Author's note

Merrryyyyy Christmas and Happpppppyyyyy Holidays! I really wanted to write something special for Christmas, but it was kind of challenging cause ya know...

covid.but! I was able overcome that writing hurdle, and here we are!! sorry if this feels rushed or OOC, I tried my best to stay true to the characters!

*Disclaimer!*

I (sadly) do not own Hetalia, all of the credit goes to Hidekaz Himaruya! The only thing I own is the storyline!

The countries do see each other in this, but please be aware that they are immortal, you are not. Make sure exercise caution in your Holiday festivities this year, wear a mask to protect yourself and others, and follow your local Covid guidelines!

with that said, please enjoy and give a review, which would be highly appreciated!

God Jul!

-WindowsXP2005

November 27th, 2020

Ahhh, Christmas time. The most wonderful time of the year. At least, that is what it usually was. Not with this Covid stuff, anyway. I was sitting in my kitchen eating some toast, with Mr. Puffin next to me, eating some fish from a can. It was two days before the first Sunday in Advent, the beginning of my Christmas season.

It is usually a very important day for me and my brother, Lukas, when he travels from his country to help me light the Christmas tree that his government sends every year from Oslo. It's difficult to get together this year though, as we are all pretty much sick.

You'd think that the whole "Nation Immorality" thing would give us some protection from the virus, but no, EVERYONE is sick. I am one of the healthiest out of all the nations, but my slight cough and low energy were noticeable.

My family is worse, though. Lukas, Tino, and Matthias all have horrible colds, and Berwald is even worse, showing intense flu symptoms. It's all Covid, in a sense, but not caused by contracting the virus. We are getting sick because people are dying and getting sick. My country doesn't have as many people as they do, so I'm not as bad. The only upside to that fact is that we can't give it to each other or infect our citizens. Even so, our governments want us personifications to stay inside so we don't scare people with our illness, so that's what I'm doing. Eating toast. Doing nothing.

I wasn't the only one in a bad mood though, Mr. Puffin hadn't spoken to me except for a forced

"good morning".

Ha, he's probably annoyed that I kept him up last night when I was gaming with Leon on my computer. But Leon is sick too, so I'm letting him sleep a while before I bug him again. After finishing my toast, I went into my living room and flopped on my couch. Another day of nothing… or was it?

My phone buzzed. It wasn't a news alert, but a text.

"Hey Lillebror, as you know, I will not be able to attend our annual tree lighting. Very sad, I always enjoy it. But it would still make me happy to see my lillebror, so I want you to come to my house next weekend. I've already talked to your boss about it."

Why is he always so long-winded? Such a pain, I don't like flying when I'm sick. And he asked my boss? Ah, he can be so embarrassing sometimes. But, even I like being around my brother during the holidays, as much as he pesters me.

"Yeah I'll be there. Will Denmark be joining us?"

Matthias always had his way of inviting himself to Nor's house anytime he pleased.

"Most likely. I have something special planned, so please bring your earbuds. The noise-canceling ones."

What? Noise-canceling earbuds?

"Why?" Nor can be so strange.

"You'll see."

Of course he withholds the details. And he's sick too, so whatever he's planning it better not kill us.

"What's ya bro talkin about?" Mr. Puffin asked as he landed on my couch.

"I have no idea."

"The tree?"

"Nah," I coughed a little as I replied.

"Just some plan of his." I turned off my phone and set it on my chest.

"Hey Iceland, can we watch a Christmas movie? Those always cheer ya up when you're down."

"Sure." And I flicked on the TV.

Two days later, November 29th, in Reykjavik

Today is tree lighting day. I'm in a room facing the tree, so I got to see all the people gathered around it. Not as much as last year, but I'm still happy that some people came out to see it.

This is all because of me and my brother, I thought. People get together each year in this spot just because Nor gives me a tree. I don't like to get fired up or emotional, but somehow the holiday season always gets to me. These moments are my favorite out of the whole year. I wish Nor was here to do this with me.

Bzzt. Bzzzzzt.

I picked up my ringing phone.

Video call from Norway.

I positioned my phone up and answered. Lukas appeared on my screen, sitting in front of his computer.

"Hello, Lillebror, how are you?"

"Hi Nor, I'm good."

"You're at the tree?"

"I am." I turned the camera so he could see out my window.

"Why are you inside?"

"They didn't want my cough to alarm people." I sighed.

"At least you still get to light it. Next year I'll be there."

"I know, I know." I laid on my arms, watching the wind rustle the pine branches.

"It's just not the same without you here."

"Aww, my lillebror misses me so much!" Norway said with a smirk. I shot him a look.

"Don't ruin the moment!" He can be so embarrassing. A door opened behind me, and a lady in a mask peeked inside.

"It's time, Mr. Emil!" I gave her a nod.

"I'll count down with you." Norway offered.

"Five,"

"Four,"

"Three,"

"Two,"

"One!"

I pressed the button in front of me, and the tree lit up. A cheer rose from the crowd. I heard some music start to play while the shouting died down.

"Good job, Icey." Norway praised. I smiled at the excitement.

"Now Ice, about next week." I turned my attention to my brother.

"You will have to bring all the Christmas gifts you've bought for the family and Tino's birthday. Also, bring heavy clothing."

"Are we seeing people? I thought it was just going to be me, you, and Den?"

"You'll see. It will be very fun."

"What about the restrictions?"

"We won't be over 10 people, and we can't transmit it to each other anyway."

"Ok," I shrugged.

"I'll be ready."

"Good. Now go sleep, Lillebror, don't stay up all night."

I rolled my eyes at his concern. I'm not a child!! "Yes, yes, goodnight Norway."

"Goodnight, Emil."

Video call ended, 13:46.

I put my coat on but didn't leave yet. There were still a lot of people, so I felt nervous. So instead I sat back and waited, gazing at my tree and my people, feeling the Christmas magic in the air.

One week later, December 4th, in Oslo, Norway.

I stepped off my plane and took a breath of the frosty Norwegian air.

"Icey! Icey!!" A raspy, excited voice called from the end of the staircase.

"Hi, Denmark. Hi, Norway." I said as I got to the bottom. Compared to me, they were sick. Denmark's voice was hoarse and his lungs were congested, and Norway seemed tired and sniffily, but they apparently were still loud enough to attract attention from the cargo-loading people. Embarrassing.

"Hello, Emil. How was your flight?" Norway asked. I wasn't going to tell him that I hated it and my head was aching, thankfully the flight attendant had medicine or I think I would have literally died. Waking back up in my bed at home would be a waste of time and would probably cause some volcano to erupt, which is the last thing I need to deal with right now.

"Fine. You were right, it is very cold today." I remarked as we walked to Nor's car.

"I almost fro-*COUGH*-ze in the car, Ice! You won't believe how cold Lukas's house is," Denmark said. "He and Russia could have a freeze-off!"

We got in the car, Matthias and Lukas in the front and me in the back.

"Nor, Nor! Can *COUGH* we turn on some music!?"

"No, if you start singing, you will lose your breath and I don't want to have to bring you to the hospital."

"Fine. Have it your way! Ooh, Icey did I tell you about wh- *COUGH* -at I did last Saturday? You'll never bel- *COUGH* -ieve it…"

And I realized exactly why Lukas told me to bring the headphones. Thankfully, Denmark is in the front seat, so he won't see me drifting off to sleep while listening to my playlist.

"Lukas, are we going to your house?" I asked, speaking over Matthias.

"Yes, we will sleep there tonight then depart in the morning."

"Ahhhh, I wish I knew where you're taking us!!" Denmark chimed in.

"He told me to bring my presents too, Ice. Are we gonna see Sve, Fin, and Peter!?"

Norway just smiled and kept driving. "Maybe." He sniffed. "I'll tell you later, but you won't be able to tell Emil."

"You're telling him?! Matthias can't keep a secret even if you paid him, and those are your words!" I shot back.

"I can keep secrets! Remember that time…" And there he went. Nor looked back and winked at me, giving me the signal to tune Den out. I popped in my earbuds and began to rest.