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The moment Alex heard Henry's anxious voice at the other end of the phone, he knew without a doubt that he would be on the next possible flight to London, but his quiet "Hurry, Please" had him all the more ready to get to him so he could hold him as close as possible, so he responds "I'll break the sound barrier for you" as Zahra uses her work phone to get things underway so that Alex could leave as soon as possible.
He can't help but whisper "I'll be there soon, baby. Hold on for me till then" again, which causes Henry to let out a long breath, whispering "I love you" before the call disconnects and Alex is moving in a sudden flurry of movements, all the more desperate to get to him.
He stuffs a bag full of clothes, he doesnt actually know how long he's going to be over there, all he does know is that he won't be leaving Henry's side from the moment he gets there.
From the second he gets on the plane to it taking off, he fidgets restlessly. He checks his phone every few minutes just in case something has happend while he hasn't been paying attention, his foot bounces anxiously and once the seat belt sign turns off, he's on his feet and pacing up and down the aisle, until Amy looks up from her book and sighs "pacing won't make the plane go any faster, do a word puzzle, read a book just stop pacing" he sits down after that, but nothing stops his anxiety from running away with itself, even as he tries to distract himself.
He thinks he falls into a light, restless sleep at some point, but everything up until the plane lands 7 hours, 20 minutes and 30 seconds later, not that he was counting, at Heathrow Airport is a blur of anxiety and thinking about Henry, hoping that he was okay now that they wern't able to contact each other again.
He's desperately glad that Amy is the one to drive him to Kensington Palace, because whilst she drives safely she some how makes the ride there faster than its ever been before when he's done these trips. The second the building comes into view, he relaxes somewhat because he's so close to seeing Henry again.
Shaan opens the gate the moment he sees them coming and Alex doesn't think he could be anymore thankful towards the man if he tried. He sends him a thankful smile as they go by, which is returned with a sad knowing smile of his own, which tells Alex all he needs to know about the situation over here and how Henry is holding up with it all.
He counts down the seconds until he can get out of the car and then he's rushing into Kensington, Henry is stood on the balcony above when he rushes into the foyer, but the second they spot each other, his Prince is running across the landing and towards the stairs.
Alex notices the way his arms are already outstretched before he even steps down from the top step, which is all the more heartbreaking as he's never seen him do something like this when he's distressed before. He takes the steps two at a time until they meet in the middle, Henry hanging onto him for dear life as Alex wraps himself around him protectively.
Henry let's out a heavy sigh of relief as he all but collapses against Alex, so he lowers the both of them onto the step behind them and curls around him more "It's okay" he whispers, feeling Henry's breathing coming out in quick exhalations, Alex isn't quite sure if he's crying or not "I'm here, I'm here baby" he continues softly, his grip tight and unwavering as he holds the man he loves as he falls apart.
It takes a few minutes for Henry's breathing to calm down, but even then his grip on Alex's back never let's up. Not until he takes a deep breath, one Alex knows well, as it means he's recomposing himself and then they are pulling away just enough to look into each others eyes "Alex" he breathes, just like he did all those hours ago when he heard Alex's voice again after the emails leaked.
Alex smiles at him, a soft fond thing before he presses his head against Henry's "Henry" he says in the same tone, eyes closing, relief clear to hear as they reposition slightly so that the stair isn't digging into their back and side anymore. They stay in this position for a few seconds longer, foreheads together, taking in that they are back together again dispite the circumstances.
Alex pulls back after a few moments before going in to kiss his lover, only for Henry to look around and shake his head, bringing the both of them back to the here and now, and that they were still in the very open and public staircase of Kensington Palace, who knows who might be snooping about?
Henry looks at him almost fondly, before he pulls the both of them up, using the banister for balance when they tip to the side slightly "come on, I'll show you my piano skills to distract us for awhile" he says, as if knowing that Alex has no idea what the hell they were supposed to do now he was actually here, now that he'd broken the sound barrier for Henry like he promised.
They share kisses along the way, until they finally reach a room with a beautiful looking piano in the corner. His attention is taken away from said piano and back onto Henry, because the second the door latches shut, he's pulling Alex close and kissing him slow and tender, the both of them basking in the feeling of being together like this again after the past several days.
They share a few more kisses like this as they make their way across the room, until Henry eventually pushes Alex onto the couch near the piano, looking down at him with such love and adoration for a few seconds that Alex doesn't know what to do with any of it.
He gets one more loving peck, before Henry moves to sit down at the piano. He looks over at Alex for a few moments, before smiling and playing the begining of 'your song' and Alex feels all the more fond for this man as he plays it all the way through, before moving onto playing a few classical songs that Alex can't remember the names of.
Henry let's the final song fade out, before Alex joins him, sitting down on the buffet beside him. He can't help but reach out and play the first couple of chords of the UK's national anthem, Henry letting out a soft huff of amusement before joining in for a few seconds and turning to face him, his eyes as bright as the smile on his face and its beautiful to see.
They banter back and fourth for awhile after that, Alex almost telling Henry about Zahra and Shaan, when they are interrupted with summons from the king. Henry tenses beside him, as Alex looks at him with a worried expression, the two squeeze each others hands behind the cover of the piano, then Alex is moving to stand tall and Henry is raising his chin in that way that Alex adores, before they look at each other for a moment, smiling as reassuringly as they can before they walk hand in hand to face the king.