New Housemate and Preserved Memories...

[berwaldsverige]

 Berwald was up early as usual, starting the coffee pot long before anyone else stirred in the household.

Everyone had been up late getting Tino's long time friend, Eduard, moved into the house since his dorm had almost burned to the ground.

He was being especially quiet as to not wake Eduard since his room was closest to the kitchen. Berwald let

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[siguard_norge]

"God morgen." Siguard sighed, proceeding to drink his coffee. Intuitively, he added, "When you're ready for your shower, the second door in your room isn't a closet, it leads to a private bathroom. Ivan had his own, some of his things may still be in there. It hasn't been used or entered since we returned." They had almost treated Erik and Ivan's rooms as rooms of those who had recently died. Barely entered. Doors kept shut. Siguard and Mads (who had returned early) had taken up the task of packaging up Ivan and Erik's things into boxes (that Mads happened to find behind the liquor store) and had made several trips with the addressed boxes, spent probably hundreds of dollars on 'fragile' status shipping, to get the two lost members of the family their things back. Mads had not done much with Ivan's bathroom, as it seemed the Russian had been rather conservative in the department of decoration. Ivan had emailed and said he didn't require any of his toiletries (he had ones in Russia after all) and all he wanted was the boxes of flea and tick medication for Rasputin that were under the bathroom sink. Other than that, no one had entered or removed things from the bathroom since.

[berwaldsverige]

"The first morning in a new place is always disorientating." Berwald said getting up to fix a second cup of coffee.

"The standing rule of the morning, He who takes the last cup, starts a new pot." He added returning to the table to down his second cup of wake up juice.

[tino_suomi]

Yawning, Tino shuffled down the hallway. He had only one Moomin slipper on, the other had probably been pushed under the bed farther than his tired brain had cared to have him reach and so he'd settled for the one. "Oatmeal." He grunted, not harshly, but as though it was the best his brain could process. He was used to laying in bed, but not getting out of it, until he was good and ready, but he had to get his hockey gear in order because practice was today and he needed plenty of rib-sticking-to oatmeal and... well... he'd stayed up late dicking around helping Eduard move in. Luckily, for Tino making oatmeal was such second nature to him that he could make it on autopilot even with a fuzzy, sleepy brain.

"Morning Siguard, Eduard, love you Bear." He said, resting his head against a cabinet with only one eye half open so he would monitor his stirring.

[berwaldsverige]

Berwald smiled and then just grabbed Tino's hand and pushed him into a chair.

"Here, drink what is left in my cup, I'll fix you some oatmeal. You're dragging butt his morning." Berwald said pushing his sleepy fiance into a chair and then kissing the top of his head with a smile.

"Love you too." He added going into the kitchen to fix Tino his oatmeal.

[tino_suomi]

"Thank you Kulta." He murmured, sipping the warm liquid. He rarely drank coffee in the mornings, it gave him the 'shakes and twitchies' but Berwald was right, he was draggin' ass. After a minute or two it was cool enough for him to take bigger mouthful's of it. "Shit. I forgot to check the mail yesterday." He murmured. It'd been left out in the box. And he'd been expecting a package from Mummi with cookies or some other kind of goodies in them. The coffee helping him feel a little more alert with something in his belly (it would take a few minutes for the magic chemicals in the brew to take full effect) he sauntered out of the kitchen and out to the mail box.

He was rather excited to see that there was in deed a rather large package in the mail box. It filled the bottom of the mailbox and was wrapped in brown paper. Oh yes this was from off the island. Cookies! And Mummi must have made plenty!

He sorted through the envelopes that were in there. Bill for Berwald, credit card offer for Berwald, one for Mads' too, garden magazine subscription for Siguard. Those got put on the end table by the door where everyone could come collect them later. He padded back into the hallway with the brown paper wrapped box, his intention to return to the kitchen, but just outside his bedroom door, his fingers on the wrapping, he noticed that the sender's address was NOT in Finland and it was NOT sent from his parent's home. It was from a... company's P.O box... in Sweden?

"Berwald?" He called out, "Did you order something from Sweden or is this one of those packages from your Nanny?" He'd known that Berwald's old Nanny, who had been in charge of his care when he had returned to Sweden in the years between his mother's death and his isolation to the island. They weren't often, but she sometimes seemed to think back on the poor boy and would send him things like cookies or treats in bulk quantities. (Especially at the beginning of every school year Berwald had said) Berwald hadn't received any from her since Tino had entered the picture so he didn't know what address she normally shipped them from, but maybe it was a late Christmas package?

[berwaldsverige]

Berwald set Tino's oatmeal on the table and took the package and flipped it over to look at the address. The color drained from his face.

"It's from my father's company." Berwald said immediately tossing the unopened package in the trash, uninterested in whatever his Father had sent to him. He was far, far too late.

[tino_suomi]

Tino grunted a little at hearing that it was from Bergren Oxenstierna's company.

"Now wait a minute. Let's just see what it is first in case it's something of yours from when you were little." Tino had always wanted pictures or SOMETHING that was Berwald's from before his life became sordid. Something that possessed the energy vibrated off of a happy child, not the heart broken boy Berwald became. He wouldn't THANK the prick who sent it, never, but he'd keep the item himself even if Berwald didn't want it.

He peeled back the paper the rest of the way and inside it was a beat up old book, worn to hell, with the name Berwald Oxenstierna written in big permanent marker, in TERRIBLE penmanship, across the front. The letters were all in capitals and they weren't well sized or spaced and in fact the works kind of formed a steady rightward sloping hill. "This has got to be yours." He cooed at the Swede's back, who had seemed like he was going to be heading back to the kitchen. "See? Is it alright if I open it?" He asked, holding it up so Berwald could see the cover and when he did an envelope slipped out from under the face.

Curiously he bent down and collected it. "To my son." He moved his lips silently, ripping it open. Berwald didn't want it anyway, but it might as well be read. Tino's curiosity wouldn't allow him to just throw it away without reading it first. Besides, Berwald would throw it out, Tino felt that maybe if the prick went to all the trouble to write when he'd never troubled himself with a damned other thing for Berwald that maybe this was some kind of important thing?

Dear Son,

You really caught me off guard when you showed up at my office unannounced. You said a great deal of hurtful things and never gave me the chance to speak before you stormed out of the office again.

First, I am sorry it happened the way it did. I blamed you for a very long time for your mother's death, and perhaps I shouldn't have, but I did and I cannot change the past. I still often wonder what it would have been like had you not wanted to go out that day, would that drunk driver still have killed her? Would she still be alive? So many questions without answers.

It still hurts to even look at you and see her eyes looking back at me. I had to move on with my life and could not do it when all I saw when I looked at you was Death. It was better for both of us that you stayed at school and not interfered with my recovery.

Then I met My Wife and she didn't need to be saddled with our past, she gave me new hope in life and I had to protect her from the pain of the past at all costs. Our Children came along and by then it was just too late to introduce you into the equation. I am sorry, but I'm sure you understand. It's just easier this way, no one gets hurt this way.

You were right when you said I didn't keep anything, except this scrapbook. I've had it in my office here in my desk for a long time. I'm sure you would appreciate it, you did make it. I just cannot look at it, too many bad memories.

It's a shame things between us could never work out, It's not that I don't love you, I do. But I just can't bear to remember her, I'm sure you understand. I hope you have happiness in your life, please don't upset my wife's or my children's. That's all I ask. I'm sorry, I just cannot be the father you'd like to have, it hurts too much.

I Wish you a very good life.

Best Regards,

Bergren.

Tino's face twisted from curiosity to rage as he read the letter. He looked like he wanted to put a puck through someone's teeth. 'FUCK HIM!' is mind raged, resisting the urge to rip the paper in half. Oh he was certainly awake and alert now. His mother was going to have to hear this story because SOMEONE was gonna have to be told. Couldn't tell Berwald. He'd probably punch a wall. Couldn't tell Mads because it'd make it back to Berwald. Siguard just wouldn't share in his rage, he'd rationalize it and put out the fire and in this moment Tino didn't want the fire to go out! He wanted to stick a molotov cocktail in the fire and chuck it into Bergren Oxenstierna's car! No, he needed a fellow vindictive bitch from his family!

[berwaldsverige]

Berwald saw Tino getting angry and he just reached over and crushed the letter in Tino's hand. "He's out of our lives Ti. I don't care what he has to say, he had his chance for years, I'm not giving him any more." Berwald said looking sadly at the beat up old Scrapbook, It had obviously seen better days and had been beat to hell in a desk drawer or closet apparently. But it was his scrapbook, the only thing he had ever wanted. But somehow, it was bittersweet and he didn't know if he wanted to look at it.

But then again, it held pictures of his mother, it would be worth the tears. He flipped it open to a picture of a Three year old Berwald, huge glasses on his toddler face, smiling like he had never known sorrow and his mother was holding him, bright eyes, the same color as his, smiling back at the camera.

"I looked like a nerd even then." Berwald smiled a little sadly showing Tino the picture and handing him the book.

"It's yours now Tino. Do with this book what you'd like to." Berwald said disappearing into the bedroom to shower before school and have a private moment to collect himself before he cried like a baby.

[tino_suomi]

Tino felt a pang of guilt for having let his sudden welling up of anger be so obvious. Negative emotions in himself always hurt Berwald too. He took the crushed letter, smoothed it out, and stuck it in the back of the book. He wasn't ready to let this go, though. Bergren had gotten away with too much and he could have had the decency not to poke the 'bear' who was just finally recovering. His damn face still wasn't totally healed from the header he'd taken into the sink the day of the visit. The bruises were much lighter and were almost entirely gone, but in certain light Tino could still make out a few discolored specks on the Swede's face. He desperately wanted to write a hate letter back, but that would probably hurt Berwald more. At least for this moment he would take no action... emphasis on 'for this moment.'

He sighed gently, sat down to eat his oatmeal, and cracked open the book to the first page, being delicate as to not hurt the spine. Bergren couldn't have been a little nicer to this book? Jesus. It's got pictures of the love of his life in it for fuck's sake!

The first page seemed not to have been one done by Berwald. This scrap book must have been kicking around for years in Berwald's life. The date at the top corner of the page suggested it had been started when Berwald was about three. The photo was of his mother, looking incredibly tired, but happy as can be, in a hospital with a new born baby... a very pudgey big and baby, holy hell was Berwald a giant even then! "No wonder she was tired, she passed a watermelon." He muttered with a gentle smile. The caption was written in what he assumed was Mrs. Oxenstierna's hand writing.

"June 6th, 19XX Stork arrived a little late, a whole two weeks late. It'd been very warm those weeks. We hadn't had any rain in them, but apparently Baby Bear was waiting for a rainy day to come and meet his mamma and pappa. It rained a lot that day! No surprise you still like to run around in the puddles. Why did we name you after a little Bear? You should have been a little duck!"

She wrote it in Finnish, surprisingly, but then again she'd been a Finn, and this was a book her and Berwald started when he was little and she could write it in any damn language that she wanted. Even years after the fact she seemed to have been proud of the day Berwald was born and he could see a certain humor in the handwriting of a very proud mother.

The second page was just as cute, also in Mrs. Oxenstierna's hand writing. Berwald was a toddler, sitting on a little painted stool with a sippy cup plastered to his face, and probably what was also chocolate judging by the party themed paper plate. The caption read. "Happy Birthday Baby Bear! How'd you get so perfect in just two years? You were already walking and talking, and had more hair than a lion! At least you are better behaved than your hair!" Next to it was a lock of hair, tied tightly in a blue ribbon which had one side hot glued to the page. A little caption was next to that as well. "Baby Bear's first hair cut. You had to look sharp for your birthday party! :)" It even had a smiley face drawn next to the arrow pointing to it.

Tino felt a pang in his heart. He would have loved this woman. He wanted to have known his mother in law. Berwald had assured him that she would have liked him back. She seemed so happy-go-lucky in her penmanship. The smiley face was his undoing. He gently closed the book for now. He'd finished his oatmeal and he put the dish in the sink to be washed later with the dinner dishes.

Scooping the book back up he set it in their bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door. He wouldn't open it, Berwald usually didn't close the bathroom door, so obviously he probably didn't want to be seen in this moment. He was probably upset. "Berwald." He said gently into the wood. "I love you. And I'm sure your Aiti loved you more than anything too. I didn't know you liked rain puddles." He rested his forehead against the barrier. "Thank you for letting me read the book. I think I love your mother. And I just wanna say I love you again, okay?"

[berwaldsverige]

"You can come in Ti. I'm finished." Berwald said, standing at the sink, towel wrapped around his hips, as he dripped on the bathmat after his shower, his chin covered in cream while he shaved.

"I love you too Askling, I'm finished with allowing him to ruin my life. And have you ever known a toddler not liking splashing around in puddles?" He asked as he swiped the whiskers away from his face.

[tino_suomi]

"I wish I could have known you when you were little. You were adorable." Tino cooed after opening the door to watch his fiance's morning rituals. "I'm keeping the book, there is too much in it of a Berwald I never got to meet. I wanna get to know him and the lady who started the book. And, yes, you looked like a nerd even back then, but you certainly grew up into one sexy nerd. You set my phasers to stunned." He winked.

[berwaldsverige]

Berwald chuckled. "Oh that was bad Tino. We need to work on your geeky puns." Berwald teased dabbing some of his shaving cream on the tip of Tino's nose.

"Don't worry about me Askling. I'm just not going to let it upset me anymore. But looking at those pictures will make me misty. I'll save it for a weekend so I can cry and get it out of my system before I have a killer exam, like today." Berwald said finishing his morning ritual and took his towel off his hips and dropped it on Tino's head.

"Your turn for the shower." He said sauntering out into their bedroom to get into his uniform for the day.

[tino_suomi]

Tino shrugged. "It was bad, I know. I've not seen enough Star Trek." He chuckled, not fighting the ass-towel sitting on his head. "Thank you for breakfast by the way." He winked as he started peeling off his pajamas. He took a scalding shower, it felt amazing! It was pretty good to wash away his anger at Bergren for the moment. He could make it through the day hopefully!

[berwaldsverige]

Once dressed, Berwald returned to the kitchen for one more cup of coffee and a bowl of his Muesli cereal.

It looked like Siguard and Eduard were both off getting ready too, no sign of Mathias yet. So Berwald did the breakfast dishes, made sure Hana's food and water bowls were full then sat down to wait for Tino and Eduard to finish so he could drive them to school.

[darth_eduard]

Eduard wandered back towards the kitchen from the hallway, having found the bathroom after waking up enough to remember it was attached to the bedroom. He now felt sufficiently like a human being to be able to speak in coherent sentences and possibly even sit through a few of his classes. Not like he really needed to, but he would at least try his best to not fall asleep.

"You're back, I see." He noted, wiping off his glasses which had been fogged up sitting on the bathroom counter. "It's good to see the body snatchers didn't get you guys. This house is so big I don't think I'd be able to find the pods in time to save you."

Digging through the boxes in his new room, Eduard had managed to find his favourite thermal coffee mug which he then proceeded to fill with coffee from the pot he'd started before heading into the shower.



It looked as though Berwald had already gotten himself some of the coffee, so it was good to know that it wouldn't go to waste. He took a sip from his cup and laughed at an excited and adorable Hana hungrily devouring the food in her bowl as if she were a dog five times her size. This really did feel like a good place already.

[berwaldsverige]

Berwald chuckled at the Mug... he was certain that only he and perhaps Siguard would "get" the molecular string on the mug.

"The Coffee Strain, the most important in the morning." Berwald said flicking the mug on the table with a smile.

"I took Chemistry last year, this semester I've got advanced calculus and now instead of Sociology sixth period I have it replaced with Corporate Markets, Finance and Banking Investments College Prep this semester. It's going to kill me I know it. They are cramming so much into one class I know it's going to melt my brain." Berwald said rolling his eyes.

"At least I still have Study Lab with Tino last period. I can recover from brain abuse at least before we head home." Berwald said getting up to wash his empty cup and set it in the drain to dry as they just waited on Tino to be ready.