((Hello everybody, I'm sorry that the wait for this chapter was so long. I spent all of July studying in Berlin and the past couple of months settling back into college (and life back home in America), so I've been busy. Looking back at the old chapters in this story, I can't help but cringe a bit. I've improved a great deal in the past year, thanks mainly to my creative writing professors, particularly the one I have now. He is harsh, but has really helped me to see the silly mistakes that I tend to make and to stop making them. Oh, and on a technical note, I mixed up the Optomap machine with the air puff machine in chapter 10. At the time of writing it, it had been a while since I had a comprehensive eye exam. I may go back and fix that later. Well, that's enough of my self indulgent author's notes. Here's the fic.))

XxXxXx

As Lukas promised, the medicine that he made sped up Tino's recovery time. It took him two days to get off of the pain pills and out of bed post surgery. An even more surprising development occurred in Tino's mobility: he found that with the help of crutches he could get up and walk. This excited Tino to no end, and three days after his surgery, he was rarely ever off his feet. In fact, he was up so much that his mother had to force him to sit down on numerous occasions.

The kitchen table was coated with flowers from visiting friends, replacing the old ones that they had given Tino when he had first fractured his leg. Berwald was fond of the flowers, and Tino would often catch him rubbing their delicate petals with the tips of his massive fingers. It was moments like these when it was hard to picture him as a Viking warrior, in fact, Berwald seemed to be the type of guy who might run a daycare or volunteer at an animal shelter. What had prompted him to go on those dangerous journeys to trade and sometimes to do battle? Tino wanted to ask, but at the same time, didn't want to offend his boyfriend. But he was beginning to wonder what the big man was up to; Berwald had developed a habit of disappearing from the bed for hours at a time each night and returning smelling like wood chips. During the day, Tino would have been more likely to follow him, but this happened late at night, and only woke him from his heavy sleep halfway. Tino never was one to get out of bed if he could help it. As a result, the memory of this strange behavior only partially registered in his memory. Nonetheless, it nagged him.

XxXxXx

That weekend, when Yekaterina came, so did Eduard. As per usual, the two hung out and talked about whatever came to mind. The conversation soon turned into a series of questions about the "Epic Love Affair between the Photographer and the Viking".

"Are you guys, like, official?" asked Eduard, scooping a handful of cashew nuts out of the blue Moomin bowl on the kitchen counter.

"Eduard, really," Tino said, "what's with this sudden fascination with my love life?"

"Well, we are best friends." said Eduard.

"Point taken. I guess we could be considered official."

"That's not what Facebook says! Look, "Tino Väinämöinen. Relationship Status: Single."

"Ed, Facebook doesn't mean anything." said Tino, laughing. "You sound like a teenage girl, or Feliks."

"But you don't want creepy bastards like Ivan hitting on you." said Eduard. He took a lemon out of a nearby bowel of fruit and held it over his nose. "Hello my Sunflower, let's go on a date."

Tino laughed even harder, "Ed, stop making fun of your brother-in-law. He's just a bit socially awkward."

Eduard kept the lemon in place, "Oh, so you would like to go out with a big-nosed weirdo like me? Come, I shall take you away from that silly Berwald."

"No, no I love Berwald. Okay, Ed, this is getting kinda creepy." Tino raised his pale eyebrows.

"Until you change your relationship status, you will be mine!" Eduard said, tugging on Tino's arm for emphasis.

"Fine. I'll boot up the Facebook app on my phone!"

XxXxXx

Soon after the Facebook incident, Yekaterina and Berwald emerged from behind the dark, wooden living room door and walked over to Eduard and Tino. Yekaterina was grinning brightly and Berwald seemed to have something in his pocket. Their lesson was over.

"Tino," Yekaterina said, "Berwald has a gift for you."

Tino kissed Berwald's cheek, "What do you have for me, honey?"

Berwald grinned and pulled a wooden box from his pocket. It was carved with intricate tree branch designs, and was only half the size of Tino's palm. "Made all o' this fer you."

Tino picked up the box, taking care to keep his crutches steady. He pulled off the lid, revealing two wooden rings. They were just like the ones from his dream! Tino stopped breathing. Were those tears streaking down his cheeks? Berwald's eyes looked moist as well.

"The smaller one's fer you. Want me ta put it on?"

"Yes." Tino's voice barely left the confines of his mouth. He put the wooden box down on the counter and put the rings into Berwald's palm.

As the couple slipped on their rings, Yekaterina smiled at Eduard, who took her hand. "They're so cute, aren't they Eduard." she said.

Eduard nodded and smirked "Not as cute as me, though."

Tino, meanwhile, had buried his face into Berwald's chest, trying as hard as he could to stop himself from sobbing. He had dropped his crutches to the floor and relied on Berwald's large, sturdy frame for support. Tino felt moisture in his hair and realized that the Viking too was crying. It had finally sunk in. After centuries apart, they could be together again. Even though he had only learned of his past life months ago, Tino still felt the relief and the explosion of tender passion that a reunited husband should feel. They even had wedding rings again! What could possibly be wrong with this moment?

"So that's who's been using my carving tools and not putting them away." shouted an all too familiar voice.

Well, the moment was wonderful while it lasted. Sure enough, Tino's father stood just paces away from them. In his gnarled hand, he held Berwald's box.

XxXxXx

((Dun dun dun! Stay tuned for an exciting father-son confrontation in the next chapter! Tino's dad sure loves to ruin people's romantic moments. I'll bet he was a cockblock to his buddies in his younger years. What a troll.

I hope Eduard wasn't too OOC. He's really hard to write.

I'm sorry that this was such a short chapter. As per usual, please let me know if you find any errors. I'm an idiot at editing and revising my own work.))