Ahaha..ha... I apologize. I'm not sure why this happened.

But it was fun. So much fun that I'm considering writing other 'fractured fairy tales.' Just because I can.

It seems I cannot write Gilbert very well. I make him too... sweet is probably the best word. And I didn't use the word 'awesome' enough. D:

Pairings - Prussia/Canada, mentioned Sweden/Finland and Austria/Hungary. Except with human names.

Disclaimer: still not mine...

***##***

Matthew did not particularly enjoy being a prince.

Oh, sure it wasn't all bad – he was good at organizing and keeping things running. The kingdom hadn't had any problems in years. And he enjoyed that part of the job.

No, the things that truly irked him were things like public speaking, foreign affairs, and 'political duties.'

The first two (and, to some extent, the third) were easily explained by his shyness. He didn't like talking to most people, didn't at all enjoy the attention. Unlike his brother, who ruled the next kingdom over, he wasn't comfortable with being in the spotlight.

But his so-called 'political duties' were the worst part. He wanted to marry someone who valued him for himself, who could balance him out, who he could really love. If the marriage would also benefit his country, so much the better, but it certainly wouldn't be the only reason.

Unfortunately, it was looking like that might not happen, if he couldn't find someone soon-ish.

Even more unfortunately, he was painfully away that an arranged marriage had little to no chance of working out in the end. There were precious few happy unions of this sort, especially these days.

In fact, there were only two he could think of off the top of his head who fit that category.

The first couple was a typical story – arranged marriage since childhood, grew up together, and had always accepted it. The special part for Rodriech and Elizaveta, though, was that they fell in love, even if their relationship was slightly unusual some of the time.

The other couple was a bit more unusual. Okay, a lot more unusual. Tino had only agreed to the last-minute marriage as a final attempt to help his country. Berwald had agreed because… well, no one was exactly certain why the tall, scary man had agreed. But it had all worked out for the best – Tino's country was doing fine, and to everyone's surprise the miss-matched couple got along quite well, and eventually fell in love.

Matthew knew he was not going to be nearly that lucky if he couldn't find someone on his own. It was a rather depressing thought.

With a sigh, he pushed his chair away from the desk and went out to take a walk.

***##***

A walk had been just the thing. It was clear out here in the open space the forest offered. There was a light dusting of snow over everything from the previous night, but it was starting to melt away as the sun rose to noon.

Yes, it was quite relaxing.

And then he remembered just what had prompted his temporary escape to the trees, and he buried his head in his hands with a groan.

"Why don't I ever get the fairy tale? Where's my knight in shining armor? Glass slipper? Frog Prince?"

"Well… I don't have any armor on right now, nor am I wearing shoes, much less glass slippers. Those always seemed impractical, you know? Totally not awesome. Oh, and I'm not a frog either, but I'm awesome enough to meet two of your conditions!"

With an oh-so-intelligent-sounding "Eh?" Matthew turned around to see…

No one.

"Down here." The voice advised.

He dutifully glanced down to see a silver rabbit waving a paw at him cheerfully.

"… um…"

The rabbit seemed to deflate slightly at the confused look Matthew was giving him. "Yeah, I know, who ever heard of being cursed to be a rabbit, of all things?"

"Eh? Oh, n-no, it's not that, really! You just startled me is all! A-and bunnies are very cute animals…" he trailed off, realizing that he was probably not fixing anything by rambling.

But the critter in front of him seemed to brighten at his words. "It is kinda awesome, isn't it? It makes me unique."

"Y-yes. Um… if you don't mind…" The blonde knelt down so his nose was only a few inches above the rabbit as it stood on its hind legs. "Why are you a rabbit?"

"Well kid… I'm not exactly sure. See, I'm a prince. I rule with my brother – Grandpa split the kingdom in half, my brother got the West, and I got the awesome East. Anyway, a few days ago, this crazy Brit with these really thick eyebrows wearing a sheet or something shouted at me, waved a piece of wood, and well… next thing I knew, I was here and had the most ridiculous floppy ears ever." He twitched the ears in question for emphasis.

"I think they're cute, eh." Matthew commented off-handedly, before realizing what he had just said and turning a faint shade of pink. "I-I mean, um… did the person who did this to you tell you how to reverse it…?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" he sighed. "Eh, you'd better come home with me, then."

"Huh?"

"W-well, if you want to, that is… I guess we could look for a way to change you back…"

"Oh. Well then, yes, provided you're willing to carry the awesome me."

"S-sure."

"My name's Gilbert, by the way."

"I'm Matthew. It's nice to meet you, eh."

***#About a Week Later#***

Matthew sighed and closed the book he had been flipping through, pushing his glasses up from where they had slipped down his nose. The two had searched (well, as much as a rabbit can search. Gilbert mostly just flipped through the smaller books after Matthew propped them up so he could read them) high and low through the extensive library the castle had to offer. While there were copious amounts of information on curses in general, nothing looked very promising for this particular one.

Actually, other than the tedious task of looking through half the library, the week had been very pleasant. He enjoyed Gilbert's company, possibly more than he should. The pair had spent the time they weren't searching through the library trading stories and getting to know each other. They balanced each other out – Matthew thought things through and was better organized, and Gilbert both enjoyed attention and was good at gaining it, especially for important matters. And none of his family had felt the need to invade his privacy recently. That was nice.

"Hey, Matt!"

Apparently, he spoke too soon.

With another sigh, he looked up to find his older brother waving at him enthusiastically from the doorway.

"Hello Alfred. What do you need, eh?"

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing. Just thought I'd stop by and visit my favoritest brother ever!"

"I'm your only brother, Al."

"Oh, right… Hey, who's this?" The elder blond leaned halfway over the desk to peer at the rabbit sitting to Matthew's left.

"That's Gilbert, eh."

"When'd you get a pet?"

"HEY!"

Startled, Alfred pulled back very quickly. "I-it talks…?"

"Of course I talk, stupid. I'm too awesome not to!"

"Al, I found him wandering around the woods about a week ago. He's a prince, just cursed to be a rabbit. We've been looking for how to change him back."

"Oh. Okay." Matthew blinked. He hadn't expected his brother to accept it that easily. Then again… his brother believed in aliens.

"Any ideas, eh? We've looked through all sorts of books, but…" He trailed off and shrugged.

"Did you try kissing him?" His brother tilted his head to the side with the most innocent look he could muster. Which was quite innocent.

This of course caused the younger to blush quite the adorable shade of pink. "W-what?"

"Kiss him. Like in, oh, every fairy tale ever. Spell's broken with true love's first kiss. Duh."

"Wha- I- we- Al-" and that was as far as he got before it became pretty much incoherent babble.

"You know… he has a point. That is very un-awesome of us for not thinking of that yet, Mattie."

"Y-you agree with him?!"

"Hey, it's worth a try, Matt."

"… fine."

And with that, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Gilbert's. (Well, kind of against his nose, due to rabbit anatomy making lips a little difficult to kiss.)

The result was not flashy. There were no fireworks, no mysterious swirls of smoke, no sound effects. One moment there was a bunny with his forepaws on Matthew's hand, the next there was a pale-haired man with red eyes (and, fortunately, clothing) sitting on his desk. Oh, and still kissing him and holding his hand. Can't forget that.

Matthew certainly couldn't.

For once in his life, Alfred took the completely not-subtle hint and edged quietly out the door.

***##***

"You know, your voice is the same as it was when you were a bunny, eh."

"Really? Guess the stupid Brit got something right…"

"Hmmm… I think he got a lot right."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't have met you if he hadn't done anything."

"Heh. True."

"…"

"Hey, Mattie?"

"Yes, Gil?"

"Come back with me?"

"I can't, eh. I'd love to, really, but I don't have anyone else I can hand the kingdom off to, and we're too far away to combine lands or anything…"

"Oh. Well, then I'll stay here."

"Eh?"

"Yes, that will be good. West can take care of the country, and I'll stay here and grace you with my awesome presence. You need someone to speak up for you, Mattie, and I have no organization skills at all. Trust me, West will be fine, and I'd much rather be with you."

"… did you just propose to me?"

"You know, I think I did. Did you just say yes?"

"Of course, eh."

***#And they lived Awesomely Ever After, Eh#***