They were destined to be friends from the beginning. From the first moment they made eye-contact, they could tell that something would happen. They both walked up to each other calmly, smiling, and instantly they felt as if they had been friends for several years. They laughed, they joked, and already felt comfortable being around each other in just that short amount of time.

"My name is Peter!"

"I'm Raivis."

And they both went on their merry way, chatting and getting to know each other.

This was several weeks ago, actually. Peter had spent a lot of time with Raivis in those few weeks, and he started to learn more about him. He was fifteen, lived with "Mr. Russia", and had two 'brothers' named Toris and Eduard (they weren't actually brothers, but very close to each other because they lived in the same home). He found out that Raivis enjoyed reading, so in the first few days of becoming friends, Peter bought him a novel to which Raivis responded with stuttering gratitude.

"He's very shy and kind of nervous, but he's very kind to everyone!" Peter explained to his parents of sorts who took him in, and they simply smiled and said how great it was that the small nation was making friends.

Raivis, one the other hand, was quite hesitant to be friends with Peter at first. He was three years younger than himself to start, which didn't really matter, but he initially thought that would cause him to be immature. Fortunately, he was wrong. Peter was actually very delightful and fun to be around, and Raivis found himself opening up to him more than anyone else he had met. When Peter had given him his gift, he felt happier than he had ever been. He was very glad to get even such a small gift, seeing as his living conditions and privileges were anything but great. Ivan allowed him freedom to a point, but cross the line and he would regret it.

Raivis was lost in thought as he sat in a chair in the Russian's living room, the book Peter gave him resting in his lap, and a fire was roaring with life nearby. He felt so at ease for once as he thought about his friend, and just as he was about to doze off, Raivis jolted awake at the sound of the phone ringing on the old wooden table next to him. The Baltic cleared his throat and picked it up, nervously uttering a soft "Hello..?"

"Oh! Raivis! It's me, Peter!"

Raivis held the phone away a bit at the loud voice, "Hello Peter," He replied in his heavy accent, cuddling close to the pillow resting on the couch, "Do you need something?"

"Well, kind of. I was wondering if you could come over?"

"Come over..? I'm not sure about that. Mr. Russia has strict rules about that sort of thing.."

"Well it doesn't hurt to ask, does it?"

"In a way, it does…But, I'll see if Toris can help me out."

"Great! Just call me back, okay?"

"Alright."

The other line cut off, and Raivis hung up, sighing to himself as he looked around the room. "Why do you want me to get in trouble Peter?" He asked himself rhetorically, shaking his head and started to get up from the chair. Winding his way through the halls, he lightly knocked on their shared bedroom door, and soon it opened.

"Oh, it's just you Raivis. You scared me for a second."

"Sorry… I have a question."

"Oh? What about?"

"Well, you see, Peter just called me and he wanted me to come over but… I would probably be killed if Russia found out."

Toris slumped into the headboard of the large bed, scrunching his eyebrows together in thought. "Hm.. I mean, we could try to ask him. He'll probably make us do something in return though."

"T-Then forget it. I don't want to get you two in trouble too."

"Let's just try, okay? I'll come with you."

"You will? Thank you.."

"Of course."

Nodding, Toris got up from his spot and took Raivis' wrist, dragging him downstairs to where Ivan was sitting at the table in the kitchen. "M-Mr. Russia, sir?"

"Da? What is it, friends?"

Toris nudged Raivis in the shoulder, cueing him to speak and, trembling, he did so. "W-Well, my friend Peter c-called me and asked if I could come over to his h-house."

The Russian tilted his head childishly, smiling a bit towards the two. "Ah.. Well, I guess you could go. But you will come back, da? If you don't, I will find you!"

Raivis slightly shivered at the threat, but nodded rapidly in agreement. "O-Of course sir! I would never leave!"

"Good! But, when you return, you'll have to do a little extra for me."

"..What do I have to do?"

"Ah, don't worry about that right now. Just go have fun with your friend~.."

"T-Thank you so much, sir." Raivis bowed a bit towards him and Toris managed a small smile in Ivan's direction, turning on his heels and headed back towards their bedroom. Raivis, however, turned to go back into the living room to call Peter back. He answered on the other line soon enough.

"Hello?"

"P-Peter? I can come over."

"You can?! This will be so much fun! Just bring the basic stuff and then we can have popcorn and watch movies and all sorts of things!"

"That sounds great."

"So I guess I'll see you soon?"

"Yup, see you soon Peter."

Raivis was actually quite excited. His first sleepover, and with his best friend! Rushing upstairs, he grabbed a bag which Toris let him borrow, and he started packing his limited amount of clothes and toiletries.

"What are you doing?" Another voiced piped in, belong to Eduard who was cleaning his glasses.

"I'm going to a friend's house."

"…He's letting you do that?"

"Surprisingly. But I'm scared about what he'll make me do when I get back…"

"Don't worry about that," Toris said, patting his shoulder, "It won't be that bad. And we'll be right there with you!"

"T-Thanks you guys. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow night!"

"Have fun!"

"Don't wear yourself out."

"I won't. I'm actually excited, though. I just wish I could see him more often."

"Hey, maybe you will!"

Raivis smiled at the ground as he zipped up the small bag, "Yeah… I hope I will. Anyways, bye."

The Latvian nodded towards them both, rushing back down the stairs and nervously said goodbye to his caretaker before going out the door into the wide and open world.

Hello! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story. Sorry it starts off kind of slow, but it will get better as time goes on! Thanks again for reading!