I apologize for neglecting this story for as long as I have, I hit a creative block on how to adapt future chapters
If anyone has any ideas for future ideas please leave a request in the comments or PM me with ideas
Thank you so much 3
Berwald stared at the endless paperwork piling up on his desk, feeling as though it smother him. His eyes aching and dry, his brain felt fuzzy, his hands going numb from writing so much. He had lost track of the hours, days and weeks that had passed since he had been burdened with this work from his incompetent boss. He knew the man had as much stress on his shoulders as he had, but this was beyond ridiculous. Any normal human would have passed out weeks ago, falling into a comatose state or given themselves a fever. The body could only handle so much stress before you hit survival mode to protect itself from further harm. He could barely keep his eyes open, forcing himself to stay awake on illegal amounts of caffeine and pure willpower. He couldn't give up, he couldn't ignore this or it would just get worse, neglecting responsibility was what had gotten him into this mess to begin with. If he considered stopping, things would only get worse than the mess he was already involved in. Frustrated about how this could have easily been resolved had there been better communication beforehand. His boss had loaded him with work, weeks of piled up paperwork that had accumulated into a mountain he had yet to climb. Suffocating him with pressure and exhaustion, internally angered that his boss was this careless and saddled him with such burdens.
He was aware many nations complained about their bosses orders or being overwhelmed with work, but some were simply being childish at their desire to rid themselves of doing any work whatsoever. But there were others like himself who had family, relationships and personal matters that were being neglected on account of work. This wasn't healthy for them, their nations would reflect badly due to the strain their physical forms were under. He felt as though he was a zombie, the living dead, barely coherent and functioning on the lowest level. He'd been drinking coffee like a trojan for weeks, neglecting sleep, eating barely anything and ignoring his family to focus. He hadn't eaten breakfast or dinner at the table in weeks, any family activities or relaxation time had been shelved temporarily. All plans had been put on hold and any selfish or personal matters were kept reserved until further notice. Any distractions had been pushed aside, otherwise they would become problematic and only add to his already severe stress.
Tiino had been doting on Peter as much as possible, making sure their son didn't disturb Berwald. He hated neglecting their son like this but it would be irresponsible to ignore his work. He loved Peter, although he was energetic and naive, he was a good hearted child and so full of emotions. He loved to explore and experience life to the fullest, even at the risk of getting into trouble. While nobody recognised him as legal nation due to being a fort from the war, he was desperate to be accepted and acknowledged by others. Tiino had been very understanding and tolerated Peter's sulking and tantrums with patience, explaining why Papa needed to be left in peace. He knew this would be hard for Peter to understand due to his young age, but it was becoming harder for him to cope and Berwald knew that. Tiino knew how important this was and made sure he was left in peace, bringing meals to his room to make sure he ate. Being a married couple they had experienced all forms of stress, complications, mishaps and many other unfortunate events. However, they came out of it stronger and acted as a team, taking care of each other without complaint.
Norway had been preventing Denmark from breaking into his room to disturb him with a drinking competition. Aware he was a troublemaker and a pain in the ass, he meant well but he would only stress Sweden out further. He needed to focus now more than anything. Though Denmark in his own way wanted Sweden to unwind and ease his stress, the way he was going about it was problematic and would only anger Berwald or cause an accident. He knew all too well how much this meant to Sweden and how he hated having to worry his family like this, but it was necessary. He refused to involve himself as it as not his place to, but his disappointment was becoming harder to hide.
However, Finland's concern over the past few weeks had accumulated into anger. He hated to see his husband do this to himself because his boss was incompetent. It had gone from insomnia, to lack of appetite due to stress, to becoming snappy and short tempered, to full blown raging outbursts and starting fights with Denmark. His emotional build up increasing as weeks passed until he was full blown enraged mama bear. Vocally venting his bitterness towards his husbands boss, working this much with little food and no sleep would damage his body and his people would reflect that.
Despite being immortal nations and the embodiment of their countries, even they had their personal limits and weaknesses. They felt pain and suffering the same as a normal human would. Berwald was starting to reflect the strain he was under and everyone could see it, this wasn't healthy for him, physically, mentally or emotionally. He would eventually hit burnout and his body would give in, a body could only last so long on no sleep, caffeine overdose and little nutrients. He refused to allow his husband to hurt himself and intervene for his own wellbeing. His boss could complain all he wanted on Sweden's workload, but this had gone on for long enough. He needed to sleep, he needed to recover, he needed a damn break. He had more than earned time off for this and he wasn't against threatening his husbands boss to make sure it happened.
Tiino knocked on the bedroom door patiently, pushing the door open to see his husband hadn't moved. He looked like a robot, his skin was pale and the familiar rosiness of his cheeks had dulled. There were bags forming underneath his eyes, his lips were dry and cracked, his eyes were red from lack of sleep. His body was starting to show glimpses of what he was doing to himself "Sve, you need to rest" he scolded. He would use force if he had to. He had never enjoyed fighting, he never liked to be violent or use force unless necessary. He never bullied anyone and he never involved himself in tedious squabbles unless necessary. But this was his husband, his life partner and the man he loved. It broke his heart to watch Berwald endure this and feel helpless to do anything about it.
"M' f'ne m' w'f" he mumbled. His head felt light and his vision was becoming blurry, but he had to keep himself motivated to work. He knew this would all be over soon and the payoff for it would be satisfying. But he still had so much to take care of, the pile had gotten smaller but it still weighed heavily on his shoulders. Tiino had been wonderful taking care of him like this all this time, never once complaining about anything. Without his support he didn't know what he would have done. He just needed his body to hold out a little longer until he reached his completion date.
Finland took a deep breath, controlling his anger. He was tempted to release the dragon and vent his full rage onto Berwald to make him see sense. It was so hard pretending he wasn't fazed when he was hurting so much. There was a time to step in when things had gotten too far and this was one of these moments. "You've been guzzling coffee Sve, you need to sleep" he warned. He would give himself a fever from overworking or end up getting into an accident due to a lack of coherency. His senses were dulled and he wouldn't be able to focus properly. The body was a hard working machine that needed to be cared for and Berwald was ignoring self care.
Berwald sighed, he knew better than to anger Tiino, though he appeared to be a cinnamon roll, he had a frightening temper when pushed hard enough. Placing down his pen and swivelling on his chair to face his husband. They needed to have a conversation, there would be yelling and maybe some crying, but having an argument was still talking in this matter and they needed to get a lot off their chest. He loved Tiino, but he needed to understand this was for both of their good. However, the move instead negatively impacted him worse than he expected, the sudden turn, Berwald's body felt heavy, his head spinning, lurching forward as his body hit its limit. Having moved too fast. Everything felt too bright and fuzzy, his limbs becoming limp and feeling confused and afraid. He didn't understand what was happening and he couldn't control his body.
Tiino ran towards his husband in a heartbeat, grabbing Berwald allowing him to lean against his chest before he could hit the floor. Unknown to other nations, he was, in fact, the strongest of the Nordics. He knew this would happen eventually, it was only a matter of time before something bad happened. He couldn't comprehend how Berwald had lasted this long and though impressive, it had been a stupid decision regardless. "I told you this would happen! Senkin itsepäinen perse" Tino scolded.
He would be sure to punish Berwald for putting himself and their family through this, but right now was not the time. Berwald needed him, he needed to resolve this matter and then chew him out once he was back to full health. No doubt his nap would be comatose as his body recovered from this ordeal, but the many hours of sleep would do him good. He slowly lifted Berwald to his feet, assuring he didn't slip and hurt himself. Carrying his husband cautiously to their bed, gently lowering him onto the mattress and tucking him under the blankets. Making sure he was comfortable before leaving him be.
As strong, dominant and distant as Berwald appeared, there were times when he could act clueless, naive and sometimes make mistakes. Times when Tiino had to be the one to take care of him or show advice. Their inner personal life and couple dynamic were far from the assumptions of how other nations perceived them. He reached out to cup Berwald's face, stroking his cheeks affectionately, removing his glasses to place them beside him on the bedside desk "You rest, I don't want to see you out of bed until you've had a long nap!" Tiino snapped. He better be prepared for Tiino acting overprotective and short tempered with him for a while until he had apologized enough and Tiino had forgiven him. All of this could have easily been avoided had Berwald not insisted that he would be fine. Why couldn't he just listen sometimes? He didn't need to shoulder the responsibility on his own so much. He had frightened him, nearly fainting on him like that, Tiino felt as though his heart had been in his throat watching him collapse so easily. Realising how frail his husband could be, reminded of his darker past as a nation and how many people he had loved and trusted had fallen. How afraid he was to possibly lose his husband so easily.
Sweden blushed shamefully, he felt guilty for troubling Tiino so much by allowing his boss to push him around. He had never wanted to cause Finland any form of distress to begin with, he had been focusing on his work so much he had ignored what was most important. He never considered the consequences of his actions and had paid the price. He would accept any form of punishment and displeasure that Finland wished to act out on in the future. Accepting his anger, complaints and outbursts on his feelings because of this. He had seen how Finland eyes widened, filling with fear and how his smile faded into an expression of pure panic, he had scared him. "Th'nk y' F'n" he mumbled sleepily
Finland smiled fondly and leaned over to kiss his forehead affectionately, he was glad Berwald understood and hoped he didn't repeat this actions again. He now had a long phone call with Sweden's boss to consider, there would be a lot of strong words to be used. He needed to accept the hardships he had caused with his failure to understand Sweden's limits. But he didn't want to worry Sweden with that information "Sleep" he reminded him. He tucked Berwald under the sheets safely, making sure he was safe and secure. Flicking the bedroom switch shrouding the room in instant darkness. Watching as Sweden's eyes flickered shut as a comatose sleep overcame him.
Senkin itsepäinen perse!-You stubborn ass