And I Will Hold You Tightly

Prussia was not one to be sentimental. He had never acted on emotion, some even questioned if he possessed a shred of compassion. He was conceited and obsessed with war; only a few people got a glance of his gentle side and those who had never mentioned it, as if the act of kindness never happened at all. He liked it that way, he worked hard on his image since he was now one of the largest powers in Europe, due to his outlandish appearance and mannerisms he knew he had to work twice as hard to maintain the authority he now possessed. Which was why when a terrified young boy padded over to him in the middle of the night he was a little more than a bit apprehensive to let him into his bed alongside himself. He had been aware of the boy's presence for a little longer than ten minutes now; the boy had paced uncertainly outside his door, occasionally stopping to sigh and hover or to make his way back to his room until at long last he let himself in.

He padded cautiously over to the supposedly sleeping older nation and stood silently for a while, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, Prussia smirked before turning around to face him. The child's face was drawn with shock, in the dim light of the moon outside his window, Prussia was able to make out the child's eyes widening and his mouth gaping open as a fish's does when it's cast ashore on dry land. He refrained from laughing though and instead took on a soft tone that in all honesty did not suit him,

"Is something bothering you?"

The smaller nation shook it's head before pausing and nodding, Prussia was aware of a small noise emanating from the younger's throat, like a pathetic gulp as if he was choking back childish sobs. The albino sighed and reached for his matches before clumsily lighting his bedside lamp, burning his finger slightly in the process. In the light he could see that the boy's usual milky complexion had turned sickly with a grey tinge and beads of sweat fall on his brow, His chest tightened as if paternal instinct had suddenly grabbed him by the throat and made him think of the decision and the commitment he had taken on by taking the boy in as his own, he gently patted his bed and with little hesitation the obviously shaken nation clambered up onto it and thrust himself into Prussia's arms. It was only then did Prussia let his guard down, he smiled gently and ran a hand through the younger's hair as the boy sobbed into his chest and clutched desperately at his nightshirt.

"People keep dying," the boy whimpered, "And I can't do anything about it… I try but I can't and this girl keeps screaming at me to help them but I can't and then a man with a big coat comes over and he… he…"

"What does he do?"

"I don't know. I wake up." Prussia sighed before looking over the child's shoulder, seemingly at nothing in particular. He had thought he was prepared to lie to the younger nation, to cast away the past life of the boy amnesia had claimed and start anew with a secret hope that this life would hold more for the boy instead of simply war and bloodshed. Now the boy cried about his past that he couldn't remember, haunted by gruesome and graphic memories that were out of his reach and Prussia could do nothing but lie. He had to pretend that it was okay, that it was just a nightmare that the boy would surely get over soon enough and it was a lot harder than he expected. The boy trusted him entirely, he was inferior and vulnerable in Prussia's grasp and the elder was expected to lie to him. Prussia swallowed any remorse he felt for the lies he had to tell and pursued his façade,

"Ludwig, they're just dreams. I promise it won't happen in real life as long as I'm here to look after you, okay?" The boy looked up, blinking up at him with wet, matted lashes that framed blue eyes that radiated purity and innocence. Prussia felt that his own scarlet ones were too tainted to peek at the boy's trusting gaze but found himself unable to look away, he smiled fondly at his inferior and rubbed at his back in an effort to be comforting.

"You promise, bruder?" He was cornered now, he could either retreat and admit everything, tell the boy the truth and reveal all or he could go along with the promise and keep the boy somewhat secure in exchange for his lies. He smiled and brushed the boys tears gently with the back of his hand, those blue eyes waited patiently, his gaze was almost expectant as if his trust leaked through and he willed the other silently to console any uncertain or depressing thoughts that were circling his innocent internal monologue.

"I promise," he said before falling back and chuckling, bringing the other down with him so that they were both led on his bed, Ludwig whimpered and looked around worriedly as if he was unsure if he had done something wrong or not, "And you know what kind of promise it is if you get from Prussia?" The blue eyes blinked up at the smirking face that peered at him,

"What kind, bruder, what kind?" he whispered, eagerly imploring the elder as he lay atop of him, he bit his lip self-consciously and glanced at the open door, knowing that it was not proper for two young males to be caught in such a position, brothers or not.

"An awesome promise," he chuckled before turning so that the younger was pressed up against the mattress and got to his feet, shutting the door and blowing out the candle in his lamp.

"Bruder?" The younger inquired. Prussia grinned and sidled into the bed, pulling the sheets over both of them and wrapping his arms around Ludwig who stiffened and froze at his touch.

"In case any of those unawesome dreams come back, you can sleep in here tonight, just this once. I'll look after you while you sleep, okay?"

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"West, quit hovering, it's annoying. Just come in already."

The door opened slightly to reveal the broad-shouldered male standing bashfully outside, his expression reproachful and his stance defensive. His eyebrows were knitted together and his jaw was locked, he would have looked almost harsh if it wasn't for the tears at the corners of his eyes, he glared at the albino whom had been listening to him pace, pause and ponder for just over ten minutes. Prussia smirked slightly before patting a space by his bed, the taller more powerful looking male hesitate for a moment before stepping into the room with seemingly hidden determination as he snapped the door shut and strode over to the bed before almost robotically sitting aside Prussia whom was still smiling stupidly.

"The dream?" Germany gave a stiff nod and Prussia sighed before making a show of rolling his eyes and wrapping his arms around his younger brother's waist and gently pulling him down beside him so that both of their head's hit the pillow and Germany was forced to look at his elder brother in the eye as they lay beside each other.

"Then your awesome big brother will watch over you and make sure they don't come back tonight. Just this once."

"You always say that but it's never 'just the once'," replied the younger gruffly, his blue eyes closing as he molded into the sheets and his brother's hold.

"Call it awesome creative license, now shut the hell up and go to sleep before I kick your ass, West."

A chuckle escaped the younger and in a matter of a few minutes he was soon breathing heavily and was very much asleep on his brother's chest.

((A/N: I've always loved the family-ish relationships in Hetalia so this might turn into a little series of different little family sketches like this one, I got this idea quite briefly and loads more like it popped up in my head whilst I wrote it so there might be more including different characters and situations. I hoped you enjoyed this one though~))