In Want of a Wife [part 3]
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Chapter Three: "I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." Rita Rudner
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[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:02 PM]
Did he like it?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:05 PM]
Like wat? ;D
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:05 PM]
The stuffed dog, Feliks.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:07 PM]
Wat's it worth to u? lol. :) :) ;)
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:07 PM]
Don't be mean.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:09 PM]
Me? Never. U got the wrong Feliks lol sorry!
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:09 PM]
Really.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:10 PM]
No totally jk. He liked it! Said it was adorable. Loved how you signed ur name, btw, pan not-so-secret admirer!
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:11 PM]
Pan?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:12 PM]
I'M POLISH DUH
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:12 PM]
Oh. Nevermind. I'm glad he liked it.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:13 PM]
"Nvm" silly. Tino's beyond cute, he hasn't put Hanatamago down since he got it!1! Super cute. Wat R u going to do nxt? Chocolate?
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:15 PM]
Hanatamago?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:16 PM]
Yea that's what he named the puppy. Kiku translated it to Japanese for him cuz it sounds a lot better in Japanese. Flower-egg wtf lmao he's super crazy!
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:17 PM]
Flower-egg? Kiku?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:19 PM]
Yea, flower egg lol. Kiku's from Asia but his friend's boyfriend lives in Europe (I think lol) so he came over here w/ him 2 meet sum new ppl u no? but then his firend left 2 find his boy (idk where he's from, the firend) so he was like "wtf do I do" but he didnt say that just looked like it and our door was open cuz we painted that pink rock this afternoon to keep it open and we made a blue 1 4 u and Tor and tino was like "uh u can cum in if u want" and he was like "ok" so we're all just hangin out, uno?
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:20 PM]
No. What on Earth was that.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:22 PM]
Don't blame me cuz u cant read wats right in front of u! dummy lol
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:23 PM]
Okay.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:24 PM]
Lol that's it Berwaldooo?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:28 PM]
Berwald?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:30 PM]
Hunkkky swedeeee? Can u hear mee?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:31 PM]
I'm texting u!
Text!
Here's another 1!
Textttt messaginggg!
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:36 PM]
I guess u dont care bout wat im going to tell you…
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:40 PM]
Could b important… bout ur wife…
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:41 PM]
I doubt you have anything of interest to say.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:42 PM]
Geez thx a lot. I totally have important shit to say… like there's gunna be a party tomorrow night. And im going, which means I'm draggin ur wife along with promises of vodka. U dont want him getting down n dirty w/ the other boyz, right? So u need to cum 2! It's happening in ASia? Maybe?
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:44 PM]
Maybe?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:45 PM]
Hang on, Kiku's checkin.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:50 PM]
OKAY it's in Europe now! We got 1 of the bigger basements lol. We made Hercules go down to reserve the basement cuz he has to go let his cats shit outside neway.
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:52 PM]
Are you referring to Heracles?
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 10:57 PM]
O yea. lol woopsies. It's kinda the same u no?
[Sent: Sat 14 Aug 10:59 PM]
See you later, Feliks.
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 11:00 PM]
What alreadddy? S'only like… 11!
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 12:00 AM]
Now it's midnight lol!
[Received: Sat 14 Aug 1:00 AM]
Now it's one! Now it is time for Feliks to go to bed!
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Berwald woke at the exact same time each morning.
It wasn't because he was an anal-retentive freak or because his bladder was too small to last him a whole night. It wasn't because he woke up starving.
His internal clock just set off the alarm at seven in the morning sharp.
Berwald blinked the sleep from his eyes and slowly sat up from bed. He reached for his glasses.
He grabbed his shower stuff and a change of clothes as quietly as he could because Toris was fast asleep. He left his dorm room, shutting the door as silently as he could because he was considerate, then walked down to the hall bathroom.
It was definitely adequate for the twenty-three inhabitants of his hall. There were five urinals, seven stalls, and an entire room full of showers.
Berwald smiled internally. The best thing about showering first was the ability to have water as hot as one liked.
While he was soaping his hair, he heard someone else enter the shower area. Slightly surprised there was another early morning student, he finished he shower and dried himself off.
First day of new underwear. Feliks would be proud. As he finished pulling up his trousers a shorter blond entered the dressing room with a towel around his waist.
The two nodded at each other.
"My name is Arthur."
"Berwald."
"Nice to meet you, Berwald."
"Mm."
The two finished dressing at about the same time.
"Want to go get breakfast after we put up our stuff?" Arthur asked.
"Sure."
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Berwald was content.
He had coffee in front of him, a plate of toast with peach jam (a new favorite he discovered upon his arrival), and a carton of strawberry yogurt.
Arthur Kirkland was decent company. Berwald learned that he was third year student and amused himself with height and age comparisons as Arthur droned on about what a terrible Resident Advisor Francis was.
"Have you ever smelled him? I mean, really smelled him? It's like a whiff of pure prostitute-hooker-wench. Don't do it."
Arthur had much to say about the students (Francis) and faculty (Francis as a RA) of the University, but Berwald kept an open mind. Especially because Arthur was mostly complaining about Francis.
"…and he just flirts with everyone, likes it some kind of bloody competition! Who does that? Who hits on an eleven-year-old? No one! The poor child was obviously just with his parents and older sibling for a tour of the grounds, and Francis starts spewing his romantic bullshit. The poor family was scarred for life! He's a liability, I tell you. He needs to be fired. Fired."
"Mm." Berwald mumbled, far too busy enjoying his coffee to really give a fuck about Arthur's ranting.
"You know what else? Francis has probably bonked half the school. He's such a slut. And no one ever picks up on it! It's so obvious! Of course he's just using you for sex! Twits. That's all he bloody wants. Sex sex sex. He'd run around naked if it weren't against school rules!" Arthur huffed, staring angrily into his tea as if it had caused all his problems. Then he petulantly dumped two clumps of sugar into it.
Berwald hummed. He liked Arthur, but he could do without the ranting. Francis wasn't too bad as long as he stayed the fuck away from his wife. Berwald's brows furrowed for a moment.
"Blah blah blah I know! It's disgusting! Blah blah!"
Perhaps he and Francis should have a chat. Berwald didn't wish any harm to Francis, but he would not hesitate to defend his wife. Such was the duty of a good husband.
"It's one thing to hit on me, another completely to hit on my little brother! Peter's a baby! What kind of pedophile is attracted to underage children?" Arthur exclaimed.
That's the definition of a pedophile. Berwald mused, eyeing his toast thoughtfully. I think I need more jam.
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Sunday passed relatively calmly. After a breakfast with Arthur, Berwald went back to his dorm to pick up his woodworking kit and cell phone. He greeted a sleepy Toris with a polite nod and then exited the room to get on with his day and to give Toris privacy for his own morning routine.
Berwald was very satisfied with the craft center. It was large: there was an entire room dedicated solely to woodworking, with two ten-inch table saws. Not to mention the hollow-chisel mortise, the eight-inch joiner, the ten-inch miter saw WM, the drill press, and all the smaller tools labeled in cabinets around the area.
There was a closet on the far side of the room. When Berwald opened it, he was presented with as much wood as he'd ever seen. The previous Sweden had told him everything was free, and Greeter had confirmed it. He couldn't believe it; there was free mahogany.
A rare smiled tugged at his lips as he pulled out a 4x4x8 piece of the beautiful, rich wood. It was perfect for what he had in mind.
He spent the morning perfecting his second gift. Toris texted him around noon, and Berwald agreed to meet at the cafeteria for lunch.
Berwald cleaned his workspace and placed the newly carved item in a paper bag he found lying around to hide it from prying eyes (aka Feliks). He wasn't sure if Tino and Feliks would be joining them for lunch, but he hoped so. He'd like to present this gift in person, as it was infinitely more personal. Not to mention he didn't want to deal with having to gauge his wife's responses through Feliks.
Berwald approached the cafeteria confidently. The piece was exquisite. It had taken him all morning for a reason. Tino would like it. Berwald's face relaxed. He'd really like to see Tino's smile again. It was so beautiful. Berwald sighed, perhaps a bit dreamily, and approached his roommate and a few others.
"Ah, there you are! Where have you been all morning?" Toris smiled.
"Working." Berwald replied. He scanned the small group and was pleased to see Tino. However, he was not pleased to see an arm that was not his arm around Tino's petite shoulders. He followed the arm up to an absolute scoundrel who had no problem flirting with another man's wife.
"Kindly unhand my wife." He hissed at the intruder.
"What? What the fuck?" The boy barked as Berwald forcefully removed the offending arm from Tino's shoulder.
Berwald wrapped his own arms tightly around Tino, glowering at the blonde idiot and exceedingly irate that this utter bastard had caused their first embrace. However, that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy Tino's warmth and scent and general attractiveness while it lasted.
"What the hell!" The boy said. "You said Tino's your wife?"
"Yes."
"What. The. Hell."
"Let it go, Mikkel. Please." Tino replied.
Berwald raised a brow. Was his wife finally…?
"He's just a bit crazy like this." Tino finished.
Berwald pouted, but to everyone else it looked like his frown increased threefold.
Toris laughed awkwardly. "Well, um, this is my roommate Berwald, everyone."
Berwald did not relinquish his hold on Tino, but nodded politely at the other group members except Mikkel, who stuck out his tongue in retaliation.
"Berwald, this is Mikkel Densen, Lukas Bondevik, and Emil Steilsson."
Lukas didn't respond, eyes glaring holes into Mikkel's sides.
Emil nodded back. "Nice to meet you. In case you're curious, I'm from Iceland. Lukas is from Norway. We are related, half-brothers: same dad, different moms."
Berwald didn't respond. He was too busy helping Lukas glare Mikkel to death.
"And the fun has arrived!" Feliks popped into the group. "What did I miss?" He quickly pulled out his pink phone and took a snapshot of Berwald hugging Tino. "Fabulous!" He chirped. "New background~"
"Can we eat now?" Lukas grumbled.
Toris tugged on Berwald's arm. "Maybe you should let Tino go?"
"Make me." Berwald replied.
Toris sighed. "Sorry, Tino." Berwald felt his wife shrug. Berwald was also slightly confused: what did Toris have to be sorry for?
Lukas was already walking through the cafeteria doors, Mikkel right behind him and Emil trailing behind the duo. Feliks latched on to Toris' arm and dragged the brunette away.
Berwald released Tino from the hug, but gently turned the boy around so Tino was facing him.
"I have a gift for you." Berwald stammered, "but I had no paper. So no note from your secret admirer."
Tino smiled, a bit resigned. "That's all right."
Berwald thrust the paper bag in Tino's face. Tino gingerly took it and opened it. He gasped.
"Berwald, that's beautiful!"
"Mmhmm."
"It's for me?" Tino gazed at a life-size rose, stem and all, made completely of mahogany. "Oh my gosh, where did you find this?"
"Made it."
"You made it?"
"This morning. For you." Berwald shrugged. "S'not very big, but it's realistic."
"It's amazing." Tino mumbled, admiring Berwald's skill. "You're amazing."
"Thanks." Berwald replied. He was quite pleased to see a blush flare across Tino's face.
"I-I mean, your work is amazing. How you make things. You know, the process of how you do it. The skill. Yes." Tino laughed nervously.
Berwald smiled. Tino eeped.
"Thanks."
"Haha, yeah." Tino gently shifted his weight from foot to foot.
Berwald stared at his wife. He was dressed so lovely today. Berwald loved that damn hat. He also really liked the light blue color Tino seemed to be fond of, although it didn't quite match the lavender-or was it lilac?-of his eyes. Berwald leaned forward to get a better look.
Tino eeped again. "C-Can we go eat? Now? Please?"
Berwald blinked. How inconsiderate of him to delay Tino's meal. "Course. I apologize."
"Um, okay. Thanks for the presents."
Berwald held out his arm. "You are most welcome, my wife."
Tino blinked, and then frowned at the endearment. "I'm not your damn wife!" Tino huffed, exasperated, and marched angrily around Berwald's outstretched arm towards the cafeteria.
Berwald watched him go with amusement.
(Part Two)
(Part Four)