Chapter Text
It had been a shock when the café chain decided to close down its Bežigrad location, where Bojan had been working for several years. Luckily at the same time, they announced they would be opening a new branch on the Ljubljana airport.
The commute got a lot longer for most of them and the place opened ridiculously early in the morning. Plus airport cafés were open 365 days in the year, you did not get days off for holidays. So there were downsides for sure, but they could all keep their jobs and their lovely colleagues.
In the recent years, the once puny Jože Pučnik airport had expanded massively with the increasing streams of passengers heading to the Balkans. It was again getting too small – this time of the year was quieter than the summer, but soon there would be the holiday peak.
Now the place was dressed in Christmas decorations, in gold and shiny dark red. Many smaller plastic Christmas trees and one huge one, surrounded by fake presents. Very kitschy, like the mall that it effectively was, but Bojan liked it still.
The whole thing had grown on him. The bustle of people and the bulk of them were in a good mood as they were heading for holidays or to visit family. Though sometimes Bojan missed the hipster-y vibe of the central location and its many regular customers. Here most people you would only ever see once.
“Who’s that guy?” Bojan asked Nace. “He has been there for several days, hasn’t he.”
Most of the team he had known for several years at the Bežigrad branch, but Nace was one of the new colleagues who had only joined here and had fit right in.
“He looks vaguely familiar from somewhere, but maybe I’m just imagining it”, Nace said, wiping the counter.
“He would look familiar by now, as he lives at the airport”, Jure said. “Swedish guy. Or Norwegian. Or maybe German?”
Lives at the airport, huh. Bojan thought such people only existed in depressing documentary films and in places you could actually get stuck. Well, one could probably be refused entry to Slovenia for misplacing their visa or something, though that would not happen to an EU citizen.
Dressed in a beanie and a sports brand hoodie, he looked like a regular dude and Bojan couldn’t have guessed his ethnicity, at least from this far away,
“Is it just me or has he been looking at this place a lot?” Bojan asked.
“It is just you, as he has been looking at you”, Jure teased.
“Not really, is he?”
He seemed to be staring at Bojan right then, making him feel very self-conscious.
“You have an admirer”, Nace said.
“Bojan and airport hobo, sitting at gate 69, K-I-S-S-I-N-G”, Jure sang.
“Not funny.”
The next day the guy was still there, just in a different outfit. No beanie, which revealed a black bowl cut, interesting.
Bojan was getting more convinced the man was in fact looking at him. He smiled at him and the guy smiled back. People who smiled like that couldn’t be all that bad.
Bojan had not seen him eat anything. Presumably that was happening regardless of his observations, but it couldn’t hurt to make sure, especially since Bojan worked in the hospitality industry right in front of him.
Before taking his lunch break, he prepared a ham and cheese baguette. After some deliberation between tea and coffee, he went for their homemade pineapple lemonade. The seasonal variety was cranberry, but this man looked more like a pineapple guy.
He was focused on his phone, so he only noticed Bojan when the Slovene was right next to him.
“Hey, I work in that café and just wanted to get you a little snack.”
Bojan presented the sandwich and drink to the man, who looked at him wide-eyed. Damn, he was actually incredibly attractive, big blue eyes and especially when he smiled. Besides two nose piercings, he was wearing earrings and a bunch of other jewelry as well as dark red nail polish on his fingertips. The style intrigued Bojan.
“Wow, there’s a very hot Santa here”, the guy said. “Thank you!”
The compliment flustered Bojan. He had forgotten to take off the Santa hat they were wearing at work this time of the year, but Santa was not something he had been called often.
The man peered at Bojan’s name tag.
“Thank you, …Bojan?”
The questioning intonation was probably related to the pronunciation, which he handled fine. Bojan offered his hand.
“And your name is?”
“Jere.”
“Nice to meet you, Jere”, Bojan said. “Mind if I sit with you for a bit?”
“That would be nice.”
Jere took a sip of the lemonade and closed his eyes.
“Oh God, I love pineapple”, he sighed. “You are a good man. Can I hug you?”
The heavy accent sounded cute, though Bojan couldn’t quite place it.
“Sure.”
The hug was tight and Jere smelled lovely.
“Thank you Bojan, for this delicious food and company. It’s so nice you are here.”
Well-kempt, Jere had clearly been showering and changing his clothes, not a hobo at all. He talked like a normal, friendly person, who appreciated the gesture but ate the sandwich slowly, not like someone ravaged by hunger.
“Are you doing okay?” Bojan asked him. “I noticed you’ve been here for a while and that’s not something that tends to happen at an airport.”
“Now I’m doing very fine, having lunch with a kind, beautiful man. This is good life. I like people watching, I have everything I need. This is a good airport. One of my favorites, very chill vibe.”
“It used to be such a tiny airport, until the Balkans became super popular, but somehow it’s still quite chill. And it’s nice because we also get flights to many more places now. Have you traveled a lot?”
“Not so much anymore”, Jere answered and Bojan thought he might have caught a tiny frown on the other’s face.
Jere shook the remaining pineapple bits from the drink into his mouth, which was somehow adorable.
“You don’t have plans to go back to your home country?” Bojan asked. “Where are you even from?”
“Finland. Not now, doing good here. You ever been to Finland?”
That wouldn’t have been Bojan’s first guess based on how talkative and affable Jere seemed.
“It’d be nice, but I get cold very easily”, he said.
Jere chuckled.
“Nah, just need warm clothes. And warm hugs. The summers are actually quite warm.”
Even though they had only just met, talking about warmth he leaned against Bojan, which made him just want to snuggle up to the Finn properly. It seemed like it didn’t even matter what they said, there was an atmosphere of ease.
“What kind of sandwiches do you like?” Bojan asked. “If you are staying and I end up bringing you another one.”
Jere’s eyes widened in surprise.
“That’s very kind. I like most meat and cheese. Salami. Sausages and meatballs. Not a fan of tuna and blue cheese. And I don’t drink coffee, just tea.”
“Gotcha”, Bojan said.
“Maybe you know Santa lives in Finland. I guess he has some branch in Slovenia now. With the prettiest elves.”
Bojan rolled his eyes. He wasn’t one to fall for such cheesy pickup lines.
Though he was a guy and wasn’t sure if anyone had ever used pickup lines on him. It was probably just the novelty. And the guy was just joking, anyway.
“You know elves watch if people are naughty or nice, so you had better be on your best behavior.”
“I’m nice, but sometimes maybe a bit naughty”, Jere said with a mischievous smile and waved goodbye to Bojan.
Hot Santa and a pretty elf, yeah right. But damn if that guy wasn’t likable, he brought a smile to Bojan’s face for the rest of the day.
***
The next day, Bojan chose the ripest tomato and crispiest Romaine leaves to make Jere a BLT sandwich. He combined it with a rooibos tea and sat with him to eat his own lunch.
He had checked the spelling of Jere’s name online, or at least there was a common Finnish name corresponding to the pronunciation, and wrote it on the cup and the sandwich bag.
“Wow, this airport is amazing!” Jere said as he admired the wrapper.
“I put some honey in your tea, because you’re such a sweet guy.”
That made Jere smile.
“Thank you, honey.”
The situation still confused Bojan. Jere didn’t appear depressed, but quite put together and in a good mood. Especially as he began unwrapping the sandwich, he looked like a kid opening a Christmas present. The surprise seemed to be a pleasant one.
“You bring me a LGBT sandwich!”
Unsure if that was a slip or a quip, Bojan laughed so hard he almost choked on his own food.
“Jere, do you have a home to go to in Finland?”
Jere scrunched his forehead like this was a weird and perhaps even insulting question.
“Of course I have a home”, he answered munching on the sandwich. “A very nice home, I studied interior design many years ago.”
Huh. Not something Bojan would have expected, despite Jere’s obvious knack for fashion.
“Aren’t your goldfish and plants and whatever going to die?”
“My goldfish got a job and is independent now. Everything is fine here.”
His demeanor got just a bit more serious as he said that, though. He stared at the shop in front of him, which sold cards and stationary.
“You probably have a family? Aren’t they worried?”
“I tell them I stay in Slovenia a little longer”, Jere replied. “I have friends here.”
“Oh?”
“Like you.”
That didn’t help Bojan’s worry that his sandwiches would just encourage Jere to stay at the airport, though secretly he wasn’t that unhappy about such a turn of events. He wanted Jere out of there, but only to the Slovenian side, not back to Finland, which was obviously selfish.
“You could also visit me, I have a nice home, too.”
“Maybe some day, but we can hang out here just fine, no? People make different life decisions. Some people live in a van or beach in Bali. Here I have so much company, but don’t have to talk with people if I don’t want to. Perfect life. Stop making everything a problem.”
There was some frustration or even anger in Jere’s voice, a strong hint to not dig deeper there.
“Sorry”, Bojan said. “I guess that’s my overall tendency in life.”
“You need more fun. Jokes, pranks, stuff.”
“Gosh, I’m not boring! I have lots of friends and we do all kinds of fun stuff.”
“Show me, then I believe”, Jere said.
He squeezed Bojan’s hand to signal everything was fine and then they talked about Bojan’s family and life for a bit. Jere seemed sincerely interested.
It became a pleasant habit to bring Jere a sandwich and have a nice chat while they both tucked into their food. It was a nice thing to focus on if Bojan’s workday was feeling dull. Sometimes he was in the very early shift and then it would become Jere’s breakfast.
Already Jere had managed to create a whole life there. You could buy almost anything at the airport, get a massage or a haircut. He was able to take regular showers somewhere and always smelled great. The only things missing were normal groceries and somewhere to hang his laundry.
Jere didn’t actually need the sandwiches, but that was not the point.
Bojan tried to not get too attached to it all. Jere was not going to stay there forever and Bojan should not assume he would.
***
It had snowed during the night and that always lifted Bojan’s mood. Sure, he had to dig up his car from under it and airports were not fond of snowfall, but it was just so magical.
The weather definitely had an effect on the mood of the travelers wading through the airport, as well. In the pouring rain, not many happy campers even if they were headed for a tropical holiday. Snow particularly delighted tourists who had never seen it before or at least found it a rare treat.
Alas, Jere had apparently seen his share of snow in his life.
“What’s wrong?” Bojan asked.
“Nothing wrong, people just have good days and not so good days. But things are much better now you are here.”
That was lovely to hear. Jere smelled like cigarettes, real old-fashioned cigarettes.
“How were you able to smoke, you can’t smoke here?”
“Oh, you can. You can do almost anything here. It was nice for a moment, but now I just feel blah again.”
Bojan wrapped his arms around Jere and the gesture seemed welcome.
“Not even the snow is bringing you joy?” he asked.
“It’s a bit far.”
Jere reached out his hand to demonstrate how he couldn’t get to it. Bojan refrained from stating the obvious about how that could be remedied.
“You probably go skiing a lot since you are Finnish?”
“Yeah, but not in these fucking mountains”, Jere scoffed.
A curious answer, but Bojan wasn’t going to press further.
“I bet you really love snowball fights”, he said.
“Oh yeah. I would kick Bojan’s ass.”
The thought made Jere grin impishly. Bojan raised his eyebrows.
“I’ve done years of martial arts”, he said.
“Whoa. But those don’t have snowballs.”
“I can deal with all kinds of balls.”
Jere laughed as if that was a hilarious quip.
“Can you?” he asked.
He wanted them to go sit by the windows and watch the planes. In this weather they had to be doused with big clouds of de-icing chemicals before takeoff. There were several small turboprops among the jumbos and Bojan pointed out the larger Finnair Airbus, which made Jere smile wryly.
“When I was a kid, we lived near the airport, so we went there to watch planes with my parents and my big brother. That airport is larger now, too. I said that when I’m grownup, then I travel on every airplane.”
“Have you?”
It made Bojan smile to think of little Jere as a kid.
“Enough”, the Finn answered. “Some very bad stuff happened when I was a teen and I think I just always want to go back to childhood.”
Oh. Bojan put his hand on Jere’s knee. He was a very touchy person in general, but Jere didn’t seem to mind at all.
He just wanted to protect this man from everything.
“Some day you visit me in Finland, yes?” Jere said. “You meet my family, I want to show you some stuff from my childhood. And maybe we do stupid childish stuff.”
The excitement was palpable in his voice.
“Sounds great”, Bojan said, but he felt like he was going to cry. Maybe that very Finnair aircraft was going to take Jere away from him.
“Bojan, why you look so upset?”
“I know you are not going to stay here forever, but it’s just everyone who comes to my life always leaves.”
Jere hugged him with such tenderness it was almost too much
“I can come back, and you can come to me”, he said.
But it’s not the same, Bojan wanted to say. It’s not the same.
I don’t want you to come back as that means you have to leave first.
***
It had snowed again, even more than the last time. With very little wind, it had left all the trees with a pretty sugarcoating.
The plan Bojan came up with posed a non-zero chance of getting him fired. It probably wouldn’t, but if it did, he hoped it would be worth it.
The airport was constantly hiring new people, so he was confident he could get another job there.
This time of the year there were no terraces open to the clientele, but during the summer the café had outdoor seating. After preparing Jere’s lunch, Bojan cracked open the terrace door and scooped a bunch of snow into a disposable cup.
“You want to walk to the other wing of the terminal?” Bojan asked. They had done that before, so nothing unusual in that.
There, in front of a kitschy souvenir store with Idrija lace snowflakes in the window, Bojan dropped a lump of snow inside the back of Jere’s shirt in one shift move. The Finn let out a shriek and it took him a moment to figure out what had just happened.
“Watafak!”
Jere took off his sweatshirt and whoa, what a sight. Someone else’s attention might have been caught by the big tattoo, but Bojan was mesmerized by the beautiful form of his chest, smooth skin covering muscles that weren’t huge but well-defined.
That must not have escaped Jere, but the Finn also boasted great reflexes. He grabbed the cup with the rest of the snow and shoved some of it on Bojan’s face.
Some people passing by seemed confused by what was going on, but found the whole thing amusing.
Bojan took Jere’s shirt and wiped his face on it. He handed his own hoodie to the other who put it on. Secretly he really liked Jere wearing his clothes.
“Bojan, you are a bad person”, Jere grumbled. The Slovene gave him the bag with the food, which Jere started munching on. They sat down on a bench.
“Can you forgive me?” Bojan asked.
“Only if you give me a sandwich every day. Forever.”
After a few bites, he smiled and playfully ruffled Bojan’s hair.
“Okay, it was funny. Bojan, you are good at pranks.”
That felt like a very important compliment.
“I’m glad I finally found a place for hanging laundry”, Jere said. “Makes things much easier.”
“Where do you hang it?”
“Wheelchair room. It’s not locked.”
Jere grinned.
“Right”, Bojan said. “Well, you don’t have to wash my hoodie, you can just return it as is.”
“You are going to smell it, perv.”
“Maybe I am.”
A slice of bacon was about to fall off Bojan’s BLT and he dropped it into Jere’s mouth.
“Or maybe I keep it and smell it”, Jere said.
His phone buzzed several times in succession. A glance at the screen made Jere look like he was ready to smash the whole thing against the floor.
“Is it a girl?” Bojan asked without thinking about the implications of the gendering.
“No.”
Jere sounded disgruntled.
“Did you maybe come here with a girlfriend or boyfriend?”
“No!” Jere snapped. “And we are not talking about this.”
The possibility that he may have been in a relationship very recently didn’t sit quite right with Bojan. There was a frightening amount of feelings already and he didn’t want to be anyone’s rebound.
Was it even possible to have something serious with a guy you met while he was living at an airport? Maybe Bojan should have just dropped such aspirations. It was all ridiculous anyway and probably nothing like what Jere had in mind.
The Finn was quiet for a while, as if pondering whether to share something or not and apparently deciding not to. He put his hand on Bojan’s knee.
“My ex girlfriends never bring me a sandwich every day.”
“Well, if your girlfriend did that, people would think you are sexist as fuck.”
Jere burst into laughter.
“Bojan, you are so funny man. But you are right, have to have a boyfriend for that. And for putting snow in your shirt.”
He rested his head against Bojan’s chest and Bojan petted his hair.
Surely one could at least dream, right? The idea of having a boyfriend was quite new and a little scary, but so tempting.
***
It was a busy day, so Bojan’s lunch break was late and so was Jere’s sandwich. It was hard to concentrate on serving food to other people when he was just waiting to see Jere again. Or he could already see Jere who was waiting for him.
At least Bojan had a happy smile on for the clients, wishing them a good trip.
There was something different about Jere that day and it became clear as Bojan got closer. The Finn had put on makeup: eyeliner and mascara with a hint of eyeshadow. That really emphasized his eyes and was neatly applied, so it must have been something he did regularly.
He was absolutely gorgeous, to the point Bojan almost found it hard to look at him.
“You going partying?” Bojan asked. “On a date?”
“I wish. I’m trying to impress someone.”
Jere said it nonchalantly and removed the lid of his tea cup to smell the beverage before drinking it, which was somehow adorable. Bojan’s stomach felt jiggly.
“Someone here at the airport?” he asked.
“This really cute guy is working here. I hope maybe he thinks I’m pretty.”
His pupils were so large even in the daylight. He gazed straight into Bojan’s eyes and batted his lashes. Bojan could feel his cheeks flush hot.
“I think you are very pretty”, he whispered.
Jere looked so happy hearing it.
“He brings me sandwich every day, very good sandwiches. I wonder if he knows I like sausages, too.”
He was trying to keep a deadpan face, but failed and they both dissolved into giggles.
“Your pickup lines are terrible, but that works for some people, I guess”, Bojan said.
“I just need one people.”
Now it was just Bojan laughing as if that was the funniest thing anyone had ever said.
“Can we take a photo?” he asked and Jere seemed delighted at the request.
They snapped a selfie in front of the big windows, with a huge Airbus in the background. Those were for intercontinental flights, which Bojan had presumed he would never see taking off from his hometown, but sometimes things happened that you never thought possible.
It was a lovely picture. With Jere leaning against Bojan’s face, it looked like they were a couple.
“My Christmas elf looks so pretty here”, Jere gushed. “Your hair is beautiful.”
Warmth spread onto Bojan’s cheeks. The Santa hats weren’t great for keeping his hair fluffy, but Jere apparently didn’t care.
“Are you going to post that on Instagram?”
“Are you?” Jere asked back in a funny tone. “I don’t have Insta. Not really social media guy.”
Bojan was pretty sure he had seen the app on Jere’s phone, but whatever.
Something about the makeup really stuck in Bojan’s mind. Not just the gorgeous visual, but the way it hinted at Jere’s previous life. He still didn’t know what Jere did in life, whether he was unemployed or busting out his laptop for Teams meetings. Perhaps the makeup was a clue to some kind of performing.
And Bojan loved that photo.
***
Bojan was getting more courageous with his flirting, too. Writing Jere’s name on the cup and the wrapper felt like a sweet gesture, even if it was completely unnecessary. After some consideration, he added a heart after the name, which the other seemed to find endearing.
“You said you are not much of a social media guy, but maybe we could exchange phone numbers?” Bojan suggested.
“Maybe.”
Jere typed his number onto Bojan’s phone with a heart after his name, like the Slovene had scribbled on the wrapper. Bojan hit back by adding a three-heart emoji face to his own name on Jere’s phone.
These were just innocent little gestures and perhaps didn’t have anything to do with it, but somehow the mood had got much more flirtatious, even electric. Jere couldn’t take his eyes off him. It felt like he was devouring Bojan rather than his sandwich.
“Bojan, can I maybe get some dessert today?”
“Oh, we have cheesecake and brownies and this time of the year also gingerbread men.”
Jere rested his hand on Bojan’s and licked his lips.
“I’m thinking more something like a gingerbread man, but without gingerbread.”
Oh.
That came a little fast. Or maybe it wasn’t fast at all and hardly surprising either, but for a moment Bojan panicked. He wasn’t ready.
Then he glanced into Jere’s eyes and forgot all about that as the tightness in his stomach gave way to a tingling heat.
“Sure”, he said and Jere smiled.
“Follow me.”
Despite all the extremely obvious hints, Bojan wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t misread them until Jere popped a breathmint into his own mouth and offered one to him, as well.
This was not about patisserie.
Palms sweating and his whole body trembling, Bojan followed him, unsure where they were headed. There was a blur of different shops as Jere led them to the corner of the main atrium.
“Pretend you watch the planes but follow me still.”
This didn’t sound like anything good and possibly not even legal.
Then, they were between the corner and the huge Christmas tree, which was surrounded by large fake presents. No, Bojan thought. This couldn’t really be, even Jere wouldn’t do something as ridiculous as that.
And then the Finn pulled him down between two of the shiny gift-wrapped boxes and had him crawl inside the fake Christmas tree.