Me again with another gift-fic, this time for WeDon'tKnowEnoughToUnderstand who was my 150th reviewer for The Duty of an Elder Son! Please go read that too if you like this, it's a 20s mafia story for hetalia :D
Anyway, I was asked to write a fluff story for Belarus and Belguim on the morning of one of their birthdays. I went with Belarus, I hope that's okay :)

I've never wrote for them before properly but it was an interesting experience. I don't ship them either so that was weird xD I wasn't too sure if I'd done them right but I hope you like it WeDon'tKnowEnoughToUnderstand and that you guys like it too. I really enjoy doing these, it's nice to give back to the readers :)

I also decided to go with the name Anri for Belgium seeing as she doesn't have a canon name and I use that in the mafia story.

Hetalia characters do not belong to me

oOo

The morning of the twenty fifth of April rose like the many before it, bright and cheerful with a hint of summer in the air. The sun shone in the sky and there was a cool breeze drifting in from the east that lifted the leaves of the trees in a calm rattling chorus as their crisp edges moved together. The night before had been wet and the light smell of rain lingered on the air as it passed through the open window. Belarus had opened it, she loved the sound of rain and it was that that had lulled her off to sleep but now the breeze filled her room with the heavenly scent of her own land which thrived under the spring sun.

It was her birthday.

The thought struck her as she lay on her bed, uncurling her body from the cramped sleeping position that she always managed to get herself into. Her blue eyes stared upwards at the ceiling, watching as the morning light skipped playfully through the gap in her curtains as they flapped in the wind. Belarus sighed loudly and with one tired hand she reached out for her mobile on the bedside table, her hand skittering blindly over the surface before finally finding it. A quick look at the screen told her she had no messages and she threw it onto the bed dismissively.

Typical: everyone had probably forgotten her birthday. It would not be the first time she had expected messages and only got a guilt laden belated card from her sister at the next meeting. Russia had not even bothered to apologise personally but had signed the card with Ukraine, smiling bashfully at her side as she handed her the tatty thing, stained with coffee from the trip. She had tried to tell herself she didn't care but the memory always brought unbidden tears to her eyes before she could stop them, burning her vision. She had at least thought after the disaster last year things would be different this year. She had at least expected one lousy message from her family, or maybe even-

A sudden crash rang out downstairs, the tinkle of breaking glass cutting through the serene morning like a knife. Belarus was up like a shot, her eyes fixed on the doorway of her room as if expecting someone to force their way in. Nothing happened. There was no one in the house but her and it was not the day her cleaning lady usually came to work. Her mind automatically jumped to conclusions, imagining masked men running through her house, hunting her down. Nations were always in danger of humans finding out who they were, their close links to the government made them prey to attacks even if the humans that got to them did not know what they really were. They could be used as hostages to get money or 'killed' for power. It was not the first time she had received assassins into her home, but it was the first time she relished the rude awakening. There was no fear in her heart as Belarus slipped her hand under her pillow to grab her trusty knife from its usual place, twirling it through the air before catching it expertly. These people had picked the wrong day to break into her house.

Her step down the stairs onto the first floor was quick and light, barely audible to the ear. At the foot of the steps that lead onto the long wooden hallway she listened intently for sounds of the intruder, or intruders, waiting on edge for any indication of their whereabouts in the house. It was bright on the bottom floor too, the sun flickering through the glass doors of the living room that she had closed the night before. No one had gone that way then. She listened closely to the sounds of her house; the creak of the wooden shutters as they flapped in the breeze, the gurgle of the pipes, searching for anything that was out of place.

There: the sound came from the kitchen. Clattering noises as though someone was routing through her cupboards. Where they looking for valuables amongst her pots and pans? What sort of idiots were they? A twinge of regret touched her at the knowledge, a common robber she could not kill; although it did not mean she couldn't scare them a little bit. Now that was fair game. Like a cat she lurked silently towards the door, the noises in the kitchen getting louder as she drew closer. They really were not trying to mask their intrusion. Either they thought the house was empty or they were really stupid. Either way, this would be fun. A smirk curled onto her lips as she threw herself around the kitchen door, throwing her knife through the air towards the assailant. She aimed for somewhere next to the figure so it embedded itself in the counter top. She moved to rush them from behind but the short, feminine scream that filled the room made her stop in her tracks. It was almost familiar, wait a second-

"Natalia, what the hell?" The intruder asked. They were not wearing a mask or even black but a causal tea-dress and a headband to keep back their short blond hair from their face. They had put on one of her apron and seemed to have emptied the contents of her cupboards onto the counter-tops. The glass that she had heard shatter lay in the recycling bin, a dustpan and brush still out of the cupboard.

Belarus blanched inwardly at her mistake but kept her voice and face even as she spoke, even though her heart beat wildly in her chest. If she'd missed... "I thought you were an intruder, Anri. What are you doing here?"

Belgium pouted, red faced as she crossed her arms looking cross; her green eyes narrowed in Belarus' direction in annoyance, not quite ready to forgive just yet. "I have a key silly, you gave it to me, remember? I came to wish you a happy birthday of course. Did you forget or something?"

Belarus blinked and really looked around the kitchen properly. It all made sense now, she had been oblivious on her part. Anri had been attempting to cook her something, she had got out various bowls and pans; a pile of ingredients sat in wait on the side beside a tray, set up with a flower and a wrapped gift. She blushed, she had awoken to no messages and her her heart had wrapped itself in acceptance to protect her from the crushing weight of the truth, she had not expected anything. From anyone. Yet here was Anri. The other girl was tired looking and jet lagged from the trip but there was a pleasant glow to her cheeks, despite the becoming pout on her reddened lips she looked amazing as always. She had even put on a little make-up, Belgium never usually wore make-up except for special occasions such as the parties the Italian's threw and other stuff like that. It was a habit all of the female nations had got into, they were used to going bare faced from times when there was no such thing as make-up. Even now Belarus found the chore of putting the creams onto her skin mildly suffocating. The fact that Anri had gone to all the effort for her was touching. No one had ever done so much for her on her birthday before; or at all when she thought about it.

"Thank you." She wanted to say more but she could not find the words, they halted at the back of her mouth. Don't show your emotions, don't make a fool of yourself. She hurried forward to remove the knife from the kitchen side with a little force, it was embedded deep and took a good twist of the wrist to pull it free. Belarus dreaded to think what would have happened if she had aimed to kill.

Belgium's expression softened and she smiled brightly at the acceptance. She grabbed Belarus's hand gently and held it, ignoring the increasing look of embarrassment on the other girl's face and the knife held in her other hand. People usually avoided her when she was carrying it, she wasn't sure why, but Belgium was an exception to the rule. "I knew you'd be here alone all day so I wanted to make it special, you don't mind do you?"

Of course she didn't. She would not allow herself to admit that it was all she wanted, some attention on her birthday of all days but it was the truth. And the fact that it was Anri made it all that more special. The two of them had known each other for a while since the nations had started the tradition of annual meetings, but they had bonded recently at a 'girly' party that Hungary had organised. Belarus had hated the idea but been dragged by Ukraine to have 'fun', her older sister had complained she never got out enough and needed to socialise. She didn't want to, she knew they were all scared of her and it had broke her heart and built it back up in frost and ice. She did not want to be feared, not by anyone. It reminded her of her brother too much and his constant refusal of her affections. The party was asking for trouble. Alone she would be safe, alone was good because she could not be hurt like the pain in her chest she felt when looking at Russia and the dislike on his chiselled features. He was so accepting of Ukraine it tore her to bits that he looked at her as though she was mad; times had changed, she had changed.

So, not looking forward to the evening, Belarus had grudgingly agreed to go. It was a stupid thing really; all the other girls wanted to do was gossip or talk business. She had not been in the mood for either. Hungary and Taiwan had been giggling secretively in a corner for most of the night and the other girls had avoided her like the plague.

And then Belgium had sat next to her and offered her popcorn, Natalia remembered she had stared at the blond like she was crazy. She was half tempted to send her away. No one willingly sat next to her but her sister, and even then that was at a push. But there was a nation who she rarely interacted with, being kind to her. Her natural reaction was to act aloof but Belgium seemed unfazed by Belarus's disposition, in fact she seemed find it funny and bounced off her cool words like a ball against a wall.

A few meetings later and they organised to go out together to a bar. Belarus remembered the nervous knot in her stomach and how she had tried to combat it by twisting her dress in her hands as she waited for the other woman to arrive, sat on one of the bar stools with an untouched glass before her.

Part of her had thought she would not turn up. Part of her hoped she wouldn't. Confusion had been eating in her heart at the so very confusing feelings she had towards the other girl, they were on first name terms but still that didn't mean anything did it? But then why did she enjoy her company? Why was it when she was with Belgium she no longer thought of her siblings and her isolation, but instead felt welcomed?

The night out had gone well though. Belgium had been as bubbly and friendly as she always was and Belarus found herself forgetting everything; the problems with her brother, the difficulties of being a nation, the hassle her boss was giving her were all washed away in the others smile. And at the end of the night when Belgium had pecked her cheek with a light kiss her mind had gone blank, making her long for another just to feel that free again.

It was euphoric in a way and now she was here, on her birthday to spend the day. This relationship meant something. It was not business, it was not necessity but right. The sight of Belgium standing in her kitchen, wearing her apron was right. A smile formed on her face, small and stretching the muscles in an unfamiliar but enjoyable way.

"Of course I don't mind," She said, reaching over to help Belgium by picking up the right pans from the cupboard and putting away the wrong ones. "Here, how about I help you with the food? It'll be done quicker if we're both working on it."

Anri considered it for a moment, her face tilted to the side in an adorable fashion before nodding, a smile placing on her lips. "Sure, why not? Pass me the milk will you? I left it in the fridge."

Belarus did as asked as the other woman chatted aimlessly about her plans for the day; the words flew over her in a warm wave of comfort and she realised she did not care what she did today as long as she could spend it with her. She returned to the other girls side, placing the milk delicately on the surface beside the other ingredients. Anri surprised her by suddenly leaning forward and placing a caste kiss on her lips, retreating with a smirk on her lips at the blush on her face.

Yes, Natalia thought, this was going to be a good day.

oOo

Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review :)