Rekindle - FirstPrince FF ✔️

7

When Alex woke up, he realized that the other side of the bed was not occupied. He thought that Henry didn't deliver his promise, but he felt Henry. Was he dreaming ? Hallucinating?

Henry had woken up a long time back because he had been doing nothing but sleeping from the past few days. He had prepared popcorn, fries (chips for Henry), and chicken nuggets for their movie marathon night.

Henry, along with beer, presents all the food he had prepped on the table as they start their Star Wars marathon. They had this marathon only once previously that, too, in the form of a video call.

They started watching the movie from opposite ends of the couch, but by the end of the first movie, they were sitting close to each other. By the intermission of the second movie, they were holding other hands, which were entwined by the end, and Henry relaxed his head on Alex's shoulder. They enjoyed the third movie of the original trilogy cuddling with each other on the sofa. 

After the movie, as the end credits roll, Alex and Henry both move a little and realize the awkward entangled position they are in. Alex is stretched on the sofa with Henry on top of him and Alex's legs wrapped around him. They free themselves, and Alex stretches himself.

"I will use the washroom." Alex rushes to the washroom, his heart beating erratically. He shuts the door behind him and takes in deep breaths to calm himself down. It was like the first time after they were locked up together in a small room in the hospital after a false shootout alarm. Then he was not aware made his heart rush like that he blamed in on the adrenaline that the cramped up space and shooting noises had caused it but now he was aware what the reason was, it was his eyes that looked so deeply into him.  

Henry had cleared the table till Alex left the washroom. 

"Alex, you can go ahead and sleep. I will join you after I am done with the dishes." Henry calls out after hearing the door close.

"Do them in the morning." Alex leans on to the kitchen counter. 

"I don't want to leave them for the morning." 

"I will wait for you then." Alex pouts his eyes clearly tired.

"Ok, I will do it in the morning." Henry gives up seeing the pouty, Alex.

They lie down on their respective sides of the bed, and Henry snuggles closer to Alex, still maintaining a distance when Alex wraps his arm around and places his head on Henry's chest. He wanted to maintain distance with Henry when he rushed to the washroom but it was there he realized that these might be the last few moments he would spend with Henry and he wanted to make the most of it. He wanted to take baby steps and stride at the same time, but taking the strides scared him a lot, and baby steps would make him lose Henry even before he could be close to him. Therefore, he decided to pace up the baby steps a little and make the most of his time like an  adult.

***

Alex was already awake when Henry woke up with avocado and egg toasts prepared. 

"Here is your tea and breakfast." Alex serves the food along with the tea to Henry.

"I have an inflatable pool. Do you want to swim?"

"Why?"

"Just to pass the day. There are not many things to do here."

"No, I meant why can't we just go to the lake."

"Reason one, this town has no lake. There is a river, but the flow is too fast to swim for someone who has not been acquainted with the flow of he river. Secondly we can't go out in public together. The media doesn't know I am staying here, so it will become news, and if they come to know, I guess it will become a bigger one. "

"Right. The media." Alex sighs heavily. He feels the same push he felt 7 years back with Henry dreading about being outed. It feels the same despite knowing everything he felt being landed at the same place seven years ago with Henry, who doesn't remember anything.

"I know you have been away from the spotlight, but.."

"But you still had constant eyes on your every move."

"Yes."

Alex starts moving towards the room when Henry grabs his wrist.

"Is something wrong?" Henry asks in a low voice as if fearing the demons of their relationship which act as elephant in the room.

"No, nothing is wrong." Alex shakes his head. "Set up the pool and change into your swimming trunks.  Need to use the washroom, be there in 10 minutes changed into trunks."

"Okay." Henry nods in understanding.

***

When Alex comes out, he notices that the pool has still not been set up.

"Why is it not ready yet?" 

"I forgot the gas pump to fill this. I have been trying blowing it by mouth, but there has been no success."

"I guess your mouth has forgotten blowing because last I remember, it blew something very well that you had a hard time swallowing all of it." Alex smirked.

Henry was surprised. No shocked. Alex talked dirty to him something only Henry has been trying to do for such a long time. Alex wasn't very aware when he said this. This was something the old Alex would have said who was coming out after being with Henry again.

"Can I practice first and see if my mouth is actually out of practice or this pool is useless?"

"Let me help you."

"With the practice ?"

"With the pool."

After almost trying to blow the inflatable pool for an hour, both Henry and Alex give up. Henry and Alex sit with their back pressed to each other.

"My mouth aches." Henry presses his hand around his jaw.

"I think I should go to the superstore and buy the a pump." Alex gets up, and Henry falls on the grass because he had his entire weight on Alex.

"Don't. I don't want to do it anymore, at least for today. I give up."

Alex lies down on the grass perpendicular to Henry such that Henry's head is on his stomach.

"Let us cook together."

"Deal."

In the 10 months of their relationship before the breakup that only Alex remembers, they never got time to be so domestic with each other. They were always in a long-distance relationship, struggling to find ways and time to each other. They went out on dinners but had to keep them extremely professional, it couldn't look like a date. Thus, finding time for being domestic was way out of question. 

Alex never thought he would find a domestic life with Henry. The moment he had started building the castle of dreams, Henry had already shattered it by breaking up. Maybe he was too late to realise that, or maybe it was the best time before he could complete the castle and realise its base is weak.

Alex and Henry helped each other into aprons. Alex chopped the veggies and meat while Henry rolled the taco shells. They cooked the filling together as Alex hugged Henry from behind. Henry held a spoon of filling to Alex's mouth to taste. Alex opened his mouth and took the spoonful filling in his mouth, burning it.

"It's hot it's hot it's hot." Alex screamed.

Henry blew air in his mouth and grabbed a glass of water, handing it to Alex. Alex gulped down the glass of water.

"Better ?" Henry looks worried, and Alex nods.

They fill the tacos together and store some for the night.

"Open your mouth, Henry, let me feed you. Let me take my revenge of you feeding me hot filling." Alex holds the taco near Henry's mouth.

"I thought you moved on from it."

"It was literally 10 minutes back."

Henry opens his mouth, and Alex blows on the taco before feeding it to Henry. Then Alex proceeds to kiss Henry's forehead.

They spend the remaining day cuddling and watching Star Wars prequel and sequel trilogies.