Chapter Text
Bojan is in love.
He’s in love with WhatsApp and video calls. With selfie cameras and Instagram stories - even more so with the Best Friends option.
He might even be in love with technology that has existed for over 200 years, he realized, as he stepped off the plane at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in June.
Once he reached the baggage claim, he also realized that he had underestimated how many people would still recognize him, in a city that’s 2.127 kilometres away from his own. He had, obviously, only checked the distance to see what the best way to get there was. No ulterior motives.
Eurovision was a little over a month ago and Joker Out, although in the final, hadn’t gotten that many points.
But it was all fine, they had gotten more popular all over Europe, which had been their sneaky little plan from the beginning and they had received way more than they had expected. And maybe, the friendship that had formed between the contestants was the most important part of it all. Maybe, they had gone a little overboard with the giggles and the touching, all documented on the Instagram stories for Europe - and how crazy, the entire world to see.
So yes, underestimated.
He had briefly considered buying a cap and dark sunglasses once the first few people had stopped him for a photo and a quick chat, but did he really want to look like an undercover Marvel character? The cat was out of the bag now anyway. He was sure that if he checked his Instagram there would be several new tags announcing that he was in Finland. So much for a secret lover’s getaway.
But he had more important things to check on his phone first. Like sending a quick ‘Arrived!’ message to anyone at home who had asked. After that had been done, he opened another chat and sent the silly selfie he had taken earlier underneath the Helsinki airport sign. The blue checkmarks didn’t appear immediately so he put his phone away again. Jere was probably busy, preparing for his arrival.
After all, had people really expected that they wouldn’t meet up after Eurovision? It was true that their plans had shifted faster than they had expected. In the span of a few weeks. It had changed from “I will surely visit Finland during winter” to “I am going to Finland in three weeks” for which he received many, many remarks from his bandmates about being lovesick, and a simp (mostly that last part). He could no longer count on his two hands how many times he had to hear how happy they were that their shortest band member had found someone even shorter than Bojan. And Bojan wasn’t even short at all. He couldn’t help that he had been a good boy when he was younger, while the others had received a few more kicks up their butt, causing them to grow a few more centimetres, or however that old wives’ tale went.
They were right, though, his heart hurt a little too much with every green item (a sticker on a microphone, a green truck driving by, a simple leaf) that appeared in front of his eyes.
So why wait until winter?
The pre-parties, the rehearsals, the stress of the semis and especially the finale and its immediate aftermath had all been so intense that the moment it had all fallen away they hadn’t realized how much the other one had nestled its way into the other’s life. They knew they were both going to be busy afterwards and at the time, it hadn’t been plausible that trips before the end of summer would be happening. Until someone let slip that he had a small space in his schedule between some gigs in a few weeks with a winky face, and Bojan hadn’t needed much more convincing to open his laptop and book the plane tickets.
They’d spoken a little about what their first time seeing each other again would be like. Jere had sent a voice message explaining it all:
Obviously, Celine Dion would be there, he had said, and everything would go slower as the wind machine blew at them. The lights in the entire airport would turn off, only for two spotlights to appear where they stood. (Bojan needed at least 5 minutes to get through the vivid description as he had to stop every five seconds for laughing too much).
All of that didn’t happen. Instead, they’d decided that they, sadly, wouldn’t be able to meet at the airport itself. While the Eurovision craze had died down a little overseas, many people were still very proud of what Käärijä had achieved, adding to that the many tourists walking through the airport, there was too big of a possibility that Jere would be swarmed once they noticed him.
They met at his car instead. The moment their eyes met, all the memories from the past few months returned and their smiles grew as big as they could. They knew that they remembered an earlier conversation, in which they had tried to figure out who would jump on whom when they saw each other for the first time again. As they hadnt reached a consensus, they settled on a hug. In only a few seconds, they were attached to each other again like they had been through all their strolls through Liverpool. Jere turned his head and placed a soft kiss right underneath Bojan’s ear. They separated again before he could say something or return the kiss. In a flash, Jere was on the other side of the car.
“First we go and get some food, and then we have to go home, I am babysitting,” Jere said once they reached his car. Bojan stopped mid-opening the car door and frowned:
“On a baby?”
Jere looked at him confused for a second, then replied while laughing:
“No no, on a cat. Cat-sitting? You like cats?”
Bojan internally let out a sigh of relief and followed Jere into the car. He briefly imagined what Jere babysitting an actual baby would be like, chaos he supposed.
“Sure, more of a dog person. But cats can be fun too.”
Jere smiled, “You are also like a puppy, with your floppy hair.” He playfully ruffled Bojan’s hair, and Bojan swooned.
He might be in love with someone else too.