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”I knew the end would come someday”, Denmark said quietly. There was no regret or sadness in his voice, because there was no time left for that and he had long ago accepted their fate. So when he spoke, it sounded more like a statement. An obvious fact that couldn’t be argued.
“Everything ends someday. We only had more time before facing our end”, Norway replied with a very similar tone. This time he did not bother to hide his weariness when he spoke, finally allowing himself to appear weak now that their last moments were quickly running out and there was nothing to gain from the pride of strength.
They were laying on the ground somewhere that had probably been something once upon time. Maybe a field, maybe a forest, maybe even a city or a village or a lake that had dried out. There was nothing left. None of them even knew the name of the place and it mattered very little. They had not planned to come here. This was merely the place where their strength had run out and where they had fallen down to wait for the end they couldn’t escape anymore. Maybe if they had got up and explored the area they could have found something that revealed the life which had once taken a place there, but they were not willing to use their last moments for something that didn’t matter. So they only laid there on the hard ground where nothing grew anymore and did not bother with disappearing echoes of memories from long ago.
Norway was holding on to the Dane despite not being able to feel anything anymore. He had lost his sense of touch once his skin had started to dry and break, and he barely had any control left over his body. So he held tightly. Too tightly, but Denmark did not complain. He needed that touch, because while the Norwegian had become weaker the Dane had lost his eyes. When he looked up with his empty eyes, all he could see was the darkness. The touch was the only connection he had left and he was not going to let go.
Out of them three Iceland was the least affected, but he had been very quiet and did nothing but lay on Norway’s lap, still breathing but not waking from the deep sleep he had fallen into. His body might have not taken as much damage, but his mind was not intact anymore. Tears fell from the Dane’s empty eyes when he recalled the screams. It was better that the Icelander slept.
They were alone. Only thing they heard was silence after the last singing birds had died. The wind did not blow anymore and the darkness had taken over when the sun had risen for the last time already long ago. The air was heavy, smelling like metal and smoke, and the world they had known was nothing but a faint memory waiting to die. They had been waiting for this day. It was the end of the world.
Denmark reached to touch the Norwegian, softly and carefully so he wouldn’t touch the skin that had become so fragile that just a slight touch could scratch it open and draw blood. Norway couldn’t feel the physical pain anymore, but even so the Dane couldn’t stand the thought of doing anything that could have hurt his most loved companion.
“It was a damn good run”, Denmark noted with a dry laugh, “wasn’t it, Nor? I loved every moment. Most of them anyway.”
“That’s true”, the Norwegian replied and looked up to the empty sky, “good run.”
“I am happy you are here now”, the Dane continued, “I would not want to go alone.”
“I am happy too”, Norway whispered, “my love.” Denmark hummed, attempting to create a tune he had liked, but his throat was too dry. He gave up quickly when he realised that the failure was only making him sad.
“Do you think… What happened to Finland and Sverige?” he asked instead, “I tried, but couldn’t find them…” First Norway didn’t reply and the silence between them grew so long that Denmark felt worried. He shifted, carefully making sure that Norway’s hold on him was still strong.
“I believe”, the Norwegian said after a while, “that they wanted to go together. Fin didn’t have much time left when I last spoke to him and said my goodbyes, and we both know that Sve never intended to live longer than him. Whatever happened… I only know they are already gone.”
“True. That damn Swede… Leaving before I had a chance to beat him up for one more time”, Denmark said and sighed deeply, “well, that explains why I got Scania. I can feel it as my land now.” Norway nodded weakly, trying to not think how he too felt some previously Swedish areas as his own now. He had not been aware of that, and he doubted anybody else had known about it either, but it seemed like that when the personification was gone and there wasn’t much left of the people, the land became part of somebody else’s realm. Not that there was any gain. They were all dying.
“Isn’t it funny”, Denmark said sadly after a brief silence, “that I used to fight for Scania so much and now that it is finally just mine… I hope so much that it would not be?”
“I wouldn’t call it funny”, Norway muttered, “maybe ironic… Yeah, ironic. Definitely ironic.”
“I would have wanted just a bit more time with you all”, the Dane said after a brief silence, “even thousands of years were not enough. Funny how it is. We were immortals and still it feels like there was so much we never had time to do… Things we never explored and always postponed, because we thought we had eternity.”
“I am sure we will meet again”, Norway replied, “wherever we end up.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think we will make it to Valhall?” the Dane asked, “or maybe if Freja takes us to Fólkvangr. I wouldn’t mind that… I always thought I would go as a warrior.
“I don’t know, Dan”, Norway replied, “we might not die in combat, but maybe this could count as an honourable death. Where else could we go? The seas had dried up so there is no place left for those who died as sailors. We are not farmers so Tor will not have us and neither is Forsete ready to welcome us, because we never worked with laws. Only maidens may go with Gejfon.”
“There is always Hel”, Denmark noted.
“Anything is fine so long as we are together”, Norway replied softly. The Dane didn’t answer and after a moment of wait the Norwegian had to continue, “Dan, why are you worried?”
“I just thought…”, Denmark said, “what if… What if we do not go to the same place?”
“Don’t be silly”, Norway replied, trying his best to channel all his love in his voice, because he didn’t have strength to move anymore, “if that happens I will tear down every single fence and fight against anybody who dares to place themselves between you and I. We shall be together and if I have to go against gods for our sake, so be it.”
“I love you so much”, Denmark said and Norway replied to him with a whisper, repeating the words a few times and enjoying the sound of them. He didn’t know how many times he had told it to the Dane and that didn’t matter. He could say it millions of times and still that wouldn’t be even half of the amount he deserved. For a moment they only cherished that, repeating and listening to the same words until the already weak voices turned into mumbling and they had to stop.
“Nor?” Denmark called after a while. He had lost the sense of time long ago so he had no idea how much time had passed. Not that time mattered anymore. Actually he did wonder if the time even exists anymore. Maybe the end of the world was a loop that would never end.
“Yes?”
“How is Island?” Denmark asked, “I can’t see anymore, but I can feel him near. Is he still here?”
“He is”, Norway replied, “he is sleeping peacefully”
“Ah, he is missing the end of the world”, the Dane said, laughing dryly at his attempt at a joke, “...maybe for the best. I… I am not sure if I… am strong enough to witness more of his pain. The screams…”
“Don’t worry”, Norway whispered, feeling the pain he shared with the Dane when he recalled the moment the Icelander had fell, “I spelled him”
“You did?”
“I asked if he wanted to go without pain and he said yes, so I spelled him into sleep”, Norway explained, tears falling down his cheeks and leaving ugly red bruises on the fragile skin, “he is now living the most beautiful moments of his long life once again and he will not wake up anymore.”
“I am happy you did that”, Denmark said with a calm voice, “you didn’t ask if I wanted that?”
“You would have said no”, Norway replied, “and I am too afraid to die alone.” Denmark had accepted their fate and he was ready to leave the world, but the moment like this when he wanted nothing but to kiss the Norwegian and hold him tightly, he felt miserable over his inability to do so. There was no strength left in his body, everything hurt and even the lightest kiss would make Norway’s lips bleed.
“You are right”, Denmark said, “I would not let you be alone now. We made a promise about that, didn’t we? That we would never again be apart.”
“Thank you”, Norway whispered.
“Can you still see something?” Denmark asked after a moment of silence.
“Something”, Norway replied, because although he still had his eyes there wasn’t much light left in the world and he could feel his body breaking down part by part, “some figures mostly and light now and then. It is getting darker. I guess the sun might still be behind there somewhere, but it was long ago that it was last rising over the horizon.”
“I haven’t seen anything for a while”, Denmark said, “I miss looking at you. You are so beautiful.”
“Not right now”, Norway reminded him. The last time he had seen his reflection there had still been some running water left in rivers and some of the humankind’s systems had still been operated. It had been so long ago and Norway had no idea how he looked right then, but he knew it could not be anything better. When he had glanced upon himself that last time, using a piece of broken mirror to see if any of the cuts on his skin were inflected, he had seen horror. He had lost all his hair, it had fallen off with pieces of skin and left his head looking raw and sickly, and the cuts caused by anything that touched him did not heal anymore. He sometimes felt that the tears falling from his eyes were actually more blood than water, and he always tasted iron in his mouth. He was only grateful that the Dane had lost his eyes before he had witnessed what truly had happened to his beloved Norwegian.
“You are always beautiful to me”, the Dane claimed and Norway sighed softly.
“If you say so”, he replied.
“I do say so and I am always right”, the Dane said and then added after a moment of thinking, “can you tell me about the stars? Are they shiny tonight?” Norway didn’t even bother with glancing up toward the sky he knew would be dark without any light. The stars had disappeared with the moon and blue sky. All that was left was the darkness that covered everything like a thick blanket, and the slivers of grey that appeared whenever the sun managed to make it closer to the horizon before falling away again.
“Of course. They are up there, still shining like always”, he lied, “remember when we were still so young and innocent, and we said we will be here until the stars die? Well, it seems they are outliving us after all.”
“Do you see the Northern star?” Denmark asked with a hint of longing and misery in his voice, “the one we always followed home? It should be right above us, I think. Weren’t we heading north?”
“Yes, it is there too”, Norway said and looked to where he believed the star was supposed to be, “so many nights we just laid outside and looked at it. Either on the shore or in the boat, or sometimes even in fields or forests where we had to search for it between the branches… Always leading us home.”
“And now we look at it just like we did back then?”
“Almost”, Norway said, “last time we still made plans.” Denmark moved slowly, pushing against the pain and his weakness only to make an attempt to get little closer to the Norwegian,
“In the afterlife… Wherever we will be”, the Dane said, “we will watch stars together once again, right?”
“Yes”, Norway said and the tears mixed with blood drops almost choked him, making his voice sound smaller and fragile, “we will do that. Every night. I promise.” Denmark’s lips turned to barely a visible smile and he fell quiet, too tired to say anything more.
After that they just stayed there for a long time without uttering even a single word while carefully listening to make sure the other was still breathing. It was impossible to say how much time passed. It could have been hours or days, maybe even weeks. They only laid there on the cold ground and waited for the end.
At some point Norway realised that Iceland had stopped breathing. When he still had some strength left, he had placed one hand on Denmark’s chest and one on Iceland just so he could feel that they were still alive. The endless darkness and silence had made him confused, lured into an unsure situation where he was not sure if he was sleeping or awake. But when he realised that the hand on Iceland’s chest was not moving anymore and he could hear only one person breathing beside himself, he knew he was not sleeping. He would have never dreamed of something so horrible like losing the one he loved most.
He had known it was coming. Their time was almost over and he was going to die soon too, but still the feeling of losing his brother hit him hard. He had always kept Iceland safe. Took care of him just like a brother should. He had fought for his sake. He had carried him in his arms when Iceland had still been a child and he had taught him, helped him to become an independent and strong person. He would have given everything for Iceland’s sake and there was nothing in the whole world he wouldn’t have done, no price too high to pay or sacrifices too dear to give if it meant Iceland would have been happy and safe. But all that effort and all his hopes were useless now. The end was there and Iceland was gone just like Sweden and Finland. Norway would have given anything… But in the end his brother died in his arms.
“Nor?” Denmark asked when he heard the sob, “my love? Are you crying?”
“Island…”, Norway managed to say, but that was enough. Denmark understood and his empty eyes also teared up when he mourned for his family. The only thing bringing him some comfort was that he knew Iceland had not suffered during his last moments and that he believed Sweden and Finland had been together when their time had come. It was still only a sliver of comfort that was easily overtaken by the sorrow he felt for everything he had lost. He cried with the Norwegian, trying his best to soothe his love with words that sounded so empty even in his own ears. He couldn’t do anything and the only promise he had left was the promise of not leaving Norway alone.
He could feel that his time was coming too, but he was clinging to life, refusing to leave first. Almost stubbornly he forced himself to live, drawing strength from all the good memories he still could recall and talking whenever he had enough voice to do so. He told Norway everything, describing every single memory he just could and letting the Norwegian know about every single thought coming up in his mind. First Norway had replied, sharing his own thoughts and memories, but gradually he grew weaker until he finally couldn’t talk anymore. Denmark still continued, using those days or weeks or whatever time passed to tell Norway everything.
At the end, Denmark kept his promise.
“Dan”, Norway whispered, and Denmark knew it was time. He held back the tears and promised himself that if this was the last moment Norway would see him, he would smile. Norway had always loved his smile. So he smiled.
“Nor”, he whispered with a dry voice, “I love you.”
“Love you”, the Norwegian replied, “...will find you…”
“...on the other side”, Denmark said, “farewell, my love… my heart.” He smiled until he heard the last breath and felt the hand on his chest going limb. At that moment his smile died and he cried, sobbing when he, the last of his family, mourned his loss. He didn’t scream because he had no voice for that anymore, but he cried quietly next to the bodies of his most loved ones. After a while he did his best to collect the last strength he had left. That strength he used to move closer and gather Norway and Iceland in his arms as well as he just could. He was weak and blind, and it took him a long time to move just a few centimetres, but in the end he did succeed. There he was, pressing his lips against the cold cheek for the last time and wrapping his arms around the bodies while thinking about the end and feeling his hold on life starting to slip. There was nothing left for him, so he welcomed the death and said his last words.
“I will go now.”
When Denmark started to wake up, the first thing he felt was a warm sun on his skin. It felt like a summer kiss and for a moment he was very confused. He felt strangely cranky and his muscles complained when he carefully stretched his arms and legs, but the grass under him was soft and the air smelled nice. He didn’t even remember when he had smelled so fresh air last time, and he really enjoyed it, filling up his lungs as much as he could. Eventually he even dared to open his eyes, blinking a few times before the picture became sharp. He could see trees, a blue sky with clouds and mountains rising in the distance. He heard birds singing, the wind playing with leaves of the trees growing tall above him, and the water running in a stream somewhere nearby. There were smells too. Flowers, morning dew, something that reminded him of many sweet memories although he couldn’t exactly name just that smell. He took a deep breath, looking around and just taking it all in, enjoying every single sense he had gained back.
“But the world turned dark”, he muttered with a confused voice, “how can it be beautiful again?” Barely had he said that when the truth hit, making him terrified. He had died and now he was alone in somewhere that couldn’t be anything else than the afterlife. Where were the others? Where was Norway? The Dane was going to panic, already assuming that he had somehow ended up in completely another place and he would be alone until Norway would find him, but then he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned, some of his worries melted away when he saw the two men coming closer.
“Here you are!” Finland yelled happily and ran to him, “we have been waiting for you forever!”
“Finny?” Denmark asked, feeling better when he saw his family, “Sve?”
“Welcome to the afterlife”, Sweden muttered. He and Finland were both wearing clothes similar to those they had used when they had been only a few centuries old. Both also had bronze jewellery, but they were not carrying any weapons.
“Is this Valhall or…?”
“If you want to call it that," Finland replied with a smile, “we haven’t really been asking much yet, because we thought we should wait for you before wandering too far.” Denmark nodded, paying only little attention to the Finn. He was looking around, trying to find more familiar figures.
“Where is Norge? Where is Iceland?” Denmark asked worriedly, “they died before me… Where is…”
“Right here”, the familiar voice replied with the melodic tune of Norwegian, catching the Dane’s attention immediately. When he turned to look in the right direction, he saw Norway stepping from behind the trees and Iceland following after him. Like Finland and Sweden, they were also wearing clothes that had been common in their younger years. They also looked healthy. Like they had never died at all. Denmark felt a few tears falling down his cheeks when he saw them, and he tried to get up so he could hug them all and be sure they really were alive. But when he attempted to get on his feet, he only fell down again.
“Take it easy”, Norway said softly and leaned over him, kissing his cheek for a greeting, “we have all eternity now, so take your time. It takes a moment to recover from death, it seems.” Denmark smiled, cherishing the feeling of the warm lips against his skin and thinking how he had missed that.
“Also get some clothes on. I guess you haven’t noticed it yet, but you are very naked right now”, Iceland muttered and sat down on the grass so the Dane could see him better. He had already experienced this same moment with Norway and knew that it was going to take a while before the Dane was sure everything was fine.
“You…”, Denmark said and ignored the comments about the lack of clothes because he had much more important things to think about right then, “you are all here…”
“Of course”, Iceland muttered and showed surprisingly much patience while letting the Dane hold on to him, “you think we could just leave you? You would get in some damn big troubles and then it would be so annoying to get you out of those troubles.”
“I am so happy”, the Dane said.
“And we have a whole new world to explore”, Finland announced, “we have been just waiting for you to wake up.” Denmark nodded and spent a moment longer just sitting down and enjoying the moment while they talked and shared their experience. Just like Norway and Denmark had believed, Finland and Sweden had died together and had been the first ones to arrive in the afterlife. Just like Finland had said, they had figured out that the others should arrive later and so they had not wandered too far. That had been a smart decision, because when Iceland had arrived he had had some troubles to realise he wasn’t dreaming anymore. It had taken Finland and Sweden for a while to explain everything to the confused Icelander.
After a while Denmark started to feel tired about sitting down so he made a new attempt to get his legs working. This time he was successful and with a body shaking like a newborn calf he set on to move around and test out the limits of his still weak body.
“Don’t worry”, Norway said, “you will soon feel normal. It takes a moment.”
“Wonderful”, Denmark nodded, “can’t wait to be able to punch the Swede again. You really thought you could just die?”
“Hm.”
“Yeah, I will punch you”, the Dane said and then almost launched forward, wrapping his arms around the stern Swedish man, “damn, I did miss you!” Normally naked Denmark hugging him would not have gotten a good response from Sweden, but this time he didn’t care. He hugged back just as hard.
“Okay, so can we get going then?” Iceland asked, “also, seriously, Dan, you need clothes.”
“Yeah, yeah”, Denmark laughed and reached to ruffle the Icelander’s hair, “I am just so happy. I thought… I thought it was all over.” Sweden and Finland took a lead and Denmark followed them, walking between Iceland and Norway. He was actually more than happy. He was sure he had never felt better than right then. He was with his family and the memory of the end of the world was slowly fading in his mind, turning into something more like a nightmare. He was full of life once again and ready to explore the new life he had gained.
“It was just a new beginning”, Norway noted and smiled softly when the Dane looked at him with eyes full of love.
“I love you so much”, he said and leaned to kiss the Norwegian.
“I am sorry I left you alone at the end”, Norway replied between the kisses.
“It is okay”, the Dane laughed, “we are together again!”
“Oh, come on!” Iceland, who had not bothered with stopping and had just walked on, yelled, “hurry up! We need to get the Dane clothed before he gets some weird flu and dies again, and you know how impatient Finland has been. If we don’t hurry, he will explode!”
“Okay, okay”, Denmark laughed and gave the Norwegian one more kiss, “let’s go then and see what this new life has to offer us!”