bigger (richbone)

chapter 1

AJ wakes up to the alarm on the hotel's clock blaring loudly beside him on the night stand. He reaches over and unplugs it before he can even process his surroundings. He's about to close his eyes again when he realizes something-- he's not alone.

Behind him, Kevin snores lightly, his arm still wrapped around AJ's waist. AJ can feel the older man's chest pressed against his back, breathing slowly. He tries to get up, but Kevin pulls him closer, now awake.

"So that woke you up and not the loud a** alarm."

"Mornin'."

Kevin completely ignores AJ's statement, instead pressing gentle kisses to his shoulder and the back of his neck. AJ sighs, relaxing again into his arms. He closes his eyes, listening to the sounds of the cars passing by outside. Even though almost every morning on tour has gone like this, AJ's still in disbelief.

He turns around, lying on his side to face his lover. Kevin reaches up to caress the side of AJ's face, staring into his eyes. When AJ's thoughts start to show in his expression, Kevin speaks lowly.

"What are you thinkin' about?"

"Hm? ...Oh, uh... nothing. It's kinda just... Hard for me to wrap my head around this."

Kevin just looks at him, waiting for him to go on. He strokes with his thumb softly along his cheek.

"Um... I- I mean, this tour has been wild, right? Crazy."

AJ says, his voice slightly higher in pitch and filled with stutters, like he does whenever he's lying. Kevin, ever observant, doesn't let this go unaddressed.

"Baby, if something's wrong, you can tell me."

"I don't know. All this just feels... unreal, you know?"

"All of...?"

"This,"

AJ gestures toward himself and Kevin.

"Yeah, mostly this. I'm surprised you haven't left by now, I guess."

AJ feels him move his hand to the back of his head, bringing their faces closer. AJ avoids eye contact the best he can, but it's hard when they're only an inch away. Too bad he couldn't have slept in his sunglasses.

Kevin places a light kiss to AJ's lips, pulling away but staying close to him.

"Why'd you think that?"

"I kinda have history with that. ...Um, anyways, we should probably start getting ready."

AJ deflects the question, sitting up and stretching his arms before getting out of bed. Kevin rolls his eyes; slightly frustrated, but he has patience. He gets up as well, looking through his suitcase for something to wear. As he goes through the clothes, he recognizes almost all of the pieces as AJ's.

"We really need to sort these..."

Kevin mumbles to himself, digging through to find something that belongs to him.

♡

When AJ and Kevin show up late to breakfast, the other guys make it known.

"It's about time."

Howie says, still smiling because... Well, because he's Howie.

"Sorry. Slept in a little."

AJ replies, walking past Howie and to the breakfast bar. Nick is already there, piling food onto his plate.

"Dude, save some for the rest of us."

AJ snorts, reaching for a muffin on Nick's plate.

"Hey! Go get your own!"

Nick swats at AJ's hand, but he's already cackling and biting into the muffin. Nick makes a noise of frustration, grabbing another from the buffet.

AJ heads back to their table, a normal amout of food on his plate, which he makes sure to point out to Nick again. Kevin and AJ sit next to each other, probably a lot closer than they need to be sitting.

"Why are y'all so bunched up? Plenty of room on this side."

Brian says as he sits on the opposite side of the booth. AJ moves a few inches away from Kevin.

"What city are we in again?"

AJ asks through a mouthful of food, to which Howie makes a face of disgust.

"Detroit. Then we're headed to Columbus."

Kevin answers.

"Next stop, please let me room with someone else! I'm tired of Howie's snoring."

Nick complains, and Howie, who's right next to him, scoffs.

"Well maybe I don't wanna room with you either. I can only handle so much teenage B.O.."

The two start bickering, but are quickly stopped by Kevin.

"It's seven in the morning, guys."

Is all he says to get them to stop, and surprisingly, it works.

"I do think we should rotate again, though."

Brian says.

"How about, Brian and Kevin, me and AJ, and Howie by himself?"

Nick suggests, trying to throw a jab at Howie- but he just shrugs.

"Fine by me."

AJ is the first to protest this idea, shaking his head immediately.

"Nah. I'm staying with Kev."

"But-"

"Y'all can do whatever you want, but I'm not switching."

Nick huffs frustratedly, his plan already being ruined.

"Bone, you've been rooming with Kevin for like... The entire tour. Y'all ain't sick of each other yet?"

Brian questions, and in AJ's mind, he's onto him.

"Uh, mind your business."

"No need to get so defensive. Maybe I just wanna room with my cous'."

"Maybe I wanna room with my boyfriend."

AJ says, realizing what's coming out of his mouth, but it's too late for him to stop it. His face turns hot and pink, and his eyes grow wide. The conversations going on between the other guys come to an instant halt.

"Your... Um...Huh?"

Brian knits his eyebrows in confusion, nervously tapping his fork against his plate. He looks between AJ and Kevin, waiting for one of them to speak up. If AJ knows him at all- which he does, he knows he's hoping that they deny it.

"Wow, that just slipped out. I guess now's as good a time as any..."

AJ looks at his boyfriend, who's red face is slowly turning back to its original shade.

"U- uh, yeah. I guess so. We're dating, guys."