New York, New Man

Chapter 5

"So... what are we?" John was laying down on top of the comforter later that night, Alexander under the covers next to him. John insisted that he slept with him instead of on the uncomfortable pullout couch.

"Uh... in what sense?"

"Like, relationship-wise." John sighed and took the hair elastic out of his ponytail. His hair billowed out like a smoke cloud. He just sighed as two loose curls floated down on his face.

Alexander laughed.

"Anyways," John glared at Alexander before smoothing out his mess of curls. "Like, are we... I don't know, this is confusing me."

"Well, let's start here," Alex mumbled, half-asleep. "Are we dating?"

"I don't know, that's the thing, I-"

"Shh," Alexander waved his hand around. "We've never been on a date. So we aren't dating."

"Alexander, you're making no sense." John wrapped a fleece blanket around his shoulders, settling into bed.

"You can't date someone if you haven't gone on a date with them, John, that's just basic rules."

"Fine, then. Let's go on a date then," John shrugged.

Alexander's eyes lit up. He grinned, squealing like a little kid. "Really?" he said.

"Yeah. Where should we go?"

"Can we go to a pizza place?" Alexander was so tired, he was a bit delirious.

"Sure. Let's go on a lunch date tomorrow. To a pizza place." John patted Alexander's head.

"Good night. I love you."

"I love you too," John chuckled. He turned off the light and settled into bed.

John was about to drift off when he heard a very loud noise from Alexander's side of the bed. Alexander snored again. "God, he's like a freaking lawnmower," John whispered to himself.

The next morning, John woke up bright and early at 4. "Why can't I just sleep till seven for once?" John muttered. Then he realized he couldn't really breathe. There was momentary panic before realization set in. He had slept in his binder.

John went into the bathroom, making sure the door was locked, and took off the tight beige-but-not-really-skin-tone color binder. All along his chest were red marks, mainly from the inseams on the sides and the elastic on the bottom. It stung, but it was much better now that he could breathe. He filled his lungs with several big breaths, stretching his arms as he did. It felt nice to be able to breathe, both physically and metaphorically. Personally, John was slightly upset with Maria for outing him, but none of it was her fault. She just didn't know he wasn't the same person from her high school class. Better sooner than later, he supposed. He was going to have to tell Alexander at some point, and while the thought of it still made his stomach do flips, he was glad he did it. He grimaced as he caught a glance at his breasts in the mirror, a painful reminder of reality. While John wanted to have surgery more than anything in the world, it just wasn't financially realistic. John wandered back into the bedroom, grabbing a large hoodie and putting it on. That was a lot more comfortable. He yawned as he settled back into bed. Alexander stirred, snoring softly. John placed a tender kiss on his forehead and closed his eyes.

"John," Alexander drummed his fingers on John's arm. "Wake up."

"Alexander, go back to sleep."

"But it's 8:30!" Alexander held up his bright phone an inch from John's face.

"I see that," John grumbled as he sat up. His sides still hurt a little bit from his binder, and where he was punched was extremely sore. He winced whenever he touched it, even the slightest little bit. Alexander suggested putting an ice pack on it, but even that hurt. While John was sprawled out on the sofa dramatically, his hair spread out in a semicircle, his phone vibrated. A text from Herc. He opened it, and there was a picture of Laf sitting in his apartment, looking rather grumpy. His nose was bandaged from the bridge to where the tip started. The text message read, "It's broken! Someone's not very happy."