As Ludwig lies in bed that night he thinks of Sweden. It had been fun to hang out with him. He wonder if there will be an opportunity to do something soon again. He yawns. It have been a long day and he should sleep. He falls asleep seeing Sweden smiling at him.
It has been two weeks since he and Sweden watched the game together. There is soon a world meeting coming up. Ludwig wonders if he should call Sweden and ask if he wants to do something. Maybe it is to late for that today. Outside the rain is pouring down and he have finished his work. He is interrupted in his thoughts by the doorbell. He wonder who is visiting him in this weather and hour. He opens the door. Outside stands Sweden. He have wrapped his arms around him in order to keep warm. He is shivering, his blue coat is soaked and covered in mud as if he had fallen on the ground. His head is bent down but he looks up when the door opens. There is blood the corner of his mouth.
"Sweden…" Ludwig doesn't know what to say. "Come in." He steps aside so that Sweden can come in. He closes the door behind him. Who could have done this to him? He gets a better view of the other nation in the lights. Rain is dripping from his hair and coat. He is shaking.
"What happened?" Ludwig asks. As he comes closer he sees that Sweden's cheek is red and a bit swollen. It seems as if he got hit. Sweden doesn't answer. "Are you wounded?" he asks. He doesn't seem to bleed. Sweden just shakes his head. "Take of your coat. You need to get warm." Sweden starts to fumble with the buttons. Ludwig helps him to take it of. He throws it on a hook and hurries to his room to get some clothes. He wonders what could have happened to Sweden.
"Here, put these on." Ludwig hands him the clothes. They should fit, Ludwig think that they have the same size. Sweden pulls his shirt over his head. His upper body is muscular and covered in bruises. Ludwig gasps. Who did this? He is still shaking. When the shirt is on he takes of his pants. Ludwig heads to the living room and grabs some blankets. He returns to Sweden and wraps them around him. The clothes seems to fit. He puts an arm around him as he leads him to the living room. They sit down in the couch. Ludwig rises and walks to the kitchen to make some tea. While he waits for the water to boil he gets a towel from the bathroom. He returns to Sweden with it. He dries the others blonde hair with it. Sweden is still shaking. Ludwig takes the wet towel and gently wipes away the blood from his mouth. He looks quite miserable and sad. Ludwig puts an arm around him and hopes that it will warm him some. Sweden leans against him and Ludwig puts his other arm around him. It feels good to hold him like this. He wishes that they could stay like this. He would keep Sweden safe and comfort him whenever he needed it.
After a few minutes the water has boiled.
"The water…" Ludwig says and attempts to rise. He finds himself being pushed back by Sweden.
"No."
"Okay." Ludwig understands and pulls Sweden closer. Soon he have stopped shaking. He wonders if he is ready to tell him what happened. He have such a sad and piteous look on his face it feels like Ludwig's heart is breaking. He would do anything to make him smile again. He just don't know what to do so he simply sits there, holding him tight. After a while, Sweden straightens up and Ludwig removes his arms. He looks at Sweden, who still keeps his head low.
"Are you alright?" Ludwig asks. The question feels quite stupid, but he don't know what to say and it doesn't seems like Sweden will be the one to break the silence.
"Not really." he seems unable to say something more.
"What happened?" Sweden opens his mouth but don't speak.
"He took Finland." he manages at last.
"Who?" Ludwig asks, with the feeling that he already knows who.
"Russia." Sweden's voice is grave. Ludwig wants to say something but doesn't know what. "He came to my house. I was unarmed, and he had a iron bar. He beat me and then threw me out. He said that Finland is his now."
"I'm sorry." is all Ludwig manages to say. Loosing Finland to Russia really seems to make him sad. Once again Ludwig wonders if they love each other, and cant help but to feel jealous.
"I don't know what to do." Sweden seems so helpless. Ludwig instinctively wants to hug and comfort him, but he controls himself.
"You can stay here until you figure it out." he offers. That's at least something he can do. Sweden looks up on him.
"You mean it? I can stay here?"
"Yes, of course."
"I mean, since I don't have a home that might take a while."
"Don't worry. It will be fine."
"Thank you." Ludwig smiles a little.
"You look quite pale. Do you want something to eat?"
"Not really."
"Hm. I think I should make some dinner. You can eat what you feel for." Ludwig rises and heads to the kitchen. Sweden follows, still with the blankets swept around him. He sits down quietly on a chair and watches Ludwig as he starts to cook. He is making potatoes and wurst. All he can think of is that Sweden is now living with him. He feels exited, and just hopes that Sweden is going to feel comfortable here. It must have ben tediously to loose his home and Finland like that. He just hopes that he will recover soon.
He sets the table just before the food is ready. He then puts the food on the table.
They eat in silence. Ludwig watches Sweden carefully and tries not to be caught staring. He seems to be alright, just a bit sad.
"You are burning something." Sweden says after some time. Ludwig wakes up from his trance. Something smells burnt. He looks at the stove, witch is on. Shit. He rushes to it and turns it of and pulls of the skillet. He puts it in the sink and turns on the tap. The water steams and sputters as it pours down on the hot skillet. He turns of the water and returns to his food. How could he be so clumsy? He just had to make a fool of himself with Sweden here. This is so awkward. Not that Sweden seems to notice. They continue to eat in silence.
When they have finished their dinner (Sweden didn't ate much) it is half past eight.
"Do you want to do something or just go to bed? I have a guestroom ready for you."
"I don't want to sleep right now."
They end up watching TV. None of them really pay attention to when Spain crushes France in football. Ludwig thinks about Sweden, how he is feeling, what he should do, how to make him feel better and how it will be with him living here and so on. Sweden is just generally depressed.
After some time in front of the TV Ludwig yawns.
"I thing I should go to bed. I have some work to do tomorrow. Are you going to bed as well?"
"I suppose so." Ludwig turns of the TV. Sweden looks so sad where he is sitting in the couch.
"Hey, if you need anything just let me know, alright?" the words just flows through his mouth.
"Okay." Sweden don't make any attempts to rise, he just sits in the couch.
"Do you… want to talk about it?" Ludwig wonders. He hopes he is not making him upset by the question. He doesn't answer at first.
"It's just that I am worried about Finland. He have always have problems with his health. He is a tuff person, but not physically. I am worried that he will be mistreated. I…" he doesn't finish the sentence. Ludwig puts a hand on his shoulder. He should say something. He is just worried that this is not what he needs to hear right now.
"There is nothing you can do about it now. It is hard not to worry, but the only thing you can do is to be strong. Thats the only way you can actually help him." he doesn't want it to sound as if Finland have passed away or something. He kind of fails. Sweden nods.
"I think I want to sleep now." Sweden finally says. Ludwig rises and shows him to the guestroom. He bids Sweden goodnight and then goes to his own bedroom.
Next day Ludwig gets a message from his boss. He demands a meeting right away. Ludwig sighs. He walks into the bathroom and takes a quick shower. As he walks out he almost bumps into Sweden.
"Ow! Sorry, I didn't saw you." Sweden stares at him, and then looks away. He seems uncomfortable with Ludwig who is only wearing a towel around his waist. Sweden is blushing. How cute!
"You can get something from the kitchen. I'll just go get dressed." Ludwig walks away to his room. He thinks about Sweden as he dress. Out in the kitchen Sweden is making coffee.
"Have you slept well?" Ludwig asks. It doesn't look like he did. He can see dark rings under Sweden's eyes.
"Not so bad."
"Hm." Ludwig takes out stuff from the fridge and makes himself a sandwich. "I have a meeting soon and other things I have to do after that. I'll be home sometime in the afternoon." He pours a cup of coffee. "Will you be fine here till then?"
"Yeah." Ludwig imagines that Sweden looks a bit sad, but he's not really sure. It must be boring to be here alone all day, but he doesn't really have anyone to be with. Ludwig decides that he should try to get home early today. He finish his coffee and goes to brush his teeth. After that he gets his things for the meeting.
"I'll be going then. I am going to buy food, is there anything you want?" Ludwig asks.
"No, I don't think so."
"Okay. Well, see you later." Ludwig leaves the house. He feels a bit bad about leaving Sweden all alone in his house, even tough there's nothing else he can do.
Ludwig is in a bad mode as he walks to the convenience store. This have not been a good day. First, he hadn't been able to concentrate on the meeting very well. He thought about what Sweden was doing. At the end of the meeting his boss yelled at him for taking Sweden in. He demanded him to kick him out. When Ludwig said that he wouldn't, they started to argue. It ended when his boss threw a stapler on him, witch caused his eyebrow to burst. His boss then called a taxi and shoved him inside. He didn't listen when Ludwig said that he could drive his own car. So after he had gotten some stitches in the hospital he had to get back to the office so that he could get his car. He had no buss card so he had to walk. The office was on the other side of town. It was a long walk. He was even more frustrated when he passed a store where he had ordered parts to a tank he is building. He had asked if he could get a lift, but they had no cars in at the moment. Just his luck. So he walked the rest of the way, got his car and drove back. When he had got the tank parts into his car (it was not an easy task) he went to go food shopping.
Except for food Ludwig buys a toothbrush for Sweden. He can't think of something else he might need from the store. He wonders if he should buy him a book or something, so that he have something to do when his at home alone. He remembers the time and quickly drops the thought of books. He hurries home.
"Hello." he calls out as he steps in through the door.
"Hi." Sweden answers from somewhere inside. It smells of food inside. Ludwig walks into the kitchen with the grocery bags. Sweden is standing by the stove, stirring in a pot. Ludwig glances at the clock. It's almost seven.
"Sorry I'm late."
"It's all right. What have you done with your eyebrow?"
"I had an argue with my boss." Ludwig didn't want to tell him what they argued about tough. "What are you making?" he peeks down in the pot. It's a stew with some vegetables and meet floating in it. It smells good.
"I didn't know when you were coming home so I made a stew."
"Sorry again, I planned to be home to make dinner."
"No problem." Sweden continue with the food. Ludwig unpacks the groceries.
"Oh, by the way. There was some guy here before. He was asking for you, and when you weren't home he said something about a tank and to surprise you." Ludwig freezes for a second. Could it be Italy who was here? What was he saying about his tank? Ludwig grows nervous.
"Was he small, with a funny hair curl and kind of frightened?"
"Yes, it was him."
"Did he do anything to my tank?"
"I don't know. I think so, I heard some strange noises."
"I'll be back." Ludwig mumbles as he walks out to his garage. If Italy have done something to his tank… He tuns on the lights. In the middle of the big garage stands the tank. All around it lies trashes, tools and things Ludwig can't even identify. As he walks closer he can see what parts of it is. Parts from the tank. Italy really have been here and probably tried to finish it. Not even in a bad way of 'finish'. Angrily he turns to the tank, and stumbles over something. It is the gearbox. The first thing he notice as he turns his gaze to the tank is a note sticked to it. He reads it.
Hey Germany!
I tried to finish your tank. Tough I didn't have all the parts needed I improvised. I even added some cool functions! I just had to remove some things that was in the way for a chair catapult. It was a bit tough to remove them, but I hope you don't mind. Also, the engine started to burn as I tried to make cool flames after the exhaust pipe.
Hope you like the tank!
Love Feliciano
P.S You have a scary man in your house.
Ludwig is so mad that he just wants to scream. He almost misses that Sweden is reading over his shoulder. Ludwig quickly hides the paper in his hand and squashes is to a boll.
"Who is he?" Sweden asks.
"My ally, Italy." Ludwig sighs.
"Hm." Ludwig starts to pick up tools from the floor and hang them on the wall. Sweden helps him.
After a while it's not so messy. All that is left from the mess is two piles of stuff, one of things from the tank and one of rubbish that is not needed for the tank.
"The food is probably ready now." They leave the garage and head to the kitchen. Ludwig sets the table, and soon dinner is ready.
"This is good." Ludwig says as they start to eat.
"Thanks."
"What would you think about going to town tomorrow? I suspect that you would like some clothes and stuff like that." Ludwig says after a while.
"I don't have any money."
"I have, don't worry."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm used to unexpected expenses. As long as it doesn't go to my brother or something stupid like my brother I'm fine with it." Sweden grunts and Ludwig takes it for a yes. They continue to eat in silence.
"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Ludwig asks when they have eaten.
"Okay."
"You can pick one." Ludwig says as they walks in to the living room. He shows Sweden to a pile of DVDs. Sweden picks a James Bond and Ludwig starts it.
He wants to ask of Sweden is feeling alright, but don't want to sound stupid or creepy so he doesn't.
"What did you do today? It must have been boring to be here alone all day." Ludwig asks as he start the movie.
"It's fine, I'm used to it." He was? Isn't he with Finland like, always? They turn their attention to the movie which is starting.