Lukas woke well before dawn, eyesight hazy and mind blank. He sat up, his head pounding painfully, and gathered fistfuls of his sheets. A long shudder went down his spine, accompanied by a chill. Cussing quietly in Norwegian, he slithered out of bed. The steady ticking of the grandfather clock in his room reassured Lukas that he was no longer asleep, and he looked at the surface to try and see the time.

Giving up on that, he picked up the pants on the floor and threw them into the laundry hamper, along with the white button up. He pulled a fresh one, this time dark gray with blue accents in the cuffs and collar, out of his closet, as well as a clean pair of pants. Pulling them on, he grabbed a towel and made his way out of the room.

Padding quietly through the halls, he paused in front of Emil's room on the second floor. it was silent for the most part, but Lukas strained his ears to try and catch any sign that Emil was still in his room. He caught the sound of light snoring and Lukas released the breath he had been holding. He continued walking down the halls that he memorized at a much younger age, and he stopped in front of a heavy oak door, closer to the back of the castle.

Pushing it open, he winced at the loud creak that it emitted and slipped through the narrow opening between the heavy door and the doorframe. Taking a deep breath, Lukas inhaled the fresh outdoor air, the roses perfume reaching his nose. As he kept walking, completely reliant on muscle memory, he tried his best to clear the fogginess in his head.

The Knight found himself in front of a decent sized hot spring, just staring blankly at the steaming water before he could pull himself back to reality. After snapping out of his trance, he hopped down onto the stone path that led off of the porch and paused in front of the spring. Stripping off his clothing, he folded each article neatly and stacked them away from the water and dirt so they would stay clean.

Sliding into the water slowly, Lukas allowed the heat to wake him up and pull him back to reality. He dunked his head underwater, allowing the heated water of the spring to wash over his hair and his face. Bursting out of the water, he gasped and spluttered, wiping the water from his eyes to clear his vision. Yeah, he was definitely awake now.

He leaned against the edge of the pool, taking in a deep breath. Staring up at the still dark sky, he counted the few lights that remained. He tried to connect them, but he lost track of which stars he'd connected and which remained. The sky was slowly turning a lighter gray, faint blue streaks beginning to decorate the pitch sky.

"Mind if I join you?" Lukas's head snapped to the new arrival and he took in a deep breath, automatic irritation washing over him. Of course, his few moments of peace every morning were going to be ruined by this guy.

Mathias had a towel slung over his shoulder and a bundle of clothing tucked under his arm. A towel was tied around his waist, protecting his decency, and Lukas found himself rolling his eyes A bit in exasperation.

"Go right ahead." Lukas had really wanted to say 'I'd rather you not', but he decided he would try to attempt kindness – or at least a form of respect – towards the irritating knight.

"Tak."

"Du er velkommen," Lukas replied flatly.

"You know, you're pretty rude." Mathias pulled the towel from his waist, letting it stay where it fell, and Lukas averted his eyes as the Danish man slid into the water.

"I am not rude." Lukas defended, twitching slightly.

"Yeah, you really are." Mathias laughed, leaning against the edge of his side of the spring. Lukas didn't reply, and he disappeared under the surface of the water. The Dane quirked an eyebrow, but made no comment as the Norwegian came back up. He just slunk further down into the water and tilted his head back, sky blue eyes fluttering closed.

Lukas managed to keep himself from staring at the other male, for the most part at least. He himself was a bit insecure about his body and lack of muscles; he always had been. He was thin, with very little visible muscle and dare he say curves. Both his skin and his hair were fair, his body void of scars, and he was built with a girlish figure, much to his displeasure. Even his face resembled a woman's; it wasn't broad enough or wide enough or square enough. He had even been mistaken as female out on the streets, which wounded his pride more than he cared to admit.

Mathias, obviously, never had that issue crop up. He had visible muscles on both his arms and his stomach, but they weren't so large that it was unattractive or repulsive. Various scars were visible on the other's chest and across his shoulders. His face wasn't rounded, like Lukas's was, it was more angular and masculine and just overall screamed male.

The longer he stared at the Dane, the warmer his cheeks began to feel as color crept into his pale skin. Lukas slunk down into the water until his nose was only a few centimeters above the surface, trying his best to hide the fact that he was blushing furiously. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose to calm himself down.

Lukas had never been very open about his sexuality, preferring to keep it hidden. Many people in the Spades kingdom were attracted to the opposite or both genders, and the Norwegian had been alarmed to learn that woman were not attractive to him in any way. He could gauge how pretty they were by social standards, yes, but he'd always been much more attracted to the male gender.

He was embarrassed to think that he found this Danish nuisance attractive. Closing his eyes, he found comfort in the factor that he was not attracted to the other Knight romantically or otherwise, and just found his appearance satisfying. In almost all cases, Lukas seemed to be incapable of romantic feelings.

"Lukas?" The Norwegian's eyes fluttered open and he peered at Mathias. He appeared, concerned, and the Spade sat up a bit straighter, cursing the flush in his cheeks. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just the heat." Venom laced his first sentence and he cast a glance up at the sky. He found that the sun was peeking through the treetops, signaling the light of dawn and the fact that he'd been in the water far too long. "I've been in here too long is all."

Mathias gave him a disbelieving look as the Norwegian climbed out, but the knight either didn't see it or ignored it. Lukas kept his body facing away from his companion, droplets of water sliding down his skin and dripping from the ends of his hair. He dried off as quickly as he could, anxious to get the hell away from Mathias as quick as he possibly could. Rubbing his hair dry with the towel, he felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle as he felt someone staring at him.

"Stop staring at me." Lukas's voice broke the silence, and Mathias blinked in surprise.

"I'm not!" Mathias defended. Lukas didn't reply, instead choosing to pull up his underwear and pants. Slipping his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, he twisted the button on his collar, trying to quell the rising feeling of what he thought was panic. He picked up his towel and just barely managed to keep from bolting away from the Danish man and back into the safety of the indoors like a scared rat. He disappeared back into the castle and leaned against the door. Taking a long, deep breath, he calmed himself down and pushed off the heavy wood to straighten himself back up.

As he made his way back to his room, his fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. As the shirt was buttoned up higher, Lukas felt himself growing more secure and calm. He liked that he could hide his girly figure under clothes and make himself appear much more masculine; he didn't the need to be self-conscious.

As he climbed the steps, he nodded to the few servants who were waking up and beginning to mull around. He paused in front of Emil's door, and knocked gently. He was answered with a muffled "Come in." He pushed the door open, and gave a slight smile to his younger brother as he poked his head into the room.

"God morgen, Emil." Lukas's lips twitched into a smile as Emil's expression brightened.

"Góðan daginn!" Emil replied, obviously in a good mood. Lukas took another step into the room and closed the door behind him.

"You ready for today?" Lukas asked, tlting his head a bit to the side. It had become a daily ritual to stop by Emil's room after taking his bath, just to make sure that the younger Icelandic boy was awake. Emil had insisted that Lukas didn't need to take care of him anymore, but the day after he declared he could take care of himself, the Norwegian didn't show up and Emil almost had a heart attack. That had been how Lukas had proved his point, and Emil hadn't complained about it since.

"I am, but you aren't!" Emil's voice held a slight scolding tone, and he moved forward, closer to his brother. "Your hair's messed up – where's your pin? – and you aren't even wearing your coat."

"You sound like mother!" Lukas chuckled slightly, swatting playfully at Emil. He received a nasty face, a huff, and a swat in response.

"I don't care if I sound like our mother. The Diamonds and Clubs are coming today, and the Starting Ball is tonight, remember?" Emil put his hands on his hips, striking a feminine pose.

"How could I forget?" Lukas responded. "Now, I'll go finish getting ready, mother."

"You're a jerk!" Emil retorted as his brother's back turned to him.

Lukas didn't miss a beat in his reply. "You love me anyways." He closed his brother's door and continued his trek down the hall to his own room. He pushed his door open, and snuck a glance at himself in his mirror. His hair was matted in a few places and ratty in others, and some pieces stuck up at odd angles.

He let out a quiet, almost inaudible laugh at his own ragged appearance and he picked up his comb. He raked the small comb through his hair to work out the knots, wincing occasionally when it would get caught. Once his hair was smooth and lay how he wanted it to, Lukas picked up his pin. Pulling back some of his hair on the left side of his head, her clipped it in place. Picking up his tunic, Lukas gave a small frown at how wrinkled the fabric was. After shaking it out, he slipped his arms through the sleeves of the smooth, warm fabric. The stiff collar brushed his jaw line and he shuddered at the tickling sensation. His jaw and neck were more sensitive when it came to the ticklish parts of his body, and he hated it.

After buttoning his tunic all the way up, he took a look at his appearance in his full-length mirror. Twisting back one way and then the other, Lukas examined how his tunic moved and lay. Something was missing, though… It didn't take him long to look down at his sock-clad feet and realize he needed his boots. He pulled them up and laced them, and then took another look. Lukas turned slightly each way as he had previously and was satisfied with his choice of clothing. He turned and walked out of his roomslightly dreading facing the rest of the day.

.:o0o:.

Mathias moved through the decently crowded hallways, chatting with some of the servants who he encountered. He felt much better after his soak and he was much more awake, but concern for the other Knight was growing in the back of his mind. Finding himself in front of his Jack's room, he knocked on Feliciano's door.

"Hey, Feli, I'm coming in." He pushed the door open and found Feliciano already awake and dressed.

"Oh!" The Jack beamed at him with bright eyes. "Good morning Mathi!" He waved childishly, and Mathias couldn't help but smile at the other man's childishness. "What brings you here?" The Italian cocked his head, golden eyes shining.

"I was gonna make sure you were awake. Could you do me a favor and wake up King Ludwig for me? I think that if I try, he'll attempt to strangle me." Feliciano nodded in agreement, and Mathias rubbed his neck, a sheepish grin on his lips.

"I can do that!" Feliciano chirped in agreement, bobbing his head in a nod.

"You're the best." Mathias bowed slightly before exiting the room. Looking around for the staircase he'd just come from, he switched his battleaxe from one hand to the other. He walked further down the hall and started descending the nearest staircase. A gleam caught his eye and he looked up from where his gaze was focused. He paused and looked over at the other staircase, opposite of the one he was on, and saw Lukas walking silently the stairs. The golden hairpin he wore caught the light streaming in from the humongous windows and appeared to be glowing.

Pausing at the middle section of the stairs, where the two staircases met, Mathias looked up at Lukas, his breath hitching. The sunlight illuminated the other Knight, making him glow. His ashen hair was illuminated by the bright sunlight, making it appear white, and Mathias couldn't help but thank that Lukas looked like an angel. He blinked rapidly a few times and shook his head, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating. Nope, Lukas still looked perfect.

Mathias stuffed one hand into his pocket, the other gripping onto his battleaxe's handle as he propped it against his shoulder. He grinned at the Norwegian as he got to the bottom of the staircase.

"Hey Lukas! You're looking better." Lukas gave no response and no indication that he heard the other Knight's words, turning to descend the next set of stairs. Mathias followed him, skipping the last three steps to get further ahead of his new friend. He grinned back at his companion and received an eye roll in response as Lukas passed by. Happy greetings bubbled from his lips, directed to the servants they passed while propping up his axe on his shoulder instead of dragging it behind him.

Lukas suddenly stopped and turned around to face the Dane. "Why are you following me?" He asked coldly, violet eyes narrowed.

Mathias tilted his head to the side slightly, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What?"

"You're following me. Why?" Lukas folded his arms, a scowl making its way onto his face.

"Oh." Mathias laughed slightly and Lukas's mood seemed to drop even further, the air around him getting colder. "You're good company, and I'll get bored wandering around by myself!"

"You could be, oh I don't know, with your Royals." Lukas responded venomously.

"Oh, stop being so cold Lukas." Mathias ruffled the other's hair and earned his hand being swatted away. Lukas said nothing further to him and he stalked towards the kitchen with a non-bothered Mathias trailing behind him.

"Oh, hey Lukas." Mathias peeked around Lukas to see a younger boy with silvery hair and pink-colored eyes. What caught his attention the most was that Lukas visibly relaxed as the other boy spoke and the Norwegian cast a glare back at Mathias.

"Hey Emil." Lukas tilted his head slightly, and pointed to the platter the Icelander held. "What's that?"

"Part of brunch." Emil responded. His gaze wandered from Lukas to Mathias and the Dane waved slightly, a cheerful smile on his. "… You're Mathias, right?"

"That'd be me." The Heart chirped out happily, nodding.

"…Huh." Emil shrugged and brushed past them to go to the dining room, exchanging a glance with Lukas.

"Huh?" Mathias cocked his head to the side in confusion and glanced at the shorter Knight. He didn't get a response from him and Lukas just turned and walked out of the kitchen without a word. Mathias jogged after him, somehow keeping a decent speed while carrying his god-knows-how-heavy weapon.

They exited the castle, and Mathias blinked in the bright morning light. Lukas moved to stand nearby the castle doors, his expression betraying absolutely nothing of what was going on in his head. He stood at attention and it took Mathias a couple of moments to realize that he was at his post. Laughter bubbled from his lips, and Lukas looked at Mathias like he was absolutely insane.

"Why are you laughing?" Lukas questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Because! It's the Festival of Cards, Lukas! You don't have to be working!" Mathias replied through his laughter. Lukas narrowed his eyes and huffed childishly, folding his arms and pointedly looking away from the other. The Dane calmed down a bit, but he still chuckled here and there in amusement.

"You're laughing at me." Lukas accused after about ten minutes of listening to Mathias stifle laughter. The Dane could almost swear that he saw a vein pulse on the other's temple, which made him grin despite himself.

"What if I am?" Mathias countered cockily.

"Then stop." Violet eyes glared into blue and Mathias just smiled wordlessly. What happened next was a blur to him, but Lukas grabbed the Dane's neck, annoyance peeking through his calm masquerade, and he quickly had the other in a chokehold. The sound of hooves beating against the cobble road leading to the castle pulled their attention from one another as a golden carriage pulled up.

"Ah, the Kingdom of Spades!" An accented voice came from the carriage, and the door swung open. Francis stepped onto the cobble and he smiled at Lukas and Mathias. "Did we stumble upon a lovers spat?" Lukas flushed and released Mathias, shoving him away as if he were on fire.

"I believe you're mistaken, your Majesty. I am a not lover to that imbecile." He responded, a bit quicker than he should have, his pale cheeks tinted red.

"Oh? My dear sir, your red cheeks say differently~!" Francis cooed. Lukas bristled slightly, turning even redder and he refused to look in Mathias's direction.

"Francis, please don't harass them." A soft voice joined into the conversation, and Lukas gave a low bow to the Queen of Diamonds as she stepped out of the carriage. He had a respect for Lili, as she was a sweet girl who always stopped to speak with him whenever Diamonds visited.

"My apologies, Lili." Francis gave a bow as well and both he and Lukas sent a look towards Mathias. The Dane got the hint and bowed with a slight roll of his eyes. He held back a yelp, biting down on his tongue as Lukas stomped on his foot

"Hey, Spade." Lukas stood up, making eye contact with Vash.

"Yes, Vash?" He said calmly.

"You gonna lead us in, or what?" The Swiss folded his arms, and Lukas gave a small sigh.

"Of course. Follow me." Lukas turned on heel and Mathias trotted after him. The Diamond Royals followed, a bit slower than Mathias but quick enough to keep up for the long strides of the Norwegian.

"Arthur!" Lukas called. The Queen popped his head out from the corner he'd just turned, curiosity shining in his green orbs.

"Oh, Lukas." He smiled at the Knight, and then his gaze wandered to the Diamonds behind him. "Francis," He said coldly before continuing to address the other two. "Lili, Vash. Nice to see you."

"Likewise," Vash said flatly. Lili gave a small curtsey, dipping her head as well.

"Thank you for holding the Festival of Cards this year, Arthur." She smiled at the Spades Queen, who returned the smile without hesitation. Mathias had noticed over the years that people of the same rank and position in the kingdoms seemed to get along best. It saddened the Heart is it occurred to him that Lukas and he were out of that loop; but at least Lukas tolerated him. He assumed that was the best he could hope for.

"It's our pleasure." Arthur said kindly before pulling his clock out of his pocket. The golden metal gleamed in the light and he inspected the clock face. Turning on heel in what must have been the direction of the king, Arthur yelled, "Alfred Jones! Get down here!"

The King of Spades paused in his ascent of the staircase and he looked down at the group before a grin formed on his lips. He jumped over the side of the railing, holding onto it as he slid down the smooth wooden rail. As he reached the end, he jumped off and landed with a small thud before straightening and strutting over.

"Thanks for escorting 'em, Lukas." Alfred said cheerfully, looping an arm around Arthur's waist.

"Of course, your Majesty." Lukas bowed. He straightened back up and, after a brief nod to both of his royals, turned on heel and swiftly began walking away. Mathias frowned slightly after him and Francis clapped a hand on his shoulder. The contact surprised him, but he turned to the Frenchman curiously.

"Have fun chasing after that one!" Francis said coyly, a smile on his lips before he shoved the Dane in the direction of the other Knight. Mathias flushed red, but he turned to go in the direction that Lukas had disappeared in. The King's words came back to him and he rubbed his neck – it's not like he wanted to pursue Lukas as a lover. At least, he didn't think that's what was happening. It took him a little bit to catch up the Lukas, and he wondered how the Norwegian managed to move so quickly.

"So, are you going back to your post?" Mathias asked awkwardly, a bit curious.

"No. I'll just go wander a bit." Lukas responded with a small shrug, still making a point to not look at Mathias. It was amusing, if the Dane really wanted to admit it. He found it funny that Lukas was trying so hard to avoid him. He obviously hadn't realized that it was just making the Dane try even harder. He reached forward, grabbing Lukas's wrist and spinning him around.

"Look at me, will you?" Mathias laughed slightly and Lukas hissed, violet eyes narrowing and cheeks flushing pink.

"I'm going to slap you." The Norwegian snapped, voice cold. Mathias spun him around again, much to the Norwegian's annoyance, and let go of him. Lukas brought a hand up so he could use the wall to steady himself; he got dizzy ridiculously easily.

"You can only slap me if you can catch me." Mathias teased, taking a few steps backwards. For every step that Lukas took forwards, Mathias took a step back. Eventually, the Norwegian just stopped with a glare.

"You're not worth my time." He decided, and Mathias felt a pang of hurt. Before he could get a word in, Lukas had turned and gone off in the other direction, quickening his pace until he was around the corner and out of Mathias's field of vision. The Dane's smile slid off of his face, being replaced with a frown, and he turned to go the opposite direction. Leaving the Norwegian alone seemed to be the best option.

.:o0o:.

Augh, going through and rewriting is obnoxious. If you've already read this, can you spot the differences? wO Anyways, I've rewritten two out of god knows how many chapters, but at least my writing skills have gotten a little better. What do you guys think?

I'm looking for a Beta for this story, if someone wants to step up to plate and lend me a hand. I can't tell if I'm keeping Lukas in character, and that's really my only problem so far that I can see.

Please review!

Tak (Danish): Thank you.

Du er velkommen. (Norwegian): You're welcome

God morgen (Norwegian): Good morning.

Góðan daginn (Icelandic): Good morning.

I don't own Hetalia, Hetalia Cardsverse, any of the characters, etc etc etc.

-StarryEyedArtist