Title: Pointe Shoes and Pianos
Author: AishiteSubete
Rating: K+
Summary: Latvia has a secret, and Austria discovers it. Could this lead to a new friendship between the two? Friendship!AustriaxLatvia
Prompt: Friendship!AustriaxLatvia; dancing
POINTE SHOES AND PIANOS
Raivis Galante had a hobby.
Nobody really knew about it and the tiny blond preferred it stay that way. He practiced in secret, when he was away from Toris and Eduard and especially when he wasn't around Ivan. A small, old American CD player rested in the corner of his room, almost entirely worn out, with a stack of instrumental music CDs beside it.
Raivis Galante was a dancer-and not just any dancer, he was a ballerina.
The country known as Latvia had picked up the skills when he was younger, when his country and Russia were "close" (if you could even call their relationship that). When he would stay with the older Russian when his two "brothers" weren't around, he would spend time with dancers from the Russian ballet, and overtime, he acquired the skill.
He hadn't seen any of the dancer girls he had met in years and years, content to continue practicing and perfecting his skills on his own. There were pairs of pointe shoes in his closet, some new, some decorative, and some worn, while there was a pair of ratted, dirty, and overused looking shoes in his suitcase.
Raivis was taking a trip to the German countries with Russia. Toris was with his longtime boyfriend, Feliks, so his only traveling partner was Eduard, who was far too calm for Raivis's comfort. The blond was expecting another boring diplomatic trip that would result in nothing but more bullying from the Russian and pitying looks from the persons they were meeting with. So he packed his pointe shoes and put some instrumental music on his American-made iPod and prepared for the trip.
Roderich Edelstein had a large, luxurious house with tile and hardwood flooring throughout. Every countertop or bathroom appliance was solid, pure marble, and the walls were colored with some of the richest paint that Europe could provide; even the linens and draperies were made out of the finest Chinese silk known to mankind. Even Raivis had to marvel at the luxury of the place and of how well it was furnished. If there was one thing that Roderich Edelstein had, it was taste—and plenty of it.
The mansion was so large that Raivis even had an entire room to himself. It was quite rare that people even remembered to give him a room or even remembered that he was going to be there; usually, when countries traveled to one another's homes, only the major power was remembered. Any accompanying nations? Completely forgotten in the excitement of having a diplomatic conversation with a fellow nation.
Raivis was pleased at the arrangement, though; it made him feel like he was equal to Russia in the eyes of Austria. So when everyone retired for the night, Raivis thanked Austria for the room ("No, please; just call me Roderich") and returned to his own quarters.
Latvia decided it was time to do something he did best. After a stressful conversation (which consisted of Austria—oops, Roderich—asking questions about Latvia and the relationships between that country and his own, and Ivan immediately dismissing those thoughts from the talk) it was about time for him to relax. Plugging in his earbuds and slipping on his pointe shoes, Raivis began to dance.
He didn't hear the knocks on his door, or the worried voice of Roderich Edelstein barely passing through the wood. But he did notice, however, when the Austrian opened the door to walk inside, catching the Latvian mid-pirouette as he danced.
When the blond noticed Roderich's arrival, his movement came to a halt and he pulled the earbuds from his ears. "Roderich…what did you see?"
Roderich said nothing immediately. He stood there, his eyes examining Latvia in a curious way as opposed to one of disgust or contempt. "I saw an amazing dancer," he said simply, his lips twitching upward into a tiny smile. "One that is very good at what he does."
There was much that spawned from the incident. Raivis finished the dance for Roderich, the latter of whom invited him to the piano hall—a large, grand room with nothing but a single piano in one corner. And that evening, Raivis was able to fully trust someone with his secret passion for dancing. As an artist himself, Roderich understood.
The brunette played piano while the blond danced, their night disappearing as a blur of pointe shoes and piano music. In fact, there were many days and nights that ended the same way. As the future continued, Roderich often invited Raivis to his home—Raivis and only Raivis. There was no Ivan that traveled with him; no Ivan, Eduard, Toris, or Feliks.
And when they were together, Roderich would provide the music and Raivis would provide the visual to it.
And for once, Raivis realized that he had a close friend.
A/N: I've never written anything with Latvia or Austria in it before. . I apologize if it's super OOC. :D