Ready for the second and last part of the final? The main story final at least. Because here it is, drama and feels ahead, so beware. This second part is considerably shorter than CH 16, but still among the longer ones in my fic. And yes, I know the chapter title is the same as on the first chapter, but it matches the chapter and the chapter titles make a nice round circle like this~

I do not own Hetalia, I only own my own imagination.

17. Here Is My Earthly Home

The border guards, who had already been on their post for nearly three weeks, were tired and cold and overall pretty sick of their job at this point. One of them, a younger one just fresh out of training, yawned widely and squinted at the rising moon. He turned to look at his companion, an older veteran, with a tired and irritated expression and spoke with quick Swedish.

"Why do we have to stand guard even during night? No one has ever actually come through here when it's night…"

The older guard glared at him and rolled his eyes, silently judging how the young man was leaning against the wall that stood before the border. He was trying to set a good example for the brat and stood in attention, but he was also stifling a yawn.

"Just do your job and don't ask pointless questions. We get paid, isn't that enough?"

"Not if I have to freeze my ass off for such a low wage…"

The older guard groaned and decided to ignore his new co-worker for the rest of the night. It's not like he enjoyed standing in freezing weather during the night either. But it was peaceful and easy, and the money was good enough. Besides, they could always just take a small bribe or two if the money got tight.

The guards resumed standing in silence, but it didn't stay silent for long. Both guards heard the sound of hooves on snow, approaching fast. And what do you know, soon a carriage turned around the bend, pulled by an exhausted-looking reindeer. As the carriage got closer the guards stepped forward and blocked the road, but they didn't draw their swords since they recognized the one driving the carriage. Berwald Oxenstierna. The man looked scary, but he crossed the border often enough because of work so that the guards knew he was harmless. But now the guards frowned, Berwald looked frazzled, and it was suspicious enough to be crossing the border at this time of the night.

Berwald stopped the carriage right before the guards, and they both walked over and stood on each side of the carriage.

"Evening, Mr. Oxenstierna. Beautiful night, isn't it? Now tell me, why in such a hurry?"

The older guard asked, and the younger began eyeing the back of the carriage. It seemed to contain a fair amount of luggage, much more than Berwald had had when arriving few months back.

"I received urgent summons to return, an emergency project. My boss said a village burned and they need assistance at once."

It felt almost strange to Berwald to be speaking Swedish again, he had been only speaking Finnish for so long. Gone was his clumsy accent and Swedish flowed effortlessly from his lips. Berwald still had a low, rumbly voice, but that combined with the smooth Swedish sounded very attractive. Or at least that was what Tino thought while hiding under their bags, trying to stay as still and quiet as possible.

"I see…No need to show your travel papers, that would take time, which you don't have. We'll just take a quick look at the back and you'll be good to go. Protocol, am I right?"

Tino tensed a bit, and so did Berwald. But the Swede didn't protest and simply nodded, they had prepared for this. Tino was hidden well enough, and if the check was just a quick glance there would be no trouble.

The older guard nodded at the younger guard, and the young man pulled off the tarp that had been covering the back of the carriage. Just like Berwald had predicted, the young man didn't do a more thorough check and just gave the back a glance. But that glance was enough for him to see a tuft of blonde hair peeking from between the bags. The young guard frowned and gestured his older colleague to take a look. The older man sighed and obliged, also taking a look at the bag. He saw the hair too, and the young guard waited for him to call it out or even arrest Berwald. But instead the older man pulled the tarp back and gave the young guard a stern look. 'Say nothing'. The younger man frowned in confusion but obeyed and returned to his post, leaving this to the veteran of the job.

"Now, Mr. Oxenstierna, looks like you have some extra cargo with you."

Berwald and Tino both stiffened at the old guard's words, and the older man wanted to sigh when he saw that reaction. Berwald was so bad at hiding his intentions, he was lucky that tonight had been his shift.

"Now you know what that means, right?"

Berwald swallowed and waited for the old guard to arrest him. Instead the man reached out his hand, as if waiting for Berwald to hand him something. Turns out that was exactly what he was doing.

"That will pay you a little extra. Customs duty, you know how it goes."

Berwald blinked in confusion, and so did the younger guard and Tino under the bags. But thankfully Berwald caught on quick and gave the older man a hefty sum without another word. The old guard smirked and winked, stepping aside to Berwald could pass. But before he did Berwald spoke up one last time.

"There will be Russians coming through, probably later tonight. Don't let them pass, they are bad men with bad intentions."

Now both guards frowned deeply, and automatically brought their hands to their weapons.

"Thank you for the warning. Now off you go."

The old guard watched Berwald go, and then turned around and faced forward again. He could feel the young guard's eyes on him and sighed

"That, greenhorn, is what you call 'collecting favours'. Now light the signal fire, we need help in order to receive our Russian friends."

After Berwald had gotten far away from the border, about a kilometer or so, he stopped and jumped off the carriage. He had barely pulled the tarp off of the back before Tino basically launched himself at him, laughing. Tino wrapped his arms around Berwald's neck and squeezed as hard as he possibly could, which was surprisingly hard. But Berwald didn't care and instead smiled and spun the Finn around, making Tino exclaim in surprise. But he quickly resumed his laughter, and Tino and Berwald embraced and rejoiced for several minutes straight. And when Berwald finally set Tino down the Finn was grinning widely, trying to stifle his giggles long enough to speak.

"I-I don't know what to say, Berwald. J-Just, thank you so so so much, I will never be able to repay you, not if I used several lifetimes. Holy Martin Luther, I can't believe it, we're in Sweden. I'm in Sweden. I'm-I'm safe. Ivan can't come here. Oh, Berwald, please tell me he can't come here. Please tell me this isn't a dream. I-If this turns out to be a dream, I don't think I'd be able to handle it. Oh, my Lord, I'm a mess…"

Tino's voice was ecstatic and nearly hysterical, though it also became scared towards the end of his rant. Berwald, who was still holding Tino by his shoulders, suddenly moved his hands, picked the Finn up from under his arms and lifted him so he was standing on the back of the carriage. Tino blinked in surprise and looked down at Berwald, confused. He was now a bit taller than the Swede, which was strange. But Tino was glad he was, because from this angle he had the perfect view of the smile on Berwald's face. It was the widest one Tino had ever seen and it made him grin even wider.

"He won' come h're, he will nev'r get ya ever again."

Berwald assured, and those words made Tino burst into tears. He was just a jumble of all kinds of emotions and it made his mood swing like crazy. Tino sobbed and tried to wipe his tears away, all the while attempting to voice his thoughts to the best of his capabilities. He couldn't see Berwald's face anymore, Tino was too busy wiping away tears

"Th-Thank you, Berwald, for s-saying that. I-I would never h-have been able to m-make it without y-you. Truly, th-thank y-"

But Tino's words of gratitude were cut off as something soft and warm touched his lips. Tino blinked and that cleared away enough tears, so he could see what was happening. Though when the current scene registered in his brain Tino still doubted if it was a dream or not.

Berwald was kissing him. Berwald had leaned forward, tilted Tino's chin down and captured the Finn's lips with his own. Tino could feel his face heating up, but the control of his body had been relinquished to the part of Tino's brain that very much wanted this to happen. So, instead of freezing or pushing Berwald away, Tino answered the kiss to the best of his abilities. He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly to give Berwald better access. This surprised Berwald slightly, he had initiated the kiss in the spur of the moment. Seeing Tino such an emotional mess and yet still so beautiful had overcome Berwald with the urge to somehow act on the deep affection blossoming within him. But the fact that Tino answered the kiss, wanted it, made Berwald feel ecstatic. The Swede tilted his head in a similar manner and even parted his lips slightly, which made Tino do so as well. The kiss turned from soft and sweet to deep and exciting. Not quite passionate or hot, neither Tino nor Berwald was in the right mindset for something like that. But it was a very nice kiss, and Tino ended it with a quick, gentle nip at Berwald's lower lip that made the Swede's face deep crimson. Tino chuckled, and slowly pressed his forehead against Berwald's. The butterflies in his stomach were going crazy and his heart was filled with so much happiness Tino was afraid it was going to burst out of his chest. Tino and Berwald were chest to chest, and it felt like there was no one else in the world but them. The silence stretched for several moments, and Berwald's hesitant voice was the first one to break it.

"Tino…jag älskar dig. I-I love you…"

Tino let out a small, quiet gasp and his eyes widened. The look on Berwald's face told no lies, the Swede was dead serious. Tino wasn't exactly all that surprised, he had suspected this after all, but somehow hearing Berwald say those words was…Tino didn't have words for it. Those words made him feel so many things, and they made an absolute mess of his already chaotic mind. But one feeling, one thought, rose above the others and Tino knew what his answer was.

"I love you too. Lord knows I shouldn't, but I do. So much it's scary…"

Tino whispered, and tears fell from his eyes again. But this time they were quiet tears of both sorrow and joy, and Berwald's gentle fingers and then lips wiped them away as soon as they emerged. Tino let out a small, bitter laugh and he took Berwald's hands in his, squeezing them. Berwald used that contact to pull Tino into an embrace, and he lifted the Finn off his feet and held the smaller man against his chest like he was the most precious thing in the world.

"Pleas', stay w'th me. I w'nt a life with you."

Berwald murmured against Tino's hair, his tone was pleading the Finn to say yes. And oh God almighty, Tino wanted the same thing. He wanted it so much it ached, just the thought of refusing made Tino's heart split in two. Tino knew he should refuse; he should stay on his own and not drag Berwald into his chaos of a life. Even if Berwald wanted it now he might come to regret it later. Berwald had a life, a stable income, probably a family. Tino couldn't stay in Sweden with Berwald, it was too close to Ivan. Berwald would have to leave everything behind. No, Tino couldn't do that. He-He just couldn't. He…he shouldn't…

"I want that too, Berwald. I want to stay with you."

The rational part of Tino's brain wasn't the one who voiced those words, but Tino's rationality was almost completely gone right now anyway. His love towards Berwald had the reigns now. And Tino found himself to be completely okay with that, especially since his answer earned him another kiss from Berwald. It was quicker and more like a firm peck than a kiss, but Tino didn't care. Any kiss or pretty much any physical contact he had with Berwald was enough to make him happy beyond belief.

But then Tino's rational mind was in charge long enough for Tino to frown in worry, and he separated from the embrace. Tino looked deep into Berwald's eyes, as he voiced something that had to be said.

"But I can't stay with you in Sweden. It's too close to…to him. You understand that, right? And you don't need to come with me. You have a job, a life, a family-"

Berwald gently put a finger on Tino's lips to silence the man, and the gesture irritated Tino slightly. He didn't like to be interrupted. But Berwald spoke up and his words wiped away Tino's irritation very effectively.

"I hav' no f'mily, Tino. An' I can work an'where, an' I want to h've a life w'th you. I w'nt you to be my f'mily."

Tino bit his lower lip, as tears threatened to fall from his eyes yet again. Damnit, how could Berwald move him to this extent? It was almost unfair! Tino sniffed and leaned forward, pressing yet another chaste kiss against Berwald's lips.

"Ask and ye shall receive. But I must warn you, I have quite the protective family, who might not receive you kindly after…"

Tino didn't need to finish that sentence, he and Berwald both knew what the Finn was talking about. Berwald smiled slightly and gave Tino's hand a squeeze.

"I w'nt you, an' if I h've to go thr'ugh them to be w'th you then I w'll."

Tino laughed a little and gave Berwald one more hug, which the Swede gladly returned. Tino squeezed the larger man appreciatively, he was sure that if anyone would be able to earn the trust of Tino's family then it was Berwald. His gentle giant could do miracles.

Tino and Berwald decided to travel few more kilometres before they settled in for the night, and this time they fell asleep under the same blanket with Berwald's arms protectively around Tino. And for the first time in years Tino didn't have any unpleasant dreams.

The Day of The Meeting

"Why aren't they here? They should be here!"

Tino had been anxious all day. At first in the good excited way but then as the time for the meeting came and went it had morphed into the gut-wrenching kind, that made Tino feel nauseous and paranoid. Berwald had long since stopped trying to get Tino to calm down, because his efforts were in vain and for a good reason. There were many possible reasons why Tino's friends hadn't been able to come, and most of them weren't all that pleasant.

The meeting place was a small trading town 30 kilometres from the Russian border, or more precisely a certain inn at the edge of the town. Tino and Berwald had stayed in the inn under false names during the last couple of days, waiting for the day of the meeting. Now it was here, Tino's friends were nowhere to be found and Tino was a wreck. He and Berwald were sitting at a table at the back of the inn's tavern and Berwald had Tino's hand tightly in his under the table. That was about the only thing keeping Tino from spiralling even deeper into the whirlpool of fear.

"Let's st'y here f'r few mor' days an' see if th'y come. They would nev'r aband'n ya."

Tino knew Berwald was just trying to reassure him and make him feel better, but Berwald's statement transformed into something completely different in Tino's paranoid mind and the Finn lashed out angrily.

"Of course they wouldn't, how dare you even insinuate that! They could be dead, or caught, and it would all be because of me!"

Tino's voice was a tad too loud and drew the attention of the people around them. But Tino didn't care. He was glaring at Berwald, challenging the Swede to argue, to say even one word that went against Tino's statement. But Berwald knew Tino wasn't in a good state of mind and easily kept cool and calm and he squeezed Tino's hand under the table, his ocean eyes firmly holding Tino's violet ones.

"They w'll come, or s'nd word. Nothin' is your fa'lt, Tino. Nothin'"

Tino's temper disappeared the moment he heard Berwald's gentle tone and words and he sighed deeply, using his free hand to rub his face.

"I-I know, I know. I'm sorry Berwald, you didn't deserve that. I just…what if they-?"

"Tino?"

Tino froze and turned his eyes from Berwald to a figure in a cloak, that stood before their table. Tino frowned in confusion, he couldn't see the person's face, but hope had also come back to his mind. He could recognize that voice, it had been such a long time since he had heard it last.

"It's so good to see you again, Tolys."

Tolys slowly pulled off the hood, that was concealing his face. He was glancing around, as paranoid or even more so than Tino. He stepped closer to the table but didn't sit down. Instead he slid a single envelope on the table, sealed with the wax seal of the Bondevik family.

"You too. I can't stay for long; I have to leave the country as well. Lukas sends his regards."

Tolys said quietly, and although he tried to keep his tone neutral Tino could tell the Lithuanian really was glad to see Tino alive and well. Tino, respecting Tolys' wishes to do this quickly and subtly, nodded and gave the man's arm a brief squeeze. Tolys smiled a little, slipped his hood back on and left. Tolys sighed from relief as he exited the inn, Tino had looked to be in good health. Although the man he had been with was scary…But Tolys had to worry about himself now. He had long since resigned and had delivered this last message because Eduard had begged him to. But now it was time for Tolys to take a well-deserved break from Russia and espionage. He was going to go to Central Europe and live with his Polish friend for a while. Feliks would certainly be overjoyed to get his dear Liet back.

Inside the inn Tino quickly opened the letter, expecting to see words, maybe a location. But instead he saw an image. A scenery, to be more precise. In the image Tino could see a birch, and behind it a beautiful archipelago, and beyond the fragmented mass of islands was the endless sea and faraway horizon. Tino frowned in confusion, but soon understood Lukas' logic. Words anyone could understand, but this image was probably something that only had a meaning for Tino. It was a hint about where Tino could find his friends. Lukas had probably drawn an image, so if Tino or Tolys had been captured the captors wouldn't have found out their hiding place.

So…they had probably been found and had to go hide. The thought worried Tino greatly, but at least now he had a lead for where to find his friends. If they had managed to escape…

"What's th't?"

Berwald asked, leaning over to look at the paper, and his voice made Tino snap out of his bleak thoughts. Tino looked at the image again, it didn't look too familiar to him.

"I'm…I'm not sure, actually. It's probably a hint. But I'm not sure where this is…"

Tino stared at the image, he got a strange feeling from looking at it. He didn't personally know this place, he hadn't been there, but something clicked. Something someone had said, had described. Yes, someone had told Tino about a place like this. But who…?

"T'no?"

Berwald asked, and Tino momentarily looked at Berwald. Or more accurately, his hair. Berwald's hair was choppy, and always pointed in all kinds of different directions. Right, left, down, up. Wait, up. Hair standing up. Blonde, up pointing hair. Bright blue eyes, a confident smirk…

"Matthias!"

Tino suddenly exclaimed, startling Berwald, and focused back on the paper. Yes, Matthias had been the one to describe this place. His childhood home in Denmark, right by the Western coast. Matthias really loved this place, and it would make sense for Tino's friends to travel to Denmark. Denmark was a freer country than Russia or Sweden, much easier to enter and Matthias would get in even more easily since he was a citizen there. Matthias had always wanted to take his friends to his childhood home. Tino grinned, now they had a goal!

"T'no? Who's Matthias? Did you f'gure somethin' out?"

Berwald was getting increasingly confused, but Tino also seemed much happier now, so the Finn must've remembered where the place in the image was. Tino laughed a little, folded the paper and put it in his pocket. Tino stood up and pulled Berwald up with him, suddenly full of energy and raring to go.

"Hell yes I did! Now come on, we must get going! We have a very long way to go."

"What do you mean 'give up the search'?! I just need more men and more spies and I can-!"

"Ivan Braginsky, you will hold your tongue in front of your superior officer!"

Ivan closed his mouth, but his nostrils were still flared from anger. Ivan was squeezing his hands into fists behind his back, barely controlling his urge to hit something.

He had been so close. Tino had literally been within his grasp. If it wasn't for that man with a scowl and reindeer, and those useless border guards, Ivan would now be holding Tino within his arms. But no, instead he was standing in the office of his higher-up, and his relative, General Vladimir Braginsky. Many called him General Winter due to his ruthless yet genius battle tactics and cold, unforgiving personality. He was also the only man Ivan was truly afraid of. And now that very man was looking at Ivan with unfeeling eyes, assessing him and considering his fate.

"Vanya, why the obsession with this artist? He and his companions do us little harm, your attention should be elsewhere."

Vladimir's voice was steep and sharp and demanded attention. He had Ivan's undivided attention, and the Russian swallowed, fear mixing in with rage. Vladimir liked calling Ivan Vanya, his childhood nickname, to remind him that Ivan was below the General in every way possible.

"They hold the tools to damage the image of our Mother Russia, and they have disrespected our nation's great ruler and our national pride- "

"Those are empty words, boy. I can see it, Vanya. This is personal for you. Which is precisely why you will stop this foolishness. Our military is already spread thin, we will not spare you men so you can waste them on your useless endeavour. You will return to Moscow at once and stand-by. Is that clear?"

"General, I- "

"IS THAT CLEAR, VANYA?!"

Ivan couldn't hold back a flinch, and neither could all the other people in the room. Ivan swallowed again and gave a weak nod.

"Yes, sir. Very clear."

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

Ivan saluted, and marched out of the office with his hands still in fists.

After returning to Moscow Ivan was never seen on Finland's soil again, as he was ordered to focus on military projects in Eastern Asia for the rest of his career.

The view outside the window had long since grown boring for Emil. Sure, it was still pretty, but Emil wasn't the type that could get everything out of nature's beauty like his artist brother and "family". But then again Lukas seemed to also be sick of the view, judging from the way he sighed as he sat beside Emil on the porch.

They had been in Denmark for over four months now. They lived in the cottage where Matthias' parents had raised him, and Matthias had inherited the house after his parents had passed away. Matthias had only been 13 back then and had been forced to move in with his uncle, who lived in Finland. But Matthias' heart had always resided in Denmark, in this house, and Lukas, Emil and Eduard had all seen how the man had basically come alive here. The sight made Lukas smile, and he had accepted that he'd probably spend the rest of his life here, because he didn't have the heart to force Matthias away from his home. And he certainly had no intention to leave the Dane anytime soon either.

But something, or someone, was still missing, and that prevented Matthias from feeling as happy as he could about being home at last. All of them felt the same. Yes, they were safe now, but Tino wasn't here. He should've received the message over three months ago, and it took about one month to travel from Northern Sweden to Denmark. So, they were all worried, anxious, and bored of this beautiful view that couldn't be as beautiful as it had the potential to be as long as Tino was still missing.

"Should we go look for him?"

Emil muttered suddenly, and Lukas turned to look at his little brother. Emil's eyes were fixed on the road that was the only way to the cottage. He did the same every day, staring at the road and waiting for Tino to appear. Lukas, Matthias and Eduard all did it every day for at least 15 minutes. But Emil did it the most, and it broke Lukas' heart.

"It wouldn't do any good. We don't know where he is."

Lukas muttered back; he had repeated these words at Emil as many times as the teen had asked that same question. And every time Emil answered with the same annoyed sigh.

"I know. It's just- "

Lukas had closed his eyes, waiting for the same rant he got every time Emil had these same worries. But it never came. Instead Emil stopped speaking, and Lukas opened one of his eyes to look at his little brother. Emil's eyes were wide, and he had stood up from the porch steps where he had perched himself.

"Emil? What's-?"

Lukas began asking and looked at what Emil was staring at. But he stopped talking as well when he saw what Emil saw. A carriage pulled by a reindeer of all things. And on the driver's seat were two figures, the other one much taller than the other. But the smaller figure of the two looked a lot like, no, exactly like-

"TINO!"

Never in their lives had Emil and Lukas yelled so loudly, and they did it simultaneously. They also sprang towards the carriage simultaneously, and when they reached it they basically tore the Finn from the driver's seat and into their embrace. All three were crying, Tino much more loudly and dramatically than Lukas and Emil, and they exchanged words in a confusing mix of Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic. Berwald followed the scene with a fond smile on his face, Tino looked so ethereally happy and Berwald realized that the Finn was finally home.

"Oh, my Lord, TINO!"

"TINO, you son of a bitch, finally!"

More yells could be heard, and two more people ran to the carriage with tears in their eyes. One of them was a man with light-brown hair and spectacles like Berwald's, and he spoke words that sounded kind of like Finnish but not quite. The second one, and the largest one out of all of them, spoke Danish and he enveloped Tino and the three other men into one huge embrace and laughed loudly while also sobbing.

Berwald followed the reunion awkwardly from the side, but Tino didn't let it remain like that. While his family was still crying and all speaking their respective languages Tino reached out and pulled the Swede into the pile, joining them all into one huge hug. Yes, this felt right to Tino, it felt like he belonged right here.

"Olen vihdoinkin kotona!"

Jag älskar dig = I love you (though you probably guessed it XD)

Olen vihdoinkin kotona = I'm finally home (cheesy, I know, but cheese is my guilty pleasure~)

We did it! It's over! Yay me and yay everyone who got this far! I'm so proud of us! *gives everyone a huge applause and a pat on the back*

Whew, that was one monster of a fic to write, but I enjoyed it immensely. It feels amazing to finally end my first fic. Or, well, not exactly end, I will most probably still write an epilogue. But the main story is over, Tino and Berwald and almost everyone else had their happy ending and I feel extremely content. Yes, there were mistakes here and there, and the story is not perfect. But I think I did quite well, considering it's my first super long fic.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and favourited and followed, you guys gave me so much confidence and happiness! And thank you to everyone who will review, favourite and/or follow in the future! You guys will keep giving me happiness as I write more fics for y'all to read and enjoy!

Now, please do leave a review and tell me your opinion, and favourite if you enjoyed the story! And the epilogue is still coming, so feel free to follow so you'll know when I will finally decide to put it up XD

Hyvästit kaikille ja suuret kiitokset~ (Goodbye to everyone and thank you so much~)