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Sweden/Finland
01. a poem for you
Tino knows that Berwald is hopeless with words – both on paper and out loud – but when he finds a little typed note on the empty pillow next to him every once in a while, he knows that he is the single witness to a quiet poet’s brilliant work.
17. deep blue
The sky frames their memories; the reflection of it in the waves cradling his longboat; the perfect delicate egg of it on the day they first met; the open freedom of it on their first night together; and every other shade, memory, and moment in between.
29. under the stars
It is especially cold tonight, walking home with a wagon full of chopped wood and stock for winter stew under the harsh watch of Thiassi, but hand in hand they’ll make it through.
22. a little vacation
If, with him, Berwald throws away his stoic façade (behind it being more stoic-ness, but tinted with care and kindness) then Tino is perfectly comfortable with throwing away his façade of frailty and innocence.
Spain/Romano
30. a moment with you
Parenthood is tough s**t – lost in the tide of diapers and spitting babies and inconsolable shrieks are any moments at all together; it’s a miracle that they found time to conceive all of those children, much less remember each other’s names, but Spain is a stubborn romantic and Romano has never been more grateful for it.
21. sipping soda from a straw
After a while Spain is like a habit more than a home – Romano has his brother, their government and growing stability, has grown out of his pudges of baby fat – and for once he really, truly cannot tell if the man is one habit he should maybe think about breaking.
05. everybody wants you but me
I do not care about that damn b*****d’s love life! Romano attempts to convince himself as he is witness to the countless attempts other nations make at flirting with Spain – he attempts to convince himself the same when Spain always flutters over to him, instead.
03. a light shining down
If Spain is a light, a warm sun in the blue jean sky, then Romano might be content forever to bask in his glow.
Canada/Ukraine
04. to wine and dine
Katya is a simple girl with simple desires (for the most part – we are all mysterious and complicated creatures) that are mostly just for his company and maybe a mug of hot chocolate- but once in a while she cannot resist his calls of luxury and fine dining; every girl loves putting on a pretty dress and being waited upon by a perfect gentleman.
18. favourite t-shirt
Matthew and Katya are going through their closet again- both of them tend to hoard little things that pile up until they can’t get the door open without risking a landslide- when she comes across his old AC/DC t-shirt and smiles at how well-worn it is, how wonderful it smells, sets it aside and wonders if she should wear anything more to bed.
26. you are my sunshine
Katya sings rather well- in the courts of old she got to hide behind curtains and listen to lessons, she’s always singing while she works- but it’s Matthew’s awkward rendition of an unfamiliar children’s song, his voice warbling and wobbling, that really strikes tender chords in her heart.
France/Vietnam
06. strawberry wine
She is a small and intensely sensual creature, strong beyond belief and a prime example of a phoenix from the ashes – she is sweet, though, sometimes, sweet and decadent and shockingly – all his.
23. hugs and kisses, sex at midnight
They touch, of course, but not very much- both of them are scarred their whole bodies over, are people who do not like to bring up old wounds or think about unrealities past- but with each other they find mutual comfort and perfect sense in everything that they do together.
24. satin sheets
Francis lives in perfect luxury – no matter how many times she is over, no matter how long she is there when she finally moves in, she is fascinated endlessly by the ornate bathroom, clear running water, rainbow-catching crystal on woven Indian mats, the feel of his sheets as the two of them slip and whisper together atop them.
Enzo/Satu
10. a day at the beach
It’s very fun here, Satu decides, in the calm warm waves, surfing and water skiing and building sand castles, burying what’s-his-face in the sand and not exactly remembering to dig him out again- but the reason she loves it most is getting ice cream with Enzo and tasting the leftover chocolate on his lips.
15. painting a picture
When Romano is completely exasperated by their whining of hunger and boredom, he sets the two of them down with some jars of finger paint and a pad of paper and finds solace in the sudden peace of the afternoon.
27. banana split
What was, at one time, a battle for the whipped cream for the tops of their homemade sundaes, turned into a sweet victory for Enzo and a not-so-bitter, caramel-flavored defeat for Satu.
Greece/Japan
16. electric shock
It doesn’t hit him with a jolt or a shock, nothing that sets his limbs stiff or anything ridiculous of that sort – the fact that he is in love with Kiku, indeed has been for a quite some time, just moseys one day into his thoughts like a cat into his lap.
14. hospital visit
It’s a small makeshift medical station that smells of rubbing alcohol and burned flesh, the one that Kiku has taken up almost permanent residence in; Heracles practices sitting seiza for hours at a time and learns more Japanese from the nurses that flutter about than he ever has from the one whose cool dead hand he holds, thumb rubbing rhythmically across the top.
12. bright eyes
His eyes are beautiful, Kiku notices time and time again- a kind of sultry sea-green, always alight with the emotions that his eternal poker face never truly reveal.
Nico/Yasu
07. singing in the shower
Showers are marked with warmth, both that of the water and the smooth living silk of Yasu cradled perfectly up to him, her fingers knotted in the curls on the back of his head and him singing sappy love songs over and over until she finally gets tired of it, and shuts him up with a kiss.
13. simple conversations
Yasu is (certainly) not so ignorant as to never notice the bitterness and anger those close to her tend to cast upon Nico; one day she asks him why, why do you put up with it and he smiles softly at her, his hazel eyes kissing hers and says, because love is stronger than hate.
11. getting lost
Once her pants are off, everything else flies straight out the window.
09. five years ago...
Once upon a time they were little, marked with innocence and bright eyes; once upon a time she rejected his love and he cried over her; once upon a time, she knew exactly how her mana felt, all those years ago (200 years alone, his walls of paper, America knocking incessantly at his door).
Other
01. sharing a blanket – Nico/Marianne - ish
They were having a sleepover when it happened – Nico was a clinger and insisted on sharing the bed with her, was wide-eyed and accepting when she insisted that it was ‘just practice’; Marianne tried not to hurt when one day he waltzed in, bragging about his ‘first real kiss’.
28. hello, goodbye – America/England
Maybe their whole relationship is based on change, on leaving and returning to find things different, coming and going in general – and maybe, Arthur thinks to himself, maybe that’s a good thing.
25. car ride – the whole next gen. gang
Summer (2010) was marked with bonfires at night (burning old clingy memories), going swimming and surfing and exploring, bubble gum and hotel room floors and Barcelona lit up, eating fish and cake and everything they could hold down from the American aisle, the burn and stick of bare legs against the Bug’s faux wood dashboard.
20. your smile takes me back – Alba and Marianne
When Marianne smiles her eyes light up and her face goes back years – it makes Alba think of pre-war times, her mama’s smile (rare as a golden goose egg), a time before guns and thoughtless violence, when the world made some goddamn sense -- back when they ran barefoot, hand in hand, giggling and loving nothing more than the sun.
19. the perfect something - Nico/Yasu - ish
Shopping for the wedding ring, all four of them are trying to hold back tears, trying not to think – from now on, everything will be different – and trying to think about how that can be a good thing.
08. reaching divinity – Turkey/Hungary
God isn’t here, Erszébet decides – God isn’t anywhere, especially not in the mosque where she’s flat on her back and moaning the name of her sworn enemy.
 men getting pregnant · Mon Apr 12, 2010 @ 04:51am · 0 Comments |
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