So, yeah

I don't own Hetalia... Just like the world doens't want to become one with Russia! XD

Anyway, hope you enjoy this ^^

Old Technology Can Be Just as Good

Lili and Rivas had become quite good friends over time. They had met at a world meeting, one day. It had started with a simple "hello", and, then, they began to talk. At first, they would only speak at meetings, but soon, they would call each other, just to chat. Now, Lili came to Russia's house to visit Latvia quite often. This, of course, meant that she had gotten to know the other two Baltics, as well.

Sometimes, when Rivas was busy, Lili would go to help Toris in the kitchen. Toris would usually accept her offers, happy to have some help and some company. Other times, she would go and seek out Eduard. They would sit and chat different things, usually about the latest technologies.

They all enjoyed her company. She was a sweet, soft spoken girl, but she always had something to say, if you would let her say it. She was just a generally pleasant person to be around, and when she was here, Russia always seemed less violent.

One day, Lili decided to come and surprised Rivas with a visit. She heard the soft music of a piano playing as she walked quietly up to the front door. She listened for a moment, but the song was nothing that she recognized. After listening for as long as she dared, she knocked on the door. The music quickly stopped, and was replaced by footsteps.

"Hello, Lili," Eduard greeted, a bit shocked, as he answered the door. They knew each other well enough, by now, that they used each other's human names instead of their countries.

"H-hello, Eduard," Lili returned in her soft voice, smiling. "D-do you mind if I come in?"

"Not at all," he said, opening the door wider to allow Lili to come inside. After shutting the door behind her, and turned around. He noticed something was different about her… After looking her up and down, he realized that she was wearing a new ribbon. "Pardon my asking, but what brings you here, Lili?"

Lili smiled again, and held up a small box of chocolates.

"Brother gave them to me, this morning," she answered quietly, but happily. "I-I thought I would come over and share them."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry, Lili, but Rivas is out for the day," he said. "Ivan is at a meeting, and he asked both Rivas and Toris to run some errands for him while he was out."

Lili's chest fell a little and her smile slipped from her face. It was partly because everyone was out, but there was also the fact that she felt Eduard's tone was a bit cold. She now looked a bit upset.

"O-oh, I'm sorry…" she apologized. "I-I should have called before I c-came over… I'm sorry to have bothered you, Eduard. I-I'll go, then." She seemed a bit flustered as she turned back toward the door.

"W-well, you don't have to leave," he stated as she put her hand on the doorknob. He continued when she turned around with an almost confused expression on her face. "You may wait here for everyone to return, if you wish. And I would enjoy your company. I've been here alone all day."

Her face lit up, and he thought, for the first time, how cute she was. Usually, she only ever smiled like that at her brother, or at Rivas. He shook the thought away; he shouldn't be thinking like that. They were just friends after all. And they were friends, even if they didn't talk often.

Her returned her smile, and turned to lead her into the sitting room where he had just come from. There was a small fire going in the fire place; it always was. No matter what time of year it was, it was always cold at Ivan's house; in Russia. The other noticeable thing about the room, or noticeable to one who was there often, was that the Grand Piano in the corner of the room was open. It had been used.

"It's so beautiful," she exclaimed, though, even an exclamation for her was still quiet for most; her voice was just naturally soft. She walked over happily to the piano and turned back to Eduard. "It's not usually open when I am over." She explained this after she turned around; her back was now to the piano. "U-um… Eduard, w-was it you who I heard playing, earlier?" Her voice was very soft, once again, as she asked him the question, shyly.

In answer, a light pink dusted his cheeks, and he gave a slight, shy nod. Other than his "brothers," he didn't think anyone knew about the fact that he knew how to play the piano; not even Ivan. He was just as shy as the other Baltic States, even if he acted a bit braver, and he didn't often go around announcing to everyone the skills he had. He only played when everyone was out.

"It was beautiful," she said with another sweet little smile. "W-what was it that you were playing? I-I didn't really recognize it… N-not that I'm an expert or anything…" She blushed thinking about how it was probably a popular song that she had just never heard before.

"W-well," he began, blushing slightly and pushing his glassed up the bridge of his nose sheepishly. "A-actually I wrote it myself. It r-really wasn't much at all." By this time, his eyes had wandered away from hers in embarrassment, and he now refused to look at her.

"U-um, would-would you play it for m-me," she asked, softer and more shyly than ever. "B-bitte?"

Eduard was about to tell her that the composition wasn't much, but, then, she had spoken German. It was a little known fact to Lili, but, when she spoke German, most anyone would give her anything she asked for. Her German was just so cute; it was difficult to say "no" to.

With out a word, Eduard walked over to the piano bench, and sat down. He looked over at Lili nervously, he wasn't used to playing for an audience, and he placed the tips of his fingers lightly on the keys and the G position.

The song started off with just a simple note. This note was followed by another, and another. The notes were then strung together to form chords. Soon, both of his hands were dancing across the keys of the piano, playing the most beautiful melody Lili had ever heard.

Lili began to lose herself in the world created by this magical melody Eduard had created. She began to sway happily back and forth with the tempo of the song. When she closed her eyes, colors flashed and splattered to correspond with the notes and the mood of the song. It was absolutely spellbinding.

The music ended abruptly with a single held out note. It was then that both Eduard and Lili seemed to come back to themselves. Eduard blushed and looked over at Lili, seemingly just remembering that she was there.

"I-it's not finished yet," he said shyly. "A-and it's not anything special, but…"

"Nien, nien," Lili said with a shake of her head. "Es war wunderbar!" She smiled happily, and gave the performance a little round of applause, not noticing that this act, plus the use of her German again, had caused Eduard to blush a brighter pink. "T-the piano is such a beautiful instrument, don't you think?"

"It is," he said with a nod. "Y-you know, t-they have electronic keyboards, now. And you can download music, and it will teach you how to play. You can also change which instrument it sounds like." He tried to change the subject to one which he felt more comfortable talking about with Lili; technology.

"Yes, I-I've heard," she said with a little smile. "B-but I personally prefer Grand Pianos. T-they are just so beautiful. And electronic pianos j-just don't produce the same sound."

Eduard looked at her quizzically. He knew Lili was into technology, much like he was, but he had not known that she had an interest in music. Even less did had he known that she had an interest in pianos. This fact made him feel… strange.

"W-well," Lili began again, taking Eduard's expression for something it wasn't. "You know I love new technologies, b-but I believe there are some things that don't really need to be improved. S-sometimes, the older technologies can be just as good as the new ones. I-I think, in the case of pianos… e-even better." She smiled, a bit sheepishly. She didn't know why she had felt the need to explain herself, but she had.

"N-no," Eduard said with a slight smile as he adjusted his glasses again; it was a bit of a nervous habit of his. "I think you are right. Old fashioned Grand Pianos are much more beautiful instruments than the newer keyboards, and they have more of an elegance and a grace about them."

She smiled at the fact that he agreed with her.

"O-oh," she exclaimed softly, as if she had just remembered something. "A-and for your performance…" She giggled softly, and reached over to the box she had set down on the piano. She took off the top and held the bottom out to him. Inside, he saw five little chocolates carefully tucked away in their respective paper cups. There was one empty space, and he suspected that Lili had already given one of her gifted chocolates to Vash. She was just that thoughtful and sweet and…. He let the thought die off.

"N-no, Lili," he refused politely. "It was your present, I couldn't." No matter how much he suddenly wanted to take the chocolate. It was odd, because he wasn't usually one for sweets.

"Please," she said. "I-I insist. Bitte, have one. Brother makes wonder chocolate."

There it was again. One simple little word in German, and… Eduard reached out his hand and carefully took one of the little chocolates. He smiled, and took a little bite of sweet candy when she looked like she was about to tell him to eat it. He found it quite surprising that he liked it.

"Y-you should eat one, too," he said with a smile after eating his. "They are yours, after all."

She nodded, and, after examining the chocolates for a moment, finally chose one with a small flower design on the top. She slipped the little chocolate into her mouth with a smile. After letting it melt slightly, she proceeded to eat it. After that, she closed the box again, and sat it back down on the piano.

"T-the rest are for the others," she informed him.

Just then, they heard the front door open. Both of their heads turn in the direction of the front door, even though they couldn't see the front of the house in the position they were in.

"We're home, Eduard," called Toris as he and Rivas entered the house.

Lili then picked up the chocolates and ran off to the front door to meet the other two Baltics and to offer them the chocolates. This left Eduard by himself at the piano. He went over what had just happened in his head. Lili had come over, had him play the piano for her, and given him chocolate. Then she had run off. It was nothing much, really; just an exchange between friends. But, then, why was his heart beating faster than normal?

He decided he would go to his room and think things over. Or, at the very least, he would try to push the whole thing away from his mind. He didn't come out of his room for the rest of the day. Much less did he speak to Lili again. In fact, he didn't speak to her at all when she came over, her next few visits. He had never figured out what had happened to him that one day, so he had stayed away whenever she had come over.

It was exactly a week later that Rivas walked nervously into Eduard's room. He was timid, as always, but there was concern on his face, as well. It was clear he had been worrying about his "brother."

"E-Eduard," he said softly as he entered the room. When Eduard looked up at him from where he sat on his bed to show he had heard him, Rivas continued. "H-have you been a-alright? L-Lili and I have been worried… Y-you haven't come out to visit at a-all when she's over…"

"I-I'm fine," Eduard answered with a slight nod. The mention of Lili's name, and the fact that she had been worried about him gave him a funny feeling in his stomach that he couldn't explain. Suddenly, there was an odd question he simply had to ask. "Rivas… Do-do you, er, like Miss Lili?" He said it rather formally, and looked away, blushing slightly, as soon as he realized what had just come out of his mouth.

"O-of course I like her," he answered, an extremely confused expression on his face. "She's my best friend. I-I couldn't not like my best friend." He tried to smile at this, thinking about how odd of a question it was, him asking if he liked Lili.

"T-that's not exactly what I meant…" he said quietly, refusing to meet Rivas's eyes again. He started adjusting his glasses on his nose, again, silently cursing his nervous habit.

"T-then what do you-," he began to ask, but realization suddenly seemed to dawn on him. His eyes widened as he seemed to understand to - of Eduard's words. "O-oh… Well, i-it's not to say t-that I don't l-like her, b-but, t-that is, not l-like…. W-why do you ask? S-she didn't say any t-thing like that, r-right? L-last week when s-she was over? S-she's my best friend, a-and I really l-like her, b-but…"

"N-no, she didn't say anything about it," he answered, finally looking back at Rivas. He didn't like to make him this nervous. He was nervous enough as it was. "It was just something I was wondering about." Then, he simply adjusted his glasses, and looked away, again.

Rivas's eyes widened as realization dawned on him for the second time in less than five minutes. He looked at Eduard in pure shock. He would have never guessed that something like this would happen.

"E-Eduard," he exclaimed, but in his soft nervous voice; just as always. "Y-you don't like Lili, do you? I-I mean, it's wonderful, i-if you do, but I would have never g-guessed…."

Eduard fidgeted slightly under Rivas's stare. He was always so blunt, and now was no exception. And he had hit the mark. Eduard had, in fact, begun to like Lili; though it had been unknowingly, at first.

"Y-yes," he said, looking back at his friend, with slight pink tinge to his cheeks. There was no way to get around it, anymore. "I believe I do… like Lili."

"W-wow," Rivas exclaimed, his face lighting up. It was quite obvious that he didn't mind Eduard liking his best friends. "That-that's great! Have you t-told her yet?" As strait forward as always.

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. "And I don't plan to tell her. I-I think I will just wait this out and see how everything goes."

"N-nothing will ever happen if you stay locked in y-your room every time she e over," the younger stated. He seemed slightly distressed; being able to tell that Eduard really seemed to like Lili, and the fact that he didn't plan on telling her… Wasn't there anything he could do about it?

"It will be fine, Rivas," Eduard assured with a small smile. "But thank you for worrying about me."

Rivas nodded hesitantly, but left the room. He now had a plan on how to help his friends; the only question was, would it work? And, if it did, what would happen, then? What about his friendship with Lili? But it didn't really matter too much at the moment.

It had been a several days since she was last over, so she wasn't entirely surprised to find that she had a new message from Rivas on her cell phone. What the message said, however, was a completely different story. It was very out of the usual for him.

Hello, Lili, it read.

It has been a while since you were last over! I was wondering if you could possibly come pay a visit today? As soon as soon as you get this message would be best. I might be a bit busy when you get here, so, please, feel free to let yourself in. I'll see you in a bit?

-Rivas

Yes, it was a very strange message. Why would he invite her over if he was going to be busy? But she decided not to give it too much thought. It had been a while since she had last seen Toris or Rivas. And it had been almost two weeks, now, since she had seen Eduard…

She put her phone back into her pocket, and went to go get ready to go over to Ivan's house.

That morning had been an awfully strange one. It had started off normally enough. Ivan was to go to another meeting, and the "his" three Baltics at home. No, that wasn't the strange part; that had come not an hour after the Russian had left. All Eduard could remember was Rivas babbling about an errand that he needed to run. The boy then proceeded to dragging Toris along on this "errand" with him. When Eduard had offered to come, as well, Rivas seemed to panic and insisted that he stay behind.

That was what was really strange. But it was just as well. Eduard had something he had been meaning to work on, anyway. And it wasn't something he was willing to work on when there were others in the house.

He was now sitting at the large Grand Piano. His hands were placed delicately over the keys, and, every once in a while, he would play a few notes or a couple of chords. In front of him, on the music stand of the piano, was a small stack on paper; on which were printed several music staffs, each. Beside these pages was a sharpened pencil, and beside that, a smaller stack on papers, flipped over. They had obviously already been written on.

Toris and Rivas were now walking aimlessly towards town. They hadn't gotten too far away from the house, yet, and Rivas kept turning back anxiously; as if he feared someone would be following them. Really, he just wanted for Eduard not to have left the house.

"Rivas, what's going on," Toris half asked, half demanded. This was so unusual for the boy. What reasoning could he possibly have for dragging Toris out of the house? It was quite obvious that he didn't have any plans of going on a errand.

"I-I will tell you l-later, alright, Toris" he asked, a bit more nervously than usual. Or, at least, a bit more nervously than he usually spoke to Toris. "W-we just have to say out of the house for a few hours… I'm not sure when she will get my message…" And with that, he looked back over his shoulder again, in the direction of the house.

Toris didn't argue; it was obvious to him that this was important to Rivas. Whatever it was… He decided to let the subject drop; for the moment at least. He would bring it up again when they were farther away from the house, and Rivas seemed less anxious.

Lili walked up to the large Russian house. She was a bit nervous because her best friend's message had worried her, slightly. Not that there was anything in it to worry about; it was just that it was so strange…

It was for this reason that she did not hear the piano playing inside. If she had, she most likely would have knocked, as it meant that Eduard, at least, wasn't working and could let her inside. But, as she did not hear the music, she simply opened the door, quietly, and walked timidly inside.

She closed the door behind her softly, and she was greeted with some of the most beautiful music she had ever heard. She recognized it as the piece that Eduard had been working on the last time they had spoken. It seemed fuller, now, and more sure. He must have finished it.

It was as she made her way to the room that there was suddenly more to the music. She stood in the front entrance to the room, and listened.

"And when I see your face,

The world fades away.

When I hear your voice,

The angels sing.

Oh, please, remember me

And the Lily Of The Valley

Will remain.

You're never off my mind,

Little flower.

And I'll never be too far away.

I think I may love you

Little flower

That you love me back is all that I pray

And when the wind blows

The flowers sway,

And one by one,

They fade away.

And please, Forget-Me-Not.

Yes the Lily Of the Valley,

Will remain.

Yes the Lily Of the Valley

Will remain."

The song faded out into a single, drawn out chord. Eduard then took his hands off the piano, and a satisfied little smile spread across his face.

Lili stood for a moment, absolutely speechless. The song had been so beautiful… She wiped the tears from her cheeks that she hadn't realized had fallen until the song had ended.

"T-that was beautiful, Eduard," she said with a soft, happy smile.

Eduard jumped what he felt must have been two feet in the air. When he turned around, and discovered who had spoken, he turned a violent shade of scarlet. He started fidgeting and adjusting his glasses; pushing them up the bridge of his nose, only to let them fall back down so he could push them back up. He wasn't sure what to say to her, and he once again cursed his nervous habit.

"L-Lili," he exclaimed when he finally found words; his blush still not dying down. "W-what are you doing here? I d-didn't hear you come in; have you been here long?"

"R-Rivas sent me a message this morning inviting me over," she answered. "And I-I've only been here long enough t-to hear your song. I-I didn't know you could sing." Her smile never left her face, and she started to make her way to the piano, now that Eduard was done playing.

"I-I don't sing unless I know no one is around," he explained. In the back of his mind, he wondered why Rivas would invite her over when he had planned to go out, but his heart had started beating too fast for him to dwell on the subject.

"W-well, I'm happy that I got to hear you," she said happily. "It really was a-a beautiful song."

"I-I'm glad you like it," he said looking away from her. He lowered his voice and blushed even harder as he spoke his next words. "B-because, I-I wrote it for y-you." He couldn't believe he had just said that, but this might be the only time he would ever get the chance to tell her.

She had sat on the piano bench just before he had told her this, and she was now shifting slightly in discomfort. If Eduard would have looked over, he would have seen that the shade of pink on her cheeks exactly matched his own.

"W-why," she asked, looking at the piano instead of meeting his eyes. "Why w-would you write something like that for me?"

"Lili," he said softly, turning now to look at her, even though she was looking away. "I… I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Not-not since the last time we spoke."

She now turned and looked up to meet his eyes, absolutely speechless. The truth was, she had thought about him quite a bit as well. They were very close, sitting on the piano bench together, and both seemed to tense as they realized this fact. Eduard tensed even more than Lili because he noticed something else, as well; just how close their faces were.

Without thinking, which alone is quite unlike him, he quickly closed the distance between them. Capturing her lips softly with his own, he kissed her lightly. His heart was racing, and he could feel the heat on his cheeks, as well as the heat Lili herself gave off.

Lili was shocked beyond all thought. She simply stared, wide eyed, as he kissed her, unable to react.

Chest fallen, he noticed her absolute stillness. He felt close to tears as he pulled away, but would not allow himself to cry. Not at the moment, he wouldn't, anyway.

"I-I-I…" Lili stumbled over her words when her lips were freed. She didn't know quite what to say.

"I … I'm sorry Lili, I shouldn't have done that," he stated, sounding much more calm than he felt. He always seemed to find a way to sound collected, even if he was terrified, or, in this case, broken hearted on the inside.

"I-It is fine," she assured as her cheeks started to warm again. "Y-you just surprised me, is all."

"No," he said with a small shake of his head. "I'm not sure what came over me. I really shouldn't have done that, and I should be more careful to think before I act. I-"

His babble was cut off as Lili's soft hands reached up to his face, and gently took hold of his glasses. His heart sped up, once again, as she slipped them off his face. W-what was she…?

"I-I said you just surprised me," she repeated before leaning up to him. Before her lips had taken his, he notices that her cheeks were an adorable shad e of pink.

Hesitantly, almost unsure, she reached up and wrapped her arms around Eduard's neck and just barely pulling him closer. One had was still holding his folded up glasses.

Eduard was shocked, not ever expecting that of Lili. But he got over his shock quickly, it being replaced with pure joy. He gently slid his arms around her waist, and pulled her closer to him on the bench.

The kiss never became more than the soft gentle kiss it had started out as. When they needed air, they broke apart, each smiling shyly. Lili then hugged Eduard around his middle, and rested her head against his chest.

"W-will you play for me, again," she asked sweetly after letting him go and looking up into his eyes. She opened his glasses and slid them back onto his face when he nodded.

He turned back to the piano and began to play her song once more, and she rested her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes as he played, and listened carefully to the beautiful music. He finished playing her song, and began to play another. He played for he didn't know how long.

In the middle on one song, he looked down at the small blonde head on his shoulder, only to discover that Lili had fallen asleep. He smiled at her, and shifted slightly so that her head fell onto his chest. From that position, he scooped her up, and carried her bridal style over to the couch. His plan had been to lay her down so that she could sleep, but on the way over, she had clutched onto the front of his shirt as she laid into him.

Not wanting to wake her, he sat down lightly with her on his lap. Unconsciously, she snuggled closer to him. He looked down at her and smiled; how could anyone in the world be so cute?

After a while, he laid his head back and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he, too, had fallen asleep.

Rivas had only vaguely explained what was going on to Toris while they were out. He was still slightly confused as to what was going on when they opened the door of Ivan's house.

Rivas had been sure that it would be fine for them to come home, by now. They had been out for several hours, so it should be safe for them to come back, right?

They walked in quietly just in case, and were immediately glad that they had. They saw the couple on the couch as soon as they walked into the room. Both were asleep, and both Rivas and Toris were glad that they hadn't woken. It would have been quite the awkward scene.

Toris immediately understood just what Rivas had been trying to tell him. So this was why Eduard had been acting so weird, lately, and this was why Rivas had forced them both to leave the house. He hadn't known that the boy could be so sneaky as to set his best friend up with his brother. Well, brother of sorts. The three of them really had nothing in common.

So the two Baltic states snuck off quietly to their rooms to leave to two on the couch alone.

Lili was a very lightly sleeper; which wasn't surprising with the training she received from her brother. But she had woken the moment the door had opened when Toris and Rivas had gotten home. Her eyes flew open, and she sat perfectly still. She took in her surrounding, as she didn't remember falling asleep in the position she was in.

When the two who had just arrived walked thought the room, she quickly closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep. When she heard the footsteps dying, she opened her eyes again. She concluded that she must have fallen asleep over at the piano, and Eduard had carried her over here, to the couch.

Speaking of Eduard… She looked around for him, only to discover that he was right next to her. Well, under neither her, really. She smiled at the fact that he had done that, guessing, accurately, that he hadn't wanted to wake her.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek as a little "thank you," then, she laid back against him once more and closed her eyes.

*Wipes sweat away from brow* finally... *pant* done...

This took me forever to do... *mumble* stupid school...

So, yeah. I got the idea for this little crack pairing while on Skype with my friend and a few of her friends. One of her friends got these two little puppies and named one "Esty" for Estonia and the other "Lili" for Liechtenstein. Now, I'm pretty sure that this is only because she likes these characters... But me, being the crack lover that I am, was like... 'That... is quite the crack pairing... I must right a fic!' And so, here you have it! I really hope you like this!

If you are wondering why Estonia is singing and playing the piano, go read the wiki page. Reading is good for you.

Anyway, please review! I love to hear what you guys have to say about my writing and my stories!

Love you all! ^^ 3