Roomies {Harringrove}

Day Fifteen

"Alright, who's ready to par- oh no...!" Maximus looked between the two younger men laying down on their mattresses and huffed, gesturing towards their forms when his colleague asked what was wrong.

"Shit. They're out. That's good-"

"No, it's not! I wanted a good excuse to get drunk!"

"And by that you mean you wanted to bond with them and have a conversation?"

"Yeah! Exactly! Drunk!" He folded his arms, glaring at their bodies as if that woyld magically awaken them. His body lost all semblance of tension when Alex clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, buddy," he said with a muffled chuckle. "Seems you're going to have to be a good scientist and get some sleep so we can have our introductions tomorrow."

"Fuck, this sucks. It's only two am, what the hell?!" Alex nodded sympathetically although there was a slight twinkle of amusement in his eye. Maximus gave him a quick once-over, suddenly growing a smirk and brushed his fingers over the hand on his shoulder, pouting a bit when Alex jumped back at the sudden contact. The smirk returned when he noticed his face had gone pink but he didn't comment on it, innocently choosing to suggest they have some fun of their own instead.

Alex instantly turned him and his flirty gaze down, slightly confused as to whether he meant that to be what he thought or not. Either way, he was focused on helping Billy and Maximus wasn't going to distract him from that by being charming. He mumbled a gentle "good night" to the boys and went up the stairs with Maximus stomping after him, asking if he could at least tuck a colleague into bed.

Steve tried to muffle his laughter once they were gone but then Billy laughed as well and then they were both in fits for some seconds. Wiping his eyes, he softly whispered, "so you're up?"

"Mm. Splitting headache, too, courtesy of that very short, very loud man. By the way... What happened to the shirt I was wearing?"

"Umm... hey! At least Alex takes his job seriously! You're finally getting the help you need... The help you deserve. And it should have happened much sooner, not halfway through our stay." Billy gave a small smile but it didn't reach his eyes. Steve, of course, began to worry and moved off his mattress, sitting next to Billy with a good amount of space between them for good measure. His words from the night before were still etched in his brain and he just hoped whatever issue he had with Alex, he could let go so everything would go well.

"It's kind of weird that the whities are gone, isn't it?"

"Those awful men..."

"Hazmat hicks, I could say." Steve snorted immediately and Billy beamed, rather pleased with himself. His joy didn't last long and he began to play with his fingers again, silently scratching at his skin with his thumb. Steve placed a hand on his, instantly drawing him out of his mind and locked eyes with him, sending him a gentle smile that made it even worse. Because Billy knew Steve wasn't trying to make him feel this way but the thing was, he couldn't stop. He wasn't totally sure he even wanted to. "So you... You've kind of taken a liking to that Alex guy, huh?"

"He's no Brother Matthew or Brother James and John or whatever but yeah, he seems like a nice guy. And I'm sure Maximus is too-"

"Yeah, right. Of course. I'd say me and him are more alike but you and Alex fit like two peas in a pod, don't you?" He forced through gritted teeth. Steve noticed he was clenching his fists and jerked his hand away, frowning.

"What's your problem with him, Billy? I mean... We only just met them and you already don't like him."

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling-"