Moments

I Går, I Dag, I Morgen, Alltid

Dear Isak,

I am now sitting in the place where we talked for the first time and thinking about you. It's almost 21:21. I want to tell you a thousand things. I'm so privileged to know you. I'm so honored to love you. I'm so grateful that you've stuck by me these last four years, there were times when I thought I would lose you. I had forgotten that you and I were forged from the same star, that we share something unbreakable. Something almost unimaginable. And that even when we're apart, even when our paths diverge, we always find our way back to each other. In any other place, in any other time, we are together for eternity. Remember? I love you.

Come to me,
Even

Isak runs through baggage claim, weaving his way past the other passengers. His phone had pinged with the text from Even the moment he turned it on.

He isn't sure what he expected to happen when he returned to Oslo. For the last two years, he's been studying at the University of London. And while it's been an amazing experience, it had taken him away from Even.

To say the separation has been hard on them would be a serious understatement. They've done their best, racking up frequent flier miles with weekend trips back and forth but, truthfully, it hasn't been good for them.

They fight.
A lot.

And Even had fallen into some old habits before Isak threatened to cut him off completely if he didn't tell his doctor what was going on with him. It turned out to be a chemical imbalance, something easily corrected with an adjustment to Even's meds.

Isak had been too angry for words when he found out, so he didn't speak to Even for two weeks.

But that was over a year ago, and things are better now. Better than better, they're amazing.

Isak is done with school, for now. He's not sure where he'll continue his studies, but he does know that – wherever it is – he needs to be wherever Even is. He just...needs it.

So he's running. Crashing through the door, he grabs the first taxi he sees and directs the driver toward Hartvig Nissen Skole.

God.

He hasn't thought about that place in ages.

Strange that it played such a big part in his life. He used to think it was his whole world, and yet it seems so small, now. He guesses that's what it means to grow up, to move on. He's seen so much more of the world, learned so much more about himself and his place in it.

They drive past a Kaffebrenneriet and Isak smiles. They may not have the world's best coffee, but he's missed it anyway. It's one of the first things he wants to do, now that he's home.

Home.

What a concept.

The school comes into view, and Isak's heartbeat picks up.

"Stop here."

"I can take you closer."

"No, it's fine." Isak opens the door. "I'll walk the rest."

He pays the driver and grabs his carry-on, slamming the door shut behind him. The taxi pulls off, and Isak is alone on the sidewalk staring up at the building. He knows Even is already there. He can't see him yet, but... He just knows. It's always been that way with them.

So, Isak thinks he's prepared to see Even. It's only been a few weeks since he'd last come to visit him in London, one last weekend together before Isak buckled down to finish his semester.

He can still feel Even's breath against his neck, hot and humid as he pressed Isak down into his lumpy single mattress. A ghost of pleasure ripples through him at the memory of Even deep inside him, stroking the spot he didn't even know he had three years ago. Skin-to-skin, they'd spent the entire weekend in bed, only getting up for fuel and bathroom breaks. Isak was sore by the time Even left for Heathrow. Everywhere. And he'd missed him immediately.