Chapter Text
It’s refreshing to be back home after eurovision. Well, maybe not home as in the house you have as your legal address, but home as in with your partners in a safe, loving environment. After the whole affair, as well as the post contest tour, KAJ had a lot of money to burn. And so, they began a discussion: where should it go? What should they use it on? The result of said debate came to them rather quickly, and surprisingly, without much objection from either of them. They agreed on putting half of it away in case of an emergency, as well as for any and all upcoming bills or other such expenses that might occur, while the other part will go towards their dream vacation: a vacation house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a forest, with the closest town an hour away by car. Heaven on earth. They couldn’t quite believe it’s real once they got there… The journey has been a little stressful, since not everything went as smoothly as they expected… Instead of the hour they were supposed to spend in the car, they spent almost three. Kevin was the assigned driver, navigating through the dense forest, where paths are barely defined or even marked and even the slightest change in the speed they’re going at is going to kick up a storm of dust, limiting the visibility, while Axel was trying to guide them with the wonky GPS he has in his phone, that barely worked due to the lack of internet. Only Jakob kept his calm, because he slept through most of the trouble, comfortably resting in the backseat with their luggage. At some point, Keving became so agitated he had to physically leave the vehicle to avoid breaking anything. He slammed the door and started pacing around, trying to focus on his breathing while massaging his temples. Little did he know, they were almost there. Axel came out after him, with the intention to help.
“Are you alright?” He knows he’s not the best at cheering people up, but he always tries nonetheless. Reaching deep into his memories, he tries to remember what worked on Kevin last time. That’s when he has an epiphany. “Hey” He snaps his fingers and comes over to him, backing him into the car and gently pressing their lips together. That seems to help.
“Mm…” Kevin grunts in response. He let out a harsh breath and, after some resistance, finally melted into the kiss. “Yeah… I’m fine.”
“We’re almost there.” Axel reassures him. “Soon, it’s going to be over. We will relax. Trust me, this whole stressful journey will be worth it.”
“You’re right.” He leans down for another kiss. And another. Finally, a smile appears on his face again. They hug for just a while longer before getting back into the car.
Once they arrive, a beautiful, log cabin surrounded by a stunning, lush garden comes into sight. There’s a small shed in the back, a place perfect for storing both firewood and the bikes they brought with them. There’s a neat pathway leading from the gate up into the yard, where it splits into two, one branch reaching the shed's entryway, while the other one comes right up to the log cabin's front door. The diverse range of flowers surrounding everything, from the track to the buildings, is truly mesmerising. Kevin quickly lept out of the car to “get their luggage”, and went to check out the place they’ll be staying at, while Axel took on the task of waking up Jakob. He was, of course, groggy, but didn’t protest when he got dragged out of the car. It didn’t take long to put everything where it belongs - their suitcases went in the upstairs bedroom, their backpacks on the living room sofa, their bikes in the shed, and their dearest Jakob on the bed, so he can continue napping, of course. Once everything was settled, Axel and Kevin shot each other an understanding glance. It only took this one singular moment of eye contact to successfully relay what they're thinking about, and come to the same conclusion that it was, in fact, the same thing. Since there’s no signal where they are, they opted to leave Jakob a note on the door, one you can’t quite miss… However, with him as the reciprocator, everything is possible. There was a small thunderstorm when they were driving, nothing serious, but it left a pleasant, earthy smell of geosmin behind. It’s cold, but not freezing. There’s no wind, the atmosphere is moist but not overly so, and there’s no asphalt roads for the rain to accumulate on. Those are the perfect conditions for a walk, as long as one brings the proper boots and a raincoat, or perhaps an umbrella, in case the rain comes back. The two men got into the right clothing and went out to explore the beautiful forest surrounding them. They eventually managed to find their way to the lake that’s in the middle of the dense tree riddled landscape. Kavin sat on a particularly big root sticking out from the ground and watched as Axel admired the view, throwing skipping rocks into the large body of water in front of them. There were a couple of abandoned boats scattered around them.
“We should go kayaking. Or maybe rowing? Well, anything that makes use of the rich river network around this area.” Axel mentions. “It could prove to be a nice date idea.”
“I see what you mean.” Kevin sighed with a smile. “God, this area… It’s just so… Breathtakingly beautiful. I’m glad we chose to come here.”
“See? I told you the stress will be worth it. You’ve already relaxed, and we’ve been here for, what, an hour? Even less.” He turned around to face the other man and grinned. “I’m glad I brought my fishing rod.”
“Aren’t you concerned about the legality of fishing here?” Kevin raised an eyebrow.
“Even if it’s illegal, I don’t think there’s anyone around to give me a fine. Or even catch me. I swear, all it took to get a fishing licence back in our regions was an appointment and some acceptable form of answer to “have you ever seen a fish?”. I’m sure that even if I had said that no, I have not seen a fish, ever, they simply would have replied with “well, I guess you will soon!” and still would have given me the damn thing.” Axel laughed. He took a step towards him and sat down on the root as well.
“Well.” Kevin put an arm around him, and let him lean in to rest his head on his chest. “I’m going to consider that a nice thing.”