"Oh my god!" America cried as he read the newspaper at his brother's place.
"What is it this time, America? You've said that phrase a lot lately..."
Canada looked up from his cup of coffee and eyed the back cover of the paper. He took note of the date, knowing full well the issue that he was reading.
America flipped the newspaper around and showed Canada the front page, his face pale in shock.
"Oh, that..." Canada shrugged nonchalantly as he saw the main headline. "Amazing, isn't it?"
"You don't understand, brother..." America whined, placing the paper down by his cup and saucer. "That dirty Russia has one-upped me again."
"Really?"
"You know, he has better bombs than me! In any case, I'd be doomed in a direct war with him... and now he has to claim the skies for himself too!"
"Well I'm surprised that he even managed to do it. I always thought it would be impossible..."
"Not just the skies, Canada! The whole atmosphere too, since it's orbiting around the world right now!"
"You should calm down, America." Canada replied quietly but firmly before his brother could lose his composure completely.
"How can I? I'm falling behind..." America said flatly, his voice faltering.
Canada's expression darkened and he began to explain.
"Listen, it must have taken Russia years just to plan how it would all work, and it will take him yet more to make something better. While he does, you'll have plenty of time to come up with something original and groundbreaking. And if you do succeed, I bet that he'll regret ever striking up competition with you. Does that sound alright?"
"Yeah, it does...but how do you know that's what he'll do? You're not secretly a spy, are you?"
"Of course not. I'm just making guesses based on logic."
"So I can still trust you, right?"
"Yes, you can."
"I'm glad, then." America said in relief. He reached for his cup and sipped his now cooled down coffee.
While America's eyes were fixed on his brown beverage, Canada smirked.
Author's Note: Sputnik 1 was launched on the fourth of October 1957 and pretty much kicked off the Space Race. It spent three months in orbit before it eventually fell and burned up.