Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, but I really wish that I did! Enjoy :)
Latvia had been cleaning Mr. Russia's house all day. The others had been cleaning as well, but Latvia had been made to clean the kitchen. It was an important day for Russia. He would be having the G8 Summit over for a dinner party, and he wanted everything perfect. At the last world meeting, a fight had broken out between America and he that had ended with the destruction of four windows, half the table, and given Germany a nasty black eye when he tried to intervene. Russia needed the G8 on his good side, he said. Truly, or at least what Latvia suspected, was that he was trying to make himself look better than America.
Russia had been in town earlier, making preparations and buying food. He had left the Baltics in charge of cleaning his house. He was home now, in his study, doing god knows what. Latvia was polishing an expensive looking wine glass, when the phone blared loudly from the next room. The glass flew up into the air, and Latvia squealed in terror. If anything went wrong, he would most likely be spending the rest of his life in Russia's basement with just enough bread and water to keep his heart beating. Latvia swiped at the glass, trying to catch it, his eyes wide. It slipped through his grasp. He covered his eyes, waiting for the tell-tale shatter, but it did not occur. Instead, he felt someone open his hand, setting the glass back in it. Latvia opened his eyes. Lithuania stood there, smiling weakly. Latvia was trembling, but managed to stutter out his thanks. Then, the phone rang again.
"Better get it, before Russia gets angry," Toris said, patting Latvia's shoulder.
Latvia rushed to the living room, picking up the phone. He was still shaking like a leaf.
"H-hello?"
"Hello, may I speak to Raivis please?"
Latvia stopped trembling and a sense of calm washed over him at the sound of the voice on the other end.
"Sealand, w-what's going on?"
"Latvia! I wanted to see if we could hang out tonight! Please?" Sealand sounded as bright and cheerful as ever.
Latvia bit his lip.
"Mr. Russia has a dinner party with the G8 tonight, Peter. Maybe another time?"
"The G8? Why would he have them at his house?" Sealand asked, sounding as though he were pouting, which he probably was.
"There was a fiasco last week, and now- now Mr. R-Russia wants to m-m-make it up to them," Latvia said, trembling again at the thought of it.
"Well that's no fun," Sealand paused for a moment, before he hatched an idea.
"Hey, what if I came over and helped you clean his place? Then we could play after those G8 jerks leave!"
Latvia thought about it. He really didn't want to drag his best friend into the middle of a cleaning session at Russia's house, but the younger boy seemed so keen on the idea, it was impossible to say no.
"I'll ask Mr. Russia. C-call you back in a b-bit?"
"Okay! The mighty Sealand will get ready for a great time!"
Before Latvia could say that he shouldn't get his hopes up, the dial tone reached his ears. He sighed and hung up the phone.
XxXxXxXxXx
Outside Russia's private office, Latvia was beginning to regret ever telling his friend that he would ask permission. He began to quiver badly, and he fought back the sudden urge to cry as he knocked twice on the heavy oak door.
"Come in," Russia's voice was powerful, even as it was muffled from behind the door.
When Latvia entered, Russia was staring at his computer. He waved Latvia over and pointed to the screen. On it was a news article about a boy that had been murdered by his guardian in the man's private office, while he was doing paperwork. Latvia began to openly tear up when he noticed the similarity, as Russia was his caretaker.
"Poor, poor boy. So, what is it that you wanted little Latvia?"
Latvia was too terrified to speak. Why, oh why did Russia feel the need to torture him like this? It was more than he could bear. But then, he remembered what he had come in for in the first place.
"I-I-I w-wanted t-t-to know if... if S-Sealand could c-c-come over t-t-t-tonight please?" He stammered, shaking heavily.
Russia's expression looked a bit wary.
"Tonight? The G8 is coming tonight. If I recall, England isn't very fond of that boy. Quite frankly, neither am I. He's a bit of a loser if you ask me," Russia said, breaking into a large smile.
Hot anger flooded through Latvia, but he suppressed it, knowing what would happen it he spoke his mind.
"B-but he is m-m-my fr-friend, and he o-offered to h-h-help with the cl-cleaning, and..."
"He offered to help clean? Well in that case, tell him to come. But I don't want any trouble, and you both stay in your room during the party," Russia said, narrowing his eyes at Latvia.
"Oh! O-of c-c-course Mr. Russia! Th-thank you," Latvia bowed to the large, threatening man, who smiled and waved to Latvia.
He turned and bolted from the room, shutting the door behind him. He breathed a huge sigh of relief in the hallway, deeply thankful to be out of the office. He shakily made his way to the phone, and dialed the familiar number.
"Tino speaking," the gentle voice of Finland came through the receiver.
Latvia couldn't help but smile.
"Hi Mr. Finland, it's Latvia. Is Sealand available?" he asked politely.
He could hear Finland's tone brighten considerably at the other end.
"Of course, he's been waiting for your call! Here he is," he said.
"Thank you very much Mr. Finland."
A second later, Peter's energetic voice came through, and Latvia could actually picture him jumping up and down.
"What did Russia say?"
"He- he said it's okay. But we have to stay in my room during the dinner party, he doesn't want us seen in front of the G8. We can have some of the leftovers after," Latvia said, trying to sound as calm as he could.
Peter's yelp of joy resounded loudly through the phone, so that Latvia had to back it away from his ear quickly. He smiled, and a thought ran through his head.
'He's cutest when he's really happy.' Latvia then blushed a deep shade of scarlet, pushing the thought away. How embarrassing!
"I'll be over in twenty minutes!" he said, and before Latvia could even say goodbye, the sound of the dial tone met his ear.
He sat down on the couch and mulled over the thought that had occurred in his head. Sealand, cute? Well, maybe in a young child way... Latvia calmed himself with this thought, trying to rid himself of those conflicting thoughts.
XxXxXxXxXx
It wasn't long before there was a rapid knock at the door. Latvia jumped, nearly dropping the priceless decorative plate that he was cleaning. He set the plate down carefully, before he rushed to the door. Apparently, he was too late. His eyes met Russia, standing at the open door, gazing down at the tiny micronation. Sealand smiled up at him, oblivious to the terrifying stare he was receiving.
"Hello Mr. Russia! I'm here to see Latvia," he said confidently, returning Russia's gaze without fear.
"Ah, I heard you would be coming little one. Yes, Latvia is cleaning. You will help him before you two run off to play, da? Also, you must stay in his room while I am hosting my party." Russia stated his rules firmly, a smile plastered on his face.
"Right-o Mr. Russia. So, where is Latvia?"
"Right there, yay!" Russia said cheerfully, turning abruptly and locking eyes with Latvia, causing the smaller boy to jump in fear.
Russia simply chuckled, waved his hand, and returned upstairs. Latvia was quivering in terror, and Sealand was beaming at his friend, running over happily after shutting the door.
"Wow, Mr. Russia's home is really cold! But my home is cold too, but that is only from the wind. So, what do we need to clean?" Sealand rambled on, obviously quite happy to see his friend.
Latvia dared to smile.
"W-well we still need to set up the dining room for the dinner party. Mr. R-Russia wants it to be perfect," Latvia said, trembling only slightly.
Sealand grinned, setting off towards the dining room. Latvia sighed and followed. Sealand had been in Russia's home a few times, but Latvia didn't really like making his best friend come to such a scary place. He much preferred to spend time with him at Peter's home. They both got straight to cleaning, hoping that the sooner it was done, the sooner they could enjoy themselves. Peter was quick to make a game of the cleaning, running around the kitchen and racing Latvia to clean more things before him.
"So, what kind of fiasco happened last week?" Sealand asked innocently, frowning as he scrubbed a bowl, trying to clean a stubborn spot.
"O-Oh! Well, um, h-he and Mr. America g-g-got in a fight at the W-World Meeting. It was terrifying, b-but everyone else got into a f-fist fight as well. Mr. Russia is, um, trying to make it up to t-them," Latvia explained, trembling more as he remembered the incident.
"So... Russia is trying to be the mature one before Mr. America gets the chance?" Sealand asked nonchalantly.
Latvia gaped at how quickly Peter had put that together. He was a lot smarter than he let on.
"Well... yeah."
Sealand smiled, then went back to scrubbing the bowl. Latvia blushed, realizing that he was still staring at his friend. He quickly turned away and began to unfold a red tablecloth. He glanced at the clock and gasped. The G8 would be here in ten minutes!
"Come on Peter, we have to go tell Mr. Russia that the dining room is ready. Then we have to be absolutely quiet in my room, okay?"
"The Mighty Principality of Sealand is never absolutely quiet!" Sealand shouted happily, a bit louder than necessary.
Raivis winced, then motioned for Peter to follow him. They both set off upstairs.
XxXxXxXxXx
The two best friends listened intently at the grate in the floor. Latvia was actually quite thankful now that his room was above the kitchen. The voices of the G8 floated up through the grate, but it was still a bit difficult to hear.
"Russia, dude, what is this soup stuff?"
"It is borsch Amerika. Try it, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised."
There was a gagging noise, and Latvia could clearly envision the young America barely tasting the dish, before over exaggerating.
"America, mind your bloody manners! I did not raise you to be disrespectful."
Sealand scowled as his older jerk brother's voice reprimanded America.
"If you do not wish to eat it, then try the black bread. It is very popular in my country, da?"
"Dude, bread is white! White! Not black, what is with you freaky commies?"
"Settle down, aru."
Sealand snickered at the endless arguments that took place below. Latvia just looked nervous.
"I w-w-wonder if something b-bad will happen," Latvia whispered.
"Yeah, maybe they'll get in a punch up!" Peter said excitedly, a bit too loudly.
Latvia was quick to shush him. Sealand seemed to ponder something for a moment, then got up and went to the door, opening it and heading out to the hall. Latvia felt his stomach drop.
"Are you c-crazy? We can't go out th-there," Latvia squeaked, but Sealand put on his brave smile.
"We'll be sneaky! Nothing scares the mighty Sealand. Plus, it's hard to hear them from up here. Come on then," Sealand said, grabbing Latvia's hand.
Once again, Latvia felt his stomach flutter, but in a different way than before. It felt strange, and Latvia blushed, knowing that Sealand grabbing his hand had caused it. Somehow, his friend's touch was reassuring, and Latvia could only nod.
They crept silently up behind a plant next to the entrance to the dining room. Now, they could hear the voices clearly.
"-is very good Russia-san. I would love the recipe," Japan's calm voice caught up with them.
"What? You're on his side Japan, come on dude who's friend are you?"
"What? No, I was simply saying I enjoyed the meal..."
"Of course you can have the recipe Japan, it would only be polite."
Somehow, Latvia knew that Mr. Russia was sending America a creepy look.
"Hey, where's the Baltics? I wanted to say hi to Toris," America spoke up.
"They are not here, I sent them out to town for awhile."
Latvia's breath hitched as he heard that. He knew it was because Russia found them bothersome, and did not wish for them to stay in contact with the other nations. Then, he felt Sealand tense. He turned, and to his horror, saw that the boy was holding back what looked like a powerful sneeze. Wide eyed, Latvia shook his head vigorously. Too late.
"Ah-Aah-AACHOOOOO!"
The enormous sneeze sent both boys flying forward, right into the entrance of the dining room. Sealand collapsed on top of Raivis, both of them a tangled heap on the floor. They locked eyes with the G8, who stared back at them in surprise.
"Sealand? What the bloody hell is he doing here Russia?"
"Woah! That was some sneeze, aru!"
"Dude, you said nobody else was here!"
"Ja, what is this about Russia?"
"Mon dieu, I think he's made Sealand 'one with Russia'!"
Latvia felt his cheeks burning in embarrassment at the compromising position he was in. His face flushed, and he attempted to roll out from under Sealand. Peter shot up, a scowl on his face.
"That isn't true, I was just here to play with Latvia. We were only pretending to be spies!"
"Kolkolkolkolkol."
"Aww, the little guys were only trying to have fun! Russia dude, why can't they eat dinner with us?"
Latvia could only stare in shock as Russia's face grew puzzled, gazing at all the nations, before turning back to Sealand and Latvia, who was still on the floor.
"Well... I suppose."
Hesitantly, the two of them walked over, America grabbing two more chairs and smiling warmly. They ate dinner with the rest of them, and soon the awkwardness passed. Though England was not particularly happy that Sealand was allowed to sit with them, and Russia kept looking at Latvia when he thought he wasn't looking, it was fairly enjoyable. After dinner had ended, Russia simply nodded to them, telling them that they had the night to play freely. Latvia was pleasantly surprised that Russia had decided not to punish him, and the two had fun playing in Russia's yard. That night, the two of them fell asleep in front of the fireplace. Sealand had unknowingly slung both arms over Latvia, and was snoring deeply into the others shoulder.
Russia came down for a glass of water later that night, seeing the two boys by the fire. He smiled genuinely, and took a blanket from the back of the couch. He gently lay it over the two, before humming in approval and setting off to bed.
A/n: Just a one-shot I wrote in my spare time. I've recently been very into SeaLat, as well as RussAmer! So, here's a little SeaLat fluff for yalls :) R&R