1918 Lithuania had declared independence after the overturning of the government that withheld freedom. Tolys himself was leaving, after over twelve decades of pain. Wide were the types of goodbyes he was given, from the simple "Thanks and good luck" from Eduard, to the clinging "I'll miss you so much" from Raivis, to the complete meltdown, screaming and demanding he couldn't leave, from Ivan, who was now restrained by his older sister. There was one person that he hadn't seen yet, and she was the one he had really wanted to. After looking once more, he decided that he would have to leave without her farewell.

Picking up a small bag that contained everything he owned, he took a deep breath and looked back again. He felt nervous about going out on his own for the first time in centuries, but also felt bad about leaving that mentally broken man who was still screaming bloody murder. I have to go, or I will die. It felt lonely, but that wasn't a new feeling to him. His body ached from everything, but that wasn't new either. Lovesickness at the thought of being separated from his angel…not new. Perhaps it was confusion, his mind couldn't handle the idea of total freedom as he had looked forward to for years, mixed with the strange negative emotions. He didn't know if he could take care of himself anymore. He was free and alive, all of his goals were all completed. Once you have reached the finish line, where do you go from there?

Walking with his head down, he nearly walked into her before he noticed her, her hand stretched out to stop him, her face hardened. "Why are you leaving me?"

"Miss Natasha…" he examined her face for some trace of the little girl she used to be. "Please, I'm sorry, but I have to leave. You can't understand."

"You said you love me! Why are you leaving me?"

His face dropped and he held back a quiver. "There really is no choice for me. I love you and always will, please remember that. Once I'm on my feet again, you can come to me at any time. I can't come back though."

She stared at him for a minute, knowing he was right. "Goodbye then…" Her voice had returned to normal when she spoke.

He leant his head against her for a brief moment, then silently walked away.


Once settled, he didn't have the chance for the boredom and loneliness he expected. Poland wanted to take him back, but he just wanted to recover alone. No matter how dear he was, Feliks was not a person he wanted to spend this time with.

WIth the respect given to him by the government, he lived out several solitary weeks in the countryside. No one was supposed to know who he was there, and those that knew who he was weren't supposed to know where to find him. It was respecting his wishes to able to recuperate without disturbance. However, he quickly fell out of touch with what was happening all around him. He didn't realize how quickly the newly independent country became troubled. And so the knocking at the door was a complete surprise to him.

He peered through the window before opening the door, wary of any visitor. This man wasn't someone he purposefully knew, but he recognized him as another nation, which one he was he couldn't recall though. He decided to open up to him anyway.

"Mr. Laurinaitis, yes?" the man was quick to clarify.

"Yes…" with a polite smile, was the only answer Tolys would give.

He seemed genuinely pleased to have the right person. Holding out his hand, he introduced himself, "The United Kingdom, Arthur Kirkland."

With a handshake, Tolys invited him inside. Perhaps there was something wrong…

"Mr. Laurinaitis, please accept my warmest congratulations for your independence. However, as I'm sure you know, a country cannot remain free as long as it cannot sustain and hold itself up…" There was something wrong! "We would like to offer our assistance to your cause. Please feel free to request anything specifically."

"Mr. Kirkland… To be honest, I have suffered so much personally that I cut off myself from the world over this short amount of time. I don't really know what's going on out there, so I'm sure you can do whatever if needed without me."

The blond man smiled and nodded. "I was told that you may be unaware. Politically, we can do what we can, but I don't think there's really anything the United Kingdom can do. I was sent to you as a person to another person. I don't know what sort of life you have had, but I am here to offer to you, as Mr. Laurinaitis, not as Lithuania, whatever I can give to help you. This country is so poor, perhaps you would like a job to keep you occupied and have your own income?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, I was thinking of a nice, quiet job with one of the farther west nations would do good. For one, it would get you away from Russia, which is still in chaos…"

And so he ended up in America.


The nearly twelve years that followed were enjoyable and peaceful, save for a few disturbances. Poland never stopped insisting he come back home, and several were the times Feliks took it upon himself to try to take Tolys away. There never came the chance to see Natasha, a fact that weighed heavily on his mind. But this was only the beginning of a new period of his life, one were all his dreams could come true, given time, or so he thought.

And it all came crashing down. The last ten years of his freedom were not free at all. Though he remained politically independent, Russia wanted him back. During these years, Ivan had still pushed around the other two, though they were every bit as free as Tolys, officially. But that officialdom meant nothing to a man so completely lost and broken. Feeling sorry for Ivan, and guilty for leaving the younger two to fend for themselves, Tolys quickly accepted that he was right back where he had fought to get away from. Poor long before the depression, there wasn't much of a chance of surviving alone, so the choice to accept Ivan's offer to care for him was almost a no-brainer. He returned in the spring of 1930. Everything was new. Not only had he never been to Moscow and had a completely new house to get used to, the people seemed to have changed so much in just over one decade. Ivan was so much more cold, having lost a lot of his childishness in the wake of change, save for his cruelty. He seemed to swing between an unnatural calmness, that could only be from a new maturity, and a violent, unpitying, nearly obsessive control over everything he was afraid to lose. Yekaterina didn't appear much changed, still a mother to whoever needed one, but Natasha welcomed him back with cold silence, something that concerned him greatly. Surely, his angel had to still be there somewhere, behind that mask.

Tolys noticed how Eduard and Raivis had began to shadow him, sticking by him most of the day. He appreciated it, as it never left him feeling as lonely as he had before, but it also concerned him as he felt like a sort of security blanket for them. As the oldest and strongest of the three, it was only his duty, perhaps his purpose, to do whatever it took for them. Though he still didn't know him, Tolys found himself watching over Eduard as he would Raivis. Over the years of simply being near each other, but never being close, he had gradually come to accept him as family. The young man could hold his own and protect himself, but Tolys still felt like all he wanted was someone to be his. Thinking over the little he knew of Estonia's history, it was no wonder; being raised apart of his own family, then treated as a dog, with no concrete idea of where he came from, the boy probably felt alone everywhere he was. Sure, he had Raivis, but Raivis had Tolys for blood kin, something Eduard couldn't find. No wonder he had left for Sweden those years ago, Sweden had the only one Eduard could find a relationship to: Finland. Though that Tino had been a part of the collective Nordic group since he was a child, Eduard might have felt like a stranger among them too.

Feeling sorry for the lonely Est, Tolys gladly offered to take him under his proverbial wing, though never mentioning why. If he could just find a way to let him belonged, despite the nothing that connected them. And the more Tolys treated Eduard like family, the more he began to see what kind of person he really was, instead of the screen he put up the world. He really was an interesting guy and Tolys enjoyed his company.

It didn't take long for Eduard to learn things about Tolys either, from the way he always looked over things a third or fourth time to ensure it was right, to the way he buried his emotions before ever acting or reacting, yet still remained warm and cordial. He had admire from the background the Lithuanian as long as he had known him, but now his appreciation grew every passing day. Tolys truly was a picture perfect model for Eduard, someone he knew he could never be. It also didn't take long for him to pick up on Tolys' unusual watchfulness over a certain girl. Though he never said a word, Eduard knew he loved her.

One day, Eduard had watched Tolys watch Natasha, following with his eyes her going about with her books, her dolls, her pet cat. As a friend of and the same age as Natasha, he had gotten to know things about her that many didn't as well, even things she never mentioned to him.

And he was willing to offer the informations to Tolys. Seemingly out of the blue, he spoke softly, as if what he had to say was a huge secret. "She's angry with you, Mr. Tolys."

Tolys turned to raise an eyebrow at him, before responding with a simple "I know."


A/N: Honestly, I don't really like this chapter. 1) The 1918-1930 stuff seems awkward, but Lithuania's Outsourcing is one of my favorite parts of Hetalia, so… ._. 2) I got bad writer's block, so I just kinda brain barfed all over the page. Next chapter should be the last (still have writer's block)… Hope you enjoy~