Chapter Text
It was a cold, wet morning. The skies were full of gray clouds, heavy with rain. Not a beam of sunlight peeked through to warm the earth. A young man of assumingly Norwegian descent stepped out of his modest cabin, ready to set out for the days work. Behind him a small boy (presumably his brother) followed holding a small bag with a notebook and pencil. Before going off to the forest to join the other workers, the Norwegian headed towards the small town near the forest, the small child following dutifully behind. Once the duo arrived, they, or rather the Norwegian, were immediately called over by a loud Dane with wild blond hair and excited blue eyes. The Norwegian tsked, annoyed by the Dane’s yelling. Deciding it would be better to at least greet the Dane, he walked towards him, giving a nod towards the Dane’s companion, a tall Swede.
“Berwald.”, the Norwegian greeted, ignoring the small pout that appeared on the Dane’s face.
Berwald nodded back, before giving a glare to the Dane next to him. At least, the Norwegian assumed he was glaring. The Swede seemed to be constantly glaring at everyone as if his face was stuck in a permanent glare, but those who took the time to know him knew better. The tall Swede was in fact a very gentle giant as seen when he knelt down to greet the young child next to the Norwegian, gently ruffling the boy’s hair and smiling before once again standing and glaring.
“God morgen Lukas!”, the Dane exclaimed happily, grinning as he greeted the Norwegian before him, apparently not noticing the boy beside him.
“God morgen.”, Lukas muttered in reply, feeling it was too early to deal with the obnoxious Dane.
“How come you’re here so early, Norge? Shouldn’t you be heading down with the others?”, asked the Dane, tilting his head to the side, a small frown appearing on his face.
“That doesn’t concern you Mathias.”, Lukas coldly replied, reaching down for his brother’s hand. Mathias smiled noticing the small boy, and knelt down just like the Swede. He held out his hand for a shake.
“And god morgen to you little Emil!”, Mathias laughed. Emil simply hid behind Lukas’ leg shyly whispering, “Halló”. Mathias laughed again causing the boy to further hide his face in his older brother’s leg.
“Stop that, you’re scaring him”, scowled Lukas, even furthered annoyed by the Dane. He lifted Emil up into his arms, where Emil immediately tucked his head under Lukas’ chin. Ignoring the Dane’s small “aww”, Lukas then turned around and headed towards a general store a few feet away. Outside the store a young woman of about 18 was sweeping the store front. Emil peeked out from Lukas’ neck and at the sight of the young woman, began calling out her name.
“Miss (y/n)! Miss (y/n)!”, exclaimed Emil, scrambling to free himself from his older brother. Lukas put him down and watched as the youngster ran to hug the young storekeeper. (y/n) turned around a smile on her face and put the broom aside as she knelt down to hug Emil.
“Hello there Emil. How are you today?”, she greeted as she straightened up, picking up Emil in the process.
“Halló! I’m fine today Miss (y/n) .”, the young Icelandic male replied happily.
“That’s good. Oh. Good morning Lukas.”, (y/n) said as she turned towards Lukas, a slight blush beginning to form on her cheeks.
“God morgen Miss (y/n).” replied Lukas, coming to stand in front of them, a small smile on his face. (y/n) felt her cheeks grow warmer and cursed herself for blushing easily. Lukas on the other hand found her increasingly red cheeks adorable and cursed himself for not being able to talk to her as easily as he wished.
“So this is where you were going Lukas! Is (y/n) ya sweetheart or something?”, a voice behind them exclaimed. (y/n)’s cheeks exploded in a burst of red and quickly looked away to avoid looking into Lukas’ eyes. Meanwhile Lukas himself turned, the smile slipping off his face as he turned to face a grinning Mathias.
“No, she is not.”, Lukas said in a monotone. “She is simply watching Emil while I go off to work.”(y/n) winced and went inside the store, carrying Emil with her.
“Bye big brother!”, Emil called out. Lukas looked behind him and nodded.Turning to face the Dane once again, Lukas glared at Mathias, upset that his moment with (y/n) was ruined.
“What are you doing here idiot,”, he snapped.
“Waiting for you. It’s almost time for work, and we still have to walk over to the river.” Even though he was upset at not saying goodbye to (y/n), Lukas simply sighed and began to follow Mathias and Berwald to work.
“Lukas! Wait!”
The trio all turned to see (y/n) rushing towards them. She stopped right in front of them and held out a bundle wrapped in a rather large handkerchief. The trio’s mouths watered at the smells coming from the bundle.
“You forgot your dinner. Here, I packed some leftover mutton and vegetables, along with some cornbread and cranberry sauce. I also managed to save and pack a slice of apple pie for dessert.”, (y/n) cheerfully said, a large smile on her face.
“Thank you, (y/n). I’m much obliged.”, Lukas said as he grabbed the bundle.
“You’re welcome! Well I better get going. I left Tino in charge, but the twins are there so I’m not really sure if everything is still in order. Goodbye Lukas. Goodbye Mathias and Berwald.”, said (y/n) as she turned around and left.
The trio stood there for one more second watching her disappear into the store, before once again heading towards the forest. They walked in silence until Mathias decided to break it, much to both Lukas’ and Berwald’s annoyance.
“So are you sure you’re not courting (y/n)? Because if you’re not, I might just have to if it means eating like that everyday.”, Mathias asked.
Lukas didn’t bother replying but simply glared at him until Mathias gulped and looked away.
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