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Alex felt nausea overtake him as he watched Henry galloping across the field on his horse, mallet in hand and in that goddamn polo outfit that always managed to make the bulge in his pants quite prominent. But today, surprisingly, sucking off his extremely handsome fiance with the thighs of a fucking greek god were not in the fore front of his mind. On the contrary, amongst his other spiraling thoughts, that did not even make it to the top ten. And to think they hadn't even seen each other in weeks. Henry's duties had kept him busy and away from New York longer than Alex would've liked. And as a result, he hadn't even touched the guy, not even a tiny hug, in the last two weeks. And therefore, the apparent lack of lust seemed rather a concern to him.
But looking back at the events of the past two weeks, he wasn't that all that surprised. The day Henry had left their brownstone for a two week stay in Britain, Alex's finals for law school had ended too. As such, he was finally free, with no pressure or any late night study sessions, but then Henry had to go off to England. He had offered to decline this one time, but, Alex felt all too bad to rob Henry of this chance to see his mom and Bea, since they rarely saw each other anyways. However, Mary was still the queen, and so, Alex wasn't invited to any of the fundraisers Henry was expected to attend.
Pitying his situation, June and Nora had come over with vodka and tequila in tow, along with their dad's special tacos, so Alex was pretty much alright with spending the time with them instead. But as soon as the smell of the tacos reached Alex, he made a beeline for the bathroom, the urge of wanting to puke never being stronger. And so, he spent the next half hour or so, heaving into the toilet, while June apologised profusely for something that wasn't even her fault and Nora kept making jokes about him being pregnant. Now, he knew Nora was annoying as fuck, but that day, she transcended all limits and boundaries of annoying. So, just to shut her up, Alex texted Cash and asked him to bring along a few pregnancy tests from the nearby store. When Cash brought them fifteen minutes later, no questions asked, he had never been more grateful for anyone, and made a mental note to send the guy on a paid trip to anywhere he wanted for a whole week. He read the instructions and did what needed to be done. He set a timer, and waited for what felt like the longest few minutes of his life. Finally, the incessant beeping of his timer filled the room and he almost ran to the bathroom to where the tests were laid out on the edge of the sink. Why was his heart beating so fast? It would be alright, right? Of course it would be, since when was he so paranoid. With trembling hands(he was not nervous at all) he picked up the tests, one by one, his composure slipping and the urge to vomit returning full force by the time he looked at the tenth test. After dry heaving into the toilet for the next few minutes and just when he thought he was done, the double lines from the test, an image that will be burned into his head for eternity, reminded him of the gravity of the situation. Well, fuck. He decided to take a cold shower to calm his racing thoughts. By the time he was done, June was knocking on the door, worry laced in her words. Oh fuck, they were there too. How was he even supposed to tell them? Fuck, how was he supposed to tell Henry? They had never even talked about having kids. Fuck, what about the whole fucking royal family....and his family? He really fucked up this time, didn't he?
When he finally unlocked the door to the bathroom, hoping against hope June had maybe gone away, he found her staring at him, eyebrows furrowed in worry, "Alex-"
He didn't wait for her to complete, just shoved the test results in her face. She was about to retort but then her eyes fell on the test and she went through so many emotions at once, it gave Alex whiplash. "Guess Nora was right." He tried to lighten the mood, but his voice sounded too forced, too not Alex even to his own ears. June looked happy, he knew that, she was, but when she saw his face, she just spread her arms and invited him in. And that was all the invitation he needed. All his emotions and fears and worries flowed out of him, and for what felt like the thousandth time, he felt how much he had just fucked up. He held onto his sister and cried, till he had no more tears left, but held onto her anyway, and June, bless her soul, didn't pull away. He felt a bit better like this, in his sister's arms, and maybe everything would be alright.
"What the fuck is taking y'all -" Nora stopped as she took in the scene before her, Alex, puffy eyed and sniffling still, and June, with silent tears flowing down her own face, and then to the positive test lying on the floor. Alex looked to her, and where he expected pity or maybe an insult, he saw....happiness, pure exhilarating, infectious happiness. Nora took a cautious step forward, "Alex, are you-?" Alex was thrown off by the softness of her tone, but quickly nodded his head. And just like that, Nora was shouting," OMG ALEJANDRO!! I'LL BE AN AUNT! WTF?? I SWEAR TO GOD I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING....AT ALL!" With one long step, she grabbed Alex by his arm and was jumping up and down, and she looked so happy, it gave Alex hope, maybe just maybe, this wasn't such a cluster fuck afterall. For the first time, he let himself feel this. He was pregnant, with Henry's child. He will be a Papa, and Henry, fuck, they are gonna be parents. Tears overflowed his eyes once again, but this time, he was grinning too, a wide ear to ear grin, and he was being pulled into another hug, this time with both June and Nora. He finally released the breath he didn't even know he was holding.
After the events of that night, his first thought the next morning, was that he needed to tell Henry. No matter his reaction, this was something that shouldn't be hidden from him, Alex thought. He didn't want to break such a monumental news over the phone and so when Henry extended an invitation for him to attend a polo match, how could be decline? So there he was, two weeks later, sitting on the sidelines, with their baby's first ultrasound in his pocket, waiting for their dad to finish up. Turns out it had already been sixteen weeks, Alex really didn't know how he had managed to remain oblivious for so long. He smiled as his hand subconsciously reached for his small swell of a bump, something that had become quite a habit for him, in the past few days. He was mostly excited, to be honest, he knew how much Henry loved him, and so he would love this child too...right? He sighed as another bout of nausea took over his senses. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the match ended. Henry had spotted Alex, and was actively walking, no, more like striding towards him, and he looked so handsome like this, eyes reduced to slits, because of his smile that was so wide, his cheeks flustered an adorable shade of pink, and his soft blonde hair tousled because of the helmet. He paused, and for a moment allowed himself to look at his miracle of a man, and it was all so perfect, but then, Alex heard a loud bang, too familiar to that of a gun. Everything happened so fast after that, Henry's eyes going from slits to wide as coins, the blood seeping faster than he thought possible, and the next thing he saw was Henry, crumpled on the grass, blood pooling around him, where the bullet had penetrated his stomach. Alex couldn't move, couldn't do anything, couldn't even cry. But then Cash was beside him, pushing him aside, and a whole crowd of ppos covering Henry from view. It sunk in then and Alex shouted, "HENRY!" But it was too late, Cash was pulling him, holding him back, no no no no, he thought. "Cash let me go! Let me fucking go! That's my fucking fiancé bleeding on the ground there! Let. Me. GO!" But Cash's grip did not relent, he held the kicking, screaming Alex till he tired himself out. He stilled when he saw the ambulance reach the scene, and then Henry being carried to the vehicle in a stretcher. And Alex's knees gave out beneath him, Henry was lying unconscious in a stretcher, he looked so pale, in so much pain, and there was blood, so much blood, blood.
When Alex came to, he was in a hospital, he realised. And his head was on someone's arm, Bea. And it was shaking, oh, Bea was crying. Why was Bea crying? And then it all came back to him, Henry smiling, the gunshot, the blood, and he dashed to the nearest toilet as the urge to throw up came over him once again. Bea was behind him in an instant, rubbing his back, coaxing him, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. He felt his tears mingle with his vomit and whenever he closed his eyes, the scene haunted him again, relentlessly. When he was done throwing up all the contents of his stomach, he leaned into Bea, who gladly hugged him back, just like June had. The thought brought little comfort, but atleast it was something. After what felt like hours, he found his voice, "H-hen?" He gulped, "H-he is f-fi-" he couldn't finish it, he just couldn't. But Bea understood all the same, and she took a deep breath as she spoke, her voice unwavering, every bit the royal she was raised as, "Alex, Hen just came out of surgery, an hour ago. The bullet missed his vital organs, so he is not in any danger. He did lose a lot of blood, but is expected to make make a full recovery. He will be alright, Alex. Are you fine?" Alex finally looked at her eyes, she looked so tired but concerned, and Alex broke down again, "I-I am pregnant." He whispered, and he knew she had heard for she tensed the very next moment. But then she was hugging him tighter and telling him that it would be alright. He held onto that bit of hope.
It had been four hours since Henry came out of surgery. He was still unconscious, but stable. In the mean time, Alex showed Bea all the ultrasound images, and this time Alex held her as she sobbed. Right at that moment, Pez ran into the hallway, eyes wild, searching, for them perhaps. When he spotted them, he covered the distance between them in a few swift steps and enveloped both of them in an embrace. Alex relaxed, he was safe here, he realised, and it would be fine. When Pez let go of them, he saw the ultrasound pictures on Bea's lap and his eyes went comically large, as he looked from Alex to Bea and back to Alex. "Is that -who? The?"
"Henry's gonna be a daddy." Bea smiled, and after a moments silence, Pez was squealing and crying too. He looked to Alex for confirmation before touching his small bump, but upon feeling it's existence, he positively melted, "Oh Alex, I'll have a mini y'all to spoil. Awww....this is all so sweet. Stop." Alex just chuckled.
Another two hours passed and Alex was starting to doze off when the nurse came hurtling through the corridor. Alex immediately jumped to his feet, and the nurse confirmed that Henry in fact was awake. Pez whooped, and Bea collapsed into the nearest chair, but all Alex wanted to do was see him, he needed to be certain that Henry was fine. "Can we-can we meet him?"
The nurse just nodded, clearly overwhelmed by the presence of the people in front of her. Alex however did not need further confirmation, he speed walked through the halls to Henry's room. His hand stopped on the handle, he took a deep breath and forced his hand to open the door. The sight that greeted him, filled him with so much relief, he thought he could burst. Henry was alive, he looked a little paler thsn usual, but he was alive, and smiling, beckoning Alex to his open arms. Alex started sobbing as he ran to his open arms, breathing in the scent of his fiancé, the reality that he was fine finally settling in. But when Alex wrapped his hands around Henry's torso, he flinched. Alex jumped back as if he had been burnt," Shit, Hen I'm so-sorry. Fuck, did I hurt you? I swear-"
"Hey, Alex, calm down love. I'm fine. It's just a little sore, nothing else, you can relax sweetheart, I'm alright, not hurt at all. Shhh" He cooed as he wrapped his strong arms around Alex, who had started sobbing again (goddamn hormones). Alex finally breathed freely with Henry's fingers carding through his curls, Alex's hand on Henry's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat there.
"I don't think we are allowed to stay in bed together like this baby."
"I am the Prince love, everything is allowed. " Henry smiled as he kissed Alex's forehead. He frowned as he noticed Alex's expression. He looked troubled, "Alex love, I can practically feel you over thinking. What's going on darling? You can tell me..you know that right?"
"Oh baby, it's nothing really. It just, I don't know, scared me I guess. I don't know for how long you were conscious there, but, there was so much blood Hen. I-I thought I'd lose you. The only thing going through my head was that I never got to say how much I loved you, and I maybe wouldn't ever get to hear your stupid accent again. What would i have done without you? Especially now? After-" he stopped himself, "nevermind that now, you are alive, and here. That's all that matters. I'm just a bit shaken, you could say I think."
"Oh Alex, I'm sorry. I can't even comprehend how hard it must have been for you. If our situation was reversed, I'd be beside myself with worry. Your feelings are valid love. I-" he quickly shut his mouth, but Alex squeezed his hand, urging him to continue, he smiled," It's just that, I thought I'd lose you too Alex. The last thought I had before it all went black, was that I never got to breathe in your scent for the last time. The wound hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain of not being able to see you again. " Tears made their way down his cheeks as Henry finished. Alex wiped them away as he kissed his cheek. "As I said Hen, we are both here now, we are safe. We will have every day to ourselves, forever....remember? " Henry sighed in response, as he brought Alex's knuckles to his lips and kissed them.
"Love? If I may?"
"Mhm"
"What did you mean when you said, 'especially now'?"
Fuck, Alex hadn't expected Henry to grasp that, but of course he did. Alex decided to tell the truth afterall. He detached himself from Henry's embrace and turned towards him, not daring to meet his eyes as he said, " Hen, I'll understand if you are not ready for this now, I promise I'll understand. Just please be honest with me ok?"
"Love, you're scaring me. You are fine right?"
"Oh. Yes, I'm fine, it's nothing like that Hen." He visibily relaxed at that, Alex took Henry's hand in his and took a deep breath, " I am pregnant." He dared to meet Henry's gaze and was once more surprised by the lack of disgust there. Henry looked....happy, amazed, he had tears in his eyes, but otherwise, he had so much love in that gaze Alex could feel his cheeks heat. But the lack of response did scare Alex, so he asked, " You-you are fine with that? Say something please. H, you're scaring me now." He whispered and lowered his gaze. Henry lifted his chin and gently kissed him on the lips, and in that gesture, Alex knew their kid would be so loved and supported. "Of course I'm fine with that Alex, I'm just-" he chucked, "I was not expecting you to say that. In fact, I'm really happy Alex. I'm gonna be a daddy! Oh my God Alex! Oh fuck, are we-" Alex nodded, and Henry took in a sharp breath. "Can I -" he asked, hand outstretched towards Alex's middle. "Yes." He breathed. Henry tentatively touched his belly, where though faint, the presence of a bump was undeniable. Henry grinned than, his crooked grin, reserved for Alex only, as he felt the bump there. Alex handed him the ultrasound pictures and Henry looked so in love in that moment, Alex wanted to record it right there. Why was he even afraid of telling this news to Henry in the first place, he thought. "Oh Alex! You've made me so happy. I love you....both of you. Till the end of time."
"We love you too daddy."
"Shit Alex, we are gonna be parents. How in the hell will we? I mean...how -"
"We will be amazing. Don't you worry. We will learn and grow. And most importantly, we will love them with all we have. "
"Yes, we will. I love you." Henry repeated as he kissed Alex again.
THE END