Summary: "As Nations, trust was their most valuable commodity." A drabble-fic.
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Trust
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"Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime."
—Mineko Iwasaki
As Nations, trust was their most valuable commodity. It was worth more than love or friendship, more than money or power. No matter how some of them may claim otherwise, in the end, it held true for all of them.
For the older nations, it was difficult to trust others, after centuries of conflict and blood and political machinations. All had experienced the heights of their powers, whether it be the Great British Empire, Imperial Spain, Napoleonic France or Nazi Germany. They had known the thrill of victory, of dominating others, but at the same time, they had also known the crushing hopelessness of defeat, only to get back to their feet, pick up the pieces and soldier on.
They had learned through duplicity and impossible odds, forged through blood and iron on the battlefields. Their relationships were of battle and military alliances, of which there was little trust to be held. Both sides of the alliance held their breath, ever-cautious of the possibility of being stabbed in the back by their "ally" should they see fit.
And, too often, young nations grew up to the cacophony of war, tugged between greater nations as some prize to be won. For them, their only choices were to grow stronger or be forever subservient to another, usually as a colony.
They learned quickly after that, learned that trust was dangerous and valuable. They learned to be careful who to extend it to, lest it be thrown right back in their face. They learned to fight for themselves, trusting only themselves and their people.
There was nothing worse than the sting of betrayal, and in a way, all of them sought to protect themselves from it, wrapping themselves in armor crafted of careful wariness and emotional distance. To bridge that gap, to trust another was to open those defenses, leaving a chink in the armor in the form of that trust.
Each of them had their own way to keep the others at arm's length—France flirted, England bit out irritable and caustic retorts, America constantly (and loudly) proclaimed himself a hero, Canada kept to himself (whether out of shyness or lack of fondness for noise), and Prussia kept up a cocky brashness…
No one fully trusted another country, no matter how much they might love them. Not even family or friends. Sure, Canada and America were close, and yes, the Bad Touch Trio were the closest of friends—but even then, there was that tiny part of themselves kept a secret, hidden away from the others.
For, in the end, they were nations, and after all their history together, they couldn't bring themselves to fully trust others, to subject themselves to the pain betrayal would bring if they were to do so. They knew better, after years and decades and centuries.
They were nations, and, to them, trust was their most valuable commodity.
A/N: Oops… I guess my favorites may have kinda slipped in a little bit their. I absolutely love the FACE family (Although I don't really ship FrUK). Also, Bad Touch Trio. Best friendship ever. I mean, seriously, that's one hell of a friendship, especially considering that the three countries—Prussia (which doesn't even exist anymore) France and Spain—had quite a few clashes (Franco-Prussian war, anyone?). I feel like that'd be one super-complicated relationship between the three of them.
Anyway, this drabble was my first Hetalia fanfic, to get a feel for the fandom—to get my feet wet, so to speak. Here is the summary of the next fic idea I was thinking of writing:
"Nations were defined by their people. France had known this. He just hadn't realized the full implications until he stood, Paris bleeding red around him and the roar of Nazi German airplanes in the air, with Prussia's gun pointed at his heart." Set during WWII.
Would anyone be interested in a fic like that?
On a side note, I'd love any constructive criticism, so please leave a review!
~Silver Snowblossom