The moon shone brightly over the pond, while the ripples of water reflected the starlight of the heavens and gave them a sense of tranquility. Leaves rustled in the trees and fell like feathers, landing softly on the ground, not daring to make a sound. Silence filled the forest, and no creature stirred in the night, for they knew their place. This scene was of precious memories, and no soul could find their way to it now. At the base of a certain oak were two letters, weathered and old, slowly disappearing with the act of time, and soon, they would be forgotten. Memories could only wither away and die with the holder. The grass rustled and a young woman made her way to this tree, pausing to take in the sights of the meadow. For her, this place was forbidden, but a sense of familiarity beckoned her to come back time and time again. Life was a foreign land in itself, and it had the power to tear a dream into pieces at one mistake. The woman was grateful that such a reprieve was available to her. She traced her fingers down the trunk, pausing at the letters and running her thumb over the marked wood. Such a promise should have been kept. If it was, she would still be free to enjoy the little things. But she was stuck in a land of political disruption and warfare at the snap of ones fingers. The promise he made, on the Fifth of May. To stay with her forever.

~300 Years Earlier~ "Liz! Come quick! Look what I found!" Prussia jumped in excitement, pointing to something that was not yet visible to the little girl.

"Whaddya want Gil? What is it?"

"You'll see! Come here quick!"

She pushed her way through a bracket of ferns, rolling her eyes and keeping her senses alert, just in case. Knowing the little devil of a friend she called Prussia, he could be planning something to conquer Burnzenland from her, and she would not accept it. A Prussian ruler was the last thing she needed. As the pathway in front of her cleared, she froze in her tracks. In front of her was the most beautiful thing she had ever laid her eyes on. It was a meadow to anyone else who came upon it, but to her and her childhood friend, it was everything they could have ever wanted. A place to be kids. Somewhere to play, to hunt, climb trees, and spend time with each other that was strictly forbidden by their countries. Nothing seemed better than that. It was hidden deep in the forest, where no one but an expert hunter could find their way in, or out. Fireflies fluttered about, making groups by a pond, giving their guiding light to any lost fish in the water. Branches of trees surrounded the small body of water, and orange and red leaves danced down and left circles of water in their wake, gathering by the shore with the pebbles. The two friends took in the sight of the treasure they discovered and smiled at each other. Neither of them could be happier. Almost in sync, the two threw down their swords and bows and plopped onto the grass, stretching out their limbs and taking a deep breath.

"How did we not know about this before?" Hungary turned her head toward the albino next to her.

"Beats me. But isn't it cool? This could be our new capital! A vicious city full of soldiers at my disposal! We could have it all! The riches! The treasures! All of the power that we desire! Keseseseses!" He laughed maniacally and stared up at the canopy of leaves above them. There was a quiet moment between them, but it was interrupted when he heard a sigh.

"Can't we just keep it to ourselves?" A tiny voice was speaking in his direction, and he turned over to be face to face with Hungary. He raised an eyebrow and studied her, and she shrunk under his gaze. It always made her uncomfortable when he studied her, and now, when it was just the two of them, it felt even worse. Couldn't he just give her a response?

"To ourselves?! Come on Hungary! Don't be stupid! Don't you want power?!"

"I guess..."

His raised eyebrow went up even higher, and his gaze became concerned. It wasn't like her to agree with him, let alone quietly. "Why are you so quiet? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Prussia." She didn't quite understand his obsession with wanting all of the power in the world, and she didn't want to. Did he ever stop to smell the roses, or roll in the grass, or even watch the fish swim around in their ponds? She was fine with all of the little things, she didn't need riches and spoils. All she wanted was a friend. And one of her only friends wanted to become rich and powerful. Prussia sat up out of the blue, and scooted himself near the pond, also succeeding in breaking her thought process. For a second she didn't know what he was doing, until he turned his torso around and dragged her into his lap, to face the water. "W-What are you doing?!" She attempted to push herself up onto the grass next to him, but he would have none of it. He pulled her closer, and tightened his grip he had around her waist. She was positioned in between his legs, her back to his chest, and she was definitely not going anywhere, anytime soon.

"Gilbert!" He placed his legs around hers, locking her into place.

"Prussia let go! Don't make me hurt you!"

He grinned and snickered at her. That was the Hungary he knew. "Stop being upset then! You're annoying when your not happy!"

"Annoying? Why you little-" She squirmed in his grasp, trying to free her legs to kick him, but all she succeeded in doing was making the boy laugh.

"Keseseses! That all you got Lizzie?"

"Shut up, punk!" She crossed her arms in front of her and huffed. Gilbert smiled. It seemed her mood was back to normal. For now. She was practically a walking mood machine. After one big sigh, she quietly opened her mouth.

"Can you PLEASE let me go?" She made sure to emphasize the "please" in her sentence, which was basically pulling out a white flag to him.

"Nah, I think I'll keep you as my prisoner. If I feed you and give you a nice place to sleep, you'll stay right?" He rested his chin in her head and looked thoughtful.

"I have duties to fulfill! What nonsense are you going on about?"

She desperately tried not to show it, but being this close to him was giving her butterflies in her stomach, and she didn't like it. There was no reason to be attracted to her best friend. She couldn't be anyway. No one would allow Prussia and Hungary to become one, even if war was fought to take independence. It just wouldn't happen.

"But what if you had no choice? What if I took you captive without your consent?"

Her heart rate sped up and she turned her head to look at him.

"What?"

"Then we wouldn't need a giant capital to stay together. You could live at my place and I could take care of you. I would even make sure that Ludwig's dogs couldn't touch you!"

"What are you suggesting?"

Silence suddenly overtook him, and she felt him take a deep breath. That scared her. He was doing things that she didn't understand, things he never did. Being close to her was one. They hunted together since they were toddlers, running amok the forest, but he never made an effort to be closer than he needed to to her. What was so different to him? "Maybe..." He breathed out and sighed.

"Maybe what?" Hungary shifted, clearly uncomfortable, and sent him a sideways glance. She wondered if this place made him act different. Was it the area? Or was he not feeling well?

"Hey, Liz? Will you accept me?"

She froze in place. Accept...him? "Our countries are so young! There's no way we can become one! What are you talking about?!" The Hungarian began to yell at him, scared and outraged by such a question. She squirmed out of his grasp and turned around, looking at him like he was absurd.

"I..." He trailed off and took her hand, rubbing his thumb over it smoothly.

Hungary didn't know what to do. He slowly leaned closer to the shocked girl, and made eye contact with her.

"I want to..."

Want to what? She didn't have time to react before his lips touched hers, and he embraced her in a tender kiss that made her shiver. He reached behind her and pulled her closer, running his fingers down her back and hoping she didn't kill him as soon as he stopped kissing her, which he guessed she would. To his surprise, the Prussian felt her relax and kiss him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers together, and leaned in. Something told her that this would only come around once. Much to her dismay, the two pulled apart, and he held her chin up with his hand.

"I want to be with you, even if it's impossible. Will you accept me?"

Hope was flashing across his features, his eyes bright. Hungary took a deep breath and looked at him. What she said next broke his heart.

"We can't. It won't work. We just...can't."

His hand slid down her neck and dropped down beside him. "But..."

Hungary started another sentence, making eye contact with him.

"Prussia, make me a promise." She twined her fingers with his and gave them a light squeeze.

"Anything."

"Stay by my side, for at least a little longer."

He pushed her down softly onto the grass and leaned over her, putting his arms on each side of her head, and smiled.

"Forever."

~Present~

Hungary let her hand slip away from the tree, and a lone tear rolled down her cheek. That was it. Her head dropped and she shuddered, as more tears began to drop and fall onto the grass. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. It was over. Her childhood was swept away from her before she had a chance to grow up. She hadn't seen him in over 100 years, and as far as she was concerned, he forgot about his best friend. She held back for a long time, keeping her tears in and swallowing her grief by occupying herself with cleaning, cooking, and running the house for Austria. The were divorced now, but she still lived in quiet agreement with him, and he understood the pain she went through, even though he was bitter enemies with East Germany. Sometimes it was a painful reminder of how people move on and forget, and until the day her country will fall she will be constantly reminded of her childhood friend and his painful past.

"You come here too?"

A lone voice sounded from behind her and she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Slowly she turned around, and she was met with the sight of red eyes and silver hair glowing in the moonlight. There was no way...

"Prussia?"

"Hey Liz."

For one hundred years he was gone, and he stood in front of her, as casual as if they has spoken the day before.

"Where...have you been?"

"I had to do a few things..."

"A few? You left without a trace! And you've...grown up..." She took a step back and looked him over, deciding that he was without a doubt, a very handsome man. And she fumed at the fact that she now had to look up at him to speak to him.

"Looks like you've grown up too, Lizzie." He smiled at her and tapped her nose. He missed her more than she could ever imagine.

"And now that we're grown up...there's no countries to boss us around." He stepped forward towards her and took her hand, sending her a sincere look. "Since I have no boss now, I've got a question.

"Anything."

"Will you stay with me forever?"

Her eyes lit up and she smiled for the first time in years. "Forever."