Their shared suffering - ELU

Unfold

"Keeping distance, catch me if you can
You can't get me down, think that's obvious
I want millions, not your thanks
Get on without you, empty seas and saw no land
The paramedic doesn't knock next door
Now grandma doesn't call anymore, every month was too long
I wasn't hungry, my stomach ached from all the fear, ah
Look at me now, I made something of it
Now I'm not afraid of anyone, say, save yourself who can
I say: "Save yourself who can" (Can, can)"

The week flew by and besides Eliott having a little crisis during writing yet another essay for one of his Uni classes (University really only consisted of writing essay after essay at this point of the year), nothing eventful happened.
Eliott's mood seemed to be improving, he had even told him that he'd been taking his new medication regularly now.

Lucas was excited about seeing his friends again since he hadn't seen them in a long time.
But he was also on edge because he still hadn't figured out what he'd prepare for dinner once the guests would all be there.
"Don't worry about that, love", Eliott once said, "Maybe they want to order takeout or bring something to eat, so I wouldn't stress about that if I were you."
And Lucas really tried, he did. But as much as he tried, it didn't work.

Today was Saturday, and the boys had texted that they'd be there in about 2 hours, 3 at most considering traffic.
Despite the huge amount of time that was still left, Lucas couldn't stop walking around the apartment, cleaning up and double-checking if the place was tidy.
Eliott got out of the shower, a towel around his waist and his head.
"C'mon now, Lu Lu", he said, "They won't check the place with magnifying glasses once they get here."
he walked up to his boyfriend, pulling him closer for a kiss.
"They'll be glad to be here and to rest once they're here. Imagine: You get back home from a long flight, the last thing that's on your mind would be checking if your place is clean, n'est-ce pas? They surely won't put the remainder of their energy into criticizing our apartment", Eliott said before heading to the bedroom to get changed.
Lucas sighed. Eliott was probably right.

While checking if there were enough drinks on the table, the doorbell rang.
"Eliott! I think they're here!", Lucas exclaimed, hastily running to the door.
Isak and Even stood in front of them, wearing dark green jackets and beanies from the same brand.
"Hey guys!", Eliott exclaimed, taking a step forward to pull them both into a hug at the same time, "I'm so glad you made it, and even happier to see you!"
The two young Norwegian men hugged Eliott back, smiling happily.
"We're glad to be here, too", Even said, "I don't like flying, but Isak's actually terrified of it."
"Yeah, almost 2 hours of pure anxiety", Isak said, "But hey, we've made it."

They enter the apartment, Even couldn't help but admire Eliott's paintings on the wall in the living room and Isak marveled at Lucas's talent for decorating the place.
Of course, they'd done that together, but it was Lucas who'd taken the extra mile to take care of the nitty-gritty details.
While pouring himself some apple juice, Lucas asked: "Did you guys hear anything from Sander and Robbe?"
Isak nodded. "Yeah, they've had a moment before heading off to the airport, that's why they're not here yet. But they should be here soon since the distance between France and Belgium is a bit shorter than ours. Less than an hour I believe."

And Isak was right, the doorbell rang minutes later.
Eliott went to open the door this time and he was almost knocked down by the boys.
"Salut!", he chuckled, "Glad to see you guys again, it's been a long time!"
"Ja", Robbe replied, "That's true. But we've made it, finally! Sorry for being late."
Eliott waved his hand dismissively. "You're only a tad bit late, so it's fine", he said with a smile.

Inside, they all hugged each other again before getting seated at the table.
Eliott put the luggage in the living room, their friends would stay at a hotel in Paris for the night before flying back home.
Lucas had taken the time to prepare spaghetti with green pesto sauce and a salad, a small number of fries with onions, and Loff (soft wheat bread) with strawberry jam as a spread.
That way, he'd brought them all together, not only literally but also culinarily.
"This is fantastic!", Even exclaimed after taking a bite of the soft wheat bread, "This tastes exactly like the one we buy at the bakery every now and then!"
Blushing, Lucas smiled. "Merci", he said, taking another sip of his drink.

Sander and Robbe were also pleasantly surprised by the fries, and even though they hadn't taken Lucas that long to prepare, they were happy about them nonetheless.
While eating, they talked about what had been going on in their lives.
"Sander here is really enjoying art school", Robbe said, "It's beautiful to see his passion for art blossoming every day."
"True", Sander added, "And Robbe is taking a photography class at his school. He's been snapping a lot of photos, which have turned out beautifully."
Eliott smiled. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy that you've finally found your places at school", Lucas said, swishing the tiny amount of food on his plate around. He occasionally took a few bites here and there, directing his attention on his drink.

"And what about you guys? What have you been up to?", Sander asked, trying a bit of the Loff bread, "I bet you've been enjoying married life."
Even smiled and for a second, Lucas felt as if the sun was shining directly through the window, despite it being late in the day.
"Yes, yes we have", Isak said proudly, "Last weekend, we went on a little getaway to Flåm, that's a small village which sits at the innermost part of the Aurlandsfjord. It's beautiful there, cold but very nice to unwind and the air is balm for the soul since the air in Oslo can feel suffocating sometimes."
Even nodded, pulling out his phone to show them a few of the photos he'd taken.

The first one showed Isak and Even, wearing beanies, winter jackets, scarves, and gloves. They were smiling, noses red from the cold temperatures, snow was falling, the little snowflakes clinging onto their clothes.
The second one was a slightly blurry shot of a village, houses with red roofs standing out.
"We were on the Flåm train, that's why it's blurry", Even explained as he kept on scrolling.
The third photo showed Even and Isak again, sitting in a restaurant. They were holding up two cups of hot chocolate, as Isak explained.
"In conclusion, Flåm is definitely worth a visit", Even said, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"And what about you two lovebirds?", Robbe asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Lucas gulped.
"School has been very stressful", Eliott answered, "But we went bouldering a few weeks ago. Oh and we had lots of fun with our friends."
Then they went back to talking about Sander's and Robbe's plans for the future.
The pair announced that they would love to travel to Germany for a week, taking a break from everything.
Even and Isak were planning on getting a pet after Isak's third semester of University.

"We've had a series of ups and downs, but now I'm going to therapy and Eliott is taking new medication. Maybe a little getaway would be great sometime in the future, as soon as school's over and the second half of the school year begins", Lucas told them, quickly lowering his gaze onto his half-empty plate.
"Ah, okay", Sander said slowly, "And do you want to talk about it or not?"
Lucas shook his head. "It's nothing major, but we took good care of it, nothing against you guys", he added quickly.
"That's all that matters", Isak said, "As long as you guys are alright, that's all that counts."
And with that, they moved on to talking about movies they'd recently watched.

Were they alright? Lucas found it difficult to find an answer to that question.
Of course, they had each other, and they loved each other passionately.
The question had to be formulated differently.
Was he alright? That was the right question to ask.
Obviously, everything surrounding food was quite difficult for him and his depression wasn't helping with that, but he couldn't do more than hoping that the therapy sessions were helpful.

He'd figure it out eventually.
But for now, he directed all of his attention to the precious time he spent with his friends and his boyfriend.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

[Word count: 1420 words]

I spent the entire day working on this and this time it was really fun.
The lyrics at the top are from the song "RSWK" which is an acronym (Rette sich wer kann), "SYWC" (Save yourself who can) by Kidnfinity.