Alright…so how I've actually managed being dragged away from Kuroshitsuji to write this honestly shocks me…XD Since break started, that was literally all I was doing, so I haven't been writing at all. Updates might not be as frequent these next two months because of preparations for the next convention I'll be at and filming with my cosplay group, but they should be back on track by late February or March. But, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and comments I've gotten so far, I really do appreciate it! ^^ Enjoy and R&R!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Axis Powers: Hetalia.
The sky rested at a peachy orange as the sun peered over the horizon the next morning, and as my eyes slowly opened I found them resting on the rays of gold reflecting off of the fire Mathias had started and lit up our darkened setting. The Dane seemed lively, cooking what looked like the same thing we had had the day before with a bright smile on his face. He must have gone "shopping" in the early hours of the morning to get all that stuff with the little food we had left…
Mathias turned to me as I perched myself up and groaned softly, and he gave me a sincere smile as he mixed the frying apples around with a wooden spoon.
"Good morning, Norge. Did you sleep well?" He asked me, whispering quietly. It was a strange gesture of his, being so quiet in the morning, yet looking down I realized his reason.
Emil was resting contently next to my knee, curled up in a blanket with Mr. Puffin secured tightly in his arms, and silver locks brushed over his eyes. I smiled, kissing him lightly on the forehead as I let him sleep, and placed another blanket on him gently to keep him warm. The child needed that warmth, as his condition was the worst out of our trio, and he need nothing more than a good night's rest to continue on with the next day.
I got to my feet and walked towards Mathias, wrapping a blanket around my chilled body as I sat next to fire. The heat radiated onto my body, and for the first time I had been content with this condition.
The runaway continued to smile, spreading a slab of butter onto a piece of bread evenly before piling apples on top of it, and as a twist, sprinkled an unknown spice on top of it all and then handed it to me.
I gave him a confused and wary look, and the smell of the spice smelt sweet yet strong. Cinnamon.
"Where did you get this?" I asked him, taking a bite of the sandwich as he turned to me. The cinnamon acted as a nice mixture to savory and sweet, and it was a good twist for once. I did love the spice, after all.
"I bought-"
"Stole…"
Mathias smiled, and spoke in a soft whisper. "I stole it today early this morning. After what happened last night, I thought you could need something to bring you up again; you like the type to like cinnamon."
The Dane's words confused me, as I had never spoken of my liking of it to him since we met, and after swallowing I spoke. "But I've never said anything about it before…" I told him, my voice more hushed than usual, yet it still lay just above a whisper.
He shrugged. "I can just tell."
I found myself frowning at that smile, as it still irked me, and I averted my eyes to the floor as I continued to eat. After all, our ration of food the day before was only meager, and I was starving by that time.
"Just keep it away from my brother…he's allergic…"
Mathias glanced at my sleeping brother before fixing his gaze back on me, and chuckled.
"I'll try my best. Besides, if you hated it, you wouldn't be eating it right now!" He said, ruffling my hair playfully as I moved farther away from him.
"I never said I hated it, Mathias. And since you're capable of being able to sense what I like and what I hate, I'm guessing you already know how much I dislike you…"
He laughed once more, trying to keep quiet with my brother still sleeping, and his grin only grew wider. "If you hated me, Norge, you wouldn't have cried on my shoulder and fallen asleep on my lap last night!" Mathias joked, still chuckling.
That was right…The night before I had ended up crying myself to sleep in his arms as I dreamt of my parents…And he actually remembered it all…
My face grew hot and I turned away from him, continuing to eat as my eyes focused on the ground. A pebble lay in front of me, so small and lifeless. Its color lay a quartz white, and its markings acted as if it were smiling. That pebble had no life ahead of it; it would stay in that form for the rest of its life. Of course, though, it never even had a life in the first place…
A thick silence hung in the air, and as I would not speak, Mathias did for me. "That dream you had…it must have been awful. You were calling out to your mom…" He said, his tone hushed and gentle, and my face reddened at his words.
It was awful…dreaming of my parents. Oh, how I loved and missed them; how I missed Kya and her family. Yet it was a miracle I was still with my little brother, and I had to be thankful for that.
"…I dreamt of the day after my parents died…my brother and I were going to be separated. But then my neighbor was able to get her father to reason with them, and we were able to stay together under custody of their family. Although, they did never find out that we still lived on our own in our own home…" I told him, my back still facing him with my voice soft and bitter, and a pause set in.
"…Who's 'they'?"
I sighed. "The social services workers…I was barely even a teenager when it happened, so they figured since we were both minors that they'd just…throw us away like every other family in a situation like that…"
It wasn't hidden that I hated talking about my family around the Dane. And I most certainly didn't want to cry. Yet my constant sighing was what held it all back, and I had to wonder when I had become this emotional with the situation.
"Damn…I've had my share of experiences like that…" Mathias started, yet he seemed much more calm and joking about it. "When I ran away, they went after me, too. Tried to take me away. I wouldn't let them, though, and I did get away, so now I figure they just got bored and eventually stopped searching in the first place. Probably figured I was dead."
I didn't respond to that; I had nothing more to say. With the last of my breakfast swallowed, silence lingered around us, an awkward one at that, and Mathias was once again the one to speak up. "Hey, I've got an idea."
I turned to him, raising an eyebrow, and his smile brought even more questions to my mind. "Yeah?"
"I've been out here for two years, and it's defiantly rare to actually find a place for it, but what do you say we sneak into one of the schools a few blocks down and get warmed up, you know. The showers there are almost never used!"
My eyes went wide at that, and I drew closer to him in shock to whisper in his ear. We never knew if Emil was listening or not. "Are you crazy? We'll get caught for sure! And what about my brother, what are we going to do about him?" I hissed, glancing back at Emil who was still asleep.
"Come on, Norge, it's freezing out here! Besides, we'll sneak in after it's all cleared out. The gym coach never locks the door!"
"Are you an idiot? There are janitors there, asshole, if we go they're going to know we sneaked in!"
"Quit being paranoid, nothing's going to happen."
"I'm being realistic, Mathias! It could be my old school; teachers are always lurking there after hours!" I snapped, whispering sternly before letting out a sigh. "Look, if we're going to do this, we have to find another solution. Do you…know anybody that would let us use theirs?"
Mathias shrugged "Elizabeta; but her family is over for the holidays coming up, so that wouldn't work. Plus her neighbor is crazy…really crazy. He doesn't like me very much, either…or her boyfriend…" He thought for a moment, sighing, before his face immediately lit up again to its usual upbeat self. "What if we smash the ice and go swimming in the river? That could actually be fun! Cold, but fun!"
I sighed. "Mathias, we're in Norway; it's freezing cold outside so there's no way we'll be able to even go out there without a coat on and not frostbitten. Maybe we should just…I don't know, stay here and rest. I don't want Emil's condition getting any worse than it is." I told him, a hint of sarcasm lurking in my voice, yet what I had said about Emil was true. My worry for him was only growing stronger and stronger as days passed and nights grew colder, and soon enough I knew I'd be living completely alone again.
Stop thinking so harshly, Lukas; he's not going to die! He's not going to die! I thought, reassuring myself that my brother would indeed be ok. Although, as optimistic of an outlook as it was, I still lay wary and had but small doubts…
Just then, a groan came from behind me, and both Mathias and I turned to watch Emil as he slowly stretched his arms and let out a faint cough.
"Brother…" He murmured, yawning as groggy eyes were rubbed, and he stared at me with weariness and apathy hidden in his expression.
"How are you feeling, Emil?" I asked, voice monotone, yet I managed to crack just the slightest smile for the sake of my brother.
The child groaned once more, shaking his head as he coughed, and attempted to stand up only to plop right back down onto the pillow he'd been sleeping on. "Icky…"
I sighed, shooting a worried glance over at Mathias, and he nonetheless gave me a reassuring nod with a sympathetic grin making its way onto his chilled mug. He whispered to me that all would be well, and just the mere thought of anything tragic ever happening to Emil made my stomach churn nervously and my mind go wild horrifying outlooks.
I turned but to Emil, patting him on the head softly as he clutched onto his blanket, and I covered another one of thick wool and cotton over the child to keep him warm.
"The medicine will do its job soon enough, Emil, but for now you should just relax for the rest of the day. It'll help calm your body much more than it would if you were running around in the snow and cold." I said, stroking silvery locks as he groaned and nodded, and a thick silence hung in the surround air for a moment.
Mathias spoke up. "That's right; getting a lot of rest is the best way you'll be able to get better, kid. Heh, I learned that the hard way…"
'I learned that the hard way'…what could he have meant by that? Yet that thought was the least of my worries at the moment, as I continued to lay perched next to Emil's side, not speaking, but only comforting and soothing him as he drifted off to sleep again. The Dane said nothing as well, as we never knew when the child was really truly asleep. But Emil was indeed a deep sleeper, so after all Mathias and I had said and spoken the days before had to have been a hazy blur to him with his mind still developing slowly and sleep being his main priority.
"Hey, Lukas, wanna have a little fun?" Mathias finally said, a devious smirk creeping across his face as his eyebrows lay raised.
I turned my focus on him, raising an eyebrow with my expression placid yet apathetic, and I spoke. "If it involves stealing, using me as a pawn, or you being a pervert towards me, then absolutely not…"
The Dane chuckled a bit, shaking his head with his smirk still strong. "Nah, it doesn't have anything to do with those. But I was thinking-."
"It's hard to believe anything goes through your mind at all…"
He shot a quick glare towards me at that, but nonetheless continued. "I was thinking, and I realized there's a different way we can get all clean and stuff without having to go anywhere!"
"I swear if you make me strip…"
"I told you, Norge, I'm not going to be a pervert today!" Mathias said, rolling his eyes playfully as his smirk grew and his eyes lay bright. "But the only way it'll work is if we actually step out of the cave. It wouldn't be very fun or comfortable in here…"
I cringed at that sentence, my nerves going wild at Mathias's many possibilities of sending me into despair, yet I nonetheless sighed and spoke to him with my arms crossed.
"I really don't like where this is going…"
"Like I said, Norge, it's not anything bad or anything! Come on, you need to loosen up a bit!" He paused. "What if I told you that if you didn't do it, then that would add to the hours of work you'll have afterwards~?"
"Fine…just get it over with…" I replied almost immediately after. I had to give in to that; it was impossible not to. In near subzero temperatures, the last thing any sane person would want to do was spend the entire day sitting on their ass in the snow doing the dirty work for some obnoxious idiot.
Mathias smiled, playful blush suddenly spreading across his cheeks, and I raised an eyebrow at that. He spoke no words; only led me outside, as if it were a silent cheering of accomplishment that went on in that little mind of his. I was confused; bewildered completely, I must say, as we stood just outside of the cave in glittering snow that surrounded us and the shrill cries of the winter howls.
"I'd seriously like to know what you're up to this time…" I said coldly, arms still crossed, and he continued to have his back turned to me, planning deviously. "Well, idiot, what did you want to show me?"
A pause; and then a sensation of frigid snow hitting my face and the tips of bangs completely.
"Think fast, Norge!" He cried, cackling wildly as the snowball slammed against my face. My teeth lay bared now, and I wiped the dripping, cold liquid from my face with my hand angrily, and I stomped towards the Dane with irritation rising and the urge to kill growing even stronger.
"What the hell, Mathias; this is your idea of cleansing? You're such a child!" I yelled, and tone of apathy still held in my voice as it was involuntary and could never disappear, yet I continued to chase after him as he stumbled away, laughing. What was I doing, participating in his foolish games? It was hard to believe the runaway was even seventeen; his maturity level was most certainly that of a child's! Lukas Bondevik was never one to participate is childish games like this. Yet Lukas Bondevik was also one to beat the hell out of a certain obnoxious Dane if he were to ever send his annoyance level flying. I never realized just how short of a fuse I had until I met the teen...
Mathias continued to toss snow back at me, a wave of wet power acting as a screen as he trotted away in satisfaction, and with me chasing after him, I did the same and hurled a chunky ball of snow directly to the messy blonde locks that rested on his head. This didn't stop the Dane, though; nothing ever would, as he only continued to run away from me, screaming and laughing madly at the apparent hilarity of my despair.
This is the third day I've been with this guy…and he's already using me for his fun and games…
"You're so slow, Norge; you'll be completely clean by the time you actually catch up!" He yelled back at me, mockingly, and I only grew angrier at his words as a sudden burst of adrenaline hit me as twisted emotions took over.
"You're an ass, you know that!" I yelled back, throwing another snowball at the Dane as he chuckled, only to have it actually hit his back dead-on, then watch as he stumbled to the ground in defeat and I followed in synch with him to the ground. Before, I knew it though, I was on top of him, bashing his head into the ground as I released my rage, yet Mathias wasn't one to give up easily, and fought just as hard in return. We slipped across the snow, rolling furiously in it as I clutched onto and strangled his trench coat, yet he was still laughing. Almost in tears, it seemed, as cold liquid streaked down his face, and the Dane threw me back-first into the snow with every last bit of strength he could muster with the rowdy laughter still going on. It was times like these I so badly wanted to damn how physically weak I was…
My panting had grown heavy as he pinned both of my hands to the ground so I could not move, and a fierce amount of heat crept across my face as that taunting smirk returned as his mocking expression was brought up again.
"I hope that's a good enough cleaning for you." He sang, leaning in closer until our noses were dangerously close to touching. I didn't like this feeling…it was obscenely uncomfortable. Then again, what else would there be in a situation like this? Fear? Hatred? Possibly even a little bit of both? Yet I couldn't yet bear this sequence of his antics, and I had absolutely no idea how I'd ever be able to put up with it until winter's passing.
"You're an idiot…" was the only response I could muster, and my tone stayed calm and apathetic although I wanted so badly to rid of the awkwardness in the back of my mind.
His smirk only grew even more devilish. "You've got chores to do today~."
"You stated that earlier. Now would you please get off of me so I can check on Emil?"
"No."
No. It was a word that haunted me so badly coming from Mathias's mouth. My eyes widened at his words, blush only growing stronger, and by that time the Dane was already grinning ear-to-ear and had our noses touching without a single thing I could do to stop him.
"No?" I repeated.
"Exactly; no. You've got a short temper, and you're easy to torment. I want to see how far you can go for future reference."
I cringed. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean? We're only staying with you until the end of March; you make it seem like we'll be living with you until 2011 arrives." I managed to hold a steady tone, but God only knew just how nervous and irritated I was growing as grueling seconds passed by.
"Meh, you may only stay until the end of March, but there could be chance you'd, well, you know…" He paused, leaning forward until his lips had brushed my ear, and his hot breath caused me to flinch as it tingled down my sensitive spine. "fall in love with me…"
"You seem pretty sure of yourself about that, don't you?" I said, the thought echoing through my mind like a lost tunnel, and the outcome of it all was all too horrifying to even think about. An entire year…with Mathias…I couldn't bear it…
Mathias's smile grew wider, and he finally put some distance between our faces, yet I nonetheless felt even more uncomfortable as he spoke. "I'm absolutely sure of myself."
"It won't happen…you already know that I've got my heart set on somebody else. So your constant flirting and antics like these won't do much to convince me otherwise."
The Dane paused for a moment, thinking, yet it didn't take much for his smile to return, and the rapid beating of my heart sped up immensely as I could only imagine the countless possibilities of humiliation he had planned in store for me. I could tell just from his expression he could feel that rapid beating against his chest, and embarrassment flooded my cheeks as I knew he'd bring it up again sooner or later.
"Norge…what would you do…if I kissed you. Right now, when nobody's watching, and you can't do anything about it?" He asked playfully, and although I felt the need to kill him right there, I continued to hold a calm façade.
"I'd probably punch you in the face…"
"But what if I did it anyway?"
"Then still, I'd punch you in the face. Harder. And possibly throw you off a cliff in the middle of the night where you'll be free-falling and dangling for dear life onto a tree branch and I won't be there to save you."
"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
"Absolutely not."
He seemed a bit taken aback at that comment, his eyebrows raised now as his expression turned to surprise and frustration, something I had never seen from Mathias.
"I…" He was stalling, stuttering actually, and the flamboyant nature in the runaway had suddenly toned down to something far more different. Something almost…shy, it seemed? Hadn't he already kissed me before without a single problem or hesitation?
As that thought began to process, though, I found him slowly leaning in, and by that time I had begun to panic. My senses had turned from me, and now I was alone, unable to control these babbling emotions that were going wild throughout my mind as his nose slipped past mine and I could feel his the warm scent of butter and cinnamon lingering in his breath as it grazed across my lips.
Just before we could touch, though, I finally caught the words hanging in the back of my tongue, and I spoke up almost immediately. "I'm not afraid of you, Mathias…"
Mathias stopped, his eyes snapping open, and he stared at me with alarmed blue eyes as his mouth lay slightly open.
"Wha…what did you say?" He asked me, whispering just as I did, and I repeated myself.
"I'm not afraid of you…No matter what you do, I won't give in to your tormenting. My main priority is to survive the winter and protect my brother, not have to worry about what you have planned in store for me next. It's blindingly obvious you have a crush on me. Even I admit that." I hadn't even processed that sentence before everything had just all spilled out of my mouth in one big river of words. It was hard to believe I had even said it at all; I never even wanted to think about it in the first place! The idea of Mathias's obvious preference for me defiantly wasn't in my favor, yet there was a part of me that didn't mind it either. The part of me that had lied to him the night before…and although I knew just how desperately in love I was with Kya, I couldn't hide the fact that I wasn't completely what I had said to be…
Mathias, on the other hand, suddenly seemed extremely taken aback, as if I had just unexpectedly stabbed him in the back and he has fallen to his death as blood stained pure white snow. A fair amount of scarlet was now staining his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and no words were said between the both of us. In fact, both of us were so shocked from my comment there was no way either of us could even muster the courage to say anything! Or at least me, in that case.
"You…should probably be getting to your chores now, Lukas. I have a few errands to run…and there are several dishes and clothes that need to be cleaned. I'll just…be going now…" With that, he released me, getting to his feet as I continued to stay on the ground, and the Dane walked into the cave and slung a worn-out sack over his shoulder. "I won't be long…make sure Emil gets lots of rest…" And with that, he retreated across the morning horizon.
Frankly, I couldn't move; I was still in awe. For that was the time I had ever seen anything like that from Mathias: fear.
…You people honestly have no idea how tired I was typing up this chapter…that is the last time I ever stay up until 4:30 in the morning typing up a chapter…
Sorry for the long wait, I was on writer's block for most every day these past couple of weeks. But WOW there's a lot more fanservice in this chapter than I thought there would be! XD Obviously, there's a lot more to come, but you'll just have to see what happens next when chapter 11 comes out! Originally, this chapter was going to be something COMPLETELY different, but judging from the poll I put out on deviantART, most of my readers on there wanted it to turn out how it did. But, I'm very fond of the fluffiness, actually!
Hopefully I'll have chapter 11 out soon, but it all varies depending on how busy I'll be these next few months since school just started up again two weeks ago. Reviews are always welcome, and they also boost up my inspiration by a lot! I love every last one of them very much, so please do so if you have the time! ^^