Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Prussia gritted his teeth, refusing to give Ivan the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain, even though he desperately wanted to. He felt the sting of the whip as it was violently slashed across his back. He ignored the blood that trickled down the sides of his rib cage. He shut out the sounds of his chains jingling and Ivan laughing. He closed his eyes and tried to remember why he was here. Why he needed to be here…

Blue eyes. Blonde hair. A little voice shouting his name. Small arms reaching towards him. He could still see his little brother. No matter how many times Prussia was beaten or raped, he could always see his little brother. It was the one thing that kept him sane.

When the Berlin wall had been erected, he had yelled to Ludwig to stay strong. "I'll come back for you, I promise, bruder! I will!" He was being dragged backwards by Ivan, fighting against him, reaching his fingers towards the sobbing boy on the other side of a chain link fence, who just kept yelling his name…

The blue eyes that had seemed to scream his name, even though his throat was too full of tears to do so. And now, here he was, on his hands and knees, still staying strong, if only to see those blue eyes one more time. When he finally heard Ivan leave, the strong iron door slamming shut, he collapsed onto the ground, panting and trying to keep his consciousness.

Unasked for, he felt a memory pop into his brain. It was a sunny day in Berlin. Not a soul in sight as he ran through the fields with his little brother, laughing and teasing him. "Come on, bruder! You can catch me!" He started running backwards, laughing again at the extreme look of concentration on Ludwig's face.

Finally he stopped and allowed the blonde to catch up to him. Ludwig then proceeded to tackle him to the ground, laughing that he won. "Alright, alright, Luddy. You won." Gilbert ruffled the blonde hair and laid back, gazing up at the slow clouds as he regained his breath.

They stayed like that for a long time, wrapped in the warm and loving embrace of their brother. Finally, the albino heard a small voice. "Gil… you won't ever leave me will you?"

It took the larger nation a minute to figure out what his brother had said. When he did, he sat up a bit, looking down at the small blonde blob that was now clutching to his coat like he was going to die. "Now what would make you ask such a thing?"

He received only a mumbled response, Germany's cheeks turning red in embarrassment. "No, no. What's wrong, Ludwig?"

When his little brother finally looked up, he had tears in his eyes. "Veta is leaving Roderich… And I'm afraid that you'll leave me too."

Gilbert silently cursed his best friends for letting his little brother find out about their divorce. He wrapped his arms around Ludwig and whispered, "I will never leave you alone, Ludwig. Ever. You are more precious to me than anyone I have ever known." He kissed the top of his brother's head affectionately. "Don't you worry. You'll always have your bruder to protect you."

The memory made Gilbert start to cry silently, the tears unbidden and his heart breaking again. He had broken his promise only three days later, when they lost the war they had been so confident they were going to win. He stayed like that for a long time, face down on the cold concrete floor, too weak to move. He had to save his energy…

He had no idea how long he had been here. He hadn't bothered to count since 397 days. He had marked the walls with tally marks, swastikas, German words of strength and power, anything and everything he thought he might forget, and his name. "Gilbert" must have been written on every wall at least one hundred times.

The mornings he woke up unable to remember anything, he would turn and read the walls, pushing himself to remember who he was and why he was here. Why he had to escape.

One day, unexpectedly, Gilbert's door opened. An un named and unknown prisoner smiled at him and spoke to him in rapid German that he couldn't understand. Something about being free. He ran away before Gilbert had the chance to ask what he was talking about.

The albino stared out the door for a long time, wondering what he should do. He could hear screams of triumph and gunshots, feet as they ran across snow… He was wearing no shoes. Only the striped and ragged prisoner's uniform he had been given. But his brain told him to walk. To move, no matter how much it hurt.

He struggled off the bed, walking with slow and precise steps into the blinding light. He covered his eyes in pain, grunting and debating whether or not he should go back into the shelter of his cell.

He was suddenly pushed to the ground and he yelped, covering his head in fear. But it had only been another prisoner, running by him. He panted in the snow, confused and disoriented. What was going on? He sat up, hissing at the pain in his back. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was and what was happening.

Prisoners were running towards the wall, screaming and laughing as though it were a thing to be celebrated. It took him a minute longer to notice the gaping hole in the wall. The Germans who were flooding through it, screaming for relatives and loved ones.

Ludwig. Gilbert stood up. Ludwig. He started to stumble forward like he was possessed. Ludwig. He searched for blonde hair and blue eyes. Ludwig. He opened his mouth like he was going to yell, but it was too raw. He could no longer talk. Ludwig.

He searched the faces of every German who passed, desperate to find his brother. Ludwig. He climbed over the rubble, coughing and clutching at his side. Ludwig. His eyes were crazy, almost desperate, as he clutched at people's coats, hoping one of them would be his little brother. Ludwig.

He finally gave up. He dropped to the snow, coughing up blonde that stained the white ground in front of him. He hurt so much… he had only wanted to see Ludwig. That's when he heard his name. His name.

"Gilbert! Gilbert, where are you?" He looked up and around, searching for the owner of the voice, desperately wishing he could answer. He heard another familiar voice.

"Prussia! Prussia, we've come to save you!" It was British… Arthur? Gilbert stood up and walked forward, his weak body searching the crowds again. He rasped out his brother's name once or twice, like it would help.

"Gilbert! Bruder!" It was him. It was Ludwig. He tried to move faster, his entire body shaking from the strain and the cold. But he had to get to him before Ivan did. Had to protect him. Had to hold him.

It took him what seemed like hours to find the gold hair. The gold hair that grabbed random prisoners roughly, turning them so he could see their face. The gold hair that had flecks of rubble in it. The gold hair that was in so many of Gilbert's memories.

Gilbert grunted as he pushed through the crowd, desperately reaching out for his brother, trying to yell, scream, talk, anything to get his brother's attention. He was so big now… He was closer, if he only reached out and grabbed… stretched as far as he could… he could touch him… he was so close.

But Ludwig ran forward, noticing another prisoner. And Gilbert fell, crying out in pain. He curled up, trying to prevent the tears that were cascading down his face as he rasped his brother's name out in desperation. He was dying.

Ludwig turned, thinking he heard his name being spoken. There it was again. "Gilbert?" He ran back, almost stepping on a prisoner who had fallen. He looked around and screamed his name again.

Gilbert opened his eyes and saw his brother. He had to see the eyes… the eyes. He reached a shaking hand forward and grabbed his pant leg, almost too weak to clutch the tough fabric.

Ludwig looked down in surprise at the prisoner. Why was… "Gilbert…" Ludwig fell to his knees and grabbed his brother, pushing the white hair out of his face with a care he had not known he possessed. "Bruder."

There they were. The blue eyes. It was his little brother. "Ludwig…" He smiled slightly at him, relief and pride sweeping over his body at the sight of Germany. And there they lay, in the snow, seeking comfort out of the warm and loving embrace of their brother.