#relex

“Do you think we’ve met in other lives?” Reggie pondered aloud, breaking the silence of the rooftop. 

Alex hummed thoughtfully from beside him, his feet kicking back and forth over the edge. 

It wasn’t uncommon to find the two boys out there, sitting on the rooftop of Sunset Curves’ practice studio as the sun set or rose over the horizon. All four of the boys did it, there was something special about the space as if it was detached somehow from their harsh realities. So, whenever something got just a little too unbearable, this was likely the first place they’d go, content to sit in the fresh air until the sun set or rose and they were feeling better. 

Tonight Reggie and Alex found themselves seated side-by-side. Reggie arrived first, it was easier for him to sneak out when his parents fought because it was too loud and they were too focused on their argument to notice anything else. Alex had a harder time, he was ready to get out as soon as his dad made an offhanded homophobic comment at dinner but he’d had to wait until they’d become engrossed in their evening news. 

“Maybe,” Alex responded, sounding pensive. 

Reggie turned to look at him, brows furrowed with curiosity.

“I hope so,” Alex added, voice more sure and fond. “I hope past me had someone like you in their life.”

They fell back into silence and Reggie had to look away in order to hide the redness in his cheeks. Of course, it didn’t really matter because moments later Alex was scooting closer to him, tucking himself under Reggie’s arm. 

“Reggie I-“ Alex opened his mouth to speak, probably to say something along the line of ‘I care about you’ but he froze before he could make any sort of confession. 

“What’s up?” Reggie asked, peering down at the blond-haired boy. 

Despite being the tallest of the group, Alex was always trying to make himself smaller, especially when he was upset or uncomfortable. It wasn’t uncommon for him to shrink into any of the guys on nights like this, it was vulnerable but he trusted them to hold him. Reggie understood that, the need to be held, and he was happy to provide that for Alex, to be big for once when the shouting in his house often made him feel so small. 

“I- your heart is beating really fast,” Alex said instead, picking his head up from where it had been resting on Reggie’s chest in order to look up at the boy in concern. 

Reggie swallowed thickly past the lump in his throat as his cheeks flamed even redder. 

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, sitting up completely and furrowing his brow as his concern grew. 

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” Reggie stuttered out, unable to meet Alex’s eyes. 

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” Alex backed away even further and Reggie cursed himself. 

“No!” He said quickly, pushing himself into the space Alex had just vacated. “It was- it was nice.”

It wasn’t until he finally turned to meet Alex’s eyes that he realized that he had actually moved closer than Alex had previously been. His eyes flicked down to his lips as if on instinct before flicking back up to Alex’s blues and he gulped. 

“Do you... can I- can we..?” 

“Yeah, Reg,” Alex breathed and then they were leaning forward, closing the gap between them. 

Reggie supposed it must’ve been a pretty magical sight, the two of them kissing on the rooftop, sun setting in the background. It couldn’t have compared to the actual kiss itself though. 

They pulled away breathless, Alex sliding back into his place under Reggie’s arm as they fell back into the comfortable silence of the rooftop. They’d have to talk about it eventually, but for now, they were content to just sit together and let the rest of the world melt away around them. 

Sitting there in silence Reggie knew the answer to his question. He couldn’t imagine a life, past or future, without Alex in it.

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