#michelle does things

But then, things changed. At least, Luke thinks they did.

Julie started staying in more often. She’d watch movies with Luke, slowly but surely moving closer throughout the night. She’d include him in her meal prep whenever she made a dish he’d complimented, and when he got out of the shower and walked around without a shirt on, her eyes would linger.

Luke himself hadn’t wanted to presume. He didn’t want to misunderstand her, confess his feelings, and find himself living on his best friend’s couch for the unforeseeable future, because finding a decent place to live on a limited budget sucked. His friends, however, seem to agree with him. Seem to think that maybe Julie likes him back. 

So, one day, after countless hours of encouragement from his friends and a pep talk he gives himself in the mirror, Luke decides to bite the bullet and go for it. He’s going to tell Julie he likes her and ask her out.

“Hey, Julie? Can we talk?” 

Luke approaches Julie when she’s in the living room. She turns around at the sound of his voice and Luke’s breath catches in his throat.

She’s wearing a short, swishy dress with flowers on it, a small bag hanging off her shoulder. Her hair, curls bouncy and shiny in a way that Luke knows takes a ton of time and effort, is pinned into a half-updo, showing off her cheekbones and dangly earrings. Her lips are painted a soft nude and her eyelashes look impossibly long.

She’s gorgeous.

She’s also very clearly going out with someone.

“Oh, hey,” she says, hand sliding up to hoist her bag further up her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” Luke says. His brain is scrambled, torn between the impulse to scream out how beautiful Julie looks and the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. “Uh, are you going out?”

Julie nods. 

“I have a date,” she says, fiddling with her fingers. It’s one of her nervous tells. She must be really excited. “I have a couple minutes before I need to leave, though. You said you wanted to talk?” 

Luke shakes his head. There’s no way he’s doing it now, now that he has pretty clear confirmation that she doesn’t feel the same way before he’s even said a word. He’ll just make up an excuse about household chores or something later, when he no longer feels like sinking through the ground.

“Yeah…it can wait, though. Enjoy your date.”

Julie frowns. She steps closer to him, tilting her head and brushing a few curls back. 

“Hey, no, tell me now,” she pushes. “It looks like it’s important.”

“It’s fine,” Luke bites out. His face feels like it’s on fire. “It’s no big deal.”

“It looks like it’s a big deal,” Julie counters. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because I’m not going to tell you I’m in love with you right before you leave to go on a date with someone else!”

Horrified, Luke slaps his hands over his mouth. The words had just flown out, beyond his control. Oh god, he’s ruined everything now. 

Julie stares at him.

“What?” She finally brings out, voice like a squeak.

Luke sighs. He rubs his hands over his face, then  tilts his head back and addresses the ceiling. There’s no going back now, but that doesn’t mean he has to look her in the eye for the rest of it. He can’t handle that embarrassment.

“I said I’m in love with you,” he repeats. “You’re amazing, and I- I think I love you, even though we haven’t known each other for that long. I thought you might like me back, but I’m wrong about that, I guess. Since you’re going on a date with someone else.” 

Julie giggles.

“You mean the blind date Flynn set me up with in an attempt to get me to get over you?”

Luke lowers his eyes. Julie is still in front of him, but she doesn’t look embarrassed or upset. No, she looks happy, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling.

“What?” It’s Luke’s turn to be confused.

Julie takes another step closer. She’s close enough to touch, now.

“Luke, I’ve been crushing on you since the day you moved in,” she says. “I only agreed to go on this date because Flynn convinced me it could help me get over you. But now that I know that’s not necessary, I think I’ll cancel. Maybe go out with someone else instead?”

She bites her lip. Luke impulsively reaches out and uses his thumb to tug it free. Her breath stutters.

“We could go to that diner down the street?” He suggests. “Get a slice of pie and a milkshake to share.”

Julie’s smile widens.

“You remember that?”

Luke grins. Of course he remembers the time she’d told him how romantic she thinks dates like that are, when people get a massive milkshake and drink it with two straws. It’s like something straight out of a movie, something she’s always wanted to try. And, well. Luke likes milkshakes too. He’s happy to indulge her.

“Of course I remember,” he says. He slides his hand, which was still cradling her cheek, down till he can tangle his fingers with hers. “I remember everything you’ve told me.”

Julie quirks an eyebrow at him. “Well, milkshakes and pie sounds great. But how about after that, we come back here and watch a movie, just the two of us?”

Luke is smiling so widely his cheeks hurt. His idea of the perfect date has always been simple, just spending a quiet night with the person he loves. He doesn’t even remember telling Julie that, but apparently, he has. And she’s remembered. 

“Sounds like a perfect date to me.”

When Julie leans forward to press a soft, lingering kiss to his lips, Luke is pretty sure she feels the same.

Hotels in general are pretty cool. They have the little soaps you can take, and free pens, and hotel breakfasts are the best. It’s really fun to be just down the hall from his friends, and occasionally, to share rooms with them. 

No, the problem isn’t hotels. It’s just hotel beds specifically. And, even more specifically, the blankets.

Alex runs cold. This is not news to anyone who’s ever met him. His hands are cold and his feet are cold and yes, he wears hoodies no matter what time of year. It’s just a thing, okay? And these stupid thin hotel blankets do not accommodate for that. At all. 

He actually has an extra blanket on the bus that he brings to the hotels with him. It’s huge and soft, pink on one side and white on the other. It’s fluffy and warm and absolutely perfect.

And he forgot it on the bus this morning. It’s just him and his cold feet and hands and nose, somehow, against the world.

The shitty thin blanket the hotel provided doesn’t count. Alex doesn’t think that one’s on his side. No, it’s just him.

Well.

Not entirely.

Alex glances to the side, at the undisturbed lump lying next to him. Willie is snoring softly, the only thing visible the very top of his head and the start of the braid he put his hair in earlier. 

Yeah, that’s one more thing Alex loves about being on tour. Sharing a room, a bed, with his boyfriend every night. And waking up next to them in the morning, and going through their routines together, and everything else that comes with it. It’s domestic and fun and absolutely perfect.

And, perhaps most importantly right now, it comes with cuddles. 

Carefully, so he doesn’t wake Willie up, Alex shifts closer. He lifts up the end of Willie’s blanket – for some reason, they have separate ones in this bed – and slides under it. He tosses his own blanket on top of it for good measure. Then, Alex shuffles around until he can wrap his arms around Willie and pull their back against his chest. Then, once he’s comfortable, and already starting to feel less cold, he tucks his nose in the crook of Willie’s neck.

The snoring stops. Alex freezes.

“How come you always end up under my blanket?” A sleepy voice mumbles.

Alex feels a hand pat along his arm until it reaches his own hand, linking their fingers together. He squeezes softly.

“Sorry,” he whispers. Willie still sounds half-asleep, and the last thing Alex wants to do is wake them up completely by talking loudly. “I was just cold.”

“I could tell.” Willie chuckles. It’s followed immediately by a yawn. “We should get you a nose warmer. Like the ones for your ears, but then your nose. Or, like, a nose glove.”

Alex pulls his head back. “Sorry,” he repeats. “I tried not to wake you up.”

Willie turns in his hold so that he’s face to face with Alex. They wrap their arms around him. 

“Don’t be sorry,” he says, yawning once more. “It got me cuddles. I like cuddles.”

“I know you do.” Alex presses his lips to Willie’s forehead in a soft kiss. Thankfully, his lips don’t seem to be as cold as his nose. “Now go back to sleep.”

Willie snuggles closer into Alex’s chest. Soon enough, the snores start up again. 

“Infuriatingly pretty,” Luke says, nodding seriously. “Like one of those model couples.”

“I mean, have you seen Willie’s arms?” Reggie fishes a carrot out of nowhere and dips it into his hummus. Alex didn’t even know they had that at the party. “And his hair, and their eyes…”

“And Alex also has awesome hair.” Luke ruffles it as if he’s proving a point. Alex squawks and ducks away, hands immediately flying up to undo Luke’s damage. “And he has good shoulders, and a nice jawline and stuff.”

“Very true.” Reggie stares at Alex’s face. “And Willie has awesome cheekbones.”

“Okay,” Alex says, cheeks flushed, “am I the one with the crush, or do you guys have something to confess?”

Luke and Reggie shrug in tandem. Reggie bites down on his carrot. 

“Nah, dude,” Luke says, “we’re just hyping you up.”

“And reminding you what a catch Willie is.” Reggie swallows his bite and glances at the clock. “Also, you have, like, twenty minutes left. You’d better go find them.”

“Right.” Alex brushes his hands on his jeans.

He’s pretty nervous about this. He hasn’t dated a lot, doesn’t get many crushes either. There’s something about Willie, though, that drew him in the second he met them. He was lost as soon as they locked eyes, as soon as he saw Willie’s kind, gorgeous smile. 

He’s pretty sure Willie feels the same, actually, which is exciting. They’ve been exchanging flirty touches and comments ever since they moved in together and that hasn’t exactly slowed down. It also hasn’t escaped Alex’s notice that Willie hasn’t dated anyone in all the time they’ve known each other, even though there can’t be a lack of people interested in going out with him. Willie’s a total catch.

The one big drawback to asking Willie out is the roommate part of it all. If he’s rejected, Alex doesn’t think he can handle living with Willie anymore. He won’t be able to find anything else on short notice, he’s definitely not moving back in with his parents, and, well. He looks at Luke and Reggie, who are now dipping celery sticks in the mystery hummus. Alex is pretty sure Reggie has a vegetable stash in his pocket. He’s even more sure that Reggie will forget about said stash and will discover it weeks later when it smells, and Luke will dare him to eat it like they haven’t all had food poisoning before, and. Alex loves his friends. He just doesn’t want to live with that.

But it’s Willie. Alex cranes his neck to catch a glimpse of his roommate, who’s on the other side of their living room, talking and laughing. Willie sees him looking and winks.

Taking that as a sign, Alex begins to make his way over to Willie’s corner.

He only makes it about two steps before there’s someone else hanging around his neck.

“Alex!” A bright voice chirps. Alex is hit with a wave of blonde hair in the nose. It smells of roses. “What a lovely party. Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year, Carrie.” Alex carefully untangles her, taking a deep, rose-free breath as soon as he can. Carrie is a good friend of his, hence the invitation, but right now, she’s the last person he wants to talk to. Conversations with Carrie tend to go on for hours. It’s great when they’re sharing gossip, but when he’s just worked up the courage to finally ask his crush out? Not so much.

Thankfully, Luke and Reggie come to his rescue after a few minutes, distracting Carrie with their hummus and newly acquired breadsticks. Those, Alex thinks he recognises from his own cupboard, but he decides not to ask questions.

Still, the road to Willie isn’t an easy one. Since he’s one of the hosts, everyone wants to talk to Alex. They all want to say hi, thank him for the party, ask about his New Year’s resolutions. It’s great, and Alex loves his friends, but his patience is waning with every step he takes.

By the time he makes it to Willie, the countdown has started.

“Hey,” Willie says, speaking loudly so Alex can hear him over the music. “We throw a pretty good party, huh?”

“We do,” Alex agrees. Around them, the countdown grows louder. Willie joins in, throwing his head back when the clock hits midnight, shouting with glee. Alex is entranced by the glitter spread on their cheekbones.

“Happy New Year,” Willie yells, chorusing along with their guests. He’s only looking at Alex, though.

“Happy New Year,” Alex shouts back. 

“So,” Willie says, leaning in close, “should we kiss?”

Alex chokes on air. 

“What?”

“What?” Willie smirks. “You’re not exactly subtle, you know. I’ve been waiting for you to make a move for months, but then you didn’t. I saw you chicken out, like, a dozen times. So I figured that in the new year, it’d be my turn, so. Can I kiss you?”

“I was going to ask you,” Alex says, brain whirring. “But then there were so many people.”

Willie chuckles. “Well, we did throw a party. It’d be sad if there were no people.”

“Fair enough.” Alex swallows. Bites his lips. His gaze falls down to Willie’s mouth before snapping back up to his eyes. Willie’s smug grin grows even bigger.

“Is that a yes?” Willie steps closer and slides one hand around the back of Alex’s neck. He leans in, but leaves plenty of space for Alex to say no and step away. 

Alex doesn’t want to step away, though. Instead, he steps closer and places his hands on Willie’s waist.

“That’s a yes,” he breathes out before kissing Willie.

Happy New Year indeed.

He places the glasses on the table. For the first time, Bobby notices that it isn’t covered in the usual junk – he doesn’t have a lot of storage space, okay? – but that there’s a dinner for two laid out, candles and all.

“What?” He brings out, frozen in place. When he’d given Reggie a key to his place, he’d been expecting to find his boyfriend eating his cereal, not doing this.

Reggie grins and walks up to him, taking his bag and pulling a face as the weight of it hits him. Bobby’s been dragging a lot of books around. 

“Well, I know you’ve been super busy, so I thought we could have a nice, relaxing night in for a change? So I made dinner, and cleaned up a little when it was cooking and stuff. So we can eat first and then maybe watch a movie after?”

Reggie bites his lip, suddenly looking a little uncertain.

“But I completely understand if this is too much,” he says. “I- I can go, if you’d prefer that. I just thought you deserved a break, you know?”

Bobby unfreezes and surges forward, throwing himself at his boyfriend. He buries his face in the crook of Reggie’s neck. 

Reggie’s arms come up to hold him tightly. 

“Thank you,” Bobby says, his voice muffled. He doesn’t bother moving and repeating it, though. He’s too comfortable for that. “I really needed this.”

As if on cue, his stomach grumbles. Reggie chuckles and squeezes him one last time before letting go. Bobby reluctantly untangles himself from his boyfriend. Somehow, he feels a lot lighter now than he did just minutes ago. 

“C’mon, let’s eat.” Reggie leads Bobby to the table and pulls out a chair. He doesn’t sit down across from him immediately, though. Instead, he leans down and rests his head on Bobby’s shoulder. 

“I made spaghetti,” he says, pointing at the dish, “and garlic bread, and there’s ice cream in the freezer.”

“Thank you,” Bobby says again, turning his head to the side so he can look at Reggie. “It smells amazing.”

Reggie grins. “Well, you know I like to cook.”

Bobby presses a kiss to Reggie’s cheek. Up close as he is, he has a perfect view of the red spreading on Reggie’s cheek. Even after months of dating, Reggie still blushes anytime Bobby does anything remotely flirty. It’s one of Bobby’s favourite things ever.

“I think,” Reggie says, already a bit breathless, “that I deserve a real kiss for this.”

Bobby reaches out and cradles Reggie’s jaw with one hand, tilting his head so he can reach his lips. He’s not one to refuse a request like that, of course.

Kissing Reggie, Bobby has discovered, never gets old. The slide of their lips together, the feeling of Reggie’s fingers threading through his hair, is nothing short of perfection every time they kiss. This time is no exception to that. Bobby feels his exhaustion fading with every second that ticks by. He could spend a lifetime kissing Reggie, he thinks, without getting tired of it. He’d be the happiest man alive.

Currently, however, he’s also very much hungry. The third time his stomach growls, Reggie pulls away.

“Let’s eat, before it gets cold,” he says. 

Bobby leans up for one last kiss, just a short press of their lips together, before he lets Reggie sit down. There will be plenty of time for kissing later, once they’ve had some of Reggie’s delicious food. Once they’re curled up together on the couch, a movie playing and a bowl of popcorn in their laps.