Retrograde After RockFest -- Part One
Retrograde After RockFest -- Part One
Writer: Ally (wasted_rawkstar)
Fandom: Simple Plan & Alex Band
Pairing: David/Alex
Rating: R
Summary: Mercury is in Retrograde and it's fucking shit up. Alex has big news to share with David, but things aren't going quite right with the bassist after the Reset reunion. They know they can work through the drama together, but will everything turn out for the best like it has in the past?
Alex thanked the cab driver and handed him an extra twenty dollar bill before the man stepped off the front stoop of the townhouse. It had been a long drive from the airport to David’s place, and the driver hadn’t complained once about the traffic. When they’d arrived he’d even helped Alex with his luggage, and Alex knew the large tip was more than justified. He sighed, pushing a hand through his hair before digging the keys out of his bag. The lock slid over easily and he opened the door. Two things instantly made him furrow his eyebrows, and he knew their explanations were few. One, the house was completely quiet; David always had music playing so this was an anomaly. Two, there were no dogs running out of the kitchen or office to greet him with playful yips and wagging tails. These two things really only meant two things to Alex: either David simply wasn’t home (an early golf session, he doubted it) or he was still asleep. He wrestled his luggage - two large suitcases, a regular carry-on case, and his small messenger bag - into the house and shut the front door, locking it behind himself out of habit. He left the cases by the door and glanced over into the dark office, wondering what the nagging intuition in his stomach was trying to tell him.
He shook his head and walked to the dining table, looking into the kitchen as he slung his bag onto one of the chairs. His eye caught on the familiar orange prescription bottles and he frowned, thinking over the last few days. He knew that David had been busy the last week, having an insane rehearsal schedule for the Reset reunion, but after that there still hadn’t been much communication between them. The couple times they’d talked David had seemed a little subdued and distracted. Alex figured he was about to find out why, and was having a sudden flashback to three years before when he’d had surgery and avoided telling David over the phone. He hoped he wasn’t walking into such a scenario, but that feeling in his gut told him differently.
He climbed the stairs and paused in the doorway of the bedroom, looking and listening. The room was still dark - the blinds twisted shut against the morning light, but enough filtered in from the hallway that Alex could just make out his boyfriend’s still features. David slept peacefully, curled on his right side beneath the comforter, face slack and his chest moving slightly with each breath. Alex’s eyes paused, however, on the bandages and brace secured around the man’s right hand and wrist, which was elevated on a pillow above his shoulder. He pressed his lips together, thinking hard and beginning to put all the pieces in place. He stepped into the room from the doorway and a soft, eager whimper came from the kennel at the end of the bed. Alex smiled, kneeling down in front of it. “Shh, Rosie,” he whispered to the now-excited dog. “We don’t want to wake up Daddy.” He squeezed the lock mechanism down to open the door and put his hand out, catching her collar before she could bolt and jump on the bed. She gave another excited cry as Alex lifted her up, still trying to shush her. “C’mon, be good, Ro.” She licked his chin eagerly and he chuckled. He’d just turned to go open the other kennel when he heard a sleepy inhale behind him. He dared a glance over his shoulder, seeing David blink blearily. Quickly, he leaned over and opened the second crate, letting Renaud out to run toward the door. Rosie whimpered, wanting to follow him. Alex nuzzled her head. “Go find Ren,” he told her, letting her down and watching thankfully as they raced from the room and down the stairs.
“Lex?”
David’s tired voice called him to the bed. He stepped beside it, reaching up to brush unruly hair from David’s eyes and gave him a light kiss. “Hey you.”
He half smiled and let his eyes close as he sighed, still on the edge of sleep. “Forgot you were coming,” he murmured.
He trailed his hand down to David’s shoulder. “Go back to sleep,” he replied, lowering his voice. “I’ll take care of the dogs.”
David nodded slightly. “You aren’t going to ask?”
His voice was thick and Alex shook his head, even though David couldn’t see it. “Can tell me later, when you wake up.” He leaned down, placing another kiss on the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth. David hardly stirred, already almost back to sleep. As he straightened up he wondered if the sleep was a chemical side effect, or just exhaustion. He’d have his answer soon enough. He tucked the sheets and comforter back around David’s shoulders before leaving the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind him. Both Rosie and Renaud were waiting excitedly for him by the small closet at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled, retrieving their leashes from inside it and easily hooked their collars. He grabbed his phone and keys from his bag and finally started to the front door, the dogs nearly pulling him off the front stoop and down the sidewalk. The trip to the small dog park two blocks away was quick, but still gave him time to think. He was trying to piece together a time line in his head of what could have happened, but he knew it would be best to let David explain.
“Alex?”
A bright voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see a cheerful smile. “Stacey! Hey!” They shared a quick hug.
“I thought that was you earlier… did you come out to help David?” she asked, leaning down to let her dogs off their leashes. The animals raced over the park, straight to Renaud and Rosie.
“Ah, my trip was already planned,” he replied vaguely. He didn’t want to go into details with her because he still wanted to hear the story from David. Stacey was one of David’s neighbors, who happened to have adopted dogs from the same people David had. They’d only realized the connection after bumping into one another several times at the park and commenting on how similar their dogs were. Stacey had ended up being an amazing friend and neighbor - always happy to watch the dogs whenever David left town. And in another set of bizarre coincidences, she was also an employee at Jeff’s bar, Rufus Rockhead, working as a bartender, waitress, and prep chef while she finished her degree at UQaM.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here… I think Jeff’s been over almost every day.”
Alex nodded, knowing he’d need to call the guitarist at some point, but not before talking to David. “Yeah, the timing all kind of worked out.” He watched as Rosie and Jax, Stacey’s younger dog, chased and played together, happy to ignore their both more stoic older brothers, Renaud and Duke. Alex kept an eye on Renaud as the dog plodded over to a stand of bushes, sniffing in mild exploration before circling back to where he and Stacey stood by the fence. The dog looked up at him obediently and Stacey laughed.
“Apparently someone is already done with the park.” She squatted down and rubbed Renaud’s head and neck, his tail wagging happily. “You want to go back to David? Go protect your dad?” His tail beat against the ground and he still looked at Alex. “It was pretty weird on Tuesday,” Stacey said, finishing her affections and standing up, “but Renaud totally had a protective vibe with David… they came into the park just before I was going to leave, and David took their leashes off. Rosie took off, like she always does… and Jax headed straight toward David, you know, just running over to greet him, but Renaud actually moved in front of David and started growling at Jax, trying to ward him off.”
Alex’s eyebrows raised and he looked down at Renaud. “Really? What ended up happening?”
“Well, I grabbed Jax, just to make him stay, and David came over with Renaud, trying to show him that everything was okay, you know?”
He nodded, imagining how the scenario had played out. “That is a little crazy… but good to know we have a little guard dog.” He leaned down, scratching around Renaud’s ears. Rosie ran back over then, inserting herself between her brother and Alex. He laughed. “And miss Ro always has to have the attention…” He pet her lightly and hooked their leashes. “Time to go home?” he asked them. Renaud turned an excited circle, tail wagging furiously.
Stacey smiled. “Well, tell David hi for me… and have him let me know about plans for the next few gigs? If I need to pick these guys up tomorrow morning.”
Alex vaguely recalled that there was a show the next night and nodded. “Will do. See you later.” They shared smiles and he started toward the gate, the dogs eagerly pulling him back home.
Familiar silence still rang through the house as he closed the front door and released the dogs. They instantly ran to the stairs and headed up, only to come back seconds later, deterred by the closed bedroom door. Alex discarded his keys on the dining table and went to the kitchen. He turned on the Keurig and fed Rosie and Renaud a couple treats as he waited for it to warm up. His curiosity got the better of him as he waited for the machine, and he looked closer at the prescription bottles on the counter. He recognized one as a muscle relaxer, but the other he couldn’t quite identify. It was clearly labeled ‘for pain’ but it seemed to be non-narcotic. He frowned and pushed his thoughts away, distracting himself by brewing a cup of coffee. He contemplated making one for David, but decided against it, not sure when his boyfriend would wake up or even if he’d want coffee. He lingered in the kitchen for a few more minutes, absently scrolling through a couple apps on his phone, but not really paying attention to what he was seeing or reading. He shook his head, trying to bring himself out of the daze; he hadn’t gotten quite enough sleep on the red-eye flight from LA, and his worries and anxieties were fighting him. His big news for David had been pushed aside until David came clean. He hoped they could talk soon and clear all the air between them.
After a long drink of coffee he sauntered out of the kitchen and made his way back upstairs. The dogs were quick to follow. He slowly opened the bedroom door and cringed when Rosie instantly ran to jump on the bed. To Alex’s surprise, she avoided David’s injured arm completely, instead nuzzling his other elbow beneath the comforter and curling up in the pocket beside his stomach. Renaud simply lay down on the floor next to David’s side of the bed, keeping a watchful eye on the door.
“Mm… hi bebe.” David pulled his arm from beneath the covers and buried his fingers in Rosie’s fur, scratching lightly. Alex walked around the bed, opening the blinds just slightly for a little more light, then carefully settled on the bed. David sighed, wishing his glasses weren’t so far away in the bathroom so he could actually see Alex and not just a semi-blur. But maybe that was better anyway, because he wouldn’t see his boyfriend’s disappointed expression. He decided to avoid the conversation for as long as he could and started to steer it elsewhere. “How was your flight?” he asked.
Alex sipped the coffee. “Totally non-eventful,” he replied. “I slept for most of it, thank God, ‘cause otherwise I’d probably be joining you about now, since it’s still about eight in LA.”
David smiled a little. “No one’s saying you can’t join me…”
Alex shook his head. “Best just to beat the jet-lag at its own game, you know that.” He took another drink, wondering if David would have another question ready, or if they were actually going to address the elephant in the room. He waited a few moments and when no question came he took a breath. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
David’s sigh was heavy, clearly he didn’t want to talk about it, but knew he had to. “Are you going to be mad because I didn’t tell you?”
Alex almost laughed. “Seriously? You’re asking that to the guy who sent his boyfriend off to Australia and just, oh, neglected to tell him about having his intestines taken out and sewn back together?”
David smiled into the pillow. “Turnabout’s fair play, I guess?”
“This time only… and you forget: I know you… I know how private you can be, even with me.” He took a breath. “I knew something was going on, it’s not like I hadn’t seen a few pictures… I just figured you’d tell me when you were ready to, or after I got here.”
“But weren’t you worried? Or curious?”
“Both, especially after Seb’s video from last night.”
“So why didn’t you just text or call me and say ‘what the fuck?’ or whatever?”
He shrugged, reaching over to tuck David’s hair back. “I knew I’d be here today and hear about it in person… You can avoid a lot on the phone that you can’t face to face.”
He sighed again, nodding. Somehow he knew that Alex would understand, and he was grateful for his boyfriend’s intuition, however it didn’t make the problem easier to acknowledge and talk about; it sure as hell didn’t ease the tremendous ache in his arm any either.
“So, what’s going on?” Alex’s voice was calm as he tried to get David to open up. He knew the dam was close to breaking - he could see it in his eyes. He just hoped it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
“Fucking bullshit tendonitis.” He shook his head. “It’s never been this bad before… I honestly thought something had ruptured or snapped or, I don’t know…” he trailed off.
Alex wrapped his hands around his mug, trying once more to piece the timeline together. “What do you think caused it?” He kept his voice even, knowing David would talk more if he stayed calm.
“Honestly, I knew something was building… I just didn’t know how bad.” He shifted on the bed, rolling to lay on his back, arms tucked to his chest. “It was mostly that insane rehearsal schedule we had for the Reset reunion. We did like three almost ten-hour days.” He looked at Alex with a headshake. “I could feel it halfway through the second day… something just dug in.” He looked back at the ceiling.
“But you didn’t stop? Or say anything to the guys?”
“I didn’t. And I know, hindsight is fucking twenty-twenty on this one… I should’ve, but I didn’t.” He inhaled shortly. “And it’s not like I didn’t try to take care of it,” he said. “I came home that night and iced it and have basically been wearing the brace since it…” he faltered, swallowing the words on his tongue.
“Have you seen a doctor?” Alex asked gently. He knew how stubborn and proud David could be, and it wasn’t going to be a shock if he said no.
“Well, I saw a guy before we went to Rockfest.”
“A guy? Not a doctor?”
“He was a sports therapist or something… Chuck’s dad knows him so he fit me in before I left for Montebello. He basically said it was a bad flare up, but playing the show wouldn’t do any worse damage… so he taped it, refit the brace, and said if it still was bad after the weekend to go get it checked out further.” Alex nodded, listening patiently. He knew then how bad it must’ve been, and that David had gone to see someone later, because the prescriptions were proof. “So, I waited out the weekend, but even after doing what I’d been told, it wasn’t better by Monday.” He lips curled into a sneer. “I went to the doctor on Tuesday and got prescriptions and a referral to a physical therapist and more fucking tape on my arm.” He gestured to the black band wrapped just below his elbow.
Alex smiled slightly at the sheer annoyance in David’s voice. It was almost as though he was more frustrated at having tape on his arm than he was at the ailment itself. Of course, David was vain and didn’t want his weakness on display. He could deal with the pain and follow the doctor’s orders, just not in public. “And is it feeling any better?”
He shrugged. “Not really… Dr. Reed said it would probably take a few weeks to really settle and go away, and that was only with proper rest and treatment.” He looked over at Alex. “But we have shows and you know I’m not missing them unless they just fuckin’ chop my arm off.”
He couldn’t help but laugh then, knowing it was the sincere truth. “And they’re not going to do that… but you realize it’s going to make your recovery time so much longer?”
He shrugged again. “For to be.” Alex finished his cup of coffee and set the mug aside on his nightstand. David stretched beside him, reaching his arms out carefully and flexing. He inhaled sharply and gripped his fingers around a spot between the tape and the brace. He massaged the area firmly, trying to alleviate the sting of pain. Alex frowned, but remained quiet, watching as David worked the muscles and noticing just how swollen his fingers were in comparison to his left hand.
He brought his arm back to his stomach a moment later and Rosie uncurled from beside him, carefully stepping over his legs to settle on his other side. He stroked her back lightly and sighed, knowing he should get up and attempt to be productive, if only to go downstairs for some coffee and to ice his arm.
“I can’t believe she’s being so good,” Alex said, looking at the dog.
David half smiled. “She learned fast… kind of had an incident the first night when it was bad and she figured out quick to leave that arm alone.”
Alex grimaced slightly, imagining what sort of incident had happened. “At least she knows now?”
He nodded, still petting her softly. “Yeah, and Renaud thinks he has to guard me from everything…”
“So I heard from Stacey,” he replied.
“You saw her this morning?”
“Yep, she came just after we got there… had a good chat with her, and she actually didn’t give anything away that I hadn’t already figured out.”
David nodded, then turned his head to meet their eyes. “I’m glad you could hear it from me… I honestly thought Jeff would text you about it.”
Alex smirked. “And I’m sure your entire band thought you’d probably already told me… because apparently they don’t know you as well as I know you, and that’s fucking ridiculous.”
David smiled. “Apparently I’m good at hiding things, or subterfuge, or something.”
“Well, we’ll see how good you are at hiding pain tomorrow night.”
He made a face, then shock went through his eyes and he finally sat up. “Oh, fuck!” Rosie scrambled off the bed as David pushed the covers aside and got up, grabbing his phone from the nightstand.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, climbing off the bed and picking up the empty coffee mug.
David shook his head, getting his glasses from the bathroom counter and slipping them on. “I totally forgot you were coming, so I never had Scott include you in travel plans.”
Alex nodded, knowing that this was not just a minor detail and could lead to major complications. However, he kept his mouth shut and watched as David pulled on pajama pants, grabbed a few things from his dresser, and started out of the room. They went downstairs together, the dogs racing ahead of them and straight into the kitchen.
Alex sat on one of the stools at the counter and David dropped the items from his hand, flipping the Keurig back on. He was well aware of Alex’s gaze on him as he grabbed a dishtowel from a drawer and gel pack from the freezer. He wrapped the pack in the towel and undid the Velcro on the brace, easing it off his hand. He winced slightly as the movement caused tingling pain down his forearm and clear indentations stood out on his wrist where the brace had restricted the swelling. Alex raised an eyebrow then, as he finally realized what the folded black fabric was that David had grabbed from his dresser. He slipped the sling over his head and set the wrapped gel pack into it, follow by his arm. The cold instantly soaked through to the sore ache and provided a little relief.
“How often do you have to do this?” Alex asked.
David met their eyes, trying not to feel self-conscious. Alex had seen him much worse off before. “Three or four times a day, for about ten or fifteen minutes.” He shrugged. “The doctor said I could do it this way or just sit and ice it… figured the sling was probably better because then I remember not to use my hand.”
Alex smiled. “Somehow it’s not hard to imagine you icing it then getting up and grabbing something only to realize ‘oh fuck!’ and the obscenities just don’t stop.”
A grin finally surfaced on David’s face then and he was incredibly happy that Alex had flown in that morning. He stepped over to the younger man and carefully leaned into him. Alex embraced him gently, dropping a kiss on his neck and running light hands over his back. “Fuck, I love you,” David said, nuzzling into Alex’s shoulder.
He smiled, kissing him once more. “Love you too.”
David stayed pressed to Alex for a minute, feeling comfortable and relaxed in his boyfriend’s arms. He knew Alex would make him feel better, he just hadn’t realized how much.
“C’mon,” Alex said after giving him another kiss, “you need to call Scott so I can go with you tomorrow.”
He groaned, pulling away from him slowly. “I don’t even want to think about tomorrow night,” he confessed.
He reached up and tucked David’s hair behind his ears, then rubbed his shoulders. “You sure you don’t want to just sit this one out?”
He sighed, but shook his head. “I’ll be fine.” Alex held his gaze, the question written pointedly in his eyes, and David held his ground. He couldn’t break because of some bullshit pain in his arm. He wasn’t going to let the injury win. “You’ll be there,” he said, more to reassure himself that Alex actually would be there and he wouldn’t be alone. “I’ll be fine.”
Alex nodded once before breaking their gaze and lifting his hands. He held out David’s phone. “Then call Scott. I’ll make coffee.”
He nodded, taking the phone and going to sit on the couch. He sent the call through as Alex took out a clean mug from the cabinet and brewed a fresh cup of coffee.
“Hey, David, how you doing?” Scott’s greeting was light, but pointed.
Scott had been the band’s manager for the past five years and had almost seen everything, except for their wilder drinking days when they’d first made it and been on the Warped Tour. Those were the days that no one brought up to reminisce about anymore now that they were almost all married, had kids, or had found their homosexual life-partners seven years before. With a jolt, David realized that the anniversary of his and Alex’s first meeting was only days away. He smirked to himself, making a mental note for a FroYo date when it came time.
“David? You there?”
He blinked hard, bringing himself back to reality. “Shit, sorry Scott, I’m fuckin’ spaced out,” he apologized.
The manager laughed. “Some good painkillers then?”
“Ah, actually a little too much wine last night, combined with those painkillers… not that you get to tell anyone that.”
“My lips are sealed. So is your arm any better?”
He hesitated. “Mm… no.” He settled for the truth because Scott was someone who didn’t tolerate bullshit. He and Alex had learned that when they’d finally decided to go public with their relationship.
“But you think you’re okay to play tomorrow night?”
“I think we’re gonna find out… and actually I’m calling because I totally fucking forgot that Alex was coming out this morning.”
“Ohhh… so you never told me to make plus one travel arrangements.” He tried to keep his voice even, knowing the last week had been hard for David, but that didn’t completely excuse the memory lapse.
“I know, I’m a moron… call it fucking tendonitis brain or something.”
Scott laughed. “I will when that’s actually what it is, and not just you being a terrible communicator.”
He scoffed. “I’m mildly offended by that judgment.”
“How long is Alex out for? Should I preemptively add him to the next few gigs?”
“Probably, yeah.” He glanced at Alex, who had long since made the two cups of coffee and was patiently waiting for David to get off the phone. “Al, how long are you here for?”
Alex looked perplexed for a moment. “Uh… awhile,” he finally replied.
David frowned. “Like, two or three weeks? What?”
“Yeah, three weeks.”
They held one another’s gazes, trying to read the mixed signals from both sides. David’s brain rang with confusion. Alex always had concrete dates: he would arrive on Thursday, June 27th, and fly back on Monday, July 21st. This time David remembered the conversation and trip details being vague. Alex had said he was coming out at the end of June; they’d never even discussed a return trip.
“Okay, three weeks… Scott, is that a good ballpark for timing?”
“Yeah, you guys don’t technically have anything scheduled after the fifth, so we’re good.”
He nodded to himself. “All right, and we’re just meeting at the airport tomorrow?”
“Yep. Private terminal two. Can you remember that?”
“Private terminal two,” he repeated, looking pointedly at Alex, who immediately grabbed the notepad on the counter and wrote it down. “Got it. Anything else?”
“Ah, don’t think so. How about you and Alex? Any late additions for dressing room requests?”
He sighed, hating that he did have to add anything. “Yeah, a few ice, gel, cold packs, whatever… and chocolate croissants.”
“Okay, I’ll get them added. You sure you don’t need anything else? Heating pad? Novocain shots? Crystal meth?”
He laughed. “Well now that you mention it… nah, I’ll bring anything else I need.”
“All right, call or text me if you need to.”
“Will do, thanks Scott.” They hung up and David dropped the phone to his lap, gratefully accepting the mug Alex held out to him. He exhaled deeply and sank a bit into the couch before taking a large swallow.
“So, chocolate croissants huh? Indulging my weaknesses this time around?”
David smiled. “No, I just know you’ll probably need something to rip into after putting up with me all day… god knows I’ll be bitchy the entire time.”
He shook his head. “You know I don’t need anything to put up with you…”
David shrugged. “We’ll find out I guess.”
They fell quiet and drank their coffee. Alex had turned on music from the office while David had been on the phone and The Lumineers drifted gently through the air. David leaned further into the couch. “Do you have anything going on today?” Alex asked, shifting to face his boyfriend, balancing his mug on his knee, a loose grasp around it.
David swallowed a mouthful of coffee and looked at him. “There’s a charity thing tonight for the foundation, but I don’t think I’m going to stay for very long… otherwise I just need to pack and get ready for tomorrow.”
He nodded. “So when do you have to leave?”
“About six, I think… Jeff was going to pick me up so we’d both have an excuse to bail early.” Alex laughed. “They’d probably add a plus one for me if you wanted to come along… planned on grabbing dinner with Jeff afterward at one of his places, though now I think about it, Shinji is totally out because I can’t do chopsticks for shit right now.” They shared a smile and David climbed off the couch, his coffee already drained. He easily made another cup and grabbed a yogurt from the fridge. He stared at the lid for a moment then walked over, holding it out to Alex. “Open, please?”
He refrained from smiling too much and carefully peeled the lid off. A second later the Keurig hissed, the cup of coffee was done. David set the yogurt back on the counter and placed the mug beside it, reaching for the new container of creamer in the fridge. He frowned and looked at Alex again. This time the singer laughed, getting up from the couch and joining David in the kitchen. He wordlessly took the creamer from David’s hand and untwisted the cap, pulling up on the tab to open the inner seal.
“Thank you,” David’s voice was quiet. “I would’ve been fucked if you weren’t here.”
He smiled. “Guess I picked the right time to move in.” The words were out of Alex’s mouth before he realized exactly what he’d said.
David’s eyes went wide. “Move in?” he asked, voice incredulous.
Alex handed the creamer back to him, lips pressed together in apprehension. He hadn’t meant to tell David that way. He’d wanted to have a proper conversation about it, and explain things and give the whole backstory and whatever else, but his big mouth had gotten ahead of him, of course. He licked his lips and leaned against the counter. David’s eyes were still locked on him in shock. “Yeah…” his word was slow. “I… surprise?”
He blinked hard, the words still processing in his head. “You’re not even fucking joking, are you?” he asked. Alex shook his head. “So, wait… then how long are you actually staying? Like, months?” The coffee, creamer, and yogurt all sat on the counter, David having semi forgotten about them in the shock of the moment.
“Kind of, indefinitely,” Alex replied.
“Seriously? You’re not fucking with me right now…”
He shook his head. “It was a one way ticket.”
“Fuck! But your apartment… What about your studio? Alex… your band? Career? Holy shit, are you for real? I mean, I knew that this was maybe coming for one of us, but…”
Alex laughed at David’s rambling questions. “Okay, one question at a time,” he said. “And were you actually going to eat that yogurt or just let it spoil on the counter?”
David glanced at the items, his brain too muddled to process much. “I was maybe going to eat it before you threw this at me… I have like eighty thousand questions in my head, but I still feel like you’re pulling a goddamn joke on me.”
Alex stepped over and kissed David lightly to quiet his words. “This is definitely not a joke… my timing is kind of impeccable I think.”
He nodded. “It really is… God, I can’t… does anyone else know?”
Alex smiled, picking up the creamer and pouring a bit into David’s coffee before replacing it in the fridge, then grabbing a spoon from the drawer. “Let’s sit and I’ll tell you about how you’re the last to know.” David shook his head, grabbing the yogurt and settling back on the couch with expectant eyes. Alex set the coffee cup on the table and sat back across from David, thinking over where he wanted to start the story. Did he begin with the conversation he’d had with Jeff at Chuck’s wedding? Or did he work backwards from the dinner he’d had with Chuck and Pierre? Maybe it was the sudden realization that he needed a fresh start with his life and no longer really cared too much about his career in LA. He took a slow breath, but another of David’s questions interrupted him.
“Wait, what about your cats?”
Alex laughed, shaking his head. “My cats have been re-homed to a few good people, and I can visit them if I really decide I need to… and really, everything else is kind of taken care of for the moment… my apartment isn’t going anywhere, my band has been dead and over for months and I’m finally fucking moving on from it.” He took a breath, meeting David’s gaze. “Basically, I figured out in May that I was unhappy in LA and I needed to do something with my life that I was going to enjoy… I don’t care if that means working as a studio musician, or being a back-up singer on people’s albums, or giving guitar and voice lessons to kids out here… I realized that I wanted to be with you and somehow everything else would fall into place.”
David stared at him, gingerly holding the yogurt cup in his right hand, the spoon held awkwardly in his left, poised over it. “Holy shit, you are serious.”
Alex laughed at David’s continued disbelief. “I would not have had dinner with Pierre and Chuck, and talked with both Jeff and Seb during the wedding if this wasn’t the real thing.”
His eyebrows rose. “When the hell did you have dinner with Chuck and Pierre? Where the hell was I?!”
“You,” he said pointedly, “were here. We had dinner in LA before they left for the Reset thing, because I wanted to confirm a few things with them.”
He frowned, finally stirring the spoon into the yogurt and taking a bite. “Like what?”
Alex shifted, leaning against the back of the couch. “Well, this wasn’t a decision I was making lightly,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that this was actually going to work and not backfire or… wreck our relationship somehow. I don’t know…” he shrugged. “After I talked with Jeff and Seb, to figure out what they thought, I had to follow up with Chuck and Pierre.”
“So, you talked to everyone but me? What if I had said no?”
Alex looked at him doubtfully. “Really? You would object to me moving in with you? Because I think we both knew who would end up moving in this relationship, and it was never going to be you.”
David’s laugh was quiet. “You’re right… but-”
“See? No. You’re too much in love with this city, and I know you hate LA at the best of times… there was never a chance in hell that you’d move there for me.” He shrugged. “I made a preemptive strike, but it’s been a long fucking time coming.”
David nodded, taking a few more bites of the yogurt. He’d gotten better at the menial tasks with his left hand, but he wasn’t quite fully ambidextrous just yet. He supposed though, that that was the advantage of being a musician and always using both hands - except for writing and a few other things, his left hand worked just fine. However, he knew it was bizarre to watch and Alex’s constant stare made him a little more self-conscious. God help him if they were in the bathroom together and he had to brush his teeth. He shook the thought off. “So, what else did you talk about with the guys? It couldn’t have been all about you moving out here, finally.”
He shook his head. “No… actually it’s kind of thanks to them that I’m able to come out here and make this all work… I mean, when I originally went out with them I was thinking that I’d just make sure we were all good, you know? But then we got to talking about studio stuff.”
He nodded. “Right. I mean, are you going to have your stuff shipped out here or something?”
“Nope,” he shook his head. “I’m leaving everything as is, because they’re going to use it.”
His eyebrows instantly furrowed. “What? They both have their own studios at home though.”
“I know, it sort of surprised me too,” Alex said. “But it’s like, this couldn’t have worked out any better… turns out they’d both been talking and wanted to find a studio to start using outside of their houses, just to separate work a little more. So, they’re going to book time at my studio and use it for any artists they work with… and not just shady under the table cash deals either. It’s all going to be done through the labels and totally legit.”
He sat back, still a bit disbelieving at everything Alex was telling him. “And so it all fucking came together, and they knew you were coming out here and never even dropped hints to me that they knew?!”
Alex laughed, but shook his head. “No, they just knew plans were sort of in the works… nothing was concrete until last week. I finally just decided to say ‘fuck it’ and book the ticket.” He glanced at David’s arm. “Little did I know…”
He sighed, discarding the empty yogurt cup onto the table. He knew he needed to take the ice packs off his arm and put the brace back on his wrist, and maybe take a few more painkillers, but it felt entirely too comfortable on the sofa with Alex. He was incredibly happy to know the singer wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, mainly because he realized just how limited he’d become with the tendonitis, and he’d hated calling Jeff for so many stupid things. Alex being there with him would make everything much easier, and it would provide a reassurance that he wasn’t going to suffer alone.
Alex got up, taking the empty yogurt to the trash and placing the spoon in the dishwasher. He laughed as he went to throw out the container and saw a familiar package in the trash. “Please, please tell me you haven’t just been eating fucking Ramen noodles?”
David laughed, almost choking on his sip of coffee. “No, definitely not… that was a desperate lunch yesterday because I was fucking lazy and needed comfort food.”
Alex nodded, dropping the yogurt in the trash and making himself one last cup of coffee. He picked up the wrist brace from the counter and took it back to the couch. He sat beside David and wordlessly began to undo the sling over his shoulder, carefully removing it from his arm and setting it into his lap before holding open the brace. David slipped his hand into it and pulled the closures tight shut, laying his arm over his stomach as he lie back on the couch. Alex put the packs back into the freezer, picked up his coffee, and settled back beside David. Their quiet fell comfortably and David leaned over, nestling against Alex’s shoulder. He was glad to have his boyfriend there, because he knew the next week would be brutal, and he’d need all the support that Alex could give him. He swallowed hard, hoping it would be enough.
Writer: Ally (wasted_rawkstar)
Fandom: Simple Plan & Alex Band
Pairing: David/Alex
Rating: R
Summary: Mercury is in Retrograde and it's fucking shit up. Alex has big news to share with David, but things aren't going quite right with the bassist after the Reset reunion. They know they can work through the drama together, but will everything turn out for the best like it has in the past?
Alex thanked the cab driver and handed him an extra twenty dollar bill before the man stepped off the front stoop of the townhouse. It had been a long drive from the airport to David’s place, and the driver hadn’t complained once about the traffic. When they’d arrived he’d even helped Alex with his luggage, and Alex knew the large tip was more than justified. He sighed, pushing a hand through his hair before digging the keys out of his bag. The lock slid over easily and he opened the door. Two things instantly made him furrow his eyebrows, and he knew their explanations were few. One, the house was completely quiet; David always had music playing so this was an anomaly. Two, there were no dogs running out of the kitchen or office to greet him with playful yips and wagging tails. These two things really only meant two things to Alex: either David simply wasn’t home (an early golf session, he doubted it) or he was still asleep. He wrestled his luggage - two large suitcases, a regular carry-on case, and his small messenger bag - into the house and shut the front door, locking it behind himself out of habit. He left the cases by the door and glanced over into the dark office, wondering what the nagging intuition in his stomach was trying to tell him.
He shook his head and walked to the dining table, looking into the kitchen as he slung his bag onto one of the chairs. His eye caught on the familiar orange prescription bottles and he frowned, thinking over the last few days. He knew that David had been busy the last week, having an insane rehearsal schedule for the Reset reunion, but after that there still hadn’t been much communication between them. The couple times they’d talked David had seemed a little subdued and distracted. Alex figured he was about to find out why, and was having a sudden flashback to three years before when he’d had surgery and avoided telling David over the phone. He hoped he wasn’t walking into such a scenario, but that feeling in his gut told him differently.
He climbed the stairs and paused in the doorway of the bedroom, looking and listening. The room was still dark - the blinds twisted shut against the morning light, but enough filtered in from the hallway that Alex could just make out his boyfriend’s still features. David slept peacefully, curled on his right side beneath the comforter, face slack and his chest moving slightly with each breath. Alex’s eyes paused, however, on the bandages and brace secured around the man’s right hand and wrist, which was elevated on a pillow above his shoulder. He pressed his lips together, thinking hard and beginning to put all the pieces in place. He stepped into the room from the doorway and a soft, eager whimper came from the kennel at the end of the bed. Alex smiled, kneeling down in front of it. “Shh, Rosie,” he whispered to the now-excited dog. “We don’t want to wake up Daddy.” He squeezed the lock mechanism down to open the door and put his hand out, catching her collar before she could bolt and jump on the bed. She gave another excited cry as Alex lifted her up, still trying to shush her. “C’mon, be good, Ro.” She licked his chin eagerly and he chuckled. He’d just turned to go open the other kennel when he heard a sleepy inhale behind him. He dared a glance over his shoulder, seeing David blink blearily. Quickly, he leaned over and opened the second crate, letting Renaud out to run toward the door. Rosie whimpered, wanting to follow him. Alex nuzzled her head. “Go find Ren,” he told her, letting her down and watching thankfully as they raced from the room and down the stairs.
“Lex?”
David’s tired voice called him to the bed. He stepped beside it, reaching up to brush unruly hair from David’s eyes and gave him a light kiss. “Hey you.”
He half smiled and let his eyes close as he sighed, still on the edge of sleep. “Forgot you were coming,” he murmured.
He trailed his hand down to David’s shoulder. “Go back to sleep,” he replied, lowering his voice. “I’ll take care of the dogs.”
David nodded slightly. “You aren’t going to ask?”
His voice was thick and Alex shook his head, even though David couldn’t see it. “Can tell me later, when you wake up.” He leaned down, placing another kiss on the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth. David hardly stirred, already almost back to sleep. As he straightened up he wondered if the sleep was a chemical side effect, or just exhaustion. He’d have his answer soon enough. He tucked the sheets and comforter back around David’s shoulders before leaving the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind him. Both Rosie and Renaud were waiting excitedly for him by the small closet at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled, retrieving their leashes from inside it and easily hooked their collars. He grabbed his phone and keys from his bag and finally started to the front door, the dogs nearly pulling him off the front stoop and down the sidewalk. The trip to the small dog park two blocks away was quick, but still gave him time to think. He was trying to piece together a time line in his head of what could have happened, but he knew it would be best to let David explain.
“Alex?”
A bright voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see a cheerful smile. “Stacey! Hey!” They shared a quick hug.
“I thought that was you earlier… did you come out to help David?” she asked, leaning down to let her dogs off their leashes. The animals raced over the park, straight to Renaud and Rosie.
“Ah, my trip was already planned,” he replied vaguely. He didn’t want to go into details with her because he still wanted to hear the story from David. Stacey was one of David’s neighbors, who happened to have adopted dogs from the same people David had. They’d only realized the connection after bumping into one another several times at the park and commenting on how similar their dogs were. Stacey had ended up being an amazing friend and neighbor - always happy to watch the dogs whenever David left town. And in another set of bizarre coincidences, she was also an employee at Jeff’s bar, Rufus Rockhead, working as a bartender, waitress, and prep chef while she finished her degree at UQaM.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here… I think Jeff’s been over almost every day.”
Alex nodded, knowing he’d need to call the guitarist at some point, but not before talking to David. “Yeah, the timing all kind of worked out.” He watched as Rosie and Jax, Stacey’s younger dog, chased and played together, happy to ignore their both more stoic older brothers, Renaud and Duke. Alex kept an eye on Renaud as the dog plodded over to a stand of bushes, sniffing in mild exploration before circling back to where he and Stacey stood by the fence. The dog looked up at him obediently and Stacey laughed.
“Apparently someone is already done with the park.” She squatted down and rubbed Renaud’s head and neck, his tail wagging happily. “You want to go back to David? Go protect your dad?” His tail beat against the ground and he still looked at Alex. “It was pretty weird on Tuesday,” Stacey said, finishing her affections and standing up, “but Renaud totally had a protective vibe with David… they came into the park just before I was going to leave, and David took their leashes off. Rosie took off, like she always does… and Jax headed straight toward David, you know, just running over to greet him, but Renaud actually moved in front of David and started growling at Jax, trying to ward him off.”
Alex’s eyebrows raised and he looked down at Renaud. “Really? What ended up happening?”
“Well, I grabbed Jax, just to make him stay, and David came over with Renaud, trying to show him that everything was okay, you know?”
He nodded, imagining how the scenario had played out. “That is a little crazy… but good to know we have a little guard dog.” He leaned down, scratching around Renaud’s ears. Rosie ran back over then, inserting herself between her brother and Alex. He laughed. “And miss Ro always has to have the attention…” He pet her lightly and hooked their leashes. “Time to go home?” he asked them. Renaud turned an excited circle, tail wagging furiously.
Stacey smiled. “Well, tell David hi for me… and have him let me know about plans for the next few gigs? If I need to pick these guys up tomorrow morning.”
Alex vaguely recalled that there was a show the next night and nodded. “Will do. See you later.” They shared smiles and he started toward the gate, the dogs eagerly pulling him back home.
Familiar silence still rang through the house as he closed the front door and released the dogs. They instantly ran to the stairs and headed up, only to come back seconds later, deterred by the closed bedroom door. Alex discarded his keys on the dining table and went to the kitchen. He turned on the Keurig and fed Rosie and Renaud a couple treats as he waited for it to warm up. His curiosity got the better of him as he waited for the machine, and he looked closer at the prescription bottles on the counter. He recognized one as a muscle relaxer, but the other he couldn’t quite identify. It was clearly labeled ‘for pain’ but it seemed to be non-narcotic. He frowned and pushed his thoughts away, distracting himself by brewing a cup of coffee. He contemplated making one for David, but decided against it, not sure when his boyfriend would wake up or even if he’d want coffee. He lingered in the kitchen for a few more minutes, absently scrolling through a couple apps on his phone, but not really paying attention to what he was seeing or reading. He shook his head, trying to bring himself out of the daze; he hadn’t gotten quite enough sleep on the red-eye flight from LA, and his worries and anxieties were fighting him. His big news for David had been pushed aside until David came clean. He hoped they could talk soon and clear all the air between them.
After a long drink of coffee he sauntered out of the kitchen and made his way back upstairs. The dogs were quick to follow. He slowly opened the bedroom door and cringed when Rosie instantly ran to jump on the bed. To Alex’s surprise, she avoided David’s injured arm completely, instead nuzzling his other elbow beneath the comforter and curling up in the pocket beside his stomach. Renaud simply lay down on the floor next to David’s side of the bed, keeping a watchful eye on the door.
“Mm… hi bebe.” David pulled his arm from beneath the covers and buried his fingers in Rosie’s fur, scratching lightly. Alex walked around the bed, opening the blinds just slightly for a little more light, then carefully settled on the bed. David sighed, wishing his glasses weren’t so far away in the bathroom so he could actually see Alex and not just a semi-blur. But maybe that was better anyway, because he wouldn’t see his boyfriend’s disappointed expression. He decided to avoid the conversation for as long as he could and started to steer it elsewhere. “How was your flight?” he asked.
Alex sipped the coffee. “Totally non-eventful,” he replied. “I slept for most of it, thank God, ‘cause otherwise I’d probably be joining you about now, since it’s still about eight in LA.”
David smiled a little. “No one’s saying you can’t join me…”
Alex shook his head. “Best just to beat the jet-lag at its own game, you know that.” He took another drink, wondering if David would have another question ready, or if they were actually going to address the elephant in the room. He waited a few moments and when no question came he took a breath. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”
David’s sigh was heavy, clearly he didn’t want to talk about it, but knew he had to. “Are you going to be mad because I didn’t tell you?”
Alex almost laughed. “Seriously? You’re asking that to the guy who sent his boyfriend off to Australia and just, oh, neglected to tell him about having his intestines taken out and sewn back together?”
David smiled into the pillow. “Turnabout’s fair play, I guess?”
“This time only… and you forget: I know you… I know how private you can be, even with me.” He took a breath. “I knew something was going on, it’s not like I hadn’t seen a few pictures… I just figured you’d tell me when you were ready to, or after I got here.”
“But weren’t you worried? Or curious?”
“Both, especially after Seb’s video from last night.”
“So why didn’t you just text or call me and say ‘what the fuck?’ or whatever?”
He shrugged, reaching over to tuck David’s hair back. “I knew I’d be here today and hear about it in person… You can avoid a lot on the phone that you can’t face to face.”
He sighed again, nodding. Somehow he knew that Alex would understand, and he was grateful for his boyfriend’s intuition, however it didn’t make the problem easier to acknowledge and talk about; it sure as hell didn’t ease the tremendous ache in his arm any either.
“So, what’s going on?” Alex’s voice was calm as he tried to get David to open up. He knew the dam was close to breaking - he could see it in his eyes. He just hoped it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.
“Fucking bullshit tendonitis.” He shook his head. “It’s never been this bad before… I honestly thought something had ruptured or snapped or, I don’t know…” he trailed off.
Alex wrapped his hands around his mug, trying once more to piece the timeline together. “What do you think caused it?” He kept his voice even, knowing David would talk more if he stayed calm.
“Honestly, I knew something was building… I just didn’t know how bad.” He shifted on the bed, rolling to lay on his back, arms tucked to his chest. “It was mostly that insane rehearsal schedule we had for the Reset reunion. We did like three almost ten-hour days.” He looked at Alex with a headshake. “I could feel it halfway through the second day… something just dug in.” He looked back at the ceiling.
“But you didn’t stop? Or say anything to the guys?”
“I didn’t. And I know, hindsight is fucking twenty-twenty on this one… I should’ve, but I didn’t.” He inhaled shortly. “And it’s not like I didn’t try to take care of it,” he said. “I came home that night and iced it and have basically been wearing the brace since it…” he faltered, swallowing the words on his tongue.
“Have you seen a doctor?” Alex asked gently. He knew how stubborn and proud David could be, and it wasn’t going to be a shock if he said no.
“Well, I saw a guy before we went to Rockfest.”
“A guy? Not a doctor?”
“He was a sports therapist or something… Chuck’s dad knows him so he fit me in before I left for Montebello. He basically said it was a bad flare up, but playing the show wouldn’t do any worse damage… so he taped it, refit the brace, and said if it still was bad after the weekend to go get it checked out further.” Alex nodded, listening patiently. He knew then how bad it must’ve been, and that David had gone to see someone later, because the prescriptions were proof. “So, I waited out the weekend, but even after doing what I’d been told, it wasn’t better by Monday.” He lips curled into a sneer. “I went to the doctor on Tuesday and got prescriptions and a referral to a physical therapist and more fucking tape on my arm.” He gestured to the black band wrapped just below his elbow.
Alex smiled slightly at the sheer annoyance in David’s voice. It was almost as though he was more frustrated at having tape on his arm than he was at the ailment itself. Of course, David was vain and didn’t want his weakness on display. He could deal with the pain and follow the doctor’s orders, just not in public. “And is it feeling any better?”
He shrugged. “Not really… Dr. Reed said it would probably take a few weeks to really settle and go away, and that was only with proper rest and treatment.” He looked over at Alex. “But we have shows and you know I’m not missing them unless they just fuckin’ chop my arm off.”
He couldn’t help but laugh then, knowing it was the sincere truth. “And they’re not going to do that… but you realize it’s going to make your recovery time so much longer?”
He shrugged again. “For to be.” Alex finished his cup of coffee and set the mug aside on his nightstand. David stretched beside him, reaching his arms out carefully and flexing. He inhaled sharply and gripped his fingers around a spot between the tape and the brace. He massaged the area firmly, trying to alleviate the sting of pain. Alex frowned, but remained quiet, watching as David worked the muscles and noticing just how swollen his fingers were in comparison to his left hand.
He brought his arm back to his stomach a moment later and Rosie uncurled from beside him, carefully stepping over his legs to settle on his other side. He stroked her back lightly and sighed, knowing he should get up and attempt to be productive, if only to go downstairs for some coffee and to ice his arm.
“I can’t believe she’s being so good,” Alex said, looking at the dog.
David half smiled. “She learned fast… kind of had an incident the first night when it was bad and she figured out quick to leave that arm alone.”
Alex grimaced slightly, imagining what sort of incident had happened. “At least she knows now?”
He nodded, still petting her softly. “Yeah, and Renaud thinks he has to guard me from everything…”
“So I heard from Stacey,” he replied.
“You saw her this morning?”
“Yep, she came just after we got there… had a good chat with her, and she actually didn’t give anything away that I hadn’t already figured out.”
David nodded, then turned his head to meet their eyes. “I’m glad you could hear it from me… I honestly thought Jeff would text you about it.”
Alex smirked. “And I’m sure your entire band thought you’d probably already told me… because apparently they don’t know you as well as I know you, and that’s fucking ridiculous.”
David smiled. “Apparently I’m good at hiding things, or subterfuge, or something.”
“Well, we’ll see how good you are at hiding pain tomorrow night.”
He made a face, then shock went through his eyes and he finally sat up. “Oh, fuck!” Rosie scrambled off the bed as David pushed the covers aside and got up, grabbing his phone from the nightstand.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, climbing off the bed and picking up the empty coffee mug.
David shook his head, getting his glasses from the bathroom counter and slipping them on. “I totally forgot you were coming, so I never had Scott include you in travel plans.”
Alex nodded, knowing that this was not just a minor detail and could lead to major complications. However, he kept his mouth shut and watched as David pulled on pajama pants, grabbed a few things from his dresser, and started out of the room. They went downstairs together, the dogs racing ahead of them and straight into the kitchen.
Alex sat on one of the stools at the counter and David dropped the items from his hand, flipping the Keurig back on. He was well aware of Alex’s gaze on him as he grabbed a dishtowel from a drawer and gel pack from the freezer. He wrapped the pack in the towel and undid the Velcro on the brace, easing it off his hand. He winced slightly as the movement caused tingling pain down his forearm and clear indentations stood out on his wrist where the brace had restricted the swelling. Alex raised an eyebrow then, as he finally realized what the folded black fabric was that David had grabbed from his dresser. He slipped the sling over his head and set the wrapped gel pack into it, follow by his arm. The cold instantly soaked through to the sore ache and provided a little relief.
“How often do you have to do this?” Alex asked.
David met their eyes, trying not to feel self-conscious. Alex had seen him much worse off before. “Three or four times a day, for about ten or fifteen minutes.” He shrugged. “The doctor said I could do it this way or just sit and ice it… figured the sling was probably better because then I remember not to use my hand.”
Alex smiled. “Somehow it’s not hard to imagine you icing it then getting up and grabbing something only to realize ‘oh fuck!’ and the obscenities just don’t stop.”
A grin finally surfaced on David’s face then and he was incredibly happy that Alex had flown in that morning. He stepped over to the younger man and carefully leaned into him. Alex embraced him gently, dropping a kiss on his neck and running light hands over his back. “Fuck, I love you,” David said, nuzzling into Alex’s shoulder.
He smiled, kissing him once more. “Love you too.”
David stayed pressed to Alex for a minute, feeling comfortable and relaxed in his boyfriend’s arms. He knew Alex would make him feel better, he just hadn’t realized how much.
“C’mon,” Alex said after giving him another kiss, “you need to call Scott so I can go with you tomorrow.”
He groaned, pulling away from him slowly. “I don’t even want to think about tomorrow night,” he confessed.
He reached up and tucked David’s hair behind his ears, then rubbed his shoulders. “You sure you don’t want to just sit this one out?”
He sighed, but shook his head. “I’ll be fine.” Alex held his gaze, the question written pointedly in his eyes, and David held his ground. He couldn’t break because of some bullshit pain in his arm. He wasn’t going to let the injury win. “You’ll be there,” he said, more to reassure himself that Alex actually would be there and he wouldn’t be alone. “I’ll be fine.”
Alex nodded once before breaking their gaze and lifting his hands. He held out David’s phone. “Then call Scott. I’ll make coffee.”
He nodded, taking the phone and going to sit on the couch. He sent the call through as Alex took out a clean mug from the cabinet and brewed a fresh cup of coffee.
“Hey, David, how you doing?” Scott’s greeting was light, but pointed.
Scott had been the band’s manager for the past five years and had almost seen everything, except for their wilder drinking days when they’d first made it and been on the Warped Tour. Those were the days that no one brought up to reminisce about anymore now that they were almost all married, had kids, or had found their homosexual life-partners seven years before. With a jolt, David realized that the anniversary of his and Alex’s first meeting was only days away. He smirked to himself, making a mental note for a FroYo date when it came time.
“David? You there?”
He blinked hard, bringing himself back to reality. “Shit, sorry Scott, I’m fuckin’ spaced out,” he apologized.
The manager laughed. “Some good painkillers then?”
“Ah, actually a little too much wine last night, combined with those painkillers… not that you get to tell anyone that.”
“My lips are sealed. So is your arm any better?”
He hesitated. “Mm… no.” He settled for the truth because Scott was someone who didn’t tolerate bullshit. He and Alex had learned that when they’d finally decided to go public with their relationship.
“But you think you’re okay to play tomorrow night?”
“I think we’re gonna find out… and actually I’m calling because I totally fucking forgot that Alex was coming out this morning.”
“Ohhh… so you never told me to make plus one travel arrangements.” He tried to keep his voice even, knowing the last week had been hard for David, but that didn’t completely excuse the memory lapse.
“I know, I’m a moron… call it fucking tendonitis brain or something.”
Scott laughed. “I will when that’s actually what it is, and not just you being a terrible communicator.”
He scoffed. “I’m mildly offended by that judgment.”
“How long is Alex out for? Should I preemptively add him to the next few gigs?”
“Probably, yeah.” He glanced at Alex, who had long since made the two cups of coffee and was patiently waiting for David to get off the phone. “Al, how long are you here for?”
Alex looked perplexed for a moment. “Uh… awhile,” he finally replied.
David frowned. “Like, two or three weeks? What?”
“Yeah, three weeks.”
They held one another’s gazes, trying to read the mixed signals from both sides. David’s brain rang with confusion. Alex always had concrete dates: he would arrive on Thursday, June 27th, and fly back on Monday, July 21st. This time David remembered the conversation and trip details being vague. Alex had said he was coming out at the end of June; they’d never even discussed a return trip.
“Okay, three weeks… Scott, is that a good ballpark for timing?”
“Yeah, you guys don’t technically have anything scheduled after the fifth, so we’re good.”
He nodded to himself. “All right, and we’re just meeting at the airport tomorrow?”
“Yep. Private terminal two. Can you remember that?”
“Private terminal two,” he repeated, looking pointedly at Alex, who immediately grabbed the notepad on the counter and wrote it down. “Got it. Anything else?”
“Ah, don’t think so. How about you and Alex? Any late additions for dressing room requests?”
He sighed, hating that he did have to add anything. “Yeah, a few ice, gel, cold packs, whatever… and chocolate croissants.”
“Okay, I’ll get them added. You sure you don’t need anything else? Heating pad? Novocain shots? Crystal meth?”
He laughed. “Well now that you mention it… nah, I’ll bring anything else I need.”
“All right, call or text me if you need to.”
“Will do, thanks Scott.” They hung up and David dropped the phone to his lap, gratefully accepting the mug Alex held out to him. He exhaled deeply and sank a bit into the couch before taking a large swallow.
“So, chocolate croissants huh? Indulging my weaknesses this time around?”
David smiled. “No, I just know you’ll probably need something to rip into after putting up with me all day… god knows I’ll be bitchy the entire time.”
He shook his head. “You know I don’t need anything to put up with you…”
David shrugged. “We’ll find out I guess.”
They fell quiet and drank their coffee. Alex had turned on music from the office while David had been on the phone and The Lumineers drifted gently through the air. David leaned further into the couch. “Do you have anything going on today?” Alex asked, shifting to face his boyfriend, balancing his mug on his knee, a loose grasp around it.
David swallowed a mouthful of coffee and looked at him. “There’s a charity thing tonight for the foundation, but I don’t think I’m going to stay for very long… otherwise I just need to pack and get ready for tomorrow.”
He nodded. “So when do you have to leave?”
“About six, I think… Jeff was going to pick me up so we’d both have an excuse to bail early.” Alex laughed. “They’d probably add a plus one for me if you wanted to come along… planned on grabbing dinner with Jeff afterward at one of his places, though now I think about it, Shinji is totally out because I can’t do chopsticks for shit right now.” They shared a smile and David climbed off the couch, his coffee already drained. He easily made another cup and grabbed a yogurt from the fridge. He stared at the lid for a moment then walked over, holding it out to Alex. “Open, please?”
He refrained from smiling too much and carefully peeled the lid off. A second later the Keurig hissed, the cup of coffee was done. David set the yogurt back on the counter and placed the mug beside it, reaching for the new container of creamer in the fridge. He frowned and looked at Alex again. This time the singer laughed, getting up from the couch and joining David in the kitchen. He wordlessly took the creamer from David’s hand and untwisted the cap, pulling up on the tab to open the inner seal.
“Thank you,” David’s voice was quiet. “I would’ve been fucked if you weren’t here.”
He smiled. “Guess I picked the right time to move in.” The words were out of Alex’s mouth before he realized exactly what he’d said.
David’s eyes went wide. “Move in?” he asked, voice incredulous.
Alex handed the creamer back to him, lips pressed together in apprehension. He hadn’t meant to tell David that way. He’d wanted to have a proper conversation about it, and explain things and give the whole backstory and whatever else, but his big mouth had gotten ahead of him, of course. He licked his lips and leaned against the counter. David’s eyes were still locked on him in shock. “Yeah…” his word was slow. “I… surprise?”
He blinked hard, the words still processing in his head. “You’re not even fucking joking, are you?” he asked. Alex shook his head. “So, wait… then how long are you actually staying? Like, months?” The coffee, creamer, and yogurt all sat on the counter, David having semi forgotten about them in the shock of the moment.
“Kind of, indefinitely,” Alex replied.
“Seriously? You’re not fucking with me right now…”
He shook his head. “It was a one way ticket.”
“Fuck! But your apartment… What about your studio? Alex… your band? Career? Holy shit, are you for real? I mean, I knew that this was maybe coming for one of us, but…”
Alex laughed at David’s rambling questions. “Okay, one question at a time,” he said. “And were you actually going to eat that yogurt or just let it spoil on the counter?”
David glanced at the items, his brain too muddled to process much. “I was maybe going to eat it before you threw this at me… I have like eighty thousand questions in my head, but I still feel like you’re pulling a goddamn joke on me.”
Alex stepped over and kissed David lightly to quiet his words. “This is definitely not a joke… my timing is kind of impeccable I think.”
He nodded. “It really is… God, I can’t… does anyone else know?”
Alex smiled, picking up the creamer and pouring a bit into David’s coffee before replacing it in the fridge, then grabbing a spoon from the drawer. “Let’s sit and I’ll tell you about how you’re the last to know.” David shook his head, grabbing the yogurt and settling back on the couch with expectant eyes. Alex set the coffee cup on the table and sat back across from David, thinking over where he wanted to start the story. Did he begin with the conversation he’d had with Jeff at Chuck’s wedding? Or did he work backwards from the dinner he’d had with Chuck and Pierre? Maybe it was the sudden realization that he needed a fresh start with his life and no longer really cared too much about his career in LA. He took a slow breath, but another of David’s questions interrupted him.
“Wait, what about your cats?”
Alex laughed, shaking his head. “My cats have been re-homed to a few good people, and I can visit them if I really decide I need to… and really, everything else is kind of taken care of for the moment… my apartment isn’t going anywhere, my band has been dead and over for months and I’m finally fucking moving on from it.” He took a breath, meeting David’s gaze. “Basically, I figured out in May that I was unhappy in LA and I needed to do something with my life that I was going to enjoy… I don’t care if that means working as a studio musician, or being a back-up singer on people’s albums, or giving guitar and voice lessons to kids out here… I realized that I wanted to be with you and somehow everything else would fall into place.”
David stared at him, gingerly holding the yogurt cup in his right hand, the spoon held awkwardly in his left, poised over it. “Holy shit, you are serious.”
Alex laughed at David’s continued disbelief. “I would not have had dinner with Pierre and Chuck, and talked with both Jeff and Seb during the wedding if this wasn’t the real thing.”
His eyebrows rose. “When the hell did you have dinner with Chuck and Pierre? Where the hell was I?!”
“You,” he said pointedly, “were here. We had dinner in LA before they left for the Reset thing, because I wanted to confirm a few things with them.”
He frowned, finally stirring the spoon into the yogurt and taking a bite. “Like what?”
Alex shifted, leaning against the back of the couch. “Well, this wasn’t a decision I was making lightly,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that this was actually going to work and not backfire or… wreck our relationship somehow. I don’t know…” he shrugged. “After I talked with Jeff and Seb, to figure out what they thought, I had to follow up with Chuck and Pierre.”
“So, you talked to everyone but me? What if I had said no?”
Alex looked at him doubtfully. “Really? You would object to me moving in with you? Because I think we both knew who would end up moving in this relationship, and it was never going to be you.”
David’s laugh was quiet. “You’re right… but-”
“See? No. You’re too much in love with this city, and I know you hate LA at the best of times… there was never a chance in hell that you’d move there for me.” He shrugged. “I made a preemptive strike, but it’s been a long fucking time coming.”
David nodded, taking a few more bites of the yogurt. He’d gotten better at the menial tasks with his left hand, but he wasn’t quite fully ambidextrous just yet. He supposed though, that that was the advantage of being a musician and always using both hands - except for writing and a few other things, his left hand worked just fine. However, he knew it was bizarre to watch and Alex’s constant stare made him a little more self-conscious. God help him if they were in the bathroom together and he had to brush his teeth. He shook the thought off. “So, what else did you talk about with the guys? It couldn’t have been all about you moving out here, finally.”
He shook his head. “No… actually it’s kind of thanks to them that I’m able to come out here and make this all work… I mean, when I originally went out with them I was thinking that I’d just make sure we were all good, you know? But then we got to talking about studio stuff.”
He nodded. “Right. I mean, are you going to have your stuff shipped out here or something?”
“Nope,” he shook his head. “I’m leaving everything as is, because they’re going to use it.”
His eyebrows instantly furrowed. “What? They both have their own studios at home though.”
“I know, it sort of surprised me too,” Alex said. “But it’s like, this couldn’t have worked out any better… turns out they’d both been talking and wanted to find a studio to start using outside of their houses, just to separate work a little more. So, they’re going to book time at my studio and use it for any artists they work with… and not just shady under the table cash deals either. It’s all going to be done through the labels and totally legit.”
He sat back, still a bit disbelieving at everything Alex was telling him. “And so it all fucking came together, and they knew you were coming out here and never even dropped hints to me that they knew?!”
Alex laughed, but shook his head. “No, they just knew plans were sort of in the works… nothing was concrete until last week. I finally just decided to say ‘fuck it’ and book the ticket.” He glanced at David’s arm. “Little did I know…”
He sighed, discarding the empty yogurt cup onto the table. He knew he needed to take the ice packs off his arm and put the brace back on his wrist, and maybe take a few more painkillers, but it felt entirely too comfortable on the sofa with Alex. He was incredibly happy to know the singer wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, mainly because he realized just how limited he’d become with the tendonitis, and he’d hated calling Jeff for so many stupid things. Alex being there with him would make everything much easier, and it would provide a reassurance that he wasn’t going to suffer alone.
Alex got up, taking the empty yogurt to the trash and placing the spoon in the dishwasher. He laughed as he went to throw out the container and saw a familiar package in the trash. “Please, please tell me you haven’t just been eating fucking Ramen noodles?”
David laughed, almost choking on his sip of coffee. “No, definitely not… that was a desperate lunch yesterday because I was fucking lazy and needed comfort food.”
Alex nodded, dropping the yogurt in the trash and making himself one last cup of coffee. He picked up the wrist brace from the counter and took it back to the couch. He sat beside David and wordlessly began to undo the sling over his shoulder, carefully removing it from his arm and setting it into his lap before holding open the brace. David slipped his hand into it and pulled the closures tight shut, laying his arm over his stomach as he lie back on the couch. Alex put the packs back into the freezer, picked up his coffee, and settled back beside David. Their quiet fell comfortably and David leaned over, nestling against Alex’s shoulder. He was glad to have his boyfriend there, because he knew the next week would be brutal, and he’d need all the support that Alex could give him. He swallowed hard, hoping it would be enough.