Chapter Text
The first time they laid eyes on each other was in the airport.
Alex had been going to grab himself a drink from one of the vending machines after he and his family had gone through to the gate, their flight not due to board for another hour.
The dark haired boy looked to be about his age and Alex eyed him appreciatively as he approached. “Come on you piece of shit!” The boy grunted under his breath as he smacked the side of the machine with the flat of his hands with a loud metallic thump.
Alex let out an amused breath and the other boy spun around in alarm at the sound. Alex raised his eyebrows at the other boy but didn’t comment other than to shoot him a grin which got returned. “Fucking thing took my money and won’t give me my drink.” He supplied kicking the machine again, the loud clunking of a can hitting the tray below finally indicating he had his prize.
The boy bent down and snatched the can out of the machine, his eyes narrowing as he huffed at the cold beverage. “This isn’t what I pressed.” He said through gritted teeth at the machine as if it would offer some kind of apology.
Alex considered the money in his hand for a moment before he spoke. "Tell you what mate, I’ll have the Lilt and you can have another try for what you want with my money.”
“You sure?” He asked eyeing Alex, his brow drawn together. Alex just nodded and held his hand out to drop the coin into the other boys.
As they exchanged money, a flash of colour from around the other boy’s writs caught his eye, poking out from beneath the sleeve of his hoodie but before he could fully examine and confirm his suspicions it was gone, hidden again under the navy blue fabric.
Alex opened the can and took a long swig as the other boy inserted more money into the coin slot and jabbed a thumb at the Coke button, immediately there was more metal on metal banging as the drink fell to into the tray. The boy stooped to pick it up, a beaming smile on his face when he saw that he had managed to get the drink he wanted.
The boy straightened up and looked at Alex, his ice blue eyes meeting Alex’s own ocean blues. “Cheers!” He said holding his can up to show Alex who simply clinked his own can against the boys unopened one.
“No worries mate.”
They stood for a few moments, not saying anything. The other boy cleared his throat to speak but was cut off by a shout just behind them.
"Oi, dickhead!” Alex spun and shot his older brother a warning look that went ignored. “Mom sent me to find you, say bye to your boyfriend and get your arse back.”
Alex’s ears went red at his brother’s shout. “I am going to fucking kill you, you prick!” He turned toward and strode in his direction, not looking back at the other boy, even when he heard him chuckling to himself at Alex’s insult to his brother.
**********
Ross sighed as the battery died on his PSP, shoving the handheld device back into his bag on the floor beneath his feet.
Ross hadn’t even wanted to come on this holiday with his family in the first place, but his mom had insisted that he couldn’t stay home alone so he had negotiated with her. He was coming along on the understanding that he had his own apartment to stay in and wasn’t forced to spend all his time with her and his new stepdad. His mom had sighed but agreed, getting Ross to bend a little with a deal to have at least one meal a day with them.
The voice of the pilot announcing they would soon be descending had Ross’ spirits lifting. Once at the resort he could disappear into his apartment to unpack his books and charge his PSP, he might even be able to escape to the shops to purchase more games.
**********
The transfer from the airport to the resort was boring and Alex was forced to sit next to a doddery old man who smelled of old cigars and boiled cabbage.
Alex rolled his eyes as his brother ushered him into the apartment that Alex would have to share with him and his girlfriend. “You can sleep out here and we will take the bedroom.” He announced pointing to the sofa bed in the middle of the room.
“If I have to listen to you two banging, I swear to God…” Alex replied, looking the couple over.
His brother raised his eyebrows. “Stay out of the apartment as much as possible and you won’t have to.”
Alex flipped them both the finger and walked towards his suitcase to unpack.
**********
Slipping away from his mother and the step-douche (as he had dubbed him in his head) was relatively simple. He had said he wanted to unpack and chill out for a bit then he would grab some food from the pool bar and catch an early night. Step-douche had then proposed a romantic evening meal and walk on the beach to his mother, Ross left in a hurry to avoid losing his aeroplane lunch.
The walk was nice, the roads relatively well kept even if it was a little steep in places. A road ran alone the coast, separating the beach from the rows of shops, bars and restaurants. The smell of the sea was soothing and the dry air was welcome in the heat.
Ross browsed the shops, taking his time to casually examine things as he went, killing as much time as he could. The shops owners however, would inevitably spot him and try to sell him anything and everything from perfume and trinkets to electricals and games.
Ross wandered until the sun started to sink in the sky and his stomach started to rumble, now was a good a time as any to grab some food then head back to his apartment to see if the TV in his room was connected to Sky, he could only hope.
Ross smiled to himself as he approached the pizza place, standing at the window, perusing the menu was the boy from the airport.
Ross approached to look in the window, standing next to him. “Anything look good, Lilt guy?”
The other boy turned and grinned as he recognised Ross. “Hello again, ‘tall dark and handsome with the ice blues.’” The boy said with a wink.
Ross let out a laugh. “That’s a bit of a long name isn’t it?”
The other boy shrugged. “Didn’t get your name before so I had to improvise.”
Ross raised his eyebrows and held out his hand. “Ross.”
The other boy took the hand offered and they shook. “Alex.” He paused as they both looked back at the menu. “Sorry about my homophobe of a brother being a dick.”
Ross chuckled. “Honestly, it was kind of funny, your face was a picture mate.”
Alex narrowed his eyes at him. “Thanks so much.”
Ross smirked. “Where is he anyway?” He asked eyeing the people nearby, none he recognised.
“Probably banging his girlfriend.” Alex replied with a look of disgust. “I got the hell out of there as quickly as I could. Why my parents thought it would be a good idea for the three of us to share an apartment is beyond me.”
Ross offered him a sympathetic look. “Sorry man, you not want to spend time with your parents either?”
Alex shook his head. “Me and my dad don’t really get along, he can’t handle having a queer son.”
Ross reached out a hand to pat the other boy on the shoulder. “Sorry man, people are pricks.”
Alex laughed and nodded. “It’s not too bad, he isn’t like overly confrontational or anything, it’s just best if we avoid talking as much as possible.”
Ross raised an eyebrow. “Looks like your holiday is going to be as fun as mine.” A questioning look from the taller boy had Ross elaborating. “I’m here with my mom and her new husband, they’re still in the honeymoon stage so I made them get me my own apartment and told them I wanted to chill on my own so I don’t have to spend two weeks dry heaving at them.”
Alex looked thoughtful for a second before he opened his mouth. “We should hang out, we can go to the waterpark and shit.” The other boy suggested with a nervous smile.
Ross smiled full back at him. “I would like that.”
Another few minutes of staring at the menu passed before Alex broke the silence. “You fancy grabbing a big pizza and chilling by the pool at one of our resorts or something?”
Ross nodded at him. “Yeah, sure. Mine’s only ten minutes away up the hill, Vista… something.” He supplied. “What pizza do you want to get?”
Alex shoved a hand into his back pocket of his shorts and handed Ross a business card displaying the name of the resort they were both staying at. “That the place?”
Ross nodded down at the card before handing it back. “Yeah mate.”
**********
They spent hours talking that night, sitting out on the patio of Ross’ apartment, laughter punctuating the air often. They received plenty of dirty looks from passers-by on their way to their own apartments but this made them laugh more.
Alex stayed until after 1am when a text from his brother came through letting him know that if he wasn’t back in the next ten minutes that he would lock him out for the night, so with a quick ‘see you later’ to his new friend, he hurried off back to his place.
**********
Ross reasoned that breakfast would be the least painful meal to spend with his family, the early morning meal not requiring as much small talk other than to indicate how well he had slept and if he had any plans for the day.
“We are going on a dolphin watching trip later, do you want to come?” His mother asked with a sweet smile that made Ross feel guilty.
Ross eyes the step-douche who gave his wife a disapproving look before answering. “Nah, that’s okay mom, I don’t fancy a boat trip.” Step-douche’s face relaxed back to a more neutral expression.
“Are you sure? You used to love the ocean.” She asked.
Step-douche interjected, making it so Ross didn’t need to speak. “Leave the poor boy alone, if he doesn’t want to come then he doesn’t have to.”
**********
Ross meandered along the beach, flip flops held in one hand as his feet sank into the soft sand. He watched as children built sandcastles and adults lay on their hired sun loungers, slowly cooking themselves in the strong sun.
Ross liked the peace here, he wasn’t expected to be busy all the time, he wasn’t being passive aggressively told that he was lazy just because he didn’t have his nose buried in a book and a pen in his hand.
The ocean was beautiful, a soft blue that blurred off into the horizon where he couldn’t tell where the sky ended and the earth began. The sea in England was nothing compared to this, it was brown and stank of rotten seaweed in Ross’ experience.
Ross turned his back on the view and started to make his way back across the beach so he could go back to his apartment, maybe he would bump into Alex and not have to spend the day alone.
**********
Alex had escaped the apartment as soon as he heard his brother wake up, he had already showered and manged to choke down a bowl of weird Spanish corn flakes floating in funny tasting foreign milk without waking the two sleeping in the other room.
Outside, the pool was busy, all of the sun loungers full with people, children ran around in large rubber rings and armbands, splashing anyone they could as they leapt into the cold water with squeals of glee.
Alex contemplated going down to the sea front to check out some of the shops but he was also conscious of the fact that he still had another thirteen days to budget for and if he saw something that he wanted he would reason with himself that he needed it and end up having to eat with his parents and drink nothing but water if he ran out of funds.
Once Alex had made a full circuit of the complex his apartment was empty of his brother and his brother’s girlfriend allowing Alex to have the place to himself for a while.
*********
Ross found Alex sitting on the patio of the apartment he was sharing with his brother, he was on a plastic garden chair with a book open in his hands, his feet elevated and resting on top of the plastic table, a bottle of Lilt sat with the lid off next to his right leg.
“Alright Alex?” He asked approaching the other boy.
Alex looked up from his book, his face breaking out into a large grin as he spotted Ross. “Hey mate, come sit down.” He said shoving what looked to be a receipt in between the pages of the book and threw it to the table. “Want a drink?” He asked lifting his legs slowly from the table where it had stuck to his bare skin.
Ross shook his head at him. “Nah, I’m good but thanks mate.” Alex shrugged and settled back into his chair as Ross sat down opposite. “I am bored though.” He admitted leaning forwards to read the title of the book and giving it an approving look.
Smith nodded in agreement. “Why do you think I actually cracked a book?” He voiced gesturing to the table.
“I’m impressed.” Ross said with a shit eating grin. “You didn’t strike me as someone who would read a book without pictures mate.”
Smith reached for the book and hit Ross around the head with a hollow ‘thunk’ in response.
**********
The hours slipped by quickly, morning giving way to afternoon and the return of Alex’s brother.
“Alright, benders?” He greeted, sweeping passed the two boys to enter the apartment to grab a bag that had been sitting on the side. “Julie and I are going to be spending the evening in the apartment so you need to fuck off for the night.” He said pointing to Alex.
Ross eyed the older man darkly, noticing Alex shrink in on himself, obviously intimidated and hurt by his brother’s treatment of him. Ross stood from his chair and motioned at the open door. “Grab your shit mate, you’re crashing with me.” Alex raised his head to meet Ross’ eyes and opened his mouth to question but Ross cut him off before he could speak. “Come on man, I’m starving. We’ll go for some dinner after you’re settled in.”
**********
“You didn’t have to do that, I can go stop with my parents.” Alex said as they reached Ross’ apartment.
Ross shrugged and unlocked the door, motioning for Alex to enter. “It’s fine mate, it’ll be nice to have some company.”
Alex didn’t reply and tried to hide his blush by turning to look around the room. It was pretty much an exact replica of the apartment he had just left, sofa bed against one wall, cabinet with the TV on the opposite one. A small kitchenette ran along the back wall which also led to a small hallway with two doors off it, one leading to the small but functional bathroom, the other to the bedroom with a large double bed and built in wardrobes.
“You can put your clothes in the wardrobe if you want to keep them from creasing.” Ross offered casually as he tried to inconspicuously kick his dirty clothes from the day before under the bed.
**********
Ross walked to the front in silence, listening to Alex sing under his breath with a small smile. Alex paused in his singing to examine as bar as they walked. “You play pool?” He asked Ross.
Ross nodded. “Sometimes, I am a bit shit though.”
Alex laughed. “I’m pretty shit too, at least it would be a fair game.”
Ross nodded with a smile.
***********
The day wore on towards night, the two boys had eaten their late lunch and retreated back to the bar that Alex had spotted.
It was only a euro a game so they kept pumping more money into the slot, losing count of exactly how many games they had played as the time wore on and each boys head grew fuzzier from the cheap, watered down larger they were drinking.
Alex opened his mouth in a long yawn, Ross watched the flash of teeth and tongue before he too let out a yawn of his own, stretching his back out as he straightened up from taking a shot. “You want to head back?” Ross asked.
Alex nodded and placed his cue down in the centre of the green table. “We should go to that cocktail place tomorrow.” He suggested as they raised a hand in farewell to the barman as they walked by.
Ross nodded vigorously. “You have the best ideas mate.”
“That’s because I am awesome.” He shot back with a shit eating grin that Ross returned.
“I am not going to dispute that gorgeous.” Ross said with a wink.
Alex huffed a laugh through his nose. As the alcohol had flowed and the two had relaxed, the flirting had gone up a notch, or twelve. For Alex it had at first been a challenge to get the dark haired boy to blush, but now it was smoothing else, a plea for Ross to flirt back and to mean it.
They stumbled, laughing and exchanging insults and compliments in equal measure as they made their way back to Ross’ apartment.
The icy chill of the room caused goose bumps to rise on skin as soon as they entered. “Shit!” Ross huffed stalking towards a box on the wall. “I fucking left the air con on all day.”
Alex rubbed at his bare arms. “You trying to get me to freeze my balls off?” He asked the other boy.
Ross didn’t answer but made for the bedroom, opening the door. “It’s alright in here.” He said not meeting Alex’s eye.
Alex grinned. “If this was all an elaborate scheme just to get me in your bed mate, you needn’t have bothered.”
Ross opened his mouth in shock at Alex’s words. “I… I didn’t...” Ross stuttered, his face turning a dark pink.
Alex laughed. “I’m fucking joking mate, but in all seriousness I can’t sleep out here in this cold.” Ross nodded and went into the bathroom.
Alex stood in the middle of the cold apartment as the bathroom door clicked shut, once he heard the sounds of an electric toothbrush from inside the bathroom he made for the bedroom.
Ross arrived back in the room as Alex was pulling some pyjama bottoms from the wardrobe where he had stowed them earlier in the day. “You got a side you prefer?” Ross asked gesturing to the bed.
Alex shrugged. “I’m not really bothered mate, I usually sleep against a wall but…” He didn’t need to finish his sentence, the bed was set in the middle of back wall, only the head of the bed touching a wall. With that he left the room to complete his own nightly rituals.
**********
Alex contemplated himself in the mirror, he had removed his shorts and was now in his striped pyjama bottoms and the t shirt he had been wearing all day. With a shrug at himself he pulled the shirt over his head, making his already messy hair more of a disaster.
The two steps it took to get from the bathroom to the bedroom were cold enough to raise goose bumps along his naked torso, he shut the door quickly to try and keep out the cold and glanced at Ross who was already under the covers.
Once he was next to the bed Ross lifted the corner of the covers for him to slip in, Alex’s mouth went dry at the flash of pale skin he caught out of the corner of his eye indicating Ross was wearing only his boxers to sleep in.
Neither boy said anything for a while, until Alex broke the silence. “This is weird.” He said, hoping to break the tension that had settled over them.
Ross barked a laugh and turned onto his side so he could look at Alex. “I could still kick you out to go sleep on the sofa if it would make you more comfortable.”
Alex shot him an unimpressed look in the dim light. “If you do that then you can explain to my mom how I got frostbite and lost all my fingers and toes.” He joked back, nudging Ross’ shin with his foot.
Alex stared at the ceiling, shadows dancing across it as the bushes outside moved in the breeze. “What do you want to do tomorrow?” Ross asked.
Alex turned on his side to face him, propping his head up on his arm. “Well, we need to do the waterpark at some point and I wouldn’t mind checking out the volcano.”
Ross hummed in agreement. “There’s a zoo thing on the other side of the island, they have some cool animals I think.” He suggested. “And they do boat and submarine trips down at the marina that could be cool.”
Alex grinned. “Do they do jet skis and shit?” He asked, voice excited.
Ross grinned back at him. “Yes, we should so do that!”
They talked for a while, suggestions for how to fill their days flowing between them in the dark.
**********
Ross wasn’t sure who fell asleep first, he woke as the sun was rising with an urgent bodily function and a heavy weight on his chest.
Looking down he was greeted by a face full of messy, sandy coloured hair. Sometime in the night Ross must have turned onto his back and now Alex was sprawled over him, face nuzzled against Ross’ chest, arm draped over the dark haired boys waist.
Ross smiled to himself as he untangled their legs as gently as he could, he bit his bottom lip in concentration as he lifted Alex’s arm off his stomach and slid out from underneath him. He tiptoed to the door, listening intently to the even breathing of the other boy before heading to the bathroom.
When Ross returned to the room Alex was lying on his side where Ross had been previously, his breathing still indicating he was asleep. Ross climbed in behind the other boy, sitting up to check he really was not awake. After a few moments he sank down beneath the covers and snaked a hand around Alex’s waist, making sure to keep a few inches of space between himself and the other boy.
He was just drifting off to sleep when Alex moved, his hand lying on top of Ross’, fingers interlocking as he shuffled his whole body backwards to press himself against the dark haired boy. Ross didn’t speak but squeezed Alex’s fingers gently as he buried his face in the juncture between the taller boys shoulder and neck, eliciting a sleepy hum of contentment from Alex.
They drifted back to sleep.
**********