"That was definitely the same guy who saved me!" Finland laughed, a serene smile graced his face, "I finally have a chance to thank him!"
"Why didn't you thank him before he left?" Norway asked, his voice a low and soft hum.
"Nor! Don't me down like that!" Finland wailed. True he had failed to thank the Swede yet again, but it would have been too awkward doing so at the office," What shall I do Nor? Should I thank him over lunch tomorrow?"
"Sounds ideal. Just don't forget. And don't leave me stranded with the dimwit he's always with."
Norway arranged the files on the shelf as Finland passed a final glance around the room before deeming that it was all right to set off for home.
"Hey Fin," Norway said as he turned out the lights and closed the door to their office, "what's for dinner?"
The sun filtered through the shutters. Sweden narrowed his eyes. It was that time of the day again, the time to wake up. His alarm clock rang loudly, disrupting any kind of peaceful thought. Sweden grimaced, work was never fun. Well at least he had the companionship of some one full of life (a Dane who he would not name) and not to mention the fact that he would be able to see the Finn again. He slugged out of bed to begin his morning rituals of bathing and coffee
ooOoo
The sun was basking in the bright sky, delivering a kind of oppressive heat that got Sweden drenched in sweat within minutes of stepping out of his door. He had done so much to persuade himself to just flag down a damn taxi and just get to work. Denmark had not replied to his text yet so Sweden had decided to go to the building of the notorious I2 Company first.
Flapping his hand awkwardly to flag down any of the passing taxis, Sweden sighed. The promises of a fruitful and successful future seemed so empty. His future looked bleak. How the hell did all those teachers back in school persuade me to work hard? He should have realized there was no such thing as a happy future no matter how hard you worked, judging by the miserable faces of those who taught him. Except for those who were born royal or had the inheritance of someone already famous. Just then a taxi stopped for him. Getting in, Sweden let out a relieved huff. He finally had relief from such the staggering heat wave, and he was on his way to see the little blond who had captured his heart on sight.
ooOoo
Sweden stepped into the tall building with Norway leading the way. He had been severely disappointed when Finland had failed to appear the minute Sweden reached the compound. Using an ID card, Norway opened the locked doors in the building as they made their way to the conference room they were about to work in. Although the joint project was something on a big scale, only a strange handful had been selected.
"Where's your annoying friend?" Norway asked, clearly uninterested, the question only for the sake of speaking.
"I don't know. I assumed he'd be here already." Sweden replied, taking in the long corridor that led to the single door further down. The walls were lined with paintings of landscapes and buildings, of flora and fauna. The ceiling had round fluorescent lamps placed at regular intervals and the floor was carpeted grey. The carpet muffled the sounds of their suede shoes and the lamps overhead gave a kind of unnatural glare.
Using his ID card for the last time, Norway opened the giant teak door to reveal a large conference room fit for 40 people. One of the walls was a large window stretched across; the outer layer was coated with a sparse layer of metal, so that no one could look in.
ooOoo
It was 10 minutes into the meeting when the Dane was ushered into the conference room. Although it wasn't him who was tardy, Sweden felt a kind of distinct embarrassment for the colleague he was associated with. The Dane looked irritable, his hair was mused and it seemed as if he just got out of bed not long ago.
Taking a seat next to Sweden, Denmark pulled out documents from his briefcase noisily, as if to tell the world about his sour mood. Everyone eyed the Danish man curiously.
"What?" Denmark spat.
"Right! Let us commence the meeting now then," intercepted a short enthusiastic Japanese man from the I2 Company. He had short raven black hair, and his dark eyes blazed with a fiery passion once he got into full swing. "Since two companies have come together, the prestigious Little Hero and our renowned company of I2, our task is to create an article that can be used and sold to the world by both companies. Our individual task is to brainstorm on the best profitable item that not only serves its purpose well but also benefits people!
"All ideas are welcomed! Since Little Hero has been known for it's appliances, like alarm clocks, ovens, handphones and such, perhaps we can come up with an amazing device that combines both appliances and stationeries together! Who's up for any ideas? A simple pen with the functions of a telephone perhaps? Or a pencil case with the ability to store information?"
"Today, let me present you what I have in mind!"
With that, the fiery Japanese switched on the projector to start off his presentation on PowerPoint slides. The slides flickered endlessly on the screen and everyone seemed enraptured by the showcase. Everyone except Sweden and Denmark.
Sweden stifled a yawn. They were supposed to brainstorm collectively, but of course people always had a jump-start of things, no one really played by the book. Sweden looked up and watched as Japan ran through his 'finest' idea of joining a toaster and a notebook.
Sweden averted his gaze to the Finnish man down the row who was leaning forward and nodding at almost every statement the presenter made. He looked down to hide the small smile that made its way to his face.
"That was pure crack," Denmark snorted.
"Really? I thought it was brilliant!" Finland exclaimed with child-like innocence.
"I don't see why people would want a toaster with a notebook attached to it. I mean, what happens when the paper runs out? Voila, you now have a regular toaster! Congratulations! You've just wasted a hundred dollars on an extra notebook that wouldn't last!"
Denmark's words were brimming with such sarcasm that Finland flinched.
Sweden cocked an eyebrow but Denmark seemed not to heed. He continued on with his rant, " I mean, why don't you just use blue-tack to stick pieces of paper onto the toaster? I'm sure post-its would be a better and not to mention cheaper option. Plus, what happens if the toaster overheats and the paper catches fire from all that heat emanated?"
When everyone just stared at him in pure silent horror, Denmark let out a shallow and awkward laugh. Sweden punched his shoulder.
"You'd do well to stop voicing out your disagreements so critically."
"Sorry… But…!"
Sweden threw him a lethal glare, telling him to shut up. To save the Dane some shame, Sweden stood up for his blabbering companion.
"Personally, I think Denmark's got a point. It's not a really safe thing to do."
"O-of course, of course. How could we have been so silly!" Finland stammered, agreeing with the Swede.
Norway watched the charade with skepticism; the only thing that startled him was the fact that a twit like Denmark could tell a lousy idea apart from a not-so-lousy idea.
The long, mundane conference had ended just 5 minutes before their lunch break, and Finland had quickly invited Sweden and Denmark to tag along with them. Denmark had politely declined the offer, though his declination was swiftly and abruptly interrupted by Sweden who eagerly accepted the offer.
"Great! I know a great place to eat downtown. The food there is simple delicious! And there's this shop near the eatery that has the best salmiakki ever!" Finland laughed cheerfully.
Sweden and Denmark exchanged a swift glance.
"I heard they put ammonium chloride into those things. Ammonium of all things." Sweden whispered.
"God help me…" Denmark whimpered dramatically, "I hope it doesn't taste as bad as ammonia smells…"
Overhearing the conversation, Norway turned to them and flashed them the most wicked grin he could muster – which was awfully scary. " It tastes delightful. Every night before we sleep, we react the salmiakki with some alkali and stink up the whole room to keep the ghosts and zombies away."
Sweden belched and Denmark's eyebrow twitched. Well, whatever this salmiakki thing was, Sweden would stomach a whole jar of it if doing so would please the innocent Finn.
The giant food court was teeming with all sorts of people, mostly commuters on their lunch break. Though there was a wide range of commuters, fat, slim, fashionable, and the not-so-fashionable. They made their way through a swarm of people and finally managed to grab a table where they can actually sit and eat later.
"Right! Uhm if you like, I can show you around," Finland said to Sweden, " Nor can show Den around later! Do you mind if you guys wait at the table until we return?"
"Nope. Not all. Take your tim-" Denmark replied rigidly.
"Don't take your time. Come back here as soon as you can." Norway immediately intercepted.
"I'm hungry you see?" he added as an after thought.
"Right. Of course." Denmark snorted, as Finland and Sweden took their leave.
"They'll make a great pair of friends," Finland commented.
Sweden let out a chuckle. Personally, he was panicking inwardly; he didn't know what to do. His heart throbbed incredibly fast in his chest and he itched to take Finland's hand in his. He didn't know what had spurred this emotion; maybe it was the clear violet eyes of Finland, or maybe his pale but perfect complexion. Or it could be the way the sun had danced over Finland's hair, making it shine with a hue so brilliant and akin to gold.
Sweden jerked himself back to reality. He had just gotten to know the Finn; of course there'd be no way Finland could return the feeling. Sweden shook his head, clearing all kind of negative or besotted thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Finland inquired. The light reflected off the violet orbs in a radiant dance, Finland's eyes shimmered like crystals and looked like delicate glass.
"You have nice eyes…" Sweden mumbled thoughtlessly. He immediately regretted voicing his opinion out loud and scowled at himself for speaking so recklessly.
An awkward silence elapsed between the two of them and Sweden felt suddenly shy. A rosy blush began to spread across Finland's cheeks as he let the words sink in.
"Ahh… What I meant was that store looks good. Well what they sell looks good. What are they selling?" Sweden said pathetically, trying to divert the conversation in a new direction and brush off the awkwardness. He had to stop thinking like that, it seemed as if he had been reading too much romance novels, the kind where the author describes the prince charming as some kind of glittering doll made to perfection – which of course Sweden never read. Never.
Jerking out of his reverie, Finland exclaimed in an overly high pitch, "That store sells good spaghetti! Quick let's get in line!"
With that, Finland made a quick grab for Sweden's arm and pulled him over the stall before fishing out his wallet and fussing over money. Sweden mentally kicked himself. Way to spoil his time with Finland. He gritted his teeth as Finland frantically rambled on about losing small coins in his wallet.
When they had finished their meal, Finland had made a gesture of friendship by buying both Denmark and Sweden a tin of salmiakki each. Although both men had insisted on paying for it, Finland would hear none of it.
"So what am I supposed to do with this? React it with some alkali?" Denmark had asked Norway cynically.
Upon returning to the I2 Company, they were both whisked away to meet Japan, the enthusiastic Asian about the toaster issue. Finland and Norway had returned to their office where they were working on a new commercial storyboard to promote their new product of decorative gel pens.
ooOoo
"So I hope you've thanked him already. I won't sit through another lunch with that Danish fool. He kept watching me like some kind of perverted stalker," Norway grimaced.
"Oh no!" Finland wailed, "I completely forgot!"
"You're right. Oh no!" Norway muttered miserably.
"I'm sorry Nor! I-I, well no he- ahh… He said I had nice eyes and then I completely lost it!" Finland gabbled, his face turning beetroot red.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'll invite them over!"
"Woah. Denmark is not stepping into our house!"
"Then I'll invite just Sweden. Please Nor! I need to clear my conscience!"
Norway blinked sympathetically. He wasn't the most empathetic person on earth but he didn't really like to see the Finn in such hysteria. Norway nodded. It wasn't like Sweden was bad anyway, that man had sense.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm sure Ice wouldn't mind some extra company too. right?" Finland asked hopefully.
ooOoo
Finland played with the stray strands of his hair. He couldn't stop thinking about Sweden. His mind had been a whirring hurricane after the incident, and his heart fluttered in his chest whenever he recalled what Sweden said. Perhaps he was just anxious that Sweden held a grudge against him for not thanking him for his first encounter. He bit his lip. No he would definitely thank him soon. Today or tomorrow, it didn't matter really. He just needed to do it soon. So he'd stop feeling anxious. Or that's what Finland told himself anyway.
A/N: Well here's chapter 3! I have a bit of things planned out for this story! Also to those who are not chemistry inclined, Ammonia is this really stinky gas. Have you ever stood outside the boy's toilet and smelt something foul? Well, Ammonia smells a bit like that, only worse. Don't stick your nose in a bottle of aqueous ammonia! Also, reacting ammonium compounds with an alkali produces ammonia gas. So I guess you can make out what Norge is saying now? R&R would be appreciated w
PS. I'm not really sure what salmiakki is but i read from the internet that it's saltied liquorice using ammonium chloride for the salty effect sooo...
Also! To HimekoUchia: Thank you so much for the precious review you have given me! I'm very grateful for it and I hope this chapter would serve as well as the others I've typed out!
