Title: Afterglow

Pairing: Lithuania x Poland

Rating: T

"And if you could see what's come over me

Then you would know

'Cause I'm walking free, the wind at my back,

bathed in Afterglow."

Vanessa Carlton, "Afterglow"

Toris whistled happily as he walked down the road. He was feeling terribly cheerful; he was about to see his boyfriend, Feliks, to watch a movie. He was currently going to Feliks's house to pick him up.

He walked up the indoor stairs of Feliks's apartment complex, feeling excitement bubbling up in his gut. He hadn't seen Feliks in a week (he had had to go out of town to visit his adoptive brothers) and he couldn't wait to hold him in his arms after such a long time.

Feliks's apartment was on the second floor, so in what seemed like no time at all (but was also far too long; even Toris didn't understand how time moved when he wanted to see his lover) he was standing in front of Feliks's home. He knocked quietly on the door, then remembered his lover's request to just come right in, so grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open. He walked into the apartment, coming into a large-ish room with a pillar-like thing in the middle that made it seem as if the whole thing wasn't just one room. To his right was a small kitchen thing, and to his left was a small sitting-room type thing with a comfy sofa (good for cuddling) and a smallish TV. Just beyond the TV was a doorway that led to Feliks's bedroom, and after a quick glance around, that was where Toris headed.

The door was shut, so he knocked gently on it, hearing only a muffled scuffling sound in reply. He slowly opened the door and peeked around the corner.

"Feliks?" he asked hesitantly. The room was dark but for a small lamp in the corner; the curtains were drawn over the small rectangular window. "Are you in here?"

He heard muttering coming from the back of the room, and took a slow step inside. "Feliks?" he caled a bit louder this time.

"No no, this isn't good enough... Agh, no, this looks terrible! He won't want to be seen in public with this!"

"Feliks?" Toris tried again, louder this time. "Hello? Feliks?"

There was a slight squeaking sound, then a muffled rustling. Toris stepped farther into the room and saw that the far corner, between the closet and the bed, was scattered with clothes. There was a full-length mirror in the corner as well, but no Feliks.

"Feliiiiiiks," he called. "You in here?"

Silence. He stepped farther into the room, then carefully walked to the closet, stepping over discarded v-necks and jeans.

"Are you hiding in the closet?" he asked disbelievingly, opening one of the sliding doors and peering through the thick swaths of clothes. "Why are you hiding from me?"

"Mm... I-I'm not," came a slightly trembling voice. "I'm just- ah -looking for a shirt. Yeah, that's it. So, just go b-back out and w-wait for m-me-" He choked on a sob, and that was when Toris realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

He made his way deeper into the fairly small closet, which was made even smaller by all the clothes; dresses, shirts, jeans, skirts, any and every article of clothes you could imagine (including a kilt) was in that closet, either hanging or lying all over the floor, looking vaguely lonely. He pushed past hanging pinstriped slacks and button-down shirts that rested right next to band t-shirts and jeans with more holes then fabric, until he finally found Feliks in the very back of the closet. He was huddled up against the wall, and as soon as he saw Toris, he shrunk away even further. Even in the dim less-then-half light Toris could see that his lover was half-naked and crying.

"F-Feliks!" he cried. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"G-get away!" Feliks sobbed. "Don't look at me, I'm a mess!"

"Feliks, what's going on?" Toris fell to his knees beside the small blond Pole, grabbing him and wrapping him in a warm hug. He gently ran his fingers through his hair and whispered in his ear that it would be okay even as Feliks tried to struggle away from him, sobbing about how he wasn't wearing any makeup.

"I-I hate m-myself, I'm s-so u-ugly," Feliks sobbed into Toris's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I don't even know how you can stand to be seen in public with me, I'm sorry I'm so ugly and you're so beautiful-"

"You're not ugly!" Toris interrupted immediately. "You're beautiful- no, you're more than that, you're perfect-"

"I-I'm not perfect, not at all, I'm too fat and my eyes are weird and people don't like me because I dress like a girl-"

"Don't you dare listen to those people!" Toris interjected fiercely, kissing the side of Feliks's head. "They know nothing- nothing -about you, and if you think that they're opinion matter in the least, well... well... It doesn't! Because... because you're perfect, and I love you! I really do!" He held Feliks tightly, rubbing between his bare shoulder blades and feeling, as if from far away, his frail body shivering violently. He shifted awkwardly, then opened the closet door and lifted Feliks out, nearly falling over since they were both about the same size. He carried him to his bed, then laid him down on top of the blankets, lying down to cuddle with him- and to wipe the snot from his nose, but he wouldn't ever mention that to Feliks, since it would upset him.

When Feliks was finally done crying and was just lying there on the bed, his eyes open but unfocused, and Toris was lying next to him, propped up on one elbow and running his fingers in a somehow calming way through his blond hair, Toris asked, "So, I guess our date is canceled," in a sort of joking way.

"Mm," is all Feliks replied with.

"That's okay," Toris continued, reaching forward to wrap his arms loosely around his partner and kissing his forehead. "I like cuddling around with you better than anything else. You're a great cuddler, did you know that?"

"I'm not great at anything," Feliks said, eyes slowly falling shut as he nuzzled into Toris's neck.

"Yes you are! You're great at cuddling, and you're great at talking to people you don't even know, and you're great at making me not look like a homeless person, and you're great at dealing with creepy ex-boyfriends, or homophobic families, or... well, everything."

"I'm not great at everything," Feliks said, but there was a small smile on his lips as he leaned up to give his boyfriend a kiss.

"Yes you are," Toris said fondly. "And I love you."

A/N Awwww! And also, don't ask me about the song lyrics at the top. In relation to this story, they sort of mean that Feliks is leaving behind loneliness or something, but yeah, I dunno, I just like the song.

Also, sorry for un-beta-ness! I'd still welcome a Beta, if anyone wants to do it! If not, these will stay unedited until my doom!

Story concept brought to you by HolyGreatGrandpaRomanEmpire!