Work Text:
“Aaaah, Bohmer, it’s okay, I promise you it’s gonna be okay,” Brandon says, as Alec buries his face in his neck, getting it wet with a mixture of tears and sweat from his breath. It’s less tears now since he’s basically cried out the initial “we lost. again.” feelings.
Brandon does a little laugh, patting Alec’s back, but turns it into more of a smoothing motion as Alec’s head begins to feel heavier on his shoulder. His hand moves up to Alec’s neck and his fingers are massaging into his hair a little, while his thumb rubs back and forth on his skin. Alec huffs without moving from Brandon’s shoulder. He’d been trying to catch his breath.
“That’s it, breathe through it, buddy. Is this like? Okay?”
Alec giggles a little, “yeah actually, it’s helping.”
Brandon “mmm”s and continues with his fingers, steadily.
Alec giggles again.
“Hmm?“
“Your beard.”
“What about my beard?!”
“Nothing! It’s just. Tickly.”
“Oh okay. I was gonna say, thought you liked my beard.”
Alec’s face gets hotter than it already was and Brandon can tell he froze for a moment. He feels Alec’s weight back on his shoulder.
“I didn’t mean you like-like it. Just heard you defend my whole hair situation to a few reporters…”
“Oh my god. Stop talking.”
“Now we both know I don’t even know how to do that, bro.”
Alec lets out a much fuller laugh and Brandon is beaming that he got him.
Brandon moves his hand back down to Alec’s back and pats it and Alec picks his head up and they look at each other. Brandon’s still smiling and Alec’s smiling too, shaking his head a little. But they both immediately feel the cool air in the now open space between them. They’re still holding onto each other and Brandon asks, “little better now?”
“Yeah, thanks. Just like. Exhausted now.”
“Aww, I know, bud. This shit takes a lot out of you” and he’s pulling his hands away finally, so Alec does too.
“Could we- um. This is so stupid but- god, I feel like such a little kid sometimes.”
“Bro, come on. You just wear your heart on your sleeve, it’s cool.”
“I think it’s all on your sleeve right now. Sorry about that” Alec cringes with a little smile.
“Eh, I’ll just borrow one a’yours next time.”
“Next time, Jesus. Sorry I’m such a crier.”
“Dude.”
“I know, I know.”
“Wait, what were you gonna ask me?”
“Nah, forget it, I’m okay now.”
“But what WERE you gonna ask?”
Alec rolls his eyes and gets red again “if you wanted to lay down with me. I was gonna lay down and-“
“And we can fuckin CUDDLE? Dude yes, let’s go. I’m so tired. Whose room? My room- yours is probably messy.”
“Hey!” But he knows it’s true.
* * *
They’re lying next to each other and awkwardly trying to maneuver their limbs. Brandon’s holding out his arms and Alec makes this unsure noise and holds his arms out too. So then it’s like a weird hug.
“This cannot be THAT hard. How do people cuddle?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never really-“
“Dude! Me neither. Always wanted to, come on, come here.”
Brandon pulls Alec’s entire body overtop of him and then they’re cracking up.
“I think this is how you do it.”
“Do what? Make a baby?”
“Alec, two boys can’t… do we need to have The Talk?”
“Jesus Christ, shut up” and he goes to sit up and grab a pillow to throw at him, but Brandon doubles down on his grip.
“Nope! No pillows to the face today.”
“You know I could fight you.”
“I know. But you’re also probably tired enough that I’d win, so.”
Alec sighs and just plops back down onto him, “this is actually kind of comfortable.”
“See? I’m sure this is how people do it.”
“What about like. Big spoon and little spoon?”
“I dunno, man. I don’t think we’re spoons.”
Alec yawns, “I think we could be spoons.”
“Huh.”
Alec doesn’t think about why that made Brandon stop talking because, it turns out, this was really comfortable. And Brandon’s warm body underneath him is putting his own body at ease.
Brandon hears Alec’s breathing get steady, and before he knows it, he’s asleep on top of him, once again breathing on his neck (except it’s his left side, instead of the right). Brandon likes this feeling. It’s like a weighted blanket, but like a really pretty one. He smiles at his own thought and soon is drifting off to sleep himself.
* * *
Brandon wakes up disoriented. It’s dark out, but he has no idea if that means he’s been asleep for 4 hours or an entire day. He’s also incredibly warm. Duh, Alec, cuddling. His brain is starting to work now. But what his brain hadn't yet processed was the feeling on his neck. Lips? Alec’s lips. Was Alec kissing his neck? Is he…he must still be asleep. Can people kiss in their sleep? Brandon clears his throat but the sort-of-kissing continues. If he’s being honest, it…doesn’t feel bad. Like at all. Oh but he can’t think about that. Not now. Not with Alec on top of him. He’s gonna feel his- wait. Is that…yeah that’s definitely a boner. Alec’s. Against his hip. He must be having some dream, shoot. Brandon decides he has to wake him up. God damn, it feels good, though. Okay okay okay.
“Alec” he whispers.
Nothing. Lips still moving.
Brandon inhales and tries whispering louder this time, “Alec!”
This time, Alec moans. He fucking moans and pulls Brandon closer to him.
Brandon has got to be the color of their red away jerseys. He’s gritting his teeth trying to keep his own nether regions in control, to no avail. This time has to work.
“ALEC” his voice booms and Alec shakes awake with a “huh?!”
“Time to get up, buddy” Brandon smiles, always trying to keep things copacetic.
“Noooo, not yet. How long have we been asleep? Feels like I could sleep for 10 more hours. Ugh and I was having this dream, it was so.good. I was making out with- someone? I can’t actually picture her face or like if I knew her. No, I definitely knew her. It was really good, though. Brannn why’d you wake me up?”
“It was me.”
“Yes, you woke me up.”
“No, I said it was me.”
“What was you?”
“The girl you were making out with.”
“???”
“God I could tease you about this for the rest of your life. But I’m gonna be a good friend.”
“Tease me about wha- wait. Did I- while I was asleep? Do something? What was I doing? Oh my god,” he looked mortified but Brandon couldn’t help but full body laugh.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s too funny when you get all spazzy”
“So. I didn’t do anything? You’re just being a big buttface?”
“Buttface? Alec, oh my god. No, you did actually kiss me - my neck. For a while. And I *knew* you were liking it.”
Alec’s brain is working overtime trying to put together what the fuck Brandon is saying until- “oh GOD” - he realizes it and immediately starts flailing away from him in the bed. “How many! Blankets do you! Have on here!”
“A perfectly normal amount, dude! Calm down!”
“I can’t! I was…kissing…and my dream…you…and you felt…against your-“
“Bro, it’s FINE. It actually felt really nice”
Alec looks even more confused and embarrassed.
“The kisses! On my neck. I mean, can’t say I ever felt a boner that close to mine before, but-“
“That close to…wait. Did you- do you-“
Brandon opens his mouth but closes it. He knows he needs to tread lightly when Alec is having a freak-out moment. He ends up answering with a sheepish shrug.
Instead of the swift movements he had been making to try to get out of the bed linens, Alec slowly turns his body and lays flat on his back next to Brandon.
“Are you…..?”
“My dream just came back.”
“Alright?”
“The girl had a beard. It wasn’t a girl” Alec says, talking to the ceiling.
Brandon, with a bewildered look on his face, copies Alec and lies flat on his back now. Their arms are touching, but neither make a move to change that.
“So you were making out with me.”
Brandon also speaks to the ceiling. After a few moments of silence, Alec turns to Brandon.
“Yeah. I was.”
Brandon turns, without realizing just how close their bodies are. Their noses are just about touching.
“Well it must’ve been pretty damn good.”
“Hey, I’m not the only one here who-“
“You were the one who moaned, dude.”
“I moaned?!”
“Yeah, dude.”
“Wait, is that why you-“
“Nah, it was before that.”
“Oh.”
“The kissing.”
“Right, the- that.”
Brandon sucks in a big puff of air before speaking through his exhale “soooo what do you think-“
“This all means? I don’t know.”
“Don’t you think we… I think we both kinda…”
“Feel the same way?”
Brandon looks surprised at Alec’s blatant omission, “Yeah??”
“Yeah.”
“Wait, what are you saying yeah to?”
“Marshy.”
Brandon knows that warning tone. But he ignores it anyway and playfully gasps, “Yeah to Marshy??”
“Brandon, oh my god.”
“Come on, bro, lemme have this.”
Alec sighs, but can’t help but grin, “Yes to - yeah to Marshy.”
“Yeah to Marshy,” Brandon all but whispers to himself, smiling and punching his own shoulder with pride.
Alec bites his lower lip, never before feeling so many emotions at once. Does he want to cry? Yes. Does he want to laugh? Absolutely. Is he confused? Not really, no. Huh. His face settles on a fond smile before he moves in to bury it in Brandon’s neck.
Brandon was back in brother-bear mode, reaching his arm around to lightly rub Alec’s back, “Hey, hey. You okay? I know this is kinda…kinda big, right? Like did we just-“
“Admit we like each other?” came Alec’s muffled reply.
Brandon shivers a little, either from Alec’s words or having his lips reminiscently touching the skin of his neck again. Probably both. “I like when you do that.”
“Do what?” Alec pulls away, curiously, braving to look at Brandon’s face again. “You mean, ah…your neck?”
“I’m not gonna lie, yeah I’m starting to really enjoy that.”
Alec just blushes and shakes his head.
“But I meant you finishing my sentences or thoughts. How we are. How we know each other so well? Like, we may not operate the same way, but we know each other. I really like that.”
Alec bites his lip again and smiles shyly, “I really like that too. I don’t think I’ve ever been so comfortable with someone. And in so many different situations, so many different emotional ones. I feel like I can be myself with you. I don’t really think I knew what that meant before you. Like, what “being myself” meant. And now I feel like it’s easier for me to feel that way with other people, too. You know what I mean?”
“Alec, geez. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. But you’ll make a guy cry saying all that.”
“Well, it’s the truth. You know I can’t really lie, so.”
“Uh yeah, either you blurt it out or your face says it all.”
Alec rolls his eyes, “I really wanna throw a pillow at you, but”
“But?” Brandon asks, with a lopsided grin that tells Alec he could easily finish his sentence for him.
“But…not as much as I want to…”
“What?” Brandon’s full-on grinning now, watching Alec’s face journey.
Alec closes one eye, like he’s afraid to look, afraid he’s being too cringe. “Kiss you?”
“You’re so fuckin’ cute when you blush,” Brandon rushes the words out like he was holding his breath, waiting for exactly what he knew Alec would say.
Alec grabs the left side of Brandon’s face, fingers reaching back to his hair, pulling him closer, and burying his face into his neck. It’s sort of more of a hug, though. Brandon feels lips there, again, but this time it’s one single, strong, conscious kiss with purpose.
Alec pulls back, serious, hand still cradling Brandon’s head, “Thought we could start there. Since you liked it before.”
With anybody else, Brandon would be in such a hurry to shed clothes and pounce after such a build-up. But he found himself wanting to be more considerate of Alec’s pace, in all aspects of their friendship. It didn’t feel like slowing down or holding back or waiting. It just felt right.
“Sometimes…”
“What?” Alec smirking this time, getting to be on the opposite side of this type of exchange.
“I know I talk a lot. Could talk to a wall and find something hilarious about it”
“But?” Alec smiled, more genuinely now.
“I don’t know, bro, you for-real make me speechless sometimes.”
Alec’s eyes sparkle as he grins. He can’t help it, seeing Brandon’s puppy-dog eyes whenever he gets serious about something. He pulls Brandon’s face closer again, this time pressing their foreheads together. “Marshy?” he whispers.
Brandon gulps, “Yeah, Bohmer?”
“I do like-like your beard.”
Brandon laughs in surprise, “Well that’s- that’s a good thing- because- ah- because…”
And, once again, Alec finishes Brandon’s sentence for him, this time by softly pressing his lips against his.