A/N: Hi again everyone! Sorry, it's been a while (to those of you who have read Curses!, which is probably not very many XD but thank you nonetheless, whoever you are!) - getting back into the swing of things has not exactly been a walk in the park, and I haven't managed to write much. Even this little plotbunny took months to feed XD But today I wanted to accomplish something, so I put down my homework (wise ideas, people) and finished this instead! It's pretty much the only fluff I've ever written, especially these last few years, so I'm not really in touch with the genre... But oh well. I hope this is good! Please R&R, if you have time, it really means a lot to hear from you guys! OK, I'll stop rambling now-
They were lying on the wooden floor of their shared living space, wrapped up in each other's arms, both of them too tired to stand and too comfortable to get up and go to bed properly. Still and silent, the absence of words or movement itself enough to keep their minds occupied. They'd do this on occasion, Denmark and Norway; sometimes if they'd just come back from traveling or if they'd drunk too much earlier on in the evening, but this time neither of those circumstances fit. They had simply decided, without words or anything other than implied mutual agreement, to lie down together and not move again for as long as they could stand to.
The curtains were drawn across the window, shielding most of the lamplight and glaring colors of car lights as they zoomed by, the fragments of light that made it through around the edges of the fabric shield splaying out somewhat mutedly across the walls and ceiling of the dimly lit room, present for only a moment before moving along with the cars and letting the next reflections take their place. It was like a visual metaphor for something that required too much mental strength to think of right now.
"Tell me something," came a soft murmur from Denmark's side. He looked down at his Norwegian lover, head resting in the crook between Denmark's shoulder and chin, face obscured from the latter's vision.
Denmark stretched a bit, careful not to move too much in order to maintain their position. "Like what?"
He felt Norway shrug slightly within his arm. "Anything."
Denmark glanced back down at Norway, noticing how his soft hands were just barely curling their fingers deeper into Denmark's shirt. He watched with a sort of passive affection as Norway shifted himself closer to the Dane, resettling himself once he felt that he was close enough. The Dane smiled, moving his head slightly to place a kiss atop his little Norwegian's head, before shifting himself back comfortably against him.
"Okay." He thought for a moment, leaning his head against Norway's for support. What should he say? What did his lover want to hear, exactly?
Anything, apparently. Norway was hard to read sometimes – he'd ask for one thing and want another, and it would be up to whoever he asked to figure out what it really was that he wanted. Right now, Denmark figured, he wanted love. He wanted Denmark. That made him smile a little. Denmark wanted him too. Denmark loved Norway so much, it amazed him at times… He loved him so much, he needed Norway to know.
"Sometimes I watch you when you're sleeping."
Smooth. Norway blinked in confusion. "I mean, I try not to, cause it's kind of creepy. But you just look so… So gentle when you're asleep. So open and peaceful. You rarely look like that when you're awake."
Norway took a moment to process his words, before allowing a soft smile to curve itself into his lips. He had been secretly wondering, for a while now, if Denmark did such things while he was asleep. "That's sweet."
Denmark beamed at his words. He was on the right track! Let's see, now, what else could he say…?
"I'm reminded of you by a lot of things. The sea, the sky, buildings… Everything, to be honest. Sometimes I try to find specific things that remind me of you. Like I'll try to find a church because of the cross that's usually on the… The… Whatchamacallit…"
"Steeple," Norway sleepily provided.
"Yeah, that thing. Or I'll look for a bridge, because that's where a lot of trolls tend to hang out."
Norway snorted. "It's nice to know that I remind you of a troll, darling."
"Aw, you know what I meant," Denmark giggled, squeezing Norway a little. He was secretly elated that Norway had actually called him "darling", even if it was only to be sarcastic and to make a point. "Besides, you should be careful about dissing trolls! Some of them may not appreciate that."
"Ah, it's fine. They disrespect me all the time." Norway, too, was hiding a growing feeling of joy from his partner: even if nearly everyone called him crazy for "seeing things", Denmark was one of the only people who believed in the magical creatures he could see. In fact, once Denmark had started giving him the benefit of the doubt (something Norway had asked him to do at the beginning of their relationship), he had actually started being able to see some of them too. Norway breathed in contentedly. Now, if only everyone else in the world would trust in his seeing abilities too…
"What else?" Norway piped back up again, restarting their exchange. Denmark readjusted his arms around the smaller male, searching his mind for more.
"I think about you a lot. Like, sometimes I'll be at work, and I'll just be doing something and I'll start thinking, 'I wonder what Norge is doing right now?', or 'He drank a bit more than usual last night, I hope he's feeling okay today'. Things like that."
Norway smiled again, his face still hidden from Denmark's view. "I do the same," he confessed.
"Really?"
Norway nodded.
Denmark grinned, tilting his head a bit to rest against the Norwegian's. "Like what? What sort of things do you think of?"
"Mm… Sometimes I worry about your drinking too,"- here, Denmark chuckled bashfully -"but mostly I just… Think about you. I think about your face, your voice, the things you say to me…" Norway trailed off, comfortably nuzzling his head against Denmark's chest as the heart inside it melted.
Denmark had no idea that Norway thought about him like that… Or at all, really. He tended to sell himself short when it came to things like being loved and cared for. He supposed that it was a by-product of being a nation – there was a sort of inhuman quality to all of them, Denmark included, that could either make them feel parallel to gods or as wicked as demons. With all of the wars that everyone had fought, all the horror and evil they'd seen (and committed), there came a point for everyone when they suddenly felt… Separate. Separate from humans, in a purely psychological sense. No human, Denmark had often thought, could have been as evil as I was. There is no human being that could have lived through all of this and still have two conflicting natures, good and evil. There's no way that such a creature is deserving of love… But hearing Norway speak with such love made him feel so, so happy… So warm…
He smiled a small, almost wistful smile, glancing down lovingly at his precious Norwegian with eyes that felt warmer than before. "I didn't know you thought about me," he whispered, hesitant to let his voice speak lest it betray the unstable emotions he felt.
Norway, however, was not one to be easily fooled. He tilted his head up to look his lover in the eye, properly, simultaneously exposing Denmark's emotions against his will, and accepting them. "Of course I do," he whispered back just as tentatively. He squirmed a bit to loosen Denmark's arms, before shifting up and placing his head next to the Dane's. "I always think about you."
A moment or two passed in which they stared at each other, deep into one another's eyes. Denmark was having trouble processing what he had heard and was scanning his love's eyes for signs of the truth; Norway was simply watching the Dane he loved slowly reach his conclusion, a small, barely noticeable smile curving through his lips.
Denmark blinked. "Why?"
Norway was taken aback – he hadn't been expecting this. "Why?"
Denmark nodded, his eyes innocent and curious. It was as if he didn't know. "Why do you think about me?"
His Norwegian lover searched his eyes, at first confused, then almost frantically, looking for some fragment of humor in them. It shocked him when he found nothing. Was he honestly clueless?
"Do you not know?" He asked, his voice barely over a whisper. "Do you really not know why I think about you?"
He couldn't believe it when Denmark shook his head.
"It's… Dane, it's because I love you." Norway wasn't bothering to hold back. Denmark's absence of humor was really worrying him. "I love you. Why else would I think about you?"
Denmark blinked. That same stupid look remained on his face. Did he not hear him?
"I love you."
Nothing. Now Norway was getting annoyed.
"Respond, dammit."
Denmark's eyebrows rose in surprise, before he let out a laugh and pulled Norway in closer. Their foreheads were touching; even that much contact sent the Norwegian's heart racing.
"That wasn't entirely what I meant…" The smaller of the two's attention was suddenly drawn to the sight of lips moving. Denmark's lips. His lover's. His heart started beating even faster. "I mean, I know that you love me."
At this, Norway blushed in annoyance and embarrassment, gently punching his Danish lover's chest. "So you had me say 'I love you' a thousand times when you already knew?"
"A thousand times? You said it, like, three times. I say 'I love you' all the time," Denmark pointed out, grinning.
Norway blushed even further and glanced down at the space between them, pretending to ignore the back of Denmark's hand softly brush against his cheek. "So… What did you mean?" He asked once he'd found his voice again.
Denmark was silent for a moment, choosing to continue stroking Norway's cheek in favor of answering. Then he let his hand fall between them, taking one of his boyfriend's in his.
"I guess I was trying to ask why you love me."
They were silent again, this time for much longer. Norway was busy thinking about what he'd just heard and how to respond, while the Dane waited in growing anxiety for his answer. The silence lasted for a good half a minute, before Denmark squeezed Norway's hand to tell him that he was still without an answer.
Norway shifted for a moment, before he licked his lips – which definitely didn't attract the Dane's attention – and spoke. "I don't know, exactly. Maybe it's because I know you so well, and have for so long that I… Or maybe I'm attracted to you because we're opposites… I really don't know. I don't even think that people fall in love for a reason, any one at all. I think it just… Happens."
Denmark nodded at his explanation. It was a tad cynical, sure, but it made sense from an objective point of view. Come to think of it, that was kind of Norway's default point of view.
"That isn't to say that I don't have any reason to love you," said Norwegian added, in a gentler tone. "We're very different, I know, but that's always seemed like a more superficial part of our relationship to me. I love that you're loud, feisty, and confident because it means that you're easygoing, and strong, and brave. I honestly admire you for that."
Denmark was listening closely, heart beating fast, positive that he'd never hear any of this again.
"And when we're alone… You seem… A lot gentler than usual. A little more soft-spoken, considerate, sweet… Cute…" Here, Norway blushed and Denmark felt something soar within him. "It's only little changes, but they add up to a lot. And it all just makes me feel so happy, so… Comfortable around you."
Denmark drew back slightly, just enough to be able to look Norway in the eyes. "Even after all I've done?" He whispered, unable to make his voice go any higher. Terrified as he was about what his lover's answer might be, he couldn't keep himself from asking.
Then Norway leaned in and kissed him, and his all fear evaporated on the spot. It really was incredible how he could do that; Denmark should start being scared of things more often. Norway was so sweet, but not unbearably so, and so warm and soft… So full of life. Maybe that was why people fell in love – they were attracted to life. They wanted to feel the life of other people surrounding their own.
They didn't want to be alone.
Denmark wrapped his arms around Norway and pulled him as close to him as he could. He wanted to be closer to his life. When they broke apart, Norway tilted his head down and buried his face in Denmark's neck. The Dane felt one of his hands move to rest over his heart, and he smiled sleepily. Looks like you feel the same.
"Do you want to go to sleep?" His voice was softer than usual, lowered with tiredness. "It's probably pretty late."
"Mm," Norway hummed into his neck. "Sure."
Then he was silent, and made no move to get up.
"Nor?"
Norway snuggled into him. "We can sleep right here, can't we?" He murmured.
Denmark smiled again, closing his eyes. "Okay."
Norway waited a few minutes for Denmark's breath to slow, and only spoke again once he was sure the Dane was asleep. "I really meant it, you know," he whispered. "I really love you. I really, really do."
Maybe he'd say it again in the morning, when his Danish lover could hear him. He closed his soft indigo eyes and let his own breathing fall into rhythm with Denmark's.
A/N: And that is all! Once again, please R&R if you have the time - constructive criticism is loved and taken to heart, as is just saying something random, if you feel like it; flames, not so much. Alright - Ash is over and out!
