A/N: I know the chapters are short, but I will try to make them longer later on. Honest. Also please be gentle, this is my first time writing any of these characters and the first on-going story I've done in a very long time. I do not own these characters or claim to. Please enjoy.
Ivan sat silently on the side of the bed, staring down at the individual grains that were mixed into the wood flooring. The light was barely starting to peek in from the windows, causing lines to run along the opposite wall and the side of the Russian's face. He blinked slowly and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, then stood and pulled the curtains to the side, wincing once the snow-reflected light made its way to his eyes. It had snowed overnight, not a blanket of snow, but an avalanche. Ivan sighed and let the curtains fall back into place before he took a few steps over to his closet, took out a thickly woven sweater, and pulled it over his head. He turned the metal knob on the door, which made a squeak upon opening, and walked down the hallway, looking in each door as he passed.
The first door he came across was an empty and forgotten spare bedroom which used to belong to his elder sister. He made a face as he stared quietly inside and studied the walls that were now old and dusty. There was one picture left—a small drawing done in crayon that she had done a long time before. It was of himself and his two sisters, though his elder sister's face had been scribbled over by a black marker and the bottom ripped from Natasha in a jealous rage. Ivan only sighed and began to walk down the hall again.
The second door was cracked slightly, only a pale beam of light escaping it. Ivan peered in only to see Eduard, as usual, on his computer. Grinning, he poked his head in and called out a good-morning greeting. The Estonian jumped and gripped onto the table before turning around, a look of sheer terror on his face. "G-good morning to you too, Sir…" He said, his voice shaking. The Russian only smiled and popped back out again. Eduard sighed and slumped back down in his chair, trembling, wishing that the other would at least knock before entering.
Ivan wandered down the hallway yet again before he ended passing one door completely and ending up at the last. He put his ear to the door to listen for any sound of life inside, but when he heard nothing, he opened the door and looked inside. Raivis was curled into a ball underneath the blankets of his bed, shaking. "What's the matter, my little friend? Are you cold?" Ivan said, nearly smiling. He knew good and well that he terrified the young boy, but even though he knew this, he never stopped. The small boy trembled harder and pulled the blankets over his head. "Would you like something to drink? Or perhaps eat? Maybe that would warm you up, yes?" When he didn't get an answer the second time, he frowned and stepped loudly over to the bed, gripping the blanket tightly in his hand before tearing it away. The small boy squeaked and hid his head underneath his arms defensively. Ivan somehow felt giddy again, reaching out and taking one of Raivis' arms and pulling it away. "When I ask you a question, you should answer me, yes?"
"Y-y-yes, sir!" The young boy squeaked, not even fighting back against the giant Russian. He felt his wrist slowly begin to sting, though the feeling got worse and worse the more Ivan began to crush down on him. "I-I'm sorry! I promise I'll answer next time! Honest!" Grinning in delight, Ivan released his wrist and loomed over the poor boy.
"That's a good little Latvia. Next time, I won't be as gentle." Ivan giggled to himself childishly and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Raivis shook terribly, having no control of it now. He stared down at his wrist through teary eyes and watched as it began to swell and bruise. Ivan was right, next time he wouldn't be so gentle.
The last door, the one he had skipped, came next. Ivan knocked lightly when he saw a faint light coming in through the bottom of the door. There was a shocked gasp, but then a shaky voice answered him. "One moment, please!" However, Ivan didn't listen and opened the door up and stepped inside. Toris had been studying something and taking notes, but now all of the papers were shoved into the desk drawer and a book had been knocked over in the commotion. The Lithuanian struggled to pick up his mess and was now on his hands and knees picking up scraps of paper and sweeping up little pieces of wood shavings from his pencil. Ivan walked over and stopped right in front of him, staring down with a childish smile. "O-oh, Mr. Braginski… I didn't see you come in. I'm sorry for the mess; you startled me, is all."
"Do not apologize. This is your own room, not mine." Ivan watched as Toris stood, his hands trembling. "What is wrong? It seems like you're scared… Are you hiding something from me?" The Russian leaned closer and inspected his hands and notes in his arms. Toris pulled back quickly, but stopped himself before he fell over the step-stool that had fallen behind him. Ivan tilted his head. "If you are hiding something, it would be the best to show me now instead of hiding it for me to find later. Your punishment would be greater, that way." He paused with a childishly menacing grin. "Unless you'd like for me to make it greater, that is."
"N-no, sir… I-I was just studying a particular subject is all, and you startled me… I didn't want you to see what it was because…" He trailed off, looking to the side in a panic. "Because it's a surprise… For your birthday!" Toris shook nearly violently on the inside, but it was barely noticeable on the outside. It was clearly a lie, however, seeing as the Russian's birthday had already passed two months back.
"You're lying." Said Ivan, his grin fading. Toris started to shake on the outside now, taking another step back, getting closer to the step-stool. "I asked you nicely, Toris. But now you're lying to me…" The Russian took a few steps closer, looming over the small figure in front of him, his arm slinging forward, his hand hitting the other's face with a great force. Toris fell backwards and limply onto the floor, his papers scattering all over the ground. "I thought I could trust you, Liet."
Toris could feel nothing for a moment, but as soon as the shock had subsided, a sharp pain made itself known in his neck and back. He was still frozen, his eyes widening with shock. Ivan loomed over him with a blank face, a shadow covering his eyes, his head tilted downwards. The Russian had a paper gripped tightly in his right hand, slowly bringing it up to study it, pulling it tightly on each side to deduce the size of the folds made in the paper. Ivan's eyes ran across each sentence, each word, translating it as well as he could into his own language to better understand it. Slowly, his eyes narrowed and his expression began to darken. "M-mis-mister… B-Bragins—"
Toris grew silent, terror spreading even further throughout his body when he had noticed that the paper the other had was one of the main notes he had taken and had been guarding earlier. He felt his heart sink, his stomach turn, his pulse slow and begin to quicken… Never before had he gotten caught while taking these notes, but now he feared for the worst. Ivan promptly began to rip the paper into shreds, making sure each piece was unreadable, and threw them at the Lithuanian, a rain of confetti showering over the other's green sweater and getting stuck in his hair. "So, you've decided to leave, I see. This is what you've been planning." Ivan stepped closer and leaned down, his face merely inches away from the others'. "I've noticed you planning something for a while now, but I never really thought that it could be something like this." Toris stared into his eyes, his own starting to water, his body starting to shake. It almost seemed like he was staring into deep caverns… Though, it was also like they were staring through him. Piercing through his soul…
His thoughts were stopped nearly instantly when the Russian stood quickly, glaring intently. Ivan looked away, his back turning on the smaller man. "If that's how this is, I'll make sure you realize how much pain you've caused. No one escapes the house of the Soviet Union." Toris watched as Ivan left, slamming the door behind him. He could finally feel his arms and legs again, taking great effort to roll off of the step-stool he had fallen on. It was broken and a wooden leg from the stool had scraped into his back. Slowly, he crawled over to his desk, opened the bottom drawer, and pulled out a medicine box…