Hey Guys, Happy New Year! Well, this certainly took forever, huh? But I have to admit, I am quite damn proud of it! This chapter goes out to all those lovely readers and reviewers who pushed me to go above and beyond! I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia, if I did Denmark would be naked and singing 'I'm a Barbie Girl' all day long. Incidentally I also do not own the rights to 'I'm a Barbie Girl.' So, sit down and enjoy ye' a tale of a love that reaches the very depths of the winding sea!

Oh…And guys…Guess what… *does little happy dance* I HAVE A DANISH TRANSLATOR NOW! Thank you to Sine-k, I humbly bow before you and all my amazing translators that have helped me so much!

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At that soft and worried tone of voce that Nikolas recognized to belong to his Finnish cousin, the blonde Norwegian, eyes as white as the foam from crashing waves, bit out a pained drawl of damnation.

Shit.

Nikolas was trapped and he damned well knew it. His cousin had, bless his little heart, come to aid the Norsemen at the exact same time that Nikolas needed to be alone. To think, to get the fuck away from the Danish terror behind him and just lock himself in his late mothers room that was covered with dust and beige colored doilies and smelled of soap and lilac and just fucking think.

But the Norsemen had no such luxury, no such time.

He was stuck in quicksand up to his head and the tide was coming in fast. He would just have to think on his toes, that seemed to work for him most of the time, why would now be any different?

He knew he had to hide Mathias lest he wanted his cousin to think he was deserving of a straight jacket because he was housing the Bloody 'Selkie King' in his cramped little bathroom. Oh no, Nikolas would need to be given an Oscar winning performance to pull that off. No, no, lying through his teeth was not the best of the Norwegians talents, but damned if he was going to let that drown him.

Taking a calming, or as calming as it can get, breath, the Norsemen looked at his task.

The Dane was still glued to his spot from before, his body dripping water occasionally, the tap tap tapping nearly driving Nikolas insane. Mathias' hair was a mess and he still have suds of shampoo clinging to his soaked locks, no doubt the idiot discovered the wonders of hair products and personal hygiene. Nikolas almost wanted to strangle the man and throw him out the window, though the Seal was probably too fat to get his blubber ass through the small panes. Nikolas sighed, wishing he had never gone to the beach today. Yet he had to get this done, he had to shoo his cousin out or else he would have one hell of a time explaining this. Sometimes he cursed the fact that he had such a nosy cousin, no matter how helpful said cousin usually was.

"Umm…Yeah, Tino! I'm in here! Can you wait a bit-I…I have to finish washing my hair-I'll be right out…Promise!" Nikolas shouted through the closed door, his teeth clenching, his eyes wide and white. Damn he hoped his cousin bought that.

"Oh…Okay…Well as long as you're alright. I guess we'll just wait here then…" The little Finn spoke, his voice a little unsure as it reach Nikolas' ears, the Norsemen cursing his shitty ability to lie-but so far his words had calmed Tino some, hopefully giving him a bit more time to think!

With a sharp turn of his heel the Norwegian then focused on the larger part of the problem. Mr. Seal boy.

"Alright… Here's what you're going to do…" Nikolas instructed, his voice a little more than a thin tremor as he, with distain, grabbed Mathias by the wrist as if he was a little toddler, and led him to the tubs edge, the water cooling to mimic the coldness of the sea. Nikolas cringed, his eyes careful to stay ahead, not to linger on the Danes sculpted body.

"Get in the tub and keep quiet, not a sound or a splash-do you here me?" Nikolas barked out quickly, the Dane plopping his large body into the chilled water, sighing contently as the little rolling waves swam up his thighs and toned stomach. He flexed his fingers in the milky water, his hands coming up to grab at the clumps of bath salts that hadn't dissolved yet, his fingers coming up grainy and covered in the pungent stuff.

It was disgusting. The idiot had taken about two gallons of the shimmering salts and just about dumped it all into the water, the whole heavy silt of the salts turning the whole tub of water into swill that smelled like lilacs, pine, and wet seal. Nikolas shivered involuntarily.

There was a whole film of milky beige gunk that surfaced the supposed water-like mixture, clinging to the white and cold rims of the tub. Nikolas only hoped that it was just bubbles and salt and not something else that lined the waters edge. Ugh… He didn't even want to think about it.

"Did you just go through all my bathroom cabinets and dump all my highly expensive bath salts into a big giant mess because you are just that stupid?" Nikolas barked as he rooted around the cramped bathroom that was littered with messes everywhere. His magazine subscriptions from garden monthly looked to have been chewed up by a ravaged pack of dogs, his favorite article smudged and covered in saliva. His wash tub and pitcher were lain broken and dismantled underneath the window, a gooey substance that in no way looked like shampoo covering it. Nikolas cringed and thought it best to leave that where it was lest he get rabies or something.

"I'm not stupid! I'm resourceful!" The Dane smiled, flapping his hands in the water that made Nikolas' eyes bleed, the stench just too much to bare.

"How the fuck is that resourceful?" The Norwegian shouted with hissed breath, trying his best to keep quiet though his mouth was begging to run off and give this blubber-assed fish a piece of his mind!

"Well, I thought since they were in a pretty little box tied with golden ribbon that they were important to ya'-so, wanting to make ya' feel better I dumped the whole lot into your mini sea barrel-" Mathias patted the sides of the porcelain tub for emphasis-"I was just trying to make you feel better…" Mathias spoke softly, like a child knowing they did wrong, his usually shit eating grin showing a pout that made him look almost sorry for what he did. He almost looked harmless. Nikolas did not buy it.

"Uh-Huh…Now why'd you really do it…?" Nikolas asked bitterly, trying his best to rake his fingers over his damp hair, squeezing his fine locks through his fists in order to drain out the water-and the stench-that clung to them.

Mathias' eyes, scanned his submerged feet for a bit before he laughed sheepishly.

"Okay, I was hungry and they smelled good-see?" The Dane stuck out his tongue to show a kaleidoscope of colors, greens, blues and orange plastered on his gums and tongue.

Nikolas sighed, his body too tired to deal with this shit anymore. It was only when he heard another playful splash of water that he turned to see the Dane playing with the mess of foamy swill, his smile back on his lips. Nikolas wanted to punch it right off his face. The horridly sweet smell of the mixture soon became too much to the Norwegian as it congealed on the Danes fingers with his insistent splashing. Mathias only giggled more as he played with the grainy substance, like a small child that found the most interesting thing in the world, content to amuse himself with it for a lifetime.

But Nikolas simply did not have a lifetime and he certainly did not have the amount of patience that was needed to entertain the large man-child that was the currently playing rubber ducky in his porcelain tub. Nikolas sighed and stared at his unwanted guest, getting the childish blondes attention with his cool glare.

"Now listen up-You stay here and be a good marine mammal and don't make a sound-not a crone, a bark, or whatever the fuck you seals do…" Nikolas spoke tersely, his hands clenched over the rim of the tub, his ears picking up on the sounds of footsteps mounting the stairs that led to the thin and small balcony that held the bathroom. Nikolas gritted his teeth, realizing that he was taking too long, his cousin was starting to investigate. Damn it.

"Gotcha'. Not a sound-oh, and it's more of a throaty groan-like bark…" Mathias explained, his eyes bright as he smeared the sea salt and bubble bath on his tummy, loving the coolness of the Victoria Secret body wash that smelled like sunshine and kelp.

"I. Don't. Give. A. Flying. Fuck." Nikolas bit out each word, his eyes stern, teeth grated like that of an angry piranha. Mathias snorted and gave off a clipped laugh.

"You can't fly and fuck in the air-not even seagulls can do th-"

"Shut up. Shut up, shut up!" Nikolas yelled, his hands thrown up to the ceiling as his last shred of patience was being swallowed away by the annoyance that was Mathias. The Norwegian was about to let loose a fling of curses, damning the Gods for even creating the ocean and its evil and dimwitted creatures when he heard another noise, another voice to fear.

"Nikolas? Are you sure everything is fine? I hear voices…" Nikolas heard his cousins worried and a little slackened voice vibrate off the sadly splintered door-luckily the locks were still in place on the sorry looking thing-no doubt it was broken due to someone's insolence…

Nikolas bit his lip and quickly scanned his eyes over the water soaked floor, his eyes catching scattered bottles of conditioner and body wash, the plastic casings half chewed open. Nikolas rolled his eyes.

"Everything's fine, Tino! I was just um…singing…singing in the shower. I'll be done soon. Just gotta…uh… Dry my hair!" Nikolas laughed, his voice stale and thin, his mouth becoming as dry as if he swallowed a fist full of sand.

"I'm fine though…really…" He remarked as an after thought, his lips shivering as he fondled around on the ground, trying to locate his clothes that had probably been thrown to the ground, his hands clutching the corners of the soaked bath towel.

He heard his cousins footsteps stop on the stairs-Nikolas thanking his late father for never fixing the creaks out of the damned thing.

"Okay…Whatever you say…" He heard his cousin mutter, more confused and solemn than ever. Nikolas almost hit himself, hating the fact that he was lying-and badly at that.

But he had to focus, he had to find a pair of pants and a T-shirt and get the hell out of here. His hands began to flip over the soiled remains of bath towels, of a watered down bathroom rug and into the nooks and crannies of the cabinets-the drawers ripped out of the wooden framing, looking like empty skeletal shells.

Yet not a scrap of his previous clothing was to be found.

He cursed his bad luck, his palms flat to the floor as they, with useless hope, flipped over another pile of washcloths that were left to the demise of the destructive Selkie.

With another frustrated sigh he plopped down on his rump, clutching the towel to his waist like a safety blanket. With brows furrowed he turned back to his unwanted guest, the Dane playing with a hand full of bubbles, pressing them between his fingers before trying to eat them once they were released into the air. Nikolas sighed, his temper getting the better of him once again.

"What did you do with my clothes?" Nikolas asked venomously, his hands clutching the towel tighter round his waist, his teeth beginning to chatter from the cold air that was filtering from the opened window.

Mathias simply smirked and leaned into the tubs edge, his chest resting on the rim of the tub.

"Up for a little Scavenger Hunt?" The Dane asked with his signature shit-eating grin that Nikolas just loved. Mathias waggled his brows and winked, his eyes sparkling like damned blue diamonds, making Nikolas want to vomit…on Mathias' face.

"Up for my foot up your ass?" Nikolas spoke with an uplifted pissed off tone, his legs creaking as he reluctantly sat up from the floor, his hope of finding his clothes now deemed a lost cause.

"Ohhh~~ How kinky of you!" The Dane grinned, licking his lips with a quick swipe of his tongue.

Nikolas sighed and shook his head.

"How do you even know what 'kinky' means?" Nikolas questioned as he walked begrudgingly over to the rough looking door that was the ultimate separation from death by annoyance and death by interrogation-he really couldn't decide which one he preferred at the moment.

Mathias leaned back in the tub, a pleasant smile on his lips.

"You wouldn't believe how many books people dump into the ocean with their trash-I have about fifteen dictionaries I keep in an underwater cave back home. They're a little mildew-y, but I can read them none the less." He smirked, obviously proud with himself. Nikolas not so much.

"That's great. Really, I'm very happy for you." He growled before he straightened himself, his hand on the brass doorknob, the cool metal feeling comforting on his skin.

"Now if you'll excuse me I am going to go downstairs to convince my cousin and his Troll of a fiancé that nothing is wrong-even when their are a million things wrong, the biggest thing being that there is a fucking naked Selkie Lord in my bathroom. So remember what I said, don't make any noise!" Nikolas turned his head to remind Mathias, the Dane nodding and covering his palms over his mouth to ensure maximum quietness. Nikolas rolled his eyes, happy that even Mathias had an 'off' button.

"Alright Tino, I'm coming out… Perfectly fine, nothing wrong with me…" Nikolas sighed out with annoyance, his mind turning more bitter by the second. Having a two hundred something pound horny seal in your home can do that to a person…

Once his fingers, curled over the door knob began to twist and then pull, he felt a dank stench creep over his already sensitive nose, the smell dominating over the previously sickly sweet smell of the bathroom.

After getting a whiff of the smell, Nikolas, reminding himself that Tino was waiting for him, slammed the bathroom door closed hurriedly and turned to the right, making his way to the balcony where he spied the worried eyes of his cousin standing on the last few steps to the top of the stairs. Nikolas smiled sheepishly.

His cousins eyes were wide, worried, the violet in them almost glazed. Nikolas swallowed harshly, realizing he was in for a whirl of accusing questions that he really did not need to be asked right now.

The first thing Nikolas could read in his cousins eyes was bewilderment. Those little violet orbs grew wide and shocked, his eyebrows raised, making his face look older than it was, more studious, more suspicious. Just great…

Nikolas, looking down at his sorry appearance, tried to tighten the soaked bath towel around his frame, his eyes blinking back drops of water, that smelled like salt-either tears or bath foam, he wasn't sure.

"My…My clothes are in the wash…" Nikolas half heartedly explained before he just gave up and sighed, running his left hand through his hair, slicking it back, his hands shaking some.

Tino made a face with his lips as if he tasted something sour, and once again Nikolas' nose was invaded with that heavy pungent smell once again. He raised his head a little and sniffed the air that had a supple coldness to it-as if all the doors in the house were opened…

…Or for that matter ripped open…

Nikolas' eyes widened as his gaze drew downward from the balcony, his mouth opening as a silent scream dropped from his lungs to be replenished in strength with sudden anger.

For, staring up at him like a smack to the face was Nikolas' living room, or what used to be his living room.

Now it just looked like a bomb had just gone off and spewed debris and such every which way!

The curtains were tattered to shreds, the carpet practically uprooted and looked to have been rolled about in some heavy mud-chew marks leaving the threads of his rugs to pools of string on the floor.

Standing in the middle of it was Tino's fiancé, the big Swedish man that Nikolas had come to know as Berwald. The man was silent and troubled as his fingers worked to fit back a leg on a chair, his hands working mechanically as they fitted chunks of splintered wood together, a sorry look in his eyes.

"Nikolas…" Tino breathed, his eyes dark and scared. "What happened…" His tiny pale hands gestured to the splattered mess that used to be Nikolas' comfy living room.

The old bookshelf that was made by the Nikolas and Tino's Grandfather was face down on the messy floor, the old leather bound books scattered underneath it, helpless from the weight of the old oaken frame that laid like a bested giant on top of them.

His collection of tea cups, all shiny and painted with gold or lovely pictures of eggshell lilies and pink spring roses were desecrated on the floor, as if someone had plucked them one by one to admire for a mere few seconds before curtly dropping to the floor where their little stems of perfection were left to break onto the floor like dainty bones.

The small toy chest that was squished to the side of the couch laid open, the frame of the chest looking unharmed, only the contents touched. The chest that held all of Björts old little legos, his favorite toy when they were growing up in the small cottage like house, had been draped across the coffee table in a mass disarray of color. Shiny blues, greens, fire engine red, and electric yellow winked at Nikolas as the Norwegian came down from the stairs to inspect the damage, his feet sinking into the wet carpet, toes crinkling underneath the tattered pages of books and maps.

Sitting quietly on the coffee table was a small little expertly built replica of the cottage, a replica that Nikolas never remembered making, he was also confident that Björt himself did not create such a quaint little thing.

But what caught Nikolas' numbed interest was the two figurines outside the house, two little males, both blonde-one with spiky hair that was in the most crudest shade of yellow that Nikolas ever saw, and another one with an angry scowl on its plastic face. Nikolas recognized them as him and Mathias. The Norsemen at that moment almost lost his head, his hands clenching into fists as he fought the urge to swipe the damn thing to pieces of the floor…It figures, of course a Dane would be talented with legos…*

But the icing on the cake, the icing on the fucking cake-was behind the couch.

Nikolas almost bit his tongue off when his eyes, resorting back to their dangerous smoky blue, spotted the scene that made him want to shriek.

Standing proudly, behind the couch, perfectly intact, was Nikolas' four poster bed.

The blue curtains on the thing swayed silently on the wooden hooks and poles from the wind blowing in from the broken kitchen door and the stamped out windows that had been shattered carelessly.

The mattress was all there, the sheets looked crisped and dry, just like when he left them-only now, instead of lovely fluffy pillows that used to adorn the magnificence that was his bed-crumbs of food, no, no, not crumbs-crumbs implied being small-no, what was left on his bed where hunks of meat. Bones from herring, sardine oil and scales from hulled carp were scattered over his bed, making Nikolas blanch with disgust.

The leftovers from his night before, a huge fillet of smoked salmon, was left gutted on his pretty little blue blankets.

Just. Fucking. Perfect.

But what was he supposed to do? Yell that it wasn't his fault, that it was the fat ass seal upstairs that had ruined his life that was the culprit? Nikolas shut his eyes tight. Yeah…Because that would go over splendidly.

"Um... Nikolas, is everything alright? The house-" Tino began to speak with a soft voice before Nikolas heaves a heavy sigh and cuts him off, turning around to face his cousin, his eyes watering, trying not to cry.

"Yes, Tino. I'm fine. Everything is…Fine." Another shattered sob.

Tino and Berwald looked to each other, their brows knitted, eyes solemn as they returned their gaze to the Norwegian who looked so knocked down by such a scene that began to sway, his hands coming up to his eyes, heels of his palms digging against the tears that fell as warmly as his breath that heaved and heaved.

"Wh't happened…?" Berwald asked quietly, his deep voice sounding nice in the craziness of the situation.

Nikolas sniffed, his nose red and snotty, his eyes pale and his skin underneath them dark. He bit his lip before turning to face the two again.

Tino, trying his best to smile reassuringly, takes Nikolas by the arm gently and leads him to the bottom of the stairs where he can sit down and rest, Berwald promptly bringing over a blanket left undisturbed behind the couch to Nikolas, the Norwegian grabbing at it gratefully before draping it over his now freezing body.

"You can tell us…Maybe we can help if you tell us?" Tino pursued, his hands rubbing small circles and patterns on Nikolas' hands, the softness of his touch feeling good on his ice cold skin.

Nikolas then, with a small smile that felt entirely bitter on his lips, raised his head to look at his cousin, his cousin who was so fresh faced and lovely.

Nikolas took another sour breath of the cold and salty air of the room before he stared back at the floor.

"I can't tell you Tino, because if I did…Then I wouldn't be able to help myself…" Nikolas mumbled with tiredness as his hands slowly fell to his sides and his eyes closed for a few seconds, enough to feel the gentle hum of those soft fingers rubbing circles on his hands and the warmth of two bodies huddled near him. Human bodies that smelled like warmth and earth…Nothing like salt and cold. Nothing like a Selkie.

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DAMN! The outline for this story was long-I still had another page of notes left but I felt like that would be overkill so I saved it for the next chapter-boy is that on gonna' be exciting! So, I hoped you liked this chapter! Reviews are always welcome to keep the angry Dolphins away!

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Authors Notes:

-"It figures, of course a Dane would be talented with legos…*"- Legos were invented by a Danish Carpenter by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen.