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Waking up is Alex’s least favorite part of the day. There’s nothing worse than being pulled from a comfortable and much needed sleep by a maddening alarm and being expected to function like a human being right away. Coffee helps, but he still doesn’t like it.
Waking up next to Henry, though, that doesn’t feel quite as daunting. Especially when he wakes up with his head on Henry’s chest, listening to his boyfriend’s steady heartbeat under his ear as he’s gently pulled back into the land of the living.
His favorite mornings are the ones where they wake up slowly, tangled in each other’s bodies, and don’t leave the bed for a long time. He relishes in those moments, smiling into the crook of Henry’s neck and swinging a leg over his hips, snuggling as close as humanly possible. Henry often cards his fingers through Alex’s sleep mussed curls until he raises his head to meet his eyes, greeting him with a soft ‘good morning, love,’ and a chaste kiss on his lips.
Waking up isn’t that bad when Henry is there next to him.
What Alex truly doesn’t appreciate is having said boyfriend pull away from him before Alex’s brain is fully operating.
“Hey, what—” he starts to protest, blindly searching for Henry before he even opens his eyes. “What are you—”
“Shh, I'm here,” says Henry’s sleepy voice somewhere above him, immediately putting him at ease. “Alright?”
Alex hums in affirmation, sinking into Henry’s side again. “Stay here.”
Henry chuckles and brings an arm around Alex’s back, running his hand up and down his spine and pulling him closer by the waist. His free hand makes its way to Alex’s curls at the base of his skull, brushing his fingers through them in soft motions that make Alex melt further into Henry’s shoulder.
“It’s morning already. Your alarm has already rung, twice.”
Alex makes a sound at the back of throat, suspiciously close to a whine, and throws an arm over Henry’s chest. “Don’t wanna move right now.”
“I know, love,” Henry says, ever so patient, pressing a tender kiss to Alex’s forehead. “But we have to, eventually. I have meetings at the shelter.”
Alex hums, unimpressed and unmoving.
“You have classes in less than an hour.”
Alex groans at the reminder, still refusing to move.
“I could make you coffee before you leave,” Henry says in a low, seductive voice. “With sugar and cinnamon, just the way you like it.”
Alex hums again, more interested in the topic at hand. Henry does make good coffee – which is strange, for someone who barely drinks it and inhales Earl Grey like it’s the elixir of life.
“But you're so comfortable,” he argues weakly, because he’s still not very fond of the idea of moving away from Henry and carrying on with his day. “Five more minutes.”
“Alex...”
“Just five, I promise.”
“You're going to be grumpy if you end up late and don't have time for your morning dose of caffeine before class.”
“Don't care ’bout coffee,” he slurs into Henry’s skin, words he knows he’ll probably regret in half an hour but couldn’t care less about at the moment. “Please, amor? Just stay here a little longer.”
When Henry doesn’t say anything else for a while, Alex assumes he’s given up and smiles in victory, scooting down a little to bury his face on his boyfriend’s chest.
It takes him a moment to realize Henry’s body has stilled, his hand frozen in place where it’s still deep in Alex’s hair.
Still sleepy but now slightly concerned, Alex raised his head to rest his chin on Henry’s chest and peers up at his face.
Henry’s eyes are wide and his mouth is hanging open in shock as he stares at Alex incredulously. His blond hair is spread all over his pillow and there’s a deep blush high on his face, rapidly spreading down to his neck.
“Hey, what is it?” Alex cups Henry’s face in his palm, thumb brushing over his cheekbones.
Henry closes and opens his mouth a few times before any sound comes out. “It’s— er, you said..." he trails off, still with a dazed expression.
Alex frowns a bit. “I said... five more minutes?”
Somehow, Henry turns even redder, the blush now making its way down his shoulders. “No, after that, it's— you called me...” he cuts himself off again, teeth sinking into his lower lip.
Through the fog still clinging to his brain, Alex is left confused for only a second longer before he finally understands. He’s helpless to stop the grin that spreads on his face.
“Amor,” he says again, decidedly more awake now, and Henry visibly melts at the pet name. “And you’re a fan of that, huh?”
Henry swallows. “I think we’ve established that I’m a fan of everything about you,” he whispers, voice low and so impossibly soft it surprises Alex a little.
“And you like it when I speak Spanish,” he says, matching Henry’s low tone. Henry laughs breathlessly.
“Yes, I’m hopelessly attracted to you when you speak Spanish,” he admits with a small smile, teasing.
“And you like it when I call you amor,” Alex whispers into Henry’s neck, leaving a lingering kiss on the skin below his ear. Henry’s breath hitches.
“I don't even know why,” he says in a rush of breath, tilting his head to the side to grant Alex more access.
“I do,” he says into Henry’s neck, leaving chaste kisses down its column. His lips curl up in a smirk. “I’m irresistible.”
A startled laugh escapes Henry’s mouth. “A bloody demon, is what you are.”
Alex nips at his collarbone in retaliation but grins all the same, laying his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder again to hide the love-sick smile on his lips. His fingers trace random patterns on Henry’s skin and Henry’s arms come around him again, his hand resuming its tender movements in Alex’s curls, gently massaging his scalp.
“What does it mean?”
Alex’s brow furrows in confusion and he looks up at Henry. “What does what mean?"
Henry's eyes find his, a cerulean blue in the morning light. “Amor. You’ll have to forgive me, my Spanish is still a little rusty.”
Alex smiles, soft and carefree, and leans down to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Love,” he whispers. “It means love.”
For a moment, Henry doesn’t move. Then, a slow but impossibly wide smile stretches on his lips, bright enough to light up Alex’s entire world, and Alex falls just a little more in love with this man. Henry’s hand on his curls moves to hold the side of his face and pull him into a kiss that Alex sinks into immediately, sighing into Henry’s mouth and wrapping his arms around his neck, tightening his grip to bring him closer still.
“Christ, I love you,” Henry says breathlessly once they’ve broken the kiss, resting their foreheads together.
“Love you too, amor,” Alex can’t help but tease again, grinning to himself as Henry rolls his eyes and pulls him down again, smiling into another kiss.
They end up being a little late for classes and meetings, but Alex doesn’t mind one bit. He has a feeling Henry doesn’t either.