Another random oneshot for the Nordics. This one is a lot more serious, though. I showed it to a friend and once she finished reading it she asked me how it had gotten so dark. Just in case it doesn't get explained well enough, this takes place during the Kalmar Union, when all the Nordics lived together in Denmark's house. They managed to come to an understanding to migrate to each territory every once in a while so that each person can spend time in their own home. Finland doesn't show up in the story because he doesn't really have a role to play in it, and I apologize for that. It's not that I don't like him, I think he's precious, he just would have been a needless addition to the plot, so he remains absent. I hope you all like the story!

I do not own Hetalia.

The day was far too hot. It was only May, but it felt like Satan had suddenly decided that Scandinavia was his new Hell.

Our little family had been in Swedish territory for a few weeks now, in a small town a few days' ride from Stockholm. We often switched houses in main Scandinavia, so that all of us could be with our people instead of constantly cooped up in Copenhagen. I knew that something was wrong here. We were too far north to get this kind of heat.

Berwald wasn't wearing a shirt as he moved around outside our house. I could see every muscle move beneath his pale skin as he chopped wood for the stove. I grimaced, not in the mood for dealing with the flames today. We'd be having cold soup for dinner tonight. Bread too. But that was it.

Magnus entered my room, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and only a few buttons done on it in an attempt to beat this heat. I wasn't much better. My sleeves were rolled up as well, but I hadn't done any of the buttons up. The blue shirt lay open over my chest, every inch revealed to the Dane.

His eyes darkened and his lips curled into the sly grin-smirk he wore when he was on the prowl. Which was almost every time he was with me. I saw him take a few steps towards me, and immediately put my hands up in a repellant gesture. "Don't come near me!"

His expression faltered. "Vil, that's not fair and ya know it!" Those shockingly blue eyes roved over my bare chest, and I felt heat rise into my face. "Yer so tempting like that. . ."

I grabbed a cloth and dabbed at the sweat on my face. "Shut up, Magnus." I responded, taking out my cross pin and pressing the cool metal to my head. "Your body is too hot for this weather."

The dark voice dropped into a purr, deep and sensual. "Ye call my body hot, and then ya reject me? Vil, yer body is tempting me like that. Beggin' ta be touched." He moved his hand in a mimicry of what he would do to me, if I let my defenses drop.

My eyes narrowed in a glare. Blindly, I reached to my right, grabbed the first mobile object my hand came in contact with, and flung it at my lover's head. Of course, he dodged it expertly and advanced towards me. "Vil. . ."

"Drop it, Magnus." My voice was flat, and I refused to look at him.

"Vilhelm. . ." I feel his fingers brush my own and tried to yank them away from his grasp. His larger hand seized mine and tugged on it. "Talk to me."

"Stop pushing me." I muttered quietly, glancing at him for a fraction of a second. "I don't want to have sex yet."

He shifted closer to me, his head dipping down to kiss at my neck. His tongue slipped between his lips to lick at a particularly sensitive spot before he sucked on it. I grit my teeth to hide a soft moan and jumped off the couch, causing him to fall forward. I punched his bicep and glared at him. "What did I just say?"

Magnus ignored my last comment completely, and instead dove to wrap his arms around my waist, burying his face in my bare skin. "Hey! Vil, that hurt!" He hissed dramatically, his hot breath fanning my hip.

I unlocked his arms from around me and left the room, buttoning up my shirt as I walked. He could pressure me for sex again later.

I found myself in the front yard, where Berwald was finishing chopping wood. He was arranging the logs in a pile against the house. Deciding to be kind, I headed over to the well and withdrew some water from it. "Berwald!" I called.

He turned to me, and I waved the small bowl we used to drink from in his direction. I saw a relieved look cross his face as he walked over to me, taking the water with a soft thanks before gulping it down greedily. I glanced around before letting my hands glow with magic and started to rub at his red skin, reversing the sun burn.

"So hot. . ." He whispered.

"I agree." I responded, still rubbing his back. "Have you seen Eirik?"

"L'st t'me I saw im, h' was in h's room."

I finished fixing his burns before squeezing his shoulder. "Thanks for chopping the wood up."

He nodded. "No pr'blem."

I wandered back into the house and checked up on my little brother. He was curled up, shirtless, on his bed, fast asleep. I shut the door quietly, and went downstairs to go prepare dinner.

Just as I was about to dish out some soup, Berwald burst through the door, looking frantic. "What is it?" I asked, completely surprised.

"P-Pr'test." He pointed out the still open door, and I saw black smoke rising from the small village.

"Do you know what the problem is?" I asked. His look darkened, and I knew. "Danes."

"Ja." There was a sense of urgency as we scrambled up the stairs. Magnus met us up there, giving us a hard look.

"Eirik is sleeping!" He hissed at us.

Berwald pushed past him carelessly and rushed into his room. "Now is not the time for that!" I hissed. "There's a mob in the town!"

His eyes widened and suddenly he was scrambling into his room too. No doubt to grab a weapon before heading out into the fray. I passed Berwald, who was sprinting, on my way to my little brother's room.

I sat on the bed and shook him gently to wake him up. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Storebror. . .?"

I seized a blanket and picked him up. Magnus stopped next to us, a hand on my arm and a hand on the hilt of the sword. He gave me a look; his eyes swirled with so many different emotions, I could only pick a few out. Love. Fury. Worry. Determination. "Go. I'll find you soon." I assured him.

He leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back for a moment, before he pulled away, kissed Eirik on the forehead, and fled down the stairs. I watched him go.

"Storebror?"

I turned back to my little brother, informing him of what was going on while I walked. "There's an uproar in the town, Eirik. Magnus and Berwald went to go see what they could do."

"What about you? And me?"

"You're staying here." I told him firmly, setting him down on his feet and shoving a couch aside to reveal a trapdoor. I opened it and set motioned my brother into our cellar. He wrapped the blanket I had grabbed around himself to fight the coolness of the cellar. I got him some water and a loaf of bread, just in case. I leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. "I'll be back for you." I assured him, before closing the door and pushing the couch back.

I locked the door on my way out, and ran towards the smoke in the town.

I was expecting to find chaos when I finally reached the town. Instead, I found silence. A few fires burned, but they were merely controlled campfires. No one was speaking.

They were crowded around something. I pushed my way through to the middle, only to almost trip over Magnus. He was kneeling over something.

Berwald was there to, standing, just staring. I shifted to the side, and found Magnus kneeling over a girl. A corpse now. I saw the heavy red stain on her white shirt. Her ivory skin now a ghostly gray. The blonde hair laying haphazardly around her head. Someone had closed her eyes, Magnus, most likely. But I knew that if they were open, a blue that matched the clearest skies would be revealed. I knew this girl. She had played with Eirik a few times, and then Magnus would walk her home after dinner.

Freja.

I broke the silence. "Someone go fetch a sheet." Nobody moved to go get one. A few people shifted uncomfortably, but no one turned away to go get a sheet. "Go get a sheet, I said!" I snapped. "A child has been killed today. Someone go and fetch a sheet so we can properly care for the. . ." I stopped, staring at the little girl that laid at my feet. ". . .The body."

I heard footsteps on the cobblestone street, and slowly, the throng of people began to break up. Berwald backed up with them, before he turned and silently disappeared among them.

Never in my entire existence had I heard Magnus this quiet. "Two days ago." He muttered. "She was in our yard with Eirik."

I squatted down beside Magnus, carefully taking his hand so that others wouldn't see. "I know, Magnus. I remember."

"So much blood. . ." He continued, his voice barely shaking.

She had been harmed by a boy who had stolen his father's sword in the chaos, I later found out. The boy was only twelve, yet already the hatred of Danes ran strong in him. A hatred of every person associated with the government that oppressed his family. He had laughed like a maniac as she fell, her once pristine shirt quickly dying red, as if it were sucking away the life her body held. I never found what happened to him after he walked away.

No one ever brought back a sheet.

What seemed like hours later, I scooped her up into my arms, and nudged Magnus gently with my foot, trying to encourage him to stand. To walk. To speak. To do anything at this point. "Let's bring her back to her family, Magnus." I whispered. He still didn't move. I left him there, to mourn alone.

Freja's only crime was being born in Copenhagen.

Hours later, I entered the house again. Magnus' howl of mourning, the sobs of Freja's mother, and the silence of her father were all echoing inside my head. The noise pounded against my skull. It was unbearable.

Berwald had scribbled a hasty note and left it on the door for me.

-Vil

I took Eirik. We're staying at a friend's for the night. I trust that you can take care of Magnus.

-Berwald

It was cooling down, I finally noticed. My skin was still sticky with sweat. My breaths were shaky. I stood up and walked into the kitchen. Magnus didn't need to see this note. I moved some embers around in the stove, tossed the note deep into the back, and covered it with embers. The note singed, and I smiled, despite everything. Finally, something went my way.

I headed upstairs to my room, thinking about taking my clothes off and just sleeping. Magnus would crawl into my bed, I knew it. That's just what Magnus did. I sat on the edge of my bed, cradling my face in my hands and attempting to calm down.

I heard the door click shut, and then heavy steps ascended the staircase. "Vil?"

I met him at my door, looking up at his slightly taller figure. "I'm right here, Magnus." I assured him, leaning up to place a gentle kiss on his lips. They were chapped, bitten to death in his distressed mood.

He buried his head in the crook of my neck, kissing ever so softly, wrapping his arms tightly around me. His scream echoed in my head again, and my arms found themselves wrapping around him, rubbing his back and cradling his head. "Yer so good to me, Vil." He whispered, his hot breath fanning my neck.

We stood like that for several minutes, before he drew away and advanced into my room. He'd be sleeping here tonight, I could tell. "Where's. . . Sverige?" I didn't like the tone of the words coming out of his mouth.

I thought of the note. I trust that you can take care of Magnus. I wasn't so sure about that ability now. "He. . ." How was I going to phrase this? "He took Eirik to a friend's for the night. He didn't want to bother. . . us." I finished lamely, following him deeper into my room, wrapping my arms around him in another comforting embrace.

His hand stroked my hair, brushing the bangs back from my face. Where was my clip. . .? "Is that so?" The hand started down my back and stopped once it reached my ass, grabbing it and pushing our hips together. "What're we doin' tonight?" He breathed, tilting my head back to pepper kisses on my lips. I knew he could feel the heat radiating from my face as he trailed his lips down my neck, his cheek brushing mine.

I pushed him away and attempted to squash my resemblance to a tomato. "None of that! We are just going to rest!"

He gave me an appraising look. "Yer tellin' me that Sverige didn't leave us alone so I could fuck ya senseless?"

"No." I really wish I could find what drove his libido and temporarily disable it. "He left us alone so you could mourn in peace. He knows that you really liked Freja, and he'll be helping Eirik get over it while I'm here for you."

He turned away. "Where are they, then?"

I shrugged, not taking my eyes off his figure. "I don't know."

He turned back and raised an eyebrow at me. "Ye don't know?"

"No," I answered, narrowing my eyes. "I don't."

He crossed his arms, and I mirrored him, silently telling him that if he was going to get mad, I would fight back just as fiercely. "Why do I feel like yer lyin' to me, Vil?"

"Why are you asking me?" I answered. "I don't read minds."

His lips curled into an unpleasant smile. "Y'know it's no good to lie to me, Vil."

I sighed. "I'm not lying to you. For the third time, Magnus, I have no idea where Berwald and Eirik are."

He uncrossed his arms and approached me. I took a few steps back, uncrossing my arms as well. Time seemed to stop when my back hit a wall, with Magnus planting an arm on either side of me to keep me there. "Yer sure?"

"Ja." I growled, glaring at him.

He stroked my cheek in a cruel mockery of affection. I wanted to bruise his smirking face. "Ah, Vil." He murmured. "Yer still so tempting and beautiful like this." His hand trailed down my face and ran along the buttons on my shirt, before veering right to entwine his fingers with mine. A moment later, he used that hand to flip me around and shove me into the wall, yanking my arm up my back. "The beautiful ones are always the most dangerous." He whispered in my ear, twisting my arm painfully.

I grunted in pain through my teeth, before growling. "Let. Me. Go."

"Not until ya tell me truth!" He yanked it higher on my back.

"I don't know where they are!" I yelled.

"How did ya even know what they were doing?" He snapped back. My arm was getting numb at this point. If he kept pulling, I was sure that my shoulder would be dislocated.

"Berwald left a note!"

"Where is it?"

"I don't know!" Lie.

"Stop lying!" He yanked again, harsher than before.

I screamed as I felt my shoulder pop out. It grinded against my collarbone as Magnus dropped my arm. "I forget what happened to it." I whispered, not moving from my place against the wall. "I pulled it off the door and now I don't remember what happened to it." I finished, lying again as I pulled away from the wall daintily. "Help me fix my shoulder." I said quietly, cradling my right arm in my left. "You did it."

Magnus advanced on me with an impassive face. Gently, I moved my right arm to hang limply at my side. Magnus wrapped a hand over my shoulder and slipped one under my arm. I braced myself for the slight pain only to yell out as I felt Magnus dig his nails into my skin and grind the bones together. "What are you—? Stop!" I furiously blinked back tears.

"This is what ya get for lyin' to me. . ." He breathed into my ear, nipping sharply at it a moment later.

"Stop it! You bastard! Let me go!" I continued to yell. My left hand formed a fist and I smashed it into his shoulder.

"Do ya want me to let go?" He whispered, squeezing harder. Part of me feared that he would use his massive strength to crush the bones in his grasp.

"Ja! Please!" I begged, in too much pain to keep up my pride. "Let go of me!"

"Does it hurt, Vilhelm?" He whispered, tightening his grip. I howled in pain and fisted his shirt. I collapsed against him, no longer able to fight the tears.

"It hurts, it hurts!" I sobbed into his chest. "Stop! Stop! I'm begging you!"

He dropped me, suddenly and unceremoniously. I landed harshly against the wooden floor, my extremely injured shoulder taking the brunt of the impact. I screamed again, rolling onto my other side and cradling my poor arm. I blinked, trying to gain clear vision between tears and black spots dancing around. I heard him exhale in a sigh and the floor creaked as he squatted down.

"I'm goin' t'ask ya again, Norge." He whispered. "Where. Is. The. Note."

"It's in the oven," I whimpered.

". . .Why the hell did ya put it there?" I glared at him to the best of my extent, answering him with silence. "Careful, Norge." He taunted. "I might just break yer nose while I'm at it."

"You bastard." I hissed, grinding my teeth together. "I hate you."

He leaned in and kissed me. I wished I could've given him a concussion. "I love ye, Vil. Yer so beautiful. Especially when yer beggin' me." He stroked my cheek. I turned my head, despite the rush of pain that stemmed from my destroyed shoulder, and bit his finger. Magnus ripped his hand from my mouth and seized my hair. He yanked my body up so that I was inches away from his face as he growled, "Don't ya dare do that again."

I sneered at him. "Nothing you do anymore is going to surprise me." His fingers slid through my hair and I no longer had the strength to support myself. My head clattered back to the floor, and I hissed on impact. He stood and swept from the room, leaving me curled up on the floor. Battered and broken.

". . .Norge?"

"Askeladden?" I whispered back. Magnus may not have been able to hear the rumbling voice of my troll, but he could hear me.

My green friend bent over me, speaking in Old Norse. "Norge, yer hurt."

"Magnus dislocated my shoulder and then ground the bones together. I need some help realigning it." I looked up at him pleadingly.

He nodded. "I'll help." Despite his large size and deep voice, Askeladden was actually quite talented at fixing the various wounds I had sustained through the years. I grit my teeth as he started to work, healing my poor bones before popping my shoulder back into place.

"Takk, Askeladden." I whispered, sitting up and rolling my shoulder, fighting back a grin when it moved seamlessly. I turned my head and stared at the door.

I wondered who had just walked through that doorway. It wasn't my Magnus. My Magnus had never laid a hand on me. We screamed at each other every few months, and I'd punch him way more often than that. But never had he. . . I reached a hand up, touching my shoulder. I bit my lip.

I wanted my Magnus.

At this point I wouldn't even have a problem with the blatant sexual advances! I wanted my Magnus! The one who would laugh when I shoved him away and then trap me in his arms in response. The one who begged me to do magic on him, and then fell asleep against my chest five minutes later. The one who snuck into my bed at night, and then smile when I shoved him to the floor the next morning.

Instead, I got a monster.

I grit my teeth. I didn't know what I would do, but I was absolutely certain that I would get revenge on him.