– Blin![1]

I got scared when I woke up with precisely that pair of violet eyes looking me in the dark, at most a hand away from mine.

– Russia! What's happening? – I exclaimed, quietly.

– Happens that you are ice-cold – he grumbled, worried. – I think you've got hypothermia.

– Hyp-pothermia? Don't b-be a fool! – I said, trembling from the top of the head to the tiptoes under the thick pile of blankets.

– Vodka? – he offered me again his pocket flask. I nodded "no" with my head. - For medicinal purposes! – he insisted. I nodded negatively again, and he sighed. He looked to the lit fireplace, to the blankets. – You don't leave me a choice – he said, walking around the bed. – Move over.

I obeyed, feeling the mattress sink with the new weight. I goggled in the dark when Russia stretched an arm and draw me near. I felt like Finland in the episode 17 of Hetalia World Series, with the difference that I was liking it. I tell you, the cold went away really quick. Who seemed a little awkwardly was Russia. He was breathing noisily and it looked like he was doing everything not to meet my eyes. I took the opportunity to observe him freely.

He was awake, staring at the ceiling, his cheeks lightly blushed. I had an urge to kiss him, but I refrained myself because I know this would terrify him, considering Belarus. He was shy, that little thing. Oh, well, not so little in fact. I laid my head on his chest, feeling the softness of the flannel pajama, and I heard his heart pounding beyond the normal rhythm. Honestly, how could anyone be afraid of him, how could they hate him? In fact he was overbearing, but like a spoiled and selfish kid, he didn't do that for bad, just because he hadn't been educated. His nature was affectionate and protective, but they never give him a chance to show it.

Who knows... Maybe I could educate him? I could change him. Teach him to control his impulses, to measure his attitudes. And then the other countries would know him and like him.

– Ivan – I asked quietly. – Would you like to change?

– Change? – he repeated, also whispering. – What do you mean?

– Well... – I didn't know properly how to start. – Sometimes you scare people a bit.

– Oh, this. Do you mean, change my manners so that people won't get afraid of me anymore? – pause. – Then I would have friends? – he asked, interested, staring at me and tilting his head like a bird… a giant bird.

– That's the idea. But you have to eliminate some of your habits that are not very healthy.

– Like...?

– Like this – I whispered, sliding my hand until the pocket of his shirt, while he held his breath, and fishing the flask of vodka. I lifted the flask to the level of his eyes, and received a small and malicious smile back.

– I think I will not relinquish this – he murmured, smiley.

– Well, you could at least decrease consume – I begged. – And there are other things… You could at least listen when someone contradicts you. You don't even ponder the person's reasons.

– Contradict... – he repeated, slowly, as if testing the word. I goggle. My God, maybe this term not even existed in his vocabulary? But then he laughed, and I saw he was making fun of me. – Say, Erika, why should I do that? Ignoring avoids so much discussion that you couldn't even imagine.

My chin dropped; Ivan lifted it with a finger, laughing quietly. He was even cuter, if this is possible. I babbled:

– B-but discussions are necessary sometimes… to keep balanced relationships. No one likes to be ignored. You must yield to the will of the other, from time to time.

Ivan said nothing. He looked at me serenely for a long time, until I started to feel awkward. I don't know if he was thinking about what I had just said; he had dressed that unreadable expression that was very his. But I guess that he was. Finally, he yawned. He was tired, and that's exactly what seemed.

– Sleep, Erika, da? – he whispered, closing his eyes and pressing me slightly so that I, who had uplifted to talk with him, would lay down again. I snuggled up closer to him, who shuddered again.

– Spasibo... – I murmured, sleepy, thanking for... well, for everything.

I received a fake snoring for an answer.

When I woke up in the next day, I looked to the side of the bed in which Russia had been, and found a plushy of a panda instead!

[1] Literally, "Pancake!"; in the coloquial form, "Shit".

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