"You can't catch me- I'm the best Tsar in the world!!" A young Armenia trilled loudly, running as fast as he could through the green forest with his crown held over his head with both hands.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!!!" Belarus screamed and sprinting after him, braids falling loose as she leapt into the air with a war cry and tackled him to the ground, both of them scrambling for the crown with limbs flying everywhere, all the wildlife around them running away from the commotion.
"AHA!! I WIN!! Now I'M the Tsaritsa!!" She crowed proudly, holding up the crown high into the air, out of reach of Armenia's little hands. Said crown was fashioned from a tree branch that curled into a half circle and had other smaller branches sticking out from it, making it look a bit like a stag's antlers.
"Then it is time to die, Ms Tsaritsa!" Ukraine cackled as he stepped out from behind a tree, holding a stick like a rifle. "No way! Not when I have my trusty body guard to protect me! My reign will be long!!" Belarus laughed, standing up tall and placing the crown on her head.
"RUSS!! COME PROTECT ME!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, echoing through the forest trees. There was no sudden rustle, no movement that Ukraine or Armenia could see as they looked around frantically.
"Hah! He'll never get here to save you-" Ukraine grinned, stepping forward again. Belarus glanced across their surroundings and took off into a sprint again, shoving Armenia to the ground with a loud yelp as a distraction.
She was as fast as a fawn, jumping and leaping pass protruding roots and rocks with ease while the boys chased after her. A third pair of footsteps joined them, and Belarus glanced behind to see red and blue stripped flag colours belonging to Turkmenistan chasing her as well, slowly catching up.
Azerbaijan suddenly appeared in front of her, making her skid to a stop, arms outstretched as all four of them surrounded her, the crown slipping down slightly from her head.
"You're trapped, Tsaritsa." Ukraine swung his stick in his hand, the rest of their siblings giggling and ready to grab the crown for themselves. Belarus scowled and grabbed the crown, plonking it down right over her head again, unwilling to give up the throne.
Ukraine cackled again but was interrupted by the sound of a branch snapping high above, purplish-pink irises sharp as he looked around.
"Ow!" Azerbaijan yelped and held his head, a small pinecone rolling by his feet. Another one shot down towards Armenia, but he quickly dodged it, quite alarmed by now.
Another branch snapped, and Ukraine's eyes widened as a red and blue blur tackled him out of seemingly nowhere, sending them both crashing to the ground and rolling down the slight incline of a slope, his loud terrified screeches that he'll never admit to ringing loudly through the whole forest.
The rest of their siblings looked up at the alarming screams like wolves on a hunt, immediately converging towards that point from their spread out locations through the forest. It was a beautiful blue summer day, the smell of fresh pine in the air and the pond was just fully thawed, flowers blooming around river banks.
Soviet sipped from a tea cup and read his newspaper calmly on the front porch of the wooden cabin just as two of his children came barreling down the slope screaming like banshees, tumbling into a messy ball of mud and grass blades right besides the edge of the pond.
"RSFSR!!" Ukraine hollered loudly after he pried himself free, shoving his brother off him and scrambling to sit up, wiping the mud off his face.
RSFSR burst out laughing, springing to his feet and looking towards where they rolled from. Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkmenistan were all following along, skidding unsteadily. Belarus hopped down into the clearing, the branch crown still perched proudly over her head.
"Thank you, my loyal guard!" She cheered with a smugly pleased smile over her face.
"You can't have a guard, that's Cheating!!" Ukraine exclaimed, struggling to stand up with all the mud and grass stuck to his clothes. Belarus smirked evilly, walking over and promptly shoving him into the pond with nothing more than a short yelp and then a solid splash.
"I can because I said I can, Because I'm The Tsaritsa!!" She yelled over everyone, their siblings slowly gathering into the clearing as well one by one.
"But won't that mean we have to kill you?" Georgia called from a distance. The rest of them murmured in agreement, the game was quite literally called 'Kill the Tsar'.
"Nope! Because unlike all the previous Tsars, I'm going to make things fair! No one will be poor, and Everyone will have enough to eat!" She said, a quiet nod coming from Soviet sitting a distance away.
"But that's not how the game works!" Azerbaijan protested, crossing his arms over his chest. Belarus' reddish-brown eyes gleamed and then narrowed down to evil slits. "Russ, Throw him into the pond!"
"I can't do that, Bela." RSFSR smiled, hands clasped behind his back.
"What did you say?" She slowly turned around to look at him. "And that's мой Tsaritsa to you."
"I said no. And I'm not sorry for what I'm about to do, мой Tsaritsa." He grinned and plucked the crown right off her head, nudging her into the direction of the pond. Belarus fumbled for balance for a split second, eyes wide with fury before she went down with a loud splash, Ukraine's cackling audible to everyone.
The twisting branches curled near perfectly around his head, crowning RSFSR as the new Tsar ruling over them. It took a moment of silence and a couple of seconds later for one of his siblings to finally scream 'KILL HIM!!!' with utmost glee before they all swarmed after him, the most violent game of tag ever as they tripped over each other to catch him.
RSFSR ran as fast as he could, laughing as he bolted towards a tree, leaping up its trunk and quickly climbing into its branches, hiding amongst the leaves and occasionally taunting his siblings down below when they couldn't find him, giggling to himself as he perched neatly on a branch.
A shrill whistle made all of them stop in their actions, all 9 children looked over to see their father standing up, newspaper tucked under one arm and his other hand pressed against his hip. They quickly rushed towards him, RSFSR clambering down the tree and giving its sturdy trunk a gentle pat as thanks for holding him steady up there.
"You all are playing too loudly, if you want to play a game like this, at least not around here." Soviet said, looking at each of them in turn. Many of them ducked their head down, staring at their shoes guiltily. RSFSR's vibrant purple irises stared right up at him, the antler-like branches of his crown sticking out from his red and blue hair.
"It's almost time for dinner. BSSR, Ukraine SSR, RSFSR, go get changed. You're all wet and muddy."
The 3 of them nodded, two of them dripping pond water all over the grass and one of them covered in muck. Ukraine stuck his tongue out at Belarus, who then stuck her tongue out at RSFSR, still pretending to be mad at him as they ran into the cabin.
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Oof a very late author's note sorry for the interruption now XD
By the way this oneshot takes place even earlier than the first 2 childhood oneshots. This one happens in the summer of maybe 1928, so they are even younger here, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan haven't joined yet, Germany hasn't even been born lmao-
Small Soviet children who just can't play a normal game like hide and seek or something and instead want murder my beloved-
Anyways enjoy reading I hope! :D
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RSFSR dug through his suitcase for a fresh change of clothes, slipping into a long cotton shirt trimmed with intricate embroidery, and tied a red sash around his waist. The crown was still nestled around his head, the branches tangled up in his red hair.
"Папа! Can we go swimming in the pond?" One of his siblings yelled outside. His father must have answered yes because then were a couple of soft splashes, followed by excited laughter.
He ran out of his room, feet pattering down the solid wooden floors of the cabin. It was a summer house than his father inherited, tucked away in a forest where they could get away from city life during the summer. It wasn't really big, the only reason he got a room all to himself was because he found a little nook up in the attic, with just enough space for his cot and suitcase. It was better than having to sleep in a bunk bed that Ukraine would jump on all night long.
"Hah!!" Said sibling in mention suddenly pounced on him from behind, making him squeal in surprise when he snatched the crown from his head, cackling evilly as he waved the twining branches in his hand. "Give it back!" RSFSR shouted and chased after him, a wide grin spreading across his face as they burst out the front door, grass under their feet.
"Never! I'm the Tsar now!" Ukraine laughed, plonking the crown onto his head and running towards their father for protection. Soviet looked down curiously as two small hands grabbed onto his pant legs, two little voices screaming at each other under him.
"Calm down, jeez." He smiled, gathering all the metal skewers he was holding into one hand and grabbed Ukraine with his free arm, hosting him into the air as RSFSR whined, running around at his feet with wide purple eyes looking up at him pitifully.
Ukraine stuck his tongue out at his brother and giggled, hands clutching onto Soviet's shirt as they walked forward again. The grill was filled with charcoal and pieces of wood chips already, a bowl of marinated meat covered with a cheesecloth sitting next to it. On the other side of the clearing, their siblings were splashing around, clothes scattered around the edge of the pond.
"Are you making shashlik, Папа?" Ukraine asked gleefully, clambering up Soviet's back and onto his shoulders, peering over his head. Their ushankas were kept away for the summer, warm breezes rustling through their red hair. RSFSR stood on his tiptoes to peak into the grill, a wide smile on his face as his father nodded, setting down the skewers with a soft clatter.
A match struck, flame bursting to life, Soviet's hand ushering RSFSR away as he lit the charcoal on fire, blowing gently to coax it higher.
"How did you learn how to make shasklik, Папа?" Ukraine asked again, sitting happily high up on his shoulder while watching him taking the cubes of meat and speared them onto the skewers, setting them to cook over the fire.
"My father taught me the recipe. As his father taught him." Soviet answered contently, going through the motions for each skewer smoothly until there was enough to feed everyone. Ukraine 'oohed' and went back to admiring the view of the world being so high up, purplish-pink irises sparkling.
"Why haven't we met them before?" RSFSR tilted his head to one side, looking up at his father curiously. Golden eyes flickered down to look at him, a confused look flashing over Soviet's face before he turned away, eyebrows furrowed as if he was trying to remember something, before disappearing when he quickly grabbed the first few skewers to keep the meat from burning.
Dinner quickly moved by as the sun set down over the horizon, children chattering as they ate and played, pieces of meat thrown into the air and being caught by someone else's mouth. The sky was pink, blue, orange, yellow, arching high above them and dotted with wispy white clouds, fading into indigo.
"Quiet, Папа's going to tell us a story! You're too loud!" Belarus laughed, her arms wrapped around her sister's as they felt onto the woven rug, rolling around playfully. "But he hasn't even started yet!" Turkmenistan squealed, giggling as they tussled around in their light cotton dresses.
RSFSR rolled his eyes at his sisters' antics, busy playing with a matryoshka together with Georgia, the both of them trying to stack each girl back together and set it to one whole toy again. He beamed as he clasped the outmost layer of the doll together, an intricately painted woman wrapped in colours and patterns staring up at him through heavy black lashes.
Their father finally stood up from the fireplace, crackling warmly as the logs caught fire. It was night time now, and down here in the forests it was getting cold again. All 10 of them basked in the heat, soft childish voices chattering away as Soviet took a seat on the big armchair, his smoking pipe held in between his lips.
"Okay, what story do you want to hear tonight?" He asked, smiling faintly as his children's voices immediately started speaking up, all looking up towards him with big glimmering eyes.
"Baba Yaga!" Ukraine called out loudest with his arm raised, rocking back and forward on the rug excitedly. "No!! We already heard that last time!" Armenia squealed from the front, closing his hands over his ears.
"I think you're just Scared of that story, little brother." Ukraine grinned cheekily, scooting over and ruffling Armenia's hair with both hands, making him squeal in protest.
"Not Baba Yaga. The last time I told you that story some of you cried to me because you couldn't sleep afterwards." Soviet said, holding his pipe in hand and blowing out a couple puffs of smoke. Ukraine pouted with his bottom lip sticking out, poking at Armenia a couple more times for fun.
"Lets see. How about... Masha and the bear." He continued, golden eyes softening fondly. The children leaned in closer, wide eyes curious as they got comfortable, laying down on the rug or curled up against each other patiently. RSFSR sat with his crossed legs tucked under him, waiting for his father to start too.
"Once upon a time, there was a small family, living in a little village near the edge of the forests. And of course, there was a little girl, named Masha."
"One day, Masha and a few of her friends went off into the forest to pick mushrooms, and wild berries. The forest was full of them, like strawberries and raspberries." He exaggerated a bit, seeing how it brought on a big smile onto Belarus' face.
"But, Masha didn't notice her friends were walking further and further away, and she was slowly getting left behind. Masha was alone in the middle of the forest, where the sky was turning dark and she couldn't see the path."
Soviet paused for a while, gauging all his children's expressions. Brightly coloured irises stared up at him with fascination. He smiled softly again and placed his pipe back into his mouth.
"She walked around the forest, trying to find her way home, and called out for her friends. There was no answer. But, just before it was completely dark, Masha found a little hut, and went up to knock on the door." Soviet raised a hand to the wall behind him, knuckles knocking thrice on the solid wood.
"No one answered the door either. Masha gently pushed against the door, and lo and behold, the door opened! She quickly went inside and sat down." Many of his children were looking quite relieved now.
"But... what she didn't know, was that in the hut... lived a big Bear!!"
Turkmenistan shrieked happily along with her siblings as their father jumped up slightly with his fingers curled like claws to scare them, a few yelps of surprise escaping their mouths before it was drowned out by laughter. The boys quickly picked it up and pretended to growl like bears as well, baring their teeth like fangs. Soviet scooped up Uzbekistan from the rug and tickled her until she was giggling too, all fear gone from her face.
"The bear had left the house for the day, but when he came back in the evening and saw Masha in his hut, he said 'Aha, now I will never let you go! You will now live here in my house, as meek as a mouse, and you will cook my dinners and my breakfast, and be my servant.' " Soviet said in a big, gruff voice, holding Uzbekistan in his lap as she laughed at his imitation of the bear.
"Poor Masha-" Tajikistan said sympathetically. RSFSR hummed and leant forward, staring up at his father in admiration, watching him recite story after story for them, with no book in sight. He was better than any of their primary school teachers, smarter and funnier, RSFSR thought with a warm feeling in his chest.
"So Masha had to stay, because she had no choice. Even when the bear went out of the hut during the daytime, he told her, 'You must never go out without me, for if I do find you, I will catch you, and Eat you up.' " Soviet growled playfully, tickling Uzbekistan again through her squeals of laughter, hearing his other children giggling as well.
"Of course, Masha was sad. She could not go back home. But she never cried, because she was brave, and smart."
"So Masha thought and thought of ways to get back home. All around her was forest, with no one to ask for directions. At last, she found a way for her to escape."
"One day, when the bear came back to the hut, she said, 'Bear, Bear please let me go to my village for a day, I want to bring something good to eat for my family.' "
"And then she ran away, and never came back!" Belarus yelled excitedly, sitting up straight and jostling Turkmenistan beside her. Her siblings cheered in agreement, yelling out their own plans for how Masha could get away from the bear. Soviet laughed at the chatter, taking his pipe out of his mouth again.
"Oh no, but the bear said No. 'It is too dangerous, and you will get lost in the forest!' "
"Noo!!" One of them cried out, ending up with another chorus of disappointed cries. "Wait, wait- but he continued, and said, 'But if you give me what it is you want to give to your family, I will take it there myself.' "
"Now, that was all Masha wanted to hear. She baked some pies, and brought out a big basket." Soviet continued with the story as he put away his pipe, letting Uzbekistan snuggle against him and curl up comfortably on his lap.
"And then she told the bear, 'Go outside and make sure it's not raining. I will put the pies inside the basket, and you are not to eat any of them. I will climb on top of the big oak tree and watch that you do not open the basket.' "
"The bear agreed, and went outside to the porch. Meanwhile, Masha climbed into the basket, and covered herself with the pies."
"How did she fit in a basket?" Ukraine spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's a really big basket." Soviet answered quickly, smiling at the way Ukraine furrowed his eyebrows and tried to figure out how big that basket had to be to comfortably fit a whole girl and pies inside.
"Anyways, when the bear came back, the basket was sitting there, ready for him, with Masha inside. He didn't know of course, and carried it on his back before setting off for the village."
"Off he went, weaving through the trees and crossing rivers. Down the trails, and over hills." Soviet continued, painting pictures with his words and walking two fingers through the air as if walking through those very hills and forests.
"At last, he got tired, and sat down to rest. 'If I don't rest my weary bones, I think I will die. So I'll sit on a stump, and eat a pie.' , said the bear, ready to reach into the basket."
One of his children gasped, and he smiled faintly again, seeing all of them just as engrossed into the story as he was. "Masha called out from the basket just before he did, 'I see you, I see you! Don't sit down, and don't eat my pie! Take it to my family, say I!' "
Uzbekistan burst out laughing at his funny voice, echoed by her siblings, imitating their father's high-pitched voice of Masha, rolling around on the woven rug playfully.
"'Dear me, what sharp eyes Masha has, she sees everything.' " Soviet spoke in the voice of the bear again which they all calmed down, hearing a few more snickers from his audience.
"So the bear picked up the basket again, and went on. After a while later, he stopped again, tired, and said, 'If I don't rest my weary bones, I think I will die. So I'll sit on a stump, and eat a pie.' "
"Masha can see him, don't eat her pie, Bear!" Uzbekistan cried out happily, earning more giggles and laughter from her siblings, their father grinning as well and brushing his fingers through her red hair, gathering the curly locks into thicker strands for braiding.
"That's right. 'What a clever girl Masha was,' said the bear. 'She is sitting so high up in a tree so far away, and yet she can see and hear all I do.' " Soviet said, loosely weaving her hair into a sleeping braid down her back, glancing over at his eldest with wide purple irises glimmering.
If they hadn't known Masha was hidden inside the basket already, RSFSR could imagine her actually up in a tree, watching the bear through the forest. That was his kind of fun, daring for branches his siblings were too scared to climb, challenging Ukraine until he too tapped out. His favourite part was also the view, the ground so far down below, siblings like little coloured specks, and the rest of the forest spread out beneath him.
"The bear continued on his journey, faster than before, until he finally reached the village, and found the house that Masha's family lived in. He went up and banged on the gate." Soviet continued, taking a hair tie from Belarus to tie off her younger sister's braid.
"'Open the gate! I have brought something for you from Masha!' He shouted loudly. But the village dogs smelt the bear, and came running out of their houses barking. That scared the bear, and he dropped the basket on the ground, and ran away as fast as he could without looking back!"
His children cheered loudly, the boys barking and howling. Soviet truly laughed at that, a genuine sound bursting from his mouth, golden eyes as bright as the fire crackling merrily behind him. There was a wolf pack, he presumed, living in these forests, and whenever their family stayed here for the summer they'd often stay up late listening to them howl. His children learnt from them and had nearly perfected the sound of their calls.
"And when her family came out, they spotted the basket sitting on the ground near their gate. 'What's this?' They asked." Soviet said suspensefully, still smiling wide as he leant forward closer towards the rest of his children sitting on the ground.
"It's Masha!!" They cried excitedly, some of them leaping to their feet. RSFSR giggled at the whole commotion, surrounded by his own family. "Masha, popped right out of the basket, alive and well, and the family was reunited."
"Yay!!!" Uzbekistan cheered, throwing her arms up. All 9 children broke out the applause, cheering and rough housing with each other.
"And that's the end of the story, Masha, the Clever little girl, and the bear." Soviet concluded, putting Uzbekistan down with the rest of her siblings again and leaning back in his armchair. "What did you think?"
"She was very smart, tricking the bear like that." RSFSR piped up, smiling softly at his father. "And Brave too!" Belarus chimed in loudly, a glint in her eyes as she bumped against her brother, asking him to play with her with a laugh.
"I want to find a basket big enough for me to fit in!" Ukraine shouted. "Not today. It's time to go to sleep."
"But we're not tired!" Azerbaijan cried out, supported by his siblings' agreements. Soviet sighed and soon realized what getting all of them excited meant, and how was he possibly going to calm down 9 children before it was extremely past their bedtime.
"Tell us another story!" Armenia suggested happily, sitting down closer towards their father. There were a few chimes of interest, and soon each one of them was settled down in a close circle around his armchair, some of them clambering up his lap like Uzbekistan earlier as they waited expectantly.
"Fine. But only one more. And then it's straight to sleep for all of you." Soviet finally relented, several soft cheers erupting from their little mouths before they quieted down to listen again.
RSFSR leant on his side against the foot of his father's chair, legs curled up under him neatly as his deep, soothing voice started up again, a new story about wolves, running through the forest freely. He listened attentively, the warmth from his siblings and the crackling fire surrounding him snuggly, making his eyes droop against his will.
Several of his siblings had their eyes closed already, the younger ones on his father's lap curled up in his arms sound asleep. Ukraine's head nearly dropped due to gravity right before he shook himself awake again, blinking furiously but ending up getting lulled by their father's voice once more.
The wolves were hunting reindeer, howling to the moon, and he was warm, the breaths of the people he loved steady and comfortable all around him.
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1936
"-Bah!!" Hans screamed and leapt at his father when he opened the door to his room, clinging on to his midsection and giggling at his father's surprise.
"Hans! What have Anna and I told you, no jumping off chairs- or your table!" Nazi scolded, scrambling to hold his son properly before he fell and got hurt, hosting him up into his arms. Childish laughter rang into his ears and he couldn't help break into a smile again, lifting him high into the air and listening to him shriek in sheer glee.
"Time for bed, little boy." He said, using his leg to knock Hans' kid-sized table back to its original position in his room, how his two-year old was able to drag it all the way to the door was something he didn't want to ponder right now.
"Story!" Hans cried, wriggling around in his grasp and hitting his red hair lightly with the flat of his palm. "Yes, yes. You will get your bedtime story."
Nazi plopped his son on the bed, barely trying to contain the little ball of energy before Hans leapt right off it, leaving the blankets in a mess. He ran over to the little bookshelf that Nazi had gotten him, filled with books all at his height.
"Okay, you're choosing the story for tonight, huh." Nazi grinned and sat down on the edge of his bed instead. His son hopped up and down, tugging on a book on the shelf and dragging it down with a little huff, eyes sparkling as he brought it back to the bed.
"Look! Look!" Hans presented the book he chose proudly, dropping it with a 'oof' onto the bed and clambering up. "Sleeping Beauty. Really?" Nazi picked it up, along with his son who giggled again as he squirmed in his grasp, tiny hands reaching out for the book cover.
"Wait! Let me flip." Hans squealed, sitting up on his father's lap and taking the book again, turning through each page until he stopped at one particular one, pointing with another excited 'Look, look!'.
It was an illustrated page, the dragon that protected the sleeping princess high up in her castle tower, with the brave prince that had come to rescue her tiny below, sword and shield at hand. Fire gathered in the dragon's mouth, its tail curled around the tall tower and wings flared.
"Dragon! Rawr!!" Hans growled cutely, baby teeth bared as he attacked his father, who jolted with fake surprise, starting to laugh as well. "Oh no! What a fierce little creature." Nazi grinned, wiggling his fingers in the air towards his son, who shrieked and quickly got off his lap, slipping down his bed.
"C'mere, little dragon-" He teased again, standing up as well. Hans laughed cheerfully and ran away, his nightshirt a size or more too big over his frame, small for a boy his age, but in healthy condition, said the doctors.
A chase followed suit, Nazi scrambling after his giggling son who ran around the room in circles, jumping onto the chairs despite being told many times not to. "Imma dragon!" Hans shouted as he hopped yet again on one of his chairs, hands outstretched above his head and little fingertips curled like claws, making himself look bigger.
"And what am I, then?" His father asked between breaths of air, a wide smile still on his face. "The prince!" Hans chirped like it was the most obvious thing in the world, climbing down the chair and digging through his massive toy box, pulling out a model toy soldier.
"This is the princess. You can't have her!" He cried loudly, hugging the toy tight in his arms. "Oh, I think I will get her, evil dragon." Nazi grinned again, holding the now closed storybook as a shield and taking a fake, stuffed sword that he must have bought for his son one random day.
"No you won't! She's mine!" Hans shouted again, turning from him and holding the toy protectively. "Not for long-" His father answered back in a sing-song voice, creeping closer and closer.
They took off running again, Hans' happy shrieks echoing through the bedroom. Nazi came close to catching him a couple of times, but settled for just shouting 'Release the princess!' to hear his son scream and run faster, laughing childishly as he held his toy and huffed air at him, saying that was his fire-breath.
Nazi pretended to cry out in pain whenever he was hit, falling to the ground for a minute or so, listening to his son laugh at his behaviour. He waited until Hans stepped close enough before jumping up with a new burst of energy, sending him shrieking excitedly again and bouncing on his feet.
"I'm going to catch you-" Nazi teased again, close to trapping him in a corner. "No!! You can't!" Hans squealed, also coming to the realization that he was being cornered, growling and roaring like a real dragon.
His father used his shield to block all of his fire, tip-toeing closer and closer until he finally was struck by his mighty sword, flailing wildly and shrieking as his father's long fingers grabbed him and started tickling him through his nightshirt, 'stabbing' him with the fake sword.
"Surrender the princess, dragon!" Nazi burst out laughing, pushing his son gently onto his back over the carpet before tickling all of his weak spots, thoroughly wearing out all of his energy so that he could finally go to sleep. Hans shrieked once more, the toy finally falling from his hands as he wiggled helplessly, a breathless smile on his little face.
"I defeated you! The prince is victorious." His father crowed proudly, scooping him up and holding him in his arms. Hans giggled and went limp against his chest, hands clinging on to his shirt tightly as he was swung around in the air, laughing again as his father spun in circles, wind rushing through their hair.
Playtime with his father was always so much more fun, firstly because then he didn't have to play alone by himself. Secondly, he always managed to match his energy, no matter how long his day had been he'd always be smiling when he came to say good night. Hans wriggled higher until he could wrap his arms as much as he could around his father's neck, smiling happily as his larger arms came around to hug him back, stroking through his hair.
Nazi pressed his cheek against his son's head, a faint smile over his lips as he slowed down, pacing around the room and basking in the quiet now. He gently pulled open the curtains a little, letting the moonlight into the room. Some other toys were scattered across the floor, and he went about picking them up and dropping them into the toy box, keeping away the storybook as well.
Hans lolled half-asleep cradled in his arms when he sat down again on the edge of his bed, already looking like he was snoozing away. He blinked slightly when Nazi laid him down though, hand reaching out for him.
"Good night, little dragon." His father whispered, grabbing his hand and tucking it along with the rest of him under the blanket, stroking his hair one last time before he faded away into sleep, mouth open from his play-induced exhaustion.
He stood up slowly, making sure not to wake up his son, and turned off the lights.
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Now I know that the original Grimm's fairy tales doesn't actually have the dragon, but y'know the Disney version of Sleeping beauty was really cool and I really liked the fight at the end as a kid, clearly Germany needs to like it too, which calls for a breach in realistic timeline because this is fiction :D
Haha bonus baby Germany did you expect that haha-
I wrote it really happily because of how many cute ideas it was giving me but also for the sheer impending angst he's going to face later in his life and how all this is just- filler-
(Russia is also not immune)
Your older self's suffering delights me, baby Germany *evil hand rubbing and cackling*
Thank you for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!!