This is a story that I started writing for the HetaChristmas Advent Lightning Challenge at Livejournal. However, I couldn't finish it in time, which is why it's being posted at such a late date. The fic was requested by gloomy_ninja and the prompt was arguments.
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT
Chapter 1
Germany let out a sigh of relief as he turned off the car's engine, leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes. This must have been one of the most stressful car rides he had ever experienced. He was surprised he was still sane – barely.
"Finally! I've had enough of you lot for the rest of my life, dammit!" Romano snarled and shoved open the door at the back, storming out.
"It wasn't so bad. We all had fun! Didn't we, Germany?" Italy asked by his side and grabbed his arm.
"I have a headache," Germany muttered.
Italy frowned at him in worry. "Then why didn't you say anything? Any of us could have taken the wheel so that you could have rested a bit!"
"There isn't a single person in this car other than myself that I trust to drive," Germany replied.
There was a dismissive snort from the backseat. "Pfft, West! Don't tell me you still haven't forgiven me for that one car I trashed. It wasn't my fault that the other people on the road couldn't adapt to my awesome driving!"
"That car was –"
"The fuck are you people just sitting in the car for? I'm freezing here, so get out and open the door for me!"
As much as Romano's yelling got on his very tired nerves, Germany decided to follow the order. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the car, unlock the door of the mountain lodge they had rented, carry their luggage inside and have a cup of hot coffee.
He stepped out of the car and felt his terrible mood improve somewhat when he saw the view that greeted him. The lodge stood up in the mountains, some five kilometres away from the closest village. It was built of dark timber that made it stand out against the whiteness around them. Piles of snow stood everywhere, and more was gently flowing down and quickly covering their car.
And most importantly, it was quiet. After the horrible car ride that had included Italy and Prussia singing along to all the songs on the radio, Italy crying when he got hungry or needed a bathroom break and Prussia and Romano fighting (or making out, Germany couldn't really tell with those two) in the backseat, the silence of the mountains was like balsam to his stressed mind. The only reason he hadn't turned the radio off hours ago was that the weather forecast was predicting a snowstorm for that evening, and he had wanted to stay updated on that.
"Please open the door," he said to Prussia and tossed him the keys as he walked to open the trunk. "And could someone –" he started, taking out the first bag, but that was when he noticed that all the others had stormed inside and left him to take care of the luggage alone.
Germany frowned in irritation at their inconsiderate behaviour, but he supposed that was to be expected. He was always the one who had to look after the others and do all the work. He had just been hoping that maybe that would change now that they were on vacation together.
This trip had been Italy's idea. He had decided that it would be fun if the four of them did something together since they had been working so hard. Prussia had instantly agreed and suggested that they should rent a cottage in the mountains and spend a few days doing awesome things in the snow. Germany had had his doubts about that and whether spending even a minute with the other three in such a distant location would help him relax or just cause him more stress. In the end, however, he had decided to give it a try. He suspected even Romano liked the idea, even if he had spent a disproportionate amount of time complaining about being dragged into it.
He carried the bags inside and put them down in the small entrance hall. One look into the living room showed him that Prussia had already claimed the couch as his and was lounging on it, his legs dangling over the armrest.
"Take off your shoes so that you don't get water everywhere. This place isn't ours, so we shouldn't break anything," Germany said.
"I'm just stretching my awesome legs for a while. I'm all cramped from sitting in the car for so long. Your driving was super slow, West. We could have easily made it here at least an hour and a half sooner."
"It's important to be careful on the road when it's snowing. That why I didn't let any of you drive," Germany said. He didn't know which of the three would have been the worst choice, but he was sure that their mountain vacation would have turned into a trip to the garage, police station and possibly the hospital if he had let any of them have the wheel.
"But what if we hadn't made it here before the snowstorm because of you? Huh, did you think of that?"
"I had everything planned," Germany said. "Where did Italy and Romano go?"
"Check the kitchen."
Germany did just that and poked his head inside long enough to see both Italies doing a careful inventory of the appliances and utensils in the cupboards. There would no doubt be something being cooked soon, and after the long car trip, Germany could only welcome it.
But first he needed a cup of coffee. He took the bag with all of their groceries and started digging through it to find the pack of coffee beans. He couldn't find it anywhere amongst the carefully organized bottles and bags, but that didn't surprise him. He had asked Prussia to pack the coffee, so it could be anywhere.
"Where did you put the coffee?" he asked as he returned to the living room.
Prussia – who still hadn't taken off his shoes which had now created a puddle on the floor – looked up at his voice.
"The what?"
"The coffee."
Germany already dreaded the answer. That non-chalant tone could mean only one thing.
"Oh! Right, the coffee! Sorry, I think I left it on the kitchen counter at home."
Germany counted to ten before he spoke. "That was the only thing I asked you to pack. How could you forget it?"
"Something must have distracted me. But if it makes you feel any better, I forgot my DS, too."
Germany gritted his teeth so that he wouldn't say something that he would regret later. Maybe he should have seen his coming. Maybe it was his fault. He shouldn't have left any of the organizational tasks to Prussia when he knew how hopeless he was at them these days.
He thought wistfully back to the times when Prussia had been able to recite long lists of artillery, horses, men and gunpowder by heart and had known where each of them was positioned and who was in charge of them. He had been so efficient. Germany had looked up to him and wanted to be just like that.
He returned to the kitchen and started putting the groceries into the cupboards. Italy was already boiling water, so Germany supposed they'd be having pasta soon.
"What about the coffee?" Romano asked and took a look into the grocery bag.
"Prussia forgot it."
"What?"
Germany was about to reply, but when he turned around, he saw that Romano had already marched out. He didn't have to guess where he had gone, so he braced himself for the yelling that soon shook the house.
"What the fuck, bastard? How can you forget the coffee when your stupid brother asked you to pack it at least five times?"
"It wasn't that many –"
"I was there! I heard it! Even if it was your crap coffee, you know I need it in the morning, dammit!"
"If it was that important, why didn't you pack it yourself?"
"Because you're the biggest and laziest loser I've ever met and did nothing to help, so I was busy packing everything else!"
Italy began to let out worried sounds. "Oh, no, they're fighting again," he muttered sadly, clutching the lid of a pan in his hands.
"Prussia was asking for it."
"But it was just coffee! We can go down to the village and buy some if it's that important to you, can't we?"
Germany knew they could. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that his brother was irresponsible and didn't care that he caused so much trouble to everyone. It wasn't just coffee. It was his entire attitude to life, and right now Germany didn't know how he had been able to tolerate it this long. He was suddenly reminded of all the little inconveniences that Prussia had caused lately.
"I'll go and see if the bedrooms are in order," he said, knowing that he needed something productive to do or he'd lose his temper. The last thing he wanted was to start a fight that would ruin the weekend for everyone. He was sure he'd feel better once he had carefully organized his clothes into the closet and made sure that the bathroom was clean.
Prussia frowned to himself as he leaned back on the couch and tried to come up with a way to make it up to Romano. Or rather, he already knew what he could do to him that night to make improve his mood, but he didn't want to wait that long. They were going to have dinner and do something fun afterwards, and he didn't want Romano be sulking all through it.
He should learn how to relax, he mused.
Just then, he heard the sound of someone coming down from upstairs. Since both halves of Italy were busy in the kitchen, it could only be his brother.
"Prussia," Germany said, and his tone was enough to tell Prussia that an order was coming.
"Yeah?" he asked and sat up.
"Could you go out and get some wood for the fireplace?"
"Sure!"
That was actually a fantastic idea. He'd light a fire, and by the time they had had dinner, it would be pleasantly warm and nice in the living room. He'd get a blanket from upstairs and make Romano hot chocolate or something, and then they'd just cuddle awesomely in the glow of the fire. He'd forget all about that stupid coffee in no time!
It was a really good thing he hadn't taken his shoes off yet, so he didn't have to waste any time before running outside to the small shed where the firewood was. He collected an armful of logs and brought them back inside, dumping them unceremoniously on the floor by the fireplace.
"What?" he asked when he noticed Germany's unhappy expression. "I did what you said!"
"Can't you see what a mess you made on the floor?"
Prussia turned to look behind him. Sure, there was snow and a bit of saw dust on the carpet because one of the logs had slipped from his hold on the way.
"It's nothing. The water will dry, and I can vacuum the carpet later if it's bugging you that much," he said with a shrug.
"But you could have avoided all that if you had taken your shoes off before you came inside."
Sheesh, it wasn't just Romano who needed to learn how to relax. Germany was always so uptight that Prussia suspected he had something nasty permanently stuck up his ass, but this was ridiculous even for him. Especially now that they were supposed to be resting and enjoying their awesome weekend in the mountains.
"Fine, I'll take off the fucking shoes if it's so important to you," he muttered and started doing just that. Out of spite, he tossed the shoes aside, just to see what Germany would say.
Germany didn't say anything. He frowned and spent a moment staring at the shoes before he went to pick them up and take them to the shoes closet by the door.
"Tight-ass," Prussia muttered and rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the logs that would soon give them some awesome, romantic warmth.
He realised that he didn't have any matches and that he couldn't find them anywhere near the fireplace. There were probably some in the kitchen, he figured as he got up from his knees.
He stopped at the door and just watched the scene inside for a moment. Italy was stirring something on the stove while Romano was busy cutting vegetables into tiny slices. Even at their best, Prussia's cooking skills had never developed beyond throwing potatoes and meat into a pot and hoping that heating them turned them into something edible. Nowadays he didn't bother with anything more complicated than putting a pizza in the microwave.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Romano grumbled.
"I'm watching you two be all cute and domestic."
"Well, get lost."
"I'm getting hungry!" And with that, Prussia stepped into the kitchen and snatched a slice of paprika from under Romano's knife.
"Did I say you could do that?"
"It's just one piece!"
"I'm not working my ass off here so that you can eat everything! Wait until dinner!"
"Aww, come on! I'm starving! Feed me!"
Sadly, Romano didn't look one bit amused. If Prussia kept this up, Romano would probably not be in the mood to put anything in his mouth even that night, so he decided to perform a tactical retreat and wait for a better opportunity. Romano's mood would improve after he had got something to eat.
"So, what are you two cooking?" he asked and moved to take a look over Italy's shoulder.
"Just a little bit of pasta. Nothing special now that we're all a little tired," Italy replied. "Do you want to taste the sauce?"
"Sure!"
Romano stopped cutting vegetables and turned to glare at them just as Prussia was lifting the spoon into his mouth.
"Don't give him anything! He's old enough to wait until we're eating! Especially since we're having dinner at the bastards' illegally early hour!" he snapped.
"But Romano! It's just a little sauce!"
"That's his punishment for forgetting the coffee!"
Italy looked like he was ready to start crying. "Please don't talk about the coffee anymore! Let's all be nice to each other and eat well and do something fun! Let's not fight!"
As far as Prussia was concerned, the only reason there was such a tense atmosphere in the lodge was that Germany was a tight-ass who kept nagging about the stupidest things and Romano... Well, Romano was often in a bad mood, but he didn't usually get this venomous unless Prussia did something really stupid.
"Whatever," Romano said with a huff and returned to his work.
Prussia decided that things in the kitchen were a bit too moody for him, so he grabbed a pack of matches and returned to the living room to light the fire. He couldn't see Germany anywhere, so he figured he'd get to enjoy peace for at least a minute.
Romano was feeling somewhat better once they had all settled down and were eating. Filling his stomach with something delicious always helped him calm down, and by the time he was half-way through his second serving, he was beginning to think that maybe he had slightly overreacted about the coffee.
Not that he'd ever admit it. It was high time Prussia learned some sense of responsibility after over two decades of living like a little kid and letting his brother take care of everything. Romano sometimes felt like he was his babysitter rather than boyfriend. There were times when he had to ask himself why he was together with him in the first place, but then Prussia always did something to remind him of it.
Prussia knew what it was like to be considered the less important half of a country. When Romano was upset, Prussia tried to come up with solutions to his problems instead of just patting him on the head and telling him it was going to be okay. He could be a little dim-witted – when Romano really did want someone to just hold him, Prussia usually couldn't tell it right away. He had learned to appreciate that. Romano knew all too well that he had to work on expressing his emotions in ways that didn't involve yelling and cussing out everyone within hearing distance.
"I'm full," Veneziano said with a content sigh and pushed his plate away. "Now I want to take a nap."
"Me, too! Romano, come and take a look at the awesome fire I lit up in the living room!"
"I've seen fire before," Romano said and shoved the last piece of pasta into his mouth.
"But this is special!"
"Fine, I'll take a look at your stupid fire. But at least let me finish first!"
Romano downed the rest of his juice and got up. Prussia caught his wrist and pulled him into the living room. It had grown dark outside while they had been having dinner, so the room was now illuminated by the crackling fire that made shadows dance in the corners. It was comforting to look at.
"See?" Prussia asked.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Come on! Admit that it's great! I even put a blanket here so that we can have a nap."
There was indeed a blanket on the floor. Not just that, but several pillows on top of it revealed that Prussia had no doubt raided their bedroom in his attempt to prepare this perfect scene. He always got these silly ideas into his head.
It was kind of nice, Romano had to admit, but he couldn't just say that, especially now when Potato Bastard Jr. was within hearing distance. Plus, even after the good dinner, the knowledge that he wouldn't be having coffee the following morning was still bothering him. He couldn't forgive the bastard that easily.
"Dammit, it's cold here," Romano said and sat down on the blanket, crossing his arms on his chest.
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," Prussia said and snuggled up close. "So let me warm you up."
"Stay away! Your stupid brother is here!" Romano hissed and tried to keep Prussia within an arm's distance as he battled against the blush that he knew had to be spreading all over his cheeks. Hopefully the others would think it was because of the fire or because he was angry.
"So what?"
"So keep your hands away!"
Ideally, Romano would have rather seen Germany leave, preferably take the car and go down to the village so that he wouldn't be anywhere near if he and Prussia were to get comfortable before the fire – which he kind of wanted to do, he realised. But he couldn't tell Germany to do that because then he would instantly know what they were up to, and that was the last thing he wanted.
"Hey, West!" Prussia called out and glanced over his shoulder. "Get out of here! You're being a cockblock!"
"Shut up!" Romano snarled and gave Prussia a shove that sent him on his back on the floor. Face burning, he jumped to his feet and began to march away. Fuck, it was one thing for Prussia to be all stupid and embarrassing, but declaring it to the rest of the world was the last straw!
Before he could make it to the stairs, his way was blocked by Veneziano who jumped before him from the kitchen.
"Romano!" he called out. "Come on and help me with the dishes! Germany says they have to be done right away and not later."
"Why the fuck are you doing the dishes? We cooked dinner! Let the bastards do something for a change!"
"I think Germany is tired from driving so much. He's looking at me in a scary way," Veneziano whispered.
"I couldn't care less. I'm not doing any of the damn dishes!"
And with that, Romano stomped upstairs, went into his and Prussia's bedroom and slammed the door shut.
"I guess that wasn't his way of telling me that he wants me to join him up there for some awesome time," Prussia said as he came to stand at the foot of the stairs with his hands crossed behind his head.
"Why is he so angry today?" Veneziano asked. Okay, Romano was often angry, but they were on vacation now, so he should have been happy! And they had just had great dinner, and the fire in the living room was so beautiful.
Veneziano had the feeling that he was the first person who had noticed that Romano and Prussia would be a wonderful couple. He thought they balanced each other out very well. Prussia could make Romano smile a little more. Getting together with Romano had seemed to tie Prussia down a little so that he wasn't causing trouble everywhere like an empty plastic bag in the wind, without anything solid in his life to hold onto.
Germany had shaken his head at him when he had told him that he thought their brothers should get together. Romano had nearly thrown his dinner at him when he had suggested it to him. Prussia had laughed and then looked at him in a way that had made Veneziano sad. Even he hadn't taken him seriously.
But then everything had worked out anyway. Everyone had had to admit that he had been right. Sure, Romano and Prussia fought a lot, but Veneziano thought it was doing some good to the both of them to have some of their rougher edges filed off like that.
"Maybe he's still upset about the coffee," Prussia said.
"He shouldn't let little things like that get to him. I mean, I'd understand if you had forgotten the pasta, but going without coffee for one weekend isn't life-threatening."
"I guess I'll apologize one more time later tonight," Prussia said with a shrug and nodded towards the fireplace. "The cuddling spot is free in case you and West want it."
"Ooh, that's lovely!"
At that moment, Germany joined them from the kitchen and cast a disapproving look at them. He had been awfully tense ever since they had arrived. Veneziano couldn't understand what was wrong. Germany should have been relaxing, but it seemed as if he was determined to pile even more stress upon his shoulders.
"Prussia, you should help us with the dishes."
"What, are there so many that you need three people to do them?"
"It's more efficient if one person is washing, one dries them and one places them back in the cupboard."
Veneziano hummed in wonder. "I've never thought about doing dishes that way. I usually just let them soak in the sink and then do them when I have nothing better to do."
"I never do them at all," Prussia said triumphantly, like it was something to be proud of.
"Not even when you run out of clean plates?" Veneziano asked.
"Nah, a real man can use the same plate ten times in a row, no matter what kind of grime has started growing on it!"
"Wow! You're amazing!"
Germany sighed in exasperation. "Will you two help me or not? The plates here look like they're old, so we should take really good care of them. I don't think we can replace them if something happens to them."
"Sure, I'll help you! I'll get right back to it!"
Prussia drifted into the kitchen as well. They ended up sharing the work so that Germany was doing the washing, Prussia the drying and Veneziano placed the plates and pans into the cupboard on the other side of the kitchen.
For a while, they worked in silence save for Prussia's quiet humming. If he had known what song it was, Veneziano would have very much liked to join in, but he didn't want to mess up Prussia's melody, even if it kind of sucked. And then there was the fact that Germany was still looking like he was really, really angry about something, and Veneziano had the feeling that starting to sing would only make it worse.
Aww, there are so many plates, he thought gloomily. Not just the ones they had eaten from. Germany had decided that all of them needed a wash, even those that they hadn't used. Veneziano didn't understand why they were doing this, but he was sure Germany had a good reason for it. He always had reasons for everything.
The only problem was that Germany and Prussia were working at a pace that was entirely too fast for him. No matter how fast he tried to be, the plates just kept piling up. Veneziano felt like whining in frustration. This would just worsen Germany's already sour mood, and then he surely wouldn't want to cuddle in front of the fireplace. And he didn't want Germany to see how bad he was at this and be disappointed in him.
He wished Prussia weren't so fast at drying the plates, but this looked like it was one of those rare moments when he had decided to be efficient. Or maybe he just wanted this over with so that he could go and talk to Romano.
Either way, Veneziano knew he wasn't contributing as much as he should have, and he so very much wanted to! So, he decided that he would just have to step up a little. He picked up a pile of plates this time, balancing them carefully as he made his way to the other side of the kitchen.
It was when he reached the cupboard that he ran into a problem. His hands were already getting a little tired, and he was just a tad too short to comfortably place the plates on the proper shelf. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to put them all away at once, but one look over his shoulder revealed that there were already four new plates waiting.
Veneziano drew a deep breath and made up his mind. He could do this and make Germany proud of him! He began to lift the pile of plates, his tired arms shaking under the strain. For a while, he was sure he could do it, but then he felt his hold slip and –
Crash!
Veneziano let out a surprised scream as the plates came falling down and broke into tiny pieces when they hit the floor. He covered his eyes, not having the courage to look at the damage. He had heard it well enough. All the plates were probably shattered!
"Italy!"
"Eek! I'm sorry, Germany! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that, but it just happened!"
There was no answer, so Italy risked a peek through his fingers. Germany and Prussia had stopped their work and had turned to stare at the mess on the floor. Prussia had lifted his brows in surprise, but there was no expression visible on Germany's face. That worried Veneziano somewhat because by now, Germany should have been yelling at him and threatening him with harsh training that would whip him into shape.
"Nah, don't worry. They can just add that to our bill," Prussia said.
"I'll pay for them! I swear I will! It doesn't matter how long I have to work to get the money! I'll take any job!"
"I don't think they're that expensive, Ita-cakes."
Veneziano turned to look at Germany, hopeful that he'd be taking it as well as his brother. He was about to blurt out yet another apology, but that was when he noticed that Germany was still staring at the broken plates with that dark, expressionless look on his face.
"Germany? Veneziano asked hesitantly. "Are you mad at me?"
Germany sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm tired. I'm going to go upstairs for a bit."
Oh, no! He was mad at him! Except that not in the way he usually was, so this time he had to be exceptionally mad!
He lunged himself at Germany and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Germany! I didn't mean to break the plates! Please don't hate me!"
Germany grabbed him and shoved him away so that he could keep walking. Veneziano followed, desperate to see a sign that would show Germany wasn't really angry, that he wasn't just going to walk out on him.
"Hey, West. What's your problem? They're just some damn plates!" Prussia called out.
That actually made Germany stop. Veneziano held his breath. Maybe he had changed his mind and wasn't angry anymore.
"This vacation would run so much more smoothly if the rest of you were a little more careful and considerate. It's just small things, like not forgetting something and thinking before acting. I don't know why you all insist on causing trouble," Germany said.
"What trouble? There hasn't been any trouble!" Prussia snapped.
"I don't feel like arguing with you right now. I have a headache."
With that, Germany walked to the stairs. Veneziano watched him go and wanted to follow him so much, but he didn't dare. It broke his heart to see Germany look at him like that, with eyes full of resignation and disappointment. He wished he would have yelled at him instead.
Veneziano sighed and returned to the kitchen. The broken plates were laughing at him on the floor, and he had to blink because his eyes were suddenly burning.
"Well, this vacation is totally shitty," Prussia muttered as he joined him and gave a small kick to one of the bigger pieces.
"I'm sorry," Veneziano mumbled, and then he could no longer hold back the tears. He had been hoping so much that this would be a fun vacation for all of them and that he could get to spend some time with Germany without having to worry about anything. They had their hands full of work these days, and Germany was always busy. He missed those days when they'd have enough time to go on a walk or visit a museum or just sit on the couch and do nothing.
"Hey, it's not your fault," Prussia said. "West is being a total ass. Don't worry about him."
"But... but he wouldn't be so angry if I hadn't broken the plates!"
"Nah, I think the coffee is still bugging him. He'll forget about it soon."
Veneziano sniffled and wiped at his eyes to make the tears stop flowing, but Prussia's words weren't very comforting. He didn't want to wait for Germany to calm down. He wanted to do something to cheer him up, but he had the feeling that right now it would only anger Germany further.
He let Prussia lead him to the couch where he sat down and lifted up his knees so that he could hug them. He glanced at the crackling fireplace and the blanket and pillows before it, trying not to think about how much he had wanted to sit there with Germany and lean against him as they basked in the warmth of the fire.
"What if he doesn't like me anymore?" he asked.
"No way. He's not going to stop liking you because of a few broken plates. I mean, come on. You've done worse. If nations could get grey hair, he'd look just like me by now!"
Veneziano sighed. That didn't help at all. He knew he was the complete opposite of what Germany valued in a person. He couldn't do any of the things Germany demanded of him, like keep his paperwork organized or not come late to meetings. There were plenty of times when he felt that there was nothing he could give to Germany in their relationship.
"But why does he like me in the first place? I'm useless to him," he muttered.
Prussia turned to look at him and leaned his elbow against the backrest of the couch. "Don't be stupid. West adores you. Anyone can see that. You're just so cute," he said and stopped to run his fingers through his hair. "I mean, if Romano wasn't cuter and if it wouldn't break West's heart, I'd eat you up myself."
"Okay," Veneziano said hesitantly. Years ago, he had sometimes had the feeling that there was something more behind Prussia's affections towards him. He hadn't been sure what to think of that. Prussia was nice, but he didn't make his stomach flutter, and his voice didn't fill him with the comfortable warmth that Germany's did.
He had been afraid that one day he'd have to tell Prussia something that would hurt him. But maybe Prussia had known that all along because he had never pushed too far and had been nothing but happy when Veneziano and Germany had got together.
"No, I'm serious. West would fall apart without you. If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't have worked so hard to rebuild the relations between you after the war. And did you listen to his songs in the 50s? His people loved your country back then, and I'm sure that he did, too. He's been in love with you for decades because... well, shit, it's not me who should be telling you this. Ask West when he calms down and don't let him wriggle out of it."
Prussia chuckled and crossed his hands behind his back. "In fact, you should do something to punish him for that tantrum he just threw in the kitchen."
"But it was my fault for breaking the plates."
Veneziano brightened as a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Maybe I can make it all better if I clean up the broken pieces and finish doing the dishes! Then he'd see that I can do it right!"
"No, no, no, Ita-cakes," Prussia said and shook his head. "That's boring."
"Then what should I do?"
Prussia pursed his lips in thought. Then he snapped his fingers, and a wide grin spread over his features.
"I know!" he exclaimed. "We're going to surprise our boyfriends and make them stop sulking. Let's go down to the village and fix the problem that started this whole mess."
"You mean –"
"Yes! We're going to buy coffee!"
"That's a great idea! Then they'll stop making those grouchy faces at us!"
"Yeah! So grab your coat because we're off!"
Veneziano didn't need to be told twice. He got dressed in record time and even managed to find his mittens without too much trouble even though he had misplaced them when he had taken them off. Prussia found a flashlight for them, and he turned it on as they stepped outside into the night.
"It's cold," Veneziano whined and tried to curl up inside his coat.
"You'll get warm when we start walking. We can't take the car because West has the keys."
Veneziano turned to look at the snowy path that led down the mountain and towards the village. He could see the lights of houses in the distance, but only barely because it was snowing more than when they had arrived.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all," he said. He had the feeling that there was something important they had forgotten. And walking all the way down to the village and then back up would be like a harsh training session with Germany. What if they got lost? Or what if something attacked them in the woods and ate them? But maybe Prussia would protect him if that happened...
"Where's your fighting spirit, Ita-cakes? If we go now, we'll be back before either of those losers notice that we were ever gone. And then we'll surprise them with some awesome coffee!"
That was a nice thought. Imagining the frown on Germany's face disappear as he sipped coffee that he had prepared for him made Veneziano momentarily forget about the cold temperature.
"Okay," he agreed, all of his worries forgotten.