The Day Prussia Gave Me a Ride to Work

(Or, rather, TRIED to.)

It was freezing outside, so cold that I could barely walk. It wasn't snowing; in fact, it was one of the sunniest god damn days I've ever seen during the winter. I could swear that I heard the sun mocking me as it radiated false warmth that did nothing for my frozen skin.

And I still had an hour of walking to go in this contradictory weather.

Cold and stiff, I decided to rest at the benches at a gas station. I noted that I was probably so chilled at this point, that I could probably open up my stomach and store ice cream in there without it melting.

Several cars drove by; red ones, black ones, and yellow ones... All heading towards either home or work and not giving the poor frozen girl a second glance.

I had just been watching vehicles pass by when I noticed a once shiney, beaten red sports car, speeding down the road with the music on full blast. From the heavy bass, it sounded like the driver was listening to Eminem or something along the lines.

Like everyone else, he drove right by, far over the twenty five miles per hour that the speed limit dictated.

But then, he stopped at the end of the road with a screeching halt.

At first, I smirk, thinking that the driver must have realized that he was about to skip a stop sign. However, my smile faded when I noticed that he was slowly backing up until he stopped again, right next to the bench that I was sitting at.

He shut off his radio and rolled down his window, revealing his pale skin, white hair, and ruby red eyes.

Oh my god.

A little yellow bird fluttered around his head and finally nestled itself into the man's hair. It was then that I knew exactly who this guy was.

Gilbert.

Gilbert Beilschmidt.

The Awesome Prussia.

At this point, my thought process was merely a jumble of Oh my god's and Is it who I think it is's. Slowly, I calmed myself down, coming to the rational, if disappointing conclusion that the guy was probably just cosplaying.

But damn, was that a good cosplay. He even got a real BIRD that actually STAYED on his head. It was unbelievable.

Moreover, he was giving me a very concerned stare.

"Hey, do you need a ride, or something?" He asked, voice laced with a heavy, but understandable German accent, "It's cold out here."

Having seen his reckless driving a few seconds before, I was a little hesitant to get in the same car with him. But something about this guy intrigued me. For one, who looked WAY too much like the fictional Prussia for it to be just a costume.

Seeing my reluctance, he laughed, "I'm not going to kidnap you if that's what you're thinking!"

Smiling, I gratefully thanked him and got into the passenger seat of the car. Now I'd be at work thirty minutes ahead of schedule.

"Uh, you might want to put on your seat belt. I haven't really gotten the hang of this, yet."

... Wait, what-?

The ruby eyed man slammed his foot on the gas and the vehicle sped forward back towards the stop sign.

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" I screamed, gripping my arm rest so tightly that I left marks in the leather.

The man smacked on the breaks and gave me a confused stare.

Shivering as I gasped for air, I turned to him and commanded, "Trade me places."

"Huh? But-!"

"NOW."

Though he pouted, the white haired man complied. We both got out of the car and switched seats, with him in the passenger's and me in the driver's.

Even though I technically only had my permit, I knew for a fact that my driving was better than this guy's.

Besides, if I got pulled over, I could say that I was just learning and that the man next to me was teaching me. Since I lived in a small town, I knew most of the cops here and they trusted me, so I knew that it wouldn't become an issue.

Even if it did, I'd take getting arrested over dying in a horrible car accident any day.

I started the car, far more carefully and experienced than the still-pouting man next to me had. Turning to look at him for a brief moment, I noticed that he was wearing a blue military uniform... suspiciously like the uniform that Prussia wears.

"So I take it you're headed to an anime convention or something?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"What's that?"

Giving him an incredulous stare, I asked, "Uh... The thing that you're dressed up for. Aren't you supposed to be Prussia?"

Suddenly, his red eyes lightened and he grinned at me.

"So you know who I am!?"

"Well, uh... Yeah." I said, "It's a pretty awesome costume. Your red eyes actually almost look natural."

Now it was his turn to stare.

"... What?"

He looked really confused, "What do you mean costume?" Suddenly, a look of realization came over him, "Oh, I get it! You're saying that it's impossible for all my awesome-ness to be natural, right!? Yeah, I get it. I am pretty damn awesome."

My mouth dropped. This guy was kidding, right? He wasn't implying that he was...?

"Hey," I said, a little shakey from anticipation, "Ah... What's your name, anyway?"

The ruby eyed man looked a little confused, but decided not to miss an opprotunity to give himself a grand sounding introduction.

"Gilbert. Gilbert Beilschmidt. But all of my less awesome underlings just call me the Awesome Prussia!"

On that note, I screeched the car to a halt as my body become paralyzed with realization and shock.