#Oh! I wanted to say something about liet's pen

[monabela]

hello! welcome to uhh... estliet meetcute time? nothing real fancy here, just a little thing based on a prompt I saw somewhere... at some point

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Turquoise

characters/pairings: Estonia (Eduard)/Lithuania (Toris), ft background Ukraine (Iryna)/Belgium (Manon)

word count: 2139

summary:

The man sitting outside the fitting rooms at the store wasn't Eduard's friend like he expected, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear him out. He did, after all, look very nice.

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With a sigh, Eduard turned to look at his own back in the mirror. After an entire afternoon of harshly-lit, upscale fitting rooms, he wasn’t even sure he could say how many outfits he had tried on, and his energy was waning. You’d think he was the one getting married, from the way Iryna had scrutinized the various suits. He wasn’t even in her bridal party; there was no way it really mattered this much what he wore at her wedding.

These slacks were nice, though. Or, at the very least, they were the right length. With how tall Eduard was, he’d flashed Iryna quite some ankle over the past few hours, so that was already an improvement. And he liked the color of this suit, a dark but vibrant turquoise, much more than that burgundy one she’d been enthusiastic about earlier. He had also learned a lot of new color words. Apparently, he looked bad in plum.

Nodding at his slightly messy-haired reflection, he pushed aside the curtain closing off the fitting room and started to walk out, calling, “I like this one, Iryna. The color’s different, but I think the rest is basically the same as that red one you liked. I’m still not sure about the vest, though, it seems a bit…”

He froze in his tracks outside the fitting rooms when he registered the person sitting on the bench there, who definitely wasn’t Iryna. Instead, there was a man, about Eduard’s age, looking up from a notebook with amusement on his face as he tucked long brown hair behind one ear. Eduard blinked at him and tried to pat his own hair down in the face of this handsome stranger watching him with curiosity.

“Uh, so sorry,” he said, flustered. “I thought my friend was… Did you happen to see a tall, blond woman around here?”

The man smiled, capping his fountain pen with careful, elegant fingers. “She just went back out into the store, I think.”

“Ah. Okay. Great, more suits.” Eduard straightened his jacket, absentmindedly watching his reflection do the same. He didn’t want to go out and look for Iryna, not in only his socks—particularly since he was unfortunately wearing Christmas tree-patterned socks in April—and thought it would be weird to go back into his fitting room now, like a child waiting for their parent to come pick them up. He glanced at the man on the bench, who was now tapping his closed pen against his lips, distractingly. There were a few shopping bags on the floor by his feet, and a small box sitting on the bench.

“Can I say something?” the man asked after a moment. He was soft-spoken but clear, his smile threading through his words.

“About my suit?”

He nodded, twirling his pen around.

“Go ahead,” Eduard said, turning more towards him.

“Well, I obviously didn’t see the red version of this, but I think this probably suits you better. Red would wash you out, I’d guess.” He shrugged, smiling and still fidgeting with his pen. “The vest probably depends on the occasion, but I think it… It adds something.”

The man ducked his head slightly, hair falling around his face, and Eduard bit his lip. He probably shouldn’t take fashion advice from random strangers, no matter how handsome, but he could see that, although the man’s clothes weren’t anything flashy, they were a nice quality and well-coordinated, from his maroon sweater to his dark jeans, and a woollen coat hung over the back of the bench. Vaguely, he thought Iryna might approve. He did; the red brought out gold in the man’s hair and warm tones in his skin. He didn’t think he knew clothes could do that before this afternoon, but he appreciated it now that he saw it in action. It made him want to touch.

“It’s for a wedding,” he clarified instead, curling his fingers.

“Then the vest is probably a good addition. And—hm.” The man looked up at the bright lights for a moment, allowing Eduard to see that his eyes were pine green, and then back at him. “If you usually wear those glasses, with the silver, those will match better with turquoise than red, I think.” He looked away again, to hook his pen into the spiral ring of his notebook. The writing on the page was in purple ink.

“So you’re… An expert?” Eduard asked, which made him laugh softly and melodiously as he shook his head.

“Not at all. I’m finishing a degree in psychology; I’ve just been cajoled into a lot of shopping trips by a friend of mine, and he has far too many opinions on clothes to ignore.” By the way he gestured at the fitting rooms, Eduard guessed this friend was the reason the man was sitting here at all.

“Well, thank you anyway. I feel like I’ve needed a second opinion,” he said, and looked in the mirror again. The vest was nice, even if the effect of its black fabric on his black shirt was subtle. Besides, it’d probably be useful to have, anyway.

“Of course,” the man was saying, and he ran a hand through his hair when Eduard looked at him, so that it fell in messy waves around his face. How did that manage to look so good? It gave him the appearance of being a little roguish, behind the gentle smile. “I’m always happy to… To help out a handsome man in a suit.”

Eduard blinked, swallowing hard. The suit suddenly felt much too tight, and the man’s smile was far too distracting to be allowed.

“Yeah?” he squeaked, embarrassingly. Where was Iryna? What was she even doing out there? Even after all these years, Eduard obviously still didn't know how to flirt, and she was getting married. She must have learned at some point, and he felt like he needed help.

The man let out a long breath and his smile widened a fraction, eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at Eduard. His fingers were drumming on his notebook.

Luckily, before Eduard could say the only thing he could think of, which was ‘what about helping a man out of a suit?’, Iryna walked back into the fitting room area, carrying a bunch of ties, which she dropped on the bench to make a beeline for Eduard.

“Eduard, this is nice!” she said, fussing with his lapels. “Though I did like the burgundy on you.”

Eduard shot a look at the man on the bench, who quirked his eyebrows as he uncapped his pen.

“I think it washed me out, Iryna.”

She pursed her lips, then nodded and stepped back, and gestured for him to spin around, which he did.

“Alright, then.” She nodded again. “Well, I suppose this is the best we can do!”

While Eduard pushed at her shoulder, pretending to be offended, the man on the bench muttered something under his breath that made Iryna turn around, crossing her arms.

“Excuse me?” she asked, and the man cleared his throat, green gaze flicking to Eduard and back to her as he wet his lips.

“I was just saying, uh…” He made a small gesture with his pen. “This color brings out his eyes, and I think that… Certainly, no one would want to miss that.”

Mouth opening and closing, Iryna turned back to frown up at Eduard, who shrugged even though his heart was beating overtime.

“He says he’s not an expert, but I think he knows what he’s talking about.”

That made the man smile down at his notebook. Huh. Maybe he did know what to say, sometimes.

“Oh, alright,” Iryna conceded. “You know I was just joking. You look great, Ed, and Manon and I are happy to have you.” She gave him a gentle push back towards the fitting rooms. As he went to—finally—get changed back into his comfortable sweater and jeans for the last time today, he saw a short, blond man emerging from one of the other fitting rooms and stride out with a shirt slung over his arm.

By the time Eduard emerged, tugging his coat on, Iryna was waiting for him, sans ties, and no one else was there. He tried his best not to feel disappointed. It’d probably been a fluke. He hadn’t even asked the man’s name, after all.

“Alright?” Iryna asked, taking the turquoise suit from him.

“Ready to go,” he replied. “You promised Manon would make dinner, don’t think I forgot.”

As she walked away with a laugh, he spotted something on the bench, right where the man had been sitting. The box that had been there next to him—a tie box, Eduard realized. There was a small bow sitting on top of the box, folded out of lined paper with a trailing line of purple ink just visible. Taking a deep breath, he picked the bow up and unfolded it carefully.

In neat cursive, the page read, I think I’ve forgotten my tie. It would be appreciated if whoever finds it, could return it to me, particularly if they look great in turquoise and they don’t check who they’re talking to. Toris Laurinaitis, with a phone number scribbled underneath.

“Eduard!” Iryna called, marching back in while he stared at the notebook page, grinning like a fool. Toris. “I’d like to get home before dinner gets cold. You know how Manon gets about her stew.”

“Huh?” Oh, right. Food. Nodding, Eduard carefully folded the note and tucked it into his wallet. Iryna looked amused as he followed her out to the cash register to pay for his new outfit. They watched the employee fold the clothes carefully into a paper bag, and she nudged him.

“I guess the turquoise was the right choice according to the commentators?”

“Commentator,” he corrected, which made her laugh. She hooked her arm through his and led him out of the store, and finally over to her place to eat her fiancée’s long-awaited dinner.

After the stew, which was delicious as usual, Eduard tuned out Iryna and Manon chatting to pull out his phone and send a text.

Hello Toris, I think you’ve forgotten a new tie at the store. Honest mistake, I’m sure! But I would be glad to return it and to hear more of your expert opinions on what I’m wearing, if you feel inclined :)

Eduard Mets

It seemed only fair to offer his full name in return, he thought. Iryna glanced over with raised eyebrows when his phone dinged, and he smiled innocently at her before reading the reply Toris had sent.

As I said, I’m not an expert! But if you insist, I can probably think of something to say if and when you return my new tie

When sounds good, Eduard replied, saving the contact information in his phone.

“Any reason in particular he’s smiling like a doofus?” Manon asked Iryna, on the other side of the room, and Iryna snorted.

Great! Any chance at all you have a free afternoon this weekend?

I have a free Sunday afternoon :) I do hope you will recognize me without my suit.

Eduard squinted at that message after he sent it. Was that suggestive? It was hard to tell sometimes, and he hoped Toris wouldn’t think he was coming on very strong all of a sudden. He didn’t seem like a man who would appreciate that.

I’m sure I will either way. As I said, I don’t think anyone would want to miss eyes like yours

Adjusting his glasses, Eduard felt his face flush as he smiled at his phone. Another message from Toris appeared quickly following that one, as he was still trying to think of a good reply.

There’s a bakery off Main St that has these amazing pastries, if that’s something you’re interested in

Toris, that is all it would have taken!

He wasn’t even kidding.

Really? Well, good to know for reference. I really don’t think I have much more fashion advice to offer you

Just then, Iryna leaned over the back of her couch, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Eduard, just tell the man you’ll meet him for pastries,” she said, sounding amused. “And if you’re going to sext, please leave our house.”

“I’m not—” he stammered, tilting his phone away. How long had she been standing there? Manon laughed out loud, and Iryna shook her head at him, smiling.

“I know. But really, go meet him. It’ll be good.”

That’s alright, I’m sure there are other things to talk about. I’d like to find out. I will meet you Sunday off Main, then!

I’d like to find out as well. I’ll see you Sunday, Eduard

He would have to check if he had anything turquoise to wear.

[ask-aph-baltics]

👄 for Lithuania and Estonia?

(I’ll do Lithuania tomorrow)

ESTONIA

“What the Hell do you mean you’ve never kissed anyone before??!” Poland nearly screeched when he heard the news, “I mean, kiss-kiss… not, like kissing a boo-boo or something like that.” Poland waved his arm carelessly, “You’re, like, old.”

“Old?” Estonia raised an eyebrow, “There is more to life than kissing and sex, I think you’d know that.” He paused, looking at the other nation before him. Poland looked all in for this conversation but not the one that the two had originally decided to meet over. “Well, maybe you don’t know that.” Estonia straightened out some of the paperwork at the table, “Didn’t you come to discuss software development with me?”

Poland spun a pencil around in his hand like he was half-listening. Had Poland really come all that way to talk gossip, not business?

“Well…” Poland stuck the pencil in his mouth, “I do want to discuss that with you, but now that you’ve said you’ve never kissed someone, that totally changes so many things.”

Estonia gave Poland a glance, but there was no expression to it. He maintained a very composed and still face despite the frustration building inside him, “What does kissing and computer science have to do with one another?”

Poland readied himself for one of his genius remarks but Estonia stopped him.

“…and I don’t mean the acronym.” Estonia wanted to nix that smartass behaviour before it’d get too far.

Poland stirred in his seat, “Kissing is like, an exchange of information. It says everything about a person and yet it’s so simple. It lasts a fleeting second but speaks the world.”

That had Estonia listening.

“Of course the hardware has to be compatible or you get nothing from it…” Poland carried on with his analogy, “Okay, so, like, I’m gay. Hungary kisses me and I don’t really feel or get information from her. That’s it. Hetero connections do not work with me. I know she loves me but like, kissing, just doesn’t connect.”

Estonia nodded. Poland had something here.

“…but when I kiss a man, like, I don’t know, Liet, I feel tons of feelings and information, like he just inserted a terabyte of data into my body and I slow down, trying to process everything his kiss… his connection sent me.”

Estonia rubbed his temples, “All you did was explain the difference between software formats using sexuality.” Estonia didn’t need to hide much emotion from Poland, though he was holding back, “Keep it Simple, Stupid.” Estonia gave a slight grin to Poland who simply looked away at that response.

“I don’t feel a need to kiss anyone, or get close to anyone in that way, really.” Estonia continued, “It’s just never even occurred to me to want much of a relationship, let alone get intimate with someone.” He shrugged, “Sex, kissing, handholding…? They’ve all been so far from my mind, even in times when I’ve had a chance.” 

Maybe Estonia said too much now. Poland was here, talking about kissing, and he just basically spilt his inside life story to who was rumoured to be one of the biggest gossip queens in the entire world. 

“Oh… so you’re like, ace?” Poland spun the pen around some more, “…or something?”

Estonia blinked a few times. He knew what an Ace was… in terms that were not in sexual orientation, but not more than that. “Is this another acronym because you might have me stumped on this one.”

“Like, asexual…” Poland stuck the pencil in his mouth again, “Not like a sea cucumber or anything but like, you just don’t have sexual desires or anything…”

Estonia stared Poland directly in the eye. For hundreds of years, Estonia wondered if there was something wrong about him or something that made him broken. He wondered if maybe he hadn’t had enough time or if he had been corrupted from years of occupation, but what Poland was saying resonated with him.

“Some people who are asexual still like cuddling and kisses and whatever, not really sex, but they just… it’s not a thing they think about.” Poland continued, “It’s like, Liet likes both… you like neither… I like men but I don’t like women.” He hummed, “Like when I think about cuddling with a woman I don’t mind it’s just like anything more feels super awkward and I don’t wanna think about it, so, yeah… like.” Poland looked at a clock on the wall, “I’m sorry, I really did get off-topic, didn’t I?”

“No, no, no.” Estonia raised his hands up, “Listen, when you started talking, I really worried you were just going to start rambling on about some crazy idea of yours, but… I think… you just put a feeling I’ve been trying to put a name to for years…” He wanted to tell Poland how broken he felt throughout his existence, the relationships that came and went in the blink of an eye because he just didn’t have the same feelings towards the other. The issues and guilt he lived with as he tried to figure out what he was doing wrong or if people didn’t meet his standards.

Poland stared back, chewing on the pencil.

“This is a real thing, right? You’re not just pulling it out of your ass?”

Poland nodded seriously, confirming it was, in fact, a real thing. “Why would I make that up?”

“You make up a lot of stuff.”

Poland shrugged in agreeance, “Yeah, but this is different. This isn’t some weird conspiracy to get someone away from me or screw with an enemies head. This is like, me, a friend, to you, a friend… about, like, stuff.” 

Estonia felt tension drop from his shoulders and he looked Poland over again. He felt happy that there was some word or name, one that he was most certainly going to google when he got home… but he felt sad and almost ashamed that not only it took so long for him to realize this was a thing, but that he didn’t think of it himself.