If you don't like the pair, I highly suggest you turn back. I've crafted the story bones for SwedenxGermany, Nyo!SwedenxGermany, and SwedenxNyo!Germany, and well, the last one won. Simply because the clichés are less and the weight of everything is heavier. I might explain a few things in the end, I might not. It depends.

Anyway, the idea for this story is many thanks to my friend. I went ahead and stuck up a conversation with her-"Hey, give me a prompt for a SweGer fanfic." And she suggested "One is a criminal and the other is a cop. Cat and mouse." And it eventually ended up with us conversing as I built ideas after ideas and bam. It gave birth to this. It's not exactly...one of my best concepts, but I do love how I wrote it.

One last thing, there is a chance characters are gonna be OOC. I tried to keep them as loyal as I could, but I took a few liberties on nyo!Germany. Sweden doesn't have his speech impediment; he just spoke like that in the morning scene because he just newly woke up.

"Sins the size of pebbles,

Judgment the height of skyscrapers.

It's like living in a different world,

And breathing underwater."

Written by Kenneth Borlongan on March 19, 2014

Gilbert placed a gun on the table.

"You need to make a choice."

Monika's eyes flickered down at the polished metal. Her face bore no hint of emotion. She just stared at it. She knew the implication of that one statement. She was being asked to choose between two important aspects of her life. Which one should she give up? Her family or her lover? She loved both very dearly. It was a heavy choice that bore grave consequences if she had chosen to rid herself of one of them. The loss of companionship on either end. She knew it was dangerous to dip into both sides, but she couldn't help it. Not anymore.

Gilbert shifted his position.

Monika knew he was getting impatient. If she made her older brother wait even longer, who knew what could happen. He had power in the underground society. Whenever she stood beside him, she had little to none. She was just his shadow; his mini-me. Her command is ignored while he was still living, breathing. She stood up, allowing her chair to scrape across the tiles loudly. She wordlessly took the gun and tucked it away safely, before turning to leave the room. Just when she had swung the door open, Gilbert spoke again.

"You have 3 days."

She nodded and left, shutting the door with trembling hands.

Monika remembered the time when Berwald had taken her to a small pub on their sixth date. He wanted her to meet a close buddy of his. Apparently, he was older than Berwald by two years. She saw the blond and he was less in stature; shorter, and not as lean. She assumed he was an alcoholic. And she was right because long after she and Berwald had drank their last glass, he just kept drinking it all in. That man drowned himself in the substance while Monika and Berwald conversed in hushed whispers; both of them lost in their own intimate world.

"Ya know, Monika,"

The two stopped speaking. The German cast him a curious glance.

"You remind me of someone. A….a…." He stammered. At his drunken state, he was sputtering and slurring his words out. He can't finish a sentence without repeating a word or two or hiccupping in the middle. Berwald's attention may have been caught as well since he got into serious mode, an aura he often used when he was working in the district's station. It earned her interest. It seemed as if Berwald did this when Matthias was beginning to show signs of doing something stupid. She was definitely going to humor Matthias.

"Of who?" Monika asked, leaning closer.

"The…The Hans' girl. The…The Mermaid. Yeah. That one."

"A fish?" Berwald asked skeptically. "Doesn't she get prince charming?"

Monika shook her head. "That's Disney's remake for kids."

Matthias shook his head violently. "I'm talking about…talking about Hans's girl. The one…who got turned into…into a…a girl." He defended. "Ya know, goes to l-land and lives with the prince who…who treats her as his…his sister." He added.

Her smile fell. She knew where this was going. She has heard the story over and over again as a child. She wondered why she reminded him of the forsaken princess. Maybe he was rambling. Maybe he was just being stupid. But she wanted to hear why. "Go on." She urged, nodding at him.

"Poor thing. She was so pretty and…and spunky. And…blond. K – Kinda like you, I guess. So…so sad." He was muttering to himself now. Monika hoped he doesn't continue. She doesn't want to hear it. She knew the ending and she didn't like the sound of it at all.

"Alright I see." That was the only thing she could say to keep him from continuing. Berwald must've sensed her discomfort. He had slung a comforting arm around her shoulders. Matthias didn't understand her tone. He continued on.

"B-But the prince chose someone…someone else and she..she-she had to kill him."

"Matthias." Berwald warned. There was an edge in his voice and he had taken on a stern expression. Despite how intimidating he looked, it did not stop the Dane from continuing.

"She chose to become bubbles instead."

Monika shuddered at the thought. She had always hated that fairy tale. As childish as it may seem, but it was rather depressing for her. And so she stands when Berwald pulls her to her feet and began walking away, making excuses that they had to leave and Matthias simply just nodded and raised his glass into the air. They were walking away-far from Matthias and Monika couldn't help but look back and glance over her shoulder as she saw the blond under the pale, orange glow of the lamps as he took another swig of his beer. And suddenly, he didn't seem so drunk anymore. He looked ethereal, almost as if he were making a prophecy and it scared her even more.

"The last thing I want you to become is the princess in the story."

She waited for him to come home. Monika had prepared dinner already and had cleaned the house. She waited in the living room, napping on the couch and waking just when the sun had begun to set. She waited a little longer, the minutes ticking by. It had already darkened outside, streetlights lit up and porch lights were switched on. She probably had to wait a little longer. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do.

When the glimmer of headlights had bathed the living room in a pale glow, Monika slid off the couch and made her way to the entry hall. She heard the faint sound of a car door swinging close. A few second later, the metallic sound of keys clinking together and heavy footsteps going up the steps. The woman opened the door at that signal, greeting him just as she saw the hint of surprise flicker on his face.

"Welcome back."

"You're home early." Berwald said as he let himself in. Monika shut the door behind him. She turned to where he stood and helped him pull off his coat, revealing his deputy uniform and the glistening gold of his badges. It made Monika inwardly grimace at the sight. It was a reminder of the choice she needed to make.

She distracted herself with storing the coat, hanging it on a hanger before tucking it away in the barely filled coat closet. Monika felt strong arms wrap around her in a tight embrace as he hugged her from behind.

"You're strange tonight."

"It's nothing."

A hum.

She knew he wasn't convinced, but she knew Berwald wouldn't delve in too deep or force her to speak up. He always waited for the right time to ask or for whenever she would open up to him about what she felt. Berwald was patient and loving. She felt like she didn't deserve the love of the gentle giant.

"Dinner is ready. It's your favorite."

The morning after spending their first night together, Monika had been the first one awake. Berwald was still fast asleep by her side, an arm lazily wrapped around her waist. The sight made a small smile curl on her lips. She nuzzled a little closer, pressing her ear against his chest to listen to the steady rhythm of his heart. She glanced up at his face, taking in the sight of his sleepy features. Calm and peaceful. He looked so different like this; looked more like the giant teddy bear he had always been behind his mask, instead of the strict deputy officer he usually was whenever she saw him awake.

Monika brought a hand to his face, gently tracing his features with the shadows of a touch. The action must've woken him up, as a few moments later, his figure stirred and a heavy exhale escaped his lips. She felt him pull her closer, as his other hand made its way to her mop of blond hair. "M'rnin'." He groggily greeted her, not quite opening his eyes yet. "You okay?"

"Yes." Monika responded, choosing to simply relax at this point. They remained like that for a while, bathed in the silence that had draped over them. The German remained wide awake, drawing shapes and letters over the Swede's bare chest. It seemed as if he was slowly falling asleep again. It was easy to tell from how still he lay, his breathing light and even. He shifted once and began to run his hand through her short, blond hair. The gesture immediately alerted her that he was really just trying to fend off the sleep that was threatening to take him. She found it to be rather endearing.

"Wh't time is it?" He murmured, a soft sigh attached at the end of the question.

Monika hummed lightly as she glanced at the window. The sun seemed to be rising already; the first hints of the morning sunshine began to kiss the leaves of the tree outside his window. Monika averted her blue-eyed gaze to the wall clock, reading the numbers where the hands had been pointing at before responding. "It's 6:10 a.m."

She felt (and heard) him sigh again.

"I h've to get 'p." Berwald had said. Despite it, the man didn't bother to make a move to rise up from slumber at all. It was like he was just content to lay on the bed, holding the woman he loved dearly in his arms. It was almost as if he wasn't needed at the police station in fifty minutes since as quick as the thought had come, he made a different decision. "Never mind. I'll just go l'ter." He said. "I want to spend my m'rning with you."

Monika smiled. She poked his chest. "An irony for a deputy officer." She lightly teased him. All Berwald did was to simply grunt in response. He didn't move away or anything. He simply held still.

"Let's just lie in bed for a little longer." He suggested. "I'll make breakfast in a while."

It was five months later, on a morning similar to this one, Monika had woken up to see him fully awake and smiling down at her. Berwald had kissed her then, sweetly and lovingly, before he drew back to whisper into her ear, "Will you marry me?"

Dinner was a silent affair. Even Monika's impressive cooking can't seem to lighten the heavy mood. Berwald had decided to shower before bed, while Monika did the dishes. By the time the two were dressed and settled in bed, she looked at him and she saw that he was worried—it was written all over his face from the way he was looking down at her intently. It made her feel guilty; it made her want to choose a different path and kill someone else instead. Anyone, anyone else but Gilbert or him. Monika didn't want him to worry, but then there was really no other choice. Family or love, blood or bond. She had to choose.

Things couldn't get even more surreal.

Everything was beginning to feel like a distant memory; fragments of a lifetime long gone. A promise of 'until death do we part' never uttered, nor was there the moment where she wore a dress—a white dress she had never thought she'd ever dream about. All gone in the blink of an eye. The engagement ring around her ring finger felt like a curse.

She watched as he sighed after a few moments, deciding to drop the topic instead. Monika knew that Berwald was about to ask. But he never did. He knew better. He must've had a rough day as well, from the way he looked so stressed and tired. She was just adding up to the pressure on his shoulders. She bit her lip and reached out to him, cupping his cheek and rubbing her thumb for a moment of comfort. He glanced at her with his eyes eye that were framed by that warm, loving gaze, as he held her hand, and kissed it.

"I love you." He told her.

It sent a knife through her heart.

"I love you, too." Monika declared as if it were the very last time she would ever say it, pronouncing each word slowly and as honestly as possible. If she had said it too fast, she felt as if it would mean nothing; it felt as if she never really did at all when she honestly did feel something for him. She drew closer and planted a light, fleeting kiss on his lips before drawing back, smiling at him one last time as his eye lids fluttered shut. Soon, he began to drift off into a deep slumber and Monika simply watched.

She watched him as she reached over at her bedside drawer, pulling it open as silently as she could. She fumbled around for something and found it when she felt her fingers brush against cold metal. She clutched it and took it out, brandishing the gun Gilbert had given her. This was her choice.

"I'm sorry." She admitted to deaf ears as she choked back her tears, taking in the details of his peaceful, sleeping face one last time as she cocks the gun and draws it to his head.

BANG!

The crisp white sheets turn to red. The neighborhood stirs at the sudden sound of a trigger, waking ever so slowly from fear and curiosity. A siren wails in the distance, but all is too late. When Matthias and Berwald's squad had arrived at the scene, Berwald is dead and Monika is nowhere to be found.

"I have someone I want you to meet."

That was what her friend had told her a month ago as she found herself sitting across a tall, muscular man that she had come to know as Berwald. Monika found it awkward sitting here with nothing to really talk about—she was bad at this thing. She had nothing to say; nothing interesting to really talk about and it seemed like he didn't have anything to say either. He was definitely handsome though, if a person managed to look beyond his intimidating expression.

The woman tried to focus; to think of something she could talk about but none came to mind. These things were natural to her brother, but not to her. Still, how does Gilbert do it? She thought for a moment before deciding to give it a shot.

"Well, this is awkward." She stated, adding a forced chuckle at the end. She got worried when his expression didn't change and he just continue to stare at her. The man takes an interesting switch in personality when he suddenly smiled at her awkwardly and responded with a "I just don't know what to say."

His honesty, stoicness, and awkwardness was endearing to her. Even more so when he began to lightly squirm as he tried to think hard for a topic they could talk about and his endless attempts in trying to say something to start a topic they could relate to. She figured this was all part of an even bigger, charming side to him that was hidden from plain sight. She found herself drawn to him as she reached out and placed a hand over his and cracked a small smile in an attempt to calm him down.

He stops and looks for a moment before he relaxed and smiled back.

Meh. This was originally supposed to be a stand alone, but it would become interesting in the next installment; the last part (that I honestly never planned for). It's going to be told in Matthias's perspective and the reason why he did tell the story of 'The Little Mermaid' will be explained there. I wrote this fic to try my hand at this genre again, and Matthias's chapter would e of a different...format. I'm experimenting with story styles. Though if you do have an idea on why he quoted the story, you're free to share your thoughts. Ho hum~ Matthias's part will come in a week or so, depending on how quick I can manage to recover from my illness. Thank you for reading!