Noxious [DenNor]

10.

Tension electrified the Nordic residence in its entirety.

In the living room, Emil's lanky body was sprawled across all three cushions of the sofa. A cheesy American soap opera played on the broad screen of the television set, but neither he nor Tino, who rocked by the blackened window in the wicker chair made for him by Berwald, appeared to notice.

By the time Mathias stepped inside, having blown off a considerable amount of steam after the painstaking, silent car ride home, Lukas was nowhere in sight, and why would he be? From what it looked like to Mathias, he repulsed the Norwegian.

The thought that Lukas hated him was a dull and painful din in his ears. He didn't want to accept it. After all, Mathias had done some pretty wicked things in the past. From taking advantage of the four countries he considered family, to cold blooded murder of their people. Still, until now, it always seemed that Norway was willing enough to forgive him for his wrong-doings.

And maybe this entire situation would have been a touch easier to understand had Mathias even the slightest idea what he'd done wrong in the first damn place.

He stumbled through the living room, past a napping Iceland, who lay oblivious to the rest of the world with an earbud implanted into either ear. Finland, however, was wide awake and shot to his feet the second Mathias entered the room.

"Den? What in the world happened to Norway? I haven't seem him that upset in years."

Mathias didn't falter in step, but answered in a sullen voice as he migrated towards the kitchen. "You know, I really have no idea." He swung open the refrigerator door and pulled out an unopened liter of Jolly Cola.

"I mean, first he's all over me, and then now he wants nothing to do with me. Is there something that's wrong with me, Fin?" Mathias broke off with a ragged laugh. He took an extensive swig of the sugary drink, hiccuped, then continued.

"See, Finny. He just said something that made me think it might actually have to do with me. It made me remember... something. He told me... He told me..."

Tino cut him off in a gentle, if somewhat troubled, voice. "I think you should get some rest, Den. You're slurring your words."

Denmark scoffed with a dismissive twirl of his hand. "It's not like I'm- I'm falling over or anything. I'll go to bed later, but please. Please, I just need you to listen to me."

Something in the pasty Dane's expression must have gotten to the Finnish nation, because next thing Mathias knew, he was pulling a chair out from under the table and hunkering down into it with a deep, exhausted sigh. "Alright, go on then. What is it that Norway told you this time, huh?"

Denmark squared his shoulders. The gears in his head again began to turn, effectively clearing away some of the dust and cobwebs obscuring his thoughts.

"He told me he wanted to keep me from falling in love. That- that he's trying to protect me from it or something."

At this, the exhaustion on Tino's face melted into a subtle, wary interest. "Are you sure you heard him right, Den? I wouldn't think Nor cares a thing about your love life."

Denmark gave his best shot at a sincere nod. "Yeah, but that's not the weirdest part. After that, I remembered something I've been trying to remember the entire day." Never mind that they were already well into the early hours of the following morn. A quick glance at the glowing, neon green clock on the oven told Mathias that it was roughly 3:24 A.M.- the latest he'd stayed up in ages. Even so, whether it be that he was too drunk or that he had somehow ascended into a point of despair beyond possible exhaustion, he couldn't say he was tired.

He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. He was having a great and sudden deal of trouble meeting Finland's expectant eyes. It was only after an extensive silence that Finland, in all his boundless patience, spoke up.

"What did you remember? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but you seem to want to get it off of your chest, yeah?"

So trusting. So kind. Mathias's pressed his lips together and, at last, allowed himself to peek up into Finland's eyes.

The moon-faced country hadn't been getting much sleep lately; that much was apparent by the dark circles ringing his eyes. From planning his upcoming wedding to keeping the rest of the Nordic countries in check, and raising a rambunctious, young micronation on top of it all, the poor man must have been falling asleep on his feet by day. Mathias didn't understand why he wasn't curled up in bed beside Berwald, fast asleep, but he was also immensely grateful for his company right then.

So grateful, in fact, that he knew as soon as Tino asked him what it was that he remembered, he knew for a fact that he had no choice but to spill his story.

He screwed the cap back onto the soda bottle, set it aside, and pulled himself up to sit on the ice-cold countertop.

And then, slowly so as not to slur his words, he began.

"We've all done bad things in the past, haven't we, Fin? All five of us have. Especially me, though. I've done so many terrible, disgusting things that I didn't even think twice about before or after I did 'em. Like- like murder."

Tino cringed, round eyes falling to the linoleum tiles beneath his fuzzy, cornflower blue slippers. Mathias's stare, roaming the terrains of his ancient past, remained as unrelenting as when he had began.

"We've all done it, but this one time... I was just a kid, really. I didn't know what I was doing or why I did it, except that it earned me the respect and admiration of my men. Gosh, I think this was before I'd even met you. But there was an old lady. An old hag, really. Man, this was so long ago... I don't remember everything she said, to be honest. I just remember the sound of screaming. A lot of screaming, coming from outside her hut, then from her. I think she told me to kill her. She wanted to die, I guess so that she could, you know- go with her people." Mathias's fists were clenched, bone white knuckles folded in his lap. He took a long, quavering breath, then continued.

"I didn't want to be told what to do. Just like me, you know? I told her that I wouldn't kill her, that I would keep her alive, and after that... I don't remember much. I remember watching the color, dark brown, draining out of her eyes. Voi luoja... That gave me nightmares for months." He shook his head. "After that, she just... died. But she told me something before she did. It was- Well, you know how people back then were super superstitious? I think she was trying to put a curse or something on me. Because her last words were something... Something like..." He felt his body go rigid. God dammit! He knew the words, had thought of them since the second he'd gotten into Norway's car, yet they somehow evaded him now.

He gritted his teeth and slicked a hand back through his hair. "She told me that I couldn't- that I would cause the death-"

A deep, melodious voice interrupted from the doorway, and Mathias was quite certain that, in that moment, his heart skipped a beat.

Norway's lithe figure emerged from the shadows of the living room. Half of his pale, inscrutable face reflected the blue light from the television screen. "She told you that your true love would fall at your hands... If I'm not mistaking."