Gonna be honest here, this could've been finished a week ago, but I was overcome with Eurovision hype and this weird motivation to finish organising my stamp collection. The stamp collection still isn't finished, but I might as well get this done and uploaded.

Anyway, here's their first official date!

Tino hoped he looked cute.

No, not cute! Hot. Desirable. Irresistible. A man who would take Berwald on a date so incredible he'd never want to date anyone else again. Now that he knew they were dating. Vidar and Eduard were still making fun of him for that, and probably would for the rest of his life. It also meant he now wasn't sure who'd started dating their crush first: him or Eduard. Though, if Tino hadn't known they were dating, that probably meant Eduard won. In more ways than one. He hated that.

But now that he was aware of dating Berwald, he could go all out. He would be the smoothest, most seductive man on the planet. Berwald wouldn't be able to picture his future without Tino. He would be so enamoured, he'd propose there and then and weep at the thought of having such a man for a husband.

Tino made a face. If he had to be honest, he was the lucky one here. Berwald was way too good for him.

He picked the jeans with the most rips, like he was some Victorian bachelorette flashing a bit of ankle to excite the guys. Though this time it was his shiny white knees that blinded people when the sun hit them. Would wearing his Screaming Pagans shirt be weird? Like he was the band's stalker or something? He decided to put in the effort and wore a shirt, with buttons and everything. And a jumper, because it was getting cold. He liked to pretend he didn't feel the cold, but sometimes he just wanted to be warm and comfortable. Plus, it was more layers for Berwald to unwrap, and that was always exciting.

Not that he expected to go that far, not on their first proper date.

He still tried to pose seductively when he answered the door to Berwald, and failed. Berwald didn't look even the slightest bit seduced, but he didn't look a whole lot of anything most of the time. Tino was hopeful that he was getting better at reading him, though.

"Just need to freshen up," he told Berwald. He wanted to make sure his mouth was minty fresh before even trying to kiss him, and also so Berwald could look at his butt as he left the room. Very important. Berwald, meanwhile, sat on the sofa awkwardly, twiddling his thumbs as he noticed Kukkamuna licking her crotch, right in front of him like she was putting on a show specially. Maybe she was establishing dominance as the most important thing in Tino's life and Berwald would have to accept second place, not as hairy or as flexible. Berwald said nothing, looking anywhere but at her.

Tino came back in, and immediately picked Kukkamuna up to kiss her goodbye. Berwald almost gagged at the sight of her licking his lips, and him opening his mouth to kiss her nose back. And the moment he opened his mouth, Kukkamuna had to lick the inside of it. When Tino leaned down to kiss him too, he instinctively leaned away, then felt bad about it.

"Bit soon, yeah," said Tino, trying not to look hurt. "Anyway, see ya later, Kukka. Got one more kiss for daddy?" He crouched down to let her lick his jaw one more time, then put on his coat, leading a rather horrified Berwald out the door. When he glanced back, he swore that little dog was giving him a smug look.

"I just… thought we were goin' on dates… and kissin'... cause we were a coupl'." Both of them were avoiding eye contact with each other as they walked, finding a strange interest in the seagulls flying overhead.

"No, that's a valid conclusion, based on all the evidence." Tino smiled to himself. "We just… weren't on the same page."

"Or s'me book." They both looked at each other, and burst into a fit of giggles.

"So… when you thought we were dating," began Tino, "did you actually like me or were you just going along with this? And… are you still going along with it?" He looked at the ground, and Berwald looked at him.

"Like ya. A lot."

Tino blushed, burying his face in his hands. "I like you a lot too! Like, I'm sorry we didn't talk much when we were younger, but when I saw you on that stage, you looked so beautiful. Um, if you don't mind me saying."

"Nah, sweet."

"So our first date was the apple picking, right?"

"Assumed so."

"I'm gonna need you to store the sass in your pocket, mister." He smiled at him. "So, when did you start liking m-"

"Nearly there now," Berwald coughed. He pointed out a building before Tino could reply, and Tino decided to drop it. Did he not actually like him? But he did, surely. Berwald noticed how he deflated.

"M'ybe a few… years 'go," he admitted, squirming, "when y'were Vidar's friend. Doesn't matter."

Tino nodded. He'd known Vidar from highschool, and met Berwald and Gunner a few times because of it, even though he and Vidar had lived in Finland until a few years ago. It wasn't often the three (four including Tolli) cousins got together, not even yearly. Tino only had a handful of memories. Had Berwald really fallen for him, whilst Tino barely remembered the time they'd spent together? Nah, he must've meant more recently, or was looking back on those memories with rose-tinted glasses.

"That's… really sweet, wow. But aww, you've had a crush on me all that time?"

Berwald nodded, looking away, at anywhere but Tino. Tino stared at him with the softest expression. When Berwald dared glance back at him, he blushed.

"You're pretty," said Tino. Berwald continued to blush as he pushed open the door to the climbing wall… place. Tino wasn't too sure what the exact name for it was. What he did know is that, when Berwald was putting on his rented harness, he was brushing against all sorts of places, and Tino wasn't sure how he was gonna climb up a wall in this state.

Also, the harness pinched around the thighs.

As Berwald worked, Tino wiggled his eyebrows at another couple, who ignored him whilst radiating disgust. He looked around for a distraction, and found a group of women eyeing Berwald up. He wiggled his eyebrows again in response. Yeah, there was a beautiful man inches from his penis. Berwald attached a little bag to the back of the harness.

"Reverse codpiece?" Asked Tino.

"N- chalk."

"You gotta draw a picture at the top?"

"Fer yer hands. Better grip." He put on his own harness and chalked up his hands. He looked so professional as he went, in his tight black top and jog bottoms. Everyone here looked more professional than Tino, not least the group of 6-year-olds climbing up and down one of the walls like Spiderman. If that one little prick didn't stop looking at him smugly - like he didn't believe someone Tino's size could do it - he'd be meeting Spiderman, and the rest of the Avengers too. Maybe Tino should've picked a more sporty outfit, though. He was so focused on looking hot he forgot they were going to do exercise. "Yer not belay trained, right?"

"I'm gonna say no."

"Y'can't hold the rope."

"To help you up?" Tino looked around. The other climbers seemed to be working in pairs, with one person on the ground holding onto the rope whilst the other climbed. Berwald nodded. "I can hold a rope, surely."

Berwald shook his head and took him round the corner, where the ropes were more like bungee jumps attached to canvas triangles. People were climbing here solo, no partner needed to hold the rope. Did they really take themselves that seriously here, or did Berwald just not trust him?

"H've ta take a test," Berwald mumbled, "b'fore ya belay."

"Safety reasons?"

Berwald nodded, then took the carabiner at the end of the rope and clipped it onto his harness. "W'tch me." He chalked up his hands, then got climbing.

He scaled the wall easily, and Tino thought he was going to have a stroke just from looking at the guy's arse, trousers stretched wide over it like they were about to split. He was at the top in what looked like seconds, then he leaned back and let himself drop, the rope lowering him back down slowly. For a big, awkward guy, he sure looked graceful on the wall. Tino clapped when he landed, and caught the tiniest of smiles.

"S'easy," he mumbled, then coughed, "the route, I mean. Y'can do it too."

Oh right, the route. He was supposed to have been paying attention to that. Tino smiled and let Berwald clip him in. The rope tugged at his harness, pinching in places, and he stared up. The wall suddenly seemed a lot taller as he stood in front of it, and he looked to Berwald - almost as tall - for reassurance.

"Don't pull up w'th ya arms, push up w'th ya legs. Or you'll get tired."

Tino nodded. Okay, not words of comfort, but still useful. He climbed onto the wall, and pushed himself up. The first two steps were easy, but after that, he started sweating. He couldn't see where to put his legs next, and his entire body felt like a bag of bricks all of a sudden. He tried to not put too much weight on his arms, but the footholds were too small to comfortably stand on. The plastic handholds dug into his fingers, and he was too scared to hold on with one hand while he got more chalk. Would more chalk even help here? He was sweating, but he didn't want to risk letting go. But he carried on. Bit by bit, he went higher and higher, until his legs were trembling and he finally reached the top. He waved back down to Berwald before letting go. He yelped as he started plummeting, but the winch soon kicked in and slowed his fall. Tino, breathless and shaking, sank gracefully to the floor.

"I did it!" He cried, hugging Berwald. "My arms hurt, but I did it!"

Berwald hugged back, awkward but genuine.

"Proud've ya."

"Can we do another now?"

"Harder one?"

He nodded. "I think I can do it. Lot more confident, y'know? I know it's not so scary."

Berwald nodded. "C'mon. S'do a harder one."

Berwald wasn't one for PDA, but he let Tino lean against him as they ate boxes of noodles in a crowded street, watching people rush by as it began to snow. It was a street full of food stalls and trucks, and there were other couples about, eating together. The late afternoon sun quickly disappeared behind houses, and the temperature plummeted. The world was lit up in little lights, twinkling all around. Maybe he was slightly addicted to take-away food, or maybe he was starving from all the climbing, but the noodles tasted extra-good to Tino. Probably not as tasty as Berwald's lips, though.

"I love the cold," said Tino, "makes me feel powerful. I wanna strip naked and dive into it."

"Please don't."

"Okay, for you, I won't. But if we're ever alone in the Finnish wilderness, I will strip and dive into the nearest lake."

"Why?"

"Feels good on my nipples."

"Y'don't have t'prove yer strong t'me."

Tino puffed out his cheeks. "It's not that!" He paused. "You are aware I'm very strong, though. Right?"

Berwald nodded.

"Good. I'm very strong. I could lift you." Berwald raised an eyebrow, and Tino obliged. He lifted him easily, despite Berwald's size and muscle, and one of Tino's hands holding noddles. His arms started shaking quickly, though, but Tino decided to blame it on the rock climbing. "Strong," Tino buried his face in Berwald's coat.

"Warm," he mumbled in reply. Tino put him down.

"Want to get warm and snuggled up?" he asked; "hot drinks. Blankets. Snorking." Berwald raised an eyebrow at that. "You know… kissing."

Maybe Berwald had been trying to say something along the lines of "I'd like to snork" or "I can get down with some snorking", but what came out instead was: "I can snork!" Yes, he could. He was capable of snorking, physically. He'd read a book on it and had lips.

"I'm sure you can." Tino took his hand. "Come on."

"Wanna… freshen up?"

The two of them were on Tino's sofa, side by side, several centimetres between them. Tino had his hands on his lap, chewing his cheek and looking at the pile of magazines on the coffee table. Berwald watched the slushy snow out the window, sipping decaf.

"Nah, but you can use my toothbrush if you want," Tino replied.

Berwald nodded, and resigned himself to dog residue lips. Also there was no way he was using another person's toothbrush. Even though he was planning to stick his tongue in that very person's mouth (maybe. Is that how kissing worked? According to the romantic novels he kept under his mattress, it was. And something about tongues battling.), but it was somehow less gross. Even though there was one degree of separation between Tino's mouth and a dog's vagina. Toothbrush germs had been left to air out and crust over and it just felt horrible using a used toothbrush.

And why the fuck was he thinking about toothbrush crust when Tino was right there? Looking at him expectantly. This was why he didn't talk.

"M'good." They fell into silence, before Tino took the initiative and leaned in for a kiss. Berwald copied him, to let him know he was interested, and their noses bumped. Tino smiled at that, and Berwald kissed that smile. Berwald fumbled through the kiss, and Tino's hand on his thigh almost made him freeze up. Tino guided him through the kiss, and Berwald copied as best he could, but he didn't exactly know what he was doing. Instincts might come in handy, here, but anxiety usually told them to fuck off, and he was left struggling and not thinking and somehow overthinking at the same time. He brought his hand up to tenderly brush Tino's cheek. His face cheek, not his butt cheek.

They never progressed past kissing and gentle touches, but Tino did squeeze a pec. He found himself lying on Berwald, in his arms as the action died down. Berwald smiled at him, and gently kissed an eyelid as Tino began to doze off.

"Bedt'me," he mumbled, and Tino blinked awake.

"Okay then," he said, standing up and picking up Berwald. The man's long legs were awkward to hold, but Tino managed to carry him, bridal-style, to the bedroom. He dropped him on the bed, kissed his head, then took off his jumper.

"Stong," said Berwald.

"I am." Tino stripped down to his boxers, watching Berwald do the same. When he got caught staring, Tino looked away and climbed into bed. He buried his face in his pillow, and felt the weight of Berwald climbing in next to him.

"We're n't…" Berwald coughed, "M'not ready."

"Yeah, it's okay, neither am I." Being horny wasn't the same as being ready, or he'd have been ready nearly every day since he was 14. "Kiss?"

Berwald nodded, gathered him up in his arms, and kissed him. When they parted, Tino looked up at Berwald with the most tender, loving expression that Berwald had no choice but to kiss him again. Tino ran his hands through Berwald's coarse, choppy hair, trailing a finger down to his face, across his cheek and over his jaw.

"You're pretty," Tino mumbled, "very pretty. Beautiful man."

Berwald blushed. "Y'are."

"Nah, you are," he kissed his nose. Then moved down to his lips. "Sleepy."

Berwald nodded, cuddling him closer. "Sleepy."

"Night, Berwald. Pretty man."

"Nigh'. Lo- Lovely m'n. Sleep n'w. Shhh."

Tino looked at him. "Were you gonna say you love m-"

"Shhhhhh."

So my notes say this story's gonna have 22 chapters, but that might go up if I want to add more, or down if I end up combining chapters. But for now, here's to being halfway done.