Summary: Ludwig and Gilbert are orphaned teenagers who, after coming across strange marks appearing on their bodies, discover they are both half demon. No yaoi. Possible pairings in the future. Most likely will have gender bending.
I don't own Hetalia
Ludwig woke up to the sound of his brother groaning.
"Bruder," He shook the elder's shoulders, but Gilbert's eyes refused to open. The younger sighed. Nothing out of place. His brother always slept like a rock. One thing did seem slightly odd though. Gilbert never had nightmares. At least he claimed not to. Ludwig always believed him though, due to the fact that the albino would never show signs of nightmares, unlike him.
Then Ludwig realized that his brother was not dreaming. Tears ran down the teenager's pale face, and his fingers dug into his pillow, obviously from pain.
"Bruder!" The German, not completely in control of his own strength, shook his brother until he fell off of the bed.
"Oof!"
Whoops.
Ludwig made his way around the bed to see if his brother was alright. Sure enough, Gilbert sat oddly on the floor in a mess of covers and pillows, a bewildered look dressing his face. His reddish pinkish eyes looked at his brother's blue ones, "West?"
Ludwig rubbed his temple. "I'm sorry. You were having a bad dream. What was I supposed to do?"
"No I wasn't." Gilbert rose from his position on the ground, glaring at his brother accusingly. "I never have nightmares, you know that West." He placed his hand on his hip, trying to look pissed, but in his light blue pajamas, the pose looked somewhere from cute to ridiculous.
Ludwig proved himself by pointing at the Prussian's cheeks. Gilbert looked at Ludwig for a second, slightly confused. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Ludwig rolled his eyes and reached to touch his brother's pale skin.
He shoved his finger in the albino's field of vision.
"You were crying."
A shocked look on his face, the albino rubbed at his cheeks, and like Ludwig had claimed, they were puffy and wet. "No fucking way!" Gilbert ran his hand across his face, desperate to clear away the tears, but just ended up making his light skin more red and irritated.
"Just go back to bed, Gil." Ludwig made a beeline for his, but was interrupted by his brother.
"Wait, Luddy!"
Ludwig grimaced at his nickname.
"Something must be wrong. I never have nightmares!" He threw his arms out dramatically. Classic Gilbert, Ludwig thought.
"There is a first time for everything, bruder. Now, go to bed." The tall blond reentered the space of his sleeping quarters, ignoring his immature older sibling. Only a second later did Ludwig feel something heavy crash onto his bed.
"What the hell are you doing! ?" Ludwig pushed his brother off of his mattress, his tolerance becoming dangerously low.
Gilbert pouted. "But what if I have nightmares again?"
"You just said that you don't have nightmar-" A sudden, sharp pain in Ludwig's back caught him off guard. He doubled over, unable to heel the discomfort.
"West?" A look of genuine alarm came to Gilbert's face. "You okay?" Gilbert crawled back into his brother's bed, concern staining his red eyes. "Are you in pain? Lemme see." Lacking Ludwig's consent, the elder forced the black wife beater off the German and began to study his back.
"Is there anything out of place?" The younger didn't complain, too overwhelmed by the pain. He could feel Gilbert's hands rubbing up and down his spine and shoulder blades, examining him for any wounds. Although the twisting was deep in the muscle tissue, the Prussian's cold touch still felt somewhat soothing.
"Well, your back is as hard as a rock, but nothing seems out of the ordinary." Gilbert chuckled and his brother scowled. Yes, Ludwig was a very stressed individual, which would tend to cause his muscles to tense up horribly. He even remembered his brother trying several times to find pressure points during sparring sessions, but couldn't reach them due Ludwig being so strictly wound.
A loud click sounded when the Prussian pulled the chain to the youngest's reading lamp. Squinting, Ludwig turned his head quickly from the light as Gilbert continued to study his back.
"It feels like you have bumps under your shoulder blades. Like, unusually big, even for someone like y-" The eldest fell silent for a moment before his eyebrows and mouth positioned themselves into a scowl.
"What?"
The Prussian held his face next to the German's, making his displeasure clear. He didn't answer.
"What?!" The blond exclaimed even louder, fearing what his brother had to say.
"West...when did you get a tattoo?"
Ludwig blinked. "Vuat are you talking about?"
The albino jabbed his finger in the German's back. "Right here! When the hell did you get it Luddy , and why didn't you take me with you when you did?"
Ludwig stared at his brother for a moment, trying to determine whether he was serious or not, which, was rather hard to tell with somebody like Gilbert.
Ludwig rose from his bed and started towards the bathroom connected to their room. Once there, he examined his back through the mirror. Sure enough, ink colored marks stretched down his torso, hugging both sides of his rib cage. They reminded him of a flame or unwinding wind, swirling in and out of itself. Gilbert entered the room, a not too happy look on his face.
"What the hell, West. I thought that I was the rebellious one here. And why did you get a tattoo anyway?"
"I did not. I don't know what this is." Ludwig's piercing blue eyes held nothing but sincerity, but Gilbert still found it difficult to believe him. He poked at the German's marks mischievously, causing his brother to jump slightly. In a swift motion, Ludwig grabbed hold of Gilbert's arm.
"Stop that. It hurts."
The Prussian snickered at his brother's insecurities, but stopped once he found the look on Ludwig's face.
Now it was his turn. "What?" Gilbert followed the youngest's stare down to their hands. That is when Gilbert noticed the matching marks that peeked out of his sleeves, and onto his own hands. He took back his arm, and pulled the pajama sleeve to his elbow. Shocked, the Prussian admired them for a second, before having a completely different reaction than Ludwig.
"This is...AWESOME!" Similar to those of a child's who just entered a toy store, Gil's eyes grew round and shiny with excitement. His marks went from his hands all the way to his shoulders and neck.
Ludwig face palmed before comparing his own tattoos to his brother's. The pattern was the same, but something seemed to be different. Both of their marks were black and came in pairs, but when they reflected the light properly, the colors appeared different. While the Prussian's were a shade of firey red, the German's showed themselves to be an ominous violet.
"They're different colors." Ludwig confirmed, becoming slightly amused and catching his brothers attention.
Gilbert waved his wrists under the bathroom lights, clearly enjoying himself.
Ludwig couldn't help but smile, the pain in his back vanished along with the confusion that came with the tattoos. Gilbert took hold of Ludwig's wrist, turning off the bathroom light and leading the youngest to the front door.
"Where are we going?" The two orphaned brothers lived alone in a house on the edge of the city, close to it and able to see its lights easily, but were also surrounded by wilderness.
"You'll see." His older brother stated simply, enthusiasm staining every word.
He led them outside. From their house, the two could clearly see the lively city below them, along with the glowing full moon.
The Prussian cheered happily, and looked at Ludwig, the glow of the city and the moon reflecting in his red eyes. Then the younger brother noticed another light as well, this one much more powerful. The once iredescent gleam of Gilbert's tattoos was now replaced with an incandescent one, absorbing all the light and glowing nonstop. Now they really looked like fire.
Gilbert pointed to his brother, a wide smile on his face. Ludwig glanced at his still naked chest, a portion of his mark stretching towards the front of his torso. They mimicked his brother's, radiating with power, but instead of a red, they were a deep purple, reminding the German of shadow, the night, and the dark sky. Ludwig's smile also mirrored his brother's.
"This is a-"
"Awesome? !"
Ludwig chuckled softly. "I was going to say amazing, but ja, zat is the general feeling."
Gilbert rolled his eyes playfully at his brother's need to be specific. They hadn't been this happy in a long time. Ludwig and Gilbert used to enjoy full moon nights like this, but all that ended when their mother died three years ago, when Gil was sixteen and Ludwig was only fourteen. It felt as though the two always had a wall between them since then.
But now, said wall had been destroyed by something. They felt connected again not only to eachother, but to the mother they had lost years ago. Something new was awakening.
Still...
"Bruder."
"West, please don't spoil the fun." The Prussian countered the German's words before he even spoke them, showing just how well he knew his brother.
Ludwig sighed and continued despite his brother's complaints. "We still need to figure out what these things are exactly." He looked at his own marks, then pointed to Gilbert's. In defense, the albino hid his arms, as if his brother planned to steal the runes which lay on his skin.
Ludwig's brow twitched and he shook his head, practically feeling the wall rise between them again. "Let's just go to bed und deal with it in the morning." The blond extended a hand to his older brother, offering cooperation. The albino studied the hand and Ludwig's eyes before finally taking it. Together, they reentered the house, unaware that they were being watched.
From not too deep in the trees, two voices spoke to each other.
"Are you sure, Arthur? They don't look very much like demons." The first voice, slightly cocky and loud pitched, questioned the other.
"Positive." The second one answered in a British accent. "I think they're trying to hide their energy, but trust me, I can still sense it. Deep down, those two are monsters." After confirming their targets, they retreated back into the forest, preparing for the big night ahead of them.
