Work Text:
Alex feels like he hasn’t slept in weeks, which is essentially ever since he got his new roommate, Henry. Alex doesn’t have anything against his roommate—or his sexual proclivities; obviously, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it gets to a point where almost every other night Henry has a ‘friend’ over and Alex has to pull out his noise-canceling headphones to be able to endure another minute in their shared dorm. Which to his luck, has two separate bedrooms with a wall that is almost thick enough to muffle the noise.
Alex keeps his distance from Henry at first, keeping conversation minimal because really, what can you say to your roommate who walks out of their room, shirtless, with their hair disheveled and cheeks flushed? Alex wouldn’t have a fucking clue.
Especially when every time Alex sees him, his heart begins to race uncomfortably fast. Which he has decided is completely normal. It’s because he’s afraid of having an awkward interaction with him. He can’t possibly think of any other reason, he’s even attempted to make a list of explanations and nothing else seems to make sense.
Henry isn’t a bad roommate either, if anything he’s a great one. He never leaves a mess, he’s polite when they cross paths and Henry’s best friend, Pez, sometimes comes over expecting to see Henry but stays (bless his little cotton socks) and chats with Alex for hours on end. Alex has a soft spot for him.
Although it’s no surprise that he ends up at June and Nora’s apartment to regurgitate all of this to someone who will listen to him. Whether they give him good advice is another thing entirely.
“Why do you look like that?” June is asking with a hint of concern.
Alex is sitting on the floor, nursing a glass of wine with a blank expression as he stares ahead. He was lost in his own thoughts, replaying the moment Alex got back to his dorm after class that day. As soon as he opened the door, he was confronted by the sight of someone straddling Henry’s lap on their couch. It made him quite nauseous, which isn’t because he harbours an ill feeling towards Henry (because he really, really doesn’t) it’s just… that’s his couch too. He doesn’t need to see that shit.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Alex replies eventually, his eyes still fixed on the blank wall. “I’ve seen too much.”
Nora chimes in, trying to be pragmatic. “You’re so dramatic, it’s not like they were having sex on your couch—”
“Ugh! Don’t put that image in my head, for all I know, that’s exactly what is happening right now,” Alex groans, finally tearing his eyes from the wall back to the glass in his hand, which he really should be drinking more of right now.
“Is he really that bad?” June asks, looking down at him from where she’s sat on her couch beside Nora.
“I think he has someone over at least three times a week,” Alex says. “At least.”
Nora chokes out a laugh. “Good for him.”
“Not good for me,” Alex mumbles, barely audible. “I can barely look at him when he’s all…” Alex waves his hand around, trying to find the right words. “…Half naked all the time.”
“No need to slut shame your roommate,” June teases. “At least he’s getting it.”
Alex sighs, taking another sip. “I have nothing against his… choices.”
“Why the pause?” Nora asks with a smirk.
“It’s just a bit excessive is all,” Alex says with a wave of his hand. “Why can’t he just have a wank like the rest of us.”
June makes an obnoxious gagging sound. “Did not want to hear that from you.”
“Why don’t you just talk to him?” Nora offers.
“Because…” Alex begins, trailing off because… why hasn’t he yet? He thinks back to every time he’s been fed up enough to muster up the courage to confront him but once he sees Henry face to face, Alex’s stomach becomes a tangled mess and he forgets how to speak. He tells himself he’s just too angry to speak. Although, he’s not too sure about that explanation.
“I don’t want to make things awkward,” Alex supplies instead. He feels that may be the only way of explaining it that’s slightly less incriminating.
Nora snorts. “I honestly don’t think your dynamic with him can get any worse than it is. You avoid him like the plague… You hang out with your roommate's best friend more than your own roommate… make it make sense.”
“What am I even meant to say? I can’t just be like, ‘Oh, hey I know we never speak, but I can hear your sex noises almost every night, and to be honest, I’d rather not’.”
“I mean you can,” Nora says flatly.
“And I won’t.”
“Well,” Nora throws her hands up in defeat. “Your funeral.”
***
Alex’s last straw happens the following day. He has a lacrosse game tomorrow morning and it’s pretty important—a semi-final to be exact—and Henry has a friend over until almost midnight. Alex has to wonder if Henry has the stamina of a lion in heat because what the fuck could he be doing for that long.
The moment his friend leaves, Alex angrily leaves his room, opening his door with purpose and a head of hair that closely resembles a bird's nest. Henry’s halfway back to his room when he notices him, stopping in his tracks. Alex feels his blood boil as Henry stares at him for a moment, wearing only a pair of boxes that hang loosely on his hips. Alex hasn’t noticed how chiseled his chest is and—he pauses at that thought, realizing he’s getting a bit off track and neither of them has said a word.
“Oh hello—“
“Cut the shit,” Alex says in the heat of his anger. “I barely get any sleep around here, I have nothing against you or your choices but fuck man. I just want one night of peace. I have a lacrosse game tomorrow and it’s kinda really fucking important.”
“Oh,” Henry says, his expression unreadable with only the light spilling in from Alex’s room providing any vision. “I apologise. I didn’t realise I’ve been keeping you up.”
Alex is almost rendered speechless by the sincerity. He expected him to bite back, or scoff at him, or anything other than that. He blinks a few times, trying to figure out how to continue this conversation, especially when Henry’s chest is staring right at him.
“Um, it’s fine,” Alex says lamely. “Is it possible to maybe… do your thing a little less or even a little quieter.”
Henry huffs out a laugh, his eyes scanning Alex head to toe. “Sure, Alex.”
Just like that, Henry is gone and back inside his room with a gentle close of his door behind him. Alex feels a lump form in his throat. That was a lot easier than he anticipated.
Somehow he feels bad for asking because he has nothing against it and he’s not homophobic or anything. He feels like he might’ve been too harsh, but Henry seems reasonable enough.
It takes Alex a few minutes of standing in the doorway of his room, just lost in his internal dialogue to bring himself back to bed.
***
The next morning, just before his game, Alex is making scrambled eggs on toast. He feels a little sluggish but has decided it’s probably time to try to get along with his roommate. After all, it’s almost been a month of living together and Alex feels like he’s living with a stranger.
So, as an attempt to break the tension between them, Alex makes some for Henry too.
Henry reemerges from his room, looking unfairly fresh and dressed nicely in a white shirt and beige pants. He looks like the human personification of a ray of sunshine.
“Good morning,” Alex says, an octave higher than he anticipated. This is already backfiring, especially if the wide-eyed expression he gets in return is any consolation.
“Good morning?” Henry replies, his tone more of a question than a response.
“I made you scrambled eggs,” Alex tells him, gesturing toward the two plates on the kitchen counter. Henry eyes the plate with a hint of suspicion.
“Have I driven you to murder?” Henry asks.
“Not yet. Just trying to be a good roommate,” Alex shrugs. “Plus, if I was going to murder you it would be far more intimate. Like suffocating you with a pillow or something.”
Henry chokes on a laugh. “Lovely… I look forward to it.”
“Well,” Alex says as he takes a seat on the stool by the counter, pulling his plate in front of him. “Bon appétit.”
Henry pulls up beside him, following suit. “Thank you, Alex.”
A short silence falls between them and Alex is quick to break it.
“I’ve just been thinking.”
“That can’t be good.”
“Hush,” Alex says with a raise of his hand. “I feel like I barely know you.”
“Indeed.”
Alex continues. “And we live together.”
An amused smile begins to form on Henry’s lips. “An astute observation.”
“I feel like we should try to get to know each other, you know?”
Henry nods solemnly. “I suppose that’s fair. What would you like to know?”
“Um.” Alex hasn’t thought this through. How do you get to know someone without it feeling like an awkward first date situation? “Maybe we should start having a movie night once a week. Which we have a designated day for. No other plans.”
Henry hums, the corner of his lips curling up. “I can do Friday's.”
“Cool, me too,” Alex says, looking at Henry with a small smile.
Henry smiles back. “Cool.”
***
It becomes a thing. Every Friday night, Alex and Henry pick a movie (or two if they stay awake for it) and get takeaway for dinner. They decide it’s only fair that whoever doesn’t pick the movie, gets to pick what they have for dinner and it’ll alternate each week.
“What the fuck is this,” Alex says, pointing to the black-and-white movie that has started to play on the TV. “This looks like it was made when dinosaurs were still around.”
Alex picked Thai food for dinner, leaving Henry with the power of choosing the movie and currently, Alex isn’t sure if Henry should be left with that decision anymore.
Henry scoffs, resting his arm behind Alex’s head on the couch. “I will not have you insult 'Bringing Up Baby'; it's only the most chaotic and hilarious rom-com of all time.”
Alex hates that he finds the movie hilarious, he also hates that he spent almost half of it watching Henry as he laughs throughout the movie, boasting about how right he was. It’s a whole lot of mixed emotions inside Alex’s head currently and it’s conflicting.
Even though Friday is their designated movie night, it doesn’t stop them from watching other movies and TV shows throughout the week. Because somehow, Alex convinces Henry to watch the worst reality TV show he has ever seen.
“Naked Attraction…” Henry says, his tone carrying a hint of concern.
Alex hums.
“So it’s a dating show?” Henry asks slowly, his brows almost reaching his hairline.
“Yup,” Alex confirms with a growing smile.
“Where they choose their partner based on their… package?”
“Exactly! It’s objectively the worst show ever. I absolutely love it!”
Henry protests initially, but soon it becomes another tradition for them to watch each week as each episode comes out. Alex looks forward to it every time because surprisingly, Henry gets into it more than he does.
Alex also begins to notice that Henry has slowly been bringing fewer people over—not that he cares. It’s just he is finally able to sleep at a normal time, even though Alex and Henry end up staying up late together anyway. At least the option is there.
“This was my gay awakening,” Henry says, eyes glued to the screen while “Pride and Prejudice” plays. Specifically, the Colin Firth lake scene, which Alex can admit is a very valid gay awakening. That someone who is into guys would have. He assumes. Not that he knows. He understands why it would be. For Henry.
“Do you have a type?” Alex asks, also unable to tear his eyes away from the screen. He really didn’t picture himself enjoying this movie but once again, Henry’s movie choices never fail to surprise him.
Henry finally looks at Alex, he can feel his eyes on him. After all, there’s barely a book's length of space between them. “Of course.”
Alex meets his eyes curiously. “Go on then. What type of guy might I expect to join our movie nights?”
“Don’t be foolish, our Fridays are sacred,” Henry says and it makes Alex’s heart do a cartwheel. Because he feels special. They’re friends. “Well… If you must know, I appreciate the little things. Someone who pays attention to the details and small gestures like making me breakfast or complimenting my clothes. Someone who just makes me feel good.”
Alex mentally files that list into his Henry compartment in his head, amongst many other subcategories.
“And what about you?” Henry inquires, casually draping his arm over the back of the couch.
Alex has to think to himself because honestly, he doesn’t really know. His girlfriends in the past never really had anything in particular that stuck out to him. “Someone who makes me laugh,” Alex finally replies.
Henry holds the eye contact, a small smile gracing his lips. Alex feels squirmish.
“Is there uh… Is anyone in the picture? For you?” Alex asks lamely.
Henry laughs lightly. “Nothing serious,” he admits. “There's a guy I met at a party a few weeks ago who's been pretty consistent. We'll see where it goes.”
Alex feels his stomach churn and he honestly can’t place what is bothering him. Why does he even care?
“Oh,” Alex mumbles, the silence hanging in the air just a little too long. “So, it could become serious?”
Henry's eyes search Alex's face, and there’s a hint of curiosity in his eyes. “Perhaps,” he replies with a casual shrug. “But I'm not getting my hopes up.”
Alex’s skin itches and he feels a pang of guilt for being so annoyed by this conversation. He even expected someone to be in the picture for Henry, because why else would he stop bringing people over? Yet, it bothers him to no end that he could be seeing someone seriously.
Even when Alex and Henry part ways to their rooms, while Alex stares at his ceiling, trying to fall asleep, he is still thinking about it. He tries to rationalise his frustration, instead only making himself feel more confused.
***
Alex is sweating bullets after lacrosse practice, channelling his bubbling rage that has just continually escalated lately into the drills. He even almost knocked out Jake in the practice match they had at the end of training, a teammate who had become his unofficial nemesis. Frankly, it would have felt like a stroke of luck if it had happened.
Alex can’t pinpoint the exact source of his mounting frustration. The lacrosse practice, a physical outlet for his emotions, has only barely scratched the surface of his bottled-up feelings and it’s honestly driving Alex to a point of insanity. Jake’s smart-ass comments during practice do him no favours.
Before heading to the locker room, Alex makes his way across the campus field to chat with Nora and June, who have been watching from the bleachers.
June greets him bluntly, “You look like a wet rat.”
Alex removes his helmet and tucks it under his arm, revealing a disgruntled expression. “Why do you even come to these?”
“I saw you tried to murder Jake out there,” Nora chimes in with a breathy laugh.
Alex mumbles, “He had it coming. He can't seem to keep his fucking mouth shut, constantly bragging about being better than me, even though I'm the team captain.”
June raises an amused yet partially concerned eyebrow at Alex. “Why are you so snappy today?”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “I wish I knew.”
“Come on,” June presses. “Tell us what's eating at you.”
June is relentless about these things and seems to always make Alex fess up about things he hasn’t even had the chance to process himself. To her benefit, Alex always seems to confess.
“I think Henry's seeing someone.”
June remains unphased. “And?”
“It’s just… You know… We’ve been hanging out more and I don’t want to have to third wheel, he’s like, a really good friend.” Alex feels like he just spat out a bunch of words picked up from several radio channels going on in his head all at the same time, which didn’t string into a coherent sentence. He’s been doing that a lot lately.
Nora, wearing a bemused smile, remarks, “Right, so it’s that kind of frustration.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Alex asks, rather defensively. For some unknown reason, it really struck a nerve.
“You and Henry have gotten fairly close lately,” Nora points out, and he rolls his eyes at the obvious observation.
June adds, “And I haven’t heard you complain about Henry’s sex noises for weeks.”
“There’s been less people coming over,” Alex says.
Nora hums. “Interesting.”
“I genuinely don't understand what you two are getting at,” Alex declares flatly.
Nora shares a quick glance with June and they both stand up. Nora gives Alex a pat on his shoulder before passing him and says, “It’ll come to you eventually, Alejandro.”
Alex hates how cryptic those two can be. Nevertheless, he will still mull over their implications.
Right now though, he has bigger things to worry about, such as his need for a shower. He decides to just shower back at his dorm, the campus showers are an atrocity (and that’s an understatement).
When Alex opens the door to his dorm, he wasn’t exactly expecting anything but he certainly didn’t expect to see what was currently happening in front of him. Henry is pushed up against the wall outside Alex’s room with a man’s mouth attached to his neck. Alex expects them to stop, but to his dismay, they do not.
Instead, Henry locks eyes with Alex, his neck tilting back to give the stranger better access, and Alex feels like his feet are glued to the ground. A wave of warmth spreads through his abdomen as their gaze remains fixed on each other and neither of them move. The stranger's fingers tangle in Henry's hair, resulting in a soft moan that escapes his lips as they part slightly and oh—this can’t be normal.
Alex knows he should leave, or say something, or look away—but he doesn’t and he feels his lacrosse shorts becoming increasingly tighter by the minute. His breath gets stuck in his throat when Henry bucks his hips against the stranger, making sure to hold eye contact between them.
He can’t do this.
He finally reminds himself to move, and he closes the door abruptly. He realizes now while staring at his door that he’s painfully hard, and well, that’s new. He thinks that it’s probably a little bit weird to get a boner from the sight of your very male roommate dry-humping a male stranger but he pushes that thought aside for the moment because he has another problem.
That problem being that he’s standing in the middle of a corridor, with a hard-on and still reeking of a horrible body odour. A shower should really be a priority right now.
To his dismay, the locker room showers will have to suffice because going back to his dorm right now sounds like a nightmare. Henry would’ve had to have noticed the obvious bulge in his lacrosse shorts, which might make their fresh friendship fairly questionable.
He steps into the campus shower, his cock throbbing in his hands and his skin vibrating as he jerks off frantically. His body shakes under the spray of hot water, coming in his hand with the memory of Henry’s parted lips playing behind his eyelids—which he spends the rest of his time in the shower convincing himself isn’t weird.
What is he meant to do when Henry’s moans are borderline pornographic and Alex is just a little touch-deprived? It’s been a while, who could blame him?
Alex makes sure to delay his return to the dorm after that, staying in the shower extra long and then bothering June and Nora for a few hours with minimal explanation.
“What are you doing here?” June asks when Alex lets himself in.
“Letting Henry finish his business for my own sanity,” is all he supplies as an explanation. The rest is irrelevant, and definitely not something he would like to discuss with his sister around. Not that he even knows what he would tell them if he did.
He just jerked off to the visual of his roommate, there’s quite a lot to unpack which he isn’t quite ready to do. Only an hour ago he believed he was only attracted to women and now—well, he isn’t fucking sure what to think right now.
When he eventually forces himself to go back to his dorm, it's close to midnight. He eases the door open slowly, using his phone as a makeshift flashlight to find his way to his room. He tip-toes over to his room, opening and closing his bedroom door with equal care.
Only when the door is securely shut behind him does he finally breathe. Now alone with his thoughts, he attempts to process the events of the day. Walking in on Henry is not a new occurrence, but the prolonged eye contact, and his body's physical reaction, well, that’s entirely uncharted territory for him.
Alex tries to convince himself that it’s normal because he gets hard-ons randomly all the time, this instance was just one of those ill-timed moments. Although, coming to the image of Henry is definitely a lot harder to explain and is unavoidable at this stage. It happened and now he’s going to have to make something of it and Alex feels like he’s starting to spiral—actually, he’s definitely spiralling.
He's never seriously considered being attracted to guys before. While he has always been able to appreciate an attractive man when he sees one, he never thought the meant he wanted to be with them. Especially Henry.
However, as someone with eyes, he can also acknowledge that Henry is objectively hot. That’s never been something he denied, Henry has a perfect jawline, is undeniably ripped and, has full, plump lips that Alex sometimes finds himself thinking about. That can’t be a normal thought for a straight guy to have about his very male roommate.
Okay, maybe he’s into guys. Which is not a revelation he’s been expecting to have any time soon, nor ever. How does he move forward with this information? If he’s into guys, he can’t be into Henry, he’s never felt that way for him before. That he’s aware of at least. Nothing like what happened today has ever happened before. He’s just not going to think too deeply about that right now.
For now, he needs to deal with the immediate issue at hand. He might be bisexual, which could explain the time he made out with his high school best friend at a party. He had previously chalked it up to being way too intoxicated—which is now seeming more like wasn’t the case. Alex doesn’t know how to feel about all of this.
With a pounding headache and a swirl of thoughts, he decides it's time to put his mind to rest. While he falls asleep, he tries his hardest not to think about Henry's hooded eyes watching him as another man kisses his neck but the sounds he made prove harder to forget.
***
Alex wakes up way too early for his liking. Sunlight barely seeps into his room while he lies on his back, eyes on the ceiling trying to process yesterday. He forms a mental list, to hopefully untie the knots in his stomach.
One, before yesterday he was quite confident in his sexual orientation. Now, he’s probably going to need to have a conversation with June and Nora. Did they know before he did? Does Henry know?
Speaking of Henry, that brings him to point two; is yesterday’s interaction going to make things painfully awkward again? Did Henry see the outline of his cock through his shorts? Alex winces to himself, mortified as he replays yesterday’s events in his head.
Before he can add anything to his list, there’s a soft knock on his door.
“Can I come in?” Henry’s muffled voice asks from behind the door. Alex feels his stomach plummet.
“Okay,” Alex yells from his bed, sitting up quickly before Henry slowly creeks open the door. He peeks his head in first before pushing the door fully open, a mug in his hand and a hesitant smile.
“I made you coffee,” Henry says gently as he approaches Alex, sitting on the edge of his bed and extending the cup to him. Alex gazes at Henry, his expression hard to decipher, but the gesture feels like an olive branch after yesterday.
Alex finally smiles back, saying, “Thanks,” as his hands reach for the mug. Their fingers brush when Alex tries to grab the handle, sending an electric sensation through his hands. He feels fuzzy and tingly all over.
In unison, Alex and Henry go to speak.
“I’ve just–”
“I’m so sorry–”
“Oh,” Alex interrupts, cupping the mug closer to his chest. Nodding to Henry he says, “You go first.”
Henry takes a deep breath. “I just wanted to apologise for yesterday. It wasn’t appropriate. I should’ve stopped. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Henry says seriously. So, Henry didn’t notice his growing package, which makes Alex very grateful he didn’t speak first. Henry continues, “I really enjoy our friendship and I’d hate to jeopardize it.”
“Me too,” Alex says, offering him a reassuring smile. Internally, he is so glad Henry didn’t notice his own dilemma. “It’s fine, Henry. Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Henry laughs, covering his face with his hand sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry… For that time too.”
“We watch Naked Attraction every week together, I think our boundaries have already gone beyond walk-ins,” Alex teases in an attempt to ease the tension.
Henry breathes out a laugh. “Valid point.”
Only hours later do Henry and Alex find themselves on their couch together, the newest episode of Naked Attraction playing on the TV. This time they’re not paying any attention, instead engrossed in their conversation about Henry’s potential love life. Alex is fine with this, because he may be into guys–as he’s recently discovered–but not Henry, so it’s fine.
He refuses to acknowledge what he did in the shower.
“What about him?” Henry asks, holding up his phone with a photo of a man from one of Henry’s classes. Alex barely looks at the picture before he answers, because no college man will ever be good enough for Henry in his eyes.
“No fucking way,” Alex says, returning his gaze to Henry with a look of disdain “I’ve heard he has at least five STIs. From multiple sources.”
“Well,” Henry sighs, smiling and shaking his head as he looks back through his phone for the next candidate. “I fear we may not get anywhere. You’ve said no to all of them so far.”
“Not my fault they’re not up to your standard,” Alex shrugs and Henry only smiles wider as he lifts the next photo to Alex’s face and oh.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not!” Alex gapes at the picture of Jake on Henry’s phone. His blood boils at the sight of him, the thought of Jake being anywhere near Henry fills him with an inexplicable emotion that makes him feel nauseous.
Henry looks very puzzled. “Oh?”
“Anyone and I mean, anyone but him,” Alex says, pushing Henry’s phone down. Alex makes sure to look directly into his eyes. “I’ll kill him if he goes anywhere near you.”
Henry laughs. “You know him?”
“Know him? He’s on my lacrosse team and is the bane of my existence,” Alex seethes. “He will never be good enough for you.”
Henry stares right back, his features soften and his eyes become carefully blank as they scan Alex’s face. “Will anyone be good enough for me, Alex?”
“You’re just…” Alex begins, his anger beginning to dissipate under Henry’s gaze. He feels his shoulders relax as a heavy breath escapes his lips. “Most guys here just suck. Trust me, I’ve heard stories from being on the lacrosse team.”
“You don’t,” Henry says gently, his expression unreadable as he places his hand in front of Alex’s that’s resting on the space between them on the couch. Alex’s eyes flick down to their hands which are now across from each other, only a breath of air between their fingers. Alex's stomach starts to do cartwheels, his heartbeat picking up faster than he’d like to admit.
“Which is why I know who’s good enough,” Alex says looking back up, breaking the short silence that settled between them. Alex feels his fingers inching forward without thought and his heartbeat is so loud that he can hear it in his ears. Alex also thinks this might not be a normal reaction to having his hand in such close proximity to his roommate’s hand, who he’s supposedly not into. Alex tries not to think about that.
“What about you?” Henry asks, Alex feels so dizzy he doesn’t even know what they’re talking about right now. Henry’s own fingers inch forward, so close that Alex can feel the static heat of his skin on the tip of his fingers. Alex looks up, his eyes meeting Henry’s and his breath gets caught in his throat.
For his own sanity, Alex lifts his hand and uses it to brush through his own hair, dropping it back in his lap.
“Um. What do you mean?” Alex asks, a little breathless and his heart still pounding heavily. A flash of emotion crosses Henry’s face that Alex can’t quite place but is quickly replaced with a masked smile.
Alex feels so lost in the direction of this conversation that his head hurts.
“I mean, any girls on your radar?” Henry asks coyly, also retracting his hand back to his lap. Alex feels the cartwheels in his stomach fall and land into a knotted mess. He realises he could use this as a way to tell someone about his recent revelation, still not having told June and Nora.
“No, not at the moment,” Alex replies instead, internally wincing at himself. Alex doesn’t know how, but this conversation became so strained somewhere along the way and Alex can feel it.
“Right,” Henry says, before looking back to the TV. Alex isn’t sure if this whole interaction is a normal one to have with a friend, but they quickly fall back into the usual banter as if nothing happened. Which is fine. Everything is still normal.
***
One morning, as the sun's rays filter through their dorm room window, Alex finds himself once again cooking breakfast for both of them. He can’t help but smile at the sight of Henry, his hair tousled, and his eyes still heavy with sleep. Alex's heart does a little flip–he has a soft spot for this version of Henry.
“I made you breakfast,” Alex announces, presenting a plate of perfectly scrambled eggs to the dishevelled Henry.
Henry raises an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his morning voice. "Again? When did you become the best roommate?"
“Always have been, sweetheart,” Alex quips, which makes Henry huff out a laugh and shake his head.
“You’re such a cretin,” Henry muses as he sits on the stool in front of the ready plate of scrambled eggs.
“A cretin who makes you breakfast,” Alex says, sliding up beside him. “And makes you laugh like, all the time… Oh, and is deviously handsome.”
Henry snorts. “Who gave you this ego?”
“You. When you laugh at me all the time,” Alex points out, digging into his breakfast.
“Hm, yes. Laugh at you.”
Alex lightly elbows Henry. “Shut up. You love me.”
“Indeed.”
Somehow, Alex and Henry become more attached to the hip after the walk-in situation. Alex starts tagging along when Henry goes grocery shopping, and Henry starts going to Alex’s lacrosse practice, sitting on the bleachers gossiping with June and Nora (occasionally Pez joins them too).
Alex loves that his favorite people get along so well.
“You should’ve introduced us to him sooner,” June says to Alex when he visits for their weekly catch-up over wine with Nora.
“He’s alright,” Alex shrugs but he knows. Everyone loves Henry, that’s just how charismatic he is. He’s smart, he’s funny and he’s a sight for sore eyes—objectively of course, anyone can see that.
His newfound friendship with Henry still, however, hasn’t quelled the uneasiness associated with his own sexuality. Henry had been bringing people over less, but he knew Henry was now opting for going on dates elsewhere, which made his stomach coil.
He doesn’t want Henry thinking he can’t bring people over anymore. Hell, he wants Henry to so that he can make sure that they’re even remotely good enough for him. Henry’s romantic life has become somewhat of a pink elephant in the room and Alex hates it.
Alex does his best to push his feelings aside and be happy for Henry, and each morning as Henry wakes up with a goofy grin on his face, Alex slides him a plate of scrambled eggs and sides beside him. He can’t help but feel a pang in his chest each time, a sense of longing he can’t quite place.
He’s probably just hungry.
***
Alex reluctantly agrees to attend a frat house party, primarily due to the convincing efforts of Pez and Declan, who claim it's a quintessential college experience—one that Alex has been missing out on, according to Pez. Declan Jones, his Australian transfer friend and teammate, insists on the whole lacrosse team coming and Alex has very mixed emotions about the idea. Nevertheless, he shows up.
The room is almost vibrating from the volume of the music blasting when he arrives with Declan and his teammates Heath and Luke, his closest friends on the team. They stand by a wall in the living room, each clutching red plastic cups filled with cheap beer from the kegs positioned behind the couch.
“It smells like sweat and dried semen in here,” Luke comments with a scrunch of his nose, leaning against the wall beside Heath.
Declan can’t help but snicker. “Yeah you’d know that smell all too well, mate, wouldn’t ya?”
“Shut the fuck up, Declan,” Luke retorts, his face still screwed up from the potent smell.
Jake and another teammate, Nick, approach the four of them with multiple shot glasses in hand, shouting over the music. “Fellas, drink up.”
Heath asks, “What is it?” as Jake and Nick distribute the shot glasses. Alex reluctantly accepts one from Jake, who shoots him a smug smile.
“Vodka. Bottoms up boys,” Nick grins, before all six of them down the shot. Alex chases it with a sip of his beer, which honestly doesn’t help much, but it’ll have to suffice.
“God, that’s awful,” Luke mutters after chasing the shot with his beer, and Heath agrees with a grunt.
“Goes down like water,” Declan grins.
“Australians can’t be real,” Heath says. “I've never met someone who ends up in a different town, blind drunk, and walks all the way home unharmed.”
“That's how we do it down under,” Declan shrugs, finishing off the remainder of his beer. “Gonna need me another. Anyone need a refill?”
Alex gazes at his cup. “I'm good, Jonesy. Not even halfway.”
“You’re a pussy mate, catch up,” Jake snickers, causing a fiery rage to ignite inside him—Jake seems to just get on every single nerve. He so badly wants to just tell him to shut the fuck up for once, because clearly no one has told him that a day in his life.
“The night has just started,” Alex says instead.
“Fucking oath,” Declan says with a raise of his empty cup. “How about the rest of ya?”
“No thanks Jonesy, we're on the hunt for the rest of the team; we've got shots to hand out,” Nick replies before leaving with a smug Jake and disappearing into the crowd. As Alex watches them vanish into the sea of faces, he can’t help but feel so annoyed by the interaction.
Declan pats Alex on the shoulder as he heads towards the kegs. “Alright. I’ll be back boys.”
“We fucking have to play beer pong,” Heath says, his eyes glued to the table covered in empty cans and stacks of plastic cups. Alex honestly couldn’t think of anything worse right now.
“It’d be rude not to,” Luke agrees, he looks to Alex. “You coming, ACD?”
“I’m just gonna see if there’s any other drinks in the kitchen,” Alex says to them, nodding towards his cup. “This tastes like ass.”
“Fair enough, we’ll meet you at the table then,” Heath tells him before they both split up into the crowd.
Alex honestly doesn’t really know his way around the house, he’s not even sure who lives in it. As he searches for the kitchen, he walks past a couple making out on the stairs and someone he recognises from class sitting curled up in a corner, presumably way too drunk or tripping on something. Poor guy Alex thinks, frat parties are definitely an experience.
He finally finds the kitchen, he walks through the archway and is almost not surprised to find Henry sitting on the kitchen counter, making out with some random guy. He’s standing between Henry’s legs with his hands on his thighs and Alex feels his blood boil. He has the urge to physically pry the guy off Henry and make them stop. He’s not sure why this time has suddenly struck a nerve with him, but Alex is seeing red. He’s sick of watching Henry with other people, he’s sick of random guys all over him. He just doesn’t want to see that, of course. He has nothing against it—if he doesn’t see it.
“Fucking hell,” Alex mutters under his breath as he opens the fridge that thankfully isn’t right in front of them. He avoids even looking in their direction.
“Alex?” Henry says, Alex continues to rummage through the fridge, even though he’s come to the conclusion that there’s nothing for him to drink in there.
“Yes,” Alex replies flatly as he considers taking the stray Kitkat that’s sitting in the fridge. He doubts anyone will notice, especially with how packed the house is.
“What’s wrong?” Henry asks gently, prompting Alex to finally close the fridge empty-handed and face him. The guy between Henry's legs mumbles a disgruntled “well fuck me, then” under his breath.
Leaning against the kitchen island in the middle of the room, situated between Alex and the counter where Henry is perched, Alex responds, “I’m just sick of Jake talking shit and getting away with it.”
“Your teammate?” Henry asks, his eyes reflecting concern.
“Yeah. He just treats me like shit and I can’t say anything because I’m meant to be captain and, well, he’s part of the team and as much as he’s an asshole, he’s not terrible at lacrosse.”
“Can you talk to him about it?” Henry offers.
Alex inhales deeply, before continuing his rant. “I would if it was that easy, he just has an ego too big for his head and for some reason, he has this vendetta against me. Like he won’t talk to Luke, Nick, Heath or Declan like that.”
Henry nods solemnly. “Alex, have you considered that he might be jealous that you’re captain? He’s probably projecting because he wishes he was you. I mean, you’re Alex Claremont-Diaz, you’re attractive, you’re intelligent and you’re the lacrosse captain.”
Alex swallows the lump in his throat, his brain stuck on Henry calling him attractive. Henry thinks he’s attractive. “Oh. No. No, I didn’t think of that… Well, I’m still going to hold a grudge.”
“Of course you will,” Henry huffs a laugh as Alex notices that somewhere during his rant, the guy between his legs had decided to leave them alone, leaving Henry and Alex alone to talk in the kitchen.
“Your friend left,” Alex laughs softly at the realisation. “Sorry for the cockblock.”
“He did,” Henry confirms with a smile that almost reaches his eyes, “I truly don’t mind, Alex. You’re far more important.”
Alex feels like he might melt into the ground, the static air between them feels palpable.
“You’re important to me too, Henry,” Alex says quietly, their eyes locked on each other. Alex’s skin feels like it’s tingling and his heart swells with warmth, which he decides is probably from the alcohol.
“Claremont-Diaz!” Declan shouts as he enters the kitchen, visibly more intoxicated than he was the last time Alex saw him. Alex feels a shock go through his body like he’s just been walked in on during an intimate moment—which he definitely wasn’t having. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Sorry Jonesy, been talking to my roommate,” Alex says, a little breathless. He gestures between Henry and Declan. “Declan, my roommate, Henry. Henry, my teammate, Declan.”
Declan, the gentleman he is, walks over to where Henry is propped up on the kitchen counter and shakes his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, mate.”
Henry laughs awkwardly, shaking his hand. “You too. You’re Australian?”
“Sure am, and you’re British?” Declan says, leaning against the kitchen island across from him.
“Yeah, transferred here recently with my best mate, Percy,” Henry tells him, smiling down at him.
“Pez? Fucking love that guy,” Declan says with a bright smile. “I transferred earlier this year too.”
“Jones,” Alex says, Declan turns himself around and looks at him expectantly. “Were you looking for me for any reason?”
“Oh right!” Declan laughs, walking back to Alex and slinging an arm around his shoulder. “Luke and Heath are getting demolished at beer pong and we need to swoop in and rescue our little baby ducklings,” Declan tells Alex, before looking back and waving at Henry enthusiastically. “Bye Hen! It was lovely to meet you.”
Henry laughs. “Bye Declan, great to meet you too.”
“See you at home,” Alex says with a turn of his head, their gazes meeting and lingering a little too long.
Henry gives him a small smile. “Yes, you will.”
As Declan leads Alex through the crowd to the beer pong game, he whispers loudly to Alex, “I fucking love that guy.”
Alex smiles to himself, agreeing with Declan’s sentiment. He sighs happily, “Yeah. Me too.”
***
Monday rolls around far too quickly for Alex’s liking he thinks as he stands on the field, his breath heavy and his hair sticking to his forehead from the sweat. Lacrosse practice has just wrapped up, and it's been a grueling hour of drills and a practice match, the usual routine. As he approaches the bleachers, he can't help but notice that only June and Nora are sitting there. The absence of Henry's familiar face beside them tugs at his heart, which is fine—he can do what he wants, of course—but he was starting to get used to him being there.
Leaning against the fence that separates the field from the bleachers, Alex rests his helmet under his free arm. June, never one to hold back her disapproval, shoots him a look that could wither flowers. It’s almost humbling.
“I can smell you from here,” she tells him with a scrunch of her nose.
Before he has the chance to respond, a hand pats his back, rather hard and he whips his head around.
“See you later, Diaz.” To his dismay, it’s Jake. Definitely not a face he wants to see and it takes an immense amount of self-control for Alex not to respond with a punch to his face.
Alex fronts a laugh and a painfully fake smile. “Off so soon, Thompson?”
“Got places to be,” Jake grins and gives Alex a wink before walking off toward the parking lot. Alex is almost impressed by his own composure.
“Look at you,” Nora coos teasingly. “You did so well, captain.”
“Where’s Henry?” Alex asks instead, ignoring her previous remark. June feigns an offended look.
“We’ll just go fuck ourselves, I guess,” June scoffs playfully.
“Mind you, we’ve been your cheerleaders from day one, before you decided you could befriend your roommate whom you used to slut shame,” Nora teases.
“I did not slut shame him,” Alex says, rather defensively because maybe he’s grown a little protective of his roommate. He considers Henry one of his best friends. “I simply didn’t appreciate not getting enough sleep due to his late-night activities.”
“Well,” Nora continues with a roll of her eyes. “Last I heard, Henry said he’s getting tested today. He didn’t say when though, just that he won’t be able to have lunch with us.”
Alex raises an eyebrow. He thought Henry would’ve mentioned this to him. “For what?”
June and Nora collectively give Alex a blank look–then it clicks. “Oh.”
“Like he says,” June begins, attempting to put on a British accent. “He may be a slut, but he’s quite anal on his sexual health.”
“Pun intended,” Nora adds with a mischievous grin.
Alex chokes on a laugh. “Of course he is.”
“My darling brother,” June says, glancing at Nora and back to Alex. “I know we agreed on lunch today, but unfortunately we’re going to have to reschedule as well.”
Alex watches the girls rise from their seats, ready to head out. “What's so important that you have to bail on your favourite brother?”
June smirks and slings her arm around his shoulder over the fence, teasingly kissing his temple. “Snookums, we'd never leave you unless it was dire. We've got a thing to do, but we'll make it up to you, promise.”
Nora chimes in with a mischievous grin, “Don't miss us too much.”
Before he can respond, they're already halfway down the bleachers, giggling like a pair of schoolgirls. Alex watches them go, shaking his head in amusement, but his thoughts keep drifting back to Henry.
He walks across campus to the dorms, wondering if Henry will be in their room when he gets back and begins to brainstorm what movie he’ll be picking for tonight. It’s Henry’s turn to choose what they’ll have for dinner, leaving him with the choice of what movie to subject Henry to no matter how much he protests.
Reaching their shared dorm room, he hesitates for a moment before pushing the door open. His heart sinks when he steps inside because Henry’s not there. Instead, he sees Jake fucking Thompson sitting on their couch, looking at Alex with the most smug and entitled look he’s ever seen.
Alex feels himself seething because he sure as hell didn’t invite Jake over, meaning Henry has been seeing Jake. It feels like a joke, one that has his blood boiling.
Is Jake the same guy Henry met at the party?
“What the fuck,” he spits out, his face flushed and his fists clenched at his sides. Jake is inside his dorm. Jake has been with Henry. Alex feels so angry that his vision starts to blur.
“What’s up, Diaz?” Jake grins as if Alex’s reaction is exactly what he’d hoped for.
Alex can't contain the surge of anger welling up within him. He's tolerated Jake's presence at a distance before, but this is too much. “You know damn well that's not my full name, Thompson,” he hisses, struggling to maintain control.
Jake's smirk only widens, as if he's relishing in Alex's discomfort. “Gets you riled up enough.”
The anger surges through Alex, pushing him past the brink of composure.
“Alright. Get the fuck out,” he yells, advancing toward Jake with a fiery determination. He can't have Jake in their personal space, not like this.
“Alex?” Henry’s voice cuts through the blind anger, halting Alex in his tracks. Henry emerges from his room, a look of confusion etched across his face. “What are you doing here? I thought you were having lunch with June and Nora?”
Alex shifts his gaze to Henry, searching his face for an explanation. “They had something come up.”
Henry clears his throat and suggests, “Well, Jake and I can leave if you like?”
Alex stares at Henry, his heart heavy with a mix of emotions he can't quite grasp. “You two,” Alex says, gesturing between them. “Leave? Together?”
Then, Jake makes his move. He strides past Alex, positioning himself beside Henry, and pulls Henry close to him. Jake's hand boldly slips into Henry's back pocket, his playful squeeze making Henry yelp in surprise. It feels like a punch to the gut.
Jake looks at Alex with an irritating confidence and states, “Yes, Diaz, together.”
Alex can hardly breathe as he processes this situation. He feels helpless and hurt, unable to intervene or say anything.
He wants nothing more than to stop this, to tell Jake to fuck off and never touch Henry ever again. But he doesn’t and he knows he has no right interfering with Henry’s personal life, it's not his place, and it tears him apart. He chose Jake, and Alex and Henry are just friends. For some reason that fact makes him feel horrible. They’re only friends.
Alex puts on a neutral expression. “Oh, cool.”
Without another word, Alex leaves their dorm. He needs space. He can’t bear to look at Jake being so close to Henry.
He feels so unbelievably nauseous as he starts to jog. The sight of Jake touching him. The way he should, the way he wants to.
Oh.
So this is how he finds out. On a run to unleash his built-up anger, he realises, that maybe this whole time, the reason why Henry’s love life bothered him so much.
It’s because he wanted to be with Henry. This whole time.
Now it’s too late, Jake somehow knew the perfect way to get to Alex and he’s won. He got the person he wanted the most, without even knowing it himself.
Alex continues running, his legs pounding the pavement as he attempts to escape the swirling chaos inside his mind. Every step is a desperate attempt to outrun the turmoil of emotions. His heart beats in rhythm with the sound of his sneakers on the ground, a painful reminder of what he's lost.
For so long, he'd been unable to comprehend the intensity of his feelings for Henry. It wasn't until the sight of Jake holding Henry close that the pieces finally fell into place. He has feelings for Henry, and it's too late.
As he jogs through the campus, he can't help but recall all those moments he and Henry spent together, sharing their lives, and growing closer as friends. Every gesture, every shared smile, they all take on new meaning, and it feels like a cruel twist of fate.
Alex had pushed away his own feelings because he thought it wasn't possible. But it's all too real now, as real as the anguish that surges within him. The thought of Jake being with Henry in that way gnaws at him. He feels like he’s going to be sick.
He stops by a nearby park, catching his breath as he leans against a tree. His chest is heavy, not just from the physical exertion but from the weight of everything dawning on him.
What does he do now? How does he move forward, knowing what he knows now?
He runs back, he’s not going to let Jake chase him out of his own space. The run back is short, yet feels like hours with the way his heartbeat goes painfully fast in his chest and his breath is too far gone to catch up with.
He needs to tell Henry that Jake isn’t right for him.
As he approaches the door, a sense of deja vu washes over him as he pushes open the door for the second time. However, this time, the room is devoid of life, with no trace of Henry or Jake's presence. Numbness envelops him as he surveys the empty room. The realization hits hard—Henry has left with Jake, and there's nothing he can do about it.
With a heavy heart, Alex lets the door fall shut behind him and moves to the couch. He sinks into it with a profound sense of defeat, the weight of the situation pressing down on him.
Before Alex has the chance to feel shit about it, the door is opening again. Henry is back. Alone. He peeks around the door, his steps hesitant as he slowly walks in, his eyes locked onto Alex's as he closes the door with his back. Alex stands up from the couch and the unspoken tension between them fills the room.
“You’re back,” Alex says softly, taking a few more steps closer.
“You were right,” Henry whispers, then he lets out a breathy laugh. “He is an asshole.”
Alex takes a few more steps forward, almost crowding Henry against the door. He whispers back, “Oh really?”
Henry’s eyes flick to Alex’s mouth, and they linger there. Alex can see his eyelashes flutter against his cheekbones. “You really hate him,” Henry says, looking back up.
Henry’s face is so close he can see every detail of his skin. His lips are so red and full and Alex feels a gravitational pull. “I hate how he touched you,” Alex says softly.
Henry looks at him. “Oh, really? Why is that?”
Alex swallows, the static in the air between them is palpable.
“Well,” Alex breathes, lifting his hand and tracing a long finger down Henry’s cheek and resting it on the hinge of his jaw. “I recently realised, I don’t want anyone else to touch you.”
Alex doesn’t know if he’s being too bold, he doesn’t know if he’s read this all wrong. His fingers against Henry’s face feel like sparks of electricity, tingling through their bodies. He feels a sense of fear too, gripping fear that holds him by the back of the neck.
“Anyone else?” Henry repeats, his lips left parted as his head tilts back slightly. Alex dips his mouth closer, his hand cupping the back of his head and neck. Henry shutters out a breath, gravitating closer and Alex’s whole body is covered with goosebumps, from feeling the heat of Henry’s breath against his lips.
“Can I?” Alex shutters, with only an inch of space between them. He’s so nervous, so unused to this feeling.
Henry smiles, his hand finding Alex’s hip. “Can you what?”
“Touch you,” Alex whispers.
That’s all it takes before Henry surges forward, finally connecting their mouths and oh–this is happening.
It’s everything Alex expected and more. Alex pushes Henry against the door instinctively, kissing him back like he’s been waiting for this for years. Henry’s mouth opens and Alex lets his tongue slip in between desperate pants.
Henry’s hands travel up Alex’s back, sending shivers up his spine and uses his wide hands to pull Alex closer. Alex shudders at the way Henry’s body presses closer to his, forming a swell of heat in his abdomen.
“You’re a bit daft, darling,” Henry mumbles against Alex’s mouth, moving to Alex’s neck and trailing kisses along it which Alex has now discovered is a weak spot for him if the involuntary shiver is anything to go by.
“Is this what you call dirty talk?” Alex teases breathlessly, sliding his fingers through Henry’s hair which results in a vibrating moan against his neck and fuck, he’s so gone.
“I’ve been waiting,” Henry kisses along Alex’s jawline. “So long,” he kisses up to Alex’s mouth again, “To do this.”
Henry pushes Alex back a few steps, grabbing onto his forearms and swapping their positions. He crowds him up against the door before dropping to his knees and if Alex wasn’t hard before, he definitely is now. Henry is quick to pull down his drawstring shorts, tugging them down to his ankles and Alex eagerly kicks them off to the side.
“This okay?” Henry asks, looking up at Alex with a flutter of his eyelashes. Alex feels like he’s going to die, barely able to respond, he can only let out another desperate hiccup of breath, nodding his head wordlessly and swallowing wetly. His dick is throbbing, flushed and heavy against his boxers.
Henry pulls Alex’s cock out of his boxers and wraps his fingers around the base of it, smiling up at him. He kisses the inside of his thigh on both sides, peppering kisses everywhere but where Alex needs him most. Alex whines before Henry finally relents, licking up his length and taking all of it in his mouth.
“Fuck,” Alex hisses, instinctively reaching for Henry’s hair, twisting his fingers in his hair, causing Henry to hum a moan around his dick. It sends a tremor throughout his body and Alex feels so high, panting heavily as Henry sucks harder and faster.
Alex has been blown by girls in the past who have loved it, and others who haven’t minded it. But Henry takes him down like he was born for it. He’s clearly skilled, Alex presumes this is why he was being kept up at night, because holy fuck if he’d had Henry’s mouth on his dick sooner, he wouldn’t be able to shut up either.
He moans, throwing his head back against the door with a thump, looking back down at blown, blue eyes and pink plump lips that make him feel like a livewire. Alex feels like he can’t breathe, feels the pressure building up as he strokes his thumb across Henry’s cheek, catching the corner of his mouth. He feels Henry moan around him and suddenly he’s ruined. He tries to warn him with a tug of his hair but his mouth is dry and suddenly all words have failed him.
Alex's entire body trembles with pleasure, his chest heaving as intense sensations surge through him. A white-hot light dances around his vision as he spills into Henry's warm mouth. To his surprise, Henry doesn't pull away; instead, he runs his hands up Alex's quivering thighs.
“Well, that was…” Henry begins after finally drawing back. “Not how I expected that to go.”
Alex can't hold himself upright any longer, and his knees give way. He slides down the door with Henry still positioned between his legs. With a breathless laugh, he gazes at Henry, who smiles at him from his place between Alex's outstretched legs.
“Yeah... That happened,” Alex manages to say through his laughter.
Henry keeps his hands moving up Alex's thighs, still kneeling on the floor. “That wasn't exactly what I'd call straight behavior, Alex.”
Alex's head falls back as he bursts into laughter, knocking lightly on the door behind him. “Yeah... I don't think I'm straight. Just putting that out there.”
Henry's smile widens. “Cool.”
Alex sighs contentedly. “Yup.”
Henry doesn’t seem to mind that he hasn’t gotten off, but something in Alex really wants to see his face when Alex makes him come. So without a word, Alex positions himself to crawl towards Henry, gently pushing Henry off his knees and onto his back onto the carpeted floor. Alex hovers over Henry, his pupils dilating hungrily and his hip bucks up to Alex’s.
Alex moves his hand to Henry’s thigh, gripping it while grinding his hips down, already growing hard again. Alex leans down, placing quick and soft kisses along Henry’s neck while simultaneously bucking his hips against Henry’s. Alex’s hand slides to his inner thigh, pressing a hand against Henry’s bulge in his pants, and Henry rolls his head back with a gasp.
“Please,” Henry whimpers, his breath is shaky and his back begins to arch. “Alex.”
“Yeah?” Alex says against the skin of Henry’s neck and he moans, bucking his hips up again.
“Touch me,” Henry chokes out, his hands sliding to his back and pulling Alex’s hips closer to himself, desperate and needy.
Alex’s hands tug on Henry’s pants, pulling them down far enough to get to his boxers. Henry breathes hotly against Alex’s face as he looks down at his hands, pulling at Henry’s boxers. Henry lifts his ass so Alex can pull them to free Henry’s cock, finally getting his hand around it.
“Just putting it out there,” Alex whispers, his face hovering an inch away. “I’ve never done this before.”
Alex thumbs at Henry’s head, spreading blurts of precome down his length, and moves his hand in a quick rhythm while he goes back mouthing at Henry’s neck. Henry can’t keep himself quiet and Alex is fucking in love with the sounds he makes.
“Fuck Alex,” Henry chokes out, his cheeks flushed and moaning desperately. Alex keeps his hand on Henry, kissing down from his neck to his chest until his mouth reaches Henry’s shaft. He looks up and Henry’s hungry eyes looking down at him is enough for him to take Henry in his mouth, one hand on the base of his cock and the other hand travelling up the front of Henry’s shirt
Henry feels hot in his mouth, his hips twitching and he cries out and puts his hands into Alex’s hair, twisting his fingers into his curls. Alex looks up through his eyelashes, seeing Henry’s lips parted and his eyes daring to close.
“Alex, I–” Henry whispers when Alex pulls his mouth off, hovering over him and jerking him off with tight, firm strokes. Henry uses his hand to cup the back of Alex’s head and pulls him into his mouth, sliding his tongue in with hot breaths.
Henry comes with a gasping moan, that Alex swallows with his tongue. Henry spills over Alex’s fingers, shaking under his hand and their lips slowing down. Alex pulls back, sitting back and pulling his shirt off to clean him and Henry up.
Henry props himself up on his elbow. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Believe what?” Alex asks, casually wiping his fingers clean. He tosses his shirt in the general direction of his room, making a mental note to put it in the wash later.
“That being your first time,” Henry explains with a soft smile. Alex feels his heart growing too big for his chest.
“I didn’t even know I liked guys until, like, a week ago,” Alex laughs, leaning back on his arms. Alex realises that they could easily sit on the couch, but instead, they silently decide to stay on the floor, catching their breaths.
“What did it for you?” Henry asks with a breathless laugh.
“Colin Firth.”
Henry shoves Alex’s shoulder. “Oh Fuck off.”
“Okay. Fine, if you have to know… When I walked in on you,” Alex admits.
Henry snorts. “Which time?”
“Probably both. The second time I had to… take care of things afterwards though,” Alex says, shaking his head with embarrassment. “That’s when I decided the way I feel about you probably isn’t very straight.”
“Took your time,” Henry says with a grin.
Alex raises an eyebrow. “You knew?”
“Why do you think I brought Jake over?” Henry asks.
Oh. Henry knows him too well—probably better than he knows himself.
“You fucking sly devil,” Alex gasps, prodding a finger at Henry’s chest and it makes him yelp out a laugh. “You knew I’d fucking lose my mind.”
“You are about as subtle as a beached whale, darling,” Henry retorts.
Alex can’t believe he was the last to know about his own feelings, yet again, he definitely can believe it. He’s always been a bit negligent in exploring unfamiliar feelings.
“Darling?” Alex grins with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “Do you always give your hookups pet names?”
“I beg you not to start,” Henry rolls his eyes.
Alex finally gets back up on his feet, extending a hand to Henry. “Speaking of, no booty calls past ten. I need my beauty sleep.”
Henry laughs as he takes Alex's hand, pulling himself to his feet. “If you insist.”
“If you insist,” Alex says, mocking Henry’s accent and earning a shove to his shoulder.
“You are a menace,” Henry shakes his head fondly before putting his hands on either side of Alex’s face and pulling him into a chaste kiss.
Your menace, Alex thinks, but doesn’t dare voice aloud.
***
Alex doesn’t know what he and Henry are anymore, which is fine–at first. Ever since Alex pulled his head out of his ass and realised that the way he feels for his roommate isn’t very heterosexual, their dynamic has mostly remained the same just they have the added benefit of sleeping together, all the time.
Initially, he really doesn’t mind, because he sleeps like a fucking baby now that the only sex noises coming from their dorm are coming from them. Alex sleeps extra well when Henry accidentally falls asleep in his bed after they mess around, the sound of his breathing beside him soothes him like nothing else has before. His favourite thing is when he wakes up just before Henry does and he gets to watch him. Alex feels like he’s stuck in a trance when the early morning sunlight dances over his face, engrossed in the way his lashes look against his cheeks and the way his hair sticks up in all different directions. Alex is so gone for him.
Henry and Alex start going on dates that aren’t explicitly ‘dates’ since they haven’t even specified the exclusiveness of their relationship. All Alex knows is Henry isn’t seeing anyone else and well, obviously Alex isn’t either. However, neither of them has talked about a label and of course, Alex is too stubborn to be the first to bring it up.
Alex finds himself thinking about this after his grand final. Even though, he should be too happy to think about anything else other than the fact that Alex’s college team has just won against one of the best college lacrosse teams in the states during a home game—which hasn’t happened for their college in over ten years. It’s a huge win, to say the team is elated is a major understatement.
Alex finally takes off his helmet, standing idly in front of his locker with a small smile still lingering on his lips, because he’s still really fucking happy about it. He played his best, with most of the college watching, scoring several times, and knowing that Henry had been there to witness his performance only adds to the giddiness.
Alex pulls out his phone from the locker and replaces it with his helmet, sitting it above his spare uniform. With his phone in hand, he checks a missed text from Henry:
Henry
3:46 pm
Nora, June, Pez and I will meet you at the afterparty :)
Alex's stomach is aflutter with butterflies, and he smiles like an idiot at his phone. He can't stop grinning even as he takes a quick shower and gets dressed for the after-party. The locker room is a chaos of his teammates preparing for the evening, and it's filled with the scent of cologne, which is a far cry from the usual post-game locker room odors.
Just as Alex closes his locker after putting his uniform back in, he feels a pat on his back followed by a very thick Australian accent saying, “Well, don’t you look happy?”
Alex turns to see Declan smiling brightly at him, with his signature toothy grin. Alex daps him up. “Hey man, what’s up?”
“Who you texting?” Declan says with a teasing wiggle of his eyebrows. Alex rolls his eyes, a blush creeping up his cheeks.
“Nobody,” he says quickly, before continuing, “Man, we just fucking won the grand final, of course I’m happy.”
“Nah,” Declan says, lowering his voice to not let the other boys in the locker room hear him. “I mean, you seem whipped.”
“Whipped,” Alex echoes. He can’t be that obvious, can he? Declan’s enthusiastic nod confirms as much. He realises then that he hasn’t really… come out to any of his lacrosse buddies. He swallows, looking around and lowering his voice slightly. “It’s just a guy I’ve sort of started seeing,” Alex says, trying to be nonchalant while gauging Declan’s reaction to what he’d just said.
Declan just grins, patting Alex on the shoulder before using vulgar language Alex should be used to by now. “Well then, I expect to meet the lucky cunt tonight.” Alex breathes a sigh of relief and grins, basking in Declan’s completely unchanged approach to what felt like a major weight on his shoulders.
“You’ll be the first, I promise,” Alex replies with an amused smile. He doesn’t quite mention that Declan already knows him.
Declan sits on a bench near where Alex is and starts swapping from his lacrosse shoes to formal shoes, “So how long?”
Alex leans against his locker, not even sure how to answer the question. Realistically, it’s only been about two weeks or so since they’ve crossed the platonic roommate line into whatever the fuck they are now. Friends with benefits? Fuckbuddies? Alex doesn’t even know.
“By the look on your face right now I think I’ve hit a sensitive spot,” Declan laughs as he ties his shoe.
“No,” Alex finally says with a laugh, moving to sit beside Declan. “It’s just… We haven’t really talked about it.”
“Ah. So it’s casual?”
Alex hesitates before responding. “Well…”
Declan finishes tying his shoe and pivots to face Alex. “Well?”
“It’s just—”
“Alright fellas, it’s go time!” Alex's coach shouts, his voice resonating throughout the locker room, effectively silencing the chatter between his teammates.
“To be continued,” Declan says with a tight-lipped smile. He and the rest of the boys start filing out of the locker room, leaving Alex sitting on the bench as he watches as most of them leave before finally, with a deep breath, he follows behind.
The next hour goes quickly, the boys get called on one by one on stage in front of family, friends and students, each getting a moment of congratulations in front of everyone. Every year, the team organize individual awards for each player, from best scorer to ‘talks the most shit’ award.
Jake easily wins the latter and he seems to be the only one not clued in on the fact that it’s not a good thing.
The party kicks off once the award ceremony ceases and the music is turned up. Alex initially gets caught up in conversation with his teammates Declan, Heath and Luke—probably his closest friends on the team.
“Should've won an award for the world's shittiest goalie,” Luke teases Heath with a mischievous grin. “Remember when you took a ball straight to the face?”
Heath defends himself with a wry smile, “At least I literally blocked it. I almost got concussed for it too.”
“Mate, you're joking. Lacrosse balls weigh next to nothing," Declan interjects.
“You always invalidate my feelings. What ever happened to 'it ain't weak to speak'?” Heath shoots back, horrendously mocking Declan’s accent with a grin.
Declan rolls his eyes with a small smile. “She'll be right.”
Alex almost zones out, watching his friends bickering before a voice he never wants to stop hearing brings him back. “Alex.”
It's Henry, and he looks devastatingly hot. All Alex wants to do is make out with Henry right then and there but unfortunately, he has to maintain some semblance of etiquette.
“Hey,” Alex responds softly, his eyes taking in every detail of Henry's appearance.
“You’re quite alright at lacrosse,” Henry smiles, his eyes scanning Alex’s face.
“What can I say? I’m good with balls,” Alex says. Henry chokes on a laugh.
“Alex, who’s this?” Luke chimes in, bringing the boy's attention to Alex and Henry.
“Henry, this is Luke, Heath and you already know Declan,” Alex says to Henry and then he looks to the boys, watching expectantly. “Boys, this is Henry. Henry is my—”
“I’m Alex’s boyfriend,” Henry smiles proudly, reaching to shake hands with each of them.
Oh. So that’s happening. They’re boyfriends apparently.
Fuck. They’re boyfriends.
He hears Declan practically squeal as he lunges forward to give Henry a tight hug, to which Henry makes a token noise of surprise. “Oh.”
“I’m a hugger,” Declan says once he pulls back, grinning between Alex and Henry.
Henry laughs, patting Declan’s back. He pulls away, slipping his arm around Alex’s waist and gripping at his hip.
“Pleasure to meet you both,” Henry says, turning to Heath and Luke and shaking their hands. “You’re all fantastic sportsmen. I do have to say, the award for ‘Player who talks the most shit’ surprised me at first, until I saw the recipient.”
Declan throws back his head and cackles, slapping his hand on Henry's shoulder.
“Cunt, you’ve got no fuckin’ idea,” he says grinning, and Alex laughs watching Henry’s bemused face at Declan’s colourful language.
“I believe I have an inkling,” Henry smirks, turning to Alex.
“Speak of the devil,” Luke mutters, smacking Heath’s arm as the five of them turn to see Jake, clearing his throat. He looks at his teammates briefly before turning his attention to Henry.
“Hey Fox, did you see me winning out there?” Jake smirks, shamelessly running his eyes up and down Henry in a way that makes Alex feel ill. “Bet you regret giving up on an award winner like me.”
“I shall remind you that I did not ‘give up’ on you. We didn’t even make it on a date because you were so insufferable I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. I only brought you to my home to make Alex jealous and I hoped my feelings were reciprocated, which they were. Enjoy your ‘talking shit’ award, Jacob. I won’t dispute that you’ve earned it,” Henry replies, completely stone-faced.
Alex looks over at Heath and Luke who are staring, gobsmacked, and then to Declan whose eyes are filled with glee. Jake sputters before turning away, stalking out of the room and slamming the doors behind him. Henry turns back around and dusts off his shoulder.
“Sorry about that,” he says nonchalantly as Declan quite literally screams and shakes Alex.
“Dude, your boyfriend is fucking awesome.”
Alex takes a moment to look around the space. He sees June, Pez and Nora talking animatedly over by the snack table, waving him over. He sees Heath, Luke and Declan, his closest teammates looking at him with knowing grins, accepting him and Henry with zero questions asked.
Then he sees Henry. His roommate, his best friend, and his boyfriend, looking at him with eyes so fond that Alex feels like he can’t breathe. He’s sure there’s a word for it, settling on the tip of his tongue for when he’s ready.
Alex grins, looking up at Henry and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Yeah, he is.”