↷ frozen in ρlαce ❅ ˹male!Belarus˼ iii/ix

“I woke up in the middle of the night and you weren't there. Where were you?”

[Name] chewed on her bottom lip as Nikolai's glare continued to go right through her. Her hands were beginning to feel clammy, and her forehead suddenly hot. Was she honestly feeling intimidated by her own patient? How odd.

“Nikolai, I have to sleep too,” she explained with as much confidence as she could muster. Talking with this man was like talking to a lion—she never really knew when he would strike upon her. “I had to leave to get rest myself.”

“You could've slept on the chair,” he countered, his platinum brows furrowed. “Use your head for once.”

“But that's unprofessional. I could be fired for doing such a thing, and I have a family too, you know.” [Name] sighed in defeat. “Nikolai, I didn't come here to argue with you. I came here because I brought you a present.”

His glare lightened just the slightest. From behind her back, [Name] held out a rectangular wrapped box. “It's for the holidays,” she explained, placing it in his lap. “Go on. Open it.”

The young man sent the girl a cautious glance, to which she returned with a vigorous nod. Turning his attention back to the box, he slowly peeled the wrapping paper off, as if it were some sort of ticking time bomb. What seemed like hours until he finally tore all the wrapping paper off, did he see it was actually a plain box.

“A box?” he asked, shaking it confusedly. “How boring.”

“It's not just a box,” [Name] replied, “open it.”

Doing as told, the Belarusian male ripped the top off and dumped whatever lay inside onto his empty lunch tray. A sea of puzzle pieces flooded out, a cascade of them filling his tray within a quick, speedy few seconds.

“A puzzle?” he muttered. “Lovely.”

“I'm sure you'll like it, though,” [Name] said with a grin. “Here, I'll help you finish it. It's only 100 pieces, it shouldn't take too long.”

Nikolai sighed, but seeing it'd be rude to turn down the poor girl, he began flipping over all the upside-down pieces right side-up, while she placed all the edge pieces to the side. Together, they began to connect the puzzle piece by piece.

“Hey, Nikolai,” [Name] piped suddenly, “what was it like 70 years ago?”

He paused. That's right. He'd been frozen for over 70 years due to a fatal illness brought upon him. If it hadn't been for the fact Anya and Yuri decided to freeze him in the hospital until a cure had been found, Nikolai wouldn't even be here at this moment. Preserved until technology had advanced, really.

Though if he had known being frozen would've meant he'd be alone in the future, he would've never agreed to it.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he answered. “It's quite different,” he explained. “Obviously the technology is so advanced, but everything is so... different from my world. I look outside expecting to see snow, and instead, I see a stupid hologram of a field of flowers. I look at that cellular phone,” he pointed toward a small rectangular box with an antenna poking out from atop, “and it's a bio thermometer. And that over there,” he gestured toward a computer-looking object, “isn't a monitor, but a washing machine.” Right on time, a small pile of clothes popped out. “Everything is just so... different. I don't like it.”

[Name] nodded understandingly, placing a corner piece on the northeastern part of the puzzle. “It makes sense why you feel uncomfortable,” she replied, “but I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually. It isn't all that bad.”

Nikolai sighed. “I hope so.” He began placing the non-corner pieces in the middle. “But it's not everyday you wake up to hear that you've been frozen by your siblings only to wake up 70 years later. I can only remember bits and pieces of them, and I suppose a normal person would hate their family for doing such a thing, but I... I can't just get myself to do so.”

“They're your family, Nikolai,” [Name] reminded. “Even if you think what they did was so horribly bad, you have to keep in mind they did it for your own good because they cared about you.”

“You're right. I guess.” He shook his head. “I don't even know anymore. I can't remember much about my siblings, besides their names, what they looked like, and how they treated me. And somehow, I miss them. How strange.”

“It's not strange,” [Name] commented, “it's normal. Don't push yourself too hard.”

“Hmph,” was his only reply. He pinched the final piece of the puzzle between his thumb and index finger, and gently pressed it within the puzzle. It wasn't until then he noticed what the puzzle really displayed.

A sunflower patch.

“It's... pretty,” Nikolai commented. “A little too cheerful for me, but pretty. It's almost nostalgic, somehow.”

“Your sister loved sunflowers,” [Name] explained. “I thought you might've liked it too.”

Before much more could be said, a nurse called [Name], and she was rushing out the door. “I'll check up on you later, Nikolai,” she bid with a wave.

But he didn't reply.

The sunflowers. His sister. His beautiful sister. Nikolai could barely remember her, but why did thinking about her make him so happy? Thinking of her face made it seem like he was frozen just yesterday.

Why did she have to do such a cruel thing to him?

Why did she have to leave him alone in the future...?

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