It was quite a while later before Germany finally got around to scheduling that doctor's appointment he had been meaning to make. The doctor had been frowning thoughtfully as Germany had described his symptoms: racing heart, flushing, dry mouth, tightness of the chest, difficulty concentrating, occasional mild weakness in the knees, and all of these things happening at such random times with no warning.
He mused that they sounded like stress-induced symptoms, but said that he thought it strange that Germany would suddenly develop these problems with no apparent catalyst. After all, Germany's work was no more demanding now than it had ever been and there were no important events approaching that might cause the increased stress. It wasn't until the doctor asked him what he was usually doing when these ailments arose that the answer finally came to light.
"I've noticed the symptoms when I'm spending time with a particular friend," Germany realized slowly. "Now that I think about it, it only happens when he touches me or smiles at me or expresses concern for my wellbeing… But what on earth can that mean? Certainly he causes me a lot of stress but compared to the past, the amount of stress he's been causing me lately is significantly lower… But if being around him is the only thing that causes me to feel this way, then surely there's some connection…"
"Yeah, I would say there's a definite connection," the doctor agreed with a grin and an eye-roll. "To be honest, I'm surprised that you've never experienced these symptoms before. You're twenty years old, aren't you?"
"Well, give or take a few months," Germany replied dryly.
"Then again, you seem like a very serious, hardworking young man," the doctor continued. "Maybe you've always been so focused on what's expected of you that you never allowed yourself time to take notice of the people around you. This friend of yours must really be something to be able to get to a studious guy like you."
Germany looked down at the floor. "Yeah, he's something, alright…"
The doctor's grin widened as his patient lapsed into a thoughtful silence. He allowed Germany to brood on his "special friend" for a couple seconds before snapping him out of his reverie with another question. "Out of curiosity, are you experiencing any of your symptoms right now?"
"Hmm?" Germany's hand drifted absentmindedly to his heart. "Actually, I am… How strange. He's not even here right now and yet my chest is…"
The doctor laughed and patted Germany's shoulder congenially. "I thought so. You've got it bad, huh?"
"What do I have?" Germany asked urgently. "If you know, then please tell me!"
"Don't worry, it's not a disease," the other man assured him. "In fact, it's perfectly healthy for a man your age."
"Huh? So… you're saying there's absolutely nothing wrong with me?" Germany puzzled.
"Yep, you're fit as a fiddle," the doctor confirmed, scribbling some notes on his clipboard.
Germany frowned. "But then… when you said I've 'got it bad', what did you mean?"
"It's not really something someone else should spoil for you," he replied elusively. "It's much better to figure it out for yourself. Well then, Mr. Weillschmidt, I have a three o'clock I need to hurry to, but take care of yourself and good luck with your friend."
Germany had been hoping to return to an empty house in order to have some time alone to sort out his thoughts and analyze the doctor's words. Therefore, when he saw his brother's car in the driveway, he groaned internally. Prussia had been spending suspicious amounts of time at Austria's place lately and while Germany certainly loved his brother, he would be lying if he said it hadn't been nice having him out of this hair for a while. Couldn't that have lasted just one day longer? Sighing heavily, Germany let himself in.
"I'm home," he muttered.
It came as no surprise to him at all to see Prussia sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV, an Xbox controller in his hands, playing Halo with the volume turned up way too loud. As Germany came in, Prussia glanced over at him for a split second in acknowledgement before jabbing furiously at the buttons in order to mow down some aliens with his laser gun, making completely unnecessary machinegun noises with his mouth to compliment the game's already ample sound effects. The blond was too used to Prussia's general weirdness to even think it strange when he saw that his brother's precious pet bird was manning the other controller, apparently facing Prussia in two-player mode. Germany bent down to pick up the remote control from the floor and turned the volume down to a more tolerable level.
"There you are, West," Prussia said distractedly, his eyes not leaving the screen. "I was wondering when you'd be back; we're all out of beer and your snack collection is truly unworthy of the awesome me! Where the hell were you?"
Germany pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off a swiftly approaching headache. "I was at the doctor's office. And there's absolutely no reason why you couldn't go to the store and get the beer and snacks yourself; you've got a car."
"Yeah, but going to the store is so plebeian," he snorted dismissively. "And I know that if I nag you long enough… Wait, did you say you went to the doctor?"
Germany was genuinely surprised when Prussia actually paused his game and gave him his full attention. Gilbird cheeped irritably in protest at the interruption in game play, but for once its owner ignored it. "You sick, West?" he asked, all traces of joking vanishing from his normally smug face. "You're not gonna kick the bucket and leave the awesome me all alone are you? I mean, being alone is way fun and all but…"
The blond was touched. It was rare that his brother showed signs of giving a rat's ass about anyone other than himself. "Well, I thought there was something seriously wrong with me but the doctor just smiled and said that it was perfectly normal."
It appeared that he had said the wrong thing because the warm brotherly moment vanished in an instant and Prussia's usual amused look returned to his pale features. "What, West? Did you get all freaked out when you touched yourself at night and some weird white stuff came out?"
Germany fixed his brother with a thoroughly unimpressed look. "Firstly, you're probably the last person I want imagining what I do in bed. And if you do imagine it, I don't want to know about it." He had to suppress a shudder at the thought. "Secondly, I may not get around as much as you claim to, but I wasn't born yesterday; even I know basic things like that. Thirdly, ino/i, that's inot/i why I visited the doctor and I'd appreciate it if you didn't make twisted assumptions like that."
"Uh oh, looks like West missed his naptime," Prussia teased. "Someone's a little bit pissy today."
"Of course I'm frustrated," Germany huffed, folding his arms. "That doctor sent me away without any answers. He acknowledged that something was going on with me but he refused to tell me what it was. Naturally, I'm glad to find out that I don't have some terminal illness, but something's definitely out of the ordinary and my purpose in asking a doctor about it was to get some answers, not to be told to figure it out myself."
Prussia sat up on the couch, set his Xbox controller on the ground and turned off the TV. "Take twenty, Gilbird. Come here, West," he said, patting his knees. "Sit in awesome big brother Prussia's lap and tell me all about it. I'll bestow some of my wondrous knowledge on my poor, lost little brother."
Germany decided to take Prussia up on that offer (though not the part about sitting on his lap, of course). It seemed a bit of a long shot to hope that Prussia would have the answer to all his problems but despite the way he acted, he was older and therefore had more life experience. Besides, even if his brother proved to be completely clueless, it was nice to have someone who would listen while he vented his troubles. The blond sat down beside his older sibling on the couch. He opened his mouth to begin but Prussia stopped him straight away.
"Hold it, West; you're doing this all wrong," he said. "You've got to be lying down when you talk about deep psychological issues. Isn't that how old man Freud always did it?"
Germany sighed and rolled his eyes as he let Prussia coax him into lying down, resting his head on his lap. Honestly, he didn't even care anymore; he just wanted to get his worries off his chest and if lying down was what would make Prussia listen, then whatever.
"Right, now spill," Prussia ordered. "Tell your awesome big bro all about it."
"I guess it started a few months ago," Germany began uncertainly. "At random times during the day, my heart starts pounding, my face feels hot, my head feels fuzzy and my chest gets tight… It's almost as though I'm nervous, except… well, I didn't realize it until today when the doctor asked me about it, but all the strange things that have been happening to me seem to have something to do with Italy. These things always seem to happen when he touches me or smiles at me or expresses concern for my wellbeing."
"Oh ho, Ita-chan, huh?" Prussia interjected with a smirk.
"You know what Italy's like," Germany continued wearily. "He's inconsistent and illogical and always needs my help… It wouldn't be such a big deal if he was only like that sometimes, but it's all the time. It wears on me after a while. At first, I thought that the stress of having to deal with him was what was doing this to me but he hasn't been nearly as bad recently as was in the past so that doesn't really fit… When I mentioned Italy to the doctor, he seemed interested and we talked about him a little. Then I told him that those strange symptoms were appearing right then as we were talking and he said something like 'you've got it bad'. I haven't the slightest idea what he meant but when I asked him about it, he said it was something I had to figure out for myself…"
Prussia's smirk widened and he nodded knowingly. "Well, well, who would have thought, muscle-head West is actually… This is priceless, really."
"What is?" Germany asked eagerly. "Do you know what's wrong with me?"
"Of course I know!" Prussia bragged. "Honestly, only a simple-minded guy like you wouldn't be able to figure this out. It's actually kind of adorable how naïve you are."
Germany frowned, not appreciating his brother's condescending tone. "Can we skip the commentary, please? Just tell me."
"Sorry, West, but the doctor was right. I really shouldn't spoil the fun for you."
"What's going on?" Germany fumed. "Why won't anyone just tell me what's happening to me?"
"Don't worry, bro," Prussia said, grinning. "The awesome me would never leave his silly little brother in the dark. There are other ways I can help, besides just giving you the answer. Just you wait; I'll have you praising my superior intellect in no time."
Germany looked at the mischievous smile curling Prussia's lips and felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding in the pit of his stomach.
