WHO: Alex Winters, Calix Shaw WHAT: Someone is turning 37 WHEN: December 15, night WHERE: Shaw residence RATING: Low
Pulling his rather battered truck into the driveway, Calix cut the engine and hopped out, unbuckling a sleeping Theo from the back and opening the door for Alex. “I don’t think I can carry you too,” he teased with a slight smile. The dinner had been too good, as had the birthday cake, the remaining half of which was boxed and sitting on the backseat. Cal had to admit that three courses had pretty much defeated him and judging by the sleepy look on Alex’s face, he wasn’t the only one.
Waiting until Alex had climbed out of the truck, Cal kicked the door closed and lead the way back into the house. “I’ll go settle Theo, then we can grab a drink if you still feel like celebrating. We still have an hour and a half left of your birthday.”
A food coma was probably in Alex's immediate future, but at least he was with it enough to grab the leftover cake before leaving the car. There had been a tacit understanding that he didn't want any kind of public spectacle, but an enthusiastic nephew had let the kneazle out of the bag quite effectively. The atonal chorus of the Happy Birthday song was still floating through his head, but he'd sat through it gamely, bolstered by his choice of company. Now the prospect of spending more time with one of his favorite people brought him a little more awake.
Leaning in, he kissed the back of his nephew's sleeping head before he got the door. There was a faint smirk on his face as he made his way inside. "Trying to get me liquored up on a school night? The scandal. I'll have a drink waiting for you."
And he did. By the time Calix came back, Alex had poured out a measure of dark rum for his best friend and some vodka for himself. He'd deposited himself on the couch, halfway sprawled, but had made the nearly fatal error of closing his eyes as he leaned his head back. An argument could be made that he was merely resting, but the more he sat there the closer he came to sleep.
For one fleeting moment as Alex leaned in close, Calix thought something entirely different was about to happen. However the kiss for Theo made a lot more sense than what he’d incorrectly imagined, and he somehow concealed the spike of panicky excitement that took hold of him in that split second. “Yeah,” did his voice sound off? “So scandalous, you might have to go in with a hangover.” Flashing a little grateful smile at the promise, he disappeared upstairs and settled Theo, hoping that his son wouldn’t be too grouchy in the morning after his late night.
Ditching his coat and shoes in his own room as he passed, he collected a carefully wrapped package from under his bed and skipped back downstairs. Sure enough a drink was waiting for him when he rejoined Alex, though a part of him didn’t want to disturb the younger man, he looked comfortable and almost asleep sprawled on the couch as he was.
Curling onto the vacant spot beside his best friend, Cal laid the present on Alex’s lap and leaned forward to pick up his glass.
Even though he'd sensed Cal's presence, it was still a surprise to feel the pressure change against his legs. He jerked upright a little, but then chuckled as he hefted the box. "Selfish me has to wonder if this is gonna count for birthday and Christmas." Alex stretched out a hand and patted his best friend in the middle of the back since his shoulders were too far away to comfortably reach. He didn't let himself linger, even if he really wanted to. "Thanks, man."
That was, of course, before he'd even opened it, but once he'd ripped the paper off and gotten inside, he couldn't stop the gasp that left him or the smile that lit up his face. He ran a finger down the soft knit cords and glanced over. "It looks warm. Has my constant complaining finally paid off?"
“Of course it doesn’t count for both,” Calix chuckled, though the sound was cut off slightly early as he felt Alex’s hand on the middle of his back. He successfully stopped himself from reacting, at least too much, but he couldn’t quite keep the shiver from slipping down his spine. Distracting himself with a sip of his drink, he settled back against the cushions, watching as Alex opened his gift with a little smile on his face.
The gasp just made his smile wider and another fond chuckle followed, loving the way Alex’s smile had completely lit up his face for a moment. “I hope it is, you’re not allergic to wool, right?” He tilted his head slightly, giving Alex a little grin, “I wouldn’t call it constant. I liked the color.”
It was a bright blue that he wouldn't have chosen for himself, but he had to admit that he liked the way the sweater looked with his hand spread across its surface. "I'm not," he said after too long a moment. Alex glanced over, smiling again and probably wearing his heart completely on his sleeve. "Allergic, I mean. And the color is… I like it. Thanks. It's been a really great birthday. I'll try to return the favor next month."
“You’re welcome.” Calix’s smile was warm as he looked back at Alex, gaze drifting to his hand against the sweater. “I think it’ll look good on you.” At the mention of his own Birthday, his nose wrinkled a little and he tipped his head to lean back against the couch. “It’s right in the middle of the Silver shoot, so if we can keep it low key, that’d be great. Just you, me, and Theo?”
It seemed to be turning into an evening of looks that went on too long, because Alex caught himself gazing at Cal's profile. Stop it. "Guess there's only one way to find out." Taking it out of the box, he shook the sweater out and quickly divested himself of the flannel shirt he'd been wearing to pull on the other. Muffled by the thick wool, he went on, "You do realize that's always gonna be my preference, right? Low key is definitely my speed outside of work."
He worked it down over his head and emerged only to look down at himself. Without a mirror, he had no idea how he actually looked, but he smoothed a hand down his stomach as it instantly began to warm him. "There's not a charm on this, is there?"
“There’s huh?” Calix lifted his head, drawing his stare from the ceiling to Alex as the younger man stood. It took a moment for his brain to catch up with what he was seeing and he should have looked away as Alexei stripped his shirt, but unfortunately -fortunately?- he didn’t. Though he at least managed not to sit with his mouth open while his best friend pulled the sweater over his head, the movement making muscles shift in very appealing ways.
No, no, stop staring.
“Uh, yeah, I was just… No, I know, small and uh, intimate. Perfect.” Another sip, which was more like a gulp, was taken of his drink, leaving dangerously little rum left in the glass. What a stupid choice of words. Smiling as Alex’s face reappeared, he shook his head, “not that I know of, and for the record it looks really good on you.” He allowed himself a slightly smug look, “knew it would.”
His eyes flicked up to Calix's face, and he bit his lip. Alex felt his cheeks grow warm as he sat down again. That word—intimate—and that particular look were enough to send a jolt that went unhelpfully way below his stomach. The sleeves were long enough that he could pull them part way over his hands, and he gripped the soft wool against his palms. After a slow count back from ten, he finally trusted himself to speak. "Yeah, well, my skills lie in reading the public, not the latest fashion trends. I'm more than happy to leave myself in your capable hands."
“I wish I had more of your skills,” Cal murmured, half to himself. Most of the time he found it difficult to gauge people’s intentions, he was still too much of a naive country boy at times. Pushing those slightly troubling thoughts aside, he offered a smile to Alex, one laced with a hint of sleepy mischief. “Dangerous words, giving me free rein over your future wardrobe. You’ll end up dressed like a Dad, I have little fashion sense of my own so, blind leading the blind.”
That low utterance had Alex looking over again, this time in concern and just a touch of confusion. A lack of self-confidence seemed like an odd thing to be coming from Calix, but maybe that particular sentiment was unfair. It was an arrogant person indeed who believed they could do everything all the time and do it well, and that wasn't an adjective he would ever use to describe one of his oldest friends. The next part swiftly changed his expression back to amusement as he laughed. "I have no fear. I've seen your WizPix feed, and can speak from personal experience: you're the hottest dad I know."
He laughed again, but this time it came out as this weak little thing. Alex was painfully aware of what he'd just said, and blamed the vodka and the drinks he'd had at dinner for addling his brain. Now would've been a great time for a spontaneous fissure to open up right beneath him, but the universe simply wasn't that kind.
A genuine laugh mixed with Alex's and he reached out to nudge his best friend's side. He by no means would ever describe himself that way, and wasn't sure Alex would without the aid of alcohol. But the warm feeling that spread up his neck betrayed Cal's real reaction to the words. "I'll take the compliment," he added, when the chuckles died down. Lifting his hand, he laid it briefly against Alex's upper arm, fingers brushing the warm wool slightly before he pulled away. "Happy Birthday, Lexi." He smiled across at the birthday boy, quiet affection in his tone and gaze.
Oh, god… He needed to move, needed to get right up and either stagger away to get more drinks or mumble some half-way plausible excuse and just go to bed. They were these little nothings—these touches—just Cal being Cal. Friendly, affable, gentle, lovable Cal, with dark eyes he wanted to—and a body he wished he could— Alex realized far too late the kind of look he was giving his sister's near-enough widow, and, scrubbing a hand roughly down his face, he stood and collected their glasses. His own was untouched, but right now it was the principle of the thing. "Thanks, Cal," he said, his smile too bright, a little on the manic side, he could sense it. "Gonna top these off. One last nightcap, or else I'm really gonna be useless tomorrow. Don't slide off the couch."
His full stomach and sleepiness was catching up with him, as well as the quadruple measure of Rum he'd just finished. So when Alex gave him that look, all he did was stare right back, a slight blush painting his cheeks pink. When Alex moved, he looked away, staring at the lights on their tree instead. It wasn't right to say anything just then, let his friend enjoy his birthday without throwing a confusing spanner in the works. "You're welcome," he replied softly to the thanks and stretched in an effort to rouse himself. "I'll try not to." He grinned. "Just a small one for me, or I won't make it upstairs."
Out of the direct line of sight of his friend, Alex swiftly tossed back the vodka. It burned like penance all the way down, but didn't do enough to still his roiling thoughts. There were so many things wrong with him, and, by the time he reached the spelled-shut liquor cabinet with its age-line ward around it, his hands were shaking so badly that he nearly dropped both glasses. He just barely managed to set them down, and then did the one last reasonable thing left to him: he blasted himself, head to foot, with a freezing spell. It hit like an arctic gust and left him with his teeth chattering. Crude, but effective. Even the sweater had done very little to really shield him.
Feeling far more calm, he poured one more measure of rum for both of them out of some strange sense of solidarity. It wasn't his drink of choice, but it seemed right somehow. After making sure there was no damning bits of frost anywhere on him, he padded back out into Calix's living room and passed him his drink. He didn't even feel it when his icy fingers bumped Cal's, which was probably better than the alternative. Instead, Alex just dropped back onto the couch, a little closer than he'd been before without even noticing, and set his glass against his leg. "I'm glad hiatus starts soon, but I'm still on the hook for all the first quarter stuff. I know the production offices are virtually closed down, but I'll still spend a few hours there just getting stuff ready. A PR manager's job is never done."
Unaware of the turmoil his friend was going through, Calix quietly mulled over his own issues, eyes closing against the troubling thoughts. He really should be ashamed of himself, eyeing up his best friend. They were practically in laws already, so having any kind of romantic or lustful feelings for his dead fiancée's baby brother was all kinds of wrong. He had loved Maggie completely, he still had her wand and wore her engagement ring on a cord around his neck. Now Cal was beginning to realise he loved Alex similarly, but he was afraid that maybe some part of that was because Alexei reminded him of Maggie, in a way.
"Thanks," Calix frowned the tiniest bit at the coldness of Alex's fingers but refrained from comment. "I try not to cause you too much trouble in the PR department. But with this Silver thing… who knows?" Calix swirled the rum in his glass absently, watching the liquid almost in a daze for a second. "I'm auditioning for The Scouring next week, so my hiatus won't start until that's done." Taking a sip, he glanced over at Alex, "just promise you won't go in on Christmas Eve or Day." He wasn't sure if he was asking for himself or Theo.
"You?" Alex laughed, easy and unaffected. "You're a public relations dream, no matter what studio you're with." He chanced a look at Cal, and was a little relieved when his heart only gave the barest flutter. That was still bad enough, but at least it was manageable.
"You're going to kill both of them," he said a bit more softly than he'd intended. The rum was tossed back with the same expedience he'd shown with his vodka, which triggered immediate regret. Those two didn't historically mix well for him. This was turning into an evening of regrets. Alex somehow kept from coughing by some miracle, but the smile he shot at Cal was an admittedly weak one. "And, yeah, I promise. I wouldn't do that to Theo. Or you."
A little chuckle followed the compliment, then he gave a pout, but his eyes betrayed the teasing nature of his next statement, “you mean I’m boring?”
Taking a slow breath to steady himself after the look he was given, Cal offered a grateful smile to his friend at the confidence he showed in him. “Thanks. It means a lot to hear you say that; definitely helps as I’m stepping out of my comfort zone.” Finishing his own drink, he set the empty glass on the coffee table, not wanting to detour to the kitchen before going up. “Good, because we have traditions and plans to spend most of the day in our pajamas.” He couldn’t quite stifle the yawn that followed and shot Alex an apologetic look as he pushed himself up off the couch. “I think we should get to bed, or at least I need to.”
The only thing Alex sent him was an epic eye roll and a pointed look. There would be no additional ego massaging this evening, despite how proud he was that his best friend was tackling all kinds of new projects lately. He became fiercely determined not to turn everything his friend said into innuendo, despite the insistent voice in his head. Instead, he waved a hand airily, and said, "Yeah, I'll go in a minute. Just kinda wanna bask in the birthday glow while I'm allowed. G'night, Cal."
“Goodnight, Alex. Happy Birthday.” Patting Alex’s shoulder as he passed, Calix made his way upstairs, quickly stripping down to his boxers before falling into bed. Sleep took him quickly, leaving no time for him to muse over the gamut of thoughts and feelings tumbling around inside.
For his part, Alex did indeed go to bed as he'd indicated, but after he'd squared away the forgotten cake and cleaned, dried, and put the glasses back up. After that, however, he lay in bed, turning everything over and over and over in his head. It was like being stuck in a loop of bad emotional decisions, and trying to reason his recalcitrant heart in giving up the one person he had no right to want. He finally stopped checking his phone for the time at around quarter after three. Monday was going to arrive entirely too bright and especially too early.