Step Forward CH7 - SuFin

Norway sighed lightly, massaging his templates with a hand. "Tino's gotten worse," He said in a somewhat flustered tone. He had just arrived at the room that Denmark and I were staying in. Though it was Christmas break, students were able to stay at school if they wanted to. Norway, his brother Iceland, Denmark, Tino and I all stayed at school.
Worse? I asked myself, sitting up in my seat and my muscles grew tense for a moment. Was Tino okay? What had happened to him? My mind panicked for a moment.
"Worse?" Denmark asked for me, running a hand through his wild blond hair. "Are you serious?" Unlike his usual snide and nonchalant tone, he sound rather worried. My throat tightened with anticipation.
"I hardly ever joke, Denmark." Norway said rather grimly, glaring straight at Denmark.
"W'rse!?" I asked in an anxious tone, leaning forward suddenly. "Wh't's happ'ned ta T'no? 'S 'e ok'y?"
Both Norway and Denmark stared at me for a moment, Norway looking a little surprised, and Denmark looked rather confused. I looked at both of them for a moment, a slight awkward pause among us as I had burst out in question.
"Easy, easy, Berwald," Denmark smiled genially, and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.  "Norway's just a little too serious. Nothin's wrong with your boyfriend."
My muscles relaxed, and I sunk back in my seat a little. I felt myself heave a little sigh of relief. But… If Tino was fine, what was 'worse'? I kept quiet in hopes that Norway would explain himself.
Our friend heaved yet another little sigh and relaxed his shoulders, "Of course, you'd already know, Denmark, but what's gotten worse is Tino's festive behavior."
"F'stive?" I mimicked, hoping for the blond boy with a rather aloof expression to delve a bit more.
"I'm surprised you haven't found out earlier, but Tino's in love with Christmas." The tone the boy was using was almost mocking me, but then again that could have just been my imagination. Norway always seemed to be a little on edge, regardless of what he was talking about.
"…Ah know 'is b'rthday is 'n D'cember…does…" I stumbled over my words, not even really know what I wanted to say at all.
"Tino's been in love with Christmas since he was born, I think." Norway sighed. "But he really doesn't have to make so many paper chains; our room's a complete mess!"
"How bad is it, Norgey?" Denmark implored, looking rather curious.  Denmark's crooked grin just grew a bit bigger. The three of us were all sitting at the table that Denmark and I would occasionally sit at for breakfast. Norway wasn't really sitting on a chair, but he had managed to pile up enough random clutter around the room to make a pseudo-chair, and at least it worked for him at the moment. He didn't complain.
"Don't call me that, I told you," Norway glared at his friend coldly with his icy eyes, "But anyway, the whole room is a just mess of red, green and white paper. It's kind of hard to tell what anything was. Tino actually has a tree in our room. I have no idea where he got it, but he must have cut it down himself. It's a little uneven…but don't tell him I told you. He might get a little offended… He's decorated it quite nicely, I might add, but he's going all out, like always."
"What's the story on presents, Norgey?" Denmark asked, slumping in his seat, staring at his friend.
"Stop calling me Norgey or I'll seriously beat you-"
"C'mon, Norway~ What's Tino got in store for us this year, eh?" Denmark smiled, swaying his head from side to side in a merry fashion.
"Well, I don't really know much this year, Denmark. Tino kicked me out just now. He's busy wrapping everyone's presents. He didn't tell me what they were, but he's got presents for all of us-even you, Berwald." Norway turned to me and stared at me with his rather steel-colored eyes. He seemed to be one of the only people who could stare at me square in the eye without being intimidated a little. I guess we had similar gazes.
"M-me?" I stuttered in surprise, feeling my cheeks redden and rise in temperature a bit. If only I didn't have to blush so much… I was probably just over exaggerating, though.
Denmark stifled a rather loud laugh by biting his lower lip, his devious smile curling. "D'aw, you two are so cute together. This Christmas will be the best Christmas in a while, eh, Norway?"
"Sure," Norway nodded and then shrugged his shoulders. "It'll be interesting to see Berwald's reaction to all of Tino's festivity. He could win awards for some of the things he does, but there aren't any contests, really, so there're no awards to give him…"
"I don't think the four of us have really had an exciting Christmas since Iceland went ice skating by himself and fell in, but forgot to bring some extra pants so he had to go pantsless for a while! Ahah!!"
Norway stared at Denmark oddly, "What the hell's wrong with your memory? After Iceland came back, I just let him borrow a pair of my pants. We're brothers anyway, so we're about the same size. "
"Oh," Denmark's jovial expression quickly dropped when he realized that his memory was more of a daydream than a real memory.  Having found he had just been corrected from a memory he found to be thoroughly hilarious, Denmark scratched the back of his head and let out a nervous laugh. No one seemed to be paying attention to him at this point, though.
"Oh, Berwald," Norway turned to me.
"Yes?" I asked, rising by eyebrows with slight anticipation.
"I just wanted to remind you to buy something for Tino. Now that you two are going out, it'd be a little sad if you didn't buy him a Christmas present, you know?" Norway's eyes were half closed, and he was looking sympathetic. He seemed close to Tino…Maybe I should ask him what to get him.
"Oh, r'ght," I nodded a few times, clearing my throat once. It was different to think of my first Christmas not being single. It would be…a little different.
I then thought of what I should buy Tino. I paused, trying to think that would be good. Despite having known Tino for a few months, I had no idea what he'd want as a gift. I was sort of lost, at this point.
"Nn, Waldy!!" Denmark interrupted me from my train of thought, waving his hand in front of my face a few times. I blinked at him, waiting for him to continue. "It's been like this for a few years now, but Tino always calls everyone together to have a Christmas party over at his place…though now it's sort of Tino and Norgey's place…"
Despite Norway's warnings, Denmark still referred to the boy by his nickname. As a result, Norway lashed out and elbowed Denmark in the forehead. The movement was so sudden, I jolted back in recoil. Denmark snapped back and cupped both hands over his forehead, letting out a shrill yell in pain. "Shiiiiit!" He whined, cringing. "The hell, Norgey. The hell." He glared at his friend, still massaging his injury.
Norway glared coolly at him, "I told you not to call me that."
"You bitch!" Denmark screeched, still having both hands on his forehead. And as Denmark continued to whine in pain, Norway turned back to me and said, "Yes, Tino always has a party wherever he is, which happens to be his room with me this year. We'll all be there, and I'm sure he'll want you come as well."
"Ah p'rty?" I mumbled under my breath, slightly smiling at the idea. I then nodded, hoping Norway would see that as a sign that I wanted to attend it. I saw the corners of his mouth curl upwards in response, but he soon lost them as soon as Denmark opened his mouth again.
"Just make sure you don't screw anything up!" He said proudly, giving me a thumbs up. As a stared at him quite speechlessly, I couldn't help but notice the giant red mark on his forehead that Norway had given him.
---
A few days later, the Christmas holiday approaching, I found myself sitting quite absentmindedly at the small table in the kitchen area of our dorm. I blinked a few times, trying to come up with some idea. I didn't know what to get Tino for Christmas. I felt so stupid, but at the same time I didn't want to try to rush an idea and be impulsive, only for the present to seem rather ill thought or not personal enough. I wanted it to be special, as it was Christmas, but I still couldn't think of a solution that would solve all of my problems.
Denmark was with Norway and Iceland at the closest town to our boarding school. There were things like cafés and a rather expansive public library amongst other things. The city was quite close to the school, though usually students couldn't venture that far away from the school without some sort of permission. I didn't really know where Tino was, but I was by myself in the dorm room. It was at this moment that I realized how stiflingly quiet the room was without Denmark.
Even if he did joke a lot and generally goof off, he was a pretty good friend. I never really felt alone when he was around, though I used to be accustomed to feeling rather alone before I came to the school. But because I had grown used to having him around almost always, it felt so empty without him.
I rested a hand on one of my temples, and tried to wrack my brains for some sort of idea on what to get him. I knew he liked cute things, and seemed to be effeminate at times, but I couldn't get him something a girl would want, could I? I didn't really want to insult him…
Getting up from my seat at the table, I grew rather frustrated and quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a yellow pencil that looked like it was nearly dead. My fingers started to race across the page with the new idea for a plan I had just come up with. I needed to plan it first, I told myself. If I didn't, there would be a lot of room to make mistakes, and I could be a bit of a perfectionist when I made things by myself.
After I had finished drawing the rough outline, I started shading lightly with the smooth edge of the lead. As I was nearing completion of my sketch, my blue-green eyes glanced up to look at the analog clock on the wall, realizing that over an hour had passed. Still knowing I had time to start and finish what I wanted to make Tino for Christmas, I put everything away, checking to make sure that my sewing materials were still in the same place as I had put them a few months ago.
I rarely sewed, but I usually kept the materials and things with me. I had made it a point with myself to hide them well, I didn't really want to be joked at or ridiculed for being able to sew, and I knew that if Denmark saw, I'd probably never be able to live it down…
As I had assumed, Denmark and the rest of the party showed up about ten minutes later. Seeing as Norway had cunning, he had turned the Dane into a pack mule, and forced him to carry all of the presents and gifts that they bought. Denmark walked in with his arms full of bags and tissue paper peeking out over the edge like something secretive. The colors of the bags were rather erratic, some being neon and others rather plain looking. The tall blond dropped everything down on his bed and heaved a heavy sigh as the two brothers quickly followed in pursuit, and Iceland closed the door behind them.
"C'ris'm's sh'pp'ng?" I asked with a faint smile, noting that Denmark looked genuinely tired as he was slumped on his bed and the two brothers looked quite fine.
"Yes," Norway replied.
"We got everyone's presents, all in one go!" Iceland added rather confidently. He added a faint smile, and also slipped out, "And we made Denmark carry them all!"
"Ah c'n see th't…" I mumbled, looking over at Denmark who had still said nothing.
"Everything's already individually wrapped," Norway announced with his matter-of-fact tone, "So we don't have to worry about that. Did you think of anything to get Tino?"
"Ah, yes," I nodded rather vigorously, smiling to myself at what I had planned.
"Oh," Norway smiled rather gently, "That's good."
Iceland looked around the room for a moment, obviously looking a bit confused. "Where's Tino?" He asked, sounding as though he had expected him to be here with me.
I shrugged, letting out some sort of mumble that couldn't have even been strung into a phrase by me.
Norway looked confused as well, "I thought he'd be with you Berwald…"
I shook my head, "N-nah…he's n't…"
"He's…" Denmark puffed, still lying on his back. "He's with…Eduard."
"Eduard?" Norway asked in a surprised tone. "Do you have any why he's over there?"
"Nah, none in the…slightest…" Denmark sighed, slowly lurching into a sitting up position, where he leaned against the wall and looked quite pathetic compared to his usual energetic self.


While I was lying in bed that night, it was sort of eating at my why Tino had been with Eduard. I knew I was just getting a little jealous, but it seemed like everyone knew Tino better than I did, and we were the ones dating. I rolled over on my side, a hand resting on my forehead.
As I know I'm a bit of a pessimist at times, I imagined the worst case scenario. Tino had must have been over at Eduard's for some reason.  I didn't know the reason, but I had seen in my mind's eye them making a Christmas cake together, and getting a little…close to each other. I squeezed my eyes hard, and tried to wish the scene out of my head, only to be haunted by something else, if not worse.
Though I never saw Tino and Ivan as a couple, I could perfectly imagine it. I couldn't really see my height comparison to Tino, but Ivan and I were near the same height. With Ivan standing next to Tino, he looked so small. He fitted well within Ivan's arms. I could see Ivan caressing him and…
I rolled over yet again, not wishing for me to picture anything else. Why couldn't I just fall asleep?
---
I was the last one to join the Christmas party, only because I had forgotten to get my present and Denmark left before me. The party was only in the next room over, I was fine. I quickly picked up the small red box with a white ribbon tied above it, sitting like ears atop a kitten or a rabbit. I quickly walked back over the other room and was a little surprised to see Eduard there.
Of course, the first thing I thought of when I saw him was the 'dream' I had a few nights ago about him and Tino making a Christmas cake together. But he didn't seem to be doing anything of that nature now. In fact, he and Tino were sitting on opposite sides of the room. But as soon as Tino saw me walk through the door, he dashed up and rushed to me, giving me a quick peck on the lips. I felt my cheeks get all hot, and felt a little suspicious.
How could I have been so suspicious of Tino?
"Hello, Berwald!" He chirped in his usual merry tone. I had seen him yesterday, but only briefly. I had been working on his present most of yesterday, and he forbade himself to come in while I was working on it, though I didn't particularly mind.
"H-hallo, T'no," I smiled warmly.
Tino quickly took the present I had under my arm and set it under the tree along with the massive pile of presents. I hadn't been in Tino and Norway's dorm room for at least a week and a half. It had changed so much! Little paper decorations hung from the ceiling and from the walls as well as being all over the tree. Christmas cards from his family members were set in various places and quite a lot of food was sitting in their kitchen area. The colors of red, green and white were everywhere, and the room felt significantly warmer.
I noted that Tino and Norway had adjusted their room space in order to allow for the tree being there, as well as chairs and things to be squeezed in. Though, most people just sat on the edges of the beds, which was already close enough to the tree. As Tino told everyone to find a seat, he pulled me over to sit on his bed, where he wedged himself close to me and under my right arm. I could feel myself flushing lightly again, but he looked up and smiled at me.
Norway sat on his own bed, though Denmark had decided to follow him and sit next to him. "C'mon," he said in a rather enticing voice. "Here, eat this candy cane." He said, holding the crook-like peppermint candy in one hand.
Norway glared at it for a moment, giving it a suspicious look. "What'd you to do it?" He said, obviously not daring to trust him.
"Nothing!" Denmark insisted in an appalled tone, "Just eat it, please?"
"Fine," Norway rolled his eyes, and gestured to take the candy cane into his own hands, but Denmark pulled it away for a moment.
"No," He shook his head, "Let me hold it."
"Nnn, alright…" Norway mumbled, looking a little unaware of what Denmark's true goal was, but leaned in to attempt to eat the candy cane that Denmark was holding out to him. The taller blond was holding the crook part of the candy, leaving the straight end for Norway.
I could still hear almost everyone else talking amongst themselves, Tino, Iceland and Eduard were all chatting about the first snow and how they used to try to catch snowflakes on their tongues as kids. I, however, was more concerned and a bit absorbed in what Denmark was trying to get Norway to do.
Norway had the straight end of the candy cane in his mouth; just sitting there like nothing was really happening other than he was eating candy. A silent moment passed between the two, but as soon as Denmark smirked and laughed, Norway instantly realized what he was trying to get him to do, and quickly pulled back, removing the candy from his mouth. "Ugh, you sick bastard!!" Norway screamed, pushing the taller blond off of his bed. "There's no way in hell I'm going to ever give you a blowjob!"
"Aw, damn," Denmark whined, snapping his fingers.
With that, everyone else was drawn to…whatever Denmark and Norway had just had. Denmark eased himself up and walked over to Tino's bed, "Can I sit with you guys?" He asked in a rather pleading tone.
I tightened my trip on Tino and sort of glared at him, "'S l'ng 's yah d'n't do an'th'ng ta T'no…" I narrowed my eyes at Denmark, and he gestured that he surrendered.
In an effort to break the awkward feeling that was now lingering in the room, Tino sat up and announced that the exchanging of presents should start now. He got up, and personally took it upon himself to make sure everyone had a present in their hands, and then quickly shouted that everyone should open their first present simultaneously.
Even though this was my first Christmas party with Tino, it seemed really enjoyable. Tino's first present for me came in a long rectangular box that was black in color. I opened it, and discovered three ties of intricate and interesting designs were inside. He was still in the process of opening his present, but he looked at me a little sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind a few ties. I really like ties, so I hoped that you'd wear one…"
"Y's," I nodded and smiled, "Ah w'll,"
He smiled back as I helped him open the small box with a ribbon on top. Tino excitedly brushed away the tissue paper like grasses in a jungle. He let out a little cry when he pulled out the white stuffed dog I had sewn him. "Thank you!!" He squeaked happily, holding it close to him as he leaned against me. "I love dogs!"
I just must be good at guessing… I thought victoriously to myself.
Tino stared at it happily, examining with his soft violet eyes. "Did you make this?" He looked over at me, "it looks like it's high quality."
I nodded once and saw Tino's eyes light up, "You didn't tell me you could sew!"
I started to feel nervous again and my cheeks started to feel all hot again. "W'll…Ah d'dn't w'nt a l't've p'ple kn'win' 'specially D'nm-"
"You didn't tell me you could sew, Waldy!!" Denmark had caught on and imitated Tino by using the same voice that he had only seconds ago. The smirk that he wore told me that I really wouldn't be able to live it down.
"G'dd'mmit…" I muttered angrily.