A/N: FINALLY AN UPDATE. :D Plus, I upped the rating for violence and slight language. (Lyn and Raivis are potty-mouths.) Time to meet the two dysfunctional households! And props to whoever knows where the title and chapter names come from!

Title: Where the Light Shines Brighter

Summary: When Latvia makes a new friend, he never expects his life to be changed so radically…

Rating: T

Pairings: Latvia/Lyn (OC), Lithuania/Poland

Where the Light Shines Brighter

Chapter Two: We Simply Planted the Seed

Lyn entered the small house, well aware of the stares and smirks from her large family. Her grin faded and was replaced with her usual scowl as she sat on the old couch and covered herself with a heavy blanket. Her scowl deepened as her older siblings loomed over her, shadowing her. "So," said her older brother, "who's the new boy?"

"He was just a little kid. He was lost," Lyn lied. Her older brother, Evlampii, was the tallest in the family, standing at 6'1", but he wasn't the oldest child. Said oldest sibling was wearing a smug grin on her face.

"Oh, please. You hate kids. We all know that," stated the oldest, Anastasia. Lyn pouted and bunched up the blanket, the toes of her boots peeking out. Anastasia chortled. "Y'know, if you were cute like that more often, guys might like you." Lyn turned a light shade of red. "Though, judging from that, you don't need any help getting them!" Lyn got even redder, her pout turning into a scowl once again.

"So… dinner. Where is it?" Lyn glared at her older siblings. They shared a knowing grin.

"Oh, we asked мама to call for you. We had to keep you two from making out." Evlampii caught the blanket that was immediately thrown at him, earning a high-five from Anastasia.

"W-What?!" Lyn was fuming. "I just met the kid! And anyway… I would never like a… a… Кроха like that!"

Hearing their nicknames, two young boys peeked into the room, blue eyes shining. "What is it, неженка?" the one with longer hair asked. Lyn shot a glare at them, and then softened when one of them whimpered.

"You're sca~ry today!" The shorter-haired whimpered. He turned to Evlampii. "What'd you do to неженка today?"

"What? Aw, Fedot, you're so mean! Why do ya always blame me?" Evlampii held his arms in the air as if he was a criminal being caught. Lyn sighed in exasperation. This was the normal scheme of events at her house. As the young twins tackled Evlampii, she found herself thinking about that strange boy. 'He lives with Russia, right? I wonder how different his life is?'

Raivis almost forgot how heavy the groceries were in his effort to enter the house without being noticed. His efforts were in vain, however, as his brown-haired "brother", Lithuania, was standing right there, sighing at the small amount of food in the kitchen. The door clunked shut (he really needed to fix that,) catching the attention of the brown-haired Baltic. "Latvia," he said weakly, "where have you been? Do you know how hard it is to make food when all we have left are a few onions and a bottle of vodka?" Raivis grunted out of guilt and effort as he heaved the many bags onto the kitchen counter. "Estonia," Lithuania hissed, "get over here and help, please." Raivis heard the sound of his other "brother's" laptop closing from the attached living room, and soon a tall man with short blonde hair entered, adjusting his glasses. The three men worked in silence, an awkward aura surrounding them. "Latvia, you never answered my question. Where were you?" Lithuania fixed Raivis with a worried gaze.

"The… the marketplace…" Raivis answered truthfully, his shaky hands mangling the onion he was slicing.

Lithuania sighed and ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. "Okay, then, what were you doing that took so long?"

"Just shopping and…" 'Shit,' the teen cursed. Lithuania was about to speak again, but Estonia beat him to it.

"Just shopping, and? Latvia, you can't just keep us waiting for trivial things. If you're late, Russia gets angry. And since you're not here, who do you think he takes that anger out on?"

"Look, I was just talking to a friend."

"Peter was there?" Raivis was a little angry. Sure, Sealand was his good friend, but wasn't he allowed to have others? He smirked. Well, he'd show them, wouldn't he?

"No, someone else."

"A country?" Estonia queried.

"Nope."

"Latvia made a new friend, da~?" All three of them froze at the eerily childish voice. They slowly turned around to face the huge man who had appeared in the doorway. He started to stroll over, violet eyes shining. "That's good, Latvia! It's good to have friends," said the man, gripping Raivis' shoulders a little forcefully. "You were late, da~? Latvia was too busy playing with his friend to come home on time?" A malicious smile spread across his face and Raivis was shaking so violently that the vibrations were jerking around his whole body.

"I-I'm sorry, Russia! It won't happen again!" Raivis felt Russia's hands leave his shoulders and he bent down, leveling his face with the Latvian's.

"I'm very jealous, da~." The Russian's hot breath hit Raivis' face. It stank of vodka. It always stank of vodka. It's a good thing that Ivan could drink all the vodka he wanted without it affecting him. Raivis hated to imagine what would happen if it did. Back in reality, Russia jerked Raivis by the arm. He bit his tongue so he wouldn't yelp in pain. If he showed weakness, it would be worse. He looked up at Russia, eyes pleading. At seeing that, Russia's grin grew wider, his childlike face distorting into something completely demonic. By this time, Eduard and Toris were trembling, too.

"I want to play with Latvia too~"

And with that, Raivis was yanked down the hall by Russia, the only sounds besides Raivis' clumsy footsteps being Estonia's voice yelling, "LATVIA~!"

Translations:

Мама (Mama) – Mom

Кроха (Kroha) - Pipsqueak

Неженка (Nezhenka) - Sissy