Dean entered Alex's bedroom, spotting him sitting on the bed, his laptop resting on his legs as he worked intently. The light from the screen illuminated Alex's focused face. Dean hesitated for a moment at the door, holding a plate of pancakes in his hand. Without saying anything, he walked over to the bed and gently placed the plate on the mattress beside Alex.
Alex barely glanced up, his fingers still moving over the keyboard. Dean stood for a second, watching him, feeling the weight of the words he had spoken earlier. While Dean didn't regret wanting to leave, he couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt.
With a sigh, Dean sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached out and, without a word, took the laptop from Alex's lap, placing it away on the bed. Alex blinked, looking at him in mild surprise, his brows drawing together as if to ask what Dean was doing.
"I made pancakes," Dean said, his voice light, though there was an edge of exhaustion. "You can't skip breakfast. You need to eat."
Alex gave a small, tired smile. "I'm not hungry anymore," he replied softly, making a move to retrieve the laptop again. But Dean gently blocked his hand, taking the fork from the plate and cutting a piece of pancake.
"I didn't eat either," Dean continued, lifting the fork toward Alex. "So if you don't eat, I won't either."
Alex looked from the fork to Dean, a little confused. There was something different about Dean's tone, something firm but also soft. Dean held the fork in front of him, determined.
"Come on. After all, we're… friends, right?" Dean added, though the word "friends" felt heavier than it sounded.
Back in school, they had been classmates, nothing more than two guys who occasionally worked together on assignments. They never really talked outside of school. It wasn't like they were close back then. But now, after all these years, life had somehow brought them back together in a way neither of them had expected.
Alex looked into Dean's eyes, a small, hesitant smile playing on his lips. He leaned forward and took a bite of the pancake from the fork, chewing slowly as if to savor the moment.
"There. Happy?" Alex asked, though his tone wasn't as sharp as it could have been.
Dean smiled, cutting another piece of pancake for himself. He felt a strange relief in the air between them. It wasn't much, but it was enough for now.
They sat there in silence, sharing pancakes on the bed. There was something calming about the quiet moment, a nostalgic sense that connected them back to a time they didn't realize they shared. Even though neither of them spoke, something had shifted.
For the first time in a while, Dean felt like maybe things could be okay, even if just for today.