Bruno’s return home was a peaceful one. For the first week, he really just sat on the couch smoking out the window as he tried to return to a more peaceful state of mind. Ludwig wasn’t the only one affected by the war. Bruno had himself gradually worsened in his condition.
Nowadays, he spends a lot of his spare time alone, either drinking beer or smoking cigarettes. Frankly, it was the only thing that could keep him calm. While at war, things made sense to Bruno. He had an objective, and enemy, and his goal was to kill that enemy.
Here in the streets of Berlin, without his uniform on, he was just another man. Sure, there were a few people who knew who he was. His face was, after all, in the papers. But civilian life was tough. There were things about being on the battlefield that couldn’t be replicated in this peaceful world.
Things like the bonds of brotherhood shared between you and your men, the way you talked to one another, dark, graphic, sometimes sadistically so. To say these things among men of peace, it would most definitely get people to look at you the wrong way, and in the modern world, Bruno was from in his past life, was a good way to get you fired.
Frankly speaking, it was the idea that he had nothing to do that was constantly on Bruno’s nerves. Every day, even those spent in the office playing chess with the Russian General had some degree of worthwhile in the war.
Most of the time in that office, he was signing warrants, confirming intelligence, and enacting upon it. But the war was over, and quite frankly, he didn’t know what to do with himself. The Kaiser had promised Bruno that the soldiers of the Iron Division would be rewarded with a proper celebration.
No doubt in the form of a parade. But to organize such a thing would take weeks if not months, especially since it wasn’t one of the Kaiser’s largest priorities at the moment. Not to mention Bruno was currently given a leave of absence from the Military.
Although officially he had resumed active service and was currently “working from home.” The reality was that this was a vacation given to him, and because of this, he really didn’t know what to do with himself.
Bruno was not a man who had many hobbies. His work was his life, and his life outside of that was his family. But his kids were napping at that moment, and his wife was cleaning the house. She seemed to take great enjoyment in house chores, especially when Bruno was home.
Although she had an incredible ability to stay completely out of Bruno’s sight, while she did so. All Bruno knew is that he never saw the woman cleaning, even though the house was always squeaky clean, and she was near enough by for him to simply holler out her, and she would pop her head out instantly willing to hear anything he had to say.
To borrow a term from his past life. She was a freaking ninja when it came to cleaning. On more than one occasion, Bruno got bored and decided to try to find the woman, and yet she somehow managed to dodge every attempt of his to do so.
Ultimately, he decided to sit down at his table and play chess by himself. That is until lunch time arrived and Heidi came in with a plate full of food. The food was one of Bruno’s favorite meals, as far as lunch was concerned. It was a plate of currywurst with a side of fries.
Yes, fries as in French Fries, or Belgian fries, depending on the part of the world you were from, and how you believed they originally came to be, an origin that was disputed well into the 21st century. But one thing was certain, fries had made their way into Germany as early as the 19th century.
Heidi took her housework very seriously, so much so that the only time Bruno was ever really allowed to cook was if she was sick, or pregnant, or for some other reason incapable of performing the task herself.
He tried to introduce a few recipes from his past life by cooking himself only to get smacked with a wooden spoon and scolded on how he shouldn’t bother himself with “woman’s work.” Because of this, Bruno had pretty much left the job of cooking his meals up to his wife.
Not that he didn’t enjoy it. Quite frankly, eating the home cooked meal of a woman who loved you, even if she wasn’t a great cook, was one of the few joys in life that a man could wholly appreciate. And Heidi was a very good cook.
As Bruno ate the food, Heidi couldn’t help but comment on his current state of mind. Asking him if everything was alright, as he had been sitting near the window, smoking, drinking, and playing chess with himself for most of the morning.
“Bruno, dear, is everything alright? You have been staring out the window while playing chess with yourself since you had breakfast…”
Bruno was just now realizing what time it was, what with the arrival of his wife with a tray of food, and her comments on his current activities. And when he realized this, he leaned back in his chair and sighed before assuring her everything was fine.
“I’m alright, I just… I’m kind of bored… I don’t exactly know what to do with myself right now…”
Heidi had a pretty good suggestion for Bruno, one which he honestly felt kind of foolish for not thinking about.
“Well, why don’t you go get some exercise? I mean, I don’t mean to be a bother, but sitting here drinking and smoking all day can’t be good for your health, right?”
Bruno almost felt like he might be missing a few IQ points for not thinking of this to begin with. Frankly, his life in the office had added a few unnecessary pounds to his body. Especially after living in Saint Petersburg for the last few months conducting anti-guerilla operations from a chair.
It would be nice to begin getting a proper workout routine now that he was in a time of peace. Not only that, but it had been a very long time since he had been on the mats. In his past life, Bruno would entertain himself by training not only in the gym but also in sports like boxing and wrestling.
In Bruno’s past life, Germany wasn’t exactly a powerhouse of combat sports. At least not at a professional level. Even at the Olympic level, Germany had really not contributed much to these sports since 1936. It might even be said that the end of the Second World War had pretty much spelled the end for Germany’s prominence in combat sports, like all other martial pursuits.
And while Germany did win the most medals for wrestling in the 1896 Olympics, it would not really be until the 1920s where Boxing took off in Germany. But perhaps he could begin investing in the creation of boxing gyms, and wrestling gyms.
After all, the Olympics were still relatively new in the world, but in the coming years, the amount of gold medals a nation won was a very prestigious thing on the international stage. And Germany winning the most medals, especially gold medals, could be considered a significant boost in its global presence.
After thinking about all of this, Bruno was quick to get up where he kissed his wife, while giving her a massive confidence boost before quickly heading out the door. Seemingly forgetting all his previous worries as he did so.
“Heidi, my love, you’re a genius!”
After saying this, Bruno ran out the door. Where was he headed? Only he really knew. But in future decades, when the German Empire began dominating the Olympic games in nearly all categories, Bruno would make a speech.
As for Heidi, though Bruno didn’t realize it, she instantly broke out into a flustered state. Pondering her husband’s words as if they weren’t stated in hyperbole. ‘Genius? Me? No, he must be mistaken!’
In doing he would state that here, and now, in this exact moment, it was his wife’s words that had inspired him to begin taking physical training as a serious issue, not only personally for himself, but for the entirety of the German nation.
Bruno would spend the next few weeks not only beginning his own physical fitness routine to get back into peak condition. But also drafting plans to establish national training centers for fostering talent for the Olympics. Much in the same way which the Soviet Union of his past life was renowned for.
Ironically enough, after killing off the founders of the Soviet Union, and basically making it impossible for it to exist in this life. Bruno would go on to implement their one good idea that had actually been of some form of benefit to human society, and make it his own, taking credit for it entirely as he did so.