It started with a sniffle. As the day progressed, it got even worse. Amelia got a runny and stuffy nose, and she used about five boxes of tissues to help clear her sinuses, but failed. She started coughing and sneezing like there was no tomorrow. Come night, she tried to get up from her bed and collapsed back down, as she was too lightheaded and dizzy to even move. She fell asleep and hoped she would feel better by morning, but sleeping only made it worse. To say it lightly, she felt like absolute shit. She was not going to the meeting that day and, of course, didn't bother to let the other nations know that she wouldn't be attending.
Being observant was often considered one of his most valuable aspects. Arthur could agree on that to this very day, what with taking note of Amelia's peculiar downward spiral on behavior. Plus skipping the world meeting when she could use her agonizingly loud voice to blast ridiculous but somehow sentimental opinions on what everyone else should be doing- of course, never herself. Which led him to believe that this was an appropriate time to step in between this unusual behavioral pattern and his booted feet at her doorstep, shamrock irises trained on the wooden door. "Amelia?" The Brit called out, tapping on the door.
The American didn't answer, nor did she hear him to begin with. She just simply put it off as something in the house - Hero (Americat) knocking something over, or something simply falling. Even though she didn't answer, the door slowly opened, meaning that she didn't even bother to lock the door in the first place.
Immediately a look of worry came across his face as the barrier between them creaked, sliding open without any trouble. Gritting his teeth, he walked inside of the house with his body slowly tensing at the gloomy atmosphere. "Amelia!" Shutting the door behind him by kicking it back with his foot, he charged into the living room in hopes of finding her there.
She turned her body over, wincing, her head pounding. She covered her ears with a pillow she folded from the back of her head in an attempt to block out the noise completely. In a haste to make it to her bedroom the day before without collapsing, she had left her bedroom door open a crack.
Skidding to a stop, he redirected his attention to her bedroom since it was the second most probable place. Glancing from side to side, he eased the door open further to pry his head in. "There you are... As much as I hate to admit it, you had me worried for a second." Taking a step inside, he walked towards her with an annoyed expression. "You could have at least given information on your whereabouts."
She released the pillow from her grasp, replacing it with the many blankets she had thrown on her bed, and pulling them over her head, "Y-You're too loud..." She groaned, her headache getting worse by the second, her voice quiet and raspy from coughing, making her seem like a vulnerable little kitten.
So that was it: over the course of time that she's been absent, she's been sick. More than likely with it getting worse. Rubbing one of his temples, he took a seat beside her with a frown. "Have you eaten anything?" He wouldn't press on dousing her with a million other questions, not yet. Her shape looked to be painful. Instead, Arthur decided he'd take up the position of nursing her back to health.
She shook her head, peeking up from underneath the covers, "N-no... Not for a day... maybe more... I don't remember..." She mumbled, averting her sky blue orbs from his.
"Well, that's no good. Because you're too troublesome for your own good, I'll have to make sure you get better." He kept up the usual attitude between them, but really his tone was leaking with worry. Seeing her in such a down state was different than anything he could recall in the recent years. Plus her immune system never seemed to falter before- there could be a dozen reasons for it to do so now. With a sigh, he stood up and exited the room to go prepare soup in the kitchen (out of a can, so she couldn't make an insulting comment later) and some tea.
She pulled the blanket down a bit more, showing her pale face that was dripping with sweat, though she felt as if she would freeze if she pulled the warm cloth down anymore than it already was, all while watching him as he walked away. She pulled the blankets closer to her weak, shivering body, and she sighed, "O-Okay…"
It didn't take him very long, considering instant soup wasn't complex at all. He made lemon tea just to provide flavor for her, and set everything up along a tray he dished out of her cabinets. Returning to her room after a decent amount of time had passed, he placed the tray down in front of her and stuffed his hands into his pant pockets. "You may not feel up to it, but you need to eat. I'll feed you if you say no."
She slowly sat up, using most of her energy to do so, but somehow still struggling, and eventually just ended up falling back onto the bed, letting her head hit the pillows, "Dammit..." She mumbled, looking up at the ceiling, her face emotionless.
"I'll probably have to feed you anyway at this rate." Arthur spared a ghost of a smirk, dipping the spoon into the bowl of heated soup. "Now, why don't you cooperate for once?"
She sighed once more, the emotionless expression changing into a look of defeat, and she opened her mouth slightly, a light shade of pink dusting her cheeks, but luckily, it was barely visible, due to the fact that her cheeks were already dark red from her sudden illness.
"T-that was easier than expected." He gaped for a couple of seconds before raising the spoon, pushing it towards her mouth.
She closed her mouth on the spoon, swallowing the soup and slowly opening her eyes to look up at him, "You s-say it like it's a bad thing..." She mumbled, the broth polishing her chapped lips.
"Not bad, just... surprising. I couldn't get you to be obedient on a regular basis if I tried." Gathering another spoonful of the soup, he nudged it towards her mouth again. She closed her eyes and ate what was on the spoon again, licking her lips when she swallowed, the light pink color of her dried skin fading to a darker red in response to the moisture. Now it was his turn to blush, awkwardly retracting the spoon while staring at her lips. Of course, he could scold himself on having romantic thoughts about a sick woman, but it was hard to guide his mind in the righteous direction at the moment.
She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, with both curiosity and concern. Had she done something to upset him? Why was he just staring at her like that? "Y-you okay..?" She asked, referring partly to the blush, trying to make it look like she didn't notice his eyes locked on her. With her voice to guide him out of his moment of awe, he rubbed the back of his head.
"Of course I am. Erm... Let's just get you fed, okay?" He got another spoon's worth of soup for her, but this time, he shut his eyes and looked like a terrified virgin. She blinked at him, shrugging it off and eating what was on the spoon once more, looking over at her nightstand.
"Tea..?" She asked him, moving closer to get a good look at the tray.
"It'll soothe your throat enough, but I didn't want it to scorch your tongue." He placed a hand around the glass, estimating the temperature mentally. "It should be fine now." Arthur grabbed the cup by the handle and held it to her lips. "I'll tip it gently, but tell me when to stop, alright?"
She nodded, closing her eyes and drinking some of the tea, pulling away after a few sips. "It sucks that I can't taste anything r-right now..." She sighed, licking her lips again, trying to get every drop of the liquid that she could, for it actually made her throat feel a bit better.
"I think it's a good thing, because I don't want to hear your mouth about how your tea would taste better. Blessings in disguise." He smirked, setting the cup down. There was just enough time for him to catch her licking her lips again, and it made the color in his cheeks return in full glory. "Amelia, cut that out."
"Cut what out?" She asked, looking up at him, an innocent look on her face. What was she doing that was so bad? The blonde was completely clueless.
"E-eh.. Nothing, nothing at all." Revealing his little monitoring of her lip and tongue movements didn't sound like a splendid idea. "Forget I mentioned it."
Amelia giggled, smiling softly, "If you say so..."
Amazing, she even had adorable looks to her when sickly. Her face, despite having paled from lack of outside activity and illness, had a signature rosy red color that went with every facial expression he made. It was hard not to look at her for those little features. His eyes wavered for a moment, as if he was contemplating something but forgot to speak. She finished the soup and tea a few minutes later, laying back down and closing her eyes.
"I feel like I'm d-dying..." She mumbled, taking a few deep breaths, slowly regaining her strength and energy.
"W-why would you say something like that?!" Arthur shouted in alarm, leaning over her to examine her body and face. Nothing really looked out of place- except his body leaning over hers like this.
She looked up at him, blushing softly, smirking a bit, "Aww! Is Arthur worried?" She cooed, hugging him by his waist.
"Worried... aha! You wish I was worried about you! I only asked because that was a ridiculous statement to make." It was probably evident by this point that was far from the truth, but with her arms wrapping around his waist, it shocked him into falling forward and their bodies pressed right against each other.
She giggled again, blushing more and smiling, nuzzling her head against his neck, "C'mon! We both know you're lying!" She teased, not yet retracting her arms from his waist.
"As if." His blush was matching hers as he turned his head, lips accidentally connecting with her cheek. Did she notice it? His heart began to race, eyes nearly wanting to pop out of his head. She blushed darkly, her eyes widening slightly.
She chuckled softly, "That says otherwise..." She said, her breath tingling against his neck.
"I-if it weren't for your antics, we wouldn't have ended up like this in the first place." He raised his head, looking down at her heated face. It wasn't a horrid sight at all. His mind wanted to keep a photograph of it so he'd never forget, even. She looked up at him, a warm smile on her face.
"Well, you're not trying to get away..."
"...Point proven. I've gathered an insane idea right about now, feel free to bash me later." He mumbled, leaning close to her and pressing his lips against hers.
"What do you me-" She was cut off by his lips, and she blushed madly, her whole face turning to a dark shade of red - it was basically steaming. Her eyes widened in shock at first, but she slowly melted into the kiss, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment, though her face didn't cool down. Arthur didn't know if she'd respond, hell, he didn't even care. Her unintentional show earlier pushed him further into this. In his eyes, her lips were just another trap that he fell for but couldn't conjure up regret at his decisions, only opting to take part in them. Though when she did kiss back, he held onto her on reflex. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, their bodies pressed up as close as they could be to each other. She was positive that her cheeks were a completely new shade of red at that moment, but she didn't mind.
After a moment of so of them staying like this, Arthur pulled away, panting ever so slightly, looking down at Amelia, whose eyes were still closed. "Amelia…" He whispered, his voice full of desire and love, but Amelia never responded. He shook her slightly, "Amelia?" Still no answer.
"Haah… Ughhh…~" She mumbled, her face literally steaming with embarrassment, before she passed out cold from the heat.
"...Well… Shit…"