The first thing he noticed when he entered the café was the comfortable atmosphere. The bell above the blue painted door gave off a faint ding to announce him. Colourful furniture made the room feel vibrant and buzzing with a calming energy and a barista was whistling a happy tune while making some coffee for a young lady in a flowery dress.
Matt breathed in the air that was surprisingly fresh and smelled of coffee and flowers. He took another less aimless look around until his eyes focused on Daniel who was sitting to the left of the entrance in a corner by the window and drew the little purple flower that stood on the table in front of him. He still seemed small even though Matt was sure that he had grown, the blonde curls fell into his forehead hiding his expression and he bit down on his lip in concentration as he looked from the paper to the tiny plant and back again. Matt smiled brightly and his heart leapt with joy as he made his way over to him.
Sure, they had stayed in touch but the last year of school had been so stressful that neither of them had had the time to come visit the other. As Daniel had predicted his father's reaction hadn't been the best and as a result Daniel and his mother had moved in with his aunt. It had made him switch towns and that way it had been over a year since they had last seen each other. Their long talks on the phone, frequent messages and handwritten letters were no match to meeting him in person, holding his hand, kissing him. It had only made Matt miss him more. Now finally they could see each other again in person.
Daniel was so absorbed by his drawing that he didn't notice Matt until he stood right next to the table and watched him grace the paper with delicate lines.
"Oh hey!" He put down his pencil and jumped from the bench. The small green cushion he had been sitting on slowly fell to the ground as he slung his arms around Matt and hugged him tightly.
"Hey there," Matt laughed and hugged him back equally enthusiastically. Neither of them really wanted to let go but when they finally did break the hug and sat down Matt took the chance to take a closer look at Daniel. Of course he had gotten older but he was still surprised by the little wrinkle around the corner of his mouth being proof of the many times that Daniel must have laughed. A few really short hairs were poking out of his chin as well but other than that he didn't really seem to have changed much at all.
"So, how is it going? Did you do great in all the exams as expected?" he asked and was greeted with the biggest grin he had ever seen on Daniel's face as he pulled out a white envelope from his backpack. Matt wasn't surprised that it still was the same backpack that Daniel had taken to school with him every single day since grade four.
"I got accepted to Oxford," Daniel exclaimed happy and waved the envelope in front of Matt's face who took it from him to read the letter of acceptance himself.
"Wow, that's amazing!" he laughed as his eyes were flying over the page and he felt overwhelmed by the joy of not only getting to meet Daniel again but also seeing him so happy and achieving the dreams he had had for a very long time. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks! It's for physics. I'm really getting to go there. I still can't believe it. Can you?"
"Oh, I can," Matt said and handed the letter back to Daniel. "You always were the best!"
Daniel still grinned widely. "My mum and my aunt threw a little party for me and made a cake and all that. I feel like they were more excited about it than I was at first. I really couldn't believe it. It feels so unreal."
Matt chuckled. "Well, you better believe it. The semester starts soon, doesn't it?"
Daniel nodded excitedly. "Yeah it does. It worries me a little. I'm suddenly not sure if I'm ready to go there and live with other students and study physics. At freaking Oxford. I'm not ready to be an adult yet."
They both laughed until they were interrupted by the waiter's friendly voice.
"I'm sure you'll do great, Danny," he said and took the little notepad and a pencil out of his pocket. "What can I get you?"
Matt looked from the waiter to Daniel and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Danny, huh? You know each other?"
Daniel nodded. "Yeap, he is my friend. This is Jim. Jim, this is Matt. I told you about him."
"Nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you," Jim said and firmly shook Matt's hand. He was tall, probably as tall as Matt, had black hair that he had combed back neatly and his body was toned so well that Matt wondered if he was also in the sports team of his school.
"Hopefully not too much that would make you permanently dislike me."
Jim laughed. "He left out the compromising details, I guess."
"I'm glad."
"I think you would want to try our hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows?" Jim guessed and Matt could see it in Daniel's amused eyes that he had told the waiter about his favourite choice of hot beverage. Matt nodded.
"He also wants to study at Oxford. It would be really cool if that would work out," Daniel said.
Jim giggled. "Yeah, but I can't afford the tuition. Even with financial aid. So please tip me a lot," he joked, winked at Matt and then made his way back to the counter where he fooled around with the barista while helping him make the hot chocolate.
"It's nice that you made friends here," Matt said and even though he felt a bit of jealousy rummage through his insides he was also genuinely happy for him.
Daniel nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he is really cool. I was worried that I wouldn't find any friends here because everyone else already knew each other and they would probably not feel the need to befriend someone new just for one more year of school but he just invited me to everything and introduced me to all of his friends so yeah. It's been an exciting last year of school. How about you?"
"Hmm, I mean I already told you. I was the one who got bullied at our school after you left but I deserved it so whatever," Matt laughed and shot a quick glance at some people walking by the window. They seemed to be caught up in their hectic every day life which stood in contrast to the quietness inside the café. He took a deep breath. "I've actually decided to not go to university yet."
"Oh? Why not?" Daniel asked and looked at him surprised.
"I didn't really know what to study and I found a really interesting organisation where I can work so I'm just going to take a gap year before I go to uni."
He thanked Jim for the hot chocolate as it was placed in front of him in a big mug with colourful dots and a happy face on it and smiled at the little heart that was drawn in chocolate syrup onto the whipped cream.
"What is that organisation doing?" Daniel asked curiously as he sipped from his green tea only to realise that it was still too hot to drink.
"It's an organisation that is trying to educate and spread awareness about bullying in schools. I already sent my application to them and they accepted me. So I will be working with the team that is also going to schools to talk especially about and to students who are gay or trans or whatever. I think it'll be nice. And that way I can maybe finally bring something good into the world. I don't know," he explained and shrugged his shoulders.
"You want to atone for your sins?" Daniel joked and Matt noticed his hand resting invitingly close to his own.
"Maybe?" Matt laughed, "I guess I just don't want anybody else to be as stupid as I was and I want gay kids to know that it's alright and that there's nothing wrong with them."
He hesitantly reached out to Daniel's hand and gently, questioningly caressed its back with his thumb. Daniel smiled widely and hooked his ring finger into Matt's. "That sounds like an honourable reason to do that."
They stayed like that for a moment, Matt staring longingly at their hands wishing he could intertwine their fingers further while he felt Daniel's gaze on him.
"So, uhm, are you and Jim –" he mumbled but his voice drowned out before he could finish his question.
"No," Daniel assured him. "He is cute and I think he likes me but – I kind of didn't want to start anything in the last year of school. It would have been too stressful."
"I see," Matt said, noticing the jealousy much stronger now, and tried to pull his hand away but Daniel held on to it tightly still only with his ring finger.
"And also I didn't want to start anything new before giving you another chance," he continued and when Matt raised his head he was met with Daniel's gentle and loving stare that he had missed so much over the past months.
"You really think I deserve a second chance?" Matt asked and chuckled nervously. His mind only calmed down when Daniel nodded determined and finally intertwined their fingers further. The skin of his hand was still as soft as ever and Matt was overwhelmed by the dancing butterflies in his stomach that he felt as he looked at their hands.
"Most people deserve a second chance. And you certainly do," Daniel promised and closed his other hand around the back of Matt's. "You could come to visit me in the dorms on the weekends when you aren't in schools. We'll find a way to make it work."
Matt smiled at him gratefully, allowing his feelings for the other to run free. "That would be amazing."
For another moment they just stared at each other, enjoying being together, the smell of the pretty flower between them and the warmth of their hands. Then Matt cleared his throat.
"Well, we still have to celebrate that you got into Oxford," he insisted. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't celebrate that with you? I need to buy you flowers or a cake, too, or something."
Daniel laughed happily, Matt didn't know if it was because he called himself his boyfriend or because he reminded him again that he was going to Oxford but it didn't matter either way. All that mattered to him was seeing Daniel happy.
"I know something else that you could give to me instead of flowers," Daniel said and smirked. Matt raised an eyebrow and played dumb. "And what is that?"
"A kiss?" he suggested and Matt watched how faint hues of red crept onto Daniel's cheeks as he shyly looked down at the edge of the table cloth that he was rolling between his thumb and index finger.
"I think we can do that," Matt agreed as he took a quick look, finding their corner of the café relatively empty so that maybe no one would notice a quick kiss except maybe for Jim who was quickly glancing over to them every now and then. He wouldn't mind.
A part of his brain told him that it was incredibly cheesy as he leaned over the table and reached for Daniel's face, putting a finger under the his chin so that he could raise his head and look deeply into his eyes. But that part was quickly silenced by a wave of emotions that washed over him as he closed the small space between their faces and firmly yet gently pressed his lips against Daniel's.
"I love you," Daniel whispered into the kiss as Matt slid his hand up to cup Daniel's flushed cheeks. And again it felt right. Just right.