Arthur Kirkland's Guide to Being a Big Brother

Epilogue

Notes: I don't know if anybody remembers this story... I'm sorry for taking so long! I had said that the epilogue would take some time, but I never meant so much. Unfortunately, real life has been quite hectic and this short conclusion was very hard to write. I hope I gave it justice.

One a more positive note, I truly have to thank you for all your wonderful support, it meant so much that I cannot put it into words... thank you!

Warnings: Chapter that deals with death and the first stages of mourning.

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Epilogue

The day everything ended was quite anticlimactic, all things considered. It was a normal day of November, just after Arthur's first mid-terms, with the sun still casting warmth from the bright, cloudless sky. Arthur's mind was miles away from any disaster.

When he heard the metallic voice call him from the interphone, what made his stomach plummet was anxiety for the mid-terms, and as he departed from Vlad's questioning gaze with a weak smile all his mind could focus on was his academic career. He couldn't recall doing anything so wrong to require a vocal call, he had studied as much as he could and he hadn't plagiarized anything, yet fear crawled up his churning stomach. Could his college days be over even before they had properly begun?

Arthur kept mulling over the cause of the call the entire way to the office, his feet automatically carrying him. By the time he got to his destination, his throat was so dry that he could barely swallow, and his stomach clenched shut. He truly hoped he wasn't going to throw up in front of whoever was waiting for him...

Arthur froze as walked through the door, welcomed by an unexpected sight: Massimo Vargas was standing inside the office, his features schooled in a grim expression.

What the hell is going on here?

"I swear that whatever Lovino did, I had nothing to do with it!" Arthur blurted out, raising his hands, "I have no idea of what happened!"

Had Lovino finally snapped and attacked one of the boys ogling at Felicia? Complaining about them had grown into his favourite conversation topic lately, and for how much Arthur and Vlad had always dismissed his violent proclamations, he did have an intense protective streak...

A glint of confusion went through Mr Vargas's eyes, making his feature lose their tension for a brief moment.

"What? What did Lovi... Never mind. No, it's not that. Please, Arthur, take a seat."

Mr Vargas gestured to a chair at the table in front of him.

Arthur tried to swallow around the lump in his throat as he obeyed, his back rigid with tension.

"Did... did I do something wrong?" he asked tentatively, clenching his hands to prevent them from shaking.

The sorrowful look Mr Vargas addressed him made his skin crawl with uneasiness.

"No, Arthur, you didn't do anything wrong," Mr Vargas stated in an unnaturally sweet voice that made Arthur's chest clench.

Why was he there, then? His brain refused to analyse the implications.

Mr Vargas sighed before he resumed talking.

"There is no good way to say it, Arthur... but we just received a call from the hospital. Your parents were involved in an accident."

Arthur's heart stopped beating as everything froze.

"No," he stated, staring straight at Mr Vargas. His ears were ringing. "No, this isn't true."