Time and time again, Prussia never ceased to make room in his schedule for bugging Hungary. Her choice to embrace womanhood was easy to prey on, easy to get a reaction from, and what better chance did he have at getting her attention? "Lose the girly getup and go hunting with me!" was what he said most of the time, each and every one met with the threat of a skillet to the face. Still, throughout his visits, there were the scarce moments of pity she would take on him and his "going out of his way only to get rejected;" after he discovered this was an easy way to spend time with her and be invited into her home, he used the tactic at an increasing rate until finally, one day, she simply couldn't be bothered.
"Go away," she ordered. The hem on her dress had been torn in multiple places. If he had known it was a sensitive time, maybe he would have stopped taunting her.
"Oh? And why should I do that? You don't have to be embarrassed in front of me for looking like that! Everyone has their poor days!"
"I said leave! I'm not in the mood, and I don't have the time."
When she rushed into her home, Prussia found no other choice but to follow her and continue his interrogation. Around they went in the house to every room and corner- rampant questions found no answers due to the busy situation Hungary was stuck in. If he had paid more attention that day, maybe he would have noticed the boxes.
"Why can't you tell me? Is it some seret mission? Are you a spy now?"
"Shutup and leave me alone! Can't you see I'm in the middle of-"
'Packing,' the poor country found herself finishing the sentence in her head as an incredibly frustrated and impatient German pinned her against the wall to leave her standing still. If he were any less determined to calm his curiosity, maybe he would have noticed her eyes flitting to his lips.
Despite his sudden action being rough by nature, he was careful not to injure her, and it was only held for as long as she stayed silent. She knew this instantly; Prussia made a habit of holding himself back whenever they were like this. Hurting a woman was low and despicable no matter how much she wished they could go back to the days of fighting and adventure.
The moment of closeness seemed to last for hours. It was suddenly years and years earlier- Prussia and Hungary had been in a similar situation; though that was an infinitely more compromising situation, the threat was still there. A reality that had been put off for far too long had no other choice but to show itself.
"I have no money left. My food rations are narrowing and I'm losing my land. I have no choice but to...relocate."
"Relocate? Where are you going?" She surely wasn't dissolving, right?
"I have to go where I'll survive. No matter what that means."
"Oh, come on! You'll be perfectly fine, I know it! And if you ask for it, I'll provide my awesome services for you-"
"I don't need your help, you arrogant prick! Now leave, I'm not done packing."
Only now realizing that she was truly vexed, he left her with a loud complaining whine that echoed across the recently vacated halls, though that could have been considered a rather tame version of a Prussian departure. Many times he had stolen a vase or other trinket only to return it in his next visit, asking her how long she looked for It. Sometimes a window would be broken, other times a small message would be written on a wall or door. His most extravagent stunt hadn't been so long ago: a scavenger hunt that had lasted a week and ended with a take-out dinner delivered by a poorly disguised Prussia. It became the protocol to plan for leaving and returning. Not that he minded, after all- Hungary had a strange but fixed place in his life.
That was why when he broke into her home three weeks later to find it empty, his energetic exterior broke. Replaced with a frantic desperation, he hoped and he prayed that she hadn't dissolved. There was no possible way that Hungary could just disappear like that without giving him some sort of goodbye.
And right then was when he found a small piece of paper with a short message. There was no sign that it was addressed to him or that she had even written it, but there was something about it that revealed everything he needed to know.
"I'm fine where I am."
The relief he felt was exponential. In spite of his calmed nature, that didn't mean he'd continue on as if nothing happened. From his finding the note to the moment he found a lead, he took little time off from searching for her, going from neighbor to neighbor and listening to every conversation possible in hopes of hearing about her.
A lead came to him after several long years. Word of a new maid passed between the Germanic brothers- a pretty young woman that had no choice but to move in with the first willing country that would take her. Such a country ended up being someone regrettable in Prussia's eyes: an old rival, Austria.
Two days later, Prussia showed up at Austria's house with every intent of forcing his way inside and judging for himself if she truly was fine in Austria's house.
"Oh Austria!" he called out in front of the door. The faint sound of a piano suddenly stopped. "Be a gracious host and invite me inside! It's fucking cold out here!" Several short moments later, the door opened as expected.
"What do you want? I have much to do."
"What, like bang on that old piano of yours? Don't you ever get tired from playing all that dull music? I feel sorry for that new maid of yours."
"Is that why you're here? For a minute I almost expected more from you."
The door was about to close until Prussia's foot was kicked in its way. He spoke a bit quieter this time, leaning in his head to try and see through the doorway.
"But you wouldn't happen to know where my manly girlfriend Hungary is, would you?"
Silent for a moment, Austria could only manage to blink twice before answering. "I don't think the Hungary we know is the same country. Are you stuck in the past? The Hungary I know is gracious and feminine. She simply wouldn't want to bother with someone like you."
'Shows who knows who better,' Prussia thought, amused by the very strange image of a complacent and womanly Hungary. Sure, she wore dresses now and didn't fight much, but some things about people would never change. Hungary spent a large majority of her life believing she was a boy, acting like a boy, never letting the fact that she didn't have something dangling between her legs stop her from fighting and having adventures just as she wanted to.
"Do get rid of that dumb look on your face," Austria narrowed his eyes. "Whatever dillusions you have about Hungary should stop today. Out in the open, on her own, she was unable to support herself. Hungary is very safe in my household- don't compromise that for her."
"I wouldn't dream of it! But you shouldn't be surprised if she loses her womanly composure every once and a while."
After the very indirect order to leave, Prussia backed down, already planning in his mind how to return when Austria wouldn't catch him. This ended up with a great deal of stalking on Prussia's part as well as failed attempts at reaching his friend when he thought she'd notice he was (very literally) outside her window.
When he was next able to meet her, it was during an incredibly long shopping trip which Austria took half a day to come back from, but by then, Prussia had already left.
He had snuck in at almost the exact moment Austria left.
"You look better," he interrupted the quiet sweeping she was in the middle of. A shriek of surprise was the immediate response (in addition to a swipe via the broom she was holding, though her aim was far off its target. It truly had been a long time since she properly fought).
"Prussia!" was the only word she was able to get out.
"Happy to see me? Ha! Well, it has been a long time without my awesome friendship to depend on, so I don't blame you." Ignoring the fact that it was him going to such great lengths to find her, he continued teasing her. "The war doesn't look like it's affected your lovely face, or so Austria would say. For a boss, he seems like he takes too much interest in you. You know how rude he was to me the other day?! It wasn't even his business to get worked up about." Hungary had no idea Prussia had stopped by previously, so the statement went right over her head.
"Everything is strictly business between him and I!"
She seemed to be embarrassed by that, and with good reason, in Prussia's head. "How romantic," his monotone statement revealed the sarcasm. "I would've thought you'd want to take advantage of all the nice things he does for you. Think of all the money and goods you could get! But how is it you're all stuffy like him now? Bo-ring."
"Hey! I'm not stuffy!" she raised the nearest pan in a backhand position, ready to hit him, though the action never followed. "I'm not going to use him for his money. He is a good man! Doing that would be like stealing!"
"I knew that," he spat back, becoming annoyed. "It's not like you'd go and tie the knot with your stuffy boss anyway! He's a pretentious rich country that couldn't handle the thought of marrying a maid!"
Hungary's arm swung down, deflated, as did her eyes and face. Ashamed. A rambunctious, powerful country like herself reduced to a caretaker? Despite the fact she had convinced herself many times that embracing her womanhood was a good and proper thing, there were too many things she had missed from her childhood. Getting beaten up by Turkey all the time was a painful consequence, but the rest wasn't bad in the least.
Without anything else to say, she simply asked, "Why did you come here? To make fun of me like you did when we were kids? Belittle the small amount of pride I have left? Because I did what I had to so I could survive!" With a cold intensity, her grip on the pan intensified. "I may not like living like this, but Mr. Austria is kind to me. He's offered me a home and a life and he spared me from dissolving when I could do little for him in return. So why are you here?! If all you have to say is a repeat of things I've already heard, then leave!"
"Calm down!" he scratched the back of his head. When she wanted, she really could get under his skin. "So serious today," he muttered. "Seeing as how the first time didn't work, I thought I'd keep trying until I could judge you for myself."
Though he shrugged his shoulders and passed it off as nothing, Hungary knew better. There was something he wasn't saying. 'Like he'd tell me anything. He could talk and talk on and on but would never say anything serious.' Reading between the lines seemed mandatory in this situation (just as it was in every other serious conversation between them). 'So terrible at communication.'
But when she heard that one line, something didn't add up. "Wait," her head tilted and her eyes met with his, "what do you mean the first time? You came by?"
"Austria didn't tell you?! What a prick! Take a look at the garbage you work for, trying to keep childhood friends apart like that! Not even telling you I stopped by, now that's the real definition of rude. I tried a lot more but you never noticed me outside the window. You really missed out, you know, I'm this awesome for a reason. People need to acknowledge it-! Hey, why are you laughing? What's funny?!"
The giggles didn't stop until she snorted, resulting in Prussia laughing as well. He only heard her snort when she was drunk.
"Just thinking of you doing ridiculous things outisde the window is too much."
Hungary and Prussia didn't speak until after she saw his eyes running down her body- it took her a second to realize that he was genuinely curious about her wellbeing after all. It had been too long withot each other's company; it was the type of loneliness that sparked worry, even if this worry was never acknowledged or known by either of them.
'Is he alright?'
'Is she eating okay?'
'Did anyone hurt him recently?'
'Does she have any problems?'
'Did he take care of himself since I last saw him?'
Too many unanswered concerns that would never be voiced or admitted still floated around nonetheless. Underneath the annoyed, teasing nature of their friendship lied the true meaning of all the visits and interrogations and arguments. An affection that ran much deeper than words took very long to read, but once understood could never be forgotten. It existed in a paradoxal state. Though it could be read and understood, it was not consciously known. Though it carved their relationship to last past hardships and the brink of hatred, it was never taken into account. Perhaps, however, both had wondered about their affection for the other. Perhaps they, for a very brief moment, toyed with the idea of loving without covering it up with insults and taunts.
This was the leading force perpetuating the silence between the two after their laughter. This affection was the type that was forced to be felt, but the two stubborn countries wouldn't give in so easily.
Prussia lost it long enough to ask the question that maybe he had been wanting to ask since she left, but was unable to in light of their separation.
"So you like it here?"
"Yes," without skipping a beat. "I like staying here."
"With Austria."
"Yes."
"Serving him."
"Y-"
The machine that answered automatically had stalled after it realized its mistake. Happy to serve? Being a maid? Having no other choice but to take care of Little Italy? No, that wasn't true in the least. There was a certain pride in helping raise Italy (and a sense of accomplishment in keeping the mansion clean), but needless to say, this was not the life Hungary would have wanted for herself.
"Ha, see? You're not, and you don't have to admit it for me to know. I've already seen that look, and I know what it means. Did you forget I can read you better than anyone else?"
Demanding, demanding, demanding to be felt. Whatever force it was that guided them to very nearly admit the one thing they both always escaped from with relative ease was singing and flying around them before losing the strength beneath both of their iron wills.
"Try as you might to get rid of me, it just won't happen. I'm pretty sure you'd wither away without my awesome friendship! I'll be back to keep you company, promise. Don't get too lonely in the meantime!"
He left in the same way he arrived; a strange change to how he usually departed. A small voice in Hungary's head hoped that he wouldn't do that often. It was too weird of him to leave without making a fuss.
By the time Prussia got home, it wasn't very late, but he still felt tired. Too many emotions made him that way: unable to do much else, unwilling to do much else, and altogether doing nothing else. Sleep happened to be the one working remedy.
The only thought he had before completely blacking out was the fact that he made a promise to her that day, and would probably have to keep it too. After all, having her suffer under the stuffy working conditions that were Austria's house would be like declaring he was throwing her to the dogs. It simply wasn't right.
Promises were a tricky thing, however, and tricky to keep. The real difficulty did not lie in face value, but in every vein and breath that gave life to their relationship. The structure of a promise would twist to create a new reality, a new living creature to be nurtured in any and every way possible.
