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Mats is not a geek. (He is.)
Mats does not have predominantly excellent marks. (He does.) And Mats definitely does not go breaking dishes and whatever he spots when he doesn’t get an excellent mark. (He totally, totally does.)
Mats doesn’t care about being interrupted during one of his night study sessions. (Ugh, well, he does.)
So, when the fire alarm goes off at 3am on a Monday morning he is absolutely ok with it and totally not pissed off. (Ok, alright, maybe a biiit…)
‘Who is the fucking fucktard who is fucking smoking in his fucking room fucking again, fuck…’ (And Mats doesn’t swear. At all.)
He grabs his black leather jacket and hastily zips his dark-blue jeans up before rushing down the stairs of the dorm, yawning loudly. Once he is out, he smirks smugly to himself, realising it’s freaking cold and most of the students are just in their pyjamas. Maybe the nerdy studying at 3am and the coffee-addiction isn’t so bad, after all.
Mats goes on smirking and proudly humming some random song under his nose before a fresh smell of mint, flowers, and is that honey? catches his nostrils. He looks up and around, but his senses do not betray him and he finally spots the source. Gulps.
Mats does not care about attraction. (It is not ‘chemistry’, fuck you, stupid and senseless romantics. Chemistry is- is-… is oxygen and hydrogen and calcium, right? He is a chemistry student, for fuck’s sake, he should know.)
Mats does not recognise that person. (Ding-dong, wrong, wrong, wrong.)
Mats is not in love. (…)
No, he is not. (………..)
Ok, maybe he is. But just a tiny, tiny bit.
(.)
The person notices him as well and his light-brown eyes (Mats makes a mental note to stop his mind from deciphering all the nuances and shadows in those eyes) sparkle slightly under the feeble street lamp. He tries to smile and his lips curve slightly up before he yawns and looks down. Mats notices pinkness covering the man’s cheeks. Mats’s legs don’t even bother listening to him.
‘Hey…’ Mats breathes out as he finds himself standing closer (it’s not too close, shut up) to the other one. (He might have stalked him before and he might know his name already. Depends who’s asking.)
‘Hey…’ the person yawns and Mats should not find it utterly adorable but-… ‘Fuck, I was sleeping and dreaming and-… ugh…’
Mats smiles as the other one yawns again and shivers in his blue pyjamas. All of a sudden, Mats feels too hot (hot damn – Mats, you should stop listening to Bruno Mars) and coughs, sensing his own cheeks turning pink. His fingers start nervously playing with the hem of his leather jacket.
‘Um-… Are you-…’ Mats coughs again, ‘Do you-… Do you cold…’
Great, Mats. Summa cum laude for nothing. Such a perfect sentence structure. Atta boy.
The other one shivers again but shakes his head and mutters a barely heard ‘no’. Looks down again.
‘It’s okay. I am tough,’ he sniffs under his nose.
‘I know you are, Be-…’ Mats freezes and the other one looks up at him with wide eyes. Mats coughs once again, ‘Because you look like a tough guy. But still…’
Mats takes his jacket off and steps closer (try to breathe, Mats, try to breathe), wrapping the man with it.
‘I-…’ the man’s cheeks turn red now, ‘There was no need. I’ll bake you cookies tomorrow, to repay you.’
Mats starts laughing and the man is confused for awhile but then his lips curve into a wide smile and Mats-… Mats has seen more beautiful things in his life. (Nope, he has not.)
‘Benedikt,’ the man finally stretches his hand at Mats. And it’s not like Mats has been waiting for this exact moment for the past… um, um, 10 months? Yeah, he is that lost.
‘Mats,’ Mats hesitantly shakes Benedikt’s hand and it’s warm and soft and makes Mats’s head spin.
‘I-…’ Benedikt chuckles quietly, ‘I kinda know.’
‘Hm?’
‘I know who you are. Mats Hummels.’
There is a slight pause after that and Mats can clearly hear Benedikt gulping nervously opposite to him. Benedikt shrugs.
‘You’re a genius, everyone knows you.’
‘And you’re a liar,’ Mats clicks his tongue, ‘I know I am not so popular around uni.’
‘Define popular. Because, if you ask Cathy or Adriana, you are one hella gorgeous piece of ass they’d like to-… um…’ Benedikt’s face turns crimson red, ‘-to… yeah… you know.’
‘Hm, I don’t.’ (Oh, he does.) Mats smirks and folds his arms across his chest.
‘You and I have the same taste in books, do you know?’ Benedikt decides to change the topic and Mats’s smirk goes wider.
‘Yep, I do,’ Mats nods, ‘The same way I know you go to the library at 10am and leave at 1pm to grab a biiig Subway.’
‘You know me too…’ Benedikt breathes out and chuckles nervously, looking at his toes once again, ‘This is awkward.’
‘It is,’ Mats shrugs and looks around. Sleepy people everywhere. For once, he wants this drill to last like-… forever, ‘You know what’s even more awkward, Benni?’
Benedikt feels his heart skip two-three beats at the nickname and he melts into a revealing smile. Mats pauses for awhile, trying to capture every single wrinkle and mole and-… Shakes his head.
‘That I’ve known you for 10 months and yet, we needed a fire alarm to meet properly.’
Benni continues smiling and Mats responds with a blushing smirk.
‘It looks better on you, by the way,’ Benni taps the jacket on his shoulders, ‘It’s a bit too wide for me.’
‘Everything looks good on you,’ Mats spurts out and curses himself mentally for his sudden outburst, ‘Besides that Schalke jersey you adore wearing. God, no.’
Benni laughs loudly and Mats is absolutely calm. (His heart will rip off his chest at this very second.)
‘I’d like to say that BVB yellow looks hideous on you but damn, maybe Cathy and Adriana are right,’ Mats’s mischievous smirk makes Benni realise what he’s just said.
‘Is that so?’
Someone shouts that the dorm is ready and everyone can go back to their rooms. Benni flashes a toothy smile and winks to Mats before disappearing in the crowd. Mats tries to take advantage of his own height and to spot Benni’s blue pyjamas but unsuccessfully. Yep, there we go, another 10 months of longing to come. Hurray.
Mats gets back to his room at 3.36am and he doesn’t want to study any more. He tries tugging himself under the bedsheets but even the sleep is not coming. Decides to drink a cup of milk but notices it has expired. The second when he puffs loudly and tries closing his eyes for the ninth time, he hears a quiet knock on his door. Springs up and immediately opens the door. Maybe…
Mats lets out a shaky breath as Benni stands right there, with Mats’s jacket in hand and a shining smile plastered on that beautiful face. (Ok, Mats has to admit that Benni is beautiful. Too beautiful. The most beautiful. Sigh.)
‘I think you forgot that,’ Benni whispers and Mats makes a gesture for him to come inside. Benni nods and does so, throwing the jacket on Mats’s bed and looking around, ‘Neat and spotless. Just as I thought – a nerd and a freak.’
Mats shrugs, ‘What can I say. That’s me.’
‘What can I say…’ Benni comes closer and flashes yet another smile. Mats wonders how is it even possible for a person to be this shiny and flawless at 4am, ‘My taste for men has always been strange.’
Mats gulps and Benni chuckles before coming even closer. His breath lingers over Mats’s Adam apple as Benni looks down again, biting his lower lip.
‘Bad taste, then…’ Mats’s own breath moistens Benni’s soft golden hair. Benni looks up and their eyes meet just centimetres away before both of them melting into reciprocal smiles. Benni spots a chemistry book open on Mats’s desk and smirks.
‘Studying?’
‘At 4am? No,’ Mats tries to sound as nonchalant as possible. Benni giggles.
‘Hm… Then, what do you do at 4am?’
Mats licks his lips before leaning forwards and whispering at Benni’s lips, ‘That, Benedikt Höwedes, I would gladly show you…’
They don’t kiss. (Well, maybe, they do.)