~Iceland's POV~
I sighed as I stared angrily at the wooden door leading into the bar where the Nordic 5 agreed to meet again to discuss their "problems", or, in other words, me not wanting to call Lukas "big brother".
Every single time since I first updated them on Lukas' and my status as brothers, they'd been pushing me harder and harder to call him that, and I was just about at my breaking point. I wasn't ready to give in, no, I was ready to beat them all into the ground while laughing hysterically.
If you're American or Italian and haven't guessed, I was in a horrible mood.
Knowing it would be pointless to put this off any longer, I groaned along with the door as it pushed open. As I walked around the corner to the V.I.P. room the bar had put in especially for us (we were country personifications; we hardly had to pull any strings to get special treatment there), I was immediately bombarded with the sound of obnoxious laughter, followed by the sound of slightly less obnoxious choking. Sounded like my dear brother and Matthais were already here.
"Oh, hello, Emil!" Tino chirped happily, "Glad to see you could make it! I hope you don't mind that Mat's already drunk… you know how he is with…"
"Yeah, I know," I mumbled, taking my seat, "Let's just get this over with."
"Emil," Lukas muttered in his usual soft tone, making his brother flinch.
"Yeah, Lukas…?" I responded, bracing myself for-
"When will you finally start calling me big brother, Emil?" the poker-faced man asked.
"I told you I'm not saying it!"
"You won't call me big brother?"
"No!"
"You can do it. Big brother. Two words."
"I'm not saying it!"
"Big brother."
"No!"
"Big brother."
"You're annoying!"
"Big sister."
"No- THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE!"
"Big brother."
"PLEASE JUST SHUT UP!"
"Big brother."
"I SAID STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT SO STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME!"
"… do you hate me?" Lukas asked out of the blue. His voice betrayed no emotion, so I couldn't be sure if he was joking or not. Still, I deliberated very seriously for a few moments while everyone waited in awkward silence...
"I-I don't know… you get on my nerves all the time and I just- I don't even know why I bother coming to these things anymore if all you're going to do is try to make me say that!" I cried, pushing back my chair and practically running out of the room, leaving a group of shocked nations behind…
~Rest of Nordic's POV~
After Emil stalked out, things grew eerily silent in the Nordic's room. For a few minutes, nobody said anything, just stared at the place where he'd been sitting only a little bit ago. When everyone finally started talking again, it was in a half-hearted manner that only served to make everybody more uncomfortable. Lukas didn't say anything at all. His dull gaze never once left the place where his brother would return, if he decided to come back.
Finally, the other Tino, Berwald, and Matthias couldn't handle the stifling atmosphere in the room, and decided to adjourn for the day, making plans to meet again the tomorrow. Lukas just sat there, nodding at the appropriate places but otherwise seeming completely out of it. It took five minutes for him to realize everyone else was already gone, and thirty more for him to realize that probably meant he should leave, too.
That night, as he sat in his room, clutching his favorite bunny to his chest and replaying the day's conversation in his head, he involuntarily let a few tears slip down his cheeks…
~Timeskip: The Next Day~
Tino, Berwald, and Matthias all came early for the next day's meeting, waiting to see if Emil would show. They stared intently at the place where his face would appear for the longest time, until Matthias finally broke his gaze just long enough to look at his watch and realize the meeting started half an hour ago. "It's kind of hard to discuss things without those two here…" he mumbled, "Maybe we should try again tomorrow?" he asked.
Tino nodded, "Yeah… but if neither of them show up at all in the next week, we'll go check on them, agreed?"
Berwald nodded in approval, and Matthias said, more seriously than usual, "I hope they're both okay… Norge seemed to take it really hard…"
"Yeah… he did…" Tino muttered in response. Everyone left without another word…
~Timeskip: One Week Later~
The three Nordics who weren't fighting were shocked. They couldn't ever remember a time where Emil and Lukas' relationship had gotten so bad. Neither one had shown up at all over the course of the week, and they began to worry to the point where both Tino and Matthias were seriously considering cutting the week short and just running to their houses right then and there.
Finally, though, the week ended. By this point, they didn't even bother to check and see if either brother had shown up at the bar, they just drove straight to Lukas' house first, since it was closer. "Hey! Open up!" Matthias yelled, pounding on the door, "Come on; we need to talk!"
After a few minutes, he gave up and tried the doorknob. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. "Is he in such bad shape he forgot to lock his own front door?" Tino muttered rhetorically, worry lacing his tone.
"I sure hope not…" Matthias responded just before he ran into his "best friend's" living room. "Lukas!" he exclaimed, inadvertently calling over Tino and Berwald with his concerned tone…
~Norway's POV~
From the second my brother told me, in a roundabout sort of way, that he hated me, I couldn't stop myself from feeling depressed. As hard as I tried to push the feelings away like I usually did when I thought they might become too hard to bear, I just wasn't able to.
What did I do to make Emil hate me? There was no way it was just the whole "big brother" thing; although I'm sure it played a role. I just wish I knew so I could apologize…
I didn't know how long I spent sitting on my living room couch, not-really-watching TV and drifting in and out of sleep. I didn't eat or drink anything; not even coffee or something smothered in butter. I just knew that suddenly there was noise other than the TV in the room with me, and although I knew who it came from I just couldn't bring myself to care...
~Rest of Nordic's POV~
For a few seconds, the three nations could only stare slack-jawed at their friend. Normally, you couldn't tell at all from his face what he was thinking, but now his eyes were red as if he'd been crying all week (he probably had), although there wasn't much else changed in his expression but a slight crinkling of his eyebrows and his curl's depressed-looking droop. He looked thinner, too, like he hadn't eaten anything all week.
The most worrying thing for them, however, was that he didn't even acknowledge their entering the room. He sat, motionless, staring through the TV, which was turned to some random soap opera, clutching his pink bunny that he was always so secretive about right in plain sight, whereas he normally would have choked Matthias for yelling in his house.
"H-Hey Lukas…" Matthias spoke tentatively, reaching a hand out to the Norwegian, "You okay, dude?" No response. "Lukas?" No response. "Okay, you're seriously freaking me out now! Snap out of it!" No response. "Guys, he's not responding," he said worriedly.
He then began frantically poking his "friend's" cheek while repeating his name over and over again. "Lukas." Poke. "Lukas." Poke. "Lukas!" Poke. "LUKAS!" Poke. "LUKAS TALK TO ME!" Poke poke poke poke pokepokepokepokpokpokpokpopopopopppppppppoke. "Guys we gotta call his brother now. I don't care if he's still mad; we've got to fix Lukas before he dies from not acknowledging the King of Northern Europe for too long!"
Tino sweatdropped at Matthias' apparent priority issues, but handed the Dane his phone, which was already dialing the depressed country's brother…
~Iceland's POV~
I never ended up leaving mainland Scandinavia, since my boss said before I left I wasn't allowed to come back until I convinced the others to help me attract more tourists. I knew he'd eventually let me back no matter what, though; this wasn't the first time something like this happened. I was just stuck until that happened.
It was a week after my conversation with Lukas and I felt pretty bad. If only I hadn't been having such a horrible mood my answer may have come out more like I meant it to and less like I hated his guts.
Suddenly, my phone's ringtone shocked me out of my thoughts. Without even checking caller I.D., I picked up. "Hello?" I asked.
"Hey, Emil? It's Mat," came the voice on the other end.
"… what do you want?" I asked.
"It's about Lukas… he's acting weird… you need to come see him right away."
"Why should I-" I began, but some sense of urgency in the generally carefree Dane's voice made me stop. "Fine. Whatever. I'll be right there. He's at his house, right?"
"Yeah… hey, do you, um, do you really hate Lukas? I mean, if this is just about the whole 'big brother' thing, then…"
I stayed quiet for a second, deliberating how to answer. Finally, I sighed. "No, I don't hate him. I guess it's just… I don't know, I expected some kind of reaction when he found out we were related. It's not every day you learn you have a new sibling, y'know? But all he wanted to talk about was that stupid promise we made when I was a kid, and... I just got annoyed. It doesn't really matter, though, it's not like anyone cares. I'll be right over," I said, hanging up before he could get another word in. Throwing on my winter jacket, I made my way to my brother's house…
~Timeskip~
I thought it would be fine to walk to Lukas' house, but I was very wrong. I was only a few minutes past my house when a freak storm hit and I was surrounded by white. Even though I knew perfectly well the way to his house and how to navigate through a snowstorm, it still took about an hour, and by then I was freezing without my scarf, hat, or gloves.
When I reached the house I was almost positive was his and pounded on the door, Tino opened it, allowing me to stumble inside coughing. "Did you walk here?" he asked incredulously, "Why didn't you take the car you rented?"
"I-It was nice when I s-started out," I replied weakly.
"Well you probably caught a cold now…" he muttered, fretting over me like a mother over a child, "We should at least get you warm and hope it helps…" He ran off, quickly returning with a stack of blankets some fresh, warm clothes, and some coffee.
He took my coat and shoes, shoved me into the bathroom long enough to change (the new clothes were straight from the dryer and felt amazing) and wring out my sopping hair with one of the towels, then pulled me to the living room, wrapped me in blankets, and handed me the cup of still-steaming coffee.
I was still shivering for quite a while, but the instant I warmed up enough to stop I started feeling that achiness that only comes when you get sick. Downing the whole cup of coffee in one gulp did little to help the problem.
When I was finally warm enough to notice my surroundings, the first thing my eyes fell on was my brother, curled up in almost the exact same way as me, but with red-rimmed eyes, pale skin, and thinner than I remembered. He was staring at me with a look that seemed to be a mix of worry and sadness. I don't think I've ever seen so much feeling on his face before in my life. "I, um, well…" I began, "Um, Mat called me and said I should come over, so… I came over…" Thank you Captain Obvious, for blessing me with your gifts.
He only nodded, but he started shaking a little. It was only then that my brain, slowed by the cold, started putting two and two together. "Sorry…" I muttered quietly, "I-I don't hate you; that was never what I meant to say, I was just… having a bad day."
Matthias walked over and whispered in my ear, "Tell him what you told me on the phone." I stared up at him, surprised. I'd never heard such a sensible, helpful statement from him, and I doubted I ever would again.
Taking in a deep, shaky breathe, I explained, "I just… when I told everyone we were brothers… I was expecting you to be more excited than you were… you know, maybe talk about something more… I don't know. I don't know what I was expecting. But all you wanted to do was talk about your name, like that was the only thing that mattered from the whole thing. I expected you to let it go after a while, but it didn't happen and last week I guess I just snapped, so… yeah. Sorry." A chill ran down my spine; I burrowed deeper in the blankets.
"Hey…" I added, "You've been eating, right? You look pretty thin…"
He shook his head. "I didn't want to…" he mumbled softly. After a pause, he added, even more softly, "and I'm sorry, too. I never meant for you to take it that way… I just wanted…"
I nodded. "It's fine. I-I just- ACHOO!" I sneezed loudly into my blanket burrow.
"You should get to bed," Lukas said, climbing off the couch with a surprising amount of strength considering he hadn't eaten in a week, apparently. Well, not that surprising, really. He was a country, after all.
"I'm fine here," I told him, "I think if I have to move I might die." That was only half a joke.
"Okay…" he sighed, "I'll turn off the light then. Tino, Berwald…" He sighed, "Matthias, you're welcome to the guest rooms until this storm blows over…"
"M'kay, glad to see you back to normal!" Matthias laughed, patting Lukas' back a little too hard.
"I'm going to choke you for that later," the platinum blonde promised.
"Goodnight everyone!" Tino said, already heading upstairs dragging a frightened Matthias and a stoic Berwald behind him.
"You can go upstairs to your own room, too," I said, "I'll be fine down here by myself."
He shook his head. "I've been sleeping down here for the past week; I can handle a few more days."
"M'kay," I mumbled, already drifting off to sleep thanks to this huge weight being lifted off my chest. "G'night… big brother…"
Extended Ending: ~Norway's POV~
Emil spoke so quietly I could hardly hear him, but when the words finally sunk in, I smiled for the first time in years. A few more tears, this time happy ones, slid down freely. Hopefully by tomorrow I'd be able to bring my emotions back in check, but now I was just too happy.
"God natt, little brother," I replied to his sleeping form before drifting off to sleep myself, still smiling slightly with the tears on my face already beginning to dry…
Awkward story is awkward.
Hey, sorry I haven't uploaded anything in like a month; I've been really busy, had a ton of ideas that I couldn't write, a horrible case of procrastination, and I honestly can't even believe I finished THIS story with everything that's been happening!
So... yeah, sorry I think this moves too fast, in my personal opinion. This is why I'm not very good at one-shots, and country x reader stories are more my thing anyways... but I hope you liked this! I don't know when I'll upload anything else, since school's about to start and I'll be SUPER busy, but... I'll try, okay? I'm not going to abandon my other stories, just possibly put them on hiatus if things get too insane.
Thank you for reading!
~applechan53