The Soviet Files: Preferential Treatment [RusPru]

Lithuania laid down his card in the center of the table and looked up at Estonia, who had his glasses on the end of his nose. The three Baltic States were sitting around a table in the central living room of the house that encompassed the entirety of the Soviet Union playing a game of cards. The card game was a way of finding a time and place to talk without the watchful eyes of Russia. However, the use of this tactic was probably less necessary right now than it had been in the past because Russia hadn't been roaming the halls as he usually did. The loud complaint of springs, the banging of a headboard against a wall, and the series of groans and loud moans echoing off the walls all made it perfectly clear what was occupying his time.

Each of the Baltic States had been in the same position that Prussia was in right now, so they tried to just block out the constant screams and moans. There was nothing to be done about it and certainly there was no way to stop it. What Russia wanted was exactly what he got and no one was fool enough to try and change that. For Lithuania, the sounds were strangely soothing. He had wanted to see both halves of Germany suffer for what they had done in the Second World War. To hear what was happening to Prussia gave Lithuania a sense of closure, so it was easy to ignore whatever sympathy he could have felt.

None of the people at the card table noticed that the cacophony had stopped until a certain albino walked into the room. His demeanor was not exactly what anyone would expect; it seemed upbeat. Prussia was walking with a reasonably even gate; there was even something of a swagger to the way he was walking. When he sat down, everyone at the table turned to look at the German, who said, "Would you mind dealing me in?" His tone was casual, as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening. This unnerved everyone else at the table, because the constant attention by Russia should be enough to break anyone down. However, none of the Baltic States knew just what to say, so Estonia laid down cards on the table in front of Prussia.

Lithuania exchanged glances with Estonia, who was sitting across the table from him. However, Lithuania refused to look at Prussia. Looking at that country would make him both sick and unbearably angry. It would remind him of the time he had spent, and was still spending, nursing Felix back to health. He knew the man who had just sat down at the table was the reason for all of the pain that Poland had gone through. The sudden war, the flattening of Warsaw, and the massive civilian casualties had all been Prussia's fault. It was the albino's lust for power and war that had destabilized all of Europe. For that reason, he refused to even look in Prussia's direction. Lithuania stared resolutely at his cards after seeing Estonia shake his head slightly. The gesture was apparently a rebuke to the thoughts of vengeance that were now surfacing in Lithuania's mind.

Latvia was the first to speak in a soft voice, "It gets better, that's all I can say." Prussia turned his head slightly towards the smaller man as if he was about to speak, but he said nothing. Estonia made a slight gesture for Lithuania to look over, which he did only surreptitiously. His attention was immediately brought to a grotesque series of red bite marks that was scattered across the albino's neck. It looked as though Prussia had been through a mauling unlike anything any of the others had experienced. This sight triggered a slight shudder of revulsion to pass through Lithuania's body. It was accompanied by a feeling that almost felt like pity. He knew what that kind of violation was like and it shouldn't be imposed on anyone. Even with Prussia's crimes, it was hard to say he deserved it. Lithuania pushed the arrant feeling away, he need only remind himself of Felix, gaunt, beaten and bruised, at the end of the war to remind himself exactly what Prussia deserved.

Estonia followed Latvia's statement with his own, "Ivan will eventually tire and then he will only want this every so often. It will never stop completely and we are all sorry about that." Prussia was contemplating the pair of them with a very strange expression, somewhere between amusement and confusion. To fill the time between the statements and the answer he apparently didn't want to give, he removed a card from his own hand and laid it on top of the pile. Lithuania flushed; the card could be an excellent choice depending on what else he had in his hand. Estonia stared at the card for a second and then looked back at his own hand. He seemed to decide that it was better to pursue the conversation, so he said, "You need to know that this isn't a situation unique to you. You aren't the only one who has suffered."

Lithuania scoffed and the sound finally drew everyone's attention to him. He spoke, still not looking up at Prussia, "Why don't we all stop acting like he doesn't deserve this." Prussia immediately stiffened, but a smirk curled over his lips. When he spoke, his voice had changed to a drawl, "That's bold of you Toris. Pity you weren't this aggressive when the war started." He stopped for dramatic effect while Lithuania seethed. Then he leaned forward and said, "It might have helped Felix." That was enough to make Lithuania spring to his feet, saying as he did so, "Say that one more time, Nazi!"

His outburst did nothing to wipe the smirk off of the albino's face. The other two people at the table looked on nervously, wondering if there was a way to diffuse the situation without physically restraining Lithuania. It only got worse when Prussia responded, "How about I tell you how I made your lover get on his hands and knees and kiss my boots?" Estonia and Latvia both had the presence of mind to stand up and restrain Lithuania, who lunged forward at once. He had no weapon in his hand, but that didn't matter. He wanted to inflict as much pain as possible on Prussia with his bare fists. For a couple seconds, he couldn't even come up with words. Prussia's smirk turned into a full smile as he watched the scene in front of him. He said softly, "It's amazing what you can get people to do with a little painful persuasion."

Lithuania was finally able to spit back, "Brave words from a man that has spent the last few weeks getting raped!" Prussia's white eyebrow shot up and he said, "Oh?" Before the mystifying word could be explained, a telltale sound permeated the air. Russia's thick-soled boots had a very distinctive thud, which was ringing out in the hallway. All three of the Baltic States went still. They quickly sat back down just as Russia walked into the room. It would be potentially disastrous to have Russia and discover they were fighting among themselves. Fighting violated the idea of communist unity, which Russia always tried to maintain even if it was feigned.

Russia was wearing a pair of pants and a shirt, but it was not in order. The first few buttons were unbuttoned and the rest did not line up fully. The pants had creases that wouldn't exist unless they had spent all night crumpled up on the floor. Even with the disorder of his dress, his aura was enough to keep the Baltics sitting resolutely, although Prussia was still smirking. The smirk made very little sense especially when Russia walked straight over to the albino. He put his hands on Prussia's shoulders. He ignored the Baltics and leaned forward to whisper in the albino's ear, "So this is where you hopped off to. I wondered when I woke up without you."

Everyone else at the table shivered in unison as the Russian's lips brushed against the albino's ear. That kind of closeness felt completely wrong. The albino smiled and responded, "I needed some breathing room." Russia moved one hand from the albino's shoulder to right under his chin. He said, now loud enough for the Baltics to hear the words clearly, "Look in my eyes and say that again." He used his hand to gently turn Prussia's head so that their eyes met. In that moment, Prussia's face fell into a neutral expression. It was like Russia's eyes and his words entranced him.

Slowly, he shook his head to negate his earlier statement. The Russian smiled his usual deranged smile and it sent another collective round of shivers around the table. Lithuania now looked up to see Prussia's reaction. The albino hadn't reacted to the expression with horror, as he should have. Instead, he put his hand softly against Russia's face. The taller man's hands started to move. One started unbuttoning the albino's shirt while the other ran down the newly exposed flesh. As he did that, he moved his lips to the white neck that he could just reach over the low back of the chair. The albino arched as the other's lips glided down his neck. None of the Baltics could quite believe what they were watching. Surely there should still be fight left in such a militant country, but there was no resistance to Russia's invasive touch.

Latvia, always the one with the least discression, cleared his throat rather loudly. Russia's head jerked up and his attention immediately shifted to the three nations across the table. His face darkened, "How can you choose to leave me alone for these three?" His eyes were fixed directly on Lithuania, who recoiled from the ice in the glare. Lithuania shifted his gaze to Russia's hand, which had tightened possessively on Prussia's shoulder. Prussia's red eyes melted when he looked up at Russia and said, "I regret the decision already." Russia kept his gaze on the Baltics and it looked like he was weighing punishment. He said, his voice unbearably cold, "Come back to my room, Gilbert. These people are beneath you."

Prussia nodded and stood up again. He left the room with Russia's arm wrapped tightly around his waist. The room was left in oppressive silence, only broken when Latvia leaned towards the others and said, "Did that strike you as really wrong." Estonia said, in a voice that sounded like it was trying to force rationality on a situation that was decidedly not rational, "Gilbert must have been acting. There's no way to explain it otherwise. Prussia wouldn't just yield like that." But, Lithuania saw something disturbing in the encounter, something masquerading as love. It had been present in the caresses and in the looks that passed between the two. He said, his voice catching slightly in his throat, "No, he's not acting and things are about to get much worse."

-10 years later-

Russia had dinner set up outside on the balcony in the rare warmth of Moscow summer because he was expecting company. He was sitting staring at the plates of food waiting for his lover. Lithuania was finishing setting up the other place at the table when GDR came strolling up, his boots clicking against the wood floor. Russia smiled as he admired the fit of the grey uniform and the way the red accents perfectly complimented the ruby eyes. Lithuania quickly turned to leave, nearly running directly into GDR as he did so. The Baltic man attempted a courteous gesture, but it only turned out to be a stiff nod, and then he stepped to the side to allow the other to walk by. The German coolly kept walking, but when he sat down he swept off his hat and slammed it angrily onto the table.

Russia could see the anger turning hard in his lover's eyes. He was about to ask what the problem was when the German said, "Did you see the way he looked at me?" Russ shook his head, in all honesty he hadn't see Lithuania's face. But, if it offended his lover so much, it was punishable. Lithuania seemed to lost his sense of caution and had been getting himself into a lot of trouble lately.

GDR continued, "Every time he looks at me I see the accusation: whore. He looks at me like I am the most disgusting thing on Earth." Russia leaned over and grabbed a bottle of vodka; he poured himself and his lover both a shot. He said authoritatively, "Take a drink, it will steady you. I can deal with Toris later." GDR picked up the glass and downed it in one gulp. He slammed it back down on the table, "It isn't just him. It's Latvia, Estonia, and your sisters. If they're a Soviet republic, they hate me." Russia sighed and downed his own shot of vodka. He wanted to say he had a solution that would placate GDR, but he didn't. So, he said, "Come closer, Gil" It was an order, not a request. GDR took it as such and obediently scooted his chair closer to the other. He also leaned forward so that there was very little space between them.

The Russian put his hand on the albino's cheek, "Don't listen to what they say, bunny. It's jealousy talking. They are all inferior to me, just parts of my Soviet Union. You are a republic in your own right, my beautiful GDR." The albino attempted to answer, "I know that, Vanya. But-" Russia put his finger to the other's lips, "I'm not done yet. More importantly, you're my greatest ally and the only one I trust." GDR leaned into the caress on his cheek, which was incredibly comforting. He said, his voice heavy with emotion, "But don't you hear it, see it. In their eyes I can see what they think: you're promoting an unremitting Nazi whose only virtue is that he's good in bed."

Russia's eyes darkened several shades. The subject of Nazism, especially in relation to his lover was exceptionally sensitive to him. He reached out and grabbed Prussia's free hand, which was resting on the table. His voice came out icy cold, "If anyone calls you a Nazi, I will personally see to it that their grain quotas are higher than production. Starvation seems to keep people in order." GDR smiled, but Russia could tell that he was still bothered. He solved it the only way he could think of. He pulled the albino into a long deep kiss. Lithuania stood just out of sight. He had returned to bring another bottle of vodka. He hissed at the shameless display, but there was nothing he could do and this had long since been the reality and it wasn't going to change.