Snow

"Jack?!" Alex said, shocked. He dropped to his knees, essentially stopping him from going any further down the mountain.

He couldn't quite believe that Jack - Jack! - was on the mountain, trying to ski. To say he was gobsmacked was an understatement. It was the last thing he'd expected when he'd set out from his cabin this morning.

"Mind giving me a hand?" Jack asked, slowly sliding down the slope.

Alex blinked and shook himself out of his shock. He smiled, "Sure, this week, Jack, I'm going to teach you to ski."

"Ok."
~~~
"Now just - oh no, don't - no - stop. Before you -" Alex winced as Jack collided with the bright orange cushioned barriers at the end of the baby slope.

They'd moved from the main slope to a smaller, gentler slope. It had taken them a good twenty minutes to get there. The slope was deserted apart from a few kids having a lesson at the other side of the slope.

He let himself go, picking up speed quickly and dug the upside edge of his snowboard into the snow to stop him from sliding into Jack, who was lying on the snow.

"I'm never going to be able to do this, am I Alex? Tell me the truth." Jack said, looking at Alex with sad eyes, wanting the honest truth from his best friend.

"I think..." Alex paused, debating how best to tell him, "I think that, if we try, you will get to grips with the basics. That sound alright?"

Jack nodded enthusiastically, aligning his skis so he could get back up. Alex offered a hand, which he accepted.
~~~
"Now, remember this is our last run of today, so try to keep your skis parallel when you go across the slope and do snowplough turns. Let's go." Alex said before jerking himself up and sliding downhill fast. He slowed down when he got to the other edge of the slope and turned back to see Jack starting to ski towards him.

He saw immediately that Jack was going too fast towards him.

"Slow down Jack!" Alex yelled in hopes that Jack would hear him.

Jack screamed as he crashed into Alex, sending them both accelerating down the mountain. Alex tried to stop them before they crashing into the wall, but he failed. They stopped and assessed the damage. One of Jack's skis had come off and it was up the slope.

Successfully, Alex untangled himself from Jack's long limbs and took his snowboard off.

"What are you doing Alex?" Jack asked.

"Getting your ski for you." Alex replied, starting to trek up the slope towards the ski.

"Oh."

A few minutes later, Jack had both skis on and was going slowly across the slope with Alex in front of him, stopping every so often to make sure Jack was ok.
~~~
"Oh my God, my calves - ow! - they hurt like hell." Jack complained as he unclipped his ski boots.

Alex chuckled, taking off his snowboarding boots and putting them on the rack on the wall. Alex quickly grabbed his gloves, coat and hat and put the hat and gloves in the pockets of his coat. He then went over to Jack, who was struggling to extract his foot from his right ski boot. Alex knelt down in front of him and pulled his bindings away. Alex slid his hand into the boot and jerked the front part loose for Jack. Jack got his foot out easily.

"Thanks Alex." Jack said, smiling.

Alex shrugged, "It's nothing. If your calves still hurt, there's something I could do about that, if you want me to?"

"What is it?"

"Just a massage." Alex said, putting his coat on the coat rack next to the boot rack.

"Yeah, that sounds good."
~~~
"So...so...good..." Jack moaned as Alex's hands gently massaged his sore calves.

They were in the hot tub, relaxing after Jack's first day skiing. The bubbles felt nice against Jack's back.

"I think if we try more tomorrow, you'll get better." Alex said

"Mmhm..." Jack replied, not really listening to what Alex was saying, being more focussed on his warm fingers on Jack's calves.

Suddenly Alex's hands were gone from Jack's calves and he felt cold without them, despite the hot water he was submerged in. Jack looked up to find Alex getting out of the hot tub.

"Why are you getting out?" He asked.

Alex laughed, "If I stay in there any longer, my fingers will start going wrinkly."

Jack brought a hand up out of the water and looked at it. Alex was right, he had started to turn wrinkly. He got out and slipped on the tiled floor. A pair of hands steadied him before he fell over and hurt himself.

"Thanks." Jack smiled easily.

Butterflies accumulated in Alex's stomach for some reason. He returned Jack's smile.

~~~

Jack was still having some trouble controlling himself on the slope, much to his own exasperation. He had just crashed. For the fifth time this morning. He sighed unhappily.

Alex stopped just above him and held out a hand to help him up. Jack grasped it with his own gloved hand and pulled himself up.

"You ok?" Alex said, looking concerned.

"I'm fine. I think I need a break though." Jack answered.

"Alright then, I know a place. C'mon." Alex replied, leading the way down the mountain. He checked that Jack was following him ok and let the slope pull him down the mountain.

~~~

Jack looked around in wonder as they entered the bar. He had never seen such a place, with its low wooden beams and small circular tables scattered around the place, despite his travels with the band. It was nice, he decided, stomping some snow off his boots and continuing to walk awkwardly after Alex.

Once they had an ice-cold beer each, they sat at a table opposite each other. Jack let his eyes wander over Alex's form. Since entering, Alex had took off his goggles and red and black striped beanie, allowing his brown hair to shine in the dim light. Not that Jack was focusing on that.

"Ah... That's nice." Alex sighed, after taking a drink of the beer in front of him.

"What are Rian and Zack up to this week?" Jack asked, wondering if Alex knew because he didn't.

"Well, if I remember correctly, Rian was going to meet Cassaddee on her tour for a while, and Zack... I think Zack was seeing family." He answered.

Jack sipped his beer, sighing as the cold liquid went down his throat.

"Why did you decide to come skiing?" Alex asked suddenly after a few beats of silence.

"Well, I thought if try it out, after hearing you go on about how awesome snowboarding was." Jack explained, looking up.

~~~

"Jack," Alex said, looking at Jack's skis, "If you don't straighten your skis out, you'll end up falling over."

Jack looked at Alex and then at his skis. Alex was right, they were almost crossing over at the front. He straighten them out and he was sliding slowly down the slope.

They were on the mountain again, after their beer. The slope they were on was wide and had a very slight incline. It was used by kids learning to ski, so Alex thought it'd be a good idea for Jack. The slope was also completely empty, barring Jack and Alex.

"Now just make a pizza shape and put your weight on your left leg." Alex said from his position downhill from Jack.

He watched as Jack followed his instructions and turned left across the slope. Jack stopped above him and grinned.

"I did it Alex!" Jack said excitedly.

Alex smiled back, "Yeah, you did. Now a right turn, exactly the same except your weight needs to be on your right leg. Got it?"

Jack nodded and watched as Alex smoothly carved his way to the bottom. Suddenly, the slope felt much longer and steeper. Jack gulped and tried to remember what Alex had told him.

"Come on Jack!" Alex yelled encouragingly, "You can do it!"

Jack took a deep breathe and let himself slowly gather speed before turning and fell. Vaguely he heard Alex swear loudly. Jack tried to stop himself sliding and succeeded after a few feet. His legs hurt like hell, they'd been twisted when he fell and then sliding on them didn't help. His skis had jerked off and started to slide towards Alex.

"Well shit." Jack said, breathing heavily.

Alex swore again as he took his snowboard off and stuck it upright in the snow so it didn't slide away. He then slowly trekked up to Jack. Alex picked up Jack's skis on the way.

"You alright?" Alex asked, placing the skis alongside each other across the slope.

Jack didn't make any movement and Alex got slightly worried.

Alex frowned, "C'mon, get up Jack."

"It hurts to move my legs." Jack said, wincing and looking up at Alex, blinking his wide brown eyes.

Alex sighed and tried ignore how adorable Jack looked in his jacket and blue buff pulled all the way up to his nose. He held out a hand to help Jack stand up, who latched onto it, pulling himself up. Jack let go of Alex's hand.

"I think that's enough skiing for one day, don't you?" Alex said, grinning, trying to hide his disappoint of Jack letting go of his hand.

Jack agreed wholeheartedly.

~~~

Jack watched out of the corner of his eye as Alex took off his jacket, leaving him in only his tight black thermal under layer and his boarding trousers. Jack thought Alex looked good like that.

"Having some trouble getting your boots off Jacky?" Alex said, standing above Jack, who looked up.

Their eyes connected and neither looked away for a moment. Then Alex coughed and the moment was gone.

"Yeah, can you help?" Jack pleaded, using his puppy-dog eyes on Alex.

Alex swore internally, he could never resist Jack's puppy-dog eyes, no matter what he was asking.

"Come here." Alex pulled Jack's foot towards him and started to undo it for his best friend.

Jack watched as Alex easily undid his boot and slid it off his foot. So maybe he wasn't watching how Alex did it, more the way his hair shone in the light, but Alex didn't need to know that.

It was a minor thing, Jack decided. Barely noticeable. He shook his head, his foot was free. He flexed his toes and sighed.

Alex laughed at the look of pure bliss on Jack's face. The sound seemed to jolt Jack out of his daydream and he got up, stretching his arms.

They walked in a comfortable silence up to the main area of Alex's cabin. Alex announced he was going to have a shower in his room and left Jack to contemplate.

Jack thought about that moment a few minutes ago, when their eyes had connected and neither him, nor Alex, had looked away. It had sent shivers down Jack's spine, Alex's eyes had been fixed on his own for what seemed like ages, but in reality it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

His eyes were so nice, Jack thought, leaning against the back of the sofa next to the empty fire. He shook his head, no, he couldn't think things like that!

While Jack was thinking this on the sofa, Alex was having similar thoughts with hot water rushing over his body in the shower.

He thought about how cute Jack looked when he had fallen over, looking up at Alex with his big brown eyes. But he shouldn't be thinking like this about his best friend.

Alex finished showering and got out. He dried himself off quickly and went out of the bathroom with the towel slung around his hips.

Jack looked towards the door as it creaked open, revealing a half-naked Alex. He gulped audibly and forced his eyes away from Alex's wet chest.

Alex heard Jack gulp and wondered why he'd gulped. He scratched his wet hair distracted.

"Alright Jack?" He asked, sitting next to Jack, who shifted to the left slightly.

"Y-yeah."

~~~

They were in a nearby pub having tea. It had been Alex's idea, saying he couldn't be bother to cook. Jack had agreed simply because he'd been hungry after skiing most of the day.

Alex reflected on how hot Jack looked with his black skinny jeans hugging his ass perfectly. It was no wonder the waitress - despite the obvious language barrier - was flirting with him. A strange sensation gathered in Alex's stomach, but he brushed it off as having eaten too much.

"Jack, why don't you ask for the bill? Since you're getting on so well with the waitress." Alex snapped. He knew he was being irrational, but the blood was boiling in his veins.

"Will do." Jack smiled at the waitress and she came over. He mimed getting the bill. She giggled and nodded. She went off.

Jack turned to Alex, who was frowning, "What?"

"Nothing." Alex muttered, getting up.

Jack was confused, why had Alex gone off like that. His backside had looked good while he'd stormed off, but that was besides the point. The waitress came over, holding the bill in one manicured hand, and perched on the table. She leant down and allowed Jack a good look down her cleavage. He licked his lips. She smirked.

~~~

Alex stared at the wall, taking another swig of his whiskey. It burnt its way down his throat. He couldn't sleep, not with Jack fucking that waitress from earlier. They weren't exactly quiet. He stared into the fire, it had burnt down to just the embers, giving off enough light for Alex to see the opposite wall, yet still keeping the rest of the room shrouded in darkness.

Alex sighed, taking another drink of his drink and setting the glass on the stone fireplace. He hoped that they would finish sometime soon, because he needed some sleep so he could board and teach Jack to ski tomorrow. If he didn't, he wouldn't be in top form, not that Jack would notice, but Alex would know and that would irritate him, so it was best if he got some sleep.

Or maybe Jack would notice and feel guilty... The thought came into Alex's head before he could stop it.

"For fuck's sake..." He groaned, putting his head in his hands. Alex started to think that maybe he'd be better off trying to sleep on the sofa he was sat on, rather than waiting for them to finish. He was just trying to remember where the blankets were kept when the waitress stumbled through into where Alex was.

She didn't look at Alex before she left. A few moments after she left, Jack appeared from his bedroom. He had a massive grin on his face. He wasn't wearing a shirt.

Jack sat next to Alex, their thighs touching. He leant back against the sofa. Jack looked at Alex, who had an odd expression in his face.

"What's up?" Jack asked.

Alex leant forward and picked up his glass. Jack watched as he took a drink, his throat moving to accommodate the liquid. Jack tore his gaze away from Alex's silky smooth skin with difficulty and concentrated on the dying fire.

"Nothing's up Jack." Alex muttered, not looking at Jack.

"If something was up, you'd tell me right?" Jack said, squeezing Alex's shoulder slightly.

"Course I would," Alex smiled and got up, "Night Jack."

"Night Alex." He muttered in reply, absorbed in the thoughts whirling around in his head.

~~~

Jack woke to the sound of puking from their shared bathroom. He sighed and went to the bathroom. He knocked on the door and called, "Alex?"

The sound of puking stopped and Jack heard the toilet being flushed. Alex opened the door, revealing his face, which was paler than normal.

"Urgh, that whiskey did not agree with me." Alex moaned, banging his head against the doorframe.

Laughing, Jack put his hand between Alex's forehead and the doorframe.

"Well, banging your head isn't going to help Alex. So stop it."

"I guess you're right." Alex replied, just realising how much that banging hadn't helped.

"D'you want breakfast?" Jack asked as they walked into the kitchen/living room/dining room.

Alex shook his head, he couldn't think of anything worse right now.

Jack chuckled, "Figured as much."

~~~

"Alex, help me." Jack pleaded, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Alright." Alex said, finishing tightening his snowboarding boots and walking over to Jack. He smiled when he saw that Jack was having trouble fastening his boots. He knelt down in front of Jack and gently pushed his hands away.

Jack watched as Alex's nimble fingers unclipped his boots and redid them quickly. In a minute, Alex was tightening the velcro start at the top of Jack's ski boots. Alex looked up and smiled. Jack swore his heart stopped for a moment when Alex smiled at him.

Jack blinked, Alex was still kneeling in front of him and looking at him.

Alex knew he should remove his hand and get up, but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from Jack's. They were just so beautiful, the perfect shade of brown. It was like Alex was seeing Jack for the first time.

Alex's hand was still on the top of Jack's boot, and Jack was hyper-aware of the heat it was giving off through his salopettes.

"We should get going." Jack's said, not wavering in his gaze on Alex.

"Mmhm. We should." Alex murmured, standing up.

They picked up their respective equipment and went out of the cabin, Alex locking the door as they left.

~~~

Alex and Jack were sat on a ski lift, moving smoothly up the mountain.

The lift suddenly jerked to a stop and swung to a halt. Jack's eyes went wide. Alex, however, merely leant back and put an arm on the top of the seat.

"Why are you not panicking?!" Jack said, moving minutely in his seat.

"Because it's just some kid who has either fallen off at the end or at the start of the lift. It'll only be a few minutes." Alex explained.

"Ok, but if this thing doesn't move in like five minutes, I will kill you."

Alex shrugged and they sat in silence, watching the snow fall gently around them. It was a beautiful sight, the snow highlighted the mountains in front of them.

"Hey Alex..." Jack said nervously, twisting his hands in his lap and swinging his skis slowly.

Alex turned to look at Jack. What had made Jack turn suddenly nervous...and, if he was correct, serious? It must be big.

"Yeah?" Alex responded, admiring the way a bit of Jack's skunk hair stuck out of his hat silently.

"This morning... What was with the hand on my knee?" Jack asked.

"Uh... Did you mind?"

Jack shook his head.

The lift started to move again.

~~~

"What's for tea?" Jack asked, putting his hands on Alex's hips and resting his chin on Alex's shoulder.

Alex was momentarily distracted by the sudden contact with Jack and temporarily forgot how to breathe, let alone talk. He coughed.

"Erm... Pasta with tuna and tomato sauce. Sound good?" He replied, once he'd remembered how to breathe again.

Jack nodded against Alex's shoulder. He was comfy.

"I'm sleepy." Jack murmured.

"Go and have a shower. This'll be ready by the time you've finished." Alex urged, tenderly pushing Jack towards the bathroom.

Jack didn't respond, he just walked slowly in the direction that Alex had pushed him. He was so tired, the skiing today had been the hardest so far and he had a feeling that it was only going to get harder. He went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Jack turned on the shower and proceeded to have a hot shower, soothing his sore muscles. His hands roamed over his body, slowly venturing down. He rubbed his nipples and then trailed his hands down, towards his cock. He lightly fisted his cock, twisting his wrist just so. He moaned, it felt so good. He was aware he'd had sex last night, but whatever.

Jack's back arched against the shower wall as he orgasmed. He breathed heavily and washed himself. He got out of the shower, towelling himself dry quickly.

"Hey Alex? Can you fetch me some boxers?" Jack yelled because, embarrassingly, he's forgotten them.

"Sure!" Alex answered from the kitchen, walking past the bathroom and into Jack's room.

He looked around, searching for clean boxers. He thought Jack had jerked himself off while in the shower, and a thought popped into Alex's head.

What had Jack thought about when he orgasmed?

Alex shook his head and thought it best if he got out of Jack's room.

~~~

They were watching a movie - Taken with Liam Neeson. Well, Alex was and Jack was watching Alex under the guise of falling asleep.

Alex let a hand drop to Jack's hair and he started stroking it softly. Jack felt his eyelids drooping.

Alex glanced down a few minutes later and saw Jack asleep. He smiled, Jack looked adorable. As Alex watched the movie, he continued stroking Jack's hair lightly.

Once the movie had finished, Alex had a problem - he couldn't move for fear of waking Jack. Alex had pushed Jack hard skiing today, so Alex reasoned, Jack must be shattered.

Alex thought about his first day snowboarding. God it had hurt. His calves had been so sore, it had hurt to walk to the bathroom. He smiled sadly, his first day of snowboarding had been with Thomas, before he had killed himself. Alex felt a few tears leak out of his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand.

Alex looked down at Jack and admired him, without having to worry about if Jack saw him or not. Not that he looked at his friend like that, obviously not.

Jack had been such a source of strength to Alex when Thomas committed suicide. Yes, the joker of the band had put the jokes to one side while he helped Alex through Thomas' death for weeks on end. Alex had cut during that time and Jack had been the one who found out and persuaded him not to end his life, that Thomas would want Alex to keep on living, despite what Thomas did.

Alex was truly thankful to have Jack as his best friend. He genuinely didn't know what he would do without him, on tour or off tour. On tour, they comforted each other - in a purely friendship way of course - and off tour they were close as best friends should be. They knew almost everything about each other. While that might sound scary to other people, it was just normal, day-to-day life for Jack and Alex.

Alex felt his eyes sagging, the room going darker until it was pitch black, and his head fell backwards so it was resting against the back of the sofa as he drifted to sleep.

~~~

Jack slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sight in front of him. He was looking up at Alex, who was still asleep. Apparently, Alex had decided not to move and had, instead, slept of the sofa with Jack in his lap.

Jack smiled at the thought, that was nice of Alex. He let his eyes drift up to Alex's face and trace his features.

Alex's whole face was relaxed. He must be having a good dream, Jack thought, trying not to move.

Jack watched as Alex's brown eyes opened an looked into his own. It sent shivers down Jack's spine.

"Hi Jack." Alex said sleepily.

Jack just flapped a hand at him and closed his eyes. A few moments later, he opened them again. The light was too bright through his eyelids, he couldn't get back to sleep, much to Jack's annoyance.

Alex chuckled and pushed Jack carefully off him, so he could go to the toilet. Jack stared after him, watching Alex's hips sway seductively. Jack was sure Alex wasn't doing it in purpose, but God it was sexy.

~~~

Alex looked out of the glass doors that opened out onto the small balcony, overlooking a good majority of the mountainside. The lifts weren't moving and the place was empty of movement. He could just see that through the snow. It didn't look like they would be doing any skiing or snowboarding today. The weather had turned against them.

Hopefully it was just one day, Alex thought. He turned to face Jack, who was looking at him. Alex shook his head and then laughed at Jack, who had started dancing with joy.

"What? I needed a break." Jack protested when Alex looked at him.

Jack followed Alex over to the kitchen and sat on a stool while Alex searched through the fridge. Jack thought that the strip of skin revealed when Alex bent down was just begging to be touched.

Alex stood up, holding bacon and tomato sauce.

"Grab me the bread out of the cupboard, would you?" Alex asked, grabbing a frying pan.

"Mmhm." Jack said, standing up and going over to the cupboard, grabbed the bread and set it on the counter next to Alex.

Jack could see the strip of skin again when he sat down. It was torturing him on purpose. He stood up and went over to Alex and put his chin on Alex's shoulder, trailing his fingers along the bare strip of skin.

Alex sighed, relaxing into Jack's touch. He flipped the bacon with a spatula, making sure it was done on both sides, before pushing Jack away gently and plating the sandwiches up for them. He passed one to Jack, who had sat down again, and sat next to him, their thighs touching.

~~~

It was lunchtime and they were in the hot tub. Alex was thinking how cute Jack looked when he came up from under the water. His hair was soaking wet and in his stunning brown eyes.

Alex lifted his left hand from under the bubbling water and moved Jack's hair out of his eyes. Jack smiled, sending butterflies into Alex's stomach.

Jack, unaware of the feelings he was inciting in Alex, leant against Alex, revelling in the closeness. Jack's eyes moved of their own accord to look at Alex's lips.

Alex saw Jack staring at his lips with his half-closed eyes and decided that, if Jack wanted it also, he would kiss him.

"Hey Jack," Alex whispered, afraid that talking too loud would ruin the moment, "Can I kiss you?"

Jack nodded minutely and tilted his chin up, facing Alex. As Alex's lips brushed gently, so gently, against his own, Jack's eyes slipped shut. Alex applied more pressure, persuading Jack to open his lips. Jack did so, permitting Alex entry. Alex's tongue danced around Jack's mouth for a moment before pulling away.

Alex smiled, saying, "Jack, are you sure we should have done that?"

A shy smile graced Jack's features, "Completely sure."

"Goods, cause I want to try it again."

This time, the kiss was much more passionate, the nerves had been erased, and they were sure of what they were doing. Alex was intoxicated with the taste of Jack so he pushed his tongue into Jack's mouth and mapped it vigorously. One of Jack's hands pulled Alex closer, so their bare cheats were touching, while his other one gripped Alex's hip as Jack moaned loudly.

Alex was encouraged by this positive reaction from Jack, so he took their kiss a step further. Alex pulled Jack completely onto his lap and broke the kiss to suck and bite Jack's neck slowly. Jack moaned, moving his head back, enabling Alex more access.

Jack was breathing heavily, insanely aware that this was turning him on like never before. Alex could feel the little problem Jack had going on downstairs and stopped biting Jack's neck to grin mischievously. He snaked a hand into Jack's swimming trunks and softly ran his hand up and down Jack's hard-on, feeling Jack rut up into his palm.

Jack was being tortured by Alex, who making him slowly come apart at the seams. His heavy breathing filled the otherwise silent room.

"Do you like that?" Alex said, making his hand circle Jack's cock, causing Jack to mewl softly.

"Please Alex. Please." Jack begged, desperate.

Alex was satisfied with Jack's begging so he increased the speed of his strokes. To Jack, the bubbling water seemed to get hotter as his orgasm raced through him. His toes curled and he spasmed with the aftershocks. He slumped against Alex.

"Like that did you?" Alex chuckled in Jack's ear, who only had the energy to nod tiredly.

~~~

Alex had left Jack at the cabin and gone snowboarding by himself. This was so that Jack could have some more rest, and also so that Alex could have some real snowboarding.

He pushed himself up off the snow and felt his board gather speed. He was glad that the weather had cleared at about one o'clock. He loved snowboarding.

Alex dug his heels in, putting some of his weight on his left leg and he went to the left of the slope. The speed made Alex glad he had goggles and a hat, if he didn't, he would be freezing now. He swerved around some people who had also made the decision to brave the good spell of weather.

At the bottom of the slope, Alex stopped and looked up the slope he had just come down. It was a red one, so it had tested him, but it hadn't pushed him to his limit. He wasn't breathing that hard, so he got the piste map out of his jacket pocket to plan his route to the nearest black. He traced his finger along the route he would take, nodded, shoving the map untidily into his pocket, and set off.

~~~

Jack was watching Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the one with Robert Downey Jr in. He was getting into it, so he was irritated when his phone started ringing obnoxiously loud. He sighed and paused the movie, reaching for his phone. He pressed answer, bringing the device up to his ear.

"Hey Jack." Alex's voice greeted him.

"Hey Alex, what are you doing? I thought you were snowboarding." Jack replied.

"I am. Just on a lift now though, so I thought what better way to entertain myself by calling you?"

Jack laughed, "Ok Alex. I believe you. For now."

"I'm going on a black run now."

"Isn't that, like, the hardest?"

"Yeah it is. Wait, how do you know that?" Alex asked.

"I did have a quick glance at the piste map too you know."

"Sure sure. Anyway, I'm almost at the end of the lift now, so I've gotta go. I think this is gonna be my last run and then I'll make my way back to you." Alex said.

"I need you in my life!" Jack said, quoting himself out of Straight To DVD.

Jack heard Alex laugh down the phone, "I'm coming back to you! See you."

"Bye." Jack replied and hung up.

Jack smiled, it was stupid and silly of him, but he'd missed Alex in the two and a half hours he'd been gone. He got up and went to the fridge. He grabbed an ice-cold bottle of beer, took the lid off and went back to his movie, to waste time until Alex got back.

~~~

Alex was at the top of the black run. He'd planned his route meticulously, he would go down this black run and then about halfway down the red run that this black turned into, he would go off piste, cutting into the blue that was right next to his cabin, where Jack was.

He smiled and set off, speeding up and carving his way down the mountainside. He loved the way the wind buffered against him, forcing him to try harder, push himself more.

By the time Alex had reached the bottom of the red route, where he would cut across to the blue route, his legs were burning, in a good way.

Alex continued down the mountain, cutting across to the blue route quickly.

Quicker than he expected, Alex was sliding past a bakery near his cabin. The smell of freshly baked bread tempted him in, so he stopped and propped his snowboard against the wall. He went in.

"Que voulez-vous monsieur?" The women behind the counter said.

"Je voudrais quelques biscuits, des beignets et deux bâtons de ce pain français là-bas s'il vous plaît." Alex replied, pointing at the items he wanted.

He unzipped his jacket to retrieve his wallet while the woman got his things.

She passed them over the glass counter, saying, "Dix euros et vingt centimes s'il vous plaît."

Alex handed over the correct change and said, "Merci."

Alex left the bakery, brown bag in hand and a happy grin on his face. He got his snowboard and walked back to his cabin.

Unlocking the door, he shouted, "Jack! I've got cookies!"

Alex heard footsteps racing down the stairs and Jack came tumbling through the door at the other end of the room, almost slipping on the laminated flooring. Alex laughed at the sight, Jack's eyes were as wide as saucers at the prospect of cookies and his hair was sticking up messily.

Jack flung his arms around Alex's waist.

"Alex, you are fucking awesome!" Jack said, squeezing Alex's waist.

Alex chuckled, "Merci."

Jack pulled away from the hug and cocked his head to the right, asking, "What?"

"Merci, it means thank you in French." Alex said.

"Well, that's hot..." Jack muttered under his breathe. He knew what was going to take a starring role in his next orgasm. Goddammit.

"What did you just say?" Alex questioned, sitting on the bench and taking off his snowboard boots.

Jack's eyes went as wide as saucers and he stuttered, "Uh, nothing. I'll take these upstairs." And he grabbed the brown bag off the bench next to Alex and ran off, banging the door as he did so, leaving Alex utterly befuddled.

After putting the bag on the kitchen counter, Jack had locked himself in the bathroom.

Despite the hand-job he'd received from Alex at lunchtime and thoughts he'd been having since then, whilst watching the movie; the separation he'd felt when Alex went snowboarding; the pure, fulfilled feeling he'd felt when Alex came back, Jack wasn't sure if he could call what he was feeling love.

Was it love if you wanted to spend every waking moment with them? Jack wondered, sliding down the bathroom door and into the tiled floor. He started to bang his head methodically against the door.

~~~

Alex finished taking his boots off and then did the same procedure with his hat, goggles and jacket. He leaned his snowboard against the wall and left the room, heading upstairs to the main living area.

Alex saw the bag in the counter and thought about eating one of the four cookies in there, but then decided that, no, he couldn't enjoy a cookie without Jack. He slumped in the red sofa nearest the fire.

Faintly, he heard a 'thud' coming from the bathroom area. Alex lifted his head so he could hear it properly. There it was. He got up and walked over to the bathroom.

Knocking in the door, Alex said, "Jack? You alright?"

Jack stopped banging his head and got up off the floor. He opened the door to find Alex standing there with a concerned look on his face.

"What was that sound?" Alex asked.

"Oh just me, smacking my head against the door. Nothing to worry about." Jack replied, walking past Alex and into the kitchen area to raid the bag.

As Jack bit into a double chocolate cookie, Alex asked simply, "Why?"

Alex watched as Jack turned around to face him. He had crumbs on his lips. Alex reached up and brushed them off with a finger.

"Thanks," Jack said, "I don't know, I'm just so confused, you know? One week I don't like you as more than a best friend, the next, I'm getting hand-jobs off you. It's really confusing."

Alex saw the strength it took for Jack to confess that to him, he could see it in Jack's eyes.

"I know how you feel. I feel confused as well, it isn't just you," Alex replied, smiling slightly, "Why else do you think I went snowboarding this afternoon by myself? To get my feelings sorted out. And also cause I love snowboarding, but that's not the point."

"Y-you have feelings for me?" Jack stuttered, staring at Alex unabashedly.

"Apparently so." Alex said softly, stroking Jack's cheek, just revelling in the smoothness of Jack's skin.

"Wow, that's - that's... Good."

"Only good?"

Jack attempted to backtrack swiftly, "No, no, I mean, it's great, amazing even. It's perfect."

Alex laughed, "It's alright Jack, I get you."

Jack smiled and pulled Alex into a hug.

~~~

"Alex, I'm doing it!" Jack screamed as he slid past Alex, turning successfully several times.

Alex laughed, jumped up to his feet and slid towards Jack. He picked up speed quickly and turned away from Jack, so he wouldn't crash into him.

Alex stopped when he near to the bottom and winced, swearing, as Jack crashed into him accidentally.

"Shit, I'm sorry Alex. Are you alright?" Jack said, looking worried.

"I'm fine, honestly." Alex smiled.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Alex said, jumping to his feet and pressing a quick kiss to Jack's uncovered cheek.

Red spread over Jack's uncovered cheeks that had nothing to do with the harsh wind. Jack pulled his blue buff up to his nose, covering his traitorous blush covering his cheeks. He was embarrassed with the way that Alex had kissed him in a public place, but Jack was intensely pleased at the same time.

Alex thought that Jack blushing after he'd kissed him was the cutest thing ever. After thinking that, Alex started sliding down the mountainside smoothly, with Jack following.

~~~

They were eating French bread, cheese and ham as a snack sitting on the sofa. Alex had suggested it and then going in the hot tub. Jack had agreed.

"Finished! Shall we go?" Alex said, standing up, taking Jack's empty plate and shoving it on the counter.

Jack jumped out of his seat and jogged to catch up with Alex, who had started to descend the stairs. He put an arm around Alex's shoulder, whispering huskily in his ear, "Why wait till we're downstairs?"

Alex groaned as Jack pressed him against the wall and ground his crotch into Alex's. Sparks ran through Alex's veins as he bucked into Jack. He didn't know where this dominant Jack had come from, but he couldn't say he was complaining, not when it felt this good.

"I think we should really go to the hot tub." Jack said, letting go of Alex and continuing down the stairs.

"You're a fucker Jack!" Alex called.

"I know!" Jack yelled back as he entered the hot tub room.

Jack stripped off his clothes, flinging them into a corner of the room. He turned the hot tub on and submerged himself in the steaming, bubbling water.

Alex enters the dimly lit room and grinned. Jack was leaning against the hot tub wall and had his eyes closed. Alex was going to get him back for teasing him on the stairs. He took his clothes off quietly and climbed in the tub silently, relying on the bubbles to keep Jack unaware of his presence.

Alex shifted in the water and leant forward. He traced a finger along Jack's collarbone.

Jack's eyes snapped open, seeing Alex's grinning face and feeling Alex's finger trail down, under the bubbling water.

"Hi." Alex said quietly.

"Hey Alex." Jack replied, feeling himself slowly getting harder at Alex's gentle touch. He bucked his hips against Alex's slowly moving hand, slipping up and down and whined when Alex didn't take the hint and go faster.

"There, there Jacky. Payback, remember?" Alex said, slowing his hand even move.

"For what?" Jack gasped, genuinely confused.

"On the stairs Jacky, don't you remember?" Alex said, removing his hand and getting out of the hot tub.

Jack watched, unashamedly pumping himself to release, as Alex put his clothes back on. He twisted his wrist and collapsed against the side of the hot tub.

Alex heard the quiet moan of his name emitted from Jack's mouth as he jerked himself to completion, and, ignoring it, he walked out of the room.

~~~

It was the morning after the night before and Alex could feel his headache increasing as he sat up in bed. He was glad that it was their last day and that they were going home, because he doubted he could've snowboarding in his current state.

Alex got out of bed and stumbled across to the bathroom. He banged into the doorframe when entering the bathroom.

"Ow shit." He muttered, clutching his elbow tightly. He rubbed it, hoping to make the pain go away.

Alex turned on the shower and jumped into it hot steamy spray, sighing as it hit his bare back and ran down his body.

Jack woke to the sound of the shower being turned on. He got up and stretched his long limbs, feeling his bones crack. They were going home today, much to Jack's pleasure. Not that he didn't like skiing - he did - but one week was enough for him, and besides, they had to get back on tour with Rian and Zack.

He walked into the corridor and heard his name being moaned. It was coming from the bathroom and it sounded like it was Alex. Jack grinned and went to the bathroom. Knocking like any polite person would do, he entered when Alex obviously didn't hear him knocking.

Jack smirked at the sight that greeted him. The bathroom was steamed up and Alex was soaking wet and deliciously tempting. Alex had his back to Jack, but he was obviously slowly pumping himself, trying to make himself last longer.

Jack smirked again, if he had his way Alex would be doing more than just jerking himself off.

Jack took how clothes off, dropping them lightly on the tiled floor. He went towards the shower and opened the glass-fronted door with a small creak.

Alex whipped around and was faced with Jack's grinning face.

"What are you doing Jack?" Alex said, as Jack's hands explored his frame, brushing over his nipples.

"Not doing anything Alex." Jack replied before dropping his head and biting Alex on the skull and crossbones tattoo behind his ear. He received a long moan for his efforts. Jack grinned, he knew Alex was lost in the sensations burning through his body.

Alex fell limp against the tiled wall, his knees almost buckling under him. He gripped Jack's hips in a concentrated effort to keep himself standing.

"You're doing something." Alex said, moaning as Jack finally touched Alex's aching cock.

Jack denied it, even as he stroked Alex's cock firmly, making Alex groan and buck into his moving hand. Jack could sense that Alex was nearing his orgasm, from the way his thighs had tightened and from the way in which his breathing had sped up dramatically.

Alex continued thrusting into Jack's rapidly moving hand even as his orgasm swept over him, turning his legs to jelly. He slid down the wall, despite his best efforts to remain standing, his legs just couldn't support him.

Jack grinned down at him, he was a picture of lust. The hot water was rushing over his body, making it shine in the light, and Alex's hair was pasted to his forehead, over his eyes. He looked so sexy, Jack thought.

From his position on the floor of the shower, Alex could see Jack's hard-on, curving up against his stomach. He got on his knees and kissed the tip, much to Jack's surprise, who gasped at the touch. He grinned and placed a hand around it, sinking his lips over the tip as he did so. Alex started to bob his head slowly, taking a little bit more with each bob of his head.

Alex looked up innocently through his eyelashes at Jack, his pretty pink lips stretched around Jack's cock. Jack brought a hand down to Alex's hair and pulled roughly.

Jack felt a moan rip from Alex's throat, causing ripples of pure pleasure to race through Jack's body. God, it just felt so good, like Jack was in heaven or something equally as wonderful. A moan burst from Jack’s throat as Alex scraped his teeth along the bottom of his cock.

“God… More… Alex!” Jack groaned loudly as his orgasm ripped through him, causing him to slide down the wall, joining Alex on the floor.

“That felt different somehow,” Jack said, panting slightly, “D’you know what I mean?”

Alex nodded, “Yeah. I don’t know why though.”

~~~

Alex was sat next to Jack in a minibus travelling down the mountain. His hand was on Jack's thigh, in an innocent way for once. His thumb was rubbing circles on Jack's thigh. Alex heard Jack's sharp intake of breathe as the mininbus skidded a little on some ice on the road.

Jack felt Alex's hand clasp his sweaty one. He gripped it tightly, almost cutting off the blood supply to Alex's hand. He was thankful that Alex didn't seem to mind.

Alex pressed a quick kiss to Jack's cheek, which calmed him down a lot. The kiss calmed Jack down enough for him to say those three special words.

"I love you." Jack said quietly, half-hoping that Alex didn't hear him.

The vehicle was deadly silently for a few long moments before Alex replied.

"I love you too Jack. And I truly mean that."

Alex looked at Jack. He was surprised to find tears slowly slipping down Jack's cheeks. Alex brushed them away with a finger.

"They're from happiness." Jack said, embarassed.

Alex smiled, "Good. I wonder what will happen if I asked you to be my boyfriend?"

"Y-yes." Jack stuttered.