Archive of Our Own ^beta

I.

The first time that Denmark fell pregnant, he hadn't even known that it was a possibility.

He was still so young, and had spent so little time as a country. His father had just disappeared and the wound was still so new in his heart. He knew that people like them, nations representing huge groups of people and their cultures, couldn’t live forever. They had to pass away once their children and people got old enough that they were a divided culture, something new and different. That knowledge hadn't done anything to ease the hurt in his heart once he realized that Scandinavia had wandered into the woods and would never come back.

But, even though he missed his father like a brand new ache in his chest, life went on. He spent most of his days working with his people. He spent time in the fields, helping them to grow food that would sustain them through the years. He helped out with the animals and learned almost every skill that he could. Eventually he people decided that it was time to set out on a voyage so that they could explore the lands around them and expand their empire. He, of course, went with them. His brothers didn’t accompany him this time because they were still trying to figure out their dynamics in the new land that they found themselves in.

The first place that they decided to explore were the islands just off the coast of his own land. They had only been on the open waters for about a week when he began to notice near-constant nausea and fatigue like he had never dealt with before. He hadn’t bothered to bring it up with anyone because he was the only country on the voyage. He trusted the warriors and explorers that accompanied him more than he probably would have, but they wouldn’t understand or be able to help them because they were merely human. 

He ignored his symptoms for as long as he could. Different things had been happening since Scandinavia slipped off into the forest and returned back to the land. He figured that this was just something like that, a side effect of him finally claiming more land for his country. However, a month or two into the exploration of the islands, he noticed that his stomach was beginning to swell despite the fact that he was eating less and walking more.

When he began to notice swelling and aching in his joints and legs, he sought counsel from an individual named Ida, who had laughed and then told him that he was expecting.

It had been a massive shock, to say the least.

He hadn't believed it at first, and had refused to speak with Ida for the next week or so. Then, he remembered a story that Scandinavia had told to him about his own conception and birth. All countries had been born from someone else, (with the exception of the oldest country who had given birth to the rest of the nations that followed) even if there wasn't someone else involved. And the world didn't care about gender when it came to creating a country out of another.

After he had his realization, he had come back to Ida with a sheepish smile on his face and apologized to them. They had forgiven him easily since they knew him well at this point and understood that he was just scared. Ida helped him through the rest of the pregnancy, especially when his belly became heavy with child to the point where it was uncomfortable for him to move much.

None of the other warriors questioned him when he explained what was happening. They were excited that their country was the one to be carrying the new nation, since it meant that their empire was growing. They were still kind and respectful to him.

The baby came in the middle of the day. His pains had begun at some point in the early morning, before even the sun had risen. Luckily, he and the other explorers had decided to set up camp for a few days so that they could rest before heading back to the mainland. He was able to hide out in his tent without the watchful eyes of everyone else. Ida had stayed by his side the entire time. They made sure that he ate and drank and slept so that he could keep up his strength for the upcoming delivery. 

He had been in labor for hours, and hours, and hours by the time that the grimy, white colored baby escaped him and fell into Ida's patient hands. Ida had immediately placed his grimy, squalling baby down onto his chest and she had become the entire world for him in an instant. He couldn’t look away from the perfect shape of her nose or the way that her tiny fists grasped at his skin. His eyes trailed after her even as Ida and another warrior cleaned the newborn up and checked after him to make sure that the delivery had gone smoothly. 

He fed her, getting instruction from the warrior Ida had invited to join them for assistance about how to help her attach. Despite the fact that he had no idea he could get pregnant and bear children into the world, his body changed and shifted to accommodate his needs both before and after the birth. 

Denmark's newborn babe remaned nameless as they made their way back to the Nordic's home. His brothers had been surprised to see the baby and find out that they could carry children without being inseminated or having the traditional equipment for it. They were generally pretty receptive to the baby, and kind to their brother.

Even though he trusted his brothers more than he did his own people, he had grown up with them after all, he was still wary about letting them around his newborn once he had actually returned home. It didn’t take long before he realized just how exhausting it was trying to care for a newborn alone with the added anxiety of constantly wondering if she was real or not. Eventually, he let his brothers dote on the little one too. Finland spoiled her absolutely rotten. He would walk around the palace with her in his arms while telling her all sorts of stories about his other father, Kievan Rus, and the countries he had met in the woods before being taken in by Scandinavia. The less obvious person to dote on her was Sweden, who had taken to patrolling outside of her nursery door every night to make sure that no one hurt the little babe. Norway acted ambivalent to the baby, but Denmark had caught him casting protective spells around her room and over her more than once.

She grew slowly, as all countries did, but they had to name her as she grew since they couldn't just keep calling her 'the baby'. Eventually, Denmark named her lands the Faroe Islands and named her Ida, after the strong, kind, compassionate warrior that had helped him bring her into the world.

II.

The second time he got pregnant, he was on a boat with his brothers. They had been traveling for a while, and sailing for about a fourth of that time when he noticed that his stomach was beginning to swell like it had when he had his beautiful baby girl. When he thought back to the way that he had been feeling recently, he did note that even though he got a little seasick every time they sailed he had been way sicker than expected. He was more tired, though he had originally written that off by the fact that he had to interact with his brothers.

Eventually, he wasn't able to try and pretend like he wasn't pregnant. His stomach had swollen almost uncomfortably far, and his ankles were beginning to protest him walking around the boat too much. He spent most of his time sitting and watching the lapping waves while he tried not to vomit.

Norway spent more and more time with him as his pregnancy progressed since he knew that the child was his. Over the last several hundred years, the two of them had been in love with each other but refused to state it outright. They had spent many nights keeping each other warm and dealing with their awkward teenage feelings through each other's bodies. He was able to count back the time that his body would have known that new countries were necessary and figured out that Norway must have helped with the creation of these little ones.

They reached land when his stomach had swollen so big that he wasn't able to wrap his coat all the way around himself. The massive piece of clothing was supposed to fit around his form completely snug so that he could still fight and hunt in it, which meant that it was the first out of all his clothing to go.

Finland was excited at the prospect of more children, though he fretted annoyingly about the delivery. None of them had been there during Ida’s birth, so none of them had any idea what to expect and were constantly worried that Denmark was going to go into labor at any moment. Because of his worry and Denmark's slower condition, they stopped a lot more often and made camp for two or three days instead of just sleeping overnight and then moving on. None of the warriors bothered to mention the pregnancy, since men carrying children wasn't unheard of even if there hadn't been a trans warrior in their village for a generation or so.

Sweden took care of him, in the way that only a brother he didn't really get along with could. The tallest Nordic would make sure that he ate enough throughout the day and would give him the biggest portions of the stew or roasted animal that they were having that night. He would watch his brother as they walked and explored the new land they arrived on, making sure that he was resting as often as he needed to.

Denmark noticed it all. He appreciated every moment of it, especially when he and Norway were able to catch a moment alone with each other and the smaller blond held his stomach while making him feel the best that he had in months. However, he noticed that he was pregnant for a lot longer than he had been anticipating. His stomach kept growing heavier and heavier, past the point that it had with his young Faroe. It seemed like he was never going to deliver.

His labor finally started when they were on one of their treks across the icy landscape they had found. He had paused for just a moment as the child moved under his hand, before he felt a wet gush down his legs and realized that his water had broken. He hadn't told anyone that he was in labor until they had bedded down for the night, which resulted in him getting yelled at before his brothers realized that the baby was more on its way than they had thought.

It had only taken a few minutes from the time that he told them the baby was coming until the child was in his arms. Then, they all got the surprise of a second child.

Greenland and Iceland, they decided eventually. Frida and Emil, respectively. 

Finland doted over them just like he had with Ida, though he got to hold the twins less than he had her since Denmark and Norway were overprotective of them. Norway was more attached with their little boy than the second female Nordic, often murmuring things to him when he thought that no one else was paying attention. Sweden favored the little girl since she was a bit frailer and wouldn't settle down to sleep unless she was being cuddled.

III.

His third pregnancy happened far later than the others did. Faroe was already forming sentences consistently and the twins were beginning to toddle without falling.

He had to leave them to go out on another expedition with his brothers, but he was happy to have them when they landed and he found out that he was pregnant. He had found out because he felt like he had caught the worst flu that had ever existed. He could barely stay awake, and vomited everything that he ate. His ankles hurt all of the time and his legs were retaining water so he was swollen everywhere.

They had only just barely set up their first camp after reaching land by the time that the child decided to come. It was harder for him to tell how far along he was when he gave birth because his pregnancy with the twins was fresher on his mind than his pregnancy with Faroe Islands. There was something in the back of his mind the entire time that he fought with his pains, telling him that something was wrong and that it was too early. There was nothing to do to stop it now that it was happening though, so he swallowed his anxiety down and leaned into the comforting touch of his brothers to try and cope. 

The other Nordics stayed close with him the entire time that he was in labor, over almost three days. The child was born in the middle of a cold night, when the rain was pouring down over their tent and flooding the entrance just enough to turn the air inside a bitter cold.

The baby was so small that he could almost fit into Denmark's hand. His suckle was strong when he nursed for the first time, though, so they had high hopes for him. Denmark kept him bundled close to his skin underneath his coat as they continued on their journey. With some help from Sweden, he decided to name the new nation Vinland, but they were still struggling on his human name.

He died before they got the chance.

Denmark gave up exploring after that. He would rule over the nations that already existed and raise his children, letting his warriors go with the other Nordics if they wanted to continue to explore. He would let someone else carry the children that would become the new countries. After a loss like that, he could never lose anything ever again.