Sharp

Italy

Soft.

Deep, soft breaths that seemed to carry the weight of the world.

It had been a long meeting, and Italy was tired. The screaming and fighting started early on, and Germany had snapped at him every time he tried to talk. He understood, he always did. But that didn't stop it from hurting.

Sharp.

Shallow, sharp, heartbreaking breaths that pierced through even the toughest and most emotionless exterior.

Italy yanked himself out of his thoughts and pulled out the keys for his hotel room. He usually stayed with Germany, but he had been unusually sharp with him lately, so Italy let him have a break. He unlocked the door, walked in, and locked it again behind him. Pocketing the keys, he collapsed on the bed with a shaky sigh, already feeling the fear get to him.

Italy has always hated being alone. It made him feel weak and scared. It reminded him of times better forgotten. He tried to calm himself down, but his breath only got sharp and breathless. His eyes snapped open, revealing a deep molten gold, tinted with pure fear. His breath only got sharper and sharper and sharper and sharper-

He needed something sharp to cut through the fear. He jumped down off the bed and threw open his luggage. He found a razor he brought for this. He rolled his sleeve up as fast as he could and sliced. The fear seemed to disappear, only to be replaced by disappointment. He had promised himself that he wouldn't cut...

With a pained sigh, he disinfected and wrapped his arm in bandage, then he rolled his sleeve back down. He finally cleaned the blade and put it back. "I shouldn't have packed it." He thought, as he looked at it. With that thought, he heaved one last sigh, and went to bed. 

~

In a nearby room, America was getting ready for bed. He had just finished dinner, and was getting dressed in pajamas. He looked at his bed tentatively, as if he didn't want to get in. Eventually, he forced himself to, scolding himself that "you haven't slept in over a month. You don't want them to notice, do you?" With a groan, he fell into a fitful, nightmare-filled sleep.