Eirik smiled brightly, having gotten back from spending time with Fura and her twin Alda at the orphanage. Oh, yeah. Twins Astra and Malene are there as well, so he'd also gotten to see them. As he walked in the door, he found Tómas running at him full speed. He'd been expecting this and picked up the boy when close enough, holding the Icelander in his arms as a head rested on his shoulder. The door was closed behind him and his shoes were kicked off.
"Mamma, I'm home," Eirik called out. He walked to the landing, where he almost ran into none other than Rikke, his mother. "Oh, hi Eirik," she said with a smile. "I was just coming to see you." A bright smile crossed Eirik's face. Tómas nestled into Eirik's hold. Said Norwegian held the boy close and rested his head on the younger's, his smile widening. This brought a smile to Tómas's face.
Berwald was in his room, listening to Nanne Grönvall while painting the wall his desk and dresser had been pressed against. Nanne is a famous singer from Sweden. The colors he's using to paint the wall? Blue and goldenrod. Why? Because he wanted to paint the Swedish flag as a reminder of where he's from. Kinda helps when his eyes and hair match. Though, his hair is a different shade of yellow and his eyes are a different shade of blue. Same difference. Beck walked in when he was finishing the cross. Red eyes look over what he has so far and smiles when he realizes what it is.
"You're painting Swedish flag?" Beck asked, looking up at the blond. There was a nod in response. "That's cool. Looks good, storebror." "Tack, lillebror," Berwald replied. "You're welcome!" Beck said with a wider smile.
Timo smiled as he and Inka walked through the mall, both of them having a great time. Their mom had dropped them off before taking Leevi and Maija to the park to go play. Luckily she'd given them enough money beforehand so they could get whatever they pleased. And also lunch money for if they got hungry. Neither of them noticed someone watching them.
"Oh, hey, you're Timo Väinämöinen, right?" Someone asked with a familiar Swedish accent. Violet eyes of the male look to see an older male with green eyes and orange hair. There was something oddly familiar about him, besides the accent. "Yeah, who are you?" He asked. Inka looked at him as well. A gentle smile crossed the other's features. "My name is Kent Oxenstierna. I'm Berwald's father." Oh, that would explain it! "Nice to meet you, Mr. O," Timo said, smiling again. "Likewise, Timo. My son's told me a bit about you and your twin sister. Inka, right?" Kent asked. There was a nod from the female. "That's me," she said, also smiling. When asked if he could join them, both Väinämöinen twins said he could. He wanted to get to know the boy that Berwald spoke highly of.
Matthias furrowed his brows in concentration, biting the eraser end of his pencil. Being head of the hockey team did have its perks and all, but within the past year or so, their numbers dwindled to where they didn't even have enough players to go out on the ice! Most either dropped it overall or they moved away, leaving them at a colossal disadvantage.
Matilde leaned over his shoulder to see what he was doing. When an idea popped in her head, she asked, "Why not just set up fliers?" Her speaking up made Matthias jump and nearly fall out of his chair. "Don't scare me like that, Matilde!" He exclaimed. "Sorry, storebror," she responded. "But seriously, though. Advertise tryouts for the hockey team at the ice rink." And with that, she walked out of his and Mikkel's room. Matthias sat there to think about her idea. Within moments, he was standing up and heading downstairs. "Mor, I need to make fliers!"
The following day was a Monday. Berwald walked into the school building to see Matthias and Mikkel taping a piece of paper to the wall between the bathrooms. Curious, the Swede walked over to the Winther twins and watched them. Sapphire eyes look at the Swede that joined them.
"Ah, Berwald! There you are!" Mikkel looked when he was done and Matthias had started talking. "Care to help us put up fliers for hockey tryouts?" Aqua eyes look at the flier on the wall to see that's indeed what they were advertising. Picking up on the confusion in the look the Swede gave him, Matthias said, "There was a massive drop in players within the past year. Don't have enough players to even get on the ice." "I'll help," Berwald said. Matthias smiled brightly. "So long as I get to tryout." "Deal!" The hyper Dane exclaimed, grabbing the Swede by the arm and dragging him off with Mikkel in tow.
Timo and Inka were the next ones to walk in the building. They had yet to notice what Berwald and the Winther twins are doing. Instead, they sat at their usual table and waited for their friends before classes started. Odd, normally they're here by now. Plus, Timo wanted to talk to Berwald about seeing his father when shopping the previous day.
Tryouts were held that weekend. Seems a lot of students wanted to join the hockey team. Berwald found he was the tallest out of everyone there. Sitting in a couple of the seats in the stands is his mother and younger brother. His father had to do something for work, so that would be why he's not here with them. Not to mention, looking after Beatrice. Amongst those in the contestants, there also happens to be a certain Norwegian male and Finnish female.
"Not only will we be seeing how well you are on ice, but you'll be going up against team captain to see if you can get the puck into the goal," Mikkel said. "Team captain would be my twin, Matthias." Said Dane smiled brightly and made the peace sign.
Edda's also sitting outside the rink, along with Matilde and Hanne. Near them is Timo, his mom Kaarina, and his younger siblings Leevi and Maija. A ways away is Rikke with Eirik and her four Icelandic children. Bente and Ingrid are with their friends, so that would explain them not being here.
"First up is Lukas Bakke," Mikkel said. The blond Norwegian stepped onto the ice and skated over to the sapphire eyed Dane. "Can't wait to see how high you set the standards," Matthias said with a smile. "Being the first one out here and all." "Shut up and give me a stick," Lukas said. The Norwegian took it from the Dane when it was held out to him. Both of them took their places and Mikkel joined them, puck in hand. "Kom igjen stóri bróðir!" A certain blond Icelandic child exclaimed, loud enough for Lukas to hear. The first half was in Norwegian, the second half in Icelandic. Emil really wanted his brother to do well. A smile crossed Lukas's face when he heard that. Good to know his brother was cheering for him.
"Next is Inka Väinämöinen." The Finnish female smiled brightly as she skated to the smiling blond. "Gotta say, you're the first female to try out for the hockey team since the school was built," he said as he handed her the hockey stick. "And I'm sure I won't be the last," she said as she took it. Both the Dane and the Finn took their positions. Mikkel joined the duo whilst carrying the puck.
"Last is Berwald Oxenstierna." Stepping onto the ice, the Swede skated to Matthias with his hands in his pockets. One was removed when a stick was handed to him, getting a hold of the object. "You ready for this, Ber?" Matthias asked. Berwald nodded and both took their positions. Mikkel skated to the center of the rink, puck in hand. No one else but Beck noticed when a certain Swedish female stood up, red eyes looking up at her. A slight smile crossed his face when she gave him a look. He knew what she was going to be doing and pulled his phone out in response to record a video. The purple eyed Dane threw the puck in the air when both captain and contestant were at the ready.
Faint music started playing in the background. It wasn't until one of them hit the puck after it hit the ice that a female voice rang out clear as day. Från norr och till söder/Systrar och bröder It was Berwald and Beck's mother singing the Nanne song Vi är dom tuffaste. The smile on Berwald's face was faint as he heard his mother singing. Either way, he would've put up a fight. A fight that would last as long as the song. This was longer than the others and ended when Berwald managed to score a goal right as the song ended. Matthias smiled as he joined the Swede. The Dane placed a hand on the Swede's shoulder.
Edda walked over to where Beck and his mom were talking when tryouts were over with Matilde and Hanne in tow. Two sets of eyes look at the Danish trio. "Hej," she said with a smile. "You wouldn't happen to be Berwald's mother, would you?" There was a nod from the woman. "Britt-Louise Oxenstierna." A hand was placed on Beck's shoulder. "This is my other son, Beck." "Hej!" Beck greeted with a slight wave. "Oh, so this is the little Swede Matilde was telling me about for the past couple months." Beck blinked, then looked at the sapphire eyed girl that gave a slight wave. Britt-Louise gave the other a look. "She said that on the first day, he was being picked on for not speaking English properly. That is, until Berwald came in and scared them into leaving him alone," Edda explained.
"Beck never told me that," Britt-Louise said, gifting the red eyed redhead a look. His eyes were wide and there was a bead of sweat rolling down his face. She was worse than Berwald when mad, which was saying something because, even though he didn't show it that often, he was even more scary when someone pissed him off.
"So, what do we think of those that tried out?" Mikkel asked as he sat next to his twin, setting his mug of hot chocolate on the nearby table. "Some were good, others not so much," Matthias said. "I made a list of both." It was passed to the younger twin that took it and looked it over. He looked at the bad side first, agreeing with what Matthias had put. Three names stood out when he looked at the good side. Berwald Oxenstierna (his name had been highlighted in blue and had the word best written next to it), Inka Väinämöinen, and Lukas Bakke. Mikkel wasn't surprised to see their names on this side. He'd also noticed they seemed to fare better than the others. Especially Berwald. He pat Matthias's back a couple times before picking up the mug.
By the time Monday came, the Väinämöinen twins eagerly wanted to see if Inka had made it on. When they arrived at the school, it was at the same time as Berwald, which was a first. Normally the Swede arrived before the Finnish duo. When Timo saw the tall blond as he got out of the car, he called out, "Ber!" Aqua eyes look at the Finn running at him. Inka joined them shortly after. "Ready to find out if you and Inka made it on the team?" Timo asked. There was a nod from the Swede. With that, the trio walked into the school.
There was a piece of paper taped to the wall between the bathrooms that the three Nordic teens gravitated towards. It's the list of those that made it on the hockey team! The first name listed was none other than Berwald's, followed by Inka's and then Lukas's. All the other names were of students that they didn't really know. Or care to know. Without warning, there was an excited squeal. Berwald looked to see Inka with her hands balled up and by her face. She's excited about making it.
"I knew you guys would make it!" Timo said with a bright smile as he looked at the two. "You were right, iso veli," Inka said as she and Berwald looked at the other male. That smile... it's beautiful. Why is Berwald thinking that? He barely knows the other male. Besides, he wasn't going to say it out loud unless he's in a relationship. Pulling out his phone, Berwald texted his mom to tell her about what he found out.
"Who were you texting?" Inka asked when Berwald put his phone away. "Mamma," Berwald replied, "Was tellin' her about the result." "What's she say?" Timo asked. "Seems happy 'bout it," Berwald answered. Both Väinämöinen twins smile at that. "That's good," Inka said. A nod from Berwald.
As the trio made their way to their usual hangout table, they met up with the Bakke twins. Eirik smiled at the three, earning a smile from Timo and Inka. Lukas looked at Berwald, earning a nod in response at the unspoken question. A slight smile crossed the blond Norwegian's face. They made it on. Once they were at the destination, Matthias and Mikkel were already there and waiting. Mikkel was on his phone, as usual. Sapphire eyes look at the quintet and a smile crossed the Dane's face as they sat.
"Hej guys!" He greeted. "You see the results?" "Berwald told me," Lukas informed. There was a nod from Berwald. "Yeah," Timo said. "Can't believe they made it!" "They did put up a good fight," Mikkel said without looking up. Matthias nodded. "Especially Berwald. He's the only one that went that long. From what I've heard, no one else in the history of the school has gone that long." "Or has had someone in the crowd singing a song," Eirik added. "Yeah, who was that by the way?" Matthias asked and looked at the Swede. "Mamma," Berwald replied. "She was singing Nanne Grönvall's Vi är dom tuffaste. It's a Swedish ice hockey song." Ah, that makes sense. "Our first practice is next week Tuesday," Matthias informed. Multiple nods at that.
On the day of their first game, they found they were playing the Northwood Celestials. In the locker room, the members of the Hetalia Vikings were paying attention to their coach, Mr. Stalinsky. Most of them had yet to realize that there's a female on the team. Inka had her hair tied in a ponytail and a beanie on her head.
"Ok, so, it's been decided that our three forwards are going to be Matthias, Berwald, and Lukas. Our two defensemen are going to be Inka and Mikkel while our goaltender is Steven. Any ideas who the center should be?" He asked. A hand was raised. "Yes, Inka?" "I think the center should be Berwald. He seems to have more power than the rest of us. Lukas can be the left wing and Matthias the right wing." They seemed to think it over. "Yeah, I think that could work," Matthias said. "Then it's decided," Mr. Stalinsky said. "Now, let's go win our first game of the season." There were multiple nods and the team left the locker room.
The six designated skaters took to the ice after putting their helmets on. Berwald was front and center with Lukas at his left and Matthias at his right. Behind them was Inka and Mikkel. Then Steven was guarding the goal.
"After losing a bunch of teammates, the Vikings thought they weren't going to be able to play anymore. Now it seems they have the numbers they need to play," the announcer said. "And would you look at that, it would seem their team captain Matthias Winther is their right wing."
In the crowd is the families of the skaters, Lukas's having the most for the obvious reason. Eirik was smiling when he saw that his twin was on the ice. Emil was smiling as well. It made them happy knowing storebror got to play, like he'd been wanting to. They watched as the referee skated to the middle, both center skaters on either side of him. He threw the puck in the air and both centers got into stance, just as all four wingers did. As soon as it landed on the ice, the referee skated away and Berwald launched the puck towards the other team's side.
"And it's a direct hit from the Viking center Berwald Oxenstierna," the announcer said. Barely anyone seemed to notice Eirik standing up. Tómas being one of them. Curious red eyes look up at his Norwegian half brother. Before anything could be said or done, his voice rang out clear as day singing the Drillos song Alt for Norge.
Lukas paused a moment to look at his younger brother, smiling a bit. He then continued on playing. Even Emil and Emilía stood up to sing with Eirik. When it came to the English part, the two children went silent because they're still learning Norwegian. Instead, it was Rikke and Kalli that sang that part with Eirik. As the song was ending, Lukas managed to score the team's final goal that quarter of the game. A majority of the crowd cheered when that happened. Lukas skated to where Eirik and them are. Luckily, they're in the front row. Eirik smiled and placed his hands on the wall. Hands were placed on the other side, over Eirik's. This brought a wider and brighter smile to the orangish brown haired male. There was a nod from Lukas, whom then made a heart with his hands. He then pointed to his twin. This made Eirik's eyes widen and brought a look of surprise to his face. Lukas looked at Emil and did the same thing. Emil's now smiling brightly and hugging Eirik. Smiling slightly, Lukas joined the rest of his team on the bench.
"Who was singing?" Mr. Stalinsky asked once Lukas was with them. "My lillebror, Eirik, our half brother Emil, half sister Emilía, mother, and stepfather," Lukas said. "That's who I went to see after scoring the goal." "Berwald's mother did the same thing at tryouts," Matthias said, looking at the Swede. "But with a different song." A nod from the Swede. "Vi är dom tuffaste," Berwald said.
After the game was over and everyone was in the locker room, the door opened and a figure walked into the locker room. Purple eyes look around at the other players, searching for someone. When they spot a certain Norwegian taking his shirt off, they called out, "Storebror!" Lukas had just turned around when someone latched onto him. Looking at the other, Lukas saw their orangish brown hair, part of which was held back by a cross clip. There's also the unmistakable curl and the glasses. It's Eirik. "Hei, lillebror," Lukas said and wrapped his arms around his twin. "Jeg elsker deg," Eirik said. That had Lukas smiling slightly and holding Eirik tighter. "Jeg elsker deg, lillebror. Are mamma and the others waiting outside?" Lukas asked. There was a nod from Eirik. "Ok, let me get dressed and we can meet them out there." Another nod and the twins let go of each other.
What Lukas was wearing when he and Eirik walked out of the locker room was a blue sweatshirt with the Norwegian flag on the chest, black sweatpants, and blue converse. Once again, he was attacked by someone hugging him. This time, it was Emil hugging him. Smiling slightly, Lukas hugged back, holding the boy close.
"Did Storebror do good out there?" Eirik asked. Emil nodded and looked up at Lukas. "Ja." "I heard you and the others singing out there," Lukas said. "Takk for cheering me on." At that, Emil smiled.
Berwald'd changed back into what he'd been wearing. Black turtle neck, nice blue jacket, gray pants, and nice black shoes. The Swede walked out of the locker room and headed to where his family is. Kent placed a hand on Berwald's shoulder, smiling at the blond. Aqua eyes look at the ginger, a half smile crossing Berwald's face.
Inka was wearing white skinny jeans, a blue long-sleeved shirt, a white sweater vest, and blue high tops. Around her wrist is a bracelet with a locket on it containing a picture of her and Timo. Smiling, Inka walked to her family over by the doors leading to the ice rink. Timo smiled when he saw her and hugged his twin. She smiled more and hugged back.
Matthias is wearing a red sweater, blue jeans, and red boots. Mikkel, on the other hand, was wearing nothing but black. Black shirt for Danish band Nephew, black jacket, black skinny jeans, black shoes. When the duo walked out of the locker room, they met up with their mom and twin sisters over by the doors to the nearby school store. A smiling Matilde slunk her arms around Mikkel when she saw her purple eyed brother. Mikkel's eyes widened at the sudden hug, but gladly returned it, holding her close. Matthias held his arms out to Hanne, silently asking for a hug as well. Hanne shrugged, then walked to Matthias and hugged him, resting her head on his chest. Arms wrap around the youngest Dane.
Kent had invited the other Nordic kids and their families out to dinner. Edda was about to refuse when Mikkel's stomach rumbled. Purple eyes look at her, almost begging. It didn't help when Matthias joined in on the staring. It was thanks to this that Edda gave in and said yes. Rikke, however, declined while Kalli said he'd go. On the behalf of their kids, he took the boys while she took the girls. Kaarina and Niko said they'd go.
"There's 23 of us, and an infant," Kent said to the woman at the front desk. Beck stood next to his father and looked up at the ginger. "And what's your name?" The woman asked. "Kent Oxenstierna," replied the ginger. "Pappa," Beck said. Green eyes look at his son. "Ja?" "I love you," Beck said with a smile as he hugged his father. This had a look of surprise crossing Kent's face, but it soon morphed into a smile as he hugged Beck. "I love you, too," Kent said.
"You guys won your first game," Kaarina said, smiling at the five hockey players sitting together. "How do you feel about that?" "It's awesome!" Matthias exclaimed. "It was," Inka said with a smile. This earned a nod from Berwald, Lukas, and Mikkel. The younger Danish male had already started eating when they spoke of the win.