Author's Note: I'm using the name Valentin Nicolae for Romania and Aleksander Balakov for Bulgaria. This story takes place during World War II. Romania WAS part of the Axis, and Germany did base there as well. So because of that, since Romania is in the East, I am having Prussia base there while West deals with the things in the…West.

Warning: This story contains sex, derogatory terms mainly towards Homosexuals and Jewish people, brutal abuse, and if anything else comes up I will put up a warning at the top of the chapter.

Note: I do NOT condone any type of derogatory or offensive material to anyone at all nor any type of abuse towards anyone or anything. I also do NOT own Hetalia, (obviously). This story is rated M for a reason. You have been warned, so if you find this story to be offensive in anyway, blame yourself for reading it, I've already warned you.

"The world is a dick."

"Und was (and what) is this place to you?" Gilbert asked the shop owner, raising his mug to take another drink. Valentin sat a moment, thinking. "Home." he smiled. "You live here?" Valentin nodded lightly, "I do now. Before it was just a shop, but more people came to visit me here than at my house, even if they were customers. My shop has always been more of a home than my house. I've converted a space towards the back into a living area." he jutted his thumb towards the back of the shop in the direction of his living quarters. "Like my brother always told me, 'Home is where the heart is, where you feel the happiest.'" Gilbert smiled at this, thinking of home himself. "Where is home?"

"What is this place to you?" Valentin asked, shaking Gilbert out of his thoughts. "Huh?" The Romanian man laughed softly, "I asked, what is this place to you?" Gil thought a moment, "Right now, a place to get out of the cold." he replied smiling slightly. "Well, it's here to warm you whenever you need." the blonde replied, moving away from behind the counter, taking a spot next to the General, leaning his elbow on the surface. "That cocoa will be 10.67 (Leu [around 3 U.S. dollars])."


Arriving back at his office, Gilbert put his hat on a nearby coat stand, took off his gloves, shoving them in his coat pockets before letting his coat join his hat on the rack. With a sigh, he flopped into a wooden swivel chair and drummed his fingers on the edge of the mahogany [MAHOGANY!]* desk absentmindedly. Ever since he left that strange shop, he couldn't get it or the shopkeeper out of his head. There was something about the way that blonde man with the little hat looked at him that was so…alluring. "No! What am I thinking? I could get in a lot of trouble for thinking like that." Gilbert rubbed with eyes with one hand, looking out a distant window. Events of the day running through his mind, the Nazi General soon found himself smiling fondly. There was something about that man, something that made him want to see him again, from the way his red eyes sparkled, the way he seemed to be so calmly, so casually optimistic, even the way his hips swayed so pleasantly when he walked, that nice firm ass teasing him so- "Stop! Stop thinking like that! You make it sound like you're falling in love! Like you want to fuck him! Don't you know how wrong that is? To fall in love with or even want to fuck a man?" Gilbert scolded himself, "Ugh!" he groaned, letting his head fall harshly onto his desk with a loud and painful 'THUD!' "OWW!" he groaned loudly . Bolting up, Gilbert rubbed his forehead furiously in a fail attempt to relieve the blooming pain. "Fick, (Fuck) that hurt!" he hissed. A knock on his office door startling him, and thankfully distracting from his "distressing" thoughts. "Heerführer (General) Beilschmidt?" a woman called, slowly opening the door "Oh, Anna, was?" The woman named Anna smiled, blushing slightly as she entered the room and made her way to the large desk. "Documents from the Führer." she presented a stack of papers. "Huh, um, oh Ja! Danke (thank you), Anna." Gilbert said, reaching for the papers and looking them over, lifting a page every now and then. Anna blushed again. "Anything from mein Bruder (my brother)?" Gilbert asked, eyes still glued to the pages in front of him. "W-what?" Gilbert moved his eyes up to look at the secretary, hand holing an upraised paper lowering, "Anything from mein kleiner Bruder, Anna?" The silver haired General repeated slowly. "Um, no, not today, Herr (sir)." Gil hummed in response and looked back down to the papers, flipping through them, not really reading anymore as his mind had once again returned to that strange, yet wonderful shopkeeper. "Fick~" he groaned angrily. "Herr? Is there something the matter?" Anna questioned. "Nein, just…remembered something." he replied. "You can go now." Anna nodded and left him alone. "Damn. Gilbird! Come on, we're going out." Gilbert called to his pet who perched on a tall….perch. The yellow canary fluttered over to his owner, nestling himself in snowy tresses. Gilbert put on his coat and gloves, not bothering with is hat and left the base to wander about town, hopefully, not really but really, ending up at Crin.


It was late when Gilbert returned to the base and to his own quarters. Unfortunately, Gilbert had not gotten the chance to go back to Crin, which meant he did not get to see Valentin again, not that he wanted to but wouldn't have complained if he did. This did not happen because instead of ending up at that wondrous shop, he ended up getting lost and wondering aimlessly around town. Gilbert lazily stripped himself of his uniform, replacing it with pajama pants. He flopped onto his bed and nestled into a pillow with a contented sigh. Opening his eyes slowly, Valentin popped into his head once more. This time Gilbert didn't fight the thoughts, he was too tired, and he let the many thoughts of the Romanian roam his brain. With one final thought, of which he voiced out loud, Gil fell asleep, "I wonder how he makes that cocoa."


"Guten Morgen. (Good morning)" Gilbert whispered into Valentin's ear. He had just entered the shop, careful not to let the bell ring. Spying the little shopkeeper at a middle bookshelf on the right side of the shop, the morning light shining through the nearby window, bathing the blonde in a warm glow from the side. Quietly, the General stalked up behind the preoccupied man with the little hat, whispering a morning greeting that caused the smaller man to jump. Whipping around to see who had startled him so, Valentin smiled widely, "Gilbert! Bună dimineaţa (Good morning)! I wasn't expecting to see you so early, but I'm glad you came! Welcome!" Gilbert smiled softly, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around the shorter male in front of him. "Stop it. Stop thinking like that." he mentally scolded himself. "Wait, did his just call me by my first name?" Gilbert eyed the male in front of him for a moment, "What did you call me?" he asked slowly. Valentin's smile faltered, "Gilbert. You told that was your- oh I get it! People don't refer to you so informally, huh?" a reduced version of the smile before returned as well a knowing glint in his red red eyes. The German's equally red eyes narrowed for a moment. "Would you rather me call you, General, or maybe, Heerführer? Gilbert~?" the blonde retorted, dragging out Gil's name before turning and heading in the direction of the glass counter towards the back. After a moment, the General decided to follow the shopkeeper, stopping in front of the transparent bench and leaning on it while he waited for the owner to return from behind the curtains of the large space in the rear of the shop. The drapes were drawn today.

Finally, Valentin reemerged, the heavy drapes spitting him back out as he carried a steaming mug in his hand, much like the first day the two had met. "Cocoa?" he offered, "It's awfully cold out today." Valentin set the mug down on the glass surface in front of the German soldier. "Do I have to pay for this one?"

"Ingredients aren't free." the Romanian inclined his head slightly as he said this. With a huff, Gilbert pulled out his wallet and produced the money needed to pay for the beverage. "Danke~" was the sing-song reply as the blonde turned to his left to put the money in the register. Gilbert froze, hand still hanging in the air. He liked that. He liked the way German rolled off the blonde's tongue so easily, so beautifully, almost, seductively, though that was not the tone Valentin had used at all. Gilbert liked it all the same, he found it alluring and- ""Knock it off!"

"Are…you okay?" Gilbert blinked, shaking himself out of his thoughts, lowering his hand, "Uh, Ja, Ja I'm fine." he chuckled nervously. Valentin rose a questioning eyebrow, but did not press any further. "Okaay." the blonde drawled. "My name." Gilbert said suddenly. "What about it?"

"You called me by my first name."

"I realize."

"If I were any other officer I would have hit you for such disrespect."

"Then why didn't you?" That made him think. Why didn't he? Calling a high ranking Nazi officer by his first name, especially by a citizen , was utter disrespect, and he had every right to beat the smaller man down for it. "I realize what I did, but what I don't realize is the reason that I can not call my friend by his name. Unless we are not friends, then I was surely misguided, and I do give my sincerest apologies, General Beilschmidt." Valentin gave a smirk that only added to Gilbert's fires of want. "Friends? You seriously thought we were friends?" Gilbert scoffed incredulously. Valentin looked hurt at this, but did not reply. Instead, he moved towards the side of the bench that displayed the tempting sweets, "Would you like a pastry for breakfast? They aren't that expensive, but are quiet satisfying." He pulled out a small plate with a round pastry on it, setting it in front of Gilbert while he slid the glass door closed. "Valentin, I didn't mean it like that." the German began to apologize quietly. "It's called Gogoşi. It is similar to an American doughnut or Berliner, Krapfen (doughnut, German), though this has no hole in the center, much like Berliners. It's the most famous dessert here in Romania. This one is filled with chocolate, or if you prefer I have ones with strawberry or apricot jam, or Urdă cheese." Valentin stated, ignoring the attempted apology, hands on his hips as he stared down at the pastry, still obviously upset. With a sigh, Gilbert tried again, "Valentin, I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I just, didn't expect you to say that. I wasn't expecting you to want to be my friend." Valentin's head snapped up and he argued, "Why not?" Gilbert sighed, hating having to voice the realization he had so long ago, "Well, because I'm annoying, lazy, alcoholic, washed up, childish, never serious, dependant, poor excuse for a General, for a soldier, derogatory, perverted, hypocritical, narcissistic, no good, and probably the biggest nuisance ever to land on the face of this messed up Earth. Who everyone hates." Finished with his painfully truthful rant, Gilbert stared at the Romanian doughnut, picking it up and taking a bite, eyes not leaving the spot, hand hung loosely high above his cup, fingertips grasping the rim lightly.

Valentin's brows knitted together in an angrily disbelieving manor. "I don't think that." Gilbert, stopped mid-chew and looked up at the Romanian in front of him. The blonde's expression was pure unadulterated adorableness, so though Gilbert. "You-you don't?" Valentine shook his head, expression remaining, "No not at all! Don't talk about yourself like that. You're a perfectly wonderful man, don't say those things. It's like my brother always told me, 'The world is a dick'." Gilbert smiled, "Your brother sounds like a wise man." Vali nodded, "He is. I want to be your friend Gil, I want to be close to you." the Romanian confessed, taking hold of the other male's hand, the one that wasn't holding the doughnut, in both of his. Valentin asked, "Will you let me into your heart?"


Author's Note: I loved the ending to this chapter, it is so sweet, leave it to Romania to be the romantic. We all know Prussia tried, but it's Romania who pulls it off. Oh! Points for anyone who gets that mahogany reference. (It's made of mahogany. Mahogany. Mahogany. Mahogany!) hint: TFS. S'all ya get. Also that "The world is a dick" is from a commercial of China, Illinois I seen on adult swim once, thought it was funny. If you don't get it yet, all the quotes at the top are from Valentin's brother. If you haven't guessed who his brother is, it's Bulgaria. All that information on that one little pastry is true, got it from dear old wikipedia. that's it for now, stay tuned for more of Your Escape, Your Prison. Hopefully I wont keel out by chapter 7 (if I get that far) cause I always do. Reviews keep it going. So keep reading, and review!

Hasta La Pasta!~