Book 2 - The Angel Against Revolution

XIV - Reconcile

Russia relaxes back against the bed and fights back a yawn. He stares down at America, who sleeps soundly. Tinted sunlight filtering through the curtains and onto America's face. It illuminates his face in a way Russia couldn't describe.

Dumbstruck, Russia tenderly brushes a few strands of wet hair off America's face.

He tries to memorize the image.

America's cheeks are still flush with fever, but he had stopped shivering, which is relieving. Russia looks up again as a thought strikes him, snapping out of his daze, and he grabs his bag. He pulls it to his side and begins digging through it, looking for the little arctic fox he had taken to calling Katya. He pulls it carefully out of his bag and cradles it in his free hand.

The little thing sits in his palm, and he pets it with his thumb. The plush animal is fuzzy and white. Its eyes smile.

"Hey, what's that?" Arizona asks, pointing to Russia's hand.

"A little fox America gave me," Russia replies with a small smile.

"It's cute," Philippines comments.

"Yes, it is," Russia agrees, smiling.

'Maybe I could put it in my hat.'

He pulls his hat off his head and finds that only one of the pockets opens anymore. The stitching on the patch closed the second pocket. He shrugs.

'The patch looks nice. I don't use that pocket for much anyway.'

He tucks the plush animal into the right pocket, and its head peeks out from under the flap of the pocket. Then, one of the burner phones begins to ring. Philippines grabs it and fumbles for a second before answering.

"Hello?...Hi Dixie...Yeah, I'll hand it over to Russia...Papa is sleeping," Philippines says before handing Russia the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi Ruski. I was just checking in. How's everything going so far?"

"It is alright. We are stuck in a motel, and America is ill, but everyone is alright."

"Stuck in a motel?"

"Some things outside are waiting for us to open the door."

"Oh. Anything else?"

"America is sleeping right now."

"He has been actin' weird, right?"

"Yes. Conflict between his people and his government."

"God help him. Will he be alright?"

"He says he will be, but he is feverish. I worry for him."

"And thank the Lord you do, because I can't be there to do it for him."

"He says he'll be fine with more sleep."

"Did he sleep last night?"

"No. The knocking started an hour after we arrived."

"Well, sleep would do him some good. But try to leave around noon. York-y says the place y'all stopped at is pretty sketchy, and you shouldn't be staying there for long."

"Okay."

"And you should probably call your dad if you haven't already."

"What?"

"'m sure Amy would be buggin' you about it if he wasn't sleepin', and if you're gonna be stuck for a while, so you should do it while you can. Sides, I'm getting kinda tired of taking calls from your family. Ain't no understandin' 'em when they're angry."