A little something I'm writing for a friend. She basically wanted smut between Russia and Finland, but I can't write just one-shot smut with them. So this, and the next chapter, is basically how their relationship has changed over time. Oh, and btw; one-sided SuFin ahead.
Also, from this Monday (July 1st) I will be gone for a month. I will probably finish this but my DenNor-fic won't be done before I come back. Unless, of course, my beta-reader is done before Sunday, but I doubt it; the chapters turned out pretty long.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, nor the characters. This is done for my own sake and the fandom. And also a friend, in this case.
I hope you like it, Finnish friend I'm not sure I'm allowed to publish the name of!

If anyone mentioned Russia or the Soviet Union or anything even close to it while Finland listened, they were in for a rough treatment. Saying the name of a nation and man so hated in his presence was something he didn't take lightly; you would quickly find yourself in the need of the services a hospital could provide. The air between the nations was cool as their winters and if they, God forbid it, had to be in the same room – at World Meetings, for instance – they didn't look at or talked to each other. However, it seemed that Russia was a bit more open for putting an end to the conflict than Finland.

He would occasionally, and "accidentally", leave a bottle of vodka on the table if he left the meeting before Finland. It obviously served as some sort of peace offering. And although he hated to do it, the Finnish nation always took the bottle with him when he left. But as he said to anyone who dared ask if they were getting on better terms, he would say "No. But wasting vodka is like the eighth deadly sin."

And so, Finland got a quite considerable amount of booze in his house. He didn't drink it, however. It was against all reason and sanity to drink something offered to you by your enemy. It could be poisoned, designed to kill him.

The other Nordics tried to make Finland realize that Russia meant it, that he actually wanted to forget the bad times. Of course, they made sure to point out how awesome Finland had been and how many soldiers his own men had slaughtered. They deliberately exaggerated, just a bit, in the hope that it would make Finland give in a bit easier. All it did, though, was make the man huff and nod, silently saying "Of course I kicked that bastard's ass. He is not even worth the shit he produces."

Denmark, Norway and Iceland mostly let Sweden handle the usually calm and cheerful man but even so, a result was never seen. Sweden had confessed his love for him at one point but even if Finland didn't return Sweden's feelings, the confession had knocked the air out of him for a few days. The fact that someone loved him so deeply, wanted to do just about everything for him, was overwhelming. He had been clueless as to how to react. How did you answer? How did you tell an incredibly sweet and caring person that you wanted to have in your life, that you didn't feel like that? How did you, in a friendly and caring way, turn down a man that could enrich your life in so many ways, that you simply didn't love him that way?

Finland hadn't known for sure, so he had blabbered incoherently, fidgeting with his fingers and hair while looking around, sometimes scratching his arms. He was not sure he had gotten his point across once it became too much and he had had to leave the house. After that incident, Finland locked himself up in his own home for a few days. He didn't take or return calls and he didn't respond when the other Nordics came over for a visit, unnerved when the other happy half of their group was impossible to get in contact with. All they had heard had been the wind howling through the forest.

This action, that he hid, brought Sweden from the very concepts. You didn't have to be "lucky" to find him pacing around his living room with an even deeper frown than normally on his face. It was no rare to find him sitting in an armchair, his coffee long cold as he stared out in the wilderness just outside the window. He even almost forgot about disliking Denmark.

Meanwhile this took place, Norway, Denmark and Iceland had their to take care of. They were disheartened by how things worked out – or didn't work out – between Sweden and Finland but they knew that they couldn't do anything. It was Finland who had to take the first step and make it clear how he felt about his bigger neighbour in the West.

It got really complicated when an emergency meeting was announced just two days after Finland went "underground". Denmark slid a note under the front door to Finland's house where the date, clock and location for the meeting were written down but he didn't expect the Finn to show up. Neither did Norway, Iceland or Sweden.

The other Europeans had no idea what was happening in the cold North and they didn't understand why the three silent nations were even quieter than usually and Denmark didn't tell nearly as many jokes when they joined the meeting. America was about to ask why they all looked like wretches, but he didn't get to before Finland entered the room, looking just as much like a wretch as the rest of the Nordics. Looking from Finland to the others, the other Europeans kept silent. Not even America made a comment, and the Asians looked on in interest, though China looked slightly bored and uninterested by the deal.

"You," Finland then said, his voice hoarse from not having been used for days, and with a thin, shaking finger pointed at Sweden whose eyebrows rose considerably, "and I. Now. We need to talk." The room was silent, save for the sound of a chair scraping over the floor as Sweden got up. His face expressed nothing, whatsoever, although a twinkle of anxiety could be seen in his eyes.

An amethyst gaze rested upon him from he got up till he was out of the room. Then the Finn turned halfway around, but in the other direction. His eyes landed on Russia who looked nearly afraid.

"And you, you little shit. You're next so don't get any ideas, got it?" Russia nodded fiercely and an indeterminable expression moved onto his face as Finland slammed the door behind him and Sweden.

Silence once more enveloped the room as the nations looked from one to another. Germany cleared his throat, as always being the one to open the meeting, and began informing the others of why they had been gathered. But even as it was important, some of the nations were not quite able to hold focus. These were, unsurprisingly, the remaining Nordics and Russia. They were all glancing over at the door, waiting for Sweden and Finland to return. Wondering what the result of this conversation would be.

In the hallway, Finland gave a detailed and coherent explanation of what had went through his mind by Sweden's confession. He told, calmly and confidently, how he felt about him and reassured him that while the romantic love wasn't returned, the friendly love was. Very much so, even. Because even if Finland would never go out with Sweden, he couldn't imagine a life without him. There had to be a Sweden he could hang out with and there had to be a Sweden he could trust.

He was talking a lot and he hoped that Sweden was following but if he wasn't, he didn't say so. He just stood there, scrutinizing the Finn as he explained, taking his hands into work and gesturing wildly. The meaning was quite clear. Finland didn't reciprocate his feelings but he would still love to be his friend. Sweden could live with that. Definitely. A life without Finland would be a sad one, he concluded for the hundredth time this century and opened his arms to let the Finn hug him tightly, which he did. The small boy was so warm and tiny in his grip, felt so very fragile. And it was clear that he had lost weight. In those few days that Finland had excluded himself from the world, he had lost at least six pounds.

"Fin," he said in a questioning tone, and Finland nodded against his chest. It felt… good. He liked being hugged by the bigger Swede.

"Can I… mh. Can I still visit ya?"

"Of course." Finland smiled into the sturdy chest. Silly man. Then he pulled away, carefully sneaking out of the tight grip. "We'll set ground rules later, when we come home. Right now, I have a shit to talk with." With those words, he turned around and opened the door for Sweden who entered the room without a word and without a sign that he had just talked with the love of his life. He sat down between Denmark and Norway, not at all reacting to the eager looks from the first. His eyes were focused on Finland and would be so until the man had left the room again.

"Venäja. Nyt."

Russia instantly got up from his chair and walked towards Finland. He was almost tackled to the ground by Belarus but Hungary managed to hold her back, her strong hands tightly gripping the other woman's upper arms. The door was closed once more, leaving Belarus growling and cursing at the brunette female and the other nations confused, even slightly anxious. They couldn't be sure how this would go. Finland seemed to still hold a grudge against Russia, even after all these years. It was almost a century since the Winter War ended. It was odd that he hadn't moved on yet. Russia seemed to have, even if it was only a bit.

The sound of a body being slammed against the wall echoed throughout the hallway and the nearest rooms. Denmark held Sweden back with the help of Norway and Iceland, and Ukraine ran to Hungary to help her hold the other sister in check. None could hear exactly what was said but it quickly became clear that Finland was in control. His friendly voice wasn't so friendly anymore. It was harsh and downright mean. America's eyes went wide and he stared at the Nordics.

"What the hell is up with him?" As if one person, they all shrugged.

They weren't really sure what it was with Finland but he could be the sweetest person to exist as well as he could be Satan himself.

"Okay, now you listen here, you little shit," Finland growled at the Russian who looked surprised. He could easily dislodge from the Finn but he knew it wouldn't help anything so he might as well not try. It couldn't pass his attention, though, that the other had lost a lot of weight. His hands were thinner and not as strong as they once were, and his cheeks had become hollow, his collarbones more outstanding. He had lost that cute chubbiness Russia always found himself attracted to.

"People want us to fix our shit but you know what?"

"What?"

"I won't. You took eleven fucking per cent of my country, and that territory was pretty fucking important. That shitty peace treaty cost me more land than the war itself, and people expect me to be all cool and composed about it? They must be out their fucking minds."

He had a hand balled in Russia's shirt, pressing him up against the wall with flashing eyes and lips pulled back from the teeth, much like an angry dog.

"It wasn't eleven per cent," Russia argued, "only about ten. Besides, you killed roughly five times more soldiers than I did, and-"

"You had 'roughly' six times more soldiers than me. Every time we shot one, you sent another wave with murderous psychopaths."

Russia couldn't deny that. His army had been way bigger than Finland's, and furthermore far better equipped. In every way, his army had been superior to Finland's but he had been nastily surprised by how strong and devoted to their country and honour the Finns were. He had never seen anything like it and it had totally taken him by surprise.

Even better than having a bigger and stronger army, though, was the knowledge that he driven the small Finn insane. Not too much but enough that the smile disappeared for a decade and his eyes had lost that happy shine. He knew from Estonia that Finland had isolated himself from the rest of the world, just as he had refused to talk with anyone. He even skipped meals several days in a row, vodka being the only thing to console him.

Russia had effectively broken Finland, even if it had only been temporarily. However, it seemed that Finland hadn't gotten fully back. He was still skinny and the eyes had yet to retrieve the cheerful glint to the same degree as before.

Being the victor had been great. He had won the war and that was the important thing. A cold, insane smile slid over his lips as he looked down at the much smaller Finn who only got more enraged by this.

"Don't you fucking dare smile at me, you little shit!"

"But you are so much smaller than me, da? So you can't call me little."

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want, you understand?"

Russia shook his head and Finland pulled him a bit away from the wall before slamming him back against it with surprising strength. His eyes burned into Russia's, insanity shining back at him. The anxiety was long gone from the other's face.

"So what do you really want, little Finland?"

"First of all, don't call me little! I'm taller than your lunatic sister!"

A nearly invisible twitch went over Russia's face and his fingers flexed repeatedly.

"Only when you wear that silly little hat of yours." The tone was still light and childish but the eyes showed that he was far from amused. "But what do you want?"

"Stop leaving me bottles of vodka," the Finn answered immediately, not yet letting go of Russia, "I won't drink it and you just don't waste vodka. It should be a sin."

"Da, I agree with you on that! Vodka shouldn't be wasted!"

"So keep it to yourself and don't pretend our relationship is getting better. Because you know what? It isn't." Following these words, Finland spat on the ground, right in front of Russia's boots. Russia didn't as much as bat an eye.

"You're a fucking eyesore and I hope the rest of the world soon team up against you. Would serve you right." The grip slacked a tiny bit but not enough to let the other get out of it.

"Do you want to see me die, Finland?"

"The whole fucking world wants to see you dead," the Finn answered and finally let go of the other. "And I would gladly give you the first shot."

With those words, Finland turned around and stomped out of the building. Russia stared after him, his head curiously cocked a bit. The insane smile was still in place but the violet eyes were cold. When the front door slammed, he turned on the heel and leisurely trotted towards the meeting room. He opened the door, humming lightly, and walked towards his seat.

"Where 's Fin`?" The stern voice was not hard to place, nor was the way of talking.

"He left," Russia answered and turned his head to the side, finding Sweden glaring at him from his seat. Denmark looked from one to the other with wary eyes. He knew that if anyone disliked Russia more than Finland, it had to be Sweden. Albeit no one could hate Russia more than Finland did. That gave Sweden a second place.

"Wheret'? 'N why?"

"How should I know? I don't even care."

"Russia, maybe you shouldn't talk about him," Denmark suggested and pulled the Swede back in his chair when he made ready to get up. "We have a meeting going on here."

"But we never accomplish anything at the meetings, da?" Russia stated, truthfully, and looked over at his Danish friend. "Why break the tradition? That wouldn't be nice to Sweden. He loves traditions." Sweden didn't get back at him but his glare, if possible, intensified.

"Just as much as he loves little Finland~"

"Shut up."

"Oh?" Russia's eyes gleamed playfully again as he turned fully towards the Swede. None of the other nations spoke, too focused and alerted by the two huge nations who clearly had something going on.

"Is it possible you love little Finland more than your precious traditions?"

"I said, shut up." Sweden had gotten free of Denmark's grip and now stood from his chair, blue eyes boring into the Russian's. Germany tried to call them to peace but in vain.

"Why is he such a touchy subject? Is it because he doesn't love you back? Does it hurt you that much?"

Sweden didn't answer but his jaws tensed, his hands curled into balls and his biceps flexed a bit. Denmark also got up, sending a warning glance at Russia.

"Russia, this is not fun. He is very sad about it, so please, let it slide."

Russia waved a hand at him, like he was nothing but an annoying fly he had to chase away from his favourite food. His eyes glistened.

"But this is fun. Very fun. Sweden, how much do you really like him?" He still got no answer and this annoyed him. He decided to try a different angle, although the subject stayed the same.

"Enough to help him? Enough to send him support again, this time in the correct size and time? Would you assist him a new war, even if it would be against me?"

"'course," the Swede instantly replied, alarm clocks going off in his head. Russia was talking about war. Almost sounding as if he was actually planning one. "I'm not afraid of ya."

Not the reaction he wanted. Russia got another bit annoyed. But he hid this behind the insane smile and tilted head.

"What would you do if I took him? What would you do if I forced him to be mine?"

"Kill ya."

Russia's words didn't need any form of consideration. There was no need to think of what he would do in that situation. Sweden had seen Finland taken from him once. That had been more than enough. There was no way he would allow it again. At least not without punishment.

He slowly walked around the table, Denmark trailing behind him in an attempt to stop the upcoming fight. His steps were measured, his gaze stiff and unwavering. Russia would be his goal. You just didn't talk about Finland like that to him.

A wicked smile crossed his features. Sweden was finally beginning to react as wanted. "What if he fell in love with me? What if he would prefer me over you?" What then? How mad would Sweden go? How far down in sorrow would he sink? That would be fun… Russia would like to see that. A miserable Sweden who didn't know what to do anymore, crying for Finland while the man was perfectly fine with Russia as his lover.

That would be fun. That had to happen.

Sweden's hit fell perfectly on the other's jaw but he didn't as much as stumble. Quite the contrary. Russia's smile grew wider while Belarus cursed the Swede, screaming and trying to get free to help her brother.

"Fin would never do that."

"Really?"

Another fist was sent at his face but this time, it was caught before it even got close.

"I believe you have heard about the Stockholm syndrome?" Sweden's eyes narrowed, the blue glare intensifying again behind the glasses. Of course he had heard of that. It had name after his capital! "He could fall in love with me. I could make it happen, da."

"No."

That would never happen, Finland loathed Russia. There was no chance he would ever fall in love with him. It was ridiculous; Sweden shouldn't get worked up about it.

Denmark grabbed his other hand as he was about to punch Russia again.

"This will be enough," he said and his voice was scarily serious, "cut it out, Russia. Swe, sit back down." It took a few seconds for the nations to do as he said. Russia was the first to turn around and he slowly walked back to his seat. Hungary and Ukraine tryingly slacked the grip on Belarus and while she instantly sought to Russia's side she didn't do anything to anyone. At most, she sent a deadly glare at the back of Sweden's head as he also marched back to his seat. On the way, Denmark saw that he sent a text message to Finland. It said 'Are you okay? Did Russia do anything to you? I'll gladly hunt him down if he as much as touched you. Shall I?'

Sweden was surprisingly chatty when he texted. He even used emoticons sometimes. It was very odd to receive a message that ended with a big and happy smiley from him. However, it was something you got used to.

The rest of the meeting continued in relative peace, although America and some of the Europeans were rather nervous about the on-going conflict that was seemingly between not only Finland and Russia but also Sweden and Russia. And there was something between Sweden and Finland as well. Prussia made a joke about this being "the weirdest love triangle since me, Hungary and Austria!" He was instantly rewarded with glares from all of the Nordics, Russia, Austria and Hungary. The woman's knuckles cracked.

Prussia was the first to leave the meeting as soon as his brother declared nothing more could be done. Once again, they hadn't gotten a result. Hungary and Austria were quick to follow the albino.

The last to leave were the Nordics. Denmark, Norway and Iceland stood by Sweden and made sure he wouldn't do something stupid when Russia passed by them.

"It was fun again today," he chirped and looked at Sweden a bit longer than the rest, "although I had hoped to see Sweden crawl at my feet for mercy. Oh well, there's still time for that~ See you 'round, Daniya!"

"Drop det!" Denmark snarled to Sweden, whose eyes flashed dangerously, and nodded at Russia, forcing forth a happy smile. It faded the instant Russia left.

They stood there for a minute or two, all attention on Sweden as he sent the Russian's back a murderous glare. No one should joke about his Fin. It might be that his feelings weren't returned but that was no excuse for going around and mocking him. If he got any idea, just the slightest hint, that Russia had plans of doing anything to or with Finland, he wouldn't hesitate to hunt him down. Just as he had promised.

When they drove home, Sweden received a text message from Finland that read:

'I'm fine. He didn't touch me. I'll take care of him.' Cold and right to the bone, Sweden quickly sent a "Just say it and I'll be at his heels" back before leaning back in his seat. For a change, they let Denmark drive, and he surprised them by doing so safely and without running a single red light.

"Stop being so overprotective, Swe," Norway suddenly said, speaking for the first time this day. Sweden stared at him, silently waiting for an elaboration. "Finland doesn't like it, and he will feel as if you're choking him with your love. It will end badly for you."

"Agreed," Denmark remarked and looked at them in the rearview mirror. "He can handle himself and won't like it if you try to take care of everything for him. He's a proud man and nation."

Sweden looked over at Iceland, clearly expecting him to say something, too. The man didn't, though. He just nodded to show he agreed with the others.

He looked down at his cell phone when another text message beeped in. It was from Finland, as he had expected.

'I can take care of myself, Sweden. Stop treating me like a child.'

"…Mh. Ya're right." The cell phone went back into his pocket and it was silent for the rest of the ride, much like its owner.

Translations:
Venäjä = Russia (Finnish)
Nyt = Now/right now (Finnish) (this confuses me so much, because it means 'new' in Danish)
Da = Yes (Russian)
Daniya = Denmark (Russian)
Drop det! = Stop it/cut it out! (Danish)