This story is pretty much what the summary says. It's based around Tino's foray into the world of high-end buisness and "patriotic troublemaking", and well as the odd hobbies of the rest of the world. And, of course, a little romance between he and Berwald.

Pairing wise, SuFin should be the only obvious one. GerIta is also mentioned, though only briefly. There may be a few others hinted, but I'm not quite there yet, and I'm trying not to make them too obvious.

HUMAN NAME NOTES: ERICA VOGEL (LIECHTENSTEIN). MATTHIAS DENSEN (DENMARK). LUKAS BONDEVIK (NORWAY). EIRíKUR "EIRíK" STEILSSON (ICELAND). THE REST ARE ALL CANON. ANY TRANSLATIONS ARE IN THE NOTES AT THE BOTTOM.

I DON'T OWN THESE GUYS! OBVIOUSLY! Otherwise you can be sure that there'd be a lot more random moments.

WARNING: Poland. His rambling. I swear, it was not my idea. My brain just took over. And yeah. Er... review?


With the Olympics coming up, Tino was more than a little sure that he would have a lot of work to do. Being physiotherapist for the Finnish team meant he would need plenty of over-time to keep up with the athletes. And, as he headed towards the stadium for the first time, he knew that he would need plenty of over-time to keep up with the athletes. And, as he headed towards the stadium for the first time, he knew that nothing else in his life could have been that worth it.

Something told him that his expectations wouldn't be able to prepare him for what he saw.

And he was honestly right.

"It's huge..." he muttered, listening to the Estonian beside him laugh. Tino could understand why. That had to be the understatement of the year. It towered over both their heads, and while it wasn't as tall as some of buildings in the centre of the city, the amount of ground it covered easily made up for it.

"Just wait until you get inside," Eduard smirked. "The electronics are legendary."

Tino just rolled his eyes. Of course he would say that; he'd helped rig them up! Still, it would honestly be the highlight of both of their careers, so they couldn't help but feel proud.

"Are we meeting Raivis inside?" the older of the asked, to which Eduard nodded.

"Yes. He said that he and Toris - you remember him, don't you? We having seen him in years… Well, anyway, they have some last minute wires to fix."

The Finn frowned. "Nothing major, I hope."

Eduard grimaced slightly, his mind clearly running over the blueprints as they talked. "With this project, who knows? We're constantly behind, but maybe it'll all get started on time."

Tino paused, just before they arrived at security. "You don't think it will?"

Eduard simply presented their passes and identification to the blond security guard, who he addressed directly instead of answering the question. "Having a good night, Basch?"

The guard grunted, scowling at the two. His eyes crossed over them both quickly as he checked if they truly were who they said they were. "Strictly business tonight, Eduard. No small..." he paused as he glanced at Tino, "...talk..."

For a minute, Tino wondered whether it would be possible to be rejected from entering the grounds just because there were probably crumbs in the binding of his passport. It wasn't his fault! He hadn't exactly expected his lunch to open itself while in his bag… He barely heard his friend ask him about someone…

Luckily, he fears seemed unfound, as the guard handed over his ID and pass. He looked like he was about to say something to Tino – 'probably about the state of his passport,' he thought – when a small blonde girl appeared beside the other security guard, who was handing Eduard his documents.

"Speak of the devil!" Eduard said with a laugh and a smile, muttering a quick thank you as he walked past the man, gave the girl a greeting of "hello, Erica."

As Tino followed the technician, he was sure the girl gave a small wave, before turning back to her partner.

Tino, impatient as ever, just frowned. "You still haven't answered my question, Eduard."

The other sighed. It was rather obvious that whatever complicated thing he'd been asked to do was causing him problems. "Maybe... There are still a lot of things that we need to do. I'm not sure whether we'll manage it. Maybe if-"

"EDUARD!"

The Estonian turned around in panic, before smiling. "Oh. Raivis. You gave me a shock, for a minute. What are you looking so worried about?"

The young-looking blond, however, seemed to be in a complete panic. "Toris and I can- can't figure out wh- what's the matter with th- the wiring! A-and we need- it- it needs- it needs fixing now!"

"Relax! I'm sure we can fix it, well before the Opening Ceremony. There's still plenty of time.

'Eduard von Bock,' Tino thought, 'you little liar. You don't think that way at all.' Still, it was pretty understandable that he had developed such a skill for lying. With an adoptive brother like Raivis, who spent most of his life panicking thanks to what Tino suspected was severe PTSD; it was only natural that he'd developed an acute ability to use his words as a method of calming the other. He was an intelligent man, and he cared greatly for his difficult brother. And, Raivis was difficult. The smallest thing was set him off, and Eduard was always complaining that he was never calm down. Not on his own, at least.

A hand on his shoulder made Tino jump. Two worried blue eyes filled his vision, before bursting into laughter. "Relax, Raivis! He's just zoned out for a little while," Eduard pointed out, before focusing once again on the Finn. "Look, we need to go and sort this out. Will you be alright?"

Tino nodded. "Of course. I need to find either the team of the other physios, anyway."

There wasn't a forced goodbye with words to address their parting; simply a single nod of the head and the two were gone, leaving the Finn there to figure out where everyone was.

He had to admit, there was something to be said for arriving earlier than necessary. Hardly anyone was around, and the peace of the situation calmed the nerves he knew would appear before the 'big debut', where the teams would be presented to the world. He hated being the centre of attention, especially at big events where people expected everyone to look and act perfect, and represent something huge, and... And... And...

Thousands of people - millions - would soon be directed towards them very soon.

Violet eyes slammed shut, and emotions suddenly grew much stronger. As he moved, he could feel the tightening in his stomach that indicated his nerves. His mind whirred.

'Oh, God. This is actually happening. I don't even-'

There was a thump, as a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist and, for a moment, they were the only thing keeping Tino upright. He could feel his own heartbeat, and what he hoped wasn't the other persons, pounding through his chest and mind.

Then he opened his eyes.

The man was taller than him, which wasn't unusual for the five foot seven Tino, with short blond hair and blue eyes. Something about his looks made the fine terrified, and when the man spoke in swift Scandinavian, his nerves seemed to boil more.

Then the taller man grinned, throwing his head back slightly in a loud laugh, before taking a step away from the Finn. "I don't dink you could understand me, no?"

Tino just shook his head, not sure what else to do.

"'m Matthias. 'am the physio for the Danish team."

Oh. So this was one of the physios he had yet to meet. He'd already met most of them, from wondering around the Athlete's Village, and the grounds surrounding the stadium. After all, he had no problem being sociable. Except, maybe right now, with a grinning maniac having cornered him.

"Tino Väinämöinen. I'm-"

"Ah, you're Finnish, right? Does that mean you've heard of me?" he asked, looking thrilled at the prospect. Or, at least, Tino thought he was. With someone like that insane-looking, it was hard to tell.

Before he had the chance to decide whether to answer 'no', or ask where the other man how he had known he was Finnish, someone else decided for him.

"No one's heard of you, Matthias. That's the point."

The voice sounded bitter and condescending. Tino tried never to judge, but he didn't like it.

Matthias glanced over Tino's shoulder, his grin going even wider. Trying to follow his gaze, Tino had to glance over his own shoulder, almost twisting his own neck at an awkward angle.

Behind him were three men. Two of them wore suits - clearly dignitaries - one bearing a small gold cross-pin - reminiscent of the silver necklace Tino often wore - the other one with an Icelandic flag on his lapel. Both must have been younger than Tino, is he could have guessed, perhaps significantly in the case of the latter. For all Tino could have guessed, he would have said he was the same age as Raivis, thereabouts.

And the third man... well, he was a sight.

Dressed in blue overalls that weirdly matched the colour of his rectangular glasses and navy blue eyes, he towered a good few inches above even the Danish man. His face was stern, and Tino couldn't understand how someone so threatening could look so at ease surrounded by people who were clearly so much younger than him, and so very placid.

Matthias, however, didn't seem to find it odd.

"Pssh, everyone's heard of me - don' be stupid, Lukas."

Lukas - or, rather, the man Tino assumed was Lukas - turned to the Finn with a frown, completely ignoring his hyperactive friend. "So, what did he tell you? That he was a physiotherapist? Don't listen to him. He can't even name the organs of the body-"

"I can too!" Matthias countered with a whine, reminding Tino of a small child who'd just been told they couldn't do something. "There's the lungs, and the heart, and the brain, and the... er... the stomach! And the... the skin... A-"

"The skin's not an organ," Lukas snapped.

"Yes it is!" the Dane argued, pretty much voicing Tino's thoughts, even though he was pretty sure that Matthias had only said it because he lacked other things to say.

"Don't be ridiculous-"

"Can you two stop bickering for a moment?" the other dignitary cut him off with a sigh, rolling his eyes. "Can't you see your making him uncomfortable?"

The other two stopped, mid-quarrel, and Tino felt sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of that comment. That was, until he realised that four sets of strikingly similar eyes were focusing on one particular person.

Oh... They meant him...

With the blood rushing to his face, Tino doubted he could feel any more self conscious. "Oh, no, I'm fine," he said, forcing a little laugh at the end. "However, I really must be going..."

Pushing himself to scarper, he could hear Matthias' raucous laughter following him. "Awh, he looked so scared! Tha- Ow! Berwald, wha-"

He chose not to hear the rest as kept moving away from the Scandinavian group.

That was hell. Complete and utter hell. He was half tempted to thank whatever god was looking out for him, that he had bumped into the person he did. A close friend of a close friend of Eduard's, and someone the Finn had met many times before, on their nights of just sitting around gossiping like a group of old women. Because the small group of friends had known each other for years, and with the edition of other, newer people, there was never a lack of anything to talk about.

But as much as he was thankful for having someone else to talk to, rather than the Scandinavian men he was currently avoiding, Tino wasn't sure this conversation was quite what he wanted.

"So, I was telling Elizabeta – you are listening, right, Tino? – I was telling her that we totally, like, have to get ourselves off to this adorable little French café we found in the centre of town. I mean, the owner is, like, a total flirt, but he's also completely gorgeous, so it doesn't, like, matter… Seriously, Tino! Are you even listening?"

The Finn snapped his head upwards, glancing towards the ever sassy Pole. "Yes, I am."

"Who's Elizabeta?"

"The Hungarian designer you've been working with."

Tino didn't react, but he could see the other man blinking in confusion. "I do listen sometimes, Feliks."

Instead of giving what could have been called a 'valid response', the Polish designer chose a much more… interesting route. "You only know who she is because you like her."

He spluttered slightly in response. "Excuse me?"

Feliks just nodded. "Yeah. It's, like, totally obvious. I mean, Hungarian is meant to be like Finnish, right? It's not wonder you, like, want her."

"How is the fact Hungarian and Finnish are both Finno-Uralic languages got anything to do with this?"

Feliks shook his head. "Now, now, Tino. That's, like, totally not cool."

Instead of arguing back, Tino just sighed, wondering how long it would take for his Polish friend to realise that he had never, in fact, met the woman. "Didn't you say she already had a boyfriend, anyway?"

"Oh, well…" Feliks started, before frowning, "there is Roderich… But I'm pretty sure she hasn't spoken to him in months. Mind, if that's true, you'll have to be quick about it! 'Cause, Gilbert will, like, be totally all over her."

"…Gilbert?" Tino asked in confusion.

"Oh, totally," the Pole nodded, before stopping his speech completely, obviously not getting what the Finn meant.

"… Who's Gilbert?"

Feliks smacked him on the arm. "Oh, you should have told me that you, like, didn't know! I would have told you!" Well, I tried to, Tino thought to himself. "Gilbert is, like, the German designer. He thinks he's, like, totally awesome. I don't know why. He has, like, no fashion sense; like, at all," he huffed, annoyance written clear across his features as if her were a teenager. "The only use he has is Liz riled up and making her, like, work harder." Then, suddenly, his face lit up. "Mind, I'm, like, totally glad his brother is here. Some fine muscles on that one."

Tino coughed slightly, feeling his cheeks heat up at the very blunt comment. "B- brother?"

Feliks still looked out of it. "Yes, Ludwig. Why?"

Tino shrugged. "I wasn't aware he had a brother."

"Yes, he does… Also, I'm going to ask Elizabeta out for you when we, like, get to the meeting room."

He spluttered slightly. "Excuse me?"

The Pole just smiled gleefully. "The two of you would make such a cute couple! Personally I think that you should totally ask her. Or I, like, will!"

"I don't think… Never mind…"

"You need to, like, loosen up a little, Tino! Maybe I should be trying to find you someone to totally have a good time with, instead of an actual date, like…"

The Finn could have face-palmed right then and there. The green-eyed man just shook his head with a sigh. Tino chose not to approach the subject. He was pretty sure the gossip beside him didn't understand the term 'decency'.

Still, when the man to his left pushed open a door, revealing what appeared to be a conference room, he was mildly surprised. The woman at the opposite side of the room must have been a good few years older than him, though possibly a little shorter, it was hard to tell when she was sitting down. Brown hair, green eyes, orange flower… Cute, he supposed, but that was pretty much it.

She glanced up with a smile. "Hello, Feliks! And this must be Tino," a smile crossed her lips. "I'm Eliza-"

Feliks, however, cut her off.

"Elizabeta, what are you, like, drinking?" the Pole said in disgust as he looked into the plastic cup in front of her.

The Hungarian frowned, also glancing at her drink. "It's called water."

He huffed. "Well I know that!" The level of contempt in his voice was unparalleled. Not that Tino could figure out why.

"Then why did you ask?" she said with a smirk, watching as the other man splutter in annoyance.

"But, why?"

She purposefully took a sip from the cup, almost as if she was toying with the Polish man. Then she said one thing, as if it was the simplest in the world.

"Arthur broke the coffee machine."

Tino blinked for a minute. "How can you break a coffee machine."

Elizabeta shrugged. "No idea. All I know if that he's now banned from using it."

"I totally don't blame you," Feliks said with a grimace.

"I don't blame myself either, darling," she agreed, taking another sip, before grimacing. "Urgh. Work like this needs coffee to fuel it."

Feliks hummed in agreement, glancing towards the sheets. However, once he saw it, he went red and looked away "I can imagine."

Tino paused, tilting his head to one side. Giving the Hungarian a smile, he asked, "what are you working on, if you don't mind me asking?"

Elizabeta just grinned back. "Oh, nothing related to these wonderful games. More of a… personal project," she explained, before adding. "The anatomy is probably a little wrong, though. I can't say I get many volunteers to model for me. Still want to see?" she asked at the end.

When Tino nodded, she slid a few pieces of paper across for him to see, and the Finn took them with a gracious smile. It was ever so nice of her to show him these, especially as she hardly…

Two violet eyes connected with the picture on the paper, and blood rushed to his cheeks. Ah. That was what Feliks meant.

Coughing slightly, he could almost feel the Hungarian smirking at him behind his back. Tino chose to allow the incriminating picture of the… er… two men, fall back to the table, picture facing downward, before he turned around. "If you want, I can go see if someone can be spared to fix the coffee machine for you? There's only a few hours left until the Opening Ceremony. They must be finished by now, right?" he laughed, not waiting for a reply as he pushed towards the door. He could just about hear Elizabeta laughing at him, as Feliks replied, "well done, Liz. You're never going to get a date with him now.

Then, as the door closed behind him, a distinct yell of "WHAT!" echoing through the slowly filling corridors.

Tino allowed himself a small laugh, in spite of himself. That was probably the most awkward first meeting he'd ever had, even topping the one with the four Scandinavians earlier that afternoon.