Chapter Text
This isn’t how Henry intended to spend The Fourth of July, with Alex tucked up in his arms barely breathing. The position he’s in can’t be comfortable but Alex still sleeps. It worries him.
Henry has seen Alex overwork himself before. He’s been the one to drag him away from computer screens and force water down his throat after weeks of only coffee and protein bars to keep him going. Henry thought he’d seen Alex at his worst, until today.
As if sensing his anxiety Alex stirs his eyes blinking open slowly. He looks confused, like he’d expected to wake up on the floor surrounded by shards of glass, but he doesn’t.
“Henry?” Alex slurs and Henry’s heart breaks.
He brushes through Alex’s curls and cups his hand with his “Hello, love.”
Alex hums at the pet name and snuggles deeper into Henry’s arm and then groans as if the movement pains him. Possibly it does.
“Are you hungry? I can order in.”
Alex doesn’t respond, just closes his eyes. Henry takes it as a yes, and reaches for his phone. Alex is clearly exhausted and he needs energy, whether he likes it or not he needs to eat. He scrolls through doordash for a bit looking for something Alex might like before deciding on chillquellis. It’s one of the few things that he can get Alex to eat whenever he’s sick.
Henry places the order and then his phone on the dresser before redirecting his attention back to Alex. He hasn’t moved in the twenty minutes that it took for Henry to decide what to eat and order it. He brushes a few curls out of his eyes and Alex blinks them open before closing them with a whine.
“Love, I ordered your favorite,” Henry says, trying to put a smile in his voice.
Alex again doesn’t respond, just closes his eyes and Henry’s heart aches seeing his lover like this and worse at not knowing what’s wrong. This is different from the types of burnout he’s seen Alex go through before. This one it seems as if his entire body is betraying him, not just his mind.
Henry sighs and not for the first time wishes he’d listened to Alex when he’d suggested they put a TV in their bedroom, not just the living room.
“Alex?” Henry asks, and Alex whines at the lack of a pet name. It’s not much, but it’s something, enough to make Henry laugh. Henry’s chest shakes as he laughs and Alex whines again at the motion.
Henry presses a kiss to Alex’s head in an apology “I’m sorry love.”
Alex sighs and snuggles closer then tenses as if immediately regretting his decision.
“Why don’t we move towards the couch?” Henry suggests “So we can watch Suits or whatever cheesy law show you’re into now.”
Alex shakes his head and buries himself deeper into the duvet. Henry sighs but shifts despite Alex's complaints until he’s out of bed. He’s careful to avoid the broken shards of glass from last night and makes a mental note to clean it up later.
“I’ll be right back.” Henry promises, pressing another kiss to Alex’s head.
Alex makes a sound in protest but it’s quiet as if even this takes too much from him. So Henry leaves and pads down the steps. David greets him downstairs, his eyebrows furrowed and a food bowl in his mouth. He tosses it in Henry's direction in a clear demand which Henry temporarily ignores. Instead he grabs some blankets, pillows and sheets from their linen closet and makes up the couch into what he hopes will be comfortable for Alex. It takes a couple tries until he’s created something he’s satisfied with and David is even more impatient than before now barking at Henry’s clearly unbusy hands.
“I know, I know.” Henry says and kneels down to pet David behind the ears.
The small beagle leans into his touch before seeming to remember that he's angry and pulls away trotting over to where his bowl should be. Henry laughs at picking up the bowl, filling it with food and the one next to it with water. With David busy, Henry types out a quick text to Pez requesting that he take care of David for a few days. He doesn’t bother gathering David’s things too focused on Alex. Besides, Pez knows where everything is.
Henry tosses his phone onto the table and heads up the stairs, taking two at a time. As expected Alex hasn’t moved from his previous position but he does not slightly shift when he hears Henry walk into the room.
Henry runs his fingers across the bedding and then Alex’s skin. Alex shivers at the contact and then whimpers at the movement.
“I’m going to pick you up now, okay love?”
Alex whines and reaches up his arms which Henry wraps around his neck. Then picking him up bridal style he heads towards the stairs. Alex is nearly limp in Henry’s arms, his grip on Henry’s neck and seeming to take more energy than Alex has. He whines when Henry takes the first step down the stairs and his grip slips, forcing Henry to adjust. For a moment he considers placing Alex on the ground and walking down together but once a quick glance at Alex quickly lets him know that would be impossible.
Too many minutes later they finally make it down the ten stairs the Brownstone has and to the couch. Henry glances in the direction of David’s bowl, but both him and the bowl are gone as is his leash. Henry makes a mental note to thank Pez later and sets Alex onto the couch. Alex doesn’t move, sinking into the covers, eyes open and trained on the blank TV screen. He either doesn’t mind or doesn’t notice. Henry isn’t sure which one is worse. His Alex wouldn’t be able to look at a blank TV Screen without immediately lunging for the remote, taking advantage despite his illness to put on some cheesy 90’s rom com that he pretends to hate.
So Henry takes charge, picking up the remote and his phone, shooting off a quick text and then abandoning it again. He joins Alex on the couch, snuggling close and turns on ‘27 Dresses’. Alex mumbles something under his breath as the movie starts and burrows into Henry’s jumper.
“What was that, love?” Henry asks, he’s not sure if Alex truly said anything or it was just another pathetic sound but he wants to make sure.
Alex pushes himself away weakly so he’s no longer buried in Henry’s chest and looks him in the eyes “I said I love you.” he says and Henry smiles.
He presses a delicate kiss onto Alex’s lips and Alex smiles before once again going limp in his arms. It’s not how he’s expected to spend his Fourth of July, but Henry finds that as long as he and Alex are together he doesn’t completely mind.