Work Text:
OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!
- Rudyard Kipling, “The Ballad of East and West”
East and West were never supposed to meet.
They were completely different realizations of the same mass with the same heart.
Russia — then the Soviet Union — remembered when Prussia was told he was no more - when it would never be reinstated. Instead, Prussia was blamed for the crimes of the führer. Germany hadn’t made a move or said a word for his brother.
Prussia’s shivers and quakes began when the decision was made to split Germany in half.
Everything he had worked for, gone in a decision between the Allies and the Soviet Union.
“The capital will be split in half — one half for the Allies which will then be split accordingly for each victor and another half for the Soviet Union.”
The words were spoken but very few knew the extent of power they had.
Fist over his chest, blood spurt from the German Democratic Republic’s mouth and nose. Thick crimson, it dripped freely from his mouth and splattered the wooden floor. Something twisted in his chest before his hand covered his mouth.
“God’s above, what’s wrong with him?!”
“Ivan. Remove Gilbert before-”
“Quiet Alfred. You’re not a young boy anymore. There are punishments each country must face.” Great Britain silenced the young American with a sharp wave of his hand and turned to the Soviet Union.
Too late, the ex-nation retched and before upheaving what appeared to be chunks of-
“Good God, is that his heart?”
The United States’ eyes were pained yet they looked down with pity upon the albino before the Soviet Union picked the GDR by his collar and dragged him away.
The GDR hated it.
West Germany looked upon his equal with sorrow before The United States and Great Britain pulled him away. They never saw each other again.
The change was slow but gradual. The GDR couldn’t have moved even if Gilbert had resurfaced within his memory even if he was on the brink of death.
His eyes were the first to go. The abnormal scarlet red dulled into a pink before shifting into a purple then blue. Then, his hair began to gain some color.
No one had expected it.
Russia often used The GDR to determine the state of the people and he determined he couldn’t have retained the remaining pieces even if he had to split the Soviet Union in half.
But everyone heard the cries of the German people and the United States himself told the Soviet Union the East and West could not remain apart.
In 1989, they were reunited.
The gates opened and a flood of people spilled into West Berlin.
There was laughter, tears and joy filling the hearts of the German people.
Amongst them, two individuals made their way to each other. Their eyes were set upon each other but only the GDR stopped just a few feet away.
“Hallo, Ludwig.”
“Gilbert.”
A few moments of silence then Gilbert was nearly chest to chest with Ludwig before extending his hand. Gilbert was slightly thinner than Ludwig had remembered and there was a flash of red in Gilbert’s startling blue eyes. Ludwig’s hand twitched, aching to touch his brother.
“Do it.” Gilbert’s voice was sharp and his eyes firm. “Do it now.”
Ludwig held his breath and the moment their hands touched, Gilbert knew it would be different from then on.
Stripped of status.
Stripped of power.
Stripped of recognition.
Stripped of honor.
But Gilbert still had his pride.
It felt as if he was waking up from a long sleep. Sapped of energy, disoriented and groggy. He felt cold.
In contrast, Ludwig felt hot. He felt new life thrumming, awakening his senses. He had inherited all of Germany once more.
But Prussia had nothing - not even the East.
Gilbert’s true first words to him would never leave Ludwig’s mind.
“I guess I can’t call you West anymore.”