#nedlux

Jean-Claude (Jang) - Luxembourg, Abel - Netherlands, Lea - Belgium

Rain tapped on the window outside in a lazy pattern. Claude had given up trying to tap along and instead preoccupied himself with petting Abel’s bunny Nijntje, who seemed to think his lap was the most comfortable spot in the house. Nevermind the plush beds and blankets for burrowing that Abel had scattered around the cozy Amsterdam house for her. No, the most comfortable spot was clearly Claude’s lap, with her head tucked behind his jacket. Not that Claude minded of course. She didn’t shed much, and it gave him something to focus on while he waited for Abel to come back with the coffee he had invited Claude over for in the first place.

Claude would have offered to meet at one of the coffee shops around Amsterdam, but it was much better to stay at home when it was raining like this. Besides, nobody made coffee as well as Abel, or at least not to Claude. There weren’t many shops that he could enjoy a warm cup of coffee while a bunny cuddled in his lap either.

Abel finally returned with two mugs in his hands. He sat down next to Claude and handed a mug to him before looking down at his bunny. “Traitor,” he accused.

“Ha, she missed me I guess,” Claude said with a light smile as he gave the bunny a pat. The bunny nudged her way deeper under his cardigan in response. and Abel scoffed.

“Maybe if you came over more she wouldn’t miss you so much,” he said before taking a sip of his coffee.

Claude sighed and glanced back out the window at the sight of Amsterdam and the canal right outside the tall, thin building. The view may have seemed dreary to anyone else, but there were few places he would rather see when he looked out of a window. It was relaxed that day, pedestrians and cyclists occasionally passing by through the raindrops stuck on the long window. Claude couldn’t help but note with a bit of amusement that the building was similar to its resident, though Abel was far from thin like the building was.

“I would love to,” he mumbled, “but you know how work is.”

Abel hummed in thought, and Claude noticed the corners of his mouth quirk up. “You could live with me again.”

“I wish it was so easy.”

“It wasn’t that bad living alone with me.”

Claude looked down into his mug with a slight frown.  “It was hard without Léa.”

Abel gave a solemn nod. “I know,” he muttered. “But you know what would have happened if you two stayed together.”

Claude gave a noncommittal hum in reply as he took a sip of his coffee. He almost jumped in surprise at the light touch that brushed over his arm.

“Does your arm still hurt?” Abel asked.

Claude felt his chest warm at the question. It was nice to be cared about, especially over something anyone else would consider too insignificant to note or remember. “…No,” he mused. “I forget that scar is there, sometimes.”

Abel gave a small hum in thought and looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “Remember when you tried baking for me and you spilled the flour all over yourself?”

“I told you, a mouse startled me. I could lift the bag just fine with one arm.”

“I still find flour in the cracks.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Tell the flour that.”

Claude chuckled and carefully shifted to lean against Abel, thankful when Nijntje didn’t seem to notice the movement. He gave a small sigh of content as he continued to drink his coffee in silence. His eyes widened when Abel shifted and a heavy hand rested on his head to give his hair a light ruffle.

“I’m glad you’re still here with us, little brother,” Abel mumbled.

The fuzzy warmth in Claude’s lap was nice, but it couldn’t compare to the warmth that spread through his body as his heart skipped at the kind words and the faint smile on Abel’s face. Claude took a long drink of his coffee in an attempt to hide his flustered smile, his eyes darting to the side. Abel showing him affection when they were alone like this wasn’t anything particularly new, but it still managed to surprise him every time.

“I’m glad too,” he finally admitted. He looked down at the brown and white bunny in his lap. “Someone has to give attention to Nijntje after all, since you clearly do not.”

Abel scoffed. “I give her attention,” he defended.

“Do you? I would not have known.”

Abel frowned and purposefully scooted away on the couch, and Claude pouted. He wanted to follow to keep leaning against him, but he knew there was no way to move that much without disturbing Nijntje.

“Now you aren’t giving me attention either? You’re so cruel big brother,” he whined.

“You’re the one that spilled flour all over my kitchen.”

“I told you I was sorry! Besides, we had fun baking after that didn’t we?”

Abel paused and glanced away with a sigh. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Even if you made a mess of my kitchen. I was happy you were done brooding.”

“I wasn’t brooding.”

“You refused to come out of your room for a month unless you had to eat.”

“I was sick. Getting my arm cut off was tiring, you know.”

“I had to drag you out more than once. You would hardly talk to me or look at me.”

Claude fell quiet and stared down at his coffee for several tense moments. “Léa always was such a happy presence around,” he mused. “It was obvious when she was gone. Painfully so.”

Abel gave a slight nod. “The house was much more quiet, with her gone and you brooding—”

“I was not brooding.”

“With you brooding, it was quiet.”

“I do appreciate you looking after me during that time. While I was sick,” Claude sighed. “I know you didn’t take it well either.”

Abel rolled his eyes and moved closer again to pat Claude’s shoulder. “At least you were still there. I was proud of Léa for being her own country.”

“I had to get independence too, eventually.”

“It was the only thing you would talk about,” Abel grunted. “I would ask you how you felt and you would tell me you wanted independence, or that you wanted to see Léa.”

Claude couldn’t help but laugh softly at the memory. He looked down when Nijntje shifted, and she squirmed out from under his cardigan to hop down onto the couch. She gave a small thump with her back legs, and Abel sighed and set his mug down to gently scoop her up to set her on the floor.

“That’s how she says she wants down,” he explained as the bunny hopped off.

“She’s smart,” Claude noted. “Pelutze is big enough, she can climb up and down from the couch without any problems.” He realized that he was now free to move, and instantly moved over to lean against Abel again as he drank more of his coffee as the rain tapped harder against the window.

Claude nearly choked on the last of his coffee when Abel’s arm wound around his waist and a soft kiss was pressed to the side of his head.

“I’m glad you could make it today, Jang,” Abel murmured. Claude wondered which was louder, the rain pelting the window or the way his heart hammered against his chest. He wasn’t expecting the Dutchman to speak Luxembourgish, even if it was only his name. He turned his head to catch Abel’s lips in a quick kiss, the brief taste of coffee shared between them. He couldn’t help but smile at the fluster written on Abel’s face, no matter how much he tried to hide it.