I don't own either OcestadosBr or Hetalia, nor their related fandoms and characters. The same applies to any other fictional work(s) that may be referenced.

I also give permission to anyone interested in using my work as a source of material for their own creative initiatives, be it written, visual, musical or otherwise, to do so at their own discretion.

I do not write as a means to earn revenue, only as a hobby, so I will not be hiring anyone in the present or the future for anything related to my works on FF.

*NOTICE*

link to the cover image on Pinterest: br.pinterest.com/pin/78813062222964541/

It's also necessary to mention that the cover image is not of my doing. Please send me a message to remove it if you are it's owner and wish for it to be done. Each character in the cover represents one of Brazil's states, plus it's Federal District. Though I'll be writing this with nikkiyan design in mind, the relationships (and most likely, the personalities) of the characters will be OOC.

SP = Paulo

MT = Marta

MS = Matheus

PA = Patrício

RJ = Sebastião

MG = Miguel

Portugal = Manuel

(Paulo POV)

I still remember the first time I met her. Back in the 1640s, during the Expedition of the Limits*.

I had left with Antônio Raposo Tavares, the "Old Man", from São Paulo to Itatim, to the west of modern MS, to attack the Jesuit reductions. We led an army of some 60 whites, 200 paulistas* of mixed ethnicity and 1000 natives, and in November of 1648, we began our attack.

We managed to destroy the Spanish missions, but Asunción send such an army that we had to leave the region. Our official goal was the search for precious metals, but our true objective was to discover more about the land itself, to seek anything of interest to Portugal, as that old geezer Manuel so happily informed us in the year before. And so, we begun our journey to the North, that would end when we reached Belém, Patrício's capital.

And during that journey, I met Marta and her younger brother, Matheus.

They seemed young, about eighteen and fourteen years old respectively, but I too looked to be about seventeen, and I had over a century under my belt.

They, too, were embodiments of the Nation that was beginning to form, I could feel it very clearly, so when the people from my state made to attack them, I gave them a sign to back off, and approached them myself, asking them if they wanted to accompany me.

The younger one seemed enthusiastic, but Marta just narrowed her eyes and, standing in front of him asked my intentions should they refuse.

"If you don't want to follow, that's fine. I have a feeling we'll meet again, eventually."

And as I watched them leave, I truly hoped that that feeling proved to be true.

After all, I had never seen a woman so beautiful in my life, especially not one that would live as long as me.

The next time I met her, if memory doesn't fail me, was during the founding of Cuiabá, that would become her capital city, around 70 years after our first meeting.

I will admit not to remember much of the occasion aside from her enchanting smile, but that's mostly due to her brother, that challenged me to a drinking contest, and as I'm not one to back down, I ended up blacking out together with him.

When I woke up, I was in a small, but cozy bed. With her by my side. Looking at me very closely.

So close that our noses were touching.

I started blushing, but before I could ask anything, she put her finger up close to her mouth telling me to stay silent, and I heard her brother snoring.

I stayed quiet and we just kept looking at each other for a while.

We both had matured a bit since the last time I saw her. Now, we both looked around the same age, in our twenties, although she was a bit taller than me. Considering what I heard from Sebastião, we would probably not change in appearance anymore, which means I would continue looking up at her.

Secretly, I kind of like it.

Don't tell Sebastião about it though, he'll be insufferable about it.

"What are you thinking about?"

Her whisper brought me back to reality, and I noticed a small blush had appeared on her face. Guess I had stared for a bit too long.

"Just that I regret not remembering what we did last night."

Her blush intensified.

"We didn't do anything like that. We're both still fully clothed, see?"

I looked and noticed she was telling the truth.

"…Do you want to do it now?"

She looked a bit conflicted at the thought.

"…We should get to know each other a bit more before that, I think."

I hummed. We had a feeling of closeness, since the people from my land were the ones that were populating hers, but as far as actual interactions, this was only our second meeting.

"Fair enough. What do you want to know about me?"

Although things were not going at the pace I was hoping for, the smile she gave me made it worth it.

Things did get a bit out of control when her brother woke up, and ended up seeing us sleeping together with one another, but overall that was a great day.

And when I left back to my home, I knew the wait might be long, but I was hopeful that at the very end, I would have a partner not only for a night, but for a very long life.

The sounds of bullets once more reached my ears, and I woke up from my thoughts of the past.

As I looked at all the fallen men around me, many of them too young for the bloody conflict that had befallen us, I sighed at the bitter truth that was in front of my face.

The battle was lost.

I was not stupid, I had lived long enough and fought enough battles to know that, and yet there was no choice but to keep fighting.

Some may call me a hypocrite for fighting against Vargas, for fighting in the name of a Constitution when I myself had for many years ruled the country with Miguel, with us alternating presidents in a non-democratic way, with no regards for such. But I still had to fight.

As penance.

And the other states, convinced by Vargas that what I sought was independence, joined in the fight against me.

São Paulo against all others.

Or almost all.

Matheus kept supporting me until the end. Even though he shared a state with Marta, only he, who lived more to the south, and closer to my land, stood by me until this very last moment. Even Miguel, once a close friend, had turned against me, believing I wanted to separate myself from my fellow states, like Cisplatin did so long ago.

As I looked up and saw the bombs coming from the planes, my last thoughts were that I missed Marta. Without her support, every day that passed made me realize how much I wanted her by my side not only to celebrate my achievements, but to be there for me when I suffer losses as well.

I wanted her to give me comfort at the harshest times.

I wanted her to give me warmth at the coldest times.

I wanted her to love me.

I wanted her to marr-

(3rd POV)

A woman walked into the voluntary hospital, passing many hurt men on the way.

Many of them still were boys in age, but after what they went through, and with their bodies and minds forever marred by the war, they had been forced into becoming men.

As she walked, her clothes made it clear that she was not from around, and soon enough a nurse soon approached her.

"Ma'am, are you looking for someone?"

"Yes sir, my brother, Matheus, brought my fiancé a few days ago, his name is Paulo Vicente."

"Ah, yes, he came in with some nasty shrapnel attached to his right side. You will find him at the last room, over there."

"Thank you."

She walked towards the room and, taking a deep breath, she entered.

She felt her heart tighten at the sight of the man she had known for nearly three centuries, that once seemed unstoppable, now looking so defeated.

She sat at the chair by the right side of his bed and held his bandaged hand, awaiting for him to wake up.

A few minutes later, his eyes opened.

(Paulo's POV)

As I opened my eyes, her face was the first thing I saw.

"I think I died and went to heaven, because there is an angel right in front of me.

She snorted, looked down and laughed quietly.

"That's so cheesy."

I smiled weakly, before the glint in her eyes made me frown a bit.

I tried to extend my right hand to her face, but my injuries made me wince noticeably enough that she moved over a bit in her seat so that her face was in my palm.

I dried her tears with my thumb, and then she held my hand close, kissing it.

"I am sorry for not being by your side."

"It's alright." Then a bit more silently, I continued "…I'm just glad you're here now."

I used my left hand to pull the golden necklace from within my shirt.

She looked at the necklace and her eyes widened, seeing the two golden rings on it.

"This whole conflict made me realize I have no idea when either of our lives will end, and I want to spend whatever time I have left on this world by your side, be it a day or a thousand years. If you'll have me, that is."

Marta, with tears of happiness falling from her eyes, looked me in the eyes, and gave me the courage to say the words I've been waiting over 280 years to say.

"Will you marry me?"

As I watched the most beautiful woman in the world walk towards the altar where I awaited, my heart beat faster than ever before.

After saying all that needed to be said, the priest finally arrived at the most important part.

"São Paulo, do you accept her, Mato Grosso, as your wife, until death brings you apart?"

"I do."

"And do you, Mato Grosso, accept him, São Paulo, as your husband, until death brings you apart?"

With a big smile on her face, and tears on her eyes, she finally said the words I've been awaiting for so long.

"I do."

Expedition of the Limits - in Portuguese, the "Bandeira dos Limites" was an expedition from 1648 to 1651, that started in São Paulo and ended in Belém, where the limits of the Nation known as Brazil started being outlined, beyond the line defined by the Tordesilhas Treaty.

paulista - means born in the state of São Paulo (not to be mistaken with paulistano, which refers to the people born in the city of São Paulo, capital of the state with the same name)