A/N: Thanks to all of my reviewers! :D You all make me so happy!

So, Prussia and Germany finally have a reunion! Prussia's perspective at first here; I really hope that I captured his character correctly. West refers to Germany (though I hope you knew that)... I'm using Prussia's nickname for him, since it is his view of the events. Warning: language! This is a pretty long chapter, compared to the others. It's very plot heavy. Also, I do switch perspectives quite a bit, but I think you should be able to tell whose view we're looking at.

"Go away." Prussia was annoyed. He had heard China's voice as well as that weird kid's. Idiots, thinking they could boss the awesome Prussia around! Yeah, he'd screwed up China's business, but so what? He was no one's bitch.

"Nein."

Prussia froze. "W-West?" No! Why the hell was he here?

"Ja."

Fuck. He's probably pissed! "What are you doing here?" Prussia looked up at his brother, who, for some reason looked really tired. And angry. He'd been right about that.

"Trying to save you, you dumkoff." Suddenly, West hugged him, sitting on the bed as he did so. Prussia thought about struggling against the embrace, but he could tell West was crying. Plus, it felt nice to have contact with someone that wasn't about to beat the crap out of him (he hoped). "What did you get yourself into?"

Prussia let West hug him a while longer, than, remembering that he was supposed to be the strong one, gave a small shove. "What the hell, West? I know my awesomeness is a sight to behold, but seriously, you don't have to cry." Damn, why was his voice so shaky?

He felt, rather than saw, West smile as he let go. "Why are you so thin?" he asked suddenly, the smile replaced by a worried look. His face was dry. West must've wiped the tears away when he wasn't looking. "Have they been treating you badly?"

"They were pretty bad at first, I thought they wanted to kill me," admitted Prussia. "They didn't feed me, and they kept beating me up and stuff. But obviously, I was so awesome they stopped. Well, China likes to come in here sometimes… he asks a lot of questions." Prussia didn't mention that most of the questions concerned West. He was sure that China had been planning to ransom him off or something. He also didn't mention that China kept touching him… inappropriately to say the least. No way in hell was he gonna tell West that. "You don't look too good yourself. What's that on your neck?" Whatever it was, it looked painful, and Prussia could see that his brother looked uncomfortable.

Then West frowned and cleared his throat, turning his head away. "I only have a few minutes, so let us address the important issues here." He ignored the question and sat straight up on the cot, his hands folded in his lap, looking at Prussia expectantly, all business. Prussia just stared. How did he do that? He just switched between happy, huggy guy to serious, "let's get down to business" man in a second. He shook his head.

"Uh… like what?" Damn, his voice cracked! He sounded like a stupid kid and not the totally awesome master of the universe that he was.

West rolled his eyes. "Why are you in here? All I've been told is that you've angered China and that you owe the Triad a substantial amount of money. I've been…" he broke eye contact and brought up a hand, cupping his neck and covering the mark. "I've been paying your debt off, but I don't think it's enough. I don't know how much you owe China, and he keeps demanding more…"

Whoa, West was paying off his debt? "Wait, who told you? I never told anyone about the Triad thing."

West sighed. "You really thought I wouldn't notice your sudden influx in income, or your even more sudden disappearance? I hadn't heard from you in weeks, so I had Romano use his mafia contacts to look into it." He looked directly at Prussia, making him freeze. This was West's signature gaze, a piercing icy stare that plumbed the depths of his soul. Or something like that. Despite his awesomeness, Prussia had never been good at talking all fancy. He was a fighting guy, not a diplomat. No, that was West. Swallowing, Prussia looked back. "Why didn't you come to me for help?" asked West.

"Ha. Do you really think I would ask my little brother for help? I was doing great, until that bitch double-crossed me," mumbled Prussia, getting angry. He muttered a string of curses. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He couldn't believe he had trusted that girl.

A knock came at the door. "10 minutes."

"Damn. Okay, no more interruptions or questions. Just tell me what as best you can, and quickly. I'm going to try and get you out of here."

As Japan was finishing up dinner, he looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with soft waves of orange and pink. He was a bit worried. Germany had said he'd be back too late for lunch. He hadn't said anything about being late for dinner. Japan looked outside for a while, arms crossed, wooden spoon in hand. A sudden sizzling noise brought him out of his thoughts. Ah! The soup was spilling!

Another knock came at the door. The door knob twisted, and in walked the quiet boy. "Time to go." He stared at the pair of brothers, unblinking.

Germany looked at Prussia, gave him another hug, and stood up. "Stay out of trouble," he said mechanically, then smiled, realizing that it was too late for his usual warning.

Prussia laughed, a dry humorless chuckle. "I'll try."

Hong Kong stared at Germany until he left the room. He walked out after Germany and locked the door to the room. Without another word, Hong Kong began to walk. He led Germany to an idling car with tinted windows in a garage, and then took out a blind fold. Equally quiet, Germany wrapped it around his eyes. Hong Kong then handcuffed him. This wasn't the first time he had been at China's headquarters, unfortunately, so he was used to this. He didn't know where it was situated, as the Triad took care to maintain secrecy. He was led into the car, and the door was shut. Hong Kong exchanged some orders with the driver in Cantonese, and the car took off.

Germany reflected on his conversation with Prussia on the way back to the café (they always dropped him off there.) What Prussia had hurriedly told him was this: Bored one day, Prussia had decided to walk into the same café that Germany would eventually enter, and pick a fight. He ended up completely destroying one of the rival gangs of the Triad, and China himself awarded him. He was given charge of one of the black-market merchandise rings and made good money for a few weeks. Then, a girl, Taiwan, talked him into stealing from the ring and starting his own, so that he wouldn't have to answer to China anymore. She had just wanted to stick it to China, it seemed. After some sweet talking, Prussia eventually decided to break away, sneaking money from China's ring, and trying to set up his own business, with Taiwan as a partner, raking in a huge profit. This went well for a while, until one day, the Triad came in and destroyed his illicit business, taking him captive. It turned out that Taiwan had been caught, and she had given them Prussia's name for leniency. He now owed China about 6 million yuan (680,500 Euros/1,000,000 US), and China basically owned him for life, unless he paid it off somehow. He was confined to his room, occasionally fed, beaten up sometimes, and from time to time questioned by China. The beatings had lessened about the time that Germany started "paying" the debt, but Prussia hadn't thought of reasons for it earlier, simply attributing it to his "awesomeness".

Germany sighed. There was no way he had made even a dent in the debt. How would he get Prussia out of this one?

The car stopped. The driver came out of the car and opened the door, untying the blindfold and removing the cuffs. Germany silently walked out, blinking as his eyes absorbed light. It was very late, the sun was beginning to set. Japan would be worried. Without looking back, he put his hands in his pockets, glad that he had brought his jacket, as he walked home. It was very cold outside.

As Germany reached the door to Japan's house, he decided to pop the collar to his jacket. No doubt Japan would notice the bite; the man was very astute. He stood at the door for a few minutes, trying to collect himself. He had to pretend everything was normal. Nothing had happened. If Japan asked him what he and China had talked about, he'd make up some story about cars or something. Yes, that might work! China was interested in purchasing some cars from Germany and the meeting had involved traveling to China's home to see what kind of car he needed. That's why it took a bit to get back. Okay. He could pull this off. Germany readied himself and reached to open the door; however, as his hand neared the door, it slid open of its own accord.

Japan.

"Ah, Doitsu-anata!" Japan beamed. "I wondered who was standing at the door." His apron swayed in the slight breeze.

"Uh, yes." Germany was suddenly nervous again, and he unconsciously covered the bite with his hand. The two simply stared at each other for a few minutes, Japan's bright smile slowly turning into an expression of confusion.

"Ah, sumimasen. I should let you come in." Japan said quietly and moved to the side of the door, allowing Germany to walk in. Germany hesitated, then entered the house, taking off his boots.

"I have just finished preparing dinner. Would you like to eat now?"

"Y-yes, thank you. But, I need to clean up first."

"Of course."

Acting as casually as possible, Germany walked to the bathroom that he and Japan shared, making sure that his left side, where the bite was, was not facing Japan. Once in the bathroom, he looked around, searching for band-aids. How the hell would he explain this? He found the white box, and placed one over the bite. He'd just have to wing it. Nervous, he washed his hands a few times, then splashed some water on his face, fixing his hair. Damn it, Japan would almost definitely suspect! He felt filthy, cowardly, disgusting. How can I do this to Japan? he thought. No, I can't worry about that, it'll only be more obvious. The best thing to do now is to act like everything is fine. He nodded to himself. Germany took a deep breath and, wiping his hands on his pants, let it go, then opened the door.

Thoughts went flying through Japan's mind as he saw Germany walk into the bathroom. Something was wrong. He was favoring his left side, and looked very tired. He seemed jittery, stressed. What was going on?

Germany came out of the bathroom, heading towards the dining room, where Japan was setting the table. Japan looked up and smiled again, trying to mask his concern. The two sat down. "Itadakimasu," both said, Germany having picked up the habit when he moved in with Japan.

As they ate, Japan watched Germany discreetly. He had noticed the bandage on his neck and wondered why he had put it there. "Eto, Doitsu…" Germany looked up, chopsticks halfway to his mouth, another habit Germany had picked up for more traditional meals.

"Yes?"

"Ano, how was your day?" Japan said shyly. He didn't want to force Germany to tell him something he didn't want to talk about. Germany looked confused for a second, a strange look in his eyes. It passed quickly.

"Ah, my day was… tiring." It appeared that Germany was holding back a smile as he said so.

Japan listened closely as Germany described his day, saying something about cars and having to travel to China's home. Japan almost smiled in relief. That explained so much. Germany was tired from having to travel! After all, he had just come back from a business trip and he was back on a plane the day after. Anyone would be exhausted!

"Also, I don't mean to pry, but what happened to your neck?"

"Oh, uh… when we were test driving, China panicked and hit the brakes… and the seatbelt hit me in the neck…" Germany sounded nervous about this. "It didn't break skin, but it left a nasty bruise."

"Oh."

They continued eating in silence, broken by Germany asking what Japan had done that day. "I was gardening earlier, then I decided to read the book Greece let me borrow. I'm almost done." Japan went into detail, happily informing Germany of the antics of Zeus and his fellow gods.

Germany almost burst out laughing when Japan asked him how his day had been. What was he supposed to say? "Well, after a few hours of being China's sex slave, I got to see my brother for the first time in weeks, and it turns out that he owes the Triad a small fortune, which I've been trying to pay off by basically prostituting myself, but will probably ultimately fail?" Somehow, he managed to tell his fake tale of car buying, and Japan seemed to believe it. Of course, this only added to the guilt. Now he was lying straight to Japan's face!

He barely managed to come up with a good story for the bite mark, and honestly, he didn't think Japan believed him, though Japan gave no indication that he didn't. Though he tried his best to maintain a nonchalant expression, Germany was roiling internally. Throughout the whole dinner, while listening to Japan talk about the book he was reading, he asked himself one question: "How can I do this? How can I look at him in the face and lie to him like this?" It was infuriating, and pathetic. Germany often felt that he didn't deserve Japan, someone so trusting and caring, especially when he was lying to him so blatantly. It was driving him insane.

For some reason, Japan was staring at him. "What's wrong?" he asked. Maybe he had said something out loud? That would be horrible!

"Nothing, I just asked if you wanted to take a bath first while I tidy up the kitchen."

"Oh, thank you." Germany scooted his chair back, stood up, and pushed it back in. "I'll help with the cleaning tomorrow to make up for today." He could at least do that, right? Japan looked shocked.

"No, no! It's fine! You need to rest!" Japan stammered, turning red. "You just came back from your trip! I can't ask you to do that!"

"But I like cleaning… and I want to help you. I'm used to doing everything at home, so letting you do everything is… strange."

Japan was still red. "Well, if you really want to, you can," he said softly. "But I don't want to impose…"

"There's no use arguing, Japan. I will definitely win." Germany smiled, arms crossed.

"Ha-hai." Japan bowed slightly, then turned and continued cleaning.

Germany walked to the bath, still smiling at the conversation. He sunk into the bath and scratched his neck, which peeled off the bandage. The smile instantly fell off his face, guilt returning immediately. He held his head in his hands, and finally alone, let the tears of shame, anger, frustration and guilt that he had been holding back fall. He didn't make any noise. No, Germany was a silent crier. Instead, he sat in the water, his body trembling, his teeth set on edge, as hot tears tumbled down his cheeks.

Japan walked to the bath, pajamas in hand. Germany had left the bath about 15 minutes ago, and had gone straight to bed without a word. He was tired, Japan assumed. He really needed to rest, thought Japan, remembering Germany's request to help with the cleaning. His cheeks flushed again. Germany was very much the gentleman.

When Japan came out of the bath, he realized he had forgotten the pajama top. Turning red, he thought about just sleeping like that, though he would feel very bold. He stood outside of the sliding door of the room that he Germany shared trying to get up the nerve to go in. He could do this! He had faced situations that required more courage than this. He had lived through many wars, even survived the atomic bombs that America-san had unleashed. He could sleep with his lover dressed in any way he chose! Face red, but set in determination, Japan opened the door, finding Germany lying in bed, arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Japan walked over to the bed, hand shaking slightly, and pulled back the covers. He stared at the ceiling as well, his arms over his chest. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath, rolled over, and kissed Germany on the mouth.

Germany gasped as he felt Japan kiss him, surprised. After a moment of lying there, he started kissing back, his arms wrapping around Japan's shirtless waist. He rolled both of them over, straddling Japan, kissing him hungrily, desperately. Help me forget, he pled in his mind. His mouth moved down, leaving soft kisses on Japan's neck and shoulders. His hands roamed Japan's chest and stomach, his trailing fingers making Japan moan softly. Help me cleanse. He moved his lips to Japan's jaw. Japan sighed. "Doitsu…" whispered Japan into Germany's ear. "Aishiteru…"

Germany stopped suddenly. He lifted himself off of Japan. "I.. I'm sorry. I can't… I can't do this…" The confusion in Japan's eyes quickly turned to hurt as Germany rolled off of him, and grabbed his pillow. "I'll sleep in the living room." Hurriedly, Germany left the room, the sliding door slamming behind him. "Idiot, idiot, idiot!" he whispered to himself. "You're using him! You're no better than China!" Germany couldn't bring himself to sully Japan. His heart was so pure! He came to a couch in the room, a piece of furniture he had brought from his home, and lied down, hugging the pillow to his chest. He could feel tears stinging at his eyes again.

Back in the bedroom, Japan simply stared at the spot Germany had just vacated. What had he done wrong? He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt his face wet. He reached up and touched his cheek. He was crying.

Glossary:

-anata: like san, but reserved for lovers

Sumimasen: I'm sorry

Itadakimasu: let's eat, generally said before a meal

Eto: um

Doitsu: Germany

Ano: Uh

Hai: Yes

Aishiteru: I love you