We Won

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/49289365.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M, Multi
Fandom: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston, Red White & Royal Blue
(2023)
Relationship: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Alex
Claremont-Diaz/Henry Hanover-Stuart Fox, Nora Holleran/Percy "Pez"
Okonjo, Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry George Edward James Hanover-
Stuart Fox
Character: Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Henry
Hanover-Stuart Fox, Ellen Claremont, Oscar Diaz (Red White & Royal
Blue)
Additional Tags: Post Movie: Red White & Royal Blue (2023), Politics, Homophobia,
Other distressing elements as seen in the book and movie, Dealing with
Henry belonging to Great Britain, A lot more of Dealing with Henry
belonging to himself and to Alex, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Sex, Bisexual
Male Character, Gay Male Character, dealing with depression, Dealing
with Axiety, Basically dealing with the whole damn world knowing your
most private and intimate thoughts, Dealing with something so sacred
being used as tabloid fodder and worse, your own words being twisted
and used as hate propaganda, But they're strong together, They
deserve happiness and will have it throughout the story too, And of
course all fairy tales I love have happy endings, Prince Henry and Alex
Claremont-Diaz are forever, Alex eventually getting those couple of
weeks but it's gonna be a minute
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-08-12 Updated: 2023-11-05 Words: 13,482 Chapters:
7/?

We Won
by ILoveHimOnPurpose

Summary

After they enter the house in Austin, this is where their story continues.

Alex and Henry have won, but their story isn't over. With the election over, Alex must find
his place in life and Henry must find his own, too. While they figure this out, through
everything they still have yet to face, they will always be standing beside one another.

(THIS TAKES PLACE AFTER THE RWRB MOVIE)

Notes
Just a reminder for readers, this takes place after the movie. This is Alex and Henry's lives
the way they are presented within the movie, and the characters (mostly) featured in it. I
may include elements they did not in the movie that are from the book, that in no way
would have changed the movie's story, just wanted to clarify this. Please note, I love the
book, so very deeply. I just wanted to do a fic that explores their lives post-movie, because
it left me wanting more and more of that Alex and Henry.
Also, I will do my best to warn in each chapter notes if there is anything that requires a
warning that may not have been something that was canonically dealt with in the book or
movie, but I am open to adding more tags if need be, just comment with a suggestion if you
think one should be added and I will.
 Baby

Chapter One: Baby

Alex really doesn’t plan to give Henry a full tour of the house; it can wait until the morning. The
moment they stumble into his bedroom, he pulls the dust sheet off the bed, and Henry seems to
have lost all interest in seeing the rest of the house. Everything around them slows between one
heartbeat and the next, except for the passion they feel that seems to be electric fast. Each of their
movements is pure intention as their hands roam over one another’s bodies, mapping out the
muscles and bones their fingertips and lips know by heart. Their mouths eventually meet, and they
breathe loudly into one other’s bodies, teeth clattering as they start going back and forth, silently
competing with one another, determined to be the one to give the other the filthiest kiss.

The world outside disappears and then comes back to Alex in heaving breaths of air as Henry pulls
away and steps back a few steps. Alex watches in a haze of confusion and worry as Henry puts his
hand over his heart, his chest heaving, and gasps, “Just… I need just a second.” And then he steps
closer to him again, reaches his handout, and gently grasps Alex’s neck, his thumb rubbing back
and forth over his pulse point as they hold one another’s eyes.

Alex knows that his heart picks up its pace every time Henry does this. He knows that Henry’s grip
will move slightly toward the back of his neck, his fingers will slip through his hair, and he’ll pull
Alex forward into a kiss that will make Alex let out a needy groan right into Henry’s greedy,
awaiting mouth. He lets the moment rest where it is for just a few more beats, reveling in the
anticipation, feeling his cock getting harder the longer it takes for one of them to give in to the
hunger they feel once again.

Henry breaks eye contact and looks over Alex’s shoulder. He drops his hand away and walks past
him. “Just… just a moment,” he says, his voice high and thick.

Alex turns toward Henry and sees him standing in front of the window that overlooks that
backyard and, further in the distance, the city of Austin. He approaches Henry from behind,
circling his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

Henry tilts his head to look at him, smiles, and laughs as he cups his dick and squeezes it a little
through his pants. “I almost came in my trousers just from looking at you, from wanting you and
seeing you wanting me. I uhm, I just needed a moment.”

Alex wants to make fun of Henry for that, but honestly, it’s a huge compliment to him, so he isn’t
going to be that sort of asshole. Not yet, anyway. The admission might be something he’ll tuck
away for later use. “Me holding you may not help,” Alex says, letting Henry go.

Henry’s rigid posture starts to melt away as he takes long, deep breaths. “I never imagined, even
after everything we have done together, that it would still be like this with you every time. It gets
so intense, so quickly, without us barely even doing anything. It makes me a bit dizzy.”

“The adrenaline we have going through our bodies because of the election win probably has
something to do with it,” Alex says.

Henry curls one arm around Alex’s waist, pulls him in close against his side, and rests his head
against his shoulder. “I don’t need adrenaline to get this worked up, Alex.”

“Well, I know that,” Alex says and gulps, his own cock responding to the tension once again
building between them. “But I mean, we biked here too, and that probably made you really…”

“It’s just you, Love,” Henry interrupts, giving Alex a deep, quick kiss. “We can continue whenever
you’re ready.”

Alex laughs at the formality and slips out of Henry’s arms. He turns so he’s behind him again but
doesn’t mold the front of his body to Henry’s back like before. He keeps their bodies close,
smooths one of his hands up Henry’s back, and squeezes his right shoulder. He leans in, his lips
ghosting against Henry’s left ear, and he says, “Baby, I think we should make love tonight.”

To Be Continued
 Sweetheart
Chapter Summary

Alex and Henry celebrate together in a world of their making. Quite literally.

Chapter Notes

So this chapter is one reason why this story is rated explicit.

Sweetheart

Alex’s eyes are closed, and his bottom lip is drawn into his mouth and hooked under his top teeth
as he breathes deeply in and out through his nose. “You all right, love?” Henry asks, his thumbs
rubbing small circles over the dimples in Alex’s hips.

Alex’s sinfully long eyelashes flutter a few times, and then he meets Henry’s gaze. He leans back a
little, testing the feel of Henry inside of him, and a slow grin spreads on his face. “I’m fucking
fantastic, Sweetheart.”

Henry had been holding a lot of tension in his body from when Alex began to lower himself onto
his cock. He wanted to ensure that the man he loved was just as into what they were doing as he
felt when he was in the same position.

“Are you okay if I move now?” Alex asks as he skates his hands up Henry’s chest and starts to
swirl his fingertips over Henry’s nipples.

“Am I okay?” Henry asks, moving his hands from Alex’s hips to run up and down his thighs.
“You’re the one who should set the pace.”

“I asked because you look in pain,” Alex says.

“I am not feeling any pain,” Henry assures. He pulls Alex’s head down, giving him a hungry kiss.
“It’s just that this,” he says, in between more kisses, “is probably going to be over embarrassingly
fast.”

Alex chuckles as he breaks from Henry’s mouth and starts to kiss and lick down the column of his
throat. “I almost came the moment I had you in me. You feel fucking incredible, Henry.” He
circles his hips and grinds down hard. “You can move now, too.”

Henry doesn’t know how it’s possible, but he swears his cock gets harder. Alex’s words are also
the permission he needs, the assurance he was waiting for, wanting to ensure Alex was ready for
him. Henry shifts them both around, careful not to slip out of Alex’s body as he does. He moves to
sit up, bends his knees, and then wraps Alex’s legs around his waist. “This okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex replies while hugging him, resting his face in the crook of Henry’s neck and
shoulder. “You feel even deeper in me than before, and I like being this close,” he speaks as if it’s
a secret.

Henry hugs Alex tighter to him and tilts his head up so he can look him in the eyes. “I love you,
Alex.”

Alex closes the little distance between their mouths and presses a slow, gentle kiss to Henry’s lips.
“I love you more.”

Henry is about to debate that, but Alex tightens himself around him, and it makes Henry
speechless. He puts one hand on the bed for leverage and the other he uses to bring Alex’s face
toward his own so he can kiss him as he grinds up into him. They find their rhythm and begin to
take one another apart in a slow burn of pleasure.

“Baby,” Alex gasps into his ear and bites his lobe. “This is so good. You’re so good.”

The praise sparks a fire of pleasure within Henry, and he wants to share it with him, to let it burn
bright and consume them both. He thrusts up into Alex’s tight body in solid slow thrusts, causing
Alex to cry out and start babbling unintelligible encouragement at him while he starts jerking his
own cock, which is hard and leaking all over their bellies. Alex is the most beautiful thing that
Henry has ever seen, like this at this moment, all sweaty and keyed up with the desperation for
release, but also in every other way he’s ever seen Alex and in all the ways he hasn’t seen yet and
can’t wait to experience.

He wants to pour all of the love he feels within him into Alex. He wants Alex to understand just
how much he cherishes him, how desperate he is to take care of him, and make sure that every
ounce of happiness Alex has wrung out of Henry since they’ve known one another becomes a
constant loop of joy between them. Henry never knew it was possible to be wholly absorbed in
another person’s pleasure as he is with Alex. It has never been an effort to pay attention to what
Alex likes, to what makes him shudder or moan for more; it comes to him quickly, and Alex is
always so open with him, even when it causes him embarrassment, he still always tells Henry what
he’s thinking, how he’s feeling and what he wants. They’ve had time to learn one another’s bodies,
but still, he is delighted with how much Alex loves what they’re doing now.

Alex’s skin glistens beautifully in the moonlight coming through the window, and his eyes sparkle
from the heat created by them both, locking with Henry’s eyes. “I knew this would be good,” he
says, sounding hoarse from all his panting and moaning. He abruptly stops moving and jerking
himself off. “I didn’t think it could be like this, though.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Henry confesses. Things like this take his breath away and
make him know without a doubt that Alex is the love of his life.

“I want you to make me come,” Alex says, moving again as he kisses him, his tongue and teeth
mashing against Henry’s.

The kiss is the perfect side of filth that Henry loves, and he revels in it. He slides his hand down
Alex’s sweaty back and down to his ass, finding where they meet.

“Oh fuck,” Alex growls and brings their foreheads together. “Do it.”

Henry stares into Alex’s eyes as his whole body breaks out in goosebumps, and he circles two
fingers around Alex’s rim. “You sure?”

“Uh-huh, yes,” Alex says and licks his lips.

Henry slips his pointer finger inside, and Alex lets out a whining moan as his body starts vibrating
the particular way it does just before he’s going to come. He and Alex start moving again, faster
and faster, and Henry slips his finger out of Alex to shove it between their bodies and help Alex
come. As soon as Henry replaces Alex’s hand with his own, Alex’s whole body tightens, and he
feels like he might come, too.

Alex bites down on Henry’s shoulder and starts to babble. “So good,” he mouths into Henry’s skin,
biting and sucking along his collarbone and neck. “Gonna come so hard. You’re gonna make me,”
he whispers beside Henry’s mouth. “I wanna come and want you to come in me, sweetheart.”

Henry feels so much love for the man in his arms that it makes every sensation experienced with
the joining of their bodies take on an ethereal quality. He wants to make love to Alex forever, to
keep this feeling for an eternity, but with Alex speaking like that, there’s no way he can last. Just as
he’s about to reach his own climax, Alex shakes and starts coming, his cum shooting out all over
Henry’s hand. His body contracting around Henry’s dick pulls him along with him. All the pleasure
built up ignites from within him as he scrabbles to hold onto Alex from the intense way his body is
jerking as he comes. His moans sound distant, and he melts into Alex’s perfect heat.

The world around them often disappears when they’re together. Henry loves and appreciates how
special it is to have someone who can change your way of existing in the world. He had felt so
untethered to who he was as a person for such a long time, but then Alex came along with his rope
and pulled him to him. Right now, Henry feels like he’s floating, his eyes shut and his head resting
against Alex’s chest as he rides out the last of the aftershocks of what was absolutely one of the
best orgasms of his life.

“Sweetheart,” Alex whispers, kissing his eyelids and then peppers kisses along his jaw. “You
rocked my fucking world,” he says, giddy and secretive.

Henry smiles and opens his eyes. Alex looks thoroughly debauched and prettier than any human
being has a right to be. He wants to say something, to tell Alex how he made him feel, but then
Alex kisses him like he knows that Henry is still a little sex drunk and not able to articulate
anything at all, and he lets Henry speak to him that way instead.
 Reality
Chapter Summary

Alex and Henry's secret time in Pemberton Heights comes to an end, for now. Here's
where things begin to (slightly) get more into the continued plot of their story.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter Three: Reality

The sound of Alex and Henry's phones simultaneously ringing halts their third round. Alex lets
Henry's cock slip out of his mouth and feels Henry’s hand on his own dick go slack. “Jesus shit!”
Alex complains, untangling himself from Henry’s body. “I was enjoying that thing you were doing
with your tongue.

“As was I,” Henry agreed, wiping off his mouth on the rumpled sheet beneath him. “They must
know that we’re gone,” he says, resigned. His voice is hoarse from the activities he was partaking
in, and he coughs a little. “Couldn’t they have waited five more minutes?”

“We’re lucky we got what we did,” Alex says as he sits in bed. “Though my dick is not feeling so
lucky at the moment,” he says, looking down at his erection.

Henry slides off the mattress, and he appears very weak-kneed and wobbly. Alex takes delight in
this and takes a moment to check out how gorgeous his rumpled, naked, and sex-drunk Prince
looks standing in the middle of his childhood bedroom. The same bedroom that he used to look at
that damn magazine of June’s in whenever she wasn’t home, and he could get away with stealing it
for a while.

His ringtone starts playing from the beginning again, and he tears his eyes away and searches for
his phone, which sounds like it may be coming from under the bed. The bedroom floor is a mess of
blankets, pillows, condom wrappers, and lube packets littered on top of the clothing they threw off
themselves. Alex is the first to find his cell, still in the pocket of his pants, kicked slightly under
the bed. He’s about to answer the call, but Henry retakes all of his attention and his brain short
circuits. Henry is bent over, sifting through the pile of blankets, and his gorgeous ass is just there,
taunting him. Alex thinks no one can blame him for allowing his phone to go to voicemail. He
watches as Henry digs his phone out of a pillowcase, which he has no idea how it happened to get
in there, and then stands back up, effectively ending Alex ogling his ass. Alex is still mesmerized
by Henry, and it takes him a second to realize that Henry is talking to him.

“... Shaan, but it went to voicemail. Oh, wait, he’s calling again,” Henry says, showing him his
phone screen and walking back over to sit on the bed beside Alex.

Alex's phone starts ringing again, too, and this time, he pays attention to the caller ID. Surprisingly,
it’s Amy. He would’ve expected Zhara for some reason, but it makes sense that it’s his personal
security. “Uh-oh, we're in big trouble,” he says, laughing and delighted in a childish way that he
can’t help.
Henry curls close to him and holds his phone out and away from them both. “I do not want to
answer it.”

“I guess we have to,” Alex says, and together, they both pick up their calls.

“Hello,” Henry says, and Alex hears Henry's voice on his own phone, too.

“Amy, I take it you and Shaan are together, and we're on speaker, so I’m gonna hang up,” he says
and does so immediately.

“Your Royal Highness,” Shaan says in a stern, loud tone that Alex can hear even before Henry puts
the call on its speaker setting. “Where are you?”

Alex reaches over and clicks the phone over to the speaker. “We're fine, Shaan. Perfectly safe.”

“That is not an answer to my question,” the man replies. “I asked where Prince Henry was and…”

“We don’t exactly need you to answer,” Amy cuts in. “I can have the Secret Service trace your
phone right now, Alex. Then they and Henry’s PPOs will bang down the door of wherever you and
Henry are right now, drag you back to the hotel, and put you in lockdown.”

“Jesus,” Alex groans, unsure why he’s such an idiot, and forgets how seriously Amy takes the job.
Her threat is also an effective boner killer. “Sorry, Amy, we’re at my childhood home, okay?
There’s no threats or reporters, for that matter, anywhere near here.”

“Where is that?” Shaan asks.

“It’s here in Austin,” Henry replies. “In Pemberton Heights.”

“Shaan, you don’t need to worry. Alex and I truly are perfectly safe. We can make our way back
and be at the hotel shortly.”

“Henry,” Shaan says, his tone softer, and Alex realizes that he has never heard Shaan address
Henry so informally. “I believe that you are safe and that Alex would not put you in danger, but
please know that when I could not get you to the hotel door, I was terrified that something had
happened to you both. Amy was in her room next door and heard me calling out for you. She
discreetly managed to open your door and noticed that somebody unlocked the balcony doors.
There were no signs of a struggle, and she was sure you both had climbed to the bottom level and
snuck off. She convinced me to call you both before we altered anyone else.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Henry began, “fuck. I didn’t, Shaan, I never meant…”

“Henry, I need you to understand.” Shaan clears his throat and then says in a stronger voice, “At
this moment, only Amy and myself know of your disappearance. If the other PPOs and Secret
Service found out that you two are, in fact, not safe in your hotel room, my job would not be safe.
Do you understand? I may be employed directly by you, Your Highness, but the Crown would
remove me and choose your replacement.”

Henry gave Alex a stricken look and quickly told Shaan, “I am sorry, Shaan. I wasn’t thinking
about any of that, and I should have. It won’t ever happen again.”

“I should hope not,” Shaan says, the three words filled with disappointment.

“I have the address,” Amy says. “Shaan and I are coming to get you both. Be ready in five
minutes.”
The phone disconnects, and Henry jumps up and grabs his clothes, tossing them at Alex. “Come
on, we have to get dressed quickly!”

Alex grabs one of Henry’s hands and stops him. “Baby, hey, hey, calm down.”

Henry pauses and looks down at Alex, his eyes watery. “Alex, I… I love you, and I love that you
brought me here, but we shouldn’t have snuck away tonight. Shaan called me Henry twice! Do you
know how worried he must’ve been if he dropped my titles in Amy’s presence? He may have
thought some of the protestors kidnapped us. It’s one thing for me to sneak off to the V&A; it’s
relatively close to the palace and unspoken between us, but he knows that’s where I am whenever I
go. He broke protocol to tell me he was scared, Alex!”

Alex feels like quite the asshole as he realizes just affected Henry and also Shaan is by their
adventure. Amy is used to the stupid shit he does, though he supposes he also owes her a big thank
you and apology. She deserves more than just that, though. He’ll have to think of something nice to
do for her.

Alex hadn’t meant to cause problems. This ‘adventure’ wasn’t brought about by him being
mischievous. He had just wanted to celebrate with Henry alone in his childhood home and is
confident that they wouldn’t have been able to do that if they had told anyone where they wanted
to go. “I’m sorry,” Alex says and stands to take Henry into his arms. He rubs his hands up and
down Henry’s tense back for a few minutes as the man slowly settles and relaxes against him. He
hates that their blissful night has turned into this. “We deserved to be alone for a little while,” Alex
says. “We’re young, and we’re in love, and we’ve been through a lot of shit lately. I’m sure that
Shaan understands that, too.”

“No,” Henry says, pulling away from Alex and gathering his clothing. “Shaan doesn’t understand
that, and he said as much. If something happened to me on his watch, it would ruin him. He has
devoted most of his life to taking care of me. He’s cared for me in ways nobody else could, and I
owe it to him to treat his place in my life with the Crown with respect. When my dad was sick and
had one of his last lucid days, he told Shaan to take care of me. Shaan promised him he would
because they were good friends.”

Alex shakes his head. “No, I didn’t know that,” he says as he collects his clothing and dress. “You
never said.” He also still doesn’t know precisely what an Equerry is technically supposed to be
because Henry has told him many things that Shaan does for him are outside the role.

“He was my father’s Equerry’s first. Even though Shaan worked for him, they were best friends,”
Henry continues to talk as he gets dressed. “Crown Equerries usually only serve in the role for
three years, but Shaan is special, and surprisingly, the Queen allowed leniency in extending his
time as my assistant with the title of Equerry.”

“A few days after my father died, I officially chose him to be my Equerry because I knew he
wanted that. I don’t know why, but the Queen has always granted my requests for his extension,
year after year.”

Alex was sure there was a story behind that, one that maybe Henry didn’t know, but he bet that
Shaan did, and he made a mental note to ask him about it one day. “Once your mom takes over, she
will too, right?”

“If it’s necessary,” Henry replies.

They finish dressing, which Alex thinks is a travesty because he should be allowed to be naked
with Henry all the damn time. They put the room in some semblance of order with the few minutes
 they have, and Alex gives a silent goodbye to his bedroom, hoping it isn’t such a long time before
he gets back in this house. He also needs to make sure and call the friend of his mom’s who does
periodic upkeep on the house and tell her there’s trash that’ll need to go out and linens freshened.

“Time to face the music.” Henry sighs.

Henry had a little time to calm down and didn’t seem as worried as before, and Alex was glad to
see him happy again. Henry had been conditioned to be reserved with his emotions, but Alex was
well-practiced in seeing their truth. “Wait,” Alex says, standing outside his bedroom door. He takes
the key on the chain out of his pocket and puts it over Henry’s head. “You still need to keep this.”

Henry nods. “Thank you.”

“I love you, Henry,” Alex says and takes his hand, feeling the cool metal of the signet ring on
Henry’s hand as their fingers lock together.

“I love you, Alex,” Henry replies firmly and without reservation.

To Be Continued

Chapter End Notes

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, commented or left kudos. I am so
happy to have you all on this journey as Alex and Henry's story continues.
 Together
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Chapter Four: Together

In the short time since election night, Henry already feels like the joy and hope he felt from that
win is fading away. He and Alex’s trip to the house in Pemberton Heights has remained a secret,
though Alex told him he’s sure his mother’s friend will inform Ellen eventually. That is the only
thing Henry feels he’s been able to keep between him and Alex, though. From the moment they
woke up at the hotel the following day, Henry and Alex were pushed in front of cameras, together
and apart. They have been pulled in different directions, have barely done anything except sleep
together, and are exhausted in every way imaginable.

Henry’s duties with the Crown and the fallout from his outing in September are ongoing. Henry
and Shaan have spent a lot of time on conference calls with the men and women who handle the
Crown’s affairs as they come up with endless engagements that they hope will convince the British
public that Henry does not hate being a part of the royal family and that he and King James and
Philip are not at odds with one another.

The White House staff have wrangled Alex onto almost every news station imaginable. He mostly
gives interviews and insights into his Texas Strategy and talks about his hope for the country.
From what Henry knows, it’s not like he’s had much time to watch or discuss the interviews with
Alex. He has convinced himself that what they’re doing is essential for their countries, but by the
morning of day four, or five?, he has nothing to give anyone.

This depletion of energy coincides with an unexpected call from the King. His grandfather insists
that he return to London to get started on the plans the handlers have for him. Henry tries to get
out of it and reminds his grandfather that he agreed that Henry could celebrate Thanksgiving with
Alex and his family, but King James tells him that he never said he could stay the whole time
leading up to the holiday.

“I have to go back,” Henry tells Alex as they stuff their faces with deli sandwiches between
meetings and interviews.

“To London?” Alex asks, uncaring the piece of stray arugula flopping against his lips as he
speaks. The food in his mouth is bulging his cheeks, and if Henry didn’t know him so well, he
probably wouldn’t be able to decipher what he’s said.

“Yes, to London,” Henry says with more irritation than he means to show. He leans forward and
uses his napkin to wipe away the stray mayo and food from Alex’s lips.

“I thought you were staying until after Thanksgiving?” Alex practically throws the rest of his
sandwich into the to-go container. He also somehow manages to pout while he chews. “I don’t
want you to go.”

Henry looks at Alex sitting across from him in the window seat, his nice suit covered by a paper
gown he’s wearing backward, and he almost smiles at the silly sight. For a moment, Henry's stress
drains out of him because here is his Alex, the one only a few people in the world get to see. Alex is
well trained as he is at having a press face, and over the last couple of days, Henry has seen more
of that look than he’d like. “I thought so too, but the King called me and told me that I was
expected back in London first if I wanted to be able to come here for Thanksgiving.”

Alex quickly wipes his hands on the paper gown, reaches out to place them on Henry’s knees, and
squeezes them. “Can I come with you?” he asks.

Henry is surprised that Alex would suggest it. “You have so much going on right now. Aren’t you
returning to school next semester and must start getting ready for that, too?”

Alex snorts. “That’s not until January, and this media stuff is nothing,” he says. “I mean, sure,
what I’m doing is helpful, but I’m not stressing about any of it.”

“You’re not?” Henry asks, feeling a little dumb because he’s been thinking the opposite. This is
Alex Claremont-Diaz, and this is the sort of life he wants to lead. And though Henry knows this and
loves him for it, it still scares him a little. Alex is choosing to participate in all of the things that
Henry wants to hide from.

“I mean, no?” Alex swallows his food and then takes a big swig of his drink. “There are a few
interviews I have scheduled for next week that I really shouldn’t cancel, but I can do them over
Zoom if necessary.”

Henry wasn’t sure about that. “Do you think that Zhara and your mom will be okay with that?”

Alex scoffed. “Henry, this is the stuff I like to talk about, so I agreed to all these interviews I’ve
done. I talked to Zhara and my mom about it because they were concerned I would get
overwhelmed, but I’m not. I explained to them that the more I keep my face in the media and
control the narrative, the better things are for us. By talking about important and meaningful stuff
to the American people, like the need to make voter registration easier and all the other White
House-approved bullet point topics, we have a good chance at keeping our relationship between us
as much as we can anyway. If I keep the press and hosts of these shows engaged and on topic,
which I’ve done a pretty good job of doing, the less they will be able to have an opening to ask me
about… well… you know. When they have, I ignore it and go back to discussing whatever I was
there to discuss, which has worked so far. If a time comes that they continue, they will look like
intrusive assholes who care more about tabloid fodder than actual news, and I will immediately
end the interview.”

Henry takes a moment to contemplate everything Alex has said, and as his brain processes it all, he
feels such pride that it leaves him breathless. “Alex…”

“Hey,” Alex says, squeezing one of his hands with both of his. “Are you all right?”

Henry smiles at Alex as he realizes his eyes are watering, and he’s about a minute away from
crying. “Yes.” For that moment, he is at least. “There are times that your strength and intelligence
completely overwhelm me.”

“Jesus, Henry,” Alex whispers, and a faint blush spreads upon his cheeks.

Henry drops his food into the container and chases the flush with his fingertips. The look Alex
gives him is one that some might mistake as him being embarrassed or bashful. Henry knows those
are some of the emotions Alex feels, but there are many others he is experiencing, and when they
have to do with Henry praising him, it gets him going. Alex's eyes sparkle, and he dips his head
down, his long eyelashes batting against his cheekbones. He is hesitant to allow himself to fully
enjoy what Henry’s words have made him feel. Henry knows Alex in a way he has never known
another human being other than himself, and if he doesn’t change the subject, they will have to
worry about a lot more than food messing up their nice clothes.
“We should probably get back to work,” Henry says, reluctantly dropping his hands from where
they had somehow ended up carding through Alex’s hair.

“Nice change in subject,” Alex says, rolling his eyes while pointedly adjusting his pants. He then
gives Henry a once-over. “I can’t believe how hot I find your royal attire.”

Henry smirks. “Really? It seemed you weren’t very fond of it at the wedding.” He is not all that
fond of wearing it, but his grandfather insisted that he wear it for a few of the American interviews
so that the viewers do not forget that he is a Prince of England. Henry is sure King James didn’t
want him to forget that either.

Alex shakes his head at him. “I’m pretty sure that I was probably too fond of it,” he says, running
a hand down the sash and lingering just over where the seam rests against Henry’s nipple. “Poor
Pip and Mazzy. If only I had realized sooner that I didn’t have to topple over a wedding cake that
costs seventy-five thousand pounds just to get you out of your clothes. All I had to do was text you
and insult your taste in… well, in everything, and you were popping buttons and ruining ties left
and right!”

Henry bursts out laughing and loves that the moment he does, Alex’s joyful giggle joins along with
his. “You are a total git, Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz!”

Alex’s giggles turn into snorting laughter, and he scoffs, “Hey! Which one am I? You just said I
was intelligent, and now I’m a git? That isn’t very nice, Henry.”

“You can do the impossible and be both an idiot and the smartest person I know all at the same
time,” Henry says. He takes their food containers and stacks them up on the seat behind so he can
crawl over to Alex. He quickly moves, straddles his waist, and starts pepper kisses down Alex’s
throat. “Every time you come up with a different scenario on how you could’ve gotten me naked
sooner, it makes me want to strip you down and take you…”

A sudden, rapid knocking on the door to their room cut Henry’s words off. “Thirteen minutes,
Alex,” Zhara calls from the other side. “Henry, Shaan says you’ve got a call in fifteen minutes
with one of the handlers about another ribbon cutting!”

Henry sags against Alex and groans against his neck. “Damn it!”

Alex’s hands cup his jaw, and he tilts Henry’s head, stares at him for a long, stretched-out moment,
then slowly leans in and pushes their lips together, kissing him with teeth and lips but withholding
his tongue.

Henry is now not only incredibly hard in pants that leave nothing to the imagination, but he is
pretty sure that he will never be able to wear this damn outfit and never think of that kiss again.

“Did my breath smell?” Alex asks.

Henry was feeling way too good from the kiss to know what he smelled on Alex’s breath, not when
his lips tasted like the promise of filthy sex. “I think you’re fine,” he says with a gravelly voice that
shows how affected he was by the kiss. He slithers off Alex’s lap, stands up, and tries to adjust
himself in his boxers. “Your hair is a little wild, though,” he admits.

“No thanks to you,” Alex says, waggling his eyebrows as he stands. He discards the paper smock
and disappears into the ensuite bathroom, leaving the door open. “So, am I going with you to
London?”

“Yes,” he replies instantly. He feels his heart stutter and changes to an excited, accelerated beat of
 happiness he hasn’t felt in days. “We’re going to London together.”

Henry is sure there’s a protocol he should follow here, now that Alex is about to become his
official suitor, something he needs to discuss with Alex. He isn’t going to get into all that now
because they’ll have a plane ride to discuss it. If the King has a problem with his boyfriend staying
with him at Kensington, that's his grandfather’s issue. When it comes to Alex, Henry doesn’t like
asking for permission to have him by his side. He has a tiny, miniscule hope that maybe one day
his grandfather, and even Philip, may have enough humanity in them to realize how they’ve treated
him and Alex. He hopes that if that day comes, he’ll be strong enough to give them forgiveness, if
not for them, for himself.

To Be Continued

Chapter End Notes

This transitional chapter was a little harder to write than I was expecting it to be. I do
hope you all enjoy it and I thank all of you for your kudos and comments. Each one is
loved. I am already deep into the chapter five, which is flowing the way I wish this
one had.
 Fall
Chapter Notes

This one is starting to angsty. And with angst, usually comes a little more length too.

Chapter Five: Fall

Alex will never take for granted the accommodations provided to him as the First Son of the
United States, especially regarding air travel. He knows that he is lucky to fly so comfortably and
often without the additional hassle of airport security if they fly privately. Flying with Henry on his
jet is even more lavish.

This flight is his first trip on this particular jet, and it’s a lot different from the one he flew home
on the last time he was in England. A male attendant stands to greet them and take their luggage in
the small hallway to the right of the passenger door. He disappears with it into a door to the right.

“That’s the bedroom suite,” Henry tells him, and he seems nervous as he says it.

“A bedroom suite?” Alex asks. “Oooh, I want a tour!”

Henry rolls his eyes at Alex, takes his hand, and pulls him down the hall to the right, which is the
opposite direction of the bedroom. “That’s a little two-piece lavatory,” he says, tapping on a small
door in the hall before they enter the main cabin.

Shaan and Amy are there, standing off to the side in front of the chairs. “Your Highness, Mr.
Claremont-Diaz,” Shaan says, nodding at them both. “Benjamin will attend to your luggage. I
informed him that he should not unpack either of your rucksacks.”

“Thank you, Shaan,” Alex says.

“Yes, thank you,” Henry replies. “And Amy, thank you for accompanying us this time. I know it
isn’t easy being away from your partner.”

Amy nods. “Someone other than you has to try to keep Alex out of trouble,” she says. “Also, my
partner decided to take the four days I’m gone and go on a meditation retreat so she won’t miss me
too much.”

The door hatch closes and locks, and Alex looks out the windows to see Henry’s PPOs walking
toward the front of the plane, where a second staircase is. “You don’t have to have your PPOs in
here?” he asks Henry.

“Not if we have both Shaan and Amy,” Henry explains. “Plus, they can always come through the
service door if there was ever a need to.”

Alex looks toward the back of the cabin and sees the skinny door laid into the wood wall. He then
trails his eyes over the whole main cabin. It has a dozen large, soft white leather recliner seats, a
sofa in the same leather, a wood coffee table, and a flat-screen TV. It’s all incredibly modern
looking, with white leather and chrome accents everywhere, but the dark wood walls and surfaces
make it warmer than it would be without them. “This plane is ridiculous, and luxury like this is
unneeded,” he says. “And I’ve been on Air Force One, so you know that’s saying something. I
don’t know if I want to enjoy all this or tease you about it.”

Henry laughs and asks, “Do you want the rest of the tour?”

“Absolutely,” Alex replies immediately. “After a flight on this thing, I’ll list all the things I’m
grateful for that have brought me to where I am right now.”

“I hope I’m on that list,” Henry says, arching one eyebrow.

“Absolutely,” Alex tells him, bringing Henry up against his body. “You’re the first and the middle,
the last and....”

“Please make the tour quick,” Shaan says, interrupting Alex. “As soon as Benjamin finishes with
your luggage, we will take off.”

“Okay,” Alex says and gives Henry a small peck on his lips. “No funny business, I suppose.”

“We are standing right here,” Amy says dryly.

Henry presses a small kiss to Alex’s mouth, drags him through the hallway, then opens the door
and leads him into the suite.

“Oh, Your Royal Highness,” Benjamin says nervously. He’s standing in the needlessly large walk-
in closet with what appears to be frosted plexiglass walls. “I am just finishing up and will be out of
your way.”

“No rush,” Henry tells the man as they enter the room. “So,” he tells Alex, “as you can see, that’s
the closet. The ensuite lavatory has a sink, shower, and toilet at the back of the room. The best part
of this suite, though, is the bed.”

Alex can see why. It looks soft and comfortable; he doesn’t think he’s ever seen any royal bed look
so inviting. “Is that a king?”

“Queen,” Henry tells him. “And the mattress was made from a special material, so it’s not too
heavy.”

“It looks like Heaven,” Alex tells him, wanting to go and plop down face first. “Which is weird.
The whole plane was designed very strangely. I didn’t think the Royal Family’s private jets would
look so modern. I am sure the last one I rode home had an elaborate pure gold door knob on the
bathroom and ornate gold chair rails along the walls.”

“It probably did,” Henry said. “Though I don’t think that gold is real, not unless it were the
King’s jet, they’d never let you take that one.”

“No, probably not,” Alex agreed. He walked over to the small desk and ran his hand over the
surface. “This sort of seems pointless, given that there’s a table in the main cabin too.”

“I use that desk a lot.” Henry smiles as Benjamin comes out of the closet, gives him a slight head
bow, and then leaves the bedroom. “This isn’t exactly a royal jet, Alex,” he says. “It doesn’t
belong to the Crown, I mean.”

Alex notices that Henry looks incredibly nervous and has a slight blush on his cheeks. “It
doesn’t?”
“No,” Henry grumbles. “It’s mine.”

“You bought this?” Alex asks, a little amazed at the idea of ever having any money that would
allow him to purchase such an extravagant plane. He does very well for himself with what he’s
paid for his public commentary on news channels and the modeling gigs he gets, but the price of a
private jet as tricked out and beautifully designed as this one is unthinkable to him.

“Percy gifted me this a couple of years ago for my twenty-sixth birthday. I was supposed to attend
a party he was throwing me in Paris, but at the last minute, the King decided that he needed to
send Philip to Belgium for some reason that I cannot recall now, and it surely was not the
emergency he made it out to be. These jets have to undergo a rigorous inspection process before
anyone in the royal family can board them. He insisted that Philip had to use the jet I was going to
take, and other than his own, which is always ready, it was the only one available. Even if I had
asked to get another one ready, I suspect it wouldn’t have been in time for me to make it to the
party.”

“Your grandfather is an asshole,” Alex grumbled.

“Yeah, he can be,” Henry said softly, but then he smiled. “It didn’t stop me, though. I told Philip I
would tag along with him, and then Shaan arranged a private train room for us to get to Paris.”

“The King couldn’t have been pleased about that,” Alex said.

“I honestly don’t remember,” Henry said, returning to Alex. “We had best get back.”

“All right,” Alex said, but first, he gathered Henry into his arms, squeezed him tightly, and ran his
fingers through his hair. “Okay,” he said, stepping back. “I just sorta felt like you needed that
hug.”

Henry’s beautifully full lips spread into a big smile, and his hazel eyes lit up. “I can guarantee that
there isn’t a moment I don’t need your body against mine, Alex, no matter the reason.”

Alex knew he was blushing, and he loved that after all the countless sweet and sexy words Henry
had spoken or seen written for him, he was still so enamored by them.

They get back into the main cabin and take their seats across from the two where Amy and Shaan
are sitting, buckled in.

“I informed the chef of you and Alex’s preferences for dinner,” Shaan says. “It should be ready
shortly after we hit cruising altitude.”

“You and Amy ordered something, too, right?” Alex asks, buckling his seat belt.

“We did,” Shaan says, sounding pleased that Alex asked.

“It’s prime rib, Alex,” Amy says dreamily. “I’m not sure how they’re going to manage that on a
plane, but I look forward to seeing the Chef try.”

“A chef?” Alex asked.

“Oh, uh…” Henry rubs the back of his neck and blushes. “That’s right.”

“Did they come with the plane?” Alex asks.

“In a way, yes,” Henry says.

“That is not an answer,” Alex says. “I’ll let it go for now, though, because we’re about to lift off,
and that’s my least favorite part of flying, and I need to be completely focused on the scenery out
my window to stay calm.”

Henry grabs both of Alex’s hands on his own and holds them. “We’ll be fine, Love.”

Alex does feel much better with Henry holding his hands. It’s incredible, and Alex just really
fucking loves him.

To say that Alex has a hard time paying attention to Shaan while he goes over the finer points of
their itinerary would be a vast understatement. He knows the King believes that following protocol
is essential. As an ‘Official Royal Suitor,’ he’s expected to behave a certain way and be grateful
Henry chose him, and he is, but not for the reasons the Crown wants him to be, and it all seems so
damn boring.

“What do you think?” Henry asks, squeezing Alex’s hand.

Alex knows Henry is asking him something specific, but he has been zoning in and out and making
a mental list of all the places he would like to have sex with Henry on this airplane. “What do I
think about what exactly?” he asks.

“How long ago did we lose you?” Henry laughs as he releases Alex’s hand and returns to eating
what Alex believes is the worst example of pudding he’s ever seen.

Alex tries not to feel any particular way about the exasperated expression on Shaan’s face or the
glare in Amy’s eyes. “The bowing or the head tilt from the neck gesture when we meet with your
cousin, Prince Bailey, and his wife, Princess Peyton.”

Henry wipes his mouth off on a napkin and gives him a tiny smirk. “That’s Prince Brantley and
Princess Peryna,” he corrects.

Alex frowns and makes a new mental list. “Right, them. So, I’m going to need more coffee if we’re
going to keep doing this the whole flight and then hit the ground running,” he says.

“You need to sleep, Love,” Henry says, putting his hand on Alex’s thigh. “And don’t worry, it’ll be
around eight when we get there, and we can relax in my apartments tonight to be well-rested for
everything else.”

“Sir, His Majesty has requested that we go over his requests and sign off on them before we land,”
Shaan says, his tone worried.

“I understand, Shaan,” Henry says softly. “But Alex isn’t the only one who could use some sleep. I
appreciate everything you’re doing for me, for us. I know it isn’t easy dealing with the outcome of
the emails along with my grandfather’s very poised yet very poignant rath. I honestly don’t know
how you haven’t just quit already.”

“Your father would haunt me if I did,” Shaan says, giving Henry a tiny smile. “And I believe we
will have to wait for a time that you don’t need me for us to part ways, Henry.”

“I don’t think that is likely ever to happen,” Henry says. “You may have to be the one to break
things off one day.”

Shaan nods at Henry and smiles at him.

Alex was sure he could see some moisture in his eyes, but then he blinked, and it was gone. “A rest
sounds like a good choice for all of us, Sir.”

Henry stands up and reaches his hand down to pull Alex up with him. “Come on, let’s go take a
nap.” To Shaan and Amy Henry says, “I know you both will not sleep, but I hope you’ll put your
chairs back and relax. This week is going to be crazy for all four of us.”

“I brought my crochet kit,” Amy says, smiling.

“And I am learning Spanish with that green bird app,” Shaan says, picking up his phone.

“For Zhara?” Alex asks. “That’s so sweet.”

Shaan rolls his eyes. “I assure you that my desire to learn a ninth language has nothing to do
with…”

“You being engaged to a woman who speaks that language more than fifty percent of the time?”
Alex cuts in as he follows Henry toward the hallway. “Sure it isn’t,” he calls over his shoulder.

“I’ll wake you both when we’re an hour outside the airstrip,” Amy says.

“Thank you, Amy,” Alex replies through a yawn, and his words come out garbled. His eyelids feel
incredibly heavy, and his joints and muscle aches feel more profound than they have in a while. He
doesn’t know the last time he slept for more than a couple of hours, which explains why he had a
more challenging time than usual, paying attention to the schedule Shaan was reading through.

He is slow as he follows Henry back into the bedroom. Alex wants to take advantage of having a
bed and possibly becoming a specific sort of club member while on the private flight, but not this
time. It’s as though the moment Henry suggested they nap, and he felt all the past days of fatigue
hit him. Alex thinks it may be okay to finally give in to the exhaustion that’s been a constant hum in
his body for a long time. Beside the bed, he toes off his shoes, but Henry helps him undress to his
boxer briefs and then guides him under the covers. Alex’s eyes slip closed as he feels Henry’s
naked body align against the side of his own. Henry rests his head beside him so they share the
pillow, and his warm breath glides against his cheek as he breathes.

“Rest well, darling,” Henry whispers and kisses his jaw as he drapes his arm over Alex’s chest
and pulls him closer.

Alex tries to say something, but the pull of sleep takes him under.

While he and Henry had discussed the official suitor thing before, the protocols and the itinerary
Shaan went through with them left him feeling like he didn't want to leave the plane when it
landed. Thankfully, they could relax when they arrived at Kensington and weren’t subjected
immediately to the Crown’s demands. They hung out with Bea and watched a couple of episodes of
Bake Off with her, and then he and Henry had some private time before they went to sleep. They
both got almost eight hours of sleep before Shaan woke them so that they could begin their busy
day.

It began with the two of them meeting with advisors minutes after they finished their breakfast.
There were more detailed and complex papers to sign than the ones Shaan had given them on the
plane. These were simple agreements regarding their public outings to various charitable
organizations throughout the UK. Though Alex was nearly a lawyer, he still had to check with his
own and Zhara before signing anything. The meeting took nearly twice as long as they had to set
both his lawyer and Zhara up on Zoom, and the papers had to be uploaded securely, retrieved, and
then read before he had the go-ahead to sign anything. Some documents were deemed satisfactory
for him to sign as soon as that was done, and others had to be edited for reasons that made his
head swim.

They had a late lunch, and after that, he and Henry had to dress up in the most stuffy, boring suits
imaginable. When Alex questioned this, Henry reminded him that royals did not wear anything
flashy, and when it came to official photos, they rarely, if ever, wore a designer who wasn’t from
London. Alex was sure there were London designers that could toe the line better than the options
he and Henry had, but he didn’t push it.

They are in hour three and a half of the photo shoot in Kensington Palace garden. He and Henry
broke away a while ago to go to the bathroom and warm up a little, but they couldn’t hide for long.
Now he is so cold that his face is freezing, and he thinks his bland smile might just freeze the way it
is on his face, and he’ll never be called dashing by anyone again.

The director of the photo shoot is not the photographer, which is weird if you ask Alex, which
nobody does. No one asks him or Henry anything. Their opinions are worthless, and Alex hates it.
The director has given Alex no less than a hundred directions about his facial expressions alone
during this whole thing. When he adds His Royal Highness to the directions every time, something
about that just really bothers him. He wishes his anger would warm him, but even his blood seems
frozen in his veins in this vindictively cold weather they have to bear.

King James sits in a garden chair with a cup of hot tea in his hand, watching everything with a
smirk. Of course, he wants everyone there to believe he is there because he cares so much about
Henry. Alex tries hard to ignore him, but it’s hard to do. The man has spent his entire life with
admirers and is good at getting attention.

“Smile, but not too much. Touch, but keep it proper. Look at one another, but don’t stare.” That
one, Alex almost does break and ask what the fuck the director means by that, but he sees Shaan,
who is standing behind the photographer giving him a look that Alex can’t decipher, but it stops
him from reacting. “Don’t look too intimately at each other. Your Royal Highness, your hand is
curled in a fist.”

“You look annoyed,” the director says to him.

“I am,” Alex tells him, but quickly adds, “with the weather. It’s not exactly the best day for an
outdoor photoshoot.”

“There is a great light. That is all that matters,” the man replies.

The camera's clicking, and the reflectors' turns go on and on. Alex’s right leg starts to cramp. His
foot rests on the concrete bench Henry sits on, and the angle at his leg must turn so that it doesn’t
appear like Henry is leaning back against his crotch is unnatural.

“Please do not fidget,” the director says.

Alex takes his leg down and bangs his foot against the ground. “I’ve got a cramp,” he says, trying
not to glare.

Henry twists, puts his hand on Alex’s leg, and starts to massage it. “Are you all right?” he asks,
looking up at him worriedly.

The cramp starts to subside, and Alex nods before leaning down and kissing Henry’s cold nose.
“It’s getting better,” he says softly.

“I believe we have enough appropriate photos,” the photographer says.

The director makes a huffing noise and waves his hand through the air. “I suppose we’ll have to
make do.”

The director walks over to King James’ Equerry and tells him. “I will have the images available
for His Majesty to choose from tomorrow morning.”

“I hated almost every second of that,” Henry says so softly that Alex almost doesn’t hear him.
“And my arse is numb from this damn cold bench.”

Alex pulls Henry into his arms and hugs him tightly. “I’m sorry,” he says, then puts his lips
against Henry’s ear. “Tonight, I’ll make sure to get that “arse” nice and warm.”

Henry starts chuckling but reigns it in and detaches himself from Alex’s hug. He clears his throat
and stands straighter, keeping one arm around Alex’s waist. “We should be able to go inside
soon,” he whispers to Alex, looking at the King. “As soon as they finish talking, he’ll dismiss us.
He may be tough, but there’s no way he isn’t freezing as much as we are.”

“I don’t know, I think he’s wearing one of those new suits that have heating and cooling elements
stitched into them,” Alex says wearily. “I don’t think our torture will end just because the
photographer decided to be done with us out here.”

King James and the Crown decided that the best way to show that Prince Henry still cares about
England and the Monarchy, despite what the emails may have said or implied, is for Alex and
Henry to do a traditional royal photoshoot. They believe this will also show the public that they
support Prince Henry and his relationship with Alex by making them participate in many of the
traditions other ladies and suitors have had in the past. The Crown has taken a beating by the
public and press after releasing a vague statement of support for Prince Henry. It is imperative to
them that the very first item on their ‘show of support checklist’ be the Official Royal Suitor
photos. They believe that showing Alex and Henry engaging in one of the Crown's oldest traditions
as quickly as possible will turn the tide of public opinion.

The key word there is engaging. It is one thing for Alex to be an official suitor for Henry. This
particular tradition with the photos is usually reserved for engaged couples. Which they are not.
Not that Alex hasn’t thought about marrying Henry, of course he has, but since they were outed
and Henry has been hiding in America leading up to the election, they lived day-to-day. Since then,
they haven’t had time to discuss their future details. He doesn’t want it to be decided by the
Crown, but he knows that many parts of it will be, and he’ll have no choice in the matter. He has
no choice but to stand beside Henry, freezing his balls off because they’re not allowed to ‘take
their leave’ or whatever until the King dismisses them.

King James is a ruthless monarch. As opposed as he was to Henry living his truth, he is now
determined to be publicly supportive of it. He doesn’t fool Henry or Alex by making plans to show
them off to every Tom, Dick and Harry in London. He doesn’t want to be involved in their
photoshoot or the little ‘suitor party’ thrown next month in Alex’s ‘honor.’ There isn’t a single
moment that King James will publicly allow anyone to think he has any negative feelings about
Henry and Alex’s relationship.

Moving on to ‘publicly’ now being a keyword. When Alex and Henry proudly stepped onto the
balcony to wave at the crowd, they pushed King James into a corner and forced him to make many
changes he never intended. There will be a handful of his achievements that will become footnotes.
It would be under his reign that the Prince of England came out as a gay man who was in a
relationship with a foreign leader’s son. Textbooks would probably have a story here or there
about James’ charity work, but the significant bits of his long reign will not be about himself.
Henry’s story will be exceedingly more critical in history.

Alex and Henry are under no delusions regarding how the King has felt since they opened the glass
doors and heard the roaring voices of supporters. They will be overwhelmed with King James’
support from now on because all of the King’s sources and all his men couldn’t put back together
what Alex and Henry broke in the end.

To Be Continued
 Freedom
Chapter Summary

Henry has to learn to allow himself to find freedom in various ways. It'll start with him
finding it here with Alex.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Freedom

“My mum should be here soon,” he says, buttoning up his crisp white shirt. “When we talked the
day after the election, she said she wasn’t planning on returning here for a while. Bea thinks she’s
coming home to run interference with Grandpa and ensure he doesn’t treat us like crap.”

“Can she do that?” Alex asks him. “Can she make King James treat us better?”

Henry isn’t sure if she will do it, but he knows the mum Catherine used to be would have.
“Selfishly, I want her to try because she should have protected me, Bea, and even Philip a long time
ago from him. Realistically, I understand that may not happen, and I’ll have to stand up for us
myself.”

“Do you want to have some time alone with her?” Alex pats the mattress beside him. “I can hang
out here and be waiting for your return.”

Henry looks over at Alex, who is reclining on his bed, his hair messy from their nap. He looks soft
and comfortable in his sleep pants and jumper, and he wants to tell Alex he can stay in his room
and relax, but he wants him there for support. Alex’s lips curl into a bright smile, and Henry asks,
“What’s that smile for?”

“I liked wearing your ring,” Alex replies. “I also like that you have it back because of what you
said before you gave it to me.”

“Oh,” he says, smiling now too. He drops his hand from where he’d been twisting the ring around
on his pinky.

“Do you remember?” Alex asks, looking up at Henry through his gorgeous eyelashes.

“I remember,” he assures him. Henry doesn’t care if his mum is due at Kensington in an hour or if
he’s just about fully dressed. His heart races in reaction to Alex’s gaze, and he can’t ignore this
moment with him. He walks over to the end of the bed and unzips his trousers slowly. “I said you
needed to hold onto it until you had all of me.”

Alex’s smile morphs into a sexy smirk. “Yes. Maybe you can remind me right now just how it
feels to have all of you.”

Henry drops his pants and then starts unbuttoning his shirt. “I would’ve thought after last night’s
vigorous activities it would be enough for you not to forget.”
Alex moves to his knees and rubs his ass. “Oh, I still feel it. I need a reminder of why I feel it.”

Henry laughs. “I think we can stop with the attempt at dirty talk,” he says. “Get naked.”

“Bossy,” Alex quips. “You too.”

Henry slips his shirt off and then pushes his boxers down his legs as Alex takes his shirt and pants
off. “We don’t have much time,” he says, crawling up the bed.

Alex turns to the nightstand, his now naked ass facing Henry. “I don’t think we’ll need much,” he
says. He grabs a condom and the lube, falls back against the pillows, and plants his feet far apart
on the mattress. “I’m feeling good. I don’t need much prep.”

“I enjoy doing that, though,” Henry says, taking the supplies from Alex as he kneels between his
legs. “Watching you squirm on my fingers is becoming one of my favorite things.”

Alex shifts around impatiently and then starts playing with his balls. “Just hurry up, cover-up, and
lube up so you can fuck me.”

Henry sits back a little as he opens the condom and hovers the disc over the head of his cock.
“You’re very needy today, Alex. I think you should ask me nicely.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Alex says, rolling his eyes. “You’ve never liked me nice.”

“No, darling, I believe I will be fucking you,” Henry tells him and kisses his kneecap. “I like it
when you ask nicely, and you can be very sweet.”

“You say that, but never forget that you fell in love with me because I constantly insulted you,”
Alex reminds him. “The only thing sweet about me is how you think I taste.”

“Oh, Alex,” Henry laughs and leans down to lick up from Alex’s mid-thigh to his knee, swirling
his tongue over the cute little mole there. “You forget that I’ve loved you before you came up to
speak to me. I was the one to insult you first and make you fall in love with me by doing so.”

“I can’t believe we’re arguing about this,” Alex says in an amused tone. He sits up, grabs his hair,
uses his lips to force Henry’s mouth to open wide, and floods his mouth with his tongue.

Henry cups the back of Alex’s neck, holding onto him as he fights to kiss back just as intensely. He
goes to grab Alex with his other hand but remembers at the last second that he’s still holding the
condom and pulls his mouth away from Alex. “I almost dropped the condom,” he explains.

Alex gives him a smile of satisfaction and reaches down to grab the condom with one hand and
holds Henry’s cock at the base with his other. He quickly rolls it onto him, and Henry shudders at
the contact. “You say that I’m needy,” he says. “But don’t think I haven’t noticed that you have
had an erection on and off since early this morning.”

“I have not,” Henry protests, just because he knows Alex is right and enjoys this sparring they
engage in. He will never get enough of it.

“You were hard in the shower, even after our morning blowies ten minutes before,” Alex points
out. “Then, while waiting for the hairdresser, you started shifting around, and I could see your
woody tenting your pants until she walked in. After that, you got hard because I held your hand in
the car on the way to the ribbon cutting, which I tried to ignore because it was sweet.”

“Oh, shut up,” Henry says, hoping that he’s already red enough from being turned on that Alex
doesn’t notice his blushing.

“In the bathroom after the polo match, you were hard when you walked out of the tack room
and…”

“You were turned on, too,” Henry cuts him off. “You’re just as bad as I am about any place that
reminds us of when you came to my polo match.”

Alex nods. “Sure, but I’m not the one being all embarrassed about it. I told you I went to the
bathroom and jerked off.”

“What?” Henry asks, shocked. “When?”

“When you told me that you were going to get water, I told you I was going to the bathroom,” Alex
says.

“I thought you were going to take a piss,” Henry replies. “You never said that you were going to
masturbate, Alex! My grandfather was there!”

“It was a one-person bathroom, and you know I can make myself come in two minutes with the
right stimulation,” Alex says. “The King was too busy watching Philip to care or notice where I
was.”

The thought of Alex being so hot and horny just from the memory of him sucking him off has
Henry leaking into the condom so much that he might need to replace it before he gets inside Alex.
“If you would’ve said, I would’ve…”

“It was a one-person bathroom,” Alex reminds him. “The moment we started walking upstairs to
your bedroom, I could tell you were hard then, too, even though I was staring at your ass as you
climbed the stairs.”

“How?” Henry asks and looks away from Alex.

“You were walking differently, sort of the way you did after Amy caught us in the Red Room at
the White House.”

“You’re making me feel incredibly self-conscious,” Henry admits, looking up at Alex through his
eyelashes. “It’s embarrassing that I can’t control my body’s reaction to you when I’ve been
controlling it for most of my life.”

Alex gives him a soft look and takes his hand. “Baby, I don’t mean to make you feel like that. I
don’t think that anyone but me knows what I do. You wear ridiculously roomy trousers with
jackets that fall almost below your crotch. You had on that peacoat at the match, too, covering up
your perfect body and leaving everything to the imagination. Except me, because I don’t have to
imagine anything, Henry. I know you.” Alex puts both hands on his cheeks and brushes his thumbs
over his cheekbones. “I know you were hot for me because of the tiny splotches of red that dot
your cheeks just here. It’s different from how your cheeks flush when you’re hot from running or
have been in the cold or wind.”

Alex often tells Henry that he isn’t good at being romantic and that he isn’t good with words, but
he doesn’t think that’s true at all. He usually says what he means and wants and does it with pure
abandonment. It’s incredible, and Henry hasn’t ever had anyone like Alex. He’s swaying toward
Alex, yearning for more contact between them, so he puts his hands behind Alex’s back and pulls
him onto his knees. Their chests come together, and their hearts beat fast rhythms into one
another’s bodies.
Alex moves his hands down and taps his fingers on the corners of his lips. “These lines here relax,
and I notice you smile easier when you’re horny.” Alex moves his hands up and passes his
fingertips over the corners of his eyes. “The crinkles disappear almost entirely because your
eyebrows go up, your eyes widen, and your pupils get so dark it makes your hazel eyes turn honey-
brown.”

Alex smiles at him, looking indulgent and so pretty that Henry’s breath catches. “Alex, please.” He
moves so he straddles Alex’s thigh and grinds his cock up against his abs.

“I love you, I know you, and you were locked up tight for so long, Henry. You don’t have to
wrangle the freedom you’re allowing yourself to feel for the first time in your life. You can be free.
You’re allowed.”

Henry feels overcome with varying emotions, and he doesn’t know how they have gone from
teasing one another to this. Tears cloud his vision and fall down his cheeks before he realizes he’s
crying. Rubbing them out of his eyes doesn’t stop them completely, and he gives up trying. He lets
himself feel what has sprung up from within him because of Alex. He captures Alex’s mouth with
his own and kisses him while he gently pushes him back on the pillows. “Thank you,” he says as
he moves between Alex’s legs again. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Alex replies and spreads his legs wider.

Henry takes a moment to look at him. Alex’s skin shines golden in the light on his nightstand, one
of his hands is slowly fisting his cock, and the other is in between his ass cheeks, two fingers
pressing over his entrance. Alex’s dark eyes hold Henry’s gaze as he gives him a dimpled smile.
Henry feels his emotions settle, and he lets out a long, deep breath and starts running his hands up
and down the insides of Alex’s thighs. He is lucky to have Alex and the honor of seeing him like
this. Alex is the most gorgeous person he’s ever known, inside and out, laid out for him,
uninhibited and comfortable, giving so much more to Henry than just his body.

“Come on,” Alex says, grabbing the abandoned bottle of lube beside him. He pours some onto his
fingers and slides them in and out without much resistance. “Put on a new condom and get inside
me already.”

The tense emotion evaporates at the demand, and Henry does as asked. Alex’s body is still relaxed
from last night, but Henry takes his time pushing into him. He gathers Alex’s long legs, drapes
them over his shoulders, and shoves a pillow under his ass. Henry slides a little more inside, and
they both gasp at the toe-curling sensation. He’s so close already, which isn’t surprising because
Henry thinks he will probably never be used to being inside Alex. When Alex uses his muscles,
tightening around his cock, it makes him see stars. “Please,” he says, stilling and dropping his head
onto Alex’s chest. “Wait just a second.”

“You good?” Alex teases.

He looks up and wants to kiss the smirk he sees right off Alex’s face. He leans up, grinding
himself into Alex, and presses his mouth onto Alex’s now open one, swallowing his moans.

“All right,” Alex says and laughs as he pulls out of the kiss. He grabs Henry’s ass and squeezes it.
“Let yourself go. I want you to,” he whispers. “Allow yourself to find your freedom, sweetheart.”

“I already have,” he tells him, kissing Alex gently and slowly this time. “It’s this, it’s us,” he says
between kisses. “It’s you, Alex.”

To Be Continued
Chapter End Notes

I'm sorry there wasn't a ton of plot in this one. This is where Henry and Alex led me in
this chapter. In the next chapter, we will get back to heavier angstier plot stuff. Thank
you to everyone who is reading and leaving comments.
 Home
Chapter Summary

A meeting with the King doesn't go how Alex expects it to.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Home

Alex absolutely despises King James. He’s never had to work so hard to mask his real feelings in
his entire life. He isn’t sure he’s doing a good job, but he really can’t help it. He and Henry’s hands
join under the table and he thinks he may be squeezing Henry’s hand a little too tightly, but when
he tries to relax his grip, Henry tightens his.

“After everything you’ve done, this is the proper course for your future,” the king says loftily.

“You want us to set a date to announce our engagement and set a wedding date! We aren’t even
engaged, Grandpa!” Henry objects.

“You are thinking of this as a consequence,” King James says. “But you should be grateful.”

And that’s the last straw for Alex. “Grateful?” he asks, and the king’s gaze swivels to him. “Why?
Because you decided not to be a bigot publicly and pretend…”

“Alex,” Catherine interrupts from his other side and places her hand on his arm.

He looks beside him and sees she has a very stern look on her face, and he reels back everything
else he is going to say and nods at her.

“Father, you cannot force Alex and Henry to marry, or to become engaged,” Catherine says
pointedly. “What was done to them has no place in the two of them…”

“You do realize that you’re the one who lectured me to include the American in our family in the
first place,” King James interrupts his daughter. “I’m honestly not sure why you believe you get a
say in any of this, Catherine. The Monarchy is not something you get to leave and come back to
whenever you please.”

“I didn’t come back to the Monarchy,” she says, icily. “I came back for my family!”

“Mum,” Henry says, his voice breaking. “It’s all right.”

Alex turns to look at Henry, shocked. There’s no way that any of this is all right. “You haven’t
even consulted Zahra about any of this. Have you?” Alex asks the king. “Because if you had, I
would have been informed about it immediately after she shut it down.”

The King gives him a scrunched-up expression and narrows his eyes at him. “This is a family
matter, which you insist upon being a part of and…”
“No,” Alex says, and he pulls his and Henry’s hands out from underneath the table and places them
on top of it, in full view of the king. He sees the man’s face turn red in response to the action and
he feels bolstered by the honest, hateful reaction. “I have definitely not insisted upon being a part
of your family at all. That’s been you and the palace all along. You have it wrong because I don’t
want your family. I want to make Henry a part of mine.”

“I fail to see the difference,” the King snaps. “You, Mr. Claremont are…”

“It’s Claremont-Diaz,” Henry interrupts.

The king rolls his eyes. “You are both ungrateful.”

“Perhaps you should explain what you wish them to be grateful for,” Catherine says.

“I don’t need an explanation,” Henry says and he releases Alex’s hand. “But you will.”

Alex watches as Henry twists his signet ring off his pinky and then slams it on the table with a
crack that startles all three of them. “Henry,” Alex whispers his name as the enormity of what he
thinks Henry is about to do is computing in his brain. “No,” he says and grabs Henry’s hand.
“Baby, no.”

Henry looks at him, and his hardened expression changes to resolute, and he leans in and pecks his
lips. “It’s okay,” he says, and nods at Alex while smiling.

“Henry,” Catherine says his name like a reluctant warning.

Henry pays her no mind and turns to look at King James again. “I’m abdicating.”

The King laughs.

The reaction, by the look on Henry and Catherine’s faces, and probably his own, is not at all what
any of them are expecting.

“You’ve signed contracts,” the King says.

This is where Alex has to put everything he’s ever learned to use. “Those contracts involve His
Royal Highness Prince Henry. If Henry abdicates, which will mean that he loses his title of His
Royal Highness, it will void the contracts. There is no clause written into them that addresses that
circumstance.”

“Henry, we can discuss this more,” Catherine tries. “The palace…”

“I don’t care,” Henry snaps. He pushes his chair back and stands up. “I don’t care what the palace
or you say, Grandfather. I’m willing to wait to go public about this for a few months, until the press
moves on to stalking Philip and Martha again, or they find another couple to harass, but I’m done.”

Alex isn’t graceful at all as scrapes his chair backward and stands up beside Henry, holding his
hand again. “I’ll have Zahra and our lawyers work out the dissolution of our contracts.”

“Henry,” the king says his name quietly and leans up to push the ring back toward Henry. “This is
not what I want.”

“I don’t think I care what you want any more,” Henry tells him, and Alex feels his hand shaking in
his hold. He looks over at Catherine and says, “You’re too late, Mum.”

*
One long phone call with a very angry Zahra and two hours later, Alex is finally able to be alone
with Henry, though it won’t be for long. “So, are you coming to live with me at the White House?”
Alex asks.

Henry drops the suit he had started to put into a garment bag and looks at him with wide eyes. “I
didn’t even think this through!”

Alex walks over and starts to rub Henry’s back and shoulders. “You know that I support any
decision you make, right? If you wanted to tell your grandfather you didn’t mean it then..”

Henry spins to face him. “I meant it, Alex. I’m abdicating. I just didn’t even bloody ask you about
anything before I did this and I probably should have! That’s what I didn’t think through.”

“I don’t care about that,” Alex says. “You’re welcome to make the White House your home until
we find another place together if that’s what you want. I just didn’t want to assume that’s where
you wanted to stay.”

“I have no plan to be anywhere you aren’t,” Henry replies and laughs. “Other than that, I actually
have no plans at all. Which is kind of nice for the moment.”

“We do need to have a plan soon,” Shaan says, wheeling two large suitcases behind him as he
enters the sitting room. “But that can wait until we get to the White House.”

“Which is where you’re both going to stay,” Alex states.

“If that’s all right with you?” Henry asks.

“It’s more than all right,” Alex says and takes one of the suitcases from Shaan. “Where do you
want me to start packing?”

“The bedside tables, and then the bathroom,” Henry directs him. “I don’t have to take everything
on this trip, but I want to take as many of my personal items as I can. Bea said that when she gets
back here next week she’ll go through the library and start boxing up things from in there. I’ve
already packed my favorite books.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Alex says. This is not at all how he thought this trip to London
would be like, especially after all the obligations and contracts that were drawn up for them at the
beginning of it. “You’re really abdicating?”

Henry smiles so widely, that Alex has to catch his breath at the sight. “I am, Alex. Hopefully,
you’ll still love me even without my title.”

“Absolutely,” Alex says. “Plus, you’ll always be my prince.”

“Henry will always be a prince,” Shaan interjects. “He will lose His Royal Highness Honorific
Title, but he will remain Prince Henry.”

“Thank god for that,” Alex jokes “Let’s get a move on, so we can get you moved.”

“So we can go home,” Henry corrects.

“Exactly. Home.” At this very moment, Alex thinks that it's the first time he's ever considered The
White House his home.

To Be Continued
Chapter End Notes

I'll be going on vacation in a week from now and I'll be getting ready for it this week,
so it may be just a bit between updates. I'm not sure how much writing I'll be able to
get done while I'm there. But I'll be back at it as soon as I return toward the end of
November. Thank you for reading and commenting.

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!