A short little story, in honor of the come-and-gone Rapture everyone's been going on about, featuring the Nordics. I just had to do this. Enjoy. :3

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The Nordics all sat around a table at their favorite restaurant, their meals mostly untouched for once. Here and there, a fork would poke some fish, or a drink would be nervously sipped from. An unnatural silence hung pervasively in the air. Everyone mostly stared at their plates, and yet occasionally stole furtive glances at one another, out the window, at the quiet TV in the corner.

Finland wanted to say something, but he was afraid he would sound nervous, which would of course prompt Sweden's protectiveness. Which was always, inevitably, frightening. So he held his tongue.

Denmark, however, was not accustomed to being silent for long, and he finally sighed and picked up his soda. "Oh man," he said in a slightly nervous tone, "Seriously, I wonder what's really gonna happen..."

Sweden remarked, unreadable and serious, "I d'n' th'nk 'nyth'n w'll happ'n' adall."

Denmark shook his head. "But what if it does? What if it DOES? What'll happen? Sudden heat? Earthquakes all over the world? Flash flood? Will the Earth just EXPLODE?"

Sweden managed to look more scary than he usually did, shadows somehow hanging over his face with his brows slightly creased. "N'thin' w' c'ld do 'nyway, mi''s w'll j'st 'njoy wh't's l'ft." And to prove a point, he forked in a slab of his meal.

Nobody was sure if that was reassuring, or even more indicative of the feeling of finality. As if this could very well be their last meal. The silence again hung over them, heavy.

As if the air itself was weighing down on them.

As if sound was being absorbed into a vacuum.

*FARRRRT!*

All faces snapped toward Iceland. The boy's violet eyes were wide. Then his face quickly turned red, beet-red, so dark red it rivaled the burgundy of his jacket. Then he sprung to his feet like a deer and sprinted out of the dining area in embarrassment.

Denmark barked with extreme laughter. To which Norway reacted by pouring his soda all over Mark's spiky hair. Then the quiet nation took off after his brother.

Mark sputtered in shock, then ran after them both, arms extended. "Oh come on! It was a natural reaction, man, natural! Ice'll be okay, yeah? URRMMMMFFF!" He stopped abruptly when his face ran into Norway's shoe. Mark fell backwards onto his rear, this time staying put, as Norway rounded the far corner down the hall.

Finland couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, I guess it could have been worse."

Sweden stoically sipped his drink, then asked, "'r y'g'nna eat y'r f'sh, h'ny?"

Finland scrunched his face in simultaneous nervousness (he never knew when Sweden was joking) and embarrassment. "I told you, I'm not your wife!"

–

On Saturday, May 21st 2011, the day that many believed the world would end... Iceland's most active volcano, Grimsvotn, released a large cloud of ash and smoke into the air, delaying flights in the surrounding area. There were no casualties, and no other out-of-place catastrophic events have been reported.