Chapter Text
“Hey boys,” Isak greeted as he joined his group of friends, standing under what he dubbed his “study tree.” He clapped his hand against Jonas’s and Mahdi’s in acknowledgement and Magnus— ever the affectionate one— pulled him in for a quick bro-hug.
“Jesus, Isak! We haven’t heard from you since Monday!” Magnus shouted, gripping onto both of Isak’s shoulders. “Where the hell have you been? Why’ve you been skipping out on lunch?” He interrogated, leaning in close so he could examine Isak’s face, as if he would find some sort of clue as to where he’d been the past few days.
Isak batted at Magnus, trying to push him away. “Sorry, sorry! I know that was kind of shitty of me,” Isak responded, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ve been busy,” he shrugged casually.
“Kind of shitty?” Magnus squawked. “Isak, you disappeared on us! First at the party and then all week!”
“Alright, Mags, he’s here now, okay?” Jonas stepped in, placing a hand on Magnus’s shoulder. He then turned his gaze to Isak and lifted one eyebrow. “Busy?” He echoed, shooting Isak an impatient expression that urged Isak to explain himself. “What do you mean busy?”
“Jeez, you all sound like Eskild,” Isak groaned. “And yes, busy. As in I was otherwise occupied and texting you guys wasn’t the first thing on my mind.” He tried to shoot his friends an unimpressed look, but he couldn’t stop the private smile that crawled onto his face when he remembered how he spent all that time.
(Plenty of cuddles, dozens of movies, countless cups of hot chocolate, and so many kisses that Isak lost count.)
“Is that… are you smiling?” Mahdi observed, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Is Isak Valtersen actually, willingly smiling right now?”
Isak rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Oh, piss off, I smile,” he insisted, giving Mahdi a small shove.
Jonas snorted. “Isak, come on, you’re never this happy,” he pointed out. “You look like someone just told you you won the Nobel Prize for some super complicated, nerdy as fuck science discovery.”
“That would be fucking awesome,” Isak enthused, a picture of Even standing proudly in the crowd as he accepted his award flooding his mind.
“Eskild literally sent me a text the other day asking for advice on how to get you out of your grumpy mood.”
The dopey smile suddenly dropped into a frown and Isak twisted his head towards Jonas. “Why are you texting with Eskild about me?”
“That’s not important,” Jonas dismissed. “What’s important is why you’re smiling so damn big. Seriously, you look like you’re going to strain something in your face.”
“Oh!” Magnus suddenly cried out. “Is it Even? Shit, did you hook up with him at the party?”
“Nah, I ran into Even after Isak left,” Jonas refuted, shaking his head at Magnus.
“Actually, he’s why I left the party,” Isak admitted, giving the boys a sheepish grin. “I thought I saw him kissing his friend Mikael.”
The boys let out a collective gasp, and Isak saw them all getting riled up by the news. He held up a hand to calm them down. “It turns out Mikael was just giving Even a step by step pep talk and got a bit carried away,” he clarified.
“Wait so Even didn’t kiss Mikael then?” Mahdi asked.
Isak shook his head.
“Mikael was that cute brunette we saw with him, right?” Jonas queried, earning a curious, yet knowing look from Isak. “I think he’s in my poli-sci class,” Jonas added as an afterthought, but Isak saw right through him.
“I’ll ask Even for his number for you,” Isak responded, patting Jonas on the arm. Jonas went silent and stared straight ahead, his cheeks turning a bit pink.
“Okay, so now we know where you were this weekend, but what about this week? You haven’t been at lunch since last Friday,” Magnus reminded him.
Isak bit his lip to hold back another large smile and tried to calm himself down before answering Magnus. “I’ve been with Even,” he answered simply.
“Woah woah woah— so if you thought he kissed someone else why have you been with him all week? Aren’t you pissed at him?” Magnus wondered, earning himself a slap to the chest from Mahdi.
“Dude, were you not listening? He said he thought Even kissed somebody else— which means he didn’t.”
A look of understanding passed over Magnus’s face and he nodded along. “Oh.”
“Actually, I was pissed at him,” Isak admitted. “I didn’t talk to him until the end of class and then he like, chased after me and told me that it was all a misunderstanding, and then… and then he kissed me. In the rain. He kissed me in the rain.”
Magnus’s face melted and he clutched his hands together in front of his chest. “Oh my god, that’s so cute, Isak! That shit only happens in the movies! What the fuck,” he gushed, bringing a blush to Isak’s cheeks.
Jonas slung an arm around Isak’s shoulders and pulled him in for a side hug. “I’m happy for you, bro.” Isak felt a flood of warmth envelope his heart at that, and he just smiled back at Jonas in thanks.
“That is really fucking cute,” Mahdi chimed in, grinning at Isak. “Maybe Magnus was onto something.”
Magnus let out an enthusiastic whoop in response and launched into some brilliant idea he had. “I’m telling you, he’s some kind of relationship god! I’ve never seen him strike out! Isak, you need to write a fucking book or something. Oh my god— you can call it to Pick up Chicks and Dicks by Isak Valtersen: Love Guru! Hah!”
Isak let out a groan and shook his head vehemently. “No. That’s a terrible idea, Mags. And I’m not a guru.”
The boys didn’t listen to Isak’s protests and began arguing about titles and the imaginary book’s content, and Isak let himself drown their conversation out and let his mind wander. He couldn’t help but think about how he was the luckiest guy in the world— he had wonderful, supportive friends and a beautiful boyfriend whom he loved dearly. His life truly couldn’t get any better.
He was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize that the boys had gone quiet next to him, and he definitely didn’t notice the large hand until it was suddenly filling up his vision. Isak shook himself from his thoughts and focused his attention on the hand in front of him— which he recognized immediately.
It was Even, and he was standing in front of Isak with an adorably lopsided smile on his face— his palm outstretched— asking for a high five, exactly like he had done all those months ago. A fond grin broke out across Isak’s lips, and he lifted his hand up to meet Even’s.
As soon as his palm touched Even’s, Even threaded his fingers through Isak’s and gave his hand a loving squeeze. He brought their entwined hands up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss over Isak’s knuckles, and Isak stepped into his space, snaking an arm around his waist to pull him closer.
They just kind of stayed there— tucked into each other's arms and still holding hands— gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes. Isak and Even were so lost in their own world that they didn't even hear the see you at lunch from Jonas or notice as the boys slowly started to retreat, not wanting to interrupt the moment.
“Halla, boyfriend,” Even chirped enthusiastically.
Isak beamed at Even and tipped his head up for a kiss that Even was more than happy to give.
When they split apart, Even nudged his nose against Isak’s and a grin broke out across his lips. “We’re dating now.”