Alistair was stressed, very stressed.

Even after all the calculations and the plans and the amount of last-minute quick heists they'd miraculously pulled off, the amount they had currently was far from what they needed to help Emmy.

Pulling at the roots of his hair, he let out a frustrated growl. There was no way he could get so much in so little time. It was driving him insane.

That feeling of total helplessness that he had, it was pulling him into a self-spiral of weakness.

But he couldn't quit now, not when Emmy had done so much for him, had been so much for him. This was the least he could do.

When a knock on the front door of his apartment distracted him and made him lose count in his calculations, it took everything in him not to throw his computer against the wall and break down. 

When he pulled open the door, albeit quite roughly, he found Alexander standing on his welcome mat with mud-stained shoes, smiling at him.

"Before you say anything, I know you said not to disturb you, but I have a few letters that I need you to look through. They arrived in the mail today." Alexander passed him a bundle of envelopes that were previously tucked in his coat pocket.

Without waiting for an invitation, Alexander pushed past Alistair and into his living room. Plonking down on Alistair's leather couch, he tsked at the empty coffee cups in his sink and the strewn-about papers on Alistair's coffee table.

"Hey, Alistair?" called Alexander.

Alistair looked up from the dining table where he was about to tear open the first envelope. He hummed, giving Alexander his attention.

"How long exactly have you been working on this? And I need an honest answer," insisted Alexander.

"Maybe three hours max?" muttered Alistair, looking down at his feet.

"Did you not hear me, dude? I said an honest answer," said Alexander stubbornly, glaring at Alistair pointedly.

"Fine! Six hours, are you happy now? No matter what I do, I can't seem to reach the amount, we have barely enough money for the seven of us, I'm sure that these letters hold pleas from various orphanages that need money, I feel like everything's so unattainable, and I can't stop blaming-"

He was cut off when Alexander wrapped his arms around Alistair, trapping him in a bear hug. He let himself relax into Alex's embrace, and it was only when the sleeve of Alex's shirt became damp, that Alistair noticed he was tearing up.

Pulling back, Alexander wiped away a few tears from Alistair's eyes, smiling at him. It was a sad one, though.

"You are going to take a breather and go have fun with some friends that don't relate to this business," muttered Alex, snatching up Alistair's phone from the counter, scrolling through his contacts.

When Alistair opened his mouth to protest, Alex pressed a finger to his lips, shushing him.

"Let me do this for you, okay?"

Alex's eyes furrowed in confusion, and he turned the screen towards Alistair, asking, "Who's Everett? You've never mentioned him."

"He's uh, my friend? That guy I hung out with after your interview. Just, er, don't text him or anything," Alistair answered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Alex hummed, rapping the screen incessantly. Alistair groaned. Alex was probably texting something strange to a few of his contacts. Alistair decided just to let him, if not Alex would be on his case on taking a break for ages.

When Alex finally passed Alistair's phone back to him, Alistair scrolled to recently contacted, heart accelerating when he saw Everett's name at the top of the list.

"Alex I swear-" Ali began, holding up a clenched fist. 

Alex held up a finger. "This will help you relax. Trust me. Anyway, check the messages for the deets and I will be back later to ask Everett about the non-stressful fun that you had."

He started to walk towards the front door but turned around again, snatching up the envelopes, Alistair's documents, and effectively everything Alistair needed to work. Fuck, Alistair had wanted to continue working on it while waiting for Everett.

'I'm taking these too. Have fun bro," Alex said with a grin, sauntering over like a smug bastard to the front door.

He was quite a smug bastard.

Opening up his message box with a grimace, Ali cringed at the messages that Alex had sent. Why was Alex always so extra?

Oh god, why were Everett's replies so, indifferent? And more importantly, why had Alex referred to himself as 'bf'? Didn't he know what that meant?  No, obviously not, because Alex was a fricking goon.

 Oh god, Everett was probably going to jump to conclusions, possibly-

No Alistair, do not overthink. Do not.

He overthought it anyway.

As he started to get ready, still overthinking Alex's messages and Everett's cold, distant replies, he realised that his heart was still beating fast.

What was wrong with him? Everett was killing him, one aloof text message at a time.

Alistair decided to just go casual, with jeans and a hoodie that Alex had bought him. Alistair thought he looked pretty cool. Hopefully, Everett would agree.

When the doorbell rung exactly at 2, Alistair's heart rate started to go into hyper-drive again. 

Fucking really? I had just calmed down. Just relax Alistair, it's not like this is your first time hanging out with this boy.

Alistair jumped when the doorbell rang again, and he rushed to the door, opening it for Everett.

"H-hey, you're on time," Alistair observed, voice a little shaky. He was too much of a sucker for people who weren't late.

Everett raised an eyebrow, nodding slowly. "Yes I um, noticed that."

Trying to get back to his normal, more confident frame of mind, Alistair strolled to the kitchen island, leaving Everett in the living room.

"Would you like some coffee?" he called, to which Everett replied with a stern no, and a request for hot chocolate instead.

Returning to the living room to find Everett snuggled on his couch, shoes off and donning rainbow socks, Alistair just had to chuckle.

"You look pretty cute with those socks," Alistair commented, passing him the steaming mug of hot chocolate. 

Everett shot a glare in his direction, a blush tinting his cheeks. Alistair wasn't sure whether it was from the heat of the drink or embarrassment.

"Oh frick off, Mister I Don't Like Socks," sneered Everett in retaliation. Alistair laughed at the memory of Everett and him arguing over the importance of socks at the picnic.

"What? Socks are useless, except for when you're exercising," defended Alistair, taking a seat next to Everett. 

Everett didn't reply to that, and they sat in silence, a comfortable one, at least. Curious to know what Everett was thinking about, Alistair turned to sneak a peek at Everett, before realising Everett was already looking at him. They both looked away, cheeks red.

A few minutes later, Everett piped up, "Hey, so you're dating that guy that texted me to come here? Was it, er, Alex?"

"No no I'm not. I'm single. When-" Alistair paused to laugh, "-when he said 'bf' he meant best friend, not er..." Alistair trailed off, tugging a hand through his hair.

"Oh, that's cool," Everett replied, looking away, refusing to meet Alistair's eyes.

"So did you want to go out somewhere? Or..." said Everett, breaking the silence.

"Can we maybe just stay in? It's pretty cold outside. Maybe watch a movie?"

Everett nodded in agreement, snuggling further into the couch, stretching his legs, his feet making contact with Ali's thigh. At the touch, a zing of some sort, ran up Alistair's leg, making him shiver. The 'zing' was akin to that feeling one gets when eating ice-cream at the beach on a hot day.

Warm. Fuzzy. Like home.

Alistair loved it. Fuck, he really did.

He was ripped from his thoughts when Everett leaned forward, tapping him on the shoulder, incessantly demanding him to put on: Narnia.

During the duration of the movie, somehow, either he or Everett had taken the comforter and draped it over them both. To share the blanket, the two had moved to the middle, every inch of their bodies pressed together, Everett leaning on Alistair's shoulder.

It was because they were both cold. This was normal.

When the credits started to roll, Alistair's stomach let out a loud grumble, to which Everett chuckled at. It was a warm, happy sound, it reminded Alistair of sunflowers.

Sunflowers were beautiful.

The two decided to go grab a bite at a nearby cafe, despite Alistair knowing full well that he had leftovers in the fridge. A treat was fine sometimes, right?

As they waited for their food, Everett started to chat animatedly about the movie, asking Alistair excitedly," What was your favourite part? Mine was the part where they became kings and queens!"

Alistair laughed at Everett's excitement, racking his brain for an answer to his question. To be perfectly honest, Alistair had just watched Everett the entire time.

The way the light danced like constellations in his eyes whenever he got exhilarated, the intriguing way his eyebrows would form a downward V shape whenever something confused him or irritated him.

Alistair just listened, content, as Everett rambled on and on about the movie and the books that the movie was made from. He watched as Everett's eyes sparkled, akin to the sun reflecting on the water.

It only then did Alistair realise that the tension in his shoulders was gone, and so was his stress-induced headache. He grinned at Everett gratefully, a sudden urge to reach over and hug him.

So he did.

- - -

a/n: hey guys, another update because of covid19 yikes ;-; i hope you enjoyed this chapter although it's just my dearest Ali and Ever hanging out. i realise that to some people it seems strange that Ali is confident around people but awkward around Ever, but arent most people like that with their crushes? well, i sure i was. yeah, Ali was a little more open in his thoughts of Everett in this chapter and in case yall don't understand why it is because Ali got almost n o sleep the previous night. like me.

xx sky