A trick of the ol' eyes. That's what it was. A glimmer of false that now haunted the Danish man, and would continue to haunt him if he were never to gain closure.
"You DID smile!"
The Dutch man was stoic, as if the other hadn't said a word to him. They weren't supposed to be speaking anyways. This was an important meeting. They were discussing...Ah. Fuck if he knew, truly, he just wanted to keep his attention away from the sparking blue eyes that were staring at him with both excitement and fear, as if he was unsure if he was supposed to be proud of himself or to question his own sanity.
And while Jan would never admit it, the former was the correct answer.
He had smiled. BUT, it was for a perfectly legit reason. The normally complacent man was often better at hiding a genuine smile. Perhaps if you were to get him drunk, he may break free of his uninterested mug. Even if you were to catch him on a good day, you may only see the curves of his lips around his sister or in smug satisfaction at the failings of others. On any other simple, uneventful day, he was a stone of lackluster emotion.
But damn it, if Mathias's under-the-breath comments weren't the funniest shit ever.
No one could be sure which was the one that broke the camel's back. Had it been the careful jest about Alfred as he stood up to address a point that, to his credit, was on point, but with a wildly unattainable approach to it. Or maybe it had been his tease about Sadik's and Heracules aggressive game of footsie. Whatever it was, the smile had fallen on his face. He had even breathed out a quick exhale in amusement.
And he was going to take that to his grave.
A long whine escaped the Danish man when he realized he wasn't going to get a confirmation on whether or not what he had seen was some sort of sick hallucination, a dire attempt to catch the man he fancied laughing at something he had said. What an honor that would be!
However, nothing more could be discussed, as he was quickly silenced by both a call out from Ludwig, and a eyeful stare from all of the other Nordics, except Tino, who was gracefully not paying attention to the meeting (as many weren't) and instead daydreaming.
Once the meeting was adjourned, the two man stood to exit the room. Despite tradition for all the Nordics to meet together afterward and hang out (it wasn't often they all got to be together like this, and it was usually a good way to exchange notes to those who hadn't bothered to take any), Mathias declined the invitation and decided to leave with Jan. The Dutch man didn't mind. They were together, after all. Dating wasn't the word for it, and simply sleeping with each other wasn't it either. Together was the word they decided on.
Once many of the other nations had dispersed, Mathias stepped up next to Jan, who was lighting a cigarette. They were standing next to his car, a blue clunker that he could afford to replace, but refused to because it still ran. Mathias jokingly asked for a smoke, but quickly laughed it off and declined the offer when Jan began to pull one out. Mathias didn't hate smoking, but he was trying to slow down on it, usually saving it for only the most stressful of days, or whenever his lungs simply demanded it.
To Jan's utter disappointment, as soon as the stick was back in it's box, Mathias began excitedly asking about the smile.
"Really though? Did I make you smile? I'm not going to tell anyone!" The promise was worthless. Jan could care less if anyone else had known he'd smiled. It was the sight that was worth the most. And, if the Danish man was going to refuse to let it go, then Jan was going to make the other work for a confession out of him.
With the puppy dog nation bouncing in anticipation, Jan merely shrugged.
"Don' remember." He said, making the other groan in annoyance.
"That just makes me think you did and you aren't gonna tell me." A look of defeat washed over Mathias as Jan began to open the car door, dropping his burnt out cigarette to the ground and stepping on it. Not that the man had much sympathy, especially for the pouting man, he could play this to his favor.
A smirk. Wasn't quite a smile, but a promise for something.
"Come back t'my place 'n I'll let ya know." He said. Mathias perked up instantly, letting Jan know that his disappointment had all been an act. But it didn't matter. In the end, they were both going to get what they wanted.
Mathias would get his answer, and Jan was going to get a very good reason to smile for the rest of the night.