A very short, not-exactly-fluffy ending. This runs parallel to Chapter 14 of A Question of Arrangement, although Question has more scenes than Issue does. The scenes in this part just have to deal with Feliciano and Ludwig. Please enjoy!

PART SIX

Just when the fire was about to reach Ludwig's knees, it went out, but Feliciano kept screaming, because there was no life in his lover's face, just a dejected form. It was still Ludwig, wasn't it? The body was right, although a little defeated, and the hair was still as pale blonde, although a little singed. Feliciano stopped screaming. Was it okay? Was it over? Was he dead, too? Had time stopped to make Feliciano relive this moment over and over again?

"Ludwig?" he whispered. There was no response.

Then heavy arms picked him up, and Feliciano grabbed on to the bars, screaming in protest.

"Hey, hey, cut it out," said a familiar voice. Feliciano turned his eyes up, swallowing.

"A-Alfred?" He started crying, unable to help himself. "Ludwig, I…"

"Hey, don't worry about it," said Alfred, and Feliciano stopped struggling. Alfred was strong, like Ludwig, although he wasn't the same. But he didn't smell so much like smoke, and that was nice. The King of Spades managed an odd, lopsided smile. "It's okay now. We got those Northern bastards."

"Y-you did, ve~?"

"Yeah," said Alfred. "Kiku whipped their asses in negotiation, and then we all rode in and took Berlin back. It's going to be over very soon."

Over. Kiku had negotiated with the North? How had he done that? Kiku was mean, and spiteful, and he had hurt Ludwig! And he had said such awful things to Feliciano…remembering the pain that had come with Kiku's taunting, Feliciano started crying harder.

"Dude, calm down!" Alfred laughed a little harder, but it was a little more forced as well. "I've got you now! I'll be your hero, got it?"

"Ludwig is the one that needs a hero," said Feliciano through his tears. "Ludwig is good, and kind, and he's in that incinerator now! I'm just a stupid slut – that's what Kiku said, and Kiku is always right!"

"Kiku also said that you were top priority," said Alfred. Feliciano stopped sobbing when he heard that. Alfred looked concerned. "And whatever he said was to save you."

Save him? Feliciano paused, blinking. Kiku had kicked Ludwig and called him names, and it hadn't made any sense. They had always been friends, but in that room, with the scary boy king and the council…Kiku had been so mean! Could it all really have been to save Feliciano? Kiku had asked to keep Feliciano as his prize, and that made Feliciano shake with rage.

But then he realized that he wasn't put in the machine with Ludwig for that very reason. Kiku had saved his life, even at the sacrifice of…

"Ludwig?" he asked frantically. "Is Ludwig going to be okay?"

"I have soldiers going after him now," said Alfred. "He'll be fine." But there was doubt in his eyes, and Feliciano couldn't miss it. He had been raised to see doubt, and to ignore it, and to pretend that it wasn't there. He was around to please others, to make them happy, and if they said something, he should accept it as truth just to make them happy with themselves.

Not this time. This time there was too much on the line. So Feliciano turned his hot tears into Alfred's big kingly robe and sobbed because there was doubt of it all being okay.

XX

They wouldn't let him see Ludwig. Every day, when Feliks would wake him in his grand Jack Suite, he would rush to the hospital, only to be told that King Ludwig could not see any visitors. He had gone through every begging procedure he knew by day four, and by day seven, he didn't even bother doing much more than asking twice. Each day, he would swing back by at lunch and before dinner – whenever there were no negotiations to be had – only to be turned away.

He was part of the negotiations, as far as anyone was concerned, although he knew he wasn't doing a very good job. Everyone knew it, so by day five, he didn't bother saying much. Kiku was good at negotiating, and he had somehow gained the respect of the scary Northern Advisors. Plus, there was General Meier and Bella and Minister Adnan – who showed up on day six, and then Alfred had brought over some ministers, and so had Roderich and Vash, when they showed up from their respective Kingdoms. It was a very effective negotiation party - they didn't really need Feliciano anyways.

On day ten, they finally let him in, although they said that "the King needed his rest, so he couldn't be expected to do much." Feliciano didn't expect Ludwig to do anything but stay alive, and he got basically what he asked for.

They said that Ludwig had severe heat stroke and that he was burned in several places – most of all on his feet and calves. Feliciano couldn't see the burns, of course, which were covered in bandages, but he could see the toll on Ludwig's system just from the exhaustion in his face. They said the coals were infused with an odd toxin, and that was what was making the effects so severe. Ludwig was still fighting some sort of poison in his system, so they didn't dare ice him too much in case it kept the poison going. Still, there were always ice packs handy in case Ludwig's fever increased.

Feliciano entered the room on day fourteen and sat down, exhausted, on the stool that had been prepared for him. He was thinking about skipping the evening negotiations, because they mostly just involved soldiers, and he didn't know what to do about those anyways.

"Ve, Ludwig," he said quietly, reaching over to take Ludwig's hand. For several minutes, he just sat like that, staring at his beloved Ludwig. His skin was pale, and his face was always contorted in some way, as if he really was fighting off a whole army instead of poison. It hurt to watch, especially when Ludwig twitched or gasped out, but Feliciano stayed. He would always stay.

Hesitantly, Feliciano rubbed his thumbs over the back of Ludwig's hand, trying to find something good to say. Ludwig would want to hear about the day's negotiations, wouldn't he? He was that kind of person, so responsible.

"They say that we won't occupy," said Feliciano softly. "I don't really know why, but there was a lot of arguing, and General Meier agreed to it at the end, ve." He paused and sighed. "You would know why. It probably would make sense to you…"

The hospital was very quiet. Feliciano didn't know if that was a good thing, because Ludwig was hurt and needed rest – but it was sometimes hard to get better in such a lonely place! And the attendants were no help, because most of them didn't talk anyways.

"I'll keep you company here," said Feliciano. He kissed Ludwig's hand. "I miss you, Ludwig, and I want you to get better."

The words sounded stupid, not enough. Feliciano softly moved a few strands of hair away from Ludwig's face and checked his temperature with the back of his hand. He wasn't as warm as he had been at breakfast – that was good.

"I'm afraid, Ludwig," said Feliciano, his voice a whisper. He felt his lip quivering, felt the water in his eyes, but he didn't feel like stopping the tears. "I'm always afraid, but now I'm even more afraid. You're the bravest, strongest, bestest person I've ever met, and you were in trouble, and I couldn't protect you." The tears splashed around him, and Feliciano went on, shaking entirely. "And it was really not fun! I want you to always be around, so you can protect me, and I can protect you, too, but I've never been strong enough for you. Ve~ how could I ever deserve you?"

He broke off, lifting a hand to his face and clutching Ludwig's with the other. It was all too bad now, too scary and dark, and even though the immediate threat of the Great North was gone it felt like there were monsters around every corner. What if someone else attacked them, or if someone turned on them, or if they were captured again? How could they go through this again? No normal people had to go through this, and it was even worse because so many people were relying on him. Feliciano had always let people down, every time, and here he was again, crying and feeling sorry for himself. He was the weak one, no matter what. Here Ludwig was, barely holding on, and Feliciano couldn't be strong enough for him, either! He would never make it, not as Jack, not as Ludwig's lover.

"D-don't cry…Feli…Feliciano…" Feliciano looked up, startled, when he heard the beautiful voice. And Ludwig's eyelashes were fluttering, but his eyes were open, and Feliciano could see the little bit of blue that was left.

"Ludwig!" He had to prevent himself from flying forward, so he just clutched harder to Ludwig's hand, and Ludwig squeezed back feebly. "H-how are you?"

"It hurts…" whispered Ludwig, his eyes closing with concentration, but he didn't pass out again. He opened his eyes again after a moment, but feebly.

"Shhhh…" whispered Feliciano, kissing Ludwig's hand again. He still couldn't stop crying, but that didn't matter now. "Don't speak."

"Feli…ciano…" With his free hand, Ludwig tried to reach up, and Feliciano leaned forward so that Ludwig could touch his face. He clung to that hand, holding them together, and Ludwig sighed deeply. "Stay…" His eyes closed again, and Feliciano felt him go limp.

"They can't take me from you," said Feliciano in a whisper. "I'll stay forever."

He thought for a moment that Ludwig had smiled.

Kind of a bittersweet ending, and I was tempted to write in a fluffier ending to this, but I really think that this ending brings it to a satisfying - if not happy - close. I'm really satisfied with how Feliciano turned out, especially as he is one of the hardest characters I have ever written. I hope this last, darker one-shot was just as good as the earlier, fluffier ones.

If you really liked this, I'm writing Ludwig's POV into the Question sequel, A Question of Fidelity. I have a lot of moments planned for these two. So check it out! Thanks to everyone who supported this fic - I love you all!

~Elsi