100 Days of NorIce
Prompt 35- Forgotten
FORGOTTEN (past participle of FORGET, verb): 1. Failure to remember.
2. Inadvertently neglect to attend to, do, or mention something.
"I'm sorry…"
"Do not be, it is not your fault."
"But-"
"It is not your fault, calm yourself. We will work through this."
Eiríkur Steilsson (he had been told that was his name) looked up at the strange blond man with deep blue eyes he had been told was his brother. Lukas Bondevík- why didn't they share surnames? - looked back down at him. Eiríkur felt that he could drown in those eyes.
The silver haired teen broke the gaze, his heart doing strange somersaults and his insides twisting in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. Lukas wrapped a cool arm around his shoulders, pulling up a cloth bag of (apparently) his clothes.
"Get changed," his older brother murmured. Eiríkur glanced up at him, a shiver running down his spine at Lukas' smooth voice. "I need to go and talk to the doctor."
Eiríkur nodded, and Lukas strided gracefully out of the room. Taking the bag, Eiríkur pulled out a pair of reddish brown slacks and a white dress shirt, undergarments and a pair of white half laced boots that by their size he estimates will come up to his knee. He quickly changed out of the hospital gown, glad to have it off. The clothes are comfortable and well worn- they seem to fit him perfectly, too perfectly. Are these tailor-made? Eiríkur wondered.
The door opened and the doctor walked back in, clipboard in hand. Lukas was right behind him. Eiríkur stared blankly at them, wishing beyond anything that there was more than just this empty spot in his head, weighing him down. The doctor barely looked at him, going instead to the end of the bed where he had draped the hospital gown and looking at the chart hooked onto it. Lukas moved to stand beside Eiríkur.
The doctor dully read out what was in his notes, clearly wanting to get back to whatever he was doing before (considering it was fairly late at night when he finally woke up, Eiríkur thought that the doctor just wanted to go home).
"Patient: Eiríkur Steilsson, born 17th June (no year stated), hair colour: silver, eye colour: purple, male, relatives: one brother, Lukas Bondevík. Patient has Retrograde Amnesia, the inability to remember events before a certain time, due to unknown head trauma that only the patient knows of and cannot conveniently remember."
The doctor looked up to meet Lukas' cold glare, and hastily read on, his sarcasm unappreciated.
"Patient has no memory or recollection of his life before this unknown incident which left him in a coma for three days." The doctor looked back up and added his own comment. "Because said patient only woke up a few hours ago, his only memories so far are the ones he has made since then. Be aware that because of this he may have difficulty learning new information and that he will have difficulties envisioning the future, because what we imagine the future to be is closely linked with past experiences- which the patient has no recollection of."
Lukas nodded in understanding and the doctor shuffled off after giving them the clearance to leave, calling back over his shoulder that they would need to schedule an appointment soon to see if Eiríkur's memory had improved any.
Now the amnesic teen was left alone in a room with a brother he didn't remember and a name attached to him that wasn't familiar.
Lukas held out a reddish brown, almost military jacket that matched his trousers. Eiríkur silently slipped it on, unsure of what to say. What did one say to a family member they couldn't recall? To one he had supposedly known all his life, and frustratingly didn't remember a single detail about? He knew that he was his older brother and that his name was Lukas Bondevík. That was it.
"You did not put on your ribbon tie."
The lilac eyed boy blinked, confused. "Huh?"
Lukas rummaged in the bag, pulling out a length of white cloth that the teen hadn't noticed before. Eiríkur obligingly held still as the elder tied it around his neck, under his collar. He was too busy trying not to think of the handsome face so close to his and the soft breath fluttering over his cheeks. Nimble fingers tied the bow quickly, and Lukas pulled back, smirking almost imperceptibly at the pink flush scattered on his young lover's face.
Even if his lillebror couldn't remember him, the feelings had remained.
This cut into Norway's heart a bit. Before it was replaced with silent conviction. They would make it through this. He would make sure that Iceland remembered him, that he was not a human, but a nation. That Norway would always, always be there for him. That Iceland would remember all the small things, from the light hearted mornings, to the cosy evenings, from the trips and days out they had taken together, to the times when they just stayed in and read.
"Come, let us go home."
Iceland followed him out to his car, sitting down in the passenger seat and examining the unfamiliar interior. Norway slid into the driver's seat and closed the door against the cool night air. Iceland remained quiet while Norway drove to his house. The journey was achingly long, both wanting to start a conversation, but unsure of what to say.
Norway pulled into his driveway.
"You live here?" Iceland asked him, staring up at the huge manor house. Were they…rich?
"We live here." Norway corrected. This was not entirely true, they each lived in their own countries. However, Iceland often stayed here for long periods of time when he was required for meetings as Norway was geographically a lot easier to reach for international politics than Iceland.
Norway could feel his innocent brother's gaze on him as he unlocked the door. It would be day break in a few hours, and the rest of the Nordics would then be calling him up again for news on their youngest member. Norway decided to worry about that in the morning.
"Come, follow me."
Lukas led him up a grand staircase and into a large, beautifully furnished bedroom, with a huge double bed.
Eiríkur took the offered pyjamas, changing. While he did so, his skin tingled under the weight of Lukas' stare, but he didn't dare force his older brother to look away. He didn't know the boundaries he could push. He folded up the barely worn clothes neatly and placed them on a chair for tomorrow. As he was doing this, he didn't notice Lukas changing also, although the elder forwent the pyjama shirt.
Eiríkur crawled into the double bed, not noticing that his brother had never left the room. As he curled up under the duvet, a weight sunk down the mattress next to him. Cool arms encircled him in a protective embrace and he was pulled into a firm bare chest. A face nuzzled into his neck and warm breaths tickled his collarbone. Eiríkur's face went bright red.
A low purring voice, like velvet, came from the warm darkness of the room.
"Sleep with me tonight, lillebror."
The second installment of 100 Days of NorIce is here! Just like the previous one, it's somewhat angsty. But, and I'm sure many people will agree, it is often very hard to write light-hearted fics when you can write Hurt/Comfort and Angst ones. However, I will endeavor to make sure that at least some of these posts are fluffy rather than angsty.
Quick word of thanks to my guest reviewer Smileey for taking the time to comment, and to Arisa-chan 97 for both adding my story to her favourites list and putting it on Story Alert.
The idea for 'Forgotten' is that Iceland has gotten himself into some sort of incident (whether it was accidental or some sort of attack I'll let you decide) and he sustained some amount of head trauma which has caused him to develop amnesia. Found by a human and taken to a hospital, they then identify him and contact his nearest relative (Norway).
At the moment, Iceland is under the impression that he and his whole family are human (why would he think anything different?) and then Norway (both his brother and pre-established lover) has to deal with the fallout of Iceland not only not remembering his entire life, but also his relationship with him. It sounds quite angsty, but I think this is more of a Hurt/Comfort and Family fic- along with the plot of having to fall in love with Lukas all over again.
I know that amnesia is a common plot twist, but I tried to make it realistic and do the idea justice.
Read and Review, please!
~Variegata~