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“A gay bar?” Alex asks once they arrive at the bar. It’s lit up with the colors of the gay flag with music so loud you can feel the bass thumping through the concrete.
“Yes, Alejandro, got a problem with that?” Nora asks as she turns to him, a mischievous grin on her face.
“What? No, of course not.” Alex replies as coolly as he can.
“Good, because we are finding Henry here, a hot lay tonight.” Nora says and pats Henry on the shoulder, ignoring the way his cheeks flush red.
They get in line, pay the entry fee and head straight up to the second floor bar where the music is a little quieter. The five of them, Henry, Alex, Nora, June, and Pez all get two rounds of shots, Vodka, and chase it down with a shared water between them.
Once they settle with their cocktails and beer, they crowd around a small booth.
“So, what are we feeling tonight dear Hen? Someone tall? muscular? tan?” Pez asks and chuckles when Henry shoots daggers at him.
Nora and June giggle to each other beside Pez on the other side of the table and Alex is lost in the joke.
As the night continues, they head back down to the dance floor and start to get into the groove of things, the five of them in a circle shaking their hips and bouncing their heads to the music.
Of course Henry is stiff as he dances, but nonetheless, someone makes his way over.
“Hey!” The guy says to get Henry’s attention and Henry turns to look at him.
Alex looks at the guy too and sees he’s about the same height as Henry. He’s got a dopey grin on his face as he smiles at Henry and a messy man-bun. Alex rolls his eyes at the guy but watches as Henry smiles at him and is immediately hit with a small wave of jealousy.
“Hey!” Henry shouts back over the music.
“Can I buy you a drink?” The guy yells and Henry’s cheek flush a soft pink and he nods, stepping forward to follow the guy. He takes the man’s hand and looks back at Alex one last time, before he disappears into the crowd.
Alex watches them go with a death glare.
“If looks could kill.” Nora sing-songs beside him as she twirls to the music.
“Shut up.” Alex huffs, taking a long pull of his beer as he keeps a watchful eye on the two of them.
When they get back from whatever they did together, Henry is all giggly as the guy keeps whispering in his ear with his hand on Henry’s waist.
Alex doesn’t like watching it, a jealous feeling in the pit of his stomach when Henry turns around to face the dick with the man-bun and leans in to say something in his ear, his fingers playing at the collar of the guy's shirt.
Alex realized he was in love with Henry a couple months ago, which is kind of sad because he’s pretty sure he’s been in love with Henry the whole time they’ve been friends. He hasn’t said anything, too afraid to lose him, but seeing Henry with another man kicks his brain into gear. He doesn’t want Henry with anyone else but him.
He belongs with Henry and Henry belongs with him.
Suddenly, the guy looks over at Alex and finally catches his glare. He looks a little amused as he winks at Alex and goes back to talking with Henry. They sway together with the music and Alex has had about enough.
“Pez!” Alex calls over the music to Pez, who’s completely lost in the music as he shakes his hips and sings along with his eyes closed. Alex frowns and leans over closer to get his attention. “Pez!”
“What, Alexander?” Pez yells back, not stopping his dancing or opening his eyes.
“Take my card and buy you and Henry a drink!” He yells and that makes Pez stop and open his eyes, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.
“But he’s getting action Alexander, why would I ever step in the way?” Pez asks, grinning at him like he knows (which he probably does because Alex told Nora and Nora probably told Pez) and Alex has never wanted to hit this man more before.
“Just… do it!” Alex replies and shoves his card into Pez’s hand. He obliges, quickly getting Henry’s attention and taking him off back to the bar.
The guy Henry was just dancing with steps up to Alex. “Hey man! I’m Oliver!”
Alex just glares at him and Oliver chuckles. His voice is deep and sultry and Alex hates it.
“What’s your problem? Is he your boyfriend or something?”
“No! No, I just—“ Alex pauses, looking for a lie. “He just got out of jail for… arson and I don’t think you want to get mixed in with that.” He says and immediately feels guilt line his stomach.
Oliver’s eyebrows shoot up, almost disappearing into his hairline before he nods slowly. “Thanks for telling me man, could I get your number?”
Alex scoffs, horny bastard, before telling Oliver, “No, and you better go if you want out, they’re coming back.”
Oliver glances over his shoulder and sees them returning and sends Alex a wink before disappearing into the ever growing crowd.
When they return, Henry looks around curiously before turning back to the group. “What happened to Oliver?”
All eyes turn on Alex, making his swallow thickly as Nora gives him a smug sort of smile. “Erm- He said he was feeling nauseous or something so he left, I don’t know.”
Henry thinks it over before he shrugs and continues dancing along to the beat of the music. Kind of.
3 more men come up to Henry as the night goes on, flirting with him and making him blush, and He’s slowly getting drunker and drunker as they buy him drinks as a way in.
Alex wonders if he’s catching on.
He got Pez to interrupt again, telling Henry he needs to go to the bathroom. Henry gave him a weird look but agreed and Alex managed to send the guy away.
Henry looks confused when he returns.
June took the next turn, asking Henry to come get a shot with her because ‘they are best friends and have never done a mexican candy’ together. Henry tells the guy who looks like he’s from the 70’s that he’ll be right back and once they disappear to the bar, Alex swoops in and gets the guy to go away.
This time, Henry looks a little hurt and Alex has to fight his guilt that is increasing with each man he sends away.
The third time Nora helps out. She explains to Henry that she’s feeling a little sick and needs fresh air and Henry, being the amazingly sweet guy he is, offers to take her outside. When they start to walk away, she winks at Alex and Alex mouths a small ‘thank you’ before turning to the short twink in the Village People outfit and gets him to vanish into the crowd.
When Henry returns this time, Alex can see the sadness in his eyes. He feels awful, like the worst best friend in the world so he makes a plan to confess in the morning.
Maybe.
The night progresses with no more interruptions from any interested guys and Henry leaves the bar with a sad expression mixed with an incredibly drunk one. He’s swaying on his feet as they walk, his emotions jumping from giggly and happy to sad and hurt within a few seconds, switching on and off.
When they arrive at their apartment complex, they hop out the uber, saying bye to the rest of the group and trudge up the stairs to their apartment. Henry is giggly again, leaning on Alex as he holds him up and walks them down the hall to their shared home.
“I don’t get it.” Henry huffs once their inside and he drops onto the couch. His head lolls back against the back of the couch before he turns it so he can look at Alex, a sad look on his face that makes Alex feel even guiltier than before. “What is it about me that men don’t want ?” He slurs.
Alex shakes his head and sits down beside Henry. “It’s not you Hen— it’s them. They’re the ones with the issue.”
“But I was having such a great time with them and then Boom! they just disappear.” Henry says, waving his hands wildly as he talks and if Alex didn’t feel so much shame about what he did, he would laugh at Henry’s drunken state.
“I think they just had their own issues.” Alex lies and Henry huffs, pushing out his bottom lip in a cute pout.
“Or maybe they could read my mind.” Henry gasps after a moment and Alex can’t fight back the chuckle that escapes him.
“And what was your mind saying that would scare them away?” Alex teases, grinning at Henry.
“They probably read that I’m in love with you and trying to move on with sex and they didn’t like it so they disappeared.” Henry tells him casually, like he’s talking about the weather and Alex’s stomach turns.
Fuck. He feels much worse now.
Henry is in love with him.
Henry is in love with Alex and is trying to get over Alex.
He just confessed it drunk, and as much as Alex wants to talk about it, they can’t .
“I—“ Alex starts before he closes his mouth and thinks. “I think you should go to bed.”
“But I'm comfy here.” Henry whines, closing his eyes. Alex laughs despite his heart beating wildly in his chest and stands up.
“You’ll be much more comfortable in your bed, let’s go sweetheart.”
“Noo.” Henry groans and leans over until his body falls to the side and he smacks his face against one of their pillows.
Alex snorts. “Okay princess, I'll carry you.” He tuts and stands up. He moves in front of Henry and Henry immediately holds his arms up for Alex to carry him and Alex shakes his head. “What am I going to do with you?” He asks quietly as he slides his arm under Henry’s knees and wraps the other around his back.
He picks him up with a small grunt and Henry wraps his arms around Alex’s neck before nuzzling into his skin where his neck meets his shoulder blade. Alex sighs, smiling to himself as he carries Henry to his room.
He lays him down on the bed, prying Henry’s arms off his neck as Henry whines in protest. He moves down the bed and undoes Henry’s shoe laces, pulling them off one by one before he pulls the covers out from under Henry’s half-conscious body. He tucks him in with a small kiss to his temple and laughs when Henry presses his lips forward, asking for a kiss.
“Sweetheart, our first kiss is not going to happen when you can’t remember it.” Alex tells him quietly and Henry nods sleepily against his pillow, his eyes closed.
Before Alex even leaves the room, Henry is snoring lightly. When Alex returns with water and two advils, he gently runs his fingers down the side of Henry’s face and smiles to himself.
“I love you too, you dumbass.”
Alex wakes up before Henry, like he thought he would. He was up all night tossing and turning at Henry’s confession, trying to figure out what to say and not spill his guts about what he did but every conversation that he plays out has him confessing that too.
He goes down to their local coffee shop as Henry sleeps and orders two croissants, a coffee and Henry's favorite tea (Earl Gray, of course) and when he returns home Henry is awake.
Henry is awake and vomiting in their shared bathroom.
Alex immediately puts down his stuff and hustles over to the bathroom. He knocks on the door, hears Henry moan from the other side and lets himself in.
It’s truly a sight to see, a hungover Henry Fox.
He’s always so proper, with his button ups and dress pants, always tidy and ready to go. Alex loves it. Yet, he also loves hungover Henry, with his disheveled bed head, blonde locks pointing in different directions and his head hung between his shoulders over the porcelain bowel.
Alex kneels down beside where he’s kneeling over the toilet, gagging into it and making it echo and Alex can’t help but chuckle.
“Partied too hard last night, did we?” Alex teases, running his hand up and down Henry’s naked back. At some point in the night, Henry must have changed. He’s in his usual sleep shorts and he’s shirtless now, instead of when Alex put him to sleep in his club clothes.
“Fuck off.” Henry grunts into the bowl and Alex throws his head back and laughs at that. Henry isn’t one to swear often, but when he does Alex can’t help but love how proper it sounds, rounded out by his english accent.
“Did you drink the water and take the meds I left by your bed?” Alex asks.
Henry heaves in reply and empties some more of his stomach into the bowl. Alex shakes his head and leans to grab a piece of toilet paper, folding it and handing it to Henry to wipe his face. Henry does, a little roughly, before throwing it into the toilet and leaning back to flush. He leans back against Alex’s thigh, dropping his head back and groaning.
“I didn’t see them but thank god I didn’t. I would've just thrown them up.” Henry moans and Alex cards his fingers through Henry’s sweaty hair as he breathes heavily, swallowing loudly a few times to probably keep down some more bile that is rising.
“That’s true.” Alex hums, playing with the end of the sandy blonde hair. “Do you remember anything from last night?” Alex asks before he can stop himself.
“Uhm— I remember a lot of vodka. Some dancing, and Erm—“ Henry squints one eye as he thinks, “Three— no four— guys who talked to me then disappeared without an explanation.”
“Nothing after?” Alex asks and Henry furrows his eyebrows and looks at him.
“No, why? Did something happen after?” Henry asks, his voice laced with some concern.
“Uh—“ Alex hesitates, “Well… you kinda told me you were… in love… with me?” He tries to speak as gently as possible.
Henry’s eyes widen and he lurches forward, throwing up again into the toilet with a loud groan once he’s done. He hangs his head and with a shaky hand, flushes the toilet with his head still halfway in the bowl.
“That’s super unsanitary.” Alex points out slowly and Henry shakes his head.
“Don’t care.” He grumbles, “I’m going to get in the shower. Can we talk about… that once I'm somewhat human again?”
Alex nods hesitantly. “uh— yeah, just come out when you’re ready. I have tea waiting for you.”
Henry gives him a shaky thumbs up and Alex takes that as his dismissal, leaving Henry with his head in the toilet and closing the door behind him. He leans against the door and bangs his head against it once before he hears the shower running and takes off back down to the kitchen.
30 minutes later, Henry finally steps into the living room looking semi-human. He looks tired and his hair is still dripping, causing the hood of his (well Alex’s) sweatshirt to have a wet spot. Alex passes over the tea (he made a new one because Henry’s went cold) and settles down on the couch. He sits as far away from Alex as possible, curling his feet under him as he stares off at the blank tv.
“So— I confessed that I’m in love with you while I was intoxicated.” Henry murmurs, causing Alex to look at him.
“Yes.” Alex says, “And said you were trying to move on.”
Henry groans. “Christ. Remind me not to drink around you.” He says into his cup of tea as he takes a long sip.
“Is it true?” Alex can’t help but ask, picking at the dead skin around the cuticle of his thumb.
“Which part?”
“All of it?”
Henry sighs, finally turning to look at Alex with tired, sad eyes. “Yes. I’m in love with you and yes, I was trying to find someone to get under so I could get over you.”
Hearing it come from Henry’s mouth makes his stomach sink.
“Why?”
“Why? Why what? Why am I in love with you or why am I trying to move on?” Henry asks before shrugging to answer his own questions. “I fell in love with you 3 years ago. I don’t know, everything about you is completely lovable to me. Your charm, your wit, how bloody beautiful you are that adds onto your incredibly amazing personality. and I guess I decided to try and move on when I realized you’d never feel the same.”
Alex has to sit for a second, letting his mind catch up to what Henry has just told him.
For 3 years he’s been in love with Alex. 3 years (well more like 2 years and 4 months) Alex has brought home hook ups and dates and not thought about how Henry felt once. He’s not a selfish person at all, but Henry played the part of supportive best friend so well that Alex didn’t think he had to worry about Henry’s feelings.
Oh man, he has to tell Nora she’s right about his obliviousness.
“Why didn’t you tell me to begin with?” Alex asks with a long sigh, frowning a little.
Henry shrugs again, averting his gaze down to his tea before he takes another sip. He breathes out and shrugs again. “Because at first it was just a silly crush. Until it wasn’t. Because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Because I didn’t want to lose our friendship and our closeness because your gay best friend couldn’t help but fall for you.” He lists, his voice getting quieter and quieter and Alex suddenly hates the distance between them.
He shuffles over and takes the tea from Henry’s hands, he looks up at Alex curiously when Alex takes his hands and covers them with his own.
“Henry, why do you think you didn’t come home with anyone last night?”
Henry scoffs. “Thank you for reminding me of my failure .” He says and tries to pull his hand away.
“Can you stop being an obtuse fucking asshole for 30 seconds and answer me?” Alex replies, grabbing Henry’s hands firmer. “Think back— Why do you think you didn’t score last night?”
“Besides the fact that I was very, very drunk? Because the guys weren’t interested. They just disappeared, so I assume they found me boring.”
Alex knew he was going to confess. Can’t keep a secret to save his goddamn life. Especially when it comes to Henry.
“No Hen, because I chased them away. ” He tells him and Henry furrows his eyebrows.
“What do you mean?”
Alex sighs and shakes his head. “I may or may not have told them things that weren’t true as a way to get them to fuck off so I didn’t have to watch you flirt with other people.”
Henry’s quiet for a moment, processing Alex words before he opens his mouth and closes it a few times. Finally, he asks, “Why would you do that?”
Alex fights back the urge to groan loudly and kiss this man silly. “Why do you think Henry? You have a masters in literature, think of those stories and come up with the conclusion.”
Henry goes quiet again, looking away to think and Alex can practically see the gears turning in his head. Alex swears there’s a a loud ding when Henry gets it and looks back at him with a face of awe.
“Because you love me too—“
“Because I love you too—“ Alex says at the same time as him and can’t help but grin.
“Wait— how long?” Henry asks. “Because if it’s been 3 years for you too, then we’ve really got some catching up to do.” He says playfully, with a hint of worry and Alex can’t help but roll his eyes.
“A couple months actually, but if I think about how you have made me feel then yeah, probably 3 years without knowing it.” Alex tells him honestly.
Henry shakes his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it sweetheart.” Alex chuckles.
“So what did you tell them?”
“Who?”
Henry snorts. “Those guys; Oliver, Luis, and the other two that I genuinely forgot about.”
“Can I just kiss you first? I feel like you won’t love me after I tell you.” Alex teases, though he’s actually completely serious.
“I’m sure I will but Yes.” Henry tells him and Alex lets go of his hands and places one on the back of Henry’s neck, pulling him in to meet in the middle and press their lips together.
It’s everything Alex dreamed about, and more. It’s like Henry’s lips were made to kiss him with how easy they move against his, how they are the perfect softness and plumpness that Alex could see himself getting lost in. Henry’s mouth tastes like mint toothpaste when Alex slips his tongue inside it and Alex revels in their kiss deepening.
They make out lazily for a few minutes before they pull away to catch their breath. Alex places one more kiss on Henry’s lips before he sits back, placing his hand on Henry’s thigh as he sighs. He looks down at his hand and starts.
“I told Oliver you just got out of prison for committing arson.” Alex starts and Henry chokes on his breath.
“ What ?”
“Told Luis that your brother is a serial killer who has killed all your ex boyfriends.”
“ Alex!”
“Told Shane, that was the 3rd guy that you forgot, that you write smutty novels having sex with aliens and their tentacles. He actually thought it was super cool so then I told him you had a plan to break into Area 51 to sleep with Alien. He found that way less cool.”
“Are you serious— Alex!”
“And told the fourth guy, Frank, lame name by the way, that you were there for the January 6th raid. He was a little confused because you are British but I managed to convince him so, yeah.” Alex finally breathes out and closes one eye in a wince as he looks up to gauge Henry’s reaction.
“We can never go back there.” Henry breathes out and Alex can’t help but let a laugh escape him.
“No, we really can’t.” Alex agrees between laughs and Henry shakes his head.
“Arson? Aliens? January 6th? Alex, if I didn't love you as much as I do, I'd kill you right now.” Henry tells him.
“Add that to the list of the reasons why guys will keep disappearing on you.”
“ Alexander !”