David: *feels that Matteo is waking up and stops stroking his hair for a moment* *hopes this didn't wake him up* *mumbles softly* Morning... *clears his throat because his voice still sounds hoarse from sleeping and when Matteo moves takes the opportunity to stretch for a short time before he wraps his arms around him and thus pulls him even closer* *makes a feel-good hum and mumbles smiling* Perfect! *has to grin and adds* As perfect as you can sleep on a sleeping pad and sleeping bag in an abandoned pool... but in any case much better than last night! *gives him a short kiss on the forehead* And you?

Matteo: *grumbles slightly and even stretches for a moment * Well... to be honest... the mattress is pretty hard... *then looks at him and grins slightly* But otherwise pretty good... *clears his throat a little and tilts his head* But we don't need another night like this, do we? *swallows and can taste his unbrushed teeth* I didn't even bring a toothbrush or anything...

David: *sighs when Matteo says they don't need another night like this* *knows that he can't hide here forever and that he will have to leave the pool at some point, but somehow feels a little panicky at the thought of having to meet others besides Matteo* *tries to buy a little time* Well, I could lend you some toothpaste... maybe you can brush with your finger... for like a week or two?* *grins* And maybe we can file for hot water... and order a comfortable bed and a kitchen... *hugs him tight like he could hold him here with that and hides his face* *groans* I don't want to go out there! I don't want to see anyone from our year...

Matteo: *looks at him scrutinizingly when he suggests two weeks* *can imagine that he's starting to feel the flight instinct again* *then laughs a little at his suggestions* And where would we order that? From that nice guard and his dog? *hugs him back, but then moves a little to look at him* Hey... you don't have to see anyone from our year... we'll just go to my place, because there’s already warm water and a bed... and from our year no one except maybe Mia, but she's probably at Alex's anyway... *tilts his head slightly and grins* Tell me a hot shower doesn't sound tempting...

David: *would like to reply that it's not about meeting anyone from their year, but rather about leaving this shelter here and face reality again: his missed sport exam, the question of whether he has to repeat his abi because of this and has go to school for an extra year, where everyone looks at him funny again, the stares of his classmates - and if not at school, then just at random meetings and all the other things he could successfully suppress for almost two days* *but he refrains from replying, because on the one hand he knows that Matteo is right, even if he can barely begin to understand what he is actually afraid of, and on the other hand because he also knows that somehow it has to go on and he has to face whatever he has to face - and since he decided yesterday not to run anymore, he will have to face the fear of everything that lies ahead of him, for better or worse* *returns Matteo's look and shrugs his shoulders* *says not very convinced* It does... *breaks away from him and sits up* *runs his hand over his face and through his hair and fights against this stupid flight instinct in his mind* *would like to get up and pack up the stuff, but somehow isn't able to*

Matteo: *watches him and sees how hard he is thinking* *gives him time to sort himself out* *sees him sitting up and slowly does the same* *hears his one-word answer and swallows* *doesn't want to rush him, just wants to be there for him* *sees how beat up he looks and reaches for his hand* Hey... it doesn't have to be right now... *squeezes his hand lightly* We can practice some swimming before we go out into the open sea, okay?

David: *doesn't look up as Matteo grabs his hand, but closes his eyes for a moment* *smiles slightly at his words and nods* *mumbles* Okay... *leans his back against the edge of the pool and remains silent for a moment* *feels like he's not really awake yet and has too many thoughts in his head for this early hour, thoughts he has to sort out first* *looks at Matteo and tries to convince himself that maybe this time it will be really different because Matteo is there - that maybe it does make a difference to not having to face problems alone* *hasn't really had this experience yet and therefore has his difficulties to be confident* *keeps quiet for a moment and reviews yesterday* *says then eventually hesitantly says* You said yesterday... that there were... that there were people who stood up for me... that they were at your house... *sighs once and then asks* What did they say? *hesitates and then asks* What were their reactions after the outing? *presses his lips together and asks himself if he really wants to know* *thinks that it's probably good to know what he's getting into before he has to face the people at the school and that Matteo might have heard something* *has left the Abi-Whatsapp group immediately after the video and therefore didn't hear anything at all*

Matteo: *keeps quiet with David* *but only finds it pleasant for a short time because he can literally feel the wheels turning inside of David* *then looks at him as he talks* Mmmm... *then thinks about it briefly* Well I can only talk about my friends... I left the stupid Abi group... but they were all very... eager *smiles slightly* Kiki wanted to start a petition and Carlos wanted to stick a middle finger on Neuhaus' door...they all just wanted to help, there were no bad words spoken... Jonas got a bit political, but he always is... *lightly squeezes his hand* They've all got your back... the only thing you can blame them for is overeagerness, here look… *grabs his phone and shows David the pictures with the trans flags*

David: *squeezes his lips together and nods as Matteo says that he has left the Abigroup* *doesn't even wants to imagine what the reaction were like there* *then hears about his friends and raises his eyebrows skeptically* Oh, God, they didn't, did they? *hopes they didn't actually pull any of that off, doesn't want to be the center of attention and draw even more attention to him* *then hears that they've all got his back and is quite astounded by it* *leans closer to Matteo so he can see what's on his phone* *sees all the pictures and doesn't know what to say* *thinks that on one hand it's really nice that they show such solidarity - he has never experienced something like this before - on the other hand he is a little embarrassed that they make such a fuss because of him - it seems a little bit too much* *briefly hides his face on Matteo's shoulder in shame and mumbles* Oh, man... *then keeps looking at the pictures and realizes* You don't look very enthusiastic in the pictures...

Matteo: *shakes his head at his first question* Nah, I told them that maybe they should ask you first... *then grins slightly as David hides his face and briefly kisses his head* *then laughs slightly at his statement* Nah...to be honest, it was a bit too much for me... but they were all so full of energy so I didn't just want to leave... and I didn't know what you would think... and well like I said, sometimes they just overshoot the mark a bit... *considers telling him about the Whatsapp group for a minute but drops it* *was going to discreetly change the title there anyway* And you know… I left the Abi group because two guys got on my nerves… but what I read there until then was mostly how shitty Neuhaus is...

David: *exhales with relieve when he hears that his friends didn’t do anything like that and mumbles* Puh… *continues listening to Matteo and has to smile slightly because he again feels understood by Matteo* *says quietly* They certainly mean well, but it really is a bit too much. *has to get used to the thought that maybe Matteo is right and this time it may be different than at his last school - that there isn’t only Matteo at his side but that there may actually be a handful of other people having his back* *then hears Matteo’s comment about the Abi group and frowns skeptically* Neuhaus? *can’t understand that at all* I thought… *lowers his gaze and continues quietly* I thought there would be similar comments like before…

Matteo: *first nods and then shakes his head* Nah, as far as I have seen… I mean sure there were a few idiots but there probably always are… mostly I’ve seen comments about what an asshole Neuhaus is… and Jonas gave Steffen shit for recording the video in the first place… *looks at him and slightly tilts his head* You are not alone in this, okay?

David: *nods and rests his head against the pool wall when Matteo says that there are always idiots who say stupid things and also knows that this has nothing to do with him or being transgender* *knows that he can’t expect /everyone/ to understand but the way Matteo describes it, it seems to actually be a large part of their year that somehow understands* *smiles when Matteo tells him that Jonas gave Steffen shit* *notices that Matteo is looking at him and turns his head to return the gaze* *smiles at his words and even when he still notices a small insecure voice protesting in his mind, a much larger part of him now believes in what Matteo says* Okay… *takes a deep breath and then says* Okay… that was a good swimming practice… *is actually feeling a little more comfortable at the thought of leaving the pool today* *hesitantly bends forward a little and gives Matteo a short kiss on the mouth* *leans his forehead against his*

Matteo: *smiles slightly when he says okay* *laughs then when he says that it was a good swimming practice* I’m glad… *kisses him back and puts his arm around his shoulder* *reaches with the other hand for David’s and laces their fingers together* *hesitates a bit but then asks* How long have you known?

David: *slides down a bit and leans against Matteo when he puts an arm around his shoulder* *looks at their entwined fingers and gently strokes the back of Matteo's hand with his thumb* *closes his eyes and relaxes* *hears Matteo's question after some time and contemplates how he should start best* *finally talks about it and smiles at the end when Matteo says that he is good the way he is* *grins slightly and finally says* You're not that shitty either... *pulls their still entwined hands to his lips and presses a kiss on Matteo's fingers*

Matteo: *grins and gives him a proper kiss* *then pulls back a little and pffts slightly* No that shitty? You probably mean the best! *laughs and squabbles with him for a bit* How is it going, Mr. Lifeguard, ready to take a step into the sea and towards a warm shower?

David: *laughs when Matteo reacts so late to his "not that shitty" and squabbles with him* *eventually gives up and falls back on the sleeping pad* *looks up at Matteo with a grin but then gets a little more serious at Matteo's question* *takes a deep breath and shrugs* *actually doesn't know, but thinks he won't know unless he tries* It's worth a try, right? *straightens up and reluctantly reaches for his jacket* *is actually a little nervous* *looks back at Matteo and smiles slightly* *knows that it is going to be less hard with him and begins packing his bag*

Matteo: *nods* It's worth a try... *gets up and helps David pack his things* Hey, as soon as it gets too much we'll retreat, okay? *grabs the sleeping pad with the sleeping bag rolled inside it and waits for David to shoulder his bag*

*they arrive at the flatshare around 11 am and Matteo unlocks the door for them* Helloo? *hopes that nobody is there but then Mia walks out of the kitchen: "Hey... oh hey, David"!* *notices how Mia throws him a scrutinizing look, but then smiles* Hi, we wanted to... umm... take a shower... is everyone done in the bathroom? *notices Mia's nod: "Yes... everyone's done..."* *notices how she smiles once more and how she then disappears toward her room*