Homeless (a Hetalia Fanfic, Book Three)

Take My Hand, My Love, My Life

I'm gonna put a little trigger warning here: very gross things, horror themes, heart-wrenching anti-fluff. Read at your own risk! And don't say I didn't warn you.

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Darkness. A faint greenish light up ahead, twinkling like candlelight. The world around me wasn't clear-- it blurred in and out of focus. But what I felt was starkly solid, and so lifelike.

That's how I was able to know that I was strolling barefooted over dew-dampened grass. In a long white dress that trailed behind me. And the air was chilly, like it was the middle of October. Something didn't feel... right about my body, but I paid no attention to that. Someone was waiting for me up ahead-- I had to get there soon.

Still, it wasn't a crime to admire the scenery, was it? And this scenery was surely worth the time. Each tree at the edge of this long, narrow clearing was bent, braided with others, or twisted around majestically. White Christmas lights had been weaved into their branches to light my way. And the sky... it was dark with nighttime, but the stars were out, shimmering with mirth. Did they know what I was moving toward?

There! What was that-- music? It swayed back and forth, drifting in and out of my hearing range, but the tune sounded sweet and melodious. It made my steps lighter, and I swayed in time with it as I walked. Slowly, the clearing widened and I found myself at the edge of a large circle.

A breeze picked up, blowing my train toward the center of the clearing, but I didn't feel its chill. Just a few more steps forward, and you'll see who's waiting for you...

There, a figure stood, waiting patiently. He looked up when I came into view, though a layer of white fog covered the ground and made it hard to discern exact features. I smiled at him, my dress billowing out around my ankles and stirring the low cloud we were walking in.

Without a word, we met each other in the center of the circle and the music in the distance swelled, goading us on to dance. My husband slipped into the act gracefully, taking my hand and waist before we twirled into the very first step of a slow, leisurely waltz.

When I first laid eyes on Matthew, I couldn't help but think about how dashing he looked in his tuxedo. Then, when we'd come closer and begun to dance, something seemed amiss about his appearance. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, though, and it nagged me in the back of my mind when I wasn't lost in the simple beauty of our duet.

I lifted my head from his chest and parted my lips to say something, but the words stuck in my throat. What was I supposed to ask? It seemed like such a crime to interrupt this song that I could barely hear. Saying nothing, I put my head back against his shoulder and closed my eyes, letting my feet move on autopilot. 

Just breathe... In, out-- Is he wearing cologne?

"You smell nice," I couldn't help but giggle, even though it meant speaking over the melody. It didn't seem to bother him, because he smiled down at me warmly.

"Thank you," he replied, his voice a lot quieter than I would have expected since it was just the two of us here. "You look wonderful."

I felt embarrassed, but there wasn't the characteristic heat on my cheeks to indicate a blush. In fact, my skin felt chilly to me-- not uncomfortably so, but noticeably. I had to flex my fingers to make sure they weren't stiff with the cold.

"Thanks~" I said, leaning back into Matthew. "This is really nice here. Can we stay?"

"Of course we can," he assured me. "There's no reason why we can't."

"Are you sure?" I had to be certain he wasn't pulling my leg.

"I would never lie to your, amour."