Long Distance.

Aled smiles at Daniel over a coffee cup, watching as the American glances around in wonder.

“Don’t they have places like this in the States?” Aled asks, cocking his head sideways. Daniel shakes his head.

“Well, if we do, I’ve never seen them.” Daniel replies, looking across at Aled with a smile and taking a drink from his mug of hot chocolate. Aled laughs a little, quiet and from the back of his throat, because he fails to see what’s so exciting about Wetherspoons.

“Do you think Shay’s killed them all yet?” Aled wonders aloud, glancing out of the window.

“If your description of his cooking is anything to go by, then I’d wager they’re dead.” Daniel says with a smile. Only ten minutes ago, Aled had been telling Daniel about how Shay had tried to cook breakfast a few weeks ago, only to burn everything to a crisp and still figure it was edible.

Daniel reaches across the table and takes hold of Aled’s hand; the younger boy smiles and squeezes his hand lightly.

Aled opens his mouth to say something, but someone yells his name across the room, and he looks up to see Ian heading towards him.

“Alright, Aled?” He asks with a smile as he reaches their table, wiping his fingers on his t shirt. Aled nods, smiling a little.

“I’ve been worse.” He says and Ian smiles a little.

“I can see that.” Ian replies, looking at Daniel and giving him a small smile. “I presume you’re Daniel, then.”

Daniel nods, and he looks over at Aled to find him blushing.

“I’m Ian. Nice to meet you.” Ian says, holding out his hand to Daniel. Daniel smiles weakly and shakes Ian’s hand.

Ian’s about to say something else, but his boss yells for him to get back to work before he gets chance. He rolls his eyes and waves half-heartedly as he walks away.

“And that was who?” Daniel asks, confused. Aled laughs.

“Ian Watkins. He’s a few years above me in university. He’s in a local band that are kind of on their way to making it.” Aled elaborates. Daniel nods, and squeezes Aled’s hand gently.

When Josh, Shay, Andrew, Alex and Jack return to the apartment a few hours later, they find Aled and Daniel curled up together on the couch, asleep, with the closing credits of Marley and Me playing.

“Isn’t that just adorable.” Shay comments, a dopey smile falling across his features. “We should take pictures.”

Daniel hears them open the door but chooses to keep his eyes closed anyway. He smirks a little into Aled’s neck when he hears Shay’s comment, but no one seems to notice.

“Do you think they sorted everything out?” Alex asks. “I know Daniel wanted to, that’s why he came over here in the first place, when Aled’s mom called.”

“Yeah, I think they have.” Josh says, and Daniel can tell he’s smiling. “I always knew Aled wanted to; it was all he was talking about at rehearsals yesterday.”

Daniel smiles fondly, and feels Aled shift slightly in his arms.

“Are you gonna carry on talking about me or do I have to tear you a new one?” He asks sleepily, and Daniel laughs lightly.

“Should I understand that?” Andrew asks, and he sounds nervous.

“No, it’s probably best you don’t.” Josh laughs.

They go out for dinner that night, all seven of them, and Marina comes too.

“Now listen here, Young.” She says to Daniel when she arrives. “You hurt my boy, and I’ll throw you in the river. And that’s a promise.”

Daniel looks scared for a moment, until Marina laughs and pats him on the back.

“Just kidding.” She giggles at the expression on the American’s face. “Where is Aled anyway?”

“Upstairs, I think. Tell him we’re waiting, would you?” Shay yells from the kitchen, where he’s putting the final touches to his hair.

Marina sighs, and climbs up the stairs, where she finds Aled tugging a jacket on, before frowning at his reflection and starting to take it off.

“It looks great, leave it on.” She instructs, and he snaps his head around to look at her.

“Jesus Christ, Mari, don’t do that. Are you trying to kill me?” He gasps, turning back to the mirror and pulling at his hair a little.

“You look fine. Now get downstairs before Shay comes and drags you down.” She laughs, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him downstairs.

Aled doesn’t really remember that much from the night before when he wakes up the next morning. Daniel’s asleep next to him, an arm around his waist and his face buried in his neck.

He manages to prize himself from Daniel’s grip without waking him, and he heads downstairs and finds Alex and Jack curled up in the middle of the sitting room floor, asleep, with Andrew sprawled on one of the couches. He steps around them carefully and into the kitchen, where he finds Shay making coffee.

“Morning.” He says quietly, handing Aled a cup. “Do you think we should wake them all up?”

Aled takes a sip of his coffee and thinks for a moment.

“No, Jack gets pissy if you don’t let him wake up in his own time, and I don’t fancy facing that all day, thank you very much.”

Shay laughs gently, taking a drink from his own cup.

“Daniel’s still asleep, then?”

“Yeah.” Aled replies with a soft smile. “I guess Josh is too?”

“Yeah. That boy could sleep through a hurricane, I swear.”

They both laugh at that; knowing that it’s completely one-hundred percent accurate.

Aled finishes his coffee and puts the cup in the sink, before heading back towards the sitting room.

“I’m going back to bed. Come and get me if one of them wakes up, or something.”

Shay nods, drinking a little more.

Aled tiptoes back through the room, around the sleeping bodies and back up the stairs, to where Daniel’s still asleep on his bed. He smiles a little, lying back down beside him and putting his arm back around his waist. Daniel instinctively buries his face back into his neck.

Aled smiles as he closes his eyes and begins to drift off.

He could get used to this.