Germany sat in the kitchen for a full fifteen minutes until it was clear that Prussia wasn't coming back. He frowned and stood up. What was that about? He thought to himself, opening a nearby closet and pulling out a mop. He started cleaning up the mess Prussia had made, being careful not to step on any of the glass shards. Prussia had never dropped beer before, no matter how drunk he was. And when someone else so much as spilled a drop, he'd generally start swearing uncontrollably at them. (Generally he was drunk enough by that point to start accusing them of murder. Or bestiality. Not that that either of those made any sense…)
As soon as Germany finished cleaning the floor, he stowed the mop away in the closet and walked over to his brother's room (otherwise known as the basement). He grabbed the knob and realized it was locked. "Prussia," he called, "great job cleaning the kitchen." When he was met with silence, he walked back into the kitchen.
Why did he react like that? Germany wondered idly, sitting back down at the small table. Holy Roman Empire…had Prussia known the kid too? Why had he never heard Prussia mention him before? Had everyone known this kid except Germany?
That's it, he decided, I need to know who the hell that kid was! He stood there for a moment, then hastily scribbled out a note for his brother, in case he ever left his room, and strode outside.
…
Germany stepped into the library and glanced around. The books were stacked high on the shelves, and there was a hushed silence throughout the building. Germany couldn't help but smile slightly. This was definitely his kind of place.
He walked around and grabbed several history textbooks. They wouldn't tell him anything about the Personified Nation, but they would at least give him an idea of where to look. Hauling them to the nearest table, he opened the largest one. Opening to the index, he scanned the page. Let's see…Holy Roman Empire…Heiliges Römisches Reich…aha! Here it is. He flipped a few pages and began scanning. "Holy Roman Empire…created in the middle ages…first Emperor was Charlemagne…territories would've included current-day Northern Italy, Germany, Austria, and…"
Germany blinked. Austria? That he didn't know. Had Austria known the guy too? And Germany's name was there too. But that wasn't too surprising. He hadn't owned that land hundreds of years ago. Not like he really remembered that far though.
He frowned and continued to read. "The Holy Roman Empire was formally disbanded after military defeats by the French under Napoleon…" Germany stared in disbelief at the page. F…France? He thought blankly. France actually…did something…? He scratched the back of his neck. That was surprising. He hadn't even realized France had any military victories…
He looked through the other textbooks, finding about the same. That's odd, Germany thought, it doesn't mention Prussia at all. He sighed and leaned back. That was the problem with textbooks; sometimes there were Nations they didn't discuss because they had little to no historical significance. Oh well. At least he had a vague idea of what to do now. First, he needed to—
"E-Excuse me…Germany."
Germany almost jumped out of his chair, and then quickly turned around. Standing behind him was…um…well, he was…uh…
Germany coughed uncomfortably. "O-Oh, um, hello there…uh… Do I…know you…?"
The kid grimaced slightly. "I-I'm Canada," he replied, fixing his glasses slightly. Germany stared at him for a second. Canada…why did that name seem familiar…? The kid sighed. "I'm a Nation, like you are. Remember?" When Germany didn't respond, Canada took a deep breath. "I'm friends with your brother…? I live in North America…? I fought against you in World War II?"
"Oh…really…" Germany replied uncomfortably, trying desperately to remember. This guy fought in WWII…?
Canada sighed. "Pancakes."
"Oh yeah!" Germany remembered when Prussia had blogged about it. "Right, of course. Sorry Canada." He heard Canada mumble something about being used to it, when he thought of something. "Wait, what are you doing in the middle of Berlin?"
"Huh? Oh, the World Conference is on Wednesday, remember?"
Germany blinked, feeling the blood drain out of his face. Verdammt, he thought frantically. I complete forgot about the Conference! Did I agree to hold it in Berlin? Mein gott, I haven't made any preparations or—
Then he remembered Italy. And suddenly, the Conference seemed like the most unimportant thing in the world. Was that even possible? He sat there for a minute, trying frantically to piece together his feelings. Ever since he'd met Italy, he was bombarded with all kinds of feelings he hadn't ever felt before. Happiness, excitement, cheerfulness…all kinds of things someone like him would never have time for. And now, suddenly, he was head over heels in love. And he had not the slightest clue what he was doing.
"Um, Germany, are you alright...? You kind of stopped talking."
Germany jumped and wheeled around. "Scheiße," he yelped, "how long have you been here?"
Canada blinked at him, looking slightly confused for a second. Then he smiled weakly. "Uh, well I've been here since yesterday," he answered.
"Nein, I meant—" Then Germany remembered the conversation he'd just had with Canada. Had he really just forgotten that Canada was there…? "…I-I meant, why did you show up yesterday?" He corrected himself uncomfortably. "It's Monday…the Conference isn't until Wednesday."
"You're brother invited me to hang out with him yesterday," Canada replied, his smile faltering slightly. "He…he didn't show up at the bar he told me to meet him at…" he trailed off, glancing toward the wall. "…was he sick…?"
Germany stared at him for a moment. Prussia had been heading out with France and Spain to drink last night…which meant he'd forgotten about Canada…
"No, he wasn't sick, he…" Germany trailed off as Canada continued to stare at the wall, a disappointed look passing over his face. "…he…was taking care of me last night," Germany lied, finding he didn't have it in him to tell Canada that Prussia had forgotten. "I was sick last night. He must not have gotten the chance to call and tell you."
Canada smiled. "Oh, good! I was afraid he'd forgotten."
"J-Ja…" Germany mumbled in response. Then he quickly stood up. "Well, see you Wednesday, Canada."
"See you Wednesday," Canada replied brightly.
Germany began walking back to his house. Maybe I should bring up Canada to Prussia when I get back, he thought. Then he frowned slightly and shook his head. No, I have other things to worry about…
He sighed. How did I forget about the World Conference? He wondered unhappily, glancing up at the graying sky. I'm not prepared, I haven't planned anything out…and Italy will probably be there… He swallowed nervously. Ok, I need to figure all this out by Wednesday, or I'm dead. He sighed again. Alright, I'll ask Prussia about that Holy Roman Empire guy first…
It took him about fifteen minutes to walk back to his house. He tried to clear his head, plan out exactly what he was going to say to his brother. It was a lot easier to plan for people he understood, though. If he was planning to talk with someone even remotely rational, like Lithuania, or England (usually), he could plan something out. But with people like his brother, or Italy for that matter, logic and reason flew out the window. Which meant he would have to wing it.
"…gott, I hate my life…" Germany mumbled to himself, slowly opening his front door.
He walked silently inside, carefully stepping over one of his dogs sleeping on the floor, and strode over to his brother's room. Finding it unlocked, he slipped past. "Bruder," he called, "I need to talk to you." He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around.
Prussia wasn't there. Germany sighed unhappily. He didn't go into his brother's room often, since he was usually afraid of what he'd find. It looked just about how he expected; there were old clothes on the floor, an unmade bed in the corner, what looked like a bird's nest on a dresser, and some unrecognizable objects lying on the floor. He reached down and picked one up, inspecting it closely. It could've been anything from an old painting to a paddle.
He dropped it and climbed back up the stairs. He could hear someone shouting from the kitchen, so he walked inside.
"Hey there, West!" Prussia called through the thick black smoke, then began coughing. "I put a fork in the microwave. Turns out they really explode! It was awesome!"
Germany clenched his teeth and pulled the fire extinguisher out from under the sink. "Why do you always set things on fire the moment I turn around?" He yelled angrily, spraying at the flames.
Prussia coughed again, swiping through the smoke with a stick. "Yeah, well I'm just so awesome that shit just blows up—"
"Is that Herr Stick? GIVE ME THAT!" Germany yanked the stick from Prussia's hands.
Prussia scowled at him. "For god's sake, West, it's an inanimate object," he muttered. "You could go into the woods and find hundreds of other stick."
Germany glared at him. "Well in that case, let's just set Gilbird on fire," he retorted. "There're plenty of other birds you could—" He stopped himself. "Listen, Prussia, I need to talk with you."
"Wait, did you just threaten to light my bird on fire? What the hell is your—?"
"Who was the Holy Roman Empire?"
The result was almost instantaneous. Prussia's face went blank, his eyes widening. Then he abruptly glanced away. "Oh, you're still thinking about that," he answered, trying to sound nonchalant.
And failing.
"Ja, I'm still thinking about that," Germany answered slowly, watching his brother carefully. Prussia continued staring at the floor, for once in his life silent. "So who was the Holy Roman—?"
"What makes you think I know anything?" Prussia quickly snapped.
Germany blinked, startled by the tone of his brother's voice. For the first time since Germany could remember, Prussia sounded genuinely angry. "I just thought…" He trailed off, trying to think of what to say.
"Well you must've thought wrong then."
Gilbird gave a nervous chirp and flew into the air, landing on the table. He chirped again, shifting from one foot to the other, watching Prussia closely.
Germany stared at Prussia for a long moment, starting to get angry. "Prussia, what the hell is your problem?"
Prussia continued staring at the floor. "I don't have a problem," he replied.
Germany clenched his fists. "I know you're lying to me, bruder," he growled. "You know who Holy Roman Empire was."
Prussia turned toward the door. "I'm going to bed."
"It's noon," Germany replied. "You're not going to bed."
"Shut up."
"No," Germany retorted. He grabbed the back of Prussia's shirt. "Tell me what's going on."
"I'm not talking about this."
"Yes you are."
"West, I'm serious…"
"Prussia, tell me who the Holy Roman Empire was!"
Prussia spun around and slapped Germany's hand away. "JUST DROP IT, GERMANY!" He shouted.
The two of them stood there silently, Prussia glaring and Germany just looking stunned. After what felt like an eternity, Prussia turned and strode out. Germany could hear him slam the door. He swore under his breath and sat down. Well that was unhelpful, he thought bitterly. He couldn't remember the last time he and Prussia had argued like that. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time Prussia had actually called him 'Germany'.
He sat there for a few more seconds. Then he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He was going to get answers, with or without his brother's help…
Well, here's chapter three. Sorry that it's so long.
