NAUSEA || imallexx

04 || james

-Alex in this story said he wasn't a brat but In the part two would act like a total brat and James would have no choice but to show him what happens to bratty boys.

ajthephoenix on ao3 and an anon on tumblr asked for a part two, so here it is u mad lads uwu

honestly holy shit........this comment......literally i have no words bc i love it sm and i can only hope i did it justice xx

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Alex knows he's pushing his luck.

He's not dumb, he knows what he's doing. It's always the same on the podcast, and it's like second nature now. They've certainly done the gag of a faux-argument enough that any time they do have a minor argument over nothing, it just feels the same.

Alex makes some comment, James comes back with a sarcastic reply that's meant to make him seem stupid, Alex makes a snide remark that he knows riles James up. He can always see it in the way James' shoulders rise and how his eyes grow a little sharper. It makes Alex feel a little breathless whenever he sees that look.

It's no different this podcast. They're doing Lego building together of a Star Wars ship James wanted to do, and Alex agreed it could be something visually interesting to their video audience. It's the usual topics and banter, and Alex almost forgets that he watched one of his best mates fuck his other best mate just a week ago. Except he can't forget that.

Him, James and Fraser had all left it and returned to how everything was before. It wasn't awkward, Alex found, just...tense. He caught them both watching him occasionally, as if waiting for him to snap. Then Fraser went back home and it all stopped.

"So, we go to try and find a bus stop or something, right, because somebody forgot to charge their fucking phone, and–"

"That wasn't my fault." Alex chimes in. He clicks a small brown piece into place on his slowly-progressing model and looks up at James.

"How wasn't it your fault?" James waves a hand up. "You knew we were going out and you checked your phone before we left and decided it didn't need fucking charging."

"I didn't know we would be out until past two in the morning." Alex gives a light laugh and matches the stare James is giving him. "Where was your phone, anyway? Why couldn't you get an Uber for us?"

"I lost my phone, Alex." It's said plain and simple with no emotion behind it, except maybe a hint of exasperation. Alex knows the look the other man is giving him, and a heat crawls under his skin. He distracts himself by finding the Lego piece he needs next.

"Then don't lose it next time." Alex shrugs. "You could just...not lose it, then we wouldn't have been stuck that night."

There's an inhale next to him that the mics certainly won't pick up now James is leaning back in his chair. Alex is almost afraid to look at the other man, for some reason, but there's something sharp running down his spine that makes him sit up a little straighter. James never just leaves an argument like that. Whatever's happening, Alex isn't sure what to do about it. So he doesn't do anything and just continues to build his Lego model, even if he is just rummaging through the same packet of black bricks.

"So that's how you're going to be, huh?" James suddenly says.

"What?" Alex pretends to sound confused. He's not even close to confused – he knows exactly what he did, and he can only hope James is going to do something about it for once.

"'What?'" James mimics and leans forward in his chair again. He pushes the mic stands away so he can move further into Alex's space. "You're going to sit there and act like you have no fucking clue?"