Returner

Again, I'm back people! This is a fic dedicated to a friend of mine^^ I hope she likes it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia…(That ellipsis there is to make you think otherwise)

~Nikolas's POV~

I put my hair clip on with slightly trembling hands, the golden cross sort of dull in my lifeless room. My bangs still obscure my vision but I guess I'm kind of glad about that.

People won't see my glassy eyes.

I grab the handle to my suitcase and grunt as I pick it up. I strained with it down the stairs, struggling with its weight as if it weighed twice as much then when I packed it last night. I wonder if it's my feelings that weighing it down. Jeez, I'm such a pessimist.

My host-sister looked up at me and tried her best to hold back her tears. I couldn't help but smile ruefully, trying my best to ignore the tightening feeling in my chest as tears fell down her face despite her strong efforts. As I reached the bottom of the godforsaken steps, she broke out into a fit of sobs and clutched around my waist tightly. I don't usually like being touched by other people but I always made exceptions for her. Whenever she wanted to use something of mine and didn't ask for it, I didn't scold her as severely as I would to Ma-

I closed my eyes to let my heart calm down as I petted the crying child in my arms.

"Please calm down, Marie," I implored. She simply shook her head frantically and looked up at me with red eyes surrounded by a pink and tear stained face. Even when like this, she always made my heart melt at her innocent and naive nature. I was going to miss her terribly.

"Please don't go, Nikky. Please...wah..." She began to cry again. I pinched my lips into a firm line to keep them from trembling as I tried to answer her as gently and calmly as possible, even though, inside, I was a complete mess.

"I promise to visit, Marie. I will come back and see all of you again very soon, okay?" I said. I felt bad because I had no idea when that "soon" was coming anytime "soon". Her eyes brightened up immediately as she smiled slightly.

""You mean tomorrow?" Oh boy, that hurt more than it was supposed to. Usually, I would chuckle at such naivety and explain that soon meant maybe months or even years. Now, it hurt just like a punch to the stomach, stealing all of my breath and leaving me feeling nothing but pain. I closed my eyes again and sighed shakily.

"No, sweetie..." Her demeanor reverted back to a depressed state and I wanted to slap myself. Why couldn't I just tell her what she wanted to hear? But I couldn't lie to her, she deserved better. "...but I do promise to visit, definitely, okay? This isn't goodbye but rather until next time." I tried smiling but it didn't feel right on my face. It probably looked weird because she just looked at her shoes from them on.

I hugged her one last time before I walked around the staircase and made my way down the hallway towards the kitchen. As I walked past, my eyes glanced at the photographs that I haven't paid much attention to all year I've been here but have been looking at a numerous amounts of times this past week. My eyes fell on a picture that I took with my entire host family one day. It was raining like crazy and it was my third month here. I was acting bitter that day because even though I was here for three months, I still felt like the outsider in this foreign country and couldn't be bothered to deal with it. Marie insisted we do something as a "family" and I scoffed at her like an adult does to a child. A family...they were just people I stayed with to continue my studies, nothing else.

My host-mother, Chelle, forced us into the car while my host-father; Edward drove to a local mall where we just walked around. That's all we did, walk. I was extremely irritated to be forced out of the house on a rainy and cold day to just /walk/ around a bloody mall. Marie passed by a picture place and begged Chelle to take a family portrait. I immediately declined the offer but Edward agreed with his daughter and clapped me on my back as if to say, "be a good sport".

The only thing it did was bruise my back.

I coughed as a lump formed in my throat and an innate itch started. I swallowed, trying to soothe my neck before walking the down the rest of the hallway to enter into the kitchen. When I entered, Edward was sitting at the table with Chelle, both holding hands and looking at me. I felt my face burn, as their looks made me feel worse than I already did. They're acting as if I'm abandoning them and that made me feel a little residual anger flare in me.

"So, today's the day, huh?" Edward said, trying to illicit a response from me. I couldn't trust my voice so I just nodded, my eyes glued to the table where their hands were joined.

"Did you say goodbye to your friend, Nikolas?" My mother asked. I felt my throat tighten and my hands become clammy. I tried swallowing again but I only succeeded in starting a fit of coughs. Chelle got up immediately and passed me a glass of water that was conveniently located next to her, along with a box of tissues. I felt my eyes water just looking at them. I took three deep gulps of water before taking in a deep breath, my chest heavy and tight.

"Thank you," I whispered, my throat too tight to even speak normally.

"Well, you're going to miss your flight if you stay here any longer. I'll go start the car." Edward got up quickly and walked past me. I closed my eyes and sighed. In my year here, I never really connected with him but I couldn't see him as anything but a "dad" to me. My mother looked at me wistfully and that did it. A tear tracked itself down my cheek and my lips began to tremble.

"Oh, darling..." Chelle embraced me gently and I clutched her shoulders tightly, trying my best not to start sobbing for her frame was just as frail and feminine as mine. She petted my head and it forced more tears out. I kept my mouth closed as my throat constricted, forcing chocked sobs out of my throat as my body shook slightly. A slight whiff of roses and strawberry jam filled my nostrils and I felt a tear track down my nose, tickling me. She let go and wiped my tears away with her hands, her arms rising to accommodate my height. Even though we were the same build, she was at least a head shorter than me, making me look even less of a man and more like a stick. "Don't be a stranger, okay? Call us anytime." I smiled at her while I wiped my nose on a tissue she handed me.

"Okay, mom..."

~Line Breaker~

I shifted in my seat as the cheap and itchy material of the airplane seats irritated my bare arms that were exposed due to my T-Shirt. Even though it was a warm day, it was raining hard. How fitting for a farewell. My dad actually hugged me at the airport terminal and gave me a smile. I was too shocked to cry but when I think back on it, it makes my throat tight.

I buckled my seat and sighed, looking out the window forlornly. I was going to miss this dull, lifeless, wonderful country. Going back to Norway wasn't bad it was just...I wish that they were one and the same place. I wished that going back home was just a train ride instead of a plane ride. If it was that simple, I wouldn't have had to say goodbye to my friends, feel sad instead of happy leaving Copenhagen...cry.

I never cried in front of other people because it made me look more like a girl child than the man that I am. I only cried deeply in front of one man...and he was the one person I refused to say goodbye to. I didn't even tell him I was leaving. I know it was heartless of me but seeing his face would have forced me to be unreasonable. I would have ripped up my plane ticket right there if he asked me to stay but I had responsibilities and my life to return to. I didn't want to get caught up in anything difficult in Denmark and I did just the opposite.

I fell in love.

I sighed again, my breath fogging over the window slightly. I began to draw doodles when I saw something in my peripheral vision. I tried hard to focus on the mysterious object when a stewardess tapped me on my shoulder.

"Would you like something to drink?" She asked. I looked at her bright face and almost seethed in unjustified annoyance. Her happy demeanor just annoyed me.

"No, thank you." I turned my back to her and looked out the window again, breathing on it and returning to my doodling. Again, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and tried to focus on it. What the bloody hell was that? I saw something white, a rectangle perhaps jumping up and down. I tried to focus on the words but couldn't see them properly. As my eyes grew accustomed to the distance, my jaw grew slack and my eyes widened in disbelief.

I Will Be Waiting For You

I looked at the person holding the sign and couldn't suppress the whimper that left my throat as my hand flew over my heart, trying to calm its speeding pace.

Mathias.

Mathis was here. How? Why? I was upset and yet I was relieved. I was saddened and yet I was happy. How could one man make me feel like this? He flipped the board over and I tried to focus on the words again.

Don't Keep Me Waiting! ;-)

I chuckled even though my eyes were overflowing with tears. That was just like Mathias, impatient even though he'll wait begrudgingly. I smiled at him and put my hand against the glass.

"Mathias, I-"

"Good Afternoon, passengers and thank you for flying with us today! We hope you have a safe flight! The pilot will take off in five minutes so please make sure you are safely buckled in your designated seat and enjoy the flight."

I looked back at Mathias and he looked back at me, undeterred by the roaring engines of the airplane. I wanted to jump out of my seat and run into his arms, squeeze the living daylights out of him until I felt at home again. More tears poured, as I didn't know when the next time I would be in his arms again. I mouthed his name as sobs racked my body.

"Nikolas!" I looked up as if he called my name. I looked at him and he held up another sign, one in the shape of a heart.

Jeg Elsker Dig, Nor [1]

I smiled and shook my head. You damn fool, now how am I supposed to leave this country without saying the same? He always put me in difficult situations, breaking the shell that I wound around myself. I breathed once again on the glass and wrote my own reply.

Jeg Vet, Du Idiot. Jeg Elsker Dig [2]

The plane roared once before it began to turn towards the runway. I looked back at Mathias and he stared back at me, with a smile on his face. I scowled. How could you smile at a time like this, you imbecile! I quickly erased what I wrote and scribbled something else:

Jeg Tager Det Tilbage, Dit Svin [3]

He immediately frowned and opened his mouth to say something but the plane began to move. I placed my hand on the window and touched my hairclip as we sailed past him and into the sky. I removed it from my hair and gazed at it lovingly before clutching it to my chest, tears falling on my hands.

"Jeg elsker dig, Mathias." The stewardess came back and gasped.

"Are you alright, sir?" She asked, her eyes full of empathy. I gave her a smile and sniffled.

"Yeah, I could use some tissues, a sprite, and an order of flodeboller," I said. She nodded and hurried away to fulfill my request.

It was going to be a long flight but I was just giving myself an excuse to return later. Besides, I had a promise to keep to an idiot.

~Fin~

(Okay, I got all translations from google translate so don't be surprised if they're wrong.)

[1] = I love you, Nor. *In Danish*

[2] = I know, you idiot. I love you, too. *In Norwegian*

[3] = I take it back, you bastard. *In Norwegian*

(I know what you're thinking...they're exactly the same thing! And so I repeat, this google translate so don't be surprised if they're wrong. And Danish and Norwegian are similar languages, just an FYI.)

Read and review. Much obliged.