I woke up in a different house. There wasn't much there, but it was really clean and organized. It was even cleaner than Austria's house. I sat up from the couch I was laying on. Holy Rome was sitting on a chair not far from me. No, this was Germany now.

"Ve …Where am I?" I asked.

"You're in my house," he said. "I must have hit you a lot harder than I thought. You've been asleep for about 17 hours, 13 minutes, and 9 seconds. You're probably hungry. I left some food for you over there."

On the little table beside the couch I was on, there was a plate with a food I had never seen before. I picked it up and examined it closely.

"That's wurst, we eat it a lot in my country. It's sehr gut."

I took a tentative bite. "It's not completely horrible!" I said joyfully and ate the rest. I had definitely had worse.

"Ah, thanks…I guess. You'll be staying here for a while so you might as well get used to…"

"I'm still hungry, Can I make some pasta?'

Germany sighed. "I really don't want people messing around in my kitchen."

"Don't worry! I'll be super careful!" I skipped into his kitchen.

"I don't want to have to clean up your mess!" he called after me.

There wasn't much in there. Thank goodness I usually had emergency pasta supplies on me. I found some pots and pans and brought the water to a boil. I was working on the marinara sauce when I heard a voice behind me.

"Did you listen to me? I said I didn't want a mess." Germany's arm suddenly appeared beside me. In his hand was a cloth and he was wiping off a single drop of marinara sauce that had gotten on the counter.

"Grazie!" I said cheerfully. He was so thoughtful. I would have gotten it later of course. He must be getting impatient. "Everything will be done in just a bit."

Germany followed my every move as I finished making the pasta. When I finished, I divided everything into two plates and offered one to him. He looked genuinely surprised.

"For you! It's a thank you gift for letting me stay here!"

He accepted, looking at me strangely. "I don't think you quite understand your situation. You do realize you're my prisoner, ja?" He took a bite of the pasta. His eyes lit up, "This is surprisingly very good."

I couldn't help but smile really widely. "Grazie!" I said. I finished the pasta quickly and returned to the kitchen. I wanted to the place as clean as possible. I started by washing the dishes.

"Let me handle those. If you want to do something, you can wipe the counter tops," Germany said as he stepped into the kitchen, carrying his own dirty dishes. I stepped back and watched him work. He rolled back his sleeves and stuck his arms into the bubbly water. He meticulously scrubbed every spot.

I threw myself into the task of cleaning the counters. I hummed to myself as my arm swept over the surface. I may have been a prisoner, but I didn't mind. Being here with Germany was oddly the happiest I felt for a long time. I selfishly wished I could stay like this.

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" Germany's chest touched my back as his arms reached around me to get to the counter. With the same intensity as the plates, Germany retouched every spot I had cleaned. It wasn't long before the surface shined and reflected our images back. Germany's face was right next to mine.

"Hey," I teased. "You missed a spot."

"Where?' he said, leaning closer to get a better look. His chin was basically on my shoulder. I turned so we were facing each other. A bit of sauce was still on his face. I wiped it off, a playful smile filling my face.

My sudden movement surprised him. For just a moment, I thought his stern eyes relaxed for a bit. "You should be more concerned about yourself." He proceeded to move his hands from the countertop to my face. He scrubbed it; it kinda hurt, but I didn't mind. His hands were rough, but they were warm. My heart started to beat faster. "You're a grown man and still such a sloppy eater," he said.

"Herr Germany! I bring an urgent message from the boss!" a soldier interrupted. He was out of breath and standing at Germany's door. Germany left me and approached him.

"The Great War has ended. We have surrendered. Here are the prerequisites as entailed by the Treaty of Versailles," he continued.

"We lost, huh? At least it is finally over." Germany accepted the letter the soldier handed him. He read it over quickly. Anger tainted his face.

"They expect me to pay how much?" he yelled. I winced at the sudden rage in his words. "What kind of Schieße are those idiots trying to pull? Couldn't they be a bit more reasonable? Dumb question. This is France and England we're talking about."

"If you don't need me sir, I'll take my leave," the soldier announced.

"You're dismissed" The soldier marched out of the house and closed the door. Germany sighed and sat in his chair. He rubbed his temples. I went towards him, not quite sure what I was supposed to do.

When he saw me, he turned towards me. "Oh right, the war is over. You are released." I stood there. "You are no longer my prisoner. Go home already!" he snapped. Scared by his anger, I ran out of the house. I felt a weird concern for him. He was all alone in that house. I looked back to my former prison and made my way back home to my brother.

"So, you're telling me that that violent, potato-eating bastard is Holy Rome?"

"You wouldn't believe it, Romano! He looks just like him only a lot meaner looking! He has this really big, really clean house, and it's only him there!"

"Why are you so excited? That bastard not only ditched you with the piano bastard, but he didn't even bother to visit you. He's some good-for-nothing merda, if you ask me."

"That wasn't his fault. When I was hiding in the box, the tomato box fairy told me that she had taken all of his memories. That's why he never came back for me!"

Romano paled. "That bitch better not have cursed you again."

"No, I think she's gone for good now."

"In any case, I think you should stay away from the Germanic bastard."

"Oh, but Romano, I had a lot of fun when I was over there. He let me make pasta! I was really happy!"

"I don't care if he started shitting rainbows and barfed sunshine! He's a bad idea, and I don't want my little sister being with him!"

I reluctantly agreed. Hard times were upon us and Romano would leave for days at a time working to get us food. He was gone for two whole days and I was all alone. I didn't want to be lonely anymore. I kept of thinking of Germany. Was he as lonely as I was? The next thing I knew I was in front of his house. I knocked a few times, but no one answered. I let myself in.

The house was filled with all sorts of clocks. Germany was sitting on his chair, gears surrounding him. His big hands were trying to fit through a tiny hole on the face of the clock. He was concentrating so much; he didn't notice me until I was right beside him.

"I looks so complicated, but they look so cute," I commented.

"Oh, you again? These are the cuckoo clocks I have to make for France. I've done all this work, and I'm not even halfway done. If I see that man again, I'm going to wring his…Anyway you should go home. I'm not really in the mood to try to entertain you."

"Hey, I can help. I was just looking for something to do! Come on! We could be partners!" I said enthusiastically.

He looked at me and then continued his work. "Fine, you can do some of the basic stuff over there. Leave the gear work to me."

"Yay!" I pulled up a chair and started to work right beside him. I was so happy; I even started to sing to myself. If Germany minded, he sure didn't say so.

Time passed quickly, and before long, it was dark outside. Germany leaned back from his work, rubbing his eyes.

"It's getting pretty late. You should go home."

"That was really fun, but I am a bit tired. Let's do this again!" Germany didn't respond. His eyes were closed. When he was like that, he looked a lot less scary.

"Hey, Germany! We work pretty well together don't we?"

"We were efficient.'

"Ve! I think we should be allies!" That made the German open his eyes. "You could help me when I'm in a pinch, and I would try to help you! We could be the best of friends! What do you say?" I held out my hand to him.

"I never had a friend before…" he said mostly to himself. After a moment of hesitation, he shook my hand. His hand was a lot bigger than mine. My hand was completely surrounded by his. It felt really safe.

"All right. Let's form an alliance. Come back tomorrow and we can sort out all the details."