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“Morning.” Alex yawns, stretching his arms behind his head as he walks into the kitchen. His shirt travels up his stomach, and Henry’s eyes immediately dart to his cup of tea.
Alex’s mug of coffee rests across from Henry’s tea on the counter where it’s always found every day. Henry and Alex have been roommates for two years now, this being their third year of living together near campus. They both had been looking for a place to stay, and a partner to split the rent with.
And well, when one day a certain student with dark curls and a dashing smile accidentally bumps into Henry on his way out of the coffee shop and spills his drink and the papers he was holding all over Henry, the Brit didn’t know he would end up here two years later.
Best friends and roommates with Alex Claremont-Diaz. Henry still doesn’t understand how no one had the heart to not want to live with Alex. Though he may suspect a few reasons as to why not when he remembers how his heart had picked up when Alex asked if he wanted in.
Turns out one of the papers Alex was holding was an accommodation list, and upon Henry taking notice of that and Alex repeatedly apologizing and asking how he could fix this, an opportunity had shone for the two students.
Logically speaking, no student should ever just ask the first stranger they bump into to be roommates, and the other doesn’t agree right away, but what chance does logic stand against tantalizingly long eyelashes and a sharp jawline?
This is how Henry finds himself today, standing in the kitchen of his and Alex’s shared flat with an embarrassingly massive crush that had developed over the past two years into something that makes Henry want to run and hide under his bed every time Alex so much as looks at him.
Alex usually wakes up first, goes for a run before class, then comes back for breakfast. Or mainly coffee. Henry is lucky if he manages to force him to eat anything with it on occasional days. He doesn’t even know how Alex finds enough time to do all that before his classes. His energy levels are confusing, but it’s no surprise given that 70% of Alex’s diet is caffeine.
“Hi,” Henry says back, quieter than he intended. Damnit, he mentally curses and makes the mistake of clenching his jaw.
“Why the long face?” Alex asks, taking a sip of his coffee. His curls are still damp from the shower, and his smell fills Henry’s nostrils, making his stomach flutter.
“It’s nothing.” He lies.
Alex raises his eyebrows, clearly not buying Henry’s feeble attempt to hide it.
Then the realization seems to hit Alex. “It’s not your wisdom tooth again, is it?”
Alex whines when Henry shrugs one shoulder. “You gotta get this shit taken out if it’s bothering you that much, H. Is it too bad?” he leans forward across the counter as if to take a peek into Henry’s mouth.
Henry backs away not so smoothly, startled at the movement, but he tries to hide it behind his cup of tea. “Nothing that I can’t manage,” he answers, though the constant throbbing in his jaw isn’t at all pleasant.
Alex gives him a look that’s somewhere between concerned and resigned, but it quickly shifts to panic when he glances at the clock past Henry on the wall. “Shit, I’m running late. See ya!” He takes one big gulp of his coffee before he snatches his backpack from where it is by the door and runs off.
Henry doesn’t realize he is smiling until he feels the muscles of his cheeks twitching.
He ends up losing appetite halfway through his tea, so he leaves it and downs a painkiller for the headache that’s already starting to take hold of him. The rest of the day goes by, Henry goes to his own classes, studies at the library, runs into Alex at the coffeeshop in between lectures, and the pain he was feeling this morning is long forgotten.
“Honey, I’m home!” Alex sings as he walks through the door, dropping his bag by it.
Henry laughs, the sound genuine and heartfelt. It’s become a habit of his to shout this on his way in because, according to Alex, they’re just like Chandler and Joey. Ultimately, Henry’s response usually comes in shortly as “Hello, sweetheart.”
Henry never overthinks it, but over time, the sound of Alex’s voice after a long day of classes and studying has grown more and more sweet to Henry’s lovesick heart and less playful. It’s treacherous, and he often scolds himself for it, because he could never dare to ruin his friendship with Alex. It’s too precious. He would rather have him like this than to not have him at all.
So he hides the flutter he gets when Alex says his name or calls him sweetheart, the way his heart leaps when Alex laughs at something Henry said, the double take his heart does when Alex is in within Henry’s personal space, all away in a room, far away from his reach, and hopes it doesn’t outgrow it.
“I’m going to ask you something and you’re going to say yes.” Alex walks over to him.
“Okay…?” Henry closes the book he was reading and directs his full attention to his roommate.
“Can we have takeout for dinner tonight?”
“Alex—”
“I know we just had Chinese a couple of days ago, but,” he looks excitedly at Henry, brown eyes glinting and waiting for the other to catch onto what he is saying.
“No way.” Henry grins.
“Hell yeah.” Alex beams back, flopping down onto the chair across from where Henry sits on the couch.
Alex has been struggling with an assignment for a whole week, and by struggling Henry means overthinking his own work and trying to outdo himself.
“I told you you were going to ace this paper,” Henry says, unable to stop smiling.
“You were right.” Alex agrees. “Again.”
Henry nods in acknowledgment, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Alright so this calls for celebration, and I’m paying.”
“Ah, the spoils of victory.” Henry chants, earning a chuckle from Alex.
“God, you’re such a nerd.” Alex shakes his head.
“Yet,” Henry points at Alex. “You live with me.”
“Your daily habit of making my coffee makes up for it.” Alex shrugs playfully, taking his phone out of his pocket to order their food.
They end up sharing a pizza that is larger than both of their capacity for food, but they end up finishing it either way. Henry puts on the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, and Alex doesn’t mind because, if he chose dinner, Henry gets to choose the movie. Henry is still bothered by the nagging pain in his jaw, but he ignores it and eats on his good side.
“Do you think we’ll ever get to experience that?” Alex suddenly asks from next to Henry on the couch.
Henry’s heart had no business jumping the way it did at the question.
“I—what?” Henry finds himself stuttering. Oh, come on.
“You know, a kind of love like that.” He turns his head to look at Henry through sleepy eyes and a lazy smile. “To meet someone who would love you in a Shakespearean kind of way.”
Henry is silent for a moment, panic surging through his senses. He had never imagined Alex to be a hopeless romantic like him. Alex was radiant, dashing, bold, sweet and anyone would be next level insane to not fall in love with him. He was almost certain Alex would poke fun at him for the choice of the movie, but he didn’t. Which was a surprise in itself. And now this?
You would want a love like that? The question is at the tip of Henry’s tongue.
“Hey,” Alex frowns as if remembering something. “How are your teeth?”
Henry is suddenly, violently pulled back to reality. “Doesn’t hurt anymore.” He lies again.
Alex hums, probably losing his words to sleep as he glues his eyes back to the TV where the credits are rolling. “I still think you should get it removed.”
Henry sighs, a spark of fear at the prospect of undergoing surgery erupting inside him. “I’m fine,” he repeats. “It’ll probably go away on its own.” Though how a rooted tooth lodged in his jaw would disappear on its own is an interesting delusion to him.
“It better,” Alex mumbles more than says, snuggling further into the couch and looking dangerously cuddly to Henry. His eyes fall closed, and Henry pointedly shifts his weight a little further from Alex, not trusting himself.
Henry falls asleep shortly after Alex, too tired to get to his own room like his best friend. When he closes his eyes, he sees a portrait of a young man with big brown eyes and a captivating smile, and that man is his.
When Henry wakes up the next morning with numbing pain on the left side of his face, Alex has already left for his classes. He tries to ignore the disappointment he feels at Alex’s absence from next to him as he gets up. Henry is off today, which is, he realizes midday when the pain doesn’t get any better, ideal. He doesn’t think he would have been able to sit in a lecture and hear about the history of English Literature through a migraine.
He tries to busy himself in anything that could make him forget about the discomfort in his jaw, but neither tidying up nor re-sorting his and Alex’s DVDs, and certainly not even eating helps. He tries to take a nap, but the pain only gets worse until Alex returns home.
“I’m home, sweetheart!” Alex announces, and grimaces instantly when Henry doesn’t reply. “Henry?” He calls, checking the kitchen, the living room, and then he sees Henry’s bedroom door closed. Huh.
“H?” He knocks on the door. “You awake?”
“Yeah,” Henry answers after a few moments, his voice muffled. And strained. He sounds off, and it doesn’t help when Alex asks if everything is okay and this is Henry’s response.
“I’m just feeling a little under the weather. Don’t come in, I don’t want to give it to you,” Henry says, his voice a little shaky.
Alex does the exact opposite and goes in. He finds Henry curled up in bed with a hand to his left cheek. He has a scowl on his face and a pout to his bottom lip that makes him look years younger than a university student. He looks seven, if Alex is to describe it accurately.
“What’s wrong?” He asks, approaching Henry who buries his face further into the covers when Alex tries to take a closer look.
He snatches the covers off Henry’s face, ignoring the yelp he lets out. “Jesus,” Alex exclaims once he sees his face up close. His eyes are red rimmed, and his cheek is slightly swollen.
“Alright, that’s it.” He grabs one of Henry’s hoodies and throws it at him. “We’re getting you to the nearest hospital.”
“Wha—” Henry grapples at the garment that was thrown at his face. Alex really doesn’t understand why Henry keeps putting this off.
He is familiar with the whole wisdom teeth removal procedure, because June had undergone it before. His sister was adamant on not doing it too, until one of her teeth got infected and things took a bad turn.
Judging by Henry’s state, he looks like he is going down the same path June went, and Alex will not let that happen.
“I will hear no argument about it.” Alex holds up a finger when Henry opens his mouth to argue. He almost winces when he sees his best friend’s swollen gums.
He takes a deep breath and crouches in front of Henry. “I won’t leave your side, okay?”
When Henry doesn’t budge, Alex chases his gaze. “I’ll even hold your hand if you want me to?”
He chuckles and Henry rolls his eyes. “How sacrificial of you.”
Clearly in pain, Henry finally gives in and lets Alex drive him to the hospital. While he goes to get his X-Ray done, Alex fills the paperwork. Him and Henry had put each other as the other’s emergency contact in addition to one sibling when they moved in together. So Alex writes down his contact information, and by the time he is finished, Henry walks out of the X-Ray room.
“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this.” He fumbles with the sleeve of his light blue hoodie, and Alex doesn’t think before grabbing Henry’s hand. As promised.
When Henry looks down surprised at their joined hands then back up at him, Alex winks.
“Fast and painless, I promise.” Alex tugs on his hand and they move towards the room where the dentist waits for Henry as Alex was informed.
He feels a little guilty for lying to Henry about it being “fast and painless”, but he is already nervous enough and it wouldn’t have helped if Alex was honest with him. He is probably going to be fully sedated as well, but Alex doesn’t dare bring the topic before they enter the operatory and the dentist confirms it himself after taking a look at Henry’s X-Ray.
“Are either of you familiar with how the surgery goes?” the dentist asks, motioning for Henry to lie down in the dental chair. He is an old man with graying hair, and looks too friendly for a man who butchers people’s teeth for a living.
“N—”
“Yes, my older sister has all of her wisdom teeth removed.” Alex is quick to answer before the man starts explaining what he is going to do. There really is no need for Henry to know in detail. “I know the recovery steps as well.”
The dentist smiles an odd smile then looks at Henry. “You got lucky with your partner,” he says so casually that Alex doesn’t catch onto what it means and misses the choking noise Henry makes in the background.
“Okay, Henry, ready to get rid of that nagging little shit?” The dentist tries to lighten Henry up as he brings forward the anaesthesia mask.
Henry tries his best to match the mood, but his nerves give him away. Alex watches as he sticks his chin out and breathes in, glancing at Alex who mouths a “you got this” at him. Henry reaches out his hand and Alex strides to hold it, caressing his knuckles with his thumb. Has Henry’s hand always been this soft?
“Take a deep breath,” the dentist instructs and Henry listens. He repeats as told through his nose that is covered with the general anesthesia machine, and soon enough, Henry’s eyes flutter closed, and his hold on Alex’s hand loosens. Alex lays it on Henry’s tummy, watching his face change from contorted to peaceful as the drug takes over his senses.
“You can wait outside, dear.” Alex nods at the guy and during the hour that Henry takes in the operatory, Alex goes to do a little bit of mandatory shopping. He makes a list of everything he remembers June needed while recovering where oral care and food are concerned, and only waits for the meds that Henry’s dentist will prescribe.
When Alex comes back, he finds that Henry’s procedure was finished only ten minutes ago. So, he is directed to the recovery room where Henry has been left to wake up from anesthesia. Alex waits for about thirty minutes, taking out his phone and snapping a photo for Bea and June at some point, when Henry gives the first signs of gaining back his consciousness. He frowns as his eyes open, blinking heavily at the ceiling then around him until they land on Alex.
There is a soft frown on his face, like that of a baby when it first wakes up to too much light. Alex wants to reach forward and ease it away with his thumb. A gauze is stuffed into his already swelling cheek, making him look like a chipmunk. The image makes Alex want to laugh, but he fights it down when Henry grimaces and tries to get up only for his hand to slip from the edge of the bed, causing him to nearly fall off.
Alex rushes to his side in one move, catching him before his imbalance sends him to the hard porcelain floor. “Whoa,” he breathes, steadying his friend into place.
Henry blinks slowly and looks up at Alex, propped against his chest. His face breaks into a silly grin, gauze sticking out of his cheek. “Hi,” he says.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Alex smiles back, guiding Henry to rest back on the cushions behind him, but Henry doesn’t move. He brings one hand up to Alex’s face and pokes his cheek instead.
“Pretty,” he says, though it comes out as something between “petty” and “wetty”.
Alex laughs, probably tempting Henry to do the same because he, too, starts giggling.
“Comfortable, are you?” Alex chuckles when Henry leans further into him and nods.
Henry’s hair is soft and lush under Alex’s chin, and he considers running his hand through it, but he doesn’t risk making Henry feel any sleepier. They wait a little longer until Henry is fully vigilant and can walk without losing his balance every two steps before they finally decide to leave.
On the way back, Henry grumbles at every bump Alex takes on the road, scowling when Alex laughs. He tries to put on some music to help brighten up his mood, but Alex realizes it’s a bad idea when Henry starts crying to the chorus of Total Eclipse of the Heart.
“Shhh, it’s okay.” Alex grabs a tissue with the hand that’s not on the steering wheel and hands it to Henry who clutches it and wipes his face. “No more.”
Henry doesn’t speak much, given the piece of gauze he’s instructed to bite onto, and the remaining drowsiness in his system. Alex glances at him every now and then to check that he’s okay and smiles to himself every time he sees him pouting. By the time Alex parks the car under their building, Henry’s already falling asleep. There’s a small cut at the corner of his mouth, sore from the procedure.
Alex gets out of the car first then switches to Henry’s side. He reaches to unbuckle his best friend’s seatbelt for him when Alex feels Henry drape an arm around his shoulder.
“Uh, Henry?” Alex calls, the space between them too little for him to turn his face and look at Henry.
“Mhmm,” Henry replies, his head falling more into the crook of Alex’s neck than resting on it. “Smell good,” he says through gauze-biting teeth.
Alex lets out a short laugh. “Okay, that’s enough for you tonight, let’s get you up.”
Henry throws his other arm around Alex’s neck and waits while Alex breaks into a fit of uncontrollable giggles as he slides one arm under Henry’s legs and lifts him up. “You are so making me a month's worth of daily lunch packs for this, Fox,” Alex says under his breath.
“Stop laughing.” Henry scolds into his ears as Alex jogs into the elevator and punches in their floor number with his elbow. He catches a glimpse of how they look in the mirror, and his smile widens in a way that is as silly as exactly how they look.
Henry’s long legs are dangling off Alex’s arm while his head is buried in his neck, soft breaths hitting his skin. The sensation tickles Alex’s spine, but he blames it on how funny the whole thing is. He already can’t wait to tease Henry about it and make up stories tomorrow.
They manage to get to their apartment alright, and Alex lets Henry down gently onto the bed. “So tired,” he breathes, blinking slowly.
“I know, sweetheart. Whoop!” He catches Henry midway before he succumbs to the sleep that’s overtaking him, swaying slightly. “Not yet.” He shoots him an apologetic look. “We gotta change your gauze first.”
Henry makes a noise of protest but sits still. “Open up,” Alex rubs a finger under his chin, holding a clean piece of gauze.
Henry looks at him through pleading eyes not to do this before he very slowly opens his mouth. Alex swiftly switches the blood-soaked gauze with a clean one, making sure he doesn’t let Henry wait with his mouth open for a long time. “See? We’re done.” Alex smiles at him, however Henry doesn’t smile back.
He is staring at Alex dazedly like a baby that’s falling asleep. “Arms up,” he instructs, and Henry obliges, raising his arms for Alex to take the hoodie off of him.
He carefully untangles Henry’s head from the cotton fabric, holding back a smile when he glares at it as Alex throws it in the hamper. His gaze then reverts back to Alex who places a hand on Henry’s forehead to check his temperature. “We’re going to wait a little until we’re sure it’s not bleeding anymore. Can you do that for me?” Alex slides his hand to Henry’s good cheek to double check that his temperature isn’t rising up. All the while Henry’s watching—studying Alex’s moves. He doesn't pay much attention to it and tries to think of a way to keep Henry from sleeping before at least another thirty minutes.
Henry nods once, his skin brushing Alex’s fingers. “Good.” Alex smiles, withdrawing his hand.
If he so much as opens any sort of show or movie for Henry, he will immediately fall asleep. Same goes for reading him something. So, Alex takes a long shot and flips through his phone for the abandoned colouring app that’s been sitting there inactive for a while. He needs to sort the stuff he bought while Henry was in surgery anyway, so instead of leaving Henry alone, Alex lets him sit at the counter, thankfully carried away in colouring away.
Every now and then he turns the phone in Alex’s direction to show him his progress, and honestly, it’s the most fucking adorable he has ever seen Henry. Is he going to tell him that though? No.
“How much longer?” Henry asks gruffly, his shoulders slumping. He has a deep frown on his face that doesn’t match his soft features, indicating how tired he actually is.
“Not any longer,” Alex reassures him, stepping in his line of sight. “You’re taking your meds and sleeping if the bleeding has stopped.”
Alex stands between Henry’s legs, and this time he opens his mouth without waiting for Alex to tell him. Fortunately this pad is less covered in blood, and Alex guesses a little bit of cool water would just do for now.
“Don’t go again,” Henry whines when Alex goes to get a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Alex replies right away, pouring some into an empty glass. He pops two pills into his hand and gets back to Henry who has taken to resting his head back against the cupboard, eyes half closed.
“Here, sweetheart.” Alex hands him the cup and drops one pill into his hand. “One at a time.”
Henry shoves the pill in his mouth and tentatively raises the glass to his lips, his hand shaking a little. Alex circles his hand around Henry’s over the glass, and the other ready with a napkin under his chin. Henry winces at the stinging contact of the water, his face twisting in dismay.
“I don’t want to.” Henry shakes his head when Alex gives him the other medicine.
“Just this one,” Alex encourages, though he hates to be the one pushing him to do something that causes him discomfort. “I’ll carry you to bed?” Alex tempts. He feels evil for this, but he seriously needs Henry to take his meds to avoid any post-surgery complications.
Henry sighs overdramatically and takes the other pill, spilling a little water down his chin. Alex takes the glass away and sets it aside then gently wipes away the water on Henry’s face. He looks up at him, and that sort of dazed look is back on his face. It must be exhaustion, Alex thinks. As if Alex hit a button with the motion, tears rapidly fill Henry’s blue eyes.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” The pet name slips out of Alex before he could put any sort of thinking to it. He cautiously turns Henry’s face to look at his bruised cheek, checking for any unusual signs.
A low shaky breath comes out of Henry’s mouth, poking at Alex’s already rising anxiety. “Do you want me to take you back to the doctor? Are you in pain?” The questions tumble one after another, and Henry is still wordless.
His teary eyes flicker between Alex’s brown ones, and one tear rolls down his cheek. It lands on Alex’s hand that is holding Henry’s face. “Henry, talk to me.”
“I love you.” Henry hiccups.
Alex freezes for a moment. Two. Three.
“It’s so stupid,” he continues in the background, but all Alex hears is I love you, I love you, I love you. “Because—”“because—”he hiccups again, and Alex gently wraps his arms around him and lifts him off the counter.
“Shhh, come here,” Alex whispers, heading towards Henry’s bedroom. “Nothing you do is ever stupid, okay?” He makes sure his words are clear.
“You don’t hate me, do you?” Henry croaks into his shoulder, and Alex’s heart gives a little pang.
His mind is desperately calling for help somewhere under twelve layers of humor and babysitting Henry, but Alex sweeps the piece of information under the post-surgery daze rug.
“Of course not, sweetheart.” Alex doesn’t even think about it.
“...love it when you call me that.” Henry’s voice grows heavier and slower.
“Do you now?” Alex chuckles, but no further response comes from Henry. When Alex lays him in bed, his eyes are fully closed.
He untangles his arm from under Henry’s legs and moves to withdraw his other arm from under his neck, but it’s stuck. Alex glances at Henry and finds him already fast asleep, unbothered by Alex’s arm. He tries to measure his moves so he could take it out without waking Henry, but when he tries, Henry frowns, a low noise escaping him.
Alex then realizes that it’s not much of a noise as it’s a request.
“Stay.”
—
Henry really thought that being woken up by pain would be off his list this month if he listened to Alex’s pressing will to get the wisdom tooth in question removed, but he was foolish to think it would disappear the first morning after the procedure. To be fair though, he did have one of the best nights of sleep he has ever had in a while. He doesn’t know what is different about his bedding today, but it feels…oddly warm, not to mention that it smells—Henry’s eyes fly wide open, his breathing stopping mid-exhale.
His good cheek is propped against someone. Someone who is muscular, warm, and very much familiar that Henry’s heart beats so loudly in his chest he feels like it’s going to jump out of his ears. Warmth spreads over his head and he realizes belatedly that there’s a hand in his hair, long fingers buried into the roots. He needs to breathe.
“Morning, Toothless.” Henry hears, no, feels Alex’s deep voice vibrate through his chest.
He slowly, though disappointedly, lifts his head off Alex’s chest and grumbles in response. He feels like his jaw might fall off if he opens his mouth. He can already sense how swollen his lips and left cheek are too, which is embarrassing. He doesn’t even begin to want to see how he looks now, or hears about the horrors of last night.
Of which he, thankfully, remembers nothing.
“Please don’t tell me I blackmailed you into this.” Henry rubs his eyes, fully sitting up.
Alex huffs out a laugh, scrunching his nose. “Something like that.” He is still in his black fitted shirt from yesterday, and most of his curls fall on his forehead, dangling poetically over his eyes. God, he looks so beautiful Henry can’t believe he was just lying in his arms seconds ago.
Though how they ended up like that, is a horror story for Henry to explore later when Alex isn’t sprawled on his bed looking ridiculously handsome.
“Oh God.” Henry buries his face in his hands, yelping when he accidentally nudges his recovering cheek.
“How are you feeling?” Alex asks. Henry peeks at him through the gaps between his fingers over his face.
“Like shit?” His voice is muffled by his hands, which causes Alex to laugh, the sound sweet like a drop of honey.
“It’s because you’ve just woken up. Come on.” He gets up, extending a hand for Henry to pull him out of bed. Henry eyes it curiously before he puts his hand in Alex’s. A spark bursts under Henry’s skin at the contact and flies all the way up to his mind. This isn’t the first time Alex holds his hand, is it?
Henry doesn’t remember much from yesterday. Before the procedure, he was too busy panicking and trying to kick back at his nerves that the last thing he remembers is Alex saying “you got this” at him. Everything after that is a complete haze. On their way out of Henry’s room, the English Lit student spots the hoodie he was wearing thrown in the hamper. He looks down at himself, his mind making a wild connection that he really hopes is only a hallucination.
“Don’t you have classes today?” Henry asks, trailing after Alex into the kitchen. He watches as Alex takes out what very possibly looks like ingredients for breakfast.
“I can easily catch up.” Alex, who is always ten steps ahead of himself when it comes to studying, says.
“Absolutely not—” Henry shakes his head. “Look, I’m not even allowed to eat. I’ll just consume whatever fluids I can take and won’t forget my meds. How about that?”
“Sounds fantastic, only you don’t know where your meds are, do you?” Alex quirks an eyebrow at him.
Henry pauses. “They’re…where we keep medicine?”
Alex chuckles and pours Henry a glass of coconut water.
This is how it goes for the three days that follow. Henry keeps complaining that Alex should just leave and attend his classes, and Alex doesn’t listen. Henry keeps arguing that he is fine, but on the first night he wakes up scrambling for an ice pack because his cheek can’t, for the love of sweet Jesus, stop hurting.
Alex finds him and insists on keeping it for him even after multiple attempts from Henry to convince him that he actually has hands and can do it himself.
“You must’ve accidentally slept on it,” Alex had said. “Here,” he had laid back against Henry’s headboard and asked him to sleep. “I can make sure you don’t hurt yourself again.”
Henry’s stomach had flipped and turned, his cheeks had reddened, and his heart had done the silliest skips, but he couldn’t refuse to be taken care of by Alex.
The second day, Alex makes him soup. He lets Henry pick the movies he wants to watch and joins him in watching, paying full attention. He helps him rinse his mouth and makes sure he doesn’t dislodge his blood clot. He lets Henry sleep in his arms and when he argues that it must be uncomfortable for Alex, the other claims that he sleeps best this way.
The third day, Henry tries soft foods, and he looks less like a chipmunk with food stuffed in his cheeks. His lips still look a little swollen, and the cut in the corner of his mouth stops burning every time he uses salt solution to rinse his mouth.
The fourth night, Henry has had enough of his spiraling thoughts around Alex and how he, how he seems…different. Not bad different, but softer. He had expected Alex to joke about his post-anesthesia theatrics, maybe even make some stories up, but oddly enough, Alex doesn’t even mention it. When Henry had asked, he only showed him the photo he took of Henry while he was still asleep in the recovery room.
When Henry tried to poke around the subject again, Alex said that nothing much happened and that overall, Henry was too exhausted and slept right away. Which made sense when he first said it, but after thinking about it, Henry senses that there is more to it.
If he puts aside how terrible of a liar Alex is, he can’t put aside the way he relaxes under Henry before they sleep, the way Henry sometimes catches him looking, the way he has stopped letting his cocky side be the dominant one. Something happened that night and Henry doesn’t know if he should want to find out what it is.
Alex rubs his hand over Henry’s back as he swallows down his antibiotics, and then takes the glass back to set it on the nightstand behind him. They’re sitting in Henry’s bed the way they have been doing for the past few days, rough hours away from their bedtime. Alex had been studying most of the day, and Henry had taken to catching up on his assignments too.
But exhaustion rushed in earlier than they had expected, and soon enough, Alex was walking into Henry’s room with his meds and water.
“Did I say something?” Henry finally asks.
“What?” Alex frowns quizzically.
“That night, when you took me home. I said something or did something—did I?” His stomach ties itself into a knot. They’re sitting face to face with Alex fully turned towards Henry who sits in the middle of the bed.
Alex looks at him for a long moment. “Why are you saying that?”
“You never talk about it, which is…not you,” Henry puts it, avoiding saying that it’s weird. “So I have either said something that freaked you out, or you tried to kill me in my sleep.” Henry narrows his eyes.
Alex snickers. “I can assure you that the latter didn’t happen.”
Henry perks up, his ears heating up along with the sides of his face. “So I did say something.”
“You did,” Alex says slowly, his eyes regarding Henry in a foreign way.
Henry swallows. “Do I want to know?”
“I think you already do, sweetheart,” Alex leans a little into Henry’s space.
Henry’s stomach drops. Oh God.
He can’t have—
I love you. Christ, I’m so in love with you it’s stupid, because we’re best friends, and that’s all I’ll ever be to you.
But that’s okay, because I like being the first one you call when you get another A in a paper you pulled all nighters to ace. I don’t mind being the one who picks you up from parties because you’re too wasted to drive. I don’t mind giving you pep talks before every exam you’re nervous about because you always tend to underestimate yourself. I don’t mind having to spoon-feed you in between studying sessions because you forget yourself among coffee cups. I don’t mind watching Empire Strikes Back if it means I’ll listen to you ranting about how it checks all the boxes for you as a favourite movie. I don’t mind fighting over which one of us is cooking when we’re both knackered.
I don’t mind, because I’ll have any fragment of you that this world offers me. I will do it all open heartedly, with all my might. Because I love you.
It’s a speech Henry had at the very back of his mind, one of the things he threw into the room where his love for Alex lies and knew could never exist outside the borders of his own mind.
As Alex looks at him though, those borders grow hazy, and Henry doesn’t know if this is the first time it happens. If his heart betrayed him and ran away leaving Henry’s hands wounded from how tight he held onto its reins. He doesn’t remember.
Mellow brown eyes study Henry through thick eyelashes, face carved out of pure bronze. He tries to form an apology, anything to atone for what he might have said, what he might have ruined, but when he parts his lips to speak, Alex closes the very short distance between them and lands his lips on Henry’s.
Henry gasps, his whole body lighting up with the shock of Alex’s mouth firm yet soft on Henry’s unmoving one. Alex’s hand goes to the back of Henry’s head, softly cradling it to hold him in place, and only then does Henry realise that he was actually falling back.
“I got you,” Alex smiles into his mouth, and Henry, with a newly found power, pulls back before he responds to Alex. Before he lets himself have this luxury.
“Alex…” Henry is breathing rapidly, heart thudding in disbelief, in hope, in very fragile hope that this isn't a one time thing, merely a physical attraction.
“Baby,” Alex's fingers brush the hair at the nape of his neck, and Henry closes his eyes, tears forming at the corners. This feels like a dream. Too good to be true.
“You…?” Henry can't bring himself to ask. You love me? You feel me? So, he keeps his eyes closed, sparing himself a look he could spend his life wallowing over lest his love isn't returned.
“Open your eyes, Henry.” Alex runs the back of his fingers against Henry's good cheek, urging him to look at him. Henry listens, wet eyelashes circling his eyes.
“You know what really freaked me out?” Alex asks quietly, eyes warmer than a winter's sun on Henry's cold skin.
Henry shakes his head once, not knowing and waiting for Alex to continue.
“The fact that you thought I would hate you, H,” Alex says. “I could never.”
“I—” Henry struggles to formulate his words. “I thought… I didn't know you—”
Alex smiles blindingly bright, the smile accompanied by the soft vibration of a light laugh. “I love you too, you dumbass.”
A sound between a sob and a laugh comes out of Henry, the tears that had formed at the corners of his eyes falling. It's his turn to kiss Alex, letting go of all his fears and hesitation. Images of how many times he had imagined this happening play in his mind, and none of them match how magical it feels in real life. The way Alex's lips perfectly fits into Henry's, the way warmth pools inside him like sunlight storming into a cold room, the way Alex's tongue sweeps into Henry's mouth is just—he raises his hands to press them against Alex's cheeks, and the other smiles, inviting Henry to do the same.
“How long have you wanted to do this?” Alex's hand falls from the back of Henry's head to his back, thumb tracing his waist.
Goosebumps spread over Henry's skin like a million stars on a dark night. “Christ, Alex,” he says. “The whole bloody time.”
Alex gives him a long peck, planting his hand firmly on the small of Henry's back and pressing their bodies flush together when Henry leans back and forgets that nothing's behind him for support. Again.
Alex pulls back with a loud kissing sound that makes heat bloom under the skin of Henry's cheeks. “I told you I got you, baby.”
Henry grins, wrapping his arms around Alex's neck. “God, I can't believe I can make you blush like that.”
“Stop,” Henry, flustered though still smiling like a fourteen year old student seeing his crush in the distance, says.
“Oh, I will do absolutely everything but that.” He nudges Henry's nose with his. “And since you wanted to know, you bawled your eyes to Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
“Jesus, I did?” Henry winces in embarrassment.
“Hey, I thought it was adorable,” Alex argues, but Henry can see through his shit.
“Oh, did you?”
“You were quite the spectacle honestly.” Alex giggles.
“Shut up.” Henry swats at his arm.
“Alright, I'll behave.” Alex bows his head. “Only if you give me a kiss.” He turns his head so his cheek faces Henry.
Henry rolls his eyes but leans forward to kiss him anyway, only for Alex to turn at the last moment and capture Henry's mouth in yet another kiss. Henry laughs first, breaking the kiss and filling the air around them with mirth as Alex joins him.
And suddenly Henry is eighteen years old back at that coffee shop again, and Alex is rushing out not paying attention to where he is going. Striking brown eyes had captivated Henry's heart and trapped it in its hold, wrapping it in green vines of love and youth. Now he is rolling down a hill with Alex in his arms, happy, carefree, and in love.
Henry had thought he would never know what it would be like to be loved and to be in love at the same time. He thought that with Alex, he would only know love, because for two whole years, it's all what had consumed him. Just pure, unrequited love.
“It's safe to say that this friendship is now effectively ruined,” Henry says when their laughter dies down.
“Sweetheart, what friendship?” Alex seals his words with an open-mouthed kiss, proving a point that Henry is very much fond of right now.
Henry closes his eyes and loses himself to Alex's words that ring in his head. I got you, baby. And what's better than knowing that your heart is safe in the hands of someone who knows you inside out, for who you are, someone who will always, always be there to hold your hand and catch you before you fall?