Sleeping With Giants

John knew that he wasn't the only one affected by his kidnapping ordeal. Sure, he's the one who ended up with bruised ribs and a broken wrist and stitches and nightmares and a fear of going anywhere alone. But now the entire pack is overly nervous, not wanting anyone going anywhere alone. John isn't bothered by it. He gets it and he appreciates it. They're looking out for him and he'll be honest - he needs it.

Alex is taking it the worst though. While John was in the hospital still, Alex never even went home. John appreciated it, considering the last thing he wanted was to be alone, but he felt bad. He was safe in the hospital, nobody could get him there so it's not like Alex really needed to keep watch twenty-four hours a day. But Alex wouldn't even listen to that reasoning and John stopped trying to explain it after the first day. If Alex wanted to, John couldn't stop him.

The first few weeks after leaving the hospital are hard. John can't do much other than go to class (with assistance from no less than three werewolves to carry his textbooks and make sure he doesn't 'overwork' himself). He comes home after his art history final in December, shaking snow off of his jacket in the doorway with Jack carrying all of his stuff into the kitchen.

"Thank God that class is over," Jack says while John throws his jacket over the back of the couch. "Now I can have a life again."

"You didn't have much of one to begin with," John tells him, sitting down in the couch. "Bring me a water bottle!"

Jack sighs dramatically from the kitchen but John hears the fridge open and he settles into the couch and waits for him to come back. The news is on but he's too lazy to reach for the remote to change the channel. He listens to some lady rant about the state of the White House for a few minutes before Jack comes back to him, water bottle and ice pack in hand.

"Assume the position," Jack laughs, and John sighs, stretches out in the couch and let's Jack lay the ice on him, right over the right side of his ribcage. "How many times did you do this this morning?"

"Twice. Change the channel while you're up."

Jack puts on the Food Network before getting on the couch and settling himself behind John. Jack refuses to call this cuddling (it totally is) but instead just claims it's to help make him smell less like whoever's donated blood he's got running through him and more like pack. John just figured it's a safety thing. A 'John is safe and therefore the Alpha will be happy' thing. It happens a lot. It's gotten less and less weird each time.

Alex comes home at two. He cut some of his work hours so he could be home earlier because God forbid he be away from John for longer than a few hours. Luckily his position allows him to control his hours and he doesn't get questioned about why he's running home to his human boyfriend every day at two. John doesn't mind. He likes having more time to spend with Alex.

"Did you ice your ribs?" He asks when he comes in to the living room. "Jack, get off my boyfriend."

Jack glares at Alex, mumbles something about just watching TV, but he gets up from the couch and takes the ice pack John dropped to the floor to put back in the freezer. Alex smiles, bends down and lifts John into his arms so he can lay down on the couch and let John lay down on top of him. John sighs contently, making sure there's no pressure on his ribs before pressing his face into Alex's neck.

"How was your test?" Alex asks softly, fingers tracing John's spine. "Hope you got a good enough grade to make up for all those classes you skipped." He pinches the skin on the nape of John's neck and John whines in protest.

"I probably passed with flying colors," he mumbles, "Shut up."

He almost falls asleep on top of Alex, content with just laying there and watching the lady on the TV screen make a low-fat chicken parm and letting Alex scent him. More than once he gets chills when Alex breathes down his neck and strokes the skin there. "How many days has it been?" He asks, words muffled by Alex's shirt.

Alex sighs. "Twenty," he says sadly. "I don't think I can handle any more days of you smelling permanently weird. I miss your normal smell."

Alex has reasoned, and John will agree with him, that since blood cells have a life cycle of around one hundred days, it'll take that long for John to stop smelling weird. He thought Alex would just get used to it by now. It's been nearly three weeks. But no, he's still complaining.

"What do I normally smell like?" John asks, moving his hands up to play with Alex's hair. The cast still restricts most movement but he manages.

"Like you."

"Specifically?"

"Like that smell right before it rains. The ocean, sometimes. And sunshine."

John wants to ask how someone could possibly smell like sunshine, but Alex keeps speaking.

"And me."

John grins into Alex's shoulder, maybe tugs a little too hard on his hair but Alex just sighs, flattens his palms against the small of his back. John is glad he asked. It's nice to know.



John has nightmares still. It's been a whole month and he's still waking up in the middle of the night, heart racing and hands reaching for Alex. Alex is so good about it - so patient and calm. But John knows it worries him. Knows it makes him nervous and that it makes him feel guilty still. But there's not much either of them can do about it. It'll stop, John thinks.

"I'm right here," Alex says gently, hands steadying John and squeezing tight so he doesn't topple over the side of the bed. It's three in the morning, John can see on the cable box by the TV. His heart feels like it's trying to burst out of his chest and he can't seem to catch his breath. "I'm right here baby," Alex tells him again, and John can't help it. He lets out a broken sob and falls into Alex's chest, shaky hands trying to grab on to the front of his shirt, trying to prove that he's real and he's right there.

"Just breathe," Alex tells him, one hand coming up to rest on the back of his neck, "I've got you. I'm right here."

John nods into his chest and takes a deep breath, can almost feel his lungs shaking in protest, but once he exhales he does feel better. More calm. He feels Alex press his nose into his hair, feels his fingers rubbing at his neck and he breathes in deep again to shake whatever panic is still left. Alex is right here. Right in front of him. Safe.

"Thanks," he mutters weakly after a few minutes of silence. "I'm okay now."

Alex nods, pulls away just enough to slide to the edge of the bed so his feet are touching the floor. He looks over his shoulder at John, motions for him to come closer and John sighs, going along with it. He slides up against Alex's back and wraps his arms around his neck, let's Alex grab his legs before standing up. He always does this after a nightmare, knowing John doesn't fall back asleep after them. John lets Alex carry him downstairs, thankful for his boyfriend's superhuman strength because otherwise, this totally would not be happening.

Alex walks to the kitchen, sits John down on the counter and steps away to fill the tea pot with water before setting it on the stove and turning on the burner. He comes back once he's found the box of strawberry black tea in the cabinet with the coffee mugs, stepping between John's legs and resting his hands on his hips.

"Thank you," John says again, bringing his left hand up to cup Alex's face. He can't remember the last time they got a full night of sleep and he feels awful for keeping Alex awake. "I can make the tea myself-"

"Don't," Alex warns, squeezing his hips tightly. "Don't thank me. It's my job to look after you so don't try and tell me otherwise."

It's an Alpha thing. John gets that. He still can't help feeling bad. "You have work," he points out, eyes slipping closed as Alex scents him, nose pressing against his jaw as he tries getting rid of the scent of fear or panic or whatever else John is giving off right now. "You're going to be tired."

"That's what coffee is for."

John gives in, as always, and watches Alex make him a cup of tea. It's three in the morning and John is pretty sure it's snowing already and everyone else is asleep. But Alex doesn't care that he has to leave for work in a few hours, doesn't care that he's only had a few hours of sleep and is in the kitchen making tea for his boyfriend. He even warns John that it's hot as he hands him the cup and John finally cracks a smile, feels okay again.



Things settle down in January. At least, John thinks they do anyway. He starts his spring semester with more basic classes, still unsure of what he wants to major in. He's actually allowed to go to these classes on his own, Alex not finding it necessary to send a babysitter with him. It's nice having his own space again, being able to turn around and not bump into Martin or Tay or Jack. Not that he didn't appreciate all that they did for him. But still. Space is nice.

Alex is still clingy but that's not exactly abnormal anyway. He goes back to work full-time though. John's nightmares aren't so persistent anymore. He's finally feeling like things are getting back to normal.

It's on a Saturday that he realizes ok, maybe things are still a little off. He's in the kitchen, staring down at the broken plate on the floor, slowly backing up so he's pressed against the counter. Alex is pissed. He's leaning on the kitchen table, head in his hands and he's shaking. All John had done was ask if it would be okay if he went to visit his grandparents with his mom next weekend.

"Did you seriously just smash a plate because I told you I want to go away for a weekend?" He hears himself asking, and he briefly wonders if he has a death wish. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been tense all day!"

But Alex ignores him, head still hidden in his arms and still shaking. He's not yelling, so John will take that as a good sign, and he goes to get the broom and dust pan to sweep up the mess he made. Alex might not care if there's glass in the floor but John definitely does. Last thing he needs is more stitches when he just got the old ones taken out.

He spends five minutes cleaning up and making sure all the tiny glass pieces are picked up and he even takes the time to change the garbage bag. By the time he looks back at Alex, he's in the same position and John blinks. Ok, not normal.

"Alex? Are you alright?" He sits down in the chair next to Alex and tentatively reaches out and touches his shoulder. Alex tenses up at the touch but he doesn't respond. "Alex, you're making me nervous."

Finally, Alex lifts his head and John sighs. His eyes are red and his hands are clenched into fists in front of him. "I'm sorry," he mumbles, "I didn't mean to. You can go with your mom. I don't have a problem with it."

He sounds like he's rehearsed what he's saying and John doesn't believe it for a second. He tries to think of what he could have possibly done all day to make Alex flip so easily. And then he realizes - Alex hasn't shifted for either of the last two full moons. He claimed it was fine, that he didn't want to leave John all alone for a night and that it was no big deal. But clearly that's bullshit.

"You idiot," he snaps, reaching out and running his hands through Alex's hair. "You must be going crazy."

"I told you I'm okay-"

"Can you shift right now? Or can it only be around the full moon?"

"I'm an Alpha," Alex snaps right back, "Of course I can shift right now."

"Then go."

"No, you're-"

"Fine. I'm perfectly fine. You've been taking care of me nonstop and now you're practically jumping out of your skin. Go run and kill a squirrel or something. Just don't tell me about it. You told me you shouldn't skip a full moon and now you've skipped two. Don't tell me you're fine."

Alex stares at him for a few seconds, and John will be honest - his red eyes can be intimidating. Especially now when he's so tense and stressed out and pissed off. Finally Alex gives in and John considers it a win.

"Okay. I won't go far, though. So I can still hear you," Alex says, getting up from the table. He's tugging on his shirt apprehensively, as if he's still not fully committed. "Martin's home so...so it's fine," he decides, "I'll be back soon."

He's gone from the kitchen before John can even blink and he hears the back door in the dining room slam shut. John thought he managed to avoid the whole 'clingy girlfriend' scenario when he decided girls were totally not his thing. And yet here he is, with Alex. He wouldn't change it, though. Not for anything.

He's in the middle of doing the dishes from dinner (because apparently despite the fact that it's totally Tay's turn, she's claimed immunity for the night because of 'severe female problems' and John really doesn't need more info) when he catches movement from outside the window. He glances out into the backyard, only to find a dog running around in circles. Except on closer inspection, it is definitely not a dog. It's twice the size of one and John might not be the fastest at putting things together but he knows that that's a wolf. That that's Alex.

His fur is black and John doesn't know why that shocks him. It matches the interior decorating in his bedroom. He doesn't look scary or intimidating like this, but John knows if he was standing next to him, he'd probably be a little concerned. Alex has teeth, and sharp nails and is huge. He would be stupid not to feel a little intimidated, despite knowing Alex would never hurt him.

And now that he looks more closely, John realizes he's not just running in circles.

"He's chasing a fucking bird," he observes gleefully, putting another dry plate back into the cabinet. Alex hears him (of course he does because John is an idiot and doesn't consider the fact that as an actual wolf, his hearing is probably even better) and he freezes, turning to look right at the kitchen window. "Don't try denying it. I have blackmail material for weeks."

"Who are you talking to?" Kennedy asks from the doorway and John only jumps a little. He's gotten used to people sneaking up on him.

"Alex. He's chasing a bird."

"Oh. Right. Sierra and I are going to go get frozen yogurt. Wanna come?"

"Nah, I'm good," John tells him. He wants frozen yogurt (who wouldn't want frozen yogurt?) but he knows Alex would stress if he leaves. And this is supposed to be relaxing for Alex. So John will stay. Sacrifice his froyo for his stupid, selfless, adorable werewolf boyfriend who has currently gone missing in the woods behind the house.

Kennedy shrugs, "I'll bring you back some."

"Peanut butter?"

"Sure. I'll make Sierra pay for it."

"What are girlfriends for?"

By the time Kennedy and Sierra leave, John has wandered outside to the back deck. It's cold but at least it's not snowing. He kicks what's left of the snow from the other day around with his foot as he sits down on one of the deck chairs by the table. Alex isn't in the backyard anymore but he's sure he's already aware of the fact that John has ventured outside. And sure enough, barely a minute after he sits down, Alex appears at the edge of the woods. He sits and watches John, tail twitching in a way John takes to mean don't move or else. And he'd rather not find out what 'what else' entails.

"I'll be right here when you come back!" John shouts to him, even though he knows Alex would hear him even if he whispered. He watches as Alex tilts his head and John can just hear him scoffing and can imagine the dramatic eye roll he would be getting. Then Alex must decide John is safe where he is, because he turns suddenly and runs. John hopes he runs for as long he needs to. He's willing to wait.



Alex has been worried about Jack. It's not a new thing, apparently. John is the only one who hasn't been aware if it. It's not until Valentine's Day, when he and Alex are sitting in the kitchen eating ice cream right out of the carton, that it comes to his attention. And only because Alex mentions it first.

"Do you think Jack is okay?" He asks, eyesbrows furrowed as he glares at the ice cream. "Should he be home by now? How long do dates last?"

John shrugs. "Don't know. Don't care. Where did you get this ice cream?"

"I'm serious. I'm worried about him. He's...he's the only one of us who isn't mated yet."

John shrugs again - but then he registers what Alex just said. "Wait. Are we...?"

Alex is blushing a bit, still glaring at the ice cream like it's personally offending him. He bites his lip as he digs his spoon into the carton and John can tell it's only so he has something to do. "I uh. Have been meaning to talk to you about that."

"So we are?" John asks, setting his own spoon down with more force than he intended. "Mates? Is that it? Is it a werewolf thing? A dog thing? A-"

"Shut up. It's a werewolf thing, a pack thing. And yes...me and you are. I mean, you're mine. Since you're human...it doesn't affect you as much. You could leave whenever you want. You don't feel the pull to me the way I feel it towards you-"

"That's a lie."

"Can you not interrupt me? I'm saying, you could move on from me. I couldn't...wouldn't be able to move on from you. You're it. You know?"

"So..." John trails off, staring down at his hands. "Like soulmates?"

"Yeah. Like soulmates."

"If you bit me-"

"Which I will not."

"But if you did, and I was turned...would I feel it? Do Kennedy and Sierra feel it? And Martin and Zack? And Matt and Tay?"

Alex sighs loudly, sounding physically pained by John's constant questions. "Yes, to all. But I am not biting you so don't even think about it."

John will never understand Alex's aversion to turning him, but he doesn't push it. It's not just his choice to make. It's Alex's too. And if Alex doesn't want to do it then John should respect it. But now he wishes he would push it. He wishes he could feel the pull that Alex feels towards him.

"What's it feel like? This pull you speak of," John asks, smiling to show Alex he's okay with everything he's said so far. Soulmates. Makes sense.

"Well...I don't know, really. It's strong. I always gravitate towards you no matter where we are or what I'm doing. You know how I was after what happened last fall. How protective I was. It's...I just want to make you happy. All the time. And make sure you're safe. Always. Its...its a lot."

John sighs, frowning as he pushes the ice cream carton away from him. Talking about this has actually really ruined his appetite. "But I feel all those things too. I might be human but I love you, Alex. And I'd do anything for you. I hope you don't doubt that just because I can't feel this 'pull' or whatever."

"Of course I don't doubt it," Alex promises, reaching across the counter to grab John's hand. "I know. Trust me. I can feel it."

John nods. He believes him, but he still feels a little weird about the whole conversation. He doesn't like being told he can't feel a certain way because he's human. He doesn't believe it.

"Why don't we go upstairs and finish Valentine's Day on a high note," Alex suggests, coming around to the other side of the counter. He pushed John up against it, hands quickly slipping under his shirt to press against his skin. "I'm sure Jack is perfectly fine."

John grins, "How mad would Tay be if she walked in on me blowing you right here?"

Alex laughs and hides his face in John's neck, "Should we find out?" He mumbles, words muffled by the shirt.

"Yes. Definitely yes."



Jack has been dating this guy named Josh for three months when he finally brings him over for dinner. John has never met the guy but Sierra claims he seems nice and, from all the info she's gathered just from stalking their dates, he and Jack are totally into each other. John will take her word for it.

"I don't know anything about him," Alex says, leaning up against the kitchen counter, waiting for Josh to show up. "He could be anyone. Or anything. He could be a horrible human being-"

"He's probably not," John interrupts him, ripping open a new pack of paper plates. "He's also not even a human. But you heard Sierra. He's nice."

"I'm sorry if I don't exactly trust Sierra's judgement of character. You remember what happened when she got her laptop fixed by that guy from her school. And the jock at that homecoming party-"

"Okay, okay. Point taken. Just don't scare the guy away before we can even get to know him."

Alex narrows his eyes at the kitchen doorway. "I'll do whatever I think is necessary."

There's a knock on the front door before he even finishes that sentence. Alex tenses up as John leans past him to put the plates on the table and John rolls his eyes. He puts a hand on Alex's upper arm as he says, "You tell me not to refer to you as a dog but..."

Alex doesn't have time to react to that, because the front door is opening and Josh is coming inside. Alex looks offended by something already and John sighs. This is going to be a long, tiring dinner.

For the first time in all the years that John has known him, Jack is shy. Or maybe shy isn't the right word for it. Bashful, maybe. Timid, perhaps. Whatever it is, it's weird and unsettling. Jack introduces Josh to everyone in the living room first, and John hears Sierra gush about how adorable they are and Zack mentions something about Josh being in one of his classes and none of them are all that embarrassing, luckily for Jack. But the second the two of them come into the kitchen, Jack with his hand on Josh's back, John knows Alex is not going to refrain from embarrassing anyone.

"Alex, this is Josh," Jack says, sounding more nervous than John has ever witnessed before. He shifts from one foot to the other as Josh smiles at Alex, and then at John.

"It's great finally meeting you guys," he says and John almost laughs at the accent, but he manages to control himself and not act like an immature moron. Jack had told him that Josh is studying in the States for a while from England. He was warned about this. Keep it cool. "Jack has told me a lot about you both."

What surprises John is that Josh reaches to shakes John's hand first, grinning at him and waiting for him to return it. John only hesitates for a second, quickly reaching out and taking Josh's hand and glancing at Alex out of the corner of his eye to see his reaction to the fact that Josh is shaking his hand first. Is it weird? Is it rude? Are you supposed to introduce yourself to the Alpha first? God he hopes Josh isn't a stupid werewolf, that really won't help him out tonight at all.

But Jack seems pleased with how this is going and Alex finally doesn't look so scary and angry. When Josh lets go of John's hand and reaches to Alex, Alex finally drops his arms from in front of his chest and sighs, reaching out to shake hands with him. "Nice to finally meet you too," he says, and it totally doesn't sound at all forced or like a lie or anything. John is impressed.

Jack grins, clearly pleased with the way the introductions went and he puts a hand on Josh's back to guide him back to the living room, telling him pizza is being delivered soon. John watches them fondly, glad that Jack has finally apparently found someone. He kind of had hoped Jack would find someone human, someone John would have a little more in common with. But it's okay. He doesn't mind being the token human in a house of werewolves.

"I think I'm gonna like him," John says, turning to Alex. "Did that go okay? Are you insulted as an Alpha that he shook my hand first? Are you-"

"John, stop talking," Alex rolls his eyes, "He was supposed to do that."

"Wait...really? Why? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"No. You're my mate. He's coming into my house and introducing himself. By showing you respect, he's showing it to me. Get it?"

"Not...no, not really."

Alex sighs loudly. "It doesn't matter. Let's just hope the rest of this dinner goes well. I want Jack to be happy. And if he thinks Josh is the one for him then I want to be able to accept him into our home without feeling weird about it." He crowds John up against the counter, fingers tightening on his hips. He kisses him, lips pressing hard as John wraps his arms around his neck. He hopes, for Jack's sake, that everything continues to go according to plan.



Everything goes fine. For the most part. It takes less than a month for Josh to slowly integrate into the pack. He's not exactlypack just yet, but he smells less like a stranger and more like family as the days go by and he spends them sitting on the living room couch with Jack. At least. That's how Tay explains it. The rest of them are all in agreement, apparently, because on more than one occasion (like, seven occasions at this point) has John caught them scenting Josh and trying to cuddle with him and John is really glad he doesn't have to go through that anymore.

"Why do the others not scent me anymore?" He asks Alex while they're out for Zack's nineteenth birthday. They ended up at some bar that Tay goes to with her friends (John wanted to question what friends those were, exactly, but values his life) and the security guard let them in despite the fact that John does not look twenty-one, let alone twenty-three like his stupid fake ID says. It's why he never bothers with it. Alex swears it's believable but John knows better. Alex is a horrible liar.

"They do scent you," Alex tells him, taking a sip of his beer. "They just don't need to as often anymore."

"But why?"

"You smell like me. And even if we didn't see each other for a few days, you'd still smell like me. They only do it occasionally. With Josh, it's like they're starting all over. He smells like another pack. They're trying to counter it."

"Oh. Right. Is Josh going to join our pack? What if Jack wanted to join his-"

"Jack wants to stay," Alex interrupts. "He told me he wants to stay. If he wanted to go, of course I would let him. But Josh will probably end up with us. If he and Jack are really mates."

John sighs, leans his elbows on the top of the bar and rests his weight against it. "Which you don't think they are," he observes, looking sideways to get a better look at Alex. "Why?"

"It's not that I don't," Alex explains, shuffling closer so he doesn't have to talk so loud over the music and other conversations. John doesn't have great hearing like he does. "It's just that Josh's family is in England. His whole pack is there and just because he seems to want to join ours doesn't mean he's not going to want to be near his old one. Sometimes...sometimes it's hard for us to just leave something that's protected us for years and been the only thing we've known. I worry, that's all. That Josh is going to change his mind."

John nods, understanding what Alex is trying to explain to him. He can't help but glance around, find Sierra and Kennedy and Jack and Josh sitting at a table across the room. They don't seem to be paying them the slightest bit of attention. He's glad the bar is loud, because otherwise there's no way none of them would have overheard what Alex was saying.

"I get it," he says after a few seconds. He leans in to Alex, presses his side against Alex's chest. "You have good reasoning so I won't call you a cynic or tell you you're emo and have no optimism."

Alex laughs, puts his beer down on the bar counter and wraps his arms around John, pulling him in close. "I'm glad you approve then."

John leans in and kisses him, gently at first, and with every intention of pulling away after a second or two, because they're at a bar and there are people everywhere and starting a make out session right here would be so trashy. But Alex seems to feel otherwise, moving his hand up to grip John's chin before he even has the chance to pull back. And John goes with it, because the full moon is soon and Alex always gets clingy and touchy leading up to it. He ignores the fact that he knows the others are probably all laughing at them and will not stop laughing about this when they go home later and instead focuses on the way Alex is kissing him.

It gets heated pretty fast - faster than John thought it would - and John has to separate himself, put a hand between them and push firmly on Alex's chest to do so. "We can't make out like teenagers in the middle of a bar," he says, trying to ignore the way Alex's lips are swollen and red and shiny with spit. Not the time. At all.

"You are a teenager," Alex points out, grabbing John by the hips. He pulls him closer so they're pressed close again, leaning in to whisper, "We should check out the bathroom."

John frowns. "I don't have to go."

That is clearly not the answer Alex was looking for. He sighs loudly and rolls his eyes. "Do I need to spell everything out for you?"

"No...I -oh." Oh. Right. Bathroom. "We should totally check it out."

Alex grins at him, pulls on his hand to drag him off in the direction of the bathroom across the room. He knows the others are totally aware of what they're doing and that this totally makes him and Alex super trashy but whatever. He's nineteen. He can still get away with being a stupid, trashy teenager. Besides, he needs to take advantage of this. When's the next time Alex will be the one suggesting sex instead of John?



On their one year anniversary, they have plans. Not big plans. But little things to do throughout the day and then going to dinner and a movie at night. John doesn't like making a big deal out of milestones and Alex agreed so they didn't plan to do anything big. Which is probably a good thing, considering it's pouring rain and has been doing so since seven this morning.

Everybody is home, John is pretty sure. He hasnt heard anybody leave at least so he assumes it's still true. He and Alex were supposed to go to the book store in town and pick up a few books Alex had ordered and then they were going to get Starbucks. But instead, they're still in bed.

Alex is reading, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. It's some astrology book that John had given him for his birthday that he specifically asked for. He's into stars and space and using big science words to confuse John. John doesn't mind. As long as Alex doesn't expect him to listen to his rants about black holes, then whatever.

It's barely after eleven in the morning and John is starting to get a bit restless. He has the TV on mute and his textbook layed out in front of him at the foot of the bed and he's supposed to be studying for a final. But instead he's staring out the window, watching the rain and occasionally kicking Alex in the head with his foot. Not on purpose. Accidentally.

"Can you at least change your socks if you're going to continue to try and give me a concusion?" Alex asks, his hand wrapping around John's ankle before it can once again make contact with the side of his head.

John looks at him over his shoulder. He's wearing his glasses, the black ones that fall down his nose when he gets too into a book he's reading. And the hoodie he's wearing is the one he got a few months ago at John's school's bookstore while he was playing overprotective babysitter and wouldn't let John go anywhere alone. It's too big on him and the sleeves come down past his fingertips and suddenly John has no desire to study at all. He pushes his textbook over the side of the bed and twists around enough to get Alex to release his ankle. Once he's free, he crawls up the bed and flops down right next to Alex, earning an eyebrow raise and a deep sigh.

"What?" He asks, sounding like he already knows what.

"I love you," John tells him, curling into his side and wrapping his arms around his waist. "A lot."

Alex relaxes and drops his book onto the bedside table, much more civilized than the way John disposed of his own book. He sinks down so his head is resting on his pillow and lets his arms wrap around John's frame. "Are you trying to get on my good side for some reason?"

John shrugs. He lets his hands slide underneath Alex's hoodie, presses his face into Alex's side. "I do need a new pair of sneakers."

"Since I love you so much I should just go out and buy them for you, hm?"

"No. You'll pick ugly ones."

"Thanks."

"It's true."

Alex doesn't deny it, because he knows it's true. John sighs into the fabric of the hoodie, revels in the feeling of Alex's fingers tracing his spine and his lips pressing into his hair. "Thanks for sticking with me for a whole year," he says after a few moments of silence, the only other sound being the rain outside the window. He kisses Alex's chin and earns an amused laugh.

"Thanks for letting me."