Regular font indicates the present, particularly through Matthew's perspective.

Italic font indicates flashbacking, a lot of which may/may not be in Matthew's perspective.

Bold italic font indicates thought.

~August 17th, 1786~

Matthew woke up to the sound of harsh banging on his front door.

He quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before putting on his glasses and his slippers, wrapping his dark red robe around his body to compensate for his bed's warmth, before heading to see who was practically breaking down the door with their fists.

The Canadian opened the door only to fall on his back given his 'visitor' tackled him onto the floor, racked sobs omitting from their form as they buried their face in his chest.

"J-Julchen? What's going on?" He managed to say after closing the door and recognizing the albino female nation who was practically squeezing the life out of him, her usual feathered hat long discarded on his doorstep, her clothes disheveled as if thrown on in haste. Matthew had never seen the nation act like this before, always wearing a cocky smirk on her face and proclaiming how awesome she was, instead of…whatever the hell this was.

(Not that he minded, the blonde personification noted guiltily in the back of his mind as he ran his fingers through her silk-like hair in a comforting mannerism, unable to stop himself from blushing.)

"H-h-he's gone, Birdie," She croaked out weakly, grabbing onto his nightwear as if it was a life raft, unable to meet his gaze due to her shame. She was the awesome Prussia, damn it! Awesome people don't cry. "O-Old Fritz is dead."

Whatever color was present in his face because of how affectionate she was being vanished immediately when hearing Prussia's statement. "He is…?" Matthew spoke in a quieter tone than his usual voice, feeling pity for the white-haired female given how much she cared for the King of her country.

Julchen only nodded, finally looking up to meet his bespectacled violet gaze, her own crimson orbs protruding an endless supply of tears. "Died in his study in Sanssouci."

"I'm so sorry, Julchen," He responded, wiping the salt-water stains from her cheeks with his thumb, repressing the urge to cry himself since it oddly hurt him to see the Prussian so broken. "Do you want me to make you some pancakes?"

Prussia nodded yet again, removing herself from his grasp and offering her hand to him since he was still on the floor, pulling him up when he accepted and heading to the kitchen in grim silence.

Why did I come to him first? She mentally questioned herself when she sat down at the table and rested her head on her arms, rubbing some lingering tear droplets from her pink cheeks to somewhat regain her dignity. Why didn't I go to West, Francis or Antonio instead?

Julchen glanced over at the blonde Canadian who was making her pancakes, wondering why he was so nice to her in spite of how often she barged in on his peaceful life and made it 'awesomer'. How, even though she disrupted his sleep with her personal/emotional issues, still agreed to help if it meant cheering her up.

Probably because he's so damn nice, She thought, blaming her previous tears for the blush rising on her angular cheekbones as she buried her head deeper in her arms. And he wouldn't force me out like West would, try sleeping with me like Francis would, or attempt laughing it off like Antonio would.

…Or maybe it's because his pancakes are the second-awesomest thing in the world, next to me, Prussia thought as she dug into the aforementioned food when it was ready, not caring how 'un ladylike' she must appear to the nation sitting across from her. Maybe.

"-Last year he actually signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with your brother so he could recognize him as a new nation. I remember your brother was so happy that he actually kissed Old Frtiz! Which didn't really help the circulating rumors that Freddy was gay, but it was still pretty awesome. God, I sounded like Elizabeta for a minute there…" She expressed, scratching her head due to slight embarrassment. "Though I told everyone that Freddy was going to be great, someday. Just like me to be awesome and totally call it."

Julchen glanced over at her Canadian friend, surprised to see he had fallen asleep on the couch they were sharing, his breathing slow and deep, his glasses threatening to fall off his face.

She shook her head, a small smile on her face at the sight of him looking so relaxed. Prussia reached over and carefully removed his glasses from his face, setting it on the table beside his resting form.

"You do realize that if you were anyone else, I'd invade your vital regions here and now?" The albino smirked teasingly as she stretched before laying herself more comfortably beside him on the furniture. "Yet," She yawned tiredly, interlocking a hand with his. "It's not considered rape if I know you'll like it."

She ended up falling asleep beside him with her usual, cocky smirk on her face.

Author's Note: This is what happens when it's stormy outside my house and I'm listening to 'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift.

Sorry if I made Prussia a bit too emotional in this one, but considering Old Fritz was/is Prussia's favorite boss, I can imagine him/her reacting this way to his death.

*Frederick the Great of Prussia/'Old Fritz' passed away on August 17th, 1786. And yes, he passed in his study in Sanssouci. I don't know when/how he died.

*Frederick the Great signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with America in 1785, one year before he died. Also, there were rumors that he was gay/bi. It's unsure whether or not these rumors were true.

That's the end of this chapter, I'll try updating with another one soon. Reviews are love, reviews are life.