Dedication: To everyone out there who loves the German family as much as I do~
Chapter One: Replacements
It had been a long time since Germania had actually lived with anyone for more than a few days. As the personification of such a large expanse of land, he was not attached to any one set of people. He was known as der Vaterland to the many different tribes that constituted his peoples, and he had many children. He did not father them exactly; he adopted them when he found them, made them submit to him and his rule. Once he was assured of their loyalty to him, he had very little to do with them. But while he gained tribute and loyalty from them, in return, he gave them his protection. He directly fought with Rome on behalf of his children if he had to. He demanded complete and utter allegiance because he gavehis own absolute loyalty.
He was a stern man, by nature and by rule. He was a large state, made up of many different peoples and tribes. His children were strong, unruly, and hard to control. For many years now, Romans had been afraid of the people they called "Germans" and for good reason. The Germans were tall, rough, and very brutal if threatened. They were stubborn and often hard to control, and because of this, it had shaped Germania into a hard man, keeping to himself; a stoic man with a temper hotter than any fire that was usually control under a mask of apathy.
There were very few things that could ever get the great Germania to break his customary composed reserve, pull him from his indifferent nature, but she was one of them. Her name was Rugii, and she was a territory of his in the northeast, next to the sea. She was an old personification, almost as old as Germania himself, and she was wild, free. Her people were strong and liked to wander, traveling north and south, never once concerned of other tribes or of the Roman Empire himself.
It was this headstrong girl, this impatient, bloodthirsty territory, that could break Germania's reserve every time. Rugii was a warrior, tough and willing to work hard, but she was also self-centered and obnoxious, usually wanting to draw other territories into a fight if she thought she could get away with it. Germania had had to punish her more than once to teach her her place in his domain, but the girl would usually just smile up at him mockingly before strutting away. She was insufferable.
It was not only Rugii's actions that provoke a response from Germania, no, she was more talented than that. She didn't even have to speak to get the man furious. All she had to do was flip her long, pale hair the wrong way or wink at him impudently for Germania to become enraged. The very air about her could provoke Germania if she willed it, and more often than not, the man decided that she must always want to be in some sort of trouble with him. She really had the talent to set the territory off even faster than even the Rome Empire at times.
Germania knew of no one else that he hated more that Rugii, didn't know of anyone else that could make him want to tear off his mask of indifference faster so that he could show the true wrath of Germania, than Rugii. She seemed to be the embodiment of everything that annoyed him, everything he scoffed. Her arrogance, her conceit, her egotistical self-confidence was everything he had ever looked down upon.
And yet it was everything he admired.
Nowhere else in his lands stood a personification as solid and ready as Rugii. She was a true warrior, ferocious and cunning. She was strong, both physically and mentally, capable of taking on enemies twice her size without worry. She was capable of great feats of strength but could also be as patient as a spider in its web.
Her laughter, although obnoxious at times, was cheerful and could even melt the frost from Germania's cold exterior. She was energetic and lively, acting so young when really she was quite old. She seemed able to ease the weight the world was leaving upon the older nations backs. Although wicked in humor, Rugii could bring a smile to many faces when she wanted, and was always ready for an adventure or some other challenge.
This was why Germania loved her. He truly, deeply loved her, no matter how obnoxious she was, or how cruel she could be. None of that mattered. He loved her, and he knew he always would, flaws and all. There was just something that attracted the man to her like a fly to honey. Her character was just so different from his own, much more lively and free, while his was stoic and he was chained to his duties. He loved her, in his own reserved way, and he would never wish to change a single thing about her.
Fate, at one time, seemed to have been good to Germania, and his silent sufferings seemed to have paid off when one night, Rugii came to him. Her detestable manner had, in part, been a trap in order to gain the man's attention, because deep down, she had come to love the stern personification that had forced her under his rule. She had come to love him just as deeply as he loved her. And for a while, everything seemed right with the world. To Germania, it was perfect.
That is, until the day Rugii left. Germania had woken up one morning to find his lover gone. He had searched for her, but was unable to find her. Although worried, he did not pursue looking for her after several days. Her nature was a free one, and he knew that she often went where her whimsy took her.
And so he waited, waited for her to return to him, because he could not be happy without her in his life.
Germania ended up waiting many, many years. Every day he waited for her to return to him, everyday he looked for some sort of sign that she would return, but she never did. Seasons melted from one to another, but still Rugii never returned. Trouble in the south kept Germania busy, but there was not a day when his heart did not ache to see the return of his beloved Rugii. No matter where he went, were the growing Roman nuisance took him to fight, Germania kept his ears open for any news of the woman he loved, but no word ever came. His heart grew cold and he redoubled his efforts to appear unfeeling.
Just as Germania had given up all hope to see Rugii again, fear that she might have faded away, she returned to him one night, when he was almost asleep. Their reunion was a passionate one, Rugii crying, weeping apologies into her lover's ear, while Germania comforted her, speaking words of reassurance. Just seeing her again melted his anger and resentment away. They wasted no time in becoming reacquainted with each other throughout the night, and for Germania, his world had become whole again. He had his Rugii back, and she loved him just the same as he loved her. For just a moment, the world seemed right again.
But when Germania had woken that next morning, he was devastated to find that Rugii was nowhere to be found. Like before, she had gone without a single word. The agony he felt was almost too much to bear. He felt as though his heart had been ripped from his chest and thrown into the sand. He felt such sharp pains in his chest that he was sure he would never be well again. That morning he wept, cried out in anguish and betrayal. He had been so certain that she had loved him, she had told him so many times, and yet he was left to only assume it was all a lie.
From then on, Germania changed. While he was always quiet and reserved, he had now become more completely withdrawn and bitter. The rare occasions that he smiled ceased all together and he certainly never laughed. His temper became more formidable and he could not stand being around anyone for too long. Being around someone meant risking the chance that he'd become attached, and Germania never wanted to get close to another person again. He couldn't. It was too painful to lose them.
And so, several years later found Germania still alone, out in the woods, hunting. He did not particularly like being alone all the time, but it was certainly better than risking someone else hurting him. He tried not to think of Rugii much, but some days it was just harder to forget her than others.
When he made his rounds in his lands, he would stop where her people resided, but she was never there herself. She was avoiding him, he knew, and quite frankly he wasn't sure he could bear to see her either. He knew he would either break down and make a fool of himself or lose his temper and kill her for causing him so much pain. He did not want to do either, and so he allowed her to ignore him because it suited him just as well.
So, while out hunting, Germania pushed all his pain aside so that he might wallow in his own depression later, in order to focus more completely on his quarry. There was a stag grazing before him, and he wanted to shoot the animal down quickly before it sensed that he was even present. Just as he lifted his bow, however, the animal snapped its head up looking about quickly, before it bolted for cover.
Germania cursed under his breath. He had not thought he was making noise, but that animal had heard something. So, unwilling to let the beast go, the personification stood and began running after the animal. He had not wanted to chase after the deer, but he had little choice. He could not afford to lose the first big game creature he saw today because his food supply was running frightfully low. If he did not shoot an animal today, he would only have a few days' rations left, and he did not like being with so little.
As he ran, however, something in the foliage caught Germania's sharp eyes. It had only been a flash of something, but it was so unusual that it gave him reason to pause. Almost childlike, he gave up his chase of the stag, despite his earlier musings, to instead investigate the pale flash of fur that he'd seen. While he could not see it anymore, he did not give up, and instead began looking about. He nearly cried out when he caught sight of a familiar cloak lying forgotten in the leaves. Rushing over to it quickly, the large man knelt down beside the garment before looking around frightfully.
It was Rugii's cloak. He knew it anywhere. It was just lying on the ground like it had been carelessly tossed without a second thought. Was she here? Had she been following him? Had he seen her, and the moment she knew he saw her, took off running? No, she could not be that fast. Germania was certain that if she had been here he would have seen her still running, or at least would have heard her. But then why was her cloak here? It was hers; it had her markings on it.
Confused, the blonde personification reached down to pick the garment up when suddenly it moved, and something sharp bit into his hand as a small cry went up. Germania instinctively jumped back, one hand steadying himself while the other went for his sword. But all notion of fighting left him when he found himself staring into a pair of rather frightening red eyes.
For just one, irrational moment, Germania thought he was looking at a ghost of some sort, or that an elf had come to play tricks on him. But after taking a second to assess the situation, the man discovered that he was not looking at anything supernatural, but at a tiny child. A child that was deathly pale, hair almost white in color, with blood red eyes, and holding a small dagger in his hand. It was such a bizarre thing to find in the woods that the nation found himself simply gawking at the odd looking child.
"Stay back!" the child, a boy, snapped, eyes narrowing. "Or—or I'll cut you again!"
Glancing down at his hand, the large nation discovered that it was indeed bleeding. Interesting. That was probably the sting he had felt when trying to touch the cloak. While it was annoying, Germania had to commend the boy for his quick reflexes and determination. True, the boy was stupid for trying to pick a fight with an opponent vastly stronger than he was, but such audacity and sheer nerve was refreshing to see, especially from one so young. By some miracle, if the child lived to adulthood, he would make a fine warrior, no doubt about that. The only problem would be getting the boy to adulthood. Such brash young men never lived long in Germania's experience.
The big nation frowned at the boy before he stood up, towering over the child. He hoped he scared the little thing. Fear was always good to invoke in children, it kept them in line. The blonde man was a bit annoyed again when he discovered that the child did not back down from him, but instead, held his ground, simply pointing his dagger a little higher in case the other was about to attack. Brave, Germania had to admit. But stupid.
"And what do we have here?" Germania asked, sending a scowl the child's way. "A little white rabbit?"
"I am not little!" the boy snapped. "And you need to go before I hurt you!"
The scowl only intensified on the tall German's face. "Arrogant, aren't you, to think that you could ever harm me, little rabbit."
The child seemed to seethe at the name. "I hurt you already," he pointed out. "Now leave before I hurt you again!"
This little one was not going to back down, not even when he stood not to the man's knee. It was interesting that a child could be so stubborn and undaunted. Most children that Germania had ever been in contact with usually cried at the sight of him, and those that didn't just cowered in fear. He was not used to having a little one not only stand before him confidently, but glare at him and making demands! It was truly a fascinating situation Germania found himself in, but it was growing old. He did not necessarily like children and he wanted to be out of this one's presence as soon as possible.
"Where is your family?" Germania asked. "Call them so they can collect you."
At this, the little boy's squared shoulders slumped, and he suddenly looked very small and sad. Although he wasn't sure why, something pulled at Germania's heartstrings at the sight of the gloomy looking boy, but he pushed that back in favor of looking around the forest. Maybe the child was lost?
"I…I don't really have a family," the boy admitted. "Not anymore, at least."
It was just as Germania had feared. Probably yet another orphaned child seeking shelter in the woods after his village had been raided. "You have no one?" Germania asked. "No other relations?"
"Well, I have a father somewhere," the boy admitted. "I don't know him yet, but my Mutti told me all about him, so I'm looking for him."
A bastard child, Germania thought. Interesting. Although he had seen hundreds of children in this particular circumstance, he knew not many— if any, really—found their fathers. But in spite of the statistics, he couldn't help but wish that this little one did end up finding his long lost father. Although the personification knew that the chances of that were extremely low. And that was not even adding in the fact that the father may not want anything to do with his son.
"And I do have my baby brother," the boy went on, seemingly unaware that the adult had been lost in thought.
Hearing this, Germania blinked. "Baby brother?"
"Ja," the boy suddenly broke into a large grin before moving the cloak back a bit, to reveal a sleeping little child with a shock of pale golden hair. "Mutti told me that I had to take care of him when she went away."
"I see," Germania nodded.
Well, as he saw it, Germania had several choices before him. He could either leave the children, one of whom was an infant, on their own to find their long lost father— if indeed they even shared the same father— and be on his way, or, he could offer to take them to the nearest village so that they could be properly looked after and then be on his way. Knowing that in all good conscious that he couldn't just walk away without helping, Germania sighed. "Come with me. I will take you to the next village."
"Really?" the pale little boy asked, red eyes lighting up with excitement. "Thanks! Wait. How do I know I can trust you?"
How quickly the child went from overjoyed to distrustful was truly comical. The boy was young, but he was beginning to actually think and use his brain, learning that he had to look at situations carefully. That was good, smart children usually lasted longer than the dumb ones. It might not have been very fair, but that was the way things were. "If I were someone you couldn't trust and would hurt you, I would have done so by now," the man pointed out.
That gave the child a reason to pause. "Ja, I guess you're right," the little rabbit nodded. "Okay. I'll let you take us to the next village. But you have to be quiet so you don't wake my Bruder. He gets cranky when he doesn't sleep enough."
Germania was a bit stunned by the reply. That child would let him take them to the next village? The nation wasn't sure if he'd ever heard a child speak to an adult that way before in his entire existence. This boy was certainly a brat, there was no denying that, but he also seemed to be a responsible, caring brat. Whatever the boy's flaws were, he seemed devoted to his younger brother, and Germania had to respect that.
"Thank you for giving me the honor," he mumbled sarcastically. "But before we go, I have one more question."
The albino narrowed his cinnabar eyes skeptically. "Yeah, and what's that?"
Such a mouth on one so young! "Where did you get that cloak?" Germania lifted the garment off of the baby and held it up. His heart twisted painfully in his chest as he held the last remaining thing he now had of his beloved. Just holding it reminded him of her, and his almost regretted touching it. He could almost smell her off of it…
"That's mine," the boy snapped, startling Germania from his thoughts. "Now give it back! Bruder will get cold."
Germania scowled. "Nein, this is not yours. This belonged to someone I know. Now, where did you get this?"
The little rabbit tried his best to match the other's scowl, but it was a hopeless cause and came out looking more like a pout. "That's mine, so give it back."
This is why Germania hated children. They were selfish and they whined so much. He was starting to get a headache and tried his best to think of another way to ask his question. "Listen, this might be yours now, but I know for a fact that before you were even born, this belonged to someone else. A woman. Do you know who owned this before you were born?"
There. That had to be reasonable enough for a child, wasn't it? If the child felt as though this were his and always had been, then he couldn't really dispute that it belonged to someone else before he was born, right? Germania did look pleased when he saw that the boy appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Ja. It belonged to Mutti."
And that's when Germania felt as though he had been slapped in the face. He had not noticed it before, but at the child's words, unpleasant familiarity suddenly struck the personification. The boy before him was arrogant, self-assured, loud, and seemed as stubborn as they came. He seemed smarter than the average child, from what Germania could tell, and he seemed uncommonly loyal.
Hands shaking just a bit, Germania stared down at the boy whose face was beginning to look more and more like someone he knew. "Your Mutti?" he repeated. "And wh-who is your Mutter?"
The boy looked down again, sorrow shadowing over his features in a way that made Germania feel sick. "She…she isn't here anymore…"
Trembling intensifying, Germania pressed on. "Who was she?"
The little albino looked at the older man sharply, as though wanting to find a fault with him. The red eyes unnerved Germania, made him think of all of the evil creatures in the myths and legends of his people, but he found he could not look away. Despite the boy's abnormal appearance, there was beauty to behold in those ruby eyes and snowy locks. "She lived in the east," the child answered at last. "That's where I'm from. We're not sure about Bruder."
"Not sure?" With each passing word that left the boy's tongue made Germania feel strangely trapped.
"Ja. Mutti said that I was to inherit her land when she…went away. She didn't want to go!" the boy's voice shook, like he was trying to reassure everyone of his mother's true intentions, but at the same time, simply reciting the words that were told to him. "Sh-she didn't want to go, but she said she had to because she was sick and we had to find Vater."
Despair nearly overwhelmed Germania, but he fought for control, fought it like it was a living enemy. "A-and what was your mother called?" he asked quietly.
"Rugii," at last, the boy named the woman Germania had already known she would be.
Rugii, his beloved, dear girl was gone, faded. After all these years of wandering, running, Rugii had finally come to an end. Germania knew it was coming. After all, those nations that did not change disappeared and were replaced. Rugii, the whore, had run off on him, gotten herself pregnant, and couldn't give up the child. For that was a nation's choice; get rid of the child and live, or keep the child and die. Apparently Rugii hadn't had the heart to destroy the life she had created and chose dissolution rather than to harm her offspring. But there was something off about all this…
"That boy, your brother," Germania nodded towards the sleeping baby. "Your mother, did she find him along the way?" If Rugii really had birthed her replacement, she would have faded much sooner than she had. There was no way that she could have two children…unless the other was the father's replacement?
The boy looked at Germania as though he were stupid, making the older man annoyed. "No, Bruder is my Bruder," he said confidently. "I helped Mutti when she had him."
"Do you have the same father?" Germania didn't really want to know, but his morbid curiosity compelled him to ask. He honestly wasn't sure he could take it if he learned that Rugii had run off with more than one man.
"Ja," the boy confirmed. "Mutti said that we do. That she found our Vater one time and he gave her Bruder, but then had to go."
Interesting. So Rugii had slept with her lover and fled when she knew she was pregnant, and then sought him out again and gotten herself pregnant a second time. It made sense, in a tragic way, her actions. Her lover would not be pleased to discover that there were children now. Children meant replacements, and it was obvious that she wanted to keep them, even risking the life of her lover, in order to save them.
Just like in the animal kingdom, personification would kill any offspring should they desire to keep their lover or themselves alive. But despite all this, Germania wished that she had at least come to him, told him of her situation. He could have protected her and her sons. She had only to ask. But no, she had left him, and run off, even going so far as to run back to her untrustworthy lover, the one that had obviously wanted to kill her first son.
Sighing, the man looked over the two children. There was no doubt left in his mind that this pale child was Rugii's. He had the same deceitful innocents and wicked gleam in his eyes. And if this child, this son of hers, told him that the smaller child was his blood-brother, then Germania believed him. Rugii honestly did not strike Germania as the type to randomly adopt small children out of charity.
"Very well. I will take you to the next town," Germania nodded once.
"Great!" the albino exclaimed before he turned and picked up his still sleeping brother.
"But I do not think you should find your father," the territory cautioned seriously. If Rugii felt the need to hide her children from their father for so long, why then would she tell them to go out and look for him? That would be very dangerous, especially for the littlest one. If the albino was Rugii's replacement, and it seemed that he was since she had already faded, then that meant that the youngest had to be the father's. And if Germania knew anything about the men that constituted his confederation, then he knew that none of them would welcome the idea of a replacement so soon. All of his sons had strong desires to go on.
"We have to," the boy glared up at Germania while shifting his brother in his arms. The boy was small, and it certainly looked like a chore for him to carry the littlest one around. It must be exhausting. "Mutti told me to find Vater, and I'm going to find Vater."
The boy began walking away, nose in the air, as though he knew where he was going. Germania watched for a moment as the child labored under the weight of his little brother, before shaking his head. It really did look tiring for him. So, Germania picked up the cloak of his lost lover, and followed after the boy.
"Do you know anything about your Vater?" he asked.
The boy began huffing, apparently a baby weighed more than Germania had imagined, but the boy stubbornly went on. "She told me that he was very strong and kind."
"Kind?" Germania questioned disbelievingly.
"Yes," the boy snapped, apparently offended for his father's sake. "She said he was the strongest and bestest man in the whole world!... Bruder, you're getting fat!" the boy complained.
Smirking, despite his weeping heart, Germania stopped the boy and held out his hand. "I can carry your brother."
"Nein!" the albino growled. "Mutti said that I have to look after him!"
"And you can look at him while I carry him," Germania reasoned. "We're both going to the same place. Here, you can carry your Mutter's cloak, I'll carry the baby."
The older boy looked suspicious, but his stern glare was lessened greatly as he tried to keep hold of his slipping brother. "Okay," he relented. "But you better be nice to Bruder or I'll have to do something bad to you."
This was definitely Rugii's son; making threats even though it was clear that he was in no position to be doing so. Germania almost snorted, but managed to stop himself. Instead, he busied himself with collecting the younger child from the older while reluctantly handing over Rugii's cloak to her son.
In all honesty, Germania could have probably carried even the small pack that the albino was lugging around—just how the small rabbit had been able to carry a pack, heavy cloak, and a baby brother, Germania couldn't fathom— but the boy seemed prideful, so the older man let the boy carry everything he had been, minus his brother, and allowed the child to walk. In the back of his mind, Germania already agreed to himself that he'd carry the older boy too if it became apparent that he was too tired.
The moment the little blonde was in his arms, however, Germania felt…strange. It was almost like a spark shocked him the moment his hands were on the baby. Startled, the older blonde's first reaction was to let go of the source that caused him pain, but he bit the inside of his mouth to keep from dropping the baby. But Germania wasn't the only one that seemed uncomfortable with the situation, because the tiny infant instantly started squirming and whining.
Becoming increasingly uneasy, Germania looked over at the older boy to find the little albino glaring at him. "You need to be nice to Bruder," the child stated again, much more seriously this time.
"I haven't done anything," the older man defended himself, trying to settle the little thing against his shoulder like he had seen mothers do when carrying away their sleepy children…Though modeling himself after a mother really discouraged Germania.
The little boy eyed him like a parent not quite trusting what their child was telling them, but eventually nodded. "Well, okay, but you need to make sure he's comfortable. He didn't sleep well last night because he was scared."
With that information disclosed, Germania nodded solemnly. And with that, they began walking again. The baby squirmed in his sleep for several minutes before he seemed to get comfortable. Once he found his spot, the baby let out a contented sigh and snuggled up closer to Germania's neck. The older man found his face heating up at the affectionate manner, and he glanced over at the other boy, and found the albino smiling up at him. That didn't help the heat on Germania's face.
"Bruder seems to really like you," the other said happily. "He's never been around anyone but me and Mutti. There were a couple people that came by our old house a few times, but Mutti always sent me and Bruder in doors. I had to take care of Bruder and make sure that he stayed quiet while Mutti went to talk to the men. They never stayed long, but once I talked to a guy," the albino said proudly, as though talking to a human was a big accomplishment. "Bruder didn't though 'cause he can't really talk much yet."
And so the journey began. Germania walked on with the two children while the older one chattered away about anything and everything that came to his mind. It wasn't long before Germania tired from the boy's ceaseless babbling, and soon his mind began to wander. His first thoughts went to Rugii and her two children. Why had she run away from him? Why had she not told him about her situation? If she had not really loved him, why did she come back to him that one night? Didn't she know he loved her?
He wanted to ask the boy about his father again, but at the moment, Germania wasn't sure he could stomach any news of the man that had stolen his lover. Just the thought of the other man made the territory's blood boil. But just as he was slipping into darker thoughts, the baby leaning over his shoulder decided to squirm again. Germania shifted the little thing in his arms, and in response, the baby wrapped his pudgy little arms around the man's neck as best as he could, causing the usually stern nation to blush slightly again.
It was in that instant that Germania realized his little orator had stopped speaking. Glancing down at the albino, he found the boy smiling. "Bruder really must like you," the child said again.
Germania gave a grunt in reply. "I suppose."
"I like you too," the boy said suddenly, surprising Germania considerably. "When I find Father, I hope that you two like each other too."
Any possible warmth that Germania had had at the boy's words was stopped cold at remembering the children's father. The man that had stolen his Rugii. "Maybe," he said quietly, his voice holding a cold edge to it.
But like most children, the little one beside Germania didn't seem to notice that his words had any particular affect over the man, and he seemed oblivious to the older nation's tone. "Ja, I'm sure that Vater will be very happy when he sees us. And he'll probably be very happy that you helped us. I'll tell him that you helped us."
"Please," Germania muttered, all the while shifting the baby, who seemed to be waking up, in his arms. "You don't have to do that."
"But that wouldn't be right if I didn't mention you!" the boy protested. "Mutti always told me not to listen or trust strangers, but you're different, and I like you. And Mutti also said that if I liked someone that I should see if I could trust them, and I know I can trust you. And since I trust you, that makes us friends." Germania almost stopped walking at those words, even as the baby kept squirmed fitfully, but the albino didn't seem to notice this either. "And since we're friends, I can't just not talk about you, especially when I meet my Vater."
Was the child really this naïve? Sure, it was heartwarming, pleasant even, to know that this little one liked him enough to call him friend, but at the same time, Germania wasn't sure if he should let the boy delude himself with fantasies like this. While the older German could not lie to himself and had to admit that being around children wasn't as bad as he'd thought, he still did not want to be friends. In fact, he did not want to see either boy ever again if he could help it. The only reason he was even tolerating them was to honor the last wish and memory of the woman he had loved. Despite her being unfaithful to him, Germania was an honorable man, and he knew he could never truly hate her, just her actions, and he could not stand the idea of leaving these two little things, the last connections Rugii had on the earth, alone without protection. He was doing this for her.
But the question that had been burning in Germania's mind for the past hour finally rose to his lips, and before he could stop himself, he glanced down at the little chatterer questioningly. "And do you even know your father's name?"
The albino beside him scoffed loudly. Such audacity in one so young! "Well, of course I know my Vater's name," he rolled his eyes.
Germania tried to listen closely, but the baby kept moving about, and it was starting to annoy him. So while the little rabbit continued on about how stupid it would be to not know your own father's name, or something like that, the man tried his best to calm the baby down. In the end, it seemed the littlest one was awake for good and did not like the situation he was in. The tiny blonde ended up pulling Germania's hair. Hard.
Wincing, the nation had to bite his lip to keep from growling, and out of annoyance, pulled the child away from his body to hold him out a bit to glare at him. A good glare would teach the little runt just who he was messing with, but when he saw the face of the child, all plans to scare the infant failed instantly.
This time, Germania did stop walking completely as he stared into the little face before him. What he saw was a child with pale golden hair, which he just realized was close to his own color. The baby's face was pale, but not quite as white as his brother's, and unlike his older brother, this boy seemed to have already perfected his glare. What really stood out, however, were the child's icy blue eyes, eyes so cold that they could freeze anyone that looked into them for too long. Just as the albino boy stood for everything Rugii had been this little one had a striking resemblance to someone Germania was quite familiar with, and it terrified him.
The older child kept walking on, not noticing yet that his guide had stopped, all the while talking. But it was the last thing he said that stopped Germania's heart. "—and Mutti said he had hair like Bruder's and that his name was Germania."
And if the albino's words weren't enough to doom the man, the baby in his arms stared at him unflinchingly, completely unnerving the man, before pointing one chubby little finger at him. "Vati." It was not a question, not a plea; it was a statement, a declaration.
The whole world suddenly seemed very wrong, and it almost felt as though the ground had been pulled out from Germania's feet. All the air rushed out of the big nation's chest like water through the crack of a bowl. None of this made sense, yet it all fit together to complete the puzzle he had been mentally working on for an hour now.
Him? He was the father to these children? Him? That was impossible! Rugii had run off on him…but it all made sense. She must have run when she found out that she was pregnant with the oldest boy, and all those years he had not seen her, she was caring for the boy. And the youngest? He would have had to have been conceived that one night Rugii had come back to him. But why hadn't she told him? Did she really think that he would outright kill the children?
…Would he have? The question made Germania feel sick, disgusted, but it was truly thought provoking. Would he have killed Rugii's sons? His sons? He had loved Rugii, certainly, had always wanted to keep her near to him, protect her, so if he had found out that she was pregnant, would he have killed the baby? They would not have known whose replacement the first boy would be until several years after he was born, but even before then, would Germania have let the little albino live? He knew it would have been hardto let the boy live, especially if it risked himself or Rugii.
But the question of the oldest child was now obsolete. The fact was that he had been born to replace Rugii, and Rugii had finally faded away. The boy had to live to carry on in his mother's lands. Germania knew that he would let the boy live. The real question now was would he let this littlest one, his replacement, carry on, even as those icy eyes burned into him?
Author's Note: So…this is an idea I came up with after falling in love with the "Chibi Prussia Diaries" by Arkham-Insanity on deviantart and also reading an adorable fic, called "Keep Him" by DA4TheFunOfIt on here. ^^ This story, however is not in that "universe" and is not connected to it, though I still really like the other two. ^^ I just thought I'd give some credit to what inspired me. After seeing these I desperately wanted to make my own "Germania's a father" story.
History: Rugii was an old territory in Germania and was positioned where Prussia would have been. The people from this area liked to wander and eventually dispersed across to what would be central Germany. For the sake of this story, because her people started to all wander away, a new territory, a little thing known to us as ancient Prussia, came in.
And for everyone out there: the GERMANS were TALLER than the ROMANS! Therefore, in this, Germania will be taller than Rome. That's fact! There are accounts from Romans about how HUGE the Germans were. Imagine, Italians at about 5'6" to some of the Germans 6'5".
'Nother Author's Note: I couldn't find too much information about Rugii other than its location and that its people eventually all moved away into what would be Germany, but that was enough for this fic, I think. ^^ I made her more like Prussia (or rather, Prussia's more like her) for the simple fact that he took up her lands, and if HRE/Germany is almost exactly like Germania, then why can't Prussia be exactly like the other parent? My line of thinking. ^^
And as not to confuse anyone, yes, I did make Rugii blonde and blue, but extremely close to being an albino. I like Prussia being "unique" in his looks, though he does look more like his mother than father. *shrug* I thought that would be cute. Anywho, leave me a review if you liked anything about this. Thanks! :D