Work Text:
“...If you give a little love to me
Put a bit of trust in me
I will build us a home
Where we
Sleep on the balcony
Watch a bit of GOT
And we won't feel alone…”
/ Stig Rästa – Home /
A lot of time had passed after the season long rose prank of Vetle. He recently moved in his new home with his love Sturla after being a couple for a little more than year. The house was located in the suburbs of Lillehammer. It was medium sized but more than enough for the both of them. They got the home just because it had a garden and large outdoor area where they can do grilling and other things. It was Sturla’s dream to have a rose garden. Inside their home, they had 2 bedrooms, an American styled kitchen, a small dining room, a spacious living room. 1 and a half bathroom, a small gym and a garage. Boxes were almost everywhere. They had lived there for only a week but had no time to put everything on their places. Mainly because of the trainings and other official paperwork around their first home.
On a warm and sunny May Thursday, Vetle went shopping for their house-warming party that they held for their closest biathlete friends that they had planned for the following Saturday. He kissed Sturla’s cheek, grabbed the shopping list that his love had prepared for him and left. He went to one of the local grocery stores and bought the food portion of the shopping list. Sturla had wrote up charcoal for the grill as they had planned a small roasting in the garden. So, Vetle headed to the nearest shop where he found a big bag of it. He put it in the back of his car. Then he rushed to the place where they sold wine. He had told Sturla about a small surprise for him as he had seen something somewhere that they would both enjoy. He wanted to get him that bottle of red wine which he had seen and reminded him of them. Vetle wanted to celebrate with his boyfriend a little earlier than with their immediate friends. He grabbed the bottle that he had planned simply because it had a red rose on it. He appreciated Sturla’s love for the flower that much. After being an hour away, he drove home. As he opened their home’s door, he noticed that Sturla is not in the garage as he had expected him to be packing away the boxes. He went inside, put the grocery bags on the kitchen counters and looked around. He didn’t see his love.
“Kjære, I’m home.” he made sure that his boyfriend knew of him being there.
No reply. Vetle knew where he would find Sturla. He went outside and saw Sturla tending their rose garden. As the young one had already finished with one, he still had the roughly 8-9 roses out that they got together in their Christmas break and the earlier spring months. Slowly but surely Sturla had planned planting them one by one. Vetle made his presence known one more time. Sturla immediately jumped up. He turned towards his love. He immediately fixed his straw hat on his head and ran his fingers through his brown locks out of embarrassment.
“Darling, I didn’t expect you until 4.” Sturla blushed. “Did you manage to get everything for our get together on Saturday?”
“Yes. I even got a thing that I wanted to get for you.” Vetle smirked.
Sturla’s brown eyes sparkled from the excitement. His boyfriend loved to treat them every now and then. That day was one of those occasions. Sturla asked what it was but Vetle didn’t tell him until he came inside to take a break from the gardening. As the younger Norwegian went inside, he noticed the bottle of red wine straight away. Vetle had left it outside on purpose. Sturla examined the wine. His rosy cheeks and smile told everything to his love. He adored the wine. It matched the meal he wanted prepare for dinner on Friday. He thanked the alcoholic beverage. Right after this, Sturla put it away in their fridge to cool it down for their evening meal the next day. Vetle asked if he wants to back to planting. Sturla nodded and asked for his help. The older one gladly said yes.
Even if the gardening process took a few hours, maybe 2-3 hours, they enjoyed the bonding session. It was around 6 or 7pm when they almost finished with the roses. As they were planting the last one together, a thorn pricked Vetle’s hand. He hissed in pain and a little blood sprouted from his finger. Sturla noticed it and rushed inside. He grabbed a cloth, made it wet and brought it outside along with an adhesive bandage. Vetle tried to stop Sturla with saying that he was fine. His love didn’t listen to him at all. In the first year of their relationship, a new side of Sturla had come to surface that no-one had seen. Not even Vetle. He had become somewhat of a mother hen who was just a little bit overprotective of his beloved chicken.
“Let me see your finger, you clumsy little mess.” he said in soft and warm tone, “It’s gonna be okay. I am gonna put a band-aid on it and you’ll be okay.”
“Sturla, I am okay.”
“Sssshhh… Vetle… Ssssshhh… Lemme take care of you.”
“Sturla…”
Vetle couldn’t finish the sentence he wanted to say. Sturla interrupted him with a tender kiss on his lips just like he had done in Oslo when he had confessed his feelings. He thought that Sturla didn’t have this inside him. To Vetle’s pleasant surprise, he did. His love just gave him a cheeky smile. He knew that he was well. Even though it wasn’t a big thing but Sturla loved to make sure everything was all fine and dandy about him. After the first aid session, they finished with the last rose bush. The clock had just 7 pm. It was about time to have their evening meal. They made two sandwiches only. They didn’t want to eat much as they weren’t hungry.
Shortly after dinner they went outside and sat down on their swing bed. As they were rocking back and forth, they were planning the upcoming Saturday. Sturla grabbed their calendar, a pen and he started taking notes for the day. They were expecting the following guests and their partners if they came: the Bø brothers: Johannes and Tarjei, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Johannes Dale, Eric Perrot, the Swedish duo: Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma, Émilien Jacquelin and Antonin Guigonnat. Sturla took notes beforehand on the menu that he wanted to share with Vetle. He turned the page to May 17th.
“So… As for entrée, I thought of small waffles with fruits, different spreads or brunost and mini sandwiches.”
“I guess I can make the creamy fish soup that is your favourite from the soups I’ve ever made for you. I just don’t want us to order food.” Vetle suggested to his love.
“You mean your delicious Fiskesuppe, right? Yes, please make it. Thank you, honey. I would love to share it with the others.” Sturla smiled and continued, “What if I make Fårikål for the second course?”
“Perfect. What about dessert?”
“Trollkrem or Tilslørte Bondepiker?” Sturla recommended.
“Both. They are really nice desserts. However, I have been promising Ponsi the Trollkrem during this past season. Let’s give him the chance to taste it.”
“What about making both of them?”
“Okay. So, they can choose which one they like.” Vetle gave a smile. “Let’s start putting away our stuff from the boxes now.”
“We still have time tomorrow.” Sturla groaned a little.
“I am not sure if we finish with them tomorrow. Remember, we need to cook for ourselves as well.”
“Oh… you are totally right. Let’s go!”
Sturla jumped up and not long after that Vetle followed him. They agreed on leaving the small empty gym out as they had to get things for it. So, they started in the hall. There were only two boxes. Inside one of them, there was two wall coat hanger made of iron. Vetle put it together while his love was helping with the screws. Sturla assembled the shoe shelf that was along with a doormat. He also grabbed the custom welcome sign that he had made during the breaks between their competitions. He hit nail in their front door and put it make it more homey and welcoming. The next room was their spacious living room. Sturla took it upon himself to decorate it with plants, books and put his guitars in the area. Vetle only put the two book shelves together for him. The process made Sturla out of breath.
This was the moment when Vetle picked him up and took him outside. His sweetheart made him rest on the swing bed. The older Norwegian laid down next to him. He was wheezing but his beloved boyfriend took care him. Vetle was running fingers through Sturla’s brown hair while kissing him and stroking his cheek. Sturla wanted to go back and continue the process. Vetle showed him that he could be just as protective as he is. Sturla attempted a second time to continue the decorating but as soon as he sat up, Vetle whispered:
“Stay, darling.”
“I want to…”
“Stay… I want you to stay. The sofa can wait.”
“But…”
“No buts… Just stay a little. I want to say something.” Vetle soothed him. “I just want to say… I am glad to have you by my side.”
When Vetle’s words hit Sturla’s hears, he immediately blushed. Vetle had this superpower that he could make him just a teeny-tiny confused which the other one found so attractive in him. So, Sturla decided to stay there for just a little longer. Then he engaged in an embrace with his partner. Vetle’s hugs were his safe spot. Not a single soul could hurt him while being in his arms. They cloud-gazed for a while. The clouds were swimming in the shades of orange and red. The much desired midnight sun days came closer and closer. It was one of the things that they loved. Staying up late if they could, sharing a bottle of wine and talking about just life in general were one of their comfort things.
30 minutes or a little more time had passed when Sturla decided to stand up and finish some of the duties that they had started a few hours ago. He decided to decorate their small half bathroom and put the palm. Later on, Vetle joined him with vacuuming the guest bedroom where Antonin and Émilien were going to stay for the upcoming weekend. Sturla was worried a little bit as one of them had outed his secret to his love. He wanted to tell them how he felt knowing that they had told Vetle about his feelings. On the other hand, he had but no longer held anything ill against the two French. He just wanted to tell them that he was no longer mad at them for this tiny thing from the past. Simply because it wasn’t worth losing their friendship. He just hoped that their little dispute would be solved as he felt like it wasn’t. If one of them didn’t tell Vetle how he had been feeling, he would have been still waiting for his true love to make his first step. He felt grateful to both of them for this reason. It was way past 11 pm (maybe almost midnight) when they have finished with the downstairs. They still needed to clean the upstairs bathroom along with their bedrooms. That small duty remained for Friday. Vetle and Sturla took a quick shower and went to the bed. Before dozing off for the next day, they agreed on finishing the cleaning and finishing the bedroom. They had to do it for the French duo and any other future guests who would be staying at their place. Then Vetle kissed Sturla’s forehead before falling asleep. Sturla finished his evening reading, turned off the lights and fell asleep.
Vetle woke up at around 8 am or a little later. He immediately noticed that his dear Sturla was still asleep. He got out of the bed slowly so he wouldn’t wake him up. He left the bedroom door open, rushed downstairs and made a quick breakfast that he could bring to Sturla. He even brewed some tea for his love. He slowly walked back upstairs. As he stepped in, he saw Sturla still sleeping. He put the tray on his bedside table. Vetle laid down and started to wake Sturla up. He stroked his boyfriend’s face. It woke up Sturla.
“Can I have 5 more minutes please?” the young Norwegian groaned a little.
“I made you breakfast. It would be shame if it wasn’t hot.” Vetle said softly.
“What did you make?” Sturla questioned.
“Omlette with bacon and fresh veggies. As a drink, I brewed some fruit tea for you.”
“You…”
“… shouldn’t have. I know. You like to do the same to me but today I was quicker.”
Sturla smiled and accepted the breakfast that Vetle had made for him. They had a small talk. As Sturla was eating, Vetle had to talk to him about something. The events of the previous day scared him. Sturla trying to catch his breath had been terrifying for him. It had made Vetle panic for a second. Sturla tried to shoosh it saying it was nothing but Vetle was stubborn. He told Sturla that he needed to take care of himself. It fell on Sturla’s deaf ears.
Nevertheless, Vetle also mentioned that his love had to learn something. He meant that his sweetheart didn’t have to do everything at the same time. Like the day before, he always pushed himself to the breaking point. This manoeuvrer constantly resulted in him being out of breath for a half an hour at least. This disturbed Vetle. Not little but a lot. Sturla’s health was just as important to him as his own was. Before finishing the preparations, he wanted to tell him how much he had worried about him. Not about his mental health as Sturla meditated on almost every day. His physical health made him worried. Not that he didn’t understand Sturla’s point of view. On the contrary, he knew well what his boyfriend had wanted to do with his finishing the whole preparation under a day or less. On the other hand, he had to remind Sturla that his well-being is precious and he didn’t want him to burnout way too quickly and the alarms were ringing in his head. The young Norwegian finally understood what he had been told. Vetle just wanted the best for him.
“Okay… Okay… I am taking care myself from now.” Sturla sighed trying to calm Vetle down.
“Great. Now, please rest a little more as I make the bed in the guestroom.”
“But… I feel like being lazy.” Sturla whimpered.
“You are not lazy. Remember, you managed to overwork yourself yesterday.” Vetle commented and continued, “I want you rest a little bit.”
“But…” Sturla pouted.
“Sturla?” Vetle looked at him like a dad would at his child.
“Okay. I will sleep back then.”
“Good. You need it.”
Vetle kissed Sturla and tucked him in bed. It seemed that his mother hen quality was contagious. Vetle needed to adopt it for moments when Sturla was a bit harder case. He didn’t mind it as he wanted to make sure everything was okay. The first task that he did what their own bathroom. Then he continued with making the bed for the two French who were coming the next day. He grabbed a nice looking set of bedsheets for them. He decorated the room in the way Sturla had always wanted. As a finish, he took the empty boxes and put them in the garage. Then he grabbed a small lunch of sandwich and made one for his partner as well. As a small break, he read the newspaper.
He woke up Sturla at around 1 pm. Sturla didn’t complain. He just asked if there’s something left. Vetle smiled and told their room was the last one. They made the bed together and Vetle vacuumed their rooms as well. Meanwhile, Sturla took out the reindeer meat to defrost for their meal. He wanted to do the cooking for themselves. Vetle helped him. He peeled the onions, cut the bacon and cleaned the mushrooms for his love. As soon as he wanted to grabbed the potatoes, his phone rang. It was none other than Antonin Guigonnat. He excused himself and went outside. Antonin informed him about the other French guys being in Norway along the two Swedes, Sebastian Samuelsson and Martin Ponsiluoma. Next, he asked how they were. Vetle told everything. The French got scared and told the reason of his call. He asked if Vetle can pick up them as he had a gift for Sturla as an apology and a sign of friendship. Vetle asked what he had gotten for Sturla. Antonin laughed and said:
“I got him an orange coloured rose bush. Let’s hope that the customs won’t take it away. I thought it would be the perfect gift for him. I managed to get one that is named after one of our classical comical actors.”
“Who is he?” Vetle asked.
“Louis de Funès.”
It was a pleasant surprise to hear Antonin appreciating Sturla’s passion for roses. Vetle told that he didn’t need anything. Sturla’s happiness was his gift. If his love was joyous, Vetle was happy as well. Antonin asked if he was sure. He said yes. Then he asked when the Antonin and Émilien were going to arrive. He said that if everything went well, they would be arriving at 4:40 pm the earliest. Vetle requested him to give them a call in Brumundall or Moelv and he would make sure that Sturla wouldn’t get suspicious of their plan. Antonin agreed. They ended the call with a light-hearted joke. Then he came back to Sturla. His boyfriend didn’t ask anything about the call. Sturla only instructed him to set the table outside. No questions were asked and he did it gladly for the one he loved. Plates were left to Sturla to serve the meal in. However, the silverware and finally the wine, which he got for themselves, were taken outside to enjoy the sunny weather.
The meal was ready a little after 6pm. Sturla served the meal with a huge smile on his face. Vetle loved when he saw him like this. He asked his sweetheart if he can open the wine. Sturla nodded only as he was lost in Vetle’s eyes. Those ice blue eyes hypnotized him every single time. He didn’t have to tell Vetle. They both knew. They understood each other without words. They loved to get lost in the other one’s eyes. They slowly started their meal as it was still hot. They talked about the plans for the next day. Vetle mentioned that he is expecting a call from Antonin.
“Let me guess… Did he ask you to pick him and Émilien up?” Sturla speculated.
“Yes, he did. Are okay with it?”
“I am. I will stay here as the others can come anytime.” Sturla concluded and added, “We agreed on 5 pm, right? However, I expect Johannes Dale to arrive first around 4:45 or a little earlier.”
“Thank you. The French duo will arrive at the railway station at 4:40 pm.” Vetle noted and continued eating.
“Great. I’ll stay and wait for you all.” Sturla gave a cheeky smile, took the first sip from his wine and continued, “Oh my… This wine is so… so… fruity and goes well with the reindeer.”
“I am glad that I chose a wine that you like.”
“You are wrong, Vetle. I don’t like the wine.”
“Huh?”
“Gotcha!” Sturla laughed, “Actually, I love it.”
Vetle smiled on the small prank. This meant that Sturla was in a good mood. He knew that his partner would be in an even better mood once he saw Antonin’s gift. After they finished their evening meal and washing up the dishes, they went for a small roller skating journal to train a little. Vetle was joking around for Sturla who laughed at every single joke. Suddenly, Sturla changed a mood a little serious for a moment to ask the opinion of his beloved on something. The two French came in his mind. He asked Vetle if they are mad at him for knowing that one of them outed him. Vetle was honest as always. He told that they weren’t mad at all. Sturla, Antonin and Émilien had no time to talk about this the past season. They focused on themselves and their competitions only. The next day, they would have the chance to discuss the whole thing. Vetle told Sturla that he was sure that the conflict was only in his head. This calmed the young one’s mind. He stopped worrying immediately. On their small session, they roller-skated in front of Dale’s home and stopped for a moment. Sturla noticed that Johannes wasn’t at home. He had an idea as soon as he saw a torn flower on the ground. He picked it up and put it in the postbox. He asked if Vetle had a piece of paper and a pen in his fanni pack. To their surprise, he had. Sturla wrote a small note for his teammate, signed it and made Vetle do the same. The small note said:
“We were here around 8 pm. We hope to see you in our home tomorrow.
See you, dear friend. Sturla & Vetle”
They arrived home a few minutes after 9:30 pm. They took off the skates and put them next to each other on the shoe shelf. They were a little tired. They didn’t know what to do. Eventually, they decided on watching an episode or two of Game of Thrones. Before dozing off for the next day, they went for having a quick shower. Sturla went first then Vetle. When Sturla finished, he immediately went to bed. He didn’t wait for Vetle. He wanted to be as well rested as it was possible. When Vetle came in their bedroom, he was fast asleep. The older one couldn’t do anything else than snuggle him. He wrapped his arms around Sturla and slowly he fell asleep too.
Saturday came and Sturla was woke up at 7:30 by a text from his trainer, Siegfried Mazet. The French trainer congratulated him on finding their first house together. He wished happiness and good health. Sturla replied only a thank you. He brewed some coffee for themselves and watered his roses. He didn’t overwork himself. He did in three parts. He grabbed a newspaper and solved the crossword while he waited for Vetle to wake up. As he was thinking on one of the definitions, another text arrived on his phone. He didn’t know the number. Strangely, it didn’t start with +33, +46 or +47. The first digits were +371. He was thinking of who it might be. He opened the text and it said:
“Hello Sturla!
It’s me, Andrejs Rastorgujevs from Latvia.
I heard that you and Vetle has found your first home.
I just wanted to congratulate on this occasion. You guys deserve it.
Last night, I heard a song on the radio and you two came in my mind.
Check out Home by the Estonian singer, Stig Rästa.
You’ll know what I mean.
Have fun today.”
Sturla was a little curious cat. He put on his headphones and looked up the song on YouTube. As soon as he heard the refrain of the lyrics, his vision blurred and his deerlike brown eyes were in tears. It told every single little thing he felt about Vetle instead of him. To make it even more special for him, the Estonian singer played on a beautiful acoustic guitar in the video. He didn’t hesitate. As soon as song was ended, he looked for the chords for the song on the site where he got most (if not all) of his sheet music. He was in luck. The website had both the lyrics and chords. Although, he had to pay for the sheet a small amount of money. He had no will to care about it. The song, that was recommended by the Latvian, was worth every single penny. He knew that he will play it on their anniversary for Vetle. He quickly printed it out and put it in side a folder. The black document holder was for the song chords he played every now and then. He kept it in one of his guitars’ case. He rushed so Vetle won’t see him. Then he checked the time. It was 8:40 in the morning.
Vetle woke up shortly after 9. Sturla continued doing the crossword puzzle. Vetle greeted him with a hello and a kiss. Sturla just smiled at him and told that he had brewed the morning coffee and he would find it on the counter. Vetle went for the cinnamon muesli and sat down opposite to Sturla. His love eat slowly while stroking his hand. When Vetle had finished his morning meal, he washed up the bowl after himself. They spent a little time on themselves. Sturla tuned one of his guitars while Vetle looked up a few things that might need after the house warming. Sturla told him that he needed to get something for his meditation time so he can teach Vetle. He wanted to help him to focus in hope for better results. He wanted to teach him how to stay calm and focused as Vetle had asked before. Sturla gladly did it for his dearest. They looked up the weather forecast for the afternoon. Since it showed no rain for the day, they prepared the big foldable table for the event. They put just enough chairs for every single one of the guests. Sturla told that he would set the table at between 4 and 4:30 pm. Vetle gave his okay and looked at his watch.
The clock hit 12 quicker than they thought. They needed to decorate the house a little bit as well. They also had to start cooking. The time flew quick. They didn’t realise but the time was already quarter to 3 pm Sturla started preparing one of the sweet treats. The Trollkrem could wait till 4:45 pm. So, he started with the Tilslørte Bondepiker while Vetle was working on the soup. Even if the older one knew the recipe by heart, he followed the directions carefully. He wanted to impress the guests coming in the afternoon. As he was stirring the soup, his phone beeped. A message from Émilien. He sent a photo of Antonin and himself at the train station in Oslo and text: “We’ve landed! See you soon in Lillehammer. Take care of Sturla.” Vetle showed the picture. Sturla smiled and said that he was already taken care of. This made both of them laugh.
They finished with the food at around 4 pm when they heard a really loud knock on their front door. Sturla has opened the door. Just as he had assumed. It was Johannes Dale. They greeted each other with a handshake. The guest handed the small box he came with. It was Sturla who opened the box. It was a Himalayan salt lamp. They found it really useful. Sturla put it back in the box and put it in front of the television. Vetle said thank you on Sturla’s behalf as well. They were chatting for a small time when Vetle’s phone got a notification. It was from Antonin. The short message of the French said:
“We have just left Moelv. The rose has also made it.”
“Guys… I have to leave. Émilien and Antonin will be at the train station in 25 minutes.” Vetle informed Sturla and Johannes after looking up from the screen of his phone.
“Alright, honey.” Sturla replied and kissed Vetle, “Please take care of yourself.”
Vetle took the car keys and drove off. He arrived at the train station of Lillehammer around 4:30pm He parked his car and checked the railway app where the train from Oslo would arrive. Slowly after that he walked to platform 3 and waited for the train. Surprisingly, the train appeared in the distance sooner than he thought. As it passed next to him, he saw Antonin and Émilien standing near the door. The French got off the train as early as it was possible. Vetle and his friends greeted each other.
“Does Sturla suspect anything?” Émilien asked.
“To my surprise, he was okay with me picking you two up.”
“Interesting.” Antonin commented as they were walking to Vetle’s car, “If I were him, I would be suspicious about everything.”
“I will be honest… Me too.” Vetle laughed and opened the car for his friends. “I am surprised that rose has made it.”
“We were scared of the customs. They could take it out easily.” Émilien noted as he took out the gift bag from his black suitcase.
“Now that you guys are mentioning… I need to take it out of my luggage.”
Antonin opened his rolling case and took out the rose and put it in a prepared gift bag. Then after his own, he helped out Émilien putting his heavy suitcase in the trunk of the Norwegian’s car next to his own. They quickly jumped into the car. They talked through the 20 minute car ride. When Vetle turned his car on the familiar road of a street, his heart raced. He just hoped that Sturla is already with some if not all other of their guests and he is not waiting outside on the porch waiting for him. Nybuvegen was roughly 5 minutes away when he got a text. It was from his love, Sturla.
“Anto, can you please check it for me?” he requested.
“Sure. One moment… What’s your lock code?”
“All numbers together: 59, 57, 10 and 40.”
“Okay. Sturla wrote that he got a small update like info from Quentin.” Anto explained, “He had told Sturla that he and the others were gathering at Tarjei’s house before leaving to your place to arrive at the same time. Plus, since they are in a small traffic jam, they will be a bit late. He expects them at 6 pm.”
“Huh… That’s a relief.” the Norwegian sighed, “I thought we would be the ones who are late.”
“Vetle, may I ask what are the numbers symbolizing?” Émilien asked.
“It is the rough coordinates of the Holmenkollen ski jumping hill, the place where we became a couple.” Vetle answered, “The first two is the latitude and the last two are the longitude in a North and East direction.”
“That’s sweet.” the two French added.
They arrived at 5:05pm. He parked in the garage. Antonin and Émilien grabbed the two suitcases and went inside. Sturla and Johannes Dale were outside talking. Meanwhile, Vetle showed the two French their room. They were amazed by how welcoming it was. Émilien gave his gift to Vetle. It was a handmade painted bowl with their birth flowers, the violet for February and lily of the valley for May. The French joked that the Norwegian couple now have a bowl for the popcorn on their occasional movie nights.
It was now Antonin’s turn to give Sturla the rose bush who was still outside with Johannes. The French got anxious all of a sudden. He exactly knew why. He was the one who had outed Sturla to Vetle. He thought that the Norwegian is still angry at him. He gulped loudly. Émilien noticed it but said nothing. He took a deep breath and he went outside with Émilien and Vetle. The Norwegian went opened them the door to the area where Sturla and Johannes were. Sturla greeted them with a smile on his face. There was no turn back for him.
“How are you, old pals? Sturla joked.
“We are fine and happy that you have us here.” Antonin said nervously.
“Anto, don’t you have something to say?” Émilien questioned him, “I feel you want to say something but you are afraid.”
“I don’t know…” the French answered with a false confidence.
“Antonin???”
“Oh, wait… you mean?”
“Yes, Antonin. I mean exactly that. Don’t you think that I am stupid enough to not notice that your anxiety is high.” Émilien added. “You want to tell something Sturla. He has to know IT.”
“What do you mean?” Sturla asked.
“I’m terribly sorry, Sturla.” Antonin finally confessed in tears as he handed his gift to the Norwegian, “I’m sorry that I laughed at you. It was me who outed you to Vetle. Not Émilien. I’m the reason why he knew how you had felt about him. I shouldn’t have outed you. I should have given you the chance to make the first move on Vetle. You had trusted me with your confession. Yet, I was a giant idiot and threw it away like a rock when I had told Vetle. I am terribly sorry, Sturla Holm Lægreid. Can you forgive me? It’s okay if not. I can’t blame anyone. Only myself.”
“Anto… my dear French friend, Antonin Guigonnat...” Sturla gave a smile to him and hugged him with tears in his eyes, “In normal circumstances, I would be extremely mad at you. As you can see I’m not at all. I accept your apology. I had already forgiven you when Vetle and I had our first kiss under the northern lights in Oslo. Yes… Even if I didn’t know it was you who had outed me. On the other hand, I am actually grateful to you. I was very shy about my feelings that I had for Vetle. You made the first step on my behalf. Thank you.”
“Thank you Sturla.” Antonin whispered. “This is why you’re such a great friend.”
Then he checked the gift he was given. He saw the new rose bush that he would have to plant soon. He laughed out loud when he saw the face of Louis de Funès on the package. He noticed that the rose would bloom in orange once it is grown enough. He praised Antonin for his choice. He was happy that his friend had taken into consideration what the colour of the rose means. He hugged him again. Meanwhile, Vetle greeted their arriving friends. The other guest had arrived to see them hugging. Sturla was extremely happy to see them. He greeted them as well with a hug and a handshake.
It was time to for the gifts. They handed him and Vetle they things they had brought with themselves. Quentin Fillon-Maillet got them a bottle of red wine for Bordeaux. Their names were engraved on the bottle to make it special for them. The next one to give his gift was Eric Perrot got them a French press coffee maker that they could take with them on their hiking trips. After the young French, Johannes Thingnes Bø handed them his gift. He gave them a keyholder made from wrought iron. It was a the perfect match for the shoe shelf in their hall. The younger Bø brother was followed by Tarjei. He handed them a little addition for their gym/wellness room in a form of a diffuser. To help with the same area, Filip Fjeld Andersen had managed to get them two personalized yoga mats. A rose patterned one for Sturla and one simple blue for Vetle. The next one in line was one of the Swedes, Sebastian Samuelsson. Sebbe gave them a custom painting that he made for them. He had chosen the first photo of them as couple when they had come out. The last one was Martin Ponsiluoma. Ponsi had knitted them a blanket. Not just any average kind of blanket. A blanket in the colours of the pride flag. Vetle was the one who took it, and while Sturla put the other gifts in the living room he went with it to the balcony of their bedroom. After that he went downstairs and helped Sturla with the serving the meal. He spooned the soup in the bowls one by one. Sturla went outside and said:
“Please take a seat everyone. The first meal of our 3 course dinner is served immediately.”
They started eating. The dinner was a success. Ponsi finally got his chance tasting the Trollkrem. All of the guests loved the food. There were a lot of laughs and smiles. After everyone meal, they had a small dance party. Not for long as they didn’t want to disturb the neighbours after 10 pm. So, everyone except for Antonin and Émilien, who stayed at their place. The quartet had a talked for a little longer. They stayed up till 1 or 2 am in the morning. That was the time when the Émilien went to bed. He was tired from the trip. Vetle washed the dishes with the help of Antonin. Sturla went to the bathroom to take a shower.
When he finished with being in the bathroom, he sat down on the sofa on the balcony that opened from their bedroom. Vetle joined him later and they watched the midnight sun together under the knitted blanket from Ponsi. They talked a little about what comes next for them as a couple. Eventually, Vetle had fallen asleep in his arms. He stayed there and when Antonin came to wish them a good night, he put his finger on his lips to let the French know about Vetle. Antonin didn’t have to say a word. He was happy for his Norwegian friends so he just smiled. After this day, Sturla knew that his relationship with Vetle had reached a new level. It wasn’t about passion only. It was about love, happiness and trust. They weren’t living in house. They had made it into a home. A place where they feel safe and they can plan their future together and no-one can tear them apart.