Fic: Now I've got you in my space (Hockey, Alex Galchenyuk/Brandon Prust, 18000 words, Explicit) 1/2
Summary: Alex and Brandon date, and sometimes babysit Alex's nephew.
Notes: Thanks to Kelfin for helping me figure out the Russian naming conventions, to Lake for letting me talk this through, and to everyone on Twitter who answered miscellaneous questions as I went along. Title from Disclosure's "Latch" featuring Sam Smith.
Story on AO3
Anna's always been beautiful, and the glow of motherhood has only deepened that. But it's Alex Brandon can't stop looking at. Alex who's smiling softly as he takes the baby from Anna. Alex whose eyes are bright and shining with joy when he turns around and says, "This is my nephew." It hits Brandon like a punch to the gut, that what he feels for Alex is a love just as strong, fierce, and joyful as what's on Alex's face.
Alex's smile falters.
Brandon jerks forward out of his stunned stillness. "Hi, nephew," he says, smiling at the baby.
"Vanyushka," Alex says.
"Vanyushka," Brandon repeats, running a finger over the baby's cheek. He smiles at the baby, at Alex, at Anna behind them. "He's beautiful. Looks like a Galchenyuk already." He brings his gaze back to Alex, who looks away, down at the baby instead of meeting Brandon's eyes.
Brandon gets pushed out of the way by Gally then, and steps back a little.
"Vanya," Alex says, introducing the baby to Gally. "This is Gally. Never listen to him."
Gally laughs, slightly lower volume than usual the only concession to the baby's presence.
Brandon even loves the teasing smirk on Alex's face while he talks to Gally.
He's so caught up in watching that he doesn't notice Manny coming to stand next to him until he thumps Brandon on the back. Brandon turns his probably still dazed face toward him.
"Yep," Manny says with a grin that seems to say he knows exactly how Brandon feels. "That's the way it happens sometimes."
"Uh," Brandon says.
Manny pats his shoulder, and Brandon turns to watch while Alex lets Gally hold his nephew.
"You have to support his head."
"I know how to hold a baby," Gally says with a laugh while Alex hovers to make sure he's doing it right.
The baby gets passed around to a couple of the other guys under Alex's watchful eye, until he starts fussing and Alex takes him back.
The other guys lose some of their interest then, and Brandon can go over to Alex again without a crowd of people between them.
"I didn't get a chance to hold him," Brandon says, the only thing he can think to say.
Alex looks at him, eyes dark and serious, and down at the baby. He murmurs something to the baby in Russian; the only things Brandon catch are "Vanyushka" and his own name. Then Alex hands the baby over, hands careful and gentle, but without the instructions on how to hold him he gave the other guys, like he just trusts Brandon.
It keeps Brandon silent for a moment while he gets Vanyushka settled against his shoulder, one hand spanning the whole of the baby's back. "There you go," Brandon murmurs to him. "There you go, nothing to be unhappy about here." He sways a little in the way of people holding sleepy babies everywhere, and presses a kiss to the baby's hair when he has to look away from the solemn, trusting way Alex is watching him.
*
"Hey, hey, hey, Chucky." Brandon catches the back of Alex's t-shirt as he wanders down the hallway.
Alex tugs out of Brandon's hold and turns to face him with a glare. "What?"
"Lunch," Brandon says, unfazed by Alex's posturing.
"Yes," Alex says, gesturing toward the lounge. "Lunch."
"No," Brandon says. "Real lunch. We eat here all the time." He claps Alex on the back. "Take a shower. Put on something that won't make me embarrassed to be seen with you." He ignores Alex's pointed look that takes in their matching Habs shirts and shorts. "Come on, Chucky, ten minutes and we're going to get real food."
Seven minutes later, Alex is dressed in a soft-looking long sleeve shirt that makes Brandon want to snuggle up to him and standing behind Brandon at the counter chirping him as he combs his hair.
"You don't have to be all pretty to have lunch," Alex says.
Brandon smiles at him in the mirror, one of his flirtatious ones. "You think I'm pretty?"
"No," Alex says, flustered and not sounding convinced. "Can we just go?"
Brandon stops messing with his hair and turns around, giving Alex an obvious once-over. "I guess you'll have to be pretty enough for both of us."
He walks past Alex, leaving him to finish spluttering before he follows Brandon out of the room.
Brandon doesn't go too fancy for lunch, but he drives them to a place a little nicer than the kind of sandwich and burger places he knows Alex and Gally go sometimes.
Brandon turns the volume of his flirting down a little over lunch - he wants Alex to have fun, not spend the whole time embarrassed - and asks about Vanyushka.
Alex's face lights up when he tells Brandon about his nephew, love shining out of him like a beacon.
"This is probably all boring," Alex says after about fifteen minutes about how great Vanya is.
"No," Brandon says. "I don't know any babies, so it's all new to me." He doesn't tell Alex about the part where he just wants to bask in Alex's presence when he's like that, but it makes Alex smile anyway.
At the end of the meal, Brandon uses the smoothness he's developed over many years of dating to pay the check without letting Alex even look at it.
"I would have paid half," Alex says when he realizes what's happening.
Brandon shrugs. "I don't mind buying you lunch."
Alex blinks at him, and then smiles, one of the surprisingly sweet ones he sometimes gives Brandon. "Thank you."
Brandon nods, not trusting himself to open his mouth just then.
*
There's a group of guys gathering in the hotel lobby when Brandon heads down.
"Are you coming to dinner with us?" Alex asks.
It's a tempting offer, but Tampa Bay doesn't just mean a chance for them to all get some sun. It's also a chance for Brandon to catch up with Brian.
"Not this time," Brandon says. "I have plans."
Alex looks at him skeptically. "What kind of plans?"
Brandon nods toward the door, where Brian is coming into the lobby. "Ex-teammate kinds of plans."
Brian catches sight of him and comes their way. He gets to them just as Gally says, "You're fraternizing with the enemy."
"Just for the evening," Brandon says, and he steps into Brian's hug. "Hey, man."
"Hey," Brian says. He steps back and holds Brandon at arms' length. "Looking good."
Brandon smirks. "I've always been better dressed than you."
"Oh, fuck you," Brian says with a laugh.
Alex and Gally are still hovering next to Brandon, so he introduces everyone. "These two are Alex and Brendan. Guys, this is Brian."
"The enemy," Gally says cheerfully as he shakes Brian's hand.
Brian laughs. "I'm not the enemy tonight. Don't worry. I'll return him unharmed."
"You'd better," Alex says with one of those serious looks on his face.
Brandon puts an arm around Alex's shoulders. "Relax, Chucky. I can handle Brian." He recognizes the look on Brian's face that says he's trying very hard not to laugh at them. "I'll go out with you next time."
Alex looks at Brandon, and it's like they're in their own tiny bubble of space for a moment. Alex cracks first, and shoves at Brandon. "We're going to have more fun than you are."
Brandon lets him go and laughs. "We can compare stories over breakfast tomorrow."
Gally and Alex melt back into the crowd of guys getting ready to go out for dinner, and Brandon follows Brian out of the hotel to his car.
Brian waits until he's pulling out of the parking lot before he says, "Alex."
"What about him?" Brandon asks, trying and failing not to sound defensive.
"I saw that look," Brian says. "You're in love with him."
Brandon doesn't bother to deny it. "Yeah."
"Well, don't fuck it up."
Brandon laughs. "Thanks for the advice."
"Hey, any time," Brian says with a grin.
*
Brandon's all settled in on his bed in Vancouver, pajama pants and old t-shirt he wears to bed on, phone in his hand, movie playing on TV, when there's a knock on his door. Going by the voices he can hear in the hallway as he gets closer, he has a pretty good idea what he's going to find when he opens it, and sure enough, there's Alex, grumpy face fully engaged, in his pajamas with iPad and phone in one hand and Gally hanging out of the open door across the hall.
"Brendan's being annoying," Alex says.
"Come on," Gally says across the hall. "I said I was sorry."
Brandon has no intention of getting in the middle of whatever's going on with them, but Alex is gorgeous, even in his sleep pants and t-shirt, grouchy look on his face.
"Yes," Brandon says to Alex, answering the implied question. "You can come hang out with me."
"Thank you," Alex says, because he can actually be polite when he's not being a competitive ass.
By the time Alex settles onto the other side of Brandon's bed - the occasional room with a king bed is one of the advantages to the no roommates thing - most of the grumpiness has fallen off his face.
"I won't bother you," Alex says when he looks up to find Brandon watching him.
"You're not bothering me," Brandon says. He sits down on the other side of the bed and replies to texts while the movie plays and Alex does whatever it is he's doing on his iPad.
"Anna sent me a video of Vanya," Alex says a while later. "Do you want to see?"
"Yes," Brandon says, and they both scoot closer to the center of the bed so they can watch Vanya laughing and chewing on toys.
Anna says something in Russian, and holds Vanya's hand to wave at the camera.
"What did she say?" Brandon asks.
"Wave to Uncle Sasha," Alex translates.
Brandon nudges him with an elbow. "He's a cute kid."
Alex nods. "Yeah," he says, and he looks suddenly sad enough that Brandon nudges him again, without the sharpness this time.
"Alex, what?"
Alex presses his lips together and shakes his head. "It's good to have him around," is all he'll say about it.
He doesn't move away, though, and when Brandon prods at him, he pulls up a whole folder of pictures and videos of Vanya that he takes Brandon through one at a time.
Brandon splits his attention between looking at the pictures and looking at Alex looking at the pictures.
*
"Come shopping with me," Brandon says to Alex after morning skate in New York.
"Shopping," Alex repeats.
"Shopping," Brandon says. "I know a great place. Come on, you know it'll be fun."
Alex throws a look at him that suggests it will not be fun, but then he cracks into a smile and agrees to go.
They're ten minutes into browsing shirts and sweaters and scarves when someone says, "Hi, Prusty."
Brandon looks up from the rack he's browsing, and smiles at Marc. His smile widens into a grin when he sees the baby on Marc's shoulder. "Staalsy." They exchange a one-armed hug.
"This is Anna," Marc says. "Anna, this is Prusty." Marc points at Brandon, trying to get Anna's attention. He gives up after a second and says, "She's a little shy about new people."
"She's cute," Brandon says. "Must take after Lindsay."
Marc shakes his head and laughs. "Yeah, but she says the stubbornness is all my side of the family."
"I like this," Alex says, coming around a rack. "You should try it on." He stops when he sees Marc.
"Alex, Marc and Anna. Marc and Anna, Alex." Brandon waves between them, and Marc and Alex shake hands.
"Hello, Anna," Alex says to her. "My sister is also named Anna."
Anna looks at him when he says her name, but then buries her face against Marc's shoulder.
"Don't take it personally," Marc says. "She's shy about strangers. My mom says it's probably just a phase."
"My nephew Ivan is just a little bit younger than her," Alex says. "He is not shy about strangers yet, unless there are a lot of them."
"She used to be more like that," Marc says. "But now she just wants Mom and Dad." The smile and the way he gently cups the back of Anna's head show that he doesn't really mind. He smiles at the baby, a completely besotted look Brandon recognizes from the way Alex looks at Vanya, and then turns a lighter smile on Brandon and Alex. "I'll let you get back to your shopping. We were just in the neighborhood, and I saw you and thought I'd say hi."
"Yeah, good to see you, man," Brandon says, and he exchanges another one-armed hug with Marc. "And good to meet you," he says to Anna. He grins at Marc. "We're going to crush you tonight."
"You can try," Marc says. "Nice to meet you, Alex."
"You too," Alex says.
After Marc walks away, Brandon takes the sweater from Alex and shakes it out. It is a nice sweater, and he smiles at Alex for finding it.
"This would look good on you," Brandon says. "Maybe in a different color. Show me where you found it."
His phone buzzes while he follows Alex to the rack, but he ignores it for the time being.
It's only later, when they're trying things on and he's done before Alex, that he checks his phone and finds he has a text from Brian: Heard you're letting Alex pick out your clothes.
Brandon sends back, Marc has a big mouth.
"I think this one looks good," Alex says as he comes out of the dressing room.
Brandon looks up from his phone and has to catch his breath. "Yeah," he says after a second. "You should definitely get that one."
Alex smiles at him, small and pleased.
In the end, Alex buys two sweaters, a shirt, and a scarf Brandon loops around his neck to show Alex how good it will look on him. Brandon walks out of the place empty-handed, and they stroll down the street toward a coffee shop.
"You didn't even get anything," Alex says.
"I couldn't find anything that looked as good on me as the green sweater looked on you," Brandon says. He pulls open the coffee shop door and revels in getting that small, pleased smile out of Alex again.
*
Movie? Brandon texts Alex. I'll even let you pick.
Brandon's phone buzzes a minute later with a FaceTime request from Alex.
"I'm busy," Alex says, and then he stretches the phone away from him so Brandon can see Vanya on his shoulder. "My parents are at the movies and Anna went shopping."
This time, the small picture of his own face in the corner shows Brandon just how much of what he's feeling makes it onto his face.
"Can I come over?"
Alex blinks at him. "You want to babysit instead of going to the movies?"
"Sure," Brandon says with a shrug instead of saying that what he wants to do is spend time with Alex.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Alex says. He tips his head to look at the baby. "Is that okay, Vanya?"
Vanya's only response is to babble a little and then chew on the collar of Alex's shirt.
"Is that Russian baby for yes?" Brandon asks.
Alex laughs. "Yeah, sure," he says. "Come over."
Brandon grins at him and hangs up.
Alex answers the door with Vanyushka still on his shoulder, and Brandon reaches for the baby to keep himself from reaching for Alex. It's early for that. They're barely dating. Alex might not even know they're dating.
"Hello, Vanyushka. You're bigger every time your Uncle Sasha shows me a picture of you."
Alex stares at him, probably for the use of Sasha.
"I pay attention," Brandon says. "So, what are we doing with this little angel here?"
"You won't think he's an angel when he needs a diaper change," Alex says.
"Oh," Brandon says, hefting Vanya up a little. "Have you been a stinky baby for Uncle Sasha?" He smiles at the baby, getting a smile back. "Yeah? I'll bet Uncle Sasha thinks you're the greatest anyway." He looks up at Alex, and smiles. "Yeah, he does."
Alex smiles at Brandon, and more tenderly at Vanyushka. "Come on. All his toys are on the living room floor."
"All" might have been an exaggeration, but there is a staggeringly large number of infant toys spread out around a quilt laid out on the floor.
Brandon and Alex lie down on the floor with Vanya and take turns passing him toys and watching him shake them, hit them on the ground, or put them in his mouth. It should not be as fascinating and enjoyable as it is, but that's the magic of babies, Brandon guesses. And the magic of love, for the way Alex looks at Vanyushka and the way Brandon looks at Alex.
Vanya cries later, and Alex stands, swooping the baby up with him. "He's hungry," he explains, and Brandon follows him to the kitchen.
Alex rocks Vanya, calming him a little, while he shows Brandon how to heat up a bottle, how to test it against his wrist to make sure it's not too hot.
"Do you want to feed him?" Alex asks.
Brandon does, and he also isn't sure he can take watching Alex do it, so he says yes and lets Alex push him down into one of the living room chairs.
"Hold him carefully," Alex says, "like that." He gets the baby and Brandon's arm at the right angle, and then he gives Brandon the bottle. He keeps one hand over Brandon's for a minute, until he apparently decides Brandon is doing okay and isn't going to kill Vanya. Then he sits down in a chair across from Brandon and watches. His eyes stay mostly on Vanyushka, but they stray up to Brandon's face a few times, which Brandon knows because he's doing the same thing, looking from Alex to the baby and back again.
Alex takes Vanya after the bottle is empty, and burps him over his shoulder, throws the burp cloth in a hamper, and sits down with Vanya in his arms.
Brandon aches to have the baby back, or to have Alex, but he watches them instead, all three of them silent as Vanyushka's eyelids flicker before he falls right into sleep.
*
They have a team dinner out in Chicago, everyone walking a few blocks from the hotel and crowding into half a restaurant. Brandon sits down next to P.K. and across from Alex and Gally.
It's a good night, lots of laughter and chirping, and the guys with kids wandering outside to call home and say goodnight.
Brandon kicks at Alex under the table. "You going to call and say goodnight?"
"No," Alex says. "Anna sent me a picture, though." He pulls it up and holds his phone out so Brandon can see it, Vanyushka in a onesie, sleepy-eyed and soft looking in his crib.
"That is one cute kid," P.K. says. "Not quite as cute as my nephews, but cute."
"Fuck you," Alex says. "He's way cuter than your nephews."
"Nope," P.K. says, and he gets out his phone. "Not even close."
Eventually, their escalating war of nephew photos and the commotion of Brandon and Gally's mixture of laughter and vehement refusals to get involved draws attention from the rest of the guys.
"What's going on down there?" Max calls down the table.
"Baby fever," Pricey says from the other side of P.K.
That's met with a mix of laughter, knowing looks, and confusion.
"So when are you going to have one of your own?" Lars asks P.K.
"Oh, it'll happen," P.K. says with utterly unconcerned confidence. "Just a matter of time."
There's a wave of laughter, which P.K. grins his way through. "Prusty knows what I mean, right?" He elbows Brandon.
"Someday, maybe," Brandon says, and he glances over at Alex with a smile. "Right now, I'm enjoying being able to give Chucky's nephew back."
"So you're not all completely baby crazy," Lars says. "What about you, Chucky?"
Alex shakes his head. "Gally's more likely to have them soon."
Attention shifts quickly and completely enough to Gally that Brandon doesn't think anyone notices how sad Alex's eyes are.
But P.K. notices something, maybe just Brandon noticing Alex, because when they leave, he goads everything else into heading down the block and leaving enough space that Brandon and Alex can walk back alone.
Everyone else is about a block ahead of them when Alex says, "I'm gay."
Brandon's been wondering - and hoping - so that part isn't as much of a surprise. What is a surprise is the way Alex says it, matter-of-fact, no disclaimers, no rush to make sure Brandon won't tell anyone.
Brandon bumps his shoulder against Alex's. "I've been trying to date you."
Alex stops in the middle of the sidewalk and looks at Brandon, who looks back, nervous but steady, while Alex processes that.
Alex's mouth shifts from an O of surprise to a slight smile before he starts walking again. "You should keep doing that."
"Yeah?" Brandon says, smile spreading across his face and getting wider when Alex nods. "All right. I will." He puts his arm around Alex's shoulders, something that feels like dating but won't look like it to anyone else.
*
Movie? Brandon texts Alex. If you're not babysitting again.
Anna and Peter took Vanya to Miami for the week, Alex sends back. Do I still get to pick the movie?
Brandon grins, and then decides not to commit the rest of it to text and sends Alex a FaceTime request.
"I'm trying to get into your pants," Brandon says with a smirk when Alex accepts the request, "so, yes, you can pick the movie."
Alex laughs. "You don't have to bribe me into that."
Brandon shrugs. "Maybe I just want to be nice to you. You ever think of that?"
Alex's smile rounds out his cheeks, and he hmms while he looks up movie times and picks one. "I'll meet you there?"
"What kind of date do you think I am?" Brandon asks, and then quickly adds, "Don't answer that. I'll pick you up." He hangs up on Alex's laughing face, as much as he likes seeing it, in favor of changing his clothes before he has to leave the house.
Alex comes out of the house to meet him before Brandon can even get halfway up the walk.
"What?" Alex asks when Brandon shakes his head.
"I'm picking you up," Brandon says. "I can come meet you at the door."
"This way you don't have to," Alex says. "You can't kiss me in front of the house anyway." He keeps that last part quiet and only says it when he's close enough for Brandon to hear it.
Brandon wraps his arms around Alex for a hug. "Too bad about that."
"Yeah," Alex says, returning his hug. "Too bad." He pulls away from Brandon slowly, and walks close to him the rest of the way to the car.
In the car, Brandon reaches over and tweaks Alex's lapel. "Nice coat, Chucky."
Alex looks at him suspiciously, and Brandon chuckles.
"I mean it. It looks good on you."
"Thank you," Alex says after a moment. "You look very nice too."
"Thanks," Brandon says with a grin.
Brandon buys their tickets when they get to the theater, over Alex's protests.
"Alex," Brandon says, crowding into his space a little and keeping his voice low, "this is a date. I invited you. I'll pay."
Alex meets his eyes, startled like he didn't realize how serious Brandon was about this. "Okay," he says with a nod. Then he grins at Brandon, mischievous and goading. "I want popcorn too."
Brandon reels him in with a casual arm around his shoulders. "Then let's get you some popcorn." He buys Alex a soda too, and steals handfuls of popcorn and sips of soda while they watch the movie.
"This was a very bad date," Alex says seriously when Brandon pulls up in front of his house. There's an amused twitch to his lips that makes Brandon settle back in his seat.
"How was this a bad date? I let you pick the movie. I bought you popcorn."
"And then you ate all of it," Alex says, clearly struggling not to laugh.
"And that makes it a bad date?"
"No," Alex says. "It's a bad date because we couldn't even hold hands at the movies, and you can't kiss me goodbye now."
It's not that Brandon thought it actually was a bad date, but he likes that Alex's main complaint is not getting to make out with him. "I could come in and kiss you inside," he suggests.
Alex shakes his head, looking as regretful about it as Brandon feels. "My parents are home."
Brandon laughs, and shakes his head at Alex's annoyed look. "This is like high school," he says with a grin. "I'll walk you to the door anyway, and you can come over to my place on Friday night. I'll make you dinner and kiss you then."
"Okay," Alex says, and he gets out of the car with one of those soft, pleased smiles on his face.
Brandon walks him up to the door, and they pause there, looking at each other for a moment before Brandon says, "This really is like high school," and then tugs Alex in for a tight hug.
"Thank you," Alex says when they have to stop hugging because it's already gone on a little too long for public view. "I had a good time even if I didn't get to kiss you."
"Me too," Brandon says. "I'll see you on Friday."
"You'll see me tomorrow," Alex calls after him. "We have a game."
"Yeah," Brandon calls back, "but I won't enjoy seeing you until Friday." Alex's laugh follows him into his car.
*
Alex shows up on Friday in the dark green sweater Brandon encouraged him to buy in New York.
Brandon rests his arms on Alex's shoulders after Alex hangs up his coat. "Mmm. I don't know if I want to look at you in that sweater or peel it off you."
Alex tilts his chin up and smiles. "You can do both."
"I might have to." Brandon reels Alex in so he can kiss him. He keeps it light, exploratory. He wants all kinds of other kisses with Alex too, but this one's the first kiss, and he wants it to be gentle.
Alex is smiling when Brandon stops kissing him. "You should kiss me a lot."
"I plan to." Brandon smacks a quick kiss on Alex's lips. "Right now I'm going to feed you and look at you in that sweater."
"I'm going to look at your beard," Alex says, putting one hand on Brandon's cheek. "It looks very good on you."
Brandon turns his head to kiss Alex's palm. "We'll see if you like it as much when it's leaving beard burn all over you." He lets go of Alex and heads for the kitchen.
"I think I'll still like it," Alex says when he follows Brandon a second later.
Brandon raises his eyebrows at Alex, waiting to see if he'll blush - he doesn't, just meets Brandon's eyes evenly - and then grins at him and gets plates out of the cabinet.
He didn't try for anything fancy with dinner, just the same kind of basic chicken, pasta, vegetable they're always eating, but he opens a bottle of wine to go with it and they sit at the table to eat, legs stretched out together under it. Dinner isn't that different from other times they've hung out either, except that Brandon lets himself flirt a little more and doesn't try to hide the way he's looking at Alex.
Alex helps clean up after dinner, and that makes it easy for Brandon to crowd close to his back and trap him against the sink. He nuzzles into Alex's neck, rubbing his beard against the thin skin there.
Alex tips his head to give Brandon better access and then turns around in the circle of Brandon's arms. He cups Brandon's jaw in one damp hand and leans in to kiss him, sweet and hot all at once. Alex smiles when he pulls away, the kind of look Brandon wants to keep on his face forever.
"You should take me to bed," Alex says.
"Mmm," Brandon says. "Should I?" He watches Alex's face for any sense of hesitation or uncertainty.
"Yes," Alex says firmly. "You said you would peel my sweater off me and give me beard burn."
"I did say that, didn't I?" Brandon kisses Alex lightly and keeps one arm around his shoulders. "Come to bed, Alex."
Alex says, "Yes," again, and goes where Brandon leads him, into the bedroom where Brandon lets go of him to turn on the lamp by the side of the bed.
Alex in the soft light of his bedroom is so beautiful Brandon's chest hurts, and he goes over to put his arms around Alex to try to soothe it.
Alex hugs him back, nuzzles against his cheek. "We don't have to do this," he says, and Brandon almost laughs at Alex being careful with him.
"I want to," Brandon says, pulling back to brush his lips over the curve of Alex's cheek. "Let me get you out of this." He tugs at Alex's sweater, and Alex moves with him, helping Brandon get his sweater off, and then the t-shirt under it.
Brandon has seen all of Alex bare before, but he likes that he gets to be the one to make him that way, to peel him out of his clothes one piece at a time. He unbuttons Alex's jeans next, and pushes his underwear down with them.
Alex takes a step to the side, out of his clothes, and toes off his socks as he goes, and then he's all bare skin over strong muscle, hard cock rising up against his belly, looking perfectly at home in the middle of Brandon's bedroom.
"Are you going to get naked too?" Alex asks it like it's Brandon's choice, like he'll be okay with it either way.
"Yes," Brandon says after half a second to think about it. He strips faster than he stripped Alex, and with less care, wanting to be naked with Alex more than he wants to put on a show. Alex is already here, already calm and certain.
Alex steps toward him when he's naked, putting one hand on Brandon's hip and the other flat over his chest.
Brandon leans in and kisses him, wrapping his arms around Alex to pull him even closer, getting him close enough to feel Alex's skin against his. He kisses Alex deeper, Alex's hand sliding around his body so Alex can get as close as possible, chests and cocks and thighs pressed together.
"You should get in my bed now," Brandon says.
Alex grins at him. "Okay." He turns to go over to the bed, and Brandon bites his lip against how good his ass looks as he walks away.
Alex pushes the blankets aside and stretches out on Brandon's sheets. He looks good there, soft and comfortable, waiting for Brandon to join him.
"You're beautiful," Brandon tells him, and he loves the smile it puts on Alex's face.
"So are you." Alex reaches for him as Brandon joins him on the bed, pulling him down on top of him like that's not where Brandon was going anyway.
Brandon kisses him, then rubs his chin against Alex's. "Still want the beard burn?"
"Yes." Alex smiles at him. "Yes, all of it."
Brandon has to kiss him again, and then he sets to giving Alex beard burn, using his mouth and cheeks and chin to explore Alex's body, collarbone, chest, scrape of his beard over Alex's nipples, lower to the cut of his hips, the insides of his thighs. By the time he gets there, Alex is tense and cursing above him, cock wet at the tip.
Brandon gives up on the rest of it - he'll have time for it again later - and turns his focus to Alex's cock. He licks it once, and then takes it into his mouth to the sound of Alex gasping out his name.
Brandon smiles as much as he can around the thickness of Alex's cock, the salty taste of it on his tongue, and goes down as far as he can. It's not quite far enough to rub his face against any other part of Alex while he sucks, but it's far enough to make Alex gasp and groan, so responsive to what Brandon is doing to him.
Alex starts out polite enough, but ends up with his hands in Brandon's hair, tugging just shy of too much. It's not like Brandon has a problem with it being a little rough, so he goes with it, lets Alex guide the pace of the blowjob until he's gasping out a warning, holding Brandon down on his cock when Brandon doesn't move away, coming hard into Brandon's mouth.
Brandon pulls off, swallowing as much as he can, and moves up the bed to look down at Alex, chest heaving and cock softening. He's still beautiful, maybe the most beautiful thing Brandon has ever seen when he smiles up at Brandon soft and sated.
"Come here," Alex demands, and he tugs Brandon down to kiss him.
"Good?" Brandon asks.
"Don't try to make me say nice things about you," Alex says. There's a sparkle around his eyes that says he doesn't mean the teasing. "It's your turn now."
Brandon goes with Alex's push easily, folding his arms under his head so he can watch while Alex scatters kisses across his chest on his way down. Alex doesn't spend the time on it that Brandon did, which is just as well because Brandon is so hard he's not sure he could stand that.
Alex sucks him down like he knows what he's doing. Not quite an expert, no fancy tricks, but sure and steady, solid suction on Brandon's cock.
Brandon's composure goes to shit. He brings his arms down, one hand curving around the back of Alex's head and the other across his own chest, holding himself together as much as he can.
Brandon almost wishes he could last longer, but only almost, because it feels so amazingly good when Alex sucks him all the way through and swallows around him when he comes.
"Alex," Brandon gasps afterward, tugging Alex up to lie next to him and not saying anything about the well-deserved smugness on Alex's face.
Alex just keeps looking smug while Brandon catches his breath, and doesn't stop even when Brandon kisses him.
"You've done that before," Brandon says.
"Are you jealous?"
Brandon considers that for a moment. "No," he says. "Just as long as you're not doing it with anyone else while we're dating."
"Of course not," Alex says, and he tucks himself comfortably into Brandon's side.
Brandon doesn't say anything else for a while, content to lie there in silence with Alex, touching every once in a while, exchanging the odd kiss. Eventually, though, he asks, "Are you staying the night?"
"No," Alex says. "I should go home." He presses a kiss to Brandon's neck. "But I don't have to go yet."
"All right," Brandon says. He tightens the arm he has around Alex. "How does this compare to our last date?"
Alex grins at him. "Much better. Way more kissing."
Brandon grins back. "Good." He kisses Alex. "You're planning the next one."
*
I'm babysitting, Alex texts a few days later. Want to come over?
Brandon sends, Yes, and drives over to Alex's.
"Is this your idea of a date?" Brandon asks when Alex opens the door.
"No," Alex says. "We're going on a date on Saturday. This is just to hang out."
Brandon catches him close for a deep kiss. "Okay."
Alex is smiling when they part. He takes Brandon's hand, surprisingly shy about it, and walks him to the living room where Vanya is lying on a blanket chewing on a soft block.
Brandon lifts Alex's hand to his mouth and brushes a kiss over it before he lets go and sits down next to the baby. "What's that you've got there?"
Vanya drools a little more on the block and then gives Brandon a sunny smile.
"Oh, yeah," Brandon says. "You're cute all right. That's going to get you into a lot of trouble. And out of it too." He scoops Vanyushka up and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Just like your Uncle Sasha." He looks up to grin at Alex, still standing and looking down on Brandon and the baby.
Alex smiles at him, soft and fond, and sits down half next to and half behind Brandon, his chest against Brandon's back. "Just like you, too." Alex rests his chin on Brandon's shoulder, Brandon slouching a little to make it easier for him. "With your very pretty face." He presses a kiss to Brandon's cheek.
Brandon smiles, turning to give the smile to Alex before he turns it on Vanya again. "This is your first lesson," he says. "We are three very good looking men."
Alex laughs, a soft rumble at Brandon's back.
Vanya laughs too, and then waves his hands around, one of them still clutching the block.
Brandon bends and pretends to eat Vanya's fingers, making him squeal with delight and drop the block.
After Brandon puts Vanya down to grab at toys on the floor, he leans against Alex and says, "Explain the name thing to me."
"What name thing?"
"Ivan, Vanya, Vanyushka. Is it just nicknames like Chucky and Prusty?"
"They are affectionate," Alex says. "Vanya is for friends or people you are close to. Vanyushka is," Alex hesitates. "We won't keep calling him that for much longer, once he's not a baby, except maybe Anna and my mom. It is a very," he pauses again, "tender name. Only for very close family. Or for, uh, lovers. It is not exactly the same as our nicknames."
Brandon says, "Hmm," and then he says, "Chucky," and wraps everything he feels about Alex, all that love and desire and affection, around it.
Alex shudders, and then he says, "Don't. That needs to be separate."
Brandon turns his head to look at Alex, seeing as well as feeling the tension in him. "Okay," he agrees. He presses a soft kiss to Alex's lips. "So," he says when Alex doesn't keep talking after that.
"So what?"
"So Alex, Sasha," Brandon prompts him.
Alex presses his lips together. Brandon waits him out until Alex relents and says, "Sashenka," reluctantly. "There are others, but for me, Sashenka."
Brandon hmms, and Alex relaxes little by little as Brandon doesn't repeat it.
Brandon stays until after Alex's family gets home, so he doesn't get to kiss Alex goodbye. Alex walks him to the door anyway, and hugs him tightly in the entryway. "I will pick you up on Saturday."
Brandon keeps his arms around Alex, intent on hugging him as long as Alex will let him. "What are we doing?"
"It's a surprise," Alex says. "But I will pick you up at six."
"A surprise," Brandon says, corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile. "How do I know what to wear?"
Alex shrugs. "Wear whatever you want to wear."
"Very helpful," Brandon says dryly. "What are you going to wear?"
"Jeans," Alex says, "and a shirt that will make you look at me like you did when I wore the green sweater."
Brandon is really sorry he didn't leave before Alex's family got home, when he could kiss Alex goodbye.
*
Brandon follows Alex's lead and wears jeans and a long-sleeve henley he expects to make Alex look at him the way he looked at Alex in the green sweater.
He's not disappointed.
Alex gives him a hungry, appreciative once-over when Brandon opens the door, and then pushes him in, kicks the door shut, and kisses him. Brandon kisses back, just as hungry for Alex as Alex is for him.
They make out for a few long minutes, trading control of the kiss, Brandon getting the buttons on Alex's coat undone enough to slide his arms around Alex's back with just his shirt between them.
"We could have our date here," Brandon says.
"No." Alex pulls away a little, but not all the way out of Brandon's arms. "I made plans." He gives Brandon a mischievous smile. "But I made sure we have time to make out for a little bit before we leave."
Brandon laughs delightedly and pulls Alex to him for another kiss. "How much time?"
"Not enough to fuck," Alex says. He looks sorry about that, and he kisses Brandon slick and dirty. "But we can after."
Brandon grins against Alex's cheek. "Something to look forward to." He pulls away from Alex and tugs his shirt back into place. "Are you going to tell me where we're going before that?"
"No," Alex says cheerfully.
Brandon pulls on his coat. "This better be good."
Alex brushes a kiss across his lips before they leave the apartment. "You will like it."
They go to dinner first, and Brandon resists the urge to play footsie with Alex under the table. He doesn't resist the urge to flirt at every possible opportunity, though, which Alex seems to appreciate going by the way he flirts back.
When they leave the restaurant, Alex directs him down the street, away from where he parked.
"When are you going to tell me what else we're doing?" Brandon asks.
"When we get there," Alex says. "It's not far."
They turn a corner to see a few people standing around under a lit-up marquee, and Alex bumps his shoulder against Brandon's. "This is where we're going."
Brandon looks at Alex, the hint of a smile on his face, and looks up at the marquee. "You got us fight tickets?"
"Yes." Alex's smile turns positively smug. "I thought you would like it."
"I do." Brandon follows Alex into the theater in something of a daze. Alex got them fight tickets. They still won't be able to hold hands, but it's something they both like and something they'll be able to talk about later, with each other and with other people.
"We're in the VIP section upstairs," Alex says once they're inside the theater. "It's supposed to also have a good view, and we probably won't get bothered up there. I thought we might attract more attention on the floor."
"You're probably right," Brandon says. It's Montreal and they're at a fight; someone is going to ask for a picture no matter where they are, but being a separate section of the place will probably cut down on it.
They leave their coats at coat check and head up to the VIP section. It has its own bar, and they head there first for drinks before they settle in at a table near the edge of the balcony.
A couple of people ask them for photos, and Brandon makes Alex crowd in with him around the table, backs toward the floor, for a selfie he tweets with the caption, Fight night with @agally94. Great date. He even paid for dinner. He shows it to Alex first, and gets his half-smiling approval. It's the kind of thing they can get away with without anyone realizing it actually is a date.
Since it is actually a date, Brandon puts his phone away after that. Alex is a good person to watch fights with. He has enough knowledge to have a good discussion about what's going on, and his eyes are bright when he leans across the table to chirp Brandon about his fighting abilities.
Brandon smiles easily at him and says, "I'm better than you."
There's a calculated smirk on Alex's face that means he knows what he's doing when he says, "You could teach me some things."
Brandon swears. "Jesus, Alex."
Alex sits back in his chair with a smug grin.
Brandon leans toward him. "I'm going to get you back for that one," he says. He takes a sip of his drink, licking his lips when he catches Alex looking at them. "Or maybe I'll just make a lesson plan." He's pretty sure he strikes the right tone with that, dirty enough for Alex to get it, innocent enough not to sound strange if he's overheard. It's enough to make Alex's eyes go dark, and Brandon sits back in his chair with a smug smile of his own.
They don't flirt as much as the evening goes on, and by the time they reach the title bout, they're both leaning forward in their chairs, watching intently.
There's a collective exhale from the whole place when the last bout ends, a change in the noise of the crowd as people start to leave.
Alex and Brandon join the throng crowding toward the coat check. It takes a few minutes, and in the crowd, the two of them pressing close together from shoulder to hip doesn't draw attention. Brandon is fully aware of Alex all along his side, even if no one else is paying attention to them.
They get their coats and head outside into the cool night air. Alex is wound up from the fight, turning to shadowbox with Brandon and in obvious need of an outlet for his energy. Not that Brandon's blood isn't pumping just as hard, but he's older; he knows how to wait.
When Alex turns the car down Brandon's street, Brandon says, "You're coming in," and doesn't leave room for it to be a question.
"Yes," Alex says, and he crowds close to Brandon on the way up to his apartment.
Brandon unlocks the door, and they fall through it, Alex staying close and Brandon turning to grab at him. They crash into each other, Brandon kicking the door shut behind them and shoving Alex up against it. He fumbles at the lock while he licks into Alex's mouth, clicks it shut just as Alex pushes back against him, biting at his mouth and shoving him into the wall.
They careen off the walls in the entryway, fighting to get control, to get closer, to get their coats off. Their coats and Brandon's toque end up on the floor. The corner of a picture frame digs into Brandon's back when Alex shoves him against the wall. Brandon ignores it while Alex kisses him, and then he shoves at Alex, as much to get away from the picture frame as to take his turn.
They make it as far as the couch. Alex hooks his ankle around Brandon's and trips him down onto it, following him down with a barely controlled fall. Brandon grabs onto him, greedy for touch, for Alex's mouth on his, for friction on his cock.
They're both hard, and Brandon grasps at Alex's thigh, encouraging him to settle just right over him.
Alex groans when they get lined up right, and the way he moves on top of Brandon punches the air right out of his lungs. When he gets it back, he groans out Alex's name and grabs handfuls of his ass to help him keep moving like that.
Alex loses any of the cockiness he had before, his face going slack with pleasure. Brandon watches his eyes close and his mouth fall open, and he has to taste that. He leans up to get at Alex's mouth, not wanting to move his hands.
Alex moans into the kiss, and then takes it over, cups the back of Brandon's head and his jaw with his hands and licks deep into Brandon's mouth, just as hungry and greedy for it as Brandon feels.
They move against each other in a harsh quest for friction that's not as much of a fight as it could be since they're working together for it.
As much as Brandon doesn't want to let go of Alex's ass, he does it to push him back and get at his pants. They fumble together to get both of their pants and underwear pushed halfway down their thighs, Alex's shirt off and Brandon's pushed up, and then Brandon gets his hands right back on the curves of Alex's ass.
"Fuck," Alex says. His mouth is red and wet, and Brandon takes one hand off of Alex's ass to put it on the back of his head and pull him down to bite at his mouth while they rut against each other.
Alex comes first, head thrown back and low moan coming out of his mouth. He keeps moving after, but not long enough for Brandon to come.
"Fuck, Alex," Brandon says, frustrated at how close he was.
"Sorry, sorry," Alex says. "I'll-" He sits up and wraps his hand tight around Brandon's cock, strokes him fast and hard.
Brandon comes with a choked off noise, a sudden release of tension that feels like it's coming all the way from his toes to the top of his head. He lets himself sink into the couch, smiling languidly up at Alex still above him.
Alex grins down at him, absurdly pleased with himself. "You're a mess."
Brandon looks down at the come splattered across his stomach and cock. "Mmhmm." He reaches for Alex, grabbing onto whatever skin he can. "Very debauched." His mouth stretches into a wider smile at Alex's snort. "I'm older. Shouldn't I be debauching you?"
"You can next time." Alex bends over to kiss him. "It's your turn to plan a date."
"Mmm." Brandon pulls Alex down, smearing the mess of their come on him too. "I don't know if I can do better than this one."
Alex gives him that incredibly smug look again. Brandon should probably want to do something to knock it off his face, but he's so in love with Alex that Alex being happy just makes him happy.
"It'll be a good date as long as we end up here," Alex says after a moment.
Brandon kisses him deep and soft. "I can guarantee that." He runs his hands up and down the warmth of Alex's bare back. "Want to stay?"
Alex shakes his head. "I have to go home. But not yet." He settles in over Brandon and they make out slowly for a while before Alex has to leave.
*
They take turns planning dates, squeezing them in on non-game days and sometimes managing to go out on the road. Those are the dates when they walk back to their rooms and don't linger in the hallway longer than it takes to hug. The ones at home invariably end with Alex in Brandon's bed or on his couch.
At the rink, they're careful to be friendly but no more. Brandon remembers to call Alex "Chucky" and Alex tempers his smiles so the depth of what they are to each other doesn't show on his face.
They don't spend all their time together; Alex still spends afternoons locked in video game battles with Gally, and Brandon still goes out to dinner with P.K. and whoever else he rounds up for them to hang out with.
Tonight it's Brandon and P.K, Pricey, and Weaver, with Brandon and Carey providing an audience for P.K. and Mike's laughing storytelling and chirping. It's an easy, freewheeling dinner, and they're all checking their phones occasionally ("I have to know if I get a better offer," P.K. said), so Brandon doesn't hesitate to open the text from Alex.
I want to tell Gally and my family.
Brandon's been waiting for them to have some variation on a coming out conversation. Alex is too close to his family to keep them a secret for very long. It means Brandon's prepared, and he doesn't waste any time sending back, If I can tell Brian and my family. Then, a second later, after he looks up and P.K. catches his eye, he also sends, P.K. and Manny know.
Alex sends a string of question marks, and then, Why did you tell them?
"Hey," Brandon says to the guys, "I'll be back." He waves his phone at them in explanation, shrugs on his coat, and goes outside to call Alex. "I didn't tell them," he says when Alex picks up. "They figured it out."
"How? I thought we were being careful."
It's probably good Alex can't see him; admitting this is making Brandon blush. "They figured it out before we were even dating."
"What?" Alex's confusion is probably better than other possible outcomes for this part of the conversation.
For all that Brandon's dating a guy who lives with his family who doesn't know about them, it turns out there's nothing to make him feel like he's stuck in awkward teenage dating years like standing outside a restaurant on a cold Montreal night confessing, "I really like you," into his cell phone. "It was pretty obvious sometimes."
"Oh," Alex says. The single syllable isn't enough for Brandon to read Alex's tone, but he sounds pleased when he follows it up with, "I really like you too."
And now Brandon is standing outside a restaurant on a cold Montreal night grinning like an idiot. "Well good."
"Yeah." There's a moment where they're silent, and Brandon likes to think Alex is grinning just as much as he is. Then Alex says, "I don't want to tell all the guys."
"God, no," Brandon says. That way lies a lot of chirping and someone, no matter how careful they are, saying something to the wrong person and a lot of publicity Brandon doesn't want. Someday, maybe, if this lasts the way he wants it to and neither one of them gets traded, but not now.
"Okay," Alex says. "Well, I'm going to tell Gally."
"I'm going to tell Brian," Brandon says. He's grinning again, because whatever else telling people means to Alex, it at least means they're solidly in a relationship. "Now that we have that settled, can we talk about anything else later? I'm outside a restaurant freezing my ass off."
"Too bad," Alex says, "I like your ass."
Brandon bursts into laughter. He loves Alex's deadpan jokes.
"Send me a selfie before you go inside," Alex says.
"A selfie?" Brandon asks.
Alex says, "Yeah, I want to see your face," and hangs up on him.
The lighting outside isn't the best, but Brandon manages a picture that could charitably be called artsy, half his face in shadow, smiling and looking at the camera on his phone the way he would be smiling and looking at Alex if he were there.
Part 2
Notes: Thanks to Kelfin for helping me figure out the Russian naming conventions, to Lake for letting me talk this through, and to everyone on Twitter who answered miscellaneous questions as I went along. Title from Disclosure's "Latch" featuring Sam Smith.
Story on AO3
Anna's always been beautiful, and the glow of motherhood has only deepened that. But it's Alex Brandon can't stop looking at. Alex who's smiling softly as he takes the baby from Anna. Alex whose eyes are bright and shining with joy when he turns around and says, "This is my nephew." It hits Brandon like a punch to the gut, that what he feels for Alex is a love just as strong, fierce, and joyful as what's on Alex's face.
Alex's smile falters.
Brandon jerks forward out of his stunned stillness. "Hi, nephew," he says, smiling at the baby.
"Vanyushka," Alex says.
"Vanyushka," Brandon repeats, running a finger over the baby's cheek. He smiles at the baby, at Alex, at Anna behind them. "He's beautiful. Looks like a Galchenyuk already." He brings his gaze back to Alex, who looks away, down at the baby instead of meeting Brandon's eyes.
Brandon gets pushed out of the way by Gally then, and steps back a little.
"Vanya," Alex says, introducing the baby to Gally. "This is Gally. Never listen to him."
Gally laughs, slightly lower volume than usual the only concession to the baby's presence.
Brandon even loves the teasing smirk on Alex's face while he talks to Gally.
He's so caught up in watching that he doesn't notice Manny coming to stand next to him until he thumps Brandon on the back. Brandon turns his probably still dazed face toward him.
"Yep," Manny says with a grin that seems to say he knows exactly how Brandon feels. "That's the way it happens sometimes."
"Uh," Brandon says.
Manny pats his shoulder, and Brandon turns to watch while Alex lets Gally hold his nephew.
"You have to support his head."
"I know how to hold a baby," Gally says with a laugh while Alex hovers to make sure he's doing it right.
The baby gets passed around to a couple of the other guys under Alex's watchful eye, until he starts fussing and Alex takes him back.
The other guys lose some of their interest then, and Brandon can go over to Alex again without a crowd of people between them.
"I didn't get a chance to hold him," Brandon says, the only thing he can think to say.
Alex looks at him, eyes dark and serious, and down at the baby. He murmurs something to the baby in Russian; the only things Brandon catch are "Vanyushka" and his own name. Then Alex hands the baby over, hands careful and gentle, but without the instructions on how to hold him he gave the other guys, like he just trusts Brandon.
It keeps Brandon silent for a moment while he gets Vanyushka settled against his shoulder, one hand spanning the whole of the baby's back. "There you go," Brandon murmurs to him. "There you go, nothing to be unhappy about here." He sways a little in the way of people holding sleepy babies everywhere, and presses a kiss to the baby's hair when he has to look away from the solemn, trusting way Alex is watching him.
*
"Hey, hey, hey, Chucky." Brandon catches the back of Alex's t-shirt as he wanders down the hallway.
Alex tugs out of Brandon's hold and turns to face him with a glare. "What?"
"Lunch," Brandon says, unfazed by Alex's posturing.
"Yes," Alex says, gesturing toward the lounge. "Lunch."
"No," Brandon says. "Real lunch. We eat here all the time." He claps Alex on the back. "Take a shower. Put on something that won't make me embarrassed to be seen with you." He ignores Alex's pointed look that takes in their matching Habs shirts and shorts. "Come on, Chucky, ten minutes and we're going to get real food."
Seven minutes later, Alex is dressed in a soft-looking long sleeve shirt that makes Brandon want to snuggle up to him and standing behind Brandon at the counter chirping him as he combs his hair.
"You don't have to be all pretty to have lunch," Alex says.
Brandon smiles at him in the mirror, one of his flirtatious ones. "You think I'm pretty?"
"No," Alex says, flustered and not sounding convinced. "Can we just go?"
Brandon stops messing with his hair and turns around, giving Alex an obvious once-over. "I guess you'll have to be pretty enough for both of us."
He walks past Alex, leaving him to finish spluttering before he follows Brandon out of the room.
Brandon doesn't go too fancy for lunch, but he drives them to a place a little nicer than the kind of sandwich and burger places he knows Alex and Gally go sometimes.
Brandon turns the volume of his flirting down a little over lunch - he wants Alex to have fun, not spend the whole time embarrassed - and asks about Vanyushka.
Alex's face lights up when he tells Brandon about his nephew, love shining out of him like a beacon.
"This is probably all boring," Alex says after about fifteen minutes about how great Vanya is.
"No," Brandon says. "I don't know any babies, so it's all new to me." He doesn't tell Alex about the part where he just wants to bask in Alex's presence when he's like that, but it makes Alex smile anyway.
At the end of the meal, Brandon uses the smoothness he's developed over many years of dating to pay the check without letting Alex even look at it.
"I would have paid half," Alex says when he realizes what's happening.
Brandon shrugs. "I don't mind buying you lunch."
Alex blinks at him, and then smiles, one of the surprisingly sweet ones he sometimes gives Brandon. "Thank you."
Brandon nods, not trusting himself to open his mouth just then.
*
There's a group of guys gathering in the hotel lobby when Brandon heads down.
"Are you coming to dinner with us?" Alex asks.
It's a tempting offer, but Tampa Bay doesn't just mean a chance for them to all get some sun. It's also a chance for Brandon to catch up with Brian.
"Not this time," Brandon says. "I have plans."
Alex looks at him skeptically. "What kind of plans?"
Brandon nods toward the door, where Brian is coming into the lobby. "Ex-teammate kinds of plans."
Brian catches sight of him and comes their way. He gets to them just as Gally says, "You're fraternizing with the enemy."
"Just for the evening," Brandon says, and he steps into Brian's hug. "Hey, man."
"Hey," Brian says. He steps back and holds Brandon at arms' length. "Looking good."
Brandon smirks. "I've always been better dressed than you."
"Oh, fuck you," Brian says with a laugh.
Alex and Gally are still hovering next to Brandon, so he introduces everyone. "These two are Alex and Brendan. Guys, this is Brian."
"The enemy," Gally says cheerfully as he shakes Brian's hand.
Brian laughs. "I'm not the enemy tonight. Don't worry. I'll return him unharmed."
"You'd better," Alex says with one of those serious looks on his face.
Brandon puts an arm around Alex's shoulders. "Relax, Chucky. I can handle Brian." He recognizes the look on Brian's face that says he's trying very hard not to laugh at them. "I'll go out with you next time."
Alex looks at Brandon, and it's like they're in their own tiny bubble of space for a moment. Alex cracks first, and shoves at Brandon. "We're going to have more fun than you are."
Brandon lets him go and laughs. "We can compare stories over breakfast tomorrow."
Gally and Alex melt back into the crowd of guys getting ready to go out for dinner, and Brandon follows Brian out of the hotel to his car.
Brian waits until he's pulling out of the parking lot before he says, "Alex."
"What about him?" Brandon asks, trying and failing not to sound defensive.
"I saw that look," Brian says. "You're in love with him."
Brandon doesn't bother to deny it. "Yeah."
"Well, don't fuck it up."
Brandon laughs. "Thanks for the advice."
"Hey, any time," Brian says with a grin.
*
Brandon's all settled in on his bed in Vancouver, pajama pants and old t-shirt he wears to bed on, phone in his hand, movie playing on TV, when there's a knock on his door. Going by the voices he can hear in the hallway as he gets closer, he has a pretty good idea what he's going to find when he opens it, and sure enough, there's Alex, grumpy face fully engaged, in his pajamas with iPad and phone in one hand and Gally hanging out of the open door across the hall.
"Brendan's being annoying," Alex says.
"Come on," Gally says across the hall. "I said I was sorry."
Brandon has no intention of getting in the middle of whatever's going on with them, but Alex is gorgeous, even in his sleep pants and t-shirt, grouchy look on his face.
"Yes," Brandon says to Alex, answering the implied question. "You can come hang out with me."
"Thank you," Alex says, because he can actually be polite when he's not being a competitive ass.
By the time Alex settles onto the other side of Brandon's bed - the occasional room with a king bed is one of the advantages to the no roommates thing - most of the grumpiness has fallen off his face.
"I won't bother you," Alex says when he looks up to find Brandon watching him.
"You're not bothering me," Brandon says. He sits down on the other side of the bed and replies to texts while the movie plays and Alex does whatever it is he's doing on his iPad.
"Anna sent me a video of Vanya," Alex says a while later. "Do you want to see?"
"Yes," Brandon says, and they both scoot closer to the center of the bed so they can watch Vanya laughing and chewing on toys.
Anna says something in Russian, and holds Vanya's hand to wave at the camera.
"What did she say?" Brandon asks.
"Wave to Uncle Sasha," Alex translates.
Brandon nudges him with an elbow. "He's a cute kid."
Alex nods. "Yeah," he says, and he looks suddenly sad enough that Brandon nudges him again, without the sharpness this time.
"Alex, what?"
Alex presses his lips together and shakes his head. "It's good to have him around," is all he'll say about it.
He doesn't move away, though, and when Brandon prods at him, he pulls up a whole folder of pictures and videos of Vanya that he takes Brandon through one at a time.
Brandon splits his attention between looking at the pictures and looking at Alex looking at the pictures.
*
"Come shopping with me," Brandon says to Alex after morning skate in New York.
"Shopping," Alex repeats.
"Shopping," Brandon says. "I know a great place. Come on, you know it'll be fun."
Alex throws a look at him that suggests it will not be fun, but then he cracks into a smile and agrees to go.
They're ten minutes into browsing shirts and sweaters and scarves when someone says, "Hi, Prusty."
Brandon looks up from the rack he's browsing, and smiles at Marc. His smile widens into a grin when he sees the baby on Marc's shoulder. "Staalsy." They exchange a one-armed hug.
"This is Anna," Marc says. "Anna, this is Prusty." Marc points at Brandon, trying to get Anna's attention. He gives up after a second and says, "She's a little shy about new people."
"She's cute," Brandon says. "Must take after Lindsay."
Marc shakes his head and laughs. "Yeah, but she says the stubbornness is all my side of the family."
"I like this," Alex says, coming around a rack. "You should try it on." He stops when he sees Marc.
"Alex, Marc and Anna. Marc and Anna, Alex." Brandon waves between them, and Marc and Alex shake hands.
"Hello, Anna," Alex says to her. "My sister is also named Anna."
Anna looks at him when he says her name, but then buries her face against Marc's shoulder.
"Don't take it personally," Marc says. "She's shy about strangers. My mom says it's probably just a phase."
"My nephew Ivan is just a little bit younger than her," Alex says. "He is not shy about strangers yet, unless there are a lot of them."
"She used to be more like that," Marc says. "But now she just wants Mom and Dad." The smile and the way he gently cups the back of Anna's head show that he doesn't really mind. He smiles at the baby, a completely besotted look Brandon recognizes from the way Alex looks at Vanya, and then turns a lighter smile on Brandon and Alex. "I'll let you get back to your shopping. We were just in the neighborhood, and I saw you and thought I'd say hi."
"Yeah, good to see you, man," Brandon says, and he exchanges another one-armed hug with Marc. "And good to meet you," he says to Anna. He grins at Marc. "We're going to crush you tonight."
"You can try," Marc says. "Nice to meet you, Alex."
"You too," Alex says.
After Marc walks away, Brandon takes the sweater from Alex and shakes it out. It is a nice sweater, and he smiles at Alex for finding it.
"This would look good on you," Brandon says. "Maybe in a different color. Show me where you found it."
His phone buzzes while he follows Alex to the rack, but he ignores it for the time being.
It's only later, when they're trying things on and he's done before Alex, that he checks his phone and finds he has a text from Brian: Heard you're letting Alex pick out your clothes.
Brandon sends back, Marc has a big mouth.
"I think this one looks good," Alex says as he comes out of the dressing room.
Brandon looks up from his phone and has to catch his breath. "Yeah," he says after a second. "You should definitely get that one."
Alex smiles at him, small and pleased.
In the end, Alex buys two sweaters, a shirt, and a scarf Brandon loops around his neck to show Alex how good it will look on him. Brandon walks out of the place empty-handed, and they stroll down the street toward a coffee shop.
"You didn't even get anything," Alex says.
"I couldn't find anything that looked as good on me as the green sweater looked on you," Brandon says. He pulls open the coffee shop door and revels in getting that small, pleased smile out of Alex again.
*
Movie? Brandon texts Alex. I'll even let you pick.
Brandon's phone buzzes a minute later with a FaceTime request from Alex.
"I'm busy," Alex says, and then he stretches the phone away from him so Brandon can see Vanya on his shoulder. "My parents are at the movies and Anna went shopping."
This time, the small picture of his own face in the corner shows Brandon just how much of what he's feeling makes it onto his face.
"Can I come over?"
Alex blinks at him. "You want to babysit instead of going to the movies?"
"Sure," Brandon says with a shrug instead of saying that what he wants to do is spend time with Alex.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Alex says. He tips his head to look at the baby. "Is that okay, Vanya?"
Vanya's only response is to babble a little and then chew on the collar of Alex's shirt.
"Is that Russian baby for yes?" Brandon asks.
Alex laughs. "Yeah, sure," he says. "Come over."
Brandon grins at him and hangs up.
Alex answers the door with Vanyushka still on his shoulder, and Brandon reaches for the baby to keep himself from reaching for Alex. It's early for that. They're barely dating. Alex might not even know they're dating.
"Hello, Vanyushka. You're bigger every time your Uncle Sasha shows me a picture of you."
Alex stares at him, probably for the use of Sasha.
"I pay attention," Brandon says. "So, what are we doing with this little angel here?"
"You won't think he's an angel when he needs a diaper change," Alex says.
"Oh," Brandon says, hefting Vanya up a little. "Have you been a stinky baby for Uncle Sasha?" He smiles at the baby, getting a smile back. "Yeah? I'll bet Uncle Sasha thinks you're the greatest anyway." He looks up at Alex, and smiles. "Yeah, he does."
Alex smiles at Brandon, and more tenderly at Vanyushka. "Come on. All his toys are on the living room floor."
"All" might have been an exaggeration, but there is a staggeringly large number of infant toys spread out around a quilt laid out on the floor.
Brandon and Alex lie down on the floor with Vanya and take turns passing him toys and watching him shake them, hit them on the ground, or put them in his mouth. It should not be as fascinating and enjoyable as it is, but that's the magic of babies, Brandon guesses. And the magic of love, for the way Alex looks at Vanyushka and the way Brandon looks at Alex.
Vanya cries later, and Alex stands, swooping the baby up with him. "He's hungry," he explains, and Brandon follows him to the kitchen.
Alex rocks Vanya, calming him a little, while he shows Brandon how to heat up a bottle, how to test it against his wrist to make sure it's not too hot.
"Do you want to feed him?" Alex asks.
Brandon does, and he also isn't sure he can take watching Alex do it, so he says yes and lets Alex push him down into one of the living room chairs.
"Hold him carefully," Alex says, "like that." He gets the baby and Brandon's arm at the right angle, and then he gives Brandon the bottle. He keeps one hand over Brandon's for a minute, until he apparently decides Brandon is doing okay and isn't going to kill Vanya. Then he sits down in a chair across from Brandon and watches. His eyes stay mostly on Vanyushka, but they stray up to Brandon's face a few times, which Brandon knows because he's doing the same thing, looking from Alex to the baby and back again.
Alex takes Vanya after the bottle is empty, and burps him over his shoulder, throws the burp cloth in a hamper, and sits down with Vanya in his arms.
Brandon aches to have the baby back, or to have Alex, but he watches them instead, all three of them silent as Vanyushka's eyelids flicker before he falls right into sleep.
*
They have a team dinner out in Chicago, everyone walking a few blocks from the hotel and crowding into half a restaurant. Brandon sits down next to P.K. and across from Alex and Gally.
It's a good night, lots of laughter and chirping, and the guys with kids wandering outside to call home and say goodnight.
Brandon kicks at Alex under the table. "You going to call and say goodnight?"
"No," Alex says. "Anna sent me a picture, though." He pulls it up and holds his phone out so Brandon can see it, Vanyushka in a onesie, sleepy-eyed and soft looking in his crib.
"That is one cute kid," P.K. says. "Not quite as cute as my nephews, but cute."
"Fuck you," Alex says. "He's way cuter than your nephews."
"Nope," P.K. says, and he gets out his phone. "Not even close."
Eventually, their escalating war of nephew photos and the commotion of Brandon and Gally's mixture of laughter and vehement refusals to get involved draws attention from the rest of the guys.
"What's going on down there?" Max calls down the table.
"Baby fever," Pricey says from the other side of P.K.
That's met with a mix of laughter, knowing looks, and confusion.
"So when are you going to have one of your own?" Lars asks P.K.
"Oh, it'll happen," P.K. says with utterly unconcerned confidence. "Just a matter of time."
There's a wave of laughter, which P.K. grins his way through. "Prusty knows what I mean, right?" He elbows Brandon.
"Someday, maybe," Brandon says, and he glances over at Alex with a smile. "Right now, I'm enjoying being able to give Chucky's nephew back."
"So you're not all completely baby crazy," Lars says. "What about you, Chucky?"
Alex shakes his head. "Gally's more likely to have them soon."
Attention shifts quickly and completely enough to Gally that Brandon doesn't think anyone notices how sad Alex's eyes are.
But P.K. notices something, maybe just Brandon noticing Alex, because when they leave, he goads everything else into heading down the block and leaving enough space that Brandon and Alex can walk back alone.
Everyone else is about a block ahead of them when Alex says, "I'm gay."
Brandon's been wondering - and hoping - so that part isn't as much of a surprise. What is a surprise is the way Alex says it, matter-of-fact, no disclaimers, no rush to make sure Brandon won't tell anyone.
Brandon bumps his shoulder against Alex's. "I've been trying to date you."
Alex stops in the middle of the sidewalk and looks at Brandon, who looks back, nervous but steady, while Alex processes that.
Alex's mouth shifts from an O of surprise to a slight smile before he starts walking again. "You should keep doing that."
"Yeah?" Brandon says, smile spreading across his face and getting wider when Alex nods. "All right. I will." He puts his arm around Alex's shoulders, something that feels like dating but won't look like it to anyone else.
*
Movie? Brandon texts Alex. If you're not babysitting again.
Anna and Peter took Vanya to Miami for the week, Alex sends back. Do I still get to pick the movie?
Brandon grins, and then decides not to commit the rest of it to text and sends Alex a FaceTime request.
"I'm trying to get into your pants," Brandon says with a smirk when Alex accepts the request, "so, yes, you can pick the movie."
Alex laughs. "You don't have to bribe me into that."
Brandon shrugs. "Maybe I just want to be nice to you. You ever think of that?"
Alex's smile rounds out his cheeks, and he hmms while he looks up movie times and picks one. "I'll meet you there?"
"What kind of date do you think I am?" Brandon asks, and then quickly adds, "Don't answer that. I'll pick you up." He hangs up on Alex's laughing face, as much as he likes seeing it, in favor of changing his clothes before he has to leave the house.
Alex comes out of the house to meet him before Brandon can even get halfway up the walk.
"What?" Alex asks when Brandon shakes his head.
"I'm picking you up," Brandon says. "I can come meet you at the door."
"This way you don't have to," Alex says. "You can't kiss me in front of the house anyway." He keeps that last part quiet and only says it when he's close enough for Brandon to hear it.
Brandon wraps his arms around Alex for a hug. "Too bad about that."
"Yeah," Alex says, returning his hug. "Too bad." He pulls away from Brandon slowly, and walks close to him the rest of the way to the car.
In the car, Brandon reaches over and tweaks Alex's lapel. "Nice coat, Chucky."
Alex looks at him suspiciously, and Brandon chuckles.
"I mean it. It looks good on you."
"Thank you," Alex says after a moment. "You look very nice too."
"Thanks," Brandon says with a grin.
Brandon buys their tickets when they get to the theater, over Alex's protests.
"Alex," Brandon says, crowding into his space a little and keeping his voice low, "this is a date. I invited you. I'll pay."
Alex meets his eyes, startled like he didn't realize how serious Brandon was about this. "Okay," he says with a nod. Then he grins at Brandon, mischievous and goading. "I want popcorn too."
Brandon reels him in with a casual arm around his shoulders. "Then let's get you some popcorn." He buys Alex a soda too, and steals handfuls of popcorn and sips of soda while they watch the movie.
"This was a very bad date," Alex says seriously when Brandon pulls up in front of his house. There's an amused twitch to his lips that makes Brandon settle back in his seat.
"How was this a bad date? I let you pick the movie. I bought you popcorn."
"And then you ate all of it," Alex says, clearly struggling not to laugh.
"And that makes it a bad date?"
"No," Alex says. "It's a bad date because we couldn't even hold hands at the movies, and you can't kiss me goodbye now."
It's not that Brandon thought it actually was a bad date, but he likes that Alex's main complaint is not getting to make out with him. "I could come in and kiss you inside," he suggests.
Alex shakes his head, looking as regretful about it as Brandon feels. "My parents are home."
Brandon laughs, and shakes his head at Alex's annoyed look. "This is like high school," he says with a grin. "I'll walk you to the door anyway, and you can come over to my place on Friday night. I'll make you dinner and kiss you then."
"Okay," Alex says, and he gets out of the car with one of those soft, pleased smiles on his face.
Brandon walks him up to the door, and they pause there, looking at each other for a moment before Brandon says, "This really is like high school," and then tugs Alex in for a tight hug.
"Thank you," Alex says when they have to stop hugging because it's already gone on a little too long for public view. "I had a good time even if I didn't get to kiss you."
"Me too," Brandon says. "I'll see you on Friday."
"You'll see me tomorrow," Alex calls after him. "We have a game."
"Yeah," Brandon calls back, "but I won't enjoy seeing you until Friday." Alex's laugh follows him into his car.
*
Alex shows up on Friday in the dark green sweater Brandon encouraged him to buy in New York.
Brandon rests his arms on Alex's shoulders after Alex hangs up his coat. "Mmm. I don't know if I want to look at you in that sweater or peel it off you."
Alex tilts his chin up and smiles. "You can do both."
"I might have to." Brandon reels Alex in so he can kiss him. He keeps it light, exploratory. He wants all kinds of other kisses with Alex too, but this one's the first kiss, and he wants it to be gentle.
Alex is smiling when Brandon stops kissing him. "You should kiss me a lot."
"I plan to." Brandon smacks a quick kiss on Alex's lips. "Right now I'm going to feed you and look at you in that sweater."
"I'm going to look at your beard," Alex says, putting one hand on Brandon's cheek. "It looks very good on you."
Brandon turns his head to kiss Alex's palm. "We'll see if you like it as much when it's leaving beard burn all over you." He lets go of Alex and heads for the kitchen.
"I think I'll still like it," Alex says when he follows Brandon a second later.
Brandon raises his eyebrows at Alex, waiting to see if he'll blush - he doesn't, just meets Brandon's eyes evenly - and then grins at him and gets plates out of the cabinet.
He didn't try for anything fancy with dinner, just the same kind of basic chicken, pasta, vegetable they're always eating, but he opens a bottle of wine to go with it and they sit at the table to eat, legs stretched out together under it. Dinner isn't that different from other times they've hung out either, except that Brandon lets himself flirt a little more and doesn't try to hide the way he's looking at Alex.
Alex helps clean up after dinner, and that makes it easy for Brandon to crowd close to his back and trap him against the sink. He nuzzles into Alex's neck, rubbing his beard against the thin skin there.
Alex tips his head to give Brandon better access and then turns around in the circle of Brandon's arms. He cups Brandon's jaw in one damp hand and leans in to kiss him, sweet and hot all at once. Alex smiles when he pulls away, the kind of look Brandon wants to keep on his face forever.
"You should take me to bed," Alex says.
"Mmm," Brandon says. "Should I?" He watches Alex's face for any sense of hesitation or uncertainty.
"Yes," Alex says firmly. "You said you would peel my sweater off me and give me beard burn."
"I did say that, didn't I?" Brandon kisses Alex lightly and keeps one arm around his shoulders. "Come to bed, Alex."
Alex says, "Yes," again, and goes where Brandon leads him, into the bedroom where Brandon lets go of him to turn on the lamp by the side of the bed.
Alex in the soft light of his bedroom is so beautiful Brandon's chest hurts, and he goes over to put his arms around Alex to try to soothe it.
Alex hugs him back, nuzzles against his cheek. "We don't have to do this," he says, and Brandon almost laughs at Alex being careful with him.
"I want to," Brandon says, pulling back to brush his lips over the curve of Alex's cheek. "Let me get you out of this." He tugs at Alex's sweater, and Alex moves with him, helping Brandon get his sweater off, and then the t-shirt under it.
Brandon has seen all of Alex bare before, but he likes that he gets to be the one to make him that way, to peel him out of his clothes one piece at a time. He unbuttons Alex's jeans next, and pushes his underwear down with them.
Alex takes a step to the side, out of his clothes, and toes off his socks as he goes, and then he's all bare skin over strong muscle, hard cock rising up against his belly, looking perfectly at home in the middle of Brandon's bedroom.
"Are you going to get naked too?" Alex asks it like it's Brandon's choice, like he'll be okay with it either way.
"Yes," Brandon says after half a second to think about it. He strips faster than he stripped Alex, and with less care, wanting to be naked with Alex more than he wants to put on a show. Alex is already here, already calm and certain.
Alex steps toward him when he's naked, putting one hand on Brandon's hip and the other flat over his chest.
Brandon leans in and kisses him, wrapping his arms around Alex to pull him even closer, getting him close enough to feel Alex's skin against his. He kisses Alex deeper, Alex's hand sliding around his body so Alex can get as close as possible, chests and cocks and thighs pressed together.
"You should get in my bed now," Brandon says.
Alex grins at him. "Okay." He turns to go over to the bed, and Brandon bites his lip against how good his ass looks as he walks away.
Alex pushes the blankets aside and stretches out on Brandon's sheets. He looks good there, soft and comfortable, waiting for Brandon to join him.
"You're beautiful," Brandon tells him, and he loves the smile it puts on Alex's face.
"So are you." Alex reaches for him as Brandon joins him on the bed, pulling him down on top of him like that's not where Brandon was going anyway.
Brandon kisses him, then rubs his chin against Alex's. "Still want the beard burn?"
"Yes." Alex smiles at him. "Yes, all of it."
Brandon has to kiss him again, and then he sets to giving Alex beard burn, using his mouth and cheeks and chin to explore Alex's body, collarbone, chest, scrape of his beard over Alex's nipples, lower to the cut of his hips, the insides of his thighs. By the time he gets there, Alex is tense and cursing above him, cock wet at the tip.
Brandon gives up on the rest of it - he'll have time for it again later - and turns his focus to Alex's cock. He licks it once, and then takes it into his mouth to the sound of Alex gasping out his name.
Brandon smiles as much as he can around the thickness of Alex's cock, the salty taste of it on his tongue, and goes down as far as he can. It's not quite far enough to rub his face against any other part of Alex while he sucks, but it's far enough to make Alex gasp and groan, so responsive to what Brandon is doing to him.
Alex starts out polite enough, but ends up with his hands in Brandon's hair, tugging just shy of too much. It's not like Brandon has a problem with it being a little rough, so he goes with it, lets Alex guide the pace of the blowjob until he's gasping out a warning, holding Brandon down on his cock when Brandon doesn't move away, coming hard into Brandon's mouth.
Brandon pulls off, swallowing as much as he can, and moves up the bed to look down at Alex, chest heaving and cock softening. He's still beautiful, maybe the most beautiful thing Brandon has ever seen when he smiles up at Brandon soft and sated.
"Come here," Alex demands, and he tugs Brandon down to kiss him.
"Good?" Brandon asks.
"Don't try to make me say nice things about you," Alex says. There's a sparkle around his eyes that says he doesn't mean the teasing. "It's your turn now."
Brandon goes with Alex's push easily, folding his arms under his head so he can watch while Alex scatters kisses across his chest on his way down. Alex doesn't spend the time on it that Brandon did, which is just as well because Brandon is so hard he's not sure he could stand that.
Alex sucks him down like he knows what he's doing. Not quite an expert, no fancy tricks, but sure and steady, solid suction on Brandon's cock.
Brandon's composure goes to shit. He brings his arms down, one hand curving around the back of Alex's head and the other across his own chest, holding himself together as much as he can.
Brandon almost wishes he could last longer, but only almost, because it feels so amazingly good when Alex sucks him all the way through and swallows around him when he comes.
"Alex," Brandon gasps afterward, tugging Alex up to lie next to him and not saying anything about the well-deserved smugness on Alex's face.
Alex just keeps looking smug while Brandon catches his breath, and doesn't stop even when Brandon kisses him.
"You've done that before," Brandon says.
"Are you jealous?"
Brandon considers that for a moment. "No," he says. "Just as long as you're not doing it with anyone else while we're dating."
"Of course not," Alex says, and he tucks himself comfortably into Brandon's side.
Brandon doesn't say anything else for a while, content to lie there in silence with Alex, touching every once in a while, exchanging the odd kiss. Eventually, though, he asks, "Are you staying the night?"
"No," Alex says. "I should go home." He presses a kiss to Brandon's neck. "But I don't have to go yet."
"All right," Brandon says. He tightens the arm he has around Alex. "How does this compare to our last date?"
Alex grins at him. "Much better. Way more kissing."
Brandon grins back. "Good." He kisses Alex. "You're planning the next one."
*
I'm babysitting, Alex texts a few days later. Want to come over?
Brandon sends, Yes, and drives over to Alex's.
"Is this your idea of a date?" Brandon asks when Alex opens the door.
"No," Alex says. "We're going on a date on Saturday. This is just to hang out."
Brandon catches him close for a deep kiss. "Okay."
Alex is smiling when they part. He takes Brandon's hand, surprisingly shy about it, and walks him to the living room where Vanya is lying on a blanket chewing on a soft block.
Brandon lifts Alex's hand to his mouth and brushes a kiss over it before he lets go and sits down next to the baby. "What's that you've got there?"
Vanya drools a little more on the block and then gives Brandon a sunny smile.
"Oh, yeah," Brandon says. "You're cute all right. That's going to get you into a lot of trouble. And out of it too." He scoops Vanyushka up and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Just like your Uncle Sasha." He looks up to grin at Alex, still standing and looking down on Brandon and the baby.
Alex smiles at him, soft and fond, and sits down half next to and half behind Brandon, his chest against Brandon's back. "Just like you, too." Alex rests his chin on Brandon's shoulder, Brandon slouching a little to make it easier for him. "With your very pretty face." He presses a kiss to Brandon's cheek.
Brandon smiles, turning to give the smile to Alex before he turns it on Vanya again. "This is your first lesson," he says. "We are three very good looking men."
Alex laughs, a soft rumble at Brandon's back.
Vanya laughs too, and then waves his hands around, one of them still clutching the block.
Brandon bends and pretends to eat Vanya's fingers, making him squeal with delight and drop the block.
After Brandon puts Vanya down to grab at toys on the floor, he leans against Alex and says, "Explain the name thing to me."
"What name thing?"
"Ivan, Vanya, Vanyushka. Is it just nicknames like Chucky and Prusty?"
"They are affectionate," Alex says. "Vanya is for friends or people you are close to. Vanyushka is," Alex hesitates. "We won't keep calling him that for much longer, once he's not a baby, except maybe Anna and my mom. It is a very," he pauses again, "tender name. Only for very close family. Or for, uh, lovers. It is not exactly the same as our nicknames."
Brandon says, "Hmm," and then he says, "Chucky," and wraps everything he feels about Alex, all that love and desire and affection, around it.
Alex shudders, and then he says, "Don't. That needs to be separate."
Brandon turns his head to look at Alex, seeing as well as feeling the tension in him. "Okay," he agrees. He presses a soft kiss to Alex's lips. "So," he says when Alex doesn't keep talking after that.
"So what?"
"So Alex, Sasha," Brandon prompts him.
Alex presses his lips together. Brandon waits him out until Alex relents and says, "Sashenka," reluctantly. "There are others, but for me, Sashenka."
Brandon hmms, and Alex relaxes little by little as Brandon doesn't repeat it.
Brandon stays until after Alex's family gets home, so he doesn't get to kiss Alex goodbye. Alex walks him to the door anyway, and hugs him tightly in the entryway. "I will pick you up on Saturday."
Brandon keeps his arms around Alex, intent on hugging him as long as Alex will let him. "What are we doing?"
"It's a surprise," Alex says. "But I will pick you up at six."
"A surprise," Brandon says, corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile. "How do I know what to wear?"
Alex shrugs. "Wear whatever you want to wear."
"Very helpful," Brandon says dryly. "What are you going to wear?"
"Jeans," Alex says, "and a shirt that will make you look at me like you did when I wore the green sweater."
Brandon is really sorry he didn't leave before Alex's family got home, when he could kiss Alex goodbye.
*
Brandon follows Alex's lead and wears jeans and a long-sleeve henley he expects to make Alex look at him the way he looked at Alex in the green sweater.
He's not disappointed.
Alex gives him a hungry, appreciative once-over when Brandon opens the door, and then pushes him in, kicks the door shut, and kisses him. Brandon kisses back, just as hungry for Alex as Alex is for him.
They make out for a few long minutes, trading control of the kiss, Brandon getting the buttons on Alex's coat undone enough to slide his arms around Alex's back with just his shirt between them.
"We could have our date here," Brandon says.
"No." Alex pulls away a little, but not all the way out of Brandon's arms. "I made plans." He gives Brandon a mischievous smile. "But I made sure we have time to make out for a little bit before we leave."
Brandon laughs delightedly and pulls Alex to him for another kiss. "How much time?"
"Not enough to fuck," Alex says. He looks sorry about that, and he kisses Brandon slick and dirty. "But we can after."
Brandon grins against Alex's cheek. "Something to look forward to." He pulls away from Alex and tugs his shirt back into place. "Are you going to tell me where we're going before that?"
"No," Alex says cheerfully.
Brandon pulls on his coat. "This better be good."
Alex brushes a kiss across his lips before they leave the apartment. "You will like it."
They go to dinner first, and Brandon resists the urge to play footsie with Alex under the table. He doesn't resist the urge to flirt at every possible opportunity, though, which Alex seems to appreciate going by the way he flirts back.
When they leave the restaurant, Alex directs him down the street, away from where he parked.
"When are you going to tell me what else we're doing?" Brandon asks.
"When we get there," Alex says. "It's not far."
They turn a corner to see a few people standing around under a lit-up marquee, and Alex bumps his shoulder against Brandon's. "This is where we're going."
Brandon looks at Alex, the hint of a smile on his face, and looks up at the marquee. "You got us fight tickets?"
"Yes." Alex's smile turns positively smug. "I thought you would like it."
"I do." Brandon follows Alex into the theater in something of a daze. Alex got them fight tickets. They still won't be able to hold hands, but it's something they both like and something they'll be able to talk about later, with each other and with other people.
"We're in the VIP section upstairs," Alex says once they're inside the theater. "It's supposed to also have a good view, and we probably won't get bothered up there. I thought we might attract more attention on the floor."
"You're probably right," Brandon says. It's Montreal and they're at a fight; someone is going to ask for a picture no matter where they are, but being a separate section of the place will probably cut down on it.
They leave their coats at coat check and head up to the VIP section. It has its own bar, and they head there first for drinks before they settle in at a table near the edge of the balcony.
A couple of people ask them for photos, and Brandon makes Alex crowd in with him around the table, backs toward the floor, for a selfie he tweets with the caption, Fight night with @agally94. Great date. He even paid for dinner. He shows it to Alex first, and gets his half-smiling approval. It's the kind of thing they can get away with without anyone realizing it actually is a date.
Since it is actually a date, Brandon puts his phone away after that. Alex is a good person to watch fights with. He has enough knowledge to have a good discussion about what's going on, and his eyes are bright when he leans across the table to chirp Brandon about his fighting abilities.
Brandon smiles easily at him and says, "I'm better than you."
There's a calculated smirk on Alex's face that means he knows what he's doing when he says, "You could teach me some things."
Brandon swears. "Jesus, Alex."
Alex sits back in his chair with a smug grin.
Brandon leans toward him. "I'm going to get you back for that one," he says. He takes a sip of his drink, licking his lips when he catches Alex looking at them. "Or maybe I'll just make a lesson plan." He's pretty sure he strikes the right tone with that, dirty enough for Alex to get it, innocent enough not to sound strange if he's overheard. It's enough to make Alex's eyes go dark, and Brandon sits back in his chair with a smug smile of his own.
They don't flirt as much as the evening goes on, and by the time they reach the title bout, they're both leaning forward in their chairs, watching intently.
There's a collective exhale from the whole place when the last bout ends, a change in the noise of the crowd as people start to leave.
Alex and Brandon join the throng crowding toward the coat check. It takes a few minutes, and in the crowd, the two of them pressing close together from shoulder to hip doesn't draw attention. Brandon is fully aware of Alex all along his side, even if no one else is paying attention to them.
They get their coats and head outside into the cool night air. Alex is wound up from the fight, turning to shadowbox with Brandon and in obvious need of an outlet for his energy. Not that Brandon's blood isn't pumping just as hard, but he's older; he knows how to wait.
When Alex turns the car down Brandon's street, Brandon says, "You're coming in," and doesn't leave room for it to be a question.
"Yes," Alex says, and he crowds close to Brandon on the way up to his apartment.
Brandon unlocks the door, and they fall through it, Alex staying close and Brandon turning to grab at him. They crash into each other, Brandon kicking the door shut behind them and shoving Alex up against it. He fumbles at the lock while he licks into Alex's mouth, clicks it shut just as Alex pushes back against him, biting at his mouth and shoving him into the wall.
They careen off the walls in the entryway, fighting to get control, to get closer, to get their coats off. Their coats and Brandon's toque end up on the floor. The corner of a picture frame digs into Brandon's back when Alex shoves him against the wall. Brandon ignores it while Alex kisses him, and then he shoves at Alex, as much to get away from the picture frame as to take his turn.
They make it as far as the couch. Alex hooks his ankle around Brandon's and trips him down onto it, following him down with a barely controlled fall. Brandon grabs onto him, greedy for touch, for Alex's mouth on his, for friction on his cock.
They're both hard, and Brandon grasps at Alex's thigh, encouraging him to settle just right over him.
Alex groans when they get lined up right, and the way he moves on top of Brandon punches the air right out of his lungs. When he gets it back, he groans out Alex's name and grabs handfuls of his ass to help him keep moving like that.
Alex loses any of the cockiness he had before, his face going slack with pleasure. Brandon watches his eyes close and his mouth fall open, and he has to taste that. He leans up to get at Alex's mouth, not wanting to move his hands.
Alex moans into the kiss, and then takes it over, cups the back of Brandon's head and his jaw with his hands and licks deep into Brandon's mouth, just as hungry and greedy for it as Brandon feels.
They move against each other in a harsh quest for friction that's not as much of a fight as it could be since they're working together for it.
As much as Brandon doesn't want to let go of Alex's ass, he does it to push him back and get at his pants. They fumble together to get both of their pants and underwear pushed halfway down their thighs, Alex's shirt off and Brandon's pushed up, and then Brandon gets his hands right back on the curves of Alex's ass.
"Fuck," Alex says. His mouth is red and wet, and Brandon takes one hand off of Alex's ass to put it on the back of his head and pull him down to bite at his mouth while they rut against each other.
Alex comes first, head thrown back and low moan coming out of his mouth. He keeps moving after, but not long enough for Brandon to come.
"Fuck, Alex," Brandon says, frustrated at how close he was.
"Sorry, sorry," Alex says. "I'll-" He sits up and wraps his hand tight around Brandon's cock, strokes him fast and hard.
Brandon comes with a choked off noise, a sudden release of tension that feels like it's coming all the way from his toes to the top of his head. He lets himself sink into the couch, smiling languidly up at Alex still above him.
Alex grins down at him, absurdly pleased with himself. "You're a mess."
Brandon looks down at the come splattered across his stomach and cock. "Mmhmm." He reaches for Alex, grabbing onto whatever skin he can. "Very debauched." His mouth stretches into a wider smile at Alex's snort. "I'm older. Shouldn't I be debauching you?"
"You can next time." Alex bends over to kiss him. "It's your turn to plan a date."
"Mmm." Brandon pulls Alex down, smearing the mess of their come on him too. "I don't know if I can do better than this one."
Alex gives him that incredibly smug look again. Brandon should probably want to do something to knock it off his face, but he's so in love with Alex that Alex being happy just makes him happy.
"It'll be a good date as long as we end up here," Alex says after a moment.
Brandon kisses him deep and soft. "I can guarantee that." He runs his hands up and down the warmth of Alex's bare back. "Want to stay?"
Alex shakes his head. "I have to go home. But not yet." He settles in over Brandon and they make out slowly for a while before Alex has to leave.
*
They take turns planning dates, squeezing them in on non-game days and sometimes managing to go out on the road. Those are the dates when they walk back to their rooms and don't linger in the hallway longer than it takes to hug. The ones at home invariably end with Alex in Brandon's bed or on his couch.
At the rink, they're careful to be friendly but no more. Brandon remembers to call Alex "Chucky" and Alex tempers his smiles so the depth of what they are to each other doesn't show on his face.
They don't spend all their time together; Alex still spends afternoons locked in video game battles with Gally, and Brandon still goes out to dinner with P.K. and whoever else he rounds up for them to hang out with.
Tonight it's Brandon and P.K, Pricey, and Weaver, with Brandon and Carey providing an audience for P.K. and Mike's laughing storytelling and chirping. It's an easy, freewheeling dinner, and they're all checking their phones occasionally ("I have to know if I get a better offer," P.K. said), so Brandon doesn't hesitate to open the text from Alex.
I want to tell Gally and my family.
Brandon's been waiting for them to have some variation on a coming out conversation. Alex is too close to his family to keep them a secret for very long. It means Brandon's prepared, and he doesn't waste any time sending back, If I can tell Brian and my family. Then, a second later, after he looks up and P.K. catches his eye, he also sends, P.K. and Manny know.
Alex sends a string of question marks, and then, Why did you tell them?
"Hey," Brandon says to the guys, "I'll be back." He waves his phone at them in explanation, shrugs on his coat, and goes outside to call Alex. "I didn't tell them," he says when Alex picks up. "They figured it out."
"How? I thought we were being careful."
It's probably good Alex can't see him; admitting this is making Brandon blush. "They figured it out before we were even dating."
"What?" Alex's confusion is probably better than other possible outcomes for this part of the conversation.
For all that Brandon's dating a guy who lives with his family who doesn't know about them, it turns out there's nothing to make him feel like he's stuck in awkward teenage dating years like standing outside a restaurant on a cold Montreal night confessing, "I really like you," into his cell phone. "It was pretty obvious sometimes."
"Oh," Alex says. The single syllable isn't enough for Brandon to read Alex's tone, but he sounds pleased when he follows it up with, "I really like you too."
And now Brandon is standing outside a restaurant on a cold Montreal night grinning like an idiot. "Well good."
"Yeah." There's a moment where they're silent, and Brandon likes to think Alex is grinning just as much as he is. Then Alex says, "I don't want to tell all the guys."
"God, no," Brandon says. That way lies a lot of chirping and someone, no matter how careful they are, saying something to the wrong person and a lot of publicity Brandon doesn't want. Someday, maybe, if this lasts the way he wants it to and neither one of them gets traded, but not now.
"Okay," Alex says. "Well, I'm going to tell Gally."
"I'm going to tell Brian," Brandon says. He's grinning again, because whatever else telling people means to Alex, it at least means they're solidly in a relationship. "Now that we have that settled, can we talk about anything else later? I'm outside a restaurant freezing my ass off."
"Too bad," Alex says, "I like your ass."
Brandon bursts into laughter. He loves Alex's deadpan jokes.
"Send me a selfie before you go inside," Alex says.
"A selfie?" Brandon asks.
Alex says, "Yeah, I want to see your face," and hangs up on him.
The lighting outside isn't the best, but Brandon manages a picture that could charitably be called artsy, half his face in shadow, smiling and looking at the camera on his phone the way he would be smiling and looking at Alex if he were there.
Part 2