It was easier not to dream at all. No dreams meant no thoughts, no thoughts meant no ability to relate, no ability to relate meant no memories, no memories meant no recollections of things that he never, ever wants to think about-

But he did, anyway. He knew he would, he always would, because there was absolutely no way not to. He would always think, relate, remember, just like he always called father every week and made more memories that he didn't want to remember.

Violet eyes fluttered open before that could turn into another nightmare.

It was hard to move, Tino noticed, and it took him a good few minutes to notice why. Eventually though, he remembered that he was not alone in that bed, and that bed covered in saliva, sweat, and cum wasn't even his. It was Berwald's. And Berwald was laying on him, strong arms wrapped lazily around his waist and head resting on his heart. It was kind of sweet to see the usually semi-stern-faced man looking almost childishly content in sleep- but someone who is lying in a bed that reeks of sex certainly could not be childish.

For a moment, he contemplated moving. He thought about getting up and going to get a shower, or even just walking back to his room. For some reason though, he couldn't bring himself to entertain either idea. Not with Berwald's content, sleeping face. Not after what they had just done.

They had taken a big step, and Tino knew it. Sure, people like Gilbert and Francis probably didn't see it as much of anything, just a quick fuck, but Tino would never do one night stands and he knows Berwald wouldn't, either. So that made them bound together now, in some sort of way. Tino wondered if that meant that he'd have an easier time later, when he finally decided to see if Berwald loved him enough too-

Well. He just hoped that it would be enough.

He looked around the still-dark room for a clock. It could be mid-day for all he knew because it was always dark. The rooms had windows but most kids covered them in blinds or make-shift curtains, and Berwald was no exception. His eyes continued to scan the room, and eventually he saw a dim glow coming from the night-stand next to him and he could tell it was a digital clock. It was turned so that Tino couldn't see the numbers being displayed- maybe they bumped it last night while they were making their way to the bed.

Once his eyes adjusted to the dark a little more, he could make out a blurry shape of what looked to be Berwald's cell phone. Slowly, he extended one arm out (careful not to wake Berwald, of course) and stretched his fingers as far as they could go. They just barely touched the side of the device, but he pulled gently and eventually managed to coax the phone into his palm and grab hold of it. He bought it closer but tilted it slightly downwards, because if there was one thing he had learned the hard way too many times it was that looking into a bright phone screen after waking up was extremely painful.

Five-thirty. Too early, especially considering when they had went to bed last night. He couldn't guess an exact time, but he figured that it was late. Tino set the phone down and relaxed back into the pillow and Berwald's embrace more than willingly. It was surprisingly comfortable, and he was glad. He expected to be spending many more nights in here, definitely until school was over. He didn't even want to think about going home, though.

Trying again to think of other things, Tino's mind wandered to his own phone. He had left it in his room, and he had probably missed a call or a text. He hoped it wouldn't be the one time that his parents tried to call him, because sorry I missed your call dad, I was just getting fucked by my hot Swedish boyfriend that totally I didn't tell you about was not going to go over well.

He was supposed to call every day, but that was one thing he had never been yelled at for not doing and he knew it was because they didn't really want him around anyway. He wasn't complaining about that, though. It was nothing to complain about, if anything it was a god-send.

Maybe Mom missed him, sometimes. He wondered about her, and how she was doing. They hadn't talked for two weeks, but it wasn't her fault. She'd been away taking care of a sick relative, Uncle what's-his-face. Or was it an Aunt? Or was it his Grandmother? Tino could never remember anymore, but that was okay. They never remembered him.

Anyway, his mother may have missed him. Sure she hadn't exactly rejoiced when she found out that Tino was gay, but she hadn't been nearly as cold to him as his father was. In fact, sometimes he thought she even tried to be supportive. It was a nice gesture, really, if it weren't for the fact that she still had her fingers crossed that this would only be a phase. It wouldn't be. Still though, Tino didn't resent her for it. She was probably mostly disappointed that she wouldn't get any grandchildren, but maybe he could continue to stay on her good side if he and Berwald adopted-

Wait, what?

He must be out of it, if a thought like that just kind of popped up out of nowhere. Sighing at his own stupidity, he reached up to his neck with his still free arm and fingered at the buckle of his choker. Stupid thing, it followed him everywhere it seemed. Summers, shower, sex- it was always there. It even followed him to class. It was only right though. He couldn't really last without it, anyway. It only made sense that it was there to witness his most intimate moment.

Sex with Berwald had been great though. He even forgot that he was wearing the damn thing, and that was not something that happened often. It kind of felt like he was flying, like he wasn't restricted so much anymore, and he liked that. It wasn't something he had felt for a very, very long time, not since the kiddy play-ground back home before dad knew he had problems.

He continued to fidget with it, wondering. Maybe, maybe he could… Slowly, he started to push the strap back out through the buckle. Wouldn't it be nice to- no. He couldn't. He couldn't do this, he couldn't fucking cope without it. There was no way to. He hastily yanked the thing tighter around his neck again, apologizing internally for almost betraying it.

Don't leave me alone like this.

Nervously, he moved his gaze back to Berwald. He was bound to become another coping mechanism if Tino wasn't careful, and that would mean that he couldn't get rid of him because he needed one or the other or both, but he couldn't manage without anything. He needed something.

It was tempting to scream. Look what you did to me, you made me your fucking whore- but this was Berwald he was thinking about. Berwald was gentle, kind, and there was absolutely no rationale to start blaming him for things that didn't even make sense, especially not when he initiated the night before. If anything, Berwald once again had the upper hand. Dammit he really needed to get back on top of things soon.

He must have shifted one too many times, because now a dazed, aquamarine eye blinked open to meet his gaze.

"Hei." He greeted, softly. Berwald nodded a little.

"Hej."

"Did I wake you?"

"Naw. What time'sit?"

"A little after five thirty."

"Nngh."

Tino laughed slightly at the groggy protest and Berwald scooted closer to him and re-adjusted his hold. The Finn took this chance to stretch a little (wincing when he felt his nether-regions aching) and then curled back up against Berwald.

"S'too early." Berwald grumbled.

"I know. Wanna go back to sleep for a while?"

"Ja. Lemme see m'phone…" He said sleepily, reaching over and pressing a few keys. Once he was done, he set it back on the dresser. "For a more reasonable hour." He explained.

Tino nodded. "Hn… sleep well."

"You too."

They did eventually wake back up. Tino could barely sit up without wincing, and Berwald looked almost painfully remorseful for having been the one to have caused that. Of course, the Finnish teen only smiled his trademark smile and pecked his lips once he actually did manage to sit up a little.

"Don't look so sad, Be. You were great." He praised.

Blushing now, the Swede only muttered a quick thank you before turning his attention back to Tino's plight. He had no change of clothes, and he could probably only barely walk if he could move at all. He opened a few drawers and pulled out an old t-shirt, and some boxers.

"Ah dunno how they'll fit ya, but here." He said, offering them to Tino. The shorter of the two took them gratefully.

"It's fine, I'm sure they'll fit." He assured, pulling the shirt overtop of his sweat-drenched body.

"Ugh. I can't promise they'll smell very good, though." Tino blushed, trying to laugh off his embarrassment. It didn't bother Berwald in the slightest. He liked Tino's scent, and he was actually sort of glad it would cling to his sheets for at least a few days- was that creepy? It probably was. But hey, he had heard worse before.

Now the Finn stared at the boxers, and then at his legs. Fuck this was going to hurt. Sighing, he shifted again and winced at the pain that shot up his spine. He yanked the boxers on quickly and stood up on shaky legs, so relieved that he could take the edge off of the ache a little.

It didn't matter how much Tino was going to pretend he was fine, Berwald felt terrible for having done that to him. He didn't regret their love-making, no, he just wished the poor boy wasn't in so much pain in the after math. Bigger isn't always better.

"Ah can carry ya'." Berwald offered, watching Tino test out his legs. Though he determined that he could indeed walk, Tino definitely wasn't going to refuse the offer.

"Can I have a piggy-back ride?" Tino asked, playfully, making Berwald blush a little.

"Ja." He responded, kneeling down and letting Tino wrap his arms around his shoulders and slip his legs around his waist.

"Ya' good?"

"Uh-huh." Tino responded with a slight grin, leaning onto the other's back.

At that, Berwald stood back up and hooked Tino's legs through his arms before starting to walk. If anyone thought it strange to see two boys piggy-backing through the hall, they made no indication of it. They had probably seen stranger after all. Tino made a short list in his mind:

Gilbert streaking.
Francis almost streaking (he always had a rose on his crotch; he said it was to remember someone).
Antonio in a Matador's outfit (it made his ass look great).
Arthur Kirkland in some strange parody of a toga, with angel wings.
That kid what's-his-name with an American flag sticker on his fore-head.
Alfred running down the hallway, screaming that the ghosts were after him (he was serious, unfortunately).
Feliciano Vargas half-streaking (he always only forgot pants) and being chased by Ludwig Beildschmidt and Vash Zwingli (Tino didn't know guns were allowed in school).
That kid what's his name again, this time with what looked like a real baby polar bear (Tino always wondered what kind of dog it was).
Ivan. Need he say more? (That could be a whole separate list in itself.)
A dildo laying in the middle of the corridor with a smiley-face on it, which was fondly dubbed 'herr-monsieur-señor smiley' by the bad-touch-trio. No one wanted to know where it came from.
Nikolai, completely stoic, being led on a leash by Mathias. (that could classify as some-what normal though, they were kind of known for their kinky sex life).

Before the list could get too much longer though, they had arrived at the showers.

"Come in with me?" Tino asked, hopefully. He could kind of use the help. Berwald nodded, and bought his boyfriend to his usual stall and adjusted the water until it was at a semi-bearable temperature. After he was sure that Tino wouldn't freeze, he helped him to undress again before pulling off his own clothes and stepping in.

A soft sigh slipped from the Finn's lips as the water hit him, and he let it wash over his skin contentedly. He leaned against Berwald's chest for balance and stood still for a moment. Berwald took of his glasses and hoped that he wasn't blushing- Tino was just too something for his own good sometimes.

After a few minutes, Tino grabbed at the soap and started scrubbing himself down, offering the bar to Berwald after a moment to do the same. The shower went quick, and it felt nice to be clean again. Not as nice as it felt to be dirty, but nice non-the less. They got out before the water went cold and redressed again before the Finn got onto his boyfriend's back again.

"Mind if we stop at my room before breakfast?" He asked. He really did want to check his phone, silly as it was. He supposed it was a nervous habit of his.

"Sure." Berwald replied. "They're still servin' fer 'n hour, we'll be fine."

So, Tino directed Berwald to his room for the first time. Before he could open it though, the shorter teen stopped him.

"Ah, it kind of looks like a natural disaster in there. Be warned." He laughed, nervously.

"S'fine." The Swede replied before he opened the door. It wasn't nearly as bad as Tino made it out to be, actually. There was a small pile of clothes in a corner, an over-turned book bag in the corner, and some papers with textbooks lying around, but for the most part it looked fairly clean. The bed wasn't made, but neither was his own.

Tino directed him to the night-stand, and then got off of Berwald and took his phone. Seventeen new text messages, all from Eduard. One call from Ivan, another from Feliks, and luckily none from his parents. Not bad, not bad. He could manage that.

He started to open the text messages, the other standing close to him, and read:

From: Eduard

Tino, hey look, I'm sorry. I was in the wrong. We've been friends for a long time, let's stop this nonsense.

Received: 11:57 pm

From: Eduard

You're right, I was kind of a jerk. If you wanna go out with the guy that bad I'm behind you.

Received: 12:26 pm

After reading few quite a few more similar texts, Tino smiled. So Eduard gave in first. Good. That saved him a lot of trouble.

Putting the phone down now, he resolved to chat with Eduard later to let him know they were on better terms again. It didn't ever matter if you told him that you forgave him, and it didn't matter if you told him that you didn't. If you showed him all was well, he would get over most things.

"Ber, help me with my pants." He said, opening a drawer and digging for a loose pair of pants. He hated wearing loose pants usually because they slid off of his hips way too easily, but today he really needed them. He would walk around naked if it weren't for the fact that there were other people besides Berwald about. After a minute of searching he found a pair, and the Swedish teen offered his arm to hold onto while Tino shimmied into the pants.

Once done, Tino got up on tiptoes and pecked Berwald on the lips yet again. "Kiitos." He said with a sweet little smile, and gave him a tight hug. He had to admit, touching Berwald was really, really nice. The taller hugged him back and kissed his temple gently, making Tino giggle.

"Breakfast?" Tino offered. Berwald nodded.

"D'ya want me ta carry ya?"

"I would, but I should probably try to walk." Tino grinned, sheepishly. He was kind of being a baby, relying on Berwald to move for him. So instead, he took the man's hand and made his way (slowly) down to the cafeteria.

It seemed as though everyone knew what they had done.

Stares and whispers seemed to come right at him from across the room, but he knew they weren't all for him. It wasn't even because they had had sex. It was mostly people gawking at the notion of him and Berwald together, even more so than before. Tino thought they made a nice couple, but for some reason a good amount of people seemed baffled by them. It almost made him want to laugh.

Eating his eggs, he opted to just ignore them until someone came at Berwald or himself directly. Unfortunately, that wasn't more than a minute and a half.

"HEEEEEY WALDY!" A loud, familiar voice called from across the room. Shit. Mathias.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Berwald braced himself as the Danish man came bounding over with Nikolai in tow.

"Waldy my man-"

"Dun' call me tha'."

"Waldy, my man, what is up?" Mathias asked, purposely ignoring the request with a grin on his face. Berwald groaned.

"Breakfast." He answered, hoping the other would just get bored. No such luck.

"Naw, don't mess around. Come on, I know someone who got laid when I see 'em, and you, Waldy, obviously had some great sex last night. I mean, not as good as me cause my baby's obviously the best but I mean I bet you liked it, ah?"

Nikolai surprisingly did not protest but cocked his lips and looked down at Tino as if challenging him to do better. If there was one thing the Norwegian wasn't afraid to flaunt, it was that he was damn good in bed. Of course, only Mathias would know (he wasn't a total slut), but he had countless bruises from bites on his neck and shoulders to prove it.

Tino just smiled and offered a good morning, to which Nikolai replied to coldly, but strangely politely non-the-less.

While the other two had a near silent showdown, Mathias and Berwald continued to talk.

"Mathias, m'sex life's non a yer concer-"

"Why, of course it's my concern! Can't a guy see how his best friend is doing?" The Dane grinned, adding the last part in darkly. By best friend, he meant oldest friend- at least, if you could call them friends at all. Mathias had a strange idea of friendship, and Berwald preferred not to think about it too hard.

Opting not to say anything, Berwald let Mathias keep talking.

"Anyway, seriously man congratulations. Was starting to worry you'd die a virgin or something. That would have sucked, ah Nikki?" Mathias chuckled. He quickly turned back to Berwald though and rambled on about things to do in bed, gesturing wildly as he did. Berwald didn't even think porn stars did some of the stuff he was suggesting, but listened to placate the man.

Ignoring his boyfriend's question, Nikolai continued to stare at Tino. "Sore?" He asked, clipped and cold as usual.

"A little." Tino responded. No point in lying.

"Hn. I remember when it used to hurt." Nikolai said, staring off into space. It almost made Tino feel for him. Berwald was a considerate lover but Mathias- the man was probably a sadist or something when it came to sex, if the strawberry-colored splotches and blackened skin meant anything.

Was it strange that he was almost jelous?

"You'll get used to it one day." He finally finished. Tino wasn't sure if he was supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult, so he just stayed silent and waited for Mathias and Berwald to be done talking without another word from him or Nikolai.

To: Eduard

Hey, sorry about that. Phone was dead, couldn't find the charger anywhere. Got it now.

Sent: 9:03 pm

From: Eduard

It's alright. Ya can borrow mine if you ever need.

Received: 9:03 pm

To: Eduard

Thanks. Got any further on that web design?

Sent: 9:04 pm

From: Eduard

Yeah, the site will be up soon

Received: 9:06 pm

To: Eduard

Cool. Hey- thanks.

Sent: 9:08 pm

From: Eduard

You're Welcome. Thank You.

Received: 9:08 pm

To: Eduard

Gotta get some sleep now. Talk to you tomorrow

Sent: 9:09 pm

From: Eduard

Definately. Good night :)

Received: 9:10 pm

From: Berwald

Good Night. Sleep well.

Received: 9:19 pm

To: Berwald

Good Night, sweetie :P

Sent: 9:20 pm

Author's note: AREN'T YOU PROUD OF ME? :0 I said a timely manner. Hope this was timely enough for you. I also hope it flows okay.

Anyway, so I'm sorry that there was no sex in this one, but I felt it necessary to write the first morning after. After this, there will probably be smutty undertones in every chapter, and hopeful I can work in some real lemons and limes here and there.

Now, here's a warning: I have already started to write the next chapter. It is kind of graphic, Tino has some interesting things to think about, and some interesting things to do. I'm telling you now, if graphic things make you cringe, you don't want to read further. I appreciate the support from all of you, but if you feel like you'd get uncomfortable with a little (it's not that much, but still some) gore, you probably want to be careful. I won't blame you if you skip a chapter or stop reading.

If you choose to keep reading, the THANK YOU~! I love hearing from all of you, and there will be yummy smut for you next chapter.

I love reviews, they're like candy and rainbows and unicorns all consensed into a little text-box. Please leave one?