Prussia really needed a break.

He announced on stream that he would be taking a quick break to grab some food and prepare the next game. He let the stream run on, setting the background music to some early Neue Deutsche Welle music, a trait that his streams were famous for. There wasn’t much he could eat at this hour but poking through the fridge brought him face-to-face with leftover pepperoni pizza and he couldn’t say no. He didn’t bother reheating it and simply ate it cold. He then grabbed a few soft drinks and retreated upstairs.

The sound of the front door bursting opening and some strained grunting noises stopped Prussia in his tracks as he was halfway up the stairs and quickly returned to the main floor to see what the ruckus was. He discovered Estonia had arrived home early and was struggling with his hands full of bags and a drunk Finland spewing a mix of garbled English and Finnish. Estonia was forced to drop everything and assist Finland to the sofa where he had him lay down on his side. He protested but it wasn’t long after that he passed out and Estonia covered him with the blanket that he usually kept over the sofa. When Estonia turned around, Prussia was leaning against the living room wall with his drinks still in his hands.

“That didn’t last very long.”

“He was doing vodka shots at ten. I knew then it wasn’t going to be a long night,” Estonia replied as he walked past him and straight for the kitchen. He poured a glass of water and grabbed some aspirin tablets from the top shelf in one of the cupboards and quickly returned to the living room where he left them on the coffee table. “He’s going to have a rough time when he wakes up.”

He grabbed the bags he dropped at door and headed back to the kitchen.

“I’ll join you upstairs in a minute.”

Prussia nodded and headed back to Estonia’s study where he left the stream running. He had been gone longer than he had intended to be and was now rushing to get the next game set up. He had a treat planned for them and he hoped the wait would be worth it for his followers. When everything was ready, he got cozy in his seat and cracked open a cola. He heard Estonia’s foot steps on the wooden floor and the crunch of a paper bag. When he turned his chair, the familiar smell of fries and burgers caught his attention and Estonia offered him the bag.

“You’re too kind Estland.”

“I got this for the both of us,” Estonia said as Prussia took the bag.

“You??” Prussia said in a confused tone with a raised brow, “You eat McD’s? This is brand new information!”

Estonia rolled his eyes, “Contrary to popular belief, yes sometimes I visit fast food places for a quick bite.”

“At this hour?”

“Sometimes I make bad choices at eleven-thirty at night,” Estonia replied as he pulled another chair up to the desk. “Besides, I have a guest here who skipped dinner to stream. I’d be a poor host if I’d let you starve.”

Prussia snorted, “Thanks mom.” he replied as he passed one of the burgers to Estonia. He left the two medium-sized fries on the desk. He was quick to consume his burgers in a mere three bites before washing it down with some more cola.

“So what’s playing tonight?” Estonia asked.

“I’ve got a massive mod pack for Smash that’s has a ton of new characters. Seriously, you can name any popular character out there and this game has it. The memes are going to be endless tonight! You wanna join?”

“I’ll pass. Maybe next time.”

“Yo! Sorry for the delay! I got caught up with something but things are cool now and I’ve even got a friend here joining me tonight. He’s not going to be playing but instead just watching from the sidelines so don’t panic if you hear laughter and it’s not from me. But enough talk from me! Let’s get started with the last game of the night!”

Prussia had such a strong and confident tone, just as he did in person, and it was so easy to feel pumped when he spoke. Estonia was not new to his streams- both he and America had taken part at some point as guests. He was not a frequent streamer himself nor did he watch them regularly. Work kept him busy and his attention was always towards to his other projects. But on the nights he struggled with sleep, they always seemed to be a good source of comfort. Estonia always had a good laugh whenever Prussia struggled with a game and listening to him get a frustrated made for good fodder whenever they got together. When Prussia asked him if he could use his computer and equipment to stream while he was out for the night, Estonia had no qualms about it and said he could use whatever he liked.

But sitting this close to him sometimes felt a little awkward. Their past relationship still lingered in his mind: the arguments, the beatings, working as a peasant boy under him and the humans he represented—they are things he hasn’t forgotten. He wondered if Prussia felt the same way as he did. Did he ever feel uneasy around him knowing the things they’ve done to each other? He never had the heart to ask him. But when he hears the laughter and when he tugs at his arm saying “Did you see that?!” in excitement, all seems to be forgotten when Estonia joins in on the fun and adds in his witty commentary.

Estonia never expected to find a friend in Prussia—and he was sure the other man felt the same. But he had to admit, they made an interesting pair.