Finland X Reader: 12 Days of Christmas(Hetalia)

On the First Day of Christmas

The air, sharp and dry, stabs your throat as you inhale. You breathe into your hands, rubbing them together to find any trace of warmth in this frozen tundra. You were in a small town, north of where you resided, on the 13th of December. As you stand outside of your grandmother's Christmas shop you sigh, fogging up the air. Your Mom decided that you should visit Grandma and help her with the shop during the busy season, even though she insisted that she doesn't need help. However, Grandma still accepted the offer in the end.

And it's not that you aren't enjoying helping your Grandma; you just wish that you were home in bed watching Netflix all day instead, is all. And hey, at least you're getting paid to drink warm cocoa and eat cookies made by your Grandma.

But standing outside in the freezing cold is not what you signed up for. You sigh again, making an effort to make your breath extra foggy. You finally finish putting up the last sign advertising the current clearance prices on the window of Joulupukki.

You've asked Grandma what the name of the shop means before and she says it translates to Christmas Goat. You don't really know why your Grandma named her shop Christmas Goat, but hey, you do you.

You step back and admire the poster's you sacrificed your frozen fingers for.

12 Days of Christmas Sale!

As Christmas creeps upon us, the cheaper things become!

TODAY! 12 days before Christmas: 5% off

11 days before Christmas: 10% off

10 days before Christmas 20% off

9 days before Christmas: 30% off

8 days before Christmas: 40% off

7 days before Christmas: 50% off

6 days before Christmas: 55% off

5 days before Christmas: 60% off (Plus free candy cane with every purchase!)

4 days before Christmas: 65% off                 ↓

3 days before Christmas: 70% off                 ↓

2 days before Christmas: 75% off                 ↓

1 day before Christmas: 80% off                   ↓

You gather your materials together: tape and a pair of scissors, and walk towards the door of the shop, proud that you did such a good job taping pieces of paper to a wall.

You smile as you walk back inside, the warm air engulfing you in a hug as you begin to get feeling back in your fingers.

"Grandma!" you call out, "I finished putting up the signs!"

An aged, yet spunky, lady covered head to toe in Christmas gear and decorations walks out from behind the counter.

"Thanks, (y/n). Standing out in the cold for so long and putting up those signs freezes the fingers right off of my hand!" she says, handing you a warm cup of cocoa.

"Yeah, mine fell off 5 minutes ago," you reply, eagerly taking the warm beverage.

You take a sip. "Ouch! Too hot!" you exclaim, jerking your burnt tongue away from the cup.

"You have to let it cool, sweetie. Anyways, can you take the register for a while? I'm going to take a nap to prepare for the rush tonight," your Grandma says.

"Sure no problem," you reply setting your cup down on the counter and taking a seat behind the cash register, "I can handle the store by myself for a while,"

"You better be able to! You're graduating High School next year!" your Grandma says chuckling.

"Grandma! I don't want to think about that!" you groan, resting your head against the counter.

"Anyway, sweetie, I'll be back in a bit!" your Grandma says, as she leaves the store into the apartment above the shop.

"Okay, sleep well!" you call out to her.

You don't hear a response.

You relax and begin to stare out of the window onto the street. You are bored out of your mind for about 7 minutes before the passing of cars and the soft tune of Jingle Bells in the distance lulls you into a sleepy state.

"Maybe I should take a short nap?" you manage to mumble to yourself seconds before falling into a deep sleep, your head resting against the counter top, clasping your warm cocoa in your hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You jolt awake at the sound of children throwing a snowball at the shop window. They quickly run away, giggling with their friends.

"Dumb kids," you grumble to yourself. Still groggy from your unexpected nap. You look around the shop and realize that there is some money along with a note on the counter top.

You read the note while eyeing the money.

Hello. You were sound asleep when I came in, but I couldn't find the strength to wake you! You looked so peaceful. I hope you don't mind, but I took a bag of cinnamon, a caramel candy, and 3 candy canes. I left the money on the counter, and please keep the change. I also saw that your cocoa looked a bit bland so I put one of the candy canes in there. I hope you enjoy peppermint!

-Tino

You look at your cocoa and indeed there is a candy cane in the cup, just beginning to melt.

It hasn't melted much so he must have just left. You think to yourself.

You count the change, and it is exactly what a bag of cinnamon, a caramel candy, and 3 candy canes would cost, plus an extra $5 for the tax.

"Wow, what a nice guy," you said to yourself, putting away the money. "He paid even though he could have just walked out,"

"He even gave me a candy cane!" you said smiling as you cautiously took a sip of your peppermint cocoa; the temperature was just right.

Hmm I should start putting candy canes in every cup of cocoa I drink. You think to yourself, gulping down the last sip of cocoa.

You take what is left of the candy cane and bite into it, continuing your staring contest with the building across the street. But this time, instead of being bored out of your mind, you are thinking of a mysterious Santa-like guy named Tino.