Austria-Hungary {CH}

23.

°.• ○ . ❄️ • ° . • ▪︎ . ° ○ ❄️ .• °

The night was eriee and cold.

Everyone who had a little sanity stayed inside and wrapped themselves in thick and warm blankets.

Like every other night, Hungarian Kingdom was busy in his study, filling the never-ending amount of papers.

Budapest tip-toed to the study, and very carefully, looked inside. The Hungarian country wore a frown on his face, under his eyes, he had dark shadows from sleep deprivation.

The chilly wind hit the old house, and in many places - where the windows lacked the insulation - the coldness came in and sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Budapest bitterly leant away from the door of the study and quietly got upstairs.

In a small room upstairs, near the fireplace was sitting a child, who had only just started to learn walking.
The child was happily playing, but as soon as he saw the capital, he smiled and drooled a little. The city looked down at him sadly, a faint smile playing on his lips. He glanced at his broken watch to check how late it was.

10 p.m.

"... Guess your father has no time for you again..." he sighed.

However, the child still smiled, not understanding what the city just said, and not having a care about the coldness that lingered in the room, even if there was the fireplace, which gave out some warm.

Budapest picked up the child and wrapped him in a blanket, then carried him to not Hungarian Kingdom's room, but to his.

He wondered sometimes what would happen to the tiny country if he weren't here to take care of him. The Kingdom frequently forgot that he had a child, whom he would have needed to pay at least a little attention.

Budapest knew that he could have just ignored the child as a kind of revenge for the bruises and slaps he received from Kingdom, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The child had truly nobody, and he had nobody either. Budapest hadn't had a childhood.
He just appeared not so long ago, but he hardly ever wittnessed what it was to be loved by somebody.

He only knew that it was a good feeling when he saw the little country smile, even if he himself was beated up, and it was a bad feeling when he saw the little country cry because the Kingdom didn't even glance at him for days.

He understood it although, that the Hungarian Kingdom had to work hard to pay the debts, but Budapest noticed that sometimes the Kingdom just intentionally ignored the child... As if he was afraid to love him... As if he was afraid to even acknowledge him...

When he was in his room, he put the kid on his bed, and covered him plus with his own blanket, fearing that he would catch a cold and become sick.

He gave him a soft plush, and adjusted the pillow for him. The kid, feeling himself comfortable and safe in his burrito, wrapped state, he cutely yawned, showing his tiny tooths to the sad city.

"Szép álmokat Magyarország... (Sweet dreams , Hungary...)" he whispered, and caressed the boy's fluffy red hair.

Hungary squirmed a bit and mumbled something gibberish to his plush in his baby language. The capital laid down the bed next to Hungary. He pulled the now- sleeping child to him and wrapped himself and Hungary in a very thin blanket.
He did not have fireplace in his room. There was extremely cold. He was shivering under the thin blanket, but he was content with. Hungary was not cold, and that what was what mattered to him.

Just as the capital was about to fall asleep, he heard the entrance door downstairs slammed open, and somebody spoke. He instinctively grabbed out the penknife from his drawer, and after making sure the child is still sleeping, he rushed downstairs. However, as soon as he was on the ground floor, he hid next to the wall and glanced out, who had come in the house with such a noise.