World Men à la Mode

Chapter Forty-four - IKEA

For the first hour and a half of your bus ride you let your phone charge on your portable charger while you played some games on it and smacked on some of the food items you purchased from the supermarket you stopped at. It wasn't long before sleep over took your senses, causing you to feel peace your snacks back in your backpack and tuck your phone and charger into the pocket of your pull over hoodie. You slumped against the side of the bus since you had a window seat and fell asleep, sleeping through the initial rest stop and being woken up by the second one by Alfred so you could use the restroom before they continued the seemingly endless drive to Stockholm, Sweden.

You slept again once on the bus and were still asleep when the bus pulled up outside of the hotel. Alfred got up groggily from his seat towards the front of the bus and went around waking everyone who wasn't already awake, which was pretty much everyone. You begrudgingly got up, but internally sighed happily at the thought of being able to sleep some more once in the hotel.

As you stepped off the bus, backpack slung over your shoulder, you caught sight of a very intimidating and tall male. He was probably close to six feet tall, if not taller than that. Thin wire frames were perched on his nose, occasionally obscuring the view of his greenish blue eyes when the morning sun created a glare off of them. His light blond hair was styled short but had a slight bed head style to it. His clothing consisted of a dark blue trench coat, a black turtleneck, black pants, and black loafers. A Nordic cross hung from a silver chain around his neck. His expression was stern and his aura was a little on the scary side, but he seemed like a generally nice guy.

"Välkommen till Sverige. Jag hoppas du njuter av din vistelse. Jag är Berwald," he spoke.

Wait. Was that his voice? Was that deep, baritone voice his? Sign you the hell up! That was pretty hot! He was rather quiet, but hot damn was his voice like smooth velvet. Oh, how your knees quaked as he spoke again, this time repeating what he said in English. He led the group inside the hotel and got everyone their room keys before handing them out. Alfred gave a wake up time and the room assignments, leaving you with Darcy and Lily. The three of you headed to your room and all fell asleep almost instantly in your beds.

Your alarm on your phone blared a few hours later, signaling that you had to get up. You went to the bathroom to do your business and brush your teeth and hair before heading down to eat breakfast. Most everyone was quiet through the meal, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Berwald sat across from you, giving you glances from time to time, as if trying to get a read on you. You met his gaze a few times and offered him gentle smiles, which he didn't return, but his eyes conveyed all his feelings. Once finished with your food, you and your friends headed to the bus outside to head to your destination.

"Alright dudettes!" Alfred said. "Have any of you not been to an IKEA back at home?"

No one put their hands up.

"Perfect! You've experienced and American IKEA. Now it's time to experience a legit Swedish IKEA! You guys are free to buy lunch and other snacks there as well as pick up some furniture and ship it home if you're really feeling up to it. That's literally all we have planned today besides dinner and free time afterward, so take your time in the store once we're there."

There were some excited squeals from you and your friends, especially when the bus pulled into the parking lot of the iconic store. Everyone filed off the vehicle after it parked and followed Berwald inside. He said nothing but gestured for everyone to turn loose and explore to their heart's content. You went off on your own, taking a leisurely stroll through the showrooms and occasionally writing down an item's number that you might be interested in purchasing. You caught sight of Berwald and Alfred, as well as your friends from time to time, but Berwald seemed to be everywhere you were. It was like a game of "Where's Waldo?" except it was "I spy with my little eye Berwald over by the Oumbärlig" or some other furniture piece.

You finished your walk through the showrooms upstairs after about an hour and a half and decided to purchase some lunch from the kitchen. You ended up with the Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables and a glass of lingonberry juice. You were a bit of an addict when it came to the fruit drink, but you didn't care. It tasted good to you and that's all that mattered.

With your meal eaten, you headed downstairs to the self service center to check out if they had any deals on any of their products and to further check out prices on what you looked at upstairs. You ended up finding Berwald again but said nothing and continued on your way. You decided on just getting some snacks from the bistro area after snaking your way through the ground floor. Taking a seat at one of the tables available, you munched on the viking helmet jellies you bought. Berwald approached you slowly.

"May I sit with you?"

You nodded and noticed he omitted some of the vowels. It was kind of cute, and you smiled at him. He folded his hands on the table and stared at you. You popped another jelly in your mouth before offering him one. He shook his head to decline. You hummed and put them away in your bag.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

He shook his head again.

"Are you self conscious of the way you speak or sound?"

He shook his head again.

"You just don't like talking?"

He shrugged. "Not much to say."

"I understand. I was like that when I was a child."

He grunted and nodded. The two of you then sat there is silence, enjoying one another's company. You left when it was time to go to dinner and enjoyed your free time afterward exploring the shops nearby. Back at the hotel, you found yourself asleep within minutes of laying down.

~Author's Note~

DreamsForDays here! Sorry it's a little on the later side! I kept getting distracted while writing. I'm also a little stumped on writing for Sweden since Himaruya himself said that Sweden was gay. For story purposes, Sweden will be bisexual. Thanks for reading! Feedback in the comments is always appreciated! Until next time!