Chapter 20 - Love, Labels and Little White Lies

It was the smell of breakfast drifting through the apartment that roused Emil from his sleep. He cracked his eyes open to stare at the wall, and it took him a couple of seconds to remember why his head was pounding and realise that he'd slept with his work trousers still on before he pulled the covers over his head and groaned. He screwed his eyes shut and pressed his face into his hands. Emil stayed there for a little while, just thinking about how stupid he'd been.

Once he'd got to work yesterday he was already in a sour mood after arguing with Lukas and was starting to feel the pressure of the fact that his exams would be starting next week. When Caoimhe asked him what was wrong, he took the opportunity to vent about how Lukas still would treat him like a child. She invited him to come with her for a drink after work and in the moment it seemed like a great idea and he was inwardly thrilled at the invitation, finally feeling like he could fit in. He just hadn't expected Lukas to worry so much and hoped that he would just realise that he was growing up. But of course it didn't turn out that way, and Emil had ruined both Lukas and Tino's Saturday nights. Not to mention the fact that he'd forgotten all about his plans with Leon.

Eventually Emil plucked up enough courage to stick his hand out from beneath the duvet to snatch his phone from the bedside table. Wincing as he pressed the home button and the screen lit up, he hurried to lower the brightness down as far as it would go as he looked over the notifications on his home screen.

09:47am | 29 new notifications:

Missed calls (15)

SMS (7)

Facebook (3)

WhatsApp (4)

Emil noticed that his battery was nearly dead, so he didn't bother to look at the missed calls as he knew they would all be from Lukas and Tino. Skipping to the text messages, he opened the first couple from Tino asking where he was. Then, a message from Lukas apologising for arguing with him caused his heart to sink a little as he read over it, but when he dared to tap on the texts from Leon it plummeted even further.

SMS from Leon: Do I really mean that little to you now that you just forgot you had plans with me? For weeks youve been distant with me at school and we hardly hang out anymore. You dont come watch me practice anymore and when we do hang out you dont wanna talk about much and get pissy when I talk about college.

SMS from Leon: I thought youd be happy that I got into my college of choice and tbh I thought you would be coming with me but youve moved on and left me behind and Im sick of feeling like I need to tread on eggshells around you.

SMS from Leon: Dont bother talking to me at school cause clearly Im not good enough for you anymore. Fuck you.

Throwing the covers off and sitting up in bed, Emil sighed heavily as he stared at Leon's text messages and felt guilt literally weighing down on his shoulders as he sat slumped over the screen in his hand. At the time it seemed like a good idea to go out with Caoimhe and Isak, and for the first hour or so Emil found that he had enjoyed being out with them. He felt like a different person, more confident and less like he was under a microscope or on a pedestal, always at second best compared to Leon. But as the night continued and his phone hadn't stopped buzzing in his pocket he knew that he'd made a mistake, and now the thought that he might have unintentionally cost himself his friendship with Leon, Emil was crushed.

Not knowing where to even begin with a reply to Leon's texts, Emil chewed on the inside of his lips as he exited out of his text messages and instead opened Facebook. He had two messages and a new friend request; all from Caoimhe. Once he accepted the friend request he could see her messages.

Message from Caoimhe received 12:17am: Emil I'm sorry that you got in trouble. Your family seem like they got you on a leash or something and that wasn't cool of your brother to send his friend to come and drag you home like wtf is his problem. Dont let them get to you and I'll see you when youre next in work ok?

Message from Caoimhe received 12:19am: and if you wanna rant just fire away lol I know what having shitty older brothers is like.

Closing his eyes to stop his tears, Emil leaned back so that his head was leaning against his bedroom wall, his brows furrowed and bottom lip trembling. He hadn't meant to paint Lukas and Tino in such a bad light to Caoimhe, they didn't deserve it, but he'd just been angry, and the fact that even his best friend didn't want to speak to him anymore tore a hole in his heart. He sat still for a while in the silence of his bedroom. Eventually his phone ran out of battery as he felt it buzz once in his hand as it turned off but couldn't bring himself to care as he let it slide onto the floor and land on the rug with a thump.

The muffled clatter of crockery could be heard from the kitchen as breakfast was being prepared, and as much as Emil wanted to hide in his room forever he knew that the longer he stayed holed up in there the more trouble he would probably be in. Dragging himself out of bed, Emil kicked off yesterday's trousers and boxers and slipped on his dressing gown, wrapping it tightly around himself and took a breath before he shuffled out from his room and into the hall. The bright morning light streaming in from outside was bright enough to make him squint and for his head to feel like it was splitting in two.

"I just don't know what to do, Tino. Things would be so much easier if Mum were alive. Can't we just call your mother and get her to talk to him?"

Emil stopped in the hall just outside the kitchen door and listened as Lukas spoke, his tone of voice sounding weary.

Tino laughed lightly as a cupboard door slammed closed. Emil knew that it must be Tino making breakfast as his movements were always much clumsier and more heavy handed than Lukas, "Trust me, an earful from Karoliina is the last thing that Em needs right now. He would be scarred for life if an angry Finnish woman scolded him down the phone." Tino said, his voice travelling as he moved around the room as he continued speaking,

"I could talk to him if you like?" he offered, and Emil felt himself tense at the thought of receiving a lecture from Tino.

"No, it's alright T, I'll talk to him. I just feel like big brothers should be encouraging their little brothers to go out and have fun and break the rules, or at least not be the ones that have to try and scold them, y'know?" Lukas said with a small sigh, and Emil decided he'd heard enough.

He took another breath in as he stepped around the doorframe and into the kitchen to find Lukas sat at the table with a mug of coffee clasped between his fingers and his curly hair tangled and unkempt from his sleep. Tino was standing over the stove in just a pair of boxers, an apron and a pair of slippers, a couple of eggs spluttering in the frying pan in front of him. He watched as they quickly exchanged glances and an awkward silence hung around the kitchen as though they probably knew he'd heard them talking.

"I mean, you don't have to scold me. I already feel like shit enough as it is." Emil said defensively, folding his arms across his chest, not quite sure what to expect from his brother and Tino but knew that he probably deserved whatever they were going to say.

"And so you should! We were worried sick, Emil what were you thinking-" Tino began, waving the spatula in his direction but stopped when Lukas shot him a look and shook his head,

"Don't start, Tino." he warned, then pulled out the chair beside him and patted the seat as Tino huffed and turned his attention back to the eggs,

"Emil, come sit down." Lukas said, but Emil just leaned against the doorway and shrugged,

"I'd rather stand, thanks."

Emil watched as Tino glared at him from over his shoulder and Lukas dropped his head into his hands for a moment before dragging them over his face and looking back at him.

"Look, I'm not gonna scold you or shout at you or ground you, and I apologise if this is my fault for being busy with the store recently and not being around as much. If you want to be the rebellious teenager then I can't stop you, but please just talk to me. I'm tryin' my best-"

Emil sighed as he crossed the room and flopped down in the chair next to his brother, glancing at him as he sat fiddling with his hands beneath the table.

"Lukas I don't want to be the 'rebellious teen'," Emil said, mimicking Lukas and wiggling his fingers dramatically in air quotations while he spoke, "I just want you to stop treating me like a kid!"

Lukas looked puzzled, but before he could open his mouth to say anything else Emil carried on,

"You always fuss over me. Dinner is always made, my school uniform is always washed and ironed, you're always driving me everywhere and buying me things. There's never any time for us anymore between you runnin' the shop and doing everything for us and me studying and working." Emil rambled, the words falling from his mouth as Lukas just stared at him.

"I feel like I've lost you, Lukas. I've lost my brother and you've lost yourself too. Wouldn't it benefit you to have more free time? You never do anything besides be here for me and Tino and it just makes me angry . I dunno how to explain it, but it's like I'm the reason that you're sad and now it's worse because I'm not going to college and I just-" Cutting himself off, Emil dropped his head into his arms and let his forehead rest on the table.

"It doesn't matter. Just ground me and take away my playstation for a week or something, I don't care." he mumbled from beneath his arms as he folded them over his head.

There was a small silence until Emil heard Lukas swallow thickly beside him, "I'm not sad, and you don't make me sad either. Where have you got that idea from?" he pressed, his voice quiet, but Emil just shook his head.

Tino had joined them at the table now, and the only sound that filled the room was the gentle sound of his cutlery against his plate as he ate quietly.

"He does have a point y'know, Lukas." he said eventually between mouthfuls, breaking the silence, and Emil's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes at him,

"I thought you were mad at me. Why are you agreeing with me?" he snapped, and Tino shrugged,

"I am mad at you, but I also agree with what you've just said. It doesn't excuse your actions, but you're right."

Emil blinked at Tino incredulously, waiting for him to finish his next mouthful of food so that he could elaborate more. Stealing a quick glance at Lukas, Emil could see that he looked like a deer caught in headlights, not quite sure what to do with himself as he picked up his coffee mug and looked into the bottom of it, swilling the last dregs around at the bottom just for something to occupy his attention with.

"What I mean is that maybe it wouldn't hurt if you let Emil face his own consequences more." Tino continued honestly, and although Emil was glad that Tino saw where he was coming from he didn't really like it being said aloud or explained to Lukas in such a literal way.

"You've done an incredible job in bringing him up, Lukas, I'm not saying that you haven't, but I think it's time that you start letting him fuck up."

Lukas was quiet for a moment before he broke out into laughter as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing,

"So what you're saying is that if I take a step back and let Emil forget to wash his school uniform or miss the bus or take a just a bag of licorice for lunch then he'll feel less of a need to rebel?"

Emil rolled his eyes and Tino just nodded at Lukas with a smile.

"I don't rebel, but I don't know how else to explain it to you besides how Tino just did. I'm sorry about last night and for makin' you worry, I didn't want that, but I was just doing what other 17 year olds do- hey, don't laugh at me!" Emil cried and stood up from the table, nearly knocking the chair over, and watched as Tino didn't even try to hide his amusement.

"What your little brother is trying to say Lukas, is that he was hoping for a smooch from a certain red-headed girl that he was with-"

"I was not !" Emil stamped his foot angrily as he felt a burning blush spread across his face,

"Well if you two aren't gonna ground me and send me to my room then I'll just do it myself! I'll be dying of embarrassment if you need me. I would have rather you just shouted at me and told me how irresponsible I was than having to suffer through this shit!"

Turning on his heel, Emil snatched a piece of dry toast and the glass of orange juice that Lukas had poured for him like he did every morning before changing his mind and slammed it back down onto the table. Lukas babyed him without realising, and it would be a long road toward getting him to stop, but Emil was determined to make a start to putting an end to it today, starting with the orange juice.

Stalking back to his room, Emil slammed the door closed and leant against the back of it as he exhaled, feeling himself deflate against it. Was last night a rebellion? Was it a cry for attention? Or did he genuinely just want to become closer to Caoimhe? Emil balled his fists in his hair while he stared at his phone as it lay before him on the rug, thinking about the texts he'd received from Leon and the message from Caoimhe and now wasn't quite sure why he'd gone to the club with them..

He'd just stepped away from the door to pick up his phone and plug it in to charge when there was a soft rapping of knuckles on it.

"Emil, it's me. Can I come in?" Lukas's soft voice drifted through the door, but before Emil could even answer him the door cracked open and Lukas peered into the room.

"Why ask if you can come in if you're just gonna do it anyway?" Emil said, but then bit his tongue to refrain from saying anything else when he caught the unsure expression on Lukas's face. He stepped forward and pulled the door open wider, nodding with his head towards the bed then followed his brother to it and sat beside him.

"I don't mean to treat you like a kid. If I'd known that I would end up pushing you away by cooking you dinner every night then I would have saved myself the trouble years ago." he said with a strained smile, letting his eyes wander around the room.

Flopping back so that he was lying on the bed, Emil waved his hands in exasperation,

"You haven't pushed me away just by cooking my dinner, Lukas, don't be ridiculous. You know what I mean."

Placing his hands behind his head, Emil propped himself up a little so that he could see Lukas as he continued looking around his room and watched him until he sighed softly and laid back on the bed in the same way that he had done.

"I know. I guess I just didn't want to admit that you've grown up and you don't need me anymore." his voice was little more than a whisper.

Then, when Lukas turned to look at Emil, his eyes tired and innocent and a little sad, Emil suddenly caught a glimpse of the brother that would sit and tell him stories about faeries and trolls and magical creatures until he fell asleep. The brother that would hold him tightly until he stopped crying when he worked out that his mother was never coming back, the brother that would sneak him an extra helping of cake and ice cream and share it with him once their Dad had gone to bed, giggling under their blanket fort. The brother who'd been there all along.

"I might have grown up, but that doesn't mean I don't need you anymore," Emil said, swallowing the lump in his throat, "if anything it means that I need you more than ever. But I need my best friend, not a parental figure. I need my big brother."

He finished with a grin, elbowing Lukas playfully in the side as a goofy smile spread across his face.

"Okay, little brother. I can do that." He whispered, his eyes searching Emils' as the pair just regarded each other for a moment before he spoke again, "But Tino still isn't finished with you yet. He's not your brother or your guardian, he's just Tino so there's no worming your way out of this lecture about last night. Someone has to scold you after all; and I'll even leave the safe sex talk to him."

Lukas teased as he propped himself up on the bed on his elbows and smirked, patting Emil gently on the knee, causing to grab a pillow from beside him and throw it at him.

"I'm never being nice to you again! Get out!" Emil cried as he shoved Lukas from the bed and plugged his phone in to charge.

Lukas reached for the door handle and opened it a crack before stopping and turning around again to look at Emil over his shoulder,

"Oh, and I've been thinking. If you wanna go to that concert with Leon then I'll be happy to drive you there and pick you up. That's what big brothers do, right?" he said with a smile, and as happy as Emil was with the offer and the fact that Lukas was clearly trying he couldn't help but let his face fall. He whet his lips, debating telling Lukas about Leon's text messages but decided against it, hoping that they would be friends again by the time the concert rolled around anyway.

Instead he forced a smile and swept his hair from his face, "Thanks, Lu."

"Hold my hand Peter while we cross the street." Berwald said, squeezing Peter's hand gently as he wrapped his little fingers around his own. After the events of last night, Berwald and Peter had got off to a sleepy start to their Sunday and decided to go out for breakfast..

Berwald had taken Peter to a waffle and pancake house that wasn't far from their house and had enjoyed having the morning off and eating breakfast that someone else had cooked. Even if it was just only a stack of slightly tasteless pancakes swimming in way too much syrup, with remnants still sticky on his son's hands as he skipped along beside him.

It was a bright morning and there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and so Berwald and Peter sauntered hand in hand through the high street on their way home, browsing the shop windows. They'd just finished browsing the toy shop window and Berwald made mental notes at the toys that Peter had admired for his upcoming birthday when Peter gasped dramatically and ran to the next shop along and pointed excitedly in the window.

"Oh my gosh, Dad look at this! It's so ugly , your best friend would love it!" he exclaimed, causing Berwald to stop beside him and peer into the window. He was pointing at a white button up shirt with bold, bright abstract looking flowers printed largely across it.

"Who are ya talking about?" he asked his son, looking between him and the shirt,

"Tino of course! He is your best friend, right? Like Zoey is my best friend? Can grown ups have best friends?"

Peter tore his eyes away from the window and looked up at Berwald, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Mm, grown up's can have best friends, Peter." Berwald said, ruffling Peter's hair.

Though Berwald wasn't afraid to eventually explain to Peter that he and Tino were a little more than best friends, he was afraid of how it might have an impact on him. Both other kids as well as their parents could find any excuse to bully one another, and although Berwald was finally becoming comfortable and confident with his sexuality, he found that he feared how it might affect Peter in growing up to be the son of not only a single parent, but one who had got divorced after coming to terms with the fact that he was gay. He'd heard many a tale of kids getting teased by second hand homophobia, and even though the world was getting better there were still the militant parents that Berwald knew of all too well that would fill Peters head with the idea that his Dad being a gay man was a bad thing.

"Can we get it as a surprise?" Peter asked, tugging at Berwalds trouser leg and removing him from his thoughts.

Berwald glanced up at the name of the store, Marimekko , then back at Peter, "What, buy this for Tino?" he said, and watched as Peter's face lit up and he nodded enthusiastically.

"You really think he would like it?" Berwald let himself really look at the shirt. It was definitely Tino's style, and he almost felt a little proud that Peter had paid enough attention to Tino to point out something that he would like.

"Yep! Can we get it Dad, please?" Peter clasped his little hands in front of him, looking up at his Dad with an expression too sweet to refuse.

Berwald hesitated for a moment before pulling his phone from his coat pocket and scrolling through his text messages to find his conversation with Tino.

SMS to Tino V: What size shirt do you wear?

Fingers hovering over the backspace button, Berwald racked his brains to try and think of a less blunt way to ask the question, but couldn't think of any so just hit send before he could dwell on it for much longer. Then, he took hold of Peter's hand once more and let him pull him into the shop.

SMS from Ber: What size shirt do you wear?

Tino stood in the middle of the living room, staring at his phone and the random text from Berwald. In a moment of sheer self-consciousness, Tino opened the text bar and typed out a reply,

SMS to Ber: 40 or L. Why do you ask? x

It had been a couple years since he'd been a size 40, and these days Tino was a solid 42 or XL but a little white lie couldn't hurt when it came to something so trivial. He glanced up from his phone screen, taking his eyes away from the typing bubble as Berwald was replying to look at Lukas as he gently closed Emil's bedroom door.

SMS from Ber: No reason. Wanna stay over tonight, make up for last night? Could pick you up later then take you to work tomorrow if you dont mind going in a bit early. x

Feeling a grin break across his face, Tino looked up again when Lukas stopped in front of him,

"Whatcha smiling at?" Lukas asked, raising an eyebrow and peering at Tino's phone in his hand.

Tino bit his lip, unable to stop himself from feeling bad at the thought of leaving Lukas yet he could already feel his heart beating a little faster in his chest at the thought of seeing Berwald.

"Well, I know I usually only stay out on Friday and Saturday nights, but Ber has asked if I want to go round to his tonight… you don't mind, do you?" he asked hesitantly, waving his phone at Lukas as if to gesture to their text conversation.

Lukas shook his head and smiled softly,

"Of course I don't mind, Tino, and please don't feel that you only have to stay there at weekends because you have to be here for me. I'm fine." he said as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, and Tino beamed,

"Thanks Lukas."

He dropped his head back down to look back at his phone, quickly typing out a reply to Berwald that he'd be ready in an hour or so before locking it and tossing it down on the couch.

"So did you talk to Emil?" he pressed, following Lukas into his bedroom. The pair of them opened their respective wardrobes and Lukas took a moment to gather a clean t-shirt and pair of slacks before responding, his voice muffled by his sleep shirt as he pulled it off over his head,

"Yeah, but I wasn't too harsh. I can tell he's sorry, and I think Leon's mad with him."

Tino found himself staring at Lukas as he got dressed, slightly envious of his slender frame and lean torso that was soon hidden beneath his clothing. Averting his gaze when Lukas looked over at him as he sat down on the edge of the bed to put his socks on, Tino drew his attention back to getting himself dressed, pulling out a loud, zig zag patterned jumper and dark jeans.

"You're too soft. You shoulda let me talk to him." he said, though he was glad that Lukas seemed to be taking Emil's rebellion better than he thought he might.

"Well, you helped more than you think. I know I can be a little overbearing sometimes, I just didn't know what to do about it, so thank you." Lukas turned to look at him, an earnest smile on his face and Tino smiled back.

A little over an hour later, Berwald had arrived to pick Tino up and he'd left Lukas and Emil playing The Legend of Zelda together in the living room. Peter had chattered away the whole car ride back to Berwald's house, and Tino found himself falling quickly for the comfortable feeling of domesticity that he felt when he was with them both as he rested his hand over Berwald's on the gearstick between them.

"Oh by the way, Lukas asked me to thank you for last night, Ber." Tino said as he pulled two bags of food from the boot of the car and helped Berwald carry the grocery shopping that he'd stopped off for before picking him up into the house. He stepped carefully up the front steps behind Peter and once inside the hall he kicked the door closed gently with his foot.

"Don't mention it. I was happy to help, an' I'm glad Emil is okay." Berwald raised his voice and it carried through the hall from where he was putting the bags of shopping down on the kitchen island.

"Dad, Dad! Can I get it now? Can I give it to him?"

Tino watched Peter swinging from Berwald's leg as he walked with difficulty to and from the refrigerator to put the food away,

"Yes Peter. It's in the bag on my bed."

Once Peter had shrieked with glee and taken off upstairs, Tino stole a quick, chaste kiss from Berwald,

"What's he so excited about?" he said, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb in the direction that Peter had gone in.

Berwald smiled a little shyly and glanced at Tino out of the corner of his eye as Peter thundered back down the stairs again and appeared in the kitchen doorway with something behind his back, a pleased grin on his little face that was so wide Tino could see that his wobbly tooth that had been loose a couple of days ago had finally fallen out.

"We got you a gift, Tino! Close your eyes and hold out your hands!" Peter announced, and Tino looked to Berwald who simply nodded, the smile remaining on his lips.

Tino crouched down to Peter's height and screwed his eyes shut and held out his hands, closing his fingers around a crinkly plastic bag that Peter placed gently into his upturned palms. He felt the bag for a moment and stood up,

"Can I open my eyes now?" he asked, cracking one open to glance at Berwald,

"Yep!" Peter said, bouncing up and down beside Berwald in anticipation.

Sticking his hand into the bag, Tino felt soft cotton against his fingertips as he pulled out a bright patterned shirt and recognised the print immediately,

"Oh, Berwald! Peter! You shouldn't have? Is this really for me?" Tino said as he set the plastic bag down on the kitchen table just behind him and opened out the shirt to admire it.

"...Do ya like it?" Berwald spoke up, fiddling a little anxiously with the hem of his own shirt, and Tino lowered his gift to look at him.

"I love it. Did you know Marimekko was a Finnish brand? It's not a cheap either, Ber!"

Tino draped the shirt carefully over the back of one of the dining chairs and scooped Peter up as he stepped toward him, holding him against his hip and looking into his happy face,

"I picked it out for you, Tino! I knew you would like it." Peter said as he wrapped his arm around the back of Tino's neck and squashed their cheeks together in a makeshift hug.

"Thank you Peter, I really love it. And thank you too, Ber."

Setting Peter back down again, Tino picked the shirt up and folded it neatly and put it back into the bag. As happy as he was with his gift, he couldn't help but feel like an idiot and had caught sight of the size on the label of the shirt pretty much as soon as he'd first pulled it out.

"I'll try it on later." he said casually as he hung the back off the back of the chair, smiling warmly at Berwald but couldn't help but notice how his face had fallen a little.

"Are you sure you like it? You can tell me if you don't..." Berwald asked, nodding toward the bag then looking back at Tino, and Tino knew that both Berwald and Peter probably expected him to try it on. Sighing inwardly, he picked the bag back up and crossed the kitchen to the doorway,

"I'll take my bag upstairs and try it on, okay? I'll be right back!" he said cheerfully as he took himself upstairs, leaving Berwald and Peter in the kitchen as he hauled his overnight bag over his shoulder. Gently pushing open the door to Berwald's room, Tino slung his bag down onto the bed and looked around the now familiar room as he pulled his jumper off over his head, tossing it on top of his bag with a huff.

He wasn't even sure why he was bothering to try the shirt on, he knew that it was a size too small because he was stupid enough to lie about his clothing size, but nonetheless he took it from the bag and unbuttoned it and cursed at himself under his breath as he slid his arms into the arm holes and adjusted the collar at the back of his neck. The shirt fit well around the shoulders and neck, and at first Tino was pleasantly surprised until he came to the buttons. Even if he sucked his stomach in they still would barely be able to meet in the middle, let alone close.

Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror on the front of Berwalds wardrobe, Tino glared at himself then jumped and spun around on the spot when he caught sight of Berwald standing behind him in the doorway, his brows knitted.

"Jesus, Berwald, you made me jump. I didn't hear you come up the stairs." he said, taking his hand away from where he'd held it over his heart when Berwald had startled him.

"It doesn't fit, Ber. I'm sorry." Tino muttered, sliding himself out of the shirt and turning his back on Berwald to fold it back up and put it into the bed.

"Oh, did I get the wrong size?" Berwald sounded puzzled as he fished around in his back pocket for a moment before producing the receipt. He adjusted his glasses as he peered down at it and Tino shook his head,

"No, it's my fault. I lied about my shirt size like a pathetic idiot." he admitted, snatching his sweater up and angrily putting it back on.

"Oh." Berwald said again, and Tino busied himself with unzipping his bag and taking out his toothbrush.

"Well, I can take it back and get the next size if you're sure ya like it?" he suggested, and Tino spun around on the spot, feeling utterly embarrassed.

"No no! It's okay, don't go to that trouble for me. Besides, it'll be good motivation for me to fit into it."

Tino forced a smile as he brushed his hair out of his eyes and watched as Berwald crossed the room to stand in front of him.

"But ya don't need to. I love you just as you are," Berwald said with a smile, but then Tino watched as his face fell and turned bright red when he realised what he'd just said. Even Tino felt his own heart skip a beat and the pair of them just stared at each other for a few painfully awkward seconds,

"I-I didn't mean that. Well, I did, I think you're wonderful and kind and handsome and I-" Berwald began to scramble to say something, words falling from his mouth but he stopped himself before he could finish.

The air in the room suddenly felt thick, and as much as Tino liked Berwald he definitely wasn't ready for the big L word to show up so soon. Taken aback, Tino just stood in front of Berwald and didn't say anything, his mouth slightly agape.

Berwald's face returned to it's usual stoic expression as though he were waiting for Tino to say something and was disappointed when he didn't but was trying not to show it as he put the receipt down gently on top of the shirt on the bed and left the room, leaving Tino staring at the back of Berwald's head as he took himself downstairs, his heart hammering in his chest.

Once Berwald was out of sight, Tino turned to look at himself in the mirror once more. "He loves me." he whispered to himself.

Notes:

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you so much for reading.

I've done some thinking and I've decided to stop posting on and from now on all of my fics will be updated on AO3 only. You can find me on there under the same username - lumassen - and I hope to see some of you over there!

Sorry to those who like to read on here, but I much prefer how AO3 works and I've got some drabbles and other AU's there too so it just makes sense to keep everything in one place.

Thanks for sticking with me since 2012 to anyone that has, and I love you all! 3