In The Morning
Nordic five (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland)
In this house, there was nothing quite like a rude awakening, courtesy of Mathias.
"WAKE UP, LUKAS!"
Mathias jumped on top of his little brother, shaking him awake. Lukas sat bolt upright, his forehead slamming against Mathias'.
"Damn it, Mathias…" Lukas muttered, rubbing his now-aching head. "I told you not to do that…"
"But you gotta get up! Get up! The alarm didn't go off!"
Lukas mumbled a curse, which should have gotten his mouth washed out with soap. Berwald, their oldest brother at eighteen and their legal guardian, did not like the filthy words coming from his twelve-year-old brother's mouth. He shoved Mathias aside, scrambling out of bed.
"Has anything been done? Anything at all?" He tripped over the stack of books beside his bed, heading for the dresser.
"Not much, I don't think!" Mathias beamed at him, as if this was something to be proud of. "Emil is still asleep, nobody fed Hanatamago, and big bro can't find his glasses anywhere. Tino's making breakfast, though!"
"Why don't you go do something useful, then, Mathias?"
He pouted a bit at being dismissed by his little brother, but he left, calling something about feeding the dog. Lukas hurriedly pulled on a shirt, doing the buttons up wrong in his haste. This was followed by a change of pants and a pair of mismatched socks – he was pretty sure that they weren't even his. He snatched up his hairpin from his nightstand, taking it in hand as he rushed to his little brother's bedroom. If he tried to put it in now, in a hurry, he'd just end up touching that one curl that made him feel weird. He'd let Emil pin his hair back.
"Lillebror," he called softly, sliding across the hardwood floor on his sock feet. "Lillebror, it's time to wake up." He sat down on the edge of Emil's bed, shaking his shoulder gently.
"Don' wanna…" he whined, shaking off Lukas' hand.
"You have to wake up." Lukas had schooled his features into his typical emotionless expression, but his brows furrowed slightly with frustration as Emil refused to get up. "Fine, then." He wrapped his little brother in his arms – Emil was only six, and fairly small for his age, so Lukas could manage that easily – and picked him up.
Emil squealed and kicked, wanting the warmth of his blankets as his big brother dragged him out of bed. "Are you up now?" Lukas asked.
Emil nodded vigorously. Lukas then released him.
"Can you get ready on your own, or do you want me to help you?
"You help." Emil was stubborn about things like this. Berwald had warned Lukas that this stage of codependency would only last for a while, and that he should enjoy the adoration while it lasted.
With a sigh, Lukas rummaged through Emil's dresser. He shared the room with their big brother, Tino, and Lukas hadn't gotten around to that week's laundry, so it took him a moment to find some suitable clothing – namely, something that didn't belong to their sixteen-year-old brother, and wasn't pajamas.
"Arms up, lillebror." Lukas pulled off Emil's nightshirt, tugging the fresh shirt down over his head. He dressed him in búninger karla, traditional Icelandic wear, as he did every day, methodically but efficiently. Once satisfied, he knelt in front of Emil, offering him his hairpin.
Emil took the pin in his little fingers, holding it carefully. He knew what he was doing, and had done it before. He swept Lukas' hair to the side, and then fastened it in place with the silver pin that bore the shape of the Nordic cross. He liked doing that. It was a pretty pin, shiny and smooth, nearly the same colour as his pale hair. "There, storebror."
Lukas allowed himself a rare smile, ruffling Emil's hair lightly. "Thank you, Emil." He straightened his expression. "Now, to the kitchen. Hopefully there will be food waiting for us."
He stood up and headed for the kitchen, Emil at his heels. Tino was there to greet them, plates of flatbread and jam laid on the table. "Good morning, Luka, Emeh!"
"Good morning, storebror!" Emil was in a more pleasant mood now, and was consenting to the use of his nickname.
"Are we late yet?" Lukas asked, preferring to gather information than to exchange pleasantries with his cheerful brother. He
"Not yet, but soon." Tino pulled out Emil's chair for him, letting the little boy settle in for his breakfast. "Ber only just found his glasses."
"Did Mathias hide them? Of course he did." Lukas shook his head, sliding into his own seat at the table. Mathias was supposed to be his big brother, but sometimes, he sincerely doubted that.
"Where is Mati?" Emil asked, munching on his bread.
"He ate already. He fed Hanatamago for me, and he got dressed earlier, so he's –"
"Fixing his hair," Lukas finished, rolling his eyes. He shoved another bite of food into his mouth, determined to finish his meal quickly. "Is storebror ready to leave?"
"I am." Berwald entered the kitchen, his glasses slightly crooked, his hair yet uncombed. "Are m' little brothers ready t' leave?"
Tino walked up to him and cut him off. "You are not leaving until you have had your breakfast." He poked him in the chest to emphasize his point, gesturing to the food on the table.
"I'll eat on th' way."
"You are not leaving until you eat something."
Huffing, Berwald accepted the plate of food that was pushed at him. He knew they were going to be late if they didn't hurry. Mathias appeared seconds later to reinforce this opinion.
"Come on! Come on, come on!" He was practically bouncing in the doorway, already wearing his coat and boots. "We'll be late! Then Luka will be all snotty for the rest of the day 'cause we upset his schedule!"
Tino's rule of not leaving the house without breakfast was not broken, as both Emil and Berwald still had their plates as they made their way out to the car, Lukas carrying the remainder of his breakfast in his cheeks, like some sort of chipmunk. They had schools to get to – Emil and Lukas attended the same elementary school, while Mathias, a year older than Lukas, a was in junior high. Tino attended classes at the local high school, and Berwald was taking courses at the University. This usually lead to Berwald speeding through traffic to get his little brothers to school on time, and today was no exception.
The car pulled up to the sidewalk, and Lukas quickly undid his seat belt. He took his own bag, then Emil's, getting out of the car and pulling his brother out after him.
"Have a good day at school!" Tino called.
Emil waved, watching their brothers get back onto the road.
"Come on, lillebror," Lukas urged, "or we'll miss the bell."
Reader-senpai!
Here's my second installment! This may not be the direction of continuation you were looking for, but I intend to do morning routines for a few more families before getting to the actual days. If Reader-senpai is liking this fic, I shall continue!
Any kind of validation from you would be wonderful! Constructive criticism is good, too - remember, this is only my second attempt atwriting anything for this. I'll try to keep it going!
~Kouhai