salmon pink ☼ [ novahd ] [ collab ]

z e r o

James awoke with a sore back and a warm body next to him. He groaned, reaching up to scrub his hand over his face before he looked over to find Aleks fast asleep, looking calm and loose. James studied him, hesitantly reaching out to trace his fingers over Aleks' cheekbones, smiling a bit to himself as he traced over the rest of his features; quickly pulling his hand away when the Russian began to stir.

"Good morning." He murmured, biting the inside of his cheeks.

Aleks grunted in reply, looking tired and grumpy as he sat up. "Good morning." He replied, yawning and running his fingers through his hair.

Silence settled between them, James watching as Aleks gathered his clothes and began to get dress; his stomach clenching uncomfortably as he frowned. "So...are we a thing?" He asked cautiously, unsure of what their new found relationship would be. No romantic words of any kind had been exchanged last night, Aleks having simply taken James to bed where he had preceded to fuck him until they were both seeing white.

Aleks made a face, and James could feel his heart drop a little. "That was really fun last night, but I'm not really looking for a relationship." He said, giving a shrug before he stood to get into his pants.

"Oh." James said quietly, looking away from his pale figure as he struggled to keep his rising emotions down.

"I wouldn't be opposed to continuing what we did last night, though." Aleks added, grinning lazily and slipping on his shirt. "You're good in bed, James. Plus, we could both use the stress relief."

"So...you want sex?" James asked flatly, face going blank.

Aleks sighed, "Look, just think about it, okay?" He asked, pressing a kiss to his forehead before he grabbed his wallet and keys, leaving without a goodbye.

It was only until James heard the front close that he let out a scream of frustration, rolling onto his stomach to hide his face against his pillow.

- - -

He pulled himself out of bed by the third call he had received from Jordan, sending him a quick text before he hopped into the shower and scrubbed viciously at his skin, then let the warm water soothe his now irritated skin. He got out, getting dressed before heading down stairs to grab a packet of poptarts, eating them as he waited for Joe to pick him up.

They arrived at the office not long after, James immediately hiding himself away in his office and putting up his 'do not disturb' sign, hoping no one would bother him then. He set off to work, focusing only on that and successfully managing to distract himself.

Of course, it was then that Joe came busting in to get his segment for the hub before chatting with him about how they'd be would be going out for a drink, and wondering if he'd like to come with. James agreed, deciding a drink was what he needed, and Aleks wouldn't even be there - a definite plus after this morning.

"Alright, now get the fuck outta my office." James said, turning back to his computer and smiling a bit at the sound of Joe laughing as he left with camera in hand.

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[ excited for this collab!! my chapters will probably be shorter bc i'm a dweeb, but they'll still be longer then this first one i've written ( which was only about 554 smh ), but anyway i hope you enjoy!! - nico ]