"Okay boys, one, two, three!"

The flash from Denmark's camera blinded the group. Pictured on his screen was an image of the five Nordics, all either blinking or making off-putting expressions from the light.

"This is the third time we've tried getting a good picture! Maybe we should give it a rest?" Finland asked, grinning through his teeth. "Or maybe you can turn off the flash?"

Iceland pushed through Norway and the Dane, rising to his feet. "Yeah, and let us stretch our legs."

They must have looked ridiculous outside of the picture as well as in it. Someone-maybe a sarcastic Norway-recommended they all wear ugly Christmas sweaters that year. The family made an attempt at snapping a decent photo from Sweden's living room couch, but an already tipsy Denmark continuously failed to achieve the simple task. Sealand and Ladonia were settled in front of the tree, occupied with constructing a Lego doghouse for Hanatamago, their toy pooch.

"Eh, maybe you're right." Denmark scrambled off the couch. "Let's take a break. Anyone need anything?" he asked, making his way to the open kitchen with too much enthusiasm in his walk. Sweden rolled his eyes; he couldn't control the other man in his own house.

The youngest Nordic blew the rest away when he requested a beer. The Swede and Fin exchanged glances with an equally surprised Norway, who was now playfully tugging at the dog's cheeks on the carpet.

"Are you sure Icey? You could share one with me if you want-"

"I can take my own bottle, thanks." Iceland followed the Dane and yanked a fresh drink from Denmark's hand. He popped the cap off with a bottle opener on the counter and took a swig.

A hush fell across the room. The only sound came from the two boys rustling through their plastic bricks. Norway noticed the teenager bashfully look away, and then they met eyes. Though the youngest wouldn't admit it, his brother recognized his cry for help and he got up from the wooden floor.

"Did Santa bring you a pair of balls?" Denmark smacked his shoulder and let out a hearty laugh, making Iceland cough. "You act like you've done this before. You're lucky there's adults here to keep an eye on you."

The Norwegian signaled for Finland and Sweden to join him in the kitchen. "Hey, you can't have your first beer without us."

He grabbed four bottles from the fridge and handed them out. Once the group had their drinks ready, Denmark released an energetic, "Skol!" and they smashed their bottles together in celebration.

"Ice is finally drinking with us, it's a Christmas miracle!" Finland gave the anxious Iceland a grin. The teenager shyly smiled back.

Norway leaned on a counter and observed the scene in front of him. The Dane and Fin wrapped their arms around his brother's shoulders and discussed alcohol, while Sweden could be heard shuffling Legos as he helped the micronations move them into their playroom. Every sip Iceland took seemed to bring on a sense of confidence, and shade of pink to his cheeks. He had to admit that the coming-of-age celebration happening in front of him felt surreal. No longer would he need to bring special drinks for the youngest Nordic, who initially preferred not drinking with them at all. He cherished the moment, taking a sip every time Iceland did until they were both finished. Though he'd keep Iceland's secret between them, it still felt exclusive to actually watch him drink.

Denmark said something-Norway didn't catch it-and Finland burst into laughter. The first man swaggered in the direction of the playroom, only to be replaced by the most sober Nordic; Sweden.

"Fin."

The country wiped tears from his eyes, the glistening colors widening upon realizing why the nation had entered the kitchen.

"Dinner! Oh no!" In a state of what could only be seen as panic, Finland ushered the brothers into the living room, spewing something about how he needed to finish preparing their holiday meal by himself.

The last thing Norway saw was Sweden closing every cabinet door that the other flung and left open.

"Don't get into the habit of doing this, okay?" The Norwegian pulled his bottlecap from his jean pocket and displayed it through two fingers. He knew there had to be a reason for keeping it instead of tossing it into the trash, but it didn't come to him.

He and Iceland decided to hide in Norway's temporary bedroom until it was time to regroup. The faint crashing sound of toys and Denmark shouting, along with Finland barking orders at Sweden, lead both of them to finding common ground in their need for solitude. Though Sweden's house wasn't necessarily large, he made sure the spare bedrooms were a decent size for the other Nordics. The bed they were seated on could easily fit both of them without a complaint.

The teenager smirked and shook his head. "I puked the first time I drank. It was straight vodka, but I still didn't touch anything with an alcohol content for a long time after that."

"I'm serious. Fin's such a lightweight, thank God someone is out there helping him."

A rambunctious holler came from the floor beneath them. "Den only had three drinks and he's already buzzed. Oh God, give him another and he'll eat dinner with his hands."

Norway rested his elbows on his knees, his hands covering his pale face. It was impossible for nations to become alcoholics, but they could certainly develop a strong intake level. He knew there was a fifty-fifty chance of his brother either becoming a belligerent drunk or an over the top, hilarious drunk, and he didn't plan on finding out which one would take over.

Iceland pulled at a loose hair off his sweater, seemingly not phased by what the other concluded. "We should have picked up something for their headaches."

The older brother perked up. "Speaking of..." he muttered. Norway crawled onto the carpeted floor and reached for a package underneath his bed. He felt his knees crack as he rose to his feet.

"This is for you."

The other Nordic let a brow lift from its place. He stood up, glancing at his brother first and then the maroon wrapping paper. With cautious hands, he took the gift and cradled it in his long palms. When Norway gave him the right of way, he slowly started to remove the covering.

"It's a little extra something. I wasn't going to give it to you in front of the others."

In the teenager's hands rested a box of stationary materials. Pens, envelopes, and a stack of decorated papers weighed in his arms.

"I thought it would be a nice halfway between writing in your diary-"

"-It's a journal-"

"-And telling me what's going on to my face."

Iceland's chest rose and fell. To the other's surprise, he inquired about how to go about giving him his letters.

"My mailbox, anytime. You can slip them to me too, when you can." Norway considered leaning in for a hug, but took it back once his brother parted his lips.

"Thank you."

"You're oh so very welcome."

"So you won't sneak into my house anymore?"

The Norwegian affectionately poked the other's cheek. "Shh...you know I wasn't sneaking in."

They remained that way for a few seconds until Iceland grabbed his brother's arm and gently lowered it. Norway broke the ice by asking what his friends were doing for the holiday.

"We had one of those anonymous gift swap things. I had trouble finding a good gift for Taiwan, but I think she liked it. I don't really know her that well..."

"And who had your name?"

Iceland gulped, his cheeks returning to a soft pink color. "Who do you think?"

Norway smirked and gave him an, "Oh ho ho hoooooo."

His brother made a mocking sound and crossed his arms. "I swear Hong set it up that way."

A pause. Then, Iceland pulled his phone from his back pocket. Bashfully, he pulled up a picture of a silver chain with a matching anchor pendant attached to the center of it.

"I wanted to get her a Christmas gift outside of the swap. I'm seeing her again after the New Year. Do you think she would like this, or is it dumb?"

Norway couldn't help but allow his heart to flutter. Relationships weren't a foreign concept to him, but witnessing his brother enter the dating world and coming to him of all people for advice almost threw him into shock. He raved about Seychelles when they were seated in Iceland's home, though bringing it up outside of his cozy cottage made him realize that the lovestruck teenager was genuine with his feelings. Maybe he could convince his brother to invite her over for dinner sometime, seeing that he didn't know much about the other island nation.

"If I were a girl and a boy gave that to me, I'd wear it forever."

Iceland's brows furrowed. "Uh, really?"

"It's cute. It's a gift to cherish too, unlike a box of chocolates or something."

For a second it looked as if the teenager was ready to crack into a smile. Instead of giving a reaction however, he simply put his phone away and mumbled something inaudible. A crashing sound came from under their feet, followed by variances in laughter and a familiar Finnish voice shouting for the two boys downstairs to get dressed.

"Hey, why do you and your friends keep your group a secret?"

Iceland looked at his feet, then back at the other nation. With a hint of deviance in his voice, he said, "We're countries. Can you imagine if the world found out we were all talking?"

"I want to thank you."

Norway observed the Fin as he bounced around in the cold. He himself crossed his arms in hopes to keep warm. None of the five countries were phased by the annual chill, but their human bodies still needed to be taken care of. Hana howled at something in the woods, reminding the man of the amount of times he had been physically frostbitten without realizing it due to his mental awareness of the cold not being present.

He was lucky enough to catch Finland and make him take a break from hosting. At first the nation looked as if he was ready to lose his composure when the man asked him to speak privately, but once he gave the Fin the look, he made sure Sweden could keep an eye on the food. Iceland volunteered to help Denmark with their nephews, as dinner was close to being ready. They used the dog as an excuse to leave the house without suspicion, heading into the wooded area behind the building.

"Hmm?" Finland turned to face the taller nation, following his lead and shoving his hands into each of his sleeves.

"Ice told me about, uh, what happened."

"Hmm?"

Norway sighed and reconsidered his approach to the other. He knew they would remain standing outside for the rest of the afternoon if he continued to avoid being blunt. He also couldn't help but imagine how many more sips the man took of the alcohol in the fridge.

"You helped him that one morning. When he was hurting himself."

"Oh." Finland stopped dancing from the cold and chewed his lip. "Did...did he tell you everything?"

He shook his head. "I won't get into it, but he let it slip recently that you caught him doing it."

They stood in silence for a moment. The Norwegian placed his gaze on the dog, watching as it made attempts at climbing up a pine tree. Occasionally he would glance at the other to find a distant expression painted on his face. His eyes appeared glazed, but he couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol or the weather.

After what felt like an eternity, the Fin was the one who interrupted the silence. "It was bad."

"I bet."

"It was really bad."

Norway witnessed a tear roll down Finland's face. He had always been the most sensitive member in their group, despite also being one of the most intimidating warriors. Deciding to not press him on the issue, he released a sigh and apologized.

"No, don't apologize. I'm glad you know now." Finland wiped his tear with the back of his hand and hiccupped. Without being asked, he described the hectic morning to the other Nordic in great detail, recounting his frantic search for bandages and Iceland's pleas for him to not tell anyone, especially his brother.

"He had this...look on his face. It reminded me of something Sealand makes whenever he gets in trouble. For a moment I thought of him as one of my children and not as one of us."

Norway remained still as he processed the story. His brother, despite wanting to be treated like an adult, was still an emotional teenager at his core. He would need to spend time piecing together a balance that would work to satisfy both sides of his character. Suddenly, he felt that the incident with his journal the week prior was more of a blessing than he realized.

"He needs you."

The man snapped back to reality once he heard Finland speak. The other was facing him, eyes seemingly glued to his features.

"Sure I've seen the aftermaths of war, but not once have I seen someone willingly do something like that to their body. I'll be honest, it stayed in my mind for a while. It hurt that I couldn't tell you."

The Norwegian turned his attention to the house. From where he was standing, he could see a silhouette looking out at them from the living room window. The sun was setting, the only light coming from behind the figure.

"I'll do the best I can."

Norway returned to his bedroom after dinner. He turned down a game of cards, instead opting to let his stomach settle. The peace and quiet in his room encouraged him to grab a book form his suitcase at the end of his bed, which lead to him discovering a baby blue envelope in his luggage.

Big Bro,

Thank you so much. I definitely need to change my lock now, but I guess I'm glad I didn't do it beforehand.

There's reasons why I don't tell you everything. A lot of it isn't your business, first of all. Second, I didn't think any of you would care. I'm learning now that maybe I should be more open with what goes on in my life. Writing is a good start to doing that, I think.

Ice.

He held the letter to his chest and inhaled. When he was certain his tears wouldn't escape his eyes, he pulled the bottlecap from his pocket and laced it in the envelope along with the letter.

A/N: It's over! I'm sorry if this feels rushed! I wanted to get every idea I had possible into the final chapter, but with having a personal life, I wanted to get it done and over with. If I had the time I would have made this much longer than shown.

Also because I've had some readers ask; I didn't want the fic to be centered around who Ice is dating. I wanted it to instead show that sometimes people hide secrets and find other ways to communicate their feelings (with a positive ending of course)! That being said, I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did writing it.