Thanks for the reviews! And thanks for being patient. I was on vacation last week, but I'll try to update my fics sooner again :)

Enjoy!

The weekend had gone better than Alex originally anticipated. The Kepners were a welcoming bunch, though a family full of perky people was overwhelming, especially when April's tiny grandmother wouldn't stop pinching his cheeks like he was a cute five-year old. Although in the back of his mind, he wondered if her family would think differently of him if they knew of his bad history. He certainly wasn't the kind of boy his girlfriend should be taking home. But somehow, he managed not to act like an ass even when her sisters were a pain with their constant nagging.

By the end of the weekend, the verdict was in: Alex Karev was accepted into the Kepner family.

Big Joe particularly enjoyed his company. Most likely due to the fact that all of his children were girls, so having a guy like Alex around was a nice change for him. He already made a better impression than Libby and Kimmie's husbands. Probably because they bonded through sports.

"Big Ten for life," the farmer proudly stated before they left for the airport.

It sounded a little dorky, but whatever. Alex decided to roll with it.

Now that they were back in Seattle, he was looking forward to the one-on-one time they weren't allowed to have during their stay on the farm. He had been patient with her even when he couldn't take his eyes off of her in her strapless, peach colored bridesmaids dress. The horny man in him blamed the cleavage that was displayed front and center.

They arrived at Meredith's house just before noon and Alex was already feeling frisky. While April attempted to unlock the front door, his hands grasped her waist as he kissed her neck. The touch of his lips made it difficult for her to insert the key into the keyhole.

"Alex…" she softly groaned. "Wait one more second."

"I waited for a whole weekend," he mumbled against her neck. Alex took the key from her and opened the door himself. He dragged his luggage inside as he stayed close behind her. "We can bring these upstairs later, right?"

April spun around, throwing her arms over her boyfriend's shoulders. She didn't want to openly admit it, but she was getting pretty impatient about sex too. "Okay, fine. You held yourself back better than I thought you would."

He grinned just before he hungrily kissed her lips. Carefully pushing her backwards towards the stairs, they both stopped when they heard a lazy greeting from the living room. Jackson occupied the couch, but appeared sloppy and bummed about something. He was slouched on the couch in his sweatpants with his bare feet resting on top of the coffee table. Empty wrappers and a few beer bottles surrounded him.

"Jackson? What's the matter?" the redhead immediately asked, approaching her best friend. She took a seat beside him after brushing off the litter on the couch with her forearm. "Tell me what's wrong."

The pretty boy slowly turned his head towards April with a frown on his face. "I broke up with Lexie last night."

She softly gasped. "What? Why? I thought you two were happy together."

Jackson crossed his arms and pouted. "Yeah, well… she was always in love with Sloan. She didn't have to say anything. I knew it all along, but I didn't want to believe she still had feelings for him." He rubbed the growing stubble on his face. "I was just the rebound guy."

"No, I think you meant more to her than that," she insisted. "What made you decide to break up with her?"

"Little things I noticed – the long distance stares, her jealousy over Mark's new girlfriend. I couldn't wait around for the girl who's still in love with another guy anymore."

Alex stood by the entrance of the living room trying to hide his amusement. It wasn't that he enjoyed seeing Avery miserable, but he thought the guy should've known what he was getting himself into with Lexie Grey. "Dude, you know what you need? A night at Joe's. Bring home a hot chick and enjoy an easy lay. Get your mind off of her for a while."

Jackson shook his head. "No, thanks. I need a little more time to feel sorry for myself," he dejectedly answered, adjusting his position and resting his head on top of April's lap, catching her slightly off-guard. "I'm glad you're home. I finished the whole jar of cheese puffs."

"Umm…" She reluctantly started to pet his shaved head. "You'll be fine, Jackson."

"This is nice," he murmured, smiling up at her.

"Give me a break," Alex muttered to himself and rolled his eyes. It was a pathetic sight to watch and he was pissed. His girlfriend comforting Jackson like he was some poor puppy wasn't exactly something he enjoyed seeing. He knew he could have been upstairs having sex with her right now. Instead, she was tending to their coworker's crap. "April…"

She glanced up at him and he gestured his hand towards the stairs with an annoyed expression on his face. April wasn't quite sure what to do next. She felt bad about pushing Jackson off of her lap. He needed a friend and in the frat house, she was his closest companion. But she was aware that Alex was growing even more impatient.

"Do you mind bringing our stuff upstairs? I'll meet you in my room soon," the perky woman instructed.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, scrunching his face into a scowl as he picked up their luggage and walked away. Trudging up the stairs, he began imagining different scenarios in which he murdered Jackson in various ways. The sooner he and April moved out of the house, the better. That freaking pretty boy was already the most annoying third wheel ever.

He bumped into Meredith in the hallway as she headed for the stairs. "Can you find somebody to hook up with Avery? He's acting like a total loser cozying up on April's lap," he bitterly said. "She's petting his head like he's one of those ugly cats without any fur."

Meredith softly chuckled. "Oh, him. Yeah, poor guy has a broken heart."

"And he's moving in on my girlfriend," he angrily replied. "If he starts using those eyes of his on her, I'm gonna kick his ass."

"He's not trying to move in on April and you are not kicking his ass," she declared. "April's his best friend. He needs support from somebody because I'm not really sure what to say to him. I mean, Lexie's my sister, so it would be awkward siding with him. He did dump her after all."

"Well, get him out of the house for a while. I'm freaking horny and I want to have sex," Alex complained, dropping off his luggage inside of his bedroom. He stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips. "I didn't abstain from sex for two whole days for nothing."

Meredith smirked at him. "Two whole days? I'm surprised you're alive," she quipped. "You know, the walls in this house aren't the thickest, so the peace and quiet while you two were in Ohio was… refreshing."

"Shut up," he retorted, glaring back at his roommate. "We plan on moving out soon anyway."

"Just the two of you?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"I don't know. I guess I didn't see you and April at that level yet. It's different living together here because there are other people around, but I had no idea you were ready to move in with her," she explained, smiling at him. "Alex is finally growing up."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I've been married. I know what it's like to grow up and it isn't that great – at least in the past it wasn't," he half-heartedly responded. "She's different, okay? She's not… she's not Izzie."

"I know she isn't," Meredith agreed. "Which is why it's nice to see her making you happy."

"Well, she's not making me happy right now," he mumbled.

"Oh, stop it. She's just trying to be a good friend. You know how she is," she dismissively said. Walking past her friend, she turned back around at the top of the stairs. "Besides, you just spent the entire weekend with April. Let her interact with the outside world."

He walked back into his bedroom, collapsing face first after Meredith left him alone. She had a point. He did spend the majority of their weekend by his girlfriend's side, but the selfish part of him wanted to hog her just a little bit more. And whenever April was around Jackson, he couldn't help but feel envious.

Hanging out with Jackson for five minutes turned into over five hours, to Alex's dismay. While April agreed to go to the movies with the pretty boy, her boyfriend took his frustrations out on a punching bag at the gym. He tried his hardest to avoid thinking about the worst case scenario between the Mercy Westers. It was unlike him to become so paranoid, but he remembered the situation with Izzie and Denny Duquette and he refused to get burned like that again.

Alex purposely hid in his bedroom until she finally came home. He fell asleep on his bed waiting for her with a medical textbook resting on his chest. The boredom had gotten to him to the point he tried to start studying for his boards nine months early. It took a page and a half for his eyelids to close.

April entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She felt guilty for not ditching Jackson sooner, but she didn't want to come off as the unsupportive best friend when he had been there for her numerous times in the past. At least she managed to brush him off when he decided to drown his sorrows again with a new six-pack of beer in the living room.

She climbed onto the bed, nuzzling her nose against her boyfriend's cheek as she lay down beside him. "Alex…" the redhead softly called out in a playful tone. She moved the textbook from his chest and drew invisible circles against it with her finger. "I'm home."

He stirred in his sleep and mumbled inaudible words to himself. His eyes fluttered open when she began peppering kisses along his jaw. April appeared as cheerful as ever, but he was cranky. "Back from your date?"

"You know it wasn't like that," she replied with a smirk, then she pointed at the textbook. "Studying?"

"Not really." Alex pushed himself up and sat up on his bed. "Done grooming Avery? Did he lick his balls too while you picked out his fleas?"

April smacked his shoulder. "Don't be an ass," she scolded him. "Why are you mad at me? Jackson's my friend and he needed somebody to talk to. You've experienced a break up before. Didn't you want a friend to lean on for support?"

"No. I normally just got drunk at Joe's, which is what I originally suggested to him," he answered with a scowl on his face. "Instead, he acts like he can't take care of himself and goes to you like a freakin' sad puppy."

"He needed a friend!"

"You're not his only friend. Why can't your best friend be a woman?"

"I had one and she died," she retorted, shaking her head as she slid off of the bed. "And Jackson lost his best friend too, so we were there for each other after the shooting happened. I've known him longer than I've known you. There's also no reason to feel threatened by him."

"Threatened? Whatever," Alex scoffed. "That pretty boy doesn't intimidate me."

April rolled her eyes as she opened the door. "Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it's best that we sleep in our own rooms for a change," she angrily suggested before leaving the bedroom and slamming the door shut.

Lying back down on his bed, he cursed at himself for acting like a jerk. Now he wasn't getting laid and he would be sleeping alone that night.

Strike two.

"Freakin' Avery," Alex muttered as he aggressively pushed buttons on the vending machine. A pack of peanut M&M's dropped from a shelf and he retrieved it from below. "He's now the main reason April and I have to move out of Mer's place."

"You and Kepner moving in together?" Cristina asked with a puzzled expression on her face. "I didn't know you two were at that level yet."

Meredith chuckled. "That's what I said!" She strolled down the hospital hallway with her two coworkers. "Can you imagine those two living together by themselves? April's so clean, while Alex- well… he'd have a full-time maid, not that she doesn't already clean up after him."

"Shut up. I can clean up after myself," he grumbled, throwing an M&M into his mouth.

"One of your socks was hanging on the banister this morning," she noted.

"I stepped on a wet spot in the bathroom. I was airing it out," Alex insisted with a shrug. "Whatever. I wouldn't make April do everything for me. Maybe in the past when we weren't dating, but it's not like that anymore. I think I met her entire bloodline over the weekend, so it's safe to say we're not just screwing or whatever."

"Oh, yeah. How was that?" Cristina inquired. "Did you tell them about the time you gave George syphilis?"

Meredith snickered after their friend simply rolled his eyes. "He's frustrated because he hasn't had sex for like three days now. April put him on a timeout," she teasingly said.

"Aww, poor Karev not getting any because Pretty Boy's stealing your game?" the Asian woman chimed in. "It must suck, huh? All Avery has to do is bat those eyelashes of his, while you have to take a shower to win points from April."

"Screw you both," Alex defensively replied as the two women laughed together. He purposely increased his pace, leaving Meredith and Cristina behind to avoid listening to more jokes from them.

He was already cranky that morning when he realized April left the house early with Jackson. There was a possibility she was still mad at him, but he hated the idea that she leaned on her best friend whenever they had a fight. He wanted to make things right between them. Maybe then he'd finally get some, he thought.

The redhead stood inside of her office adjusting the various post-its on her whiteboard and organizing which residents would teach skills labs on specific days. Alex felt relieved to find her alone without the puppy wandering around and sniffing her butt. He quietly closed the door and approached his girlfriend with his hands behind his back. Slowly wrapping his arm around her waist, she slightly jumped and glanced down at the open bag of peanut M&M's in his hand.

"I uhh… I got these for you," he awkwardly greeted her. "It's like a sorry thing or whatever."

"That's your apology?" April turned around, smirking at him. "How about a normal apology like, 'April, I'm sorry for acting like a jerk last night. I was wrong. Very, very wrong and I shouldn't be jealous of Jackson'? That's not difficult, right?"

Alex scratched the back of his neck as he scrunched his nose. "I gotta say that last part?" He rolled his eyes when she happily nodded. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry I acted like a jerk and uhh, I'm only jealous of Jackson because you used to have a thing for him and that doesn't sit well with me."

"You think I still have feelings for Jackson?" She placed her hands against his chest and smiled. "He's just my best friend and nothing more. I love you, Alex. I also hate fighting with you 'cause I always think you're going to break up with me eventually."

"What?" he chuckled. "Dude, I'd only break up with you if I realized you weren't into me anymore or if you fall for some dying patient and cut their LVAD wire."

"Huh?"

He quickly shook his head and half-smiled at her. "Nothing." Resting his hands on her hips, he leaned in for a kiss. "I was thinking maybe we could start searching for apartments if you're not busy."

"Oh! No worries. I did some apartment hunting last night before I went to bed," she chirped, nearly skipping towards her desk. "Who knew spending the night away from you could make me so productive?"

Alex watched April pull out a stack of printouts from one of her drawers. He stood beside her, staring at the various apartment descriptions scattered on the desk. "I should've known you'd be way ahead of me with stuff like this."

She pointed out one of the apartments. "I really like this one. Hardwood floors and a washer-dryer. It's also closer to the hospital than Mer's house, so it would be an ideal situation for us. It means you can sleep in if you want."

"I like how you think," he concurred, kissing her cheek. "You said you're not busy, right?"

"Not unless I'm paged downstairs to the pit. Why?" April squealed when her boyfriend suddenly picked her up and sat her down on the desk. "What are you doing?"

He removed his lab coat and dropped it behind him onto the floor. "It's just the two of us. This is your office, so let's take advantage of it."

"O-oh, umm…" She never finished what she wanted to say as Alex's lips crashed into hers. In the back of her mind, she knew they should stop and search for an empty on-call room instead, but the thrill of having sex in the Chief Resident's office was somewhat intriguing. Her hands slipped underneath his scrub top and she hastily pulled it over his head.

Alex pushed her lab coat off of her shoulders, burying his face against her neck. He was doing a small celebratory dance in his head because he was finally getting what he had wanted since they returned from Ohio. April's legs wrapped around his waist as she hungrily kissed him again. He was about ready to rip off her scrub top when the door opened.

"Hey," Jackson lazily greeted the twosome as he headed straight for the couch.

"Dude," Alex muttered, pursing his lips at the pretty boy. His roommate appeared unfazed by their current position as he flipped open a medical journal.

Did Jackson even notice they were about to have sex?

Alex was fed up with the lost puppy. He angrily approached the newly single man, grabbing him by his lab coat and lifting him up from the couch. "You need to get the hell out of here," he snarled.

"What the hell, Karev?" Jackson retorted as he struggled to loosen his coworker's grip.

"Later, loser," he excitedly said before throwing the other man out of the office. Alex shut the door and locked it, then he smiled proudly as he rubbed his palms together.

Unfortunately, it was all in his head. Alex snapped out of it and furrowed his eyebrows at Jackson from across the room. April hurriedly slid off of her desk, while he bent over to pick up his scrub top. He wished he could physically throw him out of his girlfriend's office because he was killing his game more than ever. And he didn't even have the courtesy to knock.

That fucking puppy.

April took a seat beside Jackson, who automatically laid his head against her shoulder. She forced herself to laugh as she patted his head. "Umm… everything alright?" she politely asked, gazing back at Alex. He appeared ultimately annoyed by her best friend's presence.

"I need to move out," the pretty boy mumbled. "I can't live in the same place as my ex-girlfriend."

"Well, I have a bunch of apartment listings printed out. Maybe one of them will draw you in?" she suggested.

"Or we could all split a place together."

Alex was certain his heart skipped a beat upon hearing Jackson's idea. No way in hell did he want to continue living with him, especially with the way he currently acted. The dude was already everywhere. One of the main points of moving out of Meredith's frat house was to get away from Avery. It truly felt like he was dating both April and Jackson now.

"You get that April and I are uhh, together? You've seen that show Three's Company, right?" he bluntly stated. "It doesn't exactly pan out well. Find a place of your own."

"There's no need to sound like a tool," Jackson countered. "Maybe we should let April decide."

April swallowed hard when both men stared at her waiting for an answer. She knew it was a lose-lose situation for her. If she told Jackson it was okay for him to move in with them, then Alex would be pissed all over again. Reject her best friend and he might resent her a bit. Why did it have to be her decision?

"Is it because I'm Chief Resident?" she timidly replied. "Or are you just being gentlemen by letting me make a choice?"

"Just choose, April," Alex impatiently demanded. "It's not a hard decision, to be honest. Just keep in mind who you're sleeping with."

Chewing on her bottom lip, she fidgeted with her fingers as she quietly contemplated what to say. Her pager went off, which was a blessing in disguise for her. She checked the page and jumped up onto her feet. "Well, would you look at that? Hunt needs me now, so I'll see you guys later."

Looking back at Jackson, Alex walked towards him with his arms folded. "Dude, you're a pain in the ass."

"What?" he responded, furrowing his eyebrows. "What did I do?"

"You're everywhere!" he blurted out. "You broke up with Lexie. So freakin' what? You should've known what you were getting yourself into with her. Go bug somebody else about it because I can't spend any time with April without you barging in whenever you please. And moving in with us? Screw that. You're a third wheel, Avery. And one more thing – rest your head on my girlfriend's lap again and I'll punch that pretty face in."

Jackson pushed himself up, so he stood face to face with Alex. "Sounds like somebody feels threatened by me."

"Give me a break," he scoffed. "I'm the one with a girlfriend who isn't in love with another guy."

While he easily could have thrown a punch at that moment, Jackson fought the urge to and simply watched Alex leave the office as he cackled at him. "Douche," he muttered to himself. He decided to check out the apartment listings on April's desk. There was one in particular that drew his attention – hardwood floors, washer-dryer and three bedrooms. It sort of puzzled him that she even bothered to look for apartments with multiple bedrooms, but this was a perfect situation for him. "April can't say no to hardwood floors."

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