Hell Above

When Alex enters the livingroom the next afternoon and finds Vinny sitting on the couch, it somehow doesn't surprise him. He’d come home to an empty apartment an hour before, so he figures Vinny must’ve shown up while he was in the shower.

“How’d you get in?” He asks, plopping down next to the Italian.

Vinny is bent forward, elbows resting on his knees with his bare feet placed flat on the ground, remote in hand. Alex spots the man’s discarded shoes a few feet away. He sits back, but doesn't break his gaze from the sports broadcast on the T.V. as he answers. “You do realize you two shitheads never lock the damn door.”

The blonde simply rolls his eyes, shifting so that his back is pressed against the armrest and then setting his legs over top Vinny’s lap.

“Where’s your other half at?” Vinny asks a few minutes later, finally turning to face the other man as he lowers the volume on the T.V.

Alex shrugs, ignoring the heat spreading across his cheeks at the Italian’s question. “His dad wanted to meet with him.”

“Oh, I’m sure Jack really appreciates the father-son time.” Vinny replies, setting his arms overtop Alex’s sweatpant clad legs. “Have you eaten today?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

“Not since breakfast. Wanna help me fix dinner?” Alex asks, brightening at the thought of the Italian’s cooking. Vinny chuckles, grinning at Alex’s excitement.

He pushes the blonde’s legs off of him, standing to his feet a moment later. Vinny turns, offering a hand down to Alex as he replies, “I’d love to.”

-

“Can you handle that?” The Italian asks a few minutes later, looking up to see Alex piling things onto the counter as he pulls them out from inside the fridge.

The blonde turns, glaring at the other man from across the kitchen. “Do you not trust me?”

Vinny chuckles, “With food? Hell no.” He pulls a pan out from under the island, straightening up and using his foot to close the cabinet door. “I don’t even trust Jack, and he’s a much better cook than you.”

Alex rolls his eyes, shutting the fridge door once he feels he’s pulled a sufficient amount of ingredients off the shelves. “That’s low, Vin.” He voices, although he’s not actually offended, he knows he’s not the best cook.

Vinny laughs again, stepping over to help Alex carry everything over to the island, spreading the items out on the counter as he decides what to fix. “How’s fettuccini alfredo sound?” He asks, turning to face Alex who’s stood beside him in front of the counter.

Alex shoots him an unimpressed look, muttering “I could’ve fixed that” as he makes his way around the island to cross the kitchen.

“No you couldn't have.” Vinny replies in a smug tone, watching the blonde pull a box of pasta off one of the shelves in the cabinet he’d opened.

Alex rolls his eyes, shutting the cabinet before returning to the island, on the opposite side to Vinny, and sliding the box of pasta across the counter towards the Italian. He watches the man set one of the skillets on the burner, leaning forward on his elbows as Vinny turns the burner on, adjusting the heat to the correct level.

The next 20 minutes is spent with Vinny cooking, stirring and adding in different ingredients to his multitude of pots and pans on the stove while Alex makes sarcastic comments from across the island, earning little grins and chuckles from the Italian every few minutes.

“So talk to me.” Vinny says after a few minutes, flicking the burner off and then reaching out to take the serving bowl Alex is holding out to him. The blonde raises an eyebrow, prompting Vinny to explain as he empties the cooked pasta into the bowl. Instead of elaborating, the Italian asks, “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, watching the other man pour the alredo sauce over the noodles.

Vinny sets the skillet down once he’s finished, laying his palms flat on the countertop and raising his head to meet the blonde’s eyes. “I mean with Jack. What are you doing?” He asks again, tone firm but not demanding.

Alex swallows, pulling his bottom lip in between his teeth as he considers how to respond. He’s quiet for a few minutes, Vinny having returned his attention to the food in front of him, mixing in the sauce with the pasta using a fork. “I don’t know.”

Vinny flicks his gaze up, seeing Alex staring down at the countertop in front of him. “Do you want to be with him?”

Alex raises his head, nodding slightly. “Yeah, I want to be with him. It’s just – I can’t help feeling like he’s selling himself short by wanting to be with me.”

“You think you’re not good enough.” Vinny voices, handing off the dirty pan and skillet to Alex, who takes them over and places them in the sink.

When the blonde returns across the island, he doesn't meet Vinny’s eyes. “I know I’m not good enough.”

“You’re wrong.” Vinny counters, a tiny knowing smile curving up his lips. “You only see yourself as a prostitute – as something for other people to use and then discard. But Jack looks at you and he sees his entire world. He would do anything for you, and I just don’t want to see him get hurt.”

“I don’t want to hurt him, Vin.” Alex reassures, meeting the Italian’s eyes from across the island.

Vinny nods, “I know you don’t, and I’m not saying you’re going to. But I know you, and I know how that head of yours works. I’m just worried you’re going to want to run when things get serious.”

“I already want to.” The blonde admits, fingers wringing together behind the counter. They’re both quiet for a few moments before Alex speaks up again, words completely honest as he says, “But I’m not going to.”

-
Jack arrives home within the next hour, entering the apartment to be greeted by the sound of laughing and noises from the direction of the kitchen. He closes the front door quietly behind him, kicking off his shoes as he listens. He can just make out the familiar sound of Alex’s giggles, along with some rather amused sounding profanities from a recognizable Italian voice.

Jack pulls off his jacket, tossing it across the back of the couch as he makes his way towards the kitchen. He stops in the entryway, a smile curving its way up across his lips as he watches the sight in front of him, all of the uneasiness and anger he’d been feeling from meeting with his father melting away. There’s a mess of clutter strewn across the island countertop, bowls and skillets and what appears to be dough, all of it coated in a thin layer of white powder.

Jack shakes his head in disbelief, shifting his vision from the chaos on his counter to the two culprits standing on the other side, neither of them having noticed him standing in the entryway yet. Alex is stood with his back to the younger, facing Vinny whose half bent over, face scrunched up in laughter at something Jack can’t see.

The Italian is the first to notice Jack, lifting his head and grinning wider once he’s stopped laughing, reaching an arm out to nudge the blonde to turn around. Alex does, and Jack can’t help the grin that splits across his face when he sees what Vinny had been laughing about.

The white powder seems to have made its way onto Alex as well, coating his mouth and cheeks as well as the front of his shirt. Jack raises an eyebrow in question, moving from the entryway towards the two men. Alex steps forward, meeting the younger halfway and pressing against him as Jack folds his arms around the blonde. Jack ducks down, licking away a strip of powder off the side of Alex’s mouth, causing the elder to scrunch up his face in disgust as he pulls away. There’s a certain light to the blonde’s eyes that Jack thinks completely contradicts what he says in response. “Gross.”

Vinny watches the exchange, smiling at the easy banter between the two. He’s more than glad to see his two best friends finally happy, especially with each other. “Jack-o. Me and Xander made dinner. He’s wearing our desert though.” The Italian voices, gesturing first to the plate of freshly fried doughnuts on the counter, and then to the blonde, who gives him a shit-eating grin in response.

Jack just laughs, releasing Alex from under his arm as the blonde moves to pull a dish towel out of the drawer in the island, using it to wipe the powdered sugar off his face. “You two are the best, but you know you’re cleaning all this up.” He says, pointing a finger over to the mess on the counter.

Vinny just shrugs, heading over to the fridge to retrieve the bowl of fettuccine they’d made earlier and then bringing it over to the microwave to heat up. When he turns back around, Jack has Alex pressed against the island, grinning against the elder man’s lips. The Italian makes a retching noise, loud and over-exaggerated just because, despite the content smile that turns up his lips afterwards at the two men.