APH PruCan Gakuen Hetalia 7

I carded my fingers through spiky locks of hoarfrost hair, letting myself touch Gilbert gently as I watched him sleep. He was lovely in his repose, his lanky body scrawled out across the inky black silk sheets of my bed. Gilbert's stillness was made of marble and mercury, the statuesque effect painted in gleaming silver and bone white. It was only ruined by the faintness of his slumbering breathe.

Gilbert was here with me. He was mine and I was his. The rush of euphoria that ran through my veins from this knowledge made me feel lightheaded and dizzy enough to make me close my eyes for a moment. I opened them to find burning garnet eyes studying me with an intent, unwavering gaze, like pools of fathomless blood made of liquid fire. It was the way that I imagined stars gazed at passing comets. I could write useless symphonies and sonnets about such eyes and never tire from it. Mable turned liquid as white arms pulling me in closer to that crimson flame.

"Someone looks like they are thinking too hard.", Gilbert murmured sleepily, moving to nuzzle my face with his own, the touch of his skin hot and dry as sun warmed silk against my natural coolness.

"One of us has to be the brains of this operation.", I said just as softly back, not wanting to break the mood though I couldn't resist teasing him a little bit. Gilbert curled in closer to me, his head lowering down to the crook of my neck as our legs entwined and our arms practically braided around each other's torsos.

"I'm more than just good looks, Birdie.", Gilbert smirked. I know he did, feeling the expression he hid in my neck as he scattered butterfly kisses across the tendons of my throat, "Besides being naturally awesome, I got skills."

"Oh, is that what you call that? I think you need to look up the definition of the word. I think 'attempts' is more applicable along with mediocre, novice…..", I taunted while keeping my face the very picture of charm as Gilbert paused in his devotions to my skin to arch a slim silver brow up at me.

"That's not what you were saying about an hour ago. I think it was more along the lines of 'Yes! Maple! Yes! More, eh!'.", Gilbert interrupted, making his point with overly dramatic wanton cries and a bad imitation of my accent.

"I don't sound like that.", I said, shoving him away so that I could smack him properly. I did it grinning though, the playful blows never landing their mark as Gilbert reattached himself to me, leaning in to steal a kiss. My thief decided to linger on my lips, parting them easily with the deft swipe of a skilled tongue to leave me gasping for air and gripping his back with fumbling hands.

It felt good. I felt good. I felt healed.

I know now I will never feel new again or reborn as some terminally positive people would like to say, but I do feel mended, much like a vase glued back together. I wasn't perfect or restored instantly back to my former self. All my worries and problems were not cured magically overnight with a declaration of love and an agreement to date one person faithfully. I was still quite irritable and snappish over trivial things. I was still shortsighted in my temper. I was still paranoid that Gilbert would someday betray part, if not all, of me and in some small way, I would always be on guard against that. I still didn't suffer fools well, but admittedly, I was getting better at tolerating them. My eyes no longer wander around a room though, looking for the one who had hurt me or the one who would make me forget for a little while. I had no need to, not any more.

Where you are, not just who you are with, helps a lot too. Gilbert and I are no longer in school, living at the microcosm of the World Academy. After a spectacular blowout with his grandfather, Gilbert graduated early by simply testing out of all his classes. He and I moved to Canada soon afterward and are currently living together at my apartment in Montreal.

Given some time to himself without pressuring from his family, Gilbert decided to pursue photography here. He was complete shit at traditional art mediums but with a camera, he turned out to be the Michelangelo of digital. Couple natural talent with endless curiosity and a break neck fearlessness and Gilbert has quickly become one of the world's premier wildlife photographers. I've already told him if he gets eaten by tigers or cannibals, I will never forgive him and even go so far as to say 'I told you so'.

Established in his new career, Gilbert has mended fences with his family since then and even makes it a point to drop by the Academy whenever he is in New York, much to the distress of the faculty(who, I am sure, pray to any god available that he doesn't).

I even ran into Carlos recently at an art exhibition of a mutual friend. It was nice to feel nothing toward him now. I was even able to feign some sympathy for his current relationship situation or more correctly, lack there of. Apparently, some charming Spaniard with a sunny grin stole Carlos's girlfriend away from him. It hadn't been so bad considering he soon found a gorgeous Frenchman afterward to cushion the blow of it. The Frenchman made Carlos fall completely in love with him and then left the Cuban without so much as an au revoir.

It took all the control I had to keep from laughing the entire time. I made a point of sending Francis and Antonio some signed pieces from my latest collection. They have been hinting heavily ever since Gilbert and I started dating that they knew I was the 'ghost' of the art world. I personally think it is a ridiculous title made up by people with too much time on their hands but I threw them a bone anyway in thanks.

I think that is aboot it really….did you need anything else?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Matthew paused in his interview with the strange little alien who was Alfred's roommate and liaison to the intergalactic confederation. Tony had insisted on writing an article about him, saying he needed a companion fluff piece to go along with the one he had written about Alfred a while ago. Matthew didn't see a problem with it considering no one on Earth was going to read it or even be able to since it was in alien script. It also felt good to talk so candidly about everything with the non blinking alien who truly didn't give a damn or really understand the intricacies of Earthling's relationships.

Tony chirped out something that most people would have dismissed as random noise. Matthew nodded in response though, being one of three people on the Earth who could speak Tony's language fluently, having the rare mental capability for it.

"You want to know what happened to all the rest?", Matthew said slowly as if weighing the alien's question before answering it.

"Well….no surprise, but Alfred married Arthur as soon as the Englishman graduated from the World Academy. As a wedding gift, Arthur got a tropical island to go along with his pirate ship. The two of them take turns living in England and America, though I personally think it's based on who is currently winning the argument at the moment. Despite all their quarrels and fighting, Al and Arthur are meant for each other and make a disgustingly cute couple."

"Alfred is still doing what he does best- scaring the hell out of us and meddling with thing best left untouched. If you were wondering, the time flux capacitor was one of those really bad ideas. We lost Alfred for a couple months to what he claimed were parallel dimensions. He says that in one of them we were all the direct personification of nations and fighting in WWII as the Axis and the Allies. How's that for insane, eh?"

"Arthur became a popular children's author. His beloved stories of fantasy and adventure are currently being made into a movie. I should know, after all I am the one composing the score for it. Writing a piece of music for a flying mint bunny is a little odd but I think I can handle it."

"Though Arthur still doesn't speak with his father, the former Lord Albion, his older brothers are doing quite well. As promised, Alfred gave them full control of the imports/exports company he made them CEO's of after five years of continual profit. Arthur's relationship with them has gotten a lot better over time. Even Connor went to their wedding and behaved himself…..mostly."

"After graduating World Academy, Ludwig and Feliciano went to work for the UN under their respective countries of origins. They still live in New York and have recently moved in together(mostly because Feliciano would not stay at his own apartment. Ludwig claimed it was a waste of money to be renting two apartments instead of just splitting the rent on one…yeah, right)."

"Antonio and Romano still live in New York as well and have even opened a restaurant together called 'The Singing Tomato', a tapas restaurant that specializes in Spanish and Italian cuisine with a focus on tomatoes. Their fights are aboot as famous as the food they serve there."

"Francis became a model and lives in Paris now. After a huge media frenzy, it was revealed that he was sleeping with his manager, some Estonian financial genius named Eduard Von Bock. Neither of them care much aboot it and recently made all the magazine covers again shown lounging on a beach together in the Bahamas."

Tony clicked out another question, one that made the Canadian look very thoughtful before answering. "Me? I go wherever I want to though it is mostly with Gilbert now when he sent out on assignment or is hunting for something unusual to take a picture of.".

The little gray alien did not look satisfied with that answer though, scrunching up its nonexistent nose at Matthew. Taking pity on Tony, Matthew expanded on the unasked question, " I can because I want to. I can go anywhere now. My wings were healed so that I could fly again. It's not my fault they choose to follow my heart."

"And all because someone came looking for me when I didn't even know I was lost.", Matthew smiled softly, the expression sweet and pure even to the blank red eyes of his interviewer.

"One day…..a boy found me."