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"I'm almost there," Johannes says in lieu of greetings as the call finally connects to his car speakers. "10 minutes."
"I was gonna ask if you brought your violin, actually," Jonttu responds, "But good to know you've not abandoned us."
"No." Johannes slows down for the red light ahead and takes the moment to take a look at the backseat, just to be sure. His violin isn't there, just like he knew it wouldn't be. "Would I have needed it?"
Jonttu sighs. "Aarni had some ideas. But it's not like we're jumping straight into anything before the meeting."
Johannes nods, despite the fact that Jonttu can't see it. "I might be able to go grab it during lunch or something then."
"Don't worry about it."
The light turns yellow. "Okay. See you in a bit."
"See you."
The call disconnects. The light turns green.
Johannes is halfway through the intersection when he sees the lights out of the corner of his eyes. Everything happens too fast and all he can do is brace for impact.
"He's coming," Jonttu assures Jarkko as they sit down around the table. "Just called him."
"Okay, let's wait then. Either of you want coffee?"
"Sure."
The silence is about as comfortable as any silence before a meeting can be. Aarni is fiddling with his phone. Judging by the way he's humming under his breath, he's trying to run his mind through whatever idea he just got. Jonttu does his best not to disturb him.
Technically he called Johannes 15 minutes ago, meaning that Johannes is in fact actually late now, and Jonttu has no idea if he's actually going to arrive shortly or not. However, Johannes has never been the best in estimating time, so Jonttu tries not to worry about it. Chances are, if he really knew he was going to be late he would have at least said that.
And Jonttu was almost late too, with the traffic being what it is, so most likely Johannes actually is 10 minutes out and stuck at a stoplight for another 10.
A cup of coffee is placed in front of him and he takes a sip to distract himself.
"How'd the break go for you two, anyway?" Jarkko asks as he sits down across from them again.
Jonttu shrugs. "What can you expect? Can't really get into vacation mode."
Aarni hums in agreement. "I think Johannes just disappeared into the woods for the first two days and then slept the remaining 5."
Jonttu grins. "Yeah. He called me after like 'Do you want blueberries?'"
Aarni looks up from his phone, looking disbelieving. "He gave some to you too?"
Jonttu shakes his head. "I don't know either. Amos must have learned some magic for them to find that much."
Jarkko follows the conversation with an amused smile. "Well, at least he got some fresh air. What about the two of you?"
Aarni shrugs. "Not much to say really. I drew some stuff, tried to not think about merch when doing it. Failed. Really can't wait for winter at this rate."
Jonttu gives an exaggerated roll of his eyes at that. "'Cause working on the album will be such a huge break from everything."
Aarni rolls his eyes back, even more theatrically. "At least the cabin will be nice."
"True."
And it is true. Working on the album might still be work, but it's a different kind of work, with a very different kind of flexibility and routine to it. It will probably be more of a break than the week off between meetings, practice, preparing for the next tour and doing shows currently.
Jonttu takes another sip of his coffee.
Another moment of silence follows. Johannes really is taking his sweet time, isn't he?
"What direction was Johannes coming from again?" Jarkko suddenly asks.
Jonttu frowns. Jarkko is staring into the hallway, and as Jonttu looks over he can see a tv there, still playing the news as it was when they arrived.
A car crash just now, and very close by at that. Jarkko's question isn't unwarranted, as the text on screen indicates it was very much in the direction Johannes is coming from.
"From that way," Aarni says, his phone now completely forgotten.
He gives Jonttu a searching look, as if Jonttu might have an answer. Which, he guesses he might, since he just talked to Johannes.
It's been over 10 minutes since Johannes estimated he'd be here. A crash happening on his way certainly would have easily made a ten minute delay, having to go around while everyone else struggles to do the same, or even just getting stuck in line, waiting for the crash site to be cleared.
Jonttu pulls up Johannes' number again.
"Is that-" Jarkko starts but is cut off as Aarni suddenly stands up, eyes on the screen again.
Jonttu dials, lifting the phone up to his ear as he turns to the tv once more too.
He sees that it very much is.
It's Johannes' car on the screen. Johannes' car with the passenger side crumbled badly.
The phone in his ear rings.
Aarni is looking at Jonttu again, eyes going between Jonttu's face and the phone he's holding up to his ear.
It rings again.
Jarkko says something probably reassuring or reasonable, but Jonttu doesn't really notice.
It rings a third time.
Aarni's eyes flicker to the screen and back to Jonttu.
The call disconnects.
Jonttu's heart drops. He lowers the phone.
Aarni looks at him for another moment, before turning on his heel and heading for the door. Jonttu books it after him and they start practically running down the hall as Jarkko yells something after them.
The good thing about the fact that Johannes was only 10 minutes out is that they make it to the right place in about 5.
That's about all the good there is, as they're faced with a huge traffic jam on account of the intersection ahead being now blocked.
Aarni jumps out of the car, leaving Jonttu to pull it around and park it somewhere else. Jonttu tells him to call once he finds Johannes.
Aarni feels like he could run a marathon with the need to get over there immediately. Even so, he wills himself to walk calmly, or at the very least not run as fast as he can, because he can't afford to cause a scene and get stopped by the police already there.
So, Aarni walks, and takes deep breaths and assures himself it's not that bad.
Surely the news would have immediately reported if actor and artist Johannes Brotherus had died. They would have led with that. So he's fine. Everything's going to be fine.
Aarni repeats that to himself every step of the way, as the crash site comes into view.
Suddenly he doesn't even want to get closer. He doesn't actually want to see it. He's still quite far out but from here he can already see Johannes' car, and even that feels like it's too much.
Johannes' car doesn't look fine.
It looks a lot worse now than it did through the tv screen. The passenger side is barely recognizable. Now he can see just how much caved in, the depth of what the news could only really gloss over. Aarni's heart starts beating in his ears, while his mind supplies plenty of ideas about what could potentially have happened to anyone in said vehicle during the collision.
Aarni closes his eyes, takes another deep breath and keeps walking. It's all he can do, really.
Johannes isn't in the car, so Johannes is fine.
There's an ambulance off to one side and he can see the foot end of a gurney on the ground some ways away, mostly hidden behind the ambulance from where he is now.
Johannes isn't in the car and Aarni can't see the gurney, but there is someone on it. It feels like his heart squeezes.
Without even realizing it, Aarni starts moving closer.
"You can't go this way." A police officer steps in his way. "You can go around the other side of the street."
"No, I need to know if-" Aarni tries to step to the side but the officer doesn't let him any closer to the crash site.
"I'm sorry, but you will have to go around or wait here."
She spreads out her arms and keeps moving in his way, preventing him from even catching a glimpse of anyone at the scene. "We can't let-"
They're lifting the gurney into the ambulance now and without really meaning to, Aarni continues on.
The officer pushes him back gently but Aarni barely notices it. "You don't get it, that's my friend's car! I need to-"
"Aarni!"
Aarni's head snaps towards the sound and the immediate relief that floods through him almost makes him fall over. It maybe even would have, had the officer not been just about ready to physically restrain him.
Johannes looks shaky, but he's standing upright and not on the gurney, not in the car, not-
Aarni looks Johannes over once, twice, scanning him for any injuries, but beyond his slightly uncoordinated movements as he's hurrying over, he appears to be fully intact.
The officer steps away from Aarni only to step closer to Johannes, hands hovering over him uncertainly as a medic from another ambulance Aarni hadn't noticed before hurries after Johannes.
Aarni, however, doesn't care about that as he takes the last steps closer. He grabs Johannes by the shoulders and looks him over again.
Johannes is pale and teary eyed, and Aarni isn't sure if his hands are shaking or Johannes is shaking under them. Probably both.
"You-"
"I'm okay."
Aarni looks into his eyes. Johannes briefly closes them, taking a deep breath.
The medic stays close. The officer is still hovering nearby.
Johannes is just fine.
Aarni pulls him into a hug and Johannes practically falls against him.
"I promise I'm okay," Johannes says against his shoulder, his voice small and shaky. "I promise."
Aarni squeezes him tighter. Johannes squeezes back.
"You better be."
From over Johannes' shoulder Aarni can see Jonttu looking around as he approaches the scene. When they lock eyes, Aarni nods at him and tries his best to smile. He isn't sure if it's very convincing, but it's enough to make Jonttu visibly relax as he beelines for them.
Jonttu hugs the two of them close, pressing his face into the back of Johannes head.
"You ever lie to me like that again I'm getting you chipped."
Johannes laughs, moving his arms so he can take one of each of their hands into his, without having to disentangle himself from the hug. Aarni can feel him squeeze, and squeezes back.
"That's not a bad idea," Aarni grins at Jonttu.
"It wasn't even my fault," Johannes complains, "My driving was flawless."
He disentangles himself from the hug to wipe at his eyes.
Jonttu throws a hand over his shoulder and pulls him to his side, steering them out of the way to sit down on the curb. "You're still not allowed."
Johannes shakes his head, but leans against Jonttu anyway, pulling Aarni close to his other side.
The medic follows, crouching down in front of them.
"How are you feeling now, after walking?"
Johannes shrugs. "Still a bit shaky but not bad."
The medic nods. "Drink some more water when you can. If the shakiness doesn't wear off in the hour, go to an ER."
Johannes nods.
"Don't worry, we're not letting him out of our sight for today," Aarni grins.
Johannes rolls his eyes, but doesn't protest, instead continuing to lean against Jonttu.
The medic smiles at the three of them. "That's good. You're looking for signs of concussion or shock as the most alarming things. But anything out of the usual should be taken into consideration. Don't hesitate to go see a doctor again. Sometimes injuries only become apparent after a while."
Johannes nods. "Thank you."
The medic checks him over once more, before nodding. "Be careful for a few days, yeah."
Johannes waves as the medic returns to the second ambulance.
The trio sit there for a brief moment in silence, just calming down. Aarni realizes his own hands are still shaking.
"Can either of you text my mom?" Johannes asks.
Aarni nods, already pulling out his phone. He takes a picture of the two of them for good measure.
"I should call Jarkko back too," Jonttu muses.
Johannes laughs. "Or just leave him hanging."
"Or that," Jonttu laughs, but navigates to his contact anyway, "Who needs to know if their band—that's about to go on tour too—has a lead singer anymore, anyway?"
Johannes laughs and Aarni focuses on that instead of the sight of the two wrecked cars off to the side.
The tow truck is navigating its way through the traffic, the police officer directs pedestrians to go around. Their meeting is going to be rescheduled, and lord knows what a nightmare that'll be with everything going on.
"How are you going to get around to everything this week?" Jonttu asks Johannes.
"You're gonna drive me," Johannes says simply.
"Am I?" Jonttu challenges.
Johannes just hums in confirmation, burying his face into Jonttu's shoulder.
"You're also gonna let me crash over at your because I need someone to check me for a concussion."
"Why can't Aarni do it?"
"Because you have a bigger bed in your apartment."
Jonttu rolls his eyes. "I am also famously not a morning person."
Aarni rolls his eyes. "I can sleep over and wake Johannes up if you drive him around for the week."
"Deal," Jonttu agrees.
"A sleepover. Yay!" Johannes laughs.
"No pillow fights for you," Jonttu warns Johannes, who sticks his tongue out at Jonttu.
Suddenly, he lifts his head back up and turns to Aarni. "Didn't you have an idea or something?"
Of anything Johannes might want to say in this moment, the question does not register to Aarni's brain at all. He frowns. "What?"
Johannes looks fairly serious, as if that makes his words make any more sense. "You had an idea about something."
Aarni looks at Jonttu who shrugs, seemingly lost as well.
Johannes turns to look at Jonttu as well. "Jonttu called me earlier, said you had an idea you wanted to work on."
Johannes raises an eyebrow at Aarni.
Aarni racks his brain. Right. The song idea he had before the meeting.
"No."
A second eyebrow joins the first one up high on Johannes' face.
"Your near death experience wiped it," Aarni explains.
Johannes' expression falls quite quickly, looking away in a guilty manner that has Aarni rolling his eyes again. Johannes opens his mouth to say something but Aarni pulls him closer and presses a kiss to his hair.
"So help me God, Johannes, if you apologize for that of all things, I'm never writing another song ever again."
Jonttu laughs at that as Johannes mumbles something that sounds vaguely like an apology anyways.