Title: Unwrapping the Eye Candy (1/?)
Author/Artist: blackwingsblueeyes
Character(s)/Pairing(s): DenmarkxFinland. some SwedenxFinland. (maybe eventual PrussiaxHungary, NorwayxSweden, and/or IcelandxSealand?)
Genre: Romance/Friendship.
Rating: T
Warnings: Drugs and stereotyping.
Summary: AU. Love at first sight is a load of bull. Finland knows that. He is not in love with that boy from the park. He can't be in love with that boy. He won't let himself be in love with that boy.

But something about the boy's smile has caught his interest.

A/N: In case your mind instantly goes to the gutter~~, I don't mean the title like that. Much love goes to Amethyst DragonRider for beta-ing this for me. -hugs-

Enjoy!

Unwrapping the Eye Candy

The car was moving a lot slower than it would've been if Finland had been driving. It made the seventeen-year-old antsy, his pulse was pumping at too fast a rhythm for the car's speed to keep up with. He wasn't in any emergency though, so Finland wasn't about to complain to Norway about this. They would get there when they got there.

The Finn's fingers fiddled with his seat belt, his eyes sneaking glances at Norway. Seven years had hardly changed his friend, except maybe that Norway's hair was a little longer and his shoulders a little broader.

Norway's quiet companionship hadn't changed at all, it seemed like. Finland had thought that Norway would've had a million questions for him. The Finn had been living away from this town for seven years. That's a lot of time to be wondering and thinking up questions.

But no questions had been asked. Norway had definitely greeted him warmly, even giving the Finn a tight hug. But Finland hadn't shared his stories, he hadn't been asked to. He wasn't so disappointed by this, he didn't have many stories to tell anyway.

Russia's home had not been a very fun place.

The landscape outside the window changed greatly as the car finally made it out of the woods. The little town seemed so much bigger now, more lively than Finland remembered. It looked like Italy had finally opened his pasta restaurant, and Switzerland his hunting rifle shop. Finland made a mental note to pop in and say hi sometime before he left town again.

"You see that game going on over there?" Norway spoke, causing Finland to stop staring out the window and look at him. Norway flicked his head towards the park, his eyes not even leaving the road.

"Uh-huh," Finland answered. It looked like a bunch of guys were just messing around with a disc. But maybe they were playing a game of ultimate frisbee or something like that.

"Iceland and Denmark are somewhere over there, maybe you'll see them when we pass by," Norway explained, turning the car onto the street of the park.

"Oh. Cool." Finland smiled, leaning forward a little and searching the crowd of players. Most everyone had their backs to him, so Finland couldn't really tell anyone apart. His shoulders sagged slightly, but he knew he'd still see Iceland and Denmark and Sweden later. He'd just have to wait a little longer.

Anyone would have to admit that some of these guys had some really nice backsides, Finland couldn't help but notice. There was one in particular that caught his attention, because the guy was taller and more built than his friends. His hair looked kind of cool from the back, too.

Finland jumped, slightly embarrassed when Norway honked the horn and slowed down the car even more. Finland looked out the back window; there were no cars behind them so it didn't matter if they stopped.

A fair-haired boy next to the tall one turned around first, tapping the other boy's shoulder and pointing to Norway's car. The tall boy was too caught up in the game, so he didn't look Finland's way. Norway held up a hand in greeting to the white-haired guy, and the smaller boy reluctantly waved a hand back and then turned his attention back to the game.

Norway turned his attention back to driving, seeming only to really have been concerned with the one boy.

The white-haired boy's friend - the tall one with the nice hair - turned to look then, and he smiled a huge, toothy grin when he set eyes on Norway. Finland gripped the seat belt a little tighter, his eyes leaving the boy's face as his brain malfunctioned and his pulse skipped a beat. He wished Norway would drive by faster, he didn't want to look at that boy again. It always made him feel kind of strange to look at a stranger too long, like he was judging them by their looks and mannerisms before he even knew them.

It was obvious that this boy was an athlete, Finland saw as he gave in and looked again. Broad shoulders, toned arms, the guy must've been lifting weights. He had a fairly decent tan, too, so he must've been spending a lot of time outdoors. He had on jeans with a huge hole in the knee--and maybe Finland was imagining it, but he thought the fabric looked stained around the hole--so the guy was probably into that whole ripped-clothes fad.

(Finland knew he was probably looking way too far into this.)

More than likely, this guy was just an arrogant, overly-cheerful jock. He obviously had a lot of confidence, with the way his shoulders were held and his chin was up.

Muscular, tan-ish, awesome hair, confident. Kinda-sorta has a gorgeous smile. This guy was walking eye candy. Finland blinked as they turned the corner and he lost sight of the boy.

Seriously, what kind of a superficial loser am I? The poor guy, Finland sent a silent apology for judging him. He looked out the window and tried not to focus his eyes on anyone else. They drove through the main street of the town and kept going until the buildings thinned out again. And of course, the drive was without conversation.

"We're here," Norway announced as he turned off the car and unlocked the locks. Finland hesitated in his seat for a minute, staring out at the house and trying to remember it. He couldn't. He'd been too young when Russia had taken him away.

"Come on," Norway chuckled lightly, opening Finland's door for him. They popped the trunk and got the Finn's bag out. Norway had been surprised at the airport when he'd picked it up, it was very light. Finland hadn't needed to pack much though, he wasn't going to stay here long.

Just as they were heading up the drive, a pair of arms wrapped around Finland's waist, pulling him back into a warm chest.

"So... ya 'member me?" an amused voice asked as the newcomer rested his chin on Finland's head.

Finland dropped the bag, turning around excitedly.

"Sweden!"

The Finn didn't even cringe at his friend's scary-intimidating -- and still somehow happy -- expression, Finland could've competed with the stars for how bright his smile was. He hugged the other close, longer than he had with Norway, and let himself float on this amazing feeling. Because nothing is as warm as the feeling of reconnecting with an old friend.

"Missed ya, Finl'd."

Seven years away from this feeling.

"I missed you, too Sweden."

~.~

Dropping his suitcase onto the bed, Finland looked around the room in interest. There was nothing on the desk or night table. No pictures on the walls. It was like no one was living in this room at all, except for the messy bed and the acoustic guitar leaning against the wall.

"It's Denmark's room, but we'll put you in here anyway," Norway explained, setting a few more blankets and a pillow down at the end of the bed.

"Um, is that okay? I could sleep on the floor, it's not a big deal. I don't want to put him out of his bed." Finland's hand rested on his bag.

Norway crossed the room to the door, turning to glance back at Finland. "You can ask him when he comes back, but I don't think it'll bother Denmark."

Finland's cheeks flushed lightly. "Okay."

Norway stiffened up a little as he glanced down the hall to where the front door was. "Sweden's still waiting for you," he said in a weird tone. "I'll be here at home if you need me."

"Oh!" Finland followed him out of the room. Everything was so bizarre, he couldn't get used to the fact that he'd be seeing Denmark and Iceland today. Norway was right in front of him right now. Sweden was outside, waiting patiently for him. All of this, after seven years of not seeing any of his childhood friends.

Finland paused with his hand on the front doorknob, turning around and asking Norway, "So you're not coming with us?"

Norway headed into the kitchen, his voice floating back to the Finn. "Nah. See you later."

"Bye."

The Finn wasn't sure why his pulse sped up while he walked down to Sweden, who was standing at the end of the driveway.

"Sorry you had to wait," Finland said, accompanying smile on his face.

"'s okay."

Finland looked around as they started walking down the sidewalk. This house was on the outskirts of town, there wasn't much to look at except for trees. He could see the shops about a half mile away.

"Where are we going?" the Finn asked, looking up at Sweden. When had his friend gotten so tall? They had been almost the same height the last time Finland had stood next to him.

"Dunno."

"I guess we'll just walk around town then," Finland said.

The shorter boy couldn't help but smile, his steps lighter and unevenly paced. He wanted to see everything around these woods--he wanted to look for things he remembered--but at the same time, he wanted to make it to town already and talk to people.

Sweden wasn't in any rush, and Finland matched his speed, taking two steps for the Swede's one.

Again, Finland felt so bizarrely comfortable. Even if this silence was awkward. He felt like he was a kid again, like he was Sweden's friend again. Not that they'd ever stopped being friends. But time and distance does tend to make relationships a lot weaker. And it wasn't like he would talk to Sweden on the phone very much, they hardly even held long conversations when they were face-to-face.

So it was... strangely nice that he felt so... Finland wasn't completely comfortable--they'd been walking along in silence for a while now--but he was so burstingly happy.

Finally, the Finn broke the silence cheerfully, "How's it been?"

Sweden, who's eyes had been focused ahead of them, glanced down. The smaller boy tried not to squirm, but there was something in his friend's stare that made him slightly nervous.

"'s been okay," Sweden grumbled, then crossed the street at the stoplight, heading back down the road that Finland had been on with Norway earlier. Maybe they'd go by the park and he'd see that frisbee game again.

Finland waited a beat for Sweden to say something else. He didn't. "Okay, so anything exciting happen recently?" Finland tried, wanting to get Sweden talking.

He was silent for a long minute. Then Sweden's footsteps got a little slower, he glanced down again at Finland. The aura he gave off seemed to get a little heavier, his eyes a little more severe than before.

"Denmark got busted," Sweden mumbled.

Finland smiled, thinking this was a good conversation starter.

This was nothing new, Denmark was always getting in trouble with Norway. Finland had been on the receiving end of too many of those pranks himself. A mischievous Denmark, now that was something Finland remembered. "What'd he get caught doing this time?"

"Drugs."

~.~

Thank you for reading! Review, please, if you'd like to?