CinderIce: Iceland x Finland Hetalia!

3 (V.2)

Emil woke up to the beautiful sunrise crashing through his window. "Finally," He thought, "Mister Køhler won't be visiting me this morning."

He suddenly felt a strange resistance on his back and felt around under his shirt's fabric. He quickly discovered that someone had bandaged up his wounds last night. It made him smile, knowing that somebody still cared for him.

He got up and went downstairs to clean up the house before everyone got up. To his surprise, Berwald was waiting for him in the kitchen. Startled, Emil fell backward and caught the wall before he went all the way down.

"Berwald? What are you doing up so early?"

"I w'nted t' see y' bef're th' oth'rs w'ke up." The Swede mumbled.

Emil stood back on his two feet and grabbed a nearby mop. "Oh. Any particular reason for this, or...?"

"I h'rd wh't f'ther d'd l'st n'ght."

"You heard everything?"

"Ja."

"Oh, great. Is this round two?"

"Wh't? No. I'm s're you found th' b'nd'ges by n'w."

"Yeah. Wait, did you do it?"

"Of c'rse I d'd. I kn'w y' w'ke up l'st night, I w's in y'r room."

Emil slowly remembered what he saw last night before he fell asleep again and nodded. "Okay."

"Do th'y st'll hurt?"

"Er, no. They don't, surprisingly."

"S'rprisingly?"

"The pain usually lasts a couple of days or so, even with bandages on. Of course, it's kind of hard for me to put them on myself. Thank you, Berwald."

"You're w'lc'me." Berwald sipped his coffee, "L'sten, I'm s'rry I n'ver did anyth'ng b'fore."

"I forgive you, Ber. Mister Køhler would probably whip you, too."

"At least y' wouldn't g' through it al'ne."

"It's whatever, honestly. I have to clean the place up before they wake up, you should probably go get some more sleep."

"L't me h'lp ya."

"Oh, uh-"

Before Emil could protest, Berwald grabbed a broom and walked off to another room to sweep the dirt away. Together, the house was cleaned an hour earlier than usual, which left Mr. Køhler and Lukas very surprised.

Unfortunately, they had no idea Berwald even helped and mocked Emil for speeding through his chores, much to Berwald's horror, and gave him more things to do.

Emil ended up cleaning and running family errands for the majority of the day while his stepbrother watched hopelessly, feeling guilty for Emil's lost free time.

Around dinner time, Mr. Køhler had left with Lukas for some out-of-town business, leaving Berwald behind because he was asleep in his room. Emil, knowing they'd be home around eight at night, made dinner only for himself and Berwald.

He left two plates of sandwiches on the table and went upstairs to Berwald's room, and knocked on the door softly. "Berwald?" He called, "It's dinner time, are you hungry?"

He heard the creaking of Berwald's bed and went back down to sit at the table. He waited patiently as his stepbrother came over and sat beside him. "H'llo, Emil."

"Hi."

They ate dinner quietly and quickly. Emil rushed to clean up the mess and was stopped by Berwald. "C'me with me."

He led Emil back up to the dressing room and handed Emil some clothes. "Try th'se."

"Huh?" Emil stared at the clothes, "What's this for?"

"Just try th'm on."

Emil did as told and changed into multiple flashy suits. He had to show all of them to Berwald, who seemed pleased with most of the looks. Emil changed back into his normal clothes after the last outfit and looked at Berwald. "So?"

"Y' look gr't in wh'te. H're."

Berwald grabbed one more pile of clothes from a random shelf and handed them to Emil. He quickly changed into a pure white suit and looked at Berwald again, who almost smiled and nodded. "Th't's p'rfect."

"Thanks, but why do I need it?"

"You're g'ing to th' ball."

"What? Mister Køhler would never agree to that!"

"I don't c're. Y' des'rve it."

"Where will I even hide this? He'd find it immediately."

"I'll p't it under m' bed."

"Okay, good idea."

Emil once again changed back to his normal outfit and handed the suit to Berwald, who walked to his bedroom and gently placed the suit under his bed, as he said he would. He came back to the dressing room and helped Emil put the rejected clothes away.

Afterwards, Emil was tired and decided to go to sleep. He and Berwald walked up to the attic and stopped in the doorway. "Well," Emil spoke, "I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for...everything. It means a lot to me, really."

"You're w'lcome. Th' b'll is tom'rrow, I'll pr'bably have t' ride with th'm, so y'know where th' suit is?"

"Yeah. They're going to be home soon, don't let them know about any of this."

"Ok'y."

"Goodnight, Berwald."

"G'night, Emil. Sleep w'll."

With that, they went their separate ways and went to sleep before Mr. Køhler and Lukas returned.