A/N: I decided this couldn't wait 6 months for Valentine's Day.
I do not own Hetalia.
Lithuania carefully pulled the end of the purple ribbon through the loophole, creating a perfect bow on top of the pale pink box. He let out a satisfied sigh and admired the two presents he had just finished wrapping. It wasn't much, but since he had never really been the best at making things turn out pretty, he was quite proud.
He wanted everything to look as nice as possible for the people receiving the Valentine's Day gifts. The box with the magenta ribbon was for his best friend Poland and contained some gooey homemade brownies. Toris hadn't put too much effort into those, as he knew Feliks would eat them all, no matter how bad they tasted. He smiled to himself as he imagined the blonde country complimenting his 'like totally awesome' baking skills.
His grin faded as he looked back at the box with the purple bow. This one contained eight heart shaped chocolates, each with a white letter to spell out 'I love you.' It was for Belarus.
No, it was not Lithuania's idea. Sure, he used to be completely crazy about her- there was no denying it- but that was a thing of the past. As time went by, he realized more and more how foolish he was to like a psychotic girl who hated him, and on top of that, had the creepiest brother in the world. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to think so. His two Baltic friends were constantly urging him to confess his so-called love.
"I've told you already," Toris would grumble. "I don't like Belarus."
"That's right. You looove her," Latvia would tease back.
Even yesterday when he had gone over to Belgium's house to get advice on baking with chocolate she had practically forced him to buy the heart shaped sweets for the Belarusian.
"Toris, everyone knows about you and Natalya," she said. "If you do something nice for her, like buy this authentic Belgian chocolate for Valentine's Day, she might start to see the light. I mean, she's never going to get Russia. He's her brother!"
She did bring up a good point that had always passed through Lithuania's head: if Belarus somehow started liking him, things might actually turn out okay. There was a slim chance, but still a chance right? Maybe she was over Ivan by now.
After hours of nagging, Estonia and Latvia were the ones who had finally convinced him to go over to her house tomorrow. They thought that Valentine's Day would be the perfect time to reveal his nonexistent feelings. On any other 14th of February, Lithuania would normally have stayed at home or gone over to Poland's for a while, where he knew he would be perfectly safe and happy. But Toris was not exactly the kind to resist peer pressure.
That's how he ended up sitting in the kitchen with two rosy colored gifts in front of him on the 13th. He looked over at Poland's box and thought of his friend. Strangely enough, he hadn't spoken to Feliks about his Belarus situation. There was something that didn't seem right about it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
They actually hadn't talked in a while. They weren't in a fight or anything bad, but nevertheless, Toris sure missed it. He hoped they would be able to catch up tomorrow over brownies. Of course, he'd have to face his potential girlfriend first. And possibly her older brother…
"Lithuania, be a man," he told himself sternly. "You are going to Natalya's house tomorrow and delivering the present, whether she likes it or not. There's no way she can't accept something like this. Things could finally work out."
He sighed and nodded. "Yeah," he reassured himself. "Things could finally work out."
Even to himself he sounded uncertain.
The first nightmare came two hours after he fell asleep.
Like most dreams, he wasn't sure how he got there, but somehow he was running through a vast and dark wasteland, Belarus chasing after him. Every step became harder to take, as if he were running through quicksand. Eventually she caught up to him and threw him to the ground aggressively.
"Are you trying to get yourself murdered?" she hissed, pressing a heel fiercely against his throat
"No! Please, let me go!" Toris choked out.
"You and your stupid chocolates can go to hell Toris Lirunaitis," she yelled. She leaned down, grabbed his hands, and Lithuania got to re-experience her slowly breaking each of his fingers, one by one.
He woke up with an agonizing scream and a sweat-drenched shirt. Panting heavily he glared at the clock, which only read 12:20 AM. Half asleep, he wiggled his fingers to make sure they weren't really broken.
For a moment he thought about calling Poland, but decided against it, not wanting to have to explain his dream. Instead he tossed off his wet shirt and curled up in a ball under his blankets. "It was just a dream," he muttered. "All in your head. Go back to sleep."
Sleep didn't help. The nightmares persisted throughout the majority of the night. He tossed and turned violently as he was constantly reminded of all the torture both Natalya and Ivan put him through. He could hear himself shouting yet was unable to awaken for hours.
The poor country finally rose with a gasp at 5 in the morning with his sheets half strewn across the floor. It was still pitch black outside.
He sat with his covers wrapped around him as he tried to control his breathing. He hadn't experienced a night like this in a long time. The worst part about the dreams was that most of them had actually happened in real life, and the ones that hadn't certainly felt like they could. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Belarus's present, which was sitting along with Poland's on his nightstand. Sleepily and shakily, he grabbed it by the ribbon and shoved it under his bed. He didn't know what in the world had he been thinking! If Belarus had broken his fingers on a simple date, what could she be capable of when receiving a harmless Valentine's Day gift? He was suddenly very mad at his friends for actually succeeding in persuading him. He made a mental note to give them a good talking-to the next time he saw them.
Toris was unable to sleep or think for the rest of the early morning. He laid down with the light turned on, flipping his pillow over every so often, just staring into space. Every now and then his eyelids would droop closed, but they would pop back open when a scary thought began to creep into his mind.
When the sun came up, Lithuania crawled out of bed and stumbled over his feet to get to the bedroom door. Downstairs he made himself a sloppy breakfast of cereal and too much milk. He wanted to get over to Poland's place as soon as possible, but he knew from past experience that Feliks wouldn't be awake until at least 10 AM. He was probably still asleep without any crazy countries invading his mind.
Lithuania attempted to do some housework for a few hours until the clock ticked to fifteen past ten. Before leaving with the present he stepped outside twice without shoes. When he finally got them both on the right feet, he realized that he was still in his pajamas. And shirtless.
"That would have been embarrassing," he thought out loud as he pulled on some khaki pants and a sensible shirt, only remembering to tuck in the front.
The walk to his neighbors house seemed to take longer than usual, but when he arrived and pushed a finger into the doorbell, Poland was at the door in no time flat.
"Oh, hey Liet!" he said, realizing who had come to his house. "This is a surprise! What's up broski?"
"This is for you," Toris muttered and thrust the wrapped box into Poland's arms.
"Um, thanks?" Feliks said. Noticing the colors on the gift, a light bulb went off in his mind and he slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh yeah! I like, totally forgot it was Valentine's Day! Sorry, I didn't get you anything man; it really completely slipped my mind. Uh, why don't you come inside for a while? It's the least I can do."
"Well… okay," Lithuania agreed slowly. "But I don't think I should stay for too long. I don't want to impose," he added with a yawn.
"Don't be silly, you can totally stay here for as long as you want," Poland said, leading his friend inside the house. "Take a seat in the living room and I'll bring you a drink okay?"
Lithuania plopped himself on the pink sofa and sighed in relief. While waiting, he bounced up and down a couple times, realizing how soft and comfy it was. Maybe he'd ask Poland if he could take a nap on it later…
"Here ya go," Poland said, handing Liet a hot mug of tea. "I was out of hot chocolate and your favorite jasmine tea, but I hope you at least enjoy Earl Grey."
Toris took the cup and allowed the warmness to fill his hands and spread throughout his body. "It's all right," he said. "Anything with caffeine."
Feliks took a sip of his own and sat next to Toris. "Great. Now, I'm totally going to open my awesome present!"
"Mm hmm," Lithuania mumbled. He put his mouth to the cup, hoping that the heat of the liquid might wake him up, but it was something else that did the trick.
"Even though pink's my favorite color, I'm totally digging this purple lace," Poland mused gleefully.
Toris was wide awake in less than a second. "Purple?" he cried. "Oh no Poland, don't open that-!" But it was too late, as Feliks had already ripped away the tissue paper and removed the lid of the box. Toris watched in a daze as his green eyes darted down and moved back and forth as he read the message written on the chocolates.
This can't be happening, he thought. I must be having another dream. A really vivid one. I'm going to close my eyes and when I open them I'll be back in my bed. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them a second later.
He was still in Poland's house.
And the blonde nation was still next to him, also trying to grasp the situation. "Wow," Feliks breathed quietly. He was silent for a minute, and then a smile broke across his face. "Wow!" he said again in a happier tone. "This is great Liet! Like, seriously, thanks a bunch!" he turned to him with a grin and leaned forward.
"Wait, wait!" Toris said quickly, holding up his hands. "Y-you don't understand. I had just made a few simple brownies from scratch for you but I went to Belgium for help and she made me buy these too and I must have switched them by accident this morning because I was really tired and… and…. Poland, did you just try to kiss me?"
Poland's wide beam morphed into a small nervous one and his face turned the same color as the couch. "Well, yeah Liet. I mean, you love me right?" He jerked his head to the 'I love you' chocolates. "Heh, heh… well, I do too."
Lithuania felt as if Russia had just dropped a medicine ball on his chest. His mouth hung open as he tried to find the right words. "Poland," he finally managed. "The thing is… those were meant… for someone… else."
"Oh," Feliks said blankly. His smile had disappeared completely. "Well. This is awkward."
Lithuania stared into his tea as an uncomfortable tension lingered in the air. He deeply wished that Poland would just send him home now, or even yell at him, but of course, that's not what happened.
Feliks smiled sadly and patted him on the back. "Whomever it was for is a lucky country, Liet," he said heartily.
Toris buried his face in his hands. He had probably just ruined their entire relationship over a stupid holiday and Poland was taking it far too lightly.
"So tell me," Feliks said, picking up his cup, not noticing that Toris was more distraught than him. "Like, who was it for?"
"Belarus," Toris groaned through his hands.
Poland nearly choked on his tea and he let out a loud guffaw. "Ha ha! Good one Liet! No, really, who is it?"
Lithuania lifted his face and stared at him "I wasn't joking Feliks," he said. "But don't worry, I don't think I was actually going to give them to her. Considering that fact that she hates me, that probably wouldn't have ended too well."
Poland let out a more genuine laugh and Liet found himself joining in. For a moment he forgot about what was going on and was just happy to share a moment with his friend. Just like before.
This small occurrence cause Liet to remember all the other times they had spent together and how Poland could always manage to put a smile on his face with his quirky remarks and odd sense of humor. When he had undergone all the turmoil from larger countries in the past, it was never the other Baltic nations that knew how to cheer him up or comfort him- it was all just Feliks. Liet hadn't really put too much thought into the idea of them being more than really close friends, but now that it had come up, he strangely didn't feel too weird about it. In fact, he kind of liked that idea.
"You know, we can't let these perfectly awesome chocolates go to waste," Poland piped up. "Like, there must be someone you like enough to give this to right?"
"Oh no Poland," Toris said. "They're for you."
"Huh? There's no other special girl? Not even Natalya?"
"Yes, I know that I used to like her, Poland. But like I said, I don't think that this should go to someone who hates and scares me. It should be for someone who has always been there for me… someone who truly loves me." He took a shaky breath. "Someone who I love in return," he said confidently.
Poland raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself. "Me? But, like, you mean like a friend or neighbor, right Liet?"
"Well, I do love you as a best friend," Toris acknowledged. "But, maybe even more than that. And… I think I have for a while now."
Feliks was quiet as he took in Lithuania's words. "You know," he said after a while. "I think that's, like, totally awesome Liet." He looked at the brunette and gently took Liet's hand in his own. He gave it a small squeeze and tentatively asked, "So, uh, how about that kiss?"
Toris shifted nervously in his seat but gave Feliks a similar press of his hand in response. Poland didn't have to ask what it meant. He moved in slowly and Lithuania didn't hold back this time. To his amazement, all his apprehension faded the moment Feliks's lips touched his, almost like magic. The kiss was surprising and sweet for both of them, yet seemed to come quite naturally. They didn't go beyond a single lingering peck, which- at least for now- was just the way the two countries liked it.
Just before delicately pulling apart, Toris smiled against Poland's mouth. "Yep," he said, opening his eyes. "Much better than Belarus."
"I totally know what this calls for," Poland said with a snap of his fingers. He reached into the open box of chocolates, pulled out the one with the 'L' and placed it in Lithuania's free hand. He grabbed one for himself and rested his head on Toris's shoulder, where it fit perfectly. "Like, Happy Valentine's Day, Liet."
Toris nuzzled against Feliks. "You too Poland."
And they just sat there, for the longest time, eating their chocolates and enjoying one another's company, neither of them ever letting go of the other's hand.