× German Empire x Austria-Hungary

× It was requested over a year ago in another book so... here it is again Rajna_a_krumpli

× There are no trigger warnings because I thought I'd start with someting light lol

× Contains fluff

× I'll translate everything in the comments because I think it's the easiest way

Two horses ran across the fields skipping over smaller streams and rocks. Their manes rippled in the marching wind and sometimes they snorted happily at the feel of it. Their riders were just as cheerful as their horses as they accelerated the pace.

One of the horses was an elegant, dapple gray nonius mare. Her mane and tail was brushed early in the morning by one of the stablemen but it was already a mess. She was used to the shiny saddles and bridles but there were simple leather ones on her this time. She clearly enjoyed this kind of freedom she got and didn't care about anything else.

The other horse was a strong, black hannover stallion who was more muscular than the mare he was running next to. His hooves whipped the dust off the ground but he didn't care because he was faster than the dust clouds. His tail was high in the air which meant he was enjoying the gallop. His gaze sometimes met with the mare's and at these moments it was almost like they smiled at each other.

Their riders both wore simple white shirts, riding trousers and black riding boots. The one on the mare was tall and slim. His every move was classy and subtle like that of a ruler. His name was Austria-Hungary. The other one was more muscular and just as tall, his movements were elegant but not as much as his lover's. German Empire.

They soon got to a stream. The water was clean and cold which was perfect after galopping through the fields.

"Let's stop here for a few minutes," German Empire said and jumped off the stallion's back who immediately leaned down and started drinking the fresh water. Austria-Hungary also jumped down and smiled at the German who returned it. He loved the heterochromic green and blue eyes that were covered by eye patches during the Great War. Austria-Hungary used to be ashamed of his eyes but German Empire helped him realize: there was nothing to be ashamed of. It took the German two years to stop him from wearing them and he was glad he did it.

"Alright, love. I wanted to look at the map anyway," Austria-Hungary said and got the object out of the saddlebag along with a canteen and drank from it before he folded out the map and sat down. German Empire joined him on the ground and both of them was looking at the piece of paper.

"We're here"-Austria-Hungary pointed at a blue line-"and the hill is here. That means-"

"We need to go this way," the German dragged his finger along the path drawn between the two points, finishing the other's sentence.

"Correct." The country smiled, stood up and went to the stream to wash his face before they would continue their journey. They chose the hill and the time of the travel days ago. After all, not every day you see shooting stars.

As Austria-Hungary put his hand in the water German Empire came up with a great idea in his head. He grinned and sneaked up on the other with the dexterity of a cat. He suddenly stepped next to the other one and splashed some water on him with his leg. Austria-Hungary gave a startled sound but almost immediately fought back by splashing water back at the German. Soon they were both standing next to the creek trying to avoid each other's attacks and soaking each other at the same time.

This could have lasted forever but German Empire suddenly whistled and at the next moment his horse jumped into the stream. His hooves splashed the water, completely drenching the surprised Austria-Hungary. The country tried to step back but tripped over a rock and fell. He yelped and tried to regain his balance but failed. A moment later, he was sitting in the water, laughing with the German who pulled him up after they stopped it.

"I blame you for getting me all soaked. It's going to take my clothes ages until they get dry again," he said in an angry tone but then smiled so the other one knew he didn't mean it. He quickly wiped off the water from his leather boots.

"I think you're being a little dramatic, Liebling. It's a warm day, you'll be dry in no time," he answered and hopped on his horse. "You ready to go?"

"Sure." Austria-Hungary also climbed onto his horse's back and they continued their journey but in a slower pace. The horses trotted right next to each other while the countries started chatting. It really was a warm day and the one on the nonius already felt better which was good because it wasn't too comfortable to sit on a saddle in wet clothes. He quickly made a mental note to wipe the leather dry as soon as they stop because he didn't want to ruin it.

"What's on your mind?" He heard German Empire's deep voice that brought him back to reality. He shook his had and smiled.

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"About?" He stretched the end of the word and grinned.

"About you being so childish." The German made an offended sound and Austria-Hungary snorted.

"That was a really rude thing to say!"

"But it's true."

"Nein, ist es nicht."

"Ja, das ist es."

"Nein."

"Ja."

"Nein."

"Látod? Most is gyerekesen viselkedsz." German Empire whined.

"You know I can't understand Hungarian! What did you say?"

Austria-Hungary huffed, "I said 'See? You're acting like a child now.' And don't say a word! I refuse to continue this conversation." The other one laughed at this but didn't say anything so they rode on silently.

"Liebling?" German Empire said quietly after a while.

"Yes?"

"You've been having nightmares again, haven't you?" Now this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have.

He had nightmares after the Great War ended. After they lost everything: their dignity, their land, their dreams of a bright future for their children. It was hard to stop these dreams. Actually, they weren't really dreams: more of memories. Terrible ones. He wanted to forget everything that happened but he just couldn't do it. He remembered the pain, the people's death grunts and their pleading. His people were sad, scared and desperate. Sometimes he woke up at night shaking and crying as the soilders who died because of the war, because of him were haunting his dreams. German Empire helped him at that time. He always comforted him after the nightmares and he never stopped telling him that it wasn't his fault. Sweet lies.

They stopped for a while but now they started to come back again. In the past two months he woke up several times crying silently but he never woke the German because he didn't want to look pathetic.

"How do you know?" That was all he managed to choke out.

"I know you. You've been getting more tired lately but it didn't make any sense since you never stayed up too late. You've also been really nervous. You jumped at every sound or movement I made. You acted like this last time you were having nightmares," he said and looked at the other country who was looking at his hands and it didn't look like he was about to say anything.

"How long?" the German asked softly.

"Two months." This broke his heart. This has been going on for two months and he only noticed the changes a few days ago.

"It's nothing you should worry about. Some stupid nightmares won't kill me." He smiled convincingly but the German could see it wasn't an honest smile. He smiled back anyways and didn't push the conversation because he could see the hurt in the other's eyes.

"Alright. How about we race to the great oak tree?" he said, changing the subject.

"Great idea!" the other country instantly forgot his problems and stopped his horse.

"I'll count down," He lined up next to Austria-Hungary, smirking. The horses knew what was happening and they were scraping the ground with their hooves.

"Eins." The black horse neighed and the countries were flexing their muscles, ready to start.

"Zwei!" With that, the German started to gallop, leaving the shocked Austria-Hungary behind.

"Csaló!" he shouted and ran after German Empire who has gained a great advantage. They sprinted through the woods while the distance between them slowly became smaller. Suddenly, they came out into a field where the country saw that they were only 10 feet apart and the oak tree was at the other side. He urged his horse to go faster, further reducing the distance. He heard German Empire's laugh as he thought he would win but at that moment Austria-Hungary beat him, winning the race.

The horses were covered in sweat and so were the countries. They were panting but soon their breathing became normal again.

"You cheated," Austria-Hungary said as they walked over to a stream that was behind the oak.

"No I did not! I just took the opportunity," the German answered. "You beat me anyways so I don't know what you're so angry about." He smiled at the other one.

"I won because cheaters never win. If you had competed fairly, you would have won. But you didn't." He grinned and then said, "I want to wash my face so please don't get me soaked this time."

"I won't, I promise," the German answered and then joined the country also splashing some water onto his face.

The rest of their journey was calm. They trotted through the rest of the forest, chatting about everything that came into their mind. They reached the hill before sunset and climbed it. They let the horses wander off and graze while they sat down and ate the sandwiches they brought.

The sunset was beautiful as the last rays of the sun casted a golden light on the forest below. Soon, the first stars appeared and when the Sun was completely gone the black sky was covered by millions of small, white dots. There was no moon that night so nothing could make the stars' shining weaker.

Then it started. Hundreds of shooting stars flew through the sky while the couple watched in amazement. They were laying in a comfortable silence, pressed tightly together. The German put his arm around the other so that Austria-Hungary rested his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeats. There were no problems, no nightmares, no war that night. Just them, watching the sky.

"Ich liebe dich."

"Én is szeretlek."

[I hope you enjoyed if you did please press the lil star! I also appreciate every comment and please tell me if I made a mistake so I can learn from it and fix it. Don't forget to drink water! <3]