It's only love

It's only love

His attention is to the billowing curtains for a moment, lighting a smile on his features, he would have never imagined his beloved Vinland had grown so beautifully and is yet to develop more. But then he looked to the contrast with his Matthew, the avatar of the land's bright identity albeit his love's son Quebec being particularly rebellious.

Mathias stared at the Canadian focused on his reading for an insurmountable time. His attention on the material is soft gazed but Mathias knew his heart is weighted. Aside from his Nordic brothers, Matthew had become the center of his affections and it bothered him knowing his love is often lonesome or feeling under-appreciated.

"Hey Mattie" Mathias said across from the Canadian.

Matthew peered out attentively from the book he borrowed from Arthur, "Yeah?"

"Why don't we go out together," Mathias walked up the window to unfurl the curtains, the late evening sight of Lake Ontario almost brightened the room "the weather's too awesome to pass up"

Matthew blinked a bit from the sunlight; once his sight adjusted, he smiled unsurely after setting the book down "Alright um…how about we go to the beach?"

Mathias looks to him unsurely for a moment, of which Matthew took it as disapproval "I know it's a dumb ide-"

"No!" the Dane suddenly interrupted, which startled the younger nation. Mathias looked back apologetically "Actually, I think it sounds…different" Mathias admitted.

"Different?" Matthew questioned.

"Yeah, it's just… I've never really took the time to do something like this with anyone, I really don't know how to react to it."

Matthew looked to him oddly for a moment, only to laugh the next. "And here I thought you'll always be a boisterous knucklehead over some calm romantic."

The Dane grinned, "Who ever said I can't be a bit of both?"

"Touché" Matthew remarked before making his way to the door, "come on, let's head out."

Moshimo negai hitotsu dake kanau nara (If only one request is granted)

Kimi no soba de nemurasete, donna basho demo ii yo (Then let me sleep next to you, anywhere is good)

Beautiful world

Mayowazu kimi dake wo mitsumeteiru (I would only look at you unwaveringly)

Beautiful boy

Jibun no utsukushisa, mada shiranai no (You don't even know how beautiful you are)

It's only love

As they walk side-by-side Matthew is in deep thought over his relationship with Mathias. What it is in lack of a better term is…odd, surreal at best. Just acknowledging that he agreed to marry the man he met roughly a thousand years ago and feared out of his wits is possibly the weirdest thing he ever did. His soon to be husband is the first to confess his love when he first visited him a year ago, admitting in the days in north Newfoundland that he is attracted to him more than a little brother and that for too long, he wanted to see him again. Matthew is unsure whether to be more disturbed or flattered by his words but what really caught him off guard is what he asked him after.

"Matthew, I know this is so sudden of me but...will you consider...possibly…marrying me?"

Matthew's felt his face warm with the recollection. It didn't help his case when Mathias took notice of it.

"Thinking about me, hm?" The Dane teased.

"W-what makes you sure of that?" Matthew argued lamely.

"Well for one thing, you stuttered and another, I just guessed." Mathias looked at him knowingly and stopped Matthew from walking "but while we're on the subject, why don't you stare at me for a full ten seconds and I'll see if you don't blush."

"That really isn't necessary Erik."

"Oh now we're on a middle name basis, this is surely progress; come on Mattie, what do you have to lose?"

Matthew sighed. "Fine, I'll do it" He looked up to Mathias with a defiant face while the other stared back smugly.

1...

2...

3...

'See, not blushing' Matthew thought.

4...

5...

6...

'Wait, is Mathias leaning towards me?'

7...

8...

9...

Matthew felt Mathias kiss him lightly, and caused him to blush.

10...

In a brief pause, Matthew felt dumbfounded only for him to glare "that doesn't count!"

"I know you passed on the staring aspect, you just failed on something I thought of mid way" Mathias mentions.

"And that is?" Matthew dreads to ask.

"If you do blush every time I kiss you of course but then again…" Mathias brought Matthew closer, "I'm willing to do more testing if you are."

Matthew smiled, "I'll pass…for now anyway."

Nete mo samete mo shounen manga (Sleeping or awake, it's always a young boy's comics)

Yume mite bakka, jibun ga suki janai no (I'm always dreaming, but I don't like myself)

Nani ga hoshii ka wakaranakute (I don't know what I want)

Tada hoshigatte, nurui namida ga hoo wo tsutau (I just want it, as lukewarm tears travel across your cheeks)

Iitai koto nanka nai (There's nothing I want to say)

Tada mou ichido aitai (I just want to see you one more time)

Iitai koto ienai (I can't say what I want to say)

Konjou nashi kamo shirenai (I don't have any guts)

Sorede ii kedo (But that is just fine)

Mathias sighed in relief when they finally made it to "The Beaches" in relatively good time. To both of their surprise, the place seems to be relatively unoccupied with only some couples and a few teenagers still around.

"I know a great spot to watch the sun" Matthew suggested softly.

"'Right then, lead the way honey."

Matthew's face flushed before he took his lover's hand as they continued their walk. "I still find endearments odd to hear."

"Aww don't be so reserved with affection Mattie, I do expect us to be much, much more intimate once we attend the border treaty."

Matthew couldn't help but tense at the mention "U-um Mathias a-about that…" his voice trail off a bit nervous.

Mathias didn't need a bigger hint of what's implied. If he had to, he might actually give up his precious beer to prevent that, and damn it he loved his beer.

"Mattie…Mattie, please don't tell me you decided to abstain from any sex while we're married" the Dane clearly distressed, "I mean come on, I'm a guy, I have a LOT of needs and I don't want to choose between a life without sex or life without beer."

The Canadian just looked at him incredulously, where did that come from? "W-wha? Mathias that's far from the case" he assured him calmly.

"Oh thank god, you're scaring me here."

"T-the thing is…I…I-I've never had sex….ever."

"…WHAT?" he looked at Matthew as if he swallowed a frog, "but…aren't your provinces your children? They look too much like you to be just a coincidence."

"It's more complicated than that, my provinces are solely my children, as in…my body actually transforms to a feminine form and I bore them asexually" Matthew explained nervously, only to meet with a shocked Dane's expression"…um Mathias?"

"…I think I need to sit down."

Matthew nodded in awkward understanding "Well the spot is just ahead, just keep breathing" Matthew seated him on a cut log bench while he followed suit.

"I really can't believe what I'm hearing…." Mathias stated in clear shock.

"I'm really sorry that my provinces' becoming came as shock to you"

"It's not that."

"Pardon me?"

"Min skat, you have no idea how happy and even slightly aroused am I knowing that you're still technically a virgin" Mathias fawned. [1]

Matthew looked at spiky haired blond like he had gone crazy "You've lost me…"

Mathias couldn't stop grinning. "I'm the one who's lost, you've actually stayed a virgin for all this time; I swore you would of taken interest in a woman, or in a worst case scenario with France."

"So let me get this straight, you're more intrigued about me being a virgin and not one bit quirked about my children?"

"Mattie, I used to believe in a male shape-shifting god that gave birth to a giant wolf, giant snake, and an eight-legged horse, it can't get any weirder than that."

Matthew groaned onto the Dane's shoulder "I think I agreed to marry a maniac."

Mathias shifts to better hug him "It's not living if you haven't gone insane once or twice."

"I've watched the White House burn down, dealt with constant political strife with English, French and Aboriginal people, gone through severe passive-aggression in the Hundred Days, Dieppe, Normandy, and Dutch liberation front, and now I have to deal with my son's extreme separatists. You really need to ask about insanity?" Matthew surprisingly deadpanned.

"And despite that, we've scaled, gutted, and cleaned through our fucked up lives, the end" Mathias joked, only to receive a pinch on his arm "Ouch hey!"

"Not funny Dani" Matthew sighs irately.

"Okay, okay let's just watch the water for a while, I won't bruise that way."

Matthew turns his attention back to the lake. "I've always had an affinity to the open water."

Mathias quirked a brow "Oh? Why's that then?"

"It reminds me of my childhood in L'Anse aux Meadows" the meek nation muttered. There is a pause before he continued "The ocean, the days playing with Kumajirou, competing with Iceland to get Norway's attention, hunting with all of you, I can't help but feel nostalgic of those days"

Out of habit, Mathias held his fiancé possessively, there were many instances that he threw a fit since it frustrated him that he had trouble voyaging back to the New World. Be it wars or politics, he just couldn't find the time and resources like England and France had in those early expeditions. He was close to finding him once in the early seventeenth century, but it never came to be. His greatest polar explorer Jens Munk became too weak to make a second voyage to claim and colonize what would have possibly been "Nova Dania" (New Denmark). Eventually, there were many other nations that staked colonies on Matthew's land and he feared Matthew had taken a liking to them to a certain extent, but now he found that Matthew never took any romantic interests with any human or nation.

It made him more determined not to compromise anything that will end his relationship with the North American, it would be over his dead body if it happened.

"I would have stayed if I just could, and I mean it in every way."

"I know and I've long accepted that, and yet...I'm glad of how everything turned out."

"Why?" Mathias asked, his tone upset but waited for Matthew to continue.

The younger nation lightly held the Dane's hand close to heart "If you and the others stayed, I would have continued to fear you" he said simply, Denmark stayed silent to let Canada explain "you told me that you were attracted to me when I was still child, but looking back I remembered how…temperamental you were, I had feared that you were going to hurt me and I wouldn't have grown to be the nation you fell in love with."

Mathias fell silent on this really didn't know what to say about it, Matthew noticed this and boldly took Mathias' chin to pull him into a quick kiss. "We worry each other too much, don't we?"

The Dane blinked from the kiss only to smile away his relief "And I wonder how you became so playful" Mathias said before kissing back "you're just full of surprises."

"So you've noticed" he teased. The glow of the sun only had a few stray outlines of gold until the stars overtook the sky.

"It's getting late, and hey if you love being close to the water, why don't we spend our honeymoon in Copenhagen then? The place has an awesome waterfront and it'll keep your mind off things at home, Trudeau and Quebec are already a handful these days."

"I would like that" Matthew beams.

Moshimo negai hitotsu dake kanau nara (If one request is granted)

Kimi no soba de nemurasete, donna basho demo ii yo (Then let me sleep next to you, anywhere is okay)

Beautiful world

Mayowazu kimi dake wo mitsumeteiru (I would only look at you unwaveringly)

Beautiful boy

Jibun no utsukushisa mada shiranai no (You don't even know how beautiful you are)

It's only love

Donna koto demo yatte mite (Try to do everything I can)

Son wo shitatte, sukoshi keikenchi agaru (Even if I lose, I'll gain a little experience)

Shinbun nanka iranai (I don't need any newspapers)

Kanjin na koto nottenai (There's nothing important in them)

Saikin choushi doudai? (How have you been recently?)

Genki ni shiteru nara (If you're doing well)

Betsu ni iikedo (Then it's alright)

Mathias woke to the light filtering through the curtains. He is greeted with soon to be "wife's" peaceful face. Matthew smiled back.

"Aren't you thrilled that we'll be officially married today Mattie?"

Matthew chuckled "Well I am, though you seem more excited than I am."

"Shouldn't I? I mean, I could almost rub it in Netherland's face that I'm with you, the guy just never gives up with you"

"The tulips are just traditional gifts for the liberation."

"Yeah, but I find it suspicious that he still gives you red tulips, mark my words if tries anything funny on you, I will hack his drug baked head off."

"How charming" Matthew sighs "why I bother with you is beyond me" the Canadian claims with a smile.

"Well get use to me, we have forever to forward to" Mathias responds fondly "and I intend to make it worth your while."

In moments like this, Mathias still never understood why his heart just flutters out of nowhere when he's with Matthew.

To Mathias, it is difficult to comprehend why his Matthew is so unnoticed by other nations. He is one of the kindest and arguably one of the most wonderful nations that he has the pleasure to know and have close to heart. If one wish is ever granted for him, if he ever faded away from the world, he wanted his Canada to know he will always be beautiful to him.

Boku no sekai kieru made aenu nara (If I can't meet you until my world disappears)

Kimi no soba de nemurasete, donna basho demo kekkou (Then let me sleep near you, anywhere is alright)

Beautiful world

Hakanaku sugite yuku hibi no naka de (Within the short lived days)

Beautiful boy

Kibun no mura wa shikatanai ne (It can't be helped if I'm feeling bipolar)

Moshimo negai hitotsu dake kanau nara (If only one request is granted)

Kimi no soba de nemurasete (Then let me sleep next to you)

Beautiful world…beautiful boy


Translation:

[1] - Min skat – My dear