An albino young man led a blonde little boy up a tall, grassy hill that overlooked a crystal blue lake, mountains standing tall and proud as a backdrop. Gilbert, the albino, smiled as his younger brother let out a gasp of awe.

"This is all yours, Ludwig. Everything you see here, and so much more. This is just a little piece of it."

Blue eyes widened in delight as Ludwig turned to look up at his brother. "Really? All of it?"

"You bet."

Ludwig suddenly bolted down the hill towards the lake, startling Gilbert. The blonde haired child went laughing the whole way.

"Bet you can't catch me, bruder!"

"LUDWIG!"

Gilbird peeped in excitement as his owner charged down the hill after the other boy.

Somehow, Gilbert had the energy not only to chase his younger down the hill, but also around the lake, back up the hill, and all the way back to their house. No war had ever been as exhausting as this, in Gilbert's opinion.

Upon reaching the backyard, Gilbert bent over, practically wheezing. It wasn't even noon yet, and he was already wiped out. How did that boy have so much pent up energy?

Suddenly, Gilbert felt someone tackle his back, landing perfectly with their arms on his shoulders, legs around his waist, and laughter erupting from his little mouth.

"I want to ride around! Go, bruder, go!"

"Alright, alright," Gilbert said with a laugh. They carried on with their game for several minutes when the Prussian heard a familiar voice.

"Good day, Prussia."

Ludwig quickly slid off Gilbert's back to gaze at the pair of people who had just entered through the back gate. A dark haired man with glasses, and a pretty lady with long brown hair in a green dress and a white apron.

"Please, Roderich, you can call me Gilbert."

Elizaveta sent Gilbert a menacing glare, which, coupled with Roderich's stiff gaze, compelled Ludwig to hide behind his brother. Why was the pretty lady upset with Gilbert?

"Who is that?" Roderich asked, attempting slightly to peer around Gilbert to get a better look at the child.

"This is mein bruder, Ludwig Beilschmidt. The nation of Deutschland, or Germany." Gilbert said, pride evident in his voice.

Roderich and Elizaveta stared at him in shock.

"Your brother?"

The reactions Gilbert received from Francis and Antonio were much the same. After a moment of awkward silence, however, the French nation decided that interacting with the boy was a good course of action.

"Bonjour, petit Ludwig. Comment ca va?" Francis asked, extending his hand. He was shocked when Ludwig answered back in French, a little slow, but the wording was clear.

"I've been teaching him a few other languages. It's never a bad thing to have a well-rounded education, ja?"

"Si," Antonio replied as he shook Ludwig's hand as well. "He's so cute, like Lovino, but in a different sort of way."

"Oui, he has a good build for someone so young," Francis chimed in.

Ludwig turned to his older brother, tugging on his pant leg. "Are they nations too?"

"Ja, they are France and Spain, my two best friends."

"We're the Bad Friends Trio," France commented, a sly grin on his face.

"The world's greatest troublemakers."

"The countries of love…"

"Passion…"

"And awesomeness!"

The three of them looked at Ludwig expectantly, obviously hoping he would be in awe. All they got was a what-the-hell-I'm-not-impressed look, much to their disappointment. But hey, they had plenty of opportunities in the future, right?

Oh, dear.

Gilbert walked upstairs quietly, and silently entered Ludwig's room, a box in his hands, small shuffling noises coming from inside. Gently, the albino shook his younger brother awake, and handed him the soft, wriggling creature inside the box, Gilbird peeping in excitement. It took Ludwig a moment to realize what the creature was.

"PUPPY!"

Gilbert could only smile and laugh at little Germany's delighted shrieks of joy.

Several years had passed, Ludwig growing a little more each year. He no longer kept his hair messy, but in a style more appropriate for his age, boyishly combed and parted in a tidy manner. He had learned how to cook a little from his brother, and had shown great interest in making sweets. He dutifully helped his brother with household chores, and had learned to care for his dog without his brother's help.

Ludwig no longer had the appearance of a nine-year old, he now appeared to be about thirteen years old, his voice still cracking a bit from the nation version of puberty as it started to deepen in tone.

Currently, Ludwig was sitting at the polished, gleaming wooden table-which he cleaned himself, by the way-studying. He was now fluent in not only his native tongue, but also in English, French, Spanish, and Italian. Whenever Francis or Antonio came over, he would practice a bit with them, understanding the speed and fluency of the languages. Not to mention that it secretly pleased Gilbert at how fast a learner the young German was.

A bit bored, Ludwig pushed his arithmetic homework away, finished and meticulously done. He looked up and observed his albino brother on the leather sofa, a beer in one hand, and some random book in the other.

"Bruder?"

"Ja?"

"I want to drink beer, like you."

Gilbert turned in his seat, putting down his drink and book on the end table.

"You're a bit young yet, Ludwig, but I'll give you a deal. When I think you're ready, I'll buy you your first drink. Is that good?"

"Ja. I'd like that very much."

Prussia stood up, and walked over to the table, kissing Ludwig's forehead as he went past him into the kitchen. "What would you like for dinner?"

"Wurst!"

"Of course you do. I'm guessing you want to make dessert, too?"

"Black forest cake?"

"Knock yourself, Ludwig."

With that, the blonde jumped up, and hurried to take his study papers up tp his bedroom. His brother couldn't help but smile. Ludwig would be a fine nation when he was older.

Ludwig sat on the sofa, nervous. It had all started with him asking his brother how normal humans made children, only to result in Gilbert desperately calling Antonio and Francis so he wouldn't have to be alone when he gave "the talk."

What the heck did that mean? Had Ludwig done something wrong? It was just a question!

Germany didn't have time to think anymore once the Bad Friends Trio entered the living room, all three of them sitting on the opposite sofa. Francis had his trademark grin on his face, Antonio was smiling like a fool, and although he also seemed a little nervous, Gilbert had a bit of a smile too.

"Where should we start?" Antonio asked.

"Ohonhonhon. The anatomy of each gender, non? Then we can go from there."

"Okay, Ludwig. It's like this…"

Five hours later, Ludwig was sitting on his bed, still trying to figure out how one simple question had lead to the longest, most bizarre lesson of his life. He had understood it all perfectly, what with Francis' elaborate descriptions, Antonio's explanations of the emotions, and Gilbert's input on everything else, he had a VERY good understanding of it all.

Then there were those magazines that Francis had magically conjured for Ludwig. They were in a neat stack on the bed with him, just a foot away. Those magazines that Antonio claimed would, ah, "further his education into this particular subject matter." Ludwig understood what that meant, yet he was afraid to open one. Maybe he would get hit by lightning, or a goblin would come out of the floorboards and kidnap him.

Then again, real men weren't afraid of such things, right? Especially German men. Especially nations.

Mentally steeling himself, Ludwig reached for the magazine on top of his little stack, pulling it closer. He would prove himself to his brother, that he wasn't afraid of anything, especially some dirty little book. Ludwig cracked it open, and told himself to treat it just like any of his other studies.

It was all for the sake of becoming a good nation, right?

More years passed, and Ludwig had grown physically even more. He was now about nineteen years old physically, no longer a boy but not quite a man. His days of studying at the table diligently were long over; instead, he worked out every day, going running with his now three dogs. Sometime Gilbert joined them, his little yellow bird never far behind.

As Gilbert had long thought, he was well built; not overly muscular, a perfectly chiseled body, good height. He was just an inch shy of Gilbert's height now. Whenever he went walking around town or traveling around his country, people's heads would turn, some girls daring each other to edge a little closer to him.

It wouldn't be much longer before Ludwig stopped aging physically, as all nations did, forever young. Not that Ludwig cared about that too much.

However, as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, he couldn't help but think about what to do with his hair. His brother was taking him out to buy Ludwig his first beer, as promised long ago, and Ludwig was trying to go for a more mature look.

Parting his hair neatly just wasn't going to cut it anymore. He couldn't leave his hair as it was, either; although it worked for Gilbert, who just combed his hair every day and still looked amazing, it just didn't suit Ludwig. Frustrated, Ludwig ran his hands over his blonde hair backwards, away from his face.

Wait. That was it. If he did what he had just done again, this time a bit smoother… oh yes. This look suited him perfectly.

"West, are you almost ready?"

"Ja, bruder, I'm coming.

"And since when was my name West?" Ludwig teased as he walked out.

"You're country is to the west of mine, so-what did you do to your hair? It's awesome!"

Gilbert wasn't all that surprised when Ludwig took a liking to beer right away, and had a high tolerance for alcohol. He was German, and they shared the same beer-loving blood, obviously.

The pub was one of the better ones in the local area, and it was there that the Prussian man had decided to buy his brother his first drink. But along with the drink, Gilbert had yet another gift for his brother.

"There's something I've been wanting to give you," Gilbert stated. Ludwig looked at him, slightly puzzled. His brother responded by pulling a rectangular box out of his pocket, and gently pushed it across the bar to Ludwig. A little hesitantly, Ludwig opened it.

Inside sat a black iron cross, one that matched his older brother's perfectly. As Ludwig pulled the chain around his neck, he felt the cross come to rest beneath his throat a few inches down. It felt like it had always been there.

"I love you, West. Always."

"Same, East."

Gilbert called for another round of drinks. It dawned on Ludwig why Gilbert was giving him the cross.

His brother had decided that Germany was finally ready to stand all on his own.