Work Text:
Kevin was quite possibly the least qualified person to handle any kind of technology; all of his closest friends knew this. But, being dependable, he always answered his phone.
Except, one day he didn't. Jakob had tried to reach him for the past half an hour, but all of his calls went straight to voicemail which Axel had helped Kevin set up. It wasn't even like Jakob had anything really important to talk about, he just wanted to hear Kevin's voice. He had been sitting on his couch but was now pacing back and forth in his living room. After three more failed calls he gave up and instead proceeded to send Kevin a message. His fingers moved fast as he typed the almost frantic words that came to his mind first.
Kevin, are you there? I tried to call. Your silence is making me worried and I need to know you're okay. I'm coming over.
He then grabbed his keys and put on the first pair of shoes he set his eyes on. He couldn't have cared less about how he looked; it didn't matter. Seconds later he was already out of the door and ran all the way outside.
He got on the driver's seat and started the car with a wildly beating heart. Kevin hadn't responded to his message. A quick glance told Jakob that he hadn't even seen it. Jakob had to tell himself to breathe as he took off towards Kevin's home. Thankfully there wasn't an awful lot of traffic because Jakob really wasn't nearly as focused on driving as he should have been. All of this was thanks to his mind creating plenty of horrible scenarios. And with each one they got worse.
"Shut up already!"
Jakob finally had to yell at himself in rare anger as he was growing frustrated. That luckily stopped his racing thoughts at least for the rest of the drive.
Jakob noticed how his hands were shaking when he finally got to park the car. He even dropped the keys on the ground right after he'd gotten out of the car. As he turned to look, he saw a faint shimmer of light coming from Kevin's apartment.
At least he was at home. But it didn't make Jakob feel any better. Why had Kevin ignored all of his calls? After picking up the car keys he made his way inside the building and sprinted to Kevin's door. Maybe the frantic, unrelenting knocking was a little bit uncalled for, but Jakob couldn't help himself. The one thing he had forgotten was the spare key to Kevin's apartment. Had he remembered to bring it, he would already be inside.
Kevin's face was in shadow when he came to open the door. Jakob took a concerned peek at him before the door was even properly open, and invited himself in.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?"
he asked, voice completely void of judgement, as he took off his sneakers. The shoelaces weren't even tied, he had just hastily shoved them in his shoes.
"You really had me worried."
"I'm sorry, Jakob,"
Kevin said with a crushing sigh as he walked back towards the kitchen. Jakob followed, and soon saw the forgotten about mug on the kitchen table, still halfway filled with coffee that had gone cold probably ages ago.
"I didn't mean for it. I'm just so tired.."
In Kevin's voice, Jakob was able to detect clear hints of exhaustion. And he started feeling bad as he understood that at least some part of that exhaustion might have been caused by him. Of course they'd had a crazy hectic year as well, but some of Jakob's wild, spontaneous ideas and antics probably hadn't helped as he had kept both Kevin and Axel on their toes.
"Jakob.. No, don't,"
Kevin then automatically said the moment he saw the change in his friend's expression. He couldn't help being worried about his friends even when he was not at his best.
"I didn't mean it like that."
But Jakob shook his head with a smile and was quick to say:
"It's okay for you to admit that I can be a handful. This year has been really great and a lot of fun. But it's also been really tiring on all of us. That includes you, and it's okay. The tour and other gigs are over at least well into 2026. It means that we get to recharge our batteries. And, Kevin.. I'm really sorry that I'm a little impossible at times."
"A little?"
Kevin asked with a tiny smile and pulled Jakob into a hug. Jakob smiled into Kevin's shirt while also looping his arms tightly around the taller man.
Only as they pulled apart, did Jakob notice the hastily applied bandages covering Kevin's hand.
"What happened?"
he asked right away in a soft tone and looked up at his dear friend.
"I dropped a glass and cut my hand when I went to pick up the pieces,"
Kevin told in a flat, tired voice.
"Don't worry, it's not deep enough to require a hospital visit."
But of course Jakob did worry.
"Can I take a look at it?"
he inquired, eyes still examining the look on Kevin's face with great intent. Kevin let him and held out his hand. Jakob unwrapped the bandages with great care and inspected the cut perfectly in the middle of Kevin's palm. Like he'd said, it luckily wasn't very deep and had stopped bleeding on its own. Jakob then changed the bandages in quite rare, focused silence.
"Don't look at the cut, okay? Like you said, it's not deep, but don't look at it. Just keep your eyes on me, okay?"
Jakob requested softly as he worked, and Kevin nodded, obeying. He kept his eyes on Jakob and quietly observed the subtle but still clear ways his expression changed; the way his forehead went in frown when he focused on bandaging Kevin's hand properly. And then the gradually growing shine in his eyes once he was done with the task. Jakob's unconditional worry and care was touching. Kevin was secretly enjoying being taken care of in that way. And even more than that, he was grateful to have a friend like Jakob in his life.
"Does it hurt at all?"
Jakob asked once he was done, and again lifted up his gaze to look at Kevin. He shook his head, so Jakob carried on talking.
"Remember when we were kids and I threw up in your bed that one time? I'd started feeling sick after eating too much candy and couldn't make it to the toilet. Axel had warned me but I didn't listen to him. Compared to that, this is nothing."
Jakob bit his lip as he realized that he had worded his thoughts all wrong.
"I mean.. Kevin, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you helped me back then and didn't say anything to your parents when you saw how embarrassed I was. You just changed the sheets in silence and even took the blame when Siv did eventually find out. You're one of my best friends and have always done so much for me. Of course I'd do anything for you as well. If you ever need me, I'll be there."
To Jakob's surprise, and Kevin's, the former could feel tears prickling in the corners of his eyes.
"Jakob..? Why are you crying?"
Kevin asked, immediate concern in his voice, and brought his hand up to Jakob's cheek, gently catching a tear with his fingertip.
"I was worried something might have happened when you didn't answer your phone.."
Jakob explained, now pressing his head down and getting awfully interested in the floor. That was, until Kevin wrapped his arms around Jakob once more. Then the shorter man lifted his head just a little and buried his face in Kevin's shirt. He couldn't even bring himself to return the hug; he just stood there and let himself be held.
There was no need for any words to be said. They were on the same wavelength.