Okay, so I wasn't going to post this because it's just this random, incredibly self-indulgent thing I wrote, but I somehow ended up with three thousand words of it, so I figured, why not? It couldn't hurt (probably).

Lithuania's mute in this due to trauma, just an fyi.

I have one other chapter written that I'll post later.

'I'm sorry.'

The rain softly tapped on the roof, droplets gathering and falling off the roof, plopping onto the leaves of the bushes below. It was a light rain—a drizzle that served only to make the world wet and gloomy.

Lithuania sat with his back against the wall next to the window. His knees were drawn up to his chest, and his gaze was trained on the cube in his hands, his brows furrowed in concentration as he twisted the sections, trying to solve the puzzle. The soft clicks from the cube fit with the quiet pattering of the rain and Poland's hushed voice from behind the closed door to the kitchen. Everything seemed muted.

He couldn't understand what Poland was saying, but he sounded worried, and the last he'd seen him before he'd disappeared into the kitchen he'd looked upset.

The blocks twisted faster.

He wasn't even really trying to solve it anymore. He'd stopped trying a while ago. All it really was now was something to mess with. Something to concentrate on. A coping mechanism.

Another click. One that sounded above the muted symphony.

Lithuania looked up, wincing slightly at the bright light suddenly flooding the dim room. The door to the kitchen was open now, allowing the light to pour in, and Poland was there. He wasn't wearing his usual grin.

And the blocks were still moving.

"We need to talk." Serious, but just as hushed as everything else.

Poland unceremoniously plopped down onto the couch, the casualness of the action contradicting the seriousness in his tone.

Lithuania didn't move.

Poland gestured for him to join him, and Lithuania reluctantly put the cube down and walked over, wringing his hands.

Poland slid over to the end of the couch, leaning his back against the armrest and bringing up his knees so he could sit facing Lithuania who sat, rigid, at the other end of the couch. He kept his eyes locked on his lap where his hands were tightly clasped. He fidgeted, occasionally sending quick glances towards the blond sitting at the other end of the couch.

Sighing, Poland took the hair tie off his wrist and placed it in the middle of the couch. As soon as he drew his hand away, Lithuania reached out and took it, twisting and untwisting it around his fingers.

"You're gonna be living with Liz for a while."

Lithuania looked up then, meeting his eyes with a questioning look.

'Why?'

"Something, like, came up. It's not, like, a huge deal or anything, so you don't need to worry about it whatever. I just didn't want to, like, leave you on your own, ya know?" The smile was back (along with an obviously forced casual speech pattern), but he didn't believe it for a second.

'Did I do something wrong?'

"So, y'know, you might wanna go, like, pack your stuff."

Lithuania gave a small nod and got up, not looking at him.

"Nobody's going to want to deal with all your problems. Sure they'll take you in, pretend they care, but in the end, they'll get tired of taking care of you and just throw you away."

"Can I ask a huge favor?"

Hungary ran her fingers through her hair. Despite his casual tone at the beginning of the call, she'd had a feeling that this was about more than the usual round of gossip.

"What did you get yourself into this time?" He was always getting into some sort of trouble and had asked her countless times to bail him out. She had learned the hard way not to agree to anything without knowing first what exactly she was agreeing to.

A deep breath. Then rapid-fire. "I've been taking a ton of time off work 'cuz I, like, didn't want to leave Liet at home alone, but, like, my boss won't let me take any more time off, but I don't think Liet's, like, ready to be on his own, and, like, I can't ask Estonia 'cuz he's got his hands full with Latvia, and I don't want to ask America 'cuz I don't want to, like, send Liet halfway across the world; also, America's just a kid, y'know, and I don't want to get him involved with this 'cuz I don't think he can handle it, and you're, like, the only other person I can think of that Liet trusts, so can he crash at your place for a couple weeks? Please? I promise I'll make you a totally fabulous dress."

After approximately two seconds of not receiving an answer, he prompted, "Liz?"

"Fine," she gave in, though she was still trying to process everything he had just thrown at her.

"He really likes cooking, and apparently it helps him relax, so you should let him do the cooking, but you have to watch him, okay? Don't leave him in the kitchen by himself. Or really anywhere else, actually. You have to watch him Liz. You got that?"

"Yes, Feliks, I understand. I won't take my eyes off him."

He sent a quick glare her way at the tone in her voice. "Make sure he eats. And don't let him stay up too late. Hey, do you have any nightlights? I think he does better when it's not completely dark. Oh, and he doesn't really like to sleep alone. And sometimes he has nightmares. And—"

"Po, you sound like an overprotective mother." She grinned at him, her tone teasing.

He elbowed her. "I don't think you're taking this seriously enough."

She sighed. "Poland, you're worrying about this way too much. Everything's going to be fine. Don't forget, unlike you I actually have experience with kids."

"He's not a kid, Liz."

"From the way you're talking, it sure sounds like he is."

"Look, just call me if you need anything or if anything goes wrong."

"Let me guess, you're going to be giving me nightly calls demanding a complete report of every single thing that happened that day."

"Of course I am. Take good care of him."

"Everything's going to be fine, Feliks."