Disclaimer: I...uh...don't own Hetalia. Or any of the characters. Or anything, really.

Okay, here's another one-shot, this one revolving around Russia and the Baltics (mostly Liet :D)

And I don't go for super-abusive Russia trying to get all up in Liet's business, so there's only a bit of slash here, if you squint.

ooooo

Lithuania ducked under the kitchen counter. His heart threatened to pound out of his chest, and his breath was ragged. Every sound he heard made him flinch. Russia was coming, he knew it. And he was scared.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Russia said, his voice echoing through the nearly silent house.

He was drunk. Lithuania silently prayed to himself that Latvia and Estonia were safe. The last he'd seen them they were running outside. He hoped that Russia knew that, and maybe he'd leave them alone.

"Litva, Litva, I know you're here."

Footsteps sounded on the linoleum in front of the counter. Lithuania held his breath, staring wide-eyed at the boots as they passed inches from his nose. It seemed like Russia didn't see him, but that could be a feint. In fact, Russia could be pretending anything. He could do anything he wanted.

When the footsteps left the kitchen, Lithuania finally decided it was safe to find a new hiding spot. No doubt Russia would come back and look more carefully.

Toris snuck carefully out of the kitchen, making sure his footsteps made no noise. The floors squeaked in certain places, but he was fairly sure he knew where they were. He'd been living in Russia's house for years now. Those had been years of pain and fear, but nothing as bad as he was feeling now. Russia had never come at him with the intent to kill.

"Don't think I can't hear you," Russia said. For being drunk, his words were surprisingly clear and sharp. And freezing cold. Lithuania gasped as silently as possible, walking as fast as possible through the rooms. He could hear Russia's steps.

Suddenly, Lithuania lost his footing, and he came crashing to the ground. Panic set in as he scrambled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his knee. Russia's footsteps stopped, and then a small chuckle came from the next room.

Lithuania dashed away, the rug bunching up where he'd pushed off. The footsteps were casual, nonchalant. They expressed no hurry. That might have been the scariest part, the fact that Russia was treating this like a game.

Then again, it was. A game of hide-and-go-seek. With a little too much at stake.

"Ah, Litva, you are quite clumsy."

Lithuania did the only thing he could—dashed down into the cellar. Russia was between him and the door, and he couldn't get there fast enough.

He made the mistake of slamming the door shut behind him. Russia was right behind him, only a room away. Lithuania nearly sprinted down the stairs, making it to the bottom and around the corner just as the door opened.

He'd never been in the basement before, surprisingly. Russia had made it off-limits to anyone but himself. Nobody had any idea what he did down there, only that he would stay there for hours on end. Now he was running through it, sweat dripping down his neck and panic rushing around his body.

The floor was simple concrete, and there were multiple hallways. Lithuania ran down one at random, hoping for a way out. He found none, only a bare hallway. The adrenaline coursing through his body magnified as suddenly all the lights cut off.

He stopped dead, eyes wide. He couldn't see a thing. Wait…there had been a door at the end. A simple wooden door that Lithuania prayed would be unlocked.

The footsteps echoed down the hallway, only accentuating the feeling of panic. Toris started running down the hallway again, heading toward where he'd seen the door.

Russia's strides were much greater than his own. Lithuania could almost hear his heart pounding in the echoing silence. All there were were footsteps, and then a dull metallic scraping noise as Russia began to drag his pipe across the concrete wall.

"Litva, you can't run anymore," Russia said lazily, walking a bit faster.

Lithuania held his arms out as he ran, hoping that they would touch wood as soon as possible. They felt the open air for a moment before touching something smooth. The door.

The footsteps were only about ten feet away now. Lithuania still couldn't see anything. As he fumbled with the locked doorknob, he felt Russia's presence behind him.

Oh, God… he thought. I'm going to die. Russia's going to kill me, right now. He's just going to hit me and…and…

"It would appear that I have won," Russia said, leaning in to Lithuania. His breath was hot against Toris' ear. And something was wrong. There was something missing…

No vodka. No alcohol at all. Russia wasn't drunk. This game wasn't the product of impaired judgment. He was completely sober, and he knew what he was doing.

Toris began to cry.

He'd held it together up till now. He never cried when Russia was around, only after. He only cried when the larger nation was out of earshot.

But now, crying now, was showing that he'd given up. He didn't want to run anymore. He couldn't run anymore. He was completely trapped.

Something cold touched his neck. He recognized the water pipe as it slowly pressed down. He was pushed back into Russia's chest, and his hands came up reflexively.

"My, my, you are shaking."

Lithuania let out a choked sob as the pipe pressed harder against his throat. He tried in vain to push it away, but it was no use against the stronger nation.

"So, where are our little Latvia and Estonia right now?"

Lithuania didn't answer. He pushed his head into Russia's chest, trying to get away from the pipe. It was getting hard to breathe.

"I asked you a question, Litva," Russia said coldly.

"I…" Lithuania gasped as a hand crept up his shirt. The pipe kept its pressure on his throat, and he struggled to get away.

"You?"

"I don't…know…" the tears were flowing freely down his face. They weren't tears of sadness, but those of fear. Lithuania was so scared.

"Oh, but I think you do," Russia said. His fingernails started to dig into Lithuania's chest.

Lithuania felt the pressure on his neck lessen, but the relief was short-lived. A second later his head was shoved into the door, a heavy thud echoing down the hall. Pain shot through his forehead.

"I don't, I swear!"

Russia pulled Lithuania around, slapping him across the face. Toris stumbled to the side, his hand coming up to lightly touch his cheek. When he straightened up, he felt the cold of the tip of the pipe on his forehead.

It was still pitch black, and there was no light for Lithuania's eyes to adjust to. Russia stepped toward him. Lithuania realized he was now in the corner, with absolutely no way to get out.

A large hand came up to cradle Toris' jaw lightly. He flinched away, his elbow hitting the wall. The hand came back, the fingers stroking from his chin up to his ear.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. I will just find them on my own."

The hand came up into Lithuania's hair, running through it. Suddenly, the fingers tightened, gripping the hair tightly. Lithuania heard the door open, and he was thrown inside. He landed on his hands and knees.

The door closed, and he barely heard the footsteps walking down the hallway. He…he wasn't hurt. Not as badly as he'd imagined. Maybe he wouldn't die…

Or maybe Russia just wanted to finish them all off at once. He'd been so angry earlier, when he'd come home. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia had been trying to do things as well as possible so as not to make him any more pissed off than he already was.

That plan hadn't worked so well. Latvia had been cleaning and he'd accidentally knocked over a vase. Just one vase. Lithuania and Estonia had been there in a second to help pick everything up. That's when Russia walked in.

He'd seen them all around the vase. As he'd approached, Latvia had panicked and run, slipping on the rug. That had sent him flying into a mirror, and as Estonia and Lithuania had rushed to help him they had cracked the mirror.

Russia had already been mad. Now he was just staring at them all, a cold look of anger in his eyes. Latvia fainted.

"I will not tolerate vandalism of my home." Then he'd smiled, and it was terrifying. "I suggest you all run now. Maybe I'll give you a few seconds to hide before I come after you."

The three Baltics had no idea what to do, so they just stood there. Russia spoke again.

"One, two, three…"

And they had run. And now, Lithuania was trapped in this room, his brothers somewhere outside. If they were found…

Suddenly, the door swung open. Two bodies were thrown inside, nearly landing on Lithuania. He realized that they were Estonia and Latvia. They'd been found.

Russia stepped inside. It was pitch black, and Lithuania could tell that Latvia was crying.

"My dear comrades, hiding in the bathroom was not your best choice," Russia said quietly. He stepped toward them.

"Nononononononono…" Latvia whispered, crawling backwards. He hit a table and tried to duck under it.

"So I believe I've won this round of hide-and-go-seek, hmm?"

Lithuania stared wide-eyed into the darkness. Estonia was clinging to his arm, and Latvia…he wasn't sure where Latvia was.

"Are you all ready?"

Estonia began shaking. There were a few steps. Russia would be right on them now. They had no chance.

"Please…" Latvia was saying.

"Now I believe it's time…"

Lithuania closed his eyes tightly. He had to brace himself for whatever was coming.

Suddenly, the lights flicked on. Lithuania tried to open his eyes, but the light was too bright. He shielded his face with one arm.

"For you to find me!" Russia said happily. He smiled widely, eyes sparkling. Latvia fainted.

"What?" Lithuania asked quietly.

"Well, we're playing hide-and-go-seek, and I found you all! So now you have to find me!"

Estonia looked as though he was going to faint as well. Lithuania just stared up at Russia in disbelief.

"Um…"

"That was fun, wasn't it? We should play games more often! And of course I'm going to punish you later for breaking that vase and mirror, but this is just too much fun! Okay, so you three count to…fifty in here! Then you all come and find me! Yay!"

As Lithuania helped Estonia and Latvia to their feet, and as they began to count, he wondered if he'd be able to stay alive in this house. At this rate, and with Russia's mood swings, it didn't seem very likely.

ooooo

Ah, Russia and his mood swings. *tsk tsk*

If you find any typos you get a popsicle!

Please review! I lieks feedback!