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Note: These first chapters will just be Liechtenstein pretty much meeting everyone.

III. Comfort
Mid September

When Liechtenstein arrived at the house with Italy, she found an angry German in front of her door. Her green eyes widened in surprise. Hearing footsteps, Germany turned around and glared at Italy.

"Ciao, Germany!" Feliciano didn't seem to think that anything was wrong, until Germany started yelling.

"Where have you been? I told you to find Switzerland! I thought you got kidnapped or something!" Liechtenstein glanced at the two of them, and she wanted to sink into the ground. Was she the reason for all this yelling?

"But I thought..." Italy let out a small "ve" and waved at Liechtenstein as Germany dragged him away.

Alone once more, Liechtenstein opened the door to the house she shared with Switzerland. Neatly setting the grocery bags in their places, she settled for reading a book, seeing as everything else was in order. She had barely sit down when there was a loud knock on her door.

"America?" A surprised edge graced her voice as she opened the door to find Alfred standing there, fumbling with his glasses. His brother wasn't with him anymore.

"May I help you?"

"Hey Liech! Switzerland isn't here, is he?" America peeked around her to look inside the house. Liechtenstein shook her head, her ribbon bouncing slightly in the progress.

"Oh." He said, and Lilli watched him curiously. He seemed like he would like to say something else, but couldn't quite get it out of his mouth.

"Dude, you seem a bit lonely by yourself." He suddenly blurted out, and sheepishly scratched at his hair.

She laughed a little, her high soprano giggles echoing in the empty house. "I guess I am lonely..." She trailed off, her eyes brightening at the thought of going out to enjoy the day once more. Without Switzerland home, she was almost afraid of the empty, silent house.

"It's almost lunch time, so... wanna come eat hamburgers?" Liechtenstein cocked her head at the strange offer, but nodded with a smile. As if he was just waiting for that, America grabbed her thin wrist and pulled her away from the house.

"Hey, catch me if you can!" America suddenly said, and he broke away from her, leaving Liechtenstein behind. Accepting the challenge, she chased him down the streets, her dress billowing behind her. She didn't quite catch up to him, and they only stopped when they arrived at the fastfood restaurant. Liechtenstein happily chose a burger from the menu, while Alfred picked out the jumbo offer.

With her cheese hamburger and Alfred's giant chicken burger, they talked about random things, much like what she had been talking about with Italy earlier. The conversation was pretty much small talk, but she enjoyed it. It made her happier than just spending time by herself. Munching on the burger, she watched as America gobbled down the food, and amazingly, he didn't choke once.

"Hey, Liechtenstein. Where's your brother? If he knew that I was with you here, he'd shoot me. It's a surprise that he isn't here right now." America suddenly looked quite nervous, like he'd said what he shouldn't have. "I mean, uh... I wasn't trying to insult anybody-"

"I know. Sometimes Brother gets trigger happy." She admitted, and he relaxed again.

Eventually, Liechtenstein realized that she had to get going. Big Brother should be home by then. Stuttering a small apology to America, she left him with a slight smile gracing her lips. Alfred, though, sat stunned, as if lightning struck. What was it about her that had him feeling so strange?

Lilli walked home, keeping her head held up as she hurried through the darkening evening. She had never liked to walk home alone in the dark, and it was quite a long way back to the house, too. A small gasp escaped her lips when she heard a rustle in the bushes. She stumbled back, stepped on the edge of a rock and clumsily landed on the ground. The sound behind the bushes was suddenly gone, and she found that a pair of strong arms was helping her up instead.

"Are you okay Liechtenstein?"

She turned quickly to see Iceland, and a sigh escaped her lips. "I'm alright, thanks. I thought I heard something weird in the bushes."

Iceland nodded, holding his arm out to her. "C'mon, I'll walk you home."

She beamed up at him. Emil always seemed to be there when she needed him, always silent but caring, and she was glad to have him by her side. Their small talk made her feel less alarmed. He was one of her best friends, and she knew that even Switzerland had gotten used to the fact that Iceland could walk her home safely.

"How've you been?" She asked him, linking her arm through his.

She didn't notice the slight blush that colored his cheeks. "I've been fine. You?"

"Vash just went somewhere. I think he might have to go away a lot now. He seems a bit distant lately." Her voice was unhappy, and her eyes cast downward. Iceland put a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay, you'll see. And you could always come hang with me and Sealand." He grinned at her, and she brightened up a bit. She still had her awesome friends, of course.

When they arrived at the doorway, Liechtenstein invited Iceland in for a while. She noticed that the lights were on in the house, but maybe she forgot to turn them off before leaving with America. If Vash was home, she'd have heard his riffle by then.

Liechtenstein walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Want something to eat?" She called out, face half hidden by the door.

"No thanks. I really do have to go."

"I wish you'd stay a little longer." She popped out from behind the fridge and flounced over to him, watching as a smile touched his lips.

"My brothers would freak, Liech. Maybe I'll visit you tomorrow."

"Sure! And sorry for keeping you." She walked him to the door, and he tousled her hair before leaving.

She returned to the library, about to do her nightly sewing, when a snuffling noise in there made her jump. She automatically reached for one of the guns Switzy always strung across the hallways.

"Who's there?" She held out the gun arm-wise. It wasn't loaded, of course, but it would scare whoever was stalking the house. Liechtenstein hoped that her brother would return soon and chase out the stranger. She could always do it herself, as she was stronger than everyone thought, but she'd never liked violence.

"Come out! I have a gun." She warned, and the wooden door gently creaked open to reveal ruby eyes and albino hair.

"Chill, Liecht. It's just the awesome me." Prussia had his arms raised up like he was scared that she really would shoot him, but instead Liechtenstein dropped her gun and tackled him to the ground.

"Prussia!" Her eyes shone happily; she was glad that he would be taking care of her, as Switzerland showed no signs of returning to the house. Prussia was her so called babysitter, and Vash must have called him over to look after her. For an embarrassing moment, she stepped back, blushing and kneeling down to return the gun to its place, but then Prussia scooped her from the ground and brought her into the library with him.

Gilbert was often sent to babysit Liechtenstein whenever Vash couldn't be home for the night. Lilli had at first been surprised that her brother trusted such a member of the Bad Touch Trio, but she'd learned that Prussia can be surprisingly gentle and kind. She'd gotten used to his usual visits, even when Vash was still home to "hang" with her, as he called it, and she could now easily tell that he was upset by the way his eyes didn't quite meet hers as he dropped her to a rocking chair.

"What's wrong Mr. Prussia?" She stumbled from the chair to sit beside him on the carpet. Suddenly, the atmosphere seemed more tense. Prussia stiffened, and his happier mood seemed to evaporate into the air.

"Why are you so damn formal to me, Liech? I don't even deserve this. I bet you really don't like me, and you're just pretending, right? Everyone does that, right? Because no matter how hard I try to pretend, I'm just not awesome." His bitter voice sliced into her heart. Shocked, Liechtenstein tentatively reached out to take his hand, but he moved away, instead getting up to walk out the door.

Stunned, she sat in silence. She'd always been formal to him and he'd never complained, but would always tell her to call him Gilbert the Awesome. And now he seemed so discouraged. She wondered what had him in such a mess.

"Wait," She called out as he put a hand on the knob.

He paused, but didn't turn.

"I really mean it. I want to know the problem so I can help you. I really do care, please don't ever think I don't." She hesitated. "You deserve every act of care I can manage, you know, after all the things you've done for me and with me. You're a great person and an awesome friend, why ever think differently? If anything happened, you can always come to me."

This time he turned around, his ruby eyes capturing hers for a moment before he looked away. They burned of anger and shame. Although he spoke to her, he didn't leave the doorway.

"Hungary left me for that aristocat Austria. She said I had never been good enough."

That was all she needed to understand the bitterness in his voice. Slowly, she got up and pulled him to the ground. Hungary, his best friend of several years, had claimed him to not be good enough. Her heart would break if Sealand or Iceland ever told her that. Prussia obliged her tug, coming to sit down beside her, but he didn't look up. Liechtenstein felt like she was comforting a teddy bear, hard and proud on the outside, but softer on the inside.

"If she ever said that, then it means she isn't good enough to see your awesome qualities. Am I right?"

As she had guessed, Prussia cracked a smile. But it quickly faded as he turned slightly to look at her.

"Do you really mean it?"

"I do. You're worth very much to me." She smiled, and he grinned back at her.

Liechtenstein had thought of going back to her usual sewing, but Prussia made her play with in a long video game where he beat her endlessly. She didn't mind; anything to cheer him up. And when it came time to sleep, she felt quite relaxed and peaceful, safe and sound like Vash himself was looking over her.