"He can't help it; it's just how he is…"
"That's called Stockholm Syndrome, Liet."
"… Stockholm Syndrome?"
"Yeah. When you get home, like, Wiki it or something. It's what you're feeling, and it's totes not healthy for your mind."

xxxxxx

Toris stared at the computer screen before him. Random words jumped out;

"… hostage…"
"… perpetrator…"
"… abuse…"
"… attachment…"
"… brainwashing…"
"… trauma…"
"… victimization…"

A lump formed in his throat as he began to scan the article.

"… hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors; sometimes to the point of defending them…"
"… generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk…"
"… captor threatens to kill the victim and gives the perception of having the capability to do so…"
"… often view the perpetrator as giving life by simply not taking it…"
"… isolation from other people and has only the captor's perspective available…"
"… captor has stripped nearly all forms of independence and gained control of the victim's life, as well as basic needs for survival…"
"… safer to align with the perpetrator, endure the hardship of captivity, and comply with the captor than to resist and face death…"
"… sees the perpetrator as showing some degree of kindness…"

Toris's mind instantly flashed through every act of kindness Ivan had ever shown him. Granted, there weren't many in the Soviet days, but still…

"… often misinterpret a lack of abuse as kindness…"

His eyes widened as he read this. Misinterpret as kindness…? The thought had never even crossed his mind. Perhaps he was that naïve. Perhaps he was that optimistic.

"… hostages' motivation to live outweighs their impulse to hate the person who created their dilemma…"

Perhaps that's what it was; his will to live. His forgiving nature. His humanity. He'd like to think so… that it was his strength that had kept him alive all those years and not Ivan's mercy.

Wait… mercy? Since when had Ivan ever shown him mercy? Not while beating and tormenting him, certainly. Even in the present he sometimes scared the Lithuanian. That would hardly be considered mercy by any stretch of the imagination. But maybe… maybe he was showing mercy. Maybe the beatings and torment could have been worse. Much worse. Maybe-

Toris felt sick to his stomach as his thoughts faded. Was he actually making excuses for Ivan's behavior? His brain fought against the idea; but his heart was telling him different. Was he losing his mind? Had he already lost it? Now that he thought about it, he had defended the Russian on almost everything...

"No, it's not that bad." (Really? The scars aren't that bad? The nightmares aren't that bad?)
"He's had a bloody past…" (We all have, Liet.)
"He's never had anyone." (So that gives him the right to torture people? Not hardly.)
"Does it really matter? I'm okay now, aren't I?" (Ha! You call this okay? You flinch at any sudden movement or loud noise, you get stomach aches and you're nervous, like, all the time, and you can't even get a good night's rest. Your body may be okay, but your mind totally isn't.)
"It was a rough time… he's not like that anymore." (For sure?)

Toris sighed. "Of course I'm sure…" Then he blinked. He was… he was seriously talking to himself? No, not himself. To Feliks. But how did it make sense that the rational voice in his head sounded like Feliks, who spent more time worrying about his hair than his economy?

(Because, when it comes to any type of love, I totes know best. I'm not saying it's, like, rational or anything. Love in general is pretty irrational, y'know? I'm just saying, really evaluate WHY you love him.)

Toris stood, shutting down the computer and groaning. "It really doesn't make sense… what is it about him that makes me love him so much?" In his mind, other questions popped up. This time, however, the voice sounded like his own: 'Does it have to make sense? What DON'T you love about him?'

The thought made him smile.

'I may be crazy, but I do know what this love is. And it is definitely NOT Stockholm Syndrome.'