Okay, I'm off for spring break so I thought that I'd be updating slightly more but then I went to Washington D.C... Enjoy the story anyway!
Germany opened his eyes to find the sun beaming from the window nearest to his bed. He then turned to the side to see Luna wasn't there. Germany shot up from his pillow.
"Luna?" Germany skimmed the room. He then looked under his pillow then the blanket. "Luna?" Germany swung his feet off the bed onto the cold, wooden floor. Germany walked into the hallway. Germany looked in every room then heard something fall. He was near the office and looked at the door. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. "Luna?" Germany saw Luna sitting at his desk with a book. "What are you doing?" Luna looked up toward Germany. Luna looked ghost-like when she looked at Germany. She normally wore white but it wasn't as bright as usual. Her hair also seems less bright along with looking lighter. Luna's normally aqua green eyes were a dark teal color.
"I'm reading, Mr. Germany," Luna said, not looking up from the book. Germany sighed then walked toward Luna. Germany then went behind Luna and looked at the book.
"I thought you couldn't read."
"I can't but that doesn't mean I can't look at the letters and pretend I could…"Germany chuckled. He picked up Luna, sat down, and then placed her on his lap. "Hey!" Luna whined, "Why did you do that?"
"I have to see, Luna."
"See what?"
"The book, how else would I teach you how to read?" Luna looked away.
"Oh, yes, you did promise me that…" Germany frowned.
"Why do you seem so sad?" Germany said as he placed his head on Luna's shoulder.
"Sad?" Luna leaned back.
"Ja, was your nightmare truly that scary?"
"Scary? Mr. Germany, I don't think it was scary. It was just…"
"Just…what?" Luna looked at Germany but looked away.
"Nothing," Luna picked up the book, "Please teach me how to read?" Germany nodded although she changed the subject and grabbed the book. He flipped through the book and looked at Luna.
"Maybe we should try an easier book," Luna nodded and slid off of Germany's lap. Germany got up from the chair and turned to the bookcase that extends to the whole wall behind him. He looked through all the books but sighed. "Nothing, I don't have any lower reading level books." Luna nodded as Germany sat back down. Then there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Luna answered. The door opened and it was Hungary holding a large cardboard box.
"Good morning! Do you mind if I clean your attic?"
"I would rather you clean Gilbert's room but that's his job," Germany said, "What's in that box?"
"Oh, stuff from the attic. Mainly Gilbert's stuff as a child…" Then Prussia ran into the room.
"It is I, the Teutonic Knights! Be sure to cower und cry!" Prussia yelled. He was holding a wooden sword and wearing a small, white cape.
"This is why we are getting rid of this stuff." Prussia then cuddled his head into her neck.
"Why, Lizzy," Prussia whined, "Why do you want to get rid of my stuff?"
"Because, Gil, you don't need it." Luna walked over to Hungary and pulled on her dress that she normally wore. "Yes, what is it, Luna?"
"Do you know if there are any books in that box?" Hungary placed the box on the desk and started digging through it.
"Kesesesesese! The awesome me doesn't read! Why would I have book?" It was then time for the Austrian to enter.
"What is that…Oh, it's Prussia making that noise," Austria said as he crossed his arms. Prussia placed his hand on Austria.
"Hey, Roddy, no need to be mean. Kesesesesese!"
"Please remove your hand from my shoulder." Prussia laughed.
"Found one!" Hungary held up a small book with a picture of a lion and a snake. Hungary handed the book to Luna. Luna flipped through the short book then gave it to Germany. Germany sighed and placed the book on the desk.
"What's wrong, Ludwig?" Hungary asked.
"It's in German. She can't understand it." Luna ran towards Germany.
"No, it's fine! I can learn German at the same time!"
"What?"
"I already know a few phrases. Besides it should only matter if I learn to read," Luna said.
"Yes, but it needs to be in a language that you understand, like English." Luna sighed and grabbed the book. She climbed on Germany's lap. Then she proceeded to look at everyone with the saddest look ever. Everyone instantly felt bad.
"How am I going to learn to read?" Luna said, continuing her sad look. It was Hungary who the first to break.
"I love to teach you how to read," Hungary said, leaning on the desk, "but, unfortunately, I can't read German. I've only learn how to understand it after all these years." Prussia was next to break.
"Why would you want to know how to read? It's totally not awesome to read," Prussia grinned. Luna shot Prussia a glare which caused Prussia to swallow whatever was in his throat.
"But you know how to read, don't you?" Luna said, reverting to the sad look and voice.
"Um, y-yeah, I know how," Prussia said sadly. Then Austria walked up to the desk.
"I can teach you how to read sheet music and play the piano. I'm sure you'll be good at it," Austria gave a slight smile.
"It is the same as regular reading?" Luna asked. Austria paused for a moment, opening his mouth as if to say something, but never said it. Finally, he shook his head.
"N-no, it's not…" Luna nodded then turned to Germany. She gave him a sadder look then she gave the other three. Germany felt bad but he told himself that he wasn't going to break. Then he noticed tears.
"Please teach me how to read, Mr. Germany." Luna pleaded. Germany smiled then patted Luna's head.
"Very well, if I teach you how to read, you have to make that delicious chocolate." Luna smiled.
"You liked my chocolate?" Luna asked and Germany nodded.
"Wait, you made that chocolate?" Prussia asked. Luna nodded. "There's no way a little girl made chocolate like a professional!"
"I didn't want to believe it either, Bruder," Germany started, "but it's true."
"It was wonderful! Better than anything I can make!" Hungary said.
"I don't normally eat chocolate, but I made an exception for that. I'm sure Switzerland would be jealous!" Austria said.
"No, I'm sure he will devour it!" Hungary said. Luna looked at Germany.
"I would say let's get started but we have a problem."
"What is that?" Germany asked confused. Luna giggled.
"You're not dressed." Germany looked down. He was still in only his underwear and tank top and his hair was disheveled.
"Scheiße…" Germany muttered under his breath. He waited for the three people in the room to leave then let Luna off of his lap. He hastily left the office for his bedroom. Then he closed the door and locked it. Germany sighed then he walked into the bathroom to take a shower. When he was finished, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. He walked to the closet and opened the door. Instead of his usual casual wear, which was a button-up shirt and khakis, he decided to wear a black t-shirt and green shorts. After he got dress, he walked to the office. He opened the office door and walked toward the desk. He looked around and noticed that Luna wasn't there. "Scheiße…" Germany cursed again, "Luna?" There was no answer. "Luna?" Germany sat down at the office chair. Then something touched his leg. "What the Fuhrer!" He looked down and saw that Luna was under the desk.
"Hello!" Luna said, smiling. Germany smiled also and pulled her up to his lap.
"You startled me, crazy," Germany said.
"I didn't think the big, scary Mr. Germany could get startled by me," Luna said.
"Big und scary?" Germany asked.
"Ja," Luna answered in a German way, "Big und scary, but you don't scare me, Mr. Germany. You scare other people but not me."
"No, people think I'm scary but I'm really not."
"I know, people mistake you as someone mean but staying with you for only three day showed me that you are nice. Well, at least to me." Luna smiled and Germany smiled back. Luna stopped smiling and looked at Germany weirdly.
"What?" Germany asked confused. She pointed up.
"Your hair. It's not pulled back like normal." Germany sighed and touched his hair.
"I forgot about it," Germany said as he took his hand off of his head and closed his eyes. Then he felt something touching his head. He opened his eyes and saw that Luna was standing on his lap and her tiny hands were trying to push Germany's hair back. Germany tried to doing it himself but Luna pushed his hands away.
"Stop!" Luna whined, "I want to do it!" She placed her tiny but warm hands back on Germany's hair. She pushed back as much hair as she could with her two hands and repeated this until all of the hair was back. Luna smiled at Germany then grabbed the book. She handed Germany the book and sat back down on his lap. Then Germany placed the book in front of both of them so they could read it.
"'Der große wettkampf' By Hans Wilhelm," Germany read.
"What does that mean?" Luna asked.
"The Big Match, I believe," Germany replied.
"Der grosse wetcamp?" Luna said.
"Der große wettkampf, it's pronounced like 'der gross vet cough'," Germany corrected.
"Der große wettkampf?" Luna repeated.
"Good," Germany flipped the first page of the story, "Es war schon vier Uhr nachmittags, und Sabala war mal wieder zu spät dran."
"Uh," Luna started as she scanned the first sentence, "Um, oh! 'Vier', that means four, right?" Luna looked at Germany for approval. Germany nodded.
"It was already four in the afternoon, and Sabala was late again."
"Who is Sabala?" Luna asked.
"We're about to find out," Germany said, "Thambo kochte vor Ungeduld. Er wollte seiner Freundin doch soviel erzählen!"
"Is Thambo the lion?"
"I guess," Germany said, "Thambo was seething with impatience, Ja, that's him," Germany interrupted his reading, "He wanted to tell his girlfriend something."
"Does that mean that Sabala is Thambo's girlfriend?"
"I guess so," Germany looked at the book, "Außerdem war es stinklangweilig, allein Kaffee zu trinken und Kuchen zu essen."
"Kaffee? Is that coffee?"
"Ja," Germany continued to read, "Besides, it was boring to drink coffee and eat cake alone."
"Poor Thambo, he shouldn't have to be alone," Luna sighed. Germany nodded and continued to read.
"Aber dann hört Thambo in leises Rascheln. Sabala glitt durchs Gras." Germany continued to read and translate until he was done reading. He then proceeded to teach Luna the German alphabet, which she learned quickly. He then taught her how to write the German letters and words. After spending the whole day doing that, here came the hardest part. Germany handed Luna the book.
"What do you want me to do with this?"
"Read it," Germany replied quickly.
"What? You want me to read it?" Luna said, shocked.
"Ja, begin please," Germany relaxed.
"Um," Luna looked at the book, "Der große wettkampf by Hans Wilhelm?" Luna looked at Germany.
"You're doing fine. Continue reading," Luna nodded and flipped to the first page.
"Es war schon vier Uhr nachmittags, und Sabala war mal wieder zu spät dran. Thambo kochte vor Ungeduld. Er wollte seiner Freundin doch soviel erzählen!" Germany listened to the light blonde girl's close fluency of the language. He was amazed how well she could read German. "Seit diesem Tag geben Thambo und Sabala nicht mehr so an. Sie treffen sich täglich unter dem alten Baobabbaum, genau auf der Hälfte des Weges. Und keiner konnt zu spät." Luna finished and closed the book. She looked at Germany. Germany seemed half-asleep but he looked at her.
"What does that last part mean?"
"Since that day, Thambo and Sabala no longer get like that. They meet daily under the old baobab tree, exactly halfway, and you can't be late." Germany smiled and clapped.
"That was wunderbar," Germany said.
"Danke," Luna said in German, which made Germany smile more. Germany looked around the room for his wall clock. It was 4 in the afternoon. Germany smiled.
"Don't forget about our deal," Germany said.
"About the chocolate?" Luna asked.
"Ja, und perhaps I'll make Kuchen," Germany said.
"Kuchen? Cake? You bake cake, Mr. Germany?" Luna asked confused.
"Ja, it's my secret hobby so I don't do it often."
"Oh, well, I would say you could but I need the oven for the chocolate."
"That's fine. Perhaps I can put the chocolate in the cake," Germany said optimistically. Luna smiled.
"Sure, but this have to be for desert," Luna said while grinning.
"Come eat!" Hungary called from the kitchen. Everyone came in at one time and sat at the table. "Did everyone washed their hands?"
"Now, Elizaveta," Germany started, "I think everyone has the common sense to do that menial task."
"You are correct, West!" Prussia laughed. Everyone looked at Prussia. Prussia stopped laughing. "What?" Hungary crossed her arms.
"Gilbert Beilschmidt, if you didn't…"
"Calm down, Lizzy," Gilbert interrupted, "I'll go." Prussia got up from the table and left the room.
"Good," Hungary sighed, "I thought that I going to have beat him with my skillet."
"Mr. Germany?" Luna asked as she laid her head on the table.
"Ja?" Germany answered.
"Why do you guys not call each other by your national name?"
"Because," Austria started, "we, countries, use it as a term of endearment."
"So if I call you guys by your human names, it would be an endearing term?"
"That is what I said."
"Okay, Roderich." Austria was taken aback by this.
"H-hey, I'm still your elder! Even if it is a term of endearment, you have to put 'mister' in front of it!" Hungary laughed.
"Even if Roderich doesn't like it," Hungary touched Luna's shoulder, "You can call me what you please, whether it's Hungary, Elizaveta, or even Lizzy or Liz."
"Elizaveta is a beautiful name," Luna said, "So I'll call you Miss Elizaveta." Hungary smiled.
"Okay, Miss Luna," she said as she tapped Luna's nose with her index finger and then she went to the stove. Gilbert came into the dining room at the same time and sat at their wooden dining table.
"What shall I call you, Mr. Prussia?" Luna asked.
"What? Oh, the Awesome Prussia, of course," Prussia grinned.
"Ignore that comment," Hungary said from the stove, "and just call him 'Mr. Gilbert'." Luna nodded.
"Call me 'Gil'. No need to be formal with me! Kesesesese!" Hungary sighed and started pouring stuff into some bowls, "What'd you make, Lizzy?"
"Beef goulash," Hungary said without looking up from what she doing.
"What? Didn't we have that last time you cooked?"
"No, we had Krumplileves because we had a lot of potatoes that I could use."
"Oh, that's what happened to them," Germany mumbled. Luna giggled. Hungary placed Luna's food in front of her. Luna watched Hungary but stopped to look at Germany. Germany started looking at her. "What?"
"What shall I call you, Mr. Germany?" Germany paused for a moment. Then Hungary gave Germany his food and he started eating.
"You can call me what you please, as long as it reflects who I am," Germany said calmly as he ate. Luna watched as he ate. Prussia then got his food and started eating. Then Austria got his food. Luna looked down and started twiddling her thumbs. Then she looked at Germany.
"Vati," Germany and Austria stopped eating, Prussia started choking, and Hungary almost dropped her food.
"What?" Germany said. Luna looked back down, "Luna? Did you say 'Vati'?" Luna continued to look down but she nodded.
"It reflects you," Luna simply said.
"Well, in that case," Prussia said after he finished 'choking', "you can call me Uncle Gil,"
"Bruder," Germany started.
"You can call Lizzy Auntie Lizzy,"
"Bruder,"
"Then you can call Roderich Uncle Roddy,"
"BRUDER, ENOUGH!" Germany yelled. Prussia stopped talking and everyone looked at Germany. Germany calmed down and continued eating. Everyone else followed after. As Germany was eating, he glanced up at Luna. He could have sworn he saw tears.
When he finished, Germany left for his room. He then hopped into the shower for 5 minutes. When he got out, he threw on some underwear and a tank top. He then crawled into bed. Just as he started to dose, he heard his door creak open. He opened one of his eyes to see what it was, but re-closed it. Then he felt something get on his bed. That's when Germany sat up and turned on the lamp on his nightstand on the right side of his bed. He looked to the left side and saw that it was occupied. Germany lifted the covers to see that it was Luna sleeping there. Germany smiled slightly at this and decided to go back to sleep. He then pecked her forehead and turned off the lamp. He reclined in his bed and began to drift off.
"Gute Nacht, meine Tochter," was what he said before he did.
Hope you enjoyed this long chapter and found it cute! By the way, I don't own 'Der große wettkampf' and it's copyrighted! 'Til next time!