(7)

The plane landed at the airport, and with their bags in hand, Russia and Lithuania stepped out and then proceeded to go and get a rental car so they could drive to their hotel and unpack. Russia was carefully carrying Vanya's cat carrier as well, as he refused to leave the cat at home by himself.

The car they rented was black and square, and Russia insisted on driving. With help of the GPS they finally arrived at their destination: a hotel in Berlin, not too far from the conference building. It was the same hotel all the other countries would be staying at.

They went inside and checked in. Then, they rode the elevator to their room. It was nice. There were two queen sized beds, two nightstands, a bathroom, a large closet, a desk, and a couple of chairs, as well as a large window that provided a lovely view.

"This is nice," Lithuania commented, "Don't you think so Ivan?"

"Da, it is. Germany is a very generous host."

With that, Russia let Vanya out and the two began to unpack their bags and load the closet. Neither of them had very much, since they were leaving on Monday. Lithuania had brought a pair of pajamas, two suits for the dinner and the meeting, and three casual outfits which consisted of jumpers, a button up, jeans, and sneakers. Of course he also had boots and his outerwear. Russia had brought a pair of pajamas, a couple of comfortable lounge around outfits, since he was not attending the meeting, two casual outfits, one a turtle-neck and jeans, and the other a long-sleeved shirt, a dark blue, almost black jacket, and jeans. He too also had a coat, boots, and of course, his scarf. However, he had also brought along a suit, just in case.

"Are you going to go to the dinner tonight?"

Russia shook his head sadly. "I wouldn't want to get anybody sick. I will just get something else. Plus I won't be alone, I have Vanya. You go and enjoy yourself, Lietuva."

"O-okay. I have a couple of hours before I have to get ready though, what do you want to do?"

"Board game?"

"Alright."

-xXx-

Night came quickly, and Lithuania was in the bathroom getting ready to head out to the dinner at Germany's house. It was very large, big enough to host the large crowd of countries.

"Ivan, should I pull my hair back?" Liet asked, poking his head out the bathroom. Russia was sitting up in his lounge clothes playing with Vanya.

"No Toris, you don't need too. You look fine." he replied, smiling.

"Alright then." He went back inside and brushed his hair until it was silky. As he primped up, he could not help but feel nervous. Belarus was probably going to be there, and he didn't know what she would do or how she would react, or if she would attack him or not.

She probably won't, right? I mean, everyone else is going to be there. If she does I am sure someone will stop her. Yeah. It will be fine. He thought, unconvincingly trying to reassure himself, I could always not go. But if both me and Russia don't show up, then everyone else will have suspicions and they'll go after him. I have to go. I will be fine. He was tapping his fingers nervously. It will be okay.

"Toris are you okay?" Russia asked. "I can hear you tapping your fingers on counter."

Lithuania grabbed his phone and walked out of the bathroom. "Yeah, I am. I should probably go now." He started towards the door, but Russia grabbed his arm.

"If Bela does anything, tell me."

"O-okay." Lithuania replied. Russia let go.

"I am going to leave now." the brunette said.

"Bye. Be safe. Come back soon." Lithuania waved, grabbed his outerwear and room key, and his wallet, and was out the door.

On his way to the elevator, he ran into Estonia and Latvia, and instantly felt a bit better.

-xXx-

The three of them arrived at the house and parked Lithuania's car behind the rest of them, and headed up the walkway towards the front door. Lithuania rang the doorbell, and the tall, blond, German host answered.

" Villkommen." he said.

"Hello Germany." Lithuania said, "It's very good to see you. Thank you for inviting us to your dinner."

"Ja. Come in out of zhe cold." He side-stepped to let them in.

Lithuania nodded and he and the other two Baltics stepped in, wiping their feet on the mat and hanging up their coats. Germany led them inside to the main room, where most of the others were.

"Drinks are on zhe refreshments table over zhere, and appetizers are over zhere, help yourself. Dinner vill be in a little bit. Enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you Mr. Germany." Latvia said.

He nodded and then departed to go and talk with Italy and Japan near the appetizer table.

Meanwhile, the three Baltics stood in a huddle away from everyone else.

"I am going to go get something to drink," Estonia said, "Do either of you want anything?"

"No thank you." Lithuania replied.

Latvia shook his head. "I am good right now." Estonia nodded curtly and then departed to the refreshments table. Then Latvia began to scan his eyes around, no doubt looking for someone. Lithuania knew who he was looking for. He saw her too, standing alone next to the staircase.

Lithuania tapped him on the shoulder, "She's standing right there by herself, go on." he said. Latvia blushed. Lithuania rolled his eyes and gave the smaller Baltic a tiny little shove to get him moving along. He watched as he approached her and smiled to himself.

"H-hi Liechtenstein." Latvia said.

She smiled, "Guten abend, Latvia. How are you?"

Satisfied, Lithuania turned towards the crowd, scanning his eyes about to look for Poland. When he did not see him, he walked into the crowd of countries to look around.

"Hey Lithuania, bro!" he was greeted by America, who draped an arm around him in an awkward side hug and let go and faced him.

"Hello America. How are you?" Lithuania replied politely.

"I'm doin' pretty cool, you?"

"Uhh, I am okay."

"Hey, you seen the commie at all?"

Commie? Oh right. How rude. "You mean Russia? He told me he wasn't feeling wery well, so he isn't going to be here."

"Oh, well tell him I said hey-oh! Hey Canada! Didn't see you there. How's it hangin' my man!?" and America was gone, as quick as he'd come.

Lithuania shook his head, amused, and then continued his hunt for Poland. However, the blond found him first.

"Liet! Like oh my god, there you are!" Lithuania turned; his best friend was wearing a pale pink suit and a white button up with a solid hot pink tie.

The smaller form practically glomped him in an attack hug, squeezing him to death.

"Like where the h*ll have you been! I was like, so worried! You didn't respond to any of my texts!"

"Huh? What do you mean, I responded."

"Yeah, and I like texted a response! But then you didn't reply! God, Lisi! I was like so worried! I thought Russia killed you!"

"Polska-"

"Did Russia hurt you? Did he try to hurt you? Did he touch you in any way that could be harmful? Did he re-conquer you? Did he do anything? Do I need to kill him?" and Poland continued to rant.

"Poland! Calm down!" Liet exclaimed, holding out a hand. Poland fell silent, not used to Lithuania raising his voice, "No Polska, i'm fine. He didn't do anything, I promise. He didn't even try to. He just needs someone to be there for him so he doesn't have to be alone. I was just taking care of him and staying at his house. I promise. He didn't even touch me at all."

"Then what's that scab across your cheek from?"

"I-I got into a street-fight with some ruffians. It's not the big deal. Russia wouldn't hurt me."

"Yes he would. He did it before."

"He didn't know what he was doing. Polska, I promise I'm fine."

Poland threw his arms around Lithuania, tears in his eyes. Lithuania rubbed his back.

Eventually, the blond calmed down and let go.

"Just be careful Liet." Poland said.

"I know."

-xXx-

The rest of the evening went on without an incident. Liet was with Poland the rest of the evening, as he refused to leave his side. He also managed to avoid Belarus the whole time. It was actually quite a nice gathering, though it would have been more enjoyable if Lithuania hadn't had to worry about avoiding Belarus.

After dinner, Poland and Lithuania needed a breather from the stuffy interior of the house and the large crowd, so they stood on Germany's balcony, enjoying the cold, crisp winter air.

"Like, how long are you planning on staying at Russia's?" Poland asked.

"Until the end of winter at least. I promised him."

"But winter is, like, the most dangerous time to be around him."

"Yes, but it's also the time when he needs someone the most. The cold drives him mad. But being alone makes it worse."

"But Liet, it's like really dangerous for you. What if he like, attacks you? It's only January, winter like, gets worse as it progresses. So that means that Russia would too, right?"

"Yes, but I don't think he would hurt me."

"You don't think. That means you don't know for sure."

Lithuania shook his head. "You are right Polska, I do not know for sure. But he hasn't attacked me yet, or even tried too."

Poland shook his head, eyes full of uncertainty. "I do not think it's a good idea. You should go home."

"I can't. I promised I wouldn't. If I left...it would break his heart. It would make winter much worse for him. I-I care about about him, Polska. He's my friend."

"But does he really care about you? Liet, seriously, I don't want you getting hurt. Does he like, really, truly, honestly care about you?"

"Yes."

"How can you be so sure Toris? What about the scars he left on you?"

"He saw them."

"So?"

"When he saw them he started crying...and he said he was sorry. Not only that, when I got home after the street attack, he hugged me and told me how worried he was about me. When he saw me after the attack, he wanted to kill the people that did it, and insisted on helping me patch up my injuries. If he didn't care he wouldn't have done those things. There's nothing to worry about Polska."

Poland shook his head, "I still don't trust him," he sighed, "Like whatever Toris, do what you want but I don't want you getting hurt. I love you, you're, like, my best friend in the whole freaking world and if anything happens to you I-" he trailed off as his eyes began to well up with tears.

"Feliks-" For the third time that night Poland hugged him and sniffled. Then he let go and wiped his eyes.

"I'll be careful Feliks, and after winter I will come and see you." Lithuania reassured.

"I want you to text me every day just to like, let me know you're okay."

"I will try to remember."

"If he tries to hurt you-"

"I know."

"Good."

-xXx-

After the party, Lithuania said goodbye to Poland, and once again thanked Germany. Then, he returned to the hotel, exhausted.

When he got to their room, he found that Russia was sound asleep. He was curled up and lying on his side, hair fanned out on the pillow, breathing much more deeply than he had in a while. Lithuania forced a smile and pulled the blankets up to Russia's chin. Then he went to into the bathroom and changed into his pajamas. He brushed his teeth, and then crawled under his covers, falling asleep instantly.

A/N: Oh my. This chapter was...interesting. I felt Poland may have been a tad bit out of character. But I wanted to show that he actually cares about Lithuania, which he does, of course. He's his best friend. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave your reviews and stay tuned for the next update, which will contain the world meeting. Also, Happy Holidays! (Since I don't know if I will post another chapter before Christmas. Which is in two days.) Bye!