#an itemized list of 30 years of disagreements (sweet jesus) aka i've had hamilton songs stuck in my head all day

[reveriesofawriter]

Fluff, for @rwrb-social-isolation​ (this was so fun to write I can’t even)

Alex came home from a late class one night, brain already fuzzy from trying to learn so many new things. Sure, he also took notes. But what was the point if he couldn’t remember them? He walked in the front door, careful to close it gently behind him in case Henry had gone to bed early. Alex’s confusion only grew, however, at the sound of Henry’s voice through their bedroom door. He sounded... angry? Definitely upset. Hard day at work maybe? “He’s just been so irritating lately.” Alex’s ears perked up. He didn’t want to eavesdrop but it was a habit. “I know I’m supposed to love him, but-” A pause. “No, Bea you don’t understand. It’s not just whining anymore.” Another pause. “He’s being so difficult.”

Alex was no stranger to the term. He had heard it so often about himself as a child he had sworn to be perfect if it killed him. Henry kept talking to his sister and Alex didn’t want to interrupt, so he made himself a midnight snack before bed. By the time he put the jar of peanut butter back in the cupboard and went to bed, Henry was already asleep. Alex didn’t expect to sleep himself - of course he knew Henry hadn’t been talking about him - but insecurity gnawed at his mind. Maybe he had been complaining about school too much lately. He definitely didn’t cook for himself as much these days, since half his classes this semester had him on campus until 10 pm and he would have to go out of his way to grab food on the commute home, he probably had been eating more of Henry’s snacks than usual. Did he accidentally take the last of the Ribena? He stubbornly frowned to himself. It was Henry’s fault for getting him hooked on the stuff. He must have dozed off eventually because when he woke up, Henry was nowhere to be seen. Alex trudged to the kitchen, where Henry had left a note saying he had to be at the shelter early for a meeting and didn’t want to wake him. Alex had texted Nora sometime around 3 am asking if he was overreacting. She had replied with an eyeroll emoji. And then five minutes later: June says you are annoying and to go to sleep. He didn’t have class that day for a few hours, and a paper to work on before that. Sitting down with his laptop, he placed an order for more Ribena and Jammy Dodgers for good measure before pulling up the paper. Needless to say, the paper writing didn’t go very far.

Alex got home from class, early dinner in hand from a Thai place he and Henry both loved, just a few minutes before Henry. As soon as Henry walked in the door, Alex stood up from the couch, hoping his face didn’t give away how unsure of himself he was. “What’s all this?” Henry asked, seeing the food all spread out. “Are you mad at me?” Alex blurted. “What?” “I know I’ve been on like an opposite schedule from you this last month and I’m sorry that’s how my classes worked out but I’ll try to help with the shelter more and I’ll stop eating all your fancy English cookies and I’ll stop whining about my coursework so much, I mean I’ll probably vent a little when I forget but I don’t want you to think-” “Alex, what are you talking about?” Alex didn’t know how to backtrack to a place where he could play it off so he plunged forward. “I couldn’t sleep so I made a list of stuff I should be doing better-” “You’re doing good just how you are, where’s all this coming from?” Henry shrugged off his coat and laid it over the back of a chair. “I heard you talking to Bea last night and when I asked June about it she said I am annoying.” “She’s your sister, I think she’s supposed to say that.” Henry took two more steps toward him. “And you heard me talking to Bea about a new kid at the shelter. He’s on the defensive with everyone, and being a right bugger about everything. It’s just a part of the process.” Henry suddenly laughed and some of the knots around Alex’s mind loosened at the sound. “He reminds me a bit of you, actually. Stuck to my side the moment we met and seems hellbent on being as irritating as possible.” “Tell me his name’s not Alex.” “No, he’s a Cody.” “Typical Cody,” Alex said sarcastically. Henry cupped Alex’s face in his hands and gave his nose a little kiss. “I’m not mad at you,” he said, answering Alex’s question from earlier. “Yeah, I got that.” “Besides, he’s doing a better job of being annoying than you ever did.” Alex’s jaw dropped in indignation. “Take that back!” Henry only laughed. He sat down on the couch, pulling Alex down beside him. “You know I love you? I wouldn’t choose anyone else to annoy me for the rest of my life.”

#an itemized list of 30 years of disagreements (sweet jesus) aka i've had hamilton songs stuck in my head all day #leading to this cuteness #rwrb social isolation #i should start posting these on ao3 lmao