For Kivaember and Kapusa17 on LJ. Something of a companion-piece to His Worries.
Gilbert finds himself at the end of his rope when Ludwig insults his Old Fritz. Now, usually Ludwig is very good at finding the place where his personal feelings end and his nation's collective consciousness begins, then acting solely upon what he himself feels. But Germany has been under the haze of over-zealous nationalism for years, he's lost much of his old control and is only just starting to regain it again. Despite this, the two of them have been able to live together peacefully. It is a tense peace, but their home is peaceful…
…Until Ludwig says that damning thing about his Frederick the Great. There is no excuse for bashing Gilbert's favorite monarch.
"How dare you suggest that my Old Fritz was anything like your nut job of a boss?" The first punch is thrown and it hits its mark dead on, its mark being the very center of his younger brother's face. Ludwig is left a bit dazed for a moment, as if he hasn't even completely registered what he's said, never mind the consequence of it.
"I—What?" Gilbert sighs and waits for Ludwig to add two and two together to get, "Oh yeah, I just said something horrifically offensive to my awesome big brother, I should apologize before he kicks my ass to next Wednesday."
"You were doing that thing again. You know, the thing where all those anti-Prussian sentiments floating around your place get the better of you and you shove your foot in your mouth."
"Oh." Ludwig has the grace to look ashamed of himself. Gilbert is not quite appeased by this, but it is enough for now. He understands how difficult it is for their kind to stop themselves from acting on their country's views, not to let the general mood of their nation affect their own. They've both been having a time of that in these last few decades, it just seems worse now because of their situation.
This isn't the first time Ludwig slips, but it's the first time Gilbert slugs him for it. They both feel that this probably will not be the last time, either.
"I'm sorry then," Ludwig finally apologizes after a moment of awkward silence, but even this isn't quite good enough, because now Gilbert knows, he knows those thoughts are in his brother's head, knows they're in his population. Gilbert is tempted to punch him again.
The rest of the day is spent avoiding each other, Ludwig worrying over his lack of verbal self-restraint, Gilbert just trying to calm the hell down.
"Hah," his dry laugh is more of a sigh, "And to think there used to be a time where that kid thought everything I did was awesome."
000
"What?" Gilbert has known this was coming, he's known for a long time, heck it might as well have already happened for all that he acted like a free state. Still, it is sort of a slap to the face to know that the Allies had gone and made the decision final without giving him any say in the matter. They are going to dissolve him, wipe his name off all the maps, turn him into an unpleasant memory, a ghost. He is just a relic from an old age, an outdated one, they are throwing him out.
"I'm sorry, but they'll be making it official in a week." Ludwig can't look at his face, can't stand to watch his once proud brother fall apart.
But he should really know better because Gilbert doesn't fall apart, he just adapts and finds a new way to go on. He's angry and he can't even find the words to express himself with, but the Prussian was not about to fall to pieces over this. He's too awesome for waterworks, anyway.
Still, that doesn't mean he feels fine, either.
'Remember, discipline, sacrifice, obedience to the law…' He isn't going to lash out, really he isn't. He's not going to go on a rampage, give those Allied bastards something to remember him by and wet themselves over at night. That would prove that he is as dangerous as they make him out to be, which he's not. He's sensible enough to know when there's no point in fighting. Still, his old, once-blazing spirit feels smothered as he forces himself to just accept his fate.
He lets out an aggravated breath that does nothing to release the tension in his back. "Well, I guess I'll be moving into your house permanently, huh?"
000
That week passes, and then another, and many after it. Gilbert isn't dead or dying or disappearing, he has no uncontrollable urges to wander off and never return. Honestly, he just hasn't been himself much since the dissolution was made final. He sits around, drinks his beer, and searches through channels on the television without really looking at anything, much like an unemployed husband moping over his lost job.
Ludwig doesn't let him mope too much though; he drags his brother out of the house and to wherever he thinks Gilbert would like to go. Both the Allies and his own people are saying that Prussians have to be "reeducated in the ways of peace and democracy," so Ludwig has to pretend to try and completely smother his brother's old personality. But really, there isn't much to do and Ludwig has no desire to do so anyway.
"Ya know, there are more important things you should be doing right now." Gilbert has never liked it when people disregard their responsibilities; he thought he'd pushed the virtue of diligence on Ludwig well, but perhaps not.
"Right now it's my job to take care of you, and that's it." Gilbert raises an eyebrow to this, before deciding enough is enough. Really, there is no need for Ludwig to make it seem like it's unusual for countries (well, free states) to get depressed after being dissolved. There is no need to make it seem like he has some responsibility to take care of his older brother. What a brat, treating him like he needs to be pitied.
Grabbing Ludwig in a headlock, he scowls down at his brother who is scowling back at him.
"Knock it off, we're in public, someone's going to think you're a mugger or something!" Ludwig never was one for roughhousing in public. Gilbert grins and seems to let go for just a moment before dragging Ludwig to the ground. There's kicking, punching, a few attempts to throw him off, and a good deal of cursing and rolling around before Gilbert finally manages to stabilize his position over Ludwig. The younger is looking up with an expression that says his brother is immature and unruly, and the older is looking down with a smirk and a bit of a challenge in his eyes.
Ludwig wouldn't admit it, but he's sort of thankful to see that at least some things would never change.
"You!" Gilbert points directly at Ludwig's face, his finger close enough to bite and Ludwig does attempt to, figures a few teeth marks would make for a better lesson than simply saying "It's rude to point" would.
"I'm the big brother here, got that? So stop actin' like my babysitter already!" Ludwig is unimpressed, to say the least. His eyes seem to be saying "With the way you act, you need one." What a little snot, where'd he get this attitude?
"Yes, because good big brothers tackle people in the middle of city parks in order to prove how much more mature they are, correct?"
"Now what does that have to do with anything?" Really, such insane ideas this boy has.
Ludwig sighs and covers his face with his hands, shaking his head just a bit. "Of course, how foolish of me."
Nodding in agreement, Gilbert decides he should get off of his brother before they draw a crowd. "So long as you know," he says as he stands, steps to one side of Ludwig, and offers him a hand. It is taken without hesitation, and for a moment Gilbert can tell that the other is considering pulling him back down for revenge, but doesn't.
"…But really," Ludwig says with a bit of hesitance as they head in the general direction of home, "You are fine, right?"
"I'm right as rain, perfectly content to be East Germany. Nothing's really changed, anyway."
"Really?"
Rolling his eyes, the older brother can't help but smile a bit as he takes the younger's hand in his own; it's a show of solidarity, from now on they'll work together, really work together, as one. Ludwig's face reddens a bit, but his fingers flex and tighten around the other's hand; it's reassuring him of this new togetherness.
Neither of them are quite sure why, but by the time they reach home, everything seems right again.
1. Prussia was dissolved on February 25th, 1947, by the Allied Control Council because "Prussiadom" was considered to be synonymous to Militarism and Authoritarianism. Of the four nations on the Council, Russia was the only one who was fine with Prussia staying Prussia.
2. At the end of WW2, everything east of the Oder-Neisse Line went to Poland, and the northern third of East Prussia went to the Soviet Union. All of Germany's territorial losses in WW2 were Prussian territory.
3. The Allied Control Council was based in Berlin-Schöneberg, and operated from the Kammergericht Building, which was the old supreme court building for Prussia.
4. Prussia the kingdom had already been dissolved in 1918 after the Treaty of Versailles and was replaced with the Free State of Prussia.
5. The Prussian Virtues are perfect organization, discipline, sacrifice, rule of law, obedience to authority, reliability, tolerance, frugality, punctuality, modesty, and diligence. (Somehow, it's hard to imagine Gilbert being half of these things ^^;)
6. Germany was feeling particularly Anti-Prussian after the war, as were the Allies. People thought Prussians needed to be reeducated in the ways of peace, or else they'd start another war the minute the Allies looked away.