Work Text:
Is everything okay?" Henry asks as he looks at Alex who's still glaring at his script.
"Yeah, everything's fine."
He says putting a head through his curly hair.
"No, it's not."
Henry says as he stops with what he was doing, which was tying his shoes.
"Do you want me to cancel?"
"No, no, you can go out. I'm fine", Alex says.
He gives Henry one of his gorgeous smiles that years of acting and many years behind the camera on one of the most popular sitcoms that's currently being streamed have really perfected.
The perfect fake smile, but Henry sees right through the mask anyway,because he's Alex's husband after all.
"Okay, you are not okay. So are you gonna tell me what's wrong or not? Do you feel sick? Do you not want me to leave?"
I'm fine, really", alex says fidgeting with the script.
"I just don't like the guy, okay? That's all", he finally admits.
"The guy? You mean Neil, who I'm going to go read lines with right now?", Henry asks.
"Yeah. I can't stand him. Okay, I said it", Alex says.
"Oh really?". Henry frowns. "I didn't know that", he says confused.
"I know because I didn't tell you."
"Why don't you like him? Did he say something to you? Something offensive?", Henry asks concerned.
"I just. I don't know. I can't stand him. Really. He's always been perfectly nice to me. I just can't stand him", Alex says shrugging.
Henry folds his arms. "Sure, but I know you and you never dislike people without a reason. Sometimes the reason is petty. Like you dislike them because they made you trip in first grade when you were 6. But you still have a reason all the same, ready or not".
"Okay, that's a totally valid reason not to like somebody, Alex says as he sits down on their staircase, glaring up at Henry where he's standing in front of the front door.
"I'll be fine. Just go."
Henry sighs. "Alex, if you don't like that, I'm going to be slone with him. You can come with me."
"No, I'm not voluntarily hanging out with him."
"So you want me to cancel? I can cancel." Henry offers.
"If you want to relax with me or do something with me on our day. On our night off. Well, it's not really a night off. Not going to be a late night. We have to be on set at 5am tomorrow. But you know", He checks his watch again.
"It's only 8:30. I won't be late, but if you don't want me to go-"
Alex interupts him.
"you can go. I would never tell you what to do. Just leave", he says, waving him off.
Henry sighs. "Alex, I'm not gonna leave. If you don't tell me what's wrong. Okay? I don’t ant to leave when we're on bad terms.”
“We're not on bad terms. Alex rolls his eyes. “I just. I don't like Neil, that's all. It's not a big deal.”
Henry sighs. “No, but I don't feel like you're telling me the whole story.”
Henry shakes his head. “There's something you're not telling me. I can tell because I am your husband.”
Alex groans. “Fine. Maybe I don't like the guy because it's clear that he wants you.”
Henry scoffs. “Do you not trust me anymore?”
“Of course I trust you”, Alex says, rolling his eyes.
“Obviously you don't trust me. Alex,” Henry says, his jaw clenched.
“If you think I'm gonna cheat on you with that man.”
“I didn't say that”, Alex scoffs, his eyebrows furrowing “And I don't understand.”
Henry cuts him off. “If you don't think I'm gonna cheat on you, what does it matter that he likes me if he does? Which I don't think is true, but if it is, why does it matter if you trust me?”
God. Alex groans. “I never said that I'm allowed not to like everybody on the planet.”
Henry groans. “Look, we're gonna have to talk about this. I will just tell him I'm gonna be later or I'll cancel on him.”
“ You don't have to cancel. You can do whatever you want. And you don't have to hang out exclusively with people I like. You can hang out with anybody, everybody. You can even date men that I don’t like.”
Alex knows he said something wrong the moment he says it. Because every single muscle in Henry's body tenses, his jaw clenches.
He looks like he wants to scream.
And Henry Never looks like he's gonna lose his shit, but he does right now.
He looked the same way when a reporter asked a very racist question to him.
He looks the same way right now. He never loses his shit with Alex. Is so patient with him. Never gets mad at him really. Sure, they have discussions and live together.
They're married. An arranged marriage, but a marriage all the same.
And they work together. They work and live together.
They're pretty much always around each other. Of course they fight sometimes. They work together all day.
Playing a married couple on one of the most beloved series at the moment that had won multiple Emmys and that had made both their careers and that had recently gotten them the title of all time favorite queer married couple on media.
And then they went home and continued to play a married couple for the past three years because the publicity stunts to try and save their careers.
And to try and get the show renewed for a new season had gotten them both into an arranged marriage scenario that really seemed to come straight out of a TV script.
Both he and Henry had done a movie, pretty much the exact premise, and yet they found themselves in a real life situation when Alex didn't even know those existed until it happened to him.
But he had to admit that if it had to happen with him too. He was happy it happened with Henry, his co star, but also his best friend.
They'd spent the past decade pretending to be lovers, boyfriends, fiance, and now husbands on popular TV series.
Except this year their marriage was in crisis on the TV and now they were getting a divorce and both dating other people on screen.
And Henry had a very hard time with kissing his newco-star-.
Alex contemplated whether or not that meant Henry returned his feelings, but he still wasn't sure.
Maybe he just didn't like the slaughter of their love story when it meant so much to queer people.
He could understand that lots of people, not just queer fans, but also other fans, loved their love story and it was hard to see it come to an end.
Especially because queer stories so often didn't get happy endings in media. It was very unfair that a queer romance that meant so much to people has gotten a tragic ending to only feeding into the stereotypes.
Alex and Henry had gone to war for their characters to make sure the cheating storyline that had originally been planned for the writers didn't actually end up happening.
Because neither of them were ready to see their characters that spent the past decade dedicating their lives and their careers to getting slaughtered like that.
So the marriage in crisis ended up not having any infidelity tropes, but their marriage was still in shambles on the tv.
They were in the Last phase of getting their divorce officially on paper finalized, and both their characters were dating other people.
Right now. Henry was dating the character that Neil played. Well, Henry's character anyway.
And that may have been the reason Alex didn't like him because he'd spent the past decade being the only person Henry kissed.
Except for the off chance that they filmed the movie, neither of them had really dated.
They had dated in the past, but it had been a long time since either of them had had a relationship and neither of them really had time for flings.
And now that they had an arranged marriage going on, they couldn't take the risk of getting photographed dating somebody else, or going on a date or having an intimate embrace.
Because If Hollywood thought that one of their favorite couples was having infidelity problems, it would surely be a disaster of great proportions for their careers and the show.
To avoid that, neither of them had dated since the arranged marriage started.
And yes, Alex had a nightmare a few months ago. He'd climbed into Henry's bed and he hadn't left and now they slept in the same bed.
But was that truly because Henry returned his feelings? Or was that only because neither of them had the luxury of dating somebody else?
Because they couldn't risk the fact that their marriage wasn't real coming out.
So now they were having sex with each other. And they’ve already been kissing for the past decade anyway on screen.
And yes, on screen kisses aren't very romantic. Except when you're in love with someone.
Sure, it's true. On screen kisses really aren't that romantic. There's no romance, there's no intimacy, there's no spontaneity, energy or feeling involved. Except when you're kissing the person you've had a decade long crush on.
But no, he knows there’s nothing romantic about kissing somebody else on screen when you're not secretly in love with that person.
So really, Neil and Henry’s kissing scenes shouldn't bother him, just like Henry shouldn't be bothered by the kissing between him and Diego.
Because Alex really really really was re- introduced to the concept of how unsexy on screen kisses are with the whole choreography telling you how to behave, how long the kiss should last, hundreds of people looking at you, there just really isn't anything romantic about it.
And yet he can't help the unnecessary jealousy bubbling up when he sees Henry kiss Neil.
And it's ridiculous because henry isn't even his.
yes on paper and yes, everybody thinks he's his. But really it's all pretend, it's all pr.
It's real on screen, it's not real off screen, even if Alex wants it to be.
And sometimes he wonders if henry wants it to be too. But then he just doesn't think it's worth ruining a decade long friendship over to ask for clarification.
Especially when he really is enjoying the friends with benefits, arranged marriage situation he found himself in.
And yeah, maybe asking Henry if he returns his feelings could make their marriage real, but it could also ruin everything and he's not ready for that.
But what if Henry does return his feelings and they're just trapped in an arranged marriage?
“ I asked you a question”, Henry says angrily, he never talks to Alex that way, so he must really have screwed up with that question or that comment he made.
He doesn't even remember what he said, but it really triggered Henry.
“What”? Alex asks, frowning, zoning back into the conversation.
I asked, Henry says in a clipped tone that Henry really never uses with Alex.
“ What do you mean?” He says.
Alex scoffs. “What do you mean what do I mean?” He asks, a little childishly.
“ I mean”, Henry says, balling his fists.
Wow, Alex really pissed him off. What did he say again?
“I mean, what do you mean when you say I could date any other men, even ones you don't like? What does that mean?” Henry said, surprisingly angry, considering Alex had definitely said worse things the past decade.
Alex shrugs. “It's not up to me who you date, whether you date someone, who I don't like or some dude that I do like. It's not up to me.”
“Alex?” Henry asks. His voice scares Alex a little. Not in a oh God is he going to hurt me way because he knows Henry would never hurt him, but in a oh holy shit, I'm definitely gonna still have to sleep on the couch tonight way.
“ Alex, I'm gonna ask you one more time. I really sincerely hope seriously, for the love of God, that you're joking”, henry says again, and Alex just looks at him stupidly.
because he knows something's very wrong right now, he just doesnt know what it is.
“I'm gonna ask you again, Alex, for the love of the queers, are you joking or not joking?”
“No, I'm not joking. I genuinely mean it. You can date whoever you want. I don't have to like him. You don't have to ask my permission. It's not up to me who you date. I don't want you to think you're obligated to ask my permission. You can do whatever you want”, Alex says honestly.
Henry just stares at him like he just told him he’s secretly a serial killer. And not ‘hey, you're my best friend. I love you. I respect you. You can date whoever you want. I know it's not me you want, so you can date whoever you want, even if it's that new guy that I don't really like’.
Henry doesn't break eye contact as he grabs his phone. “Hi, it's Henry. Neil, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to cancel our plans for tonight. No, I know I promised. I'm really sorry. I know you're struggling with the scene of tomorrow, that you're very nervous about. and that you were planning on running lines with me and for at least two hours tonight before tomorrow shoot. But I'm sorry, I really am gonna have to cancel. My husband hit his head and I can't leave.”
Alex groans.
“No. Yeah, Alex is fine. He's just confused. He'll be okay. We'll be there tomorrow. Maybe you can run lines with me during the lunch break. Okay, yeah, I'll tell him. Thank you,”Henry says.
Then he hangs up and shoves his phone in his pocket.
“Why did you tell him I hit my head”? Alex frowns.
“I just have to cancel all my plans for tonight. I'm not leaving you. Not like this. We're gonna talk about this,” Henry says and as he grabs Alex's hands to drag him to the living room.
Alex realizes Henry's hands are shaking. “Are you okay?” Alex asks.
“No”, Henry says a little forcefully as he drags Alex to the couch.
“Wait, what’s wrong”? Alex asks.
Henry scoffs. “What's wrong? Look, I'm not gonna jump to conclusions. That's never healthy. We're gonna talk about this. Okay, I'm confused, but I don't want to jump into conclusions so you're just gonna have to explain it to me. Are you breaking up with me?” Henry asks and Alex realizes that he looks miserable, like he's about to cry.
Alex frowns. Why would Henry think he's going to break off their arranged marriage?
He loves living with Henry. He's his best friend and he likes being the most beloved queer couple, helping youth restore the faith and love that the queer youth has.
And he still has hopes that maybe one day the relationship will become real. He's just gonna have to finally come clean to Henry.
Maybe.
“Okay, so you're not breaking up with me?” Henry says and that seems to calm him a little.
Alex didn't know the arranged marriage was that important to him. “So you want an open relationship? Is that what this is, Alex?”
. Alex is still frowning. What would they tell the world? That's just going to bring a lot of confusion when it's not even true. Well, none of it is true, but that's not really the image you want to bring when there's so many people who believe that gay and queer men can't have monogamous relationships. He doesn't want to promote that stereotype.
it’s fine if people don't want to have A monogamous relationships, but he doesn't like it if everybody thinks that no queer man can have one.
“Okay, well then I don't understand what you mean”. Henry says and he starts panicking again.
Alex reaches out to his hands to comfort him. He doesn't want him to panic.
“What did you mean when you said it's fine for me to date other men that you don’t like? , you're going to have to explain to me because I just don't understand what you're talking about. Henry says again, sounding a little desperate now.
“ I'm just trying to tell you that I don't want you to feel like you have any restrictions. Yes. You can't let the public find out because, you know, they'll think one of us was cheating. The whole arranged marriage thing would kind of be ruined because it was to…, you know, to get people to watch the show. to promote the, you know, perfect queer couple. Although I don't really understand why it would still be necessary if they broke up our relationship on the show”. Alex takes a deep breath.
“But I'm just saying it was also to salvage our reputations. So if you're, you know, if you're gonna make it look like you're cheating on me, that wouldn't be good for our reputations. But otherwise I want you to know you're free to do whatever you want. You don't have to like care whether I like the guys you want to date.”
“I still don't understand what you're talking about at all”, Henry says finally.
He didn't think he was being that vague. “Oh, I'm saying if you want to sleep with neill, you can.”
“ I don't want to sleep with Neill. Not at all. Not even a little bit. Even if I was single, which I'm not, I wouldn't be interested in him. He's not my type and I don't even think he's that kind or funny or interesting. But I am not single and all I want is you. And you're making me confused and you're kind of scaring me and you're making me panic. because I don't understand what you're talking about. I you just said you don't want an open relationship and now it's kind of sounding like you do want an open relationship. But I really don't want an open relationship. That's like the last thing I want. But if it's a choice between losing you or having an open relationship, I guess I can give it a shot. But I really don't want to”, Henry says finally.
“why would I want to sleep with Neil? Are you accusing me of cheating? Henry asks then, his voice rising up.
“You wouldn't be cheating if you slept with Neil”, alex says confused.
“Why not? That is literally the definition of cheating. If it's not an open relationship, that’s cheating”, Henry is screaming now.
Alex really doesn't understand. “Yeah it would be cheating if this were a real marriage, but it's a PR stunt. It's an arranged marriage. It's not a real marriage. So you wouldn't be cheating. I'm just trying to give you permission to date whoever you want,” Alex says, confused now he gets up to get himself a glass of water because he's just feeling like he's missing something.
What? Henry asks and now he's getting up too.
He sounds hysterical. “What did you just say?” His voice is so high pitched and it's weird.
“ what do you mean it's not a real marriage?” Henry's voice breaks.
“ I know how our marriage started”, Henry is saying and his voice is shaking. “But I thought it was real now. three years ago it was an arranged marriage between two best friends who played a married couple on a sitcom. That's how it started. When it started we slept in several bedrooms. We didn't kiss, we didn't have sex. We didn't say we loved each other. But it's real now. Or at least it is to me. We’re having seks”, His voice breaking again.
“ I'm just saying things have changed since we first started this. I thought it was real now”, he says, his voice breaking again and Alex just stares at he wanted Henry to say this for years but he never did.
They never said that Alex would know because he's always wanted to hear that and he's always wanted to ask, but he hadn't had the courage to ask.
Because as long as the marriage wasn't real, at least if Henry left him, he wouldn't really leave him.
That's the reason he never made it official. Because he would have made it official years ago if he wasn't so afraid of getting left behind or of a divorce and he didn't think it would hurt as much if their marriage wasn't real in the first place.
And he knows he should tell Henry all that. But all we can think about right now is Henry wants him too.
Henry is in love with him too. Henry thought their marriage was real.
He doesn't really register these drops to glass of water. He faintly hears the glass break, feels the water spill over his bare feet, but doesn't really register.
Because Henry is saying everything he wanted to hear from him for the past three years. And he takes a step closer to Henry.
“That's all I've wanted you to say for the past three years”, he says softly.
“ That's all I wanted, Henry. For you to say you loved me too. You wanted our marriage to be real. That's all I wanted you to say”.
Alex starts crying, sobbing in henry’s chest because shit, is he really that big of an idiot? He really had no idea their marriage was real.
When did it become real? Why did Henry not just tell him hey, our marriage is real now. It's not an arranged marriage anymore.
I'm your real husband now. It's not fake anymore. You can stop worrying I'm gonna leave or that I'm gonna fuck other people in our house.
“I never wanted that. I want you. I thought our marriage was real. Why didn't you say that?” He is crying so hard he's a little afraid the neighbors are going to call for a noise complaint.
But then again they live in a pretty big mansion given they're both award winning actors so their neighbors are pretty far away. There's a whole gate around their house so for them to hear them and call for noise complaint they'd really have to like throw a party or something.
“ Please don't leave me. Alex chokes out. I fucked up but I'm sorry. But I didn't cheat, I swear.”
Henry frowns. “I would never think that”.
“No. But if I thought our marriage was fake then I could have, you know, fucked someone else or something. But I didn't.”
“I know you didn't. I'm not worried about that. I would have known if you had. And it's not like you. We're going to talk about this. It's going to be okay. I am confused but I am not mad,” Henry says and his voice is full with emotion, but he doesn't sound as angry or sad anymore as he rubs Alex's back.
‘It's all going to be okay, I promise”, he says softly. "I'm not leaving". And that at least helps Alex's anxiety to calm down.
"hey, it's gonna be okay. You don't have anything to be sorry about. It was just miscommunication. It's gonna be okay," Henry is saying again, rubbing Alex's back like he's the most important thing in the world And maybe he is. And maybe he's been.