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Part 3: Chapter 4: Potions, Pastries and Past Treasures

If Belarus had been holding something she would have crushed it in her hands. She couldn't believe her luck. She'd done everything right but England saw Portugal instead of her after he drank the love potion and now he was in love with Portugal.

Portugal made eye contact with her, and she gave him the most vicious glare she could muster.

"Ah, whoa amigo. You know I just think of you as a friend." Portugal said with a smile before trying to get England to let go of him.

"But I love you Portugal. We've been friends a long time, it's about time we took our relationship further." Those words made her sick to her stomach. She knew it was the potion but they should've been reserved for her.

"I don't think Belarus would be too happy about that. Maybe you should have a talk with her?"

"Who cares?" A flash of anger jolted through Belarus, she had to do something about this situation.

Portugal glanced at her again, she grit her teeth before taking out her knife.

"Really England, I think you should reconsid-" Portugal was cut off, a moment of silence before he made eye contact with Belarus again. He screamed, "Please don't hurt me! He's crazy!"

"Really was it that bad?"

Belarus could assume England had kissed Portugal and before anyone could say anything else she shoved the knife into his lower back. She pushed as far as it could go, blood coating her fingers, and staining England's suit jacket.

Belarus twisted the knife, causing England to cry out in pain, and when she removed it, he fell to the ground at Portugal's feet. Portugal screamed and scrambled to get away. He stumbled onto the ground, eyes wide in fear and panic, back pressed against the wall as much as it could be.

She actually felt satisfied doing that, and breathed before she felt calm again. She stepped around England and walked over to Portugal who looked between England's barely alive and bleeding body on the ground and herself.

She pointed at him with her blood covered knife, "Go get Romania."

Belarus stood, glowering down at the other nation. Portugal nodded, scrambling up before the door to the meeting room opened. Belarus and presumably Portugal turned to see Germany take in the scene before him.

He blinked before letting out a disgruntled breath, "I'll get someone to take England to his hotel room and tell everyone they're dismissed for today." He said before shutting the door again.

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Romania made Belarus another potion that counteracted the love potion she'd given England. So she was now sitting in a chair at England's bedside in the hotel room she was staying at in Denmark.

Belarus watched England, staring intently at his limp form until he stirred. He let out a groan, his eyes briefly green before the potion started working again and turned them pink. He sat up in bed before making eye contact with her. Belarus thought they were unsettling, and probably wouldn't have enjoyed looking at them if England's affections were geared towards her instead of Portugal.

England frowned. "What am I doing here with you?" He said before looking down at the bandages across his abdomen and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "You fucking stabbed me! Does anyone care about my safety?"

"I'm not going to hurt you again."

"Sure you won't, now where is Portugal? He could take me to my hotel room."

"Come on you are under a love spell, you don't really love Portugal."

"I do love him, he's more of a decent person than you. At least Portugal wouldn't stab me." He crossed his arms and made an expression that could be considered a pout.

"I'm sorry about that, but please just drink this." Belarus held the potion out to him.

"I'll only do it if you promise to stay far away from me after this." Belarus knew that was the potion talking so she agreed.

"Fine." She said and he grabbed the potion, gulping it down.

Belarus noticed his eyes changed back to their normal green color. England blinked. He looked positively livid. "A love potion, seriously?"

Belarus shrugged, "It didn't work so, lesson learned." She said .

England let out a frustrated sigh, "So I'm just supposed to ignore your blatant disrespect of my feelings?"

She had really thought about his feelings though. She knew his were wrong and hers were right so she needed them to be in line with hers.

He stood up. "What was I thinking anyway? That you actually would be a normal person with a conscience?"

Belarus frowned, She could feel irritation beginning to form. She stood up to meet his gaze.

"You can't force me to fall in love with you." He continued, crossing his arms, staring back at her with an intensity that cut right through her.

How dare he! Did he know who he was dealing with?

Belarus took out her knife and held it against his throat. "I could kill you a thousand times over until you say yes to marrying me. How does that sound?"

"You can't frighten me into doing it either."

She grit her teeth, and made an almost animal sounding growl at the base of her throat, pressing the knife even harder against his throat.

Belarus felt an overwhelming sensation of anger sweep over her. But for some reason she wasn't inclined to violence, just her eyes were moistening and her vision became blurry.

"Why don't you love me?" She practically screamed at him. Her heart was beating so fast that it was physically hurting her chest. She'd never asked Russia why; she just became determined to force that no into a yes, no matter what it cost her. And in that way she never had to deal with her feelings of rejection from him.

But this was different. What is England doing to me? She did not understand why she was feeling all of these things.

"Because you do things like this! You're manipulative, controlling and overly aggressive! Would you want to date someone like that?" He said to her, and in that moment everything came crashing down. She couldn't hold back her tears, frustration overwhelming her.

T-this isn't fair!

"I-I just don't know what else to do!" She said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She lowered her knife away from his throat and rested it down at her side. She'd never cried before, ever, it was foreign and strange. England did not look away from her, but his expression was unreadable.

"I don't want to go back to being alone." She admitted, eyes downcast, as tears dripped onto the floor at her feet.

And suddenly he pulled her into a hug. She'd dropped her knife upon being jolted forward so suddenly and it sounded with an audible clang on the floor.

She gripped him back tightly.

"You won't have to." He said, "I do care about you Belarus, enough to be genuinely concerned about you. I-I just can't now... with all that has happened." She pulled away from him and he looked into her eyes. "But I'm willing to compromise if you are."

Belarus at this moment decided that something was better than nothing at all and nodded. She then felt a little warmth in her chest as England, who insisted that it was "unsightly" for her to have tear stains on her face, took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

Although, she could have wiped them away herself.

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About a month later

Belarus was having a hard time trying to figure out what to give England for the Secret Santa gift exchange. She was not good at embroidering, nor was she good at knitting. She could have given him another book but upon taking residence in his house she discovered he had an entire library. So he didn't need anymore.

Belarus was currently cooking dinner for the two of them, an insistence by her and a reluctance by England. She was making stew with some potatoes she'd grown at home and brought with her. She spared a glance at England who was busy trying to knit a scarf. "Fuck, this is impossible!" he said, dropping the needles and yarn with a frustrated toss.

"I thought you knew how to knit." She said.

"I don't, knitting was something I never learned, it's tedious! How could anyone have the skill or time to do that?"

"Big brother knows how to knit." She said, glancing at the stew again to stir.

"Really? Well I can't do anything with that information, he'd see my gift." England got up. "There's got to be a knitting circle around here. Humans like doing that when they have nothing else to do." He muttered on his way past the kitchen where she was standing, towards his study presumably to search for groups to learn knitting on the computer.

Belarus didn't really like interacting with humans, but England gave her an idea. She could ask Russia to teach her how to knit something for England. Belarus continued to stir the stew before lifting the spoon to her mouth, it was very flavorful. It was ironic that England had many spices in his cabinets but all of his food was burned so badly you wouldn't be able to taste them if he did put them in.

Or maybe those spices were for show, not use.

She turned off the fire shortly after and fixed bowls for the two of them.

They ate in relative silence, not unlike when she first came over to clean England's house almost a year ago. She was content with being in silence, it gave her time to clear her headspace.

"Did you watch the sunrise today Belarus?" England asked her.

Belarus blinked, "I did."

They ate in silence before he spoke up again. "So, I wanted to ask, why does Russia have such an attachment to that scarf he always wears?"

Belarus stopped chewing before looking up at England, she swallowed her food. Her mouth was pulled taunt. "Ukraine made it for him." She looked back down at her food and then brought the spoon to her mouth again.

"Hmm. You all must really value each other."

Belarus shrugged, "Each other are all we have."

England did not say anything else, but when she glanced at him again there was an expression of pensive mournfulness on his face.

"I think America still has those stupid little wooden dolls in his house. Lithuania told me he's such a hoarder, and still hasn't cleaned his attic." She said, expression neutral.

England looked at her, and there was a brief moment of surprise. His cheeks pastel pink in color before he said, "It's just like him to procrastinate cleaning. But I guess it can't be helped if he has quality stuff up there."

He looked back down at his soup, a small upward quirk of his lips before he brought the spoon to his mouth.

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The next day, Belarus called Russia and asked him if she could visit. After assuring him that it was not a plot so she could marry him, he reluctantly allowed her to come over.

"I am going to visit Big Brother for a few days." Belarus said to England a few days later, just before she was heading out to catch her flight.

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" He said, putting down the book he was reading, from the couch.

"You are not jealous, are you, Tea Drinker?"

England pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, "Of course not, I just don't want to have to fly all the way over to Russia, to come get you as Russia cries over the phone because you decided to be madly in love with him again."

"You have no faith in me?"

England shrugged. "Feelings resurface, it happens."

Belarus stalked over to him, "I love you, you fucking bastard and don't you dare forget it!" She looked at him intensely. She'd said it before and she'd say it until he believed it.

"Alright, fine go ahead." He said, turning his head away from her, cheeks red with blush.

"I will see you in a few days. I will call."

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Approximately 4 hours later Belarus was in Moscow. She stepped off the plane, and hailed a taxi to Russia's home. Belarus for the first time felt serene, upon going to see Russia, she wasn't nervous nor overly eager. When she stepped out of the taxi and received her luggage she almost dropped them upon seeing Lithuania.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She said, stalking up Russia's walkway towards the often anxious nation.

"B-Belarus?!" Lithuania gasped, eyeing her bags before settling on her face.

Lithuania had dark circles under his eyes, as though he hadn't had a proper night's rest in about a few weeks. "R-russia-."

"Russia invited you." She finished for him. Honestly, it had been a few months since she was last here, Russia still can't trust me?

Belarus sighed, she couldn't dwell on it now.

"What is wrong with you Lithuania? You look worse than usual."

"Oh u-uh nightmares." He chuckled nervously.

Belarus hoped he didn't want to talk about it, the last thing she wanted was to deal with his problems. "I've just been dealing with some things." He continued. He paused before glancing away from her and scratching his head.

"Good for you." Belarus replied, not really paying attention.

Lithuania eyed her bags again, "So...you're here without England?"

Belarus nodded but met his eyes, "I wanted to visit Big Brother alone. I need his help to make a gift."

Lithuania looked like he wanted to say more but he bit his lip and rang the doorbell.

Russia let them inside shortly after. Like last time, Russia hugged Lithuania and gave Belarus a nod in greeting.

"You two store your luggage upstairs. I will put on coffee for you both." The two went upstairs to store their luggage in the guest rooms, she claimed the one she slept in last time.

Belarus got the emerald green yarn and knitting needles she'd brought out of her bag. She went down the steps and perched herself on Russia's couch.

"The coffee will only be a few minutes." Russia said, reappearing into the living room from the kitchen.

Belarus nodded. Russia noticed the yarn and needles in her lap. "Oh, did you come all the way here to knit? Is England too much of a distraction for you?" Russia asked, sitting in his lounge chair.

"No, I want you to teach me, Big Brother. I want to knit England a pair of mittens."

"Did you really have to come all the way out here for that? Couldn't you just buy some?" Russia gave her a smile that made his eyes squint, but his eyebrows were furrowed.

"He fucking makes me shit all the time. So I thought I should make him something." Belarus said, point blank.

"Ok. I do not mind teaching you. Whatever makes you happy so you could stay with him and far away from me." Russia said with a nod.

"Why did you invite Lithuania?"

"You happened to visit the same time we were supposed to meet." Russia made a motion to get up. "The coffee should be done, and I also made some Zephir if you want some."

Belarus nodded, "I do."

Shortly after, Lithuania came down the steps and joined her on the couch. He had his hands clasped in his lap, eyes down cast, gnawing on his bottom lip. "Russia's making Zephir. Are you getting some too?"

"A-Actually that would be nice."

Russia returned with two steaming cups of coffee, black, and a platter of Zephir.

"Here you go, my guests." He said as he set the platter and cups in front of them. Belarus grabbed a few of the marshmallow-like pastries and popped them into her mouth. Then she sipped her coffee, feeling the steam warm her face.

Russia sipped his coffee.

"Liet, you haven't touched your coffee. Do you not like it?" He asked, reaching over to grab a pastry.

Belarus glanced at Lithuania who blinked. "O-oh!" With fidgeting hands he grabbed his cup and took a tentative sip. He nodded frantically, "It's good."

"Liet, it seems like you have not been sleeping well. Would you like to take a nap?" Russia suggested.

"N-no I'm fine Mr. Russia." He said, sipping his coffee once more.

After a beat of silence, Russia turned to her again. "So Belarus, you have been living with England for a month now, da? How is that, has he poisoned you yet?"

Belarus shook her head, "I don't let him cook our meals. Sometimes he can bake pastries, although those scone things are kind of bland. I do not mind it much." She said, making eye contact with her brother.

"Pastries? Are they better than mine?" Russia asked, skeptically. Belarus had to think back to her Soviet Union days, the last time she's had some baked goods from Russia.

"Yes. But I still enjoy your desserts Big Brother."

"I'll have to see for myself. For all I know England has poisoned you and that is the poison talking."

Belarus nodded, "You should try an arctic roll. It's ice cream wrapped in sponge cake. I think you would like it."

"Hmmm that does sound appetizing…" He said, a bit pensive.

"England made one a few weeks ago and we were supposed to share it, but I was so shocked that it didn't taste like dog shit that I ate all of it. He was kind of pissed but then I told him that I had some more dessert if he wanted it. So then I got on the counter and-"

"Uh I-I think Mr. Russia understands how good the pastries were." Lithuania interrupted her.

Russia had his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Had you made some arctic rolls beforehand?"

"No. I've never made them before."

"So how did you have more desert?"

"You know it's actually getting kind of late. I think I'm going to go to bed." Lithuania said, getting up to stand. Belarus really didn't understand why Lithuania was getting all fidgety about her story.

"Ok Liet, you have a good night's rest." Russia said watching him as he left. Lithuania nodded and ascended the steps to his room.

So then Belarus asked about learning to knit the mittens. Russia demonstrated how to start off, looping the string around the three knitting needles she needed. They joined to form a triangle.

As she was learning the basics Russia talked about Ukraine and how she wanted them to visit her. Belarus suggested that they go during harvest season so they'd actually have something to eat while they were there.

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Belarus was startled awake by the sound of screaming. Belarus debated on if she should check on Lithuania, or just let him scream, but then she realised she wouldn't be able to sleep if she let him continue.

Begrudgingly, Belarus threw the covers off of her, got out of bed and walked across the hall to Lithuania's room. When she opened the door, Lithuania was sitting up in his bed. "What the fuck Lithuania? Stop your fucking screaming so I can get some sleep!" She said as the other nation turned on the lamp at his bedside, illuminating the room in a soft warm glow. His hair was damp with sweat and sticking to his forehead.

Lithuania stared at her for a few moments. "Can you just answer one question for me?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Belarus pursed her lips. "Will you go to sleep if I do?"

"Hopefully it will put my mind at rest so I can sleep. I've been having nightmares about you." He admitted, eyes downcast.

"I've been told that I'm pretty terrifying." Belarus said apathetically. "So what?" She asked crossing her arms, eyebrows furrowed.

"Out of all the people, why England?" He asked, looking up at her, sadness in his eyes.

"I don't have to tell you shit, Lithuania."

"In my nightmares, we're here at dinner and instead of you, it's England who stabs me multiple times. He then pulls out my heart before taking a bite out of it. Then he offers it to you but you just take it and stomp on it. And that's when I wake up. So please, I just don't understand." Lithuania said, his mouth pressed in a deep frown.

Belarus let a breath out of her nose. "He summoned Russia for me." She said, plain and simple.

Lithuania looked at her, blinking. "So because he can do magic?"

"No dumbass, because he gave me something I wanted most. I wanted to spend time with Russia." Lithuania's expression softened, enamored of what she'd told him. "And then some other shit but it's really late and I'd like to be sleeping now. So can I go now?"

"Yes, you may go, I will be able to sleep now." Lithuania said to her with a nod, a small smile on his face. "Goodnight Lady Belarus."

"Goodnight Lithuania." She muttered before she started walking back towards her room.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Criticism Welcome. Oh and thank you Petitvon for the lovely review. It was such a pleasant surprise, I'm so glad you enjoy the story so far and so much so that you would binge it!