*Did this take me way too long to write? Yes

Is that because I decided to start ten oneshots this week instead of writing this damn chapter that is almost 6500 words of literal filler? Yes

Is it currently midnight?

It the pacing really weird, the ending rushed, and literally every part of this a mess? YES

Am i going to proofread it? FUCK NO

here u go*

Alex POV

Alex woke with a blinding headache, almost no memory of the previous night, and absolutely no clue where the hell he was. Panicking a little, and squinting at the brightness of the room, he tried to push himself into a sitting position, but groaned and flopped back down again when his head spun unpleasantly. His pulse throbbed in his ears. He buried his face into the pillow next to him, screwing his eyes shut, and tried to take in his situation by feel.

His feet were very cold. There was a blanket twisted around his legs, but it barely covered him at all. He was lying on a lumpy mattress, which had sunk dramatically under him, and which was pushed up against a wall- he could feel it against his shoulder. He dimly registered that he was wearing pyjamas. They couldn't be his own- he hadn't brought any with him- and they were far too long in the arm and leg. They were warm, though, and smelled... Nice. He couldn't quite put his finger on the scent, but it was comforting.

Wherever he was, he didn't seem to be in any kind of immediate peril, so rolled slowly onto his side and opened his eyes a little. He was greeted by the slightly distorted, sideways view of a living room; evidently, one of his contacts had slipped out of place as he slept. He would usually have taken them out before going to bed, but, obviously, hadn't been in a state to do so the previous night. He pushed himself up on an elbow and repositioned it with difficulty, owing to the sudden lurch that the entire room gave at the change of perspective, then blinked hard and looked around again. The first thing he noticed was John.

He was sprawled on the couch, still fully dressed, with a few pieces of paper and a cookbook hugged against his stomach. His mouth was open, hair an absolute mane, spread out around him in a kind of halo, and he was practically upside down- having probably shuffled and shifted around in the night. Snoring slightly, he slid a little closer to the floor with every breath. Alex was probably the only person who could have found that position attractive. Not that he knew that, of course, to him, the man in front of him was stunning, and he had a hard time dragging his eyes off the sleeping figure to take in the rest of the room.

It was a tip, to say the least. The TV in one corner was almost obscured by a messy pile of board games, the entirety of the floor hidden under strewn clothing, and various belongings littered everywhere in a way that put him in mind of his great-aunt Claudia's attic. She'd had all kinds of shit up there, some in unmarked cardboard boxes, but most just dumped on the floor, not even in piles- it had taken the family weeks to sort through it when she'd died.

So, if John was sleeping on the couch, it followed that Alex was in the spare bed in Laf and Herc's apartment, which John normally used. Yeah, that made sense; he vaguely remembered John saying he should crash with them that night- though he hadn't said anything about using his bed. Alex felt decidedly guilty about that- he, as the intruder, should have been the one on the couch... Then he blanched slightly, trying not to imagine what state he'd been in when they got back that they'd decided he needed the bed. Oh god, and John had been sober. What the fuck had he done?

Groaning in probably long-overdue embarrassment, Alex put his head back on the pillow. What had he been thinking- going out with them and getting drunk, and with John there to see it? What was wrong with him? The infinite number of stupid, deprecating things he might have done while under the influence of alcohol flitted through his mind in an instant. Oh god, John would never want to talk to him again. If Laf and Herc remembered anything, they wouldn't either; one night of careless drinking and he'd probably lost the three greatest people he'd met in years. Why did he always ruin everything? Why was he like this? He burrowed into the blankets, feeling sick with his hangover, and certainly not wanting to get up and face the others...

Warmth enclosing him, he felt himself dosing off again, that soft, comforting smell lulling his thoughts. Half in a dizzy haze, he thought he remembered a freckled, blushing face inches from his own... But perhaps he was only dreaming.

He was woken again perhaps an hour later by an enormous crash from the kitchen, followed by a shriek of "MERDE!", and sat bolt upright in the bed, grimacing as the whole room spun. His head still throbbing, he managed to orientate himself enough to get to his feet, though still leaning against the wall. The curtains had been closed, so the room wasn't as horribly bright as before, only a dying lamp in the corner illuminating the cave-like space. The couch was empty now, too, and John's sketches nowhere to be seen. After that rough drawing of Angelica, Alex was more than a little curious to see more of the man's work, but he knew he shouldn't pry without asking. John's drawings were probably really important to him, he wouldn't want some weirdo going through them- perhaps he wouldn't want Alex to see them at all. They probably weren't close enough for that... No, he shouldn't ask. Alex rubbed his eyes, hard. Ugh. He always over-thought things like this.

Stumbling towards the kitchen, yawning, he almost tripped over the pyjama pants he was wearing- then steadying himself against the doorframe and actually looking at them for the first time. They were green, soft, and patterned with turtles... Wait- turtles. John. Wait. He was wearing John's pyjamas. Oh god. So that was what that comforting smell was...

Alex pushed that thought firmly out of his mind, focusing instead on the fact that John had apparently taken it upon himself to make sure he didn't sleep in his jeans (then proceeding to do so himself), given him his bed, and sat on the couch sketching until he'd fallen asleep. As if he needed even more reasons to fall in love with him. The man was going to be the death of him.

In the kitchen, he found Hercules and Lafayette attempting to re-stack an enormous pile of plates and pans, which had apparently been scattered over the floor. Both looked decidedly hung-over, though not as bad as he felt- and they seemed to have turned the lights as low as they could go. That did help a little with his pounding head. They both turned as he entered, smiling, which he hadn't expected. He had been preparing himself for awkward, forced conversation and 'Shouldn't you be getting home?' but Lafayette, grinning, came over and rumpled his hair in greeting.

"Welcome back, mon ami!" he teased, speaking more quietly than usual. "We thought you would never wake up."

"Nice PJs." Herc snickered. Alex glared and flipped him off. He regretted it immediately- he was supposed to be staying friends with these guys, goddamnit- but Herc only chuckled and returned the gesture.

"So, are you up to eating anything, mon petit lion?" Laf asked, inclining his head towards the fridge. "Hercules becomes very hungry after a night of drinking, do not ask me why, so we have no eggs and no bread now, but I think there is cereal in the cupboard if you search hard enough." Alex thought about it, but, finding nausea rise in his throat at the thought of eating, grimaced and shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure anything I put in my mouth will come straight back out again at this point." he admitted apologetically.

"Then we are in the same ship, mon ami." sighed Lafayette. "But I will insist that you drink something. Water is important for a healthy head." Hercules chuckled and poked his side from behind.

"Dude, that- uh- that sentence might need a little work." Lafayette scowled at him.

"Forgive me for being hung-over and tired, mon amour." he muttered. Herc shook his head, grinning, and stretched.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm, like, 200% down for building a giant fucking blanket fort in the living room and playing video games all day. That is-" he turned to Alex. "If Alexander doesn't have anywhere to be?" Alex shook his head.

"No... If you're sure, I mean, I wouldn't want to..." He trailed off. You're doing it again, Alex. Thankfully, Herc ignored the second comment, and smiled broadly.

"Alright then, sounds like a plan."

Lafayette grabbed Alex some water and Advil, and the three of them set about building the fort. They had to pile most of John's possessions up in one corner to make enough room, but after that, the real fun began. Honestly, it was one of the most entertaining things Alex had ever witnessed. Hercules was going about it through strategy- planning and making a so-called "foundation" with the couch cushions- whereas Lafayette opted for the more traditional approach of just kind of piling them anywhere. It collapsed several times. Alexander found himself caught in bit of a crossfire, as the other two bickered and tried to get him on their side, full-on flirt-fighting, which was hilarious when the euphemisms went a little too far and they both ended up stammering uncomfortably and finding excuses to leave the room. But then, they didn't want to leave the room together, which led to more stuttering and blushing, and Alex just wished that he had a video camera because the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. In the end, Laf left to "get more blankets from his room", and Herc sat down in the half-finished fort, looking a little horrified with himself. Alex smirked at him and raised his eyebrows. Herc glowered at him.

"If you say a word to John about that, I swear I will-"

"Alright, alright! I won't! Jeez..." Herc continued to frown, his cheeks still burning. After a minute or so, Laf returned, carrying a couple of blankets under his arm- and picked up Alexander's phone from where it was lying on the ground.

"You have a message, mon ami. Uh- 'Eleeeeza' says "So, did you smash?" And a winky face- with four mouths." he read, grinning at the phone. Alex found himself blushing almost as hard as Herc, and snatched the mobile from him. He quickly sent back a firm "NO", and glared hard at Laf, who was now smiling mischievously. "Did you smash who, mon chér?"

"No one." Alex replied, far to fast. "Anyone. I don't know. She knew I was going out, so I guess... Ugh, she's always like this."

"Your sister?" Herc asked. He shook his head.

"Best friend. We've known each other forever- and we dated for like a week in high school- but she's like a sister, honestly." Then he thought of something. "Wait- you know her!" The pair stared at him.

"We do?"

"Yeah, she's Angelica's sister- Eliza Schuyler."

"Wait, really? That Eliza?"

"We have never met her." Laf admitted. "But Angelica speaks of her sisters often. She is as lovely as she claims, I take it?"

"Absolutely. But also a horrible friend sometimes." He held up the phone, indicating Eliza's text. "She's absolutely insufferable."

"You are sure she was not referring to anyone specific?" Laf waggled his eyebrows.

"Yes." Alex growled, willing himself not to blush.

"Really? Four is a lot of mouths, in my opinion- could she be referring to a certain freckled-"

"Absolutely not." he cut him off. "Nobody specific. No way. Although- speaking of freckles- where's John? He was here when I first woke up, but now he's disappeared." He ignored Lafayette's suggestive smirk, folding his arms defensively. "What, I have a right to wonder where my friend is when he disappears without explanation, don't I?"

"Oui, of course, of course. Votre amant is merely at work, petit ami, do not worry- he will be returning soon. Then you can flirt to your heart's content." Alexander looked from him to Hercules, raising one eyebrow.

"You are one to talk, after-"

"AND let's play!"

Alexander got quite a shock when Hercules picked him up by the waist from behind and dumped him into the cushions, and he sat in stunned silence while Lafayette giggled and stretched the remainder of the blankets over their heads. Hercules noticed his shocked expression and suddenly looked extremely worried.

"Aw, shit, man I'm sorry- I shouldn't have... I mean I should have asked, that was really... fuck, I- I-"

"Herc, it's ok." Alex assured him, on the verge of laughing now. "I was just... surprised, that's all. Didn't expect to be flying backwards through the air today. You - uh - you pick people up like that often, then?" Herc chuckled nervously.

"No- Not often, I mean, sometimes Laf if he's being a real pain- and John, all the time, really. He's even lighter than you, like, I can just carry him anywhere, it's great. He hates me for it, though. Sometimes I forget my own strength." At that point, Lafayette climbed into the fort with them, holding three controllers, and handed them out

"I am afraid many of our games are for only two players." he said. "So we will have to take turns."

"That's fine, that might actually help- I can watch you two that way." Alex shrugged. "I've- uh- I've not really played many video games before. Or- at all, actually... My family couldn't really... afford it..." He trailed off. God, Alex, just blow them away with how cool you are, why don't you. Go ahead and be more pathetic- I bet you can, if you really put your mind to it. When he looked up, expecting pity or disappointment, both Hercules and Lafayette looked positively outraged.

"You what?" Herc yelled.

"You are kidding!" Lafayette gasped.

"I..."

"Ok, that settles it. Today, you are becoming a video game master, mon ami!"

"You don't have to-"

"No, I insist it. Settle down, and see how it's done." Lafayette crossed his long legs underneath himself and fixed the now-glowing screen with a fiercely determined expression. Amused, Alex shifted so that he was lying on his front, turning his own attention to the game that was loading up.

The afternoon was spent playing the various games the guys had stashed on their shelf- or, watching them, in Alex's case. Still kind of drowsy, and his head swimming a little, he was perfectly content to just lie on his stomach and doze, listening to the bickering and laughter that seemed never ending between the two friends. They were like an old married couple. He grinned to himself as he imagined what their faces would look like if he ever told them that. They did persuade him to play a few times, terrible though he was, and it was honestly more fun than he was expecting- and he thought he could probably have quite a lot of fun if he got used to the gameplay. It was very confusing to start with, though, so the games moved slowly when he joined in. He was surprised by how patient Laf and Herc were with him- if only because his blundering was entertaining- they never groaned and took the controller to complete a part he was struggling with, or seemed to angry with him at all. It was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. He found himself relaxing around them, and stopped worrying that they would kick him out of the house after a couple of hours. Strange as it was, they actually seemed to enjoy his company.

After a particularly long period of sleep, Alex woke to find that he'd turned himself around and was lying upside-down in the cushions. He didn't feel so sick any more, either- apparently, he'd slept off a lot of the hangover.

"Ah, he has arisen!" Herc grinned when he saw he was awake. Groggily, Alex sat up and rubbed his eyes, giving the man a thumbs-up. He chuckled. "You wanna play something, man?

"Yeah, sure- if one of you doesn't mind taking a break."

"Nah, man it's cool- though actually…" A smirk spread itself across Hercules' face and he turned low-lidded eyes to Lafayette, a sort of 'you know what I mean' look passing between them. "I know one game we have that can have three players..." Lafayette put his head in his hands.

"Mon ami, no." he groaned. "I thought we agreed after last time that-"

"Oh, come on! John isn't here now, it'll be fine."

"Hercules-"

"Please?" Herc fixed Lafayette with a big-eyed, pleading expression, and he sighed loudly, folding his arms.

"Oh, fine"

"What are you two...?"

"MARIO KART IT IS!" Hercules cheered. He punched the air and climbed out of the blanket fort to grab the game. This one, at least, Alex had heard of- even if he'd never played it himself.

"Last time...?" Lafayette didn't look at him.

"They broke a window." he said. Alex figured he wasn't going to get any more out of him. Herc returned and fired up the game, humming along as the bouncy, upbeat music issued from their speakers. They selected characters- Alex choosing the one that looked kind of like a turtle for absolutely no reason- and then the other two set about explaining the controls.

"This one means 'Go'-" Laf told him, pointing to a button "-but you have to keep holding it down or you will stop, and you twist it like a steering wheel to turn-"

"Sometimes you get items and shit- you press this to use them- there are shells, they knock people over, or a star, which makes you go super fast and be indestructible, and banana peels-"

"On a big jump if you shake it like this you will get a burst of speed when you land-"

"Oh, oh- there are shortcuts sometimes if you look hard enough-"

"Okay, okay, you guys! I think that's enough to start with." Alex grinned.

"I still can't believe you have never played Mario Kart before..." Lafayette shook his head, sighing. "EVERYONE has played Mario Kart."

"Well, thanks for introducing me to it, then. This way I can work on not being a public embarrassment in other areas of my life." Herc snorted and selected a race to start, and the three of them shifted to have better access to their controllers.

"Here we go..." Laf muttered.

Predictably, Alexander was abysmal. For the first six races, he came last, managing 11th place in the seventh to the others' exaggerated applause, but that didn't stop it from being fun. Herc and Lafayette's competitive bickering was entertainment enough; they were consistently fighting for third or second place, elbowing each other and yelling when the little cars were overtaken or one of them fell off the track. Alexander spent a good portion of one race travelling backwards, before he realised what the little floating U-turn meant- and struggled quite considerably with "rainbow road"- he lost count of the number of times he just drove off the path- but started to get the hang of it about an hour in. After two, he was almost at a level with Laf and Herc, grabbing 5th or 6th place almost every time, and they had stopped going easy on him- though most of their shells were still saved for each other. It was at this point, too, that they started to get hungry.

A gargantuan growl from Lafayette's stomach, which he blamed on Hercules, prompted them set down their controllers, and Hercules picked up his phone- to order something, Alex guessed. When it was picked up, however, he greeted the receiver as "Burr!" and proceeded to ask if he was busy.

"Put him on speaker" Lafayette said, and Herc clicked the button in time for them to hear:

"- out tonight, sorry Mulligan." Laf and Herc both groaned, and Alexander could almost hear the other man rolling his eyes.

"Look, my fridge is literally empty. I've got nothing, OK? Sorry, maybe next time."

"Ugh, alright. See you, man."

"See you." Herc hung up.

"Pizza it is, then." he said, shrugging. "Guessing you want some, Ham- you haven't eaten today." Alex nodded.

"Please. But- uh- what was...?" He gestured to Hercules' phone, still in his hand.

"Oh, Burr?" Herc chuckled. "That's a norm. Sometimes he lets us have his leftovers- man's a hell of a cook, like, you would not believe. But he's eating out tonight, so we're left with regular takeaway. Which brings me to a very important question..." He suddenly looked very serious, cupping his chin in his hands and staring hard at Alexander. He noticed that Laf had leaned in a little too, and looked from him to Herc and back, a little uneasy. Hercules quirked one eyebrow.

"Pineapple on pizza. Thoughts?"

Well, that wasn't quite what he'd been expecting.

"It's- uh- it's pretty good? I like it- I like Hawaiian pizza, actually." An enormous, triumphant grin split Hercules' face.

"HA!" he yelled, looking defiantly at Laf. "Told you I had a good feeling about this one! Alex, you are now officially, like, the best person I know."

"Uh… thanks?"

"Ugh." Lafayette mimed retching over the arm of the couch, which Herc continued to beam and punch the air. "I cannot believe that I have surrounded myself with imbeciles. I thought better of you, Alexander." Herc chuckled and picked up his phone.

"I'd order, but the pizza place isn't far from the Grind Stone so John might be able to pick it up for us. His shift ends in, like, ten, right?"

"Oui, I think so." Herc was already dialling.

"Hey, Squirt! You good to pick up some pizza for us on your way home? … I dunno, like three? We're not that hungry- get one cheese, one pepperoni, one-" he smirked so much Alex was sure John could hear it. "-Hawaiian. … That's right, fucker, Alex is on the side of righteousness! … Hey- you take that back! Ugh, I hate you. … Okay, see you soon." He hung up. "He'll get them. In the meantime…" Hercules grabbed his controller. "Why don't we see if we can't settle this one on one? What do you say, Laf, and all-out tournament?"

"You are on, vous grand lourdaud!" Lafayette growled, snatching up his own controller. "Alex, you want to play?"

"If it's all the same, I think I'll stay out of the crossfire." Alex grinned. "I can referee."

"An excellent idea! This salaud will miss no chance to cheat."

"Oh, look who's talking…" Herc muttered. The pair narrowed their eyes at each other, then at the screen, and Alex selected a race to start.

"Two out of three?"

"No way, too much chance for flukes. First to twenty."

"Very well. Let the race begin."

The battle was intense, and hilarious, and really, really, long. Alexander was having the time of his life, perched between the two warring men and occasionally having elbows shoved into his side- which they frantically apologised for- despite the absurdity of the situation. Here he was, curled in a goddamn blanket fort with two guys he'd known for a week, watching them furiously playing Mario Kart in order to settle a dispute over pizza toppings- and it was the most fun he'd had with anyone besides Eliza. Sometimes things just didn't turn out the way you were expecting. They were ten races in with Laf leading six to four when Alexander jumped at the sound of the front door being kicked open.

"I'm HOOOME, BITCHES!" John called, his voice ringing through the house. "Where are you all?"

"Living room!" Laf screamed back, violently jerking his controller to try and turn faster, narrowly avoiding falling off a cliff. Alex crawled around and stuck his head out of the back of the blanket pile, and was met with the sight of a dishevelled John Laurens carrying a pile of pizza boxes. John grinned broadly when he saw him, a sight that made his stomach flip over, and kicked off his shoes before making to join them.

"You've all been busy, I see..." he commented.

"Yeah… come on in, there's room." Alex pulled aside a couple of cushions to allow John to crawl in with them- which he did, after pulling off his socks and shoes. He lay down with his legs sprawled on top of Alexander's, and Alex slumped back next to him, shoulders knocking his, and tried to pretend to himself that just feeling John pressed against him didn't send his heart-rate through the roof.

"So what's the situation here?" John asked him, sending him one of his dazzling smiles. "Are we talking point system? Or is it- to the death?" Alex laughed at the suddenly deadly serious tone of his friend's voice.

"Uh- first to twenty. Though it looks like they might kill themselves at this point."

"Doubt it. These guys have stamina- I've played them full-on for hours before."

"Oh yeah? Who won?"

"Me. Duh."

At this point, Herc cheered and threw his hands in the air as his car crossed the finish line just before Lafayette's.

"WOOH! Six/five, bitches, I'm catching up!"

"Not for long!" Laf retorted, shoving at his shoulder. "I will beat you!"

"You wish! Hey, that pizza smells good- let's crack it open." Happy to oblige, John and Alexander pulled the cardboard boxes into the fort with them and pulled them open. They all grabbed a piece- Herc and Alexander both going immediately for the Hawaiian. John turned up his nose.

"I can't believe you would betray me like this, Alex!" he pouted. Shit, he was so cute. The curls that were escaping from his ponytail ringed his face messily, his bottom lip sticking out and drawing Alexander's attention far more effectively than it should have done. "I thought what we had was special!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I just love food more than I love you, dear Laurens." he replied, trying to sound off-hand, even as the words I love you tumbled from his lips. Laf and Herc certainly didn't miss it, as they smirked to each other behind John's back- but, thankfully, the guy himself didn't seem to register Alex's strained tone.

"Ugh. I'll have to up my game then."

No. Please don't. I might not survive.

John scowled and took a large bite of his pizza, yelping and fanning at his mouth immediately, to everyone's great amusement. Once he'd managed to swallow, Alex passed him the remainder of his water, which he accepted gratefully.

"Well, looks like you love me more than food does, at least." he muttered. "You have been redeemed marginally in my eyes, Hamilton."

"Glad to hear it."

The Great Mario Kart War lasted for another hour, whereupon Hercules, screaming like a maniac, managed to secure third place over Lafayette's fifth in his twentieth win, and stuffed two whole slices of pizza into his mouth in celebration. Alex and John whooped and applauded him, and patted a laughing Laf on the back; the competitive squabbling had now dissolved into friendly jibes, and they chatted and joked as they finished the pizzas. When that was done, Laf picked up the boxes, as well as the controllers, and said

"I think we all should be getting some rest soon- it is very late." He made to crawl out of the cushions, but John gripped his shirt and held him back.

"Don't I get a chance to play?" he whined.

"No. You're too good. Neither of us can go through that again." Herc shut him down bluntly.

"Aww, come on."

"I'll play you." Alexander offered. "I'm already shit, so it won't really matter." John beamed.

"My hero!" He turned a triumphant smile to Lafayette, who sighed and handed back two controllers.

"Oh, fine, but I am not staying around to see you get pummelled, Alexander."

"Me neither." Hercules hoisted himself out of the fort, which rose upwards slightly as his bulk left it. "Mario Kart wars are emotionally exhausting. I'm gonna work on some designs."

"Fine, go, be boring!" John called as they left the room. "I've got Alex, he's much better than either of you anyway!"

When they had gone, he sighed and shifted forward, grinning at Alex- god, that smile did things to him- and grabbed the controller nearest to him.

"You ready to get your ass kicked, Alex?" By you, definitely. Wait- stop, that's weird.

"Ready as I'll ever be." John switched to the character selection and immediately selected the turtle one. At Alex's stifled chuckle, he looked around, face plastered with mock-offense.

"Are you mocking my love of turtles, Alex?"

"N-No…" he replied, unconvincingly. "It's just: that's who I've been playing as all day." John's smile lit up the room.

"Aww, really? It's like we were made for each other, huh?" He batted his eyelashes, and Alex's stomach did summersaults. Not trusting himself to reply with anything less than creepy, he turned his attention to the screen and flicked to the smaller turtle, heart leaping at the adorable chuckle that came from John when he selected it. John chose a race, and they started.

Playing with John wasn't at all like playing with Laf and Hercules. For one thing- the races were much shorter, since John was, as he claimed, a damn genius when it came to Mario Kart. For another, he was John goddamn Laurens and sitting right up against him, knees overlapping and shoulders knocking roughly, was distracting enough to significantly affect his performance. He was half tempted to make an official complaint. Um, I call for a rematch, your beautiful perfect face is greatly affecting my ability to think about literally anything else, which I'd say is cheating.

He did start to get better after a little while though, and the elbowing and bickering between them increased, as did the width of Alexander's beaming smile. He couldn't seem to wipe it off his face. Just being here with John, laughing with him, teasing and half flirt-fighting, which made his heart practically explode a couple of times, made him so unreasonably happy, he thought he'd never stop. Never mind that he lost every single race by at least a lap.

Then, about two hours in, in a total fluke, Alexander was ahead of him. A couple of lucky items and a blunder on John's part brought them practically neck and neck, knuckles white where they were glued to their controllers. They shoved each other, giggling furiously, trying to knock the other off course, until, with a burst of speed, Alex had crossed the finish line first.

"AARGH, FUCK YOU!" John yelled in frustration, though he was still grinning, chucking his controller onto the floor.

"Wow, so forward, Laurens." Alex found himself saying. "Usually, I insist on at least one date first, but if you're sure..." He was met with a pillow to the face and a loud laugh from John, who then grinned slyly and shoved his freezing feet underneath the front of Alex's pyjama shirt. Yelping and struggling to grab a hold of his ankles, Alex pushed off on his feet and ended up lunging towards him- a mistake, as John quickly followed his feet with his hands, and started to tickle his sides mercilessly. It should be noted- Alex was extremely ticklish. Now screaming with laughter, he twisted and struggled, trying to get away- but he only sank further into the blankets, to John's great delight, as he moved his hands from Alexander's sides to his stomach and doubled his efforts.

"N- No please I- John- I can't- shit- ah god- n- no- JOHN-" he spluttered, gasping for breath while Laurens continued to laugh, kicking out fruitlessly, his stomach starting to hurt from his own punched-out giggling- and eventually succeeded in grabbing hold of his wrists. With an immense effort, he pushed himself forward and flipped them over, John letting out a surprised yelp as Alex landed on top of him and pinned his arms above his head.

"Ha! That's for… for…" He trailed off. Both of them breathed hard, their chests brushing against each other, and Alex felt his throat go suddenly dry as he realized just how close John was. His eyes were wide, and dark, and he was staring up at him, speechless, with a blush rising quickly in his cheeks. Shit. Alex couldn't seem to drag his eyes away. He could count every individual freckle on John's nose, on his cheeks- they were even on his lips, and he realized quite suddenly just how badly he wanted to kiss him. And he could do it- John was so close. He could lean down, right now, and kiss those freckles one by one, could let himself drop so that their bodies were flush against each other and kiss him until they were both a wreck and John was moaning and writhing under him, could buck his hips down against him, drag his mouth across his neck and- fuck, he tried desperately to push those thoughts out of his head, but it was damn near impossible because he had John Laurens pinned underneath him, arms above his head, and he was straddling him and their faces were barely a whisker apart and every inch of his body was on fire-

"Alex?" John breathed, moaned, almost; his voice was low, gravelly, and Alex felt a shiver go through him at the sound of his name rolling off John's tongue like that, eyes fixed on his face, and heard his own breathing hitch as John inhaled. He was pretty sure he had sucked all the air out of his lungs with that breath. His cheeks were completely flushed, freckles standing out starkly, but his eyes had darkened and he was so damn close and Alex felt himself leaning down and then-

He pushed himself away, let go of John's wrists and sat back on the cushions, heart pounding. What the fuck had he just done?

John was sitting up slowly. His eyes were still wide and his hair dishevelled, and his breathing was a little unsteady. He was staring at Alex in shock.

"I- uh- " he said shakily, looking anywhere but at John. "I… I'm going to get a drink."

He scrambled out of the fort, knowing he was blushing furiously, and half-ran into the kitchen, where he stood, leaning against the table, breathing hard. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck….

He'd screwed up really bad. He'd nearly kissed him. How stupid could you get?

What was he going to do? John certainly wouldn't want him to stay any longer- probably wouldn't want to hang out with him at all after the situation he'd just put him in- so… he'd better go home. No use staying and making John uncomfortable even longer. He gulped down some cold water, splashing some of it on his face, and steeled himself to go back into the living room and fetch his stuff before he fled. Fled seemed a good word for it. He waited a few minuted to let his heart-rate slow at least a little, and to be fairly sure that he wasn't going to freak out just talking to John. Then he headed back in.

The room was very dim, as the TV screen had now been switched off, but he could make out the lumpy shape of John under the blankets. As he entered, he switched on the light, illuminating the figure. He was still a little shaken, but the blush in his cheeks had started to fade. He looked up as the light flicked on. Alex struggled for words, determinedly keeping his eyes away from John.

"Do you- uh- know where my clothes are? I mean- from last night. I can't exactly leave in your pyjamas…" A look of surprise and- dare he hope it- slight disappointment crossed John's face.

"You're going? Like, right now?"

"Uh- yeah… I shouldn't disturb you guys two nights in a row, you know- and I'm sure I've just been-"

"No! No, Alex, you can't go now! I mean- if you really want to- but don't think you have to or anything. You should stay; it's late, we're all tired, it's not safe to walk around by yourself at night… And I'm definitely not awake enough to take down this blanket fort, which is a problem because the rules of Adulthood say it's only acceptable to sleep in a blanket fort if you do it with someone. That way it's fun. On your own, it's just sad." He looked at Alex pleadingly, and, against his better judgement, he melted. Perhaps, he hoped, John hadn't even noticed anything strange. Perhaps he thought he had just pinned him for that long to make sure he didn't try to tickle him again, and he really had just left to get a drink of water. Well, he could hope. John was acting very natural…

He climbed back into the fort, and John beamed at him.

"Yay! Now I've got a buddy! Wouldn't want you trekking all the way home in the rain, would we? Plus- I wouldn't want you to take off my pyjamas: they look really cute on you. Here, grab some pillows and make yourself comfy- I'll get the light. You must be exhausted from dealing with those two all day." Most of the comment was lost to Alex's mind due to a tirade of John Laurens said I look cute, and he just sat a little stunned as John hopped out of the pile to switch off the light again. He lay his head down as the light went out, and felt the blankets sink as John climbed back in and then lay down next to him, the cramped space forcing their elbows and fingers to brush against each other.

It was nice though, comforting, and Alex felt his eyes drooping quickly. He didn't want to fall asleep- he wanted to stay up and talk to John (assuming there were no hard or otherwise weird feelings) for hours, but the calming presence of JohnJohnJohn- of John's feet brushing against his own, of John's hair spread out enough for him to feel a few strands on his cheek, John's smell- like the pyjamas, but tenfold, filled him with a sense of total relaxation, and, before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

*Am i going to re-write this in the future so it makes more sense? Yes probably.

Do I LIVE for your comments? ABSOLUTELY*