(Back dating this to the day after Aiden's awakening. This was done in Google Docs.)

Follow up to: Phone Calls and White Noise


Once Jenna had dropped the bag off with him, and questioned him, Alexandre had decided to busy himself with filling Cadha’s bowls with food and water and shuffling about the kitchen as he settled into the idea of making breakfast. He’d rather go back to bed or go out for the usual morning run but he did neither as he grabbed eggs, plates, juice, bacon, and other things as he sought to prepare something to eat for Aiden and himself.

As Cadha finished eating, and the eggs were making in the pan, Alexandre let the little scottish terrier out into the backyard so he could go do his business, leaving the door just slightly ajar so the little dog could let himself back in. While Cadha was out there Alex looked to the mostly empty plates, currently only playing home to a few strips of bacon each. The eggs were still going on the one pan while he grabbed another one and went for the hash browns he kept in the freezer as they were store bought in a bag and not made from scratch. He really didn’t know what the other liked so he was guessing at things and hoping he chose well.

Biting down on his bottom lip, spatula in his right hand, he went to set it down and grab himself an apple from the fridge. Rather than just taking a bite of the fruit the ashen blond went dug around one of his kitchen drawers for a peeler to remove the skin. He didn’t care much for the skin on apples, not to mention the chemicals found in them just made this a much more appealing option to him. With both tool and apple in hand he went to peeling the apple as quickly as he could, leaving the peel on the counter top for now.

Once peeled, Alexandre set it down for a moment to serve the finished scrambled eggs onto both plates. He’d mixed in some green and red bell pepper, for flavor, as well as a bit of seasoning besides salt and pepper. Tapping his foot he grabbed his apple and took a bite all the while wondering what he’d do if the other didn’t like what he’d selected...or if it was too much. Again he bit down on his bottom lip in order to chase away the thoughts and focused back on the task at hand.

By now he’d taken several bites of the apple and was setting it down as he focused on the bag of cold shredded potatoes. Opening the bag he poured a good amount onto a clean pan, the one from the eggs and bacon would go into the dishwasher in a few minutes, and added some oil then turned on the heat and kept it around medium temperature so he didn’t burn it but so it also didn’t take forever to get golden colored.

Now that those were cooking he put the other pan into the dishwasher, which would soon be filled with other cookware to be cleaned, before picking up his apple again to finish it. Leaning against the counter top, in order to keep an eye on the pan, he let himself relax and tried to keep the doubt away but when he did that his mind went back to earlier in his room with the ********. “********…” He whispered to himself as he followed the word up with a groan. This was complicated and unintended...he hadn’t planned to fall for anyone - not after seeing someone he loved die in the future. Yet he had...and he knew it; but now what? What could he do? What did he want to do? This was a mess.

Perhaps it was a bit of bad luck on his part, but coming around the corner to hear your host for the last two days swearing typically wasn’t a good sign. The food however smelled delicious and made his stomach growl.

“Hey…” Shirt slung over his shoulder Aiden rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and made a left into the kitchen. Bare chested and not really giving a damn who saw since he often went swimming and wore less than what he was currently wearing, Aiden paused in front of the countertop bar area across from Alexandre.

From where he’d been leaning against the counter, his head tipped downward, Alex lifted his head to see the other topless. “********” cursing mentally to himself he turned his head away after a moment or two, too long really, of staring at the other. “Hey, you found everything ok?” He asked after taking a moment to settle his own thoughts.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks for bringing my bag upstairs. I’m actually surprised my sister brought them over.” He’d make it up to her later; take her out to get frozen yogurt or something. “Um, would you help me with this” he asked while turning around so Alex could take a look at the condition of his back.

The flesh around the wound was a pinkish red, inflamed from the hot water. He really should have left the bandages on; oh well, lesson learned.

Turning back to the food to check on it and flip things he turned back to face the other with a smile. “Of course. I wasn’t going to make you walk all the way down here in a towel just to get your clothing.” Though he himself tended to wander about in a towel drip drying, but that was just his thing. “Your sister didn’t seem to mind.” He didn’t bring up that the others sister had questioned him, and seemed to not totally believe him. Then again knowing his own feelings here he might have thought the same actually.

Taken by surprise for a moment he nodded, “I’ll grab what I need but you’ll have to watch the food...if you don’t mind.” He didn’t need the hash browns to burn, he wasn’t much for burnt or dark food. Pushing off the counter he came around the other side of the countertop and went to inspect the others back. “Well, no infection or anything - that’s good. It doesn’t look that bad.” Not like it had when the other had been passed out on his doorstep that was for sure.

“Do you think I can get away without having to go to the hospital?” The last thing he needed was a doctor's visit. As it was his income was minimal and served to pay off fall quarter at Destiny City University as well as cover the costs for books and food. Plus working part time as a waiter or a life guard meant there was no health insurance to cover the costs.

Yes, there was the option of going to his family but his father would sooner see him take back his claim of being gay before accepting Aiden as his son again. His mother, although far more accepting of who he was, wasn’t really in the financial position to help him out either. Plus, he really didn’t want to give either of his parents a reason to think their son was delusional after telling them the story of what happened last night.

“You should be fine. You’ll just need to keep it covered and use something to keep it from becoming infected. I have something I used before and I’ll put on again.” It wasn’t something bought over the counter but it was something which worked, at least he’d always found it to work. It had been, as a child, just pain medications he didn’t use from the store and slowly it had evolved. he only used whatever a doctor gave, anything else which was over the counter he handled with plants and herbs. It was what he’d used on the others back.

“Though it is likely to scar. You could use some of those products they sell to reduce scars but only after it’s healed.” You didn’t want to get that into the cut while it was still healing, they were used after the fact. He knew there were other things as well, which you could get in the store, and he would of course suggest them later.

Running his fingertips lightly over the others back, inspecting the wound, he nodded his head. Smiling, he turned to head off out of the kitchen to get what was needed. “You could let it air right now, if you want, but you’d best keep the shirt off. it’ll get fibers in it. If you want to put your shirt on though...I can cover it up.” An offer to the other to do whichever option he pleased right now, either way he grabbed something for it to keep from becoming infected, but he could bring back more if the other wanted to cover it up.

Aiden had been pushing the hashbrowns around the pan with the spatula when the feather light touch gave him reason to pause. After setting down the utensil, Aiden reached behind him and took ahold of Alexandre’s wrist; a non-verbal request to stop.

The attention he had been receiving did not hurt in the slightest. If anything it was more like mild discomfort when poking a bruise, but that would be expected.

“Your hands are shaking.” Aiden pointed out, breaking the silence his action caused. “If you're uncomfortable doing this tell me and I’ll either find a way to bandage it myself or I’ll have my sister do it when I get home.” For the number of times he came home bleeding, she had become a bit of an expert in first aid.

Turning around, two pairs of slate blue eyes locked.

Alexandre hadn’t realized his hands had been shaking, it wasn’t something so noticeable and yet Aiden had noticed it. Swallowing he found his hand caught by the wrist and Aiden turning to him, just as he was about to drop his head down in the hopes of covering up what he was feeling. Trapped and with his gaze meeting the others he felt the warmth rise in his cheeks.

“N-no. I’m fine with handling this.” In an attempt to try and lighten things, to cut the tension he felt, he pushed on as he forced words past his lips. “Though you’ll smell like an herb shop.” Since he would have to get one of the salves he had in the bathroom. Swallowing again he couldn’t find it in himself to stop looking at the other, even while his mind screamed at him to look away, to take his hand away from the other, neither thing happened.

The two of them had been hanging out an awful lot since the start of the year participating in activities ranging from getting caught up in Game of Thrones to going on some outing which required them to take his motorcycle. Their nearness never seemed to be an issue before, neither had seeing the other shirtless especially since Alex had met him at the pool a few times already and they had plans to go to the beach once the weather got just a bit more warm.

“Hmm...” The sound escaped him unintentionally as he tilted his head to the side causing stray strands of damp hair to sway with the motion… Something had changed in the last twenty-four hours to make the blond seem so nervous. Or perhaps... Aiden’s eyebrows raised in amusement by this sudden epiphany

With his free hand Aiden carded his fingers through Alexandre’s silk spun hair. Still holding onto Alex’s wrist he leaned forward and captured the others lips with his own.

He would have asked what the other was humming about, what was on his mind, but it seemed he would get his answer before he could ask, and it wasn’t what he was expecting. The fingers carding his hair felt nice - really nice. Feeling his eyes drift shut he wanted to question the other but..but how to ask what was on his mind without sounding like a floundering idiot? Without risking himself? He had no way of knowing what was going on in the others mind or why the sudden attention. They’d spent time together, a lot of time, for months now and he was certain they any time the other had touched his hair it had been to mess it up - not this. This was new and something felt...different and not as tense as it had moments ago. It felt like the world was slowing down though, slowing to a stop, as he waited with a held breath as if expecting something. He knew what he was waiting for, he was waiting to see what would happen next because it felt like they were on the edge of...something.

When Aiden bridged the gap, pressed their lips together, he felt himself relax and reach up to lazily drape an arm over the others shoulders as his fingers lost themselves in the others darker hair. His lips pressed back for a moment before he drew back and looked up at the other, slate eyes searching for some kind of confirmation to what his mind was already concluding.

Known to be a bit of a careless risk taker, Aiden was immensely relieved when Alex reciprocated the action with enough feeling to match his own. There was a lot in the line with the move he had just made but in the end it was most definitely worth it to have his prior musings confirmed.

Looking down, he could read the questioning look on Alexandre’s face. One that remained unspoken but something they both wanted to know the answer to.

Aiden smiled then lowered his head to brush his lips against the blonds before whispering in his ear. “How much would you hate me if I said I want you?” Want to be with you… his mind quickly corrected himself but it was too late the words were spoken.

Time had stopped and he could feel a sort of...odd feeling in him, one he couldn’t exactly describe and yet was familiar with, as the other questioned him. Biting down on his bottom lip he stared up at the other, cheeks a nice pink hue, and shook his head after a moment to dispel his thoughts so he could answer the other.

“I would hope you mean that you want to date me...if so then yes.” He answered before leaning up and ghosting a kiss over the others cheek. He was hoping that’s what the other meant, he really was. He didn’t think he could handle anything less than that - not with Aiden.

Black hair, dyed to have a navy blue tint, brushed against the side of Alex’s face when Aiden’s head fell forward to rest his forehead against the blond's shoulder. “That’s what I meant to say,” he muttered, hiding the embarrassed look on his face.

“Good.” At least it seemed they were both on the same page, and that was good. He knew he hadn’t planned on a relationship but he couldn’t deny himself - deny his feelings. He’d have to keep the other from the war and keep him safe. While the others head rested on his shoulder he held onto the other with one arm about Aiden’s waist, the other still draped over his shoulder with his fingers in the others dark hair.

Within seconds the smell of smoke began to fill the air followed by the screeching sound of the fire alarms. “Oh s**t…” The two split apart quicker than the children's game of Crack the Whip. Aiden twisted around, quicker that otherwise would have been advised given the condition of his back, and grabbed ahold of the pan handle and slid it to one of the other burners.

What Alex wasn’t expecting, though he should have been, was the smell of smoke and the alarms which started to go off. “s**t.” cursing as well, almost at the same time as Aiden, he parted from the other quickly and hurried over to the stove to turn on the fan above it before he hurried to get the alarms off before they made his ears bleed, they were really loud, he didn’t even think to turn off the flame or remove the pan or anything else to stop the food from burning further. He was a bit scattered at the moment, something which was understandable really. “Looks like breakfast will be a bit smaller than planned.” But at least he still had some food for them.

Aiden looked over his shoulder at the blond as swung a dish rag at the alarm to fan the smoke away from it. “Sorry,” He offered the other a lopsided yet apologetic grin; much like someone who got in trouble for doing something they knew they shouldn’t have been doing.

Once golden brown potatoes now a charcoal black, talk about ruining the mood… Oh well, he sighed. Opening the trash can lid he dumped the contents inside just as Cadah came barreling into the kitchen barking at the once loud sound.

“It’s fine.” Waving a dismissive hand he continued with his task till he could get the alarm to stop, at least the one that was battery powered as there was no way to really stop Cadha. The little dog did eventually stop, but at his own time, and with both issues handled he’d gone to get his little kit of salves.

The next several minutes were spent with Alex putting some ointments on Aiden’s back; he really wasn’t joking when he said that he’d smell like a herb shop. Nothing could really be done to help it and at least it soothed his back some when applied to the cut.

Being gentle, Alexandre made sure what he was using was well into the others skin.The smell was something strong but he was used to it, liked it even, but he didn’t know what the other would think of the scent. Once done he nudged the other, just as he finished capping the small jar of salve. “Come on, breakfast.” And he led the way to the small kitchen table where the cold remains of food waited for them.

Shanyume
Word Count: 1065

Sleet Tempest Snape
Word Count: 2015