That was the first time anyone had properly celebrated my birthday. I could feel everything slowly coming together; my life was beginning to feel whole, like I had everything...
And yet the political atmosphere couldn't have been more dangerous outside of tge boundaries of my home. Tensions between the East and West were increasing rapidly and now we were facing a new war fought on the frontiers of science and propaganda. It was beautifully tragic, and extraordinarily fascinating to my younger self.
Unfortunately, this Cold War meant that the UK was in constant meetings, ones that I was still barred from attending. Even more unfortunately, I now found myself regularly being babysat by the USA, as European meetings were becoming more and more common.
A few years after that fateful birthday was one of those freedom-infested days, one that would alter the course of my life forever.
"Hey, little guy," Amerika grunted, flopping down beside me on the sofa in his usual manner.
"Hallo, Amerika."
"I'm tired," he groaned, lifting his rather bizarre sunglasses and blinking heavily, absolutely shattered.
"Nice to know," I sighed, semi-listening to him grumbling about my attitude being 'too inadequate to be a good bro' to him.
"Hey West?" he asked, breaking from his self-pity with a smarmy smile.
"Ja?" I asked, for once rather curious as to what the American was about to say.
"Do you like science?"
Now wondering where this conversation was leading, I answered, "Ja, I do! Why?"
"Well!" Amerika grinned, leaping up and grabbing one of the many bags that he'd flung on the floor. "How would you like to help me with a little project of mine?"
"A... science project?" I whispered, gazing confusedly at the mysteriousn bag, which he opened and wafted between my nose.
"In a way," he chuckled callously, "How would you like to help me build some nuclear stuff?"
"O-Oh..." I stuttered, torn between fear and a morbid intrigue. "I... Alright-"
"Good!" he laughed, patting me on the shoulder and emptying his bag of plans and paperwork onto my lap, dropping off to sleep almost instantly after I began perusing the paperwork.
I must say, it was fascinating work. While Amerika slept all morning, I filled out his planning and paperwork, allowing myself to get lost within the algebraic calculations and formulas...
After four hours it was all done. The calculations themselves were irresistibly fascinating and soothed me to solve, however the concept of nuclear weapons...
I sat shaking for the next three hours, unable to think of anything else. Just as soon as the world had righted itself, it could all be lost in a fit of star-spangled rage...
"I'm home!" Britain finally called out in the early evening as she hugged the USA, bidding him a loving goodbye. Smiling warmly, she swept me into her arms (something that I now rather enjoyed). It didn't take her long to notice my trembling though, and her smile vanished near instantly, much to my disappointment and embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" she gasped, kneeling down to my height.
"I'm fine," I lied through my teeth, fiddling with her hair for a little spark of comfort.
"Are you sure? Maybe you're ill..."
"Nein..." I answered more firmily than I intended, "I'm just tired... I should go to bed."
"Ok..." she muttered, her voice betraying a note of melancholy that stung my heart.
"Goodnight, Mutti," I smiled as sincerely as I could muster, taking pride in the little grin that appeared on her face at my words.
"Sleep well, son," she whispered, watching me with an unreadable expression as I trekked up to bed.
Nuclear war... Was Amerika serious? Could there really be another war? Would East be ok?
What if those documents I'd just completed destroyed the world? Did I just doom the world? Why did I do it, am I cursed..?
I was doomed to be a killer from the start, I supposed. Maybe my family - my real family - would be proud of that.
I wouldn't be proud. It would tear me apart.
And it was already beginning to.
Whimpering, I slipped out of my pit of despair, fully aware that it was an hour past midnight by now. Hopeless and petrified, I found myself tapping shamefully on the UK's door and waiting in a pained silence for her to flick on the light.
"West?" Britain murmured, switching on her lamp and rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"I'm sorry," I sniffed. "Can I... May I stay in here a while?"
"Of course!" she soothed, beckoning me to sit down beside her. Blinking back tears, I leaned against her side, allowing her to stroke my hair in that way that she knew always calmed me down. Finally, I confessed exactly why I was so shaken, allowing her to reassure me without questioning any of her (quite haphazard) answers. Soon enough, I was asleep in a relative peace, having lost my terrors in the comfort of her voice.
I awoke the next morning to the screeching of an angry mother. Shaken awake by Britain's shrill voice downstairs, I stumbled out of her room, sitting on the top step of the staircase and listening to her scream rather unceremoniously at Amerika over the phone.
"HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY SON!" she wailed into the receiver.
From what I gathered, he hung up after that, leaving Britain smouldering in a silent hallway.
And then the most unexpected thing happened:
Britain cried. Properly cried.
"Mutti?" I gasped, racing down the stairs and squeezing her hands. She muttered something incomprehensible, tears slipping down her face as I twirled her hair between my hands.
"Please don't cry..." I sighed, wiping her eyes, "What did he say to you?"
"He called me..."
"Called you what?"
"An o-overprotective busybody," she spat out at last.
"Well... You did interfere..."
"So you want to keep working for him?!" she scoffed, springing to her feet.
"Maybe..." I shrugged, "You said yourself that Amerika would never use his power, so what's stopping me from having some fun?"
That's where it all went wrong.
YOU ARE READING
I, Deutschland
Fanfiction(ART IS NOT MINE!) After my biological father died, I was left all alone... My sister was taken from me and I was left with the most difficult decision I had ever faced: through all of my tears, I had to choose a Westerner to take me in, and I was i...
