You and Me: Chapter 14

It had been a few days since Tino had set foot indoors, under a roof that wasn't leaking above an old barn or bus shelter. Barely an hour after they had arrived in Sweden, Berwald and he were taken to the house that Berwald had apparently purchased (at the very last minute, it would seem).

Mild warmth hit Tino's face and he smiled into it, forgetting altogether about when and for how much Berwald had purchased this house. Perhaps the tall man had made some phone calls on his cell phone while Tino was asleep, but he couldn't be sure.

"W're home."

Tino looked around him; the house was dark and empty, and bare, which was to be expected. There was, however, a few pieces of furniture such as a rare looking couch in the living room. Upon inspecting the kitchen, Berwald found everything they would need for the time being; a sink, an oven, a small fridge and a functional washing machine. He presumed the bathroom would have a toilet, sink and bath tub, too. Tino didn't move from the space before the doorway.

"There's a fireplace. That's a good sign," he joked, but there was no laughter from either of them, "When did you buy this place? And how?"

"Friend owed favour t' me," Berwald returned to the living room where Tino stood. The curious Finn walked to the old couch and ran his hand along it; it wasn't as dusty as it appeared.

"Where did all this furniture come from?"

"Bought some with house."

"Oh," Tino was cut off, turning to find Berwald's face closer to his own than he was comfortable with. He flinched.

"Get shower. I'll unpack." Tino nodded, going to their suitcases by the door to take out a towel and the first dry t-shirt he found (unaware that it actually belonged to the Swede). He went upstairs, and once he was out of sight, Berwald lit a fire to warm them.


In a normal situation, Tino would check each and every room in his new place of residence (which he had in his previous home, making an exception for Lars' room, of course), but he passed all closed doors without a second thought. He was exhausted, and finally under the safety of brick and cement, he wanted to drop down and have a proper night's sleep. For now, he would settle for the refreshing feeling of a long cooling shower.


After unpacking, Berwald sighed at the sight of their new home. It was a fair size in a fine location, but the walls were stripped bare and it looked dull and unwelcoming. Even with their belongings sorted away and placed in the appropriate places, the house looked unoccupied and abandoned. Never did he imagine bringing Tino to something like this as a home of their own. He was lucky, however, to be able to get a house on such short notice. He would have been mortified if he was forced to bring the small man into a cheap apartment or filthy motel, so he was thankful for the most part.

With no more canned food in their luggage, Berwald sent one of his trusty-looking people to the market to buy some groceries. While waiting for their food to come, he put their dirty laundry in the washing machine and flopped down onto the sofa, as there was nowhere to sit in the kitchen.

He leaned back, closing his eyes as he thought over all the things that he now had to buy; there was no TV for Tino to watch his DVDs (which meant there was no DVD player, either), there was no toaster or blender or microwave. The rooms upstairs were totally empty, all of which needed to be refurbished. Every inch of the house needed repainted or wallpapered or carpeted. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, exhausted.

"Um… Berwald?" Tino called gently from the top of the stairway. Berwald stood and looked up at him; his hair was wet and sticking to his face, his bare legs dripping ever so slightly. He wore Berwald's gigantesque t-shirt over a pair of boxers, and held a small wet towel in hand.

"Tino?" Berwald began to walk up the stairs towards him, "What 's 't?"

"I found one of the bedrooms," Tino walked slowly after Berwald had reached him, leading the man to the room with the door left wide open. They walked in and Berwald looked around them. Almost as bare as the other rooms, there was a plain double bed pushed up against the wall. The tiring sun drooped further down from the uncovered window, as though it was bored of the void room. But it could easily be made cosy and comfortable, Berwald evaluated in his head.

"'s nice."

"Yeah, but there's one bed. And that's the only one in the whole house." Berwald grunted his realisation calmly, certain that this wouldn't be a problem. "I can sleep on the couch until we get another one."

"No. 's ok, bed 's big."

Tino smiled at him, his eyes beaming into Berwald's almost desperately, "But you've bought this entire house by yourself. It's the least that I can do. Please."

Berwald simply shook his head, about to speak before he heard someone knocking on the front door. "'t'll be food. Come," he mumbled as he made his way down the stairs. Tino scurried after him.

"But what about you?"

"W'll think 'f somethin'," Berwald looked over his shoulder to smile promisingly and yet slightly to his companion. Tino's cheeks went pink at the sight, causing him to stop in his tracks as Berwald proceeded to answer the door. After a few moments, the Swede re-emerged with four or five bags of groceries. Tino snapped himself out of his trance and took two bags from Berwald, helping him carry them into the kitchen.

"Oh, you're doing the washing," Tino realised at the sound of the washing machine swirling their clothing around and around. He heaved the two heavy bags onto the kitchen counter, while Berwald handled his with great ease. They both began to unpack the cans and boxes, bottles and packets, vegetables and fruits. "I'll put them up to dry when they're done."

Berwald nodded, piling a plentiful amount of cans atop of each other and carrying the tower to the cupboards. Tino put some more perishable items in the fridge, including the drinks and the butter that had been purchased.

The cycle in the washing machine came to a halt and Tino began to take out their laundry, piling it up in his arms.

"When y're finished, y' can rest. 'll wake y' for food."

Tino smiled, "Thank you, Berwald. What will we be having?"

"Sandwich. 's'all I can make right now."

"That sounds great," Tino called over his shoulder as he opened the back door to hang the clothes up on the washing line in their sizeable but poorly tended garden. Berwald blinked the sleep from his eyes and stretched his aching back, knowing that tonight's sleep would be worth the wait.


Tino lay curled up on the couch against Berwald, his head resting on the tall man's chest while Berwald played with his soft blonde hair. Berwald was left to wear a thin vest and pair of boxers after a quick shower, as their clothes outside had yet to dry under the bitter cold of the Swedish night sky.

"Tino 's tired?"

"A little," the Finn yawned like a fatigued angel, causing Berwald to smile. He ran his hand down the back of Tino's head, combing his hair with his fingers as he went.

"Let's go t' bed."

"Mmm," Tino sat up and stretched sleepily, "'kay. I'll sleep down here. I already took a nap in the bed earlier, so it's only fair-" Tino's words were cut off by the surprise of being lifted up into Berwald's arms as the Swede stood. He began to walk upstairs, mumbling something along the lines of "no". Held firmly against Berwald's torso, Tino was too tired to be puzzled or to protest, and he wrapped his legs around Berwald's waist to secure himself.

Once they arrived in the naked bedroom, Berwald placed Tino gently on his feet and climbed under the sheets. Without a second thought, Tino followed suit. He lay his head down onto the fluffy pillow, sighing with relief.

"Hey," he muttered, turning blindly in Berwald's direction, unable to see him through the thinning darkness, "it's big enough for the both of us."

Berwald grunted, wrapping his arms around Tino's smaller figure. Tino didn't question it, well used to the Swedish man's strangely affectionate ways by now. He breathed in his warmth, slowly and gratefully. Then, he felt a pair of lips against his forehead.

"G'd night Tino."

Tino mumbled something back, but it was totally inaudible. He quickly drifted off to sleep.

"'ll make real home with y' Tino. I swear."