The front door clicked shut behind them.
For a second, neither Leo nor Alex moved.
The grocery bags hung from Leo's hands, cutting lightly into his fingers. Alex stood beside him with the last two bags, gaze drifting toward the apartment door like he wasn't entirely sure whether he should follow Leo in or hand over the groceries and leave before he crossed some invisible line.
Leo noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"You're standing there like a delivery driver," he said.
Alex looked at him. "I'm trying to be respectful."
"You carried half the market home."
"Yes."
"You helped an old woman pick tomatoes for twenty minutes."
"She had very strong opinions about tomatoes."
Leo's mouth twitched.
Alex shifted slightly, uncertain in a way he rarely let himself look. "I just thought maybe you'd want a little more time before I started… showing up."
Leo stared at him for a moment.
Then he reached past him, unlocked the door properly, and nudged it open with his shoulder.
"Alex."
