Sov Gott

Small Footsteps

Sealand sunk his teeth into the sandwich Finland had made him, smiling as the flavors hit his tongue. His legs dangled over the edge of his chair, and they swung gently back and forth as he ate. Finland came up behind him and placed his hand on Sealand's shoulder, a cheerful expression crossing his face as the boy ate.

"How is it?" Finland asked, to which Sealand responded with a thumbs-up, due to having his mouth full. "That's very good. You need a strong diet to grow into a strong adult," Finland stated, and Sealand nodded in agreement.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, what is it, Sealand?" Finland's tone was gentle and kind as he prodded Sealand though the thought of Sealand's reaction was bringing a sense of dread over Finland's mind.

"When can we visit uncles Norway and Denmark and Iceland?"

Finland was relieved that he was standing behind Sealand, otherwise, his facial expression would have given away far more than he would have preferred.

"Your uncles are very busy right now. We won't be able to visit them for quite some time," he responded, choosing his words carefully.

"How long is 'quite some time' though?" Sealand pressed, taking a frustrated bite out of his sandwich and chewing aggressively.

"Enough time for them to collect themselves. They're stressed in what they're doing, so we need to give them space and wait for them to approach us." Finland's voice was welcoming, calm and smooth, a stark contrasting to Sealand's growing frustration.

"But I want to visit them now!" Sealand whined, furrowing his eyebrows as he pouted. Finland became rather stern and raised his voice.

"Now Peter, you can't simply barge in! You need to be patient. Why don't we play Vikings tonight, you always love that," Finland suggested, trying to change the subject. Alas, this attempt was utterly worthless.

"That game's only fun when all of the Nordics play, though," Sealand reminded in his whiny voice, sighing. "Uncle Den always makes the coolest forts to hide in, and Norway always uses some crazy magic stuff against you and Iceland is so sneaky that he just walks right by you and captures the monastery immediately and―"

He was cut off abruptly by Finland. "You mentioned forts. Have you ever made one just for fun?" Finland asked this to amuse Sealand, for he already knew the Micronation's answer.

"Of course, I build some of the awesomest forts ever, second only to Denmark!"

"Maybe we can build a huge fort and send a picture to Denmark, I'm sure it would make his day," Finland paused, watching as this idea stuck strong in Sealand's mind. "We can make a bigger and better one than he's ever made. Then maybe the picture could convince him to visit."

And so Sealand and Finland got to it. Chairs, blankets, sheets, and pillows were sacrificed to build the ultimate fort in their living room. When Sweden came back home, the two were nowhere to be found. That is until a crumpled up piece of paper hit him in the head. Playing clueless, he pretended to act as though he were questioning where from the paper had flown, despite the crack in the blankets that allowed him to see Sealand and Finland's eyes peeking out, watching him. He straightened out the piece of paper and flattened it, almost smiling at what the image depicted.

It was a crude form of the Nordic five, including Sealand and Mr. Puffin and Hantamango, with little flags displaying their identities in case their faces were not distinguishable to the viewer. In the drawing, it read "min familj" over Sweden, Finland, and Sealand's heads.

Sensing the obvious intent of the thrown paper and the hope of the little child, Sweden walked out to the living room where the fort was, along the way making small side comments such as "where did the chair go?" or "I know that couch has a pillow" and the likes. Finally, when he reached the fort he stood back and admired it. "My, who could have possibly made this amazing fort?"

Sealand burst out of the small opening and ran up to Sweden, "Fin and I built it! Isn't it cool?"

"It's amazing," Sweden said, resting his hand on Sealand's head gently. Sealand hugged the only part of Sweden that he was able to reach entirely. Basically meaning that Sealand's arms were wrapped tightly around Sweden's legs.

Finland emerged from the fort, smiling at Sweden as he approached. After pecking Sweden's cheek softly in greeting, Finland sighed and tried to release the blatant tension collected in his muscles.

Sweden knew something was wrong immediately. He sent Sealand to the fort, asking him to put out a board game inside of it for the three of them to play. Once Sealand had zoomed off to his room to pick a game Sweden turned his body and attention to Finland. In an almost undetectable volume, Sweden asked the simple, one-word phrase that would confirm his suspicions. "Denmark?"

Finland nodded before explaining in an equally hushed voice. "He wants to see Denmark. I can't find the words to describe the situation to him properly, so I just attempted to distract him for the time being."

"Best to keep him unaware for as long as possible, but he has to know at some point," Sweden pulled Finland into an embrace, giving them a slightly longer time to speak before Sealand returned. "Meeting went well, the security's grown."

"Oh, so you finally convinced your leader to increase the police force?" Finland said, almost pulling out of Sweden's arms at his companion's comment.

"Yes, your leader joined as well. I only had to turn on the television to convince them."

Finland felt a wave of relief crash over him. If there was increased police in both of their countries, then it was possible that they could avoid the attackers that had taken Denmark, making both themselves and Sealand safer by technicality. When Sealand approached they broke apart and began to play the board game. As their pieces went across the board and the dice were rolled, Finland couldn't help but wonder if there would ever be a good chance to inform Sealand of what was happening. Maybe when the boy was older, more mature.

However, as Finland watched Sealand's character progress over the board, he couldn't help but feel the strings of a parent stretching in his heart. He didn't want Sealand to become yet another pawn in the game of politics and power, he wanted to shelter him and cradle him and forever hold on to these simple moments.

Alas, nothing lasts forever.