Exhausted from Christmas preparations, Finland unlocked his front door and practically fell through the frame, only to be greeted by Hana, who excitedly pawed at his legs while whimpering. Timo threw aside his work bag, peeling his snow adorned coat and kicking off his winter boots. Every year was the same. Throughout the whole of December, and part of November, the country worked non-stop to aid in bringing joy to millions across the globe. But, he loved this time of year and adored his job, so the man could tolerate how worn out he felt and how sore his body was. Seeing the beaming smiles and listening to the heartfelt laughter of so many made his heart sing, his spirit soar and his own face break out into the most enormous grin.
As the Finn reached for his lights and flicked the switch, he almost sprang several feet in the air and the appearance of his fellow Nordic nations.
"Wha-? What are you guys doing here?!" Timo panted, clutching his chest to slow his rapidly pounding heart.
"We wanted to surprise you, silly! We're all your secret Santa!" Mathias smirked, swooping to scoop up Timo, despite the latter's protests, and gently placing him onto his couch. There, he was greeted by a roaring flame and a cup of hot chocolate in his favourite, festive mug. The Dane threw a soft, wooly blanket over the country, retreating behind the safety of the sofa and away from Finland's swiping hands.
"Eh? What do you mean? And don't pick me up please!" Timo cried out, looking around the room to his fellow nations for answers.
"Undskyld! We wanted it to be the bestest surprise!" Denmark called out from behind the couch, his spiky blond hair poking up, a dead giveaway of his hiding spot.
"We know how hard you work, so we all agreed to pull together and throw you a cosy night..." Berwald uttered from where he sat adjacent to the Finn, with Hana now contentedly snoring away on his lap as he ran a single hand across the pooch's snow white fur.
Timo was astonished. All four of them had come together to do something special for him. The thought made tears swell in his eyes. Emil and Lukas brought over individual trays with mugs of hot chocolate and bowls containing a combination of sweet and savoury snacks. Meanwhile, Berwald aimed the television remote at the dark screen and stabbed the on button, causing the contraption to come to life. In that moment, Mathias re-emerged from behind Timo's sofa holding two DVD cases.
"You choose Fin! Love Actually or Home Alone?" Denmark merrily sang, throwing himself down in-between Norway and Iceland, much to the Norwegian's annoyance.
What followed was, in fact, a cosy night in. Timo invited Berwald to snuggle with him while the group watched Home Alone. Mathias, despite having seen the film dozens of times, still chortled at the main character's antics whilst munching on the platter of snacks set of the coffee table. Lukas had fallen asleep on Mathias's shoulder, which Emil had taken some glee in photographing. In the end, Finland had drifted off to the end scene of Home Alone using Sweden's stomach as a pillow, listening to the gurgles and groans of his gut as the Swede too had succumb to slumber. This had been quite the surprise and, upon reflection, Finland couldn't help but feel grateful for the relationships he had now forged with each of the nations.