a/n: ummm so yes i wrote this for the surströmmiakki fest! i'm not super pleased with how it turned out but i hope someone enjoys reading this ridiculously fluffy fic! also human names btw: ice is eiríkur, nor is nikolai, den is mikkel, hungary is erzsébet and ukraine is katyusha! everyone else was given their usual canon human names

warnings: ughhh so much sap, SO MUCH SAP I'M SORRY

"I've never believed in love at first sight but, shit, I don't know, I was there when they first met and- and it was plain as day that Berwald had fallen in love with him." –Eiríkur

They had met on a dull, dreary, rainy Friday.

Berwald was a college student who worked part-time at a small, relatively popular café called Kofeina that was just a stone's throw away from campus. After about two months of employment, he still found the coffee shop to be a pretty good place to work at. His boss was nice, just a bit strange, and his co-workers were friendly, just a bit terrified of him. Well, except Eiríkur, of course. But that was just because they'd known each other for so long.

It was late afternoon on a Friday, usually their slowest time of the week since most students went off to enjoy the start of their weekend at parties or clubs or malls or wherever else. But it was the weekend before finals so the place was packed with students struggling to meet deadlines while cramming as much information as they could into their brains. Berwald himself had planned quite a number of intense study sessions for himself over the weekend. But here he was… brewing coffee practically non-stop on a dull, dreary, rainy Friday.

He was in the middle of making six espresso shots for a single order when it happened, when he heard the sweetest, most beautiful voice that had ever reached his ears. When Berwald made coffee, be it at work or at home, it was customary for him to never lift his head up from the machine or from whatever ingredients he was working with. But that voice effortlessly stole his usual focus away and before he even realized what he was doing, he looked up to find out who that voice belonged to.

Berwald had always believed in love at first sight but he never thought that it would happen to someone like him.

Oh.

Oh, he was so beautiful. Cute. Precious. Adorable. Perfect.

He had short, light blond hair that framed his round face flawlessly. And gorgeous purple eyes that seemed to reflect his emotions so honestly. Everything about him was sweet and soft and gentle and lovable. Hell, he even made that hideous Christmas sweater he was wearing endearing somehow. And his smile… it lit up the whole café, it lit up that dull, dreary, rainy Friday and it lit up something very special in the Swede's clumsy heart.

"So that's one large black coffee and… would you like anything else?" Eiríkur asked in an almost uninterested tone of voice, which was his normal tone of voice for customers.

"Um, that carrot cake looks really tasty but…" the beautiful customer murmured unsurely, biting his lip in a fashion that Berwald found too attractive for its own good. Completely engrossed with staring at the captivating, bright-eyed boy, Berwald didn't even notice that he was letting an espresso shot spill over until he finally burned his fingers. As was characteristic of him, he made no noise louder than a sharp exhale of breath, eyes narrowing rather sharply at the sting. What was uncharacteristic of him was that he didn't even care that he'd burnt himself, unable to look away from the lovely stranger.

"So that's one large black coffee and a slice of carrot cake," Emil said, not even letting the customer confirm the order before punching it into the register.

But the ugly Christmas sweater-clad blond just smiled brightly and nodded. "That's right!"

"Can I get your name, please?"

"It's Tino."

Berwald felt something in his heart fall perfectly into place.

Then all of a sudden, Tino – perfect, beautiful, wonderful Tino – shifted his gaze towards him.

"Eek!"

At Tino's fearful squeak, Eiríkur hurriedly turned to the Swedish barista as well. "B-Berwald?! The espresso's overflowing!" he cried out frantically, looking beyond shocked because Berwald never made mistakes when he brewed coffee, because Berwald never blatantly lost focus on his work like this, because Berwald was looking at Tino like he'd just been taught the meaning of life.

"He'd never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend or even a crush before meeting Tino. But when Berwald finally did meet him, his heart started spilling out a whole life's worth of love. It was completely ridiculous." –Nikolai

"Think… Think 'm in love."

"Are you serious?"

"Nev'r felt this way b'fore…"

They were at Kofeina. Berwald and Nikolai. The Swede was on his break and the Norwegian was at the coffee shop to study with his Danish boyfriend. Mikkel was late, though, so Berwald decided to speak to Nikolai for a few minutes. It had approximately been 18 hours since he'd met Tino and he was still unbelievably smitten.

"Well, that'd explain why your coffee tastes off today," Nikolai responded coldly, grimacing at his mostly untouched cup.

"Does it? Sorry…" he apologized, now feeling very worried. Had he been serving up bad coffee all day?

"Nik, shut up, you're a huge coffee snob. Berwald, your coffee's fine," Eiríkur, who had apparently been listening in on their conversation, spoke up from behind the counter.

"Tch, this coffee's still terrible," the Norwegian complained, crossing his arms.

"'ll make ya a new cup aft'r m'break," Berwald promised.

"Good. And you better make it like usual. I'm pissy enough as it is. A certain idiot is almost an hour late."

Eiríkur was cruel enough to laugh at his older brother.

"In any case… are you seriously in love with someone, Berwald? Who is it?" Nikolai finally asked, inadvertently causing Berwald to feel simultaneously nervous and relieved. The Swede was so used to keeping his feelings to himself most of time but the emotions that Tino stirred up in him were new and confusing. He needed someone's advice.

"His name's Tino… Dunno much 'bout him. Just met him yest'rday. Didn't ev'n talk t' him," he replied softly, eyes downcast.

Nikolai made a face that was an even mix between disapproval, surprise and concern. "For years I thought you were asexual and aromantic and now you've fallen in love with a total stranger? Even if it's not much, tell me what you know about him," the Norwegian all but demanded.

"I don't think he has to because Tino's entering the shop right now," Eiríkur said, sounding kind of amused.

Berwald immediately froze up at those words. His heart skipped two beats entirely before rapidly picking up; the pounding in his chest was so frantic that it was almost scary. His palms grew sweaty and he could feel a light blush color his cheeks. Though his brain screamed at him not to look, he lifted his gaze and just as Eiríkur had said, Tino was there at the shop's entrance, biting his lip unsurely, eyes trained on the floor, looking just as perfect and beautiful as he did yesterday.

Gradually, Tino looked up from the ground, eyes moving over to the counter, specifically to where Berwald usually stood in front of the coffee machines. A strange burst of optimistic, blind hope suddenly forced itself to the forefront of his mind. Was Tino looking for him?

With just Eiríkur behind the counter at the moment, Tino began scanning the shop before finally catching Berwald's gaze.

It was as if time stood still as they stared at each other. Berwald could clearly see the fear in Tino's purple eyes but, unlike most people, the small blond didn't avert his gaze right away. Five seconds later, however, Tino broke eye contact, leaving the Swede a little disappointed, despite the awkwardness of the whole situation.

What happened next pretty much made up for it, though. Tino started making his way towards his and Nikolai's table.

"Um… moi! I-I don't know if you remember me from yesterday but… you're Berwald, right?" the lovely young blond asked quietly, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. God, his accent was adorable. He was wearing another terrible Christmas sweater today and it was adorable. Everything about him was adorable. In fact, Berwald was feeling kind of faint now. This was more than a little overwhelming. At a loss, he didn't answer the question and just kept staring at him, unconsciously leaving Tino hanging, making him even more uncomfortable.

"A-anteeksi! I'm sorry! I-I'll just go!" he squeaked, hurriedly turning around, looking like he was about to break into a run to get out of the shop as soon as possible.

"Are… Are ya… Finnish?" Berwald suddenly choked out weakly, not even sure if his words reached Tino's ears.

But they did apparently because the small blond stopped in his tracks and looked back at him.

"Joo! I am! Can you speak Finnish?" Tino asked, looking surprised.

"Sorry, no. 'm Swedish," he offered awkwardly. "An' ja. 'm Berwald," he added, finally answering Tino's earlier question. "An' yer Tino. From yest'rday," he mumbled. The Finn's eyes widened a bit but then he smiled gently, nodding. Berwald could almost physically feel his heart melting.

"And I'm Nikolai. Here, sit with us," the Norwegian spoke up all of a sudden. Berwald looked at him and inwardly groaned at the amused smirk on his face.

"It's nice to meet you both! And thank you!" Tino chirped cheerfully, accepting the invitation. There was a short pause after that but the energetic blond was quick to fill it with chatter again. "Um, are you not working today, Berwald? I… I really enjoyed the coffee you made me yesterday so I was kind of hoping to order another cup today. Haha, it's kind of funny, actually! Yesterday wasn't my first time in this shop! I tried this place out a few months back but I guess the last guy didn't make coffee as good as you because it didn't really catch my attention. I'm glad a new friend of mine urged me to try again! Oh, and he's the shop owner's son, too! Have you met him? His name is Feliks."

Both Berwald and Nikolai blinked silently, surprised at how much Tino could… well, blab.

The Norwegian felt vaguely annoyed but the Swede felt like he was falling even harder for the intriguing Finn.

"Eek, I'm sorry! I know I can be such a chatterbox sometimes… especially when I'm nervous! N-not that you make me nervous or anything, Berwald!" Tino assured shakily, looking mortified.

Nikolai felt his irritation towards the other blond vanish immediately, an amused smirk forming on his lips once more.

"S-s'okay… 'm jus' on m'break by the way. Y'can… y'can order a cup in a bit," the Swede replied quietly, looking embarrassed and also rather flattered.

"Yay, I can't wait! I've been craving good coffee all day… And your coffee is really, really good!" Tino said brightly.

Nikolai's smirk widened. Berwald just blushed.

"On days when Berwald wasn't the barista on staff, the little guy wouldn't even bother ordering any coffee – just a pastry or maybe a sandwich. Berwald hummed while he worked the day Eirík told him about that! I'd never seen him so happy over such a little thing... Then again, anything that Tino did could never be little to Berwald." –Mikkel

Berwald had met Tino nearly one whole month ago now but his feelings for the perfect Finn showed no signs of diminishing even a tiny bit. In fact, they seemed to be growing exponentially as the days passed. The lovesick Swede now only classified his days into two categories: 1) days he got to see Tino, and 2) days he didn't get to see Tino.

He was over the moon about today falling under category number 1.

He didn't know why but Tino always sat at the table closest to his side of the counter. Maybe he enjoyed the view from the window. Maybe he wanted to be near the smell of brewing coffee. Maybe he liked that it was a little secluded from all the other tables. Whatever his reason was, Berwald was happy that he sat there. He made a conscious effort not to stare at the lovely blond but he always sneaked a peek when Tino raised his coffee cup to his lips to take his first sip. The Finn always looked so happy and content after that first sip and it just… warmed Berwald from the inside out, knowing that he was the one who had made that coffee for him.

Sometimes, Tino would catch him staring during those moments. The first few times, Tino had looked surprised and a little embarrassed but now he just ended up smiling at him and thanking him for the delicious coffee.

He'd been caught today.

"Thank you for the coffee, Berwald!"

"Yer welcome…"

And that was usually the end of it. But today was unexpectedly different.

"Hey, Berwald. What time's your next break?" Tino asked all of a sudden, a shy but hopeful look in his eyes.

The Swede paused, hardly daring to believe his own ears.

"S'in thirty minutes… why?" he replied softly, reveling in the fact that his voice did not tremble despite how furiously his heart was pounding.

"Ah, um… I'll definitely still be around so, uh… maybe you'd like to… join me over here? O-only if you want to!"

Berwald nearly dropped the iced mocha cappuccino he was preparing.

"J-ja… 'd like that a lot," he finally responded after piecing his thoughts back together. He was staring resolutely at the coffee machine in front of him, too embarrassed to even think of meeting Tino's eyes. He could feel his blush rapidly spreading to the tips of his ears.

What he heard come out of the Finn's lips next startled him enough to look up, though.

Tino had let out a short breath of relieved laughter.

"I was so afraid that you were going to turn me down… but you're really not all that scary, are you, Berwald?"

The bewildered Swede could only muster an awkward shrug.

"I don't know Berwald as well as I know Tino but… he sort of seemed like the kind of guy who rarely felt lonely even when he was alone. I'm sure that changed when he realized how much he loved having Tino by his side!" –Erzsébet

Berwald wasn't sure how it had happened but another two months later, here he was. He had somehow become a part of Tino's life. He didn't know how big or small that part might be but that hardly mattered to him. What was important was that there were times when Tino would text him, when Tino would ask if he wanted to go to the library with him, when Tino would laugh at a silly joke he'd made.

He was sure that he could keep going on like this.

As long as he could see Tino's smile, he didn't need to have his affections returned.

And it was a little scary because that was the truth.

He didn't care about what kind of pain his heart would go through if Tino suddenly got a girlfriend or a boyfriend.

Because if Tino was happy, what more could he ask for?

"For the longest time, I didn't have any opinions of Berwald outside of 'he's really terrifying' and 'he'd do just about anything for Tino.'" –Eduard

"Can I take a break?"

"Y'took one jus' twenty minutes ago."

"But writing this essay is so haaard, Ber…" Tino whined, pouting a little.

The Swede almost visibly flinched at that. Almost. "W-well… maybe y'could take a five-minute break? Or I could help ya out," he offered, getting ready to close his textbook.

"Darn, I wish my mother fell for my pouts that easily…" the Finn said, laughing.

Berwald's expression quickly grew horrified which made Tino laugh even harder.

"C'mon, you know I'm just teasing! Honestly, though, Ber, you spoil me too much. Nobody's ever this patient with me," he said, smiling gratefully.

They were inside Tino's house today, doing schoolwork together despite the fact that Berwald was a graduating student and Tino a freshman – and both from different departments no less. Their respective tests and class requirements had nothing to do with each other but they always decided to do this stuff together anyway.

"While we're on the subject, though… I wouldn't mind some of that spoiling about now… maybe in coffee form?" the small blond suggested innocently.

"Y'only like me fer m'coffee," Berwald replied, sounding wounded… or as wounded as his normally monotone voice would allow him to.

"Hey, now you know that's not true!" Tino said insistently, sitting up so quickly he almost knocked over his glass of water.

"Mhm. Jus' teasin'," was the older blond's simple reply.

The Finn merely stared back at him, torn between looking amused and incredulous. Then he suddenly burst out laughing. "Since when did you start teasing?" he gasped out in between bright peals of laughter.

"Since t'day, I guess," he replied, shrugging a little. The faint, barely-there smile on his lips belied how happily his heart was singing. A familiar warmth spread throughout his whole body. Only Tino's laughter could make him feel this content so effortlessly. It was wonderful.

As the Finn's captivating laughter slowly quieted, he laid back down on the living room's carpeted floor and rolled onto his stomach, facing his laptop screen once more.

"Ahhh, I really don't want to do this essay… It's so boring."

"Mm," Berwald hummed, eyes dropping back down to the heavy textbook in his lap.

"That huge book of yours must be so boring, too… Why don't we just talk for a little while, Ber?"

"…'Bout what?" the Swede asked quietly, giving into his curiosity. Tino was speaking kind of strangely, like he wanted to bring up something important but he wasn't sure how to.

"Eduard confessed to Katyusha the other day," he stated, sitting up again so he could face the larger blond.

"Oh."

There was a long pause between the two of them after that. Berwald was unsure of what to say. Did Tino want to gossip a little or something?

"Uh… How'd it go?" he finally asked, feeling terribly awkward.

"Not as well as Eduard had hoped, I'm afraid… She didn't say no but she didn't say yes either. He's trying to be optimistic but I can tell it's kind of eating at him. He's liked her for a long time… And it probably took extra guts to confess to her of all people! She's nice and stuff but her younger brother is so scary. Like really, really scary," he explained, shuddering a bit.

"Y'thought I was scary. Y'still get startled when y'see me sometimes," Berwald pointed out.

"No, no! He's reallyyy scary, trust me! He's smiley and friendly on the outside but if you cross a line with him, he'll get seriously creepy! Haven't you ever heard of him? His name's Ivan."

The stoic blond shook his head lightly and shrugged.

"Well, in any case, he's nothing like you, Ber… You're so kind and sweet and—" the Finn abruptly stopped when he caught his friend's shocked expression. A brilliant blush bloomed on his round cheeks and he didn't say anything more on that particular matter.

After several long beats of silence passed, Berwald coughed awkwardly.

"Well… Hope she gives Eduard a chance."

"Me, too…"

More silence. Berwald was just about to go back to studying when Tino suddenly spoke up again.

"I-it sounds really scary, doesn't it? Confessing to someone, I mean. You're laying your heart bare and… and they might not even feel remotely the same… Is there anyone you like, Ber?"

Berwald's blood ran cold as all his thoughts came to a screeching halt. Dazed, he stared right into Tino's beautiful eyes.

You.

I like you.

I love you.

I really, really love you.

I've loved you since I saw you.

I'll never stop loving you.

"…N-not really."

"Haha, I see!" There was no humor in Tino's voice. He turned back to his laptop so quickly that Berwald wasn't sure if he'd just imagined the sadness and disappointment in those expressive purple eyes.

"B-Berwald looks really scary so you can't help thinking that he must be mean or cold. But when you see him with Tino, you see all the love and kindness in his heart." -Raivis

It had been weeks since they'd had that strange conversation. Things seemed normal enough. Tino still went to Kofeina as often as possible. They still hung out whenever they had time. Everything was fine.

Out of fear, Berwald continued to keep his pining, his devotion and his love a secret from the Finn.

Everything was fine.

"Like, everyone deserves a chance at their happily ever after, y'know? But Waldy was totally, like, afraid of getting his chance. He was so sure he'd screw it up and lose Tino forever. He was totally willing to live the rest of his life with his feelings never, like, spoken or returned. Waldy just loves Tino that much." –Feliks

"B-Berwald. Berwald Oxenstierna."

The Swede blinked twice at the somewhat familiar voice before hesitantly looking up from the coffee machine.

Ah. It was Tino's friend. Eduard. Why was he talking to him, though? Was it something about Tino?

"Mh?" he grunted in response, showing that he was listening.

"You… You've got to stop Tino! H-he went and asked Ivan Braginski to go on a date with him!" he explained frantically, looking terrified.

Berwald stared at the Estonian with wide eyes for a second or two before quickly regaining his calm exterior.

"That's got nothin' t' do with me. Y'shouldn't be tryin' t'stop him. Tino can… Tino can date whoev'r he likes," he muttered. For some reason, his own voice sounded so far away. It was a little funny. He had sort of been expecting heartbreak to feel more intense than this. But he just felt empty. Maybe his heart just hadn't caught up yet with what his brain was still in the middle of processing. The love of his life liked someone else. Of course. Isn't that what he'd been expecting since day one?

"No! Please, you've got to! I-I have no idea what he's trying to do! He doesn't like Ivan like that at all!" Eduard insisted, sounding a bit desperate. "I've already tried talking him out of it but he won't listen to me. Tino's never paid him any mind before and even when he did, it was because he found him scary! He can't seriously want to date him all of a sudden," he said, trying hard to convince the stoic Swede.

"Y'don't know how he feels," Berwald mumbled stubbornly.

"No, you don't know how he feels! You and him… Tino's always… For months now…" he trailed off, looking shocked at himself for raising his voice.

The Swede's heart jumped at the implications of those words but he quickly stamped down on those feelings. There was absolutely no way…

"Berwald, please… Please try to talk him out of it. I know he wants you to talk him out of it."

"Just by looking into Ber's eyes… I can tell. Nobody will ever love me the way he does. And he can't love anybody else the way he loves me." –Tino

"Y-y'came…" Berwald breathed out.

"Of course I did. You look surprised," Tino commented, giggling to himself softly.

"Didn't… didn't think y'would cancel yer plans on such short notice."

"Who said I had plans?"

"Eduard."

"Ah." There was a strange smile on the Finn's lips now. He looked over towards the counter and then around the whole coffee shop. "So Kofeina's closed right now, huh? It's just you and me in here?" he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Mm. Offered t'lock up t'day," he answered.

"So shouldn't you be locking up? We can hang out some more at your place or something."

"Mm. Lemme make ya some coffee first, though."

"But isn't the register already closed up for the day?"

"It is. S'alright. Coffee's on me."

Tino grinned at that.

After the Finn sat down at his usual table, Berwald headed over to his spot behind the counter. He brewed Tino his usual, a cup of strong black coffee with no sugar or cream. On a whim, he drew a foam heart on the surface of the dark liquid. Just looking at it made him blush quite hard. After regaining his composure, he took the cup and walked over to Tino's table to sit with him.

Not meeting the younger blond's eyes, he sat down and pushed the coffee cup towards him.

"Oh, Berwald…" Tino whispered fondly, laughing a bit.

Berwald hesitantly looked over at him and was immediately stunned by the softness in his eyes and by the blush on his cheeks. Swallowing nervously, he watched the Finn bring the cup to his lips. Eyes closed gently, Tino took a long, slow sip, savoring the coffee as if it was the last thing he'd ever drink.

Berwald fell in love with him all over again as he watched Tino's lips spread into a content smile.

"Did… did ya really want t' go on that date with Ivan t'day?"

"No."

"Were ya hopin' that I'd ask t' hang out so ya could cancel with him?"

"Yes."

"Then why did ya ask him in the first place?"

"I heard from Raivis that he's been looking at me. N-not that I'm the only guy he's had his eye on, though… A-anyway, I thought that maybe I'd ask him out since he's a little interested…"

"But yer not int'rested in him."

"No. I'm not."

"…"

"I was hoping… God, Berwald, I was hoping that I'd end up liking him a little. I was so sure that… if I started liking someone else… I'd f-forget about… about how much I love you."

Almost right away, Berwald's brain concluded that he was dreaming. Where else but in his dreams would Tino have such feelings for him? That was the only logical explanation. But it was apparent that his brain just hadn't caught up yet with what his heart had already processed.

Berwald stared right into Tino's eyes, not to search for signs of deceit but to revel in the sheer depth of the Finn's emotions. He wasn't the only one who had been full to bursting with unspoken feelings.

Though he feared his voice might crack, he spread his trembling lips to finally speak the words he'd been too scared to say until now.

"I love ya, too."

They were easily the truest words he'd ever spoken and, for the first time in his life, his words were perfectly synchronized with the feelings in his heart.

Tino's eyes widened with disbelief but as he looked into the Swede's intense turquoise eyes, the love Berwald had been harboring for him all this time finally reached him. A quiet sob of relief escaped his lips as he hurried to get up from his chair, practically launching himself into the larger blond's arms.

"I love you. I-I love you so much, Ber!" he whispered shakily as he clung onto the Swede like his life depended on it, not even caring that he was sitting on his lap now. Berwald embraced him back just as fiercely, heart thumping wildly.

"Love ya, too. 've always loved ya…"

"B-Berwald…? Are you crying?" Tino asked all of a sudden, pulling back a little to look at the other man's face.

The Swede was genuinely surprised by those words but when he brought a hand up to his cheek, he really did feel hot tears gently streaming down his face. He let out a bemused laugh, grinning widely. "'m really happy."

Tino couldn't help laughing as well, smiling radiantly. He slowly lifted a hand to cup Berwald's cheek, using his thumb to carefully brush away his tears. He wrapped his other arm around his neck, pulling him in even closer. One of the arms Berwald had around Tino's back lowered to his waist.

"Can I kiss you?" the Finn asked quietly.

Berwald lightly nodded his head once and before he could even prepare himself for it, Tino's lips met his.

Though he was quickly lost to the intimate sensation, years from now, he would still remember every single detail of this kiss – his first kiss. He would remember that it was soft, that it was clumsy, that it was sweet, that it was full of love and that it tasted of coffee.

"S'hard t' describe how I feel 'bout him… Sort'f like… words aren't enough. But that's okay. Tino understands how much I love him ev'n without words." –Berwald

Years later, Berwald smiled fondly as he watched his long-time lover sleep peacefully in their bed.

"Tino, s'time fer breakfast," he murmured gently, sitting down next to the Finn's slumbering form. He reached down to brush Tino's bangs out of his face.

"Mmmrghhh… Too early, Ber," he whined sleepily, rolling away from the older blond to settle himself on the Swede's side of the bed. He buried his face in Berwald's pillow, ignoring his lover while enjoying his scent at the same time.

"Made coffee," he offered, trying to tempt the younger man out of sleep.

"Nnghhh… Damn you and your perfect coffee," he grumbled as he fought to sit up, blinking blearily.

"Ya love me an m' perfect coffee," the Swede said, almost smug.

"God, I do," Tino affirmed, smiling now. He leaned forward to press their lips together chastely. Berwald took it a step further by continuing to kiss the younger blond all over his face – on his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, his eyelids.

"Love ya," he finally whispered, lifting a hand to stroke the side of Tino's face.

The Finn laced their fingers, smiling brightly.

"Come on, let's go have some of your perfect coffee, Ber," he said, grinning.

"Mm."

They made their way to the kitchen of their small but homey 2-bedroom flat, holding hands like a lovey-dovey teenage couple despite having been together for nearly five years now.

Berwald sat down at the table while his love eagerly followed the smell of delicious coffee. He stopped right in front of their coffee machine, sighing blissfully. He opened the cupboard above it and took out their mugs. But when he grabbed hold of his mug and jostled it a little, he realized that there was something inside it. Curious and a bit confused, he peered into it.

What sat at the bottom of his favorite Finnish flag mug nearly caused him to drop it altogether. It was a small velvet box with a note attached to it. The note was written in Berwald's familiar scrawl.

'You'd marry me just for my coffee, wouldn't you?'

Unable to help himself, Tino felt tears of joy well up in his eyes. With shaky fingers, he took the box out of his mug and then faced the other man.

"…Y-you… You know that's not true," Tino whispered, smiling radiantly as he let out a few watery chuckles.

Berwald smiled back as he fell even more deeply in love with his beautiful Finn.

"Mhm. Jus' teasin'."

"Silly. C'mere and put this ring on my finger."

the end