oneshots: legacy edition (jalex)

Jack's Obsession (Something's Up With [Alex])

Falling in love with Jack has always been a bad idea, and Alex knew that from the moment they met.

It's especially bad now that they're older, as Jack's very open about his preference for casual sex. Obviously that's not the only reason Alex and Jack are incompatible, the biggest reason being that Jack isn't gay.

For Alex, ignoring his feelings towards his best friend gets harder every minute they spend together, and they spend a lot of time together.

With tours and recording and promotional events combined, Alex can't remember the last time he spent more than a few days away from Jack.
It wasn't so much of an issue when they were younger. They saw each other at school every day and maybe every now and then outside of that, but now Jack's sleeping in his bunk barely three feet away from Alex.

With winter fast approaching, Alex isn't the least bit surprised that he's developed an unspecified cough of some sort. No, seriously, he went to the doctor and that's what they diagnosed him with. Alex hadn't even realized doctors could do that.

It's definitely strange paying a couple hundred dollars for a stranger to diagnose you with Sick just to still not know what's actually wrong.

It's not a big deal though. Alex is 23, he can handle a little cough.
Sure, being a singer while coughing is less than stellar, but it's not impossible.
Definitely not great for his vocal chords, but it won't be too bad.

Alex is a little more concerned when he coughs up a rose petal. At least he thinks it's a rose petal. He's not much of a flower expert.

He's in his bunk, reading something on his phone when he coughs into his elbow and a flower petal falls into his lap. Did he eat something weird? Probably. Tour food isn't always trustworthy.
It's probably not a big deal.

He posts a tweet about it, thinking the whole situation to be a little funny, and goes right back to reading like the whole thing never happened.

Three sets and a week goes by and the cough hasn't gone away, it's actually gotten worse.

There's  no real affect on Alex's singing, so nobody thinks much of it. Coughing is annoying, sure, but the show must go on.

At the moment, is helping the crew set up their equipment backstage. It's a great way to put some distance between himself and Jack, at least for long enough to think.

Lately Jack's been worried about Alex. Being sick on tour isn't new for any of them, but it still fucking sucks. Plus, Alex is the singer. If he fucks up his voice by singing when he should be resting, that's the end of the tour and an extra resting period for Alex's vocal cords.

Business aside, Alex is Jack's best friend, and he's been trying to get Alex to rest on their downtime since the early symptoms a week and a half ago.

So when Jack catches Alex moving heavy equipment around with the backstage crew, he's less than thrilled.

"You should be resting!" Jack exclaims, taking the heavy amplifier out of Alex's hands.
Alex just rolls his eyes. He's got a cough, not a deadly illness. "Helping to set up isn't going to kill me."
"No but it might kill me." Jack sets the amp down and grabs Alex by his wrist, pulling him from the stage to the green room. Well, tries to.

Alex breaks into a coughing fit in the hallway, and Jack stops to wait for him to catch his breath. They both freeze when they notice the rose petals gathering in Alex's hand, falling slowly to the floor.

"What the fuck, man?" Jack's no doctor, but he's pretty sure there's no reason anyone should be coughing up flower petals.

Alex is just as shocked as Jack is, completely speechless as Jack drags him out of the hall and into the privacy of the green room.