The morning started early enough. Søren was woken up by Sigurd stirring, stretching, turning and finally sitting up. It was still dark outside, but with a short glance at his phone Sigurd sighed and put on his sweater and jacket.
Being low on battery Sigurd first called Berwald outside the cabin to agree on a meeting point and time before checking on the horses. Søren meanwhile started a fire in the cabin to cook up some water with the last two cubs of wood. He greeted the kids with a cheery good morning and checked on the girl's foot.

Just in time for the tea to be done Sigurd re-entered and helped to get everything cleaned, packed up and ready for departure. With growling stomachs, they mounted the horses and Sigurd lead the way through the forest. Søren tried to retrace where they came from the night before but he couldn't say anymore which path they had taken.
Every time the girl whimpered because her horse did an unexpected movement, Søren tried to reassure her despite them not speaking the same language. Sigurd frequently asked in German, whether she needed a break, but she always declined and showed her thumb up. The boy remained silent through the whole ordeal which was probably the best he could do in that situation.

Berwald met them with a thermos filled with hot coffee, sandwiches and some juice for the kids in front of a road block, stopping him from taking the route closer to the fisher cottage. Sigurd quickly recapped what had happened as they stood beside the car, the kids inside to warm up. After his first cup of coffee he was already much more relaxed and the constant small frown had vanished.

"I'll rejoin the group and continue as planned. You are taking the girl and one of her parents to the doc?"
Berwald nodded. "The father 'n I will go. He's not much of an 8-hours horseback rider anyway, or so he told me."
"He doesn't look like one either," Sigurd mused.
"Wait, what with me?" Søren asked and furrowed his brows. "You said 'I', not 'we'…"
"I thought you might want to stay at the guest cabin, get warmed up and rest some for the day."
"And you?"
"I have to lead the group. I know my way around and there is no reason why both of us have to continue despite being tired and cold."
"And the boy?" Søren asked.
"He'll have to continue if his father wishes so. Under my close watch."
"I won't feel good knowing you have to work whilst I relax in the warmth."
"You can take charge of the group in the evening. Entertain them, play games and so on. Berwald is going to be occupied in the kitchen and I'll be too tired to tell my traditional stories."
"I don't feel good about this."
"I know. You're too good of a person to just accept it. But you are officially my employee and I am responsible for your well-being. So, I order you to rest and take charge in the evening instead."
"That's no fair." Søren crossed his arms and pouted. He knew Sigurd had a point but his conscience kept on nagging.
"Life is not fair. Now come and take your horse. The group is waiting."

Sigurd barely had time to refill his bag with lunch, water and the bit of coffee remaining from breakfast when he remounted his horse which could meanwhile feed on hay. Søren watched him leave as the head of the group, Fred at his side, George right behind him together with his father so he could have a close eye on them. Berwald, the girl and her father had already left for the doctor. All he had to do now was to take care of his and Hannah's horse and to get warm again. Easy enough.

Waiting was hard. He sat huddled in a blanket in front of the lit fire place. The horses were fed with the hay Berwald brought up here, he had taken a hot shower and had already prepared the tables for dinner. He wiggled his toes and checked constantly his phone.
A message from Edvard urging him to tell him all that had happened during the night. If Laura knew. If Sigurd knew that Laura did not. That he would make his threats true if Søren would not instantly man up. Did his parents know they should prepare for either a funeral or a son in law?

Søren turned his phone upside down so he wouldn't see the screen lighting up constantly. His sponsors had written emails the other day that he hadn't read yet. The horse owners tried to contact him. They needed results or a decision. Søren hated waiting alone. He picked up his phone again, dialled in Laura's number. Erased it again and instead answered his sponsors and owners of his horses that he would look into the competitions he could enter here. Laura's number again.

"Søren?" Her voice chimed in as clear and light as a summer's day. Gods, he had missed her and the voice and the good vibes she emitted even through the phone. But he needed to tell her. For her own good. For his good. For Sigurd.
"Hi, Laura," he said silently, as if someone might be eaves dropping. But he was alone in this cabin.
"Hi. How are you?" Søren was silent and thought.
"Much better."
"And your riding?"
"Much better as well. Not competing yet but I'm getting there. That teacher Edvard sent me to really is a magician."
"You mean Sigurd?" She laughed. "Yeah, he also looks like one, doesn't he? Soooo mysterious."
"You know him?!"
"How could I not? He's one of Edvard's best friends. You know, they both share their darkest secret together."
"Oh." Søren's heart clenched. If even she knew… "You know of-"
"Yeah, isn't it cute how both of these tall gloomy men love bunnies?!"
"B-bunnies?"
"Didn't you know?"
"Yes, of course I knew!" Søren laughed nervously. He knew that much of Edvard. But that Sigurd liked bunnies? Good to know.
"Anyways. When are you coming back? I miss you, you know?"
"You do? I thought you never wanted to see me again."
"Because you were such an asshole. You weren't you anymore. But the real Søren I'd always take back."
"You would…?" Søren knew he shouldn't continue this way. He should be making a clean cut.
"Of course."
"Why didn't you write me then? Or call?"
"Because I wanted to see whether or not you'd fight for us. And you needed to get better first."
"Well, Laura… I need to tell you that… I… I don't think I can do this."
"Søren. If you hesitate, it only means you have gotten over being a dick. Don't put too much pressure on yourself now."
"Laura, listen. I-" He couldn't say he didn't love her anymore. He still did. But he loved Sigurd more. "I can't come back to you."
"Why not?"
Søren closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.
"I fell in love with Sigurd."
"Oh."
Silence. Søren ran with his fingers through his hair, gripped on it and bit his lip.
"I am so sorry I have to tell you this over the phone."
Silence.
"That's why Edvard was so strange," Laura said eventually.
"Yeah. He knows."
"How long do you already love Sigurd?"
"I don't know. Weeks, Months."
"Why do you tell me now?"
"Because I am a coward. And we only got together yesterday night."
"Ah."
"I am so sorry Laura. I still lo-"
"Shut up. I don't want any pity from you, who kept me hanging like this for months even though you already loved someone else."
"Laura, please. I didn't know you'd-"
"That I would still take you back? That I still love you?" Her voice broke and Søren's heart upon hearing her held back sob. "I thought Edvard told you?! I told him he should make sure you'd know!"
"I am sorry."
"Spare your apologies. I'm done with you."
Toot,toot,toot-
Søren slowly lowered his phone and placed it on the table. It was probably a good thing he was far, far away from Edvard now. He wrapped the blanket tighter around his body and let himself go. In this moment he was glad he was far away from everybody.

After another hour Berwald, Hannah and her father entered the cabin, which truthfully was more of a house for camps. Søren agreed on playing some of the old games that were stored in the single bookshelf in the living room with Hannah.
Both jumped up when they heard one of the horses whinnying to greet the approaching herd after three hours of board games. Hannah winced and sat back down with a sour face. Her ankle was indeed sprained and in bandages. But nothing held back Søren and so he jogged outside to greet the group and help where he could.

Sigurd was the last to descend from his horse as from his heightened position he could oversee the guests easier whether or not they managed to get back to earth safely and kept the horses in check. When the last rider was opening the saddle girth he himself slid down onto earth. He winced at his sore muscles but firstly made sure that his horse was freed from the saddle before leading it to the pen where a big stack of hay was lying ready to be devoured.

After that he stood at the gate and each guest handed him their horse and he quickly made sure that nothing was amiss before releasing it. In between he saw Søren helping to store away the saddles, answering questions and helping where he could. He felt his heart swell and a smile crept on his lips when he felt the warmth of yesterday night again on his body. When George entered the house as the last guest Søren pulled Sigurd in a hug, kissed his lips, then his cheek and asked how he was.

"Fine. Exhausted." Although everything seemed to be lighter already. And warmer. His cheeks felt warm again for the first time in hours.
"Your job is done for today. I'll take care of the guests now," Søren said and Sigurd could swear some worry lingered in there as well.
"Take care of me as well later?" Sigurd said and he knew immediately that Søren's thoughts were not of the pure and platonic kind. But when his gaze focused again after a second he nodded with such a soft smile, Sigurd could practically melt into it.
"You'll get the full luxury program. Hot cocoa, massage, I'll even get you food to our room if you want to skip dinner with our loud guests."
"That sounds perfect," Sigurd mused and slowly let go. Their hands intertwined for the short walk to the house in which it already smelled deliciously of the chilli con carne Berwald had prepared.

Sigurd struggled to stay awake during his wait for Søren who had hastily organised a games evening for the guests. He could feel his toes again after the hot shower, his stomach was calmed down after Søren had brought him a huge serving of dinner and being lulled in his bed it was hard to stay focused on the book he had brought with him.
Not only that, but worry had instilled itself inside his body as he'd had eight hours to run through all the problems he would encounter having Søren as his boyfriend. Not that he would have been worried before.

He was torn out of his thoughts when the door opened with a creak and Søren entered with a tray in hand. Sigurd sat up and shuffled to the side so Søren could sit beside him. The tray landed on the nightstand. A kiss, two tired sighs and two pair of hands held their cups of hot cocoa.
Sigurd told him about the tour. That Søren would get to see the mountain they visited another time. Søren told him about his game night. How Hannah was already feeling much better. Both cups were on the tray again, the cookies eaten. Sigurd felt warm in Søren's arms as he was lying beside him, his head resting on his upper arm. His right arm was slung over Søren's waist.

"What's on your mind?" Søren asked suddenly after some comfortable silence in which he had almost expected Sigurd to fall asleep. Their position reminded him much of the morning in the hotel in Bergen. But this time it wouldn't be awkward at all waking up like this and the thought made his lips automatically tug upwards.
"What do you mean?" Sigurd asked and furrowed his brows. More than he already did every minute or so. Just for some seconds, then he would relax again.
"There! You did it again. Frowning. And after a second, it's gone again."
"Oh. You noticed?"
"Your face is literally thirty centimetres away from mine, of course I notice."
"Fair point. Even you would notice then."
"Hey…"
Sigurd chuckled which turned quickly in a sigh and he turned around to lie on his back instead and look up at the barely lit ceiling.
"Will you tell me?"
"Are you a very sexual person?"

Søren's eyes darted around, he automatically licked his lips and he blushed. Immediately his mind jumped to a dozen dirty images, sexual encounters, adventures and the romantic sensual nights with Laura.
"I guess?" he began slowly, cautiously. "Why?"
"When I told you "Take care of me" you didn't only think of feeding me with dinner."
"Uhm." Søren's blush deepened and he cursed his mind of being so imaginative.
"I am afraid of not being able to give you what you might want."
"Oh." Søren looked down on their pillow.

He hadn't even thought about it. Well, he had thought about how Sigurd's body would feel like, how they'd fit together. Heck, how he'd sound and what he might want. Now he felt ashamed of it. He looked back at the handsome face, lifted himself more up so he made Sigurd look at him again. "I don't care. I wait."
"What if I can't at all?" Sigurd's face was made of stone but Søren had learned to look past that, to see the anxiety, the dread. "I should have warned you before we got together."
"You did already," Søren said softly and ran a hand through that silky hair of Sigurd. "You told me your story. Of course, I'll accept whatever you want to do and won't do with your body."
"But you have needs-"
"Which come second. I love you, Sigurd. You are more important to me than sex." The second the words left his mouth, Søren knew he'd make it possible, that he'd spoken the truth even if it may become difficult. Sigurd's expression was unreadable but Søren understood he said something right when he was pulled into a kiss.