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Vinternalskare - Chapter Twelve

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Title: Vinternälskare
CHAPTER TWELVE
Pairing: Sweden x Finland (Berwald Oxenstierna  x Tino Väinämöinen / Sverige x Suomi)
Rating: T (Teen) not Quite M (Mature) But will be VERY close…. I'd Rate it "R" at the movies to err on the die of caution.

Credits & Disclaimers: Hetalia is © Himaruya Hidekazu I own nothing but this story's plot. Everything else is borrowed. Please note: this is Romantic AU (Alternate Universe.) This is pretty much all I write.

Synopsis: Tino has spent his entire life living and working in a brothel, Berwald is a farmer and handy man living nearby. Their meeting was uneventful but planted the seed. When they meet again under harrowing circumstances and are thrust together one cold winter, the seed... blossoms.


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Chapter Twelve: Life Lessons Farm Style


Not long after the New Year, Berwald was in the barn and noticed the goats were coming into heat again. So he hooked them up to rope harnesses and had Tino and Peter bundle up for a family walk over to Mathias' house. He had the bucks on his farm Berwald mated his girls with. In return, instead of a stud fee, Mathias got the babies when they were weaned. Berwald was going to let Peter keep one of the girls to raise in the spring; it would be good to teach him how to care for the little ones. So they braved the cold and trotted down the road with the girls, Berwald's rifle strung across his back and Tino was pulling Peter behind him on the sled.

Once at "Onkle Mads" and "Onkle Aleks'" house Peter was introduced to the sheep and goats that Mathias raised for both meat and wool. Peter was fascinated with the horns on the big Billy goats. "That's Lily's Boyfriend Hansel." Mathias chuckled introducing Peter to the big brown Billy goat as Mathias lead him into a pen where Lily was waiting and wagging her tail excitedly.

"They're gonna play leap frog for a bit, Come meet Frederic, He's Mumbles' beau." Mathias winked taking Peter along to meet the large grey and white male who came over to Peter to be petted. He was a friendly animal and Peter was giggling as they led "Fred" over to mumbles pen and left them alone to "play".  Not every life lesson needed to be taught to a four year old. One lesson at a time and he didn't need to know just how babies were made just yet.

Once inside, Aleks made hot chocolate and Peter had an adventure exploring the house. It had two floors and a basement where all sorts of canning jars were kept. Aleks showing Peter rows of jams and preserved vegetables and once he learned Peter loved pickles the tot came upstairs holding a jar full of dill pickles. He was excited when he showed Tino his pickles.

"Oh goodness you have a friend for life Uncle Aleks. He loves pickles." Tino chuckled as Peter sat down to eat one by the fire.

"So do I. I make plenty. When I make them at the end of summer I'll let you know. Peter will probably enjoy it. If not he can play with the goats outside." Aleks smiled as he joined everyone in the living room.

"Well I certainly want to learn. I like them too. I know how to can vegetables from the garden. I've done that before, but I never made pickles. There's a lot I need to learn yet." Tino said sipping his cocoa and watching Berwald and Mads outside talking. They were monitoring the breeding of the goats.

"How long does it take for the babies?" Tino asked curious. And Aleks smiled softly.

"About a hundred and fifty days. Five months, so Early May give or take a week we'll see the babies. Peter will love it; the kids are adorable as newborns. Lily and Mumbles make pretty babies too. This will be their third time. They both usually have twins, Lily had triplets her first time. So Peter won't be disappointed in the spring. He'll have plenty of little playmates." Aleks grinned holding out a tray of butter cookies to the tot who was eating his second pickle.

"I think a cookie might taste better than a pickle with cocoa munchkin." Aleks teased and Peter just laughed, (but took a cookie anyway). Tino shivered at the taste combination that was utterly revolting. Kids could eat anything.

Erik came down the stairs from his room long enough to grab cookies and cocoa and vanish again back to his room. "He's a typical teenager. The less time he has to spend with us fuddy-duddies the better." Aleks rolled his eyes. "I miss when he was little like Peter sometimes. I was ten when he was born, thirteen when our mother got too sick to get out of bed and sixteen when our mother finally died and it was just the two of us. I pretty much raised him since he was three. I miss this young unspoiled innocence. They grow up too fast." Aleks said with a wistful sigh.

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard. I was sixteen when I got Peter, I know." Tino said and Aleks shrugged.

"Not too hard. Our father died before Erik was born but he left us enough to get by and the farm was thriving. Mama was able to hire help, A Danish fellow named Jens and his obnoxious twelve year old son." Aleks said looking pointedly as Mathias who was laughing at something outside with Berwald.


"Mathias?" Tino asked and Aleks nodded rolling his eyes,

"The one and only, he's only gotten worse, not better since then. He and his father took care of the outside chores while I took care of Mama and Erik inside." Aleks began his story over cocoa, cookies and dill pickles by the fire.

"Then the war came and that idiot, who shot up man size overnight when he was thirteen, decided at fifteen to lie about his age and go fight. I was so mad at him for leaving us, to go fight a harebrained war overseas. He sent letters and I refused to answer them. I had Mama sick to take care of, Erik to look after and his father had an accident that winter and broke his leg up on the ridge. By the time I managed to find him when he missed coming in for dinner, he had… he had bled to death. I felt so guilty. How was I going to tell Mads his father died all alone? He was such a good man." Aleks sighed biting back tears.

"Then Mama died six weeks later and it was left to me to take care of the farm and Erik. I finally wrote Mads a letter one night. I was mad at the unfairness of the world, I was mad I was alone, and I was furious he had left me alone to deal with it all when he had said he loved me just before he shipped out. He was gone for four years. That was the longest and loneliest time of my life. I broke down after Mama died and I think I confessed all my deepest darkest secrets. I cursed him from here until eternity if he didn't come home again. He wrote me the most sickening sweet love letters after that. They were horrific. And I kept them all. For all his faults and noise, he's honest, he's got a big heart, and he takes care of us better than I have a right to ask for.  This farm isn't a home without him. Oh he can try the patience of a saint sometimes, don't get me wrong, but he's good. I've never known a better man than perhaps Berwald. Those two, they know what is important in life." Aleks said and Tino smiled tenderly and wiped his eyes.

"That's sad and romantic all at once. When did he come home?" Tino asked and Aleks smiled.

"He came walking up the path, his arm in a sling; He'd fallen in a trench and broke his arm. They sent him home with the wounded and he arrived here on my seventeenth birthday. After I let him kiss me senseless because I was relived he was home in relatively one piece and then I slugged him in his bad arm and told him I'd break it again if he ever left again. After he stopped swearing he promised and so far he's kept his word. We took vows with Judge Carriedo in the city a few days later and this summer we'll be married seven years." Aleks said as Peter crawled up in his lap, his eyes drowsy and his tummy full of pickles and cookies. Aleks let the tot curl up to nap on his lap while they chatted. He'd not had Erik curl up in his lap in a decade. It was nice to have a youngster to cuddle once in a while.


"Well, I know where you can borrow a little one when you need a cuddle. Peter is a little cuddle bug." Tino grinned and Aleks smiled.

"I'll remember that. I may take you up on that this summer when Erik heads to the University in the Big City. I'm going to have an empty nest. Mads and I are talking about adopting too, one of our own as opposed to my moody younger brother who was never cut out to be farmer material. He needs city life, he's bored here." Aleks said and Tino smiled.

"I like boring. I'll take this quiet life thank you very much. I have never felt better in my life. The fresh air, the chores, my great big man to keep warm with and my cuddle bug who has already put on five pounds since we got here. It seems so much longer than just over a month. He looks healthy at last. This life is good for him. He seems to love it, working with his Papa in the morning. Even if he's only feeding chickens so far, he's still a bit tiny for anything else yet." Tino said and Aleks smiled.

"He is tiny. But don't wish them to grow up, cherish the little days while they last." Aleks said tucking Peter under a cover on the loveseat to nap. While he went to clear up dishes, Tino helped him as Mathias and Berwald finally came inside.

"The deed is done. We should be seeing kids come May." Mathias said as he stamped off his boots and joined the others inside to warm up. Berwald looked over Peter on the loveseat as he hung up his coat and smiled at the sleeping child as he gently touched his cheek. He was still overwhelmed that he was this child's father. It felt so good to look at Peter and feel that twinge in his heart knowing this precious treasure was his son.

Tino was leaning against the doorframe, wiping a glass dry with a dishtowel. "Come on Papa. Let him sleep. Come get some coffee and warm up you big soft bear." Tino said smiling at the scene. Berwald just nodded and joined everyone in the kitchen.

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By the time the end of January rolled around, winter struck hard. There was absolutely no venturing past the yard the snow was so deep, the road was buried and it was frigid. Berwald only shoveled a path between the barn and the house and he absolutely refused to let Peter out in such conditions which didn't sit well with a little boy who idolized his Papa.

"Peter come away from the window. Papa said no, it's too cold for little ones outside and he knows best. Come here and help Mama make Papa's breakfast. You can still help, just help inside instead." Tino said and Peter came over grudgingly to help. He stood on a chair and stirred the oatmeal in the pan while Tino fried up sausage and eggs and brewed the coffee just as Berwald came in a frozen frost giant.

"It's got to be twenty below out there. It's the coldest day yet this winter." Berwald's teeth chattered as he stood next to the roaring fire to warm up.

"Well come warm your bones Papa. Coffee is hot." Tino said and Berwald grinned as he came to the table.

"So is Mama." He said pressing his cold nose into Tino's neck.

"DEVIL! Stop it. No double entendres in front of the squirt." Tino laughed snapping Berwald with his dishtowel as he brought over Peter's breakfast and got him fed before serving Berwald and then himself.

"Sorry. Mathias rubs off sometimes." Berwald said and Tino rolled his eyes.

"Liar, that ornery nature is all yours. No blaming the Dane for Swedish idiosyncrasies." Tino shook his fork full of sausage at his love. Berwald only chuckled and finished his breakfast.


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By the end of April spring had finally arrived on the mountain farm. Even if the pass was still blocked and impassable, on the farm spring was in full swing. The flowers were starting to bloom, the cats in the barn had produced a dozen kittens, the chickens were happy to be out of the coop, Lily and Mumbles were about ready to pop and Peter was running around barefoot in the grass, healthy and spry playing catch with his Papa in the yard. Hana caught as many stray balls as Peter did. The ball was rather slobbery by the time they were done playing.

Tino laughed at the antics of "his favorite men" too as he watched them play from a bench alongside the house drinking iced tea and enjoying the sunshine. He too had put on quite few pounds over the winter and was a healthy weight for the first time in his life. Country life suited him perfectly; he could even read quite a few words now. His writing was still atrocious, his spelling was abysmal and his penmanship horrific, but he was proud of himself. It was more than he had ever known. He was reading Berwald's big family bible, or trying to, some words just made absolutely no sense. Some of the stories didn't either. But it was a book and Tino figured he should read the thing at least once in his life.

"Give Papa a break baby. I have sandwiches and tea, come eat." Tino beckoned from his bench holding up a pitcher and a glass.

Berwald wiped his hands free of Hana slobber on his pants then took Peter's hand. "Let us wash our hands first Mama. We're covered in Dog Spit." Berwald chuckled heading over to the well and pumping out some water. They gave their hands a cursory wash and then accepted sandwiches and tea and sprawled out on the grass in the sunshine.

After a quick break, Berwald heard some bleating coming from inside the barn, the doors were flung wide and sure enough upon inspection Berwald could tell the first of the girls was going into labor. "Titi, go grab Mads, the kids are coming. Come here with me son, we have to take care of Lily and Mumbles." Berwald said and Tino pulled on his boots.

"I'll be back in a few minutes!" Tino called out as he made a brisk walk down the road to fetch the field medic to stand by for the birth just in case there was trouble.

The whole family arrived with Tino to watch and wait for the kids to arrive. Berwald came out of the barn to greet them, "They're both in labor. Lily sparked off Mumbles. It's just a waiting game now. No water sac yet, so it's going to be a while yet." Berwald said as Mathias leaned against the door.

"Well then we'll start getting Dinner prepped, it'll be a long afternoon. Call us if it's imminent I love the babies." Aleks said hooking his arm through Tino's as they went inside.

"I'm really grateful Tino showed up, it's nice Aleks has a friend so close now. He's certainly more cheerful after a visit, especially with the Bear cub." Mathias said as Peter came over to flop into his lap.

"Speaking of Bear Cub... Hey short round, how's my favorite nephew?" Mathias asked ruffling Peter's hair.

"I'm super! Lily and Mumbles are going to be mommies!" Peter said and Mads chuckled.

"I know. Are you excited?" Mads asked Peter as he got comfortable up on his lap.

"Yeah! Mama says the babies are called kids and they are going to be cute. Papa says I can have one to raise! I get to name it and everything!" Peter couldn't contain his excitement and Mads chuckled as he set the tot down before he got cracked in the nuts by a fidgeting four-year-old.

"What are you going to name it?" Mathias asked as he checked on the girls in their pens.

"Alice. Mama says that was the name of my real mama who died when I was born. It's a pretty name and Mama says it would be okay if I named the baby Alice. He said it was nice that I wanted to name her that." Peter said and Mathias looked up at Berwald who smiled proudly and nodded. Peter had a beautiful little spirit, unspoiled youth at its most endearing.

"That is a beautiful name Peter." Mathias said patting the boy's head.

"You're a lucky son of a bitch." Mathias said to Berwald who nodded.

"I sure am." Berwald agreed wholeheartedly.


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Tino and Aleks cleaned off a picnic table outside, scrubbing it clean and laughing over something amusing they were talking about while they worked. Erik was lying on a blanket in the sun reading a book. Mathias and Berwald were playing a game of horseshoes in the yard, going every fifteen minutes or so to check on the goats and Peter was a bundle of energy running between his father and the barn.

"He's going to sleep good tonight after all this excitement." Aleks commented as they rinsed off soap suds and a winter's worth of dirt.

"Won't he just? Although I'm excited too, I want to see the babies as much as he does I think." Tino replied as they let the table air dry before heading inside to start making dinner.

"It won't be until after dinner. They have to pass the water sacs first, then the heavy labor starts and it's about two to three hours after the water sacs pass." Aleks said as he started chopping early spring greens.

"Well Peter will stay wound up like a top until it happens. So we'll make the best of it." Tino chortled from the counter where he was preparing ribs in his special sauce. A quick par boil and then he'd grill these babies out on an old steel oil barrel that Berwald had turned into a grill. Once the weather was good enough, Tino was cooking on it every chance he got he loved barbecue.

Aleks stuck his finger in the sauce and his eye lit up. "I must have your recipe for that sauce." He said gleefully as he set some potatoes on to boil. "I'll trade you one for one. I'll show you my Mama's secret potato salad recipe." He added with a wink and Tino laughed as he went outside to start the fire in the grill to get it good and hot.

"Deal!"


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It was during dinner the first of the girls started her hard labor, the second close behind. So after the meal Berwald and Mathias set up watch in the barn with Peter while Aleks and Tino cleared the mess with Erik's help.

They were done long before the first of the kids arrived. Berwald had Peter in the pen to watch and he softly explained what was going on to his son. This was his first life lesson as Peter Oxenstierna of Oxenstierna farm. He was round about the age Berwald had been when he watched a horse foal and his father had explained to him the phases of life on a farm.

"It's icky. Does it hurt?" Peter had asked and Berwald chuckled. He remembered thinking it was pretty gross as a little boy too.

"It hurts a little. It's something all mothers endure for their little ones. Man or beast every mother is special for giving us life. Remember that. They go through enough pain to bring us into the world, the least we can do is not give them any more pain in gratitude." Berwald taught his son as they watched the first set of twins come into the world and Lily cleaned up her wobbly little newborns.

Berwald and Mathias went over with towels to help rub away a little of the mess and they checked the kids for any trouble. "A pair of pretty baby girls, good girl Lily." Mathias pat the mother on the head and they quickly returned her babies so they could bond with mother and learn to stand on wobbly little legs.

Mumbles followed fifteen minutes later with a girl and a boy. Four precious new bundles of bleating joy now graced the farm. Peter was over the moon with the kids and was lost admiring them from the edge of the pen. Mumbles' only girl and the only all white baby was the bravest of the newborns and came to inspect Peter at the gate of the pen. Berwald squatted down beside Peter.

"I think she likes you. She's the prettiest of the girls; would you like to keep this one son?" Berwald asked and Peter nodded.

"She's all white and pretty like snow. Like angel wings and my real mama is an angel so I think I'll name this one Alice and keep her if I can Papa." Peter said and Berwald hugged him close.

"Aye Son, you can. But she needs sleep now and so do you it is very late. You can come and see her and the others first thing in the morning." Berwald said carrying Peter inside and handing him to Tino.

"You raised an amazing boy Tino. He sometimes says the most profoundly touching things." Berwald said and Tino just smiled and kissed Peter's cheek.

"He does. So did Alice. He got his mama's soul he does. I hear and see her in him all the time. She lives forever in him. I sometimes think her angel sits on his shoulder." Tino said as they carried Peter to bed.

"Perhaps, But it's you who taught him right from wrong. You did a good job Mama." Berwald said kissing Tino's cheek as they got Peter changed into his pajamas.

"I only tried to protect him the best I could, in a few years, he'll never even have a memory of that place. We have you now Papa. We can make happy memories at last. I know I already have more happy memories than I ever hoped to have in my life. All because of you and the love you give us." Tino said from the heart as he tucked Peter into bed and kissed him Goodnight.

"Sleep tight baby. Sweet dreams." Tino said to the sleepy tot drifting to sleep already. Berwald took his turn to tuck Peter in bed for the night before they both retired themselves to their own bedroom.

"I wish I could have gotten you both out years ago. I wish I'd have known the hell that was really going on in that place. I swear to god and everything that is holy I won't ever let you go back to that place. I can't. I'd rather die than see you back in that place." Berwald admitted holding Tino close.

"Bear, I don't want to go back either. I will never go back willingly, I promise you that. I too would rather die than see Peter back there or you hurt trying to protect us. I love you too much. In just half a year you have shown me more love and kindness and hope than I have ever known in my whole life. I feel like I am worth something at long last. I don't hate the person I see in the mirror anymore. That's all thanks to you." Tino said smoothing the worry lines from Berwald's face with his fingers.

"I know you're nervous. The snow in the pass is melting more and more every day. I'm worried too Bear. Aren't you the one always telling me we'll take it a day at a time? Practice what you preach handsome. We'll face tomorrow together, then the day after that and then the day after that. Now come here handsome. As of Today, that pass is still blocked so I am not going to worry about anything more than pleasing my husband." Tino said, kissing away Berwald's worries at least for one night.


TBC…
Title: Vinternälskare
Pairing: Sweden x Finland (Berwald Oxenstierna x Tino Väinämöinen / Sverige x Suomi)
Rating: T (Teen) not Quite M (Mature) But will be VERY close…. I'd Rate it "R" at the movies to err on the die of caution.

Credits & Disclaimers: Hetalia is © Himaruya Hidekazu I own nothing but this story's plot. Everything else is borrowed. Please note: this is Romantic AU (Alternate Universe.) This is pretty much all I write.

Synopsis: Tino has spent his entire life living and working in a brothel, Berwald is a farmer and handy man living nearby. Their meeting was uneventful but planted the seed. When they meet again under harrowing circumstances and are thrust together one cold winter, the seed... blossoms.


Thanks again for all your reviews and comments that really cheer me up more than I can EVER hope to describe and keep me going. Thank you so much for reading.


Once again this is PRE-BETA. A corrected version will eventually replace the text

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Prologue: [link]
Chapter One: [link]
Chapter Two: [link]
Chapter Three: [link]
Chapter Four: [link]
Chapter Five: [link]
Chapter Six: [link]
Chapter Seven: [link]
Chapter Eight: [link]
Chapter Nine: [link]
Chapter Ten: [link]
Chapter Eleven: [link]
Chapter Twelve: :squee::heart: YOU ARE HERE :heart::squee:
© 2011 - 2024 fablespinner
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gymnosophist's avatar
:XD: :D
Love it, but I see a Götterdämmerung-esque ending coming...
:heart: