Prussia laid on his bed, looking up at the plain stone ceiling. He'd been at Russia's house for a while now. Lithuania had barely spoken to him, Poland refused to even look at him. Estonia was as stoic as ever, and Latvia avoided him because his older brothers did. Hungary spoke to him on occasion, when Russia wasn't around. He didn't seem to like them talking to each other. Prussia figured it was from too much history together. He didn't want them plotting against him. Prussia sighed deeply. Ukraine and Belarus would talk to him sometimes. Belarus seemed to be warming up to him, slowly. He went out of his way to make sure she knew he didn't actually mind her. She still didn't seem used to that idea. She didn't trust him, but he doubted she trusted anyone.
It was the middle of the night, but he couldn't sleep. He'd already journaled everything he could think of for the day, but his mind still wouldn't shut up. He was bored.
He sighed again. Gilbird... Gilbird always cheered him up when he was lonely, or bored. He knew Germany would be taking good care of him... but he missed his baby bird. He missed his brother's dogs too. He closed his eyes, trying to push the thoughts away. They were too painful. He still couldn't sleep. He rolled onto his side, trying not to look at the raw stone all around him, and pulled the blanket over his shoulder. He wasn't used to the cold yet. He doubted he would ever be used to the cold. He closed his eyes. It'd been a long time since he'd prayed.
"God," He whispered, trying to think of the words to say, "I can't do this. Please.. please you have to help me..." He fought back tears. It had been a long time since he'd felt so completely, so entirely alone. There were some memories he wanted to bury so deeply they would never come back to haunt him. A single tear fell down the side of his face onto the pillow. He fought back the rest. He wouldn't let himself cry, not even alone. There was too much he had to be strong for, far too much.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. It was morning. He bolted up with a start, Russia was sitting next to his bed watching him sleep.
"Good morning, GDR," Russia smiled innocently.
"W-What are you doing here?" Prussia decided not to yell at him. Too risky.
"Did you sleep well?" Russia asked without missing a beat.
"Uh... no." He shrugged. He hadn't slept well. Too many dreams.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I think you will sleep well tonight though, da?"
Whatever Russia had meant by that, Prussia doubted it was a good thing. "Oh?" He asked simply.
"There is much work to be done." Russia smiled.
Prussia set his jaw again. Working for Russia was part of the deal, but that didn't make it any less irritating. He had been trying to avoid working too much, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Russia ceased to let that slide.
"You will be working outside." Russia nodded, "So you should wear warm clothes."
Prussia sighed, nodding in return. "All right." He absolutely hated how compliment he was being. His boss and Russia's boss were getting along wonderfully, but he could feel the tension his people held towards their new position in the Soviet Union. He didn't like it either. He knew many of them were leaving, going back to West. He didn't blame them, but he could feel himself getting weaker. It worried him more than he would admit. "I don't have any warm clothes."
"I know." Russia stood, opening Prussia's door. Latvia came in, carrying a Soviet uniform.
Prussia took it slowly. He didn't want to put it on. "What... work... am I doing?"
"You're good at commanding men, da?"
Prussia nodded with a smirk. He'd always been good at that. His people had been an army with a country. He could command men.
