Written on request for somewhereinthedarkness. Sorry it's so late!

~ * ~ * Awesome-itis ~ * ~ *

That morning hadn't been kind to Prussia. Germany could tell.

There were a few things that Germany came to learn about his brother—things that came free with living with him for years on end. For example, he knew that Prussia liked to sleep in until noon on most days, but he was never unable to wake up on time to go to world meetings. On those days, however, he always woke up extra early just to demand they go get pancakes for breakfast.

That was the first thing to set Germany off. It was Saturday morning, the world meeting was today, and Prussia hadn't yet begged him for some sort of sugary breakfast. The house seemed . . . quiet. Too quiet.

Germany got out of bed, considering the fact that maybe Prussia hadn't set his alarm or maybe he was a little behind this morning. He brushed his teeth, got dressed, and made his bed. All while the house was completely silent.

That was when Germany got suspicious, sighing and walking downstairs. He made his way to Prussia's bedroom (more accurately described as the basement door) and knocked.

There wasn't an answer, and Germany made a face. "Prussia? It's time to wake up. The World Meeting's today, remember?"

No answer. Germany sighed and decided to let himself in, walking down the stairs and flicking on the lights as he did so. He paused, seeing Prussia, fully clothed and yet passed out on the ground.

Germany bent down, nudging Prussia on the shoulder. His older brother stirred, but only slightly, still hiding his face in his arms. "Prussia?"

His older brother groaned in response and Germany frowned. "Are you feeling ok?"

There was no response. "You want me to take you to the doctor—?"

"No!" Prussia jumped up, quickly getting to his feet and teetering as he did so. He shook his head, wiping his currently running nose on his sleeve. Getting a better look at him, Germany could see that he didn't look so good. There were dark circles under his dull, red eyes and his skin looked pasty and paler than usual. He was swaying as he stood, coughing as he spoke. "I'm—I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Germany gave him a skeptical look. "You don't look so good.

"No-t cool, W-West," Prussia sneezed, and then shook his head at his younger brother. "That's not a ni-ce thing to s-say."

"You don't sound good, either."

"Shaddup," Prussia muttered, pushing back him and climbing upstairs. Germany followed him, watching him stumble and run into walls as he tried to make his way to the kitchen.

Germany leaned against the doorframe, watching Prussia stumble around the kitchen. He went to the fridge, running into it a couple of times before he opened it and got out the milk. He tripped on a chair, and then walked to the pantry and attempted to get the cereal. Notice the word 'attempted', as he knocked over nearly everything in the pantry trying to do so. He finally found his cereal, pouring it in his bowl and practically drowning it in milk.

He only ate about two spoonfuls of his cereal before he fell asleep in it.

Germany sighed, shaking his head and walking over to his brother. He pulled his dead out of the bowl, saving his brother from a milky death and wiping his face off with a napkin. Careful not to wake him, Germany picked up his little brother like one would a child and carried him to his car.

"He's lying, y'know."

Germany rolled his eyes, looking at his brother in the rearview mirror. "It's no big deal, the doctor says it's just the flu."

"He's a liar," Prussia said just as he went into a fit of coughs. "He hates me."

"Sure," Germany muttered. "Look, I'm just going to take you home and you're going to go to sleep, ok? We're not going to the World Meeting, I've already called America and told him what happened."

"No!" Prussia exclaimed, leaning forward and grabbing onto the seat. "I can't stay home! Spain, France, and me—"

"Spain, France, and I," Germany corrected.

"—Have plans!" Prussia said. "I have to go to this meeting!"

"I'm not risking you infecting everyone at that meeting just so you and your friends can go on another panty raid," Germany narrowed his eyes at him, and Prussia scowled and scoffed in response. "You're staying home."

"This was going to be an awesome panty raid," Prussia muttered.

"Were you going to try to get in Austria's room again?" Germany asked.

"No!"

"Prussia."

" . . .Yes."

Germany groaned, rolling his eyes as he pulled the car into the driveway. He stepped out of the car, and he was almost at the front door when he realized Prussia hadn't followed him. Germany walked back to the car and tapped on the window. From inside the car, Prussia only shook his head.

"Prussia, we're home," Germany said. "Get out of there."

"No," Prussia's voice was muffled as he spoke from inside the car. Prussia scowled at him through the window—though with a nasally voice and an exhausted look on his face, it was hard for him to look intimidating. "Not until you drive me to the world meeting."

"You're sick as hell, Prussia, get out of the car," Germany narrowed his eyes.

"No!" Prussia snapped.

"Get out of that car!" Germany attempted to open the door, but Prussia saw him do that and locked the door. Germany dashed around to the other side of the car, Prussia scrambling to lock the door but not making it in time. Germany jerked open the car door, and Prussia scrambled back into the opposite side of the car. "Prussia!"

"No!" Prussia exclaimed, digging his fingernails into the car seat as Germany grabbed him by the legs and trying to drag him out of the vehicle. "No, no!"

"You're acting like a child!" Germany spat, and with one final tug, he'd forced Prussia out of that car. He grabbed his older brother by the wrist, closing the door behind him and scowling. "Now go inside and get some rest."

"I don't need—!"

Germany grunted in annoyance, pulling his brother inside the house. Prussia, too weak to escape his grasp, simply wriggled uncomfortably as Germany took him to his room. He gestured to the bed, and with a sigh of defeat, Prussia crawled into the bed. "I'll wake you up when it's time to take your medicine."

Prussia muttered something as he fell asleep. Germany sighed, turning off he lights and heading downstairs. Who was the big brother here again?

According to the doctor's note, Prussia was to take two spoonfuls of medicine twice a day, one in the morning and once at night. Given that today was only day one of illness, Germany decided that he'd be ok if he only took one dose at night. With that in mind, around seven o'clock that night, Germany had woken up his brother by flicking the lights on and off in order to get him to take his medicine.

" . . .West . . ." Prussia groaned, blinking and poking his head out from under the covers. "You know I—" he coughed. "—Hate it when you do that."

"Sorry," Germany left the lights on, reading the back of the Nyquil bottle. He doubted he was wrong about the number of doses his brother was supposed to take, but he couldn't be too sure. "You just have to take your medicine. Then you can go back to sleep."

He poured a spoonful of medicine for his brother and held it out. "Open wide."

Prussia made a face, covering his mouth with his covers and shaking his head aggressively. "That smells awful."

"Just drink it," Germany held the medicine closer to him, and Prussia only moved further away. "Get it over with."

"There's no need, I'm not sick," Prussia said, his voice muffled by the blanket.

Germany rolled his eyes and groaned. "Are you still keeping this up? You know it's too late for you to go to the world meeting."

"And who's—achoo!—fault is that?!" Prussia snapped. "I'm not sick and I'll prove it to you!"

"By not taking your medicine and dying of the flu?!"

"I'm not sick!"

Germany groaned. "You want me to do the airplane thing?"

Prussia went quiet for a moment, and then nodded.

The corners of Germany's mouth tugged a bit—it was dumb and ridiculous but he still couldn't help but smile. He moved the spoonful of medicine closer to his brother and made a sound similar to that of an airplane jet. "Heeeere comes the airplane."

Prussia meekly opened his mouth and swallowed the medicine. After a mere second, he made a face and spat, wiping his tongue with his hands. "That's so gross!"

"You need to take two spoonful's, Prussia," Germany poured another spoonful as he spoke, and Prussia made a face as he did so. "Just do it fast and get it over with—"

"No," Prussia frowned, shaking his head.

"Prussia, please," Germany groaned. "The faster you take your medicine, the faster you'll get better."

"Doesn't matter," Prussia shook his head in defiance. "I'm not sick—"

"What is wrong with you?" Germany exclaimed. "Why are you so against being sick? You obviously feel terrible, I got a doctor's note, and you have prescribed medicine! What's it going to take to convince you—?"

"I'm not sick!" Prussia exclaimed. "I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!" He honestly sounded like a child, shaking his head and repeating himself like that. Even with how sick he sounded, he also sounded like he was about to cry. "I can't be sick!" he sniffled, grabbing onto his brother's sleeve and looking down at the bed sheets. Germany simply stared at him, not pushing him off or making any other movements. "I . . . am not a country any more . . . I'm just a person . . . and do you know what happens to people who get sick?"

Prussia's lower lip quivered, tears beginning to show at the edges of his scarlet eyes. He shook his head, a single sob escaping his parched throat. "They die, West. They die."

For a few escaping moments, Germany couldn't think of what to say. His brother—who's personality could be described as nothing short of a 'punk'—was afraid and crying in front of him. For the first time in a long time, Prussia feared something. And not something trivial or childish, he actually, deeply feared something.

And it was a fear Germany shared with him, though he wouldn't admit it (not to Prussia, not to anyone). The fear that one day he was going to loose his brother. That one day he wasn't going to be here anymore.

That was a day Germany couldn't—and didn't want to—imagine.

Germany pulled his brother closer to him, locking him in a tight embrace. Prussia blinked back his tears, not hesitating to clutch onto his brother. He hardly ever hugged his big brother, and Prussia knew that better than anyone. He might as well cherish this moment while it lasted.

"You're not going to die," Germany muttered, running a hand through Prussia's white hair. "I won't let that happen. I'm going to take care of you. I promise."

Prussia gave a feeble nod, sitting back and wiping his wet eyes. Germany gave him a sympathetic smile, using his thumbs to wipe the corners of his big brother's eyes. "Hey, don't cry. Awesome people don't cry, remember? And what are you?"

Through his tears and his sniffles, Prussia grinned. "I'm awesome!"

Germany smirked. "You're damn right you are. Now, will you take your medicine?"

After a brief pause, Prussia nodded and took the spoonful from Germany. Goes to show that his childish nature came side-by-side with his denial. Germany sat up, taking the spoon from him and screwing the cap back onto the medicine. "Well, you try to get some rest."

"Wait!" Prussia exclaimed, grabbing onto Germany's shirt. His face turned a shade of light pink and he lowered his tone. "Can you, uh . . . stay? J-just until I fall asleep," he let go of him quickly, jumping back with a large grin on his face. "Not that it matters! As the awesome Prussia, I'm not afraid of anything!"

He's acting as if all that never even happened, Germany thought. Well, at least Prussia was putting it behind him. Happy that his brother was at least feeling psychologically better, Germany nodded. "Alright."

"Yay!" Prussia exclaimed, moving over on the bed and allowed Germany to lay down next to him. "Sleep-over!"

"This is my house—"

"Sleep-over, West, sleep-over!"

"Fine, fine, okay, sleep-over."

Prussia grinned in defiance, and while he chattered on about something for a bit, he was asleep relatively quickly. Germany smiled, simply listening to his brother's rhythmic (sort of—his breathing was a bit strained, considering how sick he was) breathing and watching the ceiling fan slowly turn. It was relaxing, in some way. Simple.

Germany could just stay there, couldn't he? Just drift off into sleep, next to his older brother. It reminded him of when he was younger, how he and Prussia used to share a bed as children. When Prussia would tell him stories and ask him to count the stars in the sky from their bedroom window. Those were the days, the simpler days, with no talk of countries falling or even the possibility of dying. Those were the days Germany liked to remember when he was alone, or when he was in battle, or even at a time like this.

He wondered if his brother was thinking of the same thing. He wondered if he'd been thinking about it often—he hoped it was. If this fear of his was so bad, he'd obviously been thinking about it a lot. And yet, Germany hoped Prussia was thinking about the better days, too. About those cold days in Berlin, of huddling under a blanket and whispering simply for the joy of it. He hoped that in times like this, he thought of those days. By the way Prussia was smiling in his sleep, he hoped he was.

Germany allowed his eyelids to flutter shut, exhaling and just taking in the slowness of it all. His brother was safe. He was alive. And as long as he was here, it was going to stay that way. As long as he was year, his brother was never going to think or fear death. He was only going to smile, to laugh, to remember those happy days and smile some more.

As long as Germany was here to protect him, nothing was going to happen to Prussia. That was a promise he was going to keep with his life.

This took much longer than I thought it would, but it's finally finished. Favorite and review if you enjoyed it!

In Shades of Blue,
Ninja