They didn't come back too late. Just in time for dinner actually. Everybody had a quick snack at the cottage, then took showers and changed their clothes to something more fancy because they were eating out tonight in a nearby restaurant.

No one was in a hurry when eating and when everybody else waited for someone else to finish they accidentally would find new interesting things on the menu to order, so the meal never ended. During the times they weren't chewing they would revise the most ridiculous downfalls of the day; like when Iceland tried drinking hot chocolate while snowboarding to impress some girl, but ended up burning his nose and trampling a few skiers along the way of rolling continuously down the slope . It was nearing midnight when Svalbard finished her last ice-cream portion and Norway stopped taunting Sweden for losing to him in the skiing challenge.

Strangely, most of them were still up for at least another adventure before bedtime. When they returned to their cottage and already started brushing their teeth, a grand idea suddenly hit Finland's brain. "Let's go hide and seek!"

His idea was laughed at, but not quite ridiculed. After five minutes everybody was again, in their winter coats. The only one that stayed inside was Svalbard cause she overate and needed to lie down. In no time she was also complaining of being sleepy.

"Maybe Åland should stay indoors too." Norway proposed. "I don't want to search for him half the night if he gets lost."

"Hey!" Åland protested.

"Also quite late." Sweden supported the thought.

Åland was giving them a look of disbelieve and terror. "Are you kidding me! You're gonna play a kids game without any actual kids."

Everyone looked at each other and upon confirming Ålands words, laughed.

Finland still had a few tears in his eyes when he said. "You've got a point, but you will still stay."

"Plus..." Denmark cut in the conversation. "Any game after midnight is an adult game."

Åland pulled out his tongue at Denmark. "Traitor."

"Okay, then..." Denmark said trying to limp away into the forest. "I'll just go hi-"

"Not so fast." Norway stopped him by the grabbing his hood. "You will also stay."

"Come again." Denmark blinked. He was oblivious to what Norway meant by that.

"I don't want you wandering off too far and then I'll have to carry your sorry ass back because your leg hurts."

"Huh? No! I won't go far." Denmark panicked at being denied of the game.

"Then we'll find you fast and you get sent home anyway. Plus you're also a big child."

"This is not fair! Completely unfair." Denmark winced trying to free himself of Norway's grip.

"That's what I was trying to tell you." Åland whined.

Denmark felt ditched. Once again ditched. Though he had Åland and the little ice-cream eating beauty that was sound asleep upstairs. But the little guy seemed to prefer the company of his nintendo.

After about twenty minutes of watching the TV, Denmark had an epiphany. He stood up from the couch so dramatically Åland almost fell off the couch from the impact.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked.

Denmark wordlessly grabbed his cane and went straight to the front door. "Lock from the inside." He grabbed his winter coat and jumped straight into the blizzard.

Damn them all if they tricked him into babysitting while they were in some pub drinking. Those bastards!

Walking for about five minutes towards shopping centres and restaurants Denmark started questioning himself if he wasn't just imagining things. "Hey! Olav! Tino!" He hoped for a reply from the woods around him. Curious faces started peaking out of the windows of other logged houses nearby. Denmark decided it would be better if he would just continue going.

After seven more minutes of walking Denmark finally reached the centre and decided to check at least one random bar. Thought he didn't expect finding anyone familiar there, because halfway he realized that he was being brash; acting out on one little thought.

Denmark walked in the shadiest looking bar he could lay his eyes on. It smelled of no other than alcohol. Glasses were ringing with the wholehearted laughter of drunk men and a few chicken-like squeaks from the ladies.

Even if there was someone he knew in here it would be almost impossible to spot them in this dark place. The only source of bright light was the bar.

Deciding that since he's here he might actually buy himself a drink or two. Twelve minutes was a pretty damn long walk for his leg.

Knocking on the floor with his cane Denmark came up to the bar counter. "Whiskey."

He sat on one of the tall chairs and hanged his cane on one of the slats of the chair. Funny; the chair was the same shade of brown as his cane.

Denmark was about to take his first sip when someone stopped him by uttering his name.

"Fancy meeting you here, Mathias."

He turned his head to see a brunette woman sitting next to him. He didn't notice her there before because of the shadowed area she choose to sit in.

Denmark shook his head at her and gave a confused look. "Excuse me. Have we met?"

She looked at him disappointingly from her long bangs. "Not necessarily. But I heard lots of you..."

She took a sip of her own drink. Furrowed her brows and waved Denmark away. "Nevermind."

She was probably the most saddest drinker in this bar Denmark could find on the second day after Christmas.

He moved his chair closer to hers by little jumps, not standing up. He was trying to get a closer look at her to try and remember where he might have seen her. She lowered her head under his awkward gaze.

No. He never saw her before, but some gut feeling gave Denmark the right answer. "Ye-you're Lapp..."

"Don't call me that." She hissed.

"But you are, aren't-"

"You may call me... Nevermind, it's Varva."

"Varva. So, what are you doing in here of all places on Christmas?"

"I may ask you the same thing."

"I? Heh. Hn..." Denmark got to his own drink and then just sadly starred in the glass with the liquid that reflected the greenish light of the bar. "We're having a game of hide and seek. I'm hiding."

"Oh. Looks like you're good at disappearing." She said in a sarcastic tone and rolled her eyes.

"Nah. I don't even try. What about you, don't you have someone to spend this eve with? I mean Tino probably invited you to spend time with him."

"He didn't. We haven't been in contact for a while... Not like he would appreciate having me around anyway. Better I just disappear from his life."

"Does he even know where you are right now?"

"No. Why would he care?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe because you are a part of his, Norway's and Sweden's family."

"Family? Heh!" She snorted. "No, I'm not their family... They're not mine. I used to have one though. A family of my own brothers and sisters."

"Wait. There's more of you?"

"There are eleven different Sami languages if you didn't know. Of course you didn't." She lowered her head.

Denmark concluded that today he learned of nations that he wasn't aware of. His brother's kids, Karelia and her siblings and now this. All of these forgotten people.

Shame. He felt so very ashamed that all this time he thought that he was the one neglected.

Denmark batted an eyelash and turned to the bartender. "Refill."

He emptied his drink in one go and then turned to the woman again. "Where are your siblings then?"

"Gone. They're dead. I'm not sure... Maybe some of them still cling on to the little people they have left. The last one I saw was Lule, but she hasn't called me for so long. I'm afraid she's gone too."

Denmark sighed deeply. "You know. I used to have two more siblings. But they're dead now as well. All because we didn't take care of them. We didn't really care and now they're gone."

Northern Sami's eyes glittered for the first time that evening. "You forgot your own siblings..."

"Funny. The oldest and the youngest of us. Norse Greenland and Gotland." He whispered.

"Mathias, you should go. They probably completely lost you by now."

"What about you?"

"No. I'll stay here."

Denmark got up and paid for himself. He put his hand on Northern Sami's arm. "Come one. Let's go together."

"No."

"Oh, come on. It won't be bad."

She twisted her arm from underneath his hand. "Go. They need you more than me."

Denmark slowly pulled his hand away from her and glanced at the entrance. He gasped as he saw Sweden standing there half covered in snow and his hands in his pockets. Beyond the droplet covered glasses were eyes that were fixed on Denmark.

With unsure steps Denmark approached him not breaking their eye contact. Standing really close, Denmark gulped, glanced at the floor and looked shyly back up. His brother was mercilessly burning him down with his glare.

Just when Denmark was about to say something he received an unexpected slap on the neck from Sweden. Then Sweden took his time to look Sami's way. Her eyes went wide like a deer's caught in headlight. Sweden's expression on the other hand was unreadable as usual.

"Let's go." Sweden ordered and waited for Denmark to go out first.

They were silent for about a two hundred meters of walking back to the cottage. Then Sweden finally spoke up. "Your leg hurts?"

"Geez, how did you guess? Is it because I limp?"

"Where's your cane then."

"I forgot it at home." Denmark lied.

Not asking further questions Sweden hooked his arm under Denmark's shoulders for support.

They probably passed some more two hundred meters stuck on each other like this in full silence. Denmark was looking at the sky the whole way. Sure, he has seen the northern lights before though only on pictures, but for some reason he was more enchanted by the clarity of the sky and the limitless amount of stars he saw at once. That's something he rarely saw at his home because of the light pollution.

He was too drunk yesterday to notice this intense beauty of the sky. Sami was one lucky girl if she lived this far up north all year long.

"Hm. Sve. Did you find everyone? You were the seeker, right?"

"Except Finland. He always wins."

"Yeah, he has some mad ninja skills doesn't he?" Denmark took a big breath and shouted with everything his vocal cords had. "TINOOO~! Come out wherever you are! Berwald gives up!"

"Shush!" Sweden scolded.

Neither of them expected that Denmark's scream would be heard. Somewhere nearby they heard a loud thud as if someone landed on the snow from one of the trees. A dark laughing figure approached them from the woods.

Practically at the same time as the figure appeared or a few seconds later Denmark and Sweden heard a yell coming from the way the ski village was at. "Mathias!"

It was Northern Sami trying to gain up on them.

"Didn't expect me to be round guys?" Finland came up to them and patted Sweden on the shoulder, but they weren't paying much attention to him in favour of staring wide eyed at the woman that was running towards them.

"I think you lost something." Sami said standing only five meters away and presenting Denmark his cane.

Finland's and Sami's eyes met.

Her grasp on the cane loosened a bit and so did her jaw drop slightly. "H-Hey... Long time no see."

"Long time no see? Sami. Where have you been?" Finland almost squeaked the words out.

Denmark and Sweden stood there not daring to move or interfere.

"What's it to you?" She barked back.

"I was worried about you."

"Never have been before, why now?" She said looking sideways and blinking rapidly.

Finland covered his mouth and looked down. His cheeks getting redder than ones that could just out of cold. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

"Sorry for what?" She kept on taunting him.

"Sorry that I made you think that way. Because it's not true. I care. We all care."

"You do?" She said looking down and taking a few steps back.

Finland on the other hand shortened the distance between them until they were less than a meter apart. "Of course we do. You're a part of us." He put his hand on her shoulder.

She was still looking down. He lowered his head even more and tilted it sideways trying to get a glimpse of her eyes. "Part of my, Norway's and Sweden's family. Sami. Stop with all of the questions that lead nowhere."

"What do you mean lead nowhere?" She said shattering a single tear. "I hear a few things from you for the very first time today. Have you really been missing me?"

He crouched because of their height difference and pulled her into a hug, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "We all have. Lule called. She was trying to reach you for a while now."

Her eyes widened, a howl escaped her throat and she broke down crying into Finland's shoulder. That's when she finally dropped Denmark's cane on the snow.

Meanwhile Sweden and Denmark were still standing in place clinging onto each other. They watched Finland comfort Sami as she let her emotions show.

A small bitter smile crept onto Denmark's lips. Hopefully everything will be alright now.

"Denmark." Sweden's voice ringed through the cold atmosphere.

"Hm." Denmark looked up with a questioning look. Hearing his name was weird at the moment. He didn't expect Sweden to have anything to say to him right now.

Sweden's expression was softer than usual. He just watched Denmark for a second, but then said something in a tone like he meant it. "Thank you."