Author's notes: I don't own hetalia. I just write horrible fanfiction.
I don't think this turned out so bad, but I'm still really new at this, so don't treat me too harshly haha.
The stupid page breaks aren't working. This may be really difficult to follow until I can get that fixed.
Constructive Criticism is encouraged. Trolling is not
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She had always driven him crazy.
That was the brunette man's thought as he buried his face into Poland's blonde hair . He took in the familiar scent of it. It made his head spin as if he had inhaled some sort of drug. If Poland had laced her hair, he was sure by now he'd be addicted to it. He heard her mumble something into his neck.
"mm?" the Lithuanian refused to tear himself from his spot in her hair.
She mumbled something else, this time more audible. "It's not 'mportant"
Toris smiled slowly, knowing exactly how this routine was going to unfold. "Come on, tell me" he teased.
He could feel her smile as she softly punched the upper part of his back, mindful of what was there. "I'm not tellin'!"
He tilted his head so he could kiss her cheek "Tell me, you're going to have to sooner or later" he whispered into her ear.
She buried her face back into his neck, as if it was a safe place to retreat. Toris thought of her warm, soft embrace, of her sweet smelling hair and personality which somehow managed to be shy and confident at the same time.
His face reddened. She would always drive him crazy, he concluded.
Poland stirred against his shoulder, seeming to try and find a more comfortable place to rest her head. She almost seemed to have fallen asleep until Lithuania heard her whisper, softer than even her breathing.
"I love you, Liet."
In that moment, Lithuania tried to remember every memory he ever had of his beloved Feliks. Countless memories leading up to this very moment.
He wondered what he could have done to make him so lucky.
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It had to be the cold, the toddler decided, hugging herself in a desperate attempt to keep herself warm. The short, blonde girl of only a few years of age glanced about her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was, who she was, who she belonged to.
All she had managed to find out was that it was very, very cold.
She began to wander, aimlessly, trying to find somewhere to be, someone to be with. Hopefully, somewhere warm. She climbed over mountains, made her way across rivers, wandering through dangerous landscapes simply because she didn't have anything else to do.
Then she saw the boy.
He was a brown-haired boy with green eyes. They're just like mine, She would always think. She could never find the courage to speak to him, though, so she watched him. She watched him and made special care that he didn't see her. She eventually stopped her wandering, instead finding more and more interest in this boy.
After around a week or so, The girl noticed the boy crying. For some reason it made the girl want to start crying too. Because of this, she went up to him.
"Why are you crying?" the girl asked. She sat down beside him
The boy didn't even look up at her. It was like he knew she was there the whole time. "I'm... I'm cold..."
She inched closer to him. "Me too..."
Instinctively he moved closer to her, towards the warmth radiating from her body. "Hey... You're warm..."
She again inched closer. "You're warm too"
Another inch. "Maybe if we're together"
They were touching now. "We won't be cold anymore"
Their arms wrapped around each other with innocence that only a child could give, and the girl knew that she had finally found the warmth she was searching for.
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"This is, like, totally unacceptable! Seriously, who did this?" The blonde nation stood shocked at her living arrangements. Someone had screwed up their booking and they were left with one rather small bed instead of two.
She turned to her partner, close behind her. "Isn't this, like, totally dumb? Who's in charge of the booking and stuff? Ludwig? Antonio? I'm SO going to, like, beat them up!" She put her face closer to his, her mouth in the shape of an upside-down v. "Isn't this unbelievable?"
Uh-oh, rant mode. "Yeah, whoever did this clearly had no idea what they were doing". The Lithuanian could just see the romance language countries snickering, or Ukraine and Hungary making up stories about them as they spoke.
Poland let her bag fall from her shoulder to the floor beside the bed. "It doesn't help that they wouldn't even let me, like, talk at ALL during the meeting, either." She sighed and sat down. She looked up at Lithuania, who seemed to be glancing about the room. "What?"
He briefly considered asking her where he was supposed to sleep, but decided to just go with "I'm going to go get changed", and walked off into the bathroom.
By the time he emerged from the bathroom, Poland had already changed into her nightgown, laying under the covers. She demanded Lithuania to shut of the lights, then fell silent.
The tired brunette glanced left, then right. Seeing no possible place to sleep, and really wanting to avoid sleeping in the bathtub, he sank to the floor and tried to rest. That lasted around five minutes before he got up and tried sitting against the wall. That was as uncomfortable as the floor. He glanced at his partner, laying comfortably in the only bed.
The irritated nation felt a nudging at her arm. "Scoot over" she heard, a voice so familiar to her that she could have imagined it. She glanced over her shoulder to see Toris, nudging her.
She just stared at him. "What are you doing?" she asked, acting irritated towards him, but really just confused at his intentions.
His face reddened and he quickly looked away. "I need a place to sleep too... We can sleep back-to-back if you want"
She looked at him for a moment and then turned over, inching away from the edge to give him room. "Fine, Liet. I don't even, like, care. Whatever."
What she didn't tell him was that she turned over only to hide how red her face was.
She felt the mattress shift under his weight. She felt the heat of his back, which faced hers as he had promised.
Surprisingly enough, it didn't feel awkward at all.
Her eyes slowly drifted closed as she secretly wished they would've been closer together.
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Lithuania awoke staring directly at Poland, fast asleep. Her hair spilled over her face, shrouding her mouth and pooling over the pillow her head rested on, curiously enough remaining away from her closed eyes.
He continued to examine her sleeping face before he realized exactly how close together they had become in their sleep.
He spun around, apologizing even though he knew she couldn't hear, suppressing the feelings he felt moments before. After a moment, everything was silent again.
What scared him is how natural all of it felt. It was like Deja Vu, in a way. It felt like he had been waking up to Poland's sleeping face for years. It felt as natural as breathing.
Why?
At the verge of a stomachache, Toris felt the mattress shift behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Poland leaning up, her hair in a wild mess, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve.
She caught his eyes. "You woke me up. You were, like, shaking or something." she said bluntly.
Toris knew better than to provoke notoriously-not-a-morning-person-Poland. "I'm sorry." he said, genuinely and quietly, before turning back around.
He felt her hand on his shoulder, an unusually warm gesture given that she had just woken up, before he felt her turn around so their backs faced once again.
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He didn't know how it happened. He didn't care. All the Lithuanian man knew was that at that very moment Poland was leaning on him, fast asleep. He could feel her warmth, her face so close to his. Her cheek glowed. It was as if the warmth had been contagious, as he felt his own cheeks begin to burn. Mano Dievas. He thought. His eye twitched. He glanced down and saw her open hand by her side, the color of her palm contrasting with the fabric of the couch. He looked up and saw her peaceful face, fast asleep on his shoulder.
She looked lovely.
His hand slid closer to hers, inch by inch. One finger brushed her palm. Then two. He fit his palm neatly into hers. They matched, he felt, almost perfectly. His thumb brushed the back of her hand. He smiled. Poland shifted closer to him, muttering something. He let out a hushed laugh. "As Myliu Tave" He whispered into her ear.
A slow smile and a fierce blush spread across her face. "Yacha kocham, Liet." He jumped, startled at how lucid the response was. The blonde girl opened her eyes. They sparkled at their object of attention.
"Wait, were you... awake this whole time?" He looked at her almost sideways, not realizing he was still clasping her hand.
"And what if I was?" She gifted him with a sly, knowing smile. "You're, like, really sweet sometimes, y'know that?" She raised her face next to his. He could feel her breath.
Without thinking, without reasoning, he planted a kiss on her lips.
He flew backwards, blushing to his forehead. He started to stutter and stumble over his words. "I... I... I..." He glanced away from her.
Another kiss was shared between them. Another reckless, natural kiss was shared between them. Only this time, It came from Poland. Only this time, they didn't break away. Only this time, their eyes stayed closed.
Poland backed away, her arms still wrapped around Lithuania's neck. Her eyes were still half closed. She gave a delirious smile and whispered "...Wow"
Lithuania's face wore the same delirious expression. "Wow..." he parroted. His hands traveled up her back, her shoulders, until he was able to play with the ends of her hair, making loops and running his hands through it.
And at that moment, he knew, there was no one else that could possibly be luckier than him.
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
At least, that's what he had thought.
For as long as he had remembered Lithuania had valued how intimate he was with Poland. From when they were kids to now. He couldn't remember a memory from his childhood without her in the frame somewhere, sans living with Russia.
Strangely, after what had happened, he did not feel satisfied and ecstatic like he thought he would be. Instead he felt edgy, tired, and confused. His stomachaches became more frequent, sometimes so powerfully that he couldn't understand nor concentrate on anything around him. He still longed to see her, and always felt at ease when she was with him, but the moment she left he felt like he was about to throw up.
The single question spun through his mind like a tornado: Why? He took showers compulsively, but seemed unable to get rid of the notion that he was filthy and disgusting. Why? He spoke less, to the point where the other Baltic nations wondered what was wrong with him. Why? Each rotation of his mind felt like another punch to his stomach. Why? Until it finally hit him.
This was incest, wasn't it?
He had lived with Poland his entire existence. The two had practically raised each other. She was always there for him. He was always there for her. Why hadn't he seen it sooner? He wasn't an incestuous person. Incest was something reserved for people like Korea, for people like England and America. Not for him.
Then what was it?
What were the feelings that he had for her?
Was it brother-sister? Did he want a person like Switzerland had Liechtenstein? No, that didn't make any sense. He knew that there was an attraction, Was it a romantic attraction? Was it Best friends? No, he knew it was more than that. Something in the space between close friends and siblings? Something completely different?
God, what was it?
The familiar stomach pains set in, and Lithuania ran outside of the house of the Baltic nations and proceeded to throw up all over Latvia's flower garden.
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It got to a point where Lithuania began feeling uneasy even with Poland in his arms. The familiar feeling of embracing her seemed to take on a strange, unnatural feeling. He hoped it would just go away. At the very least, he hoped Poland would not notice.
The problem was, Poland knew him more than anyone. Lithuania remembered the day after Belarus left him, how his embrace was "Just, like, a tiny bit weird", and how she had instantly asked him what was wrong.
And now he was hoping she had momentarily become blind.
She twist in his embrace, turning to look at him. She rest her head on his chest, below his shoulder. "You okay?" Her green eyes sparkled.
It made him sick.
He shivered and a shadow fell over his eyes. "I'm just fine. You're here, after all".
She smiled, which Lithuania did not have time to register as melancholic. She looked away from him. "Yeah. That's nice".
Something was wrong, she knew. Something was really wrong with him, and she knew the perfect person to get information from.
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"La~tvia!" Poland called in a very sing-song voice. "Come 'ere~!" She gave the abnormally short nation a huge over-the-top hug, despite his shivering and tears at the edge of his eyes.
She stepped away, leaving a blushing Latvia staring at his shoes. "F-Feliks... H...Hi..."
Poland grinned. "Aww, that's not a nice way to treat someone that's, like, related to ya!" She gave him another huge embrace.
"D-Do you need S-Something?" He asked, quietly.
"Actually, I was just hoping you'd, like, tell me a few things, you know, just some talk!" She smiled and waved her hand dismissively while speaking, hoping he liked her enough to start talking.
He looked up at her, not quite making eye contact but starting to warm up to her. "Okay... We haven't really talked in a while, have we?"
Poland grinned from ear to ear had to resist the urge to hug the childlike nation a third hug in a row. "So, like, Liet told me you got into gardening and stuff! That's like, neat! Maybe you can grow us fruits and stuff and we can get fresh food!"
Latvia couldn't bear to cut her off. After she finished he mumbled "Well not anymore..."
Poland didn't fully understand. "Wait, you're... not? Did Liet like, lie to me or something? I didn't think he would do something like that..."
Latvia's eyes widened, eyes glistening and on the brink of tears. "No, No, I was!" He said this as loud as he could, which unfortunately was not very loud. "Its just that all my plants were ruined the other day and I couldn't finish growing them..."
Poland's face was laced with sympathy for the poor teen. "Was it too cold? I heard that can ruin lots of plants"
Latvia looked back down at his shoes, unsure whether or not to speak. He shook his head. Poland managed to hear his mumbled response. "Well, if Lithuania didn't do, you know, then they would still be alive"
Poland's eyes grew and she stepped toward him. "Wait, Lithuania did something?"
Latvia did not look up. "It wasn't his fault, he wasn't feeling good. We kept running out of medicine for his stomachaches. Something really bad must have happened to him. He always was walking around like this." He put both hands on his stomach and leaned over slightly. "and wouldn't stop. He also did this." He put his hands on his temples, clutching at his hair. "You know? It was kind of scary. And then one day we ran out of medicine and when Estonia went to get more medicine for him he lost control and... he, um... threw up on my garden by accident."
Poland found herself nodding along after every word. Her eyes were wide and she trembled slightly. "Is... Is he okay?"
Latvia shook his head "I don't know. He hasn't ever been this bad. Not even at Russia's house."
Poland didn't even bother trying to fake a smile. She was, however, sincere, when she spoke to him again. "Thank you, Lativa. It was great talking to you again." She grabbed his hand.
Latvia squeezed back, looking her in the eyes with his own. He couldn't tell if the blur was from his eyes or from hers. "It was great to see you too."
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"Hey, Liet~" Poland called, not quite loud, but simply like a girl greeting her best friend. The brunette walked into the room and put on a smile for her.
"Hello, its nice to see you" he said, the slightest hint of emptiness in his words.
She took around four steps towards him, and froze in front of him. For some reason it felt awkward. She was just a step away from him, and something seemed wrong. Something natural enough that its absence was strange, left something missing.
It took a moment for her to realize that he had not embraced her.
At first, the thought seemed almost selfish, expecting him to do such a thing. However, looking back, Poland could not think of a single time where the first thing they did after a quick exchange was an embrace. It seemed almost ritualistic by now.
Poland's mental warning sirens went off. She knew he was acting strange, and Latvia had told him enough for her to realize something was wrong. All of that, and now this. Something was very out of place.
She wasn't sure if she wanted to say something. She paused, the awkwardness of the distance between them still lingering in the air. "Hey... Liet, can we talk?"
The taller nation blinked. "Um... Sure"
Poland didn't know if she should cut to the chase or coax something out of him. "Liet, you've been acting, like, really weird, and I want you to stop, because you're making me worried and I think something must've, like, happened to you. Seriously, did something happen?"
Lithuania looked at his shoes. "Yeah. Its just some weird stuff has been happening lately and I'm kind of out of it"
Poland pinned him with her gaze. "Out of it enough to throw up?" she spat, bitterly
Lithuania took a step back, alarmed. "Who told you about that?"
Poland took a step toward him, almost angry now. "What does that matter? Something happened, I know you too well for that to just like, not get noticed! And you're not even telling me about it! What else are you not telling me!"
Poland paused, then her eyes widened, an audible gasp escaping her mouth. She took two steps backwards, away from him. "Are you... Are you... Cheating on me?"
Lithuania's eyes widened as much as Poland's, and then some. "Oh, no! God, no! Poland, listen! I'm not!"
Poland took another step back. "I can't believe you... You're totally cheating on me." tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I didn't... You... would..."she shook her head. Her throat made a noise, so sad that Lithuania nearly broke down just hearing it. Then she turned on her heels and ran out the door.
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Lithuania knew Poland more than she knew herself. As a result, he knew exactly where she would turn in the event of something like that.
Feliciano Vargas, 20, Italian, Five foot seven. They became friends sometime while he was trapped at Russia's, and had grown to become fast friends. He would even venture to say he was her best friend besides him.
He cringed. Maybe he was her best friend now.
He dialed the number that Feliks had always kept on a sticky note beside the phone. His heart lept when he heard Poland's voice answer the phone.
"Feliks!" he practically shouted into the phone. "God, please let me talk"
"Oh, Lithuania, hold on a second." Lithuania heard assorted noises picked up by the receiver.
Yeah, that's nice. Just a little bit lower.
Mm, that feels nice.
Ah, no, that kind of hurts, you know
Ahaha, mm.
"Lithuania, I'm going to have to call you back, I'm a little busy right now."
Ve~? Is that him?
*click*
Poland set the phone back on the table and turned around to a smiling Feliciano. She smiled back at him.
"You can sure give a shoulder massage, Italy~! It takes my mind off of EVERYTHING! I'm like, totes jealous of Germany"
The italian turned his head sideways. "Ve~? I don't think Germany likes it very much...He gets all red and annoyed and tells me I shouldn't be touching him like that when I do it when he comes home from work. Then he stops talking and starts to moan and groan and gasp a lot like someone is hurting him...It's scary."
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Drinking was not something Lithuania did very often. It tend to make his stomach disagree with him the following morning, and he never really wanted to experience that for fleeting moments of pleasure.
But this, as he found himself walking toward the local bar, was something different.
It came as a surprise to him when he saw Germany at the same bar. On hindsight, however, it seemed like the typical place to find a German man.
He sighed and sat down next to him. They acknowledged each other with a nod, and Lithuania ordered a beer.
After around an hour, they were in a blissful conversation. Lithuania slammed his glass on the counter. "You know, Germany, I could've SWORN that Feliciano had a thing for you. Like, I was SURE!" He hiccuped and took another long drink. "But apparently NOT! Now Poland won't talk to me or be with me or confide in me or hug me or ANYTHING!"
Germany seemed to hold his liquor much better than the brown-haired nation, only being a bit dizzy after a few drinks. "You know, I could've sworn he had a thing for me too. I'm a little bit depressed, come to think of it" He downed the rest of his beer and motioned for the bartender to get him another.
Lithuania stared at his hand from behind the empty glass, somehow registering that it was even more blurry then everything else. "She thought I was cheating. I wasn't. I wasn't!" He barked at the bartender for another beer.
Germany looked at him with sympathy, no doubt enhanced by the beers. He put his hand on the other man's shoulder. The miserable drunk looked up at him. "Maybe you should go to her. Tell her your story. Find some way to apologize."
Lithuania lept up in his seat, standing on the bar stool, balance abnormal for a drunk, characteristic of only someone practiced in martial arts. "I'll go to Italy! I'll FIGHT for her! I'll make her mine again! I can't live without her! I'll show her how much I care, and I'll get her back from that Feliciano!" His eyes shone. People in the bar clapped and wolf-whistled.
The bartender walked in front of him. "You're gonna hafta get down from 'der, sir"
Lithuania answered him by falling over backwards.
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After another half hour passed, both the German and the Lithuanian were roaring drunk and causing quite a disturbance.
"Okay! So lets recap!" The Lithuanian man draped his arm around the taller German. "I go to Italy, and like, fight Feliciano for Poland" He took another sip of his glass with his free hand. "And then I get her back and EEEEVERYTHING is okay again."
"And I'm going to go and fight Poland to get Italy back!" the German said in a confident, but clearly drunk out of his mind, tone of voice.
Lithuania removed his arm and looked at him sideways. After a pause he seemed to understand what the man was implying. "You can't fight Poland! What are you, drunk? She's a girl! You can't fight girls! Much less my beloved Poland!"
Germany widened his eyes menacingly and began to shout at the man who was his friend until three seconds prior. "So what am I supposed to do! Just let you fight Italy and just do nothing!"
"You aren't gonna fight her!" Lithuania aimed a punch at his face which landed harmlessly on his shoulder. In a moment they began flailing at each other, before the bartender finally got fed up with them and kicked them onto the street.
After a silent moment, their thought progress began to return to them.
"So, to Italy's?" the blonde said
"Please", the brunette responded.
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The trip lasted a few days due to them having to wait out Lithuania's painful hangover. Germany may have had one of his own, but he never had one that involved being unable to stand, what seemed like continuous vomiting, and self-destructive comments and actions.
Well... Maybe he had, but the point was that it was never as painful as what the Lithuanian was going through
Germany went to put his hand on the shoulder of the vomiting mess that was Lithuania, but stopped, briefly considering the gesture being painful. This left him awkwardly crouching beside him.
"I'll be fine" he said shakily. "After all, I'm going to... win her back, right?" his stomach contracted and he bent forward, grabbing his stomach and moaning loudly. "She's going to... Forgive me... right?"
His stomach condensed like a black hole. His habit of looking at the negative side of situations got the best of him, as he imagined every possible scenario, all of them ending in failure.
She wasn't going to forgive him, was she?
Germany put a hand on Lithuania's shoulder, seeing now that assurance would make up for any sort of pain.
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The German did not hesitate to tell Lithuania where Italy lived, an address so familiar to him he could recite it backwards. It was simply the act of going to the door which made both of the grown men freeze in their tracks. Both men realized, after standing within reach of the place that housed their respective lovers, that neither of them had any idea what they would say once they actually got the chance to speak to them.
They were painfully aware of how drunk they must have been to get this far without any thought whatsoever.
"What do we do now?" The German asked after a long pause and a moment's staring at the door. The door felt oddly both inviting and uninviting, the colorful playfulness of the color scheme clashing with the mutual understanding of what lay behind it.
Toris's stomach ached as he turned from the door, taking a few steps away from it. "I can't do this. I can't."
Germany turned and ran a step to catch up with him. "You have to. We came all this way" He tried to sound confident, tried to sound like there was no way he could fail.
"I can't, Germany. I can't. What if she's happier with him than with me? What kind of person would I be to tear that apart? I don't want to be that selfish." Lithuania looked at his feet and began to walk away, defeated.
Germany grabbed his arm and spun him around, "You have got to be out of your mind!" he shouted into his face.
Lithuania's eyes burst open, terrified of Germany's screaming expression, even more terrified of the message he was shouting.
Germany hesitated, then continued to yell at the shorter nation. "You matter too, you know, its no use if this is just going to leave you miserable for the rest of your life!"
At this, Lithuania snapped. He deflected Germany's hands off of his arms and bolted a fist that stopped within an inch of his face. "You are the one who is out of his mind. I will never be as important as Poland. I will never matter as much as Poland does. And there is nothing that will convince me otherwise."
Germany didn't speak for a moment, even after Lithuania lowered his hand. It took him a moment to decide what to say. "Who do you think would love her more? Someone she met a few years ago or someone who had just finished with a speech like that?"
And with that, Germany motioned towards the door, silently asking him to try.
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When Poland answered the door she came face to face with, much to her despair, the one she expected to show up most.
She almost felt guilty about having so much dread for this confrontation.
Poland's greeting smile fell off of her face, and she tried to slam the door. The only thing that stood in the way of a nasty slamming noise was Lithuania's foot.
"Poland, let me explain myself!"
The blonde haired woman crossed her arms. Her piercing green eyes glared at him, a dramatic change from the regular sparkle they normally had. "Then talk." She spat out at him.
"I never cheated on you! Never! I don't know where you got that from!" Lithuania began shouting, gesturing with his hands. "I'll explain to you whatever you want! I just want you to come back. I... I just want you to be mine again. I know its selfish, I know its not right. You need to know that I never cheated on you!"
"Then why were you acting so weird? Like, seriously, Lithuania, I know you, and I know that you don't act like that! It was like, totes wrong! So if you didn't cheat on me, then tell me what really did happen."
Lithuania was silent.
Poland's eyes clouded, reminiscent of a small child being denied . "See? I know you." She slammed the door again.
And again it was blocked by Lithuania's foot.
"Truthfully? It felt weird. Being with you. It was almost like incest." Lithuania looked up at her and found her even more dysfunctional than before.
"Wh...What?" Poland's voice was unsteady. Lithuania thought she was at the brink of tears.
Lithuania tried his best to keep eye contact. "But you know what I found out? I found out that I couldn't function without you. I found out that I don't want anyone that isn't you. I found out that no one in the world matters to me but you. I found out that I want you back, but I also found out that what I want more is for you to want me back. Above everything else, I found out that I love you more than anything else in the world."
There was a pause. A pause that lasted forever. Feliks did not know what to say. Toris did not know what else to say. It was a standoff, each of them silently begging for the other to make the first move.
"Poland! Hug! Hug~!" The short Italian flung himself onto the blonde, embracing her from behind. "Who was at the door?... Ve~? Who's this?"
Lithuania reared back as if he had been slapped by an invisible hand. He spun around and ran off, leaving a surprised Poland at the door, leaving a confused Italy clinging to her, and leaving a jealous, furiously redfaced Germany hiding in the bushes.
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Lithuania spent the next few days trying to memorize the ceiling pattern above his bed. After all the time he'd lived in his house, he had always thought that the ceiling was simply a solid blue. However, after a few hours observations he could clearly see the directions of the paintbrush. He imagined a man standing on a stool, painting the ceiling slowly, horizontally, as if nothing else was important at the time. He imagined it in slow motion. He imagined it happening twice as fast. He imagined it happening in reverse. He spent hours envisioning the careful strokes.
All of this was his fault, wasn't it?
His stomach felt like it was going to split in half. He focused on an area of the ceiling. It was an area that had been painted with a vertical stroke instead of a horizontal stroke. He imagined that the painter fell ill. He thought that someone else, perhaps a boy, had tried to paint a small section, only to slip and fall into the arms of his father.
He had always wanted kids.
Lithuania turned on his side and stared at the wall. The phone was laying on his nightstand, slightly askew. He reached out and managed to grab it without leaving his bed. He glanced at the small, monochrome screen.
"0 new messages"
Lithuania dialed Poland's number. The familiar string of numbers seemed so difficult to input. The numbers were completely strewn, finally, across the screen. His finger brushed the "send" button. He withdrew his hand, staring at the linear screen. He was torn between calling her, telling her how much he loved her, and throwing the phone out the window.
What would he say?
Slowly, his finger moved to the "Off" button of the phone. He set the phone down and glanced out of the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of his lovely neighboring country.
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Poland was not very fond of gardening. It made her all dirty and stuff, a state she did not enjoy being, unless it was because of sports.
For some reason, however, Poland was absolutely drawn to her backyard. It was strange. It seemed like she was noticing aspects of life that went by unnoticed until now. Grass was no longer a single body, but a collection of tiny plants, all aligned and vibrantly green. She imagined an individual strand of grass , shivering in the wind. She imagined its head being cut with a lawnmower, only for it to grow, faster, faster. She imagined it in slow motion. She imagined it twice as fast. She imagined the strand's life cycle in reverse.
She screwed up, didn't she?
She furiously shook her head and turned to face another direction. A bright red corn poppy caught her eye, captivating her with its bold color. An ant crawled up its stem. A lone ant, far from its colony, climbing the stem of a flower with nothing to offer it.
Alone.
She put her head in her hands. She could tell she was on the brink of tears. She fought against it, fighting with all her willpower.
Alone.
The ant had reached the top of the flower.
Alone.
She felt about to break. She ran onto her porch, grabbing her phone.
"0 new messages"
She dialed his number, as fast as she could. Her finger leapt for the send button. Then she froze.
Just what exactly did she plan to say?
She threw the phone away as if it were a hot coal. Then, finally, Feliks broke down and cried.
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
Ludwig was the embodiment of determination. Every element of his history would testify to it. Nothing he did was done without full dedication, whether it be wars or alcohol.
This included personal relationships as well.
Germany did not hesitate to dial his favorite Italian's number into his phone. He did not hesitate when he heard the familiar "Pronto?" from the receiver. He did not slip on his words.
"Italy. We have to talk. Where can I meet you".
"Ve~? We could take a walk..."
"Outside your house then. 4:30. I'll be there."
Germany hung up.
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
What do I do? What do I do, What do I do, What do I do?
The Italian ran about his home, trying to find a suitable shirt, pair of pants, socks, shoes; trying to think of something to say, how to react, how to speak...
"Ve~! Poland~! Help!" He was absolutely miserable.
"Hm? Like, what's up, Feliciano?" Poland hardly glanced up from her book.
"G-Germany! Germany needs to talk to me and he hung up after telling me and I want him to like me and I'm scared and I think he might be mad and I want to look good and-"
"Whoa!" Feliks cut him off before he talked himself into submission. "You need to like, chill out. Seriously." She looked up from her book. "So tell me what's the matter."
Feliciano took a few deep breaths and spoke at the exact same speed as previously. "Germany told me he needs to talk to me and he's going to be here in half an hour and I don't know if he's mad and I'm worried he won't like me anymore and I don't want Germany to be mad at me and..."
Poland sighed. Being an expert in panic-speak, however, she managed to find the key details. "So Germany needs to talk to you and is going to be here soon?" she asked.
The Italian simply nodded, taking no comfort in being understood.
Poland smiled, a melancholy envy apparent in her expression. "He's totes gonna ask you out! Like, seriously!"
"Ve~? You think? What if he's mad?" For once, Italy remained unconvinced.
"Trust me, like, seriously. Lemme help you pick out some clothes, and then you'll see that I'm so totally right and you'll be a happy couple. Kays?"
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
Italy exited his own house 4 minutes and 37 seconds later than Germany had specified. He, of course, was precisely on time, and chose to not scold Feliciano about his tardiness. The Italian seemed nervous enough as it was.
"H-H-He-Hey G-G-Ger-Germany." The Italian stuttered and tripped over his own words, causing Germany to mildly blush.
"Italy. I need to ask you something. I want you to swear you won't get angry with me about it."
Italy froze. "I p-promise!"
There was a pause.
"Do you... Do you have feelings for Feliks?"
Italy's heart sank, having heard what was certainly not a date offer. That feeling was replaced with absolute confusion once he fully understood what was being asked of him.
"What? Of course not, Ve!" Italy pouted. He crossed his arms. "Who said that?"
Germany took a step back, surprised. "But... Didn't she leave Lithuania for you?"
Germany's puzzled face seemed to explain everything to Italy. His eyes widened, allowing the world to see his normally unseen honey-colored eyes. "Y-you mean that I... He... You... Lithuania... She... I have to go talk to Poland right now!" He turned around and ran, only for Germany to stop him by seizing his hand.
"So... you don't have feelings for anyone?"
Italy smiled, his eyes returning to their normal state. "Maybe someone" he replied, then he broke free and returned home.
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
Lithuania had finally summoned the strength to get up and take a shower. He felt bored and lethargic, but could not stand to stay in that bed for another hour. After showering and getting dressed, he wandered into Estonia, who was carrying a phone.
"Ah. Lithuania. Poland is on the phone. She wants to speak with you."
Lithuania had always admired Estonia, to an extent. He was intelligent, and usually rather strong. He had always seen him as a sort of older brother. He always seemed to know what he was talking about, no matter...
Wait, Poland?
Lithuania snatched the phone away from him and ran off, leaving Estonia bewildered, but smiling.
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
"Poland? Is that you?" Toris was almost shouting into the phone.
"You need to come over. Like, right now." said the familiar voice.
Lithuania heard a click, then ran out the door with no hesitation.
xxxxXXXXXXxxxx
Lithuania stood awkwardly in the familiar room belonging to Feliks. Facing the woman he knew he loved, he was at a loss of what to do, of what to say. He was torn between running to embrace her and turning around and leaving. Lithuania was completely and utterly confused.
"Italy told me what you, like, thought I did" she said slowly. Lithuania hung his head.
"It was selfish of me to try and screw that up. I'm sorry, Poland." Lithuania turned and walked out. Poland shouted at him to stay.
"I don't love Italy. Germany loves Italy. And Italy loves him back. Not me. And..."
Lithuania turned and faced her. "and?"
Now it was Poland who was at a loss for words. She glanced around, unsure of what to say next. A minute passed. Five minutes. It seemed like all time had stopped. She wiped her eyes.
And then she ran to him.
She ran to Lithuania, burying her face into his neck. Her desperate gamble was met with nothing less than a loving embrace from Lithuania. "And I want you back" She mumbled into his neck.
She had always driven him crazy.