In the dimly-lit lower levels of the mansion, Emil hobbled through the wine cellar to the door connecting the cellar to the laundry room, cradling a basket of dirty laundry between his arm and his hip. Once he passed through the door, he hobbled to the joining washing machine and dryers and dropped the basket at his feet. He turned around and leaned back against the washer, taking out his cell phone from his pocket. He tapped on the screen with his thumb to get to his Twitter application and pressed it. He waited for it to load, and when it loaded, he logged on to his account and tapped on the textbox to create a post.

'Ugh! So sick of having these damn stitches! Wish they'd fully heal, already! Sick of Lukas making a damn fuss over me, man!'

Emil confirmed the post and logged off his account, setting his phone on the dryer and going to work on the laundry. He stood on his toes to reach the large container of detergent sitting on the shelf above the machines, ignoring the burning tingle prickling around his ankle and pulling the container down. He uncapped the detergent and used the cap to measure the needed amount for his load when a buzzing rattle sounded from beside him. He set down the detergent and cap with a knowing smile. He picked up the vibrating phone without looking at the caller ID and pressed the green "Send" button to answer it. He put the phone to his ear.

"Emil, what the hell?!"

"Wow, it hasn't even been a full minute, yet, that's a new record for you!" Emil chuckled. "Hey, Kaoru~."

"Emil, why the hell do you do have stitches? What the fuck happened?"

"Geez, sailor tone down the potty mouth, will you?" Emil teased. "I'm almost too afraid to tell you if you're going to swear at me like that."

Kaoru sighed into the phone. "Emil, what happened? Come on, I'm scared!"

Emil smiled sweetly, touched at the worried tone Kaoru spoke with. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you. You know how I'm pretty much stuck in Denmark with my Nordic brothers?"

"Yes."

"And how Mathias has the tendency to make us do stupid shit in the name of 'brotherly bonding'?"

"Yeah...?"

Emil bent over the washing machine and propped his elbows on top of it, using one hand to hold the phone to his ear and the other to rest his chin on. "Well, he made us go out into the forest to hunt with these really cool rifles that the Swiss dude gave to him, and they have these awesome phoenix rhinestone thingies on the barrel-"

"Emil..."

"Oh, um, r-right. Anyway, we went out to the forest, looked for something to kill for dinner, but I was just strolling through the forest and listening to some songs to past the time. Apparently, I have deer legs because Mathias shot me. Twice."

Kaoru gasped quietly. "Twice?!" He yelled.

"Yeah. In the front and back of my ankle. Hurt like hell, too!" Emil laughed.

"Emil, that's not funny!"

Emil stopped laughing abruptly and frowned; for as long as he dated Kaoru, he'd never heard Kaoru snap like that. He must be really worried. "H-hey, man, chill, okay? It's not even that serious."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. The doctor said I was lucky because the bullets just grazed a couple layers of flesh and sinew, just beneath the skin or something. The stitches are shallow, too, so the wound should heal soon."

"How soon?"

"He- the doctor- said that I need about four to five weeks. Since I'm a nation, though, I'm guessing I only needed about three weeks."

"Oh, so how long do you need, now?"

"Two weeks."

"Wait a damn second! You mean to tell me that you've been like this for a week and didn't bother to tell me?! What the hell, Emil?!"

"Hey! Language, Kaoru! And I wasn't able to because we're in a forest. The connection service here is so freaking sketchy; one minute it's perfectly fine, the next minute, nothing. Nothing at all. So I couldn't call you or text you or chat with you on Facebook even if I wanted to."

"...And you did want to, right?"

Emil chuckled again. "Of course I did; I miss you."

"I miss you too, babe," Kaoru said; Emil could almost hear the loving smile in his voice. He then paused. "...That does seem a bit too strange though."

"What?"

"The fact that he shot you. I can see that it was an accident if it was only like one shot, but two? In the front and back? That just sounds too sketchy, bro."

"Maybe there were two shots because the gun was too powerful to stop at just one shot. I mean, Kaoru, those guns are high-capacity semi-automatic rifles, and just pulling the trigger once can send off a whole round of ammo. I was lucky to just get out alive with only two bullets in me." He heard Kaoru giggling in the other end. "What?"

"Look at you, sounding like some NRA freak! Ah ha ha ha! But still, I feel something's not right with that whole 'accidental shot' story. I'd watch my back around him if I were you, Emil."

Emil hung his head. "Ugh, Kaoru, you and your weird, superstitious mumbo jumbo! Relax, okay? Mathias was doing nothing but apologizing to me when we went to the hospital and back; he even carried me on his back and made me dinner to make up for what he did."

"Whoa, he made you dinner? And you're still alive?!"

Emil stretched out a leg behind him and started to tap his toe into the floor. "It was pretty alright at first. He made this really awesome pasta dish with meatballs, and it was out of this world! I never knew he could cook. But then...then he served ice cream. That was delicious, too, and it was my favorite flavor, but then we all just...passed out." He snapped his fingers. "Just like that."

"Whoa. That's so freaky."

"It gets freakier, too. We all woke up a day later and our bodies felt weird. In fact, my body still feels weird. It feels tingly and prickly, like there are some little electric bugs swimming inside me and zapping my pores or something."

"Really?" Kaoru started to sound distant. "Huh, that sounds...so familiar...for some reason..."

"Kaoru?"

"...Isn't Kiku working on-?"

"Kaoru, hello?!"

"Oh, uh, sorry, dude! I spaced out for a second. Anyway, how's everybody doing?"

"Everybody's doing okay, I suppose. Except for Peter. For some odd reason, he started to act really weird. He's not so bratty anymore, in fact, he's not acting bratty at all, especially when Mathias is around. He's quiet and jumpy and he's sleeping in late a lot and keeps complaining about back pain or something. I think a couple of days ago he started getting irregular bloody diarrhea." Emil shuddered at a memory. "Ugh, those poor couch cushions! Man, did Mathias throw a fit over that!"

"...Emil?"

"What?"

"I'm not so sure about this because I'm not a professional, but it sounds like Peter was maybe...hurt, or something..."

"Hurt? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you may have a pedo in the house, Emil."

"What? What the hell are you talking about? No one would do that to Peter!"

"Emil, just hear me out, okay?" Kaoru sighed. "I remember reading a book or two out of boredom and they said that everything that Peter is doing fits the signs of a touched child: suddenly quiet, needs lots of sleep from low energy, and even being physically ill. Tell me, Emil, has he been totally withdrawn and having nightmares?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know if the kid had nightmares? I'm not his parent; he doesn't come to me if he has a bad dream." Emil paused and looked away. "But I have noticed that he isn't as...'playful' as he usually was."

"Right, and you said that he's more quiet when Mathias is around him, right?"

"Yeah...? Whoa, wait, man, Mathias wouldn't do something like that! I mean, yeah, he's a prick who has a sort of violent streak, and he picks on people too much, especially Peter, but Mathias is no pedophile! I've known him for too long, and he isn't the type to hurt people in that way, especially little defenseless kids!"

"Emil, it's just a possibility-"

"And that possibility is wrong! Didn't those same studies also say that those signs don't automatically mean the child is suffering molestation?"

"Well, yeah, but still-"

"And since Mathias isn't that big of a pervert, then you're wrong! Maybe the kid is just feeling homesick."

"Homesick? Really? Emil, do you think that homesickness can get so bad that it causes bloody diarrhea and back pain?"

Emil sighed. "Kaoru, this is making me sick to my stomach. Can we stop talking about this?"

"Why? Mathias didn't touch you, did he?"

"NO! He didn't because he wouldn't do something like that! I know, Kaoru, I just know."

There was a pause in the phone as Kaoru sighed and let Emil calm down. "...Okay, Emil, if you really feel that way, then I won't push the idea any further. Just promise me that you'll at least watch out for Mathias and stay safe."

"Kaoru-"

"Please? For me? So that I'll know you're safe?"

"Kaoru, he doesn't-"

"Pwetty pwease?" Kaoru cooed. Emil can imagine Kaoru poking out his bottom lip in a begging pout, and it killed him how easy he can comply to Kaoru just by imagining it.

"Ugh, fine! I promise I'll stay safe or whatever, okay?"

"Good...You know I love you, right?"

Emil grinned widely. "Heh, yeah, I know. I love you, too, you manipulative bastard."

"Aw, why am I manipulative?"

"Because you used your cute begging voice and I knew that you were doing that cute little pouty thing with your lip and you know how that gets me too warm and fuzzy to say no!"

"Heh heh heh, you're just putty in my hands," Kaoru chuckled.

"You know, it isn't nice to use your power for evil," Emil replied in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, don't worry babe, when I have you in my hands, you know that I only do things that make you feel good," Kaoru purred.

"Oh, really, what kinds of 'good things'?" Emil purred back.

"Well, I learned this new thing with my pinky-" The boy went silent.

"H-hello? Kaoru?" Emil said. "Hello?" He pulled the phone away and looked at the screen, which read: "Service Unavailable."

"Stupid cockblocking phone!" Emil spat at the device before shoving it into his pocket. He picked up the basket of clothes, yanked open the washing machine's lid, and dumped the clothes inside it. He poured in the detergent, turned on the machine, and slammed the lid close when the wash started. "Ugh, Kaoru's gonna kick my ass when he sees me."

After waiting five minutes for the wash, Emil looked around the room to make sure that he was really alone and pulled out his iPod. He powered up his device, flipped through the playlists until he selected one. He selected a song from the playlist and put the ear buds in his ear. As the song began, he did a little slow, swaying dancing, bobbing his head heavily. His hair swung gently from side to side, brushing his forehead and ears. When the song came into its chorus, he started to sing:

"For freedom we rise! Learn to fly, reach the sky! Legend will carry you for thousands of miles! Take a stand, hold the land. Make sure that everyone's ready to win! Flight and speed's all we need! Team up for battle, we fly! Fly! We fly! Gravity hurts!"

Lost in his musical world yet again, Emil failed to sense that he gained an audience during his little dance. The watcher came in as the song went into the second verse and leaned against the threshold in the cellar-laundry room doorway, arms crossed over his chest and a coy grin across his face as Emil sang his heart out.

"Aw~! Creatures keep calling, reaching within. Stealthy they climb from the dark! Yeah-eh, yeah-eh. Searching for wisdom. Searching for truth. Show us the things you can do!" Emil pointed to the space in front of him. "Maybe it's all up to you! You-oh! For freedom we rise! Learn to fly, reach the sky! Legend will carry you thousands of miles! Take a stand, hold the land. Make sure that everyone's ready to win! Flight and speed's all you need! Team up for battle we fly! Fly!"

Emil's one-man audience pushed himself off the threshold and walked over to the singing teen nation as he started bobbing his head harder and playing an air guitar. He stood behind Emil and shoved his hands into his pockets, bobbing his head along with Emil and chuckling. Just when he reached out to put a hand on Emil's shoulder, Emil tossed his head back and shot his fist in the air, ending the guitar solo with a powerful:

"FOR FREEDOM WE RIIIIIIIIISE! FOR FREEDOM WE RIIIIIIIIISE! FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES! OH, YEEEEEEEAH! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH-EH-EH-EH! YEEEEAH!"

Emil's watcher jumped and pulled his hand back with a sort of goofy, amused grin. When he was sure the song was over, he gently grabbed Emil's shoulder.

"Wah!" Emil yelped. He jumped and spun around, clutching his speeding heart tightly. "What the-? Mathias, what the hell?!"

Mathias let out a howl of laughter. "Oh, man, Ice, I didn't know you had some sweet moves!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Emil asked as he took out his ear buds and paused his iPod.

Mathias tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. "Uh...I live here?"

Emil rolled his eyes. "I meant what are you doing here in the basement?"

"I own this basement."

Emil growled and turned back to the washing machine. "Never mind it."

"Aw, dude, I'm just fooling with you," Mathias said as he ruffled Emil's hair. "I was just taking a break from installing the satellite for Internet connection and came down here to get a beer from the cellar. Then I heard you screeching lyrics like a crazy baboon and see you dancing! Man, that was fun to see!"

"Go away!"

"Aw, don't pout!" Mathias put his arm around Emil's shoulder and brought his face next to Emil's. "I still liked it, you know. That was Cryoshell, right?"

Emil sniffed. "Yeah."

"AW! You like one of my bands! I always knew you thought I was cool!"

"Oh, shut up, Mathias!" Emil said as he shrugged off Mathias's arm. "Just because I like a band that happened to be Danish doesn't mean that I think you're cool in any shape or form! You're still an idiotic asshole to me."

"Oh, you hurt me so, Icey!" Mathias whimpered. He then pulled Emil's head into his chest in a tight hug. "But it's still cool that you like one of my bands! We have something in common!"

"Please! The only reason you like the band is because they originated in your country! Have you ever even listened to any of their songs? Tried to understand them?"

"Oh, great, another indie hipster! Dude, if I didn't listen to the band, then I wouldn't have known whose song you were butchering, right? So calm the fuck down with that whole unknown music passion shit or whatever the hell it's called."

Emil opened and closed his mouth, unsure on how to respond to the insult. He settled for shoving Mathias off, crossing his arms, and directing his glare to an invisible object on the floor. The whole act made Mathias laughed and ruffle Emil's hair again. Emil scoffed and slapped Mathias's hand away.

"Aw, don't get so pissy, Ice!" Mathias cooed mockingly, reaching for Emil's head again. "You know I love ya!"

"Go away," Emil spat, swatting away Mathias's hand again.

Mathias looked at his assaulted hand and shrugged. "Whatever, dude. Anyway, even though I like Cryoshell, none of their songs are my most favorite song of all time."

Emil glanced at Mathias from the corner of his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. There's this really old song that I absolutely love." Mathias looked up towards the ceiling and tapped his finger on his chin in thought. "Hm, I don't recall the band who wrote it- maybe Divinity, Divine, Deville, I dunno- but it was awesome, Ice! I used to sing it to Lukas a lot a couple of decades back." He cleared his throat and sang in a throaty, falsetto voice:

"I love myself. I want you to love me. When I feel down, I want you above me. I search myself. I want you to find me. When I forget myself, I want you to remind me. I don't want anybody else! When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh~! I don't want anybody else. Oh no, oh no, oh no~."

Emil stared at Mathias, gaping in a combination of disgust and amusement. "Holy crap, seriously?" He chuckled after a few moments of silence. "That masturbation song?"

"Oh, so you have heard of it?" Mathias chuckled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have, Mathias. Don't forget I was around during that time, too." Emil giggled and shook his head. "I can see why you like that song, though. That singer was so... needy and into herself, just like you are."

"Am not!"

"Are too! I bet that if Lukas didn't exist and that nobody else wanted to fuck you, you'd just fap to a picture of yourself!"

"Oh, come on! I could find someone else to masturbate to if I didn't have my kitten."

"Oh, really? Like who?"

"Um, I don't really know, exactly," Mathias shrugged.

"Hmph! Exactly my point!" Emil turned to the washing machine and peeked inside it to check on his clothes.

Mathias pocketed his hands and watched the boy's back with a bored expression, humming the tune to the song and tapping his feet. He then started to sing the song quietly, tilting his head from side to side. When he noticed that Emil was rocking his head too, he smiled to himself and sang louder.

"You're the one who makes me come running. You're the sun that makes me shine. When you're around I'm always laughing. I wanna make you mine. I close my eyes and see you before me. Think I would die if you were to ignore me. A fool could see just how much I adore you. I'd get down on my knees. I'd do anything for you."

Emil started swaying to Mathias's singing, giggling and humming along. Jus like when he put in his ear buds to listen to his private music, Emil was too lost in the song to notice what was happening. Mathias came up closer behind Emil, doing a little dance of his own. He looked down at the boy.

"I don't want anybody else! When I think about you, I touch myself. Oh~! I don't want anybody else. Oh no, oh no, oh no~. Yeah~."

He kept repeating the chorus, watching the oblivious boy below him dance happily. He lightly pressed his hips against Emil and waited for Emil to respond negatively, sniggering when Emil continued to sway, unwittingly brushing himself on Mathias's crotch. Wow, this kid is really out of it, Mathias noted as he slowly wrapped his arms around Emil's waist and brought his mouth to Emil's ear.

"I don't want anybody else," Mathias whispered in Emil's ear as he pushed down some of his bodyweight on the teen. "When I think about you, I touch myself..."

The lack of melody in Mathias's voice pulled Emil back into reality. He started to push at Mathias's arms. "Mathias, what are you doing?" he asked in a deadpan tone, too used to Mathias's hijinks to think seriously of the situation

"Singing, what does it look like?" Mathias replied.

"No, you idiot, I mean this."

"Oh, this? Nothing really, just that..." Mathias started to push Emil into the washing machine, breathing heavily into his ear. "Just showing you who'd I touched myself to if Lukas wasn't around..."

"Ha ha ha, very funny, you dork." Emil attempted to push himself away from the washing machine, but Mathias pushed him back. A little too roughly, he noticed. "M-Mathias, seriously, knock it off, already." He started to wriggle in Mathias's arms, but Mathias's grip was tightening every second. "Seriously, Mathias! This is why people don't have fun with you, you don't know when to end a joke!" He froze when he heard a dark, contemptuous chuckle.

"Who the fuck said I was joking?"

"W-what? Dude, let go!" Emil dug his fingers into Mathias's arms to pry them open. It was useless, though, as Mathias pushed Emil completely bent over the washing machine. "Seriously, stop! Mathias! What the hell?! Stop!" He started to hyperventilate when he felt large hands grope around for his belt. "Please...!"

Mathias pulled his hand away from Emil's hips and snaked his fingers into Emil's hair, pulling his head back with the silvery locks. "Geez, Ice, take a deep breath before you pass out, already! I don't wanna fuck a comatose kid. Man, it's like you're a virgin, or something. Wait, you aren't one, are you?"

"Mathias, get off!"

"Oh, wow, seriously?!" Mathias laughed. "You're still a virgin? And you've been dating that Kaoru kid for how long? Fine, then, listen. If you don't struggle so much and calm down, I'll make your first time easier for you, okay?"

"No!" Emil shouted as he felt Mathias's fingers under his shirt.

Ugh, no more food from Mathias, Lukas swore to himself as he sluggishly made his way to the kitchen. He lightly held his stomach in his hand and took deep breaths to get rid of the lightheadedness he was suffering. It was a week since that failure of a dinner Mathias made for the household, the dinner that caused everyone to get sick and pass out right where they sat, but the stomachaches and nausea reoccurred from time to time, and this time, it had hit Lukas hard. What the hell was in that pasta...?

Lukas took a drinking glass from the kitchen cupboard and went to the refrigerator. He poked his head inside to look for any ginger ale, feeling relief at the cold temperature hitting his face.

"W-wait! Mathias, my stitches! You're going to mess up my stitches!"

Lukas pulled his head out of the refrigerator and looked around the kitchen questioningly. Was that...?

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna fuck your leg or something. Just chill."

Mathias...?

"Mathias, don't do this!" Emil cried. "Please..."

Despite the nauseating feeling that made him want to vomit moments before, Lukas sprinted to the door that led to the cellar of the mansion, his drinking glass shattering on the floor behind him. He yanked it open and rushed inside, following the voices of his little brother and his boyfriend.

"Ugh, Emil, will you stop acting like such a little girl man boy? Damn, it's just sex!"

"You're hurting me! Stop! Ow! Stop!"

Lukas sped through the labyrinth of wine shelves, confused at the multiple directions the echoing shouts were coming from.

"You know, I'm starting to like it when you struggle like this!"

Damn it, where are they?! Lukas started to panic. Where are they? Wait, Emil said he was going to wash clothes! He has to be in there!

"Stop! Let go! Don't touch me! Mathias!"

I'm coming, Emil! Lukas spotted a large streak of light from the doorway of the laundry room. As he ran towards it and the sounds of struggling, his senses seemed to slow to prepare for what he hoped wasn't what he thought it was.

"Mathias, stop! Please! Come on! LUKAS!"

Lukas shot into the laundry room and tackled Mathias into the ground. He struck his fist into Mathias's jaw once, twice, thrice, before yanking the man up by the shirt collar and snarling in his face, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"Ow! Lukas, calm down! Damn, what's wrong with you?!" Mathias tried to shove Lukas off his body, but Lukas pushed his hand away and shook him by the shirt collar violently, making his head rock back and forth wildly.

"What the fuck were you doing to my brother?!" Lukas demanded as he slammed his fist into Mathias's jaw again.

"Lukas, wait!" Emil shouted. He took Lukas's arm and pulled him off. "Don't do this!"

Lukas stared at his brother incredulously. "Don't do this? Don't do this?! I come in here to find my little brother almost raped and you're trying to calm me down so I won't beat the shit out of this rapist?!"

"Rape? Norge, what the fuck are you talking about?" Mathias shouted as he stood on his feet. "I wasn't going to rape Emil! What kind of nasty shit are you thinking?!"

"What the hell is this, then?!" Lukas yanked Emil in front of Mathias and gestured to the messy hair, unbuckled belt, and sloppy tee shirt.

"I was just joking around, okay? I guess...I guess I got too carried away with the joke, but I wasn't going to rape him! God, Lukas, you and your fucking sick mind!"

" 'Joking?!' Fuck that! I oughtta fucking kill you!"

"No, stop! Lukas! He's right!" Emil pleaded, gripping his older brother's wrist. "It was just...it was just him being an asshole again, okay? He wasn't...wasn't going to do anything, alright? Y-you know him, he's just too stupid to know when to stop! So just stop this!"

"But Emil-!"

"Lukas, stop! Please!"

The room went silent as Emil and Lukas stared each other down, willing each other to back off and let him defend his loved one or to let the entire situation go. Mathias looked back and forth between the two brothers, arms crossed impatiently over his chest. Then, with an annoyed huff, he pushed past Lukas and stormed off. "You Bondevicks and your damn humorless minds! Learn to joke around a bit more."

Lukas turned on his heel to go after Mathias, but was held down by Emil. "Hey, where do you think you're going, you ass? I'm not finished with you!"

"Yeah, well, I'm finished with you two," Mathias said at the doorway. "I'm going back outside to finish installing that Wi-Fi satellite. Don't wait up, precious."

Lukas glared at the Dane's back as he and his little brother stood in the laundry room, his teeth bared in a wolf sneer and his fists shaking at his sides. Emil refastened his belt and combed his fingers through his hair to smooth it back down.

"...I should kill that motherfucker right now," Lukas snarled in the heavy silence.

"And why would you do that, Lukas?" Emil snapped.

"Why?! Emil, look at you-!"

"I've already told you that it was just him fooling around like an idiot! He does that and you've known him long enough to know that! Let it go!" Emil started to walk away, but Lukas grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

Lukas took a deep breath to calm his nerves and said in a low, firm voice, "Emil, I know what I saw and you know, too. If Mathias was going to do to you what I think he was going to do, then I as your big brother must protect you by killing the motherfucker. Do you understand?"

Emil snatched his wrist away and replied in the same low, firm voice, "And I know what was really going on, okay? You know Mathias and know that he wouldn't do something like- like that to a person, at least not anymore. He's not a Viking anymore, and you should just leave me alone! Understand?!" Emil turned away to leave.

"Emil..."

"Lukas, please," Emil said; Lukas could sense the fear and weariness in his voice. "Please just...just leave it alone." Emil exited the laundry room, leaving Lukas to gape after him in heartache.