Work Text:
“You’re staring,” Alex says, a little more than slightly pleased by the attention, and turning from looking out at the water to looking at his absolutely gorgeous, if turning slightly pink, boyfriend. The decision to spend some time out on Henry’s yacht after everything calmed down to get some peace and quiet had come as a delightful surprise.
It was a way to just be happy and alone and most importantly recover. The chaos surrounding the election had helped distract them, just a bit, as had Henry’s stupid apology tour, but once it was over – there was no reason not to focus on themselves and healing. No reason for them to not be able to get away alone together.
“I like looking at you,” Henry offers with a smile. Wrapping an arm around his waist to pull him close and kiss his cheek. “You’re beautiful and most importantly all mine.”
Alex grins and turns to him, fully. He eyes his boyfriend and notes the tiny swim trunks, which has come to adore. “I like looking at you, too. Usually when you’re naked, but you look pretty good right now, too.”
Henry laughs and gives him a kiss.
Alex hums, pleasantly.
Henry smiles at him, but not in that let’s disappear to our room way that he’s seen a lot of since boarding the ship, instead, it’s more of a soft, I’m so in love way.
“I like that smile.”
“Good because it’s all for you, all due to you,” Henry assures him, still smiling, blue eyes soft and happy. “I just keeping thinking about how four years ago, more than four years now, we met, and I fell in love and then –”
“– decided to be an asshole,” Alex teases. “I still can’t believe that your reaction to being attracted to me was to be an asshole.”
Henry laughs. “Well, if I hadn’t, you might not have become as obsessed with me as you did, and you might not have sought me out or tried to get back at me and we might never have ended up covered in cake.”
Alex laughs, kissing his cheek. “Not sure that’s true. There was a reason that I wanted to introduce myself to you in the first place.”
“Ah, yes. Due to your secret fascination with me,” Henry teases. “A simple magazine had reached your heart – though not enough to discover yourself sooner. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one that feels as if this is a first love situation.”
“You – you think of me as your first love?” Alex asks, eyes searching Henry’s. “Really?”
Henry flushes. “How can I not?”
“Well, it’s just – you’ve been with other guys and –”
“Alex,” Henry says, softly, to stop him. “None of those blokes were anything more than a fun shag and an NDA. You were always more than that.” He runs a hand through Alex’s hair, and down his face to cup his chin. “Or have you forgotten my letter about when I first saw you that day that you decided I was your sworn enemy?”
Alex melts.
He does remember that email.
Of course he does. It meant so much to him to read after their breakup and before his storming of the castle. It felt good to know that everything that he’d been feeling was returned after that.
“I haven’t forgotten,” Alex assures him, as he wraps his arms around his neck. “I just … it didn’t occur to me that it meant that I was your first love.”
Henry pulls at his waist, pulling them impossibly closer together, as he stares into his eyes. “I suppose it might not have sunk in, despite everything that’s happened, that you are the only person I’ve ever fallen in love with. I shall forgive you for that.”
Alex laughs and shakes his head, his nose brushing up against Henry’s, eyes still lost in that sea of blue. “To be fair, it took me a long time to even realize what I was feeling – attraction, then, love – can’t be responsible for not realizing your feelings, especially when you were so good at hiding them.”
Henry chuckles. “Lucky for me,” he offers. “If you’d been a bit more aware than I might have gone around the bend sooner and run away sooner.”
“And I might not have chased after you if I hadn’t fallen as deeply in love as I had – months of phone calls and emails – really deepened my love for you and I didn’t even notice.”
“It hurts to wonder where we’d be if things were different, but I am quite happy that it happened the way that it did,” Henry says. “I doubt that had you been more open or I had run sooner that we’d be here right now.”
There’s a part of him that knows that had things been different, had he been more open about his feelings or even aware of his feelings that things might’ve – would’ve been – different. Maybe they could’ve been happier sooner, but he guesses that had he been and had Henry left him sooner or ghosted him sooner that they probably wouldn’t have gotten the happily ever after that they’re getting now.
But Henry’s right. They wouldn’t be here right now if one thing had changed, he’s sure of it.
“You’re absolutely right, baby,” Alex admits. “And that just makes me love you all the more.”
“I love you, too.”
He closes the inches between them and kisses him deeply. He revels in the softness of Henry’s lips, the taste of his favorite tea, for a just a second before he leans back, ever so slightly.
“Why did you stop?” Henry questions, uncertainly. “There’s no one out here watching or catching our display.”
“As if that thought would stop me.” Alex laughs. “No, I just – you’re starting to pink. We should probably take care of that if we’re going continue to have my favorite kind of fun on this boat.”
Henry hums and gives him a quick kiss. “Quite right, love. Maybe after we’ve taken care of me, we can have that fun.”
“Sounds awesome, baby.”
“Good.”