Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia Axis Powers. Copyrights go to Hidekaz Himaruya.
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The Sunflower Field.

"I will return to how I was before the Soviet Union, Latvia," Russia breathed, his voice barely a whisper as his eyes fluttered closed. "I… I will be so much better. No longer this… this savage that I've become…. We will meet again in the future, and you will see..."

An amaranthine field of sunflowers blanketed the ground below a tiny hill adorned by a wide willow tree. For once the verdant grass of late spring was visible, the green-yellow blades swaying in the gentle breeze instead of suffocating under a layer of unyielding snow. Latvia perched underneath the airy canopy of the willow, his knees pulled against his chest as a pair of clear azure eyes scanned the flowers. "You said you'd come back… was that all just a lie, Mr. Russia?" Latvia's voice quavered in the silent, tepid air as unwanted tears welled in his eyes. "It's been two decades since you left…."

His forehead crashed against his knees as his composure completely abandoned him, fat tears streaking down his cheeks. He allowed his sorrow to engulf him after being fought off daily for the past twenty years, his shoulders quaking from the sobs that shook his slight frame. The only thing that abruptly silenced him was the unmistakable sensation of a large gloved hand finding purchase on the top of Latvia's head. "It might have taken me a little longer than expected, but I never lied, Latvia. I'm back now."

Latvia's shoulders immediately stopped trembling as old habit propelled him to his feet, pivoting about-face and locking eyes with the Siberian nation that eternally towered over him. "M-Mr. Russia! W-Where have you been? I was w-worried about you…."

A temperate smile broke across Russia's face as clear wisteria eyes scrutinized the short, wheat-haired country. "I took a trip to the southern seas to recover, and I realized that I had been such a fool in the duration of the Soviet Union. I should not have tried to control so many countries at once… I know that I was cruel to you and your Baltic relatives when we all comprised the Union, and for that I am truly sorry… but that's all in the past now, da? So I saw it fit to return once I had figured that out. I am back for good now."

Silence pervaded the space between them as Latvia studied the faceted amethysts that were Russia's eyes: they were more vibrant and untroubled, as if a curtain had been lifted over his countenance. "I-I'm just glad that you've returned, Mr. Russia. Nothing else matters except that right now."

Russia's smile deepened into a Cheshire grin as he patted the top of Latvia's head before taking his hand away, his arm returning to his side. "Always so formal, Latvia! There is no need to call me 'mister' anymore. I am not your boss anymore, and I haven't been for years now; now, I am more of an equal to you than anything."

Latvia shook his head slowly as he spoke, his voice laden with raw melancholy: he figured that there was no need to hide his emotions from the snowy country that he longed for. "I want to call you that if it's alright, Mr. Russia. It doesn't seem right to address you informally, and besides…" his voice's volume and tone decrescendoed as he finished with the ghost of a whisper, "…it reminds me of the time when we shared the same house… and I miss that very much."

A light brow quirked as a bewildered expression overtook Russia's features. "You miss it, Latvia? But have you not enjoyed your freedom from my tyranny?"

Latvia nodded as he glanced away, unable to maintain eye contact; his feelings mingled with emotion in the sea of his mind, riling the choppy water up with violent waves crashing against his shore. "The freedom to run my own country is nice, but… I-I'd willingly relinquish it for the chance to be c-close to you again, Mr. Russia. I… I miss that… and I miss you."

Russia's expression softened, his eyes bulging as he processed Latvia's unplanned confession. After a moment, he stepped forward to close the gap between himself and the picayune country that barely reached his shoulder, a gloved hand flitting up to the blonde's chin and nudging his face upward. His lavender irises met watery, oceanic-hued eyes in which a mixture of turmoil and affection frolicked—his heart swelled when he realized that those easily-read emotions were his doing. "You do not have to be under my control to be close to me, Latvia. And you are always welcome in my home, you know. You can be so silly sometimes, da?"

The meager country caught Russia off-guard as his arms wrapped around the other's midsection, burying his face in the broad plane of Russia's chest in one motion. "I want to be close to you then, Mr. Russia! I want to be with you…." Latvia proclaimed, his grip tightening on the Russian as if he would disappear at any given moment.

Russia tilted Latvia's face up to his own again, leaning close to the reddening country. "Then do it, Latvia. Be close to me, be with me. I do not object, da?" Russia breathed in the flavescent-haired country's ear as he moved, the tip of his nose brushing against the other's before he claimed Latvia's lips.

Elated tears welled in Latvia's eyes before they fluttered closed, his arms unfastening from Russia's midsection to twine around the pallid country's scarf-shrouded neck. Russia adjusted, hooking one arm around Latvia's shoulders and the other around his knees as he picked up the diminutive country bridal-style before breaking the kiss. "Spend a few days with me, little Latvia?" Russia requested, his lips brushing against the peach-toned skin of Latvia's forehead.

"You don't have to ask, Mr. Russia. Of course I w-will." Latvia's tense muscles relaxed in Russia's arms as the arctic country began to pace toward the east, returning to the home that he had once shared with the blonde in his arms.

Fin.