Unless I get sudden inspiration for something else to add, this is the second last chapter of Cross Your Heart.

Also, a small update on that video that I was making... I was nearly done with it, had like 10 seconds at most to still make drawings for... and then the computer crashed. Motherboard just went *poof*. I do probably still have the files, but it will take a little while for me to be able to continue (otherwise it would've already been on YouTube a week ago, honestly).

Aaannyways, thanks yet again to Darkgems and espeon64, MissiriKoharehn, pinkdoughnuts, Abc, TheOldKaiser and awesome cookies for the follows, favourites and reviews!

I must apologise, there isn't much Franco-Prussian War in this, but there is something else most of you have mentioned.


Near the end of 1870, Hanover was with Prussia. The kingdom was back in Berlin for a little while, for as the war against France went on, so did the process of unification. Hanover had written to him earlier that he would come by to discuss a few things with him, and perhaps help him with the massive stacks of paperwork.
Right now he was just inspecting the Prussian curiously. "You look like the war's hardly affecting you," Hanover sighed eventually. "Doing so well against France, are we?"
Prussia chuckled, but didn't look up from his work. "Of course, you've got me in the lead," he replied with a cocky grin. "You know that I don't lose against sissies, and France is as sissy as Austria is. Besides, with all we're fighting for, you don't think I'd let you all down, right?"
Hanover was silent for a moment, but nodded then. "I suppose you're right." He was quiet for a moment longer then, during which Prussia finished writing one document and immediately went on to the other. When the albino yawned, Hanover moved a little closer. "Have you slept at all lately, though? I've lost count how many times I've heard you yawn in the few hours that I've been here. You look exhausted."
"Not really," Prussia just answered with a sigh. "About the sleeping, that is. Ever since I came back from the siege on Paris, I've been writing and reading and writing and reading and… I love reading, I've been writing all my life, but I just honestly can't stand to look at that damn paper anymore. The scent of ink makes me sick by now." He then turned to look at Hanover, holding up his poor, overused and abused left hand. "Did you know that holding that damn pen all the time hurts more than fighting in a battle and holding a weapon does? The pen really is mightier than the sword, all right."
Hanover bit back his laughter after Prussia fell silent again, his eyes twinkling. "Are you done ranting now?" he asked, a shiver in his voice betraying his joy. When Prussia didn't answer, he just ruffled his brother's hair teasingly and chuckled.
Eventually Prussia laughed along with him, then shook his head, turning back to his work. But he didn't get far with that until he sighed sadly. "You know," he began softly, dipping his pen back into the ink again, "the last time I had this much work to do and someone was bothering me like you are now, was nearly 100 years ago." He smiled at the memories, though they left him with an empty feeling in his chest, too. "France and Spain had decided it was a good idea to show up for my 600th birthday. Well… they got me into a lot of trouble, let's just keep it at that, and by the end of the day I had managed to finish nothing. We had fun, though." He sighed once again, shoulders slumped now. "Of course, not too long after that, the whole mess with Napoleon happened, and since then things with France have just never been as they used to be, and…"
"And you miss him?" Hanover guessed, a lot more serious now, his voice gentle for once. Prussia didn't reply, but Hanover clearly knew that he was right, anyway. "You've been friends with him for a long time, it's only natural to miss him," he then pressed, giving Prussia a friendly nudge.
But the kingdom didn't appreciate that much, and pushed him away, his gaze hardening. "We've been enemies longer than we've been friends," he said, more to himself than Hanover. "And now he wants to stand in the way of us forming Germany together. Demanding land from us… I'll take land from him, I'm telling you, the stupid stubble-faced frog."
"You're talking as if we're already unified," Hanover then commented, but his voice was emotionless as he spoke, so fortunately Prussia knew that he wasn't angry about that fact. "But then, I suppose we're close to it anyway."
"Württemberg, Bavaria and Baden want an alliance with the Confederation," Prussia stated proudly. "They'll be added to Germany when we get to create it soon, I swear. But not Austria." He fell quiet then, looking at Hanover with a questioning gaze. Guilt gnawed at him as he thought about this, as always, and he struggled to get the words over his lips. "Do you think…" he started, but trailed off, taking a deep breath before trying again. "Do you think that… that Saxony would've approved of all that we're doing now?"
Grief now flashed in Hanover's eyes, too, and for a moment Prussia felt guilty for bringing it up. But then the older nation answered: "I'm not sure, to be honest. If you recall, he didn't really like the Holy Roman Empire, either –the empire, not the person, I mean. He wouldn't resent you for it… uh… that is, not more than he already did…" He stopped, his gaze troubled, and Prussia could basically see the wheels turning in his head as he tried hard to come up with a way to say it without offending Prussia. It was common knowledge that ever since the Silesian Wars, Prussia hadn't been the Saxon's favourite little brother, to put it mildly. But then Hanover sighed deeply, sadness overflowing in his eyes now as he said softly: "I… I actually dream about him sometimes. Memories of the past, some just random dreams, but one of them… felt so real." He looked up at Prussia then, and the Prussian knew what was coming next. "I do that sometimes, you know… dream about those who've died."
"Me too," Prussia replied. "Mostly Brandenburg, though, and Holy Rome too. They've both come to talk to me once or twice…" He smiled at those memories, remembering when Holy Rome came to him in a dream just shortly after Saxony's death. He recalled the former empire trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault and that Saxony knew that and didn't blame Prussia… anymore… but the Prussian still wouldn't believe it, not until he'd heard it from Saxony himself. And the older kingdom had never appeared in a dream yet, not in an actual visit or truly just a dream. Thankfully Prussia at least didn't have nightmares about him either, which he did fear would be the case after that traumatic day.
But suddenly he realised just how side-tracked he and Hanover were getting, and he grabbed the documents he'd started reading again and told his brother to shut up now, that he was busy. Hanover huffed at this. "How rude, being so blunt about it," he complained, teasing Prussia a little, for he was smirking as he spoke.
The albino stared at him with twinkling red eyes, snickering a little. "Well, turns out that you're no better than France and Spain were!"
For this, Hanover smacked him over the head.


Before the war had formally ended, Prussia found himself in Versailles with all of his family. It was 18 January 1871, and it was perhaps the best day of his life. It was the most exciting, for sure.
This day surpassed the day that he became a duchy by far. The day that he became independent from Poland fell into naught compared to this day. The moment he heard that he would be a kingdom was perhaps closest to this glorious moment, but it was still nothing in comparison to what he felt now.
Finally… this was the day.

Prussia had returned to Paris, which was still under siege by the Prussian army, at the start of the year. He had been confronted and threatened by a battered and bruised France, and laughed in his face for it. France had somehow managed to sneak up on him and place a knife to the Prussian's throat before he noticed the older nation's presence, and really, that was an achievement which Prussia did not deny. But France's effort had been futile nonetheless.
"You're a threat to all of Europe," he had told Prussia as he held the knife to his throat. "You're a threat that needs to be taken care of. I don't want to kill you, Prussia…"
"So don't," the kingdom replied coolly, unimpressed. "It's very easy, really; just put the knife away and make a run for it. The latter because I do not appreciate this at all." Of course he knew that it wasn't going to work. Of course he knew that it would only anger France further. Oh, but he did so love playing with him like this right now; the damn Frenchie deserved it tenfold.
"I can't let you create Germany," France insisted, pressing the knife closer. Maybe he was drawing blood now, maybe not. It wouldn't be much anyway. "You're disrupting the balance of Europe like this. No, of the world even!" Prussia could hear him grit his teeth in distress. "Someone should've stopped you at the very first sign that you would pull something like this!"
"Ah, but I must disappoint you," Prussia then told him, still just as calm. "You see, France, my death won't stop the unification. You might end up killing 'Prussia' permanently though, if my theory is right." France's grip slackened, but only a little, as he listened to the younger kingdom. "I've been thinking, you see. About why Saxony isn't back yet. About why everyone was reborn if they died under the Holy Roman Empire," Prussia went on. "It's because they weren't united under Holy Rome, not really. There was no nationalism fuelling their unity then, so basically, the people thought of all the other countries' people as 'different', and so, by extension, we really were too different." France muttered something under his breath at this, but Prussia only went on. "Nowadays, as you must've noticed, the people almost all view themselves as 'German'. Maybe they're 'Prussian German' or 'Hessian German' or even 'Bavarian German', but they're all the same in essence. Their ethnic brothers and sisters. We're more united now than ever before, and honestly, I've got you to thank for this. Napoleon Bonaparte took care of that, for starters. Anyway, as for why Saxony isn't back yet… this is purely theoretical, of course. But I believe that we're so strongly connected now, not only in blood but in our hearts as well, that we don't need separate personifications anymore. It has happened before, hasn't it? Not too often, I know… But great empires of the past have sometimes made separate personifications unnecessary, right?" He chuckled, enjoying how he noticed France being more confused yet somehow seeing sense in all this. "It's why everyone always ends up rebelling against their governing nations, right, if they're part of an empire like that? They're all afraid that they'll die for real if something happens."
France's grip on him tightened again, pinching his shoulder painfully, but then he sighed and moved away. Prussia turned around to face him then, and France huffed, glaring at him. "I hate your brain," he stated coldly. Prussia snickered at this, asking him if he was making too much sense. France blinked at him, his gaze emotionless. "Maybe, but you could also be overthinking it."
"Either way," Prussia responded, shrugging, "I'm right that you won't be able to stop the unification. And… disrupting the balance of the world? Please." He then turned around and walked away, half expecting a knife to be thrust into his back, but France didn't make a move and simply let him go.
Since then he and France hadn't spoken a word to each other.

And now the day had finally come, just days after that confrontation. Maybe the unification wasn't quite official yet, but King Wilhelm I of Prussia was now going to be proclaimed Emperor of the Germans. The North German Confederation, together with the states that had joined Prussia against France, now formed Germany. It might still take some time until it all was ratified, but here was the base of Prussia's dreams coming true. This was what all his work had been for.
He watched with pride as the people cheered for their soon-to-be new emperor, then gazed at all of his family members gathered around as well. They looked as excited as he felt, some mingled with some doubt, but no one looked unhappy or reluctant. He couldn't blame them for doubting if this was the right thing to do; it was such a big change, of course they would have their fears. Frankly, he was looking to the future with a twinge of fear himself, but it was that fear that drove him to excitement. There would be so many things left to conquer for this family, but this time they would do it together.
The Prussian tilted his face up, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. I've finally begun to serve my purpose, he told everyone who was up there, watching from afar. Whatever reason you've had for making my path so difficult, I've gotten through, and I've done it. I hope that my family will really benefit from this. I'm certain they will. He opened his eyes again, glancing around the Hall of Mirrors. And for just a split second, as he saw his own reflection in the mirrors in the wall, he also saw the reflection of a young woman, not quite out of her teens, with light brown hair standing by his side. On his other side stood a blonde boy, barely more than half his length. A split second was all it lasted, but it was all he needed for his heart to overflow with warmth and gratitude. I'm glad of your approval… Brand, Holy Rome…
He was so much in thought, his head spinning with all these different things, that he hardly noticed when Wilhelm I was proclaimed emperor. His heart was racing in his chest as cheering broke out more than before, the noise pounding his ears. It felt like his head was swimming in it, and he had to remind himself to breathe. His heart was beating so quickly in all the excitement, it actually hurt.
It was only when the pain kept on increasing that he realised something was wrong. He could barely breathe, and he only got dizzier with the heartbeat. He glanced around, noticing that some of his family members weren't feeling too great, either; Hanover was leaning against a wall, one hand on his chest as he tried carefully to take deep breaths. Waldeck was looking pale, and Brunswick leaned against him with her eyes closed, probably feeling about as dizzy as Prussia was. He then whipped his head around, wondering frantically what was going on, and saw Hesse and Bavaria looking uneasy, too. But he'd spun around too fast, and the room and all the people kept on spinning before his eyes, and then everything went black.

The next thing he knew, he lay on the floor, a pale-faced Hesse knelt beside him and Württemberg leaning heavily on his cane on the Prussian's other side, looking down with a worried gaze. When Prussia sat up, Hesse supported him with a hand on his back, but the kingdom felt that he wasn't feeling too great himself and his hand trembled as he helped the younger nation up. "Take it easy now," he said in a hushed voice. "What happened? You just collapsed."
Prussia shook his head. The dizziness was gone. Confused, he gazed around for a moment. Thankfully not all eyes were on him, and he saw Hanover now sitting against the wall rather than standing, and Waldeck was helping Brunswick back to her feet.
Hesse followed his gaze and sighed. "Well, and you're not the only one. You've only been out of it for a couple of seconds, really, no need to worry."
Prussia nodded silently and got to his feet, refusing help from Hesse or anyone with that. The dizziness wasn't the only thing that was gone, the pain in his chest was, too. He felt like he hadn't had this much oxygen in a long time. His head was clear… Everything that had gone wrong in that moment was gone now, and he'd never felt better.
Just as he thought this and he looked around again, he saw Hanover stand up again as well, Hesse and Waldeck got some colour back in their faces, and Brunswick and Württemberg stood steadily as if nothing had ever happened.
And then he smiled, his eyes shining as he looked around. The humans, shocked for a moment by the nations' reactions to this, seemed to slowly start to feel easier, too, and soon there was soft talking in the hall again. Out of all the nations, it was Hanover who spoke first. Well… 'spoke'. "Whoooo!" he cheered, laughing a bit. "Oh, man, that was intense! Do you all feel great too? Because I feel great! Like, wow, this is-!"
"We get it, Hanover," Hesse chuckled, silencing him. "Yes, I feel the same. I think we all do."
"No kidding!" Prussia then replied, his voice maybe a little too loud, but he didn't care. "This was so awesome! Totally worth the passing out for a second –why was that, anyway? Oh, never mind, we'll figure it out." He felt like he could just burst out of his skin with energy, and his heart could grow wings any moment now and flutter out of his chest. He laughed for a moment, just like Hanover had done. Was this what it was like, forming an empire together? Combining their strengths? It was one of the best things he'd felt in a long, long time. "How to describe-? I feel like I'm stinking drunk without the negative things like nausea and headaches, something like that!"
"Like I got one of Netherlands's special cigarettes," Hanover agreed.
Prussia remembered the one instance he'd smoked one of those, and nodded, laughing. "Totally high, in the good way. The best way possible!"
"You're acting like you're on a sugar rush," Württemberg sighed, trying to sound stern, but he too was smiling. "Both of you, calm down."
"You know what?" Prussia replied light-heartedly. "Screw that! Come on, Württemberg, you must feel it too! Something went right for once, like, really really good!" Then he realised which day it was, and he laughed again. "Hey, I just thought… we've got to celebrate this. And considering the date, it's on me, all right?"
"For this many people?" Bavaria just asked him, smirking and fighting to hold back his laughter. "Are you serious?"
Suddenly Prussia realised what he was saying. Of course he was talking about his family only, not the humans, but even then it would be very expensive to buy even one round of beer for everyone. But his siblings and cousins wouldn't let him go back on that promise now. He sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself, more precisely his savings, into. Hesse patted him on the shoulder with a smirk, and Prussia looked up at him with a helpless gaze. "I'm going to have to pay my age, don't I?"
"Depends," the Hessian replied with eyes twinkling in joy. "How old are you now?"
"679."
"Ha. If only that was all."
Hanover snickered as he came to stand on Prussia's other side, nudging him in the side. "You'll be broke after today. But no worries, bro, we're all one nation now, we'll share."


In the weeks that followed, Prussia was more busy than ever before. He travelled around the newly created German Empire to inspect the armies of the smaller states, which would now fall under Prussian rule. The larger states' armies could stay their own, albeit with adjustments to match Prussian military tactics. And since no one knew more about the Prussian army than Prussia himself, his king and now also emperor had sent him to take care of that. Also, governmental transitions like these always produced mountains of paperwork. There had to be a new constitution, too. Then there was the peace process with France after he'd won that war. It was almost enough to make him regret doing this. Of course he wasn't working alone, but he was doing most work as he was taking the lead of this empire. Some of his family members teased him about it, others were more sympathetic and offered to help when he was with them. He hadn't been home since the start of January, and the sheer amount of work to do basically forced him to overwork himself if he wanted to get it all done in time.
By the time that happened, he was lucky enough to be with Württemberg, who was sensible enough not to make jokes about it or tease him or just don't care at all (he would've hated to be in this position in Hanover's home, for one).
"So how much work do you have left to do?" the younger nation asked Prussia as he sat on his couch beside the albino.
Prussia was shivering lightly, having a mild fever, and let out a shaky sigh. "A lot. I still haven't been to Baden and Bavaria. After that I can go home again."
"No way," Württemberg protested, shaking his head determinedly. "Let me take care of whatever work I can do and take as much time as you can to relax, all right? Flawed as you may be, sometimes you just really work too hard."
Prussia snorted, biting back a few chuckles. "Isn't that a flaw, too?"
"…Perhaps." Then Württemberg sighed and gave him a rough poke in the shoulder. "But I'm serious, Prussia. You're a little sick now, but if you keep working like this you won't recover anytime soon and it'll only get worse." Prussia nodded and was about to get up, saying that he would get them both something to drink, to which Württemberg tapped him on the legs to knock him back down onto the couch gently, and then got up to do it himself.
Prussia huffed, crossing his arms over his chest crankily, following the younger nation with his gaze until he was out of sight. "Well, that's overkill," he muttered with a sigh. "I can easily take care of that myself."
But he acted happier again when Württemberg came back in. The teenager was only trying to be polite, of course, and Prussia was grateful for that. When they'd sat together like that for some time, silent, Prussia turned to Württemberg tentatively. "How are you feeling lately?"
The younger nation looked at him in surprise. "I'm… perfectly fine," he answered with a confused frown. "Why?"
The Prussian looked away for a moment, worry sparking in his heart once again. "Well, not everyone is feeling so wonderful anymore," he explained softly. "Hanover, when I visited him two months ago, wasn't doing so well. He's been sick a lot and he's been losing weight and… and he's not the only one. Nassau, too, and some of the little states, the principalities. They don't have it as bad as Nassau and Hanover, though. But…"
Württemberg looked worried about this, too, and a silence fell in the room again. Eventually he spoke up again, however. "I think… Hanover and Nassau are just… provinces, aren't they?" Prussia nodded, feeling sick. He'd been thinking about that, too. "Brandenburg was never reborn because she practically become your province, too."
"Yes, but that didn't become official until a century later!" Prussia protested fiercely, trying hard to deny that he was the cause of even more deaths or illness or anything bad within the family.
Württemberg nodded quickly, mild fear flashing in his eyes, and Prussia forced himself to relax again. "Of course, and you had nothing to do with that," the younger nation said in a hurry, trying to avoid Prussia's anger. "But… maybe that's why Saxony never came back, too? Because such a big part of him became your province?"
"And part of him is still a kingdom."
"Well, and he was killed during wartime," Württemberg tried, getting uncomfortable now. Prussia was too defensive, and he could still get pretty angry in these situations. And no one liked having an angry Prussian in their homes.
But that anger soon faded, and Prussia sighed deeply, hiding his face in his palms. "I don't know if this really the best thing I could've done for us," he mumbled, his voice soft and with a shiver of regret in it. But Württemberg just gave him a pat on the shoulder and told him not to give up on it so soon; the first months of this would naturally be the hardest, but soon enough everything would be fine.
The younger nation then lightly touched Prussia's forehead, and sighed when he did so. "Warmer than when you got here," he concluded calmly as he moved his hand back to the Prussian's shoulder. "Why don't you just try and forget about all this for a moment and go to bed early tonight? Maybe in the morning your fever will be gone."
Prussia just nodded and promised that he would try. It probably was best to forget about all these troubling matters, but that was easier said than done.


Prussia got home again by the start of October, by which time he felt a bit better again. He barely got time for himself at home, however, before he was called to his king and emperor again for something 'important'. That was all he had said about it. And when Prussia got there, he felt like his heart could give out.

3 October 1871

This… Today was just… I don't even know how to write it, and usually my writing is better than my speaking, I can think better as I write, but this…
How?
My first thought when I came in was 'Saxony', but I just know that's wrong. This is Berlin, not Dresden. Württemberg was reborn in Stuttgart, Bavaria in Munich. Everyone is always born in their capital.
So what is this… this THING doing in Berlin?!
Brandenburg? But she's never going to be reincarnated now. She's had that chance for 102 years before she officially became my province and it never happened.
There's only one possibility, really…

Prussia felt shaky as he looked at the child Wilhelm I showed him. What was he supposed to do with this? What was he supposed to think?
Wilhelm was a lot calmer about it than Prussia, and didn't seem to understand why his kingdom was reacting like this. "I think you and I both know who this is, am I right?" the old human asked with a smile, standing up from where he sat and walking over to the kingdom's side, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "You've done well, Prussia," he praised the albino, whose head was spinning again like it was on the day the German Empire had been formed. "Without your efforts, this wouldn't have happened. It's a glorious day, isn't it?"
Prussia just nodded silently, but he didn't think as he was doing so. His mind was reeling. How? When? Why? He looked down at the tiny baby wide-eyed, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the little boy stare back up at him with big, icy blue eyes. Holy Rome… He looked so much like the late empire. Like Germania too, going by the few hazy memories Prussia had of seeing him in dreams. If those instances had really been his father of course. He wasn't sure.
"Go on, Prussia," Wilhelm insisted carefully. "He isn't made of poison or anything. Pick him up."
Tentatively the kingdom followed orders, reaching for the baby. He squirmed as Prussia touched him, a squeal coming from his mouth, and the albino pulled his hands back again. Why did this child freak him out so much? It was just a baby. Nothing malicious about it, nothing threatening. Just… just a baby. He took a deep breath and tried again, lifting the boy up and holding him in his arms carefully.
The baby squealed again, staring up at the albino with his bright blue eyes, then reached out to him with his two tiny hands. He could barely reach Prussia's chin like that, and the kingdom just let him poke his chin and jaw as much as he liked. He was too stunned to do anything but stare.
Beside him, Wilhelm I chuckled. "He seems to like you," he commented warmly. "That's good. He'll be your responsibility, Prussia."
The nation nodded, a lump in his throat preventing him from breathing properly. He had seen it coming, but he wasn't looking forward to raising this child. But why not? He'd always liked doing that in the past. Yes, a voice in his head then retorted, together with Brandenburg you did, or when it was a human. This is different.
Then he shook his head, looking at the old human beside him. "I have nothing for him in my home," he protested feebly. "Nothing –no bed, no… nothing to eat… nothing."
"That's all right," Wilhelm replied calmly. "We'll make sure you'll have everything you need." He was quiet for a moment, inspecting Prussia, who didn't seem to calm down yet. He sighed. "Prussia, it'll be all right. I have all faith in you. You can do this."
The child yawned then, and closed his eyes, snuggling up to the Prussian in whose arms he lay, and it was only when he felt the baby sleepily rest his cheek against his chest like that, that Prussia felt more at ease. How could a little baby make him so nervous? It was such an innocent, harmless little thing. He looked down at him again after staring at his king for a few moments, only to see the child basically back asleep already. The sight made his heart melt.
Whether he liked it or not, this child was his family. He was his tiny little brother, and if it was up to him to take care of him now, then he would take that task upon himself like he did anything else. He adjusted his hold on the little boy, holding him with one arm, and carefully ran his fingers through his soft blonde hair.
"Welcome to the family… Germany."

Weeks later, the entire family was gathered in Berlin to meet the new-born empire. Everyone was excited about it, though some less than others. And then there were a few things not everyone agreed with.
"So remind me again why you're raising him?" Bavaria demanded with a huff.
"Are you sure it's not Saxony?" Hanover asked, then, not giving Prussia a chance to answer Bavaria's question. "I mean, he…"
"No, he's definitely Germany," Prussia replied, then glaring at Bavaria. "And the reason I'm raising him, prick, is because your emperor said so. Deal with it." Bavaria glared back at him, and they kept doing so until Hesse stepped in and told them both to cut it out. Things between Prussia and Bavaria had always been rocky at best, but this was one of the relationships that had declined since the establishment of the Empire. Prussia just cleared his throat, about to say something else when suddenly Germany started crying.
Brunswick, who had been holding the little baby, stiffened at this, her eyes growing wide. She then looked at her siblings and cousins. "It wasn't me!" she squeaked, clearly not knowing what to do. "I didn't do anything, he just… started crying!" She looked back down at Germany and tried to shush him gently, but he didn't respond. Prussia decided to watch it for a little while longer before he would step in, just to see if she could figure it out on her own. "Oh, please, Germany… Please go to sleep, sweetie, it's all right now. They've stopped fighting, see?"
Prussia smiled at this. Did she really not hear it? "He's just hungry," he told her after she'd kept this up for two minutes. "Honestly, it does not surprise me; it's past lunch time for the little thing. I completely forgot for a moment, talking to you guys." He got to his feet then, laughing for a moment before he'd get something for the little one to drink. "But then, he has this nice built-in alarm that lets me know when he needs food every day and every night without fail! Oh, the joy…" He had already been tired, but it had gotten worse over the past weeks. Germany demanded constant attention, day and night, and Prussia had had some sleepless nights already.


Minutes later he sat down again, having given Brunswick a bottle so that she could feed the newest addition to their family. He just gave instructions as he watched her: "Hold him a little bit straighter, like he's sitting. We don't want him to choke." Or: "He can be stubborn sometimes and refuse to drink, but if he doesn't, he'll start crying again minutes from now, so be persistent." And also: "He'll fall asleep after this, so if everyone could be a little more quiet…"
Hanover sighed deeply, staring from Germany to Prussia and back again with a look of disbelief. "You know," he began in a tired voice –he still wasn't doing well, "it's kind of unbelievable how well you've adapted to this."
"Sure is," Bavaria agreed, smirking at Prussia. "The day I got a letter saying that there was a little personification of Germany around now and that he was under your care, I said a prayer for the poor tyke's soul."
"Prussia isn't that bad a brother, actually," Württemberg put in, smiling a little as he said that. "He can be surprisingly fatherly… Brotherly I mean…" His cheeks growing red at this, he averted his gaze uneasily.
Hesse, who knew the story of how Württemberg in his first years had thought of Prussia and Brandenburg as his parents before learning that they were his cousins or siblings instead, only chuckled and patted him on the head, for which Württemberg told him 'not to be so patronising over it'.
Baden began laughing then. "Look at Prussia! He's all red, too!" The others looked at the Prussian now, too, who only blushed more under their stares, and they all laughed.
Only to fall silent when Germany joined them with a loud, happy squeal, staring at the baby in surprise.
"So what happened to the 'he'll fall asleep after eating', Prussia?" Bavaria asked, though he didn't sound cranky now. Instead he was smiling warmly as he looked at Germany, who was glancing around at all his siblings with round, curious eyes.
Brunswick then lifted him up a bit, holding him up higher so that their eyes were on the same level. The baby's blue irises twinkled as he looked at his big sister. She seemed to melt. "Aww, but isn't he just the cutest little thing ever?" she said warmly, sighing. "I don't want him to fall asleep yet; he's too cute when he's curious like this!"
Württemberg leant in closer to Prussia then, asking in a whisper: "Should we warn her?"
the Prussian just shook his head, biting back his laughter. "Nope. This is going to be good."
Only seconds later, their prediction came true: Germany suddenly fell quiet from his cute, soft little squeals and babbling, being very still in Brunswick's arms for a moment. Everyone else stopped talking as well, and the young woman seemed to realise what was coming a second before it did. She cringed when the tiny baby barfed on her, however, even though she had seen it coming just in time, a shiver visibly going down her spine.
Laughing loudly now, Prussia got up and took him from her, holding his little brother gently. "Now he will fall asleep," he answered Bavaria's earlier question before sitting back down again, hugging Germany closer carefully, waiting for him to fall asleep in his arms like he did every day.
From there on everyone talked more softly, hoping not to disturb their tiny new brother. Prussia waited until he felt the boy's breathing become steady and deep, then looked up at his family. Quietly he asked if he could propose something. This was a thing that he had privately decided on already, but he wanted their consent before he would make it official. "I've been wondering," he began softly, looking down at his precious little brother. "I know that many of us don't have one yet, but in society as it is now… Ever since the Age of Enlightenment, really, not so many people still believe that we are real. Personifications of nations. So…"
"Get to the point already," Bavaria urged him on in a mutter.
"I was thinking that Germany needs a human name as well. At least until he's old enough to be acknowledged by the people as being Germany. I can't imagine our people accepting a baby to be their immortal representation." Hesse nodded, agreeing to that. He remembered the reactions people had to Holy Rome –a child representing an empire. They just didn't understand most of the time. Prussia smiled at this. "Exactly the person I want to talk about. He looks so much like Holy Rome…"
Hanover nodded, leaning in closer to look at the child. "They could've been twins," he commented softly.
Prussia looked back down at Germany, fast asleep in his arms, and it warmed his heart once again.
"…So how about we name him Ludwig?"


So, Germany's here!

The next and last chapter will have heartbreak and cute fluffiness, hopefully balanced out.Hope to Die will probably start right after Cross Your Heart ends, but then, I'm going to have a few crazy weeks with school starting tomorrow and appointments and my job starting again and... gaaah... real life coming back.

(Also I dug into some history last week that I hadn't paid much attention to before and I realised a horribly stupid mistake that I've kept up for several chapters. You won't be seeing a certain very minor side character anymore. Blame my internet sources for using one name at times and then the other one, but never ever clarifying that they were in fact the same thing... Oooh, I feel so stupid. Why no one has mentioned this mistake to me before, I have no idea... Maybe you all hadn't noticed it yet, either? Good XD )

So yeah. I'm more ashamed of that certain mistake than any historic inconsistency I've had so far. Probably because I'm learning German in school and I should know this.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks so much for reading again!