Hello all - HetaReader/HetaWriter here. Things have been getting quite hectic lately - work, uni and after commitments I have. I've also been suffering from writer's block with HetaVoice. Rest assured, I'm not giving up on the story (I never give up on things I've started), but as I suffered writer's block with HetaVoice, I started gaining ideas for other stories and so, I couldn't help but type them up.

This is one of those very ideas. Pretty much, it was gained after re-reading A Piece of Me (my first ever story online) and getting the idea of maybe make a story for certain characters in the town that Antonio and Arthur live in. So, here is one of those very stories - a Denmark x Belgium. I'm a fan of that crack and I think it could work between them - Emma has a high patience and tolerance rate coupled against Matthias' vigour and sometimes demanding self - I think she can keep him in line. At the same time, both are quite cheerful and be able to support each other.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer:I do NOT own Hetalia.


Matthias was humming a merry tune to himself as he continued cocking the pipe back into place with his wrench. He finally tightened it with an extra heave on the metal tool, keeping it secure so nothing would leak out from it anymore. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he emerged from under the sink and began packing away his tools.

"Aww, you done already?"

Matthias simply grinned pearly whites at the woman standing at the kitchen's entrance. "Wasn't that bad of a leak! Fixed it, no problem!" he said, feeling quite proud of himself.

"Already? You're a fast worker," the woman said, giving him a pout through thickly glossed lips.

Matthias gave a good-natured laugh, "Yeah, well that's how I work! You can definitely bet I work fast and hard!"

"Fast and hard, huh?" there was a purr lined in the woman's voice as she sashayed closer to him. She leaned down, so as to go eye level with him. She was wearing a shirt a few sizes too tight. They would also give many a great view of the assets from behind. She smiled at him as she batted her eyes through thick, mascara lashes, "Anything else of yours that works fast and hard, hmm? Besides those…really strong arms of yours?"

"Fast and hard? Hmm…" Matthias tapped his chin, deep in thought. He then snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah! My legs can work fast and hard, too! I can run two laps around the town from the fountain to the creek, no problem!"

Completely oblivious to the woman's dumbfounded face and the blatantly obvious implication; Matthias finally grabbed his red toolbox in one hand, and slung his white bag over his shoulder. He gave her a merry wave along with a cheerful 'goodbye!' and left the house; taking the money he was promised from the counter and pocketed it into an ancient leather wallet.

He strolled down the street, now whistling the same merry tune he hummed while working. It was an old tune that his father used to sing back home in Copenhagen. Matthias' old man was a lively and vigorous fellow who could practically outdrink anyone back at the pubs. He didn't easily get drunk and had a very hard liver, however once he did get drunk, he was more violent, but rather in a slapstick manner (as the only victim he hit was himself). The man would become clumsy as he claimed that trolls and fairies were flying around him and not long after, would puke on himself as he came home to await the hangover of the century the next morning.

God, he loved his old man.

Matthias was somewhat hesitant in leaving his beloved home, but became curious as to what the world was willing to offer him. He always wanted to travel around, and if he finally found a place that befitted his interest, he would stay there and maybe settle there for the rest of his life.

It was hard to say goodbye, but his parents acknowledged that he was no longer a boy, but a man who needed to find his place and purpose in the world. And so, he was able to leave with his parent's good wishes. Matthias eventually came into Norway, where he met an old friend of his, a stoic and serious young man named Lukas.

He and Lukas had known each other from school, but the latter had to move back to his home country to take care of his then sickened aunt and younger brother. The Norwegian boy didn't return after he wrote to Matthias that his aunt had died in the night, succumbing to her illness. Naturally, the Danish man had missed his best friend, with whom he had many great adventures with.

Lukas was very surprised to see Matthias again, at a station in Oslo no less, but nonetheless, had allowed him to stay in his home (with whom he shared with his younger brother) and for a while, Matthias loved his new home and new life. He was able to work as an assistant to the butcher nearby, and as a result, was able to bring home some of the spoils.

It was a fairly content and comfortable life.

However, Matthias soon yearned to travel again – he just couldn't sit still. It was clearly evident that the Dane needed to move again; otherwise he would go mad from curiosity as to what lay beyond the boundaries – what adventures would await him from beyond? So when Lukas asked if he would like to join him and Emil to visit a friend who was very sick, naturally, Matthias agreed with great enthusiasm.

Berwald lived in Stockholm. He was a man that towered over many and had a serious look constantly plastered on his pale face. He had short blonde hair, very pale blue eyes and his glasses only magnified the intense look that emanated from them. He also spoke in an accent that Matthias had trouble deciphering at first, but eventually got used to and was even able to understand after a while.

Berwald also had a caretaker living with him, a young Finnish man with warm, brown eyes and yellow blonde hair. Tino was his name. Much to Matthias' amusement, Berwald insisted on calling Tino his 'wife', much to the latter's horror. 'Til this day, the large, intimidating looking Swede still called the more petite and delicate looking Finn that.

It wasn't Berwald or Tino that was sick though.

Instead, it was a child with blonde hair and thick eyebrows. He had sea blue eyes and a very small frame. He shivered as winter's harsh winds frolicked around the house and he soon became deathly pale. The child was a boy from England, London to be exact, that Berwald had decided to adopt and bring him home to Stockholm. Peter was the child's name – he was a lively thing where great cheer was added to his footsteps and voice.

However, the cold seemed to greatly affect that child's cheer.

Matthias was very fond of Peter and would always try to make him warm whenever he was around. He would try to lighten the atmosphere by cracking some jokes (though Lukas slapped him after delivering the punch-line), he would sing songs that his family used to sing in his booming voice, but to be more literal, Matthias would spare some of his own clothes for the boy.

No, the Danish man didn't remove all his clothing and give them to the child. Rather, whenever there was a particular day that froze more so than usual and poor little Peter had to walk to school and endure the biting frost, Matthias would either accompany the child there – lifting him up onto his shoulders and carry him to school – or if he was busy, give up his coat.

This seemed like a big deal to everyone else since Matthias' coat was a rather large one made from rather fine silk and fur. Plus, it was a memento from home – it belonged to his father. Matthias' father had given the coat to him, with the words, "May the spirit of your mother and I warm you always, my son."

Matthias himself however didn't seem to find anything wrong with giving his treasured coat to Peter, who was still a growing child that needed to be kept as preserved as possible so he wouldn't perish during the frost.

Plus, his parents' spirits would warm the kid, right?

Nobody could deny that Matthias had grown fonder and fonder of Peter as the days wore on. One day however, the Danish man panicked as he was coming home from doing an odd job of plumbing the neighbour's drain. He saw the little boy collapsed outside at the front yard with Emil kneeling at his side, trying desperately to wake him up. Tino's dog, Hanatamago, was yapping in her high-pitched bark, seemingly calling for help.

Peter had become deathly ill.

The doctor had concluded that the weather in Stockholm was not suitable to Peter's health and the only cure was to move to someplace warmer. Berwald soon arranged for everyone to move – to move away to a much brighter and warmer place. Matthias included.

The Danish man was happy in more ways than one to move away – one, it got him travelling again, and two – Peter's health would hopefully improve. So now the family; Berwald, Tino, Lukas, Emil, Matthias, little Peter and Hanatamago, took a flight the next day and left not only Stockholm, but Europe behind.

And so, that's how Matthias ended up here.

Matthias had to admit – it wasn't such a bad place here. The weather was certainly much warmer than any of them had expected and the sun had never shone so brilliantly out in the open. The temperature was warm while the atmosphere in general emanated a rather barren desolation, but that was probably due to the unique flora and fauna around.

Emil already gained two sunburns and complained about how humid the climate was. However, when Tino suggested that it was because he kept on wearing plenty of clothing, Emil would furiously flush and snap that stripping off even just one layer was out of the question. He was always so modest when it came to his body.

Everyone had to adjust as well as they could to not just the climate, but also to the society of the town. Though most of them were quite warm and welcome to Matthias, Tino and Peter, the others seemed to take more so than usual to get used to.

Already, Berwald caused a reputation among his workmates in the city as being "the scary accountant with eyes that will eat your soul". This newly earned nickname caused Matthias to laugh so hard that his gut almost burst. He only stopped because Berwald (literally) threw him out of the house until he sincerely apologized for offending the Swedish man. Surprisingly, it was far colder at night and due to wearing far less layers, Matthias gained a cold.

Lukas was described with many adjectives; along the lines from "weird" to "unfriendly". Matthias raged at anyone who dared to say such things towards his best friend, but the Norwegian man didn't seem to hold any of those words to heart. Lukas cared not about anyone's opinion towards him and graciously continued with his work, still maintaining his sophisticated poise. He was able to make a friend though – some English man who apparently lived alone and had also recently started work at the library.

Matthias couldn't help but feel jealous towards that English man. Arthur, he was sure his name was. Or was it?

The Dane couldn't be assed to remember, really.

Emil was transferred to a high school where he continued in his second last year. He was far too reserved and didn't seem keen on befriending anyone around him. He also didn't seem keen on sharing his school life to the others, either. Matthias just assumed that since Emil was quite young (only seventeen), it would take the longest for him to adjust. After all, the coldness of northern Europe was what kept the teenager warm.

Still, he, like the other three, couldn't help but worry about how quiet Emil was becoming and how much he kept to himself. Lukas tried talking to his younger brother, but received nothing out of the norm. Everyone then decided to just leave Emil; deciding that he was still having a hard time adjusting to his new home.

However, Matthias always suspected that it was something worse that kept Emil silent.

One day, Emil quietly entered the house while nearly everyone but the Dane was busy. Berwald was working much later than usual; Tino went to the market to buy some more of the necessities while Lukas was taking a later shift in the library. Matthias perked up from playing with Peter as soon as he heard the door creak open, "Hey! Where've you been?"

Emil didn't respond and simply walked on by. Annoyed at being ignored, Matthias had walked over to the teenager in easy strides, asking how his day was. The boy spoke in a quiet yet grumpy voice for the Dane to leave him alone, adjusting his scarf closer up his face. Matthias, due to his playful nature, had decided to clamp a hold on the boy's wrist and tried pulling him towards the kitchen so he could play with Peter and himself; he never did that anymore ever since they came to their new home.

Struggling to get out of the Dane's grip, Emil eventually kicked him, causing Matthias to back off, but during this time, Emil's scarf lowered from his face. Matthias was horrified when he looked at Emil's face.

There was a darkened splotch on his lower jaw and his lip looked bloodied.

He demanded where Emil had gotten the injuries, but upon getting a snappy response, the Dane immediately seized the teenager and forced him to strip his shirt off to see if there were any more bruises. Because the boy hated to show his body (even at home in front of family), it became a screaming match that scared Peter into running out of the house, conveniently bumping into Tino who was coming home from the market with Lukas who was let off early from work.

Tino was horrified at seeing Emil's bruised jaw and bloodied lip and tried to ask as calmly as his voice could muster as to where he obtained them. Emil claimed that it was crashing into a tree during P.E. The whole time, Lukas' face was impassive; contemplating quietly, until he told (ordered) his brother to strip off his shirt as well.

Emil's response was as negative as he was towards Matthias. When Lukas tried to come close to his younger brother, he was roughly pushed away.

A loud slam of the door echoed throughout the now silent home.

Matthias wasn't sure what he could do to sort out Emil's problem, but after a conference between the adults, it was decided that they do nothing until things were either drastic or when Emil himself wanted to come clean. Berwald came with the solution to which Tino and Lukas agreed to.

However, with the Dane, it took a while for him to succumb.

"I'm home," Matthias announced as he opened the door. Immediately, he was met by a loud call of "Uncle Matthias!" and a big hug from a small form. The Dane chuckled as he patted the boy hugging his waist. "How you doing, Pete? How was school?"

Peter gave a bright beam, "It was brilliant! Ms. Nguyen's really nice and she even gave us some chocolate!"

"Chocolate, huh?" Matthias grinned. "That sounds awesome! What kind?"

"Some cool Belgian ones that are shaped like shells! Here! Look!" the little boy excitedly pulled the sweet treats from the pockets of his blue shorts and pulled out a small sack filled with creamy brown and white chocolate that were finely crafted into shells and marine life of many kinds. The sack was made of plastic and tied with a lovely, red ribbon.

"That's pretty cool," said Matthias. "Your teacher really does sound nice, huh?"

"Yeah! She really is! Want some, Uncle Matthias? I already gave Mama Tino some and even Uncle Lukas got one!"

"Seriously?" Matthias arched both eyebrows in surprise. "Norge got one? Must be really awesome if he bothered to try one!" he fished a chocolate that was in the shape of a conch shell and popped it in his mouth. Immediately, a pleasant sweetness spread out all over his tongue and tingled, sending a pleasing warmth all over the Dane's body. A dreamy expression crossed Matthias' face and he gave a content sigh, "That is some good chocolate! Best I've tasted! Give me more!"

"No!" Peter said with a childish pout. "Come on, Uncle Matthias! I gotta save some for Papa Berwald and Uncle Emil!"

"Aww, come on! Just give me one more! Papa Berwald won't mind having one less!"

"Oh! Matthias, welcome home!" Tino greeted as he came into the room, wearing a flowery apron. He smiled warmly as the Dane now had the little boy in what appeared to be a noogie. Both were laughing elatedly. "Since you're still in your work clothes, could you do me a favour?"

"Favour, huh? Sure! What's up, Tino?" Matthias let go of the boy.

"Could you please go to the market and buy some things for me? It's just the necessities like food and a few other things. Is that alright?"

Matthias shrugged as he took the shopping list from Tino, "Sure, I'll go. Okay, I'm on my way!"

"Wait!" Peter tugged on the Danish man's muscular arm. "I wanna go, too! Please, Mama Tino? Can I go with Uncle Matthias to the market? I really wanna go!"

Tino sighed; he didn't know why the little boy insisted on calling him his 'mama', but decided to let it go – it meant that the boy saw him as family, right? He then placed the sweet smile back on his face as he nodded, "Sure, you can go. Just as long as Uncle Matthias is fine with it."

"You're kidding me, right? No way in hell would I have a problem with that!" suddenly, Matthias lifted Peter up onto his shoulders, earning a fit of laughter from the child. The Dane then pointed forward with one hand as he kept hold of Peter with the other, "Next stop! The market!"

"On we go!" called Peter in a similar upbeat tone as the Dane. "Let's go!" they immediately ran out of the door (Matthias was careful to duck extremely low) and hopped out to the front yard where Lukas was already coming homeward bound.

The Norwegian man looked at the pair with a stoic face as he arched an elegant eyebrow. "Where are you two going?" he asked in a tone to match.

"We're going to the market to get some stuff from the market," announced Matthias. "Wanna join us, Norge?"

"Pass," Lukas said in the same nonchalant tone. "I have other matters to attend to…"

Matthias shrugged, "Suit yourself, Norge! C'mon, Pete! Let's go onward to the market!"

"Yeah! See you later, Uncle Lukas!" Peter waved at the Norwegian man as Matthias dashed forward with him perched on his shoulders. Lukas simply watched the pair leave and gave a small wave back. However, as he entered through the front door, a tiny smile slowly spread across his usually blank face.

Once they reach the market, Matthias had placed Peter down and gained a red basket. He then whipped out Tino's list and the pair began their journey around the great shop. A few times, the Danish man called the boy to not go too far, the thought of losing him gave Matthias a heart attack.

Plus, he would get pounded in by everyone else at home.

Despite the basket getting more and more items, Matthias didn't seem bothered by the ongoing weight, and kept walking in his normal, laidback pace, his back and posture straight. Peter marvelled at the man's strength, "Uncle Matthias, isn't that basket heavy?"

"Huh?" Matthias stopped in his footsteps. "Not really. What makes you say that?"

"It's just that the basket's got so many things in it, but you don't look too bothered by it!" Peter pointed at the red basket, which was now loaded with two kinds of cheese, a roll of dog food, a pack of eight tubs of yoghurt, three small rolls of salami, a box of cereal, a Coke bottle and finally, two tubs of ice cream.

The Dane burst out laughing, "Ha! You wanna know why? Because I'm really strong! And hence why, I'm awesome." He then leaned down and patted the boy's head, "You'll be strong, too, when you get older. Here, why don't you take the list and tell me what to get. Sound fair?"

Peter nodded and took the list from the Danish man. "Okay!" he announced. "Now, we need some eggs!"

"Eggs!" Matthias stopped at a freezing aisle, the cool air dusting his arms, and picked a carton of sixteen eggs. He carefully placed it to the top of the basket. "Check! What's next?"

"One tub of sour cream!"

"One tub of sour cream…" Matthias picked it from the cold shelf and placed it into the basket. "Check! And what's next?"

"One bottle of milk!"

"One bottle of milk coming right up!" Matthias picked it from the shelf. His fingers wrapped around the smooth, glass surface, but by the time he looked back at his basket, it was already filled. "Oh…" he then gave a shrug and decided to carry it in his free hand. "That's done, what's next?"

"Six tomatoes!"

"Okay, six tomatoes! Here we co-"

All of a sudden, he bumped into something smaller, not paying attention to what was in front of him. Giving a surprised grunt, Matthias backed off slightly, taken off guard.

The sound of smashing glass soon followed.

"Oh, shit!"


And so ends the first chapter of this story - honestly, I think there will be about six to seven chapters in this one. You don't have to read A Piece of Me before this story. What do you think happened to Matthias and Peter? I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Have a nice day! :DDD