Sweden (Berwald Oxenstierna) x Reader
Berwald watched her silently out of the corner of his eye. (Y/N) had her face buried in a textbook as she prepared for her final. She sensed his gaze and looked up at him with a small curious smile "Is something wrong?" He shook his head and mutely returned to his own textbook. They had originally planned to go to the movies, but due to external forces, they found themselves silently studying in the school library. (Y/N) watched him carefully for a moment. She sighed fondly at the sight of his focused expression "Berwald." He turned his gaze toward her and she smiled brightly at him "I love you." A faint pink dusted his cheeks and he sent her the smallest smile "Jag älskar dig också."
She started to reply, but her attention had been drawn by the sound of a loud, familiar, friend "(Y/N)!" She looked up at Matthias as he made his way to their table and an easy smile formed on her face "Matthias!" She jumped up from her seat and buried her face in his chest as he hugged her. Berwald watched the scene with disappointment filling his chest. (Y/N) pulled away with a bright smile "What are you doing at the library?" Mathias easily took a seat at their table "I'm waiting for my date." Berwald watched as (Y/N)'s smile fell at the news. He knew she still loved Mathias. When they had started dating, she had told him she'd always love Mathias and he had accepted it at the time.
She regained her composure and sat back down in her chair with a strained smile on her face. "Who's the lucky girl?" She asked, her gaze cast down on her notebook. Mathias' smile didn't falter as he leaned back in his chair "Madeleine. The girl in our English class." Madeleine entered the library the next moment and headed over to their desk. She smiled kindly at (Y/N) "Hi. It's a pleasure to meet you. Mathias has mentioned you before." (Y/N) laughed playfully to hide her pain "Good things I hope?" Madeleine nodded and took a seat next to Mathias who pecked her cheek "Nothing, but good things." Berwald looked over at (Y/N)'s expression and closed his books "L't's g'. G'v' th'm s'm pr'v'cy." (Y/N) looked over at Berwald in worry and nodded. She knew he could see everything she felt. She examined her past actions around Mathias and felt guilt rising up within her.
Madeleine stared at them in worry "You shouldn't have to leave. We can leave instead." (Y/N) shook her head and swallowed her pain as she gripped Berwald's hand in comfort "No need. We were planning on leaving soon anyway." Madeleine nodded, though she continued to appear worried. (Y/N) followed Berwald out of the library silently. The moment they exited the institution, he released her hand and continued to trudge on silently. She sped up her pace to keep up "Berwald." He slowed down before ultimately stopping. He looked down at her and she flinched at the unfamiliar gaze.
The couple remained in silence as he continued to watch her with cold uncertainty and she continued to stare at the ground in shame. Tears stung her eyes "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me." He remained silent. He ignored the pain in his chest at the familiar words. He had heard her say these words many times before. She looked up at him "I am sorry. You know I still love him. You said you were okay with that." His grip on his books tightened in slight frustration. She grabbed his empty hand "Please look at me. Please look at me the way you used to look at me. I love you. I'll get over Mathias. I promise." He removed her hand from his "N'th'ng's g'nna b' d'ff'r'nt." (Y/N) wiped away her tears "It will be different. I'm slowly getting over him. Berwald, I need you." He hesitated at the words.
His cold gaze changed to one of emotional vulnerability. He didn't want to leave her if she needed him. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek and placed a kiss on his lips "I love you more than I love Mathias. You mean more to me." He pulled away from her. He wanted to believe her, but he couldn't. Nothing had changed since they had started dating a year ago. She had loved Mathias then, and she continued to love Mathias. Berwald shook his head "I c'n't d' th's." He watched her for a few moments with a stoic expression before leaving her standing alone in the hallway. (Y/N) watched him leave as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks and her chest throbbed in pain at the loss of the person she loved.
Author Notes
Jag älskar dig också = I love you too according to Google translate
"He had accepted it at the time" was a hint that he couldn't really deal with it anymore.
Sweden's lack of vowel translations: "Let's go. Give them some privacy." & "Nothing gonna be different" & "I can't do this."
I try to avoid dialogue from him, which is why it's so focused on his emotions (even though he's stoic and expressionless pretty much all of the time doesn't mean he doesn't have emotions). Also, his feelings in this are valid
Sorry for making the reader mean. If it's any consolation, she did love him, but she loved Mathias more
Madeleine is a character I ship with Mathias, but if you don't ship them, then it's fine and she's a random girl + Mathias is oblivious to everything that is happening
Prompt Word: Linger. Basically, her relationship with Berwald didn't work out because of her lingering emotions for Mathias
I hope you enjoyed this
The next chapter will be the Netherlands who will be updated on Friday.
Edit: I realized that in this I call Denmark Mathias and in future reader inserts he will be called Mathias. That is because whenever I write his character, Mathias is the name that pops up due to seeing it in countless fanfics, however, I want to make it clear that I prefer the name Mikkel as seen in his reader insert. I just want to apologize for any confusion it may cause now or in the future.