The Border Between Love and Hate ch.1

The Border Between Love and Hate

This is a Pruhun fanfic written by yours truly
Its Cardverse!AU, so yeah...
Here's a picture of all of the cardverse nations in case you don't know: images5.fanpop.com/image/photo…

I. Do not. Own Hetalia.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1
Joker

"Yo, Petey!" The albino teen called from his hiding spot behind a fairly large tree. The smaller blond boy placed a hand on the rough bark of his own tree, closer to the edge of the forest. He craned his neck so that the older boy was only in his peripheral vision.

"I told you, it's Peter!" He pouted. "Should I call you Gil from now on?"

"It's Gilbert ya brat!" He started to lower his voice. "And you're too loud! The whole point of hiding is not to get caught, right?" Peter rolled his sky blue eyes. "Why are you so close? As soon as you slip and step foot out of this forest you're a target. Back up a tree or two." Gilbert motioned the young boy closer to him. He turned fully and crossed his arms.

"But you said /I/ could do this one!" He frowned.

"No, I said you could come with me. It's too dangerous. If you watch and learn, maybe you can eventually." Gilbert sneered. Peter was disappointed, but obeyed the orders and shifted to behind another tree back while Gilbert adjusted forward.

"So whadaya want?" The silver haired boy asked Peter in a hushed tone, watching the bustle of the midday roads. They eyed the multiple small roadside shops and dainty fruit carts.

"Um..." The small boy's eyes grew large as he looked back and forth, surveying the choices. He'd never actually been able to tag along with Gilbert, let alone have a choice for lunch. "Oh! Look at that roll over there!" He pointed to a fairly large mound of bread rolled into a spiral. His mouth watered and the Prussian boy chuckled.

"Ok but I'm grabbing those bananas too. You need something healthy and filling." He said as he gently and gradually pushed Peter back before Peter got the message and stepped back. He'd never seen Gilbert with such an intense look on his face before. He was eager to see what happened on these 'lunch trips' as Gilbert called them. In a flash, Gilbert darted out of the bushes and ran straight for the bread. People barely had time to move out of the way, being shoved around as Gilbert made a beeline for the cart in a flash of red, white, and black.

"Joker!"

"It's a joker!"

"Stop him!" The people screamed, but no one moved. The man owning the targeted cart braced himself, not giving up his goods without a fight. A sly grin spread across the Prussian's face as he jumped, mid-run, into the air and over the cart. He grabbed the bread roll as he was in the air and flipped over the stand before landing on the ground and grabbing the bananas and a few cookies from a nearby basket. He retreated to the forest, lightening his footsteps, for no one would be able to catch him now. A blurry object flew in front of him and he stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the spear that had been an inch from his face. It was lodged into the ground in front of him and he turned, goods in hand, at a man who was going to be dead soon. To his surprise, he had to look up, as the castle of the Diamonds was to the right of the little market place. The Jack of Diamonds stood perched at the top of the enormous castle, reaching for a second spear to launch. Gilbert smirked. He motioned for Peter, not breaking eye contact with the jack, who had also believed it was now a glaring contest, and handed him the loot when he scrambled over. He nodded to Peter who responded by running back to the area that Gilbert had prearranged for them to meet up in case something like this happened.

"That's some aim you got there!" He yelled up to the jack, his hands cupped around his mouth to be louder. The people automatically watched in silence as they waited for an answer from the royal.

"What is your business in Diamonds?" He yelled back.

"Just getting some lunch! Out of all he food we've stolen, Diamonds has the best for sure. Send my complements to the chef!" He called with a snicker.

"You are not welcome here! Leave and do not return!" He yelled, his voice sounding strained.

"Aw, come on Vash, don't be so harsh, I was just leaving!" He laughed, knowing it would piss him off. Blush started to appear on the Jacks face.

"Y-you have no authority to use my name!" He stuttered. "Leave!"

"Don't worry, we'll only be in diamonds for another 2 weeks! Beruhig dich!"(1) He laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach. Anger was rising inside the Swiss and you could clearly see it on his face. Well, Gilbert couldn't, for he was still too far away from him.

"What about the boy you are with?" The jack now stood in front of Gilbert who had stopped laughing and was wide eyed. He glanced over at the castle and noticed a long ladder attaching the roof to the ground. He whipped his head back around to Vash, eyes narrowed.

"What about him?" The albino hissed. Gilbert cared for Peter like he was his own little brother and would kill anyone who tried to harm him.

"If you don't leave diamonds right this instant, he will become a target." Vash said with a straight face, hiding a smirk. Gilbert's eye twitched. He took great strides towards the jack, whose bodyguards began to raise their weapons. Gilbert stopped in front of Vash as four long spears threatened to pierce his skin.

"If you lay so much as a finger on him," he pointed an accusing finger at the face of the Swiss. " Ich werde dich eigenhändig umbringen."(2)He flicked the tip of a spear away from his face and took a few steps back before heading back to the forest. He broke into a run and vowed not to look back. He headed in the direction of Peter and tried to forget the words he had been told moments ago.

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"That was so close! You could have been stabbed by a spear! You could have died! You could have-"

"But I didn't." Gilbert cut off Peter before he could finish. He was attempting to fit the whole loaf of bread in his mouth. Gilbert grabbed the other side and tugged until the child's death grip tore it in half, leaving him startled, large amount of bread hanging out of his mouth.

"Do you even know what chewing is?" He set the other half of bread down and began to peel a banana. They munched in silence for a while. Gilbert looked up at the beautiful sky, barely able to keep his eyes open due to the clearly visible sun. Today's weather was magnificent. He couldn't help but smile as he watched the young boy tear his food to shreds. He had cared for Peter his entire life.

You see Gilbert was a Joker. The most despised suit in the entire land of cards.  There were only two, and Peter was the second. They were born that way and they couldn't change it. They have been traveling from kingdom to kingdom as long as they can remember. It was a great dishonor to have a joker in a family, and most children were discarded the moment they were deemed a joker. As soon as a joker died, the very next child born was given the curse.  When peter's parents disowned him, Gilbert found him wandering the streets, mostly running from the citizens of Spades, where he was born. His Spades accent was thick, so it was hard to disguise. They'd stuck together ever since because they were the only two of their kind. For the first few years or so of Gilbert being casted away by his own parents, he had disguised himself pretty well. The first year of having Peter, he still did, but it got more difficult. Peter had a hard time keeping his tail out of sight, and they were noticed often. Eventually, he just didn't care. He still hid, but he completely discarded his disguise and turned stealing into a game. He loved the thrill he got from people gasping and trying to catch him. He wouldn't have a stealing nature if he and Peter were accepted.

Peter fell backwards and just sprawled out, full from eating. He held his stomach and rolled to his side.

"See? I told you not to just eat that whole roll in a minute." Gilbert scolded though he knew Peter was already getting enough punishment from his stomach.  

"I was just so hungry. " he replied. He was right. They hadn't had food in about a day since it rained and the market wasn't open. They couldn't go inside for food because once you're inside, there's a chance you won't get out.

"How much longer are we staying here?" Peter asked, sitting up. Gilbert hesitated for a moment, calculating how much time they'd have.

"Well-"

/"If you don't leave diamonds right this instant, he will become a target."/

Gilbert swallowed the lump he felt forming in his throat.

"Uh, soon. Maybe about 2 days." /Yeah. That's enough time for Peter to stay for a while longer and still leave in time to not get killed./ Gilbert thought. "Is that ok?" He asked Peter, eyes closed, trying to hold back a headache.

Silence.

"Peter?" He opened his eyes and turned to the boy. His eyes looked as if they struggled to stay open and he swayed from side to side.

"Peter!" Gilbert's voice was full of panic. He /was/ panicking. He grasped the boy by his shoulders and turned him from side to side, trying to examine his body for signs of injuries. His eyes grew wide as he carefully removed a small dart from the side of peter's neck. He threw it in a bush and angrily surveyed the area for the enemy.

"You're still here." A familiar voice said. Gilbert's head whipped around until he recognized the piercing green eyes of the Jack of Diamonds. Peter's eyes closed and he slumped onto Gilbert's chest. The albino lay him down and stepped in front of him.

"What did you do?!" He clenched his hands into fists and maintained his ground, shielding Peter. His piercing red eyes threatened death.

"He's not dead and he'll wake up eventually. But I wasn't kidding, joker. You cannot stay in Diamonds, or I will kill you both." Vash said with a sigh.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it already. Wouldn't anyone?" Gilbert snarled. "We haven't done anything wrong! We haven't killed anyone! It's just the stupid rules the kingdoms have come up with! Jokers have no reason to be despised!" His eyes widened and he spun around.

"Don't touch him!" He lunged at the two guards nudging Peter with their boots. He knocked them over and grabbed Peter bridal style. He made one last glance back at the royal. "Fine. We'll leave." And with that, he ran through a group of bushes and trees and disappeared from sight.

Vash had never seen Gilbert in such a rage before. But at least they were leaving his kingdom. Jokers were bad for their publicity.