Thanks to lovemail and Jodie for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

SpaChu: Death and Life

I've been alone for years. When I was a young child, a witch cursed me. Anything I touched would instantly die. My parents sent me to live in our villa in the countryside. There used to be servants to take care of me, but they had all left. They were too scared to be around the personification of death.

And then, my mother sent me a letter. They found someone willing to take care of me. But after five years of being alone, I didn't need anyone else. And I knew that this person would leave me soon enough.

…

Antonio watched the man as he walked up to him. He was smaller than him, and he looked exotic. Then again, Antonio had mostly seen himself in the mirror and the occasional deliveryman who brought his food to him. He didn't know much about other people.

The man smiled to him and bowed slightly. Antonio shifted, watching him wearily.

"Good day," the man said. "My name is Yao Wang. I've been sent to act as your helper."

"Antonio Carriedo," Antonio introduced. "Are you aware of what you've signed up for? The danger you're in just for being near me?"

"I've been told of your curse."

"Then you should know how stupid you are."

To prove his point, Antonio reached out to a nearby tree. Instantly, the tree started to wither, and anyone could see that it had died. He glared at Yao, who only watched in fascination.

"So, does it affect any living thing you touch?" Yao said. "How do you eat fruits and vegetables?"

Antonio balked. He'd just demonstrated how potent his power was, to the point that he could instantly kill plants and that plants were also included in the conditions of his curse, and Yao wanted to know about vegetables?

"I don't," Antonio said. "I haven't found a way to eat them without them rotting in my mouth."

Antonio spun around and went back inside. He suspected that Yao would leave before the end of the month. And then Antonio would be alone again.

…

Antonio stared at his plate. What looked to be orange slices were on the plate, along with some sort of strange puree. He looked up at Yao, who was looking at him expectantly.

"What is this?" Antonio asked.

"See if this works," Yao suggested. "I tried to get the vegetables to be 'less alive', and the oranges went through a preservation process. I can also try fruit juice."

Antonio stared at Yao for a few seconds before he picked up one of the orange slices. He was waiting for it to rot, but that didn't happen. He frowned, before hesitantly taking a bite. His eyes widened as he stared at the plate.

"I… So, this is what oranges taste like?" Antonio asked.

"So… is it working?" Yao asked.

"…Perhaps. So, is this your idea to get fruit in my diet?"

"Yes. And I hope that the puree is a good way to give you vegetables."

Antonio poked the green mush with his fork before he scooped some up and popped it in his mouth. He tasted something sweet, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that he didn't taste anything rotten.

"Did you add honey to this?" Antonio asked.

"That's right," Yao said. "Do you mind?"

"No. It's nice. Gives it extra flavour. But it doesn't taste rotten, so I guess this passes."

"Great. So, it looks like we need to keep you away from fresh fruits and vegetables and only give you processed foods. Would that work?"

Antonio swallowed the second mouthful he took and nodded.

"You seem to be the expert," Antonio said. "I'll leave it in your hands."

…

Weeks passed, and Antonio was starting to feel more and more comfortable with Yao. The other gave him a wide berth, but it didn't seem as though it was out of fear. Yao was respectful towards Antonio, and his fear that he would accidentally touch Yao and kill him. Antonio found it to be a huge relief when he saw that Yao didn't flinch whenever he was near, like all of the past servants used to do.

Which was why Antonio completely panicked one day.

Yao was washing the floor, and Antonio didn't realise that it was wet when he was passing by. Antonio slipped, and he heard Yao cry out in alarm. When Antonio settled and he felt something warm beneath him, his eyes widened when he realised what it implied.

"No," he moaned, scrambling upwards. "No, no, no, no…"

Yao hissed, before he sat up.

"Are you alright?" Yao asked.

"You… I touched you, so why…?" Antonio sputtered. "Why aren't you dead?"

Yao gave a small, sad smile.

"You're not the only one with a curse," Yao said. "I haven't been able to die for the last four hundred years."

A fog descended over Antonio's mind, and he struggled to get one coherent thought. Eventually, he could only say one thing.

"Huh?"

Yao chuckled, pushing himself to his feet.

"I heard rumours about you," Yao said. "And so, I applied for the job. Your parents know about my curse, which is why they were more than happy to send me to you."

Antonio recalled the letter his mother had sent. We found you the perfect companion to help you in the villa. Was this what she meant? Was Yao the perfect companion to him… because he wouldn't be killed by Antonio's curse?

Yao smiled, before he took Antonio's hand. Antonio wanted to yank it away. He was so used to doing everything in his power to not touch another person. But he couldn't help but take pleasure in the sensation. It had been far too long since he last felt the warmth of another person.

"A part of me hoped that your curse was strong enough to undo my own," Yao explained. "And that I would be able to see my family again after four hundred years. But another part realised how lonely a curse like this could be. To never feel the touch of another… To have people want to be far away from you out of fear… And when I realised how young you are, and how young you were when you were cursed… I thought that, maybe, I could help undo your loneliness. That's at least some meaning in this long life of mine."

Antonio didn't realise that tears were streaming from his eyes. He placed his other hand on Yao's and smiled.

"Thank you," he whispered. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

…

Yao smiled as he cooked lunch. Ever since the day when Antonio realised that Yao was also cursed, he had been very affectionate. Yao could understand it. It was the first time in years that Antonio could touch someone without the fear that he would snuff out their life. Antonio had years of loneliness and not having physical contact to make up for.

Antonio wasn't the first cursed person that Yao had met. There were many people out there, all with different curses that forced them to be alone. Yao had seen first-hand the joy on their faces when they would find that there were exceptions to the conditions of their curses. And so, Yao was patient when Antonio would come up and suddenly hug him.

And speaking of which…

Antonio's arms wrapped around him from behind. Yao smiled as Antonio placed his head on his shoulder.

"What are you making?" Antonio asked.

"Chicken, and I added some orange juice and dried vegetables," Yao said. "I've also got some bread in the oven. There's going to be a lot of sauce."

"Sounds great!"

And Antonio did something he'd never done before: he kissed Yao's cheek. Yao froze, before he turned to Antonio, whose eyes widened.

"I… I have no idea why I did that," Antonio said. "Just… forget that it happened."

Yao watched as Antonio fled. He sighed. He wondered if it was just a simple infatuation, caused by Antonio's joy. It could fade, so Yao shouldn't be too optimistic. He'd loved and lost too many times. And though it hurt, he never regretted it. But if it was just a fleeting infatuation, he shouldn't take advantage of Antonio's feelings. If Antonio was truly infatuated, and it wasn't just fleeting, then Yao would decide where they would go from there.

The prompt is: 'Imagine person A of your OTP having the burden of killing everything they touch, and person B having the burden of never dying.'

I also took some cues from the anime The duke of death and his maid. And the question of fruit and vegetables just popped into my mind.