Iceland x Reader: The Norway Complex

He called it the "Norway Complex". To be overprotective to the point of being overbearing…

He already had one older sibling (or four, if you looked at it one way). He didn't want another.

But there you were, as unrelenting as ever. You were beautiful, yes. Beautiful to the point where, if Iceland had to choose between you and his beloved Mr Puffin, he'd probably choose you. (But don't tell Mr Puffin.)

But it was impossible for him to even think of saying anything to you. You were always there, scolding, warning, yelling...

"Emil, look both ways before you cross the street!"

"Emil, don't forget your coat!"

"Emil, did you pack a lunch?"

Just. Like. Norway. But you weren't four years older than him; in fact, you were five weeks and four days his junior (yes, he had counted). Why, then, did you act as though you were his older sister? He didn't think he came across as that irresponsible...so immature and cuddly that any random girl would just start mothering him as if they were a female Norway crossed with Finland. Why, then, did you do it?

Iceland didn't know, but he was determined to find out. He got the opportunity after you left the Nordic household after dropping off some ingredients for Finland's new cake recipe. Iceland had hidden in his room, not wanting another scolding about eating his vegetables or some other random topic of the day, but, as soon as he heard the door close behind you, he scampered into the kitchen to find some of his licorice-flavoured pop when he stumbled on something of yours.

It was a necklace. A locket, to be precise. Iceland had noticed the delicate gold chain around your neck, but he never thought much of it. Here is was, though, right in front of him.

Picking the necklace up from the ground, Iceland toyed with the idea of opening it. Was it an invasion of privacy? Probably. Answering that question allowed him to answer the other, and the locket revealed a small picture of a younger girl who looked quite similar to you. It might have been one of your school pictures from several years ago, but why would you be wearing a picture of yourself?

"Oh, Emil! That's hers, isn't it?" Finland noticed Iceland standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "She probably hasn't gotten very far as yet. Would you mind awfully just seeing if you could get that back to her? I know she'd be very upset if she thought she'd lost it."

Upset? That meant that the necklace must have been a gift from someone. Nodding to Finland, Iceland dashed out of the house and onto the street. Finland was right; you hadn't even gotten to the street corner, although you were on your knees patting down the ground, as if you were looking for something.

It didn't take Iceland very long to catch up with you.

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You heard someone call your name, and you looked up to see Emil Steilsson running towards you. You brushed off your trousers before you noticed the familiar gold glint in his hand.

"You found my necklace!"

"Yes, you left it at our place…were you crying?" Emil said abruptly, noticing the streaks on your face.

"No, yes, well...I thought I lost it, that's all."

"Must mean a lot to you," Emil said, trying hard not to fish for information, and failing miserably. "Was it...a gift?"

You shook your head. "I bought it for myself."

"Oh." I guess she really does walk around with a picture of herself… Emil cleared his throat. "Well, I'm glad you got it back."

"Yes. Yes, oh, thank you so much for finding it!" You threw your arms around a shocked Emil, a gesture he found very uncharacteristic for someone with the Norway complex. "Wait…" Pulling the necklace back out from under your shirt, you opened the locket only to let out a sigh of relief.

"Is it there?" The words were out of Emil's mouth before he could stop them. Dammit, why am I so curious?

A small frown played on your lips before you turned back to Emil. "Wha...oh, yes. The picture. D-Do you want to s-see it?" You held the small gold chain up towards him, and he saw the face of the young girl he had seen before.

"Is that...you?"

You laughed lightly, your voice cracking from all of the fresh tears. "M-Me? Why would I wear my picture? Emil!" You squeezed his hand, not noticing the blush which burst across Emil's face. "No...that's my sister," you said softly. "The last picture I have of her."

"Oh. I didn't know you have a sister."

"I do. Or, at least, I think I do."

"What do you mean?"

"She ran away from home two years ago. Said she wasn't getting enough attention. Said no one loved her enough. I loved her a lot, Emil. I don't want  to make the same mistake again. But I don't really know what kind of attention she wanted, you know?"

Yes, Emil knew. All of a sudden, all of your warnings and scoldings and complaints made sense.

"I don't want to lose anyone else I love," you were saying, "because I didn't give them enough attention. I want to make sure the people I love know that I love them."

"You could...just tell them," Emil said softly, enveloping your hand with his own.

"H-How?"

"Like this." He leant over, and brushed his lips against yours. Your body stiffened, and Emil pulled back quickly. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"You knew?" you said, still slightly shocked. "How did you…?"

Emil shook his head. "I didn't know. I thought you hated me, thought I was immature and childish. Like Norway. But now I see...you were just hurting."

You paused for a moment before throwing your arms around Emil. "I-I love you, Emil!"

"I love you too, elsking."