised the fancy scrawl, and tears pricked his eyes as he took the letter, tracing a finger softly over the letters Francis himself had written.

"What is this…?" he asked meekly, afraid to see the contents of the letter himself from the man he loved more than anything.

The butler lowered his head slightly. "It is his goodbye. Master Francis wrote one for you and the children a month ago, when he knew what would inevitably happen to him…" Pearce swallowed slightly, before straightening up. "Master Francis asked me to give you the letters when he…"

Arthur only nodded, holding the letter gingerly in shaking hands. "Very well…Thank you, Pearce…" he murmured, and the butler bowed his head, leaving the room to allow Arthur some time to read.

The Englishman sank down on the bed, perching there as he just stared at the paper in his hands. He was afraid to open it and read what would come directly from Francis' heart. It would only confirm the fact that he really was gone – something Arthur wasn't ready to grasp.

XxX

Alfred and Madeline both sat on the girl's bed, tears in their eyes. Madeline had not left her room since saying goodbye to her beloved Papa, and she had not bothered to get dressed into anything other than her nightgown. Alfred was handling his grief differently, trying to remain strong as he knew his Father was as distraught as his sister. He was staying with Madeline to provide comfort, having always been a protective and devoted brother.

Pearce had given them a letter from Francis, and now Alfred held it in his hands, reading it in a voice that he willed not to tremble whilst Madeline sat on the edge of her bed, listening as silent tears trickled down her pale cheeks.

"My dearest children, if you are reading this, it means that I am no longer in this world with you. For that, I am most regretful." Alfred began reading, and Madeline closed her eyes, her brother's voice soon becoming replaced with a familiar French accent in her mind.

"I have always loved you both more than anything in the whole world. I have loved you from the moment I found you both starving on the cold, London streets all those years ago. I am so very proud of how far you have both come, mes petits, and I know that as I watch you from my hopeful place in heaven, I will see you continue to grow. Madeline, I know that you are well on your way to becoming the most beautiful young lady in the world, and with your intelligence and your gentle nature, I am sure that you will be very happy with Gilbert. I give you my blessing if you wish to be with him, and I will watch over you both and the children you will have. My only request is that you save me a seat next to your Father at your wedding~"

Madeline listened, tears slipping down her cheeks as she nodded almost imperceptibly. "O-Oui, Papa…M-My children will hear stories of h-how wonderful their grandpapa was…" her voice was barely above a whisper, but Alfred heard her and reached out, gently taking her hand in his and squeezing it in comfort. After a moment, he continued.

"Alfred, mon cher, I regret that you and I were not as close as you got older – something I wish I could have remedied before my time was up. But I hope you know that I am so proud of the young man you have become. I hope you find happiness and love, as I have with your Father, and I know that you will be a wonderful father to any children you may also have.

I wish for you and Madeline to always remain close. The two of you have always been inseparable, and I hope that these close ties will remain. Alfred, look after your sister, and make sure that she is always looked after and that she is always able to do whatever her heart strives for.

Maddie, I will ask that you look after Alfred as well, as we both know how he can sometimes be rather stubborn and hot-headed. He will be your protector and you will be there to calm him.

Lastly, I will ask that you both take care of your dear Father. I cannot bear the thought of Arthur becoming reclusive and depressed because of my absence, so I hope that the two of you will stay close to him too, and be there for him when times are particularly hard. I want you all to be happy, and I want your Father to find happiness again in someone else, even if it means forgetting me. He deserves to be happy; you all do.

I love you all, and I ask that you never forget that, at least. I will always be with you, and I am sorry that I will not be there in person to see you both with your own families. And thank Pearce for me; he has done more for me than you will ever know.

Yours always,

Papa~"

Alfred fell silent as the two children let their Papa's final wishes absorb in their minds. Finally, Madeline smiled despite her tears. "Papa wants me to marry Gilbert…" she whispered.

Alfred glanced at her, before nodding and smiling too. "So do I." he confirmed, pulling his sister into a gentle hug and kissing her forehead. "But if he ever hurts you, I'll kill him~"

Maddie just smiled, returning her brother's embrace.

XxX

Arthur sighed shakily, having been sat on his bed staring at the unopened envelope nervously. Eventually, he summoned the courage to break Francis' seal, slowly unfolding the paper to reveal more of Francis' beautiful scrawling writing. Taking a deep breath, he began to read in silence, allowing the words to adopt Francis' familiar lilt in his mind.

"My dearest Arthur.

Truthfully I have so much I wish to say to you, but I cannot convey it all in a simple letter. I can only hope you are aware of how much love I have for you. So, where do I start, mon amour? We have been through so much together, both good and bad.

I will be forever grateful that you found me when you were twelve years old. I was starving on the streets, having stowed away on a ship from Paris because my parents had found out that I was…homosexual, I believe is the correct term. I had no clothes, no money, no place to call home. And then you found me, and you took me in. Your mother was so very kind to me – she spoke French and she taught me English, which I tried so very hard to learn so that I could properly thank you. Your father was far less kind to me, and I never fully admitted to you the things that he did to me, but I never wanted you to hate your own family, or feel torn between them and me. But when you realised that I was in pain, you would always try to comfort me even though you did not fully understand the cause of it. That was possibly when I first realised I loved you. You were such a sweet little boy with a kind heart, and I wanted to take care of you so that you would always stay that way.

I am sorry that I failed in that way, for once your mother died, your father claimed control of you and he influenced you more than you would likely admit. You developed a horrible temper from him, and you became shut away in your studies. It broke my heart to see, but then there were moments when the boy I fell in love with would reappear, such as when you would seek me out for comfort or advice. It always made me feel wanted and needed, and I was more than happy to look after you.

Although it is a terrible thing to wish for, I was happy when your father died. It freed you somewhat from his iron grip, and you became more loving again. You finally revealed that you loved me as I loved you, and the moments of passion and intimacy we shared I shall always treasure. I always loved waking up in your arms, as much as I loved falling asleep against your chest at night. You would hold me close and make me feel as though I was the most precious thing in the world to you.

When I brought Alfred and Madeline into our home, you withdrew again, and it broke my heart. I know it was foolish of me to expect you to be as open with the children as you were with me, but in time, you became their Father as much as I was their Papa. You are such a good Father, mon cher, although I know you do not think so. The children adore you, and although we have had struggles and arguments, that is what every family endures. It only means we love each other.

I am so proud of you, amour. I wish I could have told you this in person, but I do not trust my voice not to falter. I ask that you take care of our children enough for the both of us, now. I know it will be difficult, but I shall be watching over you. I will be your guardian angel, if you like. Nothing could stop me from taking care of my family. I also ask that you move on, and find true happiness once again. I do not want you to be miserable simply because my beautiful self is not there for you to admire~

I know I should not ask too much of you, but I have one more request. I ask that you give Madeline and Gilbert your blessing of marriage once our darling daughter is old enough to be wed. I have already given my blessing in another letter that the children have received. Gilbert is a good man, and he will take care of her. I shall look forward to the wedding~

Now then, I know you are strong, mon cher. You can go on and be happy, and you can take care of our family. I will always love you, mon amour, and I pray that one day we shall meet again, but not too soon, oui?

Yours forever,

Francis~"

Arthur's eyes had filled with tears, but by the end of the letter, he found himself smiling. Trust Francis to use his own passing to manipulate Arthur into agreeing to anything. But Arthur wasn't angry, and instead he felt a strange sense of peace.

Yes, Francis had passed away, but he was most definitely not gone.

With that thought in mind, Arthur rose off the bed, tucking the letter into his own breast pocket, close to his heart, before going to give his blessing to his daughter.

XxX

Four years later, Arthur was sat on a little wooden seat in Hyde Park, with many other seats filled with friends, family and acquaintances of Madeline and Gilbert. It was a beautiful summer's day, and the 14th July; Francis' birthday. Madeline had chosen the date, knowing her wedding would be the best present her Papa could ever ask for.

Arthur watched with tears in his eyes as his beautiful daughter and her almost husband exchanged vows, taking in every detail. Madeline's wedding dress was stunning, and Gilbert looked very handsome in his best suit. He was grinning madly the whole time, and Arthur smiled at how happy the albino man was.

The Englishman was wearing a red rose tucked into his breast pocket, and he wore a simple silver band on his ring ringer, in memory of the unofficial marriage he had wished to share with Francis. The wedding looked exactly as he and Francis had planned their own one to be, when Francis was on his death-bed. Madeline had wanted that too, and Arthur greatly appreciated it.

Alfred was sat on Arthur's left, trying not to cry as he watched his sister marry the man that he had grown to accept as part of the family. As Francis had requested, Pearce had taken the day off and was sat beside Alfred, looking on like a proud father, and Arthur guessed that the butler was possibly seeing this as Francis' wedding vicariously.

On Arthur's right was an empty seat, only it wasn't really empty. It was reserved for Francis, and as the wedding continued, Arthur felt a cool hand slip into his right one, and he felt his shoulders touch with someone that he couldn't see, but he knew was there.

The Englishman smiled, knowing his lover would not have missed this day for the world, and he gave the invisible hand a light squeeze, feeling something brush against his cheek, and he could have sworn it felt like the Frenchman's soft lips.

Arthur sighed in content, cheering as the priest pronounced Madeline and Gilbert as husband and wife, and beaming as his daughter held onto her new husband's arm. Gilbert grinned, walking her down the aisle, and he nodded to Arthur as they passed him. Arthur returned the nod, and he smiled as he heard the soft sound of laughter, joyous and beautiful, whisper past his ear.

Yes, his lover had passed away, but he would never be truly gone.

~Fin~

A/N: We did it! We finished the story!

Because you have all been so incredibly supportive of this story, I would like to personally give some thanks:

Madison camelia – thank you so much for following since the first chapter, and for reading some of my other stories too! It means a lot~ x

Oh-cripe-my-fish – I really appreciate your in-depth reviews, they genuinely help me to improve my writing!

Olivia Kirkland – thank you for being so invested in the story, and I'm sorry I put you through so much trauma XD

BlondieBrit – Thank you for supporting the level of UKFr, I think it's underappreciated as well~ Also your dedication to my stories is really lovely x

Copperbell111 – Thank you for your support even though I had to put half of your reviews through Translate! XD x

Kin-cy29 – I love how invested you were especially in hating Arthur's father. I hated him too and I made him up!

ZelliesGirl – for always reviewing with an F-word XD

And to everyone else who reviewed and read this story, lots and lots of love! Xx

Thank you so much!~

Please review to let me know what you thought of the ending, and also check out my other stories! I write a lot of FrUK and I have a new Pirate!England x France story coming soon!

Love you all~ xxxxxxxxxx