Welp, here's to another story! This one is basically Iceland going blind, but he tries to hide it from everyone else. However, his condition is worse than he thinks. All this on top of school, a new transfer student from Hong Kong, and the common difficulties/drama with being a teenager. Will contain yaoi, but I am not sure how much yet. :D

A few notes:

Character names: Emil (Iceland, 17), Lukas (Norway, 19), Matthias (Denmark, 20), Tino (Finland, 20), Berwald (Sweden, 21). Other names will be listed as they appear.

The story takes place a few weeks before school begins in late August.

EDIT: A HUGE thanks to Death-Scimitar and Black Pichu for being my Beta!

Chapter One

Emil drummed his fingers against the arm of the uncomfortable chair before shifting to lean forward. His eyes took in the waiting room, observing the colors of each individual object, attempting to imprint every hue into his mind. The outdated magazines beside him did not hold his interest longer than a few measly seconds and his muscles ached from the tension as he impatiently tapped his feet.

A nurse in violet scrubs came through the door, foot propped to keep it open as she squinted at a name. "Emil Steilsson?" Emil stood up quickly and followed the nurse through the door, down a short hallway, and into a cramped doctor's office. "He'll be right with you," the nurse mumbled before closing the door and exiting the room.

Emil sat down on the puffy black chair. The phoropter leaned a bit to the side, its intimidating structure causing Emil's frown to deepen, if that was even possible.

The doctor appeared not much later, holding a file with Emil's name scrawled upon the small tab at the top. "Alright, Emil. We have good news and bad news." He wheeled a chair over to sit across from Emil, flipping the file open and fingering through the pages.

"Tell me the bad news first," Emil insisted, eyes hard as the doctor looked over his glasses at the boy.

He placed the file upon his lap and stared Emil straight in the face. "You are going to go blind." Emil sucked in a breath before clenching his fists into his pants. He nodded, signaling the doctor to continue. "If our charts are correct, you will lose your eyesight completely within the next six to nine months. The good news-" The doctor paused, pulling a sheet of paper from the closed file and handing it to Emil. "-there may be a chance to fix it. It is risky, and may not even work, but surgery may be able to fix the problem."

Emil forced himself to breathe evenly, feeling the world shift and swirl around him. The doctor's hand came forward, offering a comforting clap upon Emil's shoulder. "What are the risks? When could we do the surgery?" Emil asked.

The doctor sat back. "If you do decide to go with the surgery, we will have more tests to go through before an official date is chosen. More information can be given at a later date depending on the specific diagnoses and procedure chosen for your situation. For now you should go home and talk to your folks about this, alright?" The doctor stood, handing the slip of paper to Emil. Emil stood and was led silently out of the office. They parted with strained farewells and Emil's hand fumbled within his deep pockets for his keys. He didn't notice he had already exited the building until he was seated behind the wheel of his car, hands white as he stared ahead with unfocused eyes. He remained still for a few minutes, his breathing measured.

"I'm…going to go blind," Emil murmured, trying to get his mind to face the reality of such an incredulous statement. He didn't bother reading the paper before stuffing it into his pocket. Pulling out of the parking lot, he began the short drive back to his house. He would never admit his hands had been shaking the entire ride.

Before Emil knew it, he had cut the engine off and the little house stood before him. A window curtain hastily closed when Emil caught sight of a face peering through the clear glass. Taking the jingling keys from the ignition, Emil dragged his feet to the front door, preparing to be bombarded with questions. The door swung open before he could even grasp the doorknob, a straight-faced boy staring expectantly at Emil.

"Where have you been?" Lukas inquired steadily, stepping aside and allowing entrance into the house.

Emil waved the question away as he slipped his shoes off and padded across the floor, sniffing the air. Pleasant aromas of home cooking forced his stomach to rumble and a familiar Finnish man's giggling could be heard from the kitchen.

"Emil, don't ignore me." Lukas trailed the white-haired boy into the kitchen.

"I just went to the store to browse. I'm out of games," Emil said, resisting the urge to bite his lip nervously. Lukas scowled, but dropped the subject.

"EMIL! Hey, where have ya been?" The loud voice made Emil flinch as an arm draped itself across his stressed shoulders. The limb was removed as soon as it had appeared when Lukas grabbed it and shoved Matthias away.

"Keep your arms off him," Lukas ordered. Immediately Matthias changed targets and began attempting to playfully hug Lukas instead.

"Hello Tino, Berwald." Emil nodded to the duo before striding towards the stairs, taking advantage of Lukas's distraction with Matthias. He rubbed his eyes as he entered his bedroom and kicked the door closed softly, flopping down upon the chair before his desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose. The square glasses sat precariously near the corner of the oak desk. A thin hand reached for them, sliding the spectacles on with ease. Emil grimaced as the world he thought had been so clear snapped to a much sharper focus.

Emil had taken extreme care to hide his eyesight complications from his brother and friends, saving money from his part-time job to schedule appointments behind their backs. He rested his head in his hands before remembering the sheet of paper still in his pocket. Emil drew the paper out and his eyes scanned the small script quickly.

A simple synopsis and description of his 'illness' was provided, along with precautions and charts of Emil's decreasing vision over the course of several months prior. At the very bottom a phone number was provided requesting a guardian to contact a Dr. Roma if interest in the procedure presented itself. Emil sighed, taking his glasses off and placing them in the side drawer of his desk along with the paper and opened his laptop. Within seconds, pesterchum popped up with several messages from a few of his friends. A small, tired smile forced itself upon Emil's face as he began to reply.

- freedomburger [FB] began pestering puffinmaster [PM] at 16:42 -

FB: hey!

FB: dude, u there?

FB: come on man! i wanna talk!

PM: Don't you always talk?

FB: oh, u are on! what's up man?

PM: Nothing really. How about you?

PM: Wait, I take that back.

FB: no way! u already asked! xD

PM: What have I done.

FB: u won't believe what i did today

FB: seriously. it was awesome!

PM: Let me guess. Did you jump off the top of your house again because you thought you could fly?

FB: no way! besides that was years ago!

Emil watched the shenanigans of another one of Alfred's crazy tales unfold. He shook his head and stretched before resting his fingers upon the keys again.

FB: so did u hear the news?!

PM: What news would that be?

FB: we have a new transfer student!

PM: We always get new transfer students. That is kind of the point of our school.

FB: u mean my school. all you immigrants are planning to take it over! i can feel it!

PM: Yes, we are. I can't believe you figured it out so quickly.

FB: :D

FB: but yea, apparently it's some new guy from Hong Kong or some shit like that

FB: he's asian

PM: Yes, Hong Kong is in that area.

Emil continued the conversation, debating immigration and geography with the bull-headed American. Why he always acted so stupid Emil would never know. Everyone knew Alfred was crazy smart, but for some reason, he insisted that he really was stupid. He dragged a hand over his face as he spoke to a few other friends and then signed off.

Emil turned and stared at a picture of him, his parents, and his older brother, Lukas. The photograph was several years old, taken when his parents were still alive. Their faces were genuinely cheery and happy. In six months I may never be able to see their faces again. Emil mentally slapped himself, but the troubling thought still pulled at the corners of his consciousness. He had purposefully placed the framed photo there so that he wouldn't forget his parent's faces. If he couldn't see, how was he supposed to know for sure how his parents looked? How would he be able to see the changing faces around him? How would he be able to see movies, or read, or do his homework, or take the stupid tests at school?

How would he be able to hide it from everyone else?