Early November, 1943, Stockholm, Sweden

It was over. All of those months in the base had finally paid off. Lukas was officially a fighter pilot, certified to fly for any military he chose. He looked down at the military pilot's license that he held in his hand, his picture on it looking so serious that he was surprised it was even him. Was he always that serious-looking?

"Lukas!" Mathias called. "Did you get it?" He rushed over to Lukas to look at the plastic card in his hand. "Damn, why so serious, Lukas? You did it!"

"I did it," he breathed. His eyes widened. "I really did it, Mathias. I can fly for the British military now." He looked up at Mathias as his eyes widened. "Mathias, I can do it!" His eyes were almost sparkling. "I can join the British military!"

Mathias smiled widely. "When do you want to enlist? I mean, we've both been saving up for awhile, so we can go whenever you're ready."

"We?" Lukas asked, looking curiously at Mathias.

"Why else do you think I've been speaking English with you?" Mathias asked. "We made an agreement to join the British military together, remember? It was when we met during the first day here." He smiled as he thought back. "Good times, Lukas. And now look at us. We made it. We can now join the British military together. What do you say?"

Lukas felt a small smile tug at his lips. "Fine," he decided. "Let's do it. And since it's Wednesday, let's leave for England this weekend, okay? Will that give you enough time to say goodbye if we leave on Saturday?"

"That's plenty of time," Mathias said. "My aunt was always aware of my plan to leave for England, so she won't be shocked when I say I'm leaving in a few days."

"Neither will my mother," Lukas told him. He thought about it. A trip to England alone would have been terrifying, but with Mathias going with him it seemed like everything was going to be okay. "Let's plan to leave Saturday, Mathias."

Mathias nodded. "Perfect. I think that's when most men from here will be shipping off to their respective militaries anyway."

Lukas nodded absently. "That's why I said it." He still couldn't shake the weird butterfly feeling. "But we no longer have to stay at the base. Let's go stay at your house with our families. I'm sure I can fit on that couch in the living room."

Mathias laughed. "Yeah, and I still have my room to stay in since Berwald and Tino still share their room."

"Why do they still share a room if you're moved out?" Lukas curiously asked, looking up at Mathias. It was an honest question, but the uncomfortable look on Mathias's face made him want to take it back.

"Keep it between us, okay?" Mathias said. He didn't go on until Lukas nodded his agreement. "They're kind of a thing…"

"A thing?" Lukas asked. His eyes widened in realization. "You mean they're a couple?" he quietly asked.

Mathias nodded. "Yeah, but only my family knows. I'm pretty sure your mother has caught on, or Aunt Sigrid has probably told her. I doubt Emil knows. I've known for about four years now. They've been one almost since the day they met. I found out because I walked in on them kissing when they were sixteen and seventeen. Tino just about killed me for it because I didn't knock."

Lukas smirked. "Sounds like something you'd do. You don't seem to care much for the privacy of others, do you?" He figured that must be why Mathias was always trying to talk to him in the showers. He sighed. "So what do you say we head to the house before too long? I can finish packing my things right now and we'll leave once you're packed."

"Sounds like a plan, Lukas," Mathias said. "How much do you have?"

"I just have a backpack of things, not much," Lukas answered. "I pawned a lot of things for money to go to England. That's why I'm always washing my clothes." He blushed and looked away. "But it's fine. Go pack. I'll meet you at the door."

Lukas turned on his heel and rushed to his quarters after seeing the surprised and devastated look on Mathias's face. He didn't want any more pity from him. His heart wouldn't be able to take any more kindness from Mathias. It would explode from the weird swelling.

He sighed as he threw his belongings into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. The bunk he had slept in for the past few months held no sentimental value to him. Barely anything ever did these days. He had no problem leaving the sleeping quarters without looking back. After all, that's all his life had ever seemed to have been, leaving without looking back. The only constants in his life were his mother and brother.

But now there was Mathias. Was he a new constant? If he were to suddenly leave Lukas's life, would it hurt? Lukas couldn't help but wonder that as he sat on a bench by the door, waiting for Mathias to join him. The swelling feeling in his chest might go away if Mathias did. But what if it just got worse? What if it was just replaced with a hollow ache instead? Lukas shook his head, trying not to imagine that.

"What's going on?" Mathias asked, walking over. He had a larger backpack slung over his shoulder. "Are you okay, Lukas? You're shaking your head and look confused and something else, but I can't quite name it."

"Something else?" Lukas asked, standing up. He changed his expression to a blank one. At the moment, he couldn't afford to let his guard down around Mathias, even if he seemed so casual about Berwald and Tino. That was Berwald and Tino, and it didn't involve him personally. "It's nothing at all, Mathias. Let's get going."

Mathias shrugged and walked along with Lukas. "So are you excited for Saturday? It's a pretty big day for both of us, wouldn't you say? I heard the British military is desperate for pilots who are already trained."

"Why is that?" Lukas asked, looking up at him. He shivered a little and buttoned up his coat as the cold air greeted him when he opened the door and stepped outside.

"It's dangerous to be a fighter pilot, Lukas," Mathias sighed. "You have to promise me that you'll be careful."

"Why would I have to make a promise like that to you?" Lukas huffed, trying to control the racing of his heart. Was Mathias worried about him?!

"Well we're friends, aren't we?" Mathias asked him. "As your friend, I think I have a right to be concerned about your safety, right?"

That was right. Friends. That was all they would ever be. "I guess you have a point," Lukas sighed, wrapping his scarf around the lower half of his face as well as his neck. "Fine, I'll be careful, just so you don't have to break any bad news to my mother."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Mathias half-laughed. His face was red, but Lukas couldn't tell if it was because he was flushed from something or if it was from the cold, but he guessed it was from the cold. "And I'll promise the same to you."

Lukas smiled a little, feeling slightly relieved. "Thanks," he said. "At least I won't have to have any awkward conversations with your family either."

.

Emil ran to Lukas the moment he saw him. "Lukas!" he cried out. "I was so worried that you forgot me!"

"How could I ever forget my baby brother?" Lukas asked him. "Especially if he's as cute as you?" He picked up the small, silvery-haired boy and kissed the side of his head. "You, Emil, are definitely one person I know I could never forget."

Emil grinned widely and looked over at Mathias as he closed the door. "Hi, Mathias! What are you guys coming back here in the middle of the week for?"

"We're done with training," Mathias told him. "Your big brother here is a certified fighter pilot." Mathias placed a proud hand on Lukas's shoulder, which caused Lukas to blush.

"Really?!" Emil excitedly squealed, eyes widening with excitement. "You did it!" He wrapped his arms around Lukas's shoulders and hugged him rightly. "Good job, Lukas! I knew you could do it!"

Elsa wandered into the living room. "I thought I heard something," she said. "What's going on?"

"He did it, Mama!" Emil excitedly said, turning to Elsa. His violet eyes were bright. "Lukas is a fighter pilot now!"

Elsa's eyes widened as she smiled widely and rushed over to her sons, hugging both of them. "That's wonderful news! I'm so proud of you, Lukas!" She kissed her elder son's cheeks. "You did it! That is wonderful news!"

Mathias stepped away to the side to let them have their moment as a family. He went to put his bag in his room and get his stuff situated.

Elsa pulled away. "Lukas, you make me so proud! I guess this means you'll be heading to England soon, doesn't it?"

"Saturday," Lukas confirmed with a nod.

"No!" Emil whined. "No, don't leave me!" He wrapped his arms around Lukas and clung to him. "You can't leave like that! Take me with you!"

"Emil, you know I can't do that," Lukas softly told him. "But I came here to spend a few days with you before I leave. Just for you." He hugged his little brother, feeling his heart break slightly at the hurt in Emil's voice. "I came here for you, Em."

"Liar!" Emil wailed. "Put me down!" He began to flail a little, fighting Lukas to put him down.

"Stop that," Lukas scolded. "Let me talk to you, Emil. I'm not going to put you down until you listen to me. I could hold you all day, don't think I won't." He felt the satisfaction of winning when Emil stopped struggling. "Do you want to know why I have to go to England?"

"Yeah," Emil whined, scrubbing at his eyes with his sleeve, trying to stop the tears that were already escaping.

"There are some bad guys out there," Lukas told him. "And it's my job to stop them from coming after you. Will you let me keep you safe from the bad guys? I promise that once they're all gone, I'll come right back to you."

Emil sniffled a little. "Promise?"

Lukas smiled at him. "Would I lie to you, Emil?" He watched his little brother think it over and then shake his head. "That's what I thought. Everything is going to be okay." His arms drew Emil in for a hug as he rocked him. "You are too precious to me for me not to return to, Emil."

Elsa smiled at her sons. "Sigrid and I were just preparing dinner. I will go and tell her that you and Mathias have arrived. She will be so happy to hear so. Could you watch your brother for awhile? Berwald and Tino were up out chopping firewood all afternoon so we decided to let them nap this afternoon."

Lukas smiled at his little brother. "Sure thing, Mom." He walked over to the couch and sat on it with Emil on his lap as Elsa returned to the kitchen. His mind began to wander to Berwald and Tino. Did his mother know that they were together? Did his mother care that they were together? Would she care if she knew how he felt about Mathias?

.

Tino was up before Berwald and joined Lukas in the living room. He sat in an armchair with a book that held a collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. "Emil, do you want to hear a story?"

Emil smiled widely and positioned himself on Lukas's lap to where he could see Tino well. "Yeah!" he excitedly said, bouncing excitedly.

Lukas moved Emil a little closer to his knees as he bounced. "What story are you going to read?" he asked. "I've read some of those fairy tales, but not all of them."

"Read The Little Mermaid!" Emil excitedly said. "I don't think Lukas knows that one!"

Tino looked to Lukas. "Have you heard that one?"

"I honestly don't think I have," Lukas admitted. "I have never been much of a fairy tale reader."

"It's my favorite!" Emil told Lukas, turning to look at him, violet eyes wide.

Tino smiled at Emil. "This one is mine and Berwald's favorite, too. It's the first thing we ever had in common, the fact that this was our favorite story."

Lukas listened closely to the story. He didn't think he'd like fairy tales very much, but this one seemed a little different. A mermaid who wanted to be a human was a nice twist, and then when she died at the end it took Lukas a moment to realize that was the real ending and that Tino wasn't just messing with him.

"Surprised?" Tino asked him. "That is the way this fairy tale ends. There is magic in this world, but everything has a price that not all are willing to pay. Sometimes it's best to make your own magic. All it would have taken was True Love's Kiss."

"Do you believe in True Love's Kiss, Tino?" Emil asked, cocking his head to the side. He yawned and leaned against Lukas, eyelids heavy.

"I do," he said with a smile. "True Love's Kiss holds all kinds of magic in it."

"But do you think it's real?" Emil asked.

"That's a secret," Tino said with a wink. "What about you, Lukas? What do you think of all that fairy tale stuff?"

Lukas blushed a little from being put on the spot. "Me? Well I guess it's all a matter of perspective. It depends on if you believe in magic or not."

"And do you?" Tino asked him, looking at him expectantly.

"I do," Lukas said, looking down at his now-sleeping brother and smiling. "I believe that there is magic in this world. It's everywhere. You just have to know where to look for it."

"Good answer, Lukas," Tino said. A wide smile suddenly crossed his face. "Berwald, you're awake," he happily said. "Come sit with us! Emil just fell asleep." He looked expectantly up at the tall Swedish man as he crossed the room to come sit by him. His smile widened as Berwald gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Did you sleep well?"

Lukas didn't hear anything after that. It was like there was a weird ringing in his ears. Did they just kiss in front of him? Were they that open about it if Emil wasn't awake or paying attention? His mother must definitely know then.

"I was just telling Lukas about how I believe in True Love's Kiss," Tino told Berwald, reaching over to hold his hand.

Lukas snapped back to reality when he heard his name. "Yeah, he was," he confirmed. "Why do you believe in it, Tino?"

"I came to live here when I was sixteen years old," Tino began. "It was right after Helsinki was bombed in 1939. Unfortunately, I was the only survivor in my entire neighborhood, and the trauma of that was enough to cause me to forget how to speak." He looked up at Lukas, who frowned. "Oh, don't do that. It was long ago, it's okay now. Anyway, after living here for a few weeks, I fell in love with Berwald, but he wasn't aware of it. A month or two after we started kissing randomly, he kissed me one morning, and there was something different about that kiss. I couldn't quite place what it was, though. But that morning, after not speaking for months, I was finally able to talk again. And I used some of my first words to tell him that I loved him." Tino looked fondly up at Berwald. "I've never had eyes for another person."

Lukas felt oddly inspired by Tino's story. "True Love's Kiss must be very powerful to both of you."

"You have no idea," Berwald said, unable to take his eyes off of the Finnish man sitting next to him. "Next month, it'll be four years since I met Tino. And I can't imagine my life without him."

Lukas smiled. "I'm glad you two have each other."

"We just hope that people as great as you and Mathias find love like ours," Tino said, smiling. "A love that lasts like ours did. We've been going strong for nearly four years." He admirably gazed up at Berwald. "I wish you great happiness, Lukas."

"Thank you, Tino," Lukas said. "You are very kind."

Mathias walked in. "I see you two have come out to Lukas," he said, seating himself next to Lukas on the couch.

Lukas tensed up a bit. "You have no tact, do you?"

Tino gave Lukas a knowing look. "I knew it," Lukas heard Tino whisper to Berwald, who nodded to him. Tino smiled at Lukas.

Lukas gave Tino a confused look. "I heard you, you know," he said.

"Just a bet we had going," Tino simply said, narrowing his eyes at Berwald. "And I won it. That's all."

Had they been betting on his sexuality? Lukas suddenly felt very nervous around Tino and Berwald. Had they known about him all along? Was their bet about if he felt that way about Mathias? How had they known? Had Tino noticed him tense up when Mathias sat down? What did that mean anyway?

"What were you betting on?" Mathias asked.

Berwald glared at Mathias. "It's a bet you wouldn't understand," he sighed to Mathias. "You never understand anything we do anyway."

"It's because you and Thumbelina over there are fucking weird," Mathias defended.

Tino groaned. "Mathias, that was four years ago. Stop calling me that. Let it go."

"I bet you still dance out in the snow," Mathias teased. "You just do it when you know I'm not around, Tino."

The Finnish man turned bright red. "Berwald, make him shut up."

Berwald sighed. "Mathias, please stop. Don't you have better things to talk about other than embarrassing things Tino has done when he was younger?"

Lukas was confused and was hoping for a change of subject, so he decided to do it himself. "We're leaving for England on Saturday. We graduated training today."

Tino's eyes widened. "You're a licensed fighter pilot?!" He smiled widely. "Congratulations, Lukas! I'm so happy for you!" His voice went a lot quieter when Emil stirred in his sleep. "Shit, I forgot he was asleep. That's great to hear. I'm so happy for you, Lukas. That's exciting news!"

Lukas was glad that he had decided to let his family move in with Mathias's. They were great people, and he felt comfortable with them. He knew that his mother and Emil were in good hands as he easily spent the afternoon with Berwald, Tino, and Mathias.

Tino grabbed Lukas's arm as they walked toward the kitchen for dinner. "Lukas, I need clarification for something," he softly said, letting everyone else walk ahead of them.

"What is it?" Lukas asked, turning to Tino.

"You're gay, aren't you?" Tino softly asked. "And it's Mathias that you have your heart set on, right?"

Lukas couldn't help but feel put on the spot. He struggled to find his voice, but his face said it all.

"I knew it," Tino said. "That means I won the bet. Now, Ber and I aren't sure about Mathias's feelings because we've never seen him express a romantic interest in anyone, so we have no idea what kind of person he's interested in. Sorry we can't be much help, but we'll be cheering you on because we like you." He winked at him and patted him on the back. "Go for it, Lukas. The worst he would ever do is not love you back."