Divided We Fall
United We Stand
by raihaikyo
PART XXI – Frozen Moment
November 16, 1961
03:07 am
Walking back and forth like a tiger in a cage had kept him fairly warm for the first couple of hours, but as the evening progressed and turned to night, the temperatures dropped to zero. The flimsy jacket could not provide any warmth. Prolonged lack of food and sleep-deprivation had pushed his body to the edge. It had become difficult to move and he ended up sitting on the concrete floor. Knowing this was the wrong move to do he still ended up in the corner where two walls joined together. At least there was no draft. Yet, without moving he would freeze to death if he were human. He was not, but with his body's condition, the possibility of falling into a coma like state was not that far away.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he pulled his legs as close as possible trying to preserve some warmth. "Fuck you all," he whispered leaning his head against the wall and looked up. This open air cell had a special net erected above the walls so the prisoners would not throw something or try to climb over the wall. Despite that everything was still perfectly visible. Here he could see the sky in all its natural glory. Berlin's skyline had too much illumination making the sky just dark. Hohenschönhausen was away from the main center and lampposts were scares. He had forgotten that the sky was riddled with bright dots of light. Some small, others big and all varying in their brightness. But all of them were equally beautiful and shone even more intense in the approaching winter season. It was November now. The month to see Andromeda. If he ignored the cold penetrating his every cell he could turn his neck a bit and also spot Cassiopeia.
Seeing all the stars reminded him of better times. He had been camping in a clearing not far from the woods of Potsdam together with little Ludwig. He had been only 13 human years at the time. A baby in the eyes of another nation and extremely curious. Gilbert took him on a trip to show all the wonders of their homeland and taught him everything he knew about the stars. The memory made him smile and he could feel tears well up in his eyes. He missed his younger brother a lot. Not seeing him for a couple of months was alright, but renouncing him was a different matter. It was made easier to deal with it when Ivan was around, but he was back in Moscow. That reminded him, he had promised to be back in the capital of Russia within four days.
He had overheard Dietz say it were five days since his imprisonment here, but it was hard to tell if it was true. There were no real windows in the building itself. The lights were turned on and off in an unpredictable manner and guards were changing. The only constant thing was the visit from Ulbricht's representative asking him every time, if the embodiment of the GDR had changed his mind and was ready to sign.
"Ivan…" Gilbert whispered at the sky. Did he wonder where the German was? What was the Russian doing? He hoped nothing crazy, but one could hardly know with him. Closing his eyes the man wrapped both arms around his legs tightly wishing he could stand up and at least walk around to get somehow warm again.
These bastards really wanted him to freeze to death. "Ihr…k-könnt mich ma…*" he managed to whisper between chattering teeth as his body slowly started to slowly slide along the wall and he ended up lying curled up on the ground. "Shit…" he growled finding himself on the floor all of a sudden. Using both hands he pushed himself up again into a kneeling position. Falling asleep would be the end of him. He was not going to give them that satisfaction and put one hand on the wall for support and stood up again. Sitting for a while had made his muscles stiff and frozen. They could not support the weight and he fell back on his knees.
"Well, well, look at you, 3260. Still moving even after half a day in our Tigerkäfig. I thought you'd be frozen by now."
"Ja…you'd like…that," Gilbert replied holding onto the wall with one hand while the guard was looming over him. "If I..f…freeze to death…who's g-going to s-sign anything...Ever t-thought 'bout that?"
"Still a smartass."
His arm just could not hold his weight anymore and Gilbert let himself fall against the wall. "Always…that…'s part o'my charm." He grinned weakly. The truth was he was beyond feeling any sensation in his body. He knew the temperature was below zero now. The easiest way to tell was a particular smell in the air that indicated snowfall would follow soon. Snow was pretty, he thought smiling lightly at his own random thoughts. Being happy with such simple thoughts meant his brain was more than likely shutting down. It was also a struggle to keep his eyes open.
Even the guards started to wonder how it was possible he continued to live. Technically, prisoner 3260 should have died already. Yet, here he was still struggling. What the guards did not know, he was nearly at his limit. Dying was something he was unable to do, unless all the people itself and the memories of the country would disappear. What would happen instead was his body shutting down and stay in a coma like state until everything was healed or he felt well enough to wake up. When that happened the country itself was going to experience difficulties too. Disagreements between political parties or scandals could happen. An embodiment and the country had a symbiotic relationship. One could not be without the other. That was the reason Gilbert Beilschmidt was struggling to stay awake. The First Secretary and a couple of others wanted him gone and he actually did not care at all about them. Politicians could always be replaced. His worry went out to his citizens who had gone through many upheavals already and he did not want them to suffer any more. At the same time, he could not agree to relinquish his duty to make it easier for the government. On top of that, his personal motivation would not let him give in too. He was half a millennia old and was not going to be beat by a meat sack who would not even make it to 100. Then there was Ivan. The man had been using his own influence and pulled several strings to keep him in existence. The Russian had done all that in the knowledge it would have negative consequences on him personally. Gilbert knew by now what the motivation behind it was and would never betray him.
His mind was slowly turning in on itself and Gilbert barely heard the guard talking to him.
"You're not…human, are you?" The man said while grabbing Gilbert by his hair forcing him to look up.
Having zero feeling in his limbs, Gilbert only noticed he was being moved when he suddenly found himself face to face with the guard. "Was*?" He asked blinking up at him not quite understanding what had been asked.
The guard smirked seeing the reaction and let him go. "No use asking you anything at this point. We'll keep you here for a couple more minutes."
The white haired man slumped back against the wall letting his head hang and clutched his jacket with one hand. He needed to stay awake. If he fell asleep now, there was no guarantee when he would wake up any time soon. He wanted to see Ivan again…and Ludwig.
-.-.-
The road to Hohenschönhausen was paved, but had only one street lamp every half a kilometer. In contrast to that, the prison was flooded with light making any vehicle approaching the complex very easy to spot. As a black car was approaching the main gates, a couple of guard were already waiting. At further inspection the vehicle turned out to be a Tatra 603 used predominantly by GDR officials. The guards immediately stood at attention when the driver identified himself as 'USSR General Braginski'. They saluted and let him drive through once his documents were verified. Another document check was done right in front of the entrance to the main building. Ivan let the guard go over the documents, while his sister looked around. Brick walls over 4 meters high surrounded the whole compound with barbed wire on top. Should anyone ever climb that high they would get stuck in the wires and injure themselves on the sharp metal pins. The whole area was flooded with light from the street lamps and spotlights making the night almost day with their intensity. Guards stood everywhere and patrolled with German Shepherds. Everything was almost a copy of a KGB prison complex. The only small difference was the personnel spoke German. Belarus was about to venture on the main square, but heard one guard speak up to her brother about the sudden change in orders.
"We were given an order by Herr Dietz no one except him is to see the prisoner and-" The guard broke off as his feet were suddenly kicked from under him and cold metal was pressed against his temple.
"Are you going to question the decision of your own First Secretary and also of a Soviet General, soldier?" Asked a female next to his right ear.
He glanced sideways seeing the woman who had come with the man named Ivan Braginski lean over him and held a handgun against his head.
"I…the order said it's only-"
"Whose order has more importance, hmm?" She interrupted him.
Ivan stood over them unmoving and just asked. "Are you willing to die for it?"
The guard stared up at the man. "What?"
The safety was removed and the gun was pressed tighter. "Well? Do you?"
Another guard came running the small group. "The General is right," he said to the kneeling guard. "Walter Ulbricht has given the order himself. Prisoner 3260 is to be released immediately. General Braginski is here to pick him up."
"Yes, sir." The guard finally replied and lifted his hands up in defeat.
"Natasha," Ivan said with a small grin indicating she should let go of the man.
She nodded hiding the gun in her coat again and got up.
Ivan turned to the two guards with a glare. "Bring us to Gilbert Beilschmidt. Now!" He ordered.
The guard got quickly off the ground and joined the other one. "This way."
They first walked through administration offices, then walked through security doors to arrive at the holding cells.
"Where are you keeping him?" Ivan demanded, barely containing his impatience. Seeing all the cells made him worry even more for the Prussian and in which condition he was about to find him.
"By orders of Herr Dietz, prisoner 3260 had been brought to the Tigerkäfig 9 hours ago."
"Tiger what?" Belarus asked as they walked through another hall of closed prison doors.
Ivan curled his hands into fists trying to control himself. A Tigercage was an open space area of bare concrete walls. It was the only place prisoners could get fresh air. It was in the middle of November and if Gilbert had been 9 hours there, he probably had frozen to death by now. "Where is it?" He asked grabbing the guard by his collar. "Get me there now!"
The man tensed at the sudden display of violence and motioned with his head to the end of the corridor. "Right there."
"Alright," the Russian said and punched him as hard as possible in the stomach.
The man doubled over falling on the floor in a heap.
"What are you doing?" Shouted the other reaching for his handgun by his left side. He did not get it in time as Belarus knocked him out from behind. "We should hurry."
"Yes," Ivan agreed going immediately for the door and threw it open.
He saw the white haired man on his knees sitting against the wall one hand clutching his chest. The clothes on him were hanging as if too big, but it was because he had lost quite a bit of weight. "You…" Ivan growled glaring at the guard standing in front of the entrance to the open air area. With a swift move he grabbed the other by his neck cutting off almost all air as the pressure started squeezing the windpipe shut. "I should let you all get ripped to pieces by wolves for this," He said it in a dead calm voice, while his eyes seemed to have turned two shades darker. Belarus was standing right next to him and tilted her head slightly. It was rare to witness her big brother get bloodthirsty. He was incredible in that moment. This was Russia right now and she loved it. He could tear anyone to shreds like an enraged bear.
"Natasha, dear. Mind handling this one while I go check on Gilbert?" He asked while his eyes did not leave the guard, who was struggling to breathe. "I don't mind if he breaks something, but leave all limbs attached and don't kill him. No need to get your pretty hands dirty on the likes of him."
She grinned still looking at her brother. "Sure."
He immediately threw the guard on the floor and rushed over to the hurt nation.
Seeing him go off without hesitation, Natalya stomped her foot on the guards chest. The move caused a faint cracking sound in the man's chest. "Don't worry, I've only cracked a rib or two. It's not broken…yet." She crouched down watching the guard cough in pain and gasp for air. "This is for hurting my brother, you shithead. I won't forgive anyone who makes him cry. And you did." She may not like Prussia, but that guy made Ivan smile and laugh. No matter what, she was just unable to achieve the same. Her brother's happiness was important to her and if Gilbert Beilschmidt was the key to that, then she was going to help.
"You…crazy bitch. Who…are you…" the man gasped out clutching at his chest.
"Shush, human. Shut your mouth if you want to life." Belarus plopped down on the man's stomach. "For Vanya's sake, I'll gladly get my hands dirty, you know." She had assassinated and killed soldiers in the last war, who invaded her country and tried to hurt Russia too. There were hardly any qualms involved in getting rid of this particular German.
Ivan did not look back to check what his sister was doing. She was more than capable of handling the man and he actually did not mind should the guard accidently end up dead.
"Gilbert…Gil. Can you hear me? Gil, it's Ivan!" He said touching the clutching hand and placed the other on Gilbert cheek lifting his head carefully. "…bozhe moy*," the Russian whispered seeing the man's lips were a dark violet colour, black circles under his eyes and his skin just felt like ice. For a moment, he feared it was too late, but then noticed there were small puffs of warm air coming from his lips. "I'm taking you home!" He said immediately taking off his trench coat. The garment was two sizes too big for the German which was perfect to wrap him up. The coat had also been worn for hours and was warmed up enough to at least provide some help. "Gilbert! Don't fall asleep! Just don't…." Ivan rather preferred that he actually would because the dark circles told him the man had been sleep-deprived for a long time, but he had no guarantee he would wake up again. Ivan needed Gilbert to stay awake until he had been checked over by a medic.
The German did neither react to Ivan's talking nor being wrapped up in the coat. All he wanted to do was stay awake somehow, but it was so hard to keep his eyes open.
"Prussiya!* Have you no honour? Don't you dare sleep on the job!"
Prussiya…Prussia…job…
The words roused him a bit. He was Prussia and would never fall asleep on an important task. He blinked a couple of times until the fog over his eyes cleared and found himself looking into violet coloured eyes. They were so full of worry. Gilbert frowned at the face. Was he so far gone to start hallucinating? Why would Ivan even be in Hohenschönhausen? "Y…ou…not real…"
While the German had been staring at him, Ivan had buttoned up the coat. "Oh, I'm very real." He snorted taking off his scarf too and wrapped it around Gilbert's neck as well. "Came to bust your stubborn ass out of here and now…" The two garments were not enough to warm him up completely, but at least it was something against the cold. "I'm going to carry you like a lady," he commented lifting him in his arms and swiftly walked inside the building. Although, he said it on a lighter tone, he was fuming in anger, but controlled himself for Gilbert's sake.
Ivan had been moving so quickly that the other did not even register what was happening. "Wha's…"
"We're going home, Gil." Ivan tightened his hold and pulled him closer. There were several people with whom he was going to have a serious talk for messing with one of his fellow spirits. There were also others who were going to pay for hurting his loved one.
"Vanya, time to go?" Natasha asked still sitting on the guard.
"Da…time to go," he said quietly glaring down at the fallen man.
She swiftly got up glancing at the charge in his arms. The German's eyes were half open and with the lack of any healthy colour on his face, he looked more like a corpse than alive. "Is he.. d-"
"He's alive." He cut her off immediately, refusing to hear the word 'dead'.
She tilted her head curiously at the growl and her eyes fell on the way Ivan's arms were holding the injured nation. Careful as if he were some fine precious object. Yet strong enough to protect him against anything. This was unlike her brother. Gilbert Beilschmidt was changing him. Making her brother more vulnerable, but resilient at the same time. Belarus sighed, unsure if she should be unhappy with this development.
"He's…alive," Ivan mumbled gently setting Gilbert on the floor against the wall for support. "We'll leave, just…give me a second. Prussia." For some reason Gilbert reacted the most when called by his old name. Ivan was prepared to call him anything as long as he stayed awake. Placing his hand on his head he started brushing through his hair gently trying to get his attention. "Prussiya… stay awake for me?"
The prompting together with the warm hand stirred Gilbert somewhat and he lifted his head a little..
Ivan had to clench his other hand into a fist at the confused gaze in his eyes. However, when red eyes locked onto his, Ivan knew Gilbert was awake enough to wonder what was happening. …'van...leave…" His voice sounded so strained that Ivan wanted to pick him up again and rush to a hospital immediately.
"Da, we'll leave. I promise. Just a moment."
Ivan quickly turned to the guard on the floor and all concern disappeared from his face. Grabbing the man by his neck again he lifted him slightly off the floor. "Listen to me carefully and don't you dare forget even one word or you'll wish you'd never been born."
He waited until the man nodded quickly with a gasp barely able to breathe.
"Good. Now, remind your First Secretary Ulbricht, nation's spirits who are in the Warsaw Pact are the concern of Ivan Braginski of the USSR. This also includes the GDR. Should he ever lay a hand on him again and go so far as to even implement torture…I will personally hunt him, his entire family and associates down. Without exception. The arm of the KGB is even longer than that of the Stasi. (1) Da?"
The guard stared at him and quickly nodded.
Ivan smirked not letting go. "I can't hear you…comrade."
The man nearly chocked, but still shouted. "Da, da!"
Despite getting a positive answer, the Russian tightened his grip ever so slightly. The truth was he wanted to squeeze the air out of this guy and watch the light disappear in his eyes for keeping Gilbert here for a whole week.
"I…van…"
He tensed at hearing Gilbert's weak voice and let immediately go of the man.
The German did not register everything that had been happening nor did he care. The scarf and coat were keeping the cold out and he slowly started to understand Ivan was here. That was more than enough for now. All he wanted was to get away from this place. "W…want out…."
Belarus had enjoyed the short dark side of her brother's personality, but had to agree with the German. It was better to get out of here fast. Their car was waiting outside and Gilbert Beilschmidt needed medical assistance. "He won't forget, Vanya. We should leave." She agreed pulling a handgun out of her coat and switched the safety off. "I'll cover you if necessary."
"You're right." He nodded with a sigh, gathering Gilbert in his arms once more and followed closely behind his sister. Pulling him closer, Ivan said lightly. "I'll make them pay."
They encountered a couple of guards on the way, but seeing their Soviet uniforms that signified one of the highest ranks they quickly moved aside. Before coming to Hochenschönhausen, the embodiment of the USSR had forced Walter Ulbricht to announce their arrival as well.
By the time they arrived at the front gate Gilbert had barely any strength left to keep his eyes open. "Ivan…" There was no cold or biting wind anymore. The soft texture around his neck and its thickness were slowly warming him up. The aggressive guards were also gone and he knew the Russian was here. All of this helped him understand he did not have to be on his guard anymore. "…wanna sleep…" He mumbled sinking deeper in the scarf.
Hearing his words Ivan was glad they had arrived at the car and next to it stood the second one with the two KGB agents. "Misha!" He called to one of the men. "We need to get him on the backseat." The man nodded opening both doors in the back of the car and together they maneuvered the injured to lie on the seat.
Once Gilbert was settled down Ivan crouched next to his head squeezing his shoulder lightly to get his attention. "I know you want to sleep, but don't. Stay awake. Just for a little bit longer. Schwöre es, Prussiya.*" Forcing the injured to remain awake was wrong and he felt slightly guilty for the demand, but it was for Gilbert's own wellbeing.
The unexpected German words and his old name spoken in Russian got his attention. "…ja," he forced out, straining his eyes to see better. "…Promise."
"Danke…" Another careful squeeze of his arm and Ivan sighed in relief before standing up. "Misha, watch over him for me."
The man named Misha nodded assuming the same position Ivan had, but mumbled that he needed a hospital.
The Russian went over to the second man. That one was talking to his sister, but turned once their commander approached. "Dima, I need you to drive to the GDR hospital in the Scharnhornstrasse 38 and get Dr. Stefan Walzig as fast as possible to our embassy. Tell him it's an emergency. Under no circumstances is the GDR to be mentioned."
"Understood." Getting the information needed Dimitri started the second car.
"I'm staying with you." His sister said immediately moving closer not planning to leave him to deal with all this on his own.
"Of course." Ivan watched the black car speed off. Feeling relieved his sister had agreed to help despite her disapproval of Gilbert Beilschmidt, he held his hand out to her. "Let's go."
She happily took it thinking they would immediately go to the car. Instead Ivan pulled her into a hug. "For doing this…spasiba*... I know, you hate him, but still…" he did not say anything and held her tighter. "…thank you…"
Belarus grinned lightly at the sudden display of kindness in a situation like this. "I don't like him, stealing your attention away, making you weak…but…" she sighed returning the embrace. "But…he's also doing you good. So, I won't behead him."
It was not exactly the best moment for doing this, but he felt it was important his little sister knew now he appreciated her help. "He can't be that bad if you don't want to do any beheadings," he had to laugh at how easily they could switch to gallows humour. It was always upsetting Ukraine, but Belarus would happily join in. "Come…your hands are freezing." Holding her hand tighter he quickly went to the car.
"We'll see…" she mumbled into her own scarf, not planning to accept the GDR that quickly.
Ivan grinned lightly hearing the muffled answer. 'A we'll see' from her meant she would slowly come to terms with it.
Misha saw the two come back and moved to the driver's seat starting the car. Belarus took the front seat, knowing Ivan would prefer sitting in the back with the injured nation. "Get us to the embassy quickly."
Ivan climbed in the back carefully lifting Gilbert's head before sitting down. "Still with me?" he asked letting him rest in his lap.
Blinking up at the Russian he tried to scowl at the question, but that required too much effort. "…p-promised."
"That you did." A faint smile started to appear on his face again. "A Prussian always keeps his word, ja?" He started to ask random questions, just to keep Gilbert engaged in a conversation and prevent him from dozing off.
Gilbert did not reply right away making Ivan wonder if he had heard him. A soft 'ja' was finally whispered as one shaky hand slowly clasped Ivan's coat.
The Russian noticed that and reached out, but stopped before his hand would make contact with Gilbert's skin. Unsure if it was alright to touch him. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"
Red eyes followed the moment and his fingers squeezed at the fabric even more when Ivan hesitated. "Don't know…" he admitted frowning at the sound of his own voice. Except for the 'interviews' every two days speaking had been hardly done. He had spent most of the time in silence or screaming when the guards were testing how much pain he could bare. "I can't feel…anything, just…just cold."
Ivan's hand curled itself into a fist, nails biting into skin. A couple of people were definitely going to pay. "Is this alright?" he asked placing his other hand carefully on Gilbert's forehead. After what had happened Ivan was expecting that he did not want to have anyone near him.
The touch startled him somewhat, while he was reminded of the unpleasant events. Once he felt the warmth seep through to his cold skin and the knowledge that Ivan was not going to hurt him, Gilbert leaned in with a sigh. He was away from the prison and safe. "It's…fine."
Touching him was not only done to provide comfort, but also to check for his temperature. The skin was still far too cold to be normal, but that ghastly violet colour on Gilbert"s lips was disappearing, which was a good sign. "I'm not letting them get away with this." He nearly growled brushing through the white hair gently. They had become lifeless, hanging limply and lacked that thickness that he remembered fondly. Another indication the man had insufficient nutritional intake.
"How long…there?" he asked suppressing the need to tremble at the memory of that place. His fingers dug even deeper into the fabric.
"Gil…you're not there anymore. You're safe." He cupped his cheek making him concentrate on his face. Reminding the German he was far away from that hell hole. "Almost a week. Once you did not arrive in Moscow after four days I've started making inquiries. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you."
"Found me..." His grip loosed a bit on the coat. "Danke…*"
"No need to thank me." He would have looked for him everywhere and used even the KGB contacts in the GDR if it had been necessary.
"I was…wondering...if you'd look…"
"Course I would!" He replied, his voice louder than it should have been. "I would. Had I known earlier what Ulbricht's plans were…I would've prevented it."
His sudden outburst made both the driver and Belarus glance momentarily back. "How long until we arrive?" she asked distracting the man from what was happening in the back.
"Just 6 km left. 10 minutes." It was nearly midnight with barely any cars on the road, which made the driving a lot easier.
Gilbert had to blink at the loud voice and his hand tightened around the coat again. "Don't shout…I'm tired of it all," he said with a sigh. One week of imprisonment had made sure that he was so sick of shouts and screams. It did not frighten him, just had made him tired of hearing it, but so many things had become exhausting at the moment. Staying awake was at the top on his list. He knew Ivan was engaging him in conversation to prevent him from sleeping and Gilbert was doing his best to remain awake, but his mind was getting to the point of apathy. "So…t-tired…" he felt his eyes slowly close and did not fight it.
"Don't!" Ivan shouted again grabbing Gilbert by his shoulders pulling him as carefully as possible into a sitting position. Shaking the man would probably yield some results, but he just did not dare. He had no idea if Gilbert had any serious injuries underneath that grey uniform. "You promised! Are you going to break your promise, Prussiya!"
Gilbert was pulled into a sitting position, but his head ended up lolling on Ivan's upper arm.
-.-.-.-.-
Yes, a cliffhanger again. I had to split this chapter in two. Otherwise it would have been 15+ pages.
See You in Part XXII!
Side Note: This site has this 'Story Stats' function that filters the readers according to the country. I'm really surprised there are so many from Finland. It's incredible! ^^
Additional Information:
(2) The famous saying was 'The long arm of the Stasi' (Der Lange Arm der Stasi) means that no matter where an 'enemy' of the GDR was, the Secret Police would get them. There are several documented kidnapping of former GDR citizens, who were abducted, sometimes even in broad daylight on a random street in the BRD and ended up in one of the Stasi prisons to never be heard from again. Since the Stasi was modelled after the KGB and until 1953 was under their jurisdiction, I used the saying that the KGB has even more influence because it had to operate on a world scale like any other secret service organization at the time. I'm also hinting at the huge spy operations between the USA and USSR that had been conduction throughout the Cold War.
Translations:
(German)
* Ihr…k-könnt mich ma (slang: Ihr könnt mich mal. Side note: author/poet J.W. von Goethe has used this in one of his works): Kiss my ass.
* Was: what
* Herr: Mister
* Danke: Thanks
* Schwöre es: Swear it
(Russian)
* bozhe moy (Божемой): My God! (an expression of shock or surprise)
* Prussiya (Пруссия): Russian way of saying Prussia
* sestrenka (сестренка): little sister, sis
* spasiba (спасиба): thanks
Reviews:
Soranomori: Oh yes, Belarus and Russia kick ass together if the chance is there and/or necessary and it continues in this chapter.
Let's call it 'the meeting of Prussia and Russia' will be a topic too just like a scene with Frederick/Gilbert. Very soon, in fact. ^^
Amber: I'm slowly integrating memories of each character into the chapter. Soon, there will be also moments of how Prussia and Russia met. ;)
Belarus is actually a very lovely character. To get a better feel for writing her, I've re-watched all episodes where she shows up and got all the manga out as well. Flaws is something that makes characters more likable and appear them more 'real' in a way. So, I do put them in the story and let them struggle a bit with themselves. It's true politically Belarus and Russia could be married, but it's best to avoid it. I really can't see them as anything else than siblings, who are really close. Same goes with ships like West/Prussia and UsUk. They're brothers, let's just keep it that way. ^^'
I was considering the idea of writing a short story about the adventures of Belarus and Russia. Those two would never get bored. XD To be honest, in real life I'm a bit similar to you with the 'little history lectures'. XD If I get engaged in a conversation about a historical period that I know about, I end up explaining. Not to boast or anything, but just to share the knowledge. Usually, it goes well. Other times people get annoyed, because I don't agree with their general opinion. Oh well, that's how it is. XD I do appreciate and like it when you tell me about history that I either know very little or nothing about. Oh, and please you don't have to apologize for delays in reading. Studying takes a lot of effort and time, same goes and there are other things too. Writing this story is a hobby/a way to relax and so is reading. So, take your time
azaneti: Thank you for liking the story, characters and even the KGB agents, haha. They are helping out Russia, so in this case they are okay, I guess. XD