Chapter Text
Sebastian hoisted his backpack further onto his shoulder as he stared at the little hotel in front of him.
It was a funny little building, all wood with intricate carvings. He checked the name sign ‘Lumisade’- Snowfall in Finnish.
And snowing it was. Ever since Sebastian had arrived in Finland two weeks ago, he had seen barely anything but snow- and he had loved it. He had been tracking around for a while now, and Lumisade was his next stop, if they had a room left that it.
Sebastian had ended up in this quaint little town almost by accident, he had arrived here by train in the morning, but had lost track of time so much by just wandering around the surroundings that he had missed his connecting train to Helsinki.
He didn’t mind, he really didn’t have much of a set plan and more than enough time left for a bit of exploring, but finding accommodation had been difficult. The small size of the town had meant there weren’t many hotels available, but someone in the coffeeshop Seb had gone to to warm up a little, Valtteri, if Seb remembered correctly, had told him Lumisade would probably still have a room left for him.
Sebastian quietly entered the reception area. It was quiet, and he couldn’t see the owner around.
Sebastian looked around for signs that anyone was even here. There was a small bell on the reception desk and Seb leaned forward to press it.
There was some rummaging and the door behind the reception area opened, a blonde haired man coming through. He was about the same height as Sebastian, but a little broader, the red jumper pulled tightly over his chest. His eyes were such an intense pale blue that Seb’s breathing hitched for a moment.
The man gave him a nod in greeting.
“Hyvää iltaa.” The man said, wiping his hands on a small towel. Sebastian noticed there were smudges of flower on the apron tied around the man’s waist and Sebastian wondered if he was the Chef here.
Sebastian repeated the greeting, the words still feeling foreign on his tongue. A small smile tugged at the man’s lips, Sebastian was unsure whether he appreciated Sebastian’s attempt at speaking Finnish, or if he was just laughing at the pronunciation.
“You need a room?” the man said when Sebastian failed to say anything else, distracted by a small smudge of flower near the man’s nose. He blinked.
“Eh, yeah, I don’t have a reservation though…” he said as the man shrugged and got out some papers.
“No problem.” He handed Sebastian some forms and asked him for his passport, which Seb handed over.
“Sebastian?” the man said, looking at the document. Sebastian nodded.
“Yeah, everyone calls me Seb though.” The man gave a hum in acknowledgement.
“I’m Kimi.” He said after a moment. “The owner.” He gave a small wave around the place as he gave the passport back to Seb and took the forms.
“How long will you be staying?” Kimi asked, looking up at Seb for moment. Sebastian felt his stomach tighten again when the pale blue eyes met his.
“I’m not sure yet, at least a week I think…” Kimi nodded curtly and turned to grab a key. Rounding the desk, he took Sebastian’s small suitcase, even though Seb told him multiple times he was okay with carrying it himself.
“Your room is on the second floor, there is no elevator so you’ll have to take the stairs. Breakfast is served in the main dining area, as well as lunch and dinner if you want. There are some other guest here tonight who chose to have dinner here, and there is enough if you want to join.” Kimi told him as Seb followed his up two flights of stairs and through a small hallway.
“That would be great.” Sebastian said with a relieved smile, realising just how hungry he was after a day of travelling. Kimi opened the door with an elegant number 7 carved into it, allowing Seb to enter the room first as he held the door open.
It wasn’t large, but it was so cosy Sebastian grinned. Kimi placed the suitcase down in the corner.
“Dinner is served in about an hour.” He said, handing Seb the key to the room.
It turned out that Valtteri, the man who had helped Sebastian find the hotel, actually worked there as well.
“I might be biased, but it’s a good hotel, and the only one around here.” Valtteri had said with a shrug when he saw Seb’s confused expression.
A third man worked in the hotel as well, a dark haired Spaniard, who wore the thickest wool jumpers Sebastian had ever seen even if he was sitting next to the fireplace. He enthusiastically introduced himself as Fernando, and told him if he needed anything, he was there to help.
Besides Seb, there were only three other guests at the moment, of which there was Max and Daniel, who both worked in the area nearby and were staying here until the found something more permanent.
“We’re colleagues.” Dan had explained with a smirk, to which Fernando had let out a snort.
“Colleagues don’t sleep in one room, no?”
“It’s a tight budget.” Daniel had replied, Max rolling his eyes as he leant against Daniel’s side. They had a third colleague with them, Mark, who had arrived a month or so after them.
“I have my own room, thanks very much.” He had immediately exclaimed with a smile, although Sebastian figured it was more aimed at Fernando than at him, the Spaniard eying Mark curiously in return.
They waited patiently for Kimi to finish cooking, the smells coming from the kitchen better than anything Sebastian had ever smelled before. Sebastian learned that Fernando had moved here three years ago, and although he didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon, the weather was something he could never get used to.
“There is too much white here, and always freezing!” he exclaimed with a huff as he pulled the sweater even tighter around his body. Mark chuckled.
“Well, if you ever need to warm up…” he said with a wink. A blush came to the Spaniards cheeks and for a moment he looked at a loss for words. Luckily for him, Kimi chose that moment to enter the dining area, carrying a large oven tray filled to the brim.
They all fell silent as the looked at the food Kimi placed in front of them. It wasn’t anything too elaborate, but at the same time unlike anything Sebastian had ever eaten before.
“Karjalanpaisti.” Kimi announced, pointing at a large pan filled to the brim with what smelled like stew.
“Bless you.” Daniel said with a grin, making Kimi roll his eyes.
“It’s stew, with beef and lamb.” He turned to Seb. “You’re not vegetarian, are you?” there was a slight look of distaste that Kimi was clearly trying to hide. Sebastian shook his head, Kimi smiled slightly.
“And these are cabbage rolls.” He said, gesturing towards the oven tray.
“Called something completely unpronounceable again probably.” Max said with a small smile.
“Kaalikääryleet.” Kimi answered him dryly, sitting down next to Sebastian.
“… Is that a swear word?” Sebastian asked innocently, making Kimi blink in surprise at him. When he saw Sebastian was trying to hide a smile, he huffed out a laugh.
“Just eat already.”
The food was good, more than good really, and it was all gone in no time. They all praised Kimi for his cooking, but he shrugged it off.
“It’s my job.” He said, standing up to collect the plates. Fernando and Valtteri stood up with him as well and helped him clear the table. Sebastian wanted to get up to help as well, but Kimi had shaken his head with a small smile, telling him it wasn’t necessary.
“So, why are you here?” Mark asked him as they waited for the other to return. Sebastian shrugged.
“I’m just travelling around for a bit, kinda just ended up here.” He said with a smile.
“Gap year?” Max asked, swatting Dan’s hand away as the Aussie tried to poke his side. Sebastian shook his head hesitantly.
“No, I eh… quit my job after some… problems, and I just had to get away from home for a while I guess.” He felt a little awkward as the others fell silent, wishing he had told them some lie about wanting to see other cultures up close.
“Well you chose the right time, because Kimi finally made his famous liptonperry pie.” Fernando announced as he walked back into the room.
“Lingonberry.” Kimi corrected him with a exasperated sigh, nudging the Spaniard to the side as he came through with said dessert, Valtteri following with small plates.
The pastry was a beautiful golden brown, with the dark red of the berries in the centre. The sight of it made Seb’s mouth water.
Fernando sat back down next to Mark again, a little closer than before, Mark leaning his arm on the back of Fernando’s chair. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this and Mark blushed slightly.
Kimi saw him looking and leant in towards Seb slightly.
“Don’t take too much notice of them, they’ll get there eventually.” Kimi said quietly, his warm breath brushing over Seb’s face, making his cheeks heat up slightly.
“What you are saying?!” Fernando exclaimed indignantly, pouting slightly.
“I was just telling him not to take notice of your pronunciation.” Kimi said, face not betraying anything. Seb nodded in agreement. Fernando huffed and sat back a little, but didn’t try to ask again.
Sebastian turned to Kimi again for a moment, grinning when he saw the smallest smile tugging at the Finn’s lips.
“Daniel! I swear to god!” Max suddenly exclaimed. The all turned to see Max had a smear of whipped cream over his nose, while Dan was practically falling of his chair form laughing too hard.
They all joined in with the laughing
Sebastian smiled, he had never been more glad he had missed his train.