Work Text:
The streets of Espoo were cold. Finland was always cold. The never ending winter penetrated people's clothes, promising sharp pain and shivering, as everyone made their way home to their loved ones. Christmas was always a holiday that brought family together, friends, lovers, all exchanging gifts and wishes for the upcoming year. Choirs were singing carols, priests quoted the bible, highlighting the importance of Christ's birth. No sane person would work on a Christmas day and no sane person would miss mass on a Christmas day.
All corners of the city were clear off people, almost as if a disaster struck and left it empty. Every citizen was at the church at this time of day and barely a soul would walk past the young boy wandering the streets. It was today that the blonde was in a bad state for which you'd have to be blind not to notice. He was visibly shaking, traveling barefoot and his clothes were soaked. Not even an hour ago, Kimi was walking through the main square when a carriage almost rammed into him, sending him to the ground. He manged to avoid the impact, but while doing so he tripped and fell face first into the snow. Gathering himself back up, the boy noticed his shoes were gone, yet he had no idea where he lost them. He tried searching for them, but to no avail.
Kimi was left to search the city in such state, in hopes of finding a buyer for what he was selling. Matches, simple and small, but important nevertheless. Since he left home that morning, he hadn't managed to sell a single box and he knew, if that were to happen there was no point for him to return home. His father would just hit him and scream how much the child had ruined his life, leaving his son to cry in a corner.
A question rang in the boy's mind, would his house be any different? The holes in the ceiling were merely stuffed with hay, yet it did nothing to stop the frosting wind from enveloping his body with tight shivers and frostbites. Now, his condition was the same, save for the lack of fabric protecting his feet. It didn't help that the blond had barely eaten anything the past days, weeks even. There simply wasn't any money for him to buy food and he was living off of crumbs left on the street and rats that gave him stomach pain.
His last hope was selling matches, but even that wasn't working in his favor. At some point in his search, he started feeling nauseous from the poorly processed murids and the mouth watering smells coming from all houses, were not helping his hunger. Kimi sat down near one of the houses, that connected to another, casting a shadow over the place he resided in currently.
He stared down at himself, trembling from the cold hitting his skin. He tried pulling the leg of his trousers over his heels, a vail attempt to warm up, before he gave up. Said pants were much too small on him and just wouldn't go past. Feeling defeated, Kimi stared ahead at the wall in front up until he tried one more way to shield himself from the blistering weather. With shaky hands, the boy took out the box of matches he carried and hesitated for a second, before lighting one. His father would scold him for wasting materials, but the blonde needed something to warm his numb hands. The moment he saw the fire, his eyes widened and shoulders dropped as the faint heat reached his skin. In the split time the wind wasn't blowing to strong, Kimi saw a face in the smoke, of a boy he hadn't seen since he turned twelve. Him and the Finn used to play together, laughing and smiling while the world collapsed around them.
That was until the other developed a sickness that attacked his lungs. Not long after his fevers started, the child died and his mother left the city. That was a year ago now and Kimi hasn't smiled since.
When the math eventually lost it's spark, the blonde lit up another one, wishing to see his friend's face again. He pulled the burning wood lose to his face and hands, searching for that fleeting warmth.
He looked up at the sky where a beautiful aurora played before his eyes. In it's colors, Kimi could make out the same shade of blue as his dead friends eyes. Smiling to himself, the young boy closed his eyes a final time.
The next day, as people continued with their lives, they could make out a body of a child no older than fourteen, laying on the pavement with a box of burned out matches. "He wanted to warm himself" they murmured, feeling pity for the him. In their hurry they didn't make out the small smile gracing his pale lips, as the boy knew, he could now spend an eternity with his own loved one, feeling nothing, but sunshine on his face.