Hours upon hours were spent lying in Alex’s small bed. The couple talked about everything—Alex’s classes, Jack’s possible (hopeful) move, how Alex’s other friends and family had been in the two weeks he’d been away from home. Innocent kisses were shared every now and then, and Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so at ease.

All of the stress that he’d somehow managed to accumulate in a mere two weeks melted away more and more with every simple touch; every single look; every syllable Jack spoke. Even though he was quite a long ways away from the real thing, he felt more at home in his dorm than he ever had before.

“I talked to your parents about what you said yesterday before I left this morning. I knew you wouldn’t wanna do it. They said that they’d still be just as proud of you as I am if you decided to go back. They wanna come visit you soon, too, if you decide you really wanna stay. There’s probably a parents’ weekend coming up or something, right? You should find out and let them know,” the twenty-year-old said before a kiss was pressed to the top of his boyfriend’s head.

Alex nodded, light blue hair brushing against Jack’s lips gently. Words couldn’t describe how much he missed his parents, but he was too damn proud to let them know. Spending time with them, even if it was just a weekend, would help him more than he’d ever admit.

They were silent then, for the first time in hours, and it was only broken when the young boy propped his body up on top of his partner’s, their legs, hips, chests, and noses pressing together. They stared at each other as best as they possibly could, given the fact that they were both sort of going cross-eyed, before Alex let out a giggle and moved to bury his face in Jack’s neck.

“You make me so happy,” he said quietly, kissing the smooth skin beneath his lips before he was sitting up a bit more than he had been, dimples indenting his cheeks as he grinned. “Thank you for coming to spend time with me. I love you.”

Jack hummed as his hands took purchase on the younger boy’s hips and pushed his body back until he could sit up, Alex settled contently on his lap. “I love you more, Cotton Candy,” he said, just as softly and sincerely. Sweet kisses peppered warm, tan flesh as Alex’s hands lifted to rest against Jack’s neck, fingers twirling the longer bits of dark hair at the back of the elder’s head.

“Bet you don’t,” Alex breathed as he let his head tilt back, allowing Jack’s wandering lips more access.

A sharp nip was placed on the younger’s jawline before Jack gave another low hum. “Bet I do,” he challenged, “but now’s not the time for this. Now’s the time where you get yourself lookin’ all delectable so that I can take you out and show everyone that you’re my boy. Gotta state my claim before they all start gettin’ ideas.”

Alex rolled his eyes playfully (even though Jack couldn’t see it) and leaned away in order to receive a genuine kiss before doing as he’d been instructed. He liked being Jack’s boy, he liked “lookin’ all delectable” for his boyfriend, and he liked being shown off. He may’ve been as shy as they come, but there really wasn’t much that made him happier than knowing that Jack wanted to flaunt him.

On the outside, their relationship may have seemed disgusting—a four year difference lay between the two, leaving Alex still in the middle of his teen years while Jack was nearly old enough to drink legally. However, to anyone on the inside, it was more than clear that they belonged together. Sometimes, age really was just a number.

---

“Does this look okay?” Alex asked as he checked himself over in the full-length mirror in his and John’s bathroom. His outfit was simple—a blue plaid, button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and a pair of his tightest jeans—and somehow, it didn’t feel like it was enough. Maybe there was just too much blue in one outfit. Maybe a red shirt would look better.

Jack, who was still reclining in his boyfriend’s bed as he waited for the younger to finish getting ready, stood and moved toward where Alex was standing, checking out his ass and legs in the mirror.

“I think,” the man started as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and pulled their bodies together, “that you look absolutely stunning, as always. No matter what you wear, you’re always going to be the most gorgeous person in the room. If you wanted to go out in pajama pants and an old hoodie, I’d still be sure to point you out to let everyone know that the beautiful, blue-haired boy is my beautiful, blue-haired boy.”

“Then what was the point of telling me to get changed?” Alex asked. His eyebrows furrowed together on his forehead and a frown tugged at the corners of his lips, but that didn’t stop him from reaching up to loosely curl his hands around the elder’s biceps.

“Ah,” Jack hummed before he leaned down to nuzzle his nose in the younger’s ruffled hair. “See, that’s the thing. Not once did I tell you to get changed. In fact, I didn’t say anything of the sort at all.”

“You told me—” Alex started, his argument clear in his tone, before he was being cut off.

“I told you to get lookin’ all delectable, and if you, y’know, ever listened to me when I talk, you’d know that I think that no matter what, you’re perfect. Honestly, babe, I don’t know how you got to be so damn smart in the first place. It’s not like you pay attention to what other people have to say.”

Jack was joking. Alex knew Jack was joking, but he couldn’t help but feel terrible. It wasn’t because he hadn’t listened—no, he knew he hadn’t. It was more so the fact of why he hadn’t listened that made him feel terrible.

Of course, just like the day prior, Jack caught on.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he questioned. The arms wrapped around Alex’s body squeezed, pulling them closer together. Alex’s own moved up his boyfriend’s biceps, over his shoulders, and wrapped around the elder’s neck, tugging him down so that he was able to bury his face in the leather jacket the elder was still sporting. “Look, Cotton Candy, if you’re upset about… I don’t know… about spending time getting changed a million times instead of going out, then I’m sorry, but I know that if you don't meet your own standards then yo—”

“It’s not that,” Alex disagreed with a shake of the head.

“So what is it?” Jack pressed. When Alex shrugged against him, he sighed. “I don’t know how to make things better if you don’t tell me what’s wrong. I made you feel better yesterday, didn’t I? Now that I’m actually here, I can help even more, right? Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen. I love you.”

“You’ll think it’s stupid,” Alex mumbled, arms holding Jack against his body when the elder attempted to take a step back.

At that, Jack couldn’t help but laugh. “Cotton Candy, I doubt you’ve ever had a stupid thought in that pretty, little head of yours. You were smarter at age five than I am today. I don’t even want to know your IQ. Whatever it is that you have to say is important to me. Even if it is stupid—which I highly doubt it is—then I wanna know what I can do to make it better.”

Alex didn’t say anything for a few moments before he gave a sigh. “I’m scared you’re gonna leave me,” he muttered. He didn’t pull away from the embrace much after the words left his lips, but he did make sure to peek up to see the elder’s reaction.

“Why would you think that?” was what he was prompted with, and he immediately went back to tucking his face against his partner’s jacket.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Alex retorted. “Jay, look at us. We’re—”

“Young and in love? Attractive and funny? Great in bed a—” Jack listed off, hoping that it would pull a laugh from his young lover’s chest. Instead, it had Alex pushing away from his grip and giving a miserable glare.

“Be serious!” he snapped, and Jack could tell that he probably wasn’t that far off from crying again. If the shining of his irises had anything to do with it, at least.

In defense, Jack’s hands lifted into the air, palms facing outward. “I’m sorry, baby,” he apologized again. He knew he was on his last straw. He didn’t want to spend his time with Alex fighting, not when he knew that the younger was genuinely worried about Jack leaving him. “Why don’t we go back out to your bed, and you can tell me why you think I’d ever wanna leave you, huh? Talk to me about it. I promise I won’t say anything until you’re done.”

Alex seemed to contemplate that before he gave a nod and, with his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest, pushed his way past his boyfriend and back out to his and John’s bedroom. The large, oddly-colored rose bouquet was still settled on the side of his bed closest to the wall, and the sight of them had a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before it disappeared again. Flowers didn’t mean that Jack would actually stay.

Even still, as soon as Jack had settled himself on the bed next to Alex, the younger was more than willing to climb into his lap, sans being prompted to at all. The pout and crossed arms stayed.

“I’m scared you’re gonna leave me,” he repeated, his words not being muffled by anything. He leaned further into his boyfriend’s chest as a large hand smoothed up and down his back. “I mean… Jack, look at us. This, our relationship… it’s illegal, and it’s a wonder the police haven’t tried to take you away yet. What would we do if they ever did, huh? I don’t… why do you even put yourself at risk like that? Why do I let you put yourself at risk like that?

“And then, not to mention the fact that I’m, y’know, still a kid. No matter how ‘smart’ I am, I’m still just some dumb, little sixteen-year-old. And it’s—well… I mean… I feel like I have to try harder, y’know? Because maybe one day I won’t try hard enough to look my best and you’ll find someone else, who's old enough and always attractive enough and… and I know that sometimes I make you feel stupid, and I don’t want that to drive you away, either.

“It’s stupid. I don’t think that we should be together because I don’t want anything to happen to you, but I don’t want you to leave me for someone else. No one would be able to replace you; no one makes me feel as happy about life as you do. I really love you,” Alex concluded glumly. His head was resting against Jack’s shoulder, the fingers of his right hand curled loosely into his boyfriend’s white V-neck and his left arm wrapped around a thin waist, between the leather jacket and tight-fitting shirt.

Jack took a moment to let what he’d been told sink in. Small kisses pressed to soft, blue hair as he composed the perfect response in his mind, and when he finally had it, he was twisting their bodies around until Alex was sprawled on the mattress beneath him.

“Well,” he began before pausing to press a light kiss to thin lips, “I’m not going to lie and tell you that we’re going to be together forever because you're too smart for that. Anything could happen. Maybe I do get thrown in jail. Maybe we get into a serious fight and we just can’t get past it. Maybe one of us gets hurt. Who knows?

“But I’m not going to focus on any of that. I just want to live in the now, and I want you there by my side every step of the way. You’re my priority, and as long as you’re okay, then I don’t care about what happens to me. You don’t make me feel stupid, either. Like I said just yesterday, you amaze me. I feel so much pride when I think about you or brag about you to anyone who’ll listen. I know you try and dumb things down for me as much as possible, but I love when you forget to and go off with all your super smart words and stuff, even if I can't understand you.

“If I wasn’t in it for the long run, do you really think I’d readily give up everything back in Baltimore to be with you? I want to do this. I want to be with you, and I hope we make it for a very long time, if not forever. I never want to get tired of hearing your voice or seeing your smiling face. I’d give absolutely anything to be with you. Don’t doubt that. Don’t doubt me when I say that you’re the most gorgeous boy in the room, and don’t doubt me when I say that I love you.

“You make me the happiest man in the world, and you’re always finding ways to make me a better person. If I ever gave that up for anything, I’d be a hell of a lot stupider than I originally thought. I really love you, too. Whatever happens, happens. There isn’t a single scenario that you could come up with that would make me willingly leave you. I’d still fight to stay by your side, and if I couldn’t, then I’d always wait for you, and I hope you’d wait for me, too.”

“You know I would,” Alex mumbled, but he was smiling. It wasn’t a big one, not big enough for his dimples to show, but it was enough for Jack to know that he’d quelled any of his partner’s fears—for the time being, at least.

“Besides, you’re going to be eighteen before we even know it. A year and, what, four months? Sixteen months? That’s all of one calendar. We’ll be okay. We’ll have each other, and we’ll have all of our friends and our family who’ll no doubt stick up for us. We’ll make it, Cotton Candy. You don’t have to worry about it, alright?”

Alex was silent. His teeth chewed at his bottom lip as he contemplated what his partner had told him, and their eye contact didn’t falter. Tiny hands reached up to slide around the back of Jack’s neck, tugging him down so that their foreheads were leaned together before he finally whispered back, “Do you really mean that? All of it?”

“Of course, Al,” the elder affirmed. They were quiet for a few moments as they just breathed each other in, glad to be reunited and truly at ease. Then, Jack was breaking it to say, “How about we just stay in tonight, huh? We can get some fast food, pick up some movies, and we’ll just spend the night away from everyone else. We’ll have more than enough time to make everyone jealous about the fact that you’re mine and not theirs later.”

On the inside, Alex was more than eager to agree, but he still did his best to play it casual. “Are you sure?” he asked gently. “I know you really wanted to… we still can. It’s not too late. It’s up to you.”

“Yeah, I changed my mind. Spending quality time with my favorite boy is more important. Showing my boy off can wait a night or two. But first…” and with that, the elder was sitting up. Alex was confused for no more than two seconds. Before his eyes could even fully peel open, long fingers were working at the buttons of his shirt.

Alex didn’t say anything as they were all popped from their assigned niches, nor as he sat up so that it could be pushed off of his arms and tossed to the floor. He was pushed back onto the mattress when it hit the ground. Then, the button and zip of his pants were being undone. Within thirty seconds, Alex was lying sprawled across his bed, completely naked and at Jack’s will, while the older man sat between his spread thighs, all of his clothes still clinging to his body.

Teasing brushes of calloused fingers down soft, smooth sides had Alex’s eyes fluttering closed. A content sigh pushed up from his throat, and his body strained against the touch, wanting to feel more. It had been far too long since he’d been touched by anyone (that wasn't himself, at least), and adding in his teenage hormones, he was reacting within a matter of mere minutes. Still, it didn’t seem like Jack was going to give in and touch him the way he was craving to be touched.

Alex was gasping at each touch, only slightly exaggerating for his boyfriend’s benefit. It had been just as long for Jack as it had been for him. It was when both hands curled around his thighs, so close yet so damn far from where he wanted them, did the younger finally speak.

It was quiet, almost inaudible. A hushed, “Kiss me,” was all it was, and for a moment, Alex wasn’t sure that Jack had even heard him. When the weight on the mattress began to shift, he thought that he’d gotten his way. Except, when the kiss he was expecting never came, he allowed his eyes to open once more.

Jack was there, staring down at him, bottom lip tugged between his teeth and his pupils blown wide. His hands hadn’t moved from where they were gripping at Alex’s thighs, but their hold did seem to get tighter.

“Where?” It was husky, and for a second, left Alex confused. Where did he want to be kissed? In his bed would be nice. What kind of—

And then when the meaning behind the words hit, the younger couldn’t help the way he all but choked on his tongue. A few seconds were set aside to recover from it, and then Alex was reaching down to take a hold of Jack’s left wrist. He tugged it away from his leg before bringing it up.

Long fingers were curled down into Jack’s palm, leaving just his pointer finger free, before Alex lowered it down to hover in front of his lips. His tongue flicked out against the pad teasingly, and then a small kiss was being placed on the spot. Next, Alex dragged Jack’s finger against his bottom lip. He didn’t fail to notice that the elder zeroed in on his every move.

“Here,” he finally spoke, the tip of Jack’s finger still pressed to his lips.

The man was more than willing to comply… until Alex was once again moving his hand down. A delicate touch traced over soft features before it stopped at a spot behind the younger’s ear. “Here,” was all he said before he was tugging at Jack’s hand yet again.

At his collarbone, the middle of his rib cage, below his navel, and the inside of his thigh, Alex made sure to stop. He even got creative with it, drawing teasing X’s and O’s where he wanted to be kissed. The closer he got to the place he truly wanted to be touched, the more difficult it became to hold himself back from just forcing Jack to do it. There would be a time for that later.

Jack was silent as he watched, waited, and took note of all the places his lover wanted, and it was only when Alex let his wrist go did he move in once more.

The first initial kiss, the one to Alex’s lips, was so slow and perfectly calculated. Small swipes of tongue against chapped lips, lips that opened wide in hopes that the smooth muscle would finally delve inside, had Alex all but going insane. To the young boy’s displeasure, it didn’t. Instead, the needy whimpers that escaped his lungs and fled into his partner’s mouth were all but ignored.

Next came the spot behind Alex’s ear, small kisses dotting the path between lips and neck. Things began to get a little rough as Jack’s teeth sunk into the smooth skin that lay there. Gasps and groans flit from Alex’s swollen lips as his flesh was sucked on, coaxing blood to the surface so that it tinged his pale complexion.

Alex hated hickies, hated the sight of them and hated knowing exactly what was happening to his body as Jack bit and sucked at his skin, but he also loved getting them. The feel of it was got him going, as far as light foreplay went, at least. It was more than enough to have his cock twitching between his legs, begging for a touch.

More and more kisses and hickies littered the young boy’s body. Jack didn’t pay much attention to the problem between Alex’s legs as he tugged at perked nipples and licked teasingly between two ribs. It was still good. Of course it was still good. Alex was too sensitive of a person for it to not feel good. Jack knew just how to work his straining body to have him teetering over the edge without receiving the touch he truly craved.

It was when those kisses finally made it to the insides of his thighs did Alex start to pant and whine and whimper like a bitch in heat. He couldn’t take it—he could feel Jack’s hair, Jack’s nose, Jack’s stubble rub against his tightening balls so gently that it almost hurt.

It wasn’t enough. It was too much. He didn’t know how to deal with the assault to his senses. What he did know was that he needed something to hold on to when the pleasure got as intense as it did (damn his teenage hormones), and his best bet was Jack’s hair.

Shaking fingers curled into the mob of black and blond on his partner’s head, and with just one precise tug on the strands, Jack’s lips were leaving his leg in favor of pressing against his balls.

Alex’s eyes blew wide at that. His back arched almost painfully against his mattress as his legs propped themselves up, spreading even wider of their own accord.

“Oh, God, please,” he muttered, barely audible over his heavy breathing and the blood rushing to his own ears. It was too much, too much, too much for him to handle. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t hold back, not when Jack’s tongue was creeping out from his plump lips to rub against his delicate skin.

Moans and groans spilled from Alex’s agape mouth as his hips lifted from the mattress, pressing himself closer to Jack’s face. The elder man didn’t try to stop it. He liked seeing Alex get so needy; liked knowing that he was the cause of such pleasure. He also liked (but would never admit) how easy it was to make his boyfriend come. What may have been humiliating to the younger was about as hot to Jack as it could possibly get.

All it took was one look between the pair, dark eyes meeting dark eyes, before Alex’s dick was giving a final twitch and spilling his release along his stomach.

Unintelligible gibberish was all Alex was capable of as his hips spasmed and jerked uncontrollably. The grip he had on his boyfriend’s hair tightened, and his legs fell open as far as they possibly could, his orgasm becoming that much more intense as it shot through every nerve in his body.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see, and he couldn’t move. It was too much for him to handle at once. His back reconnected with his sheets and his extremities became limp. His hold on his boyfriend’s hair dwindled until both arms finally gave in and they slumped down onto the mattress at either side of his body.

Jack was turned on, of course he was, but as soon as Alex’s body had stopped its frantic twitching, he was back to where he’d been before his partner had started to spiral out of control.

When Alex had finally caught his breath, at least enough for him to get air into his lust-hazed brain, he finally let his right hand tangle into his boyfriend’s hair and tug yet again. Jack was brought up from where he was still sucking lazy hickies, wanting to leave as many marks as possible. The bigger and darker, the better—those would be the ones that would last as reminders when Jack returned to Baltimore to apply for the transfer and pack his things.

It was with complete reluctance that the older man stopped his sucking and biting to allow himself to be pulled up his boyfriend’s body, gleaming with sweat and the younger’s release. When they were eye level once more, Alex gave a lazy smile before leaning up to connect their lips in a slow, deep kiss. His right hand moved from Jack’s hair down just enough to curl around his partner’s neck, holding him in place as his left lifted to cup the other’s cheek gently.

“Thank you,” he mumbled against Jack’s lips. Honestly, he was still feeling a little embarrassed about how little it took him to reach his high, but he tried his best to not let it show. He’d been alone two weeks, after all. It was understandable and acceptable that it hadn’t taken him long.

“You don’t need to thank me for anything, Cotton Candy,” Jack disagreed. His lips pressed small kisses from Alex’s lips, up toward his cheekbone, and then across until a kiss could be planted on the smaller boy’s earlobe.

“You sure about that?” Alex whispered. His left hand crept down from the side of the elder’s face slowly, dragging along white cotton. Before he could even reach the waistline of his boyfriend’s (quite clearly) tented jeans, Jack was sitting up just enough to grab both of his hands, tangle their fingers together, and press them into the pillow on either side of Alex’s head.

“I’m sure,” he agreed with a chuckle before a kiss was pressed to the younger’s sweaty forehead. “I wanted to help my baby relax. Don’t you worry you’re pretty, little head about me, alright? Now, go get yourself lookin’ all delectable—in a pair of sweats and my sweatshirt—and we’ll go get some food, snacks, and movies.”

Alex flushed, slightly self-conscious about the fact that Jack knew that the sweatshirt he’d been wearing just the day before wasn’t his own, before he gave a nod. “You can’t go out like that,” he said when Jack moved off of him in favor of stretching out beside the bed. “Someone might notice.”

“Notice what?” he asked, playing dumb as a simper tugged at his lips. “Notice that the sexy boy by my side turned me on? Oh, no, whatever shall we do?”

Alex sent a faux glare at his boyfriend as he, too, stood from his bed to stretch out his body. He could feel his release slide down his body, could feel Jack’s eyes focused on his every move, and could feel his cheeks flare with humiliation as he moved his way toward the bathroom once again in order to clean up his torso.

Jack was joking. Alex knew Jack was joking, and unlike before, he was perfectly okay with it.

---

The next morning, Alex didn’t feel like getting out of bed at all. He was warm, wrapped comfortably in Jack’s secure arms as the elder mumbled quiet ‘good morning’s into his ruffled, blue hair. Alex had rolled over for a kiss, and from there, it had escalated to lazy love-making before the younger was being sent off to get into the shower.

When he got out nearly a half an hour later, the dorm was quiet. He didn’t dwell too much on it (merely thought that Jack had gone back to sleep—he didn’t blame his boyfriend at all), but it was no more than ten minutes later as he was finishing up blow drying his hair did he hear the front door open. Next came the bathroom door, and Jack stood on the other side, a McDonald’s bag and the younger’s dorm key in his hand.

“Oh, good. I wasn’t sure if I’d catch you before you had to leave, and I would’ve felt bad if you’d left without your dorm key. I got food, obviously. What time do you get out today?” Jack asked as he set the bag onto the counter next to the sink.

Alex shrugged before moving toward his partner and pushing himself up on his toes to press a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. His towel nearly fell off in the process, and he briefly wondered why it was even still wrapped around his waist in the first place. “Thank you, Jay. I think Tuesdays and Thursdays are my short days. Noon, maybe? It might be sooner, but it might be later. I’d have to look at my schedule again before giving you a definite answer. Why?”

“Well,” Jack started as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame, “I was thinking that maybe today me and you could go driving around and look at some apartments in the area? I’ll look up possible listings and shit while you’re in class. Then maybe after we could do what we did last night again. I doubt either of us are gonna feel up for going out after such a long day. What do yo—”

“Yes, that sounds perfect,” Alex mumbled around a bite of his breakfast. He did his best to dawdle as much as possible when it came to finishing getting ready, but when he realized that if he didn’t leave his dorm within ten minutes, he’d no doubt end up late, he kicked himself into overtime. His relationship may have been highly illegal, but he was a good kid, damn it.

He still didn’t want to go to class, didn’t want to have to deal with a second first day of school all over again, but having Jack there to see him out with a hug, kiss, and a quiet, “You look gorgeous, baby. Kick their asses and show them all who’s the boss. Have a good day and don’t stress yourself out too much. I’ll be right here when you get back. I love you,” definitely made it all that much easier on him.

---

“This is the last one for tonight, okay? We’ll get some food and more movies on the way home. I know you’re tired, Cotton Candy. Come on, last apartment,” Jack urged as he climbed from his car.

“You said that three apartments ago,” Alex said, pout evident in his tone.

“I know, handsome, but I swear on my very life this time. Besides, it’s getting kinda late. After this, I doubt anyone’ll still be showing apartments for the day.” The young boy sighed from where he’d snuggled himself into the passenger side of his boyfriend’s car before ambling out into the cool night.

He trudged and pouted for all he was worth… up until Jack’s arm wrapped around his waist and pulled their bodies together.

“This one’s the closest to your school that I could find,” the elder said as they began to make their way through the building’s lobby. “It’s a little on the expensive side, so I didn’t wanna stop here first. It’d be nice to live closer, though, wouldn’t it? You’d be able to just pop over whenever you felt like it. I heard that students can ride the buses for free as long as they have an ID on them, so that’d help save on gas in your car for when you need it for other things, like…”

Truth be told, Alex wasn’t listening. He was half asleep and pressed into his boyfriend’s side. At least, he was… up until he tripped. Thankfully, Jack caught him before he could make a true impact.

“You alright, Cotton Candy?” he asked as he scooped his boyfriend into his arms, concern clouding his features.

“Carry me,” was all Alex mumbled, and Jack couldn’t help but shake his head in disbelief.

“You almost die and all you have to say is ‘carry me,’” he mocked, but that didn’t stop him from manhandling his boyfriend around so that their chests were pressed together, Alex’s legs wrapped loosely around the elder’s waist and his arms around Jack’s neck.

Alex dozed without problem from there on out. Jack’s body heat kept him both warm and safe, even though both knew that if something were to happen, there would be no way the elder would be able to defend them. The young boy was far too tired to care about the possibilities any way.

He could faintly hear the woman showing the apartment talking to Jack—about the boy in his arms, about the rent, about certain rules, and other such things that Alex should have cared about but didn’t.

It was only near the end of their visit did the boy pick up on something he was probably not meant to have heard.

“He’s in a dorm at the school now, but I’m going to invite him to live with me starting next semester. I mean, we haven’t been together that long, really, just a little over a year, but we’re the only ones we have out here. I know I love waking up next to him, and I think that it would be good for us as a couple. Besides, I know he gets anxiety a lot, and I hate not being near him in case something happens. He means the world to me.”

Alex’s arms and legs tightened their hold around the elder. It was only minimally so, not enough for anyone to notice. Anyone but Jack at least, who could feel the slightest shifting against his body. The younger didn’t realize that Jack knew he was fully awake, and he had to bite his lip in order to not let any sounds out.

“I think he’d like this place,” Jack finally said, smile taking up his face before he turned his head to press a kiss to blue hair. “Can I come back tomorrow to fill everything out? I should really get him back to his dorm.”

Once again, Alex wasn’t listening. He was much too caught up in the fact that not only was his boyfriend moving to Massachusetts to be with him, but they would also be sharing an apartment together.

Suddenly, the very idea of giving up on school and returning home seemed inane. He couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but where he was at that moment: pressed against Jack’s body in their soon-to-be-apartment. Better days were coming.

Notes