Archive of Our Own ^beta

The neon lights around the bar flickered and lit up with a solid turquoise, laying a soft glow on the immediate surroundings, including the two bartenders, chatting while getting ready for another shift. Everything was pristine clean, possibly even the Governor would not be ashamed to lay his eyes on this place. The dancefloor didn't have a speck of dust on it, only for it to be littered and the litter trampled into it in a matter of hours. The colorful ceiling lights came to life as well, the club turned into the most quiet party known to man, without people, without the music. The DJ's stage was still empty, there was still time for them to arrive, however, for some reason they always like to arrive fashionably late, just to set up the stage minutes before letting the crowd in. Alex was no newbie in this matter, he watched the same scene happen almost every night, just with different people. This moment of quiet was his favorite, being able to hear his own words before they would dissolve under the storm of heavy beats.

The manager often liked to check in with his people before the night started, then he would leave the dark hours to the youth. This time he was accompanied by a tall hooded figure with three different equipment cases hanging from their shoulders. Since the bartenders' only thing was bartending, they never really knew or cared that much who would be arriving, unless it was a really big one. Despite the manager's age, he still somehow had the idea what the kids listen to these days, and he delivered.

While the two were talking by the entrance, the hood slid down the newcomer's head, revealing raven black hair, one side fashionably longer than the other, reaching to the chin. Even from behind the bar, Alex could tell the person would probably be heavily tattooed, as some of the ink poured out of the hoodie on his neck and the back of his hand. Now he didn't know whether he needed glasses or not, but the overall shape and energy of that person felt familiar.

The DJ could sense someone staring at him, and since there weren't that many options, his eyes wandered over to the bar, and squinted a bit. Both of them probably needed glasses. As soon as he realized who he was staring back at, a curious smile appeared on his lips. He exchanged the last needed bits of information with the manager, and before going to the stage, he had to walk over to the bar to make sure his sight wasn't misleading him.

As the figure was approaching, the shortening distance between him and the bar was like a loading bar of Alex's realization that he was right. The DJ nodded hello to the woman on the other side of the bar and turned his attention back to the man.

"Alex?" the voice sounded before he reached the bar.

"Sebastian? I knew it was you! Didn't expect you here," the bartender smiled without realizing it.

"Me neither, but the world is small. With my traveling," he shook the cases hanging from him, "I guess I'm bound to run into someone I know from time to time. You moved here?" His snake bite piercings framed his smile so nicely the bartender's stare had to slide down to appreciate them.

Alex nodded, trying his best to not be distracted by the new artistic masterpiece that Sebastian had become. "Still living in Zuzu City?"

He said something affirmative, not that Alex was fully paying attention. Over the past few years, Sebastian did glow up and matured, happiness was shining from him despite him keeping his usual mysterious look. It contrasted really well, his dark eyes sparkled like the night sky.

"Quite a trip to get here," Alex attempted to tie his sentence to Sebastian's whatever-it-was, hoping he didn't get caught off guard.

"Just an hour flight, that's nothing. Speaking of time, I'm kinda late, so I'll go get ready, but speak to you later? If you want?" he paid him an apologetic smile.

"Sure thing," Alex reciprocated and let Sebastian wander off to the dancing area.

As soon as Sebastian couldn't hear them anymore, a pair of woman's hands grabbed Alex firmly by his arms.

"Oh my god, watch out!" she blurted out with a concerned face.

"What?!" Alex's brain stopped computing, as it was torn away from appreciating Sebastian's ~back~ from afar so abruptly.

She retreated back and put on her regular smug face expression with a pinch of gratification. "Someone had to catch you, you're clearly falling."

"Pfff, no I'm not," he spat back.

"Sweetheart, if someone asked me to describe sheer gay panic with one word, it would be Alex."

"Shut up, Mara. I'm not panicking, or falling for anyone. We never even really spoke, just grew up in the same town, so now we just said hi, it would be weird not to when we clearly recognized each other." His explanation was way longer than needed, which didn't erase Mara's suspicions at all.

She pouted and kept nodding, not believing a single word. "But the times they are a-changing, aren't they? I mean, look at him, he's fiiiiine-looking. And you're hearing it from a lesbian. All I'm saying, you always do this when you hook up with guys normally, and this one's a DJ, you're fucking lucky."

"I'm not hooking up with him."

"Uh-huh, yeah," Mara grinned.

The bar was placed so conveniently that the DJ's stage was fully visible despite being situated in a different room. Alex kept eyeing Sebastian occasionally, but paid close attention to his music all the time. Not that he had a choice, it was the only thing everyone could hear and even screaming over it still felt like whispering. One thing was to learn about the music one listens to and get a hint of who they are, but another was to hear the music they create, it leaves a deeper cut. When Alex wasn't serving drinks at the moment, he could watch the show bit by bit. Sebastian was gently lip syncing all the lyrics, and as the night was progressing, his style was getting gradually more hardcore. The air conditioning was doing its best to let some oxygen inside, it almost started sweating itself as well. The place Alex was standing was fortunate enough to get a bit of draft from the entrance as people kept pendling in and out, but the dance floor must have felt like the boiling pits of hell if Alex was still feeling too hot. With the progression of time, every glance at Sebastian was getting better and better, his hoodie ended up somewhere behind, he was now only in a black T-shirt, which uncovered a sleeve of tattoos running down his arm, his face was glistening with a mist of sweat, the longer part of his hair was held back by his headphones, otherwise it would surely keep getting stuck to his cheek all the time with all the head bobbing to the rhythm. He kept a bottle of water by his side, and was becoming thirstier by the minute. Alex knew being a DJ was definitely on the list of sexy jobs, but now he fell victim to it himself despite being quite immune under normal circumstances.

What he wasn't aware of was the fact that Mara and her girlfriend Sydney, who would visit her at the club some nights, were watching him thirst over Sebastian the whole time. Having witnesses wouldn't certainly help him maintain his previously stated denial of the fact that he was indeed feeling attracted to him.

The closing time was approaching, the dance floor started slowly clearing up and so did the bar. As much as Alex didn't want the night to end, so that he could keep enjoying the atmosphere eternaly, he also wanted to see Sebastian up close in this messy after-party state. It was for science, definitely.

As the music faded into another dimension with a twist of a knob, and all that people could hear was sudden deafening silence, the last group of tireless dancers clapped and cheered for Sebastian, he put his headphones down and took a deep, genuine bow of gratitude, saying good night, or rather a very early good morning, with a most charming smile. His eyes wandered to the glowing bar again to see Alex playfully applauding him in silence as well, so he rewarded him with a wide smile as well, adding a tip of an imaginary hat. That reaction made Alex genuinely laugh and blush, he was praying to all the gay gods that the blue light would negate the sudden rosy glow spreading across his face.

"That was the longest sex you've ever had, wasn't it?" Mara grinned when she could use the regular volume of her voice again.

"Shut up," Alex retorted without even looking at her, but she wasn't wrong. He was indeed wishing for more, they both got sweaty, watching Sebastian move to the rhythm was ecstatic, there was even a soundtrack, and Sebastian's gorgeous smile and the sudden quiet at the end felt like the immediate relief after a long passionate night. Just the main part wasn't quite there, and there were over a hundred people between them, that quite ruins the intimacy.

Who knows if he would feel the same way, anyways, Alex pondered in his head.

Sebastian packed his equipment in the speed of light, the bartenders were still cleaning up and preparing the bar for those shifting the next day. Clutching his hoodie in his hand, and with the cases hanging from his tired body as if he were Christmas tree, he was slowly getting ready for departure.

He stopped by the bar. "So I guess I'll be taking off, guys, it will be a long travel home."

Alex froze mid-movement. "Wait. You don't have a hotel booked?"

Sebastian pressed his lips together and shook his head with shame. "This was a last-minute arrangement, everything was full."

"Where are you gonna go then?"

"I'll take a taxi to the airport and wait for the first flight. Not that it hasn't happened before."

"No," Alex stopped him firmly. "The first flight is gonna be in hours from now, I'm not letting you wander the airport in the middle of the night like this. Why don't you crash at my place? I don't live that far from here."

Sebastian's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. And then you catch whichever flight you wish. It's gonna be safer that way. Unless you insist," he shrugged, but kept a steady eye contact. Alex's heart was pumping like crazy, screaming up to the brain like 'what the fuck are you doing, do you wanna kill me', to which the panicking brain blurted out 'if you haven't noticed, I have no fucking idea what I'm doing'.

"And... isn't anybody gonna mind?" Sebastian enquired carefully.

Alex smiled for himself and leaned against the counter. "I think I'll have to ask my plants if it's okay, but I think they'll survive a second oxygen breather for once."

Seb chuckled. "Thank you. It means a lot."

"No problem."

While the bartenders were finishing their cleaning up, Sebastian went outside to enjoy a well-deserved cigarette and breathe the cold night air.

"How the tables have turned," Mara remarked.

"We're not gonna fuck."

"But you wish tho."

"Shut up," Alex's voice jumped up an octave. This was becoming less of a command and more of a way of admitting she was right.

The neon lights went out and the place immediately felt way more boring. Alex grabbed Sebastian's equipment he left at the bar, the cases weighed like a ton. No wonder Sebastian's body was way more toned than Alex remembered, if he has to be dragging these things everywhere with him. He turned around to check whether he didn't forget anything behind, and took a deep breath before stepping out.

"Good luck," Mara sounded behind him, getting ready to leave as well.

"Thanks. Good night," he nodded and went outside.

Sydney was already standing there, leaning against her car, waiting for Mara, Alex wished her a good night as well. Her response was decorated with an eyebrow wiggle and her eyes skipping between him and Sebastian like in a tennis match. If Alex's hands weren't carrying so much expensive stuff at the moment, he would run his finger across his throat to get the message across, but now he could only pretend that he didn't see it, and pray that neither did Sebastian.

The DJ crushed the end of the cigarette under his shoe and expected Alex to hand him all the cases, but received only one.

"Thanks," Sebastian smiled, as they were embarking on the journey to Alex's apartment. "So, how long have you been living here?"

"Three years now, I left Pelican Town not so long after you."

"I thought you had a sports team in Zuzu City?"

"That is long gone," Alex stared sternly in front of himself. "My teammates started having different priorities, like marriages, some had kids, some moved away as well. So nothing was holding me back from moving here."

Sebastian peeked over at him curiously. "And what about you?"

"Nothing much, really. Even though my grandparents keep bugging me to finally find someone as well," he chuckled. "And what's up with you?"

"Same. Either my job doesn't mix well with relationships, or I just basically haven't had luck yet."

Alex nodded. "So going solo in music as well?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Since Sam tied the knot, our dreams of having a band went aside as well, for some reason. Had go on by myself."

The last words had a sad flavor to them, Alex wanted to cheer him up with a smile. "But it works really well. Tonight's show was amazing."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," his wide smile was back. "I just love music, nothing will stop me from making it."

"Well, that's good. Don't stop." 

The keys rattled in the lock, Alex turned on the lights and let Sebastian walk in.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about the plants. I had no idea you were a passionate gardener," Sebastian let out in awe. It was a small apartment, but the greenery was abundant.

"Umm, don't tell them, but these are really low maintenance, I haven't managed to kill them yet," he chuckled. In reality, his loneliness basically translated to him needing something to welcome him when he came back home, and plants worked well.

Sebastian put down the case he was holding, Alex followed with those he'd been carrying the whole time without switching hands and now he was cursing himself.

"At least you can have something living at your home, that's a perk not many people realize until they travel for work and can't. In other words, even my only cactus is dying."

"But on the other hand, you get to see way more places that the rest, and that's a perk, too," Alex opposed.

"I guess you're right," he lifted a corner of his mouth in a light smile.

Alex prompted Sebastian to make himself at home, showed him which door led where. It wasn't that hard, there were only two; one was hiding a bathroom and the other would take him into the bedroom. The main living area where they were standing was connected to a the kitchen, separated with a counter.

"You can take the bedroom, I'm fine with the couch here," Alex gestured towards the door.

"Are you sure? I wasn't expecting to sleep tonight anyway, so I can take the couch with no problem." Sebastian didn't want to be the cause of Alex's back pain, or at least not in this way, his own spine was used to all kinds of surfaces.

"The couch is mine," Alex insisted.

"Alright." Sebastian gave up with a thankful smile.

Alex's improvised bed was all ready and set, he was browsing his phone as a distraction, while waiting for Sebastian to come out of the shower. When the door finally opened, steam and a spicy scent rolled out, Alex's sight lifted from the screen and got stuck on him. His hair was wet and messily pointing in all possible directions, he was wearing just a T-shirt and underwear. His legs weren't showing any signs of ink, as Alex thought they might, but now he at least got a better view of the sleeve and his neck. He gulped unknowingly. Would he love to press him against the wall? Absolutely, no doubt. Was he going to actually do it? Absolutely not. He felt like a chicken nugget - a small, immobile piece of chicken, not even the whole animal. As Mara remarked earlier, yes, when it came to hooking up with random guys, he had no problem. Now he felt suddenly paralyzed, unable to make a move. He didn't want to mess things up straight away. Sebastian was sexy, but the beautiful type of sexy, and Alex's weapons only worked when confronted in one simple way.

Alex automatically scrolled his eyes up and down his body, hoping he managed to do it too fast for him to notice, but the sudden entertained smile on Sebastian's lips signalled he'd given himself away. Alex torn his eyes away ashamedly, but still tried to play it cool and got up from the couch, ready to go to the bathroom.

"Is there anything else I can do, do you need anything?" he attempted to sound all self-assured.

"No, thank you, I'll be heading to bed. Good night." His smile wasn't leaving, undermining Alex's false confidence.

"Night," he responded, let him go to sleep and went lock himself in the bathroom. As soon as the stream of hot water started running down his body, he began hitting his forehead against the shower wall in despair.

***

The late morning light managed to sneak behind Sebastian's eyelids even with the curtains close and brought him back to consciousness. Wiggling playfully in the soft sheets, he stretched like a cat, rubbed his eyes to help them get used to the daylight again, and looked around the room to locate himself. Within split seconds he recalled last night and where he was. Remembering Alex's stare from before made him smile for himself again. Speaking of which, he listened closely to any possible sounds from behind the door from the comfort of the bed, but the rest of the apartment remained silent. Sebastian's body was craving nicotine way more than any food or liquids, so he crawled out of the bed sheets, rummaged through his jeans thrown on Alex's workout bench until he found a cigarette pack and a lighter, and put the pants back down. It was almost summer, no need to get dressed to walk to the balcony, one layer was enough. Plus Alex has seen him in his underwear already anyway. He walked over to the door, took a breath, subconsciously held it in and grabbed the handle.

Peeking into the living room, at first he thought Alex was gone, he wasn't in the kitchen or sitting at the table, until he recognized his ruffled hair pressed against the armrest of the couch. Sebastian tiptoed towards him quietly, tucked the long part of his hair behind his ear, so that it wouldn't obscure the view, and looked down at the sleeping beauty. Cute, he summarized the sight. Staring creepily at a sleeping person wasn't why he left the comfort of the bed in the first place, so he continued quietly towards the balcony. Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, he chanted in his head while pulling at the handle. The door clicked twice, which would be barely recognizable under normal circumstances, but the fact that it was the only noise in deafening silence, it sounded like a speaker blasting at full volume. Sebastian turned around to check on the sleeper, Alex didn't move an inch, so he could safely proceed onto the balcony, clicking the door behind himself again.

A sudden cold breeze danced around Alex's nose for a bit before waking him up. Eyes still closed, he snuggled even deeper into the blanket. At that moment, he had only one explanation, and it was that there was a ghost standing right at his face. He was refusing to look at it, hoping it would go away. The chilly sensation started to dissolve gradually in the end, so he dared open his eyes, one at a time.

The view that opened to him was way better than any transparent remains of a deceased person wishing to suck his soul out of his nostrils. It was Sebastian standing on the balcony, which would explain the sudden draft of fresh air. He was resting his elbows against the railing, his back turned to Alex. He would be stupid not to properly enjoy the sight of Sebastian's curves that were uncovering under this angle without risking getting caught like before. Having burnt this picture into his mind for safekeeping, he pulled the blanket off and got up, trying to pump up his lacking courage to walk and talk to him.

Hearing the balcony door open, Sebastian turned his head around with a soft smile, smoke escaping through his nostrils.

"Morning," Alex mumbled sleepily and leaned his head against the doorframe.

"Morning. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Alex shook his head gently, he was kind of grateful he did. His eyes fell on the cigarette in Sebastian's fingers, the sharp scent of burnt tobacco hit his nose, but something about it felt sweet. There was hidden beauty in the simple process of Sebastian putting a cigarette against his lips, the little eyebrow squint as he draws air through its burning body, the end lights up in pleasure before he pulls it away and flicks his finger against it, so that the built up ashes fall off. Then he exhales the smoke with subtle gratification in his face, and the whole process can start anew. Alex never tasted nicotine in his life and wasn't about to change it, but looking at someone doing it and simply breathing in the scent was giving him strange satisfaction.

"Slept well?" Alex sounded huskily.

Sebastian nodded. "What about you, isn't your spine snapped in half?"

"Nah, I'm used to it, sometimes I still fall asleep on the couch, so it's nothing out of the ordinary." He stepped forward to rest against the railing next to Sebastian.

"Really? You seemed a bit squeezed in there."

Alex's gaze shied away when he realized Sebastian saw him sleep. Sebastian's entertained face was back up, he was starting to enjoy this Alex's timid side he never thought existed.

"This is a really beautiful view," Sebastian changed the topic, appreciating the city scene from behind a thin veil of the cigarette smoke. "I see a similar picture from my own apartment, but every city I've been to has a different atmosphere. This one feels really peaceful."

"It's one of the reasons I live here. And now that I've been here for a few years, I couldn't possibly imagine going back to a small town again."

"You mean that hell hole? Yeah, me neither," he snorted disdainfully and tapped the excess ash from his cigarette.

"Yeah, um... I noticed you didn't really like it there much," Alex struggled to find the right words.

"I fucking hated every second of it."

That was closer to what Alex thought, he just didn't want to say it out loud. Sebastian's face all tensed up, his inner wound was still clearly open. He tried to clog it up with nicotine, taking a long breath through the cigarette.

Alex gazed at him softly with compassion. "But... despite all of that, it led you to where you are right now. And you are clearly blooming. I can tell. You look... happier."

Sebastian's strained face expression melted, his gentle smile found its way back to his lips. Even in the blazing sunlight, little stars were still gleaming in his dark gaze. He peeked over at Alex. "I am happy. And you're right. I know that back then, if I weren't escaping to music on the daily, I wouldn't be able to make it my job now. You know what I think about sometimes? How things would be actually different if I hadn't hated it there. Like would I have a boring job? Would I still live there? Hell, I might not even look the way I do," he pondered.

"That would be a real shame, though," Alex reacted before his brain could process how it may have sounded to Sebastian's ears. He bit the inside of his cheeks so hard they almost started bleeding before blurting out, "I mean the job. Boring jobs kill people."

Uh-huh, nice save, Sebastian thought to himself, and teased him with an amused long stare, which made his obvious embarrassment grow even stronger.

"Speaking of which," Alex tried to play it off, "I don't know how busy your schedule is, but if you want, I might ask the manager to invite you again some time. Just thought it might help you out," he shrugged.

Sebastian was caught by surprise. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Why not. It costs me nothing and you get another deal, so..." Plus as a side effect and personal bonus, he would get to see him again, which absolutely wasn't the reason he came up with this idea in the first place.

"Thank you. Means a lot, really."

The cigarette was getting close to the end of its short life and died together with the conversation. They both were getting really hungry, and the day wasn't waiting for them to decide what to do next. Sebastian needed to catch his flight, so Alex offered he would drive him to the airport, and they could grab a late breakfast somewhere along the way.

They settled with a little bakery not so far from Alex's apartment.

"My treat," Sebastian stopped Alex from grabbing his wallet, and handed him over a paper bag with his order instead.

They chose a small table in the corner to enjoy their freshly baked pastries. Even though Alex's car was way comfier than these chairs with minimum padding, it was still better to opt for them rather than cause an avalanche of sugary crumbles all over the vehicle.

When they hopped back into the car, they still had a decent time reserve, which made Alex drive slower than he usually would. Mainly because he didn't want Sebastian to leave yet without knowing when and whether they would be meeting again. Even though the speaker was pumping out one energetic song after another from Alex's playlist, he wasn't feeling so cheerful.

He parked the car in a free spot, turning the engine off entirely, which brought the music to a halt as well. A familiar type of silence took place, similar to the one that consumed the dance floor when Sebastian's set came to an end the night before.

"So... we're here."

Sebastian turned to him. "Thank you a lot, really. It was nice meeting you."

"It was. Um... see you some other time, then?" he asked with uncertainty.

"Definitely."

Alex was more than happy to accept this as a consolation prize. "Alright. Don't let me hold you back then."

Sebastian smiled back at him, grabbed the cases and opened the door.

"See you then," he winked at him and stepped out of the car.

"See you," Alex let out.

As soon as the door closed and Sebastian was well on his way to the airport entrance, Alex grabbed the steering wheel so tight his fingers turned white, and screamed at the top of his lungs through his closed lips, sealed together forcefully by his teeth, to finally free the piled up tension. It has been a hot minute since he felt this nervous around another guy.

***

Mara's phone bleeped into the darkness and the screen illuminated the ceiling above her bed. As she rolled around sleepily to fumble for the phone on the floor, another bleep pierced the silence eagerly. The nickname "gay panic" appeared on the display, with a rainbow emoji attached to it. Setting Alex's chat name to this was a good idea on her part, as it made her giggle even now, in the middle of the night.

gay panic: I JUST GOOGLED HIM

gay panic: HE'S OPENLY GAY

Mara: ........ Alex WHAT THE FUCK ofc he's gay, the way he looked at you WAS openly gay, is this your first time or what

gay panic: I WASN'T SURE, I was getting mixed signals

Mara: dude are u drunk? dumb gay bitch disease obvs spreads among men as well. also it's 3 in the FUCKING MORNING? GO TO SLEEP

gay panic: no, can't sleep

gay panic: i need your help

Mara: k geez, from which side do you want me to slap you

gay panic: shut up i'm serious

gay panic: i told him i'll talk to Henry about inviting him again, will you help me out pls?

Mara: is this gonna be an ongoing series of attempts to get him?

gay panic: i hope not

Mara: k fine, but now go to sleep. Gn, see ya tmrw

gay panic: thanks i love you

gay panic: good night

Mara: this better work man

***

Alex's excitement was way too obvious to be overlooked. Every time he passed the bar's mirror wall, he checked himself whether everything was in order, and made little adjustments to his hair here and there. His hands were ridiculously fidgety and couldn't stay calm for one second. He kept sorting glasses and tumblers into a perfect line even though they already were in one, while pretending he wasn't checking the door more and more often as the opening time was approaching. Sebastian was definitely taking his time. Mara already gave up commenting on it, it was enough to watch Alex's face brighten up when he saw the club's flyer announcing Sebastian's name to know that this guy is so screwed that she didn't need to add insult to injury.

The only moment Alex stopped being so restless was when the door finally opened. The most important person of the night made his appearance eventually, dressed all in black from head to toe as usual, and looking stunning as always. Alex tried to maintain his fake composure, but joy poured all over his face anyway, his eyes widened and hands finally stopped touching everything.

Sebastian couldn't possibly miss the gleaming sunshine that Alex became, and reciprocating his smile, he made for the bar to greet the bartenders.

"Hi, you actually did it, I'm impressed," his soft voice addressed Alex with genuine delight, his head tilted to the side and lips widened in the charming shape of a smile only he could put on.

Alex missed the sound of Sebastian's voice more than he would like to admit.

"No problem. Always happy to help," he nodded, attempting to sound all collected and confident, but he knew that Sebastian knew that his dark searching stare would always make him nervous without fail.

"I owe you, seriously." He tucked his raven hair behind his ear. "Now I'll go set these things up, but I'll talk to you afterwards, okay?" Somehow he sounded more gently than Alex remembered from last time, and it was getting to him.

"Okay." On the outside, Alex repeated his nod as calmly as possible, while on the inside, he was wishing to just vaporize into nothingness.

As soon as Sebastian got out of sight, but definitely not out of mind, Alex pointed his finger at Mara without even looking at her, stating, "Don't say anything."

She didn't, at least for a few seconds. Then she stepped forward, so that she wouldn't have to speak so loud.

"Alex, the only thing I will say is, if you and Seb don't sleep together tonight, the universe will fucking explode because of the unbearable tension between you two, alright? So don't be selfish, save the day, and fuck him already."

He wished that what she was saying wasn't true, but at the same time, not really. He remembered the gradual slight changes of atmosphere when Sebastian was staying at his place last time, and now he managed to sound and look even more tenderly. Or maybe it was just caused by Alex melting for him. Either way, the tension was palpable and he knew he had to do something, anything, to relieve it.

"I can try something... and hope it works." He let out a faint sigh of desperation.

"Alex. Let me just ask you something. When did you become such a bottom?"

His jaw dropped. "Shut. Up!" The underlying answer was hidden in the simple fact that he wasn't arguing, and that seemed to satisfy her.

Having to control himself was easier when hordes of people filled the club to the brim. Their dry, drink-demanding throats worked as a great distraction and a reminder that that's what he was there for in the first place. He would welcome a shot of something hard and refined as well, but unfortunately, the bottle arsenal behind his back wasn't there for him to gain courage. That night, he was especially aware of all the couples around him. Some people already came together, some were on a hunt, some were the hunted ones. There were people meeting at the bar for the first time right in front of Alex's eyes, clinking their glasses with drinks served by him. This sight was truly nothing new to him, sometimes he played a little matchmaker himself with his bartending powers, sometimes it was him who was the object of someone else's hunt, been there done that. However, this situation he found himself in was unlike the other casual one-night stands, this wasn't just a guy he was never gonna meet again. This was Sebastian. Just looking at him, the act itself of him taming the beats and reigning the melody like a king boiled desire in Alex, and if he was going to go down that road, he needed to be ready to embrace the consequences, no matter what they would be.

As the night was coming to an end and the crowd started thinning significantly, Alex was getting just as nervous as he had before Sebastian arrived. Come on man, you've done this already, it's nothing. Just ask, he kept telling himself, while trying his best to not listen to the less logical part of his brain that was chanting tirelessly the words he's so beautiful and you'll fail. The music faded away, and no matter the night or DJ, it always left the heart to bleed a little, nobody ever wanted it to stop. However, this time maybe someone secretly did.

When the dance floor cleared out, Sebastian stretched his neck, all stiff from keeping his head in one position for the majority of the night. His eyes wandered to the only two remaining people. Mara was on the phone with someone and Alex was cleaning the bar top. He seemed somewhat tense to Sebastian, hopefully none of the guests ruined his night. Not wanting to risk their eyes meeting and making him even more uncomfortable, he focused back on the equipment laid out in front of him, and started unplugging all the cables, one at a time, and prepared the cases to pack all of it up again.

Making sure everything was in order and he didn't forget anything behind, he put the case straps on his shoulders, and stepped down from the stage, heading towards the bar. Alex still looked a bit strained, even when he noticed Sebastian approaching. Trying to hide it behind a smile wouldn't fool anyone, and not certainly Sebastian.

"Hey," Seb spoke quietly, mostly so that only Alex would hear him.

"Hi," Alex breathed out, brightening up slightly.

"You know, um... I was thinking, since you let me crash at your place last time, I thought... I could repay you the favor. Only if you want to, of course. You know, it can be quite dangerous to wander the city in the middle of the night like this, walking home alone, so... I'm staying here in the Plaza Hotel, so if you want to come over, you can just say your name at the reception, and they'll know what to do, okay?" By the time Sebastian stopped speaking, his heart was beating so hard it could power a whole factory on its own. It has been quite a while since he took the initiative, but it felt satisfying to manage to do it again.

Alex was both surprised and relieved that he didn't have to stumble with his own words to ask Sebastian basically the same thing.

"Okay," he whispered back with eyes widened.

"Good," Sebastian paid him a gentle smile and headed for the door, wishing Mara a good night.

"Good night," she responded, and as soon as the door clicked behind him, she turned to Alex. "Now that's a smooth sailor, you gotta give him that."

Alex smiled for himself, still looking at the door Sebastian disappeared behind. "Apparently, that's not the only thing I'm gonna give him tonight."

"Nice, that's what I like to hear," Mara patted his shoulder cheerfully, finally she wouldn't have to watch him pine for Sebastian anymore.

The door flew open again, for a split second Alex thought Sebastian forgot something, his eyebrows flew up, but when he realized it was just Sydney coming to pick up Mara, they crashed back down.

"Did you seriously let him leave alone?" she addressed Alex with her eyes wide open, hand pointing outside.

Alex took a deep breath. "You know what? Both of you, go home. I'll close tonight, and then I'll... go about my business," he shrugged.

"Are we really calling it business? The kids these days," she shook her head jokingly.

"Get. Out," Alex laughed and gestured towards the door.

"Seriously, is it okay?" Mara asked with care.

"Yeah, I just need a few minutes alone before I go."

Wishing him a good night, Mara grabbed her bag and her confused girlfriend and marched out of the door with her, finally leaving Alex on his own, free to breathe and calm himself down.

His heart was beating like crazy with excitement. Splashing his face with cold water felt refreshing, the underperfoming light in the club's bathroom had to do to help him groom himself and attempt to gain more confidence, but nothing was stopping the party going on in his chest. He couldn't prolong the moment anymore, it was time to go.

The sound of gentle knocking disturbed the suspenseful silence. Sebastian checked himself in the mirror for one last time and opened the door, welcoming the visitor with a charming smile.

"I almost started thinking you weren't coming." Sebastian spoke quietly, in a slightly deeper voice than usual, and stepped back just enough to let Alex in, but no further than that.

Alex closed the door behind himself with a click and rested his back against it, as Sebastian wasn't letting him much room for movement.

"I'm sorry you had to wait." His heart probably just started doing double backflips, judging from the echoes in his chest, which were only growing in intensity as Sebastian was slowly approaching him.

"But now you're here," he raised a corner of his lips in a half-smile, restricting Alex's movement even more by his arm, as he rested his hand against the door right next to his shoulder.

"I am," Alex whispered, his breath shortening.

Sebastian was so close now he would hear it even if Alex only mouthed the words. He was slowly moving his head forward, the dimly lit room suddenly became so silent that their heartbeat was the only soundtrack available. Alex glanced down at Sebastian's lips before he closed his eyes completely, being pulled closer to him by an invisible magnet.

Their lips finally met to dance together for the first time, Sebastian moved his hand to the back of Alex's neck to keep him close, while he felt a pleasant warm touch in his hair. With the kiss, the tension between them finally imploded, pulling their bodies together and locking them in each other's arms.

As much as Alex loved being kissed by him while pressed against the door, they really wouldn't get far by just standing there. They stumbled together across the room towards the bed, managing to leave Alex' jacket behind on the floor. Alex felt pressure on his hips, making him fall on the soft mattress. Seeing Sebastian with a hungry grin looming over him was even better in reality than he had imagined. Alex's hands slipped under his T-shirt, pulled it over his head and finally uncovered the rest of the tattoos on his body.

"Wow," he exhaled, running his hands down his inked chest. "You're a living piece of art."

Sebastian smiled widely at that compliment, he did take pride in the artwork he wore, in the end, he was the one who designed it.

"Then I'll make sure to give you a really good view," he whispered close to his ear, establishing his position between Alex's legs.

Alex loved every single touch and kiss Sebastian left on his body, he felt like he was being worshipped by a god. With every piece of clothing thrown on the floor, Alex craved him more and more. While Sebastian's head was being busy in the lower parts of his body, Alex supported himself on his elbows to get a better perspective. Even with his eyes half-closed with pleasure, he could still observe the majestic dark wings tattooed on his back. Sebastian could see the pleasure in Alex's face, so he took it a step further, found a sensitive spot and used the tip of his tongue to toy with it. Alex's head fell back with a groan, while biting his lower lip, so that he wouldn't be so loud.

Sebastian rised back over him. "You're beautiful, you know it?"

Alex tore his eyes away from him, a wide smile decorated his gently blushing face. Sebastian's finger directed his head to face him again to kiss him. With their lips still connected, they rose together and Alex rolled Sebastian on his back to get himself on top. He was leaving a trail of kisses on his body, starting on his neck, continuing down his chest to his stomach and onwards. Hearing a voiced response of pleasure from Sebastian was like heavenly music to Alex's ears, making him do it and again, and raising the stakes each time. He could be playing with him for the whole eternity, but he was craving his own satisfaction as well. He straddled him, leaning in for a kiss, while they aligned their bodies for their joined moments of bliss. Alex let out a soft moan, his back arching with thrill. Sebastian placed his hands on his hips and caressed them tenderly.

"Show me how you like it, Alex," he requested with curiosity and prompted him to adjust the tempo to his own liking.

Despite what Alex usually let guys do to him, now that he was set free to enjoy himself fully, he grasped the opportunity served to him. Supporting himself with his arm behind his back, he started rising and dropping with a slow tempo at the right angle to squeeze the most joy out of every movement, not wasting a drop of pleasure for either of them. Sebastian was running his hands up and down Alex's perfectly shaped body, adding a little bit of tease each time he would reach his belly, playing gently with Alex's wonder and enjoying his reaction every time. Alex was like an ocean tide to him, coming and going, his torso oscillated with the waves of his breaths growing in intensity, almost getting ready to summon a hurricane.

Slowly but surely, the urge to make him quiver uncontrollably reached the boiling point in Sebastian, making Alex stop for a short while and rolling with him into the previous position. He grabbed the imaginary reins of the situation and continued in Alex's preferred rhythm. Alex's hands found their way back into Sebastian's messy hair, dragging him in for a kiss. Having Alex whimper into the kisses worked as a driving force for Sebastian, making him speed up the tempo gradually and set the storm in motion. And just as he could transition music beats seamlessly on stage, he proved to rule this skill in bed as well, bringing Alex into his own euphoric trance and sharing the sweet ecstatic state with him.

Sebastian collapsed on Alex, barely holding himself up with his trembling arm. As soon as they could both move again, Sebastian was rewarded with a passionate kiss, which he was gladly reciprocating. Slowly pulling away and looking down at him, this messy version of Alex with rosy cheeks looked so stunning to him that he could bathe in his paradise for as long as he would be breathing.

***

Alex's sweet night's dream slowly dissolved and left him to peacefully wake up. His body felt beautifully relaxed, the soft bed sheets were wrapping his skin with their caring embrace. As he opened his eyes, he saw Sebastian was still sleeping, all buried in the blanket up to his neck.  Y o u  are beautiful, Alex responded in his head to Sebastian's compliment from last night.

He knew of a subtle way of waking him up, which also served as an excuse to touch him again. Trying not to rustle in the sheets too much, he moved his hand towards Sebastian's innocent-looking face. He caressed his cheek with the back of his finger so softly he was barely touching him. Then with the tip of his finger, he slowly traced his eyebrows as if he were painting a picture. He continued down the lovely slope of Sebastian's nose, stopping at his lips. Alex almost stopped breathing because of how focused he was. Starting at the cupid's bow, he drew along each side of his upper lip, running all the way to the corners of his mouth. Then while copying the line of his bottom lip adorned with the piercings, Sebastian snapped and bit sharply into the air right next to Alex's finger while making sure he wouldn't actually hurt him.

"Fuck, you scared me," Alex pressed his hand against his heart in shock, but couldn't hold back his laughter now that he could breathe again.

Sebastian chuckled and the curtains of his black eyelashes separated, revealing his curious dark eyes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."

Sebastian slid his palm down Alex's back to drag him a bit closer. Alex wasn't resisting and moved towards him willingly. Their lips gravitated to each other automatically, and a gentle smile embellished both of them when they separated.

Sebastian kept his hand thrown on Alex's side and supported his own head with the other. "May I just say something?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember our little conversation on your balcony?"

"Of course," Alex chuckled.

"I didn't wanna bring it up back then, but now I can," he raised his eyebrows slyly. "Out of the two of us, I'm not the only one who has changed, am I? And I don't mean just physically."

Alex looked away from him, slightly flustered. "What do you mean?" he uttered despite having a clue what Sebastian was hinting at.

"This," Sebastian flicked his finger between the two of them. "You know, I remember you as the cold, distant, overly confident guy who would invert my knees if I looked at you wrong. And now I meet you a few years later, and look where we ended up."

Alex had a hard time maintaining eye contact with him. "I'm sorry I gave off that impression. I... wasn't quite myself back then. 'Cause I hated who myself was."

Sebastian frowned. "Who was this 'yourself'?"

"Me now," he looked back up at him briefly. "A guy who likes guys. I tried desperately not to be that, I really didn't wanna be gay. So I became the image of what I thought I should be. But then it crept back up on me again and I had to admit it to myself."

"But hey," Sebastian tried to cheer him up, "you did it. And that's what counts."
"Yeah. It feels weird to be your own worst enemy. My grandparents are absolutely fine with it, they knew it about me and waited for me to finally come out, and I still wasn't doing it. But once I did, I knew I had to leave to be on my own for a bit. And I ended up here."

"All's well that ends well," Sebastian summed up positively.

"I guess. It was just a chapter that ended though," he objected. "There's still more to see."

Sebastian's stomach rumbled loudly its own argument into the conversation. "And more to eat."

Alex invited him to breakfast, or rather an early lunch, judging by the time, to the hotel's restaurant on the ground floor. It was raining heavily outside, which made for a cozy atmosphere, large raindrops splattering on the windows created a soft ambience. Talking to Sebastian and being in his company felt way more comfortable now that they had their own little shared secret, and it wasn't just the weighing presence of tension anymore. As much as Alex wanted to prolong their time spent together, the moment to separate again came in like a train with no brakes.

They stood together in the hotel's foyer, waiting for Sebastian's taxi to arrive, watching the pouring rain outside.

"So... see you again?" Alex enquired quietly, eyes connecting with his.

For a second, Sebastian just stared at him without uttering a word. "Of course," he answered with certainty as if Alex had just asked him whether the earth was round. "I probably haven't told you, but I don't do one-night stands if there's no chance of meeting again. You have my number, plus, who knows, I might come play again soon."

Alex smiled for himself. "Yeah, about that... You don't have to book a hotel next time."

Sebastian ran his gaze up and down Alex's body like an X-ray with his half-smile on. "But no couch this time."

"Don't worry, I wasn't gonna," he replied with the same implying tone.

A yellow car parked outside the hotel.

"Gotta go," Sebastian sighed. In his head, he was heavily cursing the society, as he really wanted to kiss Alex goodbye, but as they were surrounded by people, he could barely do anything.

"Don't let them wait," Alex responded, feeling the tension grow in size again, suffocating his movement. "See you soon."

"See you," Sebastian at least paid him a wonderful smile, pulled the hood over his head and walked out.

Alex watched him rush towards the car, trying to keep his cases safe without water getting in. As Sebastian boarded safely and the taxi started moving in the airport's direction, Alex, having nothing to cover his head with, stepped out into the rain, ready to get completely soaked through by the time he would even barely see his apartment. No matter the weather, nothing would erase the light smile from his lips.

***

As Sebastian arrived home, he tossed his keys on a small table by the coat rack. They slid down and landed below a wall mirror hanging right next to it. Usually he would throw in a faint fuck or shit as he would bend down for them, but this time he just kept his contended expression on, and put them back without a word. Meeting his own eyes in the mirror, he winked at himself confidently, and a wide smile spread across his lips.

He put the cases down on the floor, stretched his neck with an audible sigh, and walked over to his keyboard with a remote laying on it. Aiming it at the speakers standing in the corner, music resumed playing with a single click, just where he left off. His extensive playlist consisted of hundreds and hundreds of tracks, creating a unique ambient atmosphere every time without fail. Nodding his head to the slow beat, he wandered over into his kitchen to make himself a cup of strong dark coffee.

Holding the steaming mug, he stepped onto the balcony, put the coffee on the windowsill and reached into his back pocket for his loyal pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Filling his lungs with smoke helped him dissolve the last remaining bits of tension stored in his body after travelling. He rested his back against the doorframe, and exhaling a cloud of smoke, his head leaned back as well. The sky had cleared up, the soft color gradient was breathtaking. The music playing in the background blended the setting into a full picture, letting Sebastian soak the whole scene in. The vivid memory of Alex's touches and kisses on his body crawled back into his mind, his eyes half closed in response, replaying them over and over again. As he took a sip of the coffee, he gazed dreamily far into the horizon in the direction of Alex's city.

Speaking of the devil, his phone vibrated with an incoming message, tearing his dreamy state apart. Deep down, he hoped it would be from Alex, but this time it was just Abigail in their group chat together with Sam. Sebastian's fingers were tingling with the desire to tell them everything, but he swallowed it and decided to wait for now. Keeping things a secret was always building up pleasure in him, so why give up this state of bliss this early. He put his phone back down and deeply inhaled through the cigarette again.

As he was lying on his couch in the dark, only a lava lamp was warming up the night with its faint colorful light on its surroundings, he was getting inspired for a new mix from the deep bass sounds vibrating from the speakers. His phone screen lit up on the table, tearing him away from the subtle hypnosis. Alex had finally grabbed the courage to text him, it was one of the few distractions Sebastian would accept at moments like these. He quickly scribbled down a few ideas before he would lose them completely, and slowly delved into replying to the messages that had stacked over time, both from earlier from Sam and Abigail, and now newly from Alex as well.

Talking to him felt strangely familiar, as if they were friends from back then, now only picking up where they had left off. Their conversations sometimes dragged long into the night, as they were getting to know each other more. Even though chatting allowed them to talk even when they were separated by miles and miles, it couldn't possibly ever replace talking face to face. As much fun as Sebastian was having with their casual chatter on a day-by-day basis, he slipped another e-mail to the club's manager in the meantime, easily finding an excuse to meet Alex again. Even if it backfired on him and they didn't have a free date any time soon, he would still try to find a way to get on a plane to go there for some entertainment. Despite working as a DJ, which many people saw as a thrilling way of life, lights, fame and sex, his existence was slowly falling into stereotype and many lonely sleepless nights. However, Alex now provided a new flavor to this routine. All Sebastian needed to do was let himself taste it fully and throw away his disguised uncertainties.

***

Thanks to chatting with Sebastian quite regularly, Alex was the first one to know the date he would make his appearance again. He was getting excited to see him again, this time shyness didn't get the main role and was replaced by self-assurance, since he already knew what was going on and what was about to happen. As the day was getting closer, their chat messages slowly slid into the realm of innuendoes, and there was nothing that could stop it. Mara could see the lewd smile on Alex's lips whenever something wicked was going on in his mind, as his fingers were mashing it into his phone swiftly, to know exactly who he was talking to.

Even if Mara hadn't known the date Sebastian was arriving, she would be able to guess with absolute certainty based just on Alex's appearance that night. Somehow he managed to surpass his last time's attempt to lure Sebastian in. He wore a tight black T-shirt with a V-neck, which allowed a hint of his fit body, outlining his muscles with precision. The biggest change, however, was his spirit. He wasn't giving off the timid energy of the prey anymore, this man was ready to use his weapons, whatever they were meant to be.

As soon as Sebastian opened the door, Alex's weakness for him attacked again with a precisely aimed kick in the guts, but he fought it with all his might to retain the confidence he had worked on. Sebastian's sexy composure remained unchanged, he could rest assured that the crown of dominance remained seated on his head firmly in this situation as well, he wasn't handing it over to anybody this easily. The electricity between them was so strong it could cause a power outage, and they both were well aware of it.

"Hi, nice to see you again," Sebastian uttered with a low tone, similar to the one he used when Alex came knocking on his hotel door.

"The pleasure is all mine," Alex replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's about to be," he responded without blinking once. The suggestive talk poured over from the chat into real life really fast, leaving the thrill rush wherever it desired.

"Oh my god, guys, keep it for the bedroom, please," Mara pleaded, hoping her entry would dissolve this kind of conversation, but without success.

"Yeah, don't worry about that," Alex remarked without even glancing her way, eyes fixed on Sebastian.

"Um, I think I should go get ready." Sebastian smiled wickedly, but didn't move an inch.

"Yeah, don't let me hold you back."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not gonna," Sebastian slid his eyes up and down Alex's body.

"Good. I'm looking forward to the show."

"Yeah, I chose a harder style for tonight. Just to see how people like it."

Alex's mouth opened with a pleasant surprise. "Oh, I'm getting excited."

"You should. I think it's gonna hit quite deep."

At this point, Mara just squealed with pain, this was getting out of hand way too fast. This sound of her suffering finally managed to get through and put an end to this game.

Sebastian laughed, breaking out of his role. "Okay, I'll go," he tapped his fingers playfully on the bar top, winked at Alex, and headed over to the dancing area.

"Alex, I know you're horny, but come on," Mara pulled a face at him.

"Come on, it's fun. Plus, look at him," Alex paid her an apologetic smile, pointing in Sebastian's direction.

Mara made a pause, gazing at Alex with compassion. "You're fucked, aren't you."

He sighed, "Maybe, I guess. Both figuratively and literally."

She only rolled her eyes and shook her head to that, there was no sense talking to Alex when hormones were having a wild rodeo in his brain.

When Sebastian was on the stage, he usually forbid himself from looking into the crowd or directly at anyone, he only stayed focused on his work. He was used to being stared at by the clubbers, but it seemed to him that the fewer people he would accidentaly make eye contact with, the less of a chance someone would try to pick him up when the night was over. What had improved over time was the gender ratio showing up to talk to him, but it would still feel somewhat uncomfortable to him. Especially now that there was someone who he already knew he was going to spend another night with.
Breaking his own rule of thumb, at moments he would peek over to the bar shortly. Alex looked amazing as a bartender as he was mixing drinks with such skill and grace. Sebastian would have never even suggested this job would be great for him, but watching him excel at it proved him wrong. His secret appreciation of him was revealed once their eyes met. Alex, caught looking his way as well, tore his sight away from him in a reflex, but returned back again immediately with a coy smile, to find Sebastian gently smiling back at him before he would return back to his work.

When the night was over, Mara let them both leave right after the show, because not only did she owe Alex for letting her go home earlier back then, but also mainly because she didn't want to witness another thirst session between these two.

As they set on the journey towards Alex's apartment, Alex took the heaviest case from Sebastian again without asking, sliding the strap off his shoulder to put it on his own. Sebastian appreciated it greatly, and now that he had one hand free, it automatically slid down to his back pocket for his cigarettes, pulling the pack out without thinking. He stopped himself midway, realizing who was by his side and what was about to happen, and put it back into his pocket. Alex noticed it, and putting two and two together, he smiled at Sebastian thankfully. If it were only about the smoke itself, Alex wouldn't mind. He didn't know what brand of cigarettes Sebastian smoked, but it actually smelled quite good, however, he wasn't particularly crazy about the taste. He had been with a few smokers in the past, and rarely anyone would be concerned about the fact that Alex was a nonsmoker, which made this Sebastian's subtle gesture mean even more to him.

Having finally the space and safety to express their desire in the comfort of Alex's home, falling into each other's arms felt so rewarding and definitely worth the wait. Attempting to hold each other and kiss while trying to kick off their shoes was comical, but after a momentary struggle, soon the first T-shirt landed on the floor as well.

"What if we first hopped into the shower?" Alex suggested breathily, using the brief instant of separation to speak.

Sebastian was all for it and started slowly pushing him in the bathroom's direction while fighting with his own belt buckle. Both of them had their muscles all stiff from standing the whole night, so finally when the hot water came running down on them, it felt like an immediate relief. Small rivers of water, finding their way down past the creases of their bodies, accompanied the touches on each other's bodies like a symphony. The deep humming sound of the water drops hitting the floor of the shower corner canceled out the kissing sounds, steam soon enveloped them in its subtle veil of privacy. This time, their exploring of each other's body proceeded at a much slower and delicate pace, as more than enough water was getting in their mouths, making it harder to breathe already, and the slippery floor demanded some respect and careful moving around. Sebastian looked both cute and hot with his hair wet and thrown to one side, his beautiful body called for some adoration, so Alex grasped the opportunity and a shower gel bottle, starting to spread the scented foam on his torso and back, looking at him  with fascination in his eyes. Sebastian's fingers were dancing playfully in Alex's hair, keeping it from falling into his eyes, while he was sinking into his touches on his body. When it was time for Sebastian to return the favor, he turned Alex around and used his magical hands to massage his neck muscles. Alex responded with a delighted groan, letting his head fall forward to allow more space for Sebastian's finger movement. After loosening the tension in Alex's muscles, he moved to covering his body with bubbles as well. He wrapped his arms around him and let him rest his back against his body. As his hands were travelling back and forth across Alex's body, they once didn't take their usual turn and progressed slowly downwards. Alex's head fell back with pleasure and reclined on Sebastian's shoulder. Sebastian could see the satisfied smile on his lips, he used his other hand to gently turn his face towards him, so that he could kiss him again. Alex started automatically responding to his hand strokes with a dynamic hip movement that favored both himself and Sebastian pressed firmly against his back. He could soon feel the fruits of his labor grow and ripen, and was ready to reap what he had sown.

"Wanna move over to the bed?" Sebastian whispered right next to his ear, getting a positive response.

Not caring much about water dripping everywhere, they left two sets of wet footprints on the floor, connecting the bathroom and bedroom in a hurry. They didn't bother turning the light on as there was more than enough light from the streets spread across the room, creating an effortlessly sensual atmosphere.As soon as they fell together on the bed sheets, the fabric soaked in the excess water from their skin and hair. The sudden exposure to the cold air of the room prompted them to act fast to warm up again. Sebastian rolled Alex on his back, and despite having to act quite hastily, he still retained his passionate tenderness when it came to touching the man lying devotedly under him.

Alex kept him close, put his hands on Sebastian's back and wrapped his legs around him with thrill. Sebastian was moving gracefully with care, seeping into him with his every pore, getting absorbed by his warmth and rhythmical breathing embellished with his beautiful whimpers. He couldn't keep his own voice to himself either, Alex's body felt way too good to not let him know. Sebastian moved his lips over to Alex's pulsing neck, adoring his skin with kisses. His hot tongue contrasted with the sensation of his cold wet hair, which caused a neural shortage in Alex, making him tense up and bury his fingertips into Sebastian's back. Sebastian smiled into Alex's neck and kept going with growing intensity, not letting a single chance of making him moan slip past him. The spark of satisfaction kept oscillating back and forth between them and kept speeding up with their rapid heart beats until their power sources gave up and released the unbearable tension, bursting like a flare.

After kissing him for the last few seconds of the weakening paralysis, Sebastian fell down by Alex's side, his system slowly restarting. Letting their breathing come back to normal, Alex's body shivered with a sudden cold sensation, not having Sebastian stir heat in him anymore. Sebastian noticed it and helped him pull the blanket over his body, but stayed uncovered himself.

"Do you mind if I go for a cigarette now?"

Alex shook his head. "Actually, I really appreciate that you waited with it."

"Yeah, no problem," Sebastian smiled.

"I think I'll fall asleep in the meantime, I'm pretty exhausted," he chuckled, tugging the blanket closer to his chin.

"Good night," he leaned in and landed a kiss on Alex's lips before getting up.

"Good night," Alex whispered, laying his head down on the pillow.

Sebastian left him to sleep and stepped into the dark living room. It was close to the dawn, but the night still kept its reign for now. His eyes were already well adjusted to the dark, he could walk confidently over to the bathroom to find his jeans without stumbling over anything. Using the night's cover of the darkness to his advantage, he didn't feel like wearing anything at all, and stepped out onto the balcony. As his lungs released the first cloud of smoke into the air, a dreamy smile spread across his lips and lingered there. The blend of the nicotine bitterness and the remaining sweetness of Alex's body mixed on his tongue and evoked a specific kind of nirvana. The cold air caressed his body, embracing him all around. Even though it felt strangely powerful to stand outside just as he was, looking down over the city of thousands and thousands of people, the chilly touch of the gentle wind made him hurry up and look forward to the warmth of bed. As his nicotine craving was finally satisfied, the feeling of exhaustion took over him just like it did over Alex, almost making him fall asleep standing up.

Coming back into the bedroom, he tiptoed over to the window and pulled the curtains close quietly, so that they both could get as much undisturbed sleep as possible. As he was crawling under the cover on the empty side of the bed, Alex half woke up, finding a more comfortable position to sleep in. To Alex, the time passed between Sebastian kissing him good night and the moment he rustled with the bed sheets next to him felt like only five seconds. He inhaled the familiar scent of smoke, and felt an invisible force pull him closer to its source, making him feel safer when he was around it.

Witnessing him scoot over to him unconsciously, Sebastian went ahead and laid even closer to him. He put his arm over Alex's waist, feeling his calm breath lift it and lower slowly on repeat. His sleeping face looked angelic, and as it was the last thing Sebastian saw before falling asleep, it worked as a perfect transition into the realm of dreams.

Sebastian woke up to Alex all curled up in his embrace, his back pressed against his chest, his arm holding Sebastian's in place. Alex looked so peaceful and comfortable he didn't have the heart to wake him up just yet, so he just stayed in that position for as long as he possibly could. His other arm was screaming at him in pain, wanting to be released from underneath his body. In the end, he had to give in to the discomfort and readjusted his position to support his head to get a better view of the sleeping beauty next to him. As much as he tried to not stir, Alex woke up eventually anyway. Sebastian could tell the exact moment he realized what was up, as he first looked around, then peered at the arm he kept holding pressed to his chest, and froze for an instant.

Setting the arm free, he turned to lie on his back.

"Sorry, I didn't leave you much space, did I," he mumbled.

"Do I look like I mind?" he raised his eyebrow and slid his hand down to Alex's hip.

He received a shy smile in response accompanied by a giggle as Sebastian's fingers gently ran across his stomach. That reaction caught his attention, making him repeat the movement again back and forth, feeling his muscles twitch briefly under his fingertips and a chuckle escape Alex's lips each time without failure.

"Oh, we're ticklish," Sebastian marveled at that discovery, "Good." If it was physically possible to grow horns, now would be the perfect time for him to do so, as the tone of his voice turned from pure to evil within just two seconds.

"Don't you fucking dare," Alex tried to sound threatening, but didn't even bother to physically stop Sebastian's hand from travelling across his body, as it felt rather way too good than intimidating.

"Or?" Sebastian joked, but respected his request, at least for now, and stopped midway.

Just as he expected, Alex didn't have an answer to that, he just stuck out his tongue but laughed directly afterwards.

***

Alex prepared the breakfast and set the table for two while watching half-naked Sebastian enjoying his morning cigarette on the balcony. His belly tingled with thrill as all sorts of thoughts were popping up in his mind. He shook his head to rid himself of the sensation and tried to talk sense into himself, arguing that a stomach is for food, not butterflies.

This time, they could peacefully sit down to eat, not being disturbed by anybody else's presence or having to rush anywhere. Feeling relaxed and without any pressure, Sebastian's mind easily drifted somewhere into the great unknown, as his blank gaze burnt through Alex's chest and beyond. Holding a pastry with a bite taken out of it in his hand, his jaw kept munching on the bit mindlessly, not stopping when it should have. As Alex took his mug into his hand and readjusted his posture, Sebastian snapped back into reality immediately. Now that his vision returned back from another parallel universe and focused on Alex's chest it had been looking through, he noticed the T-shirt he was wearing.

"Nice top," he mumbled without thinking.

Alex leaned forward, tilted his head to the side and licked his lips, shaped in a gentle smile. "Did you just compliment yourself?"

As he replayed what he had just said, he laughed, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Well, either way, thank you," Alex winked at him playfully.

Sebastian turned his eyes away, still chuckling to himself.

Alex's face suddenly got more serious, he bit himself into his lip, contemplating whether or not he should say what had just crossed his mind. Looking at the print on his own T-shirt, he uttered, "You know, you're right though. I like this one, and I would like to see more of it myself... Should take it out more often." He gulped and lifted his eyes to see if Sebastian has picked up what he's put down.

The sparkle in his dark eyes signalled he wouldn't let this chance slip by, and took the bait. "That... sounds doable. What would you say in about two weeks? Wear it in Zuzu City, maybe? For a day or two?" he suggested and flicked his eyebrow.

Alex felt his blood rush to his cheeks with sweet success. "That's a great idea. I'd love that."

"Deal," Sebastian smiled and raised his cup of coffee to his lips without breaking their eye contact for a while.

Sitting there together peacefully got a bit addictive, time flew by faster than they would like it to. It was time to take Sebastian to the airport again, which was something Alex was trying to mentally put off as much as possible, but now that he got the promise of meeting soon again, it became a little easier.

He enjoyed driving when Sebastian was sitting by his side, running through the streets, listening to music together. Seeing his hand tap to the beat on his thigh, Alex would have loved to take his hand and just hold it for the sake of holding it, but he couldn't, so he just burried his fingers deeper into the soft padding of the steering wheel. Last time when they were rushing through the streets together, he thought that maybe if he got a chance to kiss him once, it would satisfy him immensely. Suddenly that wasn't enough anymore, as he kept running into new borders each time. He hated that rushed nature of his.

Finding a free parking spot, he could let his hands off the wheel, but didn't know what to do with them now anyway.

"Thank you for driving me here," Sebastian turned to him.

"No problem."

Looking at each other, they started leaning closer automatically, softly kissing each other goodbye. It felt different to connect lips with Sebastian like that when it was outside of the act of sex and mutual gratification. It stirred another swarm of wings in Alex's stomach, and he did his best to not show. As he let Sebastian go catch his flight, Alex yelled in his head at his belly to stop it with the butterflies already, as it wasn't really helping his situation.

Coming back home into his apartment, he felt like even his plants were giving him judgemental looks, waiting for what happens next. Lord, he wished to know too. He needed to splash his face with cold water to refresh himself. Stepping into the bathroom, he noticed something lying under the sink. It was Sebastian's necklace, an obsidian pendant on a black string. It must have fallen out of his clothes when he was collecting them to get dressed again. Alex ran his thumb across the pendant, a smile spread across his lips. He hung it on a free hook next to his towel, hoping he wouldn't forget to bring it to him next time he sees him.

***

As soon as they found and synchronized two free days of their time, Alex didn't waste a single minute and booked his flights. He hadn't been to Zuzu City in a really long time, always only passing through when he was visiting his grandparents back in the valley. Now he would get to breathe in its atmosphere again and take a trip down memory lane.

Due to his work and messed up sleep schedule, he found an early evening flight the best, for once there was no time pressure on either of them, they could finally have some fun together with no work surrounding it.

He had chosen the best time for his arrival, as the lowering sun cast its golden veil over the city, welcoming him with its warm beauty.

When he was marching down the final hall and his eyes landed on the tall familiar figure, his jaw dropped for a second before he mouthed damn, running his gaze up and down Sebastian's body. When he said he would pick him up, Alex understood it in a way he would get a taxi or something. But instead, there he was, dressed in his motorbike outfit, bearing a helmet in each hand, and looking as sexy as a human possibly could.

Sebastian understood that mouth movement from afar and smiled at him widely, which magically resurrected the fluttering sensation again. When Alex was just a few feet away, he was welcomed in his arms, as a friendly-looking hug was both the least and the most he could do at the moment.

"How was your flight?" he spoke as they loosened the embrace.

"Good. By the way, this really suits you." His overwhelmed brain couldn't let the opportunity to compliment him slip by.

"Thanks. I hope you're not scared." Sebastian kept his smile on and handed him one of the helmets. He noticed a flash of uncertainty behind Alex's otherwise confident head shake. "I'll go easy on the gas for you," he added.

They walked down to the parking lot to Sebastian's motorcycle, a beautifully shaped dark beast. The saying like owner, like pet applied in this scenario as well, it seemed as if the machine had been made to fit Sebastian in every way possible.

Having put their helmets on, Alex was thankful for the dark shield over his face, so that now he could let his eyes wander wherever they desired and could appreciate Sebastian's look from up close without getting caught. Finding a comfortable spot right behind his back, Alex wrapped his arms around Sebastian's waist and immediately felt safer, even though his feet were still touching the ground.

"Hold on tight," Sebastian sounded over his shoulder and clicked his helmet shield into place. As soon as he felt the grip around him fasten like a seatbelt, he knew he could kick-start the motor safely and set off.

Even though Alex felt a bit doubtful at the beginning, now that the asphalt was racing under the wheels smoothly and he could sense the confidence in Sebastian's driving, he could rest assured that they would make it home safely. Being anchored to him soothed Alex on more levels, he even started hoping Sebastian's apartment was on the other side of the city, so that he could be holding on to him for longer.

After pulling in in the underground parking lot, they took an elevator to get to Sebastian's apartment. As the door closed and the elevator took off, just simply standing there next to each other would be a sinful waste of time. Sebastian stepped closer to Alex, whose back was now pressed against the wall. Alex tugged at Sebastian's jacket to pull him closer, welcoming his lips with a happy smile. They barely got the chance to kiss each other for a second, the elevator slowed down and stopped completely. Sebastian didn't even have to look at the floor number above the door to know there were invaders waiting to join them. He pulled an annoyed face, stepped back from Alex and rested his back against the wall next to him. The irritation in Sebastian's face was apparent, no matter how much he tried to mask it. Alex felt more sad than angered, after finally having the opportunity to kiss him after weeks, he was being torn away from him so abruptly.

It was a cheerful couple that joined them in the already tight space, not really paying attention to them, as they were busy holding hands and chatting quietly to each other. It was obvious they weren't going to play a game of chess either, whichever apartment they were going to. Sebastian did his best to not look at them, which was quite difficult, considering the fact that they were standing right in front of him. He caught Alex's eyes scanning the couple, however his stare wasn't bitter like his, it felt full of sorrow for some reason. He had no idea what was going on behind Alex's eyes, but felt a strong inclination to blow away the little cloud of sadness looming above him. He gently leaned closer to him to get his attention. That on its own worked, as Alex's lips smiled at him, but he could see in his gaze that the roots of his sudden gloominess were going deep, which concerned him.

Their floor came earlier than the couple's, so as they snuck right past them and finally became free, Sebastian hunched over and audibly huffed with relief. One reason was to actually let out the remaining tension, but mostly it was to make Alex smile, which was met with success.

As he let Alex walk into the apartment first, he could see his immediate reaction first-hand.

"Whoa, nice. I actually kinda imagined this kind of theme here. It's very Sebastian."

"I hope that's a good thing," Sebastian chuckled as he was putting the helmets down on a dresser to deal with them later.

"Of course," he turned around to face him. "I like it, it looks cozy."

"Thanks, I try," he still sounded entertained by that reaction.

He beckoned Alex to come closer with his finger, so that he could finally give him a proper warm welcome. Pulling him closer and kissing him again, Sebastian could feel Alex's posture relax and melt under his touch.

Even though their lips separated eventually, they still remained glued to each other.

"Aren't you hungry?" Sebastian proposed in a low voice.

The perplexity in Alex's eyes was immediately obvious. "Um, in which sense?"

"As in food," Sebastian clarified with a smirk.

"Oh, the tone confused me," he laughed, embarrassed. "But yeah, I kinda am."

"Good. Want pizza?"

While they were waiting for the delivery, Sebastian took Alex into his kitchen. He had come with an idea to get cozier together, and Alex's bartending skills might come in handy. Sebastian had only seen a few seconds of Alex's drink-mixing tricks so far and was immediately hooked, but he also wanted to get a taste test as well.

He showed him the cupboard where he kept his favorite nonalcoholic drinks and mostly unopened bottles from the people who never knew what to get him for his birthday. As he barely drank alone anyway, now was a perfect chance to try something new and get a little tipsy.

"That's actually kinda doable," Alex pondered his options, staring into the cabinet. "The question is," he turned around to look at Sebastian, sitting on a stool behind him, "how drunk do you wanna get, sir?"

Sebastian smiled slyly at that address and tilted his head to the side. "Well, not drunk, as we have places to go tomorrow, but a little lightheaded, maybe?"

"Okay, I know what to do," Alex responded confidently.

"Do your magic then."

Alex still managed to look professional even without his special equipment he would normally have at hand behind the bar. Some regular kitchen alternatives worked well for the time being and the one drink he had in mind. Even though Sebastian had no clue what was going to come out of it, he enjoyed watching his hands cooperate artistically. As beautiful as it was to watch his relaxed confidence, the show was over quite fast, since Alex was trained in the time is money manner, and soon he was handing Sebastian his drink, ice cubes crackling inside quietly.

They clank their glasses together before taking the first sip.

"It's really good," Sebastian sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Did you expect anything else?" Alex enquired, tongue in cheek, as if there was any other outcome possible, but it still warmed his heart that Sebastian liked it. "It's my favorite."

"I like it," he assured him with a smile and took another sip to savor the taste on his tongue.

They took their glasses and moved over to the living room, no need to settle for the rigid chairs when there was a perfectly comfy couch just a few feet away. Having a nice undisturbed evening to just sit with Sebastian and talk over a drink with him was exactly what Alex needed, regardless of whether or not they would end up in bed together again. It made him realize it had been quite a while since he had just shut down the time passing and focused purely on the moment spent in the presence of such a beautiful human being. As they were finishing the drinks, the pizza delivery arrived, and both unanimously agreed that just one glass wasn't gonnna be enough.

One empty pizza box later, they were already halfway through their third drink. Third time's a charm, their heads were experiencing the familiar state of pleasurable weightlessness. Alex swallowed the last few drops of his beverage and laid his eyes on Sebastian, who was about to finish his own as well. It was obvious the alcohol worked well for him, judging from his relaxed smile and gently tired eyelids. Alex had consumed enough alcohol that evening for his tongue to untie, so he took advantage of it.

"Well. Now I might only be hungry in one way," he uttered with a half-smile and measured Sebastian's body with his gaze.

Sebastian leaned in closer and ran his thumb across Alex's bottom lip. "We shouldn't let you starve then." He pulled him closer to kiss him.

As they closed their eyes, the world began orbiting around them, making them feel like the center of the galaxy. Their hands were travelling places, slipped under the shirt and the jeans' rim, feeling each other's warm skin. Some of their clothes ended up on the floor already, but the couch didn't provide enough space for both of them to move without any restrictions, so they got up and navigated into the bedroom.

Since the alcohol tore down some of their walls and their boundaries loosened, Sebastian became a little rougher, but Alex couldn't argue he didn't like it. He allowed himself to be a bit louder if anything, which Sebastian appreciated. He was watching Alex's face change with his every hip move from up close, which provided him with a secondary level of pleasure. Alex's fingers scratched Sebastian's back rhythmically and his voice begged for more.

When they rolled over to switch positions and to allow Alex to take the lead, even though he was the one in charge of the tempo now, Sebastian still needily held on to his waist and kept swinging his hips up to meet him halfway. As the pressure kept building up, there was a point when Alex stopped moving completely and let Sebastian finish. He was like an earthquake, gaining intensity and boiling inside, until he let himself and Alex erupt in a spasm. It was beautiful to watch Alex lose control over himself like that, he had to support himself against the wall, as his legs gave up for a moment. Sebastian pulled him down to him to kiss him before letting him lay down next to him to relax completely.

***

Sebastian woke up to the view of Alex's beautiful back, most of it was uncovered. The blanket was only reaching to his hips, leaving the captivating slope of his spine for Sebastian to appreciate. He didn't want to just admire it from afar, he sensed an opportunity to try something.

He slid over to him, so close he was almost spooning him. He ran his finger from Alex's neck down his back. No reaction, he was hard asleep. Sebastian gently trailed down his spine again, this time he used the back of his fingers and let his nails lightly scratch his skin. Alex's back arched like a bow, not knowing what was going on at first. Sebastian waited for a moment for Alex to become fully conscious. As soon as he saw he was awake and wanted to turn towards Sebastian, he lept forward, pressed himself against Alex's back to immobilize him, and let his fingers find Alex's most sensitive points on his belly and his sides to tickle him.

Alex burst into involuntary laughter, his legs were kicking back and forth under the covers, his hands were trying to catch Sebastian's to put a stop to that torment, but he was faster and always managed to slip away to a different spot, and back and forth across his body.

"No, Seb, please, stop," he begged in between his laughs, one-syllable words were the only ones he managed to say.

Unfortunately for him, there was no magical spell to stop Sebastian, he only had to endure it. Sebastian loved Alex's cute laughter, this was a completely new way of making him twitch in his arms, and it was just as beautiful to watch as the one he already knew. When he came to the conclusion Alex had enough, he stopped and let him catch his breath again. Alex immediately turned around to face him and instinctively grabbed both Sebastian's hands, just in case he was planning another round.

"Don't do that again," he gazed at Sebastian with a chuckle, he couldn't sound serious even if he wanted to.

"But it's fun." He had a similar evil expression to the one when he found out about this Alex's sensitivity.

Alex shook his head and his grip around Sebastian's hands loosened, but he still wasn't letting go of them, not because he was afraid of another tickling attack, but because it simply felt nice. Sebastian's thumb gently stroked Alex's fingers without thinking about it at first, but now his attention shifted solely to their hands, the warmth and softness of the skin. Alex's thumb reciprocated the touch, he glanced at their joined hands and back at Sebastian. His evil expression was gone, a warm look was in its place now. Sebastian slowly leaned closer to see whether Alex would pick it up, and as soon as Alex signalled he wanted him to proceed, he kissed him lightly.

As they were getting ready to leave to go outside, Alex was digging through his backpack to look for something. First he pulled out a T-shirt and put it on mindlessly, at least it wasn't obstructing the view anymore, and his hand went scouring the bottom of the bag frantically again. Looking at him, Sebastian chuckled for himself. It tore Alex away from his focused searching and made him wonder whether he had the T-shirt on backwards, or if his pants weren't zipped where they were meant to be.

"You really did bring the T-shirt."

"Oh, yeah, that. That was the deal, wasn't it," he smiled at him and straightened his back. "Found it," he muttered and stepped towards Sebastian.

He held his closed fist up to his chest. "Didn't you, by any chance, forget something at my place last time?"

Sebastian frowned thinking, but his face was stating very clearly that he had no idea.

Alex unrolled his fingers and uncovered the black necklace in his palm. "Looks familiar?"

The sudden spark of realization in his eyes signalled he did recall now. Alex dropped the pendant into his open hand. Sebastian looked at the necklace, then at Alex, and back at the necklace. A light smile spread on his lips, he stepped forward a bit and put the necklace around Alex's neck, letting the obsidian dangle at his chest. Seeing Alex's suddenly flustered face, he added softly, "It suits you."

Sebastian might not be making the connection that Alex's brain was, he even felt he might be blushing a little, but had the pendant been more shell-shaped like a certain old amulet, as some call it, this whole gesture would mean something way more than just gifting a necklace to someone, thinking they look cute.

"Thank you," Alex said with a tender voice.

Sebastian smiled and his gaze shied away for a second, and whether or not he was connecting the dots, it was precious of him.

They set out on their journey through the streets, aiming to walk together to their favorite places, they each had their own, which was best done by playing tourists in the city they both already knew. Walking down the streets and taking a taxi occasionaly was a nice change as opposed to only driving where one needed to get, ideally as fast as possible. Since Sebastian had lived there for years now, the places they went didn't feel as special to him anymore, the magic had worn down gradually. It was Alex he was watching for the most part, his wide-open eyes seemed child-like. Some of the venues he wanted to go had changed, some had moved elsewhere or were gone completely. The way he was getting to know these places again looked so precious on the outside that Sebastian had to tear his eyes away from him forcefully at times, so that Alex wouldn't catch him staring.

As they walked past the sports stadium, Alex's mood changed completely and the look in his eyes softened. They stopped for a while, Sebastian could see the difference immediately.

"Is everything alright?" he leaned a bit closer to him, so that he wouldn't have to speak loudly.

"Yeah, yeah," Alex turned to him, smiling with sad eyes. "It's just that... my team used to train here for years."
"Do you miss it?"

"Yes and no. I loved our team, the game, the atmosphere, it gave me something to do and take my mind off... the inevitable," he raised one eyebrow, "even though deep down I knew I wasn't gonna be a top player anyway. Just hoped. It gave me good memories."

Sebastian wasn't saying anything for a while and let Alex absorb the atmosphere and recall his past with bittersweet nostalgia. Alex remembered insignificant details about those years and each and every member of their team, the stadium itself, their trainings inside and out. He treasured those moments dearly, they were his own, and they would stay that way. He sighed inaudibly and his mind returned back to reality. Hoping he wasn't keeping Sebastian there for longer than expected, they set out towards another place, quiet at first.

"Why haven't you joined your local team?" Sebastian asked carefully.

Alex shook his head. "With my job, it's either or. And I really like what I do. It wouldn't be the same anyway. It's a good memory though."

Sebastian noted that Alex still had the same sad undertone in his words and decided not to ask him any more questions about it, as it became apparent it was a sensitive topic to talk about.

When they sat down for a late lunch, Alex livened up, his face brightened a bit and the sad taste of nostalgia vanished. Sebastian felt happier himself seeing him glow up again, and caught himself smiling more than he normally would.

***

As they returned back to Sebastian's flat, the sky had already gone dark blue and continued absorbing all the remains of daylight. Alex peeked out of the window dreamily while Sebastian was in the kitchen opening two bottles of beer they bought on their way back.

"I almost forgot how beautiful this city is at night," he mumbled from behind the corner.

"You should see it from the roof. The view is amazing," Sebastian emerged from the other room.

"I wish, that must be great."

"Let's go then," Sebastian grabbed his keys from the table and let them ring, hanging from his finger.

"You're serious? We can get there?"

"Can? Yes. Should? No. But nobody guards it anyway."

As the elevator took them up to the top floor, they took another two sets of stairs up in complete darkness, but Alex trusted Sebastian, he seemed to know what he was doing. Not to mention he got to hold his hand while ascending for safety reasons, who would say no to that. Using the light from his phone, Sebastian managed to slip the right key into the hole and turn twice. The metal door opened and let them climb out into the night.

A magnificent view spread out in front of them, something barely anyone could see from their windows. Millions of tiny light were scattered around and far out into the horizon, neon lights gave color and life to the streets below them. People and cars resembled ants in their little tunnels, trying to navigate through the labyrinth of routes to their destinations.

The two clinked their beer bottles gently to finally start sipping on the cold beverage. Tired from the day spent mostly walking, which especially Sebastian wasn't used to, their conversation slowed down as well, the topics swirled around strangely, as if the physical change of perspective elevated their daily topics about life to more philosophical matters.

Sebastian didn't say it out loud, but this was his most favorite moment with Alex so far. He's always been inclined towards deeper pondering about life at special places that filled him with peace. Even in the middle of a bustling city that doesn't ever sleep, he found that moment, right there, with him. Maybe the alcohol helped him become more sentimental, but he was wishing his eyes could work as a camera, capture the atmosphere, his feelings, this man, and print it into his brain forever. He didn't want to lose this memory.

As they had slowly worked down through their bottles, when there was nothing left to drink anymore, they were just standing there, leaning against the railing, inhaling the night and absorbing the moment. Their conversation poured into comfortable silence, it was getting too late to speak as much.

"This is so beautiful," Alex broke the silence softly, gaze still gliding past the skyline.

Sebastian glanced at him, took a breath to say something, but swallowed the thought and returned his eyes back to the view. "It is," he exhaled.

The sudden change in his tone was noticeable, Alex shifted his attention to him fully.

"Is everything okay? Aren't you cold?" he asked and stepped closer to him to wrap his arm around Sebastian's shoulders. They were standing there just in their T-shirts after all.

"No, but this feels nice," he smiled and felt his lips getting closer.

Suddenly the view wasn't nearly as interesting as the man in Alex's arms. "Wanna move somewhere more comfy?" he suggested and Sebastian nodded with a lip held between his teeth.

Coming back into the apartment, Sebastian let Alex take the lead, he was already being slowly pushed across the room into the bedroom while being kissed, and he wanted to give himself to Alex completely. Sebastian crawled onto the bed backwards while Alex paused for a bit to take off his T-shirt.

As he joined him in the bed and was dragged in for a kiss, he asked, "Do you want it this way?"

"I'm all yours," Sebastian winked and let Alex's inner beast unleash.

Having Sebastian's body all to himself and do as he liked was a great opportunity to test his sensitive spots, and use them to his best ability. There was no reason to rush, exploration took time, touch by touch. The way Sebastian responded at certain moments made Alex wonder one thing. He went down but didn't stop where Sebastian thought he would. His head continued until it almost disappeared from Sebastian's view. Alex's hands spread Sebastian's legs apart to make some more space for his head.

As soon as his tongue made contact with his skin, Sebastian's head fell back on the pillow and hand clutched at the bedsheets. His body squirmed with pleasure, Alex loved to see that and added more depth to his play and teased him. Sebastian's hand traveled to Alex's head, ran the fingers through his hair and held him in place when it felt especially good.

When Alex returned back up, he whispered next to Sebastian's ear, "I like how sensitive your body is." And even before Sebastian could try to deny that remark, he could feel Alex's fingers inside his body that could only confirm the statement, making him bite himself into the bottom lip and bury his head into the pillow even more.

"You're not that used to being in this position, are you," he wondered, even though it was obvious. Sebastian looked Alex in the eyes and shook his head with a bit of shame.

Alex kissed him shortly, "I'll be gentle."

Sebastian's hands rested on Alex's back and slid up and down, at more intense moments he involuntarily buried his nails into his skin or dragged him closer. The way Sebastian responded was completely different from other times, his voice seeped through his teeth raspily, as if he was afraid to make a louder sound. Alex wanted him to succumb to the feeling completely. He bit Sebastian gently into the side of his neck while kissing him there, which rewarded him with a slightly louder response than previously.

"I wanna hear you," he whispered and rose up on his elbows to kiss him.

As Sebastian's jaw loosened up, he finally surrendered. He hadn't been in this position for what seemed like an eternity, so it did take some getting used to again, but as soon as he started feeling more confident, he pushed Alex back and swung himself up with him, so that they would be both sitting up while holding each other tight.

This moving artwork enjoying himself was definitely something worth watching. Alex let his hands embrace his body and stroke his back on their own, as he was moving up and down rhythmically. He couldn't resist moving one hand between Sebastian's legs after a while anyway, and fixated his eyes on his face as he did. Toying with Sebastian regulated and amplified his pleasure as he chose, and his own indirectly as well. Alex could tell when Sebastian's legs couldn't keep up with his desired tempo anymore, so he layed him down on his back, grabbed him by his hips, and granted him what he desperately needed.

As soon as their muscles relaxed again, Sebastian dragged him down to kiss him.

"You are stunning," Alex whispered when his lips separated from Sebastian's.

"This was fucking amazing," he reciprocated with a smile.

***

When the morning crept up into the sky, it was time for Alex to return back, as he had a shift that night. As much as he was enjoying his time with Sebastian, he had to force himself to pack his things and get ready for his departure. Before they left the apartment together, Sebastian pressed him against the wall for the last time to give him a proper goodbye, as the airport parking lot wouldn't be the best place to do so.

"Thank you for this wonderful weekend," Sebastian whispered.

"I thank you for inviting me."

They shared a last kiss before Sebastian grabbed his two helmets and they headed out. As they were speeding down the roads, Alex was fully in the moment, holding onto Sebastian tightly, enjoying the last few moments of physical closeness with him. When they reached the airport, Alex sneakily slid his hands down and caressed Sebastian's thighs briefly before finally letting go and getting off the bike.

Sebastian smiled for himself and took Alex's helmet from him. "Have a good flight."

"Thank you. Drive safely."

"I will," Sebastian nodded, but this time he took it to heart. "See you soon, hopefully."

"See you."

Alex stood there, watched Sebastian readjust his helmet, start the bike and drive off until he disappeared from his view. He sighed, smiled to himself and headed towards the hall.

***

Despite being in different cities, they both grew glued to their phones. Alex's smile spoke for itself whenever his thumbs were rapidly running across the screen, Mara stopped commenting on it completely and just watched him being happy. Sebastian was contemplating whether or not he should let Sam and Abigail know, it was really hard to keep it all to himself for such a long time, but he always decided to delete the whole message and wait just a bit more.

The days of separation felt like eternity, sometimes their chatting dragged long into the night when they both were free, and the content of the messages was nothing for innocent eyes to witness. Everything was smiles and sunshine until Alex sensed a certain kind of lethargy from Sebastian. It wasn't just the content of the conversation, but also lenghtier pauses between messages than he was used to. It was like that for a few days until Alex had to ask directly what was wrong. He was terrified he might have said or done something that would cause Sebastian to slowly drift away, or that he lost his interest completely. The suspense petrified him. He kept rewriting the message until he finally dared hit send. He didn't want to lose him over some stupid misunderstanding.

***

Alex: Seb, what's happening... I can tell something's wrong. Just please be honest, did something happen, did I do something? I need to know what's up, you're scaring me...

Seb: No no no, I'm sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean to. It's just that I'm kinda sick and been sleeping a lot in the past few days. I'm just really tired and can't function properly. Didn't wanna bother you with it.

Alex: You never bother me, you know that... Are you okay, do you need something?

Seb: It's fine, I'll manage, just a few days and I'll be feeling better I'm sure :)

*selfie*

Alex: That doesn't look too okay to me, did you see your doctor?

Seb: It's just some seasonal crap I think, it's gonna be alright

Alex: I'm worried about you... Do you have anyone there to help?

Seb: Nope

Alex: I'm coming over.

Seb: Wait you srsly don't have to, I don't wanna waste your time

Alex: I won't repeat myself. I'm not leaving you in this alone. I should be there by the evening.

Seb: Alex... if it helps, I always look this terrible when I'm sick.

Alex: I am seriously woried. No need to play a hero here, aight? I'm here for you and I mean it. See you in the evening :)

Seb: You're crazy... but thank you. :)

Alex: :)

***

Alex swiftly found a colleague who would be willing to swap some shifts with him, so that he would have more time to spend with Sebastian until he was feeling better. He booked a flight ticket, packed only the essentials, and headed straight out of the door.

As soon as he found his seat and sat down, his heart rate finally started going back to normal and the adrenaline level lowered. He opened their chat and scrolled up to where Sebastian posted his selfie. Alex's heart softened and finger caressed his little tired pale cheek, right under the dark circles under his eyes. He smiled without realizing it. Maybe I am crazy.

It was already dark when he got out of the airport. He managed to get a taxi among the first people who poured out of the hall and directed the driver to Sebastian's address. He had to look it up on the plane by sliding through the street view map, good thing he remembered the routes they took when he was visiting last time. His heart started pounding again as the car was getting closer, this time not because of the rush, but because of how much he just wanted to hold Sebastian in his arms again and make sure he was okay.

He got into the building with some other people who thankfully got off the elevator earlier than him, so that he had a few moments to check how he looked before the light above the door signalled he had reached his destination. He stood in front of his door, took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Seb? It's me."

"It's open," Sebastian's voice sounded from inside.

Alex pressed the door handle and walked in. He found Sebastian standing across the dimly lit room, leaning back against the table, hunched over, head hanging low, barely able to make an eye contact with him. Even despite the low light, Alex could tell that Sebastian wasn't actually nearly as pale as the picture, he had his typical color, the normal Sebastian type of pale. His face, however, looked almost just as miserable, although it must've been for a different reason now in this setting.

"Hi," Sebastian uttered and gazed up at Alex only for a split second.

"Hi," Alex repeated after him, frozen in his tracks, trying to make sense of what was happening. "What's going on? You look well." He gazed up and down his figure. "I mean incredibly well. Is this a trap, or? Explain."

Alex stepped forward to Sebastian, because he looked exteremely sad, but for some reason, as Alex was progressing towards him, the gloom around him got more and more serious.

"I really didn't think you would decide to come here, you know. And now I feel bad," Sebastian mumbled after a while.

"I don't understand." Alex lifted Sebastian's head with his finger to make their eyes meet. "What's happening?" he asked again, with an even softer voice. He didn't know what to expect as an answer at that point.

"You know... some time ago, when that picture is from, I started seeing this guy. Everything went great, we really hit it off... until I started feeling really miserable, and at that time, I really did need help. He didn't care. Simply because why would he bother if there was no sex for him." Sebastian's eyes started glistening, that's how scared he was of Alex's reaction, but he did his best to have it under control. He noticed Alex was wearing the pendant he'd given thim, and started toying with it as a distraction. "So now... when I feel like I'm getting closer with someone and I'd like to get more serious with them, I need to know whether they're in it for me or just my body. Because I don't know what's expected of me anymore, or what to expect from others. I'm... I'm sorry if I made you angry or disappointed or-"

His monologue was cut short by Alex's arms wrapping around him in a tight comforting embrace. He could feel Sebastian's breath trembling in his chest.

"I just really didn't expect you would show up," he whispered next to his ear.

"Sebby," Alex said softly when he let go, while letting his hands still rest on his body, "you are absolutely stunning, alright? From the inside out. Your body is gorgeous, but that's because you are in it." He pointed at Sebastian's chest and poked him gently.

This answer made Sebastian's eyes tear up even more, he had to look away, and he hated how emotional he became when he had to let his guard down. He wasn't capable of a single word at that moment, so Alex continued.

"So... you wanna get more serious with me?" he asked and searched for his gaze.

Sebastian looked at him and nodded, still fighting his tears to stay back. "Do you?" he managed to say out loud.

Alex couldn't stop an entertained smile from appearing on his face. "Seb... I flew here for you, remember? Of course I do."

That made Sebastian smile happily before Alex's lips navigated their way towards his. They lingered in a mutual embrace for a while.

"Just don't pull these tests anymore, okay?" Alex laughed.

"I won't, I promise." His voice still carried the ashamed feeling he didn't feel like he was going to get rid of any moment soon.

Sebastian had one more thing on his mind and needed to settle it.

"By the way, you had a birthday, which I didn't know about, so I'm late. But I got you this," he reached behind him on a chair where he was hiding his little gift, and pulled out a cute potted plant. "It's really low maintenance, I double-checked."

"That's really lovely, you didn't have to," Alex uttered, but it was obvious he liked it. "Thank you."

Sebastian deserved another sweet kiss.

"Who told you when my birthday was, by the way?" Alex enquired.

"A secret source," he mumbled.

"Mara," he knew immediately, to which Sebastian only responded with a smile.

"You know," Sebastian traced his finger past the necklace string on Alex's chest, "are you tired after your flight? It's kinda late now."

His voice suddenly sounded differently, and it made Alex's tone change as well. "Well, depends why you're asking."

"We could make use of the fact that you're here tonight." Sebastian's voice was back with the ashamed tone.

"Just to make sure, is it because you feel guilty, or because you really want to?" Alex looked him directly in the eyes and was awaiting an honest answer.

Sebastian looked away. "Both," he admitted.

"There's no need to feel guilty, okay? I wanted to see you anyway. And the fact that you're actually feeling well is worth celebrating. So no guilt, alright?"

Sebastian lowered his gaze and nodded, which wasn't enough of an answer to Alex. He raised Sebastian's head to look him directly in the eyes. "Alright?" he repeated himself.

"Alright," Sebastian replied, which seemed to satisfy.

Alex put the plant on the table and told it to not look. Then he could direct all his attention to Sebastian and slowly move to the bedroom with him.

He made sure to pamper Sebastian's body and treat him even more delicately than last time. He put his kisses wherever seemed fit, and whichever place made Sebastian shiver or make a sound, he would stay there and enjoy his sweet reactions. Alex's goal was to make Sebastian sweat, no matter how long it would take, they had the whole night to themselves. And now that he knew Sebastian's little throaty moans belonged to his ears only, they sounded even more addictive.

***

As the summer was coming to an end, they didn't want to waste the last few warm days and planned a short vacation to spend some time together without unnecessary distractions. As they would pass Pelican Town on their way anyway, they decided to make a short stop there and visit their families.

Once again, they got to listen to Alex's driving playlist with Sebastian's tracks mixed into it. Whenever the traffic allowed it, Alex would put his hand on Sebastian's knee or would hold his hand, at first just because it felt good, but as they were getting closer to Pelican Town, he started feeling more anxious, and could tell that Sebastian was going through the same process, if not even more strongly, so every touch was very comforting for both sides.

Alex parked the car at the border of the town. Suddenly they were sitting there in complete silence.

"So... till ten?" Alex estimated and put his sunglasses on the dashboard.

"Yeah, that's more than enough," Sebastian mumbled.

Alex gave him a comforting look, took his hand and kissed it. He was aware Sebastian's relationship with his family wasn't the greatest, but he had Abigail and Sam as well, who he knew he was going to spend most of the time with. Sebastian looked his way and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Alex needed to make sure.

"Ready," he smiled back at him.

They shared a short kiss before getting out of the car and each directed their footsteps in different directions.

Alex was welcomed by warm hugs from his grandparents who didn't have a clue what news he was bringing. He enjoyed sitting down with them, chatting about daily life, breathing in the old atmosphere of his old home and memories that lingered around. For a while, everything around him stopped, it felt time time wasn't passing through this town. He reminisced about his earlier days and how much his life has changed for the better.

"So, are you staying with us for a few days?" Evelyn asked with her caring excitement.

There it goes.

"Actually, no... I arrived today with someone, we just stopped by to say hello to our families before we leave for a vacation... together." He could tell he was blushing.

Evelyn smiled. "Is it Sebastian?"

Now it was Alex who was caught off-guard. "How... How do you know that?"

"This is a small town, my dear. I heard from Robin that he was going to show up because he was passing through here. She was excited to see him again."

Alex nodded, still shocked how fast information spread through here. "It is him."

He knew some kind of their typical interrogation was going to happen, so he proceeded to tell them how they met again. Evelyn loved love, especially because her grandson finally found someone worth telling them about, and watched the spark in his eyes as he did so. George didn't handle sweet stuff too well, so he left them on their own eventually, he didn't need to know everything. The important thing to him was that Alex was finally happy.

Alex and Evelyn were standing in the kitchen by the window, and she could see how his face brightened up when he noticed Sebastian come to the square to meet his friends who'd already been waiting for him. Witnessing Sebastian happy with them put a warm smile on Alex's face.

"Dear," Evelyn broke the silence and brought Alex back into the present moment, "when I see the way you look at Sebastian, it reminds me of the time many many years ago when I caught your grandpa looking at me in the same way, although he might never admit to it." She grabbed his hands. "He is a good young man. I know you chose well and that he is going to treat you the way you deserve."

"Thank you," Alex sounded sentimentally. "He is."

On the other side of the window, Sebastian was getting ready to share the news as well. Their current conversation about Sam's married life played into Sebastian's hands.

"No, my point is, no matter how long you've been together, there's always something about seeing your partner wear your clothes in the morning," Sam finished his argument to Abigail.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sebastian added dreamily and had to smile to himself.

"Wait," Sam turned to him with disbelief.

"Seb?" Abigail look at him suspiciously.

His only reaction was to keep smiling and raise his eyebrows playfully.

"You secretive little bastard, why didn't you tell us?!" Abigail poked him and her jaw dropped.

"Well, because I'm a secretive little bastard. And I wanted to see your faces. It was worth it."

"Dude, congrats!" Sam cheered for him.

"Who is it?" Abigail interrogated and put on her imaginary detective glasses.

"You both know him." It wouldn't be Sebastian if he told them immediately. He wanted to milk that moment, it was just a one-time experience. It was entertaining to see how Abigail locked her eyes with Sam in an attempt to read each other's mind and arrive at the right answer. They truly looked like they were having a silent conversation in their heads, judging from their face expressions, while Sebastian was marveling at their cluelessness.

"Dude, seriously," Sam spoke, "I don't know that many guys from Zuzu City you could be possibly into."

"Yeah," Abigail seconded, "like you wouldn't touch those even with a shovel."

"I mean... who says he's gotta be from there," Sebastian shrugged.

"Is he... from here?"

Sebastian nodded.

As the pool of viable options closed to a definite number, the two started brainstorming even more intensely.

"Like I don't know too much about Elliott, for example," Abigail was thinking out loud.

"Yeah, for as much as I know, it could be even Gunther," Sam chipped in, and Sebastian couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"He looks good though... What about Shane?"

"Guys, come on," Sebastian gave up. "It's not that hard." He tilted his head in the direction of the Mullners' house and briefly glanced there as well.

Abigail's jaw dropped again with amazement. "Alex is gay?"

"Very much," Sebastian laughed. "I was surprised too at first, very pleasantly though."

Abigail put her hand on her chest and her face softened. "Our boy is in love. They grow up so fast." One could almost shed a tear from how emotionally she delivered that line. She hugged Sebastian so tightly his soul could leave his body, Sam joined in and wrapped them both in his arms.

Sebastian would lie if he claimed this didn't make him sentimental. His attempts at keeping his distant and confident image have been failing him recently.

"Thank you guys. He's really awesome and... I'm just really glad I met him."

The two were so surprised by the news that the rest of their time together was just them dragging all the details from Sebastian, as they already knew very well he wouldn't tell them by himself. As the clock kept ticking and it was close to ten, it was time to say goodbye again. Alex emerged from the house and saw Sebastian already walking in his direction. He said hi to him with a short kiss, which took Alex by surprise, but pleasantly so. He noticed Abigail and Sam looking in their direction, and waved at them nervously. Sebastian followed suit, took Alex's hand and walked with him towards the car, so that they could set on their new adventure.