Long Live Us

"I'm tired," Alex whined, using the cute yawn that made Jack's heart melt.

"Go to sleep then," Jack said softly, sitting all the way across the room.

"You have to come here," Alex pouted. "Can't sleep without you."

Jack couldn't say no to that pouty face and walked over to Alex's bed. Alex pulled him under the blankets, and positioned them to where he could lay on top of Jack in a comfortable way. He twirled his hair in his fingers like he often did when he was tired, and yawned again. Jack shooed his hand away from his hair and replaced it with his own. He combed his fingers through Alex's hair, earning a sleepy smile from the older boy. Alex slowly began to fall asleep, but was interrupted by the loud bang of the door. Lisa walked in with a first aid kit in her hand.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, not looking sorry at all. "But I think it would be better if Alex slept by himself, that way he can rest more and heal."

Alex whined and nuzzled his head into Jack, knowing that if he was alone he'd never get any sleep. Jack sighed and scooted out from under Alex, getting an unhappy noise from the tired boy. He kissed Alex's pouty lips and tucked him in.

"Jack," Alex whimpered. "I can't sleep without you."

"I'll just be down the hall, baby. If you need me, just call," he pressed a kiss to Alex's forehead and started to leave.

Alex grabbed Jack's wrist before he could leave, and put on his best puppy dog face.

"I need you," he whispered.

Jack felt his heart burst at that. He cupped his boyfriend's face gently and smiled a little. Alex was looking at him with his huge puppy eyes, and leaning in to kiss him. Jack kissed him slowly and sweetly, not wanting to leave the gorgeous boy to sleep by himself.

"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" he said as he pulled away.

Lisa was still standing there, staring at them taking the longest time to just say goodnight. She was waiting for Jack to leave so she could spend time with Alex. When Jack finally did leave, Alex was irritated and cranky. He pulled the blanket over him when Lisa tried to talk to him. After five minutes of failed flirting with Alex, she finally left. Getting Alex to love her would be harder than she thought.

* * * *

Alex tossed and turned for hours, but he couldn't sleep. Sometimes the blanket would get too hot and he'd have to kick it off, but then he'd get too cold without it. He looked over at the clock and it had been at least three hours since Jack left the room. Jack's probably already asleep, he thought to himself. He didn't want to wake him up, but he really needed him so he could fall asleep. He slowly got up from his bed and leaned against the wall for support. He took a couple of steps and stopped against the wall again. His hip hurt when he walked, but he knew Jack would make it feel better if he could make it down the hall. He limped down the hall and made it to Jack's room. His hip was burning now, but he was hesitant to open Jack's door. He hoped Jack wouldn't be mad at him if he woke him up. He opened the door and poked his head in. Jack looked peaceful while he was sleeping, and Alex felt conflicted on whether he should go back to his room or not. He carefully started his journey across the room, trying not to knock over anything. He stubbed his toe against the desk, and a book fell to the floor with a thud. Jack's eyes opened and looked around the room until they landed on Alex.

"Baby," he said, his voice low. "What are you doing?"

"Can't sleep," Alex sniffled.

Jack got up and threw his arms around Alex. He kissed his boyfriend's head and pulled him into bed with him. Alex smiled and curled into Jack.

"I love you," Alex whispered, thinking that Jack wouldn't hear.

Alex didn't hear anything back, so he just shifted himself to a different position and closed his eyes. He felt a kiss on his ear and heard a soft whisper from Jack.

"You're stupid... But I love you too."