The smell of the hospital was the first thing that hit him, and he knew at that moment that something was very wrong. He was laying down, most likely in a hospital bed from the crinkling sounds he heard when he moved. He blinked, but it only brought on pain. The world was black. Pitch black; absolutely no light.
"Nor?"
A larger but equally slender hand took his own, and a relieved even sigh could be heard escaping his older brother.
"I'm glad your up, Emil."
Iceland concluded that they were at a public hospital due to the use of human names. He probably wouldn't get the true story of why he was here. Talking about the human counterpart of a country was forbidden in public.
"It wasn't anything special or secret, if that's what you're thinking," said Norway, "Just a car crash. All these years you've taken everything with so little damage, but a fucking car crash did this."
"Lukas, what's wrong?" he asked, "I'll just get over it again, right? At least, I don't see this as any different."
"Do you even know what 'this' is?"
"My eyes? I think that's it. I can't see."
"Glass got lodged in there, the operation was an emergency thing," said Norway, "The glass is out, but the damage is very permanent."
"Why do you sound so worked up about it, I can be blind, I mean I've done harder things, right?"
Iceland's words got weaker as he continued to speak. No challenge he had faced before had been remotely similar to this. He knew that Nor could hear it in his voice.
"I was driving."
That was all Iceland needed to hear. He understood everything at that moment. Norway would never forgive himself. Never. There was no way to make him change his mind.
Iceland could never have his Nor back. He would never bring coffee up to Nor in the morning again. Never hug him from behind, burying his face in whichever ugly Christmas sweater Nor was wearing that day. Never wake up to Nor kissing his forehead the morning after. No morning after, and no night to create one. Nor would always treat him like he was fragile, for the rest life, however long that might be. Whatever love had been there was on standstill, all for the sake of taking care of him as though he were helpless. He wanted to cry. He didn't want to let go of that love. That forbidden thing he had with his brother was sacred to him. This was going to change that. Forever.