BETA SQUAD ONESHOTS!! (BXB)

Asexual {Niko X Aj}

Gentle smut (realistically theres a bunch of angst and fluff too lol)
Romantic paring
Niko X Aj

Aj didn't exactly keep track of the days. But the weight in his chest grew heavier each day. A year. They'd been together for a year. And in all that time, he had tried everything.

Not in a pushy way. Never pushy. But with gentle invitations. A deeper kiss, his hand slipping slowly under Niko's shirt, late night whispers of praise into his ear - something Aj was sure would have worked on himself. Aj offered himself, again and again. And every time, Niko would smile, brush his fingers through Aj's curls, and hold him close. And then... they would just cuddle. Sometimes all night. Just until Aj's heart sank deep as he pretended to fall asleep.

He never complained. Never pulled away. Because he loved Niko. Loved him harshly, so bad that it ached. But something inside Aj had started to die. Quietly at first, like flowers left without sunlight. But now, a year later, it was written all over him. His eyes which were usually full of excitement had now gone hollow, the way he used to skip around the house had turned into soft tiptoeing.

Niko noticed.

The morning was quiet. The kind of quiet that felt like it was pressuring the two men. The curtains were pulled, letting in the pale grey light. Niko awoke, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he rolled over and found Aj already sitting up on the edge of the bed, hair a mess, head dipped low.

Niko frowned. He stayed quiet for a moment, just watching him.

Then, a soft, "You good?"

Aj shifted like he didn't hear him. "Yeah." He muttered, but his tone sounded way too serious for it to be true.

Niko sat up a little straighter. "You sure?"

Aj nodded way too fast, like it was an automatic response.

"You've been quiet lately." Niko kept talking, despite Aj saying nothing was wrong. "Like... more than usual."

A pause.

"I'm fine." Aj said. Still not turning around to look at him.

Niko reached out, touched his arm. "Hey. I know you, Aje. Something's up. Could you please just talk to me?"

Aj's shoulders tensed slightly, then dropped completely. His fingers were curled against the fabric of his joggers, tugging at a loose thread. It looked like he was chewing on something hard, with the way his jaw was tensed.

Niko waited, patient, though his chest was really starting to tighten.

Finally, Aj turned around and asked, almost too low to hear, "Do you think I'm... ugly?"

The words felt like a hard punch into Niko's stomach. Niko blinked.

"What?"

Aj kept his eyes on the floor. "Or like, not attractive or something. I don't know. Just... yeah."

There was a moment where Niko didn't respond, stunned into silence.

"What the hell, no." he said firmly. "Aj, no. You're - God, you're beautiful. Like, I'm not just saying that. I think you're... amazing."

Aj nodded once, lips pressed together, but didn't say anything else.

Niko frowned, moving closer. "Wait. Why would you even ask me that?"

There was another pause. This one much longer.

Aj rubbed his hands together like they were cold. He looked away from Niko again and sighed. "I just... I've been thinking about it. For a while."