The world we wanted 13/?
It's strange, the way Prussia misses the east when he isn't there. It's kind of fun to be the neutral outsider. But home requires his attention, he works with the Stasi and the ordinary police and tries to make both his boss and his people happy. It doesn't work and he isn't surprised when Russia opens the door without knocking. Prussia cringes a little. He has expected this visit and tried to prepare. After failing to defeat America and troubles with bosses Russia has avoided everyone and Prussia has tried to stay out of his path as well until things get a little better. But he knew that couldn't last.
“What exactly do you think you are doing?” Russia calmly says, perhaps this won't be so bad after all. The protests on the street in Berlin are embarrassing, it doesn't make anyone look good. But Prussia sympathizes with his people in this. Serbia is right, Russia pushes him around too much. If he gets away with mouthing off to both Russia and America at the same time the German Democratic Republic should be able to have a little demonstration against something as unreasonable as being expected to work even more without compensation.
“I know it's unfortunate but I don't think my people are out of line,” Prussia says. “We want to be on your side, of course we do, but things really suck right now. We can't work harder. You took all our stuff and you didn't have to do that, we could have paid you back anyway, maybe slower but still-”
Prussia is so caught up in his own explanation that he doesn't realize how angry Russia is until the moment Russia fist hits his face. Russia catches his arm with unexpected speed, keeping him on his feet.
“You think it's hard for you,” Russia says. The utter serenity in his voice and the distant smile are lying, he holds Prussia's arm hard enough to bruise. “If you didn't come to my country and destroyed everything I wouldn't need to look desperately everywhere for new things, now would I?”
Russia lets go for a moment and Prussia has time to think this might be a good time to backtrack, to say he's sorry before things go out of hand. Before he can get a single word out Russia grabs his throat and slams him against the wall.
“You come to my house and destroy everything and drive my sisters insane and then even after I try to remember how we were allies once you dare to complain!” Russia's voice is getting louder for every accusation and his grip on Prussia's throat harder. “Every time I'm hurt someone is there trying to rip a piece off me, I'm never going to be hurt again and if I am I'm not going to let anyone see it!”
Russia keeps yelling at him but to Prussia it all floats into one incomprehensible murmur, he can't breathe and he can't fight off Russia, not even now when he tries for real and-
***
Prussia wakes up in his own bed. Russia hovers over him and for once that isn't comforting.
“Are you hurt?” Russia asks, all worried and kind now as if Prussia had walked into a door all by his own accord.
Prussia doesn't know what to answer and he realizes he wouldn't be able to even if he wanted to. His throat hurts like hell and talking is out of the question for a while.
“Sometimes you make me very upset, but we shouldn't fight about these things,” Russia says. “It's very important that you have a strong military to help defend us, yes?”
Prussia nods miserably. He always loved his army but he has to take care of his people too, that should be his main priority. America isn't going to barge right in when Russia has nukes too, is he?
“I will help you get the situation under control, don't worry.”
That means tanks and soldiers and NKDV or whatever Beria wants to call them now, doesn't it?
“If you don't get the situation under control you might not have a nation for much longer,” Russia says, perfectly happy with holding a conversation to himself. “That would not be so good for you. I tell you all these things for your own good, you understand that, don't you?”
Prussia hates himself and Russia for even wondering if that means Russia worries West is going to absorb him or if Russia is threatening to wipe him off the map for good this time.
“Since you still don't look so well I called Hungary and asked her to come over to look after you. The two of you get along well these days, don't you? Perhaps even better than when you were evil fascists together?”
Russia continues to lecture him about the ideals of communism and how he and his people aren't doing their parts to build it. Prussia tries to look agreeable as he desperately thinks about how he can calm things down to keep Russia and his bosses happy.
When Russia finally leaves Prussia imminently calls up his own boss.
“Get the situation under control,” Prussia says. “Whatever it takes.”
On the other side the boss doesn't ask about how torn up Prussia sounds, how raspy his voice his or how he for once can't keep it under control. He only agrees that it is indeed necessarily to do whatever it takes. Prussia hates this boss, even Stalin at least listened to Russia and made en effort to convince him that his crazy murderous schemes were the only solution.
The losses end up very small but that isn't the part that hurt, it hurts to know that he is failing his people and they are failing him too.
***
“What's happening? Russia sounded really weird and I-”
Hungary stops when she sees the bruises on Prussia's face and throat.
“Oh,” she says and without further comments she makes tea and they chat a bit about Korea and other news Prussia has updates on but isn't personally involved in. Eventually they slowly get back stepping around the subject that obviously worries Hungary and Prussia explains to her what went wrong.
“Russia isn't always good at helping me. But no one else is even offering to try.”
“I'm sorry,” Hungary says. “But I'm not better off than you. I'm not planning to let Russia keep harassing me like this though. You'll see. If we all tell him to back off he has to, doesn't he? He can't beat us all down. I don't think Russia wants to destroy us, it's just like you say, the problem is he's not that good at realizing what we actually need.”
Prussia considers that and comes to a different conclusion.
“Russia could beat us all down if he wanted. It wasn't that long since he did exactly that. And he's going to get a new boss soon, perhaps that one will be less crazy. Russia usually isn't this crazy either.”
“I'm not holding my breath for that.”
It's not unreasonable to suspect that Hungary is plotting treason with Poland and Prussia wouldn't care, if it wasn't for the fact that Hungary talks to Poland and not him about it. Prussia is once again reminded that Hungary isn't really on his side or very trustworthy, even if they get along much better now than in the past.
“I've been allied with Russia in the past and it was alright then.”
“Wake up,” Hungary says. “What we have now is more like an abusive relationship. Is Russia ever nice to you if you don't do exactly as he wants?”
“I don't know... I'm not that good at these things.”
“Relationships?”
“Politics. Russia wants me to take care of the military again and sure, I would love that if the rest ran itself so I didn't have to worry. But it doesn't run itself and I can't really afford the kind of military I like, no matter what Russia and his bosses say, and I don't know what to do about it.”
“The one thing we can't do is give up. I'm not going to let Russia's bosses break me down.”
***
Prussia is completely recovered within a week but that's depressingly slow. When he was still officially named Prussia and with Fritz, the bruises would have faded before he regained consciousness.
For the first time in years Prussia thinks a lot about West. How is he doing? Fine just as France claims, or is France's definition of 'fine' just as fluid as Russia's? Then it strikes Prussia that he could just cross over to check for himself. It's not like there is a wall between them or something. All Prussia would need to do is to get over to Bonn. Why hasn't he already?