May of 1945
He couldn't believe what he had heard, but the radio just kept repeating it.
An Allied victory. Germany was defeated.
Mathias turned to Lukas with wide eyes, but Lukas was still only focused on the radio.
Hitler was dead. The Third Reich ended.
An Allied victory.
It wasn't until Emil touched Lukas' arm that he looked back at them.
"We need to go," Lukas told them in a quick, low voice.
By the time they reached the house, the full meaning of what they had just heard had sunk in and Mathias was practically bouncing in his seat. Tino would be so excited to hear the news.
As soon as they pulled to a stop, he flew out of the car and ran to the door.
"Turn on the radio!" he bellowed. "Turn on the radio!"
Tino, who had been reading peacefully on the couch with Hana, dropped the book and nearly threw the small dog off his lap as he shrieked.
Mathias spotted the radio on the table beside him and lunged for it. Tino cowered away, squeezing his eyes shut until he heard the radio turn on. There was a moment of incomprehensible static before Mathias found the news station.
"What the hell's goin' on?" Berwald demanded as he descended the stairs quickly with Ludwig in tow.
"Shh, listen!" Mathias hissed, waving his hand dismissively for him to be quiet.
Lukas and Emil entered through the door that Mathias had left open. As Berwald and Ludwig reached the bottom of the stairs, the Swede arched an eyebrow at Lukas, but only received an anxious glance.
Then, the words echoed through the small room. Allied victory. The Battle of Berlin had ended and Hitler had committed suicide. The British had taken the unconditional military surrender of all German forces in Denmark, and at the end of April, the Germans had been forced out of Finland. May 8th was declared V-Day. Victory Day.
Tino clamped his hand over his mouth, tears streaming down his cheeks. When Mathias looked at him they embraced each other tightly, and he realized he was crying, too. Lukas didn't looked as relieved, since the German forces from Finland had retreated back into Norway, but he held Emil when the youngest fell against his chest.
The broadcast continued to repeat the news over and over again; it was almost impossible to believe.
After a moment, however, Mathias realized that one was now missing. Ludwig was gone.
Berwald was looking towards the door, but made no movement to go after him. It was probably best. He would need time to think. He was still a German, after all. He had fought for that cause. Maybe he had even believed in it. Mathias mumbled a curse, but when Tino looked up at him, he hugged him tighter.
Once everything had calmed down for the night, Mathias was heading towards his bedroom when he saw the door on the left opened, and spotted Tino and Lukas sitting on either side of Emil. They weren't speaking, but they seemed to be trying to comfort him.
Mathias kicked off his boots and entered the room. They all looked up at him as he climbed beside Emil and Lukas. The Norwegian pushed him away slightly, shielding Emil and making Tino laugh a little. A few minutes later, Berwald came up the stairs too, and paused just as Mathias had done before entering once he received a nod from Emil. He climbed on the bed beside Tino, and the Icelander tentatively offered him the small puffin that he slept with. Berwald inspected where he had patched and stitched it, and then nodded in satisfaction and handed it back.
Then, the last person came up the stairs, and everyone tensed slightly. Ludwig looked in after noticing Mathias' boots in the hallway, and his red eyes widened a bit to see them all crowded together on the two beds they had pushed together. He seemed hesitant to enter the room, but Berwald held out his hand and Tino patted a spot on the bed while Mathias offered him a grin. Slowly, a weak hint of a smile crossed his lip, and he joined them. They all sat a little closer and though they didn't say much, there was something comforting in just being together. Although, this time when they parted, Mathias didn't think it would be as hard; there wouldn't be a war to worry about this time.
"What's going to happen now?" Emil asked in a strangely small voice.
For once, he looked like a frightened child rather than a teenager who knew everything.
"We're going home," Lukas told him, and smiled a little. "All of us."
"Oh," he dropped his head a little.
"Emil, you can come," Mathias chimed in. "You can live with Lukas and me, in Sweden!"
Lukas cast him a look, but he figured it was because he had wanted to be the one to invite him.
"Really?" he looked up, and then turned to Lukas. "You…want me to go with you?"
"Of course we do," Lukas said, his eyes soft and sentimental.
Emil glanced at him before frowning a little. "Well, fine. But it was your idea."
Mathias grinned and leaned forward, swinging his arms out wide and gathering everyone he could into a large hug. Emil complained, but to his surprise, Berwald wrapped his long arms around everyone he couldn't reach, and they clasped each other's hands behind Tino and Emil.
"Group hug!" he cheered happily.
"Idiot, let go!" Lukas said, elbowing him.
The hug only lasted another second before Berwald pulled back and everyone was released. Still, it made Mathias smile. He wished he had a picture of this, of them all together. This felt like their own kind of Victory Day.
A lot of things were about to change.