Alec emerged from his bedroom not in effortlessly stylish clothes that accentuated his lithe frame, but with a giant comforter wrapped around him, eyes blurry and curls a mess sticking out of it.
Brian snorted to himself as he watched fron the kitchenette, making a snack.
Lisa and Taylor were painting their nails on the couch.
The one-boy burrito collapsed sideways onto the couch, like a misshapen potato.
He mumbled something.
Lisa rose an eyebrow.
“Sorry, we didn’t catch that. Nobody here speaks cocoon.”
“Maybe Taylor.” Brian said fairly. “If it’s a caterpillar in the cocoon.”
“Technically a pupa at that stage.” Taylor said quietly.
Alec moved under his blankets, rearranging things. He sat up, skinny white legs emerging from the greater blanket whole and landing on the coffee table.
The blankets slid down his shoulders until his mouth was revealed.
“I said: damn, seven hour naps hit different.” He yawned, eyes crusty.
“Yeah, no, that’s called a ‘sleep.’” Lisa corrected.
“Definitely counts as a full sleep.” Brian agreed, fighting a smile.
Alec whined.
“No, it’s 3pm. That means it’s a siesta.” He yawned like a snake, wide enough to crack his jaw this time. “Afternoon naps are a siesta.”
“Maybe if you started the nap at 3pm. And finished it at 4pm. But it’s 3pm now and seven hours ago it was eight in the morning.” Lisa paused. “What were you doing that you stayed up until eight in the morning?”
“What if you don’t want to know?” Leered the sleep-mussed Master.
“Is it gross?” Taylor asked.
“No, we figured out he mostly doesn’t mean it when he implies stuff like that.” Lisa reassured her. “Even the porn file on his computer is fairly tame compared to what you’d expect.”
“I save most of that shit to my phone, anyway.” Alec said without missing a beat. “Tattletale, you go through my computer? I’m hurt.”
“I’ve glanced at your computer and have a Thinker power. The folder you have labled Not Porn isn’t exactly subtle.”
Alec snickered. “It is really funny, though.”
“It’s really not.” Lisa denied but she was smiling.
“You watch porn on your phone?” Taylor asked. “I thought youtube didn’t have those kinds of videos.”
“… You think I watch porn on youtube?” Alec slowly drew out of his blanket cocoon to interact with them.
Brian was not prepared for the skinny white arms to be as unadorned as the skinny white legs when they poked out. Then the arm movement as he reached for the nail polish curiously caused the blanket to slip down and reveal shoulders.
As much as they liked to tease him he wasn’t actually scrawny, not to the point where his ribs were showing or anything, but Alec’s collar bones were certainly defined.
“So help me god if you’re naked under there.” Brian said, trying for stern but ending up flustered to his own ears. Damn.
Alec immediately jumped ship to messing with him, like a shark smelling blood in the water.
“Why Brian, are you intersted?” He slowly brought the edges of his cloak down lower, until it draped tantalizingly over his forearms, caught at the elbows.
Brian’s mouth went dry. Alec was freshly-awake, hair a mess, and the blanket was several inches thick– bulky and not sensual at all. It shouldn’t have worked.
And yet.
Alec snorted and let the blanket fall completely, Brain catching his breath. His pale chest was revealed and– nothing else. Not because he was dressed, but because now the blanket was in his lap, covering anything.
“Guess you’ll just have to wonder.” Alec said airily, a little smile playing on his lips.
Brian couldn’t make it through a conversation not knowing whether the boy across from him was naked or not. He was sweating even thinking about it, prolonging his time in the kitchen as Alec and Lisa debated different styles of nails, and Taylor chimed in shyly with color opinions.
“I think I want French tips.” Lisa decided, triumphant air deflating a scant second later. Alec’s shoulders were shaking.
“Do Not.” Lisa said.
“You don’t know what I was going to say.” Alec defended, lips twitching.
“Yes, I do. So does Brian. So does Taylor.”
The other girl rose her hands in front of her.
“I never have any idea what he’s going to say.” She denied. “Even when I think I know, I’m wrong, and he’s says something even more ridiculous.”
“I can guess what he was going to say.” Brian admitted, gathering all his courage and the charcuterie board and bringing it into the living room.
“Ooh, snacks!” Alec made grabby hands, abandoning the nail polish.
“Down, boy.” Lisa drawled. “It’s for all of us. You can feed Taylor while her nails dry.”
“I wouldn’t eat the whole platter.” He made a face. “Not when it’s clearly meant to be shared, anyway. It’d make a pretty good lunch just for me.”
Alec plucked up a cracker/salami combo and ate it without fanfare.
He held up another to Taylor who after a few slow moments, opened her mouth. To his credit, Alec didn’t even make it weird, depositing it quick and professional.
“He was going to say– you know what nevermind I’m not giving him the satisfaction. What do you think, Taylor?”
“I like French tips.” The girl agreed, some of her shyness melting away.
Alec tipped over on the couch and groaned.
“What?” Taylor asked, semi-self conscious and Brian sighed.
“He needs a minute, he’ll be fine.”
“I’m a better person than either of you give me credit for.” Alec complained. “Come on, she walked right into it.”
“You can make the pun.” Lisa challenged. “No one’s stopping you. We’ll just groan and move on.”
“No, now it feels dirty. Like you’re all expecting it. Not original, not witty. A tired refrain.”
“Taylor still doesn’t know what it is, you can still get her with it.” Brian said, regretting it almost immediately as silver-blue eyes flicked over to him.
The curly-haired boy shook his head.
“No, it’s not the same.” He sighed.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the pun?” Taylor looked between all of them.
“What are any of his puns about? It’s a dick joke.” Lisa said, holding nothing back.
“It is not… okay yeah it’s a dick joke.” Alec snorted. “Say you want French tips again, Taylor, I’ll give you the full experience.”
Brian huffed out a laugh and Alec shot him a look, a quick grin.
“That was not part of the joke, just a happy coincidence. C’mon, Lovebug, set me up.”
“I think I’d like… French tips?” Taylor tried looking back and forth between them like she was expecting to be the butt of the joke.
“I can give you a French tip.” Alec leaned in, voice playful and a little flirty, and even knowing it was coming Brian wasn’t alone in his pulse tripping slightly faster, Lisa next to him watching intently.
“O… kay?” Taylor bit her lip, watching him. “Except I just put this nail polish on. It’s not dry yet and it would look stupid with French tips.”
Alec leaned forward and said something quietly in her ear, the words indistinct but his voice deeper than normal in a hot murmur.
Taylor actually squeaked. Then she cleared her throat, trying to play it cool.
“Uh. I told you I’d never done that before.”
Now it was Alec’s turn to get a bit wide-eyed, pulling away and covering his face with a groan.
It took Brian a moment to put together the dots and then he felt his face burn.
“It’s more about the pun than the suggestion.” Lisa explained to Taylor. “He doesn’t necessarily want to… give you his French tip.”
“Wow, I could see your health bar going down for that.” Alec dropped his hands, sounding impressed. “Did it hurt?”
“I’ll hurt you.” The blonde threatened, with no heat. “Stop pressuring Taylor for anal.”
“I’m not!” Alec blinked. “You just finished saying it was a play-on-words. And I already said she could do me like that, first.”
Brian choked on his water, which was on him– stupid to take a sip while Regent was talking, in costume or out.
“He did offer that.” Taylor reminded Lisa, though her own cheeks were pink for the effort and she almost stuttered trying to tease.
Alec liked that? Alec was into that?
Dread welled up in him, fuck, he did not need to know that. Well, it was fairly obvious actually, but everytime Brian thought about it, he’d rebuked himself for stereotyping and assumptions.
Just because Alec dressed, acted, and talked like he did, did not mean he liked… that.
Doing that.
Jesus.
“Have you?”
It took him a second to realize he’d spoken, mostly because everyone turned to him, and then Brian looked away from their fond gazes.
Alec leaned back, all skin on display in his ridiculous fucking lap blanket.
Several jokes visibly rolled across his tongue before he settled on eyes flicking over in amusement.
“Yeah.” Alec said, almost daring them to comment on it.
Brian was sweating a little. Christ.
“Not with me, though.” Taylor said, an awkward little laugh. “Um, we haven’t.”
“We know Taylor,” Lisa held the other girl’s hand carefully, mindful of the polish.
“We did other stuff, though.” Taylor ducked her chin. Brian counted back from ten.
“We were there.” Alec was amused as well, a little knowing tone in his voice. “Well, me and Lisa were. Brian missed out.”
“He saw the pictures though.” Lisa practically purred, stroking Taylor’s knuckle. “So he knows exactly what we did to you and how much you like it.”
“Point of order.” Brian spoke, needing to clear his throat to manage. “The picture was very nice–” his voice cracked “– but despite the heavy allusions during Never Have I Ever, I don’t know exactly what went down.”
“Well– me, for one.” Alec laughed, and it took Brian a moment to realize what he meant by that. On Taylor or Lisa? Brian vaguely remembered one of the ‘nevers’ being ‘eaten out by Alec’. Lisa had put a finger down. God.
Do you want a play-by-play?” Alec leaned forward, eyes on fire. “Fuck, we could even demonstrate.”
“O-on each other?” Taylor asked. “Like a reenactment? Or on Brian, showing him what we… well.”
“Both.” Alec said. “Either. Fuck, I don’t care. Huh.”
The other boy leaned back in his massive comforter and looked strangely surprised.
“I didn’t think Brian was going to do anything with me yet– no offense, Bri.”
Brian frowned.
“That… might be true but it paints me as kind of a dick, doesn’t it? Like, what, I can… I can flirt but as soon as it gets real, I suddenly have a problem with it?” A brief laugh that wasn’t even amused. “I don’t want to be that type of guy.”
“Are you worried about leading me on?” Alec asked, amused instead of offended.
“Shut up.” Brian said, almost by reflex to hear that tone of voice from Alec. He tried not to smile.
“Well, established bro-code says it’s not gay if it’s a three– or in this case a four-way.” Alec eyed Lisa and Taylor with open amusement. “If we keep the girls between us it’s super heterosexual.”
“Fuck off, if I’m going to sleep with you I’m not going to pretend it’s straight.” Brian’s heart was beating fast even as he shook his head at the easy out. “I shouldn’t need the girls as a buffer.”
“But it’s easier.” Lisa interrupted. “All jokes aside. If we… it doesn’t have to be anything anyone’s uncomfortable with.”
Brian’s stomach clenched hard. What the fuck was that? They were just going to accept that he was uncomfortable with an entire person and move on? He knew it was fucked up. Alec hadn’t done anything wrong to him, how could Brian be considering this while still wearing the ugly veneer of not willing to touch?
It just wasn’t fair to their other teammate, even as he shrugged like it didn’t bother him.
Taylor bit her lip.
“You said I shouldn’t fuck people who only tolerate me.” She pointed out. “Doesn’t that apply here?”
Alec laughed at her reminder, reached out and tapped her fingernail. He glanced at his finger and hummed.
“See, but that’s the whole thing. We– me and Brian– are not going to be fucking, so it’s fine if he only tolerates me. You’re almost dry, by the way.” Alec said fair too casually and Brian’s chest wrenched.
“Jesus Christ, dude.” Brian snapped, before he could reel it in. “Just because I don’t want to fuck doesn’t mean I don’t like you. You’re at least my friend.”
‘Only tolerate.’ Christ. And they said it so confidently, so certainly.
He expected Alec to laugh it off, maybe apologize for suggesting otherwise, but instead the boy’s eyes widened fractionally.
“Oh. Really?” Alec asked. “I mean, sometimes I think you like me and then other times it’s gone again.”
“Once I figure out the right way to make it platonic during–” Brian waved a gesture, “– all this, you’re definitely getting a fucking hug. What the hell, man.”
“… it could be just a hug.” Alec said quietly. He took a breath and opened up his blanket cloak, the sleeves one more over his elbows.
Brian started to ask, seriously, if he was dressed under there– the majority of the blanket was still pooled in his lap– but he decided he didn’t care, especially not if they were about to kinda-sorta-not-participate-but-near-each-other have a fourway.
He was going to see it all anyway, even if he didn’t… touch.
Standing, he walked over to their biggest couch and pushed Alec down a little, climbing on top of him. He tugged the blanket over until it spanned them both and bullied Alec into his arms.
“See?” He said pointedly. “It’s fine.”
“You’re bright red.”
“I’m black, so no, I’m not.”
“You know what I mean, dude. I can feel your face burning.”
A hand curved over his hip, pulling the smaller boy closer in what felt like the dirtiest thing Brian’d ever done. Something about the proximity, about moving his body by that grip, the way he allowed himself to be moved right into Brian’s space.
His mouth went dry and he broke out into goosebumps.
“So… not completely naked under here.” He said, momentarily feeling his gut drop at what it would be like to reach and feel smooth, uninterrupted skin along Alec’s hip, bare and just as willing.
Alec snorted, not bothering to make it cute. It was anyway.
“Well yeah, what the fuck. I’m not going to come out here in just a blanket, that’s weird.” His arms were a little cool where he wrapped them around Brian in their ‘hug’. It certainly felt like he was naked, the slip of cotton on his hips barely covering anything.
“You’ve done weirder.” Lisa pointed out, breaking the little tension that had built up somehow. Brian and Alec weren’t the only two people in the world, or even the room.
Alec relaxed against him and Brian realized he’d been a bit tense. He had one hand on the boy’s hip, the other around his middle, and he rubbed up and down his back in what he hoped was reassurance.
“Okay, so I thought about it.” Alec admitted. “I figure– two of you have already slept with me, mostly, so it wouldn’t be that weird? But just because we did once doesn’t mean you want to do it again and I didn’t want to imply anything.”
“That’s… surprisingly considerate.” Brian said, blinking.
“Fuck you, I’m plenty considerate.” Alec shimmied against him a little, adjusting position. “You know, I said we should keep one of the girls between us so it’s not gay, and yet we’re the only ones actually touching.”
“That was stupid.” Brian huffed. “I’m not…” He hugged Alec closer.
They were more lying down than sitting, having shifted to mostly be side by side on the couch, and Brian had ended up with control of the blanket draped over them.
He made sure it covered Alec properly as he hugged him.
“You think I don’t like you?” He found himself looking at the boy in his arms, under all the blanket, and his throat hurt.
“Well I know you’re cool with me, like, you don’t mind some of the shit I do but liking me? Like… do you?”
“I– I don’t–” Brian swallowed hard and tried to find the words, because he didn’t know and didn’t make a habit of examining his feelings of all things, only to realize his half-baked attempt was damning.
Do you like me? / I don’t.
Alec gulped and was already turning away, half-laughing under his breath and Brian panicked, grabbing him. For a minute they were both under the dark of the stupid blanket, heavy and warm and alone.
“That’s not what I meant.” He said tightly, still not having the words but what else could he do? Let that misunderstanding continue? “Of course I like you, I mean, I don’t like— y’know, not like that, but I still, I mean maybe we could, um–“
“Chill.” Alec advised, hands flat on Brian’s chest between them. “Like I said, we don’t have to… we don’t have to do anything.”