Towards German Unity (Part 5)
Title: Towards German Unity
Author: jemsquash
Beta: aoi_aka
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: M
Warnings: Genderbends, history references, explicit content
Chapter Summary: Luise reunites with Prussia in besieged Paris, officially still just the Northern German Confederation…but what documents say and what the people believe are often two different things.
Towards German Unity 5
6 August 1870, Wörth
Luise was drunk on her people’s enthusiasm. For the first time in her memory, possibly any living nation’s, all of the German states were focused on one goal: defeating France. All of her present states hummed and surged through her veins, as she rode with the 3rd Army, heading towards the French Army stationed in Fröschwiller. All around her the army, made up of Prussians, Badeners, Bavarians, Saxons and her own North German Confederation people, moved together as one people towards their enemy.
Luise’s girlish laughter was ignored within the moving ranks. The last four years had taken all but the most stubborn of her fat and replaced it with firm muscle. Her hair was cut as short as any other common soldier’s and within the ranks little marked her out from the rest. She knew how to handle a sword and gun, although her area of expertise was machinery. The only reason she wasn’t advancing on Paris with the mechanics corps was because she had asked the commander to let her go with the 3rd Army. She had a feeling she should be there.
She could feel her soldiers, like phantom limbs slowly reattaching themselves. She felt bad for stealing land from the new child; Lillian, now in Austria’s care, but these were her lands first and she would fight for them. Because they were fighting for her.
2 November 1870, Paris (the German occupied part)
Prussia broke off his speech to drink some water and to give himself time to regain control over his temper. Prussia was Not Happy. The Franco-Prussian war was into its third month. Cavalry battles were happening along their borders, with the German side slowly gaining ground. Combat was raging all over the French empire, Italy had changed loyalties (And after all he'd done for them, he’d sent a wedding gift, a wedding gift!) and where was he? Stuck in Paris helping with the siege. And his fiancée was off gallivanting somewhere on a battlefield instead of being in the German occupied bit of Paris helping him keep moral up.
Things had been cool between them, these last two years. Luise had thrown herself into becoming Germany, darting into war meetings at the last minute and disappearing afterwards. He had hoped that the dullness of a siege would give them time to reconnect, politically if not personally.
But he was a seasoned solider and would not let personal matters get in the way of war. He resumed his talk, again explaining why high command was reluctant to bombard Paris. He had almost finished when a brisk knock came on the door. The door opened to revel a lieutenant.
“Apologies, sirs.” The man saluted smartly, his uniform revealing he was from the Saxon corps. “But the solider insisted it was urgent.”
“You interrupted this meeting for a mere solider?” One of the captains bristled. “On whose authority?”
The lieutenant blinked in confusion. His pupils were dilated and a strange scent wafted from him Prussia noted, reaching discretely for his gun. A personified nation, in times of strength, could influence their own people and control their minds for very short amounts of time. The solider was clearly being influenced by someone, and being from a state without a representative that spelt trouble.
He was taken by complete surprise when Luise emerged in the doorway, clad in a North German Confederation uniform. She had clearly just come from a quick wash, with hair still damp and skin freshly scrubbed. There was a scabbed-over cut on her cheek and a wide grin on her face. “Gilbert,” Luise threw herself into his arms. “I’m so happy to see you.”
This was very out of character for her and Gilbert assumed she was drunk. Although, the tongue she proceeded to stick down his throat did not taste of beer. He tasted blood, gunpowder and battle along with the all consuming scent of a budding empire, enticingly similar to his own scent. He could have lost himself in the smell of her, in the feeling of her wrapping around him. Luise was drunk on the sensation of her growing empire-hood.
Somehow Gilbert managed to pull himself away from Luise’s passionate embrace and looked at the men still in the room. They all avoided his eyes, as if they hadn’t been watching avidly as their kingdom got mauled by an anonymous woman in uniform.
“I was called away by the solider two minutes ago.” He said using his sternest glare, hoping against hope this event wasn’t spread through the barracks and into French ears by morning. “You continued the meeting without me.” Luise was still wrapped around him, nuzzling his chin with her lips. “Reich, tell your escort to leave.” She giggled and waved her hand vaguely, the Saxon solider saluting and leaving.
That was impressive, that she did not even have to verbally give her orders. And to a solider not officially her own yet.
Gilbert had managed to get his fiancée to his quarters without incident. Luise sprawled on his bed gesturing widely towards the ceiling, describing her actions in battle since Wörth clearly if in an uncharacteristically boisterous way. A part of Gilbert listened carefully taking note of how she had reacted in battle and how her description compared to official reports of the battle. Most of him was drinking in the sight of her on his bed her hair short but still golden, her sparkling eyes enhanced by the cut on her cheek and the damn uniform that gave away nothing of her figure.
“So we turned south and attacked France’s garrisons along the way, but then I thought I better come here and see how the siege is doing.” Luise let her arms fall back onto the bed as she lapsed into silence, frowning to herself. “How is the siege doing?”
Gilbert chuckled. “You didn’t ask on your way in?”
Luise opened her mouth to answer, then stopped a blush forming on her cheeks. “I… forgot to ask. I washed and changed into a clean uniform, and was going to get an official report when I… I got distracted.” Her blush grew in tint and Luise’s eyes avoided his face.
“Been getting distracted a lot lately, hm?” Gilbert smirked at her embarrassment. “Like your body's been pulled this way and that and your brain’s happy to go wherever it wants?” At her embarrassed nod he moved to kneel next to the bed and used one hand to tug her head up to met his eyes. “You’re going to have to work on that. We can’t have empires wondering around at the beck and call of their people, can we?”
Luise started to nod then stopped, as she grasped his meaning. “But!” She sat up quickly, almost knocking heads with Gilbert. “We’re still at war. The City States are still independent, we just happen to be united against the same enemy. As soon as France surrenders, everything will go back to how it was.” Luise’s certainty was shaken by Gilbert’s smile. “Won’t it?”
“When you’ve been around as long as me.” Gilbert took one of her hands and rubbed it comfortingly. “You’ll learn that nothing ever goes back to how it was. You are united, unofficially and now people have a chance to see how strong we can be. Humans crave strength above all else, Reich. And we’ll be stronger than they could ever imagine, together. Would you like that?” Gilbert purred, bringing her hand to his mouth to kiss.
Luise nodded shyly. Gilbert pretended not to see and turned her hand around to kiss her palm. “Would you?” He kissed each of her finger tips slowly, feeling the calluses that had formed.
Luise pulled her hand away, making Gilbert look up at her serious face. “Yes, Gilbert.” She said softly, meeting his gaze. “I would like that very much.” She leaned forward and kissed him, letting her scent swamp over him once more. A very familiar mouth and tongue met his own firmly, without hesitation. When Luise pulled herself back, Gilbert followed, remaining locked in their kiss. When her head met the pillow of his bed, he was on top of her, already unbuttoning her shirt.
For the first time in weeks Luise was in a proper bed, not a soldier’s bunk or on the move with just a makeshift pillow. And all she could focus on was the hard body on top of her, pressing against her firmly, making her want to squirm away and press forward. But she was no longer a little confederation, afraid of her own emotions. So when Gilbert’s hips ground against hers, she responded.
She was still inexperienced, still fumbled with buttons and still whimpered in ways that made Gilbert chuckle darkly. She still blushed madly when Gilbert pulled back to stare at her bared torso, now toned with muscle on the stomach. But that wasn’t the change that Gilbert focused on.
“They’re smaller.” Gilbert frowned, cupping one breast in each hand. Luise actually managed to glare.
“They are not!” She squeaked as both of her areolas were brushed with his thumbs, hardening her nipples even further.
“The nipples are bigger, darker.” He leaned forward and looked closely. “But the rest of them are definitely smaller.
Luise hissed. “My shoulders have gotten broader and my muscles are stronger. They’re just further apart and firmer.” She had actually been happy that her breasts didn’t command so much attention anymore.
Gilbert let go of her breasts and sat up, still resting on his knees on either side of her legs. “No, they’re definitely smaller.” He said squinting down at them. “You need to eat more. Maybe they’ll get bigger again.”
With another hiss of anger Luise sat up and sucked at one of Gilbert’s own nipples, deliberately biting it the way Gilbert had done to her own on occasion.
Gilbert let out a squawk that was more in pleasure than pain and lost his balance slightly. Luise took the opportunity to turn to the side and tug till she was above him instead. She glared down at her smirking bedmate, who was still focused on her breasts, now set over his head. “My breasts are perfect.” She said stiffly.
“Now that I look at them from this angle.” Gilbert smiled. “Yeah, they’re awesome.” Gilbert’s smile turned into a smirk his red eyes darkening. “What are you going to do now, Reich ?”
All of Luise’s smugness vanished as she realized what position she was in, balanced over Gilbert on her forearms unsteadily. With an even eviler smirk Gilbert took her left nipple into his mouth. Luise cursed as her arms, supporting her own upper body weight trembled in time with the licks. Gilbert loosened his lips, letting the nipple slid out before turning to the other and nipping it firmly. Then he began to suckle in earnest.
Luise managed to keep her balance on her forearms, despite a familiar wetness beginning to grow between her legs. It wasn’t until Gilbert brought his hands into play, rubbing softly then squeezing lightly at her other breast that she sank down on to his chest with a moan.
Gilbert gave up on her breasts, pulling her head up for a kiss, his arms going around her neck. Their tongues again pressed against one another, sliding over lips and teeth.
Gilbert’s arms moved from her neck to slide down slowly, brushing over heated skin until meeting her clothed hips. Luise did not pull back as his hands slid between them to undo her belt. She shut her eyes and kept kissing as her trouser buttons were undone and slowly pulled down, along with her underwear.
When two hands moved up to rub against her bared cheeks, fingernails lightly grazing soft skin, only then did she pull away to bury her head in the pillow.
“These are still the same.” Gilbert said, squeezing her cheeks together then letting go. “Move over, Reich.”
Slowly, head still buried in the pillow Luise squirmed off of Gilbert, letting him sit up and stand. She turned her head to face him, eyes closed but peeking through her eyelashes. Slowly Gilbert took his unbuttoned shirt off completely, then sat on the edge of the bed and took off his boots and socks. Then his pants, then his underwear. Only his iron cross remained, stark against the bareness of his pale chest. He moved to the foot of the bed, Luise still watching him under her eyelashes.
You’re being ridiculous, she told herself, as Gilbert began unlacing her own boots. You’ve been moving towards this for over two decades. You’ve almost done this countless times. Slowly, holding her foot gently, Gilbert pulled one sock off, rubbing her ankle as it was exposed. But that was when we had to rush, when there was no other time for it. We don't have to do this now. We could wait.
Her other sock was pulled off slowly. Her face was on fire, her legs trembled, her stomach was a knot of tension. And she was wet and wanting. So when her pants were tugged she raised her legs to help Gilbert pull them off faster.
And then, when she was just as naked as him, she rolled over on to her back, looked him in the eye and raised a hand for him to take. He climbed onto the bed, over her once again, took her hand in his and settled over her, skin to skin.
Chapter 6