Title: Look at What We Started
Author: Itscalledthedistrict
Summary: "To the world, Tino is Karhu. He is agile, fearless, and he never misses. With a bow and a smile, Karhu can put an entire group of villains out of commission. To the world, Tino is a hero. Berwald knows different... That's why after his seventh sidekick went solo he left the business."
Pairing: Finland/Sweden
Warnings: Mentions of Violence, light angst
Cross-Posted on AO3
June 07, 00:38 UTC
The window slid open without a sound. After looking into the seemingly empty room, Karhu slid in and shut the window. The house was quiet- too quiet for a Saturday- but that wasn't his concern. He hoped he would be able to change and take a quick shower before Berwald woke up and saw him-
... His plans were foiled when he went into the kitchen to see his partner sitting at the kitchen table. Glasses on, two cups of coffee sitting on the table, his arms crossed. Right as Karhu walked in Berwald looked up.
Karhu suppressed a wince and tried to turn it into a smile. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."
"You're later than usual." Berwald said, ignoring his attempt to distract him.
"It wasn't a big deal Ber, the police were just a bit late and I wasn't able to hold all of the men off by myself. You should've seen it; one of the guys threw my bow way across the room and another tried to catch me off-guard. Of course I was able to evade both attacks, since they were no stronger than Emil's, but you should've seen the look on their faces when-"
"Take off the uniform." Berwald interrupted.
Karhu froze, completely forgetting what he was going to say. He sighed, "Ber, it's nothing I can't handle by myself. I'm just going to take a quick shower and-"
"No. I'll get the first aid kit." Berwald said firmly.
Knowing that he wasn't going to get out of it, Karhu started stripping himself of the uniform. He hated Spandex on nights like this; where it seemed to cling to him like a second skin. He'd probably have to stitch it in some places and he knew there were still rips from the last break in. Damn, was Roderich going to kill him when he found out he ripped the costume again...
Berwald came back to see that everything except his mask, underwear and one sleeve had been removed from his body. The way Karhu was looking at the ground told Berwald that he couldn't get all the uniform off by himself without causing more pain. He approached the other male slowly, placing the first aid kit on the table before kneeling between his legs.
"Tino, please look at me." Berwald pleaded. Karhu lifted his head, but Berwald still couldn't tell if he was looking at him. Slowly, Berwald placed his hands on the other's cheeks. All he needed was a nod before he carefully removed the mask that hid Tino from the world.
To the world, Tino is Karhu. He is agile, he is fearless, he is charismatic and bulletproof and he never, never misses. With a bow and a smile, Karhu can put an entire group of villains out of commission.
To the world, Tino is a hero. He is their hero.
Berwald knows different.
Berwald removes the mask as quickly as he can without harming the other. As it is removed, Berwald can see the guilt and pain in Tino's eyes. He can see the dried blood from his forehead and the healing bruises on his temple that he received last week from a drug lord.
"Where did they hurt you?" Berwald asks, still trying to catch Tino's eye.
"It wasn't anything I haven't dealt with before. A couple of hits to the shoulder, a kick to the side. I had to use a couple of moves that possibly strained a couple of muscles. They didn't have any weapons on them besides guns so it was pretty easy to knock them out."
Berwald gave Tino a look: the 'I know there's more you're not telling me' look. Tino sighed and continued, "Okay, maybe someone brought out a knife, but it didn't hit me! It hit my bow, which threw off my aim and made me fall onto my shoulder. That's when Knopsvane showed up- he says hi by the way- and helped me track Frost. The police showed up after we put Frost in a trap. I wasn't hurt that bad."
"What was Mathais doing here? Doesn't he have his own patrol?" Berwald asked as he tried to remove Tino's sleeve without further injuring his arm.
Tino let Berwald remove his sleeve before responding. "He said he'd been tracking Frost since the jewel robbery a couple of months ago. He'd hoped to learn tonight if that was connected to Cheetah's attempt to intoxicate the guests at Vargas's gala. You know, the one where Selva- ouch!"
Berwald sighed in relief. The shoulder was just bruised, which meant Tino hadn't broken anything. The stitches on his chest hadn't ripped open, and the bruising on his side was still recovering nicely. He told Tino so before handing him some ibuprofen and moving to pack up the first aid kit.
Tino stopped him before he was able to move from his position on the floor. "I know it's late, but happy birthday. I didn't forget, I planned on making you a nice dinner and spending the evening with you, but... you know how it is."
Yeah, Berwald knew how it was. The need for you to be on the clock 24/7, the rush of putting a villain behind bars, the bliss of getting more than five hours of sleep in a night, the pain, the praise, the way you must always put your life second...
Berwald knew how it was. That's why after his seventh sidekick went solo he left the business. He hung up his Koltrast uniform and decided to focus on his civilian life. He left his city to his successors, knowing that he had prepared them to the best of his ability.
Instead of focusing on his city, he now focused on his family. Sure, it was a large family and yes, they were all superheroes, but Berwald wouldn't change it. They were happy, and he was happy, so what was there to change?
"But enough about that," ('No, it will always be present in our lives. You can leave the identity behind, but the identity never leaves you,' Berwald once told Tino,) "it's getting late and I really need some food and a shower." Tino said as he stood up. He held out a hand to his lover, "I also wouldn't mind your company as I did so. After all, I kind of owe you after the disaster that was today."
Berwald took Tino's hand and allowed him lead the way to their shared bathroom.
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After taking a longer shower than expected, Tino decided to have a small amount of food before going to bed. Berwald decided to stay awake a little while longer to clean up what he thought was going to be a romantic dinner for the two.
His quiet clean up routine was interrupted by a soft beeping. At first, Berwald thought it was nothing, but when it didn't stop Berwald groaned. Now? Really? Could they not find a better time to call besides 03:32?
Berwald moved the arm of the sofa to reveal a small button. When he pressed it, the large bookcase moved to reveal a large computer. It was a pain in the ass to build, but when Mathais and Berwald finished the contraption the pain was "totally worth it". It kept records of all the villains and crimes that had taken place in the city's history, it kept a track of all the superheroes and their bios, it knew the location of all the superheroes in the area, and it was a decent device that could be used for communication. Cellphones could be tracked, laptops could be hacked, so why not use a super computer?
Berwald answered the call after hastily throwing on Tino's disregarded mask. "This better be important, Eagle."
His former sidekick smirked under his cowl. "Good to see you too, Koltrast. And as much as I'd love to chat, I called for a reason. Last night there was another attempt to intoxicate the guests at a Vargas Gala. This time the Team and I believe Static was involved. I know Karhu and Knopsvane stopped Frost and his team earlier from breaking into a bank. I have a suspicion that Frost, Cheetah and Static are planning something big with the Vargas family is a target."
Koltrast frowned under the mask. Damn did it feel weird to wear again... "Why call me then? Why not call Karhu or any of your brothers? You know I'm not active anymore."
He could see Eagle- or Alfred, his fifth adopted child- fidget a little. "Because... you're the best at undercover work. I was hoping you'd be able to infiltrate and learn more about their alliance. We've tried everything else and nothing has been effective. Silencio can't go because his little bird is almost due, and you know the others would blow it. Black Monarch's not letting me go after the Compo failure. You're the only one fit for the job."
Berwald sighed. 'You can leave the identity behind, but the identity never leaves you,' He remembered his father saying.
"Does Karhu know?" Koltrast asked.
"Nah, I wanted your input on it first. If he heard me even mention this I'd become his next practice dummy. You know how he feels about you entering the biz again."
Yeah, Berwald knew. The Compo failure had put many people's lives at risk, including Berwald's. If it weren't for Alfred and Emil's quick thinking he wouldn't be alive. After that, Tino never reacted well when Berwald announced he was going on an undercover op. It put a strain on their relationship, and that strain was one of the many reasons Berwald left the business.
"Yeah, I know. But if it's the quickest way to ensure the Vargas's safety..." Berwald trailed off.
"Hey, I'll let you think about it. Sit on it for a couple of days, and don't listen to Knopsvane because he's wanted to see you put back on the uniform for a while. Not that it wouldn't be cool for the whole fam to work together again...
"Anyways, go to sleep. Happy birthday by the way. Sorry I was late to it, but Silencio and I had been tracking Cheetah for about 48 hours straight and I needed a day's nap."
After exchanging goodbyes, Koltrast made sure to put the room back to its original state. Berwald threw off the mask when he was sure all the cameras had been put away. He didn't know where he'd placed his glasses, but that was alright. It's not like he actually needed them to see or anything.
Berwald went to bed soon after. He smiled slightly at the sight of Tino laid out on his side of the bed. After he carefully moved Tino enough that he could get into bed, Berwald wrapped his arms around the smaller male and kissed his forehead.
Even though his intention was to fall asleep, Berwald didn't shut his eyes for a long time. There was just too much to think about. Could he really do it? Go back to the life he'd left behind? What if he liked it a little too much? So much had changed in the past three years: he'd finalized Peter and Lars's adoptions, he'd seen Alfred and Matthew graduate high school and Elizabeta graduate from college, and he'd gotten married to Tino.
Fuck, what if putting back on the costume messed up all that?
"Babe, if you keep thinking so loud I'm never gonna sleep." Tino's soft voice cut through his negative thoughts like his knives used to cut through the rope binding his hands.
"'M fine. Go back to sleep." Berwald whispered, leaning down to kiss Tino's forehead once more.
"I'm not lettin' this go. We're talkin' 'bout it in the morning." Tino muttered, turning to kiss Berwald's chest. "I love you."
Berwald wrapped his arms around Tino tighter, mindful of his hurt arm. "I love you too. Sleep well."
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When Berwald woke later that morning, Karhu had taken Tino downtown to fight Cheetah once more.
After doing a lot of research about the Batfamily, I've come to the conclusion that the Nordics have a lot in common with the Batfam. So, of course, this AU was born and I had to write it. I don't know if I'll continue this, especially since I still need to finish My Year With the Nordics and a couple other works. Of course, if you have ideas for this AU, please share them! Thanks for reading, and happy (late) birthday Sverige!
IDs of Superheroes
Karhu: Tino... Koltrast: Berwald... Knopsvane: Mathais... Eagle: Alfred... Silencio: Matthew... Black Monarch: Arthur... Selva: Antonio