Lord of the IKEA

Ludwig's cheeks grew even redder, both from hearing Matthew's rambling about what had happened and from Alfred pointing out how embarrassed they were. Luckily for Ludwig, however, out of the corner of his eye he saw Gilbert begin to stir, saving him from the awkwardness of having to reply to either of the North Americans.

On the bed, Gilbert reached a shaky hand up to run through his hair, his eyes slowly opening. All he could see was the dark, unlit ceiling of the store until Ludwig's silhouette was leaning over him, gently placing the tips of his fingers on either side of his neck, poking and prodding and lightly tilting his head back and forth.

"You have range of motion in your neck," Ludwig said matter-of-factually, "This is good. Tell me everything."

Gilbert winced as Ludwig turned his head to the side again, his neck aching much worse than before. Hazy memories of the moments before he passed out began to resurface, and he regretfully glanced to the foot of the bed, where Alfred sat. A mix of emotions filled him, but more than anything else, Gilbert was livid. If it weren't for the fact that he was so injured, Gilbert would probably be on his feet ready to kick that kid's ass.

"Gilbert? Are you listening?"

Gilbert's eyes wandered back to Ludwig, who's concerned face he could just barely make out in the darkness. He considered blowing everyone off and continuing to make his claims that he was perfectly fine, but by now, it seemed as though they were all well aware of the repercussions the car accident had on him.

"My neck," Gilbert said quietly, reaching up to push Ludwig's hands away, "It hurts."

"Obviously, but I need more details than that, Bruder."

Gilbert frowned, increasingly annoyed that he'd have to admit he was injured. Honestly, he regretted even leaving the house.

But one quick glance over at Matthew made those regrets vanish.

"There's this, this pain," Gilbert rushed to explain, "In my neck, when I move. I can't move my neck. And there's dizziness too, and I've fainted. I don't feel too good, a-and my hand! I cut my hand on a fucking lamp."

"Could it be whiplash?"

Gilbert blinked. "Whiplash?"

"Ja, whiplash," Ludwig replied, "From the lurching of the car when we collided with the guard rail. If your seat belt was even several seconds late in locking and holding you in your seat, it's possible you would've suffered from whiplash."

Gilbert opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't find any words. He was still in a daze, and when he tried to remember what whiplash was, his mind drew a blank.

At Gilbert's silence, Ludwig only sighed. "Whiplash can take a long time to heal, from what I remember. It's treatable though, it's not a spinal injury or anything like that. You'll live, but you're going to need to take it easy until we can get you to a medical professional."

Speaking of relationships, Alfred thought. He really didn't know the first thing about them beyond what he'd seen in movies. Maybe he could ask someone.

Alfred was broken away from his thoughts as felt the bed shift ever so slightly as Gilbert awoke from his slumber. His smile dropped and he glanced over, refusing to look Gilbert in the eyes at the moment. Instead he cast his gaze on the Prussian's injured hand.

 Alfred silently listened to Gilbert and Ludwig speak. Whiplash wasn't good, but it was better than a spinal injury. Still, without proper rest and care whiplash could be serious. Still, he was thankful that Gilbert would be okay.

Letting out a breath of relief, Alfred stood up and scratched the back of his head anxiously. He waited until Matthew was done talking before speaking.

"I'm..." Alfred took a deep breath and tore his gaze away from Gilbert's hand to his eyes. "I'm really really sorry about throwing you into the wall."

He then smiled at Gilbert, "If you want, you can punch me later to get me back, hunh?" He chuckled, secretly hoping the Prussian wouldn't take him up on that offer.

The hug from Matthew was enough to wake Gilbert from his daze, and as he looked back up at Ludwig, he reluctantly huffed, "Fine. I'll stay put." He sounded convincing, in his own modest opinion, but he had no intention of actually staying put. The last thing on Gilbert's mind was to be lazying around in a desolate furniture storm while a blizzard is happening and their car is stranded on the side of a road somewhere.

He weakly used his injured hand to try to prop himself up, and much to his dismay, Ludwig was immediately at his side, stacking the display pillows together and helping him to sit up in the bed. How Gilbert resented being cared for, especially by his own baby brother. He was the older brother after all, he was the one who was supposed to be doing the doting and the worrying!

Gilbert turned to Alfred as he spoke, not returning the American's smile. "Ja, I just might take you up on that. Or maybe kick your ass entir-"

"Bruder," Ludwig interrupted, "Bitte, it was a misunderstanding. There will be no fighting."

At this, Gilbert only shook his head, already plotting how to escape Ludwig and Matthew's care long enough to put Alfred back in his damn place.

At Feliciano's words, Ludwig turned to him, his expression softening when he looked into the Italian's eyes. "We may have to, if the storm doesn't clear up or if we aren't able to find help. I'd like to keep looking, but..." he trailed off, glancing back at Gilbert and lowering his voice, "But I feel as though I can leave Gilbert alone like this."

As Ludwig talked to Feli, Gilbert squeezed Matthew's hand, pulling him close enough to whisper into his ear, "Your brother didn't hurt me too bad, but he certainly pissed me off."

Ignoring the others around them, Gilbert weakly sat up as far as he could, letting go of Matthew's hand and instead wrapping his arms around the other's waist, pulling him into his lap and holding him close.

"Danke," Gilbert purred, burying his face into Matthew's coat and continuing with a chuckle, "Y'know, it's kinda sappy though, how much that kid cares about you. I can't believe he was ready to kick my ass just to keep you safe. Reminds me of how I am with West, a little bit."

After saying this, Gilbert pulled away from Matthew a bit, mumbling apologetically, "I'm rambling, sorry."

The pain in his neck felt worse from being carelessly ambushed by Alfred, and his aggravation was at dangerous levels, though, Gilbert did his best not to show this. Instead, he furrowed his brow, taking a deep breath before saying, "You said you had an antibiotic, or some sort of medicine?"

"Mm, he's only doing his job," Gilbert grumbled, still not entirely happy about being thrown into the wall. The more he thought about the whole situation, however, the less angry he was towards Alfred. Had things been reversed and it was Ludwig being smooched like that, Gilbert was sure he would've had the same reaction. It's hard not to be protective of those that matter most.

It was reassuring to hear Matthew say that he didn't mind the rambling, as Gilbert was one to occasionally babble about petty things. He kept quiet though, and when Matthew told him that he had the medication, Gilbert silently nodded. The way he said that he understood if Gilbert didn't wish to take it made him believe that, perhaps Matthew didn't want him to take it. Maybe he would rather save it for a real emergency than to waste it on something like this.

And so, trying to sound as non-stubborn and as understanding as possible, he muttered, "Nein, thank you anyway."