Unwanteds Stories

five times alex was cute and one time he was hot

The first time it happened, Alex didn't really mind. He thought it was a little strange, but he supposed he understood.

He and Meghan had been hanging out in her room, and he'd decided to braid her hair, fastening it with a cute little green ribbon. When he'd finished, she'd asked if she could please, pretty please with platyprot eggs on top, braid his hair too.

It couldn't hurt, could it?

He let her, and she tied it off with a red ribbon.

Then she'd stared at him for a long time, finally saying, in a rather insultingly surprised tone, "Huh. You actually look so cute!"

Cute. Not the word he'd normally use to describe himself, though admittedly he didn't describe himself often. But with a braid in his hair, he wasn't exactly the paragon of manliness. Nor was he ever, he conceded.

"Thanks," he'd replied with a rueful grin.

The second time had been at the masquerade ball. He'd walked out of the slightly-secret-hallway, wearing a simple pirate's eye patch as a mask, and his regular multi-coloured robe.

Sky had grinned at him and said he looked like a weird, psychedelic pirate. A cute one, she'd been quick to add.

He was okay with being a cute, weird, psychedelic pirate. And it wasn't odd for her to say something like that- they had been dating at the time.

"Then my costume is a success!" he'd cried rather grandly, linking arms with her and making their way down the steps.

The next time, he'd been talking with Lani. She'd been insisting that killing someone when they were down was fine if they would do the same to you, or if they'd harm other people when they woke up. Alex still felt a little strange at the notion- it was different when you were in battle, and you didn't have a choice. You had to attack them, or you'd die.

But when they were lying on the ground, unconscious, vulnerable, human beings with hopes and dreams and lives . . .

He hadn't been able to bring himself to kill Gondoleery, though, and look where that had landed them.

He'd listened to Lani this time. "I know you're right, Lani. I should have killed her."

Lani had nodded seriously. "Or at least, you should have let me or Sam do it."

"I know," Alex had sighed. "It just didn't feel right."

Lani had rolled her eyes. "Will you stop being all cute and sad? She's a murderer!"

"I know . . . You're right."

The next time it happened, he'd been talking to Kaylee about some since-forgotten joke or story. He'd waved his hands around a lot as he spoke, grinning and laughing, and she'd raised her eyebrows, a smile playing on her lips.

"What?" He'd paused mid-gesture.

"Nothing, just . . . You really are that cute, aren't you?"

He'd lowered his hands, frowning at her. "What do you mean?"

"You're not, like, acting, right? You're just really this cute naturally?"

"Um . . ."

She'd laughed, waving it off. "Never mind!"

When they were at dinner, Samheed nudged him and joked, "Quit being cute, Stowe."

"For Pete's sake, guys, I'm not cute!" Alex replied, exasperated.

Sky raised an eyebrow. Kaylee leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She giggled, pushing her off.

Alex stared fiercely at them both, then glared at Lani. "I'm serious!"

She glanced up from her book. "Never said you weren't, Al. But you are sort of cute."

Alex sputtered. "I'm not! I'm the Head Mage of Artimé! I've fought in battles like all of you guys! I'm- I can be intimidating!"

Samheed snorted, disguising it as a cough. Alex scowled at him, and Samheed muttered, "No, absolutely. Very, erm, scary."

Alex buried his face in his hands, frustrated. It wasn't that being "cute" bothered him, really, it was just that when he was called cute so many times, it was like they were making it his only characteristic. He had a lot of other, respectable things about him! Like how good he was at aiming in a battle, or his skills at art, or even just the fact that he was almost as tall as Samheed!

It was like they thought of him as little and adorable, not actually someone to be respected.

He sighed and let it go.

Until later, when he cornered Sam on his way back to his room. "Okay, I am not done with this!"

Samheed raised an eyebrow at Alex, who had blocked his way into his room.

"Sorry?"

Alex slammed his hands on either side of the wall next to Sam's head. Samheed looked annoyingly unshaken.

"I'm not cute!"

Samheed rolled his eyes. "Gosh, okay Al, you're not cute! What do you want me to say, babe?"

Alex ignored him. "Do you feel intimidated?"

Samheed stared at him for a long moment. "Not particularly," he said.

"Why not?"

Samheed winced. "I know I can take you."

Alex set his jaw, and said, "Maybe . . . but not without a fight."
Samheed swallowed- that much was true. They were pretty evenly matched. Samheed was just a shade stronger, and taller, and heavier. So he beat Alex every time. But Alex was still a worthy opponent.

It helped that they were dating, so a lot of the time they just ended up making out on the lawn. That was an added bonus to wrestling with your boyfriend.

Samheed put his hands up, saying, "Okay, okay! You're not cute! You're not really intimidating, but-"

Alex grabbed Samheed's raised wrists and planted them against the wall above his head. "How about now?"

Samheed licked his lips, feeling slightly exposed. He stared straight into Alex's dark brown eyes with their big back pupils. A couple stray curls of brown hair were hanging haphazardly across his brows, which were furrowed seriously.

Alex really didn't seem to realize how this position looked.

Samheed coughed. "Still not, um, feeling intimidated. Sorry."

Alex looked away in exasperation, wavy hair swishing. His grip loosened on Samheed's wrists. "Then what do you feel?" he pressed.

"Uh, honestly? Irrationally turned on," confessed Samheed.

Alex spun his head back around and glared at Samheed, accidentally pinning his wrists uncomfortably tight, just for a moment, in his frustration. "Will you stop that?"

"What?" Samheed demanded. "You wanted to know!"

Alex sighed, then paused, looking Samheed up and down. "I guess irrationally turned on is better than nothing," he conceded.

Samheed swallowed hard, admitting, "Personally, I think it's better than intimidated."

"Yeah, maybe," Alex breathed, before leaning in and kissing Samheed.