Sweden was busy mending his shirt, which Denmark had torn earlier during one of their 'play' fights. Grumbling to himself and holding the shirt mere inches from his face, he pricked his finger with the needle. It was the straw that broke the camels' back- he was pissed and couldn't stand being in this house any more. Abruptly, he stood from his chair, threw his garment on the floor and rushed out of his room.
As soon as he got out of eyesight from the house, he started running. A blur in the mass of late summer grasses that reached his hips, their shushing and breaking sound beneath his boots was rhythmic. Having thrown his shirt to the floor, and forgetting about the 'play' wounds Denmark caused, the tips of the grasses tickled his sides and also stung against untreated open flesh. Yet, he kept on running, and he knew exactly where he was going.
It wasn't that the finger prick hurt, it wasn't that the shirt mending was an impossible task; it was just that he was so fed up with it all. Fed up with Denmark's damned antics, Norway's passive attitude toward Denmark, living in that same house, never being allowed to stretch his limbs and see the world.
Sweden was ready to get away. Ready to run and escape- he had been for a while. Though, there was one thing that tethered him to this house. One impossible, perfect, goofy thing.
He was hopelessly, tirelessly, irrevocably, and eternally in love with Finland. He had been since they were children. He couldn't leave, not because Denmark was stronger, not because he was fearful of Norway's magic, but because he couldn't leave Finland. His heart went out to the young adult as he reached the bank of the river where they used to play as children. Walking the familiar, and now over grown path, he found the large rock they would sit on and watch the sun set and the stars rise.
Looking around, he groaned. The world was so blurry and unpleasant. He could no longer make out the individual pebbles that dotted the bank, nor the delicate petals on the flowers that matched Finland eyes. He could no longer distinguish between each individual blade of summer grass, or see the fine cracks and weathered marks on the very rock he was perched on. He closed his eyes, and wondered if the others had this problem too.
Silently, he listened. The rushing of the water beside him eventually turned into background static as he became calmer and calmer. He could hear the shush and sway of the grasses in the evening breeze, the chatter of crickets as they sang to the heavens, and once, the sound of a tree falling far off into the woods along the other side of the river.
He sat for hours until the sun no longer warmed his bare skin and the evening wind chill caused goose bumps to prick and form all along his back and arms. The small amount of blood from his wounds had long since clotted and dried, and, Sweden, deciding Finland and Norway should be back from their trip to town, decided to head back in before Denmark had a chance to haunt the smaller man.
Sweden stood and faced the river, he took one last breath before he turned around and heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Sweden!" It was Finland.
He didn't want to answer. He didn't want Finland to worry about the small scrape on his chin, and the bloodied road rash on his hip. Though, he wouldn't mind having an excuse to be close to Finland, as that was now the only way he could get to clearly see the man's face. So, knowing that Finland knew where to find him, he sat back down on the rock and waited.
"Ah! There you are!"
He heard Finlands approaching boots, crushing the grass and disheveling the rocks beneath them. He looked in the direction of the sounds, and squinted, barely able to make out the form walking in his direction.
"Are you okay?" Finland reached Sweden, leaving a few feet of space between them.
"Ja. Jus'…" Sweden sighed. He really didn't need to explain to Finland how he felt, he knew Finland could tell- about Denmark, about Norway, and secretly, he hoped Finland knew about how Sweden felt towards him, too.
"How long have you been out here? You look a little sunburnt, Sweden." Finland looked as if he bent down, lowering himself to spy Swedens skin easier.
"Fer awhile."
"Can I sit with you?"
"Ja."
Finland sat and rustled around in his satchel for a little bit, producing three items, one, obviously a canteen, the second looked like a clean towel, and the third was too blurry and small to tell what it was. Sweden looked to his face, now able to see the color in his eyes, and make out Finlands obvious features, like his nose, ears and mouth, and suddenly, Sweden found himself feeling better. Just seeing Finland relaxed him.
"I'm going to clean you up a bit, and then I have a gift for you, okay?"
"Hm? A gift? Wha' for?"
Finland smirked and took Swedens jaw in his hand, bringing their faces close together. It was obvious, Sweden knew that Finland was only this close to him because he was looking for any bruises and other scrapes that Denmark caused, but to Sweden, he couldn't have been happier. A steady blush formed on his cheeks, and he clenched his fists. One- because he knew that whatever was in the canteen was not water- and it was going to sting, and two, because he had a burning desire to grab ahold of Finlands other hand, and just hold it. Knowing his feelings weren't reciprocated; Sweden took it in stride and allowed himself to just admire the man.
Finlands face was close enough to where he could finally see him clearly. The boy he once knew was now gone, his face utterly handsome, with lips that he could only imagine their texture, cheeks that he knew were soft, aside from the places where his facial gruff had started forming; a long, straight nose, fair skin, fair freckles from previous sun exposure, and the same, glowing, happy, beautiful eyes that he had come to love.
"Hm." Finland ran his thumb just beneath Swedens left eye. The area was severely tender and, if Sweden hadn't been so enamored with Finland, he would have surely pulled away from the sensitive contact. "Looks like you're going to have a black eye too."
Finland took the clean towel from his lap and dabbed it gently in the canteen.
"This might sting a little."
Leaning even further forward, in order to be as precise as possible in the quickly fading light, Finland began to lightly dab the alcohol and flower petal mixture on Swedens jaw. Feeling Sweden clench his jaw, he glanced into the other mans eyes and smiled, trying to empathize. He knew it stung, and he also knew that Sweden tried to be tough, but Finland wished that Sweden would at least let his guard down around him. He couldn't explain it, but he wanted Sweden to feel as safe around him as he did around Sweden.
Finland momentarily glanced down and spied Swedens hands. Side by side on his lap, both clenched in tight balls, probably from the pain of the cleanser. He removed the towel from Swedens chin and, their faces still close together, decided he would try to make it better.
Leaning forward, he lightly kissed Sweden on the cheek, and whispered,
"Almost done, okay?"
and then retracted, only to find the man looking back at him with an expression he had never witnessed before- his lips were slightly agape, eyes wide and brows gently furrowed, Finland suspected the rosy tinge on his cheeks and nose to be from the sunburn, but couldn't help but wonder otherwise.
Rewetting the rag, he took a moment to subtly look to Swedens hands, hoping that kissing the pain away worked, and he was happy to find the man had them partially unclenched. Sometimes the best medicine is emotional medicine, Finland thought.
He screwed the cap of the canteen back on and removed his satchel, getting up from the rock and walking around Sweden. For some time he had suspected Sweden to suffer from bad eyesight, so he tried to narrate everything he did when he knew he wasn't in Swedens direct and clear line of vision.
"I'm just gonna do a quick check and look for anything big. Does it hurt anywhere?"
Sweden nodded.
"Where at?"
"All over." My heart.
Finland frowned. He should have expected that answer. Usually Sweden wouldn't fight back much, just because he detested physical altercations, but upon seeing Denmark's state of being, with two black eyes, a bloodied nose and scraped up knees, he figured Sweden took quite the beating as well, though Finland definitely expected more than what he could see in the low light.
"Ah, there's something here on your hip," Finland gently poked a finger just above the road rash, "I'll clean this up and then we'll head in, okay?" He placed the coarse rag over the wound, brushing the gravel and dirt from the dried blood and raw skin. Sweden hissed in pain and straightened his shoulders, wanting to jump away- but he'd rather get it over with now, rather than risk Denmark seeing him hurt.
"Hurts." Sweden commented, balling up his fists again.
"Almost done…" Finland blew cool air over the raw skin, a feeling he knew soothed the Swede.
As it turns out, cleaning the wound also caused it to reopen, but the rash itself was shallow, so Finland wasn't very concerned about the amount of bleeding. He brought some extra clean spare cloth, expecting to need to wrap Swedens wounds, though at this time he decided against it.
"All right! You're all cleaned up 'till we get home and I can get a good look at you."
" 's Den still hangin' 'round?" Sweden mumbled, folding his arms over his knees and resting his forehead on them. He couldn't get that kiss off his mind- he needed to breathe- Finland always found some new way to make Sweden love him even more, and he doesn't even realize it.
"Yeah, but I think Norge is handling him." Finland walked to the edge of the river, and knelt down, rinsing the rag of the blood that was sure to stain it. He stood after a moment, and rang the rag free of the excess water, before walking back to the rock and placing a cold, wet hand on Sweden's shoulder "C'mon, lets head in."
Sweden looked up, he wished he could see Finland for what he's most likely grown into. He wished he could see his muscles, his smile, his clothes, everything, Sweden just wished to see like he used to. To see the fish in the river, and the scuffs on his boots, the clouds in the sky, or the stars that Finland always begged him to watch.
"Stay with me, here, fer a bit longer?" Sweden hoped his eyes were looking into Finlands, but even at arms length, and in this low light, he could not really be sure.
"Eh? Here? But look- the sun has gone down, and who knows if something might come from the woods to attack us!" Sweden didn't say anything, but it saddened him- he could not look, he could hardly see the other side of the riverbank.
"Fin," Sweden blushed, and placed a hand atop of the one Finland had resting against his shoulder, "I'll protec' ya."
Finland sat down, and then immediately shot back up, after hearing some scraping and cracking noises.
"No! I completely forgot! Sweden, I'm so sorry…" Finland picked something up off the rock and clutched it in his hands, close to his chest.
"Forgot 'bout wha'? Nothin' t' be sorry for…"
"Ah! But-" Finland sighed and Sweden could only imagine the cute, pouty, frazzled look on his face, "just close your eyes and promise me you wont open them until I say so okay?"
" 're ya sure? Can't protec' ya if I can't see 'nything." Sweden, though, already had his eyes closed.
"I think this will help more than you can imagine… but…" Sweden heard Finland sigh again, and desperately wanting to calm the man- and also wanting to know that he was not going to run off, Sweden extended his arms forward, searching for Finlands hands, but instead found his hands wrapping perfectly at Finland's hips.
"Ah!" Finland jumped and began to start giggling, a light, melodic sound that Sweden never thought he'd be capable of evoking from Finland. "That tickles!" Finland continued to giggle, as Sweden smiled and began lightly tickling Finlands sides. Though, he kept his eyes closed- because Finland had asked him to, and, honestly, because Sweden could clearly imagine Finlands smiling face, he knew he would not be able to see it as he wished he could.
Between the joyous sounds filling the air, even a few chuckles from Sweden, Sweden felt thin, cold and wiry somethings being placed on the sides of his head. He felt Finlands fingertips brush down the sides of his temples before feeling another cold sensation on the bridge of his nose. His fingers stopped, and Finland was left panting for air.
"Ha-haha… Ah! I still can't breathe! Wait! Don't open your eyes yet, please!" Finland panted, placing both hands on Swedens shoulders. Sweden could feel the air rushing from his nose to the top of his own head, and now that he knew Finland was close enough to be seen clearly, he truly wanted to look. "Let me fix myself, phew, wow- okay. Ready? Open them in three, two, one, now!"
Sweden took a breath, not understanding what was going on, and what this thing was on his face, but trusting Finland to not gouge out his eyes, he slowly, tentatively opened them.
What he saw first, the only thing he saw really, actually the only thing he'd ever wanted to see- was Finland. Smiling. His cheeks, flushed, lips a pleasant pink, his hair tousled by the evening breeze, his height, his broadened shoulders, the details in his tunic, the stitching in his satchel, everything. He saw him- everything, individually, and as one, completely, beautifully.
"Fin…" Sweden reached to his face to press his fingers on the thing that was allowing all his hopes to come true, standing abruptly and taking a small step in Finlands direction. "I…"
"What do you think!" Finland took a step back, and stretched to get a better look at the glasses on Sweden's face. "They're called glasses, and they'll help you see better!"
"I," Sweden stood, and walked to Finland, didn't think I could love you any more… "don't know how t' thank ya enough- how did ya know?"
"I had a feeling." Finland smiled lightly, he whispered, abashedly looking away. "They look-" Finland twisted a foot in the dirt, looking back up to Sweden, "You- you look handsome Sweden."
Sweden's heart stopped. It flipped. It probably did so much dancing within his chest that he might have permanent heart damage, but Finland was smiling, and so was he. Oh, how he wished for even an ounce of eloquence. Speechless, he simply smiled and scratched the back of his head, indeed feeling his sunburn.
"You can thank me by watching the stars with me."
"O'course, I love-" Sweden coughed into his hand, "I'd love t' watch the stars with ya, Fin." He looked up, noticing for the first time in a long time, the highlights and shadows in the overcast sky above. Looking back down, at the perfect man in front of him, Sweden couldn't help but feel his heart swell, his breath catch, his mind race and clear simultaneously, as he was overcome with the desire to kiss Finland.
Clutching his hands at his sides, he told himself that he'd be expecting too much.
"Let's head in, okay?"
"Wait," Sweden took another step forward, closing the distance between the two, "Fin...I..." Still dazed, overcome with a rush of emotion and almost feeling like there would never be another perfect chance like this, Sweden cupped his hand around Finland's jaw and tenderly stroked his thumb across the other's cheek. His face, eyes, and bodily position betrayed all of his emotions, but still, he couldn't find the words within him to tell Finland how important of a person he truly was.
Unable to move from his position, Sweden allowed his eyes to lock with Finlands, hoping to see something, anything, that might reveal to Sweden how Finland felt about him. What he saw, however, should have been what he was expecting- he knew Finland was too good for him.
Finland looked terrified. Terrified and utterly frozen to the spot where he stood. He looked like he expected Sweden to strike him at any moment, maim his body, and then leave him to die out here in the woods. Or, at least, that's how he interpreted Finlands perfect doe-eyes.
That look brought Sweden back to reality, and he really didn't want to say anything about what he just did, but he knew he had to. He lowered his hand from Finlands smooth skin and looked down at the boots he could now clearly see.
"Jus' couldn' help myself." Sweden began. He cleared his throat and looked back up at Finlands face, which had relaxed since the contact. "Can't remember th'last time I saw y'clearly." You're more handsome than I could have imagined.
Finland smiled, and laughed yet again, closing the distance between them and hugging Sweden tightly for just a moment. "I'm glad you like them." Too soon for Sweden, Finland let go of him, turned his back to as they made their way back home.
Oh gee, Sweden you q t pi if only I could put you in my pocket!
Wellz I hope y'all liked this! :o
Xoxo, OurGloryDays