HetaliaxReader - Meeting Them (Ch. 29)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Goodbye

_____ could clearly see her hands shaking as she placed the last article of clothing into her suitcase. She zipped up the suitcase, resting her hands on the top of it for a moment. She took a deep breath and attempted to calm herself. This was it. The day had finally come when she would leave this place. Her shoulders dropped and she looked upward.

“Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want to go. . .”

“_____.”

She jumped at the sound of her name and whirled around to see Alfred standing in the doorway. “Oh, hey, Alfie. . .”

Alfred wore a unshakably sullen expression on his face, and he asked slowly, “You ready?”

_____ nodded. “Yeah. . .”

The two went downstairs and out the door toward the school campus. They walked in silence until _____ decided to break it. “S-So, uh, where’s everybody else?”

“They all left for the conference early,” Alfred replied.

“Mm. . .”

As they entered the main building, Alfred took _____’s hand and led her gently down the halls. They moved at a slow pace, trying to make their final moments together last. Of course, they both knew that it would have to end eventually.

Alfred came to a stop with _____ stopping behind him, her large suitcase held awkwardly in her free hand. Alfred released her hand and cleared his throat. “Um. . .I guess we should go in now. . .”

“Y-Yeah. . .”

Alfred nodded and, very slowly, stepped through the doorway into the conference room. The group in the room had been speaking in hushed murmurs, but now they were completely silent. Alfred swallowed and quietly signaled _____ into the room. She sighed, her breath shaky, and smoothed down her hair and shirt before stepping into the room as well, her suitcase in her hand. She set her suitcase down on the floor by the doorway and looked at the crowd before her. All eyes were on her, but they were not like when she had first come here. They were no longer disinterested and calculating toward her; they were now warm and loving. And she no longer felt the sickening nervousness that had overwhelmed her the day she first came into this room; she was now overcome with sorrow. She smiled sadly. “Hey,” she said softly, afraid that if she spoke any louder she would be crushed by the grief enveloping her heart.

“_____?” said Alfred gently. “Do you wanna say some last words before we go?”

_____ pursed her lips, but nodded. She turned back to the group in front of her and sighed softly. “For starters, I’d like to say thank you. You guys have been. . .so kind, even when I haven’t been. When Alfie first knocked on my door early this summer and asked if I wanted to come here, my first and final answer was no. I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t want to even leave my own house. After my brother. . .died, I didn’t want to have anything to do with anybody. I just wanted to be left alone. But I supposed God had other plans.” She glanced at Alfred, a warm smile on her face. “I wound up coming here, and I met you guys. You people––each and every one of you is different and unique and special, and. . .I loved every minute I spent with you.” She bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears. “Thank you. I’m so glad that I met you. All of you. You pulled me out of a really bad time in my life, and I. . .” She couldn’t hold back any longer as the tears spilled from her eyes. “I’m so. . .grateful. And I’m so glad that I was able to meet you.” She wiped her eyes. “I love you guys. I love you so, so much. And I’m going to miss you just as much. So. . .” She then bent her upper body down to a low and respectful bow, a gesture she would have never done for anyone else, even if her life depended on it. “Thank you. And goodbye. . .for now.”

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“Done with your food, _____?”

_____ nodded, throwing the leftovers of her brunch into a nearby trash can. She picked up her suitcase and followed Alfred out of the food court and through the airport. They were just about to reach security when _____ heard her name being called. She turned back to see familiar faces: Gilbert, Ludwig, Feliciano, Lovino, and Kiku.

She smiled at them, but it quickly vanished from her face. “What’re you guys doing here?”

“The hell does it look like, ragazza?” said Lovino. “We came to say goodbye.”

_____ exhaled deeply, a new wave of emotion falling over her. She smiled sadly. “I love you guys.”

“We know,” they all seemed to say at once, causing her to giggle.

_____ looked at the small group, then furrowed her brows in irritation at a certain albino who, although was healthy enough to move around, should have still been on bed-rest. “Gil, you’re supposed to be in be––”

She was cut off by Gilbert as he wrapped his arms around her as tight as he could manage. She heard him sigh softly. “Auf wiedersehen, Fräu.”

She relaxed and hugged him back. “Bye, Gil,” she said, kissing him on the cheek and releasing him.

She then turned to Kiku, who bowed respectfully and said, “Sayonara, _____-kun.”

_____ grinned, shocking the Asian man when she practically picked him up in her arms and hugged him tightly. She laughed. “If that’s the best goodbye your country has to offer, you guys are in trouble!”

Kiku relaxed slightly, patting her back as she let him go. _____ looked at Lovino next. She smiled at him, then pulled him into a hug, causing the Italian to stiffen. “Take care of yourself, okay?” she whispered.

Lovino relaxed slightly, lifting his hand to pat her head. “Sì, ragazza.” After a moment, he returned her hug and pulled her tighter to him. “Arrivederci, _____. Grazie di tutto.”

Feliciano was the next to say goodbye, although he burst into tears before he could even get a word out. All he was able to say was, “Sorella. . . !” as his throat closed from his sobs.

“Oh, Feli, don’t cry,” said _____ soothingly. She rubbed his arms and pulled him toward her. He gripped the back of her shirt, his tears staining the fabric. She patted his shaking head, whispering into his ear, “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay, sweetie.”

A few minutes went by, and Feliciano was still clinging to _____ for dear life. _____ pulled him away gently, saying calmly to him, “Feli? I need you to listen, okay, sweetie?”

The small Italian wiped his eyes and looked at her.

“Feli, can you be strong for me, baby?”

He blinked, but then a tiny smile crossed his tear-stained face. He nodded. “S-Sì, sorella. I’ll be strong. For you.”

_____ nodded back, then looked to the last person. She smiled at him and held out her arms invitingly. “C’mon, Luddy. You know you wanna give little Fräu some love, too.”

Ludwig raised an eyebrow, which did little to obscure the bright pink coloring his cheeks. He held up his arms slightly, and _____ gladly took the opportunity and pulled him into a tight hug. They held each other gently, albeit awkwardly, for a moment, then Ludwig said softly, “You truly are a wonderful girl, _____.”

_____ smiled warmly. “Bye, Ludwig.” She gave him a peck on the cheek before stepping back, looking at the group one last time. “I love you guys,” she said. “I don’t think I could ever really say it enough times.” She pursed her lips, taking up her suitcase as Alfred warned her that they needed to hurry onto the plane. “Bye, guys.”

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Alfred and _____ sat down in first-class, sighing tiredly as they finally relaxed in their seats. They had the space all to themselves once again, although instead of an air of apathy like before, it was now an air of shared sadness. The two looked at each other, both exhausted from the physical and emotional toil they had faced in the day––and the day wasn’t even halfway over yet.

_____ grinned, pulling something out of her carryon. She planted it firmly on Alfred’s head, causing him to blink. He soon realized what it was, and he laughed. “So I didn’t lose it!”

_____ laughed with him, readjusting the lion hat on her friend’s head. “I found it just lying on the floor the other day. Honestly, Alfie, you need to take better care of your things.”

Alfred smiled.

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The flight was four hours into its six-hour flight, and the two were growing sleepy. _____ had already lain her head on Alfred’s shoulder in an attempt to fall asleep, and Alfred simply sat there, resting as best he could in the plane seat. He looked down at his best friend; her eyes were closed now, and her breathing was slow and consistent. He smiled warmly at her sleeping figure, and he pulled the hat off his head and gently placed it on hers. He kissed her forehead. “Sleep tight, _____. You deserve it.”