Henry closes the oven door and wipes his hands on his maroon apron.
"Alex?"
"Yes, baby?"
"The dinosaur nuggets are in the oven."
Alex raises his eyes from his phone; smiling at the tone Henry used.
"Why do you say it like that? It sounded like a code phrase from one of your dad's movies." He raises his hand to his mouth, pretending to talk into a talkie-walkie. "The dinosaur nuggets are in the oven, Mr Bond. They will explode in 50 seconds. Over and out," he says in a gruff voice, but Henry doesn't laugh.
Alex pouts. "Sorry, baby. I thought it was funny."
A shadow of a smile graces Henry's lips. "No, it was funny. But that's not my point. The kids are watching the Lion King. The dinosaur nuggets are in the oven. We have ten minutes."
Alex stares at him for a few seconds, obviously confused, and Henry wonders how someone so smart can be so thick sometimes.
It's endearing, really.
Then the proverbial lightbulb seems to connect above Alex's head. "Oh…Oh!"
A huge grin appears on his face as he grabs Henry by his apron strap and drags him to the laundry room down the hall.
He lifts Henry on the washing machine, and their lips meet eagerly, between giggles and clumsy attempts at opening their pants. Briefly, Henry regrets not having started a cycle. It would have been extra fun, and would have drowned any noise. Now they have to be extra silent, which is not easy especially when Alex licks at that sensitive spot underneath his ear like he's doing right now. Or when his hand is already reaching in his boxers and a keening moan escapes Henry when Alex finds what he was looking for.
"Ah…Alex…Check the clothes peg box."
With his lips and tongue still doing unspeakable things to his throat, Alex reaches blindly to the shelves behind them and retrieves a bottle of lube.
He lets out a loud laugh at that. "Oh my God. You actually planned this all along, didn't you?"
Henry can't help the small smug smile. "I had this whole day planned so we could have those ten minutes. There was even a list."
Alex gasps."A list? Sweetheart, I'm so proud of you."
"I learned from the best, darling."
They stop talking then, preferring to focus on the few minutes they have, as Alex frees them both, and with a dexterity born from years of practicing the same steps and the same dance, slid into his husband in one swift motion and they both hiss before their lips are joined again in a searing kiss.
Even if they have plenty of opportunities to take their time and enjoy themselves during long, lazy or frantic hours - depending on their mood- having two kids also reminds them that hard, fast and on a tight deadline could be extremely satisfying too. Bringing them back to a time where those brief, enchanted parentheses were all they had to preserve their sanity as they were separated by duties and an entire ocean.
Henry exhales silent gasps against Alex's mouth as his husband finds a steady, efficient rhythm that has Henry's toes curl against the back of Alex's strong thighs.
The first notes of 'Can you feel the love tonight' can be heard from the living room.
"Oh, this is my favorite part," Henry pants, his hand gripping the curls at the base of Alex's neck, eliciting a groan from his husband.
"You mean the song, or what I'm doing to you?"
"Both. I definitely feel the love right now," Henry manages to say before his breath catches in his throat. "Oh God, Alex, yes, right there."
"Hakuna Matata," Alex growls as he quickens his pace, and Henry tries to stifle both his laugh and the deep moan caused by his orgasm suddenly crashing into him. He bites Alex's shoulder through his t-shirt, not enough to hurt but enough to leave a mark. He knows his husband doesn't mind those ownership claims they love to leave on each other.
Alex is right behind him as he lets out a low groan against his neck.
"How much time?" Henry asks breathlessly as they both hold on to each other, their blood still thrumming through their veins as they come down from the rush.
Alex looks at his watch."3 minutes."
"Good," Henry murmurs, peppering kisses along his jaw. "That was a good one. Thank you Simba."
Alex gives him a mock offended look. "Uh, excuse me? I'm pretty sure I was there too."
Henry smiles, a blissful smile at his beautiful, loving husband's dad joke - and Alex has become a specialist at those - and a warm feeling fills his chest at the idea that this is his life now. Dinosaur nuggets, and quickies on the washing machine and Scar singing with a bunch of dumb hyenas. And the adoration he can read in his husband's eyes every minute of every day of their chaotic, happy life.
Alec pulls out and they reluctantly let go of each other, as he takes off his soiled shirt - since Henry came all over it - and Henry grabs one from the clean laundry pile and gives it to him. They quickly clean themselves with the baby wipes, which, Henry dewars, are not there for this purpose only.
"You fucked me with my apron still on," he realizes with a laugh as he inspect the garment for any leftover stains.
Alex grins. "A longstanding fantasy of mine, baby. Although generally you don't wear anything under it."
Henry flushes, marveling at the way his husband still has that power on him. It's ridiculous. Henry's the one who organized this mini sex session in the laundry room and yet, all it takes is a few words from Alec's sinful mouth and he turns into a blushing bride.
Then again, he doesn't really care. He loves it.
"Longstanding? Care to elaborate?
"Remember our first Thanksgiving here? You were wearing that blue-checkered shirt and that apron, and you were bossing everyone around in the kitchen…it gave me ideas."
Henry scoffs. "I wasn't bossing everyone around. And why didn't you say anything?"
"I was waiting for the right moment."
"Which was today, apparently."
Alex smiles and makes a non-committal noise, just as the timer on the oven starts.
They come back to the kitchen and Henry takes the nuggets out.
"Can you put it on the plates and bring it to them? I need to empty the dishwasher."
They normally eat all together at the dining room table, but on Fridays the kids are permitted to eat on the living room table while watching cartoons. It allows Henry and Alex to have a romantic dinner by themselves later on, and an even more romantic long night after that.
"Of course, Boss. I mean, Babe. Boss Babe," he finishes with a wink and a smirk and Henry rolls his eyes fondly.
"Round two in about 3 hours ?" Alex asks casually, as if he's inquiring about the weather but the light in his deep brown eyes tells another story and Henry shivers.
He puts some glasses in the cupboard and gives his other half a knowing smile. "You know I'll be there, Darling."
With a satisfied grin, Alex takes the tray with his kids' dinner and walks towards the living-room before turning around.
"Hey, Hen?"
"Yes?"
"Take the apron with you."