Title: Nobody's Fool

Rating: T

Warnings: Human names used.

Pairing: LietPol, one-sided RussLiet and LitBel

Summary: Toris Laurinaitis works at a sunflower shop, one of many businesses that the fearful Ivan Braginski owns. The selfish man grows jealous when Feliks Łukasiewicz stops by the shop every day to visit Toris. Ivan will go to great lengths to make sure that the two never make contact again. LietPol.

"Ivan, please! Please give him a place to stay." Toris begged.

Ivan Braginski, a powerful Russian looked at one of his employees Toris Laurinaitis, and the blond haired young man next to him. He looked absolutely pitiful.

"Who is this?" Ivan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A childhood friend of mine, Feliks Łukasiewicz. I'll share more details later, but please! Can he stay in stay in one of your apartments? I'll do anything! I'll work more hours if I have to. Please!"

Ivan looked at Feliks, and back at Toris. An innocently cruel smile formed on his face.

"Fine, but on one condition..." The smile widened. "You'll belong to me."

Toris sat up with a start, his breathing a bit jagged. He sighed in relief that the memory from just days ago wasn't being relived again.

Out of all the companies and employees Ivan has, why does he want to be around me so much? I work in a simple sunflower shop, yet he's there more than his oil company. It just doesn't make sense.

As Toris laid back down, he smiled softly. At least he agreed to let Feliks stay in that apartment for free. I really missed him... and his quirky habits

Feliks as a kid used to cross dress, mainly because his poor parents couldn't afford to buy new clothes, so he had to wear some of his mother's childhood clothes. His father's clothes from his youth had long been auctioned off for extra money.

Because of Feliks' facial features, he could play as a boy or a girl.

In fact, when I first met Feliks, I thought he was a girl. Toris chuckled to himself, remembering the cute blue dress Feliks sported. And his schoolgirl speech pattern gave me that impression as well.

Feliks and his family moved away when he was nine because they could no longer pay rent on the house they lived in.

"No! Don't go, Feliks!" Nine year old Toris sobbed, clinging to his best friend. "You're the only friend I have! I don't what I'll do if Gilbert comes back to bully me again!"

"Don't cry!" Feliks told him. "This totally won't be the last time I'll see you again! I'm like, sure of it."

Feliks smiled wistfully. "One day, I'll become rich! My talent of being a boy or a girl will totally get me there! I know it will. So, like, until that day... I'll won't forget you, Toris! You're like, the person I love the most!"

Toris turned over, rustling the covers.

"I never suspected that ten years later I would find him and his "talent" in such a horrible situation..." He whispered.

Flashback

Six Days Ago...

"Geez, Ivan needs a wife, or something." Toris sighed as he left his job at the Sunflower Shop. "I know he likes sunflowers and all, but he has more important companies and employees to look after, not just little old me."

Toris checked his watch, which read 7:30.

"Well, it's not so late. Maybe I'll stop by the bookstore before going home."

Toris stopped walking at the stoplight, waiting for his turn to cross the street.

I wish I could afford the luxury of purchasing all the books I read in there. He sighed to himself.

When the light turned green, he crossed the street with the traffic zooming past him. Then, familiar neon lights made him shudder a bit. About a block away from the bookstore is a strip club, called Fantasia. Whenever he walked past, he could hear the drunken howls of men, mostly likely rooting on the women giving them quite the show inside.

As Toris walked past the usual howls, he heard a noise that sounded painful. He stopped, looking around.

Who was that? He wondered.

Toris looked down the side of Fantasia's, the noise growing louder. He walked around and went behind the club, praying that this wasn't a setup for him to get mugged. When he got around to the back, he gasped.

A blond haired woman wearing pink lingerie was lying on the ground. Hearing the loud sobs coming from her, he realized that perhaps it wasn't a girl.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" Toris hurried over to the person, not sure what to do. He turned the assumed girl over, and gasped in shock. It was Feliks!

"Feliks?! Oh dear God!" He cried.

Feliks had bruises on his face, and he was covered in mud from where he was tossed in. He could see blood on the concrete, coming out of cuts and scratches covering his body.

"Toris...?" Feliks asked weakly.

"We have to get you to a hospital or somewhere!" Toris then realized that the nearest hospital was 20 miles away, and he had no money for bus fare. And he was sure the bus driver wouldn't allow Feliks on there because of his current appearance.

Toris quickly shrugged off his jacket and zipped it up on Feliks. It was just long enough to cover his backside and crotch. Toris gently picked Feliks up bridle style and hurried out from behind Fantasia.

"Like, where are we going...?" Feliks asked, coughing.

"Shhh." Toris told him. "We're going to my place. I don't want you dying out on me, so don't talk. Retain your energy."

Feliks looked up at his old friend.

I'm so... relieved...

Poland's eyes closed as his world turned dark.

"Feliks... Feliks?!" Toris cried. "Don't close your eyes! Stay with me! Feliks!"

Feliks' eyes shot open, looking around anxiously.

Where am I? Am I back at Fantasia? Was that really Toris I saw? Feliks asked himself.

After his eyes focused in, he realized that he was not in the hell hole Fantasia, and that he was in somebody's house. In somebody's bed. Sighing in relief, Feliks sat up, only to have a sharp pain jolt through his side.

"Ha...!" Feliks suppressed his outcry, tears forming in his eyes.

After the pain died down, he looked down at himself, noticing that he was shirtless and had bandages covering all of his injuries. He touched his face, feeling Band-Aids.

"Wow... who like, did this all for me?" He murmured.

He heard footsteps approaching the tiny bedroom, and Toris walked through the door. Upon seeing Feliks awake, he dropped the wet washcloth he was holding and rushed over to him.

"Feliks! You're awake! You've been unconscious for two days! I was so afraid I was going to lose you!" Toris cried.

Feliks smiled softly. "I'm like, totally fine." He studied Toris' face. His eyes were red, and he looked completely exhausted.

"However, you're totally aren't. You need some sleep. Like, now." Feliks told him. "Thank you for bandaging me up and stuff. I like, totally appreciate it. You need to rest."

Toris smiled. "No, no, you're my first priority. Besides, this is the only bed in my house."

"Then, I'll totally get up." Feliks told him.

"No, you stay here." Toris told him. "Give your injuries time to heal."

"But..."

"If it makes you feel better, I'll go sleep on the couch." Toris told him. "I'm so relieved that you're awake. I don't ever want to see you beaten up like this again."

Feliks' smile grew larger. "Thank you..."

Toris stopped at the doorway, and turned around to face his friend. "Feliks... before I go, I just have to know. How did you end up at the strip club?"

Feliks' smile faltered. "It was like, the only job I could get for money. Not long after I moved away, my father was killed in a shooting. He was like, at the wrong place at the wrong time. My mother was totally upset. Then, for a few years, my mother was able to trick a clothing company into thinking I was a girl.

"I modeled girls' clothing until I was like, thirteen. The money was totally good, and we were able to live in a decent home. But then... puberty hit, and my voice like, dropped two octaves than from when I was a kid. Also, my crotch was more noticeable in the cute skirts, so they fired me and even wanted to totally sue my mother for tricking them, but luckily they let us go. We were out of money once again.

"Then, after I turned seventeen, my mother, like, disappeared. I woke up, and she was gone. I haven't seen her since. And that was when I got the job at Fantasia. I wore a thicker skirt at my interview so they wouldn't tell I was male. I also purposefully made my voice higher in pitch, and it totally fooled them. Then, after I revealed that I was in fact a male, they hired me to like, spice up the performances."

"So... how did you end up beaten up on the ground?" Toris asked, about to cry at Feliks' hard life.

"Well, my boss got too demanding of me. At first, I was just dancing in short skirts and sleeveless tops. But then... he started making me wear the same lingerie as the girls, claiming it would like, help bring up business by attracting homosexuals. I didn't mind that too much, since the pay increased. But..." Feliks choked back a sob.

"He wanted me to join a group of strippers. Never in my dreams did I think that my boss would like, want a man stripping out of his clothes. I thought the dancing was totally good enough. I did not want a bunch of men touching me as I undressed myself, so I blatantly refused. He then proceeded to like, beat the shit out of me and threw me out, ending the contract I had."

Toris covered his mouth, suppressing a cry of shock. "Feliks..."

Lowering his eyes, Feliks laid back down. "You probably think I'm a slut for working at a strip club."

"No! That's not true!" Feliks told him. "You did what you thought was best... and I admire you for that."

Feliks smiled softly again. "That totally makes me really happy to hear that come from you."

End of Flashback

I can't believe Feliks' boss at the strip club was the one who beat him up. Toris thought to himself, upset at the thought. Feliks... you're so strong, opposing you're boss. I can't even say no to Ivan. I'm terrified of him. Feliks, I want to be more like you.

Toris sat up, concluding that there was no way he could get any sleep.

I wish my house was big enough for Feliks to live in too. Well, I hope the apartment works out for Feliks. He deserves more than that, though...

The only phone in Toris' house began to ring, the noise catching him off guard.

"Who on Earth could that be?" He murmured.

Toris hurried to the kitchen and answered. "Hello, this is Toris Laurinaitis."

"Toris!" The voice of Feliks cried. "I like, totally thought you wouldn't answer!" He said shakily.

"What's the matter?" He asked, worried.

"I'm having like, horrible dreams, and I can't sleep. All I can see is the strip club, and getting beat up. I don't want to be alone. Can you come over?" Feliks asked.

"Yes, of course! I'll hurry right over." Toris replied, reaching for his coat.

"Thank you..." He whispered.

Toris hung up, and threw on his coat. He rushed to his tiny bedroom to slip on some shoes. He grabbed his trusty bag and threw in a change of clothes. He ran to the kitchen again to toss in some bread for Feliks in case he was hungry.

Feliks was always there for me as a kid. Toris thought to himself as he ran out the door. Now it's my turn to be there for him just as much!

Thanks for reading! Chapter 2 will be up soon. Reviews are loved and appreciated.

Ja ne!

PRK