Across the Atlantic

Germany shifted uncomfortably in the back of the yellow taxi as it bumped its way across the road towards the White House. He had called the American after he had already purchased a ticket and was at the airport waiting for his plane at the gate. It was most unlike him to arrive so abruptly without a proper schedule or plan and it showed by the surprise in the American's voice when he had explained the situation to him.

"Whoa, wait, are you serious?" The American had sounded completely taken aback. "You're going to be here in a few hours?"

"Yes, that's right." Germany confirmed for the other nation. Normally, he would have apologized for the inconvenience profusely, but given his present situation he wasn't going to bother wasting either of their time with empty words.

"Um, so I know I'm not always the best at keeping up with world events, but did something bad happen to you? I don't think I saw anything on the news."

"Nein, nothing bad has happened to me. I simply require a bit of your time to answer some questions of mine."

And you will answer me. Germany's tone said without him actually having to say the words.

"Oookay. And we can't do this over the phone because...?"

"Because I would rather speak with you in person. Is that a problem, America?"

He could almost see the young nation waving his hands about in protest. "No, not at all. It's just, well, there was sort of stuff I was supposed to do today at the White House."

"That's fine. I will just meet with you there after you have finished whatever it is you need to do." Germany had told him, trying to keep the American from putting off seeing him.

Silence met his words for a moment, then he heard the bright, cheery voice on the other end say, "Sounds good, man. I'll see ya when you get here then."

The American had hung up after he had said this, not waiting for a reply. Germany had put his phone away with a shrug and boarded his plane for America. Now, with the long plane ride behind him, he was on his way to meet with Alfred at the White House. It was some time later that they managed to pull up to the White House and it took even more time for him to get clearance, but eventually he was allowed inside.

Now, to find America and get down to business.

As it turned out, Germany wouldn't have to wait long before an extremely loud voice echoed off the walls and rung through his ears as it called his name.

"Germany! Hey, Germany! Over here!" America shouted at him, waving his arm in the air and flashing his typical big smile.

The tall German man flushed as several people close by Alfred started staring at him in confusion at what he had just been called. Irritated, he approached the still grinning America who seemed unaware even now of what he had done.

"You should use an indoor voice when speaking to someone inside a building, especially when you're shouting their name, Alfred." Ludwig told him, hoping the not-so-subtle American would pick up what he was talking about. Luckily, it actually seemed to work this time and America began rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Whoops. My bad. I always forget about that."

"Yes, well, try not to let it happen again." Germany reprimanded with a sigh. "Now, are you free to speak or are you still busy?"

America shook his head. "Nah, I told some people you were coming, so I finished what I could and then left the rest for tomorrow. You sounded kinda serious on the phone, so. . ." He shrugged his shoulders, leaving the explanation there.

"Well, I appreciate that. I wouldn't say it's very serious, but I feel there are matter we need to speak about."

The young nation raised an eyebrow but decided not to press him about it now. Instead, he waved his hand and indicated Germany should follow him. They went down the hallway into an empty office room where he assumed Alfred had been working—or slacking—until he arrived. Offering him the chair in front of the desk, America made his way around so that he could plop himself down on a comfortable, black office chair. Stretching his arms before he settled in, his blue eyes locked onto Germany as he started to speak. "So, then, what's with the surprise visit? 'Cause I think this is the first time you've come see me outside of a scheduled visit or a party in, like, ever."

Germany paused to think about that for a moment and was a bit startled to realize he had never really gone out of his way to see the other nation. He reasoned with himself that he saw the American often enough as it was and that he had no real reason to spend time with him outside of work or the occasional party. Pushing down the uneasy feeling that something had already gone wrong before the conversation had begun, Germany decided to get to point. After all, he didn't like wasting time.

"The reason I've come to see you so abruptly is because there's a lot going on in my country and frankly in all of Europe. I assume you are aware of what is going on." Ludwig added, knowing that Alfred wasn't always the best at keeping up with what was happening outside of his own borders.

America nodded firmly, his blue eyes flashing as he recognized a challenge. "Yeah, dude, I know. There's a lot of strain financially and security wise going on right now over at your neck of the woods."

"That's putting it mildly, America, though you are correct." Germany said to him as his expression became firm. "This is why I have flown here to see you because, in spite of you seeming to know what is happening, you haven't come to see me or any of the others for that matter."

The other blond's expression also firmed up at the subtle accusation. "Hey, it's not like I haven't wanted to. I've just been really, really busy recently, you know?"

"No, I don't. As I already stated, I haven't heard a word from you in a long time."

This caused America to shrink a bit, knowing that this part was true. Still, he didn't seem to be backing down. "Okay, let me go down the list for you then." He held up his hand and ticked off each list item on one of his fingers. "There's the fact that my economy isn't doing too well right now, the world economy could crash very soon, I'm in the middle of another terrible election cycle, not to mention that my people have some serious security concerns, and that's not to forget the obligations I have to try to cool down several conflicts all over the world and then there's also—"

"I appreciate all of that, America. I do." Germany interrupted in a strong voice, wanting to get back to the point. "One of my questions actually pertains to your to-do list, actually. Specifically, where are my continents' problems on your list of priorities?"

"Heh, um, what do you mean?" America asked, suddenly looking nervous.

"I mean, out of all of the problems you have, where do I and my fellow European nations rank?"

"Ummm, well. . . "

"Or do you simply not have any intention of helping us out at all?"

Germany let the question leave his mouth as his temper began to get the better of him. Typically, the America he had known would jump at the chance to help someone, regardless of how terrible his ideas could be. His clear hesitation on the matter of helping him out was aggravating to say the least.

"No, dude, that's not it. I do want to help, but. . ."

"Not right now?" Germany finished for him as the pair locked eyes once more. To his surprise, it was America who closed his eyes first and sighed in defeat. "I see. That answers one question then."

An uncomfortable silence hung between them as Germany waited for an explanation. When he realized one was not forthcoming, he cleared his throat and started talking again.

"To be honest with you America, this is the reason why I have come to see you today." The other nation was now looking at him with his head tilted in curiosity. "My politicians have been talking about you and your politicians. It's come up more than once that they feel that you simply don't care about us or Europe anymore." He paused to give America time to deny it or at least argue with him. When he did neither of those things, Germany continued, "This is completely different from the way things were before. Back during the Cold War and even for a time after that, none of us would have doubted that you cared. So, now I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer me honestly."

America nodded his agreement. "Okay, dude, just shoot."

Trying not to cringe at the casual reply, Germany asked, "What's changed between us?"

America nodded again as if he expected the question, but he still remained quiet. He placed a hand under his chin and stared up at the ceiling with his tongue sticking out. He was clearly trying to convey that he was concentrating, but to Ludwig he just looked ridiculous.

The silence stretched out for a few minutes, before he cleared his throat and said, "Well?"

"Don't worry, I'm not ignoring you or anything." America reassured him, still rubbing his chin. "It's just that I want to get this right. It's kinda hard to explain and I want to get this right."

"Yes, well, anything you could think to tell me would be helpful."

America grinned and held up two fingers, almost as if he were making the peace sign. "Then I got two analogies for you that might do the trick. There the best I can think of on the fly, so they'll have to do. You're gonna be listening to me talk for a while though."

"That's fine, America. Just start with your first analogy."

"Okay then. We'll start by thinking of my relationship with you and the rest of Europe as if we were a bunch of close buddies that went to college together." America's grinned widened as Germany looked incredulous. "This will totally make sense if you hear me out, I promise. Anyway, so let's say you, me and the others all went to college together about twenty or thirty years ago. At the time, we all shared pretty similar ideas and we saw each other almost every day. We were a tight knit little group for a while." He steepled his fingers together for emphasis before breaking them apart. "Then, inevitably, we graduated from college. For the first couple years after, we still kept in touch and saw each other every once in a while. But then, I started going off on my own and seeing the world.

"I start meeting new people and getting to see cool, new cultures, which gives me a lot of new ideas. Well, then, all this starts to change the person I was into somebody new and, when I finally do see my old college buddies, all they can say is how much I've changed. How they related well to the old me and that this new me is a stranger that they don't understand. They talk about how much they dislike me when they think I can't hear them, all the while assuming that I still view them in the same way as I did when we used to go to the same school."

America spread his hands out and shrugged his shoulders as if to say it couldn't be helped. "They don't seem to get that we haven't really spoken in so long and that I'm not the only one who's changed. That now a bunch of relationships that used to be the center of my life have become faded memories from twenty or thirty years ago. Those friends from a long time ago are people I think of fondly from time to time before I go on with my life."

His expression softened ever so slightly, as if he knew that these words would hurt but were also necessary. "If we skip to the present moment, the reasons for me to continue to treat these relationships as if they are still the cornerstone of my life are lost upon me."

Germany lowered his head and mulled over what he had just heard. Trying to come up with some kind of rebuttal and finding that he couldn't at the moment, he simply replied with, "And what is your second analogy?"

America pointed a single finger in the air as he moved on. "My second analogy goes something like this. This time, we'll think of ourselves as random people who all decided to go for a hike on a mountain. We were all traveling along the same path when suddenly this big ass storm starts rolling in right on top of us. All of us rushed into the nearest cabin for shelter and we were all stuck with each other until the storm petered out.

"So, now all of us have to work together in this small cabin to make it out of this storm okay. We all have jobs we have to do and some have more leading roles than others, but we know we have to work together. Sure, we've all got a bunch of different personalities and some of us get on each others nerves, but we gotta put all that aside. 'Cause this is a matter of survival, ya know?"

America paused to make sure that Germany was following him. Germany understood that America was referring to the Cold War years, so he nodded.

"Then, with no warning whatsoever, the storm breaks up and goes away like it never happened at all. We all stay in the cabin for a little bit longer just to make sure it's really over. Then we all burst out of it and we go our separate ways. Some of us keep climbing up the mountain to see how high we can go, others take the scenic route and some simply went back to their homes and stayed there. For a while, when we would think about each other it was with a sense of pride because, hey, we really did it. We really survived something that could have killed us."

Alfred was grinning like a fool and for a moment Ludwig joined him, but only for a fleeting moment. Then it all became serious again.

"But then, it happened again. Decades went by and the connections between me and the other people in the cabin faded. Like I said, when we were all stuck together we were able to ignore our differences mostly 'cause we didn't have a choice. Now we do." America added with a tone of finality. "The storm that kept us all together had passed and remembering the reasons why we used to get along didn't gel with the current reality. It wasn't like we really knew each other. In some cases, it wasn't even that we really liked each other. That dynamic between us was always there. It just became more apparent because we had left the cabin behind."

America shrugged again and put on a smile that was clearly forced. "The only way to put what we had back together was to go back into the cabin. There's no way any of us would willingly do that, so now we are where we are."

America heaved a sigh as he finished his analogies and slouched down in his chair. He was clearly waiting for some kind of reaction to his words, but Germany wasn't quite sure what to say. It was rare for America to be serious about anything, even if his analogies were a bit comical. Still, trying to gather his thoughts, he stalled with another question.

"When did it all start to change, America? Do you remember anything specific?"

Again, America placed his hand under his chin and his eyes looked up towards the ceiling as he thought it over. "Weeellll, if I had to put a number on it, I'd say it started around the early 2000s, but it didn't start really getting strong until 2008-2009ish."

I see. I suspected as much. He started spending a lot more time in Asia around this time.

"Can you tell me more about who you having been spending time with?" Germany pressed, trying to confirm his theory.

"Sure, if you want." America's voice grew a bit more spirited as he started talking about his other interactions. "Japan's probably the guy I spend the most time with these days. He and I are really into the technical stuff, like i-phones and video games, but we also do a lot of business together too. Not that it's all business because we're always eating lots of good food and enjoying our cultures by watching movies together. Plus, I spend most of my Christmases with him."

"You do?" Germany interrupted in surprise. He never would have guessed.

"Yeah, well, after the Christmas party I hold every year, I usually hop on a plane and go hang out with Japan. He's not religious or anything, but we usually go to Tokyo Disneyland, which is decked out with all these crazy Christmas decorations. It's so totally cool!"

"You don't spend Christmas with your brother or England or France?" He interjected, feeling like something was off.

America's bright mood seemed to dissipate slightly. "Nah, not really anymore. I used to spend Christmas with England and Canada, but I haven't done that in a while. Canada sometimes spends Christmas with France or he visits Japan and I for the holidays. Though it's way more likely that Australia will come up to spend the holidays with us, dragging New Zealand along with him of course."

"So you're always with Japan for Christmas?" Germany asked to make sure he had the information correct.

"Not always. Only if Japan isn't busy. When he is, then I usually head to Israel's house for Christmas. She always cracks a joke about me spending my Christmases with a Jew, but I know I'm wanted and welcome at her house."

Does that mean he wouldn't be welcome at England's house for Christmas?

"You wondering why I'm not going to England's house, right?" America laughed at Germany's shocked expression. "Saw right through you, didn't I? Ha, ha, seriously though, it's not like I wouldn't be allowed at England's house if I asked to go, but things have been tense between us lately. I mean, we always used to argue, but it used to be just over stupid, little things that would get out of hand. Now it's just gotten so much more intense and serious that it seems like we just don't agree on anything anymore. He told me that us agreeing on things so often has messed everything up, so now he doesn't want to do that anymore."

Germany couldn't help but feel pity for the other nation. He knew as much as America tried to hide it that he had always admired England. To be told something like that must have really hurt him, even if he didn't show it.

Noticing Germany's expression, America plastered a smile on his face. "Hey, what's that look for? Don't worry about it. The hero doesn't want to spend his time with some grumpy old man anyway."

Germany didn't believe him, but he didn't press the matter. "Then, who are you spending your time with?"

"Well, like I was saying before, I spend it with Japan a lot. If I'm not with Japan, then I go to Israel's house. We get into fights sometimes, but she and I always get over it within an hour or two. Plus, she's got crazy, innovative technology that I love messing around with. Not to mention, she's easy on the eyes. . ."

"America, stay on topic, please."

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, I also spend loads of time with Korea. He's got great spicy food, good music and his TV dramas are fun to watch. Plus, he and I do tons of military drills together. When I have time, I also like seeing Taiwan since she's always really nice to me—and she just elected her first female head of state, which is pretty cool. From there, sometimes I go see Hong Kong since there's been some pretty tense stuff going on with him lately. He's quiet, but there's tons of good museums in his city and the food's delicious there!"

America stopped for a moment, as if something had just popped into his head. "Oh, and recently, Vietnam and I have started talking again."

"What?!" Germany blurted out in shock.

"Yeah, it was hard for me to believe, too." America admitted with a faint blush on his cheeks. "I mean, I think I'm pretty cool and all, but if she never spoke to me again for the rest of our days I would have understood. But then, things between her and China went sour and I've been the only one really taking her side on the matter. She was grateful about that and we started to talk. She even wants to hang out with me, a little. It's, well, it's unexpected, but it's neat."

Germany tried to brush of his bewilderment and said, "Are those the only people you've been spending time with?"

"What? No way! I can't forget about Australia, even if he's way at the bottom of the map. I swear the guy's not scared of anything and we do all kinds of crazy outdoor stuff whenever I visit him. Cliff jumping, driving around the outback, swimming with the sharks, you name it. Plus, I always get some good barbeque when I'm with him.

"India's got some good food too, now that I think about it. Don't see him quite as much, but I'm always welcome when I do swing by. Sometimes we meet up with Thailand and ride around on elephants. Oh and I can't forget about the more recent visits I've had to Kurdistan. I got to know her a little in the nineties, but we've been together a lot more these past few years. She's seriously kick ass with a gun and she has some great stories to tell. A lot of 'em are sad, but they're great and I really want to get to know her more. She wants to be her own country, and it might be a long way off, but, man, do I think she deserves it after what she's been through."

Germany's eyebrows started to raise at the impressive list of people he'd been visiting. The common assumption had been that without England or Japan, America would have no friends to speak of.

That's not to say these other nations are his friends, but they don't seem to detest his presence after a short period of time the way that I do. I know my attitude is shared by many other nations in Europe. I guess I just assumed that everyone else agreed with us on the matter. . .but maybe that was a false assumption.

"You sound quite impressed with all of them." Germany commented as he mulled things over in his mind.

"Of course I am. The things they're creating and the ideas they have are phenomenal. Not only that, but when I talk to them I get to hear about places and cultures I wasn't around to see." America closed his eyes, reminiscing. "The huge temples with all their different gods and the castles they built, not to mention the respect for nature is really beautiful."

Germany thought back to the times when America had first visited Europe. He'd spent a lot of time with England, but eventually he would also explore the sights in France, Germany, Italy and many of the other countries. Germany remembered watching America flit about in his own land, wide eyed and chattering about everything he saw like an excited child. His demeanor had been as irritating as it was endearing. The tall, blond nation hadn't even noticed when that youthful exuberance had faded away into a distant memory.

"Do you not feel that way about us any longer?"

"Huh?"

"I recall that you were once impressed by the sightseeing and ideas of our continent not too long ago. Is that not the case any longer?"

America's smile abruptly faded as they came back to point of the discussion. He chewed his lip thoughtfully before replying in a neutral tone of voice. "Remember what I said about the college friends who let it be known that they didn't like the way I had turned out after we had parted ways?" Germany nodded. "Well, I think the thing they all missed was that not only had their opinion of me changed, but my opinion of them had changed too. They thought that I still held them in high esteem or something just because of who they were, but they didn't understand that the distaste they had for me was actually reciprocated. It might have happened slower, but it's definitely there now."

"Is that why you don't care about us like you used to?"

America shrugged, not denying what was said to him. "It's not like I don't care, but I have a lot of things I have to care about. I got my own problems to deal with, not to mention that most of the world's problems end up on my desk. The way things were has irreversibly changed. Plus, I got big commitments elsewhere now."

"Then, basically, you're saying that you've changed and that's why we're no longer close to each other." Germany concluded, thinking that it made sense.

To his surprise, America responded with a noise of frustration. "No! That's not it at all." Germany met his eyes and saw that he actually looked a little peeved. "It's not just that I changed. Japan and I are in different places from where we were too, but we're still close. Israel and I have gone through a lot of tough times, but we're still together. Korea has grown a lot in the past decades, but I get invites from him to hang out even now. And that's just a few examples. Sure, I've changed, but I think everyone else has too. That's not what's causing this."

America's gaze was firmly planted on him, as if he was willing Germany to understand. His words brought him right back to how this conversation had started. Back to when he realized he had never tried to spend time with America outside of designated meetings and parties and that's when it dawned on him.

"We never really see each other, do we?"

America grinned and gave a little clap. "Bingo! You got it. Although, it's not really just you. I don't really see any of you guys anymore."

"Not any of us?"

"Not really." America replied with a shrug. "The only exception has been Italy, but I think that has more to do with Italy's personality than anything. Besides, who could refuse a visit from Italy?"

Germany saw America smile at the mention of his best friend and he returned the smile with the sentiment. He had often wondered if anyone could hate Italy and decided long ago that it was impossible.

"Is there any way to fix this problem?" He asked, as he saw America get up from the chair he had been sitting in and stretch.

"Welp, it's not like I ever say things are impossible, but this isn't going to be an easy thing to reverse. Maintaining relationships between people takes a lot of effort when it isn't driven by necessity. Japan has definitely put in the effort. So has Israel. Trust me, it makes a difference." America scratched his head as he thought it over. "Plus, since my governments been doing the whole pivot to Asia thing, my people's interests are pointed in that direction as well. I can't say that doesn't influence where I'm at right now or where my priorities are."

Germany got up from his chair as America began to walk out from behind the desk. "Then, when will you be around to help us? Will you ever come by again?"

America turned to him with blue eyes that were sad, but resigned at the same time. "Like I said, I got a lot of other priorities and worries. I know things aren't going well for you right now, or any of the others for that matter, but I got a ton of stuff on my plate to deal with. You might be closer distance wise from me in terms of some of the other conflicts I'm facing, but, to be honest, when it comes to how connected we are to one another we might as well be worlds apart."

America looked over at the clock on the wall and gave an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I've got to run now. Stuff to do, you know?"

Without waiting for a reply, America strode past him with the smallest of waves and exited the office. Germany watched his back as he departed, disappearing from his gaze after only a short moment. His arm had drawn out instinctively as if to grab the other nation, but what would that have gained him? He had gotten the answers he sought, though they did nothing to ease his mind. Thinking of how America had simply walked away from him at the end, he left the office with only the thoughts of how quickly and unexpectedly everything could change for company.

Author's Note: So, what do you think of that? It was a little plot bunny that wouldn't leave my brain after I read a New York Times article about America's Syria shame. In it, the writer mentioned that a senior European diplomat told him that he thought America wasn't interested in Europe anymore. I'd also seen similar sentiments written in other books and articles. I connected this to Hetalia and figured that somebody from Europe would want to talk to America about this. Since Germany seems to be the leader of these kinds of things, I chose him.

I hope it was okay. It was kind of fun to write, even if it is a bit melancholic. :)