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One of these days, Henry had to stop staring at Alex, get his emotions under control for once.
It was so hard though. Watching Alex do something as simple as running through the sprinkler when they were kids or playing with his dog drove Henry to distraction. And don't even get him started about the fact that he could always see Alex getting dressed through their bedroom windows as they were growing up, especially at night. There had definitely been days when Henry had had to force himself to look away.
He could never tell Alex about his feelings, though- partly because he might love him, but Alex drove him crazy too. If Alex ever found out, he'd be even more obnoxious. Henry would likely never live it down.
Besides, despite the fact that he had had a crush on Alex for years, he had no idea how his best friend felt. What if he didn’t feel the same way? Then Henry would likely be left without a best friend, Alex too repulsed by Henry’s true feelings to want anything to do with him.
If there was one thing Henry knew he wouldn’t be able to stand, it was that exact scenario. He told Alex everything, confided all of his struggles and fears. He had no idea what he'd do without that source of support, given that his best friend knew everything about him except this one secret, and loved him for everything he was, which honestly surprised Henry on a regular basis. He hadn't had a lot of that growing up, especially from his grandmother.
One day, though, things came into the light without Henry having any control over the situation, and almost sent him spiraling into a pit of worry and despair.
He and Alex were hanging out, like they usually did on a Sunday afternoon. They had always said that doing homework together was much better than trying to get through it apart. More often than not, though, Alex, cretin that he was, would find all kinds of ways to distract Henry. Turning on music and humming and singing along, dancing around the kitchen (which was particularly distracting. Seeing those hips move… Well, Henry couldn't help thinking about how they'd move in other situations), talking about the latest political drama (which Henry didn't particularly care for, but he let Alex have his hobbies and showed a passing interest in them, of course, encouraging him to pursue things he enjoyed), and, of course, playing all sorts of games.
Today, Alex had turned on “Despacito” (the version entirely in Spanish, of course- he often told Henry that the other version was a blemish on the face of Latino music) and was dancing around the kitchen singing at the top of his lungs.
“Quiero ser tu ritmo.”
He suddenly caught sight of Henry, and the look in his eyes… Well, Henry had certainly never seen it before, and it did things to him, things that had no business happening, not if he was going to keep their friendship intact.
It seemed, though, that in that moment, some Greek Adonis had taken over Alex's body, because he was dancing up to Henry, wrapping his arms around him from behind.
“Que enseñes a mi boca tus lugares favoritos-”
It was in that moment that Alex started kissing the crevice of Henry's neck right where it met his shoulder, little nips and soothing licks making Henry moan. Alex had long ago taught him the meaning of the lyrics of this song, and Henry had the fleeting thought that Alex didn't need to learn his favorite places- somehow, he already knew them without being told.
Alex's kisses left a trail of fire that gradually moved up his neck. Before he could finally taste Alex's lips on his, though, to Henry's dismay, Alex suddenly stopped.
When he backed away, Henry saw that his gaze was horror-stricken. “H, I'm so sorry. I got lost in the song, and I - I don't know what came over me. Daydreaming, I guess.”
“Alex.” Henry put his hands on his friend's shoulders so he couldn't go a step further. What he really wanted to do was haul Alex back into his arms and kiss him senseless, but something had spooked the man he loved, and he had to figure out what it was before he did anything else. There was one very important question to ask first. “Do you regret it because it isn't what you want… or because you think it's not what I want?”
“I-” Now Alex's cheeks had acquired a beautiful rosy tinge, and Henry absolutely adored it. “I lost myself in the song, and I- we're best friends, we're roommates, and I can't-”
“You can't what, Alex?” Henry asked in a whisper, his heart a percussion ensemble in his chest.
Alex threw his hands in the air. “You're my best friend, H. I can't lose you.”
“Who says you're going to lose me?” Henry asked softly, taking a step closer.
Alex's jaw went slack. “H, I just did-” he waved his arm in the air, apparently at a loss for words. “All of that without us talking first, without even finding out-”
“Love, it's okay,” Henry soothed him. He took Alex's hands in his own. “It's not taking advantage if I want it too.”
“But what about our friendship?” Alex asked.
Henry laughed. “That's exactly why I didn't do anything for so long.”
Finally, finally, Alex's arms wrapped around him. Henry had always been just a little bit taller, and he took advantage of that now, tilting his head down just a bit to press a kiss to the top of Alex's head. “Can we agree that we were both idiots, and that next time we need to talk these things through?”
“Well, maybe you were-”
“Love, you started kissing me before you realized what you were doing,” Henry reminded him. “Speaking of which, you haven't done something yet, and now that we've talked, I think that needs to be rectified.”
“What?”
“This.”
Then at last, Henry was kissing him, and he was thrilled to find that the fire and passion that Alex poured into dancing had come into his kiss as well. Alex had always been the only person he could be himself around, and now that their relationship had shifted, something
Henry had wanted for years… Well, everything was perfect.