In the lives of Nations sex was often used as a way to seal a deal, relationships were formed as bartering tools, allies were collected in order to ensure that when the time came the Nation most spurred into action would be given the advantage. Gilbert knew that Ludwig was young, much younger than himself, and the Prussian Nation was more than willing to do the more difficult things that Ludwig would be outright horrified at the mere mention of.

Hitler had been quite clear on his plan of action, he wanted access to Russia, to Ivan's power, land, and influence, the perfect Motherland to Ludwig's Fatherland and Gilbert would be the vehicle that brought that union forward.

Of course this was easier said than done, due to the fact that Ivan was quite content with his household of the USSR nations and his arrangement with the Allies was more than enough for him no matter what Lenin or Stalin barked about. The man was isolated and quiet, all smiles and cordial conversation when at the world meetings, or more private meetings between Stalin and Hitler, but always willing to point out that if Gilbert or Ludwig wanted anything from him they could go into the Russian cold and try to take it.

Gilbert was well aware that going into the cold without preparation was suicide, despite what Hitler tried to claim, and had quickly found a way to test what would could get him in and out of the Russian's borders without dying of the temperatures.

It was after a world meeting when Gilbert watched Arthur's young colony, Canada, quiet and overlooked and speaking very little. Ludwig would no doubt frown upon such a course of action as molesting information out of a colony but Gilbert was well aware that Hitler's patience was growing thin with them and that if he didn't take action then their leader would and it would end badly for all of them.

The small colony slipped out of the meeting room as it concluded, and Gilbert quickly followed, not caring for what was polite or proper manners at the moment. He needed to get to the small colony, whose climate was so much like Ivan's, and he needed to do it while Arthur didn't have a weather eye on the young blonde.

The albino nation closed the door behind him as he cornered Matthew in a gaming parlour. There was a pool table and a snooker table, but Gilbert paid little mind to those as he watched the blonde move along the shelves of books that lined the back wall.

"So… Kanada…" Gilbert smiled as he approached the blonde, trailing his fingers through loose curls that framed the blonde's jaw. "You know there's no shame in being on the winning side. You wouldn't even have to let your old man and the Allies know if you decided to join the Axis?" The pale fingers traced the blonde's neck and spine before resting on the small of Matthew's back.

"I have no shame, and I know exactly what winning side I'm already on," Matthew had spat back softly as he moved out of Gilbert's unwanted touch. "And I wouldn't join your regime for anything, let alone just to make a statement against England, you should speak to my brother about that," the blonde declared, his arms folding under his ribs.

"Oh, I've had quite the affair with your brother… The American Revolution was quite fun for everyone involved." The older male cupped Matthew's face with his hand firmly beneath the blonde's chin, white teeth pulled into a grin. "Your brother knew to keep his options open, to look for more than one source for protection and relations…" The older male's eyes flicked to the blonde's neck and his jaw. "Of course you're quite colder than him… Perhaps that's why Arthur hasn't paid much attention to his little colony."

Matthew's eyes flashed dangerously and he moved to shift backwards, his lower back hitting the edge of the pool table that took up most of the center of the room. "I'm not a colony, Gilbert…and my brother doesn't know how to spell loyalty, let alone what it means to keep faithful to something," his hand moved up to push away the one that held his chin. "What do you want?"

"I want a place for an experiment… Someplace cold and desolate…" The albino slid his fingers over Nunavut, cupping the curve of Matthew's outer thigh, smoothing his fingers over the blonde's hips. "This would do." He murmured with a smirk. "Would you let me see how cold it gets right here?" He traced the shape of the providence over Matthew's thigh and hip before he pushed the blonde against the pool table, rattling the balls there with the motion.

"Like hell," Matthew hissed, his hands scraping at the green felt of the pool table as he tried to get a leverage in order to get away. "Get the hell off of me, I don't want anything to do with you or your batshit ideals…"

Gilbert's eyes hardened and the Albino grabbed Matthew's hair, turning the blonde and shoving his face into the pool table. "You know, you say you aren't a colony but have you ever had to defend yourself from another nation?" The Prussian lifted Matthew's head and slammed it back into the table. "You haven't had to suffer abuses that nations have yet, have you?" Prussia used his foot to part Matthew's own feet, his free hand reaching down to work the blonde's slacks open. "Has your old man always come in to beat people off of his little colony?"

"If…if I haven't suffered the abuses that nations have is because I'm smart enough to stay out of your nonsense," Matthew spat as he wriggled backwards, almost attempting to get on top of the table so he could get away. "And it shows how much you know…I burnt my own brother's capital to the ground…while your empire is nothing but rubble now that you have to hide behind your younger siblings back," the blonde glared, swinging a fist towards Gilbert's face.

Gilbert was surprised by the hit but snarled, grabbing one of the balls on the pooltable and pulling his hand back. The impact of his fist clutching the ball on Matthew's brow was enough for the blonde to go falling to the tabletop. Gilbert bared his teeth and threw another punch at the blonde, then another, grinning at fresh bruising before he dropped the ball and shoved soft curls into the tabletop. "You're not smart enough to have run while you could."

"S-stop! Stop!" Matthew cried and struggled, panic rising in his chest as he swung his hands and fists in Gilbert's direction. He managed to separate himself from the older nation for a long enough second that he could move away from the pool table and towards the door.

His head was swimming and aching and he could feel blood dribbling down his temple as he blindly moved towards where he knew Arthur would be. He knew it was childish to run towards his guardian's side in a moment of hurt and panic, but Matthew had nowhere else to go and his head was aching so badly he honestly couldn't think straight.

"A-Arthur," Matthew didn't even notice Francis' presence in the little parlor he found his guardian in, drinking something harshly colored amber and looking grim and incredibly too old for his mostly youthful face.

Arthur's brows furrowed as he looked at the blonde, his attention brought away from Francis to focus on Matthew now. "What is it?" The man asked, taking in the bruising, blood and tears. There was a moment where he was a bit worried that Matthew might have said something to his abuser or handed over information that could be valuable, but disregarded it when he saw Gilbert snarl from the hallway, knuckles bloodied and torn, before the Albino left. "Did you fight back?"

"I got…I got away didn't I?" Matthew swallowed, attempting to straighten enough as he brought a hand up to press to the the leaking wound on his head. He felt sick to his stomach at Arthur's blatant disregard of the situation, of his well being, of him. It hurt, when the most constant parental figure he ever had clearly didn't care.

"I didn't tell him anything," the blonde managed before leaving the room.

Matthew couldn't keep his eyes open as he moved out into the hallway, his body slumping against the wall as he took in a small breath. He probably had some sort of minor concussion with how lethargic he felt, but there was nothing he could really do about it.

Ivan's cane thudded on the ground as he walked. He had no use for the instrument but found that the awarded decoration had suited him throughout the years. His boots made a heavier sound than the cane, following with tremors of impact through the floor. He jumped, however, when he turned the corner to see a slender figure crumple to the ground, racing over when he realized that the small figure was Canada's own little Matthew.

"Matvey?" The man grasped Matthew's arms gently, lifting the slender figure and cursing quietly at the amount of blood. "Matvey, what happened?" The man pushed his fingers through soft curls to find the source of the blood, split skin along Matthew's temple but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Ivan was more concerned about the bruising and swelling around Matthew's eye, carefully lifting the slender frame into his arms to carry Matthew to his hotel room.

Matthew slowly opened his eyes even though they felt so incredibly heavy, recognition registering in the blonde's mind at who held him after a few seconds. "They're…they're after you, you know…they'll try to get…get to you no matter what the cost," Matthew nodded, his eyes closing again as he leaned against Ivan's shoulder.

Ivan frowned at the blonde in confusion, stroking his fingers over Matthew's temple. He had known Matthew for years, had felt fiercely protective over the other arctic nation. They were similar, so very similar, they shared space and air so easily that Ivan knew that if something were to happen to Matthew then he would feel it in the sort of way one felt a neighbour moving about beside them. The anger that boiled forth, the frustration, was not something that he should feel, but felt all the same.

"What happened? Who did this?" He asked gently, laying Matthew on his bed and checking the blonde's head once more. He wouldn't need stitches, but he needed bandages. Taking one of his shirts Ivan tore it apart and started to bind the wound gently.

"Ivan…," Matthew murmured softly, his hand reaching to curl around the older nation's wrist, his grip fierce though he felt physically drained. "I know…how you feel about Ludwig," the blonde started, a knowing look crossing his features, "…but you need to watch Gilbert…he's after anyway he can to get to you."

Ivan frowned down at Matthew and cupped the blonde's cheek gently, stroking soft skin before he leaned forward to kiss Matthew's forehead. "You stay here… Rest. I'll talk to Gilbert." He murmured, standing carefully and collecting his cane. He locked the door behind him and after a moment of thought made his way down towards the rest of the building, searching for Gilbert.

It wasn't too hard to find Gilbert, the Prussian was in one of the back parlours, usually reserved for private gatherings, with a bottle of whiskey on the counter, drinking the amber liquid lazily as he peered into space, obviously deep in thought.

Ivan sat in the stool beside the albino, placing his cane on the countertop before he reached over and grasped a bottle of vodka. "So," Ivan unscrewed the cap and took a long drink from the bottle, not bothering to pour himself a glass. "I noticed that you got outrun by Arthur's little Canada."

Gilbert gave Ivan a positively foul expression and Ivan grinned. "Did you get what you were after?"

"No." Gilbert murmured, swallowing half his glass of whiskey.

"Good," Ivan placed down his vodka with a sigh. "Because if you had then this would be much more messy."

"What do you-" Gilbert's hair was grasped and his face was slammed into the countertop, shattering his glass and causing whiskey to seep into the wounds as he screamed and writhed at the sudden pain. "Fucking bastard!"

"You see, Matvey is my neighbour," Ivan stood, dragging Gilbert along with him. "I've even owned parts of him." Ivan drew his sword from the sheath of his cane, holding the blade to Gilbert's throat. "And I have watched him grow up longer than Francis and Arthur combined." Ivan removed his sword from Gilbert's throat in order to slam his head repeatedly into the counter top. "And you," another brutal impact upon the wooden counter and the fine grains splintered inwards from the abuse. "Thought you could take advantage of him."

Gilbert looked scared. Ivan was no longer some scared young serf hiding in the snow behind trees, Gilbert couldn't bully him any longer.

"I could forgive such treatment of his brother. But I can hardly forgive that treatment upon Matthew."

Ivan threw Gilbert onto the ground, the Prussian gasping for breath as Ivan moved to lock the parlour door, barricading it with a chair as he did so, before turning back to Gilbert. His gloves were removed and the Russian nation flexed his long fingers, the black of the frostbitten tips sharp against the rest of the pale skin.

"Ivan, please," Gilbert grinned up at the Russian. "Let's be reasonable."

Ivan's sword slammed through Gilbert's wrist and the albino screamed, staring at where the blade had sunk cleanly between bones, hyperventilating as blood pooled on the carpet. "Reasonable?" Ivan grabbed the whiskey bottle, breaking it upon the edge of the counter, looking over the jagged glass. "Alright. I will be reasonable."

Gilbert felt relief bubble in his chest as Ivan knelt, the larger man straddling Gilbert's legs. It was much easier to deal with sex as punishment, as retribution, and as Ivan tore open the Prussian's shirt and unbuckled his pants Gilbert hoped that Ivan would be quick about this.

But it the man didn't pull Gilbert's pants down and that made the albino worry, and when the bottle was brought around to his sternum the Prussian worried even more. Ivan grinned, a less than sane glint in his violet eyes and the larger nation brought the glass down on Gilbert's chest, carving him open with the blunt edges of glass. Gilbert watched as his flesh was jaggedly torn open, hyperventilating and screaming at the pain as flesh was flayed back from his body, revealing his organ sack to Ivan's gaze. The larger nation didn't use the bottle to open the membrane, simply grasping with his fingers and tearing the flesh open.

Ivan grinned at the shriek of pain and shoved his hand into Gilbert's body, feeling around roughly for a few moments before Gilbert froze and Ivan smirked at the sudden tensing, feeling a rapid fluttering in his palm. "Look at that, you do have a heart."

"Ivan, Ivan don-"

Snap.

Gilbert tensed and groaned in pain, staring up at Ivan as the man broke the first rib.

Snap.

Another rib.

Snap.

Gilbert's body was convulsing now as he choked on his own spit, his teeth clamping down on his tongue as blood spilled out and his body went into shock.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

Ivan's arm was almost revealed and Gilbert couldn't even scream as he watched.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snapsnapsnap.

Gilbert was almost relieved when Ivan finished breaking every single rib on the left side of his ribcage, revealing his pounding heart.

Ivan stood, looking over his handiwork and grabbing his bottle of vodka. He rested his palm on the handle of his sword after collecting the cane's hollow body, tilting his head to peer at Gilbert on the floor. He took a sip from his vodka and looked down at the bottom.

"This is the cheap stuff," He sighed before overturning the bottle on Gilbert's body, the alcohol seeping into Gilbert's body and organs, welling up and mixing with the blood that spilled out onto the floor. Ivan broke the bottle on the countertop and dropped the shattered glass into Gilbert's chest as well before he leaned over. "Don't you dare touch Matthew again." He hissed before moving back to the hallway, shoving aside the couch to leave the room before he closed the door behind him.

When he arrived at his rooms again he went into the bathroom and cleaned himself off, sheathing his cleaned blade and resting it against the wall before moving to the bed where Matthew was still laying down. Laying down beside the blonde, Ivan stroked his fingers through soft curls, checking at the bandages that were stained with blood before he stared down at the childishly round face. Ivan leaned forward to brush his nose against Matthew's, breathing in Matthew's air and feeling the blonde's breath against his own lips.

Slowly, Matthew peered up at Ivan, his body completely relaxed as he smiled slightly at the older nation's face. Ivan was a great comfort to Matthew; their history and similar circumstances making the older nation someone the blonde admired and idolized. His hand slowly raised to Ivan's face, his fingertips brushing along a sharp cheekbone before falling back against his own chest.

Ivan smiled down at the blonde, stroking his fingers over Matthew's neck and jaw gently, kissing at the blonde's nose before he pressed their foreheads together. It was difficult to say anything, anything that would bear enough weight or meaning, so he simply peered down into Matthew's blue eyes and smiled reassuringly, promising to care for the blonde as he laid there beside him.

Matthew closed his eyes and simply revelled in the feeling of Ivan so close to him. The older nation was a constant, a never moving element in Matthew's life that he could quietly depend upon. It made his chain to Arthur not feel as strong and controlling as it could be; it gave him great comfort that Ivan was there and cared without even having a reason to.