This was requested by @Doctors-orders-neeks ! I'm so sorry about the long wait, my Wattpad has been acting up all week, so I couldn't post anything! 

NARRATIVE VOICE

Alexander and John lay in John's bed, naked, though covered by the thick blankets they'd pulled over them.

They weren't dating, no, they were just two friends, casually hooking up when they felt like it. It was known that Alexander didn't date, and John was too busy for a real relationship. Or so they both thought.

It was supposed to be a no-strings-attached sort of thing, but it quickly became clear that the careless nature of their relationship had been lost early on. The more they hooked up, the more feelings both male's fostered for the other.

"You good?" John asked breathlessly, Alexander simply nodding in return. No further words were exchanged, they simply lay, in silence, their presence absorbing the room. Before long, Alexander stood up from the bed, after pulling his boxers, socks and sweatpants on. He gathered his long-sleeve t-shirt, messenger bag and reusable coffee cup, waving at the other man and leaving John's small flat and striding down the long hall.

~H~

Alexander was sat alone in his flat, apart from his dog, Cynthia. She was a Rottweiler/Alsatian cross, though she looked more like a sheepdog than anything else. He adopted her from a rescue center in uptown New York, where she'd been brought in for being too nervous.

"Cyn! Cyn! Come here girl." Alexander whistled, and her paws could be heard tapping against the floor, before the happy cross-breed bounded into Alexander's room, jumping up onto th bed and settling on his knee.

"Hello bub. How about we go grab a coffee, hmm? Walk to the shop and see 'Liza?" Alexander asked the pup, kissing her nose affectionately before she licked his cheek in return.

"Come on then! Let's go." Alexander slipped her harness on, ensuring the collar that read 'NERVOUS' on it was clearly visible. He scooped up his wallet and keys from the table by the door, leaving the apartment and locking it behind him.

The walk was noisy, luckily Alexander had learnt a slightly quieter way to get to the shop. It was dog-friendly, and there were a few beds and toys laying around the perimeter of the floor. Alexander entered with Cynthia, her paws keeping in time with Alexander's steps. After reading her collar and harness, most customers kept their dogs away, apart from one.

"Hello Pilot! Who's a good boy?" Alexander cooed, scratching behind the pup's ears and letting Cynthia off the lead to go play with him.

"Alex! I wasn't expecting you." Eliza smiled, whistling the two dogs and scratching each of their heads.

"I thought Cynth could do with the interaction. Don't sound so disappointed." Alex smiled back, teasing his friend with a pitiful pout.

Alexander turned around from the counter to face the shop, looking at who was inhabiting it today. Most were regulars who he'd spoken to at some point, apart from one. They had a magenta sweatshirt on, and their hair was huge. They had a dog with them, a large irish wolfhound, its shaggy coat looked relatively well-groomed. Deciding that he should go see if they needed anything for their dog, Alexander approached with a bowl of water.

"Excuse me?" Alexander approached, putting the dog bowl on the floor, the large, rough-looking dog bounding over and taking a large gulp.

"Oh, hi." The man smiled, being friendly, offering the seat opposite. Alexander sat on the chair, asking the owner before petting the dog lovingly.

"And what's your name?" He cooed, looking at the tag and reading the name Benny. "Hello Benny. Hello." He fussed, chuckling as the dog's tail wagged quickly. "Who's a good boy?" He asked excitedly, receiving a bark in reply.

"He's really friendly, loves people and dogs." The man supplied. Whistling the dog.

"Well I think he's just gorgeous." Alexander complimented, smiling joyfully.

~H~

John knew that what he heard shouldn't have hurt him as much as it did. Perhaps it was nothing. But he's not stupid. He knew what he heard.

Acting on a whim, he moved over to the closest table in the cafe, finding one of the regulars, Francis Kinloch. He didn't own a dog, but he found the atmosphere soothing.

"Hey John. What brings you here?" Francis asked, offering the chair opposite.

"Ya know... just... uhh, coffee." He supplied lamely.

"John, I've been coming here for years, and I've never seen you drink coffee before." Francis stated, a small look of confusion masking his face.

"Yeah, no, thought I'd try it. But now I'm thinking I'll just get an elderflower tea." John covered up, hoping that his distracted nature wasn't too obvious.

"Elderflower? That must be pretty flowery." Francis mused. The conversation progressed, John become increasingly flirty, though he had no intention of pursuing a relationship.

"As much as I've loved this, I need to get back to my apartment and run some errands. Perhaps we could meet up for drinks?" John smirked, Francis agreeing to the plan and exchanging numbers.

~H~

Alexander had seen the whole encounter, watching as John obviously flirted with the guy opposite them.

Eliza had brought his coffee out, dropping a warm chocolate chip cookie she'd baked prior. She also gave Benny a dog biscuit after asking the man, now known as Thomas, if he could have one.

"Would you maybe want to meet up again? Cynthia seems to really like Benny." Alexander smiled, though they hadn't flirted, they seemed to get on well.

"Yeah, sure, maybe meet up for a coffee next Saturday? Here, I mean, so these two pups can accompany us." Both men smiled, going their separate ways out of the shop and going on with their days.

~H~

After a few more weeks of this behavior, both Alexander and John were more than a little jealous of one another.

"What's your problem, Alexander?" John turned suddenly.

"MY problem? I don't have a problem, Laurens."

"Oh, of course, because you're definitely acting normal." John countered.

The conversation progressed, both men growing louder and more frustrated the longer they spoke. That was until-

"BECAUSE I LIKE YOU, ALEXANDER! YOU'RE SO STUPID!" John shouted, before freezing and staring at Alexander, seeing the other man also frozen, though his cheeks were dusted with a pink blush. 

Thought I'd end it here because I'm mean :) Hope you enjoyed! Requests are open.