CHAIN REACTION

-2-

[Germancest]

"So, West – what's the matter?"

"Hug me."

Prussia choked on the beer he had taken a sip from and spluttered it all over himself, coughing loudly. He tried to catch his breath when the fit was over and dried off his chin with the sleeve of his shirt. The chick which liked to nestle in his hair had sprung away startled, but now it was sitting on his thigh, looking after its owner. Prussia patted its head lightly, still trying to calm down his breathing.

"W-what did you say, West?" he asked, just to make sure.

"I said to hug me."

"O-okay and why would you demand something like t-that from me?"

"Because you're my brother?"

The way Prussia was avoiding his gaze was rather unnerving, especially since he couldn't tell why the older nation had reacted that scandalized. It wasn't like he had never hugged him before – he just had stopped after Germany had grown to be taller than him. (Some personal grudge they both decided to ignore…)

"I am your brother." Prussia affirmed awkwardly, caressing Gilbird's head with a trembling hand. The younger of the two shifted a little in his seat to face the Prussian better.

"Is it that unthinkable to hug me or do you just not want to touch me that familiarly?" Germany asked genuinely curious, an almost impossible to perceive hint of hurt in his voice.

"Of course I can hug you!" the white-haired nation cried, his voice more high-pitched than usual. Their eyes met and both brothers blushed.

"I was just surprised that you would request something like that from me, that's all. … It's not like something stupid and insignificant as a hug could mess up my awesomeness!"

"Will you hug me then?" Germany asked hopefully.

"I-I guess."

He picked up the little chick from his thigh and placed it back onto his head, before turning around to face his brother. He slowly raised an arm and slung it awkwardly around the German's broad shoulders, then pulled him lightly against himself.

It was not even a real hug, just an altered version of a drunken-buddy-hug. The blonde frowned, but said nothing. They separated and both felt even more awkward than before.

Maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all.

"I just thought that if Romano could do this with Italy, you could do it with me, too."

Prussia leant back against the backrest of the couch and fiddled with the hem of his shirt, seeming to find that much more interesting than anything else in the living room. Germany decided to do the same.

"Italy and Romano are on way too familiar terms with each other." the older nation mumbled, stopping his fiddling to take a generous gulp of beer.

"What do you mean?" Germany asked, daring to take a peek at his brother.

"I saw them kissing."

"Well… that's not a new thing, even if Romano always puts up a fight because of that… Italy kisses everyone he likes."

"No, West – I saw them kissing as in making out."

It was Germany's turn to splutter the beer he had been drinking.

"W-what?"

"You heard me. I saw it when I was hanging out at Spain's place."

"T-they kissed?"

"Yeah, it was a rather funny scenario, actually. Italy and Romano had gone to the kitchen to steal some of Spain's tomatoes and when I went to fetch a beer, Romano was pinning Italy against the counter and kissing him. Not that Italy was complaining – he was clinging to him and whimpering, practically begging him to fu-"

"OKAY, I get it!" Germany cut him off, the shock on his face turned into embarrassment and irritation.

"You asked! And it's not like this isn't totally hot. I mean – Italy, as in both North and South being more than just brothers. I mean, can you imagine them? Together like that?"

"Yes, I can, but I didn't think they really were this close…"

Germany's feelings were confused. He felt a little shocked, but had kind of expected it at the same time. A sting of jealousy made him furrow his brow at the thought of his little Italy having been intimate with somebody other than him, but then again – he had never kissed the smaller nation on the mouth (not that he could remember at least). He also envied him a little; he himself had never had a particularly affectionate relationship to his brother, due to his own uptight personality. And well, Prussia wasn't easy, either...

"Is it normal for two brothers as close as they are - I mean, they are practically twins - to be together in that way?" he asked the Prussian.

"Well… it's normal for two close nations to have strong influence on each other. And Italy and Romano are even the same country, no wonder they're… uhm... Uhm. Having that kind of relationship. … I dunno - yeah, I guess it's normal?"

"Are America and Canada also having that kind of relationship?"

"Who knows, but nothing would surprise me after the Romano/Italy story." Prussia chuckled at that and took another sip of his beer.

Germany waited a while during which he chose to play with the sleeve of his shirt. He was quite thankful for the distraction when Gilbird jumped onto his shoulder, chirping happily. The German petted the chick's head and glanced over to his brother, finding that the older nation had been staring at him. He gulped to moisten his dry throat.

"… So it'd be alright if the two of us shared that kind of relationship, too."

It was more a statement than a question and Germany felt himself blushing from embarrassment. It wasn't of any help that Prussia had gotten red like one of Spain's tomatoes himself.

"I guess so, yes." he answered, sounding surprisingly self-confident despite the color on his face.

"…"

"…"

"Err… I'm going for a walk with the dogs." Germany suddenly announced. The conversation had turned slightly weird…

"I'm coming with you!"

"N-not necessary, really."

"I don't give a shit if it's necessary or not, I'm coming with you~!"

…

"Wee~st?"

"What is it, brother?"

"Would you do something for me, West?"

"… What?"

Prussia folded his arms behind his head and looked up into the fair, cloudless sky. They continued to walk slowly across the deserted meadow, (a bit too slowly for the dogs' taste) and Germany wondered if he should be worried about the request which was to come.

His brother had been behaving quite strangely ever since they left the house. He had started bringing up a lot of Germany's childhood stories and had gotten a little carried away while doing it. The white-haired nation could get rather sentimental when talking about this kind of things - believe it or not. Germany hadn't really been listening… his mind… was on something else.

The blonde stopped his musing and studied the Prussian out of the tail of his eye. The other nation looked serious. He had seen that expression on Prussia's face many times in contrast to the rest of the world, but still, it was always a bit unsettling. And then, it came:

"Give me a kiss!"

Germany came abruptly to a halt, the two dogs he was keeping on a leash whining complainingly as they were accidentally tugged back by their collars. Prussia noticed only after a few seconds that the blonde had fallen behind and turned around with a puzzled look on his face. The dog he was holding on the leash gazed at his companions in sympathy; Gilbird, who was nestled comfortably on its back, was the only one unfazed. The little chick just continued to clean its feathers happily.

The German gaped at his brother, trying to see the humor on his face. In three seconds, Prussia would burst into laughter, point a finger at him and tell him how priceless his face was and what an idiot he was for getting all flustered over something like that. One… two… three… … No way. He was still looking serious. No, this couldn't be… He didn't mean it, right?

"… What? Hey, you've asked me to hug you, too - can't I ask for anything at all?" the white-haired nation protested, a light blush covering his cheeks. No response was given.

"Aw, c'mon! Give your big brother Gil a kiss, Wee~st!" Prussia whined childishly, but there was a little smirk on his face now.

In a moment of cluelessness on how to act, Germany crouched down and started to pet his dogs. Maybe his brother wouldn't notice how embarrassed he was if he stayed down like that. It was true, he had asked his brother for a hug, but a kiss was something completely different! How could the older nation even ask for something like that? His dogs stared at him confused, tentatively wagging their tails.

Prussia crouched down right beside him and casually slung an arm around his neck.

"What's that, Luddy, hm? I thought you would do something like that for your big brother. I hugged you, too, after all." he argued with a teasing undertone in his voice.

Germany clenched his jaw and turned his head in Prussia's direction. He was embarrassed enough without his brother making fun of him. It irritated and angered him. He gazed into scarlet eyes and felt his blood boil. If Prussia thought that he was still a little kid he could toy with, he was mistaken. If he had to kiss him to prove himself, then he wouldn't hesitate to do it! His gaze lowered and clung to those smirking lips. He leaned slowly in. The Prussian's breath grazed his cheek and the white-haired nation pulled slightly back, widening his eyes.

"What the fuck are y-"

His brother's lips were dry and slightly chapped. And he tasted of beer. But Germany reasoned that his own probably weren't much different. It was strange. It was nothing special, and yet, his heart started beating furiously against his ribcage, even faster than it had before, after the Prussian had made that stupid request. He angled his head, because suddenly, the kiss felt incredibly appealing and then-

Prussia shoved him away.

They simultaneously scrambled into a standing position and backed off from each other. Germany's gaze fastened on the grassy ground. He could feel his heart throb in his throat. What the hell had they just done? Was this really alright? How long had that kiss lasted? Three seconds? Four? Why had he been able to memorize every single bit of it, then? Why the hell had he liked it?

"… I m-meant a k-kiss on the cheek. L-like your h-hug, just something in honor of old t-times…" he heard the other nation stutter softly behind him.

Oh.

He had been so focused on what Prussia had told him about Italy and Romano that he couldn't stop thinking about his brother and himself in the same manner. While his brother had simply requested an innocent kiss on the cheek… He had kissed him on the cheek a thousand times as a child! How had he not been able to immediately understand what he meant?

A simple misunderstanding, and now he couldn't even look into the eyes of his own brother for the rest of his existence. The dogs were pulling at the leash. They clearly wanted to move on, to continue with their walk. Germany gazed at them and bit his lip to the point it hurt. His legs trembled a little, before finally starting to follow his dogs' lead. It was better to leave. To walk and try not to think about what had just happened. Just because Italy and Romano did things like that and Prussia said the things they did were alright - it still didn't mean he himself would want to try out something similar as well! How had he let himself get carried away so much?

After a while, he heard steps behind him.

"… West?"

"…"

"West!"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him to slow down.

"I didn't mind, you know. I was just surprised."

He turned his head and glanced at the white-haired nation with big eyes. It was true – he didn't look upset. There was still a light blush on his cheeks, but there was also a little smile on his lips. Not a smirk. A smile. The hand on his shoulder felt warm and reassuring. It wandered upwards, along his neck, to cup his cheek. The German's heartbeat quickened once more.

"Ksesese! You should see your face - priceless! You sure are an idiot to get all flustered over something like that!"

And then, the warmth of that hand was gone, and Prussia was running off, his dog loaded with Gilbird tagging happily behind.

Germany's two dogs pulled at the leash, whining softly while eyeing with envy as the Prussian and the third of them went away. It was then that the blonde realized he had frozen in place. He slowly took a step and then another one. His brother had already become a little figure in the distance.

The whole afternoon replayed inside his head. It was alright. It had been a simple misunderstanding - no harm done. He sheepishly raised his hand to brush his fingertips against his lips. A brotherly kiss, nothing more. They would just forget about it, right? Or did Prussia really, REALLY not mind? Even if it accidentally happened a second time?

…

And then he was running, too, and his dogs barked happily, as he made sure to catch up with the white-haired nation.

I got kinda carried away while re-making this chapter. I had already written it a long time ago, but I didn't like it anymore. Well, it still is kinda weird. xD

Thanks for reading! As always, reviews of any kind are appreciated =))

P.s. Next part will be slightly GerIta