Act I
Scene IV

Several weeks later, a Saturday morning dawned bright and fresh. The hopeful sun shimmered behind a cloud; it's warm, buttery yellow rays shone through the window of Berwald's bedchamber. Here, the Swede sat in his chair, a towel around his shoulders, shirt loose and barely done up. He was waiting for Tino to give him a shave.

The Finn entered with shaving cream and razors, the sunlight glinting in his spun-gold hair and illuminating his smile.

"Ready, sir?" And with Berwald's nod, he leant close. He spread the shaving cream on Berwald's cheeks, his touch smooth and firm. Berwald felt his pulse quicken under the man's touch.

"It looks set to be a lovely day today!" What was a moment between them like this without Tino's conversation? The Swedish lord had grown to relish it, hearing Tino's sweet voice, and not being expected to reply too often or exchange meaningless pleasantries. He let Tino chatter while he prepared for his shave, the cool cream like a soothing caress on his skin.

"… sir?"

"Hm?"

"You seemed somewhere else," Tino chuckled. "I just wanted to see that you were still with me here."

"I'm going to ask something," Berwald finally had the courage to say, almost in response to Tino's own remark. "Might sound strange."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that with me, sir! I'm your valet after all! There are no secrets between us!"

Their gazes held for a moment, before Berwald looked away, and Tino lifted the razor to shave carefully down his jaw in a smooth motion.

"Got a woman?" was Berwald's question.

"A woman?" Tino tittered, pausing in his work for a second. "You mean a wife? Oh no, sir, certainly not!"

"Not a sweetheart either?"

"She would be an unlucky woman to have me," Tino joked, though his smile was ever so slightly strained.

"Neither woman nor man?"

The razor clattered to the floor, Tino letting out a yelp of surprise and embarrassment. "Oh, dear me, I do apologise!" He quickly dropped to his knees to retrieve it, hands shaking, face burning. "I am so sorry, sir, I should have been more careful, that could have cut – oh, I'm clumsy." He laughed anxiously, fighting the urge to bury his face in his hands.

"Don't worry about it," Berwald murmured, quite surprised at that reaction. He supposed he had shocked Tino by what could have sounded like an unjust accusation, but he hadn't said it in any condemning tone of sorts! He had meant it as sheer curiosity.

Once Tino was up again, his hands trembled as he continued the shave. "Could I trouble you by asking why you're interested, sir?"

"No trouble. Just curious," Berwald said, tone perfectly even.

"Really?" Tino seemed even more relieved at that, some of his smile returning. "I was worried that you might have, I don't know, heard some gossip or such nonsense – " He quickly stopped, eyes widening like those of a deer in the path of a hunter. "It's not to your interest, sir."

Oh, but how it was! Berwald was desperate to know why the other servants might have been spreading gossip about his sweet valet. Could it possibly be related to the question of whether his sweetheart was a man?

Before the shave was over, Tino crumbled.

"I have a sweetheart, sir. But… they don't think of me in such a way."

"Married?" Berwald's questions now mimicked the style of Lukas', when the Norwegian had questioned Berwald on the very same topic.

"No, sir."

"Surrounded by admirers?"

"Not exactly, sir." A blush rose in Tino's round cheeks. "I know that my sweetheart is of too high a station for me to ever think of my love coming to fruition."

"You're serious about this… person." Berwald made his observation with a grim tone that seemed to set Tino even more on edge.

"Could I tell you a dreadful secret, sir? One you mustn't tell anyone! I don't mean to be impertinent, but –!"

"It won't be spoken of," Berwald said immediately, opening himself up for Tino's confidence. "Only between you and I."

With a slow nod, Tino took a deep breath, his shaving routine all but forgotten.

"He is a man, sir. Such a man…"

"Who?"

"I couldn't possibly tell!" Tino's voice almost cracked with sheer nerves.

"You can," Berwald assured him, tone firm, a trace of authority in it. "It's only between us."

"Exactly!"

Berwald blinked, and a bubble of silence enveloped them. Nothing seemed to move or breathe for a long, long moment. Tino's face was flushed darkly, his eyes bright with worry and that sudden sinking feeling one gets when one regrets revealing a very personal secret indeed.

"I'm involved." Berwald popped the bubble with his quiet realisation. He almost didn't dare let his heart beat with excitement, for fear that it would all come to nothing.

Tino nodded shakily, eyes cast downwards. "I… I do admire you very much, sir."

"Admire?"

"I would call it love if it was not too bold," the Finn whispered. He seemed unable to do anything but offer himself up, helpless as a lamb on the altar of Berwald's judgement.

Oh, Berwald was merciful.

His hands, broad, pale and long-fingered, reached out to cup the reddened face, and before either of them could think another word, their lips were pressed together, hard yet soft, and unbearably, undeniably sweet.

A/N: Review if you liked it! It might have seemed simple for them to get together, but their path isn't going to be smooth at all...