Wham! The black-and-white ball made a satisfying sound as it hit the inside of the goal. Prussia smiled proudly. Even Spain, who took great pride in his football skills, had to admit that Prussia was the "awesomest" footballer around. Little Germany would agree. He sat outside smiling and clapping for Prussia any time he basically did anything.
France, Spain, England, Japan, and China hoisted Prussia up on their shoulders. Their star player's goal had just won them the game against Russia, Poland, Switzerland, Egypt, Greece, and Cuba. Germany shrieked with excitement, and America, Canada, and even Spain's grumpy little underling Romano, clapped for their older brothers. Germany got to have the pleasure of pouring an icy sports drink on his brother's head, and Prussia laughed and picked him up.
It was around that time that a young girl with black hair and almond-shaped brown eyes stepped up with a microphone, two men filming behind her. "Hello," she greeted cheerfully, "I'm Taiwan. Would you like to say a few words about the game, Mr. Prussia?"
Prussia cocked his head and winked, giving Taiwan a tilted half-smile. "Anything for you, babe." Germany, meanwhile, was very shy around cameras and strangers, and hid behind Prussia's legs, listening to Prussia speak. "All I gotta say is, to my team, stay awesome!"
After a few moments Taiwan left, her phone number in blue ink on Prussia's toned arm. Germany tugged on the edge of his jersey and Prussia bent down, hands on his knees, to face his little brother. "What's up, West?" he asked affectionately, ruffling the child's hair.
"Can you…" Germany swung his arms back and forth shyly. "Can you teach me how to play football?"
"Sure thing, kid!" Prussia swung his little brother onto his shoulder and headed for the car. "We've got a ball and a goal at home, that's all we need for practice."
When the two brothers got home from the game, Prussia dug up one of his old footballs and pumped some air into it. He took Germany into the backyard and frowned. His little brother was small enough to use the ball as a chair, which was adorable, but not very good to play with correctly. He thought for a minute and ran inside, promising little Germany that he'd be back out in a moment.
Prussia came back with a much smaller football and smiled. "This is what I started out with, when I was about your age," he explained, setting the ball down.
"Wow," said Germany, his eyes growing wide, "that was a looong time ago."
Prussia chuckled. "Sure was. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" He placed the ball a couple feet in front of Germany and decided to assess which of his little brother's feet was more accurate. "Don't kick it with your toe," he instructed, "you'll hurt yourself. "For an accurate shot, you kick it with the side of your foot, like this." Prussia demonstrated with the larger ball, using the inside of his right foot to land it in the goal. "Can you try that, West?"
Germany nodded and looked at the goal for a moment before attempting to emulate what his brother had done. It went straight enough but never reached the goal. "I missed," he whispered, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.
"It's all right," Prussia assured him, handing the ball back to him. "No one can be awesome at it at first, it takes practice. Now, let's move you a little closer to the goal, and when you master that, you can start kicking for farther away."
"Ja!" Germany kicked again, hitting the goal this time. "Awesome, little bro!" Prussia gave Germany a high five and walked him to the middle of the yard. "Now, let's work on dribbling, okay?" Germany nodded enthusiastically and Prussia explained and demonstrated the process to him before giving him a shot at it. The footwork confused the little boy at first, but Prussia knew that he'd figure it out soon enough.
When they were ready to come in, Prussia handed Germany the little ball. "You earned it today, West," he told him proudly, putting a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "This football is yours now?"
"Really?" Germany's eyes widened.
"Ja. It's all your own now, kid."
Germany's face lit up with excitement and he jumped into Prussia's arms. "Danke, bruder!" he exclaimed, and Prussia smiled. "How 'bout we play again tomorrow?"
To Germany, that sounded like a pretty good plan.