The Struggles Of Waiting ✔

FIFTEEN

2075

Alexander yawned and rubbed at his tired eyes. "Wow, you've been here all of five minutes and you're already bored?" Jaden said, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," Alex replied with a laugh. "Calm down."

Jaden pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You can have a nap or something if you want," he said.

"Nah," Alexander said. "You called me over here for- I actually don't know why you called me over. But still, you wanted me here, I'm not going to sleep through it."

"I called you over to spend time with you."

"Yeah, so I'm not going to sleep."

"Whatever. It will be your own fault if you pass out later."

Alex rolled his eyes, sitting down on Jaden's blue couch and staring up at the other man. He stretched out so he filled up the entirety of the small couch, laughing at the expression on Jaden's face. "Join me," he said.

"Well, I would if you hadn't taken up the whole damn couch," Jaden replied, pushing at Alex's shoulders until he sat up. Alex ended up with his head on the younger man's lap and fingers being pushed through his hair.

Jade put on a movie, one he didn't recognise, and soon enough Alex found himself drifting off to sleep. The feeling of Jaden's fingers as they ran through his hair was soothing and he found that it was the more comfortable he had been in a while. It was such a simple action, but it relaxed him to no end.

He didn't really know what the two of them were. They'd been on dates, they'd kissed, but he still wasn't sure. He wanted to ask, but as per usual his fear got to him. Years of bad experiences weighed on him and there were nights where the voices in his head told him that it was a stupid idea to even be with him.

And maybe it was, but at least he was happier than he had been in a long time. He wasn't going to test his age. He may have made the device, but that thing had brought him too much pain. He didn't want to see the twenty-two years staring at him, taunting him. He'd seen enough of it. Like he had with everyone else he had dated, he would deal with it when it turned out that Jaden was not his soulmate. For now, he would embrace the happiness the other man was giving him.

He hadn't even realised he had fallen asleep until he woke up, blinking away the sleep from his eyes. He looked up, finding Jaden's face smiling down at him. He grunted, reaching up and pushing his face away. Jaden let out a cheerful laugh, batting away Alex's hand.

"And you said you were fine," he said with a shake of his head.

"Sorry," Alexander mumbled. "How long was I asleep?"

"About two hours," Jaden answered. "I put on a movie to kill some time. I figured I'd let you rest, you looked like you needed it. My leg is going a little numb though."

Alex grunted again, pushing himself up. "Sorry," he repeated.

"It's fine," Jaden replied, waving a hand at him. "It was comfortable for the first hour and a half."

"Sorry I fell asleep," he said. "I think I just got a bit too comfortable."

"Better than the spare bed?"

"Way better than the spare bed."

"Well, it's all good," Jaden said.

"Are you sure?" Alexander asked, rubbing at his sleep filled eyes. "I'm pretty sure this isn't what you had in mind for today."

"I didn't really have much planned today, actually," the other man said, standing up from the couch. "I just need your help with something."

Alex frowned in confusion, eyebrows furrowing. "Is everything alright?" he asked, trying to find any hint of the answer in Jaden's tanned face and dark eyes. He gave nothing away, looking back at him with a smile.