Chapter Text
Alex and Henry kiss goodbye at the parking place in front of the New York 911 dispatch center.
"I'll see you in a bit, darling, do you want your usual coffee order?" Henry asks patiently.
Alex frowns. " I'm a little dizzy actually so can you have them put some sugary syrup in it as well? So black coffee, cinnamon, and then uhm vanilla syrup, please. Wait screw the cinnamon just a extra strong cold brew with vanilla syrup please."
"Alright, are you sure you're okay darling? I have some dextro in my backpack, you should keep that with you just in case", Henry tells him kindly.
"But it tastes funny", Alex complains.
"So does hitting your head on the concrete', Henry warns him protectively, while taking the roll of dextro tablets out of his backpack and pushing it into Alex's front Jean pocket.
"Be back quick, babe, or Zahra will get all pissy", Alex says gently before kissing him again.
'I still have 15 minutes until shift starts I'll be fine", Henry promises.
***
Henry orders Alex's cold brew and a latte with coconut milk for himself.
He also buys a bottle of water since Alex said he was dizzy and he knows for a fact that his husband forgot his reusable water bottle at home.
He checks his watch as he shows his batch to security and walks into the building. He still has enough time over before his shift starts.
He walks into the call center and across the desks of his colleagues until he spots a muscular back and pretty black curls. Sometimes he still can't believe he gets to call this man his husband.
He puts a gentle hand on Alex's shoulder so as not to startle him. "I got you a water bottle as well, darling", he says gently as he hands Alex the coffee and water.
Alex looks at the drinks skeptical.
Henry frowns. "I know it's not your usual coffee order, but you asked for vanilla syrup."
Alex looks Henry up and down slowly then he shrugs and takes a sip of coffee. "I don't know why you're being so nice to me, but thanks I guess. You can go now, Fox.'
Fox
Henry's heart skips a beat.
It's just like in his dream.
"What do you mean? I'm always nice", Henry defends himself.
Alex raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "Who told you that, your husband?"
Henry frowns at him. "Yes?"
Alex shrugs. "Oh well, don't believe everything he says".
Henry stares at Alex in confusion. "Are you mad about the coffee? If you don't want the vanilla syrup you can have my coffee?"
Alex waves him off. "I'm not mad at you, thanks for the coffee, I'll Venmo you."
"We share a bank account", Henry says growing skeptical.
"Now why would we do that, sweetheart?" Alex asks amused.
Henry feels himself grow anxious. "Because we're married?"
Alex makes a show of looking at his hands. "Then where is my wedding ring, huh?" He asks.
Henry stares in horror at Alex's empty ring finger. "I don't- I-"
Alex grins at Nora who is sitting at the desk next to him. "You're right, this was fun.'
Unfortunately, Henry doesn't hear him, he's a little busy freaking out because this is just like his dream.
When Henry's breath starts to quicken Alex's expression changes.
"Fuck, sorry, sweetheart, come here."
Henry bats his hand away and sets his own latte down on Alex's desk as his hand starts to shake.
Alex tries to grab his hand but Henry takes a step backward and then another one and another one as he forces himself to breathe.
This can't be happening.
So did he just never wake up from his dream?
Or did he fall back asleep in the car while Alex drove them to work?
Or worse.. did he dream that whole domestic romantic morning he had with Alex?
So they aren't married?
Or are they?
Henry is so confused.
He can vaguely hear Alex say his name but his heartbeat is pounding in his ears which is a little distracting.
When Alex reaches out to him he takes another step back and smacks his head against the wall.
Alex curses as he gently lowers Henry to the ground and cups his face. "Baby, can you look at me?"
Henry looks at him confused.
"There you are, sweetheart, comm'ere", Alex says gently as he wraps Henry in a hug on the floor in the middle of the huge New York dispatcher center.
Henry closes his eyes and lets Alex's presence calm him down.
Alex strokes his hair. 'Jesus, babe, you're heart is racing like crazy. I'm so sorry for freaking you out. I shouldn't have pranked you. It was Nora's idea when I told her about your dream, but I didn't mean for you to have a panic attack. I'm really sorry, I love you so much."
Henry looks up at Alex. "So we're married right?" He whispers softly so his colleagues don't hear him, he's afraid he'll never live that down.
Alex smiles at him and nods.
"But what about your wedding ring?" Henry asks confused.
Alex holds Henry to his chest with one arm as he takes his necklace off with the other one.
Right next to the key to his childhood home in Texas, the key to their brownstone and his engagement ring now hangs a gold engraved wedding band.
"You're a demon", Henry complains but he's chuckling.
Alex slides the wedding ring off the necklace and puts it back on his ring finger. "I'm sorry, babe, do you still love me?"
Henry squints his eyes at him. "Maybe, but if I save any hot guys today that end up asking me out, I can't make any promises", he teases as if asking a dispatcher out is a thing people do when they're in life threatening danger or as if he'd would ever even begin to consider being unfaithful.
Needless to say both of those things would never happen.
Alex slaps him in the chest at the same time that Nora kneels down next to them with an ice pack.
"Try not to injure him even further, Alejandro, You've caused enough damage as it is", she teases.
"Hey! This was all your fault", Alex accuses her as he gently puts the ice pack on the back of Henry's head and lets Nora put his necklace back on for him.
"Just because I have a prank idea doesn't mean you have to do it through", Nora says as she sticks her tongue out at him.
"I'm sorry, Hen", she says afterward.
Henry waves her off.
"I didn't think you'd have a panic attack, if it were me and someone told me I wasn't married to Alex, when I thought I was, I'd be thrilled."
Alex glares at her before she walks back to her desk.
"I really am sorry, baby", Alex says gently.
Henry kisses him sweetly. "It's okay, I probably should have seen that one coming after all I told you about the takeaway coffee and everything."
Alex chuckles. "No offense, but I can't believe you actually fell for it. I figured you'd just roll your eyes at me, I mean we've been married for years, I didn't think one dream would erase all your memories."
Henry sighs. "Of course not, but I told you that ever since I've been training my brain to remember my dreams, my dreams are very vivid and feel very realistic."
Alex cringes. "Yeah, you did mention that, I guess this was kind of evil of mine, thanks for the coffee though."
Henry smiles at him. "You're welcome, my love, how is your dizziness?"
Alex waves him of. "Oh I'm good, the dextro worked like a champ like you said but now I don't really feel like drinking my sugary coffee anymore."
"That's okay. Just put it in the community fridge and take it home with you after shift, I'll get you some black coffee from the breakdown for now", Henry says gently.
"I'll do it myself, babe, why don't you sit down at your desk", Alex says as he gently lifts the ice pack off Henry's head.
"I'm okay, Alex, really", Henry promises.
Alex nods. 'Okay good, our shift started 15 minutes ago so let's get to work before Zahra fires us.'
"She's not going to do that".
"No, but only because her husband has a soft spot for you", Alex reminds him.
Alex gently helps Henry up, takes the ice pack from him, and walks towards the break room but not before he whispers.
"Good luck with your shift, don't flirt with any distressed hot guys."
Henry chuckles. "I don't think people that call 911 are typically looking to flirt."
"Probably not, but they'll be able to tell by your voice that you're hot".
Henry rolls his eyes at his husband, walks over to Alex's desk to grab his latte, and then sits down at his own desk to start his shift.
Alex walks past him holding a coffee mug that reads Not all heroes wear capes, some wear headsets and sits down at the desk next to Henry's.
Before Henry can put his headphones on Alex stops him.
"Wait, before you start taking calls and I won't be able to talk to you until after our 12-hour shift, well minus our lunch and diner break, I just wanted to check on you one more time since you hit your head twice in the span of an hour. Are you sure you don't have a concussion? Do you feel okay?"
Henry smiles at him. "I'm fine, Alex. But now that we're talking about it what do you think caused your dizzyness?"
Alex shrugs. "I don't know, I'm just stressed. I'm fine though, the dextro worked, so I probably just had low blood sugar, I'm fine, really."
"Okay well if you want to faint, do it during my break because I'm going to turn my headphones on now and save some lives", Henry teases.
Alex rolls his eyes at him but smiles and also turns his headphones on.
"About Damn time, Fox-Claremont-Diaz', Zahra yells from somewhere behind them.
"Is she talking to me or you?" Alex hisses.
"I never know these days', Henry whispers back.
Then he has an incoming call and turns his dispatcher's voice on.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"