Birthday.
'Crap!' Iceland's mind panicked as he ran down a long busy street in Stockholm. 'I can't believe I forgot Berwald's birthday today! What kind of boyfriend does that?!'
He woke up that morning on the plane to Stockholm from Reykjavik, glancing at his mobile phone for the time when the calendar finally notified him about the tall Swede's birthday. He flew over to the country to visit him, but he didn't remember the birthday part.
'What should I get him? Surströmming? No, too cliché! And smelly!' His mind whizzed as he sped-walk into the nearest shopping mall, hoping that the walk will inspire him to get an unforgettable gift for Sweden. Unfortunately for him, it's a busy day as there are many people milling around. Loud babies, chatty teenagers and the slowest-walking members in society all gathered in one continuous stream of shoppers. Fate seemed determined to test Eirík's patience.
Luckily he didn't forget his credit card – and thank goodness he found a bakery when he did, because he knows that Sweden has a sweet tooth for Black Forest Gateau's. Eirík found one on display in all its dark chocolatey glory, caged from the world in the protection of its glass dome in full-view of hungry, lustful gazes burning the cherries and creamy frosting. The price tag put them all off, but Eirík swiftly purchased the last one and walked out the bakery a minute later triumphantly.
That's the cake done – now for a present. He won't bother getting a card unless he's sure that Berwald would keep it. Cards are getting expensive nowadays.
He makes it a personal rule to normally buy two presents for someone's birthday, but Berwald won't mind if he only has one because he doesn't care for the 'two presents' rule. Norway's theory is that he's just a cheapskate.
Iceland looked at a jewellery shop – maybe get him a watch?
'No,' he thought with a sigh, eyeing a particularly expensive men's watch that looks like it's used to break bricks judging by its size. Why are men's watches so massive, anyway? 'Berwald already has a watch, and he doesn't even wear it often enough.'
A ring?
'…Everyone will think I'm proposing to him.' His lips pursed in deep thought. 'Yeah, I love him, but we don't need marriage to make it valid. We get benefits anyway since we're countries.'
With that thought fading away, he briskly strolled along the long row of random shops, all varying in contents that they sell. And then he found a tiny shop that a lot of teenage girls seem to naturally flock into and he peeked in through the window curiously to see rows of boxes full of colourful gemstones. A small idea clicked in his mind.
Entering the small shop, he began to browse at the grand selection of gemstones. Most are polished, but some are as raw as the day they were unearthed. At the counter, he could see boxes of empty cases that you hang on necklaces and wire cages to contain singular stones in so that they can be changed frequently. In a tray there are rings with black stones on them, but when a girl tried the ring on, it changed to a blue colour and she and her best friend both squealed.
"That is a mood ring!" the woman behind the counter told them, "it changes colour depending on your mood!" And the girls gasped, immediately debating which rings to buy as some of them have different gold patterns on them such as hearts or polka dots. Iceland drew close, trying on a ring too only to see it sticking to a black colour.
"Is this one broken?" he asked the till lady and she shook her head, picking up a slip of paper to look for the black bar colour.
"It is not," she began in a deep voice and the girls from earlier looked at his ring in awe, "black is a significantly dark colour, reflecting your anxieties and worries swirling within your heart."
Iceland doesn't feel anxious or worried at all, but he guessed it was because he has to meet Berwald soon and find him birthday presents…
"I'm hunting for birthday presents – must be why," he smiled slyly and the woman chuckled.
"And fate has drawn you here in search for the perfect gift," she commented, "it just so happens that I am a fortune-teller – perhaps I can give you a quick consultation?"
Iceland immediately grew doubtful and he took off the ring, putting it back on the tray.
"No thank you, I don't have much time." But the mood ring tempted him greatly. "Although I will buy one mood ring." What harm could it do? It's more of a fun thing for him to keep for himself rather than give it away as a present. It's really cheap anyway.
So he purchased a small mood ring that didn't have any patterns on before leaving the smelly shop. But when he glanced at a box in the window full of curiously round ambers, he peered closely to see that there are different insects preserved inside them. There was a particularly large sample with a spider inside too that interested him greatly. He immediately walked back inside the shop, purchased it, and wrapped it up with blue tissue paper. Maybe Berwald will like it as an extra present to accompany the main present. If Eirík ever finds one in time.
At Berwald's house, life is in full swing as Matthias bought him a whole crate of beers for everybody to enjoy and consume. Finland had the same idea and purchased him beers, except that he also bought him some tools to hopefully replace the old rusty ones that Berwald keeps using without replacing or maintaining properly. Norway got him one of those large bottles that you throw your spare change in and it digitally counts how much is in there.
While Finland challenged Denmark to a drinking game, Norway gave Sweden a glance before looking at his watch.
"Do ya know where Eirík is? It's been hours since I last heard from him…"
"I don't know," Berwald muttered, feeling strangely worried about his absence. "He hasn't called or messaged me. I'll go call him…"
Just as he suggested that, they all heard the front door open and close before Iceland made an appearance. He looks dishevelled, judging from how mussed-up his silvery hair is and his clothes look like they haven't been ironed in days. In his arms he carried two large bags, huffing as he tried not to trip or fall over. He whimpered.
"H-hey, can someone grab these before I drop them?"
Like a good boyfriend, Berwald quickly took them out of his arms and Eirík sighed in relief, briefly kneeling on the floor before standing up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek shyly. He rarely kisses Berwald in front of people, even his own family as he was met with wolf-whistles.
"That's damn sexy, Icey!" Denmark cackled and Norway slapped his back, making his drown in his beer as he took a swig.
"All these are for me?" Berwald asked Iceland in amusement, looking at the bags in his arms.
"Yeah," his young boyfriend blushed, looking away, "don't get your hopes up though, I can barely find anything that's… worthy of you… or whatever…" Berwald caught sight of his mood ring, which has turned from blue to yellow.
"What's that?" he asked curiously and Iceland hid his ring, going pink.
"It's nothing."
"I saw it change colour."
"Oh! That sounds like a mood ring!" Finland exclaimed happily, hopping by Iceland's side and took his hand to examine it closely. "It is! Looks like you're pretty happy!"
"No, the colour blue shows happiness," Iceland grumbled and snatched his hand away in embarrassment at the attention he's getting.
"Then why is it yellow?" Norway wondered out loud. But just as he said that, it turned black just like at the shop. "Now it's black… Ice, what did I say about buying rings like that from cheapo shops wanting to make quick bucks?"
"I just like it, okay?!" Iceland huffed. The ring is right to show his anxiety. He's slowly feeling regretful for buying the mood ring. He took an irritated breath. "It's black because it thinks I'm anxious or something."
"Why?" Berwald suddenly inquired.
"I…I'm just worried if you like your present from me or not…" Iceland muttered and Norway gave him a one-armed hug.
"You shouldn't be worried – you're his boyfriend, you can get away with giving him crappy presents." Denmark shot him an indignant look.
"What?! Then you should've let me get away with buying you those pink spinner rings instead of just saying you didn't like the colour!"
"Well I like them! Thanks, Denmark!" Finland chuckled, raising his hand to show off two bright-pink spinner rings on his index and ring fingers.
Sweden placed the bags on the table and everybody silenced themselves to watch him pick out a small ring-sized box. Finland and Denmark gasped simultaneously while Norway's eyes widened and he looked at Iceland, who smugly grinned at them.
"YOU DIDN'T!" Denmark screamed, paling.
"YOU'RE GOING TO PROPOSE TO BERWALD?!" Finland yelled in shock.
Berwald hesitantly opened the box, revealing a round amber stone with a spider preserved within it. Norway almost sighed in relief, but did so slowly.
"Gotcha," Iceland murmured to them all with a grin as his boyfriend examined the fine, smooth sample with a small smile.
"It's nice," he commented, placing it back in the box, but not closing it. "It's the best I've seen."
Having gotten over their initial mini-heart attacks, the other two Nordics sighed heavily.
"I REALLY thought you were going to propose to him!" Denmark ranted.
"Why would that worry you?" Iceland sniggered. "But since I've been with him for a while, I could move things on." Norway sent him a small glare.
"You're still too young, young man."
"I'm freaking 17."
"Still too young."
"You're not my mom, Norway!"
"Call me Dadmark!" Denmark suddenly declared laughing.
"Call me Uncle Finn!" Finland snorted.
"Hey."
Everyone stopped bantering and looked at Berwald as he held a cake box with the Black Forest gateau within. Iceland can see him trying not to smile so much as he placed the box carefully on the table.
"Thanks, Ice," Berwald thanked him before leaning down to kiss his lips. Iceland's cheeks flushed and he quickly seized his shoulder to hold him in position, kissing him back. Denmark nudged Norway with his elbow and winked.
"He's getting good at this!" he whispered and Norway rolled his eyes.
"It's no problem," Iceland said, "Have you seen your other present?"
"This one?" Berwald held up a wrapped box, the one Iceland put in the same bag as the cake to avoid buying anymore carrier bags. The box is slightly bigger than the one that the amber was stored in. While being watched on by the other Nordics, he quietly tore the plain pearly-white wrapping paper until a black suede jewellery box is revealed. He opened it, seeing two small cufflinks that have turquoise stones embedded on.
"Cufflinks?" Denmark said out loud.
"Yeah, you wear suits a lot at the world meetings, but I figure they'll go well with your suit," Iceland murmured, leaning against Sweden slightly to peek at his expression. He's never seen him look so impressed with a gift before. His heart warmed considerably.
"Thank you, Eirík," he smiled at him. "I like 'em."
"I'm glad…" his boyfriend muttered shyly. "I was worried you didn't like the stones."
"They're perfect. I love them." After he said that, he hugged Iceland close, kissing his lips. "I love you."
"Get a room…" Denmark pouted and Norway glared at him.
"They'll look amazing on you, Ruotsi!" Finland complimented Sweden.
The more the other Nordics talked about the cufflinks, the more pride Iceland feels at buying a decent present. Maybe the insect-in-amber is a good starter present, but the cufflinks pretty much stole the show.
So did the Black Forest gateau as everyone ate a slice of the chilled cake along with some fruity cider that Estonia sent Sweden for his birthday (in a possibly half-hearted attempt to win his heart to grant him a Nordic title) while they chattered about random things.
"Do mermaids have vaginas, Denmark?" Finland asked.
"Of course they do – all merfolk do!" Denmark answered seriously. "You know why? I swam out one summer night and they invited me to their cave!"
"Are you sure they're actual merfolk and not trolls?" Norway snorted and Finland almost bawled from laughing so hard.
"They ARE mermaids!" the Dane ranted. Iceland and Sweden shared confused glances, but gave up trying to figure out how their conversation went from countryside walks to mythical creatures. "Hey, Sweden, if you were a mythical creature, what would you be?" Sweden looked at his plate thoughtfully, humming.
"Maybe… a fossegrimmen." Norway groaned.
"I want to be a fossegrimmen too!"
"There can only be one good fossegrimmen in this room," Sweden said, staring at him blankly.
"Sweden. I can play a violin better than you do," he growled. The Swede smirked.
"Are ya callin' for a violin-off?"
"Maybe I am!" Norway's voice rose and he stood up quickly, but Denmark pushed him back down by pressing his shoulder down with his hand, laughing.
"You're BOTH good at playing the violin!" he corrected them, but the Swede and Norwegian still glowered at each other. Iceland laughed quietly, taking a sip of some cider. But it didn't end there.
"Are you doing this because you're dating my brother and you want to rub it in?" Norway spluttered.
"Norway, don't—" Iceland protested, but it was too late.
"No," Sweden shrugged, "because I would make a better fossegrimmen than you."
"OKAY," Finland suddenly shouted and stood up, holding Sweden's shoulders, "I think we should call it an early night, don't you guys think so? Sweden's POSITIVELY exhausted from all the excitement today!"
"Am not…" the Swede grumbled, but when he stood up, he swayed a little and held the table for support. Denmark cackled.
"That's only from 3 beers and one cider! You're a lightweight, Sve!"
"I'll go take him upstairs," Iceland sighed and stood up. Having only drunk one glass of cider, he was unaffected by the drink, but still felt sleepy from today's excursion at the shopping centre. He took Sweden's hand. "Thanks, Fin, for not letting him fall to his doom."
"No problem," Finland snickered and stumbled back to sit on Norway's lap, making him go 'oof!' and turn slightly red. "I'll keep Tanska and Norja company while you two nap together!"
Iceland rolled his eyes with a laugh before tugging Sweden's hand to encourage him to follow him out the room and upstairs.
"Thanks, but I could walk myself…" Sweden mumbled, cheeks pink from the drinks earlier.
"I'd rather walk you up than risk you braining yourself on the stairs on your National Day," Iceland sighed, unbuttoning the Swede's shirt to help him undress. "That, and I wouldn't be a responsible boyfriend if I let you tumble around without help."
"I'd rather ya… tumble around with me…"
"I know, but if we're both hurt, who'd take care of us then?"
"Norge."
"No." Iceland slipped off his shirt, leaving him half-naked. He decided to let him take his own trousers off – he knows Berwald likes to sleep in his underwear. "Anyway…" he said hesitantly, sitting by his boyfriend. "Did you like your presents?"
"I love them," Sweden smiled again and rested his chin on his head as Iceland kicked off his shoes and socks. The younger huffed softly, unbuttoning his own shirt before taking it off. That satisfied him enough.
Sweden's arms wrapped around his bare torso and he kissed his ear, moving his lips to his cheek and then his nose. Eirík's cheeks heated, simply allowed himself to be kissed all over. He's in that mood – he'll be kissed all over until Berwald gets tired and fall asleep; sometimes falling asleep without realising it. But Eirík decided to do something different tonight.
He held Sweden's hands, lying back and tugging him so that he's leaning over him.
"Slow tonight?" he murmured.
"Yeah."
With that confirmation, Sweden immediately dove down to press slow kisses along his neck. Iceland's eyes fluttered closed and he tilted his head back to give him room. Their clasped hands splayed, allowing their fingers to interlock with each other when Sweden paused his admiration of Iceland's slim neck and sat up to look at his lover's hand, where the mood ring sat on his index finger. The ring has turned blue out of happiness.
"Why'd ya put it there an' not yer ring finger?" Sweden questioned curiously. Iceland shrugged.
"Maybe because it was the first finger I tried and it fit perfectly. I didn't bother trying it on the other fingers."
But Sweden quietly took the ring, wriggled it off his finger before looking at him in the eye, smiling slyly as he slipped it on his ring finger of his left hand. Iceland's heart skipped a beat, leaving him almost dizzy from growing excitement at the implication of this situation.
"When the time comes… will ya marry me, Eirík?" Berwald asked.
Alcohol may or may not have influenced his decision to propose, but Iceland could see past the hazed look in his eyes and into his soul, behind a veil of truth and sincerity of his words. He thought back at the jewellery shop where he considered buying him a ring and the afterthought of marrying him – they're together, not everybody wants to married and it's their choice whether they want to or not, but as Iceland's heart warmed up at Berwald's smiling face, he can't help but feel that they should marry. Have it official. Have it screamed out at the world that they're together and that nothing could ever separate them.
Feeling breathless, Iceland nodded dumbly.
"Yes… I do…"
Without them noticing, the ring faded from blue to purple. The ring stayed that way while they spent a long time entangled in each other's love and limbs, and it never changed.
Common colour coding of mood rings;
Black: Anxiety
Yellow: Nervous
Blue: Happiness
Purple: Passionate/Love
To be scientific, mood stones work on body temperatures, so if you're very cold then they're likely to stay a black colour even when you're in a different mood. And NEVER, EVER submerge a mood ring in water; otherwise it'll ruin the quality of the mood stone permanently.
ALSO: the semi-precious gemstone, Turquoise, is said to ward off bad dreams.
P.S. I got the 'Dadmark' idea from Tumblr. It's too funny to NOT mention on here.
DELETED SCENE;
Morning shone through the window and onto a king-sized bed where Finland slept with his butt in the air while Denmark slept with his face firmly pressed into the pillow. Meanwhile, Norway whistled a tune as he dried himself off after using the shower and looked at the bed-partners. Memories of last night gave his back a twinge.
"Hoi. Get up."
At that, Finland grumbled and rolled off the bed with a scream. The scream and the thudding noise woke up Denmark immediately and he looked around dramatically with sleepy eyes.
"Wha—Sweden's invading! I must eat his castle!" he declared before dizzily flumping back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"How the hell did I sleep with you guys when there are spare beds in Sweden's house?" Norway watched them incredulously.
"Because Sweden is sexy and therefore you're a river cobbler…" Denmark murmured, forcing himself to sit up. Norway sat on the bed while wearing the towel around his waist and he kissed his lips, seeming to wake up him immediately as his face brightened.
"Oh! Godmorgen, Norge!" he cheered and hugged him, pulling him onto his lap. Finland lifted him off the floor and smiled greatly, edging over to hug them too despite them being naked.
"Morning, Norja!" he purred against his neck, making the Norwegian blush. "I'm glad we all spent time like this together!"
"Yeah…" Norway muttered, moving only to kiss Finland. "Hey, we weren't loud, were we?"
"Nah!" Denmark snorted, "the gag was perfect on you, so it was all quiet!"
Finland watched on in amusement as his boyfriends play-wrestled and argued at the same time.