Chapter Text
It was the start of fall, which Alex wasn’t particularly happy about, but only because it meant the end of summer, warm weather, and days at the beach. Other than that, the changing seasons didn’t mean much to him. He’d long since given up his dream of playing professional gridball but had found other odd jobs that had kept him busy the last couple of years - helping out with summer gridball camp at his old high school, helping Mayor Lewis with product pickups during busy seasons, and anything else he could take on while still watching over his grandparents. It gave him the flexibility he needed to take care of them and the house but still contribute. Just the day before, he had helped his grandmother redecorate the town square with fall foliage, hay bales, and other fall decorations. It really shouldn’t fall to her to do all that, but he knew she enjoyed it so he didn’t say anything and just helped as needed.
As he sat down for breakfast, Granny Evelyn seemed to have the same thing on her mind. “Alex dear, thank you for helping with the square change over yesterday; it is always so much more enjoyable when we do it together. I made you a complete breakfast this morning; I know you love your big breakfasts,” she said as she set the plate piled with eggs, pancakes, and hashbrowns in front of him.
“No problem, Granny. You know I’m always here to help,” he smiled before cutting a big piece of pancake and shoving it into his mouth. Granny brought her own smaller plate to the table but seemed to be lost in thought so Alex prompted her, “Is something wrong? Was there something we forgot to do yesterday?”
“Oh, no no. Everything turned out beautifully…I was just thinking about what a nice young man Robin’s boy is,” Granny answered.
“You mean Sebastian?” Alex clarified.
“Yes, dear. It was so nice for him to stop and help us yesterday, and he was so respectful too,” she added.
Alex thought for a moment. Sebastian had taken time out of his day to unexpectedly help them, and while he was on the other side of the square, it was pretty quiet in town so he could still hear some of their conversations and knew he had been a big help to Granny.
Granny Evelyn was looking at a stack of hay bales that Alex had set up earlier in the day, contemplating if they should be centered to leave more room for the pumpkins and gourds she wanted to include in the scene. Alex was on the other side of the square, setting up dried corn stalks near Harvey’s Clinic. She turned to head his way just as Sebastian was coming up the path, coming from the direction of Sam’s house, hands in his hoodie pocket, eyes to the ground.
“Oh, Sebastian, would you be a dear and help me with these?” Granny called as he passed. He jolted a little at the sound of her voice, hesitated, then stopped and turned to her. He was in a bit of a hurry, needing to finish up some work, but no one can say no to Granny Evelyn.
“Sure, ma’am, what can I help you with?” he offered. Her eyes lit up and for the next hour she directed him in moving decorations and pumpkins, assisting in planting fall flowers, and tying fall ribbons on the trees and benches. Miraculously, he did it all with a small smile on his face and none of his usual glowering or sarcastic remarks. When they had finally finished, Granny gave him a pat on the arm.
“Thank you dear. I could have waited for Alex to help, but he’s working on the other side of the square there,” she gestured to Alex, who was working on his own ribbons on some fencing, “so it would have taken us so much longer without you. Would you like to come by the house for some juice and cookies? You must be famished after all of this hard work,” she asked.
“Thank you for the offer, Ms. Evelyn, but I do need to be getting home now; I have some work I need to finish today, but I’m glad I was able to help,” he answered.
“Oh of course, I didn’t mean to keep you from important business, go on then,” she shooed him away. He gave a short chuckle and said goodbye, heading through the square and back up towards the mountain.
Alex shook his head at the memory. Sebastian wasn’t really one to be known to be a big helper or be involved in town festivals or activities, but then, if Alex really thought about it, even though they had lived in the same town for going on 20 years, he didn’t really know Sebastian well at all. He could probably count on one hand the number of times they’d spoken since they’d graduated high school 4 years prior and none of those had been any sort of in depth conversation.
“Yeah, it was nice of him to help,” Alex finally said, and just left it at that.
“I want to have him over for dinner as a thank you,” she countered.
“What?!” he asked, surprised, although he really shouldn’t have been, knowing Granny’s propensity to want to feed and take care of everyone she came across.
“He was in a hurry to get home yesterday and couldn’t come to visit with us after we finished. I’d like to thank him for his help and talk with him a little. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a full conversation with him, apart from yesterday, and that just doesn’t sit right,” she explained. “Can you call him and invite him over for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Granny, Sebastian and I aren’t really friends; I don’t have his phone number or anything,” he explained.
“Well, perhaps you should be, I think that you’re just about the same age, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes but you know I mostly hang out with Haley and he’s friends with Sam and Abigail, and I don’t think we really have anything in common..” he rambled but was cut off.
“Oh, shush now, Alex. He’s a nice boy, and you could do well to talk more with people your own age. You know I love Haley, but you’re always cooped up here with us old folks. It wouldn’t hurt to get to know some of the other young people in town better,” she insisted.
Great, Alex thought, I’ve got my grandmother trying to set me up on playdates like I’m still 5 years old, new to Pelican Town.
“Now why don’t you go ahead and call Robin’s shop number instead and ask her to put Sebastian on the line?”
Alex let out a long breath but got up to call. He definitely wasn’t happy about it, but he couldn’t say no to Granny on something like this. He’d just have to deal with the awkwardness of a dinner with the town’s quietest resident, if Sebastian did end up agreeing to dinner. He found Robin’s business number in his grandmother’s address book near the phone and dialed but only got the answering machine with the business hours and pricing guide. He hung up and tried again but got the same.
“Looks like they aren’t home,” he said as he turned back to his grandmother.
“Nonsense, everyone knows that Robin is closed on Tuesdays, not Thursdays. Why don’t you go on up to their house and just talk to him in person then instead?” she suggested. He just stared at her for a moment, contemplating how he could get out of this. Talking to him on the phone would have been weird enough, but he really didn’t want to have this conversation in person. He opened his mouth to argue but seeing the stern look on her face, he instead just nodded and turned to go back to his room to get dressed.
Twenty minutes later, as he made his way past the community center and up the mountain path, he thought about his interactions with Sebastian in the past, and wondered if his helping Granny yesterday had really been that out of character. Sure, he and Sebastian weren’t friends but they weren’t enemies or anything either. They’d acknowledge each other when needed but that was about it. They’d been partnered up for a science project their junior year of high school, and Sebastian had done his part and actually seemed pretty smart and attentive to the schoolwork. Alex remembered that Sebastian had gotten into a heated discussion with their teacher when they got to the frog dissection unit so he’d been given a fish instead so he clearly had some convictions. He also remembered an evening maybe a year ago when he’d gone out to talk to Dusty and had seen Sebastian and Abigail sitting on one of the benches near the Saloon. She was clearly upset; Alex could hear her quiet sobs, but Sebastian had just held her against his chest and comforted her. They’d made quick eye contact, and Alex had turned around and went back inside, not wanting to intrude, but from what he saw, Sebastian clearly cared about his friends. He was definitely sarcastic and cutting when he wanted to be and definitely quiet and contemplative a lot of the time but there wasn’t really anything wrong with that; he just seemed to fit his emo aesthetic, but he also seemed like a good guy. By the time he’d reached their home in the mountains, he was feeling a little better about the potential of having to spend a night trying to make conversation with him.
He went to open the front door, which led into Robin’s shop, but the door was locked. He looked up and saw a sign taped to the door saying that Robin had gone out of town and the shop would be closed today. Alex let out a deep sigh at wasting his time to come all the way up the mountain and decided to knock on the off chance that Maru or Sebastian were still home. He knocked loudly a couple of times before the door finally opened.
“Can I help you?” Maru asked, looking at Alex pointedly. She had a twisted piece of metal in one hand and a small blowtorch in the other. It seemed he had interrupted her work…or something.
“Oh, uh, umm….is Sebastian home?” he asked, in a high voice, reflecting his surprise at how intimidating she was.
Her eyes flicked over him before answering, “You want to talk to Sebastian?”
“Umm, yes?” he confirmed but it definitely came out sounding like a question.
“Hmm, well I don’t actually know if he’s here since his door is always closed, but I’ll check. Do you want to come in to wait for him?”
"Yeah sure,” he answered as she stepped back and let him come inside. He closed the door behind himself and stood near the front desk while he waited.
Maru walked over to a set of stairs leading to the basement and yelled down, “Sebastian, come up here!” After a half minute of silence she yelled again, “Seb! You need to come upstairs!” She must have heard noise because she turned back to Alex, “I hear signs of life. He should be up in a minute,” then she walked away back down the hall to her room before he could answer. Maybe everyone in this family was just a little abrupt all the time; although he couldn’t recall Robin ever being like that.
“Ok, then,” Alex muttered quietly to himself, cursing Granny (but not really) for putting him in this situation. He heard the basement door open and footsteps coming up the stairs. Sebastian emerged from the basement, and Alex was immediately dumbstruck, all thought leaving his brain in order to fully take in the picture in front of him.
Sebastian was wearing a pair of black sweatpants that sat low on his hips and that was it. His black side cut hair was a little disheveled, like he’s just gotten up or had been running his hands through it. His pale torso was on full display; he was slender but not scrawny with a slim waist leading to fuller hips, and Alex could see slight definition in his arms, chest, and stomach. Nothing like Alex’s own 6-pack that he worked hard for, but just enough to be noticeable and in a way that perfectly suited his frame. He, surprisingly, also had a tattoo on his chest, right over his heart. It was a window that looked out onto a mountain lake scene. Sebastian stepped out into the lobby area and raised an arm, running his hand through the long side of his hair, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Alex was mouth open staring and couldn’t form a single thought other than “why the hell does Sebastian keep this covered up by all those big hoodies he always wears.” His pants slipped a little further down with the movement of his body, and Alex’s eyes were drawn to the small trail of hair leading from under his navel into the waistband of his sweatpants.
He vaguely heard what sounded like someone talking but was too transfixed by the sight to pay much attention until he heard a throat clearing. At the sound, he looked up sharply to Sebastian’s face; he was looking at Alex with a small smirk and raised eyebrow.
“Oh, uhh, sorry what was that?” Alex asked, still trying to get his bearings.
“I just asked what’s up?” Sebastian answered, cocking his head to the side. He was surprised to see Alex standing in his house and not Maru like he expected so was initially a little embarrassed that he hadn’t thought to throw a shirt on before coming upstairs, but seeing Alex’s reaction - gridball-loving, straight-laced Alex - blatantly checking him out was interesting to say the least.
Alex shook his head a little to try to settle himself, which was hard with Sebastian standing half naked in front of him still but he attempted to push through. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” his eyes drifted downward again towards his navel before shooting back up again. He looked around wildly for a minute, cheeks on fire, trying to come up with an excuse for his behavior. “Umm, I didn’t know you had a tattoo…you always wear a shirt at the beach…” Why had he said that? Now Sebastian was going to think he’d been looking him at the beach too. This was turning into a disaster.
Sebastian let out a short chuckle, “Oh yeah, I mean, look at me. I’m pretty much white as a ghost; I burn practically the moment I step outside so I kind of have to do that…but yeah, I got it right after graduation. Kind of a gift to myself for surviving all the bullshit of growing up, you know?”
“Oh yeah, I get that,” Alex stepped a little closer to get a better look, “it looks kind of like the lake up here by your house, right?”
“Yeah, for as much as I complain about living in the Valley, there are some parts I do like. The lake is my favorite place. I live in the basement and I don’t have any windows so this,” he gestured to his chest, “is what I imagine it’d look like if I did and could look out at the lake anytime I wanted to,” he explained. Sebastian normally wasn’t so chatty but he’d take any opportunity to talk about his ink since barely anyone ever saw it.
“Oh, wow. That’s really cool, and it is really beautiful. I don’t know that I could handle getting something like that,” Alex added.
“Thanks, but hey, not that I don’t like having this impromptu reunion or whatever, but I was in the middle of doing some work so…was there something you needed?” Sebastian asked.
“Oh yeah, right. So my Granny would like to invite you to dinner at our house tomorrow night as a thank you for your help decorating the square yesterday,” Alex explained.
“Oh. That’s really not necessary. I was happy to help,” Sebastian answered shortly, surprised, and more than a little uncomfortable with the idea. He’d gotten more comfortable being around and speaking to people over the past few years - a byproduct of working with coding clients - but that didn’t mean he wanted to spend potentially hours with three people he barely knew making small talk.
“Yeah, I figured that’s what you’d say, but she really wants to have you over. I know we’ve never been like friends or whatever, but it would really mean a lot to her and would help me out. If I go back and say you can’t come, I’ll never hear the end of it. I just know Granny will say that I didn’t try hard enough to convince you,” Alex said with a small smile. Sebastian just stared at him for a few moments before letting out a dramatic sigh.
“Tomorrow, you said?” he clarified. Alex responded with a nod, “Well, I usually meet up with Sam and Abby at the Saloon on Friday nights, and I don’t want to bail on them. So would we be able to do it earlier, like around 5, so that I could still meet up with them after?”
Alex thought for a moment, then answered, “I’m sure that’s fine, dude. That’s our usual time anyway; my grandparents are getting pretty old so it’s usually early dinner and early to bed for them, ya know?”
“Ok. Well I guess I’ll see you then. Tomorrow at 5,” Sebastian said as he started inching back toward the entrance to the stairs. He really was over his quota for neighborly conversation at this point and wanted to get back to his work.
“Ok, yeah. See you tomorrow,” Alex responded. Sebastian started to turn to go back down the stairs but then Alex called out, “Oh wait! Do you have any favorite foods? I forgot I was supposed to ask so Granny knows what to cook.”
“Oh, anything is fine,” Sebastian answered. Alex just gave him a look, and Sebastian relented. “Ok, let me think for a second then…” He couldn’t see Granny Evelyn and Grandpa George, or even Alex for that matter, enjoying Sashimi, but then an idea hit him. “Does your grandmother know how to make pumpkin soup?” he asked, a slight blush rising in his cheeks.
“I would guess so,” Alex answered, slightly perplexed as to why the question seemingly embarrassed Sebastian.
“Ok well, it’s one of my favorites so that would be cool, but it’s not a big deal if she can’t. Like I said, anything is fine. Oh, and maybe some cookies. She always makes the best cookies for festivals,” he added on.
“Sounds good, man. I’m sure she’ll be happy to do that. And thanks for saying yes. Like I said, it means a lot to my grandma so I appreciate it.”
“No problem, but I really do need to get back to work now though so… I’ll see you then,” Sebastian said as he turned again to head back down the stairs.
“See you then,” Alex answered quietly, once again distracted, this time by Sebastian’s smooth back leading down to flared hips and a full ass barely contained by the sweatpants that were still riding low on his hips. Sebastian gave a quick glance back before descending the stairs, chuckling to himself as he made his way back down (which Alex didn’t even register being too busy staring at his ass to notice).
Once Sebastian was out of sight, Alex rubbed his hands over his face and let out a long breath before letting himself out of the house and preparing to make his way back down the mountain trail. He glanced to his left and decided to take a small detour to the mountain lake before going home. Standing on the shore, watching the water gently rippling, he contemplated this strange turn of events. When had Sebastian gotten so hot? Ok, he could admit to himself that Sebastian had always been a good looking guy. Actually, he had a very pretty face and even in his normal attire of baggy hoodies and skinny jeans, you could tell he had a nice shape to him. Alex begrudgingly admitted to himself that this was not the first time he had taken notice of his ass in particular, but Yoba damn it, what was he supposed to do when Sebastian was always wearing those tight pants. It was practically impossible not to look! Beyond that, it seemed like Sebastian had mellowed into a really cool guy in the years since school. Yeah, it still seemed like he wasn’t particularly chatty or psyched to be talking to him, but it was much better than before when you could barely pull a few words out of him just to finish schoolwork. And he was interesting to talk to; maybe they wouldn’t have a ton in common but at least they could hold a conversation.
Maybe this dinner wouldn’t be so awkward after all, but then again…he thought back over the interaction they’d had, and Alex just now registered Sebastian’s parting smirk as he went back downstairs. Oh no. He definitely caught Alex staring but then he wasn’t exactly being subtle about it. He could pass off the initial interest by clumsily making it about his tattoo, but there was no mistaking Alex’s clear interest in his backside. Alex wasn’t what you would call “out” either. Only one person actually knew he was gay, although he surmised that his granny at least suspected, and he definitely needed some advice now.
He pulled out his phone and dialed as he turned and started back down the mountain path. “Haley…I think I have a crush.”