Welcome to Hetalia Hospital, where all your dreams come true. We've got pairings of all sorts, and love all around! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

The Thin and the Numb

Kiku didn't remember the first time he had to visit the hospital. He was so young the first time. As a matter of fact, he didn't remember the second or the sixth time either. He just knew that every time he got to go home, he had to take a new batch of pills that didn't really make him feel very well.

Some made his stomach hurt, some made him much too hot, and some just put him to sleep.

He also knew that he didn't like going to the hospital every other weekend. They liked to stick sharp needles into his arms and legs. He even tried to tell his mother and father that he felt better whenever they were putting him in his booster seat in the family's car. But they just shook their heads, smiling sadly.

Kiku didn't know when he had started to count his appointments either. But he did until he was fifteen. Appointment 416. Then he didn't see the point. He finally understood what his disease was, and that he couldn't fight it, so why count as if there was going to be an end?

His parents liked to tell people that they had a 'strong son' that never let his disease or disabilities 'get the best of him'. But they knew full well that he was anything but strong. He cried often and talked to no one. Kiku closed in on himself when the doctor had told him how he would probably be wheelchair bound in the next few years.

Whenever the the new nurses or people around him asked him what he had, they gave him sad looks, and he hated it. His health got worse as he spoke less and less. He just didn't want people to give his those looks anymore, so he didn't tell them what he had or what was wrong. Even his parents gave him those looks, the ones that seemed to know that his time was limited.

When Kiku was seventeen, he could no longer feel his legs enough to walk. They felt completely numb. He had cried for hours alone in his room, tugging at his useless legs and silently wishing for them to do something. A few weeks later, Kiku went completely mute. No matter what he said to anyone, they gave him sad eyes, and a shake of the head. His parents got the same looks too, but they seemed to crave them, and spread news about Kiku's condition to anyone that would listen. Kiku grew to hate people, and his parents.

On his eighteenth birthday he was admitted full time to the hospital. It wasn't because he was so sick he was dying in a few weeks. No. It was because his parents didn't know how to take care of a son who barely looked at them, much less spoke to them. They only came around the Holidays, and only stayed for about an hour.

In the hospital, Kiku was around a lot more people like him. They had put him in the young adults ward, and despite his muteness, he had found a few people he called friends. There was Arthur, who was missing an arm due to a tumor. He was in rehabilitation right now. He had a large family. Kiku thought that they were loud and sort of obnoxious, but he liked Arthur. Then then there was a boy named Matthew. He was quiet and didn't talk much, but he wasn't mute. He was allergic to everything except pancakes and Canadian maple syrup.

They never looked at Kiku like he was a victim, but he knew that they still felt bad for him. They never even asked him if he wanted to go outside with them and watch. They were all afraid to hurt his feelings. He was a pariah even in a place full of pariah's. Everyone was afraid to hurt his feelings, and never really looked him in the eye.

That is until he met Yao Wang.

.

Kiku rolled himself through the hallways, glancing at the pictures on the walls that the kids did in the children's ward. He liked children. They looked at everybody the same. He had just finished his treatments for the day. He was a little groggy, and wasn't paying attention to what was happening or where he was going. He was wishing that he asked for later appointments before he left when someone came out of the door right in front of him. He swung himself to the right to avoid running into the door.

From the back the person looked like a woman. They had long, black hair that was tied into a low pony tail. They wore a red silk shirt with sleeves that ended past their hands and tight black pants. Even from behind they looked seriously bony. The person spun around and Kiku was surprised to see that the person was a man. He looked to be around his age. His eyes were a pleasant golden brown and his cheeks were a little sunken in, but he wasn't unpleasant to look at.

The man looked around, before his eyes made their way downwards and finally landed on Kiku. Kiku braced for that dreaded look, but it never came. Instead the man's eyes lit up.

"Oh, thank God!" Kiku looked away then back quickly. "I was worried that I was the only one in this hospital for a second." He laughed, flipping his silky hair over his shoulder. When Kiku just stared at the man, the man coughed nervously. "Um…" He mumbled tapping his hands together. "Oh, right!" He mumbled. He put his hand out to Kiku. "My name is Yao. Yao Wang."

Not wanting to be rude, and to get this awkward encounter over with as soon as possible, Kiku took his hand and shook it once before dropping it. Kiku noticed duly that Yao had small, but soft hands. Yao laughed uncomfortably.

"Y- You don't talk much, do you?"

Kiku shook his head. He lifted his wrist for Yao to read the band he had on it. Yao lightly touched Kiku's wrist and bent down a bit.

"Your name is Kiku?"

Kiku nodded. Yao smiled. "That's a cute name." He said. Kiku felt his face heat up a bit. Was he making fun of him? "Anyway, um, Kiku?" He asked. "Do you have any idea how to get back into our ward? I got lost coming back from the bathroom." He said, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. Kiku nodded and jerked his head as a sign for Yao to follow him. They walked, well Yao walked Kiku rolled, down the hallways in relative silence. Yao only made a few comments here and there about how he was just admitted today and someone was supposed to show him around earlier, but had to leave for an emergency. Kiku nodded absently, not really paying attention.

They finally made it to the young adults commons and Yao thanked Kiku before going around the corner. Kiku sat, confused for a moment. The only thing around that particular corner was Kiku's room. He rolled forward and into his room. There were two beds in his room now, instead of his one. A few boxes sat around it and Yao stood over one, taking a few pieces of clothing out. Kiku made a noise of discomfort.

Yao spun around and smiled. "So you are my roomate." Kiku raised an eyebrow. "Your name is on the outside of the door. I thought I recognized it." Yao smiled and put some of his clothes into the one dresser in the room. Kiku coughed, a little confused. "I hope you don't mind. I just moved some of your clothes over." He said quickly, moving onto another box. In truth, Kiku did mind, but he couldn't really say anything either.

Kiku rolled to his bed and grabbed the handles on the side of his bed, and pulled himself up. He knew Yao was watching him, and it made his neck burn, but he went along with his routine. Once he finally got himself in his bed he laid down, and turned onto his side, his back to Yao. He always felt tired after his exams. Despite being uncomfortable with the extra person, and slightly annoyed by the noises he was making, Kiku fell asleep rather quickly.

.

When he woke up an hour later, Yao was sitting next to his bed, holding something in his lap, and a book in his hand. Kiku scrunched his eyebrows and sat up with his arms. Yao looked up at the movement. He smiled and put his book down on the floor.

"You're up!" He said, standing. He brought the thing he was holding on his lap and handed it to Kiku. Kiku rubbed his eyes and looked at the object.

It was a whiteboard about the size of a laptop. Kiku raised his eyebrow.

Yao looked down at Kiku, beaming. "I wanted to hear you." He said, handing Kiku a black marker. Kiku just stared at the board, his cheeks a little pink. Yao brought the chair closer, and got comfy.

Kiku looked to his smiling face and uncapped the marker. He wrote out his first sentence in his neat handwriting.

Why are you hanging around me?

Yao blinked. "Well, I want to talk to you. You are my roommate until one of us gets better." He stated. Kiku looked down quickly. "What's wrong?" He asked gently. Kiku wrote a quick sentence.

I'm not going to get better.

Yao gasped quietly and looked away. "Oh." Was all he could say. Kiku looked at Yao from the corner of his eye. Would he give him that look now? The one that everyone did when they found out he would just keep getting sicker?

But to his great surprise, Yao looked at Kiku and smiled. "What do you do for fun?"

Kiku blinked, surprised yet again.

I read. He looked back down at the board. He decided to be polite. What do you do?

Yao put one of his slim hands on his thin chin. "Hmm. Lots of things I suppose." He smiled again. "But I do enjoy a good book now and again."

Kiku nodded, then looked away, cheeks pink, when he realized he had been staring at Yao's rosy lips. 'I'm just not used to people smiling around me is all'. He tried to reason to himself.

"Now you ask me a question." Yao insisted, scooting his chair closer. Kiku wrote down the first thing that came to mind.

Where are you from?

"I was born in China, but I left to go to University." He answered. "My turn." Kiku nodded getting a little excited. "Favorite color?"

Black.

Do you have any siblings?

"Three. All adopted."

"Do you?"

No.

How old are you?

"Nineteen, you?"

.

And it when on like this until the darkest hours of the night. Kiku got around to asking why Yao was here, and he seemed so nonchalant when he told Kiku he didn't like to eat. Kiku wished he could be as confident when he told people of his disease, but… he wasn't sure he ever would.

Over the next few months Kiku and Yao would become closer and closer. They talked like that almost every night. Kiku writing until his hand ached and Yao talking until his throat hurt.

Some things changed and some things stayed the same. Some of the changes were that Yao sometimes held Kiku's hand or brushed some hair out of his eyes. He had also started to sit in Kiku's bed beside him, and though Kiku couldn't feel it, he knew that Yao's legs were entangled with his. Sometimes they would fall asleep in the together, Yao's head on Kiku's chest. He also knew that Yao liked to play with his hair while he slept after his exams, and he sometimes kept his eyes closed just a bit longer just to feel Yao's hands slide through his hair, and to hear him hum a sweet melody.

One thing that Kiku noticed was that he had never seen Yao eat. Yao never came to the canteen and he never took part in the snack food that Kiku brought back sometimes. When he asked about it, Yao said that he ate in the room. Kiku wanted to believe him, he really did, but he couldn't hide his concern when Yao began to look paler and thinner.

Yao would always brush him off and tell him that he was fine, then they would move onto different topics.

Kiku told Yao all about his parents and how he disliked them. He told Yao about the way people looked at him, and why that made him mute. Yao then asked if Kiku could speak if he wanted to. Kiku wanted to say yes, he could, but when Yao prompted him to do so, Kiku froze up, unable to do anything. Yao smiled, like always, and understood.

Yao told him about his past as well, and Kiku drank in everything. He never talked to Matthew or Arthur like this. Yao told him that his family actually disowned him because he was gay.

Kiku couldn't say that he was surprised about hearing Yao's sexuality. Why else would he touch Kiku all the time? He was just surprised by the intense gaze Yao had given him when he told him, as if waiting for Kiku to say or do something.

Kiku, not really ever wondering about his preference decided that he liked Yao. Just Yao. He held no interest in other men, like the super muscled patient Ludwig, or the busty nurse Katyusha. But he liked Yao. A lot.

Yao was simply beautiful on Kiku's eyes. He had a brilliant smile that could bring his mood up no matter how bad his exams that day had gone. Yao spoke his mind, but didn't get Kiku down for his opinions. Yao never told him he couldn't do something, and though it sounds bad, he never asked Kiku if he needed help. If it was obvious, Yao would just help, like getting something off of a top shelf, though sometimes Yao had to ask Ivan for help because he wasn't very tall in the first place. The most important thing however was that Yao never gave Kiku that look. He always looked at Kiku like he would live for a hundred more years, and that he could do anything if he wanted to.

So yes. Kiku felt himself falling more and more in love with Yao. Just Yao.

.

Like most good things, it cannot last.

Kiku had finished a littler earlier than usual with his exam, and was rounding the corner to his and Yao's room when he heard glass shattering. He jolted in surprise, and pumped his arms faster to get into the room. He stopped at the door and ducked when a glass bowl covered in saran wrap came hurling towards him. It shattered against the wall behind him, dripping soup all over the hallway floor.

He looked back into the room with wide eyes, and wanted to cry. There were glass bowl and plate shards covering the floor. Food; sandwiches, chips, fruits, and veggies, were stuck to the walls and smeared on the floor. And in the middle of it kneeled Yao, his golden eyes wide and glassy with unshed tears. His hair was loose and cascaded down his back like fine strands of silk. He opened his mouth and only got one word out before he crumpled onto the floor, sobbing; "Kiku."

Kiku rolled forward and fell onto Yao. He pushed his chair away and shifted Yao into his lap. Even though Kiku couldn't feel him, he knew Yao was far too lite. Yao grasped onto Kiku's shoulders and cried, and cried, and cried. He mumbled "I'm sorry" and "I can't do it" over and over again. Kiku nodded each time and carded his fingers through Yao's soft, soft hair. He felt something welling up in his throat, and he opened his mouth on reflex. What came out was…

"Yao."

It was quiet, and it scratched his throat. But Yao heard it. Yao pushed himself back, and put his forehead to Kiku's. "D-Did you j-just-?" He hiccuped. Even with tears and snot covering his thin, too thin, face, Kiku thought Yao was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

Kiku nodded, and he felt his face wet with his own tears. Yao touched Kiku's face with his cold fingers, tracing his lips. "Yao." Kiku whispered again, and Yao laughed. It was a broken, watery laugh, but it still made Kiku's heart leap. "Yao?"

Yao wiped his face with his sleeve and grimaced at it. He hadn't seemed to hear Kiku. He placed his head on Kiku's chest, and he could feel his shirt get damp. Yao held onto Kiku tighter, and sobbed loudly. Kiku swept his hand through Yao's hair once more. Kiku put his lips to Yao's head and decided he should just say it, even if Yao couldn't hear him. His tears fell into Yao's hair.

"I love you." He cried, his voice softer than a feather. "I love you…" He cried harder when Yao's grip tightened. He knew he had heard, but he couldn't stop. "I love you… I love you, Yao."

.

The nurses hadn't been happy when they walked in to give Yao his dinner, but they practically glowed in happiness and excitement when Kiku asked them, his voice worn and weary, to just let it go, just for once.

They had sighed but agreed, just this once. Once they had left Kiku sat on his bed massaging his throat.

"Is it weird?"

Kiku turned to Yao, who for once was on his own bed, and smiled. "Yeah." He dropped his hand. "But I'm sure I will get used to it." Yao stood and walked over to sit next to Kiku. He heaved out a long, heavy sigh. He looked at Kiku, his eyes red and puffy.

"I hope you do." Kiku leaned closer.

"Why?" He whispered. Yao smiled and leaned closer as well.

"I want to hear you."

Hey! This is just my little collection of hospital one shots, purely for your enjoyment!