Maks usually regained consciousness slowly. He hated getting up too early and took 'five more minutes' as a gospel. This time, he jolted awake abruptly. He must have been dreaming about something. He blinked dozily and managed to determine that it was already bright outside. Then he felt another body press against his under the sheets. It wasn't Ewelina; she didn't cuddle up to him during sleep. She also wasn't so flat and didn't have anything that could poke his tailbone. He turned his head slightly. Right. Aleks.

He felt like there was a bubble filled with elation growing inside him, and the feeling was so bizarre that it made him momentarily breathless. He hadn't felt like that in a very long time. Correction: he might have never felt like that before. Not to this extent, as if it were going to blow up his insides, because Aleks was really here this time; it wasn't a dream or wishful thinking. After weeks of waiting and visualizing it in every possible way, he was sleeping behind his back with his arm wrapped loosely around his middle, so he could feel his deep, even breath between his shoulder blades. For a few minutes, he just laid still, afraid to disrupt this perfect moment, but finally he turned around as gingerly as he could until they were face-to-face. His eyes started to wander around his lips, nose, and eyelids. It might be the first time he saw him so calm; he was always knitting his eyebrows, scowling, and screwing his expression in various ways, but now nothing was happening on that face. He was just sleeping. It was fascinating.

Maks reached out, trying not to make any sudden movement that would wake him up, and rested his fingertips gently on his chin, then started to slowly move them up towards his cheek. Aleks stirred slightly, as if he didn't like being prodded while he was sleeping. Maks smiled to himself at the sight.

It was hard to wrap his mind around the fact that it was the same Aleks he'd been with last night. They were complete opposites; this one was an oasis of calm, and that one had been an amalgam of uncurbed impulses. He'd been... turbulent. That was a good word; in bed, he was turbulent, impossible to tame, like a force of nature. A ruinous force, because he had ruined Maks for other people. The sight of his half-closed eyes, open mouth, and flushed cheeks was forever etched in his brain. He'd been constantly astir, rushing him, and pleading shamelessly. Whatever cheap, dirty fantasy had just popped into Maks' head, he'd urged him to bring it to life right fucking now. He'd wanted it all so badly. Maks had never felt sexier before.

Throughout everything they'd done, Aleks had switched nimbly between bossing him around whenever he'd hesitated and caving in the second he'd gotten more forceful. At some point, Maks had barely reached to touch his face, and he'd already opened his mouth docilely to suck on his fingers, but when Maks had withdrew to get a condom and recover some fucking equilibrium, he'd suddenly attacked, rolled them over, and crawled on top of him purposefully. Maks' composure had been in shatters again, but as soon as he'd been stirred back into action by his lovely behind pinning him to bed, Aleks had gone pliant right in his hands, just sprawled for him like an offering. The problem had been that Maks was a gentleman; he might not have known a lot, but he'd known one couldn't just lunge on people and break into them. It was such a sensitive, oppressive thing, so he'd tried to be extra considerate and transparent, but his efforts had been wasted because Aleks had just rolled his eyes and murmured something like, 'We're so discussing kinks later' and then snapped, 'Just fuck me'. Who snapped at a person they were in bed with? It was insane. Also quite ill-mannered, but mostly insane.

But that's what he'd done. He had fucked him, despite barely being able to contain himself. His whole body had been trembling when he'd put the condom on and then even more when he'd slid inside him, until eventually he hadn't known if he'd still been trembling; he hadn't known anything at all. He wasn't used to losing control. Sex had always been pretty mechanical and calculated, like most things he did, and suddenly he started to wonder whether he'd been doing it wrong his whole life or if he had done it wrong last night. Because he hadn't given a very impressive performance overall, the whole act had lasted around twenty seconds. Okay, without exaggeration, maybe two minutes and a half. Yeah, now he was overrating himself—less than two—and that hadn't really happened to him all that often, even when he'd been younger.

Suddenly he felt awfully embarrassed, because wasn't coming too quickly generally considered a... failure? He was actually terrified that Aleks might have thought he was bad in bed. Or at least worse than... that Wincent guy, for example, who probably didn't finish after two minutes. But give him a break; it'd been his first time! He'd been practically a virgin! Virgins should be allowed some premature ejaculation. Of course he wanted to fuck Aleks right, just the way he liked, and long enough for him to lose his mind. He just needed to figure out how to be more... composed.

Besides, after he'd exploded clumsily and unexpectedly, Aleks also hadn't needed all that much—just a few more seconds of enthusiastic fingering, that was all. So maybe it hadn't been his fault. Maybe they'd both been too wound up for it to last any longer. He really hoped that he hadn't been the only one close to blacking out, because Aleks had definitely sounded like he'd been enjoying himself. He'd been so loud that Maks had covered his mouth at one point just so all the neighbors wouldn't have heard him. Fortunately, Aleks had gotten a hint, pushed his hand away, and just laughed breathlessly. It'd been so disarmingly uninhabited.

Also hot as hell. Suddenly, Maks really wanted to have that announced discussion. Apart from a quick orgasm issue, he already considered himself an expert on gay sex. He was totally ready for kinks negotiations. Probably.

He watched Aleks' eyelashes flutter. He blinked sleepily at Maks, his eyes instantly fixed on his face as it was right in front of them. He looked disoriented for a split second, but seemed to realize quickly where he was and why. The more awake he was, the more tense he became, like he was waiting for Maks to freak out any second now. He needed to set him straight, so he cupped his cheek and stretched his neck. Aleks raised his face, expecting a kiss, but Maks just rubbed his nose gently against his and stilled.

Aleks felt a spark of hope because Maks looked happy. He had him in his bed, and he was smiling. It was confusing because dreams didn't come true just like that. That wasn't how the world worked. According to every known rule, their love affair should always make Maks feel uneasy, resistant, and bashful, because people didn't change just like that either. And here he was, caressing his face and smiling so sweetly as if he'd just found his place on earth. That might have been expected last night, because people often forgot their conditioning when they were horny, but his current lack of panic was almost suspicious.

Maks took a deep breath, oblivious to his surprise. That elated bubble in his insides didn't disappear; quite the opposite, it kept growing. He wasn't used to this. His life had never been particularly happy or unhappy; it'd just been so-so. And now his levels of happiness skyrocketed, even though he knew it was mostly an illusion and that all the potential issues were still in place, and he was just high on Aleks' presence.

He decided not to care this once. He pulled away slightly to be able to see his face. He looked so drowsy and vulnerable, all naked, and with his defenses down, Maks felt his heart was going to burst out of his chest. The mere thought that this baby bird had almost fucked him unconscious last night was ludicrous.

"You're fucking crazy." Maks had wanted to say 'hi', but for some reason he decided to say this instead.

Aleks snorted, which sounded way too loud in the surrounding silence. He bit his lip sheepishly, because what if he had scared him off? Maks was so proper after all; he should have at least tried to be a bit more ceremonial instead of just jumping him right off the threshold like some caveman. But how would one have gone about it more properly? By asking, 'excuse me, would you be so kind and put your dick in my ass'? Now that would have been anticlimactic.

"Good crazy or bad crazy?" he muttered, smirking to cover up his anxiousness.

Maks leaned in, wrapping his other arm around him carelessly and brushing his ear with his lips. "The best kind of crazy," he whispered hotly.

That was a relief. Maks wasn't one of those weird phonies that pretended that they didn't have a kinky bone in their bodies—those usually turned out to be the most perverted—and anything that wasn't vanilla offended their delicate sensibilities. As if slow, tender love-making had ever rocked anyone's world.

It turned out that he must have managed to do something good in life, because now he'd got not only his perfect night but also his perfect morning.

Maks' lips were still nibbling at his ear, so he turned his head slowly to catch them with his own. They kissed languidly until it lulled them both, so they stilled with their lips connected, breathing in the air that the other breathed out. Aleks didn't fall back to sleep, though, and neither did Maks, because his hand started to wander slowly and reverently from his neck down. When he got to his hip, Aleks' only reaction was quiet panting.

Aleks squeezed his eyes shut, knowing where this was going and wanting it to go there so badly, but he gathered all of his willpower and whispered, "I have to go to school." He was pretty proud of himself that he even remembered that such a thing as school existed. He felt Maks pulling away and opened his eyes reluctantly.

"No," Maks groused, just to be difficult.

Aleks' mouth stretched. "And you have to go to work," he added callously.

This time, Maks looked much more devastated. "No," he whined again, then drew back in to kiss Aleks' shoulder, deciding that getting up was out of the question. He was too relaxed to move. He was way too happy to go and face the world. Bad things happened out there, and the only good thing was in here, so why would he?

After another few minutes of lazy silence, Aleks started to fidget. Maks knew he was wide awake already and didn't have the same superpower of falling asleep whenever he wanted, like he did. In theory, he knew he was right, and they really should get themselves up and running, but coming to terms with it was hard. He moved his lips to his neck, trying to put off their inevitable separation in time. Aleks smiled knowingly.

"Do you really want to go to school?" Maks whispered, pushing him onto his back and slipping his knee between his thighs, even though he knew perfectly well that the sudden need to fuck Aleks might not be a sufficient reason for emergency leave.

"I mean, of course, who would care about orgasms when there are so many math problems to solve?" Aleks deadpanned.

Maks gave up his efforts to seduce him and stopped supporting his weight on his elbows, so he crushed him and started to shake with laughter.

"Where's your school?" he asked out of the blue.

"Saska Kępa," Aleks said automatically.

"I'll drive you," Maks offered.

Aleks wanted to object and point out that his office was in a completely different part of the city, but he didn't let him.

"Just give me... ten more minutes," he asked purposefully.

Aleks grinned. "That many?" he wondered playfully.

Maks looked up, biting his lip hesitantly. "Well, I mean... It might get better with practice," he stammered with an embarrassed giggle, visibly trying to turn it into a joke.

Aleks snorted. "It better not, it comes in handy when we're in a hurry," he quipped, then frowned when a shadow crossed Maks' face. Aleks' face softened, and he smiled indulgently. "For a guy who was straight a few weeks ago, you've been pretty spectacular," he confessed, cupping his face tenderly to make up for his still slightly biting tone. "Hottest two minutes of my life," he assured him, because men shouldn't be left insecure about their sexual performance. "Besides, it's the ultimate compliment. And you're right, we're gonna keep practicing. A lot," he promised, pulling him in to catch his lower lips with his own. Ten minutes, starting now.

Maks kissed him back eagerly, moving his hands up his arms. "Have you been working out?" he asked distractedly, raising his head slightly. "You weren't so... buff... last time we were doing this. Not that you're buff now, but," he broke off, snorting and dropping his forehead on his chest.

Aleks pulled a face. "Thanks," he scoffed, because he wasn't that skinny. "You know, I have to look at least a little bit intimidating to survive in the big world."

Maks stared at him for a few beats before bursting into laughter.

"Hey!" Aleks protested, visibly affronted.

Maks kissed all his inane protests away. "When did you have time for that? You should be studying," he said absently, otherwise preoccupied and not sure why he even kept talking.

"Oh my God, you're going to nag me," Aleks realized suddenly.

"I'm not going to nag you," Maks muttered soothingly.

"Yeah, you are. I can feel it already. You're going to nag me so hard," he emphasized playfully, with a trace of fake horror.

Maks snorted, immediately picking up. "Oh, you want me to nag you hard?" he teased.

Aleks started to wriggle and make his best porn sounds. "Oh yeah, nag me hard," he begged shamelessly.

Maks laughed out loud, pressed him to bed, and did just that.

•~💥~•

A few hours later, Maks still felt high. High and suspiciously calm. He was not even normally calm; he was overcome by calmness like he'd never felt, as if everything was right in the world all of a sudden. He was doing great that day. He was the king of Excel. All the numbers added up. He helped some random girl from the legal department with boxes on the highest shelf. He might have gone a bit overboard, and she might have thought they were friends now. He felt like if he focused hard enough, he might just pop out a cure for cancer.

He hadn't even realized how scared he had been before. It was a good thing that he'd only figured it out now, when he had no reason to be scared anymore. Some part of him had been anxious about the morning after he finally had sex with Aleks, because deep inside he'd been pretty sure all along that it would happen sooner or later and that things would be awkward; that they wouldn't know how to act; that Maks would say something stupid again, and Aleks would throw a fit, and they would be back to square one. But when the moment had finally come, there had been no sign of awkwardness. He had a very comforting feeling that, between the two of them, there was no room for any awkwardness anymore. They had both been present last night. They'd both gotten completely naked, and not only literally. They were just two people... two men... who had shared these things with each other—their bodies, their shortcomings, their passion—and Maks had found out that it was... good. It was good to share it with someone and have nothing to hide anymore. Everything became easier after that. Of course some fears were still in place, but most of them had disappeared, because when someone touched you like that with no restraints, when they let you see how your touch affected them, then you eventually figured out that you could do the same. That you could open up too.

That was new. And so unlike him. Aleks was a miracle worker.

He took out his phone.

2:15 pm. To: Aleks. Whatever you're doing, keep it up, he wrote enigmatically.

2:18 pm. From: Aleks. ? Building a paperclip octopus? Thanks, I'm pretty proud of this one myself.

A picture followed the text. Maks choked on laughter.

2:20 pm. To: Aleks. That's supposed to be an octopus? It looks more like an anchor.

2:20 pm. From: Aleks. How dare you.

2:21 pm. To: Aleks. What are you doing after school?

He put the phone on his thigh, clicking something carelessly on his computer to keep up appearances. He felt vibrations and looked down with a smile that immediately dropped off his face.

2:23 pm. From: Ewelina. When are you getting back from work? I have to do a little overtime, but I could come over after?

He felt a cold sweat running down his neck. No way. There was no fucking way he was not spending this evening with Aleks. The mere thought of not seeing him for a whole day made his eyes twitch. His phone vibrated again.

2:24 pm. From: Aleks. It depends. Are you going to nag me again?

He felt himself grinning, and suddenly it was a no-brainer.

2:26 pm. To: Ewelina. I'll probably have to stay longer too, and then I'm going to grab a beer with people from work. How about tomorrow?

So what that the only people from work he spoke to were his fifty-year-old boss, the IT guy with greasy hair who smelled like cheese puffs, and the girl from legal who he'd befriended earlier today but hadn't registered her name.

Tomorrow. Somehow he imagined that tomorrow everything would be different, that he would get his act together by then, and there wouldn't be a huge 'Aleks and I are fucking' caption on his forehead. If he wanted to make it as painless as possible, he needed to plan what to tell her first instead of putting a foot in his mouth and giving himself away.

2:27 pm. From: Aleks. I'm actually going to dinner. Wanna come?

2:27 pm. From: Ewelina. Ok, baby. Have fun xx

2:27 pm. To: Aleks. Sure. Where?

2:28 pm. From: Aleks. Pick me up at 5.

Now that sounded mysterious. Maks straightened up with determination, focusing his attention back on work. Two and a half hours left.

•~💥~•

He felt a bit like a creep parking in front of the high school building, seeing all these kids running through the main entrance like they couldn't wait to get away. He tried to convince himself that his sudden need to justify that he wasn't some pervert lurking among oblivious, innocent schoolboys was completely unwarranted. There were no children here for Christ's sake, only teenagers, and some of them were even adults. He decided not to ponder how adult eighteen-year-olds really were. He hoped they were, because he hadn't come to pick up a friend or a little brother. He'd come to pick up a guy he'd spent last night with, and he was doing his best not to think of said guy surrounded by this bunch. Sure, he used to call him a kid or a brat in his mind a lot, but honestly, he considered Aleks a man. He didn't belong here, and Maks definitely preferred to believe that last night he'd had sex with a man, not a boy. The latter seemed too fucked up to even contemplate.

His eyes searched the crowd. He'd parked a bit out of the way just in case Aleks didn't want anyone to see him, but it was of little use because a tall, pretty blond spotted him and had been staring at him for the last few minutes. And really staring, distinctly and intrusively, right through the windshield, until he started to fidget. Aleks soon appeared and rolled his eyes at her, then crossed the street and opened the passenger door with a gloomy expression.

"Sorry for Sonia. She needed to check you out," he explained.

Maks smirked at him, starting the engine. "A friend of yours?" he guessed.

Aleks shrugged. "More like the least irritating person in this pitiful place."

"So, where are we going?" Maks asked when they got out of the traffic.

"Praga," Aleks replied straight away. Of course. "Seventy-seven, Kordeckiego Street."

Maks reached out for his phone to set the GPS up.

"I'll direct you." Aleks stopped him smoothly.

Maks withdrew his hand, glancing at him curiously. "What's there?"

"You'll see," Aleks said enigmatically. "You were the one that wanted to come along," he added innocently.

•~💥~•

"My little turtledove!" an old lady shrieked after seeing them in the doorway. Maks kept himself from taking a cautious step back when she pounced on Aleks, who just laughed and returned the hug. She was almost a head shorter than him. She drew away to size him up. "You got bigger," she noted in surprise. "Still too skinny, though. Come on in!" she exclaimed, going back inside and clearly expecting them to follow. Aleks glanced at Maks over his shoulder and winked.

The living room was small and old-fashioned, full of furniture from PRL times. Maks was eyeing the old books, wood reliefs, and other knick-knacks on the wall unit curiously.

"Sit down," she ordered, grabbing Aleks' shoulders and plonking him on a chair, as if she were used to insubordination. She did it with surprising force for such a tiny, stooped old lady. Fortunately, she spared Maks.

Aleks crossed his legs immediately, clearly feeling right at home. "This is my friend, Maks," he introduced cheerfully. "And this is my grandma."

"So after so many years of me fussing that you should introduce some of your friends to me, you've finally decided to listen?" She wrinkled her nose in confusion, then her eyes fixed on Maks, and she spent a long moment scrutinizing him. "Maksymilian, isn't it?"

Maks nodded quickly, suddenly nervous. "Yes, nice to meet you."

She smiled at him, amused by his jumpy behavior, before turning around and heading out of the room. "Friends are all nice and well, but when are you going to bring a girl?" she yelled from the kitchen.

Aleks smirked. "Never!" he called back without a second thought.

Apparently, she decided not to grace it with an answer. Maks gave him a quizzical glance, to which Aleks just shrugged apologetically. She came back, carrying two plates so full with soup that Maks was astonished that she managed not to spill a single drop. "Eat," she ordered Aleks, then focused back on him. "So where did you come from, Maks?" she asked flat out. Maks opened his mouth, then closed it dumbly. "Where did you find him?" she repeated, this time addressing Aleks and looking at him expectantly.

"He just wandered up and stayed," Aleks said brightly with his mouth full.

Maks barely held back a snort and took the opportunity of not being targeted for the time being to try the soup. He admitted with good conscience that it was one of the best things he'd eaten lately, considering that he was a pretty good cook himself and that his parents loved dragging their children to all kinds of fancy restaurants.

"You can't get anything out of this one," Aleks' grandma complained, rolling her eyes, then fixing them back on Maks, who had spaced out a bit, too focused on the content of his plate. He knew now where Aleks got his eyes from. Hers were almost identical—wide, vivid, and perfectly conveying her attitude. His grandma must have been at least seventy, but her eyes were just as sharp and expressive as his. "I asked what you do," she repeated.

Maks opened his mouth, but Aleks was quicker. "He's a financial advisor," he announced with a shrug.

Maks shot him a dirty look. "Analyst," he corrected, pursing his lips. Aleks shrugged like he was saying 'whatever'.

"So you're telling people what they're supposed to do with their money?" Grandma asked skeptically. That wasn't what Maks actually did, but he decided to just let it go. "Maybe it's for the best. Otherwise, they would be spending it all on some nonsense," she added, for some reason looking significantly at Aleks, who bristled.

"I bought you meds," he reminded her dryly.

"That's what I'm talking about," she agreed, like he'd just proved her point. "You should invest in your future instead of keeping old, tired people alive. Speaking of, how is school?" She managed to sound almost strict.

Aleks fidgeted in his chair. "Oh, I was just there," he started with fake confidence. "It's... still there," he finished lamely, apparently having nothing else to say on the subject.

"I'm not amused," she emphasized, sounding pretty amused in spite of her words. "You know, I've already told all my friends about you going to the university—"

"I haven't even graduated yet," Aleks protested.

"I don't care. I've already sent you to the university. What was that?" She furrowed her eyebrows quizzically.

"Psychology," Aleks muttered in resignation.

"Right, I knew it had something to do with crazy people." She nodded to herself. "Well, I'm telling you you're going to get your diploma to deal with crazy people, but you need to get your priorities straight first and not get distracted. Tell him, Maks," she demanded suddenly. "You must have had to work hard to be where you are right now. And you're an advisor, so advise him."

Maks narrowed his eyes at Aleks, glancing at his grandma from the corner of his eye. She seemed pretty laid-back, and he had only one general recommendation for Aleks. "Don't do stupid shit," he advised helpfully. Aleks choked on the soup.

"Now that's some excellent customer service." Aleks' grandma giggled with exaggerated approval, then leaned in to Maks. "You're going places, son," she said in a stage whisper, pointing her finger at him. Maks was pretty sure she was taking the piss out of him, but he still appreciated it. She took an empty plate from under his nose and marched back to the kitchen.

Aleks glanced at him from under his eyelashes, grinning like mad, and Maks stared at him adoringly for a minute or so before quickly averting his eyes when Aleks' grandma came back to the living room.

"You see, Maks," she started purposefully, placing another plate in front of him. "Most of my turtledove's friends are idiots—"

"You've just complained that I've never introduced you to anyone," Aleks protested, cutting in. He was immediately pierced by a glare.

"It doesn't mean that I don't know them," he emphasized disapprovingly. "That's why I need you to go to college and stop surrounding yourself with idiots. Listen to Maks. He doesn't seem like an idiot," she added sensibly. "Or you're going to end up like—"

Aleks rolled his eyes. "Leave Kostek alone," he muttered, like he'd heard it a hundred times before.

"But it's true. After all, he has a good head on his shoulders too. He could do something for himself, but it's all about bros and that bimbo of his. And dumb as a box of rocks," she added under her breath. Aleks snorted loudly. "Am I wrong?" She challenged him.

"I am Switzerland," he deadpanned diplomatically.

"Don't you even think of finding yourself such a stupid girl, turtledove," she warned him.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about it," Aleks assured her smoothly. Maks smirked to himself.

"You would break my heart," she continued, like she hadn't even heard him. "There's nothing worse than a stupid girl. But you also need to grow up and get yourself together eventually. You can't just live and breathe that strange music of yours and cars, and..." she broke off suddenly. "You just can't," she finished grouchily. "Do you want some seconds?" she asked Maks much more kindly.

"No, thank you," he said, straightening up automatically. "It was all delicious," he added, because it was true, but also because there was something in this woman that made him not want to end up on her shitlist.

An hour later, Maks had already said goodbye and was waiting in the hallway for Aleks, who had been being hugged for the last five minutes. He made her promise to call him if she needed anything, which she did reluctantly. Maks couldn't help but smile when he watched Aleks with this perky old lady, trying to use his snark to cover up the clear adoration he had in his eyes whenever he looked at her. Maks pushed the elevator button and waited for Aleks to join him before they silently got inside. This whole afternoon had raised his spirits so much that he still couldn't force himself to stop smiling. He barely remembered his own grandmas, so he hadn't known that grandmas were so heartwarming.

"Sorry about that," Aleks finally said, looking pretty happy in spite of his words.

"I love your grandma," Maks confessed simply.

"She's my great-grandma, actually," Aleks corrected him.

Maks did a double take. "She's your great-grandma?" he marveled.

"Yup," Aleks confirmed. "She raised my dad," he added randomly.

That was the first Maks heard about his dad, even though he was constantly bitching about his own. He'd never said a word about his mom, either. Up until meeting grandma, he could have just as well suspected that he and Kostek had popped out of thin air. "Do you live somewhere around here?" he asked cautiously when the elevator went down.

"Yeah, two floors below," Aleks said blankly.

Maks blinked. "Seriously? You don't want to... stop by to say 'hi' or..." he broke off hesitantly.

"Not really," Aleks shrugged, trying to look anywhere but at him. "Nothing to see there," he added flatly.

Maks felt a stab of worry and growing uneasiness, but he didn't know what he could possibly say to that, so he just reached out to put his hand on the back of his neck in a way that he hoped was comforting. Aleks jumped out of his skin, grabbing his wrist abruptly and pushing it away.

"Not here," he hissed.

Maks took a step back without thought until they were standing as far from each other as it was possible in a small elevator. Right. It was Praga after all, and Aleks might be pretty comfortable about his sexuality, but he clearly didn't lack common sense either. Maks' hand fell limply at the exact same moment the elevator door opened.

"Okay, turtledove," he whispered amicably, letting him through first and unable to hold back a teasing smirk. Just as he expected, he was instantly pinned down by a death glare before Aleks passed him haughtily, clearly deciding to pretend that he hadn't even heard that.

•~💥~•

Maks loved sleeping in. He even liked waking up every once in a while only to discover that he didn't have to get up yet and that he had so many hours of sleep left. When he first stirred around six a.m., it sank in on him that it was the first of May, which was a holiday, so he smiled to himself, nestled his face back in the shoulder that served as his pillow, and happily went back to sleep. The second time he woke up, it was around eight. He spent a few minutes basking in the fact that he could be as lazy as he wanted before yawning and snuggling up to something that was way too fluffy. He frowned and opened his eyes reluctantly, then raised his head, rubbing his eyes dozily.

Damn Aleks was ruining his sleep! Or rather, it was his being an early riser, hence his absence from Maks' bed, that was ruining it.

He glared at the pillow like it was its fault before deciding to at least try to nap some more, because it wasn't that he couldn't sleep without him. He just didn't like to. The moment he closed his eyes again, he heard a loud bang that sounded suspiciously like pots and pans falling out of the cupboard. "Aleks," he moaned, wondering if he would even hear him from the kitchen.

Apparently he did, because not a minute later, his disheveled head appeared at the door. "Sorry," he whispered, biting his lip apologetically like it made up for the noise.

Maks reached out blindly. "What are you doing?" he grumbled, waving his hands. "Come back here," he demanded.

Aleks rolled his eyes, but he came closer dutifully and got onto the bed. "I'm making breakfast. And coffee, because I know how to use the coffee machine," he informed him proudly, looming over him.

"My little genius," Maks muttered tenderly, pulling him closer.

Aleks broke the kiss off after a minute or so and moved his mouth to Maks' ear. "Happy birthday," he breathed.

Maks grinned, then grabbed his waist and turned them around. Before Aleks realized what was happening, he was flat on his back, serving as a pillow again. "Let's go back to sleep," Maks murmured, sounding like he was dozing already.

Aleks shook his head in disbelief. "I don't wanna," he whined, shaking him. "You get up and start doing something—"

"It's my birthday. I'm not going to get up at eight a.m. on my birthday," Maks scoffed, proving that he was still awake but clearly not willing to move.

Aleks pouted for a minute, immobilized and already bored. "Do you know how many cool things we could be doing right now?" he asked rhetorically, annoyed that Maks had the nerve to ignore him. "We could be eating the amazingly fancy breakfast I've prepared just for you." He waited for a moment for any sign of enthusiasm. There were none. "We could make fun of your age?" he suggested mildly. Maks kept playing dead. "We could have sex?" he added, hopefully. Still nothing. He let out a long-suffering sigh.

"We'll have sex later. Shut up and go to sleep, turtledove," Maks mumbled, completely unfazed but unable to hold back a small smile.

"Try calling me that one more time," Aleks started grimly.

"Yeah?" Maks asked, going so far as opening his eyes and looking annoyingly smug. "What are you going to do?"

Aleks brushed his question off with an angry silence because he had nothing to threaten him with, and Maks was well aware of that. "How about you go back to sleep, and I'll go trash your kitchen some more?" he suggested casually.

He didn't get a reply and was going to move on to his next strategy, which was diverting his attention and sneaking out of his embrace, when Maks decided to speak up. "No."

That was all, 'no'. How was Aleks even supposed to bargain with it? "Why?" he asked flatly.

"I don't like to sleep without you," Maks mumbled into his shoulder.

Aleks opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it, feeling his lips stretching. When put like that, then okay, he was ready to lie here for the rest of the day, bored to tears. He closed his eyes, even though he had no chance of falling back asleep at this hour, but he nuzzled Maks' hair, deciding that he could as well stay here with him instead of making breakfast if that was what Maks wanted. It was his birthday after all, so he wrapped his arms around him, enjoying the lazy coziness.

And they would probably be napping, or in Aleks' case, just slacking off until noon, if his phone didn't ring not long after. He reached out to the bedside table reluctantly. Maks protested faintly.

"Hello?" He spent a long moment listening to the person on the other end before picking himself up slowly. Maks' arm, which was still wrapped around him, fell limply on the bed. "Sure, I'll be there. I'm on my way," Aleks said without hesitation. Maks frowned, watching him from the corner of his eye. "Okay," he added curtly, jumping from the bed and tossing his phone aside.

"Who was that?" Maks asked, getting to a sitting position and looking at him gloomily.

Aleks paused in the middle of putting his pants on, shooting him a significant glance.

"Partyka?" Maks figured, lowering his voice. Of course, he was the one responsible for ruining their morning. Maks didn't know anything about that guy except that his timing really sucked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know anything more. "What does he want?" he asked tersely.

Aleks made an unclear gesture between shrugging and shaking his head.

"You don't even know what you're going there for?" he asked disbelievingly.

"He won't say anything on the phone." Aleks dismissed it lightly.

Maks pressed his lips tightly. "Do you have to always be at his beck and call?" he grunted, not even trying to hide his displeasure.

Aleks rolled his eyes. "He's my boss," he said plainly, like it explained it, tired of having the same conversation for the hundredth time.

"In a normal job, the boss doesn't call you at eight in the morning on the weekend and demand you drop everything and run to him without even knowing why," Maks remarked, sounding more and more pissed with every second.

"Yeah, and I can see how much you enjoy your normal job," Aleks sneered, now fully dressed, before looking up and hesitating because he didn't want to argue with him on his birthday. He didn't want to argue with him at all. He opened his mouth to apologize and explain that it was out of his hands, but Maks was quicker.

"At least it lets me spend the morning with you on a day off," he shot back. "But you always have to go, because Partyka always wants something, and there are going to be people here later, and we won't be able to..." he broke off, sighing and rubbing his face tiredly.

"People, meaning Ewelina," Aleks picked up, changing his mind about arguing in a flash. "So when it's your girlfriend that gets in our way, it's all fine and dandy, but when it's my boss—"

"Hey, Ewelina and Partyka are not the same thing." Maks cut him off sharply.

"Of course not. I'm not fucking him," Aleks mocked.

"Well, I'm not fucking her either," Maks bridled tetchily.

"Now that's just sad. What are you with her for, her charming personality?" Aleks taunted.

Maks scowled. "Don't ask stupid questions—"

"Besides, I know for a fact that you do," Aleks added, interrupting him and crossing his arms.

Maks had known he was going to rub it in his face. "It was one time!" he snapped defensively.

"Said by many others before you," Aleks scoffed and then shrugged, trying to appear impassive. "Anyway, it's fine. It's not like we're exclusive or anything. You can fuck whoever you want," he added brutally.

Maks' eyes widened. "We aren't?" he asked in confusion.

Aleks looked at him like he was an idiot. "You're kind of engaged to someone else," he pointed out.

Maks rolled his eyes. "I told you I'm going to dump her after my birthday. Can't we consider her gone already?"

"Not until she's aware of it," Aleks stated, ending the discussion and intending to just turn around and leave before something worse was said.

"At least me fucking her is not life-threatening." Maks dropped a bombshell in a harsh tone.

Aleks felt his shoulders hunching. "I wouldn't bet on it," he muttered bitterly, grabbing his hoodie and walking out of the bedroom. "I'll see you at your party!" he called from the hallway.

Maks heard the front door slamming and fell back into bed in surrender, feeling the will to live evaporating from his body. Now there was no fucking point in getting up anyway, but he couldn't go back to sleep. Sometimes he wished that Aleks had kept him completely in the dark instead of giving him scraps of information here and there and letting him put it together in his head, because this way every time Aleks left, a paralyzing fear ate him up inside that it might be the time something went wrong.

Why did this happy bubble inside him always have to burst when he least expected it?