This Is Where We Fall (Hetalia Zombie Apocalypse AU)

"By the Sea" -Sweden & Finland-

Berwald stumbled outside, eyes darting everywhere for the sight of Tino. That gunshot and that scream. Where was he? Was he okay?

"Tino! Tino!" Berwald screamed into the night, not caring about any biters that might hear him. That didn't matter. He needed to get to Tino. That's all he cared about. Unfortunately, Tino was not answering back to his calls. The only answer he received was silence.

Ever since the loss of Peter, Tino never was the same. Ever since the last breath of life that young nation took, the Finnish man was broken. Berwald had made it a goal of his to bring back the man, the jolly and happy-go-lucky mentality the man had. That's all he wanted. If Tino came back, all would be well, even if the world had gone to shit. Tino's return was all Berwald wanted- no, needed. He needed the man back.

"Tino!" Berwald shouted once more, his heart beating against his ears. He had grown worried now for silence was all he was hearing. That wasn't something he wanted to listen in on at the moment. Sure, if he was with Tino and scoping out danger, but not when he was trying to find his love.

Suddenly, there came a gasp and shaky sob from behind. Berwald whipped around, eyes wide in the dark. Very faintly, he saw the outline of Tino bent over and holding his hand. The man's body shook as soft sobs escaped his lips.

"Tino.." The Swedish man approached the crying man, his voice in an attempt to be gentle. The closer he got to the smaller male, he noticed the blood dripping from his hand. A deep cut was seen on his palm and somewhat visible on the other side. No, he wasn't wounded by a biter. "Your hand.."

"I-I thought it was him." Tino's voice was shaky and broke against his cries. Wide violet eyes gleamed up at Berwald, tears shining in the moonlight. "I-I thought it w-was him..."

Berwald furrowed his eyes a bit, truly hurt at what he was hearing. He wanted Tino back... "I know.. I'm sorry, but Tino.. He's dea-"

"Dead! I know he's dead!" The Finnish man suddenly shouted. His lips curled into a smile as an insane laugh escaped him. Flinging the bloodied gun to the ground, Tino turned sharply to stare up at Berwald. "The boy is no more, Berwald! No more! He's dead! All because of me! I killed him! I killed Peter! Because of me, he's dead!"

A sob and laugh erupted from him at the same time, sending a chill down Berwald's spine. Yes, he remembered exactly what took place.. What happened that led to the death of Peter. That event was something even he chose to forget. However, now apparently Tino wished to revisit. "He was dead before you killed him." Berwald added in quietly, "He was a b-"

"No! It's my fault! All my fault!" Tino's pain filled voice drowned out Berwald's, making him silence again. The Finnish man looked up at the man, his eyes cracked and fractured with tears. The expression on him was... just like broken glass. Unfixable. He continued, "I allowed him to go out and look at the sea, just like how he loved. That's all he wanted to do. He wanted to see the waters he ruled over... Th-That's all he wanted to do..."

Berwald kept quiet as he listened to his lover explain. He knew all this. He saw all this... Why was he bringing it up now?

"A-And when he went outside..." Tino spoke on, eyes now saddened. "He looked back at me and smiled.. That big smile of his th-that warmed my heart.. He was so happy. It had b-been days since he had laid eyes upon the waves.. Those beautiful ocean waves he adored..." A pause separated his story as Tino's gaze drifted away from Berwald and to the ground. "I t-turned away... to pick something up and when I looked back at him... h-he... he was gone..."

As he spoke, Tino's uninjured hand slowly wrapped the hilt of his knife. That knife... He pulled it out and stared at the dried blood coating its metal blade. "He was gone... I looked away and he was taken from us... The biter left him on th-the ground and staggered off as if nothing happened. It had gotten what it wanted. It got the life of our child..." He ran a finger over the edge of the knife, sending fresh blood dripping over the dried blood. "When I got there, he was barely holding on... I couldn't bare to look at how b-broken his body was... How broken he..."

"Tino, you don't 'ave to.." Berwald spoke up, trying to stop the smaller male. If he kept talking, maybe it would break him even more. Maybe it would delay the time it took to bring the real him back. Tino ignored him.

"'I love you, mum..' is what he said. 'Please take care of Papa... Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here because... I'm there...' And he pointed over to th-the beautiful seas he so loved... So loved... And, when I looked back, he was staring at me.. but he wasn't there... Those eyes... Those lifeless eyes stared up at me..." Tino looked back at Berwald again, hand now even more wet with crimson. The snapped smile spread across his face once more.

"D-Don't you see? It's my fault Peter's gone! My fault Peter isn't with us!" Another laugh escaped him as he stared up at Berwald, his grip on the knife tightening. "If only I watched him. If only I was there for him! But I wasn't! I let that biter take him from us and did n-nothing about it! Nothing! Peter died on my hand! There's nothing else about it! I killed him! Peter!" Another laugh mixed in with another cry.  "It's all my fault!- It is your fault, you're so stupid! Don't be surprised this would happen- I know I'm stupid. I killed him, all my- Yes, it's all your fault. All of it!" Tino suddenly began to argue with himself back and forth, his voice changing from his own broken voice to the scolding, hateful one. He grabbed his hair once again, as his words became mumbled now, making it impossible for Berwald to hear.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Tino was far gone now... But... Berwald still held that little ray of hope.  That little sliver of 'maybe he's still in there'. Yeah, Tino always did tell him to look on the bright side. There always was a way to get better. His thoughts were suddenly halted when a scream broke through the air.

"I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Tino screamed into the night, pulling at his hair. Berwald jumped and quickly put his hands on the man's shoulder.

"T-Tino, calm down! Listen to me, please! Tino!" The larger male begged, looking at the other with sorrow filled eyes. Tino's breathing hitched as he felt arms wrap around him and pull him close to their chest. Berwald held him close, hoping this hug brought something, anything, back from the male. "Please come back Tino..."

The answer he received came along with an empty voice.

"Tino isn't here anymore, Berwald... He died with Peter."

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Author's Note:

Ah, I couldn't help myself~
I had to continue writing, even though I updated yesterday. Haha.

I hope you liked it! I packed it in with extra feels.

Please leave me your feedback in the reviews/comments! I love to hear them! It helps me write!