So. Um. I was planning on uploading the second chapter today, but I swear to God I was asleep when I wrote it or something. In other words, it's currently undergoing surgery and should be released from the hospital in a few days. But I'll get it up eventually!

This is not historically accurate at all. It's just me being fangirly.

Mucho amor y gracias a Gaby para su...su...ayuda...? Okay, I'm sorry. I tried. Thank you, Gaby. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or its characters in any way, shape, or form.

I slumped on the couch, unsure what to do with myself. At Russia's house there were always chores to finish, work to be done…here, I was alone with my thoughts for company, and to be honest, I would almost rather have…

No. It was better to be here, away from Russia. Dear God, anything was better than being with Russia. Best to just not think about it at all.

"Hey, Liet. Are you, like, doing okay?"

I jumped, panicking, when I felt someone's hands on my shoulders. Instinctive fear at being touched rose up in me, and I pulled away before I fully realized who the speaker was.

"Poland!" I gasped, turning slightly to glance up at him. "You- you startled me." I turned away from his green eyes and stared hard at the ground, trying to calm my breathing.

He leaned over my shoulder, and I reluctantly turned to look at him. "Are you okay?" he asked again, looking concerned. "I mean, I was, like, totally partitioned by Russia a few times, but I came out-"

I turned away, fighting a surge of irrational anger. "Maybe, but you were never held in Russia's house, were you?"

He was silent for a moment, and then said in an overly cheerful tone, "Sorry, I, like, totally drifted off. What were you saying?"

"It doesn't matter," I murmured, feeling blank and empty.

"Yes, it does," he insisted, his voice suddenly serious again. "I'm, like, worried about you, Liet."

The conversation was taking a bad turn. I didn't want to think about any of this, much less discuss it with Poland.

"I'm fine," I replied. "Can I use your bath?" If I can just get out of the room…

"Sure, totally," he said, looking a little confused.

"Thanks." I tried not to hurry too quickly into the bathroom, not wanting Poland to know how much I wanted to be alone.

I undressed and slipped into the hot bathwater, feeling myself relax almost instantly. The water soothed my back, still aching from the old scars that covered it and the newer bruises. I closed my eyes, determined to enjoy every minute of this bath.

I lost track of time, but I don't think I was in the bathroom for any more than ten minutes before I heard a noise at the door. I didn't immediately connect the noise with anything until I heard Poland's voice from behind me.

"What happened to you?" I started violently and turned around to face him, panicking again. He can't know, I can't tell him- "I-it's fine," I stammered, praying desperately that he would just leave, please leave, and don't ask any questions…

"No, it is so totally not fine!" He tried to walk around behind me to look at my back, but I turned myself again so that I could continue facing him. I realized somewhat belatedly that I had a few large, purplish bruises on my chest, and tried to sink down into the water to hide them.

"Who did this to you?" he continued, starting to look really angry. "It was Russia, wasn't it?"

I couldn't meet his gaze anymore. I dropped my eyes to the bathwater, silently cursing whatever quirk of fate that had gotten me into this situation.

"Lithuania, if you don't tell me who did it, like, right now, I'm going to go find Russia and I'm-"

"No!" My mind was suddenly full of images of Poland unconscious, Poland bleeding, Poland dead… "No, Poland, whatever happens, don't go to Russia! Don't- remember what happened last time-? Don't! I can't- I won't let you go!" The panicky feeling in my chest had expanded, rendering me almost completely incoherent. I felt like I was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown, and I probably was.

He just stared at me in shock for a moment, but then he knelt down by the side of the tub and pulled me into an awkward embrace. "Shh, Liet, okay, I'll stay here with you," he said quietly. "I promise."

I rested my forehead against his chest, my breaths coming in deep and shuddering. I could feel my limbs shaking a little.

He pulled back after my breathing had returned to normal. "So, okay, how did this happen?" he asked. Of course he wasn't going to back down, even after my near heart attack. "I'm not gonna, like, run off and confront Russia, if that's what you're worried about."

I really did not want to talk about this with him, but I knew him well enough to know that I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Gathering my thoughts together, I began, choosing my words carefully.

"You know firsthand that Russia can be pointlessly cruel. But he's also prone to…rages, I suppose you could call them. Most of the time he would be gentle with the three of us, but every once in a while, something would set him off. I'm not entirely sure what triggered these fits, but they were usually without warning. Latvia got the worst of it, maybe just because he's smaller and more helpless than Estonia and I…I tried to get in between Russia and Latvia as much as I could, and sometimes I managed to get between him and Estonia, but-" I smiled bitterly- "we've been with Russia so much on and off for so long that we're pretty well accustomed to it by now."

"So…this happens every time Russia takes you," Poland said. I could tell by his expression that he was having some difficulty coming to terms with this new information. "Why didn't you ever, like, tell me?"

"Because I was afraid that you'd work yourself up and get yourself killed," I said bluntly. "I have more experience dealing with Russia, and trust me, you can't just walk up to him and ask him to leave someone alone. If it was that easy I would've gotten Latvia and Estonia away from him years ago." I still remembered very clearly the pain and blood that had come out of that very proposal…oh, God, I didn't want to think about this!

"Now, if you're done interrogating me, could I please finish my bath?" I asked him coolly, eager to be alone again.

"Oh." He turned red, embarrassed. "Yeah, totally. Sorry. I'll just- yeah."

He stood up and left, closing the door carefully behind him, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more.