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Alex barely has time to register what was happening before Henry moves.
One moment he is looking at Henry’s back, the next one there is a face so close to his he goes cross-eyed looking at it. Henry tastes like champagne and excitement, his lips cold but soft and hungry as he is kissing Alex. Strong hands grabbing the hair at the back of Alex’s head, pulling their bodies close, warmth sneaking under his jacket as Henry presses up against him. Alex is stunned only for a moment before he finds himself returning the kiss, putting his arms around Henry.
Then Henry pushes him back, eyes wide open, staring at Alex as if seeing a ghost. Henry lets go of him, brushing his shoulder as he hurries past.
“I—I’m sorry.”
Then before Alex could speak, Henry is gone.
—
“Amy,” Alex almost crashes into her in the farthest corner of the tent, slightly out of breath from running. He has to raise his voice to talk over the music. “Where’s Henry?”
Amy looks at him, her eyes wary. “What happened?”
“Nothing, I just— where is he?”
“Left a minute ago with his team.”
“You need to stop them. Now.”
Alex looks at her expectantly, with a clear enough expression on his face to show he really means what he said. The initial surprise on Amy’s face turns into a minute-long glare, then she rolls her eyes before she turns on her heels and exits the tent hastily, pressing a button on her headset probably issuing a set of orders, not leaving room for questions. Alex knows he is going to be in trouble for this, but he will cross that bridge when he gets there. If he gets there.
Alex shakes his hands and wipes the sweat on the bottom of his jacket as he stares at the spot where Amy disappeared. His first — and frankly only — thought after Henry left him standing stupidly under the damn linden tree was to find him, but then what? Alex turns slightly and looks around for Nora and June. Should he talk to them? He spots a group of women dancing at the middle of the crowd, Nora and June among them, completely unaware of the crisis Alex is currently going through — Henry kissed him?! —, lost in the sound of some strange old pop song that should definitely not be playing at his New Year’s party, but he cannot think about that right now. From the corner of his eye, he spots a girl in a green dress moving next to them, and suddenly feels the urge to hide.
He is saved by Cash, who pops his head in through a crack in the side of the tent and waves at him. Alex nearly trips over his own leg as he hurries towards him. “We stopped their car at the gate, but they are pissed, kid. This better be legit.”
“It is,” Alex says in a very unconvincing way. Cash raises an eyebrow but says nothing, and he motions Alex to follow him.
Why did Henry kiss him?
Cash leads Alex past the Residence and towards a hidden back entrance to the courtyard. Two cars are waiting there, with lights on and engines running. Shaan stands next to the second car, engaged in an uncharacteristically animated conversation with Amy, his face incredulous. Alex has never seen Shaan display any particular emotion before other than slight disgust, and he does consider if he should just stop and turn around, but Cash is pushing him forward ruthlessly, whispering a don’t even think about it, and Alex knows there is no backing down now.
Henry really did kiss him.
Alex ignores the lump in his throat and walks up to Shaan, unsure of what to do now. Shaan barely glances at him before turning his attention back to Amy.
“This is absurd. You cannot keep us here.”
“I am not keeping you here. I told you we had a security issue that needed to be sorted out befo—”
“The Prince wishes to leave, and frankly, so do I.”
“I understand that, but we have to take care of the security issues.”
“Shaan, I really would like to leave now.” Henry’s head pops out from behind the rolled-down window, looking exhausted, unaware yet of Alex’s presence. “Please.” He wears the look of a very sick puppy, and Alex wonders if he is making a mistake, but when Henry’s eyes dart to him, an unreadable expression crossing his pale face, Alex makes up his mind and moves. He steps between Amy and Shaan and puts his hands up apologetically. He also almost throws up a peace sign out of reflex but manages to stop himself, certain that Shaan would see it as a pure act of violence.
“I need to talk to Henry,” he says, ignoring the whimpers coming from the car.
Shaan furrows his eyebrows before simply saying, “No.”
“Sorry Shaan, but this is happening.” Before the man could do anything to stop him, Alex launches himself towards the car, ripping the back door open and sliding in next to Henry in a very ungraceful manner. For a split second he considers grabbing Henry, because Henry looks like he is about to throw himself out of the car through the other door, but then he stays frozen in place, and so does Alex. The noises die down from the outside as the window pulls up, and then it is just the two of them, Alex realizes, in the very confined space of the backseat of a car. He has never been more thankful for the privacy divider.
Alex stares at Henry who refuses to meet his eyes, staring down at his feet. The only thing breaking the silence is their heavy breathing, and the frantic beating of Alex’s heart.
He waits a minute or so, then shifts slightly to turn his body towards Henry.
“Hi?”
Henry continues to stare at his feet, so Alex waits another minute before he tries again.
“Lovely car you got here,” he jokes, waving his hand. Another minute of silence follows. “Good choice of color.”
“Alex, please.” When Henry finally speaks, his voice is barely louder than a whisper. “I need to get out of here.”
“Not until we talk.”
“Talk about what?” Henry looks up, his eyes so desperate it almost makes Alex move back. “I’m drunk, stupid, and very much not in my comfort zone at the moment. I already feel terrible and I really don’t need you to add to it by telling me off.”
“Telling you off?” Alex raises an eyebrow. “Who said I was gonna tell you off?”
“What else could you be here for?” Henry throws his head back and blinks at the roof. “I never should have come to this damn party.”
“Henry—”
“I thought I can do it. I thought I can get through tonight and then we can forget about this whole stupid arrangement, but alas, I am a complete idiot who is so in over his head that there’s no getting by anymore. So just please, put me out of my suffering, tell me you despise me, and that you never want to see me again, and then let me go.”
“Hen—”
“What I did, I— my behaviour was appalling, and I know I should not have done it, and I really am sorry. God, you must hate me. I don’t know what has gotten into me, and I swear I didn’t mean to—”
Alex decides he had enough and does the only thing that comes to his mind. Henry’s body stills as Alex presses their lips together, his hand reaching for Henry’s. When Alex pulls back, he sees the same stunned look Henry must have seen earlier on him.
“There.” Alex keeps Henry’s hand firmly in his. “Now if you would kindly shut the hell up and let me speak?”
Henry opens his mouth, but does not make a sound, just nods.
“Firstly, I wasn’t going to tell you off, but if you keep talking stupid shit, I might reconsider. I don’t hate you, okay? I was surprised, is all.” Alex shakes his head. “You literally disappear on me as the clock strikes midnight like a goddamn Cinderella, then out of nowhere you kiss me, and then run away again. I don’t know what’s your deal, but I’m actually a big fan of talking about things, so humor me here. Why did you kiss me?”
“I—” Henry swallows. “I guess I— look, Alex, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t— I apologize.”
“And I love that for you, but I wasn’t asking for an apology.” Alex squeezes Henry’s hand, which makes Henry shiver, but he does not pull away. “I didn’t say the kiss was unpleasant. I’m just asking why you did it.”
“Are you really going to make me say it?” Henry looks into Alex’s eyes, his expression still wary. Alex cannot help the smug little smile creeping on his face as he nods.
Henry sighs. “Damn it. I like you, all right? There. I was trying hard not to, but it turns out it is very difficult for one to dislike you.”
Alex laughs a little. “I tend to have that effect on people. Just didn’t think you would feel that way.”
“Me neither,” Henry adds.
“Well, if it’s any consolation, you are very difficult to dislike, too. And believe me, I hate admitting when I’m wrong.”
Henry chuckles. “That I am aware of.”
“Good.”
They sit silently for a couple minutes, Alex gently stroking Henry’s thumb with his. Henry now seems to be fully relaxed, with a soft expression on his face, which makes Alex feel like he might not have made the biggest mistake of his life. “So… Now what?”
“Not sure,” Henry shrugs. “You still didn’t say if you like me, so I’m quite uncertain regarding my next move.”
“Oh,” Alex straightens his back, putting on his most formal facial expression. “My apologies, Your Royal Dumbness. I think I am very much fond of you.”
“You think?” Henry puts his hand on his chest, pretending to be offended. “You think.”
“I think you running off after I kissed back didn’t exactly boost my confidence, so tell me again about uncertainty.”
Now it is Henry’s turn to mutter a soft “Oh.” He leans towards Alex, eyes falling on his lips. “Shall we do something about it then?”
“We absolutely shall."
—
When they emerge from the car about half an hour later, Amy, Cash, and Shaan are all standing a few feet away, staring at them, each with a different level of annoyance, with a newly appeared and mildly disinterested Zahra next to them, typing on her phone. Alex shrugs apologetically, putting an arm around Henry, who is very pointedly not looking at anywhere in particular. When Shaan takes a step towards them, Zahra grabs his arm to stop him, which apparently works, and Alex makes a mental note to make inquiries about that later.
But first, he needs to take Henry back under the damn linden tree.