Title: Recovered Files (Chapter 1/?)

Author/Artist: blackwingsblueeyes

Character(s)/Pairing(s): Prussia (Gilbert)/Hungary (Elizaveta). Germany (Ludwig). Italy (Feliciano). Austria (Roderich).

Rating: T

Warnings: None~ :D

Summary: To recover something, you have to have lost it in the first place.

AN: If anyone would like to point out the typos, I would love you forever.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Battle Wounds

1867

Darkness surrounded Hungary as she made her way noiselessly down the familiar hallway. Her fingertips brushed the walls and doorways, keeping track of where she was. Her bare feet would occasionally nudge something, and she would cringe, afraid of breaking one of his precious possessions.

Her eyes never adjusted to the darkness.

The door rattled a bit as she ran her hand over it, reaching for the doorknob. The hinges squeaked as she pushed it gently open, just enough for her to slip through before she closed it again.

Emerald eyes slipped closed, the woman taking a deep breath as she clutched onto the doorknob. She knew she probably shouldn't be doing this. It wasn't fair to him. But she couldn't sleep tonight, no matter how hard she tried. Her mind couldn't relax, her thoughts and conscious racing and remembering.

She needed to be with him right now, if only to know that he was safe. That was the only way she would get any sleep tonight, despite how long she had tried to fall asleep by herself. She needed his comfort right now.

With sleepy eyes, she padded over to the empty side of the bed, her side of the bed. The moonlight streaming in from his window cast an odd light of the room, the bed placed strategically in the shadows.

The sleeping man didn't look particularly peaceful, just softer somehow. The lines on his brow smoothed, his hair tousled and falling over the closed eyes. Hungary felt a brief urge to sweep it back or smooth it out. But she didn't act on it, she was too wary of waking him.

The bed held more than enough room for two, he always left her half the space. The blankets wrapped around him looked so warm, the mattress so soft, it was too tempting to resist. She was already so sleepy, her eyes at half mast and her brain sluggish. It would be oh so easy to just slip right in beside him, to revel in the warmth and comfort he could give her.

But looking at his face, so absurdly innocent in sleep, Hungary shook her head. She wouldn't, it wasn't fair to her or him or him. Grabbing the blanket he had lain out for her at the foot of the bed, she spread it out on the carpeted floor, along with an extra one. The mattress squeaked as she leaned over on the bed and planted a peck of a kiss on his cheek. Elizaveta smiled when he didn't so much as stir. Reaching for her pillow, she crawled back on the floor, slipping under the first blanket and wrapping it around her. She felt so warm now, emerald eyes shut involuntarily. Her breathing evened and her pulse mellowed as she listened for his soft snoring.

The snoring had bothered her at first, sometimes it had even kept her awake. As she laid there tonight, thoughts finally at ease, his deep breaths were her lullaby, reminding her that he was up there on the bed, he was here if she needed him. He'd be here in the morning.

On the hazy verge of sleep, she murmured softly up to her sleeping husband, "Goodnight, Austria."

~.~

1871

Clutching his side desperately, Prussia's knees hit the floor with a thud. His eyes screwed shut as the pain didn't go right away this time. If the stings before had come in waves, this was the the flood.

Burgundy eyes cracked open hazily as he grabbed frantically, uncertainly, for something to hold onto. There, a pillow.

Prussia's nose twitched and wrinkled as he tried not to cry out. He would have thought the pain wouldn't be as sharp, these attacks had been coming more and more often these days. And it wasn't like he wasn't used to pain, anyway. He was Prussia, wasn't he? The awesome nation born battle ready. Attacks and battle wounds were something he had become accustomed to a long time ago.

So why the hell was this agony so vivid? He wasn't even bleeding. He couldn't pinpoint where exactly his lands were hurting, his head was too thick with pain.

Trembling, Prussia let his body fall softly to the floor, stomach protesting as he coughed. The tiles of the floor felt so nice and cool against his cheek, the sensation a welcome distraction to the searing haze running through his veins and in his head.

Prussia let his eyes slip shut, clinging to the pillow as the pain refused to go away. He still wasn't shedding any blood, that was reassuring. His people were okay.

So maybe for now, it would be okay for him to try and just sleep this off. Maybe when he woke up, he'd feel good enough to eat something. He knew he should be hungry, it had almost been an entire day since he'd last eaten. He'd definitely be hungry when he woke up.

Yeah, he'd just sleep the whole thing off. No more pain, he'd be back to normal by tomorrow. He was just too damn awesome to let something like this knock him down.

Those were pretty thoughts in theory, but a quiet part of Prussia couldn't help but doubt them as he coughed up the first of the blood. Burgundy eyes widened dazedly, he could feel the wounds starting to slice up his side, right under his ribs. The fabric of his shirt clung to him, darkening wetly. Blood.

Maybe he was already asleep. This was only a dream, a nightmare of past events. And when he woke up, she'd be there to take care of him. She was always there to take care of him after he woke up.

Black blurred the edges of Prussia's vision, his body reacting naturally to the agonizing pain, to the blood loss. Sleep would come now for sure, whether he wanted it or not. Prussia wasn't going to be stubborn, he wouldn't fight the blissful numbness.

Because he knew that once he woke up from this damned nightmare, she'd be there. If only so she could scold him, she'd be by his side.

Or at least, that's the best he could hope for in this lonely, distressing mindset. So it was with this kept in mind that Prussia let himself succumb to the agony, let the numbness overtake him and make him practically giddy to be relieved of it all.

Eyes shut, smiling serenely, Prussia couldn't tell if the hands worrying over his side were his imagination or not. He automatically shed away from the faint coolness pressing against his forehead. He thought he could feel someone's petite, warm hand wrapping tightly around his.

He was almost completely numb now, he couldn't feel the sensations anymore, the good or the bad, but he knew the pain was still there. He could sense the person still by his side. With great effort, he lifted his eyelids just slightly, wincing.

Burgundy eyes closed again almost instantly, but not before he could make out who was with him.

"...Thanks... West... you too... Ita...ly..."

~.~

1918

It was with no small amount of shame that Elizaveta had felt relieved upon hearing the news. Austria and Hungary were to be two separate nations again. She wasn't a big enough liar to say that she wasn't grateful for this.

She was. Oh god, she was. The day the papers had been signed, the agreement finalized, she had found herself practically bolting out of their house. It took her only a few seconds to realize exactly which direction she found herself running in.

And then she turned back around. Her steps back were sluggish, that same compelling force slowing her down, trying to turn her around. She had turned back and forth so many times she had made herself dizzy, before finally setting her course back to Austria's house.

It wasn't their house anymore. It had always been his, she had only been temporary.

Hungary needed to think things through, she couldn't just go running off (falling back into his arms like some damned romance novel). It was too fresh, the divorce was hardly even finalized. She was still living in Austria's house, it would be a slap in his face.

And what was she expecting anyway? It wasn't like Prussia would be happy to see her. She had hurt him, attacked him at the very least physically. She wondered how many people had been hurt, how battered he had been. Was he taking care of himself? What if a wound had become infected, did he know what to do?

Her teeth worried over her bottom lip, eyebrows furrowing as knocked curtly on the front door to the house. In her haste to leave, she had forgotten her key. The door opened a few moments later, Austria was never one to keep someone waiting. His eyebrows raised a little, his lips parting.

"I didn't think you would be back for a while," he said, stepping aside to let her come in.

Her shoulders slumped a little. "I changed my mind," she explained, hoping he would understand but not wanting to elaborate.

"That's good, because... there's something I need to tell you." Austria shifted nervously, eyes staring pointedly at a spot on the wall above her head. "You need to hear it... before you go see him."

Hungary flushed, almost ashamed that he had been able to figure things out so easily. "I -- "

"Why don't you sit down?" Austria never interrupted her when she was speaking. Hungary could read the tension in his body language, his unwillingness to look at her. Her stomach prickled, his aura slowly starting to affect her.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was a bit harsh, one she rarely used when speaking to Austria.

"Please sit down." She did, not taking her eyes off of him. She couldn't help but notice that he was standing with the armchair between them.

He took a breath. "I-- I've disgraced myself. I'm sorry, Elizaveta." She could see his knuckles straining where he gripped the top of the armchair. "Th-- I... My boss..."

Elizaveta's mouth twitched. He had called her by her name, he rarely even used it on special occasions. "Roderich." Her eyes sought out his, compassion trying to show through. "Just tell me what's wrong."

He didn't seemed consoled. His knuckles were less white, though. "...Elizaveta, do you remember the letters you sent to him?" She nodded. "And you never received a reply. I... They never made it to Prussia."

Austria cleared his throat, hand coming up to run through his hair, messing it up. Austria always kept his hair immaculate. Hungary stayed silent.

Without a response, Austria seemed to get almost fidgety. "I took them," he admitted through clenched teeth, cheeks blazing. "I... I didn't want... I needed you here with me. I didn't want him to convince you to leave. But it was inevitable, I knew that if you kept in touch, it would only make it harder on both of you... We were married, I didn't want you to be put in a position where you would be... tempted. I'm sorry, Elizaveta. I didn't want you to have to choose between your country or yourself.

"I didn't read them." He moved abruptly to one of the bookcases, reaching up to the top shelf and pulling a small box down. "Please, take them. I'm sorry." He placed the box in Hungary's hands, kneeling down to be eye level with her.

"Elizaveta, I love you. You're my closest friend, and please understand that I didn't do this to hurt you. Please do not be angry with me, I know you have more than enough reason to be." He looked up at her for the first time, violet eyes flickering for a moment.

Hungary still didn't speak. She was quivering, so so so mad, betrayed. He hadn't trusted her. But he loved her enough to try and protect her.

"There's something else, Elizaveta. It's something that Germany told me a few years ago, but I didn't think I should tell you..." His eyes glanced away again, embarrassed. "Right after we first got married, he came here. Prussia came to see you."

"...What?" Hungary shook her head, emerald eyes screwing shut. "No, he didn't. I never saw him. I haven't seen him, I would have told you."

"I know, I know. Germany didn't tell me much of anything, just that Prussia came back half-dead, practically starved and dehydrated, and all he would say was that he had gone on a trip. That he had gone to Hungary."

"I... " There must have been something in her eyes, because they stung and watered even as she tried to wipe it away with her sleeve. She stood abruptly, towering over the still kneeling Austria. "I... have to go."

Clutching the box of letters to her chest, her feet hammered up the stairs, taking her to her room, their room. She grabbed her old suitcase out of the closest, yanking as many clothes as she could off the hangers and stuffing them in. She snatched her wallet and hairbrush off the dresser, shoving them into the bag and zipping it up.

She already had her hand on the doorknob when Austria finally stood back up. He turned to her, shame evident in his violet orbs. She couldn't leave it like this. But she was.

"Elizaveta..." His eyes did not plead with her to not leave, they were asking for something else, something more important.

"It's... It's okay, Roderich. I forgive you," were the last words spoken before she swung her bag over her shoulder and left.

She wasn't sure if she was lying or not.

~.~

Historical Facts~

Italy, most northern German states, and some central German states were allied with Prussia in the Austro-Prussian Wars.

~.~

So... where's Elizaveta going to go? I think it's rather obvious where she's gonna end up...

Now for some pimpage~! For anyone who wants to find some good DenFin, check out the author, overcast, on fanfiction. The less popular pairings really need more love, it's kind of sad. There's even some PrussiaxHungary in a couple of his stories XDD

I kept going back and forth on this one. I'm really excited to see where it goes, though. And I'm still looking for a beta... *sweatdrops*... I guess no one's interested, that's okay C: But if you happen to spot any errors, I would love it if you pointed them out. I didn't edit this one very much, I have a killer headache that's making me feel sick DX Stupid summer heat.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, review, please? Thank you for reading C: