Song - Brother My Brother by Blessid Union of Souls

Ludwig and Gilbert belong to Hidekazu Himaruya

Story line belongs to me.

Slight reference to history, not really

Hope you all enjoy!

"Brother, my brother,

Tell me what are we fighting for?
We've got to end this war.
We should love one another.
Oh, can't we just pretend,
This war never began.
We can try,
Brother, my brother."

Betrayal. Anger. Despair.

Gilbert stood across from his brother, staring at someone he barely even recognized. And for that someone to be the one he raised, that was bad. Gilbert felt hurt. His brother had turned from him, no longer taking the advice from the much older man. Sure he wasn't a nation anymore, but he surely still had more experience than his brother. He felt anger fill his heart and his head. He felt betrayed. The Prussian growled, shouting at his brother. But the man only turned for a mere moment before going back to his work. The work that made Gilbert cringe.

How could someone as terrible as what his brother was doing? Killing his own people? The awesome Prussia may be all for a good fight now and then, even if it included death, but he would never personally have his own people killed. Didn't he teach his brother that? To cherish his people. He must have. How could such an important lesson be missed? But his brother merely brushed off Gilbert's complaints, stating that he was following his orders, and didn't Gilbert himself teach him to always follow orders? Yes. Gilbert remembered that. He had told his brother that.

Gilbert growled and shouted once again at his brother to look at him. To talk to him. Why wouldn't his brother even talk to him? It made him want to cry, but of course, the awesome Prussia would never do such a thing. His brother turned around again, this time long enough to bark at Gilbert to stop shouting. To stop being a baby. To let him do his work. Then, he simply turned again, back to his work.

Gilbert was pissed, to say the least. He marched over to his brother and whispered seductively into the younger man's ear. He then gave the man a great shove and stormed away to prepare. He wouldn't let his brother's go on any longer. He couldn't.

A declaration of war.

"We face each other from different sides.
The anger burns, can't remember why.
It's kind of crazy, to cause such pain.
Our foolish pride makes us hate this way"

The two brothers now stood apart, looks on each other's face. Ludwig growled. He never understood why his brother started this war. Sure, he realized that he had been angry about the killings, but to start a war? Shouldn't he have understood why Ludwig did the things he did? The man that raised him, shaped his personality, shouldn't he have understood?

Betrayal. That's what it was. His brother betrayed him. They had promised to always stand together and now here they were, standing apart in the large open field, each with their own weapons in hand.

Anger began to burn inside the younger man. Anger coming from betrayal. His hand gripped his weapon, knuckles going white. Then he attacked. Instead of using what he was holding, however, he dropped it, and jumped his brother. He had to have the pleasure of personally inflicting pain to this traitorous man. The one who had torn his heart.

"We watch our world fall apart.
Tell me what good is winning,
When you lose your heart?"

Gilbert stood and stared at his surroundings. They had been fighting for only a few months, yet everything was destroyed. Bruised, battered, and burning. He sighed. There had yet to be any peace. The war was still going on and he hated it. But what could he do? He had to make his brother see the error of his ways. He had to win.

Gilbert gripped his chest, closing his eyes. He tried to shut out the pain building in his chest. He tried. But every time he even thought about harming his brother, that pain came back. Everything was falling apart. Everything. Not just the land and the economy and the politics, but Gilbert was falling apart. He could feel his own mind… deteriorating. When did up become down and down become up? Since when had Gilbert no longer been able to go to his brother with what was trouble? Since when had he no longer been able to go to his brother for anything? Had that started with the war?

No is what he told himself. It started before that. It started when the killing did. When those German people had been killed because they were not good enough. Gilbert sighed. Since when had not being good enough been the grounds for murder? Wouldn't Gilbert already be dead if it was? He was no longer a nation. He had failed. That couldn't be good enough.

Gilbert growled and turned from the destruction. He would end this as fast as he possibly could. Sure he had started the war, but it hadn't been what he wanted. It had been all he could do at the moment. Holding his head, Gilbert marched off to find his little brother. To teach his lesson.

"Let's take a moment and look deep inside,
And say we'll learn to give love a try.
When matters differ as we seem to be,
There's so much more to me than what you see."

They stood apart again. Pain and anger the only things that kept them together now. Neither held any weapon this time. No, no weapons. Just them. Tension filled the air, creating a sort of… bubble, around the two. Even birds knew better than to invade this bubble.

It was silent. No animals. Not even the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. Then, out of the blue, there was sobbing. Ludwig had fallen to his knees and Gilbert just stared at him, as though he had lost all feeling for this man as time had gone by. It had been years by now, and neither even remembered what they were fighting about. Ludwig looked up at his brother, his eyes red and puffy. He whispered something, but Gilbert stayed silent. Ludwig only stood up to shout it at his brother. One simple word. Why?

"Brother, my brother,
Tell me what are we fighting for?"

Gilbert merely stared at Ludwig before answering. He didn't know. Couldn't remember. It had been too long. All he knew is that he had a reason and couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop, until his point was made.

What point brother? What point could that be? Ludwig was screaming. He didn't understand. What was Gilbert even talking about? Ludwig closed his eyes, then started speaking again. Why would you do such a thing? Was it to prove you're still strong? Or are you just being cruel, letting your pride get in the way?

Gilbert growled, taken aback. Pride? No. It hadn't been pride. He had been… lonely. His brother had forgotten him. Replaced him with terrible deeds. That was it. Gilbert explained, quietly. The things his brother had done. They were terrible. His people. Dead. Gilbert bit his lower lip, keeping back the tears that threatened to fall. He didn't cry. He fought. He would protect the people as best he could.

Ludwig looked up at his older brother, shocked. That's what it had been. His body shook as a fresh wave of tears came. He had never wanted to do those things. He had been threatened. His brother's life had been put in danger by his boss. He had to do what he said.

Gilbert stared down at his little brother. The kid he had raised. What had he just said? Had he been protecting him? Why didn't he say anything? Why?

"You don't have to be this way.
Think about the consequences.
Turn around and walk away."

Why? Why hadn't he said anything? Everything could have been avoided. The war. The fighting. Gilbert gripped his chest and fell to his knees as well. Both brothers were now on the ground, crying.

Ludwig looked up at his brother and reached out. His hand didn't quite make it, but he left it there, hanging in mid air, as if looking for its missing half. He couldn't. He couldn't tell his brother what had happened. He had to take care of things himself. It wasn't his brother's pride that had gotten in the way, but his own. He felt like after all those years of having his older brother protect him, it was his turn to protect his older brother. He had to protect his East.

Gilbert looked up and gently pressed his hand against Ludwig's. Their fingers curled up with the other's, and a smile broke out on each face. Ludwig hadn't needed to do that, but Gilbert was flattered. But his brother had still been stupid and Gilbert gave him a playful smack on the head. He watched as Ludwig rubbed the abused spot, pouting, and Gilbert laughed. He had his West back. Everything had just been miscommunication.

The two brothers moved closer together and pressed their foreheads together. It was over. Everything was over. The two now understood. Fighting all over immediately seized to continue. The fighter's were confused, but relief filled their hearts. Those that had been fighting were now together. Reunions filled the battle fields. Brothers and sisters embraced each other.

"We should love one another.
Oh, can't we just pretend,
This war never began?
Tell me why,
Brother, my brother"

Gilbert and Ludwig looked at each other. They just looked, taking in the image of the one they hadn't seen in so long. Gilbert laughed. Ludwig still looked so serious, just like he always did. Ludwig laughed along quietly with his brother, then gently pressed his free hand against Gilbert's cheek. He had missed his brother. He leaned forward just a bit and let their lips meet. Just like they used to.

Everything was back to normal now.