Meant to Be Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Things Forgotten

Nate watched Kyle and his brother leave and both he and Alex moved into the living room. Alex sat awkwardly on the larger sofa, perched on the end of the seat like he was ready to take flight at any moment. His toes were curled under his feet and he was gripping the cushion with such force that Nate thought he might actually poke a hole in it, sending stuffing flying through the air. The redhead sat on the two-seater sofa on the adjacent wall and closed his eyes, sighing deeply. When he opened them again, Alex was still in the same stiff position.

"Sorry about my brother," Nate leaned back into the soft cushions, "He has this whole 'older brother' complex and, well, a bit of a temper. He's a pussycat really."

Alex relaxed a little, finally letting go of the poor defenceless sofa cushions, "It's alright. I feel bad about his mug though, I didn't mean to smash it."

"No big deal," Nate's expression darkened slightly, "Our Dad gave it to him. Don't really know why he'd want to keep it anyway, it doesn't exactly hold fond memories."

The blonde had unintentionally leaned back a little, now more interested in Nate's father than the fact that he was in a stranger's house and had almost been beaten to a pulp by said stranger's brother. He looked at Nate with sparkling blues,

"Was your father..." he trailed off, not knowing what he really wanted to ask, let alone how much Nate would actually divulge.

"He was a bastard," Nate practically growled, causing Alex's hands to once again grip the cushions. It didn't go unnoticed by the older man and Nate forced himself to continue with less malice, "Don't get me wrong, he was a great Dad when we were growing up; playing with us, making tree-houses and shit..." he ran his hands through his still-damp hair - a habit Alex had already picked up on - and continued, "When he found out about Si, though-"

"-That he was gay?" Alex pulled the large shirt he was wearing tighter around his chest as Nate nodded,

"Yeah. Dad just lost it. Said 'no son of his was going to be some prissy fag'. Then he-" his hands balled into fists, knuckles white, "-He beat him. Fuck, it's a wonder Si had the strength left to walk out."

Alex's blonde brows shot up, "Simon didn't fight back?" He found it hard to believe after his first encounter with the older twin.

Nate laughed, a humourless sound more like a croak, "Nah, he adored Dad, worshipped him. Still does, I don't know why. The only way I could get him to leave was to say that I was in danger. Can you believe that?! Daft sod." Nate shook his head and smiled. It soon faded, however, and he looked at Alex guiltily, "Shit, sorry. I should've saved that for Jeremy Kyle."

"That's okay," Alex smiled softly and then almost fell off the couch as someone knocked on the door.

"That'll be the pizza!" Nate rubbed his hands together and bounded to the door like a puppy, the last conversation a distant memory.


Once they both had their food, Nate joined Alex on the larger sofa so that they could both see the television. Neither man was taking much interest in the show, however, and Nate was feeling more and more awkward as time passed. He decided he should probably know a bit more about his new lodger,

"So, Alex," the blonde froze, a slice of pizza halfway to his lips, "You have a surname?"

Alex nodded and took a huge bite of the pizza before answering through a mouthful, all manners forgotten for now, "Smith."

Nate made a face that said 'really?' and then cleared his throat, "Do you mind if I ask why you were sleeping rough?" He immediately regretted asking the question as he watched Alex's eyes darken and his chewing grind to a halt. He snapped his pizza box shut and got to his feet quickly, staring at the TV as he spoke,

"I'm tired, gonna go to bed."

Nate opened his mouth to apologise and explain that he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to but Alex was already gone.

"Nice one, Laird," he grumbled to himself as he shoved another slice into his mouth.


It was almost three in the morning and Nate reckoned he'd had about thirty minutes sleep at the most. His knee had been bothering him all day and now that he wasn't busying himself with other things, there was a distinct stabbing pain running through his entire leg. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, grimacing slightly as his knee twisted.

"Some Aspirin is what you need," he patted his knee and forced himself to his feet.

Making his way downstairs was easier said than done; the spare bedroom that Alex was sleeping in was right next to the staircase and so Nate had decided not to turn on any light in case he woke him up. He made it to the kitchen and flicked on the light, surely this one wouldn't reach down the hall, before scavenging some Aspirin and swallowing them with a big gulp of milk.

He turned back to the fridge to put the milk away and grab some cold pizza, the smell too good to resist, when he heard a small moan. Now Nate wasn't one to believe in ghosts or anything remotely supernatural but, by jingo, if that didn't sound like the moan of some desperate soul.

Being the 'adult' that he was, however, and knowing that the moan could also belong to some six-foot seven burglar with a gun, Nate grabbed the nearest weapon - a colander - and stalked through the archway into the dark living room.

"Right, ya' wanker," he mumbled as he shuffled through the darkness, "I'm going to bash your brains in."

He took a final deep breath and flicked on the light, revealing the owner of the spectral moaning. Alex. The young lad was sound asleep on the couch, face down and one arm hanging over the edge. He looked like a sailor on a piece of driftwood, floating through a still ocean, the only thing out of place the tortured expression on his thin face. He'd removed the sweatpants but was still wearing the too-big shirt he'd borrowed and Nate couldn't push away the thought that he looked much better in it than he did.

Nate watched as Alex's frown deepened and his eyes scrunched tighter and wondered what exactly this guy had been through that would follow him into his dreams. Before he could dwell on it further, Alex's eyes fluttered open and he frowned up at Nate,

"I don't want to go to school today, Miss Bradley, the boys are mean!"

Nate's eyebrows sank, did he look like a woman now?! He thought it best to play along, rather than frighten Alex to death, though.

"You don't have to," he spoke softly and instinctively ran a hand through Alex's tangled hair, "Go back to sleep."

Alex did as he was told and drifted back into what looked like a much more serene slumber. Nate turned off the lights and returned to his room where it still took another hour for him to fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking about how nice it felt to run his hands through Alex's hair.

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When morning finally came, Nate was not ready to welcome it; his alarm buzzed manically on his bedside table and it took him three attempts to shut the bloody thing up. 6:30am was not his favourite time of day and it certainly didn't help that he'd only gotten about three hours sleep.

In the kitchen, Alex was frying some bacon and listening to a radio station that was almost definitely aimed at middle-aged women who still believed that Patrick Swayze was going to sweep them off their feet. The general theme of the songs seemed to be 'getting the girl', quite threatening if you thought about it. He was so zoned out that he didn't hear Nate shuffle in behind him.

"Smells good," the redhead yawned loudly, his eyes closed when Alex's shoulder's stiffened in shock.

The shorter guy turned around with the spatula still in his hand, raised slightly as if ready to attack, and his voice caught in his throat when he took in Nate's appearance: Nate was wearing only his pyjama bottoms, his chest and defined torso bare. His bright ginger hair, which looked even more pronounced in the glaring morning sun, was sticking up in various directions like he'd stuck his fingers in a wall socket. Dark circles loomed under his emerald eyes and he looked like he was about to drift back into sleep at any given moment. Alex didn't realise he was staring until Nate spoke up,

"You alright?"

"You look-"

"Like shit? Yeah," Nate sat down at the table and stretched out his long legs beneath it, "Knee was giving me jip last night."

Alex was about to ask what was wrong with his knee but another loud yawn escaped Nate's lips and he seemed much more preoccupied with a circular stain on the table. The blonde returned to his bacon, now nothing more than a crispy mess, and plated it up, offering one plate to his host before pouring some coffee for him too.

"Thanks," Nate's nose curled up at the aroma of the drink but he downed it nonetheless.

Alex sat opposite him and started to butter some toast as Nate spoke, a little more animated now that the caffeine was flowing through his veins,

"So, I came downstairs last night and noticed you were on the couch..."

"Yeah... I felt too comfortable on the bed, couldn't sleep," he looked up at Nate with a slight blush on his cheeks, "God, that sounds so stupid."

"No, no I get it, makes sense," the redhead's mouth turned up slightly, "Next time let me know beforehand, though. I thought you were a bloody burglar!"

"I get that a lot," Alex smirked.

"I was going to bat you one, too."

Alex was grinning now, "I wondered why the colander was out! Were you going to sieve me to death?" They both burst into laughter and finished their cremated bacon in silence, enjoying the small bond that shared-laughter could create. Once finished, Alex offered to wash-up, liking the feeling that he was somehow paying for his stay, even if it wasn't with actual money, as Nate got dressed for work.

Alex was in the living room watching some show about restoring homes when Nate said that he was off to work. He was wearing his black shirt and trousers and had his brown name badge on and spoke as he tied his shoes,

"I'll be back about three, feel free to eat whatever's in the fridge or go out and get something. There's some money in the cat jar above the oven. Oh, and you can borrow more clothes if you need to," Nate grabbed his wallet and car keys and opened the front door, "Just leave the keys under the plant pot beside the door if you do go out, no one will rob the place, there's nothing to steal." He smiled and turned to leave but paused as he registered Alex's expression, "What is it?"

Alex wet his lips with his tongue, "I'll make sure I'm gone when you get back."

Nate frowned and turned to face him, "What? Why?"

"You've been really nice and everything..." Alex's bright blue eyes were seemingly stuck to the floor and Nate could see his bottom lip quivering, "I'll make sure I tidy up too." He looked up at Nate, who had moved slightly closer, and his eyes welled with tears as he bit his lips in an attempt to stop them giving away his emotions.

Nate could practically feel his own heart cracking as the younger, shorter guy in his living room tried to keep his emotions in check. It wasn't a decision he physically made when his long arms encased Alex, it was more like he had become a magnet and Alex was the shiniest, strongest piece of metal in the universe. He hugged him close, ignoring the fact that he could feel Alex's entire body stiffen at the sudden contact, and rested his chin on top of Alex's blonde hair. When he finally let go, Alex looked like he couldn't decide if he was in utter shock or about to burst into tears.

"This wasn't just a thing I did on a whim, Alex," Nate stepped back a little, giving him some space, "You can stay as long as you need to. In fact, I'd like you to stay, okay?"

Alex remained silent and simply nodded, not accustomed to such kindness.

"Good. Right..." Now Nate was the one who was speechless. He ran his hand through his tousled hair and stepped through the front door, now aware that it had been open the whole time and anyone could see in. "I'll be off then. See you at three?"

Alex used his sleeve to wipe away a stray tear and nodded firmly, "I'll be here."

Those three words sent more elation through Nate than he would like to admit and he left the house with a ridiculous grin on his face.

Behind the closed front door, Alex's tears were running freely, but not because he was sad. No, these were happy tears.