Full title: Love grows in the strangest of places
Rating: T (may go up to M)
Pairings: SuFin, RusFin, DenNor, LietPol.
Universe: Cardverse AU
Author: Crazy-lil-yume-chan (AKA Finny)
Author's note: So, I have a writersblock on my other stories, and this idea came to mind. I haven't really read any RusFin, and I haven't ever written any either (_) But yes, I actually have the story complete this time! Meaning I know what I'm supposed to do! That has seriously never happened before… Wow, I'm so unorganized. Anyway, don't hate this because of the pairing, just give it a shot and review if you like it! I won't update if I don't get reviews.
Human names: Sweden – Berwald Oxenstierna (Väinämöinen), Finland – Tino Väinämöinen (Oxenstierna), Norway – Lukas Bondevik Steilsson, Denmark – Mathias Khöler, Iceland – Emil Bondevik Steilsson, Human Puffin – Puffin Bondevik Steilsson (female), Russia – Ivan Braginsky.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia –Axis Powers, nor the characters.
Chapter 1 – I
It was an ordinary day in the Diamonds castle. Tino woke up to the sound of singing birds, the wind rustling through the grass in the garden below the open window who let in the sunlight that landed on his face, heating his skin and making him grimace. He pulled the cover over his head to keep the sun out, rolling over to his other side to get away from it. He reached out his arm to touch his husband's warm body, but was met with cold air. He snapped his eyes open and sat up in the bed. The blond male stared simply at the empty spot beside him where his husband usually slept, and even though Berwald always woke up before Tino, he always waited for his "wife" to wake up too, so they could have breakfast together, preferably in bed. Instead of his tall husband, there was a neatly folded paper, placed carefully on Berwald's pillow.
Tino reached out and unfolded the paper, reading the words.
"Good morning, your highness," Tino's head whipped to the door, where Puffin, the black haired, only woman of their four personal assistants that helps the royal couple in their everyday life, came in with a pile of towels in her hands. "Slept well?"
"Do you know where Berwald is?" Tino asked immediately, covering himself with the cover. He liked to sleep naked for more than one reason, and he planned to keep doing that, even though Puffin where the one assigned to wake them up every morning.
The question made Puffin stop in her way to the nightstand, eyes seeing nothing as she thought about it for a second. "Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed finally, turning to the patiently waiting Tino, smiling kindly. "He had to go to the Hearts kingdom in a rushing errand, the Queen needed some help from him. He took Mathias with him for assistance, and Lukas followed so that they won't kill each other."
Tino simply stared at her when she continued her way to put the towels on the nightstand, then making her way over to the wardrobe to prepare his clothes for the day. Tino felt a sting in his heart as he heard Berwald had left him all alone. He did that so often nowadays, he always had to rush away in new, hurried errands. Tino knew it wasn't on purpose, he always saw how sad it made Berwald to leave him, and the hurt in his blue eyes as he hugged his queen tight every time he came back home, apologizing over and over because he had to leave, but it always made Tino's heart hurt when he woke up a morning with only a simple letter, saying Berwald's sorry and that he loves him, as only explanation. The least Berwald could do was to wake him up, inform him that he was going away and actually give him a good-bye-kiss for once!
A pair of underpants that landed on his head snapped him out of his thoughts, and he lifted a pant leg to see Puffin smiling at the end of the bed.
"If your highness doesn't mind, could you put those on? Or else I will dress you without letting you put your underwear on," She said, sweetly as usual, a teasing sparkle in her dark grey eyes.
Tino blushed and scrambled out of the covers. "T-turn away then!" he whined and struggled to get into the pants as Puffin put a slender hand over her eyes and turned away. A few seconds later he got up the pants and managed to tie them, and the second he was done, Puffin turned back to him and started draping his body in the sea green, silky fabric. "How'd you do that?" he asked her, still blushing. "You sure you didn't peek?"
"I promise your highness, I would never do anything to displease you" the woman said as she took out the now sea blue tunic to wear and tighten over the loose silk that hung like a sac on the queens soft body. Tino was well aware that he was curvier than most males, but he didn't need anyone to point that out (besides Berwald when telling him he was beautiful just like that). "And you make an awful lot of noise when dressing."
Tino's blush got brighter, and when Puffin was done dressing him, he pulled away from her. "Oh yeah? Well, excuse my bad morning balance!" He pouted and stormed out of the bedroom, towards the dining hall.
The corridors made in the finest of marble, white with grey shifting, lit up to glow in the sun. Tino usually loved the white palace, built in white marble and draped in fabrics in all shades of blue, green and purple. Tino usually loved all the flowing, cold colors, the blue curtains framing the windows, the light green mats softening the sound of his steps, the purple flowers in the light grey pots every three meters. But today he just wanted to rip it down and into tiny little pieces, destroying everything Berwald had made and chosen for them, and them alone. He let the whole castle be redecorated in his and Tino's favorite colors for their wedding, and he kept it that way even after the ceremony that bond them together forever as husband and wife was over. It was a sigh of his love, and today Tino didn't feel much loved.
When he reached the dining hall, decorated in flowing blue in all its shifting, Emil was already putting the plates in. He looked up when the queen entered, not looking surprised or anything, just keeping his poker face in place. His cold light blue, almost grey, eyes peeked out from under his white hair that fell over his forehead. He was the youngest of all assistants, and that showed in his much rounder face and little bigger eyes than the rest of them. He had come together with his brother, Lukas, and sister, Puffin, when he was only a boy and Tino didn't have heart to separate the siblings. It showed that they were all great workers, and the queen didn't regret his decision once.
"Oh, so your highness decided to wake up now?" he asked and put the plate back down, pulling out the chair for him. "I was told by his majesty that you'd probably not get up until later this forenoon. Would you like some tea?"
"Did Berwald tell you anything more?" Tino asked grumpily as he fell down on the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Or why?"
"I was told you had a rough night, your highness," Emil answered and went around the table with Tino's plate, gathering stuff he knew the queen loved in the morning. "And Berwald left a few hours ago, saying we'd let you be to gain some extra hours of sleep. He said that you might need it." He came back with the plate, placing it in front of Tino, frowning a little. "… Your highness." He added and bowing, backing away.
Tino stared at the plate in front of him. It was all of his favorites: pancakes, fresh fruits probably picked this morning in the fields behind the castle, a strip of bacon, a few eggs and freshly baked bread. To this he was served tea, which he highly appreciated this early in the day. But today he didn't feel like it, he was still pretty upset that Berwald had just left him. Again.
"I'm not hungry," he muttered and pushed the plate away.
Immediately, Emil was there and pushed it in place again. "Please, your highness. You need to eat."
"I said I'm not hungry!" Tino said a bit more irritated, pushing the plate away again. Emil didn't say anything this time, just staring down at the queen with his cold light blue eyes.
"Eat." He said and pushed the plate back with finality.
Tino glared back just as evil and stood up, being a little taller than the teenager, so he could glare down on the white haired boy.
"Do you dare to disobey your Queen?" Tino asked coolly, he didn't like to use his status, but today he was angry, and anger have the special power to make one forget about everything that has to do with normal behavior.
If anyone walked into the dining room now, they would feel the icy atmosphere and probably be able to feel the lightning firing from the violet and blue eyes of the both males standing besides the dining table.
"… No your highness," Emil said after a minute of them staring each other down. He bowed again, backing away to clear the dining table.
Tino looked a little shocked at the boy's action; he didn't exactly expect to win. He didn't let this come to him though, as he pushed up his chest a little, trying to look manly, but failing in the very feminine dress tunic Puffin has dressed him in. "G-Good. I'll be in the garden is you need me."
Emil nodded intently and avoided all eye contact as Tino turned on his heels and made his way out of the huge dining room.
From the dining room there was a huge door that led to the combined throne- and ballroom, the biggest room in the whole castle. It felt empty to be there when the golden room did not contain hundreds of people, dancing around and talking, and without the loud music his steps echoed between the walls when he hurried through it; he didn't want to stay inside the room where he first met Berwald so many years ago. Tino has been the son of one of the last king's closest friends, a count that owned a great mansion in the other end of the country. The two old friends didn't get to see each other as much as they wanted too, but when the prince turned fifteen, the count made sure to be there and celebrate. With him he brought Tino. Tino's mother had been sick and couldn't come, so Tino felt a little off in the huge hall, fourteen years old, and yet with a glass of champagne in hand. The girls loved him, giggling and glancing at him wherever he went, and it made him nervous. He had never liked girls; they were annoying, loud and so… girly. He had been on his way to actually drink to get away from the loud giggles coming from the girls when a hand wrapped around his and stopped the glass' way to his mouth. He looked up in the scariest blue eyes he had ever seen and nearly wet his pants. The man before him looked really angry, and made the smaller teenager shiver from fear.
"Don't" he had said. "Yer not old enoug'."
"H-How do you-"
"Tino! I see you've met Berwald!" Tino's father had come to his rescue and introduced the two boys. Tino was shocked to find out they were only a year apart, and Berwald's facial expression didn't move an inch. The king also joined them, and said the boys should go and get to know each other, so the count and Tino would have more reasons to come over. The count agreed, and they shoved their sons into a locked, private room where they wouldn't be bothered. Tino was panicked at first, to be locked in with this scary boy, but as time passed, both of their doubts where forgotten and soon they spoke freely. Tino had a bit trouble to understand Berwald's thick accent at first, he found out he got it from his mother who was from the countryside, but he soon understood every word. When Berwald showed him the secret passage to his room, Tino also found out the boy had a heart of gold. As the teenagers with swirling hormones they were, they soon ended up in bed together, and spent the night in each other's arms. The next day Tino had to go home, but as soon as they got home, he begged to go back. A few months later they went back for the king's birthday, but Tino and Berwald didn't even attend the party. They just sat in Berwald's room, talking and kissing. They didn't have sex that time, but it was close.
Their next meeting had to wait three years. Tino's mother got worse, and Tino refused to leave her side. For one and a half years he stayed with her, holder her hand as she fell asleep, telling her stories about the king's palace, he even told her about Berwald, something he didn't want to tell his father because of the fear of being rejected. His mother encouraged him to tell his father though, and Tino promised he would. She died when he turned sixteen. Both him and his father went into depression, and simply sat, silent, in two armchairs, looking out of the window for a whole month, unable to move. When they finally looked at each other, they began talking. They revealed all of their secrets, his father about the affair he had a few years ago, how he wanted a girl so badly, but how Tino's mother was unable to give birth to more children. Tino told him about Berwald, about what they had done and that they, probably, loved each other. He hadn't got the reaction he expected, yelling and table throwing; instead he got a hug, and the story of how his father once had loved the king like that. He told Tino not to let this chance go, and the next time he saw Berwald, he should propose. Tino had simply nodded, still stunned from all the emotions, and he started to cry. He had cried into his father's arms like he did when he was a kid and his teddy bear ripped apart.
It took another year before he and Berwald could meet though, as Tino had to fix and attend his mother's funeral, and Berwald went to the Hearts kingdom to study. Tino was worried that he would never see his beloved again, or that he was already engaged to someone else, when his father stormed in and announced Berwald had gotten back, and requested to see Tino. They threw themselves into their quickest carriage and set off. When they reached the castle, Berwald came to meet them, and without caring about the people, who saw them, Tino threw himself into his beloved's arms and Berwald kissed him. That night Berwald proposed, and it was decided that Tino would be the next queen as Berwald got to the throne. Tino also moved into the castle, and hadn't left since then.
Now, Tino stormed into the garden, inhaling deeply as the fresh air hit him. He didn't want to think about Berwald, not right now, and not about how their whole marriage started. It was a wonderful love story, yes, if you cut away all of the rest. All of the leavings, the fights about the leadership, about the heir, about everything. When Tino was mad, he was really mad. When he got on the track on one thing, he could soon rant about how the world hated him, and how mean Berwald was for leaving him alone in the huge castle and country that he couldn't rule anyway. Of course he understood why he couldn't, but it was still irritating.
He could hear the birds sing in a closer distance now, and it calmed him down to walk along the lines of royal blue roses and lilies in all colors. He couldn't name all the flowers like Berwald could, but he still liked to watch and smell them. He was very tempted to pick a handful and place them under his pillow tonight, so he could fall asleep to the smell of summer. He got down on his knees, ignoring the good little voice inside his head saying that Puffin would be furious if he got grass spots on his clothes.
"I don't care about her, I'm the queen" he thought and wrapped his fingers around the flower stalk, snapping it off. He did the same with a couple more so he had a handful. He put his nose to them, smelling the petals. He loved the smell of them, remembering him of so many summer nights he had spent out here, together with Berwald, some friends or alone. It filled him with a cozy happiness, and he didn't want it any other way.
Suddenly it got a little chilly, and he got wrapped in shadows. He was surprised; it hadn't been a single cloud on the sky, and the air definitely wasn't this cold before. Shocked he looked up, behind him and he saw the scariest man he has ever seen. Even scarier than Berwald the first time he say him.
The huge man had a childish smile on his face, his violet eyes glittered threatening under his silver hair, and with the heavy coat and dirty old scarf he didn't suit in the summer kingdom. And he scared Tino so much the smaller blond was shaking underneath him. The man leant forward, his face closing in on Tino's, smiling wider as their violet eyes looked into the others.
"Hello, my queen. I hope you don't mind a change of locations."