Thanks to Alvazu for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

LietIre: Don't Cut

Patrick was led to Toris's bedroom. The Lithuanian's mother seemed to be really worried about her son, but she could do nothing to help. She was hoping that Patrick could get through to Toris.

The Irishman took a deep breath, before entering his boyfriend's room. Toris was sitting next to his bed, simply staring out into space. Patrick could still smell the faint scent of vomit, and a quick glance to the floor revealed a wet spot that had been cleaned, or had attempted to be cleaned.

Patrick sat down next to Toris, and tried to wrap his arm around his shoulders. Toris flinched, and Patrick regretfully retracted his arm.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" Patrick whispered.

Toris closed his eyes.

"I shouldn't be here," he said. "I should have…"

"No," Patrick said quickly, trying to pull Toris closer again. "Please, don't…"

Toris tried to pull away, and that was when Patrick saw it. His eyes widened, and he gently grabbed Toris's wrist. The sleeve had raised a little, revealing a number of cuts on the skin.

"Why?" Patrick asked, looking towards Toris again. "Why would you do this to yourself?"

Toris wasn't even looking at him, and Patrick could see that his eyes were blank, as though all emotion had faded away. This time, Patrick didn't allow Toris to shy away, and pulled him into a proper hug.

"Why?" Patrick whispered again.

"Because…" Toris said, his voice cracking between syllables, "this way, I have control of the pain."

"How long? How long have you been feeling like this? Because seeing you like this… I just feel so helpless. Please."

"I… I guess it's been a while. I guess I needed better luck."

"Please, don't cut! Toris… You have me. Please. I know you feel that you're on your own, and that no one understands you, but I'm here. And how do you expect me to understand you if you don't tell me anything? Please. You're not alone. So, please… Don't hurt yourself like this."

Toris looked pained, and Patrick hugged him tighter.

"I know you're hurting," Patrick continued. "And I know that you think it's the end for you." He thought to the call he received from Toris's mother, telling him that he had attempted to commit suicide by overdose. His mother at least knew how to avert this. That was what the vomit was. "And I realise that you might think that blade of yours is your only friend, but that's not true. I'm here. Please, talk to me. And Toris… You've still got your whole life ahead of you. You can do anything. But just promise me that you won't cut anymore."

Toris had started crying, and he closed his eyes. But he nodded his head.

…

The next day, Toris was actually feeling better than the previous day. He even managed to crack a few smiles in the hallway as he made his way to class.

However, as soon as he entered the class, someone bumped into him from behind, sending his books crashing to the ground. The students already in the class turned to him.

And laughed.

Toris's face burned in shame as he bent down to pick up his books. Even when he went to sit down, they were still laughing. They were still cracking jokes.

He wondered why he thought that things would be different. There was always something that happened. There was always someone that would laugh at him. There was always someone that would make jokes with him as the punchline. There was always something to remind him that he was a mess.

That nothing he did was ever right.

Throughout the class, he tried to calm down, but the occasional snickers would have his already buried self-esteem sink lower into the earth. He couldn't take it anymore.

As they walked out of the class for the next one, he quickly sent Patrick a text.

I love you with all my heart and soul to death.

It only took a few seconds before he received a response.

I love you too.

He smiled sadly at the response. He knew that Patrick didn't realise that it was his goodbye. But it was still nice to be told that he loved him.

Too bad that Patrick was alone.

Toris used the confusion of the shuffle between classes to leave the schoolgrounds. He walked home, thinking about what he was going to do. He felt guilty that he was going to break his promise so soon, but he couldn't handle things anymore.

As soon as he arrived home, he immediately made his way to the bedroom. His mother wasn't there. No one was there to stop him this time. He quickly grabbed his blade and rolled up his sleeves.

He let all of his emotions guide his hand as he made one cut…

Two…

Three…

Four…

He cut deeper than ever before. And he let all of the pain he felt inside pull his hand. He couldn't even feel the blade cutting into his skin anymore. He couldn't see the blood on his arm. He couldn't see it dripping to the floor.

…

Patrick had a nasty feeling in his stomach. It started a bit after he'd received the text from Toris. And he had the strangest feeling that he needed to get to Toris's house.

He asked to be excused from the class, stating that bad seafood the previous night was the reason. Once he was outside, he started running, first to the gate, then Toris's house.

His heart sank when he saw that the front door was open, and he immediately ran inside. He hesitated for a moment, before running to Toris's room. He let out a sob when he saw what was inside.

"Tori…" he muttered.

Toris was slumped against the bed, and Patrick could clearly see the pool of blood surrounding his boyfriend. He rushed to his side, throwing Toris's arm around his shoulder. He leaned him back, and found that Toris's eyelids were fluttering. He was still alive. There was still hope.

At that moment, he could hear movement near the entrance. Cautious steps. Toris's mother.

"Call an ambulance!" he shouted as he desperately searched for something to staunch the bleeding.

He could hear her rushing to the phone, and he was glad that she wasn't asking any questions. Once the call was ended, she ran to the room.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

Patrick had to grab one of Toris's shirts and was pressing it against his arm. But he knew that she could clearly see the blood around the floor.

Patrick kept the shirt pressed against Toris's arm as his mother kept trying to wake him. They could soon hear the ambulance approaching, and their presence was soon heard at the door.

"In here!" Toris's mother called.

The paramedics rushed in, taking stock of the scene before placing Toris on a stretcher. Toris's mother grabbed Patrick's arm as the paramedics carried Toris off.

"Go with him," she said. "You can help him more than I can."

He nodded his head, running after the paramedics.

…

Patrick was waiting in the waiting room. He could do nothing else. The paramedics had rushed in, and the doctors declared it an emergency. The shirt alone testified that Toris had lost a lot of blood.

The Irishman had never seen his boyfriend so pale. It was heart-breaking. If it weren't for the fluttering of his eyes…

He waited for an hour before one of the doctors approached him, and the expression on the man's face already filled him with fear.

"Forgive me," the doctor said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Patrick could feel his world collapsing. Toris… The one he loved… He was…

He had stood when the doctor approached, but now he crumpled to the floor. He couldn't help but think that it was his fault. He should have acted on his feeling sooner. He should have realised that something was wrong when he got that text.

I love you with all my heart and soul to death.

He placed his hand on his mouth as he released a sob.

"You promised me you'd never cut again…" he muttered.

This was inspired by the song 'Baby, don't cut'. Considering I've started posting Hidden Truths, something like this was begging to be written.