Berlin, Germany

"Gilbert there's really no need to do this." A frown was tugging at the corners of _'s mouth. She was currently sitting on a bar stool, while Ludwig was sat on her right and Gilbert on her left.

Gilbert smirked proudly and softly padded _'s slender shoulders. "Don't be ridiculous, it's your birthday. It's the least we can do."

He gave her a quick wink and turned to a nearby bartender. He made a quick gesture with his hand and said, "Bitte, drei Gläser Bier."

_ sighed and finally relented. She relaxed and placed her arms on the cool wooden counter, as she did she glanced behind her.

This was her first time ever visiting this bar, mainly because the German brothers insisted on taking her to a more fancier pub for her birthday than the usual one they always went to. After all, you couldn't celebrate a birthday without beer and since she was here and waiting for her drinks to arrive, she might as well have a look around.

She craned her neck to look around, taking in the sensations happening around her: the smell of alcohol and food, the loud bouts of laughter, and the zealous shouts of soccer fans watching the TV.

Despite the bar looking rather old fashioned, many of the tables were full, some patrons even conjoined tables together to make room for others.

Looking past them, _ surveyed the rest of the room until something caught her eye.

In the back of the room, she noticed, old photos encased in sleek, black frames, that were neatly placed next to each other on a cream colored wall. On top of the photos a label with big, black, bold letters read, Memories, but in German.

Her curiosity aroused, she stood up and quickly jogged across the room, weaving her way past people, hoping to take a quick glance at them before Gilbert or Ludwig noticed her missing.

Looking closer at the photos, her brows knit together as she looked up and slowly read the dates out loud. She stopped to look at the frame labeled, "November 12, 1928."

The photograph, obviously in black and white, showed a group of men (wearing presumably military uniforms) raising their beer glasses in mid toast, their grinning faces forever frozen.

Her eyes glanced at each smiling face, most of them unknown to her, except for two. To her shock, standing in the middle of the group, with a grin as wide as a cheshire cat, were Gilbert and Ludwig. They didn't even look a year older.

_'s eyes widened in disbelief. "But how–?"

"_."

"AHH!" She shrieked as she jerked up in surprise as she whirled around to come face-to-face with Ludwig.

"Oh." She gasped softly. "It's only you."

A hot burning sensation crept up both her cheeks. "Great, first I freak out over Ludwig calling my name and now I'm blushing. He probably thinks I'm paranoid."

Ludwig looked startled himself, but quickly gave her a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry..." he began. "I didn't mean to scare you. The drinks are here and I didn't know where you…"

His voice trailed off as his eyes slowly made its way to the photo. He seemed to be trance, as if the people in the photo had sprung to life and stepped out of the picture frame.

His eyes seemed to soften despite his facial expression never changing. This didn't surprise _ since Ludwig was always known for being the most stoic among the trio. However, he had become unusually quiet.

"Ludwig…" _ murmured softly.

She glanced at the picture again, noticing the instant similarities between Ludwig and his ancestral doppelganger in the photo.

"Is that you?" She asked cautiously. Her voice gradually becoming louder. "I m-mean it's possible that it could be your grandpa or–."

"But, even if it is his ancestor," _ pondered. "It still doesn't explain why Gilbert looks exactly like he does in the photo-."

"_."

"Y-yes?" She responded timidly.

_ slightly winced, chiding herself for how rude she sounded, prying into his private life and asking about his possibly dead grandpa like a disrespectful heathen.

He paused, seemly snapping himself out of his trance and gingerly placed one hand on the back of his neck. His eyes flickered nervously between _ and the photo sitting patiently in front of them as he shuffled his feet.

"Why is he so nervous?" She mused.

"_." He finally began. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you, but I haven't found the right time."

_'s breath hitched with a sudden realization. "What if he's an angel? I mean I always wondered if God existed, but I never expected to meet an angel! Gilbert on the other hand—."

"The thing is," He continued. "Gilbert and I have a very special job."

"I knew it!"

"It's just like being a soldier, except when your a soldier, eventually you will retire from service."

The wheels to her train of thought came to a screeching halt. A wave of confusion crashed over her. "Ludwig, I don't understand. Aren't you in the military? Why wouldn't you retire?"

Ludwig opened his mouth to say more, but Gilbert had arrived.

"Where the hell have you two been!?" He jokingly roared, ignoring the glares of other patrons. "Our drinks have already arrived and the waiter keeps lookin' at me like I might steal something!"

Despite the noisy atmosphere surrounding the three of them, neither Ludwig or _ could think of anything to say.

Gilbert looked curiously between them. "What's up with you two? Is everything alright?"

_ smiled weakly and said, "Everything is fine." She glanced at Ludwig for reassurance.

"Right Luddy?" Using Ludwig's pet name always gave a sense of comandrie between the two of them.

Ludwig seemed to get the gist and gave a reassuring pat on Gilbert's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for making you worry Bruder. I'll try to be more considerate." "Besides," he said, "It's _'s birthday and we still haven't properly celebrated it." He gave a small smile, hoping to win over his brother.

Gilbert however, had been used to those smiles before, but sensing the mood was tense, Gilbert simply nodded and wordlessly made his way towards the front.

"Coming _?" Ludwig asked following suit.

Taking one last glance behind her _ stared back at the photo, transfixed by its mystery. There were still so many questions left unanswered. Who really were Ludwig and Gilbert? Why did they still look the same after all these years and what was so important about Ludwig and Gilbert's job that it became a secret even to her?

"I have to find out. It's impossible...they can't be that old." _ thought as she finally broke her gaze from the photo and began making her way back.

As the trio sat down comfortably in their seats, all three friends knew that sooner or later, questions would need answers.

In this universe, Reader-chan doesnt know that her friends are immortal countries. Germany and Prussia forgot that a couple of years ago they went to this same pub and now their cover is blown. :)

Also, I have no idea if people are allowed to move tables in pubs, so forgive me if the scene involving it sounded out of touch.

I only plan on making two chapters to this story, so the final installment should be comin' real soon.

Until then, Adios!