The air around him was crisp and cold - normal for this time of year and nigh - the snow under his feet crunched a little too loudly for his liking; and every ten steps or so he would stop and listen for anyone else that perhaps might be following him.
Nothing ever did make a noise, so he made his way deeper into the forest the best he could.
Glancing at his watch as he approached the border, Sweden really hoped he had interpreted Norway's instructions correctly.
Standing at the border between their lands; a deep dug out rift in the soil the only thing that told of one country ending and the other beginning, Sweden started to worry that Norway might not have been able to make it out of the city at all.
He took a deep breath and started to walk a little further north from where he stood. It was an unspoken rule for them all; if one meeting spot was unsuitable they moved northwards. Besides, this way if any Nazis showed up and asked he would simply say he was patrolling his side of the border. Simple as that.
About a hundred metres from where he thought the meeting place was, he spotted a vaguely familiar figure.
Careful not to quickened his pace by too much, Sweden made his way over.
Norway was standing on his own side of the border; wearing a large grey woolly coat that certainly had seen better days.
His shoes where at least 3 sizes too big and all in all he looked miserable.
"You're late." He commented coolly as Sweden carefully slid down the small slope before crawling up on the other side, joining Norway in his own country.
"Your directions very a little too vague," he replied as he brushed some snow from his dark blue coat.
"You're just terrible at directions," Norway sneered.
Sweden smiled; which earned him a weak punch in the gut from Norway. It was good to know that despite everything that had happened: Norway could still give insults.
He studied Norway carefully. The dark wasn't the best of help; thick clouds obscured the moon from view and cast them both into the pitch black northern night as quickly as the winds blew.
However; Sweden could still easily see that Norway was a lot thinner now. Eyes sunken and hollow. What little life they usually possessed seemed to be gone. Dull blue eyes that wasn't half-closed in boredom, but from fatigue.
Then again; Norway had been worse. Much worse.
Sweden remembered 1349 and the years the followed. And thankfully there where no black boils on Norway's body this time.
He said nothing as he pulled the shorter nation into a tight embrace.
However, Sweden's small smile turned into a frown as he felt Norway shake and shiver.
The feeling made Sweden freeze to the spot like stone.
Norway never froze. Norway was never cold. Not in his own country. Not on such a mild winter-night by their standards.
Pulling away, hands still firmly planted on Norway's shoulders, Sweden stared intently at Norway.
"When was the last time you ate?" he asked.
Norway looked away, his eyes drifting around the white snow on the ground; pretending to look at something Sweden knew wasn't there.
"Tell me; when did you last eat?" it wasn't a question any more, it was an order.
"Don't know," Norway mumbled back in return, chewing at his bottom lip manically.
"You have food stamps, right?"
Norway nodded in reply.
"But you haven't used them?" Sweden's eyebrows furrowed even deeper at Norway's reply as a weak shake of his head.
"Why?"
"My people need them more than me..." Norway explained, voice barely above a whisper.
"So you're starving yourself?"
Sweden didn't even need and answerer to know it was true.
His neighbour had never really been the one to pile on weight; muscle or otherwise. But even hidden under the thick grey coat, it was clear to see that Norway was no longer himself. While it wouldn't necessarily kill him, Sweden knew all to well that despite possessing a near immortal body; they still felt pain, hunger and illness.
Suddenly Sweden was painfully aware of how Norway's breath was quicker and more panicked than normal. The swirls of damp emitting from his mouth appeared much quicker than his own.
Removing his right-hand's glove he pressed a cold hand to Norway's forehead.
Norway wasn't just starving himself, he was ill. Burning up with fever; yet shivering like a leaf in the wind. He looked up at Sweden with eyes as if clouded by fog and a tint of redness that certainly had nothing to do with shame.
"You're coming with me." He concluded, reaching out to take Norway's hand.
"No," Norway took a step backwards, crossing his arms in defiance and glaring ice daggers at Sweden.
"Why not?"
"You're a traitor," Norway hissed
The words stung deeply. For what felt like an hour, Sweden just stood in stunned silence and looked at Norway apolitically.
It was true. He was a traitor. He could have stood up and stopped many things from happening. But he didn't.
Certainly: standing up against the Nazis would have been certain death for his people: he knew that.
It hadn't been a easy choice. Quite the contrary. However; his duties was to protect his own people first and foremost.
Yet, the way Norway glared at him made it hard to fully rationalise the decision.
"We're cursed..." he mumbled into his scarf. No matter what he did there was never a solution that benefited them all.
Standing between a duty to his people and the duty he felt towards his fellow nations...his people would always win. That was always how it had been and always how it would be.
It didn't make it any less painful though.
"Cursed is right," Norway sneered, spitting at Sweden's shoes.
He stood there looking at Norway's grimace for a moment. It wasn't easy seeing someone so close to him look so dead.
Yeah, Sweden concluded in his own mind, Norway looked dead.
A walking corpse so to speak. Partly on purpose and partly due to outside forces he couldn't control. War was indeed terrible for them all.
"You're coming with me," He grunted again and stepped closer to Norway; who immediately sneered at him and took a step away.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Norway bit back, his voice angry but tired "You're a traitor! A Quisling! You really think I trust you any more?"
Sweden sighed and pushed his glasses further up his nose.
"We both know you don't really mean that..."
Norway frowned and crossed his arms, kicking some of the snow in Sweden's direction.
His silence told Sweden enough.
No matter how bitter their relationship was, Sweden didn't think Norway had it in him to truly hate him for doing what was right for his own people.
It would however take some time for him to admit that he had forgiven him.
"No one will know," Sweden reasoned, grabbing Norway's hand and dragging him closer to the border.
"You can't know that!" he whispered back, Sweden could detect a hint of worry and fear in Norway's voice. It was not the slightest bit pleasant.
Pulling his neighbour closer, Sweden lifted him up and threw him over his shoulder. Norway was just as light (if not lighter) as he had anticipated.
"What are you doing?"
"This way there's only one set of footprints leaving the country..." Sweden rationalised, even if they both knew it was a stupid plan should anyone truly come looking for Norway. However, when no protest came from Norway, he concluded that perhaps he was only offering resistance out of principle. The thought made him smile a little to himself. Even while occupied Norway was still careful not to appear to take anyone's side.
Once they where a few hundred metres into the thick forest on Sweden's side of the border, he put Norway back down on the ground before prompting the other man to climb onto his back instead.
Wearily and a little cautious, Norway did as he was told; wrapping his arms securely around Sweden's neck as much as he could.
By the time they reached his house, Norway was fast asleep on Sweden's back. Quietly breathing steadily into Sweden's ear, the cold night air making his breath travel like a trail of fog in the peripheral vision of Sweden's eyes.
He found it comforting. As long as Norway was breathing Sweden knew everything would be fine. It wasn't a raspy breathing from struggling lungs like before. But a steady and deep breathing. Norway had most likely not slept for days, curled up alone in his house instead. Fearing everything.
But on Sweden's back he felt safe enough to take a well earned rest.
Stomping off excess snow before stepping into his warm home, Sweden only kicked off his boots before making his way upstairs.
Norway was still sleeping when he slid him off his back and into his bed, wrapping the duvet around his thin body before making his way downstairs to make a very late dinner.
Norway awoke to the delicious smell of stew wafting up the stairs and into the bedroom. Groggily and with much grumbling and cursing he untangled himself from the duvet and made his way downstairs. Sweden heard him stomping down the stairs and chuckled to himself.
At least one thing never changed; a sleep deprived and sulky Norway would make his dissatisfaction known in some non-verbal way no matter what.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Sleeping beauty," Sweden joked as Noway entered the kitchen, his thick grey coat unbuttoned but still hanging loosely over his far too thin shoulders. Blond hair in disarray and slightly tussled at the back.
"Shut up," came the short reply before he took a seat by the very small kitchen table, glaring at Sweden. To be quite honest the table was never meant to seat more than one person; Denmark usually refused to sit at the table with Sweden, claiming it was far too intimate; but neither Sweden or Norway cared about that at the moment. The kitchen was by far the warmest room in the house and that was right now all Norway cared about.
"Hungry?"
Norway nodded in reply, tracing his fingers over the red and white chequered tablecloth.
Dishing up two bowls for them both, Sweden couldn't help but chuckle at how quickly Norway started to eat.
"You'll give yourself indigestion that way," he laughed as he placed a basket of bread in the middle of the table.
"Sorry," Norway averted his eyes and hung his head in shame, his blonde hair obscuring his face – but not his ears. Sweden saw them take on a slight tint of pink.
"It's okay...eat as much as you can," he reassured him with a gentle pat on the shoulder.
He didn't need to be told twice; his entire bowl and almost all the bread disappeared in less time than it took Sweden to eat one bowl of stew himself.
Norway sighed contently before suddenly freezing, realising all of a sudden how greedy he had been.
"I'm sorry..." he mumbled weakly "I didn't mean to eat you out of your house,"
"You need the food more than me, so please; help yourself to more,"
Norway mulled the offer over for a while before rising from his chair and pouring himself a second helping.
All Sweden could do was smile as the Norwegian nation spooned spoon-full after spoon-full into his mouth. Sweden swore he could see some of the colour and life return to Norway's face with each second.
The snow started to fall just about as they where finished with their meal, causing both nations to look out the window with a smile; legs loosely entangled around each other under the table.
"Snow will hide you," Sweden whispered, almost afraid to break the peaceful silence that snow always seemed to bring.
Norway only nodded, a ghost of a smile racing his lips for a split second before it returned to it's usual grim expression.
"Not for long though..." he shivered and stared at his bowl – which he had more or less licked clean.
"Just stay here for the night, go back in the morning. The snow will erase all the tracks in an hour or so," Sweden rationalised. He wanted to have Norway close to him – even for just a night.
One night where he didn't have to worry that Norway would freeze while sleeping. One night where he knew nothing could harm him. One night where they could perhaps both pretend that this was just a normal night and there was nothing out there to fear.
"What if they come looking for me in the morning and I'm not there?"
"Bring some rope from my shed, tell them you where out trying to trap rabbits?"
"Mh...suppose so..."
"I'll take you back early in the morning if you like..." he smiled at Norway, placing his hand over Norway's, stroking the small scars and cracks in the dry skin carefully.
Sweden received no reply, however; Norway turning his hand an interlacing their fingers was all the confirmation he needed.
Despite protests that fell on death ears, Sweden carried Norway up to bed, helping him out of the tattered clothes and lending him a pair of his own pyjamas.
He refrained from remarking how utterly pathetic and small Norway looked in the oversized shirt and trousers. Undoubtedly did Norway himself realise just how thin and frail he had gotten. There was no need to remind his neighbour just how much the occupation was tearing at him.
Did anything he owned himself fit him any more? Sweden wondered as he settled into bed.
The springs in the mattress creaked under the weight of them both, although Sweden was pretty sure it was mostly his weight that made the noise.
"Thank you..." Norway whispered quietly into the pillow, only barely audible enough for Sweden to catch it.
"I know you're helping...I know you're on our side...and not theirs..." he continued softly, stopping for a moment to lick his lips.
"But I don't feel like I can trust anyone any more. Nothing seems safe..."
"Trust in that this will all be over and we'll all go back to how we where," Sweden whispered back as he pulled Norway closer to him, rubbing small circles into Norway's lower back.
Norway hummed in contentment and relaxed a little more in Sweden's embrace.
"But nothing will ever be quite the same...this isn't just a war fought for land. Nor is it a war where only soldiers are loosing their lives. This war will change us all. Human and nation alike. Nothing we do can stop that...doesn't that make you feel powerless?"
Sweden closed his eyes and considered the question for a while. Next to him he could hear Norway breathe a little more rapidly than before. Was he scared?
"Yes, I do feel powerless. So many lives lost on every side imaginable, and it doesn't seem to end any time soon..." So far he had remained neutral. But at what cost?
Denmark and Norway had fallen under the Axis' control. Finland was struggling with Russia and couldn't hold out much longer against either the Axis or Russia for much longer. No matter how many Swedish volunteers where sent over in the winter war...it hadn't been enough in the long run.
And Iceland? Well, Sweden supposed Iceland was the safest out of them all. He perhaps wasn't happy about having to be 'occupied' by England, but he was very aware that he was much better off than his brother.
"However, while we might be powerless to stop it all, we'll still be here to see it all through. We're the pillars of our country. The building stones of society so to speak. We've been here for so long...lived through so much. So while this might seem like the end; I believe we've got many more years to live." Sweden smiled and planted a soft kiss to Norway's forehead.
"Since when did you become a philosopher?" Norway snorted, but the arms wrapping themselves around Sweden's waist was enough for the Swedish nations to know that Norway understood what he meant.
"I got bored and started reading a few books lately," he joked, hugging Norway tightly against his chest.
"Go back to being a mumbling oaf...I prefer you like that," Norway retorted with no bitterness or malice in his voice.
"Sorry, Denmark took that position years ago,"
Norway laughed softly and snuggled closer to Sweden, resting his head right under Sweden's chin. His blonde hair tickling him lightly as he spoke.
"True that...although he's a bit louder than you,"
"Isn't that how you tell us apart? By the volume of our voice?" Sweden grinned, prodding Norway's ribs with his index finger.
"Ow, fuck off. I tell you apart by who of you smell the most like rotten fish,"
"That was uncalled for," Sweden feigned being hurt.
"Bet that's how you upheld your neutrality...threatened the Nazis with some Surströmming or something..." Norway laughed lightly and poked Sweden's sides harshly.
"Aw, you figured me out. I lined my borders with the stuff and told their generals that the Swedish population would only surrender if they all could eat five cans of the stuff each. Sent them running as quickly as you can count to 3,"
"Dangerous biological weapon that..."
"Yeah, and also very delicious,"
"How to defend your neutrality...the Swedish way," Norway snorted, before a large yawn sounded from him.
"Well, you get some shut-eye. Safe in the knowledge no one will dare come near a nation protected by fish." Sweden ran his hand through Norway's hair, lulling his northern neighbour to sleep.
"You're... an idiot..." Norway mumbled sleepily in return, and a before Sweden could think of a witty comeback, he could feel and hear Norway's heavy breathing against his chest.
-x-
Sweden awoke the next morning with Norway still loosely draped across his chest. A little more colour had returned to his features, his fever had also gone down and the dark circled under his eyes where less prominent.
Untangling himself from the duvet and his bed-mate, Sweden disappeared downstairs to make breakfast.
Staring at his cupboard he decided that this was as good as any reason to make a proper breakfast.
By the time Norway surfaced and stumbled down the stairs, Sweden had put out a real feast for the two of them on the small kitchen table. Two wooden stools served as extra table space to fit all the jars of jam and a few tins of sardines.
"What's the occasion?" Norway asked a little uncertain. "you giving me my last meal or something?"
Sweden laughed the grim joke off and greeted Norway with a swift good morning kiss,
"Might be a while till I see you...figured I should fatten you up a bit,"
"You always did have a thing for chubby people..." Norway joked back as he took a seat, eyes lighting up in joy at the sigh of a pot of coffee close to his own plate.
"Coffee!" he exclaimed and poured himself a cup full, cupping his hands around the warm porcelain and inhaling the strong aroma.
"All the way from Cuba," Sweden explained as he placed a basket of sliced bread down and took a seat himself.
"How the hell did you get that?" Norway stared at the coffee and then at Sweden in wonder
"England was over a few weeks ago, brought me some."
"Ahh...how is he holding up by the way? Not heard much lately..."
"Doing fine. Quite proud of his status as an isolated island right now. Told me your troops and royal family are doing well."
Norway smiled knowingly, half hidden by his coffee-cup
"Fantastic, that's good news."
Certain Norway knew something he didn't know, Sweden just smiled back and left Norway's secrets stay secret. He didn't wish to press the matter too far. War was war. He was allowed to have some things hidden from them all.
-X-
"So...you'll promise me you'll be careful?"
"Not yet...there's something I need to do you see..." Norway trailed off as he gazed northwards.
"Care to tell me what you're up to?" Sweden tried not to show his worry for whatever plan Norway was involved in.
"Can't. The less that know the better. But you just wait... you'll hear about it soon. Trust me," The grin that spread across Norway's lips made Sweden freeze. There was the viking he knew and loved.
"Don't loose an arm or leg in the process though,"
"They'll grow back I'm sure," Norway laughed darkly before taking a step closer to Sweden, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you for all you've done Sverige...tusen takk."
"You're welcome, contact me if you need anything. Understand?"
Norway nodded.
Smiling a little, Sweden unbuttoned his coat and opened it up, letting Norway have a look at his shirt underneath. The sight made Norway laugh quietly.
Sweden had pinned a small paper-clip to his shirt-pocket.
"I'm on you side...maybe not on paper; but still on your side," Sweden reassured him.
Norway smiled, giving Sweden a hasty kiss on the cheek.
"I know," he whispered "I know very well..."
"Take care..."
Norway nodded and took a few steps backwards, watching carefully as Sweden made his way over to his own country.
Standing on their own sides, both nations waved to one another before turning around; heading home quickly so the new falling snow could cover their tracks as quickly as possible.
-x-
A month later Sweden did hear about Norway's plan all right, it was hard to miss it really.
The heavy water factory in Vemork by Rjukan in Telemark was sabotaged up and there wasn't a Nazi general in the North who weren't cursing the damned saboteurs.
Sweden just read the newspapers with a smirk.
As the months went past the tally in his mind grew and grew.
A lot of rail-way disruption in Denmark, a heavy water plantation in Norway, and in Finland the people were as brave and strong as ever. The war was far from over and no nation was simply sitting down to wait it out.
Humming to himself, he made a mental note to smuggle some weapons to his neighbours. Just to make it a little more exciting perhaps.
Sweden had even started to miss Denmark's loud voice. After all, it had been far too long since they could all sit down and drink together in the open.
[unnecessarily long A.N: I really like history and I've wanted to incorporate something WW2 into a fic without making it only focus on Nazis, because that's not what I want to write. (Pretty sure everyone knows that side of history well enough by now – well...you should at least.)
Instead I wanted to focus on what it would perhaps feel for nations to be occupied and what feelings they might experience. Seriousness with a hint of humour you know. (Hence why this may not be exactly 100% accurate in terms of history. But I've done my best to keep it as realistic/accurate as possible.. ( /pets her history book ))
Norwegians were for a very long time very, very, very angry at the Swedes for "Letting the Nazis just waltz into Norway" but truthfully there wasn't much the Swedes could really have done to stop them. The Nazis were largely superior in terms of fire-power and the likes. And let's not forget that due to a lot of miss-information, false informations and the fact that most Norwegians believed they could stay neutral in WW2; as well there was hardly any time to stage any kind of defence by the time they realised they were being invaded.
Seriously; the entire thing is one big story of "Nah man, we're neutral. Nothing will happen. We'll be fine. No need to fear the Nazi-FUCK THEY'RE INVADING! WHY DID'NT ANYONE TELL US?!" and then a bunch of foreign ministers and various generals probably face palming and going "Told you so".
(The Nazi's flotilla that was meant for Norway was actually believed to be heading for The Netherlands for a very long time ...oh how wrong we were...)
However, Sweden did help Norway a lot during the war.
After all, the miles on miles of border between them is impossible to guard at all times, so it was relatively 'easy' so to speak for Norwegian saboteurs and the likes to slip back and forth from Norway to Sweden and pick up supplies, plans and weapons from the allies to sabotage the Nazis.
Personally I don't think a nation would hold a grudge for very long. In most situations I imagine they could imagine themselves in the other's shoes and would realise that "Yeah, I'd probably do the same".
However: I also think their emotions can be influenced by their people. So if there's a lot of anger towards someone from their people, the nation will struggle to not also start feeling the same.
Essentially I think of a nation as 5/10 part people, 1/10 part government, 3/10 part land and 1/10 part free will. (I may have given this too much though, OTL )
Also: Time-line wise; this is set before the heavy water sabotage on the 27th of February 1943 (Many attempts were made, but it finally succeeded that day) but obviously after 1940 when Norway was invaded (the Norwegian royal family and government escaped to England on the seventh of June) . It's also set before and then after the rail-way sabotage in Denmark on the 6th of June 1944.
The Finnish/Russian winter war happened in 1939–40, and volunteers from Sweden and Norway fought against the Russians. Finnish ww2 history is really interesting and I could probably write a whole fic on the bad-assery that is Finland. But for the sake of my own sanity I've cut it down a lot.
Let's pretend it's roughly 1942-ish shall we?
(If you want to know more about the invasion of Norway I highly recommend the book "The German invasion of Norway. April 1940" by Geirr H Haar. He's got two books and they are both available in English.)