My Eternal Sunflower
Axis Powers Hetalia : Russia x Germany (Ivan/Ludwig)
Rated M for mpreg and (possible) smut
Contains angst, hurt/comfort, romance, character's death, flashbacks/dreams
Summary: Death took away Ivan's sweet smile forever and everyone felt the loss...especially Ludwig. He then had to live on with just the memories the Russian had left behind for him.
Chapter 4: Smile For Me, Ludwig
The early morning that seeped through the horizon seemed darker than midnight. There was not a speckle of snow to be seen on the ground, but from the whispering rustles of the trees surrounding the house suggested enough on how cold it was outside. Ludwig silently stared at the dimmed shadows of the clouds from the window overlooking the front yard of the Ukrainian's home, his mind far beyond the patches of grass and wild flowers...
An hour ago, Ivan's lawyer had opened the letter and read it to everyone present in the living room. 50 minutes ago, everyone was staring at him with anger and distrust fueling in their eyes. 40 minutes ago, his own brother had cursed him with pure disgust in his voice. Half an hour ago, he found himself crying on Irina's shoulder with her arms comforting him in an embrace.
Other than her, no one comforted him from the hurtful knot threatening to break him into pieces. No one at all...
Now he only watched them taking their leave, one by one they entered their respective cars and drove off; back to their respective homes. The lawyer, who didn't seemed to be affected by the tension at all, left first. The German envied the human's calmness somehow, because calm was all he needed after all that had happened.
He heard soft footsteps striding their way slowly towards him. Ludwig didn't need to ask nor should he turn to know that they belong to Irina.
"Ludwig...I...I'm sorry about just now. I-I should have checked with the lawyer about that...that letter." The man could sense that the fragile woman beside him was slightly shivering, perhaps to hold back her own tears. He gave out a shuddered sigh and carefully held her hand, and she bowed her head a bit more to shield her teary eyes from him. "I'm...I'm so sorry...if I had known this would..."
"Ivan would have called it fate, Irina. We can't stop it from happening..." The blond man tried his best to smile at her, his blue eyes still staring at their faint reflections on the window panes. "Besides...better let them know now than later, ja?"
"But Gilbert...he d-didn't seem too happy..."
"I'll try my best to talk to him. He's stubborn and ignorant sometimes...but I can handle him, don't worry."
He sighed again. By how the Prussian had reacted to his pregnancy, he knew far too well that talk itself would be useless. He knew his brother will keep to himself and somewhat ignore his existence. He knew his brother would do something, anything to deny what was mouthed out from the letter earlier.
Speaking of the devil, the Prussian's distinctive white hair came into view contrasting the dimmed-lit background of the lawn. Even if the shadows were hiding half of figure, Ludwig noticed the twisted anger was still drawing lines on his face. He was bellowing at Roderich in muffled shouts as he made his way to the Audi, and the Austrian was trying to talk to him with a deep frown; full of confusion and annoyance. Elisa and Feliciano trailed behind them almost silently.
"I think I have to go, Irina. I'm sorry if I had caused trouble..." The German began, knowing well it's time to say goodbye to the Ukrainian. He stepped back from the window and turned to face the woman beside him, hoping to catch her eyes.
