Sweet and Stubborn

Everyone who has the pleasure of knowing Alex Claremont-Diaz knows that he is stubborn as hell,
and is always going at full speed, he wouldn’t know how to slow down if his life depended on it.
He’s had the slightest cough since a he woke up this morning l, and hasn’t really thought to do
anything about it, partly because of everything going on due to the start of his last summer clerkship
before he’s graduating from law school next year, but mostly because it’s not that bad, really.
When Alex gets home that afternoon, he’s sitting on the couch studying his case notes, and the first
time he’s coughed three times in a row, Henry just looks at him eyebrows furrowed in concern
“Alex, are you alright?” He asks
“Yeah. I’m fine, just a little tickle in my throat.” Alex replies, a little defensive.
“Are you sure?” 
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Henry holds in a sigh. “If you say so.”
“Besides, I can’t afford to be sick, I’m sitting in on a huge case tomorrow.”
“Did you just accidentally admit to not feeling well?
Alex nervously runs his hands through his hair. “No. I-. That’s not what I- shit.”
“Love, if you’re sick, you can miss one day. Besides, in my honest opinion, they’ve been working
you into the ground for the last week anyway.”
“But I’ve been working my ass off, this case is really important to me.”
“I know it is. But, there’ll be other ones, you have to take care of yourself.”
Alex sighs “I’m fine.”
“Alright. But take one of these just in case.” Henry says tossing Alex a cough drop from the stash he
stuffed in his pocket when his boyfriend wasn’t looking.
“Okay.”
“And I’m gonna make you tea.”
Alex wrinkles up his face in disgust. “Baby,” he whines. “You know I hate tea.”
“Yes. I do know that. But if we don’t do something about your throat, you’re gonna cough up a
lung.”
“I don’t care. It tastes like actual earth water. Your ancestors should be fucking grateful that we
threw that crap in the harbor.” 
“Christ, Alex. Just humor me and drink it. Please.”
“Fine. But I’m not gonna like it.”
“I’ll put maybe half the bottle of honey in there. Maybe then you won’t hate it.”
“Doubtful.” Alex says, starting a coughing fit again.
“See, you’re sick. I told you.”
“Maybe a little. But I’m going to work tomorrow.”
“Like hell you are, love.”
“But-I It’s a very big day for me.”
“None of that is going to matter if you can’t stop coughing long enough to do your job, darling.”
Alex sighs. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m being an asshole.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to slow down sometimes, dear.”
“I guess not. But it’s not exactly easy for me to do that.”
“Trust me, I know.”
Twenty minutes later Alex reluctantly takes a sip of his tea, surprised as hell that it’s not completely
terrible.
“Okay it’s not that bad. But I’m still never drinking it again.”
“Oh Alex, you wonderfully stubborn man, what am I going to do with you?” Henry says, kissing
Alex’s forehead.
XXX
That night, Alex can’t sleep for shit between the coughing and the overthinking about the case he’s
missing tomorrow. At one point, the coughing is so frequent and loud that he wakes up Henry.
“Baby,” Alex says, his voice so hoarse you can barely hear him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake
you up.”
“It’s fine, love. Really. You’re going to be up all night coughing, the least I can do is keep you
company.”
“Why are you being so nice to me? I know I’m being difficult, I know I’m stubborn and that I
overwork myself and it drives you nuts.”
“Because I love you. And somebody has to make sure you don’t crash and burn.”
“Thank you for being so good to me, sometimes I swear I don’t deserve you.”
Henry presses a finger to Alex’s lips, then kisses him softly. “Shhh, there is no need for you to say
such things.”
“But it’s true, you are so good to me, and all I know how to do is ruin it by being a complete mess.”
“You’re not a complete mess, dear. You’re just a perfectionist with a tiny bit of ADHD.” 
“You’re not mad at me for being in denial about being sick?”
“Of course not, I mean, you were a little irritating about not drinking your tea, but I’m not mad.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” Alex says before another coughing fit starts.
Henry frowns, hating to see Alex so sick. “Oh my god, that can’t be good.”
Alex nods “I feel like death.”
“I know you do. I'm really sorry about that.” Henry says, kissing Alex’s forehead, realizing he’s
feverish. “No wonder it’s gotten so bad, you’re feverish.”
“Shit.” Alex says with hardly any voice.
“Yeah. I know this hard for you, but maybe you shouldn’t talk. You barely have a voice, and your
facial expressions are telling you’re probably in pain every time you talk.”
Alex sighs. “Fine. I’ll shut up.”
“So dramatic.” Henry teases, kissing Alex’s cheek.
Neither Alex nor Henry are getting much sleep tonight because of Alex’s cough.
“Can’t. Stop. Coughing.” Alex says a couple hours later.
Henry’s never seen Alex this fragile looking before. Honestly, it breaks his heart a little.
“I know, love. I’m gonna go get you some cough syrup, okay?”
“That stuff is the worst, Henry. Absolutely vile.”
Henry chuckles. “First the tea, now this, Christ Alex. You’re as whiny as a toddler when you’re sick.
“Sorry.”
A moment  later Henry returns with the cough syrup. He switches the lights on and hands Alex the
medicine and a glass of water. Alex takes the cough syrup, and only looks a tiny bit disgusted.
Henry smiles “See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?”
Alex sighs. “I guess not.”
“You are impossible.” Henry says, kissing Alex’s cheek.
“You know you love me.”
“Indeed, I do. Now, close your eyes and try to get some sleep, that cough syrup should make you
stop coughing enough to sleep for a little while.”
“Hmm, okay.”
Henry kisses the top of Alex’s head and then watches as his eyes start to flutter as he sleeps. It’s not
something Henry gets to see often, as Alex usually goes to sleep hours after him. After watching
Alex for a few minutes Henry falls asleep, ready for whatever Alex’s sickness throws at them come
morning.
XXX
When Alex wakes up in the morning, Henry’s looking at him adoringly. 
“Good morning, sleepy head.” He says, kissing Alex on the forehead.
“Did I actually sleep through the rest of the night?” Alex asks him
Henry smiles. “Yeah, you did.”
Alex grins a mile wide. “Awesome.”
“You feeling any better?”
“A little. My throat still hurts. But I think my fever is gone.”
“I’m gonna go get the thermometer. Just in case.”
“Can you even read a Fahrenheit thermometer? You’re British.”
“Alex, I’m not an idiot, normal is 98.6. You watch one American medical drama one time and you
can figure that out,”Henry declares pausing to read the thermometer when it beeps “98.8 you were
right.”
“Thank god.”
“I’m making you more tea, and you better not put up a fight this time.”
“I won’t, now that I know it works and you’re not just trying to brainwash me into liking tea.”
“And don’t you dare get out of bed until I say so, I don’t want you over exerting yourself and making
things worse.”
“Okay baby, I’ll behave. I promise.”
“You better, or I’m calling your mother and snitching on you for not telling me you were sick.”
immediately.”
“You wouldn’t?!”
“See, that’s where you're wrong. I absolutely would.”
Henry returns with Alex’s tea a few minutes later.
“Drink up, okay.” He says, smiling softly.
“Damn it, it’s good. Henry, did you put cinnamon in this?”
Henry smiles proudly. “I most certainly did. We may just make a tea drinker out of you, sweetheart.”
Alex scrunches up his face in fake disgust. “Don’t count on it, baby.”
“Alright, I won’t.”
“Henry. Thank you.” Alex says, brown eyes looking up at Henry adoringly.”
“For what, darling?”
“For taking excellent care of me even though I’m an enormous pain in the ass.”
“You’re welcome, but you don’t have to thank me, we’ve been together for years now, it’s kind of
my job.”
“I love you so much, I’m the luckiest man in the world to have someone as patient and caring as you
in my life. Truly, I don’t know what I would do without you, H.”
“You’d be working yourself into the ground for starters, and you’d probably be dehydrated.”
“I’m sorry I’m so stubborn, baby. It’s probably your least favorite thing about me.”
Henry takes Alex’s hand and smiles. “It’s not. I love it, if it wasn’t for you being stubborn you
wouldn’t have stormed Kensington and gotten me to get my head out of my arse.”
Alex smiles.  “Well, in that case, you’re welcome, your highness.”
Henry laughs “Shut up.”
“Have you met me, I’m physically incapable of shutting up.”
“This is true.”
“Since I can’t go to my case today and I’m sad about it, and my throat hursts, can we stay in bed all
day.”
“Are my ears deceiving me? You, Alexander ‘can’t sit still for the life himself’ Claremont-Diaz want
to stay in bed all day?”
“Well, you did say I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere until you said so, and I like to cuddle when I’m
sick. So, yes Henry, I do in fact, want to stay in bed all day.”
“Alright then. It’s a good thing I love being the big spoon.”
“I love you, I don’t think I can ever say that enough times.”
“I love you too, Alex.”
“Sometimes, especially when I’m sick, or my ADHD is kicking my ass, I think of you, and how
caring and patient you are, especially to someone like me who’s been a chronic handful my whole
life, and I immediately feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”
“I give you the warm fuzzies?”
Alex smiles “Mhmm. And you always will. Forever..”
Henry grins back at Alex. “I feel the same way about you love, and I always will, even when you’re
stubborn, and whiny, and an  absolute headache. Actually, especially when you’re stubborn, and
whiny, and absolute headache.” Henry says, and despite his frustration with Alex doing all the things
that drive him up a wall. He is absolutely certain that he’s never been happier.