Berwald had invited England over to his home to discuss a very delicate matter. He'd sent the invitation just a few days after his cousin had visited him. There wasn't much time left that he would be able to stall before his cousin demanded an answer. Berwald already knew the answer he was going to give, but he couldn't give it without solving a problem first. Like Germany had told him "Take care of it."
He had created a space for them to sit inside. The chairs and table were all made by him, hand carved and designed with his own two hands. He was really enjoying the business that was started here and couldn't wait to make it grow larger with time. The way that it was being used right now wasn't exactly as he envisioned. It should have been find if England went directly to him, it shouldn't have risen any real suspicion with the Axis. After all, England was a member and had his own empire to handle. If anything Sweden was the one more likely to be watched. This is why it was better done in his home. Here he could know it was safe; if it wasn't, he'd already be in trouble.
A cloth was laid across the table and a few glasses were placed on it just in case either of them wanted a drink. Sweden didn't think he could stomach much right now. He was just waiting for England to show up so that he could begin the negotiations with him. It would have been very optimistic to think that he would just say yes. England really should just say yes, but he doubted he would. England had his own problems to worry about and he was already a part of the Axis.
There was no doubt that what he was going to ask was very much against all Axis agreements. England could end up getting in just as much trouble as he was going to be if he didn't do something. England was in a more strategic position to take these people and Sweden intended to unload all 12,000~ of them. It would still be delicate to talk about. England may have joined the Axis but underneath he was still England and he doubted that he shared all the same values as the Axis.
A knock came to the door and Sweden went to answer it. He opened the door to his IKEA shop and saw the man he'd been waiting for. "Halla, England. Come in." He stood to the side and moved his hand in the direction of the table and chairs.
Arthur had received the invitation from Berwald to speak with him. The exchange at the party was odd, but he wasn’t one to forfeit people’s secrets without first seeing if they were worth investing in. England had been in the business of keeping and discovering secrets for many decades now, and he was very good at it. As of now, he wasn’t particularly overly interested or invested in learning what sort of secret Berwald may unveil to him, but he couldn’t very well refuse his request straightaway. England's own position was a touch precarious, only because his status as an Axis member was due to a desperate situation. Desperation didn’t always breed loyalty. But perhaps that was based on the individual’s definition of loyalty.
When he arrived at the specified place, at one of Berwald’s furniture shops, of all places, he decided to dress in business attire, because that’s what this meeting felt like to him. Although it was perhaps more on the casual side of business, because he wasn’t entirely sure if this was the sort of delicate matter that he wanted to entangle himself in. Sweden was neutral, not exactly on anyone’s side at the moment, although he likely would eventually be swayed by Ludwig. Of that, Arthur was probably the most sure of at the moment.
Hence, caution and curiosity. After knocking at the door, Arthur waited patiently, although he didn’t have to wait long. Berwald answered immediately, which gave way to some potential feeling of anxiety. That, or an intense desire to see him. And Arthur really didn’t think much of the latter option. He did a brief and casual once-over of the tall man at the door before walking inside. ”Good afternoon,” he responded politely as he made his way over to the table and chairs. The cloth over the table gave the room a very formal feeling. Arthur’s attention was briefly on the glasses as he seated himself. ”Do you happen to have tea ready? If not, then I’m fine with either coffee or even just water.” He was well aware that coffee was a Swedish favorite, so he knew to mention it just in case it happened to be around. Whenever he was visiting another nation, he always craved the formality of something to drink beforehand.
Otherwise, he observed Sweden. Leaning slightly against the back of the chair, one arm pressed over the edge of it as his eyes followed the other man. ”I’ve never had the pleasure of receiving an invitation from you to witness the grandeur of your retail enterprise before, so this must be a critical situation indeed for you to turn your attention to me.” There wasn’t any unpleasantness painting his tone, or even the usual dry sarcasm that trialed Arthur’s words whenever he made an observation, but simply of carefully constructed neutrality. Sweden was neutral, so he wasn’t going to inspire passion from him leaning one way or the other. At least, he didn’t think that appropriate yet.
Sweden had a lot on his mind. England was speaking, but in this space he barely was paying attention to pleasantries. The weight of everything that was on him was far too much to mess this up. Still, he heard the word tea and nodded, disappearing around a corner silently. He would talk to him in a moment.
Toward the back in Arthur’s view was a large armoire that looked as if it had been broken. It was in the process of being sanded and finished again, with the glass being replaced. A few pieces still littered the bottom of the glass window opening, but most of it had been cleared out. It was a constant reminder to Berwald how close he was to being caught at any given moment. It was the same risk he was taking here with England, but he felt he could handle England better than Germany. Still, there was no promise that England might just turn around and turn him in to save himself later down the road.
For that he couldn’t blame him, but he was out of options.
A few minutes later, Sweden came around the corner with hot coffee and placed it in front of Arthur. After that was done he took his own seat and stared at him for a long moment. His eyes traveled down his form, taking in everything about his appearance. England had changed a lot over the years, but that didn’t make him any less powerful. Their own relations weren’t perfect and his treatment of his brothers was not something that he condoned or particularly cared for, but for now it would have to be set aside.
As much as he’d love to sell his furniture today, he couldn’t get distracted. “Another visit we will talk about my quality furniture sold at reasonable prices.” He mentioned casually, still staring at him. He should have said it already, but it was becoming a trust issue. Sweden wrestled with emotions he didn’t understand in his head. On the outside it came off as cold and uncaring…Blank and expressionless as he stared at the Brit. He didn’t understand what the problem was, he was out of time and out of options, he just needed to tell the man. Finally, Berwald cleared his throat and leaned forward to speak. “ I didn’t bring you here to sell you furniture. I brought you here to tell you that I need you to do something for me.” He glanced a bit over his shoulder, toward the double doors in the back that held so many quiet people.
“I have a shipment I want to send you of delicate cargo. Cargo that if you don’t deal with….I’ll have to deal with.” He tried to say in the best way possible, but it didn’t come out any better. He still hadn’t told him exactly what it was or why he needed to move it. “This cargo is not partial to my values anymore.” He paused again, not sure if that was the right thing to say, but what else could be said about it? “It would be much better for its livelihood if it where in your hands.” He sighed and motioned to the door to where it all was.
Arthur carefully noted Berwald’s demeanor, how distracted and serious he seemed. And his own offhandedly casual demeanor that was making light witticisms faded. While the Swede left to get something to drink, Arthur noticed the broken armoire. He pondered over it briefly, but his thoughts were interrupted when Berwald came back rather soon with coffee. Arthur helped himself, putting in a bit of cream and sugar, just as he would with his usual tea.
He stirred the coffee slowly, glancing back up at Berwald when he stared at him for a good, long while. From his limited experiences with the man, this wasn’t entirely unusual. Arthur’s eyes didn’t waver from his. It was strange looking up at Berwald like this, from where he was sitting while the other was standing. He remembered looking up at him when he was only a messy-haired child wearing a muddied, soaked cloak, his small fingers trembling, but determined, as he nocked his next arrow. But no matter how terrified he was, how outnumbered, and hopeless the situation as the smell of charred wood and singed flesh reached his nose, he always made to shoot at the blond giants, even knowing that he was likely just moments away from his next death. England was so insignificant back then, so powerless. But regardless of the power that he held now, that stubborn set jaw never changed, nor the fierceness in his gaze.
When Berwald broke the silence, Arthur sipped at the coffee. ”Perhaps. It might be profitable for you,” he murmured in response, waiting for Berwald to reveal the real reason why he asked him to come out here. He knew the situation that Sweden had been put in, and he could only assume that it had something to do with that. And when Berwald admitted that he hadn’t brought him here to sell furniture, he delicately set his coffee down with a soft clink against the saucer and looked back up at him, waiting for him to say the rest.
Arthur raised a brow slightly when Berwald mentioned ‘delicate cargo’ and he tried to rummage his thoughts over what he was trying to convey, though his mind was admittedly going over stolen commodities that he couldn’t be seen with or other such wartime materials. ”What sort of… cargo… are we talking about here?” First, clarification. The fact that Berwald couldn’t even say the thing out loud caused Arthur to assume that the man either felt a taboo sense of shame with having this ‘cargo’ in the first place or else it had to do with the fact that he needed to ‘deal with’ it, whatever that meant. Although the ‘livelihood’ term caught Arthur’s attention as well. ”You want to protect this cargo. If you didn’t, then you would simply deal with it yourself without looking at alternative options first.” Arthur stated softly, more as clarification to himself and to further his understanding of the situation.
Regardless, when Berwald motioned to the door, Arthur stood from his seat and waited for him to show him what it was. That is, if he intended to show it to him at all. He made a soft sound of consideration at the back of his throat when Berwald stated that it would be better left in his hands. ”What makes you so sure that it would be better left in my hands?” It sounded to Arthur like Berwald was attempting to cast off a mess that he didn’t want to clean up. And the reason for his sudden desire to tie loose ends offered up a very viable reason for Berwald’s sudden shift in ‘values’ that Arthur could only speculate. His eyes glanced up at him, curiosity touching his expression. ”And why have your values shifted so suddenly, I wonder?”
The barrage of questions was exactly what Sweden would have expected from the Englishman. They’d never had the best past and their relationship now was anything but close. Distance had probably been the best thing for them over this long stretch of years. He didn’t answer any of his questions right away, though all of them were legitimate questions. He didn’t know how to answer them without making it sound like the worst situation possible. But it was going to be difficult to disguise it any other way. At this point, Berwald was out of options.
When Arthur stood, Berwald did as well and slowly made his way toward the double doors. He figured now would be the best time to answer any loose questions and then Arthur could decide for himself. “I trust you more with this cargo than I do myself.” He stated flatly as he approached the door. It was the truth. If these people were left with him the worst was promised to come to them. They came to the double doors and Sweden placed his hand on the handle.
“Dealing with this cargo myself is a problem.” He clarified just before he opened the door to show him the sea of people inside. Some of the ones closer to the door looked upon them, fear in their eyes for their present situation. What a life it must have been to have to be so quiet day after day, not being able to leave the small confines of this warehouse space. It was a miracle that he was able to get them all in there already. It certainly wasn’t a comfortable fit.
He knew there was a problem with trust between both of them, it wouldn’t have been shocking for Arthur to deny this offer. England had no guarantee what would happen after he took these people. Berwald would understand if he couldn’t take the offer, but it was an impossible situation for him. “I need it taken care of sooner than later.” He clarified again when he wanted this done without giving too much information. Telling him that he was going to join the Reich needed to be on a need to know basis. There was no reason to give up the information freely, although this situation might have been enough to say it here. If Arthur didn’t already suspicion it, this might have solidified it for him.
