Flowers of the Sun

Russia x Reader

_________ made sure to stomp her shoes on the rug just outside her back door, to get most of the dirt off, before entering her house.  She had been spending more and more time in her orchards – mainly because of all the new fruits the other nations had been sending her.  It was well known that _________ had never met a fruit she didn't like.  In fact, fruit made up a great majority of her diet.  The little pastries she made with fruit tucked inside were also a nice treat that some of the other nations looked forward to at the World Meetings.  But, that was beside the point.  

Earlier that week, China had sent her a box full of these delightful little yellow fruits called 'mangoes.'  Having never seen anything like it before, _________ made sure to try a slice of one – before she made a dash for the phone and called the ancient nation up, asking what it was.  After getting a few tips from China about how to grow her own mangoes, she had been busy clearing out a spot for them and planting the seeds.  Her island country was a tropical one – one that was perfect for growing a variety of different food stuffs for her growing population.  And the occasional water buffalo and other livestock that her people kept.  _________ was, understandably, proud of her island nation, but they did have their little drawbacks.  A large portion of the north was completely uninhabited due the active volcano found there.  The surrounding lands were nothing but hardened lava from previous eruptions.  Thus, there was a large chunk of her land that no one lived in.  Still, her people were content to live in and around the tropical regions – especially near the coast.

_________ opened the back door (which led into her kitchen) and she immediately went over to the sink to rinse off her hands.  Though, a moment after she had the tap going a knock sounded at her door.  Blinking, _________ quickly washed the suds already on her hands off and grabbed a small hand towel hanging just below the sink.  Who could that be?  She wasn't expecting any visitors this week – her boss would have told her if they had any visiting diplomats or anything.  Maybe it was one of the townspeople asking for an extra set of hands on their farm.  If that was the case, _________ would be more than happy to lend her assistance.  What she did find when she opened her front door, though, was not something she was expecting.

". . .Russia?" she asked, almost hesitantly as she stared up at the large nation that (literally) took up most of her doorway.  She blinked, owlishly, and paused to look around her house.  This was her house, right?  Not some temporary one that America built – or a hotel room.  They were at her house – not at a World Meeting.  So why was Russia. . .?

"Hello, _________," he greeted her, kindly, before he practically invited himself into her house.  _________ was careful to get out his way, and slowly shut the door once he was inside.  "Ahhh, America was right.  Your place is warm," he commented, smiling at her, "I wanted to come and visit it myself."

_________ nodded, "Ah, I see.  Well then, welcome to my house. . .I guess.  I suppose I didn't get the memo that you'd be visiting this week. . .?"

"Oh, no.  There's no memo – I decided that I wanted to visit you this morning," he said, cheerfully.  _________ just stared at him.  He really did have the mindset of a child, didn't he?  She had heard the other nations talking about Russia – how he seemed childish at times, and rather simplistic.  However, there was also talk of how cruel the large nation could be.  Honestly, she didn't believe that.  Whenever she saw Russia at the Meetings, he always had a kind smile on his face.  He didn't seem to be cruel at all – large and intimidating, maybe.  "By the way, _________, your house is quite small.  My house is many times larger than this."  Hmm. . .maybe it was more of a 'childish' cruelty, then.

She chuckled at his observation, "Yeah it is pretty small, isn't it?  But, I find it rather cozy.  I live here by myself, after all, so I don't really need that much space."  _________ didn't really think it was that small. . .  It was a modest two-story house.  She had her own room, office, and a meeting room up on the second floor (the meeting room was an addition her boss insisted on just in case they wanted to hold a meeting away from the Presidential Palace in the Capital).  There were also two guest rooms for anyone who wanted to stay the night (one was for her boss – for pretty much the same reason he insisted on her having a meeting room).  The first floor was more or less an open area; they were standing in the main hall where the stairs to the second floor were.  The main hall also connected to the kitchen (where _________ spent most of her time), a large dining room (only used for when she had guests.  Otherwise, she ate in the kitchen), and then a sitting room that she used for entertaining guests.  It was definitely a modest, cozy little place _________ was more than happy to call her own.

"I suppose you have a point, da?" Russia agreed, nodding at her.  He then seemed to notice something, and bent down toward her.  She looked quite surprised, and wasn't sure if she should take a step back, but that moment passed when Russia reached out and rubbed a gloved hand against her cheek.  _________ blinked rapidly, very confused as to what brought this on.  "There!" Russia said, looking pleased with himself, "You had some dirt on your face right there.  Do you like to play outside, little _________?"

"No, not really," _________ replied, bringing a hand up to her cheek where Russia had cleaned the dirt off, "I have a lot of plants that need taking care of, so I spend a lot of time outside.  I came in from gardening just before you knocked on my door, actually."

"Oh!  Now it makes sense.  That's why you look so dirty and disheveled, da?"

_________ was completely taken aback.  Did she really look that unkempt?  She wanted to run to a mirror and check for herself, but restrained herself.  It would be rude to go running off when she had a guest over. . .  Oh!  That's right.  It was customary to offer guests food upon arrival – at least in her house.  But, she didn't really have anything to offer him.  She was going to make something to eat after she had washed up, but Russia had shown up so suddenly. . .

"Haha, you're so cute when you look distressed like that, _________," Russia said, snapping her out of her thoughts.  She looked up at him, seeing his smiling face, and _________ couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, thank you Russia. . .I think.  I'd offer you something to eat, but I haven't had any time to cook anything yet. . ."

"That's okay – I can wait."  _________ stared, as the larger nation simply smiled back at her.  He was being serious, wasn't he?  She hadn't really had time to look and see if she had anything to cook, and she had yet to go into town to buy this weeks' worth of groceries.  She knew she had fruit that she had picked yesterday lying around, but while she could eat fruit everyday she wasn't sure what Russia's tastes were.  In fact this was the first (albeit awkward) conversation she's had with him outside of the Meetings.  "Ah, but you'd want to get cleaned up first, da?  I can wait for you here.  Take your time."

_________ blinked, surprised yet again by the taller nation.  Still, she was grateful for him understanding the situation she had been put in.  "A-Ah, thank you.  And sorry for the trouble – I won't be long," she said, bowing her head apologetically before she quickly darted up the stairs to her room.

Russia waved after her small form as she left, smiling.  He then decided to look around her house while he waited.  He didn't come all the way out here just to be left standing around.  Besides, she was right about one thing – though her house was small, it had a warm and cozy feeling about it.  Russia decided that it was nice and that he liked it.  He should definitely come by more often – if only to surprise her.  He liked that look on her face.  It made her look. . .kind of cute.  And a cute little nation like that, with a warm place to live like this, was definitely one he'd want to become one with.  He chuckled to himself, before turning and heading off to explore her house a bit.

Not too long after she had gone up to shower, _________ was out.  She didn't want to take too long and keep her guest waiting, after all.  "Russia?" _________ called, as she descended the stairs.  She was busy tying her hair back with a ribbon – not being able to find a hair tie.  Well, that and she had been using little scraps of cloths as ribbons long before any of the other nations began exporting goods to her island.

"Ah, _________, you're done?" Russia's voice came, as he emerged from the kitchen, "I took a look around while I was waiting.  Your house is so small, it's cute.  Oh, and I found some fruit in the kitchen.  I hope you don't mind that I ate some while waiting."

"No, not at all," she replied, smiling, "It's customary to offer food to guests here, but I didn't have anything to offer since I hadn't cooked anything yet.  I'm just glad you found something to eat in the meantime."  She gave the taller nation a smile, "Anyway, would you like to come to the market with me?  I need to buy some things for dinner.  You'll be staying until then, I trust?"

"Until then?  Haha, you're so silly, _________," Russia chuckled, patting her head.  _________ just gave him a confused look, as he began to walk to the door, "Did I forget to tell you?  I'm staying at your house for my visit.  It's small, but it's warm and cozy.  I like it here."  Her confused expression was then replaced by a blank one.  He was staying here?  In her house?  Was this another decision he had made without informing her?  He probably decided upon that while he was exploring. . .  _________ gave a sigh, as Russia motioned for her to follow before he opened the door and stepped out.  She supposed she could go along with that.  It seemed like he was set on staying the night anyway.  "Lead the way, _________," Russia chirped, as she exited the house after him and locked the door behind her.

Russia waited for _________ to step down from the small porch at the front of her house before following and moving to walk beside her.  It was a nice day – the sun warmed the land to a comfortable temperature.  The clouds in the sky served as a perfect contrast for the azure sky behind it.  Various different exotic birds were making their calls to one another.  _________'s island was a world unto itself, wasn't it?

"By the way, Russia," _________ began, causing the taller nation to look down at her curiously, "It's rather warm out today.  Are you fine with wearing that heavy coat?  And that scarf?"  She found it odd that he was still wearing such warm clothes; how could it not be uncomfortable to him?  Maybe she should have offered him a change of clothes before they left, too. . .

"Ah, don't worry, little _________," Russia responded, "I always wear this coat and this scarf.  They're my favorite things to wear – especially this scarf.  My sister made it for me, you know."  Ah, so it was special to him.  That's why he didn't want to take it off.  The large (and undoubtedly powerful) nation of Russia was quite attached to the gift his sister gave him; the thought made _________ smile.  It was cute, really.  Perhaps there was some truth in the talk of him being so childlike.  "Oh!  Before I forget," Russia said, suddenly, as he stopped and began to rummage around the pockets of his coat.  _________ watched, curiously, as the taller nation fumbled around for what he was looking for.  After a moment, a look of realization passed across his face, and he opened the front of his coat and reached inside.  "Ah, there it is.  I almost forgot where I put it," he chuckled to himself, before shifting his gaze to _________, "Here!  I brought this for you!"  

Russia pulled out a beautiful yellow flower from his coat, and _________ marveled at it.  She had never seen anything like it before – its yellow petals radiated from the flower head, reminding her of the rays of the sun.  It had a long, green stem and she could compare its thickness to that of a tree branch.  What an oddity this was!

"Here!  Take it!" Russia said, holding it out to her.  He was grinning, brightly, as she reached for the large flower and held it with both hands.  She stared at the flower head, in awe of how big it was.  It was almost the size of her face – and she wasn't used to flowers like that.  She felt like she could just stand there admiring it all day, pondering about it and just taking in its appearance.  Her focus on it was only broken by the sound of Russia chuckling, "You like it, da?"

She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling in admiration, "I-It's amazing.  I. . .I've never seen anything like this before.  It's absolutely stunning!"  Russia laughed at her admission, thinking that she just seemed so cute right then.  Holding a sunflower that he had given her. . .  "What is it?"

That question caught Russia completely off guard.  He blinked a few times, staring at her blankly.  When she said she had 'never seen anything like it before,' he thought she had never seen a sunflower like that before.  After all, it was a Mammoth Russian Sunflower – so named because it could grow to be 12 feet tall.  He didn't think that she had never seen a sunflower before.  He smiled at her, though, because that meant that he was the first nation to show her something like that.  And that made him quite happy.  "It's called a sunflower, _________," he told her, pointing at the petals and continuing, "It gets its name from the bright yellow flower head that resembles the sun.  They grow to be quite large at my place, and I love seeing them in bloom.  I thought that, since I was coming down to visit you, you might like one for yourself."

_________ beamed at him, smiling brightly before glancing at the flower in her arms, "A. . .sunflower.  A. . .flower of the sun?"  She paused, giggling to herself as she hugged the flower (though carefully so as to not cause it any damage to it) to her chest.  "I love it!  Thank you so much, Russia."  Russia nodded, and watched as she inhaled the sunflower's scent.  She was absolutely enthralled with it, wasn't she?  It was cute to see her so taken with his gift.  It actually made him feel a bit. . .warm inside.  And it had been a long, long time since he had a feeling like that.

"Oh, that's right.  I thought we were running errands right now, _________," the taller nation said, watching as she was broken from her enchantment with the sunflower to look back at him.  She, very visibly, processed his words before her face lit up at his reminder.

"Right!  I had almost forgotten," _________ admitted, bashfully.  Her gaze darted to the sunflower, again, before she grinned up at Russia, "I'm sorry – I guess I got distracted by your sunflower.  Let's be on our way.  I still need to figure out what to cook for dinner tonight."  Russia nodded, and proceeded to walk side-by-side with her into the town just down the road from her house – sneaking glances at her.  Half of the time, she wasn't really paying that much attention to where she was going; he could tell that she was more focused on the sunflower.  Such a cute, childish disposition she possessed.  It almost made him want to take her in his arms and protect her from anything and everything that could corrupt her.  Almost.  If he couldn't do that, then he'd settle for being the one to corrupt her in the first place. . .

'Kol kol kol kol kol kol kol. . .'

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Ahhh, that was good, _________," Russia praised her, as she took their plates over to the sink and began to wash them, "I know that you liked fruits, and pretty much ate them with every meal, so I was surprised when you said that you weren't using any when you cooked dinner.  To be honest, I didn't think you had a single dish that didn't use fruit."

. . .was that supposed to be a compliment?

"I'm glad that you liked it," _________ responded, with a smile (though, that smile was more to herself than to him since she had her back to the table as she washed the dishes).  She ate a lot of fruit, yes, but she was also capable of making dishes that was made up of other things – like meat and vegetables.  In fact, the dish she had cooked for dinner was something like her version of a beef stew.  Though, the viscosity of the liquid was more like molasses and there was a hint of heat packed into it from all of the herbs and spices she had used.  All the while Russia had sat back and watched – not that she minded.  It was almost like having a child in the room observing her with the way he asked questions and struck up light conversation with the observations he made.  And when everything was cooked and ready to eat, Russia said he didn't mind dining in the kitchen – as he said he liked how warm it had gotten from the heat that radiated from the stove.  All in all, it had been a pleasant evening.

"Of course I liked it; _________ spent such a long time making it.  And something that _________ put so much care and effort into making couldn't taste bad," he said, causing her to pause and look back at him.  He was sitting there, smiling as brightly and innocently as he normally did.  It was cute how he could say something like that so casually. . .and _________ found herself blushing (very lightly) at his comment.

"W-Well, thank you, Russia," she said back, a warm smile now resting upon her lips.  She finished the rest of the dishes, rather quickly, and turned to him while drying her hands on a towel.  "Ah, I suppose I should show you to your room now," she said, hanging the towel off the oven handle.  Russia simply smiled his approval, and got up to follow her – though he paused to watch as she carefully picked up the sunflower she had placed on one of the counters.  He couldn't help but notice the light smile she had on her face, as she held it closer to her.

"_________, you really like that sunflower, da?" Russia asked, standing beside her and looking down at the flower with her.

"Of course," she confirmed, "It's so pretty, and you're really lucky to have flowers like this grow at your house.  Sure, my island has its own native flowers but they're not nearly as big and exotic as this.  It. . .sort of makes me wish I could grow sunflowers in my garden, too."

Russia was quite surprised at her statement.  Sunflowers were. . .exotic to her?  Well, it did make a bit of sense for her to think that way – this was her first time seeing and holding one.  He reached up, and gently patted her head, causing her to look up at him, "You know, you could probably grow some if you tried."  He noticed the confused look on her face and lifted his hand to point at the center of the flower's head, "The seeds are all in here.  All you need to do is take them out and plant them and hope that they grow.  Though, seeing as you take such good care of the plants you already have, I don't think you'll have much trouble with that."

"R-Really?" she asked, a smile starting to spread over her face, "I can plant these seeds and grow my own sunflowers?"  Russia could tell _________ was quite excited with the notion – and he was glad that he had contributed to it.  "Ah, that makes me so happy," she continued, grinning brightly up at him, "I'll definitely give my best to grow sunflowers – ones that are just as beautiful as this one.  Thank you, Russia."

The taller nation nodded, finding her enthusiasm amusing, but found himself a bit befuddled as _________ suddenly wrapped her arms around his torso – giving him a hug.  He looked down at her petite frame and was reminded of the stark contrast between their heights.  But, what stuck out to him the most was the fact that she was. . .warm.  Russia knew he had been taking note of what he thought was warm throughout the day – just because he liked how warm her island was – but why hadn't it occurred to him that _________ would be warm, too?  She lived here, after all. . .  Russia gently – hesitantly – put his arms around _________ and returned the hug – a warm feeling starting to creep up into his chest. . . .he liked it. . .this feeling. . .of having someone else near him.

Slowly, _________ began to let her arms slide away from him (much to his dismay) and Russia (reluctantly) did the same. "Anyway, let me show you to your room.  You must be tired after traveling here – and then accompanying me into town," she said to him, before motioning for him to follow as she headed up the stairs, "You'll have to forgive me; the guest rooms aren't anything fancy, but you'll have your own bed and a place for your luggage when it arrives tomorrow.  Oh, and your own bathroom.  It was my boss' idea for the guest rooms to have their own bathrooms. . ."  _________ wasn't quite sure why she was telling him all of this. . .  Maybe it had to do with feeling oddly at ease with the large nation's presence.  She had since decided that he wasn't a bad guy – not at all!  In fact, she found him to be. . .sweet and kind.  Maybe a bit harsh in his otherwise innocent statements, but not bad at all.

"Here we are," _________ announced, as she opened the door to the guest room to let the taller nation in, "Ah, since none of your luggage is here yet, I went ahead and found some spare clothes for you to wear in the meantime.  I wasn't sure what would fit, so I just got all different sizes for you to go through if you want."  In truth, her boss kept some spare clothes in the other guest room and _________ had dug them out for Russia to use if he wanted.

"Aww, how nice of you," Russia said, smiling as he stepped into the room, "But, I'm fine with the clothes on my back, you know?  I can always just change when my luggage comes in tomorrow."  He turned to face her, seeing the look on her face at his response.

"Are you sure?  I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable or anything. . .," she mumbled, looking a bit troubled.

"Ah, you're so sweet, _________," Russia said, gently, as he approached her.  He leaned down and left a quick kiss on the top of her head, "You don't have to worry about me.  Now, off to bed!  Little _________ needs her sleep, right?"

_________ was stunned, and stared at the Russian for a good few moments until she blinked.  "R-Right. . .  Good night, Russia. . .," she said, softly, as she turned and began to walk down the hall toward her room.  She heard him bid her good night as well, before the door closed with a soft click, and only then did she lift a hand to let her fingers ghost over the area of her head where Russia had kissed her.  Child. . .that nation was such a child. . .  It was cute, really. . .  And _________ didn't know what to think.  He had been nothing but kind and gentle towards her since arriving – sure it was a surprise and he had caught her completely off guard, but he had given her this sunflower (which she was still clutching in her hands) and treated her with such. . .affection.  It was because of his childish disposition.  It had to be.  How else could she explain the way he had been behaving?  

Oh!  Europe.  Russia lived quite close to the other European nations, right?  Maybe this was their way of wishing someone a good night.  Yes, that made sense too.  _________ didn't know much about the customs of the other nations; she was still learning about them.  So, it made sense for it to be a Western custom.  She smiled to herself, entering her room and closing the door behind her before setting the sunflower down on the nightstand by her bed.  Western customs can be so strange and confusing some times. . .  She would just have to learn how to take it in stride, lest she end up confused and befuddled like this every time something like that happened.  

Satisfied with that decision, _________ got herself ready to sleep and turned off the light before climbing into bed.  Tomorrow, she was going to take the seeds from the sunflower and plant them in her garden.  She'd have to clear a space for them, too, so she'd have to get up pretty early if she wanted to make sure she made breakfast before then.  No, scratch that, breakfast first.  Then she could take care of the sunflower seeds.  She needed to make sure Russia had something waiting for him to eat when he woke up.  Bright and early.  She needed to make sure she got up bright and early.  Bright. . .and early. . .  Bright. . .early. . .

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Russia's eyes fluttered open as sunlight filtered into his room from the window.  He turned his head to gaze at the window from his bed, marveling at how bright the sun's rays were so early in the day.  _________'s little island really was something special, wasn't it?  Smiling to himself, he got out of bed and stretched a little before heading to the bathroom to wash up a little.  He had slept in the same clothes he had arrived in yesterday – minus the coat and the scarf.  His luggage should arrive by today, so he could take a shower and change later.

After a few minutes, Russia dried his face off with a towel already in the bathroom and left to go find _________.  Maybe he could watch her cook breakfast or something. . .  Though, he paused when he opened the bedroom door.  Sitting right next to his door was his luggage – apparently it had already come.  Well, that's good.  Russia quickly moved the bags into his room before exiting and heading down the hall toward the stairs.  _________ must have brought them up for him – which meant she was already awake.  He headed off to the kitchen, expecting to see _________'s petite frame bustling about here and there, but was surprised (and maybe a little disappointed) to see that she wasn't there.  The table, however, already had a few dishes sitting on it.  So, she had already cooked breakfast. . .

"Hm?  Is that. . .the sunflower I gave her?" Russia questioned, seeing the sunflower sitting on the counter.  As he went over to inspect it, he found that all of the seeds in the center were missing, giving the flower a very odd and empty feeling.  Had she gone off to plant the seeds already?  A quick glance at the back door confirmed it, as the door was left slightly ajar.  Well, she did mention that she spent a lot of time outdoors. . .  He pushed the door open and was first met with the blinding rays of the sun.  Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself smiling at the garden before him.  There was a stone path that led from the back door to a shaded sitting area a few yards down.  Fruit trees surrounded the sitting area, as well as little exotic flowers.  There were smaller stone paths that lead from the main one to small patches of the garden that grew what looked to be little herbs and vegetables.  Beyond the sitting area, though, were a multitude of trees - _________'s orchards.  He could see why she chose to spend so much time outside.

Russia walked along the stone path, letting his violet gaze sweep from side to side as he examined her garden.  Did. . .did she do all of this herself?  With her own hands?  It seemed likely – actually, it suited her quite well.  Now. . .if only he could find her. . .  Ah!  There.  Off of one of the smaller stone paths, Russia saw _________ kneeling in the dirt.  She seemed to be digging. . .and he ventured closer, quietly, to take get a better look.

_________ was hard at work digging in the dirt, all right.  But, she was using her hands.  Hmm, the other nations weren't kidding when they said that _________ was a nation built on the strength of her hands were they?  Russia watched as she seemed to claw at the ground before she could properly scoop up a small handful of dirt.  She then reached for something at her side, and he saw it was a sunflower seed.  She dropped it into the shallow hole, covering it up with dirt and patting the ground gently before sitting back on her legs.  She gave a tired sigh, and a grin.

"There, that's the last one," he heard her say, as she lifted an arm to wipe the sweat off of her brow with the back of one of her forearms.  She sat there for a moment, looking over the small plot of land that looked like it had been freshly dug up.  Did she. . .did she do all that just earlier?  "I can't wait to see all of you when you grow," she said, causing Russia to focus his attention back on her, "I'd love to have sunflowers in my backyard, like Russia has in his.  It's okay if you don't grow to be as big as the sunflower he gave me, though.  Just as long as you grow – and when you do, I'll be sure to show you to him.  You know, as a 'thank-you' for having the chance to grow all of you for myself."  Was she. . .talking to her plants?  How. . .adorable. . .

_________ then rubbed her hands against each other, to get any excess dirt off, and stood up to go back inside.  As she turned around, though, she came face to face with Russia and was surprised.  "A-Ah!  Russia!  Good morning!" she greeted him, smiling up at him.  She noticed the amused look on his face, and added, "Uhm. . .just how long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to think you're quite adorable for talking to your plants like that," he answered.  Her face darkened in embarrassment, and Russia couldn't help but grin, widely.   Such a cute little nation she was.  He had to have her as his own.  His mind made up, Russia suddenly bent forward and scooped _________ up into his arms – causing her to squeak in surprise before she latched on to his shirt.

"Russia!  What are you –"

"Let's get you cleaned up, little _________," Russia cut her off, in a sing-song voice, "Ah!  I haven't taken a shower yet either.  Why not shower together?  It'll be fun, da?"

"W-Wait – wh-what?"  _________ sputtered, feeling even more embarrassed at what he just said.  There was no way. . .  He couldn't possibly mean that. . .

"Hehe!  And then you can become one with me ~"

"R-Russia!  Wait!  Russia!"  These strange Western customs. . .  _________ needed to learn them – and fast.