Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

EgInd: Dentist Appointment

Gupta nervously tapped his foot as he waited to be called, his eyes still trained on the book open on his lap. His tongue absently went to his molar and he flinched. All because of a carrot.

He looked up when he sensed movement, seeing the dentist's assistant smiling at him.

"You may come with me now," she said.

He followed the assistant to the dentist's office. The man smiled to him in greeting.

"You must be Gupta," the dentist greeted. "I'm Raj. A pleasure to meet you."

This was partially the reason why he was so nervous. His old dentist had passed away a month ago, so now he had to find a new one. And this one was about his own age, so he had his doubts. Still, people he spoke to said that this man was quite brilliant.

"You said one of your teeth broke, correct?" Raj asked.

"Yes," Gupta said. "Over in the back."

He used his tongue to gesture, and the dentist nodded his head.

"Yes, I can see," he said. "Alright, let's take a closer look."

As Raj used the mirror to take a closer look at the tooth, Gupta raised his book and got in a comfortable position to read it. Hopefully this would distract him from what was going on.

"What's that you're reading?" Raj asked, and Gupta could tell that it was mostly an attempt to make him more comfortable.

"Egyptian mythology," Gupta replied once the mirror was removed.

"Oh, that sounds interesting! So, you're interested in mythology?"

"Yes, I find it fascinating. I studied anthropology in university."

"Oh, that makes sense."

He was definitely grateful for the book when it came time to numb the area. He was generally alright with needles, but having something like that in such a delicate place wasn't very enjoyable.

They had to wait for a while for the anaesthesia to work, and Gupta was starting to get immersed in the mythology describing the conflicts of Seth and Horus. He didn't react when he heard the assistant laughing, until he managed to hear why she's laughing.

"Reading over his shoulder, are you?" she teased.

Gupta turned his attention behind him, where the other male was scratching his head with red cheeks. Gupta didn't feel offended by this, but considering the book was pretty blunt about the mythologies, and considering the particular topic had a certain… theme, his cheeks immediately turned red as well.

"Well, it's fascinating," Raj defended. "I've always enjoyed mythology myself."

After getting over the embarrassment, the two spoke about the matter for a bit, and Gupta was relieved to find out that what they'd been reading didn't bother him at all, and he urged Gupta to try the Hindu mythology. But once Gupta's speech became difficult, they knew it was time to return to what they were really supposed to do.

It was… horrible. Gupta found himself wincing as Raj worked. Raj seemed to get the hint, for he stopped in favour of taking an x-ray of the tooth. Raj frowned.

"It's deeper than I thought," Raj said. "I'm sorry to say this, but you're going to have to get a root canal."

Gupta whimpered when he heard that. Raj continued with his work, and a few minutes later Gupta tensed again when the needle pierced his gum, except it seemed to go even deeper than before, and it wasn't along the side. Raj carried on, and Gupta actually felt something inside his jaw bone.

"Alright," Raj said after a while. "I gave you a temporary filling, so try not to bite for at least half an hour. You should come back in a few weeks to finish the root canal. I'm also prescribing antibiotics and painkillers, alright? You're not allergic to anything, are you?"

Gupta shook his head, and he watched as the dentist wrote something down. He gave the paper to Gupta and smiled.

"Also, I hope that I'd be able to see you again outside of this office," Raj said. "I enjoyed speaking with you and hope to do so again."

Gupta was surprised, but he nodded again. Despite everything, he did want to see the dentist again. Hopefully without his teeth needing to be fixed.

So, how was everyone's week? Mine, as you can see, inspired this chapter. One of my teeth broke, then I went to the dentist to fix it, only for it to break again while I was eating a carrot, only deeper this time. Drinking water was horrible, and I didn't even attempt anything hot. It was necessary to inject anaesthesia three times before the dentist realised that a root canal had to be done. I also brought a book on Egyptian mythology with me, and I suggest anyone who goes to the dentist should take a book along. It's a great distraction from what's happening inside your mouth. As we were waiting for the anaesthesia to take effect, the dentist's assistant teased the dentist for reading the book over my shoulder. And the book I was reading, and the page… let's just say it's not the version of Egyptian mythology that they would give children to read. The dentist's still young, so we could laugh about it.

Also, the dentist has a tendency to say 'your abuse for the day is over' when she's finished.

Also, we had to laugh at the irony of me needing a root canal because of a carrot. In Afrikaans, both 'root' and 'carrot' are translated as 'wortel'.