Chapter 5

The Fifth Nation

"Tino please calm down!"

"No, Let go! Let me crush them!"

Mathias had grabbed Tino by the waist and was trying to pull him away from the boys laying defeated on the ground. He had been sitting in the car waiting for Tino when he suddenly heard yelling and the sound of fists meeting faces. As he got out of the car he saw three boys was down on the ground. One was holding his hands over his stomach, one had blood dripping out of his nose and the last one was completely pale and clearly in pain, holding both hands over his groin. Three other guys were standing dumbfounded next to the group with their eyes fixed on Tino that seemed like he was trying to calm himself down. He had turned around to get into the car before he could hurt anyone else but…

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" One of the remaining boys had thrown himself towards Tino and managed to get a grip around him. "You think you'll get away with that? You're weak, just caught us of guard you know" Mathias had rushed to help, not sure who he would help. Of course he understood that the teenagers were the ones that had started this and definitely deserved to get some sense beaten into them, but he also knew Tino well enough to know what could happen if he lost his temper like this. Before Mathias even reached them, Tino got a grip of the guys arm and with a high pitched scream he threw the guy over his shoulder. It was when Tino began walking towards the last two boys that was standing with their hands up to show their surrender that Mathias stepped in and tried to get Tino back into the car.

"They are giving up, you won"

"They need to learn their lesson!" Mathias managed to drag and pull Tino to the passenger seat where he pushed him inside and told him to stay put. When he walked back to the boys they were just getting up from the ground and as he passed, the boy that had gotten thrown over Tinos shoulder spoke to him.

"Damn man, you need to control your lady. Put her on a leash or something." For the second time that day, the boy was sent flying through the air and landed hard on the pavement. He would have more than a few bruises when he woke up the next day. Mathias quickly sat back into the car and pushed the gas pedal as far back as it could go and they drifted of back onto the road. It took them half an hour and a speeding ticket for them to calm down enough to think clearly. Tino was the first one to speak.

"You shouldn't punch people like that"

"Am I really hearing this from YOU?"

"But I had a reason" Tino reached into the backseat and grabbed a pack of licorice that he ripped open and took a bite of. The familiar taste had a calming effect on him and he leaned back into his seat and sighed. "I should have just walked away"

"They will be fine don't worry" Mathias could see that Tino felt guilty, he could have really hurt those boys and Tino really hated when he lost control like that. It didn't often happen but if no one was there to stop him when it did, it could end really badly. Tino reached back again and grabbed a small box with pastries that he opened and passed to Mathias.

"Here, it's your favorite" Mathias smiled and grabbed one even though he knew they would have a taste of gas station he would still enjoy it. They took a bite almost simultaneously and Mathias could feel the sweet flavor fill his mouth, but then he felt something else too. The awful taste quickly filled his mouth and he couldn't do anything but spit it out. He threw the pastry in a bag they used for trash before he noticed Tino looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, it tasted awful"

"Maybe it's something wrong with your taste buds? There's nothing wrong with mine" Tino took another bite and chewed carefully. Without taking his eyes of the road, Mathias reached back and managed to grab a ham and cheese sandwich. After throwing away the cheese he ate it, actually finding it tasting good. The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence with the radio playing in the background. After another hour of driving they finally turned onto a small forest path that led to Berwalds cabin where he usually spent his summers. They parked the car in front of the small building and got out.

"Well, the car is here at least" They could see Berwalds old car parked in its usual spot and walked up to the front door. Since their knocking didn't get any answer they pushed down the handle and opened the unlocked door. "Hey Berwald, are you here?" When they didn't get any response they moved into the small house. After looking through every room they met again in front of the door.

"Where could he be?" Tino looked around the hall and noticed something. "His coat and shoes isn't here. Do you think he's outside?" As if to answer his question, they heard a sudden noise coming from the former shed that Berwald had made into a small workshop. They ran over and threw open the door and coughed when dust whirled up from the floor. It took them a few seconds to adjust to the darkness but when they did, they could see a chaotic mess laying on the floor. Tools were sprawled all over and a shelf had fallen over.

"Hello?"

"Here" they heard a voice right by their feet and when they looked down they could see a small boy seemingly stuck underneath the fallen shelf.

"Oh god, Peter is that you?" Tino quickly grabbed the corner of the shelf and pulled but just barely managed to lift it. Mathias took hold of the other corner and together they lifted the heavy, handmade shelf and put it back to its position. When they turned around again, the young boy was already standing on his feet and was picking something up from the floor. "Peter, are you okay?" They saw how the boy dusted of his clothes and put the glasses he just picked up from the floor back on. It was when he shot them a very familiar glare they suddenly realized.

"Berwald?" They both said at the same time.

"Thanks" It wasn't until now that Berwald actually got a good look at his two friends and for a moment, surprise was showing in his eyes but since he had spent a long time underneath a shelf to think about his situation he was somehow relieved that he wasn't the only one in trouble. He hoped to get some answers as well. While Berwald was thinking about all this, the other two was finally recovering from the shock and Mathias was having a hard time not to burst out laughing. He was so small, looked like a 5 year old, and the glare he had given them earlier was the same as it always had been but now it was only adorable instead of scary.

"Maybe we should move somewhere else?" Tino pointed at the door. "This might not be the best place to talk." As they walked outside and towards the house, Mathias looked down at Berwald.

"At least your clothes shrunk too so you won't trip"

"I guess so-" A branch laying on the ground made the now small nation fall onto the ground and when he rolled over, Mathias could no longer contain his laughter. Even Tino giggled and ran over to him just as he got up again with a blush on his face. Leaves were stuck in his hair and his glasses had gotten askew. Tino could no longer able to stop himself, something within him told him to help this small child, so he brushed of the leaves and picked him up. He carried the now very red Berwald inside with Mathias following laughing behind them and sat him down in the living room.

"If you're just going to laugh, why don't you fix some food while I explain?"

"I'm sorry, It's just so ironic" Mathias chuckled as he headed into the kitchen.

A/N Thank you so much for the reviews! It keeps me going! But don't worry, the chances of me discontinuing this is pretty much nonexcistent. Looking forward to your thoughts!

Disclamer: I don't own Hetalia.