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You Turn the Screws

Chapter 5

Notes:

Oh boy so sorry this took so long. And sorry for the lack of response on the last couple chapters. I just sort of had to be very offline for a little. But I wanted you to all to know how much it meant reading through your comments. You're all so incredibly kind! Thank you! Will try my best to get the next update up sooner.

Chapter Text

"Why in the world did you tell him Wednesday?" Rachel asked for about the twentieth time since Monday while noisily stacking dishes as she pulled them from the dishwasher.

Alex winced as ceramic clattered against ceramic, "Well it just seemed, I don't know. Well, the kids are away with your parents an-"

"The kids are away until next Wednesday. Why wouldn't you say the weekend?" She slammed the dishwasher closed and turned to face him.

Alex fidgeted with his hands. Then dropped them and moved past her to take the stack of dishes to start putting them away.

Rachel sighed, "I'm not angry... Okay, I'm a bit annoyed. But mostly confused."

"Well it was just, I don't know, we were talking about the shorter days this week. And I said it was almost like a holiday. Having short days, the kids being away, getting a break from shooting tasks for series six," he finished stacking dishes in the cabinet and turned to face Rachel, looking quite red in the face, "I actually said Tuesday at first."

Rachel laughed a bit meanly. She brought her hand up to her mouth and muttered from behind it, "Oh, sweetie."

"And he, uh, he suggested later in the week. And I, like an idiot, said 'Wednesday?' and he, well. He said yes, but it seemed..." He trailed off as Rachel's laughter got louder. She snorted and tried to hold it in but just couldn't manage it. She pulled him close and laughed directly into his chest.

He brought his hands up to her back and pushed his face into her hair. He let out a sigh and said quietly, "I don't know. I don't know if I've always been like this around him or... I don't know. Maybe I have."

Rachel pulled back slightly and looked up at him. Her cheeks were pink and her smile was wide. She was looking at him like he was the thickest person in existence but in the fondest way possible. On a stifled laugh she said, "Oh, sweetie, you have. That's why I thought you were purposefully avoiding being around him as much as you could."

Alex sighed. He bent down to bury his face in her neck and mumbled against her skin, "No, not purposefully. I really didn't know I was," he paused just to breathe her in for a bit, "It's not that big of a deal, is it? He's only expecting takeaway. And I know you would've liked more time for us to prepare the house, but it looks fine." 

He heard a dissatisfied hum next to his ear and corrected himself, "Nice. I meant, it looks nice."

"It's not really like we can reschedule now," she said while running her nails lightly against his scalp, "It's just, generally, when you and your guest have to be up quite early Thursday you don't make plans for Wednesday night."

Alex chuckled, "I am aware of that, it's just. I mean. Have I really always been this bad at speaking to him?"

Rachel pulled back to look him in the eye, "Yes," she said firmly.

Alex blushed and closed his eyes, "God, I made such a fool of myself. I know I already told you but... There's just no way he doesn't already know. Why are we even doing this?"

"Because you wanted to. Maybe it's just because you really sort of like making a fool of yourself, but you wanted to. You planned it. You scheduled it. And now it's happening," she pulled away and gave his hand a squeeze, "And I really have to go pick up the food."

"Right, yes," he leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips, "Thank you, love you."

"Love you too," she threw over her shoulder as she grabbed her keys and headed for the door.

---

Greg parked at the end of the street. He was far too early and needed to collect himself anyway. He still hadn't really worked out what to think of this invite. It had seemed, briefly, very clear what the intention was. When Alex had seemed so incredibly grateful for Greg's acceptance while standing there flustered and seemingly turned on.

Then they had spoken more, at the end of their short shoot, about how nice it was that Alex would get home in time to have dinner with Rachel. He had asked Greg to join them the next day, and Greg was suddenly unsure of his prior assumptions. He pushed for the weekend, to test the footing of his theory. Alex suggested Wednesday instead. So, Wednesday it was.

He had still called Rhod. He thought he could at least have a laugh about the odd conversation he had with Alex. Weirdly, Rhod had just seemed concerned. He cautioned Greg about getting into anything too fast. That was an oddity in itself. Rhod advising caution, in any context, just didn't happen. But he was quite adamant.

"The thing is, I do have some experience with couples and it can be good fun but," he trailed off and sighed, "Hm, well, sometimes the thing with couples is, well, they're a couple."

"Wow."

"No but, listen. They're a couple and you're... not," he let out a loud breath of air which created a grating static noise in Greg's ear, "Not saying it's always the case, but. If you have feelings. It might get to you."

Greg really couldn't work out what Rhod was trying to tell him, "... Okay. I mean, I'm very aware they're a couple. So, no, I don't think it's going to bother me?"

"Yeah, no, I don't mean that them being a cou-"

Greg, waved his free hand frantically as though Rhod were actually sat across from him and shouted, "Say what you're trying to say, Rhodri!"

"I just mean, being treated like a marital aid. Might get to you."

"Being treated like a-" Greg cut himself off and rubbed hard with the heel of his hand against his eye, "What?"

"Like I said, I'm sure it's not every couple. But, the way I see it, at best you're a fuck buddy, and at worst you're there when they want you and out the door right after. Either way, it's not breakfast in bed and cuddles in the morning."

It had made Greg realize, with a cold shock, that he didn't even really know what he wanted. Even if his initial assumption was right, what was he expecting exactly? To be absorbed into their marriage? To have an actual relationship? Did he even want that? He couldn't even begin to picture how it would work. But could he just have a bit of fun with them and then pretend everything was normal? That didn't seem likely either. God, he hated when Rhod was right.

Not that it mattered. At this point, he was nearly certain his initial assumption was wrong. He must have wildly misinterpreted Alex's body language. The only thing he was having trouble rationalizing was how dark Alex's eyes had been. He looked it up earlier, and it turned out that fear can make pupils dilate too. But if it had been fear, why would Alex be so pleased with Greg accepting his invite? It just didn't add up.

Greg drummed at his steering wheel and looked at the clock. If he pulled up to the house now he would only be a few minutes early. He figured he might as well get it over with.

---

Alex triple checked that he had gotten all the kids' toys out from under the cushions and off the floor. He refolded a throw blanket and draped it back over the couch. Then fussed with it for a bit. He tried to tuck some frayed fringe under a fold. Then considered cutting it off. Then scooped the whole thing up and threw it in the laundry room. He straightened a picture in the dining room. 

A vague memory drifted into his head of Greg saying something about finding houses that are too neat a bit unsettling. He nudged the picture back to its original position and was on his way back to the laundry room when the doorbell rang. He froze, allowed himself to panic for a few seconds, and then dashed towards the front door.

"Hello," he said, high pitched and breathless and before the door was even fully opened.

Greg chuckled, "Hi."

Alex stood there still catching his breath and grinned dopily at him.

Greg stared past him and hummed. Then put his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat.

"Oh! Right, yes," Alex said as he stepped back and to the side, "Please, come in."

Greg grinned and side-eyed him as he stepped past, "Thank you. Were you just running a marathon?"

Alex laughed awkwardly, "No, just uh, trying to tidy up a bit."

"Oh," Greg took a moment to look around, "Well it looks lovely."

Alex was embarrassed to find that such a small compliment could make him blush, which only made him blush more. He turned away from Greg and headed towards the kitchen. He heard Greg follow behind him.

Without looking back he said, "Rachel went to get the food. She should be back any minute."

When he got to the counter he chanced a look at Greg. He had stopped at the fridge and was smiling down at the drawings and tests that had been hung up there. Something about it made Alex's chest ache but he wasn't sure why. He leaned back against the counter and asked, "Would you like anything to drink? We have wine. Or beer, if you'd like."

"Uh," Greg seemed to think on it for a second, "No, probably won't be that late of a night. Better not."

"Ah, sorry. Probably should have invited you over later in the week."

"Oh, really?" Greg looked amused. He turned to face fully towards Alex, "Why didn't you, then?"

"Why? Th-that's a good question," Alex chuckled nervously, "Why?"

"Hmm, yeah," Greg took a few slow steps towards him, "Why?"

Alex pushed himself further back against the counter and felt himself go red, "Well, um, I guess, I was nervous, and when I'm nervous I tend to just say things or not say anything, but when I do say things I don't really thi-"

"Why were you nervous?"

"Why?" Alex found himself really laughing this time, because he realized they were just asking the same question back and forth and found it a bit funny.

Greg laughed a little too and took another step forward, "Yeah. Why?"

Alex's laughter died in his throat as he realized how close they were. He felt like his face was on fire as he quietly mumbled, "I'm always nervous around you."

And that's when he knew it was true. He was always nervous around Greg, and he always had been. It really was as obvious as Tim had said. He used to be the same way around Rachel. He still was sometimes, but not to the point of it hindering every interaction and generally only in a good way. Of course it had been glaring to Rachel and Tim. They had seen it before. How could Alex have missed it?

Greg took in a deep breath and took another small step forward. Alex could feel another 'why' coming and was terrified at what he might say in response. Luckily the sound of a lock turning stopped Greg from saying anything. He looked down at how close they were standing and took a step back. Alex muttered something about needing to help Rachel as he carefully made his way past him.

Greg made his way into the dining room as they were setting down the bags. Rachel instructed Alex to get plates ready as she threw her arms around Greg. She had the side of her face pressed against his belly, and Alex could see her arms strain to reach all the way around him. Greg chuckled and squeezed her back. Alex found himself absolutely fascinated by the sight of Greg's huge hand curled gently around his wife's shoulder, but shook himself out of it and did as he was told.

He made up Rachel's plate and set it at the head of table. He stilled after he set it there. It was where she always sat, but what if Greg wanted to sit there. Maybe he should ask. Would Rachel get mad if he did? He thought he probably shouldn't. He started plating his and Greg's meals slowly, feeling indecisive.

"It's been too long," Rachel's voice was muffled slightly by Greg's body.

"It really has," Greg said pulling back from her and gesturing towards the table, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Oh no, Alex can manage putting some kebabs on some plates," she grabbed his arm and started pulling him into the kitchen, "Let me get you something to drink."

"Oh, nothing alcoholic for me tonight."

"No, we all have to be up a bit early for that," Rachel said and Alex swore he could feel her glaring over her shoulder at him. He definitely heard Greg snort. He made a decision and put his and Greg's plates on either side of Rachel's.

She continued, "Tea? Or is it a little late for you?"

"Uuuumm, may-"

"You know, the kids have a bunch of fizzy juices that aren't half bad."

Alex knew that Rachel and Greg got along easily, and it was nice to let them take over conversation as they all sat down to dinner. They caught up like old friends, talking about family and work. Apparently, they were even keeping up with a few of the same shows. Alex contributed sparsely. Mostly just an "uh-huh" here or an "oh yes, that was nice" there.

Rachel was talking animatedly about a trip they had taken recently while Greg nodded attentively and sipped at a fizzy mango and something juice that their oldest preferred. And Alex's chest was aching again for some reason. Was he old enough that he had to start considering heartburn before ordering takeaway?

Somehow talking about holidays had led back to talking about family. Alex was vaguely aware that Rachel had brought up his parents, but thought he must have spaced out for a bit. They were both looking at him, expecting him to say something but he had no idea what.

He swallowed his mouthful of food with some difficulty and said, "Um," searching Rachel's face for a hint.

"Oh, I think we can admit, at this point, that he really didn't like me at first," Rachel was grinning at him but there was a dissatisfied tilt to one side of it.

Oh. They were talking about his dad. Alex cleared his throat and said, "No. No, he liked you."

Rachel scoffed, "Please. He would've preferred you marry Tim."

That shocked a laugh out of Greg. Rachel turned to him and pointed her fork at him, "No! Genuinely! He told him!"

A breathy, "What," escaped out of Greg on a cascade of giggles.

Alex set down his fork, "No, that's not what he said."

"But he said something akin to it!?" Greg asked from behind his hand, looking positively giddy.

"No, it was," Alex sighed and tried to fight the grin forming on his face, "It's just, I guess neither of my parents believed that, well, that I had any interest in women."

Greg's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up, "They. They thought...?"

"They thought I was his beard," Rachel said losing her own battle not to laugh.

"Mm," Alex hummed while smiling fondly at his wife, "Yes. And my dad, in particular, thought it was unfair on Tim to take this 'charade' so far."

Greg, off pitch and with tears in his eyes, asked, "Whe-when did they start to believe...?"

"Ah! Hmm," Alex squinted at Rachel and bit his lip.

"Ooh, definitely took until after the second kid," Rachel answered for him.

Greg doubled over from the force of his laughter. His hands gripping hard at the edge of the table like it was the only thing keeping his head out of his plate. Alex thought maybe he should feel embarrassed, but he just felt incredibly warm. Rachel and Greg both looked so pleased. It was lovely.

"Really though," Alex reached for Rachel's hand, "He did like you. He just thou-"

"Sure, sure. He liked Tim better though," her grin deepened and she scrunched up her nose as she said, "Honestly, I think he still might."

Without missing a beat, Alex replied, "Honestly? I think he likes Tim better than me."

Greg snorted and pushed himself up, trying to get his laughter under control. He let out a long sigh, "Ah, sorry. Fuck, I mean," he fought back another fit of laughter, "Poor Tim! The pitying looks he must've got at the wedding!"

"Oh! And the stunted sympathetic gestures," Alex trilled, "For years!"

---

Greg had excused himself for the toilet. Then been stopped halfway down the hall and redirected to use the one connected to their bedroom. The main one had a plumbing issue that was only half fixed, apparently. Rachel had taken him into their room and pointed him to the right door.

As he washed his hands, the vanity mirror informed him that he was grinning like a buffoon. He shook his head at himself and looked down at his hands. He really was having a lovely evening. This had been what he wanted originally. Just a nice time with nice people. Ridiculous that he had built it up in his head to be something else.

When he made his way back into the bedroom he noticed that Rachel had closed the door on her way back out. Then he noticed something sticking out from under the bed that he hadn't seen on the way in. Though he supposed he had been focused on Rachel. Obviously, the door being closed wasn't an invitation to snoop.

But it was an odd looking thing. It looked like it might be a box, but it also looked soft. He glanced back at the closed door. He went over to the bed and stuck his foot under it, just to nudge the thing out a bit. Huh, well, that was odd. The Hornes didn't have a dog. Yet, that was certainly a dog bed.

He crouched down and pulled it out further. It was nicer than the one Alex had used on the show. A little bigger, plusher. There was a lead and a collar tucked inside it. Greg heard himself let out a quiet, breathy laugh. He felt hysterical. 

Alex, who had laid down in a dog bed at Greg's feet as a bit, a gag, a joke. Alex, who had done that, had a dog bed. Here. In his home. Under his bed. That he shared with his wife. Or was it Rachel's bed? And Alex just slept at her feet. Or the floor. In the... Fuck. Alex who had looked up at him, from the dog bed, with that look. That look that Greg had so nearly convinced himself was fear.

He reached out to the collar. His hand was shaking. He picked it up and turned the tag over. He turned it over again. It was blank. He took a few deep breaths. Okay. Maybe, they were planning on getting a dog? It was possible. Maybe they had one picked out and a date to pick it up. And they were hiding it under their bed, because? A surprise for the kids? It was possible. But Greg couldn't make himself believe that it was likely.

He wanted so desperately to lean further down and see if there was anything else under the bed. He wanted to go through their wardrobe. He wanted to tear apart the whole room. He put the collar back and stood up. He nudged the dog bed back to about where it had been. He told himself that he couldn't bring this up, and he shouldn't think about it. He had to go back out there and pretend like he didn't know this thing that he had no business knowing.

When he made his way back to the dining room he saw Alex sitting there looking at Rachel like she had hung the moon. She was making a snide comment about one of the boys' teachers. But somehow it did sound nearly like music coming out of her mouth. He could understand it. The devotion he seemed to have for her. The worship, really. The want to curl up at her feet and be called a good boy.

It was all the more reason he wanted to say something. Wanted to ask. What was this? What were they doing? Was it okay to make it into a joke? Was it just a joke? Why was Alex always nervous around him? While he seemed so at peace next to Rachel. He shouldn't ask. He had already decided, he couldn't bring it up. He knew he was going to.

He stood behind his chair, resting his hand on the back of it. He looked at Alex and waited for him to look back.

Alex looked over briefly, then back at Rachel, then back to Greg questioningly, "Were you planning on heading out?"

"Hmm, maybe," Greg tapped his fingers lightly against the chair, "Just curious. Were you planning on getting a dog?"

Alex went red instantly as his mouth dropped open. His jaw worked up and down like he was trying to say something but nothing came out.

"Ah," Rachel said, "Well, that's as good of a segue as any. Alex would like to tell you something."

Rachel was smiling sweetly at Alex who was looking at her like she had just pushed him off a cliff. Suddenly the whole thing felt very absurd.

Greg tried for a joke, "I'm guessing you're not getting me a dog."

It shocked a solitary, sharp laugh out of Alex. Then he stuttered out, "W-well, ah, th-the thing is," he chewed at his lip, "Um, well, a-actually," he dissolved into more laughter but it sounded sort of frantic.

Greg grimaced and looked over to Rachel. She grabbed Alex's hand, moving her thumb back and forth across his knuckles. He looked over to her, terrified.

Still smiling softly, she sighed and asked, "Do you want me to do it, sweetie?"

Alex nodded, "Oh, yes, please."

Rachel turned to Greg. Her hand was still gently soothing Alex. Her smile was still soft and sweet, but there was something in her eyes that betrayed the rest of her demeanor.

She leaned forward and said, "Alex is really, very attracted to you. And he's quite worried about the future of the show."

Greg felt like he had been punched in the gut twice, "Uh, what? Sorry," he looked at Alex, "What does that mean? 'The future of th-"

"Uh, no! That's not," Alex interrupted, shaking his head. He turned to Rachel, "That's not how I would've, um..."

"Oh really?" Rachel asked, with a laugh in her voice. She leaned back in her chair and let her hand slip off of Alex's. She crossed her legs. Her voice shifted from sweet to firm as she said, "Then you should've said it."

Alex looked down. His face was beet red. He nodded rapidly as he shrunk back from her a bit. Which did manage to temporarily distract Greg from his career ending. That was interesting. That was little Alex Horne. That was Alex anytime he talked to Greg for longer than ten minutes, excluding tonight.

Alex shifted in his chair towards Greg but kept his head tilted down. Speaking to the table he said, "I'm sorry. This is my fault. Nothing's going to happen to the show. Not unless you want something to happen to the show."

"Why wou- What," Greg sputtered. He was baffled. He turned away from both of them for a moment and scrubbed a hand over his face. He turned back and gripped the back of the chair with both hands. He put his weight against it and leaned forward, closer to Alex.

He practically shouted, "Why would I want anything to happen to the show?"

He could see Alex jolt back at the sound of his voice but then try to stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. He heard Rachel stifle a laugh next to him.

Weirdly, Greg felt like he was about to laugh too when he asked, even louder, "And what in the world does that have to do with the lead under your bed?"

Alex's eyelids fluttered close and a shiver seemed to roll through him. He opened his eyes slowly and cautiously looked up at Greg.

In an incredibly meek voice he said, "Well, that's the, the thing. I'm worried it's already written into the show. That's the dynamic. People like it. But if it bothers you we can, I don't know. Change it, I suppose."

Greg felt his hands grip tighter on the chair, "Already written in- You're the one that writes it! You wrote in your... I don't know. Dog fetish. Why are you acting like you have no control over it?"

Alex looked mildly horrified, "It's not called a dog fetish."

Greg shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I don't know!"

Rachel chuckled a bit meanly and said, "He didn't write it into the show. The show wrote it into our lives."

Greg stared at Rachel while he tried to puzzle out what that meant. He whipped his head back towards Alex when he had, "I'm sorry. Did you go out and buy all your little dog things last weekend?"

Alex frowned, "Yes?"

Greg decided he really needed to sit down. He pulled out his chair and dropped his weight on it. It groaned under him.

Alex sighed, "I feel like I'm not explaining myself properly."

"You're really fucking not," Greg said at the same time Rachel said, "You could be doing better, sweetie."

"Right," Alex took in a deep breath and let it out, "Okay. As Rachel said, I'm, uh, attracted to you. Which I only realized very recently, but I think I probably have been for a long time."

"Right," Greg said, ignoring the heavy feeling in his chest and how familiar that all sounded. And how odd it was for Alex to just say it with his wife sitting right next to them, looking mildly annoyed at worst.

"Right. Obviously, that could be a problem on its own. I mean, I know how you feel about me being your boss. But I am, in fact, your boss. So, I don't want you to feel, um, well-"

Greg snorted, "What? Harassed?"

"Yes," Alex said seriously, "And I haven't ever tried or meant to write anything that would, uh, that would, hm," he bit his lip.

"That would what?" Greg thought of Alex looking up at him from the dog bed, "That would turn you on?"

Alex looked like he just swallowed something sour, "Yes."

"But sometimes you, what, discover something and bring it home with you?"

"Y-yes, I guess. That's new too. I just, I guess I felt, if you didn't know, that I might, sort of, be taking advantage of you. And I don't want you to feel like, well, like-"

"Like you're manipulating me into acting out all your sick fantasies on national television?"

Alex looked like he might be sick, "Oh God! Is that how you feel?"

Greg chuckled, "No. It's just, Christ. You should really have Rhod on the show. He might be your match."

Alex looked puzzled, "Rhod Gilbert?"

Greg waved his hand at Alex, "Yeah, it- doesn't matter. Bad joke. I don't feel like that. Or," Greg hummed to himself, "Maybe I do. But I don't really care?"

Alex blinked at him, "Um? What?"

"Yeah. What's the plan? Moving forward, or whatever, if I'm... Just fine with it," Greg shrugged and scrunched up his face, "If I just think it's funny that you're a weird little pervert."

Alex, throughout the conversation, had shifted from looking embarrassed to uncomfortable. And Greg was starting to understand that those might be two entirely different things for Alex. That last comment seemed to slap him right back to embarrassed though. He flinched back and squirmed in his chair as his flush spread down his neck. Something about his face looked, well, pleased. Greg was glad to see it.

Obviously, he didn't really think it was just funny. Somewhere inside him, closer to the surface than he would like, something was screaming. This was so close to his initial assumption, yet so incredibly far. Alex and Rachel were sitting here sharing something... intimate, because Alex felt obligated to professionally. This wasn't about how Greg felt. This wasn't an invitation to share something personal. So, there was no need for Greg to try to make it personal.

Alex looked down, then back up at him through his eyelashes, "Well, I guess," he chewed at his lip a little, "I guess we could... Use it?"

Greg felt his eyebrows inch up his forehead.

Rachel sighed and stood up, "I think I will have a drink actually. Might take you boys a while to work out some ground rules."

"W-well I, I don't th-think- That's not really ne-" Alex sputtered.

Rachel gave him a stern look over her shoulder, "We literally just had this conversation. Remember? Last weekend?"

Alex went redder and nodded.

Greg leaned back in his chair, "What kind of wine do you have?"