Chapter Text
Alex
The scenery is beautiful. Definitely a paradise on earth. There’s no doubt that this trip could easily become the very best vacation that Alex has ever had. If it wasn’t for him of course. The bane of his existence.
Alex isn’t even sure what he is doing here. Sure, he has just been dumped or something and Bea didn’t want him to be alone, but it’s not like he has any interest in being a part of the fun. He isn’t exactly in their friends’ group; he is just Bea’s brother. And as much as Alex loves Bea, he viciously hates her brother. He is a stuck-up self-righteous prick who thinks he is better than anyone else, just because he is smart or whatever. And Alex isn’t even convinced that he actually is smart at all.
“Try to be nice, okay?” Alex overhears Bea talking to her brother as they enter the hotel lobby.
“Tell that to him.” Henry hisses, clearly gesturing towards Alex who casually flips him off with a fake smile plastered to his lips.
“Both of you!” Bea raises her voice which doesn’t happen all that often and Henry caves.
“I’ll behave.” He mutters in a low voice. “If he stops being an idiot.”
“Henry!” Bea says sharply and Henry mumbles an apology while Alex snickers. He believes he most definitely won this round. Even when Bea glares at him.
“I give up…” Bea says and walks up to Nora, leaning in to whisper something in her ear that Alex can’t hear. Nora nods and Bea returns to Henry’s side. “Please remember that I love you, and that you brought this on yourself.”
“What do you mean?” Henry tilts his head just so, that the light kind of hits his face in a way that makes Alex want to punch it for looking so fucking symmetrical and objective pretty.
“Come get your keys!” Nora shouts after checking them in. “So, change of plans. Liam, me and Bea will be sharing a room and you guys get to share a room.” Nora says as she hands Alex the key.
“No, wait.” Alex objects. “I’m sharing a room with you and Liam.”
“Not anymore.” Nora seems way too smug about it all and Bea looks a bit uncomfortable as Henry scowls at her.
“Is this what you think I deserve? Sharing a room with that prick?” Henry hisses through gritted teeth.
“Yes. Because I’m fed up with the two of you. You need to co-exist otherwise this vacation is going to be a nightmare for all of us and that’s not going to happen.”
“Or…” Alex interrupts, “your brother could just get a room for himself. It’s not like he was initially coming with us anyway.”
“Piss of, Alex.” Henry steps into Alex’ space, glaring at him. “I’m pretty sure I’m better company than you at this point.”
“Right. Because everyone fucking loves being talked down to.”
“Boys!” Bea and Nora both shout in unison. Liam is just watching the whole scene with a stupid grin on his face.
“You can bitch all you want, but this is how it’s going to be.” Nora says. “And Alex, you are the dumbest smart guy I have ever met! Henry is here because Bea wants him here, so stop being such an asshole to your friend.”
“I’m sorry, Bea…” Alex instantly regrets his behavior. He has no intention of hurting Bea. He loves that girl. Henry just gets on his nerves sometimes. Well, all the time if he’s being honest.
“Don’t be sorry, Alex, just do better. I know you guys don’t get along but just try at least.” Bea says and Alex nods.
“I’ll try to play nice. But can we please go back to our original rooms?”
“No.” Nora interrupts before Alex gets a change to persuade Bea. “So, lets meet up at the pool in like 30 minutes or so?” She addresses the whole group and everyone except for Henry agrees. He is just sulking with his arms crossed.
“Can I have the key?” He asks and Alex waves them in front of his face, then quickly removes his hand once Henry reaches for them.
“Nope.” He grins and pushes past Henry to the elevator. Henry sighs loudly, then follows.
“This is going to go great.” Alex hears Liam say with a chuckle as the elevator doors close.
Henry
“This must be a joke.” Henry says as they open the door to their room and sees the “bed-situation”. The shock must be written all over his face. Even Alex is too stunned to speak, which to Henry’s knowledge, never happens. Henry drops his bag at the door and turns around, walking out of the room, heading straight for the elevator. Before it arrives, Alex is right next to him.
“What are you going to do? Threaten them to give us a different room?”
“No of course not, you neanderthal.”
“Right. I forgot. You are soooo sophisticated. So, what, demanding to see a manager?” Alex snickers, “I know you have the right skin-color and the attitude, but isn’t your hair a bit too short to be a Karen?”
“Feel free to stay here.” Henry says as he is entering the elevator, rapidly pushing the button for the ground floor hoping Alex won’t join him. But no such luck.
“No way I’m going to miss you throwing a tantrum at the reception.”
“There will be no tantrum. Afterall, I’m not you.” Henry states pointedly, while starring directly at Alex.
“How unfortunate for you.” Alex grins, “I’m gorgeous.”
“And so modest.” Henry mutters under his breath just at the elevator pings and the doors open. Henry steps out, heading straight for the reception with Alex right on his heels. “Excuse me.” He says as he reaches the reception, “I think there has been a mistake. Our room only has one bed. I’m sure there was request for a room with two beds.”
“Let me just check. What is your room number, Sir?” She asks and Henry turns around, puts his hand into Alex’ pocket while he yelps and jumps backwards, then pulls the key out so he can hand it to the receptionist.
“Not cool, man. You nearly touched my dick!” Alex shrieks.
Without turning around, Henry states dryly, “Hardly. That would indicate you had something worth touching and not the shriveled little shrimp you call a cock.”
“You don’t know anything about my dick!” Alex practically shouts and Henry smiles widely. He absolutely loves getting under Alex’ skin.
“And yet you protest so loudly, which indicates I’m right.”
“The fuck you are! You know what, I will drop my pants right here and show you that…”
“Sir.” The receptionist interrupts their bickering just as Alex has his hands on his zipper. “There is no mistake with your room. The room request was altered upon arrival. A miss Nora Holleran asked for a room with a king-sized bed instead of two queens.” The lovely lady looks all kinds of uncomfortable. Whether it is the news she had to give them or their stupid word vomit right in front of her, Henry doesn’t know.
“Oh…” He is too stunned to say anything anyway, but Alex interrupts.
“Can’t we just switch it back?”
“Unfortunately, not. We have already given that room to someone else. I am very sorry.”
“Shit… what about an extra room? Do you have that?” Alex continues to look for alternatives, but Henry is too caught in his own mind, completely unable to speak. It’s one thing to share a room with Alex. It’s another sharing a bed. There is no way Henry can share a bed with Alex. He would rather die!
“I’m sorry. We are fully booked.”
“That’s convenient…” Alex mumbles and turns towards Henry. “Wanna bet that this is Nora’s doing too? She must have paid them of to say that or something…” Henry just stares at Alex, not even considering responding. Finally, he pushes past Alex and talks to the receptionist again.
“What if I pay extra? Could you find another room then?”
“I’m sorry, Sir. We really are fully booked.”
“That can’t be true. This is outrageous…!”, Henry is slowly starting to raise his voice.
“You want to speak to a manager?” Alex interrupts with a grin and Henry suddenly realizes he was very close to throwing the tantrum he said he wouldn’t. He takes a deep calming breath, ignores Alex and addresses the receptionist again.
“I’m sorry for my outburst. Is there any other possibility than sharing a bed with this…. unhinged wannabe-human.” Henry gestures towards Alex. “Anything at all?”
“Rude!” Alex crosses his arms.
“There’s the couch in your room.”
“That can only seat two people.” Alex interjects. “I can’t fit on that.” He turns to Henry and looks him up and down, “You might fit.”
“Piss of, Alex.” To the sound of Alex’ laugh, Henry takes the key when the receptionist hands it to him and walks back to the elevator. Much to his disappointment, Alex follows him. “Shouldn’t you be on your way to the pool?” Henry asks sharply. “Find someone who can actually stand your company.”
“What are you talking about, I’m great company.” Alex responds with his hands on his hips, his muscles suddenly all too visible in his tight grey t-shirt. Something Henry doesn’t want to look at for too long.
“Whatever you tell yourself to get through the day.” Henry mumbles and steps out of the elevator the instance the doors open and hurries towards their room. Their shared room with one bed. Henry sighs loudly as he enters.
“I’m not sleeping on the couch.” Alex says as he follows.
“Yes, you are. We’ll take turns.”
“The fuck we are. You are the one having a fit over a shared bed. You sleep on the couch.”
“I am not going to sleep on the couch the entire week.”
“Then sleep in the bed. I don’t care. I’m just saying I won’t be sleeping on the couch. The choice is yours.”
“You’re a prick.”
“Oh sweetheart, if you keep talking dirty to me like that, I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself tonight.” Alex bats his eyes at Henry and only by putting great restraints on himself, Henry succeeds in not throwing Alex over the side of the balcony.
“Just… fuck off. Go down to the pool.” Henry grabs his bag from the floor and drops it on the couch. There is no way he is sleeping in the same bed as Alex.
“And leave you here all alone?” Alex puts his hand on his chest, pretending to be clutching his heart, “Oh no. That’s devastating. I can’t possibly do that.” His hand drops down by his side, “oh wait, I can. It will be great not to have to look at your stupid sulking face for a moment.” He then opens his suitcase, pulls out a pair of swimming trunks and drops his clothes right there in the middle of the room and Henry instantly turns around, a deep red blush covering his face and neck. All the way to the tip of his ears. “Was that too much for your little gay heart?” Alex asks grinning. “Don’t worry. I know I’m delicious. Everybody wants me. Women and men.” Henry ignores Alex the best he can as he continues to unpack his bag on the couch. “You know you are allowed to look right? I don’t mind.” Alex voice is seductive and suggestive, and Henry is having trouble breathing.
“Please just leave.” Henry manages to stutter the words.
“Need time alone?” Alex is now standing so close his breath ghosts over Henry’s neck as he speaks. “Are you going to jerk off while thinking of me? I’m honored.” Henry visibly shudders and hates himself for it when he hears Alex grinning. “Just don’t make a mess of the bed. Keep it clean, Fox.” He then slaps Henry’s ass and leaves.
Alex
Alex knows he was being a dick to Henry, but it was just too fun. Seeing him get all flustered over Alex taking his clothes off? Hilarious. It must have been ages since Henry has had the now ex-boyfriend between his legs if that is all it takes for him to get wound up. Alex snickers all the way to the pool where he finds Nora, Bea and Liam.
“Where’s Henry?” Bea asks as she looks behind Alex to see if her brother is one his way.
“Not coming. He has some urgent business he needs to… take into his own hands.”
Liam practically spits out a mouthful of his drink at Alex’ words. Of course, Liam knows exactly what Alex is referring to.
“Oh god, what did you do to him?” Liam asks, his undivided attention on Alex.
“Nothing, I swear.” He puts his hands up in defense when the girls glare at him. “I just changed into my swimming trunks. No big deal.”
“You undressed in front of him, didn’t you?” Liam chuckles. “Poor guy… He must be having a hard time trying to get himself under control again.”
“That’s not my fault.” Alex shrugs.
“Poor, poor guy…” Liam shakes his head. “Did he see front or back?” Liam suddenly asks, again too curious to just let it go.
“Does it matter?” Alex asks.
“Yes. It will tell me the level of horny he must be experiencing. Nora back me up on this. You’ve seen Alex naked too.”
“Please don’t drag me into this.” Nora says from behind her book.
“I didn’t know I made such a great impression on you, Liam.” Alex snickers.
“Please. You were my sexual awakening, and you know it.” Liam sits up in his chair, “so, front or back?”
“Back. I think... Maybe more from the side, perhaps.”
“uhh… which means both ass and dick. That probably means he has hit full on desperation mode. We are not seeing that boy until dinner. And by then his right arm will be very sore.”
“Oh god, I beg you… please stop.” Bea looks really uncomfortable, and Alex starts laughing. He had completely forgotten she is Henry’s sister. “Also, you two are being awfully rude, talking about my brother like that. You know that, right?” She looks at them both with a tiny scowl, but Alex knows he’s forgiven already, she just loves to put him in his place once in a while.
“I’m sorry Bea.” He says between laughs. “We’ll drop the conversation.”
“We will?” Liam sounds disappointed. “But it was just getting interesting.”
Just as Liam is about to whine over the fact that they can’t talk about Henry, he shows up. In light blue swimming trunks with sea turtles on them and Alex has to choke back a laugh. There is just something so surreal about seeing Henry Fox - grouch extraordinaire – in sea turtle swimming trunks.
“Why are you all staring at me?” Henry asks as he puts a towel and a book down on a chair next to Bea.
“I thought you were busy?” Alex says amused.
“Hardly.” Henry responds with crossed arms. “Just because you seem to think you are gods gift to all humankind, doesn’t mean that I agree.”
“Is that so?” Alex steps into Henry’s space, wanting to rile him up. Alex knows for a fact that Henry had reacted to seeing him naked and it bothers him – maybe even more than it should – that he pretends it didn’t.
“Yes, Alex. And would you please step away from me? I have no interest in having you polluting the air that I breathe.”
“Fuck you, Henry. If you have a problem, you can fucking be the one to back away.”
In the next couple of seconds, a series of events occur. First off, Alex finds Henry so infuriatingly annoying that he opts for shoving him. Secondly, Henry is close enough to the pool that he loses his balance and tumbles backwards but just as Alex sees Henry’s eyes widening in shock, then anger because he knows he’ll touch water soon, Henry succeeds in grabbing Alex arm, dragging him with him into the pool.
“You imbecile!” Henry shouts and splashes water at Alex, as they both break the surface, reappearing after going under from the fall.
“Me? You were the one who fell and dragged me with you!” Alex fires back, almost as angry as Henry.
“Because you pushed me, Alex!” Henry is still spluttering water, that he swallowed while being underwater.
“Easy boys.” Nora stands by the edge of the pool. “No harm done. No one drowned. No one is hurt. You are just… wet.”
Alex sighs then smiles slightly. “She’s right. Nothing happened. Just a dumb mistake.” He extends his hand to Henry, “are we good? No hard feelings?” Clearly annoyed, Henry swims past Alex, ignoring him altogether. “I guess not.” Alex mutters as Henry exits the pool, grabs his towel and his book and then walks off.
“Go apologize, Alex.” Nora says.
“I just did. He ignored me.”
“Actually,” Liam interjects, “you didn’t. And it was you who pushed him.”
“Go after him.” Bea adds. “Henry will accept your apology and forgive you. He is good in that way.”
“But…” Alex tries to find a reason to avoid going after Henry, but he can’t. “Fine.” He sighs and follows Henry inside.
He is not in the lobby or at the reception, so Alex figures that he must be in their room. The entire elevator ride, he tries to figure out what to say. But all he can come up with is: “I’m sorry I pushed you into the pool, but you were acting like an entitled asshole.” And he is not sure this is the best way to go.
The door isn’t locked, so he just pushes it open and enters only to find a very naked Henry standing in the middle of the room.
“Bloody hell, Alex!” He shouts and reaches for his towel, giving Alex a clear view of his backside. He can’t lie, it’s a nice view. From a completely objective perspective of course.
Henry
“Don’t just stand there!” Henry shouts at Alex who just seem to be in a frozen state, watching Henry. “Turn around or something.”
“Right. Sorry.” Alex quickly turns around, nearly knocking a lamp over on the small table right next to the door. “Didn’t mean to… you know, stare.”
“And yet, you did.” Henry says sharply.
“And I’m sorry for that.” Henry has never heard Alex’ voice sound so unsure before. “And also sorry for the pool thing, of course. Totally my fault.”
“It was.” Henry keeps his voice as flat and emotionless as possible, but he does like this insecure squirming Alex. It’s fun. And maybe a little endearing. More than a little, probably.
“Yeah, I know… didn’t mean too though. Like I didn’t mean to stare at your… uhm… At you.” Alex’ eyes are still firmly locked onto the ceiling even though he has his back turned to Henry and he is fidgeting with his fingers. So damn adorable. Henry can’t keep the smile off his face.
“It’s alright. You’re forgiven. For both incidents. Afterall, I saw you naked first.”
“That’s true.” Alex nods frantically. “I guess we are even now.”
“I guess so.” Henry steps closer to Alex, looking forward to a bit of payback. He leans close to Alex, letting his breath ghost over Alex neck when he speaks. “Do you need a moment alone now? Because I’m heading into the shower, so the room is all yours. Just don’t make a mess.” Henry slaps Alex’ ass in retaliation, just as Alex had done to him and he greatly enjoys the yelp and the little jump Alex does. Then he hurries into the bathroom, locking the door. For a moment he listens carefully, waiting for the sound of the door to close behind Alex when he leaves, but he doesn’t hear anything like that. Which means Alex is staying in the room. Henry has never been as curious as he is right now. Alex can’t be taking care of himself as Henry had suggested. Can he?
He listens a little longer, but everything is completely silent, so he turns on the shower and steps in. As the warm water trickles down his body, Henry can’t help but imagining Alex touching himself in the next room. Which of course is highly unlikely but provides a nice image, making Henry hard. He hesitates for a second, but inevitably he ends up with his hand wrapped around his cock, a silent moan on his lips. He pictures Alex lying naked on the bed, legs spread, and his big hand wrapped firmly around his cock, sliding back and forth. His head pushed back into the pillow with parted lips and a heavy breath. His back arching slightly as he chases the pleasure with Henry on his mind.
The last part is what finally sends Henry over the edge himself. He comes with a groan that might be a bit louder than anticipated, but it doesn’t matter. He lets the water rinse him off before stepping out of the shower. As he is drying himself off, he hears Alex moving around in their room, then the door closing and everything falls silent again.
Shit… Alex really was still in the room. Had he possibly heard Henry?
He rapidly puts his boxers on, then exits the bathroom. There is clear evidence of Alex having laid down on the bed. The sheets are wrinkled, and the pillow has a deep mark from Alex’s head. Almost as it has been pushed into the pillow. Henry’s heartrate spikes. It must be his overly eager fantasy messing with him. Alex has probably just been resting a little before meeting the others at the pool again. Nothing else. Still, Henry finds himself running a hand over the sheets. It’s still warm from Alex’ body and if he isn’t mistaken, there is a slight damp spot…
“Hen? Are you there?” A silent knock follows Bea’s voice and Henry opens the door. He has been sitting on the couch, reading. Or trying to, at least. His eyes had kept falling onto the bed and his mind providing very detailed images to go with it.
“Hi Bea. What’s up?”
“We were worried. It’s almost dinnertime. You’ve been up all day and Alex didn’t elaborate on why you didn’t join us. He just said that he had apologized and you had accepted it and then nothing else.“
“Well, that is the main bullet points of the conversation.” Henry nods while trying hard not to just tell Bea everything. He usually tells her everything that’s on his mind. But he can’t with this. Not until he knows more.
“Then why didn’t you come back down?”
“I’ve been reading.” Henry shrugs.
“Seriously? We are in Italy, and you stay in your room reading? Come on, Hen. Won’t you at least try and enjoy this vacation? I know it wasn’t exactly in your plans and I can understand wanting a bit of solitude after everything that happened back home, but...”
“I’ll try.” Henry interrupts when Alex appears behind Bea. He doesn’t want him to hear the full story of why he is here.
“Just gonna change.” Alex hurries to get out and pushes past them, grabbing his clothes and disappearing into the bathroom.
“You will?” Bea asks hopefully.
“Yes. Sure. Why not.”
“Wonderful. We are having dinner in the hotel restaurant tonight where we are going to lay out a plan for the week. Will you join us?”
“Of course, sis.” Henry smiles and follows Bea all the way down to the lobby where Nora and Liam are waiting for them.
“Is Alex on his way too?” Nora asks and Henry feels the tremors running through his body just by hearing his name.
“Yes, he just wanted to change out of his swimming trunks.” Bea says.
“Well, if he had brought clothes to put over it like the rest of us, he wouldn’t have to make us wait.” Nora pouts.
“Someone is getting hangry.” Alex’ voice appears right behind Henry and he finds himself holding his breath as Alex walks up to stand beside him.
“Of course!” Nora says, “I’m hungry and you are annoying.”
“Let’s just get a table.” Henry interjects before Alex and Nora starts arguing for real because of their lack of food. He doesn’t even wait for them to respond before going over to the restaurant and asking for a table that seats five. Much to his disappointment, he gets seated right next to Alex which makes ignoring him a lot harder than he would like.
Alex, however, seem to be enjoying the fact of having Henry beside him. He does not hesitate at all to continuously annoy Henry. It’s small things like picking fries of Henry’s plate – instead of just having ordered fries himself – putting his arm behind Henry, resting it on the back of his chair; manspreading so his damn knee keeps bumping into Henry’s, shooting electricity through his entire body.
“Do you remember back when you two were dating?” Liam asks with a grin, gesturing between Alex and Nora, “God, that was a disaster waiting to happen.”
“You two dated?” Bea asks and it’s the first time Henry has even noticed a sign of the fact she didn’t grew up with the others. That she had joined the group later in life.
“Yeah. In high school. I was 16 she was 17. It was…”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Alejandro.” Nora scowls at him.
“What?” He smirks, “I wasn’t going to say anything bad.”
“Of course, you were. You were a terrible couple.” Liam interjects and Henry finds himself just watching the conversation and smiling. Until he leans back in his chair and feels Alex’ arm against his shoulder. And instead of acting like a normal human being and retracting his arm, Alex just turns his head, smiling at Henry, who now is pretty sure that he is blushing.
“We were not that bad.” Nora says. “We were just… not compatible.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Alex laughs and Henry can feel the vibrations through Alex’ arms going straight into his shoulders. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Bea catches Henry’s eyes, smiling at him like a bloody maniac. For a second, he is scared that Bea somehow has found out about his interest in Alex, but he is hoping it has more to do with seeing him being almost content hanging out with her group of friends. “Me and Liam were almost a better couple.” Alex just gets this out, as if this is the most normal thing. Which to him it probably is, but Henry is stunned for a second and his mouth opens before his brain can follow. His undivided attention now going to Alex. “You’ve been in a relationship with a man?” He asks before he can remind himself to shut up. Alex just tilts his head and smiles mischievously at him.
“Why do you ask, sweetheart? Is that a pleasing thought to you? Do you like picturing me with a man?”
“Alex, behave.” Bea says and Alex sighs, then answers the question instead of teasing Henry.
“We were not exactly in a relationship. We just… explored. We were horny teenagers.”
“And Alex – the ignorant idiot – didn’t even realize that maybe it could have had some kind of significance.” Liam adds and Henry puts his attention towards him. “I however, quickly realized I was attracted to Alex. I mean, you’ve seen his body. How could I not?” He speaks directly towards Henry.
“I’m sorry?” Henry’s face instantly turns red.
“Oh shit.” Liam covers his mouth, “was I not supposed to mention that?”
Henry snaps around and glares at Alex, “exactly what have you been implying?”
“Nothing.” Alex shrugs. “I just mentioned how you saw me change and seemed to enjoy the view.”
“God, you really are full of yourself aren’t you.”, Henry is getting more and more agitated by the minute.
“Hey, it was Liam who said you were probably getting desperate for dick because you had seen me naked!”
“Thanks man.” Liam flips him of, “just throw me under the bus like that.”
“You threw me under it first.” Alex states.
“So, I’ve been a joke to you all day.” Henry says dryly, trying not to show how much that hurts.
“No, man.” Alex says quickly. “It wasn’t like that. I was just… I was being a dick. And I’m sorry.”
“And I was enjoying the fact that someone else might find Alex irresistible naked. I hate to be the only one.” Liam snickers. And this statement kind of makes Henry feel better. “If only his personality matched his body. Am I right?” Liam asks Henry and that makes him laugh. Especially when Alex gets offended and tries to kick Liam under the table.
“I think I’m going to refrain from answering. Afterall, I don’t believe any kind of answer will be a good answer and I have no desire to be throttled in my sleep.”
“See?” Alex says and gestures to Henry. “That’s a polite respond.” Alex moves his arm from the back of the chair to put it all the way up on Henry’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “He might even be a better friend to me than you, Liam. And he actually hates me.”
Alex
“You know its stupid right? Sleeping on that tiny couch when the bed is more than big enough for the both of us.” Alex says as he is getting ready for bed and Henry is trying to turn the couch into something comfortable adjacent.
“I am not sleeping in a bed with you.” Henry responds firmly.
“Exactly what do you think is going to happen? That I can’t keep my hands off you and will jump you in the middle of the night? Who is full of himself now?” Alex says and then continues to brush his teeth, looking through the bathroom door. Henry rolls his eyes and sighs.
“That is not what I’m saying.” He turns and looks at Alex. “I’m just not comfortable sharing a bed with you. End of story.”
“Why are you making it such a big deal?” Alex is genuinely curious. He has never had a problem sharing a bed with someone. Especially a bed in this size. They wouldn’t even be anywhere near each other if they just keep to their own respective sides.
“Why are you?” Henry retorts slightly agitated. “Is it so hard for you to believe that someone isn’t interested in sleeping with you?”
“Sleeping with me? Sweetheart, it’s just sharing a bed.” Alex smirks. It’s fun to watch Henry get this flustered.
“That’s not what I meant. Don’t twist my words.” A pink blush appears on his cheeks and Alex can’t help but smile. He does love messing with Henry. “Just shut up and go to sleep so I can read in peace.” Henry says as he sits down on the couch with his book.
“Read?” Alex turns of the light in the bathroom and gets into the bed. “You are not going to sleep?”
“Not yet.” Henry says without looking up.
“Seriously? Do you always read this much?”
“I like reading. Now, shush please.”
For a moment Alex stays quiet, watching Henry read by the dim light next to the couch. Sitting there, reading, Henry doesn’t look at all like the know-it-all idiot that always talks down to him. He seems gentler. More human, in a lack of better words. Less frigid.
“What are you reading?” Alex is not good at keeping quiet.
“For the love of god…” Henry mumbles under his breath with a heavy sigh. “If you must know - a romance novel.”
“Romance… I didn’t take you for a romance reader.”
“Why not?” Henry rests the open book on his chest as he looks at Alex.
“I don’t know. I figured you were more pretentious than that.”
“Do you always just try to come up with new ways to insult me?” Henry asks. “Is that all you live for?”
“Nah. It just comes naturally.” Alex grins.
“Just go to sleep Alex. I’m sure you can come up with new insults in the morning.” With a slight shake of his head, Henry picks his book back up and continues reading, without sparing Alex another glance.