Noxious [DenNor]

2.

There that voice is again. Could it be... What is Nor doing awake right now? It's almost two in the morning.

Mathias rolled over with a deep sigh filtering from between his lips. For the second time that night, he had been awakened by the sound of hushed voices in the next room over... Which just so happened to be Lukas' room. Who, he wondered, could be so important to the Norwegian that he would stay up into the early hours of morning just to talk with them?

He laid there for another fifteen minutes or so, waiting for the muffled voices to stop so that he could get some well-deserved rest. It was a tough life, losing a word game five times to a sixteen year old... Okay, so maybe Emil was much older than he appeared, but that did not stop Mathias from considering him little more than a teenager.

When the voices continued, he figured that he had no other choice. He gave a long, resigned groan before peeling the covers off of himself and stumbling through the darkness of his bedroom and out into the hallway. Golden light filtered from beneath Lukas' door, leaving no doubt in his mind that it was him who was keeping him awake.

"Norge." He pressed his face into the corner of the door, pushing his voice through the thin crack between the frame and door itself.

There was a brief moment of silence before he heard a vaguely familiar voice say something along the lines of,"Well, fine then!"

He was just beginning to consider barging in when the door swung open to reveal Lukas, dresesd in silken black pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt that was much too large for his thin frame. "What are you doing awake?" he demanded, voice holding a mild note of wariness.

Mathias arched an eyebrow. Was he being serious right now? "I dunno, Norway. Why don't you tell me, huh?" he yawned, rubbing the sleep from one of his eyes as he regarded the shorter nation from the other.

Lukas fell silent for a moment before turning back around with a shrug,"I'm sorry if I woke you up. I was having a Skype meeting with England."

"England?" he burst out, unable to disguise his surprise at this revelation. He followed the Norwegian into the room and, placing a hand on his hip, demanded,"What are you doing with England at three in the morning?"

"Time gap. He's a few hours behind us."

Mathias plopped down on the edge of Lukas' bed, rolling his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Norge. He's only one hour behind us, so nice job. Now I know you're up to something! What're the two of you talking about?"

Lukas breathed a long sigh as he bent down to face the messy-haired Dane. "Alright, you caught me." he muttered, lowering his eyes to the bed. He looked up after a moment and leaned forward, his voice low,"If I tell you this, you have to swear it on your life that you won't ever tell anybody. Not Finland. Not Sweden... Not even Iceland."

Daunted by the sudden change of Lukas' mood, he nodded and drew an invisible X over his heart with his index finger. "I swear it!" he announced solemnly.

"Alright..." Lukas leaned forward so that his lips were practically brushing the fine hair along the outer shell of his ear. Goosebumps traced the length of Mathias' body and sent shivers down his spine. Then, in a whisper as smooth as the silk of his pajama pants, the Norwegian spoke.

"It's... None...Of...Your...Business."

Wow, talk about a let down. Mathias fell backwards onto the bed and huffed,"Ya know, for a second there you had me. I thought we were gonna have some kind of sacred bond that would keep us together through the ties of secrecy or something, but nope. You're as secretive and stubborn as ever."

"I apologize for the inconvenience." With a roll of his eyes, Lukas sat down next to him and sighed. It was not for the first time that week that Mathias noticed the slouch in Norway's back, the way his every movement was stiff and robotic. He had not concerned himself much with it, but it was at that instant when he wondered if perhaps something was wrong with him. Could he have been sick?

"Hey, Norge," he began in a serious tone, sitting up and staring down at him,"Seriously though. Are you alright? You've been seeming kinda... Eh... Off lately, you know? For a week or so now." An expression of hesitance pulled at the corners of Lukas' lips and averted his slate colored gaze down to the bed spread. Mathias continued with haste.

"I'm not trying to make you tell me what you were talking about, so just-"

"It's nothing, you moron. I'm just tired." he snapped out, his head jerking back up as though controlled by a cruel puppetmaster. He shrugged.

"Besides, my well being should hardly concern you. I'd imagine that you have bigger issues to worry about, hm?"

Mathias blinked. What in the world was he talking about? After searching the stoic expression worn stubbornly by the Norwegian, he answered.

"Uh. No, not really. I have a meeting with my boss in a week or so, but that's not exactly something that's been bothering me."

Lukas shot air through his nose. "Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing else... Has been on your mind lately? Because..." he trailed off and then shrugged,"You know what? Never mind. What's the meeting going to be about?"

"Politics, crime rates, money, the usual." He caught on to how Lukas had so quickly changed subjects, but it was not something that he was about to press any further, especially not with how Norge was acting that night. Mathias slicked a hand back through his messy hair and flashed a goofy little grin over at Norway,"My well being should hardly concern you though." He tried with all of his ability to mimic the much lower voice, but failed. Miserably.

"Be quiet." Lukas snapped, rolling his eyes. Mathias did as he was told and leaned back onto the bed, a huge yawn parting his lips.

"You know you love me." he smirked, but his voice was becoming slurred. Without realizing what was happening, he soon felt his eyelids becoming heavy and then closing all together.

He could not remember much from that point, but there was the vague recollection of being called an 'idiot' and then the warm feeling of a blanket being pulled up to his shoulders.

After that, all of his senses slipped into the comfortable nothingness of unconsciousness.

Annnnddddd scene.

So what do you think so far? Trust me, I intend for it to get much MUCH MUCH better soon. All of this fluff and cuteness is preparation for when things get dark. I promise that it won't have as absolutely TERRIBLE an ending as my LietPol one, as I will put forth all of my effort and inspiration into this story, so... Enjoy! :)