Disclaimer: This is fanwork. I make no profit out of it.

Warnings: Only if sick people and text scares you, I suppose.

A/N: Originally written for the Hetalia kink meme, and posted at livejournal. Sick!Greece apparently amuses me a lot, or something. Any/all errors that remain here are now entirely intentional.

Prompt: Greece gets the flu. Japan takes care of him. Because real love is holding the person's hair out of their face while they puke into a toilet at 3am!

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break between the lines

He had no idea, really, as to how he managed to make it to the toilet before the bile rose and he couldn't hold it in any longer. The burning pain in his throat… compared to the rest of his body, it felt real.

Too real, in fact, as he couldn't even make out his surroundings, nor the cats that had gathered by his feet, pawing at him anxiously. His vision blurred and swam, and he couldn't move from here; the pain was building in his throat, and no, not yet, he hadn't stopped throwing up, and even if he had, there was always the chance that it would start all over again.

The problem was he couldn't even recall ever getting sick in the first place. True, the last few days or so had been completed in a blur, and the pounding in his head had escalated over that period of time, but he didn't think it was that serious.

Not until he found himself making a desperate bid for the bathroom, unable to sleep for what felt like hours (how was that possible? He slept whenever he felt like it…) only to throw up the contents of his dinner. And possibly his lunch, maybe even his breakfast; it felt like that, in any case.

… How long had he been here? It was hard to say.

Greece knew he probably should have jerked away when a cool hand touched his forehead, because there was a stranger in his house now, and they weren't supposed to be there and why couldn't he think straight?

But the cats hadn't chased the intruder out, so either they knew who it was, or… No, he decided not to think of what could have been done to chase his friends out. But if that had been the case, as soon as he got the feeling back in his legs and he managed to stand up properly, he was going to…

Greece's stomach heaved at the jerky movement and he retched, unable to stop himself. He allowed himself to be steadied, and those same cool hands brushed his hair back, out of the way as he threw up. In all honesty it was a bit of a surprise; surely the first time had already gotten rid of everything in his stomach, right?

Apparently not, it seemed.

He lost track of time, until finally, finally it stopped and his throat was sore and it hurt to breathe and his head was drumming a relentless beat, and he could only remain kneeling there, feeling quite sorry for himself.

That person was still there, though, he noted dully, as they pulled him up slowly, with a certain amount of steadiness that made it hard for him to work out who it was: but then they spoke, voice barely breaking through the haze of pain and dizziness that consumed him.

"Greece-san, can you walk?"

A very familiar voice. Ah, well, at least it wasn't someone who was bound to take advantage of him in this state, and it also explained the lack of cats panicking at their feet.

He allowed himself to be pulled away, out of the bathroom, as the shorter man took him back to the bedroom. A part of Greece really did want to ask why – or how – the Japanese man had come to his house so late at night, but it hurt enough to breathe; he had no idea what would happen if he tried to open his mouth and actually attempt to form words.

Not that he was complaining – he could have been alone to spend the rest of the night draped over a toilet – but still, even in his state of mind, it seemed a little odd. Out of place. (But he wasn't complaining; he really wasn't.)

He was pushed down onto the bed and then the covers were pulled over him, and again, that hand on his forehead, as Japan muttered something under his breath before pulling away. The bed creaked when Greece turned a little as he felt the other man draw away, could unconsciously tell that he was about to leave, but then felt a hand press against his shoulder, keeping him in place.

"Stay there. I'll be back," Japan said softly. Which was quite an accomplishment, as he was always fairly soft-spoken in the first place; Greece could only wonder why he found the thought as amusing as he did right now.

But then he was alone, and the door creaked somewhere in the distance, as the additional weight on the bed increased when the cats gathered upon him once more… Shakily, he urged them away from his stomach and pillow: had it been any other time, he would have been completely fine with it, but he wasn't sure he could handle them at the moment. (And that, in itself, worried him.)

Then footsteps, barely perceptible; he strained whatever focus he had left to hear them as Japan returned from wherever he had been; "You should drink this, Greece-san."

Pulled into a sitting position – slowly, oh so slowly as to prevent any jerky movement – he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders to keep him in place as he was urged to drink; slowly, Greece-san, don't push yourself… How did this happen anyway? (The last question had been a mutter he probably wasn't supposed to hear, but they were too close and he needed to focus on something to mask the pain that seemed to throb through his body.)

The liquid burned his throat, and he knew that wasn't right, as he eventually gave up and pushed the glass away from his mouth. Japan seemed to understand, and helped the other man to lie back down, before telling him that it would be best to just sleep now: which was funny in itself, as Greece had been attempting that for hours before his trip to the bathroom.

But there was no point arguing, so he just lay there, thinking, doing his best to ignore the pain as he wondered why Japan was there in the first place, and really, it made no sense, but that was fine and-

He opened his eyes without thinking. The cat in his line of vision stared back at him innocently, its weight settled firmly on his stomach as Greece became aware of the pain that existed there. Shooing the creature off – not the least bit offended, she stalked off, tail high in the air – he realised that, at some point, the sun had risen, calling forth a new day.

As he turned to try and get a look out the window, it was hard to ignore the man seated by the bed, head bowed as they breathed slowly, evenly, clearly still asleep. Greece blinked, slightly perplexed, before last night's event came back to him in the foggy haze it had occurred in.

Shuffling closer to the man – he winced at the pain that shot through his body, but persisted; it was a definite improvement from last night, at least – he reached forward.

Japan's eyes snapped open and he jerked back, catching Greece by surprise as they stared at the other. After a tense moment, Japan took a deep breath and shook his head, as if to clear his mind, before scooting back to where he had been previously; "Greece-san, how are you feeling?"

He swallowed – damn, that still hurt – before replying, "I'm fine… that is, better than before." One of the cats had made itself at home on his bed and he stroked its head idly.

"That's a relief. I'm glad to see that you're doing better now," the barest hint of a smile appeared at this, before the Japanese man turned to look out the window; "It really was just chance that I was here, though…

"I mean," Japan coughed at this, embarrassment evident in his voice, "I had forgotten about the time difference between our homes, so…"

"Mn… Thank you."

At this, he stood up, and Greece couldn't help but notice that the other man's face had pinked slightly, although it may have been due to the lighting in the room; "Of course, it would be best if you remained in bed until you're completely well. I also apologise for entering your home without permission."

Before he could give a reply, the Japanese man had left the room, and Greece found himself alone with his many cats. As they clustered on the top of his bed – as long as they kept their weight off him, they realised, they could stay there – he flopped back down and stared idly at the ceiling, while elsewhere in his house he could almost see Japan pondering over his next course of action.

… Well, that was fine. He could live with it.