Sov Gott

Rain Showers

The next morning Norway and Iceland took a walk with Jeff. It was a cold, overcast, autumn morning. Iceland had a pair of earmuffs on and Norway was wearing a knitted infinity scarf spotted with cute little markings. Iceland's sweater was enough to keep him warm without a jacket, but Norway had a dark blue and surprisingly stylish coat on. Jeff walked awkwardly next to Iceland, wearing a button-up shirt and blue jeans with a heavier jacket on than either of the personifications. The wind was beginning to turn harshly bitter against their skin, proven by all three having red noses and ears as they walked. If not for the breeze rustling dry leaves from trees and birds calling out to one another, the atmosphere would have been absolutely silent. Fog hung along the ground, and darkness seemed to be approaching, signaling that there was going to be a storm later on.

"We should head back soon. That storm looks... ominous." Jeff commented, having seen the darkness in the sky.

Norway and Iceland turned to look at the approaching storm before responding.

"It won't arrive for at least fifteen minutes. Even then, it will take twenty minutes from now for the rain to be heavy. We can stay out for at least ten more minutes," Norway was clearly more comfortable outside. That was obvious to Jeff and Iceland, though neither of them were going to admit that they had read Norway's behavior. He seemed more relaxed, and in truth Norway's mind was always cleared when he was outside. The fresh air erased all of his headaches and worries, and Norway's overall thought process was improved.

"Norway, I would rather not have you be electrocuted on my watch," Jones said, chuckling under his breath.

Iceland rolled his eyes, turning away from the conversation. As much as the teenage part of Iceland wanted to run back to the house alone, too much of that childish fear gripped him and held him close to the two adults with him.

"I wouldn't be electrocuted, and even if I was, I'd be perfectly fine. "

"Norway, you need to take better care of yourself."

"I take care of myself as much as I need to, thank you very much."

"You're fighting an uphill battle, Jeff," Iceland interjected, finally deciding to go home. "He'll do whatever he wants to do, and nothing you say can stop him." Iceland rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the sky. "My brother can spend as much time as he wants out here getting soaked, but as for me, I'm heading back before the storm hits us."

Jeff reached out as Iceland turned and began to jog back to the home, turning to send a look to Norway that silently asked for his opinion. Norway responded with a small hand motion Jeff understood as "go on."

"I'll go back soon, I just want a few more minutes in the fresh air before it starts pouring," and with that Jeff ran to catch up with Iceland, leaving Norway alone. Sighing at the peace, Norway turned his head up to the sky and shut his dark blue eyes. Birds were calling warnings of rain and already beginning to take shelter, but their calls still drew Norway to them in the haunting way only birds can.

People called him nutty because he believed in magic, but he always laughed and responded with the statement that there's magic all around us. He did pretend to aim that statement towards all the creatures that he alone could see, but he also targeted the sentence at the small things in life, such as nature's beauty, life in general, the breathtaking reality that we play a part in so much more than our own lives... The fact that so many people were oblivious to this obvious magic astounded Norway. In his eyes, you didn't need to be able to see trolls or faeries, you just needed to open your eyes to what was already there. He just wished that Denmark was there so he could have said this out loud to someone.

When Norway opened his eyes the clouds were approaching rapidly, but he knew if he headed back at that moment he would be spared from becoming drenched. So with a heavy heart, Norway began trekking back home. Halfway to the home small sprinkles of rain started to land on him, and when the house greeted his eyes the rain was pelting down in sheets and becoming heavier. His hair quickly became plastered to his face, his shoulders damp and his vision clouded by rain dripping into his eyes.

He trudged himself up to the front door and pulled out his keys. There were four locks now, including a fingerprint scan. This had been applied to almost all of the doors, inside and out. It was slightly annoying and highly tedious, but based on the content of the video the four of them had decided that it was best to be safe.

Norway had just finished scanning his fingerprint and was opening the door when it was shoved open from the other side. Both men jumped and stumbled backwards, Norway regaining his balance and Jeff falling onto the stairs. Norway entered the home and shut the door behind him, holding a hand out to help Jeff off the ground.

"You hadn't come home yet, so I was starting to worry," he stuttered, and Norway sneezed into his elbow once Jeff was back on his feet.

"I just got caught up thinking and accidentally stayed out longer than I planned. I apologize for making you worry," Jeff took a deep breath that made his ribcage expand greatly before sighing.

"It's okay, Sir. Don't worry about it. It's my job to keep you safe, that's all."

Norway bit his lip as silence fell between them.

"I've never needed to be kept safe, even when the Union between Denmark and I was broken off. I had people trying to assassinate me left and right, but I have never needed bodyguards." Norway laughed. Jeff found Norway's laugh eerie; it was harsh and cold, though he knew Norway did not intend his laughter to be so bitter. "Then again, times have evolved. My existence seems to be known by a lot more people than a century or two ago. I don't blame anyone though. Denmark was kidnapped, and it's obvious that they're not going to let him go unless we apply force. If we don't get Denmark back soon his government will collapse before June fifth." Jones sent Norway a confused look at the specific date. The officer's mind was baffled; he had no idea if the date was a special day or just a Norwegian phrase.

"His Constitution Day that is, one of the days Personifications use as his birthday. That reminds me, when did you say your son's birthday is?"

Jeff paused before answering, "November eleventh."

"Soon, then."

"I... I guess it is," Jeff began walking back up the steps, Norway following shortly behind him. "Speaking of which, you and Iceland will be coming to stay at my house for a while."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. I apologize for not telling you earlier, but it was only confirmed yesterday. We need to shake up any habits and make your location less predictable in case... In case Denmark gives away any information on your location."

Norway made a small "ah" noise as he heard this, seeing that the action was logical in his mind. While he highly doubted Denmark would ever do such a thing, Denmark had never been exposed to this level of torture before. Norway could only imagine what they were doing to Denmark, and he shuddered at the thoughts. When Norway and Jeff finally reached the main floor they heard a loud crashing noise.

Norway jumped horribly and Jeff's hand flew to his gun, wrapping his hand around the weapon. Norway turned the corner and there was Iceland and Jones on the floor.

The television screen showed one of Iceland's favorite video games, and Jones was laying flat on his back with Iceland sprawled on top of him as they played.

Both Iceland and Jones were completely focused, not noticing Norway and Jeff's entrance. Norway and Jeff sighed and relaxed, seeing that the characters on the screen had just thrown something and that had been the result of the noise.

Norway went to the kitchen and soon reappeared with two bowls of popcorn, one for Iceland and Jones, one for himself and Jeff. This peace that struck their hearts that night ― it did not last long. However, for the short time it was present, it settled their hearts enough to put down their alarm for the first time in weeks.

Outside, the storm thundered on the roof, pelting the house in blankets of rain. It went on unnoticed by the four people inside of the home, but that didn't stop the rain from pummeling into the Earth. Lightening flashed with the thunder clapping shortly after for an encore. The loud boom shook the very foundation of the home, almost disturbing the people inside and the peace in their hearts.