"Lithuania..." A voice like the whistling of the cold wind outside invaded my dream. I opened my eyes to see Russia's face right in front of mine. I had to stifle a scream.

"R-R-Russia-san!" I gasped, waiting for my heart rate to slow down. He put his finger to my lips.

"Shhh..." he hushed quietly, "You mustn't speak until your throat is better." His other hand hovered dangerously close to my bandage, but then began stroking my hair instead. The finger that was still on my lips poked inside, batted playfully at my tongu for a while, then withdrew and slipped into his own mouth. "Lithuania," he said gently after taking it out, "if you would...?" I sighed inwardly and reached down to do for him what I always had to. "I'm having a visitor today," he said, closing his eyes and resting his head on the pillow, "but I don't want to see him." He curled a strand of my hair around his finger lazily, and moaned before continuing. "It's Poland." I froze. Russia's hand moved down my face to stroke my cheek. "He wants to visit you. I think I'm going to partition him again if he does something I don't like." That was bound to happen. Poland and Russia got on like fire and ice. "Continue, Lithuania," he frowned, "we're not finished yet."

"Open up! I'm, like, totally here!" called Poland's voice loudly. I could hear it all the way from Russia's bedroom. I couldn't hear what was happening for a while, then there were footsteps on the stairs.

"Liet!" Poland cried, bursting in through the door, "How are you? You look, like, terrible! What even, like, happened? You totally have to tell me everything!" He rushed over and embraced me. Russia sat in the chair next to the bed and tapped Poland on the shoulder.

"Lithuania cannot speak until he's better," he smiled.

"Oh, uh, of course – I, like, totally knew that!" Poland said with a nervous laugh. He leaned down and kissed me. Turning my eyes, wide and fearful, towards Russia, I saw him bristle. As Poland stepped away Russia saw me looking at him and understood the question in my eyes.

"Don't worry, Lithuania, I'm not mad. This is an open relationship, after all." He said it with a smile, but I could hear the ice in his voice.

"You-you're in a relationship?" Poland asked, stepping back. I would have given anything to deny it.

"Da," beamed Russia, and cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

"... N-nothing... I just though that Liet... N-never mind." He gave a short, forced laugh. "When do you thin he'll, like, be better?"

"Soon."

"Oh good, that's, like, totally good!" Poland cleared his throat. "I think I need, like, a drink or something. No need to show em to the kitchen, I totally know where it is." I watched as my ex-partner walked out the door with completely the wrong idea. Russia stared into space, thinking, his purple eyes swirling. I knew those eyes well. Too well. I didn't like what I was in them now.

Poland returned with a glass of water and a plate piled high with food. He stood near the bed, chewing with his mouth open. I could see Russia calculating the distance between them.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Poland asked him, spewing crumbs. Suddenly Russia's expression brightened.

"Let's play a game!" he suggested happily.

"What sort of game?" Poland said through a mouthful of food.

"It's a bit like tag," Russia explained, "only if I catch you, you get partitioned." Russia rose to his feet and Poland shot out of the room with the larger country right behind him. I heard something smash in the next room, and some swearwords uttered in Russian.

An hour and a half later Poland rejoined me in the bedroom, out of breath.

"Look, I-I'm happy for you, b-but... I just don't see what you see in him." he panted. I wanted to tell him that no, he had completely the wrong idea, it wasn't like that at all – but of course I couldn't. I gasped his hand tightly. I looked nervously towards the door. "No worries! I'm, like, way faster than that dork! He'll never catch me in a million -" He froze as he felt Russia's icy breath on the back of his neck.

"Hello," Russia breathed, a dark, dark smile on his face. Poland spun around to find him leaning forward so he was at eye level.

"You don't scare me!" he sneered. Russia took him by the shoulders.

"Lithuania is mine," he hissed, "mine, you hear? Mine. You stay away from him." I could see that Poland was actually terrified, even though he was trying to put on a brave face. "Now... I think I'll have this..." Russia ran his hand down Poland's right arm. "And this..." He rubbed his knee up Poland's leg. "And this..." he traced a finger across a portion of Poland's face. I heard Poland swallow loudly.

"Y-you... I-I mean... You d-don't... Y-you can't... I mean, like..." He swallowed again, and his eyes darted longingly towards the door, but he himself couldn't move. The larger country took Poland's hand in an iron grip and started to lead him out of the room.

"If you try to run," he whispered, "I'll throw you in the Kolkhoz."

I was sitting on a park bench with Poland a few weeks later. I kicked my legs awkwardly.

"You don't look better," Poland commented dubiously, eyeing my throat. I gently put a hand to it, self-conscious.

"The doctor said I'll have a scar there forever."

"Geez. But, like... How did it happen? That totally looks like a bitemark."

"It is... Russia gets... Sadistic..."

"Okay, I don't really need to know. So you... Enjoy that...?"

"No! God, no."

"So you let him do it because you, like, love him?"

"No!"

"Then why... Wait, hat? I'm totally confused, Liet."

I sighed.

"I'm not really in a relationship with Russia. He just thinks I am. And... I can't say no to Russia... He'd kill me or worse if I did..."

"So..." Poland brightened. "So you're single?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Like, totes awesome!" he cheered, and kissed me.