Norway sat in a darkened room with England and Romania: the Magic Trio.
Norway had asked them there because he needed to look into the future. Is magic was very old and very strong, but this was one thing he'd never been able to do.
Romania whispered words in a language that Norway could understand. The crystal ball in front of him slowly began giving off light, reflecting from Romania's red eyes.
"What do you see, Norway?" he whispered, beckoning Norway to look into the globe. His over-long canine teeth were clearly visible in his grin.
Norway looked nervously. He was not sure what he would see.
"What do you see?" England repeated after a long moment.
Norway shuddered. "Two ravens fight a chained wolf; a serpent bites its own tail as it writhes about the world; a man with one eye hangs from a tree, bleeding from a wound in his side; three sisters look into a never-ending river-"
"Enough!"
Shocked out of his reverie, Norway stopped and looked up at Romania.
"What do these images mean to you?"
Norway shook his head. "The old ways, when my people worshipped Odin and Loki and Thor…These images come from the Last Battle." His voice was distant, faint. It was so quiet that England ad to lean forward to hear him.
"Do these images mean anything to you, England?"
"Morrigan," he offered. "The War Goddess."
"War is coming, then?"
"It is already here, Romania."
Norway had been sleeping quite soundly when a knock on his door woke him.
He glanced over at Normandy (he hadn't found time to look for Iceland's old cradle, so she slept in his bed), but she was still sleeping soundly.
The knock came again. Quietly yet swiftly, Norway climbed out of bad, praying that the incessant knocking didn't wake his daughter.
He opened the door. Denmark was standing there, in his pajamas and holding a pillow.
"What do you want?" Norway hissed in a low voice.
"Can I sleep in here tonight? Like when we were kids?"
"Why?"
Denmark looked down at the floor. "I feel lonely tonight. Please, Nor?"
Norway sighed. "Yeah, come in. Just be careful of Normandy."
"Thanks, Norge," Denmark said as he climbed in bed after Norway. He snuggled up against the smaller man.
"What are you doing, Danmark?"
"I said, 'Like when we were kids,' remember?"
Another knock sounded at the door. "Faen!"Norway cursed softly as he crawled out of bed to answer it.
This time, it was a sleepy-looking Iceland, holding a stuffed puffin toy.
"Big Brother, I can't sleep."
"Do you want to sleep here tonight?"
"If you don't mind."
"Not at all. It might be a little crowded, though."
The four of them (if you count Normandy, who had slept through all of this) had just gotten settled when another knock sounded at the door.
Normandy woke up and started crying. Norway picked her up and tried to calm her and went to answer the door.
Sweden and Finland were on the other side. "Oh, good, you're awake-"Finland began, before noticing Norway's glare and Normandy's crying.
"You want to sleep here, right?"
"Yes, if it's no problem, Norja, if you-"
"Get in."
"Thank you, Norja! You are the best-"
"Shut up, Finland."
As everyone was getting settled (again), Norway sang a lullaby, and Normandy fell asleep quickly.
It was a good thing that Norway had such a large bed; otherwise, they never would have all fit. From left to right: Denmark was snuggled up against Norway, who still held Normandy, who almost punched Iceland in the nose as she turned over. In order to "save room", Finland and Sweden were snuggled close together on the other side of Iceland.
Norway lay awake for a few moments after everyone else's breathing had become slow and even with slumber. They were all together. This arrangement had not been uncommon when they were younger. But as they had grown apart, they had moved to different beds.
Now, with all of them together, it reminded Norway of more peaceful days- days that had seemed like they would last forever.
For one more night, he could pretend that they still had.