ITW: Russia's Sunflower

Cold. Whatever you had landed on was extremely cold.

Slowly you opened your eyes, head still reeling from the fall, and looked around. For a moment you wondered if you were still in that strange tunnel filled with piercing white light, before you finally realized you had landed in a snow bank. Shivering, you sat up and tried to gain a better perspective of your surroundings. Unfortunately, aside from a few tall and lonely trees all you could see was snow.

"Hello?" You called out, cupping your hands in front of your mouth. Damn it was cold. While you loved your usual street clothes, they were for being in your room watching Hetalia, or reading fanfics or inserts. "Russia." You said to yourself. That's right, it was his story that you clicked on. Did that mean you had somehow landed in his country? It seemed like a long shot, but that was the only explanation your brain could come up with that sounded even just a little bit logical.

However, soon you found out that your brain could have no thoughts at all besides 'COLD.' Still trying to get your bearings, and to get your blood flowing, you started walking forward toward the already setting sun. Your breath came out in small, ragged puffs as you marched on, fatigue quickly setting in. You weren't used to this type of cold. You weren't used to bearing the harsh Russian winds, and certainly not without a coat to keep you warm.

"Anybody? Someone please hear me!" You tried calling out again for what felt like the thousandth time. Your voice was choppy, cracked by dry sobs that racked your frame. 'Don't cry.' You thought to yourself desperately. All that would accomplish would be getting icicles on your face. You couldn't afford to get much colder. Noticing the blue tinge that was beginning to appear on the tips of your fingers, a wave of hopelessness fell upon you.

"Please..." You croaked out, collapsing onto the cold and icy ground. White swirled around you, and the screaming wind promised a blizzard. 'Turned into a human popsicle.' You thought sarcastically to yourself. 'Not the way I planned on going out.' Your eyes glassy, you raised them toward the sky and heavens, using what little strength you had to turn yourself over to face the sky, arms out and palms held up.

The last thing you remembered before losing yourself to the bitter cold was the color of deep lavender, and the soft scent of sunflower petals.

Russia looked down at your unmoving form with terror. He had been taking a walk to clear his head of all the terrible rumors he had heard about him at the World Meeting earlier that day. While he hated the cold, he would rather face it to be alone with his thoughts. When he saw you however, laying in the snow, those thoughts of mild annoyance had turned into wild concern. Quickly he rushed over to you, and saw your eyes close just as he reached you.

'She is not one with me.' He thought to himself, meaning that he could tell you weren't one of his citizens. Looking down at your face, eyelashes dusted with snow, he felt a deep blush grow on his cheeks, the first time he had felt warmth in many months. "Come now, stop that!" he scolded himself, and quickly picked up your unconscious form, dwarfed by his massive height. He knew how delicate humans, and even countries, were when faced with General Winter.

Quickly he made his way back to his large mansion. "Lithuania! Latvia! Estonia!" He roared, and the three ran to him in a worried frenzy. "Mr. Russia, who is that?" Estonia asked. Russia looked down at you, still curled up in his arms. "I do not know. I found her lying outside, I think she may have been lost. Prepare one of the empty rooms, find one close to mine. Clean it and make it warm, start a fire in there. Get warm towels, extra blankets, anything she may need. And make a pot of soup...two pots, she may be hungry when she wakes up and I have not had my dinner either." he said.

The three set out and fulfilled the long list of orders, and soon Russia had placed you gently, as though you were made of glass, into the large bed and covered you with thick blankets. The room was right next to his, so he could check on you easily. The fireplace crackled in the corner, and a thermos of hot borscht sat on the bedside table with another thermos filled with hot chocolate. He remembered his big sister Ukraine making it for him once...centuries ago, it had warmed him.

"Is that all you need?" Estonia asked, rising from the opposite side of the bed. "Da, privyet. Is she going to be alright?" Russia asked. Estonia nodded "Her vitals are all normal, heart rate, blood pressure, everything. She's still a few degrees colder than she should, but I'm sure she'll warm up within the hour." the blonde promised, before leaving the room.

Now alone, Russia openly stared at your sleeping figure. Such beauty! What a delicate face in comparison to his own, hardened by cold and cruel people. His breath hitched when you opened your eyes. The two of you stared at each other for a little while before you broke the silence. "I'm in a dream." You mumbled, mind hazy. Pointing at yourself "I'm dream (___), and you're dream Russia." You finished pointing to him. That startled him. The beginnings of a purple aurora formed around him. "Kol...little one, how do you know that?" He asked suspiciously. He'd been hurt too many times not to be suspicious.

By that point your mind had cleared and you quickly stuttered out an explanation. "Ah, I'm sorry! It's just...the countries, they're only characters in my world! I think..." You noticed your backpack was seated on the char across from the room, and you told him to grab it. Inside you showed him the small keychain you had of him with a tiny sunflower, as well as a poster of the allied powers that included him. It wasn't a solid explanation by any means, but it was the best you had.

"So, did you bring me here?" "Da. You were half frozen when I found you little one." You blushed at the newly formed nickname. While you weren't thrilled with the nickname, you didn't mind seeing as it came from your favorite misunderstood country. "Mr. Russia?" "Please, call me Ivan. You seem to know me well enough to do that." The tall man said, childlike smile on his face. You hesitated, grasping the thick sheets in your hands tightly. "Ah, do you wish to stay?" he asked. "Yes please...if you wouldn't mind of course! I mean...I don't have anywhere else to go..." You trailed off as he cupped your face in his gloved hands and planted a soft kiss on your forehead, causing you to blush vibrantly. "Of course little (___)! You shall stay and become one, da?"

"Da...wait what?!"

Six Months Later

"Thank you (___) thank you so much!" Lithuania cried, hugging you tightly. You laughed and patted him on the back before watching him rush out the door with the other two. You had offered to cook dinner for the house that night, relieving them of their last chore of the day so they could go out and take a break. "Phew. Better get cracking then." You said to yourself, before heading to the kitchen.

You hadn't expected Russia's house to be this crazy, but after the first couple of months you got used to it. The Baltics had gotten used to your presence immediately, glad to have someone who could calm down Boss Russia when he got into a mood, and treated you like a sister. Ukraine was nice...even though the first time the two of you met you almost suffocated in her chest while she gave you a crushing hug. Really she was just happy to see her brother with a friend, though the look in her eye and the way she said "friend" suggested something else.

And then there's Belarus. She wasn't the greatest person to have around, and for a few weeks you could have sworn she had been following you everywhere, even the bathroom, which was wrong on many levels in your book. While she didn't like you by any stretch, after half a year you decided that she finally tolerated your presence without constantly thinking of ways to kill you, which was a win.

While you were in the kitchen, humming to yourself as you started making (f/dinner), you noticed out of the corner of your eye Ivan coming up the back steps through the kitchen window. 'Odd, doesn't he always just come through the front door?' You thought to yourself. You knew he had been at a meeting with his boss, and your eyes widened as you saw those big purple eyes, usually so carefree and childlike, glassy with tears. He didn't even notice you standing in the kitchen as he made his way up the stairs to his room. Taking care not to make a sound, you followed him. Through the crack in the door, you could hear a soft rustle and a couple of loud swallows. Vodka.

"Why? Why does no one even try to like me...I'm I really that terrible? Heh...Ivan the terrible." You heard him hiss, before a choked sob escaped. "I'm not really a bad person. (___) likes me. As long as (___) likes me...but what if my little sunflower leaves me too?" he said softly. By this point you had heard enough. You wanted to go in there and hug him, but you could feel the aura coming. Instead, you thought back to an outfit you had asked Poland to make for you on one of his visits to Lithuania. Blushing at the thought, you quietly tiptoed into your room to put it on.

A few minutes later, you knocked at Russia's door. "Ivan? I'm coming in." You called. "No wait, (___) don't-" Too late, you had already opened the door. Whatever words were lying in Russia's throat died on his lips. His eyes going wide as he took in your figure. You had put on a soft yellow coat that went down to your knees, similar to his but for the color. Underneath you wore a pair of dark green pants and shiny brown shoes, along with a brown hat on top of your head. A freshly picked sunflower was pinned to the side. You looked like a giant sunflower.

"(___)." Russia breathed out as you walked toward him, removing the half-empty bottle of vodka from his hand and placing it aside. "I would never leave you." You said softly, embracing him. Ivan felt a glorious warmth seep through his chest at the sight of you...your scent, the way you held him. You and you alone would do those things for him, look at him without any sense of fear at all.

"(___), I love you. Я люблю тебя, мой красивый цветочик." He said, before leaning down and kissing you sweetly. He was bent down, and you strained on your toes to meet his lips as well. They were nice and warm. "I love you too Ivan, so very much. я тебя люблю." You replied.

Later, the Baltics found the two of you sleeping in each others arms. Happy to see their boss with a genuine smile on his face, the three of them left you two alone, and went downstairs to the kitchen. They would call you when dinner was ready.