He was strong. There was no doubt about it, he was strong. Prussia had easily survived through all sorts of difficult situations. The only time he shed a tear was when Der Alte Fritz—aka Frederick the Great—died. He wasn't going to admit to that though, he was Prussia! The embodiment of awesome!

But Prussia knew his life wasn't eternal. Although it was already incredibly long, due to being a country and all, countries sometimes dissolve. Starting once as the ever so small Teutonic Knights in the 15th century, to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Everything seemed great, thanks to Frederick he even became a great European power.

Power doesn't last forever. He had known it, but always shrugged it off. He was too awesome to die! He couldn't die!

However, starting after 1871 Prussia started merging into Germany bit by bit. He was losing his distinctive identity. His people started calling themselves 'Deutsch' instead of 'Preuße'. This went on for quite some time until in 1932, Prussia was effectively abolished.

He was getting nervous. He had only lived for about 5 centuries! How could his life be this short? What had he done to deserve this? He began questioning his existence. What had he done everything for again? What pushed him to become the once great Prussia, to simply a part of Germany?

He didn't know. He didn't want to know.

---

Somewhere in town, there was a girl. Her name was [F/N][L/N]. She knew about a certain albino man. She was the only one that knew who he really was. How she discovered it isn't important. She knew he was a country, that's all there is to it.

She also knew he was going to die, at this rate. 'Prussia' didn't really exist anymore, in the eyes of many. She feared that anytime now, he could die. She was concerned about him, as he hadn't shown himself in days. Normally he'd drop by at least once a week bragging about his awesome. So why wasn't he?

[F/N] decided it was time to pay said albino man a visit.

---

The sound of knocking echoed throughout the empty house, once filled with laughter. Prussia turned his head towards the door. Who could it be?

He slowly got up and opened the door slightly, carefully peeking through the crease to see his visitor. It turned out to be that girl, [F/N]. He had secretly harboured feelings for her, but he couldn't tell her. As much as she knew about his secret, that's what made it harder. After all, he wouldn't die until he was officially dissolved… which was about the time. Heh, maybe he could speak up finally, after all.

"Kesesese, [F/N]! What are you doing here, couldn't stand being without my awesome?" he asked teasingly.

The girl just stared at him with serious eyes.

"Gilbert, cut it out. You don't have to be cheerful for me, you know?" she said, sighing.

He laughed. "What if I want to be happy? What's not to be happy about?" he said, heading into the living room to sit on his couch.

And she only stared, following him and sitting next to him.

There was an awkward silence.

She drew a sharp breath.

"You're going to die, Gilbert. You're going to die and you know it!" she said bitterly. "It's alright to feel sad! You're a country, but you're only human at the same time!"

And he widened his eyes when she embraced him, crying slightly.

"I know that you realise this. Gilbert, you don't have to hide your sorrow, I am the only one here. You are strong, I know that! But please, don't hold yourself back to appear strong. Crying isn't what makes you weak, it's pretending not to cry that does that. You have the right to cry, Gilbert. You don't have to pretend for anyone anymore," she whispered to him.

He could feel the tears well up in his eyes.

Death.

Death.

Death.

He was going to die.

"Aber, Frau… nein, I mean [F/N]… I- I don't need to. I don't want to cry. I can't just-" he began, only to actually feel the tears already streaming down his face. "Scheiße… I'm actually crying. Gott, why…" he mumbled under his breath.

And she just held him. And he held her, too.

And he told her about all his fears and sorrows, and she listened carefully.

"But you know, Gilbert…"

"Yes?"

"You are a country, but also a nation. Even if you have been completely stripped of your government, of your land… there are still people out there who hold their heads high, calling themselves 'Prussian' proudly. I am one of those people. I can proudly tell you that I am Prussian. I can tell the whole world. That's how I was born, I wasn't born German, I was born a Prussian," she told him, trying to ease his worries, even if only slightly.

He wiped his tears away with his sleeve and suddenly stood up.

"Gilbert, where are you going?"

He merely smirked at her. That arrogant smirked that she had missed.

"Just gonna handle some business."

She smiled at him, also wiping her tears.

"Yes. Do come back quickly, will you? I've got some delicious goods at my house."

He nodded and opened the door. He stepped out, and the outside light enhanced his features. He turned around once more.

"I'll admit my life was short lived but I loved it. Ich bin ein Preuße, will ein Preuße sein."

And she giggled. There's the Prussia she had grown to love.

"Hey. In case I don't come back. Ich liebe dich, weißt du?" he said.

She blushed faintly and laughed.

"Just get going, idiot."

And in 1947, Prussia was officially abolished and dissolved.