* * *

It was a common knowledge in the university that to find Berwald, one would only have to find Tino. Of course, that wasn't exactly true because Tino did have several classes that the Swede didn't take.

The same could be applied to Knud Christiansen. Contrary to popular belief, the Dane did not hang around Inge Nygaardsvold twenty four seven. Maybe just twelve seven. Or twelve six. Depending on whether the Norwegian could find a way to lose the Dane. Like today.

"Inge?"

"Yes?"

"You do realize that sooner later Knud would realize that you've been hiding here whenever you can."

Inge just shrugged, not even looking up from the book he was reading. "He won't be looking for me here. It's Björn's room."

Tino scratched the back of his head, glancing rather confusedly at Berwald, the owner of the romm who just shrugged and continued with his knitting.

* * *

"Minnaaaa, ohayoooo. Kyou ha ee tenki ya naaaa!"

Everyone. Good morning. Today was... something weather something. He thought.

"Mon Dieu," next to him Francis heaved a sigh. "I still wish Monsieur Carriedo would stop using random Japanese. Not everybody here can understand it."

"He's really good at it, don't you think?" Tino pondered outloud.

"Only because he spent the last ten years of his life in Osaka."

"Aa, no wonder." Tino turned around toward Kiku, who was sitting behind him. "That explains the Kansai dialect."

Kansai. Western part of Japan. Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. "I wonder what he did there."

"Ola, soko!"

Tino, Francis, and Kiku turned toward the Spaniard sensei.

"Jugyou-chuu ni shigo dame ya neeeen," Carriedo-sensei said. Tino thought he was trying to admonish them, but it really could have been more effective if he weren't using yet more random Japanese. Let's see... 'Jugyou'. Lecture. 'Chuu'. Middle. 'Dame'. Not good. ...'Shigo'? What on earth was 'shigo'?

As if voicing his confusion, France raised his hand and drawled. "Sensheeeei. Nihongo, wakarimasheeeen."

"Eeee? Nande ya nen! You guys have been here for a few months!" Carriedo-sensei insisted. "You must have picked up some Nihongo by now."

"Pardon moi for not being le genius in lingua," Francis drawled again. "It's not like Japanese is the only subject we are taking here too."

"But you surely could understand basic conversation, yarou?"

"Probably if you don't use some obscure dialect with us."

"But Kansai-ben is not obscure at all!"

While Francis and Carriedo-sensei started to get involved in a rather heated debate about local dialects (which later proved to last until the bell rang), Feliciano, who was sitting in front of Tino, turned and asked brightly, "So, what's for lunch? I heard they serve Napolitan today."

Tino couldn't help but snort.

* * *

HETALIA!

* * *

"Hej, Tino! Fancy seeing you here."

"Moi, Knud. Fancy seeing you here too."

"Say, you don't happen to see Inge, do you?"

"No." Tino really didn't see Inge, though he could guess where the Norwegian might be.

The Dane sighed out loud. "Fuck. I wonder if he's with that stupid bear again."

"Bear? You mean--"

"Yeah, Björn. The stupid teddy bear."

While Tino knew that his Swedish friend was aptly nicknamed Björn by their Scandinavian friends, to hear someone associating that Berwald Oxenstierna with a teddy bear was a bit... surreal. He could understand mountain bear, grizzly bear, polar bear, or even a panda bear, but a teddy bear? "Why would you think so?"

"Oh, Inge has done that forever. I mean, ever since we're back in the gymnasium." At Tino's blank look, Knud supplied. "The gymnasium. The three of us went to the same gym."

...Oh. Tino didn't know that. ...And it explained a lot, really. "So Inge has always had the habit of...."

"Going to Björn's room whenever he can. I mean, I could understand it then since they were dating back then, but now---"

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" Tino interupted the Dane. "Inge and Berwald were dating?"

"Back in the second year, yeah."

"...You mean Berwald really is gay?"

Knud blinked at him. Then asked, "Aren't you his current boytoy?"

* * *

It was one week before Tino's scheduled flight to Japan, and Tino lost his family in a car crash.

Berwald was there at the funeral, standing rather apart from the other mourners. Tino didn't have the time to wonder how and why the Swede whom he barely knew was even there; he had more urgent matter to think about, like the funeral itself, the stream of mourners that kept giving him pitying looks, or like whether he should go to Japan or not after all.

"C'me," Berwald said after the funeral.

Tino shook his head. "I don't know. I doubt I will be able to afford going. It makes better sense if I just stay and find a job while going to the local univesity."

"C'me," Berwald still said, and he looked so scary that Tino nearly cowed in.

"I- I-- The scholarship didn't exactly cover everything, you know...."

"C'me," Berwald still said, and Tino nearly pissed his pants. But it surprised him when the Swede continued and said, "I'll cov'r everythin' f'r ye."

Tino couldn't help asking why.

"I'll be yer family fr'm now on," Berwald simply said.

Tino could only gape at him. Then the next thing he knew, Berwald's long arms were around him, pressing him against the Swede's broad chest, and Tino stayed there until his breath no longer ragged and his hands stop shaking.

The next day, Tino packed everything he had and left his hometown with Berwald.

* * *

"Knud Christiansen?"

Nobody answered.

The lecturer looked up, adjusting the glasses perched on his nose. "Is Knud Christiansen present?"

Tino raised his hand. "He's in infirmary. I think he broke his nose."

"Oh. Accident?"

Tino smiled innocently. "Something like that."

* * *