Normally when Even is woken up by something in the middle of the night, he simply tries to go back to sleep, but this time something makes want to investigate. The dark room is completely silent, yet Even just knows that something isn't right.
The room almost feels too still, too quiet. He blinks up at the ceiling tiredly, wondering if this is just his brain playing tricks on him. It wouldn't be the first time paranoia invaded his senses. He carefully rolls over to the other side, facing his boyfriend. If he can't shake the feeling that something is off, he might as well take the time to watch his beautiful man sleep until it comes back to him as well.
That is when the heartbreaking whimper breaks the silence, and it's undoubtedly Isak, and instantly Even is wide awake.
He bolts upright into sitting position, hands going out to cup both sides of Isak's face. He winces slightly as he takes notice of the tremors passing through Isak's body, and leans in, hushing him gently, trying to rouse him from whatever hell he's stuck in.
"Come on baby." He whispers, gently stroking Isak's cheek with his thumb. The skin feels clammy and wet and with a pang Even realizes that there are tears in the corner of his boyfriend's eyes. It makes his heart ache even more, and he bites into the bottom of his lip hard, trying to control the emotion building in his chest as he helplessly watches Isak turn his head left and right between his hands, whimpering as if in pain.
"Isak." He tries again, this time going for a different approach. He gently taps Isak's cheek with one hand, gripping his shoulder with the other to hold him down slightly as he twitches but doesn't wake up. "Isak babe, come on."
He can hear the desperation in his own voice, but he doesn't really care, leaning in to kiss Isak's forehead sweetly. Even in the dark Even notices the way Isak's eyes are moving rapidly behind those beautiful closed lids, and he pushes back the sweaty hair. He has no idea why Isak just won't wake the hell up, but he tries his best to remain calm. Maybe he will just have to wait it out?
Just as that thought hits him Isak starts to mumble under his breath, head turning to the side as another shudder overtakes him. Even tries to hush him again, frown etched deep into his forehead and worry clear in his eyes. His attempts go completely unnoticed by the sleeping boy.
"Mom..."
As the word leaves Isak's trembling lips Even freezes for a second or two. He feels cold, muscles stiff, as the word fully registers. Confusion runs through him and he doesn't know what to do for a second as a tense silence returns. Then, it is broken again:
"Mom... please..."
Isak's head turns into his hand and Even snaps back into focus. This time his attempts at waking Isak up are a little more desperate measures, and he shakes him slightly, keeping his voice low but the pitch high as he says Isak's name with more force than he ever can remember using.
"Isak!"
"Please don't..." Isak mumbles, eyes clenching despite already being close, head turning desperately, panic so clearly written on his face that Even feels like punching something. Isak's breath hitches, catches. He looks torn, but most of all he just looks so damn scared. "... Don't... MOM!"
Just like that, Isak's body startles and he scrambles desperately to get up into a sitting position with a shrill scream that breaks Even's heart. Even flinches back just in time to only barely avoiding getting hit in the face by a flailing arm. He misses a beat, hands going out to support himself but only finding air, and before he knows it the world spins as he tumbles out of the bed. His back hits the floor painfully hard, and he is pretty sure he scraped his hand on the bedside table on his way down, because it aches. As he recovers from the startled movement of Isak and wills the pain away from his back, staring up into the moving ceiling, he can hear Isak struggling to get air back into his lungs, heaving like he can't seem to get enough of it, and he instantly crawls back up onto the mattress again.
"Isak, hey." He says, and makes a grimace as Isak's head snaps around to meet him, eyes wild and scared. Even crawls on his hands and knees, only stopping because Isak leans back, nearly falling out of the bed himself. Instead of approaching further, Even holds his hands up in a silent peace offering. "Hey, hey, it's alright."
Isak's bottom lip trembles, and tears are running freely down his cheeks, but he says nothing and Even can feel the despair building in his own chest. His boy looks like a terrified, cornered animal, and Even just wants to hold him and never ever let him go. "It's okay Isak. You're not there, you're here, with me."
Even can see his words register as it klicks in Isak's brain, and not even knowing it he holds his arms open for Isak to bolt into. The air is nearly knocked out of him as he does, but Even couldn't possibly care less. Isak's body is once again overtaken by trembling, but this time raw sobs wracks him as well, and Even just decides to hold him close, cradling his blonde curls and leaving permanent kisses on the top of his head.
"You're okay." He whispers as Isak clings to his chest, fingers wrapped so tightly in his shirt that Even almost worries that he will never, ever let him go again. Not that it would really bother him. All he wants is to hold Isak and make sure that he is okay, that nothing will hurt him ever again. He repeats the words he thinks the both of them needs to hear. "You're okay. You're okay."
He places a wet kiss Isak's cheek as the door snaps open and Eskild is standing in the doorway, a bathrobe wrapped around himself, one arm holding the doorframe and the other gripping the handle, leaning forward and panting like he had been running. Noora and Linn are behind him, looking worried as well but also very tired and confused.
When Eskild notices Even he straightens, and huffs out a long breath, clearing his throat and Even can clearly see that he tries to find his composure again as he moves the door back and forth slightly, sucking in hard breaths.
"Is he okay?" He questions then after another beat of silence, nodding towards Isak who is still trembling in Even's arms. As he moves further into the room Isak buries his face into Even's shoulder. The sobs have died down, but his breathing is still shaky and Even gently strokes his back, trying to calm him down. Through the their thin T-shirts he can feel Isak's heart beating like crazy.
"Yeah, I think so." Even assures Eskild as he sits down on the edge of the bed. The mattress dips underneath his weight, and Even gently shifts to get himself and Isak into a more comfortable position.
There is a pause in which no one says a word, before Isak speaks up, voice small and squeaky, and muffled by Even's broad chest. It is the most beautiful sound Even has ever heard, he's sure of that.
"I'm right here Eskild."
Eskild laughs slightly, shaking his head in amusement. He is leaning over with his elbows rested on his knees, back crooked and eyes tired, but he still gives Isak a gentle pat on the back before letting his hand stay there, rubbing circles on the skin over the shirt. "I know you are." He whispers back, smiling gently, eyes warm.
Isak sighs quietly, and Even has to hold him up as he leans into him more heavily. He thinks that he must be falling back to sleep, so he gives Eskild his most apologetic look, but the other man simply shakes his head quietly. Even can't shake the feeling that Eskild had done this before, and he makes a mental note of asking him about it later. Right now though, the top priority is to make Isak feel safe, and that the both of them can agree on.