"we are gathered here today to appreciate Regent's ass(tonishingly cute face)"

The Undersiders make a groupchat to talk about Alec.
Except, they accidentally add Alec to the chat-- and he can see everything they're saying.
Featuring: Alec's teammates simping for him, a bewildered Alec, and slice of life Undersiders who have a few more months together before any major canon events hit Brockton Bay.

Chapter 1: Chat About It

Summary:

Alec later: I've been here the wHoLe time :)

Notes:

in which alec expects the worst and is slapped in the face with the fact that his teammates LIKE him and not even in a sex way
Based on a prompt from JadeMonarch that I tried to follow faithfully. She dangled it in my enclosure and knew it would entice me.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

[You, Rachel, Taylor, Lisa & Brian have been added to a new chat!]

[Brian has changed the chat name to WHAT THE FUCK]

: Taylor
?
: Brian
can we PLEASE talk about Alec, because this shit has to stop

Alec’s faint amusement took a hard drop, a lurch so hard it made him rub his stomach actually.

: Lisa
OMG yes please FINALLY god
: Rachel
it’s not that bad
: Taylor
today? it really is

Alec stared at his phone as he sat. The big bowl of snacks he’d brought to the couch suddenly seemed not so appetizing.

Weird.

It had been a day of hanging out, from stupidly early to well past twilight and he was trying to get in a few rounds of an online game before bed.

Casting his mind back through the day, which had been pretty great all things considered-- and despite the early hour they’d started-- he couldn’t remember making any extremely off color jokes.

They hadn’t even talked about anything flirty, for fuck’s sake.

He’d spent half the morning complaining about waking up before nine just to get concert tickets, but nobody had seemed overtly bothered by it at the time.

They’d even laughed, bantered back.

: Lisa
I can’t STAND it
: Brian
Today was... especially rough

Alec stared at Lisa and Brian’s nicknames.

Hadn’t they had a good day? It was stupid but Alec couldn’t remember any of his team so much as frowning seriously.

Everyone had had a stop on the outing, Taylor’s bookstore, Lisa’s concert tickets and cafe breakfast, Brian’s minigolf, Alec’s sip and paint.

He hadn’t even asked for that, he’d looked at the storefront just a second too long and found himself being bodily drug into the place and sat down at a stool.

They’d had lunch between excursions and just randomly wandering in stores, pointing out things and teasing or laughing at each other, sometimes buying, and then dinner at home after the golf wrapped up.

Sure they spent the most time at the paint and sip but when he’d tried to leave early they just ignored him and painted increasingly silly portraits of each other while he worked on one semi-serious piece.

Alec had fallen asleep on the couch shortly after for a well-needed nap-- he was truly not an early riser and his sleep schedule reflected that-- and when he woke up his half-dried canvas had been carefully leaned against the door of his room.

He can’t recall making any remarks but he must have; unsurprisingly really, his sense of humor is warped to say the least. Even he can recognize that much.

Still, making a separate groupchat to bitch about how gross he was was a little much, right?

At least they weren’t saying that shit to his face, though he’d honestly prefer it. Whatever, everyone needed to vent a little.

Alec put a piece of popcorn in his mouth and frowned at the phone.

He was totally gonna spy the fuck out of the chat though, out of some weird and morbid curiosity.

: Lisa
the PAINTING PLACE? Who the fuck approved that

Alec sank into the cushions a little. Not his fault, he’d tried to leave thirty minutes in. Didn’t even complain when they eventually needed to get up and leave, which Lisa wouldn’t allow until he’d fully finished. Why was she complaining now?

: Lisa
god he’s so fucking cute when he focuses like that

Alec went still.

Oh, it was like that.

Okay, the groupchat made more sense now. Alec snorted at the idea. Weird to make an entire chat just to bitch about how he looked, but he could see how it would be irritating to be attracted to someone you didn’t actually want to fuck.

Or date, or whatever the kids did these days.

“Wouldn’t be the first to complain about how pretty I am.” Alec muttered under his breath.

Commiserating about how gross he was would have been one thing, but he wasn’t sure he could sit and read about how the way he looked was unfair, or made them angry. While abstractly the idea that they might like things about his appearance wasn’t bad, the reality of it made his acid reflux act up.

Still there was an ego boost to it and he was vaguely curious about who would say what.

: Rachel
very focused

What?

: Taylor
the little furrow in his brow

Alec touched his mouth, frowning. He could feel even now just the slightest-- slightest-- dip of his lips, though it felt like frowning. His face just wasn’t expressive at the best of times, much less when he was focused on something else.

: Lisa
the smallest twitch to his mouth
: Rachel
not really smiling
: Brian
but the eyes, yeah
: Lisa
THE EYES
: Rachel
nice eyes
: Taylor
And his laugh???

It seemed like a nonsequitur but the others jumped on it. What about his laugh?

: Lisa
DON'T get me started on the laugh
: Lisa
fuck. If we could bottle it we'd be rich
: Brian
the little breathy-air thing he does, not real sound but his shoulders shake
: Lisa
THE BREATHY NOT-LAUGHS!!!
: Rachel
sometimes he cackles
: Taylor
I like how happy he looks when he laughs wildly like that
: Lisa
yeah yeah the witch cackling we've all seen it
: Brian
don't dismiss the cackling, it's the best
: Lisa
better than the little chuckle he does sometimes?
: Brian
the one under his breath?
: Rachel
how can it be "under" breath
: Lisa
like this, you uncultured heathen
Alec

The video loaded to show not a scene from their day that day but one from the week before, Lisa and Alec out just shooting shit at the mall. He'd laid on a fairly gross couch in one of those animal-shelter-charity thrift stores, claiming too tired to walk anymore, as Lisa screeched and warned about all the gross stuff her power picked up from the couch's sordid past until he couldn't help laughing exactly like that.

She'd claimed the video was for the hospital when they asked what the hell he'd been exposed to.

: Brian
when he’s kinda breathing air through his nose in a scoff but it’s like four times in a row?
: Lisa
YES but obviously also when his eyes scrunch and his shoulders shake a little
: Taylor
he covers his mouth with his hand sometimes. I can’t even say i don’t like that because it’s also cute
: Lisa
CRIMINAL OFFENSE
: Lisa
let me see you giggle baby
: Lisa
I could eat anyone who hurts him, I really could
: Brian
Did you see him napping?
: Rachel
he’s cute when he naps
: Lisa
he’s cute all the time, more importantly--the fluttery snore he does when he’s napping on the couch
: Brian
retweet
: Taylor
retweet
: Rachel
what the fuck does that mean
: Taylor
it means you like it enough to share it with the world
: Rachel
oh
: Rachel
RETWEET
: Brian
because I walked by earlier and almost walked into a wall
: Lisa
loooooook it’s not your fault, we tired him out
: Lisa
so of course he needed a nap
: Lisa
it’s so fucking sweet he can sleep with us here?
: Brian
you live here though
: Lisa
And I get to see sleepy couch alec more often than all of you as a result
: Lisa
suffer, losers
: Taylor
he sleeps on the couch often?
: Rachel
when i come by in the afternoons, half the time-- napping
: Brian
he’d probably call it a siesta and insist it’s necessary
: Lisa
Alec- "It's Spanish culture to nap at 3pm every day actually, you philistine”
: Brian
completely ignoring that he’s not Spanish
: Taylor
We don’t know that. He could be half-Spanish
: Lisa
he’s not but the naps are super cute
: Lisa
god I just want to cuddle
: Lisa
imagine he just curls into you and lets you pet his hair

Alec took a strangely difficult breath. He had the strangest urge to cover his face, and when he gave in to it, realized it was warm.

He... blushing? Really?

A strangled noise left him as he reread the words.

This wasn’t thirst. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t horny? If it was, it was some strange kink that he hadn’t heard of.

He was also suddenly thinking, for the first time, about what positions he fell asleep in on the couch. Had he been laying weird? Until today he didn’t know they watched him sleep.

Who did that?

And... they liked what they saw. They liked how he talked??

He felt warm in more than just his face, guts squirming. What the hell.

Lisa quoting the little line about siestas and none of them bitching about him taking a nap or being tired, or needing to do more, or... anything. They weren’t complaining about him actually, they were... complimenting him?

Was this a sick joke?

Alec almost wanted to stop this now, text something like haha guys, you got me, let’s move on.

But they didn’t act like he could see it.

They acted like this was real.

Like... Lisa really wanted to curl up with him on the couch, just to cuddle and nothing else.

Well, why the fuck didn’t she??

The team had a kind of easy camaraderie that led to stuff like Brian putting him in a headlock the day they met Taylor properly, or bumping shoulders together.

He could do things like link arms with her and sashay their hips together on the Boardwalk, so why not just say she wanted more than that? Lisa was a thinker, she should be able to tell he’d say yes to the bizarre question.

Alec pressed a hand to his cheek almost painfully and tried not to imagine holding her in his arms. He rarely got to do shit like that.

This was the gayest shit he’d ever seen, but nothing about it was off-putting.

Well, beyond the fact that he kind of suspected the tinker fight from last week had subtly teleported him to a bizarre universe where his entire team seemed to have a crush on him, like, an innocent school-yard thing where they didn’t even want to fuck him mute.

: Brian
fuck me, the hair
: Rachel
he has good hair
: Taylor
my hair is curly too but Alec’s is... so fluffy? He takes such good care of it
: Brian
you should see him in the mornings. So many products. So much leave-in conditioner and dehumidifying
: Taylor
It’s a diffuser
: Taylor
curly hair diffuser
: Lisa
neither of you wake up with him, he’s so meticulous in looking good
: Lisa
but when he first wakes up and he's still sleepy? oh my god, genuinely heart-stoppingly cute
: Lisa
and then he puts so much work into looking like he does, and I see him in the right lighting and stare like an idiot

That... come on, no he didn’t? His hair was too curly, when he first woke up it looked like a certified rat’s nest. He had to wet it down just to brush it, or he’d poof up like a dandelion.

And he was not a morning person, so he usually stumbled around tiredly and wasn’t a person until he properly woke up.

The idea of maybe cuddling in that state was... Alec drew in a sharp breath.

At least he could roll his eyes at her exaggeration. Lisa, stare like an idiot? He’d have noticed.

: Taylor
that happened to me five times today
: Brian
six, here
: Rachel
just three for me
: Rachel
he doesn't like it when I stare, so i don't
: Lisa
couldn't be me, I need to stare
: Brian
he did the cute fluttery snore when I walked by earleir and I really did almost walk into a wall
: Lisa
omg how could I forget the snore
: Taylor
he has a cute snore!?
: Rachel
I've heard it

Alec snored?

They listened to him snore? What weirdos.

And his laugh? He barely even laughed, just-- well. Like they said. Amused huffs or scoffs or brief chuckles, when he wasn’t doing the evil witch laughter for something truly hilarious.

: Lisa
Yeah he'll like. Idk how to explain it
: Brian
It's this nasally little sound every so often and then back to being so quiet in his sleep you can't tell if he's breathing
: Brian
I always gotta check that he hasn't like. Died.

Was that why Alec was occasionally roused from a nap to Brian nearby, usually dropping a blanket over him-- his ability to fall asleep with no pillow or blanket on the couch confused his teammates, who insisted it wasn’t soft enough or comfortable enough without those things.

The whole point of a couch was that it was just fine as a short-term lounging and sleeping surface. Sure, you’d get a crick in your neck if you spent hours sleeping there, but for an hour or two?

: Taylor
well now i’m jealous, I’ve only ever seen him asleep a couple times
: Rachel
skill issue, come to the loft more
: Lisa
rachel, who taught you that
: Rachel
alec
: Lisa
ah fair moving on
: Rachel
lol
: Taylor
he looks so relaxed when he sleeps? like all... unbothered and peaceful

Alec slept better when there were other people in the loft, moving around and making the noises of living.

Brian’s next text made his gut clench, though. Was this it? Where they finally started talking about his bad attributes?

: Brian
A stark contrast to when he’s awake and being a Menace
: Lisa
he's my favorite menace tho
: Taylor
Try not to smile when he’s being annoying on purpose challenge
: Lisa
Brian win/loss rate 0 to 10000000
: Brian
at least I try, you're grinning the entire time
: Brian
Taylor's the best at not reacting but even her lips twitch after a while

What? Taylor didn’t think he was funny. It usually took so much wheedling to get even a huff from her.

: Taylor
I hate him

There, see, that was more in line with...

: Taylor
he's so cute, how am I supposed to handle that??
: Taylor
even when he's just chilling and not even trying to be Irritating On Purpose, he's just...
: Lisa
Yeah, no, we understand perfectly
: Brian
it's a problem
: Rachel
he should be in my lap
: Brian
rachel...
: Lisa
I see the vision™
: Taylor
I mean if he doesn't want to be I understand, but god
: Taylor
is it bad that I want him in my lap too?

Alec was strangely tempted to ask if they meant like, as a sex thing, but knew the moment they saw Alec is typing the entire game would be up.

: Lisa
we’re the same size but I bet he’d be so nice to have in my lap
: Lisa
also
: Lisa
like, he could do the thing
: Lisa
Taylor, you know the thing, where someone lays their CHEEK on your shoulder
: Brian
he could go limp and just be deadweight and it would still be. so fucking adorable.

Taylor and Lisa both started typing and Alec forced his eyes away from the phone. It was near midnight.

If he wanted to get the reward for his run, he had to get started. He picked up his controller and set his phone aside, but it was tempting-- very tempting-- to just watch them talk.

Notes:

No concrit please, but I enjoy hearing what you liked!!!! They are so fucking cute, alec is my favorite

Chapter 2: the coffee shop

Summary:

They go out to get hot drinks on a cold day, and Alec discovers these bold assholes will talk about him right in front of his salad.

Notes:

Edited to include more alec reactions between chatting. hopefully it's cute! this verse is pure fluff.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Alec pulled himself onto the bar stool with relief, taking the first sip of his syrupy coffee. It was cold in the bay and the comparatively warm air of the cafe was so nice.

A buzz had him pull out his phone, subtly angling it away from the others when he saw which chat it was.

What the fuck, really, right in front of him?

: Lisa
Jesus, look at how fucking adorable he is with that scarf
: Taylor
why does he dress like he just escaped off a fashion magazine, it's not fair
: Brian
his windbitten cheeks
: Brian
uncalled for
: Brian
he looks so cold??? Do you think I could offer him my jacket

Alec ducked his lower face into his scarf, hoping the slight color would be hidden by either the soft material or camouflage with the ‘windbitten’ red from the cold.

: Taylor
no he's already wearing his fancy coat, it would turn him into the pillsbury dough boy
: Rachel
from the cookie commercials? Do you think he'd giggle if i poked his stomach like that
: Brian
I wish he was that chubby, he doesn't eat enough. I'm going to go get him a pastry
: Lisa
Hang on, let me...
: Lisa
Yeah he'd best like the lemon one

Glancing up revealed Lisa blinking away from him, with a little smile as she briefly caught his eye and idly went back to her phone.

Did she really just use her power-- her extremely limited per use per day power-- to figure out what pastry he’d like best?

Brian didn’t make a big show of it, talked out loud to Taylor briefly before wandering over to the counter.

He ordered the lemon pastry.

Brian walked over and dropped it in front of him with a raised eyebrow.

“You can’t live off coffee, man, no matter how hard you try.”

“It works for Lisa.” Alec snorted, pawing the bag closer to him.

“Lisa has a weird symbiotic blood-caffeine drip. It’s probably a parahuman power at this point.”

Alec huffed a little laugh, then remembered what the others had said about it. Brian’s face didn’t really change, eyes still faintly amused, still looking like the amicable guy he was.

Then he sat down, palmed his phone like every other person in the cafe, and typed:

: Brian
FUCK jesus Lord and god
: Lisa
there, there
: Taylor
What did he say?
: Brian
he teased about Lisa's coffee addiction
: Lisa
wow rude
: Lisa
i can stop whenever I want
: Rachel
if we kissed him right now would he taste like coffee or lemon

Alec paused ever-so-slightly on his first bite. Then he finished chewing it and took a sip and wondered, for the hundredth time, why they were even talking about this.

: Taylor
aslkdfasdf
: Lisa
I hate you so much
: Brian
probably both?
: Brian
but he doesn't want kisses, it feels gross to talk about him like that

Alec tilted his head a bit.

: Lisa
UGH fine be all reasonable about it
: Taylor
I don't need kisses, I just need to run my fingers through his hair or read a book when he's lying next to me
: Taylor
what if I put my hand around his waist he's just. Soft and relaxed and cozy
: Lisa
cozy Alec is illegal actually
: Lisa
I'm still not over the scarf???
: Rachel
I could keep him warm
: Rachel
he doesn't need the scarf
: Brian
should I go get another pastry? He's almost done with that one
: Brian
and he needs to eat more

If Alec explained that there’s a whole kink for feeding people, Brian’s head would probably explode. Also, he ate plenty, he was just naturally slim and lived a fairly exercise-heavy life.

: Rachel
he can lay out on one of those long couch chairs and i’ll feed him grapes
: Lisa
LMAO like the emperor? on a chaise?
: Rachel
sure, whatever
: Taylor
we can’t let him get bored, though, i mean he likes naps and that's one thing, but how can we keep him close when he’s awake?
: Lisa
yeah he needs novelty
: Lisa
can't have him understimulated
: Lisa
maybe new games for his handheld console? the gameboy?
: Brian
help i just imagined him in my lap playing it
: Brian
i get to put my face in his hair and he gets his little game
: Rachel
oof
: Rachel
stupid

Alec’s thumb hesitated where he scrolled down to keep up with their conversation.

Brian? Brian wanted Alec in his lap?

... Really?

Alec’s been in his share of laps before, and most of them were people bigger than him by sheer advent of age. It was never a good thing, and he’s not so small anymore, thank god.

But he’d feel small in Brian’s arms.

Maybe... not in a bad way? If he was really just pulled in like that, as though for a cuddle instead of a fuck, and they were dressed.

Brian liked to play-fight with him, and that was always fun, full of laughter and a completely unfamiliar sweetness-- it never really hurt , even when Brian manhandled him-- so maybe being pulled into his lap would be more of that.

Especially if Brian wanted him to have his gameboy during it, implying he wanted to just... stay like that. For a while.

Alec didn’t really know what to think of that. He kind of wanted to try it. Like a hug that lasted hours and he could game.

Who thought of that kind of shit!?

The groupchat had moved on to talking about his face when he’s playing video games again, a favorite. Apparently it was similar yet distinct from the way he concentrated when painting, or when choosing something to watch.

: Brian
that thing where he pokes his tongue out a little and doesn’t realize it
: Brian
when he’s really concentrating

That wasn’t a thing. Alec didn’t do that.

: Lisa
I almost dropped my latte the last time I walked in on him doing that
: Lisa
then the little cheer when he won the game!!! my heart
: Lisa
his face is like -_- neutral
: Lisa
but his eyes sparkle when he's happy

Okay now that really wasn’t a thing. Alec was aware his resting face was unaffected by default, years of emotional master fuckery just... numbing his ability to feel most things.

He knew it came off as ‘unnatural’, that his expression was so flat, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it besides emote more loudly when he wanted to really emphasize something was funny, fucked up, whatever.

It was just a lot of work to exaggerate his expressions that way, and he didn’t always bother.

: Rachel
fuck you I love his face
: Brian
he does look like a model. with his face.
: Brian
the "unaffected" expression
: Taylor
but he is so expressive? Sure he doesn’t make a LOT of changes to his face but the changes that are there are so obvious
: Taylor
the slight crinkle around his eyes when he’s happy, the tinniest twitch of his mouth downward when he’s sad, the eye rolls, the twitching eyebrows
: Lisa
the blink-and-you-miss-it scrunch of his nose when he thinks something’s gross
: Brian
sometimes he smiles very slightly, like he doesn't realize he’s doing it, a lazy little curl of amusement to his voice
: Brian
god I want to make him laugh

Alec blinked at his phone. They paid that much attention to his face? Sure he was ‘pretty’ or whatever but this went beyond simple aesthetic appreciation.

He was half-convinced they were making up some of the details, it seemed like a lot and he didn’t notice any of it in the mirror.

Something warm curled through him at the I want to make him laugh .

Fuck, they were so embarassing? Were they not embarrassed to type this shit out?

Taylor called him expressive .

That was... that wasn’t true but the fact that she believed it enough to come up with ‘evidence’ was... sweet. Or something.

Alec felt the strangest urge to cover his face, though he was barely even affected. He didn’t blush easy, or perhaps his pallor hid the worst of it.

It didn’t help that apparently he could just grab one of these assholes and pull them over, hug them, hide his face in their neck, and instead of being weirded out they’d just keysmash silently to the others.

: Brian
wait, are we ignoring him?
: Lisa
no he's playing on his phone
: Lisa
probably watching dumb videos

Usually he would be, with the sound off because he’s a super villain not a miscreant, but his new favorite app is the one where they’re all talking about him.

He’s tried to figure out the actual reason for the chat, but they’re always talking about him.

: Taylor
he sometimes tilts his phone towards me and pulls up cute animal videos
: Taylor
like i don’t even ask, but if i’m nearby he’ll offer
: Taylor
I love it
: Rachel
me too
: Lisa
I've gotten a few

They noticed that? It was just what felt natural, if someone sat next to him, it would be rude not to pay attention to them... and it made the girls smile and giggle and sometimes lean on him, or lean over his shoulder to watch.

: Brian
...
: Brian
🥺
: Brian
he doesn't do that with me, what the hell
: Taylor
maybe he doesn't think you'll like them?
: Brian
is it because of me? :(
: Brian
do I put off "doesn't like cute videos" vibes
: Brian
do I put of "doesn't like to cuddle" vibes!?
: Lisa
well...
: Brian
gah!
: Rachel
I can tell you like to cuddle Brian
: Brian
thank you!
: Taylor
you were a little intimidating when i first got to know you
: Taylor
just, absolutely jacked
: Taylor
to say nothing of the Grue persona
: Taylor
it didn’t exactly feel like I could scooch in next to you on a couch and cuddle up
: Brian
well yeah but we didn't know each other then
: Brian
that's different

For the first time, Alec discovered a pretty significant downside to the chat spying thing. He got halfway down to the input text bar before realizing what he was doing.

It was hard not to say something, when he could see exactly where his witty quip would go, blending in to the ebb and flow of the group dynamic and conversation like he belonged.

It was startling and made him go completely still. Something about that just...

The words from before followed him, about how clever and funny they thought he was, how they found his input welcome and nice. It was the kind of thing everyone hoped their friends thought about them but never expected to outright hear in so many words.

: Lisa
He's jacked but he's so good to lay on
: Rachel
we could all four fit onto his lap probably
: Lisa
I mean... probably not but we could try
: Rachel
I can make us fit
: Brian
intimidating
: Rachel
>:)
: Lisa
brb I can't handle it anymore

Alec thumbed away from the chat as she came over, sitting down next to him with a dramatic sigh.

“I need a coffee.” Lisa said.

“You’re holding a coffee.”

“It’s not enough.” She pooled her arms on the table and sighed again. “I need Coffee 2. Extreme coffee. A genetically engineered super-molecule that’s more potent than caffeine.”

“Mmn, pretty sure you’re just describing coke.”

“Urhg. Pass.”

Normally he’d just laugh at her but... hm.

Alec reached over and touched her hair, fingers drifting along her roots.

“There, there. I’m sure some tinker will make you a Coffee 2. Beard-asser is probably making it his life’s work as we speak.”

“2/10, not your best work.” Lisa’s voice took on a bit of a grin.

“Eh. They can’t all be masterpieces.” He increased the pressure and Lisa exhaled with pleasure.

Glancing up saw Brian and Taylor casually chatting, just outside of hearing range at the table next to them, and Rachel watching them outright.

They were still on their phones. He wondered what the chat would say about this and bit the inside of his cheek.

Someone entering the cafe sent a waft of chilly air at them and Lisa shivered a little. Alec frowned.

“Ugh, we have to go back out there to get home.” She complained.

“You need to dress warmer.” She was wearing a long pea coat with a turtleneck underneath, but it stopped an inch or so below her chin.

“These pants are so comfffyyyy though.” Lisa whined.

“Your practically transparent leggings? Putting on fuzzy ugg boots doesn’t actually make your legs warm, they only come up to your lower calf.”

“They’re not transparent, they’re the thick warming kind that go on under regular clothes.” Lisa blew her cheeks out, pouting like a hamster.

“But you’re not wearing them under real pants. You’re just white girl-ing it up in leggings and a coat.”

“I make it work, though.”

“Pumpkin spice chic.” Alec agreed. “Great for the fall, not so much the winter. Stupid.”

He unwound his scarf and draped it over her, quirking a smile when she lifted her head.

“You’re going to catch a cold.” He moved her hair in and out of the way, putting it on properly. “In Canada you’d be a literal ice cicle by now.”

“I forgot this is mild weather to you.” Lisa said, muffled by the fabric as he looped it around her head again, covering her lower face. She laughed, pushing at him.

“Yeah, you big bunch of babies.” Alec adjusted her jacket lapels to tuck the excess scarf ends into. “It’s what, 27 out?”

“It’s not like we were planning to go ice skating or anything.” Lisa reached up and did some adjusting of her own, pulling her hair out where it’d gotten caught. “We were planning to mostly be inside.”

“We walked.” Alec was unimpressed. “Maybe if we took the van, I’d give you more credit.”

“What about you?” Lisa tucked hair behind her ear.

“What about me?”

“You’ll get cold. Your face.”

Alec shrugged.

“Like you said, this is ‘mild’ weather for me.”

“Maybe when you first moved here, but surely you’re acclimated by now.” She worried her lip briefly with her teeth.

Alec looked at the others, all finished with their food.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re headed home after this, right? And at least I’ve got pants on.” He stood and offered her a hand.

Hers were little and cold. Not much smaller than his but they felt dainty, maybe because of the cute polish, or maybe because Lisa was pint-sized in general.

“You’re not wearing gloves, either.” Alec said, flatly. “I’m telling Brian.”

“Noooo.”

“Too late, he’s gotta know.” Alec pulled his own gloves out of the pocket of his coat. “You want one of mine? We could match. Stick your cold hand in your pocket, used the gloved one to do hand stuff.”

“Pff, hand stuff. Pretty sure that’s a porn category.”

Alec barked a laugh, surprised. He bumped his shoulder with hers as they approached the others.

“Here.” He lifted Lisa’s hand up and tugged it on. You wouldn’t think much tugging would be necessary, but putting a glove on someone else was surprisingly finicky.

Her cheeks were dusted a little pink. Alec abruptly remembered that they had some sort of... weird focus on the smallest things he did. It didn’t seem negative so he should probably just forget it, or enjoy being... appreciated?

He dropped her safely-gloved hand, then picked up the naked one with his own, tangling their fingers together.

“Warmer.” He explained.

“It’d probably be warmer to stick the bare hand in a coat pocket.” Rachel said dubiously, earning a quick glare from Lisa.

“If she doesn’t want to hold my hand, she can say that.” Alec rolled half a shoulder in a not-quite-shrug, unbothered. Lisa did not let go of his hand.

“Do you reprobates want to actually go home for movie night, or have you melted into your chairs from the central heating?” Lisa turned her nose up at them, haughty.

Brian climbed out of his first, until suddenly he was standing so much taller than any of them.

Alec got the strangest urge to lean against him, a little, like bumping shoulders but longer. What could they even do, standing up?

Maybe he’d try it out when they were all settled around the TV later.

“Movie afternoon, more like.” Brian stretched, donning his own gloves.

They were black and leather and pulled so smoothly onto his big hands.

“We can find something else to do if you really don’t want to start until later.” Taylor said, standing too. Brian offered her a hand, ever the gentleman, and then Rachel as well when it was her turn.

He put a casual arm around the redhead, not seeming to think anything about it. Rachel was wearing a worker’s jacket, thick and brown and made of that uncomfortable canvas, though surely the inside was lined with something soft.

Car-heart, he thought the brand was. It certainly worked for her, though her jeans-- equally as thick and stiff, not like the feminine cut like Taylor’s had-- probably weren’t the warmest.

Taylor had gloves, but she was also the only one not... included, physically, and he saw Brian realize it at the same time Alec did.

Maybe Brian could put his other arm around her?

“Hey.” Alec said, offering his gloved hand.

Brian and Rachel and Taylor couldn’t walk three abreast, they’d look ridiculous. Especially if he had both arms out like he was T-posing, regardless of the pretty girls under them, and the position would get ridiculous fast.

Taylor blinked at him a moment before shyly stepping up to take it.

“You need four hands, so me and Brian aren’t left out.” Rachel complained. “Go find a cape that can make it happen.”

“That would look ridiculous.” Alec said. “You can just take turns.”

“But my hand will get cold.” Lisa put in, bottom lip glistening.

“Yeah, her hand will get cold.” Rachel frowned.

“She can hold my hand.” Brian said, seriously. “When it’s not her turn.”

What were they even talking about? This was so silly. Alec’s lips twitched fighting a small grin.

“What about when it’s Brian’s turn? Who will hold Lisa’s hand then?” Taylor said, as though it was a legitimate and deeply important matter they had to resolve immediately.

Alec’s default response, that Brian didn’t want to hold his hand, got caught in his throat.

‘Do I put off ‘doesn’t like to cuddle’ vibes?’

“Me.” Rachel said, no-nonsense. “I’ll keep you warm.”

“My hero.” Lisa mock-swooned.

“Hey, now.” Alec said. “I’m the one who started this. And I’m giving turns to the rest of you out of the kindness of my heart.”

“You're right.” Lisa said, eyebrow kicking up in challenge. “Alec is the one who deserves praise, y’all.”

“Such a heroic sacrifice, holding Lisa’s hand.” Brian said, holding back a grin.

“Real Protectorate material.” Taylor said. “Thanks for giving me your other hand, Valiant.”

“Valiant?” Alec sputtered. “C’mon, what?”

Taylor shrugged. “They like to pick out heroic attributes and make them hero names.”

“We can workshop it.” Brian said. “But she’s right. Gallant, Dauntless--”

“Celibate.” Alec put in, amused.

Brian paused, almost like he wanted to frown, before shaking it off. “-- Triumph, Resolute--”

“Who do you know that’s named ‘Resolute?’” Lisa asked, before Alec could.

“New cape in hmm New York, I think it was. I saw an article last week, but i could be remembering it wrong. I try to keep up with cape news, but I don’t memorize everything.”

“It was in Philadelphia,” Taylor said, not missing a beat. “New York has so many capes coming in and out of the scene that they barely bother to report them anymore unless they do something significant.”

Alec squeezed her fingers lightly, offering her a smile when she glanced over. She flushed, tucking her chin.

Oh, come on.

Had they always been like this? Did he just not notice?

Then again, her reaction coincided with their little group making their way back into the chilly street, so it could have just been her being cold.

That even made more sense and yet he was sure he’d find written proof later that it wasn’t true.

Alec was, politely, a little baffled.

“So,” Lisa said, with the tone of a Thinker 7 about to knowingly drop a bomb into their midsts. “What are we watching for movie night?”

Rachel and Brian immediately started to argue, and Alec shook his head, lips twitching. Lisa squeezed his hand.

The walk home seemed to almost fly by.

This fic has been converted for free using AOYeet!

Notes:

concrit no, praise yes please. love to hear what you like.
Also i'm lowkey stressed about the chatfic formatting so if you like it please let me know, it will help me be less anxious about doing something so new and daring!

Chapter 3: THE GREAT TAMPON HEIST

Summary:

Taylor tries to text Lisa for a tampon and a change of clothes, gets Alec instead. He's really cute about it.
(Or: Alec goes to Winslow. On a mission!)

Notes:

THE GREAT TAMPON HEIST. This is probably my favorite alec and taylor interaction i've ever written, I almost want it to be it's own fic. Also, it's a 1v1 text so Alec gets to text back!!! It's part of this fic continuity but the great tampon heist can truly stand alone if needed.

Chapter Text

Not-Skitter

Taylor: Lisa sorry

Taylor: i’m so sorry to ask I’m stuck i need help please

Taylor: this is so dumb sorry

Alec paused, double checking he had his phone and not Lisa’s. Nope, hers was still purple.

He ignored the game over scene in the background.

Not-Skitter

Alec: hey calm down it’s okay what do you need?

Taylor: clothes

Taylor: and a tampon

Taylor: I keep some in my room at the loft

Oh, good, that kind of emergency. She wasn’t being held hostage by nazis, or needed help hiding a body, or anything.

Alec got up from the couch and walked into Taylor’s room curiously. She didn’t have a lot of personal touches inside, and he gave the massive glass cage a wide berth.

He secured several tampons out of the box in her dresser, a pair of plain cotton panties, a pair of jeans and an extra shirt. Probably wouldn’t need the shirt, but who knows.

Not-Skitter

Alec: okay, on my way

He did consider for a few minutes what it might be like on her end and rummaged around to find some other things that might help: a pack of wet wipes, some ziplocks, and a small handbag in case she didn’t have anything to put her clothes into, that kinda stuff.

Not-Skitter

Alec: you’re at school right?

Taylor: yes I’m stuck in the bathroom thanks so much

Taylor: sorry again

Taylor: let me know when you’re close i’ll guide you in with flies

Ah, that was going to be a problem. Taylor’s initial range was further than his, though he could pilot a thrall a lot further out once he had control.

He waffled for a moment on the bus, thumbs hesitating a little. She’d be expecting Lisa. Better to break the news now or wait until she got an unpleasant surprise when he showed up in her bug sense?

Eh.

She was already having an apparently shitty day.

Also, pissing off an already distraught Taylor was a great way to become covered in bees.

Not-Skitter

Alec: don’t worry, dork, i can sense you as soon as I step into the building

Alec: Winslow’s not that big

The dots indicating she was typing appeared and disappeared several times.

Not-Skitter

Taylor: you’re not Lisa :(

Alec: fraid not, lovebug

Alec: I do have the goods though

Taylor: this is embarrassing

Alec: not really, though I can see why you feel that way

Taylor: today sucks

Alec: you’re not bugging me

Taylor: ?

Alec: although i understand if you’re mad as a hornet

Alec: since you meant to text Lisa

Alec: and this is none of my beeswax

Taylor: are you

Taylor: are you making puns right now

Alec: maybe

Alec: i’m making a beeline to your school, that’s for sure

Taylor: pfft

Taylor: that’s so lame

Alec: tell me to buzz off if you really hate it :)

Taylor: how many more of these do you have

Alec: I can always find more

Alec: now that i’ve opened this can of worms

Taylor: i sound like a lunatic giggling in this bathroom by myself

Alec: naw everyone takes their phone into the stalls with them these days

Alec: watching funny videos or reading stupid reddit posts is the new normal

Taylor: I’m lucky nobody is in here to hear me

Taylor: it’s a bathroom nobody uses

Alec: are those little bitches giving you problems?

Alec: I could make a pit stop and make them trip

Alec: maybe slap themselves

Taylor: no just come to me please

Taylor: the sooner the better

Alec: okay, the bus is getting closer

Alec: you should be able to pick me up soon, we’re almost in your range

Alec: maybe 10 more minutes

Taylor: i hate this

Alec: it’s okay, it happens

Taylor: not to me

Taylor: i’m always prepared

Alec: early?

Taylor: no, Emma stole my backpack

Taylor: dropped it out of the 3rd story window

Taylor: I could get it with bugs but they’d see

Taylor: she did it right before lunch when she KNEW I’d need it

Alec: whore

Alec: you sure I can’t terrify her?

Taylor: you can’t

Alec: because I’ve seen some *incredible * examples of breaking someone

Alec: I try not to emulate that shit but the skills are there

Taylor: she’s not worth it

Alec: i think she might be

Alec: if anyone deserves dear old dad’s particular brand of cruelty, it’s someone who caused a trigger

Taylor: you wouldn’t want to do heartbreaker shit

Taylor: it would... I know you work hard to distance yourself from all of that. Don’t put it back in your life on my account

Alec: dad used to try and trigger us. Special tests. That kind of thing.

Alec: it takes a real sick bitch to come up with Vasil style tactics all on her own

Taylor: she’s not worth it

Taylor: i see you

Alec put his phone away as a trio of flies suddenly stopped mid air and dropped in front of his face. He held out his hand in a little wave, not sure if she could see it, and one landed on the back of his hand.

It walked in a complete circle before landing back in the middle and walking out in a line.

Soon the bus stopped a block away from the school and Alec got out, inconspicuous bag in hand. His feet carried him to the shithole of a building and once more Alec wondered why Taylor didn’t just leave all this behind her.

It was lunch time, or something, because there were a lot of teenagers about. Alec didn’t even garner a second look as he strolled through the place as though he belonged there.

The fly moved on his hand, giving him directional cues like a mini-map on his HUD, which was cute-- but unnecessary, since, as he said, he could feel her the moment he got close enough.

He twitched her hand a couple times, rhythmically, every three seconds exactly. The panic and stress radiating off of her was higher than he’d felt, which was saying something since they regularly did shit together like heists and cape fights.

It’s surprising, that she’s more stressed at school than fighting Hookwolf, right up until you realized she triggered here.

Alec took the stairs two at a time and rapped on the door with his knuckles before shouldering it open.

“Hey, love, the calvary’s here.”

“I don’t see Brian anywhere.” Taylor’s wobbly voice came from the stall at the far end.

“Ha, ha. You think he’d come in a girl’s bathroom? Well, maybe for Aisha. I wonder if he’s ever bought her tampons. He’s the kinda guy to be weird about it.”

“I’m sure he’d do it.” She said quietly.

Alec walked over and set the bag on the floor, scooting it under with his foot.

“Yeah, but can you imagine? He’d square his shoulders like a man going to war. Make a huge deal out of it. Maybe panic a little at the pad aisle at the store.”

She laughed a little, which was a win.

Alec retreated to the hand-washing station and hopped up, perching between two sinks, legs dangling.

“Aisha, what size pussy you got? Super? Maximum?”

“Those aren’t sizes, they’re absorption rates.”

“I know that, but Brian doesn’t.” Alec looked around the room, finding it depressingly dim, dingy and old.

“Oh, you brought stuff. Thanks.”

“I have a lot of sisters.” Alec shrugged. “And grew up around a lot of women, I guess, though that’s... an understatement.”

“Yeah, yikes.” Taylor agreed. “Still, the ibuprofen is a nice touch.”

“There’s a soda under there to take it with. And a chocolate bar for later. Some wet wipes in case blood got everywhere.”

“Alec. You’re not supposed to talk about it.” She whined.

“Why not?” He blinked. “Taylor, I can literally feel your cramps.”

She blushed, embarrassment surging.

“Don’t look.”

“My power doesn’t turn off any more than yours does.” He said, amused now. “Don’t be embarrassed, bodies are weird and gross. That’s just how they are.”

“You don’t have to pay attention.” She said, under her breath, which he heard loud and clearly because he was in fact paying attention to her mouth moving and ears picking it up.

“Fine, I’ll spy on your schoolmates. Well, except this floor is deserted. Nice choice in hiding spots.”

“Thanks, it’s only like this during lunch. After that it’s the most popular bathroom for skipping class.”

“Which you should do.” Alec said, immediately. “Fuck this place. Fuck dealing with it and cramps, and those little bitches teasing you about changing clothes.”

“Tempting.” Taylor said. “Seriously, don’t ‘look’ for a second.”

“You’ve literally stitched me up before, I’m not going to get squeamish about feeling you put a tampon in.”

“Alec!”

“Fine, I’m not looking! Toss me your old clothes and I’ll rinse them for you.”

“No! You’re not doing that either!”

“What? Why?” It was kind of gross but not more so than washing blood out of their costumes, which they did distressingly often. Also, he’d rather deal with blood than piss or puke any day.

“It’s gross! I can do it. Just... give me a minute. And don’t look when I come out.”

“It’s clothes.” Alec said, surprised. “It’s just a bundle of clothes you’re gonna rinse off and shove in a ziplock. There’s no secret here.”

“Shut up.” Taylor snapped, sounding pissy. Her cramps hurt pretty bad so he decided she might just be mad at everything. Plus, bleeding through during a school day had to suck.

Taylor shuffled out of the stall holding the bag of supplies in one hand and her pants in the other. She had even gone so far as to ball up her underwear and hide it in the denim.

She hissed at him and he closed his eyes.

“Alright, fine, Jesus. The calvary is silent and blind.”

“You can talk, just... keep your eyes shut.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He rolled them behind his lids and heard the tap next to him click on.

“So, wanna go get some lunch? It’s just about over, right?” It had been a while since her original text.

“Yeah. And sure, we can skip. I shouldn’t make a habit of it but one time can’t hurt...”

“Nice, my treat. Then you can camp out on the couch and I can make your uterus stop doing that intense muscle cramp thing.”

“What?”

“I can control organs. Not to like, stop somebody’s heart or something, but if I can make someone puke or shit themselves, I can make your uterus stop clamping quite so hard. It cuts off blood flow, causes cramps.”

“You can stop period cramps?”

“Eh, maybe? I can for sure make them hurt less.” Alec waved his hand in a so-so motion.

“I’m going to spend the rest of the week in your lap. Well, not in your lap lap, that’s... you know. Weird. Because of the...”

“It’s not weird because of the blood. If you bleed through, you bleed through, and we both change our clothes and take a shower. Speaking of, wet wipes are good but you probably want one.”

“Yeah.” Taylor said tiredly, pumping more soap into her hands to try to work the stains out. “Thanks again for the wipes. I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

“Few things I hate more than blood in my pubes.” Alec said, only to oof and laugh as she shoved his shoulder hard. “What, it’s true? It congeals and it sucks and it’s the worst.”

“It really is.” Taylor admitted. “Okay, that’s about as good as it’s gonna get. You said there’s ziplocks?”

“Yep. Wasn’t sure if you’d rather trash the entire ensemble or if you were particularly attached to those panties.”

“Oh, god, you had to go through my underwear drawer.”

“Yes?”

“Perve.” Her voice was a bit teasing.

“What?” Alec opened his eyes to look at her. “What do I care about what kind of underwear you’ve got lying around? They’re just clothes. It’s only sexy if you’re actively wearing it.”

Taylor went pink again.

“I don’t get hard walking through the clothing section at walmart, either.” He rolled his eyes. “What kind of weirdo do you take me for?”

“There’s a trope in movies and books where a boy will go through a girl’s underwear drawer and be pervy about her thongs and stuff.”

“You don’t wear thongs, though? You wear, like, fruit of the loom bikini cuts.”

“Thanks.” Taylor said dryly.

“It’s not a bad thing, Jesus.” Alec frowned, still bewildered. “Who cares what kind of underwear you wear? I mean, sometimes it’s to put on a show or whatever, but that’s only for a few minutes and then you’re naked anyway.”

“Thank you, Alec, that’s enough talk about my underwear.” She shoved the cleaner panties and jeans into a gallon sized bag and shut it before dropping it to the bottom of her tote.

“I guess.” He shrugged. “Let’s go straight to the loft, then, if you want a shower. We can order in.”

“That sounds... really nice.” Taylor ducked her head.

Alec hopped off the sinks and bumped their shoulders together.

“Tampon heist: success.”

“You didn’t steal anything.”

“Tampon reverse-heist: success.”

She laughed through her nose and he grinned.

“Now, for the even more harrowing task for our heroes: to exfiltrate the school.” He waggled his eyebrows and she laughed harder, shoving him. “How will we ever escape under the infallible attentions of your normie teachers?”

“Alec.” Taylor smiled.

“I know. We’ll use our dastardly parahuman extra-sensory powers for evil.”

“I have bugs in the hall already, we can just walk out.”

“No sense of adventure.” Alec sighed. “We need to duck into empty classrooms, hide in the stairwell, run when your gym coach’s back is turned.”

“Or we could just walk out.” She repeated.

“This is my first time in a high school, Tay, you’re supposed to show me around.”

“Gah, I’m so jealous. Really, never?”

“Nope.” Alec popped his lips.

They did in fact walk right out. It was embarrassingly easy. The only spot of excitement was Taylor flying a wasp near a secretary’s face to distract her for a moment as they approached the front doors.

“Yet another operation successfully executed by the crack team of--”

Taylor’s hand covered his mouth, almost dainty with it.

“Most of their cameras don’t work but let’s not announce names.” She said, apologetically.

“I could have been about to say Alec and Taylor.”

“Were you?” A dark brow raised.

“No, I was going to say the other thing.” He admitted. “Alright. One more important matter to handle on the way home.”

She glanced over at him.

“If we order on the bus the food will beat us there, so let’s decide now. Chinese or Indian? We haven’t tried that new takeaway place down on 5th street.”

Chapter 4 Notes:

the tampon heist: part 2
JK it just picks up where the tampon heist left off. so does the next chapter btw it's just not done yet. enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

They ended up getting Indian which did, in fact, beat them to the loft by a few minutes. It was still warm as they walked into the door and dropped all their stuff down.

“So, hot food or hot shower? You can have hot food now and a hot shower later, but you can’t have a hot shower now and hot food later, it’ll be cold.”

“Easy choice, then.” Taylor flopped down onto the couch and immediately realized her mistake as the take out was now out of reach on the coffee table.

Alec laughed at her.

“Budge over, I’ll make you a plate.”

“You don’t have to... take care of me like this.” She said in a grumbley voice.

Her normally cascading mane of curls was restrained to a lazy ponytail and she was in a big fluffy hoodie-- one of Rachel’s.

“Shut up.” Alec left the chicken and rice alone to kneel on the cushion next to her.

“What’re you--” Taylor yelped as his hand slid under her jacket and shirt, settling cold on her belly. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh .” Alec rolled his eyes as he flexed control of her, getting a good read on her leg nerves and arm nerves before meeting in the middle.

Organs were finicky if he wasn’t completely possessing someone, but this wasn’t hard.

“It’s muscle contractions. Half my power is muscle contractions.” Alec said easily. “Just gotta cause less contractions. This okay?”

Belatedly he realized she might not want him touching her to do it but he’d honestly never met a woman who wouldn’t trade a copped feel for instant pain relief in this situation.

“Yeah.” Taylor slumped against him, forehead clammy on his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“The ibuprofen will kick in soon.” Alec said, nonchalant. “Food is good for that, too, you know ibuprofen will kick your ass if you don’t eat with it.”

“Blegh.” Taylor sat up slightly. “Okay but stay? Your hand feels... nice.”

Alec grinned a little.

“Yeah, I can stay. But I’m not letting the food get cold.” He hooked an ankle around the coffee table and pulled it closer so he could fuck around distributing boxes of food and forks with one hand.

Taylor of course was not hindered in the slightest and had both her hands free. While Alec proved to be hand-eye coordinated just by using one fork to stab into a white carton of meat and rice without holding on to it.

Putting it between his legs helped a little.

“You could feed me.” Alec suggested. “Since I’m unarmed.”

A wiggle of his fingers against her to indicate the ‘arm down’ in question and she giggled, ticklish. Then looked horrified to have done so.

“You’re doing fine on your own.” Taylor said. “But since you’re down an arm from helping me and already rearranging my guts, you can borrow one of-- what?”

Alec had choked violently .

He waved her off.

“That’s a-- that’s a sex thing. Don’t say it like that.” He coughed, taking a huge drink of water.

“What is?” Wary Taylor.

“ Rearranging your guts .” He explained, recovering. “Jesus. Think about the other ways someone might need to be inside you to accomplish that.”

“Oh... thanks, I guess.” Taylor scrunched in on herself, which he felt because her stomach moved. He rubbed the area consolingly.

“It’s fine, just took me off guard. You didn’t know it was slang for a disrespectful fuck.”

Taylor snorted her water.

“God, you didn’t have to get me back. Why’s it gotta be disrespectful?”

“Well, the idea is you’re moving someone’s insides around with your dick. There’s not usually a polite way to do it.”

Taylor wheezed a little.

“ Polite sex, jeeze. Pfft. Also, gahhhh I can’t talk about sex with you.” She whined and covered her face.

“You can.” Alec said, amused. “What, I can literally be inside you but talking about sex is too much?”

He had a hundred thousand hangups about fucking but talking about it wasn’t one. Not in the theoretical, at least.

“Don’t say it like that.” Taylor complained.

Alec pointedly twitched everything he could reach in there. Stomach, large intestine, kidneys--

Taylor squirmed.

“Okay, fine, I get it, you’re in there. Stoppit.” She held her breath, cheeks blowing out in an almost-pout. “And here I was going to offer for you to use one of my arms to eat.”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Alec laughed. “But thanks for offering to lend me a hand .”

“You’re the worst.” Taylor complained. “Today sucks.”

“Does it still? I should try harder.” Alec shifted to get a little more comfortable. He was sitting normally on the couch, Taylor half-pressed against his side with his arm around her and palm against her belly.

She finally seemed relax.

“If you try any harder you’ll strain something.” She said tiredly. “And... thanks again.”

“If you fall asleep you can’t take a shower.” He reminded her. Taylor kept her eyes closed stubbornly.

“Can too.” She said nonsensically under her breath, contrary just to be contrary.

“I’m not helping you with that, bug, you’d never let me live it down. If you want somebody to wash your hair, you’ll have to ask Lisa.”

Or Rachel, who was used to bathing unruly long-haired creatures, but comparing Taylor to a dog was a great way to get his ass beat.

“But your hair is curly too.” She said, still with that hint of whine. “You know how to wash it.”

“True.” Alec said, amused despite himself. “Do you want me to wash your hair, Taylor? You’d have to be naked for it.”

“Bleh.”

Alec tried so hard not to laugh and ended up shaking with it.

She was in such a cute mood, draped over him like this. Miserable and not-quite-in-pain anymore but wanting comfort.

“Will you be naked too?” She asked, almost entirely asleep before jerking, a bit of panic running through her nerves. “Fuck, nevermind, I did not just say that.”

“You didn’t.” Alec agreed, trying to stop smiling so much before he got smacked.

“Shut up forever.” Taylor blushed hard and hid her face in his shoulder.

He ended up turning and pressing his mouth to her temple in an almost kiss.

“You’re so much taller than me, look at you like this.” Alec mused. “Do you like the cessation of cramps or am I just a really good pillow?”

“Both, but don’t let it go to your head.” Taylor sighed. “I think the ibuprofen has kicked in enough that I can stand up long enough to take a shower, now.”

Tellingly she made no move to get up.

“Afraid if you move my hand you’ll get more cramps?”

She nodded.

“I don’t need to be touching you, it’s just easier. More fine control.” Alec said. “Proximity and all that. I can probably keep it up when you’re in the shower.”

“But you’d be ‘looking.’” She mumbled.

It took him a minute to place the terminology.

He snorted.

“Like you’re not looking with your bugs all the time.” He pushed some of her sweaty hair back, that had escaped. “I’m really not paying the kind of attention you think I am. It’s just a body.”

“Yeah but you get feedback .”

“So? I’ll feel the pain if it starts up again, and know when and where to poke.”

“You’ll feel... soap. And where I’m cleaning.”

“Jesus, Tay, I’m not making it a horny thing. I won’t pass out from the secondhand feel of a loofah on your soapy tits.”

Her face burned red.

“Shut up , oh my god. I never said that.”

“I’m not perving on you.” He said with exasperation. “If you want, I’ll hop in the shower with you and keep my hand right where it is. It’ll be fantastically awkward for both of us, you more than me, but we’ll be clean and you’ll be safe from cramps.”

Taylor’s embarrassment was so loud he was feeling it in his own body, which was crazy since he maybe got 20% of it.

“No, that’s not... necessary.” She squeaked. “Oh, my god. Today is a fever dream.”

“It’s fine.” Alec sighed. “C’mon, let’s just... I’ve got an idea.”

He did keep his hand pressed to her belly as they walked, which involved an almost coupley-cutsey pose, and then she freaked out again when they got to the bathroom.

“I’ll just sit against the wall and not look.” He explained. “Close enough for fine control, not so close I need to take my clothes off.”

“Gnn.” Taylor said, before inhaling. “Won’t that be... really boring?”

“I have my phone.” Amusing again.

“Okay but... step out while I get the shower running and get undressed?”

“The door is not going to stop me from ‘seeing’ what you’re doing.” He reminded.

“It’s the illusion of privacy.” Taylor said primly, and he sighed before walking out into the hallway and obligingly closing the door behind him. He did glance at his phone while she stripped, changed tampons and turned the shower on.

Alec felt the cold water hit Taylor’s skin and jumped with her.

“You could have waited for it to warm up!” He bitched, as he re-entered the room. She’d folded her clothes up and put them on the toilet, once more hiding her underwear in the jeans like he hadn’t literally carried them across town.

“I panicked! It’s getting warm, now, anyway.”

Alec slid down the wall to sit on the floor, phone in hand. He checked on her uterus, which was fine and not clenching too tightly yet. Forced it to relax a little.

“I keep telling you I’m not going to like, sniff your panties or whatever.” Alec said. “You don’t have to pretend you don’t have them.”

“Alec!” Taylor hissed. “Shut up about my underwear already.”

“You’re the one who keeps shoving them deep in your jeans like a dirty little secret. Everyone wears underwear, Taylor. Well, most people.”

“That doesn’t mean I want people to see them.”

“You weren’t wearing a bra?” He asked curiously.

“I’m going to strangle you.”

“What for? I’ve been the picture of helpful today.” He rolled his eyes. “And if you were going to kill me, you’d use some creative assortment of insects, I’m sure.”

“I’m not going to kill you.” Taylor muttered darkly. “The strangling will be satisfying and brief. Make me feel better”

“Kinky.”

“ Gahhhh !” She sounded pissed and he couldn’t help it-- he laughed loud and bright.

The distraction was taking her mind off everything, which was helping.

“You shouldn’t actually, though.” He said, a few moments later.

“Hmm?”

“Strangling. Auto-erotic asphyxiation. Choking someone during sex. It’s not safe.” Despite his attempts to keep it light, his tone fell a little flat. “I don’t know what it’s called, but you can choke someone and they feel fine afterwards, then hours or days later they just... fucking die.”

“Oh.”

“Shit, sorry.” Alec ran a hand through his hair, eyeing the search results on his phone. “Apparently it’s called delayed fatal airway collapse. That’s fucking cheerful. Anyway, don’t choke people for fun. Or during sex, I guess.”

“N-noted.” Taylor said.

“I know you weren’t really going to strangle me.” He said, breathing out heavily. “Just, a thing. That I know.”

“Has that... happened?” She asked, quiet and a bit hesitant.

“Not from me.” Alec said, shortly. He closed his eyes. “I mean, I wasn’t the one who... did the choking.”

A tense, quiet beat punctuated by the open and closing pop of the body wash.

“... If I was Lisa or Rachel, I could try to distract you with, how did you put it? Secondhand feedback of loofah on soapy b-breasts.”

“I said ‘tits’ and you know it.” Alec snorted despite himself. “And why would you need to be them? Not that I’m suggesting it, mind you. That’d be crass.”

“I don’t... “ Taylor pulled her irritation close and wore it like a shroud. “I don’t exactly have anything worth passing out from horniness over here, Alec.”

She soaped off with harsh, methodical motions, not even trying to savor anything.

Alec turned to look, seeing her silhouette behind the shower curtain.

“Are you seriously being self conscious about your tits right now?”

“Are you sure it’s not safe for even a little strangling?” She demanded.

He burst out laughing.

“Maybe if you’re very gentle.” Alec said, running his tongue over his lip. “But that kind of defeats the purpose of doing it for catharsis.”

“It would be plenty cathartic.” Taylor muttered aggressively. “Or maybe I could...” She sighed. “No, this is still joking, I can’t hurt you. And if I could, hurting you wouldn’t make me feel better.”

“Brian puts me in a headlock sometimes and that makes him feel better.” Alec offered.

“Yeah, and you’re both laughing, and it’s cute as fuck. But it would be weird if I play wrestled with either of you.”

“Would not.” Alec denied at once. “Try it sometime. I promise to ‘play’ just as cute with you as I do with Brian. I don’t pick favorites.”

Taylor was blushing for some reason.

“See, you did just fine distracting me.” Alec kicked a foot out, wiggling it back and forth against the sink cabinet. “Although, I like to think I’m not shallow enough to be, hmm, diverted by anything so plebian as a soapy chest, regardless of whose it is.”

“ I’d get distracted by Lisa or Rachel’s soapy chest.” Taylor said defensively. “That’s just... that’s just normal.”

“Mm.” Alec briefly considered making a group chat of his own without Taylor to tell the other girls that. Lisa would probably explode.

“Brian’s tits aren’t nice enough to distract you?” He probed, admittedly curious.

Taylor blushed louder and stammered some.

Normally he wouldn’t bring himself into something like this but with the group chat.... Hmm.

“What about me?” Alec teased. “Is that the real reason you didn’t want me in the shower with you? Soapy femboy chest would have you acting up?”

“Alec! I-- you-- femboy , Jesus.”

He was starting to really like hearing her say his name in that scandalized tone of voice.

Alec was glad the joke carried through, he was a little worried about leading them on in the wrong way, since they... already were interested.

“And then we come back to you , of course.” Alec said. “Tits are tits, size really doesn’t come into it.”

“I’m not talking about this with you.”

“I’ll add it to the list of banned subjects,” He said, smiling. “C’mon, your chest is as nice as anybody else’s.”

“You don’t have to... lie to make me feel better.” Taylor sounded grumpy.

“I’m really not.” Alec said. “Ask me some other time when you’re not naked, and it won’t make you uncomfortable. I’ll tell you about how small tits are often more sensitive and fun to play with.”

“ Jesus .” Taylor sucked in air, squeezing her eyes closed.

She rubbed her thighs together and Alec realized he’d gone too far, on account of now she really did feel a little turned on.

He was too busy being bewildered to feel regret or apprehension, strangely enough. He wasn’t even undressed? He wasn’t touching her? She just liked listening to him talk ?

It wasn't even proper dirty talk.

A wave of somewhat shame went through her as she realized Alec could probably feel or notice her body’s reaction and he briefly considered reassuring her. But pointing it out would make it worse , probably, and he just...

He didn’t want to do it.

It’s not like she had a dick to get hard, they could both pretend he hadn’t noticed the more subtle signs of arousal.

Her little tits were tipped with hard nipples and for a moment he wasn’t... who he was... and it was just effortlessly exciting . No strings or baggage attached, just a pretty girl with a chest he wanted to worship with his mouth.

Alec closed his eyes and tipped his head against the drywall.

Fuck.

Taylor reached a shaky hand for the shampoo and started her hair routine. Since it was getting wet, she pretty much had to.

“You want me to pass you the wide-bristled brush?” He asked, headed to safer waters.

“Please.” She said.

Taylor, like Alec, did have curly hair, but it was much, much longer. She brushed it out while it had conditioner in it and then moved the shower curtain aside while reaching for her towel out of sheer habit.

Alec slammed his eyes closed.

“Didn’t see anything.” He said quickly.

“I... just hand me the towel, please? I’ve only got about five minutes before blood gets everywhere again.”

Alec handed her a towel which she wrapped around her body and bit his lip at the feeling of soft cotton on all her softer places.

Horrifically he was a little turned on and while normally he handled that by just-- coping-- and it wasn’t a big deal at all, for some reason it felt... different.

Knowing that they wanted him.

Taylor didn’t act any different, though, despite the low kernels of arousal and shame in her. She didn’t even look at him, though she had to be wondering if he was affected.

Well, given her baffling levels of self-consciousness, maybe she didn’t think he’d... what, appreciate the stolen glimpse?

Even just sitting next to her when she was wearing a towel was distracting, though he would have sworn it wouldn’t have bothered him if you asked yesterday.

It was just bodies.

The quarter-chub felt like such a betrayal. Alec was going to be having strong words with his dick later.

“You can use some of my curl cream.” Alec murmured, as she wiped steam off the mirror. “I noticed you were running low.”

“Thanks. I don’t really want to defuse it.” She used the second towel to roughly dry her hair in a way that had him wince, but unlike his short curl situation, if she didn’t wring the extra water out they’d never dry.

She scrunched the curls with the towel until it was mostly just damp and then used his curl cream, working it in.

It was interesting in a strange way to know that she was going to smell like him.

“Finger curls?” he asked curiously. “I don’t have to do all this with mine.”

“Yeah, yours is so much shorter.” Taylor said absently. “Actually, wait, how long is it when it’s wet?”

“Why, Taylor, you’re getting metaphors mixed. It’s supposed to be how long is it when it’s hard -- nng.” She kicked his leg.

“I don’t know, a few inches? I look like a wet dog when it’s straight-ish and wet.”

“You... I wanna see that.” Taylor bit her lip.

Oh, right. They thought he was ‘cute’ and yelled about it.

“If your cramps are still bothering you next time you shower, just invite me in.” Alec said, half a dare. “I’ll keep my hand on your stomach and you can wash my hair.”

Taylor blushed to her hairline.

Her skin was already a soft pink from the heat of the water.

In just a towel, he could see her blush go down her neck... and to the tops of her breasts.

Alec’s eyes darkened.

He took a breath and closed his eyes. Jesus. This was a stupid idea. Stupid libido and stupid teenager decisions.

He’s not immune to pretty teammates naked or wrapped like a present in a towel , just because he hates sex. Stupid, to have forgotten.

“Maybe we can just hit up a pool instead.” Taylor blurted. “That way, nobody has to be... well, naked.”

“Sure, Tay.” Alec relaxed a little. “That does sound better. You can see my hair when it’s wet, and nobody has to get naked.”

She smiled at him, somewhat wobbly, and Alec remembered the line that had been haunting him. But Alec’s not into kissing or sex . ‘That kind of thing.’

Maybe they really believed it.

Hell, it was probably half the reason Taylor was willing to wander around in a towel around him. She thought she was safe .

Something ugly flipped in his stomach.

He smiled back.

“Speaking of nakedness, you should get dressed and come back to the couch. You can hang out with me all afternoon and feel much better about the day.”

“Okay.” Taylor’s smile became more real. Her eyes were wide and she clutched her towel a little tighter, not out of worry from him but worry that it would slip.

She was so shy and yet not worried at all, here.

That was... good.

Alec stood up and ended up closer to her than planned-- it was a small bathroom-- and stepped closer just a little, touching her arm. Not as good as the stomach but close enough.

He forcibly relaxed the problematic organ again.

Then, apparently fucking possessed , he leaned in and kissed her bare shoulder.

“I’ll um. Be waiting outside.” He mumbled quietly and exited with his heart racing.

Alec collapsed onto the couch, covering his face with his hands. Ugh. He ran fin gers through his hair more aggressively than normal, wondering what was wrong with him.

Picking up his phone was more habit than anything and he closed out of the dumb medical article with a grimace. Then again maybe, if they were really, really gentle with it, more stroking than squeezing..

For some reason he thought of Brian, for it, who was so big but so fucking gentle with them, of a hand low on his throat and the barest hint of pressure a bit of a threat, just enough to tease at something more.

Alec swallowed hard.

His phone pinged and he swiped down the notification thankful for the distraction, only to curse creatively under his breath when he saw the app that opened.

... Okay so he was incredibly curious, sue him.

Using the chat like this felt so illegal, an insight he would usually never have and he stared at the words as they formed.

: Taylor
kissed me
: Taylor
KISSED ME
: Brian
What?
: Taylor
KISSED ME KISSED ME KISSED ME

Alec couldn’t see but he craned his senses in that direction and felt a very flustered girl in the bathroom with her hands clenched on the sink counter.

: Rachel
did alec fucking kiss you
: Brian
wait what, when?
: Taylor
HE KISSED ME
: Taylor
I’M NAKED AND FREAKING OUT
: Rachel
lisa just spit her drink out
: Lisa
I BEG YOUR FINEST FUCKING PARDON
: Lisa
LET’S CALM DOWN AND GO BACK SEVERAL STEPS
: Brian
Taylor, are you okay?
: Taylor
no yeah i’m fine.
: Taylor
great really
: Taylor
just embarrassed
: Lisa
Taylor, sweetie, why are you naked?
: Rachel
how naked
: Taylor
well i’m wearing a towel
: Brian
where are you?
: Taylor
loft bathroom
: Lisa
??? Maybe let’s start from the top
: Lisa
alec kissed you?
: Taylor
(>/////<)
: Brian
!!!
: Rachel
hot

It totally wasn’t a real kiss, they were all exaggerating. Taylor needed to clear that up, soon, before someone got the wrong idea.

Also, she was going to give Brian a fit if she didn’t explain why she wasn’t dressed. It probably wouldn’t lead to him getting his ass kicked-- nothing was those kind of vibes so far-- but if he hadn’t had the chat to see Brian, of all people, making heart eyes at him for the past several days he might have worried about it.

It wasn’t a real kiss, anyway, just... a thing. A comfort thing? He wasn’t trying to be sexy and it just seemed like the thing to do. Alec blamed the groupchat, honestly.

Knowing they didn’t mind and actually enjoyed -- wanted, even anticipated-- him touching them had made it really easy to just... touch them.

Alec has had more physical contact in the last week than he’s had in the several months prior. Holding hands, shoulders bumping together, hands on arms, people ruffling or even playing with his hair-- and Alec himself, reaching out to touch, somewhat confident that unless he’d hallucinated all the messages, they would like it.

: Lisa
what were you doing?
: Taylor
i was taking a shower, trying to get all the blood off
: Brian
Alec kissed you in the shower?
: Brian
wait blood!?
: Rachel
what happened
: Taylor
nothing, I just um
: Rachel
what happened
: Lisa
Aren’t you supposed to be in school right now???
: Brian
Are you hurt? Did something happen?
: Brian
is alec hurt?
: Rachel
tell me what happened or i’m coming there right now
: Taylor
period!
: Taylor
i started my period please calm down
: Rachel
oh, that’s okay then
: Lisa
don’t scare us like that
: Brian
you’re not hurt?
: Taylor
did you know alec can stop period cramps
: Taylor
with his power
: Lisa
well I do now
: Rachel
fuck i didn’t think he could get any hotter
: Rachel
yall are gonna have to drag me off of him
: Brian
because he stopped your cramps?
: Rachel
that too
: Lisa
she wants him in general
: Lisa
more important
: Lisa
he kissed you?
: Brian
how did we get here
: Brian
Taylor, why aren’t you at school?
: Brian
did something happen?
: Taylor
well...
: Rachel
i’m going to kill them
: Brian
what?
: Rachel
when taylor has a bad time at school
: Rachel
it’s always that one bitch’s fault. Emma
: Rachel
and the other bitches that follow her around
: Rachel
like little bitch ducklings
Alec

Taylor started giggling hard. Alec had to bite down on his tongue to stop from laughing long and hard and obviously .

: Brian
what did Emma do?
: Taylor
It's not important.

And then before anyone could beg to differ-- Alec’s own thumbs once again threatened to unravel the entire charade by typing out his version of events-- she continued:

: Taylor
I meant to text Lisa
: Taylor
for a tampon I mean
: Taylor
and a change of clothes
: Lisa
oh I could have come over, my office is near the school
: Brian
you don’t need anything now though? I mean you’re at the loft?
: Rachel
let her talk
: Rachel
she’ll get there
: Lisa
wait who did you... ooooh
: Brian
?
: Taylor
yeah i meant to text lisa
: Taylor
but I actually texted Alec
: Rachel
for a tampon?
: Taylor
did you know his power doesn’t turn off
: Lisa
yes, like yours
: Taylor
he can feel my cramps :(
: Rachel
his power can stop cramps though? You said
: Taylor
yeah. It’s really... nice? Fuck
: Taylor
he puts his hand on my stomach to do it
: Brian
that’s. That’s really cute actually?
: Brian
i don’t know why I’m surprised

It just made it easier for fine control, it was a proximity thing. It wasn’t cute? They chose the strangest things to fixate on. Brian didn’t even have a uterus for him to control, there was basically no situation where Alec would settle a hand over his stomach.

Maybe if he got really bad constipation? Ha, try finding that cute, assholes.

Or maybe if he worked out really hard and his abs were sore, Alec could encourage the nerves and the muscles to relax more, make it hurt less...

He’d never used his power like that but it should be possible. Would Brian want that? Would he tug Alec close and cuddle for a bit?

Would Taylor, when she finally finished freaking out?

: Lisa
Alec came to your school?
: Brian
.... one fear
: Lisa
do i need to bribe anyone
: Rachel
do we need to hide a body
: Brian
surely if he killed someone she’d lead with that
: Brian
.....
: Brian
surely

Okay, that was funny. And a little rude, wow, Alec was totally not going to impulsively fuck with those cunts. If anything, it would be a carefully orchestrated revenge scheme where Thinker 7 support gladly helped him pull it off.

: Brian
taylor
: Taylor
he did not kill anyone
: Taylor
he was very well behaved
: Lisa
well behaved in general or well behaved for alec?
: Taylor
in general
: Taylor
he was on a mission
: Taylor
oh my god he called it a heist
: Lisa
Taylor did you skip school to ride the bus home with alec’s hand under your shirt
: Taylor
i skipped school with him
: Taylor
but he didn’t do the hand thing until we got to the loft

Should he have? The idea of sliding his arm around her on the bus wasn’t a bad one, he just figured she wouldn’t have liked that.

: Brian
to be clear there were no casualties
: Brian
right?
: Taylor
just the underwear i wore to school this morning
: Lisa
oh, blegh. bleeding through sucks
: Taylor
speaking of, can you swing by school on the way home?
: Taylor
my backpack is in the courtyard
: Taylor
don’t ask
: Lisa
you’ll tell me later?
: Taylor
sure. If i have to
: Lisa
okay I’ll go get it
: Brian
.... how did he kiss you?
: Taylor
asdkfjlaksdf
: Taylor
he offered to get in the shower with me
: Taylor
to keep his hand on my belly
: Taylor
for the cramps
: Rachel
did you say yes
: Lisa
👀
: Brian
... is that. Is that how you got naked
: Rachel
please tell me you said yes

Okay, at least this bit made sense. Yeah, they want to check him out. It made sense after waxing poetic about, like, the curve of his nose and the way he snored and shit.

It was just a continuation of the eye-fucking but with a more reasonable focus, emphasis on the ‘fucking’ part. He hadn’t really expected Taylor to agree, was mostly just joking around to break some tension-- she had been so tense-- but if he had climbed into the shower with her...

Well, her cramps would have had to be like a 9/10 on the painscale for her to consider it.

But if she had...

Would she have even looked at him? Taylor, when she wasn’t staring people down with the most hardcore expression known to man and carving out eyes, was actually pretty shy. Mostly about social stuff, not making eye contact, assuming she was the butt of a joke, etc.

Absolutely timid-- except apparently not in the groupchat where she could open up about wanting to kiss him of all people.

But even then she stuttered. It took a special kind of social anxiety to stutter and keysmash over text.

It would have probably been awkward, definitely she wouldn’t have said any of the groupchat things in favor of being shy Taylor, but maybe it would have also been nice in a strange way, if he could get her to relax and they could be playful instead--

He could see her putting soap on his face while he made a bewildered expression, see her slowly forgetting to cover and hide, hear her mumble and press close, feel the softness of her skin and the heat of the water.

Would it have been so bad? No, not really, not at all.

And then she really would have had something to report back to the others, proper gushing about the eye candy.

: Rachel
please tell me you said yes
: Taylor
i did not
: Rachel
taylor why
: Taylor
it would have been weird! We’re not
: Taylor
I mean we don’t
: Taylor
you think I would have been able to play it cool!?
: Lisa
well when you put it like that
: Lisa
no
: Brian
It’s good you didn’t do anything you were uncomfortable with
: Taylor
but he did stay in the bathroom. Close.
: Taylor
while i showered
: Taylor
and we talked during
: Lisa
oh my fucking god
: Rachel
i want alec to talk to me while i shower
: Rachel
or get in
: Rachel
he can talk with his face in my tits

Alec’s face went a little red. Jesus. Gotta respect a girl that knows what she wants, he guessed. Rachel was always blunt so he didn’t know why he was surprised here...

: Taylor
he
: Brian
it’s okay take your time
: Brian
but also tell us
: Lisa
taylorrrrrr

No way they were this excited about him being in the same room with her. He hadn’t even taken his clothes off?

He couldn’t text back without ruining the game but he was already thinking of ways to bring it up later.

It would also be a good litmus test to if they were serious or not, considering they all said shit in the phone they never said in real life. Taylor was an amazing example, all but yelling “I want him to kiss me!” to the others while blushing and demuring to Alec’s face.

It wasn’t exactly a hardship to hang out and fuck around while they showered, maybe make jokes and have that kind of fun back-and-forth they slipped into more and more often since Taylor had joined the team.

Brian would probably just yammer about his workout schedule or something, Lisa might tease a bit more, and it sounded like Rachel would actually just reach a tan hand out of the shower and yank him into it by the collar, perhaps devouring him.

You wouldn’t think she wanted to climb him like a particularly determined mountaineer, not by the way she only grunted and barely acknowledged his presence half the time and glared the other half, but the chat receipts said otherwise.

: Taylor
his power doesn’t turn off so i was worried that
: Taylor
you know
: Taylor
he could see and feel me in the shower
: Brian
oh goddamnit
: Brian
there goes my ability to shower at the loft without--
: Brian
actually nvm
: Rachel
you were gonna say ‘getting hard’
: Brian
it’s possible
: Rachel
I’m gonna start jerking off in the shower
: Rachel
give him a show
: Lisa
do NOT
: Rachel
come on, his power doesn’t turn off. If he doesn't want to see it, he’ll leave
: Lisa
you want him to leave?
: Rachel
:(

Alec snorted softly and found himself smiling at the phone.

God. They were just... they were really dedicated to this whole thing? He still didn’t know how to take it.

The whole thing about soapy tits came to mind, this time in a different context. Rachel was probably a treat naked.

Ugh. Alec scrubbed his hand over his face.

: Lisa
Taylor.
: Lisa
beloved
: Lisa
the kiss
: Lisa
explain
: Taylor
...
: Taylor
I was probably blowing things out of proportion
: Taylor
i don’t think it really counts
: Rachel
did he kiss you or not
: Brian
How could it not count?
: Lisa
did he not. Was it not on the lips
: Rachel
did he kiss you on the cheek
: Brian
that’s actually uhhh
: Brian
god i would want that
: Taylor
on. On the shoulder
: Rachel
cute

For all his earlier denial, Alec frowned at his phone. Taylor not thinking it counted as a kiss was stupid, it was obvious he was being at least a bit affectionate, even if it wasn’t sexual.

He kind of expected her to start talking about how she wanted a proper kiss on the mouth, to push him against the wall and take him that way, because the chat tended to go into fantasy directions-- if nothing outrageously explicit so far-- but somehow he doubted it.

They also seemed to outright pull back from anything too sexual and instead focus on things like his eyelashes or, Alec didn’t know, the sensual line of his elbow. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

If they wanted to fuck him, why not just talk about that outright instead of drooling over his eyebrows?

: Lisa
And Were You Naked At The Time Taylor
: Lisa
Taylor Was This a Kiss To Your Naked Shoulder
: Brian
while you were naked
: Rachel
nakedly
: Lisa
*snort*
: Taylor
.... maybe
: Lisa
Jesus
: Brian
he was close enough to kiss you? When you were naked?
: Taylor
i was wearing a towel. But i mean
: Lisa
👀
: Lisa
ooh spill
: Taylor
he did maybe.... When he handed me the towel...
: Taylor
i mean he said he didn’t ‘see anything’ but
: Brian
ak;lsdjfasklf
: Brian
suddenly I wish i was a bathroom wall
: Brian
that’s new
: Lisa
no because same
: Lisa
naked taylor AND Alec kisses?
: Rachel
hot
: Taylor
so he caught like a half second glimpse of me naked and didn’t run away
: Taylor
that was surprising

What?

Alec has literally had his hands in her guts sewing her back together after a cape fight, he’s not going to be grossed out by her tits ? And even if she was hideous-- which, to be clear, she’s not-- it was still Taylor .

It was still just a body.

He’d be more interested in the Undersiders just on general principle than any so-called tens off the street. The idea of seeing a stranger naked didn’t make his skin crawl, not when he’d gotten more or less inured to it before learning to walk or even talk, but being close to even a beautiful naked stranger was unpleasant in a way that seeing Taylor hadn’t been.

They were his team .

It was different.

: Lisa
taylor we’ve been over this
: Rachel
you’re hot, he’s hot
: Rachel
the whole team is hot
: Rachel
we’re not doing this again
: Brian
objection sustained
: Brian
accept the verdict and move on, Taylor

Alec snorted. Okay, good, they weren’t just taking that kind of crap from her. Jesus, he knew her self-esteem issues were bad, but to that extent?

His eyes darted up to the earlier set of messages. ‘Run away.’

Like hell.

He hadn’t run away from the really gross naked bodies when he was a kid , seeing his fairly attractive teammate naked wasn’t going to traumatize him? At worst he’d be uninterested sexually and even then he’d... well... there were a lot of things they could do with each other other than sex , half the team were fucking masters.

Some skin contact wouldn’t go amiss and Taylor’s skin was soft and pale and inviting, insofar as skin could be nice . Not whatever grotesque thing she was imagining that could scare him away .

: Taylor
fine
: Taylor
he said he’d be waiting outside then kissed my shoulder
: Taylor
and left so i could get dressed
: Taylor
oh god he’s waiting on me
: Lisa
breathe
: Brian
it’s fine, he wouldn’t have done it if he was like. bothered
: Brian
i mean he can kiss us anytime he wants, right?
: Rachel
yes.
: Lisa
... yes
: Taylor
it’s one thing to say it and another to be set on fire
: Taylor
by soft kisses
: Brian
was. was his mouth soft
: Taylor
idk it happened too fast
: Taylor
i think so?
: Taylor
i was too busy being on fire
: Rachel
of course it’s soft
: Rachel
fucking look at it
: Lisa
I do. Often
: Brian
I spend a distressing amount of time looking at his mouth, yeah

His mouth? Okay, Alec had to give it to them, that was a normal thing to think about if you were going to be fucking weird about your attraction to someone.

It was actually one of the more ‘normal’ things he’d seen from them in the chat, though the focus on softness of all things was... well, still weird. Maybe they had a kissing fetish?

Fuck, all four of them? No way.

It was probably just more of the same... weirdly soft obsession. Instead of wanting to fuck his mouth or see it wrapped around increasingly interesting bits of anatomy, they were just... staring at it and thinking about how nice it was, like they stared at his jaw and his ears. Bunch of goddamn weirdos.

How soft .

Fuck.

: Taylor
fuck I need to get dressed and go out there
: Taylor
he’s waiting on me
: Taylor
oh my god he said I could spend the entire afternoon on the couch with him hnnnasdfasdf he’s so cute and nice to me and nice to me and cute and nice, what if he kisses me again
: Rachel
take pictures
: Lisa
kiss back
: Brian
share

Alec closed his screen and threw his phone across the couch, breathing slightly accelerated. His face felt pinkish but probably-- hopefully-- wasn’t.

He fucked around with his controller, moving buttons and ultimately succeeding at opening and closing a few different games and shuffling through the console’s home screen.

“Fuck.” He said out loud, then dropped the controller too. He could feel Taylor texting so he got up and visited first his room, then Brian’s, then Rachel’s.

“Dork.” Alec said, knocking-- well, more brushing his knuckles against the bathroom door. “C’mere, I got you some more comfortable clothes.”

A long pause before Taylor pulled the door open, blinking down at him. Alec handled the bundle through.

With no excuse now, she pulled them on, did a few other things, and then emerged.

“These aren’t mine.” She said, shuffling out of the bathroom with a faint blush.

“Nah.” Alec agreed. “My boxers, Brian’s shirt, Rachel’s jacket. It looks good on you. Should I steal something of Lisa’s?”

“I stole one of her pads.” Taylor admitted, and Alec snorted hard.

“That hardly counts. Maybe she has some fuzzy socks somewhere, I'm not sure. She probably has her door booby trapped.”

“I should probably... grab some pants.” Taylor muttered, trailing off, and fidgeting with her old clothes.

“Not jeans, though, come on. You need to be comfy. It’d be fine like this, too.”

“Not if I get blood on the couch.” Taylor grimaced. “Layers are helpful in this kind of situation.”

“Is your flow that heavy? Especially if you’re laying down.”

“Gah.” Taylor pulled a face. “Why do you always talk about the details ?”

“Should I not?” This was the third or fourth time she’d balked at discussing it. Maybe he was the weird one for not being weirded out, but it was hard to tell.

Taylor dipped into her room, still grumbling, and emerged in a pair of sweats.

“Defeats the purpose of cozy boxers but okay.” Alec sighed. “At least you’re comfy. Couch?”

He snagged her around the waist and put his hand back where it belonged for the foreseeable future. Taylor was a willing hostage, nodding redundantly.

“I plugged your phone charger in. It’s over the arm of the couch. Get comfy and relax, okay?”

Alec loaded up a simple shooter, not having the attention span for much else, hoping it would lull him into the proper state of mind to just veg out all afternoon.

Taylor started off stiffly sitting and then, after a few minutes, gradually relaxed into the couch. Alec didn’t have a free hand for her but with her so close, he hardly needed it.

A couch cushion away was closer than he’d been to her shower, after all, and it was fine-- even if it took a little more concentration for his power to work.

Finally she slumped to the side and got properly cozy, laying against the arm with her knees drawn up.

Looking over at her between games saw her finally relaxed, playing on her phone with her muscles untensed. Her hair was curly and wet on her shoulders and below, spilling down between her and the couch.

She looked content.

Alec took a few breaths and forced his shoulders to relax. They were cool. His phone was somewhere under Taylor or perhaps buried in the couch at this point, where he didn’t have to think about it.

He killed a few more zombies and stopped worrying. It was nice to have her here. That was all that mattered.

Notes:

please no concrit, please YES praise. love to hear what you like!

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LeastNationalisticKiwi on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Jul 2025 05:33AM UTC

This is really cute dude, and creative I might add ❤️

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Jul 2025 05:14PM UTC
  
  Thank you! I can't take too much credit for the plot because Sleepy (JadeMonarch) hit me with the "Maybe just a sweet chapter of Alec overhearing his teammates gossiping about him and he assumes "ahh, it's gonna be about me being gross or my body," but he overheard that they like his laugh, the cute fluttery snore he does when he's napping on the couch, how he gets a little emotive when he explains a video game, how focused he looks when he's painting"
  I just realized she never specified groupchat, so I guess that was some creative prompt appreciation! Everyone that knows me is dragging me for this fic, they really said "So this is just you using the Undersiders to wax poetic about how cute Alec is, huh?" and adskfa;lksdf maYBE
  
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2. 1. LeastNationalisticKiwi on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Jul 2025 10:05PM UTC
    
    Honestly using the Siders as a conduit for your love for Alec is pretty funny, and yeah the way you formatted this fic was really cool as well, I dont know if I have ever seen anything like it.
    
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  2. 1. sprx77 on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Jul 2025 10:15PM UTC
      
      Haha, I almost didn't? I just realized that I *could* and decided to just go for it.
      In my writing it was just
      Brian: nooooo he's so cute?!?
      Lisa: lol
      like that, but i wasn't sure what i wanted to do re: bold, italics, how to differentiate it from normal text. i've read textfics before that just do that and I enjoy them!! So deviating so far from the norm made me really nervous that it wouldn't be readable like a fic is readable. It's all css/html formatting using a workskin, not images, but it gives an image vibe? Ahh everyone has been really nice about it so far
      
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JadeMonarch on Chapter 1 Wed 12 Nov 2025 12:28PM UTC

I am still obsessed with this fic, it's just... oh my goodness it's just the perfect texting fic I've ever seen. Like, the fact that they don't know, that he was added by mistake, that he gets a peek to see them all like this, and for him?!

For him this has to be like, the sweetest uppercut ever. Accidentally added to a group chat but instead of them losing their shit with him, annoyed about him, they're losing their shit because he's just so cute!

And not just in a physical way! And that's also getting to him! That they like him in more than just a physical way!

He isn't *just* cute, he's sweet and nice and they like seeing him at ease and relaxed and okay, I definitely need to get to sleep but you get what I'm getting at.

This whole fic is just top tier, like, A+ all around. Whatever you want of mine updated I'll do it, I will even do two updates for one of this on God.

Sorry this is just so good I'm actually rolling around about it. Ten out of ten, will read again, one of the best fics on this site

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ShThicc on Chapter 2 Thu 24 Jul 2025 06:22AM UTC

Peak

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 2 Thu 24 Jul 2025 05:14PM UTC
  
  Thank
  
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alex_derd on Chapter 2 Thu 24 Jul 2025 07:23AM UTC

👏👍

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 2 Thu 24 Jul 2025 05:14PM UTC
  
  Thanks! I try
  
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BookNeko_The_Devourer on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 03:52PM UTC

This is so sweet I think I have a sugar rush and my grin is threatening to split the corners of my mouth

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 04:39PM UTC
  
  ITS PURE COTTON CANDY FLUFF I love them so much
  
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Barely Contained Stupidity (01010) on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Jul 2025 05:18PM UTC

This chapter was great 😃👍 Kudos again ❤️

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Jul 2025 05:32PM UTC
  
  Thank you!
  
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ShThicc on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Jul 2025 06:39PM UTC

the chat formatting is fun, glad u went with this it looks nice :)

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Jul 2025 07:04PM UTC
  
  THANKNYOU BECUASE I WAS SO WORRIED lmao
  
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Runwildwithme (NectarinesAndSourThings) on Chapter 3 Fri 25 Jul 2025 07:47AM UTC

Oh this is super cute and sweet. Lovely lovely lovely.

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 3 Fri 25 Jul 2025 03:01PM UTC
  
  Thank you!
  
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sarcasticallysatyric on Chapter 3 Sun 27 Jul 2025 09:05PM UTC

This is so adorable - love when Alec isn't actively cruel and honestly kind of a gem with some of the things that aren't a taboo to him. Favorite facet of his that I love when authors explore :)
edit: just wanted to confirm that the chat format really works - helps with the immersion because it feels like pulling out my phone in the middle of doing something to text someone

Last Edited Sun 27 Jul 2025 09:06PM UTC

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1. sprx77 on Chapter 3 Mon 28 Jul 2025 02:11AM UTC
  
  Thank you! I appreciate the feedback on the chat format. And yes why would he be cruel? most of the time he's just BORED. but Alec is a hedonist in that he didn't have nice things and was bored, bored, bored and miserable, and now he's slightly less, but things that enrich him get his full attention. I like having polysiders kind of do what Aisha did, but without the full immersion. He can be entertained by other people too, if they care! Also yesss Alec finding out that people like him and that gross stuff-- romance, sex-- can be about something soft and appreciative is really surprising to him, like, what? This isn't the transactional and "using people" thing I grew up with? And they just want to pet his hair and kiss him and Alec's increasingly becoming like "Shit, that's an option!?"
  
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Daedelus_Muse on Chapter 4 Sat 02 Aug 2025 09:37AM UTC

I love the meme density of their chats, it actually comes across really well and makes them feel like real people

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Undiene on Chapter 4 Sat 02 Aug 2025 10:11AM UTC

We need that second groupchat for the plot. Or not, but: they wouldn’t be able to tell Alec about the first group chat and Taylor about the second one, it would be such a delightful mess!
The kiss!!! Alec feeling affected and nervous about sex!! Screaming rn it’s so gooood!
Also, I bet that Brian regrets not having a uterus a lil bit rn because no Alec hands on him.
Alec!!! Giving!!!! Her!!!! His!!! Boxers!!! You are killing me dead!!!
I love how sweet they are to each other, thank you for the update!

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alex_derd on Chapter 4 Sat 02 Aug 2025 10:35AM UTC

👏👏👏♥️

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Tes (Guest) on Chapter 4 Sat 02 Aug 2025 07:56PM UTC

This is a ziz party favor cause damn this has to have been planed by someone/something

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sarcasticallysatyric on Chapter 4 Tue 05 Aug 2025 01:24AM UTC

Holy fuck I’m honestly crying a bit. Absolutely nailed the genZ queer group chat vibe. I feel home lol. And Alex’s slowly discovering romantic attraction lol (at least as I understand it). It’s adorable. And I want so bad to see Brian’s dialogue because the juxtaposition between his more matter of fact speaking and this texting is so adorable and something I really connect with.

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PedanticLiteralist on Chapter 4 Wed 06 Aug 2025 08:45PM UTC

Chat formatting is excellent for the immersion. Polysiders obviously means general OOC behaviour, but you've got everyone's voices down solidly. Rachel continues to be best Worm character.
I'm torn between wanting the "Alec in the chat" reveal to be serious or memey.
Like someone notices he's in the user list and they confront him about it and it's all emotional and all that fun stuff
vs
Alec absentmindedly corrects a typo
I'm also wondering if Lisa's aware of Alec being in the chat, given her power (like how she knew Taylor was an attempted mole pre-Leviathan). It'd make sense for her to not be for plot reasons, but deliberately letting him get teased like this would be in-character, for both her shit-stirring and indirect affection tendencies.

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1. Tes (Guest) on Chapter 4 Sun 17 Aug 2025 05:00PM UTC
  
  Or he corrects it but at first they think "oh he is typing now" then couple minutes later one of them figures out which group chat he just talked in and chaos happens
  
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Iryelb on Chapter 4 Mon 25 Aug 2025 11:59AM UTC

I didn't realise how much I needed Undersiders fluff in my life untill I found your stories.

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Malikriku on Chapter 4 Mon 22 Sep 2025 10:15AM UTC

PEAK!!!!!!! I LOVE WATCHING(or reading i guess in this case?) CHARACTERS BE ADORABLE AND NICE TO EACH OTHER!!!!

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HappyTr33 on Chapter 4 Tue 23 Sep 2025 02:17PM UTC

Aww

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LieutenantPaladine on Chapter 4 Thu 23 Oct 2025 04:45AM UTC

So cute! I love their dynamics, and can't wait to see what you add.
Loving it!

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justbohan on Chapter 4 Wed 05 Nov 2025 01:24AM UTC

AAAHDBSHFBD THIS IS SO CUTEEE

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