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It was common for the Bohr’s home to be radiating with light and the company of physicists and scientists alike. Niels Bohr had a special talent for recognizing brilliance in the young men who came to his renowned institute, and it was common practice of the Dane to invite these soon-to-be pioneers to come discuss their work, their lives, and any and everything else with him, either at his home, or along long hikes through the Danish countryside.
Like a good father figure, he had no favorites among these men, excluding Heisenberg and Dirac, of course. The theorist lovers from England and Germany respectively, Niels knew from the moment he saw them that they had a different charm in their work that no other physicists got just right. And it was the first moment that he saw the two in the same room, that he knew they were meant for each other.
It was painful to watch whenever the two would be near each other. They would always be so close, yet so far from each other. It brought great frustration to the Dane how the usually extroverted Heisenberg almost melted in the Englishman’s company, forgetting his social skills and becoming flustered and shy in the matter of nanoseconds. Yet, it was also painfully amusing to watch. But unfortunately for them, Niels Bohr was a rather impatient man. So, to resolve this matter of conflicting feelings and small touches, he invited both Werner and Paul to come for dinner with him and his loving wife.
—-
Unexpectedly, it was Heisenberg who arrived first to Bohr’s front door. He was dressed in a sharp white 3-piece suit, his hair slicked back perfectly. He stood on the doormat nervously, checking his watch frequently. As soon as Bohr opened the door, he was met with the sight of a blushing Heisenberg with a sheepish expression plastered on his face. It was quite endearing to see, especially because he knew exactly why his son had put in so much effort into his appearance for tonight.
Bohr invited him in, patting the younger man’s back. He was itching to ask him about his.. Close affection, with Dirac, but he resisted. It would be more fun to embarrass both of them in front of each other, would it not? And so he guided Heisenberg into the lovely living room and sat him with Margrethe, who kindly busied him with external conversations.
Roughly half an hour later, Bohr heard his doorbell ring once more. As soon as the soundwaves entered his ears, his mood changed into a more thrilled state of mind. He hurriedly rushed over the front door to let Dirac inside. Upon opening it, he saw Paul—who always never bothered much with his clothing choices—to be wearing a rather nice 3-piece suit. He looked almost uncomfortable in it, but it only made Bohr even more excited. He firmly shook Paul’s hand, guiding him inside to sit with Heisenberg.
—
As all of them settled, Heisenberg and Dirac’s usual shy and bashful demeanour showed through. Even after sitting side by side on the same sofa, only centimeters from each other, they still refrained from touching each other or speaking directly to each other. Bohr engaged them in conversations about Physics, Chemistry, and sometimes sprinkled in topics of love—just to keep himself more amused than he already was—while Margrethe prepared their dinner.
Even if Bohr excluded the two men’s obvious feelings for each other, it was still apparent how brilliant both of them were. Heisenberg slowly returned to his usual talkative self after a couple of moments of keeping him engaged with physics, while Dirac chimed in from time to time. Bohr remembered the time when Dirac quietly opened up to him about his cruel father back in Bristol, how he was the reason for his shyness and extreme quietness. He told Bohr how much he loathed the man, and Bohr couldn’t help but feel sorry for the brilliant young physicist. Same with Heisenberg, how he loathed his father, perhaps his whole family as well. Bohr felt his duty to protect these two boys like they were his own children, and be the loving father to them that they never had.
Now, at this moment, this feeling overcame him more than ever. Seeing the two boys talk excitedly about something all of them were fond of with such enthusiasm — it truly brought tears to his eyes. He really did feel like their father.
Thankfully, he was shaken out of trance upon the gentle touch of his wife’s hand on his shoulder. Dinner had been served, and Margrethe eagerly invited the men to the dining room.
—
They were having a staple of Danish cuisine—stegt flæsk—which was fried pork belly served with potatoes. This meal was Bohr’s favorite, and Margrethe knew. Upon seeing the meal in front of him, Niels couldn’t resist giving an affectionate look to his dear Margrethe.
As for Heisenberg, he ate eagerly with the whimsy of a small child having a proper meal in ages. He complimented Margrethe’s skills extensively all throughout his meal, savoring every bite. For Dirac, it was a bit of a different story. He played with his portion nervously after having a few bites, pretending to finish it.
Margrethe noticed this action of Dirac, and almost like a mother, she inquired as to whether his plate had something undesirable or that didn't fit his palette. Paul immediately gave the woman an apologetic look, smiling nervously, explaining how his stomach often misbehaves when he gets the chance to eat these kinds of foods.
“I could eat your portion if you’d like” Heisenberg shot back, his cheeks stuffed with chewed up food. All of them laughed, and Dirac began to blush even more than he usually would around Heisenberg.
—
When all of them had eaten their lovely dinner, Bohr knew that now was the time to finally bring these two lovebirds in front of him together once and for all. So, Niels began:
“Dear Paul, I didn’t know you owned such a lovely suit! It looks rather expensive, is it not?”
“I- I suppose, yes..” Dirac answered shyly.
“You could have just come in your usual clothes! What need for such formality? Both of you are like sons to me!”
Heisenberg and Dirac jointly let out a nervous chuckle.
“It was a lovely invitation, I felt rather bad about coming to your lovely home in my usual clothes.” Dirac answered.
Bohr grinned. “Ah, but you’ve been in my company numerous times!” Bohr stopped, giving both of them a mischievous look. “Or is it because your “crush” Werner is here, that you took an effort into dressing well for him, as opposed to for me?”
Dirac was speechless, his entire face turning red in an instant. The same condition was of Heisenberg’s, now looking increasingly sweatier and nervous by the minute. Neither of them dared to look at each other. Was it this obvious to everyone but themselves that they found a deep fondness for each other?
Margrethe stepped in, “Werner, you’re always so talkative! What’s gotten into you now? You’re not usually this quiet..” she teased alongside Bohr.
The two men were now in a state of utter collapse, their faces burning up from embarrassment. Yet neither of them had the courage necessary to confess to each other at last.
“Come on! Just say it to each other already!” Both Niels and Margrethe insisted on the two boys.
It was Heisenberg who would finally end this stalemate, he took a deep breath and held Dirac’s hands in his own, looking in the other man’s eyes. He continued gazing into Paul’s chocolate brown eyes, now painfully aware of how unprepared he is, unable to do anything else besides stare awkwardly at Dirac.
Werner turned his head to face Niels, who looked like he was almost on the verge of dying from frustration. He turned towards Margrethe anxiously, who gave him an equally disappointed look.
Dirac managed to gather the little amount of courage he had, and aggressively held Heisenberg’s face, before messily kissing his lips. Both the Bohrs let out a sigh of relief, grinning at the boys in front them.
Dirac let go, pushing his face into the crook of Heisenberg’s neck. Heisenberg was left speechless and unresponsive, all he could do was to hold Dirac’s back as he hid his face.
“Finally, you don’t know how much Niels had been bothering me about you two.” Margrethe chimed in, “It was almost like revisiting our past selves, I remember how nervous Niels used to be around me.” Margrethe teased, giving Bohr an affectionate look.
In the end, Bohr’s plan to make his boys confess to each other had been successful, and he was relieved that it had gone well. He could only hope now, that Heisenberg and Dirac would be less anxious around each other, and more expressive of their obvious adoration and fondness of each other from this day forward.