Well, I guess I posted this a bit belatedly… But it's Germany x Prussia for the holidays! Merry Christmas (or happy holidays) and Happy New Year! Please read and enjoy.
It is Christmas Eve, and Germany is looking at the swirling snow just outside of the window. He watches the white petals float through the air and land gently on their kin. Their luminescence contrasts sharply with the dark street, giving an almost unearthly aura to the scene. He marvels at how tiny flakes of ice can impact the beauty of a vast landscape so much; that the thick blanket of white he is looking at right now is nearly akin to the cold cubes that he puts into drinks. It is his secret wish to one day own something as beautiful as snow. But without its temporariness; he wants something more substantial. So that he can continuously admire it and praise it and savor its wondrousness. He is so caught up in his thoughts that the hand stroking his brother's hair stops. Prussia cracks open one crimson eye and glares at his sibling.
"Hey, West! Are you okay?" Germany turns his head reluctantly from the outside to his lap. He sees the annoyed-yet-worried expression on his brother's face.
"Ja. Just…thinking." Prussia lifts himself off Germany's lap with a grunt. He twists his neck from side to side, releasing a whole barrage of cracking sounds.
"You think too much, Ludwig." Because he uses the name that is reserved for special, personal moments, Ludwig knows that his brother is looking out for him. He smiles slightly through the darkness of the room. Lights from the television flicker over Gilbert's face, turning it from yellow to magenta to blue. It is suddenly too bright for Ludwig's eyes. He turns back to the comforting whiteness beyond the glass window panes, only to be brought back by his brother's cool fingers. They rest on his cheek for a second, and then slip away. Gilbert frowns.
"Are you avoiding me or something?" Ludwig snorts. They have just been conversing and watching television together for the past hour.
"You're getting a little needy, Gilbert." He tries out his brother's name, rolling it around his mouth and relishing in the fact that he is the only one allowed to use it (though only when they are alone; Gilbert is very secretive about his private life). Said person chooses to ignore his comment and instead asks,
"What are you thinking about?" Ludwig sighs.
"Nothing." His brother merely looks at him expectantly. Sure enough, he breaks down after a while.
"The snow," he mutters. Just as he fears, his elder laughs mockingly.
"The snow? I didn't raise you to be a pansy. What could you possibly be thinking about the snow?" Ludwig protests,
"It's amazing! Have you ever wondered how tiny little things can transform something as immense as a whole landscape so profoundly?" Suddenly, he has his back to the couch and his brother on top of him. Gilbert's slightly raspy voice slithers into his ear seductively.
"As a matter of fact, I have. How did someone as little as your younger self manage to change the Fearsome and Great Kingdom of Prussia into what he is today?" Into what? Ludwig would like to inquire. A brother? A friend? A lover? But the heat of his brother's body induces a surge of adrenaline to course through his veins and blood to rush to his cheeks. He cannot utter a single coherent word, let alone a question. Gilbert purrs,
"And what of the snow entices you?" Through the haze surrounding his senses, Ludwig manages to shake his head. Uh-oh. He should have known better. When it comes to withheld information, none are as curious as Prussia. And none are as merciless an interrogator as he. Ludwig has been tortured countless times but has never succumbed without a fight. However, when he feels a sharp nip at his earlobe, he shudders out,
"Its beauty." The trailing of long, lithe fingers on his collarbone undoes him a little more. "Its whiteness is so pristine. I-I…admire it." With the fatal flick of a tongue over his pulse, his formerly well-guarded secret goes tumbling from his lips.
"I want to have something as beautiful as snow."
Gilbert pulls back abruptly, leaving Ludwig helplessly entangled in his misty trance. He appears to muse over those words. His expression teeters between one of surprise or incredulousness. It is awkward for Ludwig, not only because he is being straddled by his brother but also because he desperately seeks Gilbert's approval. The secret that he has just revealed could change their whole relationship. That is why he is astonished when his brother suddenly leans forward with a very serious face and asks,
"What about me?"
"Whuh…?" is his extremely intelligent reply.
"What about me? I'd say that I look a hell of a lot better than snow. I'm much more awesome." Of course Gilbert, in all of his conceited glory, would describe himself as such. His white, white hair gleams in the semi-darkness, his pale, pale skin shines with moonlight, his red, red eyes are like strawberries in the frost of December… Yes, Ludwig realizes. Gilbert has all of the aesthetic qualities of snow, and the pressure of his body lying on his certainly seems substantive enough. The hand-carved cuckoo clock perched on the wall suddenly springs into action. Out of the little wooden doors emerges a petite, ornate bird, signaling the arrival of midnight. Gilbert stares at the chirping contraption for a moment. He turns back to Ludwig with a smirk.
"Just in time. Merry Christmas, bruder." As he receives his brother and accepts a kiss, Germany remembers that Prussia's present is still in the closet upstairs. He decides to put the matter aside for later as they become more animated, turning his focus to admiring and praising and savoring his brother (his unexpected gift).
I hope that was okay. Please feel free to review!