The pale light was just beginning to leak through the small openings between the long drapes that covered the windows when Russia woke up and found himself in a rather peculiar situation. He rubbed his forehead, trying to sooth a dull ache that covered most of his face and the back of his neck.

Hangover.

He wasn't surprised by that...but more on the tenderness around his eye socket and why the skin felt so puffy and swollen there. In fact...now that he looked on his arms and his chest, there were bruises everywhere, and marks of- good god, were those teeth marks?

Hangover. Black eye. Minor bruises. Bite Marks.

The list was getting longer and more disturbing with each additional stroke to the picture they painted.

He sat up, and felt the cool sheets brush against his bare skin. Completely bare in fact, so add naked to that list and this picture suddenly became much much more vivid. Russia groaned, half in soreness and half in fear that he was going to find Belarus tucked under the comforter next to him, happily sleeping after drugging her beloved brother and finally consummating some kind of marriage.

There was a person next to him...but the hair that splayed out upon the pillow case was not of the silver sleek kind...but of the honey brown wavy kind. The covers were tucked up around her far enough to be modest, but low enough to show she was at least suffering from one of the side effects that Russia had, the naked bit, and looking further saw she too had bruises shaped around her wrists which lay near her head as she breathed evenly in sleep.

Russia rubbed his hand down the side of his face to his mouth, curiously gazing at the sleeping body of Hungary and wondering just how much did she drink last night for this to be the end of what appeared to be a most eventful evening. This did however at least explain his black eye and...more than likely the bite marks as well, she always was so rough on him!

Annoyance pricked in the back of Russia's mind and his eyes narrowed as he tried to think how this would best be handled. It would not be good, no matter what he did or did not remember from the previous evening...Hungary would be absolutely livid the moment she woke up in his bed...under these circumstances. Before he even had a chance to begin finding a way to keep this from turning ugly, she shifted in her sleep, breathed in suddenly and slowly opened her eyes, which shined a pale green from the coming light.

He swallowed and chided himself inwardly for being so worried about her reaction, what did it matter? If she hadn't wanted something like this to happen she should not have drank!

...but the outburst he expected did not come...instead she yawned and mumbled the words, good morning. in lazy unaccented Russian.

Russia was more taken back by this then he had been when he woke up to find Hungary naked in his bed. Still wary, he tested the waters.

"...good morning."

Alright, so it wasn't the most brilliant of tests, but if this civil conversation could be either further established or halted at the simple exchange he would be happy.

Her eyes closed once more, and for a moment Russia thought she had the nerve to fall back asleep, but after a moment she reopened them and sat up, keeping the covers tight over her front and not seeming to mind that her whole left side and back was visible. She indeed...was naked. Russia swallowed again and tried to settle back against the headboard to prop himself up.

Hungary seemed almost out of touch, still half asleep and looking into the distance with misty eyes. She seemed rather content...and Russia felt half out of his mind with the awkwardness of the silence, which was iodd/i seeing as she was the one who usually got so worked up over every little damn thing. Russia was getting suspicious now, and gradually he began to process and think through what he should say...and if truly there was even anything that should be said.

Again, he didn't have to think long, for Hungary provided,

"I...believe you...probably don't have much memory of last night..."

Russia said nothing, the way her voice had trailed he thought there would be more, but when none came he gave a small nod to encourage her on.

"...I think it is perhaps best that way..."

Another outrageously long pause, at this rate he was never going to get her out of here, and with the growing unease he was feeling that was his main goal.

"...have no thoughts to the contrary however...that I did not consent to this." she paused, as if reflecting back upon something before continuing, "...I consented."

Russia found there was not much left to be said after that, and well...he was happy to leave it at just that.

"...vodka has its...side effects." was all he offered to show his understanding, and Hungary nodded with a light chuckle.

"Do not be ashamed, Hungary! Truly, it has happened to better women...and men. But really, forget it- well I suppose we already both did!"

It was a dreadful thing to say, had he been anyone other rather than himself Hungary would have been severely hurt by his words, but instead she snorted in that way she did normally before she was getting into the mood to punch him...then it changed. The laugh became something light and truly amused. Russia had found nothing amusing in what he had said, ruffling offended at her chuckles now.

"What is so funny?"

Hungary composed herself, turned to face him more easily and rested a hand upon his...in a way most familiar and abnormal of a subordinate.

"If I may sir...but I had not a single drop of vodka or anything like it."

She laughed again, this time...tightly, pained and filled to the brim with shame.

"Like I said! I...consented."

Oh.

Oh...

Oh.

"...I think a shot or two would be nice this morning."

Hungary wrapped the blanket around herself more tightly and fetched the bottle and his glass that he assumed was his from the previous night.

What had he been doing last night? Why had Hungary been with him when he was drinking? Where, when, what, how, why?

But seeing as she admitted to being completely sober during this all, he'd get his answers straight from her mouth.

"Explain. This...now." he said, trying to control his tone as he poured himself a shot and sipped it for a moment before taking it down.

"...You...You had them call for me in the middle of the night-"

"-Did I?" he interrupted with a tone of disbelief.

"Yes- you called for me to come to your room last night, I came. You were drunk already, and speaking rapidly in Russian in a way I could not understand."

".and then?"

"I got...angry. I was annoyed at having been ripped out from my room to...to listen to the rantings of a drunk man."

Hungary was never so hesitant to insult him before, this new behavior was curious...and sadly disturbing as well. Russia was certain there was some scheme behind this, some device that would soon present itself in the thickened plot.
"...you grabbed my wrist when I tried to leave-" Hungary rubbed her hand where the bruising and swelling was worst, "-and that's when I hit you in the face...with a leather bound copy of iWar and Peace/i or... an Atlas maybe... I can't remember."

So that explained the mess of sore swollen skin covering his cheek and eye socket. Lovely, he'd need to check it later to make sure the harpy hadn't cracked his eye socket or dislocated his jaw the way the bones kept throbbing.

The only good thing about this little talk being that snippets of the previous nights events seemed to be vaguely playing back in his mind, like a hazy channel getting tuned in, gradually the picture was clearing.

"Yes? And then?" he said coolly when she paused and did not begin again once more.

"And then...I..I don't know." her voice faded, and went into a tight whisper.

"You do know. Do not lie to me, I am giving you a chance to give the truth...of course we can skip that and go straight into punishment for assaulting me?"

Hungary snorted and looked up at him finally to give a smoldering glare,

"And then, sir, you grabbed me by the neck, held me tight and stared down on me...and then we...we were-"

"We were what?"

Hungary sighed and checked to make sure all her skin was covered now, modestly affecting her the more she woke up from her drowsiness.

"...we were...we were kissing."

Oh the silences before were a blessing compared to this one. Russia couldn't hide the sputter in his voice when he said, "...w-what lead to that?"

Hungary gave a pathetic shrug, "I don't know. Like I said. You were drunk...things were tense. It just...it just happened."

The Russian sighed, a great heavy sound as he poured another shot and bowed his head in thought for a moment.

"...you will tell me...every single detail of last night. Every one- don't give me that look- I want to know just what happened last night and whether you are lying and have done something to me that is worthy of punishment."

Hungary did not wipe the look of embarrassed contempt off her face and instead grew more livid with each addition to the demand, "You can go to hell! If anyone was assaulted it was me!"

"Hmph...what happened to "I consented"?"

"That was before."

"Before what? Before I'd known what you did?"

"You shut the fuck up. You shut the fuck up about this being my fault some how, it's not my fault you can't keep it in your pants when your drunk off your-"

There was a loud slap of skin against skin as Russia's hand connected with the side of that offending mouth. Hungary rubbed a hand to the reddened spot, silently continuing her protest in her head now, but expressing it through those damn eyes...those violent sharp eyes.

"So? What do you want now? Can I go?" Hungary stated flatly.

"You may go, when you explain what happened. Obviously...there is more to this then you are speaking and since I have no memory, I want to know."

Hungary crushed her teeth down together, grinding and working her jaw as she worked through a conflict within herself. Something must have won over her other thought because the next moment she blurted,

"You let me go. After you grabbed me...you let me go."

"So you lied?"

"No- no don't try stuffing words in my mouth. What I said happened...but not until later."

Russia's lips curled back in a snarl almost as he drank the shot he had poured and waited for the rest.

"You let me go, and then...you frowned. You spoke to me in Russian...in a way you never did before."

Russia's snarl fell back again as he raised an eyebrow.

"...Are you lying?"

"It's the truth."

He scoffed, "A way I never did before? What does that mean? I speak to you the way I speak, there is no difference in my voice! What you say makes no sense, Hungary."

"...It was gentle." Hungary tried to explain more thoroughly, "You touched my hair, and looked at me...strangely."

The Russian...could somewhat remember this now. Yes, yes...he remembered her standing there- he could see her in his minds eye, gaping as he rambled on about things not even sober he understood. He remembered...the book, his whole face throbbed painfully at that reclaimed memory...and then...yes he remembered grabbing her throat...but he did let go. Why did he let go? Russia's head was beginning to hurt from how hard he had furrowed his brows together.

"You told me something."

"What did I tell you?"

"...you told me-"

Я люблю тебя, даже если вы меня ненавидите.

The words, his own voice speaking them...suddenly rang through his head like the bells chiming in the belfry tower. Her botched pronunciation was blocked by the vivid memory now of his own words forming the sounds perfecting...and of her face...staring at him in such confusion with those beautiful eyes.

Like popping the cork of a pressured bottle, the memories all came flooding back. Memories of her skin...how warm and soft it felt pressed near his own. Memories of how his hands seemed to fit right on the round slope of her hips as she poised her self above him...and how he gripped and held there when she pressed down. The soft curve of her back, the fullness of her breasts...all of these things were coming back in soft...warm, hazy memories of pleasure.

Russia stared at Hungary, speechless as color rose on his face where it hardly ever was visible. He felt something...something isharp/i stab in his gut and spread adrenaline through his body, making his heart suddenly beat fast. He...didn't know what to say, but thankfully he wasn't alone as Hungary now turned her eyes away and pressed her lips tightly together.

"...I...said that?"

"...yes."

Russia wrapped the comforter tight around his waist and got up from his bed, spotting the clothes scattered on the floor around it as he went to the door, pushed it half open and paused on his way out.

"Hungary...you may use my personal bathroom. Clean up, and I will have Latvia bring you clean clothes...then...Estonia shall get you a ticket-"

The woman gave a sound like a repressed sob and Russia paused to give her a moment before finishing.

"...back to Budapest."

"Great. Wonderful. Fuck you very much." Hungary laughed angrily, and wiped at her eyes in a way to try to hide it was to get rid of tears.

It was so quiet now, she was certain he had slipped out and left...until a cool touch brushed one of the tears from her cheek. She jerked her head around to look at him, her eyes wet and vulnerable as her lips trembled slightly.

He tried to speak, to say something that might give her some kind of comfort while still affirming that what had been said meant nothing now...but doubt silenced those cold words. Stammering for a moment, Russia shut his mouth and gritted his jaw behind closed lips.

"...До свидания." he said, and left, the image of her face burned into his mind now, and how quickly it disappeared at his words. For a moment, Russia thought with a bitter smirk, he almost believed she cared about him.