Red, White & Royal Blue One Shots// MOSTLY ANGST

11: Henry+Alex⚠️

•Title: "You Came. You Called. Part 3"

•Requester: giaishotterthanu

•Warnings: talk of sa, ptsd, trauma recovery, etc

•Inspiration: the request.

•Type: angsty

A/N: Thank you for the requests I have received. Also, I just wanted to announce that the first five chapters of my Love, Simon book have been published. It's an actual book instead of one shots.

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Alex bolts upright in his bed. He holds his chest with his hand, clawing at it as he gasps for air desperately. He has hot tears running down his face as his shoulders heave. Henry hears the sharp breaths and wakes up. He looks towards Alex, who was under his arms when they fell asleep, sitting up in concern.

"Alex?" Henry's voice is thick with sleep as it rings through the room.

"I-I-I-"

"Okay," Henry places a careful hand on the back of Alex's shoulder-the one furthest from him, "don't worry about speaking. Focus on your breaths. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, then exhale for eight."

Alex nods frantically as he begins the breathing exercise, Henry doing it with him. Henry uses his other hand to turn Alex's head towards him. They hold eye contact while Alex's shoulders begin to rise and fall at a slower pace.

"Great job, Alex. You're doing so well. Now, focus on my hand on your back, okay? Just focus on my hand while you breathe," Henry says softly as he moves the hand on Alex's back in a circular pattern.

"There you go," Henry says once Alex's breaths have reached a calm pace, "you did it. I'm proud of you, sweetheart."

"Holy shit," Alex whispers as he falls into Henry's embrace, "I hate those."

"Your panic attacks have gotten less frequent," Henry responds.

"I wish they'd just stop happening. It's been over a year," Alex says, anger infiltrating his voice.

"You went through a trauma, Alex. Your recovery isn't going to be linear. It never is. You've improved a lot, though. Please don't ignore your progress," Henry says as he runs his fingers through Alex's hair gently.

"Yeah?" Alex lets out a dry chuckle, "what progress?"

"When it happened, I was the only one allowed to touch you. You had nightmares anytime you slept. Alex, you had more panic attacks in a week than we could count," Henry says softly, "Now, you let your family, Pez, Cash, Zahra, Amy, Nora, and Shaan touch you. You only have a few nightmares each week. This was your first panic attack in two weeks. You're getting better, Alex. Even if you don't see it."

"You've noticed?" Alex questions as he pulls away to look Henry in the eyes.

"Of course, I have, sweetheart. And I am so incredibly proud of you for how far you've come," Henry says with a small, proud, smile.

"I love you," Alex says.

"And I love you," Henry responds before Alex leans forward to connect their lips.

+ + + + +

Alex smiles as he runs down the stairs into the foyer, jumping into Henry's open arms. The prince chuckles as he holds Alex tightly. Shaan, who is standing to the left of them, lets out a quiet laugh.

"Henry," Ellen says as she enters the foyer, "It's a pleasure to see you, your royal highness. How was your flight?"

"It was fine," Henry responds as he places Alex back on his feet, the brunette still clinging to him, "and please, don't worry about the whole 'your royal highness'."

"Of course," Ellen responds, "everything go smoothly at the palace?"

"Oh, yeah. Just a routine meeting," Henry responds.

"That's great. Why don't you two head up to Alex's room so you can relax?"

Alex doesn't even let Henry respond before he's pulling him up the stairs. They run through the residence and into Alex's room. Once the door is shut, Alex pushes Henry against the door and connects their lips.

"I'm guessing you missed me," Henry says with a chuckle as he breaks the kiss.

"Duh," Alex responds, "you were gone for a week."

"Six days," Henry corrects.

"Shut up," Alex says before reconnecting their lips again briefly, "I want to try it."

"Try what?"

"Having sex."

Henry lightly pushes Alex away so that he can look him in the eyes, "Alex, are you sure?"

"I want to at least try. That man took enough from me," Alex says, "but he's in jail. I want to take the power back."

"Then, let's try."

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A/N: Loosely based on my own recovery. Anyways, Hope you enjoyed this.