Feelings of Temptation

It started with a sore throat.

A really fucking sore throat that Alex couldn’t stand. He was pretty sure that it was the worst sore throat in the history of sore throats. Then again, maybe he was being overdramatic about it. Either way, it hurt like hell and had made Alex decide to stay back on the bus while his friends went out. Matt Flyzik had decided to stay back also, insisting that he had work to do and that Alex needed to be watched over.

“So basically you’re babysitting me right now?” Alex asked in a scratchy voice. He was lying on the couch in the front lounge, watching Matt as he walked around the bus, looking for something.

“Isn’t that what I do every day?” Matt questioned, opening a cupboard and shutting it.

Alex shrugged, stretching and trying to settle into a comfortable position on the couch. “What are you looking for?”

“The first-aid kit. It’s got a thermometer in there somewhere,” Matt explained, opening a drawer and looking triumphant. “There it is!”

“I don’t need a thermometer. I don’t have a fever,” Alex grumbled, voice raspy.

“Regardless, I’m taking your temperature. If this sore throat is strep throat, you’ll probably have a fever, and that means we have to drag your ass to a doctor for antibiotics,” Matt said, pulling the thermometer out of the first-aid kit and walking over to Alex.

“It’s not-” Alex began, but Matt shoved the thermometer into Alex’s mouth.

“Don’t argue. Keep that under your tongue and I’ll be back in three minutes,” Matt instructed, walking into the back. Alex crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes. He was startled a few minutes later when Matt suddenly returned, pulling the thermometer out of his mouth. “98.6 – perfectly normal. Okay, so no fever.”

“Told you.”

“Quiet. Your throat doesn’t have any spots or anything on it, does it?” Matt questioned.

Alex groaned, “Stop being overprotective. It’s probably from all this cold weather and from singing so much.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave you alone,” Matt told him, sitting on the other couch across from Alex. He grabbed a blanket to lie under and pulled his laptop out from under the couch.

Alex grabbed the remote and flicked through the TV channels, unable to find anything good to watch on the bus’s limited channels. He left it on the Travel channel for a while before rolling off the couch and walking to the fridge, pulling out a beer.

“Put that back,” Matt said, glancing up from the laptop. “Drink water, it’s better for your voice. It’ll help it feel less scratchy.”

Alex sighed dramatically and put the beer bottle back, grabbing a water bottle and sitting down on the couch, facing Matt. He took a gulp of water and grimaced. “It hurts when I swallow,” he whined, voice scratchy.

“Well then quit swallowing,” Matt said simply, not looking up from his laptop.

“It hurts when I breathe too,” Alex added, feeling the air sting his throat a little whenever he breathed in.

“Quit breathing then.”

Alex pouted, “For someone who was being so overprotective half an hour ago, you aren’t being very nice.”

“Yeah, because you insisted that you’re fine. Now you want my sympathy?” Matt asked, shaking his head at the younger boy.

“Yes,” Alex said, his voice sounding hoarse. Matt couldn’t tell if he was doing that on purpose or not.

“Just lie down and rest. The less you talk, the quicker your throat will heal,” Matt said, returning to the email he was typing out on his laptop.

Alex sighed in defeat and curled up on the couch, trying once again to get comfortable. It was no use. He was freezing – it was January and the heating on the bus seemed to be working terribly lately. “Matt?”

“What, Alex?”

“Are there any extra blankets somewhere?” Alex asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Only the sheets on the bunks,” Matt said, shaking his head.

Alex eyed the Disney blanket that was covering Matt, “Can I share that one with you? I’m cold.”

“Can’t you just go lie in your bunk? It would be warmer in there...” Matt said, looking up at the younger boy. He looked so pitiful that Matt sighed, shifting on the couch and rearranging the blanket, “Fine. C’mere.”

Alex grinned happily and leapt onto the couch next to Matt, wrapping half of the blanket around himself. He curled up next to Matt, leaning his head on his shoulder, and Matt didn’t object. It was nice and quiet for at least fifteen minutes. Matt sent a few emails and Alex stayed curled up against him quietly. He was so quiet that Matt looked over at him after a while, thinking that he had fallen asleep. He hadn’t; he was just watching Matt work, absentmindedly playing with a string on the blanket.

Of course, the silence didn’t last long. This is Alex Gaskarth we’re talking about. He eventually grew bored of watching Matt type out emails, and he reached out to start correcting errors. “You used the wrong form of ‘too’ in that sentence.”

Matt rolled his eyes and changed it, “There, happy?”

“You also forgot to capitalize our band name right there,” Alex said, pointing it out.

“Are you going to correct every single error?”

“Pretty much. There shouldn’t be a comma there,” Alex added, smirking.

“Seriously? If you’re just going to sit here and interrupt my work, then leave,” Matt said in frustration, pushing Alex off his shoulder.

“You’re sending emails to Keith, that’s not work!”

“Yes, it is. He’s your band manager and I’m the tour manager – if we’re emailing about your band, it’s work,” Matt said, finishing typing the email before sending it.

“There, now you’re done. Entertain me, I’m bored,” Alex whined, his voice sounding croaky now. He was going to lose his voice if he didn’t shut up.

Matt reached out and poked Alex in the throat, “Quit talking, you’re losing your voice.”

“I can talk as much as I want to talk,” Alex protested, his voice sounding a little more raspy. Okay, maybe Matt had a point.

“Or you could just run your mouth until you have no voice – that would be better for me,” Matt teased, and Alex hit him in the shoulder. “Ow!”

“Asshole.”

“Shut up and let me do my work.”

Alex crossed his arms, watching Matt type out more emails for a few more minutes. “You spelled my name wrong. There are not two S’s in my last name.”

“‘Gasskarth’ seemed like the correct spelling. You know, since you’re an ass,” Matt mused.

“You’re so professional,” Alex said sarcastically.

Matt sighed heavily, “Alex, shut up.”

“Maybe I don’t want to.”

“Shut the fuck up or I’m going to make you shut up.”

“How? You gonna send me to my bunk?” Alex taunted the older boy.

“Alex,” Matt practically growled, pushing the laptop off his lap.

“Matt,” Alex mocked in his hoarse voice, a sparkle in his eyes showing that he was having fun messing with Matt.

Matt pushed Alex, making him fall onto his back on the couch, “Quit!”

“Make me,” Alex scowled and kicked at Matt, only succeeding in making Matt fall on top of him. “Ha, I got you away from your work!”

Alex opened his mouth to say something else, but Matt cut him off by grabbing Alex’s face in his hands. Matt pressed his lips to Alex’s, kissing him roughly. Alex’s mouth opened slightly in shock but he kissed back, not wanting to let Matt be the totally dominant one. Tongues tangled and teeth clashed as they kissed, neither one of them stopping immediately. Both boys felt a spark of something but neither would admit to it.

Matt was the first to pull away, cheeks bright red as he sat up. “That should shut you up.”

Alex just gaped at him, watching him return to his laptop like nothing had happened.

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

Not a word was spoken about the kiss for the next two weeks.

Alex and Matt didn't bring it up at all. It was almost as if it had never happened - but that was far from true. They both continued to act the same way around each other as they always had before, talking and joking and taunting. But there was something different now. The constant side glances at each other. Checking Alex out while he was on stage. Sneakily watching Matt get dressed in the morning.

Alex's sore throat turned out to just be from singing and it cleared up after a few days. The band had just finished playing a show and the crew was loading the equipment back into the trailer. The band had just finished signing for some fans, and most of them were heading to the trailer to goof off with the crew.

Alex, on the other hand, ventured into the bus to find Matt. He knew that he had to be in there somewhere - every crew member except for Matt was messing around outside. He walked inside and shut the door quietly, looking around. He heard faint talking and frowned, heading into the back.

Matt was on the phone when Alex walked in, shutting the door behind him. He finished the phone call quickly, looking up at Alex. “Where are the others?”

“Outside. I wanted to come find you,” Alex shrugged, sitting down beside Matt.

“Well, you found me,” Matt said, pulling up his emails on his phone.

Alex sighed heavily, “Do you always work?”

“I keep things running, I kind of have to work,” Matt said, rolling his eyes.

“Not constantly,” Alex whined. When Matt didn't respond, he asked, “What's it gonna take to pull you away from that damn phone?”

“A fire,” Matt responded absentmindedly, typing out a message on his phone. Alex scowled, watching him for a minute. He was determined to get Matt's attention. He hadn't come in here to be ignored. He came in here because he was sexually frustrated and wanted Matt.

Scooting close to Matt, Alex threw an arm around him. Matt tensed up slightly, raising an eyebrow at Alex before looking back at his phone. Alex cuddled up next to Matt, lying his head on Matt's shoulder. His lips brushed against Matt's neck lightly as he asked, “Am I bothering you?”

“N-no,” Matt stuttered slightly as he spoke. He knew what Alex was trying to do.

Alex smirked and started kissing lightly at Matt's neck, grinning against his skin when he felt a shiver run through Matt's body. Alex kissed up his neck, stopping behind his ear before working his way back down again.

Matt struggled to focus on the email he was typing, unable to concentrate with Alex's lips all over his neck. He had been thinking about their kiss constantly for the past two weeks, but he thought it would just be forgotten. He hadn't expected Alex to do this.

Alex noticed Matt's struggle to concentrate and he smirked, pulling Matt's collar to the side a few inches before biting down on the skin lightly. Matt gasped, eyes slipping shut for a moment. Alex chuckled against Matt's neck, “You can push me away if I'm annoying you.”

“Be quiet,” Matt breathed, but he didn't make an attempt to stop him. Alex took that as permission to continue, and he kissed up Matt's neck again. He stopped at the base of his neck, where Matt breathed in sharply.

“This your sweet spot?” Alex murmured, kissing at the spot lightly. Matt let out a strangled sound from his throat, not responding to Alex.

Matt gasped loudly when Alex nipped at the skin, sucking lightly and definitely trying to leave a mark. “Fuck, Alex,” he nearly moaned, tipping his head back.

“Still insistent on sending those emails?” Alex asked with a knowing smirk, sitting up to look at Matt.

“Fuck you,” Matt growled, throwing his phone behind him and pushing Alex back onto the couch.

Alex moaned softly as their lips connected, clutching onto Matt's shirt. He had been craving this since the first one. This kiss was more intense, a little less rushed. Matt ran his lips along Alex's, begging for entrance, and Alex immediately let him in, their tongues battling for dominance. Alex finally let Matt take control, letting out little pants and gasps into Matt's mouth.

Matt broke away from the kiss with a laugh. “You're turned on so easily. Moaning and panting just from kissing?” he teased, and Alex frowned. He thrust his hips up into Matt's slightly and Matt moaned involuntarily as Alex smirked. Matt scowled, “Chill out, slut.”

“Shut up and kiss me,” Alex whined, pulling Matt back down to kiss him. They continued making out for a while and were just about to move to the next base when Matt suddenly heard a door open up front. He jerked away from Alex, eyes wide.

“Is that the other guys?” Matt asked, straining his ears to listen.

“I don't care who it is,” Alex grumbled, but Matt scrambled off him quickly when he heard footsteps. The door opened just as Matt sat up and grabbed his phone.

“Whoa, what happened in here?” Jack asked with wide eyes, seeing Alex pushed back onto the couch.

“Alex was pissing me off because he was interrupting my work, so I shoved him down,” Matt lied smoothly, shrugging.

“Yeah, I was distracting him,” Alex said with a slight smirk, sitting up and fixing his hair.

Jack laughed, “No surprise there. The bus driver wants to know if it's okay to head out, Matt.”

“Yeah, we can head out. Go tell him,” Matt nodded, waving him away. Jack shut the door and headed back up front.

Alex looked over at Matt, “So, now that he's gone...”

“I'm not doing anything while there are other people on the bus,” Matt murmured, shaking his head.

“Cockblock,” Alex groaned. “But... we can do that again, right?”

“Definitely,” Matt said, glancing over at Alex with a small smile. Alex beamed and Matt rolled his eyes, reaching out and punching him in the shoulder.

“Ow! What the hell?” Alex complained, rubbing his arm.

“That was for the fucking hickey you left on my neck.”