Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia- Axis Powers.

If I was going to be completely honest, I would say that I have no idea where I'm going with this. I mean, I've got a very rough plot in my head, but it's hard to see how I'm going to actually form it. Still, I like how this thing turned out, so I'm just going to post it and use my imagination for the rest

And behold, my first chapter story! Starring the Nordics again! This time it's an AU, so I gave Iceland, Norway, and Denmark the more popular fan-names I saw on the site: Ari, Erik, and Matthias respectively.

The first chapter mainly revolves around Ari/Iceland and Erik/Norway, but don't worry, Berwald/Sweden, Tino/Finland and Matthias/Denmark will show up soon!

Chapter 1

"I'm home…"

Ari entered the dark house silently; keeping his gaze fixed on the floor as he closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes. All the lights were off, and not a sound echoed throughout the rooms. So he was the first one home again. And three hours late, at that.

He scowled, fingers tightening on the strap of his backpack. It was always like this. Every single day. His parents were too busy to pick him up from school, but had never bothered to hire a babysitter, since he had his wonderful and caring older brother to look after him. But Erik always forgot. He was four years older than Ari, already in high school. Apparently, he was a genius. A "prodigy", the teachers called him. He received good grades from every single subject, was a master at the violin, and practically already had colleges asking him for appliance. But he could never be bothered to pick up his seventh-grade brother and take him home.

Ari's scowl grew darker, and he suddenly stomped up the stairs, eagerly making as much noise as possible since there were no older figures to tell him otherwise. Storming into his room, painted a cold ice blue and located directly across from Erik's, he slammed the door and threw his backpack on the floor, barely flinching at the loud thud the binders and books inside of it made as it landed.

He jerked back the chair to his desk, and fell into it, before scrabbling back up to the table and hastily snatching a piece of lined paper and a black ink pen. After running the pen roughly against the corner of the page, he quickly scribbled down many lines, pouring out all his anger into the simple writing tools.

As suddenly as he had begun, he stopped, pushing the chair back and throwing the pen back onto the desk. He then hurried out of his room and ran down the stairs, slipping his shoes back on and digging his hands in his pockets to make sure he had the house keys before dashing outside and to the town cemetery.

It's always like this. Every day.

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"You're early," Erik said calmly, cool blue eyes scanning over his brother's body as the younger boy approached.

Ari only glared back, refusing to reply such an obvious statement.

The blonde, as though acknowledging it, turned back to the rows of tombstones they stood in front of, his gaze flicking back and forth as though tracking a fly zipping around him. Ari watched, half in contempt and half in jealousy. He hated how his brother always seemed to be staring at things he could never see, as though there was another world right before him that only Erik had access to. It was unnerving. And unfair.

"Mom and Dad will be home later than usual today," Erik spoke again, despite his back still turned to the twelve-year-old. "You know that, don't you?"

Again, Ari didn't reply.

"So why are you here so early?"

There was a brief pause, and then a snap of disgust and sarcasm. "I didn't want you to get lost in the dark. I would have been the one to get in trouble, anyway."

Erik was quiet for a few moments, as though contemplating his brother's words. Finally, he turned his head slightly so that his cobalt gaze stared into his brother's purple glower. "You don't have to hate me, Ari."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't," Ari immediately spat back, the words having been readily set on his tongue. His violet eyes flared with sudden anger, an entire argument already prepared in his mind. All he needed was one good prompt from his stupid know-it-all of a brother.

Inevitably, that prompt wasn't given to him. Erik only sighed, and turned back, walking past Ari's tense body and out of the graveyard. Ari stood for a few moments more, fuming silently at how his cowardly brother always avoided a fight, before finally whirling around and grudgingly following.

Every single day.

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

Besides being a child prodigy at both academics and music, Erik had one other talent. A hidden talent, as some might say. No one outside of his family knew about it, and even there only very few relatives were informed. In fact, as far as Ari knew, it was only him, Erik, and their three cousins Berwald, Matthias, and Tino. Not even his parents had heard of Erik's "special" skill.

Of course, it was probably better left that way. Besides, in Ari's mind, it wasn't that great, anyway.

Erik could see ghosts.

That wasn't a good thing. Not a blessing, as Tino had eagerly labeled it, or a freaking awesome power, as Matthias said. If anything, it was a curse. After all, what else could you call being able to speak with the passed on spirits of the dead? It was a burden. There was nothing to gain from it, and almost everything to lose. How, in any way, could something like that be even remotely considered a blessing?

It just wasn't possible.

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

"Did you get your math test back?"

Ari shoved a forkful of his dinner in his mouth and chewed silently, keeping his gaze fixed on the plate before him. Erik looked at him briefly, and then returned to his own dinner. Their parents still weren't home yet, so Erik had decided to begin dinner without them. It was usually like this.

"The one you took last week?" Erik prompted again after a few minutes. "Did you get it back yet?"

Ari gulped down the rest of his water, and placed it back rather harshly on the table. "Why don't you get your little ghost friends together and have them check for you?"

To his sick delight, he saw a brief flash of surprise and hurt on his brother's face before it quickly subsided into his usual blank expression. "That wouldn't be fair," Erik replied in the same cool tone he always used.

"Is anything in my life?" Ari muttered under his breath. Raising his voice and glaring at his brother, he snapped, "A genius like you should just mind your own business. It's not my fault if you're so embarrassed when everyone else asks if your brother is as smart as you."

This time, the surprise stayed on Erik's face. "I never said... that's never happened before, Ari. I've never been embarrassed of you."

"I'm so sure. What else could a child prodigy feel about his mediocre little brother?" Pushing back his chair, Ari ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He didn't want to stick around to see what sort of responses Erik would come up with. He had homework to do, anyway.

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

So maybe he'd been a little harsh.

Maybe even a little unfair.

But it wasn't without good reason. His score on his math test had been an B+, which, technically speaking, wasn't so bad. Room for improvement, of course, but still not a grade to be too ashamed of or laughed at. Unfortunately for Ari, both were things he had to deal with throughout school. Ashamed of not being nearly as good as his brother, laughed at by kids who mocked him for having someone like Erik as a blood relation and still not have the best grades. It wasn't fair.

And it was all Erik's fault.

"Stupid," he muttered, sitting down once more at his desk and again grabbing a pen and paper. He began to write as slowly and calmly as he could, but eventually the careful strokes were transformed into hasty scribbles and ugly scrawls, as he mumbled to himself again and again, "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why do I always have to be compared to Erik? I'm the normal one! I'm not the one that can see ghosts! I'm not the one who's a freak!"

And then he was finished.

He glared down at the piece of paper, every line of it filled with words. His eyes flicked all over it, editing it sloppily before tossing it onto a thick pile of other papers he had written on. It was his way of venting out annoyance and anger, but it only worked in draining out about a quarter of the negative feelings. How to deal with the rest was up to him.

Turning, he saw his backpack on the floor, and frowned at the thought of all the homework he had to do. History, English, what use was that to him when he grew older and took his dream job of working in the aquarium? Still, if he avoided doing his homework again, his teachers would want to talk to his parents for the second time this school year, and then they would scold him and tell Erik, and then Erik would scold him, and then everyone would say the one line he'd grown up hating with all his heart.

Why can't you be more like your brother?

Erik is so perfect. He's every parent's dream child. He does his work obediently and diligently, takes orders without a second thought or a word of protest, never gets into any trouble at school, always gets outstanding grades in anything he tries.

Oh, and he can see ghosts. Can't forget about that.

Erik can do everything Ari can't, no matter how hard he tries to be like his older brother. That's why eventually Ari gave up. Despite all of his hard work, staying up late studying and practicing his hardest on the piano, he could never come close to Erik's level. So why bother anymore? Just accept who you are, and don't try to be something you're not.

"I'm not my older brother, so stop telling yourselves I am."

So... hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Reviews are loved, and feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!