Piece by Piece Part Three

Piece by Piece Part Three

Alex has never been particularly lucky but, as he sits down at the table across from his roommate's boyfriend, he has to stop and just wonder how this is his life. Really, it would have to be some seriously shitty luck for the man to be his soulmate. He honestly can't believe the universe would bring them together like this.

No, he has to be imagining it.

Because it's not the first time it's happened to him, either. Despite how much Alex says he doesn't want a soulmate, there are days when he gets weak and he thinks how nice it'd be to deserve someone as happy and positive as Jay. On those days, every blond head and smiling face makes him look twice, searching for something that isn't there. Because it's never Jay.

Truthfully, Alex isn't even sure what Jay looks like anymore. Looking at Christian's boyfriend, Jeremy, he isn't so sure it's him, after all.

"Alex." Cody nudges him with her elbow. "Are you feeling okay? You've been staring into space for a while."

More accurately, he's been staring at Jeremy. He appreciates that she doesn't say that and he gladly takes the out she gives him.

"Sorry." He shakes his head, as if to clear it. "I've just had one of those days, you know. I might head to the bathroom just to freshen up."

The bathroom is empty when he enters and Alex stands in front of the sink for far too long, just thinking to himself. He really needs to work out if Jeremy is Jay because, if he doesn't find out, he knows he'll wonder about it all night. And there's one really easy way to do that.

There's a couple of Soulpens by the sink, like there are in most public places, and Alex doesn't hesitate to uncap one and draw a long gold line across his forearm. It's faint against his skin, and it doesn't show through his shirt, but Jeremy doesn't have the same long sleeves to hide behind. Alex has to stop his train of thought, then, reminding himself that it's not a sure thing yet.

Until he sits back down at the table and sees Jeremy's arm shine gold.

-*-

Meeting his soulmate turns out to be everything Alex expected: utterly uneventful.

The world doesn't shift just because Jeremy is Alex's soulmate. Nothing happens. Instead, the four of them enjoy a delicious dinner followed by a decadent chocolate brownie and then they get in their respective cars and Alex drives Cody home. He stays a while to be polite but not so long to overstay his welcome and then he goes home and falls asleep almost as soon as he's through the door.

When he wakes up the next day, it still doesn't feel any different. The next day doesn't change things, either.

The only thing that does seem to change is Christian. He comes back to their flat some nights grinning and positively skipping despite the late hour and he's not the kind of guy to share but Alex knows it's because he's in love. Maybe that's too strong a word for it right now, this early in their relationship, but Alex thinks that's what it is. It's a good look on him.

"Do you remember Jeremy?" Christian asks when he gets back one night.

Alex, flopped out on the sofa with the TV on, thinks about it for a second before nodding. "Yeah, the name rings a bell."

"I was thinking about inviting him to poker night."

"That'd be good," Alex says, "we need someone to replace Lloyd and Taylor. I was going to invite Cody, too."

Christian beams at him. "That sounds like a great idea! I'll let Jeremy know if you tell Cody."

"It's a deal."

Poker night was a casual affair, just a group of friends who met up to drink beers, eat pizza and shoot the breeze on a monthly basis. It was originally Lloyd and Taylor's thing but with them busy with the wedding, it'd become something Alex and Christian had taken over. He was a little worried about introducing two new people into their group but he was also confident Cody would fit in. He was proven right when, for her first game, she sat down and promptly scammed the whole table.

"I can't believe you won on three of a kind." Alex says, shaking his head.

She grins at him. "It's all in the bluff, Alex, you've got to learn that."

"I think I've been playing poker longer than you."

"And yet I have all the chips."

It's hard to argue with that logic and he laughs, reaching for another beer. "That's a fair point!"

It's later in the evening by the time everyone arrives in the house and Alex is four beers down and playing poorly to boot. He's never been good at poker but he's never minded, either, so he laughs it off when he's asked to switch out for someone better. He prefers watching the game, anyway, because this way he can laugh at everyone else's poor hands.

"Do you think I should fold?" Cody asks him.

Alex looks at her hand and then the cards on the table, seeing absolutely nothing there, not even a pair, and he laughs. "I think it's pretty strong. Wait for the last card and we can decide then."

Cody grins. "I don't think I need to wait for that."

She hasn't been winning every game, because they'd started wising up to her bluffs, but she's also got an impressive stack of chips in front of her. Alex never knew she was such a card shark but, for some odd reason, he feels proud, like her winnings are his achievement, too.

He feels her losses, too, and he grimaces as she raises and then loses to three of a kind, of all things. There's an irony there.

"Pizza?" he asks.

"Pizza," she agrees.

There's a few empty pizza boxes scattered around the living room so they wander into the kitchen in search for more. What they don't expect to find is a whole other party going on in there.

"Christian!" Alex grins at him, greeting him with a hug. "I wondered where you got to!"

Christian laughs, pushing him away so he can look closer at his face. "Someone started early on the alcohol, I see."

"I resent that!"

Alex isn't a lightweight by any means but it also doesn't take much to get him pleasantly buzzed and more affectionate. He likes the feeling, because he's not normally a touchy-feely guy, and he likes being able to show that. It's why, despite his better judgement, he goes along with it when Christian starts mixing drinks and he must down the better part of two cups. He's not sure what's he drinking but it burns a lot more than beer.

He thinks that's why he goes to see Jeremy.

If he was sober, he wouldn't be seeking out his roommate's boyfriend but he's not and he wants to be a good host so there he is, sitting on the balcony with him. Alex is a considerate neighbour and he shuts the door behind him, leaving the sounds of the party muted. It's like they're in their own personal bubble.

"You know," Alex says, carefully manoeuvring his legs so they dangle through the railings, "the party's inside."

Jeremy smiles at him. "Thank you for inviting me. I've really enjoyed myself."

It's too polite of a response. Alex still remembers the I care about you inked on his skin and, sometimes, he thinks of the I love you, too. He hasn't earned that here, though.

So he says instead, "You can say they're overwhelming if they are."

"No, of course not! I liked it."

Alex thinks of the Jay he knows, the one who's seen him laid bare and shared his own insecurities in return. He'd never known what to say when Jay told him he always cared too much about people's opinions, overthinking every little thing to the point of hurting himself. He thinks his Jay would struggle meeting so many new people all at once and wondering what they think of him.

Jeremy doesn't seem like his Jay at all. And Alex, perversely, wants to see if there's any Jay in him at all.

"It can be difficult coming to a social event and knowing just one person." He says, carefully looking at his shoes. "I don't think it'd be unreasonable to say it's scary even because you want these strangers, your boyfriend's friends, to like you. It's an important moment and yet it's and you can't control that. I think I'd escape to the balcony, too, then."

Jeremy laughs, but he doesn't deny it. "You're more perceptive than I thought."

Jeremy doesn't say more than that, though Alex hadn't honestly expected him to, so he shrugs. "For what it's worth, I like you. You make Christian happy."

"He makes me happy, too."

And that's all Alex can ask for.

He has long since accepted that he's not the man his soulmate deserves, though maybe he might've been if his life had been different, but he thinks Christian is. Christian and Jeremy are cut from the same kind of cloth, cheerful, positive people, and they work well together. He's seen how Jeremy affects Christian on a daily basis already and, maybe love and a family isn't for him but he wants that for Christian.

"You should get back in there." He says, with a smile so he doesn't think he's chasing him off. "Christian was saying you're his lucky charm. Help him out."

"Are you going to sit here alone?" Jeremy asks.

"Go." Alex says.

And, Jeremy, who's never been the kind of boy to overstep, goes.

Some days, Alex wonders if anything would've changed if he asked Jeremy to stay with him, just sitting on the balcony floor and staring at the stars. He wonders if, that night, he would've been just the wrong side of tipsy to tell Jeremy what they are to each other. Mostly, though, he's glad he didn't.

Because, as a couple, they're pretty perfect.

Jeremy integrates seamlessly into their friendship group, getting the seal of approval from Lloyd and Taylor, and he comes back for poker nights and then movie nights which are a much more intimate gathering. It doesn't feel like he intrudes and it feels natural for Jeremy to be there with them.

"You guys are really cute together." Taylor says, gushing over them. "Now we just need to pair Alex off and we'll all be settled."

Alex rolls his eyes. "I don't need to be paired off. I've got Cody and Bear."

Cody, sitting on the floor with Bear, smiles up at her. "We're really cute together, too."

"Ready made family right here." Alex says, reaching over to scratch at Bear's ears. "Couldn't want for anything."

There's a look on Taylor's face like she wants to say something but she's holding back to be polite. What it means is she's going to corner him later and Alex isn't particularly looking forward to that lecture.

He solves it by saying, "You want to say something, don't you, Taylor? We're all friends here, you can share."

It's just the six of them and Bear in the room and Taylor, emboldened by his permission, must agree, too, as she says, "I thought you were going to talk to your soulmate."

Oh, this again. Mindful of the others in the room, Alex says carefully, "I do speak to them. We keep each other updated on our lives."

She purses her lips. "I just think you should meet them. They're your soulmate, you can't just ignore that."

Alex loves Taylor, he really does, but they're like siblings and some of their arguments are legendary. She has a habit of thinking she knows best for him and he knows it comes from a good place, he knows she wants him to be as happy as she is, but it grates on him sometimes. Partly because she's right and partly because he's just stubborn.

Cody saves them, however. "I ignored my soulmate."

The whole room turns to stare at her.

"It's not a big deal." She shrugs, wrapping her arms a little tighter around Bear. "I was three when my parents first let me write to him. I was really excited and I remember being so proud I could write all the letters in my name. He didn't reply for a day but, when he did, it was in a neat script I couldn't read. My parents could, though, and that's when we discovered my soulmate was thirty and married with kids."

"Shit." Jeremy says, even his bright countenance fading at that.

"He was a nice enough man but I only met him a couple of times before we both agreed it was kind of weird. Sometimes, I talk to him when I need advice or just to wish him happy holidays but that's it. That's all I'll ever have with my soulmate, and that's okay."

There's a flurry of support from the others when she stops talking, soft apologies and kind words, but Alex saves his for later. They're among friends, sure, but what he wants to say is far too personal even for here.

"You were oddly quiet earlier." Cody says, when Alex finally gets her alone.

"I want to tell you something," he says, uncharacteristically serious. "I think you need to hear it."

"Mm?"

He glances to each side, ensuring they're alone, and then says quickly, "My soulmate, it's Jeremy."

"Shit," she says.

They sit together for a while, contemplating the terrible luck the universe has doled out to them. It's unfair, as life has always been to Alex, but at least they have each other to see through it.

"The world gave us the wrong soulmates so let's find our own, yeah?"

"Yeah."

I feel like Piece by Piece is a rough draft, missing something but I'm not sure what, and I'm not fully happy with it. I'm finding I have less time to write these days, though, so even these rough drafts help keep me in practice. Let me know what you think!