Ek Eleska Ykkr

*7*

Two weeks had passed. Two weeks that Hauk refused to leave his parents' sides. He was always with at least one of them. Whether it was Sweden or Finland, though he seemed to favor his mother.

In those two weeks, both boys had grown. At the time Finland had found them, they had been the physical age of seven. Now they seemed to be around ten. Hauk had also lost a front tooth, leaving him gap-toothed. Finland found it adorable when he smiled. Bjørn was going above and beyond with his 'big scary older brother' look. Every time Finland would try to bring up what had happened in the meeting, Bjørn would always be there to intervene.

Finland had just about had enough of it. He was supposed to be able to comfort and talk to his child! He shouldn't be barred from speaking to him. The Fin let out a frustrated sigh as the older of his sons crossed his arms and stood in the doorway of their bedroom.

"Please! All I want to do is talk to him about it!"

"He doesn't want to talk about it." Finland balled his fists at his side. Gods, why was this child so stubborn? "Besides, it's not the most comfortable subject to talk about. Leave him alone for a little!"

"I have! I have left him alone for a little bit, but Hauk's not going to get any better if this continues!" Still, the boy didn't budge. If anything, he stood more defiant than before. "Bjørn, I'm asking you as your mother, please let me in."

Sweden crossed his arms. He knew better than to intervene between the two. Bjørn was just as aggressive as his mother. The situation was starting to annoy him, though. It wasn't supposed to take this long to see Hauk. The older twin simply refused to let them in, insisting that he was perfectly capable of protecting the younger. 

"Bjørn," the boy met his father's gaze and, for a split second, his confidence wavered. "We know that you're capable of. We're saying, as your parents, we must protect and comfort our children."

The boy shook his head, pushing back a strand of dark brown hair back behind his ear. Both nations could see tears bubble up in his eyes. "Then where were you? If you cared for us, where were you? When that... that monster attacked, where were you? When we fled to the natives for shelter, where were you? When we returned to camp after the snows melted the camp, the place we belonged was abandoned! So, tell me, where were you?"

"We thought you were dead!" The Finn cried, making gestures with his hands that Sweden found very confusing. "We-we looked for ages and never found you. We were crushed! We couldn't stay in that place without you! If at any point in time I had found out you were alive, I would have fought off England and France. I would have defended you with my life!"

"But you didn't!" Now Bjørn was yelling back. The tears had left his eyes. "You didn't protect us or fight off England and France. You call yourself our 'Äiti', our mother, and yet you were the one to abandon us. To leave us alone in unfamiliar territory! You didn't come back for us! You didn't comfort us then, you will not comfort us now!" 

Sweden laid a hand on his son's shoulder. The boy stilled. Bending down to his level, Sweden looked him straight in the eyes. Though the dark-skinned nation tried to keep composure, Sweden could see right through it. "Bjørn, listen to us. We only want to help. We'll never do anythin' to hurt you again. I understand how easy 't is to feel like there 's no one in the world lookin' out for you, but we 're here. So, please, let us see Hauk. We'll get through this together." 

Bjørn looked back to the bedroom door. Two small knocks hit the wood from the other side. He sighed. "Yes, Far. You guys can come in." Finland gripped the boy's hand tightly as they walked in. 

The room was dark. The curtains were drawn and the lights were off. Finland noticed the small bundle under the blankets. He sighed and sat relatively close. Sweden and Bjørn took a seat on the other side of the bed. Gently, Finland rubbed the covered child's back. "Hauk," He kept his voice a whisper. "It's me. Your Äiti. You can come out now."

The blankets shuffled and Hauk poked his head out. His cheeks were wet with tears and his mouth curved into an unnatural looking frown. Finland sighed and hooked his hands under the boy's arms, pulling him up and closer to his parents. "Why were you guys fightin' out there?" Bjørn tried to protest but Hauk cut him off with a half menacing look. "Don't think I didn't hear, brother."

Sighing, Finland rubbed the boy's dark hair and wiped the tears off his ey "Oh, honey, it wasn't a fight. It was a... creative discussion."

"Right," Hauk said with a roll of his eyes. "So you weren't yelling about how much you tried to be there for us and you weren't arguing  seven feet away."

"Wha-"

"Seven feet is a little over two meters," Hauk said before the question left his mother's mouth. Furrowing his brow, he thought. "I think. I don't know, I could be wrong on that." 

Sweden was just barely about to speak up when the doorbell rang downstairs. Both parents shared a look before the Fin got up, reassuring the boys that he'd be right back, and left to get the front door. As soon as he left, Hauk turned to his older sibling, a small grin on his face. The Swede was surprised by the sudden 180 of his mood. 

"Hey, Bjørn," the other boy hummed. "Who do you think is at the door? I think it's the pineapple man from the meeting. Or maybe Russia! he was nice!"

Bjørn grumbled to himself. Footsteps on the stairs sounded and, not moments later, Finland appeared in the doorway. "Hey boys," he said, a smile on his face. "Your uncles are here to see you." 

(Haha, late as ever! I'm sorry, but writer's block was being a BITCH!

~Random Introvert)