Snow

A few people spoke to Alec, stopped by and leaned in to talk to him in hushed whispers that David could barely hear and couldn't understand when he did. He heard things about veins and picks and levels, saw a few men shake Alec's hand with smiles on their faces. A few more said nothing, just looked at him with smirks and shakes of their heads. Alec either ignored them or said something that made the smirks fade.

He'd tried to pay for their food but Alec hadn't let him. "Keep your money," he'd said and waved away David's stammered thanks with a frown.

"Well," he said when they walked outside and his voice sounded a little unsure. There were torches lit on this street too, and David stared at them in wonder. Even at night the city glowed like it was day. He started to ask Alec about it but noticed Alec was already starting to turn away from him, hands shoved back into his coat pockets.

"You didn't have to pay," David said. He wondered if Alec didn't like to show his hands in the light.

"I'll see you around," Alec said, and there was a scowl on his face, like he knew what David was thinking.

"Really?" David said. "Tomorrow, then? I could meet you somewhere."

Alec's mouth tightened and he didn't say anything for a moment. "What do you want from me?"

he finally said, and his voice sounded weary.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I just--I liked traveling with you," David said. "And I could help you now. I know how to clean and um, cook and--"

"You want to come home with me?"

"I need somewhere to stay and--"

"You have somewhere to stay. I saw the woman talking to you, the one with the little yippy dog.

And then that guy with the green hat."

"You saw that? But that was this morning and then later, in the--"

"I was just passing through on my way to--somewhere. Stop changing the subject. You have a place to stay. Or could. Just go find--"

"But I want to stay with you."

Alec flushed, red darkening his face, his eyes going soft for a moment. "No," he said, and his voice was gentle. "Look, David. I'm not--I don't do--" He gestured between them. "This."

"What?"

Alec narrowed his eyes for a moment. "You--" He sighed. "You don't know, do you?" He was silent for a moment. "So you want to stay with me and what? Cook and clean?"

David nodded.

"Why?"

"I like you," David said. "I like being with you. I thought about you today, when you weren't around. I wondered what you were doing."

"That's just boredom."

"No," David said, and his voice was so sharp he surprised himself. "You make me--you make me feel like smiling."

Alec smiled. It transformed his face, lit it up. David's breath caught. "Like that," he breathed. "I like how you make me feel. Alec--"

Alec's eyes went wide and David felt his heart beat fast and heavy in his chest. He'd made Alec look like this, flushed and wondering, just by saying his name. He liked that. He took a step closer. He looked down, directly into Alec's eyes. Up close and in the flickering torchlight they were brown, deep and dark. The look in them made him realize he could lift a hand and touch Alec's face. He wanted to do that and thought that maybe Alec would let him. That maybe Alec wanted him to.

He did. The tips of his fingers touched Alec's face. It felt different than he thought, soft skin right above his cheekbone and the rasp of stubble below it. David stroked his fingers back and forth, liking the feeling, the simple act of touching.

"Hell," Alec said and took a step back. "Don't. Don't do that."

"Why?" David said. "I liked it. You--you liked it. I can tell. Your eyes, they--"

"Just don't," Alec said, closing his eyes momentarily. "You can, god help me, stay with me.

Come by tomorrow. Tan door, third street past the farmer's stalls at the far edge of the square. I have to leave at sunrise so be there a little before that so I can let you in. But you--you can't do what you just did again, okay? No touching."

"I'm sorry," David said, shamed, remembering his nurse, pain on her face and ice around her. "I forgot about--the cold will go away. I just--you looked--I just had to touch you and-- "

"Cold?" Alec said and his voice had gone agitated, not with anger but with something else that sounded almost like fear but sweeter, sharper. "Oh. Right. The cold. Yes. Very cold. So no more touching. In fact, no talking about it either. You got it?"

David nodded.

"Okay," Alec said. "Tomorrow, then. Before sunrise."

David nodded again.

Alec sighed. "You do have somewhere to sleep tonight, right?"

"No."

"That's what I get for asking," Alec muttered. "Why can't you just lie like a normal person?"

"But I want to stay with you."

"That's too bad because--" Alec said, and shook his head. "Fine. I don't have any extra pillows or blankets so it's the floor, okay? The bare cold floor." He started walking down the street. "You'll probably like that," he muttered to himself.

David watched him walk, smiling at the sound of his voice.