melodytree

Title: Truth Alone
Fandom: Hetalia
Pairing/characters: Liechtenstein, Switzerland
Rating: G
Contains: N/A
Summary: Liechtenstein wants Switzerland to make up for a mistake; fortunately, he pulls through.
Notes: Written for chaoticrandomness for Trick or Treat. Spot the historical reference I used for my plot.

Liechtenstein looked in the mirror and couldn't help a wince.

A few weeks ago, Switzerland had set her on fire with a rocket from a training exercise. She'd been so startled at suddenly having her forest and hair aflame that she had panicked and briefly forgotten that she was supposed to stop, drop, and roll, and instead settled for trying to beat the flames out with her hands. Thankfully, one of her citizens was nearby and helped her smother the fire with a canteen of water and a jacket. Switzerland had showed up shortly afterward, eyes wide, to see if she was alright.

By now she was alright; her burns healed quickly enough. But though Liechtenstein loved her brother dearly, she still felt miffed – okay, mad. Because he had apologized, and she knew he was worried about her, but setting her on fire required more than a simple 'sorry' and a mumbled excuse about the rockets malfunctioning. Her forests were going to take years to recover.

Not to mention her hair.

She had gone to Hungary, once the forest fire had been put out. Hungary had done her best, but almost all of her hair had been damaged by the fire, to the point that they almost had to shave her head to take all the singed ends off. Hungary reassured her that she still looked cute with very short hair, and it had all been wrapped under bandages anyway while her burns healed.

Now the bandages had come off. Her hair was still incredibly short. And hair was just hair, and it would regrow, and maybe this looked good on some people, but Liechtenstein didn't like it on her. Every time she saw her reflection, it made her remember how painful her skin had been – it had been difficult to sleep without painkillers – and the sensation of the blistering under the heat, the smell of her burned woods and her burned flesh. And when those memories didn't come up, she was struck by how young she looked, how even more boyish she seemed.

Well, it was still winter. Cute hats could cover it up when she went out, and she had figured out a few new ways to tie a scarf around her head.

Liechtenstein looked in the mirror again and shook her head. There was no use staring at herself all day. She had some things to pick up at the grocery store, and then Switzerland was coming over later. He had sounded hesitant when speaking with her on the phone the other day; maybe she would get another apology out of him? She just wanted something to help make up for what had happened. And then she wouldn't be mad at him and they could go back to spending time together and she could wear her hair ribbon again and everything would be fine.

~!~

She timed her tea perfectly. It had just been poured into the cups when there came a knock on the door. Liechtenstein immediately set everything down on the table and hurried to the door. "Hello," she said when she opened it, not quite able to muster a more cheerful greeting. Switzerland mumbled a hello back and came in. He was holding a box under one arm, which he set down with care before removing his boots, then picked up again. She wondered what could be inside it.

They sat down to an awkward silence for a few minutes, punctuated mostly by the clink of their teacups. Switzerland eventually cleared his throat and offered her the box. "I brought you something."

"Thank you," she said. The box was plain, and closed with a few pieces of tape that she was able to cut through without difficulty. Inside, packed snugly with plenty of bubblewrap, was a set of teacups. "Oh!" she said, carefully prying one out to inspect it. "It's pretty!" The top rim of the cup was gilded, and along the side was a beautifully rendered mountain scenery in red on white. At the bottom of the cup was a small flower, and the matching saucers had similar sprays of flowers set against a pale blue. "Thank you!" She was going to have tea with Hungary and Austria in a couple of days; she would definitely use these.

"There's one more," said Switzerland, looking slightly less uncomfortable than he had a minute ago. "Under the cups."

"Hm?" She took out all the delicate cups, then lifted out the cardboard that had kept them in place. There was indeed something else, soft and wrapped in tissue paper. Under the tissue paper was lilac fabric; she shook it out to reveal a new dress. "Oh! I'm going to go try it on, okay?" She flashed Switzerland a smile and sprung to her feet.

In her room, she shimmied out of her dress and threw it on her bed without bothering to fold or hang it. The new dress zipped up smoothly, and she shook the full skirt out over her petticoat. It was just the kind of style that she liked, with pintucks up the bodice and wide lace decorating the ends of the long sleeves. Liechtenstein twirled to watch it fan out and giggled. She bounced in place for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of wearing it, then spun to face her mirror.

It fit her perfectly, smooth over her waist and with enough room in the shoulders for her to reach all the way up. On an impulse she grabbed her scarf and pulled it off (it was starting to fall apart, anyway). It wasn't that cold in her house, and it was just her and Switzerland here. She dropped that on the bed as well, before turning to her jewelry box and finding a necklace that would match well with the dress. Already she was thinking of different ways to dress it up and down for different occasions.

Liechtenstein re-emerged and spun around on one foot. "How does it look?"

"You look beautiful in it. Like you always do."

That was the correct answer. She beamed at him and hopped over to lean down and give him a hug. "Thank you, brother. I really like it."

He gave her a small smile back as she drew away again. It dropped as his eyes wandered to her hair. "I'm sorry about the fire," he said, touching it.

"It's okay. It will grow back." She stepped back and turned with a little more oomph to her skirt than was strictly necessary. "Let me get the cake, we should eat it before all the tea gets cold!"

~!~

"Are these new?" Hungary asked, running her finger along the edge of her saucer. "They're beautiful, Liechtenstein."

"Brother gave them to me as an apology," she explained. The tea was done brewing; she poured a cup for everyone and set the pot in the middle of the table.

"That was kind of him," Austria said, eyeing the teacups as he finished serving the cake he had brought. Liechtenstein giggled and sat down with a flourish.

Today she would spend time with Hungary and Austria; after tea there would be music and maybe a walk in the chilly evening. Soon it would be spring, and she could go on hikes with her brother among the greenery again, and her hair would be long enough to tie a ribbon in it again.