White Flag

Antonio Part 1

    ONE YEAR LATER
Maybe it was the loss of water that made Feliciano sick. Maybe. Maybe it was the fatigue from traveling through France for about a year. Maybe it was the finding a way past the Pyrenees. Or maybe it was just the guilt...the guilt of killing his beloved fratello.
Maybe.
When he arrived at the border, the poor boy couldn't keep it in any longer. He splurted out whatever was left in his stomach. He fell to the ground, curling into his own vomit. The ground, slick with puke, curled around Feliciano's body. Pain gnawed at his gut. A more feet, he reminded himself. A few more feet closer to Ludwig's killer.
Feliciano didn't entirely believe that Antonio killed his lover, but the Spaniard would have to work hard to prove Feliciano wrong. The sun was high in the sky now; its rays beating down on the boy. Closing his eyes tightly he saw colors--the colors one sees when throwing a tantrum, squeezing their eyes and jumping up and down. The spots on the backs of your eyelids that don't go away when you open your eyes again. Feli kept moving, army crawling towards his goal. His puke trailed behind him. More came bubbling out of his mouth, Feliciano trying to spit it out--but failing. Gurgling baby noises was all he could make.
       He crossed the line. His goal. But as soon as he reached it, unfortunately, he fainted under the hot sun and his empty stomach.

Feliciano woke up to the welcoming smell of brewing coffee. "Ah, Feli!" He heard a soft voice beckon him back from his slumber.
        "Feliciano? Soy yo, Antonio," Feli's eyes flew open. Antonio? I'm here already? "I was actually flying out to see Lovi, but..." Feliciano's face went white. He doesn't know.
        "Hey...are you okay?"
What? I can't even hear hi-- "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm okay."
       "Good, because I made you coffee and I used Ludwig's special dandelion recipe because I thought you would like it and I really am excited you're here but at the same time am confused because why were you puking on the border you looked like you were going to die haha maybe you would have if I didn't pick you up wow anyways..." Antonio's rambling went on for quite some time. The coffee had begun to grow cold, just sitting there in the talkative Spaniard's hands. Feliciano yearned for it, letting out a slight whimper of some sorts. "Eh--huh?" Antonio heard and looked down into his palm. No more steam was left from the coffee.
"Oh, gee, Feli--I'm so sorry. I didn't think it would be cold that fast. Do you want me to heat it up for you?" Feliciano nodded, curling into the couch he was placed on. The couch's material rubbed against his forehead, static electricity growing.
The microwave door slammed shut and the beep, beep noise of Antonio setting the timer ended quickly. He slumped down on a large chair across from Feliciano. "So," he sighed, running his fingers through his dark brown locks. "May I ask why you were caught on the border, covered in puke, dehydrated, and unconscious?" They both laughed.
"I...needed help."
"With what? What's wrong? Just letting you know, I'm a little short on money right now, so if it's a gambling problem--" Feliciano laughed darkly.
"Ludwig's dead."
Antonio's face turned ghostly white, but managed to squeak out a meager chuckle. "What? You're messing with me. Nice joke, Feli--"
"This isn't some sick joke, Antonio. Sei un bastardo se si pensa che stia scherzando." Antonio laughed despite Feliciano's grim tone.
"Haven't heard you swear in a long time, my friend," he shut himself up. "Not the time?" Feli shook his head.
"He was killed. Killed in a church. Killed in a place of God." Feliciano clutched his chest, tears welling up in his eyes. He may have been killed in a church, he thought to himself, but there sure was, for sure, no God watching him.

Continued in part 2