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“I got you something.”
Alex had gotten home earlier that afternoon after two days in D.C. with Ellen and June, making speeches and appearances. He’d gotten home to find Henry in the kitchen drinking Earl Grey and making coffee – because of course he knew exactly what time Alex would arrive – and greeted his fiancé with a lingering kiss and a long hug, recharging his batteries in his embrace.
They’d talked quietly for a bit, still tangled together, Henry excited about the shelter and Alex sipping on his coffee, the taste of cinnamon blooming on his tongue. Resting his head on Henry’s shoulder, he’d closed his eyes for a moment, perfectly at peace for the first time in a couple days.
Now, Alex perks up at Henry’s words whispered into his hair, pulling back to look him in the eye. “You did? What is it?”
“It’s a surprise,” Henry says with a smile, carding his fingers through Alex’s curls. “I left it in the living room.”
Alex grins, a boyish, almost shy thing. He takes Henry’s hand and drags him to the other room, immediately noticing the white paper bag from Hennessy’s, the boutique just down the street, on the coffee table.
“Can I open it?” Alex asks. Henry nods, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as if he’s nervous, and nudges Alex towards the table.
Alex takes the bag and opens it slowly, careful not to rip it, and gasps quietly as he sees what’s inside. “H, you didn’t…”
Strong arms wrap around his waist from behind, Henry’s chest warm against his back. “Do you like it?” Henry asks in a whisper, resting his chin on Alex’s shoulder.
Alex doesn’t know what to say. Gingerly, like he might ruin it with even the smallest touch, he takes out the silky fabric and holds it up in front of them. It’s a gorgeous dress, fancy too, in a deep red color with thin straps and an open back. It’s long, almost touching the floor even as Alex holds it up and has a slit on the left side that would probably end a little above Alex’s knee.
“Why… how did you…” he trails off with a choked-up voice, not sure how to finish his question.
Henry’s arms tighten around his waist, thumbs drawing small circles on his hip bones. “I saw you look at it a couple of times whenever we passed by the boutique’s showcase. You always insisted you didn’t want to go in, but I know you kept thinking about it.” Soft lips press against Alex’s temple. “Did I guess right?”
It takes a moment for Alex’s brain to find words again. He did keep thinking about it, and the fact that Henry noticed makes his heart expand in his chest. “Yeah. I don’t really know why,” he admits quietly.
“That’s okay,” Henry is quick to reassure. “You don’t have to know, or figure anything out. You don’t even have to wear it outside if you don’t want to.” His lips touch Alex’s cheek this time, lingering for a moment. “But you could try it on here, at home, if you wanted.”
Alex does his best to swallow the nervous lump in his throat. “I think I’d like that.” He turns in Henry’s arms, careful with the dress in his hands, and presses a slow kiss to his lips. “Thank you, baby.”
“You don’t even know if it fits you yet,” Henry says with a chuckle, locking his arms on the small of Alex’s back. “I talked to June and Bea and tried to guess your size as much as I could without talking to you, but it might—”
Alex silences him with another smiling kiss and Henry easily melts into it, pulling him closer. “Doesn’t matter. God, you have no idea how much I love you.”
Henry’s smile is blinding. “I don’t know, darling, I think I have a pretty good idea.”
Alex ducks his head and shakes it slightly, but it does little to hide the love-sick smile spreading on his face. “I’m gonna go upstairs,” he announces, gesturing to the piece of fabric in his hands.
“Call for me when you’re ready,” Henry says easily, and Alex just has to kiss him again, chastely, before stepping out of the embrace.
He forces himself to calmly take the stairs up to their bedroom instead of running, wiping his clammy palms on the front of his jeans. He doesn’t even know why he feels so nervous all of a sudden, a mix of excitement and anxious energy coursing through his veins. Rationally, Alex knows there’s no reason to be; it’s just him and Henry in the privacy and safety of their home.
He resolves to not let his thoughts drift any more than they have to and places the dress on the bed. He focuses only on stripping his clothes, placing his blazer, shirt and jeans absentmindedly on the back of the nearest chair. He takes a moment to look at the dress and wonder how on earth he should put it on before picking it up again and gently pulling it over his head, doing his best to put his arms in the right places and not pull at the fabric.
When Alex looks over at the full body mirror they have next to the closet, his breath catches in his chest. He looks… different.
The bodice of the dress covers most of his chest and hugs his body comfortably without it being too tight, the silky straps squeezing his shoulders without it being uncomfortable. He trails his gaze down to the skirt and how it flutters around his legs and over his stomach, going down until it covers most of his feet.
He doesn’t have Henry’s legs and he knows it, but Alex is mesmerized by the sight of his left knee peeking out where the fabric opens with a slit, brown skin and deep red contrasting against each other.
He turns around and cranes his neck to look at his mostly bare back, staring at the way the fabric moves gracefully around him and falls delicately to the floor. His eyes trail down and notice the at least three inches of zipper he can’t quite reach.
“Baby?” he calls out. “Can you come up here, please?”
A sound reaches his ears, like a chair scraping against the floor, before he hears footsteps on the lower floor of the brownstone and going up the stairs.
Alex sees the exact moment Henry appears in the doorway and watches his steps falter slightly, wide eyes fixed on Alex’s reflection. Henry’s gaze travels up and down slowly, taking in every inch of his body, and Alex feels a shudder climb up his spine.
His lips curl upwards in a nervous smile. “Can you help me with the zipper, please?” he asks, and Henry’s eyes snap back to his.
He swallows before advancing towards Alex slowly, reaching out to place an open palm on his lower back and slowly pull the zipper up with the other. His hands linger for a moment longer on Alex’s skin and he feels his eyes flutter shut at the soft touch.
“Alex, you look…” Henry starts and trails off, voice barely a whisper and eyes fixed on the mirror again.
“Ridiculous?” Alex offers with a chuckle, but it dies on his lips the moment Henry’s gaze snaps up to his face, eyes dark and fierce.
Warm hands come around his back to squeeze his hips, Henry’s thumbs drawing small circles on his hip bones. “Beautiful,” Henry whispers with breaking eye contact, leaving no room for arguments. “You look absolutely stunning, darling.”
Alex takes a sharp inhale of breath, Henry’s words making the hair in his arms stand up even though he’s feeling a little warm. “Thanks, baby,” he murmurs when his voice doesn’t threaten to break anymore.
“How do you feel?” Henry asks and presses a kiss on his bare shoulder, using the grip of his hands to pull Alex closer to him.
Alex goes easily, leaning back against Henry’s chest. “Good,” he says a minute later with a small smile, watching their joint reflection. “Feels really nice. It’s a gorgeous dress. I—”
He trails off suddenly, hoping the low volume of his voice lets it go unnoticeable, but Henry’s arms tighten almost imperceptibly around him. Of course, he notices. “What is it?” he asks, lips against Alex’s temple.
It takes several moments for him to get the words out, forcing them past his lips in a hushed whisper. “I feel pretty.”
Henry’s arms squeeze him again, lips freezing against Alex’s skin. Before he knows it, his fiancé has used the grasp he has on Alex’s body to turn him around and pull him close against his chest, looking at him with piercing blue eyes and such an achingly loving smile Alex almost wants to shy away from it.
“You look so pretty, my love,” he says firmly but in the gentlest tone Alex has ever heard. One of his hands rests on the small of Alex’s back, pressing him close to Henry’s body, and the other comes up to his face, cupping his cheek with a reverence that makes Alex want to cry. “So bloody pretty, sometimes I can’t believe you’re mine.”
Tears prickle his eyes but Alex presses their mouths together in a bruising before they can fall, throwing his arms around Henry’s neck and burying his finger in his hair, pulling him closer and closer until all he feels is Henry’s lips, Henry’s hands, the silky fabric around his body and Henry’s clothes where they brush against his bare skin.
When he pulls back minutes or hours or days later, he opens his eyes to find Henry watching him with something akin to disbelief and wonder in his eyes, his hand on Alex’s back rubbing along his spine.
“Do you know how much I love you?” Alex asks softly, carding his hands through Henry’s hair, and continues before he even opens his mouth. “I love you so much it’s impossible to say it sometimes. I love you so much it can’t be put into words, no matter how hard I try. I love you because you know me better than I know myself, and it should be such a terrifying thought, but I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with you.”
He pretends not to see the tears pooling at the corners of Henry’s eyes and pulls him in for another kiss, much softer this time. “Thank you for the surprise, baby,” he whispers against Henry’s cheek, pressing faint kisses all over his face until they’re both smiling like idiots.
“I’m glad you liked it, darling,” Henry says with his lips against Alex’s forehead. “I love you.” He pulls him into a long hug and Alex buries his face in Henry’s neck, holding onto him like a lifeline.
He feels so fucking lucky to have found his forever in Henry – that they found their forevers in each other.