"Ugh…I feel terrible…"
"Shhh, just lie down and get some rest, sweetheart."
It was supposed to be a great day. All the luggage was packed, the expenses paid. Everything was planned.
Except for me getting sick, that is.
A full week before the incident, I had been going out for dinner with my two best friends, Faroe Islands and Aland Islands. This was sort of like a Girls' Night Out for us, since we hadn't gotten a chance to meet up because of work. So this was meant to be a peaceful time, and if you've ever watched Hetalia, you'd know that peace is not available with us countries.
We had been sitting around the table then, leafing through the fancy, laced menu. I had been the one doing most of the talking (What's new?) when the waiter comes up. His long, blonde locks were tied back into a loose ponytail, a few strands of hair falling into his ocean-blue eyes. Now that I think about it, reminded me a lot about my Icey's…
Anyway, he strutted flamboyantly up to our table, whipping a pen and notebook out of smock so fast I'm surprised he worked there instead of at a gun show.
"Bon jour, mon belle fleurs~ My name is Francis, and I shall be your fabulous waiter this evening," he announced with pride. I couldn't help but notice that he was eying me funny, but I smiled politely as he continued.
"What would you lovely ladies like to eat?"
I flipped through the embroidered pages of the menu as the other two ordered, still deciding what I wanted. After a few minutes of jotting down their choices he turned to me, his toothy smile broadening as he did.
"And what would you like, sweetheart?" I ignored his obvious come-on and showed him the list.
"I-I'm not sure if I want the chicken salad or the shrimp pasta...Which would you chose?"
"Moi?" He asked, dramatically putting hand over his heart. "Well, I personally prefer zhe salad, zhough I am sure you would look good fine on me either way~"
I could have sworn I heard my stomach drop. I looked wide-eyed to my friends, who wear watching the scene unfold in quiet horror. I coughed awkwardly and turned to Francis again, hoping in vain that the last part had just been my pesky imagination acting up again.
"C-Come again, sir?"
He chuckled a chuckle laced with bad intentions and put the notebook and pen on the table, leaning dangerously close to my face. I could smell strong liquor on his breath, and, upon closer examination, his eyes seemed to be glazed over.
Francis was drunk the whole time.
"You 'eard me, mademoiselle. I want you. Tonight."
I had been holding back tears the whole time as he spoke, and at the last line, they finally fell, streaking down my pale cheeks. Aland Island took me outside while Faroe Island exploded on the intoxicated waiter, softly stroking my ivory hair. She didn't actually say anything, or even smile, for that matter, but I know she meant well.
Faroe finally came back to us after yelling through the door, "She was taken, you swine! Go to church you dipstick!" as it shut with a crash. When she turned back to me, her eyes softened as she rubbed soothing circles into my back as I cried into the crook of her neck.
"C'mon, Greeny, don't cry. It's not your fault," she whispered. I just shook my head and bawled harder, my shoulders shaking uncontrollably. It is my fault, I told myself. Iceland will be so disappointed…and it's all my fault!
For the rest of the week, I had been thinking about what had happened at the restaurant, sulking in my bedroom. When the day of the vacation finally arrived, I had literally worried myself sick: a cold, to be more exact. Faroe and Aland were sworn to secrecy, they could tell how just how worried I was about Iceland, my boyfriend, finding out about the confrontation.
"You're so sick you can't come? I bet some fresh air here would clear you right up," she reasoned over the phone.
"N-No, I don't think I-I can-" A coughing fit cut my explanation short. "A-Alright, girl, Aland, Norway-poo and I will still be going, but I bet Iceland will be stopping by your place soon." She laughed at me as I gasped and scrambled for some clean clothes to put on.
"I'll be praying for you, Greenland. Don't do anything…contagious!" She hung up the phone before I could pout.
Iceland was sitting on my bed beside me, dabbing my face lightly with a napkin. When he came, it was plain to see from his ruffled, silver hair and wrinkly clothing that he had just woken up and drove over as soon as he heard I was ill. Boy, do I love that man…
He hadn't said very much since he arrived, which isn't that strange, considering he wasn't as talkative as me, but he seemed to be concerned about something. Something other than my sickness.
"How did you say you got sick again?" he asked.
"…I was out in the rain too long," I lied, making an effort to avoid his ice-cold gaze. He just grunted in response and resumed patting my forehead with a damp cloth. "You know, you tend to pause and wiggle your nose before you lie. It's not very attractive," he said, a poorly-concealed smirk tugging at his lips.
"…N-No I don't!" I yelled, wriggling my nose in the process. I heard him mutter a 'told you so' as I broke out into another coughing fit. "Greenland, I'm being serious right now. I know you're hiding something from me," he said, face void of emotion.
I panicked a little inside, afraid someone had told him my secret. Without thinking, I blurted out, "Oh yeah? W-Well, I think you've been hiding something from me, too! I mean, you've been acting all funny since you've walked through the door. I'm sick, what's your excuse?"
I felt like slapping myself saying something so cruel and stupid. Iceland just stared back at me, so many emotions passing through his face. Surprise, frustration, sadness…hurt. "I-I'm sorry, Icey…I just got a bit-"
He held up a hand for me to stop, forcing a slightly-depressed smile to his lips. With the same hand, he fondled my hair lovingly, pressing a chaste kiss to my cheek. "It's alright, it happens. Just…try and get some rest. I'll go make you some tea."
Before I could say anything else to him, he stood and made his way to the kitchen, leaving me completely and utterly alone.
When Iceland and I first met, I was still in Elementary school. I was being picked on by a couple of bullies at the edge of the school property where none of the teachers would find us. They put gum in my hair, insulted me, and tons of other things that were anything but friendly.
Just as I was about to cry, he had come from the Middle school across the street, scaring off the bullies with threats of calling the police. As he wiped away my tears, I couldn't help but fall in love with his cool, deep eyes. We had kept in many years after, though I didn't have the guts to confess up until about three years ago. We'd been dating ever since.
Yet, despite all of that, I've never been prepared for something like that to ever happen to me! When we were out in public, it was normal for women to stare at my Iceland and guys to stare at me. But this time, I didn't have him there. I was…weak without him there.
By the time Iceland had walked back in, I was sobbing again, clutching a pillow to my chest. Without missing a beat, Ice had put the tea on my nightstand and wrapped me in his protective arms, rocking back and forth and whispering sweet nothings into my ear.
"Shhh, shhh…it's okay, Greenland…Just calm down and talk to me…shhh…"
After a few minutes of this, my cries subsided, and I had no tears left to cry, despite my constant sniffles. I had to come clean, or else this lie would tear me apart. Taking a small sip of the hot tea Iceland had made, I leaned into his arms and told him what went down.
"L-Last week at the resturuant...The waiter, he…he kept coming onto me, s-saying all these nasty things…A-And I couldn't even do anything about it! But you-when girls talk to you…you're perfectly fine! W-Why am I so weak, Ice-chan? Why?"
When I told him about Francis, I could feel his grip on me tighten a bit, though when I continued, it grew more lax. He kissed the crown of my head softly, resting his head against mine.
"Greenland, please stop saying that. You are not weak: you do what I wish I could do: you make so many friends without even thinking about it, and…and I love you so much for that," he whispered, cheeks blazing.
Slowly, I shook my head, wiping furiously at my eyes. "N-No, Ice, you don't get it! I'm just…so weak without you by my side. I-I want you to always be there for me, a-and to always be there for you…!"
A hopeful, genuine smile came to Iceland's lips as I said that. As I drunk once again from the mug of tea, he clasped his large, calloused hands around my small, smooth ones.
"I've been thinking about that for a long time now, Green. And I think I've finally found a way to fix that." Just as I was about to ask what he meant, I heard a reverberating clink! come from the bottom of my glass. Beneath the tea bag remains and honey, there was a gleaming, silver ring with a diamond the color of my eyes sitting at the bottom. Looking back to Iceland, I saw him on one knee, smiling.
"Greenland, I have known you for a very long time now, and some may even say this is way overdue, but I wanted to do this correctly," he said, not taking his eyes off of mine. Fresh tears were rushing to replace the old ones as I hung onto his every word.
"I don't want to ever be away from you, and with this ring, I can be with you always. I guess what I'm trying to say is…will you marry me?"
Greenland: NO! So, I've never written for ANY of the Nordics, because really, they don't get enough screen time for me to know a whole bunch about them. So, for this fic, I had to do some research. And by research, I mean locking myself in my room to read Iceland x Readers in hopes of finding out more stuff about him.
...Naw, I'm just kidding!
(I feel SO bad about making France seem villainous in this one! I love him to pieces! Fellow France fans, please have mercy and check out my France x reader fic 'Holes'. I love him, I promise!)
Moot3100 -Expert otaku/ recluse Anywho, this was a request from ~JennySaphireLeyla (She's got a lot of great content, so go check her out!) I don't own Hetalia or any of these characters.
I really hope she likes this, and that I portrayed Iceland, her OC, and all of the others correctly.
Please comment, and if you want to request a type of anime story as well, please click on my name to go to my main page and check out meh rules 'n stuff.
Stay beautiful~