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The thing about being observant is that Andre knows what's going on around him, without particularly being involved. It's something he's always been. Because he's normally pretty quiet people don't expect him to be fully aware of, well, things. But he is.
For example, he can sense that Yann and Granit are struggling with their long-distance relationship at the moment. Yann doesn't tell him directly, but Andre has noticed the wariness in his eyes since he joined the training camp a few days ago. Whilst there could be other things that bother him, the way his body slightly tenses whenever someone mentions Granit speaks a volume. That, and his passing, tight smile, as well as the tendency to change the subject. But the signs are subtle, and people who aren't as perceptive as Andre would miss it as soon as they blink.
And then there is Oscar. He's a little better at concealing than Yann, but Andre can still see the tender thoughtfulness that crosses his face when he talked about getting a new roommate.
Andre hasn't been emotionally involved with a teammate, but he has heard and seen enough to understand that the situation is never easy to deal with. It's a tricky thing, isn't it? He's unsure if it's worth the risks, but at the same time he knows it's inevitable sometimes. When he played in Hamburg II many years ago, there were times during a night out with his teammates where he slightly let his guard down and loosened up after a few drinks, maybe reciprocated some harmless flirting that wouldn't lead to anything.
But never did he cross the line.
~*~
"Bloody Juli."
Looking up from his phone, Andre watches as Jonas shuts the door behind him. The corners of his lips curve into a small smile. Here we go again. "What has he done this time?" he asks.
Jonas doesn't stop walking—or stomping is probably more like it—until he reaches his bed. "He hid my shoes in the laundry basket," he replies in a fierce tone. "And he let me look for, I don't know, fifteen minutes before Flaco came and took them out."
"Well, didn't you hide Juli's towel the other day?" Andre says, trying to keep his face straight. "You got it coming."
"It's different." Jonas frowns at him, his lips forming a tight line. "I only let him look for five minutes."
Andre gives him a patient smile. "Before that you hid his bag, and his hair gel. And I remember you once swapped his clothes with Tobi's."
Jonas narrows his eyes and snaps, "I knew you'll take his side." Honestly though... he is more cute than menacing.
Oh well. "Come on, Jonas, don't get so worked up," Andre coaxes him. He reaches out and opens his bedside drawer. "Let's play cards." He can see that Jonas is tempted, despite slightly hesitating. Yeah, he is supposed to be mad at Andre, too, right?
Chuckling softly, Andre takes the cards and places them on the bed. "I won't ask twice."
Jonas still stubbornly refuses to come closer, but he says, "Fine. But I choose the game." He always does that.
"Be my guest."
It should baffle him how quickly Jonas' mood changes, but Andre is used to it by now. He instinctively knows when to leave his roommate alone—and when not to. They settle on playing Blackjack, because Jonas loves it and he's normally pretty good at it. But somehow, tonight he keeps having a miss. They set the timer on ten minutes for each hand, and take turns to be the dealer.
Andre notices that Jonas examines his cards for at least five seconds before his gaze wanders up, looking at Andre and then going back at the cards again. It's one of the habits he has picked up.
"You gotta be kidding me," Jonas exclaims, letting out a disbelieving laugh. It was Andre's turn to be the dealer, and Jonas had decided he didn't require more cards. The value of his cards was 18. Pretty good, isn't it? He was confident he would win, but then Andre opened his face-down card, and the value of his cards was... 20.
"You must be cheating." Jonas tries to ruffle the cards, but Andre holds his hand. He only releases it when Jonas laughs and stops pulling.
"You can't prove it," Andre replies, with mock-sweetness. Jonas only rolls his eyes, making Andre grin.
They play until half past eleven. Initially Jonas wants to keep playing, but Andre reminds him that they need to wake up early tomorrow. "We shouldn't stay up this late," he says, packing the cards.
"We'll play again tomorrow, right?" Jonas asks, eyes fixed on him, looking somewhat hopeful.
The answer escapes his lips even before he thinks it through. "Of course."
Jonas' face breaks into a smile, and Andre holds his gaze for a long second before looking away.
~*~
In the morning, Andre's alarm rings at seven. Way too early for his liking, but he has to wake up. In the other bed, Jonas still sleeps peacefully, his hair looking contrastingly dark on the white pillow.
Rubbing his eyes, Andre gently nudges Jonas' side. "Jonas, it's seven in the morning."
The only response he gets is a muffled 'five more minutes'. Instead of getting up, Jonas buries his head deeper in his pillow. Andre sighs. It's normally not this hard to wake him up in the morning. He'll be grumpy, yes very, but he'll be up in no time. It must be because they stayed up rather late last night.
When Andre is back from the bathroom ten minutes later, Jonas is still lying down. "For God's sake," Andre mutters. He shakes Jonas' shoulder, harder this time. "Come on, Jonas, we're gonna be late." Finally, Jonas shifts and opens his eyes. He blinks a few times before looking up.
In times like this, Andre wishes he wasn't that observant, and that he could just ignore how Jonas' blue eyes look nothing but beautiful, even in the insufficient lighting.
"Morning," Jonas croaks, his voice a bit raspy.
Andre looks at him for another heartbeat before saying. "Good morning. You have approximately ten minutes to get ready." The reply Jonas gives him is a soft groan.
"And your first minute is almost up," Andre goes on, suppressing a smile.
"Uh, fine, I'm up." Jonas throws the covers aside and swings his legs out of bed, heading to the bathroom.
Andre watches him until he disappears behind the bathroom door. He knows from experience that when Jonas returns into the room after a quick shower, he'll be a lot less cranky.
Another habit of his.