× USSR x Finland

× Requested by  @Sharkzter

× Winter war

× Title means 'Flowers...'

× Tbh, when you requested this I was like: 'What? This ship exists? Didn't they hate each other?' But I really enjoyed writing it! <33

× Disclaimer: This story contains blood, alcohol and guns. If you're not comfortable with these things, please do not continue reading! Stay safe <3

× This story contains USSR. I DO NOT support communism! The character's only used in a fictional story, he doesn't mean any harm!

1939, January

He just stood there, staring at the mirror. To be more specific, the man in the mirror who didn't look like him at all. He was quite handsome with his fair hair and grey eyes. He was young — maybe around his twenties — and had a cold expression, like a businessman and he was also dressed like one. He wore a black suit and elegant pants with patent-leather shoes. He saw his suitcase in the reflection, packed and ready to go.

Finland smiled and the man in the mirror did the same. It was a tired smile. He sighed and examined his new body once again before turning away. He was unfamiliar with his human form since he never had to use it before and he felt really uncomfortable. But he didn't think about this too much because he did everything for his land and people.

"Your car is ready, sir." One of the few people who knew about the plan stepped into the room. Finland nodded in acknowledgement, grabbed his suitcase and followed the man to his car. It didn't take long to get to the airport and he was sitting on the plane after an hour, flying to Russia. There was no turning back now.

He just needs to the Russians to trust him, steal information and get back home safely. Easy.

But now that he thinks more about it... It's not that easy. He speaks Russian fluently, yes but he's going to meet and talk to people daily. Just one little mistake can give his true identity away and if that happens, he's dead. He made a Russian persona, named Alexei Kovalyov who's a weapon designer and has been talking with the generals of the army for a month before they decided to hire him. He got into one of the top offices where he would talk to the most important people and design the best guns for the Russians. Couldn't be better.

He had a long journey from Helsinki to Moscow and arrived in the late afternoon. He was greeted by the cold air which hit him like a wall but he just shivered and went to get the paperwork done. He made his way to the street where the office was supposed to be but he didn't find the building. He was walking up and down with a paper in his hand that had the address written on it. He almost gave up when someone gently tapped his shoulders which made him jump slightly.

"Do you need help?" the stranger asked in Russian in a deep and raspy voice. Finland turned around and stared into those golden eyes and realized it was USSR himself, who scared him. He couldn't decide whether this was good or bad luck. Probably bad luck.

"Uh— Actually, yes, I could use some help," he said and showed the paper to the country who had to lean forward to see the words written on it.

"I can't find this address and it's in this street if I'm correct."

"You're not. I've been telling my people to fix the street name boards but they still haven't done it. You're looking for the parallel street, I'll show you." He straightened up and started walking to a direction and Finland followed him with his suitcase in his hand.

"May I ask, why you are looking for that building?" Soviet asked, not even bothering to look at the smaller one.

"I'm going to work there and one of my bosses said he wanted to show my office today." Finland huffed and thought this was awkward. Out of all the people, of course Soviet had to be the one who helped him.

"Are you the new weapon designer?" The smaller one had a small heart attack when he heard that but stayed calm.

"Yes, I am. How did you know, sir?" 

"I literally own the military and I'm not going to lie, I was delighted to hear that we hired a designer. We really needed one."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Sir." He took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself down. "May I ask if you are in the office every day?"

"I usually am. Why?"

"Nothing, sir." Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! He was prepared for so many things but not this. He knew what to do in every possible scenario except this one. Oh, he's so dead. It's almost impossible to lie to Soviet, everyone knew that. Finland thought he only had to fool some dumb generals but this is a whole new situation. He—

"Look, I know I'm the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics but you don't have to be that nervous. I don't bite." The country chuckled and Finland felt his face heat up with embarrassment. Was it that obvious? Gosh, he's worse in hiding his feelings than he thought. 

"I apologize, sir."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I'm used to it by now." He knew the taller one was smiling but he kept looking stiffly in front of him. Now this was a horrible first impression as a fresh worker but at least he acted like a human. 

They arrived at the building and after entering, Soviet said a quick goodbye and disappeared leaving Finland in the hall. Soon a man arrived and said sorry for not telling him about the street name boards and showed him around. When they got to his office he said he'd leave him and he can start working tomorrow. He sat down and huffed tiredly. The office was plain but clean so it was good for him. He just needed to find the rooms and offices they stored useful infos and he could even use the fact that Soviet was here. He just had to play his cards right.

He spent the night in a small, old flat he rented and got up early in the morning. He got the instructions in the office and started working on them at around seven. He spent six hours sitting and writing or sketching before his back started hurting. He looked at his clock on the table, then stood up and stretched. His back made some popping sounds and he sighed.

"Now that was everything but healthy." Finland turned his head to see Soviet standing in the door, watching him with those golden eyes. The smaller one couldn't read any emotions from them.

"Didn't see you there, sir. How can I help you?" he answered, tense, but not as much as the day before.

"I just wanted to see if you found your way here." Soviet grinned but Finland just kept his blank expression. He wanted nothing to do with the Russian.

"I did, thank you for your concern." His voice was cold. The other one noticed this and stopped smiling.

"Alright. Have a pleasant day, then." He left and Finland was just standing there, staring at the door. Did Soviet really just checked in on him? Did he suspect something? No, he surely didn't. He was too friendly to be suspicious. He was just... Being nice.

The next day, they met right in front of the building. They had a small chat and then went on separate ways. The day after, they met on the end of the day and talked again. Finland felt disgust every time he saw the taller one. He hated him for what he was doing and he also hated the fact, how nice and polite the Russian was. If he didn't know what Soviet was doing and that they were in war, he would have enjoyed their conversations. To be honest, he enjoyed them anyways but he just denied it.

⋆✻⋆

It's been two weeks since he arrived. Two weeks since he started talking with USSR and they slowly became friends. At least that's what Soviet was thinking but Finland knew they could never be friends, no matter what. 

It was a cold Friday night and the country just finished working when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in!" he said and yawned. The door opened and he saw that it was Soviet. 

"I see you're still working."

"No, I just finished. Can I help you, sir?"

"I wanted to see what you managed to do in two weeks." Soviet closed the door behind him.

"Of course! Let me get all the papers." Finland actually didn't do too much, it just looked like he was working very hard. He was writing down things, scribbling and drawing but that was it. He put down all the papers on the desk and pointed at them. The taller one walked up to the desk and started looking through them. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"The previous designer was working faster than this" he said and Finland felt slightly insulted.

"And why isn't the previous designer here?" he snapped and almost immediately regretted it. But Soviet didn't seem angry, he just grinned at him.

"Getting cheeky, are we?" The smaller one felt his face heat up at that.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to say that," he said quickly and the other one chuckled at that.

"It's fine. Your designs look good enough and I hope you're slow because you're doing a thorough job. I was also wondering if you wanted to have a drink with me?" Finland looked at him surprised, thinking it must be a joke but the taller one was being serious.

"Sure. When?" What the hell is wrong with him? 

"Is now a good time?" Finland nodded and started putting away his stuff. He must be the stupidest person on this planet. Who agrees on going to drink with their enemy? He must be the first one.

They left the building together and walked to a nearby bar that was the best one around, according to Soviet. It was filled with people wearing elegant clothes which meant the drinks must be expensive, Finland thought. They sat down and ordered. Soviet asked for vodka and the smaller one asked for tea.

"You don't drink alcohol?" The country asked with an amused look.

"I do, I just don't feel like getting drunk tonight." Finland huffed and started drinking his tea. Soviet chuckled — the smaller one hated when he did that — and took a sip frim his vodka. They were quiet for a few minutes before the Finnish spoke up.

"I heard some people saying that the Finns are standing their ground. Is it true, sir?" He started, in a careful tone. Soviet grunted.

"Those bastards do. But they can't do this forever. Winter is here and they'll get tired after a while." Finland knew he was right. That's exactly why he was there, spying.

"So that's your plan? Tire them out?" 

"Oh, I have other plans as well but those are my secrets." He winked at the smaller one who froze at that action. Was the Russian flirting with him? Clearly not, he was just making up things. There's no way that the cold and strong USSR is into men. Or maybe he is? Who knows.

They spent the rest of the night talking about random stuff like work, family and hobbies. As it turned out, Soviet had four kids but they were really young. The oldest one was only six years old but he already spoke Russian and English fluently and Soviet was really proud of him. Finland asked who was home with them when he had to work and he said he was paying a women to look after his kids. It was clear that he cared about them and even though Finland disliked the idea of using this against him, he made a mental note to remember to write it down later. 

Sometimes the Russian would ask him about his family or life but he usually avoided these questions or answered them in the most simple way. Soviet didn't notice any of this, he probably thought the other one just had a rough past.

⋆✻⋆

A week has gone by and it was Friday again. Finland was sitting in the bar with Soviet. Again. 

They were talking and Soviet was already a little bit tipsy from all of the shots he drank. Finland had tea but he just sighed and accepted the fact that he needed a stronger drink. He called for the bartender and asked for the same kind of vodka that Soviet had. He could see the others slightly suprised expression as he drank the alcohol.

"So you do drink alcohol. I thought you couldn't bear it." He had a teasing voice and Finland wasn't going to let him get away with this. Not this time.

"I can and I bet I could even win in a drinking contest. Sir." He snapped back and waited with a challenging look. The Russian grinned at that.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Alexei." They were staring at each other.

"Don't underestimate me, I can handle alcohol well."

"Alright then" Soviet said. "Bartender! Two more shots of this!"

And so it began. Finland was downing the drinks and so was Soviet. He didn't know how much they drank when Finland thought he was going to throw up. He felt dizzy as he stood up and after an 'excuse me' left the bar. It was really cold outside but at least the urge to vomit subsided. The drinking contest was a really bad idea.

Soviet saw how bad his colleague looked like as he excused himself and he knew they should stop. He paid for everything and followed the other one outside. He was standing there, taking deep breaths.

"I'm surprised you lasted this long. You did better than I thought you would." He said. 

"Thank you, sir." Alexei didn't look at him.

"Just call me Soviet."

"Thank you, Soviet."

"We should get going. It's past one in the morning." Finland nodded and took a step but almost fell. He stoped and sat down, holding his head in his hands.

"God, I'm so fucking nauseous." Soviet looked at him then sighed and gently grabbed the other's arm, helping him stand up.

"Put your arm around my shoulder and lean on me." Alexei did as he said and taller one put his arm around the man's waist to hold him as they started walking. The smaller one was half-asleep as they walked through the almost empty streets. Soviet knew where he lived since Alexei told him a few days before.

He have liked Alexei since the day they met. At first, it was just sympathy because the smaller one was always polite and respectful and he also looked more intelligent than most of his people. After they started to talk almost every day, Soviet started to like him more than a friend. He hated himself for what he was but he couldn't do anything so he just accepted it. So he tried to spend more time with the man and even invited him to the bar. They had a really good time together and he also got to know him more. He tried to keep his cold attitude but always failed for moments and Soviet thought it was cute. And after tonight, he had to face it: he totally fell for the other one.

"Soviet?" He heard the his voice. It was quiet and tired.

"Yeah?"

"Do you like fl⌀wers?" He didn't understand the word.

"Do I like what?"

"Fl⌀wers." He was confused for a moment before he finally understood what the other one was trying to say. It sounded like a foreign saying the word flower. Was the other one really that drunk? Or was he the one who didn't hear it?

"I do."

"Which ones are your favourite?" Soviet didn't know why Alexei asked him such questions but he answered them anyways.

"Sunflowers. And yours?"

"Mine's lily of the valley." 

They spent the rest of their journey in silence. The taller one sighed in relief when they arrived at the other's flat. They let go of each other right in front of the door and Alexei started looking for his keys.

"Thanks for the night, Soviet" he mumbled. The country smiled at him.

"It's no problem." Alexei finally found his keys and now was trying to open his door but it was hard because of the dark and his dizzy head. He cursed under his breath but then managed to open the door. Soviet saw him turn back to him and knew, this was his chance.

"Well, goodbye the—" He cut the smaller one off by leaning down and pressing his lips against the other's. Alexei was stunned and before he could react, Soviet pulled away, said a quick goodbye and left. He knew his colleague wouldn't remember anything since he was drunk. Oh boy, how wrong he was.

⋆✻⋆

Finland woke up with the worst headache ever. He groaned as he slowly got up and made his way to the kitchen to look for something to ease his pain. He drank a cup of tea and got ready for work. When he arrived, he instantly knew he has a long day ahead of him. He crawled up to his office, sat down and started working.

He was slow and couldn't concentrate. The memories of yesterday replayed over and over in his mind and every time he remembered the kiss, he could feel his face get red and he was deeply ashamed of how he actually enjoyed it. He didn't want to meet his boss that day but of course this couldn't happen.

In the afternoon, he heard a familiar knock on his door. He gulped and said 'come in'. Soviet stepped into his office and he was acting like nothing happened yesterday. Finland wondered if he didn't remember but he was more sober than him so it was impossible. The country leaned against the wall, smiling and crossed his arms.

"You were pretty drunk last night," he said in a smug voice.

"Yeah, I know you won, sir. I'll pay all the drinks if you tell me the price." Finland groaned.

"You don't have to pay and I know you probably don't remember but I told you to call me Soviet."

"Right. Soviet," Finland mumbled and stood up. "What happened anyways?" He looked at the country as he walked closer to him. 

"You didn't feel good so I helped you go home and literally that's it." Lies.

"Mhm. You forgot the fact that you also kissed me." Now Finland was the one to have a smug face. Soviet looked surprised for moment before his expression turned cold but the smaller one knew he was trying to hide his fear.

"You remember everything?" Soviet's voice was steady. Finland chuckled.

"No. But I remember that moment."

They stood there in silence, staring at each other. Soviet was helpless and the Finnish enjoyed every second of this minute. Now he was the one in charge and he dictated everything. He had power over the Russian but he knew he would be easily fired if he dared to threaten the country so he had to do something to keep his job and so that Soviet didn't think that he would be dangerous in the slightest.

"I apologi—" The country started but now he was the one to be cut off by Finland pulling him down by the neck of his uniform and pressing their lips together. It took him a moment to react but after that he grabbed the smaller one by his waist, pulled him closer and kissed back. Finland pulled away after a while and he looked into the other's eyes that were filled with love. He shivered as he realized what he was doing but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed it a little bit too much.

"Don't apologize." He smiled and the Russian returned it. Finland congratulated himself for saving his job and made it clear that he didn't have feelings for Soviet, he was just acting.

"Alright, I won't. Then may I ask, if you would like to have dinner with me sometime?" He grinned at the smaller one who slightly blushed at that.

"I'd love to. When?"

"Is Monday night suitable?"

"Absolutely."

So they went on a date on Monday. And started going on more. After that, Soviet invited him to his place. His kids were the sweetest children, Finland ever saw and they quickly got to like him. Russia was a little uncertain but he just gave the kid some space and was friendly with him so he accepted the new guy. And every night, when Finland went home, he told himself over and over that he hated Soviet, he was disgusted by him and he did everything for his job. At first, he believed these lies but it became harder as time went on and he knew, at some point, he will have to face the truth.

⋆✻⋆

It's been seven weeks since he arrived in Russia and four weeks since they started dating.

It was morning, maybe around five and Finland was lying in bed with Soviet. The taller one was hugging him from behind as he was sleeping and the other one was just enjoying the moment. He could feel Soviet's chest rise and fall as he was breathing and it was strangely calming. He felt safe in the Russian's arms but he knew he had other things to do. So he carefully got out of bed and left the room.

He walked through the house, careful not to make any voice. All the kids were still sleeping and he was grateful for that since nothing would wake Soviet up. He made his way to the great, wooden door that led to the Russian's office. He slowly opened it, just enough for him to go in and then closed it. There he was, in the office, that probably contained every information he needed to know. He walked up to the desk and started opening every drawer, he even looked for hidden ones. He found a gun and some useless papers but nothing else so he just sighed and continued searching in one of the cupboards. Nothing. He started to get frustrated because he knew that Soviet could wake up at any moment so he started looking around faster.

He almost gave up when he noticed that in one of the drawers, there was a small handle. He quickly threw everything out of it, then grabbed and pulled the handle upwards. It revealed a little place that had just enough space to put documents in it. And there they were. Finland picked one up and opened it. There were coordinates written in it and the names of different places. All of them were found in Finland.

He opened another document and started looking through it. There were datas of the military and its conditions and some smaller notes written down. The notes contained different ideas for plans. Finland's breathing quickened as he read everything. He realized that Soviet didn't care how many people died, he only cared about getting the territory he wanted. Finland stood there, staring at the paper, horrified. If that's true, he needs to get home as quick as possible and speak with his generals or—

His thoughts were interrupted by someone grabbing him from behind and pinning him to the wall. He yelped and the papers he was holding fell onto the ground as his arms were forced behind his back.

"What are you doing?" Soviet asked and his grip became stronger. It hurt so Finland just hissed but didn't say a word. That pissed off the Russian even more.

"I asked something. What the hell are you doing in my office?" He wasn't shouting. His voice was barely above a whisper but this showed how angry he was.

"Nothing." Finland said. He can't break down. Not now.

"Nothing? You just searched it! What were you looking for? Hm?" Soviet shifted a little and the Finnish knew that he was looking at the papers on the floor. "Oh, so that's how it is. You needed information, didn't you?" Oh he's damned.

"Where are you from, Alexei?" Soviet asked but Finland just stayed quiet once again.

"Alright, don't answer," he growled and the smaller one knew that he was thinking.

"Say flower," Soviet said in English.

"What?" Finland was confused. Why did the other one switch languages?

"I said, say the word flower." It was a demand and the position they were in started to get really uncomfortable.

"Flower" Finland hissed.

"In Russian."

"Fl⌀wer." Soviet stayed quiet and the Finnish knew he fucked up.

"You're not R–" He thought this was the moment to do something so he jerked his head back, hitting the other's nose. The Russian groaned in pain and the smaller one broke free. He jumped to the desk and grabbed the gun he found earlier, hoping that it was loaded. He pointed the weapon at the country who just stood there, staring at him. His nose was bleeding but he didn't bother trying to stop it. Dark blood trickled down his chin. 

"You're not Russian, are you?" He was emotionless.

"No. I'm Finnish." He could saw the hurt in the other's eyes for a moment before it turned into anger. The Russian mumbled some swear words then grinned.

"You think you can kill me? I thought you were smarter than that. I'm a country and you're just... human." His voice was mocking and it made Finland frustrated. Angry, even.

"I'm not human," he hissed and turned back into his real form. He became a little bit taller and his flag appeared on his face as he stared at Soviet with his cold, grey eyes. The grin dissapeared from the Russian's face and there was nothing left but pain, dissapointment and betray. This broke Finland's heart into millions of pieces but he didn't show it. He just stood there, holding the gun, ready to shoot.

"You bitch," Soviet spat his voice full of anger and sadness. Finland just wanted to drop his weapon and apologize but he knew the other one would probably strangle him. So they just continued standing there, not moving an inch.

"Shoot me," Soviet said, staring into his eyes. "Shoot me like the coward you are."

"I'm not a coward!" Finland snapped. "You are. You shouldn't have started this war. You should have just let me be and you would've spared all those people's lives!" He didn't raise his voice. He didn't want to wake the kids.

"Shoot me." He looked into Soviet's golden eyes and he didn't pull the trigger. He just couldn't do it. He cared too much about this man. His lover. His enemy.

"Ei," he said and shook his head. He couldn't grab the paper because it was too close to Soviet so he took a step back, turned around and ran out with tears in his eyes.

Soviet just stood there, looking after the country, heartbroken. He could've ran after him but he didn't. He just slowly sat down on his chair and buried his head into his shaking hands. He felt so, so betrayed. He never trusted anyone and when he finally did, he just got hurt. He was all alone, once again.

He could feel warm tears run down his cheeks and mix with his blood. He angrily wiped them away and clenched his teeth. Finland's going to regret playing this game. He's going to find him sooner or later and he'll take revenge. Because no one can mess with him like this. No one.

[I hope you enjoyed if you did please press the lil star! I also appreciate every comment and please tell me if I made a mistake so I can learn from it and fix it. Don't forget to drink water! <3]

[Also, here's this animation. It's literally what just happened and it's not mine! It belongs to @DORI_Shorts!]

https://youtu.be/gnGtgv9sqAM