They're cute. Reminder: If you'd like to hear the music I use for the story's inspiration, you can go to my profile and click the link to my youtube, where there will be a playlist that corresponds to the title of the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia, and I am making no money from this work of fiction. Its sole purpose is for the enjoyment of fans and myself alike, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Soundtrack: Owl City - If My Heart Was A House

VvV

"You're m'boyfriend." He said it with such a straight face that Tino could've sworn Berwald had been joking. All he could do was stare, backpack forgotten and dangling by a strap in one of his hands while the other paused mid-motion in putting his books away. His violet eyes popped wide, and for a moment, he looked for all the world like a fish out of water, and he was floundering just as panicked as he searched for something to say. Nothing was coming to him, however, and Berwald wasn't helping by simply standing there, staring, with the same nontelling look on his face that he always wore.

"I-I..." The book that he'd been preparing to pack away into his bag fell from his grip and hit the floor with a thunderclap of a noise that shook him from his funk. Face flaring up bright as a cherry, he jumped back a foot, stumbling over a desk as he went, and landing awkwardly in the seat. His legs dangled over the armrest, back braced halfway against the actual surface as he gaped up at him. "What?"

The Swedish boy didn't flinch. Instead of taking offense at the rather off-putting reaction, he merely stepped forward and grabbed strong enough hold of the boy to pull him upright again, brushing a spot of dirt from his shoulder. He looked him in the eye and said once more, "You're m'boyfriend." Tino went stony for a moment, save the spastic twitching of his eye, before jerking back into animation.

"Y-You can't just decide things like that for people! You...I mean, you have to ask!" With that, he turned around to pick up his book from the floor, still flushed from surprise and embarrassment. He and Berwald had been friends for as long as Tino could remember, but only recently, with the entrance into their last year of high school, could he remember their hand holding or late night snuggling being taken in a more meaningful way, every touch lasting longer than was strictly necessary, every look a bit fuller, slightly deeper. Now, when he raced to the corner where their streets joined to meet with Berwald for school, his heart didn't just race from exertion, his face didn't just flush because of the late Autumn temperatures. It was more, a new sort of feeling that excited him. It was exciting and fun, but still a bit scary. Well, he could say that he was less scared than most of Berwald at the very least, but still scared of him, the new depth of him that had been discovered, scared of the newness of it all, but still eager.

The book hit the bottom of the bag, and the sudden weight tugged his arm downward. The shaking of his muscles made his grip weak and unreliable, and he froze, jittery and nervous as he felt Berwald come up closer behind him. He wasn't scared of the closeness, per se, but he was more uncertain around Berwald now just because it was him. Even though he knew all about how these things went by his age, he hadn't ever...Well, he didn't have any experience to comfort him or look back on to tell him how to act, but it was still just Berwald. So, he knew it would be fine. Thinking back on it, there were probably lots of times when he could've "gotten experience" if it hadn't been for the Swedish boy's interference, always watching out for him when he was being oblivious. He was glad that the boy had interfered; he didn't think it would be right any other way. And, of course, there was no way he was going to refuse the Berwals.

A light grip on the back of his arm spun him around slowly, and he looked up into determined, aquamarine eyes that were far more expressive than most gave him credit for. What emotions Berwald didn't express with his actions, he made up for with the way you could practically read his soul through a single, passing glance. It was what drew a lot of people unwittingly into the man.

"Then...Will y'be m'boyfriend?" Tino sighed, a smile, slow and lovely as a flower opening, blossomed on his lips as he let his head fall forward and rest on the other's chest, fingers curling into the taller's coat to feel that familiar warmth. His heart beat rhythmically in his chest, a fluttery metronome for his affection. His eyelids slipped shut, and he listened with a racing pulse as the clock on the wall ticked away the minutes, and the rain pelted down lightly on the conductive rooftop over the school, knowing that the woodshop teacher was probably going to come back from the copy room any minute and scold them. It was funny how he'd known Berwald for so long, and the man could still surprise him. Honestly, confessing like this. The way he could take something so big and make it so small, so easy to fit in your pocket and carry with you everywhere, something like love.

"..." He felt two strong hands come up and light carefully on his back, and he finally picked his head up to lock eyes with an apparently nervous Berwald, who was unsure of what was happening. "Why would you even ask such a silly question?" The taller looked confused for only a second, before Tino's hand slipped down from the scarf and followed the lines of the boy's arm down to his hand, where he intertwined their fingers and pulled the other along behind him, after snatching his bag off the desk next to him. Passing a teacher who was mildly surprised to see any students still left in the building (but Berwald was always more comfortable in the shop classroom, so he'd obviously been waiting for the right time to ask), they made their way out into the rain, where Tino already had his umbrella popped to hold over the two of them. It didn't seem odd to either that Berwald was bent to fit under the umbrella because the Finnish boy was so much shorter, rather than holding it himself.

"So, how should we commemorate our first anniversary?" Tino asked brightly.

"Woodcarving."

Tino let loose a bright bout of laughter that even made the taller crack a small smile as he held him back from walking inattentively into a busy street. With Berwald, even love was as simple as carpentry.