Ok, a few notes for you all: I'm making up all the scientific testing stuff that I put into this chapter and will be putting in upcoming chapters. The whole testing blood and being able to determine illness or marine whatever from a quick look at it is nowhere near accurate, but to be honest I don't care. So please, if you have a medical degree or are a medical student or something, please don't leave snarky comments about how stupid it all is, I'm well aware, it's just a means to an end.

Yes, Stockholm. I'm literally going with the easiest and most recognizable Swedish city as their hometown. I'm a dumb American so sue me. I did actually look up how long it would take to drive from Stockholm to Helsinki (yes, the most recognizable Finnish city) where I'm assuming their cabin was, since there are camping locations outside of Helsinki. The time did round out to about 12 hours, so I though, eh they can drive 6 hours for two days with a stop in between. That's where I got the info that I use in this chapter. And I have no idea if there would be anywhere rural-ish for Berwald to have his awesome country-ish house with property, etc. within 15-mintes of nice Stockholm apartments where Lukas and Mathias lives, but by the magic of fanfiction it is so! Don't question logic in this merman-comes-to-shore-and-becomes-human Hetalia story lol.

Also, in case you couldn't tell by the obvious hints I drop in this chapter, Berwald is reading Storm Front, book one in the amazing series The Dresden Files. If you haven't read it, you must. If you don't like reading, check out the phenomenal (yes, you heard right, phenomenal) audiobooks read by James Marsters.

With that being said, read with a grain of salt and hope you enjoy.

)))(((

They were all awakened the next day by an incredibly loud whooping sound coming from downstairs. Tino jolted awake, confused for a moment. He had been having a wonderful dream where he was swimming along the seabed, skimming the sand with his fingers. The water had been so comforting around his body, the familiar weight of it pressing against him, but not uncomfortably so. That peace was shattered by the high-pitched sound of elation ringing through the house, and the pounding of running feet from the other side of Tino's door. It all came back to him in a rush, and he tumbled out of bed far too quickly before his sleep-numb legs were ready for it. A yelp escaped the merman as he bumped into the wall and nearly fell over. The next second he shook himself and flung his door open.

He almost collided with Lukas in the hallway outside.

"What's going on?" Tino slurred, struggling to keep his eyes open, his entire body still heavy with sleep.

A flurry of tousled white-blonde hair, and Emil darted past them toward the top of the stairs. A door opened and Berwald stuck his groggy-looking face around his doorframe. He'd forgotten his glasses.

"Sounds like Mat…" Lukas muttered, hurrying them both forward to follow Emil. Berwald's heavy steps caught up to them easily as they headed down to the great room.

The culprit of all the commotion, of course, was Mathias. He was still in his PJ's down in the great room. His laptop was on the coffee table and he was jumping up and down, pumping his fists in the air in rapture as he continued to make loud, affirmative sounds.

"Mathias, what the hell?!" Emil asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs first.

The tall man whooped again when he saw him, took three big strides forward and seized Emil around the waist. He lifted Emil clear off the floor and spun him around like a child. The teen didn't take kindly to this, especially considering he wasn't fully awake yet.

"Put me down, you bastard!" He yelled, smacking Mathias' shoulders. The man complied, but before letting him go completely he took Emil's face in his hands and smacked an excited, brotherly kiss on his head.

"It's amazing!" Was his only explanation before turning on Lukas, who was standing just as bleary-eyed with the other two at the bottom of the stairs. The slighter man was also picked up around the waist, but Mathis just levered him up and gave him an insistent kiss on the mouth rather than spinning him around. Lukas responded the same way his little brother had, beating at Mathias' arms and shoulders, protests muffled by Mathias' mouth.

"What's going on?" Tino asked around a yawn. He snagged Berwald's arm to keep himself steady as his sleep-weary legs stumbled a bit.

"Mat's excited about something, I guess." Berwald said, sounding disinterested and grumpy.

Mathias pulled out of the kiss he'd forced on his lover, and set Lukas back on his feet.

"You're damned right I'm excited!" He exclaimed, taking an open-armed run at Berwald and hitting him chest-to-chest in an almost violent, manly embrace that didn't even make the taller rock on his feet. He just looked more annoyed. "I just looked at the website, and you'll never believe it!"

Berwald pushed Mathias away with a single huge hand. This didn't deter him; he turned his gleeful, smiling face on Tino, who didn't have time to recoil before Mathias grabbed for him. He snatched Tino up into his arms, rounding out the hugs for everyone, and laughed heartily.

"You're a little miracle come into our lives, Tino! It's all because of you!"

Tino didn't know what was going on any more than anyone else did, but affection was infectious to him and he hugged back, a smile breaking out over his face.

"Thank you?" He called, and when Mathias plopped him down again and began showering his tousled golden head with kisses he started giggling profusely. "What's going on?"

"Yea, what's this all about, Mat?!" Emil demanded, while Lukas shook his head and ran fingers through his messy bedhead. "This is way too much hugging even from you."

Mathias took a deep breath and turned to snatch the laptop off the coffee table. He held it with the screen out for them all to see. The four of them all grouped around and took a close look. Four pairs of tired blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Is this for real?" Questioned Emil in a whisper. "We've never received this much…"

"You bet your ass it is." Mathias said gleefully. "And that's just one donation. They started to spike after the live stream, and then once it reached other time zones they started doubling! There are so many more…"

"That's just one?" Lukas exclaimed. "Are you sure it's not a mistake with the site, I mean...that's…so much…"

"There's no mistake, this is for real!" Mathias reaffirmed, his smile so wide that his eyes nearly disappeared. He reached out and lifted Lukas' chin from where it was tilted down to look at the screen, and he looked into his eyes.

"Babe…we're set for months."

Lukas looked completely shocked, and he swallowed a few times as he looked back at Mathias. Finally he asked.

"Do you mean… for all of us?"

"All of us. For months."

Emil gave out a shuddering laugh and seized Berwald's arm, shaking it with his excitement. Lukas' lips stretched into an unbelieving, joyous smile, laughing softly as well. When Mathias reached for him again, Lukas hugged back and let himself be swung around again as they all began laughing and cheering. Even Berwald exchanged hugs and cheers as they came to terms with the huge financial turn their life had just taken.

"I'm so happy for all of you!" Tino cried when things started to die down a bit. "You won't have to worry about anything for a while, that's such good news."

"It really is because of you," Emil said, reinforcing Mathias' earlier declaration, "we've been doing just fine with our site so far, but without the footage of your rescue we never would have been able to take it to the next level."

"Dude, we should totally celebrate this with a drink!" Announced Mathias.

"First thing in the morning?" Lukas asked, arching an eyebrow at the man currently hanging off his neck.

"Bad idea." Berwald stated, pointing to Emil, who was standing beside him.

"Ohhhhh, yea…" Mathias jeered, letting go of Lukas and going to clap Emil on the back. "You're our little drunkard, aren't you? Wouldn't want you causing a scene again…oh, who am I kidding, I'd LOVE to record that and share it with the world this time!"

The teen frowned and shucked Mat's hand from his shoulder.

"It was one time, and I didn't see anybody trying to stop me."

Tino cocked his head.

"What are you talking about?"

"The last time we all tried to drink together Emil went off the rails wild!" Explained Mathias with a laugh.

"I did not." Emil muttered.

"You were shirtless and hugging the TV because there were puffins on the screen." Lukas deadpanned.

"I think you said something about adopting one as your son, and calling it Tufton Fluff." Reminded Berwald, "You were very serious about it too."

"Shut up!" Emil snapped, wildly embarrassed. "Like all of you haven't gotten drunk before!"

"Drunk?" Tino asked. "What does that mean?"

"If you drink too much alcohol it can completely take away your inhibitions." Lukas explained. "Your judgement, balance, worries, all of it goes out the window."

"And…you've all been that way before? Been 'drunk'?"

"Hell yes!" Emil snapped, all too eager to turn on his teasers. "Mathias likes to find the nearest thing resembling a pole and start grinding on it and singing loudly off-key, Lukas gets super clingy and starts talking like a stoner about the meaning of life and how much everything is important to him, and Berwald…well…I guess he's about the same drunk as he is sober, but his face gets red and he can't walk very well…my point is, you're all guilty of making jackasses of yourselves when you've had too much vodka! So it's not just me!"

"Regardless, I do think a celebratory drink is in order." Lukas declared, making Mathias squeal with delight. "But not now; let's wait until dinner at least. Today we need to pack up and get ready for the trip home tomorrow."

"This is why the last day really sucks…" A deflating Mathias muttered. "So much work…"

"Does it really take all day?" Tino asked, as they all started to head up to their rooms.

"Not really, Tino, but it's important to go over this cabin with a fine tooth comb to be sure that we haven't left anything behind. We need to check under the beds, behind the furniture, and so on."

"Can't we at least have breakfast first?" Whined Mathias. "I've been up and waiting for all of you for, like, ten whole minutes!"

"Let's change our clothes first, then we'll talk about breakfast; we have to make sure we have enough for this morning and tomorrow."

They went with cold cereal for breakfast, deciding that the same would suffice for the next morning as well, even though Mathias complained about having to wash dishes right before they left for home. Tino had taken a liking to the task, however, and volunteered to wash up their bowls and spoons for both mornings. As he placed the first bowl in the dish drainer, Berwald walked up behind him, holding a towel.

"Ber! You're going to help me?" Tino asked happily. Berwald nodded with a grunt, and began to dry the wet bowl. "Thanks! This will go much faster with the two of us."

"You shouldn't have to do this anyway," Berwald said softly, "you're still our guest you know."

Tino rolled his eyes, and plunged the next dish into the hot water on one side of the sink.

"In my culture, you return kindness with favors." He insisted. "I may still be considered a guest, but that doesn't mean I don't pull my weight."

"Besides," Emil cut in, entering the kitchen and easing up to sit on the counter across from the other two, "Tino's more like another bro than a guest after this week, right?"

Tino paused in his washing, and looked up to see Berwald's reaction, smiling sweetly. The taller man returned his gaze, studying Tino's hopeful face before there was a small softening around his mouth and he nodded. The merman bounced on the balls of his feet with a little giggle in response, as he did when he was excited.

"Emil, get down off the counter," Lukas called from the other room, "how many times do I have to tell you?"

The teen glared in his brother's direction.

"Really? What in the hell does it matter? I'm not breaking anything."

"You're breaking the camera with your grumpy face!" The bad joke came from Mathias, as he'd gotten around to turning on the camera for the day. He'd spent a lot of time at breakfast complaining about how he hadn't switched it on before he opened the laptop that morning, therefore missing their jubilation over their donations. So he began filming right after they were finished eating. He'd been hovering at the corner of the kitchen, watching Tino's interaction with Berwald.

Emil grumbled and jumped down from the counter, ignoring Mathias.

"Seriously, Lukas, I don't understand why you don't let me sit on the counter. Mom never has a problem with it, so it's not something you picked up from her. Dad never cares either, so what gives?"

Lukas made a noncommittal sound and shrugged.

"Just don't like the idea of someone's ass in a place meant to prepare my food."

Tino let out a loud laugh at that, dropping a spoon with a plop into the water. Emil turned a little red as Mathias laughed as well and said,

"Come on, Lukas, it's not like he's in the nude and rubbing his bare cheeks on the counter or anything!"

Another explosive laugh from Tino, and he covered his mouth with one hand, before remembering that it was soaking wet and soapy, leading to a spitting and hissing fit. Berwald quickly whipped the spare towel he had from over his shoulder and handed it to the merman, who snatched it and wiped his mouth.

"Thanks, Ber." Tino said as soon as the suds were clear from his mouth. "I didn't think that one over too much."

"Soap doesn't taste very good." Berwald commented.

"Speaking of soap, how come no one asked you about soap in the sea last night?" Pondered Emil, now leaning his hip against the counter instead of sitting on it.

"What do you mean?" Tino asked, working on the last of the dishes.

"I mean, obviously you don't have soap the same as we do, but you…bathe…right? Or…do you even have to?"

"Ohhhh," said Tino with sudden realization, "I know what you mean now. Our issue is keeping algae from building up on our bodies. So, we have to scrub ourselves every other day or so, like you need to shower and take baths. Otherwise we get a layer of green all over us."

Emil didn't do a very good job keeping the horror from his face. Tino huffed and insisted,

"It's the same as you humans getting dirt and sweat on you. I certainly don't like how it feels to sweat; that wasn't something I had to do in the sea."

"Makes sense." Called Lukas from the great room.

"Algae though, still kind of, ick…" Mathias added with a little disgusted sound. Tino turned bland eyes toward the camera-bearing man.

"I don't want to hear it; you reek like rotting seaweed when you've been sweating heavily all day."

Emil laughed at the merman's words.

"Burn!" He cried, pointing at Mathias. Before the other man could respond, Lukas cut in.

"As riveting as this conversation is to listen to, we need to have a meeting about how tomorrow's going to go."

Mathias pouted, but apparently deemed that information too boring and turned the camera off. He turned to head toward Lukas in the great room, and Emil followed after him. Tino finished the washing and helped Berwald dry and put away the remaining bowls and spoons. Then they joined the other three.

"What more do we need to talk about?" Tino asked, as he sunk to the deep carpet in front of the fireplace, letting the warmth flow over his back.

"Just the basic plan," said Lukas, "you've never made this trip before, so I just want to be sure you know what to expect."

Tino crossed his legs and put his hands in his lap, eye focused on the other man. Seeing he was ready to listen, Lukas went ahead.

"So, we are going to get up very early tomorrow, around 5am, then we are on the road close to 6 hours before we stop for the night. Then we get up around the same time the next morning and drive for about another 6 hours before we are home."

The merman's eyes widened in obvious apprehension.

"Six hours…two days in a row?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds." Emil jumped in, trying to put Tino at ease. "We listen to audiobooks together when we're not using our devices to entertain ourselves individually, plus we can always talk."

"Besides," added Mathias, "we stop for bathroom and food breaks all along the way so it's not like we can't get out of the car ever."

Tino cast his eyes over Lukas, frowning.

"So…you drive all that way? Don't you get bored?"

"Berwald and I break up the driving," explained Lukas, "we each drive for three hours both days, and that ensures neither of us get too tired."

"That's smart." Tino admitted.

"We try." Added Berwald.

"Once we get back to Sweden, we drive over to Mat and I's apartment, and from there Emil drives back to our folks' and Berwald drives to his own house. So you'll be going with Berwald. He lives about fifteen minutes away. Before we all break up we usually duck into our apartment for a short rest."

Nodding, Tino shifted his position, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"So…then what? Berwald, do you have to go to work the next day, or...?"

"Not necessarily," the big man replied, "I started a woodworking project before we left, all I have to do is finish it for my client, but there's no real time pressure."

"That's the beauty of being a carpenter-for-hire." Lukas agreed. "So, Tino, we all relax the day after we get home, before we even start to think about taking on new cases. Once we do, though, if you want to come with us you can."

This notion excited the merman and he nodded eagerly.

"That would be wonderful! I might not entirely understand what is going on but at least I can observe!"

"Right!" Mathias butted in. "And plus, with you along I'd be filming for two reasons at once. It's a win-win!"

Lukas, Berwald, and Emil gave a familiar-sounding heavy sigh, but Tino looked enthusiastic.

"From there, you can decide what you would like to do to occupy your time." Lukas continued. "Berwald can maybe take you shopping and get you some more basic supplies or tools, and…we'll just take it one day at a time, alright? And don't forget; if there's anything you don't understand, or if you need anything, don't keep it to yourself. I hope by now we've shown you that we stick by our own."

A soft, endearing smile spread on Tino's face and he said quietly,

"I never thought a human would call me one of their own…"

They all considered him for a moment before Emil broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Well, I'm going to start packing; my stuff is all over the place."

"Good idea." Lukas agreed, getting up from the sofa. "Mathias, you're going to crawl along every inch of our bedroom floor to be sure you haven't dropped anything. The last thing I want is you whining about forgetting something."

Mathias snorted at that as he hopped up to follow Lukas up the stairs.

"Oh please, you just want me on hands and knees so you can check out my ass."

He emphasized the word 'ass' with a firm pinch to both of Lukas' own cheeks, to which he received a little squeaking sound and then a smack across the chest. Nevertheless, Tino spotted the playful smile on Lukas' normally reserved face.

The rest of the day was half bustling to and fro to finish up laundry and tidying rooms, checking every corner to be sure that they were leaving nothing behind. The other half was a slow, relaxing pace of everyone trying to soak up as much of their remaining time as they could. Tino took his last swim of the trip, Lukas insisting that he needed to wash and dry his trunks before that evening, and he stayed in the pool for far longer than usual. He ended up feeling a little chapped in his gills from breathing the pool water for so long, and flushed some fresh water from a cup through them before drying off.

By afternoon they had all packed as much as they could without bringing their bags down to the door, and all five of them were lounging in the great room. Mathias had draped himself in Lukas' lap, playing games on his phone while the other man read a book, Emil was typing up a rough draft of a filler article for the blog, and Tino was playing checkers with Berwald. The merman didn't care much for the chess game that they'd shown him over their stay, but he took to the checkers very well. Berwald had finally stopped letting him win, though whenever the merman did lose a game Tino would pout for a while before starting up a new one. For a few hours they all just rested like this together and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

The evening consisted of burgers, chips, and soda for dinner, since they needed to use the last of their meat. Tino still refused to make up his mind on whether he found soda repulsive or not. Once all the dishes from the meal were done, Lukas allowed Mathias to break out the one bottle of alcohol that they had brought. Apparently, Lukas had rationed it so that if any of them wanted it to last the week they'd have to drink it sparingly. Instead, they'd all ignored it until tonight.

"I'm going to warn you, Tino," Lukas said carefully as he poured out the drinks for them all, "I have no idea how this will affect you. At best you'll feel a pleasant buzz, at worst…you might get a hangover in the morning."

Arching a golden eyebrow, Tino asked,

"Hanging over what?"

It had been a little while since they'd had a misunderstanding like that, so they all chuckled and explained it to him. After which Tino looked suspiciously at the liquor bottle and the small amount of its' contents in his glass. No doubt he was also remembering the 'drunk' conversation from the morning.

"One glass shouldn't hurt him, even if he's never had it before." Insisted Mathias. "Now down the hatch!"

"Not before we've had a proper toast!" Emil reminded him. "Even I know that much of etiquette."

"Why should we have toast?" Asked Tino, looking past Berwald's big frame to the toaster on the counter behind him.

"By 'toast' we mean a little speech; a salute, something to drink for." Lukas explained. Tino's eyes lit up.

"Oh! We do that with special hunts! The first bite of a group hunt requires a speech, but why do you call it a 'toast' if you don't eat toast with it?"

"That's a very good question…for the internet." Emil laughed.

"Moving on, let's get to the drinking already!"

"Shut up for a moment and let me do the toast then." Demanded Lukas. Mathias shut up, but watched him with a huge contained smile and wide eyes, like a toddler waiting for candy. Lukas sighed, then raised his glass. They all did the same. "To this life-changing week, and the future year ahead of us with Tino, our wonderful merman."

"Here, here!" The other two mumbled, and Tino cried the words out late after he heard them, all their glasses clinking together. Tino took his first taste, sipping carefully, and then he frowned. A second later his eyes widened and his head snapped back.

"I've tasted this before!" He said, alarmed, looking at them with big, concerned eyes. They all stared back at him, intrigued. "It's very bad! There were gallons of it floating around a huge crate that fell from a ship, and it made all of us very, very sick!"

Lukas cocked an eyebrow at that.

"A fallen alcohol crate? Must have been from a freighter…"

"I'm serious, this stuff is dangerous!" Tino insisted, his breathing starting to get a little panicky as his eyes darted between them all. "When we went to investigate we breathed it through our gills and the next thing we knew we were all disoriented and were bumping into each other and couldn't speak right! Then we all had dreadful headaches and some of us vomited and—why are you drinking this horrible liquid!?"

"Booze, Tino, it's called booze." Mathias informed him, chugging his glass down. Tino chirped in dismay, his mouth dropping open.

"Stop it, Mat! You're going to get sick!"

"Calm down," Berwald told Tino, placing a huge hand on his shoulder, "it was probably different for your folk because it went through your gills and there was so much. It can only affect us like that when we drink too much of it. This amount won't hurt any of us."

Big, violet-blue eyes gazed up into Berwald's, searching them for the truth. Finally, he relaxed and gave a soft exhalation of breath.

"Ok…if you say so. Just…be careful with it, alright? Don't drink too much?"

"No promises!" Mathias laughed, but the others knew they didn't have enough to make any of them drunk when split between them all.

"Sounds like you and your fellow mer folk had an overdose if there was a great amount of alcohol just floating in the water." Lukas commented, taking a sip from his own glass. "Sounds like it went straight to your brains too."

Tino gave the drink another suspicious try, but his face screwed up in displeasure.

"I um…I don't really like how this tastes." He admitted, placing his glass on the counter. "Please don't be offended if I don't want to finish it."

"Don't worry about it, it's-."

"More for me!" Mathias declared, reaching for the glass Tino had just abandoned. "It's up for grabs, it's mine now!"

Lukas sighed, watching with somewhat weary eyes as his better half began guzzling down the extra liquor.

"Just take it easy, alright?" He asked in a long-suffering tone. "I know that you won't be the one driving the next two days, but we still have to put up with you and I don't like how you whine when you're hungover."

Mathias rolled his eyes.

"I won't get hungover from two glasses!"

"Like that would keep you from whining." Muttered Emil into his own drink.

Berwald caught Tino's eyes, and slightly rolled his own. The merman grinned in amusement. Mathias turned on Emil at once, invading his space and waggling his eyebrows.

"I may whine afterwards, but when I've got a few drinks in me I gain superpowers!"

The teen scoffed, pushing the older man away from him.

"Is one of those powers sounding like a complete lunatic?"

Mathias shook his head, took another gulp of the alcohol, and then whirled around toward his lover. Lukas seemed to bristle under the direct attention as Mathias began stalking toward him.

"Come on, Emil, as if you even have to ask what my superpower is!" In one movement, he had plucked the drink from Lukas' hand, set it on the counter, and pulled Lukas easily against his body.

"Berwald, music!" Mathias demanded with a dramatic snap of his fingers. The bigger man pulled out his phone on cue and scrolled for a few seconds before plugging it into the port for the sound system in the kitchen. From all corners of the downstairs a jazzy tune belted out in brass instruments and a quick beat.

"Aw yea, our man knows old timey dancing tunes!"

Lukas went with Mathias as he began swaying them back and forth in time with the music. Surprisingly it was true that the taller man was very adept at dancing, and Lukas had only to follow him. Emil let out a loud, frustrated sound and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Berwald didn't say anything. Tino, on the other hand, was fascinated. He watched as the two men jazzed their way out into the open area of the great room, their feet rising and falling in rhythm, Mathias twirling Lukas out from him every now and again only to pull him back in, moving back and forth together in perfect sync. Lukas had the happiest expression that Tino had ever seen on him before; he was smiling faintly as they danced together, chuckling when Mathias grabbed him around the waist and held him up in a quick lift. It was nearly impossible to look away.

"Seriously, Berwald, why do you encourage them?" Emil complained. "I was hoping we could get through one night of drinking without the two of them breaking out into swing dance…"

Tino broke his eyes from the spectacle before him and looked at Emil.

"Swing dance?"

"Yea, they go to this meet-up a couple times a month." The teen explained tiredly. "It's one of the few things that they both really love to do together. Mathias dragged Lukas to the free class at a local rec center when they first started dating. My brother tried to act like he hated it at first but…I'll admit once you learn a few moves it's hard not to want to learn more. Lukas is just as good as Mathias, but he's never the lead. Once he got so good it was fun to watch them together…the first five thousand times, but now it's just kind of annoying."

The merman stared back at the couple in the great room, and then he grabbed Emil's free hand.

"Show me?!" He begged. "I used to dance in the sea all the time but it was nothing like this! I didn't even have legs! This looks amazing! Help me to do it, too, please?!"

The younger man looked taken aback. Tino shook his hand with pent up excitement as Emil struggled.

"Well, um…I don't know that much, and-."

"You know more than me, and that's enough, right?"

"I guess, but-."

"Please?" Tino's wide violet-blue eyes made it difficult to refuse, and so Emil eventually grunted and put down his glass.

"OK, ok, but like I said, I don't know a whole lot. This music is so old and boring too…"

Tino whooped with joy and tugged Emil out into the great room with him, Berwald trailing behind. He was the only one of them who still had his drink.

"Woah, Emil," Mathias jeered, "you're actually going to dance? We're not even bribing you with Icelandic candy this time!"

Emil ignored Mathias, and positioned Tino in front of him.

"Now, you're taller than me, but you don't know what you're doing, so I'll lead and you follow. That means you put your right hand on my shoulder, and take my right hand in your left. Alright, now just try to mirror the movements of my feet with your own, ok?"

Nodding with enthusiasm, Tino looked down to watch Emil's feet. They began to move, and Tino did his very best to follow. As expected from a sea creature who'd only had legs and feet for a few days, and had yet to even do more than a light jog with them, Tino wasn't very graceful dancing for the first time. Emil managed to step on his foot a time or two, and Tino did in his turn. Try as they might, they didn't fall into a good rhythm with each other for more than a few seconds at a time without one of them messing up. A good ten minutes and a song change later, and Tino looked about ready to cry.

"Aw, come on, Emil, you're too short to lead him." Mathias called finally, letting go of Lukas and heading over to the pair of them. "Let me try, why don't you?"

For once Emil looked grateful to Mathias for something, sidestepping and falling onto the couch beside Berwald, who'd been watching them all.

"Emil, before you sit down why don't you make yourself useful and set up the camera? Our merman dancing for the first time; that's gold that we need to film!"

Rolling his eyes, Emil popped up quickly and went to turn on the camera where it sat on its tripod. He checked the angle before stepping into the frame to sarcastically explain what was happening.

"My idiot not-quite-brother-in-law reeled us all into dancing because we had a drop of alcohol. Have fun with this nonsense, folks. But at least you'll get to see Tino learning to dance for the first time."

As Emil moved away from the camera Mathias laughed and took Tino's hands in his own to ready them both. Emil sat back on the couch, and Lukas joined him and Berwald, breathing a bit heavily from the exertion of dancing. They all observed as Mathias tried to use his greater height to help the merman get into a better rhythm.

"Just relax and have fun!" Mathias told Tino, swinging him out like he had Lukas. "Now spin back to me!"

Tino did so cautiously, and Mathias met him halfway and pulled him in close before spinning him out the other way. The confidence in the taller man's movements was in stark contrast to Emil's stumbling instruction, and Tino picked up on it at once. He still had troubling moving his feet the right way, but Mathias made his every action look and feel better because of how skilled he was himself. Tino began to brighten as the moments wore on and he began to fall into sync with Mathias.

"He could make a rock look like a brilliant dancer." Lukas said, vaguely dreamily. Emil blew a raspberry in response to that. Berwald grunted. Another song change later and Tino was already doing much better, going for longer stretches of time without stumbling. By this time, though, Lukas appeared to be squirming in his seat. Or as much as Lukas could.

"You look lonely over there, babe!" Mathias called, seeing how obviously Lukas wanted to be back with him. "I think Tino could use a break, but I'm wired! Come on over here again!"

Mathias managed to twirl Tino around and plop him down onto the recliner, then stand back up and hold his hand out to Lukas. The shorter man was there already to take it and go right into a routine with his partner. As they started up another long dance together, Tino caught his breath and clapped in time a little, before looking over at the other two men on the couch. Emil looked bored, but Berwald was tapping his foot with the music. That gave Tino an idea. He stood up from the recliner, and went over to stand in front of the couch.

"Sorry, Tino, I suck at dancing." Emil said at once. "I can tell you want to keep it up, but I just don't like it that much."

"That's ok." Tino said, then looked at Berwald and turned instantly shy as he asked, "um…do you know how?"

Berwald responded barely before Tino had finished getting the words out, as though he'd been dying for Tino to ask him.

"I can try. I went with them to the class a few times, but never could find a partner for very long. So Lukas let me practice with him when we had time."

"Great! Show me?"

Lighting up, Tino held out his hand like Mathias had done, giving Berwald his most eager smile. When Berwald stood up and pulled him carefully into position, Emil groaned.

"Oh god, I'm going to bed. You're all too sappy and old for me. G'night everyone."

He rose from the couch and started to head up the stairs.

"Bright and early tomorrow, Emil." Lukas called to his little brother, as Mathias dipped him. Emil waved a hand with an affirmative sound, and then disappeared.

"Should we just jump in?" Tino asked Berwald, shifting in anticipation. Berwald's eyebrows rose briefly and he gave a small breath.

"I hope so; I've practiced with Lukas enough when I couldn't find anyone else. But he's used to having Mathias as a partner, and he's amazing."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine!" Piped Tino. "I'm the one who's more likely to mess up. So let's go!"

Berwald gave one more uncertain sound before blowing out a breath and setting his shoulders.

"Alright, I'll do my best."

With that Berwald lunged forward, taking Tino with him in a quick step sequence. The merman chirped in surprise. While not quite as confident as Mathias, Berwald was nearly as good knowing his footwork, making it easier for Tino to follow him. Berwald was also taller than Mathias by at least an inch and it was hard not to keep in time when he was such a large force.

"You're good, Ber!" Tino laughed, clinging to the bigger man tighter as they fell into time together. "This is fun!"

Berwald didn't answer, but led them over to Mathias and Lukas so that they could all sync up. It was incredible to Tino. Even with his errors and Berwald not quite knowing everything either, they were all having so much fun together and roughly doing the same moves at the same time. The atmosphere was so comfortable and vibrant that he couldn't stop smiling.

"Hey, you're not half bad there, fish boy!" Mathias called when Berwald spun Tino out and he gracefully spun back into his hold. Tino laughed and let himself be lead easily.

"It's only because Berwald is so good!" He insisted, and that was all the speech he was capable of for a while. He had to pay attention even though he was having the time of his life. The last thing he wanted was to mess up and ruin the cheerful and happy mood. Little did Tino know that Berwald was thinking the exact same thing.

The bigger man drew on every bit of information he could remember from when he had led Lukas or the occasional instructor around in classes. It had seemed relatively easy for him, but he had never been given a lot of time to practice otherwise. That, and Tino was smaller than Lukas. The variance wasn't by much, but it was enough for the movement to be different, especially since the merman had never danced before. So Berwald tried to compensate for him by being the strongest leader he could, with firm and decisive movements even if he wasn't entirely sure he was doing them correctly. Tino was the fluttering flag to his firm pole, following his direction and clinging to him like a life support. All the while he was smiling and laughing and looking Berwald in the face.

That meant more to Berwald than he could ever express; not many people outside his odd circle tried to look anywhere near his eyes in regular conversation. But those violet-blues continued to latch onto his own eyes and pour out trust and happiness in doses that Berwald was afraid would be lethal to him. Even on his happiest day Mathias was more annoying than he was infectious with his mood, and the two brothers were more laid back, while Berwald himself was the quietest and most withdrawn of them all. To suddenly have this ray of sparkling sunshine turned on him every other second was a bit blinding, but filled him with such warmth and joy that he almost felt like a different person. Holding Tino like this, dancing his little body around, was like hugging that sunbeam; warm, light, and cheery.

Tino, on the other hand, was thinking just how sweet Berwald was being. He meant what he had told the other man about being able to see the emotions inside of him. Even with his folk's ability to feel each other's thoughts and emotions, much of their communication relied on expressions. Just like humans, from what he had been able to tell, not all mer folk were as expressive as others. Regardless, Tino had found that he had a knack for reading these humans in a way that they were completely unaware of themselves. Berwald was no exception. While he tried to seem so calm and in control right now, Tino could tell that he was putting on a very confident display despite being unsure of himself. Classic behavior for any individual in a group of males, however…Tino had the distinct impression that Berwald was more intent on impressing him specifically than he was outdoing his fellows. This…was an interesting development. There was a slight hint of beta-creeping-into-alpha-territory that made Tino feel just a bit excited.

Neither of the men let their thinking distract them too much from keeping up with Mathias and Lukas, but after a long stretch of time the music ended with a final swell, and they all paused to catch their breath.

"Damn, you two looked pretty good." Lukas complimented. "We'll have to take you to class sometime, Tino."

"Really? That would be so fun!" Tino exclaimed, swinging Berwald's big hand in his. "We could learn more together!"

It was hard to tell if it was the physical strain of such fast-paced dancing that turned Berwald's cheeks pink, or Tino's words. Either way none of them missed it.

"Don't you have any way to dance in the sea?" Mathias asked, still rocking Lukas back and forth in his hold.

"We…aren't as…um…quick and boisterous." Admitted Tino with a downward glance. "When we 'dance' it's more like we swim in tandem. We're more about slow grace, so…I've never seen anything like this before, let alone been able to do it. I mean, I'd sort of see humans bouncing around on the big cruise ships, but I was never able to tell what they were doing."

As he finished up his explanation the next song on Berwald's playlist came on. It was a completely different variation of the same style of jazzy music. But this song was slow, with soft piano and saxophone crooning out a steady beat.

"Aw, yea…" Mathias almost moaned, pulling Lukas in close. "Slow dance, baby…"

Tino looked at them, observing the change in their body language. They were more relaxed, melting into each other as they began stepping slowly from side to side.

"This one looks easier." Tino said.

"Well, you don't have to actually dance to this." Lukas explained, his head resting against Mathias' shoulder. "It's more about enjoying the company of your partner."

Tino blushed, looking back up at Berwald. The bigger man was still a bit red in the cheeks as well, and the merman found that for once he didn't have anything to say. It was obvious that this was more for romantic partners rather than friends having fun together like they'd been doing before. So…how was he to react?

"We can if you want." Berwald finally said, his voice sounding even quieter than usual.

Tino's heart leapt. The invitation was something much more meaningful in his own culture, at least when it came to dancing in this style. He knew that Berwald could not possibly know that, or maybe he did, considering what Tino had told him about the harvest dances and pairings…either way, he wanted to.

"Ok," he said, trying to sound light and normal, "what should I do?"

"Just, um…" Berwald stammered, and glanced over at Mathias and Lukas. They were plastered together, hip to head, moving in a slow circle. "You don't have to do that if…"

Tino scooted forward on his feet and boldly dropped his head to Berwald's chest. He was just high enough to reach Berwald's shoulder, but the tall man's chest was broad enough that it seemed the best choice. That strong arm curled in close around his smaller waist, holding him against the larger frame. Almost at once, Tino relaxed. Now that he was here, it was very comfortable in Berwald's arms. He felt it might be more awkward if he'd had to slow dance while looking up into Berwald's eyes. He hadn't minded the rest of the time, but even he felt that might be too uncomfortable given the context. This way was much nicer, and allowed him to just feel his way around Berwald instead of seeing it. He could feel Berwald's heart thumping rapidly against his ribcage, but he couldn't blame the man.

They began to rock back and forth, just as the other couple was, and Tino closed his eyes as they did. This was different from the dancing he was used to, but the atmosphere was the same. Something was shifting in his understanding of Berwald as well; the second he asked Tino to do this with him he had possibly exposed intentions other than friendship. Again, whether he was aware of it or not Tino didn't know, but he chose not to worry over it. This possibility, fantasy or not, felt too nice to distract from it with worries.

Berwald was attempting to clear his mind as well, and just enjoy this time with Tino. It was an odd situation to begin with, and the confusion was expected. That's what he told himself. He'd not forgotten how Tino might be in a vulnerable position emotionally, considering the story he had confided to him. The last time Tino had danced with someone this way, supposedly, it had ultimately ended in heartache. Berwald didn't want Tino to think he was trying to romanticize him, even though he wasn't sure that he wasn't. Every one of their gang had become attached to Tino over the last week, but he couldn't help but wonder if he'd attached a bit too much. After all, it had been a long time since anyone cute and friendly had shown him so much attention. Even his last serious boyfriend hadn't been so constantly kind and uplifting. Berwald tried to tell himself not to read too much into it, especially when Tino was so affectionate with everyone. Though Lukas had to point out every now and again that he still thought Tino favored him.

So, now that he had the little darling in his arms, feeling so soft and pliant against him, willingly dancing a slow, romantic dance with him…it was hard to sort out his feelings. Berwald eventually decided that he could do that another time. They had at least a year ahead of them to get to know each other and that was plenty of time to figure things out. This conclusion enabled him to calm and just lead Tino around like he'd been doing it for years.

Berwald felt the merman's fingers brush lovingly over his shoulder, probably enjoying the thin, soft material of his sweater. Tino had revealed himself to be a very tactile person; he'd touch everything he could to get a good understanding of how things felt. When he liked how something felt he'd continue to pet it, almost like a child. Therefore, it was unsurprising that Tino also began rubbing his cheek against Berwald's chest, making that little purring sound in delight.

"Soft…" Tino mumbled, probably without meaning to.

"It's cashmere. Lukas and Emils' mom bought it for me last Christmas." Berwald explained, glad to have something to talk about. "Said the color would bring out my eyes, or something weird like that."

Tino pulled back and narrowed his eyes as they flicked from Berwald's to the sweater, and back. Then they opened fully as he smiled again.

"Wow! She was right!" Tino exclaimed, and lifted the hand resting on Berwald's shoulder to poke at his glasses. "but these things really show…show…um…showca…"

Tino struggled, trying to pull up the word that he wanted.

"What are you trying to say?" Lukas' voice filtered over from where he was still clinging to Mathias.

"Um…it's like…they make you look toward his eyes more, and the word starts with 'show'." Tino explained.

"Showcase?" Lukas suggested.

"Yes!" Tino said with a chirp. "Showcase! His glasses really showcase his eyes already! So…I guess the sweater helps on top of that, so…yea. Your eyes are a pretty color!"

"Thanks." Berwald said with a tiny grin at Tino's little dilemma and resolution. The merman smiled victoriously before burrowing his head into Berwald's shoulder again, pulling him tighter.

"You know, you two are pretty entertaining." Mathias chuckled over Lukas' head. "Wish we all lived in the same house like this year round. That would make for lots of antics."

"I think we'll have enough of those just seeing each other as often as we probably will." Lukas pointed out. "Especially once we go back to work."

"Hmmm…" Mathias answered, planting a few soft kisses to Lukas' blond hair. "Can't wait to see you back in action. I miss hearing you chant in Latin. It's so freaking hot."

As Mathias said this, the music slowly faded out and left them all with silence. Berwald stopped moving, and Tino pulled back from him.

"That was nice!" He said happily. "Thanks so much for letting me join in!"

Mathias and Lukas parted too.

"It's no problem. I think the two of you make good dance partners." Lukas declared. "You're the right heights with each other."

Tino giggled and reached up to ruffle Berwald's hair.

"He's so tall, he makes a good leader." He declared.

"That's what makes a good dancing pair." Lukas emphasized his words by giving each of them a light thump on the shoulder with his fist. "We'll definitely be dragging you both to class with us once we get home."

Another loud and fast-beat song interrupted whatever Mathias was going to say, and it was raucous and irritating after the soothing slow music.

"Berwald, would you mind? I think we've all had enough for tonight, plus we're getting up early tomorrow."

Berwald went to turn off the music and retrieve his phone. As he did that Mathias went to the camera and shut it off, content that it had captured the magic.

"Alright, to bed with everyone." Lukas demanded. "Get as much sleep as you can, and remember, 5am tomorrow I expect you all to be out of bed. I don't need you to be functional, but at least be on your feet and getting into your clothes at that time."

Mathias groaned, but didn't say anything else, heading up the stairs before any of them. Lukas shook his head with a small smile.

"We'll have a hell of a time with him tomorrow, mark my words." He said fondly, then put a hand on Tino's back. "Come on, Tino, up to bed."

The merman chirped and followed in Mathias' path up the stairs.

"One of you will wake me up, right?" He asked, concerned.

"No worries, Tino, we won't leave you behind."

Tino grinned, then broke into a yawn.

"I think dancing is more tiring on feet…" He muttered.

"Probably more demanding out of the water." Commented Berwald, bringing up the rear as they climbed the steps.

"I think that I like it better, though." Tino admitted. "I like how much faster it is, and how much more fun! When we dance, it's not boring by any means, but…it's more about relaxation and communion, not fun."

"Glad we could share it with you then." Said Lukas, stifling his own yawn. "Alright, goodnight you two. Bright and early tomorrow!"

They all went toward their own doors, calling goodnight to each other before retiring behind them.

As tired as he was, it was hard for Tino to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how good it felt to be in Berwald's arms, how close they had been…but then, he knew that dancing could do that regardless of who the partner was. Still, he had been unhappy in romance long enough for him to feel starved, and even the hint of it from such a handsome and kind human…Tino ended up with a bit more keeping him awake than just warring emotions. Despite all the confusion, his body made it clear what it wanted. He would have felt ashamed that he locked his door and dealt with the issue swiftly, from the safety of his guest bed, but it had been such a long time that he felt it was justified. Plus, he hadn't quite been brave enough to explore his new body that way yet, and he was relieved once he was lying, satisfied and panting, that everything worked the same as before.

With that, he stumbled to unlock his door, remembering that someone would be in to wake him up in the morning, and then collapsed back onto his bed.

As sleep came over him, he kept thinking about the deep blue of Berwald's eyes…and how it reminded him of the sea.

))((

Despite the haze of sleepiness hanging over them the next morning, there was an energy to it that made all their blood tingle. The necessity of wolfing down cold cereal and hot coffee, of packing everything into the car in the pale cold of the morning, and the anticipation of the journey before them made the air buzz with excitement. There was plenty of sleepy banter, a bit of yelling, and just a smidge of faint laughter. It was too early for the real wits of the group to try cracking jokes. Tino saw quickly why Lukas had insisted they all get up so early; by the time they were all bundled in the car and on the road more than an hour had passed since they'd all woken up. To keep to the driving schedule, Lukas must have planned an hour ahead.

They were a little cramped even in the big SUV because of all the luggage, and a small argument had ensued before they left because Emil wanted to sit in the trunk portion instead of crammed on the middle seat with Tino and Berwald. Lukas had finally given in on the condition that if they were in an accident and Emil was killed, he couldn't be blamed for it. Because of this, they each had more space than they had thought they would, and all were using it to lounge and try to rest their still-weary selves. Tino unashamedly leaned his head on Berwald's shoulder, wrapping his hands around the man's arm to anchor himself. Berwald himself was leaning against the window to doze, so the position worked out well.

A half-hour later Tino was pulled from his half-sleeping state by the sound of cheerful music ringing out from somewhere. It was sweet and tinkling, with little whimsical sound effects. He opened his eyes and looked around, only to hear Lukas say,

"Mat, can you please mute the sound on that?"

"The music is half the appeal." Mathias mumbled back, sounding far too asleep to fight about it. "The game is kinda boring without it."

He did sound a bit pathetic, and it didn't seem to be lost on Lukas, who made a small sound of understanding. When he spoke again, it sounded much more tender.

"I know, sweetheart, but it's not helping me drive right now. Why don't you put your earbuds in?"

"Kay babe…" Mathias nearly sighed, and Tino saw him do as he was told. This made him giggle just a little.

"What is it?" Berwald asked him softly. Tino looked up at him and whispered into his ear.

"Sometimes it seems like Mathias and Lukas are child and parent."

Berwald's mouth flinched in the ghost of a smile and he nodded.

"More than sometimes, but they're good for each other."

The merman sat up to stretch out his neck, and looked out of his window. It was still dark, too dark to make anything out, but he still focused on the trees and branches that he could see whizzing by in the headlights.

"We'll be reaching the highway in a little while." Lukas told Tino. "There will be a lot more cars on it, so don't be startled, ok?"

The merman sat up straighter in his seat and strained his eyes to look at the road stretching ahead of them.

"Will they be going fast?" He asked, sounding uncertain.

"Depends on which lane we drive in." Emil answered blearily from behind them. "Lukas stays in the middle lane, so we'll be going medium speed. Now, when Berwald drives we'll be all the way over in the slow lane and people will still be passing us because no one should drive that slow even in the slow lane."

Berwald grunted.

"Just trying to keep you all safe. Better to go slow and get there alive."

"I agree." Tino added, his voice a little shaky. "It um…it sounds like your highways are dangerous…"

"They can be." Lukas admitted. "But it's just the way of life around here."

No one said a word until the trees began thinning out and the lights from other cars became visible in the blackness. Tino leaned over Berwald slightly to look out of his window, having never seen a human highway before. As they grew closer and closer he drew gradually back from the window. When Lukas started to merge down the little road onto the paved highway, Tino chirped and shrunk farther back, his eyes going wide and his hand clenching on Berwald's arm as the glare of other cars came closer and closer at high speed.

"Are you sure they won't accidentally hit us?" He asked in a thin voice that was obviously trying to conceal just how frightened he was.

"Do schools of fish collide all the time when they swim by each other?" Emil asked, trying to parallel it to something Tino would be familiar with. Tino shook his head, watching intently as they joined the flow of other cars and Lukas established them in the center lane.

"It's not the same. At all."

Emil didn't answer, defeated, and Tino continued watching the traffic with unease.

"They look frightening in the dark." He mumbled.

"I've made this trip a lot, Tino," Lukas told him softly, "we haven't had an accident yet."

Catching his eyes in the mirror, the merman gave him a thankful little smile, but it was still weak and faded as they passed a slower car. He flinched when he looked too closely at how little space there really was between the two vehicles.

"Hey, Tino," Berwald's voice came, quiet, as though not wanting to startle him, "Do you want to read with me?" He pulled out his tablet, and flipped it on to show Tino the text on the page. "It's a story about a wizard in a big city in America called Chicago. He fights off a lot of the same problems we do."

Violet-blue eyes lit up with interest and Tino leaned closer to read the first few lines.

"Ok…seems interesting…" He said, almost reluctantly as his eyes flicked to the window for a second.

"You have to keep reading to get the full gist of what he does." Encouraged Berwald, inching closer to Tino. The merman eased into his shoulder, and focused on the tablet, beginning to read.

Having done his job of distracting Tino, Berwald continued to read with him, answering his questions as they came up; like what the Yellow Pages were, and taxis, and cops. No one else in the car commented on the fact that Berwald was at least halfway through the book already, but had started over again for Tino.

The merman required some consoling when they came to a scene in the book where two lovers were found with their hearts exploded out of their chests, but he quickly recovered when Berwald explained that in real life they never faced any kind of magic like that. The book kept Tino enthralled for nearly two hours or so, until his eyes began to give out from looking at the screen for so long.

"You need to take a break." Berwald told him, when he was caught rubbing his eyes between blinks. "Your eyes are sore."

Tino turned said eyes up at him pleadingly.

"But….he's hurt!" The merman protested. "He's hurt and sick and he only has so much time to find the culprits, I can't stop reading now!"

Berwald shut the tablet off and shook his head, slipping it back into his bag.

"Berwald!" Tino begged, pawing at his arm.

"No. Rest now." The big man told him. "We can read some more later."

Tino crossed his arms and pouted. He couldn't hold the pose for long, as the light had increased to where he could better see outside, and was soon distracted by watching the cars. Now that they weren't glaring lights in the dark, they didn't seem as frightening. He liked to try and spot the people inside, the drivers, and their passengers.

"Hey, Tino," Mathias asked, sounding much more awake than when he last spoke, and apparently growing bored of his game, "want to play a car-watching game to pass the time?"

Tino tilted his head like a puppy.

"You can make a game out of that?"

"Sure! There's a lot of them to help with long drives. Like, the first one to count five cars with a 6 in the license plate in five minutes wins."

"What's a lissence plate?"

"The plaques with numbers and letters on the front and back of cars." Lukas supplied. "It's to help register each car to its owner, in case it's stolen or the owner does something illegal and need to be tracked down."

"That's a good idea!" Tino said happily.

"Which?" Mathias asked. "Playing the game or the idea of license plates?"

"Both!" The merman chirped. "Let's play! What's first?"

The license plate game lasted them longer than it usually did, mostly thanks to Tino's enthusiasm. At first they kept track of who won, but after a while they were all just blurting out which number, letter, or increasingly difficult combination of both that they saw with each passing car. The real fun came in when they argued about whether more than one of them could use the same license plate to count. To make it more interesting they decided that the first person to see a car with the right parameters could claim it, and no one else could count it as their own.

That could only take them so far before they all got bored and began to idly chat with each other. During this time Tino convinced Berwald to put braids in his hair again, despite the fact that the last ones came out barely a day after. Glad for something to do, Berwald complied. Idle chatting and watching Berwald's braiding skills carried them for another hour or so before Tino began to bug Berwald to let him keep reading. Berwald never had a chance to answer.

"We're almost to our lunch stop." Lukas told them. "You can argue about reading later."

Tino perked up at the mention of food, and he licked his lips eagerly.

"What kind of food?"

"Burgers mostly." Mathias answered. "Burgers and fries with soda. Like last night."

"We'll have to explain about ordering fast food," Mentioned Emil, "but I think you'll get the swing of it."

By the time they were pulling into the burger joint, Tino had already learned about the assembly line system in order to understand the concept of fast food, and he was excited to see how it was prepared. They explained to him that he couldn't go into the kitchen but would have to get the best look that he could at the counter.

The bathroom was the first stop for all of them before they gathered at the counter to order. Tinos' eyes flew over the menu, reading the descriptions and his mouth began watering.

"Let's all decide what we want first, and order together." Lukas said.

As they stood deciding they received many stares from customers and employees alike. It wasn't every day they saw a young man with a waterfall of a million braids down to his knees, let alone the flash of iridescent spots on his skin. He was bundled into one of the tourist hoodies that they'd bought him at The Bend, but his markings were still visible on his hands and down the sides of his face. Berwald had pulled all the hair on his left into a complicated braid along his scalp, so his skin was on full display, while the other side of his face and neck were hidden by braids that he'd left hang.

Tino was quickly distracted from the menu by the people. Outside of this group he'd never seen any other humans in person. His eyes wandered excitedly to the young couple sitting by the window, the old man drinking coffee alone, and all the people hustling and bustling behind the counter. He was so busy staring he didn't realize that he was also being stared at by a few of them.

"Love your hair!" The girl waiting for them at the register called to him. Tino grinned at her.

"Thanks! Berwald did it for me!" He took the big man's arm and pulled it close to him.

"Aw, that's sweet." She said politely. "Are you shooting for a fashion blog or something?"

"What?" Tino asked. She pointed to Mathias.

"Your friend's filming you."

Tino turned to see Mathias holding out his phone discreetly to capture Tino's reaction to the environment. He felt slightly annoyed.

"Mathias, can't you wait until we're sitting down?" Berwald scolded. "Put that thing away and order already."

Mathias shrugged and stopped the recording, slipping his phone into his pocket.

"Will you be needing a few minutes?" The girl said in response. No doubt customers messing with their phones in line was old hat.

Lukas cast his eyes over the group questioningly. Tino ducked his head and admitted,

"I'm sorry, I…forgot to decide. Just…get something for me?"

"Sure thing, bro, we got you!" Mathias chuckled, thumping him on the back and sauntering up to the counter. He leaned on it like some greaser in a 50's movie and ordered like one too. The girl's lips were twitching like mad trying to contain a burst of laughter. Lukas immediately pulled Mathias away from the counter once he was finished, with a muttered 'idiot', and placed his own order. Emil was next, and then Berwald ordered double of the same meal for him and Tino. The merman watched in fascination at what was happening in the kitchen, at how fast everything was moving.

"It's a little dizzying, isn't it?" He asked, still clinging to Berwald's arm. "How do they know what to do so quickly?"

"They're trained." Answered Lukas simply. "Like you are trained for any other job."

Tino watched as the employees began piling food on the waiting trays for them, items at a time, until they had filled four of them. They picked a few tables in the center of the eating area that had been pushed together for larger groups. When they sat down to eat Tino stared to get excited. The food smelled amazing, and he'd never tried the drink Berwald ordered. He peeled away the wrappings around his burger with intensity, watching the others do the same, and catching Mathias filming him again. He ignored it, and instead took his first bite of his burger. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until that bite, but suddenly he was starved. Tino had learned something about how to eat over the few days he'd observed the rest of them, and so he did his very best not to make a mess. For the most part he succeeded, though he found with this type of food it was impossible for things to not get a tad sloppy sometimes.

"What's this drink, again?" Tino asked, as he took great delight in pushing his straw through the thin lid of his cup.

"Lemonade." Berwald reminded him. "It's made from a fruit called a lemon, and then they add water and sugar."

Tino took a sip with his straw, gently, as he'd never used one before. As the liquid touched his tongue he flinched slightly, but then rolled it around in his mouth and smiled.

"This is really good!" He declared once he'd swallowed, and began guzzling it down. "Much better than soda."

"You can get a refill or two if you finish it all before we leave." Emil told him through a mouthful of fries.

"I wouldn't recommend that." Lukas reminded him. "We have a few hours left to go, and there's only a few stops along the way."

Tino looked a little deflated when he heard that, and put his cup down, turning his attention to his fries.

"Don't worry," Berwald nudged him gently, "it's not like we can't get any lemonade at home."

"We'll have to take you to the grocery store and record your reaction!" Said Mathias excitedly. "I can't wait to see what you think of everything!"

Chewing steadily, Tino smiled with his mouthful and gave Mathias and his phone a thumbs up. He'd learned the gesture recently, and loved it.

A few minutes later something caught Tino's eye. A woman had just walked in and was standing at the counter ordering. Instantly Tino sat up straight, openly staring with his violet-blue eyes gone wide with happiness. The rest of them took note of his posture and turned to look as well. They knew instantly what was intriguing the merman so; with the woman were two children. The boy looked to be around seven, and the girl around five. They were chatting on and off with their mother, the girl jumping up and down excitedly about something most likely related to their order.

"They're so cute…" Tino said, almost dreamily.

Lukas and Berwald shared a look, before Lukas spoke.

"Stop staring, Tino."

The tone was firm, and the merman instantly snapped his head back around, looking at the other man. Lukas made sure to catch his eyes and hold them.

"Listen, Tino, we all know you love children, but you have to be careful what you say and how you act in a public place. Someone could take it the wrong way."

"Yea, you might look like a creeper." Agreed Emil. "We really don't want that."

Tino's brows wrinkled in confusion.

"Cr-ee-per?"

They all went through outward signs of awkwardness and sadness as they realized Tino had no idea what they meant. Lukas looked like he was preparing himself mentally, Mathias looked more solemn and shook his head, while Emil rubbed at his temples and Berwald worked his jaw a bit.

"What's the matter?" Tino asked, feeling slightly alarmed. "What did I do?"

"Nothing at all." Assured Lukas. "You just don't understand…there are…"

The man cleared his throat and lowered his voice, making Tino lean in closer to hear him.

"It's revolting, and I don't know if this is something that happens in the sea or not, but here…we have to be cautious of bad people who specifically hunt for children. The last thing we want is someone who doesn't know you think that you're one of them."

A look of utter horror and disgust broke out over Tino's face, and his jaw dropped open.

"W-what? Hunt? Like…to eat?"

Again, the unease and discomfort that rippled through his companions was enough to frighten Tino.

"No, Tino…" Emil muttered, trying to help his brother out. "There are other kinds of predators that take kids and…abuse them…in a very…erm…oh hell I can't, this is…"

"Some sick people desire children like their mates." Berwald stated, in a low voice that rumbled with anger and revulsion, while putting it into terms Tino would understand.

He did.

And the second understanding dawned on him, he reacted.

The merman's eyes darkened to a deep violet-black, the irises expanding to nearly cover the whites of his eyes, the pupils suddenly constricting into a slit. His lips curled back and his canines rapidly lengthened an entire inch. His breathing grew heavy and animalistic and it was the humans' turns to be alarmed, as they all jolted back a bit at the rather frightening sight. Matthias even uttered a little startled 'woah!' Their sweet little Tino looked like a bloodthirsty creature ready for war.

"Tino?" Berwald asked bravely a few seconds later.

The merman seemed to come back to himself, blinking suddenly. He closed his eyes, making an obvious effort to calm his breathing a bit. He let his lips relax, his fangs receding. When he opened his eyes again he looked completely normal, except for his blank expression. Then he spoke. His tone was dark, deep, sounding completely different than the light tone they all knew.

"In my waters, if folk like that are discovered we rip open their wrists, break their tail, and leave them for the sharks. They are an abomination that we do not tolerate. No one hurts a child like that and lives."

The rest of them looked like they were struggling between being disturbed, and cheering the mer folk on for being so aggressive toward such vile offenders. Lukas cleared his throat again, and sounded a little shaky when he finally formed words.

"Now I think you understand why I told you to stop staring."

Tino nodded.

"I'm sorry, it's just…I do love children. So much. And…the fact that you had to tell me that…it shows me how much more prevalent that issue is in your world. It saddens me…"

They were all silent for a moment. Tino had fallen back into his more elaborate way of speaking, which he did at times when he was extremely serious.

"Well, you don't need to worry," Emil said, obviously trying to break the mood, "no one would ever think you could hurt a kid; you're too sweet and caring."

That statement seemed to perk the merman up, and he gave a small smile, but it was obvious that he was still upset. They ate in silence for a while, a rare occurrence for them. Even Mathias didn't try to break it.

When someone did speak it was Lukas, asking quietly,

"I had no idea you could change your appearance like that."

Tino looked up from his food in confusion.

"Huh?"

"You changed when you got angry just now. Didn't you realize it?"

The merman blinked and shook his head.

"I did? What…what did I do?"

Mathias jumped on the question and described what had happened in detail while Tino listened. When he was done, Tino covered his eyes with a hand and groaned.

"I'm…so sorry, everyone…really…I didn't mean to do that. I didn't even know that I could in this form."

"What is 'it'?" Emil asked, sounding eager.

"Extract my fangs." Tino explained. "In the sea we had to, depending on what we were eating and where we were hunting. But my eyes…I didn't know that the pu-pupil was a different shape under the sea…I'd never seen my own face in the water before…So…I'm not sure about that."

"Perhaps it was simply an emotional reaction, as though you were sensing and preparing for danger." Suggested Lukas.

"Nothing simple about it." Rumbled Berwald. Tino looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean, Ber?"

They all turned to look at the usually silent man, and he sighed, but answered,

"It doesn't matter who you are, everyone can react violently when emotions are high. It's not so surprising that Tino can. It's just easier to see."

Lukas opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Excuse me."

A timid voice called. They all looked up to see a young girl dressed in the restaurants' uniform and holding a tray of food presumably for herself.

"I'm sorry to bug you, but I saw you all come in and…um…you're the Bondevik brothers, right? And Mathias, Berwald, and Tino?"

Lukas nodded at her.

"That's right. You've heard of us?"

She looked like she might drop her tray as he her eyes darted to Tino.

"Um…I've been following you all…that is, I've been watching you! I mean, I'm always watching your videos and reading your blog. I really love you all! I mean I love what you do, not that I love love you, but-."

"Oh, you're a fan!?" Mathias asked at once, finding an instant vent. He didn't sit in silence very often, but when he did he usually had to find some way to make up for it. So he stood up and walked right to the girl, who nearly reeled back as he took hold of her tray. "Come sit with us! We'd love a chance to talk to one of our fans in person!"

She didn't argue, but let him carry her tray to the one empty chair at their crowded table. She then sat and laughed awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually so forward, but I recognized you and thought that if I didn't at least say hello that I'd regret it for the rest of my life."

"Good thinking!" Declared Mathias. "We're only in their area once a year, after all, and so you wouldn't have a chance like this again! What's your name?"

"Leena." She replied, her eyes roving over them all as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"That's a pretty name." Tino said sincerely, looking brighter now than he had been.

She grinned and stared back at him.

"Thanks so much…um…wow, I never thought I'd get to meet Tino the Merman in the flesh."

"You have now." Tino chirped happily. "So, you're one of the people who watch on the computer?"

"Yes, I read every update that you post and watch all of your videos! I couldn't believe it when the footage of your rescue went viral and the story started getting so much attention! I always said that you guys were amazing, but now the whole world knows it!"

Her excitement seemed to infect Tino, and he wriggled a bit in his seat.

"The whole world? Really?"

"Well that's what the reports say; you've had views in every country and have been a headline for a while now."

"Headline?" Tino asked, cocking his head. Leena covered her mouth briefly and said,

"Sorry, I'm sorry. Um, a headline; a big story? Front page news?"

"Oh…" Tino replied. "News. That's right!"

Leena gave a little laugh at him, just keeping the hysterical edge out of it. Not that it would have mattered since Mathias joined her and his own laugh drowned hers out.

"Our little fish boy is still learning so much." He declared, reaching over the table to tug at one of Tino's braids. "But he's a riot while doing it!"

Tino batted his hand away, but was smiling. Leena started in on her lunch, obviously under a time pressure but wanting to talk to them at the same time. She got in a few bites and swig of her soda before asking,

"So you're all on your way back to Sweden now, right? Are you going to post a video of your homecoming?"

"Probably, since I've been filming on and off since we left this morning." Mathias told her. "I'll piece the shots together once we get home, but there's no way to film Tino going to Berwald's house because I'm pretty sure Berwald wouldn't let me. But I'm going to have us all at least wave to the camera once we're sitting in our driveway because it's the least we can do for our dedicated fans."

Leena smiled wide around her mouthful of burger, and nodded in appreciation. They let her sit with them until she had finished her lunch, at which time she rose to go and asked,

"Um…would I be able to get a picture with all of you?"

"We can do better than that, you can take a picture and a video if you'd like! Share it with all your friends and spread the word!"

Leena looked very excited about Mathias' suggestion, as did Tino. The rest of them were neutrally accepting of the situation. It wasn't the first time they'd met fans, it had happened quite a lot and they knew how to react. They gathered in close, Tino squeezing in right next to Leena's face, and let her snap a few photos before falling back. She then recorded a short video of them hailing the camera and showing her face. After all that all the other customers in the dining area were sending them curious glances and Leena looked ready to jump out of her skin with excitement.

"I have to get back to work, but thank you all so much! It was amazing getting to meet you all! And Tino, good luck, I'll be following your story."

"Thanks, Leena! I'm happy knowing you'll be watching!"

Tino gave the girl a big hug with a little chirp, and when he let go she looked dazed. She almost wobbled over to the bin to stack her empty tray, and then she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Well, as far as first fan encounters, you took it like a pro, Tino." Emil said, slapping Tino on the back. The merman's chest swelled a little and he grinned.

"She was nice! I can't believe she just knew who we were!"

"Get used to that." Lukas said kindly. "From the sound of it, we've made more of a splash than even I thought we had."

They began filing over to the trash with their trays, and Tino giggled at Lukas' words.

"What?" Emil asked, as they headed out the doors and back to the car.

"'Making a splash'," Tino explained, still giggling, "with a merman."

A few soft chuckles acknowledged the irony of Lukas' words, and then Mathias snapped his fingers.

"That's gotta be the title of one of your articles, Emil! 'Making a Splash with a Merman', come on, it's great! How did we never think of that?!"

This sent the two into a discussion of how to use the phrase 'making a splash' regularly without altering their 'Tino Ashore' official title for the ongoing story. Berwald and Lukas switched off in the driver's seat, and Tino kept reading the digital book on his own, after Lukas helped him open up Berwald's tablet. They got back on the highway (slower than before now that Berwald was at the wheel) and Lukas popped in his earbuds to tune out the debate going on between his brother and lover from the front and back seats. When Emil and Mathias eventually came to an agreement, they too went to their individual forms of entertainment with computer and phone, and the car fell quiet.

Tino eventually became tired with holding himself upright to read, and without a word, leaned sideways against Lukas' shoulder.

The man stiffened for a second, having been lost in his own audiobook, but then gave a very soft smile and relaxed. A few minutes later he felt Tino yawn, and saw that the tablet screen had gone black from lack of use. Sensing the merman was tired out, he reached down and slipped the tablet from his hands, placing it aside. He then put his arm around Tino and pulled him gently into his shoulder, brushing a hand through his hair. The merman didn't even make a sound as he accepted the affection with a little nuzzle, and then fell asleep.

Everyone else was distracted with their own devices, and Lukas didn't draw attention to it. However, he happened to glance up at that moment, and saw Berwald looking back at Tino's sleeping face in the rear-view mirror. The second their eyes met, Berwald's seemed to blink in surprise that Lukas was even there, which made the corner of his mouth tug into an unavoidable smirk.

Lukas winked at him.

Berwald looked quickly back to the road, his face as neutral as ever but a few shades pinker.

)))((

That evening was exciting for Tino, as he got to eat at a sit-down restaurant and check into a hotel for the first time.

The others were so patient with him when he didn't understand something, or became frightened by something harmless, or became so happy or overwhelmed that he began bouncing in his seat or chirping. He didn't mind that so many humans stared at him wherever they went. He stared right back at them, intrigued by the differences in every face and body and wardrobe. There were a few more instances of fans recognizing them in the restaurant, which more than hyped the merman up to the delight of all present with their phones.

Once they had checked in and were in their rooms, though, Tino felt the weariness of such exertion fall over him. After all their traveling they'd had to drag their bags up to the rooms, though the elevator scared him it had gotten them there faster than stairs would have, and Tino had nearly collapsed on the first bed he saw. He nearly missed the discussion the others had over who would be staying in each room, considering that they had originally booked for four and they now had five. It was decided that Emil would stay in one room with Lukas and Mathias, and Berwald would share with Tino. The merman was grateful for Lukas being his champion in this; stating that Tino needed a break from as many of them as he could get away from, and that Berwald was the quietest so it would be the most restful choice.

Berwald agreed, with very few words, and the decision was made. Their rooms were connected by a suite door, so for a while they left it open and just communicated back and forth as they would've in the cabin. Once they had all showered and changed into pj's, though, they called all their goodnights and closed the door, leaving it unlocked.

The last hour had felt like a blur for Tino, like he was too tired to pay attention, or just couldn't handle everything. So when he did curl up in the clean-smelling bed and let Berwald turn out the lights (except for the bathroom light for some reason) he was surprised when he didn't fall asleep instantly. He lay there, waiting to fall into the abandon of sleep, but found he just couldn't shut off his brain. So much had happened today, he had seen so many new things, and he was having a hard time calming down. Even the shower, which usually helped put him into a peaceful state of mind, had only temporarily helped.

Not only that, but as comfortable as the bed was, it wasn't the one he'd gotten used to at the cabin. That calm, serene place in the middle of the forest had been the perfect location for him to adjust to being on land, and he'd become used to it and comfortable there. This place was…strange. It seemed so empty and there was the sound of traffic from the highway. Faint, but unsettling after the week of nights spent in the silence of the woods outside his cabin window. Tino wondered how he was ever supposed to sleep here.

Across the small space between their beds, Berwald was just on the verge of slipping into sleep. He was glad that he could get his driving out of the way first thing tomorrow morning and then let Lukas take the rest of the trip. He didn't like driving more than two hours at a time. He was thinking these thoughts vaguely to himself, when he heard a small sigh, and realized that Tino was still stirring in his own bed.

Berwald looked over toward the other bed, and saw the multitude of brightly glowing markings outlining Tino in the semi-darkness, a bright blue light in contrast to the yellow crack of light from the bathroom door. Even as he watched, the blurry outline moved and Tino turned onto his back. Berwald frowned. Thinking about it, Tino hadn't really remained still all that much since lying down. Every few minutes he had heard sheets rustling and the slight creak of the mattress.

For all Berwald knew this was how the merman fell asleep every night. Then again, he'd probably loved his room at the cabin. This was an unknown place. He felt like a heel for not considering whether Tino would even be able to sleep in a hotel room for the first time. This thought prompted him to investigate.

Berwald cleared his throat and spoke in the direction of the merman's glow.

"Tino? Are you ok? You keep tossing and turning."

A frustrated huff can from Tino's bed.

"I'm sorry…am I keeping you awake? Are my markings too bright?"

Berwald had to give a small grin. As if he'd ever complain about those beautiful lights.

"No, it's alright. I leave a light on while I sleep anyway. What's the matter?"

There was a long silence in the dark and then Tino said, almost sheepishly.

"My mind's going so fast. There's so much to remember. So much to think about."

Berwald made a small acknowledging sound, but didn't say anything. There was a pause before Tino gave a small groan and a sigh before admitting,

"That's normal actually. I always think myself to sleep. But tonight…I'm having trouble relaxing…I don't know this place."

Berwald could see the merman's face vaguely in the faint glowing light from his spots. It was all fuzzy without his glasses, but he decided not to reach over and get them. For all he knew Tino didn't really want to be stared at right now if he was feeling insecure.

"Hardly anyone sleeps well away from home," Berwald assured, "let alone the first night in a hotel."

"It's worse because I'm actually tired!" The merman sounded absolutely dismal, and Berwald felt his heart grow heavy for him. "All I can think about is how badly I want to sleep, but that just keeps me awake more…"

"Is there anything I can do to help?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

The beat of silence that followed the question told Berwald that something had to have entered Tino's mind. His suspicion was confirmed with Tino's soft, stumbling words,

"Um…well…actually…"

"What is it?"

He heard the deep breath that Tino took, while trying to keep it quiet enough that he wouldn't hear. The little merman was too endearing.

"I didn't tell you all before, since sometimes I come off as too clingy to you humans, but I did have trouble falling asleep sometimes at the cabin because…I'm not used to sleeping alone…we always sleep in pairs or groups for safety. It's been strange to sleep on my own, and I've come close to knocking on one of your doors in the middle of the night before now, thinking that maybe…if…"

Berwald's heart began to pick up speed at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as Tino. But it sounded like that was exactly what he wanted, and Berwald could never deny Tino anything. He left a silence of his own to hang in the air before asking gently,

"Would you like to sleep beside me?"

"To be honest, yes." Tino said, almost at once, "I'm so used to curling up with someone and I've missed it so much, and…"

The merman stopped talking as he heard the other man move. Berwald shifted over in his bed, and then pulled the covers away from the mattress. The gesture was unmistakable. A creak came from Tino's bed as he sat up, cocking his head in curiosity.

"Are you sure?" The hope in Tino's voice was adorably sweet.

"Ja. Come over here."

Tino scrambled out of his own bed, bringing two of his own pillows with him, and easily slid onto Berwald's mattress, facing away from him. As Tino positioned his pillows, one for his head and one for between his knees, the bigger man pulled the covers up over the glowing, spotted body. They lay there, side by side for a handful of seconds, accustoming themselves to their closeness, before Tino shifted his body yet again.

"Can I snuggle up to you?" Tino asked eagerly. "Please? I mean, I won't if it will make you uncomfortable…"

"It's ok." Berwald reached out to touch Tino's shoulder. It was a bold move on his part, but he'd observed how easily Tino gave physical affection, and it was obvious that he needed some back. "I don't mind."

The merman wiggled closer, pressing his back to Berwald's chest. Now having his blessing, Tino casually took Berwald's arm and pulled it around his waist like a second blanket, tucking it snug against his ribs. Berwald felt the slender body completely relax against him, and a soft sigh released from Tino's lips. There was such meaning behind that simple sound, as though all of his cares and worries from a few minutes ago were being expelled through it and into the darkness, never to return.

"Thank you, Ber. This is nice."

"Happy to help." Berwald said softly, discreetly inhaling the scent of Tino's long damp hair that had pooled on the pillow inches from his face. It smelled vaguely like Lukas' shampoo that he'd been borrowing all week; mint and eucalyptus.

It had been a very long time since Berwald had shared a bed with someone, but he found that he had missed it. Feeling another body beside him, especially one as warm and slender as Tino's, made him feel a surge of protectiveness and comfort that he hadn't, in the same sense, for years. He felt slightly guilty, getting to hold Tino like this when he was unsure if he was just lonely, or was legitimately beginning to crush on the merman. For tonight, Berwald decided, it didn't matter. Tino had wanted this, and he gladly gave it to him.

"Comfortable?" Berwald asked a few moments later, daring to tighten his arm around the slender waist.

"Hmmm…very…" The response was mumbled quietly, followed by a big yawn. A few moments later Tino's breathing became deep and slow, signaling his surrender to sleep. Berwald smiled to himself, allowing himself to scoot his head a bit closer to Tino's, enough to brush his nose against his hair. Then he, too, was soothed to sleep by the presence of the other.

))((

Tino woke up to soft whispering and giggling. It took him a second to even figure out he was awake, let alone remember where he was and who might be making the sounds. That was, until he felt his pillow moving up and down beneath his head. That's when it struck him; his pillow was far too warm in addition to not being as giving as a pillow should. He blinked his eyes open, and many things struck him at once when he did.

Firstly, he was wrapped (arms and legs both) around a still-sleeping Berwald, who had rolled onto his back in the night, and was using his broad chest as a pillow. Secondly, Mathias (still in his boxers and wife beater) was hovering at the side of the bed with his camera, keeping one hand over his mouth to muffle his glee at finding and filming them in such a state. Thirdly, Emil was right behind Mathias, but instead of trying to stop him the teen's face was just as filled with amusement. In fact, he was holding his cell phone, taking pictures.

"W…what…are you...?" Tino murmured, leaning up and rubbing at his eyes. Mathias began chuckling through his hand at the same time Berwald began to stir beneath the merman, awakened by the noise and Tino's movements.

"You two are so cute all cuddling together!" Emil blurted, giggling loudly.

"When exactly did you start sleeping in the same bed together anyway?" Mathias demanded with a cheery voice.

"Last night." Tino yawned, easing over onto his other side. "Now go away…"

The merman pulled his pillow over his head to hide his face, and he felt Berwald shift beside him.

"Cut it out Mathias." He rumbled. "Why are you even in here?"

"Lukas sent me to make sure you two woke up on time." Explained Emil, respecting Berwald's grumpy face enough to put away his phone. Mathias, however, never knew when to stop despite Berwald's intense glare. To be fair, the intimidation factor was lowered by the obvious blush on the big man's cheeks.

"Good thing Lukas sent us too, otherwise you two would have snuggled yourselves into a coma!"

"He has a point." Tino called, voice muffled and sleepy from within the pillow. He popped his head out a second later and blinked at the camera. "Haven't slept as deeply as that since I came ashore…"

"We're awake now, so go away and let us get up." Berwald growled.

"Okay sunshines!" Mathias called happily, whispering to the camera as he and Emil went through the suite door, "that was so freaking cute."

When the door closed again Berwald collapsed back on the mattress and let out a genuine groan.

"Mathias will never let this go."

"Who cares?" Tino yawned, pushing himself up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Mathias never lets anything go."

He left Berwald lying there, commandeering the bathroom first. A splash of water and morning necessity and Tino was back into the room, letting Berwald take his turn while he changed his clothes.

They didn't speak about how they'd spent the night, but it didn't feel like they needed to.

Once Tino was dressed, he opened the suite door and slipped into the others' room. Emil was lying on his stomach in his bed, typing on his laptop. Lukas was presumably in the bathroom, and Mathias was digging into the pile of food they'd gotten from the complimentary breakfast in the lobby.

"Hey, visiting us over here, huh?" Mathias asked, through a mouthful of pastry. "Want some food?"

Tino nodded, and headed toward him, grabbing at the first pastry he saw that had icing. He took a big bite, and was surprised by jelly in the middle. He closed his eyes in delight as he chewed languidly and swallowed.

"I. Love. Human. Food." Tino said, punctuating each word and then taking another bite.

"Never would've guessed." Laughed Emil, kicking his feet back and forth in the air. "Berwald needs to teach you how to cook and bake while you're living with him."

Tino nodded as he took another bite.

"Ber is a good cook," Mathias agreed, taking his coffee and sitting down on the other bed, "he's pretty decent at baking too."

"Can he make pastries?" Tino asked eagerly, not even caring that he was getting icing all over his mouth in his eagerness to take another bite.

"Sure, he made doughnuts for us one morning after a night-long case last year."

Tino was about to ask what kind of doughnuts, when the bathroom door opened and Lukas entered the room, half-dressed and drying his wet hair with a towel.

"Oh, good morning, Tino." He said, going over to his suitcase and pulling out a shirt. "How did you sleep?"

Before Tino could finish his mouthful and answer, Emil and Mathias looked at each other and burst out laughing. Emil rolled onto his back and held his stomach, Mathias bent over and had to place his coffee on the end table. When Lukas looked to Tino for an explanation, he rolled his eyes.

"I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I asked Berwald if I could sleep next to him."

"Oh." Lukas said neutrally. "And did it help?"

"Very much. I slept like a baby."

"They weren't just next to each other, Luk," Mathias cut in, his laughter fading into a teasing tone, "they were like glued together!"

Even Lukas' eye seemed to spark with interest at that, and he even turned a quizzical look on Tino.

"Really?"

Tino felt his face heat up, but before anyone could say anything else, Berwald walked in through the open suite door. It was obvious that he had heard their conversation when he fixed the room at large with a 'just get over it' expression, before heading toward the coffee and pastries for his own fill.

"Tino wanted to be close to someone so he could sleep." Berwald said simply, selecting an apple fritter. "He was having trouble falling asleep alone. Of course I'd help him."

When they all looked at Tino, he jumped at the sudden attention.

"We always sleep in pairs or groups." He explained hastily. "We have to be near each other when we sleep to keep from floating away."

"Huh, somehow we never knew that about your folk." Emil noted.

"It's…something that I thought you might make fun of." Tino muttered, taking the last bite to finish off his pastry.

"We wouldn't." Lukas assured him. "If you've been having trouble sleeping you should have told us sooner. I'm sure Berwald would have been able to help you before now. I'm sure he doesn't mind letting you sleep in his bed."

Mathias sniggered, but Berwald shot him a glare than sobered him up at once.

"I really don't." Berwald agreed. "I want to help if I can. Nothing is worse than losing sleep."

Tino smiled widely at him, and the big man swiped a napkin from the table and used it to clean the excess icing from Tino's mouth.

"Thanks, Ber!" The merman said cheerfully.

"Dawww!" Mathias exclaimed, cupping his hands under his chin and tilting his head. Emil chimed in with him a split second later, squirming over on his back to hang his head over the mattress and press his hands to his cheeks dramatically.

Lukas rolled his eyes and tossed his towel aside. Then he clapped his hands loudly.

"Alright! Finish up with breakfast and then pack up; we're out of here in 15."

))((

That day passed much as the day before it, with a lot of arguing, laughing, stretches of silence, and car games. Berwald let Tino read without him while he drove the first half of the day, and when Lukas took over he joined the merman again. Thankfully Tino had caught up to where Berwald had been when he started over for him the day before, and today he let Tino read for as long as he wanted. They made it into the final act together before Tino began to feel sick of staring at the screen.

The last two hours were a challenge for them all, as being in such close quarters together for a second day in a row made them all feel the stress of each other's presence. Even ignoring each other with their devices became boring after a while. For the first time Tino began desperately wishing for a little time to himself.

"We're in the final stretch, everybody." Lukas let them all know. "Stockholm 30 minutes ahead."

"Thank god!" Mathias groaned, stretching and arching himself in his seat. "I never thought I could get sick of Candy Crush, but it's stupid when it makes me wait to refill my lives!"

"And I can't write any more filler for the blog," Complained Emil, draping himself over the top of the back seat and twirling one of Tino's braids around his finger, "I can only go on about Berwald braiding your hair, holding you in your sleep, fans in the restaurants, and traveling as one big family for soooo long!"

Berwald blushed slightly, and Mathias turned around to make a mock-pouting face at Emil.

"But that's the sappy crap that everyone loves so much! You can't write too much of that, it's brings in too many fans."

Emil let out a long sigh bordering on a moan, smooshing his face against his arm.

"I've been writing it all up for the past three hours…I'm done."

Tino turned in his seat to look at the weary teen. When he saw Emil's expression and his slumped position the merman reached out and took his face in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. He petted the white-blond hair with one hand soothingly and spoke in a sweet tone.

"You're such a hard worker, and we all benefit from your talent. Take a break now and rest, precious."

Emil sighed and leaned his head against the merman's, smiling a little at the attention.

"Thanks, Tino."

The merman pulled back and gave him a kiss on his brow, before turning back around. It felt good to dote on someone, despite Tino not feeling his best. His energy had been drained away from him by the stress of the journey and he wanted to try his best to stay positive, even though he was starting to feel a bit stir crazy. Berwald picked up on this even through Tino's efforts to hide it.

"We're almost there." He mumbled quietly. The merman gifted Berwald with a tired smile, and then blew out his cheeks in a sigh.

"Want to play Candy Crush?" Mathias offered. He'd shown Tino how to play it at the cabin and the merman had become very fond of it. Now, however, he just shook his head with another placating smile. Mathias shrugged and went back to staring out the window again.

Fifteen minutes later Lukas pointed out the city in the distance. This made Tino perk up and he watched with excitement as the skyline drew closer, the light of late afternoon bathing the buildings in red-gold. When they finally entered the city Tino stared in awe at the towering buildings they passed, the shops, the people, the overwhelming sights all around them. He had a surge of curiosity and began questioning them about everything he saw, briefly invigorating the car with life and energy as the others pointed out about a million things to him. Even then his questions continued, his eyes widening to take in every detail that he could as they sped by.

After a time, the questions stopped and Tino sat back to simply take it all in silently.

"We'll be at the apartment soon, Tino." Lukas told him a while later, as they drove through a more suburban area away from downtown. "You can come in and rest for a while, of course. Emil will be driving back to our parents' and Berwald will be driving both of you back to his house."

"I wish I could film that." Mathias pouted. "Berwald and Tino all by themselves; I'll bet it would be adorable."

"Let poor Tino have some quiet time for goodness' sake." Lukas sighed. "He needs a break from all of us and at least with Berwald he will get some peace and quiet."

"He'll have to stop asking questions if he really wants complete quiet." Mathias pointed out.

He hadn't meant it to sound unkind, but Tino looked a little hurt.

"It's fine." Berwald reassured him after glaring at the back of Mathias' head. "You can always ask me anything. As many questions as you want."

Tino turned to look at him, a worried expression gracing him. His voice was cautious when he asked,

"Are you sure it's not annoying to you at all? I can ask questions until I'm out of breath, you've seen me do it."

Berwald gave him a rare smile.

"It doesn't annoy me, I promise."

Ironically this answer caused Tino to remain silent as he treasured Berwald's words.

"Did you just get shy on us, Tino?" Lukas asked coyly.

"Only when Berwald says something sweet." Mathias sing-songed, and Lukas smacked his arm. Tino's ears blushed fiercely.

"Stop embarrassing them, Mat." Emil scolded. "We're almost home, you can knock it off."

"It's because we're almost home that I need to get in as many jabs as possible!"

Mathias shot back. They all let out sighs at the same time. Mathias glanced between them all.

"What?"

They collectively ignored him, and it was to their great relief when Lukas pulled the SUV into a parking spot along a line of apartment buildings. They poured out of the vehicle with much groaning, stretching, and sighing. They wasted no time but took as much of Lukas and Mathias' luggage as they could carry and headed toward the building's door.

"So you live here?" Tino asked, tilting his head back to take in the sight of the tall building with all its uniform windows and lights, and the others just like it lining the streets in all directions. "With all these other people?"

"It's not that bad." Lukas explained, unlocking the door. "Inside our apartment you would never believe that we were in surrounded by so many other people. It's very private and sound-proof too so we can't hear anything from the other tenants."

"And they can't hear us either," Mathias said, nudging his lover's shoulder, "and trust me, Lukas can be really loud when I'm blow-"

"-drying his hair for him!" Lukas nearly shouted, cutting Mathias' words off and opening the door to the side hallway of the building. "No one can hear a thing."

They all filed through the clean, white hallway and then piled into the shiny elevator with all their bags and suitcases. Tino didn't say anything, but they knew he didn't like the device, and did their best to keep up light chatter as they rose eight floors. They let him leave the elevator first, and then guided him down a few doors.

"Home sweet home." Mathias declared, as Lukas unlocked and opened the door.

Tino studied every detail with interest as they entered and began dumping luggage on the floor. The walls were white just like the rest of the building, the floors were blonde hardwood, and all the accents were black and silver.

"Can I..?"

"Go ahead and explore, Tino. Be our guest." Said Lukas kindly as he passed the merman, patting him on the back. Excited again, Tino followed him past the short hallway and into the living room. A comfortable-looking black couch sat before a coffee table and flat screen tv against one wall, and there were two deep chairs as well. Right off the living room was the kitchen, which was less than half of the size of the kitchen at the cabin. Still, it was very open and looked very clean and modern. The whole main area looked very airy and bright due to the white walls, pale floor, and big windows. The view from the windows looked out onto the street below and the other apartment buildings, but was still impressive.

Tino went through the kitchen and found the bedroom down the hallways beyond, and the bathroom and spare bedroom as well, though the latter was very small and housed only a futon and miscellaneous items. All in all, it was a small place, but designed to be very open so that it felt bigger than it was. Tino saw very quickly how humans could live so close together when they built their housing like this. He really liked the calming feel of the place, and all the personal touches that the couple had added, like colorful rugs, curtains, and various posters.

"I love it!" Tino declared, coming back out into the living room. "It's so bright and cheerful!"

"It's simple, but it serves us just fine." Lukas said with a grin. The shorter man slipped an arm around Mathias' waist and pressed his head to his shoulder. Mathias grinned delightedly and leaned down to steal a kiss.

"My poor baby, driving so far." He said, smooching the side of Lukas' face. "You must be so tired. I'd better get you to bed soon."

Ignoring Mathias' suggestively arched eyebrow, Lukas broke out of his hold and headed toward the bedroom with his bags. The rest of them took turns shuffling luggage about, resting on the couch, and using the restroom. They didn't talk much during this time, but it was a comfortably exhausted silence. It was hard for Tino to think about getting back into a car, but eventually it was time for them to part ways.

They went back to the SUV and sorted out the remaining luggage, Emil taking his to his own car which was parked higher up the street, and Berwald doing the same. When it was obvious that they were ready to leave, Tino gave each of them a hug and a farewell, following Berwald to his car. Tino hadn't ridden in the front seat before, but couldn't muster up any more excitement for the new experience. He was so disinterested and his brain was so worn out that he fell asleep on the 15-minute drive over to Berwald's house.

When he woke, it was to Berwald gently shaking him.

"Tino, wake up, we're here."

The merman groaned and blinked awake with an effort. He saw they were parked before a beautiful house; it was small but had a second floor with a little balcony, and two chimneys. There was a stone pathway leading up to the small porch and front door. The huge stretch of grass around the house was bordered by evergreens and there was an old barn in the back painted the same rust-red as the house.

"Your house looks so nice." Tino said, his yawn still not dampening his honesty.

"Thanks. I've finished most of it, but there's still a few things on the inside that need to be done. I'm also working on the back porch."

"I'm sure it's beautiful." Tino said groggily.

Berwald went around to the side to sling their bags over his shoulders. Tino slid out of the car and went to help. Berwald looked reluctant, but handed the small tote to the merman's outstretched arms. Tino took it contentedly, and followed Berwald to the front door. Tino gratefully accepted the offer to walk in first. The interior walkway was very welcoming with rich wood floors and a matching staircase leading to the second level. There was a mat on which Tino wiped his feet, but then saw Berwald slipping his shoes off.

"Do I get to go barefoot?" Tino asked eagerly.

"Ja, I like to try and keep the floors clean if I can. They're originals. I just polished them up a bit."

"They're beautiful, you did a wonderful job."

The big man turned his head as he placed their shoes onto the designated mat, hiding his blush.

"Thanks. I'll show you to your room."

Berwald led him up the stairs firstly, and showed him to a room at the end of the hallway, all done up in cream and blue. The curtains, bedspread, and rugs all matched. Berwald set Tino's bag down at the end of the mattress and flipped on the light on the end table.

"This is the guestroom. I had to finish it because the rest of the crew is over here a lot during big cases when we're trying to figure things out. I have another one downstairs, but it still bare bones."

Tino wasn't shy about dropping his other bag on the floor and then flopping onto the bed with a sigh. He groaned into the bedspread.

"So comfy." He murmured.

"Why don't you rest for a while, maybe take a shower and relax? That's what I'm going to do. Then you can come down and we'll make some dinner."

"Food…" Tino said, almost lustily. Berwald's cheeks darkened a shade, but he smiled.

"I'll let you unwind."

"Thanks, Ber."

Berwald eased the door closed behind him, leaving Tino alone.

Tino nearly fell asleep again as he lay there in the calming silence, still feeling that odd weariness clinging to him. Instead he roused himself in pursuit of a shower. There was a simple white bathroom attached to the bedroom, and Tino reveled in the hot water and generic but fragrant shampoo and soap that Berwald had stocked for his guests. The towels were also very soft and big, and Tino had a better time wrapping up his hair with these than the ones at the cabin. When he finally slipped into a long-sleeved shirt and long pants he felt like a new person. He was drowsy still but didn't want to fall asleep yet, not with the promise of dinner waiting. So, he did his best to brush out his hair, twisting it into a rope over his shoulder to keep it contained, and headed downstairs.

Berwald wasn't there, presumably still in his room, but Tino didn't feel bad exploring. Right off the main entranceway was a dining area with a study table and chairs, and an ornate light fixture hanging over them. A big mirror was on the wall beside the table, making the area look even bigger. Tino ran his hand over the dark wood grain of the table, and it felt like water it was so smooth. Next down the hall was a little room with bookshelves and a desk filled with filing and stationary. A certificate hung on the wall and Tino felt he shouldn't snoop much, as the room felt important. He closed the door and moved on. There was a big living room laid out like the cabin, with the kitchen open and visible through a counter and cabinet set.

The living room had a couch that looked deep and comfortable, and while Tino wanted to explore further, he just couldn't resist the urge to sink into its depths. He followed that urge and relaxed into the soft leather. It was every bit as comfortable and embracing as he's hoped it would be. He sighed and leaned his head back.

There was a decent-sized TV set up on the wall facing the couch, a small coffee table between the two. A deep recliner and a small love seat also face the TV, and rounding out the seating was a lime green bean bag chair tossed against the far wall. It stood out because of its color, while the rest of the house was decorated in rich woods, sandy browns, and burnt reds and blues. Tino liked the colors in the house. He didn't really have a good concept of human home aesthetics, but it felt cozy and welcoming. He sat up and plucked one of the cooking magazines from the coffee table and began to scan through the recipes. A few long moments later he heard Berwald's footfalls on the stairs.

The tall man appeared a breath later, dressed in similar lounging clothes to Tino's, his hair damp from his own shower, and smelling strongly of his spicy body wash.

"What do you feel like for dinner?"

Tino cocked his head, looking at the recipe he had been scanning.

"How about some kind of soup? Something 'thick and creamy'?" He asked, quoting the line from the article. Berwald nodded.

"Baked potato soup. I've got some pumpernickel bread for you to try too."

Tino dug himself out of the couch, and wobbled only slightly as he regained his footing.

"Can I help?"

Berwald studied him warily for a moment, before conceding with a nod. Excited, Tino followed him into the kitchen. It was just as tidy and welcoming as the rest of the house, warm gold, blue, and red with a huge counterspace and an island to work off.

"There are potatoes down in that cupboard." Berwald told Tino, pointing it out and reaching into another. Tino got them out and under Berwald's directions began to scrub them clean and then peel them. Berwald felt better about Tino's safety with a peeler than he did with knives. He put a large pot of water onto the stove to boil before taking up the task of cutting up the other necessary ingredients. But when he was just starting to mince up the chives, he stopped and smacked his head with his palm.

"I have to get a rue started, I forgot." He stated.

"I can cut the potatoes, Ber." Tino offered carefully. "Really, we use knives of our own in the sea you know. I won't hurt myself, I promise."

Berwald looked skeptical at that, but he had to trust Tino to know his own abilities.

"Ok, just chop them into little chunks."

"I can do that."

While Berwald got out the butter and flour and water for the rue, Tino washed the newly-peeled potatoes and set them aside before going to the cutting board that Berwald had abandoned. Tino picked up the knives and began cutting up the potatoes. He proved to be as good as his word and when Berwald looked over to check on him Tino was already half finished. He moved on to mincing the chives on the other cutting board, and found that more difficult, but he was careful and managed alright with Berwald's few guiding words. The tall man tipped the chopped potatoes into the nearly-boiling water and then turned back to the rue.

"Hey, Ber, can we make a dessert too? Something chocolate? Or is it too late for that…"

"Hmm…I think I do have some cocoa. We could make no-bake cookies."

This statement intrigued Tino and he was sent about to gather different ingredients while Berwald pulled out yet another pot to put on the stove.

"We don't have to bake them…but we still have to cook them…so…isn't it more work?"

Berwald considered that as he melted the butter and cocoa with sugar in the pot.

"Guess you're right, but then you don't have to mix the dough, then bake them, then wait for them to cool. You're mixing and cooking all at once and then just need them to cool."

"Yes, but you're still having to wait for them to cool, and you have to stand right by them while they cook…"

"They're called 'no-bake cookies', not 'faster-than-baked-cookies'." Berwald pointed out.

Tino giggled at that not-even-joke and Berwald grinned.

"Well either way I'm sure they're delicious." The merman said, swiping at the sugary chocolate liquid in the pan and licking it off his finger.

"Hey…" Berwald protested weakly. Tino stuck out his tongue at Berwald.

"I can get away with it when it's you and not Lukas."

The frown on Berwald's face softened and he nodded.

"I'll let you get away with pretty much anything, so long as it makes you happy."

Tino felt his heart speed up just a bit.

"Aw…Ber, that's so sweet." He said softly. "But…I mean, really, don't let me do anything to inconvenience you. I don't want to take advantage of your…kindness."

Berwald stirred the rue and began adding salt.

"To be honest, I don't mind. Like I said, as long as you're happy."

"But, you have to have some kinds of guidelines or rules, especially around your own house, right? Come on, you don't need to patronize me. If there's something I shouldn't do, please tell me."

Tino turned a serious expression on the bigger man.

"Like, can I sit on the counter?"

Berwald looked at his face, his lips quirking at the sight of those pretty violet-blue eyes narrowed into such scrutiny as Tino waited for his response.

"Sure."

Tino's face exploded into a happy smile and he hopped up to sit right beside Berwald.

"Ok, how about poking around the barn and stuff? I'm nosey, you know."

"Look through anything you want. Just…don't go into my workshop without me. I don't want you to get hurt even if it's just an accident.

"What about your office?"

"It's just records and taxes and stuff. Nothing I would mind you seeing."

"Your room. You can't like me poking around in there?"

Berwald shrugged his big shoulders.

"I'm not a very private person despite what I seem like."

Tino studied Berwald's face. He believed him; he always looked so serious that anyone who didn't know him could think he was easily upset or secretive.

"Thank you, Berwald. I um…I think you have the best personality to handle me. The rest of the group together is…just so perfect…you were the best people to have found me. But you're special…you're my alpha."

The last part was spoken so softly and sounded suspiciously like he hadn't really meant for the words to slip out. Berwald paused in his stirring and looked confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked, "I thought Lukas was the alpha in our group."

Tino went utterly still where he sat on the counter, and didn't answer right away. When he did it was halting and somewhat unsure.

"Lukas is the alpha for the group…but, you…. you're my alpha. It's…hard to explain but you hold a position of respect for me personally. I guess you could call it mer slang."

"I see." Berwald said, even though he had no idea what Tino meant. Taking it as a cultural difference that he wouldn't be able to understand, Berwald didn't press him to explain.

"Grab a fork for me and test the potatoes. Just poke them and see how done they are."

Tino did as he was told.

"They're still a little too hard, I think." Berwald looked into the pot as Tino tested the vegetable.

"Hmm…you're right. They're supposed to fall apart when you spear them, that's how you know they're done."

Tino put the lid back on the pot.

"Smells delicious," he declared, "I can't wait."

They were quiet for a while as they cooked and Tino was surprised how comfortable it felt. He had feared that without the buffer of the others it might be awkward, given how quiet Berwald was and how talkative he was. Surprisingly it was easy, like they'd been cooking together for years.

"Hey, Ber?" Tino asked, always being the first to break the silence. Berwald lifted his head and looked at him.

"Hm?"

"Do you have any music?"

"Yea, if you go push the power button on that console over there, then you can press play button. There's a CD in there already."

Tino hopped down from the counter and padded over to the sound system mounted in one corner of the kitchen. He had learned enough to know how to operate the basics, but he still took some time before he touched anything, just to be sure he didn't mess anything up. When he did turn it on and press play, a low, sultry tune began to play. Tino smiled.

"It's nice and relaxing."

"I like jazz music when I cook dinner. Jazz and big band."

Tino took up his previous perch on the counter as the conversation turned again to instruments and how they worked. Although he'd already looked them up before, Tino used Berwald's tablet to look up different brass instruments. As usual his curious nature meant that once he started researching something he didn't stop until he was made to. Berwald had to pry the tablet from his hands and request, kindly but firmly, that he help finish out the dinner.

Ten minutes later they were set up on tv trays in the living room and watching the news, something that Tino had always wanted to do but had previously been forbidden from. They hadn't wanted him to be instantly bombarded with information without context, let alone such depressing content. But Berwald explained that he liked to keep himself informed, and that they would only watch a little bit of it. Tino did his very best not to interrupt the reporters with questions every other sentence, plus it was hard to speak when his mouth was full of delicious food, but he managed to ply Berwald with questions throughout the first half of the program. By then, however, Tino was feeling a bit worn out himself. It had been a long day and he told himself that the knowledge wasn't going to change in the next second, so he could relax and learn it later.

Berwald didn't comment on Tino suddenly falling silent. He did pick up the remote and switch to a DVD that was in the player, however. It was a movie, and Tino had taken a great liking to them. The quickness with which Berwald had picked up on his shifting feelings moved Tino, and he wished…that Berwald hadn't sat in one of the armchairs. If he had been on the couch beside him perhaps he could have inched closer and taken his arm like he had a habit of doing. He liked being close to Berwald, liked his strong body, his warmth, the rumbling of his chest when he did speak. He even liked how quiet Berwald usually was, letting him speak as much as he wanted, but knew when to cut him off or redirect the conversation. Berwald really was his alpha, even if he didn't know what that meant to Tino.

After eating the delicious no-bake cookies, Berwald reluctantly let Tino help him load the dishwasher. It was obvious to the big man that the merman was very tired, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't accept the help.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." Tino said, through a yawn and drooping eyes. "I'm sorry, I know it's early, but…"

"You're exhausted." Berwald told him, as though trying to convince him. "Go to bed. Sleep as long as you want. I'll make us breakfast when you wake up."

Tino couldn't even muster up a grin for him, which worried Berwald a little. He'd seen Tino tired before, but he'd never seen him so tired that he couldn't smile at the mention of food. Concern nagged at him, but then the merman stood up on his tiptoes and gave him a goodnight kiss on the cheek. Then Tino stumbled up the stairs and into his room.

Berwald was left standing in the middle of the hallway, pressing fingers to his red cheek.

))((

"Last night was incredible, wasn't it?"

"Hmmm."

"I've been waiting all week to do that to you again."

"Ja."

"You squirmed a lot more than usual. You were so impatient…"

"Foreplay's too much after a week of abstinence, idiot."

"Hmmm…you smell so good. C'mere."

"I'm already in your lap."

"Perfect."

Soft sounds of lips meeting lips filtered through the air, followed by soft gasping.

"God, you're a damn amazing kisser."

"Thanks, babe. Neck. Hickey. Now."

"Ugn…Mat…"

A suckling sound rang louder through the semi-silence of the clean white apartment, accompanied by a high-pitched moan. Words, mumbled by soft flesh.

"You better not cover this one up with a turtleneck. I want people to know what I do to you."

"I'm…already yours…why do you have to—ah—show off?!"

"That I bagged the hottest boy in Sweden? Why wouldn't I?"

"N-Norwegian, bastard…"

"Hottest Norwegian boy in Sweden."

"Damnit, Mat…ah…god…"

A sudden loud blast of brass instruments in a big band tune interrupted Mathias and Lukas' late-morning 'cuddle' fest on the sofa, while watching terrible reality television. Or rather, letting it play in the background as they enjoyed being alone. Lukas jumped a bit on Mathias' lap, pulling his lover's head away from his neck, where a bright red mark was blooming over his pulse point.

"That's Berwald." Lukas stated breathlessly.

He stretched in Mathias' octopus-like embrace to reach for his phone on the coffee table. Mathias sighed in disappointment, but compensated with a wisecrack.

"How much you wanna bet he's proposed already and we're looking at a sea-side wedding?" He asked, nuzzling into Lukas' neck. His partner ignored him and answered the phone, leaning back into his arms and letting himself be squeezed in tight again.

"Hello?"

It only took two seconds of listening for Lukas to open his eyes wide in surprise and raise one eyebrow, his kiss-swollen lips parting.

"What is it?" Mathias whined after a second or two, clinging even closer. Lukas didn't say anything, just hit the speakerphone button so that Mathias could hear for himself.

Berwald was frantic… at least as frantic as Berwald could ever get. His voice was a bit higher pitched and he was speaking in one long stream of words,

"He's running a fever and says his throat's sore, and his eyes even look a little bloodshot, and his limbs are aching and he says he feels hot then cold, and he can barely sit up in bed and I think I should take him to the hospital, but I don't know what they're going to do and-."

"Whoa, Berwald, dude!" Mathias interrupted, speaking over Lukas' shoulder. "Take a breath there!"

"Mathias, this isn't a laughing matter." Berwald growled over the phone. "Tino's never been around humans before and none of us considered what our germs might do to him. We're idiots, all of us, for overlooking it."

"You do need to calm down." Lukas agreed evenly. "Are you there with Tino, in the room?"

"No, I'm down in the kitchen, getting him some water."

"Good. Then take a second to get a hold of yourself. You don't want him to see you this upset, do you? It'll only frighten him."

There was a pause on the other end while Berwald apparently composed himself, then he said, in a calmer tone,

"Lukas…what should we do?"

There was a pause, Lukas' stormy blue eyes going empty for a minute while he thought, then he spoke,

"Call me right back from Tino's room, and make it a video call."

He hung up on Berwald, and reached to mute the television.

"Wow…" Mathias muttered, as they waited. "He's really worried…I mean…it's just a little cold, right?"

"He has a point." Lukas answered, and Mathias could see that he was just as worried. "Tino hasn't been exposed to any human germs before, despite him being partially human even while living in the sea. He has no immunity against the everyday viruses that we don't even notice."

Mathias frowned, the worry starting to rub off on him now.

"But…antibiotics…am I right?"

Lukas' reply was cut off when the phone chimed with Berwald's incoming video call. Lukas answered it, and saw Berwald's frowning face appear on the screen.

"Ok, Berwald, let me see Tino." Lukas instructed. Berwald jostled the phone around so that it was facing Tino.

The merman was lying on his side in Berwald's guest bed, his hands cradling the pillow against his cheek. He looked like he felt dreadful, his eyes were a bit puffy and his face was flushed. His golden hair was tossed carelessly up above his head on the other pillows, so that it wasn't lying on his back, which was bare and flushed pink with fever.

"Morning, Tino." Lukas said, trying to sound positive for him. "Not feeling so good?"

Tino moaned and shook his head a bit on the pillow.

"Feels like I'm dying." He replied in a hoarse-sounding voice, but they could tell he was being sarcastic.

"What exactly are you feeling?" Lukas asked. Tino sighed, and Lukas suspected that Berwald had probably asked him this over and over.

"My throat hurts, my head hurts, my arms and legs hurt…and I just feel like sleeping. There's this horrible gross stuff coming out of my nose and mouth too."

"Ick, mucus." Mathias chimed in. "Part of being sick, Tino, grossness like that."

"Hi, Mat." Tino droned, trying to muster up a smile.

"Tino, have you ever been sick before? In the sea?" Lukas asked.

"Sure," Tino said wearily, "but I didn't feel like this, exactly."

"Different kinds of germs." Lukas speculated. "Now, Tino, this is very important; when did you start feeling bad? Not just feeling sick, but really tired or off in any way?"

Tino closed his weary eyes to think about that, then admitted,

"I think yesterday morning. I thought I was just tired from all the travelling, but then I had trouble keeping my energy up the entire trip home yesterday. My throat felt a bit scratchy too, but I thought it would go away. Thought it was from talking too much."

"Most viruses take about a week to gestate…" Lukas muttered. "But you weren't with us for even that long. Then again, you don't have immunity to what we carry around in our bodies, I'm not surprised it came on so fast."

There was a pause as Lukas just gazed at Tino's weary face, and they could tell he was thinking hard. Berwald couldn't seem to handle the silence. He turned the phone to look at Lukas' face, and both he and Mathias could see the concern etched in the corners of his eyes.

"Lukas, we need to get him some medicine, soon." He urged.

"That's just it, though…" Lukas said hesitantly. "I'm not sure…I don't know how much marine DNA is present in him. We have no way of knowing without…tests and…"

Berwald didn't say anything, but his lips hardened into a thin line and Lukas stopped talking as he struggled to make the important decision.

"What about Kiku?" Mathias suggested in the tense silence.

Lukas turned to look at him and Berwald seemed to brighten. "We were going to take Tino to him at some point, right? Or we were at least thinking about it. So why not ask his advice? Have him look Tino over and then he can decide whether human meds would be bad for him or not."

"Kiku?" Tino's voice came from offscreen.

"He's a marine biologist." Berwald said. "He studies sea creatures to understand and protect them better."

"He's a researcher...?" Tino asked, faint interest tinging his croaky voice. "I wouldn't mind having him look me over. He won't hurt me, right?"

"Never." Lukas said. "Part of his profession is to help preserve marine life."

"But can we just call him up on a Sunday and ask him to open up his lab for us?" Mathias questioned, to which Lukas bit his lip and shook his head. "And won't he think we're just bonkers, claiming we need him to look at a sick merman?!"

"It's worth a chance. It's better than waiting until tomorrow or just taking Tino to the hospital and gambling the outcome. Berwald, I'm going to let you go so I can call Emil. I'll have him talk to Leon and see if his big brother wants to help us out."

"Ok, call me back as soon as you know anything." Berwald insisted.

"Will do, take care of Tino for us. You know the drill, mother hen." Lukas teased, trying to get Berwald to show an ounce of optimism, for Tino's sake if not his own.

Lukas hung up and they sat there on the sofa for a moment, before he gave a huge sigh and rubbed his eyes.

"God, this could be bad…"

Mathias reached up to brush a lock of satiny gold hair back and tuck it behind Luka's ear, trying to ease him a bit.

"Why? I mean, it's just a cold. Even if it'll be worse for him it's not like he'll die or anything, right?"

Lukas shook his head.

"We can't rule that out, Mat. Have you heard the story of disease genocide in an isolated culture when well-traveled people first discover it?"

Mathias was quiet for a second before asking softly, seriously,

"Which one?"

Lukas leaned into his lover's stroking hand and gave another worried sigh.

"Exactly."