Chapter Text
The castle was frigid in the night, despite all the work done to keep it warm. Under the covers, though, it was reasonably warm, especially with Finland there as well. He was sleeping soundly, head almost entirely hidden under the thick covers. It was still novel, having someone else in his bed, Sweden thought. Maybe that was what was keeping him awake.
He'd just started to fall asleep at last when he heard the door creaking open, and the soft footsteps on the floor.
"Hey, don't bother getting up," A soft, low voice said from the darkness, and Sweden froze where he'd just been about to sit up.
"D'nmark? What're ya--"
Except before he could finish the sentence, there was a shock of cold as the other man crawled under the covers. His hands and feet were cold too, as he'd apparently walked over to the room in only his shirt. With a flash of shame on behalf of the man, Sweden hoped no one had seen him. Thought he supposed Denmark wouldn't care either way.
"Wh't," he mumbled, but the other just shushed him, a warm puff of air against his neck.
"Why do you think I visited so soon after the treaty and in this wretched time of year too? See, it was so...official back in Kalmar, there was no time to--" Denmark licked the back of his neck, and while Sweden was still reeling over that, the other's teeth closed on his ear, gently enough to make him shiver. "--talk." he concluded, with a snicker.
"Talk?" Sweden asked, louder than he meant, and Finland made a small noise in his sleep, turning to his other side.
"Don't wake him up," Denmark whispered, and Sweden went still. He didn't want to, Finland had looked tired that evening, after the feast they'd had to kick up for Denmark's surprise visit.
Besides it wasn't so bad, now that Denmark was warming up. Sweden's back had been a bit cold before anyways. Except.
"Oy, D'nmark,"
"Mm?"
"Where're ya putting yer h'nds?"
Denmark just laughed, almost soundlessly, puffs of breath that sent shivers down Sweden's spine which had nothing to do with being cold.
"What do you think?"
"H'...stop 't"
Denmark was pouting. Sweden knew because he could feel his lips against his neck.
"Don't be so stingy, you'll like it," he whispered, but he did pull his hands out of Sweden's trousers and back on his stomach. Which he kept stroking, rough fingers straying lower and lower...damn it.
"..."
"Changed your mind, did you?"
Sweden considered throwing him out of the bed, but that would mean exposing himself to the cold air. And probably waking up Finland in the process. So in the end he just sighed.
"Wh'tever,"
"Good!" Denmark said brightly, though still quietly.
He kept whispering in Sweden's ear, about the future, how it would be with all of them together. forever, like the treaty said. Somehow, that was almost as good as what his hands were doing, the promise of family, of always having someone at one's back.
Even if forever might only mean until the death of the current ruler, those words had a strange power over Sweden. They warmed some place so deeply frozen it had gone numb, and stoked the flames of desire to burn brighter.
"'s that...really?" Sweden asked, though it was already difficult to string the words together in any coherent fashion.
"Why not?" Denmark answered blithely, but he sounded distracted and breathless. "Now, turn over, I have something..."
"Here? Now?" Sweden asked, disbelieving, but the hand pressing on his back told the Dane was serious. Sweden glanced at Finland, but he seemed to be still asleep, snoring softly.
"If he was going to wake up he would have already," Denmark murmured urgently. "It's no wonder he hasn't, the way the little guy drank at dinner..."
And Sweden recalled, now, that it had been Denmark who'd kept filling his glass, smiling genially, as if he were the host and not the inconvenient visitor.
There was a scent in the air suddenly, rich and peculiarly familiar. Sweden's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, ya didn't nick that from t' churc...hn!"
"Secret," Denmark whispered, having used Sweden's distraction to his advantage. He had clever fingers for a warrior, using them to drive away Sweden's reason, while holding his wrists down to the mattress. Not to keep him there, since escape was far from Sweden's mind, but the hold felt more like an anchor.
"It might be just a treaty now, but one day it'll be a proper union, and then we can keep the others safe," Denmark said urgently, and Sweden couldn't help the moan rising out from his throat.
"D-dreamer," he said, not sure anymore whether it was an accusation or something else entirely, and Denmark laughed again, but when he spoke next it was almost a plea.
"Say yes."
But by then, Sweden was beyond words, beyond remembering what the question had been, for that matter. Perhaps it didn't even matter, because Denmark didn't wait for the answer either.
*
Afterwards, when Sweden had had enough time to catch his breath and start feeling awkward, Denmark disentangled from him, but only long enough to curl around him more comfortably, like a particularly bony and sticky blanket.
"No complaints, right?" he said cheerfully.
Sweden didn't bother answering, since it was hardly a question.
"'m tired," he mumbled instead, and Denmark snickered.
"Of course."
There was really no reason for him to sound so smug about it. And apparently he had no intentions of leaving either. Only sensible, Sweden supposed, couldn't be healthy to sneak around half dressed in a castle during winter. He'd have to wake the fool before morning and give him one of the fur capes to wear...but right now Sweden wanted to sleep, so it would have to wait.
Just as long as it was before Finland woke up...
*
When the breathing of the other two finally slowed down to the cadence of sleep, Finland rolled onto his back and stared up into the dark.
Drink or no drink (and really, that watered down stuff was hardly even alcohol), he'd been asleep, not dead
Oh well, it had been sort of hot.