30. ‘this is my husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner etc.’
In typical Alex Claremont Diaz fashion, it took a while for it all to sink in. Not only because he no longer seemed to care much about labels, but also because the entire world knows who he is and knows who Henry is, so typical introductions were never exactly a part of his daily life.
It wasn’t until the New Year’s Eve bash a couple months after they went public that he really got to say it.
“This is Henry, my boyfriend,” he told a couple partygoers, who looked momentarily stunned that he was talking to them in the first place (one had their jaw on the floor, the other’s drink was tilted slightly and in danger of spilling) but they recovered quickly and conversation moved on.
Alex had never said that word aloud before, but he liked it. He really fucking liked it. So he said it again, “This is my boyfriend Henry.” “Have you met my boyfriend?” “Has anyone seen my boyfriend?”
Admittedly he probably went overboard that night. He said “boyfriend” more than a dozen times throughout the course of the evening. Each time he said it, Henry would smile at him, like he knew exactly what was going on in Alex’s head. But also, maybe, like he was proud of Alex, in a way. It was a lot to deal with.
A few days later, when Henry had once again returned to London, Alex wanders back up to the solarium, flops down on the couch, and really thinks the whole thing through.
The days of his sexuality crisis are far behind him. He’s comfortable with who he is and who he loves, but he’s never really stopped to consider the full weight of it. He never really cared about Henry’s gender before, he just cared about Henry. He didn’t care that he had a boyfriend, he just cared about Henry.
But now… he really lets it all sink in. Alex has a boyfriend. A boyfriend. He’s a queer man and he has a boyfriend (and maybe even one day, a husband?)
Before Henry, he didn’t think much about long term relationships as a whole. He didn’t think about having a girlfriend or a wife (beyond the half-cocked plan to have a marriage of convenience with Nora). It was just a vague idea he had for a future that was years away.
It’s real. It’s solid. Alex Claremont-Diaz is a bisexual man and he has a boyfriend. And fuck, isn’t that incredible?