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Matteo idly stirs his spatula in the pot, with its contents simmering, and drool-inducing smell waffing in the air in the kitchen. The television is on in the living room, and he could hear Hans muffled voices through several layers of doors and walls, presumably talking to someone on the phone or something along those lines. The radio - the one David brought over a few months ago is playing some latest pop songs in the corner on the table with its volume turned down, and Matteo sort of half-heartedly sways to the beat of it while watching over his food.
It is all part of his routine now - going to classes in the university, working at the deli a few streets down from the flatshare, then either cooking here at home or heading over to the Schreibner flat for dinner and going to bed - with entertainment, differing class times and just life thrown into the mix, but that is the general idea. His life is more structured these days and he can see clarity in it.
Possibly the best part of it is…
His train of thought is disturbed by the sound of his front door unlocking, the particular way of it being unlocked and the sound of keys fumbling as the door opens makes him certain of who it is, as a few seconds later he sees David walking past the doorway to the kitchen, waving at him quickly as he walks past, presumably to put down his stuff and get cleaned before coming back to Matteo later, so he just continues with his pot, scattering in some seasoning when he thinks it is time and continue stirring, until a pair of arms snake their way around his waist.
So yes, to continue that thought, the best part of it is the ability to spend time with David more or less every day, as they would have dinner together and go to bed together most of the time, and these are probably the highlights of Matteo’s days, without fail, every time it happens. He sets his spatula aside and turns down the stove before turning around to face David, getting a kiss in greeting that is customary by now.
“How’s class today?” David asks, as he pushes Matteo’s hair out of his eyes, then pulling away to go rifle through the fridge for something to drink, settling on a juice box from Matteo’s shelf that is definitely bought by David from the last time they went grocery shopping.
“The usual. You know my Fridays are boring for this semester. Boring classes and a few hours at the deli. A bit tired. Thank fuck it is Friday.” He shrugs, snatching the juice box to take a sip when David sets it down on the counter. David does not even bat an eyelash at that. “How’s your day?” He returns the question.
“Samey. Eviscerated the director I talked about last time in film criticism class but otherwise nothing too fun. Just a boring afternoon running errands.” He pokes his head in the direction of the pot instead. “What have you got going? It smells amazing.”
That reminds him of the food he is cooking even if he has a snack of a boyfriend standing in front of him and turns back as well to stir the food once more with his spatula. “It’s goulash today. Found a new recipe to work off of at work today so we’ll see how well this goes.”
He listens to David talking about some upcoming plans with making some shorts for his projects for some class in the upcoming weeks, as well as his grumblings about not having the best plot idea in mind and all that, until David trails off when he can tell Matteo is about to start plating the food without him even saying a word, just that his retelling of his schedule sort of becomes a jumble of dates and time as David’s attention gets diverted to getting the plates and helping Matteo plate, and sort of losing track of what he was originally saying. It is not too consequential nonetheless, as Matteo knows that eventually when it comes around, he would be spending a lot of time talking to David about it anyway, and in part that is Matteo encouraging him and convincing him that whatever that he was working on was not as shit as he thought.
The dinner routine is not significantly different than usual, as David is by now a more-than-common sight at the flat, with Vicky remarking that the two of them probably took ‘codependency’ to a whole new level, while Hans sometimes complaining about being single at the sight of the two of them and all that, though Matteo also notices there seems to be something else going on with Hans and David, as the two, at times seem to be sort of communicating without actually saying anything. Before he can decipher whatever is going on, David seems to notice and for the umpteeth time compliments Matteo’s cooking, saying that it is the best goulash he has ever had, something Matteo could use it against him next time they are with Laura. Not caring too much, he proceeds with stuffing his face with his own cooking, before they all move to the couch for a movie to watch for Friday evening, none of them particularly concerned by the need to be a person anywhere early in the morning during the weekends. Of course he ends up half on top of David when they all settle down.
Unsurprisingly, Matteo manages to fall asleep not long into the movie, burying himself straight into the side of David, curling up against him under the blanket that they have wrapped around them. He is not too sure how much time has elapsed when he slowly wakes back up, seeing that the lighting around the room has been dimmed somewhat, though he could still hear the movie playing in the background, while someone is talking to one another.
There is also a hand - David’s, running through his hair in a rhythmic manner and with a light pressure that makes him comfortable, and even a lull that makes it possible for him to fall back asleep any moment in the warmth of his boyfriend’s lap. As he contemplates nuzzling his face in his boyfriend’s stomach to get even more comfortable, he hears the sound of someone talking that feels oddly familiar and not like it is from whatever film that is playing on screen. It takes a few moments for him to register, but that is actually David and Hans talking to each other.
“Have you talked to him about it yet?” He hears Hans asking.
David’s voice vibrates around him, even as he is obviously whispering. “No. Maybe tomorrow. I have been looking around this afternoon and got some basic ideas about it.”
“So you’re going to do it?”
“Yeah I’ll like that. I think he would too.”
Before he could process the thought any further, the comfort of David’s warmth - he’s always like a heater, and the lull of his voice and his fingers in his hair pulls him back to sleep.
The next time he wakes up, David is trying to maneuver him back to his bedroom. His head is resting in the crook of David’s neck, and his feet are sort of moving as they stagger along the short distance from the couch to his bed. Almost as if on autopilot, he starts kissing David’s neck, eliciting a surprised gasp out of him, before Matteo gets his nose pinched by his boyfriend with a muttered “ cheeky bastard ” as they continue moving to bed. As soon as he gets dumped onto the bed and he gets curled up against David, he returns to the blissful realm of sleep, feeling the most secure here of all places in the world.
By the time he is up, David is already awake and sitting up on the bed with his sketchbook in hand, while Matteo’s arms somehow found their way around one of David’s thighs, and he conveniently kisses David’s waist at the spot where his shirt is slightly riding up such that the skin is exposed.
That gesture is enough to garner the attention of his boyfriend, who sets aside his sketchbook and turns to look at Matteo. His smile is a little dopey as he looks at Matteo, reaching out with one hand to push his hair out of his face. “Good mor-”
His bedroom door crashes open and Hans jumps through the door as he starts talking in a loud and dramatic volume that is absolutely unnecessary in a flat of this size.
“My butterflies! You are awake!”
Matteo hides his face in David’s side while David groans. “Jesus, Hans.”
“Oops, did I interrupt something?” He says with raised eyebrows.
“Just leave us alone Hans, it’s Saturday.” He yells from where he is next to David.
The bedroom door closes quietly behind Hans a few seconds later, as David snorts at how comical the situation is.
David plays with Matteo’s hair for a few moments, seemingly contemplating something, before looking Matteo in the eye again.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“You think a lot.” Matteo jokes, which earns him a pull of his hair.
“Ass. I was going to ask if we want to move in together.”
Matteo is left speechless for a second, though it should not really be anywhere near surprising given how they live in each other’s pocket anyway, and how, in some sense, they practically live with each other anyway. But he gets it. The idea of them actually coming home to each other, in a space of their own, is very appealing.
“Just the two of us?”
“Yeah. Would you like that?”
It is a no brainer really. Slowly but surely, David has become home to Matteo, where he finds happiness, warmth, comfort and love. As clichéd as it sounds, home is where the heart is, and Matteo’s heart has been with David for a very long time. It is the same for David, he thinks, that David no longer runs - not from him, but to him, that whenever they are together, everything else that is going on becomes secondary. They may still have their own issues with life that has always swirled around them, but being together makes everything a bit more manageable, makes life a bit brighter and vibrant, and a bit safer in each other’s arms. Having a space of their own, without the interruption of sisters and roommates, without the obstacle of schedules misaligning, for that they call the same place home, is probably what they are bound for anyway. There is probably nothing more Matteo could have wished for at this stage of his life.
“I’ve dreamt of that for way too many times.”
David’s smile lights up the room more, if that is even possible, and Matteo’s heart flutters at the prospect of what they have just agreed to. Just for this morning, though, that can wait, as he pulls David back down so he is level with him. Being lazy and cuddling in bed right now is much more important. David goes willingly, letting Matteo roll half on top of him.
“Give me a kiss, you ass. Where is my good morning kiss?” He demands.
It is sweet. Probably even sweeter than usual, if that is even more possible, full of promises, imagination and anticipation for the future that is still yet to come.
They still have all the time in the world.