Hetalia - Axis Powers Fan Fiction ❯ Memories of Old ❯ Chapter 3: A Nation's First Tear ( Chapter 3 )

A little montage was shown of Emma raising us, as we grew older and older as the seasons changed. It didn't show enough to really get a feel of individual interactions, but it was enough to show the love in the household. Finally, the memories slowed down to show Lovino and Feliciano—it's so weird to talk about myself in third person—standing in the small living room, with a strong fire going, showing that it was cold out. Romano and I froze. We recognized exactly what memory this was.

“Come now, Felice, Vino… What's wrong?” Emma asked, concerned as the young twins, seeming to be about two or three, glared daggers at each other. The nations took in a deep breath; they could practically feel the malice in the air. Though Lovino was glaring at Feliciano with murder in his eyes, Feliciano was only glaring at Lovino with mild annoyance.

“By the way,” Romano started, giving them a mild glare, which happened to be on par with his younger self. It unnerved the nations. “If anyone calls either of us by those nicknames, you'll wish you weren't immortal…” A few of the weaker-willed nations gulped.

“Why are you always fighting?” Emma continued, snapping everyone's attention back to the memory.

Then, in eerie synchronization, the twins turned as one towards Emma, and with dead serious expressions said, in perfect harmony, “Because I/he was never supposed to exist.” Emma blinked, not expecting such an answer. And it wasn't said out of spite either, but stated as a simple fact; as if someone had asked what color the sky was. It was almost painful to watch.

“Itary-kun…?” Japan asked worried. Why would Italy believe that he wasn't supposed to exist? He wondered. In fact, many of the nations were staring at me with intense concern.

“Feliciano? Did Lovino tell you this? Don't believe a word of it. And Lovino! Don't tell your brother such things!” Emma scolded.

“He didn't tell me anything, mother.” Feliciano said calmly. “I just know it. We both do.”

“It's a nation thing.” Lovino said.

“A… nation thing? You mean you just know things?” Emma asked, obviously, they'd already told her what they were.

“Yes. But we were born early. Too early.” Feliciano said. “We don't know everything we should. We know we're immortal. We know what we are. We know who we are. I am North Italy, and Romano is South Italy. But that's wrong. There's not supposed to be two Italies. There's only supposed to be one. I was the weaker one. Romano was supposed to absorb me. I was never meant to be born. I was never supposed to exist. That's why he hates me. He's not whole. We can never be whole, now. Neither of us can ever be full nations, because it's split between us. We'll always be naturally physically weaker than the others. Because I now exist, fate has been altered. Those who mess with fate have to pay a price… Momma… I'm scared… I don't want to pay a price…” Feliciano's calm demeanor suddenly broke as he started tearing up and crying into his mother's shoulder.

The nations looked on in shock. Italy wasn't supposed to exist?! But how?! Why not?! They tried to imagine a world without me, but they couldn't. “Itary-kun…” Japan whispered sadly.

“It's true, you know. Every word. Even the price.” I stated, glaring at the ground. How I hate my price. That price cost me not only my happiness, but Romano's too. It took Grandpa Rome… and Holy Rome… And I'm so scared that it might one day take Germany or Romano as well.

“Oh, Italien… Don't you ever believe that you weren't supposed to exist. I don't care what fate says, you exist, therefore you are meant to be here.” Germany said, pulling me into a hug.

I stiffen in surprise at first, before letting the tears fall. Spain was hugging Romano in the same way, though he didn't cry. Must've been something else that he didn't really get the chance to absorb from me before we were born… I thought to myself.

“Wait a minute… You hated each other?” Spain asked after a moment of silence.

“Well… I wouldn't say we hated each other…” Romano trailed off nervously. He really was a dick to me when we were younger.

“Si… I followed him around everywhere… I'm sure I just annoyed him a bit…” I suggested as I wiped away my tears. I was trying to tone down our actions as children… Then again, how do you tone down your older twin brother trying to kill you on multiple occasions because you were never supposed to exist in the first place? Yeah… Somehow I doubt that they'd take that well…

“You two are going to stop fighting, you hear me? I'm tired of you two trying to kill each other every time I turn my back!” Emma scolded both the twins.

“Okay, so maybe we hated each other a little…” I admitted, “but I grew out of it by the age of 10! We're only 2 here, but we start aging slower around 5 or 6.” I explain.

“And you Romano?” Spain asked, making Romano gulp.

“I… Uhhh… took a bit longer…”

Spain glared at Romano.

“Fine! Forty years, damnit! That's how fucking long it took me to warm up to Feliciano, okay?! But I stopped trying to kill him by 25! Oh wait; there was that one time at the cliff… What were we, 32?” He admitted, as the nations glared at him.

“Stop!” I scolded, sounding quite a bit like Mom. “It was natural. Instinctual. He couldn't help it! It was hard-wired into both of us! And he's more than made up for it, so just leave him be! I tried to kill him a few times, too, so it's not like he was picking on me.” I defended my brother, glaring at the nations harshly enough to make even Russia take a step back.

In a flash the scene changed. Feliciano was following Lovino through the forest, as Emma kept a close eye on the two. “Boys! Be careful! That storm yesterday made the ground muddy and slippery, so watch your footing! Lunch will be ready in about an hour!” She called out as the boys, who looked about 3 or so, entered the forest.

“Yes, Mom!” They cried out in sync, before glaring at each other.

“Come on, Lovi~ Let's play together!” Feliciano said happily, making Lovino's glare darken even further.

As Lovino made his way further into the forest, Feliciano tried his best to follow him, but seemed to run out of breath a lot faster than Lovino. This worried the other nations. They were twins, right? So it couldn't be a difference in age. And they were both nations, so Feliciano couldn't be ill. Then again, no nation had been born prematurely before. Never before had a nation been born before their country… So did that mean that the twins were more human than nation here? Could they die? The nations didn't want to think such things, but the thoughts meandered their way in through the cracks and crevices of their subconscious minds.

The twins finally stopped by a muddy slope. “Lovi! Do you want to play now?” Feliciano asked as he stopped to catch his breath. Lovino didn't say anything. He just turned and glared murder at his little brother, and tackled him to the ground, trying to get a strangle hold on him. Feliciano fought tooth and nail, his adrenaline pumping, as his survival instincts took over. They tumbled and rolled, scratching and biting viciously, drawing blood.

The nations stumbled, shocked at what they were seeing. They'd seen war and famine, murder and arson, you name it, they'd probably seen it. But to watch a three-year-old child attempt to murder his younger brother in cold blood was horrifying to watch.

They twisted and tumbled and rolled, each one trying to get on top of the other, either to kill or escape. Eventually, unable to see where they were going, they tumbled right off the slope, just as Emma, who'd heard the ruckus and came to see what the problem was, ran into the area. She watched, horrified, as the twins tumbled down. With a sickening crack, the memory went black.

“What happened?!” America asked urgently, worried for the twins, though Romano and I were right there.

“We broke our necks and died.” Romano stated with a shrug. “Our mother was scared to death. She hadn't really seen any proof of our nationhood yet, so imagine her shock to find us both at the bottom of the slope, broken necks, not breathing… It scared her pretty bad. We were grounded for a month, remember that Felice?”

“Si… no desserts either… Worst of all I had to share my room with you…” I tack on playfully, smirking at Romano.

“That's my line! You were the one following after me like a lost little puppy!” He shot back.

“Oh, like you're one to talk? Remember that time mom actually got us a puppy? You chased poor Asher around for weeks! There's a reason he liked me more.” I quipped back.

“Shut up! At least when I was 5 I had stopped wet—” I slapped my hand over his mouth.

“You swore you'd never mention that again!” I hissed, as he smirked and licked my hand. “EWW! Gross! No licking!” I say as I childishly wiped my hand on his shirt.

“OI!” He complained, before we both broke out laughing. The nations just stared.

“Umm… Mon Cher?” France asked, unsure of how to handle the two of us being so open. Romano, especially, as he'd been very careful to never show anyone—not even Spain—this side of him.

“This is usually how we act in private.” I explained, “Since you're going to be viewing basically my entire life, which encompasses a lot of Romano's as well, I figure we don't really have a reason to hold ourselves back any more. We don't have to put up false bravado. On the other hand, it'd be near impossible to keep false appearances up anyways due to, also, what you're watching.” I said.

Then, the next memory appeared. Mom was laying in bed, looking very ill. Romano and I pale as we recall this day. The day we nearly lost our mother. “We were roughly 7 at this time…” I said, gesturing to our younger selves, watching the doctor from a corner of the room. Lovino wasn't even glaring at Feliciano. They were both too caught-up in what was happening. They looked about 6.

“I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you…” He said to our mother. “The most I can do is make sure your children go to the proper place.”

“Thank you, doctor. My boys are strong… They'll be fine. I'll write up a Will for you soon.” She said, her voice weakened and strained.

The nations looked at us with pity and sorrow. “Mon Cher… I'm so sorry.” France said.

“Shut up.” Romano shot back with a glare. “Just watch.”

The doctor packed up his things, and started to leave, when Lovino stopped him.

“Hey! Wait! You're supposed to make her better! Fix her! Make my mom better!” He demanded, angry and scared.

“Lovino… Come here. You too, Feliciano…” Mother called, using our full names. Lovino and Feliciano then went to Emma, the doctor leaving while he could.

“Listen, boys… I'm not going to make it.” She started, before Lovino cut her off.

“NO! D-don't say things like that! Y-you'll jinx it!” Lovino had this desperate, hopeful smile on his face. “You'll get better! Just like you always do! You can't leave us yet!” He said, fighting back tears.

“I'm so sorry my sons…” Emma's voice was soft. Quiet.

“NO!” Feliciano screamed, “You! You can't die on us! Please! Momma! You can't leave us yet! We need you! It's not your time! Please!” He was ready to cry, already sniffling.

“No… I'm already 39 years old… I've long overstayed my welcome on this Earth. I'm just so glad that I could have two wonderful, beautiful sons like you… Thank you… Please grant me this one selfish wish after I go? Don't fight any more. Love each other. Be brothers. Please…” The words were too much for Feliciano, as a single, heavy tear fell on her bare arm.

China watched with wide eyes as the tear was absorbed into her skin, the area glowing a soft golden hue for a split second. “It's true…” He whispered to himself.

“NO! We won't! You still have to be here for us! Please, momma… Please….” Feliciano trailed off, climbing into the bed and curling up next to his mother, Lovino doing the same, still not letting his tears fall.

The scene seemed to fast-forward through the night, and to the morning. The twins awoke to the doctor opening the door. They watched, fear shining in their eyes, as he gave their mother an exam to estimate how much time she had left.

After multiple checks and exams, he turned to Emma with this absolutely gobsmacked expression. “You… I don't know what kind of miracle this is, but God isn't ready for you yet. You're well on your way to making a full recovery.” He stated.

“You mean, she's gonna get better?” Lovino asked hesitantly.

“Yes.”

“MOMMA!” The twins cried in joy, flinging themselves into her waiting arms. She sobbed with relief.

“Thank you, doctor, thank you.” She cried.

“What the bloody hell happened?! Not that I'm complaining or anything, but she was dying just a few hours ago!” England said, utterly confused.

“I think… I think I know…” China said slowly. “I… I heard the rumors more than three and a half millennia ago, but I never thought that they were true…”

“What is it?” Romano asked, wiping away a few tears that had leaked out of the corner of his eye. I, too, was crying, but I didn't really bother to wipe them away before facing the others. Romano and I had always wondered what sort of miracle occurred that night.

“It's an old legend… A legend about the power of nations, aru…” China started. “Apparently, a nation's first tear, cried for the pain of a loved one, has tremendous healing powers, able to bring someone back from the brink of death.”

At his words, Romano and I eyed each other. If this was when my First Tear was cried, then Romano's must've been… That day…