Being Sick Isn't Un-awesome

by SleepyMiya

Summary:

Prussia is excited to be attending a meeting in France, because that means he’ll get to see his boyfriend, Romano. However, on the day of the meeting, he wakes up sick. Determined not to let it ruin his day, Prussia pretends he isn’t sick, but that ends up causing him more trouble than he expected...

Prussia liked to think that being an ex-nation wasn’t as bad as he’d thought back when he first got dissolved and had a massive breakdown. Ha! “First got dissolved,” as if that could happen twice. What a good joke. Anyway! As he was saying, being an ex-nation wasn’t as bad as he’d initially thought…

Well, actually, now that he was thinking about it, he wasn’t exactly an "ex"-ex-nation since he still represented the East of Germany. His brother, Germany, made him handle the affairs there, which wasn’t a problem for the awesome Prussia, because the East had fewer affairs than the West and he could get them done in the blink of an eye. Like the great and efficient person he was.

Ah, but he was getting off track again. Anyway! (Second “anyway” of the day. He really had a problem staying focused whenever nation stuff came up. Concentrate, Prussia!) The truth was, there were actually a lot of perks to not being a full-fledged nation anymore. For one thing, he had way more free time than anyone else. He always got his work done quickly, which meant he could spend the rest of the day doing whatever he wanted, however he wanted... Okay, that last part sounded a little weird. Forget it!

Also, he didn’t have to be dragged into every political office in Germany to listen to endless complaints as if he could fix everything with the snap of his fingers. Although, now that he thought about it, that would make a pretty cool superpower. He should definitely jot that down in his diary later.

And the best part? He could skip any meeting that didn’t concern East Germany. If Austria was holding some gathering that had nothing to do with him, he could just stay home instead of listening to his cousin drone on about topics that couldn’t interest him less.

So, see? Being a former nation wasn’t bad at all.

However, of course, there were cons to being an ex-nation as well, which was, naturally, to be expected. Though, most of the cons didn’t matter much, except for one in this very moment. And that one was that, since Prussia didn’t have a country of his own anymore, he was… hmm, how to put it… a bit more prone to getting sick than the other nations.

For example, if there was even a small problem in East Germany... financially, politically, socially, or any other kind of problem a half-country could have... he’d get hit with a big, big cold, or sometimes even a fever. And it was terrible. He’d be bedridden for a day or two, depending on how bad it was.

Prussia despised that with all of his being. He hated being stuck in bed, weak and huffing and puffing like some dramatic man on his deathbed.

Now, you might be wondering why I’m even mentioning this. Well… it’s because that’s exactly what had happened to Prussia right now.

He was very, very sick, and he hated it.

How did it happen? Well, let’s start from the beginning, because things are probably a bit hazy for you all!

It all started when Germany dragged the former nation along to a meeting in France. Prussia didn’t complain, of course. It was literally France, the homeland of one of his closest friends. Apparently, it also involved the Eastern part of Germany, and Prussia had to give a presentation of sorts. He was actually kinda stoked about it and had put a lot of effort into making a super awesome presentation.

But he was even more excited because he was going to see Italy! And nope, not the Italy you’re probably thinking of, the Northern one, but the Southern one: Romano, who just so happened to be his super awesome boyfriend!

It was a bit difficult for the two of them to meet up, since they couldn’t just fly to each other’s countries whenever they wanted because of work and other responsibilities. So these meetings where both were attending were very precious to Prussia. After the boring meeting, he could spend time with Romano and do cool couple-like things like go out to dinner, hold hands and kiss, which was awesome!

Anyway, back to the explanation. Once they got to France and settled into their hotel room, Prussia started feeling a bit off. That wasn’t completely abnormal. After flying, he usually needed a little time to get back to his awesome self. But this time, it was the “sick” kind of off. Being the big idiot he was, he just brushed it off and went to bed, excited about the next day, when he’d not only give his presentation but also hang out with Romano.

And that’s when everything went downhill.

When he woke up the next morning, Prussia felt as if he’d been run over by two cars back-to-back and was about to be run over by a third. His throat hurt and scratched terribly, his head pounded like never before, and he was cold to his bones, shivering even with the covers up to his neck. In short, he felt incredibly weak, and, in that moment, he probably was.

“Ughh...” the former nation rasped, his voice rougher and more ragged than usual. His eyelids fluttered heavily before he forced them open, turning his head with painstaking slowness toward the nightstand, where his phone sat plugged in and glowing faintly as it charged.

Prussia stared at the device for a long moment before finally tugging one hand out from beneath the covers and stretching it toward the nightstand. He regretted it instantly. The air, which probably wasn’t even as cold as he thought, bit at his skin and sent a shiver through him. His expression twisted in discomfort as he shakily grabbed his phone and pulled it close to his face.

The first thing his eyes landed on was the time: 5:48 AM. He cringed. Yikes. That was way too early, even for him. For a second, he seriously considered chucking the phone back onto the nightstand and burying himself under the covers again.

But he didn’t, because his eyes dropped to the notifications below. A handful of work-related emails had come in. So, he did what any normal man would do and opened them.

The moment he read the contents, a faint frown formed on his face. Apparently, there were some trade deficits in Eastern Germany, and the boss of Germany, and technically his boss too… half-boss? Not exactly a boss-boss… eh, whatever! Had written to let Prussia know about it, along with the fact that they were already working on a fix.

Aha!

So that explained why he felt like he’d fallen out of an airplane without a parachute and smacked face-first into the ground! Prussia was glad to know the reason!

Wait—no, scratch that—he wasn’t glad at all! No, no, no! He was the opposite of glad, he was devastated!

If he was sick for who knows how long his stupid fifty-percent-only boss handled the issue, that meant he’d be stuck in bed. And if he was stuck in bed, that meant he couldn’t go to the meeting. And if he couldn’t go to the meeting, that meant he wouldn’t get to see Romano. And if he couldn’t see Romano, then he wouldn’t be able to do all the cute couple-like stuff with him!

Nooooooo—

Oh, wait! That also meant he wouldn’t be able to give that presentation. Not that he really cared about that... what he cared about was hanging out with Romano.

Anyway, where was he? Ah, right!

Nooooooooo!

Prussia couldn’t believe this was actually happening to him! Of all the days to be sick, it had to be today, right when he had plans! The universe was so unfair!

He didn’t want to stay in bed like a sick Victorian child while everyone else got to have fun. That was very un-awesome! And un-awesome wasn’t his thing, that was Germany’s job, haha.

Ahem.

As he was saying, he wanted to have fun too. He didn’t want to waste his time lying in bed. Ugh! He had to be the weakest nation ever, getting sick from a little import-export problem… augh! So not awesome! The other nations only got sick once in a blue moon, and here he was, getting sick every year like it was his birthday, which, of course, it wasn’t, because birthdays were awesome and being sick definitely was not!

Damn it.

Prussia was so disappointed that he actually wanted to roll over and smother himself with the pillow. That would probably be better than staying conscious while being sick…

Stupid, stupid sickness! Ruining everything for him...

The former nation dropped his phone to his side and glared angrily at the ceiling. He huffed in frustration but immediately regretted it, because he broke into a coughing fit right after. He had to muffle his coughs with his blanket so his brother, sleeping in the other bed, wouldn’t hear him.

Ah, screw this.

Prussia yanked the cover over his face in frustration and began to sulk, because what else could he do in that situation?

But as he indulged in his not-so-cool pity party, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

What if… he just pretended he wasn’t sick?

At that, the albino perked up. Wait, this wasn’t a bad idea at all. He could just pretend to be okay during the day, do everything he wanted, and then crash into bed at night to sleep through the rest of the sickness. Holy, he was a genius! Yeah! That was definitely going to work. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, exactly.

It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d had to pretend to be fine while in pain. Back when he had an army and went to war, he’d get injured and just have to suck it up and keep fighting. Well… now that he thought about it, an injury was different from being sick. But still, if he could handle that, he could handle being sick too.

Suddenly, Prussia didn’t feel so gloomy anymore, he actually felt happy. Thrilled, even. Haha! He was so awesome! No one else could come up with ideas this cool. Yup! That’s exactly why he was the most awesome nation of all.

With that, the former nation decided to put his totally genius plan, that was definitely not going to backfire, into action. First things first: he needed to make himself look presentable. He knew all too well that when he was sick, he usually resembled a walking corpse, and if he wanted everything to go smoothly, he had to make sure he at least looked healthy.

Feeling determined, Prussia sat up in bed, swung his legs over the edge, and stood up abruptly. Which, yeah, probably wasn’t the best idea. Maybe he should’ve moved a bit slower, because his headache immediately spiked tenfold and he nearly went crashing down, saved only by the nightstand he managed to grab for support.

Okay. So he needed to move slower. Noted!

Regaining his strength, Prussia quietly made his way to the bathroom, careful not to wake his brother. The guy was such a light sleeper that even the smallest sound could stir him. Once the door was shut behind him, the man glanced in the mirror, and, as expected, he looked like a literal ghost. Oof. Yeah, that definitely needed fixing.

But how? Well… a shower. That would fix him up. Hopefully.

And so, Prussia took a shower. A hot one. Actually, hot was an understatement... he cranked the faucet all the way up until he was practically melting under the water. By the time he stepped out, his skin was bright red. And yet, despite that, he still felt like he was freezing to death the moment he wasn’t under the water anymore. Still, he pushed himself forward anyway.

To be fair, the shower did help. He looked a lot more alive than before. Not quite healthy-alive, but at least less-like-a-corpse alive.

After drying off, Prussia got dressed in his typical blue uniform, then made a valiant effort to tame his hair. Once he was satisfied with his awesome look, he shot himself a pair of finger guns in the mirror before leaving the bathroom.

He hadn’t expected to bump into anyone since it was so early, well, “anyone” being his brother, since he was the only other person in the room, but to his surprise, Germany was already awake and moving about. Prussia blinked, his brain lagging for a second, before he stepped further into the room and decided to greet his brother properly.

“Morning, West!” he exclaimed in his usual cheerful tone. Or at least, that was how it was supposed to come out. Instead, his voice sounded like he had been screaming for hours, raspy and rough and nothing like his normal self. And of course, his brother noticed right away.

“Are you alright?” Germany asked, stopping in his tracks and raising an eyebrow at the older man. “You sound a bit off.”

At that, Prussia silently cursed himself for already messing up. He straightened up and cleared his throat loudly... maybe a bit too loudly... to make sure his voice would sound better the next time he spoke, then flashed a bright grin as if he wasn’t aching all over.

“Haha, yeah, I’m great!” he exclaimed with as much cheer as he could muster. “I just slept really poorly last night, don’t know why. Maybe the bed just wasn’t awesome enough for the awesome me.”

Germany gave him a once-over, thinking for a moment before nodding. “Okay. Then you should try to rest after the meeting to regain your strength.”

“Eh, I’ll see,” Prussia said, waving a hand. “I kind of have plans after the meeting. Sleeping’s not really on my schedule.”

At his words, the blonde rolled his eyes, sighed, and shook his head in mild disapproval before walking toward the bathroom.

“Bitte, do try to take better care of yourself,” Germany murmured before entering the bathroom. “Anyway, I’ll wash up, and then we can head down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I just hope it’s open at this hour… what time is it?”

The former nation opened his mouth to respond but realized he didn’t actually know. He slowly scanned the room until his red eyes landed on a clock. Squinting at it, he turned back to his brother. “It’s 6:38 AM.” he said simply, earning a small frown from Germany.

“Ja… perhaps it’s still too early for us to go to the cafeteria,” the blue-eyed man mused, shaking his head and dismissing the thought. “Whatever, we’ll figure something out.” he added, closing the bathroom door with a soft click.

The moment Prussia realized his brother was out of sight, he collapsed onto his bed like a pile of bricks. Damn, his head hurt. He pressed a hand to his temple, massaging it in hopes of easing the tension, but it didn’t do much. What he really needed were painkillers, but going out to buy some would look suspicious, and honestly, he doubted he’d make it very far before collapsing face-first on the ground. Asking someone else to get them was out of the question too. That would raise just as many eyebrows.

Whatever. He could deal with it.

It had been a close call, but at least he’d managed to dodge his brother’s worry with a perfectly believable excuse. That was something, right? He was actually pulling this off. All he had to do was keep the act going until night, and everything would be fine. He just had to make sure no one else noticed, especially Romano. He wanted to hang out with him later, but if the Italian caught on that something was wrong, there was no chance he’d let Prussia brush it off. Romano would probably drag him straight to bed, and not in the way Prussia would have liked. Then he’d be stuck in his room alone, with nothing but his own company. And that was the last thing he wanted.

So. No slip-ups. No mistakes.

But just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard his brother come out of the bathroom.

Prussia quickly shot up to his feet. However, he realized too late that he shouldn’t have done that, because the world tilted and he staggered, cursing under his breath. Shoot. He’d forgotten he was supposed to be moving slower. Ahhh.

Luckily, he managed to compose himself just in time, and Germany didn’t seem to notice anything. Thank God. Phew.

Clearing his throat, the white-haired man gestured toward the other nation. “I see you’re all dressed up, prim and proper, so that means we can go down and eat,” he exclaimed, trying to sound as excited as he usually did when heading to the breakfast buffet. “I don’t know about you, but I’m personally starving. I could eat for three!”

That was a lie. In truth, he didn’t feel anything close to hungry. In fact, he had no appetite at all. That’s what sickness did to a person. But if he wanted his brother to believe he was healthy as a horse, then saying so was necessary. And besides, appetite or not, he could still force himself to eat something. No big deal.

“Okay, just let me grab my things for the meeting, and then we can go,” Germany said, walking over to the desk in the corner of the room, where papers were neatly scattered across it. “I’m still not sure if it’s open at this hour. After all, this is France we’re talking about. But, I suppose we’ll just have to try our luck.” he gathered the papers and put them into a portfolio so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. Once he finished, he turned to Prussia, studying him for a moment before saying, “You should take your things too, so we don’t have to return to our room.”

“Oh, yeah, okay, sure,” the red-eyed man said with a small nod, before taking his own papers and slipping them into a portfolio. Honestly, he had completely forgotten about the papers he’d prepared. He'd been too busy thinking about how not to appear sick. Oops.

After Prussia made sure his things were neatly tucked into the portfolio, he and Germany left their room and headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Luckily it opened at 7 AM, so they only had to wait a minute or two before going inside. It was a bit funny, they were the only ones there, since no one else was crazy enough to wake up that early. Well, at least they had the whole place to themselves.

The only downside Prussia could note was how cold it was inside. It might have been summer, but apparently the staff thought that meant cranking the AC up to full blast, even though it was barely 25 degrees Celsius outside. Brr. His teeth were literally chattering, but since Germany was not complaining, he decided not to either. It probably wasn't actually that cold.

The two nations left their things at a table before heading up to the buffet for breakfast. Germany got his usual meal and went back to their table, but Prussia found that he didn’t actually want his usual breakfast. Why? Because… uh... it kinda made him nauseous. His stomach twisted, and he almost felt like he might throw up at the sight of the meat, eggs, bread, and everything else on display.

So he hovered awkwardly for a couple of minutes, trying to find something his stomach could tolerate, until he finally settled on a few chopped red bell pepper slices. Yes, red bell pepper. For some reason, that was the only thing he could look at without feeling like vomiting. He also grabbed some chamomile tea, since he’d read somewhere that it helped with colds and fevers. Maybe it would ease his symptoms a bit.

The only problem was that he didn’t usually drink tea or eat red bell pepper, which made this breakfast look kind of… abnormal. Very abnormal.

Great.

He hoped his brother wouldn’t comment on this. Of course, that was only wishful thinking, because the moment he sat back down, it was the first thing Germany said.

“What’s this?” the younger German asked with a slight frown. “I thought you said you were starving.”

Ok. Maybe he shouldn't have said that.

“Well… I was starving. Uh, still am,” Prussia said a bit awkwardly. “That’s why I got myself a… vegetable. Yes.”

At his words, the other man’s frown deepened. “This barely has any nutrients.”

“That’s not true. Bell peppers have lots of vitamin C and antioxidants, and, uh… other stuff too.” the white-haired man retorted.

“That’s barely anything,” Germany stated. “You need proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals. You’re not getting any of those from a few slices of bell pepper.” he spoke matter-of-factly, then tilted his head slightly. “Also, since when do you drink tea?”

“Since today…” Prussia said slowly, averting his gaze. “I wanted to try something new. You never know if you like something unless you try it.” he took a sip of the tea to prove his point, though he didn’t actually like the taste, and he was sure his disgust showed on his face. However, he brushed it off. “Wow… this is… Britain really was onto something with this… flavored water. Yep. Very good.”

Germany stared at him, unconvinced, and was about to say something, but Prussia cut him off before he could speak.

“Don’t worry about me, West,” he said, waving a hand exaggeratedly. “I’m just not feeling like eating much right now. My appetite’s died down.” he sighed, then grinned. “I’ll go to lunch with Romano after the meeting and stuff my face there. He always picks the best places to eat!” he added, “You should go to lunch with little Italy too, I’m sure he’d love that. Hey! Maybe you guys could join me and Romano and make it a double date!” he paused, then shook his head. “Wait, actually, I changed my mind. I want it to be just me and Romano,” he said, wearing an apologetic smile. “No offense.”

His rambling seemed to chase the worry from his brother’s face, replacing it with a look of wariness. Germany let out a sigh and mumbled something under his breath before returning to his own food.

Victory for Prussia. Woohoo! Take that, West!

He didn’t usually mind when his brother worried about him (he actually found it kind of sweet), but in this moment, he really didn’t want any concern from Germany... like at all.

The two Germans ate in silence, and Prussia noticed that, as time passed, more nations began to enter the cafeteria. He saw Switzerland, Japan, and even Austria and Hungary, which was a bit surprising considering Austria liked to sleep in. They all greeted the two of them, and they returned the greetings. However, Prussia made an exception, and instead of greeting Austria, he gave him a thumbs down. Unfortunately, that earned him a smack on the head from Hungary, which hurt more than usual because of his sickness. After that, everyone went on their way.

Germany chatted with Japan for a bit and then invited him to join their table. Japan, being friendly and polite, accepted, which didn’t bother Prussia too much, though it meant he had to put in extra effort to seem fine.

Ughh.

Luckily, both his brother and Japan weren’t big conversationalists... but he was, which he hoped didn’t look suspicious if he stayed silent.

...

It wasn’t suspicious. Was it?

Nah.

After a while, the rest of the nations began to make their way into the cafeteria. Prussia turned to see if the Italy brothers were among them, but of course they weren’t.

Why, you may ask?

One, they slept in a lot, and two, they hated what was served at the buffet.

But hey, there was nothing wrong with being hopeful!

What he did see, however, were his friends France, who was holding the meeting today, and Spain. Under normal circumstances, he would have been thrilled to see them, especially since he hadn’t seen them in what felt like forever. But right now, he honestly wished they had stayed in their rooms. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his friends, but at the moment, they were probably full of energy, and he, on the other hand, wasn’t. He wasn’t sure he could match their enthusiasm without it looking forced.

Prussia turned his head back and gestured vaguely at his brother to catch his attention.

“Was?” Germany asked, raising an eyebrow.

“West, since we’re both done here, let’s go to the meeting room early and claim our seats so no one steals them,” he said in a low whisper, glancing briefly at Japan before adding, “Japan, you can come too if you want.”

At that, the Japanese man blinked, looking like he was about to respond, but Germany spoke before he could.

“We have assigned seats,” the blonde said with a deadpan expression. “No one’s going to steal anything.”

At his words, Prussia wanted to argue but realized he didn’t have a good retort. Frustrated with himself for not being able to come up with a decent comeback, he glanced over his shoulder again and this time spotted France and Spain heading straight toward him. That meant they had definitely noticed him. Shoot. He quickly turned back around and muttered a curse under his breath

“Are you looking for someone…?” Japan asked suddenly, turning his head in the direction Prussia had just looked, a confused expression on his face.

“Uh…” the white-haired man dragged the sound out for a long moment before shaking his head slightly. “No, hah, I’m not… I was just looking at the exit, actually, the place I wish we could go to right now, because…” he stumbled over his words, not sure what to say, until it finally came to him. “Because I want to get to the meeting room early and reread my presentation so I won’t mess up when I actually present!” he exclaimed determinedly.

In truth, that wasn’t really an issue for him, because he was so awesome that he didn’t need to reread anything, since he already knew it all by heart. But it was a good enough excuse to want to get out of there.

“Oh, I see,” Japan said with a small nod of understanding. He went quiet for a moment before adding, a hint of confusion in his eyes, “But… isn’t it a bit too early to go now? It’s barely eight-thirty, and the meeting doesn’t start until ten… or am I mistaken?”

At that, the red-eyed man deflated slightly. Japan was right. It made no sense to head to the meeting room now, even if he wanted to revise his materials, since the revision itself wouldn’t take that long anyway. There was really no point in going now. Ah, sometimes he hated that his brother was friends with someone who used just as much rationality as him.

“No, you’re right,” Germany answered in his place, snapping Prussia out of his thoughts. “I like to be early for important things, but even I can agree that going now would be a bit over the top.” he gave a small nod before his expression shifted into slight concern, his gaze turning to Japan as if Prussia wasn’t even there. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s been acting a little strange this morning.”

Ah! God damn it, West!

Prussia wanted to bang his head against the table. For someone so bad with emotions, Germany was surprisingly excellent at stressing over things and spewing them to everyone within earshot. At this point, Prussia wished he had roomed with Switzerland instead. At least Switzerland kept to himself and didn’t ask questions. Ugh. Now he had to figure out how to diffuse the situation.

Again.

“Hey, I’m not acting like anything other than my awesome self,” he said, trying to sound as offended as possible. “Besides, I already told you I slept like crap last night, so that should sum up why I’m a bit rusty now.”

“Yeah, but—” the blonde began, but before he could finish, Prussia shot to his feet, snatched up his portfolio, and tried to ignore the wave of dizziness that washed over him.

“Whatever, you guys do what you want,” he huffed. “I’m going by myself then.” with that, he turned around, only to come face-to-face with none other than… drum roll… Spain and France!

Aaaaahhhhhh! Curse his luck! Why did things like this only happen when he was sick? When he was healthy, everything went his way, but the moment he wasn’t, nothing did. Did being sick also infect his luck? How did that even work?

The sudden appearance of his two friends startled the white-haired man, and he almost dropped his portfolio. Luckily, he caught it just in time.

“Going where?” Spain asked with a bright smile that practically radiated sparkles, as if everything in the world was going his way. Augh. That was definitely not the case for the awesome Prussia right now.

“Ah, hey you two,” the former nation said with a raspy laugh. “I didn’t realize you’d come in here.”

“Quoi? How come?” France asked in disbelief. “You stared at us for a whole minute. We even waved at you.”

Huh. When had that happened? Prussia didn’t remember seeing any wave directed at him. Had he really been so out of it that he missed a full-on gesture meant for him?

“Oh, that’s funny,” the former nation said with a wry smile. “I must’ve zoned out or something, hah.”

“Hey, what’s up with your voice, mi amigo?” Spain suddenly asked, pointing at the older German like a shameless child. “You sound like you’ve smoked ten packs of cigarettes non-stop.” he blinked his bright green eyes at him, then widened them in shock. “Wait, don’t tell me you actually did smoke ten packs of cigarettes!” he exclaimed, grabbing France by the arm and shaking him slightly with dramatically sad eyes. “Without us? What happened to doing stupid stuff together?”

At that, Prussia was left speechless for a moment. Sometimes his friends really made him question his choice in... well... friends. Eventually, he managed to find the words to respond.

"Ahem, don't worry, I didn’t smoke anything. Only an idiot would do that before a meeting,” he said with a thoughtful look before shrugging. “I guess the morning gruff just hasn’t left me yet, that’s all.”

"Ah, okay, because I seriously thought you got high without us, like a lone wolf that abandoned his pack!” Spain said, looking relieved as he brushed imaginary sweat from his forehead. “You almost gave me a scare, haha!”

“You're giving me a scare now.” Prussia said flatly, which only earned him another laugh from the Spaniard.

“Au fait (By the way),” France suddenly interjected. “Where are you going? You mentioned wanting to go somewhere, non?”

“Ah, uh... yes, I—” the former nation began, but before he could finish, Spain spoke over him, not giving him the chance to get his words out.

“¡Sí! I wanted to ask about that too!” the brunet said enthusiastically, gesturing rapidly toward Prussia. “Do you want to go out? But... it’s too early to go out now...” he frowned for a brief moment before quickly brightening up again. “Whatever! Can we come with you? I wanna go wherever you’re going!”

“Oui, me too!” France agreed with a quick nod and a smile before adding, “But first I need to eat something. I have to get some energy into my system.”

“Ohh, sí me too!”

Ah… this was exactly what Prussia had meant when he said his friends had too much energy for him when he was sick, especially Spain. He loved the guy, but seriously, Spain needed to channel that endless energy into something more than gardening, because gardening clearly wasn’t cutting it. And now, somehow, his friends were planning to tag along with him to some nonexistent place he supposedly wanted to go to. How had they even come to that conclusion?

However, just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt a rapid tapping on his forehead, snapping him out of his trance. He blinked wearily and found France jabbing him a little too hard.

“Allô? Earth to Prussia,” the blonde said, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I’m talking to you, yet it looks like my words are going in one ear and out the other.”

Upon hearing that, Prussia swallowed nervously and opened his mouth to respond. Honestly, he hadn’t caught a single word his friend had said, so he had no idea what to say... damn, his attention was terrible today. Unfortunately, he didn’t even get the chance to speak, because, surprise surprise, he was interrupted once again.

“Attends une seconde,” (Hold on a second,) France said, his amused expression fading into a faint frown. He placed the same hand he’d been using to tap Prussia’s forehead fully against it, causing the older German to shiver and grimace at how cold it was. “Oh mon Dieu! You’re burning up!” he exclaimed, worry lacing his voice.

Those words made the former nation’s eyes widen in shock, and his pulse to stop for a full second. Fuck.

“¿Qué? ¿Es eso cierto?” (What? Is that true?) Spain asked, confused. He swatted France’s hand away and placed his own on Prussia’s forehead instead. The older German squinted. The brunette's hand was somehow even colder than France’s.

“Oh no… it really is true!” Spain exclaimed, his expression turning serious. “Are you okay?” he added quickly, bringing his other hand to Prussia’s face and leaning even closer into his personal space.

The red-eyed man panicked. Germany was probably listening in on the whole conversation, which would only make him more suspicious, and that was the last thing Prussia needed. So, without thinking, he did the first thing that came to mind: he pushed his friend back and tried to brush everything off.

“Okay, enough with the touching,” the white-haired man said, taking a shaky step back. “I’m literally fine,” he added with a breathy laugh, waving his hands dismissively. “This is probably because I drank that tea they serve over there in the back,” he said, gesturing toward the drinks section. “You know, since it’s hot and all.”

“Since when do you drink tea?” France asked, frowning. He looked at Spain, who looked just as confused, then back at Prussia.

“Since…” Prussia began, but faltered, stumbling for a reply for a long, painful moment before giving up internally. “Since I don’t know!” he finally exclaimed, a bit frustrated. “What’s the big deal with drinking tea anyway? It’s… good… in some way,” he added, though the other nations didn’t really believe him, and, honestly, he didn’t either. “Plus, Britain drinks it all the time, and I don’t see you commenting on that.”

“Eh, he’s Britain.” France said matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which, in a way, it was.

“Yeah, and I’m the awesome Prussia. Your point?” the white-haired man said, a small frown crossing his face. One that, in that moment, made him resemble his little brother more.

At his words, the French man’s expression tensed, and he gave a slight shrug, looking uncertain. “Tea isn’t really your go-to drink…”

“Well…” Prussia began, searching for something to say but coming up empty. He huffed in frustration, already fed up with everything. “Does that even matter? Gott!” he rasped, shoving his way past the two nations and almost throwing them off balance. “Just lay off me already! What is this, an interrogation?” he exclaimed, clutching his portfolio even tighter as he hurried toward the cafeteria exit.

He heard his friends, and even his brother, call after him, but he ignored them, dodging other nations until he reached the nearly empty hallway. Honestly, he felt a little bad for snapping at the people he cared about, but he had a reason. They were all fretting over him like he was seriously ill—which he was, kind of—but that wasn’t the point! The point was that he didn’t want them worrying, especially now.

Why did everyone have to notice he was off? He was trying so hard not to seem off, and yet it was useless. How irritating! And so un-awesome! Being sick was officially the most un-awesome thing in the world.

As Prussia thought that, he hurried down the hallway until he reached the elevator. The moment he stopped, a wave of nausea hit him—probably from all the abrupt movements, though he hadn’t really had much of a choice. With a sigh, he jabbed the elevator button a few times, then waited, glancing anxiously back down the hallway to make sure no one was following him. That would be a real bother.

But the elevator was taking forever, and patience wasn’t exactly his strong suit. So, like the “smart-guy” he was, he decided to take the stairs and climb three floors on foot to where the meeting room was. The first flight wasn’t too bad, but by the second, his head was spinning worse than before. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, only to double over in a coughing fit that made him mentally curse himself. Still, he forced his legs to keep moving.

By the time the albino finally reached the correct floor, he felt absolutely awful. His legs wobbled beneath him, his vision blurred and twisted at the edges, and it was almost as if he’d smacked his head and given himself a concussion.

“Hah…” Prussia wheezed, staggering before grabbing the wall for support. His eyes dropped to the floor, and… whoa. Why was the carpet spinning beneath him? Was it supposed to do that?

The man gritted his teeth in pain before using his free hand to rub at his eyes, trying to get them to work properly. His eyes weren’t the problem though, it was his head. But he couldn’t exactly rub his brain…

“I need to sit down…” the German muttered under his breath with a heavy exhale. Honestly, what he probably needed was to lie down, but… whatever, he could deal with this. With shaky movements, he pushed himself off the wall and headed toward the meeting room, practically dreaming of dropping into his chair and closing his eyes.

But, of course, things didn’t go his way. The moment he rounded the corner, he ran straight into a group of people and nearly sent one of them toppling over. In truth, he almost went down himself, but luckily he stumbled into a nearby plant that kept him upright. Unfortunately, he dropped his portfolio in the process, which was just terrible, because now he had to bend down to pick it up, and that would only make his dizziness worse.

Ugh. Seriously? Who were these idiots who couldn’t watch where they were going?

Prussia blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. After a moment, the figures before him came into focus, and he immediately recognized them as the Italy brothers.

Wait what?!

“Ow, fratello! I almost fell and broke something!” Veneziano exclaimed, clinging dramatically to Romano’s arm. “This person is really mean—” Veneziano started, pointing at Prussia, but his words died in his throat when his eyes landed on him. He stared for a long second before suddenly lighting up. “Hey! This is Prussia!” he said excitedly, giving his brother a light shake. “Look, fratello, it’s your boyfriend!”

At Veneziano’s words, the older Italian flushed red and quickly shook him off, sputtering what Prussia could only assume were curses in Italian, which made Veneziano laugh in amusement. Normally, Romano’s reaction would’ve entertained the former nation as well. It was funny, and honestly kind of cute, how easily the Southern Italian got embarrassed.

But right now, Prussia couldn’t find it in himself to be amused, or to feel much of anything, because he was simply too sick. That didn’t mean he wasn’t glad to see them. He was. In fact, he was especially happy to see Romano. He just didn’t have the energy to show it.

Usually, he’d be all over him, insisting on being close until he inevitably earned a punch in the stomach for crowding Romano’s space. Now, though, he could only hope it wasn’t suspicious that he wasn’t acting that way. He wanted to… but first, he needed to sit down and get the world to stop spinning.

Prussia barely noticed it, but at some point Veneziano stepped away from his brother and moved closer to him, waving excitedly right in his face. The sudden gesture made the albino scrunch his face in discomfort.

“Hi, Prussia!” the younger man greeted cheerfully before leaning to the side to peek behind him. “Is Germany not with you?” he asked with a thoughtful hum, his eyes scanning the area for the blond German. When it became clear he wasn’t there, Veneziano straightened up and looked back at Prussia. “I really wanted to see him!”

The white-haired man felt his brain lag for a moment before it hit him that, oh damn, he actually had to say something. He drew in a sharp breath, then forced a smile onto his face, hoping it didn’t look too strained.

“Oh, hey, little Italy,” he forced out, giving the Italian a weak wave. “If you’re looking for West, he’s down in the cafeteria,” Prussia said, before adding in a low mumble, almost as an afterthought, “At least I think he’s still there.”

“Oh, okay!” the younger Italian chirped happily, clasping his hands as his expression brightened even more. “That’s where me and mio fratello were heading, actually!” he exclaimed, bouncing in place before pausing with a slight frown. “But not to eat, because the food there is terrible. Just to get some coffee!” he nodded firmly, then broke into another smile.

“Ah… that makes sense,” Prussia said, sounding a little disoriented. His eyes dropped to the floor for a moment, and he noticed Veneziano practically stepping on his portfolio. He cringed slightly. He'd put a lot of effort into those papers, and it stung to see them treated like they were nothing. “Uh, little Italy… you’re kind of standing on my…” the albino trailed off awkwardly, pointing downward. The light-haired brunet blinked at him, followed his gesture, and then let out a loud gasp.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Veneziano exclaimed in surprise. He looked ready to move, but before he could, Romano suddenly appeared beside him and shoved him out of the way, making him yelp.

“Veneziano, use your eyes, God damn it!” the older Italian hissed, sending a sharp glare toward his brother. Veneziano regained his footing and offered an apologetic smile, mouthing another “Sorry.”

Romano rolled his eyes at him before crouching down to grab Prussia’s portfolio, shoving it firmly into the albino’s hands. Prussia barely gripped the stacked papers at first, startled by how close Romano had gotten, but he secured his hold a second later.

“Here.” the dark-haired brunet said, crossing his arms and shifting his weight slightly.

(Wow. Romano had to be an angel! He’d just spared Prussia from a potentially ugly dizzy episode by picking up the portfolio for him. Waah, he was so awesome!)

Romano wore his usual frown, the one he used to mask the fact that he was actually happy, which meant he was genuinely glad to see Prussia. How awesome! It would’ve been even better if Prussia didn’t feel like he was about to faint any second. Damn it, head, get it together! Stop making everything spin!

“Danke… (Thank you…),” the albino murmured, his voice wavering slightly. Luckily, Romano didn’t seem to notice. He simply gave a small nod, which caused his bangs to fall into his eyes. He blew at them in mild annoyance, but they immediately fell back into place, and he let out a resigned sigh.

That simple gesture... one that shouldn’t have meant much, made Prussia realize just how much he’d missed Romano since the last time they’d seen each other face-to-face. It had been months. So many months. He'd missed Romano more with every passing day, and he was fairly certain Romano had missed him too… hopefully.

Prussia wanted so badly to reach out, brush those stubborn bangs from Romano’s eyes, pull him into a tight hug, press a kiss to him, and laugh off the inevitable shove before the Southern nation finally softened and returned the affection. He would have done it right then and there, if only he didn’t feel so terrible and weak.

“Well…?” Romano said suddenly, breaking Prussia out of his thoughts. He tilted his head slightly, giving him a small, expectant look.

Huh.

Well what?

Had Prussia missed something while lost in his own head? Wait, had Romano just asked him a question and he completely ignored it? Ah! What was it? What did he even ask? Ugh, think, brain, think! His mind wasn’t working properly. Okay. New plan. What kind of questions did Romano usually ask in the morning? Umm…

“Ah, uh…” the former nation stumbled over his words for a moment before blurting out, “I slept well, if that’s what you’re wondering!” he said, trying to sound confident. Romano, however, tilted his head even further, his expression turning confused. So, that wasn’t it. Okay… what else? Hmm…

Aha!

“I didn’t have any dreams tonight!” Prussia tried again, nodding slightly, thinking he’d finally gotten it. But when he saw Romano’s frown deepen, he faltered. So, not that either. “I mean… um… Good morning? I forgot to say that… I think.” he added as a last-ditch effort, knowing Italians liked their daily greetings. Of course, that wasn’t what Romano had meant, because his frown only grew more pronounced, making Prussia want to facepalm. This was going wonderfully.

“What are you—” the Southern nation began, then stopped mid-sentence, glancing the older German up and down. Finally, with a faint worried look, he asked, “Are you… okay?”

(For context, Romano hadn’t actually asked anything. He was expecting Prussia to jump on him and hug him, as he always did. So seeing Prussia start spouting random answers to nonexistent questions left him both extremely puzzled and genuinely concerned, since Prussia seemed to be delirious.)

There it was again. That damn question. Damn it! Was he really that bad at pretending to be okay that everyone could tell he wasn’t? (Yes.) No! He was too awesome for that.

Swallowing dryly, Prussia put on his best grin. “Yeahhh! Pshh, of course I’m fine!” he said, holding the portfolio in one hand while waving the other dismissively. “Feeling great, really, nothing's wrong at all, haha!”

“Are you sure?” Romano pressed, stepping a little closer and squinting his hazel eyes as he studied the former nation's face. He reached out a hand, but before he could touch him, Prussia quickly stepped aside. Romano’s surprised expression slowly shifted to hurt as he realized Prussia had deliberately avoided his touch.

That made Prussia’s heart ache. However, stepping back had been necessary! He couldn’t let Romano check for a fever, realize he was sick, and then force him to go back to his room and waste the day resting.

“Yup! I'm very sure!” the former nation said, forcing as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could. “I’m just… uh, really excited to present this!” he gestured toward his portfolio with a sudden burst of energy. “Yeah!” he added with a firm nod. “It’s been a while since I’ve attended a meeting or actually had to present something, so I’m honestly pretty stoked for this one!”

At his words, the older Italian blinked, then let his hand fall limply to his side, murmuring a quiet, “Oh.” he still didn’t look convinced, though.

Prussia considered saying something more, but before he could, the other half of Italy spoke.

“Oh, right! You’ve got a presentation today!” Veneziano exclaimed, snapping his fingers in realization. A moment later, however, his expression shifted to confusion. “Wait… what’s it about again?”

“Economy.” the albino said with a small smile.

At his words, the younger man scrunched up his face in disgust. “Bleh, I hate economy,” he muttered, giving his head a small shake. “There are always so many complications with it…” he trailed off with a sigh, then brightened up and offered Prussia a cheerful smile. “But I know you kind of like it, so I’m sure you’ll do great!”

“Ah… thanks, little Italy.” the ex-nation replied quietly. Normally, he would have boasted about it, but now he wasn’t so sure just how well he was going to do…

“No problem!” Veneziano replied with a small laugh before eyeing the Prussian man curiously. “But hey, I just noticed, where are you heading?” he asked, tilting his head. “The cafeteria’s the other way,” he added, gesturing back down the hall Prussia had just come from.

At that, the former nation took a few steps toward the meeting room, then awkwardly turned back to the Italians. “Yeah, I know,” he said slowly. “I already ate. I’m actually heading to the meeting room right now… to go over this,” he added, gesturing weakly at his portfolio, then let out a breathy laugh. “I just want to make sure I don’t mess up, hah.”

At his words, the two halves of Italy exchanged a brief, confused glance before turning their attention back to the albino.

“That’s nice, but… um,” Veneziano said hesitantly. “Doesn’t the meeting start in, like, an hour or so? Aren’t you going a bit too early?”

Upon hearing that, Prussia frowned. He should’ve expected the question, but it still frustrated him. The Northern nation had literally asked the same thing as Japan. Ugh… it was painfully obvious that they were friends.

“No,” the white-haired man said, almost hissing. He managed to control himself, though. “There’s nothing wrong with being early, only with being late, which, by the way, is something you should work on, since you’re always late for everything.”

At that, the Northern nation faltered slightly. “I’m not always late… I do manage to be on time sometimes,” he said slowly, pursing his lips into a faint pout. “That was a little mean, Prussia.”

Ah, fuck. Now he’d gone and hurt little Italy too. What was wrong with him?

The Prussian considered apologizing, but before he could say anything, Romano spoke up.

“You’re acting… off,” the dark-haired brunet said, his frown full of worry, making Prussia internally kick himself for being so terrible at pretending to be fine. “Did… something happen, or—” he started, but Prussia quickly cut him off in a panic.

“Roma, do you… uh, want to go to lunch with me after the meeting?” he asked, raising his voice a little too high, causing it to crack and making both Italians squint in discomfort. Well, that was embarrassing, Prussia thought. He shook his head, cleared his throat, and tried again in a lower pitch to prevent another crack. “You know… like a date? Since we haven’t had one of those in a while…”

At his words, the older Italian blinked. “Date?” he asked, sounding a bit incredulous. “How can you ask that now, when—”

However, the albino didn’t let him continue, interrupting sharply. “Yes or no! I need to know, it’s very urgent!” he said, trying to make his voice sound determined rather than desperate to change the subject.

Romano looked momentarily perplexed, staring at Prussia as if he’d lost his mind. “Alright, fine… yes, but—” he barely got the words out before Prussia cut him off. With a wide, triumphant grin, the albino shouted, “Hell yeah!” and bolted down the hallway, rounding a corner so fast he vanished from sight, leaving the two Italians blinking at each other in a mix of confusion, disbelief, and mild concern.

That had been a close call... the third one this morning. Prussia had barely managed to stop things from escalating… and he felt awful. He’d acted so poorly with the two Italians, definitely not how he would’ve on a normal day. Gah! He’d been cold and distant with Romano, his own boyfriend, when he was supposed to be warm and caring. This was going to haunt him for years… he hoped Romano wasn’t upset with him. He’d really hate that. But… he had agreed to go to lunch with him, so that had to mean he wasn’t too upset, right…?

The former nation pondered the thought for a long moment before his eyes landed on the door to the meeting room. Finally. He hurried inside, faster than ever, and, just as he had hoped, the room was empty. Exactly what he wanted.

He searched for his assigned seat, and when he found it, he practically threw himself into it. Placing his portfolio on the table, he slumped forward, resting his head on it and closing his eyes.

Prussia could honestly say that this was, quite literally, the best thing in the world: sitting still and not moving. Yes.

Hm...

Maybe he had greatly overestimated his ability to pretend he wasn’t sick. The more he tried, the worse he felt… well, got, actually. But why? Wait! Scratch that. He knew exactly why: his body needed energy to fight the damn sickness, and instead of conserving it, he had burned it all running around earlier. No wonder his symptoms had gotten worse. Ack.

And he’d promised himself he wouldn’t move too much before leaving his room! But it wasn’t really his fault! There were too many nations asking dumb questions like, “Are you okay?” and he had no choice but to run away so they wouldn’t realize the truth: that he was sick. Really sick. Very sick. Ugh.

Whatever. He just needed to rest for a bit and recover the energy he’d lost, so his body could go back to “stage one of the sickness”. By that, he meant how he felt in his room when he could still walk properly on his own two feet. And lucky him, he had a whole hour for that, because the meeting started at ten.

Great! During the meeting itself, he wouldn’t have to do much except present on Eastern Germany’s economy, which wouldn’t take long, so that would give him another two hours of rest. And after all of that, he’d be bound to feel great and could go on his date with Romano and make it up to him for acting so darn stupid earlier. Yes! Everything truly did have a fix after all. Things were definitely going to work out the way he wanted. Haha…

So, that’s exactly what Prussia did. He rested for the hour until the meeting started, and when he saw the other nations slowly filing into the room, he straightened up and put on his best happy face. His brother arrived among the early attendees, sat down next to him, and gave him a small, unreadable look before shuffling through his papers.

A little later, Austria took the seat on Prussia’s other side, not by choice, but because protocol dictated that the Germanic nations sit together. And since Austria was a Germanic nation, he unfortunately had to sit next to Prussia. Normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem if not for the audacity of the man! He looked Prussia up and down, declared that he looked like crap, and then adjusted his fancy little cravat like the pompous aristocrat he was. Worse than that, he looked worse than the awesome Prussia! How dare he! Prussia clenched his teeth in silent frustration, deciding not to waste any of his newly replenished energy on his stupid cousin.

As the rest of the nations arrived and took their seats, Prussia spotted the Italy brothers across the table. Veneziano waved enthusiastically in his direction—well, more at Germany, since Germany was sitting next to him—and the blond returned a small wave and smile, which earned a huge grin from Veneziano in response.

Romano, however, was glaring at him with an intensity that literally sent a shiver down the former nation's spine. It felt like he was trying to see right into his soul. Yikes. So, he was upset.

Prussia forced an awkward smile and waved, but Romano didn’t return the gesture. Instead, he crossed his arms, slumped in his seat, and narrowed his greenish-brown eyes at him. The albino's smile faltered, and he quickly averted his gaze to the papers in front of him, trying to ignore the menacing glare from his boyfriend. But even so, he could still feel it.

He was definitely going to have to smooth things over with Romano. No question about it.

But first...! The meeting.

At first, things were going smoothly. France went first since he was hosting the meeting in his country. His presentation went well, except for when Britain interrupted him, and the two argued for a full ten minutes before Germany finally told them to stop. They reluctantly complied, scowling at each other as France finished his presentation.

But as the meeting continued and the other nations began presenting their own reports, Prussia started shivering and feeling cold all over. His headache worsened, and for some reason, breathing became slightly difficult as a sharp ache spread across his chest. He tried to pull himself together, but the effort only made things worse, so he zoned out, focusing on keeping himself upright.

God, he felt terrible. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why did he feel worse than before? He hadn’t even moved. What kind of cold was this anyway? The fever spiked up and down whenever it felt like it.

The former nation didn’t know when it had happened , but at some point he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to warm up. He was freezing, his whole body shaking. His breaths grew heavier with each passing second, and a damp sheen of sweat clung to his brow, while his skin felt like it was on fire. Prussia closed his eyes for a long moment, listening to the murmur of voices around him, words he couldn’t understand even if he tried, before opening them again and leaning forward on the table.

This was not good. He felt like he was about to lose consciousness any second now. How could he fix this? He tried to think, to plan something to make himself feel better, but his mind was blank, barely able to form a single coherent thought. Fuck. Maybe pretending to be alright had not been such a brilliant idea after all. Maybe he should have just stayed in bed. He wanted his bed so badly right now. Oh man, he really needed to do something to make his body stop feeling so weak, like... like...

Suddenly, the ex-nation felt a hand gently shaking his arm, pulling him back to the world around him. He blinked blearily and lifted his head, his eyes following the hand to its owner. Oh, it was his brother. Did he want something from him...?

Germany wore his usual expression, and his lips had just moved as if he had said something, but Prussia hadn’t heard a word. Damn it. Work ears.

“Uh…?” the white-haired man murmured, his brows furrowing as he looked at his sibling in confusion.

The younger German let out a weary sigh before repeating himself. “Bruder, you're up.”

Prussia stared at his brother for a long moment before tilting his head slightly. “Huh… up?” he murmured, his voice low and slurred. “Up where?”

At his words, the blond raised a confused eyebrow. “To present?” he said, almost in disbelief. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh…” Prussia said, his eyes widening slightly. He’d forgotten about that... Oh no. He wasn’t going to be able to do this. He was going to faint before even reaching the presentation stage. This was not going to end well. He needed an excuse… but what could he even say? Augh. He had no idea.

Uhh...

Uhhhhhh...

No. Enough with all this negativity. He could do this. He was the awesome Prussia, after all. Yes, it was just a short presentation. Instead of delivering it the way he normally would, barely glancing at the papers in his hands while bouncing all over the stage with excitement, he would just read the words straight from the page, stay in one place, keep his gestures minimal, and it would be fine. Yes. This was nothing compared to the years he had spent on the battlefield, bleeding for his country. Everything was going to be fine. He was fine.

“Right.” the red-eyed man said shakily to his brother, then grabbed his portfolio and stood up, a hiss of discomfort escaping under his breath. His chair scraped against the wooden floor as he slowly made his way around the large round table, acutely aware of the many eyes of the other nations burning into his skin. Finally, he reached the presentation stage and climbed onto it unsteadily, then straightened up to stand tall in the center.

The projector behind him displayed his presentation, and he glanced over his shoulder at it for a moment before returning his gaze to the portfolio in his hands. He flipped it open and stared blankly at the first page.

“My… uh, my presentation is about the economy of Germany…” the albino rasped, then immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly corrected himself. “Eastern Germany, I mean.” he added with an awkward smile that quickly faded into a wince as the projector behind him switched pages, the bright light hitting him squarely in the eyes. He stepped to the side, blinking to restore his vision, then faced forward and saw everyone watching him expectantly. Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat and looked down at the page to begin reading.

“So…” he began, squinting at the words on the page. “Uh…” However, a major problem quickly became clear... he couldn’t make out the words he had written. The letters on the pages blurred and seemed to shift, almost as if they were trying to escape. He blinked once. Still unreadable. Blinked again. Nothing. Fuck. He couldn’t read a single thing. What was he supposed to do?

Prussia clenched his jaw, trying to keep himself from panicking, and brought the paper closer to his face, narrowing his eyes in an effort to read the words. It didn’t help much. His vision felt like it was spinning in his sockets. Ugh! Why wasn’t this working? And why the hell was it so cold in here?

“Prussia?” The ex-nation heard his name and snapped his head up from the papers in his hands, scanning the crowd until his eyes landed on the source of the voice, Hungary, who was looking at him with a confused expression. “Everything alright?” she asked.

No. Nothing was alright. Everything was completely the opposite of alright.

“Um, yeah… hah,” Prussia said awkwardly. “I’m just… just…” he gestured weakly toward the portfolio in his hands, unsure what to say. He couldn’t admit that he literally couldn’t read right now because his vision was a mess. He stammered for a long moment, drawing more confused looks from the other nations. Shit. He inhaled sharply, his eyes darting around the room until they landed on Romano, whose gaze was filled with concern. That made his stomach drop. He couldn’t do this. Abort. Repeating. Abort. He should have listened to his gut and never stepped onto this damn stage.

“You know what?” Prussia suddenly said, tearing the pages he’d painstakingly prepared from the portfolio and letting it drop limply to the floor. “I think West would be more qualified to present this, hah, since it’s basically his country and all!” his words were met with a chorus of surprised “Huhs” and even more confused looks from the nations in the room.

“Bruder, what are you talking about?” Germany suddenly asked, standing up and frowning deeply at Prussia. “You’re just as qualified to—” he didn’t get to finish before the albino quickly cut him off.

“Catch, West!” Prussia shouted, tossing the stack of papers at his brother. Germany looked surprised and reached to catch them, but the papers slipped and scattered in the air, separating from each other. He managed to grab only one, while the rest fluttered and landed all over the floor. All that hard work writing them had basically been for nothing. Oh well.

“Anyway, from now on, go to West if you have any questions,” Prussia said, starting to move toward the edge of the stage. “I’m going to… uh, get some fresh air, hah. Yup!”

With that, he jumped off the stage, nearly losing his balance and bumping into someone, but he caught himself just in time. He reached the door and threw a frenzied wave over his shoulder. “Bye!” Then he swung the door open and, despite the overlapping voices of concern behind him, stepped out and slammed it shut with a loud bang. He hurried down the hallway, rounding a corner until he reached the elevator, leaning his entire body against the doors to keep himself from falling. He pressed the button rapidly. Come on. Come on. Open.

Perhaps he should have stayed in bed. Maybe then none of these un-awesome things would have happened to him. Actually, maybe he should have been stronger and not gotten sick in the first place. Yes. How could he be so weak and fall ill from something as simple as a trade deficit problem? Ah, to hell with his useless, messed-up immune system.

The elevator, just like the first time he’d tried to use it, seemed determined not to make his life easier and stubbornly refused to come to his floor. Prussia jabbed the button weakly in frustration and muttered a curse in German under his breath before dragging a hand down his burning face. Wow. His skin really was hot. He definitely had a fever. No doubt about it. He really needed some painkillers… maybe some cough drops too.

“Ugh…” the ex-nation groaned, slumping even more heavily against the elevator doors and slowly sliding down. He probably would have hit the floor if it hadn’t been for the sound of loud footsteps pounding down the hallway. Someone rounded the corner, and he was met with the same pair of worry-filled hazel eyes from the meeting room. It was Romano, catching his breath from running, and when he saw the slumped Prussian, his eyes widened with even more concern, brows knitting tightly together.

Romano!

Wait, no. Damn it, Romano… Prussia needed to pull himself together and not look un-awesome in front of his boyfriend.

Ah! He literally looked like he was on his deathbed!

The albino winced and quickly pushed himself to his feet, trying to stand properly. But it didn’t last long, he nearly fell back down and had to slam a hand against the elevator’s control panel to keep himself upright.

“Hey, South,” he slurred slightly. “Shouldn't you be at the... the meeting…?”

At his words, Prussia saw Romano’s frown deepen. The dark-haired man stepped closer. “You’re not okay,” he said matter-of-factly, gesturing toward Prussia. “What’s wrong with you today?” he added, concern lacing his voice, “That thing you just pulled at the meeting… it’s so unlike you. What’s going on?”

The albino paused for a moment, then shrugged. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. As good as ever.”

“Bullshit!” Romano snapped. “You’re literally zoning out while we’re talking! Where are you even looking?” he glanced over his shoulder in disbelief, then turned back to the white-haired man. Prussia blinked, quickly refocusing his red eyes on Romano. He hadn’t even realized he’d been zoning out.

“Nowhere… sorry,” Prussia said, exhaling heavily. “This elevator is taking forever… don’t you think?”

“Huh?” Romano said, confused, his eyes flicking to the elevator and then back to Prussia. His frown deepened, if that was even possible. “Are you kidding me? Why are you bringing up random stuff in the middle of a serious conversation?!” he hissed, clenching his fists in frustration. “This is not what we’re talking about right now!”

“Sorry…” Prussia apologized again, scrunching his face in discomfort at being yelled at. He turned his head toward the stairs and, almost without thinking, added, “I think I’ll take the stairs.”

“Stairs?” the Italian repeated, groaning in frustration. “Did you even hear what I just said?!”

Prussia didn’t respond. He pressed his hands against the elevator panel and took a few steps toward the stairs, but then his vision flickered strangely, like he’d just stepped off a ship after days at sea. He wobbled unsteadily before a sharp, spinning pain shot through his head. Instinctively, he reached for support and grabbed the closest thing he could find, which unfortunately was Romano. His grip on the Italian’s forearm was so tight that Romano winced in pain.

“Ow! What the hell are you doing?” the Southern nation hissed, trying to pry the other’s hand from his arm. But when he noticed how labored Prussia’s breathing was, his frown softened in concern. “Prussia?”

“Sorry, I just… I need to, uh…” the former nation stammered, his thoughts failing him completely. He let out a shaky huff, then placed his other hand on Romano’s opposite forearm to steady himself, making the brunet flinch slightly.

“Hey… what’s wrong?” Romano asked cautiously.

“I…” Prussia began, his voice trailing off as his head spun unbearably. Ow. Why did it hurt so much? “I need to lie down…” he murmured, lowering his head onto Romano’s shoulder and pressing his forehead against the fabric of the Italian's uniform.

Romano stiffened for a moment before gradually relaxing. “Prussia…?” he said quietly. “What—” he started to ask, but before he could finish, Prussia’s legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed to his knees, pulling Romano down with him. The Italian yelped in surprise, clutching the ex-nation tightly for support.

Yeah. The awesome Prussia’s brilliant plan to get through the day while sick—pretending he wasn’t—had officially failed. Woohoo. He was officially un-awesome. Just great.

“My head hurts..." the white-haired man groaned, closing his eyes and letting out a shaky sigh. “Please… make it stop.” he pleaded.

Romano remained silent for a long moment before moving the hand that had been gripping the albino’s arm and gently resting it against Prussia’s cheek.

“Jesus,” the Italian exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. “You're so hot!”

At that, Prussia let out a dry laugh, trying to joke despite himself. “I know… I’m irresistible.”

Romano huffed and gave him a light smack on the shoulder, making Prussia wince slightly.

“I meant that you’re burning up like crazy, you dumbass!” the Italian snapped, though the frustration in his voice quickly softened as he began to gently caress the red-eyed man’s cheek.

Prussia leaned into the other's touch. “Mhm... you're cold...” he mumbled. “That's nice.”

“You’ve got one hell of a fever,” Romano said quietly. “So that’s why you pulled that whole charade in the meeting room… you weren’t feeling well.” he paused for a moment, then asked, “Why didn’t you say anything, you idiot?” he added quickly, “When did this start? You were acting strange when we bumped into each other in the hallway earlier… is that when it began? And why didn’t you take any medication?”

At the array of questions being thrown at him, the Prussian pressed his lips into a tight line. He tried to answer, but his brain had already lost track of what Romano had asked first. He let out a weak breath. “Too many questions…” he mumbled, shaking his head slightly. “Way too many…”

Romano sighed at his words, then shifted slightly, lifting his hand from the German’s cheek to run it slowly through his hair. Prussia let out a contented sigh, the gentle touch easing the agonizing pain in his head, if only a little.

“Right, sorry,” the Southern nation said, pausing briefly before continuing. “You’re clearly in no condition to be answering questions right now.” he gave a small nod. “What you should be doing is resting and taking something to bring this fever down.”

With that, he removed his other hand from the ex-nation, pulled out his phone, and awkwardly used one hand to dial a number, pressing the phone to his ear as he waited.

“Who are you calling...?” Prussia asked groggily.

“Mio fratello, (My brother,)” Romano said. “So he can bring your brother over here to help me get you to your room. You’re way too heavy for me to carry alone.”

“Oh.” the albino murmured, dragging out the sound until it faded.

In the end, it seemed he was going to be stuck in his room, missing out on all the fun after all. Oof. All that effort... completely wasted. Man, did that sting.

Prussia let out a tired, disappointed sigh as Veneziano finally answered on the other line. He listened quietly while Romano spoke to him in Italian, their conversation stretching on for a while. When Romano finally ended the call and tucked his phone back into his pocket, he continued to run his fingers gently through Prussia’s hair in a soothing gesture. Yet, despite the tenderness, Prussia didn’t feel soothed.

.
.
.

With the help of Germany, who was extremely concerned to see his brother barely able to stand and had to be reassured twice that Prussia was merely sick and not dying, and Veneziano, who offered more emotional support than physical, they managed to get Prussia to his room and settled him into bed. The albino wasn’t happy about his situation, but he had to admit it felt far better to lie down under a blanket and fight off the cold than to stand up shivering without one. He felt awful and probably would have fallen asleep if it weren’t for the commotion in the room... by commotion, he meant his brother pacing around anxiously, looking utterly distraught.

“I knew something was off with him the moment I woke up and he greeted me with a ‘good morning!’” the blond exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed and fists clenched as he paced the room. “And don’t even get me started on breakfast. When he got that weird thing for himself, my suspicion only grew!” he ran a hand down his face in distress. “I knew something was wrong and yet I did nothing about it!” he stopped in the middle of the room, massaging his temples in an attempt to calm himself. “I can’t believe I let it get this bad…”

“Don’t blame yourself for this, Germany,” Veneziano said softly, stepping up to the blue-eyed man and taking his hand in a comforting gesture. “You couldn’t have known he was sick,” he added reassuringly. “It’s not your fault.”

At the younger Italian’s words, Germany seemed to relax slightly. “You’re right,” he said with a small nod. “It’s not my fault,” he added with a sigh, then pointed with his free hand toward the bedridden Prussia. “It’s his fault for not telling me!”

At that, Prussia averted his gaze from his brother and slumped further into the covers with a frustrated huff.

“Germany!” Veneziano exclaimed, a small, defeated look on his face. “Don’t go blaming your brother… he’s literally sick. Just look at the state he’s in right now.”

Wow, thanks a lot, little Italy. You really know how to make someone feel better, Prussia thought bitterly to himself.

“Then who should I blame?” Germany asked in mild disbelief. “Romano?” he added, gesturing toward the other Italian, who was busy bringing a glass of water to Prussia. Hearing his name in that context, Romano froze mid-step and scowled at Germany with a look that could kill.

“Hey, watch your mouth, you bastard!” the Southern nation snapped, stomping angrily toward the albino. He set the glass of water on the nightstand with a loud thud, then turned and crossed his arms, continuing to glare furiously at Germany.

“Sorry…” the blond mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Veneziano shifted his gaze between the three nations, all of whom looked annoyed, before sighing. “No, that’s not what I meant, Germany, and you know it.”

“I know,” the younger German replied. “I’m sorry.” He let his hand drop limply to his side. “I’m just… frustrated with this whole situation. I don’t understand why mein bruder (my brother) didn’t tell me he wasn’t feeling well and decided to walk around like nothing was wrong with such a high fever,” he admitted quietly. “If he had said something sooner instead of keeping it to himself, he wouldn’t be in such a terrible state right now. He would’ve gotten the proper rest and medication he needed…”

“I understand, but getting angry and throwing the blame around won’t help anyone, especially Prussia,” the Northern nation said calmly. “What we should focus on right now is helping him get better, despite the unfavorable situation.”

At his words, the blond nodded in agreement. “You’re right,” he said, visibly relaxing as his earlier frustration faded. “You’re absolutely right.”

Veneziano smiled warmly at his lover’s words. “Great! Then let’s get your brother back to health!” he exclaimed with determination, turning his attention to his brother. “Romano, is there any medicine in here for Prussia to help bring his fever down?”

Upon hearing that, the older Italian simply shook his head. “No. I checked, and this place doesn’t have anything even remotely close to medicine.”

“Hmm… okay, then how about Germany and I go to the pharmacy to get some for Prussia, while you stay here with him to make sure he’s alright?” North Italy suggested, tilting his head slightly.

“Fine… that works for me.” Romano replied flatly.

“Great!” Veneziano exclaimed as he started walking toward the door with his boyfriend. “We’ll be off now, but don’t worry, we’ll be back before you know it, fratello!” With that, he tugged Germany along and closed the door with a soft click, leaving Prussia alone in the hotel room with Romano.

Prussia glanced at Romano from the corner of his eye, but when he saw the brunet turning toward him, he quickly shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He felt the bed shift slightly as Romano sat down on its edge. The room remained quiet for a long moment before the Italian let out a soft huff.

“I can tell you’re not actually sleeping, you idiot,” the Southern nation said, leaving Prussia to wonder how on earth he could tell. “You’re as stiff as a board.” he added a moment later.

Oh.

Prussia considered keeping up the act, but then decided against it and just got up. Struggling a bit, because his head still hurt, he propped himself into a sitting position, resting his pillow against the backrest of the bed for support. He glanced at the frowning Italian in front of him for a brief moment before lowering his gaze to the blanket resting in his lap.

Should he say something… or wait for Romano to speak first? God, why did this feel so awkward?

Luckily, Romano made it easier for him. “Drink some water,” he said, picking up the glass from the nightstand and handing it to Prussia, who barely managed to catch it. “You look dehydrated as fuck.”

The white-haired man stared at the glass in his hands for a long moment, feeling its coldness seep into his skin before finally taking a sip. Wow… I'm really thirsty, he thought, downing the entire glass in one go. He handed it back to Romano, who set it on the nightstand and turned his gaze back to Prussia with that frown of his that made the albino avoid looking at him.

“So,” the Southern nation began, crossing his arms over his chest, “are you just going to sit there in silence, or are you actually going to tell me what the hell made you think it was a good idea to get out of bed when you’re this sick?” he asked, eyes expectantly fixed on Prussia.

The question made the ex-nation freeze for a moment before he slumped further into his pillow and sighed heavily. Well, he supposed there was no point in keeping his “awesome” plan to himself anymore. It had backfired so badly… he might as well come clean and get yelled at now, rather than later.

Prussia opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He stayed like that for a moment before closing it again, staring awkwardly at a crack in the floor. Easier said than done, that was for sure.

“Well?” Romano pressed, clearly unimpressed with the albino’s silence. Without warning, he grabbed Prussia’s face, startling him, and turned it toward him. Then he dropped his hand, pulled it back, and crossed his arms again.

Prussia stared at the Southern nation for a moment, surprise quickly melting into a faint, guilty expression. “Sorry…” he mumbled, thinking that apologizing before spilling everything—and maybe again afterward—might lessen Romano’s anger. Though, honestly, that seemed unlikely. Romano was probably going to be upset no matter how many times he said sorry. “I just… I don’t know. I thought it wouldn’t be such a big deal if I pretended to be fine while… well, not actually being fine… uh.”

“You thought it wouldn’t be such a big deal to literally pretend to be fine while being sick?” the Italian repeated in utter disbelief, slapping a hand to his head as if what he’d just heard was the dumbest thing on Earth. “Are you even hearing yourself right now?!”

At that, the former nation simply shrugged and lowered his head slightly.

“Did you seriously not think that through at all?” the dark-haired brunet demanded. “Did it never occur to you that if you did that, your symptoms would only get worse? That’s literally how being sick works, you idiot!” he gestured sharply at Prussia before rolling his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to have some sense of rationality in that head of yours, like your stupid brother? I thought making reckless decisions was beneath you. You’ve said so yourself.”

Prussia pressed his lips into a tight line, fighting the urge to just pull the covers over his face and smother himself. This was one hell of a conversation.

“I did think things through, though.” he retorted quietly, earning a dry laugh from the other nation.

“Yeah, right,” Romano said, shaking his head slightly. “Now that's a big fucking lie.”

At that, the white-haired man frowned. He had genuinely thought things through... it wasn’t his fault they hadn’t gone according to plan. This wouldn’t have happened if he still had land of his own, instead of having to represent half of a country that technically belonged to his brother. If only… No. He shouldn’t think like that. It wasn’t right. He was proud of his brother and his achievements and wouldn’t trade him for anything. He should be grateful that Germany even let him represent half of the country... his brother could have chosen not to care at all, yet he still did. He was selfless. So Prussia had to be selfless too, and not think ill of his sibling. However... he could still pity himself a little and wish he didn’t get sick so easily from every minor incident.

“I hate being sick…” Prussia muttered suddenly, his voice bitter enough to make Romano glance at him in surprise. “It’s such a shitty feeling, being stuck in bed with only my own company while everyone else gets to do things and stay healthy,” he admitted. “No one else ever gets sick except me… West hasn’t been sick in years, and I was just sick a few months ago!” he added, frustration creeping into his tone. “It’s so unfair. Especially now. I had to get sick just because of some stupid problems with imports and exports in Eastern Germany,” he huffed bitterly. “I was really looking forward to today…” his voice softened, and his expression turned almost pitiful.

The room was silent for a long moment before the other nation finally spoke. “You mean… to the presentation?” he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

“Well… yes, I was looking forward to that too, but I messed it up, so whatever,” Prussia said with a sad sigh. Then, lowering his voice, he added, “But what I was really looking forward to… was spending time with you.”

At his confession, the Italian looked genuinely surprised, blinking a few times before tilting his head to the side in confusion. “Really…?” he asked, as if he could hardly believe it.

“Yes,” the former nation replied with a faint nod. “It’s been months since we’ve seen each other, so I was really looking forward to this meeting because that meant I could spend time with you afterward. But then I woke up sick, and all my plans got ruined,” he admitted, pausing briefly before continuing. “So… I thought I’d just push my luck and pretend I was fine, so I wouldn’t have to be stuck in here,” he said, gesturing vaguely around the room before letting his hands fall limply onto the bed. “But in the end, I still ended up here, in worse shape than before… how ironic, huh?” he added with a small, forced chuckle, his expression soon shifting to a sorrowful one as he looked down at his hands. “And I ended up making things harder for West, little Italy, and… you,” he murmured quietly. “Being sick is so un-awesome…”

The white-haired man stared down at his hands, clasping and unclasping them nervously as the silence around him grew heavier. Romano was probably a second away from yelling, cursing him in ways he’d never imagined, calling him stupid… and honestly, he wouldn’t have been wrong. The former nation had been stupid to think he could actually pull this off. Another second passed, and then, unexpectedly, Romano scooted closer. Prussia tensed, bracing himself for the scolding he was certain was coming, but it never came. Instead, he felt Romano’s hands gently cup his face, lifting his head until their eyes met. The Italian wasn’t angry...? Huh.

“You’re stupid, you know that?” the Southern nation said quietly, his voice carrying everything except anger.

Prussia blinked, a bit dazed, before answering, “Uh… I guess?”

He had expected to be called stupid, but not in such a… soft way.

The Italian rolled his eyes. “For someone with an ego as big as yours, you sure know how to throw yourself pity parties over every little inconvenience,” he said, releasing the Prussian’s face. He then got off the bed, moved to the other side, and slid under the covers next to him. “Scoot over a little.” he instructed, and Prussia did so, unsure of what Romano was doing, but not protesting. The Italian then turned slightly toward him, and Prussia mirrored the movement, staring into the other's bright hazel eyes.

“First of all,” the Southern nation began, shaking his head, “being sick is not ‘un-awesome,’ as you so eloquently put it. Yes, it’s a shitty feeling, but it's not ‘un-awesome.’ Without it, we’d all be a bunch of vegetables that’d die from a simple common cold, since sickness strengthens the immune system or whatever it’s called,” he said, waving a hand. “It happens to everyone, maybe more to you, and yeah, it’s a bit unfair, but that doesn’t mean you need to get all depressed over it.” he gestured faintly toward the albino. “Ever since I’ve known you, you always acted like being sick made you weaker than everyone else, like we’d all think less of you. But you’re wrong, asshole. We don’t. What we do, though, is worry.” Romano said that with a small frown. “Do you know how worried I was when you nearly fainted in the hallway?”

At his words, Prussia just shrugged, unsure of how to respond.

“A lot,” Romano replied bluntly. “I thought something worse was happening to you than just a damn simple fever…” he trailed off for a moment, his expression tightening before he shook off the thought. “And so did your stupid brother.”

Upon hearing that, Prussia sighed guiltily and mumbled a quiet apology, which softened Romano’s expression into one of sympathy.

“Second of all,” the Italian said, slowly taking Prussia’s hands in his own, making the albino blink in surprise. “You shouldn’t have pretended to be fine just because you wanted to…” he stumbled over the words for a moment, averting his gaze as a faint blush crept across his cheeks. “…to spend time with me,” he finally admitted, meeting Prussia’s eyes again. “Dragging yourself around while sick must’ve been awful, I can’t even imagine. But also, dumbass, you would’ve spent time with me anyway.” his words made the former nation's eyes widen slightly.

“But…” he trailed off, uncertainty creeping into his voice. “How?”

“Like this,” Romano said simply, lifting their intertwined hands for Prussia to see. “We’re spending time together now, right? And you’re sick,” he added, lowering their hands back onto the bed. “If you had told me you were sick, I would’ve come to see you before the meeting and stayed with you after it for the rest of the day.”

“Wait… really?” the ex-nation asked, disbelief lacing his voice.

“Yes!” the Italian exclaimed, letting out a small huff. “Why is that so shocking? I missed you too over the past few months, you bastard.” he muttered.

Oh. Oh wow.

Prussia felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Damn. Everything could’ve been avoided if he had just been straightforward with everyone. He couldn’t believe it. Maybe he should stop jumping to conclusions so much.

A soft laugh escaped the former nation, though it cracked halfway through. “I feel so pathetic right now, hah,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair before dragging it down his face awkwardly. “Gott.”

Upon hearing that, Romano gave him a firm look. “I would agree with you, but you aren't pathetic. You’re annoying, reckless, and stupid. But pathetic? No,” his voice softened as he added, “I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were pathetic.”

At that, Prussia felt his face flush, and not from the fever. “Romano…!” he exclaimed, breaking into a grin before suddenly pulling the other nation into a tight hug.

“Hey…!” Romano hissed, stiffening briefly before relaxing into the embrace. He didn’t pull away. Instead, he returned the hug, letting out a soft sigh that was more contentment than exhaustion.

Prussia was so glad Romano was his lover. He loved him so, so much and wouldn’t trade him, or what they had, for anyone or anything.

“I love you…” Prussia murmured softly, squeezing the other man even tighter.

There was a brief silence between them before the Italian finally spoke. “I love you too, you jerk.” he said, and Prussia couldn’t help but laugh softly, a sound of pure relief and joy.

They stayed like that for a short while before finally pulling apart, and for the first time all day, Prussia was smiling for real.

Romano gave him a small smile himself before raising a hand to Prussia’s forehead, checking his fever again. “Hm… you’re still burning up,” he mused thoughtfully, then pulled back. “You really need something to bring this fever down.” he grabbed his phone to see if he had any messages from his younger brother. “Where are Veneziano and his dumb boyfriend with the medicine?” he muttered, quickly sending a text to the other half of Italy before tossing the phone onto the bed. Turning back to Prussia, he asked, “Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you something from the cafeteria?” then, as an afterthought, he added, “What did you even eat this morning?”

At that, Prussia’s smile turned sheepish. “Bell pepper.” he replied with an awkward laugh.

“Bell pepper?” Romano repeated in confusion, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard that right.

“Ja, it was the only thing that didn’t make me want to throw up.” Prussia said, nodding slightly.

The Italian stared at him for a moment before getting up. “Alright, I’m going to get you some food, because I see you’ve been starving yourself.”

At that, Prussia quickly shook his head. “Wait, no, don’t leave!” he exclaimed, grabbing Romano’s hand and stopping him in his tracks. the Italian gave him a surprised look that quickly softened into something close to fondness.

“I won't take long. I’ll be back in five minutes.” the Southern Nation said.

“That’s a whole five minutes of loneliness!” Prussia retorted. “Besides, I’m not even hungry. Actually, I’m not hungry at all, so there’s no point in getting me anything.”

“You don’t feel hungry because you’re sick, but trust me, your body will thank you for some nutrients,” Romano said gently, pulling his hand away from Prussia. The German crossed his arms, sulking, and sank deeper into the bed. “Don’t give me that look. I mean it. You’ll heal faster if you eat something.”

Prussia continued sulking for a moment before sighing in defeat. “Fine…” he muttered, earning a faintly amused look from the other nation. Romano quickly went to the door, gave a small wave, and said, “Count five minutes on the clock.” With that, he left.

The former nation stared at the ceiling, mindlessly fidgeting with the blanket, before shifting his gaze to the clock on the wall. With nothing better to do, he watched its hands move forward, marking the passing minutes. It seemed Romano hadn’t been lying when he said he would be back in five minutes, because just as the minute hand completed its sweep, the door opened. Romano stepped in, holding a tray of food in one hand while holding a keycard, presumably to this room, in the other.

Upon seeing the other man, Prussia’s face brightened up instantly. “Romaaa!” he exclaimed excitedly. “You’re back!”

“Yeah, I told you I’d be back quickly,” the Italian said, placing the keycard on the desk in the corner before picking up the tray with both hands and setting it on the edge of the nightstand. He then sat down on the edge of the bed. “That place shouldn’t be called a cafeteria,” he complained. “It barely has any edible food. I hate it when hotels try to serve international dishes. We’re in France, for God’s sake, there shouldn’t be any hamburgers here.” he scoffed, then grabbed a bowl filled with what looked like soup and handed it to the Prussian along with a spoon. “They didn’t have any chicken soup, but they did have squash soup, which I suppose is close enough.”

The albino took the bowl, peered at the soup, and then scooped up a spoonful. “Hey, this is pretty good!” he exclaimed, taking another bite. Wow. He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until now, and to his relief, this food didn’t make him want to gag. Yupi!

He’d wanted to go out to lunch with Romano, but he guessed this was awesome too.

“I should hope so,” Romano said, tilting his head. “It was one of the only edible things I could find down there, and it’s actually good for a cold.”

“You’re too picky about food sometimes.” the former nation said, abandoning his spoon and drinking the soup straight from the bowl. Romano watched him with a faint frown.

“That's gross.” the brunette remarked.

Prussia continued drinking the warm soup until the last drop, then placed the bowl back on the nightstand and grinned at the other man.

“I was hungry.” the white-haired man replied happily.

“I thought you said you weren't.” Romano raised an eyebrow.

“I changed my mind,” Prussia said with a shrug, quickly gesturing toward Romano. “Thanks for playing doctor with me, by the way. You’re missing the white coat, but still, you just made one of my biggest fantasies come true!” he joked.

At his words, the Southern Nation groaned and lightly smacked him on the head. “That's such a shitty joke!”

“Okay, sorry, sorry,” the albino said with a small laugh, amused by Romano’s reaction. “But you have to admit, I’m a pretty good patient,” he added with a crooked grin. Romano rolled his eyes, though a faint smile tugged at his lips.

“A good patient would sleep and let the doctor have some peace and quiet,” the brunet pointed out, poking the Prussian in the arm. “Which, if you haven’t noticed, is exactly what you’re not doing right now.”

“That’s boring!” the former nation retorted, grabbing Romano’s hand and intertwining it with his own. “This isn’t, though.” he added, gesturing toward their joined hands.

The Italian shook his head, a mix of disbelief and faint amusement on his face, before turning back to the German with a more serious expression. “Now that I think about it, you should try to get some rest, at least for an hour. I think it’ll do you good.”

Prussia deflated, his grin fading into a small, disappointed smile. He let go of Romano’s hand and sank back against the pillows with a long, dramatic sigh. “How lame…”

Romano frowned, noticing the sudden drop in Prussia’s mood. He stayed quiet for a moment until an idea seemed to strike him. “How about I stay next to you while you sleep? That way you won’t whine about being lonely. How’s that?”

At that, the albino’s eyes lit up, his spirits rising as if Romano had just given him the greatest gift in the world. “That’s awesome!” he exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air

With that, Romano carefully shifted onto the bed, settling against the headboard. Prussia slid lower against his pillow, but instead of laying his head down, he scooted closer until his cheek pressed against Romano’s thigh. Before Romano could complain, Prussia took his hand and guided it to the top of his head, holding it there expectantly.

“Do that thing,” Prussia murmured, looking up at the other nation with half-closed eyes. “The one where you run your fingers through my hair. It’s soothing.”

“You’re so clingy, I swear to God.” the Italian remarked. Still, his fingers slipped into the white strands, brushing gently through them.

The motion was so tender that it took the Prussian only seconds to fall asleep. Of course, it was probably also because he was exhausted. He had woken up at five in the morning, run around all day, and being sick had drained what little energy he had. But for now, let’s just say it was Romano’s gentleness that put him to sleep.

Romano glanced down at him, the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips. “Idiot…” he whispered softly before leaning down and pressing a brief kiss to the ex-nation's head. Then he straightened up again, resting back against the headboard, his hand still in Prussia’s hair as he let his own eyes drift closed for a second.

But the peace didn’t last.

The door swung open suddenly, and Romano’s eyes snapped open as Veneziano bounded in, holding up a bag from the pharmacy with a bright grin. Germany trailed behind him, looking far less cheerful but no less determined.

“Fratello, we did it! We got the medicine!” Veneziano exclaimed proudly. “We had to go to two different pharmacies before we finally found one that wasn’t out of fever-reducing medicine! Can you believe it? Two whole pharmacies were out! Isn’t that just crazy—”

He didn’t get to finish, however, because Romano quickly let out a low hiss of “Shhhh!” with a finger to his lips. That made the younger Italian snap his mouth shut, and he looked at Romano for a moment before his gaze fell on the sleeping Prussian, and his expression softened into a quiet “Oh.”

Veneziano then walked over to Romano and set the bag of medicine on the bed. “I’ll leave this here. Give it to him when he wakes up, okay?” he whispered, earning a nod from the older Italian. Veneziano straightened and gestured toward Germany, who was glancing between Prussia and Romano with a small, relieved smile. “Germany and I will head down to the lobby cafe so we don’t disturb Prussia while he sleeps. Call me if you need anything.”

“Bene.” the Southern Nation replied, making a small shooing gesture with his hand. Veneziano smiled, reassured Germany that Prussia was fine, and then led him out of the room.

Once the room was quiet again, Romano adjusted the pillow behind him and checked to see if Prussia had been awakened by Veneziano’s loud entrance. Luckily, he was still out like a light. Seeing that, Romano breathed a sigh of relief and continued to stroke his hair affectionately. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes again, and this time drifted off to sleep as well.

Notes:

So… I wrote a sick fic. I was sick, and while working on my other projects I thought, “Hey, it would be a really cool idea to write a sick fic while sick!” And that’s how this one-shot came to be. It was supposed to be around 3k words at first… I don’t know where the extra 13k came from. I just can’t write short stories, T^T.

It was really fun to write this, though! I especially loved writing Prussia’s monologue. He’s just so funny, I don’t even know why. And of course, I had a blast writing the Prumano scenes! I love them so much!

Anyway, now that this is finished, I’ll be returning to my other works... people are waiting, and I can’t let them down, haha! I really hope you guys enjoyed this little one-shot!