Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Never have I ever considered breaking up with my current partner', Jessica, who is clearly looking for juicy gossip says with an evil grin.

Hunter and Jake both drink which doesn't surprise Alex at all, and June and Nora don't drink, again not surprising.

But when he notices that Henry, who is literally sitting in his fucking lap, drinks too, his heart stops.

He chuckles awkwardly. "You're supposed to drink if you did ever consider breaking up with your partner, baby. Not if you didn't.'

Henry shoots him a nervous smile. "I know', he whispers.

Alex stiffens. "Don't fuck with me, Fox', he hisses.

Henry bites his lip. "I am not, but don't' worry I'll tell you the story later", he promises.

Alex's face falls as his heartbeat starts to speed up.

He thought everything was perfect between them, he has an engagement ring hidden in his sock drawer for fucks sake.

And yet Henry has been second-guessing them?

Technically he doesn't have to be referring to anything recent, since the question was  have you ever  not  have you recently, but that does little to reassure him.

Of course, they've had fights, they've been together for four years now and the e-mail leak/forced outing, shitty tabloids with their fake gossip insisting one of them is either cheating or abusive or both, and the demanding hours of law school plus the abdicating process hadn't exactly been fun.

But Alex has always been sure Henry was worth every fight that came their way and he thought Henry felt the same.

Apparently not.

Oh, he's going to be sick.

Henry is looking at him with nothing but concern and love in his eyes, but Alex still feels betrayed even though it's Henry's right to have or have had trouble seeing a forever with him, they are still so young after all.

But it hurts all the same, even if he gets that the traumatic shit they've been through wasn't easy.

"Common, Claremont-Diaz, lighten up, Jake and I drank too, it's fine. Y'all are still together, and so are we. That's the important part. No relationship is perfect, considering a breakup during a hardship isn't the end of the world," Hunter reassures him.

Which is technically nice of him, but Alex wants to punch him in the face all the same.

He gently stands up so that Henry doesn't fall out of his lap and onto the ground.

When Henry is sitting securely alone on the chair Alex  goes to sit on an empty chair, needing to not be touched so he doesn't lose his fucking mind, because he feels himself get overwhelmed.

He wanted to take an adhd pill because the club is always overwhelming with all the loud music, judgemental stares, touchy hands, bright lights, high-pitched voices, and sticky surfaces.

But he also wanted to have a beer and Henry doesn't allow him to mix his adhd meds with alcohol (neither does the little red text on his prescription meds but that's neither here nor there).

He groans, remembering the conversation they were having. "Yeah, but that's different, Hunter. You and Jake are cute together and all, but you're not  Henry and Alex.'

Jake scoffs. "What is that supposed to mean?'

Alex shrugs. "Just...y'all are an okay couple, but it makes sense that y'all drank. I mean Hunter sometimes makes ignorant comments and you...Jake, no offense but your jokes are rather rude sometimes. If I were Hunter.. well I'd consider dumping your ass too, no offense.'

Jake scoffs. "How is that not offensive? Fucking asshole.'

Hunter sighs and throws an arm around Jake. "He's just upset, baby. He didn't mean it like that.'

Why the fuck is Hunter defending him and is Henry thinking about breaking up with him?

Did he accidentally wake up in a parallel universe?

"Love?' Henry asks him gently.

Alex glares at him. "What? Am I being too much? Too opiniative? Too dramatic? Are you going to dump me now?"

Henry sighs as he bumps their knees together and takes Alex's beer bottle from him to set it aside so he can grab his hands.

"Christ, of course not, my love. We will talk about this later, in private, okay? But I need you to understand that you have never and could  never  be too much for me. My..  thoughts  were not caused by anything you did or didn't do. It was entirely my fault and I am forever grateful-'

Alex scoffs. "Oh great, just when I thought tonight couldn't get worse you hit me with the  it's not you, it's me bullshit. If you want to break up so bad, Wales, then what's stopping you?"

Henry sighs. "Love, please, I want to spend the rest of my bloody life with you and we're both well aware of that. I was talking about the very first few months of our relationship.'

Alex scoffs. "Well I've personally never doubted my love for you in the past 4 years but it's good to know you did in the first year.'

Henry sighs again. "Why don't we take this outside, love? So we can talk in private and I can explain the misunderstanding? Please?"

Alex rolls his eyes at him. "What? Am I emberassing you?'

Henry shakes his head. "Of course not, love. You could never embarrass me, I just don't want you to take this out of context. I mean it when I tell you, I loved you the whole bloody time, I  never  doubted my love for you. Not once. Not ever. I loved you long before you even got over your grudge long enough to be able to say hi to me without glaring at me. I promise you on my father's grave that I never doubted my love for you... but I also think this is a private conversation. So why don't you let me take you home and I will explain the misunderstanding?", he offers.

"Ah great, thanks a lot for ruining the night, Jessica', Nora hisses at her.

"Yeah, that was uncalled for you just wanted to cause drama', Hunter huffs.

'Nah, I'm good to keep playing', Alex says as he glares at Henry again and then throws the rest of his beer back after taking his hands out of Henry's loving grip.

"Love, please', Henry tries.

Alex shrugs. "We'll talk later, H'.

"Okay, my turn', Jake says cheerfully.

"Never have I ever considered cheating on my current partner.'

Neither Jake nor Hunter drink this time, only Jessica drinks. 

"Toxic', June bites out.

Jessica shrugs. "He's not here is he?"

"Poor guy', Jake whispers to Hunter who nods in agreement.

Alex continues to glare at Henry who obviously doesn't drink.

"Christ, what do you see me for?" He hisses at Alex.

Alex shrugs as he continues to glare at his boyfriend.

Henry stands up and hands some money to Nora to cover their drinks.

"I better take him home', Henry says gently.

Alex glares at him again. "You're not the boss of me'.

Henry sighs. "I know that, darling, but could you please come with me regardless?"

Alex squints his eyes at him.

"Please, darling, this is all one big misunderstanding. Please let me explain myself", Henry pleads.

Alex groans. "Fine, only because I love you, but if your explanation sucks I'm going back and I'm crashing on Hunter's couch tonight."

Hunter shrugs at the same time as Jake says, "Ah hell nah, if you can't work it out...go sleep at Nora and June's. Family probably won't let you sleep outside but I will . You are not implying that my partner should dump me just to come crash on our couch later.'

Alex sighs loudly before getting up and following Henry outside.

Henry offers his hand and Alex glares at him again but then takes the hand anyway.

Instead of walking toward the parking lot toward the car with their driver, Henry walks past the driver and Po's

Alex groans. "Are we going to the woods? What stabbing me in the heart wasn't enough? Now you want to stab me in the back with an actual knife too? Without any witnesses?"

Henry sighs loudly. "Do shut up, love.'

Alex groans. "Where are we going?' He whines.

"We're walking home, love. I want to talk this out immediately and not with anyone eavesdropping", Henry says gently.

Alex scoffs. "Babe, you know that's not very smart right? We'll for sure get kidnapped. I am not saying I wouldn't jump in front of a  bullet for you, because I still would, even though I am angry at you, but I'd rather not be in danger in the first place.'

"I texted the POs to follow us with the car and Cash and Amy are a few feet behind us on foot,  if you hadn't noticed yet, we're fine, darling, I would never endanger you", Henry assures him.

'Okay, so spill. And you better not lie to me, babe. When did you want to dump my ass? After the emails got out? Or that time I forgot our dinner date?' Alex asks.

Henry sighs. "No, love, it wasn't anything like that."

Alex grumpily continues to hold Henry's hand, he's still mad but he likes the reminder that he still gets to do that, especially now that he feels anxious.

"So then what did I do wrong? What did I do that  was so bad that it made you want to dump my ass?" He asks irritatedly.

"Nothing. I told you the truth, my love. I always do, it wasn't anything you did", Henry promises.

Alex stops abruptly almost causing Henry to trip since they are still holding Hands.

"Oh for fucks sake, this was one of those self-sacrifice things, wasn't it? Fox, if you start the  I didn't think I deserved you bullshit  again I'm going to push you into the nearest bush or burst out in tears in the middle of New York City on a sidewalk at 3 am. Or both. Or I will hire an assassin to kill your grandmother. " 

Henry snorts. "What if I dislike all those options?"

Alex groans. "Baby?"

Henry nods.

"Just tell me", Alex pleads.

"I wasn't going to phrase it that way, and I wanted to have this conversation at home,  but I suppose it would fall underneath the self-sacrificial shite I did because I didn't think I deserved you category, yes", Henry admits.

Alex groans. "For someone so brilliant you can be so fucking stupid sometimes, baby", He says before yanking Henry into a hug.

Henry hugs him back tightly.

"For a second there I was afraid I'd lost this", Henry admitted. 

Alex hugs him tighter. "Never, baby. Never, I was just pissy. I am sorry for scaring you. I feel forever about you and I didn't like the idea that you second-guessed your love for me. But I suppose that I should have heard you out before drawing that conclusion."

Henry nods and then kisses him gently.

"I've never second-guessed my love for you, but to be frank with you I was terrified of what it would mean if you loved me back because I never imagined I'd get so lucky", Henry admits after they pull apart.

"That was stupid of you", Alex teases lightly.

Then he drags Henry closer again. "You're not lucky, babe, you're loved. Like you should be. So let me guess this happened when I confessed my love to you?" 

Henry nods. "Yes, I'm not proud to admit this but I didn't  really have a headache at the lakehouse when you tried to tell me you loved me."

Alex looks at him concerned. "So you had a panic attack?"

Henry shrugs. "Not necessarily but my fight or flight was surely activated."

Alex frowns. "It was? But we didn't fight and you didn't run."

Henry looks at the ground. "I know but I considered it."

Alex bites his lip. "You considered what?"

Henry sighs. "I considered  flight.  I was so anxious and overwhelmed, I was planning on sneaking out when you were asleep and going back to England, leaving you a note that I was safe, and then-"

Alex frowns. "And then?"

Henry shakes his head. "I'd ghost you so I wouldn't have to face you when I broke up with you and broke your heart like I'd have already broken mine. Because I knew I wouldn't survive seeing you in pain, especially knowing I caused it. Plus I knew you'd be able to convince me to stay, I knew that if you'd so much as say please I'd stay. And I refused to let the crown trap you as it trapped me. They'd destroyed my life already but I wouldn't let them do the same to you. So I figured I had to leave in the middle of the night and I had to ghost you."

Alex bites his lip again. "But you didn't do that."

Henry finally looks at him again. "I didn't. I was planning on it, I pretend to have a migraine and would then leave when you were asleep. But then you brought me Tylenol and water and a protein bar, got into bed with me, even though you weren't tired and hugged me to your chest, and plastered kisses all over my face. That's  when I realized I wasn't willing to sacrifice the best thing that had and would ever happen to me for a life, a family, and a kingdom that didn't love me and accept me for who I am. When you had done so since the beginning. I knew I'd never want or love anyone like I loved you, so I knew you'd be worth the risk and the trouble. I'd always known that but after the initial shock of you loving me back had worn off, something that wasn't part of my original plan because it was better than any daydream I ever had and any reality I could possibly imagine for myself, I realized that you loving me back meant I wouldn't be the only one fighting for us if I stayed. We'd fight together and that sounded more promising and exciting than being the heir to the crown ever did. At first, I made my peace with the fact that you'd eventually move on and I'd stay in love with you for the rest of my life as I was forced into a loveless marriage with someone from a gender I'm not even attracted to. But it was in that moment where you held me to your chest and were so concerned about my supposed migraine as if I hadn't just swam away during your love confession.. that I realized I was no longer willing to accept that I wasn't allowed to live a life I loved. I figured as long as I have you I'd always have everything I needed. So it wouldn't matter what I had to sacrifice to get to be with you, all that mattered was that I wouldn't give up on us. So I didn't and it's the single best decision I ever made."

When Henry finally has the courage to face him again Alex is crying.

"Baby", he chokes out.

Henry cups his face.

"Alex, I need you to understand that breaking up with you and hurting you is the last thing I ever wanted to do.  I only ever considered it because I thought I was protecting you. I thought if I sacrificed my happiness it would mean you'd be free because you wouldn't be trapped by the crown. It wasn't like what Jessica or you suggested. I never considered dumping you during a fight or because you got too much. I love all of you, you're never too much and I've been all in since the moment I realized We'd fight together. So please stop thinking I ever considered dumping you. I did but only at the beginning of our relationship because I was terrified and traumatized. And only ever because I wanted to protect you never to hurt you and never because I got sick of you or doubted my love for you."

Alex nods before crushing their mouths together. "I love you too, baby", he promises.

When they pulled apart again Alex interlaced their hands again.

"I am sorry that escalated, I didn't mean to ruin the night. We can go back if you want to", Alex suggests.

Henry shakes his head. 'You didn't ruin the night, the whole thing only took like 15 minutes, I had a lovely time with you. And your reaction was understandable. I personally feel like I was the one in the wrong, if the tables had been turned I would have freaked out if you drank too. I shouldn't have done that And I'm sorry."

Alex sighs. "You were just being honest. You're not a liar. I like that about you. You immediately reassured me. I don't think you fucked up either. Jessica shouldn't have asked the question, it was uncalled for... so did you want to go back?"

Henry shrugs. "Not necessarily. But it's okay if you want to, I'll come.'

Alex bites his lip. "I don't particularly want to either, but I just want to show everyone we're fine and not give Jessica the power."

Henry nods. "Okay, we can do that. But I don't want to stay much longer.'

Alex swirls them around. "That's fine just use a codeword if you want to leave, or make up an excuse I'll always back you up."

Henry smiles at him as they pass their security team so they can walk behind them again, like they were, now that they've changed courses.

A few minutes later they're back at the bar and Alex drags Henry back in his lap like God intended.

"You forgave him rather quickly. The blowjob must have been good", Jessica teases.

Hunter rolls his eyes at her. "Alex was in no place to consent, we could all see that. They probably talked it out, you know... communicate as normal adults do. You should try it sometime.'

Jessica waves him off. "Whatever. It's your turn."

"No, it's Alex's", June says in between sips of her cocktail.

Alex smiles. "Okay, well I am going to be a little toxic now too. Never have I ever cheated."

Jessica scoffs. 'June did that one already."

Jake shakes his head as he takes a sip. "No, she asked  never have I ever considered cheating on my current partner . That's not the same thing. Because I personally have cheated back when I was young and stupid in high school, but I'd never cheat on Hunter."

Hunter scoffs. "Ah, babe, it's so cute when you offer me the bare fucking minimum."

Jake rolls his eyes at him. "Stop it, you brat. We've talked about this a thousand times already. This is not new information for you. No need to give me attitude. I am in my thirties now. I am no longer that stupid, selfish kid. I love you and only you. You know that."

Hunter shrugs as he takes a sip of his drink.

"Doesn't mean your not an asshole for cheating on Jacob."

"It was Delilah I cheated on. Which you already know.  Also, why the fuck did you just drink?' Jake asks concerned.

Alex cackles. "Because this dude totally looked at my answers during that one test we did in our criminal defense attorney class back in law school. I fucking knew it. Good to finally have confirmation that Hunter cheated back then."

Hunter sighs. "Fine. I plead the fifth. I did do that. I hate unexpected pop quizzes.'

Jake scoffs and shoves his boyfriend lightly. "You're an asshole scaring the crap out of me."

"Justice for Deliliah', Hunter yells jokingly before taking another sip of his drink.

Alex snorts at that.

Jake sighs loudly. "You don't have to feel bad for her. You know she destroyed my car.'

"As she should. Queen shit', Hunter says as he accepts a high-five from Nora.

"Look, I know I was wrong. I regret it. But it was one kiss when I was 16. That's more than a decade ago. Can we please let this go already? It was years before we ever even met and I am a loyal person. I fucked up once. I never cheated again and I dated other people after her", Jake defends himself.

Hunter throws an arm around him and kisses his cheek. "I am not mad about it. I never was. I just like to tease you, but no worries, baby. I trust you. What you did was wrong, yes, but I've done stupid shit when I was younger too. I never cheated, but If Alex can forgive me for making that stupid ignorant comment all those years ago-"

"What does Alex have anything to do with our relationship?" Jake asks confused. 

Hunter shrugs. "Nothing. I'm just saying second chances aren't always a bad thing".

Jake frowns. "Did you really give me a second chance though? I mean we started dating when I was 23. That's 7 years after I cheated on Deliliah. That's not really a second chance, babe. A second chance would be if I'd kissed someone else while dating you and you took me back. Not if I did it back in high school when you didn't even know I existed yet.'

"Fair enough. You've never broken my trust so I guess you're still on your first chance or whatever", Hunter teases before kissing his partner.

Jake kisses him back eagerly and then climbs in his lap. 'I would never cheat on you, fool. I fucking love you. And I am no longer a stupid 16-year-old, not that age justifies what I did but I learned from it and I'll never do it again. Can we please talk about something else now?'

"We can talk about the fact that Jessica drank too", June points out.

"Literally nobody is surprised by that", Alex laughs.

'Didn't 3 people drink?' Jessica asks confused.

"Not really. Hunter wasn't  talking about cheating on a partner. Just you and Jake, the rest of us have morals', Nora laughs.

"Easy there. Jake isn't a bad person and he feels bad enough as it is. We shouldn't guilt-trip him for something that happened almost 2 decades ago. Yes, it was wrong but he's a good partner and he's always been a good partner to me. I shouldn't have dragged it out as long as I did, but I need everybody to back off from My baby now, fun is over, leave Jake alone", Hunter hisses at her.

Nora puts her hands up while laughing. "Sorry. Backing off. Is it my turn now?"

June nods.

"Never have I ever done something even though I knew it would hurt my partner's feelings. It could be small or big."

Henry raises an eyebrow at her. "I'm testing a theory", she whispers to him.

No one drinks until Jake makes Jessica drink since she admitted to cheating on her partner and this qualifies as purposely hurting your partner.

"I never specified who I cheated on', Jessica mutters before drinking.

Henry wonders who invited her because no one seems to find her a kind person. 

Alex taps a plastic red cup against Henry's lips. "Drink up, love".

Henry's eyes widen. "What? What did I do? What are you talking about? I'd never purposely hurt you."

June snorts. "You're giving the poor man a heart attack, asshole. No worries Henry, he's referring to the fact that you've been swapping out the coffee you make him every morning for decaf."

Henry chuckles at that. "Oh, bloody- you know about that?"

Alex nods dramatically. "Yes, and I've never felt more betrayed in my life."

"I am sure Jessica's boyfriend  can relate", Hunter whispers at him.

Alex snorts knowing  fully well that tomorow morning he's going to inform the poor guy that Jessica is cheating