Greg sat upright, gasping for breath, the nightmare of watching his parents deaths still playing over and over again in his head. Swiping a hand through his hair, he scanned the dimly lit bedroom with a sigh. I really hate sleeping alone. He slowly relaxed and threw aside his blankets, padding naked through the flat. He jumped when he caught sight of someone bundled up on the sofa. "What the-"

He was cut off when he heard, "What a welcome," in a groggy, yet familiar drawl.

"Lex? What the ruddy hell are you doing on my sofa?"

Alexi sat up, his blond hair in a wild tangle, and shook his head. "I thought I'd be welcome here," he returned wryly. "I can go and take your present with me."

"You idiot," Greg said with a light laugh. "There's a bed just down the hall you know."

Alexi's brows rose and he nearly laughed. He just had to tease Greg a bit. It wasn't like he could explain that the elf had warned him about Greg's lack of sleep lately. "Wasn't sure if I was welcome to just hop in. We were close but never between the sheets naked close like you and Rave were."

Rolling his eyes, Greg turned on his heel and started back towards the bedroom. "I'll put pants on and then you can tell me what present you're talking about."

Chuckling, Alexi followed Greg back to the bedroom, admiring the flat even though he was completely exhausted. Thank the gods that there had been a house elf to take the pup off his hands the moment he'd arrived. He and Rave had figured that a pet was a perfect gift for their best friend. According to Raven, who would have come along had there hadn't been some sort of emergency, one of Greg's 'sisters' owled him a few weeks ago with disturbing news. "How are you, Greg?"

Greg winced at the inquiry, stepping into his closet and out of sight. "Fine, just fine, Lex. You?"

Alexi dropped onto the end of the enormous bed, wondering who had decorated the place. Greg certainly wouldn't have taken the time... Maybe one of his sisters? "I'm fine, which you would know if you wrote more, unli."

Greg pulled on a pair of black cotton pajamas and stepped back out into the bedroom.

"I was stupid for a bit, unli"," he replied, returning the affection wholeheartedly. "I can explain later if you'd like. Now, about this present?"

Alexi snickered. "I traveled halfway around the world, can we sleep a bit first?"

Greg was dead tired himself, so he threw himself on the bed and crawled to the far side. I'm not going to sleep, but that doesn't mean Lex should suffer. "Sure."

"Greg," Alexi joked sleepily. "Do you own more than one pair of those sleep pants?"

"Closet, left side, halfway down," Greg muttered, still not wholly awake, though he was certain he wouldn't sleep again. "Take your pick."

Alexi stripped in the closet, folding his clothing neatly as angering the stern looking house elf, Luthien, he remembered belatedly, wasn't on his agenda. Pulling on a pair of black cotton sleep pants he rejoined Greg. "It'd be just like old times if Rave was here. He wanted to," he broke off yawning, "to come..."

Greg rolled to his stomach, turning his head to face one of his best friends in the world. "Explain later, sleep now, Lex, you look worn out."

Alexi yawned again, scooting closer and rolling to his stomach, laying his arm across Greg's back so that the raven he had tattooed on his lower right arm and the raven on Greg's backs were touching. Wishing he wasn't going to have to leave in the morning, he murmured, "Am...will," as he drifted off to sleep, comforted immensely by just being here.

Greg watched Alexi sleep with a sad, halfhearted smile, drifting between awake and asleep for the longest time. Memories of trips they'd taken, trouble they'd gotten into, and an overwhelming sense of belonging enveloped him as he finally drifted off to sleep.

****

Greg rubbed his eyes, wondered what the hell the weight was on his chest. Then he remembered, blinking and then chuckling at the sight of Alexi curled around him like a vine. It never failed, even though the two of them had never been lovers, that Alexi would all but crawl into him if given half a chance. At some point, they'd rolled and shuffled around. If Raven were here, he'd be much the same on the left. He'd lost count of how many times he had shoved them off so he could breathe only to have them moving right back moments later. "Lex?" he whispered, poking the blond in the ribs. "Lex."

"Wha' the fuck?" Alexi replied sleepily, "Sleepin' here."

"I have Starbucks, Luthien will likely have it ready by now," he replied spotting his watch on the bedside table. "It's nearly noon."

Alexi lifted his head, his blue-green eyes still hazy with sleep. "I know, who sends it to you, you ass."

Chuckling at the early morning snark, Greg rolled his eyes. "Kiss off, pillock, and get moving. You've a present to explain."

Alexi pushed up and rolled off of Greg. "I have to leave in a bit, damn bastards scheduling meetings right before Christmas."

Greg sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, his back to Alexi. "You run the company, Lex, tell them to kiss your arse and reschedule."

"I wish," Alexi growled, crawling over to sit with Greg. He could see that Greg had lost some weight, but looked otherwise healthy. "Really, how are you? I should've come with you."

Greg's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you think you know?"

"That you nearly killed yourself. Rave nearly lost it, thinking he was at fault. What happened? What the fuck were you thinking, Gregory?"

Greg jumped to his feet, pacing as not to lash out. "Don't ever call me Gregory again, Alexi. You know how much I fucking hate it!" He shoved both hands into his hair and yanked, hard. "I wasn't thinking, all right? And, no, you shouldn't have come with me. I'm a big boy." Glaring, he added, "Besides, I always took care of you and Rave."

Alexi moved quickly, standing toe-to-toe with Greg. "I know you damned well did, unli". It seemed to me that I should have returned the fucking favor!"

Greg laid a his hands on Alexi's shoulders and squeezed gently. "No, Lex. That which is freely given needs no repayment, you know that. I really don't want to fight with you, yeah?"

Alexi wasn't done. Laying his hands atop Greg's he looked right into Greg's brown eyes, wanting a promise, a vow between family members that couldn't be broken. "You will contact one of us if you feel that way again. Swear it."

"I swear."

Alexi smiled, dropping his hands. "Then lets go get that coffee and see your present."

Greg definitely felt better than he had in a while. He needed this connection, almost as much as he needed his connection with Maeve. Resting his arm across Lex's shoulders, he led the, slightly, shorter man towards the kitchen. "What exactly did you to get me?"

Alexi winced, wondering how Greg would be reacting to their gift. "Your house elf, Luthien, she liked it well enough."

"Oh Merlin," Greg snipped. "What the ruddy hell is it?"

Whatever explanation Alexi would've thought up on the fly was unnecessary as the tiny pup yipped and raced towards them, sliding across the floor.

"Oh, hell," Greg muttered, more surprised than irritated. "One of Voodoo's?"

Alexi crouched down, catching the Irish Wolfhound pup and cradling it against his chest before he sat down. "His name is Cherokee, so you can remember that you're one of The People even though you are here."

Greg sat cross-legged next to Alexi, eying the pup warily. "He'll be huge soon, Lex. The flat is small."

Alexi sniggered, masking the underlying reason for Cherokee which was to prod Greg back to his family home to face what was there. They didn't want him to go alone, just go at some point. He couldn't stay away forever. "And you are a wizard. Afjc agreed with us, it'll do you a world of good to have him here."

"I like him," Luthien stated firmly, crossing the room. She liked the smile on Master Val's face as he and the nice Mister Alexi sat with the puppy, right there on the floor in front of the piano. She held out large mugs of coffee that she'd had waiting, complete with warming charms.

Greg took the proffered mug and held his other hand out, palm up. "Hand him over then. He's so damn small I'll be afraid of stepping on him."

Ignoring the hand, Alexi set Cherokee in Greg's lap, and took the mug with a grateful smile for Luthien. "He'll grow fast as you well know."

Greg knew all too well, the litters being his, Raven, and Alexi's responsibilities when they'd been home from school. Scratching the pup's head gently, he gave in. "Welcome to Britain, Cherokee."

Alexi just laughed, Raven owed him fifty, having bet that it would take both of them to convince Greg to take the pup. He was going to enjoy collecting too, since Rave was usually right.

"There is food on the table," Luthien interjected.

"Let's eat and catch up before I have to go," Alexi suggested.

Greg grinned. "Sounds like a fine plan." He got to his feet with the pup cradled in one arm, coffee mug in hand. "So, how much does Rave owe you?"

(Summary) Greg has a late night visitor. There is a sleepover (no not that kind) and a new flatmate for Greg.