Henry is grateful to Alex for many things—the initial photoshoot that introduced them, the life they’re building together, his consistent support in all of Henry’s endeavors, and his openness to trying new things. Henry has introduced Alex into the world of kink and they’ve been able to experiment.
Henry always knew Alex liked to make him feel good, but adding the intimacy of kink to the mix opened up other doors. When Henry broached the topic with Alex, he was incredibly clear about preferences, likes and dislikes.
They also worked together to create a yes, maybe, no list and developed verbal/non-verbal signals depending on what they were doing. Alex preferred to dom, which worked perfectly for Henry, and there were a few fits and starts, but they had a system and it worked.
Usually, Henry initiates scenes or scene ideas, but today is a bit different. Henry is sitting on the bed in the bedroom of the apartment they purchased together. He sits in his boxers, sheets around him are disheveled from the previous evening, waiting for Alex to return. Alex insisted on making breakfast in bed for them and when he wants to do something kind, Henry knows better than to argue.
His boyfriend comes into the room with a plate of sliced fruit to share between them, and a pile of pancakes with still sizzling bacon on the plate beside it. Also on the tray were two mugs. Henry knows one is filled nearly to the brim with black coffee with cinnamon and sugar and one with Earl Grey tea with a splash of milk. Henry smiles fondly. “Somebody went a bit overboard this morning, I see.”
Alex looks down at the tray before setting it down, brushing some of Henry’s hair out of the way before kissing his forehead. “Shh. You know you love it.” And Alex isn’t wrong. “While I was cooking, I had an idea.”
Henry smirks. “That’s an ominous sentence, love.” He’s joking of course, but he still ribs Alex to see the pout on his face. And predictably, the other man’s bottom lip juts out. Henry is a little bit in love. The dichotomy of how cute Alex can be in some scenarios vs. how he can take control in others really does it for him.
“Rude. See if I tell you now.” Henry might believe Alex if he couldn’t see the way Alex is poorly attempting to conceal his excitement.
“I’m sorry. I’ll stop being rude now. Please, let me know your brilliant idea, darling.”
Alex’s eyes brighten. “So, I had a bit of a vision over breakfast. You, bound to the headboard in those really hot lace briefs and me dripping dark wax on your pretty pale skin and taking photos of it just for us.”
Henry’s face flushes hot for a moment and he’s immensely glad he didn’t have his mug in hand because he might have spat his tea out. The thing about Alex is he sometimes has no filter. He’s able to contain it professionally in his studio for obvious reasons, and he’s able to manage well enough around their friends, but when he’s able to be fully in his comfort zone he is incredibly blunt. Henry appreciates the transparency, but that was not what he expected over their morning meal. “Well, I’m certainly not opposed. We’ve never used wax before, but if I know you as well as I do, and I’m confident in that knowledge, you’ve done extensive research.”
Alex nods. “Yes, absolutely. I have some stuff in my cart and if you’re into this, we can pick wax colors together and I plan to test it on myself before I get anywhere near you with it. And then we can try on you without all the other stuff and if you’re down then we can—”
Henry cuts him off with a kiss. He appreciates the consideration Alex puts into everything. “I’m into the idea, and if I’m not while we’re doing it, then I’ll safeword, like we’ve done every other time something didn’t feel right. I’m excited for this, especially seeing how it will look on camera in the aftermath. You always capture the best parts of me. It’ll look amazing and I’m sure it’ll feel wonderful too. Now eat, my love.”
“For someone who likes to sub, you sure are bossy, baby boy. I might have to get you back for that later.” He grins and Henry watches as his body shifts from a tightly coiled thing to relaxed while he tenses. Alex knows exactly what he’s doing.
Henry huffs. “You’re the absolute worst.” He picks up a piece of mango to put in Alex’s mouth to make sure he stays quiet for a few seconds.
Alex is still chewing when he reminds Henry of something important. “You adore me.”
Henry shakes his head. “For some questionable reason, I do. With everything I have.”
—
The light in the room is soft. Alex is on Henry’s side, leaning over to kiss him gently, starting from his wrists, to his lips, and moving downwards. Lips pressed into the column of the other man’s neck, to collarbone, to chest—special attention on faded scars on his chest.
Henry wants to grab Alex, to pull him closer, but his hands are bound to the headboard. He whines—almost inaudible, when Alex nips at his hip bone, moving down to kiss over his co*ck, encased in lace champagne colored briefs. “Cariño, you’re perfect.” He moves from Henry’s co*ck to his thighs, resting his head there. “I’m going to take you apart.”
Alex always tells Henry he isn’t good with words, but when he’s like this he knows exactly what to say. Alex has barely touched him and he’s already leaking a little bit. His breath hitches at Alex’s breath on his skin. “Please.”
“Please what, baby boy?” Alex asks, his finger skimming underneath his briefs, brushing the lightest touch on his co*ck. “What do you want?” Henry moves his hips into the touch–wants more from it than the gentle brush against where he’s most sensitive.
“I want you in me, Alex. Fingers, co*ck, anything.” He usually isn’t needy, but when they do this it brings something out in him. He also can’t touch. He can look at what Alex is doing, can feel his wandering hands worship him, feel his slightly chapped lips rove over his skin. That’s all well and good, but he can’t hold his hand, can’t run his nails down Alex’s back when he’s driving him mad.
Alex kisses over his briefs, in the exact spot he wants Alex in. Henry feels the ghost of his breath–the warmth of it like hellfire. Henry bumps his hips forwards and Alex nips, sharp teeth in contrast to the gentle brush of the pads of his fingers on his thighs. “Soon, baby boy. I promise. I want to make a mess of you first and take some pictures. If that’s okay, give me a color.”
“Green.” Henry is verdant. He is a whole forest of lush leaves in the height of spring. He needs this. He wants to be captured in Alex’s vision for the rest of his days–immortalized in all of the ways Alex sees fit. Alex has always seen him differently than everyone else in his life. From the first photoshoot that brought them together, to the candids Alex captures in quiet moments–he always finds Henry at.
“Glad to hear it, handsome.” Alex gently moves Henry so he’s on his knees, head down against a pillow. There’s a warmth under his skin and he feels even warmer when Alex tests his bindings and asks if he’s alright. Henry whines out a “yes”, knowing Alex wouldn’t take anything other than a verbal response. He hears the flick of a lighter and in his periphery, sees a small glow from the candle.
Alex lays a hand on his shoulder, rubbing into the skin, and moving away before Henry feels the first drop on his skin, followed by a gentle press of lips next to the hardening wax. He whimpers from the initial heat and bites his lip. Alex rubs into the back of his neck. “Make as much noise as you need, baby.” It’s easy for Henry to listen each time Alex tells him what a good boy he’s being.
Alex doesn’t have any pattern in the way he drips the wax. The lack of predictability is almost fun to puzzle out. As soon as he settles from the last drip. Alex moves one close to the dimples in his lower back and Henry hisses from the heat. His breath is coming quicker and he needs Alex in other ways. He knows Alex is on a mission—and once he’s done, Henry will get everything he wants.
The warmth of the wax and the gentle touch of Alex is almost soothing, and he’s getting into a hazy space—still present, but comforted even in the throes of want. He’s broken out of it slightly by the sound of Alex blowing out the candle and placing it down on the nightstand. He hears the familiar sound of the camera turning on and hears Alex fidgeting with the settings.
“You’re f*cking incredible. You know that?”
Henry preens at the praise, arches his back as much as he can, and he hears the clicks of the camera. “For you.” It’s an easy statement and he means every word.
He can hear the click of the camera behind him, and he also hears the slap of skin on skin and Alex’s soft moans. Knowing how much Alex is getting off to this is making him want. “Alex, please.”
He hears Alex put the camera down. “I’m gonna add to that pretty mess on your back. How does that sound, baby?”
Henry whimpers. “Christ.”
He can’t see Alex’s smirk. “No, just Alex.” He hears Alex groan before feeling the hot splashes litter his back and shoulders, adding to the dried wax. Alex is panting and Henry is desperate.
He hears a few snaps of the camera and feels as a wet cloth smooths down his back wiping off Alex’s release and feels Alex moving him, and taking off the cuffs, rubbing his wrists to restore circulation. “Color?”
“Green.”
Henry watches Alex’s grin turn predatory as he shifts downwards in between his thighs. “You’ve been such a good boy, so patient. I’m going to give you everything you need.” He slips off Henry’s briefs and before he has time to think about what Alex said he feels the tip of a tongue on his co*ck, and he leans into it. He also feels the tip of Alex’s index finger at his entrance. “Can I?”
Henry nods emphatically, but Alex draws it out. He speaks firmly and it makes Henry shiver. “Words, baby boy, come on.”
“Yes.” Alex tells him he’s good and in the same breath pushes a finger in. It isn’t enough and too much. Henry keens, hips raising to chase the feeling.
Alex adds in a second finger and thrusts just a touch too slow, but the heat of his mouth makes up for it. His boyfriend knows how to drive him to the brink and he’s doing just that.
Alex talks when he takes a break from using his mouth on him. The words fall from his lips like the drops of wax fell onto his spine—slow, full of heat, and spreading through all the points of his body. “You’re so goddamn perfect. I want this forever.”
Henry is too far gone to acknowledge the statement and tips over the edge when Alex adds in a third finger and curls it just right. Henry’s mind is gone. His legs are twitching and he’s completely unaware of the world around him.
He thinks he feels wax peeled from his back, and he thinks he feels lotion being rubbed gently into where the wax was. He knows there’s warmth blanketing him from behind, whispering praise into his ear. When he comes to a bit more, the man he loves is there with a water bottle and a bar of chocolate, feeding him pieces one at a time.
Henry becomes even more aware when Alex is sitting next to him in his boxers. His laptop is on the tray table and he’s going through pictures. Their pictures. He’s unaware of how Alex edits photos, but from what he can see, they look incredible. The contrast of the blue wax, his reddened skin and the champagne briefs, and a few pictures later, Alex’s cum are stunning. It seems like they shouldn’t be, given the subject matter, but Alex always knows how to make things perfect.
Henry moves up and kisses Alex on the shoulder, startling the other man.
“Hey there, sunshine. How are you feeling?” Henry leans into the kiss Alex places on the crown of his head.
“It’s…different, and I definitely want a shower after you’re done editing, but that was wonderful. And those look beautiful. You always manage to do that. It’s a bit magical.” Henry always compliments Alex’s photos and Alex always flushes like he doesn’t have a successful business with repeat clients and pages and pages of positive reviews.
“Thank you. You’re kind of my muse so if I didn’t make you look good it’d be a crime.” Alex smiles so easily like he didn’t call Henry something so powerful.
“Well. I don’t know if I deserve that much praise, but I’m glad to serve as inspiration for the beautiful work you do. You make other people feel confident and powerful. That’s a gift.” Henry leans further into Alex and kisses his bare shoulder.
Alex moves the computer to pull Henry into him. “You’re a gift. You’re everything. I said it when we were in the middle of all of it and I don’t think you caught it, but you’re perfect and I want this. Us. Forever.”
Henry’s brain short circuits for a brief moment, and now that his mind is more aware, he thinks he remembers the statement. “Are you asking me something?”
Alex laughs a bit hysterically. “I am not proposing to you after dripping wax onto your back and jacking off on it, but I also really want to propose to you and it was gonna be a surprise with a romantic date and sh*t, and I have a ring and everything. So, if you can wait so I can surprise you and do something official, that would be really f*cking stellar.”
Henry looks at his boyfriend with wide eyes and he’s trying not to laugh because Alex is incredibly flustered. “Well, no matter how you asked me, I would say yes with no question in my mind, but I can wait for something ‘proper’, I suppose. It wouldn’t be that much of a hardship.” Henry is so amused by what’s currently happening, but he’s simultaneously so in love.
Alex groans. “I didn’t play this cool, did I?”
Henry laughs. “Not in the slightest, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you, Alex. And spending the rest of my life with you would be a privilege. And I am so grateful for everything you’ve given me and continue to give to me. Spending the rest of my life with you is an easy decision.” He means every word. The photoshoot that was meant to be an affirmation of his identity had also blessed him with the gift of meeting the brilliant soul next to him, currently resting in sheets that definitely belong in the washing machine.
“f*ck. Why are you so much better with words than I am?” Alex’s laugh is a touch hysterical, but he looks at Henry with so much affection in his eyes.
“You’re too good at taking photos, love. If you were good with words too you’d be too powerful and they’d have to capture you for science and experiment.” He can’t stop smiling at the expressions that cross Alex’s face.
Alex sits straight-backed and addresses Henry seriously. “We’re going to have the best life together.”
“We already do, love,” is Henry’s simple response.
