The sun was glowing weakly through the cheap metal blinds, making an odd striped pattern on the beige carpet. Tino had a difficult time getting out of bed, but a deep, breathy sigh from the living room area coaxed him from his warm cocoon of blankets.

Berwald's body was sprawled out haphazardly across the pull out couch, his long legs hanging over the edge. All of the ample blankets that Tino had given him had been kicked off, but the Viking didn't seem the least bit cold. In fact, he insisted on sleeping shirtless! Tino wished he didn't. His muscular chest rising and falling slowly with his breaths made Tino feel hot. He hastily banished the naughty thoughts from his head and pulled the blankets back over Berwald's sleeping form. He felt so guilty about having such lustful feelings. Berwald had only come into his life a month ago.

"I need a cold shower." Tino murmured aloud.

XxXx

Berwald sat at the oak table in the kitchen, running his large hands over the slightly dented surface. He took a loud gulp of his water, anticipating breakfast. His azure eyes were fixed on Tino, who was currently spreading coco colored Nutella over several pieces of toast. Tino smiled brightly and brought over two plates. He set one down in front of his companion before sitting down with his own.

"Berwald, I think you're ready for richer foods. This is called Nutella. It's made with hazelnuts and something called chocolate. If it's too much for you, just let me know." Tino took a bite of toast, getting a glob of the chocolaty spread on his upper lip. "So tasty." He whispered blissfully. "One of my favorites."

Tino chuckled as Berwald cautiously lifted his toast and took a bite. His eyes grew wide and his lips turned upward in a rather goofy manner. "S' good."

Tino had to bite back laughter at Berwald's absolutely ridiculous facial expression. "I'm glad you like it."

"Mmmhmm."

"And I have a surprise for you. Remember visiting Eduard and Yekaterina the other day?"

"Y'mean the man w'th the strange things over 'is eyes an' his wife."

"Yes, Eduard with the glasses and Yekaterina, the teacher."

"What about 'em."

"Well, every weekend, you get to go to their house and learn English with Yekaterina. She teaches children from…..faraway lands how to speak English. I bet she can teach you, too."

Berwald raised a tarnished gold eyebrow. ""m not a child."

"It doesn't matter." Tino replied, "Now, let's get going. Work starts in two hours."

XxXx

Tino felt a bit light headed as he descended the concrete stairs with Berwald in tow. The clash and clang of their winter boots echoed throughout the vertical room. There were three more flights of stairs to go until they reached the ground floor. Living on one of the upper levels did have its drawbacks, after all.

"Tino, is s'mthing wrong." Berwald's voice bounced around the room softly. Tino could have sworn that the stairs in front of him seemed to be wiggling like water.

"I'm fine," he replied "just light headed."

He had spoken too soon.

That feeling, the swept away feeling that he hadn't experienced in weeks, suddenly gripped him. As the world around him faded, Tino felt himself fall forward. He heard the dark echo of Berwald's shouting follow him as he tumbled down.

XxXx

Everyone in the village had come to gawk at the new Viking visitors Tino had brought back with him. Tino even spotted his mother and two younger sisters in the crowd, staring with round violet eyes.

Old Pyry, the village elder, stood at the front of the crowd, running a hand through his long, snowy beard.

"You say that you are a team of rowers, but I see no boat. Explain yourselves."

Ivar replied in broken Finnish. "Hit rapids. Destroyed boat. Could only save small part of belongings. Going east, need place to stay while rebuild ship."

Old Pyry raised a gnarled hand and gestured to Taisto. The much younger man walked to join Old Pyry and Tino, his deep brown hair flowing behind him like a cape. He and the elder conferred quietly, Tino only caught small bits of what was being said.

Pyry spoke to Ivar again. "The shaman Taisto and I have reached a decision. Summer will soon turn to fall, and if you are not done with the ship soon enough, the water will freeze and you shall be trapped here for the winter. Thus, we will need a means of communication. Tino, come forward. Ivar, send me one of your men."

Confused, Tino walked on shaky legs to join the two older men. He looked back at Ivar, who gestured for Berwald to go forward. Tino cowered slightly as Berwald moved toward him, his intense gaze focused and sharp. Finally, Berwald stopped in front of him Tino. As the two men stood across from each other, Taisto began to chant. A thick smoke the color of ocean water danced around them and abruptly faded.

"Newcomer, can you understand me? State your name." Taisto shouted loudly enough for all who looked on to hear.

"M' Berwald Oxenstierna, th' rower, trader and warrior."

"The Tongue Binding spell has worked." Old Pyry announced. "I will need fifteen more men from each side. We must be able to communicate in order to live in harmony."

Tino looked up at Berwald, who continued to stare at him. "Yer beautiful." he mumbled.

"I am not much to look at." Tino replied desperately, frantically. Berwald only persisted.

"I wan' ya to be m'wife."

"What! But, I can't bear you any children. I'm sure that you have other wives back home who could."

"M' not m'rried. This beard s' growin' cause I couldn' find time ta shave on the journey."

Tino blinked "What does your beard have to do with any of this?"

Berwald sighed, "W'n a man is married, he grows a beard."

These men certainly did have a strange culture. "Berwald," Tino said, his voice shaking, "Why would you want to marry a man? Do you want your family name to die out?"

"I don' care, jus' wan' you."

XxXx

Some villagers allowed their new Viking companions into their homes. Others, perhaps because they were more cautious, preferred to keep them outside in animal hide tents. Tino wanted to be part of the later group because, quite frankly, Berwald intimidated him, but his mother insisted on making a new straw bed for the big man and welcoming him into their home.

"Always be hospitable to your guests," she had said, "It's what your father would have wanted."

Somehow, Tino doubted that.

Despite Tino's fears and protests, Berwald, looking freshly shaved and virginal, moved into their little wooden shack. During the day, the blond giant would join his brethren in working on the construction of the longship.

When he wasn't doing farm work, hunting or playing with his sisters, Tino's mother guilt tripped him into helping the Vikings with their massive project. Tino found himself running to and fro, chopping down trees and carting logs over to Berwald and his team of carpenters.

After several weeks, as a skeletal ship began to take shape, Tino's fear of Berwald had all but subsided. Despite his forward personality and startling glare, he was certainly a gentle giant. So gentle that Tino wondered how he possibly could have come from a tribe of fearsome warriors. While the men around him shouted, he worked quietly, lovingly shaping the wood with the many tools in his arsenal. Tino loved to watch Berwald work. He was truly a skilled carpenter. As he carved and sawed, Berwald would make brief but genuine conversation with Tino, constantly asking if he was all right and if he needed a break. Though Berwald's kindness warmed his insides, Tino would hastily insist that he was a man and could do these things by himself.

Tino's sisters positively adored Berwald. Tähti and Airi would jump all over him as soon as he came through the door, begging him to tell them a story. He would sit them down by the fire, and with his soft, deep voice, he would tell them tales of his many travels and battles. Tino, taken by the sweet sight of the warrior entertaining two small girls, couldn't help but listen to his tales. He told of his bravery and strength, yet he remained modest all at once.

It didn't take long for strange feelings to come over Tino. He was a grown man, but he had never felt such a tender affection for someone before. When Berwald was near, his heart would beat faster, and Tino almost felt sick. Yet it was a pleasurable sickness.

In an attempt to understand, Tino approached his mother and asked her this question: "Why do I feel so strange when Berwald is near me? I feel ill, but I like it. I don't know why."

Tino's mother wiped a dewdrop tear from her eye. "Love." she answered simply.

XxXx

When Tino woke, he noticed that the pain wasn't only in his head this time. His right leg ached. Carefully, he opened his eyes, blinking to adjust to the harsh lightness of the white room. At the foot of his bed, Tino noticed Lukas, Elizabeta and Berwald, all wearing an identical look of concern. Behind them stood both of his parents, a pair of short, gaunt, grey haired old Finns. His mother clung tightly to his father, sobbing quietly. Tino then noticed that his leg was covered in a thick, white cast.

"Looks like he's come to." said Lukas, which sent Berwald rushing to his side.

"Yer safe. I've got ya." he said, clutching Tino's hand. Tino noticed that his father averted his eyes a bit. Great. Clearly, Berwald's obvious display of affection towards him was making his father angry. Couldn't he just accept that Tino was gay, like his mother had?

"Figures," groaned Lukas, "Berwald literally carried you to my house, freaking the fuck out and shoving random pedestrians aside. I noticed that you were out cold and your leg was bent funny, so I called an ambulance."

Tino's mother let out a loud sob, "My poor baby."

Elizabeta walked briskly over to the old Finnish couple. "Don't worry; your son will be fine. He's tough. "

Tino's mother pulled her tear stained face from her husband's flannel shirt. "Thank you. I just got emotional. I'm his mother, after all."

Elizabeta smiled gently. "He can take as much time off as he needs to; Mike can pick up the slack in the studio 'till he gets better. He can't really work if he has a broken leg and random fainting spells."

"And that brings me to my question," Lukas said with a nod, bouncing the stubborn curl on the side of his head. "Did you remember something from your previous life?"

Tino's brows furrowed as he tried to recall his vision. Berwald squeezed his hand comfortingly. Finally, Tino decided that he remembered what it had been about. "I had a dream about Berwald arriving at some village, I think it was mine. The boat that he came in was destroyed."

"Mmm, had a dream 'bout that last night." said Berwald.

Lukas sighed "Looks like the memories are becoming more intrusive than I thought they would. Elizabeta, is it okay if Tino takes time off of work until I come up with a way to make them less… inconvenient."

"Of course." replied Elizabeta, "I said he could take off as much time as he needed."

Just then, the door swung open. In walked a tall, burly man in scrubs and a lab coat. He wore his platinum blonde hair slicked back in a business like way and carried a manila envelope in his hand.

"I see you've woken up. I'm Doctor Ludwig Beilschmidt." The man had a harsh and loud voice.

"Hello." said Tino, trying to be cooperative.

"You have quite a few visitors." said Doctor Beilschmidt, trying awkwardly to make small talk. He opened his manila folder. "Anyways, you fractured your leg in three places. X-rays are on the disk I'm going to give you. I had to surgically place pins in your leg, so you will have to come back in a few weeks. We will be giving you a wheelchair and crutches. Don't try to get around without them."

Tino was a bit relieved when the doctor's medical tirade finally ended, he only wanted to relax. He was tired, and he had a headache and a very broken leg.

"We will release you in a couple of hours." Dr. Beilschmidt said. "Remember, the X-rays are on this disk." The aforementioned disk was placed on a nearby counter.

"Ve, Ludwig, another patient needs to talk to you." A slim, auburn haired man in nurse's scrubs had playfully poked his head through the door. Dr Beilschmidt's face turned fire truck red.

"I'm afraid I have to leave you now. Um, feel better." with that, he left the room.

"Lukas, I don't trust that Viking man I've heard so much about alone with Tino. I think I should take the two of them to stay at our house. We're retired, you know, so we have time." Tino's mother said.

Tino couldn't help but feel a bit upset with his mother for not trusting Berwald, but at the same time, it was plain to see that he did not have the modern day life skills to help Tino around.

So with a sigh, Tino accepted his fate. As much as he loved his parents, he wasn't sure how they would fare with affectionate, clueless Berwald around, especially his father.

XxXx

I would like to give a special thank you to Fablespinner for the info on Viking beards and Viking marriage.

Fun fact: Vikings could shave. Archeologists have found razor blades dating from that time!