1. I Sleep Alone.

IMPORTANT WARNINGS: Chapters will contain abuse, noncon, dubcon, mpreg, explicit homoerotic content, disturbing imagery, strong negative themes of a sexual nature. If there is more they will be mentioned at the start of the chapter. I must also warn that there will be physical and sexual abuse towards pregnant Latvia. If you are: under the Rating Age, of a fragile disposition or find the following issues raised in this fic offensive it would ill-advised to continue. You have been warned. I do not endorse any violence, sexual or otherwise that goes on in this fic.

Also: This is the sequel to Little Royalty, you have to read that first or you'll be totally lost.

Disclaimer: Not mine, Axis Powers Hetalia and the characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.

Notes: Yes, I know said I felt disgusted with myself after LR. In some ways that hasn't changed, but after re-reading it a few weeks after posting I started to think about what would happen afterwards, and to explore the barely hinted relationship between Russia and Latvia in LR.

Also, please do not think this another fic portraying Russia as a complete monster. Yes he does do horrible things in this story, but there are reasons why and so I only ask you to be patient as more is revealed through the story.

Time Frame: 1952

Switches between Nation and human names, the switches are important.

As soon as the cast on his leg was removed, Raivis could leave the hospital. Despite the severity of his injuries, he had spent less than four weeks in that place.

In a way he was still quite disorientated, it felt like he had been underneath a comforting cloud of medication for a thousand years, before Russia… before Russia ordered the sleeping tablets to be stopped. The morphine IV line remained, but whether it was because the sleeping drugs kept him still or that they contained extra painkillers, the pain had grown worse, any breath too deep or any kind of movement was agony and minutes seemed to stretch for hours in that blue room, but somehow he healed much faster than before.

Apparently Russia and his brothers had stayed in a nearby inn the entire time he was in hospital, taking turns to sit with him. He hadn't seen any other states apart from his brothers since Russia had-

In the bed-

Since that day, if it weren't for the get-well cards he would have thought he had dreamed seeing the others. Maybe he had dreamt some of it, Latvia had asked why Mr Prussia and Miss Hungary had visited him so early on that day, and received blank looks. When he insisted that he had seen them, Russia put his hand on his forehead as if checking a fever, and said that no one had seen them at all, and when he left the room, his brothers concurred that they really didn't visit. Maybe taking away the pills was a good thing after all.

Toris and Eduard had been sent home a few days before, and so on the day of his release it was just him and Mr Russia, who had fussed over him and was holding the small bag with his belongings and his medication, making sure he was wrapped up against the cold outside. Just before he left he was given a piece of paper and a pen by the doctor, "If you would, Comrade Galante."

He read the form, understanding the Cyrillic words but unsure about what the entire thing meant. He looked up to Russia who was standing behind him, and remembered to speak use his clumsy Russian in front of the humans, "What is this?"

"Hm?" Learning over him easily to read, resting his chin on Raivis's head, "It's a form to say you've officially been discharged because you are better."

"Oh…do I sign it? I don't have a-"

"Ah, no I sign it." Russia put down the bags and wrapped his arms around him to take the pen and paper, and signed it easily before handing it back to the doctor who was struggling to maintain his neutral expression at what he had just seen, "I am his guardian, so I sign for him right?"

"Indeed. Please do not overexert yourself for a few more weeks and you should feel completely better by the end of the month. Please have a safe journey home, Comrades Braginski, Galante." The middle aged man gave them a hesitant smile, and he gave a small reassuring one in return, although he was not sure if it was for the doctor or himself, before he felt Russia beam at the doctor before taking his hand and leading him away. Just before they left the ward Raivis risked a look back, and saw the doctor and several of the nurses staring after them, before quickly looking away. He knew the doctors and nurses looking after him were shocked at his quick recovery, but the quiet presence of the soldiers that had been on the hospital premises since he arrived stopped them from talking to the local paper, or even to each other, about his 'miraculous' short recovery.

.

Seeing the grand house again as the car pulled up did not fill his heart with the old dread and nausea he had felt he used to feel in the early years, nor did he feel any better. It was early spring, and as they drove through the town were the hospital was based, the long and open countryside fields and the small town where they bought their supplies from was bathed in sunlight, and balmy air blew through the open windows that was so welcoming.

But as they entered the grounds surrounding Mr Russia's house the change was immediate; the warm sunlight faded as it began to snow, and the land was now bare except for the sparse but intimidating skeletal trees that dotted the landscape. It was always the same as every day for every year that he had been living here. Nothing changed; nothing grew and nothing died except the trees, the land was almost sterile. Wild animals roamed the lands, but other than that all that changed was the level of snowfall in each day.

Russia got out of the car and spoke to the driver briefly as Latvia stepped out and walked to the front door, and before he could knock the door was opened by Lithuania, wearing his cleaning apron over his clothes.

"Raivis! We've been waiting all day!" His 'brother' gave him a hug before stepping aside to let him in, and as he stepped inside he saw Estonia approaching with a smile on his face. Eduard's hug was brief but just as sincere as Toris's, and Raivis smiled happily at them, "T-thank you, for looking after me before."

"Don't think of it, you'd do the same for us!"

"Of course he would!" Russia's sudden voice made them jump as always, "Latvia is the kindest of us all, and we all look after each other anyway, don't we?" Raivis could hear the underlying threat in his bright tone, and realised he was now shaking as always.

In the hospital he had started to shake again about two weeks ago. He knew when his ribs had healed enough, the day when Russia had walked in and called him little Latvia.

"Of course." The elder brother laughed slightly to keep the mood light, while Eduard gave a quick smile before Raivis decided to stare at his feet. Russia closed the door behind him, and when it slammed shut the noise seemed to echo around the house, mixing with the sound of the car's motor outside as it drove away making a kind of efading reverberation that Latvia felt down to his shoes.

And so it was he, the four of them, all together again in the vast space that was the great house.

"Would either of you like something to eat? Eduard can finish up for me while I make something." Toris began to untie his apron, and Raivis started again when the tall nation put his heavy hand on his shoulder. Using his other hand to turn Raivis's head towards him, forcing him to look the taller nation in the eye, Russia looked at him for a moment, before declaring, "I think he is tired," the Russian said, looking a little concerned, "But how do you feel?"

"I…I-I am a little tired." If Russia said something he had to obey, and if it got him away from him for a bit, all the better.

His brothers smiled slightly, and Eduard said he would bring him soup later when he was going up to do his paperwork, before they both hurried away to continue their chores. Raivis thanked Russia for escorting him home, and was about to walk towards the grand staircase before he was suddenly picked up bridal style. A squeaked escaped him and he looked up to see Russia's easy smile, which only made him shake with fear even more.

"Better safe than sorry, Да?"

Somehow he managed to make a sound that sounded like a yes, and he was carried up the stairs, and through several winding corridors until they reached his small room, where he was put down at the door. Russia handed him his things and kissed his forehead, his lips were cold.

"Make sure you rest," Mr Russia reminded him, and with another kiss he went. Latvia opened the door and went inside his small room, much less grand than Russia's bedroom or even his hospital room, but being so far from his land had made him value whatever small thing that was his. Even if there was no lock, because Russia felt that it meant he could not visit his family when it pleased him, it was his little space. Raivis sat on his bed, toeing off his shoes before lying carefully down, making sure to face the window so he could watch the snow fall from the pale grey skies he had seen from this window for, except his brief independence, over two hundred years.

Soon he realized how really tired he was. His eyelids felt so heavy as he curled into himself, his normal sleeping position. Raivis gently rubbed his stomach, low down where phantom pains of tenderness still ached.

He had found himself doing that a lot lately.

Maybe he would feel more like himself in the morning.

It was pretty easy to fall back into his old routine. Less than a week after his return, he had risen before dawn, cleaned out the fireplaces and lit new ones in their stead.

After breakfast Ravis started his other cleaning chores. Lithuania was the best cook so he looked after the kitchen areas, Estonia took care of Russia's paperwork and cleaned the office and surrounding rooms. So it was up to Ravis to take care of the rest of the house. The laundry was equally dealt with on the weekends, as it was simply too much during the week. It was if Latvia had never been away. Nothing had changed.

One afternoon, he was cleaning the hallway just around the corner from the office where Estonia was working. Ravis could faintly hear his brother humming a tune as he worked, and Latvia soon found himself half-humming along, trying to figure out the name of the song, when he heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction.

He peaked around the corner, the hallway was dark, but the beam of light coming from the open door showed Russia was outside the office, looking inside.

Russia looked strange, neither smiling nor angry, Estonia must not have seen him yet because he could still hear the humming. A few moments later Russia walked into the office and shut the door without a word.

.

Despite not really needing it, Russia's current boss insisted on having most of their food delivered to them by truck twice a month, which would arrive outside their kitchen. In a way it was very convenient. For canned goods, preserved foods in jars, meat and fish were really far too heavy to carry from the town market twice a week. After the war, they were also allowed order books and things for the house. Now they only had to go out to buy bread and vegetables, and other things they needed or wanted at short notice. The convenience was nice, Eduard occasionally complained that he still had a crick in his back from all the times they had to drag things home. However, although the journeys to and from had been unpleasant the village, the problem was now that they had even less of a reason for leaving the grounds.

The Baltics were waiting for the latest delivery and stood outside in the snow, just past the useless, frozen kitchen gardens, both wrapped up tight. The truck always came on the same day of the month, the only problem was they had no idea what time of day it came. So they all had to stay and wait. They would wake before dawn, dress, and go outside, sometimes for hours, and once or twice until midnight. If they were not there when it arrived there would be no more deliveries for a few months, which in itself was not bad, however Russia's boss would be offended, and they would be punished for it.

Raivis and Eduard were currently shivering in the late morning air, while Toris was coming back with a large flask of hot tea, and a few chipped mugs they saved for these occasions. Both gladly took the mugs, Eduard holding Toris's, as the eldest poured the strong hot liquid. Then, after a quick glance at the house to check Russia wasn't watching, pulled out a small bottle of vodka from underneath the layers of clothing and poured a small amount into each mug before quickly hiding it. Not as much as Raivis would have liked, but it was enough to chase away the cold. Because it was only after sunset they would be 'allowed' to drink openly in the snow.

"Um," He found himself saying, and the others looked at him expectantly, despite the cold he felt his face heat up. "I've been meaning to ask for a while…" He trailed off, licking his lips before continuing, "How did you and the doctors know I was…you know."

"We didn't," Eduard shifted slightly, looking as uncomfortable as Toris spoke, "When you fell, I stayed with you and yelled for Eduard to call the ambulance but I didn't notice anything apart from the obvious. It wasn't until we were on our way to the hospital, and the paramedic opened your shirt to check your injuries that we saw these weird bruises on your stomach."

"Bruises?"

"Below your naval, as we watched the paramedic work we saw them grow, he said something about internal bleeding. You were rushed into the operating room, and maybe an hour later the surgeon came and started asking all these weird questions. I think they thought you were some kind of hermaphrodite."

"Huh!"

"Remember, this stuff doesn't happen to human males. But anyway, they must have known something about us, because even though we answered their questions and said we were your brothers they wouldn't say anything until Mr Russia arrived. They told him."

"Was he really angry with me?"

"He was... upset at what happened." Eduard piped up, "he thought it was our fault, that we had pushed you."

"What!"

"We had no idea what he was talking about until he told us-"

"-While trying to hit us with his pipe-"

"Yeah, it was sort of funny, well," Toris scratched his head, "in a sort of 'you had to be there' way, you understand."

Ravis gave a small nod, whilst somewhere in the back of his mind commenting how slightly sick it was that after all this he too could find the humour of Russia's violent assault on his brothers.

"But didn't the doctors say anything to any of you?"

"Raivis, you saw the soldiers, and Russia is worse than most of the army," Eduard said,

"The whole time we were there they could barely look any of us, in fact I'm sure they'll disappear soon if they haven't already."

"Think so?"

"Russia's boss has had his own supporters disappear for no reason, do you think he would spare people that treated and spoke to foreign nations?"

Another silence.

The people at the hospital may not be their people, but it was still difficult to stomach that they would suffer because of him.

"I really didn't know." Raivis muttered.

"We know that, let's just hope Russia keeps believing you."

There was a sound of a motor, and Toris looked around, "The truck!" Early but very welcome, slowing making its way up the small, freshly gritted lane.

Additional A/N: I love your reviews and feedback, every piece of constructive criticism helps me to become a better writer. If you think its good, needs some work, or so bad it needs the cleansing touch of fire, let me know!