Just As I Am [1/?]
anonymous
September 14 2010, 02:31:57 UTC
"Real happiness," Lithuania had once said to him, with a sad and distant look in his eyes, "is a rare and beautiful thing."
When Tony stared at him questioningly, he'd shaken his head like he was trying to force something to fly out of it, then smiled reassuringly. "Ah, not that I'm not happy here! You and Mr. America are always very kind to me!" He'd blushed, clearly embarrassed at what he'd implied, then got up from the garden bench with a polite nod of his head to Tony. "I-I'd really better see about finishing dinner before Mr. America gets in from his sightseeing trip... It was nice speaking with you, Tony!"
With large, unblinking red eyes, Tony watched him hurry back towards the kitchen door and disappear through it.
"Fucking liar."
Something, Tony thought, was standing between Lithuania and 'real happiness'. And he had his ways of finding out what.
________________________________________
When the door to Lithuania's bedroom creaked open, the only illumination was the dull red glow of the numerals on his alarm clock. 2:43.
Tony crept in carefully. Even America's house had floorboards that squeaked if you stepped wrong, and America said it was because they were old. The nations in Europe had far older homes, so he had to move cautiously to avoid alerting the sleeping nation...
Finally, he reached the side of the bed and climbed in. Lithuania was curled up on the other side of the bed, the lovingly hand-stiched quilt pulled up to his chin. His face was relaxed in sleep, the tired lines that showed up all too often now smoothed away into nothing. Calm.
Happy?
Tony would find out.
Laying a small device on Lithuania's pillow and pushing the button on top of it, he settled in to make his observations.
Just As I Am [2/?]
anonymous
September 14 2010, 02:34:00 UTC
What is happiness?
The years fell away, then the decades, the centuries, and he was young again...
Hoofbeats and laughter. The ache of a good day's work, settled into his shoulders. The smell of rye and earth, carried on the wind.
Green eyes glittering with mischief and joy, a smile meant to be shared. We can like, take anyone together. Come on, Liet!
Hand in hand. Back to back, safe even in battle. A partner, year after year, harvest after harvest, winter after frigid winter spent laughing together in the firelight.
Commonwealth. I do. A shyness usually hidden, burning in Poland's cheeks as he slipped out of his chemise. Like seeing each other for the first time.
Love.
Peace, contentment, a warm place to return to. The strength, the freedom, the possibility of youth.
Never alone.
Tony considered, the images of wide fields and running horses and Poland's smile still swirling around his head.
Does he not make you happy anymore?
Partition.
Reaching out, but he wasn't reaching back. Your face looks totally funny right now!
Cold. Centuries of cold, fear. Alone.
He hated him, sometimes. When the wind howled and Russia's cruelty drove him near to madness himself, and Poland still wasn't there. But then he would turn up, thin and worn and still smiling. We'll totally win this time! Come on, I don't wanna do this alone!
As if he'd never left Lithuania to do anything on his own - chores, meetings, dealing with Russia.
As if he'd never do it again.
Always so selfish - It's like, no big, Liet, don't get all pissy about it! Like the rules didn't apply to him. Like he never needed to work hard, even when they'd long since lost the lives they'd once had. Like whatever he wanted belonged to him, even if it didn't.
Never even aware of it, never thinking for an instant that his selfishness might hurt someone. Even the time they warred over Poland's selfishness, the way he never asked how Lithuania wanted to do things, he didn't understand - hurt, scared green eyes, not comprehending no matter how clearly Lithuania stated his feelings. I seriously don't get it. This was like, what we wanted, right...?
It wasn't. Not like that.
But he couldn't stop worrying about him, because he never took care of himself. Laughed at the Partitions, laughed when he was warned about Germany and Russia, dozed in meetings and ignored whatever didn't catch his interest. Couldn't be abandoned, any more than a child.
Exactly like a child--selfish, foolish, reckless, thoughtless!
Tony had seen enough. Taking his device and pocketing it, he patted Lithuania's hair.
Just As I Am [3/?]
anonymous
September 14 2010, 02:34:43 UTC
If there was one thing about Warsaw that Poland loved... well, he loved a lot of things about it. It was his heart, after all!
But if he had to pick something at that particular moment, it would have to have been Arkadia. There was nothing like a good day of shopping to purge the boredom of a day stuck listening to people talking in the Sejm.
Humming to himself a little too loudly and toting about half his weight in shopping bags, Poland ambled towards his flat in the city. He had another house out in the countryside, one he'd owned for century after century and just kept refurbishing, but he really didn't feel like making the trip out there at the moment. No, now was the time for a hot bubble bath, getting all dressed up, and posting pictures of himself in his super-hot new outfits on Facebook!
However, his plans for the evening were tragically cut short when a bright light streaked across the sky, wavering dangerously close to some nearby apartment buildings. It circled the block as he looked on in astonishment, then came to rest at ground level down at the end of a nearby alley.
Curious, Poland peered in between the buildings, trying to get a look at the source of the brightness. It was almost blinding, so close up, but vaguely, he could make out a tiny, humanoid shape approaching him...
And that was how the Republic of Poland got abducted by an alien.
I'm so glad someone is filling this! It looks like it's turning out to be great! it's the first tme I'm reading Tony - loves how he sounds. And the part with Liet's dream honestly made me tear up
Re: Just As I Am [3/?]
anonymous
September 22 2010, 05:14:56 UTC
awww I love the description of the commonwealth. It's adorable but somehow it's a bit sad in contrast to the partition period and the fact that they are not as close as how they used to be in the modern world.
Just As I Am [4a/?]
anonymous
September 25 2010, 16:37:38 UTC
The next morning, Lithuania woke up to the scent of coffee and the distant clatter of pots and pans. Well, that was a little unusual... He stretched, turned off his alarm clock so he wouldn't have to come back in when it went off, slid on his bedroom slippers, and wandered downstairs to investigate.
He wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting, but it hadn't been Poland, dressed conservatively but for his frilly, powder-blue apron, a look of intense concentration on his face as he glanced between the egg timer and the assorted pots on the stove.
"Lenkija?" He ventured into the kitchen; this close, the coffee smelled delicious, but not quite like his usual blend. With a start, he recognized the scent--it was the blend that they'd tried when they'd been at Luxembourg's house on UN business once, and he'd bought a small bag and lamented that he couldn't afford to keep it around regularly. Poland had remembered that?
The blond looked startled at being interrupted, but then smiled up at Lithuania. "Liet! Labas rytas!"
Poland's Lithuanian had always left something to be desired, but the fact that he was making an effort was more than exceptional enough for now. Lithuania found himself glancing at the calendar--was there some special occasion he'd forgotten? His birthday wasn't for another month, was it? Maybe Poland had gotten the date of it confused. That didn't seem outside of the realm of possibility. Poland occasionally forgot about a lot of things, after all, like where the potholders were kept and where he was and wasn't allowed to ride his ponies, and occasionally how many drinks he'd had. "Labas rytas," he replied, with a small smile. "What's the occasion?"
Just As I Am [4b/?]
anonymous
September 25 2010, 16:38:53 UTC
Poland stole a glance into one of the pots, then turned his attention back to Lithuania. "Oh, there totally isn't one," he said, which threw Lithuania for a bit of a loop. Not that Poland couldn't be spontaneous--on the contrary, he very frequently was, but it was usually... it usually caused trouble, rather than making his life easier. "I was just like, thinking, right?"
"Thinking." Ah, there it was. There had to be a catch somewhere... Lithuania pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat down, to be fully prepared for the next thing out of Poland's mouth. "About what?"
"Here, lemme get you some coffee first..." Poland got Liet's favorite mug out of the dishrack, filling it up and stirring in a sprinkle of sugar, no cream. Just the way Liet liked it, which, again, was mildly unsettling; Poland tended to serve coffee either black and unornamented, or the way he himself liked to drink it, more cream and sugar than actual brew. Apparently, he had a better eye for little details than he usually let on... Lithuania had suspected as much for centuries, but this was one of the first pieces of solid proof that he could, in fact, remember these things if he tried. Lithuania took a sip of the coffee, cautiously at first, then more appreciatively.
"Okay. So, like..." Poland pulled up the other chair, and Lithuania fought back the urge to sigh. Right, Poland still hadn't said what half-formed scheme had brought this on. "I was thinking, and I like, realized I don't appreciate you enough!"
"...What?"
Poland scrunched up his nose a little as he tried to find the right words, in a way that Lithuania was sure he didn't know he did, but had always found disarmingly adorable. "I guess I like, never have," he admitted, sounding honestly sad about it. "Like, I've always kinda pushed you around, and made you worry, and made you do stuff that I didn't feel like doing, and it was... I wanted to make it up to you."
Lithuania hadn't been about to mention that cooking him breakfast really wasn't a fair repayment for always expecting him to do things his way, or for all the heart attacks he'd nearly been responsible for, or for certain incidents that they didn't talk about anymore. Honestly, he hadn't--he knew, deep down, that Poland had never meant him harm, so he wasn't about to ruin a kind gesture by saying those thoughts out loud.
But Poland seemed to have beaten him to the punch, looking up at him with bright, earnest, stunningly green eyes. "I totally know breakfast isn't gonna make up for anything, but I... it like, seemed as good a place as any to start."
He'd actually put thought into this, hadn't he?
Lithuania opened his mouth to speak, once or twice, but he just wasn't quite sure what to say. Finally, he settled on, "Um, thank you. That's... it's very thoughtful of you, Poland." Which it was, even if sheer surprise was keeping Liet from sounding too convincing.
Poland just smiled, and went to get the porridge, the eggs, and the sausages off of the stove. The toast popped up while Lithuania was already eating, and Poland insisted on being the one to get up and fetch it, placing a slice on Liet's plate and a jar of jam beside him, then going to refill his coffee for him. By the time they had to leave to get to the day's meeting, breakfast had settled nicely. Lithuania had gotten dressed, and Poland had offered a suggestion on which tie he should wear only when asked and without comment on how heinously 2008 the cuts of all his suits were. Lithuania had managed to convince Poland to at least let him dry the dishes, and they'd shared a relaxed cup of coffee at the kitchen table, along with a calm but lively conversation about ways to decrease their energy dependence.
It was an unexpected start to the day, but, Lithuania thought, quite a nice one.
Re: Just As I Am [4b/?]
anonymous
September 25 2010, 16:46:51 UTC
Liet's stepped into the TWILIGHT ZONE or something. XD
I'm really glad you updated it! I love this fill! Oh my god, it's hilarious to imagine Poland acting like this - but a bit bittersweet too, because it makes Liet happy, but it's not him, and, you know... *wibbles*
You should probably post your updates in the fill list, though, else people'll miss it. :3
same anon as ^
anonymous
September 25 2010, 16:48:25 UTC
Okay, forget that, my timing is so awesome I didn't even give you the time to post it on the fill list, ahah. I probably found it just as you were posting it, lol. Sorry ;)
Re: Just As I Am [4b/?]
anonymous
September 26 2010, 00:50:37 UTC
I never read this pairing, but this is frickin adorable. You know, aside from the brainwashing and everything. ANYWAY...
A shyness usually hidden, burning in Poland's cheeks as he slipped out of his chemise. Like seeing each other for the first time.
Damn, that was sweet, and... weirdly hot. I don't usually have a thing for the "oh man and then we screwed for the first time and it was SO SPECIAL" trope, but this made me go all melty <3333.
posting pictures of himself in his super-hot new outfits on Facebook!
Like anons above said: HILARIOUSLY IC
Poland, dressed conservatively
This alone should be enough to tip him off that something's wrong xDD
heinously 2008
I died.
All in all, anon, I'm loving your Lithuania... he's all the sweet and serious with none of the blah-I'm-everybody's-bitch, and OH MAN THE INTERNAL SNARK. Poland totally works too <333. Looking forward to more!
Re: Just As I Am [4b/?]
anonymous
September 26 2010, 16:41:29 UTC
This is turning out to be such a nice story ^__^ I love that Poland notices details more than he lets on. It just seems so Poland-ish. I also suspect he's way smarter than anyone gives him credit for, but that's another story.
You know, this is off-topic, but I think it's a testament to our fandom that you can throw in some Lithuanian words and allusions to semi-obscure historical events without notes and no one complaining. It's kinda remarkable it one thinks about it a bit. I'm so proud of this fandom that this is considered normal <3<3<3
When Tony stared at him questioningly, he'd shaken his head like he was trying to force something to fly out of it, then smiled reassuringly. "Ah, not that I'm not happy here! You and Mr. America are always very kind to me!" He'd blushed, clearly embarrassed at what he'd implied, then got up from the garden bench with a polite nod of his head to Tony. "I-I'd really better see about finishing dinner before Mr. America gets in from his sightseeing trip... It was nice speaking with you, Tony!"
With large, unblinking red eyes, Tony watched him hurry back towards the kitchen door and disappear through it.
"Fucking liar."
Something, Tony thought, was standing between Lithuania and 'real happiness'. And he had his ways of finding out what.
________________________________________
When the door to Lithuania's bedroom creaked open, the only illumination was the dull red glow of the numerals on his alarm clock. 2:43.
Tony crept in carefully. Even America's house had floorboards that squeaked if you stepped wrong, and America said it was because they were old. The nations in Europe had far older homes, so he had to move cautiously to avoid alerting the sleeping nation...
Finally, he reached the side of the bed and climbed in. Lithuania was curled up on the other side of the bed, the lovingly hand-stiched quilt pulled up to his chin. His face was relaxed in sleep, the tired lines that showed up all too often now smoothed away into nothing. Calm.
Happy?
Tony would find out.
Laying a small device on Lithuania's pillow and pushing the button on top of it, he settled in to make his observations.
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The years fell away, then the decades, the centuries, and he was young again...
Hoofbeats and laughter. The ache of a good day's work, settled into his shoulders. The smell of rye and earth, carried on the wind.
Green eyes glittering with mischief and joy, a smile meant to be shared. We can like, take anyone together. Come on, Liet!
Hand in hand. Back to back, safe even in battle. A partner, year after year, harvest after harvest, winter after frigid winter spent laughing together in the firelight.
Commonwealth. I do. A shyness usually hidden, burning in Poland's cheeks as he slipped out of his chemise. Like seeing each other for the first time.
Love.
Peace, contentment, a warm place to return to. The strength, the freedom, the possibility of youth.
Never alone.
Tony considered, the images of wide fields and running horses and Poland's smile still swirling around his head.
Does he not make you happy anymore?
Partition.
Reaching out, but he wasn't reaching back. Your face looks totally funny right now!
Cold. Centuries of cold, fear. Alone.
He hated him, sometimes. When the wind howled and Russia's cruelty drove him near to madness himself, and Poland still wasn't there. But then he would turn up, thin and worn and still smiling. We'll totally win this time! Come on, I don't wanna do this alone!
As if he'd never left Lithuania to do anything on his own - chores, meetings, dealing with Russia.
As if he'd never do it again.
Always so selfish - It's like, no big, Liet, don't get all pissy about it! Like the rules didn't apply to him. Like he never needed to work hard, even when they'd long since lost the lives they'd once had. Like whatever he wanted belonged to him, even if it didn't.
Never even aware of it, never thinking for an instant that his selfishness might hurt someone. Even the time they warred over Poland's selfishness, the way he never asked how Lithuania wanted to do things, he didn't understand - hurt, scared green eyes, not comprehending no matter how clearly Lithuania stated his feelings. I seriously don't get it. This was like, what we wanted, right...?
It wasn't. Not like that.
But he couldn't stop worrying about him, because he never took care of himself. Laughed at the Partitions, laughed when he was warned about Germany and Russia, dozed in meetings and ignored whatever didn't catch his interest. Couldn't be abandoned, any more than a child.
Exactly like a child--selfish, foolish, reckless, thoughtless!
Tony had seen enough. Taking his device and pocketing it, he patted Lithuania's hair.
"I'll fix the fucking bastard," he promised.
Lithuania snored.
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But if he had to pick something at that particular moment, it would have to have been Arkadia. There was nothing like a good day of shopping to purge the boredom of a day stuck listening to people talking in the Sejm.
Humming to himself a little too loudly and toting about half his weight in shopping bags, Poland ambled towards his flat in the city. He had another house out in the countryside, one he'd owned for century after century and just kept refurbishing, but he really didn't feel like making the trip out there at the moment. No, now was the time for a hot bubble bath, getting all dressed up, and posting pictures of himself in his super-hot new outfits on Facebook!
However, his plans for the evening were tragically cut short when a bright light streaked across the sky, wavering dangerously close to some nearby apartment buildings. It circled the block as he looked on in astonishment, then came to rest at ground level down at the end of a nearby alley.
Curious, Poland peered in between the buildings, trying to get a look at the source of the brightness. It was almost blinding, so close up, but vaguely, he could make out a tiny, humanoid shape approaching him...
And that was how the Republic of Poland got abducted by an alien.
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I'm so glad someone is filling this! It looks like it's turning out to be great! it's the first tme I'm reading Tony - loves how he sounds. And the part with Liet's dream honestly made me tear up
Can't wait for the rest!
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I really like the way you write, please update soon!
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That is such a promising beginning ♥
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Please keep going! I wanna read the whole piece!
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He wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting, but it hadn't been Poland, dressed conservatively but for his frilly, powder-blue apron, a look of intense concentration on his face as he glanced between the egg timer and the assorted pots on the stove.
"Lenkija?" He ventured into the kitchen; this close, the coffee smelled delicious, but not quite like his usual blend. With a start, he recognized the scent--it was the blend that they'd tried when they'd been at Luxembourg's house on UN business once, and he'd bought a small bag and lamented that he couldn't afford to keep it around regularly. Poland had remembered that?
The blond looked startled at being interrupted, but then smiled up at Lithuania. "Liet! Labas rytas!"
Poland's Lithuanian had always left something to be desired, but the fact that he was making an effort was more than exceptional enough for now. Lithuania found himself glancing at the calendar--was there some special occasion he'd forgotten? His birthday wasn't for another month, was it? Maybe Poland had gotten the date of it confused. That didn't seem outside of the realm of possibility. Poland occasionally forgot about a lot of things, after all, like where the potholders were kept and where he was and wasn't allowed to ride his ponies, and occasionally how many drinks he'd had. "Labas rytas," he replied, with a small smile. "What's the occasion?"
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"Thinking." Ah, there it was. There had to be a catch somewhere... Lithuania pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat down, to be fully prepared for the next thing out of Poland's mouth. "About what?"
"Here, lemme get you some coffee first..." Poland got Liet's favorite mug out of the dishrack, filling it up and stirring in a sprinkle of sugar, no cream. Just the way Liet liked it, which, again, was mildly unsettling; Poland tended to serve coffee either black and unornamented, or the way he himself liked to drink it, more cream and sugar than actual brew. Apparently, he had a better eye for little details than he usually let on... Lithuania had suspected as much for centuries, but this was one of the first pieces of solid proof that he could, in fact, remember these things if he tried. Lithuania took a sip of the coffee, cautiously at first, then more appreciatively.
"Okay. So, like..." Poland pulled up the other chair, and Lithuania fought back the urge to sigh. Right, Poland still hadn't said what half-formed scheme had brought this on. "I was thinking, and I like, realized I don't appreciate you enough!"
"...What?"
Poland scrunched up his nose a little as he tried to find the right words, in a way that Lithuania was sure he didn't know he did, but had always found disarmingly adorable. "I guess I like, never have," he admitted, sounding honestly sad about it. "Like, I've always kinda pushed you around, and made you worry, and made you do stuff that I didn't feel like doing, and it was... I wanted to make it up to you."
Lithuania hadn't been about to mention that cooking him breakfast really wasn't a fair repayment for always expecting him to do things his way, or for all the heart attacks he'd nearly been responsible for, or for certain incidents that they didn't talk about anymore. Honestly, he hadn't--he knew, deep down, that Poland had never meant him harm, so he wasn't about to ruin a kind gesture by saying those thoughts out loud.
But Poland seemed to have beaten him to the punch, looking up at him with bright, earnest, stunningly green eyes. "I totally know breakfast isn't gonna make up for anything, but I... it like, seemed as good a place as any to start."
He'd actually put thought into this, hadn't he?
Lithuania opened his mouth to speak, once or twice, but he just wasn't quite sure what to say. Finally, he settled on, "Um, thank you. That's... it's very thoughtful of you, Poland." Which it was, even if sheer surprise was keeping Liet from sounding too convincing.
Poland just smiled, and went to get the porridge, the eggs, and the sausages off of the stove. The toast popped up while Lithuania was already eating, and Poland insisted on being the one to get up and fetch it, placing a slice on Liet's plate and a jar of jam beside him, then going to refill his coffee for him. By the time they had to leave to get to the day's meeting, breakfast had settled nicely. Lithuania had gotten dressed, and Poland had offered a suggestion on which tie he should wear only when asked and without comment on how heinously 2008 the cuts of all his suits were. Lithuania had managed to convince Poland to at least let him dry the dishes, and they'd shared a relaxed cup of coffee at the kitchen table, along with a calm but lively conversation about ways to decrease their energy dependence.
It was an unexpected start to the day, but, Lithuania thought, quite a nice one.
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I'm really glad you updated it! I love this fill! Oh my god, it's hilarious to imagine Poland acting like this - but a bit bittersweet too, because it makes Liet happy, but it's not him, and, you know... *wibbles*
You should probably post your updates in the fill list, though, else people'll miss it. :3
Reply
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A shyness usually hidden, burning in Poland's cheeks as he slipped out of his chemise. Like seeing each other for the first time.
Damn, that was sweet, and... weirdly hot. I don't usually have a thing for the "oh man and then we screwed for the first time and it was SO SPECIAL" trope, but this made me go all melty <3333.
posting pictures of himself in his super-hot new outfits on Facebook!
Like anons above said: HILARIOUSLY IC
Poland, dressed conservatively
This alone should be enough to tip him off that something's wrong xDD
heinously 2008
I died.
All in all, anon, I'm loving your Lithuania... he's all the sweet and serious with none of the blah-I'm-everybody's-bitch, and OH MAN THE INTERNAL SNARK. Poland totally works too <333. Looking forward to more!
Reply
You know, this is off-topic, but I think it's a testament to our fandom that you can throw in some Lithuanian words and allusions to semi-obscure historical events without notes and no one complaining. It's kinda remarkable it one thinks about it a bit. I'm so proud of this fandom that this is considered normal <3<3<3
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