East Germany watched his younger brother line up 3 pencils, spaced apart perfectly. When West Germany removed his hand, he accidentally knocked a pencil crooked, then apologised.

 

"Relax, you don't need them to be all lined up perfectly," East said, with a smile.

 

"But if they're not, I messed up," West said, fixing the pencils with shaking hands.

 

East froze for a moment. Right, West was taught that. "Well whoever said that is wrong, I don't give a shit who said it either. You're doing great."

 

West looked at his now perfectly aligned pencils, taking a deep breath. East then proceeded to start today's lesson, which would be about their history before the second world war. About how they used to be, when West was too young to remember.

---

East Germany grabbed his freshly baked bread from the oven, as West came downstairs.

 

"Didn't you say you'd wake me?" West asked.

 

"Yes, but I was planning on waiting at least another half hour. You get up way too early," East said with a light laugh.

 

"Sorry," West said, making himself small.

 

"No, no. I didn't mean it like that. I'm proud of you for getting up early. It's just that I woke up a little late myself, so I wasn't able to finish the bread before you woke up," East explained, hoping it was good enough to stop scaring his little brother.

 

"Really?" West asked, looking up, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

 

"Yes. I would never lie to you," East explained.

 

"Thanks you," West said under his breath as he relaxed his body and sat down on his usual spot.

---

West Germany sat on the stairs next to his older brother. "They said they'd fix everything," he said.

 

"Don't they always? But you knew they were wrong, right?" East asked, whittling down a piece of wood, which started to look like a bear.

 

"Yes, but I never said anything..." West said, looking at the piece of wood closer.

 

"You were scared, I don't think anyone is blaming you," East said, finishing the upper half.

 

"But why do I have to hide you then?"

 

"Because it's my fault. I ran, and they're correctly blaming me," East explained, stopping his hands for a moment.

"It's not fair," West said, looking up at his brother.

 

"No, but you know why they want to separate us," East said, before showing the almost finished bear to his brother. "You know, there was a Polish soldier named Wojtek, he was a bear, just like this one."

 

"A bear? But how can a bear be a soldier?"

 

"It was trained, and extremely brave. I'm sure you'll grow up just as brave as this bear," East said, finishing the last few spots on the legs, before handing the bear to West. "It's for you, so you never forget how great you are."

 

"I don't think I'm great. I hurt so many people," West said.

 

"That wasn't your responsibility, you're the child, I'm the adult. It was my job to make sure everyone was safe, including you. And I failed."

 

The two sat in silence for a long moment.

---

West Germany got a visit from the USA. He gave him a suit that was too large and told him that he needed to come to a meeting in two days. West had no idea how to get there, it was too far to walk.

 

When the USA left, East came out of hiding from upstairs.

 

"I'm going with you," he said.

 

"No, you can't! They'll find you!" West said, careful not to raise his voice too much.

 

"It'll be fine, besides, you can't drive or use the trains, how else would you get there? We don't even have money for a taxi," East explained.

 

"But I don't want to loose you too," West whispered, voice shaking.

 

"You won't. I'll make sure of that," East said, smile fading from his lips.

---

The meeting was though, everyone argued that East Germany shouldn't have been with West, but they heard him out and his points convinced them that he at least didn't have to leave again.

 

Though he didn't go unpunished, as he had to now work in a factory, so he could afford reparations for what he did. His job was assigned to him, but he felt bad for taking someone else's spot.

 

"It's unfair," West said as he watched his brother tie a tie.

 

"I know, but we don't have a choice," East said.

 

"Why are you dressing up so nice?" West asked, watching his brother put on a coat.

 

"Because I want to dress properly. Can't show up to work in my regular clothes, everyone will look at me funny," East explained, smiling at his brother.

 

West nodded at this, wishing his brother wouldn't have to leave.