To say Joba's next door neighbor is weird is an understatement. He's not sure if he finds him strange or just incredibly questionable. It's just the fact that he periodically hears a noise like a wolf's howl from the other side of his wall and he's sure that the guy has never left his house to walk a dog. Or left alone at all, which is strange.
He hears a lot of things, since the walls are quite thin, including constant shuffling and sometimes just plain noise, almost as if the guy is messing up things in his apartment for fun. Joba actually knocked a few times, once to bring a housewarming gift (a plate of cookies that he'd made himself, as it's the only thing he knows how to make) and to introduce himself, and twice more to ask about the noise that's been coming from his apartment. He offered to help unpack, too, but Matt just thanked him and told him he was gonna be okay. He noticed that the brunette was pretty quiet towards him, and from what he saw, standing in front of the door where he could peek into the apartment, it was pretty messy - the floor especially.
There were clothes strewn everywhere, only occasionally arranged in neat piles. Turntables and speakers and loads of cables lied all around the floor and were gathering dust in some corners. At first glance, the state of the apartment seemed due to the fact that he was still unpacking, but because it'd been weeks since he moved in, that wasnt likely. Joba definitely questioned that, but he let it go and only ever asked about the noise those two times. He thinks Matt will be okay.
Sometime after Joba had last talked to Matt, he wanted to see him again, but not to complain about noise this time. He just wanted to spend time with the boy - get to know him better. After a while of beating himself up, asking himself whether it was creepy or strange that he wanted to hang out with Matt again for absolutely no reason, he manages to ask him and they agree to hang out at 6.
—
Joba and Matt had been out skating together the entire evening which had eventually melted into the early hours of the morning. They dragged themselves up the stairs at Joba's apartment building at around 3 a.m. Matt was incredibly tired; Joba not so much. They'd agreed that a sleepover would be fun, but they didn't plan on coming back this late, so it doesn't really work as well as it would've when they were wide awake. Still, they're in Joba's apartment now, shoes taken off at the door.
When Joba walks back into the room to tell Matt that he has spare bedsheets for him, the other boy has already fallen asleep sitting on the couch. Joba stares for a second, he admittedly finds it cute how the brunette's beanie has slipped a little, short strands of fluffy brown hair peeking out from under it. Matt's mouth is slightly parted, revealing small, sharp teeth at the corners. As much as Joba hates to wake him, he knows his couch is horrible to sleep on, so he can't let Matt do that to himself. He lightly shakes the boy's shoulder, crouching down a little, and meets Matt's fluttering ones eyes.
"Hey, Matt," Joba says, quietly. "Sleep in my bed if you want, okay?"
The smaller boy nods. He seems a little irritated, but he recognizes the voice as Joba's, so he knows he can trust him. He sits up, but before he gets the chance to get onto his feet, he's softly being scooped up into Joba's arms, carried through the apartment, and set down on the bed.
"Do you need a shirt or something? To sleep in, I mean," Joba asks, pointing towards his closet. "Or do you wanna keep your stuff on?"
"Can I.. uh.. do you have a hoodie I could wear? Don't like sleeping in shirts. Gets cold." Matt mumbles, taking his eyes off of Joba for a second and looking around the room, familiarizing himself with the posters on the walls and the lavender paint.
Joba hands him a red hoodie, which he takes and pulls over his head. Matt sheds the beanie, too, after pulling the hood up. He crawls underneath the covers, pulling them up to his chin, and taking a moment to breathe. He's already half asleep again, but when Joba is about to leave and asks if Matt needs a light on at night, he pays attention. He sees Joba's sillhouette in the doorframe, illuminated by the light in the hallway behind him.
"Can you- um... stay here? Please," Matt asks, his voice small. He doesn't want to make it weird for the both of them, but he asks Joba anyway. "That's stupid, sorry. Forget it." He's embarrassed, and pulls the covers closer to his nose, turning and breaking eye contact with Joba.
Joba has forgotten how to breathe. "Oh, no, of course." He steps back into the room, leaving the door cracked. "It's not weird at all. I don't mind," he smiles a little as he climbs under the covers with Matt, who is starting to drift off to sleep again.
They lay there for a few moments, just facing eachother for a while. Joba shifts under the covers, and notices that Matt seems to be asleep already. He admires the soft curves of his face in the moonlight from the window, and as he falls asleep he dreams of peppering soft kisses all over Matt's freckles.
—
When Joba wakes up the next morning, he has to leave for work. His alarm doesn't wake Matt, though, so he decides he'll let him get more sleep. As the taller boy gets out of bed, Matt stirs, and Joba looks back at him. He gets a kind of scare, because the hood that Matt usually keeps on his head slipped off, and amidst the fluffy brown hair he can spot... ears? Little floppy ears that look incredibly real. Matt is awake now, furrowing his brows as to why Joba is staring at him like he is. He quickly realizes that his head isn't covered by anything and his hands fly to his hair, then he frantically pulls up his hood. Matt scrambles to get out of bed, and feels like he's about to break into tears. The blonde tries stopping him, but Matt puts on his shoes and is out of Joba's apartment in a heartbeat.
Joba, of course, thinks about it, as is to be expected. They don't speak for weeks. He's afraid to question Matt about it because he doesn't wanna say anything wrong that could hurt him. He decides to just walk over next door and knock. He doesn't text or call him first, as he thinks that'd be weird. He just wants to know if Matt's alright.
When the brunette answers the door, he doesn't fully open it, just peeking through the little cracked opening. Before Joba can speak, he asks, "Are you coming to get your hoodie? Sorry that I- uh... took it."
"I wanted to talk to you." Joba answers, fiddling with his keys in his pocket. "...Can I come in? I mean, it's okay if you don't want me to."
Matt nods, and he opens the door further, making way for Joba to walk in. The mess around the apartment is still there. The same random clothes, which, to Joba, don't even look like they would belong to Matt, are still thrown about, besides the same few neat piles. Matt doesn't ever get visitors, so he just keeps his things anywhere. He doesn't care to clean up as long as it's not outright dirty or it just doesn't bother him.
Joba doesn't realize that he's staring around, and since he's not talking, Matt says something first. "I'm sorry that I ran out. I got scared."
"It's okay. Sorry that I was staring at you. It came off wrong. I haven't ever seen anyone with... actual animal ears before. Didn't know that was possible." Joba explains. "But they're real, right?"
"I mean- yeah, of course." Matt hesitates for a few moments, but then pulls his beanie off and takes a small step towards Joba, tilting his head slightly so the taller boy could look at his ears closer. "Here." He feels vulnerable, and holds his beanie in both of his hands.
Joba admires Matt for a second. He's never gotten the chance to look at him properly without a hat on - besides that one morning, but now he's sure he's not dreaming it - and Matt is gorgeous, he thinks to himself; with his fluffy hair almost covering his eyebrows, his little canines peeking out of his mouth, and how he's looking up at Joba with brown eyes, though they dart elsewhere when Joba meets his gaze.
Matt wants to put the beanie back on after a short time, as he feels like it's been long enough. However, before he can do so, Joba catches his hand and places a soft kiss between Matt's ears on the top of his head. He then raises the smaller boy's jaw with his other hand and places another kiss on his lips. Matt's ears seem to perk up a little, and when Joba breaks the kiss, the brunette embraces him in a tight hug, tucking his face into Joba's neck.
"Thank you," he mumbles into Joba's chest. "I love you."
