This oneshot was created with the belief I have that Roderich is Jewish I mean c'mon Edelstein? That's totes Jewish lol anyways this started out because I wanted to write something about Roddy having a fetish for Gilbert's old SS uniform cause… I kinda think that Nazi Gilbert and Ludwig are incredibly sexy… anyways my brain was like "whoa hold up yo!" and then… this was born! So enjoy seeing as its taken me since may to finish this damn thing. I'm quite proud of it so please be gentle!

Hitler's Puppet

Austria 1940

The war was progressing, completely devouring the continent, no, the world. And for what? Some land? A pretense of power? A re-affirmation to the world that Germans could be strong and a nice slap in the face to the countries that had made a mockery of the Central Powers in the world's first go around? Often times it would make me sick to my stomach that such a man could have come from within my borders, but then in my darker moments I would look at the monster with fury in his heart and be proud that I had been responsible for such a leader.

I shook my head regretfully and began to stare into the fire, setting Elizabeta's most recent letter down on the side table. We had begun to reconcile with one another a few years ago and even though I had warned her about becoming so involved with my former charge and his allies she refused to have any of it. After the Great War she had been struggling right along with the rest of us that had been scorned and mistreated, left to fend for ourselves in a non-existent economy all the while paying for the rest of the world's reconstruction. Elizabeta found herself dealing directly with the not so innocent Feliciano and was now facing Ludwig's persistence to join the Axis. She was realizing how much the sweet boy we'd watched grow up had been intoxicated by this word-wielding man who could promise redemption and land all in one. The descriptions I was receiving were horrific in the way she wrote of some madman bloodthirsty and ravenous, a mirror image of the lunatic in charge of him. It scared me how terrified my ex-wife sounded on paper as she herself had once been a terror, staring into the eyes of even the great Prussian Empire with unflinching nerve, but now when faced with this new Ludwig, a nation who had ordered the extermination of anyone who stood in the way of his perfect world… her will to fight had vanished completely. He had begun to slaughter innocent people in droves, or at least that was the rumor, and as Elizabeta witnessed his unrestrained power and thirst first hand she began to plead with me to pay my "good friend Vash a visit". We all knew that a Nation could be forgiven for a great many things in his or her lifetime, religion was not among of them. England and Spain had certainly taught us that long ago.

When an incessant knocking sounded on my front door in the dead of night the start of fear that should have been did not occur. Instead I stood from my chair and went to the door preparing myself mentally for what would meet me on the other side of the heavy oak. I had long since resigned myself to the knowledge that Austria's fall was a top priority, I simply prayed that Ludwig would make it quick and painless. However it wasn't the tall icy nation that greeted me on my front porch, but something that was much worse, something that made my careless demeanor slip. There leaning on my doorframe in full SS decoration was Gilbert Beilschmidt.

He was grim, an emotion rarely seen on the conceded nation, and the sight of this coupled with that of the global fear-inducing uniform that somehow just seemed to fit him made my skin crawl. It was in the moment that he lowered his hardened gaze to mine that my demise became a reality. "Are you going to invite mein(1) awesomeness in Roddy?" it was intended as a joke, something to lighten the mood, but it was just too obvious to us both that the situation we were finding ourselves in was beyond saving. But ever the gentleman, even when faced with my personal Grim Reaper I invited him in, made us tea and sat with him in front of the grand fireplace. The false air of friendship crackled between us much like the fire as it consumed the well-dried pine.

"So you've become one of Hitler's little puppets as well I see." My tone was icy and it made him cringe a bit. I watched in feigned superiority as the firelight flickered in his crimson irises making him seem sinister and unholy. The orange glinted dangerously off of every piece of metal on him and his white hair seemed to glow. It was by far the most intimidating I had ever seen him.

"Roderich," he finally sighed after a long silence, setting his tea on the small table beside him. "you have no siblings so I cannot possibly expect you to understand this. Ludwig, sane or not, is mein kleiner bruder(2), I would go to the ends of the earth for him." He fiddled with his hat that had been resting on his knee. "Even if it means supporting him and his deranged boss."

"Its still wrong Gilbert!" I all but yelled. "This perfect race of yours, you realize it just cannot be right? If this continues they will turn against even you."

"They already have." He muttered not looking at me but at the fire instead, his gaze seemed haunted and my heart ached for him. "When Ludwig first approached me about merging to become stronger I knew it was just a ploy to gain my lands, my people…" he trailed off. After a pause he cleared his throat and looked directly into my eyes. "But as I said, I will do anything for Lutz. Now not only does he trust me but the Führer does as well, that's why I am permitted to wear such a high rank and am trusted with such a task as this. No questions were asked when I volunteered, I have proven myself." The look he gave me made my blood boil. There was a time when Gilbert could have been considered mine and I his and the knowledge that he had volunteered to bring me to my death angered me more than anything in my long life ever had before. Angry tears threatened to spill down my cheeks as I thought of all the time I had spent imagining what our lives would be like after all this had settled down… all the time I had spent imagining him swooping in on his black horse from the old days and saving me from my certain doom.

"Would he still trust you after he finds out your true nature Gilbert?" my rage was endless at this point and it only spurred me on when his back straightened and his eyes sharpened.

"I've no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I think you do Gil." I looked at him squirm from over the rim of my glasses menacingly.

"Even if I did I don't see how he would ever find out." He spat glaring at me.

"I'll tell him." At that his jaw dropped.

"You know that will get you killed! Its as incriminating to you as it is to me!"

I laughed humorlessly. "I know just as well as the rest of the world that my death is inevitable." I tented my fingers and took pleasure over his growing anger. "It just makes me gleeful in the knowledge that I'll be taking you with me. Face it Gil, when it gets down to it we're all just another body, another number a blemish on their perfect world."

"How can you talk so casually about it?" he asked through gritted teeth, the intensity his voice held surprised me. "How can you sit there as you always have with your damn tea and manners and talk about your death as if it doesn't even faze you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Pardon me?"

"I can't do this anymore! I can't sit here and pretend not to be heartbroken over the fact that you're not even trying to fight back!" I had grown very confused at the turn our conversation had taken but all coherent thought vanished when Gilbert shot out of his chair and all but attacked me, crashing our lips together violently. "Ich habe nie aufgehört, dich zu lieben(3)." He said sternly when we broke apart. My arms had found their way around his neck during the bruising kiss and I aimlessly played with the hair at the nape of his neck. All the anger within me had vanished leaving a burning fire of passion in its wake.

"Und ich auch nicht, meine Liebe(4)." He caressed my cheek and looked deeply into my eyes. Gone was the corrupt shimmer his eyes had held before, there was only love as he wordlessly lifted me and carried me to the bedroom.

No words were exchanged as we shed our clothes, only kiss after delicious kiss and the occasional gasp or moan as we reacquainted ourselves with territory that had been denied to one another for so long. "Have you… been with anyone since…" Gilbert trailed off as he ran his hand down my inner thigh sending an ambrosial sensation through my body that had nothing on the frenzy that look of jealousy in Gilbert's eyes was creating in my heart.

"Nein(5) Gilbert, never, I'm yours. Always have been." I whispered running my hand through his uncharacteristically slicked back hair making strands fall into his blissed out face. "Always will be."

"Oh gott(6) Roderich, me too… only you." He leaned down and kissed me soundly. "Immer nur du(7)." As we continued to kiss Gilbert found the bottle of lotion I kept on my nightstand and began to spread it liberally on both his fingers and my eager hole, making me moan wantonly into his mouth. As one finger slipped in my grip tightened in his hair in response to the slight twinge. Gilbert broke the kiss to moan and I grinned suddenly remembering my lover had a penchant for hair pulling. My smile disappeared however when he smirked wickedly and slid two more fingers in in an obvious haste to prepare my tight entrance. The whole ordeal made me feel ridiculously like a virgin again as he scissored and stretched me, getting me ready as best as he could.

Soon enough the twinge morphed into a sweet burn that had me gasping and moaning for him to continue. "So impatient Roddy! You don't want me to hurt you do you?" at that exact moment he moved his fingers just so to stroke that spot that had me all but screaming.

"Yes! Yes Gil hurt me, do whatever you want to me just fuck me now!" he always had loved to hear me beg.

In one swift movement he was sheathed within me making me gasp. Not even having time to register the intense pain that came from being filled so suddenly and so much he moved and hit my prostate dead-on. "Gilbert!"

"Ah! Roderich you feel so fucking good!" he ground out as he hammered into me.

On some level my mind recognized this as a goodbye. My subconscious knew that this was the last time I would be able to hold Gilbert like this, or feel these emotions with him and tears were shed by both parties as we continued a dance we'd performed countless times and had all but perfected with one another. And though it was rough and animalistic, it was tender. It conveyed every emotion we were feeling but couldn't say out loud: I've missed you, I'm sorry, I love you.

"Ngh, G-Gil s-so close." I gasped as I stroked in time with his thrusts.

"Y-yeah me too." He replied. And when our eyes locked we both moved into a desperate kiss. "Ich liebe dich(8)." He whispered into my ear and with that I came with a scream. I'm sure the ruckus woke the few servants I had still living in the house but even once Gilbert released into me and wrapped me in his strong arms that were scared from so many years of fighting alongside his armies as we came down from our shared ecstasy I couldn't bring myself to care. I was once again in the familiar arms of my beloved and even if it was for the last time I was overjoyed.

"I'm getting you out." Was whispered into the dark room after a while. The words seemingly rocked my entire world as they rumbled into my ear from its place on his chest and my eyes, which had slipped closed in content, flew open in shock.

"W-what?" I sat up to look at the man who had most assuredly gone mad.

"You heard me Roderich, I'm getting you out. I've already spoken to Switzerland and he has agreed to house you until this madness blows over." Fury instantly took over my emotions.

"And am I the only one that is being offered this sanctuary?" Gilbert stared at me wide-eyed. "What about Poland? The Netherlands? The other countries who are suffering Gilbert? What about Elizabeta!" Gilbert's eyes instantly hardened.

"She's brought all of this onto herself and you know that. She played with fire and now she's getting burned." He placed his hand gently on my side.

"You'll condemn your best friend, your family? She's in danger! They all are!" I was practically screaming as I smacked his hand away from me.

"But not as much as you are! There is no other nation Hitler would love to see dead more than you Roderich! I will not lose you!" he was crying now and sat up to cup my face in both his hands. The tears that swam in his ruby depths and that desperate look on his face were the only things stopping me from continuing on in my tirade. "You know I love her just as much as you do but lets face it, she's a warrior and she'll be able to effectively beat this. You however," here he brought our foreheads together "were never cut out for blood and fire so please Roderich, let me keep you safe." Though it shamed me to take this port in the storm while others had no choice but to sail through I caressed his cheek and agreed.

Gilbert had disposed of his driver and was driving us to the border of Switzerland, once he knew I was safely with Vash he would drive the car off a cliff and go back to Germany saying that the driver had died in the crash. I had no idea why he always had to go through such theatrics but I didn't have the energy to ask him as I watched my beautiful country fly past outside my window. It was raining by the time we got to the meeting point but Vash stepped out of his car anyways coming over and taking what little bags I had and transferring them. He and Gilbert exchanged a brief conversation pertaining to my safety where an honest to gott thank you had left the proud Prussian's lips. Vash went back to his car to give us a few minutes.

"You get in his car and you don't turn back." He said seriously, looking me sternly in the eyes. "Are we clear Roderich, you return for nothing." I could feel tears pricking at my eyes but I refused to shed them as I nodded. "Ich liebe dich Roderich. When this is all over I will come for you." He said taking my face in his hands.

"I-ich liebe dich auch(9) Gilbert." We kissed one last time and I finally let my tears fall. Tears for leaving my love in harms way, for abandoning my people, for taking sanctuary when others couldn't, it all caught up with me in that moment and I hated myself when we moved away from each other.

"Roddy wait!" Gilbert called as I began to open the door. "Take this." He said scooping up the little ball of yellow fluff from the dashboard. "Neither the Führer or West take kindly to me carrying him around, they say it ruins the image or something." I took Gilbird gently in my hands and placed him on my shoulder. "Now go, we don't have much time."

Once at Vash's house I was not anywhere close to my normal self. I would ghost around feeling empty not even wanting to touch any form of music and constantly sit around listening for any news on what was happening to my home, my people. I could feel it, their suffering, and I felt the need to know what that suffering was even though Vash was adamant that it was making me feel worse. However in the daylight hours he would allow absolutely no talk on the subject only allowing such conversations to be held after his sister had gone off to bed. Vash would spend most of his days with his government keeping up with war matters which left me at home with little Liechtenstein most often so keeping my questions to myself wasn't too hard. After all who would ever want to involve a sweet young girl in such gruesome talk as reality anyways?

In many ways being left with her reminded me of the days when Ludwig was a small and naïve country being raised by the loudmouth Prussian. Elizabeta and I had been a large part of his upbringing teaching him culture and other things Gilbert was sure to leave out amongst his own lessons on war and conquering and now sitting on a piano bench with Lilli at her insistence I was constantly reminded of those better days when Ludwig had soaked up my lessons with an eagerness his older brother had scoffed at. When I wasn't teaching Lilli music or telling her stories of the old days I was down by the lake gazing at the picturesque tranquility of the mountains reflecting on the smooth surface as if it were a mirror wishing that I had half the talent Feliciano had with art and writing letters that would never be sent to Elizabeta and Gilbert.

Years went passed, the Allies got progressively stronger as more and more countries joined the cause and as they got stronger the more hope coursed through my veins. Vash would come home with news of a steady push through Europe, liberating all the while and as I heard more of the evils that had been committed against my fellow nations I couldn't help but be sickened with myself at how cowardly I had acted by allowing Gilbert to remove me from my people.

"Roderich do not beat yourself up over such things, just be happy you had someone on the inside who cared enough about you to risk his own life to save you. Besides, if he hadn't gotten you out of there you'd be dead right now. Then where would your people be?" Vash had lectured me stone-faced one night after telling me of how little Canada had liberated the Netherlands and how damaged Lars had been when they found him. I still couldn't bring myself to have a clear conscious however as I sat across from my friend not looking at anything in particular stroking that little ball of yellow fluff that missed his owner as much as I did.

It was mid-may in 1945, I was sitting with Lilli as she played Motzart's Piano Concerto No. 23 when Gilbird suddenly flew away. Terrified that I was about to lose the only part of Gilbert I had left I chased after him calling for Lilli to continue on over my shoulder. I tore through the large house cursing myself for leaving windows open all the while but once I burst through the door I stopped dead in my tracks as I watched Gilbird land on a bed of silver hair.

"Gilbert." I whispered unbelievably. I remained planted to my spot on the front porch just staring at him not allowing myself to believe that he was actually here. But when he gave me that roguish grin and opened his arms invitingly I couldn't hold myself back as I crashed into him burying my face into his old Prussian Blue uniform sobbing all the while.

Vash of course had told me of the Allies plan for Gilbert; to put him in a place where he could never again reach his brother, as they of course believed that this had all happened partly due to their bond. I had cried myself to sleep many times knowing that even though Gilbert had survived the bloodbath WWII had ended up being he would never survive living under Russia's roof.

But this knowledge didn't seem to bother him so I didn't let it bother me and I relaxed into his tender kiss and loving embrace. For the first time in five years I felt as if I could really allow myself to breathe because when I was in those arms, I was complete. To my surprise Gilbert began to chuckle as kissed my hair, I could feel his smile and it warmed me. "Ich sagte Ihnen, ich würde für dich kommen(10)."

Translations:

Mein—my

Mein kleiner bruder—my little brother

Ich habe nie aufgehört, dich zu lieben—I never stopped loving you

Und ich auch nicht, meine Liebe—And neither did I my love

Nein—No

Gott—god

Immer nur du—Only ever you

Ich liebe dich—I love you

(9) Ich liebe dich auch—I love you too

(10) Ich sagte Ihnen, ich würde für dich kommen—I told you I'd come for you

Historical Notes:

"I had warned her about becoming so involved with my former charge and his allies" referring to Hungary's heavy interactions with fascist Italy in turn being influenced by the Axis, by 1940 Germany was really pressuring for them to join and on November 20th (my birthday o.O) they finally did.

Switzerland was neutral so that is why he goes to Vash's house.

"After telling me of how little Canada had liberated the Netherlands and how damaged Lars had been when they found him." This refers to: "In 1944–45, the First Canadian Army, which included Canadian, British and Polish troops, was responsible for liberating much of the Netherlands[32] from German occupation. The joyous "Canadian summer" that ensued after the liberation, forged deep and long-lasting bonds of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada" (from wikipedia). I perceive Lars (The Netherlands) as being a very prideful and strong nation and I believe that he would not only be very messed up physically from being occupied, but mentally from having his home overrun in the way it was.

The last bit is about how after the war Germany was split up and the common thought is that Prussia went to live with Russia (Soviet Union).