A/N: I uploaded this onto DA a while ago and didn't realize until today that I hadn't put it here, too. Whoops! Anyway I have way more written than this and now I'm trying to figure out how to end it. I should probably upload what I have though and not wait until it's finished, because at the rate I'm going who knows how long it will be. Probably next decade.

IV.

Russia woke up groggy and still kind of full. But it was morning, and morning meant breakfast. He showered, found a shirt and pants that went on with little difficulty (he only had to suck in his stomach to button them as opposed to awkwardly shuffling and rolling around on his bed), grabbed a bottle of German-made beer (he'd found it a few weeks ago in his desk, God knows what it was doing there) off of his shelf, and went downstairs to see the state of Prussia.

He was sleeping, sprawled out on the couch with his mouth open, snoring loudly. His shirt was riding up a bit, and from this angle his stomach still looked a bit swollen from the night before. Russia felt he was being optimistic when he hoped the swelling would yield pudge. That man had a fast as hell metabolism. He'd have to make sure Prussia was constantly eating if he wanted him to gain anything.

Russia let the bottle drop onto Prussia's stomach and flicked his head, as he sing-songed "Wake up, Gilbert!"

Prussia sputtered pulled away, causing him to hit his head on the arm of the couch. "What the fuck was that for?" he asked, rubbing his head.

From the kitchen where he was pouring himself a small shot of vodka to help him wake up, Russia called out, "Did you see what I found? I don't know why I had it, but you can have now it if you want!"

Prussia groaned. "Maybe later. It's too early to start drinking. People only drink in the morning if it's a holiday or they're an alcoholic."

Russia choked on his shot. "Y-yeah." He hoped the clinking of glass wouldn't be heard as he put the glass and bottle away. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Nothing."

"You can't have nothing for breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day! How about I make some blini?"

"I don't want any. Gott im Himmel I'm full."

Russia walked to the couch, where Prussia was sitting up and rubbing his stomach. He frowned. "Gilbert. You will eat what I cook for you. Understand?" When Prussia rolled his eyes but still nodded, Russia brightened up. "How about we go food shopping today? We can find you some German food. Russian is the best, but I understand if you want something you're used to."

"How generous," Prussia grumbled. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Don't be long!"

Prussia didn't fight nearly as much at breakfast as he had the night before. Perhaps he was tired, but he ate enough that his stomach was newly swollen and hidden under a loose T-shirt. Russia wondered how many of these meals they would need to have before something stuck.

After breakfast, as promised, they went grocery shopping. Sort of. Russia called to get his car towed and fixed, as neither he nor Prussia could figure out how to fix it. Russia also had some business to take care of with his boss, so the plan was for Prussia to drop him off at his boss's office, then drive to the nearby shopping center and get what he wanted. Russia would join him when he was finished.

And he did. Soon after Prussia dropped him off, Russia came striding down the snack aisle. "That was fast."

Russia grunted in response.

"How did it go?"

"It's really none of your business."

"Guess it didn't go too well then, huh?"

"Are you almost done?" Russia snapped.

A bit taken aback, Prussia replied, "Sure, I just need to get...ah, nope, already got it. Yeah, I'm done."

They paid and loaded the stuff into the car, all while Russia sulked and got increasingly angry. Prussia sped back to Russia's house in hopes to get out of the small confines of the car before Russia let loose.

Prussia let the groceries sit in the car when they got back to the house, choosing instead to chase Russia in hopes of catching him before he vanished in the large expanse of the house. Talking him down now would be easier than cleaning up the mess later, Prussia knew. He managed to grab Russia on the stairs. "Now will you tell me what happened with your boss?"

Russia shook Prussia off, causing him to stumble backwards down the stairs. "It doesn't matter! He didn't tell me anything I didn't already know! I…" He seemed to run out of steam, and fell heavily into a seating position on the stairs. He stared at a spot on the floor, clenching and unclenching his fists and jaw.

"Okay, I'm going to make lunch, and then we'll talk, ja? But remember, he won't be your boss forever. Humans don't live that long."

Once lunch was prepared and the table set, Prussia fetched Russia from the stairs. He hadn't moved, though his breathing had evened out some. "I made wurst and potatoes. Your place is already set. I figured you wouldn't want beer but wanted something alcoholic so I put vodka down, okay?"

Russia nodded and Prussia went back to the eating area, where Russia joined him soon after. They sat down, and Prussia said, "Now, tell me what happened with your boss."

Russia stared at his plate for a few moments before speaking. "I walked in and handed him the papers, the resolution drafts, he needed. That's all it should have been! But he stopped me, made me turn around, take off my coat, give him a good look at me, and I - I knew what was coming and let it happen. You've gotten fat, he says. I can't have my country be fat. It makes me look bad. And I - he said he couldn't have a fat slob representing him, that my clothes don't fit, I don't care how I look and how are others supposed to fear and respect me if I don't look powerful? But you know what," he paused to take a gulp of his vodka, squeezing the glass so it groaned, "Fuck him. I had the biggest military in the world, was the most powerful, and do you know what it got me? Nothing. No one will even look my direction anymore. They're all afraid of me. I don't want that. I lost all my friends and now I'm going to do what I want and I want to eat."

"Wow, uh." Prussia said as Russia dug in. "Okay?"

Russia looked at him. "And so are you."

"What!?"

"If you want to stay here, you will be eating all the time. You won't be done until you can't fit in your clothes anymore, until you have to borrow mine."

"Okay, well, first of all that's insane, and secondly that'll take forever 'cause you're huge."

Russia smiled, showing more teeth than necessary. "I saw you at breakfast today. You liked eating more than you could handle. It felt good, didn't it, being overfull? I could tell you liked it."

"Well, okay, yeah it felt good but not all the time! It's not fun if you do it too much."

"But it will be fun! And if you really don't want to, you can always leave."

"Yeah, well, I can't really. Remember, I have no where else to go."

"I'm sure that's not true," Russia mused as he went back to his meal.

They ate in silence for a few moments before Prussia spoke again. "Hey, Russia?"

"Hm?"

"You may have put on some weight, but it doesn't look bad or anything. It looks good on you. It's cute."

Russia blushed deeply and hummed. "Finish your meal, Gilbert. I'm sure you'll look also look cute when you get fat."