VII: Reconciliation
As seen through the eyes of Mathias

Was there ever anything so beautiful as a newborn child? There were those which battled for first place, but the sight of his firstborn son would always be etched into the back of Mathias' mind, making his heart light and his eyes bright. His love for everyone - Lukas, Belle, Berwald, Emil, not to mention the baby, little Magnus himself - swelled to the point where people couldn't look at him and honestly believe he was living on their Earth; he was on another plane of existence, a place far happier.

While he settled happily on cloud nine, there were problems for the lesser mortals around him - there was no escaping that. Lukas was resentful, but his lover's pleasure was contagious, and even the surliest expression could be softened a little when greeted by Mathias, bouncing and enthusiastic, wanting to hunt or fish or swim or perhaps sit and simply talk. Happiness is more infectious than melancholy, Lukas soon found.

After being informed that Lukas was in his rooftop seat, Mathias was climbing the spiral staircase up to him when, as he opened the small door, he was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight that spilled through the doorframe. He hadn't expected Lukas to be outside on such a sunny day, but once he could see again, he spotted the Norwegian, seemingly comfortable in a wrought iron seat, with books and papers stacked on a matching table, weighed down by a glass bird.

"What are you doing up here?" he called, shading his eyes, and when Lukas looked over his shoulder to respond, his ashy hair caught the sunlight and gleamed.

"Writing, mainly. That's what I do, these days." He stretched lazily, and beckoned Mathias over - and the Dane realised there was another seat, placed across from Lukas'.

"That isn't news, Lukas!" Mathias laughed, taking a seat and resting his chin on his hands, practically gazing across the table, basking in the knowledge that Lukas seemed happy. "You've always written things, from the day you first learnt to hold a pen!"

"I mean I've started writing what you might call... something proper." The corner of Lukas' mouth quirked up in a smirk. "I intend to write a novel, and have it published."

"Really?"

"Well, not too long ago, you told me I was a puppet master." Dark blue eyes focused on lighter ones, but held no coldness. "Controlling fictional people is less destructive to my relationships, I find."

His hand extended across the table, and Mathias took it without a moment of hesitation, squeezing it. Lukas seemed satisfied with that, eyes warming a little more, before he took a deep breath.

"I think, considering the circumstances... you and Belle should come to tea tomorrow." The latter half of the sentence was rather forced, but he didn't stumble over the words or immediately retract them. Mathias gaped, then grinned.

"Lukas! Oh, God, yes, we'd love to! Ah, Lukas, you're amazing -"

Looking down at his page, the Norwegian was able to smile briefly. On paper, he could give his cold-eyed hero the woman of his dreams, even though she was promised to another man, but in real life there was no such master.

That was the year Emil suddenly grew, to the surprise of the entire family and their society. The once-frail little boy was now a young man, albeit lanky, with broader shoulders and a stronger jaw, clearly taking after his elder brother. He gained a little confidence as well, assisting with entertaining at formal events, breaking out of his shell as 'the little Bondevik boy' and becoming a young noble in his own right.

"Do you even remember this time last year, Emil?" Mathias, seated next to him at a dinner one evening, teasingly nudged him. "You were just a little boy!"

"So you love to remind me," the younger of the two rolled his eyes (he had been told the exact thing by no less than seven of the other guests that night) and nudged back, though it was more of a shove - he was still young, after all. "But of course I remember this time last year! I'm not stupid."

"You were probably in your bedroom at this time of night, right?" the Dane snickered, though it was accompanied by a brotherly smile.

"I wasn't the only one hiding this time last year." Emil's eyes flickered to his brother a few seats down from them. "Lukas was. You were as well." When Mathias' face fell a little, he backtracked, eyes widening. "I'm trying to say something good! I don't know what - I mean, Lukas hasn't told me about any conversation between the two of you, but I can tell things are better than they were when you and Belle were first engaged... they are, aren't they?"

Those eyes, so blue they were almost violet, looked closely into Mathias', silently pleading him to affirm what had just been suggested. To his great relief, Mathias was able to nod, his smile returning.

"We've talked, and I think the worst part of the whole problem is over. Lukas seems happier to me, at least!"

Hearing his name, Lukas looked up, and half-smiled when Mathias waved.

"So... we're still going to have a relationship."

"Only if you're happy with it!"

Lukas could read the expression on Mathias' face, though, and his apparent show of wanting to put the entire decision in Lukas' hands was nothing more than that - a show.

"You still love me enough for it." He didn't ask questions, for they made him feel too vulnerable. He just prayed Mathias could confirm his statement, and the frenzied nodding lightened his heavy heart. "But you love Belle as well."

"Lukas, I don't understand my own heart!" Mathias ran his hand through his hair, rendering it wilder than it usually was. "I love both of you so much... it wouldn't be an easy decision to give up on either of you, so please, don't make me -"

"I understand." Well, he was beginning to. "Just promise to love me and I will return it."

It was never going to be an easy decision, I knew that. Mathias had too much love for one person and society dictated that even if he had been able to love me and me alone, we would not have been allowed to be together. This arrangement, a private relationship between the lines of the main story, was best suited for the both of us. This truce, as it were, didn't mean that I would never be miserable again. It simple gave me the hope to survive those dark times, knowing that there would always come a time when I would remember that I was loved.

The young Lukas had learnt to see past his own desires and through the eyes of others, which would inevitably lead him to a life where he could be happy; this is the life that I live now.

The End.

A/N: An era has come to an end. Writing this fic and it's counterpart, What A Man Needs, were a serious journey for me, lasting more than a year (I can't quite believe it's been that long!) and after all this time I can't thank everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed these stories enough. It was you that made me carry on, and now that this story has finished, it's time for me to honour you guys.

This might feel like a sudden ending, but it feels right to me - it ends where WAMN picks up and explains Mathias and Lukas' actions in WAMN, which was a priority for this fic. I also wanted to make it a character study, exploring how healthy such a relationship as Mathias' and Lukas' might be, and how both of them would be affected. Let me know how you think I did on those.

As a final note, I just want to say that while Hetalia and fanfiction in general are not my forte anymore (I don't want to write substandard things, which is what I feel like most of my stuff is these days) I will be working on and updating one fic and one fic only of this account - Tomorrow Belongs to Me. It would be an honour if anybody looked at it, even if historical, WW2-era Hetalia featuring original characters isn't to your usual taste.

Thank you, and love, always, from Nirvana, or as you all know me, LiechLiet :)