Work Text:
Henry first realized someone was moving across the hall from him one Saturday morning when he was going on his usual walk with David. He was bundled up in layers, thick gloves and a knitted scarf around his neck. Even David was wearing a dog jacket. For a week now the temperature started to drop and they were expecting their first snow of the year soon.
That apartment that was now with the door wide open, filled with boxes and bags, belonged to the Johnson family, but they decided one year ago to move back to England to take care of Mr. Johnson’s parents. Henry was pretty bummed when that happened, especially since they were good neighbours and even more than that, they soothed his longing for home.
Now, a year later, the apartment was going to be occupied by someone else. Henry was thankful that the building and the neighbourhood were pretty upper-class so there won’t be a case of young people, or students that were looking to party everyday. He was this close to finishing his book, he didn’t have time for a distraction.
He closed his door, signaling to David that it was time to walk towards the elevator. Someone was coming up, so he scooted to the side, leaving room for the people to pass. He hoped that the person was his new neighbour as he was very curious to see who it was. The elevator stopped with a soft thud and the doors started to slide open. There were three people inside, one older man, a young woman and a young man. The three of them were carrying big boxes.
All three of them looked quite similar, same dark hair, a little bit curly, same deep brown eyes and perfectly tanned skin, but the one that stood out the most was definitely the young man. He was almost as tall as Henry, muscular arm gripping the box tight and a little bit of sweat covering his forehead, making that lovely curly hair stick to it. He had a big smile, while talking animatedly with the other two people, his box jostling from time to time like he wanted to gesture.
He was, without a doubt, the most handsome guy Henry ever laid eyes on.
It took Henry a couple of seconds to realize that neither one of them was speaking English, but they were chatting rapidly in Spanish. His blood turned hot at the voice of the guy speaking one of the sexiest languages he’s ever heard.
They noticed Henry standing there only when David let out a soft whine. He really couldn’t wait to go to the park and play.
The three of them looked at Henry and he found himself blushing at the power of that guy’s gaze. His eyes were kind and amused, a deep chocolate brown and framed by thick, long lashes that offered him some sort of devilish innocence. Fuck, but Henry could write an entire novel based on that guy’s eyes.
”Um... hi!” Henry muttered, not knowing what to say. Even if they didn’t understand English, hi was pretty much recognized everywhere, right? He found himself offering a small wave, just to be sure, before stepping into the elevator and pushing the buttons multiple times to make the door close faster. He didn’t know why, but his heart was beating wildly in his chest.
He’s done his fair share of embarrassing things in the past, but waving like a dork to his new hot neighbour pretty much took the cake.
/
They didn’t see each other after that. When Henry got back from the park, the door to his neighbor’s apartment was closed. He was sort of thankful for that, especially since David managed to jump on him when he was distractedly thinking about that guy’s eyes and made him fall on his ass in a pile of mud. When David offered him the puppy eyes every bit of annoyance passed. His dog was too cute to exist.
He heard from time to time the door opening and slamming and for the next couple of weeks the sound came at almost the same time – early in the morning, at 8 AM and in the evening, somewhere around 7 p.m. It looked like his new, hot neighbor was a workaholic. There wasn’t any party going on, so Henry counted his blessings, managing to finish his book, edit the things he didn’t sound good enough for him before sending it to his agent to deal with it, all in just a matter of weeks. He was feeling rather inspired by his neighbor’s beautiful eyes, but he didn’t tell anyone that.
The next time they saw each other was on another one of Henry’s usual walks with David. They were exiting the elevator, Henry’s arms filled with boxes of Chinese takeout from his favorite restaurant, David waiting impatiently to go get his beauty sleep after a long walk in the park. His hot neighbor was in front of the elevator, dressed from head to toe in black – jeans, boots, shirt and a flimsy leather jacket on top, looking like he stepped out of some sort of magazine for cliché bad boys. His mouth watered at the sight, the tiny bit of rationalism in his lust-filled brain searching for simple words in Spanish on how to alert his neighbor of how fucking cold it was outside. He wouldn’t survive in that weather, Henry was sure of it.
He couldn’t think of anything, he’s learned French and German in school, as second languages.
His neighbor smiled, beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners, mouth parting slightly revealing pearly white teeth.
Henry panicked.
Again.
“Hi!” he muttered, almost sprinting out of the elevator to make room for the other man. His neighbor stepped in, looking at Henry with dark, amused eyes before raising one arm and waving. Weirdly enough he didn’t look as dorky as Henry must have looked while doing that. He returned the gesture, waving over his shoulder, and just for good measure and because it really was the only Spanish word that he knew – hoping that it would mean something to his hot neighbor he said: “Caliente.”
His neighbor’s eyes widened for a split second, the only image Henry got to see before the doors shut in his face and the echo of the other man’s laugh could be heard in the whole building.
/
They met again, sometimes in that same week, when Henry decided to go get groceries. His neighbor was stepping out of the elevator, phone pressed to his ear, speaking rapidly in Spanish. When his eyes fell on Henry waiting there, Henry could swear that he perked up. The neighbor looked absolutely delicious in his grey suit and dotted tie. Just another, very good, no bad image that would be burned forever to Henry’s retina. He was a hopeless gay. And a tiny bit desperate.
Henry offered a smile, hoping that it didn’t come out more as a grimace, before switching places with the neighbor. The man waved, tossing a wink in Henry’s direction that had him gripping the wall of the elevator.
He waved back.
/
“Do you have a new neighbor?” Pez asked him. Henry was locking up his apartment on a Saturday, willing himself to feel ready for a night out with his best friend. Pez all but stormed inside his home, demanding him to prepare himself for a memorable night. Henry really didn’t want to, but he guess he owed Pez as much considering his darling best friend had to put up with him disappearing for quite some time while he worked on his book.
“Hm?” Henry asked distracted, walking slowly towards the elevator.
“Do you have a new neighbor? I thought I heard someone in the apartment across the hall from you.”
“Oh, yes, I do. He moved here some months ago. Or they? I don’t know. It was a family, I think, at some point, but I only saw one person.”
And he became the source of every single one of my wanks. He didn’t say that to Pez, though.
It was then he realized that his hot neighbor was also coming towards the elevator, looking like he belonged on the cover of Men’s Health, dressed warmly in thick joggers, a warm hoodie and knitted beanie that covered his beautiful curls.
His neighbor smiled wide, waving at Henry who returned the gesture awkwardly. Pez offered the other man an impressed once-over, before the three of them embarked on the elevator. Pez pinched his thigh and Henry let out an embarrassing squeal that made his neighbor frown.
“He can’t speak English.” Henry blurted out to Pez, making his neighbor even more confused.
“How do you even know that?” Pez asked, amused, stealing a glance in the other man’s direction.
“Every time I’ve heard him speak, he was speaking Spanish. And we’ve met a couple of times, I guess that if he knew how to speak English he would have by now.”
His best friend seemed to accept his logic, nodding his head once.
“Fair enough.” Pez said, looking at the other man and sighing. “He’s ungodly hot, Hen. I do hope that he’s attracted to men because you need to take a trip to Pound Town as soon as possible.”
“Pez!” Henry cried out scandalized, feeling his cheeks starting to burn.
“What?” he replied with a wolfish grin. “You said he doesn’t speak English.”
“Well yes, but that doesn’t mean that it’s nice to talk about people like that.”
“I called him ungodly hot, which he is.”
“Fine” Henry grumbled “then you can’t be invested in my sex life, you’re my best friend.”
“One of us has to be, Hazza.” Pez replied cheekily. “Think about it, him pressing you into the mattress while he whispers filthy things in Spanish.”
“Please, stop!” Henry muttered. He was going to combust – both from embarrassment and that vivid image that Pez managed to put in his head.
When the elevator finally stopped, Henry all but ran outside, leaving both his neighbor and his best friend behind.
/
Henry was coming back from a much needed grocery run, he had to stop living on tea and Jaffa cakes, at some point. In the elevator, surrounded by bags, he pushed the button for his floor when someone from the hallway shouted:
“Hold the door, please!”
He pushed the button to stop the doors from sliding shut, when his very hot neighbor stepped in, looking disheveled and gorgeous as always, wearing yet another fitted suit. The neighbor grinned widely upon seeing Henry and he returned the sentiment with a small smile of his own. The doors closed and the elevator started to go up when realization dawned on Henry.
“You speak English.” He cried out, voice sounding almost strangled, making his neighbor turn in his direction with a chuckle.
“Well, sweetheart, considering I was born and raised in Texas, I’d say it was a given. To be honest, I was kind of surprised when you decided that I couldn’t speak English.” He chuckled again and Henry was completely mortified. “But I’d say it was a good thing, not everyday you find out that the cute gay across the hall needs a trip to Pound Town.”
Henry squeaked, that was the only way he could describe that God-awful sound that came out of his throat. Thankfully the ride with the elevator was over and he gathered his bags quickly before rushing out of the elevator with a muttered sorry.
“Wait a minute.” His neighbor laughed, catching Henry’s arm and turning him in his direction. Henry hoped for the ground to open and swallow him whole.
“I’m sorry!” Henry cried out. “This is truly mortifying, I am very sorry about my friend’s big mouth. He shouldn’t have said that, regardless if you can speak English, or not.”
Up close, his neighbor looked even better. Henry realized that he wasn’t just hot, in the most plastic way possible, but he was beautiful, adorable even. With his dark eyes and thick lashes and full lips and caramel skin. He was gorgeous in every way possible. He blushed upon noticing the way his neighbor was watching him as intently.
“You’re even more gorgeous than I’ve thought.” His neighbor complimented him with a cheeky grin.
“Oh.” Henry was a big sucker for compliments. “Right back at you.”
His neighbor’s eyes sparkled with mirth.
“I’m Alex, by the way.”
“Henry.”
“Henry.” Alex repeated softly, making the insides of Henry’s body clench. “It fits you. Easier than to refer to you as Hot Guy from across the hall.”
Henry found himself grinning at Alex, his cheeks flaming.
“Why didn’t you say anything? Ever?” Henry asked him.
“Well, I wanted to, but then you called me hot on one of our interactions and well I wanted to let you set the pace.” Alex smiled goofily, looking at Henry through his fucking eyelashes. It was distracting.
“Pretty sure I didn’t call you hot.” Henry managed to say, his mind going through glorious sceneries of Alex looking up at him like that.
“I was going out, you were coming back from a walk with your cute dog and you called me caliente. That means hot in Spanish.”
“Oh, bollocks!” Henry cursed, feeling himself blush again and Alex laughed. “I um… wanted to let you know that it was really cold outside, considering that you were wearing flimsy clothes. It was the only thing in Spanish that I could remember.” He stammered, looking anywhere, but at Alex.
The other man chuckled again, cupping Henry’s chin with two fingers and forcing him to make eye-contact. His expression was soft, happy and light. Henry loved that look on him.
“You’re positively adorable, you know that?”
“Nothing more adorable than embarrassing yourself multiple times.” Henry cringed, but despite himself, he felt the shadow of a smile curling his lips.
Alex helped him with his bags, stopping in the middle of the hallway, between their two doors. Henry looked at him for a second, not quite knowing what to say, before he opened his door and taking his bags inside. For a moment he remembered what Alex had said. I wanted to let you set the pace, and before he could talk himself out of this, he turned with an easy smile towards his neighbor. Alex was looking at him like a hawk.
“You know, I’m going to take a shower and then make something to eat. Feel free to drop by to ask for sugar, or something.” He paused, watching as Alex perked up. “And maybe stay for dinner too.”
“You betcha, sweetheart.” Alex replied, winking.
/
One hour later they had to call for takeout because Henry was so distracted by Alex’s kisses that he forgot everything about the food.