From One Point to Another
A SweLiech Oneshot
As a close-knit group they tended to know a lot about each other, not things of national security but of more personal matters. After knowing each other for hundreds of years they figured they could safely assume they knew everything about everyone in the group.
They disliked surprises, especially those of which what they knew was wrong, completely wrong.
Following the hints they would have known from the beginning, or at least from 1647 that perhaps the terminology Berwald used to address Tino wasn't so significant at all.
—-
He had discovered her in her room, hidden within Vaduz Castle. The nobles that had been living there had long ago fled to safety, leaving the maids and their territory's personification behind. Having looked elsewhere for the girl he was finally told by a stuttering maid, that she was hidden in her room.
Having his troops secure the rest of the castle, he set off to find her, prepared to find a stuttering, helpless girl like his troops believed her to be. It was almost as if she expected him though with how calmly she sat on her bed.
"Are you here to claim my land and I Mr. Sweden? Or do you expect forced sexual pleasure out of me?" She asked with a clear voice despite his intimating height difference as soon as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Neither are available to you at the moment if that is what you wish from me."
She met his eyes and was slightly startled to see no lust in his eyes, for power or otherwise. In fact it looked to be a little like pity, she couldn't blame him. No one thought much of her. "Sorry m'lady for disturbing you." His voice was near monotone but in actuality he felt quite sorry for the small girl.
"I have felt the pain you put my land and my people through by invading, yet we are not involved in this war. Instead my land and people are placed in the middle of the two warring sides." Lili told the other with a frown. "I understand the reasoning behind your invasion and frankly I cannot blame you for my pain." She faltered, her composure breaking in a mere second, before catching herself. "No country can be rotten to the core, and both Sweden and Austria are no exception. By the looks of things this war will be over eventually and when that time comes I do hope we will meet then on better terms than we do now."
"Berwald." He said in response, being a man of few words." Call me Berwald when we meet again."
She smiled at his gesture. "Elise is the name you may call me then at that time." She replied, her smile still upon her face. "Now you must be off Mr. Berwald. I warn you to looks out for the remaining maids as they will act hostile towards you and your men as I rightfully should."
He nodded in response, a ghost of a smile on his face. He bid her farewell and rounded up his men from around the castle. Eventually when he was outside the estate boundaries he heard a familiar voice.
"Oi Berwald!" Abel called out to the Swede, with only Sigurd by his side.
Berwald nodded to his men, signifying that neither were a threat to their safety and in response his men removed themselves from a defending position, and lightened up a bit, talking amongst themselves. They were rather confused since both wore uniforms of Denmark – Norway, the country of which was against them in battle but didn't question their superior.
"We are not here for political reasons." Sigurd told him as they approached the others. "Despite the situation at the moment we are merely here as friends."
"Like hell Berwald is my friend." Abel exclaimed with a laugh. "More of a drinking buddy; old Sigurd just can't keep up with me."
"Feeling is mutual." Berwald responded.
The two nations looked around at his men, noticing the few riches they held in their hands. "Fancy yourself a bit of pillaging?" Abel laughed. "Pick anything worthy up?" Berwald shook his head. "You at least picked up the territory lad right?"
"Lady actually." Berwald corrected him.
"Austria probably hid her away." Abel grumbled, disappointed that Berwald hadn't gotten her.
Sigurd sighed. "Austria would have no reason to hide her; he has already invaded her land during the war. My bet is that her royal family hid her away."
Berwald didn't say anything in response, seeing no need to. The two of them automatically assumed that he had not seen the territorial representative, when he had not answered the question at all. He nodded to them, signifying he would be off with his men.
—-
He had honestly dropped many hints that he had no feelings towards Tino, it was just a term he preferred to use for the Finn. While he could believe that Abel had not picked them up he was honestly surprised that neither Sigurd nor Erik had too passed by each and every hint.
However, he wasn't going to flat out say anything, he was rather amused by their false ideas. Even so he rarely visited the girl, their countries hardly ever interacting at all. It wasn't until the beginning of the world meetings (which began after the Second World War) that he saw her again, very much changed from the last time he saw her, her name included.
—-
"Da, I do believe we are locked out comrades." Ivan informed the group as they all stood shivering the cold winter weather, his voice quieted by the wind and snow blowing all around them. "Sister Natalia will be back shortly with the master key. Until then we must wait."
"I did not come to this damn soviet country only to become a communist popsicle!" Alfred exclaimed shivering besides Matthew, who like Ivan was perfectly content in the weather. "Must be some sort of plot to weaken me." He muttered to Matthew who only sighed.
"Yes I plan to weaken every single nation, including my comrades." Ivan responded to the comment with a smile. "You have found me out Alfred."
"Alfred not everything from Ivan is a plot for your extermination." Arthur exclaimed with a huff, annoyed by the cold as well. "You two could at least act like civilized beings for the moment."
Meanwhile the rest of the nations looked on the bickering between the two, bored by it already, most of them shivering. "It-it is-is rather chilly is it not brother." Lili said to her brother, her teeth chattering.
"I-I'm sorry Lili I have nothing to offer you." Vash said to Lili, shivering as much as she was.
Berwald watched the two from a distance, rather perturbed that the small nation was shivering a lot more than anyone else; her small body did not hold much heat after all. He shrugged out of his own jacket, not bothered by the blowing wind one bit.
Before anyone, including Vash could protest he walked up to her and slipped the jacket onto her shoulders. She looked up at him in surprise at the sudden warmth. "Will you not be cold Berwald?" She asked, tucking the jacket more around her body. Being a mature and Germanic country Vash didn't complain about Berwald, especially since Lili wasn't shivering anymore. Berwald shook his head at her question. She smiled. "I'll be sure to return the favour at some point then. Simple courtesy such as this will not be forgotten."
He nodded again and walked back to the group of Nordics, most of which were giving him a look of disbelief. "She was cold." He explained to them with a cold gaze.
Alfred watched the spectacle with much interest before turning to Matthew, eager to ask his own question. "Would you give up your coat for me Mattie?"
"If it shuts you up about being a communist popsicle I might." Matthew responded which elicited a small laugh out of a few other nations.
—-
Tino had known all along that Berwald had nothing but platonic feelings for him, so in return he managed to put up with the endearing nicknames for centuries. The nickname he was given was almost an inside joke between them, even if it was hard to tell if Berwald was joking or not half the time.
He couldn't say he enjoyed the man's company most of the time, but at the same time he couldn't say he disliked the attention he got from the Swede.
—-
Music blared from the speakers set around the estate, effectively silencing any other noise that dared interfere with it. Thankfully there were places in the mansion where the music could not reach, mostly so a conversation could be held. It was not surprising that this is where most of the nations gathered in the early hours of the morning, especially those who were dozing off.
There was an unspoken rule that in the living room, one of the quiet places, conversations must be subdued as there were multiple nations passed out on the couches and floors. It was expected to have a few nations already asleep, especially with how early it was in the morning.
The most surprising nation passed out on the couch was Berwald. While he still had his intimidating aura around him, he looked much more peaceful in his sleep. Unfortunately for Lili, who had been on the couch beside him, Berwald had decided that her shoulder was suitable for sleeping.
So anyone who on-looked the two of them would only pity the small nation, who looked like she was being crushed by the much larger man. "Lili are you sure you don't want my help?" Vash had been prodding her for the last hour to throw the Swede off.
"He's not that heavy…" She yawned, catching it mostly with her hand. She was too tired to correct her brother that she was not as fragile as everyone thought.
"You should be getting some sleep as well." He grumbled, crossing his arms.
She sighed. "I suppose so." She stretched being very careful not to disturb Berwald. She poked his face. "Berwald we have to move now."
"I'll stay here, you can go." He muttered, turning his body to face Lili now. Lili smiled at his effort to keep him on the couch even if he knew that she could easily make him move.
"I can carry you if you want." She murmured, hoping he would comply.
He was silent for a second, his eyes still closed. Instead of responding verbally he nodded and Lili got to work. She knew that while she was a small and seemingly fragile nation she could hold her own and carry Berwald as well.
"We'll be going now Vash." She nodded to her brother who only gave her a curt nod before he headed off into another room. She wasn't surprised, he was never that interested in who she chose as long after he approved them.
"Berwald we really must find a room." She commented, managing to get him on his feet. "I'm sure you can walk." She said, another yawn escaping from her mouth. "I can lead the way if you wish."
He didn't respond but was perfectly content to follow behind Lili. She led him up the stairs and into a bedroom – one with two beds. She led him over to one of the beds and sat him down.
"I'll be in the other bed if that's alright with you." She murmured standing.
However, before she could move any closer to her own bed, his hand stopped her. "Bed's big enough for two." He murmured as well.
She felt her face heat up. "We-we mustn't do that Berwald. What would everyone thi-what would Vash think of it?" She spluttered, her face now a bright red.
"'t's fine." He murmured again, this time pulling her down onto the bed next to him.
She smiled and let him pull her down, despite the temperature of her face now. Only once both of them were snuggled under the blankets did she speak again, her voice meek. "I-I suppose no one would mind too much."
—-
"Let's be honest here Berwald, no one likes you." Abel had cornered the other in the corner of the room, enraged at the man's actions. At this point he only wanted to hurt the Swede as much as possible, especially after what the man had done to him. "The only reason Tino is still with you is because he's scared of what you might do if you leave him." He let out a laugh. "And Peter – you bought Peter. He can't even leave you."
Berwald stayed silent throughout the insults, his outside seemingly impermeable. But to be honest Abel was hitting every spot that hurt him. "You're wrong." He muttered as soon as the other was finished.
"Who else could possibl-" Abel started but was cut off when Lili walked into the room, two mugs in her hand.
"Oh I am interrupting something?" She asked, confused as to why Berwald was in such a position with the Dane. She had thought that Abel and Berwald were quiet good friends.
Abel turned to the girl. "Liechtenstein? What business do you have here?"
"Berwald had asked me earlier to make him a cup of coffee and I had thought to bring it right to him. Does this bother you Mr. Denmark?" She asked, unsure of why he was asking.
At the moment however, Abel was now confused. He had heard her use Berwald when addressing, not Sweden as she actually should. After knowing the girl and her reputation for quite some time, he knew that she would not outright use human names if they were not close. "Is there a problem Abel?" Berwald's voice interrupted the Dane's thoughts.
"Perhaps I should leave." Lili said after handing the cup to the Swede. "It seems as if your conversation is rather personal, one I should not be a part of."
"When did you meet her?" Abel asked rather quickly, catching both of them off-guard. He wanted to know how long he was oblivious to them.
"Was? Mr. Denmark would you kindly explain the context of that question." Lili said after composing herself from the shock of the question.
"1647." Berwald answered, his face a tiny bit smug. He was the one now with the power, neither Abel nor Sigurd had noticed his and Lili's relationship slowly grow.
"But what about you and Tino?" He asked frantically, he had thought the Swede had only eyes for the Finnish man.
Berwald shook his head. "Tino is simply a friend."
"Well would you look at that." He murmured. All this time he had thought Berwald was with Tino, not some silly Germanic girl. For almost four hundred years he had thought that.
He looked up at the two of them, ignoring him now in favour for each other. It seemed to him that Lili had made herself hot chocolate and had gotten foam all over her face. Berwald only let out a small smile as he wiped it off with his hand which got a smile out of Lili herself.
He could see the two of them now, and how close they had gotten. It made him smile with happiness, all the anger at the Swede earlier disappearing. He raced out of the room, leaving the two now on a mission of his own. "Sigurd you'll never guess what I just found out!" He exclaimed as he began his search for the Norwegian.
Another request is done and out of the way. I personally love SweLiech and would love to experiment more with this pairing. I literally wrote this within a couple of days since I got the idea.