Hello all! I hope you all like this story, it's my first try at a Hetalia fanfic, so any suggested improvements are most welcome! Not really sure what else to say, other than I own nothing, so on with the story!
Germany's eyes flickered open, and for a few moments he lay there in bed, wondering what had woken him. Eventually, after neither hearing nor seeing anything else, Germany allowed his eyes to drift shut again, curling up deeper into his blankets. However, he'd no sooner got comfortable then his sleep was disturbed again; the nation was sure he'd heard something, but he just couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Sitting up, Germany rubbed his bleary eyes and looked over at the digital clock-radio on his bed-side table, his eyes catching sight of the luminous green glow immediately. 3:51 AM. Germany didn't mind waking up early, in fact he was quite used to it by now, but even for him this was pushing it.
Groaning, Germany pushed the covers off, shivering involuntarily as the cool air wormed its way around his bare legs. He stood up and peered through the curtains of his bedroom window, to make sure that it wasn't just a couple of cats squabbling over a mouse, and having satisfied himself that there really was nothing outside, Germany went searching for the source of his disturbance.
Germany poked his head out his bedroom door, quickly scanning the corridor. Whatever had woken him just didn't feel quite right, and it had put his soldier's sense on alert. The nation carefully made his way downstairs, grateful for the night lights lining the skirting board that he'd bought to prevent his brother from breaking his neck when he got up to pee in the middle of the night. Germany stopped suddenly. Gilbert, he wondered, as he turned around and headed down towards his brother's room in the basement.
As Germany got closer, he heard the sound again, but this time it sent chills down his spine. He was sure it was Prussia screaming. Breaking into a jog, Germany hurried towards his room, and paused outside the door, knocking loudly. "Gilbert?" he called, knocking again when he got no response. "Gilbert, are you alright?" Once again, Germany heard Prussia cry out, and brotherly instinct took over as he threw the door open, forgetting about waiting for a reply, and flicked on the light switch.
Prussia was twisting around on his bed, obviously in the grip of a nightmare. His face was screwed up tight in an expression of torment, he was clutching tightly at bedsheets that had been rucked up by his thrashing, and a cold sweat had caused the albino's platinum hair to stick to his face. Germany rushed over, and started to shake Prussia's shoulder roughly in an attempt to rouse him. "Gilbert?" Germany said loudly. "Gilbert, wake up!" Once again, Prussia cried out, and the sound wrenched at Germany's heart; he sounded so scared, so frightened of whatever was haunting his dreams, and Germany could only seem to watch helplessly, as if from a great distance, unable to do anything to help him, other than plead with his brother to wake up.
"West!" Prussia screamed, making Germany jump. "No! Get away from me! West!" Shaking him harder, Germany begged the ex-nation to wake up, calling out to him in desperation. Finally, Germany resorted to the last thing he could think of, and promptly slapped Prussia hard across the face. The albino's crimson eyes shot open, and he sat bolt upright, narrowly avoiding smacking his head against Germany's, his chest heaving as he sucked in great lungfuls of air; Germany was sure he could hear his heart pounding.
"West?" Prussia gasped, his frantic eyes settling on his brother. Germany reached out and gripped the ex-nation's shoulder tightly, trying to reassure him. "It's alright, Gilbert, I'm here. It was just a dream." Prussia had to stare at Germany for a few moments to ensure that his brother really was there. "Just a dream," he murmured, still breathing hard, and then, to Germany's utter surprise, Prussia's eyes filled with tears, and he crumpled against him, clinging onto his brother and burying his face in his chest, as he started to cry.
Germany's surprise only lasted for a couple of seconds, and he perched himself on the edge of Prussia's bed as he enveloped his brother in a hug. Germany sat like that for a while, just cradling Prussia against his chest, and rubbing his back soothingly, as the ex-nation sobbed his heart out, gripping onto his brother's top so hard that Germany wondered if he'd tear it. At some point, Germany had gently started to rock back and forth, humming softly, like Prussia had done to comfort him when he was small. Germany no longer cared about the time; he was content to just sit here with his brother, although he worried about what Prussia could've been dreaming of that would have made him so upset.
Prussia's cries gradually died down to soft whimpers, until he sat there quietly, sniffling and hiccoughing, as Germany continued to hold him close. When the nation felt his brother shift slightly, he relaxed his grip, allowing Prussia to sit up, although Germany still kept hold of one of his shoulders. Prussia brought an arm up to his face and tried to wipe the majority of the tears away, but only succeeded in smudging them further across his damp cheeks, so they now resembled silvery spider webs stretching out across his pale skin.
"Are you alright?" Germany asked gently. Prussia nodded, and sniffed noisily, rubbing at his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" Prussia hesitated for a few moments, before whispering, "I was dreaming...about...you know, that time." Of course, Germany thought. Even he still thought about the time the two brothers were separated; it had been one of the worst days of both of their lives. "They were taking you away," the ex-nation continued quietly, keeping his head bowed, too embarrassed at being caught crying to look Germany in the eye. "That Soviet bastard wouldn't let me say goodbye, and I could hear the others joking about what he was going to do to me. I was so frightened, West." Prussia could feel more tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over his already crumbling defences, and he kneaded at them, trying to force them back. He was meant to be strong, the awesome Prussia, and he hated showing weakness in front of anyone, especially his brother, but even he couldn't hold back everything.
Germany saw another few tears start to roll down Prussia's cheeks as he talked about the nightmare, so the nation pulled his brother back against him, resting his chin on the albino's pale hair as Prussia buried his face his vest. "It's alright, Gilbert," he said, trying to reassure him. "It was just a dream." The ex-nation nodded, but then mumbled something so softly that Germany couldn't hear him. "What?" he said, pulling away and looking down at his brother. Prussia sniffed again, and repeated his words. "But...what if that Soviet bastard comes back, and takes me away again? I can't go back there, West. You've no idea what it was like, living with that freak."
Germany gently placed his fingers beneath Prussia's chin, and tilted his face up so he could look his brother in the eye. "That will never, ever happen, Gilbert," he said seriously. "I'll never let anyone hurt you again, as long as I live." Germany then got to feet. "Now," he said more brightly, trying to cheer Prussia up. "How about a nice hot cup of cocoa?" A small smile tugged at the corners of Prussia's mouth, and he wiped his pyjama sleeve across his eyes, drying them out, before he also clambered out of bed. "Sorry if I embarrassed you," he said, growing solemn again. "Crying like Austria is so not awesome."
Germany gripped both Prussia's shoulder, and looked at him sternly. "There is nothing wrong with showing emotions, Gilbert. And I am not embarrassed. Got that?" Prussia was staring at his brother with an expression not dissimilar to the one Italy wore whenever he received a scolding. Eventually, he nodded silently, crimson eyes glistening in the light. Germany turned around, and left the bedroom, Prussia padding along softly behind him; the nation tried to stifle a yawn, not wanting to let his brother think he was being a bother.
Reaching the kitchen, Germany ordered Prussia to take a seat with a firm, "Sit", and went about the process of heating up some milk, and digging around in the cupboards to look for some chocolate powder. Prussia was unnaturally quiet, and it would be a lie to suggest that Germany wasn't just a little unnerved. He wasn't used to his normally boisterous and boorish brother acting so melancholy, but then again, if Germany had experienced that nightmare, he doubted he would've been feeling very chipper himself.
Pouring out two mugs of hot cocoa, Germany set one in front of Prussia, who reached out and wrapped his fingers around it, before he sat down across the table from the ex-nation. Sipping at their warm drinks, the two brothers sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. "Mmm," Prussia murmured after a while. "This is good, West. Thanks." Germany smiled warmly in response, glad that he'd been able to do something to comfort him. "How are you feeling?" The ex-nation nodded as he took another sip from his cocoa, wiped his mouth, and said, "Better, thanks. My awesomeness has returned." Prussia cracked one of his cocky grins, although Germany knew him so well that he could tell it was only a half-hearted effort.
Germany felt another yawn building in his chest, and raised his hand to cover it as much as possible. Prussia glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall, and with surprise realised how late, or rather, early, it was. "You should go back to bed, West," he said. "I've kept you up too late already." His brother shook his head, and insisted it was no bother, but was interrupted by yet another yawn that announced itself so quickly Germany couldn't even attempt to stifle it. "I'm not that tired, really," he claimed. Prussia chuckled slightly. "Really," he said. Then, growing serious again, "Thank you, though, West. For, ya know, everything." Smiling back, Germany replied with, "No need to thank me Gilbert. You're my brother; I'll look out for you no matter what."
The brothers stood, and left the mugs in the sink until tomorrow, as neither quite had the energy to wash them. As they were headed back to their rooms, Prussia stopped, and hesitated, before awkwardly saying, "Hey, West..." and trailed off, feeling like a pathetic baby for even thinking about it. Germany stopped too, and turned to face the ex-nation. "Yah?" Prussia suddenly became very interested in the sleeve of his pyjama top, as he said, "Well, I was just thinking, it's cold, and dark, down in my room, so, I wondered if, just for tonight, I might, maybe...?" Germany understood his meaning immediately. "Of course," he said, smiling warmly at his big brother, before heading upstairs, Prussia trotting after him.
As the two clambered into Germany's bed, Prussia hesitating a little at first, the nation was reminded of all the various times he'd snuck into his brother's bedroom late at night, when he was little; as a child, he'd often be woken up by the sound of branches scratching at the window, looking like skeletal fingers trying to prise their way inside, and he'd run, terrified, to Prussia's room, where it was always safe, before burying himself under the covers, tucked up close to his big brother's side. The majority of the time, Prussia would remain dead to the world, but in the morning he was never very surprised to find little Germany soundly asleep next to him.
Germany had always been fond of those memories, and, truth be told, he was actually quite glad that he'd be sleeping next to his brother again; ever since Prussia's dissolution, Germany kept feeling as if the two of them were drifting further and further apart, even after the Berlin Wall was torn down. The fear of waking up one day and finding that his big brother had faded away in the night was never far from Germany's mind. For tonight, at least, he wouldn't have to worry; Prussia would be right here next to him, a solid presence, and if any malicious force tried to snatch him away, they'd have to do so over Germany's dead body.
As the two brothers drifted off, Prussia starting to snore lightly, Germany thought about all the other memories they'd built up between them; from the days of Prussian glory and the rise of the German empire, to the grief-filled hours spent watching that accursed wall being constructed, and the joy of reunification. Germany didn't know how many more memories he and Prussia would be able to make together, but he knew that this moment would be one of the ones he cherished the most.
I hope you all enjoyed it. :) as I said, constructive criticism is great, or just any kind of review is appreciated. Keep a watch out though, because I have at least two more fics of a similar theme planned, which will be ready for publication soon. PS: review, fave etc. go on, you know you want to. ;)