A/N This is the last chapter. You're all going to hate me by the end. But I regret nothing.

Try to enjoy despite everything and thank you for all the reviews. ^_^

Long after Ludwig had fallen asleep, Feliciano was still tossing and turning. The conversation with Anna kept playing through his mind over and over. Each time, his guilt grew. He slept a little, but woke often, unpleasant dreams haunting him. After a sleepless night, the guilt had grown even more and Feliciano could no longer bear it. He had been living with the burden of his secret relationship with Ludwig for nearly two years and had never once spoken a word about it to anybody. All of the repressed guilt from the last two years was finally bubbling up and he desperately needed to talk to somebody. Feliciano just wasn't sure who. He still didn't want his family to know, but his solitary lifestyle after high school meant that he had no friends to discuss things with either. He had no other choice but to turn to someone in his family.

Lovino would snap and attack Ludwig the second Feliciano revealed the nature of their relationship, and imagining the look of disgust on his grandfather's face when he heard what his grandson had been doing caused Feliciano physical pain. No, he couldn't tell either of them. That left only one person to whom he could confide in. So after Ludwig had left and Feliciano took a shower, he dressed and headed to the apartment his brother shared with Antonio. Luck was on his side; his brother-in-law answered the door and Lovino was no where to be seen.

"Feli!" Antonio greeted cheerfully when he opened the door, grinning broadly as usual. "Lovi's not home right now! He had a lunch to cater but he'll be home in an hour or..." His words trailed off as he began to sense the mood Feliciano was in and the grin slipped off of his face. "Feli, is something wrong?"

"C-can I come in?"

Feliciano's eyes were already burning with that one simple statement. Silently, Antonio stepped aside and let Feliciano into his home. His stomach was roiling with nervousness and he felt like he was about to be sick. Antonio plopped down on the couch and Feliciano joined him stiffly. He swallowed and tried to speak, but his vocal cords rebelled against him and he remained silent. Tentatively, Antonio ventured forth and broke the silence.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about, Feli?"

Feliciano nodded, but again, couldn't form words. He could feel the tears gathering in his eyes and knew that he would end up bawling all over his brother-in-law. Sensing his distress, Antonio folded his arms around him and Feliciano's tears began to flow. He cried silently against Antonio, who rubbed his back gently and murmured comforting words in Spanish. Crying brought a certain amount of emotional release for Feliciano and his tears finally slowed to a stop. Antonio reached over to the coffee table and handed Feliciano a box of tissues.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he repeated gently as Feliciano wiped his face clean. He swallowed; he was afraid of Antonio's reaction, but he needed to talk to somebody.

"I-I've been in a relationship with Ludwig for the past two years," he whispered to Antonio, burying his face in the damp tear-stains on his brother-in-law's shirt to avoid seeing his reaction. But he could still feel Antonio jerk in surprise.

"Ludwig?" Antonio repeated, confused. "I thought he had gotten married. Did he and his wife get a divorce?"

Feliciano pressed his face deeper into Antonio's shoulder and braced himself for his reaction before he quietly said, "No. They didn't."

There was a moment of tense silence as Antonio pieced together what had happened. Then, as realization dawned on him, a gasp.

"Dios mío."

Feliciano fought the tears that were threatening to spring back up before he launched into the whole story from his first glimpse of Ludwig in the lobby to Anna's visit the day before and her ultimatum to leave Ludwig or have Ludwig forced from him. As he spoke, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. Antonio had remained silent the entire time and though Feliciano suspected it was because his brother-in-law was disappointed in him, he was grateful for the silence as he spilled his deepest secrets. More tears were shed during some of the harder parts of the story to tell; the details of his growing alcoholism and the fact that he hadn't painted in months chief among them. Antonio's grip on him had tightened throughout the story and when Feliciano had finally finished and looked up at Antonio, he had been surprised to see that Antonio's eyes were watering as well.

"Oh, Feli," Antonio said simply before hugging Feliciano tightly again. He could feel the silent forgiveness in the gesture and for the first time in a very long time, Feliciano relaxed.

"I don't know what to do," he wailed when Antonio's grip slackened. "I don't want to lose him again but I can't stop thinking about his little girl..."

Antonio made a small humming noise as he contemplated the problem.

"I won't tell you what to do," Antonio said finally. "I think that's something that you should figure out on your own. But..." He paused, then bit his lip. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think you're really in love with Ludwig."

Feliciano's head whipped up and the glare he sent toward Antonio nearly rivaled some of Lovino's most heated scowls. He shuddered deeply at such a terrifying look on such a sweet-looking man.

"W-what I mean is," Antonio quickly added, cowering under Feliciano's fierce gaze, "You're not in love with the Ludwig he is today."

The glare on Feliciano's face slipped off as confusion replaced it. Antonio considered his words carefully before he continued, trying to word the idea that had been nagging him all throughout Feliciano's confession without upsetting the fragile man.

"From what you've told me, it sounds like you're still in love with Ludwig, but the Ludwig you remember from high school, not the Ludwig he is today. You don't really love the man he is now. You love the man you remember but you can't separate the two. Because the truth is, he's different now. You both are. But it's hard to admit that someone you love isn't perfect; it's hard to stop making excuses and face the fact that you have problems.

"I know how that is," Antonio continued, a slight smile on his face. "You always try to ignore the worst qualities of the person you love. You make excuse after excuse for the things they do, and try to reason out why they hurt you. You never want to admit that there are things about him that are less than perfect. You love him so much you never want to say or do anything that'll hurt him in even the littlest way.

"But sometimes you have to. It's the only way you can work things out and make your relationships last. You want everything to be perfect, but you have to admit it when there are problems so that you can fix them. The problem here is that your relationship has flaws that you'll never be able to fix. Ludwig will always choose his family over you. It's been that way since Day One."

Antonio fell silent after that. Feliciano pulled his knees up into his chest, contemplating everything his brother-in-law had just said.

"I-I... I think you might be right," Feliciano said weakly, pressing his forehead against his knees, more tears burning in his eyes. A dull ache formed in his chest as he finally admitted it aloud. He wasn't sure about what Antonio had said about being in love with Ludwig's memory rather than his actual self. The feelings he had for Ludwig seemed real to him, but there was no denying the last point his brother-in-law had brought up: Ludwig's devotion to his family would never fade. Even if Anna failed to separate him from Ludwig, it would hardly matter. Time after time, Ludwig had clearly shown where his loyalty lied. And it was not with Feliciano.

The revelation was painful; one of the most painful things that Feliciano had ever had to deal with. He clutched for support and Antonio wrapped his arms around Feliciano as he thought about everything and what he was now certain he was going to do. They were still embracing when a key twisted in the lock and Lovino stormed in. He froze at the sight of his brother and his lover hugging on the couch. When he registered the tear tracks coursing down Feliciano's cheeks, Lovino immediately picked up a decoration sitting on the hall table and stomped forward, brandishing the book end dangerously.

"What the hell did you do to my brother, you bastard!" Lovino screamed. Feliciano shrank back while Antonio smiled breezily, obviously use to these sort of confrontations.

"Lovi!" he called out happily. "Feli came to come see you but he didn't know you had work! We were just watching Titanic on Showtime to pass the time while we waited for you." He let out a loud sniff for effect and Feliciano was surprised to see that the TV was on. Titanic had indeed been playing on mute the entire time he and Antonio had been talking and now the credits were rolling. "The ending made us a little emotional."

Lovino dropped the book end and sighed angrily.

"You idiots were upset over that? That movie's stupid!" Lovino snapped. "Jack and Rose only know each other for two days! You can't fall in love in two days! And why the hell didn't Jack swim further and try to find his own damn door to float on? And it's not like they would've lasted if they had lived anyway!"

Lovino continued to rant about the film as he disappeared into his and Antonio's bedroom to change. Antonio leaned down and gave Feliciano one last comforting hug.

"Don't worry," he whispered to him. "I won't ever tell anybody what you've told me today. All right?"

"Thank you," Feliciano whispered back.

Feliciano grunted as he swung his duffel bag over his shoulder, the heavy bag striking his side. Struggling under its weight, he crossed to the kitchen where his grandfather was waiting for him with his other suitcase. The apartment was devoid of any furniture; Feliciano had sold it all very quickly. His paintings and supplies had already been packed away and shipped out. His personal items had all fit inside the two bags. Romano came up behind him and clamped his hand down on his grandson's shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.

"Are you ready to go?" Romano asked him, smiling weakly. Feliciano nodded back just as weakly.

"Yeah, just... Give me a minute."

Another squeeze on his shoulder, then Romano left the apartment, rolling the lighter suitcase behind him. Feliciano sighed as he looked around the bare rooms where he had lived for the past seven years. There were so many memories locked into the place; he quickly closed his eyes before he started thinking too much about what he was doing. Feliciano reached into his pockets and pulled out an envelope which he laid gently on the kitchen counter. His heart clenched and he quickly spun on his heel and left the apartment behind him for good. He locked his door with hands that shook. Romano saw how upset Feliciano was and gently hugged him.

"I know it's hard to leave home," Romano said comfortingly. "I felt the same way when I brought you and your brother back here from Italy. It was the first time I'd even left my village! At least you're staying in the country! You'll be all right."

Feliciano smiled weakly at his grandfather. Of course, he had no idea of the real reason why Feliciano wanted to leave Los Angeles behind, but his words comforted him anyway.

"It'll be good for you," Romano declared. "A change of scenery'll be just the thing you need to clear that art block."

"Yeah," Feliciano mumbled before following his grandfather down the stairs of his apartment building, only making a stop to turn in his keys to the building manager. Lovino and Antonio were waiting in Antonio's car for them and, after loading Feliciano's two bags, they drove to the Greyhound bus station. After they exchanged good byes, Feliciano got on the first of many buses that would take him far away from Ludwig.

He was leaving.

Feliciano had made his decision after his enlightening talk with Antonio. He'd come to realize a lot of things after he'd decided to leave Ludwig. Staying in a relationship with him was unhealthy for Feliciano. He could see that clearly now. It drained him of his normal personality, his inspiration, and had led him to the level of alcoholism that had killed his father. It was for these reasons he had chosen to cut off his relationship with Ludwig and move to New York. He wanted to escape everything in Los Angeles that was keeping him a wreck. He wanted to go somewhere far away so that he could finally heal from the wounds Ludwig had unknowingly inflicted on him.

More than anything else, he wanted to paint again. The emotional backlash from his relationship had cost him the only thing that had given his life purpose. It had robbed him of the only thing he was good at, the only thing that brightened his meager life. In New York he could live without distractions and finally get back to doing what he loved. Feliciano was looking forward to it. Getting back to painting was the only thing that dulled the ache Feliciano felt from leaving Ludwig.

Even though their relationship had nearly ruined him, Feliciano still loved Ludwig. Casting off over a decade of his feelings for the man wasn't easy; Feliciano wasn't sure if he'd ever truly be able to forget Ludwig. He had to, though; their relationship had truly ended now. The letter Feliciano had left in his apartment was a good bye letter for Ludwig. Feliciano knew that they would never see each other again after this. Tears pricked at his eyes but he blinked them back. He was finished crying over Ludwig.

Feliciano leaned against the window of the bus and watched the scenery pass him as they left Los Angeles. Eventually, the rocking of the vehicle lulled him to sleep.

*To clarify, Antonio and Romano are not actually married, but since they've been together for over ten years, everyone around them pretty much considers them a married couple and refers to them as such.

*Antonio is usually oblivious and silly, so writing him in a serious, insightful mood was weird. I hope it worked. He was the only character I could use to knock some sense into Feliciano.

*I ended up having a severe confidence drop halfway through writing this fic, so I ended up forcing myself to write most of it. I hope that didn't affect the quality.

I'd like to thank you all for reading this story and supporting it. It was one of the hardest things I've ever written and all of your reviews kept me going. I've started another Prucan AU and I'm going to restart work on my Gerita AU that I've been neglecting so far.