Author's note: very short, written on an impulse. Not mine, blah blah, based on the most aknowledged versions of Argentina and Brazil, don't want to offend, etc. Not in the mood to do a real disclaimer/put up the anti-flame barrier.

Also, tried hard not to slip my political views in, even though this is about politics. The BrazilxArgentina was added because I freaking can, but you can skip right through it.

Argentina, have you watched the news today?

Black Screen

"Hey, Argie!" Brazil stepped into the house, after having knocked for a few minutes with no reply. In one hand he held a box of chocolates; in the other, a bottle of some green alcoholic beverage. "Argie, are you in here?"

He found the blond country sitting in front of the TV in the living room, sitting up very straight, hands clenched into fists at his sides and brown eyes fixed on the screen. Brazil approached him slowly, sensing that something was wrong with the smaller country.

"Argentina?"

Said country shuddered, blinked, and then looked up at the tan-skinned country, very slowly. There were fresh tears in his eyes, and he looked shaken and confused. Brazil set the bottle and the box of chocolates down on the coffee table and sat down next to him.

"How's the census going?" he started carefully. Argentina turned back to the screen, indifferently.

"I don't care. He's dead."

The words took a few seconds to sink in, and then Brazil turned slowly, almost reluctantly, to the screen. White words shone against a black background.

"Oh, my God."

Argentina nodded, hanging his head in sorrow, a sob shaking his body.

"W-What do I do now? What do I do, Brazil?"

"Calm down" Brazil put an arm around Argentina's shoulders, his free hand reaching for the remote. The screen went off with a flash. "Calm down, it's okay…" he pulled the blond country to him, and Argentina nestled against his chest, sighing shakily.

"I-I had expected a disaster" the blonde whispered. "With the census… I know th-things are not p-perfect, but… I never expected something like this to happen, not now!"

And hiding his face in the crook of Brazil's neck, he added, voice barely above a whisper:

"It's just like back then…"

Brazil ran his hand across Argentina's back, where he knew a few scars were still visible on his fair skin.

"That won't happen again."

"I'm so scared, Brazil…"

Brazil kissed his forehead, gently. Argentina relaxed slowly, very slowly, in his hold, and he finally closed his eyes, slipping in and out of sleep. Brazil rested his head atop his, rubbing his back when he felt the smaller country shiver from whatever dreams he was having; were they nightmares from back then? Visions of his uncertain future?

The screen was blank, yet the white words seemed to linger, ominously.

Murió Néstor Kirchner.

Facts:

The Black Screen - there's this TV channel here, which announces news with white letters on a red screen. It's a very popular feature here, and the channel itself is known for being pretty funny sometimes (it's Crónica TV I'm talking about, si hay algún argentino leyendo esto). When someone dies, however, they announce it with white letters on a black screen. Did any of this make any sense? Google it.

The census - the national census in Argentina is taking place today (October 27th).

"Expected a disaster" - c'mon. We all know Argentina is NOT in best shape, and the census will - should - reveal that.

"Just like back then" - Argentina is referring to Perón's death in 1974, which left his wife Isabel in charge of the country. That eventually led to the military taking over, and so begins the infamous darkest age in our history. I've heard many people - from my mom to politicians talking on the radio - comparing the current situation (dead ex-president, wife as president) to what happened back then. And it's quite scary.

The scars on Argentina's back that Brazil thinks of also refer to the... Hum... Proceso militar, whatever you call that in English. You know, military guys controlling everything and killing people. Again, google it.

"Murió Néstor Kirchner" (Nestor Kirchner has died) - that's exactly what's just happened, and the reason why I wrote this. He was the husband of our President, and a potential candidate for the elections that are taking place next year. Public opinion was that, in fact, he was the one ruling the country even though his wife is officially in charge. Now that he's gone, well... It's like the country is kind of headless.

Like him or hate him, his death has shocked us all and left the country shaken. We're all a little worried about what's going to happen to us from now on, until October next year, when elections will finally take place again.

Wish us luck.