A/N: Disclaimer: I'm breaking canon a bit here (especially with younger!Belarus). I do that, I portray it differently in my head. In the (slightly modified) words of Adam Savage, I reject your canon and substitute my own. I'm no expect on history, so this mightn't be entirely accurate, but I hope you dear readers enjoy anyway~

"Oh my God… like, oh my God, Tolys."

The brunet, Tolys, or more commonly known as Lithuania, lay face down on a sofa, his sleeve rolled up on his left arm as his friend examined a deep knife wound across the back on the arm. A make-shift tourniquet comprised of the torn fabric of his sleeve and a dull pocket knife held back anymore blood from escaping.

"It can't be bad, can it?" he sheepishly answered the blond that stood over him.

"You are so totally losing it, aren't you? Hello~ Earth to Liet~ You need, like, a doctor. Right now."

"Feliks, it doesn't even hurt. I'm fine."

The Pole rolled his eyes. "Y'know, I hate to break it to you, but…" and he raised his voice slightly, enunciating each syllable clearly, "wake, up. What, are, you, think-ing? Are you goin' all crazy or somethin'? She's gonna kill you one of these days."

"She's such a sweet doll, she couldn't hurt anyone…"

And it used to be that way…

1335 A short young girl of about ten sat on the edge of her bed, one arm clutching a rag doll for dear life, rubbing her eyes as an older boy ran his fingers through her platinum blonde hair.

"Now Natasha, you need to go to sleep, or you'll get sick. Your brother and sister would be heartbroken if they heard you were sick." The soft-spoken boy leaned his head gently on her head and wrapped his arms around the girl, inviting her to lean against him.

"I wanna go home to home to Katya and Vanya…" she sobbed between hiccups.

"I promise, I'll try to bring them home for you soon. I promise, okay?"

Natasha nodded, fighting to control her tears. She was lonely and homesick, and being yelled at by the other boy, Feliks, didn't help. Tolys had stepped in, but not in time to save her tears.

"Can I sing for you to help you feel better, just like Sister did?"

"Mm…okay."

"Je, liuliai dukreli, liuliai rūteli, Užmik, mano aušrela, užmik, mano gėlala. Je, aš greit suverpsiu plonai linelius, Išausiu tau drobelas, Išausiu tau drobelas…"

Soon he had gently rocked her to sleep, and lying her softly down, he kissed her cold forehead and smiled, extinguishing his candle and walked off to his own bed.

1374 The same girl, maybe slightly taller, but still the same age, stood in a field of rapeseed, tagging along with the two older boys, the oldest Feliks, about 14, the other, 13. Picking off a stalk of the bright yellow flowers, she held onto it tightly. "It's the color of Vanya's favorite flower," she informed the other two.

"You really love Vanya, don't you?" Tolys asked with a soft smile.

"'Course. It would be bad not to love your brother, right?"

"If you love him so much, why not marry him?" Feliks smirked, tired of her chatter (mostly because he wanted to be the one endlessly chattering).

Natasha stuck out her tongue and mock gagged. "That's gross," she dignifiedly informed the blond. Changing the subject slightly, she added, "At least Katya is here now. I miss Vanya though."

"I'm sorry." Tolys nuzzled into her hair slightly, a gesture that made her giggle nervously, while making Feliks scoff and roll his eyes.

"G-ross…" he muttered to no one in particular.

1626 Natasha sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the same rag doll. Her face and body had matured, and rightfully so, she was growing older. She glanced over at the bed beside her where her older sister slept peacefully, and pouted.

"Tolys," she called, and the also maturing teen stuck his head around the corner, "I can't sleep. Will you sing for me like you used?" He nodded and began to walk over to her. "What's that for?" she pointed at a dagger in his hand that he had been sharpening and forgot to put down.

Stopping dead in his tracks, he frustratedly looked around for somewhere to stash the knife. Finding no suitable place, he answered, "It's a weapon. I'm sorry, I should have put it down."

"Can I see it?"

The question at first shocked him, but hey, it was mostly dull, and she was under supervision anyway. He knelt in front of her and held it out. I suppose she's old enough now, he thought, to know how to defend herself. "Be careful, that thing can kill. If you promise to be safe, you can keep it."

She picked up the dagger, examining it, her face broke into a shy smile and she hugged tightly around Tolys' neck. "Thank you."

The warrior within him knew far better than to receive such a move with a deadly weapon in her grasp, no matter how well he thought he knew her, but… It's dull anyway. She's never reached out to me before, I have always embraced her. And besides, this angel could never hurt anyone.

Releasing him and lying herself down, she handed the dagger back to him. "Please watch it for me so I don't hurt myself while I sleep. Now will you sing?"

He smiled and took it from her hand. "Je , vai, aš išausiu baltas drobelas, Pasiūsiu marškinėlius. Pasiūsiu marškinėlius. Je, vai užaugs, užaugs mano dukrela Kaip krasnioji liepeli. Kaip krasnioji liepeli. Je, vai, aš nuklosiu plonom drobelėm Dulkėtų vieškelėlį."

1772 They were gone… Worse, she was gone. Only in her absence did he realize how he had truly loved her.

A man would never show a weakness… The voice drifted through Tolys' mind as he sat, face buried in his hands. Strength comes and goes, but a true warrior will never appear weak. He knew they were declining. Other, newer powers would come and take their territories. He and Feliks would be left alone. Swallow your pain, whatever you do.

Obeying the voice that had guided him through life, he removed his head from his hands, blinking away the tears. No longer able to summon the strength he used to, there was no point in fighting. Isn't this what nations live for? To rise and conquer, to fall and burn, to eventually become just a memory in the history books? So what if he lived the rest of his life tending to the crops? He could even go on living for others and be happy.

"Hey…" A blond head stuck through the doorway and walked over to sit with him.

Poland… That was another story all together. A union sounded like, and was, a good idea at the time. Once a co-equal partner, Lithuania was now not much more than another lackey. But Feliks and Tolys had a special bond, and that would make a difference, right?

"Hey, are you alright?"

Tolys kept his emerald eyes trained on the dust gathering on the floor. "Why are you here, Feliks?"

"You hadn'ta come out all day, and I'm super hungry. But you look sick, is there anything I can getcha?" Feliks draped his arm across his friend's back, narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, trying to make the younger teen look at him.

Strong men can take care of themselves… "Strong men can take care of themselves, Feliks…-I mean…ah-never mind."

"Liiiiiet…" he whined, "c'mon, tell me." Touching his friend's forehead softly, he added, "You don't seem like you got a fever… Is it your stomach again?"

"No!" Tolys snapped, turning his still tear-glistened eyes to Feliks sharply and pushing out from under his arms. "You wouldn't understand, you self-absorbed pig!" His tone was one of self-pity mixed with frustration. He couldn't handle himself with that thing hanging onto him. I don't hate Feliks, he repeated to himself, I really don't… Even if he never listens, and has no social graces, or doesn't think about others' feelings, or…stop it, Tolys!

"Tolys!"

Tolys ran, out of the room, out of the house, out into the rye fields. Collapsing between the rows, he cried. He cried for his lost childhood, for his missing and deceased family, for losing his angel…and everything in between that he never cried for, for the sake of hiding his pain. In that field, he vowed to himself to never again put himself above anyone else, to do whatever it took to make others happy, to serve and not expect anything in return. Shortly after, he cried himself to sleep as the sun began to set. A worried Feliks came looking for him, and unable to move or wake him, the blond brought out a blanket and spent the rest of the night at his side.

The lullaby Liet sang can be found here: http : / / www . youtube . com / watch?v=ASLnzu-fvYc