Data & Longing

Two brilliant minds. Two vastly different worlds. One unspoken truth.

Moving from Delhi to Germany for his M.Sc. in Economics at the University of Bonn was supposed to be simple for Rehaan: study hard, keep his head down, and secure his future. He didn't account for the biting chill of a German winter, the overwhelming cultural barrier, or Matthias.

Sharp, methodical, and painfully direct, Matthias is everything Rehaan isn't. In the high-stakes lecture halls of the Juridicum, their intellectual clashes quickly turn into a fierce academic rivalry. But when a semester-long project forces them to work together, late-night study sessions at the library give way to weekend escapes across Europe, from glowing Christmas markets of Cologne to quiet, snow-covered train rides through the Black Forest.

As the silence between them fills with quiet touch and unspoken language, Rehaan realizes he is falling for his rival. But back home, the heavy weight of family expectations threatens to tear everything apart.

Both of them grow together in their personal and professional lives, dealing with grades, professors and Rehaan's traditional parents.

Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Bonn, Data & Longing is an angst-filled, slow-burn academic rivals-to-lovers BL novel about identity, cultural collision, and finding a home in another human heart.