Washed Up On the Shore (Hetalia Fanfic)

Chapter 2~*~

Matthew's POV

"Here," I said, handing Melina the bowl of hot soup with a spoon in it. She accepted it timidly and stared at the steaming broth, almost unsure. When she set it down on the couch and waved a hand over it like she was looking for strings attached to a puppet, I came back over and put the spoon in her hand, gesturing how to eat with it. Melina gave me a blank look, so I tried to show her by eating from my own bowl.

Melina blinked owlishly at me for a second before turning to her own bowl and trying to scoop some broth up. She tipped the spoon sideways and watched it fall back in a steady stream. She smiled and tried again, letting it drip back again.

'Has she never eaten with a spoon before? What kind of people would that be?' "Melina?" She looked up and at me. "Try it like this."

Melina watched my actions and mirrored them, actually getting soup in her mouth this time. Her expression changed to one of wonder as she swallowed the vegetables and noodles.

"Ce cha toh ist!" she said in surprise when what was in her mouth was gone.

"What was that?"

"Uhm... Hoth?"

I thought about it. "Do you mean "hot"?"

She nodded. "Di~ yes. Hot!"

"Is it too hot?"

"Too? Too hot? N... No."

'She actually answered a question correctly!' "You can blow on it if it is."

"Blow?"

"Like this." I spooned up more soup and blew on it gently before putting it in my mouth. "Now you try."

"Try... I try!" She did the same thing as I but blew too hard and sprayed some onto the floor. "Haha~"

'She acts so much like a child... Is she really nineteen, or close to that age?'

"Alright, if you finish up we can go to sleep." My palms were pressed together and I put them under my cheek to pantomime sleeping. Melina nodded and copied me, closing her eyes as well for a moment.

"Sleep~ I know."

"What English /do/ you know?" I asked curiously. Her communication was getting better, and she'd only been awake for a little while, maybe fifteen minutes.

"English I know? Uhm... Sue-gar."

"Sugar?"

"Di! Erm... Pap-riko?"

"Paprika? Spices?"

"Spices! Ocean, shipwreck, anchor, ship, bad ship, fish, mermaid! Rum!"

"Rum?" I echoed, and she nodded while making a face of disgust.

"Rum ick. Why is the rum gone?"

I smirked at that. "I don't know, I don't have any."

"No rum? Yay~" She made a move to stand again but fell back because of her leg.

"Don't try to get up, Melina," I said quickly. "You're still hurt."

"No hurt. Ocean! Swim~"

"You want to swim? You can't swim, Melina. You're hurt."

"Aww... Want swim, ocean, fish..."

"Sleep?"

"Di~"

"Alright, we'll go to sleep now." I went into my room and grabbed a pillow off the bed, bringing it back to the living room so I could give it to Melina. "Here's a pillow, and I'll find a blanket."