Hanover, mid-1980s

"…to prevent the organism of the forest from dying. Immediate measures in order to save it include…"

Austria couldn't help it; he just had to yawn. Germany clearly meant well with his conference about forest dieback in Hanover. Yet, Austria simply didn't believe the forest was dying at the fast pace envisioned by some German forestry scientists. He remembered too well when people had complained about a general shortage of wood during the eighteenth century… In fact, it had been only some regions in which shortages had occurred at the time, because the amount of wood needed for processes like iron smelting had increased.

"Sometimes I wonder where the kid's got his enthusiasm for environmental issues from", Switzerland commented.

"I haven't the faintest", Austria replied. "I just wish he wouldn't hold speeches longer than sixty minutes. Look, North Italy is sleeping already, and France and Spain are playing Battleship. Many personifications haven't even shown up…"

In this moment, Italy sighed "Pasta…", and Germany interrupted himself in order to look at the sleepy country sitting next to him.

"Are you tired, Italy?", Germany asked with concern.

"Thank goodness!", Austria whispered to Switzerland. "He's got it at last!"

"Well, Germany, I used to be sleepy because what you told us was so much information, but now I'm hungry", Italy said innocently. "Can't we have a break?"

"Oh, yes, please!", Switzerland whispered to Austria, commenting on Italy's suggestion.

Germany glanced at his watch. "It's already past five p.m.", he observed. "If the others agree, we might close the meeting for today and resume our talks tomorrow…"

"Well, that sounds like a good idea, doesn't it, Switzerland?", Austria said out loud.

"For once, I wholeheartedly agree with my neighbour", Switzerland affirmed.

That settled it; the meeting was suspended.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

When Austria walked out of the conference room, he heard quick steps trying to catch up with him. He didn't even have to turn in order to figure out who it was.

"Now, who won?", Austria asked abruptly.

"What?", said Spain in confusion.

"That game you were playing with France", Austria explained. At last, he did turn to his fellow country. "Battleship. Who won?"

Spain gave a good-natured, albeit slightly embarrassed laugh. "You noticed the little game we were playing."

"It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?", Austria said, faking irritation — and failing. "So who did?"

"Win, that is?" Spain cracked a smile. "Me. Still haven't lost all of my skills as a sea power, it seems."

"It's just a pen and paper game", Austria reminded him, but he smiled as well.

"Yes, of course, but … the sixteenth century!", Spain exclaimed dreamily. "Do you remember? Those were the times…"

Any person who didn't know Spain as well as Austria did would probably have mistaken his words for oblivious dreaminess. Austria, on the contrary, knew the other country was heading somewhere. "What is it you want to tell me, Spain?", he asked.

"You know it's about a decade now that Franco died and I've made the transición to democracy", Spain started rather awkwardly. "My old informal naval networks are beginning to work properly again … well, at least somewhat properly … and they've drawn my attention to something I'd like to show you."

"Something you'd like to show me, huh?" Austria raised an eyebrow. "And what is that something?"

"I want it to be a surprise, but I'm sure you'll like it", Spain replied, fidgeting a little. "Actually, it's in Hamburg, but if we catch a train soon, we can make it there this evening and we'll still be back in time for the meeting tomorrow." He gave Austria his best puppy-dog look. "Please, Austria! I'm even willing to pay for your IC ticket."

Austria sighed. Initially, he had wanted to get back to his hotel in order to spend the evening reading and perhaps composing a little. But raising the low blood pressure Germany's rather tedious speech had caused couldn't do any harm, could it? Besides, the weather was rather warm and the evening was almost too lovely to spend it inside a building…

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Austria and Spain had managed to be the only passengers in one of the compartments for up to six people German Intercity trains were offering.

Austria was flicking through an issue of Der Spiegel one of the former passengers had apparently left in the train, looking for any articles about the forest. "You know that magazine was among the first to report about forest dieback in 1981?", he asked Spain. "Acid Rain over Germany: The Forest Dies."

Spain wrinkled his nose. "Wasn't Der Spiegel the magazine which called Aids a 'homosexuals' plague', too? Always among the first to coin a new term." He frowned. "I think phrasing it like that is stigmatizing. It's clearly some sort of sexual disease, but, if I may judge from centuries of observing the spread of various sexual diseases, I'd be surprised if it was restricted to homosexuals." With a sigh, he added: "Sorry, perhaps I'm a little sensitive there, because homosexuality had been punished under Franco and is only just legal in my place since 1979 again..."

"It's all right", Austria reassured him. "I know you never meant for homosexuality to be illegal, not even at the time when it was still called 'sodomy'. I'm a little surprised that you read German news magazines, though."

"Just trying to keep my rusty German up-to-date", Spain said, blushing. He didn't say for you, but it was rather obvious that he wasn't doing it for Prussia, even though the country who was now East Germany was among his best friends. "Anyway, at the time, the only thing I could do was try to keep the Inquisition from interfering with matters concerning sodomy in Castile, and I can't say I really succeeded in that."

Austria was among the old European countries who still remembered Spain had once been Castile. He knew the story Spain had mentioned: In 1509, the Supreme Council of the Inquisition in Madrid had ruled not to divert their attention from persecuting heretics and what they called "Judaizers": Christians who insisted to follow the laws of the Old Testament, some of them converts from Judaism. Sodomites were to be persecuted by secular courts — which wasn't better, just less predictable in the proceedings.

"I couldn't stop the inquisitors from meddling in other regions, though", Spain continued. "The Aragonese nobles were struggling for influence with Ferdinand, and the end of the story was that the Inquisition there did persecute sodomy…" His voice trailed off. "I still don't get how I could have been that dumb", he scolded himself. "It took ages till I figured out that was the reason why you refused to sleep with me when we were in Aragón, wary old man that you are."

"The Inquisition was more likely to get at the personification of Austria than a district court. Besides, you're older than me", Austria reminded him gently.

"I know. But you know what? Sometimes I think you've been born a wary old man."

Austria noticed Spain's half-smile and shrugged. "I prefer being a wary old man to being made superfluous by some ruler who thinks he'd be better off without a representative of Austria anyway." Both him and Spain knew he was talking about Charles V. "If you try to get to the core of the Spanish inquisition's attempt to control people's behaviour, it almost always comes down to power relations. I read only recently that many cases in which people were sentenced to death for sodomy occurred between a foreigner and a Spanish boy..."

"Don't forget to mention political reasons, including the potential threat of espionage", Spain added. "I also read most of the foreigners were French." France and Spain had been mortal enemies during much of the sixteenth century. "But you're not a Frenchman and I'm not a boy..."

"Still a wary old man", Austria said, smiling. "Besides, there were cases in which consensual sexual acts between two male partners were punished."

"So you think positions during anal sex didn't matter all that much?"

Austria laughed. "Are we really talking about this? Honestly, Tonio, I don't know. I suppose being on the giving side made you an evil, demonic seducer in the eyes of the Inquisition, and being on the receiving side made you an effeminate denying his manliness. But, as I sad, I don't know, because I never had the misfortune to watch an Inquisition trial against sodomites."

"It's funny, isn't it?", Spain said. "Power relations are even inscribed in the very words we use to describe those positions: active and passive."

Austria snorted. "Well, funny is a curious expression indeed, but in terms of content, you're right. There isn't much of a difference between heterosexual and homosexual couples as far as the attribution of social roles is concerned, though…"

"This active-passive dichotomy is a matter of social stereotyping", Spain agreed. "I don't think it makes much of a difference whether you push men or women into the corset of that social construct."

"Sometimes, I'm just so very glad that terms like 'social construct' exist in this century", Austria sighed. "I don't think it would have been of much use against the Inquisition, though."

"It seems like the only way many inquisitors could think of sexual intercourse was in terms of power relations", Spain seconded.

"Well, I'm quite certain the only way most people thought about our marriage was in terms of power relations, too", Austria reminded him.

"Wary old man", Spain teased. Then, he suddenly became serious. "You know what they say, Austria. They say Spain is a fool, and a fool is what I am. I thought about us in terms of trust ... and I suppose I wasn't wary enough when Charles II died. I realized I was just a pawn in the game only when it was too late..."

Austria almost couldn't bear the bitterness in Spain's voice. He avoided to look Spain in the eye when he said: "I wish I could say I was sorry, Antonio. I really wish. But I did what I thought was the right political decision at the time..."

"I know", Spain replied. "That was just like you, always thinking with your head, not with your heart..."

"I have to admit that centuries passed till I figured out that feelings also originate inside people's brains", Austria said a little stiffly.

"The only reason why you could hurt me was that I cared for you." I loved you. Spain didn't say it, but Austria heard the words he implied. "I suppose trying to hate you made consenting to an alliance with my old enemy France a lot easier."

Austria looked out of the window. He couldn't bear to look at Spain. "You know … I trusted you, too", he said. "I didn't want to, but somehow … you made me trust you."

"Yes, I know", Spain replied quietly. "That doesn't make it any better, though."

A metallic voice announcing Hamburg-Altona as their final stop spared Austria an answer.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Where are we going?", Austria asked.

"Just wait and see", Spain said.

The Spaniard was leading Austria through streets filled with younger people wearing all kinds of clothes. The people were strolling between little cafés and Turkish shops that gave Altona a rather oriental flair. Spain had linked arms with Austria right after they had got off the train, much to Austria's confusion considering their conversation earlier. Nobody paid much attention to them; people were used to seeing male couples in the streets. This was Hamburg, after all.

Several minutes later, they were standing in front of a little café. Music was pouring out of the open front door. Austria immediately recognized it as a form of tango.

"No", said Austria incredulously. "We're not going to dance Argentine tango."

"Why not?", Spain asked innocently. "I hope you won't argue that it's a 'lewd' dance, because then, I'd remind you of what people said about the Viennese waltz back in the 18th century…"

"True, but couples don't dance half as close in the Viennese waltz…"

"They danced closer than in any other dance before the waltz was invented."

"Yes, because it was the first couple dance in Europe. But it doesn't force one of the dancing partners into submission…"

"Doesn't it?", Spain teased. "I once heard a story about an Austrian dancing with a Prussian…"

"Oh come on, Spain, that's old! You know what I mean."

"Yes, indeed, Austria, I know what you mean", Spain said in a serious tone. "Let me ask you, and I will only ask you once: Do you trust me?"

For several seconds, Austria was speechless. You planned all of this, you sneaky bastard, he thought. That conversation on the train was by no means accidental. He knew there was no way he could deny Spain his trust now.

"I do", Austria said grudgingly.

Spain smiled and lead him into the café.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After they had taken off their coats and left them at the coatroom, Spain led Austria onto the dance floor. Several people were on it already. Austria saw couples of two men, two women but also some couples of one man and one woman dancing counter-clockwise around the outside of the floor.

"Do you remember how to dance tango?", Spain asked.

"Despite reports to the contrary, I'm not familiar with any kind of dance", Austria said wryly. "Elizaveta wasn't all that fond of tango in the years before the Great War, so we didn't dance it very often. And afterwards … I didn't have much of a mind for dancing after the war", he continued quietly. "The only thing I remember is there isn't a basic step in Argentine tango and that most of it is improvisational."

"That's a start, isn't it!", Spain said, sounding deliberately cheerful. "Then I'll better show you some figures first. Besides, what you danced with Eliza then was probably closer to ballroom tango than to Argentine tango anyway."

When Austria nodded, Spain pulled him in the middle of the floor, showing him several basic movements. He also showed him how to lean their chests against each other, as was the common practice when dancing Argentine tango.

"There's something you have to know about the kind of tango they're dancing here", Spain explained afterwards. "I suppose you've already noticed that a lot of same-sex couples are on the floor. That's because this kind of tango rejects the notion that it has to be the man who takes the lead and the woman who has to follow. Instead, the idea is that both partners take turns in giving and interpreting impulses. The partner who gives impulses and the one who interprets them may change fluidly during one dance, even without altering the stances of the arms."

For the first time during the evening, Austria concentrated on the other couples instead of on learning and remembering movements. He soon realized that Spain was right. "That's what you meant by trust me, isn't it? There's no one dancing with closed eyes to movements someone else imposes on them…"

"Yes. They try to avoid … power relations."

"I can't believe it!", Austria exclaimed. "You planned the whole of the conversation we had on the train! Did you also buy that issue of Der Spiegel and place it in our compartment?"

Spain cracked a smile. "I thought perhaps a little scheming would be all right if it's for a good cause."

Austria leaned his forehead against Spain's. "Fine", he said. "I can't promise you that I'll manage to do that … how did you call it?"

"Giving and interpreting impulses."

"I can't promise you to succeed in that, but I'll do my very best."

"Thank you", Spain said. "That's all I asked for."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Austria had always had a very good memory for movements and even remembered some of the figures he had danced with Hungary in the beginning of the twentieth century. He learned fast, and it wasn't long until Spain asked him to join the couples dancing around the outside of the floor.

After one hour, he had somewhat learned how to alter between giving impulses and interpreting the movements Spain initiated.

One more hour later, he was almost comfortable with it.

Three hours had passed until Austria was fairly certain that he would have sore muscles the following day.

"Shall we leave?", Spain asked him just in the moment Austria had finally decided to tell Spain he wanted to stop dancing.

"Can you read my mind?", Austria wondered. He was a little embarrassed.

"Of course not." Spain grinned. "But I can read your facial expression."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

They were heading into the direction of Altona railway station when Spain suggested to go to the Altonaer Balkon and to wait there for the first train back to Hanover. The "balcony" was a park overlooking the fishing market and the northern shore of the river Elbe.

They sat down on one of the benches overlooking the river, leaning shoulder against shoulder. Austria was too tired to talk, and Spain seemed to feel no need for conversation either.

Austria was dozing off when he felt Spain's hand brushing his hair. "Are you angry with me?", Spain asked.

"Because of the tango?", Austria muttered. "No, I'm not."

"You know tango music is associated with tragic love since Carlos Gardel recorded his tango song Mi noche triste in 1917, don't you?"

"Yes", Austria replied, too sleepy to put up his defences. "But I think I lack tragic."

"Oh, come on, the only thing you lack is a tad bit more optimism. Times have changed; I think we're even anyway." Spain ruffled his hair affectionately, even though he knew Austria hated it.

Austria made a disapproving sound. "Because we fought against each other during the War of the Austrian Succession? I have a feeling you still held a grudge against me after that…"

"No. Because I can't tell myself forever that I'm fine with not being a part of your life. I want to be a part of Europe and … Well, I know you're not a part of the European Community, so can we be … I mean we, Antonio and Rodrigo … I don't know, friends, perhaps even lovers again? As equals, I mean?"

Austria chuckled. "Some things never change, do they? You're a sucker for romance; you have always been. Taking me to Hamburg in order to dance tango with me and bring me to the Altonaer Balkon just to ask me whether we can make it up with each other— Is there anyone else but you who'd do that?"

"Is that a yes?", Spain teased.

"Of course that is a yes, silly!"

—

Notes:

I'd like to thank NepheleNilfhain (German fanfiction website) for proofreading my description of Hamburg-Altona (I've never been there) and u/2184402/sithmarauder for making me want to write about Austria and Spain. :-)

As always, I try (and fail) to keep notes as short as possible:

Saurer Regen über Deutschland. Der Wald stirbt (Acid Rain over Germany: The Forest Dies) was a cover story by the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel (literally: "The Mirror", issue 47/1981) and the first big story about "forest dieback" (German: „das Waldsterben"). According to the people warning about "forest dieback", most of them forestry scientists, whole forests were in danger of dying as biological organisms within the following five years. These experts thought acid rain was the main threat to forests, i.e. rain that is particularly acidic due to pollution. In fact, however, only small straps of forest had died, e.g. in the Czech Ore Mountains (German: Erzgebirge, Czech: Krušné hory), due to environmentally hazardous brown coal power stations.

From the 16th well into the 19th century, there was a discussion about wood shortage (German: "Holznot") and possible measures for saving wood in almost all German-speaking regions. Possible measures for saving wood were widely discussed, particularly in the 18th century. As I understand it, the opinion accepted among most historians today is the one Austria mentions.

Der Spiegel called Aids a "homosexuals' plague" (literally: „Homosexuellen-Seuche") in issue 23/1983. Most people who died of Aids in North American and European countries in the 1980s were indeed homosexual, and most of them died within months of the diagnosis. Aids was considered a social stigma, because people knew little about it, and those who had contracted the HIV virus were discriminated against. I'd recommend watching the movie Philadelphia (1993) starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington if you want to know more.

For further reading on sodomy and the Spanish Inquisition, I'd recommend the classic books Frontiers of Heresy: The Spanish Inquisition from the Basque Lands to Sicily (1990) by William Monter (Part 4, chapter 13) and The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision (4th ed. 2014) by Henry Kamen (chapter 11).

Francisco Franco (1892-1975) established a military dictatorship in Spain in 1939. After his death, King Juan Carlos I (*1938) favoured developing a constitutional monarchy, and Spain underwent a transition (Spanish: La Transición) to democracy during the following years. It joined the European Community (EC) in 1986. Austria only joined the European Union (EU) as the successor of the EC in 1995, because it had had to declare itself permanently neutral on 26 October 1955 in order to gain back its sovereignty after World War II (otherwise, the Soviet Union wouldn't have agreed to that).

An IC (Intercity) is a German express train for long distances. It was the fastest category of German trains until the introduction of the ICE (Intercity Express) in the early 1990s.

The sixteenth century (as well as the first half of the seventeenth century) are generally considered the Spanish Golden Age (Siglo de Oro):Spain, ruled by Spanish Habsburg kings from 1516 to 1700, was a naval and colonial power then whose artists, especially painters and writers, were widely admired. Charles V (1500-1558) was the first Habsburg king of Spain (as Carlos I, 1516-1556). He was King of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 to 1556 and called himself "emperor elect" since 1520, even though he became the last Holy Roman emperor to be crowned by a pope in 1530. Charles succeeded Ferdinand II "the Catholic" of Aragon (1452-1516, King of Sicily since 1468, King of Aragon since 1479) and Joanna "the Mad" of Castile (1479-1555, Queen of Castile since 1504, Queen of Aragon since 1516). He is the Ferdinand struggling with Aragonese nobles Spain mentions in my story. Joanna was confined to a nunnery for mental illness after her husband Philip I "the Fair" (1478-1506) had died, who was a Habsburg and king of Castile for three months in 1506.

Charles II "the Bewitched" (1661-1700) was the last Habsburg king of Spain, who was intellectually and physically disabled. He was unable to father any children. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) ensued after his death, and the French House of Bourbon succeeded the Habsburgs as Spain's royal dynasty. This ultimately lead to a French-Spanish alliance (France and Spain had been enemies as long as Spain was ruled by Habsburg kings, because France had considered the Habsburg possessions "encircling" it a potential threat). Therefore, Spain joined the anti-Habsburg coalition when France fought against the Habsburgs in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).

Argentine tango became fashionable in European capital cities for the first time when tango dancers and musicians from Buenos Aires (Argentina) travelled there in 1912. It was still popular in the 1920s, especially in Paris. The European version of tango, the so-called "ballroom tango", entailed less body contact, but was still deemed "lewd", much like the Viennese waltz in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
French Argentine singer Carlos Gardel (1887/90-1935) recorded Mi noche triste (My Sad Night) in 1917. It was the first tango canción (tango song); tango music had been instrumental only before.
The kind of tango Spain describes to Austria was invented in the mid-1980s in a small gay café called Tuc Tuc in Hamburg-Altona. Only in 2000, three German tango teachers coined the term "queer tango" to describe it.

The Altonaer Balkon (literally: "balcony of Altona") is a park and part of a greenway at the northern shore of the river Elbe in Hamburg (Germany).

The "story about an Austrian dancing with a Prussian" is "Waltzing at the Congress" … just self-referencing. ;-)