Written for Zalex Week 2020, using the prompt 'Sharing clothes'.

Alex knows that it had been nothing more than a drunken hook-up. He had even been okay with the way they had gone about it. A quick fuck, it got the job done, and they had been able to have a laugh about it as they had had another drink afterwards.

It was exactly what Alex had needed after his break-up with Charlie. No strings attached, no emotions.

He wouldn't have been able to do it with a stranger though, but when Zach had offered it to him, after a little too much to drink, he hadn't hesitated to take the offer. He hadn't even considered that it might change things between them.

But when he picks up Alex's hoodie from the floor, he catches himself bringing it up to his face, taking in that musky scent of Zach's, which he has to admit, he has come to know all too well over the last few years.

He feels a flutter in the pit of his stomach, yet he can't get himself to drop the hoodie. Instead, he takes off his own shirt, and he puts on Zach's hoodie, the thought of something of Zach's against his skin, taking his mind back to the night before.

Sure enough, they had both been a little drunk, well, Zach more than a little, but Alex still remembers everything. From the way Zach had kissed him, to the way his hands had clumsily fumbled to undo his jeans. The way Zach had, even after the drinking, asked him what he wanted, how he liked it. There had been a kindness to it, yet something in his touching had been confident, impatient, as though it was what he had been wanting to do for months, if not years.

Alex shivers as he still remembers the feeling of Zach inside of him, the feeling of his mouth on the back of his neck.

It's only when his phone rings that he snaps out of it.

"Hey, man."

Zach had left, before Alex had even woken up, and Alex had been a little nervous that he had left because he had regretted the whole thing. But when he hears his voice, when he can hear the smile in there, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Can I come over?"

"I thought you had left."

"I went for a walk. I needed some fresh air, clear my head," Zach admits, but then he sighs. "I'm sorry."

"The door is open," Alex says, not wanting to do this over the phone.

He sits down on his bed, but it only makes him feel more uncomfortable. So he gets back up, his foot almost hitting the packet of condoms they must have dropped there last night.

He doesn't get a chance to pick them up though, because he can already hear Zach coming back into the apartment.

"We should probably talk about it, right?"

"Do you even remember what happened?" Alex asks. "You were pretty drunk, so…"

"I wasn't that drunk, Alex. I know we had sex."

"Right."

"I'm not really used to this, so I'm not sure what to say, or… I mean, are you okay?" Zach asks, and Alex can't help but smile at his awkwardness. "I didn't hurt you, or…?"

"You didn't hurt me, Zach. I just don't want this to become a thing, you know?"

"Yeah, of course. It was stupid. We shouldn't have done it."

"That's not what I mean. I just don't want it to get weird," Alex says, but when Zach just nods, he can't help but laugh. "Seriously, Zach. It's no big deal."

"It kind of is," Zach chuckles, "Right?"

"Not really." Alex shrugs. "It wasn't a big deal when we kissed, so…"

"I think that's a little different than… you know…"

Alex can feel himself blushing, the image of Zach thrusting into him, the sweat glistening on his chest, flashing before his eyes.

Zach sits down on the bed, and Alex is about to tell him that they don't ever have to mention it again, but before he can even open his mouth, Zach beats him to it.

"Wait, is that my hoodie?"

"Oh, yeah… sorry."

"No, it's fine," Zach says, unable to keep the smile from forming on his lips.

"What?"

"It could probably do with a wash, but if you want to wear it…"

Alex brings the fabric up to his face, Zach shaking his head, probably more out of embarrassment than anything.

"Look, man, it was a hot day yesterday, and…"

"It smells like you," Alex interrupts him, Zach now the one blushing, as he lowers his eyes to the floor.

Alex sits down next to him, and he wonders if he should tell him the truth about what he is feeling, what he is thinking, or if he should try to shrug it all off and make it out to be the hook-up it was meant to be.

"I lied, Alex."

"What?" Alex asks, snapping out of his thoughts. "About what?"

"About being able to do this for you. About it being nothing more than sex," Zach admits, and Alex sighs, trying to take it in, trying to understand what Zach is telling him. "I can't do this without feeling something."

"I don't think I can either," Alex admits after a tense silence, Zach now finally looking up at him. "Do you want to just forget about it?"

"No, I really don't."

"Do you maybe want to keep doing this and see where it goes?" Alex suggests, his heart almost beating out of his chest. Because what if he has misunderstood the whole thing, and this is only going to cause a rift between him and Zach?

"I think I'd like that." Zach nods, a small smile on his face. He leans in, their mouths colliding into a nervous kiss. But when Zach slides his arm around Alex's waist, and he pulls him into his lap, their kisses grow hungrier, and things are quickly starting to feel like they had last night.

But when Zach tries to take Alex's hoodie off, he stops him, a grin forming on his face.

"Don't."

"You seriously want to keep wearing that thing? It stinks."

"Exactly." Alex says, so matter-of-factly, that Zach can't help but laugh.

"Right. Anything else you're into that I need to know about?"

"Don't worry," Alex teases, as he wraps his arms around Zach's neck, and he pulls him in for a kiss. "You'll find out."