Tomato of the Sea
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Warning: AU, Lovi's way of verbally expressing annoyance, male x male pairings, and a very bipolar Gilbird fluttering about.
Here's your obligatory taking care of the sick love interest chapter :)
oOo
After the whole kidnapping/food poisoning fiasco, Alfred became super-protective of Lovino. He wanted to make sure the brunette fully recovered before Alfred let him out of his sight for even an instant. Lovino himself wasn't really sure what to make of it. He had always been fairly healthy and never had someone nurse him back to health with the same intensity as his friend.
"And why are there ginger roots hanging above my bed?" Lovino asked when he was able to actually take in his surroundings (it helped not feeling nauseous every five seconds).
"Old Canton remedy!" Alfred chirped. "It'll help you feel better in no time!"
"Back where I'm from, we hung them over the dead…" Lovino glared at the strange plant.
"Well, you did eat Arthur's cooking recently…" Alfred smirked. "At least this way we're covered both ways?"
"If you have time to joke, you have time to bring me tomatoes," the bedridden brunette pouted angrily.
"We already agreed that you can have tomatoes when you can keep actual food down."
"Porca miseria…"
"Love you too…" Alfred chuckled and ruffled his friend's hair. "Anything I can get you?"
The poisoning victim shook his head.
"Then you get some rest while I make you some soup, 'kay?"
Lovino grumbled some more in his native tongue and burrowed further into the blankets. He wasn't about to let his stupid roommate see the blush that was creeping to his face. Not that it meant anything other than he felt warm. It was a bright, sunny day after all! He was definitely not getting worked up over hearing Alfred drop the L-word, even in a joking way. Bastard.
Confident his buddy was burrowing in for another nap, Alfred walked downstairs to make some soup. He dug around his kitchen quietly, not wanting to wake Lovino during his rest time. Just as he began boiling some water, he heard a knock at the door. Upon opening it, he was surprised to find Arthur standing there.
"I-I'm here to drop this off…" the shorter blonde shoved a sealed container of something into Alfred's arms and quickly looked away. "Normally, I wouldn't bother, but I figured I should check on you and Lovino to make sure you haven't killed him with your inability to take care of a sick person."
"Big talk from the guy who gave him food poisoning," Alfred retorted.
"I…that's…oh, shut up, wanker! Who asked you?!" the librarian fumed. "Just make sure he gets it. It's soup."
"Did you make it or Francis?"
"Well, I offered to, but Francis insisted…" the tsundere blushed slightly.
"Oh, that's a relief," the younger blonde eyed the soup container with hope.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Arthur throttled his son-of-sorts.
"It means that it will be edible!"
"Y-You git! You take that back right now!"
From his bedroom upstairs, Lovino shoved the pillow over his ear to block out all the noise the two idiots were making.
oOo
Not long after lunch, Bella stopped by to deliver a get well basket of fruit from Antonio and herself. It was stuffed to the brim with every fruit imaginable and enough tomatoes to keep even Lovino content for a day or two at least. On the side of the basket was a bright red bow. Because it was expertly tied, Lovino initially suspected it was Bella's work, but once he decided that it was ridiculous and completely unnecessary, he figured it was probably Antonio's doing.
"How are you feeling, Lovino?" the pretty blonde set the basket near his bed and settled on the chair beside him. She'd seen the damage Arthur's cooking could do before. Even just one bite could make a grown man cry…and collapse into seizures…and go into cardiac arrest…and swear off fish and chips forever. She'd heard poor Lovino had several bites…the poor dear must be suffering so much.
Although he normally took the suave look over the puppy eyes, Lovino was desperate. He used all his charm to appear helpless and vulnerable to the doting girl, asking her if she could please hand him a tomato, as if it was the last thing he'd ever eat.
"Of course, Lovino," she smiled. "Here you go."
"You're an angel…" he replied, taking the tomato.
Alfred sighed. Sure, Lovino may have some superhuman ability to eat twice his weight in tomatoes, but not when he was sick to his stomach like this. Weren't tomatoes really citrus-y? That couldn't be good for his stomach. He dug around the basket while Bella and Lovino chatted away happily. Even if tomatoes didn't make him feel better physically, they did wonders for the brunette's mood.
"Hey Bella, what are these?" Alfred held up a small, round fruit with hairy brown skin.
"Those are kiwi," she answered back.
"Are they healthy?"
"Sure, it has more vitamin C than even oranges."
"Thanks," Alfred nodded, tossing it into a pile of possible soup ingredients for later.
"What's that pile for?" Lovino eyed the random selection of fruit growing near the foot of the bed.
"Soup."
"I'm not hungry anymore."
In the end, Bella had to return to work, no matter how much Lovino begged her to stay. She gave her adorable little brother a kiss on the cheek and told him to get some rest, promising that 'Toni and Big Sis' would drop in again soon. Deciding that having two airheads instead of one would be dangerous to his mental health (especially if Bella couldn't make it and the airheads outnumbered the sane people), Lovino made it his new mission to get better as quickly as possible. He started out by taking another nap to build up more strength. It wasn't until later that he realized his mistake - leaving Alfred to his own devices in the kitchen.
"Wake up, Lovino~!" he called out brightly. "I made you something to eat!"
Lovino didn't know what it was, but could tell from the scent that he wouldn't like it. He chose to keep up his 'sleeping' act.
"I know you're awake; you're scowling."
Dammit.
Lovino could hear the smirk in Alfred's voice. Stubbornly, he refused to open his eyes and acknowledge him as long as the blonde had whatever he was trying to pass off as food in his hands.
"If you don't wake up, I'm gonna kiss you like Sleeping Beauty..." Alfred warned him, stifling a laugh when he saw Lovino squirm under the pile of blankets. The way he stubbornly forced his eyes to stay closed with a pout was too cute. Alfred couldn't help but tease him sometimes.
"Y-You wouldn't..." Lovino's voice was muffled by some of the blankets, but he still kept his eyes squeezed shut.
"Try me," Alfred dared him.
"You're bluffin—" the patient was cut off by his doctor pressing a soft kiss on his forehead.
"What the hell?!" Lovino shouted, now fully awake and tossing a pillow at his laughing friend that was easily dodged. "You actually kissed me!"
"And I brought you soup~!" Alfred proudly held up a bowl full of...something. "Am I a good doctor or what?"
oOo
Just before the sun set, Matthew dropped by with soup ingredients. They never talked about it, but he and Francis had an unspoken agreement to be the ones to make soup and the like for whoever was sick in their family. They didn't want to risk Arthur or Alfred attempting to help and make the illness worse. Whenever Francis caught the flu, he credited Matthew with his quick recovery and praised him on his Get Well Soup. The winter when both of them got sick was one of the worst. Arthur's attempt at soup turned a simple cold into a new strain of the black plague. Alfred's soup was at least edible, but he seemed to add whatever looked interesting to the brew (noodles, potatoes, apples, chocolate, milk, an entire jar of pepper…).
"What's with you and Francis thinking I can't make a simple bowl of soup?" Alfred asked with a slight frown.
"When's the last time you made some?" Matthew smiled.
"Uh…does it count if Lovi didn't actually eat it?"
"There you go."
"I was just never sick is all, so I might be a little out of practice, but I can still make soup for Lovino!" he persisted.
"Why don't you let me this time?"
"But I—"
"Please?" Matthew set the food down on the kitchen counter. "I insist."
"Fine, but I still don't see why neither of you trusts me to make something as easy as soup," the blonde huffed.
"Because you inherited your cooking skills from Arthur!" his younger brother laughed.
"What the hell, bro? We're adopted!"
Matthew only laughed again.
After the hearty, health-restoring soup was made, they brought it up to Lovino.
"M-More soup, bastard?" Lovino eyed it warily. His previous experience with what Alfred called soup had made him cautious. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as the evil librarian's cooking, but he was pretty sure kiwi fruit (hairy skin and all) had no business being in any culture's soup.
"It's okay, I made it this time," Matthew smiled.
"Oh, thank god," Lovino let out the breath he was holding, grateful to the calmer, culinary-gifted of the brothers.
Alfred pouted as Matthew set the tray beside the bed with a laugh. He then proceeded to scoot a wooden stool over. Gently, Matthew blew on a spoonful of soup, holding a hand under it in case any spilled. He offered it to the brunette with a careful hand.
"Here you go, Lovino."
"Huh?" the green-eyed boy sat up on the pillow mountain Alfred assembled for him.
"Say 'ahh…'" the quieter of the brothers smiled.
"W-What?" Lovino jerked away, slightly flustered.
"You have to eat to keep your strength up…" Matthew blinked, confused as to why the other boy was acting so strangely. This was what Francis had taught him to do and it worked out well so far on Arthur, Alfred, and Gilbert.
"I can feed myself, dammit!"
"But…you're sick, eh?" the soft-spoken blonde tilted his head.
Picking up on his friend's discomfort, Alfred jumped into action, quickly dragging his brother out the door.
"Well, thanks for your help with the soup, Mattie!"
"But he needs to eat it to—"
"Yep! I'll make sure he does!" the taller of the two ushered him out the door. "You go home and hang out with Gilbert."
"Are you sure, you—"
"Bye, bro! Seeya later!" he shut the door and walked back to Lovino's side.
"Thanks, bastard," the poisoning victim sighed in relief. "That was really embarrassing and—"
"Say 'ahh…'" Alfred offered him the spoon, a huge smile on his face.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"
oOo
After another two days of resting, Lovino was able to get around fine. He wasn't sure what motivated him more – eating all the tomatoes he wanted or being able to take over cooking duties from Alfred. Either way, he made a steady recovery and told Alfred to go back to work. No point in making him lose work to be stuck taking care of him any longer.
"But I want to make sure you're okay…"
"I'm fine," he insisted, rolling his green eyes.
Alfred nodded, but was still worried. He could remember the moment his blood ran cold upon seeing the note left on the table. Even if it was just Arthur, he recalled Lovino saying he thought he felt someone watching him earlier…it might be real after all.
"So you'll go back to work tomorrow?"
"Yep," the blonde beamed. "As long as you come with me."
"Wait, what?"
"It's a compromise!" he grinned. "If you hang out with me while I'm at work, I won't have to worry about you!"
"T-That's stupid!" Lovino protested. "And you…you don't have to say crap like that! I'm not a kid you have to worry about or something! I can take care of myself, dammit!"
"I know you can, but this would make me feel a little better…" Alfred flopped on the couch next to him. "So please…?"
"N-No way, stupid jerk!" Lovino crossed his arms and faced the opposite direction. He wasn't about to be swayed by Alfred's childish pleading or baby blue eyes.
"Pleeeeease…?" the hero rested his head gently over Lovino's.
"I said no, already!"
"I won't call you 'Lovi' for the entire day…"
"You got yourself a deal, bastard!"
oOo
"It's this way, 'Vino! C'mon!" Alfred waved to him excitedly from the top of the hill leading to town.
Of course…he promised he wouldn't call me 'Lovi' because he had some other dumb nickname in mind…bastard…
"Quit your shouting, I'm coming already!" Lovino picked up his pace and met his roommate at the top of the sandy hill. "What's your hurry, anyway?"
"I'm just excited to see you all day again!" Alfred smiled brightly. "And you're feeling healthier, which makes it even better!"
His expression was so genuine, that it wiped the scowl off the tsundere's face and replaced it with embarrassment and wonder. Nobody else had ever had any interest in spending the entire day with him willingly and nobody else was nearly as excited about it. A feeling of warmth bloomed in Lovino's chest and spread to his face, tinting his cheeks a light pink.
Although he mostly stood around and kept Alfred company, Lovino ended up going with the Hero of Canton to all his various jobs. He watched a pair of kids rush over and nearly tackle Alfred in the process of giving him hugs. Apparently, the blonde had fixed up their secret fort after a rough storm destroyed it a few weeks back. Alfred was rewarded by being the only adult allowed in it after he repaired it.
After that, an elderly couple passed by and thanked Alfred for looking after their horses while they were away on a business trip. They insisted he should stop by more often, he's welcome to ride any of the horses whenever he wanted. Noting Lovino, they extended the invite to him, encouraging Alfred to bring his friend as well.
They barely made it from one job site to the next without somebody stopping by to say hi to Alfred and thank him for some task he had done to help them. Alfred was cheerful, but never obnoxious about it, telling each person it was no trouble since it was his duty as the Hero of Canton to help others out. Okay…maybe he was still cheesy, but his hero obsession didn't seem as obnoxious to Lovino as it once had. Maybe he was finally getting used to it? Everyone else had, apparently. It was easy to see why the people adored Alfred so much, but he deserved it.
By the time it was mid-afternoon, the duo had arrived at job number four – fixing Tino's broken bakery sign. The baker had the large wooden sign ever since he opened his shop up years ago, so it was no wonder it needed a few touch ups and a new frame to hang from.
"Fixing up the sign holder won't be a problem, but I'm not sure about touching up the paint job on it…" Alfred admitted to Tino. He was better at painting walls and carriages, not intricate letters on signs.
"I can," Lovino spoke up. The others turned to look at him.
"Really?" Tino asked, happy the solution was so simple.
"Doesn't look all that hard…" Lovino glanced at the simple logo on the faded sign. "Shouldn't take me long at all."
"How wonderful!" Tino clapped his hands together. "You two make a good team!"
"That's right!" Alfred placed an arm around the brunette. "You could say 'Vino's like my sidekick!"
"Please don't say that…" Lovino shot Tino a worried look. That was the last thing he needed from the town that probably thought he was weird enough without Alfred giving them fuel for the fire. Fortunately, Tino just laughed and excused himself to get back to work inside the bakery shop.
The two got right down to work after Berwald appeared out of thin air (nearly giving Lovino a heart attack) to drop off the paint Tino wanted them to use for the sign. Alfred was somehow able to understand the strange language the large man spoke/grunted and thanked him before returning to working on the door frame and the metal hanging above it that held the sign. Lovino kept himself busy on repainting the sign, but kept a wary eye out for the giant man in case he came back to scare him half to death again.
"You're really good at that, 'Vino!" Alfred patted his shoulder. He had finished his part of the job awhile ago and entertained himself by watching Lovino work. It was interesting to see the way his friend expertly moved the brush across the dull letters, bringing new life into them with a fresh coat of paint. He was so focused on his project, that he didn't even notice Alfred had used his dreaded nickname.
"This is nothing," Lovino brushed the compliment aside. "Most of the original lettering is still intact; I'm just giving it another coat or two."
"Well, I think it looks great!"
"…Thanks, I guess."
Lovino did his very best to finish up the next coat of paint without turning the same color as the red he was using. He ignored the fact that he was smiling slightly. He couldn't help it if he was still under the weather and Alfred's stupid smiles were contagious.
oOo
At the end of the day, each roommate was carrying home several bags filled with treasures (Lovino learned that some people paid Alfred with food, tools, or trinkets instead of money). The bag filled with fresh bread from Tino's bakery was making the brunette's mouth water. He'd have to make sure they used some for dinner.
"Hey bas-uh, Alfred…?"
"Mm?"
"What was that…uh, experimental dish you were telling me about?" Lovino tried to recall from a previous conversation. "The one with bread, beef, and cabbage combined into a sandwich?"
"Hamburgers?" Alfred asked with a hint of pride. They were his own creation and specialty. He wasn't sure exactly what cabbage was though…was it the same thing as lettuce?
"Yeah, that…" Lovino swallowed before his next sentence. He could very well be signing his own death warrant. "Want to have those for dinner?"
Alfred stared at him in shock for a few seconds. Lovino fidgeted and wondered if he'd somehow broken his friend. Figures that the one time he tries to be nice and reward Alfred for taking care of him, he'd end up short-circuiting the self-proclaimed hero's brain instead.
"Alfred…?" He shifted the two bags he was carrying to one arm and waved his free hand in front of Alfred's unfocused blue eyes.
In response, the blonde dropped both of his bags and scooped up the brunette in a tight embrace. He laughed when the tsundere squeaked a bit in surprise, so he spun him around a few times too.
"You've just made me the happiest man in the whole world!"
oOo
A/N
Here's to hoping Alfred realizes the difference between lettuce and cabbage before their next dinner gets even scarier. XD
Hope you enjoyed the fluff! I try to get the plot back on track and the fluff trumps me every time! It's basically like getting hit over the head with cupcakes and soft bunnies courtesy of Shinatty riding rainbows shouting "FLUFF SMASH!"
Or something.
~Rajikka
Translations
Porca miseria (It.) – Literally "pig poverty" but used in the same way as "dammit"
Tsundere (Jp.) – Arthur Kirkland. Haha, just kidding. (sort of.) A tsundere is a type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. Iggy and Lovi are two good examples of this character.
