Stepping Together [COMPLETE]

[blitzkriegd]

Characters: England, Prussia
Date: Nov 28, morning but will most likely be all day
Format: Prose
Content Warnings: swearing is a given, also they are in a very weird relationship
Summary: Two countries struggle with controversial subjects. England finds out he's crazy, Prussia ponders about his life back home. A plan for Darstone-domination is hatched?



England had had a change of heart, so to speak, in regards to his stay in Darstone. Thanks to his conversation with his new roommate, Rarity, he had made up his mind to do whatever he could to assist the occupants while he was stuck there. After all, she was a unicorn. Above all else, England respected mythical beings, and unicorns were certainly the wisest! The fact that Rarity had befriended him so easily (though most creatures did) and was willing to help people she didn't even know forced him to reevaluate his stay in the city. He'd been beaten up, monitored, and had his heart removed. But at the same time, there had been some wonderful things that happened to him. He met new friends, had taken a whole cave of gems for himself, and he had found out about Prussia's devotion to him.

Ah. Prussia...

As a man who kept grudges, he should have still been disgusted by Prussia's actions, but England's anger with his fellow country had subsided for the time being. Why? Maybe it was something Loki did, or maybe it was just because England was excited by the idea of his enemy keeping hold of his heart. They lived next door to each other, and England could always hear his heart beating from wherever it was (most likely safe and sound in Prussia's room). Every now and then, England would press himself against the wall of his bedroom to listen to it, to remind London that he was close by, and that he had not abandoned it. He would take London back in time. As long as he knew it was safe, he was alright with it being where it was.

There was obviously something wrong with him.

But it was so new! The idea of loving Prussia as a human intrigued him. In Darstone, England didn't have to worry about his country duties. He was free to relax and discover new things, free to be his own boss, free to allow his enemy to keep him on a leash. Heh, that was something he would never admit to enjoying to anyone nut himself. Obviously, there was still a part of England that wanted to hurry home and protect his citizens, but another part of him was quite content in this new world. That was what exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen and he knew it was dangerous. He'd deal with it later.

Speaking of Prussia, it had been a while since England had seen him. And he very much wanted to see him. What a fool he was! Yet no matter how often England scolded himself, he could not stop thinking about him. Prussia was his Achilles heel. He was constantly in fear that Prussia would grow tired of him and cast him aside because he thought England was weak. England never wanted Prussia to think of him as weak, but wanting to be with him, after everything he did, obviously was proof of the island's true nature.

England's good mood wavered for a moment as he thought about how far he'd fallen... No, he wouldn't accuse Darstone. He only had himself to blame.

He decided to take a walk to get his mind off of that idiot and his own feelings. England headed west with the intention of visiting the Crafter's District. With his pockets full of small gems from his hideout, he went up through the Queen's Run-he'd made the mistake of going through the South District once and was almost mugged. Thank goodness he had his magic-over to the desired area and began to look around. He'd been here a couple times and had always found something new. Perhaps, today, he would look at the magic items. Now that he was supporting Darstone, England planned to go shopping more often.

Of course, once he got to the hustle and bustle of the District, he caught sight of a familiar face. It was Prussia! He sighed and resigned himself to fate before following after him.

"Hey."

Comments

[garantundkraft]

He had been headed back from the Steps. If anyone were to ask what he had been doing out there, he'd have said something about pricing a flat or a house in that district, but the truth of it was that he had been busy watching and admiring the Chocolina as they flew from their homes in the early morning. Ahhhh, but Prussia was jealous! He didn't so much mind this place, except for the part about living underground. It meant that even if he had the resources to build an airplane, there was no point to it, as there was no room to fly. If only he had wings! Then he'd be as free and awesome as a little bird!

Prussia had just been wondering what he'd look like as a Chocolina -silly, he knew, shut up- when his thoughts were intereupted by a familiar voice. He glanced over his shoulder, tossing a careless smirk at England around the cigarette in his mouth. "Well, well. Can't keep away from my awesomeness for long, huh?" He shoved his hands into his pants' pockets. Despite the chill in the air, he didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was only wearing his uniform shirt (sans anything that would indicate it was more than a black dress shirt). No coat or jacket or even a tie. And still no Cross.

[blitzkriegd]

Oh, Prussia, you cocky bastard. England caught up to him. He was reminding himself to keep it cool, don't be too eager, don't scare Prussia away.

"You've just been gone for a while," he sniffed. That wasn't a 'no.' He kept his expression flat, though his eyes certainly caught sight of the lack of Cross. He still felt that was weird. If it had broken, wouldn't have Prussia fixed it by now? "I was worried you'd been sent home with my heart."

[garantundkraft]

"Nah, they can't get rid of the awesome me without telling my adoring public first!" He winked at England, then took out his pack of cigarettes and offered one to him. "Family shit to take care of. You've got like half the world as your siblings so you know how that goes." Once England had either accepted or declined the cigarette, he put the pack away. Then Prussia crossed his arms behind his head, the picture of relaxation and casual behaviour. Idly, he glanced at the crafters' storefronts and stalls as they walked down the street. He hadn't really looked around here since he had gotten the knife and chest to take England's heart.

[garantundkraft]

"Eh. Coming back from the Steps. Housing there is kinda pricey... Guess I oughta get a steady job. I saw one that seemed interesting..." He shrugged. His stomach gurgled quietly. "Wanna go get breakfast? There's gotta be something around here." Perhaps they'd have to head into the Marketplace for that, but Prussia hardly minded.

[blitzkriegd]

That sounded like fun! England hadn't been to the Steps yet. "That sounds fine," he nodded. Once they started heading in that direction, he spoke up again. "Were you planning on moving out on your own?" And living up high? That was interesting. Did Prussia want to be closer to the birds?

[garantundkraft]

If he had really been looking at housing, he would have been able to answer that question with ease. As it was, he had been Chocolina-watching (which actually sounded really creepy when phrased like that, so he made a mental note to stop phrasing it like that), so... Prussia had no idea. He didn't want to say no, because if there were a restaurant there, then he would easily be caught in his lie later. But if he said yes and there wasn't one, he'd look like a fool.

After a very long pause, he finally responded. "Uhhh..."

[blitzkriegd]

Ha, allowing Prussia one jab at him paid off. England turned to him and grinned. "Well? You don't know?" Without waiting for an answer, he began changing his course, making sure to tap Prussia's arm on the way. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Oh, yes. He was in high spirits!

[garantundkraft]

"Oh? And I bet if someone had tried to take your wallet up in Queen's Run it woulda just been a bit of bad luck, right?" He took an annoyed bite out of one of his meat rolls and started walking away. Honestly, England! Yelling things like that around good, hardworking people like the nice Huglu baker woman and that barber she lived next to! Way to make a good impression on people Gil obviously knows. He always loved it when his friends acted like colossal asses.

[blitzkriegd]

He hadn't been yelling! He was actually speaking quietly! England turned to nod his head at the Huglu woman, as frightening as she was, to thank her for the food. Then he followed after Prussia. "Come off it! Even you wouldn't live here."

[garantundkraft]

"What for? Most of the Chocolina aren't flying right now..."

...Wait, did he just admit he went to the Steps regularly enough to know when the inhabitants were most likely to be taking flight?

Whoops.

[blitzkriegd]

Luckily for Prussia, England didn't catch on. He knew his fellow country had just been there, so he could have seen what the Chocolina were doing. He didn't turn around.

"So what?"

[garantundkraft]

"Then fuck off! No one's forcing you to stay here!"

He reached out and pushed England away by his chest. It felt... wrong... not feeling the heart beating under his hand.

[blitzkriegd]

Oh yeah? England would fight Prussia if he wanted, even though he'd already gotten into enough fights during his stay here. They were in a low-class district. Why not act like the lower-class? He didn't like to be shoved!

He grit his teeth and was about to push Prussia right back, but something caught his eye. England froze in place as he noticed just how dangerously close some of the Kra'shak were getting to them. Not to mention there was that blasted light orb watching his every move.

His eyes flicked around before they fell on Prussia again. In a very low voice, he said, "They have weapons..." He hoped that Prussia wouldn't think he was trying to distract him. England really was nervous. Those lizard people were big and hostile!

[garantundkraft]

With any luck, as soon as they left what that gang considered their territory, they would be fine. So when Prussia noticed the buildings around them changing to nicer looking ones, he pushed himself harder. They just had to make it another block or two, and they'd be back in the Steps. His legs were burning…

"Please… tell me… they're slowing down…!"

[blitzkriegd]

As Prussia's pace quickened, the gang's pace was slowing down, until they finally decided that the two countries weren't worth it. England let out a laugh of triumph.

"Take that, you hooligans!" Yes, Prussia could slow down now. "That'll show you!"

[garantundkraft]

Once he finished the water, just enjoying the company and the slight snuggling, he squirmed. "My ass is going numb; can we find a more comfy place to sit if we're gonna keep this up?" Which was really Prussian for Can we find a more comfy place because I really don't wanna stop snuggling just because my ass is going numb.

[blitzkriegd]

England's eyes blinked open. Hm, he'd gotten a bit too comfortable. "Ah, sure. If you feel you can walk again." Though, come to think of it, he was getting a little sore sitting on the hard ground as well. They needed to find some chairs. Or a bench. Or... Well, never mind.

[garantundkraft]

He wanted to urge England along faster, gripe about how he was perfectly amazing and incredible and fine, but figured that really they weren't going too intolerably slow and that his protests would fall on deaf ears anyways. Although had it taken another five minutes to get out there, he might have complained loudly about their pace on principle.

Prussia relaxed against the wall next to England, still much preferring the idea of sitting. Except stubborn pride refused to let him sit down now. It couldn't have been the separation from Earth that was making him feel this weak; he was already somewhat used to the connection to people and land not being whole. Although it wasn't gone entirely back home -there were still many who had grown up Prussian and still in some way saw themselves as such, and while his lands were broken up and given new names, he could still feel them- he hadn't ever considered the complete loss would have any further impact on his capabilities. "...Man, when did I get so damn old..." he muttered.

He wondered if he looked any older. Wasn't that what was supposed to happen now that he'd been dissolved? Aging until he faded away entirely? Though he sometimes fancied his face showed a few more years now, Prussia couldn't really tell for sure.

Whatever, he was still awesome. Although he was going to up his training regimen. And force England to join him, even if it ended up with him carrying the lazy ass around while he did all the work.

did you write this in your sleep

[blitzkriegd]

That was not a typical Prussia answer. England's eyes flicked over to his partner, expression pensive. Now he remembered what he wanted to discuss. That Cross was still gone, and Prussia was speaking cryptically. He considered a few things he could say and finally moved closer so that he could nose behind Prussia's ear.

He felt like a kid, wanting to snog behind a schoolyard fence. At least his mood was up again.

"That doesn't sound like you at all."

[garantundkraft]

He offered a smirk, careless and genuine. What a foolish question, but Prussia was not going to say that to England's face. "Keep being awesome. What else would I do?" If England had meant anything more specific, then he'd have to ask. It was rarely Prussia's policy to answer unasked questions, so he had no intention of getting into the habit of it now.

Prussia brought his hand up to cover England's fingers, squeezing the island's fingers tightly to comfort him.

[blitzkriegd]

Crazy, wasn't it? Prussia was the one who needed to be supported, and here England was receiving the comfort. It was his nature to worry, to expect the bad, to be pessimistic. He couldn't help it, considering the life he'd had. He leaned over to rest his forehead against Prussia's sympathetically.

"Of course. What was I thinking?" He wanted to cry.

[garantundkraft]

"Don't apologise. It's a sign of weakness." Prussia snorted, tapping the side of England's head. "…Well. Since we went through all the unawesome shit in my life, I almost wanna hear about you just so we don't hit on another topic I don't wanna talk on."

[blitzkriegd]

England frowned and pulled away. Ha, weakness. Exactly what he didn't want to portray. He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering how to save face.

"I was only trying to be polite," he mumbled. "Next time, I won't apologize. And I won't bring you water when you're lying flat on your back from exhaustion, if that's what you want."

[garantundkraft]

"To find something to do, what else?" he called over his shoulder. Come on, England. If a dying nation such as himself has no fear, then you shouldn't either. And Prussia will defend your honour if he must.

[blitzkriegd]

The only fear England had was of looking weak. And needing Prussia to defend him. Which he didn't need at all, of course! He sighed loudly and jogged forward to catch up with the other country.

And so they were off on an adventure to hunt monsters!