Sleeping With Giants

On August First, Alex suddenly decides he needs to go visit his family. It’s random and comes out of left field and John is pretty positive his family had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation they were having (about how Spider-Man would literally do anything for Mary Jane in the first movie). He just suddenly got this weird look on his face and stood up from the couch mid-conversation to pull out his phone and tell John he had to call his parents. As long as John has known him, Alex has never even spoken to his parents. So. It was weird.

He has a bag packed in under a half an hour, thrown into the back of his fucking Range Rover, and John is standing outside on the last step of the porch, watching him check his tires.

“Why exactly are you going again?” he asks, biting his lower lip. He watches as Alex bends over to check the front tire, ass on display in his tight jeans, and he has to resist the urge to touch. “Can’t it wait?”

“I just need to go see them,” Alex tells him, turning around once he’s satisfied with the state of his tires. “My pack has no allies. I’m not on good terms with my family but not so bad that I can’t make amends. If something ever happened – something that required support from an outside pack – we would be screwed.”

It’s logical, John decides. But still. “Do you need to go today? Why not next week? Your parents are hours away, and….”

Alex catches on to what he’s all worried about, which isn’t surprising, considering he pretty much knows everything that ever bothers John. John’s still not convinced that Alex can’t read minds. “You’re worried I won’t be home in time for your birthday,” he says, walking forward so he’s eye level with John. For a second, John thinks he grew a couple of inches overnight. But then he realizes he’s on a step and Alex is not. He can dream.

“That’s…No. I mean, it’s not a big deal if you’re not,” he lies, focusing on convincing his heart not to do anything stupid and give him away. But he must have failed, because Alex rolls his eyes and wraps his arms around John’s waist to pull him in as close as he can.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be home that morning at the very latest. I promise.”

John nods, accepting his promise and having every intention of keeping him to it. He wraps his arms around Alex’s neck, presses his face into the fabric of his t-shirt and sighs. He doesn’t like the idea of Alex being hours away. Sure, they’ve spent plenty of nights apart, considering John’s mom is still dead-set on keeping him to his curfew and Alex refuses to tell his mom they’re dating until after his birthday. But at least those times he’s known that Alex is only a few minutes away. He doesn’t expect anything to go wrong but still. It’s a little daunting.

“Oh, but what about tomorrow? The full moon…you won’t be around-”

He feels Alex nods against him, fingers running along his spine in a comforting manner. “They’ll be alright. They can handle themselves without me. But can I ask you for a favor?”

“Me? What can I do?”

“Take care of them in the morning? Tell your mom you’re staying over. They’re going be a little roughed up so just…you know. Do what you always do.”

John frowns, pulls away to look at Alex clearly. “I’ve never spent a full moon with any of you guys. How will I even know what to do?”

“It’s easy. They’re going to be starving. Make them breakfast. Let them be clingy. It’ll be fine. Okay?”

“What if…I don’t know. Are you sure?”

Alex nods, “Positive. You’re safe. They won’t hurt you. They can’t. Plus, they won’t be near the house. But if you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to do this. I won’t be mad. I’d understand.”

“No I think…yeah. I can do it. Does this mean you’re leaving me in charge?” He teases, hands playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. “Can I boss Jack and Martin around?”

“Hm, I don’t think Martin would like the fact that I’ve left a human in charge when he is very obviously second-in-command at this point.”

"Well you can just let him think that he's in charge but really, I'm in charge."

Alex laughs and finally pulls away from John. "Sure. Let's go with that. I'll call you when I get there. You can stay here tonight if you want but don't feel like you have to."

John doesn't mention the fact that he would live here if Alex ever fucking asked him to. He just shrugs and tries to look like it's something he'll take into consideration when in reality he's mentally already packed a bag and moved into his bedroom.

Alex leaves, and John finds himself alone at the house. He doesn't like it - it feels way too empty for his liking. So he goes back to his own house, figures he could spend some time home before heading back tonight. But he forgot that it's Tuesday, and his mom doesn't go in to work until seven tonight, until he parks Alex's second car (okay, it sounds bad but really. John has no complaints) in the driveway.

"Wow, I can't remember the last time you came home while I'm still here," his mom laughs, sitting in the living room when he walks in, watching the news. "How's Kennedy? And all the others?"

"Good. Fine. Same as always," he says, and he's not sure why he sounds so suspicious. "I'm actually gonna be hanging out with Kennedy tonight. Movie night, you know? So I'm gonna stay over. Is that cool?"

He sits down in the recliner and she just watches him for a minute, a fond smile on her face. "That's fine. Surprised you haven't just moved into that house by now."

"Yeah, I wish," he snorts, focusing on the TV instead of the way she is looking at him like she wants to lecture him. "Not that I don't want to live here. I like here. Here is also very nice."

"I can't believe you're going to be eighteen in a few days," she sighs, and John can see her getting nostalgic already. "Feels like yesterday you were learning how to walk and now here you are, going off to college and dating a twenty-something year old werewolf."

"Yeah well - wait. Huh?"

He's positive he probably looks like he always used to when she would catch him in a lie or doing something he was totally not supposed to be doing. Probably bright red and God, how did she even know?

"I would have to be blind to not notice, John. And stupid. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Don't finish that sentence. I'm okay with it," she says, still giving him that overly fond look and he's starting to think this is a joke. "I figure telling you to stop is a little pointless, considering you're eighteen in a few days. Just promise me - don't have sex in my house."

Okay. And that just about does it. John slaps his hand over his face, feels his face heat up even more and he swears now that she knows, he's totally never coming back.

"John, you better promise or else-"

"Oh my God, okay! I promise! Now please just stop talking!"

He tries so hard to just disappear into the couch cushions, because that would be a lot better than having your mom stand over you and tell you you're not allowed to have sex with your much older boyfriend in her house. He briefly wonders about informing her that there has been absolutely no sex anywhere at all, but then decides that she doesn't need to know that. She laughs at him, at his embarrassment that she is the cause of, and bends over to kiss the top of his head.

"Oh John. You're so dramatic."

He stays there for another ten minutes because he refuses to even look in her direction until at least next week.



Because of the embarrassing conversation with his mom, John takes it upon himself to give himself permission to sleep at Alex's for an unspecified amount of time. In fact, he packs more than enough clothes for over a week and finds himself folding them away into the bottom drawer of Alex's dresser. He should have clothes here, he reasons. He totally should.

There are only so many times he can fold and organize his clothes though. He locked himself in Alex's room over an hour ago now, because everyone was too clingy and it was overwhelming and how the hell is he supposed to deal with that tomorrow? Alex said they'll be worse after a full moon. John's not sure how much more cuddling and suffocating he can take.

He doesn't know how to act during the full moon. What does he do? Does he stay here and just go about business as usual? Sleep and wake up in the morning to a bunch of roughed up, clingy werewolves who act like they haven't eaten in days? Should he act like some kind of pack mom and stay up and wait for them to come back? No. Definitely not. He is totally not the pack mom.

He figures he should probably just go with it. Whatever happens, happens. Alex told him it would be easy and that it would be fine and he wouldn't get hurt. And he trusts Alex. So he should probably stop hiding in his bedroom and stop acting like a baby and go hang out with his friends and stop avoiding them just because they want to cuddle with him. Good plan. He's always thought he was reasonable.

"You won't even know we're gone," Kennedy assures him later, when they're eating pizza in the living room. "If you don't feel comfortable being alone tonight, I could stay behind-"

"Like a guard dog," Jack laughs, elbowing Matt next to him. "That's exactly what John needs."

"Shut up," Kennedy snaps, "I'm trying to be hospitable considering Alex is gone and-"

"It's fine, Ken. I'll be fine alone," John assures him. And he totally will be. Because he knows they're not going to hurt him and he knows nothing else will either, not will all of them running around. He's stayed home alone countless times so it isn't a big deal.

Tay frowns, moves closer to him in the couch as she asks, "Are you sure?"

"Yep. I'll probably just pass out as soon as I lay down anyway."

He doesn't. He goes to bed around seven, after they've all left him alone in the house to go do God knows what in the woods (he hopes nobody kills any squirrels or birds because that's so unfair to them). He could tell ever since the sun started to set that they were getting antsy and ready to just go so he told them to just go, that he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself, and he watches TV and tosses and turns and tries convincing himself to relax. But it's hard to convince yourself to relax. It never works.

At eight, his phone rings and he almost cries at the relief of having someone to distract him. It's probably his mom. She probably forgot to tell him something that's not even important yet required this phone call right this second and - actually, it's not his mom. Alex's name comes up on the screen and he frowns. Shouldn't Alex be running around killing innocent animals and running off steam and whatnot?

So he answers with a tentative "Hello?", fully expecting something very weird. Or bad. Or just not right.

"Kennedy told me you're a nervous wreck. You sound like one."

"First of all, no. Second of all - how are you calling me right now?"

"A cell phone?"

"No - shouldn't you have shifted already?"

"Oh," Alex laughs, and John feels like he's missing a joke or something. "Babe, I'm an Alpha. I don't have to shift at all if I don't want to."

"Wait...what? Why not?"

"I mean, that's not to say that I shouldn't shift ever. In fact, not shifting is a bad idea. But I can put it off a bit. And I figured I should check in with you. Seeing as you're in charge and all."

"Oh, right. Everything is fine. Totally under control. I guess."

"Hm. You don't sound convinced."

"Just - I don't know. It's weird being here when you're not. I don't live here. I'm just like. A guest-"

"You are not a guest," Alex quickly corrects him, and John's pretty sure he growled in the beginning of that sentence. "We can discuss that when I come home."

"Okay...whatever. All I'm saying is, it's weird. They're all gone and I'm just here. What do I even do?"

"You sleep. Just chill out, stop overthinking and sleep. Dream about all the things I'm going to do to you in two days. And then every day after that."

John sighs. He lies back against Alex's pillows. "How mad would you be if I jerked off in your bed all over your sheets?"

Alex doesn't answer right away.

"Wait...I'm pretty sure you actually like the idea of that."

"Those are expensive sheets," is Alex's weak comeback. "Do what you want. I'm not there to stop you."

"I'm going to jerk off to thoughts of you fucking me," John tells him, "Really hard. Maybe to thoughts of you fingering me in the shower-"

"John? Do you ever stop talking?"

"Did you want me to?"

Another pause, and John thinks Alex actually hung up on him. But then he hears Alex sigh deeply. "No. I never want you to."

"Good 'cause I don't really know how to stop talking. Unless your cock is in my mouth, then I would probably-"

"Jesus - okay. I'm done talking to you now. Go to sleep."

John almost misses the tone of Alex's voice. It's not one he's heard before, so he doesn't notice it at first, but then he gets it.

"Wait a second...am I, for once, driving you crazy? Making you actually regret never fucking me before leaving? Making you-"

"Goodnight, John."

Alex hangs up before John can get another word in, but that's fine. John relaxes, pulls the sheets up over him and inhales the scent of Alex with a smug smile. He won this time. And he wasn't even trying.



In the morning, John wakes up first. Alex told him he probably would, but walking down the hallway and seeing all the closed doors was weird, considering there's usually always someone else up and doing something. Tay and Zack usually wake up early and go to the gym together and Matt and Martin are always doing something with the car in the backyard that they've been trying to fix for months. And Jack and Sierra are usually watching cartoons or something. Kennedy is the only one who can sleep for days. But now John is alone and he has to feed a bunch of starving werewolves and he can't cook to save his life. He set toaster waffles on fire last week and Alex banned him from using the toaster after that.

So he goes to the closest coffee shop and gets coffee. A lot of coffee. Like, twice the amount of coffee they really need. He gets bagels and muffins and fruit salads and he charges it all on Alex's credit card, because Alex told him it's for emergencies, like if he finds himself stranded all alone for some reason and has no money, because this totally counts as an emergency in John's books. Besides, if he's banned from using the toaster, what the hell can he do?

When he gets back to the house, Sierra and Kennedy are just wandering down the steps, looking pretty awful and like they should totally go back to bed for a few hours. Maybe a few days. John doesn't miss the leaf in Sierra's hair. He thinks pointing it out wouldn't be his best idea.

"You brought food?" She asks, face lighting up at the sight of the bags on the kitchen table, "Oh, and coffee! You're the best!"

She runs to the table and starts pulling out muffins and bagels while pulling a coffee cup from one of the trays. Kennedy grins at him and the dark circles under his eyes don't look quite so prominent anymore. He follows Sierra, taking one of the muffins she hands him, and collapses into one of the bar stools at the island counter.

"Alex always just gives us cereal," Sierra complains, "And like, okay fine, cereal is okay. But I just spent all night running. I deserve this muffin."

"Woah, do I smell bagels?" Jack shouts from the top of the staircase, and John hears him thunder down the steps, almost tripping his way into the kitchen. He steadies himself by grabbing on to John's shoulders. Jack really makes John question the whole 'werewolves are graceful' thing.

"I nominate John for Alpha!" Sierra says, and Kennedy nods in agreement. "Don't tell Alex I said that."

John can't help but grin and feel pretty good about himself now. He was nervous for no reason at all. He pulls out his phone and finds a few text messages from Alex that must have come in when he was out buying the coffee and bagels. He didn't expect Alex to even be awake yet.

12:43pm: morning gorgeous
12:54pm: i miss you
12:54pm: hope your morning isn't too overwhelming :)

He laughs out loud at the smiley face at the end of the last one, because Alex never uses anything like that in his texts. They're usually straight-forward and to the point and it just goes to show how full moons seriously make werewolves all sappy and emotional. He starts to text back just as Tay comes into the kitchen, grinning at the sight of the food and running her fingers through John's hair as she makes her way to an empty chair.

1:05pm: miss u too. i was just nominated for pack alpha so sorry but looks like ur replaced

1:12pm: I leave you all for two days and you overthrow me?
1:12pm: you're lucky I think you're cute
1:13pm: not that I care, but what's your secret?

1:13pm: bagels. lots of bagels

1:15pm: of course it is.



"So John," Tay says later on, coming around the side of the couch where John has been sitting all day watching Duck Dynasty. She wraps her arm around his shoulders and rests her head on top of his. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"I don't know what you're doing but I know I'm losing my virginity."

She scoffs and shoves him roughly, "Gross. I'm talking about after. God, you're disgusting."

"No, I'm literally losing my virginity all day," John informs her, "Sorry. I'm booked."

"Okay, but hypothetically, what would you want to do for your eighteenth birthday? With your friends? Something that doesn't involve my Alpha and your virginity?"

The way she's asking is suspicious, but John doesn't think he wants to know. "I don't know...what do normal people do on their eighteenth birthday?"

"Oh you know, on mine I went to a college party and got my nose pierced and ended up sleeping with some guy I didn't know. But there are lots of other things-"

"I don't think Alex would appreciate going to a college party or me getting my nose pierced or me sleeping with someone I don't know."

"Well that's unfortunate. But it doesn't matter because actually, Alex doesn't know when he'll be back and he's afraid to call you and tell you this because he knows you'll freak."

"I...what?"

He feels like his heart sinks to his stomach when she nods and runs her fingers through his hair like she did at breakfast. "He's almost finished there, but he can't tell if he'll be able to leave tomorrow or not. I know you were looking forward to having him home but he really can't help it. He wanted to be the one to tell you, but I thought I could prepare you for it. Alex feels awful and he's going to do whatever he can to get back but you know, things happen."

John frowns, but not because Alex might not be back (although that is upsetting but he'll address it later). Does everyone think he's a baby or something? That he's going to throw a temper tantrum just because his boyfriend can't be home for his birthday and therefore can't lock him in his bedroom and fuck him pretty much all day? He considered it, but now he's totally not. He's going to be mature about this. So he fakes a smile despite the fact that all he really wants to do is call Alex and cry over why he isn't going to wake him up with a blowjob.

"I get it," he tells her, shrugging her off of him so he can get up. "No big deal."

"Well we should make some backup plans!" She calls after him as he heads up the stairs, "Maybe we can see a movie or go bowling or something!"

And really, he's not upset about the sex thing. Yes, he's been anxiously and not patiently waiting for it for months now but that's not the point. He would rather spend his birthday with Alex, that's all. But he gets it. Alex is doing something important. Something he needs to do to ensure the safety of his pack. So whatever. John is okay with it.

As soon as he closes the door to Alex's room behind him, with every intention of curling up in bed and watching The Hulk, Alex calls him and John has no choice but to answer.

"Hey. So listen," Alex starts with, and John can tell he's not exactly happy about what he has to say either. "I know I promised. But my parents are being a little more difficult than I expected."

"It's okay," John tells him, picking at a loose thread on the sheets. "I can handle another day without you."

"I know you can. But I don't want you to. Plus, I'm not even handling being away from you this long very well. Another day will kill me. So I'm going to do my best to be home by noon. Alright?"

"Okay. But don't feel bad if you can't. I'll be fine. Why are your parents being difficult though? Shouldn't they be glad you want to fix things?"

He hears Alex sigh and John thinks maybe he overstepped a line or something. Alex doesn't talk about his family all that much.

"They're just...apprehensive. I didn't leave home on the best of terms," Alex tells him, "My dad is an alpha and two alphas don't go very well together. So even if I wanted to stay in their pack, I couldn't. Just being in the same house was bad. So they kicked me out the week before I turned fourteen and I was forced to find a new pack."

"I don't get it...if you're an alpha how did you find a new pack? Wouldn't they already have one?"

"Yes but you don't really show any real alpha qualities until you're seventeen or eighteen. I was just extremely bossy and stubborn and my dad and I didn’t get along at all. I had to find a pack that had an alpha who I didn't clash with. I left as soon as I turned eighteen. But ever since I left home I really haven't gotten over the way they just kicked me out. They're afraid I'll hold that against them or something. It's stupid."

"Oh. Right. I'm glad you explained it to me," John says, smiling at how honest Alex just was. He wasn't expecting it. "I've always been a little confused about your family situation."

"You could have asked me."

"I know but it didn't seem like something you'd wanna talk about with me you know? It's like. Personal."

"Of course I would. I wanna share everything with you. If you ever want to know anything all you need to do is ask me. I'm...I'm yours, John. You know that."

"Yeah," John sighs, biting his lip as he tries to keep himself from crying. "I know. I'm yours too."

Hearing Alex talk like this is always overwhelming. John knows how much he cares and he knows how he feels but hearing it like that is always crazy to him. That somebody wants him the way Alex does. It blows his mind that someone like Alex chose someone like him. Not that he's complaining.

"I'm gonna go and talk to my parents again. See if I can finish this off tonight so I can get to you by tomorrow morning."

"Right. Okay. Good luck. Tell them you have a boyfriend to have sex with. Maybe that will convince them."

Alex laughs into the phone and John feels a pang of longing. "I'm sure they'd love to hear that. Wouldn't stop hearing about weddings and babies all night long."

John's breath hitches in his throat at that and he's barely able to say goodbye before he's hanging up and collapsing into Alex's sheets. Wedding. Kids. Okay. That's a lot to even think about. He grips the sheets tightly and reminds himself that weddings are far in their future. And kids are even farther. Much, much farther. He rolls over and presses his face into Alex's pillow. It doesn't really smell like him anymore. He's totally not going to like that.



John does not wake up to a blow job. He doesn't wake up to Alex at all, actually. Which he expected. What he does wake up to is Kennedy jumping on Alex's bed and Sierra and Tay and Jack digging through the bottom drawer of Alex's dresser where John has been slowly but surely storing a good amount of his own clothes.

"Alex is going to kill you," John tells Kennedy, watching as he tangles himself in the sheets and nearly falls off the bed. "What the hell are you all doing?"

"It's your birthday! We're going out," Jack tells him, throwing a pair of jeans in his direction. "Alex said he's gonna be home late tonight so we might as well try and make your day half as awesome as it would be if you were having sex all day."

Does everyone know about his original birthday plans now? It doesn't shock him, actually. Tay can't keep a secret for her life and it's not as if John ever told her to be quiet about it. He rolls out of bed and starts getting dressed, skipping the shower and figuring he can take one later if he feels like it. Sierra bounds over and starts pulling a blue tee over his head and when he gets his arms through it, he sees it's a little too big and very obviously not his.

"That blue looks nice on you," she says happily, leaning back into Kennedy who's now standing behind her. "Now come on! We're going to breakfast! Oh, and your birthday gift from Alex is outside!"

"Shouldn't he give it to me when he gets back?" John asks as he pulls on his sneakers.

Sierra rolls her eyes and starts pulling him towards the door before he even has a chance to tie his shoelaces. They make it downstairs to the front door with no injuries, which is shocking, and John ties his shoes while Jack digs through his backpack for a part of the gift that he swears is the most important. Tay looks pissed off that he's apparently lost it, standing beside him with her arms crossed and foot tapping as she slowly runs out of patience.

"You are hopeless," she hisses, grabbing the backpack out of Jack's hands and dumping the contents out onto the floor. There are pens and pencils and loose-leaf paper and condoms and a wallet, but she just grabs the keychain with a single key on it and stands up straight. "Let's go."

John sighs, follows the bunch of them down the front stops of the house. There are too many cars in the driveway for him to accurately decide who's actually home right now. Sierra walks backwards, eyes lit up with excitement and she rambles about how she went with Alex to pick the gift out and Kennedy tries to tell him otherwise, that he had the most input but Alex ultimately made the final decision and John can't help but start to wonder - what the hell even is it?

Before they reach the end of the driveway, Tay puts her hands over his eyes and tells him to trust her and let her guide him the rest of the way. He does, not exactly willingly, and he hears another car pull in. For a second, he thinks maybe his gift is Alex coming home early. But he quickly reminds himself that he probably shouldn't get his hopes up.

A new voice speaks up, and it belongs to Martin. John frowns as he tries to figure out where he came from and what the hell is going on. "You can look now," Martin is saying, and Tay finally drops her hands from his eyes and instead puts them on his shoulders, squeezing gently.

"Surprise!"

It's a car. A shiny black BMW, sitting at the edge of the driveway. Jack is already opening the back door, sticking his head in to look inside and John is frozen, and he's pretty sure Tay is the only reason he's still standing.

"I don't...he didn't...a car?" He hears himself ask. "Is he stupid?"

"Of course he got you a car!" Sierra exclaims, rushing forward and grabbing his hands, "Come look!"

He follows her, but he still can't quite believe that this is his. Alex got him a car. A BMW. What is wrong with him?

"It's a 2015 Sedan," Martin says, opening the driver’s side door. "It's got GPS, parking assistance, USB and Bluetooth with smartphone integration, and an awesome surround sound system, which Alex so kindly let Zack and I buy you."

"I - thanks. Thanks, you shouldn't have-"

"Dude, it's no problem," Martin says, slapping him on the back as he steps back to let John get a better look. "The main reason he agreed to let us chip in was because Zack promised to video your reaction and then send it to him."

John doesn't even comment on that. He's sure it's embarrassing. "I can't believe he got me a car," he says, and he's sure he sounds like such an idiot but he can't help it. "Why would he-"

"Well we all get a car, Alex," Sierra tells him, "Remember, I got mine last year. And Zack got his last month. And Ken will get his next. So why wouldn't you?"

He knows that, and he’s not protesting the fact that everyone gets a car. He just wasn’t expecting one himself. And, all the cars Alex has ever bought for them in the past were definitely not BMWs. This…this is extreme.

"You're pack, and then on top of that you're the Alpha's ma-” Tay elbows Jack right in the ribs, stopping him from finishing his sentence. He frowns, rubs at his side and continues, “The Alpha’s boyfriend. Of course he's going to get you a fuckin' BMW.”

John still can’t quite believe that this car – this insanely expensive car – is his. But Martin pushes him towards the driver’s seat and he can’t really hold back his excitement anymore now that it’s all been explained and reasoned out for him. “This is crazy,” he says, sliding into the front seat. The seats are black leather and it has that new car smell. Jack is in the back seat now, leaning forward over the middle console to get a look.

“Let’s go somewhere! I’m so hungry. I say Waffle House,” Sierra says, getting into the passenger seat and buckling the seat belt. “Then we can make more plans for the rest of the day. Sound good?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

He might not have Alex right now but what he does have is just as good.


They go to the Waffle House for breakfast – all of them. They take up a huge table in the back and take forever to order and finish eating and pay the bill that by the time they actually leave, it’s after noon and Sierra swears they’re running out of time to do anything fun.

But they do go bowling, because Jack knows a guy there and gets them two free games and John sucks at bowling but they’re all nice enough to go easy on him so he doesn’t come in last. Turns out, werewolves are good at bowling. Probably the whole hand-eye coordination thing.

They end up spending some time at the beach, eating dinner at one of the beach front restaurants and Sierra and Tay spend most of the time there tanning while the rest of them bury Zack in the sand while he’s sleeping. Overall, John can say it’s a pretty great birthday and he only misses Alex a few times. Sure it would have been nice to have him there but this was enough – a day with his best friends. And a brand new car. Not bad.

After they leave the beach, they end up going to John’s house to have cake with his mom before she has to go into work. She looks overwhelmed at first, opening the door to see eight people instead of just the two or three John had warned her about the other day, but she recovers and doesn’t give any indication that she feels uncomfortable being around so many werewolves. She balked at the idea of John keeping the very expensive car siting in her driveway at first. But she warmed up to the idea eventually, and then the only issue was fitting everyone in the small kitchen.

They make it work and Sierra manages to convince his mom to bring out the old photo albums so she can make fun of John as a baby. John spends most of the night blushing over embarrassing childhood stories and using his fork to press his leftover cake into the paper plate.

"So where's this Alex I've heard all about and yet have never officially met?" His mom asks, looking at him expectantly, like she's just waiting for some kind of explanation as to why his boyfriend is not at his birthday party.

And he opens his mouth to give her one, because he has a good one, but there's a knock on the door and his mom looks confused. She's not expecting anyone else, and everyone John knows is already in this room right now. So she gets up to answer it, and John sighs as he slumps down his seat. If he was paying attention, he would have noticed the way the entire pack is suddenly alert and grinning and looking happier than they have in days. But as it is, he's not paying attention and he doesn't catch on to anything weird going on until someone puts their hand on his shoulder. He looks up, expecting to see a cousin or an aunt or uncle who decided to stop by to torment him. Instead he gets Alex. Which is a much, much nicer sight.

"Well I found Alex. He has very good timing," his mom says, appearing right beside Alex. "And he's very polite."

When John's brain actually registers and processes the fact that Alex is standing in his kitchen, dressed in dress pants and a button down shirt and looking tired and worn thin, he almost trips over himself standing up.

"Happy birthday," Alex says when John is sufficiently wrapped around him, leaning up on his toes to press his face into his neck. "I missed you too."

He laughs when John refuses to let go of him, and he instead opts for taking John's abandoned seat at the table, managing to settle John in his lap comfortably. "You'd think I was gone for months, not three days."

John's mom laughs in amusement. "John has always been overdramatic."

"I'm learning that."

John frowns, "You say overdramatic, I say melodramatic."

"They're the same thing," Matt tells him.

"I'm aware of that, but melodramatic sounds nicer."

Alex laughs and pulls him in tighter. He kisses the top of his head but John just wants to kiss him for real. But he feels weird in front of his mom. He doesn't want her getting all annoying and lecturing him about safe sex and God knows what else. So he settles for leaning against him while he eats a piece of cake and tells them his meeting with his parents went okay and they actually have an ally for once. The pack starts breaking up slowly but surely as the hour passes by, and eventually it's just John and Alex and his mom left.

"I have to leave for work," she says with a sigh, getting up to start clearing away all the empty plates.

Alex stops her, tells her he’ll do it and she should get ready to go. John's never seen her so happy before. Probably because John has never offered to wash a dish in his life. Of course Alex can make him look bad on his birthday.

"I like him. Even if he is...you know."

John looks at his mom as she starts gathering all her things. He's not sure what she means. Even though he's not human? Even though he's twenty-five and you're eighteen? It could be either of those things, or a number of others. He has no idea. But he just nods anyway, because she likes him, despite whatever flaw she sees.

"I love you," she says, kissing him goodbye. "Happy birthday baby."

Alex, because he's the most perfect boyfriend on the planet, is still doing the dishes when John goes into the kitchen. He wraps his arms around him from behind and sighs. "I missed you."

Alex stops drying a plate, turns around in John's arms and smiles. "I know. I promise I won't leave again for a while if I can help it," he says, and he leans down and kisses him.

It's different from all the other times they've kissed and John picks up on that right away. All those other times he's always been able to tell that Alex had every intention of ending it in a matter of minutes. This one is different. Alex kisses him likes he's never going to stop and John is having trouble keeping up.

Alex's hands move to circle his hips as he presses his tongue against John's lower lip. John lets him in, hears himself moan into Alex's mouth and he would be embarrassed about that any other day. He feels Alex's hands move lower and his heart rate spikes at just the thought of Alex finally touching him.

John pulls away first, desperately needing to catch his breath. Alex seems unaffected, barely breathing hard at all. "We should take this upstairs," John mumbles, trying hard to focus on Alex's face and not on Alex's hands slipping underneath the waistband of his boxer briefs. "Please?"

"You sure you don't wanna head home?" Alex asks, "You wanna do this in your small, childhood bed?"

"I'm not waiting anymore."

Alex laughs loudly as John pulls him towards the steps. He takes them two at a time and Alex keeps up, pressing him up against his bedroom door when they get there.

"Your mom totally knew what we were gonna do," Alex mumbles, and he actually looks a little embarrassed about it.

"Well considering she thinks I'm much more sexually experienced than I am, that's not shocking," John rolls his eyes as he opens his door, leading Alex inside. He makes quick work of pulling off the t-shirt he's wearing, not missing the way Alex is watching his every move. "What, does me wearing your t-shirt turn you on?"

"A lot," Alex nods, pushing John down onto his bed. He pulls his belt off and works on pulling his jeans down his legs and John lays there and sighs. He's been waiting for this moment. He's going to savor every single second.

"You've been so good," Alex says softly as he climbs up onto the bed. He slides between John's legs, presses right up against him and John gasps at the pressure. He can feel Alex already hard against him. "So patient for me. You're amazing."

John breathes heavily, reaches up and starts trying to unbutton Alex's shirt. "This is like every wet dream come true right now," he says, shaky hands doing a poor job of getting Alex undressed. "You could help a virgin out, you know."

Alex shoves his hands away to do the work himself. He has his shirt off much faster than John was even thinking of doing it, throwing it to the floor much more forcefully than necessary. He works on his pants next, sliding them down his legs and standing up to lay them over the back of the computer chair. "I just got them dry cleaned," he explains, and John laughs, grateful that this is not so serious.

"Remember the other day?" Alex asks him, getting back in the bed. He gets back between his legs but he doesn't press up against him and John finds himself thrusting up against nothing. "Remember when I asked if you ever shut up?"

"I told you I probably would if I had your cock in my mouth."

Alex smiles down at him fondly, reaching to press his hand against his cheek. "Yeah."

John flushes, feels his cheeks heat up and he's sure his whole body is turning red at just the thought of what he's about to say. He talked a big game - a huge one really - but that was all bullshit. He has no idea what he's actually doing.

"Can I...?"

He doesn't even finish the question before he gets too embarrassed. But Alex takes pity on him and he nods, sitting back to pull off his boxers. John watches, watches as they slide down his hips and he purposely avoids actually looking at his dick until the last possible second. Alex is big, but not so big that John is intimidated. But still. There it is. After months of begging for it he can't even work up the nerve to do anything.

"Baby, you don't have to," Alex tells him, "We can just-"

"But I want to. I'm just not...sure..."

"Of what to do?"

"Right."

"I didn't expect you to - unless you were off getting it from someone else."

John scowls at him. "Don't be a moron."

"All I'm saying is, don't feel embarrassed. It's just me. What happened to the John who sent me porn and wanted me to fuck him in the middle of my kitchen last month?" Alex teases, hands moving down his sides. "Just relax."

John figures he may as well listen. Alex is the pro here, not him. So he bends his knees and lets Alex pulls his briefs off and tries not to think about the fact that barely three days ago he promised his mom he wouldn't have sex in her house.

"Tell me what you want me to do," Alex says, fingers still gently brushing along his sides.

John bites his lip. He wants Alex to touch him. He wants to suck his dick. He wants Alex to fuck him and give him bruises that will last for days. But he has no idea how to ask for any of that. Alex always wonders if he ever stops talking. Well. Here's the proof. "I don't...I'm not sure-"

"Want me to go easy on you? To-"

John scrunches up his nose in distaste. "No. No, not easy. Hard. Go hard. Make me feel it."

Alex smiles in approval. "Okay. I can do that." Finally, he moves his hands from John's sides and grips his hips, grinning up at him. "Think if you come once you can get it up again?"

John scoffs at him. "Are you serious? I'm not old like you."

He pinches the skin on his inner thigh as punishment for that comment, and John winces. "Fine. You'll have to prove it then."

Alex doesn't warn him at all and suddenly his hand is on John's dick and John is pretty sure his vision blacked out for a millisecond. He's only ever had his own hands on him and compared to this, they really pale in comparison. And Alex hasn't even really done anything yet. He grins down at John, John's thigh between his own, and God, has John been doing this all wrong? Alex's hand does slow movements as he reaches to John's nightstand to get the lube and a condom while he's in there. He pours lube out into his hand and John whines at the loss of contact, pressing his thigh against Alex's crotch.

"Hey, stay still," Alex scolds, but he doesn't do anything to enforce his words. He starts jerking John off again, a little faster than before and John can't even stop the breathy moans leaving his throat. Alex is like a god. Or something. Because he's not doing anything different than John ever does to himself and yet somehow he has him on the edge of his orgasm in the first five minutes.

"Just let go," Alex tells him, noticing the way he's tensing up, trying to prolong the orgasm as long as possible. He leans down and presses his forehead against John's shoulder, grinding down against John's thigh. John shivers, arches his back when Alex tightens his fist and he finally comes, all over Alex's hand. Some of it gets on his stomach and the bed sheets but he can worry about that later.

“Okay,” he says, panting and reaching up to run his hands through his hair, “Okay, the fact that you made me wait this long for this is absolutely-”

“Worth it?”

John sighs loudly, lets out all the air he’d been taking in at once, “Yes.”

Alex laughs, “So we can sleep now? Are you satisfied-”

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” John grabs his face with both hands, pressing his cheeks together so he looks like a fish. “Are you trying to tell me you’re tired? Are you too old to keep up with your teenage boyfriend?”

He pulls back, frowning down at John. “We’ll see if you make jokes about my age again once I’m really through with you.”

John doesn't have a chance to compose himself at all before Alex is moving, reaching for one of the pillows that were shoved against the wall. He lifts John's hips, pushes the pillow underneath him, and John just lets him do it, let's him do whatever he thinks he needs to. John doesn't care about comfort. He's pretty sure it's still gonna hurt whether there's a pillow under him or not. But if it eases Alex's mind then fine, he'll go with it.

"So, can I suck your dick or not?" John asks as Alex spreads his legs apart, bending his knees so his feet are flat on the bed. "I practiced."

"You did not," Alex rolls his eyes as he pops the cap on the lube again and kneels between his legs.

"Okay I didn't. But can I?"

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Oh come on -" he cuts himself off with a gasp as Alex presses his index finger between his legs. He smirks as John's jaw drops as he just barely presses the finger inside him. John can't catch his breath as the finger sinks into him, "Alex - fuck."

"You've done this before, right baby? I know you have. I've caught you doing it," Alex teases, kissing his kneecap as he pulls his finger out and presses right back in, trying to open him up slowly.

John feels his face flush at the reminder of that time Alex walked in on him fingering himself. He totally shouldn't be embarrassed, considering it was his own bedroom and the door was locked and Alex all but broke in. But he is because it's Alex. "This is better," he sighs, throwing his arm over his face to cover his eyes. And really, he's not even exaggerating. Sure he's done this to himself and sure it was good but this is better, because his wrist isn't at a weird awkward angle and it's Alex doing it. Automatically better. He's about to say as much when Alex presses his finger into him at a new angle and fuck. This is going to kill him.

Alex is laying over him, one arm supporting him so he doesn't totally crush John, and he grins at the loud gasp of his name that leaves John's lips. He kisses his shoulder and John spreads his legs open even more and tries to ignore how slutty he probably looks. Apparently Alex likes slutty though, judging by the way his eyes darken. So John will go with it. "More," he begs, reaching behind him to grasp the sheets above his head. "More, Alex. Faster." He thrusts his hips against Alex's hand in an attempt to be enticing, and then he realizes what he said. Demanding things of an Alpha is probably not his best idea.

But he doesn't get a chance to tack on a please or anything, because while Alex's eyes do flash red for the briefest second, he does as he's asked and John feels him press in another finger right beside the first. He whines at the stretch but it's not so bad. Once Alex moves them, stretching him open and pressing in deep to find the same spot he hit earlier, it doesn't feel weird at all and John sighs, relaxes against the mattress. Alex kisses him, nipping at his bottom lip before sliding his tongue into his mouth. It's rushed and kind of messy and John is a little too busy all but riding Alex's fingers to really focus on kissing him but it's good all the same.

Alex separates them, pulling back just enough to get some air into his lungs. He keeps close though, nose almost touching John's and John wishes he wouldn't because he's pretty sure he's sweating. "You love this?" Alex asks him, distracting him from thoughts of being hot and sweaty and instead to the fact that Alex is pulling his fingers back, leaving him empty and desperate and God, why is he doing this? "I didn't think just fingering you would turn you into a slutty mess."

John whines, not bothering to cover it up because he wants Alex to know exactly how not pleased he is with this. "Fucking - come on! You can't-"

But Alex all but rips the air from his lungs when he thrusts three fingers inside of him, hard and fast and John thinks he might pass out. His dick is apparently over the recovery time, getting hard again as Alex fucks him with three fingers and John knows if he comes again it's not going to be so easy to get back on board. His stomach muscles are tense and he wants to tell Alex to stop, or at least slow down because this is all too much and all so new that he's not going to last nearly as long as he wants to. He refuses to come before Alex is inside of him.

"Alex – Alex. I need-"

"What, baby? Tell me."

John bites his lip. He can barely form sentences because Alex keeps hitting his prostate and he can't fucking focus. "St-stop, please, I-"

Alex stops. Freezes completely. And John realizes Alex probably thinks the worst thing he possibly could. "Am I hurting you?" He asks, pulling his fingers back and trying to get rid of all contact completely.

John barely gets a grip on his arm, keeping him between his legs. He can concentrate now, takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "No. No, you weren't. I just...I want you to fuck me."

Alex furrows his eyebrows, "I'm going to."

"I mean like, now. Right now. Before I come all over you and can't get it back up and it's just generally very embarrassing," John rambles, blushing as Alex registers what he means.

"What, your teenage stamina not quite what you made it out to be?" He asks, leaning forward again so their skin is touching, "Don't worry baby. I got it."

He grabs the condom from where he left it on the table, tearing it open with ease. John tries to calm himself down, unsure if his heart is racing so fast because of what Alex has been doing to him or because of the anticipation of what he's going to do to him. Alex smirks, probably knowing what he's thinking, the fucking freak that he is, and keeps eye contact with him as he rolls the condom on. John shivers as he grabs the backs of his thighs and pushes them back, leaning over his body. Alex shuffles closer to him, takes a second to pour more lube out into his hand. He reaches between them, jerking himself two or three times to get enough on his dick. John figures he's using so much because he wants to be cautious, but he's doing the laundry tomorrow. He doesn't need his mom finding his sheets covered in lube and God knows what else. He should stop thinking about his mom. Definitely.

"It would be easier for you the other way," Alex says quietly, but his actions say the opposite, with the way he moves even closer and John can feel him pressing up against him. He makes no move to flip John over and John has absolutely no desire doing this that way either so he's not sure why Alex is even suggesting it. John looks up at him, eyebrows raised in question and Alex sighs. "I'm just saying."

"Don't care," John tells him, reaching up and pulling Alex in a little closer. "Wanna see you."

Alex smiles against his lips, "Yeah. Okay."

John moves his hands down, let's them rest on Alex's back, fingernails making tiny indents in his skin in anticipation. Alex squeezes the back of his leg as he pushes the head of his dick in, and John tries not to think too much about how weird it feels. He relaxes, because that's what Alex told him to do, as Alex presses in so slowly. It hurts. A lot, which is what he expected. But it's not so bad that he wants to stop or can't handle it. His eyes water as Alex pushes all the way in, shoves his face into John's neck.

"I'm sorry," Alex mumbles weakly. "Just say when."

John nods, digs his nails into Alex's back as Alex shifts his hips a little and moves inside of him. He feels overwhelmed and Alex is big and okay. Maybe he totally could have used more stretching but too late now. He inhales and lets it go slowly, adjusting to the feeling of Alex inside him as the seconds go by. He nudges Alex with his arm, forcing him to pull away from where he's been marking bruises into his collarbones.

Alex takes that as the go-ahead, sits up enough to move his hands to John's hips, a better position to pull him in to every thrust he makes and John can only press his heels into Alex's lower back. He fucks him slowly at first, fingers digging into his hips, making sure there will be bruises in the morning. All John can do is arch his back and moan Alex's name and hope that his neighbors are totally not hearing this at all.

"Alex," he gasps after a while, legs falling from around Alex's waist. "Please - harder."

And then Alex is relentless, sitting up on his knees and grinning down at John as he pushes sweat soaked hair off his forehead, thrusting into him hard and fast while he keeps his hips pinned down. John is begging for more, and that seems to be a common theme tonight, and Alex gives it, kissing him hard just to shut him up. John wouldn't be able to form words if he wanted to anymore anyway. Alex is giving it to him exactly how he wanted it - hard and fast and constant and he's not going easy on him at all, especially not with the way he pulls out almost all the way before thrusting back in.

John's breath hitches and he tenses up as his second orgasm hits him - without Alex even touching him at all. He'd be embarrassed about that but he can't find the energy to. He sighs as he melts into the mattress, fingers dragging through Alex's hair as he keeps fucking him.

"I love you," John mumbles, and he's totally aware of what he's doing. His orgasm hasn't blind sighted him or anything. The words have been in his mind for weeks now (he's pretty sure he's loved him since junior year but that thought requires more time and possibly a therapy session) and now just seems like a good time to tell him. Alex squeezes his hips even harder and it actually hurts more than feels good now and John whines. Alex keeps going even after he comes, thrusting a few more times and John swears that the last one forces him to move up the mattress a few inches, before he finally stops, rests his forehead on John's shoulder.

He listens to Alex catch his breath for a while, let's him pull out and throw away the condom and come back to bed with one of their shirts to clean themselves up with. He kisses John as wipes the cum off his stomach, "Good?" Is all he asks and John doesn't blame him because all he can bring himself to do in response is nod. "Good."

John sighs, laying there while Alex pulls the sheets up over them. He feels boneless and is pliant as Alex pulls him into his arms. "I love you," Alex finally says, and the words alone make John's heart flip. "So much. Always have."

"Yeah," John agrees, his voice raspy from crying out Alex's name and he hopes that goes away by morning because the others will never stop laughing at him otherwise. "Figured that out when you bought me a car."

Alex knees him in the back. "Most people say thank you." And then he bites the back of his neck, probably leaving behind indents of his teeth. "But really. I do. If anything ever happened to you, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself."

John frowns, turns over in Alex's arms. "Nothing's going to happen. Can't we enjoy post-sex cuddling without you getting all emo? God, Alex, I deserve this! I waited for this!"

Alex kisses him to shut him up. That's going to be a trend, John thinks as he kisses back. A trend he can totally get behind.