The next morning I wake up holding Birdie. His arm is draped over my side. He looks so peaceful, but there are some tears rolling down his face.

"Weine nicht mein Vögelchen. Du bei mir sicher, es wird in Ordnung sein (Don't cry my little Birdie. You're safe with me, it'll be alright)." I whisper, gently wiping his tears away with my finger. He mumbles something inaudible and snuggles close to me. I smile and gently kiss the top of his head.

He stays asleep for a few minutes, curled up against me. I notice his bandages had come undone during the night, revealing his gun wounds. They're bleeding just a bit. Luckily, he wakes up so I don't have to disturb his sleep.

"Guten Morgen Birdie. Haben Sie gut geschlafen (Good morning Birdie. Did you sleep well)?" I quietly ask him as I gently wrap my fingers around his soft, silky hair.

"Ja, I suppose I did." he mutters.

"You sure Birdie? It didn't seem like you did."

He slowly shakes his head and quietly murmurs, "J'ai fait un cauchemar ( I had a nightmare)."

"You wanna talk about it?" I ask, moving my hand from his hair to gently rub his back, being mindful of his wound.

"Not right now Gil-kun." He hugs me and moves close to me, burying his head in the crook of my neck.

"Well, the awesome me will listen when you're ready to talk, OK?" He nods. "How about you go take a shower, then I'll help bandage your wounds again, and then we can get some breakfast?"

"OK." He gently kisses my check before getting up and leaving to take a shower. I go and grab a shirt and some jeans for him from my room. I leave by the guest bathroom's door before going to the kitchen to make breakfast. It's a simple Prussian breakfast, and I hope he'll like it.

Canada POV

I stay in the shower for a while, but I still feel dirty from last night. When I'm finished, I only feel a little better. I realize I hadn't brought any clothes with me, so I wrap the towel around my waist and poke my head out the door.

Gil isn't there, but he had left some clothes by the door for me. I smile a bit and put them on. I'm a little nervous about Gil bandaging my chest. I don't want him to see the few bruises and the small hickey Al had left on me.

I dry my hair with a towel, making sure to be careful of my curl. Gil comes into the bedroom and knocks on the wall, seeing as I left the bathroom door open. I look at him in the mirror, still drying my hair, and say, "Hey."

"I have the bandages when you're ready."

"O-Ok." I let the towel drop and go over to him, taking off my shirt and shaking a bit.

"Hey, it's all-" He stops mid-sentence, looking at my bruises. I start to feel uncomfortable after a minute or so. "D-did he hurt you Birdie?"

I mumble something and look away from him. He takes my chin and gently lifts my head so I'll look at him. "Did he hurt you? Please tell me." he whispers.

Tears start falling, despite my attempts to not let them. I know my voice will fail me if I try to say anything, so I just nod. He wraps his arms around me in a hug. I cry silently into his shoulder as he gently rubs my back and gently comforts me again.

We stay like that for a few minutes, until my gun wounds start hurting. I hold onto him tighter and a soft groan escapes from my otherwise almost silent crying.

"B-Birdie." He brings me over to the bed and sits me down. "You're bleeding." I look down at my chest as Gil bandages it to find that I am. I hadn't even noticed that I was. I wipe some tears from my eyes and look away.

"Are you cold?" He asks when he finishes bandaging me. "You're shaking." He gives me my shirt back, which I put on while shaking. I shake my head.

He sits next to me and wraps his arm around me, holding me close. "I'll protect you. Don't be scared."

"Th-that's what you s-said in m-my n-nightm-mare." I quietly mutter, wiping tears from my eyes again.

"Birdie, that was a dream." He gently kisses my forehead. "And it's a dream because I would never leave you, never let anyone hurt you, never hurt you myself, never let anyone ever take you away from me, and I will always love you." He gives me a gentle, sweet kiss.

"You'll keep me safe; I know you will." I tell him when he breaks slowly breaks the kiss. "I'm sorry I broke down like that."

"It's fine Birdie. You had every right to. I don't think anything less of you."

"I love you Gil-kun."

"And I love you, my little Birdie." He gently kisses my nose and I smile. "Now, how about breakfast?" He smiles back at me.

Ende~