BTW, none of this is factually accurate (:

Also, TW: brief mentions of WW2.

Groggily, Hungary blinked rapidly, barely able to adapt to the light suddenly enveloping his bedroom. Pulling his duvet around his shoulders and knowing exactly what had awoken him, he glared at his brother, who stared back equally as exasperatedly.

"What time do you call this, Bruder*?" Austria sighed, crossing his arms firmly, a frown etched upon his face.

*[Brother in German]

"I don't know!" Hungary retorted, "I was perfectly fine being asleep a minute ago until you burst in and opened the blind for no reason!"

"It's eleven o'clock! Cousin Deutschland** could be here any minute, you idiot!"

**[Germany in German]

It had been a while since the pair had seen their cousin, especially since he had been promoted by EU; nowadays, Germany always seemed to be working, while Austria and Hungary had their own political affairs to attend to anyway. It was a shame, really; the three were once as close as brothers, but now the three barely spoke, despite the fact that Austria and Hungary were living together. But, today would change that.

It had been a family tradition to meet and spend time in each other's company in the earliest weekend of October, an irrelevant custom long ignored by now, until today. Today, the custom would return, reuniting the German Family, or so Austria had hoped when he invited Germany over.

Despairing of his brother's apparent sudden tiredness, Austria returned to the kitchen, removing the Bratwursts from the pan, smiling slightly at the gorgeous aroma the cooked sausages omitted.

"Are they ready yet?" Hungary yelled, rushing down the stairs two at a time, having pulled on a mismatched pair of socks, a shirt not yet ironed and covered in creases, and a two-sizes-too-big Lederhosen he'd found goodness knows where in an unused cupboard. "I'm hungry!"

"Hi, Hungary, I'm Austria."

"I- You're a pain sometimes, Ausztria***."

***[Austria in Hungarian]

"I know," Austria smirked, dishing up the additional components of the meal and handing hungry Hungary a humungous helping of herbs and salad as well as the Bratwurst itself.

"Why-"

"Good for you."

"That's too much salad by far! That's grim! What's wrong with you?!"

"You are."

Hungary opened his mouth to retort, only to be cut off by a sharp knock at the front door. Before he could even turn to gaze at the entranceway, Austria had already rushed across the room, flinging open the door to reveal a rather tired, yet pleased-looking Germany, who hugged Austria, then stepping into the remote cottage, hugged Hungary too, though perhaps for a shorter time.

"Great timing, Deutschland!" Austria beamed, "Lunch is just ready now!"

The three ate hungrily, glad to be in each other's company for the first time in what felt like an eternity, joyful childhood memories resurrected from their minds at long last.

"I must say, your trees look lovely out there!" Germany grinned, taking his final bite of Bratwurst, gazing out of the window and into the orchard. The ancient oaks did look rather fanciful that day; many of their crisp, regal leaves coated the mossy ground, though the trees' canopies still appeared to be extremely full, alight with specks of crimson and amber, hanging high above the small cottage, contrasting beautifully with the grey, gloomy clouds lingering above.

"They do look good," Hungary agreed. "The one we planted when we were younger is doing particularly well this year too."

"It's still there?!" Germany seemed shocked, stunned almost, but after a mere few seconds, a smile spread across his face.

"Can I see it?"

"Of course!" Austria grinned, Hungary nodding, all three of them heading out of the door.

Their tree was rather far back in the orchard. It was originally grown from a golden-brown acorn, the only one not scavenged by birds the year it was found. Hungary had been so pleased when he discovered it that he'd immediately showed it to Austria, who adored it too. The pair of them had never seen an acorn before; they can't have been older than four at the time and had lived in urban Vienna for as long as they could remember, though the family relocated to this countryside cottage shortly before the end of 1938.

Austria and Hungary were delighted by their discovery and were honoured to present their treasure to a teenage Germany as an early Christmas present. Germany humoured them, despite the fact that it was early October (and a random acorn from the back garden), and had suggested that the three do something special with it, enjoying his cousins' childish delight. They'd planted it that very morning, right at the back of the orchard. From then on, that seedling had been their secret place, until their family was torn apart by the horrors and devoid morals of Germany's father in World War Two.

Now, all these years later, that seedling was a mighty oak that the trio sat beneath, talking and making stupid jokes, racing around after each other, marvelling at their beautiful plant, truly inseparable once again...

Just like old times...