Chapter Text
Chapter 13
They decide to get coffee together after Even closes up in a hour and Isak promises he’ll be back then to pick Even up.
Isak walks back to his flat and busies himself for an hour until he needs to go back for Even. Isak is jittery, excited to have something new and fun in his life.
The hour drags on, but finally it’s time to go and meet Even. When Isak gets there, Even is just finishing cleaning up and grins brightly at him when he sees Isak enter the shop.
Isak waits patiently as Even locks up and returns his warm smile when Even’s finally ready to go.
“Sorry, that took a bit longer than anticipated,” Even says.
“No worries,” Isak says. “The food and coffee I got earlier were delicious, by the way.”
“Thank you,” Even says. “I’m still only just getting into the swing of things, so it’s good to know I have satisfied customers.”
Isak slows his pace for a moment, turning to look at Even fully. “Do you… are you the owner?”
Even nods. “It took me way too long, but I finally managed to open the shop after some money came through from a relative.”
“I see. That’s really cool,” Isak says.
“What are you doing now?” Even asks, as they pick up their original pace again.
“I started working at a hospital here in Oslo,” Isak says.
Even looks at Isak and smiles, eyebrows raised, but he doesn’t say anything more than “That’s awesome, Isak.”
They walk a bit further down the block until they reach a small hole in the wall coffee shop. They order and Even pays, Isk telling him he’s got the next time.
They sit once they have their drinks and talk for hours. It’s becomes clearer to Isak the longer they talk, that there’s no way they were just friends. He just doesn’t know how or if he wants to mention it.
As the shop begins to prepare for closing, Isak and Even head back out onto the street, hand in hand. Isak curls his fingers tighter around Even’s, squeezing Even’s hand and swinging their arms as they head back in the direction of Isak’s apartment.
Isak tries to fight the smile trying to break its way onto his lips, but he fails and starts grinning.
Even rubs his thumb over the inside of Isak’s wrist so Isak turns, head ducked to glance at Even and he notices that Even is fighting a smile of his own.
They walk up the steps to Isak’s apartment in silence, hands still clinging to each other. When they get to Isak’s door, they stop, Isak not making a move for his keys, not yet.
Isak stares up at Even, admiring the flush on his cheeks from the cold wind and the inviting red of his lips. Even’s watching him, too, eyes drinking in every aspect of his face until his eyes also land on his lips, and then he looks back up, meeting Isak’s gaze.
It’s quick, magnetic, almost, the way they’re both drawn in and Isak feels it all the way in his toes when their lips finally meet.
It’s the best kiss of Isak’s entire life.
Isak kisses Even with everything he has, pouring everything he’s feeling into it and he feels like Even is almost doing the same.
After a moment, Isak pulls back, Even’s fingers still petting over his cheeks and he says, breathless, “We were more than just friends, weren’t we?”
Even pulls back, licking his lips, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Even, answer me. Please,” Isak pleads, thumbs rubbing his cheeks.
“We were in love,” Even breathes, voice low and quiet.
“How could I not remember you?” Isak whispers, eyes drinking in Even’s face. “How could I not find some way to remember how beautiful you are? How wonderful you make me feel? How could I let go of you?”
“You tried, Iss. You tried so hard to make it work, but… look, let’s go inside, yeah?” Even says and Isak nods, finally fishing out his keys and opening the door.
Even follows Isak inside and Isak closes the door, pulling Even to the couch and they settle in.
“None of this is your fault, Isak,” Even says. “After you came clean to me about your condition, we tried to make it work, and we were happy for a long time. Eventually, though, you made me promise that if there wasn’t a way for you to fix your memory, that I would erase myself from your life. You knew it wouldn’t be fair for us to stay together, to have a family some day and be together if there’s no chance of you remembering it day to day. I loved you so much that I agreed.”
Isak watches as tears well up in Even’s eyes, tears of his own threatening to spill over. Isak understands that Even has no idea that he’s fixed now, that he can finally make memories again, and honestly, he’s not sure how Even will take it, but he knows he can’t go on not telling him.
“Even, I…” Isak stars, voice shaky. “I had a new operation a few months ago and I… it worked. My memory’s fixed. I can… we can… ”
Isak stops speaking when he notices the look on Even’s face. It’s mostly unreadable, but it almost looks… disappointed.
“I… fuck, Isak,” Even says, rubbing his hand down his face. “I… this is going to sound so shitty now. I only agreed to this because I knew you wouldn’t remember it tomorrow. I figured it would be safe to indulge myself for one day, knowing it would be like nothing happened tomorrow. And I know that sounds so twisted, but I just… God, Iss. I still love you so much. I don’t… I don’t know how to process this.”
“Are you… are you not happy about it?” Isak asks, holding his breath, and Even’s head whips up to look at Isak in the eyes.
“Fuck, Isak, is that what you think?” Even says, exasperated. “I’m so happy, Isak. You have no idea.”
Even takes both of Isak’s hands in his and squeezes them before bringing them to his mouth, pressing a loving kiss to his fingers.
“We can start over. I get the chance to fall in love with you all over again, that is, if you want to try this,” Even says carefully.
Isak nods, enthusiastically, lifting up to press a kiss to Even’s lips.
“We need to promise, though,” Isak says. “That we truly start new, even though there’s history.”
Even nods, brushing his fingertips over Isak’s cheek. “It’s not fair that I’m the only one to remember it. We can go slow.”
“Agreed,” Isak nods.
“If you have questions, though, you can ask me,” Even says. “You know, about before.”
Isak thinks about it, and then shakes his head. “I don’t need to know. I want to know you now, who you are now. And who knows, maybe you won’t like me with memory.”
“No chance,” Even says and the sweeps Isak up in another kiss.
And folks, that’s where our story ends. Isak and Even spend the next year or so working their way up to falling in love again and giving themselves to each other, but it’s beautiful and lovely and it’s absolutely everything.