I Will Always Return

by animeloveramy

Toris was always forced to move from school to school due to his fathers work, but he would always remember that one school and that one silvery haired student. He had left them both behind…but what happens when he returns four years later? School AU. Russia/Lithuania. Round four of the Hetalia romance writing contest.

Title: I Will Always Return

Rating: T

Beta: TheophilaDonohoe

Warnings: yaoi. Kind of OOC Russia. AU. Sexual implications if you squint.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Hetalia characters.

Summary: Toris was always forced to move from school to school due to his fathers work, but he would always remember that one school and that one silvery haired student. He had left them both behind…but what happens when he returns four years later? School AU. Russia/Lithuania. Round four of the Hetalia romance writing contest.

Author's note: ok, just to note, this story is for the Hetalia Romance Story Writing Contest, put together by Fanime-Sensei Strikes Back. This is my entry for round four. This one just seemed to write itself, and Russia may seem a little OOC. Still, I hope you guys enjoy it! (2,547 words in case anyone was wondering)

oxo…oxo

"Everyone, this is Toris Laurinaitis. He's new here this year," the teacher introduced, motioning unnecessarily towards the young, brown haired man stood at the front of the classroom. She then faltered slightly before sighing. "Just…be nice."

Well, that sounds reassuring…Toris thought sarcastically as he walked over to the seat near the back of the classroom that was void of most other students. Placing his bag beside the empty two seated desk, he settled himself into the plastic chair behind it. The lesson began swiftly after, the teacher beginning to explain the course structure for the year.

Toris was one of those people who moved schools every other year due to his father's job. Often they would just up and move, just like that, but his mother usually made a point of waiting for the summer holidays, for which he was grateful. Still, it was a lonely life and one without many friends. At the moment they were based in England, and had been for a fair few years now (if not the other side of England) but he didn't know how much longer that would last before they had to move back to Lithuania or some other county.

It had been an odd move this time.

Not only was he moving to a new school to start his A2 year after having done his AS year at a school on the other side of the country, but he was moving back to a school he had been to when he was much younger; twelve to be exact. He was now eighteen and had already spotted a few faces he remembered from the first time. He wondered dryly if any of them recognised him. He doubted it, though if they did he was sure it wouldn't be for a good reason.

The lesson's passed quickly and he soon found himself walking to lunch, meandering his way through the corridors. They hadn't changed too much so it was simple enough for him to find his way through the white walled passageways and out onto the large field out the back of the school.

He bit his lip slightly as he watched the heads of uniformed children making their way noisily onto the green grass. He could see no sixth formers though and had no idea where they all were. He sighed slightly. He supposed he would have to settle with being lonely again.

"Toris?" asked a voice from behind him and he turned, looking at the owner of the voice in surprise. The other man had cropped blonde hair and bright blue eyes. There were glasses perched on the end of his nose and a cautiously excited look in his eyes.

Toris blinked. "Eduard?" he asked slowly, causing a large smile to form on the other's face.

"You remember me?"

Toris found himself nodding, a smile forming on his own face.

"Yeah. Of course I do! How are you?"

"Very well thank you. Much better than when you last saw me. And yourself? How come you're back?"

Toris grinned, falling into step besides the Estonian student as the blonde led him to the sixth form common room.

"My father has work down here again and Mother decided it would be good for me to go to a school I already knew for once," the brunette replied.

Eduard chuckled slightly, leading Toris over to a large mobile hut just off the side of the field. "This is the common room," he said informatively. "This is where most of the sixth formers spend their lunch times."

Toris looked around with a nod, his eyes drifting over all the people in the room; some he recognised, some he didn't.

"Toris!" came another voice, this one at a slightly higher pitch than the previous. He looked around to see another familiar face, much more grown up than he had last seen it. The last time he had seen the now seventeen year old he had been a nervous year seven, speaking a lot without thinking about the words he were uttering.

"Hello Raivis! It is nice to see you again!"

Raivis grinned up at the elder brunette. "I know! I have missed you since you left and Eduard became grouchy and all heart bro-"

His words were cut off by Eduard's large hand over his mouth, the blonde blushing harshly. Toris chuckled awkwardly.

"It seems you have not grown out of the diarrhea of the mouth Raivis."

Eduard groaned slightly, rolling his eyes. Raivis laughed nervously, shaking off the other's hand.

An awkward silence was quick to fall.

It had been like that back then too, back when Toris had previously been at the school, only back then there had been a fourth, much more dominating force in their little group. It was with that thought that Toris looked around, scanning the room for the large, silver haired boy he remembered. Not seeing him, he turned back to Eduard in confusion.

"What happened to Ivan?"

The blonde shivered slightly, looking away with a haunted look on his face.

"You remember Ivan too do you? I suppose you would, he is not easily forgotten," he said quietly before looking up with a fierce expression on his face. "He is also no longer welcome here."

Toris frowned. "Why not?"

"He bullied us Toris," Raivis spoke up shakily. "He always did, you must have noticed it? Either way, it got really bad after you left. He started blackmailing people to get them to be his friends."

"Really?" the elder brunette asked in surprise, watching the Latvian nod with mixed feelings. He had been affected by the Russian's scary demeanor when he had previously been at the school, but he had never really thought it as bullying. The large boy just didn't truly know how to interact with people, and his size had made it all the harder. Often, without even realising he had done it, he misjudged his strength and hurt someone. But whoever it was never complained, they were too frightened to, and so Ivan never knew he had done anything.

It seems, Toris thought slowly, that I was the only one who realised this.

Still, that did not account for the supposed blackmail after he had left.

"Where can I find him?" the brunette asked, causing his companions to blanch slightly, eyes wide.

"You want to find him? I'm not sure that's a wise idea Toris…he might hurt you."

"I don't believe that he will," the Lithuanian replied with a frown. The blonde sighed, rubbing his eyes as Raivis just sat there, shaking.

"No one really knows anymore. He just turns up for lessons before vanishing at break and lunch times."

Toris found himself frowning slightly, thinking. Now that he had made the decision, he could feel himself becoming obsessed with the idea. He had never felt this way before, not even about Feliks, a kid who had been his boyfriend for almost the entirety of year seven and had only been broken off when he had been forced to move. The odd blonde hadn't wanted the commitment of a long distance relationship.

But he didn't like Ivan like that. Right?

Letting out a harsh sigh of annoyance, the Lithuanian pulled himself back out of the chair he had been sat in, grabbing his bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

"I'm going to go and look for him," he stated bluntly before walking swiftly out of the common room, leaving Eduard and Raivis wide eyed and shocked.

It was only after Toris had taken a full circuit of the school and not found the Russian that he realised just how big a challenge he had given himself. Why had he thought that he, who hadn't been to the school in four years, would be able to find where Ivan hung out during break times when the entire sixth form couldn't, he had no idea.

He sighed softly, looking over at the children eating lunch on the field. Where on earth could such a big guy (for he guessed, going on his size in year eight, that the Russian would be big) hide for entire hours on end without being found? His eyebrows furrowed slightly and he narrowed his eyes, focusing his gaze on the hedged area on the other side of the field. He knew from memory that there was an overgrown passage way down there that not many people knew of.

So he set off, his stride confident. What harm was there in looking, really?

Weaving in and out of the younger years, he eventually made his way to the gap in the fence that was almost entirely hidden by the hedge. He turned around, making sure there was no one looking, before walking quickly backwards through the hedge. Then he ducked down, twisting himself round so that he was crawling through the fence head first, and straightened on the other side.

The pathway was well worn. Recently used. It was a very good start.

Straightening his patterned blazer, Toris waded through the long grass, following the route towards a small clearing that he knew was framed by a hanging tree. Pushing aside the branches, he squinted into the clearing before gasping slightly at what he saw.

There, perched on one of the low branches, was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

The man had silver blonde hair and chiseled, though still strangely child-like, features. Those features were especially defined in his sleep, as he was currently; though Toris wished for him to be awake so that the brunette could see his eyes. His grey blazer hugged his form perfectly and he wore a cream scarf tightly around his neck, despite the warm British weather.

Toris bit his lip.

He recognised this man as the Russian he had been looking for, but for some reason he didn't want to wake him. He just looked so peaceful in his sleep…though there was something in his eyebrows that told the Lithuanian he was usually anything but.

The brunette jumped as Ivan stirred, flinching backwards and allowing some of the tree leaves to fall back, covering his face enough that he could see Ivan, but the man could not recognise him easily. When he realised he had company the Russian drew back, startled.

"Who's there?" he asked cautiously, almost nervously. "I told you I would not trouble you anymore, da? You should not made trouble for me either."

Toris found his heart twisting painfully at the words, and the tone of witch they were spoken. He remembered this man being confident and strong. Now he sounded the complete opposite.

"I'm new here," Toris said, throwing his voice as much as he dared without making it sound fake. "I'm sorry I invaded your privacy but, please…are you Ivan Braginski?"

Ivan paused, not relaxing exactly but becoming less tense than he had been before.

"Da…" he replied cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

Toris hesitated for a moment. "I heard, uh, stories about you. Someone said you were blackmailing people into being your friends. I just wanted to hear you're version of events."

There was a short moment of silence as Ivan mulled the almost question over. Then he coughed, seemingly in embarrassment, and began to speak.

"I suppose it was blackmail wasn't it…?" he replied quietly. "I did not know at the time, I just wanted friends, and did not want them to leave me. You see…someone I l-loved very much left me, without even giving a proper goodbye, and I did not want that to happen again. At the time I did not think that what I was doing would only push them away…"

Toris sucked in his breath, tears coming to his eyes.

"This…friend, the one you loved? Who was he?"

Ivan made eye contact, or as much as he could through the leaves. "His name was Toris. He was the only person who was truly kind to me; even when I was not to him. I loved him, but he left me."

The large man's hand became a fist and he looked away in frustration. Toris watched him in silence for a moment more, taking in the words that had been spoken. The emotion and truth in them had touched him deeply, reaching down into the depths of his heart and pulling out an emotion he hadn't even realised was there. And as he looked at the Russian, the feeling became stronger. He smiled softly as it all became clear to him.

Slowly, he pushed away the leaves so that he stood fully exposed in the clearing. The noise the motion made caused Ivan to look up, only for his eyes to widen.

"Toris?" he asked, causing the Lithuanian to smile. He couldn't believe he had ever been afraid of this man, this beautiful man. Suddenly he was rushing forwards, throwing his arms around the larger man's neck and burying his face into the muscular shoulder.

"I'm sorry I was not able to say goodbye. My father likes to spring these moves on me and I only found out we were moving the morning that we did," the Lithuanian whispered, barely loud enough for Ivan to hear. But it almost seemed to echo around the soft greens of the clearing, causing Ivan to smile slightly as well before wrapping his own arms around Toris' waist.

"It is okay дорогая," Ivan found himself mumbling into Toris' brown hair. The Lithuanian felt so good in his arms, there was no option but to forgive him. The Russian was surprised with himself; he did not usually forgive so easily, but then he knew that Toris was an exception to that rule. He was an exception to every rule.

Toris himself couldn't believe how brilliant it felt to be in the other's arms. Over four years of subconsciously longing for it certainly built up a plethora of emotion, suddenly bursting from him in this one embrace.

"I love you so much…" he muttered, clinging frantically to the larger. Ivan stiffened for a moment before relaxing again, pushing the brunette back in order to get a good look into his eyes.

Pale violet met deep blue.

Then Toris gasped as hungry lips met his and it wasn't long before he was leaning into the kiss, wrapping his fingers into Ivan's silvery hair in an attempt to bring him closer. Bodies brushed together, causing a moan to erupt from the Russian's throat. The Lithuanian gasped at the noise, at the same time allowing Ivan entrance into his mouth.

Their tongues clashed in a fiery dance, sensations pulling them both in every direction possible. It only ended with the need for air, both pulling back to gulp in oxygen.

"I love you too," Ivan said breathily, casing Toris to look at him with wide eyes. Sure, the larger man had practically confessed it before, but back then he hadn't been talking to Toris Laurinaitis, he had said it to some new kid he'd never met. This was when it finally sank in, and a huge grin came to his face.

Ivan loved him. Truly loved him. For once in his life he was utterly grateful to his father's job.

It had brought him back here.

It had brought him home.

oxo...oxo

Dear readers,

For once I don't hate the ending…but enough about me! To talk about the fic! I don't have much to say actually. I think Russia's a little OOC, but not majorly considering what happened to him…I kind of like it. It just kind of came about…though I was listening to spirit songs at the time, hence the title. It's not a songfic by any means; I just thought it fit the title. A thought I had after writing it...either way, I hope you liked it! Please review!

Animeloveramy

дорогая – love (Russian)