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“I love Henry so much.”
That was the first thing he heard when entering the small OR.
Alex was reclined on the orthodontic dental chair, eyes closed and mouth filled with gauze, the hands on his lap clasping an ice pack that was wrapped in a small towel. “Did you know that we have a dog? It was his dog first but now we share,” he informs the room which is still very much occupied with dentists and surgeons. Henry could’ve sworn he heard one of them suppress a snort.
“His name is David, who names a dog David ? Henry, that’s who. But it’s okay, I love David, David the beagle, but I also love Henry.” He felt his cheeks heat up from Alex’s words. It’s not really a surprise that even wisdom teeth surgery couldn’t shut him up. “He’s so beautiful, and talented, and smart, and sexy- “
Oh dear god.
“Alright, that’s quite enough sharing for today.” He walks to his boyfriends side and runs his left hand through his unruly curls, the other still holding his first edition of “Pride and Prejudice” that kept him entertained in the waiting room for the last hour.
Alex sighs, head nestling into his hand with his eyes still closed, content. “How are you feeling?” he asks him gently, which gets him a hum as a response. Seems like the drugs are making him tired now.
“Your highness,” one of the dentists approaches him, a small bag clutched in her hands, “I know we spoke about the post op care this morning but we always remind our patients afterwords; put ice packs against his jaw as it will help with the swelling and sooth pain, but it won’t be enough, so we recommend painkillers every six hours, even in the middle of the night,” he already has all of this written down, but it’s good to have the reminder that he knows what to do.
“Another good remedy is ice cream, it helps with both the pain and swelling, other than that, he can only consume liquids for the next four days, then start adding solid food to his diet little by little, but start small.” He nods along, making a mental note to buy ice cream once they’ve settled at home, “And as Mr. Claremont-Diaz requested,” she holds up the bag she had clutched in her hands, “here are his wisdom teeth.”
Of course he did.
“Well… thank you.” He tentatively takes the bag and puts it in his lower jacket pocket, remembering his phone is currently in the top pocket for a reason he still can't fathom; but he trusts Alex, he always does.
He looks back down and sees said person trying to get up, eager to leave and get into their comfy brownstone bed as soon as possible. He needs rest for the next few days and Henry’s already locked up his laptop and files, knowing all too well that once he feels better he will start his bloody work. He will only stop until he either gets a migraine or Henry propositions him in that low voice that makes him overly enthusiastic in the bedroom.
Works every time.
Once Alex is sitting up on the chair he whines, eyes slightly open and groggy, clearly tired and bleary from the anaesthesia, “It hurts.”
He watches as he slowly lifts his left hand towards his face, making him reflexively reach out and stop him before he could reach his destination, “No! Don’t put your hand in there!” Alex whines again, head lolling to the side to rest on Henry's coat, “it hurts.”
Seeing him in pain makes his heart ache, wishing he could take it away. He runs his fingers through his hair again, sighing, “I know, love, I’m sorry. Place the ice pack that you’re holding against your cheek, it will help, I promise.”
He assists him in getting up, only swaying a little bit once he’s on his feet, “Common, let's go home,” he whispers into his hair, still holding onto him since he’s clearly disorientated.
“Yeah, home,” he whispers back.
After he bids goodbye to the people still in the room, they make their way to the ground floor on the elevator, Alex’s whole body leaning on him at this point, soft elevator music filling the space.
“Did you know that seahorses mate for life? Like… they find someone and they love them forever? How amazing is that? That’s us, right? We’re like a couple of seahorses in love, mating for life.” Henry rolls his eyes, fondly nuzzling his nose into his soft curls, still smelling of coconut from their shower this morning. “Christ, you are so high.” Alex giggles, “I believe the correct term is tall , sweetheart.” He laughs back, “Nope, still high, since you’re five eight.” Now this wakes him up. “Shut all the way up, I’m five nine!” He proceeds to murmur some curse words and insults, directed at him. Adoringly of course.
Maybe they are indeed two seahorses in love.
Once they’re outside on the street, he sees Cash, standing beside the black SUV, ready to take them back to the brownstone in Brooklyn. Their home for the last two years.
“Need any help?” He asks with amusement, seeing Alex draped over Henry like a clingy koala, “It’s okay, I have him.” He gently manoeuvres Alex inside the vehicle, putting his seatbelt on and lowering the headrest so that he can relax his head on it. With his eyes closed it almost looks like he’s fast asleep.
He goes round and enters his side, buckling up beside his drug induced boyfriend who hasn’t spoken in almost two minutes, possibly making it a new record for him. Now he knows that he’s really tired. He reaches for his hand and holds it, feeling a small squeeze from him, “We’re almost home, love.”
They start to drive.
Alex is uncharacteristically silent all the way, while Henry checks his emails and texts from Pez. Thankfully, everything is going smoothly at the shelter.
Fifteen minutes pass and he can see the familiar red bricks just ahead, brown leaves filling the pavement around it, a small breeze moving them onto the road. Henry always loved autumn, and the walks with David were quite endearing; watching him jump into piles of leaves or chasing squirrels at the park nearby. Alex won’t be able to accompany on his walks for a few days, which will probably make him grumpy. Nothing a good coffee and blueberry muffin can’t fix, although that will have to wait a few days too.
They park right outside the entrance as always, the sudden stop making Alex groan and open his eyes.
Henry gets out to round the car again and opens the door for him, helping him out and slowly up the stairs to their home.
Just as he’s about to open the entrance door, Cash clears his throat behind him. He turns and sees him holding up a white bag, stretched towards him, “There’s ice cream in there, Alex’s favourite, figured you’d need it. My niece said that it was the best part of having your teeth removed.”
Oh, excellent! “Thank you, Cash, truly.”
“Let me know if you need anything else, god knows he’s gonna be insufferable for the next few days,” he laughs, with no ill intent. “Very probably,” he sighs with a smile, “but I love him regardless. Hopefully the ice cream will help with that.” There’s a firm squeeze on his arm, “I can hear you, you know, I didn’t have eye surgery!” He says indignantly. “Uh, I think you meant-” “I know what I meant! I’m just loopy and tired from the drugs so, take me to bed, your highness. ”
Cash doesn’t miss the last step going down, but it’s a close call.
Once fully inside, he hears David’s paws on the ground, getting louder and louder on the hardwood floor. He finally sees him cross the threshold into the entrance hall, greeting them with his tongue out and waggly tail, “Hello, David! Have you been a good boy? Huh? Yes you have! Let me put Alex to bed, okay bud?” After sniffing their trousers some more, he scurries away back into the kitchen, tail wagging behind him excitedly to have them back home again.
He slowly helps Alex up the stairs, feeling his weight more and more as he gets more tired from the post op and painkillers. He knows that if Alex was really awake he would have scolded him for not taking their shoes off two seconds after entering the house, but maybe he will forgive him just this once.
Arriving at the dark blue door, he turns the doorknob to their bedroom, finding it exactly how they left it; with more pillows on the bed than usual so that Alex can recline on them comfortably, without his cheeks touching anything. He hopes he can get a good night's sleep.
He takes off his zipped up NYU jumper, glad they thought ahead and not let Alex put on a regular hoodie. That would have been a challenge to remove, and even though Alex loves challenges, he’s glad they sidestepped this one. He decides not to take off or change his shirt, not wanting to cause pain by the simplest grazes of the material against his inflamed jaw and cheeks. He then removes his shoes, placing them against the door to remember to bring down later.
Leaving the grey sweatpants on, he clasps the duvet and lifts it up, guiding him inside, gently, pulling it up once he’s rested his head on the pillows. “Alex,” he whispers softly, “I’ll be right back, I'm just going to put the ice cream in the freezer, okay?” He takes the grunt as an affirmation that he understood what he said.
With a small kiss against his forehead, he picks up his shoes and goes downstairs, leaving them at the entrance with all the other pairs along with his own. He next heads to the kitchen and sees David lying down in front of his food bowl, empty. “Alright, alright, I’ll give you your lunch now.” David answers with a small whine, eager to fill up his belly again. After giving him a few pets and scratches, he fills up his bowl, placing a few treats as well for leaving him alone for two hours. He then turns towards the freezer and puts the ice cream inside, simultaneously setting an alarm for a few hours later to bring it up for Alex, knowing his sweet tooth will appreciate it.
Thinking about him, he walks back up to their bedroom to check on how he’s doing.
He finds him fast asleep, taking deep breaths and grabbing onto the blanket.
He’s going to be okay , he reassures himself. He never was a fan of operations.
Just as he’s about to remove his jacket, he suddenly hears his boyfriend's voice, quiet in the dimly lit room, “Hey.”
He steps forward, kneeling beside him on the carpet floor and delicately runs his fingers across his temple, removing any stray curls that could bother him, “Hey, love, I thought you were asleep.” He slowly shakes his head no, eyes half open, “Not asleep, dreaming.”
Well, alright then.
He hums in amusement, “Is it a nice dream?” he asks teasingly, warmth filling his heart when he sees Alex smile a little bit, glad he can move his lips like that without it hurting, “The best, since you’re in it.”
The painkillers must be really strong for him to believe that this isn’t real.
They stay that way for a few seconds, the blissful silence a comfort to them both, just enjoying each other's closeness and warmth. But that silence is soon cut short when Alex asks him something.
“Can you keep a secret?” He reaches out and places his hand at the back of his neck, playing with the little blond hairs at the nape that sends shivers down his back, brushing against the lapels of his cream coloured coat that he’s yet to remove. “Of course, darling.” He takes a deep breath and locks eyes with him, brown and blue staring at each other, right until he utters the words that make Henry’s world stop .
“I have a ring in my nightstand.”
What?
“Sorry, on my bedside table .” He adds teasingly, “I thought you learned all the American words by now.” Oh, Henry understood what he said perfectly fine; clear as day. He’s just trying to process those words that he’s very damn sure weren’t supposed to be heard by him. Or uttered by Alex.
He should’ve told him that this wasn’t a dream from the start. He’s trying to sort out all the emotions running through him at this very moment; excitement, joy, anxiety,... all very confusing and all over the place.
He starts to get concerned if the medicine dosage they gave him was accurate or if they surpassed the recommended amount. Deep down he knows they gave him the right amount and that this was just Alex not knowing when to shut his mouth.
He hopes Alex won’t feel too bad once he learns what he revealed to Henry while high and in no condition to be spilling secrets.
“I’m planning to propose next month,” he continues, oblivious to the fact that Henry is having a full on crisis in the middle of their bedroom on a Friday evening.
“I just love you so much, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Well, not you you , not dream you, but real you, my real Henry.” Even though he has a mouth stuffed with cotton and a bruised jaw, he keeps on talking, the lovesick smile on his face never faltering, “I want to buy a house too, but I have to remove that from my list since you absolute fucker already did. Maybe we can buy another one, a nice cottage in Wales or in one of those weirdly named towns in your country that are just impossible to pronounce, or spell.”
Just when he thought he was done, more heart wrenching words come out of his mouth, “I want to raise our kids together, cause I know you’ll be an amazing dad. I want to grow old by your side, see your hair turn grey and wrinkles appear on your face and body.”
This is officially too much. But in the best way.
Henry feels the first tear cascade down his flushed cheek, more following after. Soon enough, he’s trying to repress his sobs, not wanting Alex to think he’s sad or upset.
“You’re gonna be such a silver fox. Heh, that suits you, is Henry Fox short for Silverfox?” That gets a wet laugh out of him.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“You mispronounced the word delightful there, Hen.” He has to restrain himself, to not throw caution to the wind and kiss him senseless into the mattress, reminding himself that he won’t be able to kiss him for a couple of days as of yet, “I most certainly did not.”
The love of his life who just keeps on proving that he’s a menace first and human second hums contently, a small smirk gracing his lips. He resists the urge to kiss him again, but caves and kisses him on the temple instead, carefully brushing his hair back and running the soft curls against his fingers.
“I want to be there for you when you have bad days and good days, when you’re sick and I can take care of you, when you just want to stay in bed and read and eat and cuddle.” God, how does Alex not know he already does all those things for him? How much he appreciates it when he takes care of those dark days where Henry can barely get up from bed, when he can barely open his eyes and cries for hours. Alex always puts an extra blanket on him and orders takeaway, turns the TV on to watch a comfort show of theirs and be no more than two inches apart from each other.
He’s already done so much for him.
He saved him, and keeps on saving him, every single day.
“Well, how about you let me take care of you right now, yeah? I’ll help you to the bathroom, feed you, and cuddle you until you get sick of me.” Alex shakes his head no, “That will never happen, I’ll never get tired of you, baby.”
And that’s just it, isn’t it? Because he knows that he won’t get tired of Alex either, it’s an impossible scenario. “I love you so much, Alex, you have no idea.”
Alex moves his hand up, pushing his blond locks behind his sensitive ears, “I love you too, Henry, more than you know.” Leave it to him to one up you every single chance he gets.
He moves and places a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips, closing his eyes and letting more happy tears fall.
After a few seconds, he hears his breathing start to slow down, his chest moving up and down with every breath. Finally asleep.
Another kiss against the temple and he gets up, grabbing a tissue from Alex’s box to wipe the tears away, a huge smile on his face. He never thought he would have the privilege of loving someone this much in this lifetime, let alone that person loving him just as intensely.
Just then, David walks in, immediately climbing on top of the bed and lying down beside Alex, head resting on his thigh. He gives him another pet, taking the moment to calm down and feeling his adrenaline start to lower.
He takes a deep breath and smiles, excited for the next few days.
Once his heartbeat was at a normal rhythm again, he moves to the closet and takes out Alex’s teeth from his lower pocket, still not surprised he wanted to keep them. He places them on the dresser.
He then proceeds to remove his phone from the top pocket, stopping the recording.
“36 minutes and 23 seconds” it reads.
He was confused as to why Alex told him to record him post op when he mentioned it this morning, but now he understands why. “You absolute reprobate, only you could propose to me while high on anaesthesia.”
He puts his jacket in the wardrobe, removing his jumper and changing his trousers into something more comfortable, wanting to lie down next to his future fiance for as long as he could.
Plugging his phone into the charger, he thinks about the moment he’ll show Alex the video, knowing it will be an amazing moment; they’ll laugh, cry, and hopefully be engaged by the end of it. He already knows his answer, and Alex does too.
The blanket is soft under his hands, moving it to the side so that he can climb in and be as close as possible to his partner, his future husband.
Husband.
He likes the sound of that.
He’s not even mad he beat him to it, just by a couple of months since he was planning on proposing to him then, his own ring –his dads– in his own bedside table.
He scratches David behind his ears, making him sink lower into the blankets, content.
Nothing could ruin this blissful moment.
He thinks back to the recording, knowing some angles might be wonky and a few blacked out frames, but he doesn’t care. He will cherish this video, and he can’t wait to watch it with Alex once he’s better and fully awake.
For now, he just continues to hold his hand and cuddle beside him, excitement running through him for when he gets to say the word yes .