NorwayxReader - For Them

The snow crunched under the soles of your boots as you walked. The air was cold, and the wind blowing wasn't helping matters either, but you didn't care. Even if your long, thick dark blue cloak hadn't been covering your form, your boiling blood was enough to keep you warm. Snowflakes blown by the wind stuck to the skin of your face that wasn't covered by the mask of bandages that covered your mouth. 

A sudden gust of wind pulled your cloak open, revealing your long lighter blue long-sleeved tunic and dark brown pants, and you pulled your cloak back around you. Why am I bothering? You wondered to yourself. Why am I wasting my time to do this?

Then you remembered why.

"Stóri bróðir!"

"Goddamn it... it's all my fault... everyone keeps leaving me..." 

For them.

Always for them. 

You hiked faster, trudging through the snow.

---

You had reached your destination.

You stood before a tall, wooden door. It was smooth, and it gleamed despite the amount of years it no doubt had seen.

Raising a fist to the wood, you knocked. You shifted, pulling your hood down and pulling the mask of bandages down as well, so he could see your face. 

It took a moment, but the door opened slowly. Your face might as well been a mask as well, for all the emotions you showed as Lukas appeared once the door was open entirely.

"(Country)." 

(Country).

Not (Name). Not (Name), the one who had helped him comfort Iceland when Sweden and Finland had left. Not (Name), the one who had been with him for who knows how long. Not (Name), the one who had cleaned his wounds. Not (Name), the one whose wounds he had cleaned. Just (Country), one of the two countries still under Denmark's rule. 

Well, you would treat him the same way. "Norway." 

He stared at you. You stared back, eyes hidden by bangs and strands of hair that had fallen loose on your hike. 

"What is it you want?" He asked coolly.

No response.

"If Denmark (Denmark, not Mathias. Not his brother, not his family, just Denmark, just another stupid country who couldn't keep his mouth shut.) sent you here to try and make me come back-"

You raised your hand.

Smack

The force of your slap was enough to send the stoic, powerful magic-user stumbling into the wall. He put a hand to his face, now beginning to turn red, staring at you with mild surprise as you lifted your eyes up to meet his, glaring at him with all the pent up rage you had ever felt in your entire, centuries long life.

"What was that for?" He hissed, glaring at you. 

You merely continued glaring at him for a moment, before your lips parted, and two words escaped. "For them." 

"Stóri bróðir!"

"Goddamn it... it's all my fault... everyone keeps leaving me..." 

"You left." You spat. "You left - you left in the middle of the night. You didn't say goodbye. You didn't tell anyone. You fucking asshole-" you sucked in a breath, before letting it out alongside all the words of rage. "You didn't tell him! You left your little brother without saying a single word to him! You fucking coward, do you know what he did when he found out you had left?" Without waiting for any response, you continued. "He cried, damnit! He cried for you, and you weren't there, and Mathias couldn't help me comfort him because he was too busy crying too! Only he did it alone, behind his door, because he was too ashamed to let us see! The only reason I knew he was crying was because when I was passing by his room, I heard him! I heard him, crying for you, crying for Tino and Berwald and Emil and you know what else? He blames himself! He's blaming himself for things that you all chose to do! And before you say anything, I know he was way out of line when he took control over us all, but it's not like he actually had a choice! It was his boss, damnit! His boss, not him! He's a person too, you know that, right? Of course you don't, because you never actually bothered to look past his exterior and see how much pain he was in when you all left him!" You grabbed him by his collar and shook him furiously, ignoring his struggles to break away. Your anger was giving you strength, so you managed to keep your grip. "Emil and I are the only ones he has left now! He's so close - so close to breaking! Goddamnit, I walked in on him just this morning, and you know what I saw? He was just lying on his bed, crying his eyes out, and then Emil came in and saw him, and he started crying too! I had to comfort both of them, and no one else was there!" 

You dropped him, and he staggered back, looking at you in disbelief. "I didn't come here to guilt you into coming back." You spat. "Mathias doesn't know I'm here. The reason I came was to tell you how much damage you caused, and that even if Emil and Mathias both forgive you - because they both love you that much, even if you are completely undeserving of that love - I will never, ever forget what you did to them both." 

"Oh, and you're saying you love them more than I do?" He spat scathingly. "That you're staying with them both because your love for them is stronger than anything I could ever feel for them?"

"No. That's not what I'm saying." You stepped closer, leaning into his face so close your noses almost touched. "I'm saying that I love them enough that I will never, ever forgive anyone that causes them both that much pain."

And with that, you turned around and walked away from him, heading back to the place that was now only a home to three people. Back to the people that depended on you now more than anything.

You had done that for them.

For the child that had soaked your shirt and his own in tears upon discovering his "Stóri bróðir" had disappeared.

For the man that had locked himself in his room and cried with no one to comfort him.

For the child that had remained completely inconsolable and wailed endlessly for his brother to return to him. 

For the man that had held you close to him and cried on your shoulder, fearing you would disappear just as the others had despite your reassurances that you would not.

For them.

Always for them.