Well, I don't really have much to say about this. It's kind of pointless fluff, and maybe a smidgeon incoherent. But I needed to get something written just to get the juices flowing, so to speak, and I was in a DenNor mood. Nothing to be warned about, really. Just read, and if you like it, review. If you don't, then that's your choice, and I respect it. So yeah. I don't really have much more to say.
Oh wait, I do have something to say. Why the hell did I make Norway's name Aleksander? It's way more annoying to type than Lukas, and the spellcheck keeps bugging me about it. Annoyance.
Ok, that's all. For real this time.
Aleksander had always thought that love made people do idiotic things. It wasn't that he was against the principle as a whole, but the way that it made otherwise sane people behave. There were examples from almost all the nations. Sweden and Finland, for example. Tino had always been peppy and overly affectionate, but anything that could make Berwald mumble out endearments like "m'wife" had to be some sort of witchcraft. To see the intimidating nation look so domestic was downright disconcerting. And domestic they were-a man, his "wife," a kid (Sealand, the little brat), and a dog with some ridiculous name. It was practically a nuclear family, with some slight, but significant variations.
It wasn't just Sweden and Finland either. Though the incessant chirps of pet names like Su-san and Sve from his geographical neighbors were annoying, they were not by any means the worst. America was horrid about public displays of affection, and England, for all his bluster about being a gentleman, had been spotted in several suggestive positions with Alfred when he thought he was in private. Feliciano and Antonio practically embodied embarrassing displays of affection, much to the chagrin of Ludwig and Romano, respectively. Even Prussia, who was the very definition of uncouth, had taken to pulling out Hungary's chair at meetings and whispering sweet (and potentially lecherous) nothings to her while Austria was speaking. But the most infuriating, victim of this epidemic of affection had been none other than his own brother. Iceland had met an Asian nation, Hong Kong, who could match his levels of silence, stubbornness, and sarcasm and after a long period of bickering and volcanic eruptions, they had finally converged. Although the fighting had been troublesome, Aleks honestly would have preferred it to hearing his typically emotionless brother giggle.
Yes, Aleksander was a judgmental person, and couples received some of the harshest of his judgment for their inane actions when around their significant other. He usually shared his scathing commentary with his brother, who held such actions in similar disdain, but once Tyr became scarily affectionate with his boyfriend, Aleks was left with no one to complain to but Matthias. And complaining to Matthias was more than counterproductive, it was downright hypocritical. As much as he professed to disdain displays of affection, especially public, Norway actually allowed and secretly enjoyed such actions when they were given by one Matthias Kohler.
Nobody really understood it, least of all Norway and Denmark. Aleks had no clue why he let the Dane get away with so much, and neither did Matthias. But incredulity was a common emotion for Denmark, and he ignored it in favor of counting his lucky stars that he was the onlyperson who ever got to see Norway in a vulnerable or affectionate state, even if it was only in the privacy of his (their) home.
In private, both countries tended to mellow. Matthias became less talkative and brash, and Aleksander's comments lost their biting edge. It was a side of the two that they really only ever shared with each other. And in quiet, private moments, Norway forgot the reasons for his intense resentment of couples.
When they touched, it was different than any outsider might imagine it. Denmark was uncharacteristically gentle, skimming his fingers along the inside of Norway's wrist, or brushing his hair back from his eyes. He did unbearably corny things like kiss every finger of Aleksander's hand. While Aleks would typically scoff at such ideas, the tenderness and uncharacteristic reserve Matthias employed made him react in horribly cliché ways, a fluttering of the stomach or tingles of the skin.
While Denmark was gentle, Norway was fierce. It fit their relationship, in a way. Matthias was always cheerful and earnest, while Aleks was sharp and withdrawn. It stood to reason that, once cornered, he would fight like a wildcat. And he did. He left marks in shockingly visible places and kissed with a ferocity which he almost never employed in public. While others may have found it disconcerting, Matthias found it beautiful.
But the definitions were fluid. Norway could be sedate, and Denmark could be rough. But that wasn't the point. The point was, that however cold Aleksander was in public to a hapless Matthias, it couldn't erase the significance of a concealed intertwining of fingers under the table, the gentle stroke of hair and cheek, the arm draped loosely, but possessively, around the Norwegian's slim waist.
Norway still scorned public displays of affection, and the idiocy of new couples. But he grudgingly admitted (only to Matthias) that he might not mind them so much in private.