Russia/Lithuania is probably my favorite Hetalia pairing ever. Partly because I just love Ivan(having the same name is awesome. 8D), and partly just because its fracking awesome.

Anyway, here's part one. Be sure to enjoy. 3

Hetalia: Not mine. Ivan: Mine. ALL MEIN.

It was always hard, being controlled by someone else.

Toris did not enjoy it. Neither did Raivis or Eduard. But they knew they couldn't just break away from Russia at this point- they were too small and weak. Still they dreamed of a day they could win their independence, once and for all. But stuck in this cold, empty house, independence seemed like the most impossible thing to ever achieve. So they sat in the future, almost completely abandoning dreams of something that could very well never happen.

"Can you hand me that pot, Toris?" A small, weak voice asked. The smallest of the Baltics, Raivis, was preoccupied at the stove already, and needed to start another pot to boil the pelmeni for Ivan soon.

"Ah- sure." The Lithuanian moved from his spot wiping down the counters and floor and grabbed the pot off the hook, setting it over the burner for Latvia with a smile.

"T-thank you." He smiled through the stammer; Toris just nodded.

"Have you seen Eduard?" Toris asked, sitting down on his knees to go about scrubbing the spilled alcohol, food, and what was most likely blood off the floor.

Raivis shook his head, letting the new pot of water boil and moving to chop up some turnips. "N-no. I didn't even hear him getting up this m-morning."

"...Ah."

There was a silence between the two for a while as they went about their business, unsettled gazes in their eyes. It was little Latvia who finally broke the silence.

"Do...do you think Russia-San hurt him?"

Green eyes shot up to look at Raivis, who's hands were shaking. Toris frowned, but quickly turned it into a smile. "No, of course not! He probably just left before we woke up. Wanted to get shopping done nice and early," He put forth all the assurance in those words he had, but then, they could never be sure. Eduard would have left a note, for Raivis at least. The little boy was always quick to worry about anything.

"Shouldn't he be back by now? Toris..." Raivis turned away from his cooking to look directly at Toris, who could see the beginnings of tears in his shiny blue eyes. Toris stood up, attempting to keep a smile on his face. "Don't worry so much! He'll be back soon, I promise." Toris could only hope he would be right. Turning to go back to cleaning, his mind wandered(as he guessed Raivis's did as well) as to where the third Baltic could have went off to. He glanced at the open pantry door- seemed pretty full. Where did he go? And where was Ivan? Either upstairs, sleeping, or out at a meeting with the other Allies... He sighed.

Russia had a big house, and it was awkward and lonely being in it with just Raivis. It always felt like it should have more people all the time. But, it was normally just the Baltics and Russia, maybe Poland if he felt like being there.

A sudden rush of cold air blew Toris out of his daze and made him squint his eyes. The door had been opened, either by a person or the blizzard raging outside demanding entrance.

"I'm back."

Ah! It was the voice both Raivis and Toris were desperately hoping to hear; Raivis abandoned the stove and bolted over to the front entrance. "Ah! Eduard! Where have you been?"

Toris smiled at how worried and happy the little one sounded. Raivis returned to the kitchen with Eduard in tow, who's cheeks where bright red from the blistering cold outside. He was still shivering despite his many layers of clothing. "Hi, Toris." His dried lips pulled into a smile and he waved a gloved hand. Toris nodded in acknowledgement. "Where have you been?"

"Shopping."

"So early?"

"Secret shopping." The Estonian smiled innocently and walked over to the coat rack in the corner of the kitchen, removing a few layers of coats. Toris smiled, and neither of them pressed for anymore information on this "secret" shopping trip of Eduard's. Knowing Eduard, they'd see the fruits of his secret efforts soon enough.

Just a half hour after Eduard had returned, another burst of cold ran through the large house. By then there was food already prepared and a pot of tea warming, and the Baltics had felt their morning duties done. Raivis was relaxing in his room, Eduard was chatting on the phone(he refused to say with whom), and Toris was idling around in the main living room, gazing out a window at the snow storm outside. He could almost feel the snow clawing at the window, trying to get in. Which was why he jumped in fright when the front door was pushed open and the snow was finally let in.

There was no cry of "I'm home", and no corresponding "welcome back" from anyone. Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs, likely cracking the more fragile stair boards. The pounding made it to the second floor and audibly passed down the hallway, opening and slamming the door at the very end. He seems upset. Toris sighed. Again. He moved away from the window and back into the kitchen, assembling the various things he usually used in these situations on a tea tray. Estonia entered after a moment, Toris waved him away. "I've got it this time," He said quietly, picking up the tray and heading towards the stairs.

The hallway was quiet, save for a few floorboards that had now begun creaking. Toris stopped at a small hall cabinet and shuffled around for a moment, bringing out a small flask of vodka and setting it on the tray. Ivan would probably demand it anyway, might as well save himself a trip. Continuing down the hall, he stopped at the door the Russian had probably disappeared through. Balancing the tray on one hand, he knocked softly. "Russia-San?" There was no reply, but the door was unlocked, so Toris cracked it open quietly and poked his head inside.

Ivan was seated in his 'study', which mostly served as his sulking room, curled up on the single couch facing a fireplace centered between two tall windows. His violet eyes were trained on the unlit fire, the bottom half of his face obscured by his scarf. He didn't seem to notice Lithuania there.

"Ivan," Toris said, a bit louder. Ivan glanced over at the door, his demeanor brightening somewhat when he spotted Toris. A faint smile appeared near the edges of his scarf, where Toris could see. "Privet, friend." He said calmly, straightening himself out. Lithuania walked fully into the room, bowing his head slightly. "Here," He set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the Russian. "I brought you this."

"Ah, how kind of you..." His voice seemed far off, and it worried Lithuania. Especially when Russia ignored the tea and food and went straight for the flask of alcohol. When the flask eventually left his lips, it hit the ground with an empty clang. Uncomfortable silence wrapped the room for a few minutes before Russia finally spoke in a quiet tone.

"Do you hate me, Toris?" Ivan leaned back into the sofa and stared up at the ceiling, eyes unconcerned with the question he just asked.

"I...no, I don't." He said, quietly, just wanting to give Russia the answers he wanted to hear. That was always the thing to do, as Lithuania found out the hard way.

"Yes you do...everyone hates me," Russia lamented, closing his eyes and sighing. Toris glanced at his feet. While it was true, the Baltic's weren't the biggest fans of Russia at this point...Toris didn't think he could find it in himself to outright hate Ivan. Hate was a powerful thing.

"Nobody ha-"

"I just want everyone to be happy, but no one ever is with me...Why is that?" The question was more directed towards the air than at Toris; but Russia's eyes slowly opened and turned to Toris, almost begging for an answer. The purple irises were becoming surrounded with a pale red.

"D...Don't be silly. I'm happy when I'm with you!" Lithuania said, forcing a smile onto his face.

"...Really?"

"Yes, really!"

Toris would have thought the awkward loudness of his voice(as it sometimes happened when he lied) would have given him away, but if Ivan saw through his lie, he didn't show it. Toris inwardly sighed with relief.

The Russian stood up, walking over to Toris, still smiling. "Thank you," He said quietly, wrapping his arms around Lithuania. "I'm happy when I'm with you."

The hug was back-breaking, but Lithuania winced through it, holding his breath until Russia deemed fit to let go. Toris drew in a large breath as discreetly as he could, but the air was suddenly knocked right from his lips when a powerful, angry hand slashed across his face. A shocked noise was knocked from him as well; he really wasn't expecting to be slapped, and it took a while for the entirety of the pain to register in his mind. But when it came, the stinging sensation made a dazed Toris stagger slightly backwards, away from Ivan. But the Russian only moved forward.

"R-Russia-san, why did you-?" He didn't know why he even bothered to try and ask. He knew it was just going to get him another slap across the other side of his face. Ivan's hand was too broad to just hit his cheek- the force sent red stars reeling in his eyes for a few moments before slowly fading away.

"Lying to me doesn't make me feel better." Russia said quietly, his hands balling into fists. "Why?" His voice was growing quieter, angrier. Lithuania shuddered at the familiar tone, attempting to back up even more. "Why didn't you just say you hated me? That you and Estonia and Latvia hate living with me?" Still, a small, subtle tinge of genuine innocence and confusion could be heard in Ivan's voice, if only to Toris's ears.

"W-we don't hate-" He was cut off yet again by the feeling of a boot resting against his stomach, pushing him back against the wall with all the force those strong, world-weary legs could summon. Toris slid to the ground, wincing in pain and looking up at Russia. "We don't hate you…" He whispered, and Ivan just laughed at him. "Stop lying!" Russia tapped the heel of his boot against Lithuania's forehead, if only to increase the pounding inside his skull.

"…I'm sorry…" Toris didn't know what Russia wanted him to say.

It apparently wasn't an apology, because almost as soon as Toris spoke he felt himself being lifted slowly(slowly on purpose, he knew) off the ground by his hair.

"Ahh-!" He yelped in pain, hands instinctively reaching for the source of all his pain- Ivan's hands. Always his hands.

Downstairs, Raivis and Eduard were sitting quietly in the kitchen, and had sought out each other on reflex(as they normally did when Russia arrived at home). At the moment, the house was dead silent as far as they could hear. Raivis was the first to speak.

"…Do you think he is okay?"

Eduard sighed and adjusted his glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose. "Ma ei tea," He spoke quietly in Estonian, but Raivis got the gist of it just fine. He took a deep breath.

"Russia-San hasn't been mean to us in a long time…" He hardly ever pushed down on Latvia's head.

"That scar on your hand has almost disappeared." Estonia said quietly, looking down at Latvia's crossed hands on the table. Raivis examined his left hand, where Russia had slashed his hand with a piece of jagged porcelain once for dropping a stack of plates in the kitchen. It had left a deep scar from the inside of his thumb all the way to the beginnings of his wrist. Now, Raivis had to squint to see its entirety. "A lot of my old injuries are fading, too…" Eduard added quietly, pulling up the sleeve of his coat to show his bare arm, where a very prominent scar had lay for the longest time. All it looked like now was a long little scratch. Latvia blinked, looking from his hand to Eduard's arm, then down at the table. It made them realize that, as much as they complained about Russia and living with him, his abuse had been virtually nonexistent.

"S-sto-AH!"

For them, at least.

Both pairs of blue eyes darted upwards in the direction of the scream that had echoed down from upstairs.

Crash. Valuable glasses being broken.

Thud. Valuable parts of Lithuania being crushed.

"Poor Toris…" Latvia said quietly, taking one last look at the faded scar on his hand. Toris must have those all over his body, just criss-crossing each other all around. "Why does Ivan hurt him so much? And not us anymore?"

More loud noises, and another pained scream from Toris. Eduard shook his head, lacing his fingers and resting his chin on them. "I don't know…Toris tries to do so much good, but Ivan just seems to hate him."

Latvia sighed and nodded in agreement. The worse part of him was saying better Toris than me, but the normal, nice side of the little nation felt genuine pity and pain on the nice Lithuanian.

Toris was sobbing so loud they could hear him in the kitchen. "P-P-Please stop…!" They heard, and it sent a jolt of sadness into Latvia's chest. He stood up, drawing Estonia's attention to him. "Where are you going?"

"I- I'm going to go get some bandages for Toris."

Toris was lying on the ground on his side, eyes half shut with fatigue and pain. He wanted to breathe hard, but his chest hurt so much that all he could do was take in shallow little pants. But even those hurt. He wanted to stop breathing forever- Ivan made even breathing the most difficult, painful thing in the world. Every fibre of his being was on fire- and Ivan sat behind his back, lightly stroking his hair and whispering softly to him, as if there was no beating, no cutting, no pain.

"I…Ivan…" Lithuania managed. He felt Ivan shift closer to him, hand still gently petting his hair. It was a calming, soothing action that made Toris want to fall asleep, finally stop breathing and just be calm.

"Yes, Toris?" He answered quietly, sweetly, like they were two friends idly passing the time.

"I wont…lie to you anymore…okay…?" It hurt so hard to speak those words. It felt like Ivan had stabbed him in the lungs.

"Okay, Toris." Russia smiled and leaned down, kissing Lithuania on his blood-spattered cheek. "I hope you don't hate me for this," He added, lips lingering by Lithuania's skin.

"No…I don't…" He said meekly, attempting to shake his head. For some reason, he really didn't hate Russia for all the horrible things he did to him.

"Yay~ That makes me happy."

It was very clear to Toris that Ivan was broken. Broken in spirit and broken in mind.

"Do you like me, Toris?"

If Russia hadn't become the country it was today, broken, cold and sad, Toris knew that the way he would be treated would be marginally different. Russia's broken mind prevented him from loving people in the conventional way. Lithuania liked to think that this was how his lack of sanity taught him how to show his affections- brutally. He didn't like that way, but he liked the fact that he wasn't being abused completely because Russia just liked to abuse him. Pulling on his hair would be replaced with just running his hands through it, and playing with it like he was now. The blood would be the marks his kind kisses left, the bruises spots where love overwhelmed his body, scars the cute red ribbons Toris would wrap around himself on Ivan's birthday.

"...Yes..." But for now he was reduced to just lying in a puddle of blood he would need to clean up later, Ivan whispering kind but empty words to him. And he had a feeling this is all it would ever be, unless he could achieve the impossible and find a cure for a broken mentality.

-būti ir toliau

I just realized that I tied it up in the end like a oneshot, but I really wanna make this a multi-chapter thing. XD Hence the Lithuanian up there. TO BE CONTINUED, nyah.

Also, I'm pretty sure I have my timelines all mixed up, but I'm too lazy to do proper research as to what is going on when the Baltics were occupied by Russia, so fuck it.

R&R despite! Hope you liked it. :D