Chapter Text
Alex closes his eyes and leans back against the headboard and tries to keep his breathing steady. For the first time since the day he woke up to news that his emails to Henry had been pasted all over the internet, he feels truly angry.
He doesn’t know why he didn’t see this coming. He knows Miguel is smarmy – he always has.
If Miguel had just jumped at the opportunity for a big break and capitalised on the leak, that would’ve been one thing. Awful, but he was nothing if not opportunistic. And ultimately wouldn’t have been that different from everyone else on the planet.
Alex has tried to avoid them as much as he can, but some comments have slipped through the cracks. He’s seen comments about Henry’s old school friends sharing photos, hoping for their five minutes of fame.
But Miguel being the one behind the leak in the first place was another level of horrific completely.
Now, Alex knows this entire thing was an attack on him and that Henry had just been collateral damage in Miguel’s quest to get ahead and get revenge. He knew the man didn’t like Alex’s multiple rejections over the past year, but he thought even Miguel would draw the line at outing someone.
They had never been friends per se, but they were friendly, so Alex had been willing to stop and say ‘hi’ if they happened to bump into one another after their hot tub hook-up.
At first.
He always had to be careful not to reveal any information that needed to stay secret, but there hadn’t been anything he hated about the flirting in and of itself.
Alex was no stranger to harmless flirtation with ladies and even when it when it became more overt, flirting with Miguel made for a nice change from that.
For him and him alone, Miguel had done one positive thing:
While he hadn’t put a name to it until after Henry kissed him, Alex had internally been much more comfortable with his sexuality since Miguel.
In high school, he had been so scared of the fact that he might be attracted to boys that he’d told Liam what happened between them meant nothing and was all a joke; and it ended up ruining their friendship forever.
But after his hook-up with Miguel, Alex had realised he probably did like men. And that that was okay.
Even if he had no interest in taking things further with this man, he grew more comfortable with the possibility of being with a man.
Clearly too comfortable.
Alex has a feeling that something bad has happened.
His mother personally waking him up at all was unusual. But all she had done was hug him, tell him she loved him, and to meet her in the kitchen.
And now he’s here.
Nora’s sitting on the other side of the island, eyes glued to her laptop. His dad is leaning against the far wall. His stance is casual, but his face is grim.
Either this is an intervention or something catastrophic enough to warrant a meeting in the Situation Room.
“Someone hacked your emails to Henry,” Nora says without preamble.
Yup. Definitely Situation Room.
His stomach drops.
The last email he wrote to Henry he’d sent after he’d arrived back in DC and he knew Henry would just be getting ready for bed.
It said stay gorgeous and strong and unbelievable. I miss you I miss you I miss you I love you.
Was that it? Or was it give yourself away, sometimes, sweetheart.
He can’t remember. He doesn’t know.
But the world does.
“Also there’s a video of you two at the museum,” Nora adds.
Alex feels like he’s going to throw up. The museum was Henry’s special place – the one place he could go to be free of cameras. Alex had felt so honoured that Henry chose to take him there.
Now, people don’t simply know they were there, they can see they were there.
“Is it all of them?”
He knows the answer; yet he’s afraid to hear it spoken aloud.
“Yeah,”
He decides to email Nora and find out if she’d seen the interview. If anyone can help somehow, it will be her. But he doesn’t even get to opening his laptop, as his door is thrown open and Zahra bursts in. Her look of sympathy only lasts a few seconds, before she’s back to being all business.
“Office. Now,” she snaps.
He doesn’t need to asks which office.
“I had nothing to do with that, I swear,” he says as he slides off the bed and finds his shoes.
He doesn’t say anything more; because he did, in fact, have something to do with it. He had a lot to do with it actually.
“It’s not your fault, kiddo,” she says, sharp but not unkind. “And, no, I never read any of them.”
“Thank you, Z,” he smiles. “That means a lot.”
Sitting here now Alex, thinks about that day after the wedding.
His mother doesn’t look nearly as angry as she did that day, though she seems pretty wound up. Alex knows it’s not at him this time but the situation has the same ‘being sent to the principal’s office’ vibe.
Except the office is the Oval Office and the principal is the President of the United States.
And also his mother.
And he’s not sure which one he’s about to have to deal with.
How similar things could be. And yet so very, very different.
That day after the wedding when they sent him back to London before he’d even unpacked, Alex was appalled at the idea of having to spend time with Henry. Now, he’s angry that they’re being kept apart.
“You want to talk about what Miguel Ramos said on MSNBC,” he says.
He blames himself for Miguel’s involvement. He knows, deep down, he shouldn’t. But he can’t stop a tiny part of himself from wondering, if he hadn’t snapped at Miguel in Texas that night…
“Yes,” his mother confirms. “Did you know anything about that?”
“No,” insists Alex. “I never imagined he would do something like this. Even after everything; after we…”
He trails off. His mother doesn’t know the exact nature of his past with Miguel, and he’d never planned on telling her. It happened and now it was over. Unless things got really bad, it wasn’t important.
Well, something big had happened.
“After what?”
He sighs, then decides to rip the band-aid off:
“We hooked up once.”
In a way, it’s easier to admit to his mother what happened between him and Miguel than it was to come out to her. He was so worried about whether she would accept him – divorced from his relationship with Henry.
That’s a part of Alex’s life that means something to him. His feelings for Miguel mean nothing. It’s just a simple fact that’s unfortunately necessary for this discussion.
“How long has this been going on?” she asks gently once he’s finished talking.
“We hooked up during your first campaign,” he admits. “So… since then.”
Four years in total.
Two years and six months of harmless banter, and eighteen months of frustration that ended in the worst possible outcome Alex can imagine.
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” asks his mother. “I would’ve done something to help.”
“Thanks Ma,” he sighs with a smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was just never important enough to bother with things that were over and done with.”
That I thought were over and done with he thinks.
“It’s not your fault,” she reaches out and holds his hand.
“I know,” Alex says. “But I feel awful. And I don’t know what to do.”
“Well we need to do something,” Zahra says. She’s clearly happy about getting this discussion back on-topic and Alex can’t blame her. He doesn’t want to think about Miguel anymore.
“It’s been a week,” she adds firmly.
Alex knows she doesn’t mean anything by her wording, but he doesn’t like hearing Zahra say all this like it’s an untold truth. Like he hasn’t counted the days since he was last with Henry; isn’t acutely conscious that the last time they spoke was that morning at the airstrip before he flew back to DC after storming Kensington Palace a couple days before.
“Can I talk to him?” Alex asks.
He can’t not ask, even though he’s almost sure he knows the answer. Unfortunately, everyone’s long silence confirms that he’s right.
“Sorry, sweetie,” his mother says. “We can’t do that right now.”
“You can’t, or you won’t?” he asks.
She says nothing, but Alex sees the tiniest hint of guilt on her face.
“For god’s sake, Mom, just tell me!”
“I won’t,” she admits. “I’m talking to the Prime Minister, but not to the Palace.”
“Pez says they’re on communications lockdown,” adds Nora.
“We need to make sure we reduce the damage for everyone involved,” his mother continues.
“We’re sorry, mijo,” his father says. It’s the first time he’s spoken since Alex entered the kitchen.
Right now, it’s the best I can do, baby.”
Alex wants to snap at her. He doesn’t want to snap at her.
Every other time Henry has come up, she’s backed him over the country. But she’s still the president. A scandal that could end her career – especially now – can’t be ignored completely.
“Do you feel forever about him?” she adds gently.
Alex has never felt more forever about anything. Never been as sure about what he wants in the way he’s sure he wants to be with Henry.
“Yes.”
“I promise I will let you know as soon as you can talk to him.”
He knows she means it.
He’s probably going to have to hand his phone over to someone, so he frantically types out a message to Henry.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💩
I’m so sorry baby,
I love you
❤️
CANNOT BE DELIVERED
Those three words break Alex. Proof that everyone is keeping him from Henry.
He turns his phone off.
Alex wants to roll his eyes. Zahra’s acting as if he isn’t aware that that day in London was Sunday, and today is a Tuesday, and that makes nine days since they’d had any contact at all.
His mother though, surprises him, and does actually roll her eyes.
She has assured him that, by now, it wouldn’t hurt them if he talked to Henry. But the palace is still under digital lock and key.
Every time his phone tells him a text was not delivered it hurts all over again. But he won’t stop trying.
“So…” prompts Zahra, exasperated. “What are we going to do?”
Alex turns to his mother. “You’re not going to deny everything, are you?” he asks quickly.
You’re not going to make me deny everything?
“No, baby,” she smiles. “Actually, I think you should tell them the truth.”
“But – ” Zahra starts, but his mother puts up her hand.
“You said it yourself, Zahra,” she says. “It’s been a week. People want an answer. At this point it hardly matters what that is. A huge number of people will be angry either way. So, we may as well tell the truth.”
She pauses, sighs deeply and then adds:
“And I want people to know where I stand on matters like these. Before they vote.”
Alex’s stomach drops. He hasn’t even though of that until now. Will all those weeks he spent campaigning, the million voters he registered, end up meaning nothing?
A half-Mexican man leading a campaign in Texas to for his mother to be POTUS was an uphill battle. And that was before they knew he was bisexual and dating a man. Who was from another country.
Who was the prince of another country.
Any one of those would’ve been disastrous, but all together and all at once…
“What do you think, honey?” his mother asks.
Alex thinks for a long moment. He can almost see it, almost see himself standing in front of cameras, revealing the truth behind everything that people have been wondering about for almost a fortnight.
It would be so easy to do; tell the world how he feels about Henry and how much better his life is now and how he’s so in love he could die.
But…
“I can’t do that Ma,” he says softly, but firm. “I’m sorry, but this is too big a thing for me to talk about without talking to Henry first.”
She sighs.
She doesn’t look angry. There are traces of frustration in her expression, but mostly she looks… proud.
“You insane, hopeless romantic little shit,” she laughs. “I’m proud of you, baby.”
Alex doesn’t resist when she pulls him in for a hug. He’s twenty-eight and she’s cuddling him the same way she did when he was eight.
Just like she did the last time they sat right here and he told her about Henry.
It’s wonderful.
“You’re right,” she continues. “It’s annoying as hell, but if I can’t respect you with this… am I really backing your play?”
“So we’re back to no options?” Zahra states.
“It seems so.”
Lying isn’t an option; Alex knows that and he’s grateful beyond words that his mother doesn’t want do that. But it’s not fair to Henry to reveal the truth like that.
He doesn’t have an answer.
“Is there anything else we need to talk about?” he asks cautiously. “If there isn’t I think I – I need to get out of here.”
He leaves without waiting for an answer; but nobody stops him.
There aren’t any flowers in the vase by Nora’s office door today.
It was impossible for him to leave the White House the day the news broke, but Alex has been so stir-crazy that he begged to go see Nora until they caved and let him.
It’s been a week and he’s accompanied by Amy and he’s assured them he won’t go anywhere else. Straight to see Nora and straight back. And he’ll be back within two hours.
“I guess I’ll have to wait until you forget my birthday,” Nora laughs, noticing him notice the lack of flowers. She leaves her desk to sit beside him on the sofa.
“Pez hasn’t sent me anything in a while.”
Alex sits bolt upright.
“Nora, you’re a genius.”
“You didn’t already know that, Alejandro?” she smiles and raises an eyebrow.
Alex pulls out his phone so quickly that his hands are almost shaking in anticipation as he dials Pez’s number.
If there was anyone from the outside world who would be allowed to see Henry while his family’s secreted him away in the Palace, it would be Pez.
The plan is forming in his mind so clearly that his too-fast brain can barely keep up. If he can use Pez as a middleman to ask Henry about the speech, he’d been happy to tell the world how in love he is.
No, not happy. He’d be honoured.
“Alex,” Pez answers. “How are you holding up?”
Pez sounds genuinely worried for him. It touches Alex more than he expected it would.
“Not so good,” he sighs. “It’s been… a lot.”
“Sounds like it,” Pez replies. “Nora told me it’s pretty crazy over there.”
“Yeah.” That’s putting it mildly.
“But I have a feeling you’re calling about Henry.”
“Were you able to see him?” Alex asks.
“Yes,” Pez says. “He wasn’t doing so well.”
It breaks Alex’s heart knowing Henry’s in pain in a way that he will probably never understand. But he takes as much comfort as he can knowing that Pez is able to visit him.
“Do you think they’d let you back in again?”
“Maybe,” muses Pez. “But they’re still on communications lockdown. I’d have to go over there and just hope for the best. And I’ll have to hand my phone over to them. You won’t be able to talk to him.”
“That’s okay,” Alex tells him. He wasn’t expecting that to happen. “I just need you to pass on a message.”
“Of course.”
“Everyone over here is really insistent on releasing a statement. About us,” he explains. “Ma’s not going to make us deny it – thank goodness; but I still don’t feel comfortable outright confirming anything without talking to Henry first.”
He doesn’t think speaking out would be wrong to the point of being hypocritical. The news is already out there. Henry told him he wanted people to know.
But it’s not what Alex promised.
“You want me to talk to him and report back?” Pez asks.
“If you could,” Alex hopes he doesn’t sound too desperate. “It wouldn’t be right otherwise.”
“I’ll head over now. I can’t promise they’ll let me in; but I’ll text you back either way,” Pez says. “Is there anything else you want to say to him?”
“Just that I love him. And I’ll be over to see him the second they’ll let me.”
“Will do,” Pez says. “Hang in there.”
“Thank you,” Alex replies, and hangs up.
Nora looks at him knowingly.
“I gotta go.”
Two hours later Alex is, as he promised everyone, back at the White House. He hasn’t heard anything from Pez, and he doesn’t want to even try to write anything until he hears something.
He doesn’t know what he’s going to do if Henry says no, or if there’s no answer at all.
But another hour later, three hours after the initial phone call in Nora’s office, his phone lights up with a text:
Percy
You’re good to go. Haz is on board. He says he loves you.
Thank you
He smiles, even though he feels tears in his eyes. He texts his mother and Zahra to explain the situation.
Then he opens his laptop and starts writing.
Alex closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He can hear the chatter of everyone assembled in the Briefing Room. This is going to be the most important speech he’s ever made. He hopes it will be enough. For everyone.
He hopes that Henry is watching.
He steps out and up to the podium.
“Henry and I have been together since the beginning of this year…”