A/N: Hey~! I just want to take this time to say that this might not be updated a lot. I'm having a lot of problems with school and such, and I've actually had this story done for about a month and have never had the time to upload it! I'm hoping that actually getting this up will motivate me, however.

Title: Where The Light Shines Brighter

Summary: When Latvia makes a new friend, he never expects his life to be changed so radically…

Rating: K+, maybe T later on.

Pairings: Latvia/Lyn (OC), Lithuania/Poland

Where the Light Shines Brighter

Chapter One: Set The Needle On Its Path

A young boy, no more than fifteen, walked through the crowded Russian marketplace, a shopping list rustling in his coat pocket. He knew that most people hated going to the cold and hectic market, but the lad liked it. 'It's really the only time I can get away from Russia,' he thought. After another minute or two, the crowds became sparse as the boy entered a less populated section of the market. He shivered; the tightly packed crowd had provided him with most of his warmth. He was still walking aimlessly, trying to stall time. The teen closed his eyes and felt the cold wind whip across his face, stinging it.

'How long has it been since I would come here with Toris and Eduard?' the youth thought. He raised his eyelids, revealing soft violet eyes. What he saw was a mass of soft brown fabric as he collided with another distracted passerby. The young man stumbled backwards and clumsily tripped over his own feet. He grunted as he landed on his bottom, the impact somewhat cushioned by the snow. He blinked in shock. A gloved hand was thrust in front of him as if to help him up and, when he looked up to see his rescuer, the boy found himself staring into creamy brown eyes.

It was a Russian: a girl, at that. Even though she was much taller than the boy, he figured they were about the same age. She was wearing a heavy brown winter coat with white fur around the edges of the cuffs and the hood, which was pulled up over her head. Because her head was covered, the boy could not see much of her hair, but it didn't seem to be very long. He could see short, choppy bangs, and the front part of her raven-black hair was split, gathered together with beads, one on each side, and resting on both cheeks, dangling in front of her ears. Tentatively, the boy scanned her facial expression. She was giving him an irritated look, but her eyes gave away a hint of concern.

"Hey, kid. Are you all right?" The girl's voice was slightly lower than that of an average female, but it didn't sound unusual. In fact, the boy was always surrounded by people who had voices that were a little bit higher than the norm, himself included. The girl's voice was a welcome vacation. Warily, he grabbed her hand, his cheeks pinking a little at the contact. He was a little uncomfortable, and you couldn't blame him. The only girls he knew were Belarus and Ukraine and, frankly, they were both a little scary, not to mention much older than him.

The girl pulled him up a little forcefully; the boy was surprised at her strength. He stood, flushed and trembling slightly. "I-I'm sorry, miss…" The boy trailed off in an inquiring tone. The girl crossed her arms. The boy seemed to have annoyed her somehow.

"Don't be so formal," she snapped. She looked at the small, trembling boy in front of her and relaxed a little, thinking she had frightened him. "Anyway, name's Lyn. Lyn Titov. I help out with my family's florist shop." She jerked her thumb behind her, pointing it towards a small one-story house. It looked so small and pitiful; it could have very well been a hut. The boy saw two small children with the same striking black hair playing in the snow in front of the house. He watched them for a minute, longing to be so carefree, just playing with his brothers like he used to…

Lyn cleared her throat, and the boy was brought back to reality. She looked at him impatiently. "Well, kiddo? I told you my name, so…" Lyn's remark made the boy blush, embarrassed. How many times today would he look like a fool? How many times today would this girl make him look like a fool?

"Oh," he said, trying to regain his composure. "Then… It's nice to meet you, Lyn. M-my name is Raivis Galante… um…" The boy fell silent, trying to remember what all Lyn had told him, as he would give her that same information about himself. It was only polite. Lyn was staring at Raivis, clearly baffled by this behavior, and she jumped a little when the quiet boy spoke again. "I… I represent the country of Latvia. I live with my brothers Toris and Eduard. We all live with Russia…" Raivis shuddered as the name of his greatest fear slithered out of his mouth.

Lyn's eyes widened, and she grabbed Raivis' shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes, causing the boy to blush intensely. Despite the girl's actions, her touch was warm and soft. The boy, sadly, was not used to human touch, at least not like this. Only Russia ever touched him, but his touch was always cold and hostile, and usually led to a new injury for Raivis. He shook it off and looked back into Lyn's caramel eyes.

"You're a country?! You're way too young!" Lyn blinked at him incredulously as Raivis looked at her sadly.

"No, I am a country. Actually, I'm older than I look," Raivis answered, blushing harder and starting to tremble again but held in place by Lyn.

"What? Are you, like, twenty-eight?" His face was still flushed and he gave her a shy smile, something he hadn't done in years, and shook his head. He then raised his hand, lowered all his fingers save for the index, then slowly opened all five, revealing his palm. Lyn's cheeks pinked in embarrassment. She let go of Raivis' shoulders and scratched behind her ear, ever so slightly averting her eyes.

"Sorry abouy that…" she stopped scratching and looked at Raivis again. "Can I ask you something, kidd-- … Raivis?" The smaller of the two nodded, his awkward blush finally starting to leave his face. "Do you like sunflowers?"

Raivis began to tremble, a sea of emotions storming in his eyes. Lyn was taken aback. How could such an innocent question cause such a reaction from the boy? She put her hands in her pockets, the packet of sunflower seeds crinkling as she fingered it. She was going to give it to the boy as a sort of apology for running into him, but now she wasn't sure if she should. She watched as Raivis bit his lower lip and started to clench his fists. "Hey! Y-You okay?"

Little did Lyn know that Raivis was trying his hardest to restrain himself, to keep him from clinging to this girl and telling her all about his sad excuse for a life, about the nightmare that is living with Russia. Suddenly, Raivis flinched. There was a hand on his head, and it reminded him of Russia at first. However, it wasn't forceful. Instead, it started ruffling his already messy, light blonde hair. It was gentle, not frightening. He looked up and saw Lyn, a look of kindness in her eyes. She got on her knees so they were almost level (the height difference between them was slightly more than a foot) and looked him in the eyes, his basset hound eyes piercing her heart. They both flushed at the sudden closeness.

"Hey, kiddo… I'm sorry. I didn't know that would open up some bad memories for you or something." A motherly voice rang out through the street, calling for dinner. "I have to go now," Lyn said, worried, "but if you ever want to talk to me again… you know where to find me." She stood up and grinned, her personality totally shifting. "Oh, that's right. Do you wanna know how old I am?" Raivis nodded shyly. Lyn smirked and proclaimed, "Same as you!" She spun on her heel and chuckled as she entered herhouse, leaving Raivis alone in the snowy street. He was dumbfounded. That girl had been so snappy with him when they had first met, but then she softened and showed a strong maternal side, and now she was acting friendly and cheerful! 'She would fit right in at our house,' he thought, a small smile flickering on his lips. The church bell struck six, and he jumped. 'I haven't bought anything yet!' He looked at the small house one more time before frantically running back into the crowd, which was starting to grow smaller as the day began to end.