The day after Tino is released from the hospital, Berwald and Peter take him to his first physical therapy session.

His physical therapist is a very energetic and peppy man named Mathias. Despite his seemingly overly cheerful personality, he is a very effective physical therapist. He is patient and tolerant, and he seems to really care about the people he helps.

Berwald and Peter sit in plastic chairs agains the wall of the small physical therapy room. Peter watches intently, kicking his feet as he looks at Tino and Mathias.

"Alrighty, Tino, can you lay flat on the floor for me?" Mathias asks, sitting down on his knees next to him. Tino obliges, and Mathias nods to himself. "Now, I want you to bring your leg up, bending your knee. Tell me when you feel the stretch."

Tino nods, pulling his leg up slowly, waiting for the tug in his knee. As soon as he feels it, he winces and nods to Mathias. Mathias tells him to hold it for five seconds before relaxing it. Tino does so, and when he lowers his leg Mathias beams at him.

"Great! Okay, now we'll try to bring it a bit further."

...

Peter and Berwald watch the session for the next half hour. When the halfway point comes up, the door opens abruptly. Two more men walk in, one partially hidden behind the other.

Mathias looks up at the sound of the door opening. His face lights up as he sees the man in front.

"Lukas!" Mathias grins.

Lukas smiles softly, so small it's hardly noticeable. Mathias stands up to greet him, kissing his cheek quickly.

Mathias slings an arm around Lukas and looks around from Berwald and Peter to Tino.

"Sorry, I should introduce these two, huh?" Mathias chuckles. "This is my boyfriend, Lukas, and that's Emil, his little brother."

Emil, who still stands by the door, nods softly, giving a small wave. Lukas nods his greeting to the others.

Emil moves away from the door and sits in a chair next to Peter. Peter looks up at him cautiously, and Emil gives him a tiny smile.

Lukas heads for a chair to the left of Berwald. "Sorry to intrude, but I drive Mathias home after work, and Emil and I were near the hospital already, so we came early."

Once Emil and Lukas are seated, Mathias continues to work with Tino.

Peter tries to keep focused on Tino, but he keeps stealing glances at Emil.

"What's your name?"

Peter lifts his head, looking towards the source of the voice. It's Emil, who is looking down at him curiously.

"Peter..."

"Are you the patient's kid?"

Peter nods. "Tino, the patient, and Berwald adopted me."

Emil smiles. "I see."

"How old are you?" Peter asks. Emil looks like he could be as young as fifteen or so, but he could also be upwards of maybe twenty.

"I'm seventeen. I know, I don't look like any specific age." Emil chuckles.

...

As the session goes on, Peter and Emil get along very well. They share many interests and hobbies, and they both share the trait over generally keeping to themselves.

Peter doesn't even notice the session ending until Mathias is helping a shaky legged Tino over towards him and Berwald.

Berwald stands, pulling Tino towards him, and moving so that Tino can take his seat.

Mathias looks from Peter and Emil to Berwald and Lukas. "It seems everyone is getting along well!" Mathias says with a grin.

Lukas gets up and stands beside Mathias, moving to whisper something in his ear. Mathias listens for a moment, before nodding excitedly.

"Lukas suggested that you three come over to our place for dinner this weekend. Would you be interested?"

Berwald and Tino exchange glances of approval. "Of course, we would love to," Berwald says.

Mathias grins. "I'll text Tino the details tonight."

As Mathias goes to gather his things, Emil looks down at Peter. "Will I see you this weekend for dinner? Are you coming?"

Peter nods slowly. "Yeah..."

"Hey, don't be nervous! It'll just be your parents, Mathias and Lukas, and myself. It'll be okay, I promise."

Peter wonders how Emil picks up on his emotions so easily. Maybe they have more in common than he thought.

"Yeah, it'll be fun! I'll be there," Peter says, smiling."

Emil gives Peter a small wave as he stands up. "Great. See you then!"

As soon as Mathias, Lukas, and Emil leave, Berwald turns to look at Tino.

"Are you ready to go home, Tino?"

Tino nods, and before Berwald can even stop him, he tries to stand. His wobbly legs nearly cause him to crumple to the floor, but Berwald reaches out and steadies him, his hands on Tino's waist.

"Tino, you have to wait... You'll be able to walk soon, I promise, but for now you need someone helping you."

Tino nods softly, allowing himself to lean against Berwald. Peter goes and grabs the folded up wheelchair from against the wall and sets it up for Tino. Berwald lowers Tino into the chair slowly, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder once he is seated.

Berwald wheels Tino out of the hospital, and helps him into the car, and all three of them head home.

...

The weekend arrives, and Berwald, Tino, and Peter are together on Mathias and Lukas's front porch. Berwald keeps a firm hand on one of the handles on Tino's wheelchair as they wait, very protective of him.

Lukas answers the door. "Ah, welcome, come on in."

They all nod their thanks as they enter the house. It's quite small, but it is very well decorated, in cool colors that make the place relaxing.

Lukas shows them to the dining room, where Emil is setting the table. He smiles when he sees Peter. "Hey Peter!"

Peter gives a small wave, keeping close to his parents.

Emil finishes setting up and heads for where Peter stands hidden behind Berwald's legs. He invites Peter to his room while they wait for the food to be finished.

They chat idly until Mathias shouts up the stairs. They race each other down, and as they reach the dining room, Peter has to hold his sides from laughing so hard.

The dinner goes normally. Friendly conversation is only interrupted by a slightly more rambunctious than usual Mathias, thanks to the beer that is rapidly disappearing from his glass.

When dinner is done, Peter simply sits and watches everyone. He enjoys seeing his parents so happy and social, as he rarely gets to see them interact with their friends.

Mathias only grows louder as time goes on. The other three adults are drinking as well, so they are all pretty lively, but Mathias beats them all.

Peter begins to grow nervous as the conversation grows wilder. He winces a few times as a shout erupts, or when Mathias moves his arms around too wildly.

Emil glances over at Peter just as he flinches slightly at Mathias's loud yelp.

Emil stands up and taps Peter's shoulder, motioning for him to follow. Peter nods slowly and gets up, following Emil up to his room once again.

Emil perches himself on his bed, motioning for Peter to sit beside him.

"I thought you would need a break, you looked a bit nervous down there."

Peter nods sheepishly. "I'm not good with new people, especially in groups. I know it's just you and the other two, but it still makes me uncomfortable..."

"Don't worry about it, I'm the same way."

"You are?"

"Yeah, I'm ridiculously shy around new people. The only reason I'm okay around these guys is the fact that I've lived here with my brother and Mathias for years, so I'm used to his antics," Emil says. "I'll apologize for him about that, he gets very wild and excitable when he drinks."

"It's fine, I understand, it's just a bit overwhelming."

"I know, I used to hate hanging around him, I couldn't get used to his peppiness," Emil says. "Are you ready to go back down? I promise it'll be okay."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks, Emil."

A/N: Ahh, I'm sorry this is so many days late! I was saying daily/almost daily updates for a while, but I hit a snag writing this chapter. I think it's because I introduced the other Nordics, and I'm very heavily experimenting with writing them because I haven't ever written fics for them before. I've read many DenNor fics, and as many as I can wil Emil/Iceland in them, but writing them is a bit different. I tried to do their personalities justice (though Emil might seem a bit friendlier and less introverted than usual.)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! It's a bit uneventful, I'll admit, but Peter made a new friend, at the very least! The next chapter is a lot more intense and filled with content, so be ready for that!

School starts tomorrow (I'm writing this Sunday night) so the chapters may be spread apart like this for a while, depending on the workload these first days. I'm taking only one AP class this year, but I don't know how labor intensive it is. It's AP psychology, so at least it's a topic I really enjoy!

Sorry I'm rambling! Thanks so much for all of the love I have been getting for this story! Every favorite, follow, and review I get makes my day!

Thanks for reading!

-KayDubs