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The knock on his door came as a surprise, especially at 2am on a Saturday, when he had assumed majority of the apartments in the student halls would be empty, or at least filled with partygoers too inebriated or too anxious of being reported to leave their rooms and pester somebody else.
Alex had been bent over his computer, at the desk below his window and within earshot of the door just down the hall, for at least the last few hours whilst his roommate Chris "Call me Sips" Lovasz was out doing only-god-knew-who-and-what at only-god-knew-where, and the last thing he had expected was for somebody to come wandering up to his dorm room and bug him mid-Warcraft session. With a groan, he retracted his hands from the keyboard, pushing himself back from his desk with his feet and groggily rising from his chair. Stretching one arm, then the other, he blinked himself back into reality, squinting against the darkness in the room.
He heard another knock on the door, and sighed, looking over his shoulder and down the hall. "All right, all right, I'm coming, I'm coming..." He dragged his feet almost reluctantly along the faux-wooden flooring, opening the door slowly and squinting out into the brightly-lit corridor. The sound of obnoxiously-loud house music and raucous laughter hit him like a tidal wave, and he crinkled up his nose in distaste. At the very least, they could have decent music taste, and that wouldn't have made it so bad. "What do you want?"
He met a pair of icy-blue eyes, the incredulous expression on the man's face clearly due to the manner in which Alex had answered the door.
"Well, uh..." Ross scratched the back of his head, messy with his usually unkempt brown mop, and pulled a face. His Swindon accent was like nails on a chalkboard to Alex, who more than anything wished he could crawl back into his apartment and return to his game. "Sorry, did I disturb you? I mean, I can come back another time if you're-"
"I was about to go on a raid with my guild. God, you make it sound like I'm actually lucky enough to get some action, mate." He stepped back, swinging the door open to let in his friend. "Come in, it's too loud out here." Alex scrubbed at his face with one hand to wake himself up as he held open the door with his other, and Ross stepped into the dark apartment, seemingly grateful to be away from all the noise of partying students on their weekend off from studying and assessments.
"Cheers, mate. Are you seriously playing Warcraft on a Saturday night? Not going out?" Ross sounded confused, and Alex closed the door behind him, more to block out the noise than for privacy within his own apartment, shaking his head. "Why's it so bloody dark in here? Seriously, Smith, do you know what a lightbulb is?"
"Yeah, I do, I just didn't see the point in having lights on when I didn't think I'd be entertaining any guests, mate. And anyway, I was in the zone, Ross, I was gonna go on a raid, man. You know how hyped I get about raids." Ross rolled his eyes at his friend's words. "What? There's not much else I can do when Sips isn't about, he's never around these days."
"Get a girlfriend. Get a bloke. I don't know, go make a new friend or buy a puppy or something."
"Buy a puppy?" Alex laughed as he dropped down onto the chair at his desk, turning to face his friend as he flicked on the lightswitch. "Mate, I forget to feed myself sometimes, can you imagine what it'd be like to look after a puppy, too? The geckos are enough." He smirked as Ross shuddered at the thought.
"I could help look after it, in case you forgot." The dark-haired man shrugged, dropping down onto the cracked leather sofa. "Might give you, I don't know. Something to do, besides play video games?"
"Oi, I go to classes, too."
"That doesn't count - you wouldn't be here if you didn't go to classes." Ross kicked his feet up onto the sofa, lounging out and wriggling to get himself comfortable.
"Fair point. Why are you 'round here, anyway? Trotty not keeping you amused enough, eh?" He laughed, and Ross shuddered.
"Nah, it's not that. Er... His girlfriend is staying over. And our rooms are, like, right next to each other. Right through the wall. I don't fancy listening to them all night."
"Sleep on your own couch, then, god knows it took enough bloody effort to get it in there." Alex grimaced at the memory. It had taken them three hours to get the sofa in the door, and another hour and a half for Ross to find a place he would be happy to sit on it. What a tosser.
"I would, if it wasn't covered in Trott's study shit. The place is a mess, it's horrific."
"Welcome to being a student, Hornby." Alex held out his arms as though welcoming his friend, and Ross pulled a face.
"I don't like it, Smith, it's horrible. There's mess everywhere and Trott keeps forgetting to leave out money for shopping from his student loan and it's just death."
"Rest in peace, mate." Alex glanced towards his computer screen almost wistfully, wishing he could be amidst his guild's raid. They'd been competing against another guild around their level for a long time, planning a raid, and now here he was, unable to join in because he was entertaining guests. His parents would have been proud, but god, what would his siblings think? God, he was lame. With a sigh, he minimised his game, and turned back to face Ross. "Lemme guess. You need a place to sleep?"
"Well, sleep would be nice, yes." Ross shrugged. "Really, I'm just looking to hide out of the way tonight, until that apartment is noise-free. Y'know. Just for tonight."
"And where do you expect to sleep, the sofa?" Ross looked almost hopeful, and Alex shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You don't want to be in here when Sips comes home. He'll jump you, it's terrifying. That fucker doesn't give a shit who or what you are, if you can move and he's drunk, it's on." Ross went pale, then, and Alex was sure he heard him audibly gulp. "And not his room, either. He loves his personal space, he'd go apeshit if he found someone in there." He rubbed a hand against his forehead, and then pushed his auburn hair back out of his face.
Nope, this would not do. He would feel terrible leaving his friend in his apartment when that was going on, but certainly, there would be no space in this apartment for him either. He glanced back at Ross, taking in his wide blue eyes and scruffy dark-brown hair, the almost solemn expression on his face.
"Are you seriously giving me the puppy-dog eyes, Ross?" Alex laughed. Ross chose not to relent, instead continuing to give his friend the same sad expression.
"Maybe."
"You know those haven't worked since the start of uni, right?"
"God knows I'm a trier, mate." Ross tried to hold back a smile as he spoke, his eyes still wide, but as Alex grinned, his resolve broke, and he snorted, breaking into a grin. "How's about I just kip on your floor somewhere and deal with it that way?"
"Eh, I don't know..." Alex turned towards his computer, opening his game back up. Scanning over the chat, he realised that the raid was in full swing, and groaned. Of course he'd missed it. He would have cried if he was still eight years old, but instead, at twenty-one, he resolved to pouting and crossing his arms over his chest. "You might just be in the way, mate, I don't know."
"Come on, Smith, you know I won't be in the way. I'll just pass out on your floor somewhere in a few hours, I'll be gone in the morning." He could hear the near-desperation in Ross's voice, and smiled. He could really draw this one out. Maybe he could even twist this in his favour, get something out of it for himself?
"Oh, I don't know. Sips isn't here, he makes all the decisions around here. I don't want to make a decision without running it past him, just in case he has anything planned."
"Smi-ith." Ross's voice was almost whiny, and he felt his head drop onto his shoulder, his arms wrapping loosely around his neck. "Please. Don't leave me in that flat. Look, I'm all for that sort of shit, but only when I want to hear it. I don't want to hear one of my mates and his girlfriend happily whacking away, Smith. Don't make me witness that, please."
"I don't know. What's in it for me? Having some tall, annoying bloke taking up space on my floor. 'Cause it'll need to be my floor you sleep on, so you're not in Sips' way, y'know." Smith proceeded to survey his character's inventory, trying to appear as though he were busy, when in fact he was fully enjoying his friend's suffering.
"I'll... I don't know. I'll feed your geckos for a week-"
"I have food for the next month sorted for them, mate. There's boxes of locusts in the kitchen. What else?"
"You can feed bugs to a lizard, but not meat to a dog? What the fuck?" Ross muttered, and then sighed, turning his head to look up at Alex from where his head rested on his shoulder. "Come on, Alex. One night. Please? I'll clean your apartment for a week." Smith glanced back to his computer screen, disinterested. "Two weeks?" Still disinterested by Ross's offers, he closed his inventory, scrolling down the system chat to see what had been happening. So far, the raid had been a success. If only he hadn't been interrupted. Something worthwhile to be interrupted by wouldn't have been so bad, but to have Ross whining over his shoulder? Ugh.
"No cleaning needed around here, Ross; Sips and I take care of that by ourselves. We're not that messy." Ross sighed.
"What do you want, then?" He asked. Alex could feel his breath on his cheek as he spoke, and a shiver ran down his spine. He felt a heat spreading across his rounded cheeks, and held his breath for a moment, thinking.
What did he want? He could have anything, right now, and out of his desperation to escape his apartment just down the hall, Ross would accept. Anything. It was an amazing thought, but daunting - of course Alex wouldn't have a bloody clue what he wanted at a time like this.
"What about..." Alex could see Ross's pale face flush pink as he bit his lip, clearly deep in thought. What was he considering, here? "What about, I just do anything you ask me to, all night? I don't even have to sleep on your floor. Just let me stick around here until morning. Sound good?"
Alex rested back in his chair, smiling almost wickedly. Now, this could be fun. "All night, you say, mate? That could consist of a great many things, y'know."
"Whoa..." Ross pulled his arms away from where they rested around Alex's neck, shaking his head. "Nothing like that though, right? Like..." His cheeks flushed a bright, shocking scarlet. "That didn't end well, last time. Did it? No. No, nothing like that." Alex felt his own cheeks flush red hot at the memory, but he did what Ross seemed unable to do, and laughed off his embarrassment, grinning.
"I know, I know. Nothing that extreme." No, getting Ross to clamber into his film lecturer's office to find his assessment results had maybe been a little extreme. They had almost been caught, and it had left Ross flustered ever since, terrified in case his lecturer found out. What a tosspot. "Maybe something milder, eh?" He clasped his hands behind his head, deliberating what to do next. "You can sleep here, sure. On one condition." He met Ross's eyes, grinning.
"What?" The blue-eyes man looked almost scared as he studied his friend's features, his cheeks still bright pink. "Don't tell me it's something ridiculous, Smith. I'm not doing ridiculous." He thought for a moment. "And I'm not doing you, either, before you say anything. Bloody pleb."
"Hey, hey, I'm being charitable here, mate. C'mon, Ross." He turned in his chair, smiling up at him. "You want to know what I want you to do? Fine." He reached out and took his hands, holding them firmly in his own, and Ross frowned down at him, confused. "Gimme a kiss."
"What?!" Ross tugged his hands away, cheeks startlingly red as he stared down at his friend. "I'm not doing that!"
"Hey, you interrupted my game, made me miss my raid - you know how good the loot and the experience is for guild raiding - and now you're gonna kip on my floor. Least you could do is give me a kiss without freaking out on me."
"But I'm not..." Ross's eyes were wide, eyebrows raised and jaw hanging slightly as he stared at him, looking almost petrified. "I'm not...into that. And I didn't realise you were, either!"
"You never asked." Alex winked, laughing. "Nah, mate, seriously. One kiss. That's all. You can even have my bed, if you like, I don't give a toss. As long as I get back to my game, you could go bugger someone in that room and I wouldn't care. Well, as long as you cleaned up, 'course." He smirked, and he watched his friend's eyes fill with dread.
"Seriously? One...one kiss? That's it? Then I...I can sit about in here?"
"Seriously. Unless you'd rather sit out in the hallway, but I wouldn't, if I were you-"
"Yeah, yeah, partying and fucking, I get it, I get it." He waved Alex into silence. "So, just... On the cheek?"
"On the lips. Just a quick one, don't worry." He winked. "I won't take advantage of you, mate, I'm not like that."
"Oh, god..." Ross let out a quick, nervous laugh, and then groaned, ducking down and rubbing his sweating palms against his jeans. "Seriously? Oh, fuck..." He bowed his head, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Then, he shook his head once, twice, three times, and looked up to meet Alex's eyes again. "Sure. Fuck it. Make it quick. So long as I get to sleep well." He planted his hands on Alex's shoulders, closing his eyes and hanging his head. "Urgh. Hurry up."
"You do it."
"What?!" He opened his eyes to scowl at Alex. "You're asking for it, you do it!"
"I'm letting you sleep in my bed, you do it." Alex replied pointedly, smirking. Ross groaned, closing his eyes again, and then, quick as anything, proceeded to lean in. His lips were inches away from Alex's when he let go of his shoulders, jumping back and waving his arms in disgust.
"Urgh! No, you do it. Get it out of the way, Christ, I'm not doing this, this is gross, Smith, it's- Urgh. All this for a bed? I bet your bed isn't even comfortable!" He turned his back to Alex, groaning and pulling his hands through his hair. "I bet it feels like you're sleeping on a pile of dog shit, Alex- God, this is gross, what the fuck?"
"It feels like you're sleeping on a mountain of feathers, mate, I assure you. Now, come on, hop to it. One kiss, you get my bed. Deal?"
Ross turned to look at him again, and then let out a deep breath. "On the condition that you do it. God, this is... Urgh. You're so gay, Smith, I swear to god, urgh. Why am I friends with you, again?"
"Because you love me, really, Hornby; now get down here and kiss me, you hetero piece of shit." He chuckled, and Ross shuddered, shaking his head in resistance. Quickly, Alex rose to his feet, until his eyes were nearly level with Ross's, save for the inch or two of height difference between them. He took Ross's hands in his, arching a brow as Ross pulled a face at the contact, and then smiled. "All right. I'll do it. Just stay still, all right? No running away."
"This is so gay, Smith, what the hell? What the hell's wrong with you?" Ross sounded like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and that only widened the smile on Alex's face. He loved to tease his friend, really.
"It'll only take a second, Ross." Alex chuckled, and then leaned in, until he felt Ross's breath on his face, until their noses brushed against one another's. Ross's grip tightened on Alex's hands, his breathing jarred, and he shuddered, but Alex only laughed. "It's all right, Ross. No homo, and all that, right?"
"No homo... That's ironic, for you, isn't it?" Ross muttered, words almost filled with some sort of mock-resentment, and Alex laughed, before leaning in the last few inches to press their lips together. Ross made an odd sort of sound, as though disgusted, and made no movements, not to lean closer nor to pull away. Alex felt something stir in his gut, and held Ross's hands tighter in his own as he turned his head to deepen their kiss. Ross made no move to pull away, but one of his hands did slip from Alex's, and just as Alex was sure he would pull away, or smack him for forcing him to kiss him, he felt his arm wrap around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. With a chuckle against Ross's lips, he moved his own arm up, hand cupping his jaw and tilting his head as he nudged his friend's lips apart, the rough feeling of his unshaven face against his jaw scratching his face, the sensation of his fingers tugging at his short hair enough to have him letting go of Ross's other hand, winding his arm tightly around his waist and pulling him closer.
"So much...so much for no homo, eh?" Alex murmured against Ross's lips with a chuckle, and he felt the heat of Ross's cheeks radiating off of his skin. "God, you're really cute when you get embarrassed." He gripped Ross's t-shirt as they kissed, and Ross groaned, pulling his head away and looking at Alex for a moment, flustered.
"Don't say shit like that, Alex, it's embarrassing, god."
Alex paid no mind, moving his lips from Ross's mouth to his unshaven jawline.
"C'mon, Smith... Aren't you done?" Ross groaned, but the way he moved his hands to grip the back of Alex's t-shirt, tilting his head back as Alex grazed his lips against his throat, told Alex he didn't want him to be done quite yet.
"Not nearly." Alex murmured against his skin, and Ross mumbled something unintelligible, running his fingers through Alex's hair and sighing. "Hey," he pulled his lips back from his throat, glancing up through hooded eyes to study Ross's expression. Ross met his eyes sheepishly, his cheeks bright red and his lips red from their kisses.
"Wh-what?"
"You know, originally, I was only joking about the kiss, right? I mean, if you hadn't freaked out so much, I wouldn't have persisted, mate." He grinned, and Ross furrowed his brows, growing pale.
"Really? You mean-"
"Yep. You're as homo as I am, mate." He pressed his lips to Ross's again, and the dark-haired man groaned.
"You smell like cheap whiskey and like you haven't showered in a week, Alex, this is gross." He muttered, and Alex laughed.
"I might have had a couple. Can't afford luxury items like expensive whiskey when you're living with Sips. And make that two weeks." He shrugged, and Ross screwed up his nose in disgust.
"Jesus Christ, Smith, you're disgusting." He met his eyes, then, almost sincere as he spoke again. "So, I get to sleep in your bed now?"
Disappointment ran through Alex in a thick wave, but he masked it with a grin and a nod. "Sure do. I think you've earned it."
"Well. I don't want to kick you out of your bed, really. That wouldn't be fair on you, would it?" Ross moved a hand to rest it on Alex's chest, fingers playing with the fabric of his t-shirt, his gaze almost absent.
"No, that wouldn't be fair at all." Alex pondered.
"What might be fairer, though... So that we're not both without a bed, maybe you might want to, I don't know, jump into your bed. And since I'm doing everything you ask, for tonight, you might just want to ask me to join you? I don't know." His cheeks burned furiously red as he spoke, and he met Alex's eyes, embarrassed. "It's just a thought."
"That's quite an elaborate thought, Ross. And quite a good one, too." Alex smiled. "I might just need to take you up on that now."
"What about your raid?" Ross asked him, eyebrows raised.
"What raid, mate?" Alex asked, a sly smile creeping onto his face as he pulled Ross's lips to his again.