Russia x reader ~You remembered?~

Chapter 13 [other chapter links below]

Final Chapter

    ~*~

I was feeling slightly delirious.

But I knew that was due to the fact that I barely slept. Or more like didn't sleep at all. I felt fuzzy and alert at the same time, and made a mental note to never pull an all-nighter because staying awake this long -whether it was of my own accord or because of some strange drug-like-thingy- was not worth it.

I wanted to sleep...

I could feel my head bobbing up and down as I would occasionally feel like I was finally going under, before I was pulled back into consciousness with a jerk.

I watched as the storm passed, and as the Sun decided to show itself in the horizon. It still amazed me how fast it rose here near the equator.

I was definitely bored. As soon as I deemed it to be a good enough time to start moving around, I stood up from my perch on the small couch to stretch my legs.

The green bunny stirred awake and looked up at me before moving into the spot I had previously occupied to continue its slumber.

I looked at it with envy burning in my eyes.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but yesterday was a tough day for me.

'I know, right? Yesterday was a day of adventure! We felt like we were submerged under water, or more like it was you who was not really yourself, and as for myself I don't really know-', I interrupted my own thoughts from continuing their litany of words with an extremely exaggerated roll of my eyes.

Mentally, of course.

Well, look who's back? I haven't heard from you in ages.

'Well, that would mean you haven't heard from yourself in ages. You know, our little dialogues are strange, don't you think?', my brain chattered on happily.

Aren't you all chipper today? All talkative and such...

'Anyway, before you so rudely interrupted', my mind glared at me from somewhere, I don't know where. 'After the whole me-feeling-like-I-wasn't-even-there, suddenly we couldn't speak properly anymore. Aaand now you're a mute'.

Now we're a mute. And you forgot the part where we fell from a great height before plunging into rocky waters, I shook my head at my thoughts.

It's been so long since I've had my little mental arguments. That other part of me was always the more perverted side of me... and, surprisingly, the more reasonable side of me.

'Oi! Why would that be surprising? I've gotten us through many moments before, and don't you dare forget', my mind huffed at me.

Ugh. Well, you know what they say. Never any privacy when you're with your self.

'Do they really say that?', my brain questioned me. I decided to simply ignore myself. Which works perfectly fine, of course.

Just as I turned around to head toward the general direction of the kitchen, I found myself staring into the face of Old Man.

"Gah!", I choked on air before falling back into the small couch.

"See, I told you that you'd feel better in the morning", Old Man said in that knowing manner you hear sometimes.

Since when had he woken up?! And how did he manage to sneak up behind me without me hearing it?! Was he some sort of ninja or something?!

Somewhere in my mind I sensed an eye roll.

As I let my heart rate calm down to normal measurements I studied the Old Man wearily. I was still on edge because I was incredibly tired.

"Well, aren't you going to say something? I admit it's been a while since I last spoke to someone, and it would be nice to have a conversation again...", Old Man walked toward the kitchen. "You know, with someone other than myself and a few random rabbits".

I simply remained rooted to the spot. Was he seriously asking me to speak? Did he think that a few herbs could cure me?

Honestly I was too nervous to say anything. But I might as well ask something and try out my voice.

"Who... who are you?", my voice came out in a raspy whisper-like way and I had to cough a couple of times, but I could speak. And I could speak normally. And I felt normal again.

Praise the lord.

My eyes widened at the sound of my voice,-because, hey, I could speak again!-, but I otherwise tried to remain composed. I did have a few questions I wanted to ask this reclusive man, after all.

"Oh, me? I'm just someone who came to this country many years ago in the name of research", Old Man turned to give me a toothy grin. Huh, he still had all of his teeth. He also didn't seem surprised at all at the fact that I could speak again. Figures.

Research, huh? There were so many questions to be asked and too little time! I had to go out and search for Ivan! And everyone else, too!

"How did you know how to cure me? I mean, it's not like my problem was obvious. There could have been multiple reasons", I walked over to the kitchen and sat down on the same stool as I had last night. My voice was becoming clearer the more I used it.

The old man chuckled.

"I guess I could just tell. The same thing happened to me just twenty years ago", Old Man replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Did he say just twenty years ago?! Sheesh, how old was this guy?

"I used the petals of different flowers of the same species. That's the cure, really. The flowers themselves provide it for their own pollen. Of course I couldn't ask you what color was the individual that had caused your problems, considering you couldn't speak, and anyway you would have seen different colored dried up petals than I would have", the Old Man concluded sagely.

"So you just guessed what color I needed? But how does that work? If you didn't see any purple petals, even though I did, does that really make the petal purple?", I asked with a small frown.

"Oh, so your flower was purple... that's rare. I wonder what was the reason for that...?" Old Man mumbled while scratching his head. His hair wasn't even thinning. How was this guy still in good shape even though he looks like he's over ninety years old?

I just realized that he ignored my question. Oh, well. I guess I shouldn't ask for details. Instead, I should be thanking this man.

"I haven't said it yet, but thank you. You helped me even though I was a complete stranger, and I probably disturbed your evening", I gave him a kind smile.

"No, young lady. It was my pleasure to help you out. I couldn't just leave you when I knew there was something I could do to help. Besides, it's nice to occasionally have some company", Old Man gave me his own crinkled smile.

Did he really just 'young lady' me?

I mentally shook my head to clear my thoughts from their despairing loss of pride. And from the drowsiness that was about to take over at any second.

The old man could probably sense that I was about to collapse at any second, because the next thing I saw after blinking for a particularly long time was him standing next to me.

"You can sleep on the couch. I know you must be tired, since you hadn't slept at all last night. The medicine should be wearing off right about now, so you should feel just as you did before the moment you inhaled that pesky pollen", Old Man helped steer me in the right direction of the couch, since for some reason my vision was getting blurry and dark.

Immediately after I felt my knees hitting the couch, I collapsed face first into the rough material. Oh yeah, rough material or not ,-with a slightly tea-like smell-, this was comfortable.

The last thing I was aware of before falling unconscious was the Old Man's chuckle.

    ~*~

Something was poking my back.

Now something was tugging on my hair. It started tugging harder and I tried swatting it away, which was difficult from the position I was currently in; face down on a relatively small couch.  With my arm twisted in an awkward angle.

I grumbled in annoyance. I swear if it was that old man, I was going to give him a lesson in the 'you-never-wake-(y/n)-up-without-consequences', and I don't care how old he is.

"IT'S ALIIIVE!" was the booming voice in the air that startled me half to death. I yelped and rolled off the couch onto the floor to become an undignified lump.

I was now facing the ceiling and what I saw above me was -the person who had shouted that insulting wake-up call- none other than Prussia.

My eyes were wide open and I had no idea what to do. Was this really happening, and if it was, why was he here?

I carefully sat up and rubbed my head where it had hit the floor. It was only then that I realized I was surrounded by all of the people who I had come on this trip with.

Prussia was standing in front of me rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He was still wearing a smug grin, though. I turned my head to the left and saw Italy and Romano standing behind the couch I had been sleeping on. Italy looked like he was going to cry and leap over the couch to hug me, while Romano looked like he was frowning. Extra hard. I could see he was resisting the urge to let out a few tears, too.

I quickly turned my head to the right to see the rest of them standing next to each other, forming a semi-circle around me.

Standing next to Prussia was his younger brother, Germany, who looked rugged. None of his hair was in its slicked back look, which made him resemble his older brother that much more. Germany's blue eyes were holding a look of concern in them.

Next to Germany were Japan and China. Both were wearing small smiles. For a split second, I saw China's gaze flicker to something behind me, before he returned his gaze to me. It's like these guys couldn't believe I was really here. Which was understandable, considering the circumstances, but it didn't make it feel any less odd.

I couldn't believe they were here.

Standing next to China was America, who was looking immensely relieved, and surprisingly serious at the same time. That was mildly shocking, since I was so used to seeing him with a goofy expression, or just something more expressive in general.

And next to America were both France and England. I felt like something was slightly off about the arrangement, and the second I thought that, I realized that it was the lack of arguing.

I thought all this in the span of just a few seconds. All of them were here. But I still haven't seen one of them. To be honest, he was also the one who meant the most to me.

I had a feeling that he was behind me, since there was no other place for him to be.

So I tilted my head backwards and came face to face with Ivan. He looked kind of strange from this angle. I decided to just turn my whole body so that I could face him properly.

I realized that it wasn't the angle that had made him look strange. It was his expression. I was used to the composed man that only gave small smiles whenever anyone else was around, and there definitely were a lot of people surrounding us at the moment.

Ivan would rarely show any genuine emotion in public, even though he has done it a few times when I was around. That's what I've heard from some of the other countries, at least. That, for example, they hadn't realized just how happy Ivan could look.

And he looked stunning when he was genuinely happy. The way his violet eyes would light up and how sometimes his grin would be slightly crooked.

Of course, I think he looks stunning at all times possible. No matter what expression.

Right now he looked both sad and happy. It was a weird mesh on someone's face. And it made me feel a slight twinge in my heart to see it on his.

I could see small rivulets of tears running down his face. The tears just kept coming, and they did so silently. They rolled down his cheek and passed the curve of his beautiful lips before eventually hanging off of his chin and falling onto the floor.

His lips which were currently holding a smile. His gaze was soft and filled with longing, and that broken part of him was visible at the moment, but that didn't matter. I could tell that he wasn't sure if he should really believe that what he was seeing was a reality.

If I was really here.

You know what? I don't care if everyone else is surrounding us and staring, and would probably be snacking on some popcorn if that was possible.

I leaned forward to close the gap between us, and Ivan didn't hesitate to meet me half way. He pressed into my lips with a desperation that quickly made me feel a burning deep in my gut. I understood how he felt, and I retaliated with just as much force. Our lips were practically unused in comparison to our tongues, which were battling in a passionate dance of twists and lunges.

Ivan grabbed my hair with one hand while the other snaked around my waist to pull me onto his lap. He pulled my body flush against his and I felt my own hand grab a handful of his hair. Ivan let out a delicious moan into my mouth.

Things were about to get a lot more heated, but before they could, we were interrupted by a series of particularly loud coughs.

Ivan and I pulled away from each other, and our mixed saliva was hanging between our lips before Ivan quickly wiped it way with his scarf.

I absolutely loved the way Ivan's cheeks were looking extremely red. Embarrassment wasn't really an emotion he showed to the world, either.

...Especially since he's probably never shown any actual affection in public before. At least... that kind of an uncontrolled affection... like that...

I was still situated on Ivan's lap when I turned my gaze to the rest of the room to see what the others were thinking about that little make-out session. It was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be to look away from Ivan.

But at least the looks on all their faces was worth it.

I almost laughed out loud at Germany's blushing face. Even his ears were red! Japan was looking everywhere else but at Ivan and I. Was that blood running down his nose...?

I couldn't see China and England any longer, but America looked absolutely horrified. He was gazing at Ivan more so than at me. I guess it was weird of him to see Ivan like this. I'm sure everyone thought it was weird.

Because, yes. Ivan was indeed a wonderful lover, and a sexy beast. And said sexy beast could ravage me anytime he wanted to. Any time. Like right now, damn it.

Romano, who was slightly red from embarrassment, was trying to get Italy to stop staring at us in such a fanatic way. Italy was leaning on his arms on the back of the couch gazing at us. I swear the curl on his head was taking on the shape of a heart.

France and Prussia were both gazing at us with their mouths hanging open. Prussia was blinking rapidly, and whenever his gaze would land on me, his expression was that of surprise, and when he looked at Ivan, he looked shocked.

...France was drooling. Simply drooling.

I looked back at Ivan, and before standing up I gave him a tight hug. I was just so relieved that I had found them again! Even though they were technically the ones who found me.

But where was Old Man when all of this was happening?

I stood up from my spot on Ivan's lap and scanned the area to find that Old Man was simply in the kitchen speaking with England and China.

As I was about to walk towards them I felt a sudden warmth on my hand.

I glanced behind to see that Ivan had stood up and had taken hold of my hand. It didn't seem like he was going to let go any time soon, either. Which I was totally fine with, by the way.

"Sunflower, I was told that you could speak again. It is true, da?" Ivan was hovering over me -I mean, he is incredibly tall- and I sensed that he was holding back. Holding back what, I don't know.

"Yes, I can indeed speak again. And I feel a lot like myself, which is absolutely awesome", I squeezed Ivan's hand to reassure him and at the same time convey my love for him. Ivan gave me one of his small smiles and squeezed my hand back.

I heard gagging noises from behind me, and I turned to see that both Prussia and Romano were the culprits.

"I mean, I'm glad and all that you're back and alive and everything in between-", Prussia waved his hand in the air with a flourish. "-but enough with the lovey-dovey stuff in public already. I mean, how about, instead, you come and give the awesome me a hug since you're feeling absolutely awesome?" Prussia smirked and I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Probably the latter.

"Aw, is someone jealous that they're not getting affection?" I smirked back. Prussia sputtered indignantly, and he looked a little embarrassed for a second.

"Great, looks likes she is back in tip top fucking condition", I heard Romano mumble from behind the couch. Despite his words and tone, I could tell that he was relieved and happy that I indeed was back in 'tip top fucking condition'.

My gaze flickered toward Romano and I lifted an eyebrow at him.

"You know what, I'm just so fricking happy at the moment. I can speak again, I am here with you guys-", I gently detached my hand from Ivan's, -I felt him tense up a bit behind me,- and started walking over slowly toward where Romano and Italy were. "-and now... I get to do this", I quickly ran around the couch and with an evil laugh tackled Romano into a hug.

"Hah! That will do it! I'm going to squeeze the tsundere out of you", I squeezed even tighter. Romano had been frozen for a whole of three seconds before he started thrashing around in my grip.

"Get off of me! I don't want your hugs!" Romano yelled right in my ear. "Well, you better appreciate this moment, because I'm not really the type to hug people. This is an exception", I grinned as I finally let go of Romano. I chuckled at how red he was.

Immediately after I had let go of Romano, I felt someone tackle me from behind into an extremely tight hug.

"Ve~! (Y/n) is back! You're back! I will make you the most delicious pasta possible and you will forget all the troubles you've been through!", Italy was hugging me in a death grip and moving me from side to side in his excitement.

"Woah, Italy! Since when were you this strong?", I croaked. Italy finally let go of me and I took a deep breath.

I turned to face Italy and in my peripheral I saw Ivan was assessing the situation. I almost felt a little nervous about what he might do to all these guys if I hugged all of them. Ivan's face was passive so far, but I saw a glint in his eyes. Was he jealous?

I looked over at Prussia, and-

Wait, was he actually pouting? I let out a loud laugh at his expression and finally walked up to him.

"Well, mister 'awesome', I'm going to give you that hug you wanted. Can't believe you're actually pouting", I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

"Frau, I don't pout. I was simply wondering why I didn't come first since I'm so awesome", Prussia squeezed me tight in his embrace. He let out a sigh.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

...Four seconds.

He was still holding me.

"...uh, Prussia? Now would be the time to stop hugging. Don't forget that Ivan is right next to us..." I glanced nervously at Ivan, who's smile was getting slightly more menacing the longer Prussia held me in his arms.

Prussia let go quickly, but I could sense it was done reluctantly.

"Right", Prussia scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Anyway, we're all glad that you're alive. Don't ever go and do something like that again", Prussia's tone was suddenly a lot more serious.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Dearest Prussia, like I would ever want to do that again. Let's just not discuss about it anymore. What's happened, happened", I gave him a sardonic look to hopefully close the subject. I was just immensely relieved that we had found each other again. No matter how it had happened.

Speaking about how... I really do wonder how...?

I could hear the sounds of shuffling coming from the kitchen, and I turned to see that China and England were coming towards us.

Old Man was sitting on the stool by the kitchen table.

"Ah, (y/n), it seems that you really have recovered from, well, everything", England cleared his throat and offered me a polite smile.

I rolled my eyes -the second time in just under a minute- and walked over to him.

"Come here, you", I said as I wrapped my arms around the stiff form of England. After a short second of hesitancy, he returned the hug. I grinned and finally let go.

I felt a sudden warmth behind me and I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I glanced up to see Ivan with a passive expression on his face. I guess his patience had finally waned.

England simply cleared his throat again. I saw China walk excitedly towards Japan with a small jar full of different colored petals within it. It looked like the same stuff that Old Man had put into my tea last night.

I saw the Old Man give me a wink from his perch on the stool.

Now that the euphoria of having my friends back again had dissipated somewhat, I finally felt a little bit confusion. How did they manage to find me here?

"You know, I am grateful to have all of you guys here, but I'm just wondering about how did you get here in the first place", I looked around the room at the faces of the people who I had grown so fond of. I leaned my head back against Ivan's warm and solid form as I waited for an answer.

I saw England dig through a pocket of his, before pulling out a small sachet.

"We came here for this. We were heading here the whole time", England returned the small sachet to his pocket. "After your... unfortunate fall, we decided it would be best to keep going and find the needed ingredient, just in case. Plus, the river looked like it was heading in the general direction-".

Prussia coughed extremely loud and interrupted England. "It was I who had thought of that, by the way. We knew you just had to have survived the fall, since you're made of some tough stuff. Kesesese", Prussia looked pleased with himself, but I could sense that the whole scene of me falling into the river was still a touchy subject for all of them.

Because all of them were looking at me with a little bit too much protectiveness in their eyes.

England gave Prussia an unimpressed look and I saw his jaw tick a bit.

"Yes, well, after Prussia-", this was said with a pointed look towards Prussia, who just lifted his eyebrows and shrugged, "-pointed out that we might be able to find you if we continued on our way, we decided it was best to continue with what we were doing and hope for the best", England let out a weary sigh and rubbed his temples.

China walked forward slightly until he stood in front of me.

"I'm just happy that there was a cure after all, and that you can speak again. It is very convenient that the cure was found in the same place as the needed ingredient for your immortality", China gave me a warm smile. "It was also a mighty convenience to have found you in the same place as all of this stuff", China glanced at Ivan wearily.

"Ve~ (Y/n), you should know that it was very scary walking with Russia after what happened", Italy looked at Ivan with a sense of nervousness at the memory. "Even Germany was shaking".

Germany's head whipped towards Italy and I saw a faint blush appear on the tips of his ears. "ITALY!".

"It's okay, West! Nothing embarrassing about that, considering the size of the country", Prussia smacked Germany's back reassuringly. While trying to hide a smirk. Unsuccessfully.

I looked at all the people gathered around me with a sense of belonging. These guys were my home, my sanctuary.

Wasn't there a saying; 'The home is where the heart is'?

"So that is why you wanted that rare ingredient. For immortality...", everyone turned to see the Old Man stand up from his chair with a thoughtful expression upon his face. He had been quietly observing all of us.

I saw him turn towards England.

"I remember your first visit a long time ago. You had happened to find my little home hidden deep in the jungle and you had asked me about the properties of my herbs", Old Man scratched his chin while deep in memory.

"We had a nice long chat then. I found out about the personifications of countries, and you gave me a few of your colorful rabbits as companions, or guardians. The ones that anyone could see if they believed in magic", the elderly man gave England a fond smile.

"And I have searched for those special herbs and taken care of them like I had promised you. I just never thought that someday you would choose to make a human immortal like one of you", the Old Man gave me and Ivan a curious look.

"I have never met any other countries other than England and China. And apparently I'm not even one of those humans who can see them for who they are. Or so I found out a few years after having first met China", Old Man gave us another crinkly smile.

"Can you see them for who they are, young lady?" Old Man was searching my face. I heard a chuckle somewhere in the background at the 'young lady' part. I ignored it.

"Well... yes. I mean, I wouldn't have recognized them in the first place if it weren't for this anime, or animation. Otherwise I would have just seen them as they are... but never would have known just exactly who they were. Apparently some people, even if they are introduced to the countries, don't see them as how they should", I felt like I was just babbling on and on.

"I see... Well, I do not see them as they are. For example, the young gentleman who seems to be incredibly fond of you looks like he has black hair, and blue eyes. He's extremely tall, too", Old Man looked slightly impressed about said gentleman's height.

"Yeah, well, he is tall, but he has silver hair and violet eyes", I looked up at Ivan and caught him staring at me. He seemed content to just stand by my side.

"It would be a strange sight to see in the 'normal' world. Violet eyes...Purple?", Old Man muttered something under his breath. He then tilted his head to the side. "So, who is your... boyfriend, then?", it seemed like Old Man struggled with what to call Ivan in regards to our relationship.

"I am Russia", I don't know if it was the way Ivan said it, or if it was just because the sentence holds so much power in it itself, but I felt a small shiver go down my spine as he said those words.

I saw the Old Man's eyes widen slightly.

"I have heard about what has been going on with the world only occasionally, but I know enough to be happy for you that you have found this lovely flower", Old Man smiled at me.

Wait a second. Did he really just compare me to a flower? After all this flower business? Am I even comparable to a flower?!

As I was having my own mini mental breakdown, I felt Ivan squeeze me even tighter in his grasp. I even heard something about sunflowers.

I was just extremely tired, and I wanted to go home. Though I don't know if we're going to have to actually do the spell in England's home, instead of Ivan's home. Probably.

After everyone else chatted on for a while, I stood contentedly in the spot reserved for only me; the place within Ivan's embrace.

    ~*~

I looked around in awe.

"I didn't know you had a secret chamber underneath your house!", I gaped at all the contraptions and ominous décor that hung across the walls.

England was walking ahead of Ivan and I.

"It's not like I advertise the fact", I heard England mutter in front of us.

The plane ride back to Europe wasn't that bad, since I ended up sleeping the whole way back to England.

The other countries who had come with us wanted to stay and see the 'transformation', but England told them to wait upstairs. Only Ivan was allowed to come.

We passed through countless dark hallways and secret passageways on our way to the room where my life was about to change.

Finally after a few minutes of walking around in silence, we stepped into a surprisingly small room with heavy drapes lining the walls. I saw a strange symbol etched onto the floor. There were shelves of beautifully colored jars filled with liquids I would identify as potions.

As England walked forward towards those shelves, Ivan and I stood back and waited. I was nervous again. I wonder how Ivan feels about this?

I stole a glance to the side to attempt to see his expression, but it was too dark to see anything except for a few outlines of his face.

"I know that we've already discussed this... but are you sure you want to go through with this?", England had turned around from his perusing of the shelves, and was currently holding a large and heavy-looking book.

I gulped and was about to answer, but it seemed Ivan beat me to the punch.

"It must happen. I cannot lose her", Ivan's voice was full of determination and a little bit of desperation. His voice had also lowered significantly.

England simply nodded and walked towards us.

"I will then explain the basics of what will happen. I am going to bind your life forces to each other. This should be successful since coincidentally you both happen to be soulmates. Changing a mortal being into an immortal one has never happened before, but I feel confident that this will all run smoothly", England placed the book onto the wooden table behind us and proceeded to flick through the pages.

"Technically this would mean that you would be the first ever immortal being who is not the personification of a country", England stopped browsing the pages to give me a pointed look.

"Also, since your life force will be bound to Russia's, you will live for only as long as he does. Not any longer than him, but this also means you cannot die while he still lives", England said this in a matter-of-fact manner.

This was all fine by me. I most definitely did not want to live any longer than Ivan. The only reason I was doing this was for him. To be with him. There would be no point in living longer than him.

And the fact that I could not die as long as Ivan lived was convenient. That means that he won't have to deal with my death in any way whatsoever. Which, again, was the point of this spell.

I'm probably going to end up living for a long time. Will I then be safe from all the normal ways a human can die? Being shot? Diseases? This was going to be something to get used to.

Not that I got shot often, but still.

"...And I do not know what you guys have planned for the future... but I still feel like I should get through this subject. It is my job to explain how the magic works, after all", England said this with a distinct sense of discomfort.

"It is not known for us, and I mean countries, to have children", I felt a sudden nervousness at the topic that England decided to talk about.

"The reason for this is most likely that none of us has ever found someone to have children with. I am still not sure how each of us is formed, or born, but I doubt it is through conventional means. At least, I doubt any of us has ever had children with humans", England furrowed his brows while searching his memories.

"Though I don't know about that frog...", England mumbled in distaste.

I internally rolled my eyes at the term. They just have to do this to each other, don't they?

"But I am pretty sure that all of us are capable of having children. We have human bodies, after all. The only thing that differs between us is our state of immortality", England shrugged at this, and I think I saw a slight blush appear on his cheeks even in this dim lighting.

I guess he gets a little bit uncomfortable when discussing about things like that. Human anatomy and how children are formed and stuff. Which, of course, was ridiculous. But hilarious.

"My point is, if you do ever have children, your children will be normal humans. They will grow up at the normal rate as a human does, and will live the normal lifespan of one, too. The spell only affects you, (y/n)", England let what he said sink in.

This was what I was worried about.

Of course I was too young now to even consider having any children. I wanted to live life and achieve things first. Though becoming immortal prevents me from ageing physically, it won't prevent me from ageing mentally.

But I did imagine myself having children one day. And ever since meeting Ivan, the idea of having children with him one day was such a natural one.

It felt... right. I guess in a biological sense, it would mean that our genes were compatible with each other, but also in the sense of getting our very own 'Happily Ever After', did the idea of having his children seem right.

But... does Ivan even want children? Ever? We never discussed this.

I guess if he doesn't want any, I'll be fine with that. My love for him was enough, after all. And we had forever with each other, anyway. If this immortality thing went fine.

I don't really like the fact that my children would live and die while I lived on, forever looking the same. I was starting to feel a little more depressed at the prospect. If I felt sad now, what about if and when the moment actually comes?

Would I really want my grandchildren to see me looking younger than their mother or father? What would the spouses of my children think? Actually, what would my children think? How would I explain my predicament to them? How will I live through their eventual deaths? Generation after generation?

I hadn't even realized that I was hyperventilating. It was only when I felt Ivan gently shaking me that I came back to reality. I had gone way too deep into my thoughts of the future. It seems I think a bit too much sometimes. I should just take a deep breath and see where life takes me. I had, after all, already made up my mind.

After calming down somewhat, I lifted my gaze to England and nodded at him. "Let's do it, then".

    ~*~

I didn't feel any different.

I mean, I didn't think I would, but it would have been cool to have felt at least some change within me.

I was now immortal. The spell was a success. It went smoothly, just like England had promised.

I only had to stand in the middle of that strange marking on the floor with Ivan while England chanted some equally strange spell. Oh, and I had to drink some horrible tasting potion that England had brewed. That ingredient was only a small factor in the whole spell. Important, but still such a small contribution.

Of course it was.

The main event was the chanting. I admit I had felt some tugging from somewhere inside of me for a short time. The tugging had then morphed into a peculiar feeling of being intertwined with something extremely gentle, and whatever that gentleness was, it had felt precious to me.

Then the feeling was gone and I almost forgot I had felt it in the first place. Almost.

I had finally reached the top of the stairs to the living room of England's home, and was greeted with the faces of my friends.

The ones who had at least remained conscious.

I was holding Ivan's hand and I saw England pass us to walk over to a table so he could make some tea. I also saw that many of the couches and chairs were occupied. Prussia was asleep on a couch, and I deemed it a prefect time for my revenge.

I casually walked over to where the slumbering country was and stood there for a few seconds.

Then I started poking him. No response.

I was still holding Ivan's hand, but that didn't matter.

I poked Prussia again. Then I tugged at his hair. This time I heard a muffled voice. It was good that he was face down on the couch like I had been.

The I tugged even harder and just as Prussia lifted his hand to swat away at the disturbance, I leaned into his ear and shouted as loud as I could; "IT'S ALIIIVE!".

I quickly jumped out of the way as Prussia rolled over and promptly fell onto his ass on the floor.

I was clutching my sides and laughing so hard I almost got tears in my eyes. I forgot how fun pranks were. Especially ones of vengeance.

Ivan was looking at me with a strangely amused expression, and I think I heard him let out a laugh of his own.

I also realized that I had scared everyone else in the room with my little outburst. Which made me laugh even harder.

I had missed these small moments of normalcy.

    ~*~

After mingling with the other countries for a while, Ivan and I finally made our way home to his country. I missed our shared bedroom and the moments that we created together there.

I was feeling oddly sentimental as we walked passed the desolate field by his house. It brought back a lot of memories and feelings. It was still covered in a layer of snow.

I can't believe that it hasn't actually even been that long since we first met. Was it really only a few short months ago? I know I keep thinking this, but the prospect never loses its impact on me. We are already thinking about living the rest of our lives together. I mean, otherwise what would have been the point of me becoming immortal?

As we walked through the large doors into his house I let out a sigh. My life now begins here. Wow, I really can't believe the turn my life has taken. Yes, another time I acknowledge turns and life and stuff.

I found someone I fell in love with so deeply; I honestly never thought I would find my very own 'true love'. I even found out that magic was real, and not only that, I found out that my favorite characters had been real people all along!

I guess I'll be going to the world meetings whenever the countries have them, and just live life the way they do. I can't wait to create more memories with them. To share the type of moments where you wish someone was taking pictures of us all the time, so that one day you could look back on all the memories with some music playing in the background.

I let out a snort at my own ridiculous thoughts.

"What was with that noise, sunflower?", Ivan turned to look at me with a gentle smile on his lips.

I waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Oh, nothing. Just my silly thoughts, that's all", I shrugged and took off my coat.

The temperature here was very different from what I was used to of the past week. Having to wear a coat felt almost strange.

Ivan was looking at me. He didn't look away.

"Uh, Ivan? What's with the look?", I chuckled nervously. At first his eyes held happiness in them, but the emotion slowly changed as a frown formed on his face.

"(Y/n), what happened after England mentioned about children?" Ivan's question was voiced quietly. He was searching my eyes intently.

"Um, I... I was just thinking way too far into the future, that's all. We don't have to talk about children now. Heck, we could start discussing about that decades later", I plastered on a smile. "Anyway, I'm kind of tired, so I'll just go and take a shower now. Could really use one, too", I muttered the last part and was passing Ivan to head up the stairs.

He grabbed my wrist before I could go anywhere, though.

He pulled me towards him and I placed my arms onto his chest. I was looking away, but Ivan brought a finger underneath my chin to turn my head to face him.

Ivan looked like he was struggling with what he was going to say.

"I honestly never thought about having children of my own. I never thought I would find anyone to love, or that anyone would ever love me", now Ivan was the one who looked away.

"I never thought it was a possibility. I wasn't even interested in having sex", I saw a faint blush creep along his cheeks. He returned his gaze towards me.

"But after having met you, I started having these thoughts and feelings. After we became one for the first time, I had this image of your belly swollen from my seed. Of you nurturing something we had created together", Ivan visibly swallowed at these words. He was confessing again.

I could feel tears prickling behind my eyes. He had thought about this?

"I had felt a burst of extreme pride and happiness at the thought of you being the mother of my children, but there was a part of me that hoped that I wouldn't ever get you pregnant", Ivan took a deep breath before continuing. I was feeling a mixed array of emotions at what Ivan was saying.

"This is because I did not believe, and still do not believe, that I could ever be a good father", Ivan's voice was full of pain and I reached out to stroke his cheek.

"Don't", I said with emphasis. "Don't ever think that. I believe you will be a great father to whatever children we may or may not have in the future. We'll have each other, after all", I gave him a reassuring smile.

Ivan leaned into my palm.

"You really believe so?", he seemed hopeful. I placed my other hand on his other cheek.

"I do", I leaned in and closed my eyes. Our lips met and the kiss was short but sweet, and conveyed our hope in regards to the future.

If we ever did end up having children, we'd just have to focus on the positive. Remember the good times we had together, and to not regret. Everyone dies eventually after all. It will be sad saying goodbye to my own children in such a way, but at least I would have lived.

And everything has its dark side. My immortality, and Ivan's too, will cause us to suffer. But it's that same immortality through time that will heal the suffering eventually. It goes full circle.

And as an immortal being, I'd have to get used to seeing my loved ones die. Like my family and relatives, eventually. And all my old friends.

A least I would have Ivan as my emotional anchor, and I will be there for him.

    ~*~

I was currently flipping through old photos.

I can't believe Japan had been taking pictures of all of us whenever we were all gathered together. I smiled fondly at the one I was holding at the moment.

It was of Germany's birthday. The one at least ten years ago. I remember that was the birthday when Prussia had arranged for a scantily dressed woman to jump out the top of the cake. That sure surprised everyone! And Germany's face was priceless. It was currently etched onto the photo, along with most of the other's surprised faces scattered here and there. I could even see Ivan and I in the picture.

I let out a sigh. It was strange looking the same as back then.

Nonetheless, I was glad that Japan had taken these photos. I was surprised at how many he had taken over the years. Though I only found that out quite recently, when I had been talking to him about how I wished all these fond memories of us together -whether they were arguments, plain old meetings or parties- had been photographed so that I could view them later.

Japan had confessed that he likes to take candid photos of people, and then he told me that he could make copies for me of the ones he had.

I glanced out the window and noticed the Sun was already setting.

I let out another sigh. Ivan wanted to take me somewhere this evening, which meant that I would have to start getting dressed now.

I groaned as I stood up and stretched my arms out. I had been sitting down for way too long just winding down memory lane.

After changing into more suitable clothes, I walked down the stairs and was met with the sight of Ivan. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs with that smile on his face I had gotten so used to.

Over the years he had become more open with his feelings and actually laughs more often now. Though he still threatens people with his steel pipe every now and then.

Our feelings for each other have surprisingly gotten even deeper for each other, which I thought wasn't even possible. Since I thought that what we felt long time ago was already strong enough.

And here we are now, the two of us, heading out into the evening air.

We silently greeted each other and our hands intertwined themselves in the loving embrace they so often found themselves in.

As we walked past the field of sunflowers, I took in a deep breath. The air was fresh and put a smile on my face. I remember it had taken a while, and a lot of tenacity, but we finally got the sunflowers to grow. Now we barely need to tend to them at all. The sight of the golden flowers was mesmerizing in the evening light.

I still get a little bit embarrassed whenever I think about that Valentine's Day gift of sunflower seeds I had given Ivan. The locket he had given me was still snugly on me, underneath the shirt I was wearing.

We had to take one of his cars to wherever we were going. I mean, we usually did anyway, since he lived in such an isolated place. But the route we were taking was one I had not seen in quite a long time.

After Ivan finally stopped driving and parked at the side of a road, I looked out the windows more carefully.

No way. My eyes widened in surprise. He brought me here?

I stepped out of the car and walked down a street that was vaguely familiar. It was getting dark now and even though it was quite warm out, considering it was still early in autumn, I felt a shiver go down my spine at the nostalgia.

I heard Ivan's footsteps from behind me and turned around to face him with a look of wonder on my face.

He simply approached me with a knowing smile on his face. Once he reached me, he place a gentle hand onto my swollen abdomen and rubbed it carefully. We both felt as the life we created together made its presence known with a kick.

We looked at each other and Ivan leaned in to kiss me.

After our kiss, I felt a refreshing gust of wind and watched as it played with Ivan's silver hair. His violet eyes were searching mine, and we both held knowing smiles.

"I can't believe you took me here", I uttered with a small shake of my head. "I can't believe you even remember this place".

"Of course I remember this place", Ivan wrapped me in his arms and held me. He gazed down at me and I gazed up at him.

"This is how we met, da?".