Strictly Business | SuFin

One Drink

(I've been neglecting this story for the longest time and everyone seemed to want a new SuFin fic in my messages so I've decided I should probably still work on this one lmao)

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After Berwald's hour in Stockholm, he had a one hour flight back to his office in Gothenburg where he spent the rest of his day in meetings. After his exhausting day at work, he spent another hour flying back to Stockholm to get drinks with Tino. Luckily, the Swede had an apartment in each city, so when he arrived an hour early, he had somewhere to get ready.

He often stayed in his Stockholm apartment when he had important meetings with other big corporations or he had a sequence of meetings with the Stockholm branch. He rarely ever used it for leisure, so it was incredibly clean. It was supplied by the company, so the apartment was huge, almost unnecessarily so. When he first saw the apartment he asked the company for a downgrade. A single man doesn't need an entire indoor swimming pool in his penthouse.

Looking in the mirror, Berwald took a deep breath. With his typically stonefaced exterior, he repeated aloud what he knew was untrue. "This is strictly business. You are his boss. Nothing is going to happen. You cannot pursue anything other than a professional relationship."

With a sigh, Berwald turned from the mirror and grabbed his jacket. Corporate life sucked. Yes, the privileges were nice, and the work wasn't too hard. It was the hierarchy and formality of everything that was frustrating. Everyone he met, regardless of branch, was scared of him, and the only person who wasn't scared of him was Tino. And of course, in the most unfortunate circumstance, Tino was strictly off limits.

This in mind, Berwald made sure he pulled up to Tino's apartment with the utmost formality. The last time he had been to Tino's apartment was after an office holiday party. Tino asked him over for a glass of wine, they shared another one of their lovely conversations, and Berwald left, knowing that staying longer would've led him down a slippery slope. Maintaining his levelheadedness was nearly impossible around the Finn. 

Just as Berwald began reminiscing on their longing stares and very obvious tension, Tino bounded out of the front door of his apartment with a grin on his face. Berwald refrained from swooning, pushing the thoughts out of his head as the adorable manager opened the passenger side door and slid into the car. 

"So how was your daaaay?" Tino sang as he buckled his seatbelt. Berwald began driving quickly, not wanting to be alone in the car with Tino for any longer than he had to be.

"Fine" Berwald replied, avoiding eye contact as he tried not to admit that he had been mentally preparing himself to get drinks with Tino the entire day.

"You're usually pretty stingy with your words, but this might be a new low" Tino joked, noticing the obvious discomfort in Berwald's body language. In an attempt at lightening the mood, Berwald turned on the radio. Tino almost immediately shut it off.

"Come onnn. Talk to me. You wont get fired for a conversation" Tino exclaimed, now annoyed. Berwald was not typically a man of many words, but his fear of getting in trouble with the chairmen of the company had led to him shutting Tino out almost altogether. Years ago, when they first met, having a glass of wine at dinner together was not out of the ordinary. Now asking Berwald out for drinks was like asking him to help hide a body. He turned skittish and silent. Tino missed him.

"How are you?" Berwald responded, not wanting to get into this again. Tino was always pushing his boundaries. It was always one more glass of wine or one more hour of conversation. Berwald couldn't resist. 

"Better than ever! The branch is doing great work and I'm on the way to get drinks with my favorite CEO" Tino spoke, his eyes bright as he looked over at Berwald.