Sorry about the wait. I reread the last chapter and decided I didn't like it, and work had me tied up so I couldn't rewrite it for a few days. Enjoy~

"Come out already! It can't take that long to put it on!" Tino yelled up the stairs. Berwald was in his room changing into his cap and gown, which just came in today, and he waited impatiently with Ms. Ox to see it on him. A few moments later, the door opened and Berwald appeared at the top of the stairs. Tino dropped his jaw while the mother smiled ear to ear and held back her tears. She had every right to be emotional, considering she was once told that she would never see her son wearing such a thing.

The seventeen year old walked down the steps, careful not to trip on the flowing black material. Tino looked at him when he reached the bottom and laughed cheerfully, slugging his friend in the arm and genuinely feeling proud. Berwald – his Berwald – was going to walk down the isle at graduation in a little over a month. Time flew by so fast that it didn't feel like the end of the school year was coming up, but now that Berwald had the strange square hat on his head, it was somehow real. A year ago, he never would have thought he would see it.

"Oh, my baby!" Ms. Ox hugged her son with the strength of a mammoth and practically tossed him back and forth in her arms, despite him being taller. "It looks lovely on you! My baby, you are all grown up before my eyes! I have to call your uncles and let them know, oh! And your grandma has to come to your graduation, she will be so proud!"

"I think he's starting to turn blue, Ms. Ox," Tino pointed out when Berwald gave him a pleading look from over his mother's shoulder. The woman reluctantly let go but kept gushing about how proud and excited she was. Tino didn't even get time to say anything, she was covering most of it.

"It's big," he observed and pulled out the material a bit.

"It's supposed to look like that…I think," Tino tapped his chin and looked it over, coming to the conclusion that graduation gowns were flattering on no one. "Did you get a sash?"

"Mmm. Didn't pu' it on, though."

Ms. Ox clapped her hands together. "I need my camera! I have to get a picture of this and send it to everyone!" She told them to stay put, as if they planned on leaving with Berwald dressed up like that, and Tino chuckled at how she scurried off, her curls swaying with the rhythm of her bouncy steps. He wondered if his mother would get like that when his day to graduate came. In two years time, he would be the one in the cap and gown while Berwald watched him descend the stairs. Well…that probably isn't how it would happen. Tino would be too excited and probably trip. He could only hope that someone would catch him on his way down.

He turned to Berwald to say something, but as soon as the mother was out of the room, something very unexpected happened. Berwald's face was so stoic in the moments before that it was hard to know what he was planning until he put an arm around Tino's waist, the other under his shoulders, and leaned him back until Tino had no choice but to let the other support his weight. He squeaked at the sudden action of being bent over backwards, but his protests were silenced before they could begin by a pair of lips on his. Berwald kissed him, lingering for only a second. It was the longest second of Tino's young life.

"Wh-what was that for?" Tino asked dazed while he tried to even out his breath. Funny how one second drained him of all air and functional thought.

Berwald gave a tiny shrug, his lips barely twitched up in a smug grin. "Felt like it," was the simple answer, and Tino blinked at him trying to make sense of what the hell just happened.

"…I didn't know you were that excited for graduation!"

"M'not." Berwald leaned in again, this time pecking Tino's nose before relinquishing his hold on the blushing boy. Tino had to be steadied so he wouldn't fall over, the sudden rush of blood to his face making him feel a little faint. They never really kissed like that before. The entire time they'd been 'together,' they never did much more than hand holding and little pecks. They went pretty slow, but it was a comfortable slow.

Tino looked up at Berwald. The boy was almost eighteen and he finally stopped growing taller, now about half a head taller than Tino. His face was that of a strong young man with sharp blue eyes behind those familiar square glasses, and they were soft as he looked back at Tino. Though he was matured and defined, Tino couldn't help but think of the child he grew up with. The friend that would never leave and never change. This was that same child, those same eyes, that same soft look. There would be no end to this story, would there? The realization made Tino happy.

"…Berwald, you have no idea how happy I am to have you." The younger leaned in for a hug, which the other didn't hesitate to return. The gown smelled like new fabric, but it couldn't mask the warmth of the one inside. The sleeves were so big that they nearly swallowed Tino whole.

"Likewise." Berwald was smiling as he rested his chin on the boy's head. No…not a boy anymore. Tino was sixteen. He'd grown from the timid child he knew to the strong young man he had become. But…he was also the same. As long as those eyes stayed the same curious shade of violet, he would always be the same Tino. As long as that smile was always warm…

Click

The two turned around from their embrace towards where the blinding flash had come from to find Ms. Ox in the doorway to the kitchen with a camera in hand. She was sneaking around the corner and had captured a picture of the little moment the two were having by the stairs. They pulled away from each other and tried to play it off as just a friendly gesture, but it was hard to be convincing what with both having red stained cheeks and guilty looks. Ms. Ox didn't mention anything, though. She merely smiled and directed Berwald on how to stand so she could get a good picture to send to his relatives.

If Ms. Ox had a problem with how close the two were getting recently, she didn't mention it. It made Tino wonder what she would think if she knew what kind of relationship the two teens actually had. Neither could imagine her disowning Berwald or anything horrible like that. Still, they stayed quiet. Berwald wanted to tell her, but if he did, Tino would have to tell his parents first. Tino loved Berwald's mother, truly, but he knew very well that she would not be able to keep her mouth shut. They made a pact that Berwald would only tell his mother when Tino was ready to confront his parents. Until then, he built up the courage.

Tino was hardly stressed, otherwise. After the things that went down in late August and September, life settled into a new routine that Tino had no problem accepting. Now that Mathias was gone, it was like a weight had been lifted from the young man's shoulders.

The Dane was not put in juvie, but he did transfer schools. His parents, aware of what happened and their son's unhealthy obsession and aggressive tendencies for the first time, pulled him from school and they moved away to another district where he was getting some much needed counseling. Good riddance! Tino felt like Atlas after giving the heavens to Hercules, and he did not intend to bear the weight again. Berwald would make sure of it.

Anyone who dared to hurt Tino never got far with Berwald around. Mathias was the only one that wasn't afraid of Berwald's death glare and once he was gone, everyone else seemed to lose their nerve. For now, he worked on softening that glare and obtaining more friends. Tino helped considerably and before long, Berwald was sitting with a group at lunch feeling just as included as everyone else.

Life was better than ever. That golden year was golden again and the two could enjoy it before Berwald graduated with the senior class. He was significantly more advanced than the sophomores of his age group because of his home schooling and was placed farther ahead. This was great because Berwald was getting out of school a year ahead of his age group, but not-so-great because it meant Tino would have to go through the other three years without his best friend. However, their houses were a short walk away, and Tino knew that if he survived eight years of it before he could survive three more. Berwald was even getting a car, so they were probably going to be hanging out a lot more. Especially when they were both out of school.

The prospect of the approaching summer made Tino feel anticipation well up in his throat. Like every year, he yearned for that break and the sunnier weather. His parents urged him to get a job, but who said he had to grow up that fast? Besides, if he spent all his time at work, who would sit back and enjoy life with his newly liberated buddy? Berwald wasn't planning on getting a job until the fall, so Tino would hold off on those plans, too. Tino's parents would have to deal with it. They wouldn't understand how the two looked forward to this time and what it meant to them. They would have one last summer together before the rest of their lives began.

000

Tino yawned. The clock said it was close to midnight, and the cable movie he and Berwald were watching had just ended. It was a Friday marathon of old Japanese monster movies, which the two were excited to see all week, and they'd been sitting on Berwald's bed eating popcorn and laughing at the funny special effects for quite a few hours. This last one they'd been pretty quiet, though, due to the sudden caffeine crash from several bottles of soda. Tino was fighting to keep his eyes open as he groped the bunched up blankets for the TV remote, wondering why Berwald wasn't doing anything himself now that the movie was over. A quick glance answered that question.

In the dark room, the credits rolling up the screen reflected on his skewed glasses hanging off his nose. Berwald's eyes were shut, a kind of peace settled over his face, and his breath was slow and even. His shoulders were slumped where he leaned against the wall, and his arm was limp where it lay loosely around Tino's waist where it had been since the last movie. Berwald was peacefully slumbering…

…and Tino couldn't help but notice how adorable it was.

He found the remote and clicked the off button, careful not to move too much and disturb his friend. How long he'd been asleep, Tino probably would never know. When the screen flashed white for a split second before it went dark, Tino felt a small twitch, but Berwald didn't seem to do much else. Tino removed the glasses, put them on the nightstand, and looked at the face in the dark. It was illuminated in blue by what little light could get in through the bedroom window, and he felt his heart squeeze. It was in these moments that he appreciated what he had. After all, Tino lost it once. He never wanted that to happen again. He leaned over so that he could ghost his lips over a sleeping cheek, the gesture being a silent wish for sweet dreams, and picked up the arm that held him in place.

And the arm wrapped tighter around him.

Another one joined, and Tino nearly jumped out of his skin when what was once sleeping quietly was humming lowly and falling backwards, taking the captured boy with him until they landed on the bed with an 'oomph!'

"B-Ber! Don't do that, you scared the shit out of me," Tino complained as he tried to wiggle his arm out from under him. Berwald merely chuckled. "I thought you were asleep."

"Ah was," he responded, his words slow and dripping with fatigue to prove his point. "Woke up when yah kissed m'."

"What, like sleeping beauty?"

"Someth'n like tha'."

Tino rolled his eyes in the dark. "Right…well, we are both tired. It's time to call it a night."

"Agreed."

"So…goodnight?"

"Night."

"…You're going to have to let go of me."

"No 'm not."

Oh great. He was in one of those stubborn moods of his. Tino was about to argue when Berwald's other arm, the one not holding him in place, went down to pull the blanket up and over the two bodies. Tino felt the warmth of the fleece instantly…or was that his external body temperature? He couldn't tell.

"W-we can't sleep like this!"

"Why not?"

"Because! Because…because this is…because you…Agh, you can't tell me this isn't awkward."

"Nope."

"Well…what if your mom checks on us in the morning? We don't want her thinking…"

"She knows."

Tino's blood ran cold. "Wh-what? What do you mean she knows? Did you tell her? You promised!"

"Ah didn' tell. She fig'red it ou' on her own. Proba'ly known for awhi'e."

"How can you tell?"

"Ah jus' can. She's mah mom."

Tino sighed in defeat. Was it really that simple? Did she seriously know? He had no idea! But if Berwald thought so, then it was probably true. Like he said, he knows his own mother as well as she knows him. If that was the case, then at least she wasn't telling Tino's parents like he thought she would.

Or…maybe they already knew, too? With parents, you can never be sure! It was all a conspiracy, Tino was sure of it!

Though he was worried, he was too tired to give it too much care. His eye lids were burning, and he had to admit, he was rather comfortable. The bed sure beat the floor and Berwald was already dozing off. It would take the Jaws of Life to pry the protective arms away from Tino, and although he knew he could probably do it, he didn't feel like the amount of energy it would require would be worth it.

Not when deep down, he kind of wanted to stay like this.

Ah, heck with it. He really wanted to stay like this.

"…Okay, fine. But only for tonight." Berwald hummed a response, and Tino's surrender was acknowledged with a tiny grateful squeeze.

He was just relaxing when Berwald said one last thing before he drifted off. It was barely audible, but the words were there. Tino would always recognize it when it was said, and it would always make his chest feel warm.

"Ah love yah…"

The younger smiled and scooted a centimeter closer, closed his eyes, and whispered back. "I love you, too."

You would expect things to be completely different and complex with the notion of love being present, but it remained rather simple. Nothing changed about the way Tino laughed when Berwald did or said something funny, the way Berwald ruffled his hair when Tino was being silly, the way they simply enjoyed each other's company while Berwald drew at his desk and Tino did his homework on the bed from across the room.

But there were some times that definitely were different from the years prior. How Berwald watched the way Tino moved, the way Tino sat closer than usual when they played video games, and the sudden tradition that popped up every time the two had to say goodbye until tomorrow. Tino would say goodnight, Berwald would nod and wish him a good evening, and he would lean down and give Tino a quick chaste kiss. Tino's face would then burst into a bright shade of red, he would quickly give Berwald the same treatment and, while the taller was trying to deduce whether the hastiness was due to Tino's shyness or if it was unwelcome, Tino would offer a smile. That same smile Berwald craved to see every day, the smile that made his heart beat faster, that smile he fought for and reassured him that everything was alright.

Even now, as they basked in each other's warmth while the moon floated across a window once broken, it was simple. It was quiet. It was how it was, and there was no other way either of them would want it. There were no standards to live up to, no battles to fight, no worry of being alone. This is how it felt to win, and Tino loved the feeling.

Sometimes it is hard to fight for what and who you love most. Sometimes people get hurt, sometimes there doesn't seem to be a way out. Sometimes things change, and sometimes they never do. But when the things that bring you the most happiness are threatened, you ask yourself: should I fight? The answer, while constantly asked, is universally the same. When the ones you love are in jeopardy, you must fight to keep them rightfully by your side. Even through the pain and hardship, the obstacles and danger.

It's always worth it.

THE END.

(Cue sappy music.)

DON'T WORRY I THOUGHT OF A HAPPY ENDING FOR DENNY, TOO! (I actually did get to thinking about a sequel I could write for this that follows our unfortunate Dane, though I will probably never write it.) In my head cannon, I see Denny going to a new school and meeting a cute Norge in his counseling group, who ends up helping him get over Tino and his bullying and his other underlying issues. In turn, he helps Norgey get over whatever it is that got him in there and then Denny falls in REAL love, and they kissy-face at sunset. THE END.

Thanks for reading! All your kind words and reviews are very appreciated, even if I can't respond to all of them. I'd like to thank Kuro Riya, once again, for being awesome and FINALLY getting the two main lovebirds in her SuFin fic together after 29 chapters of agonizing build up. (The journey is half the fun!) I expect great things from you, missy. GREAT THINGS. No pressure.

That's it for It's Worth It. Tell me what you think, and have a great life!