I Can't Do the One-Two Step

"But I can't dance!" Alex and Jack whined simultaneously, followed by a laugh from their friends at their unison.

Rian was finally marrying Cassadee, and he wanted his groomsmen to dance with the bridesmaids. He'd always preferred traditional, slow dances but he had compromised with his fiancé on a simple, few-stepped dance. Simple, if you could dance.

Now, Jack and Alex didn't have a single coordinated bone in their bodies. Rian sighed, realizing they were certainly correct.

"Fine, then instead of dancing with a bridesmaid, you two dance with each other," Rian declared triumphantly, earning chuckles from the surrounding groomsmen while the two best friends blushed. Jack laughed quietly and ducked his head to hide it, but Alex had noticed and, in turn, blushed also.

Rian chuckled, knowing the attraction the best friends refused to admit, but still showed every chance they got. There was the hugging, the kissing, the cuddling, every 'goodnight', every unnecessary touch, each look, the soft spoken words of comfort. It was no secret they had a thing for each other.

Rian predicted it was just a matter of time until one of the men made a move. And now, they were paired up to dance to a slow song together. Rian set them up and he knew it. Something was bound to change between them by the wedding.

"Okay," he announced, "time to start practicing."

Jack looked slightly down at Alex, who was gazing up at him with wide innocent eyes. When their stare collided, they both looked away. Each of the other groomsmen paired up with their bridesmaid as Rian walked around and adjusted their positions.

When he got over to Jack and Alex, who were staring awkwardly at each other, he pushed them into each other. Alex stumbled into his best friend's chest, Jack caught him tentatively. Rian laughed for the millionth time that day at the embarrassment on their faces.

"Jack, wrap your arms around Alex's waist and pull him close. Alex, put your arms around his neck and rest your forehead on his."

The boys did as directed, cheeks burning bright red. Sure, they had been this close before, but never in the presence of others and never in a forced way.

Jack's mind was whirling, his stomach was churning, his head felt light. He was going to screw up and Alex would get mad and he would ignore him and-

Alex was excited. He got to dance with Jack and be so close to him. Alex could feel the warmth radiating off of his best friend. He was one of those people who loved physical contact, so he enjoyed every second of it.

"Jack, take a step forward with your left and Alex, step back with your right."

They did as told, but quickly messed up, as Jack predicted. He stepped on Alex's toe, and the brunette yelped in surprise and tripped backwards. He was thankfully still clinging to Jack, otherwise he would've fallen. Rian grimaced as Jack pulled his admirer up.

This was going to be harder than he thought.
________

It was two days before the big day, and the pair wasn't much better off then they were before.

The dancing was more embarrassing than Jack had expected. The two were just terrible dancers, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But there they were, at the last rehearsal, panicking. Well, Alex was panicking and Jack was laughing at their weak attempts at moving to the slow beat. He tried to pull himself together as Rian approached to clean up their act. He cleared his throat and glared at the giggling mess that was the best friends.

"Guys," he groaned, "two days. We have two days to get this," he gestured annoyed at Alex, who had fallen into Jack's arms, "into a dance. Just hold each other close like you do normally. Just hug and try to walk."

As it turned out, that was a terrible analogy, and the pair ended up on the floor, gasping through laughter and looking up innocently at Rian.

"Seriously?" He groaned, becoming more frustrated by the second, "I give up! Just wing it on Saturday."

And they did.
____________

On the wedding day, before noon, not much occurred.

That's if you didn't count the men's drama.

Rian was pacing back and forth so often that Jack was sure he burned a path in the floor.

Zack was doing his best to calm him down, but he was getting yelled at and ended up storming out of the room on the cusp of tears. Alex had ran after him, leaving Jack with a nervous Rian and a group of other men whose names he barely knew.

One man, who Jack thought was called Matt, was now attempting at soothing Rian. Another dude was getting dressed, another shamelessly checking Jack out. The unnamed man was attractive, but he just wasn't Alex.

Said boy came stumbling back into the room with Zack in tow. Alex sauntered over to Jack with a pout on his face. Jack pulled his best friend into a hug.

"What's wrong, Lex?" He asked, placing his chin on top of Alex's head. Alex groaned and threw his head back to look at Jack. The taller connected their gazes with an understanding nod. They had figured each other out long ago, so Jack understood that Alex was nervous and beginning to panic. He hugged the boy tighter and rubbed his back.

"Rian and Zack are upset, and we still can't dance!" He whined and buried his face into Jack's shoulder, breathing his scent in. Jack giggled as Alex's breath tickled the hair on the back of his neck. Alex playfully slapped his arm with a mumble of 'its not funny'

Before Alex could register it, Jack had pressed a small kiss to the top of his head, messing up his perfectly manicured hair.

Jack blushed right after, knowing he might've taken a step too far, and pulled away from the tight comforting embrace.

"I-oh, th-thanks..." Alex stumbled across his words. He wasn't quite sure why he was thanking Jack, it just seemed appropriate. The gesture was meant to calm him, nothing more. He was embarrassed that Jack could make him stutter like a child but the small kiss did make him noticeably more relaxed. Jack smiled sheepishly and put an arm around Alex's waist, guiding him to the doors of the church.

"May I have this dance?" He asked, procuring a rose from behind his back and taking Alex's hand in his like a gentleman. The brunette laughed loudly at the cheesiness. He would never grow tired of Jack's antics.

He nodded with a grin and took the rose, placing it in between his clenched teeth. It was Jack's turn to laugh at the elder, shaking his head in mock annoyance. Now that he had calmed Alex, he could relax and have fun with his best friend/un-admitted crush.

"Okay everyone!" Rian called out to the group as the altar boys opened the wooden door, "file into your spots and when you get there, put an arm around your lady," he commanded then glanced to the giggling pair, "Alex can be the lady."

Said boy huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting like a kid. Jack snorted and stuck his tongue out at the shorter.

Rian then signaled the group toward the doors and led them out. They lined up at the altar, each pair connected hand in hand. Except for Jack and Alex, that was.

They weren't connected by holding hands, Jack was standing directly behind Alex with his arms engulfing the boy and creating a difficulty in walking. Alex had said he was anxious before they had walked out, so one thing had led to another and here they were, goofing off on the altar.

Alex groaned and swatted at Jack's hands enough that he finally retracted them but not before playfully hitting the back of his head.

Rian was shooting them death glares sharp as daggers. Jack decided to comply, since they were in front of loads of people plus a camera that was live-streaming the entire event.

Cassadee's entire family looked disappointed that the groom had picked such immature groomsmen, but Rian's family didn't look surprised. The best friends' foolish actions were practically infamous.
_________

It was time for the dance.

Alex was shaking with nervousness but Jack had a plan. They would pull this off.

Soft music began as each man turned to their bridesmaid and held them close. Jack did the same to Alex with a whisper of assurance in his ear. Alex sighed audibly and gave up, yielding to Jack.

Jack pulled the shorter man close, who wrapped his arms around Jack's neck, like directed. Jack rested his head on Alex's as they took the first step. Right back for Alex, left forward for Jack. And they pulled it off.

They tried the next step in unison with the adjacent couples, not falling again. Alex's smiled grew with each small move they made. Even Rian stole a glance in their direction and sent a thumbs-up. Jack blushed as they finished the dance and made one last move that had Alex frozen in place.

Jack kissed Alex.

At first, Alex didn't move, but then he did and his fingers were trailing up Jack's chest as the younger brushed through his hair. Jack pulled away, since they were in public, but the taste of Alex's lips still lingered on him. They were soft and sweet, like coconut coffee. Jack didn't even like coconut but he could sure get used to that taste.

Alex's cheeks burned bright red as he turned around to see if anyone had seen. Jack's mom was staring right back at him. Alex groaned.

"Your mom saw."

"Good," he deadpanned and kissed Alex again.