Disclaimer: If Axis Powers Hetalia were mine, I wouldn't need to write fanfics. If any of these songs were mine, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.

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Minimal fluff 09!

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When Estonia found Latvia, that small cowering nationlet, Latvia was shivering uncontrollably under a table in his small house, under the wine-colored tablecloth. In fact, if Latvia hadn't been holding a corner of the tablecloth, causing the whole piece of cloth to shake, Estonia would have gone through the whole house without even noticing where his younger brother (?) was hiding.

"Latvia, what's wrong?" Estonia asked as he crawled under the table to sit next to Latvia. The whole setup reminded him of the forts that they used to play in with Lithuania, until Russia thrust them into real forts where the darkness was much scarier and formidable than under some chairs and some drapes. It was a long time ago and Estonia knew better than to get lost in nostalgia.

"I…Russia…today…" Latvia focused on a small thread poking through the tablecloth's seams. The corner in his hand was starting to tremble more violently and Estonia gently pulled it out of his hand before the tremors on the tablecloth could knock some of the glassware above onto the floor in a big shattered mess. Taking another breath, Latvia attempted again at a sentence. "Russia…said he hasn't seen me…since the last time he's visited…so…he wants to come over…some time…don't know when…" Spitting out the last word, Latvia's eyes started misting over and Estonia vaguely wondered if Latvia ever got dehydrated with all his tears. Whimpering almost pitifully, the smaller nation scooted over next to Estonia and nestled himself against the honor student nation. "I don't want him to come," Latvia admitted quietly, as if Russia had spies all over the house.

"Is he coming today?"

"D-Dunno…"

Estonia sighed. Maybe if he had a more welcoming demeanor like Lithuania, he'd know what to say. But he had managed to escape the worst of Russia and immerged himself in the world of IT and other technologies. He could always go for a generic comfort phrase, but he was sure Latvia had heard them all before from other apathetic countries. Letting the smaller nation get comfortable in the crook of his arm, Estonia decided it was his duty as the older brother and Rhode scholar to make Latvia feel (somewhat) better.

"Hey, tell you what, Latvia, why don't you come with me today to visit Finland? I told him I was coming by for a bit today. Why don't you come with me? Maybe you'll feel better after you go."

"B-but…what if…what if Russia comes by when I'm gone? What'll he do to me, oh no, Estonia, it's too scary…" Latvia's shaking had continued and Estonia was beginning to feel as if he was sitting next to an earthquake. Putting his hands on the boy in an attempt to stop the Richter scale from picking up the tremors, Estonia put on the most confident face he knew.

"Don't be silly, Latvia, Russia's not going to mind. He can't expect you to be at home all the time. And if he does come and start harassing you about not being here, I'll talk to him."

"Yes, but Estonia…what about when you leave? What if he won't leave me alone?" Tears were starting to pool in the corners of Latvia's eyes and Estonia could feel a waterworks crisis starting. "Estonia…Russia's never picked on you much before…but…"

"I won't leave you alone until Russia calms down, alright? Promise? And besides, you'll feel better at Finland's house anyway. He's got this cute little puppy. You like small animals, right?"

"Yes…" A small smile formed on Latvia's face although his eyes were starting to blur over.

"Come on. Don't worry about it. Big brother Estonia's gonna come with you. Okay? So stop crying and let's go."

The journey to Finland's house had been uneventful, passing by Estonia's house to get there. Latvia kept looking over his shoulder, half expecting a hawkish Russia following them but he felt at ease with Estonia leading the way. Perhaps maybe the neighboring nation couldn't really protect him from Russia as much as Latvia would like, but at least Estonia knew what he was doing. When they reached the sunny home, Estonia turned to Latvia.

"Now, Finland lives with Sweden, remember? You remember Sweden, right? It was only a few months since you've come here."

"Yes." Sweden could be scary and overbearing, but no way was the stoic nation like Russia. Estonia smiled encouragingly before giving the knocker on the door two sharp raps. There was a muffled barking behind the door before a similarly muffled voice called, "I'm coming!" At once, the door swung open, revealing friendly Finland, looking out of breath from running to get the door. "Moi, moi! Estonia! It's nice to see you again! And Latvia! Hello!"

"Hi, Finland," Estonia said with a smile, as Latvia murmured, "Hello," behind him. Hana-tamago barked happily, running out and circling the guests as fast as his four little paws could take him.

At once, Sweden appeared at the door, suddenly and unexpectedly like Russia, and Latvia instinctively drew behind Estonia, almost clutching at the latter's sleeve. Sweden looked over the visitors before stepping aside to let them in. Hana-tamago barked again and ran back into the house, followed by Estonia and Latvia. Finland exploded in a mass of small talk, which Estonia easily slid into. Latvia could understand how two neighboring nations could be so compatible with each other, but now it meant that he didn't really have someone to talk to, as he wasn't very familiar with Sweden and he didn't feel like talking about GDPs with Estonia and Finland. The four went out to a terrace, where Sweden and Finland seemed to be in the middle of an afternoon snack. The weather was nice and clear and Latvia felt liberated somehow, and it made him antsy.

"You can walk 'round, if you'd like," Sweden said suddenly, loud enough for Latvia to hear but not enough to break the already deepening conversation. Latvia looked at him thankfully before letting himself follow Hana-tamago into the lawn. Russia wouldn't come to these parts, so he felt at ease, a feeling he had forgotten existed. Hana-tamago dug up roots and brought mouthfuls of wildflowers for him to enjoy (in some kind of canine way) and the two wandered around the huge house and spacious lawns for a while.

Latvia had forgotten what the sense of security felt like. Hana-tamago hurried him along before he could lose himself in the emotion.

After a while, the puppy had scampered off to a place where Latvia couldn't find him. Wandering around again until he found the terrace, he found Estonia sitting by himself, helping himself to a scone.

"Estonia, where's Finland and Sweden?"

"Finland and Su-san? I think they went back to the kitchen to get something." Estonia studied Latvia. "You're not shaking anymore, Latvia. Do you feel better?"

"A bit." It was an understatement, but Estonia didn't need to know about that. And besides, a small part of him was still fretting about leaving the house unoccupied. Estonia seemed to sense the secret parts of the answer and held up the plate. "Want some pastries? Finland's gotten better at baking."

"No thanks." Latvia turned as he heard a faint barking inside the house. "Ah, I hear Hana-tamago."

"Go find him. You two've gotten to be really good friends, haven't you?" Estonia smiled as Latvia turned to the house. "I'm glad you're feeling better though."

It wasn't like Estonia to worry this much and Latvia hurried away embarrassed, searching out the source of Hana-tamago's barking. He didn't feel comfortable in the house enough to call the dog's name, nor did he feel familiar enough to be raising his voice in the house to begin with. He traced the sound coming from a room, the kitchen he presumed, and he was about to enter when he noticed that Finland and Sweden were already inside. Skirting back, Latvia was about to politely (or in his case, beg) enter, when he realized that the two were having a conversation and hadn't noticed him in the slightest.

"…and Estonia's faring well, I guess. In the grand scheme of things."

"'N what 'bout the other one?"

"Latvia? I don't know. Estonia didn't really talk about him much. You were there, Su-san! Why do you even have to ask me?" Sighing, Finland leaned back on the counter, as he was the facing the island in the kitchen where Sweden was standing. "But Estonia seemed really preoccupied when he got here and Latvia was shaking so I thought something happened but I think everything's fine now. It's sweet that Estonia was worrying about Latvia like that. I didn't think it was something he did."

"You've got t' worry 'bout your loved ones."

"That's true." Finland smiled, his eyes glazing over as he became silently preoccupied. Latvia picked this time to step forward, but before he could even utter a word, Sweden had stepped forward, totally violating Finland's personal space. As Finland looked up to say something, Sweden leaned down and kissed him softly. "M' wife," Latvia heard him murmur.

Agh! Latvia was at a loss of words/actions. What should he do? Turn away respectfully? Get Estonia? No, wait, this was the Scandinavian couple, so he shouldn't be surprised, but! They were! Kissing! In the kitchen! What did they expect he would react, still stuck in budding puberty? Where was Sealand-kun when he needed him? Russia was far from his thoughts. He wasn't even thinking slowly anymore! What?! What?!

Luckily, Hana-tamago barked to acknowledge him, quickly bringing the three back to reality. Pushing Sweden off, Finland's face glowed in a rosy blush. "Oh, hi, Latvia-kun, don't mind Su-san, what are you here for?!" Finland was always collected, if not calm, but this was the first time Latvia had heard Finland's voice reach this high a pitch. Sweden looked a bit miffed but realized the situation and stepped back.

"Oh…um…nothing…I was just looking for Hana-tamago…" Did this make him a voyeur? Oh no! Russia would kill him if he was a voyeur! Little Latvia, a voyeur? "But…but…you're…you two really are as close as they say…"

"Eh? No, it's not like that…Su-san and I are just living together, it doesn't mean…"

But you share clothing and you have a puppy together, Latvia wanted to say, but it was not in his nature to speak his mind. Although Sweden seemed to sum up his thoughts when the tall, quiet nation wrapped an arm around Finland's waist and grunted, "M' wife."

"Su-san!"

Hana-tamago barked at a new face, and Estonia turned up behind Latvia. "What's going on? Leaving Estonia out?"

Finland quickly wrestled himself out of Sweden's grasp before Estonia could join in the teasing. "Nothing happened! Isn't it getting a little late? Estonia, you shouldn't leave your house for that long and same goes to you, Latvia. Ah…" Sweden covered Finland's mouth before the Scandinavian nation could run his mouth any longer.

"Glad you could come," Sweden said. "Nice seeing you. Come again."

"Thanks. It was nice to come over." Estonia smiled as if Sweden nearly suffocating Finland was the most normal thing in the world. "Come on, Latvia. Time to go home."

"Ah, alright." Kneeling down to pat Hana-tamago good-bye, the smaller nation followed his brother out.

"Oh, have a safe walk home!" Finland managed to get out before Sweden shut the door behind them. Estonia led the way back home as well, as Latvia followed. Each step further from that house of peace, Latvia felt the shakes come back and he was shivering by the time they stepped into Estonia's borders. Estonia felt the change of aura behind him and he turned.

"Latvia, you're shaking again."

"I'm sorry…" Latvia's mouth was accustomed to apologies and it spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "You didn't have to, but you brought me along, Estonia, and when we return, it's just the same thing…I'm so sorry…"

Estonia sighed. A small flock of sheep grazed in the distance and Latvia shied from their direction, having a bad experience with wolf in sheep's clothing. "Latvia, you're the same always.

Still shivering, Latvia stared at his feet before blurting out something he had wanted to say ever since they had left Finland's. "Estonia, I want us to be a bit more like Finland and Sweden!" Oh my goodness, his voice had been louder than he thought his voice could go. Flushing with the effort, Latvia stared down at the ground again.

"Eh…I consider you as a brother, Latvia…"

"Ah, I don't mean anything like that! It's just…they're just…looking out for each other, I guess I want…" Sensing it was a wise idea to shut up, Latvia closed his mouth and felt his trembling mount.

There was a breath of air, not exactly a sigh, as Estonia ruffled Latvia's hair and bent down to reach eyelevel. "I'll have a talk with my boss about an alliance, alright, Latvia? Will that make you happy?"

Nodding numbly, since he really didn't know what to do, Latvia blinked through the usual tears that came with the shakes. "And…and…I wouldn't mind…you know…having what Finland and Sweden have…with you…"

"What?"

"Eh, nothing! Ducking out of Estonia's hand, Latvia ran homeward, refusing to look back lest Estonia suddenly realized his slip of the tongue. "Um…thanks for taking me to Finland's! Bye!"

The adrenaline lasted until he reached the step of his house. Russia hadn't visited that day or there might be piping lying around. Ah, perhaps Belarus had chased him off. If he wasn't deathly afraid of her, maybe he'd keep her around to keep Russia at bay. Latvia crept into his house, as if Russia was hiding in the shadows ready to ambush him, and for good measure, crawled back under the table with the red tablecloth.

Because even if Russia didn't come, maybe Estonia would find him again here. And he had meant what he said.

Owari

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Note: I feel like Estonia is extremely OCC…he seems so condescending. But maybe super honor students are like that. I wouldn't know. Just written for the sake of satisfying my urge to write SuFin and to scream "Latvia!" at the top of my lungs. It's a habit of mine now. Instead of saying, "Oh no" or "My goodness", I say LATVIA instead. Weird, I know. But Latvia makes me feel like hugging him, or at least buying a plane ticket to visit Latvia. Really. Review, or else I have Russia visit you. With a bloody faucet.

Edit: I changed Baltic to Scandinavian. Happy?! I don't know my geography! I apologize! And I'm not going to make it fluffier. You can make your own opinions.