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Normally, Alex didn't mind being alone. In fact, he quite enjoyed some peace and quiet. But today was different. Something just felt... off. He could hear his boyfriend making breakfast in the kitchen down the hall, which was normal because Alex sucked at cooking. It was the same time Thomas would make breakfast. The weather was nice. Alex could hear the birds singing outside. The room was messy as usual.
So what was wrong?
He thought for a few minutes before glancing next to him. He only saw empty sheets that had been folded back when Thomas got out of the bed, like every morning. But there was something about the blank space that was bothering him. Part of him knew why it was bothering him, but he tried to push those thoughts away. This happened all the time. He was always the last one to wake up, and he always woke up to hear pots and pans in the kitchen. The faint smell of pancakes filled the house, which was a good sign. Thomas made the best pancakes.
Thomas.
That was what was wrong.
Alex groaned, falling back onto the pillows. He didn't want to be that one person who was clingy and always needed attention. He knew it was never a good idea to act like a puppy, especially when Thomas would be leaving for France soon. He had a business trip and would be gone for a month at the least. If he got too clingy, it would only be harder to watch him leave. It was common sense, really.
After a few minutes of debating, he sat back up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His feet met cold wood as he stood, stretching. He walked over to the dresser and tossed on a random shirt that was lying on top of it, not caring that it was a million sizes too big.
Opening the bedroom door gently, Alex walked into the hallways and heard humming from the kitchen. He recognized the voice as Thomas's, despite not hearing any words as he continued walking. Turning the corner, he saw the tall Virginian standing in front of the stove in a white t-shirt and sweatpants. There was already a few pancakes on a plate that were still steaming slightly.
Thomas clearly didn't notice the short man standing there, watching him cook. Or so, Alex thought.
"Good morning, Lexi. Sorry if I woke you, I figured I would have something ready before you got up." Alex jumped, startled at the sudden accent filling the room.
"O-oh, uh... y-you didn't wake me up, don't worry." Alex tried to mask the nervousness in his voice but failed.
"Are you alright? You seem a bit off. You haven't said anything stupid for a whole minute and a half!~" Thomas teased. Alex nodded, clearing his throat.
"I'm good, just a bit tired- HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!" Alex huffed, crossing his arms. The tall man laughed.
"Oh, nothing, darlin'. Don't worry about it." He continued spooning pancake batter onto the hot pan. "Why don't you go get dressed and washed up, breakfast will be done in a few." Alex hesitated, wanting to say something before deciding against it. He silently walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. He knew he should probably do as Thomas suggested, but he just wasn't in the mood for wearing decent clothes. He wasn't in the mood to do anything but lie down on the bed and hug Thomas and cuddle him and-
He shook his head. Don't be clingy, he thought. Being clingy was kind of like puppies running and nipping at your ankles. It's okay and kinda cute for a while but gets annoying after a few weeks. He walked back into the bedroom that he and Thomas shared and closed the door behind him, allowing himself to autopilot over to the bed and fall down on it. He didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to sleep. Which was rare, as Alexander Hamilton was known for putting work before his own needs. But his boss forced him to take a week-long break as his friends put him on house arrest.
Speaking of friends, he remembered that they would probably be coming over. They all wanted to watch a movie together, and Thomas had the best TV out of all of them. And he stocked popcorn for times like movie nights. Normally, they all pitched in one movie and they would watch each one, even if the others didn't like it. He smiled softly at the memory of the last time. Hercules had gotten frustrated at the protagonist for opening the door and threw pillows at the television as everyone tried to calm him down.
He was pulled from his thoughts by a gentle knock on the door.
"Lexi, breakfast is finished. Hurry up before it gets cold." Thomas's voice told him. Alex jumped up before sitting back down again. How much time had passed? He sighed, rubbing his temple.
"I'll be there in a sec!" He answered, hearing footsteps fade down the hall. He sighed as he stood back up again and walked out of the room to go back to the kitchen. He didn't care that he was still wearing the oversized shirt and shorts that were barely visible.
As he sat down at the table, he noticed Thomas raising an eyebrow at him.
"Alex, as cute as it is when you wear it, I must ask why you are wearing my shirt and not dressed?" Thomas asked. Alex felt his face heat up as he crossed his arms.
"I'm not going anywhere today, so there was no point in getting dressed," Alex grumbled. "Why would I waste a good outfit on a day like this?" Thomas laughed.
"Don't you want to look half-decent for when the others come over? A host should never-" He was interrupted by the phone on the counter ringing. He set the plate of pancakes down on the table and walked back into the kitchen, picking up the phone. "Sorry, babe, this is important. I'll be back in a few." He held the phone to his ear as he walked off into the hallway.
Alex watched as the Southerner left the room, feeling a sudden sense of loss. He didn't like it. He hated feeling so needy for attention around Thomas. He shook his head. He didn't need attention, and he was going to prove it.
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Thomas walked back in to see Alex sitting on the couch, watching TV. He walked over and sat next to him throwing one arm around the shorter man's shoulders. He watched as Alex jolted, quickly pulling away and sitting on the other end of the couch. Confused, Thomas didn't say anything. He just sat there and watched the television in silence.
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Alex noticed when Thomas didn't do anything. Good! That's a good thing. I don't need him to do anything. Alex tried to focus on the show in front of him, but couldn't. How could he when Thomas was only a few feet away from him? His arm was still looped over the edge of the couch. He probably could just scoot over and-
"Lexi? You alright?" The Southern accent tore him out of his thoughts. "You've just been staring at me for the last minute. I know I'm hot but damn.~" Alex immediately turned away, not saying anything. He could still see Thomas from the corner of his eye. His heart cracked just a little when he saw the confusion on his boyfriend's face. "...Alex?" He tried to ignore him, but was clearly failing miserably.
Thomas sighed. "You know, you only act like this when you're sick or something. Is that it? There's some medicine in one of the cabinets. If you aren't feeling well, you should probably head upstairs and get some rest. I'll call the others and reschedule that movie night if it's too bad." Alex froze for a second.
"I'm not sick, j-just a little tired. T-that's all." Alex answered, cursing under his breath at his stutter. Thomas raised an eyebrow, suspicious.
"You slept in by a few hours and went to bed at a reasonable time, how are you tired?" He questioned. Alex tried searching for a reasonable excuse.
"The s-sudden change in sleep s-schedule p-probably has something to d-do with it." A moment of awkward silence passed over the two of them.
"Actually, that makes sense. You only just started getting a fair amount of sleep." Thomas admitted. Alex froze up. That was all it took? He was rather shocked. But then again, Thomas had always been rather... oblivious. "...the past few days?"
"O-oh, uh, right. Yeah." Alex hadn't realized that he had zoned out, and right when Thoams was asking a question. Alex heard him sigh again.
"That isn't a good thing, you know." Alex tried to piece together what was said. He had clearly said the wrong thing. "Oh, I see. You weren't listening." Thomas chuckled.
"O-of course I-I was listening! Why w-wouldn't I-"
"Don't bother trying to lie, Alexander. Your stutter gives it all away.~" Thomas interrupted. Alex felt his face grow hot as he watched his boyfriend stand up and walk over to him, crouching in front of Alex. "What's really been bothering you? You've been acting off all morning." Alex thought for a moment, trying again to think of an excuse, but remembering that Thomas could see straight through him.
"It's nothing i-important, Thomas." He responded. Thomas raised his eyebrow in disbelief.
"It is important if it's got you all wound up and nervous."
"No, not r-really, I-it's not that b-bad."
"I never said it was bad, but now I know it is." Alex cursed under his breath yet again. He hadn't meant for Thomas to think it was worse than it actually was. He started to think of ways to change the subject but was stopped as the tall man sat next to him, pulling him into his arms. Alex yelped as he was suddenly lifted into Thomas's lap.
"What are you doing?! Put me down!" He tried to sound tough, but Thomas refused to let go. Alex sighed, knowing that any effort to escape would be worthless.
"I'm going to keep you here until you tell me, babe.~" Thomas said. Alex started to realize that the feeling in his chest was fading as he leaned into the Southerner's chest. He enjoyed the feeling of Thomas's fingers running through his hair, holding him close. He was slowly fading out when Thomas laughed.
"What's so funny?" Alex asked, looking up at him.
"You literally calmed down as soon as I picked you up. You just wanted attention, didn't you?~" The shorter man jumped, his face burning as he tried to push Thomas away.
"I DON'T NEED ATTENTION!" He whined. Thomas only laughed harder.
"Oh, I'm sorry, you're a big, strong, independent man. There's no need for me to hold you." He picked Alex p and placed him down next to him on the couch, watching as Alex scrambled to get closer to Thomas. Thomas stood up, stretching. "I guess I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day, I'll be working upstairs so don't-"
"GET YOUR TALL ASS MACK DOWN HERE!" Alex interrupted, annoyed. Thomas turned around, smirking.
"But I thought you didn't need attention?~ You said so yourself." Thomas reminded him. Alex poted, huffing as he grabbed one of the throw pillows.
"Fine. I guess I'll just not talk to you for the rest of the day to prove it." Thomas froze up.
"You wouldn't. You can't." He placed his hands on his hips. "Anyway, I'll be going. Don't bother me, okay?" Alex could tell he wasn't being serious, but that thought flew past him as he watched Thomas walking away.
"Fine. It won't be that hard." Alex mumbled, turning back to the TV.
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"Alexander, I thought I told you to not bother me."
Alex was standing in the doorway of the shared office, leaning on the doorframe.
"I know. And I'm not. You can keep working. I'm just standing here." Alex could see Thomas trying to hold back a smile.
"And distracting me while doing so." Thomas looked up from his computer as Alex walked over to him.
"Just ignore me. You've done it many times, anyway. It's not that hard."
"But that isn't what you're here for, is it?~" Thomas sat up straight, backing up. "If you wanted me to ignore you, you would have stayed downstairs." Alex stammered, trying to think of a response.
"W-well, I w-was bored! There are n-no good s-shows on the TV."
"So you came here instead of going to Netflix or Hulu? What about your friends? Shouldn't they be here soon?"
"Not until later this evening. And yes. I did." Alex huffed, walking around the desk to wrap his arms around Thomas from behind.
"Uh-huh. You know they all like to get here early." Thomas gently patted the smaller man's hands. "So you should get dressed. A host should never be wearing an oversized shirt and shorts when guests are over."
"Ugggghhhhhhhhhh do I have to?" Alex whined, leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.
"Yes. You do. Now off you go, I'll give you the attention you so desperately want after you're wearing some decent clothes." Alex opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. He let go and walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.
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"Okay, I'm dressed, now pay attention to me."
Startled, Thomas looked up from his work to see Alex standing in front of the desk.
"That was... blunt. Very straightforward." Thomas chuckled. Alex grumbled to himself for a moment.
"Shut up. Also, there was no need for me to get changed. The others just canceled." He pulled out his phone and showed Thomas the group chat. Thomas sighed.
"Still not a good idea to wear a two-day-old dirty, oversized shirt around the house. Surprise visitors happen, you know." Alex chuckled.
"It'll be their fault for showing up unannounced. But you told me you would do something if I got dressed." He reminded him.
"I did, didn't I?" Thomas stood up, walking around the desk and picking up Alex. "Are you sure that they canceled for sure? I don't want them to walk in on us." Alex's face turned red.
"W-what do you m-mean? I-I wasn't t-thinking of d-doing-"
"Oh, goodness, no! You have a one-track mind, don't you?~" Thomas laughed. "Do you really want your best friends to walk in on us curled up on the couch watching Cinderella?" Alex stammered, hiding his face.
"Y-YOU WORDED I-IT S-STRANGELY!" Thomas gasped, feigning offense.
"I did not such thing, darlin'. How could you say such a thing?" He carried Alex into the living room, dropping him on the couch and sitting next to him. Or, behind him in this case.
"You're lucky I can't reach the pillows, otherwise you'd be eating feathers." Alex grumbled. Thomas ruffled his hair, shaking his head.
"I know, I know.~" Thomas said as he pulled Alex up to his chest. Alex turned over, implanting his face into his boyfriend's chest and grumbling into it. He couldn't see, but he could hear the TV changing from a commercial to the classical music of Cinderella. He turned his head, noticing a blanket draped over him that he somehow hadn't noticed. He poked his head out of it, seeing the title screen on the TV. He sighed softly, relaxing a bit more as Thomas rubbed shapes into his lower back.
He thought he didn't need to be with Thomas to be happy. And he probably didn't. But this was perfect. This was what Alex needed.