Work Text:
"If you tell my husband we're done".
That's what Alex overhears when he walks past Henry's office.
He'd been in search of a cup of coffee strong enough to make up for the fact that he hadn't slept in 2 days.
If he hadn't been sleep-deprived and stressed as all hell, he's sure that -considering how healthy his relationship is and who he's married to- his brain wouldn't have immediately jumped to the most insulting and worst conclusion possible.
But then again you can't exactly expect yourself to think rationally when you've been awake for the better part of two full nights and three days.
When the door flies open Henry immediately smiles at him.
"You came out of your office! Voluntarily! I didn't think I'd see the day", he teases.
Then he frowns after seeing the look on his husband's face. "What's wrong?"
Alex is about 5 seconds away from tearing his hair out.
He'd already barely been holding on and Henry was supposed to be his safe place.
He was supposed to be able to go home and be safe and at peace.
But of course, in the middle of what feels like the depth point of his career, his healthy marriage crumbles right in front of his face.
And he didn't even notice.
He knew he'd been coming home late.
Hell, some days he didn't come home at all, he'd simply send Henry a text, so his husband knew he wasn't dead before he fell asleep on the leather couch in his office.
If he'd been home every night at a normal time, like he usually is, instead of whatever soul-destroying and apparently marriage-destroying thing he's had going on the past month, would he have noticed the signs?
Would he have caught Henry calling him another man's name or smelling like a different brand of cologne?
Or would Henry have stayed faithful if his husband hadn't given him the idea he loved his job more than he loved him?
Does Alex even have the right to be angry at Henry after abandoning him for the better part of a month?
"Alex", Henry says softly as he reaches out for him.
Alex takes several steps back as if Henry burned him.
Because he did.
"Don't touch me!" He hisses.
Henry tilts his head confused. "Don't touch you? Oh, I'm sorry I-"
"Don't tell my husband or we are done", Alex snaps as he cuts him off.
Henry raises an eyebrow at him, looking confused.
Has he been saying so many shady things behind Alex's back that he doesn't even fucking remember what came out of his traitorous mouth less than two minutes ago?
"Don't tell my husband or we are done", Alex repeats angrily.
Henry finally sighs. "You heard that?"
Alex glares at him before nodding.
"The whole conversation?" Henry asks carefully.
See this is where miscommunication forms.
No, Alex didn't hear the whole conversation.
But did he need to?
He assumes that if he admits that he only heard the last sentence Henry might try to lie his way out of the situation.
And frankly, Alex can not have a cheating husband on top of everything else in his life that's currently failing him.
So he lies, which he normally never does, not to Henry at least.
But he assumes it's best to get the confrontation out of the way.
Because right now he still has it In him to be as angry as the twenty-one-year-old version of him, who first started dating Henry, would want him to be.
"Yes, I overheard!" He yells
Henry sighs loudly. " I see"
Alex scoffs. "You're not even going to fucking apologize?"
Henry frowns. "Apologize? I mean if you want me to, I guess I could, but frankly I didn't know I needed to."
Alex scoffs. "Un-fucking-believable. You didn't think you needed to? What gives you the fucking right? Not only to do this to me but to not even find it in your stone-cold heart to apologize for fucking everything up?"
Henry frowns even harder. "Alex, isn't that a little harsh? What else did you expect me to do? You've been running yourself into the ground-"
"Yes, I know I have. But that doesn't give you the right to fucking cheat on me! Unbelievable. I'm going for a walk. I'll be back. And no, I won't fuck anyone else while I'm out there. I'm not you," Alex hisses.
Henry grabs his wrist. "What did you just say to me?" He asks bewildered.
Alex is so angry he's vibrating with it. "Let go of me. Don't make me fight you, H. I never want to hurt you, but I've quite literally never been this mad before, so let go of me before I bang my own head into the wall and blame your cheating ass for the concussion-"
He's cut off by his husband bursting out in laughter.
He watches Henry throw his head back as he continues to hold Alex's hand
"This is fucking funny to you? We're this close to finalizing the adoption of our baby, you just ruined absolutely everything and you're laughing?" Alex asks through gritted teeth as he yanks his hand back.
Henry places a kiss on Alex's hand before dragging him to their bedroom.
"If the bed smells like him I'm going to do something drastic ", Alex hisses.
Henry rolls his eyes at him before gently pushing him down and climbing into the bed next to him.
"If this is supposed to make me forgive you for cheating... you're doing all the work and it better be the best sex of my life", Alex tells him as he continues to glare at him.
Henry takes him in his arms.
Alex groans and then sits up straight to unbutton his blouse.
Henry gently puts a hand on his chest. "Darling, no. You are in no state to consent. Stop undressing yourself and come cuddle with me while we talk through this."
Alex frowns. "I thought we were going to have hot angry hate sex? And then you'd forgive me for neglecting you and I'd forgive you for cheating and everything would be okay again", he says confused.
Henry sighs as he gently pushes him down onto the bed to cuddle him.
"Alex, darling, love of my life, king of overthinking. I didn't cheat on you. I would never cheat on you and quite frankly I am offended you'd even consider I'd do something so cruel to you. But I am not mad at you for not having given me any attention for the past month. How could I be mad at you for neglecting me when you've barely taken care of yourself? And I am not mad at you for jumping to conclusions either, because you look like you haven't slept in days. And I could never have hate sex with you, because I could never hate you.'
Alex turns in his arms to look at him. "You didn't cheat on me?' He whispers softly.
Henry sighs as he tightens his arms around him. "Darling, Are you really asking me that? Your husband of more than a decade? Don't you know me better than that?"
Alex groans as he absentmindedly plays with Henry's hoodie strings. 'Of course I do, but I've never treated you like this. I've never neglected you before."
Henry rolls his eyes at that. "So you spend a month so busy with work that you stop sleeping and that must mean I'm cheating on you?"
Alex shakes his head. "No. I knew you were all alone in our home but that possibility never even crossed my mind. You've never given me a reason not to trust you, but then I overheard you say If you tell my husband we're done. And you have to admit that sounds suspicious. Anyone would think that. That doesn't mean I don't trust you."
Henry sighs. "I suppose you're right. It does sound bad, I can understand that, but you didn't listen to the entire conversation, Alex. As you told me you did."
"Okay. That's fair. But I didn't think I had to! You're a smart guy surely you understand why I freaked out. You said "Don't tell my husband or we are done", Alex repeats.
Henry sighs as he rubs Alex's back. "Yes, I did say that, but with a little bit of context it doesn't sound nearly as bad. I can't believe I even have to clarify this but I wasn't talking about ending an affair. With or we're done I was threatening my therapist that I'd fire them if they told my husband what I'd just told them confidential."
"You're keeping things from me?" Alex asks in a small voice.
Henry sighs. "No. Well... Yes? Sort of? I asked her how many hours one could be awake before they'd have a psychological collapse and she said she'd call my husband because she thought I was talking about myself. And I didn't want you to know I was meddling. You can look at my phone if you want, but you're not going to find any interesting on there."
"Oh", Alex says feeling stupid.
Henry rolls his eyes at him before drawing him closer and kissing his head.
"Babe, let go. I don't deserve your love right now", Alex whispers as the guilt starts to sink in.
Henry shakes his head. "Of course you do. Alex, how long have you been awake, darling?"
"Three days, two nights. Two full nights and today", Alex admits.
Henry sighs. "That's what I was afraid of. Close your eyes, darling."
Alex burrows his head in Henry's throat. "You're not mad at me? Hen, I just broke every rule of our marriage. I accused you. You should hate me."
Henry kisses his curls. "Darling, you haven't slept in 48 hours. I'd let you get away with a lot more than this. And I could never hate you. Now close your eyes."
"You can't just forgive me! This is supposed to be a healthy marriage!" Alex whines.
"It is, darling", Henry assures him.
Alex groans. "No, people in healthy marriages don't accuse their partner of cheating. I'm supposed to trust you. Healthy relationships are based on trust."
'You do trust me, you didn't even ask to see my phone, my word was enough for you, you've always trusted me, just like i trust you.", Henry says easily.
Alex sighs. "Well yes, but-"
"But you can't think rationally right now and I don't expect you to. Under normal circumstances, I'd be more offended. But right now I'm just worried about you and happy that if anything bad needed to happen it was this instead of you driving your car into a three on your way home or having a psychological collapse that your brain would need to recover from for a fully year", Henry says gently.
"You still love me?" Alex asks softly.
"Always", Henry promises.
"But we're talking about this tomorrow?' Alex asks knowingly. Henry always makes them talk out their differences after an argument. Alex loves it because it's one of the reasons why he knows they won't end up like their parents. There is no build-up of frustration between them. If they have had an argument they talk it out until they're both feeling understood.
'No, we're going to nap now. Then I'll bring you dinner in bed. Then we'll shower, no sex-"
Henry smiles at Alex's pout.
"We'll sleep. I'll call your boss and make him give you a few days off. You're going to rest and then in a few days we'll talk about this."
'And you won't hate me for accusing you?" Alex asks softly.
"No, I could never hate you. If this continues to happen I might poison your new boss though", Henry jokes.
"Can I help?" Alex asks making Henry laugh so hard he almost falls off the bed.
Alex grabs his bicep to prevent it. "Come sleep now, baby"
"I thought you'd never ask", Henry teases as he pulls him closer.
A few hours later Alex is interrupted by a soft tap on his shoulder. "No, I haven't slept in years why would you wake me up, baby", he whines.
Henry sighs. "I am sorry, darling, but I don't want you to skip dinner. You've already put your body through enough lately.
Alex sits up straight against the pillows as Henry climbs into bed next to him and hands him a bowl with rice, falafel, vegetables and lettuce.
"Thank you, baby", Alex hums, then he frowns at Henry's empty lap.
You're not eating?" He asks confused.
"I didn't know if you wanted to eat together", Henry admits.
Alex rolls his eyes at him. "I know I've been a shitty husband lately, but I always want to spend time with you. And I need to know you're taking good care of yourself. Go grab your food."
Henry kisses his cheek. "You haven't been a shitty husband. It was one month and you did nothing but work, it's not like I am the only one you didn't pay much attention to. Plus every night, at ungodly hours, you climbed into bed and whispered i love you, baby. That's all I'll ever need from you."
Alex groans. "Well that's just sad, you deserve better than some asshole who tells you he loves you once a day, never looks at you, never gives you orgasms and makes you do all the household chores. He sucks. I'd cheat on him too."
Henry rolls his eyes at him. "That's not what you're like at all. You do not suck and for the last time I didn't cheat on you."
"No, I know but I'm saying I'd get it if you did", Alex says with a mouthful of rice.
Henry puts his food aside. "You ridiculous man, you work yourself to the ground because you care too bloody much and you get lost in hyperfocus. You shouldn't be punished for that. And there is nothing in this world that anyone, including you, could ever do to even make me consider cheating on you. I find it a privilege to be the person you come home to, who you trust enough to fall asleep in his arms when you're so sleep-deprived that you might sleep too deep to be aware of your surroundings. I love you so much more than you'll ever know. Now eat your dinner and go back to sleep until you stop talking nonsense."
"Will you eat with me?" Alex asks softly.
Henry nods, kisses his cheek one more time and then leaves to grab his dinner.
Alex intertwines their legs when he comes back.
They eat in silence.
Later Henry cleans up the bowls and lifts Alex up from their bed.
"Fucking, finally, I haven't had an orgasm in like a month", he says dramatically.
Henry snorts. "We're showering and brushing our teeth. No sexy time."
Alex pouts. "But babe, I slept. I can totally consent now."
"You slept for three hours after not sleeping for 3 days. Do the math, Alexander", Henry tells him, before taking off his own shirt and placing Alex down on the bathroom tiles.
Alex whistles loudly.
Henry rolls his eyes at him before kicking his jeans off.
"Do you want me to keep my boxers on?" He asks gently.
Alex frowns. "What? No. We've been married for 10 years and you're going to start doing that now?"
Henry laughs at how offended Alex looks. "I just wanted to give you the option in case it made you feel more comfortable after the miscommunication", he says sweetly before kicking his boxers off.
Alex joins him and runs into the shower completely naked.
Henry walks into the wall as he keeps his eyes on his husband, which makes Alex laugh so hard he almost falls over.
'You don't have to close your eyes, babe", he wheezes.
"I got distracted", Henry admits with a blush.
"Oh, you poor neglected husband. Has it been so long since anyone showed you some skin that you're walking into walls now?" He teases.
Henry rolls his eyes at him.
Then he steps into the shower too.
"Hands above the waistline", he reminds Alex gently.
Alex sighs before falling into Henry's arms and closing his eyes as Henry gently washes his curls and body for him.
When he opens his eyes again he's lying in their king-sized bed in Henry's pajamas with his head on Henry's chest who is fast asleep.
"This would be so creepy if it had been anyone but you", Alex whispers with a chuckle before closing his eyes and falling back asleep.
When Alex opens his eyes again Henry is nowhere to be found and the city seems to be wide awake already.
He checks his phone and lets out a yelp when he realizes it's past noon.
He races downstairs to find Henry writing at their dinner table.
"Hello, love, I made a pot of very strong coffee. Help yourself. What do you want to eat?" He asks sweetly.
Alex gapes at him. "It's Thursday? Did I die?"
"No, thank god you didn't. You did however sleep for about 15 hours", Henry tells him softly.
Alex blinks. "Jesus. That's not normal."
"Neither is not sleeping for more than 48 hours", Henry reminds him.
Alex pours a cup of coffee and takes a big sip.
"Ew", he mumbles.
Henry laughs. "You still have to add the cinnamon, here let me", he says before grabbing the cup, adding cinnamon to the cup and giving it back.
"Oh, that's much better", Alex says happily after taking a sip.
"What do you want to eat, love?" Henry asks again.
"Oatmeal?" Alex asks.
Henry hums and starts to make his breakfast as Alex opens his work laptop.
A few minutes later Henry places a bowl of oatmeal with fresh strawberries in front of him and closes his laptop.
"Today is a rest day. Work will still be here tomorrow. "
Alex sighs. "Fine. Can I eat my breakfast on your lap?"
Henry snorts. "If you insist, sure"
"I missed you", Alex says before climbing into Henry's lap with his bowl in his hands.
"I missed you too. Good thing I'm taller huh love?" Henry teases.
Alex glares at him but continues to eat and sit on his lap.
It's an adorable sight and Henry silently thanks the universe him for letting a stupid case of miscommunication turn into the end of the best thing that's ever happened to him.
He gently plays with Alex's hair. "Not even one rude comment? Christ, your work did break you".
Alex sighs. 'I'll get you back tomorrow", he says before shifting in his lap.
Henry chuckles. "Didn't you already get me back yesterday?" He asks before kissing his neck.
Alex frowns. "When I fell asleep in the shower?"
"Before that", Henry says before kissing his jaw.
Alex takes another bite of oatmeal. "I don't remember. What did I do, babe? My brain felt like it was going to explode by the time I got home."
Henry secures his grip on his husband's waist. "You don't remember?"
"No, ugh what did I do?" Alex asks.
"Oh. Nothing", Henry lies before stealing a strawberry from Alex's oatmeal.
"Why aren't you eating, babe?" Alex asks confused.
"I already did. Twice. I woke up hours ago", Henry tells him gently.
Alex takes the last bite of oatmeal -and offers Henry his last strawberry like it's nothing, because it's not for him, he's always been generous- and then puts his bowl aside.
"Right. So what did I do?" He asks annoyed.
Henry hugs him. "Don't worry about it, love. It's all good."
Alex turns in his hold to glare at him. "Hen, what did I do, baby?" He asks again.
Henry sighs. "You may have yelled at me."
Alex buries his face in his neck. "Oh, I am sorry. That's not something I usually do."
Henry hums. "It's alright, darling"
"Let me guess, you closed my laptop?" Alex asks
Henry shakes his head. "No, you overheard one sentence of my phone call with my therapist and started spiraling. But in your defense, you'd been awake for much longer than should be humanly possible and without context, it did sound kind of bad", Henry says gently.
"What was the sentence? What was the conclusion I came to?" Alex asks curiously before leaning down to grab his coffee.
"You accused me of cheating", Henry sighs.
Alex snorts, spilling some of his coffee.
"You? Cheating? On me? That's ridiculous. You would never."
Henry hums. "Quite."
"I'm sorry, babe. So how did that go?" Alex asks as he takes another sip of coffee.
"You yelled. I started laughing. You got mad. I carried you to our bed. You initiated having hate sex. I told you I didn't cheat on you and didn't want to have hate sex and you fell asleep", he explains.
Alex laughs so hard he almost falls off Henry's lap. "Hate sex? Damn, I really was a horny sleep-deprived menace".
Henry chuckles. "It's alright."
"What was the thing I overheard?" Alex asks curiously as he shifts on his lap again.
"In Your defense, it does sound kind of shady without context."
Alex wiggles his eyebrows at him. "What was it, babe?"
"Don't tell my husband or we are done", Henry sighs.
"And I thought that meant you were cheating? Honestly to me, that sounds more like a conversation between an assassin and his handler", Alex jokes.
"Also a totally normal conclusion", Henry teases.
"I am sorry, babe", Alex tells him Softly.
"Oh, it's alright, darling, really", Henry assures him.
"Let me make it up to you", Alex says before putting his coffee cup aside and climbing back on Henry's lap.
"No sex, love. You're resting today", Henry reminds him.
"But I haven't had an orgasm in like a month", Alex whines.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you sleep on the couch in your office and only spend three hours a day at home. Of which you're sleeping in your house with your husband", Henry reminds him.
"So let me make up for last time. Aren't you dying to get off after a month of no action?" Alex asks him teasingly.
Henry blushes.
"You've been getting off without me", Alex gasps.
Henry shrugs. "Well yes. I had to work every day too, but I did spend the nights in our bed. So yes, I did have some orgasms without you."
"How many?" Alex asks with a smirk.
"I didn't keep count. But every night. I think.'
Alex smiles. "Slut", he says affectionately.
Henry laughs.
"So where did you find all these hookups? On grinder?" Alex teases.
Henry rolls his eyes at him. "Some of us can get off with our hand or a toy and a picture of our husband. I masturbated, I didn't cheat."
"Hot. What picture?" Alex asks curiously.
'I have some favorites. And I did buy some new toys and smutty m/m romance novels to kill the time too", Henry admits.
Alex grins. "Show me."
"Not today love, you're resting.", Henry reminds him.
"So you can do all the work?" Alex suggests with a wink.
Henry smiles. "Alright, I suppose I can get on board with that. But if I do this, no more sleeping on your couch in your office because you don't want to wake me up. You come home. No matter how late it is. You come home. I'd much rather wake up from the front door at 3 in the morning than wake up to an empty bed when my alarm goes off. Even if it's just for a few hours, I'd rather sleep with."
Alex smirks. "Deal. Also, do you think my boss hates me after that threatening e-mail you sent him?"
"You? No. But I'm sure my head is on a hitlist on the dark web now", Henry jokes.
"That's okay, I can fight, I'll protect you", Alex promises.
"Against a bullet?" Henry asks laughing.
"For you? Sure", Alex promises.
Henry smiles before kissing him. "I love you"
Alex kisses him back. "I love you so much, babe. I'm sorry I was kind of a shit husband"
"You weren't", Henry assures him.
"But I do like it better when you're home", he whispers then.
"Yeah, me too", Alex agrees dragging him back onto the bed.
"I thought you wanted me to grab the new toys?" Henry asks with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but cuddles first", Alex hums.
"Right. Is this foreplay for the hate sex?" Henry asks teasingly.
Alex rolls his eyes at him. "What happened to making love?"
"I do like the sound of that better", Henry hums.
Alex smiles. "Good. Me too. Oh, my god, babe. I almost forgot. I know why my sleep-deprived brain went to such mad conclusions."
"Because you don't trust me?" Henry teases cuddling closer.
Alex rolls his eyes at him. "OH, yeah, totally that's why I've been dating you since I was 21. No, I've got good gossip."
Henry pokes his head up curious.
Alex giggles. "We can't ever tell anyone how much we like to gossip together."
"Our secret is safe by me. Now tell me the tea", Henry says excitedly as he pokes his chest.
Alex snorts. "So you know how this new case has had us all overworked, spending the night in our office, working during weekends, etc?" He asks.
"I didn't notice that", Henry deadpans.
"Well, two of my colleagues got cheated on during this month that they didn't have time for their partners. Two!' Alex tells him With a squeal.
Henry gasps. "What? Who?"
"Neil went home early to surprise his wife and found out Jessica had been spending the nights with some dude she found on Twitter", Alex tells him.
Henry makes a face.
Alex nods frantically. "My thoughts exactly! And Jake's husband isn't wearing his wedding ring anymore. Technically he could have taken it off because he went swimming in the ocean or something. But yeah."
"Oh, so if everybody else's spouse is cheating I must be too", Henry asks with an eyeroll.
"I mean not everybody, I'm just saying I didn't make the accusations because it seemed like something you would do, but because it was happening all around me", Alex explains.
"Yeah, I was never that worried about it in the first place", Henry promises as he kisses his cheek.
"I'm still sorry, that was shitty of me", Alex sighed.
"You get a pass because you were so sleep deprived you don't even remember it. Now what colour dildo do you want me to grab? Purple or brown?"
Alex raises an eyebrow at him. "We only have a blue one".
Henry smirks at him.
Alex grins. "Oh damn, surprise me."