Chapter Text
Two months later
“Baby!” Alex yells across the lawn, waving Henry over. “Come here!”
“That’s certainly one way to do that,” Martha says, walking into earshot of Alex, balancing a baby on her hip. She looks like she needed to get out, wearing a nice sundress. “Hello, Alex. Good to see you.”
Alex smiles, leaning forward to hug her. “Hi, Martha, and… here we go!” he says, swooping up his niece and holding her out in front of him. “Hi, Vicky. Did you miss me?”
She makes a noise that Alex chooses to believe is a greeting. “Someone almost made us late,” Martha tells him, smiling down at her daughter. “First blowout in weeks. There aren’t enough wet wipes in the world.”
“Hell yeah, that’s my niece!” Alex crows, grabbing the baby’s wrist and tapping her hand to his. She wrinkles her nose, staring at him in fascination.
“So that’s where she gets it,” Martha laughs.
A warm hand on his back alerts Alex to someone behind him. He turns to face Henry, cradling their niece close to his chest. “You can’t take her yet. It’s still my turn.”
Henry gives him an impatient look, and it’s hard to take him seriously with a pair of dramatically oversized sunglasses on his face that Bea is definitely responsible for. “Alex. Give me the baby.”
“No,” Alex responds, attempting to wiggle out of Henry’s grasp and failing spectacularly. Henry manages to steal the baby from his husband, pulling her away from under her tiny armpits.
“Hello, Victoria,” he coos, adjusting her tiny sunhat and letting her grab his finger almost immediately. “I missed you. Look at how big you’ve gotten.”
“It’s been two weeks,” Alex says flatly.
“Let him have this,” Martha advises him, linking their arms and leading them away. “Now, don’t you need my help with something?”
Alex laughs. “Probably with a million things.” He looks over his shoulder for just a moment to see Henry smiling down at baby Victoria. “Yeah,” he says, turning back to Martha. “Come with me.”
***
“What gave you the idea to have a little jousting tournament?” Bea asks Alex an hour later, arranging a pile of towels with artistic concentration.
Alex shrugs. “I think Henry was the one who came up with it? I wanted to do some sort of big opening event for the shelter, but Henry thought to use the lake. He’s dramatic like that.”
Bea snorts. “Oh, do I know that. I suppose he could’ve used Edward VIII’s pool, but that might be a little too much of a slap in the face to the monarchy, even for you two.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Alex groans, and Bea laughs at him.
Suddenly, an events organizer wearing a bluetooth earpiece rushes over to them. “Your highnesses, you’re needed for the official kickoff-”
“When am I going to get to stop reminding all of the staff that you don’t have to use my title-”
“We’re coming,” Bea cuts Alex off, shaking her head with laughter. He pouts briefly, just for show, then lets her drag him by the hand over to where a giant, ornamental ribbon is tied between two posts.
Everyone else is already gathered, from Philip standing with Martha under a tree to June and Nora entertaining Pez next to a small group of reporters. Even Catherine is here, seemingly trying to fix Henry’s collar as he puts up with it placidly.
“Ah, Alex,” she says as soon as he’s in earshot. “Tell me; he should’ve worn blue, am I correct?”
“Mum,” Henry pleads in a desperate attempt for freedom. “You don’t need to ask-”
“Oh, definitely,” Alex agrees, ignoring Henry’s death stare. “Brings out your eyes,” he tells his husband with a wink.
“How am I ever to survive with you two badgering me?” Henry laments.
Alex pats his shoulder. “I think you’ll make it.” He watches Henry pull a face, listens as his mother laughs at him, and smiles softly at the way a strand of Henry’s hair falls into his eyes.
An intern with a clipboard appears out of nowhere in front of them. “Is it time?” Henry asks, a soft smile coming to his face.
“Yes sir, if we could have you both up on the podium,” the intern says, pulling them along and in front of a microphone.
“Let’s do this, baby,” Alex tells Henry under his breath with a wink. Henry takes his hand, squeezes it, and they watch as a door opens and twenty children are shuffled outside in a straight line. Alex bites his lip, watching them take it all in, the awe on their faces, the disbelief in their eyes.
Henry flips open a folder to their planned statement. “Welcome, everyone, and thank you all for being here today,” he starts, switching on his camera smile as the press people start to document what’s going on. “Alex and I are so pleased with the way everything has turned out.”
Straightening his posture, Alex reads off his piece. “When we first inherited the historic Fort Belvedere, well, we weren’t exactly sure what we’d do with such a large estate.” He pauses for a planned laugh, grinning, then continues. “But it was Henry’s idea to turn the area into a youth shelter for the commonwealth’s children in need.”
Many of the spectators, staff and family turn around to look at the line of teens, and while some of them squirm under the sudden attention, some of them just smile. Alex follows Henry’s gaze, and almost loses it at the way Henry squints so fondly at the group of kids.
“We wanted to hold an opening event that could be full of fun for all of us,” Henry goes on, still holding Alex’s hand. “But most importantly, for the children. After all, today is about them, so we should all celebrate in the spirit of new beginnings.”
Alex looks out at their weird, mismatched family standing together, squinting under the sun. Martha takes Victoria’s chubby little wrist in hand and waves at Alex, and he winks at her before continuing his speech. “With this, we can mark the official opening of the youth shelter at Fort Belvedere!”
Henry is handed a pair of unnecessarily large scissors, which he immediately hands off to Alex. “This seems like a job for you,” he murmurs under his breath.
“Aww, I’m flattered,” Alex responds, hushed. He puts on a winning smile and cuts the ribbon to cheers and applause, then gives Henry a smug smile. “Everyone, join us for a joust in the lake!” he says, gesturing to the sparkling lake behind them with a grin. “Let’s all watch our brave knights and fair ladies grab a pool noodle and battle it out together!”
Everyone cheers again, even the press as they take pictures of the ribbon fluttering down to the ground. “Pretty good scissor work there, love,” Henry tells Alex, looking like he’s attempting not to burst into laughter.
“Oh, I know,” Alex responds saucily. A shriek and splash from behind him turns both of their heads, and they watch as some of the kids start to jump in the lake and hit each other with pool noodles. “Wow. They’re really taking initiative. Should we go watch them? Didn’t you want to judge to see who won?”
“Actually,” Henry says, nudging Alex to turn and look at him. “I have something for you.”
“You do?” Alex asks, surprised.
Henry pulls a green handkerchief out of his pocket, one that looks to be made from the same fabric as his button-down. “My favor. For you to wear, so I can cheer you on in the joust.”
Alex takes the handkerchief as Henry presses it into his hand. “Oh my God, Wales,” he says, shaking his head. “You little…” he trails off, staring at his hand.
“You know,” Henry tells him, a tiny smile on his face. “King James was a hopeless romantic.”
“Insane,” Alex mutters, carefully tucking the piece of fabric into his pocket. “You’re insane,” he says, then he pulls Henry into an almost scandalous kiss, right there in front of everyone.
They break apart at the sound of a whoop, and Henry looks pleased and flushed. They turn to see Pez slow-clapping and pretending to brush a tear from his eye. “What a beautiful ceremony,” he says dramatically.
“Hello, Pez,” Henry greets, only rolling his eyes the tiniest bit.
“Henry,” Pez says, entirely ignoring Alex. “Go put your phone away. Make one of your many servants hold it.”
Henry eyes Pez warily. “Why?”
“Honestly,” Pez scoffs. “The news alerts from this event are about to blow up your phone, and I assumed you’d want to stay in the moment instead of being consumed by electronics.”
“Alright…” Henry says, still squinting at Pex. Alex knows exactly what’s going on, so he plasters on a smile and looks up at Henry.
“Take mine too, baby?” He asks.
Henry smiles, because it’s entirely too easy to convince him to do things. “Of course.” He kisses Alex’s cheek, takes his phone, and walks off in search of a staff member.
“Okay,” Alex says, turning to Pez the moment they’re out of earshot. “We’re going to push him into the lake, right?”
“Correct,” Pez affirms, grinning like a devil. “I’ve already enlisted a child to do so.”
“That was fast. Nice work,” Alex says approvingly.
They all troop down to the dock at the edge of the lake. Two teenage girls are already in the lake mounted on inflatables, one a dragon, the other a unicorn. Two boys are already treading water at the inflatables’ tails.Henry walks to the end of the dock to speak, while another boy with brown eyes and a cheeky smile sidles up to Alex and winks. Alex grins and gives him a thumbs-up.
“A moment of quiet, please,” Henry says, raising his voice to be heard over the buzz of conversation. “We are here on this beautiful summer day for the First Annual Fort Belvedere LGBTQ Youth Shelter Water Jousting Tournament!” Everyone cheers, and Alex smiles.
“The rules are,” Henry continues, gesturing across the area they’ve set up. “Using pool noodles as lances and seated on these fine steeds, you will charge. Ladies, you are the knights, and these young men are your squires and, erm, unicorn, and dragon-power. Obviously, the goal of the game is to unseat each other, but all the same, I want you to observe rules of good sportsmanship and avoid unnecessary roughhousing-”
A sudden shove propels Henry over the edge of the dock into the lake. There is a stunned silence as Henry surfaces, sputtering. Pushing his wet hair out of his eyes, he points a shaking finger at Alex and yells at him. “Menace! Demon! I know you did that!”
Alex looks into Henry’s eyes and sees that the indignation is feigned, and by the way the corners of his mouth are tucked in, that Henry is trying not to laugh. Alex starts laughing his ass off, holding his sides and sinking to his knees. The tension breaks and everyone, even Philip, bursts into uproarious laughter. Henry continues pointing at Alex as he treads water, saying, “ You!”
Somehow Alex manages to squeak out breathlessly, “Me? I didn’t push you!”
“No, you didn’t,” Alex hears his sister’s voice behind him. “But you set it up, baby bro.”
Automatically, Alex rises to his feet and turns to her, pulling a face. “Don’t call me baby bro.”
June places both hands in the center of his chest. “Karma’s a bitch,” she says.Then she gives him a shove backward and he follows Henry over the edge of the dock, plunging straight into the cold, slightly murky water.
When he finally surfaces, Alex looks so ludicrously shocked at having his own prank turned on him that Henry bursts out laughing. June and Nora are laughing so hard that tears run down their faces. Suddenly June sways, and Nora grabs her to steady her, but only succeeds in throwing June even more off balance. It’s almost an exact replay of the stumble at Philip’s reception, with exactly the same result. They both fall, only this time into a lake instead of a wedding cake.
Still giggling helplessly, Henry shouts over to Alex, “And if you think I’m not going to pay you back for this, Diaz-” but a young voice interrupts him.
“It wasn’t Mr. Claremont-Diaz, Your Highness,” the boy with the brown eyes from earlier says.”
”It was me ! And he didn’t even ask me to do it- that was Mr. Okonjo!” All eyes turn to Pez, who has moved to the dock, grinning.
“Oh, it was , was it?’ Henry says. “Pez, after I get out of the water, may we have a word?”
“Oh, no need to wait that long, Haz,” says Pez. He kicks off his shoes and removes his plumed hat, setting it carefully on the dock, but otherwise still fully dressed in his usual flamboyant clothing. “Be with you in a tick.” He somehow executes a perfect dive, barely rippling the water as he hits it.
Hearing the adults laughing and excited by the splashing, Baby Vicky begins to struggle in her mother’s arms, crowing and clapping her hands. “Do you want to go see your uncles, baby girl?” Martha asks her with a smile. ”Come along then.” She turns and says, “Bea, can you give me a hand?”
“Delighted,” Bea grins. The two young women wade waist-deep into the water and squat down, getting Vicky deep enough so that she can splash her little arms.
“ Martha,” calls a familiar posh voice. His earlier amusement seemingly forgotten, Philip steps out onto the dock and says, “ Do get out of the water, dear. You’ll ruin that dress, and it’s one of few that still fit until we get your wardrobe tailored to accommodate the baby weight.”
There’s a shocked silence at the fact that he’d actually say something so rude, no one even noticing that someone else has moved to stand behind him. Martha sighs. “Here, Bea, take the baby- no one’s worried whether her clothes fit.” She swims over to her husband, giving him a pointed look.
Suddenly, there is another shove and splash, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales plunges into the water in his natty Savile Row suit. He emerges, almost incandescent with rage. “Who the bloody hell did that?” he shouts. “When I find you, you stupid-” but then he looks up into the eyes of Her Majesty, Catherine, Queen of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
“I did,” she says calmly, a stern look pointed at Philip. “Baby weight indeed!”
Henry swims over to Alex. “See what you started, you miscreant?”
“Yeah,” says Alex. “It’s probably the funnest occasion some of these kids have ever known.”
“ Funnest ?” Henry says loftily. “When will you Americans learn how to speak the Queen’s English? Is that an expression from Texas?” Then he grins and adds, “But you’re probably right.” He pauses. “This makes me think of another time we swam together in a lake.”
Alex nods. “Yeah, it reminds me of the lake house, too. Are you going to run away again?”
“Are you going to call me ‘an obtuse fucking asshole’ again?”
“Only if you leave me and go back to Kensington without me again,” says Alex. “But if you do, I’ll come chase you down again.”
Henry lifts one wet hand and gently touches Alex’s cheek. “I’ll hold you to that,” he says, “but I’ll never run away again. You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Not even when I embarrass you in public, and in front of the press?” says Alex, nodding towards the assembled journalists who have been madly snapping pictures from the moment the kid pushed Henry. Alex can already see the headlines: Royals Make Big Splash at Shelter Opening. He hopes they include a picture of them making out in the lake.
“I expected nothing less,” Henry says. “You’re not as subtle as you think, as I’ve heard your father tell you. Did you really think I didn’t see you whispering and winking with Pez? And then, ‘give our phones to the staff so we won’t get distracted by Internet posts’ -how thick do you think I am?”
“I know exactly how thick you are,” Alex says cheekily. “And I love every centimeter.”
Henry rolls his eyes, then laughs, leans in, and kisses Alex. His tongue tastes like lake water, but that’s okay, because Alex knows his does too. “I love you, you demon,” says Henry. “When I think of cutting ribbons and unveiling plaques and all those other meaningless ceremonies I had to perform, and then I look around at this, and think how we’re making a real difference in people’s lives…”
His gaze takes in the scene before them, people laughing and frolicking in the water and the baby clapping. “You made all this possible. Thank you, my love,” he says simply.
Alex’s throat is unexpectedly tight. “I love you too, baby,” he says softly. “And thank you . I never knew I could be this happy.” He blinks, then says brightly, ”And hey, I’ll happily shove you into a lake fully dressed any time- or another wedding cake, if you prefer. Just say the word.”
Henry laughs. “I suppose we’ll have to renew our vows,” he says, leaning in to kiss Alex again.
After emerging dripping from the lake, Philip and Pez raid Henry’s closet for dry clothes, with Pez loudly complaining about the boredom of Henry’s wardrobe. “Hasn’t nearly two decades with me given you even a bit of fashion sense? Do you have any shirts besides white or light blue button-downs? Really, Henry, I’m going to fall asleep standing up if I have to look at these clothes for one more minute!”
The girls steal Alex’s T-shirts and shorts. He has no ladies’ lingerie they can borrow (that he’ll admit to), but the housekeeper runs their underwear through the dryer while they all grab quick showers.
Now, as evening falls, Alex watches his friends and family, gathered with the shelter youth around the bonfire they’ve built by the water’s edge. June, clad in an old T-shirt reading “Austin HS Lacrosse 2015,” is instructing British inner-city kids in the correct technique for making s’mores.
Nora, her shirt proclaiming Claremont for Congress 2014 , is talking with some budding computer nerds, telling them about the logarithms she used to out Richards (currently in Federal detention) as the source behind the leaked emails.
Pez, who has put his plumed hat back on, is making a pitch to the kids for becoming overseas charity workers after they finish their schooling. “I’ll cover your expenses, no problem. And if you don’t want to go to college like boring old Henry,” he says, glancing down at his shirt, “that’s fine. We can always use people who want to work with their hands, maybe learn building trades.”
Philip has another group gathered around him, earnestly pitching projects in the UK. He has just established the Prince of Wales Trust, a foundation he chairs for disadvantaged youth, and he’s been taking every opportunity to talk about it to anyone who’ll listen.
Speaking of boring old Henry , Alex thinks, where is he ? He spots him at the edge of the circle of firelight and nods. He should have known. Henry is seated next to Martha and cradling his sleeping niece, rocking her with a tenderness Alex has only ever seen directed at himself and David. Henry is humming, a familiar tune from that night at the lake four years ago: Annie’s Song .
Alex smiles, filled with a quiet contentment which is exceedingly rare in the normally frenetic pace of the life he leads. Life feels just so perfect. What more could they ever possibly ask or need?
The baby stirs, and Henry hushes her, pressing a kiss to her tiny head. A thought hits Alex with such force that his mouth drops open. He knows one more thing they need to make their life complete, knows his mother-in-law was right earlier.
He immediately starts making a list in his head. One, finish law school- check (just a few weeks ago, and first in his class, of course ). Two, take the bar exam- check. He knows he’ll pass with no problem. Three, help Ellen through these last months of her administration- check. Her second term will be over in six months, and her legacy is more than secure through the wildly popular legislation she has piloted through Congress.
She’ll have to start looking into setting up her Presidential Library, but Leo, after eight years of floral centerpieces and Christmas decorations (Alex chuckles, remembering the look on Henry’s face when they saw the Texas-themed Christmas tree last year in the family quarters, a cutout of Texas emblazoned with a Lone Star at the top, miniature cowboy hats and boots and tiny longhorn cattle festooning the branches, burlap ribbon substituting for garland) will be eager to help her.
Normally, there would be a fourth item on the list- helping in the 2024 Presidential campaign- but the front-running Democratic candidate is pursuing a definite middle-of-the-road agenda, and doesn’t seem especially interested in help from his predecessor’s bisexual son and his royal husband. So Alex is free to take on a new project of his own.
Of course, despite his airy assurances to old Queen Mary that they could easily contribute to the succession, he knows it won’t be simple. He decides at once that it will be Henry’s sperm they’ll use if they’re planning to make royal heirs. He can hear himself earnestly pitching the perfection of Henry’s semen to prospective egg donors- “And it tastes good, too!” he could add. Well, maybe not that part.
But whose egg? And who will carry the baby, if they find someone to donate eggs for in vitro but who has no interest in pregnancy? What might the legal issues be about including a child born through surrogacy in the royal succession? And do they even want their child to be brought up as a royal? It’s not like it gave Henry a great deal of pleasure while he was growing up. There’ll be a million issues to discuss and problems to resolve, but Alex has never met a challenge he doesn’t want to best.
Feeling Alex’s eyes on him, Henry smiles at him across the bonfire. But then he suddenly looks wary. He mouths, What are you planning? With a wide-eyed questioning look, Alex assumes his best air of injured innocence.
He lays a hand over his heart and mouths, You wound me. Not fooled, Henry narrows his eyes and shakes his head, but he can’t control the smile that is once more tugging the corners of his lips. He mouths a single word: Demon .
Alex smiles too. A new project always excites him, but first, he has so many other things he has to do. Obviously, Job One is to talk to Henry. Then he has to talk to Catherine, to thank her for pushing Philip into the lake and to ask if there’s been an earthquake out at Frogmore from Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson turning over in their graves at the knowledge of what he and Henry have done with their playground.
But, he thinks, this is our house now, ours and these kids. We’re writing a new chapter in the story of this old place . He looks up at the stars and thinks once more, Yes, life is good . He knows that he and Henry will sleep well tonight, once they have finished fully celebrating this happy day.