Unplanned Attraction

Opened Eyes

A/N: Sorry for the wait between updates... I've been pretty busy recently. Hopefully it won't take so long for me to update next time but we'll see (⌒-⌒; )

When Thomas got back to their dorm he hesitated before going in. He was nervous of how this would all go. If he managed to mess this apology up it would spell disaster. The first thing he noticed was how tense the room felt. One wrong move and the tension would snap. Slowly taking off his shoes Thomas thought of what to say. His mind remained unhelpfully blank though. He'd just have to try and wing it as best he could.

As he walked farther into their dorm Thomas saw Alex hunched over his rickety laptop, fingers dancing across the keys at lightning speed. The fan whirred obnoxiously and Thomas felt his hand twitch. Everything in him was screaming to throw that thing in the trash where it belonged. He'd be more than willing to buy him something sleek and new. Sadly Alex wouldn't ever go for that.

Snapping out of his daydreams Thomas tried to find a way to start his apology. There were so many ways he could attempt to start this all off. If he wanted to stall a bit he could try to talk about the weather or how his day went. Immediately Thomas threw that one out. Alex always hated when people hedged an issue after all. He'd heard that enough from his complaints about Burr. So Thomas figured he might as well just dive right into it.

Stealing himself for whatever happened Thomas blurted out, "I'm sorry I brought up Reynolds." Alex stopped typing at that. Other than that there was no acknowledgement from the other man. It made Thomas feel a bit more on edge but he tried to push through it. That was the least he could do for Alex.

Keeping his gaze fixed on Alex he continued, "I had no idea what that asshole had done to you. God, even not knowing what happened I shouldn't have pushed you like that." That finally got Alex to look at him instead of his computer. His expression appeared unconvinced, not that Thomas could blame him. At least he was listening to what Thomas was saying.

"From now on, I'm gonna try and be more respectful of your boundaries." He said while shifting slightly closer. "If I ever cross the line like that again you're free to kick my ass." The blank look on Alex's face melted into something else. Thomas had no idea what emotion it was though. Still beat the emptiness that was there before. He let himself relax a bit at that. Something shifted in Alex's eyes as he slumped forward.

"You didn't know. That doesn't mean that what you did was okay though." Alex muttered softly. "But as soon as you knew you apologized. Just, don't pull that shit ever again dumbass." Thomas felt himself smile as the rest of the tension eased out of him. He was so glad this hadn't fractured their relationship completely. Especially with the two of them spending Spring break together. Even though Thomas had fucked up, Alex was willing to give him another chance. That thought running through his mind Thomas couldn't help himself and hugged Alex tightly.

"Thank you Alex. I promise, I won't let you down like that again." Thomas said. For a few moments Alex didn't move. There was a moment where Thomas wondered if he'd crossed another line. Thankfully Alex slowly hugged him back. After a few more moments before Alex pulled Thomas even closer. Warmth blossomed through Thomas as he did so.

Thomas found his mind flashing back to what James had said. As he glanced down at Alex's head on his shoulder Thomas gave his best friends words some thought. When was the last time he'd felt like this about someone? Had he ever felt this way about someone? Those questions raced through his mind.

His mind screeched to a halt as he realized he had before. And who was that person? Martha Skelton, his only long term partner to date. They'd dated for 5 years before breaking it all off. All those romantic feelings he'd held for Martha then were what he was feeling for Alex now. The only thing was that these weren't the feelings he'd had before dating her. Oh no, the emotions he felt now lined up much more of those he'd felt while in the relationship.

So, just as usual, James was completely right. This really only caused Thomas a shit ton of problems though. Now that he'd sorted out he was fucking in love with Alex, and wasn't that something he'd ever think, Thomas had to figure out what he should do. Was he supposed to let Alex know about this? That wasn't exactly something Thomas wanted to have to do right now. The whole situation was already a mess, adding a confession into the mix would cause pure chaos.

Slowly Thomas pulled away from Alex and sat next to him on the bed. As soon as he settled himself Alex snuggled up into his side. Taking in a sharp breath Thomas tried not to think too much about it. He attempted to think of anything besides how much he enjoyed the affection. It was just for practicing being a couple anyway. There were no real feelings to about it at all.

Looking up at him Alex asked, "You okay there Thomas?" Not trusting himself to keep his feelings under wraps Thomas nodded his head quickly. He didn't want Alex to realize something was up with him. Going by the way Alex was frowning Thomas didn't seem to be succeeding on doing that. Not wanting Alex to think too much on his reaction Thomas wrapped his arm around the smaller man's shoulders. He pulled Alex even closer to him and Thomas felt slightly flustered. At least it seemed to comfort Alex for the time being.

"So when exactly are we gonna be heading out to Virginia." Alex suddenly questioned. "And how are we getting there?" He realized they hadn't talked about it at all. To be fair Thomas had been a bit distracted by the mess known as his emotions.

Turning to face him a bit more Thomas replied, "I was thinking about heading out the day after tomorrow actually." He shifted slightly away and gestured outside. "We'll take my car there first thing in the morning since it's like over an eight hour drive." As soon as the words left his mouth, Thomas was struck by how screwed he was. Thomas would be in a small space with Alex more than eight hours. In that moment Thomas wished he hadn't figured out he was in love with the asshole.

Suddenly dropping his arm from around Alex's shoulder Thomas told him, "Actually we should probably start packing right now. Make sure to pack enough for the whole break." Nodding in agreement Alex sprung up off the bed to go search for his own suitcase. At a much slower pace Thomas moved to do the same. Scrounging around the depths of his closet he managed to find the damn thing. Making his way back out Thomas snatched up a backpack to fill with whatever didn't fit in the suitcase.

Coming out of the closet Thomas saw the state that his roommates suitcase was in. The handle was covered in both large and small gashes all over. As for the actual suitcase itself, it looked as if one small gust of wind would cause it to fall apart. Multiple frayed threads stuck out and parts of it looked torn. All in all, that thing had seen better days.

"Why don't you buy a new suitcase? That thing looks like it needs to be retired." Thomas asked as he opened his own suitcase up.

An annoyed expression made its way into Alex's face as he shot back, "This thing has survived a goddamn hurricane, which I doubt yours ever could accomplish, so you might wanna keep your motherfucking mouth shut." Thomas fought back a grin at that. He was glad this whole situation wouldn't destroy their dynamic. If it had completely gone away, he doesn't know what he'd even do. Their banter was just too fun. It was probably what made him fall for the little fucker in the first place actually.

"At least mine doesn't look like shit." Thomas said in retaliation. "Be careful, my mom might throw it out with the rest of the trash." With that, the two of them were off. They argued incessantly over this small little thing with no real bite behind their words. It left Thomas feeling lighter than he'd felt in a long time. Even if the two of them never actually dated for real, he still had this. That was something he'd cherish with all his heart.