Sorry's the Hardest Word [Argentina]

[Ecuador]

Nicolas Joaquin Perez was Proud. First and formats, he was proud, and it was hard for him to admit (especially to his sister) that he'd been wrong. But when he realized that he was pushing his own family away because of his own foolish actions regarding her lover….boyfriend….thing….well….Nicolas felt terrible. Loosing his family was one thing that he didn't think he could go through. Not when he was finally finding happiness of his own. It made his heart swell as he thought of his own lover. His beloved Chile….this was for him as much as it was for Nicolas. Family meant everything. Blood was all you had. Well, Blood, and to him, his beloved.

So he found himself in ENGLAND of all places. Right outside the home of his sister and her lover. Toying with his hair, he sighed softly. God. How could he do this? The boy could barely bring himself to knock on the other man's door. It was going to drive him nuts. Utterly, completely nuts. Pacing the porch, he sighed deeply. Nicolas couldn't bring himself to teach the pain in his brain that this was the best thing that could happen to them. He needed to figure out how the hell he was going to talk to Eva. SO instead of knocking….he picked up his phone.

Dialing Eva's number, his heart was in his throat. Oh god…what was she going to say when she found out he was in England? She might KILL him…

[Argentina]

I want to see you, don't you want to see me?
You know that I've been waiting all this time just for your call
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Baking had always been one of her favorite hobbies, though lately she had been doing it more and more. It kept her hands busy, as well as helped let her mind wander to calm her nerves whenever she was angry or upset. Though she was grateful that there were those days when she just wanted to bake just to bake just for baking's sake. The sweet smells were always welcome in her kitchen, honestly preferring them to much anything else. The sweet, yet bitter smells of chocolate being her favorite. That...And cravings had been pulling at her for the past few days.

Humming softly to the soothing notes of strings and piano, filling the room with such an easy, relaxed air. It was her day off and she had the house to herself, why not fully take advantage of such a thing? Setting down the last of the cookie dough balls onto one of the sheets and opening the oven, she froze for a moment when she heard her cell phone beginning to ring. A ring tone that she hadn't heard in...Months.

Nickie...Her hermano poco...

It had been close to five months since they had even spoken to each other, having both gotten into a fight about their respective lovers. They were both in the wrong, she had come to realize that over the course of the past couple of months. However...

She was proud and would never admit that she was wrong, especially to her younger siblings. It was her pride that had caused her to not call her brother in an effort to try and work things out, to talk out everything and get all of their issues and concerns on the table. She didn't know why she had to be so...So...Stubborn. However, she knew that the rest of her family was just the same. Stubborn, proud, will never admit to when they were wrong. That was how it worked in their large, dysfunctional family...She wouldn't have it any other way though. That was how they worked, it worked perfectly for them in an odd sort of way.

She stared at the phone for a few more seconds before she bent down to slide the cookie sheet into the oven and closed the door behind them. Pulling off the mitt she was wearing before picking up the phone, she took a breath and pressed the small green button before holding the phone up to her ear. "Hello?" She asked, her voice quiet as she spoke and leaning back against the counter. She would need something after this was over, she was sure. Best hear what he had to say first.

I'm afraid you won't stop to remember me
That's why I cannot bring myself to send the call
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[Ecuador]

She picked up the phone. Ay dios, his hermana picked up the phone! His heart practically stopped when he heard that quiet voice, and he almost wondered if he should just hang up and run like hell. Taking a slow, soft breath, he whispered, "….Hola, hermana…" It was barely even spoken, his hand clutching his cellphone. It had been so long since he'd even heard her voice. What, five months now? Five months since he'd been a right ass, and begun to spy on his sister and her lover. And he was ready to admit he was wrong. That was how so many of their family was, though. Proud, stubborn…..how he wished he hadn't been. He'd needed his hermana here.


"….So…..I'm in….Europe…..outside….your…" He couldn't even finish the sentence, feeling tears well up in big blue eyes. Nicolas couldn't bring himself to even say her name. It was hard enough to say what he'd come here to, without thinking about what her reaction was going to be here… "…..Hermana…lo siento…." How else was he supposed to say he was sorry? To her face? No…..He couldn't bring himself to do it…..Couldn't…..even be the man and knock on her door, "I should….just go….I didn't mean to bother you hermana…"

[Argentina]

If today was your last day,
Tomorrow was too late,
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
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She heard a quiet tapping as it filled the room, looking downward to see that it was her heel bouncing on the floor beneath her feet. Nervous habit she supposed, the lack of response from her little brother after a few minutes was turning to a bit of the unnerving side. Deep breathing was all she was able to even hear, was he really that nervous to even speak with her? Though...She did understand why. With their lack of communication over the course of the past few months did take a toll, no doubt that this conversation was going to be...Unnecessarily awkward.

She took a breath when he finally spoke, eyes falling closed with her fingers gripping tightly to the phone in her palm. He was being so quiet...So much unlike him, at least when it dealt with her or the rest of their siblings. She couldn't not answer, but what would she even say? What was there to say? "What do you want Nicolas?" Her voice kept it's quiet tone, she couldn't even stop herself from using his full name. No hermano. No Nickie. Just Nicolas.

"…So…I'm in…Europe…outside…your…"

At hearing his words, she nearly dropped her phone out of surprise. He was here? Had he really come all of this way? To come all of this way to London, and say that he was she guessed out on the porch of their house. She...Had to make sure.

A slight shiver shot up her spine as she walked out of the kitchen toward the front door, not saying a word and just listening to what he had to say. There was that slight shake in his voice as well as the pauses in his speech, was he crying? She stood in front of the door, just staring at it when he said those two little words. Lo siento...I'm sorry. Those two little words that she had been waiting these past months to hear. Those two words that she couldn't even bring herself to say first. "Nicolas, you're not bothering me in the least...You don't have to leave."

A small smile had curled on the corners of her lips, keeping the phone to her ear as she reached forward and opened the front door. At the sight of her little brother standing in front of the door, tears trailing down his cheeks...She had her little brother back. "También lo si-siento...Los dos tenían la culpa."

Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
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[Ecuador]

And every single step of the way, of pain,
Every single night and day,
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His sobs wracked his body, and when he saw her standing there in the doorway, his cellphone fell to the ground, and he rushed to his big sister, hugging her, clinging to her like he was a child. Sobbing into her shoulder, Nicolas felt like he was 10 years old again, hiding behind her skirts, and crying to her whenever he was scared. It was like the nightmare that had been the past few months was dissipating, and he finally had that connection that he'd longed for back in his life. As much as he loved Chile, family was family, and he really couldn't do without that. He needed those words of reassurance, the hugs and the feeling that he could just let loose, sob, and forget EVERYTHING.

"Hermana .... Te he echado mucho de menos, y yo no puedo creer que mi orgullo nos separan." He whispered, barely believing this moment was real. How was he to, when each word felt like it was coming out of someone else's mouth, someone who knew everything he'd been dying to say to his beloved sister for the longest time, " Esto era tan tonto. Lo siento. Lo siento mucho ...."

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I searched for you.
Through sandstorms and hazy dawns i reached for you.

[Argentina]

Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know the hardest part is over?
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Eva let a soft, understanding smile cross on her lips when she saw that her brother had started to shake and his lower lip giving that small quiver. Seeing the cell phone dropping to the ground below and bracing herself for the coming impact that she knew to be coming. Her own cellphone dropped to the ground before he practically plowed into her, sobbing and clinging to her the back of her shirt. Without hesitation, her arms wrapped around her brother's waist into a firm hug as her eyes fell closed, feeling a lone warm tear trail down her cheek. Even through all of their petty fights, their pride, their stubborn, bull-headed natures...It was moments like this that she knew she could look forward too afterwards. This kind of reminder of how they used to be...Nickie running to her and hiding behind her whenever he got into trouble or backed into a corner, knowing full-well that his sister would stand by him no matter what. Even after all these years...The centuries that had passed...That fact had not changed.

Family was family, sometimes blood was all that anyone ever had. At times, it was all anyone ever really needed. As much as she would never admit it out loud, she needed her brother. Needed that form of reassurance that only family could ever give, to know that even though things were changing for all of them...That the doors were always still open should anything ever happen.

"No fue el único culpable..." She whispered, not trusting her voice to grow much louder than such. If it did...She didn't want him to hear what she knew would actually happen. The horrible cracking and stuttering, oh no, that couldn't happen. "También fue mi culpa...Me han confiado en su juicio y le dio la oportunidad desde el principio. Esta lucha y tanto de nuestras acciones eran tan juvenille...Lo siento...Lo siento mucho..." She couldn't believe that she was hearing herself say these things that she had been thinking over the past couple of months, but she was. This fight...It was finally at long last over.

Let it in, let your clarity define you
In the end we will only just remember how it feels
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