Shelter

Alex had been having a really good week with his nightmares. He had one more night terror that scared the shit out of everyone, but that was it. For some reason, his nightmares had disappeared for nearly a week. He wasn’t going to question it – he was just glad to get a break from them. The others seemed a little thrown off by his good mood, but they were enjoying it because it was rare to see Alex so happy.

Alex was bouncing around backstage on his toes, happy after a great show. He was all sweaty but didn’t really mind. Zack was in the shower right now and everyone else was waiting to take their turn. Well, Rian was standing by the door and claiming the next shower, so Alex and Jack were pushed to the end of the line.

Jack was sitting on the couch, talking on the phone, when Alex spotted him. Alex hopped over and dived onto his lap, lying with his head on Jack’s lap. Jack chuckled in surprise and held up his index finger, signaling for Alex to wait. Alex waited patiently for a minute before he got bored, realizing Jack wasn’t ending the phone call yet. He ran a hand up and down Jack’s shirtless, sweaty chest to try and distract him, but Jack didn’t react except for squirming slightly. Alex decided to pinch at Jack’s nipples instead, grinning when Jack’s eyes widened. He continued for a minute or so until Jack finally got frustrated, grabbing Alex’s hand to stop him.

“Hey, I have to go. Alex is being annoying. I’ll talk to you later,” Jack said into the phone, scowling at Alex, who was giggling. “Love you too. Bye.”

“Who was that?” Alex asked innocently.

“It was my mom, you asshole,” Jack frowned.

Alex pouted, “You should have told her that I said hi!”

“I was too busy being distracted.”

“Sorry. Next time you should wear a shirt so it isn’t so tempting,” Alex apologized with a grin.

Jack chuckled, running his thumb against Alex’s hand, which he was still holding, “Why did you feel the need to sexually assault me?”

“It looked fun,” Alex shrugged.

Jack rolled his eyes, “You’re a goof. Hey, are you up for watching a movie together on the bus?”

“Depends... what movie?”

“The new Avengers movie that just came out,” Jack said with a smirk.

“Yes! Let’s watch it!” Alex practically squealed, sitting up quickly.

Jack laughed, “We have to go buy it first. It just came out today, so I haven’t had a chance to get it. We can walk to the Walmart down the street and get it.”

“Let’s go get it now,” Alex suggested, eyes wide with excitement. He had been waiting to see that movie for a long time.

“Calm down, you dork. We have to shower first. I don’t want to be all sweaty and gross for the rest of the night,” Jack said, watching Alex jump up from the couch.

“Fuck, I forgot about that,” Alex said, walking to the door and looking down the hallway at the bathroom. “Shower’s open! I’ll be right back!”

--------------------

“You look like a three year old on Christmas morning,” Jack commented as they walked into the store. Alex had grabbed Jack by the hand to literally pull him into the store.

“Hey, it’s your fault for getting me all excited,” Alex said, tugging Jack toward the entertainment section. “Can’t you walk any faster?”

“I just walked half a mile to get here after running around on stage for an hour and a half. I couldn’t walk faster if I tried,” Jack said, trudging along behind him.

“So did I, but you don’t see me walking like a snail,” Alex scoffed.

“Do snails walk?”

Alex ignored him, stopping in front of the movie display. He looked around for the DVD for a minute before finally finding it. “Here it is! Come on, let’s go buy it!”

“You mean I have to walk all the way back up front?” Jack whined, turning to follow him.

“You complain a lot.”

“And you walk too fast.”

“That was a complaint,” Alex teased, and Jack rolled his eyes, poking Alex in his ticklish side to make him jump. Alex shrieked and Jack laughed.

“Quiet down, Lex. You act like I’m trying to rape you,” Jack chuckled, glancing up and seeing an employee staring at them.

“Tickling is practically like rape!” Alex argued, walking faster so he was out of Jack’s reach. They got back up front to the checkout and Alex put the DVD on the counter for the cashier to scan it. “I’ll pay for it.”

“You don’t have to,” Jack said, and Alex shook his head.

“I’m the one who wants to watch it. I’ll buy it,” Alex said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He frowned and dug around in his other pockets, coming up empty. “Um, I think my wallet is in my other pants...”

Jack rolled his eyes and stepped forward to pay for the DVD, handing the bag to Alex as they walked out. “You’re stupid.”

“Don’t make fun of me. Come on, let’s get back and watch this thing,” Alex said, walking quickly.

They got back to the bus just before curfew, and they both headed into the back lounge to watch the movie together. By the time the movie was about to end, both of them were nearly falling asleep. Alex had his head in Jack’s lap and Jack was absentmindedly running his fingers through Alex’s hair. Just as the credits started to roll, someone suddenly walked into the back lounge and turned the light on, making both of them jump slightly.

“Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Zack apologized with a chuckle. “I just need to grab a movie to watch out front. Rian and I can’t fall asleep.”

Zack grabbed a movie and left, shutting the light off and closing the door again. Alex sat up with a yawn, asking, “Do you want to watch another movie?”

“Sure. I’m about to fall asleep though, so I’m just gonna grab something random to throw in,” Jack said, and Alex nodded. Jack stood up to put another movie in and then sat back down with Alex, grabbing a blanket because the air conditioning was making the back lounge cold. Alex cuddled up into him and Jack looked at him in surprise, but he put the blanket over the two of them and wrapped his arms around Alex. “You’re in a cuddly mood today.”

“I like cuddling with you,” Alex said with a smile, nuzzling his head into Jack’s neck. Jack blushed and held Alex a little tighter, leaning his head against Alex’s.