Feliks closed his eyes, resting his head on his friend's lap and sighing softly. He allowed her to run a gentle hand through his hair, a sure sign that he trusted her, leaning up into the touch. The Pole had always been picky over who touched his hair, but he had grown particularly sensitive about it after the cut... The slow, steady rhythm of the girl's hand lulled him into a small state of comfort, soothing his agitated nerves and bringing an expression of mild joy to his face. She smiled softly down at him, glad to see Feliks so calm. He had been a wreck when he showed up at her house, bursting into tears and flinging himself at her the second she opened the door to let him in. She was guessing it had something to do with his new style, but with Feliks, you never really knew...
"L-Lizzie...?" after a while, he spoke, eyes blinking open to look up at the Hungarian.
"Yeah?" she looked back down at him, a warm smile on her face, "What is it?"
Feliks's voice was unusually soft, eyes flickering with uncertainty, "D-do you think that I'm stupid? O-or, like, do you think that I depend on you too much...? Like, t-to the point where I can't do anything on my own depend... Not just, like, I like having your advice on things depend..."
Quickly, Elizabeta shook her head, a small look of surprise registering on her face, "Of course not! Why would you ever even think of something like that?"
"I-it's nothing..." he mumbled quickly, closing his eyes once more, "Don't worry about it, m'kay?"
"No," she frowned, hand now resting motionlessly on the top of Feliks's head, "Don't 'it's nothing' me, Feliks, because if it was, you wouldn't have bothered bringing it up. So tell me what's up... what brought this on?"
He sat up and sighed, staring intently as his lap as he allowed his friend's hand to fall away, "My boss didn't like our idea..."
"Oh?" the girl began to scowl, wondering in the back of her mind how severe of beating she was going to have to administer for this one, "And what did he have to say about it?"
"Well, first he was all pissy, ranting about how, like, he told me not to do it, and how it's a totally inappropriate thing for a girl do be doing, and blah, blah, blah," he began to get into it, shifting to face Elizabeta and using his hands in order to prove his point, "And so then we fought, and I was, like, trying to explain why it was a totally great idea, but he was dicking off and not listening, so I was getting, like, way pissed off, right? And so, like, I'm sitting there, tying to stay calm, and I'm really doing a fabulous job, 'cause he's been ranting for, like, ever, and I haven't even tried to punch him yet, right? But I'm trying to stay calm, and he just, like, explodes on me, screaming all like, 'NO! I HATE YOU, AND I HATE LIZZIE, TOO, 'CAUSE SHE'S YOUR FRIEND AND SHE HELPS YOU! YOU DO EVERYTHING SHE SAYS BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO THINK FOR YOURSELF! YOU'RE STUPID AND I HATE YOU! RAWR!' And he was being, like, really, really mean, and I seriously just wanted to cry," he pouted, voice going from a mocking shout to a whine in a matter of seconds, tone laced with hurt, "But then I remember what you told me when we talked about me doing this, and I didn't let him know it hurt. And I did good, Lizzie!" his expression morphed once again, suddenly looking proud, "I stood up to him this time, and I didn't let him scare me or anything! And I told him that, like, Poland is my nation, and that I control it and he can't stop me! And, I'm totally way smarter than him anyways, so ha!"
"Oh, Feliks, I'm so proud of you!" the teen squealed, grabbing her friend and hugging him as tightly as she could, "I told you you could do it!"
Ever since he had gotten a new boss, Feliks had been a small emotional wreck. The other man was overly controlling and, like Feliks, was not the type to back down from a fight, things that had made the two enemies from the start. They rarely ever say eye to eye, and arguments were frequent. Soon, however, the fights began to take a heavy toll on Feliks, the harsh words yelled by his boss in a fit of fury burrowing their way into his brain and refusing to leave. It was horrible... No matter how hard he tried, he could never seem to shake the feeling that his boss was right; that he really was stupid and crazy. It was something that, as a friend, Elizabeta just couldn't take... so she told him how to fight back.
"Thank you, Lizzie," he smiled gratefully, returning the embrace, "Thank you, like, so fricken much..."
"It's really nothing~" she laughed and nuzzled the top of his head, grinning, "You know I'd do anything for you~"
And she would. If Feliks had told her that the only way to make things better for him for someone to get rid of his boss, she would have grabbed a gun and done it herself without a second thought. It had taken quite a while to talk her out of that plan, actually... She cared about the Pole more than anyone else in the world. She had to protect him, and they both knew it. Feliks may have declared himself to be a man, but Lizzie was always going to see him as the energetic, fun-loving Felka she had grown up with; the one who was a bit of a priss, but always kept her laughing, and taught her how to... well... how to be a girl
"I love you, Lizzie... you're the best in the world~"
"Love you, too, Fel... even if we both know that you're the best~"
AN: I have nothing against any of Poland's "bosses," present or past... really~! It just... fit with the story.