Prussia supposed in hindsight that he should have known right away as he was making breakfast that morning that not all was right in the world that day. Finding that they were out of Nutella first thing in the morning never boded well. Prussia grumbled under his breath. There wasn't even enough left in the jar for his toast. He stuck his finger in and scooped the residue off the wall of the jar, then licked it off. Well, this just wouldn't do. He would have to let Germany know so that he could go to the store for another jar. Sure, he could just go buy it himself, but grocery shopping was so beneath someone of his greatness.
Prussia tossed the empty jar haphazardly in the general direction of the sink so that Germany could wash it out for recycling. It clattered noisily against the countertop and rolled off onto the floor. Prussia didn't pick it up; he had more important things to do, like finding his strangely absent little brother and harassing him into getting him some more Nutella.
"Oi, West!" he called.
The little bird that had been perched on his head fluttered down to pick at Prussia's now unattended toast, but other than the minute flapping of its tiny wings, there was no reply. Frowning, Prussia poked his head into Germany's study. It was empty. Had Germany already left the house without him noticing? It wasn't hard to imagine; Germany was always up and around running errands before Prussia was out of bed. Prussia whipped out his cell phone and dialed his brother's number. He growled when the answering machine picked up.
"You have reached Ludwig Weillschmidt. I am unable to take your call at this time. Please leave your name and number after the tone and I will return your call as soon as possible. That is all."
"Weeest," Prussia whined into the phone, "where the hell are you? We're all out of Nutella. How am I supposed to have an awesome breakfast without it? Bring some home or I'll let Gilbird take a shit on your bed. Kesesese!"
Prussia hung up, feeling momentarily satisfied before he realized that it might be hours before Germany returned from wherever he'd gone. By then, it could be lunch of even dinner time. He wasn't sure if he could hold out that long. Maybe he really would just have to get it himself. With a heavy sigh, Prussia headed to the garage. He was surprised when he opened the door to see that Germany's car was still there. Was he home after all? Frowning, Prussia turned and went back inside, determined to hunt down his younger brother.
He decided to start by checking Germany's bedroom. It didn't seem likely that he would find him there, but he figured he might as well try it anyway. Prussia made his way down the hall, and threw open the closed door to Germany's room with such force that it bounced off the wall loudly. To Prussia's shock, there was a tall figure still curled up under the covers. Germany's blond head was poking out from beneath the blankets.
"Oi West!" he shouted. "Can't believe you're still sleeping, bro! That's so not like you! Look, you gotta get up. We're all out of Nutella and I'm too awesome to have to do lame-ass stuff like going to the store!"
Germany's figure stirred fitfully, and responded with a hoarse cough and a sniffle. When he failed to sit up, Prussia frowned and approached the bed.
"Hey West, didn't you hear me? This is serious business!" he insisted.
Germany just coughed again. Prussia sat down on the edge of his brother's bed and bounced it as hard as he could.
"Stop that," Germany moaned, finally rolling over to face him.
Prussia started at the sight of his brother's face. He looked awful: red-rimmed eyes, red nose, flushed cheeks and a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.
"Whoa, West, you look like you got hit by a bus!" he remarked in alarm. "You stay out late getting wasted or something?"
Germany shook his pounding, aching head gingerly in the negative. "It's not a hangover… I seem to have—" He broke off and turned away quickly to muffle two sneezes in the crook of his arm. "I seeb to have caught a cold."
He sniffled miserably. Prussia frowned as his chest was flooded with uncharacteristic concern. He rested the back of his hand against Germany's cheek, checking his temperature.
"You're on fire, little bro!" Prussia gasped. "That's gotta be thirty-nine degrees!"
Germany tried to sniffle again but found himself too congested to do so. "Sorry brother, but I dod't thigk I'll be able to bake it to the grocery store today. You should leave; I'b codtagious."
"And leave my poor, sickly baby brother to fend for himself?" Prussia scoffed. "What kind of guy do you think I am? An awesome big bro like me would never do something so lame!"
Prussia hopped up from the bed and bounded into the master bathroom to get the box of tissues from the counter for Germany. Germany accepted it gratefully and blew his nose.
"What can I do to help, West?" he asked. "Just name it! No task is impossible for the awesome me!"
"You mean it, brother?" Germany asked in surprise. He knew that Prussia was prone to occasional instances of unselfishness, but it had been so long since he'd seen one such occurrence that he still had a hard time believing it.
"Of course!" Prussia declared. "I'll have you back on your feet and singing my praises in no time!"
Germany considered his options briefly. "Some medicine and something hot to drink would be nice."
"Medicine and a hot drink, roger that!" Prussia repeated as he dashed from the room. "Be back in a flash, West!"
Germany sighed and closed his eyes, wondering if he would ever see those items or if Prussia would just sneeze and give up.
Prussia returned to Germany's room a full forty-five minutes later, his arms loaded with three large bags of groceries. Normally he would have been miffed about having to swallow his considerable pride and do the shopping himself, but he figured if it was to help Germany then it was ok. Germany had slipped into a restless sleep while he was waiting, his blankets all wrapped around him like a giant cocoon. Prussia smiled to himself as he set the bags on the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed.
When Germany was curled up asleep like that, he actually still looked kind of like the cute little kid he had been the last time Prussia had cared for him during sickness. That memory, as old as it was, was still fresh in Prussia's mind. If it had been a book or a photograph, it would have been lovingly worn and dog-eared, an old favorite that he returned to again and again when he needed a pick-me-up. It was contrary to his image to be sentimental, so the fact that he loved such a memory was carefully kept secret.
He adoringly recalled little Germany, a newly reborn nation barely taller than his knee, trying to stifle his coughing with his tiny fist as he crept into his older brother's room in the middle of the night. Germany had poked him awake timidly, apologized for disturbing him, and requested softly in an embarrassed mumble to be allowed to sleep in Prussia's bed that night as he wasn't feeling well. Prussia had pulled back the covers to admit his baby brother and pulled the child close. He had been a firm believer that Germany would need tough love in order to forge him into a strong, independent nation, but at the end of the day, when no one else was around to witness it, Prussia couldn't help doting on him just a little. Little Germany had seemed soothed by the warm welcome and affectionate contact. "Thank you, Brother," he had whispered as he nuzzled his chubby feverish cheek against Prussia's chest. He'd sighed and shivered miserably as Prussia rubbed his back until the child was able to drift into an uneasy sleep.
The thing that made this memory so precious to the older nation was not Germany's sickness or helplessness in that instance. It was knowing that there had been a time, albeit very long ago, when Germany had needed him. The shy, sincere gratitude in Germany's voice when he had willingly sought Prussia's help and had been so genuinely thankful to receive it—that was what made that memory special. These days, Germany was extremely stubborn and fiercely independent and Prussia couldn't deny that he was proud of him for it, but it had reached the point where Germany seemed deeply embarrassed to receive favors from anyone. Prussia often felt that his younger brother didn't need him anymore, and in this era where he no longer had citizens to rely on him, there was little to stop him from feeling utterly useless. He put on a front of enjoying this total freedom because he realized that there was nothing he could do about it, but the truth of the matter was there were times when Prussia deeply missed being needed by someone.
Well, this was his chance. Germany was incapacitated and had requested his help, and as sure as he was awesome, Prussia wasn't going to pass up this chance to make himself useful. Grinning at the thought of how grateful Germany would be, Prussia clapped his brother's shoulder and rubbed it in order to wake him. Germany's hazy blue eyes fluttered open at the touch.
"Hey West, how ya feelin'?" Prussia asked.
Germany tried to sniffle through his stuffed up nose, but just ended up sending himself into a hoarse coughing fit. "I've felt better," he moaned, a hand drifting to his aching head.
"Well no worries because awesome Big Brother Prussia is here to make it all better!" he promised. "So I wasn't sure what you'd wanna drink, so I brought a couple different choices."
Prussia reached into one of his grocery bags and pulled out three boxes of different flavored tea, some cocoa mix, a can of ground coffee beans, and a canister of cappuccino mix. Germany rubbed his eyes as he sat up groggily to consider his options. After a moment of silent deliberation, he selected peppermint tea.
"And I thought you might be hungry, so I got some soup and fruit," Prussia continued, producing six different flavors of soup from the bag. Germany picked chicken and noodle with vegetables.
"And there's orange juice, and an electric blanket, and medicine, and chap stick, and this bubble bath which is supposed to help with congestion, and a stuffed panda to cuddle with, and this thing—I don't know what it does but it had a little bird on it, so…"
"Brother," Germany sighed. "I appreciate the sedtibedt, but haved't I told you agaid a'd agaid dot to buy poidtless thi'gs?"
"You're just pissy because you're sick," Prussia said, waving the complaint aside. "Be back in a sec, just gonna warm this up."
Prussia put away all the extra food, setting the items that Germany had chosen on top. He was just about to start taking the bags into the kitchen when Germany snatched a tissue from the box on his bedside and sneezed into it several times. Germany stared when Prussia dropped three more boxes of tissues onto the table beside the opened one. They were all decorated with little birds.
"Almost forgot about those," Prussia said, bending down to pick up the bags.
Germany watched him leave in silence, feeling rather surprised to see his normally selfish and lazy brother being so considerate.
When Prussia reentered Germany's room with a tray bearing hot soup, tea, a slice of buttered bread, an apple, a glass of orange juice and two pills, he found Germany examining the panda absentmindedly.
"Kesesese! I knew you'd warm up to that little guy eventually!" he gloated.
Germany blushed and dropped the toy. Prussia continued to grin as he set the tray on Germany's lap. That was when Germany saw it: a yellow plastic child's spoon sitting in his soup. At first, he thought it was in the shape of an airplane, but a closer look revealed it to be a cute little chick. Why was he not surprised? Germany looked up at his brother, thoroughly unimpressed. He was even less impressed when Prussia pulled a chair up to Germany's bedside, picked up the spoon and blew on the miniscule amount of broth he was able to scoop up with it.
"Open wide for Mr. Chick, West," Prussia ordered in an annoying sing-song voice.
"Brother, the fact that I'b sick doesd't bead I deed to be coddled like a child," Germany said sternly.
"Uh oh, here he comes, West!" Prussia made wing-flapping noises with his mouth and brought the spoon to Germany's mouth in a meandering swoop. "Say 'ah'!"
Germany didn't want to end up with soup dribbled on his sleeveless shirt, so he grudgingly let the spoon enter his mouth.
"Good boy," the elder brother smirked. "Here he comes again!"
"I'b perfectly capable of feedi'g—hack!" Germany choked as Prussia took advantage of his open mouth to shove the spoon inside. "Are you trying to kill me?" he rasped, once he had finished coughing.
"Harsh, West!" Prussia huffed. "Is that any way to talk to someone who's giving up a day of leisure to help you when you're sick and pathetic? You should be praising me! On your knees!"
Prussia raised the spoon again, clearly intending to gag Germany with it again, but Germany grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"As I said before, I appreciate the sedtibedt, but this isd't helpi'g," Germany said. "I dod't deed you to do this. I'b dot so sick that I deed to be spood fed. I'b perfectly capable of taki'g it frob here so you cad go back to…"
Germany trailed off in dazed surprise when a brief look of hurt and disappointment flashed across Prussia's face. It was only there for a split second before being replaced by irritation, so at first Germany wondered if he'd just imagined it.
"Fine West, you ungrateful, unawesome brat," Prussia said testily. "Who wants to look after your sorry ass anyway?"
With that, Prussia dropped the spoon back in the bowl and got up from the chair, making for the door. Suddenly Germany had a flash of understanding; Prussia's unusual level of obsequiousness stemmed from a need to make himself feel useful. That hurt expression he'd worn was the same one he displayed the other times that Germany resisted his attempts at acting like a big brother toward him. It suddenly dawned on Germany how rough it must have been for his brother to go from an active, spirited nation to a squatter in another's home where his only functions were to play video games, eat snacks, drink beer and be a general nuisance. Prussia needed to have someone rely on him from time to time.
Germany hurriedly pushed the boxes of tissues onto the floor to make room on the bedside table for his lunch tray and stumbled out of bed to make amends with his brother.
"Brother, wait!" he called, wincing at the harsh noise that issued from his sore throat when he raised his voice. "I chadged by—whoa!"
Germany's legs, weak from his sickness and unable to handle his sudden weight, began to fold underneath him. Thankfully, Prussia was back at his side in a flash, catching Germany against his chest before he could hurt himself. Germany blushed at the helplessness of his display, clutching at Prussia's shirt as he squeezed his eyes shut while his head spun mercilessly. Standing up so suddenly had not been a good idea.
"You ok, West?" Prussia asked after a moment, during which Germany had made no attempt to move.
"Yeah, sorry…" he muttered. "Staddi'g up so suddedly like that bade be dizzy…"
Prussia shifted himself so that one of Germany's arms was around his shoulders, his own arm around his younger brother's waist, and slowly helped him to his feet so that he could guide him back to bed.
"Thagks," Germany mumbled. "Look, uh… I… I did't bead that I dod't deed your help, just… the spood-feedi'g was a bit too buch. I'd appreciate it if you'd just get be a regular spood a'd let be feed byself."
"Jeez, if that's it, just say so," Prussia groused, trying to hide his relief. "I don't get you, West. Mr. Chick is way more awesome than a regular spoon."
Germany took a swallow of tea as he watched Prussia leave again to get another spoon. Now that he thought about it, he supposed it was ather nice to have someone to look after him when he was sick. He was actually deeply touched that Prussia would do this for him, even if it was embarrassing. Prussia returned with a normal spoon and handed it to him. He returned to his chair as Germany dug into his soup.
"Wanna take a bath after this?" Prussia offered.
Germany considered this. If the bubble bath really would clear up his congestion, he would certainly feel a lot better. But he could feel himself getting quite sleepy and had a feeling that a full belly and that medicine Prussia had given him would put him out like a light.
"Baybe after I've had sobe sleep," he replied drowsily.
Germany had just finished his soup, the tea and the apple when his head began to nod. Prussia bit his lip to keep from smiling as he removed the tray from the younger man's lap and crawled into bed beside Germany. He looped his arm around Germany's back and pulled him closer so that the blond head was resting on his shoulder.
"I'll count sheep for you," he proposed.
"Ok," Germany agreed, his sleepiness sapping his desire to resist.
Prussia began to count quietly, running his fingers through Germany's hair. Germany's eyelids fluttered lethargically, leaning more fully on Prussia as his body began to relax. Prussia's embrace was warm and comforting, invoking pleasantly nostalgic memories of his childhood when his older brother had held him when he wasn't feeling well or had had a bad dream.
"Thadk you, brother," Germany breathed just before his consciousness gave way to sleep.
Prussia couldn't help smiling at that. Germany's voice may have been deeper now, but it still held the same shy sincerity that had been present when he'd been a child. The elder brother counted up to fifty sheep before looking down at the feverish figure snuggled up to him. Germany was fast asleep, his flushed and burning cheek resting in the crook of Prussia's neck. As gently as he could, Prussia separated himself from Germany and helped him lie back slowly on his pillows.
He gazed affectionately down at the blond, pushing his hair out of his face for him. Germany really did look a lot younger when he was asleep. Prussia bent down and brushed a soft kiss to his sleeping brother's forehead.
"Feel better soon, West," he whispered.
As Prussia turned to exit the room and leave Germany to his nap, he remembered something. He had humbled himself to going to the grocery store and had completely forgotten to buy Nutella. If he hadn't been worried about waking Germany, he would have cursed out loud. There was nothing for it but to wait for Germany to get better so that he could go get him some.
"Feel better real soon, West," he muttered, closing the door quietly behind him.