ReaderxGermany- Catch Me

"Ludwig! Ludwig, are you there?"

Huh, you thought to yourself. He's always here a long time before me. This isn't like him at all.

You stood in the training grounds for a while, shifting your weight from foot to foot as you waited for your friend Ludwig to show up. Wind rustled the leaves in the trees, producing a pleasant swish sound that curbed your impatience. For a while, at least.

"This waiting could test the patience of Kiku," you grumbled quietly, although the more rational part of you pointed out that nothing more than ten minutes could have passed since you arrived at the training ground. "If he's not going to show up on time, it's his own fault. I'm not about to waste training time for a someone who can't show up on time to their own training session." You rolled your shoulders, working out some of the early morning kinks as you stripped off your jacket. Your skin prickled as the cool morning air washed over your bared arms. "Let's do this."

Deep breath, exhale. You raised your arms above your head, taking another deep breath, then exhaled as you bent down to touch your toes. Hold, then inhale again, straightening slowly at the same time, until you were looking straight up at the sky..

You continued on, the stretching slowly increasing in tempo and difficulty until you were leaping across the ground, fighting bare-handed against an imaginary enemy. On and on you practiced, fighting until the cool air couldn't touch your skin and your sweat damp clothes stuck to your skin.

At last you stopped, panting. Your throat was as dry as the Sahara in mid-summer. Swallowing several times, you attempted to bring some moisture into your burning windpipe.

Then you spotted the tree at the far end of the training grounds.

You straightened, smirking cockily at the gargantuan oak. Turning, you sucked in a breath and sprinted toward it as fast as your legs could carry you. The ground passed by in a blur under your feet. Mere feet from the tree, you leaped, and it seemed as if you were going to run straight up the immense trunk.

Then your ascent slowed, and you felt your feet slipping, giving in to gravity and the weight of your body.

Quick as thought, you stretched your arms and legs  as far around the tree as they could reach (which wasn't much). Aha, you thought triumphantly. Thought you could beat me that easily? With reckless adrenaline coursing through your limbs, you continued clawing for handholds in the rough bark of the tree. Today, I'm going to get to the top.

Foot by foot, you swiftly and surely made your way to the top of the tree. But eventually your previous exertions came back to you, and your body slowed from exhaustion. You stubbornly continued on, but after several moments of hanging uselessly from a branch, you had to admit that at this rate, you would never make it without falling and breaking your neck.

Still not willing to admit defeat, you continued to hang from the branch. "Just...a few...more...seconds..." you groaned. Your grip remained firm.

Five seconds...

Ten seconds...

Fifteen...

Sweat beaded on your forehead, growing in size until it slid down your face, running into your eyes until you could barely see. Your arms shook. "One...more..." Just...one...more...sec...ond...one...more...

You felt your grip trembling, weakening, slipping. I can't make it down... Your left hand slipped.

Your heart squeezed. Your right hand loosened, fingers numbing from the stress...

And let go.

Time slowed as gravity took control. You saw the leafy tip of the tree recede; only yards, but somehow miles away. Your heart stopped, and you did the only thing you could do; you called the first name that came to your lips:

"Ludwig! Help!"



~~~~~~~~~~~



The blonde haired, blue-eyed German ran through the streets, breathing heavily in his haste.

"Can't...believe...I slept in...late...for training!" He panted, mentally beating himself up for such a small mistake as sleeping through his alarm, "Shouldn't...keep..._____...waiting..." It was more than his strict attitude that made him eager to be on time. Thoughts of _____ swept through his mind, deepening the crimson on his face to a slightly brighter red. As much as he hated admitting it to anyone, she meant far more to him than as a friend.

A short distance from the gate to the training ground, Ludwig stopped to catch his breath and recompose himself. Several golden strands of hair had fallen into his face while he was running, and he took the time to smooth it back before he met with _____.

"Ludwig! Help!"

He stiffened. That was _____'s voice, and it was coming from the training ground. Some hidden instinct prompted him to look up. He could see the figure of _____ perched precariously near the top of the tall tree- and he saw her fall, disappearing from sight as the leaves hid her from sight.

"_____!" Ludwig roared. He threw open the gate and sprinted inside, fear and anger pulsing inside him as he ran toward the tree. What was she doing? What was she thinking? Can I-- He stopped himself there, allowing no thoughts of panic to manifest.

He saw the leaves on the tree rustling, marking the path she fell, as he came close. Just a little further...

Ludwig was only yards away when he saw her fall from the grasp of the lowest branch.

"No!" he shouted, straining with all of his strength to reach her in time.

With a final burst of speed he lunged--



~~~~~~~~~~~



The tree branches pummeled and bashed against your body as you fell. Even if you had the strength, you couldn't catch on to any of the branches rushing past.

Crunch.

You screamed as you felt your right leg break, the bone snapping from the force of impacting with hard wood. The beating continued, and you gave in to the pain, falling down into a dark, painless abyss where no thought existed.



~~~~~~~~~~~



Whump.

The unexpected weight of _____'s body crashing into his arms caused Ludwig to nearly drop her. He stumbled and fell, twisting as he did so that she was on top of him. He grunted as he hit the ground, all the air knocked out of his lungs between the hard ground and _____'s weight on top of him.

For a single moment his heart stopped as he gasped, sucking air back into his lungs.

Then it began beating again, pounding like a motor as he slowly sat up, gingerly lowering _____ to the ground. He knelt next to her, desperately feeling for a pulse in her neck. Nearly every inch of her skin was bruised or scraped, and it felt hot to the touch. He could feel the faint fluttering of her heart; still beating, still living.

He froze for a moment, his mind picturing all of the things that could have happened if he had been one minute, one second later than he had been. He gently brushed a (h/l) lock of (h/c) hair from her face, fingers lingering on her cheek. "_____.... What were you thinking...? You could've..." Ludwig's throat closed, and he swallowed. In a hoarse, low growl, he continued, "...you could've.... If I had been just a little bit too late..." He leaned closer with every word until his face was centimeters away from hers.

Your eyes slowly opened, and met his sky-blue ones. "Ludwig..."

His mouth came onto yours suddenly and without warning. He bruised his lips against yours, kissing you deeply with the strength of his relief. Your (e/c) eyes opened wide, then closed again as you slowly lifted your arm and ran your hand luxuriously through his soft blonde hair, pulling him closer at the same time. His lips relaxed, and he pulled away, blue eyes looking directly into your (e/c) ones.

"_____, you stupid, stupid girl...what were you thinking?!" His voice was strained, but gentle.

You grinned weakly up at him. "Tried to climb to the top.... Guess I pushed myself too hard."

Ludwig shook his head slowly. "I hope you've learned a lesson from this." He moved his arms under your shoulders and knees, slowly and carefully lifting you up. You flinched, and he look at you, worried.

"My leg..." you murmured. He looked down, noticing the bloody, twisted shape of your leg.

His eyes softened, and he readjusted his arms to a more comfortable position. "I'll get you to the hospital, _____, don't worry. Just hang in there."

You mumble something and lean your head against his arm, closing your eyes and falling into a peaceful faint. Ludwig leaned down and kissed you softly on the lips.

"Iche libe dich, darling."