Crosspost.
Thank you to CardCatCardboard (ao3) for the beta!
Now presenting: "thaw", a Frozen-inspired Hetalia AU
Beware of the glass child.
They resemble any other child, but are made of sharp glass shards that slice into anyone if they get too close…
-"Tales", by the Story DJ
Ice is cold. It's pretty. It's harsh. It feels nice on a hot day, but can quickly turn on whatever touches it for too long, chilling them to the bone until they can't feel their fingers.
Most people don't want to spend too long in a place surrounded by something that can hurt them.
Except him
Arendelle was a bit of a lonely place.
Sure, there was plenty to do. Playing in the snow during the winter, fishing on the coast during the summer. The isolated kingdom was small, but it thrived with energy.
Inside the city walls, at least. Beyond the walls, it was quiet. Few ventured out of the city. Most who did chose to travel by boat.
Not many dared to hike the steep mountains that made up Arendelle's only connection to land. Miners, foresters, hunters, and ice harvesters–those were the people found roaming the rough terrain of the mountains that formed the kingdom's natural borders.
Mathias had to wonder, then, why on earth someone like Tino lived all the way out here.
The prince of Arendelle had been surprised the first time he'd come trudging through the snow, woefully less prepared than he should have been for the weather, when he'd seen the sturdy log building that made up the supply store. He'd stumbled in, chilled from the cold, to a beaming smile, a fresh mug of hot cocoa, and plenty of much-needed winter gear, all for a surprisingly reasonable price.
And homemade furniture, created by "my business partner. He's off cutting down trees for more wood, you should meet him sometime! Oh, do you like saunas?"
The next time he'd returned, he'd met Berwald, running right into the man just in front of the store. After some misunderstanding, Tino had come out and dragged Mathias in for cookies before sending him on his way.
But maybe Tino's situation wasn't as strange as to why the heir of a kingdom made frequent trips to a lonely mountain, far away from his warm castle, to a small cabin in the woods with a single occupant.
This time was no different.
Mathias had already stopped by Tino and Berwald's, arms laden with freshly-baked pastries. Now he stood in front of a well-worn cabin door, waiting for his knock to be answered.
He shivered. It was cold, but that was normal. Even in the middle of summer, it was cold on the mountain.
The door opened, and warmth engulfed Mathias as he stepped inside. The door was quickly shut behind him, lest the heat escape.
"Hey," Mathias grinned at the pale blond in front of him. "How're you doing?"
"Up and not crying," Lukas said dryly.
He was wearing a scarf and coat, even indoors in such a warm place. Mathias kept his own coat on, though the heat was starting to become uncomfortable.
There was no fireplace in teh fireplace, only the embers of heated coal.
"How is–"
"Same as always."
"Oh. And the–"
"Nothing much has changed, Mathias. Now, are we going or not?"
Mathias huffed. "Yeah, yeah. Think our peace offering'll be accepted?"
Lukas reached down and retrieved a small bag, which he slung across his shoulders.
"Who made them?"
"Tino." The two returned to the cold world outside, leaving the warmth of the cabin. "Using the recipe I gave him, of course.."
"Huh."
"I'm not trying to poison anyone!"
"You're being noisy again."
The walk was cold. A wind had picked up, and Mathias was ever thankful that he'd been smart and brought his gloves and hat.
Lukas seemed to hold little regard for his ears, which were fully exposed to the cold. But at least this time, he kept the scarf around his neck and his gloves on his hands. The scarf had been a gift from Tino, when the shorter man had come to visit last. The gloves, they were a necessity.
It wasn't a far distance, but in the blank whiteness, it felt longer than it really was.
Behind them, evening mist had started to drift in. In front of them, a shimmering staircase of ice wound its way up the side of a cliff.
It was not slippery. The staircase was unnatural, man-made in nature. Snow seemed to fall through it, and surely nothing should have been able to step on it without it breaking, but as Mathias and Lukas ascended, the staircase held their weight with ease.
This was not their first time here, after all. If it had been unstable, they would have fallen into the deep valley below a long time ago.
In silence, they climbed, following the winding stairs higher and higher until they reached the very top of the mountain. A palace of the same ice as the stairs graced the top, intricate florals and shimmering ice blending together under the sunset's light. The only disruption to the mystical scene was the large mound of snow to one side, which unfurled into a scowling face as the two men approached.
Without missing a beat, Lukas reached over and slipped one of the pastries from Mathias' arms before tossing it towards the creature. It opened its mouth just in time to catch the treat, seeming to accept it as it returned to its previous position. But not before letting out a loud bellow that seemed to shake the very mountain they were on.
They continued on towards the front doors of the castle. Their feet made crunching noises in the untouched snow, and Mathias swore that he felt the temperature drop the closer he got to the icy palace.
iCrunch, crunch, crunch./i
They were in front of the doors. Lukas stepped forward, raised his hand, and knocked softly on the icy door, the sound vibrating through the air.
They didn't need to knock. The creature's bellow was more then good enough of a doorbell.
Lukas knocked anyways.
He stepped back, just in front of Mathias.
And then they waited.
Mathias shivered. His nose wasn't quite protected by the wind, but he had no way to cover it from the chilly air. He'd have to warm it later and hope his nose didn't start running.
They waited.
He'd always wondered how Lukas could stand the cold the way he did. Maybe it was from being around such a lifeless, barren place for so long–acclimation, or whatever it was called. Adaptation? Yeah, that sounded right.
They waited some more.
Mathias' gaze traveled away from the door, across to the view of the surrounding lands. Just beyond, he could just make out the lights of Arendelle. They stood out in the light of the setting sun. The surrounding ocean reflected the light of the sky above, the waters in shades of purples and ambers.
Another chill blew past, and he flinched.
And then the doors finally creaked open. A pale face peered out from behind, a slim figure clad in a suit of both icicles and cloth just about visible. He was younger then Mathias, though his silver hair made him look much older then he really was.
Violet eyes narrowed.
"Do you have nothing better to do?" he hissed at them. "Coming up here to disturb my peace and quiet?"
"We brought pastries," Lukas told him, ignoring the boy's frosty words entirely. "Are you going to let us in?"
The boy scowled. "Name a good reason."
"You haven't eaten in two days."
The door started to close. Lukas nudged it open with his foot, and all but dragged Mathias inside before it could be shut again.
"Hey–"
"Ice prince or not, you can't live off nothing but frozen water. Besides," Lukas smirked over his shoulder at the glare he was receiving, "I thought you liked having visits from people, no?"
"What visitors? No one dares to climb the mountain."
"Us, obviously." This time it was Mathias who spoke. He received a brush of cold air for his words, but kept on grinning, though his teeth chattered.
Lukas by now was leading them away from the entrance and towards the center of the palace. Mathias followed. They passed through archways of shimmering ice, alternating from blue to purple to pink, and back to blue again, as if trying to mimic the sky outside.
Maybe it was, but Mathias had seen the vibrant colors in both the day and night. He knew that the magic flowed through the walls, and the colors were most definitely intentional.
They always had been.
There was a small alcove, just off the center of the palace. Here there was a table and benches, all made of ice and snow, upon which Lukas placed the box of pastries.
The man's ears were red from the cold. Mathias was fairly certain that Lukas hadn't even noticed.
The pastries were nudged in the direction of the frowning teenager.
"Emil. Eat. They are not poisoned, I can assure you." Lukas said.
"Who made them?"
"I did."
Lukas took one and bit into it. Emil watched him closely, and when nothing happened, cautiously took one for himself. His ungloved hands tensed at the warmth of the treats, fingers tightening in surprise, but he still brought the food to his lips.
Mathias thought he saw frost gathering around his fingertips.
The teen chewed and swallowed. Mathias blinked, and the frost was gone. The cold was getting to him, probably.
"Hmph."
"Oh! And I brought you that drink you said you liked, too." Lukas continued as he pulled a bottle from his pocket, a yogurt drink common to find all over Arendelle.
"You didn't have to. I don't like that stuff." Emil took the bottle anyways, carefully avoiding touching Lukas' gloved hand as he did so.
Mathias sighed internally, and took a pastry for himself. He was cold, but dammit he was hungry after hiking all that way.
"How've you been up here?" Lukas prodded as Emil picked at his food.
"Fine," the teen grumbled.
"Did you want anything? There's a ship coming in next week, we can reserve–"
"No."
"Got it, I'll have them save you a nice coat."
"No gloves."
"Of course not," Lukas agreed.
"And no hats either."
"Earmuffs, then?"
"Get some yourself." Emil gestured at Lukas with his pastry in hand. "You'll lose your hearing with those things sticking out like that. Though maybe then you'll learn to leave me alone–"
His flailing hand made contact with Lukas' arm, the man having reached up to feel his ears. Emil jerked back, dropping the treat as he clutched his hand to his chest and stumbled back, eyes wide.
Where Emil had touched him, ice had crawled up Lukas' sleeve.
To his credit, Lukas didn't seem to be too concerned, examining it before shrugging it off and reaching for another pastry.
Mathias stepped forward in concern, but Lukas waved him off. "It's my arm, not my heart. You know how it is."
"Lukas–"
"Get– don't come nearer, you punk–! He's right, you should–You should get it checked, go to Tino and Berwald's–"
"I'll be fine. I have layers."
"Lukas–"
"Hmm, I wonder if these would taste better with berries inside? That might be something to consider…"
The walls had lost their tint of blue, the shades deepening from purple to pink.
"You– you should leave. You should really leave."
Mathias had already begun to back away. He knew what was coming next. This wasn't the first time.
Ice was dangerous. Beautiful, majestic, but in such a state as it was now–
This was usually when they'd either try to diffuse the situation, or do as Emil requested and get the hell out of there. But…
Lukas cocked his head to the side, watching Emil thoughtfully. "Hmm."
"What are you– What are you doing– Hey! Wait–"
Lukas had reached out and pulled Emil into a hug.
The walls were rapidly becoming darker in color, nearly crimson. Lukas laughed, and Mathias was sure that the other man had finally gone insane.
Frosty icicles were spreading, across the floor, around Lukas, over their heads.
"Let me go! What–Mathias, get out of here! It's not safe!"
Still, he watched. He couldn't move–he didn't want to.
Lukas rested his chin on top of Emil's head and let out a small chuckle. Frost began to coat his lightly shaved chin.
"I'm surprised I didn't notice it earlier," he mused. "I did, a few weeks ago. But…I had to…be sure."
"Sure of what? Lukas, get off of me! You shouldn't–I don't want a new statue in my dining room!"
"Figure it…out. You….know what…to do."
Lukas was freezing over. The ice was spreading, creeping up his arms, his face.
Mathias looked down and his boots had been frozen to the floor, tendrils of crimson ice wrapped over the tops. Behind him, the central room throbbed with energy.
"Guys–"
"I…love you….Em…"
"Lukas! No, please–"
The sounds of ice being frozen. The pure white of unnatural and untouched ice. The crimson turning amber, before being replaced by a deep purple.
A loud cry of desperation, grief flowing out so loudly and so strongly that Mathias felt it to his bones.
Silence.
Stillness.
Mathias, his heartbeat in his ears. Emil, still wrapped in his brother's embrace. Lukas, his frozen face eternally preserved in icy contentedness.
It was like a photograph. No one moved. Mathias barely dared to breathe. And–
And then, tears.
Warm tears, though to be impossible from such a cold existence. And yet…
Mathias wanted to move. He wanted to run, and to not look back. Hide away in his warm palace halls next to the comforting fire. Hide in the homely kitchen of a small mountain store in the woods.
But…
He wanted to reach forward, bring the two cold people in front of him close to his warm chest, thaw the frost keeping them apart.
"Lukas…No…please…"
Lukas' frozen form made no response.
"You idiot, you– you punk, you–"
Broken sobs, pushing themselves out from behind an icy wall meant to keep others out.
"I- I love you, why–"
And then, another crack. This time, of breaking ice.
For a moment, the surroundings were tinted with pink, but then, eyes were drawn to where the crack had sounded from.
There were gasps. Of fear, of shock–
Of relief, as the ice melted away to reveal soft blue cloth, gentle hands clad in black gloves, a scarf knitted with care. Indigo eyes slowly opened from behind pale eyelids, and the frozen smile was replaced by a warm one.
Mathias watched as the teen's watery eyes met his brother's proud ones.
"Lu– Lukas…?" Emil whispered. "I–how–"
"It seems I was right after all."
"But–"
A hand pointed at the table. Gazes turned to a single box of pastries and a bottle of yogurt, the only thing untouched by the ice around them.
Lukas smirked and waited. At first, there was nothing but confusion.
"Think, Emil." he said quietly. "What just happened?"
"You tried to run a suicide mission?"
"Think harder.
He thought. And then…
A realization.
"I'm…" Emil drew in a sharp breath. "I…I can reverse it…"
He looked up at Lukas, who nodded once. That was all it took for Emil to collapse into Lukas' hold, and–
Suddenly, Mathias was free. He could move his feet again, and he wasted no time in joining his brothers. Lukas was grinning, Emil was laughing. Mathias–
Mathias was fucking ifreezing/i.
"Alright, enough of this. Let's get out of here! We're headed to Tino's sauna, and getting out of this freezer of a house, because unlike Prince Icicles and Popsicle Boy here, isome/i of us aren't immune to the cold!" Mathias declared, pulling at both of his brothers' arms.
"My yogurt–"
"Bring it, feed it to your snowpet, whatever. I want a hot bath and a sauna, and one of you–" he glanced at Lukas, "-needs to put on a hat, and the other–" he glanced at Emil, "-needs to eat because no offense bro, but you are iliterally/i a walking piece of licorice right now and will definitely blow away the moment we walk outside."
"Who said I was leaving?!"
"No one, but don't tell me you don't want hot chocolate after a year of living in an icebox," Mathias told him.
"Mr. Puffin–"
"Will be fine, he can follow us or stay, it doesn't matter, now c'mon!"
Mathias squeezed his way past the ice in the doorway, turning around in time to see Emil casually reach a hand out and– reversing the ice, leaving the doorway open for both him and Lukas to walk through.
Oh. Oops.
"I should've frozen his mouth shut before he knew I could unfreeze him," Emil grumbled to Lukas. Lukas snickered.
"Hey–"