She remembered dancing with him, feeling the gentle embrace of the gentleman before her though she never told anyone about that.
It was a moment just for them as she slowly came to really know him and felt the joy of just being near him.
Lilli had remembered coming home from that party and trying to calm her racing heart as her brother grumbled for the millionth time over how absolutely awful Austria was.
She bit back a smile when her mind wandered away for a few moments to just thoughts of that man though she quickly turned her attention back to her brother if only to feel the prickle of an urge to protect and defend the man that she'd long since fallen for and fell more and more in love with by the day.
Lilli remembers when she called him for the first time with nervous, quaking fingers as she tried not to let her brother know; she knew that he was out of the house for a little while, but it still left her nervous to think about how her brother could feasibly come home soon just to find her here.
She recalls the thrill of the soft voice greeting her across the phone and fights back a wide smile as she forgets to respond for a second to the beautiful voice on the end of the other line.
Liechtenstein starts first with how her day had went though carefully tucking family moments with Switzerland out of her lips; he had a funny way of finding those frustrating.
She told him in those few moments that she loved him as she wanted to make sure that he really did know how she felt before they had to hang up when her brother came home.
They talked for a little more than a half an hour, and she thrilled over hearing that rich voice sent through the receiver and grew excited at the thought of speaking to him again at the next meeting.
It always took a little bit of maneuvering to find time to talk at World Meetings without setting her brother off.
They sometimes consisted of cleverly timed 'bathroom' breaks where they just left the meeting one at a time slowly to talk among themselves about any topic.
She loved hearing his elegant voice very properly pronounce those words and the soft tones of an Austrian accent left her feeling more loved by the gentleness of them that many would probably not realize.
Lilli tells him finally that he has to meet her brother, get to reknow the man that he barely managed to properly be in the same room as.
It was shortly after Roderich had left from visiting them, after such a vicious meeting that managed to avoid angry words yet managed to perfectly define the open hostility in the room.
Lilli wished that she could hide from that hostility, that she wouldn't have to face it after Austria left from visiting them.
She tried smiling though Vash's growl of, "Don't go near him ever again, Lilli. He's a manipulative jerk." did not help her manage to keep smiling.
"I love him, Brother." Her words were not shaky; they were not weak.
For once, it was clearly visible how strong and independent that she could be regardless of how others may think of her.
"He's lying to you." It was a harsh statement, and one without any substantial backing to it.
"No, he's not." Lilli spoke up nearly harshly as she met that tone head on.
"He's not the kind of man that you are allowed to hang out with!" Vash growled; his voice transformed into a harsher growl than any that she felt comfortable hearing.
"Roderich's a gentleman. He's always kind to me, and he genuinely loves me." She hissed, watching her brother's face cautiously as he glared harshly at her.
"He is not really a gentleman; it's a facade that he uses to trick people." This growl worried Liechtenstein in the way of reminding her that he had to have some not very pleasant history with her brother over however long that they'd known each other.
"He is a gentleman!" She remembers the way he'd danced with her, the gentle placement of his hands, the knowledge of how to properly lead her well.
"He is not. He's only going to mistreat you." Hissed her brother, and Lilli bit her lip.
"He's a gentleman. He always treats me like a lady." She muttered as she glared back at him, trying to ignore the nervous pit that had formed in her belly since the start of her brother finding out about her boyfriend.
"You aren't old enough to be a lady." It was a hissed command as if he'd lost control of everything in this moment.
"I am, Brother, I am old enough!" She remembers days of bitter cold and hunger and longing for a home.
"You're too young to date an old jerk like him." The growl nearly brought tears to her eyes and made her unbelievably angry.
"I am old enough, and I won't let you treat me like that." She packs her bags that night and heads to a house reserved for her by her government in case she ever wanted to move in.
She hates the tears in her eyes that build up and slowly fall down, one by one.
Lilli calls Roderich and beats back her own sobs as she tells him that she's staying at her nation home rather than her brother's for the night, so he doesn't visit her brother, thinking she's there.
He listens to her choked sobs and feels the stirrings of relief to know that at least Roderich still cares and knows how mature she can be.
She listens to him until she finally curls up to sleep on her never slept in bed and whispers goodnight behind the tiredness of her own yawns.
His soft German accent lures her to sleep with the gentle sound of words pronounced so beautifully by a man long used to the language.
It's a few days later when she returns home, disheartened to have never received a phone call from her brother while she was away; it was the locks that were changed and the destruction of anything in their house that reminded him of Austria that alerted her to how very wrong this situation was.
She could not unlock the door but listened for her brother's steady breaths or yells about someone trespassing or to see him, gun in hand.
Lilli longed to see her brother, who normally was her best friend.
The young looking nation felt the pain of her heart breaking in two at the thought that her brother didn't realize.
She knew that she needed to call him when she headed home, cautiously checking to see if his anger had died down a little.
Liechtenstein visits Austria to feel his warm arms pulling her closer and to feel gentle and soft lips on her own, soothing within their nature.
He talks to her then, asks her about her brother despite it clearly being difficult; she wished that they got along better but for now, smiles with tear filled eyes as she tells him finally that she was scared that he'd never trust her again.
Austria holds her as he tells her finally that Switzerland would always love her as his sister and that family meant more than any amount of anger.
He sang to her too, and she felt her tears melt away to just hear those soft songs spoken in German, so very soft and warm.
She never wants to leave his arms but knows that she must go home and call her brother to hear from him whether he'd ever forgive her.
Roderich walks her home and kisses her goodnight; for a moment, all is okay in the world as love has prevailed.
When she remembers her brother after entering her house, she bites back sobs and hopes that he'll forgive her.
She can't help her heart and the fact that she's fallen head over heels for her brother's one 'real' enemy.
Lilli dials his number with nervous fingers and listens to her brother's voice on the other end, both, angry and bitterly sad.
She tells him softly that she loves him, that she wants to live with her brother, apologizes for keeping her relationship a secret for so long, and begs for him to accept them.
The next day, she moves back home, bites back tears at the reunion, and knows that it will take time for him to forgive them both and that it will take time for him to accept the fact that the two are together.
She smiles anyway, because she knows more than anything that her brother loves her and that he always will.
It reminds her of what her boyfriend told her and of the fact that she'd never doubted Vash's love before this; she feels the gentle embrace of slowly rediscovering the joys of having such an amazing older brother and such an amazing boyfriend too.
She watches as they slowly go from being enemies to being reluctant acquitances to finally tolerate each other to thankfully being friends despite old feelings of dislike that ran strong.
Lilli stays close and watches as slowly her brother accepts his future brother-in-law, and that is a very beautiful thing.