"V-ve! Germany~!" Italy flinched as another flash of lightning illuminated the room through his curtained window. Another second passed and the deep roll of thunder was heard around the house. Italy whimpered and called out again. Usually by this time he would have sprung out of bed and rushed to Germany's room. Except Germany had asked Italy not to disturb him because he was working… and he was too frightened to move.
Again the clouds roared and grumbled angrily.
Italy squeezed his eyes tightly shut and retreated back under the covers, clamping his hands over his ears. He continued to whimper as the rain beat down on the windows, wind picking up to whistle in through tiny cracks and shake the panes. Tears streamed down the small Italian's face. No-one was here to help him.
Germany looked up from his work, sighing. At last he had finished the last of his paperwork. He had to admit, for once his brother's idea of listening to music had actually helped him work a little. He didn't mind listening to the rain, but when it kept starting and stopping Germany found it to be quite irritating. Taking off the headphones, the first thing he became award of was the harsh sound of hail crashing against the windows. He was surprised they hadn't cracked already. Within moments however the hail had disappeared to be replaced with yet more rain. How could he have completely not noticed the storm pick up?
Pushing his papers to the side, Germany got up and walked over to the window. A fork of lightning illuminated the darkness not too far way. Germany could see in that instant the bright irregular line with tiny little branches forking off of it. Germany counted the seconds till the thunder hit. Eins…Zwei…Drei…V– A deep growl sounded and grew in volume as it rolled overhead. The storm was getting worse. Suddenly a huge crack sounded and Germany was stunned as his eyes responded to the bright flash. That was close, he could hear the lightning itself as it struck, practically on top of the house. The thunder responded within a moment, making its presence known throughout Germany's house.
Prussia groaned, tossing the pillow he had placed round his ears to the floor. Stupid storm, it wasn't letting him get any sleep. What's more he had let his brother borrow his iPod and headphones, so he couldn't even distract himself that way.
"Ore-sama saikou, saikyou…" Prussia sighed. Not even his awesome voice could cut through the pounding rain. He heard a deep roll of thunder above him, causing the nation to start. Stretching, he jumped out of bed, not bothering to tidy it, and headed for the study, knowing Germany would probably still be working.
Germany opened the door just as Prussia had grabbed the handle, causing the nations to blink in surprise.
"Bruder, what are you doing? And couldn't you have worn a shirt?"
"I thought West may need some help getting to sleep. I know my little bruder is scared of the thunder and lightning!" Prussia cackled and threw his arm around Germany. "Where ya headed?"
"Back to my room…"
"Oh good! We can sleep together!"
"I think not, Bruder." Germany sighed as his brother followed him to his room.
"Aw, why not? It'll be just like old times! Remember when you were little and used to sneak into my room even though you weren't meant to?"
"…Fine Bruder." Germany sighed in defeat, knowing Prussia could keep talking and embarrassing all night if needs be. "Oh, here." He tossed the iPod and headphones back to his brother, who caught them with ease and slipped them around his neck.
They arrived at Germany's room whereupon Prussia leapt onto the bed, spreading his arms and legs out to take up the whole space until his brother's glare made it clear that if he didn't move he would permanently damage certain parts of his anatomy.
"Take a joke, West. Kesese." Prussia moved along so that Germany to slide into the bed, turning so that his back was facing Prussia.
"Aw, come on West. No hug for your big brother?"
Germany remained still.
"Don't ignore me!" Prussia started to poke his brother in the back, knowing that sooner or later he would get some attention.
"I thought we were trying to sleep, Bruder." There was an annoyed edge to Germany's voice.
"Hug. For. The Awesome. Me~" He punctuated each word with a sharp jab.
Germany looked round to see his brother pouting. He sighed again and turned so that he was lying on his back. His brother smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist, resting his head on Germany's shoulder.
"Hm… wonder if Ita-chan is doing okay…" Prussia mumbled into Germany's skin, gripping his waist tighter.
Germany sat up instantly, out of bed and by the door in the next, leaving Prussia to slump to the bed, confused at the loss of his pillow.
How could he have forgotten? Italy hated thunderstorms.
"Italy?" Germany called out, racing down the corridor to open the door to Italy's room in a matter of seconds. He panted ever so slightly, regretting running so fast so suddenly as a sharp pain shot through his foot as he put his weight on it. "Italy?" Germany edged into the room, looking round.
The bed was empty. No sign of the small nation or the duvets in fact. One crumpled pillow was at the foot of the bed and the other lay on the floor next to the bedside drawers. The curtains were drawn, yet flashes of lightning still lit the room with ease, casting long shadows and separating the room into light and dark. One such flash showed the room to be empty indeed, except for a dark crevice in the corner beside the window.
"Italy?"
There was a rustle then a whimper in reply before all sound was lost to the thunder.
Germany walked around the bed, careful not to lean on his injured foot and crouched down carefully. He could just make out the shape of the small Italian, blanket draped around him and shaking slightly. Germany reached out, cupping Italy's face, who gasped.
"Italy, are you okay?" He moved closer, sliding his arms underneath the layers Italy had tightly wrapped around himself.
"Germany?" Italy lifted his head, his wide eyes able to pick out the gleam of Germany's in the darkness. Another flash.
"Ah!" With a soft cry Italy flung his arms around Germany, nearly causing him to topple over. Germany winced as Italy dug his nails into his back and carefully sat down cross-legged on the floor, pulling the blanket around Italy.
"Shh…"
Italy winced at the harsh thunder, subconsciously digging his nails in further, "Germany… I didn't think you would…"
"I'll protect you, Italy. You don't have to be scared." Germany's lips met the Italian's in a swift apology. If Italy had been able to, he would have seen the pink tinge form on Germany's pale cheeks.
"Nn. Thank you, Germany…" Italy smiled and relaxed for the first time since the rain had started.
Germany let out a small sigh of relief as the Italian started falling asleep almost instantly and carefully placed him back on the bed, picking up and arranging the pillows and covers around him. Italy held Germany's hand tightly throughout.
"Italy, it's alright…" Germany freed his hand from the grip, but then rested his hand over the sleeping nation's. He smiled and lay down beside Italy. "Shhh." He stroked Italy's face as he winced, hearing the thunder faintly in his sleep.
"It's okay Italy," Germany gave Italy another quick kiss on the lips before closing his eyes to sleep, "I'm here."
Ugh, bad fluff is bad . Inspired by the storm that suddenly hit a few days ago. The rain just appeared out of nowhere- though the clouds had been quite black for a while. I quite like the thunder and lightning. And yes, Prussia did start singing Mein Gott! :3 Favourites and reviews much appreciated~! :)