Disclaimer: Both the guys belong to Marvel. <sings> I can't get no bloody money. </sings> Minimal, smutty-stuff. Okay, none. But don't tell anyone or those hard-core slashers'll take my name of their christmas card lists.
For, as always, Diamonde (for making me think mooky). And Kaylee Jaya (for suggesting balloons). And Poi Lass (for pointing out problems). And Kael (for chanting). Damn you. Damn you all.
This story is a sequel to "When the Sun Rose."

Humming the Same Song
by Mel

It seemed that the entire night had been forgotten. Bobby wheezed, and waited to get his breath back. Not that he was completely upset that the night, That Night was going to be forgotten. A lot of things had happened That Night, and he wasn't positive that all of it had been a good idea. He gasped a bit longer. Maybe a bit of selective amnesia, something that wiped out everything from when he'd stopped the car to when he'd accidentally stood in Alex's vomit the next morning was a good thing. It'd be better if it included that last little bit even.

He slapped his forehead. So why was he even now considering all the possible benefits of chasing Alex into a corner and giving him a huge hug. And a scorching kiss. And ... but then things tended to get lewd. Bobby was a nice-guy. He didn't think in 'lewd'.

He didn't used to think in lewd nearly this much, anyway.

Bobby sighed and took a deep breath. He picked up another balloon, gave it the traditional stretch and then started blowing it up.

He was still blowing up balloons half an hour later when the door opened. He looked up, and when he saw it wasn't Hank let the air out of the balloon he was currently blowing up in relief. The fact that it was Alex, and the current sexy-blond object of his lust-fantasies meant the air went straight back into his mouth, choking him.

Alex stood in the doorway and stared. The room was bulging with balloons. Long, fat, swollen, all the colours of a plastic rainbow balloons rolled and swayed in every corner of the room. And Bobby sat in the middle of all of these, his face puce and distorted as he tried to catch his breath.

"Close the door!" Bobby gasped between gulps of air.

Obediently Alex did as ordered, then walked over to thump Bobby on the back, kicking a few strays out of the way. "What are you doing?" he asked in tones of barely suppressed laughter.

Bobby managed to start breathing again. "Blowing up balloons," he offered, nonchalantly.

Alex opened his eyes wide and gazed around him. "Really? I thought you were letting the air out." He paused. "Why are you blowing up balloons?"

"It's better than cold showers," Bobby said, then blushed furiously. "Actually, it's Hank's birthday."

"So you need cold showers?" Alex asked, betraying nothing but curiosity.

"No!" Bobby frowned. He was good at banter. What was going wrong here? "Hank's having a surprise birthday party tonight. I'm doing the balloons."

Alex nodded wisely. "So I see. And the reason that there are so many of them would be..."

Bobby groaned. "Because I'm an idiot who used to think bigger was better. I assure you, though, bigger is a lot of bother." He grinned broadly, unable to resist the opening. "Small and skilfully used is much better."

Alex nodded solemnly. "The trick is in the skill. You don't think that enthusiasm could compensate?"

"That's what I was hoping for." Bobby was positive that Alex wasn't talking in innuendo. No, he couldn't be.

Alex paused. He leaned over to the wall and gently bumped his head against it, then slid down to sit next to Bobby. Without another word he reached for one of the balloons and started blowing it up.

Bobby stared at him. "What was that about?"

Alex paused between breaths. "Oh, a typical 'I'm screwing up the first time I ever try to chat up a guy' fit." He went back to the balloon.

Bobby decided that he would have to think about that, so re-blew up the balloon he'd started before Alex came into the room.

minute or two later as Bobby tied up a balloon he said thoughtfully, "So, you were trying to chat me up?"

Alex took a few more breaths before replying. "Kinda."

Alex hadn't treated That Night like it had never happened. On the other hand, he figured that he'd better think about this seriously. It could be very serious to get involved with a team-mate at all. And he'd never really even considered Bobby in that light ever before either. That was the rational part of his thinking. His not-so-rational part kept chanting *I wannanother KISS, I wannanother KISS!* when he was trying to get to sleep. That made the rational thinking part of him annoyed. Then he'd noticed that Bobby wasn't doing anything. After a few minutes panic about Bobby being put off by standing in his vomit, he'd dragged rational thought into the issue. It very nicely pointed out that while Bobby had probably not enjoyed the spew bit, Bobby had also been a gentleman (something, rational thought editorialised, that he hadn't had often in partners) and perhaps Bobby thought that he had changed his mind. And could lust please stop subverting rational thought into thinking that this was a viable option?

So, he'd watched Bobby. He was really, even rational thought had had to admit, a pretty cool guy. Now he was paying attention, he noticed lot of things about Bobby. Things like the way that Bobby could diffuse a tense personality clash almost without thought, and no one ever noticed. Or the way that everyone, and that was absolutely everyone, let go a little tension when they were with Bobby. Even people who were irritated by him relaxed in his presence. Then rational thought had surprised him by saying loudly 'I have to get me some of that!'. Lust had nodded furiously, 'oh, yeah man' and continued staring at Bobby's butt. All of which was remarkably easy to do. He had never really thought about this stuff all that much, except in the vaguest possible terms, but apparently he really didn't have any problems with this whole I-like-guys concept. Which was wonderful, but not very helpful.

So here he was, screwing it up still. He would have heaved a huge sigh, but all his breath was going into the damn balloon.

Bobby thought furiously. Alex was kinda trying to chat him up. Now that could mean a number of things. It could mean that he's trying to chat you up! some small part of him yelled. He ignored it as best he was able.

Here was a guy who wanted him, who knew him pretty well. They'd never been great friends. Which was ... unsurprising. In the last few days he'd been totally blunt with himself. It was one thing to be the class clown, but it was another thing entirely to see someone else so close in position to yourself try something else and still fail. And to be able to see in Alex someone who was, very possibly, what he should have been had been sometimes frightening. Then time had passed and they'd never talked.

Something had changed since Alex had come back from wherever it was he'd been. He'd grown more thoughtful. He considered things so much. Suddenly a linchpin in his life had gone, even if that linchpin had irritated the hell out of him. Bobby himself couldn't be a leader if he did a degree in it at college, but he could see it in others. Alex had it in spades. He had the ability to recognise other people's skills, and to organise them into a cogent whole, what was more, he was very able to laugh at himself if things went wrong.

In short, it wasn't only Alex's cute butt he lusted after.

So. Now Alex was trying to chat him up.

Bobby took a break from blowing up he balloons. "I could help, if you like."

Alex blinked at him, and held the mouth of his balloon between his fingers. "Help me?"

"Chat guys up." Bobby bit his lip thoughtfully. "It's not too different than chatting up women."

Alex put the last breath into the balloon and tied it up. He wanted to focus on what Bobby was saying. "Really?"

"Yup. Only one thing to remember." Bobby waved one finger in the air to emphasis the point.

Alex sat forward, head tilted in an eagerness to learn. "And that is?"

"Guys are almost always after sex." Bobby nodded in agreement to what he'd just said. "Remember that, and everything else should be easy."

Alex thought about that for a moment. "So you think that if I said, say, I find you extremely sexy, that would work?"

Bobby reached out a hand to cup Alex's face. "If you manage to look that earnest, I'd say it'll work most of the time."

Leaning into that hand, Alex smiled. "What would you do then?" He looked at Bobby from under heavy eyelids.

Bobby considered this. "Hmm .. I guess it would depend. If you were feeling uninhibited, you might try a little touch. Or even," he leaned forward and lightly kissed first Alex's brow, "you might" then the tip of his nose, "try a gentle" then hovered just barely away from Alex's lips, "kiss."

It was Alex that bridged that tiny gap. The kiss started hot and by the time it ended it burned. Bobby rested his forehead on Alex's.

"I hope to god you mean that, Alex."

Alex smiled. "I do."

Bobby sighed happily. "Good. 'cause otherwise I was going to have to spend the rest of the week iced-up."

Alex couldn't hold back a laugh at that. He collapsed against Bobby, his face pressed against Bobby's neck, his arm going around Bobby to support himself.

Bobby mock-frowned as he pushed Alex away. "This isn't any laughing matter, you know. You can't imagine what it's like to be hard that long," he remonstrated, as his hands smoothed down Alex's body. He hooked his fingers into the top of Alex's trousers and undid the button. "It really isn't funny," he added, pulling down the fly.

Alex wasn't laughing either anymore. Bobby noticed this and smiled as he leaned down.

Alex lay curled up in Bobby's arms, his imagination and rational thought both neatly blown away, which was a rather pathetic pun, now he thought about it. On the other hand, he was very comfortable, so he wasn't going to object. Bobby hummed, a rather cheerful if not terribly in tune song. Suddenly he stopped.

"Oh no."

Alex sat up. "What?"

"Oh no, oh no!" Bobby repeated.

Alex frowned, suddenly worried. "Oh no what?"

Bobby looked grabbed Alex's hand and stared into his eyes earnestly. "This means I'm going to have to resign as president of SCSA."

Alex felt himself fall deeper, both for Bobby and into confusion. "The what? Why?"

"The Society for the Classification of Summers's as Aliens," Bobby said, his face still deathly worried. "I mean, Hank's gonna be cool with it, 'cause he's always cool, but if we had any other members they'd insist I resign."

Alex felt his face break into an incredulous grin. "What's so bad about being a Summers?"

Bobby shook his head sadly. "Well, see, you'd never get it." He rolled his eyes sadly. "You know what it means now we just did that?" He leaned forward and kissed Alex quickly, unable to resist the enchanting look on his face.

Alex shrugged. "Hank's going to have less balloons at his party?"

Bobby looked around them in concern. "Oh. Aside from that. It means," he paused significantly. "It means that I'm going to have to angst about my love life for years."

Alex blinked, still confused. "Huh? Why?"

Bobby sighed in overt resignation at Alex's slowness. "Because I did IT with a Summers. There's rules about these things you know."

Alex began to look worried too. "There is? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Because you are a Summers." Bobby paused a moment then wrapped both arms around the other man. "You have no idea how cute you look when you're worried, do you?"

Alex shrugged modestly. "It's a Summers trait. How else do you think Scott and Nathan got partners?"

Bobby laughed in delight. "Point! Now stop talking, do your fly up, and blow up some more damn balloons."

Alex obediently did as he was told and found himself humming along with Bobby. At least until another balloon took his breath away.

The End.

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