Sometimes, being a country really sucked. It sucked hard. All the rebellions and political parties and natural disasters could really wreck a nation's body, inside and out. But nothing was worse than when a pandemic came to town. When a nation's population got sick, they got sick as well...whether they liked it or not.
Lithuania thought about this as he looked into the mirror, brushing his hair. He woke up that morning and promptly skipped breakfast, his stomach hurting something fierce. He initially chalked it up to nothing, since his stomach hurt on a daily basis, but something felt off about today.
He finished brushing his hair and tied it up into a ponytail, wearing his usual brown embroidered traditional clothes, since it was 1832 and what else was he going to wear? He then started to walk down the ground staircase, swaying badly and holding his head. "Ugh..."
"Lithuania! Have you seen my hair bow?" Belarus demanded from the bottom of the staircase, and he looked over at her. "It's that pink one with the lace on it,"
"I bet Poland stole it," He grumbled, finally walking down the rest of the way. His vision was starting to swim badly, and only now did he realize she was holding a silver platter of cookies. She held it out to him, and he quickly shook his head.
"What's wrong? Aren't you hungry? You skipped breakfast after all," She asked kindly, but there was mischief in her eyes. He covered his mouth and shook his head again. "Come on, just eat one,"
"Fine, but just one!" He relented, taking one from the plate and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing it and swallowing it quickly. "Okay, I had a cookie, I'm not hungry anymore!" He laughed nervously, and his stomach chose that moment to let out a loud gurgle.
"Really? Sounds like you're still hungry to me," She grinned and held out the platter, and Toris took two more, not wanting to seem sick to anyone else. After all, the last thing he needed was for a panic to break out.
"Three cookies was more than enough," He smiled awkwardly at her and started to head back upstairs, only for his stomach to violently churn upwards, making his hands fly to his mouth.
"Lithuania?" She asked in a worried tone, spinning him around. "You're not really hungry, are you? Don't lie to me, you're sick, aren't you?" Belarus demanded, but before Lithuania could answer properly, he bent over and emptied his stomach all over her heavy brown boots, as well as the stairs between them.
Instead of being chocolatey-brown, the vomit was chunky and clear, almost like water-and was a telltale sign of any cholera sufferer. Lithuania wiped his mouth off and coughed slightly, while Belarus blinked in a desperate attempt to keep from screaming.
"You're...sick with cholera..." She barely managed, the silver platter making a loud sound as it shattered on the marble floor. Cookies fell everywhere. "You should go to bed," Belarus suggested, pulling some hair away from Lithuania's face.
"I'm...too...weak...to," Lithuania moaned, badly swaying and falling into her, just barely missing the puddle of puke on the floor. He could now feel the sickness in full swing, and his stomach was churning heavily now. Even his legs cramped.
"Come on, I'll carry you to bed," Belarus suggested, very easily yet carefully picking him up and carrying him to the bathroom, then propping him up against the wall and slipping off her shoes, then his own and tossing both pairs into the bathtub. "If you puke again, puke on yourself. Or on the floor," She directed, getting a soft lilac towel from the linen closet and hanging it up so she could clean the mess up later. She then picked up Lithuania again and carried him down the hallway into his bedroom, tucking him into bed.
"At least your hair is already tied up," She noticed, pulling out the chamber pot from underneath his bed, only to have him lean over and puke into it almost instantly. She sighed and ran her fingers through his hair, waiting until he was finished.
Once he did, he curled up into a tight ball in the covers, looking and feeling absolutely miserable. Belarus wiped his mouth off with her handkerchief, then promptly threw it out the bedroom window. "Why didn't you just tell me you were sick?"
"Because I didn't...want to...start a house-wide panic," Lithuania weakly smiled, wincing. "I-I knew it was...something bad..." He noticed her leaving and whined slightly. "Don't leave...sit here...and...talk to me..." He breathed heavily.
"I would, but I still have to clean that mess on the stairs," Belarus reminded him, wrapping him up in the blankets and leaving, going into the bathroom to get the towel.
She then went back downstairs and placed the towel on the puke puddle, letting it absorb before picking it back up and throwing it into the dirty clothes pile. She then grabbed a smaller white towel and started scrubbing their puked-on shoes, wondering what exactly cholera was. She read in the newspapers it had traveled as far as the United States, and that it was an intestinal disease. Of course, a nation couldn't die from illness, but they could still suffer, and she regretted not reading up on it before.
Belarus finally cleaned up their shoes and placed them in her own bedroom to dry, then threw that towel away in the clothes hamper and made a tray of water, herbs, and tea, assuming Lithuania would need it to feel better. She first grabbed a bucket from the cupboard and went outside, still shoeless, and scooped up a bucketfull of water from their nearby stream, pouring it into a cup for Lithuania. She then set a leftover water bucket on the stove to boil, then pulled out a box of herbs Russia kept lying around in case Lithuania or Poland became too distressed by their weak stomachs to do anything.
Once the water boiled, she added the tea and herbs to it, properly stirring it. As she was cooking, Ukraine came into the kitchen, obviously attracted by the smell. "What are you making?" She asked nicely, walking over to the stove. "Tea? For who? Is someone sick? It smelled like vomit in the hallway,"
"It's for Lithuania," Belarus answered calmly, pouring the finished tea into a tea pot and setting it on the tray. "He has cholera, I think,"
"Oh no! Is he alright?!" Ukraine asked in a worried tone, putting a hand on her heart. "I heard it kills in two hours!"
"If you're a human, but Lithuania will be fine," Belarus carried the tray up to Lithuania's room, setting it on the nightstand. "I made you some herbal tea for your stomach, as well as some water," She explained before Lithuania hurled into the chamber pot again. He stared at it with dismay, as it was almost overflowing, and rolled onto his left side so his back was to her.
"Do you want me to empty that out?" She asked, her voice a lot more gentler to him than it usually was. His face was paler than it usually was, and he finally mustered up the strength to nod.
"You're being uncharacteristically nice to me," He mused as Belarus picked up the chamber pot and emptied it out the window, then set it back under the bed.
"Shut up, be flattered. I only do this for people I actually care about," She snapped, sitting down on the bed next to his.
"Oh, so you do care," He smiled weakly before letting out a moan and closing his eyes. "My stomach...hurts...ugh..." Lithuania winced and soon fell asleep, but tossed and turned during it.
"Calm down," Belarus worried and placed a kiss on his forehead, seeing how fitful his sleep was. When he woke up to vomit, she'd give him some herbs.
As he slept, she found herself wondering who the other side of the room belonged to. It was common knowledge everyone shared rooms in the Russian Empire, except for Russia himself, and she wasn't sure who shared with who.
"Are you by yourself?" Belarus asked herself quietly, feeling his forehead for a fever. There was none, but his skin was cold and clammy to the touch, almost like a fish. She drew it back in disgust and opened up the closet on the other side, only to have a bunch of pink frilly outfits fall out and almost topple her. "Huh? Whose are these?" She asked in confusion, before a loud squeal reached her ears.
"Like, don't touch my clothes! Don't open my closet! Stay out!" Poland shouted angrily, swooping in and grabbing the suit she was looking at from her hands. "Like, why are you even in here anyway?" He stuffed everything into his closet and shut it again.
"Lithuania's sick with cholera, and I'm trying to help him," She said, only to have Poland squeal again.
"Ohmigosh, Liet's sick!? I like totally have to help him!" Poland decided, running over to his bedside. "I remember Prussia got sick with cholera once too, yuck! It's like such a nasty disease," He started shaking Lithuania awake, but the only thing that happened was his eyes briefly fluttering open, then closing again.
"Leave him alone, he's got me and he's perfectly fine," Belarus grumbled in annoyance.
"Like, I'll go get him some medicine!" Poland ran out of the room, ignoring Belarus stating she already brought him some. She rolled her eyes and sat down next to Lithuania again, brushing his hair out of his face.
"Please wake up," She softly kissed his forward again, and his eyes fluttered open and his groaned.
"...Belarus...?" He blinked a few times to get his vision to focus on her, as he currently saw three of her.
"Do you need something?" She asked immediately, motioning to the emptied chamber pot. "Are you going to vomit again?" She sighed in relief when he shook his head.
"No...I think that's over...my stomach doesn't hurt as much as it did before either," He clutched it and coughed. "J-just be sure I don't...lose...lots of fluids..."
Belarus nodded and motioned to the tray. "Did you want something to drink? I have water,"
He shook his head. "I want some salt-sugar water...the same one Sir Russia always makes us when we're sick," He slowly breathed in and out, and Belarus nodded and went back downstairs to make that for him, while Lithuania sighed again and found himself incredibly bored despite all the pain he was in. If only Poland was there...then he would get into all kinds of hijinks with him as usual.
Belarus came back a few minutes later with said water, gasping slightly when she realized Lithuania's eyes were sunken in. "Here," She held out to the glass to him, but he didn't take it right away and simply blinked.
"You don't have to stay here, you know. But it's really boring here...maybe you could bring me something to do?" He asked, forming a weak smile on his lips. Belarus placed the glass on the tray with the other drinks.
"I'm not leaving...what would you like to do?" She asked in a curious tone, staring at him.
"Maybe you could bring me a book to read? Any book," He stated, silently adding that she could also bring Poland in his head. Despite both being questionable caregivers, he trusted Poland far more than he trusted Belarus, even though he still cared about them. He finally sat up and took the salt-sugar water from the tray, slowly drinking it and trying hard to not spill it on himself.
"Let me guess, you also want your friend, hm?" She guessed accurately, sighing. Of course he would trust someone like Poland compared to her, but it still stung. Couldn't she be his friend? Poland would probably be loud and bounce around; what Lithuania needed now was someone who would be quiet and careful with him. She sighed again and looked down at her feet. "But can't I be your friend? What's wrong with that?" She looked at him with a softened expression on her face, taking the empty cup from him.
"I just want Poland..." Lithuania blinked, in a daze. He didn't hear what she said and laid back down, coughing. "And a book...and food..."
Belarus sighed for a third time, nodding. "Got it..." She knew he probably didn't mean it, but some other part of her knew he did mean it, and that hurt her even more.
She then went back downstairs, about to go into the library when she heard someone rummaging through the pantry. "Poland? Is that you?" She called out, not sure of who was going to call back.
"Like, yes!~" Poland answered back happily, finding a banana in there and started to unpeel it. "Whaddya want?"
"It's not something I want, it's something Lithuania wants. Can you check on him in his room? I noticed you two share,"
"Like, do I have to? I know we've shared everything since the 1300's but I don't want that," He sighed, taking a bite of the banana. "Fine, but you're like totally coming with me!"
"You don't even have to be there for long. Just show up, say some stuff until he falls asleep again, then leave," She sighed. "Besides, I've already been up in his room, helping him,"
"Oh! I bet you, like, totally aren't a good nurse! You probably poisoned his water or something! He has delicate digestion!" Poland threw the half-eaten banana out the window and loudly ran up the stairs, pushing open Lithuania's door. "Liet! Are you, like, okay?" He asked in a worried tone, finding Lithuania kneeling in front of his chamber pot, throwing up again.
"Pol!" He managed to croak out. "And Belarus!" He weakly smiled before dissolving into a coughing fit, making Poland march right over and wipe his mouth off. "You never came up to bed last night...what happened?" He continued coughing, which escalated into gagging.
"I like totally didn't want to get sick...but then Belarus said you needed my company. Well surprise! I am here!" Poland posed, making the two giggle and Belarus sigh again.
"I'll be downstairs if you need me," She turned around and started to leave, only to have Poland call out to her.
"No! Like, stay. Maybe you can read to Liet or something," He tightly wrapped his cloak around Lithuania and helped him into bed, making Belarus roll her eyes and lean against the wall.
The next few minutes was just her watching Poland run his fingers through Lithuania's hair, gently singing to him in Polish at a whisper. The only time she was made useful was when Lithuania asked for more sugar-salt water, but even then, it was just Poland voicing his request for her.
"Is he asleep?" She asked when she came upstairs for the third time, holding another glass.
"Nope!" Poland giggled before getting pulled down by Lithuania and having him whisper something in his ear, which made the blonde giggle uncontrollably while Lithuania blushed uncontrollably. "You really think she cares about something like that?"
Belarus looked over at this and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? What did he say?"
"He like, totally has to piss and is too embarrassed to do it with you in the room!" It was taking all of Poland's self-control to not burst out laughing uncontrollably.
"So? Just do what you have to do," Belarus shrugged nonchalantly, making Lithuania blush heavily and hide his face under the covers.
"He'd much rather wet himself than expose himself to you,"
"So? I'm not the kind of girl who cares about stuff like that. If you need to go, just go. It's not healthy to hold it in like that," She walked over to his bed and ripped the covers off, glaring slightly at Poland's cloak. "Now come on," She helped Lithuania out of his bed and moved a table over for him to lean on, and after standing there stone-still for several seconds, Lithuania finally relented and quickly undid everything and peed into the chamber pot, redressing and falling back into bed. "Now was that so hard to do?" Belarus smirked, pushing the table back.
"Shut...up..." Lithuania croaked out weakly.
"See, if you weren't here, he would've gone in an instant!" Poland pointed out in an annoyed tone.
"But I motivated him to go," Belarus rolled her eyes and pulled the covers back on Lithuania, whose face was an unhealthy shade of red. "It seriously wasn't that big of a deal," She quietly laughed.
"I think he's lethargic," Poland noticed in a serious tone when Lithuania rolled over to face the wall. He tugged Lithuania's hair slightly to make him giggle, but no sound came out from him.
"What should we do?" Belarus asked in a worried tone, though she tried to hide it. She picked up the half-full glass of sugar-salt water and offered it to Toris, who slowly rolled back over and opened his mouth for it.
"Like, I'll get him a straw!" Poland announced before running from the room, making Belarus roll her eyes and gently sit on the bed next to Lithuania. She helped him lift up his head and take small sips of the water before lying him back down and putting the empty cup on the tray.
"Hopefully that'll calm you down," She smiled softly as she placed a small kiss on his forehead, which was cold as ice.
"Why do you enjoy my company so much?" He finally asked after a few minutes, groaning.
"Because...I just do. Besides, I thought we could be friends. I want you to be my friend...I'm just not the best at expressing it," She blushed lightly, which was obvious on her pale skin.
"Is now a bad time to mention I have a crush on you?" Lithuania laughed lightly, slowly sitting up. He leaned back so his back was still supported by his pillows.
"It's obvious. Anyone with half a brain could tell you had a crush on me," She smirked at him, making him blush.
"That obvious, hm?" He pulled her a bit closer to him.
"Yeah...you tend to follow me around like a lovesick puppy," She smirked further.
"I guess it's also a good time to mention cholera can't be spread from direct contact," And with that, he planted a romantic kiss on her lips, making her blush further. Despite enjoying it, she soon pulled away a bit too soon, covering her mouth.
"You have bad breath from puking," She said bluntly, making Lithuania blush heavily and cover his mouth.
"Oh shit, do I really? I'm sorry...I just keep doing embarrassing things in front of you," He sighed and looked down in shame.
"It's alright...I'm used to bad smells," She softly pecked his cheek. "But what other embarrassing things have you done in front of me?"
"Try everything I've ever done in front of you ever since I've had you under my control. Like that time we were both three and I was trying to impress you with my sword-spinning tricks but I tripped and accidentally slashed my cape in front of you," He blushed further.
"Mhm...you big doof," She laughed teasingly.
"I am not a doof!"
"Fine...you're a huge dork then,"
"Now you sound like Pol. Although you're a lot more adorable than he is," He teased back, kissing her back slowly and running his hands along her curves. Belarus kissed back, making the kiss more awkward since she wasn't sure of what to do, although once Lithuania cupped her cheeks in his hands, they finally fell into a rhythm. Who knew he would be doing something like this with his dream girl...all while sick with cholera?
After a while, Belarus finally pulled away, a heavy blush on her cheeks and a smile on her face. "Why didn't you do this sooner?" She gasped.
"You never exactly let me," He admitted with a sigh. "Everytime I tried to get close to you, you'd push me away..." He then silenced her with some more awkward tongue-kissing, which Belarus soon pulled away from, her body shaking slightly.
"For someone who's been kissed before, you're awfully awkward," She smirked, making Lithuania blush even more. "But it's cute..." She gently pecked his cheek again.
"I wonder why it's taking Pol so long just to get a straw?" Lithuania wondered just before Poland loudly burst into the room, grinning.
"I like, totally couldn't find a straw...but you two didn't make any mischief while I was gone, right?~" He smiled at the two, making Lithuania blush heavily.
"Of course not...I'm out of practice when it comes to kissing apparently," He mumbled under his breath.
"And that's why I'm here," Belarus smirked again, making Lithuania blush even more and cover his face.
"Stop embarrassing me, you two!" His stomach then let out a loud gurgle, which he quickly clutched in pain with a groan.
"Are you okay?" Belarus asked in a nervous tone, rubbing his back gently.
"Like, are you going to puke again?" Poland asked just as nervously, running out of the room and peeking through the doorway.
Lithuania responded to both of them by spewing beside his bed, coughing. "Cholera's a bitch..." He moaned in pain, puking again before falling into Belarus' arms.
"It's supposed to get worse before it gets better...you haven't even had the diarrhea yet," She explained with a sigh, gently wiping his mouth off and kissing his forehead, which Poland stuck out his tongue at.
"Ick," Lithuania sighed. Poland reentered the room and redid Lithuania's messy ponytail, making it tighter. Lithuania then gently kissed Belarus' forehead before falling back on his bed and falling into a fitful thing.
"Poor thing," Belarus said with a straight face, dumping out his chamber pot again. "I wonder if there's anything else we can do for him,"
"Nope! All we can do now is just like, wait," Poland pouted. "I know, it like totally sucks! I hate seeing Liet like this,"
"Me too," Belarus bundled him up again in the blankets, kissing his forehead softly again.
"He's so peaceful when he's asleep," Poland looked down at him, smiling. He brushed some loose strands of hair away from Lithuania's face.
Belarus nodded in agreement. "He really is,"
"I guess you can see why we fell for each other in the first place," Poland tucked his hands behind his back as Lithuania stirred slightly, almost as if he knew they were talking about him.
"I have no idea why I did...he's a doof and a huge dork...and extremely awkward...but he's also really lovable," She leaned in slightly to him, only to have Lithuania reach up and give her hair a sharp yank in his sleep, making her yelp. "That wasn't lovable at all!"
Poland simply giggled, then glanced back down at the floor. "We should do something about that puke on the floor," He stuck out his tongue at it and jumped off the bed. "I suppose I'll do it," He left to go get a mop, leaving Belarus to keep an eye on Lithuania, who shifted around in his sleep slightly. Occasionally he would smack her arms, making her sigh and play with his hair.
"Calm down...you're probably just having a nightmare," She quietly whispered to him just as Poland came back with a mop and started mopping up said puke, groaning slightly. "Would you rather me do that?" She offered, lying down next to Lithuania.
"You might, like, totally wake him up if you move. I'll handle this," Poland reassured her with a smile, only to groan some more as he cleaned up the puke. After he finished, he left the foul-smelling mop and bucket in the hallway, looking down at Lithuania. "He like, totally looks awful! But all we can do is rehydrate him and wait," He went downstairs and got some more water, spooning it into Lithuania's open mouth.
This continued for several more hours until Poland himself eventually went to bed, leaving Belarus still lying next to Lithuania. She yawned heavily, exhausted, but still afraid of moving and waking him up.
Ukraine wandered into the room with a gasp. "Belarus? Are you okay? You've been in here all day, and it's nearly Midnight! Aren't you tired? Come to bed with me," She cried, holding out her hand.
"I can't...I'm afraid he'll wake up if I move and then need somebody..." She declined with a sigh, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Please Belarus, you're a mess. Plus if he's sick enough, he'll just fall back asleep," Ukraine begged as Belarus sat up.
"Maybe...but I can't risk it,"
Ukraine then sighed and gently pulled her younger sister off Lithuania's bed, then softly tucked him back in again. "Poland is here. If he wakes up and needs something, he can just ask him," She decided as Belarus stifled another yawn.
"Alright...but only if you're sure," She followed her sister to bed, casting one last worried glance at Lithuania, who was now sleeping soundly. He did so for the remainder of the night, as it seemed the disease had finally loosened its grip on his body and left.
The next morning, both Belarus and Poland abandoned their morning routines to check on Lithuania, who was sitting up in bed by himself and drinking more herbal tea.
"How are you feeling?" Poland asked nervously.
"A little weak, but way better than yesterday," Lithuania stated, smiling at the two of them. "But I only recovered as fast as I did because of your help, Belarus," He smiled even more at her, making her blush again.
"I was just helping out a friend," She declined stubbornly, looking away. "But I'm glad you recovered so fast," She then sent a small smile in his direction, making Poland glare at her.
"Hey! I like, totally helped too! I brought him a straw! And cleaned up his disgusting puke!" He cried, looking at the brunette. "Didn't I?"
"Hmmm...I must've been asleep for all of that," Lithuania smirked at him, making Poland pout.
"You suck! You both suck!" He stormed out of the room, making Lithuania giggle and take Belarus' hands.
"Ignore him...thank you for taking care of me though. Friend or not, I really appreciate it,"
"You're welcome," She smiled at him.
"But would a friend do this?" He smirked and pulled her closer to him, kissing her softly. Despite her initial gasp of surprise, she finally closed her eyes and held him tightly, kissing him back.
"Maybe a very close friend..." She whispered to him before continuing their kiss.