#2330

Alex hasn't been home for a few days, and Liam has started feeling really anxious about it even despite the hundreds of texts and calls they've been exchanging.

Liam has been hogging basically every second of Alex's free time, but Alex won't be available for another two hours, so Liam crawls his way back into their bed and curls himself up on Alex's side, swaddling himself in the blankets like he can surround himself in the remaining glimpses of Alex's presence.

He glances around and takes in the cluttered side table; it's not as messy as Liam's, but it's still busy, random items littered about and air tags sitting unused just in case Alex may need them in a pinch.

His jewelry dish sits empty, and Liam's heart warms just knowing that it's there– Alex doesn't wear any other jewelry, and he absolutely hates the feeling of rings on his fingers, but he still wears his wedding band every single day.

So when Alex bought a whole ring dish simply for the sake of just his wedding ring, Liam thought it was absolutely hilarious, but also horribly and disgustingly endearing all at the same time.

Because Liam knows that Alex really hates sleeping with his ring on; says it's claustrophobic, or something, but he was always so worried about losing it if he just set it down loosely on his side table.

It's an adorable gesture, and Liam finds himself staring at the empty jewelry dish until his eyes start getting dry and kind of irritated from not blinking for so long. That's definitely it. He is absolutely not getting teary over this, no way.

Once he realizes how long he's been sat here doing nothing, bundled up in blankets despite the ridiculous German heat and longing for Alex like he's gone off to war, Liam shakes his head and forces himself to get up.

He lazily makes the bed, repositioning the pillows and vaguely straightening the comforter up until it looks somewhat presentable, and he turns to leave the room until something catches his eye.

A dark green hoodie slung across the back of the chair in Alex's corner of the room. One of Alex's hoodies, the one he wore to bed the night before leaving for his trip.

Liam pauses for a second, pursing his lips for a brief moment in consideration as he eyes the hoodie, waiting in silence as if it has something to say, like it'll give Liam a piece of its mind if he stares at it long enough.

His patience blanches, and he rushes to take the few steps needed to grab the hoodie– a soft, AA23 branded one that Liam knows Alex has worn a fair bit judging by the stretched out sleeves and crooked hoodie strings.

Liam pulls it on without a second thought, and the fabric drapes over his body heavily, slouchy and comfortable and definitely too big for him.

It's hot as balls in Germany right now, so realistically, wearing a hoodie is an awful idea, and he's sure he'll get too warm eventually, but he really doesn't want to take it off; Alex will still be gone for a few more days, and Liam really misses his company, sue him.

So, instead of just… Not wearing a hoodie in thirty degree temperatures like any normal person, Liam opts to take off his trousers and the undershirt beneath the hoodie itself, so that all that he's left in is his boxers and Alex's enormous dark green hoodie.

When he goes to look in the mirror, he's reminded of their DTM days, back when Alex would offer Liam his coat on cold, rainy mornings, and he snorts just thinking about how large it was, how he would be completely drowned in it.

It's funny, looking back, because, although he didn't know it at the time, Alex is always lingering on the colder side of things; he's hardly ever seen without an extra coat or sweatshirt in hand, so him offering Liam his coat was like, the most ridiculously obvious thing. How Liam didn't notice how sickly in love Alex was with him, he has no idea.

After staring off for a while, he starts rubbing his fingers across the ribbed fabric at the bottom of the hoodie, inspecting every little detail of his reflection like it'll somehow summon Alex back home.

The white logo sits stark against the dark green canvas, and when Liam drags his hand up to brush his fingertips over the embroidery, he notices that he can feel his heartbeat thumping lightly through the fabric.

Alex's name is sitting above his heart as it works to orchestrate all the blood in his body, beating for Alex even when they're hundreds of miles away.