Please enjoy this last chapter :3
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.
Save the Drama for the Stage, Epilogue
The sky was overcast, but the air was thick with humidity and sweat. It was hot, but the entire cast of the theater had left the comfort of the cool indoors and was bracing the heat outside.
Alfred and Matthew were going home. Their trunks had been packed, and their ship back to New York was to leave in a few hours. It was surreal, both for the two of them and for everyone else; the seven weeks the teens had spent with them, two weeks for the show's run and the other five setting up, had felt like a lifetime to all of those involved. To think that it was coming to an end, it wasn't easy to wrap their minds around it.
Matthew sighed, sat on his trunk, the sun beating on directly on his head. It almost felt like his blond hair was being cooked, but he was too upset to care. Distractedly fingering the latch beneath his palm, his purple eyes snapped up every time he heard the footsteps of another person passing, only to look back down at the cobblestone in disappointment when he found it was not the person he was waiting for.
"Hello, Matthew. Mind if I join you?" Elizaveta was smYiling at him, and Matt blinked up before shifting over slightly, only to find that his trunk, not meant to be used a bench, was not wide enough to seat two people. Elizaveta chuckled.
"I only said that to get your attention. You seem rather down, even more so than I'd expected."
Matt flushed, kicking at the dirt. "You… uh… you haven't seen Gilbert anywhere, have you?"
Elizaveta's bright emerald eyes widened slightly. "Wait, you mean he hasn't come to see you off at all?"
Matthew shook his head, and the Hungarian huffed. She gave Matt a gentle pat on the head and marched off promptly, muttering something that sounded like "Oh, I'll find him for you."
The Canadian was suddenly worried for his sort-of boyfriend.
"Comrade Alfred, what is happening?"
Matthew turned around suddenly, in the same moment Alfred did; while one cousin looked puzzled, the other turned a little bit pinker.
"Oh, hey Ivan!" Alfred replied smoothly, but Matthew could sense the hesitance in his tone. It was amusing, to say the least, seeing the suave boy start to lose his cool.
"What is going on? Why do you and Matthew have large bags with you?"
Ivan had a deep frown marring his usually childishly happy face; Matt figured that he and Al must have built up some friendship he didn't know about if the Russian was so troubled.
"We're going back to America… you know, back home?" Alfred chuckled, rubbing his neck sheepishly. Ivan's face fell further, and the American bit his lip.
"Listen, Ivan, I-"
Alfred stopped suddenly, looking Matt right in the eye. The older looked away sheepishly, but Alfred wasn't taking any chances.
"-Come on. I think we should go talk."
Alfred and Ivan soon vanished from the sight of the others, turning the corner and standing under the awning of a shoe shop. When they stopped, Alfred looked up the few centimeters between them to find Ivan's violet eyes focused on him.
"So, you are leaving now, da?"
His voice sounded defeated and hurt; Alfred sighed.
"I have to go back, you know. University classes start again next week; this was only a summer job."
Ivan looked away, a bit bitter.
"No, I understand. It was nice being your friend."
Alfred brushed sweaty bangs from his forehead, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Just because I'm leaving, doesn't mean we have to stop being friends, Ivan."
"Huh?"
"We can… write letters to each other. Yeah, we'll write to each other. As often as we can."
Ivan seemed brightened by the suggestion, but Alfred could see that there was still something bothering him in the way he refused to meet the other's gaze.
"Come on buddy, it's not like… I mean, I'll come back…"
The Russian suddenly looked at the other again, and Alfred felt something like relief. That is, until he noticed the strange look in the other's eye.
"Comrade… would it be alright if I… gave you something to remember me by?"
Alfred blinked. "Sure it would!"
He was certainly not expecting Ivan to lean in, to bridge the gap between them and lay his cold, chapped lips on his own. A shock ran up Alfred's spine, but as soon as the other's lips were brushing over his Ivan was back in his place, possibly even further away from Alfred then he'd been at first.
"I am sorry," he murmured. "I should not have… it was wrong of me to…"
"D-Don't worry about it," Alfred cut in. "It… I didn't hate it." He chuckled at Ivan's surprise, adding.
"But, you know, a warning would be nice next time. Like… this one."
As their lips met for a second tender kiss, Al decided he needed to return as soon as possible.
"Hello again, Matt. I have something for you!"
Matt was unsurprised to see Gilbert with Elizaveta when she returned, but he was surprised to see her dragging him in by the ear. She was smiling as pleasantly as ever, while the albino in her hand refused to meet Matthew's gaze.
"Gilbert?"
He made a disgruntled noise; Elizaveta hit him lightly on the back and grinned.
"Well, I'll leave you both to it, then."
"Where have you been, Gilbert?" Matthew started hesitantly once the brunette was gone. Gilbert sighed, playing with the cuffs of his sleeves.
"I just… I'm no good at this whole sappy goodbye thing."
"So you decided not to come at all?"
Gilbert simply made another intelligible noise. The younger blond sighed, jumping off his trunk and wrapping his arms around the other.
"It doesn't have to be a sappy goodbye. But I did want to see you before I go. I'm glad you came.
"W-Well… Eli forced me too…" Gilbert trailed off, catching sight of Matthew's bright indigo eyes, and sighed. "I'll miss you."
Matthew, however, was smiling rather cheekily.
"What? What're you hiding from the awesome me?"
The Canadian laughed. "Nothing much, just the news I've been dying to tell you all morning."
"…Which is?" Gilbert prompted after the other fell silent. "Come on, teeeeell!"
"Arthur offered me a job working as his assistant, once I finish university. A permanent job." His smile broke out into a wide grin, "I'll be coming back next summer and staying with you."
Soon an identical grin was spread on Gilbert's face. "That. Is. AWESOME! FUCK YEAH!"
A few people turned and gave him sharp glares for the language, but Gilbert wasn't bothered as he scooped Matthew into his arms and kisses him soundly on the lips.
Francis chuckled, watching with amusement as Gilbert continued to attempt to kiss Matt, the younger pushing him away with a bright flush.
"Ah, young love. Isn't it beautiful, mon coeur?
Arthur, standing a way away from the other, snorted.
"Hardly. What's beautiful about watching Gilbert snuck Matthew's face off? And they aren't much younger than we are, anyways."
"Ah, true, but when it comes to l'amour they are practically enfants."
"And you're the old man, aren't you?"
Francis chuckled, bridging the space between them and wrapping an arm around the other's waist. He buried his nose in the other's hair, feeling Arthur's muscles tighten beneath him.
"How am I ever going to live without you?"
"…The way you did before me, I suppose."
Francis laughed again. "No, I am not sure I can go back to that lifestyle, especially not since my heart was stolen by a British angel."
Arthur wanted to snort, but his heart fluttered and he found he couldn't say anything for a long moment. He turned around suddenly, looking Francis in his eyes.
"Have fun in Paris... I… will miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Arthur." Francis murmured just as softly as the other had, brushing their noses together.
He pulled back and bit and smiled. "Here's an idea; while I'm gone, you will write a masterpiece for me to perform when I return."
"You just love to give me more work, don't you?"
"Mais oui. Also, I have one more request."
"Of course." Arthur huffed.
"It is a simple one; I want the main character to be happy. Truly, really happy. Do you think you can manage that?"
Arthur, taken aback, hesitantly leaned in and pecked the other on the lips.
"I think it's doable, yes."
His smile then was so bright, Francis could not help but lean in and take it in a long, deep kiss.
The End.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to someone I love very, very much. She knows who she is.
I wanted to end this on a happy note, but first a message to the anonymous reviewer "xxxo":
Thank you for reading and reviewing my fic. I am very grateful for your constructive criticisms, though I will say I do believe you could have done a better job. Simply telling me that my characters were fake will not help me improve; I would have much appreciated you pointing out certain passages or giving examples of how I could have done better. I hate to call you out on this publicly, but since you were anonymous and left no contact information, I'm afraid this is the only way I could get the message out.
To all my other readers,thank you all so much for joining me on this journey. I received some negative reviews to this fic that I have taken to heart, and it make this final piece a little hard for me to write, but all your encouraging words helped me get through. To everyone who has read and reviewed, it means so much to me. Thank you, and I hope you will join me in future fanfiction endeavors.
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