Vergessen

He kept forgetting…

April, 1423

He wasn't the same as the rest of them. He was sure of that.

Unlike them, he didn't appear in this world as a country or territory but as an order. And despite being as militarily strong and amazingly awesome as he was, he simply wasn't the same as them. But even after changing his name, nothing changed.

Snickering to himself, he kicked his feet around in the air as he wrote in his daily diary. He'd started the habit ever since he first realized that he was forgetting things. After having consulted Francis and realizing that it was a rather foreboding sign, he decided to keep track of everything he did. All his daily businesses, all his battles and tactics, everything was carefully stored within the pages he bounded with string. "Let's see… 'Today, I was as awesome as usual. So I saw that Erzsébet again, and it's weird since I can't seem to look her in the eyes without getting uncomfortable. So I was having fun by myself when she showed up. And seriously, why's she so weird? She keeps insisting that it can be grown. It can't, can it?'" Closing his book, he grinned proudly, "kesesesesese, meticulously detailed as always!"

Suddenly, a voice called out to him, "Prussia! There you are! What are you doing?"

Looking up, he smiled at the Holy Roman Empire. Like him, the blonde was different from the others. The boy, despite his power and growth, remained a child and nameless. While he and the other countries all had names that everyone innately knew, names that they naturally associated with the person, the Holy Roman Empire never had one. They all tried their best to ignore it.

He stood up and petted the other with a grin, "hey, are you in need of my awesome-ness?"

The blond immediately reached up to fix his hat, "don't treat me like a child just because you grew a little taller!"

"What are you talking about? Hey, you could be my little brother! Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Face reddening, the other let out a stammer of protest, "i-if anything, you should be calling me Bruder! I'm older than you, after all! And I've taught you a lot of things in the past!"

He paused before laughing, "Alright then, you can be Bruder! By the way, where's that little country you're always chasing?"

The blush deepened at the mention of his crush, "Italy? I'm actually looking for her right now…"

"…oh, is that why you came looking for me? I guess I can lend you a hand, maybe we'll run into Hungary and she'll finally come and hunt with me again! She's been acting weird lately, I mean, ever since she found out she was a girl and all that, she's been out less often. Is that normal? What exactly is the difference between girls and boys anyways? I mean other than certain parts…"

The boy fixed his hat again to hide his blushing face, "girls have softer hands…I guess…Italy's hands are soft so…"

Crimson eyes blinking, he glanced over, "hm? So you knew Erza was a girl all along by her hands?"

"O-of course! Are you saying you have troubles telling the difference between girls and boys? Shouldn't it be obvious?"

Instantly defending himself, he laughed, "I can! I'm awesome, remember? It was only with her, I mean, she thought she was a guy too, so it's not just me! It's all her fault if you ask me! But if you knew all along, that's pretty awesome, Bruder!"

Writing things down in his diary, it was the only way he could preserve all of his most cherished memories.

December, 1805

Christmas had just past when Antonio came running up to him. "Gilbert! ¡Vámonos! Come on, hurry up! They're going to sign the treaty soon! Francis is already there! He's not going to wait for us, you know!"

Not having taken an active role in the Third Coalition, he ran into the building where the treaty was to be signed. Inside, he saw Francis looking grim and standing there, next to his representative while Austria and his representatives stood across from them looking equally put down.

Listening to the conditions for withdrawal from the Third Coalition, he couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards the aristocrat; the brunet would suffer from a lot of losses. But when the reader went onto "…and Francis II will renounce his title as the Holy Roman Emperor and hereby be known as Emperor Francis I of Austria…" his eyes widened and all he could do was stare at the Frenchman.

After everyone had left, he stared at his friend and snapped, "What were you thinking? You know what this will result in, right?"

Francis merely shook his head, "it wasn't my choice to make. I mean, I have nothing against him even though we were on opposing sides majority of the time, wars are simply conflicts between our people. Besides, I haven't seen him since the First Coalition."

The brunet nodded, "it's true, I haven't seen him around at all. Normally he'd come find me for one reason or another but ever since the First Coalition, he hasn't been around a whole lot, has he? Hey…what if he's going to where Rome and Germania went? I mean…they never told anyone where they were going and just disappeared so…"

The Frenchman sighed, "don't look at me so brokenheartedly, mes amis. The treaty has been signed, there's nothing I can do now."

Keeping quiet, he knew better than to ask who they were because then he wouldn't be able to deny that he forgot. Suddenly, he felt something tugging at his instincts, drawing him away. "I'm…I'm going to go first, guys. I'll see you around, I guess."

He needed to follow his gut feeling before he forgot.

Entering a worn down castle, he figured it was the place where the empire first opened his eyes, just like the church he'd read about in his first diary entry. Wandering about, he stumbled onto the door to the great hall. Pushing the doors opened, he flooded the room with diluted light from the outside. Inside, he managed to make out a shape sitting motionlessly on the throne. He approached it and stared sadly at the sleeping boy on the throne, "how long have you been sitting here in the dark? You're not going to wake again, are you…Bruder?"

He wondered if this was the reason why the empire's body never grew, all for the sake of his unforeseen death. And then he thought about his own issue and wondered if it was an omen of his eventual demise.

Following his instincts, he reached out and closed the other's unseeing blue eyes, picked the body up and carried it back to the place he called home. He looked around for a moment and blinked, "let's see…if I was to wake up…the place I'd like to be would be…" He smiled sadly and made his way up the stairs to the room with the most windows. After having sat in the dark by himself for so long, waking to the sun would be a pleasant change, or at least that's what he thought to himself as he carried the body up.

Strange enough, he found some relief in knowing that he'd eventually forget the sadness.

August, 1866

Finally home after a wonderful victory over Austria, he made his way up the stairs to change out of his bloodied clothes. He was about to make a turn for his room when he noticed that something was off in the room before and backtracked to check. Inside the room, sitting up in the coffin-like bed was a blond child; his blue eyes staring in awe at the sun in the sky.

Suddenly nervous, he stepped into the room, "you woke up…"

The boy turned and fixed his gaze onto him silently.

Noting the blank stare, he approached him and asked, "…do you know who I am?"

The boy shook his head.

"Do you remember anything?"

The boy shook his head again.

He figured it was the signs of a new country with new beginnings. The boy's eyes no longer held the sadness their previous owner had. While it was relieving, it was also alarming. Was the body's previous owner completely gone? "Well, let's start off with introductions then. Ich bin das Königreich Preußen. "

The child opened his mouth, voice raspy from not having been used for so long. "D-das… Konigr…?"

Grinning, he ruffled the blonde's hair, "I guess that's too long to say, hm? You can just call me Gilbert, or Bruder's fine too."

"Bruder?"

"That's right! I'll be your awesome Bruder from now on…" the name passed his lips so naturally that he didn't realize it'd come to him until it came out, "Ludwig…" He paused before picking the boy up and walking over to the window, "so Ludwig's your name, hm? It suits you …I'm relieved."

The child turned to him, blue eyes curious, "Warum?"

Soothing the golden locks back, he smiled, "because it means you'll grow up to be an awesome country like your Bruder. See all that land out there? Our territory ends at the mountains but with you here, one day, we'll conquer everything beyond, I just know it. But first thing first, I think you're in need of a bath and new clothes. Come on, let's go see if there's anything clean that'll fit you, Lui."

There were always moments late that that he never wanted to forget.

August 1869,

Three years later, the boy continued to sneak into his room to seek comfort from his fears. Despite having gotten him three dogs to keep him company, the child still crept over to the side of his bed, all three of his dogs following behind him. Quietly, he whispered, "Bruder, are you awake?"

He opened his eyes and rolled onto his side, "Lui? What's wrong? Are Antonio and Francis still passed out downstairs?"

A nod.

"Are they scaring you? They're not doing anything weird, are they? I mean, they're passed out so they should be pretty harmless right now…"

The boy shook his head, "That's not it."

"Oh, can't sleep again?"

The blond nodded and fidgeted with his shirt, "the darkness makes me uncomfortable…"

Sitting up, he lit his kerosene lamp and reprimanded the boy lightly, "you know, one day, you're going to have to confront your fears, Lui…" Although he'd often told himself to be less lenient, looking the disheartened expression on the other's face, he couldn't help but sigh and cave in. "But I suppose you can do that another day. Hop in and I'll tell you a story of how awesome I was back in the day."

Ludwig's face immediately brightened as he quickly scurried under the covers obediently.

It'd become clear to him some time ago that he lost the memories of the stories he told but something inside him made him keep going. Story after story, he continued giving his memories away. Just like his skills and traits, just like his land and his people, bit by bit, he gave them all away to the little country that would one day replace him.

After his story, the child looked up at him, "…Bruder…why doesn't he have a name?"

Crimson eyes blinked, "who now?"

"That little boy who's in a lot of your stories…everyone has a name but him. The one that always chased the girl country…and what's the difference between girls and guys anyways? All the people around here are men so…"

He smiled, "don't be embarrassed, it took me awhile to learn too. Girls have softer hands. Remember that, okay?" And then the space in his head that once held that memory emptied, leaving his mind momentarily blank. But he kept going. "And that boy, his name was the Holy Roman Empire…he never had a name. He never grew either, despite how powerful he was at the time. I guess he was always just meant to be something…someone else, you know? But enough about that, I believe our deal was a story and then you go to sleep."

Ludwig nodded, looking more at ease as he tucked the covers under chin and snuggled into the pillow, "Danke, Bruder."

Placing a kiss on the child's head, he turned to blow out the lights. "Gute Nacht, Lui."

July, 1914

With the more conflicts and battles that the world went through, the faster Ludwig grew. The younger country had surpassed him in height and had a natural muscular physique, much like him. And although the blond had outgrown crawling into bed with him on a nightly basis, there were still times when he'd sneak into his room with an uncertain look on his face.

As always, he'd laugh it off and shuffle over to make room for the teenager, "did you have a bad dream again? Are you worried about your growth? Don't worry about it. It's a good sign! It means you're going to grow up to be as awesome as me, you know? You'll grow into a strong, powerful country…you haven't forgotten anything, have you? Quick, what's your earliest memory?"

The blond merely looked away uncomfortably, "there's no need to worry, Bruder. I think I dreamt about something before my first memory, that's all. …I remember darkness…there's nothing but darkness and I can't tell if my eyes are even opened but then there's light and I'm in the room where I woke up…am I just imagining things or dreaming them up, Bruder?"

Slightly taken aback, he shook his head and reassured the other to the best of his abilities, "No, that's something before you came into this world…I'm surprised you have memories of it, but it's nothing to get anxious over. It was in a castle far away from here, maybe I'll take you there someday, provided it's still there and standing."

"Is that where you found me?"

"Ja, is it. Would it help you sleep if I told you the story?"

Ludwig nodded, "if you wouldn't mind…"

He slouched and made himself comfortable, "alright, hop in and I'll tell you. Come on, don't tell me you're getting at that age where you're embarrassed to sleep in the same bed as your Bruder? Well then again…if I think about it, you've been talking back a lot more lately and you always have that look on your face whenever I bring things home…it's probably just a natural phase, isn't it? I'm probably overreacting, but I still can't believe you trained the dogs to sniff me for foreign items," he gave a dramatic sigh; "I guess you really are at that age where you don't need me or my stories around anymore."

The boy quickly jumped into bed, "that's not it, I was just wondering if I was getting too old for this."

Grinning, he pulled the teenager close, "Nonsense! You'll never be too old for this! This kind of awesome activity is ageless, remember that! Okay, let's start, we've got to be awesome for all these big events ahead of us so we'll need as much sleep as can get!"

After that night, he could no longer recall the last memory he had of the Holy Roman Empire or the first memory he had of his little brother.

August, 1945

After the Potsdam Conference had been adjourned, the two of them remained seated stiffly at the table. They'd been helpless as they listened to the winner of the wars draw out agreements as to what to do with them. When everything had ended, Francis had walked up to him and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before leaving. He understood. Wars weren't anything personal, at least not to them.

He leaned back and laughed weakly, "Well so much for that, hm, Lui?"

The blond merely hid his head in his hands, his helplessness was obviously bothering him. "I'm sorry, Bruder. If I'd known it'd end up like this, I would've never…"

Shaking his head, he stopped the other mid-apology. "Stop it, Lui, you know that's not how it works. Your boss says 'I want more land', you say 'how much?' You people say 'rebel', you get a torch and say 'against who?' No matter how much we try to talk them out of it, there's only so much we can actually control. So stop beating yourself up over something like this, it's not like there's a wall between us, I just won't be home for a bit."

Ludwig looked uncertain. "But…what will I do? How will I know what to do from now on? You've always been there to guide me through things…"

He blinked and laughed, "What are you talking about? You've stopped relying on me since the First World War. You're an independent country now, so start acting like one, Lui. I've pampered you too much, haven't I? You've still got your dogs, that stupid aristocrat and Erza around the house if you ever get bored. Oh, and you can invite Feli over to play too."

The door opened and Ivan stepped in, his usual smile on his face, "there you are, Gilbert. What are you still doing here? The meeting ended quite awhile ago, didn't it? Come on, it's time to go. Shall I introduce you to all your new friends? It'd be nice if everyone could get along, дa?"

Putting on an indifferent expression, he got up and patted the younger country on the head, "I guess I have to go with that bastard, hm? Ugh, I can feel my eyelashes falling out already. I'll see you around then, West."

November, 1989

The two of them remained separated for 44 years. Putting up with working under the Russian he loathed and performing tasks for absolutely nothing in return, he'd come to miss his home. Ivan never allowed him to attend the many meetings that were held with the allies and with Western Germany. And kept well away from the wall, he couldn't establish any contact via the platform either.

Inwardly, he wondered if his brother was still worried about him. He wondered if the blond still occasionally woke up from nightmares only to have no one to go to. Though the thought was disheartening, he also realized that the other was no longer a child or a country that constantly depended on him and clung to him for support.

As of lately, the iron grip the Russian had over him had slacken. His people began fleeing and Ivan began retreating back to his own house more frequently for longer periods of time. So the wall was finally going to be torn down, he smiled at that. After having felt nothing but the anxiety and dissatisfaction of the people in the East, he felt relief rush through him, knowing that they'd eventually get what they'd been wanting for decades now.

Sitting alone in an office, he blinked as he lost the feelings and thoughts of his people. Down the hall, he could hear excited yells, "the wall! It's finally coming down! That wall's finally coming down!"

He smiled and leaned back, kicking his feet up onto the desk, "ah, so that's why. Looks like West is finally getting this place back. A reunited Germany…" he looked down at his feet and noticed they'd become somewhat transparent. Lifting a hand and examining it curiously, he couldn't help but wonder just how much he'd forgotten. He'd never know now. Even in his last moments he continued forgetting, "hm…I wonder where my awesome self will end up from here on out? Maybe I'll be able to see…crap, what was his name again? …oh well, I'll get it later. This reunited Germany, it's all yours, Lui."

And then everything went black.

?.?.?.?.?.?, ?.?.?.?

The sun was shining when he opened his eyes and he felt like he'd just woken from the most refreshing sleep.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, his ears were ringing and his mind was blank. In front of him, a shape was there, a blob of various colours. Slowly, as his hearing returned to him, he managed to identify a lower voice though the still he couldn't make sense of the words. He was vaguely notice of warmth and a firm grip on his shoulders as the figure continued looming over him.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, his senses mostly returned to him. The feeling of refreshment had left him and suddenly, he felt like he'd been hit by a bus, died, then was revived by having his spirit forcefully shoved back into his body. He let out a groan, "huh?"

The voice was there again, "…r? …er…uder ar…ight? …ruder! Bruder! Bruder! Bruder! Don't faint again! Snap out of it, Bruder!"

He blinked a few times and let his head fall limply to the side as he did his best to survey his surroundings. A concerned looking blond was kneeling in front of him, and all he could do was croak out "was?"

A little more cautiously this time, the man asked him in a gentler tone, relief clearly reflected in his blue eyes, "Are you alright, Bruder? I've been looking everywhere for you…when the wall finally came down, we couldn't find you. You've been gone for so long now…"

Mind drawing a blank, he frowned and asked the other, "Bruder? Sorry, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Quite frankly, I'm not very sure about anything right now. Strange, isn't it?"

The German looked startled at his statement before shaking his head in denial. "Nein! Du bist das Königreich Preußen und mein Bruder, Gilbert Beilschmidt! Allow me to debrief you. You began your journey in 1190 as the representative of the Teutonic Order until 1411, after the Battle of Tannenberg and from then on changed your name to das Herzogtum Preußen. You've been friends with Erzsébet and Roderich, Hungary and Austria for a really long time now, and according to your logs and Erzsébet, you used to think she was a man. I apologize for reading your journal entries but I needed to find out more about your history."

One by one, the blond recited major historical Prussian events, "August 17th, 1786, you lost your greatest and favourite king. You still have a portrait of der alte Fritz in your room and ask him to watch over you. Also in your room are stuffed pandas that you bought from Wang Yao and Hong. There are also other strange things that you've brought home, they take up a lot of space and make cleaning difficult. I've brought this issue to your attention several times though now I'm somewhat glad you ignored my orders to rid the house of them."

And he continued, "In 1866, I met you for the first time. About a week after I first woke up, that was the first time you counted me sheep to help me sleep, the next night, you told me a story instead. In the following year, you also got me my dogs to keep my company. The dogs are all still healthy and so is Gilbird, that little yellow bird that's always sitting on your head, the one you enjoy petting all the time. After you disappeared, it came back to the house. We made him a nest but I believe he misses you and is waiting for your return. 1867 was also the year you introduced me to Francis and Antonio, here's a picture from that day. You were upset with Francis for not being able to take a good picture of you."

Accepting the photograph, he stared at the monochrome picture of two figures grinning. He remembered that day. Instead of attributing the blurriness of all his other pictures to his restless fidgeting, he assumed it was because he was losing his status as a country. The idea of disappearing gave him a sudden sense of urgency, a need to make use of his finite time. And what he invested all his time into from then on…was the young man standing before him.

"On August 2nd, 1945, the Potsdam Conference finally reached an end. We'd lost the war and had to repay the world for what we did. Unfortunately, that meant losing you as well. For 44 years, you were known as East Germany and were on the other side of the wall. However, after the deconstruction of the wall occurred, starting in November 1989, as you now know, you were nowhere to be found. And so, I went to Francis for help since he seemed the most knowledgeable about these things though I don't necessarily approve of his methods of conduct." The other's voice was shaking now as he lowered his voice. He looked ready to cry, "You're here now so I must've done something right, but do you still not remember anything, Bruder? Please don't disappear again…"

He stared at the blond in shock for a moment and was about to shake his head when newer memories began flooding his mind. Everything the country went over, he recalled. Wiping the tears from his brother's eyes, he laughed, "what are you talking about, Lui? I'm too awesome to disappear! The world would miss me too much, you know? There's no need to cry-ah, I must've been having way too much fun being awesome on my own that my eyes have started tearing up too."

Blue eyes widened and pulled him into an embrace, "Bruder, it really is you! I've been looking for you for so long now; I can't believe I've finally found you! I suppose this means Francis' theory worked after all. I will have to relay a thank you message to him later."

Returning the hug, he shook his head, "What do you mean? Fran's normally not very useful. I suppose he has his moments and deep thoughts but generally, he wouldn't be the first person you'd ask about complicated matters. I thought I taught you better than that! But then again, I suppose since I wasn't around at the time, it's acceptable that you went to him for help. How'd he know what to do anyways?"

"He was working off a theory he thought up. Because our history is what makes us who we are, he told me to retain as much of your history as possible so that's why I went through your logs. Some of your journal entries were very vague, I managed to match some of the larger incidents to events in books but it didn't always work. I've compiled everything I found into 10 volumes, they are in chronological order, dating from 1190 to present date. The pages were made from recycled paper to promote green awareness and they are also saved on my newly purchased 8.0MB USB drive should the books ever be damaged or missing."

Although he didn't want to sound unappreciative, he couldn't help but ask, "Hey, don't get me wrong, Lui. I'm in tears over what you've done for me, but what's the point though? You're an independent country now with a strong economy and all that. And besides, I'm retired now, so I can't see why you'd need me around for, other than to increase your awesome-ness level of course."

Ludwig merely shot him a serious look, "nonsense, the history of Prussia has and always will be closely tied to mine. I was so afraid I'd never get to see you again, if you weren't around, it'd feel like a large part of my past was missing. I understand that your situation's a bit of an unusual one but we'll find a solution to this problem. I will share my responsibilities with you as a country. If you no longer have a flag, mine will represent you. If you no longer have a birthday, I will share mine with you. Just as the Kingdom of Prussia sheltered me in the past, the Federal Republic of Germany will be a home to you if you so please. …besides, I like having Bruder around…the house is too quiet without you."

A little speechless, he launched himself at his younger brother, grinning like an idiot, "Lui…you're the awesome-est little brother I could've asked for! How could I ever say no to you? You're so cute even though you're all big and buff now."

The German smiled, "I've missed you too, Bruder."

Slinging an arm around the other's neck, he laughed and began walking down the street, "You know what we need to do now, Lui? We need to go for a drink!"

The blond joined in the laughter, "you know…all this time, the thing I wanted to do the most was have a beer with you again, Bruder."

"Great, let's get going then!"

As they walked, he looked over and asked, "By the way, what year is it?"

"2000? Why?"

"What? I've been gone for 11 years now?"

"Ja…please stop yelling like that, Bruder, people are staring."

"But 11 years! I've been gone for 11 years! How did this world survive without me for over a decade?"

"Really Bruder, if you don't watch where you're going, you're going to trip and hurt yourself."

"But 11 ye-whoa!"

"Bruder! Are you alright?"

That night, he went and wrote in his diary as always…

"December 29th, 2000

Today my awesome self was revived by my awesome little brother! We went out for drinks and got scolded by the stupid aristocrat for coming home late. Erza hit me with her frying pan and I was also attacked by Fran and Tonio. Feli was also over and started crying when he saw me. I guess that's just what I have to put up with for being so amazingly awesome."

Reading over his entry, he grinned to himself and closed his journal, "kesesesesese, meticulously detailed as always!"

After getting ready for bed, there was a knock on the door.

"…Bruder?"

"Hn, Lui? Is that you?"

"Ja," the blond entered the room, his dogs trailing behind him as always. Looking slightly embarrassed, the German averted eye contact, "sorry, I…couldn't sleep…"

"Would you be able to sleep if I told you a story?"

A nod.

Grinning, he shifted over to make room for the other, "hop in then and I'll tell you an awesome story about how awesome I was back in the day!"

Ludwig smiled and did as he was told, "danke Bruder."

"Anytime, Lui."

Nya~

In the morning, they found Feliciano under the covers with them. Anyways, this concludes me 3 one-shot-ness! I was debating between turning Gilbo into Ludwig's younger brother but then that'd be too complicated and I like Bruder!Gilbo way too much and I also wanted a happy ending for this fic. I also decided to get this up before the new years as the last fic of 2010 so I didn't have time to find a beta-reader. The first commercial USB drive was sold in 2000 and was 8MB, technology's been growing like mold, hasn't it? It went from 8MB to 256GB! So did anyone watch the bloodbath unfurl this year? Wasn't it so, so, so, so amazing? Other than that, I don't have all that much to say other than happy new year and thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my fics this year! I hope to be able to write a lot more in 2011 as well (and all the way up till the end of 2012, then the world's just going to end)! Thanks for reading and reviewing this last 2010 fic of mine!

Happy New Years!

Translations:

Vergessen - To forget
Ich bin das Königreich Preußen - I'm the Kingdom of Prussia
Warum - Why
Was - What
Du bist.. - You are..
Das Herzogtum Preußen - The Duchy of Prussia