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“Hen, can you come up here for a minute?” Alex yelled from upstairs, pulling Henry’s attention from the copy of “Pride and Prejudice” open in-front of him. Marking his page, he set the book down next to him as he stood up from where he’d been sitting, having made himself comfortable on their couch downstairs.
He made his way upstairs, hearing his voice from their shared office. Henry had his charity office, the one where he could actually get work done without being distracted but they also had their office at home, two desks with plenty of space for both of them. An office that had served them well through Alex’s law school days and the nights where Henry just couldn’t find the time to take a break.
Stopping in the doorway of the office, he raised an eyebrow at Alex sitting at his desk. He had Henry’s laptop in-front of him, a smirk settled on his face.
After they’d both officially moved to New York, Alex would often visit Henry at work between classes, quickly gaining access to his personal laptop - the one Henry didn’t let anybody else use. “Boyfriend and then Husband perks” Alex liked to call it.
“You called love?” Henry questioned from his spot in the entryway.
Alex gave Henry a look, a spirited glint in his eye. After being married for the time they had, Henry knew that look usually meant trouble, especially from Alex in-particular, but he also knew he’d take that look over any alternative. It meant he was happy, excited even. Far better from Alex earlier in their relationship, the one feeling the stress of law school.
“So… I went on your laptop looking for an old law school file I thought I saved for a case. And I… stumbled upon something.” Alex said, pausing as he let his words draw out.
A brief look of confusion crossed Henry’s face, not recalling what Alex was talking about. He told him everything, nothing should surprise him anymore. In a sense, that was one of his favorite things about their relationship. That for one of the first times in his life, he’d always been able to truly be open with someone.
“Come look?” Alex offered, looking up at Henry, moving just slightly so they’d both be able to read the laptop screen.
Henry settled behind Alex at his desk, looking down at the computer screen in-front of them. As he realized what exactly he was reading, a panicked look crossed his face, as he reached over the top of Alex’s hea and slammed the laptop shut. A blush forming on his face of embarrassment.
“How.. how did you find that?” Henry questioned, knowing he tried to bury what Alex had managed to find. He hadn’t looked at them in years, but he’d never wanted to just delete them either. Even though he was embarrassed by them, they’d been helpful at the time, giving him an outlet for everything else going on in his life.
Alex shrugged, “I needed an old case file I thought was saved on your laptop. Remember when mine broke a few years ago and had to borrow yours? Found this random folder, one I hadn’t seen before and opened it.” He explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
“You.. nobody was supposed to read those. Nobody .” He mumbled, before turning out of the office, making his way into their bedroom instead and shutting the door. Refusing to even meet Alex’s eye in embarrassment.
He wasn’t mad, he barely ever was at Alex, but sheepish that he’d read through those old folders, everything he’d written still inside. Even after they’d been together for years, they weren’t something he’d ever intended for him to read.
Taking a seat on his side of the bed, he let out a small sigh as he laid down, instead looking up at the ceiling. He had a feeling Alex would be joining him shortly, but he made no attempt to move first. Instead deciding to wallow in his own self-dramatics.
A few minutes later, he found himself correct as a quiet knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Baby, can I.. come in?” Alex asked hesitantly through the closed bedroom door.
“It’s your room too.” Henry said back, his tone obviously deflated. He heard the door open, feeling as the bed dipped with an extra person now laying next to him. He stayed quiet as they laid there, making no attempt to explain first. Henry didn’t want to talk about it, but he knew Alex wouldn’t just go without it.
“You know there's no reason to be embarrassed right? I’m sorry if I made you feel like there was, but I just thought it was cute.” Alex eventually said, breaking the silence in their bedroom, rolling over to look at Henry directly.
Henry shook his head, refusing to look back. “It’s quite embarrassing, Alex. I was like fourteen when I wrote those.” He mumbled, letting a sigh slip out as he turned so his face was buried in his pillow. Through his years of royal training, Henry knew how to be polished between beliefs when he was out in the public eye, but at home? He wasn’t afraid to let the dramatic side slip out from time to time.
“And now you’ve read it, and will never look at me the same. Because I couldn’t delete those dumb files.” He muttered.
Letting out his own sigh, Alex reached down to take his hand, holding it tightly between his own. “I really didn’t think it would upset you this much. Like earlier, I’m sorry for bringing it up.” He apologized, feeling especially bad for how excited he’d been earlier while reading through it.
The grip on his hand brought Henry enough comfort to lift his head out from the pillow, finally turning to meet Alex’s look back.
“I started writing them after Dad.. Phillip had been at my throat for every little thing and I needed something just for me. So I’d hole up in his old library, writing until I couldn’t anymore. Then I got to a point where I didn’t need them anymore, but just could never bring myself to actually get rid of them. Hence how they ended up in that folder.” He explained, knowing at this point it wouldn’t matter if he kept it to himself or not.
Alex’s expression softened as he pulled Henry closer to him.
“Oh Hen, I didn’t know. I’m sorry for reading them.” He apologized, understanding that it wasn’t just that he’d found them, but rather the storm in Henry’s life at the time he’d written them. Maybe it was unconventional, but Henry had never had a normal life. There really was no sense of normalcy for a prince of England.
Henry swallowed as he shook his head, resigning to the fact that technically Alex had done nothing wrong. The files had been there, he’d found them and read them. But Henry had never told him not to read them, or even to look at them. There was no way for Alex to know when Henry never brought them up himself.
“It’s alright love. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about them in years, so re-reading them over your shoulder had been quite a shock. I pushed them away, that’s why I never expected anybody to find them again.” He confessed.
“But just to check, you’re not going to divorce me over this right? The final straw of our marriage being the fact I used to write.. Wolfstar fics?” Henry asked, a small hint of amusement slipping into his voice, asking a question he already knew the answer to. Throughout their relationship, there had been a lot of times when their relationship in theory shouldn’t have worked. But they pushed theory aside, instead finding it in both of them to overcome those odds.
Letting out a chuckle, Alex shook his head as he held their hands up, both of them noticing the glimmer of the matching gold bands they were wearing. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. No matter how many old stories I find hidden on that laptop of yours.” He teased gently.
“In all honesty Hen, I’m now just trying to imagine fourteen year old Henry writing Wolfstar fics from Kensington Palace. I couldn’t imagine the Queen would have taken lightly to that coming from there. But perhaps, I shouldn’t have even been surprised considering, “I don't give a damn what 𝐽𝑜𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒 has to say, Remus John Lupin is gay as the day is long, and I won't hear a word against it.” Alex joked, remembering the exact words Henry had said to him years prior.
At the time he hadn’t thought much about it, but now they made more sense. They’d been a fixture in his life, one way or another for years. Something Alex could never fault Henry for, not in the slightest.
“You’re a menace.” Henry retorted, even as he was starting to feel less embarrassed about it. Alex had always been good at that, something Henry was very grateful for. Even the things he did, the ones Henry didn’t like to think back on, he embraced. He embraced them in ways even Henry himself always couldn’t.
“Well, you married this menace. So we can’t all make good decisions.” Alex said, his grin from earlier fully returning.
“And Hen, you know why it’s fine? You’re looking at someone who used to love watching Doctor Who. Those British accents used to get me every time.” Alex told him with a smirk, sending a wink Henry’s way.
Henry let out a laugh as he shook his head in disbelief, pulling Alex closer to him and into a hug. Making no attempt for either of them to get out from where they’d been laying. “Like I said, a menace to society.” He joked, forever grateful that Alex was always there to make him feel better, even if just over the conversation of old Wolfstar fanfiction.