Berwald stared at the young boy in front of him. The events of the past few days seemed like a blur. It all felt fake. But the child in front of him told him otherwise. He had literally bought a child. Tiredly, he ran his hands through his hair. He hadn't mentioned a word of it to the others. Not even Finland was aware of his actions. He had done this on his own, so he had to figure it out on his own. The boy was currently distracted, seeing how high he could stack Legos until it collapsed, or smashing it to bits. He reminded him a bit like Denmark, and he wasn't able to conclude whether it was a good thing or not. He seemed well mannered, though he had the tendency to ramble and talked rather loudly. That shouldn't be much of a problem. The thing is….Berwald didn't have much experience with children. Yes, he held Iceland once or twice. But that was centuries ago, and even then he felt like one wrong move and he'd crumble to pieces. Children were so...fragile and emotional and hyper. And Berwald wasn't very experienced in any of those things. Maybe he could get Finland to help him. Finland would know what to do.
"You're much more quiet than jerk England." Berwald was startled by the boy. He didn't know how to respond. What are you supposed to say to a child? Did he scare the boy? Was he regretting living with Berwald? Speak, Berwald! Say something!
"Not much t' say." The boy looked up from his rather large Lego castle.
"Jerk England said that the quietest ones have the most to say." Once again, he was thrown off by the child's words.
"I s'pose." Before the child could ask more questions, the front door opened. Turning to look, he was met with a very stunned Finland. Soon, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway followed.
"Y'all right, Fin?" Denmark waved a hand in front of Finland's face. Tino grabbed his hand, pushing the Dane away from him.
"You kidnapped a child." He finally spoke. Fuck. He couldn't seem to find the proper words to explain himself. He couldn't even shake his head. He shut down, like his entire body was against him.
"He's my pa!" A million lights seemed to flash red. Warning. Warning. They cried. A lump formed in his throat and he suddenly felt nauseous. He was scared he'd pass out. Never in the centuries that he'd been alive had he thought he'd be referred to as someone's father. It just didn't seem to fit. Denmark's confused laughter brought him out of his panicked state.
"Sví? Raising a kid?" That's all it took. Four simple words and he had spite running through he veins.
"Can do a better job of it than y'." Mathias pouted before pointing accusingly at him.
"You're on!" He faltered, before turning to Iceland. "Hey, Ice-"
"No."
"Fuck." He had a strong urge to punch Denmark.
"Var försiktig med vad du säger om barnet*." The words came out more ferocious than he intended them to. Denmark let out a sheepish laugh, putting his hands up in defense.
"Ja, papa." The urge to hit Denmark grew stronger. He glanced nervously at Sealand, who seemed completely mesmerized by the other Nordics. He sighed, ignoring Mathias.
"H'll be stayin' with us f'r now. M' kid after all." No one opposed the idea.
"Where...where did you get him?" Finland asked cautiously. Berwald turned red.
"Pa got me off eBay!"
"Var försiktig med vad du säger om barnet-careful what you say around the child.