We Don't Care (Gerpol)

Chapter 38

Poland's P.O.V.

It was very white. Very clean. And it smelled like bleach.

My head throbbed from where someone had hit me. My wrists were scarred over from multiple rope burns, and my mouth ached from the gag. The lights stung my eyes.

"Ungh..." I groaned softly. A dull pain was resting over my body.

A cluster of voices came from the right of where I was laying. They were muffled, like somebody talking behind a door. I recognized one of them as Austria, but the others were strangers. I tried to quiet my breathing, and the voices started to clear up.

"He's not doing so well, hon. The doc says he has a bunch of brain damage and-"

"I don't give a damn about brains, Hungary. Germany needs him. And I won't get a wink of sleep until I know he's done chewing his nails clean off about his boyfriend." It was Austria, snappy as ever.

"Put your guns away, dude. What are you gonna do, kidnap him from ICU?" Slovakia.

"Sounds like something she would do," Russia said.

"Actually," Austria mused. "Shut up!" Slovakia said, laughing.

I shut my eyes contentedly. I missed them so much.

________________

The next time I opened my eyes, it was much darker. A dim lamp shone from the corner of the room. There was a window, too. The curtains fluttered back and forth in the slight breeze.

This time, I could open my eyes fully. I even sat up a bit, propping myself up on my elbows.

I almost jumped when I saw my brother sitting in the armchair in the corner, his face half-obscured by shadows. He stared at me, lifeless and cold. I'd never felt so disturbed by him in my life. Everything about him was so still, it was as if he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open.

For a long time, we both just stared at each other. I felt overwhelming guilt and shame. I just left him without any warning, and then wandered off and got into serious trouble. How could I ever begin to fathom what pain it's caused him? How could I be so selfish?

"I...I..." I'm sorry. That's what I'm trying to say, but it won't come out. I could never be sorry enough.

He gets up, walking to the side of my bed, casting a large shadow over me. Lithuania had always been the larger one, due to the harsh conditions of the USSR's upbringing when he was no more than a toddler. His screams still echo in my nightmares.

Regardless, my fingers start to tremble when he grabs my hand. He's my brother, so he wouldn't hurt me. Right?

I'm about to cover my head when he kneels down next to the bed. Something drips onto the sheets from one side of his face. Tears.

"(Brother,)" He whispered, so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

"(Forgive me.)"

I blinked, feeling my heart break at his quiet sobs. He was apologizing...to me? This didn't make any sense.

I squeezed his hand. "(No. Don't apologize. You did nothing.)"

"(I did. I did, and I never looked back. What is wrong with me, brother? What have I turned into?)" His whispers were laced with wrenching sorrow. The tears dripped in a constant stream onto the bed. My own eyes began to water.

"(You are still my family,)" I said, staring fiercely into his eyes. "(And you will always be my brother.)"

He hugged me tight, harder than he'd ever hugged me before. Almost as if he didn't hold on, I'd be swept away in the winds of time.

"(I love you.)" he murmured. I nuzzled my face against his, getting a brief flashback to our childhood. I know he felt it too, by the way he chuckled softly.
"(I love you too.)" I said.
After that, no one said anything. It was just me and him, and the light of the fading lamp.

___________________________

A doctor with a green, white, and orange flag came to see me the next day, and Lithuania decided to stick around, for translating purposes.

"How are yeh feelin'?" He asked, pushing his glasses onto his forehead. He had long, ginger hair tied back in a bun. The country reminded me vaguely of Kazakhstan.

"Better." I said. And it was true.

"All yah vitals ah' healthy, and yah' general bearings are okay, so we'll release yah' later today. Although, we might need tee schedule an MRI scan for brain damage." He flipped through pages on his clipboard, putting on his glasses to squint at a few. Lithuania turned to me. "(Uh... he means you're healthy,)" he said with a shrug.

"I advise some oice packs for yeh wrists, which will scar ovah." He tapped my hands, and I opened them up to reveal the rope burns. "Yep, just as I thought. It's terrible what dey did to yah, lad." The doctor shook his head, most likely muttering curses under his breath.

"Othah than that, yer free to goh." He smiled, shaking my hand. Lithuania nodded, indicating it was okay to shake back.

_______________________

It was utter and complete chaos when I emerged into the lobby with my brother. Someone runs over and nearly knocks me over with a hug so fast I can't tell who it is.

"OHMYGODPOLANDITHOUGHTYOUDIED," Slovakia cried into my shoulder, rocking me back and forth. "PROMISE YOULL NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN WAHHHH-"

Lithuania hugs both of us, sniffling a little, too.

Russia comes over. I give him a wary look, but his expression is friendly and concerned.
"Are you doing okay?" He asks.

"Yes," I say. Somehow I know we both mean much more.

Austria looks me up and down, clicking her tongue. "Filthy, if I do say so myself. Your kidnappers could have at least kept you decent-looking." I smile at her, happy to have the Austrian back.
Hungary appears from behind her. "Long time no see, Pol." He gives me a hug, and the smell of smoke rolls off him in waves. Eugh.

"Niemcy?" I ask. "In the bathroom," Austria says. "He nearly threw up from how nervous he was."

Almost as if on cue, the familiar tri-colored flag appears from behind a wall. Every other sound ceases to exist. We lock onto each other's eyes, like so many times before. I'm not sure if I want to laugh, cry, or faint. Everything was at a standstill, like the world was holding its breath.

"P-Polen..." he stutters in disbelief. Suddenly I'm so overcome with longing I break into a run, closing the distance between us that's been present for so long. I barrel into his arms, squeezing so tight I knew I'd never let go. The rush of emotions spills from my eyes and onto his shirt.

He hugs back too, and his shoulders shake from crying. "Polen," over and over again. "Niemcy," I say, so quiet that surely no one could hear it.

After so long, I've found him. I was truly home.

_________________________
aaAAAHHHH
YES FINALLY IT COMES FULL CIRCLE LETS GOOOOO 😩👌