AN: *hits self* I'm so sorry! *falls over, dead* I...I really do love you guys...I do. It's not that I don't want to write this, this chapter just came to me very, very slowly. I can usually whip out chapters in a couple of days, but...I dunno. Anyway, I'm so sorry about the wait, and thank you so much for baring with me.
"Mom…We're home." Nikolai called quietly as he stepped into the house, his little brother Emil in tow.
"Did you boys have a good day?" their mother asked before coming into the front room. She was a rather petite woman with silver-blonde hair reaching a little past her shoulders, but she had a certain fire hidden behind her calm icy-blue eyes.
"Yeah." Nikolai replied. Emil nodded. "We found out Berwald goes to our school…" he added on. At this, their mother slightly raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, your little friend? Good. How long has it been since he moved from our old neighborhood?..." she asked, walking back into the study.
"Seven years." Nikolai said. "And he isn't exactly little..."
"Hm." His mother replied thoughtfully. "I suppose he never really has been. But your father should be home in an hour. Are you boys hungry?"
"Kind of." Nikolai said. "I'm going to help Emil with his homework." He said as he walked towards his room, Emil following him.
"Alright." She said before turning back to her work.
Emil sat on his brother's bed without taking his backpack off. Nikolai closed the door and turned to look at his brother.
"Algebra, was it?" Nikolai asked calmly as he sat down next to his brother. Emil nodded slightly and took his text book from his backpack, flipping it to the relevant page.
Nikolai did most of the talking as he helped his little brother through the homework, but there wasn't anything particularly unusual about that. When Emil had finished, he handed the sheet to his brother to check it.
"So, was Kaoru not here today?" he asked without looking away from the paper. Emil looked to the floor.
"Yeah…I'm sorry." He said. Nikolai looked at his little brother.
"For what?"
"Bothering you." Emil replied.
"You never bother me." Nikolai said. "Hell, sometimes I wish you would ask me for more help. But you can always trust me or come to me when you feel alone or confused, alright?" he said, looking back at the math homework. Emil stared at the back of the paper.
"Thank you…" he muttered.
"That's what brothers are for, Emil." Nikolai stated.
…
"I'm home!" Matthias called as he dropped his backpack near the door. He received no answer, however. Realizing that the house was probably empty, he shrugged, walked into his room, and fired up the PS3. While playing 'Infamous 2', he found his mind wandering through the events of the day. He finally reached Berwald and smirked a bit. He honestly didn't know what to make of the guy. For one, he was interesting. He was definitely different then most of Matthias' acquaintances; quiet, solemn, perhaps just a bit intimidating to some. But at the same time, there was something about him that just very occasionally ticked Matthias off. All Matthias could tell right now was that Berwald would make an interesting frenemy, or at least someday he could tell his kids stories about his cranky high school physics partner that had more than once threatened his life. Yeah. That would make a good Christmas party story.
Before he knew it, he heard his mother calling his name.
"Matthias Lennart Kohler, did you forget to lock the door again?" she asked, grocery bags in hand, as he entered the room. So that's why she was late home from work. She went to the store.
He sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"Eheheh...What are you going to do with me?" he asked. His mother shook her head.
"You've got to be careful Matthias."
"I know, mom. I just...Forget." he said.
"It's alright." his mother said. "To make up for it, how about you help me carry in the groceries?"
"Mom, I got it. You just got sit down or something."
"You sure, dear?" she asked. Matthias took the grocery bags from his mother's hands and signaled her off.
"Yeah, it's fine. Go relax or do whatever." he said. She smiled.
"Thank you, dear." she said.
"...Besides, I want first pick at what you got before dad hoards it all." he said.
"Oh, Matthias." she said.
"You've known him longer than me." Matthias said before disappearing into the kitchen.
...
"Aunt Sabina?..." Tino called quietly after entering the large house he called home. As he turned around to close the door behind him, he found himself being embraced in a tight bear hug, which was signature of only one person.
"Hi..." Tino said as he looked over his shoulder at the tall, imposing woman behind him.
"Oh, it's so good to have you home, dear!" she said as though she hadn't seen him in years.
"Nice to see you, too..." he said as he tried to hug her back. Perhaps the one thing he didn't like about his Aunt was the fact that she had no understanding of her own strength. "I...Can't...Breathe..." Tino choked out.
"Oh!" Sabina said before releasing him. "Sorry, dear." she said.
"It's...Ok." he said. To be honest, he had been absolutely terrified of the woman when he first moved in with her as a little kid; he had once or twice honestly thought she was trying to choke him to death. But of course, she proved to be very far from his original impression of her.
"So dear, how was your day?" she asked as she lead him to the next room and they sat down on the sofa.
"Fine." Tino said.
"Anything interesting happen?" she asked.
"I got partnered with an old friend for a physics project."
"Oh, wonderful! Which one?" she asked, honestly enthused.
"Nikolai Bondevik." he said.
"Oh, I remember him. Nice young man, you had him over a couple of times, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, good. It's the perfect opportunity to rekindle an old friendship." she said.
"We sat together at lunch. His brother and two friends of his were there, too."
"Who?" she asked.
"You don't know them. One's named Matthias, and the other's Berwald."
"Oh, I do know about Berwald. Haven't you mentioned him before?..." she asked.
"Yeah...A couple times. He's the quiet, kind of scary guy..."
"Oh Tino, don't say that." she said. "I'm sure he's just shy and misunderstood. I bet he could use a good friend like you."
"Hey and Nikolai we friends as kids."
"Oh, how nice." she said. "Is this Berwald boy by any chance handsome?" she asked.
"I...I guess? I don't know." Tino said nervously. His aunt laughed.
"Oh dear, you know I'm only joking." she said. Tino sighed inwardly.
"Oh...Yeah." he said.
"My, work has left my starving today." his Aunt remarked. "Say, how about we go out to eat? It's your turn to pick." she said, standing and going back to her room to change. Tino smiled and nodded.
"Ok. Sounds good." he said.
AN: Hnngh, brother love~If you've read pretty much any of my Hetalia stuff, you'll know I'm obsessed with sibling bonds. Why? Eh...I dunno. Maybe because I get along so well with my sister but my brother and I hate each other?
I love women like Emil and Nikolai's mom. All small and cute but serious and matriarchal at the same time. Heheh. Tino's aunt is basically a composite of my mother and aunt (who are sisters), except I've never been afraid of them, and neither are particularly strong, and I'm taller than both of them.
Also, guys, I just found out: Apparently, the Danish nickname for 'Matthias' is 'Mads'. You bet that's going to sneak it's way into the story.