He didn't have to glance down at his wrist to know what it said, but that didn't stop him from looking anyways.

Lukas Bondevik grew up with those five words permanently etched not only into his being, but into his consciousness as well. They were the first words he ever learned to read, and he could even say that they were partly the reason he is the way he is today.

Those. Five. Words. The words he was permanently stuck with for the rest of his life. From start to finish.

And they couldn't be a more ungodly arrangement of letters.

"Hej good lookin', what's cookin'?"

Lukas grew up not entirely certain of the words' meaning. Not because they were a concoction of Danish and English… after all, he knew both fairly fluently by the time he was nine… Danish and Norwegian were very similar, it might as well just be a difference in accent. It just wasn't until he was twelve years old did he realize that "What's cookin', good lookin'" was a cheap English pick-up line.

He's still unable to wrap his head around the idea that the person he was destined to spend his life with would say something so stupid. He was supposed to fall in love with a sweet, sophisticated, Norwegian girl.

Or rather, that's what he thought until he was fourteen. When Lukas was fourteen, he realized that he wanted to fall in love with a sweet, sophisticated, Norwegian man.

The thought of a shadowy Danish brute capturing his heart... disappointed him, for lack of a better term. Especially one who would think that "Hej good lookin', what's cookin'?" was a smooth first impression. Sometimes the thought of it was enough to make Lukas grimace.

Very unfortunately for Lukas, his mark had been a source of ridicule since the day he was born. He kept the words hidden, shying away from strangers in fear that they would ask what his wrist said. It's not like the social interaction was an uncommon one, but then again, neither was the saying on his arm. He was just a little ashamed. Even his little brother mocked him for having something so ridiculous inscribed on his wrist, as if Emil's was any better.

Actually, maybe it wasn't best to bring up Emil's right now. It kinda freaked Lukas out. It wasn't anything too bad… just… a little concerning to him. Emil, however, didn't seem to mind his soul mate's first words to him… or if he did, he didn't show it.

Well anyways, Lukas found himself currently resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his blank expression unfocused and lost in thought.

The cacophony of the Copenhagen pub was dull in the back of his mind. He had been in Denmark for a few days now, mostly because Emil was trying to find a good university, and for some ungodly reason he thought Denmark was a good place for an education.

Not that it wasn't, or anything. Just, why Denmark?

Despite that he typically tried to avoid Denmark, he found himself there quite often. He was fairly certain that his entire family thought that it was their mission to set him up with his mystery soul mate, so Lukas was thrust into the neighboring country on a regular basis.

He held a Danish beer in his hand, mindlessly sipping at it while he thought. A loud blond man next to him at the bar snapped him out of all thoughts, and suddenly the surrounding pub was obnoxiously loud.

Almost as loud as the blond Dane with the wild hair next to him.

"Can I get two rounds, please! For me an' my friend here!" The Dane sent a sideways glance to Lukas, and he nearly choked on his beer. Was that guy talking about him?

His eyes were a brilliant blue and his eyebrow game was so on point that Lukas was 100% confident that he was the 'friend' in question after the stranger waggled them at him.

The blond sat down in the bar stool next to him, and Lukas turned away.

"Hej, good lookin', what's cookin'?"

His heart stopped.

No way.

His face remained expressionless, but inside he was screaming. This was it, this was really him. And god, the stupid pick-up line sounded just as bad in use as he thought it would.

Lukas wished he could say he wasn't surprised, but in truth, he was. This Dane caught him off guard, and as disbelief and anxiety boiled inside of him, he could only really think of one thing to say back to the blond stranger.

…

Okay, so Mathias wasn't the most usual kid ever born. You may be asking yourself: What could be so strange about this seemingly ordinary Danish kid?

Well, for starters, his intense blond hair stuck out at all angles imaginable. Completely natural. Second, he had a history of taking off his shirt. It was pretty bad, especially when he was a kid.

The list was long, but there was nothing as strange as what was forever engraved on his wrist.

Or rather - wrists.

The words there weren't even interesting or unique in any way whatsoever… they could belong to anyone. But it was the mere fact that he had two inscriptions that made him an anomaly. You can't have two soulmates. That was so ridiculous.

"Ugh, idiot."

The prospect of being called an idiot by one of the people he was destined to love made Mathias all warm inside. In all honesty, he was sure he liked the other wrist's inscription a little better.

"Oh my god."

Not any less generic, but a little less of a downer. He just hoped that whatever words were on their respective wrists were cooler. He liked to think that he was good with first impressions.

He mindlessly rubbed his thumb over the one that read "Ugh, idiot." A local pub surrounded him. It wasn't too busy, but it definitely wasn't empty, either.

"Mathias, psst, hottie at six o'clock." His German-born friend sat his beer down and oggled past Mathias.

Mathias snapped out of his thoughts, a grin rising on his face as he whipped his head around. There was a slender man with pale blond hair sitting kind of hunched over the bar, a glass mug of beer sitting on the bartop in front of him. Mathias couldn't really see his face from this angle, though.

He shrugged, laughing light-heartedly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Nah, you so missed his face. He's totally cute."

Mat turned back around, chugging a sip of his beer. "Heh heh, ya sound like a girl, Gil."

The German groaned. "Ughh, don't say that. I try really hard not to be a girl here, so don't burst my bubble you cis asshole." Gilbert's harsh words were carried by a smile and a gulp of his beer.

"Well, ya definitely drink like a guy," Mathias laughed.

Gilbert's only response to that was an acknowledgement in the form of a raised glass.

"Speaking of drinking," the Dane continued, "I think I might just have had enough beer to hit on that guy over there."

"Like you needed beer for that," called Gilbert when Mathias was already about halfway up to the bar.

The Dane looked back and waggled his eyebrows.

"Can I get two rounds, please! For me an' my friend here!" He cast the pretty little male a sideways glance, throwing as much suggestion into the look as he could manage. Mathias sat down at the barstool next to the man and turned toward him, his eyes gentle and his posture charismatic. He had gotten pretty good at this.

The man in front of him bore little expression on his face, save for the tiny rise of an eyebrow. His eyes were soft and blue, but still maintained a menacing vibe that almost threw Denmark off at first. But damn, Gilbert was right. This guy was cute.

"Hej, good lookin', what's cookin'?"

He must have said something either really right, or really wrong. The stranger blushed lightly and looked away, his expression quivering just before a hand flew over his mouth. Unnervingly, his eyes stayed exactly the same.

There was a pause before the stranger muttered a reply. He took his hand off of his mouth and composed himself.

"Ugh, idiot."

Denmark's eyes shot down to his wrist. He's heard the insult plenty of times, but could this be the one?

It was still there.

"Ugh, idiot."

And he'd just heard it in his ears from a complete stranger at a bar. His eyes lost their game when they widened in surprise. He searched the stranger's face for any sign that he was the one, but saw little more than a blush beneath those averted blue eyes.

After a few heartbeats of uncertainty, the stranger spoke. "My name is Lukas. Pleased to make your acquaintance, soulmate."

He sounded bitter, as if this wasn't super exciting. Mathias, on the other hand, almost jumped out of his skin.

Actually, he quite literally jumped off of the bar stool. The Dane grabbed Lukas's wrist with a bit more force than he had intended, a wide smile escalating on his face. Lukas didn't look too pleased as Mathias pulled his sleeve up, but Mat hardly noticed. There it was.

"Hej, good lookin', what's cookin'?"

Mathias couldn't help it when he jumped for joy. He looked up at Lukas's frightened face and grinned even wider.

"I'm Mathias!" Wow, he was so lucky, Lukas looked absolutely adorable. His skin was almost as pale as his hair, and it looked soft to the touch. Mat had to remind himself that they were still strangers.

But that didn't stop the need to tell everyone exactly how he was feeling right now. The excitement bubbled inside of him, and he couldn't help it when the following outburst flew from his lips, the loudest exclamation in the entire bar.

"Hey everyone!" Mathis yelled out in Danish. The pub quieted slightly, but definitely didn't go silent. "I just found my soulmate!"

Suddenly the entire bar erupted into a chaotic uproar of claps and whoops, but it settled down after only a few seconds.

When Mathias looked back, he slowly realized that Lukas was freaking out a little under all of the sudden attention, but Mat couldn't be more through the roof. He beamed back at Gilbert, who was watching from their usual table. He raised his beer and nodded his head aggressively.

"Stupid Dane," he heard Lukas mutter behind a face palm. He couldn't care less, especially as he pulled Lukas into a hug.

…

Lukas had never been more uncomfortable in his entire life. Being hugged by a guy you just met was actually a little scary. Especially when you were put into a sudden spotlight, where it felt like balloons and confetti would fall from the ceiling at any moment. He was 100% sure that this was not how this worked exactly.

After the initial shock, he had to resist the urge to choke the obnoxious Dane. As if he actually could. Mathias's arms were wrapped strongly around Lukas, and his body felt so muscular that Lukas knew he was overpowered. And the scent he carried on him… it smelt of beer and… something else. Something good. Lukas didn't quite know what it was, but he liked it.

Slowly but surely, the pros of the hug somewhat balanced out the cons. But that didn't stop him from wishing he was free. He waited for the Dane to satisfy himself, reflecting on everything that had occurred in the last few seconds.

Within a heartbeat, he was free, but Mathias still held on to his hand. The hand that had Mathias's first words to him on his wrist. This guy seemed like a handful, but if he was supposed to be his soulmate, then what was Lukas going to do about it? Besides, the Dane did seem to carry a certain charm about him… maybe this could work out.

"Mathias…" he tested on his lips, his voice hardly audible in the pub as he sat himself back down, still unable to look directly at the no-longer-stranger bouncing around in front of him. The idea that they were destined for each other drew Lukas closer to him… but something about the crazy Dane pushed him away. It was probably the outgoing attitude and loud voice. But then again, it could be worse… at least it wasn't a girl. Lukas thought that he could definitely love a girl, but… well, he was glad that the whole "destiny" thing took sexuality into account.

Plus, Mathias didn't seem to phased that he was destined to be with a guy, so that was a good thing he supposed. Lukas had heard stories of someone's soulmate being of an undesirable gender.

He was startled out of his thoughts by two beers being placed on the bar in front of him, and the bartender telling Mathias that it was "on the house", or the Danish equivalent.

"Wow, really?" The Dane beamed, grabbing onto the mug.

He nodded with a soft smile. "It's not every day someone finds their soulmate, you know."

Lukas buried his face into his hand… he didn't want to be here anymore. He took a sip of his beer, watching Mathias sit back down out of the corner of his eye. "Will you calm down," he mumbled, "unless you want me to choke you out." Lukas was speaking Danish now.

Mathias replied in his native language as well. "Wha? Aren't you excited?" He didn't really sound all that concerned.

"I'm shy around strangers. This is very weird for me." Lukas's blush got a little heavier.

Mathias only giggled. "You sound kinda weird. Like you're singing. Are you from the north? You aren't Swedish, are you?" He quieted, his face completely serious, as if being Swedish was a deal-breaker or something. It probably was, knowing the Danish.

"Norwegian." Mathias let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, oh thank god. I thought we were going to have a problem."

"Didn't you hear me? I'm shy around strangers."

Mathias made a tiny noise of protest, pulling his face out of his beer. "I'm not a stranger anymore, man. We hugged. We're pretty much married now." He was still speaking Danish, it was much more natural-sounding that his accented English.

How could this guy be so dense? "We've just met."

Just then, some white haired guy came over and rested an elbow on Mathias's shoulder. Lukas looked at him confusedly.

"Oh!" Mathias exclaimed, switching back to English. "This is my friend, Gilbert. He's German."

"Prussian! Gott, how many times do I have to tell you, Mathias?" The new stranger made Lukas even more uncomfortable. He hid behind his beer, sipping at it nervously.

"Prussian, male, ya're so picky, Gil." Wait, what?

"For good reason!" Gilbert snapped. The "Prussian" looked kinda frightening, but Lukas wasn't afraid of him. He was just a little shy. He kept his face emotionless, not intending to show weakness… despite the confusion.

Mathias laughed off his friend's anger. "Yeah. yeah, yeah. But Gil, look, this is Lukas! Look, look at his wrist!"

Gilbert glanced over and Lukas complied, flashing the Prussian his wrist.

"Hey good lookin', what's cookin'? Really, Mathias?" Gilbert turned to Lukas. "I am so sorry you're stuck with this one."

Lukas suddenly felt a kinship with Gilbert.

He nodded, glancing down at his wrist and running a finger over the words. "I think I've come to terms with it. I've always known he was going to be an idiot."

Gilbert laughed. "Yeah, at least he's a hot idiot. So Mathias," he clapped a hand on Mat's shoulder, "Which wrist is he on?"

The Dane roughly elbowed Gilbert in the ribs, as if the German had just said something he really shouldn't have.

"Ooof!... What, are you going to keep it a secret from him? You know you can't."

"Not right now, Gilbert! We just met!"

Lukas looked between the two of them. Was there something he needed to know about?

"I thought we were "pretty much married now"," he recited.

Mathias whined. "This is a little different."

Gilbert had said something about Mat's wrist, and Mathias didn't protest when Lukas grabbed a hand. His left one.

It read "Oh my god."

That definitely wasn't what it was supposed to say.

The other wrist was it was supposed to say. He opened his mouth to say something, but another wrist was shoved into his face before he could protest.

"Don't look at that one! It has to be a mistake, or something! Look at this!" Mathias's voice seemed urgent.

"Ugh, idiot."

Eyebrows furrowed together as gears clicked into place. Lukas looked back up at Mathias's hopeful face. "...How is this possible?"

It was baffling. Two different inscriptions? Lukas had never even heard of that.

The Dane that Lukas was still holding on to shrugged. "No one really knows. I went to a doctor once when I was little… she said it could be a mutation, or maybe I might have two soulmates or something. I kinda thought that maybe there was an odd number of people out there, so someone had to get stuck with two…"

"That's ridiculous." Lukas strove to understand more about the phenomenon.

"You aren't mad, are ya?" Mathias was speaking carefully. What? Why would he be- oh.

Lukas shook his head, processing what this would mean. "No."

"Then what are you-"

"I'm curious. You aren't natural."

Lukas looked up at Mathias, his eyes a lot icier than before. He froze Mathias in that spot, until Gilbert interrupted.

"See, Mat, he doesn't even care. Quit making such a big deal about it."

Lukas supposed that he didn't. It wouldn't really become a problem until the other person was found, right? And even then, who said it had to be a problem?

Wait, what if… he didn't want to think about that. The thought flared through his head, sending a shiver down the Norwegian's spine.

What if Mathias had two soul mates because his first one was going to die?

He opened his mouth to say something about it, but immediately let it snap shut. If that was how things worked, you'd think that more people would have two phrases on their wrists, right?

Mathias was chuckling in reply to Gilbert's statement, and Lukas's eyes had drifted back down to the Dane's wrist at some point. The one that said "Oh my god."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mat laughed to Gilbert. Lukas couldn't help but think of ways to keep Mathias on a lower volume setting. Things went quiet between the three of them for a moment while Mathias gulped some more of his beer.

"So Lukas," Mathias asked, setting his mug on the bartop. "What brings you to a Copenhagen pub?" Danish again. Lukas figured that Gilbert was being isolated by this, being as Mathias switched to English to introduce his German friend.

"My brother- he's looking for school here. Told me I could do whatever I wanted as long as I took him back home afterwards. I drove six hours from Oslo, so he had better let me do whatever I want."

"Or whoever you want." The Dane waggled his eyebrows and Lukas rolled his eyes.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Dane. I'll only be in town for a day or two."

"I only need like, fifteen minutes."

Lukas was actually rather amused by this response. After all, it wasn't often he was flirted with. The thought of Mathias's suggestion made his stomach knot up.

He supposed he must have made a face, because the Dane continued to add: "What, I can be faster if you want? Ten minutes, tops?"

That's when he blushed and covered up his mouth with a hand.

"What?" Gilbert asked in English, seeing Lukas's reaction. "What did you say?"

Mathias broke out into laughter. "I'll tell you later."

"No you won't," Lukas added. He didn't want that comment shared with anyone else.

Mathias laughed, and Lukas realized for the first time that night that his obnoxiously loud laugh was a beautiful sound, and not an annoying one like he had originally thought.

Gilbert and Mathias argued for a few moments, and since English wasn't exactly his best language, he didn't bother using his energy to interpret it after a few sentences. The night carried on in idle conversation and time was measured in beer. Lukas payed no attention to the quantity he drank knowing that the hotel where he was staying was only a short walk away.

It's not like he was going to drink enough to get visibly drunk; he always had a fairly high tolerance for alcohol. And so did Mathias, by the looks of it. But there always comes a time when the night is over. Gilbert was gone already, and it must have been getting close to midnight.

"Emil will be worried about me if I don't get back soon," Lukas stated calmly, showing no indication of having a beer-muddled mind.

"Hnnn where are you staying?"

"Hotel down the street." Lukas was feeling pretty tired by now, and to be completely honest, he didn't want to part with Mathias just yet. The Dane's crazy words had reeled him in within the last few hours, hook line and sinker. How he could have charmed the cold Norwegian so quickly was beyond him. Lukas credited it to bias.

"Can I… walk you back? Please?"

Okay, that would run the risk of Emil meeting Mathias, something he didn't think he was quite ready for.

"Also Gilbert drove me here so I don't really have a ride back home."

Okay, so "walk you back" is synonymous with "stay the night".

"You're really stupid, you know that?" Lukas felt kinda like smiling. "Fine, you can stay with me tonight. But you have to be really quiet."

On the way back to the hotel, Lukas pondered how the situation was going to pan out. Mathias was going to have to sleep in his bed, which wasn't too bad. They were soulmates, after all. Lukas could deal with it. Emil, though… How was he going to explain? He silently prayed that the kid was asleep.

He slid the card key into the slot and opened up the door, his stomach churning. Emil was sitting on his bed, typing away on his laptop. His expressionless eyes shot up to where he was standing, and then glanced at Mathias. The typing stopped.

"Lukas," he started, "you stay out all night and then you bring company back to the hotel room."

"Yes, yes, I know, Emil, this is Mathias. He didn't have a ride home, so he's staying with us."

"Lukas," Emil furrowed his eyebrows. "You can't just-"

"He's my soulmate." Emil quieted. "Mathias, this is my brother, Emil."

Mathias looked right at Emil with those shockingly blue eyes. "Nice, I've always wanted to try brothers."

Lukas's spine went rigid with disbelief. No. No way. It couldn't be.

Emil's purple eyes widened. "Oh my god," he whispered. A few heartbeats of silence went by.

"Well brother," Emil held his wrist up so that Lukas could see it. "It looks like we're going to have a problem."

Lukas couldn't make out the words on Emil's wrist from this distance, but he knew what they were.

"Nice, I've always wanted to try brothers."

Emil's typing continued.

A/N: This is actually as far as the idea took me (AU by morkmorker on tumblr post/91526771462/so-for-that-au-where-the-first-words-a-persons) so I probably won't go any farther with this unless it really strikes my fancy, which I won't doubt it will some day. Hope you enjoyed it, and please leave me a review! (Maybe if someone convinces me that I need to write more, I will. u/u)

Also about the FTM Gilbert… I dunno, I just started writing him and he came out that way. It's one of my favorite hetalia gender headcanons. So great.