Lithuania was busying himself in the small kitchen of Russia's house, cooking dinner for the group and for the much anticipated arrival of guests- Germany to be exact.

The visit didn't thrill Lithuania much as he checked the clock once again and stirred cut vegetables into the large pot of boiling water. Almost an hour exactly before Germany was to arrive, and less than twenty minutes until Russia arrived back with Estonia.

He sighed and returned to cutting carrots and potatoes before a loud crash followed by a high-pitched scream met his ears. He immediately set the stove off and came running into the hallway to find Latvia sitting and clutching his hand surrounded by shards of fine china.

"Latvia!" Lithuania called, running to the smaller nation. Watery blue eyes snapped up and a shaky sigh was released, followed by a sharp sob of aftershock.

"Latviaaaa!" Lithuania repeated after realising the intensity of the situation the boy had landed himself in. Long rivulets of dark red were trailing themselves down into Latvia's sleeve from a deep cut on his right hand, a cut caused by the shattered vase which had served much history in Russia's house.

A cold chill ran down Lithuania's spine. Russia would surely punish them both for the destruction of the jade vase, but he just knew Russia would somehow pin some of the blame on him for getting Latvia hurt in the first place.

"I-I was j-j-just t-trying t-t-o clean t-the vase." Latvia murmured, sobbing quietly, "R-r-russia-san will b-b-e m-mad!"

Lithuania let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding before kneeling down next to the crying boy. "It wasn't your fault," He tried to reassure as he helped Latvia to stand and steered him towards the kitchen.

He sat the boy on top of the table, away from the counters covered with ingredients for the abandoned meal he was assigned to prepare, before rushing to the cupboards, looking for the small first-aid kit which was stored there.

When he came back, he found Latvia staring at his now blood-covered sleeve with a pale face. Lithuania grabbed a small hand towel from a drawer and pressed it gently against Latvia's hand, enticing a sharp gasp of pain from the boy.

"Owowowowowowow!" Latvia breathed, squeezing his eyes shut tight as tears continued to spill over, Lithuania sighed lightly as he began to wait for the bleeding to stop enough to treat it.

Latvia sat reasonably quietly, biting back complaints even as Lithuania applied disinfectant to the wound and bandaged it tightly.

"We might have to get someone else to check it later," The darker haired youth breathed as he leaned back, "But for now this should keep it from getting infected, did I make the bandages too tight?" He asked, concern written across his face.

Latvia shook his head, sniffing. "N-no. It's fine, t-thank you Toris." He murmured quietly.

Lithuania let out another sigh as he helped Latvia off of the table and began to clean up the area, washing his hands thoroughly and throwing the towel away, for even he could see it was beyond saving.

He turned to see Latvia promptly pulling off his red jacket with some difficulty, letting it drop to the floor and looking at the long red trails which lead to his elbow.

Lithuania bustled Latvia to the sink where he promptly began cleaning away the blood with a sponge, Latvia sniffing and rubbing the tears from his eyes with his other hand.

"How did the vase fall?" He finally found himself asking, looking directly into blue eyes.

Latvia looked away. "I was d-dusting the china c-cupboard when I knocked it with the d-duster. I t-tried to catch it b-before it fell and instead I f-fell off the chair and it s-shattered…"He replied, tears welling up as his fears once again heightened.

"W-what w-will R-r-russia do-"

The slam of the front door made the two nations jump in shock. "We're home~" Filtered through the rooms to the kitchen, the childish voice making Latvia grow weak at the knees and Lithuania's body grow cold.

Latvia all at once began to sob uncontrollably.

"It will be alright!" Lithuania quickly murmured, pulling the boy into a tight embrace before leaving the kitchen to meet Russia and Estonia.

Estonia was the first to greet him back, halfway through the halls already. "Russia-san is taking off his boots…" The taller boy paused, taking in the scene of destruction lying behind Lithuania.

"What happened?" he asked, the fear shown in the brunette's eyes leaking into his own as he inspected the broken china vase and small drips of blood from afar.

"Latvia fell and broke the vase." Lithuania attempted to sum up. "He cut himself but I think he's fine now, he's in the kitchen."

Estonia was suddenly tackled with an unexpected and tight hug by the shorter man. "Oh god! If that vase was close to Russia- What will he do to Latvia, and me?" He nearly wailed.

Estonia was fully caught by horror as he heard Russia's heavy footsteps coming closer, but his mind refused to think up a way to get out of the situation.

He noticed when the short blonde boy came into the room and hoped that he'd had a spark of intuition and had a plan ready for the three of them, but instead he looked even worse, trembling violently.

"G-germany-san j-just called. H-he c-can't make it." He silently informed. Lithuania and Estonia paused; the thought of how much Russia was looking forward to tonight flashing through all their minds simultaneously.

"M-maybe we can explain to Russia…" Lithuania started shakily,
"Maybe he won't get angry with us if we explain it calmly," Estonia agreed.
"Waaaah! W-we're dead for sure!" Latvia cried,
"Why are we dead, da?"

The three froze before beginning to shake in fear.

Lithuania looked up to the tall blond smiling before him and took a step away from Estonia. "A-ah, Russia-san," He greeted.

Russia's violet eyes slowly took in the havoc near the china cupboard before trailing to Latvia, standing petrified, shirtless and his hand tightly bandaged with slight red stains beginning to seep through.

"P-please listen to me," Lithuania started, his voice dying on his lips as Russia looked back at him, the smile still eerily placed on his face.

"You were saying, da?" He asked, but upon the silence from the brunette he turned his eyes back to Latvia, "Why is Raivis…" He trailed off as the short blonde began to cry.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry!!" Latvia cried, putting his face against his arm as his shoulders sagged and he shook. "I-I b-b-broke y-your v-vase t-t-too!! I-It's a-all m-m-my f-fault!!"

Russia tilted his head in confusion, "Broke my vase?" He asked, the smile dying quickly.

Lithuania sighed, closing his eyes as he began to speak. "Latvia was cleaning for tonight, he broke your vase-"

"Did he hurt himself?" Russia interjected, causing Lithuania to look up in shock, staring at the stern violet eyes.

"U-um, h-he cut himself, but I..." He stopped as Russia pushed past both him and Estonia, making his way to Latvia.

Latvia's cries slowly subsided to sobs as he noticed Russia was close to him, reaching for his injured hand and inspecting it gently, surprising him.

"Are you alright Raivis?" Russia asked. Latvia blinked a few times, sniffing occasionally, unsure how to answer or if the question was a trick.

"I...I'm f-fine..." He finally forced out after seeing Russia wasn't going to back down- but it was obvious that the taller male didn't believe him.

"You didn't hurt yourself anywhere else?" Russia pressed. Latvia blushed a bright red and shook his head.

"N-no, I'm really f-fine." He repeated, looking at Lithuania and Estonia for help.

"He only cut his hand," Lithuania offered. Russia turned to look at the brunette.

"How did he hurt himself?" He asked, glancing at the broken vase with almost a hint of disgust.

"Like I said before," Lithuania started, "He fell and broke your vase, he told me he tried to catch it and fell with it and that's how he cut himself on one of the shards."

Russia almost looked shocked. "My vase? That isn't my vase."

"Eh?" Lithuania shared a glance with Estonia. "If it isn't your vase…?"

Russia smiled and tilted his head, "That isn't my vase. It was a gift." The tone lacing those words showed he wasn't concerned at all for the wellbeing of the broken china.

"R-russia." Latvia spoke up, making the larger nation turn once again. "U-um...G-germany can't make it t-t-tonight, he called…earlier." He weakly mumbled.

Russia smiled further and picked up the smaller boy as if he were but a fragile toy for him to play with. "I don't care." He replied.

Lithuania was about to ask when Russia addressed him. "Toris, I think Raivis might like something sweet instead of Germany's food. Can you make one?"

Lithuania blinked, "Y-yes.."

"Edward?" Estonia jumped, "Clean up this please?" Russia motioned to the scene of destruction, Estonia lightly nodded.

"I'm going to go make Raivis comfortable, you can join us when you're done, da." He said cheerfully, carting the smaller nation off and leaving the two behind.

Estonia looked at Lithuania, and Lithuania looked at Estonia.

"U-um…you should go make that cake then." Estonia spoke, baffled.

Lithuania blinked again, still in shock. "…Y-yeah, I guess so."