Gilbert trudged through the forest brush as he wandered from the sight of the castle, listening for any sign of his charge. The morning sun was rising and the air was still cool and damp from the night before. The sounds of birds and other wildlife made the forest come alive. The knight stopped in a sunny clearing and called out "Where are you leading me, young master?" A rustle and a glimpse of gold gave him his direction and the chase continued.

Ludwig would run ahead of his lover and wait until Gilbert caught up to flutter off again. "We should go back, you have piano lessons with your uncle remember?" he reminded.

A twig snapped and a flock birds took to the sky "I don't like the piano and I don't like him!" The boy cried out in irritation at his uncle.

"He's always trying to change me, why can't I stay the way I am?" The rustling ceased as the boy hid out of sight.

"Roderich only wants what best for you, he thinks of you like his son…" There was no answer. "…and there are times when people do things that they don't want, because they have to." The knight continued, hoping he didn't upset Ludwig.

The boy drew his knees to his chest and looked down to watch Prussia search for him. "…Like when you slept with him?"He asked softly and Gilbert looked over to see a rope ladder hanging from one of the larger trees. A glance upwards revealed the tree contained a well-built tree house, virtually invisible to the outside world unless you knew where to look.

Prussia frowned "That was a long time ago…" He grabbed a rung of the ladder and began to climb.

"If Roderich asked you again…" Ludwig refused to let his blue eyes betray his emotions.

"If he asks me as a friend, I would tell him the truth. If he ordered me…I have no choice." The knight pulled himself through the small entrance to see a distraught Ludwig with tears dotting his face.

"Why can't you refuse?" Gilbert pulled the boy in his arms and stroked his hair; Ludwig hung limply in his arms. "The treaty binding our countries together makes me his slave. My life belongs to him whether I want it to or not."

…If he orders me, I have no choice… The words echoed inside Ludwig's head with a sense of unease. Germany's eyes flew open with realization and he tore himself away from his knight. "In the library you said that you…but I didn't stop…oh, God..." He stuttered panic-stricken as he realized with horror that he raped the man he loved. The blonde felt like the room was spinning out of control.

"Ludwig, you didn't force me! I wanted to be with you…" Prussia wrapped an arm around the boy's waist and whispered hotly into his ear "…I still want to be with you."

Germany blushed and tried to hide it with a scowl that was as threatening as a small puppy. One kiss turned to two as Prussia nipped and licked a line to his collarbone. The boy backed against a wall and pulled his shirt off, grinning and tossed it to the floor "There was a reason I brought you here…" He beckoned Gilbert to him and the man resumed exploring the taut boy with his mouth. "I would come here when I felt alone and I…" Ludwig's breath hitched when his knight found a tawny nipple and rolled his tongue around the nub of flesh. "…I would think of you."

Prussia felt his pants tighten at the thought of his young master stroking himself as Ludwig moaned his name.

The knight heard someone call his name, but it wasn't Ludwig.

Fuck!

He forced himself to leave his lover to look out the window and cringed at the sight. "What is it?" The blonde asked, trying to will blood flow above his waist. "Roderich and his freaking wife, we must have been gone too long…" Admitting defeat, Gilbert cursed his luck as he picked the boy's shirt off the floor.

Ludwig sensed the other's irritation at not being able to finish and he pulled up the ladder to keep them from leaving. The boy smirked and his voice revealed his desire "We don't have to stop long as we're quiet, right?"

A brief flicker of hesitation on Prussia's features vanished when he let the linen garment in his hands fall to the floor "You're insatiable."

Ludwig stepped forward. They were standing close now and the blonde pressed his hips against his lover's erection, savoring the hiss he coaxed from the man. "And you're hard."

Germany pulled him down to take his lips in a searing kiss. An eager tug on Prussia's belt was the only warning he received before his dark trousers were pooled at his ankles. The boy's face flushed slightly at the sight of his exposed knight "…It's hard to believe that something so big can fit inside me." The blonde said smugly as he slid his hands over his lover's hips, caressing the muscle under his fingertips. Strong hands pinned the boy's wrists against the wall and a startled Ludwig was powerless to defend himself.

Prussia had a feral look in his eyes that made the boy shudder with excitement. Something had snapped in the holy knight's head and he growled the words "Do you have any idea what it's like…" Ludwig could feel the raw power Gilbert possessed as the strong man loomed over him and felt sharp teeth graze his throat. "…to be teased like this?" Ludwig felt a shudder of pleasure run up his spine and felt his heart pound against his chest. "…Punish me then."

Prussia smirked, so he likes to be dominated as well? Gilbert could have fun with this…"Tell me what you want, Master."

----

Roderichlooked around for the source of the noises, but found nothing for his effort. "…I must be hearing things." He assumed and turned to his wife, Hungary "I think you're worried over nothing, Dear." The tomboyish woman was dressed in full hiking gear and her voice like that of a mother who lost her child "Then why haven't we found them yet? Ludwig didn't go to practice…"

Austria blew his nose into a pastel handkerchief, the outdoors winning again in the battle of man versus allergies. "He only goes to practices when he has a prank to show off or Gilbert drags him there." Folding the dainty fabric and stuffing it back into his breast pocket, he remembered the frog incident with disgust.

Hungary though for a moment before stating "Come to think of it, I haven't seen much of either of them since Gilbert got back yesterday…"

He dismissed his wife's fears with a wave of his hand "But isn't it always like that? Every time he leaves for few days, Ludwig sulks until he comes home and when Gil does come home, the boy won't share him with anyone."

She gave a sigh of relief "You're right and we should be heading back, I owe Gilbert a whack for making me worry." Hungary declared, brandishing a frying pan as a weapon.

-------

By mid-afternoon, the knight faithfully returned home covered in dirt with his young lover in tow. And true to her word, Hungary bashed his skull with her pan "Were have you two been!?"

"None of your business, woman!" Gilbert shouted angrily, clutching a forming bump on his head. Austria merely looked at his nephew "Well?"

"It's entirely my fault, I took the dogs out without permission and one of them was chasing after a rabbit and we got lost." The blonde lied with his eyes downcast in false sorrow.

"…And I'm a purple dinosaur" Thought Roderich as he wondered when the sweet child he raised became a manipulative brat. "You're grounded for a week, go to your room." He said flatly.

The boy's head snapped up in surprise, his expression quickly turned to annoyance. "You can't do that!"

Austria sighed and turned to Gilbert for support, which he gave. "It won't be that bad Young Master, heck, I'll even escort you to your room…" The knight tugged at the boy's arm when Roderich stopped him "…ah, I think that is a task better suited for Hungary right now. I need to speak to you about something important." The dark-haired man's eyes were downcast and the worried tone put the servant on edge.

Understanding, Hungary led Germany out of the room so the two of them could be alone. Prussia grew more and more uneasy as the silence dragged until the elegant man muttered. "We never had a chance did we?"

Prussia didn't believe what he heard and asked "What did you say?" With that, Austria seemed to snap out of his trance and said it was nothing.

The older man's words were heavy and seemed to cut his throat as he spoke them. "I have always thought highly of you Gilbert…I think of us as being like brothers…" Memories from when they were younger flickered and flashed before his eyes…visions of a fevered crush on a silver knight…a stammered confession of affection and a loving kiss…

Austria shook his head and steeled his resolve, there was no love in his touch, only the bitter taste of loyalty. "What I am trying to say is…" Guilt snuffed out the flame in his heart and years later, Ludwig was born. Roderich remembered his golden nephew still clinging to his coat tails in shy anticipation of meeting someone new. Gilbert smiled at the boy and held the child in his arms with a tenderness that Roderich had only seen in his dreams. Feelings were buried under the crushing weight of time and believed to be cold and dead, suddenly they return with enough force to tear the nobleman apart. "…I saw you in Ludwig's room this morning."

Panic and ice ran through the knight's veins and pooled in his chest. Prussia accepted whatever punishment fate would bestow upon him, he knew what would happen the moment he laid his hands on the boy.

"Gilbert please…don't do anything I would have to kill you for."

"I understand, Master" Prussia bowed and Austria forced back the stinging in his eyes as he watched the man he loves walk away again.