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As Alex lets himself be led down a busy New York sidewalk, elastic of the blindfold covering his eyes digging uncomfortably into his ears, he begins to question his life choices.
-
Today had been one of those days.
He’d fallen asleep studying without setting his alarm, having to skip his necessary morning coffee in favour of rushing to the subway, only for the doors to slam shut right as he’d stepped onto the platform. Once he’d finally slid into his class late, his laptop had decided that’d be the perfect time to update itself, rendering it useless for the entirety of the lecture. Then, the coffee machine at the on campus cafe was broken. Then WASPy Hunter, a pain in his ass since day one of classes with the world’s most punchable face, had been a no show for their group assignment meeting.
By the end of his academic day, he had an additional two essays and a test added to his teetering to do pile. Needless to say, he’d needed caffeine stat.
He’s usually hustling right back onto the train after college, always straight onto the next thing - studying for his next test, dinner with June and Nora, or downtown for a shift at the bar between classes. But today, the thought of heading straight home to study makes him itch.
Crisp leaves crunch underfoot as he walks past his usual station in search of a decent cafe. It’s not too long before he finds himself wandering down a street he doesn’t recognise. It’s only been a few months since he moved from Austin, so every outing still feels like a novelty, the city a sprawling jungle of stones to be overturned.
A familiar tune pulls him out of his thoughts - something that tickles on the edges of his memory until he’s able to place it. It’s a song that his dad used to play in the kitchen, crackling out of the small battery radio on the windowsill and intermingling with the sizzling of spices in the pan and the tap of a wooden spoon against its edge. Alex follows the melody until he finds its source, a small cafe tucked between a bodega and a tapas restaurant. Smiling to himself, he ducks inside.
-
As he finally sips on his well earned coffee, heat and cinnamon washing over his tongue, he feels his shoulders loosen for the first time since he had jolted awake that morning.
That’s when he feels a tap on said shoulder.
He turns around and comes face to face with a riot of pure colour. Bright pink hair peeks out from the edges of an even pinker cowboy hat, lined with red sequins that match a pair of impressive rhinestone boots so dazzling they put Dorothy’s ruby slippers to shame. The whole look is centred around a form fitting pink romper covered in tiny red hearts.
“Oh yes, you’ll be absolutely perfect for the show, darling.”
“I’m sorry?” Alex feels like he’s entered a play two scenes too late.
“How rude of me, my name is Pez, like the sweets.” The mysterious entity before him introduces with a wink. “And your name?”
Something about their energy is so genuine that he doesn’t even hesitate before answering truthfully. “Alex.”
“Lovely to meet you Alex, how would you like to take part in a life-changing experience?”
Now, he knows it’s big city 101 that any stranger that approaches you unprompted is likely enacting some kind of scam. But. The thing is. He has been pretty bored lately. And June and Nora have been on his case about making friends other than them since he joined them in the city. If nothing else, he’ll walk away with a fascinating story to tell at their next cocktail night. He’ll do anything for the plot.
“Sure, why the hell not.”
“Wonderful! I host a little show called Street Hearts where I orchestrate meet-cutes between the gorgeous people of our beautiful city. I already have a perfect gentleman ready to meet you, would that be to your tastes?”
He feels his kneejerk response of “No sorry, I’m straight,” get stuck in his throat. That’s another thing. Since moving to the city he’s started to notice. And reflect. Notice how his eyes tend to linger on stylish men that pass him on the street, the flush that rises to his neck when they notice him back. Reflect on his relationship with his best friend back home Liam, shared fumbles in the quiet of night that, in hindsight, may have meant more than he had the capacity to deal with at the time.
Pez standing before him now offering a simple interaction on a silver platter feels like divine intervention. No pressure, no decision making on his part, just the chance to have a little flirt with a man with no expectations.
He takes a deep breath in and releases the last of the tension from his shoulders. “Yes, actually, yes it would be.”
Dazzling white teeth are revealed as Pez’s grin grows impossibly wider. “Stunning, if you could put this on we’re set up right around the corner.”
“Ooooo kinky,” he winks as a maroon eyemask is placed into his hands, the silk cool as he slides it over his eyes. Pez does his best to keep him close, but he still feels elbows and shoulders jostling him as he follows along blindly.
He’s half expecting to get shoved into a van, but as promised they slow to a stop almost immediately after turning the corner and Alex’s hands are led to rest on the back of a metal chair.
He hears a long suffering sigh come from his right.
“Bea, how’s our hostage doing?” Pez inquires.
A melodious voice Alex can only assume is Bea chimes up, “He’s blindfolded and ready to go!”
As Pez helps him get settled, he strains to catch the words that are almost lost to the scraping of his seat on the pavement.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this Pez,” a new voice belonging to the sigher hisses out.
“Trust me dear, you’ll be thanking me later. You ready Bea?”
“Ready Pez,” a few beeps and button presses make their way through the sounds of the city, “and, ACTION!”
-
“Welcome to Street Hearts! For our new flock I am your master of ceremonies, New York City’s finest Cupid, matchmaker extraordinaire Pez, and this is Shot In The Dark, where we see if love really is blind. Today we have with us the handsome-”
There’s a shift beside him and the plush foam of a microphone brushes his bottom lip.
“Alex.”
“Lovely to meet you Alex, and on my right after MONTHS of crying, screaming and begging from the masses, the elusive Mr. Beautiful Cameraman himself is finally in the hot seat! Pet, will you do us the honour of revealing your name to the people?” Alex feels a table bump into his elbow as it sways with the force of Pez drumming against the top for dramatic flare.
“Henry.”
“At last! Remember those names boys, I have a feeling you’ll be needing them. As our veteran Street Hearts know, I believe that love is a fully immersive and sensory experience! So, I’m going to guide you on a journey together here today, through sound, touch, smell, taste and sight, with check-ins at each point of course, because consent is what? FUNDAMENTAL!” Pez enthuses. “Our first sense is sound. Let’s start with Alex, what would you say to seduce your Prince Charming?”
And well, if Alex is going to do this, he’s going to go all out.
“Why hello, Your Majesty, you grace the commonfolk with the joy of your presence often?” Alex drawls.
Surprised laughter rings out next to him and Alex’s ears buzz with a sense of achievement.
“Hmm, first time I’m afraid. It’s much too comfortable up in my tower.” Henry laments.
And, oh. He’s British. Alex can’t be 100% sure he’s not just playing into the part, but the posh vowels roll off his tongue with ease.
“First timer, eh? I’ll be extra gentle with you then sweetheart.” He chuckles to himself, the irony that he’s the one who’s extremely out of his depth here, at least when it comes to dating men, not lost on him at all.
“I may not have consorted with commonfolk before, but I can assure you that royalty know their way around a saddle.”
Alex snorts out his own surprised laugh. The delivery is as innocent as can be and yet there is no doubt that every filthy implication is intentional.
“So do cowboys.” Alex quips back, making sure to ham up his southern twang.
“Woo!” Pez exclaims and Alex jumps in his seat. He’d been so wrapped up in Henry’s voice he’d forgotten where he actually was. “I don’t know about y’all at home, but on this side of the table things are getting heated. I almost feel bad for interrupting, but it’s time for our next sense, touch! You ready boys?”
“Ready,” Henry responds instantly, sounding much more enthusiastic than he had just minutes ago.
“Ready,” Alex replies just as fast.
Pez gently guides his hand until it's extended out across the table. For a few weighted seconds there’s nothing but empty air. Then, just as he’s about to reach forward himself, gentle fingertips brush along the inside of his wrist and he feels sparks dance along his veins all the way to the base of his spine.
It’s probably an illusion, his other senses heightened by his lack of sight and the adrenaline rush from how objectively insane this entire experience is, but he could swear he’s never felt a hand as soft as this before. Henry definitely moisturises them, hell he probably even exfoliates.
The fingertips continue their path, gradually making their way down from his wrist, tracing the lines of his palm before trailing out along the length of his fingers. The purposeful motions are almost hypnotic, and Alex finds himself lost in it before a broad palm encompassing his own brings him back into the moment. Long fingers slot into place between his own, their hands lowering to rest comfortably on the table top as Henry’s thumb strokes a gentle rhythm along the back of his hand.
Alex has always enjoyed the grounding effect of physical touch. In fact, it’s one of very few things that can get him out of his head and calmed down when things get a bit too much. After the day he’s had, he finds himself almost instantly soothed, the leg he hadn’t even realised had been bouncing since he sat down finally settling to a stop.
“Isn’t this sweet? I’m swooning over them already!” Pez exclaims.
Henry’s thumb pauses its movements and Alex instantly misses it.
“We’re going to get a little more intimate now and jump to smell if you’re both ready to move on?”
Alex feels himself hesitate, not quite ready to let go of Henry’s hand, and if the way Henry gives his hand a little squeeze means anything he doesn’t want to let go either. They hold a moment longer before he hears Pez giggle and pat the tops of their hands.
“Don’t worry I won’t tear you apart, you can keep those right there if you’d like my darlings, now who’s going first?”
“I can!” Alex blurts immediately, his cheeks heating as he realises just how keen he sounds. Fuck it, he’s a man on a mission. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Yes, of course, please go ahead.” He feels slightly less embarrassed when Henry sounds just as flustered as he feels.
He gives Henry’s hand a squeeze in return before he slowly leans in and…finds himself with a nose full of fluffy wool. He turns away just in time to sneeze into his elbow like a civilised person instead of in Henry’s face.
“I’m so sorry! I should-” Henry’s hand twitches in his, presumably moving to take off his scarf, but Alex keeps a tight hold.
“No, it's fine! I just wasn’t expecting that,” Alex chuckles. “Hang on.”
With his other hand he reaches out and pulls the scarf aside just enough to keep it out of his face. He feels a shiver run through Henry as his cool fingertips accidentally brush the side of his neck, still warm from the scarf.
Alex leans in for a second attempt with a clear path ahead this time, halting a fraction of a second to think about how utterly insane this whole thing is before shrugging and taking in a deep inhale.
The first word that comes to mind is just clean. There’s a faint scent of cologne there, but beyond that just fresh and clean, like linens and…he inhales again, something natural which shouldn’t be possible in the middle of NYC.
“Grass?” he questions.
Henry hums in confusion. “Oh? I mean I did go for a walk in the park with David earlier?”
“David?” A rush of jealousy surges up before he can stop it. He needs to calm the fuck down, he’s literally been sitting next to this man for 5 minutes. He hasn’t even seen his face. And he doesn’t even know if he does like men yet. His reaction to the possibility of Henry spending his time with another man though is placed firmly in his mental arguments FOR category.
“My dog? One tends to have to walk them.”
“Oh I thought you went on a lunch time stroll with your accountant, it’s good to get them away from their numbers and out touching grass.” Alex banters.
“Sorry, my accountant?” Henry sounds lost.
“David is a full grown adult man’s name Henry, what I can only assume is a gorgeous boy, because all dogs are, deserves a cool name to match!”
Henry laughs. “I mean, he is named after Bowie, which I would argue is sufficiently cool. Retains a little mystery as every suave gentleman should.”
“Well, I guess that’s acceptable.” Alex sighs dramatically.
“Glad my dog’s name has earned your seal of approval.”
“You’re welcome sweetheart. Now, it’s your turn.” Grateful he hadn’t put his own scarf on as he’d left campus, Alex leans into Henry’s direction, neck first. “C’mon Cullen, have at it.”
“Cullen? Am I smelling you or biting you?” Henry jokes.
“Dealer’s choice.” Alex goes to wink before remembering that he is in fact still blindfolded, and all that achieves is his eyes getting irritated as his long lashes flutter across the silk surface.
The breath from Henry’s answering laugh drifts across his exposed neck. He doesn’t realise he’s holding his own breath in anticipation until he feels the brush of a straight nose on his skin and it leaves him in a small shudder that he tries and fails to suppress.
“Hmm,” Henry hums, “is that Santal 33?”
Alex is suddenly very grateful that despite the tornado of a rush he’d left the house in this morning, he’d at least spared the time to douse himself in his favourite cologne. “Are you a perfumer or something? How the hell did you guess that?”
“It seems we both have good taste.” Alex knows he can’t see him but he is certain he hears a smirk in his voice. “And no actually, I co-own a shelter for LGBTQIA+ youth with Pez. We run it together when he’s not out here terrorising people on the streets.”
Alex feels a flood of affection for this man he’s just beginning to get to know. He’s always been attracted to two things above all else: competence and heart. So for Henry to be in charge of his own business that exists for the sole purpose of helping others? Excuse him if his knees go a little weak.
“And yourself?” Henry asks.
“Well I’m studying for now, law school is really kicking my ass but the end goal is to be in a position where I can help people too. I’d love to work in immigration law, it would just be nice to know that my work is making a difference you know?”
“I understand that completely.” Henry responds softly.
They sit in peaceful silence for a second; well, as peaceful as a sidewalk in the middle of New York City can ever possibly be, the blaring horn of a cab driver screeching to a halt beside them and cutting through the moment just then emphasising his point.
“Did we need to do anything else for that one or…?” Alex isn’t quite sure where to direct his question, so he just projects his voice over the sounds of the street.
“Oh we got what we needed for that segment already,” Bea pipes up from behind the camera, “we just thought we’d leave you two lovebirds to have a little chirp in peace.”
Alex feels Henry’s hand tense where it’s still grasped in his own. He wishes he could see his face, work out if it’s Bea’s teasing or the idea of being interested in Alex that has Henry on edge. But he can’t. So he does what he does best, he throws his head back in a loud laugh and pastes on his megawatt grin for the camera.
“What can I say, y’all didn’t disappoint when you promised me a perfect gentleman.”
Henry’s hand gives his a little squeeze before relaxing again, Alex’s anxiety stepping down a few notches in response.
“And that is the reason we do what we do here folks,” Pez coos from between them. “Young love.”
“Pez you’re barely a month older than me.” Henry deadpans.
“And yet so much wiser in the ways of the heart, my dear.” Alex hears Pez place a smacking kiss on Henry’s cheek. “So Hen, if you had to describe the lovely man sitting across from you, on vibes alone of course, what would your guesses be?”
“Well, if I have to guess I’d say…dark…curly hair?”
Check one to Alex.
“Kind eyes?”
Check two to Alex. He thinks. Do puppy dog eyes count as kind? Nora has told him that he wields the trademark Diaz lashes for evil, but he disagrees.
“Kind eyes? Ever a romantic, our Hazza. One final thing?”
“Hm, perhaps tall?”
Well. He’s not short. He’s 5’9 on a good day, it’s the average height! Which means there’s a lot of guys who are shorter than him and objectively that means he’s tall…ish. In comparison. “Tall enough,” Alex grumbles.
“So that’s a no then?” Henry teases.
“Do you think you can tell someone’s height from just their voice?” Pez asks through thinly veiled amusement.
“What else am I meant to say Pez, a nice arse?” Henry snarks back.
Pez finally loses his composure and lets out a roar of laughter. “Well if you had, then you would’ve had 3 out of 3.”
Alex smirks. His GAP chinos have never done him wrong.
“Never doubt your Auntie Pezza, when I said we would find you a man that matched your tastes exactly, I meant exactly. Now Alexander, can I call you Alexander? What do you have to say about our fine Henry here? You can do 3 too.”
“Uhhh… wavy hair?” He guesses.
“Afraid not.” Henry responds.
“Straight then?”
“No gay.”
Alex laughs, “I meant your hair!”
“Oh my hair, well just in that regard you’re correct.” Henry snickers.
“Okay so two more then…hazel eyes?” Alex immediately cringes, hazel eyes are rare, he should be increasing his chances with more broad guesses. Not that this is a competition or anything, but Henry did get at least one guess entirely right.
“Nope sorry, they’re blue. Last chance to get one correct.” Henry baits.
Alex considers Henry’s reply for a moment and then goes for the statistically most likely answer, “Blonde hair?”
“Ding ding ding, we finally have a correct guess!” Pez cheers. “Swinging it back to you now Henry, if you could name one actor who encompasses your dream man, who would it be?”
“I’d have to say Oscar Isaac, as Poe Dameron specifically. I love Star Wars and am usually a purist for the original films but…I’ve never been able to resist a rebel. Especially not one that tall, dark and handsome.”
“Are you sure you can’t see through that blindfold Hen?” Bea teases.
“Um, no?” Henry responds in confusion, “I would never cheat.”
“So honourable.” Alex smirks.
“Alex, same question to you?” The microphone bumps into his lip.
He’s about to say Pedro Pascal because, like, obviously, but there’s something about Henry’s accent that pulls up a memory of a recent movie night he’d had with June and Nora.
“Well, if we’re going for iconic franchises, I’m really feeling this whole 007 mystery man vibe we’ve got going on here, so I’m going to say Arthur Fox. Total babe.”
Alex is met with total silence. He’s about to ask what’s so crazy about his answer when he gets interrupted by Bea bursting out with uncontrollable giggles, quickly drowned out by Pez’s booming cackle.
“Oh my gods, divine fate has brought you two together here today. The power of Pez truly knows no bounds. Now, I know you two must be desperate to see one another by now, but we have one final sense to test out. Taste. We have two options here, you can go right for it and have a little kiss, or if you’re not comfortable with that, we can just discuss your favourite tastes. What do we think?”
It wouldn’t be Alex’s first time kissing a stranger, some had even been in clubs dark enough that he may as well have been blindfolded, with girls whose names he hadn’t even known. He’s gotten this far, he may as well see this experiment through to the end properly, no point in half assing it now. More than anything though, he just really, really wants to kiss Henry.
“A kiss works for me, if..?,” Alex says, just as Henry responds, "If you’re okay with a kiss, then…?”
“Well that settles that then huns, I will get out of your way.” Pez coos, his chair scraping on the sidewalk as he clears the space between them.
Alex is about to ask how they should go about this when he feels Henry’s hand finally loosen its hold on his own.
Soft fingertips retrace their way down his fingers to the lines of his palm, following back along the sensitive skin of his wrist, but this time going further up his forearm. He feels every hair stand on end as Henry’s hand continues its journey over the crook of his elbow and Alex can’t help but wonder what it would feel like if Henry was touching bare skin instead.
Henry’s halfway up his bicep, Alex preening as he feels him give it an appreciative squeeze, when he realises Henry is mostly just trying to find his way to Alex’s face without headbutting him. Which like, sure, that makes sense practically, but by the time Henry’s hand has brushed over his neck, there’s so much tension between them that Alex is ready to just dive at him head first, the possibility of broken noses be damned.
Finally, Henry stops, Alex’s chin grasped firmly in his hand, and the static in Alex’s head goes quiet. His thumb gently brushes Alex’s bottom lip and he has to use every ounce of his self restraint to not chase after the motion with his tongue.
“May I?” Henry asks.
“Please,” Alex breathes out.
Henry uses the grip on his chin to tilt his head up just a fraction, and then soft lips finally brush against his own.
For the first few seconds, Alex tries to keep his task in mind, analyse the experience, how it differs from the girls he’s kissed, but then Henry’s other hand trails up into the curls at the nape of his neck, and with a gentle tug every single thought Alex has ever had completely flies out the window.
He doesn’t think he’s ever just let himself be kissed like this before, always too in his head about if he was doing the right thing, if the other person was enjoying themselves, feeling like it was his responsibility to direct the whole experience. Even with Liam, it was him who had made the first move, his frenetic energy he was trying to place anywhere but on what was happening at home single mindedly driving him. But, here in this moment, with his head cradled in Henry’s hands, one anchored in his curls and the other still a grounding presence holding his chin steady, Alex lets himself just feel.
When Henry’s tongue swipes his bottom lip Alex opens up to it immediately, moving his hands into Henry’s hair as he chases the motion with an exploratory swipe of his own tongue. Henry’s hair feels like silk through his fingers, impossibly softer than even his hands and his lips.
Alex feels a whine building in his throat as Henry’s nails scrape along the back of his skull. He feels totally out of control, like his puppet strings have been completely taken over by this side of himself he’s only just allowed to burst free. He leans forward to get even closer only to receive a sharp stab in his rib from the table as his folding chair wobbles beneath him. It’s then that he’s reminded exactly where he is and what he’s doing. In a feat of unbelievable self control, Alex lets his hands drift around to cup Henry’s cheeks, slowing their kiss but not quite able to bring himself to end this.
Henry seems to catch onto his train of thought and brings them to a stop, giving Alex one final peck as if he just can’t help himself.
Alex is dizzy with it when he pulls away.
Blindfolded may have been the weirdest possible way to test out his attraction to men, but Alex has never been more aware of someone’s presence in his life. The deep timbre of Henry’s voice, the strong grasp of hands larger than his own, his smell, the confident way he’d kissed him, hell even the strain in his neck from having to tilt up into it. It all adds up to paint a masculine picture that he is extremely, extremely into.
He scrambles to pull off his blindfold only to be stopped by a hand on his wrist. “Hold on there cowboy, we need to reset for the big reveal. You’ll see him soon enough,” Pez assures him.
Alex’s leg has gone back to bouncing double time, all but climbing walls at being so close to seeing Henry’s face and being made to wait.
After what feels like an eternity, Pez is settled back into his position between them and Bea signals that she’s all set to get filming again.
“My my, you’d think we were in Hell’s Kitchen the way these two have these streets on fire! I think we’ve kept these boys waiting long enough don’t you? Alex, Henry…you may now remove your blindfolds!”
Alex snatches his blindfold off so fast he takes a few hairs with it, but he doesn’t even feel it. As his eyes adjust to the daylight being let back in, Henry appears before him like a mirage in a desert. Sunlight reflects off the white concrete building behind him and dances over his blonde hair, shining around his face like a halo. Alex isn't entirely certain he isn’t just actually an angel, taken straight from a fantasy in his subconscious that he didn’t even know existed. Plush lips and a straight nose are framed by high cheekbones and a rounded jaw. Henry’s a little slower to get his blindfold off, so Alex gets the full impact when navy silk is lifted to reveal eyes so blue they rival the Texas summer skies.
Even sitting across the table he can tell Henry’s got a few inches of height on him, and yet he doesn’t even care. In fact, as his neck twinges and he’s flooded with the memory of Henry’s determined hands guiding him in their kiss, he thinks he may be very, very okay with it.
As he takes in the whole sight before him there’s only a single word in his head. Beautiful. Henry is beautiful.
Henry seems similarly enraptured with him, tracing his every feature almost hungrily. When his gaze finally settles it’s to look Alex directly in his eyes. He swears his heart almost stutters in his chest, warmth flooding to his cheeks as blue meets brown and they take each other in.
Pez breaks the silence between them, “Y’all are blushing, this is so adorable.”
“What can I say, that was some first kiss, Prince Charming.”
Henry’s eyes drop to where the eye mask is still clutched in Alex’s hand, “Well, welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty.”
He knows Henry is just playing along with their bit, but Alex does actually feel like this whole experience has awoken something in him, unlocked a part of himself that who knows how long it would’ve taken him to embrace otherwise.
It seems silly considering he had his tongue in his mouth barely a minute ago, and maybe he just wants an excuse to touch Henry again, but Alex feels a formal introduction is in order. He extends his hand and is pleased when Henry doesn’t hesitate to take it in his own for a firm shake.
“Alex Claremont-Diaz.”
“Henry…Fox.”
“As in…?”
“The very same.”
He sees it now, the same sandy hair, the slight dimple in the left side of his smile. Alex would definitely pay to see him on the big screen too. Henry’s face is expectant, anticipating what Alex can only imagine is most people’s response to the reveal, something sympathetic yet bland.
Alex however just gives Henry a very overexaggerated once over of appreciation, following endless legs up to trim waist and broad shoulders and over rosy cheeks before settling on his very blue eyes. He shrugs, “I stand by what I said, total babe,” and takes pleasure in watching Henry’s cheeks turn even redder.
“Okay my loves, time to whip out your Street Hearts sparks boards and let our audience know if there will be a second date in your future!”
Pez may have called it divine fate, others might call it cosmic intervention, the way his day was thrown entirely off its usual course to ensure he ended up right in this situation. But as he writes “Yes, absolutely” on the whiteboard, he’s choosing this on purpose.
“Reveal your boards in 3, 2, 1!” Pez yells.
Alex spins his board around and immediately cranes his neck to look at Henry’s answer. “Yes!! 100%” is written out in some of the neatest cursive he’s ever seen.
“We have a street hearts connection! I don’t think I’m jumping the gun here to say this just may be our most successful connection yet. I WILL be officiating the wedding!”
“Pez!” Henry exclaims. His eyes dart to Alex like he’s worried that Pez has scared him off.
There’s not a chance in hell.
—
Three years later to the day, in the park across the road from that fateful street corner, surrounded by their loved ones and teary eyed as they slide gold rings onto each other’s fingers, Pez gets to follow through on his promise.