I used to love mornings. I loved the smell of coffee, the smell of cooking pastries. People bustling around with half asleep groggy faces waiting to get their early morning fix. I particularly liked watching the baristas bustling around, trying to get the orders correct and serving customers while obliging to their own sanity.

I loved mornings that is until they became a chore. I used to always wake up and get ready before Emil, so that I could pack his lunch for him and send him off, but as of everyday of the last month, Emil has been soothing me awake before he made his way off to school. He knew something was up, but never questioned, thinking I would talk to him in the future.

In the mornings what was worse than actually waking up would be the sickness. Not long after I would be awoken would I have to rush to the toilet and dry heave over the porcelain toilet. Then having to deal with my incredible hunger after the morning bouts of nausea.

I knew the morning sickness wouldn't last long however, since I was about two months along. Two months pregnant I mean.

I sat in my usual seat by the window, drinking in the mornings rays and typing quickly on my laptop. I was updating all the blogs that I ran for several companies. People may argue that what I do isn't actually a real job per say, but it pays well and I don't actually have to have much personal contact. Which is good, seeing that people generally irritated me and my social skills aren't the greatest.

A tall man with broad shoulders and darker blonde hair that was tousled lazily, walked over to my table and grinned down at me. His demeanor was strangely cheerful despite how early in the morning it was, and I could make out tiny freckles at dusted his lip splitting grinning face. His eyes glittered with eagerness and looked to be made out of careful glass made out of oceanic blues. I blinked a couple times, taking his appearance in, before realizing that he was asking me for my order.

"O-oh uhm, just regular black coffee thank you," I stumbled over my words. See what I mean about not so great social skills?

He nodded and winked before returning to his station to concoct my simple caffeinated order. I turned my attention back to the blog that I had been updating. I hadn't even noticed the cup of coffee that had been sitting next to me until I had finished. I blinked at the steaming paper cup, taken aback slightly. I slipped a slender hand over the cup, wrapping my fingers around it and brought it to my lips to take a sip.

I preferred my coffee black, no sugar, no creamer. I felt it ruined the actual flavoring of the coffee which had enriched my every morning since I was in high school. It wasn't until I had set down the cup that I had noticed the numbers written on the side of the cup. A phone number.

I felt a hot blush spread across my cheeks, reaching the ends of my ears.


I woke up the next morning with more ease than I had in the past couple months. I also awoke feeling pretty well, even without nausea. I was already beginning to feel like today was going to be a pretty good day. I went about to my usual morning routine, slipping back into my usual schedule. I made Emil breakfast and packed his lunch, even packing some leftover dessert from the night before to his lunch as an extra special treat. I handed Emil his lunch before ushering him out of the door, leaving his questions of my health unanswered.

After Emil had left for school I entered my room, attempting to find something to wear. I hadn't been maternity shopping yet and though I didn't quite have a baby bump, I had gained some weight, so finding clothes to wear in the mornings was a chore. This morning I slipped on a large sweater and a skirt with an elastic waist band. I looked in the mirror, taking notice of the weight that I have gained in my face. My face was naturally a heart shape, my cheeks more slightly on the gaunt side, however now, fat had filled my cheeks, appearing my face more round.

I frowned.

I resumed my morning rituals, packing my laptop and phone into my bag, and slipping on a scarf and jacket before leaving the house for my favorite coffee shop. The seasons were just beginning to change, and even if the snow was melting, it was still quite cold out. I huffed out a sigh and buried my lower half of my face into my knitted scarf.

It didn't take long for me to reach the coffee shop, thank goodness because my fingers were already beginning to freeze as well as running in my nose.

I perched myself on my favorite spot next to the window. I liked being by the window because of the warmth that is let in and I liked watching the people making by.

I looked out the window as something seemed to have caught my eye. A mother holding hands with her child as they made way past the shops. I felt a mixture of fear, anxiety and even a little excitement. Absentmindedly I brought my hand over my abdomen, watching the mother and child.

I didn't exactly know who the father of the child was. Two months ago I had gotten drunk and was taken home by some random stranger. Needless to say it was a one night stand, and with that, I barely remembered the man's face.

A clearing of a throat next to me, made me jump out of my recent thoughts. I turned towards the man, quickly removing my hand from my stomach. It was the same man as yesterday. I blinked slowly. His hair was the same, tousled with the lazy bed head look, a grin still spread across his face and eyes glittering with happiness and... Something else?

"Hej!" He spoke clearly. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him.

"Hei-" was all I was able to reply before he cut in once more.

"You're the same woman from yesterday!" He spoke energetically, his voice was smooth, but had a slight gruffness, it was low but not baritone. His words were slightly slurred together. So he remembered me.

"It appears so," my fingers fidgeted with the ends of my sweater.

"Do ye' come here often?" He asked in a friendly manner.

Why was he talking to me? Wasn't he supposed to be getting people their coffees? I glanced around, noticing the lack of people and answered my own questions. I sighed.

"Every day," my eyes met his.

He held out a hand before introducing himself as Mathias Køhler. I in turn shook his hand before quickly withdrawing, introducing myself as Svanna Bondevik.

"Tha's a nice name, Svanna," he said, testing my name out on his tongue, on his lips, as if it were a musical instrument.

I blushed in return, not offering any other words.

"So what'll it be today?" The grin on his face widened.

"Just a regular coffee, black," I replied simply.

"Got it!" He saluted and sauntered off to prepare my order.

I turned my attention to my laptop, pulling it out slowly from my bag and booting it up. I didn't have much work to do today, just some more updating, an exchange of emails between myself and a couple of my customers. Nothing that would take over two hours to do.

Mathias swung around, placing the coffee next to me, as well as some sort of pastry. I glanced at him quizzically.

"It's on the house!" He winked before taking the seat next to mine. Wait what did he think he was doing?

I reached for the pastry and took a bite. Jellies mixed with crumbled breads broke in my mouth, frosted bits of pastry melted in my mouth and I soon decided it was delicious.

A small smile tugged the corner of my mouth.

It was easy to see that Mathias had won some sort of battle. From then on he would talk, talk about casual things, like the weather and his own job. Every once in a while he would ask for input in our conversations, such as what I did for a living, what my favorite color was, why I didn't like creamer. Easy things like that. Sometimes however he would drone on and on, and there really was only so much I could take. Over time however he seemed to understand how far he could go in our conversations without getting under my skin.

A month had passed and we sort of created a schedule of our own. I would come into the coffee shop at about 8:15 am, he would greet me with a steaming cup of black coffee and a cheese danish, and during his breaks we would talk, and during times of congestion would be when I would write my blogging articles, update the html codings, and email back and forth between myself and other employers.

It was easy being with Mathias. He seemed to understand my anti-social tendencies and respected them. Over time I would participate more in our conversations, when I warmed up to him that is. He was a very cheerful man, and very easy to talk to. He even made me laugh and smile once or twice.

The days that he had off, Tuesdays, were days that I often found myself lonely. I would stare absentmindedly at my computer screen and try to focus on my own work. However on Tuesdays it was very easy for me to start feeling anxious about the child growing inside me, and how I had yet to tell anyone about my pregnancy. I would stress over how I might break it to Emil, and would envision his reaction. Sometimes I imagined his reaction as passive and caring for my health, but other times I imagined him to be angry and upset.

Today turned out to be a Tuesday. Tuesdays I was prepared to be alone and even preparing to order my own coffee, which I haven't done for about a month; except on Tuesdays of course.

Even though it was Tuesday I found a familiar Mathias Køhler sitting next to my usual seat by the window, waiting for me with a cheese danish and a steaming cup of coffee. I blinked.

Mathias turned and waved at me. He was wearing a simple red sweater and a pair of dark wash jeans. No barista apron. I walked slowly over to where he was sitting and sat cautiously next to him.

"Bet ye' didn't expect me today did ya'?" He smirked.

"I didn't," I replied simply before taking a sip of my perfectly prepared coffee.

"Well I know just how much y'missed me so I thought I would spend m'day with ya! Is that okay?" He smiled.

"One, I didn't miss you. Two, I don't really care," I mumbled, a light blush dusting over my ears.

"Aw! In Svanna language that means ye did!" He grinned and laughed.

This man was soon becoming as great at reading me as my own brother. I rolled my eyes in return before turning my attention towards my danish. Because of these stupid things, I was gaining weight faster than I had expected. I had already gained ten pounds, and Emil was beginning to ask questions.

"Svanna, you okay?" I blinked at Mathias. It seems that I had spaced out.

I waved passively before taking another sip of my coffee.

"Ya seem like something's bothering ya-" he replied with a prod to my cheek with his fore finger.

"Yeah I guess," I sighed before pushing his finger away.

"Tell me about it," the expression on his face was slowly becoming more and more concerned.

I sighed. I was almost four months along, how much longer was I going to be able to keep this a secret? Not much apparently. I rested my elbow against the table and pressed my forehead to the palm of my hand before answering.

"I'm pregnant." My voice was barely above a whisper.

I felt his body tense up next to mine. An awkward silence ensued. What if he stopped talking to me?... Granted I wasn't quite sure what our relationship was, whether or not if we were friends, but I knew I would at least miss him if he stopped talking to me all together.

I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me, pulling me closer to himself. I caught a squeak in my throat before it had even made it out of my throat. I didn't resist however. We sat for a while like this. Him hugging me, me sitting there. We didn't say anything for the longest time before he broke the silence.

"How far along are ye'?" His voice was surprisingly quiet.

"Almost four months," I admitted.

He merely nodded, looking more withdrawn than he was before. I felt... Awkward. I chewed the inside of my cheek trying to push away the negative thoughts and feelings that seemed to be pouring into my body. Hot tears soon rushed to my eyes and I swallowed.

Did I ever mention how much I hate hormones?

He blinked at me, eyes widening suddenly at the explosion of emotion that was painted upon my face. He seemed to internally panic, unable to properly place his arms, almost flailing around like an idiot.

"Svanna- don't cry- Svanna why are ye cryin'? Hej what's the matter-" he seemed to be talking a million miles per second.

I waved dismissably at him, looking down at my lap. I was slowly able to blink my tears away, sucking in calmed breaths while he sat there, looking at me with pain and concern spreading across his face. It wasn't until I had fully collected myself that I noticed one of his calloused hands rubbing circles on my back.

When Mathias had realized that I had collected myself he nudged me.

"Hej," he simply smiled.

"Hei...?" I blinked.

"C'mon, let's go for a walk!" He stood up, his hand still remaining upon my back.

I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure what to think of the personal contact. Usually it made me feel uncomfortable and slightly violated, but now it was... Nice.

"... Okay?" I blinked again, unsure of what he was doing.


Human Names

Mathias: Denmark

Svanna: fem!Norway

Alright! So I know the story feels like it has holes in it but that's because the next chapter is going to be told from Mathias' point of view and will fill in those little holes. Sooooo... I'm taking a break from Copenhagen Skies and writing this. I kind of needed a breather so... I would have posted this sooner except I had my ACT's and I had a couple papers I needed to write. So, tell me what you think! I would love some reviews to know what you guys think about this.

Also some people have been asking for my tumblr, I will post this again on Copenhagen Skies but I figured I should up it up on here too.

Personal Blog: snail-swag

Hetalia Blog (where I post most of my fanfiction): floorxnorth