Disclaimer: Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz.

Denmark stared at the sparkling blue body of water that lay before him. The lake was still, no wind blew over its crystal surface. It was embedded in a valley surrounded by soft hills and the occasional tree. The weather was relatively cold, only very few things grew there, for it was the middle of winter. The lone man standing few meters away from the shore didn't seem bothered by the cold, so lost in memories did he look.

And it had been here, many years ago, that he first met a man whose destiny would be so closely intertwined with his own. Right there, in a summer long ago...

"Ahh!"

A young boy resurfaced from the glistening waves like a merman, sparkling drops of water running down his wet blonde hair. He wore an impossibly wide grin which mirrored in his sea blue eyes. He looked up at a steep cliff with an expression of triumph. For him, it was an affirmation that he could even survive jumping off a cliff and doing a threefold backflip into a random lake. The boy didn't like getting involved in serious business by his superiors, ditching his responsibilities whenever he could. It was a period of uprising, war and expansions. The young boy didn't like it, the constant fighting made his body hurt. To relax, he liked to sneak out and go on long exploring trips with his trusty mare. Of course he couldn't stay away for too long, but he tried to see as much of the world as he could, for he was a curious kind.

Then, the blonde boy waddled out of the waters and shook himself like a dog. The brown horse which was tied to a tree nickered in disapproval when some water hit its fur.

"Come on, old boy! It's just water!" the boy laughed and patted the animal.

Suddenly, he stiffened. A slight rustle alerted him that there was another presence nearby. A sudden gust of wind sent a few raindrops running down the back of his neck and he shuddered.

"Who're you?" a serious voice demanded.

The surprised blonde turned around swiftly to face a young man not much older than himself. The other had blond hair as well, only cut short. He appeared to have turquoise eyes which were squinting at him as if he had a problem with his eyesight. He was dressed in a blue tunic and leather boots, despite the summer heat, and frowned openly at the Dane.

"Yo! I'm Denmark!" the Dane grinned and pointed at himself with his thumb "Who are you?"

The frowning boy studied him with some difficulty and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Denmark noted that the other boy seemed very alarmed by his presence.

" 'm Sweden. You're tr'spassing." The other stated with a thick accent and frowned even more deeply.

Denmark rubbed his head at the awkward situation. His boss had told him at least that they were going to invade a nation called Sweden to expand the Danish territory. Right then, he regretted his idea to go out into the wild when there was a war going on. But another gust of wind alerted him that he was still wearing a wet white dress shirt and short black pants, so he swiftly got out of his shirt and dropped it on a flat grey rock.

"You! Wh't 're you doin'?" the other boy suddenly inquired in an overly gruff voice.

Denmark blinked and straightened back up. Was this Sweden trying to sound more mature now? He gave the other a grin and ran a hand through his hair.

"Right right, sorry 'bout that, I was just about to leave, anyway! Well, see ya Sverige!" the cheerful Dane grinned and started untying the hoister of his horse.

Instead of a reply, the tip of something cold and metallic was pressing against his back. The Dane let out a sigh and turned around with raised hands.

"Hey, I didn't know this was your territory! I'm not drunk enough to pick a fight, so unless you have beer with you I'd like to leave now."

"Sh't up!" the Swede growled, clearly angry at the lack of respect Denmark was showing him "I w'n't let you t'ke away my land j'st like that!"

"Hey now, I'm not here to cause trouble, just taking a swim-"

"Lies!" the Swede bellowed suddenly and pushed the tip of his sword against the exposed chest of Denmark.

The Dane flinched when he felt the tip of the blade penetrate his skin and took a step backwards. Sweden seemed extremely angry all of a sudden and pushed him against a tree. Denmark coughed when his back slammed against the wood and came face to face with Sweden, whose turquoise eyes seemed to glow with anger.

"D'n't make 'xcuses!" Sweden bellowed, his voice sounding more and more accusing "Y'r people are inv'ding my l'nd! Don't pr't'nd you don't know!"

Denmark opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't quite find an answer to the accusations. It was true, after all, so he closed it again. The Swede's grip on his sword tightened, his knuckles turning white. It was an extremely tense silence. Denmark's eyebrows shot up when Sweden suddenly dropped his sword and crouched down on the grass with a pained expression. The Dane took a step towards him, but Sweden's head suddenly shot up and he glared at him with tears at the corners of his eyes.

"St'y away fr'm me!" he bellowed and clasped his left shoulder with one hand, while fumbling for his sword with the other "You filthy b'stard!"

Denmark stopped short and his blue eyes widened when he saw a dark red stain grow on Sweden's shoulder. The Dane felt his heart sink when Sweden flinched in pain and curled into himself. He didn't know the exact date, but he knew that his king was going to take Stockholm soon.

"Ngh!" Sweden let out a low pained noise.

Denmark's eyes closed when Sweden shuddered with pain. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. As soon as his eyes opened, he felt a fist connect with his face and knock him backwards.

"Ah, what the-!" he coughed and held his aching nose.

Sweden stood before him, breathing heavily and holding his shoulder. His eyes were dull and pained, but his face showed a savage expression. His right fist was still clenched. Blood was now seeping from a spot on his chest as well.

"It's all y'r fault!" Sweden spat bitterly "I h'te you!"

That hit. Denmark's surprised eyes hardened and he stood up with a grim face. He had a feeling that Stockholm would be his soon. Thinking of Sweden's land as his own became easier by the minute. His nose still hurt, he felt upset over it. With a cruel smile, he pointed to his left, towards the lake.

"Trespassing? Doesn't look like it to me. Because that lake is mine now." The Dane gave the angry Swede a cool smile before he pointed at the bleeding boy "And you'll be mine, too."

At this, Sweden let out an angry grunt and threw himself at the smirking Dane. Due to Sweden's injury it was easy to gain the upper hand in the ensuing struggle, even if the Swede was a few centimetres taller than him. Still, Sweden put up a good fight and even managed to get some hits on Denmark. After a few minutes of intense struggling, Denmark was kneeling above the injured Swede and pinning him down with his hands.

"Oh, what's this? If looks could kill, I'd be dead now!" Denmark mocked the other boy, who glared up at him "You wanna say something, huh?"

But the Swede had his lips planted firmly shut, despite the fact that his shoulder must have hurt like crazy. The Dane couldn't help but give some credit to Sweden's willpower, even when he was defeated. He smirked cockily and took his time studying his opponent a little more closely.

Sweden's hair, while now slightly dirtied by the mud, was naturally bright blonde and rather well kept. He had strong facial features, which were even and symmetrical for the most part. Sweden had a sharp nose and the most intense eyes Denmark had seen as of yet, even if they were now clouded over with pain. He would surely look handsome once fully grown up. Maybe it was unsconscious jealousy, but Denmark enjoyed subduing the rebellious Swede. But then, another feeling hit him.

"Hey, I…" Denmark began, but trailed off, unsure of what to say to the nation he had just conquered.

It wasn't like Denmark liked to invade other people just for the heck of it. In his young life, he hadn't seen a real battlefield yet, for he wasn't an experienced warrior. But this particular victory didn't really feel like one for him. Sweden had been at a disadvantage from the start. It was really Denmark's king who had conquered Sweden on even grounds. This thought began to eat away at Denmark as he got up from the Swede and took the nation's sword with him to his horse. His jaw clenched when Denmark realized just how pathetic he really was. He was a nation, for god's sake! He had responsibilities, and if they included fighting against others, that was just it. The blonde climbed on top of his horse and gave the other boy a contemplative look, which Sweden returned with a look full of hatred.

"Hey Sweden, I'm taking this from you since you can't handle it anyway!" he exclaimed with a haughty grin "I'm not fighting the handicapped, it's boring. If you ever want this back, get the hell on your feet and take it! Until then, you're my newest underling!"

With a grunt that was more animalistic than human, Sweden jumped on his feet and threw a rock after the retreating Dane, with his injured arm. The Dane let out a small "Ugh" when it hit him in the back of his head.

"Damn you, Sverige!" Denmark turned back to face him and shook his fist in a playful manner.

Sweden would have liked to hurl a whole mountain after him right then.