Relocation - Part Seventeen

[churbooseanon]

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Relocation - Part Seventeen

“Hey, Connie, I’m heading out for the day,” David announced as Sarge came out of the locker room, fully dressed to take over David’s duties. It was a relief to see his evening replacement show his face on time. Sarge hadn’t bothered to show for the Halloween festivities two days before and he had been late for work yesterday afternoon. Tonight Shaun was busy helping Daniel and Nate move furniture in Daniel’s apartment, which meant David was going to get a relaxing evening with a new book and perhaps even cook up something pleasant for himself that Shaun didn’t enjoy.

“Have fun, David,” she called back from a table in the corner as David moved into the locker room for a change. The place was surprisingly slow for a Sunday afternoon, which was a relief for his desire to just get out of the place and relax. Still, just to avoid the chance that he would get asked for something on the way out by a customer, David stripped down to the tank top her wore under his uniform shirt and just tugged his loose knit hoodie on over it. All of that done he headed back in the cafe proper only to see a very familiar form entering the cafe.

Just seeing the tall, blond form of Alex striding confidently in through the door made David freeze. There was heat rising into his cheeks, and for the life of him, David didn’t know what from. Was it the memory of how scandalously gorgeous Alex had been in his Halloween costume, evoking the Greek god David had mentally compared the man to when they first met? Or was his embarrassment over the memory of how Shaun had handled him at the end of the night, complete with an utterance of unexpected but needed words? How could he know? Did it even matter?

“Hey,” Alex greeted, and David put on a smile. He had asked Nate last night about how to handle all that was going on and the other man had just shrugged and suggested going with his guy. At the moment his gut said to give that smiling face a chance. They were friends after all.

“Hi,” David returned, his smile a touch more forced than Alex’s seemed to be. “You’re in early for you.”

“My body is still trying to adjust to the timezone. Normally it’s not so bad but… well, what are you going to do beyond caffeinate?”

“Sleep?” David suggested with a laugh.

“Easily said,” Alex chuckled right back before gesturing toward the nearest table. Something in David said no, but his body moved anyway toward the booth, sitting across from the handsome man. “Far more difficult than I do. Anyway, I was looking for you, if you cared.”

“Of course I care,” David answered. Was there something about his body language that said he was distant? To counter that he sat forward a bit more, making sure he smiled. “What can I do for you, neighbor?”

“We’re doing a welcome back dinner at my apartment tonight. Alexa, Connie and myself. They both felt like shit for ditching you last time and made sure I invited you this time,” Alex noted. “They both swear to show up this time if you do.”

“Strange that Connie didn’t tell me earlier,” David mused with a frown.

“I think the ladies intended to just short of kidnap you for dinner,” Alex shrugged and the less than amused look on his face told David all he needed to know about the man’s opinions on that approach. “I, on the other hand, want to invite you. Mostly because Connie is working late and I would like my friend the talented cook to help me make the dinner. And maybe I wanted to thank you for cooking for me as well by cooking some for you.”

“They… are making you cook your own welcome back dinner?” David asked, aghast at the very idea of it. The point of a celebration like that was that it was done for you.

“It’s also my belated birthday dinner,” Alex smiled, like that made it any better. “One good way to ensure a great Halloween party when you’re growing up is to be born on the holiday itself.”

David was left gaping at the man. Welcome back dinner and birthday party? And the man had to cook it all on his own? This could not be tolerated, not even remotely. As he straightened in the seat he could tell Alex had read his answers, without words. Still, David smiled, not caring too much if it was weird to be invited to a tiny little, private birthday party where everyone was either related or dating each other. Connie was practically a sister anyway.

“So, what are we cooking?” he asked, pulling out his phone. A quick text to Shaun made certain he would not be missed or harassed tonight. This was far more important.

And oh how beautiful the smile Alex graced him with was. Nope, he was not going to deal with that. Instead his attention turned toward his phone again; pulling up a number of recipes he kept on his phone for the sake of quick ingredient purchases.

“Let’s see what I can add to your meal,” David smiled as he flipped through the options. “What are you planning on?”

“I’m intending on a dry-rubbed London Broil,” Alex provided. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Well, it will help to have good side dishes, right? I mean, I can’t make you a cake, but I can wow your taste-buds in other ways. Let’s see… have you ever had spiced ginger asparagus? Goes great with beef. And I can make a pilaf for the side, or rolls with herb and garlic butter.”

“Sounds lovely,” Alex smiled and when David looked up he felt warm all over again. This was the worst agreement ever for his heart, and Alex’s excitement, so plain on his face, was too contagious for him to care for more than a second.

“We’ll have to go shopping,” David announced, attaching all the ingredients he would need for his asparagus to a shopping app. “We’ve also got to talk about what bread is reasonable in our time frame. I have some ideas and tons of ingredients in my apartment to work with. There’s an issue of oven space, but we do have two to work with now. Very convenient that you asked me. We’ll have to look at cook temperatures too, and…”

A hand raised by Alex paused him in the middle of his planning. There was clearly a laugh struggling to escape with how his other hand was pressed in a fist to his lips. How dare he laugh? How dare he hold back on it? David almost wanted to reach across and prod the man in the ribs to force the laugh out. It was childish enough in his life to be that childish these days. Being relaxed enough for that was so different from his old life. That made this… refreshing.

“We can go shopping very soon,” Alex assured him. “We’ll hit the apartment first to drop off one of our cars. But there is something else I need to do first, okay? Can you wait for me?”

“Sure,” David smiled right back. “If I get bored I’ll drive back to the complex, change, and wait for you to pick me up. Sound good?”

“Actually, it almost sounds better to have you go and meet me there when you put it like that,” Alex mused, his fingers stroking his chin. “Who knows how long this will take. Be patient with me?”

“Always,” David agreed, and the pensive look it got him made him wonder just how Alex took the comment. How could he not? After all, the last time they had been alone together, cooking… something had happened, or almost had, right? He’d been too patient with the man then. Had it been a mistake, to not act then? No, he had needed time, which he hadn’t received, and now here he was. Happy with Shaun. SO there was no need to read into anything, right? Right.

“See you soon, but don’t take too long,” David decided as he pushed to his feet. Time to renew the space between them, maybe send Shaun another, sweet text to comfort himself in that relationship, and of course Nate to tell him to make certain his boyfriend behaved tonight while David wasn’t there. Alex nodded his goodbye as David moved away. Of course he paused at the door, a realization hitting him along the way. “Oh, I am not running up those stairs back at the apartment, so I might take longer to get changed, okay?”

“Got it,” Alex agreed, his smile a brief thing. With that the man was moving away from David, his path taking him to the counter. David had to wonder why, if they had so many things to do in so little time, the man would hit the counter. Probably to pick some treat up for his sister, he realized. With that settled David pushed his way out of the cafe.

For the life of him, though, he couldn’t help but peek back through the cafe window. Was Alex really going to take a while? What he found as he glanced back was surprising. Had he ever seen Alex interact with Sarge in the past? Of course not, given the differences between their schedules, and he supposed the man had to know Sarge some given he almost exclusively came in during the older man’s shift, but he had never thought about it before. And he definitely wasn’t certain how to take Alex all but leaning over the pastry display to talk to Sarge, because there was something strange to it. Something in his body language if David had to put a finger on it. The way Alex leaned forward, the slightly flustered look on Sarge’s face, it was weird. Weird enough to keep David there watching as the pair spoke.

After a minute David was ready to move away, something that was stopped when he saw Alex reach out to touch Sarge’s shoulder. With that the two men moved off to the side, almost out of sight. Weird. Very weird. Frowning, David moved at last to his car. That was something he would have to ask about later. Granted it probably wasn’t his business, but friends were meant to be nosy and concerned for each other. So it wasn’t too bad for him to take his phone back out and shoot Alex a quick text.

/Is there a particular reason you needed to talk to Sarge? I mean, the two of you seem pretty friendly./

Of course a response wasn’t going to be coming soon, so David turned his attention to the process of getting settled into his car and the driving. Plus ignoring the strange discomfort in his gut. Instead he focused on the layout of his kitchen back at home. Did he have all the pots and pans he needed yet? He had gone out shopping with Daniel recently and acquired more, and given how much time they had to work with, it was going to have to do. Tonight he’d even be able to finally show off to Connie just how far he had come as a cook, so there was a perk right there.

Provided no one expected him to make a birthday cake from scratch on his lonesome and the women didn’t abandon them again tonight everything should be nice. Granted he didn’t think Connie would do that now that he was with Shaun, so that was a relief.

Shaun. He didn’t even know how Alex thought about the course he had taken with the other man. Tonight would be as good a chance as any to figure that out he supposed.

He just had to hope the reaction was not going to be a bad one.

* * * * * *

Well, with the plans for tonight all but finished and David on his way, there was only one thing left for Alex to do. Which was deal with the situation he remembered from Friday night. Sarge in his apartment and… A lot to figure out, and they at least had some time in the clear. With the front door chiming as it closed, Alex’s attention turned to his target. Well, thinking of it that way probably implied weird things, but he wasn’t going to delve into that right now.

“Sarge?” he called out, moving toward the pastry case. The man in question was focused on the orange clad form of Grif, who was standing at the coffee machine.

“Damn idiot, you need to clean out old ground beans before you brew another pot. I tell you every damn…”

“Sarge,” Alex repeated a bit louder. He was certain the man would ignore him if allowed to. “Just a minute please?”

There was a sag to the man’s shoulders that told Alex that he was finally going to acknowledge him. Alex followed the shift of his shoulders, the resignation in the motion, which was far more than he would have believed possible for such a proud man. Quite interesting, but he wished the man didn’t seem so upset about him. AT last Sarge turned to face him, moving to meet Alex at the pastry counter. For a moment he was struck by the differences in their height, which made no sense. Why take note of it now when he should have nights ago?

“What do ya need?” Sarge asked, his voice gruff and almost dismissive.

As if Alex would go away so easily.

”I wanted to thank you again,” he answered. “I got home safely thanks to you, and I wanted to say how much I appreciated that. I needed a friend that night, and you were there when no one else was. Thank you.”

“I told you before that it was nothing. I helped. Sometimes I do that,” Sarge shrugged, trying to set the information aside, trying to make everything into nothing.

He wasn’t getting away with that today. Alex reached across the counter to lay a hand on Sarge’s shoulder. The place was quiet enough for a talk and he intended to have that talk. His touch drew Sarge’s eyes to his head and that got his attention. After a long moment he nodded. A brief gesture towards Simmons freed Sarge and moved them toward the break room. Well, the locker room for the employees, as it were. But there they were, silent, waiting. How was he supposed to know how to start this conversation?

“I guess I should thank you for more than just the walk home. Should thank you for everything really. The… ear to listen. The points you made. The kiss.”

Who knew such a simple word could make such a strong and stubborn man go stiff. Fear maybe? Weird, Alex wouldn’t have thought the man so easily rattled. If the situation were an y other he would be amused. As it was, well, he wanted to pierce through all of that. After all, this was a conversation, or was meant to be. How could he make the man understand that?

“Just forget it happened,” Sarge insisted, moving for the door. He was not getting away, though. Alex shifted so his body blocked Sarge from leaving. More than anything he needed just get the words out. Once that was done, he would be more than happy to go.

“I can’t,” Alex answered bluntly. “You said that you can’t do anything to give me a good break. But the thing is, you already have given me a break. And maybe you could give me another. A better one.”

“Huh?” Sarge asked, quite clearly caught off guard by the statement that didn’t really state anything.

“I’m saying that if it works for you then maybe you might consider a repeat of the time we spent together on my birthday. Except with a movie or dinner or going paintballing or something.”

There was a brief twinkle of delight in Sarge’s eyes at that final suggestion, but it didn’t remove the tension from the man at all. Was he not being straight-forward enough? Would Sarge even be able to handle straight-forward?

“I don’t quite understand what you’re getting at, Blondie,” Sarge answered Alex’s wondering with a good bit of disappointment on Alex’s part.

“I’m saying a date, Sarge. Possibly more than one. And if it doesn’t work then it doesn’t work and we’ll be friends.”

Was it really that hard to be understood? Alex didn’t think so. Then again, it had been a long time since he dared to ask someone out, so maybe he was messing up somehow.

“I ain’t looking to be your rebound from the emotional let down of losing out to the smooth-talker,” Sarge insisted immediately and firmly. “Plain and simple.”

Oh. Alex stood there in shock for a long moment. Was that was this was? If he had to be a judge of it, he knew he could hardly be a good one. So how was he supposed to answer the concern?

“That wasn’t the intention, but I can understand the concern,” he let himself admit at last. “The only think I can offer you now is my word that this isn’t meant to be that. That I’d try my best. Which I know isn’t enough but…”

Alex was stopped by Sarge shaking his head and raising a hand.

“Trying from you has got to be worth more than from a lot of other people. So let me put it out straight from the word go. I ain’t going to be doing nothing bed-like. I got no interest in any of that. I also don’t do fancy restaurants. And if I call it off it is off with no argument, no protest, no pleading. You got it?”

Speechless, Alex merely nodded. Those were all things he could easily do. Ground rules were a comforting notion as well. Knowing form the start what was and wasn’t expected worked for him. He could even applaud the idea of no burdens or expectations related to restaurants, seeing as he was bigger on cooking for himself anyway.

“And no telling my idiot shift,” Sarge continued. “Funnier to watch them try and figure it out on their own. Fifty says when Grif does his voice goes girly levels of high.”

“No bet,” Alex chuckled, finally finding his voice again. “But if he does, I’ll pay for a round of paintball.”

“Almost makes me want to tell him now,” Sarge chuckled richly, and it left a bit of a smile on his lips as he produced an order pad from his apron. With a quick, barely legible scrawl and a loud rip of paper Alex had Sarge’s number thrust at him, the name over it listed only as ‘Sarge’.

“I’ve always wondered if that was your real name or what,” Alex admitted as he tucked the paper safely away into his pocket. “Don’t suppose I get to know…”

“Nope,” Sarge answered without hesitation. “Gotta run that bit of information. Prove yourself worthy, all that honor stuff.”

“Sounds like fun,” Alex smiled. “I need to get going. Have to really restock the food stores at home now that I’m back and have had a chance to breathe.”

“Of course. Your sister strikes me as an order in and microwave sort of person, right?”

“In the worst way,” Alex immediately agreed. “Without Connie or me she’d be doomed.”

“I get that,” Sarge shrugged. “A bit like that myself. Anyway, I need to get back to work. Expect Grif broke something by now and is hiding it from Simmons. See you later.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed with a small wave. With that the pair of them left the locker room, heading their separate ways. Alex allowed himself a glance toward the older man behind the counter. Seeing him going straight back to berating Grif was entertaining.

It wasn’t until he was outside that he pulled out his cell to enter the number. Of course before that he found a text from David and smirked.

/Is there a particular reason you needed to talk to Sarge? I mean, the two of you seem pretty friendly./

There was no way David would begin to believe him, because Alex could barely believe it himself. No, he needed time to figure out how to present this to his friend. To his sister as well. At least he could buy time before saying it by using Sarge’s request as a defensive measure. Sure David wasn’t on Sarge’s staff, but that didn’t mean telling David wouldn’t get back to Red Shift. So waiting would have to suffice.

/Wanted to pay him back a bit. He was at the bar I went to on Halloween. Bought me a few drinks./

That handled, he returned to punching Sarge’s number in. After a brief thought he sent a brief hello to Sarge’s phone so the man would have his number as well. Which meant the last thing he had to think about was going to pick up David at the apartment. His friend. He just needed to keep it framed properly in his head.

A quick meow from his pocket announced a new text from David, and Alex sighed as he fished the thing back out to check the message.

/You went drinking with Sarge? Why would you do that?/

Really? Then again Alex had to remember David barely knew the man. They didn’t work at the same time. Their interaction was a brief overlap as Sarge came in and David left. So Alex had to keep that in mind for his reply.

/We both happened to be there. And don’t text while driving./

Barely enough time passed for Alex to get to his car and unlock it before David’s response demanded attention. Why had he left his sister talk him into such a pathetic, mewling sort of tone for David’s messages anyway?

/Called voice to test. Fuck Siri. That was text. No! Don’t send that!/

Alex let himself laugh heartily before climbing into his car. No way he was going to respond. He would rather show David the text in person.

Tonight, he thought as he started the car, was going to be the best.

* * * * * *

“Seriously, snickers?” David couldn’t help but laugh at the improbability of it as Alex wielded the frosting knife with considerable skill, smoothing the chocolate butter cream to impressive levelness.

Seriously,” Alex agreed, a touch of pride in his voice. “Ones you are supposed to be opening now.”

The gentle chiding was hardly something that should have made David embarrassed. Nonetheless he could feel heat rising into his cheeks, especially over how easily he had left himself get distracted over Alex, especially his hands. It was the way they could be absolutely still while he worked, holding the knife motionless with one hand while the other turned the cake on its spinning stand. Shaun’s hands always seemed to be moving, fidgeting, fiddling and exploring. Never in a bad way of course. Just very, very different.

“Sorry, sir,” David chuckled to try and cast off his nervous energy, returning his attention to the bowl of chocolates before him. Their cooking had reached an intermediate point, between the baking being finished and everything else prepped and ready for the word go. The word was waiting on Connie and Alexa to show up post work, because it would hardly do to eat without them.

“Please don’t call me that,” Alex groaned. David looked up for half a moment, confused by the reaction. When Alex set the frosting knife aside David rushed his attention back to his task of unwrapping. They were in the not silence of crinkling foil for a bit, punctuated by clanks of chocolates into a shallow bowl. Finally Alex spoke, even as his long fingers fished a chocolate out from between David’s hands.

“Things can get weird when I’m doing work for the University out of the states. This time was a weird one. The man I was sent out to work with had two students there with him. Clearly they craved his approval, some had two students there with him. So they either called him by his title, or by 'sir’. Having been deemed an authority figure and attached to him while there, I was also sir. Don’t think I’ve ever been so uncomfortable in my life,” Alex admitted with a sigh.

“Then how about I just call you ma'am?” David teased, hoping to lighten the mood. Given the man was immediately grinning, clearly on the edge of the laugh, he had to think he succeeded.

“I might be able to handle that. But if you use it in front of Alexa I am going to be actively cross,” Alex warned him. “Not even kidding.”

“I would deserve no less,” David agreed. “So don’t worry about it. We will go with Alex and you will know I’m saying ma'am. Easy. Now tell me more about Australia.”

“I’d rather not,” Alex answered as he selected another chocolate so he could work on the near paving of the top of the cake with chocolate cobbles. “Can I tell you about here instead?”

“Here?”

“It’s spring there, and it’s already surprisingly hot,” Alex sighed. “And the place I was using as my base had the firmest bed ever. Like a rock. When I fell into my bed the first night back I would have passed out in relief of the softness. Except, you know… it was noisy.”

David was still embarrassed by that. His face went scarlet at the reminder. “Promise it will never happen again. We are so sorry it…”

Alex raised a placating hand. Clearly he was over it, or wanted to seem that way. Either way David knew better than to push that. Maybe Alex got it, maybe he didn’t. But moving on was moving on.

“The other great thing here? I get to be the one cooking,” Alex smiled, almost serenely, down at the cake. “No little kitchen there, in my hotel room. Instead I had a per diem allotment for meals. Sometimes people would invite me over and they would cook but never me. Now I ge to be back in my kitchen, master of all I survey. Except anything Alexa’s name is on. She’s way past picky. Love her, but the fridge took all this time to clean out to make room for actual ingredients. The only thing she cooks is no-bake cookies and we have no cocoa powder left.”

Clearly because they had brought a pair of tins of them at the store. “So, cooking was what you missed the most?”

“I didn’t have the people that mattered most to me there,” Alex answered easily as he worked. “Oh, and the fall air. I love it. The crisp way it feels against you skin, the coolness that makes your cheeks sting with cold and pleasure as winter starts to sneak forward. And of course I get to bring my sweaters out.”

“The weather?” David asked with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “Out of everything that you didn’t have access to, everything that wasn’t there, everything that people like and say they wish they didn’t leave behind, and you missed the weather?”

The smile Alex wore was positively wistful and David had to swallow down his pleasure at the look. How could a man be so very, very good? David smiled back and shook his head again. “Alright then, let’s pretend you said something more uplifting and finish the cake, okay?”

The comment made the man nod in agreement and with a gesture he directed David’s attention back to the candies. There were only a few more to be handled, and David tried to focus on his own hands rather than the strong line of Alex’s back and the way the violet sweater the man wore hugged his chest tightly in all the right ways. David was jealous of that body. A small part of him that focused on Shaun at most times said that his boyfriend’s more compact form was quite pleasing in its own way. He wanted to reach out and…

“We’re home! I hope everyone is decent!”

Once, back when he was in high school, Connie had waltzed into David’s room with the same announcement, while Ethan had him pressed against the wall with lips at his neck. Somehow David found this moment with him carefully unwrapping candies for the cake far more embarrassing than that day. He wasn’t even touching Alex! Still, he was thankful to see the two women crossing the living room, tossing their coats aside onto the chair before they made their way to the other side of the breakfast bar from where David was sitting.

“Looks like it,” Alexa noted as she left Connie behind to head to the fridge and fish a pitcher out of it. “Drinks anyone?”

“If you get drunk and ruin my meal, I’m going to mess you up,” Alex warned his twin and David laughed, shaking his head. This was nice, the ease these three people had with each other. They had even welcomed him in. Alexa and Connie had been great, not as close as Nate after he met the man.

“Drink and be merry,” Alexa countered, putting the pitcher down loudly next to David before moving to fetch cups. Connie rolled her eyes at the display and offered David a little smile. After another moment her hand reached out to curl her fingers around those of one of David’s hands.

“Looks like Alex didn’t let us snatch you. Which was good. Tell me you kept Alex from making an eight course meal.”

“Uh…” David said briefly, frowning. “I might have added two.”

“Traitor. How am I going to keep my girlish figure if he feeds us all too much?” Connie asked, drama in her voice as she shook her head.

“Work out more with me,” Alexa answered for him, a smirk on her lips. “In fact, you should have seen it today. The guy you sent me, David, he’s a beast. Nate actually put me on my ass twice in the ring today. Damn military tactics and training beat me and it wasn’t fair.”

“Nate, the large guy in the Master Chief getup at the party?” Alex asked as he put the last piece of chocolate in place.

“Yeah,” David smiled as he sat up straighter. “Met him while you were gone, almost immediately after actually. Marine. Daniel and him, they sorta started a romance while Nate was here after leaving the service for a family reunion. He was going to head back up to Maine when he was done, but instead he’s going to be staying with Daniel. I helped him find work with Alexa, and he’s been helping to train her self defense classes.”

“My intention is to get him all the way to helping out with training people who want to do competitive stuff,” Alexa grinned, and David can see the glee in her gaze. “His take-downs may not be the best, but he’s got a lot of force behind him and he knows how to get people to learn how to use it as well. The business is going to boom with him to back me up. And he has the perk of making Shaun annoyed.”

“French,” Connie chuckled, shaking her head, and David joined her.

“French?” Alex asked, and David had to smile. If Alexa could speak it, so could Alex.

“Oui,” David agreed. “See, Shaun can’t speak it. But it turns out that not only do the three of us speak it to different levels, but Daniel and Nate speak it as first or second languages I guess, and even Michael does to a degree. Shaun grew up with Daniel but never really learned the language and it makes him a touch frustrated to hear it all.”

Just a sentence made Shaun glare at David and pounce on him later in a great way. That made him smile.

“Sounds like you’ve got a new way to drive your boyfriend up the wall, is that a good thing?”

The tone Alex gave him was genuinely worried. A friend wanting to be certain that they didn’t drive their boyfriend away from them. That there wasn’t something to relationship that made things difficult for them. It was a kind of affection that made David smile.

“Yeah,” David smiled as he unwrapped the last candy and dropped it into the bowl. “He knows we do it to make him frustrated. We get a good laugh. And it means I can keep secrets from him to plan surprises if needed. And the way he glares just… it makes me smile. Is that weird?”

“Yes,” Alex said even as Connie shook her head and Alexa huffed. Apparently they had opinions about it all.

“It’s not that bad though,” Alex quickly continued. “Does he make you smile, David?”

In ways that he hadn’t in a very, very long time. He knew, or he thought he knew, why Alex asked. Alex, Connie, they both knew about Ethan, or had their suspicions, and David knew it. To have the two of them smiling now was helpful.

“He does,” David agreed, his voice soft. “Really. I feel… it was more than I expected, Alex, I mean… your advice was a lot more helpful than I ever would have thought it could be. I’m happy.”

Alex nodded and reached out to pat David on the back.

“Good,” Alexa spoke up. “Because if the man hurts you, I am pretty sure Alex is going to have me break some bones. So let’s avoid that since my number one employee is sorta dating his best friend.”

“I could beat him up on my own, and I would,” Alex countered.

“Not if you don’t get back to your physical training you won’t,” Alexa shrugged.

Within moments she was going back into discussions of her gym and training regimen, and David was happy to sit back and listen. Here and now he didn’t know if there was anything more he could want.

* * * * * *

Shaun had always thought of himself as a fit man. Never had any real issues moving his own furniture, he could carry his packs with ease, and it was easy to lift David into his arms and carrying him about when he wanted or needed. None of that prepared him for just how hard of a time he was having keeping up with Nate.

“You know, not everyone can carry three people on their back and move a car with a single hand at the same time.” Shaun didn’t exactly wheeze as he worked to handle the weight of his side of the dresser. Nate, of course, wasn’t even breathing hard.

“Can’t if you don’t try,” Nate countered as he backed up, the asshole could lift everything and still manage to back up without looking like he’d trip, to get into the right location for the dresser. This was the second one they had to move. The first had been in an attempt to move Daniel’s into a better position so his bedroom could contain the second one for Nate. There were other things they were doing too, like switching out for a more comfortable fold-out couch, adding in more storage space in other ways, and the list only went on from there.

“Not everything is about a can-do mentality, soldier,” Shaun groaned. A nod from Nate was all the gesture he needed to have him set his side of the large dresser down, and it was a relief to do it. Immediately Shaun stepped back to rub at his arms. They were sore, but it was a good sore, the sore that said he’d done something good. Helping his best friend was definitely a good thing.

“Not everyone whines when they do something difficult,” Nate countered with a shrug. Asshole didn’t even have the decency to be sweating.

“Well I like to be special,” Shaun answered easily, only to hear snickering behind him. “If I turn around and you’re there laughing at me, Danny, I will have to pinch you.”

“Really? Nate, would you let him do that?”

“I surrender,” Shaun corrected himself as he turned to face his friend. While he and Nate had the hard task of taking care of the furniture, Daniel was responsible for the smaller parts of the transition. Clothes had been washed today and needed folding, dinner that wasn’t merely pizza needed to be prepared for them all, and on top of it they needed a peace maker. Not that Shaun couldn’t get along with Nate. It was just…

The man wasn’t what he had ever expected for his friend. It wasn’t like he thought Nate wasn’t good enough for Daniel. It was… something else. But he supposed both of them were changing. Being adults did that.

“Good choice,” Nate answered from behind Shaun, and Shaun refused to let that shake him.

“Thanks,” Shaun shrugged as he walked past them. “You know, if you’re serious about moving in together, maybe you should go shopping. New drapes, matching couple’s towels, those sorts of things.”

He immediately danced away from Nate. All through the evening he had been jabbing Nate with that, and his friend and the larger man never used the word 'moving’. How neither of them could understand that Nate crashing long term on Daniel’s couch while they were dating definitely fell into the category of living together. Definitely meant serious. Neither of them liked it. Nate, though, seemed to be getting closer and closer to taking a swipe at him.

“I think we’ll be good with what we have,” Daniel countered simply as he moved out of the bedroom. “Now, since we have that in place, will you two please come out to the living room? I’ve taken a look at the couch and it really needs to be about two feet to the right.”

“You’re kidding me,” Shaun groaned in frustration. “Come on, Danny, surely it’s not that important right now. Please tell me it’s not that important right now.”

“It’s important to me right now,” Daniel countered as Shaun trailed after his friend, “and I don’t have people over here enough to take care of all of it for me. Even Nate can only do so much. Right?”

That comment earned Daniel a brief grumble in French which left Shaun twitching in annoyance before he threw himself down onto the couch itself. Of course they were using French. Stupid realizations, stupid everyone talking over his head and leaving him behind. He was going to learn this damn language and show them all that they couldn’t hide their insults from him.

“That isn’t polite,” Daniel chided from somewhere behind Shaun and off to the left.

“I’m sure it wasn’t,” Shaun answered, throwing a sore arm over his eyes to block out the light of a nearby lamp.

“I was talking to you. You’re on the couch we’re about to move.”

The words came just before strong arms moved Shaun’s legs roughly to the side, and then there was a light weight beside him. Shaun peeked out from under his arm and he saw Daniel sitting with Nate leaning over the back of the couch to frown down at him.

“Come on, guys, I’m only human here. Let me have a minute to rest, okay?”

“Of course,” Daniel smiled across at him and Shaun was relieved to have that look from his friend.

Since Nate came into the picture Daniel was not always as easy to pin down, mostly because a lot of his time had become about the other man. Shaun really didn’t have a place to speak, given the fact that he spent a lot of time with David now. Perhaps he and Daniel needed to set up a very specific day of the week that was just for them, for the people who knew what it was like to grow up where they did and how they did. He refused to lose a connection just because they had people in their lives.

“Listen, I know I’m being a brat, especially to you, Nate, but I am still happy for the two of you. Finding each other is pretty cool. Not everyone gets that. I don’t even know how I got it,” Shaun admitted nervously.

“You’re a good person,” Nate offered immediately.

“Not that this is necessarily long term,” Daniel added. “Nate is still looking for his own place. Of course, I won’t throw you out as long as you need this space.”

Shaun covered his eyes again and he was more than happy to not see them making cute faces at each other. Still, a smile curved his own lips at the thought of just how happy this big lug made his friend. Someone Daniel could fall back on and believe in that wasn’t him was perfect. Someone he could trust enough to allow in his space was even better.

The murmuring in another language made Shaun sit up again at last. “Come on, let’s get this couch moved. Not like anyone else is going to swoop in to help us with this.”

“Not even David?” Daniel asked.

They all knew his boyfriend wasn’t coming, or Shaun had thought as much. Maybe Daniel had thought that Shaun might get bored and invite his boyfriend over to help anyway, but not this time. A guy couldn’t spend every waking moment with a new boyfriend, especially not one as skittish as David could be at times. Sure, Shaun would love to have him around more, but he wasn’t going to push it. For half a moment he thought of that scar on his boyfriend’s body, the one that didn’t belong with what little he knew of the man’s background, and then he pushed himself abruptly up from the couch.

“No, he’s taking the night to himself. I think he got invited over to some party now that his friend Alex is back in town. Wasn’t going to drag him here for this anyway. No offense, Nate, he could probably use a nap.”

Nate shrugged behind the couch. He placed a brief hand on Daniel’s shoulder and just like that the smaller man was rising and moving away from the couch. It freed up a place for Nate to stand by one arm, and Shaun took his appointed place on the other end.

“About that…” Daniel said as Shaun got a good grip on the monster of a couch.

“After we’ve moved it. Don’t want him dropping it on his foot,” Nate interrupted. That made Shaun raise a curious eyebrow before the other man was gesturing for him to lift.

There were more pressing things on his mind then, and seeing as he would get an answer soon enough Shaun opted to stay silent and focus on the couch. No one spoke as they moved with Nate walking backward again, and Shaun kept a careful watch on Daniel. When his friend waved for them to stop he was quite relieved to put the couch down. Stupid wood floors and not being able to push things. Oh well.

“Now what could we not talk about for fear of crushing my foot?”

Daniel looked to Nate, some clear communication passing between the other two men as Shaun watched. Now they were apparently capable of telepathy, another way they could talk behind his back or over his head or whatever else they wanted.

“David has neighbors,” Nate said at length. It was such an opaque answer that Shaun ignored it in favor of moving the coffee table to line up with the couch.

“A lot of people do, big guy. In fact, since you’re staying here, you have me as a neighbor… so I guess I want to know what your point is?”

When he looked back up he found that Daniel had somehow slipped away on silent feet. It was a talent his friend had always possessed, and often used against Shaun to leave him in awkward places. Which meant this was about to get awkward, didn’t it?

“Find a wall that isn’t shared by his friend and neighbor.”

Find a what? Shaun stared for a moment before what Nate meant really hit home. Rarely had he ever considered himself a man that was uncomfortable about sex, but the way Nate said it almost made him red in the face. How did the big guy know? Likely because David and Nate had connected rather well in the last weeks. Not that Shaun could figure out exactly what united the pair, but he respected it. None of that prepared him for being lectured on sex by a guy that he was pretty certain still hadn’t kissed Daniel.

“Excuse me?” Shaun found himself asking as Nate stood there, the big man crossing his arms over his chest.

“You heard me,” Nate replied, the words simple and brooking no argument. “David is private, all of us can see that. You got away with some stuff because that Alex guy was out of town, but he’s back and he’s David’s friend, and he’s going to have limits. Has enough of them that he mentioned to me how uncomfortable he felt when he found out Alex heard you two. I’m just saying you need to figure out those limits yourself instead of having me explain them. And you better respect them or I might have to accidentally drop a dresser on your foot.”

It clearly wasn’t an empty threat.

“Daniel wouldn’t be pleased with you if you did that.”

Nate just shrugged and turned away, heading toward the kitchen. Clearly the man thought the conversation was over. Nothing more needing said. Perhaps he was right. Still… it was far from done in Shaun’s own head. He flopped down on the couch once more and wondered what was worse: the idea that David wasn’t able to bring that point up himself, the idea that they might have been caught in the act by someone, or that the idea of Alex listening in on them was more than slightly hot.

Dammit, why did life have to get complicated just as it all seemed to be coming together?