Characters: Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland

Pairings: DenNor, SuFin

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Just for reference:

Matthias = Denmark

Lukas = Norway

Erik = Iceland

Berwald = Sweden

Tino = Finland

Matthias was slowly torn from peaceful sleep by a soft hand shaking his his shoulder lightly. He grunted in acknowledgment at the hand and rolled over only to vaguely register that the familiar warmth usually by his side wasn't present anymore. Groaning quietly, he blearily opened his eyes to see not Lukas as he expected, but the Norwegian man's younger and somewhat grumpier brother. Matthias sighed in annoyance at being woken up, rubbing his left eye sleepily. "Good morning, Erik," he mumbled. He turned his head a little to look out the window and noticed that the sky was still jet black outside. "It must be early. What time is it?"

Erik crossed his arms, glancing out the window also. "It's four AM," he answered crisply in a distinct Icelandic accent, turning back to stare at Matthias with cold violet eyes. "Lukas and the others are in the kitchen having coffee. You're welcome to join them if you get up," he added.

Matthias nodded at Erik's words, sitting up against the headboard and stretched his arms above his head while letting out a tired yawn. However, he pulled the covers back over himself when he noticed Erik's eyebrow critically raised at Matthias's bare chest. Though he was only seventeen, Erik was a very modest man and didn't approve of even the slightest show of nudity in front of anyone who wasn't your lover. It got on Matthias's nerves when Erik would scold him for walking around without a shirt, but he put up with it for Lukas's sake. Biting the inside of his cheek, Matthias asked, "What time is the train leaving?"

Erik drummed his fingers restlessly on Matthias's side table and brushed his pale hair absently behind his ear. "Five-thirty on the dot," he answered. "Which is why we have to get a move on."

Matthias nodded again, waving his hand at Erik. "Alright, alright, I get it, little guy. Leave and I'll get dressed," he told the younger boy.

Erik seemed annoyed at being called 'little guy', but he didn't say anything about it, just simply held Matthias's gaze for a moment more before striding out of the bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

After Erik was gone, Matthias stood up and walked over to his wardrobe to pick out his clothes. If Matthias had his choice, he'd be dressed informally all the time, but Lukas kept him in check and made sure all of his clothes were quality and stylish. Besides, today was a big day, so might as well dress for it. He pondered it for a few seconds, then decided to just wear his classic black suit with his morning coat and favorite Panama travel hat. He didn't like hats that much due to the fact they covered the spiky blond hair he was so proud of, but they were traditional to wear and Matthias always liked to stick to tradition.

He quickly got dressed and walked downstairs to the others. Along with Lukas, Erik, and him, his brother Berwald and Berwald's lover Tino were also coming on the journey to America with them, much to Erik's delight (Tino and him were really good friends). Although Matthias often got into admittedly trivial arguments with Berwald, he was also glad they were coming along on the trip with them. Berwald and Tino were kind people and if you got them drunk enough, you'd learn all kinds of things about them you never thought you'd know, which was always quite entertaining.

Lukas, Erik, Berwald, and Tino were all sitting at the table, chatting about the long train ride to Capias, France when Matthias walked into the dining room. He pulled out the chair next to Lukas and sat down, leaning over to kiss Lukas's cheek. "Morning, love!" he greeted cheerfully as he ruffled the Norwegian's hair.

Lukas scowled slightly at being touched and reached up to smooth his hair again where Matthias had mussed it. He huffed, giving Matthias an angry look through his dark lashes. "Don't touch my hair," he said gruffly, pouting a little bit. "And good morning to you too. I see you're finally up."

Matthias chuckled a little bit, splaying his hands out on the table. "It's too early. You know how much I need my beauty sleep," he explained.

Lukas rolled his eyes at Matthias, but before he reply, their maid Emma came into the room and set a platter of pastries, fruit, and sausage in front of them. Emma was a cheerful young Belgian woman who was very efficient and thorough at her job. Her two brothers were also working at Matthias's house, the elder, Daan, as the butler, and the younger, Anders, as the cook. Matthias and Lukas were both impressed with the trio's work, and expected to keep them around many more years.

Matthias grinned at Emma as he tipped his hat slightly. "Thank you, Miss Emma," he said to her. "This breakfast looks delicious."

Berwald nodded in agreement. "Yes, th'nk you. Give my regards t' the cook," he told the girl.

"What time will you five be leaving? Daan told me to ask you so he could prepare the automobile," Emma questioned as she set down a pitcher of orange juice next to the food.

Matthias bit his lip and thought about it for a moment. "I'd like to leave in half an hour, if that's alright," he said. It wouldn't take too long for them to get out of there-they had already packed the night before and it would only take them a little while for them to eat breakfast and for Emma to clean up.

Emma smiled slightly and nodded at them, leaving the room assumedly to go talk to Daan.

Matthias grabbed a cheese danish off the tray that Emma had brought and moaned softly when the taste of it flooded into his mouth. It was just cooked just right, the sweetness of the powdered sugar on top contrasting perfectly with the flavor of the soft cheese in the middle. He ate it enthusiastically, then tore off a piece of it and offered it to Lukas, saying, "Try this danish! It's delicious!" He was sure Lukas would like it; Lukas always had an appreciation for baking.

But to his surprise, Lukas shook his head as he took a bite of his own croissant. "No thanks. I think I've had my fair share of Danish," he joked dryly.

On the other side of the table, Tino snickered but quickly hid it with a cough instead. "Are you three ready to go?" he asked, gesturing to Erik, Lukas, and Matthias.

Erik nodded. "We got ready last night," he told Tino. The night before, Erik had stayed up late, double and even thrice checking that he had everything he needed packed. Matthias thought it was a little much, but Lukas had disagreed and argued it was practical. Matthias sometimes wondered if the brothers were really alike as much as they seemed to be.

Tino smiled at Erik's answer, shifting in his seat. "Berwald and I have been really looking forward to this trip! It's truly history in the making!" he said, obvious excitement in his voice.

"They say it's uns'nkable," Berwald added after taking a sip of coffee.

Lukas snorted at that and shook his head. "No ship's unsinkable," he protested. "Not without magic, and nobody even thinks it exists."

"Magic doesn't exist, sweetheart," Matthias said to Lukas, pushing his now clean plate a few inches away from him.

Lukas crossed his legs, frowning a little at the other man's words. "It could exist. We just don't know. Nobody does."

Matthias stood up and smoothed out this wrinkles on the front of his suit. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't, and I'm always right," he stated, then walked over to the dining room door, opened it, and called out, "Emma, we're done eating!" to the maid who was probably somewhere deeper in the house.

After a few moments, Emma appeared with a tray to take the plates back to the kitchen with. "Alright, then. Daan has the automobile ready and packed," she informed Matthias with a smile.

Matthias nodded and entered the dining room again. "We're ready to go!" he told the other four young men joyfully. In only about twenty-four hours, they'd be on board the RMS Titanic, and Matthias was more excited then he'd ever been in his life. He'd always dreamed of traveling abroad to the exotic world of America, and now his wish was finally coming true. America always sounded captivating and entrancing; rumors were that the fashion, culture, and people there were unlike anywhere else on the planet. And Matthias was a free sprit, loving to travel and running into all kinds of new people and new food and new places. The greatest satisfaction he ever felt was when he pinned a tack into a new country on the world map hung on his bedroom wall.

Tino was the first to respond, standing up immediately. "Oh, that's great!" he exclaimed. He turned around and gave a hand to Berwald to help him get up, pulling him up next to him and holding his hand. "Let's go!"

They walked out to the car, where Daan was putting the last of their many suitcases into the trunk of the shiny black automobile. When he saw them coming out, he stood up and rubbed his hands together. "Are you five all set to leave?" he questioned.

"Yes, but I think Emma wants to say goodbye to us," Matthias answered, leaning on the side of the car. "I think she'll be out in a moment."

Right after the words left his mouth, Emma came striding out of the house, running up to them. "Wait, wait, don't leave yet, I need to send you off," she told them, sounding a little out of breath from jogging out. She leaned up and put her hands on Matthias's face, giving his cheek a little kiss and repeating the process on Lukas and Erik. "No you three be good," she said. "Don't bother your brother and Tino too much, Mr. Kohler. And have a great trip. Send me postcards, okay?"

Matthias grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "Of course! I've heard America has a lot of those."

Emma smiled at them, reaching up to adjust her headband. "Alright, then. Goodbye now!"

Matthias waved at her as he slid into the backseat of the car, pulling Lukas next to him. "See you in a couple of months, Emma!"

Emma blew one last kiss before turning around and walking back into the front door of the large house to go back to work.

Berwald helped Daan load the last couple of packs into trunk, then walked around and got into the passenger's seat next to Daan. Matthias, Lukas, Erik, and Tino were all cramped into the small backseat, squished against each other. "I can't breath..." Erik groaned, pushing his brother out of the way a little, to the point that Lukas was almost on Matthias's lap.

Daan turned around in his seat, noticing the uncomfortable state the four men were in. "It's not much of a drive to the station. It'll only take a few minutes," he informed them in a deep voice.

Tino sighed in relief, fanning himself with a piece of paper he had found in his pocket. "Thank goodness. They need to make bigger vehicles."

Matthias shrugged. "Someday, they probably will. But for now we just have to deal with this," he replied. "Daan, you can leave now." There was no reason to loiter and complain about the small size of the automobile-they had an already strict time frame to get to the station and onto the train before it left.

Daan nodded, starting the car and beginning to make the journey to the train station a couple of miles away.

Matthias leaned his head against the window and watched the scenery go by with interest. After all, this would be the last time he would be seeing the lush landscape of his estate for awhile, and he wanted to preserve it in his memory. Photographs were grainy and black and white, and they could never show the rich greens of the trees and bright purples, pinks, and blues of the flowers covering the area.

"We're not coming back for a long time," Lukas commented next to him. "I'm going to miss it, to be honest."

Matthias turned away from the window to look at him. "Yeah, me too. Traveling is wonderful, of course, but you know how they say home is where the heart is," he stated.

Lukas allowed himself to put his head on Matthias's shoulder, letting out a quiet sound of contentment and said, "I have a home in Norway too, but this is also where my heart lays."

"Who knows, maybe after this trip, we'll decide our heart belongs in America," Matthias suggested, sliding an arm around Lukas's waist. He'd pull him closer, but he didn't think he could get Lukas any closer to him than he already was with the cramped state of the car.

Lukas shook his head slightly against the crook of Matthias's neck. "Mm, I don't think so. Besides, I doubt Erik would agree to that idea."

"I certainly would not," Erik piped up from next to Lukas. "If I wanted to move anywhere, it'd be Iceland. It's better than even Denmark, much less America."

Matthias pouted. "Hey, don't insult Denmark!" he scolded.

Lukas sighed. "Come on, give him a break, Matthias. He's Icelandic-of course he's going to love and be proud of his home country. Iceland is to him as Denmark is to you," he said.

Matthias nodded and shrugged one shoulder slightly. "I suppose I understand," he grumbled.

Before Lukas or Erik could reply, Daan interrupted, "We're here."

Matthias blinked in surprise and looked back out the window. Sure enough, the station loomed in front of them. Daan parked the car in a nearby spot and opened the trunk to take out the bags and suitcases. "Will you five be able to carry them or should I get a baggage carousel?" he asked.

"I think we c'n manage them," Berwald said, taking out Erik's suitcase and handing it to the teen. "We didn't bring too much."

Matthias walked to the back and took out his suitcase and slung a bag over his shoulder. "Yeah, we're good."

Daan tapped his foot. "Is it alright if I leave now? I have to be home soon because my mom is telephoning from Holland and I don't want to miss it. She only calls once a month."

"Sure," Matthias told him, pulling the last bag from the back. "We're good. Goodbye!"

Daan gave a little nod. "See you in nine weeks. Have a safe trip." He then got into the automobile and drove away back to his quarters at Matthias's house.

The first thing that Matthias noticed when he walked into the train station is that it was loud. A crowd of people bustled around them, calling for each other, or chatting amiably as they walked to their platform, or giving instructions in foreign languages Matthias had never heard before. In the corner of the lobby, a few musicians were playing a soft tune on their instruments while passerby listened in interest, occasionally handing loose change to the grateful performers.

On the wall opposite of them, a huge, intricate clock hung on the wall, displaying the time for everyone to see. Little flowers made of gold, silver, and bronze adorned the clock, along with countless rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds encrusted all over, even on the crass hands ticking around on the face of it. A large, gold chandelier dropped from the ceiling, little crystals hanging from all over, catching the light and sparkling like stars. Around the lobby were chairs and love seats covered in red velvet or floral patterns, along with side tables boasting interesting and unique lamps.

Matthias tapped Lukas on the shoulder and gestured around them. "I love this station. Each time we come here we're going to a different place! Last time we were going to Switzerland, right?"

Lukas nodded in agreement. "That was a lovely place. I'll never forget the taste of the chocolates there. And you always look so handsome in your travel suit," he said.

Next to them, Erik rolled his eyes. "He always looks the same whatever he's wearing, brother. There's not much of a difference."

"I don't know, I think everyone has a certain glow when they're traveling!" Tino proclaimed. "They look at least two years younger!"

Erik shook his head. "You're seeing things, Tino. Do we need to take you to a doctor?"

Matthias laughed, putting a hand on each Tino and Erik. "Boys, boys, stop arguing. Let's just agree that traveling is fun and we all look handsome no matter what, okay?"

"Yes, let's," Lukas agreed, his left eye twitching slightly. "And let's also hurry up because we've got somewhere to be and our train is leaving in five minutes, if you haven't noticed!"

Matthias bit his lip. "Oh, shit, is is? Come on, we've got to go!" He picked up his pace a little, heading towards their assigned platform where the train to take them to France would be waiting. If they didn't make the train, they'd have to wait another two hours, something Matthias definitely did not want to do. The train station might have been pretty, but it was no place to be entertained for hours on end.

Behind him, the others were also hurrying, having the same intentions as him, cutting through the crowd and even pushing some annoyed passerby out of the way. Within just a minute, they were at their platform, slightly sweaty, flushed, and out of breath. Matthias handed the five train tickets for them to the ticket collector, saying, "We're here for the five-thirty train. Did we make it in time?"

The man sighed, looking at them with an exasperated expression through his think glasses. "You did, but just on time," he said and pointed to the third car on the train. "You five are first class, right? Your car is that one over there."

Matthias smiled politely at the short man, nodding. "Yes, thank you very much, sir!" he exclaimed and ran over to the car, the others in tow. He climbed into it and set his suitcase up onto the shelf, helped the others put their bags up too, and then looked around the car.

Two long booths were placed on either side of the wall, dark wood with green cushions. On the other end of the car, a side table sat with a tray and two candles just for decoration. On the tray was a pitcher of water, a box of mints, and a couple of wrapped chocolates, complimentary of the train ride. "Oh look, free food," Lukas said, taking the box of mints and then sitting down on one of the booths.

Matthias sat down next to Lukas, glancing out the window. The buildings of downtown Copenhagen flashed by outside, but after a few minutes changed to scenery of the Danish countryside instead, rolling hills and old trees making up the landscape. "How long do you think the ride will be?" Matthias asked Lukas, not taking his eyes off the window.

Lukas shrugged, popping a mint into his mouth. "Probably about five hours. And then we have to take a boat across the English channel, but that shouldn't take too long," he said.

Matthias held out his hand for a mint, putting it in his mouth and savoring the sweet and tingling sensation of it when Lukas handed him one. "And then tomorrow we board the Titanic!"

Lukas nodded. "And tomorrow we board the Titanic," he repeated. "You've been waiting for this for months, you must be really excited."

Matthias turned around and flashed him a wide smile and his sky blue eyes sparkled happily at the mention of the ship he had been looking forward to.

"You have no idea."