Always Chasing After You

Chapter 1

Nico's first life had always been his favorite. He had no memories to plague him, no nightmares of the past, nothing holding him back. Having turned sixteen in the middle of World War Two, he was thrown into the battle with an air of dignity. He wore that uniform proudly, he fought beside his brothers. Everyone thought Pearl Harbor was going to stop the Americans from joining the war but he knew better. He knew it was the beginning of the end when those Japanese planes bombed that unexpecting refueling station.

Nico had killed and he was never the last one to admit it. Young, brainwashed with propaganda and nationalism. He thought he was saving his people by fighting in that army, by killing any Allies that he saw. He thought it was his duty as an Italian citizen to keep going until his last breath.

But that all changed the day he got hurt. The day he met his soulmate for the first time.

Bombs rained around them, bullets came from all sides. The sun had just started to shine down on them when he felt the first bullet enter his chest. He kept moving, got two more bullets until he fell to the ground. Fell right in the view of an American medic who had been hiding in a trench, looking terrified for his own life. They locked eyes, blue eyes against dark, and Will Solace of the American ground troops went to save Nico di Angelo, an Italian military officer at age 16.

But as Will brought Nico somewhere safe to fix him up, he started to realize that there wouldn't be enough time. The young medic had seen death and destruction in the thousands, but he could never get used to having to tell a patient that he couldn't do anything, that nothing in his training could stop someone from leaving the land of the living. That Nico was going to die no matter what he did to save the younger boy.

"What's your name?" Will finally asked, bringing his hands back from Nico's chest where he had attempted to stop the blood. "Do you understand English?"

Nico's eyes fluttered open and landed on Will's, a soft smile showing the blood on his teeth. "Of course I do. We've been trying to intercept English written messages between your troops. I had to learn."

Will brought Nico's head into his lap. "What's your name? I'm Will Solace. I was drafted a couple months ago."

Nico dark hair laid out around him as if a dark halo had grown from his bloodied head. "Nico di Angelo. Joined as soon as I was old enough to. Knew I would have been forced to soon enough. Might as well go with dignity."

Will moved a strand of hair out of Nico's face. "Your accent is cute."

Nico's pale face regained some color at his words. "You...you...American..."

Will laughed. "Relax, Nico. Don't get worked up." He reached for Nico's hand when he saw it for the first time, when he realized exactly why he looked to also be covered in blood. "Hey, Nico?"

"Hm?" Nico's eyes were to the sky, his eyelids fluttering. "What, Will?"

"You know the thing with soulmates, right?" Will asked. "The thing that if you draw on yourself, it'll appear on your soulmate? Well...it looks like if you have blood stained on you, that also works."

"What are you talking about?" Nico's eyes moved to Will's arms, moved to his body as he saw all the blood. "Pull your shirt up."

Will did as he was told, revealed his chest stained where Nico had been shot. "Nico...we're..."

Nico's eyes glossed over as an invisible pain swept through his being. "Will...am I...am I dying?"

Will kept Nico close, kept him so he knew he wasn't alone. "Yeah, I think so. I wish I could have met you sooner."

Blood dripped from Nico's mouth as he looked up at the blond American. "We'll see each other again...I've got a feeling. We'll see each other again. Just remember me. Try to remember me."

"I will, I will." Will moved closer, his emotions skyrocketing as they touched. Two soulmates, two loves finally meeting. When they realized who each other were, their attraction for one another became stronger than ever. "Nico, can I kiss you?"

Nico nodded, a small movement that he could barely finish. As Will kissed him, as those soft lips touched his own, Nico felt his vision darken and then he slipped away, slipped away from his body and from Will's arms. Everything was gone, everything was dark. The battlefield and the blood were gone.

He never expected to wake up, he never expected anything. For awhile, he was nothing. No thoughts, no memories, nothing.

But he did wake up, whether it was minutes or months later. He'd never be sure the time frame. But he woke up on that metal table, naked underneath a surgical light. Men in masks surrounded him, their black scrubs covering their skin. All Nico could see was their eyes, red and black. No other colors.

"Hello?" Nico tried to sit up but found himself strapped to the table. "Hello?!"

"You're having an operation." one of the men laid him back. "Please keep still. You won't feel a thing."

"An operation...?" Nico laid back, felt his heart beating. "You got me off the battlefield? I survived? Where's Will?"

"You're having an operation. Please keep still." the robotic voice repeated itself as a mask was moved over Nico's mouth. "Breathe in, now. You're having a simple operation."

Nico closed his eyes and breathed in, letting unconsiousness take him again. As the operating room faded away, Nico remembered the breath leaving his body. He remembered dying on that battlefield.

But he was having an operation, he was having an operation. Just a simple operation. It didn't even hurt.

It was his last second of being conscious when he realized that his heart wasn't beating. What he had felt before was an IV dripping into his veins. He had no heartbeat.

Then there was nothing.