Thanks to teabrows, IceDynamiteDragonflyStars, Sinistrad, ScandinavianTrash, Margarethe and two anons for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

AmeIsr: Sympathy

For as long as Alfred could remember, he's been able to see other people's injuries, regardless of whether or not the injury was covered by clothing. It had taken him a few years to realise that it wasn't normal, but he was never wrong about it.

In school, one or two of his classmates had burst appendixes, and Alfred had managed to get them the necessary help in time. It was also the case with sport's events, when he could see what sort of injury the others received and how severe it was, and he could help them until the paramedics arrived. The paramedics quickly learned of him, and one or two eventually learned of his ability. They allowed him to help, regardless of whether or not it was in the rules.

It was due to this that Alfred became a paramedic himself. He had managed to save quite a few people by knowing exactly what was wrong with them.

It was currently his day off and he was simply strolling through town. It was the middle of autumn, and he had a jacket wrapped around him. The autumn he could handle, but once winter came, he was doomed.

He had been looking at the ground and when he looked up, he stopped dead. There were two reasons for that, both involving one man.

The man had brown hair and brown eyes. His skin was neither tanned nor pale, and there was a star-shaped necklace around his neck. Alfred knew enough to realise that the man was Jewish, and most likely Israeli, or at least of Israeli descent. He was quite handsome.

But that was only the first reason why Alfred stopped.

The second reason was the sheer amount of bruises covering the man's body. There were bruises around his throat, both wrists and both arms, and they looked a lot like the imprints of a hand. There were bruises on his chest and stomach that looked a lot like punches. And the bruises around his hips… He had also bitten the inside of his cheek at one point, and his left ankle was swollen.

To anyone but Alfred, there wouldn't be anything wrong. The man was wearing a scarf, hiding the bruises around his throat, with a jacket hiding the bruises on his arms. He also wore gloves, and in spite of his swollen ankle, he wasn't limping at all.

He didn't spare Alfred a glance as he passed, and only once he was out of sight did Alfred snap out of it, turning around.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, reaching out to grab the other's shoulder, where he knew it was safe.

The man jerked out of his grip and spun around, eyes wild.

"What do you want?!" the man snapped.

Alfred hesitated, but swallowed nervously. He had started, so he might as well see it through.

"Have you had those injuries checked out?" Alfred asked.

"W-what injuries?" the man asked, looking panicked.

"The bruises around your throat, your arms, your wrists… your hips…"

"W-what are you getting at?! I don't…"

"You also bit your cheek at one point. I take it that you keep licking the wound, tasting blood."

The man's eyes narrowed, and Alfred knew that he was afraid.

"Your ankle's also swollen," Alfred said. "You might have sprained it, but it isn't too…"

"Enough!" the man shouted, looking absolutely afraid. "How… how do you know all this?"

Alfred hesitated. How was he going to explain it to this man?

"Would you believe me if I told you that I can see all of them?" Alfred asked.

"It's impossible," the man whispered, looking down at himself. "You can't…"

"Your arm was broken a while back, but it's almost completely healed now," Alfred interrupted. "Your right arm."

The man was trembling slightly, looking like a startled animal. Alfred looked around, seeing a bench nearby.

"Why don't we sit down and talk about it?" Alfred asked.

"W-why?" the man asked.

Alfred bit his lip.

"Is someone abusing you?" Alfred asked.

The man took a step back, eyes wide. Alfred assumed that his guess was correct.

"I'm a paramedic," Alfred said. "I've seen injuries like yours before. I'm just trying to help."

The man hesitated, before averting his eyes, nodding his head. Alfred smiled, leading the way to the bench. He noticed that when the man sat down next to him, he sat as far away from him as possible.

"Why don't we start off with introductions?" Alfred suggested. "I'm Alfred."

"David," the man said.

"So, David, where are you from?"

"Israel. Jerusalem."

"Awesome. I'm from here, so…"

"How did you know?" David interrupted. "About my… injuries?"

Alfred took a deep breath.

"I could do it since I could remember," Alfred said. "I can see all the injuries of the people around me. I could see when my brother sprained his pinkie. When my dad was developing a tumour. When my mom got a concussion… Not a lot of people know, and they usually don't believe. But it's helped a lot of people. It's why I decided to become a paramedic."

David nodded.

"Why not a doctor?" David asked.

"Dude, have you seen how long they study? I wanted to be able to save people as soon as possible."

David chuckled slightly. Alfred turned a serious gaze to him.

"So, are you going to tell me how you got those injuries?" Alfred asked.

David bit his lip, before he sighed.

"I think you've already figured it out," David said. "My boyfriend… This is wrong. I shouldn't be telling you this."

"Don't worry, dude," Alfred said. "I swing both ways. So, why do you stay with him?"

David shook his head, hugging himself.

"I tried to leave," David said. "But… Well, you said yourself. My arm. Among other things…"

Alfred sighed.

"If you want, I've got a few buddies in the police," Alfred said. "We can get you out. I promise."

David looked at him with a hopeful look, and Alfred felt his chest flutter at the sight. He really was beautiful.

"I… I'd like that," David said. "Thank you."

Alfred smiled.

"Of course," Alfred said.

The prompt is: 'Person A has the power to see/sense injuries (anything from bruises to broken bones to hypothermia). They meet Person B when they see suspicious or worrying injuries on them as they walk past each other.'

So, someone requested America/Israel, and someone else (or maybe the same person, much later) requested the pairing again, with a request to make it angsty. And with the above prompt, the options were abuse, self-harm or even a failed suicide attempt. Abuse was the first thing that came to mind.