Prussia smiled as he read the sign that said "Welcome to Atlanta" ahead in the window. Germany was happily sitting shotgun, sucking on a lollipop. "We're in Atlantis, big bruder!" he crowed, his eyes wide and shining.
Prussia chuckled. "Not Atlantis, West, Atlanta. It's one of the cities Mr. America owns." He was off work for the summer (cue choir rendition of "Hallelujah") and decided to take Germany on his first summer vacation. America let him come over to his place for a while, and told him about a pretty cool aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia that he and Germany might enjoy. Now the two brothers were on the way, and Germany was wiggling with happy anticipation.
They had a hotel room in St. Augustine, Florida, but drove up today to see the aquarium. Prussia parked the vehicle and after lines that practically seemed longer than the distance from New York City to Shanghai, they started on their tour.
Prussia got to pet a stingray, which he'd always wanted to do. Germany was afraid to touch one, a little hesitant to trust that the creatures' stingers had really been removed, but he was thrilled to watch them and proud that his awesome big brother had the guts to pet one.
They saw beluga whales, which made little Germany laugh hysterically because he'd never seen white whales before, and he found them extremely amusing. When he saw the dolphins, he automatically pressed his face to the glass and shrieked with delight. The whale sharks sent him hiding behind Prussia's legs, but the sawfish fascinated them and Prussia let the little nation use his phone to take picture after picture.
But Germany's favorite, by far, had to be the penguins. The little birds reminded him of Gilbird, and they were so cute and fluffy and they didn't attack him when he petted them. He spent forever at the exhibit, but finally Prussia was feeling hungry enough to die and told him, "Time to get out of the penguin tunnel, West. There are other people waiting, but hey, we're getting lunch at the Varsity and America says that place is awesome."
"Please, just a few more minutes?" begged Germany, his face falling.
"Sorry, West, but just give the little bird one more pet and then follow me, 'kay?"
Germany nodded obediently and Prussia heard an electronic beeping. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocking the screen to read a text. "You get there safe?- America". He smiled and typed back, "Yeah, got there hours ago, now I'm headed to lunch. Thanks, man, stay awesome. (:". He put his phone back and got Germany.
The brothers had a nice lunch and Germany thanked him for everything, but as they got back into the car to head back to Florida for the night, Prussia felt like something was off with his little brother. Germany was a quiet kid, but he usually spoke more than this, and after something that had made him as excited as the aquarium he normally would have talked a lot.
After about an hour of Germany being completely silent Prussia grew concerned and pulled off onto a side road. "West, are you okay?" he asked softly. "I haven't heard a word out of you the whole trip back."
"I-" Germany's voice faltered and then he replied timidly, "I have a penguin in my backpack."
Screeeeech…! "You WHAT?! Mein gott, West!" Prussia pulled over and made a sudden stop that made Germany's sensitive little tummy do backflips.
Germany handed Prussia his green backpack and opened it to reveal that, sure enough, there was a tiny penguin who was miraculously still alive. Prussia closed his eyes and prayed that when he reopened them, the penguin would be gone, just an optical illusion. But when he looked again, there was the bird, peeping happily. Prussia held his forehead in shock. Out of all the things his normally well-behaved brother could do, he never would have guessed that he would have stolen a penguin.
"West, why?"
Tears filled Germany's eyes and he replied sadly, "It kept looking at me, Prussia, and I felt so sad to leave it, and you have a bird so I thought-"
Ho, boy. Prussia ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, brushing Germany's hair out of his face. "You see, West, Gilbird is not a penguin. He can live in our sorts of temperatures. But penguins… they don't take it that well. He could die if he's out of his habitat much longer. At the aquarium he has a fun icy home with his fellow penguins and nice people who take care of him. If you didn't want to leave this little guy, imagine how much they must miss him at his home."
Germany understood now. He would miss the little penguin, but he wanted him to be happy, and he certainly didn't want him to die. "I guess I have to take you back to you home now," he told the penguin, "but I'll miss you."
Prussia smiled and ruffled Germany's hair. "Good boy, West," he said. "If you want a pet bird so much I can get you a more ideal one. Now, let's get this little guy back home." And he turned the wheel and prepared for the drive back to the aquarium. It looked like Germany would get to see the penguin tunnel again after all. Heck, he might even decide he wanted to pet a stingray!
(A/N: As crazy as this story sounds, it's based on a true one. A friend's little brother actually smuggled a penguin out of the Georgia Aquarium in a backpack XD)