Work Text:
“Even?”
As soon as he hears Isak’s shaky voice, he knows something is wrong. He sits up where he was sleeping in his bed, one of the rare nights Isak isn’t there with him. “Baby? What’s wrong?”
“Um,” Isak sniffles and panic fills Even’s chest. “Can you come pick me up?” Isak asks and he sounds so small.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Even is agreeing before the words are even fully out of Isak’s mouth, standing up from his bed and starting to get dressed one handed, looking around for his car keys. “I’ll be right there. Are you okay, angel? What’s wrong?”
“I’m waiting at the end of the road from my house,” Isak says, ignoring Even’s questions.
“Okay,” Even says as he makes his way out of the house and to his car. “Can I hang up now and I’ll see you soon?”
“Do you have to?” Isak asks and his voice wavers like he’s trying to hold in a sob. “Hang up I mean?”
“Baby, I have to,” he says and it physically pains him. “I’m driving, so I have to, but I’ll be there in ten minutes, no later, okay? I’ll be with you in no time.”
“Okay,” Isak whispers. “Yeah, okay. Just… hurry. Please.”
“I will. Stay put. I love you.”
He hangs up and starts the car. He tries not to speed and tries not to panic and tries to tell himself to just wait until Isak can explain and not let himself imagine the worst case scenario.
But it’s his boyfriend, okay, his baby. He can’t help but feel sick with worry at the thought that something is seriously wrong. That Isak is hurt. Why else would he be calling Even at two in the morning? Even pushes down the gas pedal, speeding despite himself.
He makes it to Isak’s house in seven minutes, a new record, and his heart stops when he sees Isak sitting on the curb in nothing but a thin, almost see through long sleeved shirt, his face buried in his arms. It’s close to minus twenty degrees at this time of night, for fuck’s sake. Isak doesn’t notice the car pulling up next to him, or just doesn’t want to lift his head, until Even slams the door shut after he’s gotten out.
“Baby, what are you doing?! Why aren’t you wearing a coat?” he asks, gently pulling Isak from the curb into his arms. “You’re ice cold. Jesus, you’re gonna get sick.”
“I forgot to take a coat,” Isak mumbles. Even cups his face in his hands and takes a look at him, and his heart breaks for the nth time in the just fifteen minutes when he sees Isak’s face, swollen from crying, his eyes bright red and a fresh tear rolling down his face.
Even takes off his own coat, “Here,” he says, helping Isak put his hands in the sleeves since Isak isn’t co-operating much. The coat falls to almost all the way down to his knees, Isak drowning in it, but Even knows he likes that. Not that he’ll be appreciating it in this state, but he said once that wearing Even’s clothes makes him feel safe, so hopefully it does the trick now, too. “What happened?” he asks Isak gently as he rolls up the sleeves of the coat so that Isak can actually use his hands.
“Can we go to yours?” Isak asks in that small voice of his, ignoring his question again.
“Yeah, yes,” Even agrees. “Of course, little one, come on.”
He guides Isak to the passenger’s side, opening the door and clicks in his seat belt for him. He realises he’s possibly overdoing it with the babying, but he can’t help it. Isak is his baby and seeing him like this makes him terrified that he won’t be able to help or make him feel better. And he still doesn’t even know what’s going on and he’s fucking scared, okay.
Apart from the low sounds of the radio, the drive to Even’s house is quiet. Isak stares out the window, blinking slowly and squeezing Even’s hand in his smaller one over the center console.
Even’s mum is waiting in the kitchen when they get there. Shit. She must’ve heard him leave.
“Even! Where were you?” his mum asks quietly as soon as they step in, relief clear in her voice. “I wake up to you leaving at two in the morning and I try to call you but you left your phone here. I was worried.”
“Sorry, mamma, you weren’t supposed to wake up. I was just picking up Isak.” Isak, who’s practically hiding behind Even’s back, which would be weird because he and Even’s mum get along amazingly, but Even figures it’s not that shocking that Isak must not be up for socialising right now. Even turns to Isak then, “You wanna go to my room? While I talk to mamma?”
Isak nods and slips out of the kitchen. Inger waits until they can hear him walking up the stairs before she asks, “What’s going on, Ev?”
A sigh. “I don’t know honestly,” Even says, rubbing a hand over his face. “He called me crying like half an hour ago asking me to pick him up.”
Inger’s frown deepens. She wraps her robe tighter around herself. “What happened? Is he okay?”
“I mean, physically he is at least,” Even says with a sigh. “But I don’t know. He’s probably exhausted and might just wanna go to sleep now but I’ll try to talk to him tomorrow at the latest.”
“Okay,” his mum says as they start making their way towards the staircase. “Good luck, honey. And he knows me and Emrik are here for him, right?”
“I’m sure he does,” Even says with a small smile. “Thank you, mamma. I have a feeling he might wanna stay here for the rest of the weekend at least, is that okay with you and pappa?”
“Of course it is, you don’t even have to ask. Goodnight, and tell goodnight to Isak as well.”
Even smiles. He really does have the best parents. “I will. Goodnight.”
They separate at the top of the stairs, Inger rubbing a hand down Even’s back before she walks to her and Even’s dad’s bedroom, Even walking to his own.
When Even gets to his room, Isak has exchanged Even’s coat to his favorite hoodie of Even’s, just as big as the coat was. He’s curled on Even’s side of the bed, hugging Even’s pillow to his chest, soft hair falling over his face. Even comes pretty close to having to blink back tears at the sight of him. He doesn’t know how to deal with Isak hurting, his sweet Isak who deserves it pretty much the least out of anyone in the world.
Isak moves over to his own side of the bed when he notices Even, and Even walks over to the bed, pulling Isak to his chest and starting to card his fingers through his hair as soon as he’s there.
“Mamma says goodnight,” he says quietly. “You wanna tell me what happened now, sweet boy?”
Silence. “Can’t we just go to sleep?” Isak asks after almost a full minute of silence.
“Of course, it’s okay,” Even says, rubbing a hand up and down Isak’s back. “You wanna take the hoodie off?”
“No,” Isak says, climbing more fully on top of Even, laying almost his full weight on him.
“Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you.”
“I love you more.”
Even waits until he’s sure Isak is asleep before he lets himself close his eyes.
***
Even wakes up briefly at some point of the night or early morning to Isak whining and burying his face in his neck, so he tightens his arms around the smaller boy and promptly falls back asleep.
He wakes up again around eleven, this time spooning Isak from behind. He lets Isak sleep, and is checking his texts when Isak starts rousing, and sets his phone down. “Good morning, lovely.”
“Morning,” Isak mumbles as he’s turning around. He blinks, then promptly attacks Even’s lips with his own.
Even muffles his surprise against Isak’s lips before kissing back, trying to slow down the kiss. Isak isn’t having it and climbs on top of him until he’s straddling him, kissing him hungrily.
“Mff– what are you– doing?” Even tries to get out between kisses.
“Kissing my boyfriend, why?”
Then Isak is grinding down, his ass pressing against Even’s crotch and, okay. Even may have a tiny bit of morning wood, his body’s natural response to sleeping pressed up behind Isak, but he’s not going to do this.
“Baby, stop.”
“Why?” Isak snaps, sitting up and looking down at Even stormily.
“Because I think we should talk instead of fuck,” Even explains.
“Talk about what?” Isak asks, brows furrowed, still on the defensive.
Even just raises an eyebrow at him. Isak stares him down for a beat before his face crumbles and he falls to the side, curling up on his side, his back to Even.
Even sighs and moves a bit closer to stroke Isak’s back. “We don’t have to talk, I’m not gonna force you. But I’m also not gonna fuck you when you’re clearly upset.”
Even can see Isak sighing from the way his rib cage contracts and then expands. He turns back around, facing Even. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Even tells him. “I’m still not gonna force you to talk to me but you know I care about you more than anyone, right? And that you can tell me anything?”
Silence. Then. “My dad left.”
Even’s stomach drops.
“Left… as in…?”
“As in he left me and mamma,” Isak clarifies. Even can tell he’s trying to keep his voice level, but is wavers anyways.
“Baby,” Even says, his own voice breaking, pulling Isak close to him. “Come here. I’m so sorry. What happened?”
Isak takes a deep breath before speaking. “He said he can’t help mamma and that he can’t do it anymore. I don’t know.”
“And he just left you there?” Isak’s only answer is a shrug and shaky sigh, and suddenly Even wants to kill Isak’s dad. It’s weird, because he’s never really had an opinion on the guy. He hasn’t met him yet and Isak’s never talked about him much, and the only thought Even’s had on him was that he must at least be an okay guy for having raised an angel like Isak, but now, after a few simple sentences he hates the man. “Baby, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No,” Even tells him firmly. “It’s not your fault and it’s not your mamma’s either. Your dad is an unbelievably irresponsible dick for leaving his sixteen year old kid like that, and it’s not your fault, okay? Please believe me?”
“Okay,” Isak says finally. “Okay. I believe you.”
“Good,” he says, placing a gentle kiss on Isak’s forehead. “And we’re gonna figure this out, I promise. I’m here for you and your mamma, and so are my parents, okay? I know it seems like the world is ending right now, but it isn’t, and everything’s going to be okay, I swear.”
Isak looks up at him and smiles a real smile for the first time since Even picked him up last night. “You’re the best boyfriend in the world, you know?”
“You’re a pretty good contestant,” Even says, can’t help his own smile.
“Thank you. For everything,” Isak says, lifting himself up on his elbow to kiss Even, deep but gentle. “Can we just stay in bed today? Or maybe forever.”
“Yes, we can.”