There was a certain quality to life when it came to raising two boys. THere was fixing scrapes, plucking splinters, kissing bruises and rubbing backs when they inevitably caught the stomach bug but there was also something strangely thrilling about raising two boys who were always on the move. Despite being eleven-years-old and six-years-old now there was no holding back when the boys came together to play together. They often chased one another around the house screeching at the top of their lungs and there was something strangely comforting about the sound of shries coming from the boys, the sound of feet pounding against the wooden floors. It brought life to Norway's quiet cabin home and he found himself enjoying the wildness of his sons. So much like their father. Ever since the boys had been sent away to the World Academy it had been rather quiet around the house, a quietness that crept into Norway's bones as if intent on withering the Norwegian away into nothing if he so much as called attention to this quietness. When he had flown to America with the boys he hadn't expected to feel such crippling sadness at the sight of his boys in their respective uniforms standing there before him all grown up and it made his heart ache to recall the proud sparkle in Abel's eyes. When they had walked to the dorms and the boys were directed to their rooms Norway had felt a quiet sadness growing inside him at the thought of flying home alone but with both boys standing before him so proudly he knew he had to be in better control of his emotions. Of course he smiled and crooned over how proud he was of them but when he was on his plane ride home he was fighting tears. It had been profoundly hard on Norway to fly home alone but at least he'd had Denmark and Nikolai waiting at home for him.

Nikolai knew how to keep his parents busy, knew how to keep them on their feet and with an infant in the house it felt at least somewhat full in the absence of both the boys but Norway still ached at the loss of his boys. Empty nest syndrome he heard it be described as. He sighed looking down at the infant in his arms, suckling at the nipple of the bottle he had prepared, and took a moment to gawk at his had pink cheeks, a delicate brushing of color that was easy to identify due to his son's pale coloring and he possessed tufts of blonde hair that were fluffy, soft even, to the touch while his eyelashes were the longest he'd ever seen. Longer than even his brothers and they framed large blue eyes that stared up at Norway curiously. At the moment the baby was staring up at the ceiling curiously as though there was something up there that was distracting him from drinking his bottle and those blue eyes flickered to Norway as tiny hands gripped his wrist fiercely with the strength only a three month old could possess. His lips moved with the suckling movement of his mouth and the bottle wobbled in his grip as the baby began suckling down his formula once again before his eyes were riveted upwards once again leaving Norway to chuckle softly. Nikolai squeaked out a sound around his bottle signalling he was done with the liquid and Norway pulled the nipple from his mouth carefully and placed the bottle down. He stretched his chubby legs out against Norway's arms and his little arms flew upwards while Norway lightly tickled his fingers over the baby's full tummy making the child's arms fly downwards as if to protect his belly with a squeal leaving his lips. Norway laughed as he moved the baby, adjusting him so his little head rested on his shoulder and he began patting his back.

It was during this soft patting and the burps that slipped past Nikolai's lips that he heard the front door swing open and he looked over at the doorway expectantly as he continued to pat Nikolai's back softly. Denmark's face was flushed as he walked in, a stack of firewood in his arms, that he let drop from his grip onto the floor where they thudded and rolled against the carpeted floor towards Norway's feet. "Oi, don't just drop firewood wherever! Think about Nikolai when he's playing on the floor." Norway snapped as he moved Nikolai back into a cradled hold and the three-month-old looked to his father with those wide blue eyes of his and Denmark grinned at the baby.

"Don't worry I'll vacuum so there aren't any splinters on the floor." Denmark walked over to the rocking chair and bent over kissing Nikolai's tufts of hair lovingly making the baby squeal yet again as he wriggled in his mother's arms before reaching a hand out towards his father. The Danish Nation smirked as he happily took the baby from Norway and spun in a little circle towards the middle of the living room with the baby in his arms, crooning to the child in Danish as he lifted his arms up to kiss his chubby cheeks making Nikolai squeal yet again as his little hands gripped fistfuls of his father's shirt in his tiny hands. Denmark flopped onto the couch crossing his legs as he peppered kisses along Nikolai's chubby cheeks and his smooth forehead then used his free hand to swirl the tufts of blonde hair happily around his fingers gently before turning his attention back to Norway. "I want to thank you for giving us another baby, Lukas. I know it wasn't easy and I know that it was scary to do so but now you've given me another son I have to admit that I'm happy. In no time he'll be running around the house getting into all kinds of trouble just like his brothers."

"You know it." Norway couldn't hold onto his irritation when his husband was sitting there showering their son with affection and when that wide smile was aimed his way he found his lips twitching up into a soft smile before he could stop himself. There was some sort of happiness that sparkle through his chest as he watched his husband with their son. Norway had absolutely been terrified when Nikolai came so early in his seventh month but the baby had only needed a couple of weeks in the NICU and Norway had only needed a week for his wound from his impromptu C-section to heal up but he'd refused to leave his son alone in the hospital. Oh he'd been as stubborn as Denmark and refused to leave his son behind so he would spend hours upon hours in the same room with his tiny son as he fussed and worried over the boy who had seemed so delicately small. He'd been assured that it was alright if he was smaller than other children his age for a while but given that he was the child of two Nations Norway knew that his son would be shooting up in development any day now.

There was always this fear, a worry of his, that his son would show problems later on. After all, from what he'd read, some children have delays when they're born so early and sometimes they can have delays for no real reason and that thought terrified him. Nikolai had grown to that of a three-month-old and he reacted to things as any three-month-old would but there was still this fear that someday he'd be delayed in some stage of development. It wasn't quite the same fear he'd had for Sven or Abel as both the boys had grown so quickly that it was a surprise to him at the time but he'd never had the fear to judge or worry about their development but when it came to his tiny son, his little Nikolai, he found there was much fear. He eyed the baby in Denmark's arms when the blonde looked up. "I know you don't like to hear it because it makes you miss them but it's so quiet now. I never thought it'd be so quiet without them here. It's a good thing it's just four more months until they come home."

"I'd be sadder but I know that there's something good about them being at the academy. There're getting the best possible education, they're meeting other Nations' children and they'll be growing up in an environment around others that are like them. Children that understand each other." Norway stood up then from the chair which rocked back and forth slowly from the lack of weight within it and he began picking up the dropped firewood and began stacking it neatly by the fireplace where it belonged. "Plus I'm sure the academy will help with getting Abel set up with an ice skating coach and he'll find a skating partner. They're going to grow up and get smart, become wise and they're going to enjoy coming back home I bet. We just have to be patient and make it through the next four months and I'm sure they'll be knocking down our walls as any six and eleven-year-old can."

"Very true! And you know that Nikki is going to join in the fight too once he's big enough! I can see this kid being just like you personality wise but when it comes to fighting he's gonna be just like Papa!" He nuzzled his cheek to Nikolai's forehead making it scrunch up as he whined lightly in response to the nuzzling but Norway found himself smiling as he finished placing the firewood in it's place beside the fire place. He could see it to. A stoic little boy who, when provoked, would be a true force to reckon with. It was a heartwarming thought to have as he straightened up and turned to his husband who was playing with those tufts of hair making the baby stare at him with awe when he looked up smiling with delight. "How about we have a fire? Snuggle together and turn the lights off then watch a movie? Just the three of us?"

"How about I put Nik into his bouncer and the two of us watch a movie? I can make some popcorn too." Norway suggested as he grabbed the bouncer sliding it to Denmark's feet and he stood up then bent over to place Nikolai into it, clipping the belt into place and when he moved away his infant son was staring at him with those huge blue eyes that he so adored. It was as if Nikolai was absolutely taken aback at being laid down in his bouncer and he even tilted his little head back as if attempting to see his father who was eagerly flicking the TV on and Norway rolled his eyes at the man's eagerness though there was a touch of affection in that eyeroll. It was impossible to remain completely cold to Denmar after having had three of his sons already."Watch him and don't put any gory movies on, he doesn't need to be introduced to horror so young. He'll have nightmares for all you know."

"Do babies even have nightmares?" Denmark questioned then as Norway shook his head when the man looked pointedly at the three-month-old curiously and Nikolai squirmed in his bouncer with a whine on his lips and both parents chuckled softly at the baby's response. Denmark leaned forward pressing the tips of his fingers against the top of the bouncer and began to lightly bounce the baby as he used his other hand to flip towards the movie channels while Norway fought down a yawn as he waled from the living room into the hallway and down it to the kitchen with a sigh on his lips as he scratched his chin. It truly was quiet without Abel and Sven around but like he had said before, it was only four more months and the boys would be back for the next three months of summer vacation before returning to the Academy in September. He already knew that Denmark would be going with him with Nikolai so at least the next time he wouldn't be alone.

He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard rather fast knocking coming from the front door. He hadn't been expecting anyone to come by and as remote as his home was he didn't think a neighbor would come out so far for him which lead him to squint suspiciously at the door as he backed out of the kitchen to walk down the hallway once again and Norway felt a stab of irritation. He wanted whoever this was to go away, wanted to be left alone with his baby and his husband but the knocking continued with that same fast pace like whoever it was was excited by the thought of interrupting his night in. He reached the front door, unlatched one lock then flipped th eother tugging the door open with the fast jerking movement of a man in deep irritation and as he scowled outwards it stopped short with surprise at just who was on his doorstep. Sweden and Finland. Sweet little Aili was in her mother's arms, bundled up in a thick purple coat with a little purple hat on top of her head with a loose bobbing ball on top amde from yarn and then on her hands were the tiniest little gloves he'd ever seen along with tiny pin boots on her feet. Finland beamed brightly as he adjusted his hold on Aili and Sweden looked up at the lightly swirling snow that drifted down from the clouds above and pursed his lips with distaste but it was the bright eager face of Finland's that made Norway blink in surprise. There was very few times that the couple had been on Norway's doorstep and this counted as one of the few times. The others were during Abel and Sven's birthday's did they see the couple. It was rather odd.

"Hallo! We're here for a little visit! We figured that while we were in the area that we'd pop on by!" Finland exclaimed as he once again adjusted the little girl in his arms and her mismatched eyes leveled on Norway with a rather bored expression on her face as she wriggled her little feet as if impatient to be put down. It as rather sweet to see the seven-month-old from time to time but the little baby was so stoic that it was hard to call her fascinating when it was hard to determine just what could be going through that little head of hers. "And we figured that we should come see our newest little nephew! I know it's a visit long overdue but I wanted to come by and see my little nephew! Could we come in?"

"Of course." Norway pushed open the door wide which Sweden caught and held open allowing Finland to walk in under his arm. "I was going to make some popcorn because Mathias and I were going to watch a movie tonight. I'll make two bags if you two are going to be joining us." Norway spun on his heels sighing to himself as he entered the kitchen as he heard the front door shut behind the couple but he merely walked into the kitchen while Finland rushed past the doorway like a child in his excitement and Norway approached the cabinet reaching up grabbing two bags of popcorn while his husband enthusiastically greeted the couple. Well, tonight at least wouldn't be quiet and while it was a touch unexpected on his part he found that some part of him was rather grateful for the noise.

There was something nice about the noise. Something comforting about it all. He could hear the Finnish man happily blurbing to his husband as he no doubt held up Aili to him while he cradled Nikolai in his arms and Norway couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest. His two boys, his Sven and Abel, should be here. They should have been flying down the stairs shouting their greetings to their Uncles as they ran into their welcoming arms and they should be here to coo over Aili's adorable little face. They should be here and they weren't. It was far too quiet without them. Norway was surprised to feel a tear trail down his cheek that he reached up to remove with trembling fingers as he ripped open the plastic wrapping around the popcorn and placed it into the microwave pressing the button. He felt awkward, maybe even shy, about talking to his husband about the ache that was eating away at him from the inside out but the man seemed to understand it if the reactions were anything to go by. His husband always seemed loneliest when he entered the house, his coat being hung up and then he'd turn as if ready to throw open his arms for a small person to throw themselves into. The sadness that would shadow those lovely blue eyes hurt Norway more than anything. He wished he could honestly throw himself with the same exuberance as Abel into his husband's arms but he was much too stiff and much too shy to begin to do something like that with his husband. He tried making it up by cuddling with his husband at night in a way that would sooth the ache in his chest.

While he loved how tiny and squishable Nikolai was, there was just something he missed about scooping up one of his sons into his arms and swinging them around the house with exuberance that he couldn't show with his husband. He sighed as he listened to the popcorn pop loudly in the microwave and Norway leaned against the counter, tapping his fingers against the counter like a staccato. He wanted to go and see his niece, strange as it was, but he couldn't quite shake the irritation away at the evening being in truded upon but he was somewhat grateful. Noise was good. And he wanted more than anything to feel like his house was fuller than it felt most days and he wanted nothing more than for someone to chatter his ear off like he knew Abel would was a welcomed relief. Norway blinked when the microwave beeped and he pulled the filled bag out then ripped the plastic covering off of the second bag and threw it into the microwave pressing the button and watching the bag spin. He just needed a little something to fill the silence that his boys had left behind. Just something that would get him throuhg the next four months. Anything would be a welcomed relief. Absolutely anything.