Discalimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers, all rights go to its creators.

Part 2: Chapter 7: Pale skin, Sunscreen, and Bathing Suits

Belarus ultimately decided to keep the charade going because Lithuania would send her potatoes and she really liked potatoes. Lithuania didn't want much from her, just her company sometimes. She'd hold his hand, flutter her eye lashes at him, or give him a smile all in the name of keeping up appearances. Sometimes he'd kiss her cheek. They hadn't even kissed on the lips yet, so it wasn't like she was doing him any sexual favors either. It was a pretty nice deal if she was being honest.

The only thing that wasn't great, was the piercing gazes she got from England. They struck her in a way she didn't like. She wasn't sure whether she was afraid or...something else.

"Ah still stringing Lithuania along, are we?" Imaginary England asked her, leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom.

"Yeah, so?" Belarus crossed her arms, sitting on her bed.

"Oh nothing. It's just interesting how selfish you are after claiming to be so selfless for Russia." He said, filing his cuticles.

"I deserve that don't I?"

"Well you weren't really selfless before, it had always been about you."

Belarus narrowed her eyes at him. Is it his sole purpose to antagonize me?

"Hush! I sacrificed so much for Russia only for it to blow up in my face! I deserve this!" She raised her voice.

"You deserve to make Russia and Lithuania unhappy because things didn't work out the way you wanted? I don't think that's fair." He stopped filing and furrowed his eyebrows.

"You know what's not fair you bastard? Being in love with someone even though they treat you like you're a monster! I'm a person with fucking feelings!" Belarus stalked over to him, clenching her fists. "Do you think I enjoy seeing Russia terrified at the sight of me? Do you think I enjoyed knowing he'd rather spend his time with anyone but me?" Belarus was in his face, her mouth in a deep frown. "I didn't!" She paused, looking down. "But I still loved him! I would do anything for Russia! You can't tell me that's not selfless!" She barked in his face and poked him in the chest.

"You caused that yourself. You chose to pursue Russia despite his resistance. If you'd respected his feelings things might've been different." He looked at her then.

Belarus searched his eyes, and saw the same judgemental gaze that pierced through her soul. The same one that made her squirm from his real counterpart.

000000000

The nations were in Italy for the World Meeting. They were forced to go to the beach on the last two days as a sort of vacation. It was supposed to be a time for them to socialize, and build better relationships with each other.

Belarus was sitting on a towel as Lithuania rubbed sunscreen on her back. The nation's were scattered all around the beach. Belarus looked around. Seychelles was kneeling in the sand, picking up seashells. Italy and Romano were splashing water on Spain. America and Russia were racing each other further out. France was completely naked, not too far from them, laying on a lawn chair to tan.

Belarus then shifted her gaze to England who was huddled under a huge umbrella. He looked annoyed as was per usual. She then saw Spain's twin, Portugal, water droplets on his chest, glistening in the sun, having just stepped out of the water. His skin was carmel brown, and looked even more bronzed in the sun. His brown hair was slightly tousled from being wet. He was a bit less muscular than Lithuania , from what she could see of his back muscles and calves. He was walking over to where England was. Belarus grit her teeth.

Before she could oogle over how much more sculpted and god-like Portugal was, she was standing.

Her feet took her across the burning sand, sights set on reaching the Englishman before Portugal could flaunt his abs and toned biceps to him. She didn't even register Lithuania calling out to her.

Belarus reached Portugal and gave him a hard shove, causing him to stumble into the sand. "Move." She muttered.

Portugal blinked owlishly at her before letting out a chuckle, "Desculpe, senhorita!"

Soon she was standing in front of England's umbrella. England looked up at her with wide emerald eyes. She noticed his face was red.

"B-Belarus?"

"Yes."

"Shouldn't you be with Lithuania?"

"Yes but I am here. You want me to leave?" She crossed her arms.

"N-no, actually could you do me a favour?" He then held up his hands to do quotation marks. "I need sunscreen on my back. I asked America but he said, 'sunscreen's for losers.' Fucking git, see if I care that he gets skin cancer. I'm not gonna fucking baby him if he gets sunburned either." England crossed his arms with a sneer.

"Sure. I can apply sun lotion on your back, Tea Drinker." Belarus got on her knees in front of him. She then crawled on her hands and knees behind him, and could feel his eyes roam over her swimsuit clad body. She was wearing a two piece blue bikini and her blue bow.

She picked up the bottle of sunscreen beside him and squirted it on his back. He flinched. "That's fucking cold!" She let out a snicker before placing her hand on his back to start rubbing it in. He had such pale skin, and he was quite willowy. He was of a smaller build than Lithuania, Portugal and Russia.

She lightly touched his shoulder blade with the hand not covered in sunscreen. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin on her finger tips, and feeling him tense at her foreign touch. She'd then moved her fingers down the curvature of his spine. "W-What are you doing?" He asked looking back at her. His green eyes meeting her midnight blues. She pulled her hand away, and stopped rubbing on the sun screen. She'd rubbed it in already anyway, and had just been pretending for a few moments.

"Nothing. I'm done." She said, feeling her heartbeat frantically.

"Oh, well you better get back then." He said, his voice even and flat.

He turned away from her, "Lithuania is probably looking for you."

And in that moment the umbrella was lifted from over their heads. "Hey!" England exclaimed as they both looked up to see Lithuania and Portugal. Portugal looked apologetic, while Lithuania looked worried. "Belarus? I was calling for you and you didn't turn back. You're here with England?"

"She was doing me a favor arsehole. Now give me my umbrella back." England said standing up. Lithuania took a step back from him. Lithuania looked at her, "Belarus?"

"Ah Lithuania, could I use your umbrella for mein bruder? Prussia is extremely pale, and his skin is burning even with the sun screen." Germany said having walked up to them.

Lithuania smiled before handing it to him. "Here you go, Germany."

England looked ready to pop a blood vessel. "Hey! That umbrella is mine! You can't just give my stuff away!" England screamed at Lithuania. Germany's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Just take it, I don't need it that much anymore." England said to Germany with a wave of dismissal. Germany nodded and went over to where Prussia was splashing Austria from in the water.

Belarus looked at the water, waves shimmering in the sun. She ran in before feeling the lukewarm water hit her, and waded past the majority of the nations who were crowded at the edge. She dived under once she was farther out. She could see their legs and feet, it was a pretty funny sight before she popped her head above water. She breathed in some air and swam a few laps in what could be considered the deep end.

Belarus started doing a backstroke before bumping her head against something hard. She looked above her to see England. Belarus righted herself and turned to him. She let out a loud guffaw at seeing his bright yellow arm floaters.

"Oh shut up! Do you want me to drown?"

"It might save your dignity." Belarus said, smiling, sinister and malicious. "How were you a pirate?" Belarus chided him.

England frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't need to swim if you have a sturdy vessel!" He proudly proclaimed. "Lots of my men couldn't swim. It made it easier to intimidate or get rid of them when they weren't following orders. I had less mutiny that way." He said with a smirk. Belarus saw a flicker of deviousness in his eyes.

"Still it would be less humiliating if you learned."

England rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to be taunted I'd go over by America." Belarus smirked before holding her breath. She dived under the water and blinked, she could see England's torso and his Union Jack swim shorts. She poked him in his stomach. The Englishman flinched and squirmed away from her. Belarus continued poking him until he kicked her in the chest in his panicking of trying to get away from her. Belarus almost opened her mouth, upon feeling a sharp pain where he kicked her.

She swam back above the surface and took in a big gulp of air. England's face was red, "Why the bloody hell were you poking me?"

Belarus shrugged. "It's fun to watch you squirm." She said, eyes dangerous yet mischievous.

"Well I'm not sorry about kicking you then." He said, trying to swim away, awkwardly spreading his arms out.

Belarus snickered, while swimming next to him. "I could take you back."

"No, I don't need you to." England said, holding his nose up and away from her.

Belarus grabbed one of his arm floaters, and let the air out. Belarus felt a cruel grin spread across her face.

"Pure evil. You're pure evil." England said to her, as he awkwardly flapped his arm.

And that was how Belarus found herself bringing England to shore. His arms were wrapped around her neck. She could feel his breath, hot against the skin on the back of her neck. Goosebumps prickled down her spine, and Belarus realized she'd never had someone this physically close to her before."You better get me back safely." He said.

"You are in good hands, Tea Drinker." Belarus said, propelling them forward.

When they got back to shore, England got them both towels. She accepted the towel and wiped her face and hair. It was almost sundown. Lithuania came over to them, regarding England with an unreadable expression. "Belarus! I'm sorry I couldn't be out there with you. Mr. Russia wanted me to swim laps against him." Belarus looked at Lithuania's worried expression and glanced at England who was cleaning out his ear with a towel.

"Lithuania, I can't do this anymore."

"W-What? I won't leave your side ever again if you don't want me too!" Lithuania stepped closer to her.

England stood a ways back, an uncomfortable and uneasy expression on his face. He motioned that he was going to leave before backing up and walking away.

"No. It's not that. I can't keep acting like I have feelings for you when I don't."

"B-but I thought we made a connection." Lithuania said, having now gripped her arms. His eyes were panicked, and frantic as they searched hers.

"I lied." Her expression was neutral, cold and uncaring.

"B-but Belarus, why would you pretend?" Belarus wanted to smack him, it was pretty obvious. Didn't he understand?

"I only went out with you to make Russia jealous. But that didn't work out so I'm done with you."

Belarus saw Lithuania's eyes glisten with tears. Belarus frowned, she usually would be joyed at seeing Lithuania cry but now her stomach hurt.

Maybe I'm hungry.

"Come on Lithuania, let go." Belarus wiggled her arms but he tightened his grip on her as it seemed he was being overcome with sobs. He hung his head.

Great.

And so she stood as Lithuania cried his heart out for a few minutes. Once he was finished she walked around him and back to her hotel room.

What a fucking baby.

00000000000

The last day of the World Meeting in Italy went by uneventfully. She tuned out the Italy brothers as per usual. She'd greeted Russia and he gave her a quick greeting before he turned his attention to Germany. Lithuania didn't speak nor look in her direction, he was probably still upset.

It was honestly a relief for her.

England had stopped his terrifying gazes but she did catch him looking at her a few times during the meeting.

Belarus didn't want to swim this time. She'd bought a daphne maxi dress and decided it would be hot enough to wear now. So she relaxed on a lawn chair with a glass of wine, sunglasses perched on her nose.

Then she felt a shade over her, deflecting the sun's heat just a little. She tipped up her glasses to see England. He was wearing a white button-up short sleeved shirt with khaki shorts. He had his arms crossed and his usual grumpy expression on his face.

"England, you're blocking my sunlight."

"I won't be long.I finished reading the book you gave me. I quite enjoyed it. Do you perhaps need anymore to read? I have a few–."

"I want a spell book!" Belarus blurted out.

"Hmm, I don't know, spells are kind of dangerous." He said hesitantly.

"Please, Tea Drinker!" She pleaded with him.

"Fine." He said, reluctantly.

Belarus smiled devilishly, "Yes. I'll be able to curse my enemies." She said before putting her shades back down.

"Ah yes, of course." He said unenthused.

There was a beat of silence before England suddenly said, "I also wanted to applaud you for doing the right thing."

"Whatever. I only did it because you wouldn't stop torturing me with your eyes." She said an extra hiss at the end of "eyes".

"What? I did no such thing! That was your guilt eating up whatever you constitute as a conscience."

Belarus frowned, pursing her lips before turning away from him. She sipped from her glass.

"No, I'm sure it was you."

England grunted, "Believe what you want." Quick on his promise, he left.

0000000000

Later that night Belarus found herself on the beach again. She couldn't really get back to sleep.

She looked up at the stars and the half moon on this clear night, her toes in the sand. She thought that her headspace would be clearer now that she was not with Lithuania anymore. But all she could think about was England.

It was strange to have such intrusive thoughts about someone other than Russia. And what exactly was she supposed to do with these thoughts?

It wasn't helping just thinking about it, maybe if she saw him again she'd know.

"You couldn't sleep either?" She heard before she turned to see England seating himself beside her on the sand.

She nodded looking back at the ocean's waves.

"I-I um. I saw the rose you put in the crime novel. I don't know how you found out that roses are my national flower." She heard him say.

They're what, roses?

The rose petals in her dreams, it all made sense. She couldn't say 'I love you' to Russia in her dreams because she loved…

England

"I'm really flattered." He continued. "I don't know if doing that means something to you, but I have feelings for you Belarus." He said and she looked at him. The moonlight just barely captured the sparkling of his eyes and the light blush on his cheeks.

Belarus's eyes flickered to his lips: thin, pink, and slightly parted. She felt a sort of pull as their eyes met again, desire in his stare and presumably in her own. Their faces were now mere centimeters apart. She didn't know if he had moved or she had. Belarus felt his hand rest on the crook of her hip.

Belarus felt heat on her cheeks, and parted her own lips. Belarus's heart thumped in her chest as her eyes fluttered closed, she expected to feel England's lips upon hers but...after a few moments did not.

"Belarus do you want me to kiss you?" He asked.

Is that what I want?

Belarus had been at a crossroad and this was ultimately the breaking point.

Before she wanted desperately to hold onto the few threads that still bound her to her love for Russia. But now it seemed that everything in her primal instincts screamed at her to just let go and submit to the temptation of kissing England.

"Yes, just do it already." She demanded, her voice gruff.

After her words of permission, she felt England bridge the miniscule gap between them, connecting their lips in a kiss.

The End of Part 2.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the 2nd part of this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Hopefully you will come back for the third and final part!

Thank you for reading! Criticism welcome.