Title: Everybody's Got a Secret
Author: Nox
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Pairing: Alex/OMC
Notes: Grew out of the Alex/Christina comment below and my fetish for making the most macho characters closet gay. Fudged a few details on TB but hey, dramatic license.
"Everybody's got a secret, just be glad yours is out in the open" – Alex
"Oh yeah Alex, What's yours?" – Christina
Alex lent against the door, he stared at the form curled in his bed, the man's tanned skin shone in the dawn light and he closed his eyes. He let out a ragged breath as he hid his face in his hand. He slid down the door with a thump, his head falling onto his crossed arms. The first inkling he had that the man was awake was a drawl from the bed.
"You're freaking out, aren't you?" He heard the bed creak as the man sat up and slid out of the bed, he squatted down beside Alex.
"You have been with a man before haven't you?" The man stared at the top of Alex's head as the silence stretched out. He sighed loudly and rocked back onto his heals to stand, he stopped as Alex spoke.
"Never…Never while I was sober." He swallowed loudly. "I could always blame it on the alcohol." Understanding dawned on the man's face.
"So now you have to admit it and you're freaking out."
Alex lifted himself up and slid off the door to the wall beside it.
"You don't have to deal with this from a one night stand, the door's there." The man sat down beside him and smiled.
"You are attractive, intelligent, you have a job and apart from this freak out no apparent neuroses. You are a rare find and I'm not just going to give up." Alex looked up at him. "What? Ok so you're finally dealing with the fact that you are gay and it's blowing apart all those happy little lies you have built up around you. A lot of us go though it, you're just a late bloomer. You will get over it and as you are both hot, sane and employed I wouldn't mind being around then." The man pulled himself up and offered his hand to Alex.
"Until then however, I am Troy and I will be making you eggs and coffee if you'd like to move your breakdown to the kitchen."
Troy looked up from the TV as Alex walked through the door.
"You look like crap." Alex looked down at him.
"Thanks." He said dryly. "Let's see how good you look after a thirty hour shift." Troy smirked as Alex flopped down beside him.
"That, love, is why I'm an accountant and not a surgeon." Troy lent in and kissed him.
"Go shower, once you're clean you can eat the remains of my stir-fry, then you can collapse." He stood up, offering Alex his hand.
Troy was leaning against the counter as Alex came into the kitchen and lent against his back.
"I think I should keep you around more, my apartment is so much cleaner and I'm eating so much better now that you're around." Troy turned around and smiled.
"Is this your passive aggressive way of asking me to move in with you?" Alex just looked at him, staring into his eyes. Troy laughed.
"You are the most insecure man I have ever met." Alex stepped back from Troy and turned to leave the room, Troy grabbed his arm. "My lease is up in a month, I haven't renewed it, I figured if you didn't ask by then I'd at least have an excuse." Troy pulled Alex up against himself.
"So are you up to celebrating or are you too exhausted from your long shift?" Alex scowled at Troy's smirk and kissed him, pressing Troy back against the bench top.
"What shift?" Troy laughed and led Alex into the bedroom.
Meredith flopped into her chair as she set her tray down in front of her.
"Evil Spawn is up to something."
Christina looked up from her lunch.
"What?"
"Evil Spawn is up to something."
"He's always up to something." Christina said as she waved her hand dismissively.
"No, he hasn't made a single sexist comment in weeks and he didn't even try to steal the guy with the arrow in his head." Meredith scowled. "It's freaking me out."
"Maybe the Gyno Squad's finally getting to him." Christina laughed.
Meredith scowled.
"He's up to something."
Bailey stuck her head into the locker room.
"Yang, Grey, where's Karev?"
"He's gone home." Meredith said as she looked down to tie her shoe. "Why?"
"His patient has TB, he's been exposed to her all week and as I do not want to loose an intern, you two." She waves at Christina and Meredith. "Are going to go and get him back for me so I can treat him. And seeing as none of you can keep it in your pants bring in whoever he's sleeping with just in case."
Christina looked pissed.
"Have you tried paging him, or maybe ringing his cell?" Bailey cocked an eyebrow.
"Of course I have Yang, I wouldn't come to you if it were that easy." She flapped her hands at them. "Go."
"I'm going to kill Karev when I get my hands on him." Christina scowled as she stepped out of the car.
"Lets just get him, then we can go home, I know that I for one would like to get some sleep." Meredith said as they walked into the building.
Meredith checked the apartment number as they approached the door.
"This is it." Christina walked up to the door and started banging on it.
"Karev, you get your ass out here!" There was a thump from within the apartment and for a few seconds rustling could be heard before someone stomped down the hallway. The door was ripped open and Alex stood there looking pissed off.
"What the hell do you want Yang?"
Christina lent against the door.
"Your patient has TB so you and anyone you've been sharing bodily fluids with this week get to come back to the hospital to be pumped full of drugs. So get moving, the sooner you move the sooner I get to go home."
Meredith was watching Alex as Christina told him about the TB, but it wasn't until she mentioned he'd have to bring whoever he was having sex with that he actually looked frightened. He leant back a little.
"Whatever." He moved to shut the door. "You've found me, you can go home now."
Christina stepped into the closing doorway.
"No way, you're coming with us, because if you don't turn up it's my ass Bailey's going to chew out."
Meredith saw the fear flash across Alex's face again, he twisted to push Christina out.
"Yang I do not need a babysitter." Christina just stood in the doorway, not moving.
"No way, get dressed, move it." She flapped her hands at him. "So are there any of your little conquests we're going to have to collect?"
Alex scowled.
"Let me get dressed, we'll be out in a minute."
Christina laughed as he shut the door.
"I think we interrupted something."
When the door finally reopened Alex walked though clearing the doorway for Meredith to see the other figure.
"Hi I'm Troy." He held out his hand to Meredith who shook it numbly. Christina swung around to face Alex.
"You're gay?!" Now Meredith understood the fear on his face, he looked tense, afraid. Troy lay his hand on Alex's arm, Alex sighed and smiled tightly at Christina.
"Yeah I am."
Christina slung her bag over her shoulder as she and Meredith walked out of the hospital.
"I wasn't expecting that. I figured George or maybe you if you get tired of screwing up with men all the time." Meredith scowled at her. "But Karev? Huh, he hid it well." Christina brightened. "Oh I am so coming home with you now to watch you tell George." Meredith looked at her.
"I'm not telling George, I know what it's like having your secrets all over the hospital." Christina just laughed at her.
"You know it'll be all around the hospital by tomorrow, at least this way we get to watch George freak out."
Meredith sighed.
"Ok." Christina smirked.
Izzy was in the kitchen when they arrived at the house, she was asking questions before they had even shut the door.
"Why are you so late? Did something happen?" Christina dodged her and walked towards the kitchen.
"Karev's patient had TB we had to go fetch him and his boyfriend." Izzy continues following them into the kitchen for a moment before what Christina said registered.
"His WHAT?"
Christina laughed.
"Yeah you turned him gay." She smirked then yelled up the stairway. "George!"
George appeared at the top of the stairs looking disheveled and confused. Christina beckoned him down.
"Come here." She grinned.
Izzy was looking between Christina and Meredith with a disbelieving look on her face.
"Alex is gay?!"
George's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
"Gay?" He spluttered. Christina laughed.
"Yeah, that was a fun as I thought it would be."
Meredith who had been quiet spoke as Izzy ushered George into the kitchen.
"He's got good taste though." Izzy looked at Meredith, startled.
"What?" Meredith said. "Troy's pretty McHot, I wonder how long they've been together?"
Christina glanced over from where she was still watching George gape.
"It can't have been that long, I know he was hiding it but how long can you hide a boyfriend for?"
Troy winced as the nurse injected the TB test into his forearm.
"Well this is a fun way to spend our first anniversary."
"What, matching TB tests isn't your idea of fun?" Alex smiled wryly. Troy looked at him as the nurse sat them down to wait.
"So they know. They didn't react too badly." Troy laid his hand on Alex's shoulder.
"But it'll be all around the hospital by tomorrow. Alex sighed. Troy squeezed Alex's shoulder.
"They'll eventually find something else to interest them."
"I know." Alex exhaled deeply and dropped his head into his hands. "But until they do I'm going to be a sideshow freak."
Alex was right, for the first few weeks stares and whispers followed him everywhere, George gaped at him every time he came near, which brightened his day a bit, but he hated being the attraction. But Troy was right, they found other scandals, other people to whisper about, life moved on and continued moving on, people came and went, patients lived and died, time past and Alex was still Alex, albeit better fed and less stressed.
Fin