This takes place in an earlier time period. You'll realize that pretty quickly.

Warnings include some intense violence, hurt children, and just really heavy topic matter. If you're used to the stuff I post then it shouldn't be a problem. Just a heads up.

The cover picture isn't mine! Please refer to my profile for links to the original artists.

"I gotta ask, Gilbert, why do you have such a pathetic brat hangin' around you like this?"

Someone from behind him shoved Ludwig forward, and as he stumbled on his feet, Adam grabbed the skeletal boy's shirt and pulled him back towards him, restricting his movement.

Gilbert stared in horror at the frame of the small, pale boy, trembling far too much to stand, bags under his eyes…

But as Gilbert noticed the bruises decorating the skin of his arms, he felt rage boiling in every inch of his body.

"What the fuck did you do to him?!" Gilbert said, masking his fear with anger.

Ludwig's eyes perked up at the familiar voice.

"G-Gilbert?" he rubbed at his eyes and looked around, searching for the source of the voice. "Is that you-mmf!"

Adam tugged the child back and covered his mouth with his hand, quickly grabbing his wrist.

Fear flooded Gilbert's mind as Ludwig began to panic further in his hold, staring desperately at Gilbert, and Adam's frayed nerves would not allow it.

"You brat… all you did was talk!" He muttered, grabbing the child's torso and locking his head in place. "Where's Gilbert? Where's Gilbert? RIGHT HERE!"

Ludwig's chest was heaving and his eyes squinted with pain.

"Let him go! you don't understand, he'll-"

"Shut up, Gilbert. As if you understand what it's like to have people dragged away from you… Decorated, conquering piece of shit…" His face suddenly changed to an unforgiving glare. "those were my villages… my people… and you just… extinguished them… with no thought…"

"Adam you know it isn't that simple. I have an obligation to my people-"

"Right… right, in the end, it's all for the good of the people." He tugged at Ludwig's hair, bringing his head up to face his enemy. "Isn't it, Gilbert."

"What do you want, Adam?" He said a little more desperately than he would've liked.

"What do I want?" He chuckled. "Simple."

One of the people alongside Adam moved to his left where he held Ludwig and pointed his rifle at him. The child's blue eyes widened and he desperately struggled against Adam's strong arms, but the larger man easily subdued him.

"No no no what are you doing? He's going to-"

"I want you to feel exactly how I felt. To have all you care about taken away from you. Having to watch." He growled, pain resonating in his voice. "Just like I did."

Gilbert turned his head away in painful realization.

"Adam. I'm sorry. That was a long time ago, if I could change anything, you know-"

"But I'm not going to do that. Because that would be what a mindless beast would do. What you would do."

Gilbert took a sigh of relief.

"Adam-"

"Not so fast. You've committed unforgivable atrocities. Killed innocent people."

Adam's men turned from Ludwig to Gilbert, and the blonde child froze, his breathing still heavy.

"You will pay. Justice will take you today, Gilbert Beilschmidt."

Ludwig's eyes narrowed with terror and his head shook in helpless fear as the men advanced on his older brother.

The thoughts in his mind became dreadful floodwater, rising too quickly for him to respond, overwhelming his mind, what are you going to do? They're going to kill him-

Gilbert's features sharpened, and he smirked.

"Yeah. Try me. See how easy it is to take me out-"

But then the child was drowning. The thoughts weren't happening anymore, and he couldn't breathe and...

And Gilbert's playfully vicious attitude halted and snapped to Ludwig, who had suddenly slumped over in Adam's hold, shaking and eyes limp.

As he stared at the boy, Gilbert felt his world fade to the cold, brutally familiar grey of war.

"What the-" Adam dropped the trembling child to the ground with disgust, landing with a soft thud. "Gilbert… does this child have the devil's sickness?"

Suddenly, gunshots sounded through the room, and the two men following Adam were on the ground, dead.

Adam barely had a second to comprehend what had happened before he saw the cold, ruthless glare of red eyes charging towards him. He quickly launched up with his own rifle, but before he could point it, Gilbert had kicked him to the ground and pointed his firearm.

His boot pressed into Adam's ribcage. "Listen to me." He droned monotonously. "My job is to kill pathetic little saps like you, who decide they're above my forces. To teach them they're wrong." His boot added more pressure to the fragile bones, and as he heard a grotesque snap, Gilbert's expression remained frozen and dull, ignoring Adam's cries of pain. "You're no different, despite your efforts today in showing me you were special."

"You bastard…" Adam choked out.

"Give the devil my regards."

The gunshot echoed through the basement, and Gilbert stood for a few seconds, in the stretched silence, admiring the satisfying, instantaneous crack of the pistol.

But then his head turned to the struggling boy on the floor.

Dropped. Disregarded. Abandoned.

He turned back to Adam's body and felt pure hatred burning through his veins. His face tightened in a final fit of anger as he took another meaningless shot to his chest. Then another to his stomach. The sound of the bullets gathering in his body, one by one, over and over again enraged his vengeful nerves.

If he's neglected, then you're even less… you're a waste… a sniveling worm…

"YOU TOSSED HIM AWAY LIKE GARBAGE! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN A ROTTING MEAL FOR THE RATS YOU LOOKED DOWN ON!"

He fell to his knees, realizing the gun was now clicking instead of firing, begging him to stop, because there was nothing left, and it was useless to continue.

When the angry coals of his mind had calmed, he felt the colors return and he finally moved over to his trembling brother, blue eyes fluttering and his head twitching.

"Hey… hey, Ludwig, it's okay… your big brother made it, he did, because…" He picked him off the ground and brushed the bangs away from his forehead.

"Because your brother is as awesome as they come and he'd never let anything happen to you..." He murmured.

The shaking gradually halted, and the boy's eyes closed, leaving Gilbert to his own thoughts. His dangerous, ruthless thoughts.

"There… that's better, right, Ludwig? You can rest… now..."

He glanced at the bruises on his arms and his face changed, as he remembered that sometimes children didn't wake up from the sickness.

"All you did was talk… Where's Gilbert? Where's Gilbert? RIGHT HERE!"

He hugged the child tightly to his chest.

"I am… I'm here… you don't have to cry out anymore… It's okay, just don't rest forever… please?"

Just then, Gilbert noticed something off, something… strange… there was something missing… a sound… a feeling… a…

A heartbeat.

"Ludwig?! No, no you can't just…"

Gilbert's internalized orders kicked his ass into gear. He carried the boy's lifeless body and ran out the door of the old building.

"Hang in there, Ludwig, you hear me? I'm not finished with you yet, kiddo!" He chuckled, a bit of hysteria creeping into his voice.

As he ran, his heart pounded with fear, determination, and disparity, becoming numb against the cold, winter wind, and then…

He saw it.

His home.

Yes, this was it, everything was going to be okay now, the nurses would fix him, he'll wake up, and then he would be back to his tiny, bizarre self…

"Alright, we're home buddy, what did I tell you?"

Gilbert bursted through the large doors of his home.

"NURSE! NURSE, I need nurses!" He yelled, his long coat flowing behind him as he paced around the lobby.

Several white-cloaked women scrambled into the room, having equally panicked faces as Gilbert.

"What happen-"

"He had a spell, just fix him!"

They quickly took him from Gilbert's arms as he followed close behind, but one of the nurses stopped him.

"Wait, are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine, just let me go with them-"

"You might hinder their work. Please. Just give them some time."

Gilbert felt sick. His head was pounding and all he could think about was the absence of Ludwig's heartbeat, and the implications of it being out so long… Could it really be…

No! No, he's a nation, you don't just…

But you know it could.

"Master Gilbert."

The same nurse snapped the anxious, pale man out of his daze.

"Yes?"

"Please rest. You look horribly distressed, would you like something? Tea?"

Gilbert looked back through the hall where they had carried Ludwig to the medical ward.

"No thank you. But if you could, let me know as soon as I'm allowed in there. Immediately."
"Yes, sir."

The nurse walked away and Gilbert sat down at the nearest chair, and waited.

It had been hours. But Gilbert, who had once thought time passed by at a quick and satisfying pace, had now thought that those hours felt like days.

The group of nurses who were helping Ludwig emerged from the medical ward, and Gilbert shot up and walked up to them.

"So? How is he?" Gilbert demanded.

The nurses all looked at each other, exchanging sullen glances.

He felt a pitting dread in his stomach as he charged into the room, not waiting for one of them to answer.

And he saw it. The only occupied bed, with a little boy resting on top of it.

Eyes closed.

Motionless.

Gilbert took a step towards it, then another, watching the stillness of the child carefully, to watch for anything.

Anything.

Soon Gilbert was next to the bed, above his body.

His brother's lifeless body.

Gilbert knelt next to the bed, and reached over to move the bangs out of his face.

"Hey." Gilbert said.

He paused, almost as if to wait for him to answer.

"You know, I really gave Adam a scare…" He continued. "He's such a pussy…"

He looked at the bruises again and swallowed, clenching his teeth in frustration as he felt a tear falling down his cheek.

"Such a coward… to have lashed out on you… instead of me…" He covered his face with his hands. "He's always been so pathetic… and I'm so sorry it had to be you…"

Gilbert looked up at him again, and reached under the blankets, lifting him up. He placed him on his lap as he sat on the bed.

"Ludwig I'm so sorry…"

He buried his head in the boy's chest, begging to hear something, anything… it couldn't just be gone…

"No… no no no this isn't supposed to happen… you… you're supposed to live forever with me… just like… Fritz said… and then… then we were gonna fuck with the Kaiser, show him how goddamn brilliant you are… you…" Gilbert cut off as he took in a heavy breath as more tears fell from his eyes.

"Please, Ludwig… Wake up… You're all I have in this shitty world that only ever wants to kill me…"

As the silence continued, The devastated older brother continued to hold him tightly and tears fell from his face.

But then he felt something stir in the child's body, and froze.

"L-Ludwig?"

Gilbert's eyes narrowed, and he gasped when he felt another heartbeat come from the blonde's chest.

Ludwig's eyes flew open as his chest jolted in his brother's lap and gasped for air, and Gilbert froze as the child's body trembled with fright and tears fell from his eyes.

"Gilbert…" He wept between strained breaths.

Gilbert's arms wrapped around his brother and near crushed him in disbelief, running his hands through his blonde hair, and overcome with emotion at the warmth coming from his body once again.

"Shhh I got you… it's okay Lutz… I'm here…"

Ludwig had gradually silenced himself, listening to his brother's soothing words, and letting his shuddering breaths even out.

"It's okay… it's okay…" Gilbert continued, his mantra becoming less for Ludwig and more for himself.

The nurses suddenly rushed in at the sounds of Ludwig's voice, and some began muttering commands before a few of them came in next to Gilbert, reaching forward to show that they needed to check up on the child. He nodded, releasing Ludwig, but the boy's arms held strong, and in distress at the sudden absence of his brother's hold, began to cry fearfully into Gilbert's chest.

A nurse carefully reached for the boy, but before she could begin to fit her arms around him, she could already feel him seizing up, and in trying to calm him, Gilbert began to rub his head.

The nurse began to lightly tug at the boy's torso to pull him away, but the panicked child would not allow it.

"NO!" He yelled in response to the motion, quickly followed by repeated whispers.

"It's alright, I can check on him." Gilbert said as he noted how strongly his thin, injured arms were clinging to him, and he held his brother again to keep him calm.

The nurse nodded and she told the other nurses, who left their supplies in the room and walked out.

Ludwig's breathing was almost as quick as his heartbeat and despite the panic brought on by his awakening, all Gilbert wanted to do at the moment was sit there with him and cherish that he was alive.

But injuries demanded attention, and he needed to treat them.

"Ludwig."

No answer.

"I have to check on your injuries, do you think you can let me do that?"

Still nothing.

"You'll be fine, okay? I won't leave for a second."

Gilbert released him and held him by his shoulders instead, his face no longer hidden away.

He was terrorized. Still trembling in his hold, Ludwig had a tear-dampened face and terribly dark bags under his eyes.

Gilbert's heart fell, and he took the blanket on the bed and draped it on the boy's shoulders, quieting his fast breathing and terrified heart.

Then he took the warm wet cloth out of the bowl left on the nightstand and applied it to one of Ludwig's battered arms, and after letting it sit a while, moved it to the other arm.

"Gilbert."

"Yeah?" He said, surprised at the child's decision to speak.

"Do you usually do medical things?"

He raised an eyebrow at his strangely irrelevant question, but then remembered again how odd Ludwig's behavior tended to be in times of crisis. He sighed and continued to treat his arms.

"Not typically, but I have to understand how. I mean, what if shit like this happens while I'm fighting, I have to be ready." He said quietly, keeping a calm tone.

Ludwig hummed in agreement.

"Do you think you're as good as the nurses?"

"Probably not. That's their main job, I just do it as a sideshow. But I can fix you up, so don't worry."

Ludwig paused and looked down for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Did I die, Gilbert?" He asked more quietly than before.

Gilbert froze for a moment before he relaxed again and went to grab the bandages.

"Yes. You did. For a moment, you were gone." Gilbert answered stiffly.

He wrapped the child's arms, and for the whole process the child didn't say a word. He just watched the white fabric loop around his arms, covering up the angry bruises with calm white fabric. He wouldn't have to look at them anymore, didn't have to think about what happened, because his older brother would tuck them away and keep them out of sight, out of mind, like he always did with things that hurt him-

"Ludwig I'm so sorry…"

"Don't rest forever… please?"

"Oh God, don't leave me alone…"

"You're all I have left…"

Ludwig felt tears pooling in his eyes as the fragments of his brother's words continued to flood into his confused mind.

"There, all fixed." He said, putting the bandages down.

"Gilbert?" The trembling voice called.

When Gilbert looked up to face the boy he found that he was crying again.

"What's wrong, bud, are they too tight?" He asked.

"I don't like it when you cry Gilbert." He whimpered.

"What?" Gilbert said, surprised. "What do you mean, I'm okay..."

"No… I'm okay, I'm awake now, don't be sad…" He continued, oblivious to his brother.

"Ludwig?" Gilbert said, putting his hand on the child's shoulder.

He finally looked up at Gilbert.

"Do you wanna sleep?" He asked.

Ludwig nodded, tears still falling down his cheeks. He rubbed at his eyes and looked to the ground, shoulders quivering.

"Okay. I'll come with you alright?" Gilbert said, still concerned at his sudden outburst.

Ludwig sniffed. "Okay, Gilbert…"

"Good." Gilbert murmured, picking the child up off the bed and carrying him through the hallways to his room.

"Don't cry bruder…" Ludwig mumbled to himself.

Gilbert lay down on his bed, holding the child tightly, refusing to lighten his grip. All he could think about was the night it happened…

He was reckless… told the kid to go do a task in the middle of town on his own.

Never, never, never again...

"Ludwig, listen to me."

"Yes, Gilbert?"

"I'm okay, buddy, please stop crying."

"Okay…"

He stayed silent for a moment before continuing.

"And I'll always be there to protect you, okay? Never ever let someone tell you that's not true."

"Okay, Gilbert, I promise…"

"Good." Gilbert said calmly, kissing the child's forehead and running his rough fingers run through Ludwig's silk hair.

Gilbert let his eyes close, his little brother's heartbeat assuring him as he slept. Ludwig was with him and he refused to let anything take him away.

He was going to make sure of it.