Denmark x Depressed!Reader - Who You Really Are

     Two weeks.

     Two weeks since you had stopped texting him every day.

     Two weeks since your skin had started to grow paler.

     Two weeks since you started to wear baggier clothes than usual.

     Two weeks since your voice softened and you didn’t speak as much.

     Two weeks since a certain Dane had been worried sick about you. And the list could go on.

     Matthias honestly didn’t know what to do. What had caused you to change? Did something happen? He didn’t know. And it was killing him.

     Ever since two weeks ago, your behavior had changed. Instead of being the loud, laughable, fun person that you always were, you had started talking less, and always seemed to think before you said anything, which was far from being the I-always-say-what-comes-to-mind-first-with-no-regrets _____.

     Matthias first started noticing it about a week and a half ago. He had invited you over to spend the day at his and his Nordic brothers’ house. You, Matthias, and Emil would usually spend the day playing videogames, and then Tino and Berwald would make supper. But this time went a little differently.

     ~Flashback~

     “Hey, _____, want to play Super Smash Brothers Brawl with us?” Matthias asked, his ever so present smile beaming your way. You bit the inside of your cheek as you met his ever so gorgeous blue eyes, though you quickly diverted your gaze elsewhere.

     “No, thanks, Matt. Play without me. I’ll watch.” You had said unusually quietly, your hand waving his invite away.

     Matthias’s face fell. “B-but, it’s no fun without you! Come on, _____. Pleeeeeeeeease?” He begged, his eyes big and his bottom lip drawn out into a pout.

     You just shook your head. “I don’t really feel like playing. Seriously, play without me. It’s fun to watch sometimes.” You insisted.

     Matthias sighed in defeat. “Alright.”

     Grabbing the controller, and then inviting Emil to play with him, you watched the Dane and Icelandic play on teams; them against two level 8’s, no items, 4 stock. You honestly did enjoy watching them play, it’s just that you usually got too excited when playing, and you really didn’t want to make a scene. So, instead, you just sat on the couch, pulling your  baggy sweater over your thinning wrists.

     Matthias fist pumped when he knocked out the remaining character that was on the other team. “YEAH! You totally saw how I sent him flying, right _____?” Matthias said as he twisted around to look at you, his grin widening. But it quickly disappeared when he saw you staring blankly at the TV screen, which now displayed the results of the previous match.

     “_____?” He asked, his voice hinting concern. You blinked, and then turned your gaze down to Matthias’s.

     “Uh- yeah, that was great, Matt.” You said unenthusiastically. “Sorry, I kind of zoned out for a second…” You said, your line of sight dropping to your lap.

     Matthias blinked a few times, before smiling, hoping that you would also smile. “It’s alright, _____.” He had said sincerely. At this, you lifted your head up, your eyes timidly locking with his. He smiled even wider, and you couldn’t help but smile a small smile back.

     “There we go. You need to smile more often, prinsesse.” Matthias said, much to your chagrin. Princess was a nickname given to you by Tino, since you were the only girl who actually seemed to tolerate all of them, especially all of them at once. Of course, they all call you princess in their respective languages. Your cheeks turned a light shade of red at this. Matthias always seemed to use your nickname is a loving way. You acted like you hated it, but inside, it sent a warm feeling throughout you. Put simply, you liked it. But you would never admit that you did.

     “Dinner’s ready!!” Tino had then called from the kitchen. Everyone scrambled up from where they were, and headed to the kitchen table, where food was already present. You slowly followed behind Matthias, who sent a few glances back your way, since you were usually one of the first at the table, fork and knife in hand. As you sat yourself down next to Matthias, everyone waited for Tino, who was still grabbing a few things from the kitchen. Once he sat down, everyone started passing whatever was available in a circle around the table. As the food came to you, you only took a small amount of each thing, which resulted in only half of your plate being filled with food. Matthias had noticed this, but didn’t say anything, not wanting to bring all of the attention to you, since he didn’t think you’d appreciate it.

     Throughout the meal, he closely watched you as you ate bit by bit of your food, as if you weren’t really hungry. He tried to ignore his growing concern as he laughed a joked along with the rest of his Nordic brothers. You, though, stayed quiet. Whenever someone would ask you a question, you of course would answer, but much more quiet than you usually would proclaim. Once dinner was over, Matthias was relieved to see that your plate was empty, though he wasn’t exactly sure if you ate it, or if Hanatamago did.

     Once dinner was over, and all of the plates and silverware were in the dishwasher, you announced that you had to go home. Everyone was a little surprised that you had to go so early, but didn’t question it.

     Except for Matthias, of course.

     “Whhhyyyy??” Matthias whined, giving you once again his pouty face. You gave him a small smile.

     “I don’t feel too good, that’s all. Sorry, Matthias.” You said, your voice small compared to his. As you opened the door, and stepped out, Matthias stepped out with you. He then grabbed your thin wrist, which made you turn in surprise and try to yank your wrist from him. You of course failed, since your body hadn’t been getting the nourishment it needed.

     Matthias’s sapphire blue eyes bore into your (e/c) ones. “_____.” He said gently, his voice soft. “Is there anything wrong? You’ve been acting different.”

     It took you five seconds to decide what you were going to say. Were you going to lie to your best friend so he wouldn’t worry, or tell him what was wrong? You chose the first. “N-no, I’m fine. I told you, I just haven’t been feeling too good.” You said, your gaze shifting downwards. Matthias sighed. If you didn’t want to talk about it, he couldn’t force you. “Alright. Get better soon, prinsesse.” He then brushed the hair away from your forehead, leaned down, and pressed his lips to the top of your forehead. As he pulled back, he released his grip from your wrist. He smiled lovingly at you, which you just smiled back to, a little dazed. You were still trying to get a hold on the situation.

     “Goodnight, _____.” Matthias said, smiling softly.

     You nodded. “Goodnight, Matt.” Smiling, you slowly made your way down the porches steps, and walked into the night. Matthias watched you until you faded from view. That’s when he realized what he just did. He just kissed you. Shaking his head, he just simply walked back inside.

     That was last week. And ever since then, he hadn’t heard a word from you. And to say he was worried was an understatement. At the moment, he was walking to your house, which was just a few blocks away from where he lived. He looked up as your house came into view, and steadily walked towards it. Once he was in front of your door, he gave it three hard knocks. It wasn’t until about 15 seconds later he heard footsteps coming towards the door. As you opened the door, your eyes grew wide once you realized it was Matthias at the front door, and not the mail man.

     “Shit.” You muttered. Matthias only had two seconds you see that your eyes were red and puffy, your hair tangled. Your image was quickly cut off by a door coming in between Matthias and you. Realizing that you were about to lock him out, Matthias slammed himself into the door, causing it to stop halfway. He heard a small gasp come from you as you tried to push the door into its closed state. Matthias, aware that if he pushed too hard he could hurt you, anchored himself down. This went on for a good 20 seconds, before you decided to abandon the door. Matthias, who was still pushing against the door, didn’t realize this until it was too late. Stumbling into the house, he looked up to see you turn a corner that headed for the stairs. Grunting as he hauled himself up, he sprinted after you, finding you running up the stairs. Jumping up the steps in threes, Matthias was just about to reach you, until you took a sharp turn into the bathroom. Right as you slammed and locked the door, Matthias rammed into it, a second too late. Huffing, Matthias leaned his forehead against the door, eyes closed in frustration.

     “Come on, _____. What’s wrong?” He said whilst trying to catch his breath.

     You kept quiet.

     “_____, please.” He pleaded.

     You still didn’t say anything.

     Matthias sighed. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

     “What if I don’t want your help?” You snapped back through the door. Hurt flashed in the spikey blonde’s eyes.

     He smirked. “C’mon. You know you do.”

     “I do?” You said.

     “Yes. You do.” Matthias said a little more firmly than before.

     “But what if I don’t?” You asked.

     “That’s not an option.”

     You rolled your eyes at this.

     “And who made you king?” You muttered.

     “Correction: King of Northern Europe.”

     You blinked. “Okay then. And who made you King of Northern Europe?”

     You could hear the smile in his voice. “Me!”

     You facepalmed. “Look, Matthias, just go away.”

     “No.”

     “Why?”

     “Because.”

     You sighed in frustration. “Because why?”

     Matthias’s voice softened. “Because you’re hurt.”

     That caught you off-guard.  Could he really see through your facade that well? Or were you just not doing a good enough job of hiding it? Maybe you should just tell him he’s wrong and-

     “And don’t try to tell me I’m wrong.”

     Damn Dane has been taking mind reading lessons from a certain Norwegian, hasn’t he?

     “Look, _____. The only reason why I know you would be doing this is because someone said something to you that hurt you. I just want you to know, no matter what they said, you’re beautiful. You’re smart, you’re great at what you love to do, and everyone loves you. Yes, you are loud, and have a pretty bad potty mouth, but we love that about you! I love that about you. And yes, you might be a little on the bigger side, but that way we can throw you around without you getting hurt! I mean, for goodness sakes, you’re the only girl who can deal with us five! You’re perfect. So, don’t listen to those people. They don’t know you like we do. And we love you for who you really are. Hell, I love you. So please… don’t hurt yourself over something so stupid…” Matthias trailed off, his head leaning up against the door, eyes closed, hoping for the best.

     Click.

     Lifting his head up, Matthias looked down at the doorknob. All of a sudden, the door swung wide open, and Matthias was glomped by a teary-eyed _____.

     You grabbed fistfuls of his red and white t-shirt and buried your face into it. “D-d-damn you, you stupid Dane.”

     Matthias chuckled, wrapping his arms around you. “There’s the _____ I know.”

     You continued to sob quietly into Matthias’ chest, while he just rubbed comforting circles on your back.

     Once you quieted down, Matthias asked, “Are you hungry?” He could feel your spine through your thin t-shirt.

     You nodded, you face still against his chest. “Mmhm.”

     He smiled. You were so adorable. “Then come on.” Gently prying you off of himself, he softly gripped your hand as he led you downstairs.

     “So, what do you want to eat?” Matthias asked, his eyes staring into yours. You, still feeling a little insecure, looked away and shrugged. Matthias took this time to obverse you a little better. You were wearing an oversized red t-shirt that Matthias recognized as the one he had left over here a few weeks ago. The shirt went down to your mid-thigh, covering a pair of black shorts you had on underneath. Your socks were mismatched, one white, the other yellow. Your (h/c) hair was up in a messy ponytail, a few strands falling out of it here and there. To Matthias, you looked a little too cute. He had to hold himself back from hugging your smaller frame with all of his strength.

     “Hm.” Matthias hummed in thought. “How about some eggs and bacon?” He asked with a smile. You gave him a small smile back, nodding.

     “What kind of eggs? Scrabbled, boiled, fried, or what?”

     “(Fav/egg).”

     Matthias smiled. “All righty then.” Going to your fridge, he pulled out the eggs and bacon. You went to grab the pans and plates.

     You knew Matthias could cook, since Tino and Berwald made it mandatory. You just didn’t know how well. For all you knew, he could be as bad as Arthur. You shuddered at the thought.

     “How long have you known how to cook?” You asked Matthias, who was standing next to you, watching the eggs cook.

      “Few years, now. Tino and Ber taught me when I was 14.”

     “Really? Have I ever tried your cooking?”

     Matthias thought for a moment. “Yeah, actually. Remember when we invited you over for stake a few months ago? I was the one who cooked and prepared all of that.”

     You blinked. “You did? B-but-- never mind.” You shook your head. Matthias laughed.

     “What? You didn’t think I could cook that well? Come on, _____, I may be bad at some things, but cooking is actually something I enjoy.” Matthias said with a chuckle.

     You frowned slightly. “I would have never guessed.”

     Matthias chuckled. “Lukas said the same thing.”

     “I’m not surprised.” You said bluntly.

      “Hey now.” Matthias said as he took the lid off of the pan, and slid its contents onto a plate. “Who’s the one cooking for you here?”

     You rolled your eyes. “You. Thanks, Matthias.” Taking the plate, you stopped by the microwave to grab a few pieces of bacon, and then the fridge to get a glass of (drink).

     “Of course, prinsesse.” Matthias shot you his winning smile. “You go ahead and eat, I’ll clean up.”

     Nodding, you sat down at the kitchen table in a way so that you could watch Matthias, but look like you weren’t paying attention. Grabbing your fork, you began to eat as Matthias began to wash the dishes. You watched as he scrubbed the dishes, and then put them in the dish drainer to dry. He even started to wash the ones you had left in there from the day before. Internally smiling, you grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite, since you had finished your eggs.

     Matthias was now washing the stove’s surface, his hand gliding the washcloth in neat circles. Finishing your meal, you scooted the chair back, and stood up, grabbing all of your dishes. Placing all of your dishes in the dish washer, you turned to the sink to wash the grease off of your hands. As you dried your hands off, Matthias rinsed the washcloth out, wringed it, and then laid it out to dry. Washing his own hands, you handed him a dry towel to dry his hands with.

     “Ah, thank you.” Matthias said, grabbing the towel from you and drying his hands. “Was it good?” He asked, lifting his head so that his eyes could meet yours.

     You nodded. “Very. Thank you.”

     Matthias smiled. “You’re welcome, prinsesse. Now.” Placing the towel in its rightful place, Matthias turned to you with a smirk on his face. “How about some SSBB?”

     You smirked. “Beat you to the living room!” You said right before you took off.

     “Hey! No fair!” Matthias said, quickly gaining on you. You just laughed and shot back a, “Life isn’t fair!”

     Right as you reached the living room, Matthias wrapped his arms around your waist, causing you to let out a squeak of surprise. Laughing, Matthias spun you around so he could drag you both to the ground, but with you landing in his lap, your back pressed up against his chest.

     Matthias leaned forward so that his mouth was right next to your ear. “I win.”

     You pouted, and smacked one of his legs playfully. “That wasn’t fair.”

     Matthias smirked. “Life isn’t fair.”

     Huffing, you just leaned forward to grab the Wii and TV remote.  Turning the TV on, and then going to the Wii channel, you selected SSBB. Grabbing your (controller of choice), Matthias grabbed his controller of choice.

     “Hey, want to do a story mode?” You asked, twisting your head to look at Matthias.

     He shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” Smiling, you set up a new story mode game. As you guys played, you tried to ignore the fact that you were currently sitting in Matthias cross-legged lap, you leaning against his chest, while his arms were on either side of your waist, his hands holding his controller in front of you. As the AC came on, you snuggled yourself closer to him, since you weren’t exactly wearing the warmest set of clothes. Unbeknownst to you, a small smile crept its way onto Matthias’s lips, and he rested his chin on your shoulder.

     For the next hour or so, you both played like that, leaning forward or backwards as you got into the game, kicking enemies this way and that.

     Yawning, you glanced at the clock. 9:07 PM.

     “Tired?” Matthias asked.

     You nodded. “Yeah.”

     “Alrighty then. Get up.” Unwrapping his arms from you, Matthias leaned back to give you room to stand up. Once you were up, you turned around and offered your hand to Matthias, which he gratefully accepted. Grabbing your hand in his much larger one, he led you to your bedroom. Matthias pulled back the covers of your bed for you as you got in, and then pulled them over you once you got settled. You looked up at Matthias in the dim light of your lamp as he smiled down lovingly at you, his blue eyes sparkling. Staring back with half lidded eyes, you watched and felt as his warm and gentle hand brushed the hair off your forehead. Leaning down, Matthias pressed his lips softly to your forehead, lingering there for what felt like only a second. Standing back up to his full height, he said, “Goodnight, _____. Sleep well and sweet dreams.”

     What he did then was something you did not expect. He turned around, and headed for your bedroom’s door. The fear of being alone suddenly grabbed hold of you, and in response, you reached out and grabbed Matthias’ hand.

     “W-wait!” You said, sitting up so that your hand could reach farther. Twisting around, Matthias blinked at you, silently urging you to go on. Though, you could feel his hand slowly grip yours.

     “D-don’t go…” Thinking, you came to the conclusion that he would probably then grab and chair and sit next to the bed. But that would also mean he would watch you sleep. And honestly, you didn’t like that idea too much.

     “H-here.” Letting go of his hand, you scooted over to the other side of your bed, making more room available. Patting the spot next to you, you looked up shyly at Matthias. Getting your hint, he gave a small smile, inwardly laughing at your adorableness. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he slipped his legs under the covers, and then lied down. You lied down with him, and snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer to him.

     “Better?” Matthias asked softly.

     You gave a small nod. “Mmhmm.”

     A few moments of silence passed before you remembered something.

     “Oh yeah. Matthias?” You asked.

     “Yes?”

     “I love you, too.”

~Fin~