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Midsummer. Time for feasting and celebrating together. Tommy, Freppa and Määnin had agreed to take part in the festivities, this time not as performers or entertainers, but just as.. themselves. They were sitting a little further away from the biggest hustle and bustle. Freppa had spent the past 15 minutes making flower crowns for all three of them. Tommy had groaned at first, but of course he'd known it would happen. Not a single Midsummer celebration went by without such an activity. By now it seemed like it was one of the yearly highlights for Freppa. If only he'd been content with just making one for himself.. But no, he always thought about his friends as well and never left them out. Tommy already knew what was coming. He'd be made to wear a stupid flower crown for the rest of the day.
And sure enough, only a few minutes later Freppa was done with his little project. He happily took off his hat and replaced it with the flower crown he'd made for himself. Then he handed one to Määnin who quite surprisingly put it on like it was nothing.
"Fyrbanna, this is so stupid.."
Tommy grumbled under his breath as Määnin took the last flower crown from Freppa and snatched Tommy's cap from him.
"Hey!"
Tommy protested the loss of his hat, immediately feeling exposed without it, and tried to take it back. But it was kept frustratingly just out of his reach.
"Do it for me, Toms,"
Määnin murmured and placed the flower crown on Tommy's head, taking some extra care in making sure it wasn't crooked. Tommy's face very quickly changed color to a soft pink and he avoided looking at either of his friends. They already knew that he wouldn't be able to say no to anything Määnin suggested.
A little later they had relocated to watch the Midsummer pyre. All three were still wearing their flower crowns. Tommy had quietly convinced himself into believing that everything was okay. Määnin wore his with no issues, and he was the toughest, coolest man in all of Vörå, all of Österbotten, even! And if he could carry a flower crown with pride, then so could Tommy.
For the time being they weren't really talking about anything. They were just eating grilled sausages, passing a tube of mustard between them and drinking homemade lemonade. Määnin turned to steal a glance at Tommy and quietly admired the way the warm glow of the bonfire lit up his face and was reflected in his eyes.
After a few minutes of silence Tommy cleared his throat self-consciously and got up after he'd finished eating his sausage. He swiped his hands across the backside of his jeans, brushing away some blades of grass that were likely there.
"I'm.. gonna go get more food. Either of you want anything?"
he asked, trying his best to keep his voice sounding normal.
"Some of everything,"
Määnin responded. And next to him, Freppa was nodding in agreement.
"Thank you, Tommy,"
he said, inadvertently prompting Tommy to turn his head and look away.
"Yeah, yeah, fyrbanna, I was gonna go anyway, so it's fine.."
he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets, seemingly unable to accept casual gratitude without getting flustered like some others would.
Neither Freppa or Määnin really looked in Tommy's direction as he walked away, back towards the tables with all the food. They didn't talk while he was gone, either. It was really nice to just enjoy the silence every once in a while. That of course was something Tommy was barely able to do for very long, as evidenced by him having felt the need to absolutely say something before walking away. No one could say why exactly silence was so difficult for Tommy to deal with, but he had always been like that, for as long as Freppa and Määnin had known him.
A few minutes passed comfortably until they eventually saw Tommy make his way across the lot, balancing three paper plates filled with more sausages, new potatoes, marinated herring, some slices of rye bread, potato salad and even some steak.
"I think I better go help him before he drops something.."
Määnin pointed out and stood up, with Freppa nodding. It definitely was for the best. And so, he watched how Määnin hurried to meet Tommy halfway and take two of the plates from him. They left them under Freppa's watchful eye and headed off together once more to get refills of lemonade. Freppa kept looking in their direction quietly, a subtle smile on his face. As they were making their way back, Tommy was suddenly slowing down and hanging back. Määnin turned back to face him as he noticed this. The couple then exchanged some words Freppa wasn't able to hear. But he did see Määnin touch Tommy's cheek with his free hand, and the following, brief but very telling smile on Tommy's face.
Freppa said nothing about their exchange when they finally returned. It was not his business to know what they'd said to each other. It was clear that despite them having that short conversation out in the open, the words had not been meant for anyone else to hear. Freppa was simply just happy that they got along so well. That they obviously were much more than just best friends. And that Tommy was seemingly breaking down his own walls and not as afraid of being seen that way by others.
As soon as Tommy and Määnin had sat back down, they continued eating.
Afterwards Freppa had gone to get his guitar and played some ballads while Tommy rested his head on Määnin's shoulder, feeling full and perfectly happy. Warm and loved, even. Everything was exactly as it should be. And he no longer cared to complain about wearing a flower crown.