Russia walked out of the room again with the same feeling of frustration that he had had last time. He had insisted that he was winning out of self-delusion. He had to let Prussia know that he was still confident. If Prussia saw him weaken, if only for a moment, then he would take advantage of the situation.
But the truth was he knew he wasn't winning. Prussia would bend, that was true. With each attempt, Russia was able to bend him a little more. This last time he had bent even farther and shown cracks for a moment. But, he was not broken. Like a strong switch, he could bend far but would always snap back. And each time he straightened, it was with more force and certainty. His defiance was completely intact. He still denied every command for submission, even in the face of threats. He valued nothing as strongly as he valued his pride.
Russia found himself at a loss as to what to do now. He had exhausted every strategy that had been effective before with lesser men, lesser countries. Pain only excited Prussia. He could not be moved with promises of power, and he wouldn't bend even to save his own life. Russia shook his head. He needed some way to pry away that shell of discipline and then he could mold the mind beneath. There was so much raw potential, but Russia couldn't use it yet. He knew that Prussia was exactly what he needed to hold the Soviet Union together.
He walked with no direction, hoping that he would find something to give him a clue as to what to try next. The halls had to be hiding secrets. This house should be the key, the place that meant the most to Prussia. However, he could come to no solution. He did not know what to look for, what to try. Never had he been at such a problematic impasse with any of his past satellites.
So, he continued to walk, attempting to find anything he could latch onto. He errantly thought as he turned another corner that for a man who had barely had any portraits painted, there were certainly a lot of pictures of Friedrich the Great. They seemed to adorn every room and every hall. Even when he looked out the window, he could see the distant statue of Friedrich the Great astride a horse.
He stopped in front of a large equestrian painting and stared at it. He could not deny that his own home had once been decorated with portraits of his past leaders before the revolution, but there was still something off about this. There were no portraits of other past kings. This one alone was ubiquitous.
A very old rumor came to mind, one he had ignored at the time. It had never been a secret that the Prussian king had had different sexual appetites, but the rumor was that Prussia himself had spent time in his king's bed. That, according to rumor, was why Austria had been so ardently opposed to any move the Prussian king made. At the time, Russia had been mired in the sexual politics of his own monarch and had paid little heed to rumors. But now he couldn't help but wonder if it was more than a rumor. If it was true, then it would certainly explain all these portraits. In some measure, it also explain Prussia's lack of romantic partners since.
Russia stood in front of the painting for a moment, searching the features of a man long dead to see if those rumors were really true. Had those blue eyes, immortalized now in brush strokes, looked adoringly on Prussia? Russia couldn't decide if the thought intrigued or disgusted him. It wasn't possible, he told himself, to be jealous of a man who was already dead. But, there was still an irritating feeling of anger that all these paintings evoked. Could he use this against Prussia now?
His thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. He turned to see Lithuania standing next to him, shaking and staring at the ground. If the man dared look at him, it would trigger new anger. Russia had not forgiven him for whatever he had said to Prussia. But, Russia knew that if the other had sought him out, then it must be important.
However, Lithuania was not going to speak out of turn in his presence. So, Russia prompted him, "What is it, Toris?" His tone left no doubt that he wanted to be told all the details of whatever was so pressing.
Lithuania immediately said, with his eyes still firmly on Russia's boots, "Alfred is on the phone and he refuses to stop calling until he speaks to you. I tried to get rid of him, but he keeps calling"
The mention of America's name immediately ignited a fire of rage in the pit of Russia's stomach. The boy was annoyingly confident and impudent. He dared to command Russia to talk to him. Russia balled one hand into a fist. He had no desire to speak to his enemy, but if America was being so persistent then it was necessary to answer his call if only to get rid of him. This would only be a small distraction from the important task at hand anyway, and it could give his mind a reprieve to find a solution. So, he responded, "I will speak to him then." With that, he turned away from the puzzling painting and walked down the hallway, leaving all the thoughts of Prussia's king behind him with the portrait.
Once he reached the office, he found the phone laid on its side to keep the line open, and when he picked it up America was on the other end. It must have taken Lithuania very little time to find him if America's short attention span hadn't expired yet. Russia had expected the boy to be too bored to wait for him. He started the conversation, "What do you want, Alfred?"
He did not mean to have any respect for Alfred. The boy deserved none, even with the fighting he had done in the Pacific. If he hadn't been there, Russia would have taken care of Japan himself. He had been ready to do it. America was little more than an annoyance. An annoyance with nuclear capabilities. Soon enough, Russia knew he would have the same capability. All of Russia's satellite states knew that now that the third reich was defeated, America was the primary enemy. He could see that Prussia was truly beginning to hate America.
Russia could hear the aggravated exhale in response to the blunt question. However, America responded with as much tact as he was capable of, "Like it or not, we need to speak to each other. We need to arrange to reunify Germany." The answer was so presumptuous that Russia couldn't help but laugh to himself. America thought he could order Russia, an older and stronger country, around.
Russia had no intention of complying. He had only agreed to the plan to eventually unify Germany to avoid the argument that may have revealed his intentions for Prussia. America had insisted that Russia could not have Prussia because the military capabilities would be too valuable. But, Prussia's offer to be East Germany had solved that problem. Now he had Prussia, and he was not fooled that America's push to reunify was a ploy to take Prussia away from him. Russia had never intended to return East Germany to the capitalist fold. He wanted to keep Prussia with him as long as he possibly could, forever if he could become the sole world power. That was not out of the realm of possibilities. America was the only one who stood in his way.
He responded, keeping his response intentionally evasive, "Has Ludwig already repented for his part in the war? I find it hard to believe you have punished him enough." He could imagine the way that Alfred recoiled at the icy tone of his voice. Everyone recoiled exactly the same way. Everyone except for Prussia. The albino showed no fear and seemed to see straight through Russia's intentionally cold facade. That was one of the reasons Russia longed for him. Those red eyes were the only ones that consistently met his own.
He had no doubt that America had let Ludwig go with only a scolding. That was not enough. Germany was more responsible for the war than Prussia, so he should get no less than what Prussia was getting now. If it was up to Russia, he would force Germany to take the brunt of it. However, he knew that America wasn't going to insist on more punishment.
No matter how intimidated America may be by just Russia's voice, he held his ground, "It is not our job to punish them; it is our job to rehabilitate them. Punishment made the second World War; we are not making a third. But you have punished them both enough already by separating them." Again, Russia laughed at the other's ignorance.
America was naive to what torture Russia was really inflicting on his half of Germany. There was no way a young country like America really understood pain. He had lost nothing in the war, so there was no way he could understand what it felt like. He had no right to decide what penance was due. Russia had lost so much of his population and had his cities flattened. America had had neither. Russia said, keeping himself from letting his anger show through, "On that I must disagree. Tell me, Alfred, what harm has the axis done to you?"
America responded immediately, his hackles obviously raised, "Japan attacked me!"
Russia replied with the same swiftness and exactly the same aggression, but his was cold and clear instead of impulsive, "Don't play games with me. I lost so much, you lost a couple ships. So, I will keep East Germany until I am satisfied that I have been compensated for my lost."
America reacted with a growl that sounded like a small dog, "Don't ask me to go along with your sick games, commie bastard. You don't see how this is hurting Ludwig. He asks me every day about when he'll see his brother again. I want to be able to tell him it will be soon, but you have to have your petty vengeance."
Russia felt himself smile at the news. If America was not going to punish West Germany, Russia was glad he could do it from a distance. He said, his own joy seeping into his voice, "Is he suffering?"
America responded at once, apparently missing the tone completely, "Yes, very much."
Russia's smile widened and he said simply, "Good."
He slammed the phone down, ending the call. He felt completely elated; his plan was working perfectly. America could be as judgmental as he pleased, it meant nothing. What was certain was that Russia was getting what he wanted.
When they had begun to win the war and push back into German territory, he had spoken to his boss about how to punish both parts of Germany. When Russia had expressed concern that his allies would keep West Germany safe away from him, Stalin had offered him a simple solution, "The only way to really hurt a man is to take what he values most." He had then added, already aware of Russia's feelings, "Take what you want as a spoil of war. His brother will suffer if they are really as close as you've told me."
Russia had taken the advice with some hesitation. Now Russia had the confirmation that he was making the country responsible for the war suffer. Stalin had been right when he advised to take advantage of their sibling bond. Now all there was left to do was break Prussia.
An epiphany struck him. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks in the middle of the office. The answer should have been so obvious. He smiled to himself. It was all crystal clear now; he had the perfect weapon in mind to use against Prussia. The only piece that he still needed was the answer about what Lithuania had told Prussia. He turned with a cruel smile to Lithuania and said, "Stay here, Toris, I have something I want to ask you." In his pocket, Russia curled his hand around the knife again.