A/N: The song they are dancing to in this chapter is called "Prisoner of Love" by The Ink Spots! I highly recommend looking it up! As always, please leave a review if you liked the chapter!
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The backroads of Ukraine reminded Raivis a lot of the terrain of the portion of Russia where he had lived. Then again, that portion was on the Ukrainian border, so that was probably why. He still thought it was beautiful, even if it was freezing cold. Why Toris wanted to get married in March was beyond him, but he knew he would let him hear it when they got there.
Lilli shivered next to Raivis in the blanket that she was wrapped in. "How many more days of this do we have, Ivan?" she asked the Russian. "Surely not too long, right?"
"Just three more days," Ivan cheerfully answered. "Are you excited to get there, Lilli?" He looked back at the shivering girl and smiled. "The town is beautiful! You'll love it!"
"If I don't freeze to death first," she mumbled to herself, teeth chattering.
Raivis put an arm around her, wrapping his own blanket around her as well. "Here, let me share my blanket with you as well," he told her. "You shouldn't be too cold."
Lilli smiled up at him in awe. "Thank you, Raivis," she softly said. "I appreciate it." If her cheeks weren't already rosy with cold, she would probably be blushing. She leaned her head against his chest. "You are so warm." Lilli sighed out happily. "Raivis, you are so good to me. How could I ever repay you?"
Ivan smiled to himself up in the front, listening to their conversation and taking mental notes in his head. He had the memory of an elephant. He never forgot a thing. And if Raivis was doing this out of the goodness of his heart because he loved Lilli, that would make things even better for him in the long run.
Raivis smiled down at Lilli. "I'm used to the weather up here, Lilli," he answered. "I lived here only months ago, remember?" He kissed the top of her head, making sure Ivan wasn't looking. "I hope you get used to it soon."
"So do I," Lilli sighed. She thought for a moment. "What do you think the wedding is going to be like, Raivis?"
"Well I remember Toris saying something about a traditional Jewish wedding," Raivis mused. "Now whether they're going to go with that or not, I'm not too sure. I hope they do, though. It would make Toris's mother proud."
Lilli smiled to herself. "What was your mother like?" she asked.
"My mother?" Raivis asked, surprised. "She was just your average mother, I guess. I look a lot like her, more than I look like my father. My mother is Toris's first cousin, which makes me Toris's second cousin, even though we are closer in age. Let me tell you, my mother makes the best putra you could ever eat in the world." His mouth began to water at the mention of the delicious dish. He then felt a little sad. "But I don't even know if she's still alive or not. The Germans could've taken her and my little brother and sister."
"I'm sorry, Raivis," Lilli softly said, snuggling into him. "Here's hoping that they didn't." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, nuzzling him. "I can't say that everything will be okay if you just believe that it will be, because that's not the way the world works." She frowned. "But I will hope the best for your family."
"Thank you, Lillli," Raivis said, smiling. "I greatly appreciate it." He smiled to her. "You sure are a light in the darkness, you know that?"
"I do now," she answered. Her lips connected with his in a quick flash before he realized it and she was back to her old position before he knew it. "You are a wonderful man, Raivis," she sighed. "I hope Vash realizes that soon."
"I hope he does, too," Ivan agreed from where he sat. "Honestly, Raivis, you are the perfect fit for Lilli. You're not too young, not too old. You know how to take care of her. And she even loves you back. How much of a miracle is that this day and age?"
Lilli smiled forward at Ivan and then smiled up at Raivis. "He's right, you know."
Raivis smiled back at Lilli. "He really is. Lilli, I don't think I could bear to see you marry another."
"I don't think I could bear to marry another," Lilli admitted to him. She turned to Ivan. "Please don't let Vash marry me off to anyone but Raivis, Ivan! Please!"
Ivan nodded. "I'll do my best, Lil."
Lilli snuggled closer to Raivis, swinging her legs over his lap. "With Ivan helping us, how could we possibly lose to Vash?" she happily sighed out.
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The next three days went by fast and Raivis soon found Lilli and himself on Toris's doorstep in the back. Ivan had dropped them off there after Raivis had promised that he wouldn't do anything promiscuous with the shivering girl next to him. His knuckles were freezing as he knocked on the door.
When Toris opened the door and realized who it was, Raivis was instantly enveloped in a tight, emotional hug by his cousin. He was honestly quite surprised that Toris was being so emotional about it, but nonetheless, he hugged his older cousin back.
After they got caught up to speed on each other's lives once inside, Raivis dismissed himself and Lilli to his old bedroom in the apartment, which had been left the same as when he had left. He set his and Lilli's bags on the bed and then looked to the blonde girl who was sitting patiently on the bed.
"What's going through your mind right now?" he asked her, smiling. "You finally got to meet Toris, and he knows we're in love." He sat next to her. "What could possibly be on your mind at the moment?"
Lilli smiled at him. "All I can think about is how lucky I am to be here with you. This is the furthest from home I've ever been, and Vash isn't even here. Right now, it's just me and you, and I've never been more in love with you than I am at this exact moment." Her lips pulled back to reveal her teeth in her smile. "Raivis, you are truly incredible. I mean that. I love you with all of my heart, and it's you that I wish to marry above any other man." She slowly moved closer to him on the bed. "Kiss me, Raivis. Please."
Raivis didn't need to be told twice as their lips connected in a more heated kiss than he had originally intended. He quickly noticed that Lilli didn't seem to mind as his hand tangled into her beautiful, blonde hair. His blood was pulsating throughout his body, giving him more and more energy, but he knew he had to contain it, due to what he had promised Ivan.
The young girl didn't seem to remember the promise to Ivan as she moved into Raivis's lap and pressed herself against the Latvian boy. Her lips slowly parted, parting Raivis's as well. She knew that she had full control over the situation, but she didn't want to completely flaunt it. Then again, she liked having the control. Lilli enjoyed the feeling of having Raivis wrapped around her finger.
The Latvian boy's hands gripped her waist as he kissed her deeper, his mouth moving on hers in ways that he wouldn't dare when they were in the house they lived in. Then again, here in Russian, who would know about it? Toris might, but what would he say? Who was there for him to tell? It wasn't like he could ever tell Vash or Ivan. They were safe in Raivis's old bedroom, and he was glad that Lilli seemed to know that as well.
Though they didn't go any further than kissing that night, the two teenagers went to bed happy that night, snuggled in each other's arms. They were glad to finally be able to be with each other with no one else around, the way they thought it should be. And the two couldn't be any happier as they fell asleep with smiles on their faces.
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The next morning was just one huge fiasco. Natalia showed up unexpected and pulled a knife on Lilli, not knowing who she was, and Lilli burst into tears in Raivis's arms. The strange thing about it was that Natalia immediately apologized. That was something that Raivis didn't exactly understand. Natalia didn't normally apologize for that kind of stuff. It took Raivis by surprise.
Once she left, Raivis was able to calm Lilli down and convinced her not to mention a thing to Vash, which she willingly agreed to. She was still a little shaken up, but then Toris and Raivis got into it over a discussion of Feliks and each went to their own bedrooms.
Lilli followed after Raivis. "Rai? Are you okay?" she softly asked, closing the bedroom door after her. "That was really loud…And you both seem really upset."
"I don't believe that Feliks is dead," Raivis slowly said. "I just believe that Toris is saying that to kill his guilt over marrying Natalia." He was shaking a little. "It's not fair to Feliks's memory that Toris is getting married to Natalia. He shouldn't marry anyone. Feliks is still alive. I know he is."
"How do you know that he is?" Lilli asked, sitting next to him and running her fingers through his curls in a comforting way.
"Until I see a body or a tombstone, I will refuse to believe that he's dead," Raivis answered. "It's that simple. Until I have proof that he's dead, I refuse to believe it. And that's the way Toris should be, but he's not. I think that's unfair to Feliks's memory and the sacrifice that he made for us."
Lilli nodded her agreement. "You're right. It is unfair," she agreed. "Feliks should be remembered better by Toris. But I think this may be his way of grieving over the loss of his former lover. Have you considered that? Maybe he's telling himself that Feliks is dead so he can mourn the loss and just get over it."
"But what if Feliks isn't dead and shows up again in Toris's life again one day when Toris is happily married?" Raivis asked Lilli. "What will Toris do then? Doesn't that just sound unfair to both of them?"
She sighed. "That does sound unfair, but what are really the chance of that happening?"
"You're right," he agreed. "I'm just saying, what if that does happen?"
"Then that will be Toris's problem to face when the time comes," Lilli answered, kissing Raivis's cheek. "You shouldn't worry about it. Toris got himself into this, and he'll have to talk his way through it when the time comes."
Raivis nodded. "You're right, Lilli," he agreed. "Why am I stressing out over it?" He smiled at her and kissed her lips. "Thank you! You're the best!"
Lilli blushed. "I try." Her fingers went to her lips as she blushed.
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That night, Lilli bolted straight upright in bed to yelling. She knew it was Toris, and he was yelling in his native language. She began shaking Raivis. "Rai! Rai, wake up! It's Toris!"
Raivis groggily woke up. "Huh? What?" He listened for a moment. "Toris?" he asked, suddenly more alert. "Why is he yelling for Dalia? She's not here."
"Who is Dalia?" Lilli asked, confused. She cocked her head to the side. "I thought his fiancee was named Natalia."
"Dalia is his little sister," Raivis answered. "I haven't heard him have a nightmare about her in years….Wait here." He got up from bed and went into Toris's room. He began shaking his cousin. "Toris, please wake up!"
When Toris didn't awaken and kept shouting in Lithuanian, Raivis continued shaking him and begging him to wake up. And when he finally woke up, he looked up at Raivis, pale and drenched in sweat.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking all around him. He was gasping for breath, but at least he was now awake.
"You've been shouting for your sister for the past five minutes," Raivis answered. "You woke up Lilli, and she woke me up. What's going on? Do you want to talk about it?" He really hoped that Toris would agree and get things off of his chest.
Toris curled up into fetal position under his covers. "No," he quietly answered. "It's not like anyone would understand anyway…"
Raivis began to worry. Toris hadn't been this bad since they had first gotten to Russia. He really hoped that everything would be okay….
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The day before the wedding was so hectic. Raivis and Lilli were helping Toris with as many errands as they could, but even they needed some breaks at times. They didn't exactly come to be servants, they came to be guests, and Raivis often reminded Toris of that fact. Unfortunately, that ended with Toris near a breakdown, so Raivis would always give in and help, assuring Lilli that she needed to rest instead of help along with him.
Raivis was glad that he could help Toris, but he also wished that he could spend more time with Lilli. He knew that she was fine with embroidering and all that, but he hoped that she wouldn't become bored of him and his constant need to help his cousin. That would be the worst. He was supposed to be proving that he was responsible for her, not Toris. Yet every time he tried to tell Toris that, he felt he would get guilt-tripped by his cousin, so he kept his mouth shut about it.
"You must've had a long day," Lilli commented in the evening after dinner. It was just her and Raivis in the apartment since Toris and Natalia had gone out to see each other without Natalia's family knowing. "I feel bad for you. Toris is working you like a slave driver. Are you sure you feel okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Raivis answered with a sigh. He looked over at Lilli, who was embroidering on the couch. His mind couldn't help but take in how beautiful she looked as she sat there with the needle in her hand and a smile on her face. "What are you making anyway? You've been working on that all day."
"It's just a wedding present for Toris and Natalia," she answered, blushing. "I'm just about finished with it." Lilli turned the embroidery to face Raivis. "I mean, I know it's not that great, but I hope they can appreciate it."
The embroidery was the outlines of the Belarusian and Lithuanian flags fused together and their initials in the corners with their wedding date beneath them. It must have taken so much time and effort to make.
"I think they'll love it," Raivis commented. "Natalia likes things like that. She'll probably hang it up in their home when they move into it." He smiled at her.
"You think so?" Lilli excitedly asked. "Oh, I hope so! That would be wonderful!" She giggled to herself and smiled up at Raivis. "You always know just what to say, Raivis. I never knew I would ever find someone in this world who would make me as happy as you do." Her cheeks went bright red in a blush as she muttered, "Did I really just say that?"
"You did," Raivis teased with a grin. "But that's okay, because I feel the same way about you." His grin turned into a warm smile as he moved to sit next to her on the couch. "You know, this trip with you has made my love for you much stronger than before. I'll probably miss sleeping next to you when we get back to Switzerland."
"I'll miss sleeping with you as well," she admitted, frowning. "But once you are granted my hand in marriage, then we'll get to sleep together every night, my darling." She caressed his cheek with her soft hand. "It's only a matter of time. Wait for me, Raivis."
"Lilli Zwingli, you are the girl I would wait for until the end of the earth," Raivis told her.
"You really mean that?" Lilli asked, eyes wide with awe. "You would wait for me that long if you had to?"
"I don't think I'll ever stop loving you," Raivis answered. He smiled and went to turn on the radio. A slow song came on and he extended his hand toward the beautiful girl on the couch. "Would you give me the honor of having this dance?"
Lilli took his hand. "Of course, Raivis," she answered. A smile came to her face as she listened to the lyrics, swaying back and forth on the living room floor with Raivis. "This song is so beautiful," she mused.
"She's in my dreams, awake or sleeping," the musician sang from the radio. Raivis thought about that line. Lilli was always in his dreams as well, whether he was sleeping or just daydreaming. She was always on his mind. He was just so in love with her.
When the song ended, the two parted and Raivis smiled to Lilli as the title of the song was announced on the radio. It was titled "Prisoner of Love". That was exactly how the two felt at that moment, prisoners of their own love for each other. But they were both happy that way.
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That night as they laid in bed, Lilli rolled over the face Raivis and smiled. She ran her fingers through his curls to get his attention from the book he was reading and smiled at him when he finally looked over. Her heart raced when she felt his blue eyes resting on her, just as she always did. She was almost certain that she would never get used to that.
"The wedding is in the morning, you know," she softly said. "We might want to get to sleep early if you want to be fully rested for a day of dealing with Natalia." Lilli winked a green eye at him and giggled at his expression upon the mention of Natalia. "I mean, she is going to be joining your family tomorrow, after all," she continued, wondering how much further she could torture her love with her words.
Raivis groaned. "Don't remind me," he sighed with a smile. "Who knows? With time, she may be your cousin as well."
Then it was Lilli's turn to groan. "You just had to shove reality back into my face," she giggled. She kept playing with Raivis's hair. "I love your hair, Raivis. It makes me wish that I had curly hair like yours."
"You wouldn't want it," he assured her. "It's a pain to take care of."
She propped herself up on her arm. "Is it really?" she asked. "My hair waves a little bit, but that's about all." Lilli sighed, playing with her hair a little. "It's not nealy as fun to play with."
Raivis smirked at her and closed his book. "Well I like it," he told her. "It really suits you."
"You think so?" she asked, perking up, a wide smile on her face. "Thank you for saying so! Vash didn't like how short it was at first, telling me that a lady should have long hair."
"I think that if it's your hair, it can be any length you'd like," Raivis answered.
"You don't think it makes me look like a boy?" Lilli asked, eyes wide.
"No, I think it makes Vash look like a girl," Raivis answered, knowing the two had the same hairstyle and length.
Lilli giggled to herself. "You're so funny, Raivis!" She moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest as she continued to play with his hair. "I love you," she suddenly said, tone turning serious. "I hope you know that."
"I do," he answered, tone just as serious. "And the next person in my family to get married will be me. And it will be soon. And it will be to you."
"You really think so?" Lilli asked him, eyes big and happy as she looked up at him.
"I know so," Raivis answered. "I'm not going to give up on you, Lil. I've fallen too hard for you to give up now. I'm madly in love with you, and I'll be damned if I lose you to someone else when I know that you return my love."
"Oh Raivis!" she happily cheered, snuggling up to him. "You make me so happy!"
"And you make me just as happy," he told her, cuddling her. "Now let's get to bed. We have a big day ahead of us."
Lilli yawned. "As long as I get to sleep like this," she told him.
"Of course," he told her. And with that, he turned out the light and snuggled up to her, knowing that he would sleep well that night.