Okay… First Hetalia story… I hope this goes well. It could be PruCan friendship or PruCan romance… Take it whichever way you want.
Thanks to p0ck3tf0x for the idea!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Or the characters. Or even this idea, really… But I do own my own thoughts about how it turned out! :D

Pulling the Plug

Matthew's heart clenched. It hurt to look at the man currently lying motionless on the hospital bed in front of him. It hurt to see him looking so frail, so broken. The heart monitor provided the room with a bit of sound with the occasional …beep….beep….beep… and frankly, Matthew thought the sound was about to drive him insane. The beeps were so few and far in-between…

He looked to the pale man's face. His silver hair was splayed over his forehead, red eyes closed. He looked almost peaceful. He looked dead. The only thing that alerted Matthew that there was a small trace of life left in the albino before him was the barely noticeable rise and fall of his chest. Matthew fought back the tears threatening to spill out.

Gilbert was his best friend; the only person that remembered who he was and actually acknowledged him from time to time. But really, Gilbert, as a nation, was just like him. Lost, alone, afraid of being forgotten. And now, that fear was becoming a reality. The memory of the great Prussian Empire was fading from the memories of the humans and in turn, causing Gilbert to fade as well.

The Canadian's fingers tightened around the armrests of the chair he was currently occupying. He didn't know how much longer his friend was going to last, considering he had already been put on life-support. The thought of Gilbert just… disappearing was too much for him to handle. He stood quickly, almost falling over from the dizziness that accompanied the swift movement. Just as he stood, the door opened.

"…How is mein Bruder doing?"

It was Ludwig, Gilbert's younger brother. A momentary wave of relief washed through Matthew; glad that someone else actually cared for the dying nation. The feeling was gone as soon as it appeared.

"He's getting worse…" The reply fell limply from his lips as he glanced back at Gilbert. "The doctors said they aren't sure how much longer they should keep him on life-support, considering his condition is still deteriorating…" He almost had to force the words out, really not wanting to believe them. He was losing a friend and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

"I see…" The German muttered something else about being late for a meeting and left the room. Matthew was alone again.

He began to think back on the times they spent together. The times when Matthew would be depressed and Gilbert would say something stupid to make him laugh; the times when Gilbert would show up at his house demanding, "The awesome me wants pancakes!"; the times when he would say something offensive and Matthew would spend the next twenty minutes chasing him around with a hockey stick. He laughed quietly at that memory, remembering how he ended up feeling bad when he whacked Gilbert over the head. "Not awesome, Birdie! Not awesome!" he had whined, holding his head. Matthew had hated the nickname "Birdie," but after his protests being ignored, he gave up. "Hey Birdie, you need to hang out with the awesome me more often. I get bored sitting around Bruder's house with nothing to do."

Matthew squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted the memories to stop. Each one was more painful than the last; reminding him how different his life would be without his albino friend.

Why did his friend, his only friend, have to be dying? It wasn't fair!

He sat back down, the emotions of anger, sorrow, and loneliness churning around in his head, making him feel queasy. When Gilbert had first gotten sick, the Prussian had surprisingly not been upset.

"I've known this was coming for a while, Birdie… It's not like you didn't either… I'm a fallen nation. My people are forgetting about me and there's nothing I can do to replace the memories…"

The way Gilbert had just accepted his fate made Matthew burst into tears on the spot. He couldn't believe that Gilbert, the awesome Prussian Empire, wasn't going to fight back. He had given up.

"When the time comes, I want you to be the person to decide what to do… I trust you, Birdie."

He had put Matthew in charge of whether to take him off life-support or not. He had wanted to slap him right then and there, but he only cried harder. Gilbert hadn't said anything; he just hugged the Canadian and held him, unaware of his own tears slipping out.

Now, Matthew was contemplating the decision. He had no idea which was the better decision. Keep life-support on and watch Gilbert keep deteriorating into nothing, or pull the plug and carry the guilt of taking his life away from him? Neither had much appeal. The only thing better about pulling the plug was not having to watch Gilbert die slowly.

'It… It's a better choice…' He forced himself to believe it was. He stood up once more and leaned over the pale man before him. He softly kissed his forehead and whispered, "I love you Gil…" before leaving the room to tell the doctors his decision.

Aaaaaand done. I wanted to cry while writing this… T^T
"mein Bruder"- my brother
Yes, "Bruder" is supposed to be capitalized. There are certain words in German that are supposed to be... I don't know why.

Please review. They make me all warm and fuzzy inside. :3