You sat quietly in your chair, trying not to show just how freaked out you were. The world was facing an alien attack, and all these idiots wanted to do was argue?! What about all the people and countries out there who, unlike these big, strong nations, actually needed help?! Like you, for example. The only reason you were even here was because your country was the richest in the world; you had no military, not much land, and no real resources to speak of, unless farm crops and textiles were supposed to save you from alien invaders who wanted to destroy your way of life and assimilate you into their culture.
"H-Hey guys-" you tried to interrupt, but everyone, England and France in particular, were just too far gone to hear your quiet voice. "Please listen to me!" you cried to their deaf ears. Looking, over at Canada, you saw him smiling, as he always did, and realized that even he couldn't comprehend the true gravity of this situation.
Turning desperately to a fuming Germany, who was sure to explode at any moment, you flinched back in preparation. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" he exploded, "WHILE YOU SIT HERE AND ARGUE ABOUT NOTHING, MORE OF MANKIND ARE TURNING INTO THOSE NOPPERA OR PICTONIANS OR WHATEVER THEY'RE CALLED! NOW LISTEN. IF WE HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO THOSE THINGS, WE'LL LOSE OUR FACES SO WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE ANY OF US FROM THE OTHER. THINK ABOUT IT YOU DUMMKOPFS!"
Your eyes widened. He'd just summed up the situation perfectly, but no one else was even listening. You wanted to say you'd heard, and agreed wholeheartedly with his views, but the deafening noise forced you to watch as the fire drained out of his eyes and he sighed in defeat. "Alright then. I'm done here. I don't know why I even thought that we could have a simple discussion. That's not how we work, is it? What a waste. This entire meeting has been pointless. I will do what I have to do and you do what you have to." With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
"That's exactly what I was going to say," Russia smiled, following the German.
"There's too much fighting together to figure out if we should even fight together anyway," China sighed.
"I am far too gorgeous to have been in a stuffy room for so long," France purred, flipping his hair behind his shoulder.
"I am far too gorgeous to- SHUT UP FRANCE!" England fumed.
"Ha ha ha ha! I was just trying to help! I don't need you guys, I'm the hero!" America exclaimed.
"Ah. My berry. It hurts," Japan moaned.
"Huh? Hey, wait up you guys! Come on, don't leave me here by myself!" Italy cried, running out of the room after everybody else. He didn't even notice you or Canada.
"I'm still here. And I hate to complain, but no one even bothered to ask my opinion," Canada whispered, clutching his polar bear Kumajirou.
"Who are you?" said bear inquired in his high-pitched voice.
"I'm Canada," came the automatic answer to the often-asked question. They both got up and left, leaving you alone with the poor maids, who were already beginning to sweep away the wreckage of the countries' fights.
You stared out at the empty hall for a long time after everyone had left in shock. How was it going to help any of you fight the Pictonians by arguing?! Your country needed an ally in this battle- this meeting was your only hope! Now, your death was imminent. Your people were all going to die, and it would be your fault for not being able to protect them. You were such a failure as a nation.
Shaking, you put your head down on the table and started to cry. There was nothing you could do now; the Pictonians would be here any day and you would just have to wait for them to come and kill you and all your innocent people, who, thanks to you and your inability to calm the other nations, never even stood a chance.
So absorbed were you in your feelings of hopelessness, that you didn't even realize someone had come back in the room until they poked you on the shoulder. "Frau? What are you still doing here; the meeting ended." A deep German voice asked.
You lifted your head to look at Germany. He took a step back, eyes widening as they took in your tears. "Wh-what's wrong?" You looked back down at the table, not wanting to involve him in your personal problems, but he just sighed and sat down next to you. "Look… I'm not very good at dealing with crying girls, but if you wanted to tell me what's wrong... perhaps I could help you?
Quickly, your eyes flicked to him. He was the last person you expected to offer to help you; he would most likely already be taking care of Italy, he didn't need to aid you, too. But still…
"I'm going to die," you whispered desolately, voice cracking.
"What? Why?" he asked, alarmed.
"My country has no military, and all you guys are fighting by yourselves. I have no way of protecting myself, so me and all my people are going to die."
"I see…" He paused. "That is a problem."
You nodded.
He stared at you, seeming to be sizing up the situation. Finally, he stated, "Well, I suppose I can't be responsible for your death and the death of your entire race… I'll help you."
Your head shot up so fast you got whiplash, which you ignored. "What? Why? Don't you already have to take care of Ital-"
"I can take care of both of you at once. We simply have to move your people over to my home; (c/n) is close to Germany, is it not?"
"Well yeah, but you really don't have to-"
"I know I don't. I want to, though. And besides, you need my assistance. I couldn't call myself a man if I left a woman to suffer on her own."
A violent blush blossomed across your face at that; no one had said anything like that to you before. Suddenly, you felt all warm inside, as if it was all you'd ever wanted to hear him say something like that to you. "Th-thank you, then. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you, though. All my country's wealth wouldn't be enough to-"
"I don't expect payment."
"What? But why would you help me unless you wanted something in return?" you asked, confused.
"As I said, I'm doing this because I want to. I'm not cruel enough to charge you for something I can provide for free."
There were no words to describe your shock; never in all your years as a country had someone offered you assistance without expecting money or trade in return. You were skeptical, but had no choice but to accept.
"Thank you even more, then," you smiled softly, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, "I can't tell you how much this means to me."
His blue eyes became fascinated with one of the opulent paintings on the wall. "It's no trouble. I'm sure you would do the same."
Not knowing how to respond to his kindness, you simply got up, and pulled out your cell phone. "I'll call my boss, then, and tell him to calmly evacuate everyone to Germany. We've only got a few thousand people; it shouldn't be much of an intrusion, I hope."
"You do that. I'll be in the lobby waiting for our plane to arrive," he said.
"Our… plane? I'm coming too?"
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Well I don't… I just thought… I don't know."
"Then it's settled. You have about…" He looked at his watch, "Exactly fifteen minutes to work things out with your boss. There are no cell phones allowed on the plane."
You nodded, and dialedthe number. "Hello?" he answered.
"Hey, it's (c/n)," you said, "I need you to listen to me very carefully."
"What's wrong? Are we in danger?" he asked.
"Yes. No. Kind of. Listen, I need to you calmly evacuate everyone to Germany. I'm here with him, and he's agreed to shelter us until... a threat has passed."
"Why? Does he expect something in return? We can't-"
"He doesn't. I told him we needed protection, and he offered it free of charge."
"But-"
"I know it's unusual, but trust me, we have no choice. Tell everyone they need to make it to Germany over the next few hours. Prepare planes for everyone, and don't charge anyone for them. Tell them to bring along only their most important things; they'll be back home before they know it."
"Why? What could be so bad that I'd need to evacuate the whole country to Germany? Do you know what he- what they did during World War II?"
His prejudice madeyou red with anger. "That was almost a hundred years ago! And it wasn't even his fault! You need to let go of the past, please; you aren't a country, you can't see how much it hurts, but it does! It really hurts me, and him, and everyone when our people hold grudges. He's not who you think he is, sir; he's going to protect us. There are aliens coming- we've confirmed it- and they're going to be attacking. No place on Earth is really safe, but I'd rather be in Germany than be a sitting duck on an island with no military to help us."
There was silence on the other line, then finally, your boss muttered, "Okay fine. I'll tell everyone. But if he turns out to be-"
"He won't. I'm 100% positive he won't. But if he does, I'll accept full responsibility for anything that happens."
"I'll hold you to that." He hung up.
"We have to go, (c/n)," Germany poked his head back in the room.
"M'kay. I'll go get my bags." Thankfully, you were planning to leave today, too, so all your bags were packed and prepared for a long trip.
"Did things go well with your boss?" he asked, "You sounded like you were getting upset."
You sighed. "I managed to convince him, but he seems to think you'll kill us all if you go the chance. I don't think he understands that we can't and won't accept responsibility for every bad decision our bosses make."
He looked surprised. "You don't think it was my fault?" Both of you knew what was meant.
"That would be ignorant of me. I've done my homework; I know they kept you in the dark about it. There was nothing you could have done, and anyone who's actually bothered to learn about it would say the same." You said in an end-of-subject tone.
He just nodded, and remained quiet. "Danke, (c/n)," he said at last.
"Call me (f/n), it's easier," you replied, "And I really hate being called (c/n) anyway."
"Alright, (f/n). You can call me Ludwig then, if you'd like."
"'Kay. Ludwig."
The plane ride to Germany wasn't terribly long; Ludwig read the entire way. Or at least, that was what you thought happened. You sort of fell asleep halfway through while listening to your mp3 player, and when you woke up, t was because he was nudging your shoulder and telling you you'd arrived.
It was another two-hour drive to his house; you slept for that, too. It might have had something to do with the fact that everyone in your country was probably sitting on a plane right now, and probably had been for hours. Their exhaustion must have been rubbing off on you.
The next time you woke up, it was morning, with rays of sun making patterns on the wall through a large window and a few small birds chirping into the cool, peaceful air. You were on a bed in a nest of soft, billowy blankets. Blinking your eyes a few times to wake up, you stuck a hand outside the nest to feel the air, and immediately shoved it back under the covers. Freezing!
You sat in bed for another few minutes and mentally went over the previous day's events. Aliens were coming to Earth, Germany had offered to protect your country, and now, you could assume, you were waking up in one of his guest rooms.
You faced the icy air, stretching your tired muscles. The cold stabbed at your skin, but you pulled a blanket over your shoulders and blocked it.
Slowly, you made your way downstairs. It wasn't too hard to navigate through his house, thankfully, but it was so quiet inside it seemed like a horror movie to you even in the bright sun.
The kitchen was very clean; immaculate, even. Not a fork or knife was out of place, which made the white slip of paper placed haphazardly on the kitchen table even more noticeable. You weren't sure if it was for you or someone else, but you figured if Ludwig had to tell you something and you ignored the note, it would be almost worse. You peeked at the top. Your name was there.
"(F/n)," the note read, "America called and said the Pictonians have already taken over his home. I had to go with my army and protect mine. Your people got here safely; they're staying in hotels on the coast. You are to remain at my house until I return- by tomorrow at the latest. Under no circumstances may you leave. I can't guarantee your safety if you do. -Ludwig"
You looked in the corner for the note, hoping the date and time would be there. There was none, but you guessed it was only written a few hours ago. 'I guess I'll just have to wait here then,' you thought, plopping into a chair. He hadn't mentioned food, and you didn't really want to mess up his perfect kitchen, but you were hungry and needed to eat.
After walking aimlessly around the large kitchen for what felt like hours, you finally managed to find the bread and butter, and figured out how to work his toaster. After you'd made and ate your entire breakfast, you located a dishrag and cleaned up all the surfaces you'd used, as well as the plate and utensils. Everything was just as clean as you'd found it.
The rest of the day, you tried to find ways to entertain yourself. The TV channels and all the books were only in German, except for a couple in Italian and Japanese, and one English dictionary sitting dusty in the corner. You searched for something else.
Finally, you found a few pencils and some blank copy paper in a cabinet in the kitchen. Sitting down at the table, you proceeded to draw for the rest of the day while listening to German music on the radio. You drew all the people you knew; all the countries, and some of your closest friends from (c/n). The pictures weren't the best, in your opinion, but they weren't the worst, either.
That night, you went to sleep early in order to relieve some of the boredom. As you laid in your nest of blankets for the second time, you found your stomach inexplicably fluttering at the thought of Ludwig's return tomorrow. 'What's wrong with me today?' you asked yourself incredulously, 'Why am I so excited.'
~Timeskip~
The next morning, you ate some breakfast, but, instead of drawing the day away like you had yesterday, you sat down on the living room sofa and attempted in vain to translate some German TV while you waited for him to get back.
The TV ran for hours; as the day pressed on you grew more and more worried. Why hadn't he returned you? If he was defeated, who would protect you? But for some reason, there was another feeling there; one you couldn't put a name to. It was similar to the one you'd felt back in the meeting room, and the one that'd attacked you last night, but this time it was more negative. You ignored it, deciding you had bigger things to worry about besides whatever it was.
At ten o'clock at night, though, it suddenly hit you he wasn't coming back. He must have been dead, or at the very least defeated and held hostage. Curling up in a ball, you let warm, salty tears stream down your face; for yourself, for him, for your planet, which was certainly doomed. You'd never even gotten to say goodbye.
'There might still be hope,' hope, you thought. 'Perhaps there's a delay, or he's still out fighting. Maybe there was some way I can help him!' You may not have been the strongest country, but one didn't become this rich by being stupid; there must be something you could do.
You made up your mind, and immediately set about packing some essentials. Enough food for a few days, an extra set of clothes, necessary hygiene materials, three refillable water bottles, and a couple super-sharp kitchen knives wrapped in rags (just in case) found their way into one of your carry-on bags.
Using your phone's GPS to discover the nearest town was only a couple miles away, you decided it would be pointless to drive, that you might as well get some exercise.
At the nearest ATM, you transferred some money into your account from your country's emergency supply, and got about $1,000 US dollars of it in cash. The money stack went into your bag, which was quickly becoming a black hole of clothes and supplies.
You found the nearest airport, but it was closed. A white sign adorned with firetruck red lettering said something important in German; judging by the fact that the word "Pictonians" was used, it had something to do with the impending alien attack.
'Maybe he's still in Germany,' you thought hopefully. Just to be safe, you'd go get the car and drive to whatever the Internet said was the largest German military base.
Three hours later, you found the base deserted in a world of white. It was like some kind of strange snow had covered everything; wavy lines replaced smooth ones, and everything was varying shades of white and light grey. It matched the picture of the Pictonian's work exactly.
All Ludwig's tanks were changed to match this snow-like appearance; rendered useless by the alien warfare. It terrified you to see them, but what terrified you more was the fact that there wasn't a single soul to be found on the whole base. The air was unnaturally quiet.
Suddenly, an elliptical shadow was cast over your head. Your head shot up to face what you assumed to be the Pictonian mothership; at least a hundred times larger than the plethora of little ships that were terrorizing the Earth last you checked. You watched in horrified anticipation as the smooth, white structure traveled across your line of sight, passed over your head, and, strangely, came to a complete stop just a mile or two from where you stood.
You sprinted to where it paused, not stopping to see if it was even going to descend. "Please don't let me be too late," you gasped.
When you finally came to the perfect white spaceship, you pulled a knife out of your bag almost instinctually. Thousands, maybe even millions of the strange alien things were being boarded onto the ship, while the G8, minus Canada and including China, looked on with expressions that told you those "aliens" were actually anything but.
Italy started jumping around excitedly, and pulled a box of weird white suits seemingly out of nowhere. They all donned the outfits grudgingly, making you snicker at their ridiculousness. They, too, boarded the ship, and you were left alone.
Not particularly wanting to be the only one left on the ground, you snagged one of the extra Pictonian suits and entered the ship yourself at the last second, taking great care to hide from your country friends. Something told you Ludwig would throw a fit if he saw you here, although you weren't quite sure why you thought or assumed he would care. Still, you didn't want to take chances.
Once you saw them draw straws and separate, you finally came out of your hiding place and assessed your surroundings. It didn't look like physical strength would be much use in a place like this; there wasn't much to break. No, intelligence was the way to get through this death labyrinth, thank goodness. Maybe about half the G8 had good heads on their shoulders, and the other half weren't that stupid. You yourself were smart enough to navigate, or so you hoped.
'For starters, I should figure out if anyone is aware of my presence on this ship,' you thought, switching your thoughts into "spy" mode. 'Then I can start looking for their information files and try to find out their weakness.'
It took you about five seconds to realize that none of the Pictonians could even tell you were different from them, despite the large knife protruding obviously from one of the pockets Italy had thoughtfully sewed into the costume, then another five seconds to decide that if any country had seen you, he would have said something about it. You were invisible, and that was both relieving and terrifying.
Not one to dwell on difficult situations, you took off to find the information room. All in all, it took about fifteen minutes, and, once there, you passed England and France multiple times in the room without them noticing, which only added to your feelings of invisibility.
You soon found out, however, that it didn't matter if neither of them were paying the slightest attention; the Pictonians had no weaknesses on file, anyway. No warnings against some strange form of behavior, no list of toxic plants or substances, no scientific journals claiming they'd found a cure for a deadly disease. It seemed they were indestructible.
You wanted to continue searching, but at that very second an alarm blared across the room, the sound vibrating heavily against your eardrums. Within seconds, you'd taken off down the halls at top speed, joining the sea of white heading towards what you saw to be a dead end.
Suddenly, you heard the sounds of yelling coming from who you assumed must be the Allies. You grew pale.
Soon, the Axis started screaming from inside the ceiling, and finally fell from the roof. It took everything you had to remain hidden in the crowd and not run to Ludwig to make sure he was okay. As it was, a few tears slipped down your cheeks. 'Why do I care so much?' you thought angrily, 'I hardly even know him!'
Finally, Japan spoke up, but you were too far back to hear any specific words. All you knew was that in five seconds, everyone was whisked into a Chinatown, which had apparently been built on the spot. You found a seat close to the G8, but you were too afraid of what might happen if you tried to catch one of their attention. Now that you were here, and were constantly at risk of being discovered, you were so terrified you could hardly breathe. But no matter how many times you tried to catch one of their eyes, they were always focused on something else.
Finally, China addressed the Pictonians to ask if they were enjoying themselves. The answer was a resounding, "We don't know." Somehow, that scared you more than any negative one they could have given.
France was next. His setup was lavish and clean, with gourmet food for everyone. You were already stuffed, since your stomach wasn't very large, but you forced yourself to keep eating to add to your uniformity with the group.
Again, the Pictonians didn't know if they were enjoying themselves.
Next up was Ludwig; to your surprise, he was giving them beer. Or trying to, anyway. His resolve didn't seem to be strong enough. You had to try so hard to keep from laughing, you had to wonder if the stress of this situation was making you insane.
America followed Ludwig's failed attempt, offering some form of a casino. You sat in a corner and watched silently as they Pictonians were slowly sucked into the black hole of gambling. They seemed to be enjoying themselves so much, though, that you were actually a little surprised this time when they said "We don't know".
Lastly, Japan showed them how to Bon dance; it was probably the most fun event for you, despite the fact that you were getting more and more terrified the longer these events went on. What was the point of waiting this long?! True, the Pictonians seemed to be honestly enjoying themselves now; however, which did assuage your fears a little...
… but then a bunch of little blue bags were passed out. The second you opened one, you knew that there was no longer any hope, that you all might as well have been dead already. What in the world could have possessed them to hand out England's scones?!
Slowly, you made your way to the edge of the crowd of now-angry aliens, and walked over to the G8. They were all listening in horrified shock at the chorus of "Seriously?"s that had overtaken everyone. You agreed with the aliens, for once.
Quickly and without warning, the white, angry aliens advanced on them as a single white tidal wave, dragging you along in their current. You allowed them to push you to the very front, over the edge of the space ship, and into the crashing ocean waves alongside the other countries. But even as you fell- possibly to your death- you knew you'd rather be anywhere with your them than safe and sound on an enemy ship full of tyrannical invaders. You'd made the right choice.
By the time you surfaced, everyone in the water was already unconscious, but, being an island, you were used to it. Technically, England and Japan should have been able to float easily in the waves as well, but you supposed neither had swam in the ocean in a long time, being the "modernized" countries they were.
Once the Pictonians' shooting stopped, you opened your eyes fully and immediately spotted an island not fifty yards away. You grabbed the two countries nearest to you- France and America- and slowly brought them to shore. The next trip saved England and China, who ended up in a very different spot than their predecessors, thanks to the dark currents confusing any sense of direction you may have had.
Russia and Japan followed, also ending up somewhere different, then Italy was brought ashore.
At first, you couldn't find Ludwig in the crashing wave. Your heart started pounding and your eyes grew wide at the thought that you might have lost him, of all people. Searching desperately, you called his name until your voice was hoarse, but to no avail. Flailing through the water, you looked and looked until finally, after what felt like almost an eternity, you found him and brought him to land.
Not wanting to be spotted in case he'd get mad at you for leaving the house against his direct orders, you fled into the forest and slept in a tree until morning.
~Timeskip~
You awoke to the vibration of something or someone leaning against your tree. You peered down through the green leaves. Ludwig. Looking around you using your aerial view, you spotted a glimmer of light in the distance. Maybe it would lead somewhere safer?
'Here goes nothing,' you thought, sucking in your breath and jumping down from the tree into a pile of crunchy leaves. You winced, expecting him to yell at you, but he'd already moved away. 'Is he that dazed?' you wondered worriedly, 'Normally he'd never ignore a noise that loud.'
As he walked on, you found ways to lead him in the general direction of the light. A small nudge there, a poke with a stick there. He didn't seem to notice.
Finally, he was close enough to see the light and began stumbling through the forest to reach it. Running ahead of him,, you saw it was only Italy, cooking pasta. It was the right decision to lead him here.
Ludwig, along with the rest of the G8, who had, thankfully, found there way to Italy as well, sat down around the fire and ate pasta, faces gleaming with gratitude. You longed to join them, but would be hard-pressed to explain yourself if they saw you. Ludwig was revived now; he would certainly acknowledge your presence.
Sealand, miraculously, showed up at the island not long after they'd finished. You frowned,wishing he could only have come a few hours earlier. Then maybe you wouldn't have had to drag everyone onto this island by yourself…
Eventually, Italy fell asleep, and the rest of the countries began mumbling about more serious things too quietly for you to hear. Once again you wished desperately you could join them.
To your dismay, though, you noticed the Pictonians' ship coming closer in the distance; much sooner than you'd anticipated. Within minutes they'd be right on top of you.
You looked on in horror as Sealand, who you'd always respected, even if you weren't important enough to acknowledge him, ran his country right to the ship, and was immediately transformed into one of those horrible white things.
As the ship came closer and closer, the tension built and built until, all of a sudden, a dash of brown darted into the forest, with Italy rushing after it, screaming. 'What the...' you thought, eyes following his movements.
Soon, a battle had begun. Everyone was doing as best they could on their own, but you had to say Russia, Ludwig, and America were faring the best. No surprise there.
But there was strength in numbers, and the Pictonians, unfortunately, had much more of those. Alfred and Russia were soon hit, and you watched as them, along with the rest of G8, slowly were turned whiter and whiter.
Ludwig continued to fight valiantly for a few more seconds after everyone else, but was bested when three Pictonians jumped on him at once. He didn't even stand a chance.
"Italy, smile!" he yelled with his last breaths as a human. When the Italian started crying harder from his place in the bushes, he just pleaded, "Please, Italy, you have to smile!"
The thought of him turning into one of them was too much for you to bear. Your head and heart were pounding with fear and adrenaline; your vision was almost blurry from it. Before you even knew what you were doing, you were screaming "NO!" right along with Italy, and sprinting through the uniform body of Pictonians to his unconscious, now-pure-white body. "No, Ludwig, you can't become like them!" you sobbed, kneeling down, "You have to wake up!"
You cried so hard that you didn't notice as some strange kind of singing filled the air. You didn't even notice when one lone alien came up behind you, and you hardly even felt it when he hit you straight in the back with a flash of green light…
~Ludwig's POV~
The next thing I knew after being hit, I was waking up to the sight of all the Allies, Italy, and Japan staring at me. "Hey, what's happening to Germany?" one asked.
"And who's that girl? She just ran out and started crying until they got her, too!" My eyes flashed open. Who would be stupid enough to-
I looked down at the ground next to me. Ah, (f/n). That made a little more sens- WAIT WHAT?! DIDN'T I TELL HER TO STAY IN THE HOUSE?!
"Germany, you're awake! Who's the ragazza? She has one of my Pictonian suits, and she knows you!" exclaimed Italy.
"Why is she still white?" I asked, staring down at her. She had some serious explaining to do when she turned back.
"I don't know what her face looks like, and I don't want to draw something horrible and have her end up deformed or something! I don't know if they only reason you guys turned out okay was because I could draw your faces okay! So I was waiting for you to wake up so you could draw her face!" he explained rapidly.
"Italy, you know I can't draw-"
"But Germany you have to! I don't want to mess it up! Please, for her; so she doesn't end up deformed?"
I looked from him, to (f/n), and back to him, deliberating the situation. "Okay fine," I relented, "Give me something to draw with."
He handed me a felt-tipped pen, and I stared at her blank face. "Italy, go stand over there with the others. I really don't want anyone to see this," I muttered, blushing. Something about this seemed like such an invasion of privacy; I didn't even know why.
"Ve~ Okay, Germany! Imma go talk to that pretty Pictonian lady over there!" he said. I barely heard, I was already hard at work trying to remember everything about her features I could. Pretty (e/c) eyes that had so many expressions, an amazing smile, the most perfect happy expression… what was I thinking?! The way I talked about her made it sound-
"Huh?" she woke up, a few tears, probably from before her transformation, streaming down her face. "What's happening? I was just… and now… L-Ludwig?" Her pretty (e/c) eyes widened. "But how-"
"Italy saved us, I think, by giving us all faces again," I explained, helping her on her shaky feet.
"I see…" She laughed awkwardly and looked nervously at me.
"Germany I need to have the marker back for the Pictonian spokesperso-" Italy interrupted.
I threw the marker at him. "Take it," I said.
"Okay but don't you want to talk to her-"
"I'm busy right now, Italy," I looked down angrily at (f/n). She winced.
"Okay…" I heard him walk away.
"Now… WHY DIDN'T YOU STAY IN THE HOUSE LIKE I TOLD YOU TO?! I TOLD YOU I WOULD PROTECT YOU BUT THEN YOU JUST GO OUT AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO SURVIVE THIS!" I yelled.
"I'm sorry! But I wouldn't have had to leave if you'd just come back when you said you would!" she cried.
"That's not an excuse!" I lowered my voice. "You wanted to live, so I was giving you a chance to live. You didn't have to come here; we could have made it on our own."
Her expression turned smug, but weirdly indignant. "Excuse you! Without me, you'd all be floating out in the middle of the ocean! I was there on the ship with you the whole time; you could have seen me if you wanted to! And you guys were so useless you might as well have been dead from the second you entered the water! If I hadn't been able to swim really well, the entire world would be doomed right now!"
"You brought us all to this island?" I deadpanned.
She shrugged. "Yeah,, but I don't really know how I managed it. I think it was all adrenaline, though, because I kind of feel like I'm going to collapse any second now..."
"Do you want to rest? We can find a way out of here while you sleep. Apparently, you deserve it."
"Mm-hm," she said. "Sleep sounds really nice…" She paused, then whispered so quietly I could barely hear, "Sorry I left…"
I sighed. "You're forgiven. You were really that worried, though?"
"... yeah. I don't even know why, but when I saw the Pictonians jump on you, I just got so scared I felt like I might die…"
I blushed. Why did her worrying give me such mixed feeling? "We can talk about this later," I told her firmly, "You need rest; you aren't used to battle."
"Mmm…" Her agreement hardly reached my ears. Was she really that tired? Adrenaline would do that to you, I guessed. She would probably sleep until we got home.
"Italy, you should have asked them for a ride back!" someone yelled from oer by the rest of them.
"Wah! I'm sorry!" he cried, probably pulling out a white flag again.
I think I heard someone yelling in the background for a couple minutes, but then China appeased our fears by mentioning his trade route that would be coming by later today, if it was on schedule.
It was, thankfully, and we all made it home safely. I kept an eye (f/n) the whole way, making sure she didn't wake up and decide to do something stupid again. She didn't wake up; in fact, her eyes never opened until we were almost back to my house.
"Where are we?" she whispered sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She looked so cute- stop it, Ludwig! You don't think of her like that!
"We're ten minutes from my house. You slept the entire way."
"How long?" she asked.
"Fourteen hours, at least. You were very tired."
"I can see that." She looked out at the night sky. "Great. Now I won't be able to sleep tonight."
"I don't think I will, either. We can stay up together, if you want." I suggested, then realized how it sounded. "Uh, I mean, not like that! Just… talk, or something."
"I know what you meant." She sounded like she was smiling. "I've talked to your brother enough times to know what a perv sounds like."
I chuckled. "Ja, I can't vouch for him there."
Her quiet laugh filled the car; I had to admit I liked the sound. "I can't even number the times I've run into him talking up some girl on the street and had to go in and save her. He's even tried to hit on me a couple times."
I stiffened; why did that make me so mad? "Do you… like him?" I asked. Why was I getting so defensive.
She shuddered. "No. Sorry, I know he's your brother and all, but egomaniac is not my type."
"It's fine." I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "That's good." She looked at me inquisitively. "I mean, uh, because he's so bad with women. I don't want you to get hurt like that is all…"
"Oh. Okay, yeah." She sounded… disappointed?
"We're here," I broke the silence that had fallen over us. I was still blushing; I needed to pull myself together!
Once in the house, I asked her if she wanted anything to eat. She nodded eagerly, so I went into my still-clean kitchen to decide what to make...
~Reader's POV~
As you sat on Ludwig's couch, you wondered why he seemed so mad at you still. You'd hoped he would get over your leaving by this point; maybe he hated you now? The very thought made you want to die.
Soon, he came out of the kitchen carrying some form of German food. You ate it in silence, trying to decide how start up a conversation.
He did it for you. "So… I feel like you owe me an explanation."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess I do. What do you want to know?" You tried to sound nonchalant.
"Firstly, why did you leave the house?"
"I was... worried when you didn't come back. I didn't know if you- er, if the world was dead and I was the only one left. I had to do something."
"Alright, fine," he conceded, "I understand that. But why did you board the ship once you saw we were alive? You could have left right then!"
"I wanted to check the information rooms and see if they had any weaknesses on file. It was a good choice, trust me. Sending England and France in together wasn't smart; they were so busy fighting they didn't even notice I was there."
"Dummkopfs! I should have known to split them off the second they drew the same straws!" he muttered angrily. "Alright, next. You said you were on the ship the whole time? Why didn't you try to join us?"
"I did!" you objected, "I spent the whole time trying to catch one of your eyes, but I was terrified of what might happen to every country on board if they found out I wasn't one of them! I sat there the whole time, participating in all your different cultural events, but none of you even noticed!"
He looked at you with a strange expression on his face. "Well I'm sorry about that, but, in our defense, we had a lot on our minds."
"Like not wanting to give up your beer?" you joked, smirking. It had the desired effect; his face turned red.
"That's not the point!" he exclaimed, "Anyway, next question: Why did you jump off the ship with us? You would have been safer onboard."
"I would rather die than be anywhere those things were. But I'm happy I did; without me, you'd be dead."
"You don't think the waves would have pushed us to the island by ourselves?"
Remembering how terrified you were when you couldn't find him in the waves, you shook your head. "N-No… a-actually, I almost couldn't find you at all…" your voice shook.
"How long did you have to look?" he seemed to be getting mad again, for some reason. "How long did you spend in the water?"
"I'm guessing it took half an hour to get everyone besides you. But after I found Italy, I don't even know… it felt like an eternity, I got so scared…"
"You didn't need to spend that long. You could have drowned," he objected.
"I can swim," you replied, then added quietly, "I couldn't let you die…"
"What?"
"I couldn't let you die!" you repeated louder, "I couldn't!"
"Why not?"
You were quiet. "... it hurt to even think about it..."
"I see… last question. Why do you think that is?" he suddenly asked, face dawning with some form of realization.
You looked up, eyes wide. "I-I… I don't know…" But you did know. Why couldn't you stand to see him hurt? Why couldn't you let him die? Why were you so worried about him all the time? You loved him; you loved Ludwig, even though you'd only known him- really known him- for a few days.
"Are you sure?" he asked. You didn't want to respond. "I think you do know." His expression grew more hopeful by the second.
'Why is he choosing now to press this issue?' you thought angrily, mumbling your answer so quietly even you could hardly hear it.
"I couldn't hear you," he informed.
You repeated it a little louder.
"What?"
A little louder.
"I can't hear you."
'I think he's been talking to Italy too much,' you decided. Louder.
"If you don't speak up, I'll have to go make some calls…" he stood up.
"Fine! I like you okay?!" you screamed, shoving your face into a pillow. "You didn't need to force me to say it."
His footsteps grew closer, and finally came to a stop directly in front of your head. You felt his hand on your shoulder, and suddenly he was pulling you back up to a sitting position. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "But I needed to make sure you felt the same before I did this." Before you even had time to process his words, his lips were on yours and your mind went completely blank.
The kiss ended far too soon for your liking, however, and you were forced back into reality when he suddenly pulled away. "Why?" you asked, when you finally regained your speech.
"What?"
"Why? Why me? We've only known each other a few days- officially, anyway- and-"
"I don't know," he replied, cutting you off, "But it happened… maybe that's the reason decided to help you in the first place. M-maybe I've loved you for longer than I realized…" His voice came out stiff and awkward, but you found yourself blushing just the same.
"M-me too," you said, "I think I've… l-loved you for a long time, too."
"Gut," he said.
You smiled, but it froze on your face as you remembered something; something you really shouldn't have forgotten. "M-My people… I-I have to go back with them…"
His own expression went from a soft, joyful smile to a troubled frown. "Well, I certainly don't want to keep you from your home, but I think… I think we'll have to visit each other all the time from now on. Your island is only a half-hour plane ride from my house, isn't it? We have our own planes; we can visit any time we want."
"Yeah!" you exclaimed, "I'll finally have a reason to use my plane for something besides meetings! This'll be fun!"
He chuckled softly, the smile returning to his face. "Ja, it definitely will be…"
~Epilogue~
You smoothed out your dress for the final time in front of the mirror before turning around to look at Seychelles and Hungary. "Do I look okay?" you asked nervously, hands fluttering around your hair; trying to resist the urge to "fix" it.
"Okay?" Hungary exclaimed, "You look amazing… I just can't believe this is actually happening! You're marrying that... idiot's brother. If he ever does anything to you, I swear all you have to do is call me and I'll come beat his-"
"It's fine, I've told you countless times already he's nothing like Prussia," you assured her, laughing along with Seychelles at her intense "hatred" of the albino.
"Yeah, I know, I'm crazy. Just don't expect me to become your sister-in-law anytime soon."
Snickering, you patted her shoulder. "I definitely won't be holding my breath for that one." Secretly, though, you hoped that someday she would finally wake up and admit that she really did love him. You could tell he was waiting for that, too.
"(F/n)?" Belarus peeked around the doorway. Seeing as you only befriended her after you were engaged to Ludwig, she trusted you not to go after Russia; probably the only reason you were still alive right now. She was fiercely protective, but actually a really good friend, when it came right down to it. "They're ready for you; are you nervous?"
You took in a shaky breath. "Yeah, but I'm good as I'm gonna get."
She nodded. "I understand. Someday, when I am doing this with Big Brother, I will be feeling the same way."
"Right…" Chances of that happening were thin, and everyone knew it, but the one thing you just never did was disillusion Belarus. The first strains of "Canon in D" began to play. "Oh my- I've gotta go!"
With your beautiful white dress flowing out behind you, you ran to the hallway just around the corner of the church. Thank goodness you'd decided on flats.
America and England were waiting for you in the foyer. "Come on, let's go!" England pushed you a few yards down the hall, "Now, walk slowly, yeah? The song isn't even close to over, and you don't want to rush things."
You nodded, too worried to speak.
"Dude, you'll be fine. Actually, I think you're doing even better than Germany was. He wouldn't even drink at the party last night; he was so worried about messing this up!" America laughed.
You smiled at the thought. A Germany who wouldn't drink was unthinkable; the fact that he'd do that for you made you feel incredibly warm inside. "Really?" you asked, beginning your slow walk.
"Really," he confirmed, as you turned the corner. You sent him a quick, grateful smile before you turned to face the crowd.
Looking around, you saw everyone sitting in the wooden church pews, turning back to look a now-red-faced you. Italy and Japan were smiling- one grinning from ear to ear, one just softly being happy for his friends- as you walked in time with Austria's beautiful piano playing. They, of course, stood up at the front; Italy was Ludwig's best man, and Japan was his helper, there to do anything the Italian wasn't serious enough to do himself.
In the absence of any real father, you and Ludwig agreed that Prussia would hand you off to him. Hungary knew about this, but accepted it without much of a fight, since even she had to admit he was the most logical choice. She was still going to beat him up later.
Your eyes turned upward, towards the front and center of the sunlit room. You saw him standing next to the priest, looking down at you with his beautiful blue eyes. They caught you in their gaze; you couldn't look away.
It wasn't like a movie or a romance novel; all your fear didn't leave at the sight of him standing there. But you were comforted by his presence, even so far away, knowing that he would never let anything embarrassing happen to you. He was smiling peacefully; it made you want to melt. You smiled back, using every fiber of your being not to break into a sprint into his arms.
Moving about as fast a snail, you made your way up to him. It was probably the longest experience of your life, but, finally, you managed to reach him without speeding up at all.
The priest spoke, starting to say your rights, but you weren't listening. In fact, it almost shocked you when Ludwig suddenly said, "I do."
"... and do you, (f/n), take this man, Ludwig Beilschmidt, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do." You grinned widely.
"Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." In your peripheral vision, you saw him turn from you to Ludwig. "You may kiss the bride."
He leaned in closer to you, taking in your blushing face. You never were much for crowds, and this was no exception. But then, he was kissing you gently, softly, quickly. It ended too soon.
As everyone looked on, he lifted you up bridal-style and carried you out of the church. His expression was happier than you'd ever seen it; happier, even, than the night you'd first confessed. You were sure your face mirrored his.
It was ironic how thankful you were that he'd come back in the room that day; that he'd offered to help you when he could hardly even help himself. It was just a chance meeting, but because of it, both of you had found happiness.