Chapter Nine

The hour following Mathias's shower was spent in compatible silence seated in the living room. The Dane was content with watching the flickering flames in the fireplace as they shivered and nearly winked out. Norway balanced his attention between watching Mathias and reading his book. He was particularly bored, and not just reading could cure it. He hummed quietly as he brainstormed possible ideas for an activity. While he was thinking, Norway's eyes drifted to stare absent-mindedly at Mathias.

The Dane seemed fascinated by the fire, his eyes were wide with interest and curiosity. Every once in a while he would reach out as if to stroke the flame, only to pull back at the last minute before being burned. The dancing flames were reflected in his eyes, making the blue look all the brighter.

"Do you want to do anything today?"

Mathias turned his gaze from the fire to Norway. He stared for a bit, lost in thought and deeply concentrating.

"I want to get out of the house. I'm gonna go crazy if I have to be cooped up any longer."

Norway responded with a slight chuckle as he nodded in agreement to the Dane's words. He stood up from his place on the couch and stretched, making his joints pop satisfyingly. He gestured for Mathias to follow as he made his way through the furniture and towards the garage where the car was stowed. Mathias trailed after him, hesitating slightly.

"Where are we going?"

"Into town."

Mathias was far from satisfied with that answer, but rather than ask again he chose to stay silent and roll with it. He kept his face neutral to hide the curiosity he felt inside.

The pair clambered into the vehicle, Norway behind the wheel and Mathias in the passenger seat. Unlike their last car ride together, the silence was comfortable and welcome. Mathias stared out the window as trees turned into green blurs when they zoomed past. Norway kept his gaze fixed on the road except for the occasional glance towards the man next to him. He could tell Mathias was itching to ask were they were going. The Norwegian suppressed a smirk at the Dane's obvious curiosity. Too bad, he would have to wait.

They drove into Dragør and Norway parked the car in a back alley by a small pub. He looked over at Mathias who looked back with a small smirk. Norway was pleased to know that he had chosen their destination well.

What the pub lacked in size it made up for in merriment. It was a brightly-lit bustling place, packed full of drunk and buoyant people. Norway wove through the throng and made his way to the bartender. He flicked his hand at Mathias, gesturing for him to hang back. To his disgruntled annoyance, Mathias waved him off and stalked over to the nearest pair of strangers. He jauntily started to converse with them, and in the span of five minutes Norway watched as the strangers went to being Mathias's new best friends.

The Norwegian snatched the beer he had ordered and could not stop a pang of jealously from worming its way into his stomach as he stepped over two the chatting threesome. Mathias caught sight of him making his way over and patted his new friend's shoulders to gain their attention.

"Hey guys, this is my friend Lukas. Lukas, this is Alexey and Christian."

Mathias gestured to each person in turn. Alexey was a rather tall, raucous man. He had brown hair and bright blue eyes that did well to match his personality. Christian was more like Lukas himself, he was quiet and on the shorter side. He sported brown eyes and medium-length brown hair that cut short just above his ears.

Norway bid them hello and passed a beer to Mathias, who graciously excepted it and pried the cap off with his teeth. Norway rolled his eyes as the Dane took a hearty gulp before continuing to speak to Alexey and Christian. For the most part the Norwegian quietly sat and observed the conversation. He would speak when spoken too, and after the first couple one-worded answers, the three left him alone.

As the day wore on, Norway found himself getting gradually more tipsy. His sight was getting fuzzy and he could hardly remember how he had arrived in this situation. The Norwegian didn't trust himself to walk so he seated himself on one of the many barstools and waited for the dizziness to pass. He waited in drunken silence but to no avail, the fog clouding Norway's brain refused to leave. He groaned and let his head drop to the bar counter with a painful thud.

"Hey Lukas!"

Norway looked up at the sudden shout and spotted a teetering Dane stumbling towards him. It appeared that Mathias was immensely intoxicated as he clumsily took a seat to the side of Norway. The Dane smelled heavily of alcohol, and was grinning insanely at the groaning Norwegian.

"Heeeey Lukas! What are you— doing you are?"

Norway glanced at him perplexedly.

"What?"

"What doing you are— I mean, what are you doing?"

The Norwegian snorted at Mathias's drunken talk. Where was a video recorder when you needed one?

"Nothing. Where are Alexey and Christian?"

"Meh, I dunno."

"So it's just us?"

"Yes. Yes! We indeed are… yes!"

Norway's addled brain signaled him now was the time to bring his feelings to light. After all, any idea made sense when drunk.

"Mathias."

"Yeah?"

"I lov—"

Norway was interrupted as a voice cheerfully called out to the taller man.

"Hey Mathias!"

The Dane whipped around and grinned widely at the approaching figure of Christian. Norway's already flushed face turned crimson as Mathias skipped off to join his friends. What the hell was he thinking?! Thank god Mathias was too drunk to comprehend what he had been about to say. The Norwegian heaved a sigh of relief and polished off his ninth beer of the night.

Norway regarded the crowd silently with a blank gaze as he nursed a cup of coffee. Couples were chatting on the far side of the room, people drinking heavily by the bar, and by the dance floor he saw a tall blond spinning around— Oh my god.

Mathias, goofy and awkward Mathias, was surrounded by a circle of people on the dance floor. Norway gaped as the Dane's feet blurred as he performed complicated tricks in time with the music. Mathias was break dancing, and was absolutely incredible at it. The Norwegian wandered over to join the multitude of people watching the spectacle with awed expressions and drunken smiles.

Mathias's insane grin was now accompanied by eyes that glittered with excitement and adrenaline. Sweat dripped from his brow but the Dane didn't stop, he only danced faster. His body was moving in mesmerizing ways and he twisted and twirled to the delight of the horde around him. As the final beat of the song played, Mathias struck a pose and to his immense enjoyment, the crowd screamed and cheered approval. Norway clapped along and gave a minuscule smile when the Dane caught his eye.

Now clapping half-heartedly, the Norwegian picked his way through the crowd and grabbed ahold of the Dane's arm, dragging him towards the door. Mathias struggled feebly but was overall to drunk to do much good.

"Luuuukas! I having was— was having fun!"

He whined. Norway rolled his eyes and shoved the man into the passengers seat. The moon had risen long ago and Norway was eager to get home and sleep. He ignored the Dane's complaints and drove back to the house at a speed much to high to be legal. The Norwegian finally pulled into the garage, slamming the car door shut, too tired to lock it. He also failed to notice that his companion hadn't exited the car with him.

Norway trudged up the stairs and threw open the door to his room with a loud bang. He flopped onto the plush mattress, too exhausted to remove his clothing. Within minutes he was asleep, oblivious to the Dane who had passed out and been trapped in the car.

—

Terrible ending, I know. Please review and tell me what you think! If you have any ideas, tell me! Reviews are what keep me writing, so please keep them coming. Also if you want to, check out a one-shot I wrote called 'Dark Skies From Here On Out.' I worked pretty hard on it, though it is kind of short.

BLOOPERS:

"Do you want to do anything today?"

Mathias turned his gaze from the fire to Norway. He stared for a bit, lost in thought and deeply concentrating. A feral glint entered his eyes as he spoke,

"You."

The room was deadly silent for five minutes and counting. Norway and Mathias stared at each other. Gradually Norway's surprise turned into need and he jumped towards the Dane.

"I thought you'd never ask."