IcelandXSerious!Reader: How to smile

“Gosh dammit. Why does he always ask me to do this?” You grumbled as you walked down the aisle of the candy store. You were buying liquorice for one of your friends, Emil. He had asked you to buy some since he couldn’t be bothered to get some for himself. You had asked why and he just replied with a simple ‘Cause I don’t want to.’ That sneaky bastard. And you are doing it only because… well you liked Emil for some time now. But you couldn’t help but be so serious around people while you could describe Emil as… somehow playful. Well it was your nature to be serious. However, you and Emil had been friends for years and while he’s around you, he’s always different than around Mr Puffin and the others. But you always thought that he was just comfortable around you. Well… that AND because he kinda have a small… tiny… okay, huge crush on you since forever. But you never noticed that. But you did like the Icelandic back to. Everyone had realised it, even someone like Matthias noticed it too.
So here you are, buying liquorice for your crush. This happens every single time you went out to buy candy. You paid for the liquorice and some (favourite candy).
“Emil better be happy,” you mumbled to yourself. You walked back to the house you shared with Emil and his half-brothers. You unlocked the door and entered the house. Inside, you saw what was normal to you. Lukas was choking Matthias on the tie, Berwald was freaking Tino out as usual and Emil was casually watching everyone. In other words, it was a normal day.
“_-_________! Please help out the King of Northern Europe!” Matthias pleaded to you as Lukas continued to strangle him. You shook your head.
“You get what you deserve, King,” you said. You walked past Emil, throwing him the packet of liquorice he adored so much. He caught it, opened it and ate some. You walked straight to your room to eat the candy you bought for yourself. You were such a candyholic. You took some (favourite candy) and started to eat. You laid on your (favourite colour) bed sheets while eating. Soon, you heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” you said. Emil entered your room with a piece of liquorice in his mouth. “What do you want, Em?” you asked.
“Well, I wanna ask you something. Why are you always so serious?” Emil asked. You just stared at him blankly.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” you asked back. Emil sighed.
“Whatever…” he said. He took a piece of liquorice and held it out to you, as if asking you to take it. You took it and bit into it.
“If that’s your plan to make me not serious, it’s not going to work,” You said, swallowing the liquorice.
“Aww, and I just wasted a pretty good piece liquorice for you and you wouldn’t accept the offering,” Emil said, pouting cutely and crossing his arms across his chest.
“You have to work harder than that, Em,” you said, ruffling his hair. You sat up and leaned against the wall. “So you just came into my room just to say that?” you asked, pretty seriously.
“Well, yeah. Giving a piece of my liquorice was part of my plan… but that didn’t work,” Emil said. “Why don’t you smile for me, __________? It’s been so long since you done that,” It’s true. You always kept a poker face for years. The last time you smiled was before you moved into the house you are right now. Your parents had abandoned you when you were so young. Maybe around 3? You never remembered them but you remember that your mother and father always got into fights but they treated you so nicely. And then they abandoned you. Your mother left you outside this house and Emil was the first one to find you. From then on, you were attached to him, always following him around.
“How could I? And plus, there is nothing to smile for,” you said.
“There is. You have a great life. You have me and my half-brothers who definitely love you for who you are. And there’s many things to smile for. We are a huge family, _________. Remember, we are always there for you. Lukas would stay with you when you are lonely, Matthias is always there to cheer you up, Tino always lighten the mood with his cheerfulness, and Berwald is like your guardian. And as for me, you could always tell me what’s on your mind,” Emil said. You thought for a moment. He was right.
“But… it’s been so long. Surely I forgotten how to smile. Can you teach me how to smile?” you said.
“Sorry, _________. But I just have to do… this,” Emil then pounced on you and started to tickle your sides. Instantly, you started to laugh. It was so foreign to you since it’s been forever since you last laughed too. You laughed and laughed. Emil smiled as you did. It was like music to his ears. He continued even though you pleaded to stop.
After a long, tortuous 10 minutes of tickling, Emil decided to stop. You took long breaths as you tried to breathe properly. You sat up with a huge grin on your face.
“There… much better. You should keep that smile… it suits you,” Emil said, with pink cheeks. You noticed that you were smiling and your face went back into a poker face.
“I’m not smiling. It’s too complicated,” you said. You denied smiling. You thought it was ridiculous
“Fine… whatever you want, _________,” Emil said. He stood up and left the room. You suddenly felt bad. You should have at least… smiled for a bit longer. You stood up and went to your dressing table and looked in the mirror. You tried smiling to the mirror but every time you did, you thought you looked stupid. You use your two fingers and tried to pull the corner of your mouths up, forming a smile. This time, it looked good. But it seemed so fake. Nobody likes a fake smile. You sighed and left your room too.
Outside, you saw Emil trying to get Lukas off his back. You thought it was because Lukas wanted Emil to call him ‘Big Brother’. But once you got closer you heard what they were talking about.
“Come on, lil’ bro. Tell her you like her,” Lukas said, poking Emil.
“No… I don’t think she likes me back,” Emil said. Who was this girl they were talking about? Surely it wasn’t you… since you always thought Emil wound never like you back.
“Oh look, lil’ bro. There she is, go on, confess,” Lukas said, pushing Emil towards you.
“H-hey, _________. I just want to get this straight… Ég elska þig,” Emil said. You stood there, trying to comprehend what he said to you. You knew what that meant but you thought it was too good to be true.
“I-I… love you too, Em,” you replied. Emil then leaned forwards for a kiss. Once his lips were on yours, you kissed back. Little did you know, Matthias was hiding behind the couch, spying on the two of you.
“WOOO! EMIL’S GETTING SOME TONIGHT!” Matthias yelled out.
“Shut up, stupid Dane,” Lukas said, strangling Matthias’ tie.
Emil just smiled and kissed you again. You smiled back. A real smile. Finally.