Reach out for the Sun [UsUk]

Nineteen: Thank You for Everything

"I'm sorry."

As Adrienne said those two dreadful words, it felt like the world stopped spinning and the sun would never come out again.
In front of Matthew's eyes, everything went dark for a second, and he was close to passing out if there wasn't for Elizabeta who tried to keep him conscious. They needed him in such a moment, and he needed them just as much.

"He's... He's..." The American couldn't properly speak from the shock. His entire body went numb and tears involuntarily streamed down his face without him even noticing at first. He had never felt this bad. Not even when he lost his mother, not even then did he feel such pain, not just mental but physical as well. Emptiness, in a way. As if a part of his soul was suddenly gone, and he tried to clutch his chest in an attempt to get it back - yet, nothing worked.
He had already been close to losing his younger brother when Alfred was sixteen, and since then he tried his best to give him all the protection. It wasn't him who failed, still, to him it seemed like it was his fault.

Elizabeta made place for Adrienne to sit next to her loved one, and the French girl did exactly that. Teary eyed, she embraced Matthew and let him loudly cry everything out, all the pain, the fear, the misery... He couldn't hold back the sobs, he could just let it out and bury his face in Adrienne's shirt for comfort, clinging onto her helplessly.
She was everything he had.

And Matthew wasn't the only one in a horrible state.

Arthur was wordlessly sitting on the chair, couldn't move, but couldn't cry either. A wave of panic washed over him, but a different kind than usual. Something he had never experienced before. A thousand thoughts paralyzed him in place, not even a single tear escaped his blurry eyes. It was all just a big haze he suddenly couldn't get out of or escape.
He knew that the next time he woke up, the skies would be grey, and he would be lonely once again for the rest of his life.
The colour wasn't going to disappear immediately, but was instead slowly fading through a few hours until it was finally gone... That was much more painful to Arthur than if it just left his eyes in a flash of light.

"It can't be true." Gilbert bitterly laughed through tears, not knowing how to properly express everything he felt at the moment. "He can't be gone. That's... Not possible." As if all rationality was gone, none of them could process what happened.

They didn't want to believe that he wasn't here anymore.

Only Liz and Adrienne didn't cry as much as their loved ones in the end, since they knew that they needed to be the ones giving emotional support - even if they needed it, too.
"We'll get through this together, Matthew." The French girl whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and hugging him gently one more time. "I'll take a week off from the hospital, and you can take all the time you need away from work, I'm sure they'll let you. We will make it through, somehow, no matter how terrible it feels."

"As long as we all stick together..." Elizabeta sighed shakily, giving Arthur a quick glance. "Arthur, what are you doing?"

The Brit was staring at nothingness, trying to rationalize his thoughts, but it was hopeless. It hurt too much. "The flame... It burned out." He muttered, his lost gaze pierced to the empty space far away. "It wasn't supposed to do that yet."
His voice was weak and fragile, just like Alfred's in those moments when he felt like a helpless child and Arthur comforted him, gave the best hugs and kisses which immediately made the other feel a thousand times better.

But now, Arthur required the comfort, and Alfred wasn't there to give it to him.

"I heard him mumble something right before he finally passed out... He was mentioning you." Adrienne said softly, turning to the sorrowful Englishman. "I think it was don't cry, Arthur or something similar. It's fair for you to know that. He'll never forget you."