It Beats This Hard [4/5]
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Don't forget the non-fish aliens: Mordent (16)|Dinah (15)|Aaron (14)|Melchior (12)|Sebastian (9)|Curtis (9)|Oscar (8)
“When were you going to tell me?” Alex folded his arms. “I mean, what the fuck, Ali, I am supposed to be your best friend, you know? You’re supposed to tell me all that shit!”
“Tell you what?” He played dumb, cradling his cup of tea. He looked up at his best friend, who looked angry.
“You have a hickey on your neck.”
“Oh.” Ali’s hand flew up to touch it, and suddenly -
“Ssh, quiet, be very quiet.” Teddy’s mouth trailed down, sucking lightly at the cordons of his neck, in a way that shouldn’t have been attractive, shouldn’t have felt good, but... it did. Ali gasped, his eyes screwed shut -
“Well?” His friend looked angry.
“We’re taking it slow.” He said without thinking, before screwing up his eyes in agitation. “I... I mean...”
“I’m supposed to be your best friend.” Alex remarked angrily. “Can I remind you what happened the last time you didn’t tell me about your boyfriend?” The Indian man didn’t respond. “He turned out to be your asshole of an ex-husband, remember?”
“Oh. Yeah.” Ali smiled faintly.
“What the fuck?” The violinist challenged him.
“I - it’s not you, Alex.” He chewed on his knuckle, trying to figure out how to phrase it without offending his best friend or giving too much away. “We’re just... I want to know that it’s going to work, first, y’know? The kids don’t even know. I haven’t told anyone.”
“Girl or guy?” Alex leant forward, evidently pacified by the information Ali was sharing. “Have you slept with them yet?”
“No, they’re... shy.” The Indian man bit back a smile, thinking of his boyfriend. “And... guy.” He wasn’t prepared for Alex to shoot up with an exhilarated shout.
“Are you kidding me? A guy?” He demanded excitedly. “Then this is big, it’s big, right?” He fixed Ali with his blue eyes. “I know you, Ali. Girls you can take or leave, but I know how attached you were to Teddy. Is this big?”
“It’s big.” He admitted reluctantly. “Or, at least, I want it to be.”
“We need to meet him.” Alex declared. “Bring him when you come around on Wednesday! Ed and I need to make sure he’s suitable for you!” He bustled out the room before Ali could respond.
The Indian man sat back in the chair, his eyes wide with foreboding. Teddy was not going to like this.
-
“Fuck.” Teddy put the phone down and buried his face in his hands.
“What’s up?” His best friend looked over from where he was toying with his camera. Tom had the strange habit of curling himself up as small as he could go, in as confined space as possible, and he was doing that now.
“Alex...” The older man’s head jerked up at the name. “Alex wants to meet me. Well, not me, but... the guy who Ali’s dating. Me.”
“What’s the problem with that, Casanova? You two are dating after all?” Tom raised an eyebrow, clearly not following.
“I can’t do this.” Teddy darted for the phone again, at the same time as Tom. The photographer got there first. “Tom, let me-” The older man cried out as Teddy peeled back his fingers roughly. They weren’t strong.
“Teddy, for fuck’s sake, calm down, you knew this would happen!” He lunged for the phone again, almost sprawling out on top of the other.
“I swear to God, if you don’t get off me and let me make this fucking call, I will break your fingers again.” The engineer said calmly, looking down at the blonde. The blonde didn’t move. His misshapen fingers curled around the phone and he glared at Teddy challengingly.
“What are you going to do, huh?” He asked quietly. “Are you going to ring Ali and call it off, because you’re scared?” The American sat up straight. “You’re thirty five, Teddy, and you have two guys hopelessly in love with you. You’re going to break up with Ali because you’re scared?”
“You’d know all about me being scared.” Teddy hissed back.
“Yeah, I bore the brunt of your fucking revenge.” Tom’s look was sympathetic and full of pity. Suddenly, the world span, and Tom shouted out as his head connected with the glass coffee table. Teddy had shoved him violently. He could feel the glass splintering under his weight, and screamed in shock as it shattered.
Tom could hear his son sobbing and pleading them to stop arguing. The words twinged at Tom’s conscience. Curtis had been in this situation before.
“Tom, Tom, you have to stay conscious, yeah?” Teddy was knelt by his side, pieces of bloodstained glass in his hands.
“If I have to have my head shaved, I’ll kill you.” The American said quietly, not moving. The bloodstained glass was creeping him out.
“Yeah, you can do that.” Teddy smiled weakly at him.
Tom looked straight at him. “I get that you’re moving on with your life, and I’m not, but why do you have to hurt me to do it?”
-
“Teddy, are you...” Ali trailed off, taking in his boyfriend’s appearance. “What’s happened?”
“I need to... I need to get out of here for a bit.” Teddy said hoarsely, still shaking a bit. He watched the younger man’s face fall before throwing him the keys. “You drive. I don’t think I can.”
“I... ok.” The Indian man took the driving seat of the people carrier, giving Teddy another nervous look. “Where to?”
“Somewhere out the city.” The engineer said quietly, huddling up in the seat. “Somewhere not here.” He watched as his boyfriend started up the car. “You thought I was just leaving, didn’t you?”
“Past experiences have told me you run when things get hard.” Ali admitted. “Including phone sex.” He was treated to the older man laughing, but it was a shadow of his regular laugh. “Teddy, what’s going on?”
“Tell you when we get there.” He mumbled. The younger rolled his eyes with a soft sigh and kept driving. He pulled up about twenty minutes later, and they both got out.
“Well?” He raised an eyebrow, before turning to look at the city skyline.
“Tom and I had a fight.” Ali raised an eyebrow, asking for elaboration. Teddy pressed his lips together. "A proper fight." Suddenly, the image of Tom's misshapen hands flashed across Ali's mind.
"What did you do?" He demanded in a horror filled whisper. He looked at Teddy's hands. "You have blood..."
"His head went through the coffee table." The cellist's eyes were fixed on a point away from the conversation. "Curtis was... Curtis was..." He covered his eyes with a hand. Ali watched the other's shoulders shake for a few seconds, before resting a hand on his back.
"What goes on in your head, Teddy?" He murmured.
Teddy raised his head, tears silently tracking down his cheeks. "He was trying to stop me calling you." The younger man stiffened. "I was going to break it off."
Ali closed his eyes. "Why?"
The engineer turned away. "I can't do anything without hurting you." It was almost a whimper. "I can't stop hurting people. Whatever I do, someone gets hurt, and I'm so... so tired of seeing what I do."
Ali shoved his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to say. Teddy's "take no prisoners", bulldozing through life and leaving wreckage behind him behaviour was normal to them all. Everyone who knew Teddy prepared themselves to get hurt - Teddy's alexithymia extended to other people, he didn't realise, or perhaps he didn't care, what his actions did to people. Tom was in love with Teddy, Ali knew that much. He was in love with Teddy, but he was actively pushing the engineer towards him, trying to make it work. If anyone was getting hurt, it was Tom.
"So breaking it off with me wouldn't hurt me?" Ali challenged. He made no move to comfort the other.
Teddy stared out across the lights of the city. "I'd never be able to keep it up. I'd never be able to meet Alex's standards, it would hurt you more to have to choose."
"So you'd make the choice for me?" Ali demanded furiously.
"Yeah. Choosing between your best friend of thirty one years and your ex-husband who you'll never be able to trust fully? The decision was made before we even met." The cellist shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Alex needs to remember that I'm not a little kid-"
"Don't." Teddy set his jaw. "Alex made Ed choose. Alex made Ed choose, and look at what happened to me."
"I would choose you." The Indian man whispered. "I will choose you, Teddy. Stop running away, for once in your life. Face things."
"That's the second time someone I love has called me a coward today." The cellist wiped his eyes with a smile. "Guess I should start listening to you, huh?"
"Definitely. Alex's on Wednesday." Ali put an arm around his waist. "We can do this, Teddy." He kissed the older man's cheek. Teddy looked at him with a soft smile, tears still in his eyes.
This, Ali felt, would be a more equal partnership than the last.
-
"Why are you so nervous, Pa?" Oscar asked curiously, watching his father. The Indian man was standing outside Alex's house. He didn't want to go in without Teddy.
"I..." Ali bit his lip.
"Is your new lover going to be coming?" Aaron drawled, looking bored. "We all know you've got one, you're not exactly subtle with it. Are we going to actually meet him?"
"If he shows up." The Indian man tried to laugh about it, but his voice shook. "He has a habit of running when things get tough."
"Like Dad." Dinah commented nonchalantly. "C'mon kids, it's cold. Let Pa act like a lovesick teenager on his own. It's embarrassing." She shepherded them into the house, raising an eyebrow at her father. “Are you really going to wait out here all night?”
“If he’s not out here soon, I’ll come in.” Ali gave her a forlorn smile. To his surprise, Dinah hovered in the door. “Di?”
“We didn’t all guess.” She said softly. “Only Aaron. But it makes sense now. You’ve been happier. Happier than you were with Sarah. Do you... do you love him?”
Ali bit the inside of his lip. “I think I might.” He confessed. “But it remains to be seen if Alex doesn’t scare him away. He’s already nervous.”
“I’ll take care of Alex.” The fifteen year old laughed, shaking back her hair. Ali was struck by how beautiful his only daughter was as she disappeared into the house with a shout of “MORDIE!”. He sighed softly. It was cold, and he was beginning to shiver.
“Ali? You’ve been out here almost half an hour.” Ed’s voice made him jump. “I... I don’t think he’s coming.”
The Indian man gave a short nod, trying not to let his tears fall. Teddy wasn’t coming. He’d got scared, and he wasn’t coming. It had been stupid to think that he would. He’d never faced up to adversity well. It was just so like him. “I’m coming in.” He said in a choked voice.
“Hey.” Ed put his hands on his shoulders, looking concernedly at him. “Are you ok?” The younger man pressed his lips together and looked up at him with blurred eyes. “Oh Ali, I’m sorry.” The Japanese man leant in and kissed his forehead. “I know Alex can be-”
“Hey, Minton, hands off the boyfriend.” They both jumped as Teddy shut his car door. “Sorry I’m late.”
“What this time?” Ali sighed, using his exasperation to mask the fact he was wiping away tears. “You can hardly use the kids as an excuse, they’re all here. If it’s Tom, I might have to drop kick you.”
“This time, it’s not. Tom’s out of hospital now, he’s spending the night with Curtis and Mikey. This time it’s work being annoying and having to bail out the new architect when he managed to wipe his hard drive. I love computers, don’t you?”
Ed had been following the conversation with no little confusion. “Wait, what? I’m confused... We didn’t have any plans to meet, Teddy...”
“Shall we make things easy for Ed?” Ali asked in a deceptively light voice, smiling at the older man, who grinned sheepishly back. He went up on tip toes and kissed his boyfriend softly, Teddy’s arms encircling his waist.
The Japanese man’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?” He laughed. “You two are... ok, I swear, if you make me scream like a girl, I’ll-”
“Been together a month.” The Indian man said chirpily, letting Teddy spin him around.
-
“Hey, ‘Lex?” Ed took a deep breath. “Ali’s new boyfriend is here.” He took a step forward as his boyfriend stood up. “No no no. You have to promise me, you’re not going to go all Victorian father on him like you do with Mordie’s. Ali is a grown man, he can make his own decisions.” He could hear Teddy and Ali laughing in the hall. They were being sickeningly cute, like new couples often were.
“Well... Ok.” The violinist blinked at him. “I wasn’t too bad with Sarah, was I? I liked Sarah, and I’m fine with Dinah and Mordie in their weird thing they have going on, apart from the bit where Dinah’s corrupting my little girl.”
“I hardly doubt it’s Dinah that’s doing all the corrupting.” Teddy snorted.
Alex froze. “What’s going on? You weren’t invited.” He glared at the engineer, who returned it venomously.
Ali and Ed looked at each other. “Oh dear.” They mouthed in unison.
“Guys.” Ali said nervously, standing between them. He put a hand on Teddy’s chest and held the other out in classic “stop” position. “You promised you wouldn’t freak.” He reminded his best friend. “And you,” He turned to look at his boyfriend. “Can’t even stand up for too long because your knees give. No fighting.”
“Not cool, Ali, this isn’t April Fools.” The violinist folded his arms, still glaring.
“Could have fooled me, you have a sex life.” Teddy shot back. Ed covered his eyes with a hand.
“Well, at least I’m not a whore like-”
“Guys!” Ali shouted. “Quit it, both of you!” He took a step forward to Alex. “Alex, I love him, ok? I really want this to work this time, and it’s not going to work if you two are fighting. And you-” He whirled around to face Teddy, who was smiling softly at him. “Ok, that’s not fair, I can’t shout at you when you look like that.”
“Ali, we need to talk.” Alex said coldly, gesturing with his head to the kitchen. The Indian man sighed, kissing Teddy’s cheek before following.
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Don't forget the non-fish aliens: Mordent (16)|Dinah (15)|Aaron (14)|Melchior (12)|Sebastian (9)|Curtis (9)|Oscar (8)
“When were you going to tell me?” Alex folded his arms. “I mean, what the fuck, Ali, I am supposed to be your best friend, you know? You’re supposed to tell me all that shit!”
“Tell you what?” He played dumb, cradling his cup of tea. He looked up at his best friend, who looked angry.
“You have a hickey on your neck.”
“Oh.” Ali’s hand flew up to touch it, and suddenly -
“Ssh, quiet, be very quiet.” Teddy’s mouth trailed down, sucking lightly at the cordons of his neck, in a way that shouldn’t have been attractive, shouldn’t have felt good, but... it did. Ali gasped, his eyes screwed shut -
“Well?” His friend looked angry.
“We’re taking it slow.” He said without thinking, before screwing up his eyes in agitation. “I... I mean...”
“I’m supposed to be your best friend.” Alex remarked angrily. “Can I remind you what happened the last time you didn’t tell me about your boyfriend?” The Indian man didn’t respond. “He turned out to be your asshole of an ex-husband, remember?”
“Oh. Yeah.” Ali smiled faintly.
“What the fuck?” The violinist challenged him.
“I - it’s not you, Alex.” He chewed on his knuckle, trying to figure out how to phrase it without offending his best friend or giving too much away. “We’re just... I want to know that it’s going to work, first, y’know? The kids don’t even know. I haven’t told anyone.”
“Girl or guy?” Alex leant forward, evidently pacified by the information Ali was sharing. “Have you slept with them yet?”
“No, they’re... shy.” The Indian man bit back a smile, thinking of his boyfriend. “And... guy.” He wasn’t prepared for Alex to shoot up with an exhilarated shout.
“Are you kidding me? A guy?” He demanded excitedly. “Then this is big, it’s big, right?” He fixed Ali with his blue eyes. “I know you, Ali. Girls you can take or leave, but I know how attached you were to Teddy. Is this big?”
“It’s big.” He admitted reluctantly. “Or, at least, I want it to be.”
“We need to meet him.” Alex declared. “Bring him when you come around on Wednesday! Ed and I need to make sure he’s suitable for you!” He bustled out the room before Ali could respond.
The Indian man sat back in the chair, his eyes wide with foreboding. Teddy was not going to like this.
-
“Fuck.” Teddy put the phone down and buried his face in his hands.
“What’s up?” His best friend looked over from where he was toying with his camera. Tom had the strange habit of curling himself up as small as he could go, in as confined space as possible, and he was doing that now.
“Alex...” The older man’s head jerked up at the name. “Alex wants to meet me. Well, not me, but... the guy who Ali’s dating. Me.”
“What’s the problem with that, Casanova? You two are dating after all?” Tom raised an eyebrow, clearly not following.
“I can’t do this.” Teddy darted for the phone again, at the same time as Tom. The photographer got there first. “Tom, let me-” The older man cried out as Teddy peeled back his fingers roughly. They weren’t strong.
“Teddy, for fuck’s sake, calm down, you knew this would happen!” He lunged for the phone again, almost sprawling out on top of the other.
“I swear to God, if you don’t get off me and let me make this fucking call, I will break your fingers again.” The engineer said calmly, looking down at the blonde. The blonde didn’t move. His misshapen fingers curled around the phone and he glared at Teddy challengingly.
“What are you going to do, huh?” He asked quietly. “Are you going to ring Ali and call it off, because you’re scared?” The American sat up straight. “You’re thirty five, Teddy, and you have two guys hopelessly in love with you. You’re going to break up with Ali because you’re scared?”
“You’d know all about me being scared.” Teddy hissed back.
“Yeah, I bore the brunt of your fucking revenge.” Tom’s look was sympathetic and full of pity. Suddenly, the world span, and Tom shouted out as his head connected with the glass coffee table. Teddy had shoved him violently. He could feel the glass splintering under his weight, and screamed in shock as it shattered.
Tom could hear his son sobbing and pleading them to stop arguing. The words twinged at Tom’s conscience. Curtis had been in this situation before.
“Tom, Tom, you have to stay conscious, yeah?” Teddy was knelt by his side, pieces of bloodstained glass in his hands.
“If I have to have my head shaved, I’ll kill you.” The American said quietly, not moving. The bloodstained glass was creeping him out.
“Yeah, you can do that.” Teddy smiled weakly at him.
Tom looked straight at him. “I get that you’re moving on with your life, and I’m not, but why do you have to hurt me to do it?”
-
“Teddy, are you...” Ali trailed off, taking in his boyfriend’s appearance. “What’s happened?”
“I need to... I need to get out of here for a bit.” Teddy said hoarsely, still shaking a bit. He watched the younger man’s face fall before throwing him the keys. “You drive. I don’t think I can.”
“I... ok.” The Indian man took the driving seat of the people carrier, giving Teddy another nervous look. “Where to?”
“Somewhere out the city.” The engineer said quietly, huddling up in the seat. “Somewhere not here.” He watched as his boyfriend started up the car. “You thought I was just leaving, didn’t you?”
“Past experiences have told me you run when things get hard.” Ali admitted. “Including phone sex.” He was treated to the older man laughing, but it was a shadow of his regular laugh. “Teddy, what’s going on?”
“Tell you when we get there.” He mumbled. The younger rolled his eyes with a soft sigh and kept driving. He pulled up about twenty minutes later, and they both got out.
“Well?” He raised an eyebrow, before turning to look at the city skyline.
“Tom and I had a fight.” Ali raised an eyebrow, asking for elaboration. Teddy pressed his lips together. "A proper fight." Suddenly, the image of Tom's misshapen hands flashed across Ali's mind.
"What did you do?" He demanded in a horror filled whisper. He looked at Teddy's hands. "You have blood..."
"His head went through the coffee table." The cellist's eyes were fixed on a point away from the conversation. "Curtis was... Curtis was..." He covered his eyes with a hand. Ali watched the other's shoulders shake for a few seconds, before resting a hand on his back.
"What goes on in your head, Teddy?" He murmured.
Teddy raised his head, tears silently tracking down his cheeks. "He was trying to stop me calling you." The younger man stiffened. "I was going to break it off."
Ali closed his eyes. "Why?"
The engineer turned away. "I can't do anything without hurting you." It was almost a whimper. "I can't stop hurting people. Whatever I do, someone gets hurt, and I'm so... so tired of seeing what I do."
Ali shoved his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to say. Teddy's "take no prisoners", bulldozing through life and leaving wreckage behind him behaviour was normal to them all. Everyone who knew Teddy prepared themselves to get hurt - Teddy's alexithymia extended to other people, he didn't realise, or perhaps he didn't care, what his actions did to people. Tom was in love with Teddy, Ali knew that much. He was in love with Teddy, but he was actively pushing the engineer towards him, trying to make it work. If anyone was getting hurt, it was Tom.
"So breaking it off with me wouldn't hurt me?" Ali challenged. He made no move to comfort the other.
Teddy stared out across the lights of the city. "I'd never be able to keep it up. I'd never be able to meet Alex's standards, it would hurt you more to have to choose."
"So you'd make the choice for me?" Ali demanded furiously.
"Yeah. Choosing between your best friend of thirty one years and your ex-husband who you'll never be able to trust fully? The decision was made before we even met." The cellist shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Alex needs to remember that I'm not a little kid-"
"Don't." Teddy set his jaw. "Alex made Ed choose. Alex made Ed choose, and look at what happened to me."
"I would choose you." The Indian man whispered. "I will choose you, Teddy. Stop running away, for once in your life. Face things."
"That's the second time someone I love has called me a coward today." The cellist wiped his eyes with a smile. "Guess I should start listening to you, huh?"
"Definitely. Alex's on Wednesday." Ali put an arm around his waist. "We can do this, Teddy." He kissed the older man's cheek. Teddy looked at him with a soft smile, tears still in his eyes.
This, Ali felt, would be a more equal partnership than the last.
-
"Why are you so nervous, Pa?" Oscar asked curiously, watching his father. The Indian man was standing outside Alex's house. He didn't want to go in without Teddy.
"I..." Ali bit his lip.
"Is your new lover going to be coming?" Aaron drawled, looking bored. "We all know you've got one, you're not exactly subtle with it. Are we going to actually meet him?"
"If he shows up." The Indian man tried to laugh about it, but his voice shook. "He has a habit of running when things get tough."
"Like Dad." Dinah commented nonchalantly. "C'mon kids, it's cold. Let Pa act like a lovesick teenager on his own. It's embarrassing." She shepherded them into the house, raising an eyebrow at her father. “Are you really going to wait out here all night?”
“If he’s not out here soon, I’ll come in.” Ali gave her a forlorn smile. To his surprise, Dinah hovered in the door. “Di?”
“We didn’t all guess.” She said softly. “Only Aaron. But it makes sense now. You’ve been happier. Happier than you were with Sarah. Do you... do you love him?”
Ali bit the inside of his lip. “I think I might.” He confessed. “But it remains to be seen if Alex doesn’t scare him away. He’s already nervous.”
“I’ll take care of Alex.” The fifteen year old laughed, shaking back her hair. Ali was struck by how beautiful his only daughter was as she disappeared into the house with a shout of “MORDIE!”. He sighed softly. It was cold, and he was beginning to shiver.
“Ali? You’ve been out here almost half an hour.” Ed’s voice made him jump. “I... I don’t think he’s coming.”
The Indian man gave a short nod, trying not to let his tears fall. Teddy wasn’t coming. He’d got scared, and he wasn’t coming. It had been stupid to think that he would. He’d never faced up to adversity well. It was just so like him. “I’m coming in.” He said in a choked voice.
“Hey.” Ed put his hands on his shoulders, looking concernedly at him. “Are you ok?” The younger man pressed his lips together and looked up at him with blurred eyes. “Oh Ali, I’m sorry.” The Japanese man leant in and kissed his forehead. “I know Alex can be-”
“Hey, Minton, hands off the boyfriend.” They both jumped as Teddy shut his car door. “Sorry I’m late.”
“What this time?” Ali sighed, using his exasperation to mask the fact he was wiping away tears. “You can hardly use the kids as an excuse, they’re all here. If it’s Tom, I might have to drop kick you.”
“This time, it’s not. Tom’s out of hospital now, he’s spending the night with Curtis and Mikey. This time it’s work being annoying and having to bail out the new architect when he managed to wipe his hard drive. I love computers, don’t you?”
Ed had been following the conversation with no little confusion. “Wait, what? I’m confused... We didn’t have any plans to meet, Teddy...”
“Shall we make things easy for Ed?” Ali asked in a deceptively light voice, smiling at the older man, who grinned sheepishly back. He went up on tip toes and kissed his boyfriend softly, Teddy’s arms encircling his waist.
The Japanese man’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?” He laughed. “You two are... ok, I swear, if you make me scream like a girl, I’ll-”
“Been together a month.” The Indian man said chirpily, letting Teddy spin him around.
-
“Hey, ‘Lex?” Ed took a deep breath. “Ali’s new boyfriend is here.” He took a step forward as his boyfriend stood up. “No no no. You have to promise me, you’re not going to go all Victorian father on him like you do with Mordie’s. Ali is a grown man, he can make his own decisions.” He could hear Teddy and Ali laughing in the hall. They were being sickeningly cute, like new couples often were.
“Well... Ok.” The violinist blinked at him. “I wasn’t too bad with Sarah, was I? I liked Sarah, and I’m fine with Dinah and Mordie in their weird thing they have going on, apart from the bit where Dinah’s corrupting my little girl.”
“I hardly doubt it’s Dinah that’s doing all the corrupting.” Teddy snorted.
Alex froze. “What’s going on? You weren’t invited.” He glared at the engineer, who returned it venomously.
Ali and Ed looked at each other. “Oh dear.” They mouthed in unison.
“Guys.” Ali said nervously, standing between them. He put a hand on Teddy’s chest and held the other out in classic “stop” position. “You promised you wouldn’t freak.” He reminded his best friend. “And you,” He turned to look at his boyfriend. “Can’t even stand up for too long because your knees give. No fighting.”
“Not cool, Ali, this isn’t April Fools.” The violinist folded his arms, still glaring.
“Could have fooled me, you have a sex life.” Teddy shot back. Ed covered his eyes with a hand.
“Well, at least I’m not a whore like-”
“Guys!” Ali shouted. “Quit it, both of you!” He took a step forward to Alex. “Alex, I love him, ok? I really want this to work this time, and it’s not going to work if you two are fighting. And you-” He whirled around to face Teddy, who was smiling softly at him. “Ok, that’s not fair, I can’t shout at you when you look like that.”
“Ali, we need to talk.” Alex said coldly, gesturing with his head to the kitchen. The Indian man sighed, kissing Teddy’s cheek before following.
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