Scars of Conquest; Germany x Reader

Chapter 17 - Born at a Bad Time

READER

If fate wanted you to start paying attention to it, it should not mess with your love life. Or maybe it should just stop bothering you to begin with. You scrunch your shoulders closer to your body, having been ceremoniously been placed between both Gilbert and Ludwig. Apparently, you couldn't have Gilbert sit defensively between you and his brother. You had to be stuck between both of them.

            You train your eyes on the mahogany table that sat before you, doing your best not to glower at all the other men at the table. The personifications had been placed at the center of the rectangular table, a spot for Germany's boss at one end and a spot for your boss at the other. There were still a few officials missing, including Rye and Kamiel.

            Your fingers curl into your dress pants, catching Ludwig moving his hand out of the corner of your eye.

            "I don't care if you're a personification and we're in a meeting about the detainment camps, I'll kill you," you snarl.

            Ludwig gently moves the glass of water before him out of the way, as if you would try to drown him. A good idea, but you were more keen on using the stupid stiff uniform he was wearing to choke the life out of him. His lips curl slightly at the edges and you stubbornly look away.

            His hand touches yours as he presses something rectangular into it. You look down at your phone, suspiciously you jerk it towards yourself, dislodging his hand.

            "You're clean," he mutters, voice as quiet as yours.

            You grumble something extremely ridiculous about spyware or something while you check that it is on silent before stuffing it into your jacket pocket.

            Gilbert finally looks up from his phone, red eyes landing on you and Ludwig. His lips curl down into a confused frown as he looks past you to Ludwig. He sounded disappointed.

            "West, why'd you have to go and kiss her?"

            Your eyes go wide, fingers clamping onto your legs as you try your best not to slam one of the water glasses into Gilbert's face. "What the hell is wrong with you? Freaking stalker much?" you spit, mouth barely moving as you strain to not draw attention to yourself. You looked like a fish out of water and you knew it.

            Gilbert looks at you as if you're being ridiculous (which you were) and says simply, "It's obvious. First time you two puckered up, you kept making weird threats for the following week and Ludwig would only talk to you about work."

            "Your memory is failing you," you splutter, casting a cautious look towards Ludwig.

            Ludwig had his hand over his mouth and nose.

            "See," Gilbert says, "even Ludwig's blushing."

            You stubbornly refuse to look at either of them.

            Rye smiles at you when he walks into the hall, laptop underneath his arm and Kamiel's coffee in his other hand. You manage a strange lip twitch thing in return, still stubbornly refusing to smile as long as you were wedged between Ludwig, who was being grumpy, and Gilbert, who was just being annoying.

            Kamiel shakes his head as if giving you a warning. Most likely to sit down, shut up, and not do anything humiliating...or rude.

            The final man to enter comes behind Ludwig's boss, all blue eyes and blonde hair with a smile that spread as easily as butter. You lean back in your chair, watching as he passes. A new face. And unlike the other officials sitting around the table, his hair wasn't thinning into grey and wrinkles did not spread like cracks across his face.