Chapter Text
Alex’s first year of law school was something like the final chapter of a fairy tale; the happily ever after, the enchanted future.
He’s pretty sure no one’s ever said that about law school.
He gets to push himself exactly as much as he likes, and he’s got reasons to come home at the end of the day; Henry and David are waiting for him. He’s preparing for a life with purpose, with meaning, with love.
Henry’s learning to cook; the learning curve is pretty steep, with one night of burnt spaghetti followed by an evening of succulent roast chicken, but Alex gets fed, and they spend hours with their feet tangled on the couch, watching mindless television and basking in their ability to be together. They stumble into bed in the evenings, wrapped up in one another until they fall asleep blissfully sated. Other evenings, Alex dozes on Henry’s chest while Henry rereads the classics, David tucked in at their sides.
Despite his youthful years of loneliness, Alex makes friends easily in law school. Maybe because everyone is like him - or at least, enough people are like him that he can find community. He hosts study sessions at the brownstone, goes to bars with classmates on the Lower East Side for a glass of whiskey after law clinic, and holes up in the library with a reformed goth named Elizabeth (“don’t you dare call me Liz, Beth, Eliza, or anything other than my government name, asshole”).
Henry isn’t a stay-at-home dog dad; he and Pez spend their days hiring, refurbishing, and planning for their Brooklyn shelter. He travels to the others, but the Brooklyn one is his baby; he even helps Pez find folks to manage the others while he focuses on Brooklyn. He leans into micromanagement, choosing rainbow paint colors and checking window placement to ensure safety, bright light, and nurturing spaces. It’s a bit lonely, sure; he’s friendly with some of the people who will be full-time staff at the shelter, but he’s always going to be their manager, and even more, a prince. He will never be invited to after-work happy hour.
Shaan makes a difference; he keeps Henry up to speed with his work, takes him out for a quiet night of drinks every so often, reminds him of his health needs - mental and otherwise - and ensures that Henry is bothered as little as possible by the demands of a distant (but nevertheless imposing) royal family. Bea calls a few days a week, Philip and his mother less so, but he’s never alone.
When early June rolls around, and Henry and Alex are packing for a summer on the coast of Maine, Shaan lets Henry know that he’ll be moving to DC in August.
“I’m still going to be your equerry, but Zahra insisted we live together before we actually get married, and I couldn’t disagree.”
Henry hmmms.
“I’ll be up every few weeks, and I’ll be managing your schedule and still liaising with the crown. You’ll hear from me just as often, but you’ll see me less.”
Henry wishes they weren’t having this conversation while he tucks his underwear into a suitcase and thinks of lobster rolls; he wishes he had more to say, more to argue, some way to push back. Ultimately, this is Shaan’s decision.
“Besides, this might give you the chance to meet some more people.” Henry doubts that; Alex’s law school friends are likely to continue to be their social circle. But he appreciates Shaan’s pragmatism, his optimism; Shaan deserves a life and a chance at happiness, just like he does himself. He lets the summer pass, basking in sun and a quiet life on an island, surrounded by Alex and family.
Alex’s second year of law school is a little bit more like the second act of this fairy tale. The big bad wolf stalks; someone’s huffing and puffing and trying to blow the house down; and they’re locked in the tower with nowhere to go and no one to save them.