Upside Down [mxm] [editing]

Chapter 9

Alex was out of breath.  Everyone that he managed to drag in was a labor, and each exhalation a ragged sort of pant.  He felt like his chest was going to explode. He felt so giddy he might burst into laughter. It was a strange sensation, this sort of boundless joy and Alex didn't know what to do with it.

He did, however, know how to share it. 

"I can't believe I just kicked your ass."   Alex's cheeks were rosy, a deep blush spreading across them as he pulled off his ski goggles.  Gold curls spilled free, more mussed than they ever were and dotted with flakes of fresh snow.  "And here I always thought you were the athletic one between us." 

Scowling, Julian came to a stop nearby, spraying snow as he did so.  They had just raced down a black-diamond, and Alex really had managed to soundly beatJulian during the descent. "You cheated."  He protested, fibbing entirely for the sake of prolonging this entertaining conflict. "You cut me off at the first descent." 

"Did not!"  But the firmness of Alex's response was undermined by the laughter which spread out around his words.  Whether it was the bright blue sky of the Colorado mountains or the man he'd spent the last three days with, Alex had no idea, but he was intoxicated beyond measure and he never wanted it to end.

Using his poles to support him, Julian unclipped from his skis before stomping through the freshly fallen powder to poke Alex in the chest, the movement causing the still ski-attached man to slide backward slightly. "Did too." He grumbled, jutting up his chin in mock defiance.

"Nu uh."  Came Alex's brilliant rejoinder, a smile splitting his face as he shook his head, throwing his arms around Julian's broad shoulders and capturing those petulant lips.  "No need to be a sore loser."  He said after a moment, even that chaste kiss managing to bring his heart rate up once again. 

"I'll give you sore."  Julian's arms snaked around Alex's waist and pulled him close, a strangely easy feat with Alex attached to newly waxed skis. 

"None of that."  Alex chided playfully, his arms resting with wrists crossed atop one another behind Julian's neck. "We came here to be out and about together, not to be holed up in the cabin."  At his accidental but still amusing double entendre, Alex waggled his eyebrows.

In response to which Julian groaned. "But you should see you."  He whined, pushing up on his toes to steal another soft kiss. "I wanna go back to the cabin and take all your clothes off.  I kinda want to do it out here, but then I'd have to take my clothes off too and it's really cold." 

"You're incorrigible, you know that, don't you?"  Alex smirked as he allowed Julian to steady him. "How about we get dinner first."  With a tell-tale click, Alex stepped out of his skis. " And then go dancing.  And then you can take me back to the cabin and take off as many clothes as you want." 

"What about just a few clothes before dinner?  Like, maybe your shirt and a sock?"  Julian still hadn't let go of Alex's waist, and it didn't seem like he was going to anytime soon.

"You're really lucky I love you and you're distressingly good looking.  Without that combo, well, you'd be left in the cold."   Alex began to walk backward, untangling from Julian as he did so.  "If you hurry up and grab the skis, I may let you take a shower with me before we go out."   There may have been a slight sway to Alex's hips as he strode away, leaving all their gear behind. It worked, though, the sound of skis and poles being quickly packed together drawing that smug smirk of satisfaction across Alex's face. 

This meant that getting ready for dinner took much longer than Alex had previously planned.  The time spent was worth it, though, Julian was sated and grinning, Alex's cheeks still had that pleasing flush, and the pair of them looked like a set of handsome bookends. Each wore snug jeans and leather boots (Alex's pair was nicer, but he had a small obsession) and extremely fitted tee shirts of complimenting colors. Alex was in a charcoal grey while Julian sported a dusky sort of blue. 

"This has got to be the gayest outfit I have worn in my whole life."  Alex commented as he and Julian exited the car, heading for the restaurant.

"That outfit."  Julian deadpanned, coming around the sedan to hold his hand out towards Alex.  "You do realize you own enough skin and hair product to fill a double vanity, don't you?" 

"But this shirt is so tight."  Sliding his hand into Julian's, Alex wove their fingers together, all while wrinkling his nose in distaste at the direction of his shirt. "You can almost count my chest hairs." 

"Yeah. Not 'gay' as much as 'slutty'." Julian corrected as he pulled Alex close, bumping their hips together as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Hmm."  It wasn't really an agreement.  "I guess you'd be the one to know." 

Scoffing and rolling his eyes in teasing exasperation, Julian held open the door for the other man.  "Thank you."  He said, quietly, causing Alex to almost stop short.  "This was a good idea." 

"Yeah."  Alex agrees, tugging on the hand he held and pulling the other man into the restaurant. "It was."

It had been something they'd talked about trying in the Time Before but had never managed to get around to.  With the complications of Julian's current relationship status and the mire they kept digging deeper into, the notion of a week away together was a pleasant one.  The fact that Alex not only agreed to but suggested, that they act like an actual couple while on this vacation had floored Julian and he had agreed immediately, taking over the planning and arranging of all of it. 

There'd been nerves the first day, but they had selected a town that was populated enough not to cause them to stick out but laid back enough that they wouldn't feel squeezed in.  And by that night Alex had become all too comfortable with the notion of Julian's hand in his or being able to have dinner in public while you touched each other affectionately and did nothing to hide the sweet sentiments you shared. 

Alex's favorite part, though, was dancing.  The night before had been the first one there'd been a DJ at the bar, and Alex had to constantly remind himself not to speed through dinner just to get there faster.  Not that he wasn't enjoying dinner with Julian.  He just wanted to be pressed up against Julian in public.

As soon as the check was paid, Alex was practically dragging Julian out of the restaurant.   It could have been considered amusing, the excitement that Alex was expressing, but partly it was sad.  His choice to separate himself from their culture had robbed him of a lot of things, and while this seemed to be such an infinitesimal part of it, it mattered a lot to Alex.

Which, in turn, caused it to mean a lot to Julian. He'd never been the club-scene type, but if Alex had been out during their youth, Julian imagined that may have been quite different. 

The music along with the activity he'd done all day and the wine he was drinking made everything feel heady for Alex.   He was blissful, there, wrapped around Julian in a sea of other people. 

"Hey, did you hear what I said?"  They hadn't spoken in probably half an hour, all their communication had taken on other much more physical forms, and Julian had to shout to be heard over the music. 

"Yeah?"  Alex's voice was husky and his pupils were blown wide with the dimness of the lighting and rampant desire.

"I said can I move in with you?"  Julian's question caused Alex to stop in his slow, serpentine grind.

"What?"  He blinked a few times, as if trying to reboot his mind. 

"I can't not be with you every day.  I figure I could try and buy the apartment beside yours and we could knock down a wall or something."  Apparently Julian had been thinking about this for a while.  He hadn't done anything about Dick and after all those months Alex had stopped asking.  He didn't want to hear the excuses anymore. Mainly because he seemed utterly unable to back up any ultimatum he made in regard to them.

But now?  Now he stepped back, hands resting lightly on Julian's shoulders.  "I don't think you'll need to do that."  Alex swallowed nervously.  "I was thinking when we got back I could start looking into specialized PR firms."  A grin played at the corner of his mouth.  "You, ah, won't need to knock down a wall if I, um, you know, am out."