We Don't Care (Gerpol)

Chapter 22

Germany's P.O.V.

Just don't look past the waist. Focus on his face. Face. Face. I stare at Poland's face so intensely he starts to look a little nervous.

"Uh..." Every word I know leaves my head.

"Am fine," Poland answers my question before it left my lips. He pulls his knees to his chest self-consciously. "Thank."
"Bitteschon. (German: you're welcome)"

I turn around, looking for something to distract me from staring at Poland in the bathtub. God, why is he so cute?
I decide to clean the mirrors; they have been looking a little nasty lately.

There's some small splashing from where Poland is sitting, then silence.
"Niemcy?" He says.
I turn my head, but keep my eyes on the fingerprints. "Ja?"

"This is soap?" I hear his arm move out of the water to show it to me. My eyes travel to the bottle and nearly fall out of my head.

"W-where did you get that?!" My embarrassment floods my senses. Poland points to the side of the tub with a small shrug. "Is it soap or no?"

Why did I think it was a good idea to put that there? Gosh darn.
"Um...no." I say slowly, and gesture for him to give the bottle to me.

The little pole narrows his eyes at the bottle one last time before handing it over. I shove it in a cabinet, hoping it takes every memory with it.

"Here's the soap," I continued, giving a smaller container labeled "Seife" (German: soap) to him. "There should be a cloth in there somewhere."

I hear him rub the liquid on his body, and I sneak a glance with the mirror. Poland's expression is far away, almost absent from this world. It's concentrated. But vague at the same time.

Thank goodness he couldn't read German, or else there'd be a heck of a lot of awkwardness in here right now.

"I'll wash your clothes," I say quickly, needing another distracting task. "Yell if you need anything, okay?"
He gave a small nod, still watching the faucet as if he'd never seen one before.

I pick up the garments, leaving the small bathroom. When I stop in the laundry room and spray pre-detergent on them, my mind starts whirling.
Why was he so lost in his thoughts? Sure, we all zone out sometimes, but that was a little spooky. Was he thinking about me? Or his family? Or maybe just the fact that we nearly-

The bottle slips out of my hands, clattering to the floor. My fingers tremble, and I glare at them.

As I lean down to retrieve the bottle, Austria slams open the door. "Hey Germs!"
"AH!"
"Oops," she says, startled by my fearful reaction. I put a hand to my chest to feel if my heart is still beating.

"Laundry is pretty scary, huh?" She jokes. I allow myself a small laugh.

"No, just lost in my own head I suppose."

"Well good thing I'm here to find you."

We laugh they way good friends laugh, deliberate and heartfelt.
"What I really came to say is, why is Poland in your bathtub?"

I stop laughing. "Long story..."
I tell her about Russia and I meeting him on the way back, then skip the part about last night.

"He vomited this morning, and it got all over him, so I came to wash his clothes."
Austria looks me up and down before shaking her head, her bow waving from side to side.

"I know you more than you know yourself, Germs."

"Okay fine, I just needed a distraction."

"That's not what I'm talking about, and we both know that. "
I pick up the bottle of pre-detergent, turning to face the clothes. Just a minute ago we were laughing. Why can't we be like that again, instead of whatever kind of conversation this is?

I sweep them into the top of the washing machine, pouring the liquid detergent inside. After pushing a few buttons, it begins it's familiar whir.

"Germany."
I jump. Austria's still here?

"You gotta take him home sometime, you know."

"Yeah, I know." I shrug one shoulder, as if it doesn't bother me.
But the truth is, it really does bother me.
Without Poland, I feel like I have no purpose. He's the missing piece in my puzzle of life.

Austria pushes my shoulder back lightly. "I'm sure it's not that bad, you'll visit each other, right?"
I bite my lip to stop crying. I feel it rising in my throat.
No no no!

"Mhm," I mutter. "I think...I'll go check on him."

I push past her, catching hurt in her eyes before I make it back to my room. To Poland.
Who's still in the tub.

"Henlo," he says, turning his head to look up at me.  I've lost count of how many times his eyes make my heart stop.

"Y-yes. Are you ready to get out? Surely the water's cold by now?"
"Yes please."

"Uh...here's the towel. I can leave-"

"Why?"
"What?"

"Why leave?"

My cheeks being to burn. "Because...you might want privacy." Poland stares at me, clearly still not getting it.

"Um, stand up, and then wrap this around yourself." He started getting up, and I stared at his face once again.
His chest is covered in numerous scars, big and small, surface scrapes and deep gashes alike. They clashed with one another, sometimes overlapping, fighting for space on his marked body.

I wrapped it around his waist, securing it with a tuck under the top towel layer. "There," I said, stepping back. The Polish country turned around slowly. "Cool."
"I'll get some clothes, wait here."
"Okay."

I pull the drawers on my dresser open, grabbing a big shirt and shorts. The shirt has an astronaut giving a thumbs up on it. America gave it to me, I think.

I go back to Poland, who is standing butt naked in the middle of the bathroom. I close my eyes quickly, my face boiling with embarrassment.

"Polen! What happened to your towel?" I scolded.

"Fell off," he said casually. I cursed under my breath, and still with closed eyes, hand him the clothes.
"Uh...here."

There's ruffling noises as he slips them on. I open my eyes to see a (thankfully) fully clothed Polish country. Phew. Dodged that bullet.

He's holding out some of the fabric with a sparkle in his eyes. "Wow! What is of this?"
He points to the astronaut.

"It's an astronaut," I explain. "They go on space shuttles, into space." I make a zooming motion with my hands, trying to further define the word.

Poland looks back at the shirt, his scarlet eyes filled with wonder and awe. I've never seen him look so fascinated.

I almost didn't catch it, but I hear him whisper: "Poland can into space."

__________________________

Yay I'm back from the dead
Long chapter because I've been inactive, so I hope you enjoyed ^^
Have a good day/night!

Poland can into space