Chapter 4
Things had been pretty peaceful for the past month and a half. After the first few days Wonderland and Norway got along fine, and Denmark slipped into his normal, overly-cheerful state of being. Her cuts were healing well and very quickly, her bruises almost gone. Her stitches had come out as well, and she could move around a lot easier. Denmark had started training her already. They went for runs each morning and practiced martial arts in the afternoon. Though that routine changed on one specific Friday.
There was a knock on the door and Wonderland groaned, looking to Norway for help. She had absolutely no desire to get up unless necessary. Norway sighed before getting up, and opened the door to his (reluctant) little brother.
Said brother was extremely jumpy, most unlike him. He waved exuberantly, trying to look past his older brother into the house. He also had one hand behind his back. Norway frowned.
"Hello, Norgeur. May I come in? I heard a rumor that an old friend of mine was here." He jumped up and down excitedly. Norway frown deepened. "You went to see Hong Kong before visiting, didn't you?"
Iceland looked down sheepishly. "Yeah. She gave me some bubble tea. I'm pretty sure it had caffeine in it, and a lot of sugar. Then I went to Finland and Sweden's house because they requested me. They gave me and Mr. Puffin a whole ton of licorice. They were also the people who told me about Wonder." He grinned. "Can I come in?"
Wonderland peered past Norway. "Ice?" She asked, surprised. He grinned. She grinned back. "Ice, you idiot, get in here! Before you explode from sugar overdose!" She laughed. He grinned wider and pushed past Norway, surprising him. He stepped inside, set down a present, and ran over to his friend. He picked her up and swung her around in circles, both of them laughing to the point of tears. Denmark came downstairs, and stood on the stairwell, shell-shocked at the scene he saw. After a few moments both men ran over to the friends, trying to pry them apart. They shrugged them off(mostly from Wonderland's feet swinging in the air, preventing them from getting too close), continuing in their reunion. After a few more moments Iceland set Wonderland down, holding her at arms length to get a good look at her. He whistled.
"Wow, Wonder. How many times did you fight Denmark? A hundred?"
She laughed. "No more than usual. This is the result of an evil dictator who's mentally unstable, and who I will not talk about in front of you lest you go on a killing spree. Now, what have you been up to, my puffin-populated friend?"
He grinned. "Nothing much. I'm officially Norgeur's brother." He wrinkled his nose and she laughed, poking it. Denmark and Norway froze in shock again, not believing what was going on in front of them. Iceland never acted like this!
The pair payed them no mind. Instead, Iceland pulled Wonderland close, burying his face in her hair. "I miss you so damn much."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I missed you too. Got any licorice?"
He laughed and said, "Glad to know you miss me for my company."
She pouted, pulling away. "You know that's not the reason I missed you." He raised an eyebrow. "OK, it wasn't a big one." He raised it higher. "Fine! It wasn't the biggest one!" He laughed and pulled out a piece from a package in his pocket, taking a bite out of it, taunting her. In retaliation, she bit it herself, pulling it from his teeth. Then she sucked it into her mouth, chewing slowly, savoring the taste. "Mmmm. Delicious as always." She said with a grin. Then she kissed his cheek. "I knew you'd bring me some. Thanks Ice!"
At this point the other two men had almost fainted. Looking over at them, Wonderland burst out laughing at their expressions. Iceland followed suit. When they had finally stopped Wonderland was left grinning.
"Come on, I'll make you some tea. And maybe something to eat. That is, if you're good." She said this with a wink before sauntering off to the kitchen, her dark blue dress swishing as she went.
Iceland followed with a smirk on his face, one Denmark was very familiar with. He'd used it whenever any of the other Nordic nations had requested some time alone with another person in the room. It used to make Denmark laugh, knowing that Iceland could have a very perverse way of thinking when he wanted to. Now it scared him.
"Hey, Ice. Just remember she's under my protection, OK? And I'll beat-"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll hurt me if I make a move on her. I know. You've told me before." His smirk widened. "But you can't stop her from hitting on anyone else. And that, however unlikely, does include me." He shook his head. "I'm not interested in her that way. We're like brother and sister. That's be like her and Prussia. Wait," he paused thinking for a moment. "Never mind. They did go out once." Then he shrugged, leaving Denmark stock still, frozen in shock as he walked into the kitchen and instantly getting a face-full of pasta sauce. She gasped, apologizing over and over, saying that she thought he was Denmark and to not be mad at him for staining his clothes. He responded by throwing the sauce back in her face and grinning.
Her own grin spread over her face slowly. She licked her lips, getting the sauce off of them before saying, "Oh, it's on, licorice boy."
For the next minute they wrecked the kitchen with the half-prepared food. Norway stopped them before they started actually destroying the place and forced them to clean up their mess. While they worked they chatted, about – well – everything. They talked about their childhood, what had happened when she had left(to which only Iceland contributed), about licorice. Yes, they talked about licorice.
It took three hours until when they finished. Iceland sighed and stretched, holding his hands high above his head. She looked him up and down raising an eyebrow. "Damn, Steilsson. You have grown up fine."
Said man laughed. "Thanks, Kirkland. I'll have to remember that."
She looked at the time and suddenly remembered something. "Shit!" She exclaimed. Iceland frowned. "What is it? You hurt yourself again?"
She shook her head. "I promised Prussia I'd make him some supper tonight at six! It's five thirty and I have no idea what I'm making!"
He laughed. "And here I thought you were worried about your injuries, or at least your clothes. You know what you're going to wear, Kirkland?"
She waved a hand at his question. "He's promised to bring me my clothes from Iggy. Knowing him, he'll bring me my wardrobe from both his place and England's, plus buy me some more. That's what he does. Then he uses his achievements to blackmail you. Like he is now. I'd never have made him supper otherwise."
Iceland sighed. "I'll help. Dang, I thought I might be able to spend the night."
Wonderland shrugged. "You still could. I'll think up a plan. I wanted to go out tonight anyway."
"You don't care about Denmark's rules, do you?"
"Damn straight."
He sighed. "Fine. If you think up something worthwhile, I'll go with you. But don't expect me to get drunk."
She giggled. "Of course not. Last time you got drunk it was awful. You acted like you were high."
He laughed. "Yeah. That was kind of funny, though. Just don't let it happen again."
She made an X over her heart. "I won't. Cross my heart and hope to die. Now, I'm going to make some pancakes. And bacon. And strawberries. You have no idea how much Prussia likes strawberries. It's ridiculous."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to chocolate dip them? Because that makes them even better. Besides, you could tease Denmark. You know how protective he is of you. And I already made him on high alert for Prussia."
She grinned. "How? Prussia never- Oh. I see. You told him about our rebound thing."
He shrugged. "I was just telling him that I wouldn't make a move on you since he was worried, saying that we were more brother and sister. I also mentioned that it would be like you and Prussia dating. Then I realized that you had, in fact, gone out, and let it slip out."
She laughed. "Oh, you silly face. His face must have been priceless." She shook her head. "Fine, I'll make chocolate covered strawberries. But you're heating up the chocolate. And doing everything strawberry related. Other than the dipping. I love that."
He stuck out his tongue. "You just like eating the chocolate."
She shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a chocoholic. Same goes for licorice. Or maybe that's just you." She winked and he chuckled.
They chatted like this while they made dinner. Wonderland had gotten the pancake recipe from Canada, since she hated the boxed crap and she knew he loved pancakes. They were always delicious and fluffy. And went perfectly with maple syrup.
After a time, when a few pancakes were sitting on a plate and the chocolate was ready for dipping, Denmark stuck his head in and took in a deep breath.
"Mmm. Smells good in here. Watcha making? Pancakes?" He walked in and stuck his finger in the batter, quickly dancing out of reach so that he wouldn't get smacked. She frowned at him. "It's not even sweet! How can you eat it?" She exclaimed at him, shaking her head.
He grinned. "How can you not? It's great! Besides, I never really liked sweet things. I like something a little more... spicy." He winked at her and she laughed. Then she shook her finger at him. "These aren't even for you. Maybe I'll save you a couple. If you're nice and you agree to my plans."
He threw a hand over his heart, faking hurt. "Wonder, how could you do such a thing? You know how much I love your pancakes! Why must you torture me so?" He said dramatically. She laughed and said between guffaws, "These are for Prussia. I promised him dinner since he's bringing me over my clothes. And I have a plan for the evening. Now shut up so I can actually tell you."
He nodded and held a fist up to his mouth to show he was ready. She smirked at his ever childish behavior. "Well, since Prussia's coming over, he'll want beer. He will – there's not even a might in there, he will want German beer. He will insult your beer if you give it to him. So, since I haven't had any fun with him for a while," here Denmark stiffened at the word fun, "I have decided we are going to go to a karaoke joint. Iceland's in and Prussia will be. I'm thinking of inviting Romano and Italy as well, and maybe Spain. You want to come?"
Denmark grinned. "Sure. But you better not try any stunts to open your cuts again. I'm going to have to re-stitch them if you keep doing that."
She gasped in horror. "No! Please don't re-stitch me! Oh, the horror!"
The knock on the door interrupted their banter. Denmark, still grinning, walked over and opened it. Prussia stood there, his arms full with two bags hanging off of each arm and a box in his hands.
"Yo, Wonder! Get over here and help me, you little shit! You owe me!" He called inside. Gilbird flew in, as well as Mr. Puffin(who had been locked out all this time) and landed on Wonderland's head. She laughed and sauntered over, taking the box from her friends arms. She set it down in by the stairs and motioned him to do so as well. Pointing to the box, Prussia said, "That's your present. It's from West too. He didn't come though. Probably figured you'd take me drinking or go and get a tattoo or something. Not West's idea of fun." He grinned and sniffed. His eyes lit up. "Is that pancakes I smell? Did you invite Matty over or something?"
She punched him in the arm. "No. He gave me his recipe. And is it Matty now? I thought it was, 'That annoying loud guy's twin brother, what's-his-name.'" She raised an eyebrow. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, well, he raised up in awesomeness. He's actually above you now. He's pretty awesome. He's almost as awesome as me!" He let out a weak chuckle. She laughed at his discomfort and shook her head. "Oh, you silly love-struck boy. Come on, I did make pancakes. And not the shit that America makes. The good stuff."
He grinned. "Sweet. I knew there was a reason I liked you." He laughed. "You might want to open your present before it opens itself though. It might do that."
She cocked her head at him but shrugged. "OK." Then she called to Iceland, asking him to bring the present he left for her in the front hall. He returned a moment later and set it down beside the much, much larger box. She decided to open the big box first.
The moment the cardboard box had opened, a big puppy barreled out and landed on her, licking her face and stomach (which still had pasta sauce on it) enthusiastically. She screamed and laughed, trying to get it off of her and petting it at the same time.
"Prussia, you didn't!" She called out from underneath the puppy. He grinned.
"It was actually West's idea. He knew how much you loved his own dogs, so he got you one of your own. He'll help you raise it and stuff, too. I'm not the best dog trainer, though I can do it when you're both too busy."
She kept laughing and finally got them giant ball of red fur off of her, then tackled Prussia in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are freaking AWESOME!" She said, knocking the breath out of him with her glomp. He laughed and hugged her back. She pulled back and sat in front of the puppy, petting affectionately.
"It's an Akita Inu. Take it with you wherever you go, and you have to constantly show that you're the boss. It's really protective, and very pack oriented. You should keep yourself, me and Germany in the pack, but no one else. Also, groom. Seriously. The thing needs it." Prussia explained to her. She grinned.
"You, my friend, are incredibly awesome. No. You are epically awesome. So is your brother. As much as you deny it."
Prussia stuck out his tongue. "Tell me something I don't know. And glad you're happy. Especially because West would have dumped the little bastard on me."
Wonderland laughed. "Of course he would have." She looked lovingly at the puppy. "Does he have a name?"
Prussia shook his head. "That's for you to decide. We haven't called him anything, though he might think his name is no. We had to tell him that a lot, the little troublemaker."
Wonderland laughed and then thought hard. After a few moments she had the perfect name. "Jack."
The two men looked at her like she had just been beamed down from the Enterprise. She laughed. "You know," she tried to explain, "Jack Sparrow. From Pirates of the Caribbean. The movie. He's played by Johnny Depp. Come on, you've got to know!" She exclaimed, exasperated. Prussia nodded slightly as he figured out who she was talking about. "Yeah, I remember now. You watched them?" She nodded excitedly. "Best. Movies. Ever. Not kidding. Now, onwards. I want my other present. Iceland probably feels left out."
Iceland smiled and handed her his own present. This box was small, and couldn't contain much. She ripped the wrapping paper and opened the velvet box, gasping at what she saw inside.
"What is it?" Prussia asked, eager to see.
Inside the box, nestled in the velvet, was a thin leather choker. The pitch black material had a dull luster; it was stunning. Gently, she pulled it out, staring at it in awe.
"This isn't for Jack," She said bluntly. Iceland chuckled and shook his head.
It was then that Denmark and Norway walked in, having wondered what the commotion was about. Jack immediately jumped on Norway, who tried to push him away, to no avail. Denmark walked up to Wonderland and reached for the choker.
"May I?" He asked, his mouth twisted in a smirk. She nodded and moved her hair to the side, giving him access to her neck. Carefully, he wound the soft material around her throat, fastening it at the back. The leather settled just above the base of her neck, restricting her breathing the tiniest bit, not enough to notice when she was breathing regularly. The three men stared at her. She felt the leather around her neck and slowly smiled. She looked up at them through her lashes and said, "I'm going to go change into something that will suit this better." Then she grabbed two of the bags Prussia had brought and dashed off to her room, Jack following close behind her.
About ten minutes later, Wonderland came downstairs to find everyone eating the pancakes. They all looked at her when she entered, and for good reason. She looked completely different.
Instead of the dark blue, frilly dress she had had on earlier, she wore a pair of crimson skinny jeans and a black tank top. Instead of her earlier bare feet she wore a pair of badass combat boots, complete with small spikes on the soles. Thrown on top of her shirt was a leather jacket, and on her head was a black fedora. She had also applied a generous amount of eyeliner to her eyes, making them stand out erratically. To her skin she had added a lip ring and multiple ear piercings, with three on each lobe, big hoops on the first, skulls on the next, and onyx studs on the last. Around her waist was a leather holster than carried a dagger, four throwing knives, and a vial of something. Probably rum. She grinned.
"Much more comfortable. I didn't know how much more I could take of the dresses. Now, how much did I mess up on the food?"
Norway was(obviously) the first to shake out of the shock. "It's good, Wonderland. Where did you learn to make pancakes? I thought England was terrible when it came to food." He said politely. After the first week, they had been getting along quite nicely. She smiled at him. "Canada taught me. Ever since England made me hang out America through force, I started hanging out with him. He's much less annoying than his brother." Her smile widened, showing her teeth. "And you're right. England does suck at food. You should have seen him the last time he made biscuits. Almost burned the house down." She laughed at the memory and Norway chuckled along with her and said, "I remember something similar from our time together. He tried to make me fish and chips to show me what the good kind tasted like. It ended when the pot of oil blew up. We had Chinese take-out instead." Wonderland laughed along with him. "You went out with dad? Hmm. I can only ever remember him being with the stupid frog. They broke up a lot, though, so I guess he dated other people too." She shook her head. "You just don't seem to be the type to enjoy anything kinky."
Prussia caught on at this. "Kinky? Iggy likes kink?" He laughed. "He and my brother should be sex buddies. Is he a masochist or sadist? Or is he a fetish kind of person?"
Wonderland grinned and Norway paled. "Masochist. France always said he just begged to be dominated. He also said he particularly enjoyed being gagged." She wrinkled her nose. "Stupid frog. He told me that when I at the maturity of a six year old. I hate him to this day for it."
Prussia laughed even harder. "Oh yeah. He and Germany would get along great. West's a total sadist. And unluckily for him, little Italy can't give him what he wants."
Norway looked like he was about to faint, so Wonderland gave him a relief. "OK, new topic, before Norway keels over and dies. Who wants to go kareokeing?"
Prussia immediately agreed, while Norway hesitated, then decided he would stay home. When Denmark and Norway were putting the dishes away, Wonderland called the Vargas brothers while Prussia called Spain. They all agreed to come(mostly by Italy dragging Romano with him). Then Prussia went home to change into something a little more 'appropriate'(whatever than means...). By the time they all met up at the bar, it was an hour later at 7:30.
Spain was teasing Romano but perked up when he saw Wonderland. "Wonder!" He yelled before running over an tackling her in a hug. She laughed and hugged him back almost as eagerly(he's a pretty eager guy, alright?). When she finally pried the Spaniard off of her, she tackled Romano, much to his distaste. "Wha- get off me, motherfucker! What the hell are you doing? Don't you think I get enough of this from the tomato bastard? Fuck!"
She just laughed and pulled away, ruffling his hair a bit. "Aww, is Lovi mad? I'm sorry~! Sort of..." She ran away laughing as Romano turned red and chased after her. Eventually Spain caught Romano and teased him about looking like a tomato, at which point Romano started to sulk and glare at anyone who talked to him. Wonderland and Spain teased him endlessly about it, but that was nothing new.
Spain was the first one to sing. It was, surprisingly, a Celtic song by Great Big Sea, which Wonderland sang with him. Denmark didn't sing much, and Romano wouldn't have at all if Wonderland and Italy hadn't dragged him up. He was quite good, and got compliments from the group (especially Spain).
Later into the night, around ten-thirty, Wonderland noticed something in the back. Denmark had been missing for a little while, but she hadn't worried too much, figuring he had stepped outside to take a call or something. Instead, he was sitting at a secluded table at the back of the bar with a girl she didn't recognize. He smirked and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, which in turn made the mysterious girl blush and bite her lip seductively. Wonderland's temper flared to a surprising level, but she didn't care. In fury, she took the stage next and plugged in a song to the little machine. Denmark noticed and glanced up at her, looking almost... ashamed, in a way. Ashamed, with no remorse.
Her fury rose that much higher and she gripped her microphone until her knuckles turned white. The music started, and looking straight at him, she started singing.
"I'm gonna make you bend and break
Say your prayer but let the good times roll
In case God doesn't show
And I want these words to make things right
But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life
Who does he think he is?
If that's the worst you got better put your fingers back to the keys."
Denmark looked up at her now, staring open-mouthed at her, not noticing the girl by him. She tried catch his attention, but he brushed her off. Wonderland smirked. That's right bastard. Watch it. Watch it and kiss it, you asshole. She kept singing, putting on a seductive act for the crowd. They were watching her every move, and that included Denmark, whose eyes were burning with anger and something else she couldn't identify.
"One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night, yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
He, he taste like you only sweeter
Oh!
"Been looking forward to the future
But my eyesight is going bad
And this crystal ball
It's always cloudy except for
When you look into the past
One night stand
One night stand off!
"One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night, yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
He, he taste like you only sweeter
Oh!
"They say I only think in the form of crunching numbers
In hotel rooms
Collecting page six lovers
Get me out of my mind
N' get you out of those clothes
I'm a liner away
from getting you into the mood
Whoa!
"One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night, yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
He, he taste like you only sweeter
Oh!
"One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night, yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
He, he taste like you only sweeter
Oh!" She winked at someone in front of her and walked off the stage, while everyone clapped. Denmark was nearly vibrating in rage as he made his way over to her. She stood in the middle of the bar and crossed her arms over her chest, arching her eyebrow as he swept through the crowd. When he finally reached her he just stood in front of her for a moment, drinking in her appearance. She felt a bit of nervousness that she hadn't felt earlier; or maybe she had, but had shoved it aside in her anger. She still didn't know why she was so mad – maybe it had been Norway, but she doubted it. Had she really been... jealous?
No, she told herself as she waited for Denmark to move. That's impossible. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. She shoved it to the back of her mind as Denmark's eyes narrowed.
Suddenly he grabbed her arm and marched her out of the bar, ignoring the calls from their friends. She stumbled along after him, and though she knew he couldn't see her, she glared intensely at him. He payed her no mind, dragging her out the door and around the side of the bar, into the alley. He held her there and rested his head on her shoulder, not daring to look at her. She attempted to get away, but it was in vain, his hold on her being much too tight. She continued to struggle anyway, until she noticed that he didn't even really know what he was doing, at which point she stopped. When she did, he looked at her, staring down into her eyes. She felt her breath leave her lungs. He moved his hands from their vice grip on her arms and cupped her face. "Tell me," she said, their faces so close to each other. "Tell me what's wrong – oh," she gasped as he drew away from her, only far enough to reach his hands down and put them around her waist. A raindrop fell on her nose, another on her cheek, and then it was raining steadily, soaking them slowly. He stood in front of her so that their bodies almost touched – but not quite. It was nerve-wracking. She could feel the feverish heat that came off him; her hands weren't even touching him, and it most certainly wasn't enough. She wanted him wrapped around around her, holding her tight. "W-why," she breathed, "can't you talk to me? Why can't you look at me?"
He ducked his head down to look into her face. His eyes, surrounded by lashes darkened with rainwater, were impossibly blue.
"Because I'm a confused, hormonal idiot who likes you."
She couldn't stand it anymore. She took her hands off his shoulders, hooked her fingers through his belt loops, and pulled him against her. He let her do it with no resistance, his hands flattening against the wall, folding his body against hers until they were pressed together everywhere – chests, hips, legs – like puzzle pieces. His hands slid down to her waist and he kissed her, long and lingering, making her shudder.
She pulled away. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Neither does this," he said, "but I don't care. I'm sick of trying to pretend I don't care when you flirt with other guys, when you stop paying any attention to me once someone better comes along. Don't you understand that? Can't you see it's killing me?"
She stared at him. She could see he meant what he said, could see it in the eyes she knew as well as her own, in the bruised shadows under those eyes, the pulse pounding in his throat.
She stared at him in confusion. "Wha-"
He pecked her to shut her up. "God, you're such an idiot." And then he kissed her harshly and her world came to a halt. Her head was spinning, and she didn't even realize that her arms were around his neck and her mouth moving with his until it was too late to stop. His hands tangled in her hair and he pulled her harder against him. She gasped into his mouth and he snaked his tongue inside hers, prodding and teasing her own into playing with him. The rain pounded down on them harder and harder, soaking them to the bone, forcing them to find warmth with the other. His hands slipped from the wall to wrap around her waist, pulling her off her feet so he could kiss her better. She wrapped her legs around him and he moaned in surprise, gripping her harder. A hand on her waist slid under her tank top to rest on her hip. Not to be outdone, she let her own hands trail to the hem of his shirt and underneath, pressing them against his abdomen. His moans grew more frequent as she explored his body: chest, abs, stomach, arms. She found herself returning the sounds as he pulled her even closer to him, gripping her legs, kissing her harder and harder –
And a horrific honking noise exploded in Wonderland's ears, shattering her out of her dreams of kissing and rain. With a gasp she pushed Denmark away, hard enough that he let go of her and she stumbled away from the wall to land unsteadily on her feet, hastily straightening her shirt. Her heart was slamming against her rib cage like a battering ram, and she felt dizzy.
Wonderland looked at Denmark. He was utterly drenched, water running off him in sheets, his fair hair, plastered to his head, nearly silver in the faint glow of the distant streetlights. Just looking at him made her want to touch him again, with a longing that was nearly painful. He was staring at the road with the look of someone who had been slapped out of a dream – bewilderment, anger, dawning realization.
Wonderland looked harder at Denmark. At any other time they would have laughed together at stupid cab drivers, but there was no humor in his expression, and she knew immediately that whatever they had had between them – whatever had blossomed out of his momentary lack of control – it was gone now. She could taste blood in her mouth and wasn't sure if she had bitten her own lip or he had.
"Matthias-" She took a step toward him.
"Don't," he said, his voice very rough. "I can't."
And then he was gone, running as fast as only countries could run, a blur that vanished into the distance before she could even take a breath to call him back.