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That’s fourteen, Alex notes as he tracks the ball he’d just pancaked to keep in play, Spencer connecting successfully to set up the attack. Fourteen digs, and the match point in sight.
Through the net, he finds the jersey bearing the number 22, and slides his eyes up to the placid, unaffected expression on his opponent’s face. Stone-cold, even when he’s celebrating, but especially right now, with his setter sending the ball his way. 22 goes for the kill, but Cash is a brick wall at the net and holds his kill count at thirteen.
Holy shit, Team USA is one point from the gold-medal match.
And 22 will be coming to his room later, if Alex can hold his personal lead for just a few more minutes. Icing on the cake.
Mads @volleyballgrl2000
I swear to god the us libero just like… sensually gripped one of the brits after the men’s indoor semifinal
Volleyball Watch @volleywatch
A brief break from technical analysis. Did anyone else see Claremont-Diaz (USA) and Fox (GB) after their semifinal match?? Possibly news to my followers: I am too gay to handle this.
Chrissy Tweets the Olympics @ChrissySportsball
y’all someone posted a video and fox LEANED DOWN and WHISPERED in CD’s ear. While CD’s hands were on Fox’s WAIST. Is men’s indoor volleyball getting their very own Kerr/Mewis??
“Wow, Tim, that was a hard-fought game.”
“Sure was, Martin. Both teams fought hard right to the end, but let’s be honest–It’s enormous for Great Britain to even be going to the bronze medal match. They have completely upset the betting pools for this tournament.”
“And the US team is off to fight for their first gold since Beijing. I’m sure the energy in the locker room is off the charts right now.”
“Everyone gets tomorrow off, and we’ll see Team GB back here on Friday for the bronze medal match versus Poland. Then the big one, USA takes on France here in Paris on Saturday.”
“We’ll see you then!”
A video from TikTok user Ilona Maher
[Ilona (sing-song): Gettin’ more pins, gettin’ more pins, gettin’ more pins in the village!
The camera turns to a tall blond man in a Team GB half-zip. A shorter man with curly brown hair wearing a Team USA t-shirt is seen in the background, slightly to the side.
Ilona: Tell the people. What’s your name, where you from?
The blond man smiles softly and gives a little wave.
Henry: Hello, I’m Henry Fox from Team GB volleyball.
Ilona: They have a special volleyball pin!
Henry: We do! We’re very excited to be doing so well in the tournament.
He passes a small, navy blue, volleyball-shaped pin to Ilona and she begins to pass a Team USA pin to him, but he politely waves her off.
Henry: I’m afraid I already have one, but thank you!
He very slightly looks over his shoulder toward the brown-haired man as he says this.]
Comments ▼
juloviz girl get his NUMBER.
Steph right? He’s cute!
flordemayo 98% sure the guy in the background is the us libero.
Luminous_bluebell so nice to see all the sportsmanship between teams in paris!
flordemayo yes, mhm, great sportsmanship
“Looks like Team GB has some unexpected supporters in the stands tonight!”
“That’s right, Martin. Several members of Team USA are in the arena tonight cheering them on. About half of the roster actually trained and played in the States, so these folks know each other pretty well.”
“They’ve got their gold-medal match tomorrow, so I’ll be honest–I was surprised to see some of the men here. Claremont-Diaz is up there waving that Union Jack like it’s his job, though. Looks like Chang and Clark are up there too.”
“Hey, at least they’re wearing their Team USA gear while they do!”
“Honestly, Tim, there have been so many great displays of sportsmanship in these games. It’s really heartening to see. These guys are friends, and not just the US team and Great Britain. A lot of the athletes know each other, either from training together or just running in the same tournaments for so many years. There’s a lot of camaraderie amongst them once they’re off the court.”
An Instagram story, from user theagcd
[A photo of Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry Fox. Henry is on the left, blond hair flopping over his forehead. He is very red in the face, holding an empty shot glass. Alex is on the right, in full Team USA gear, down to the headband holding his curls back, with a small square of paper pinned over his chest that reads: GO GB!. He has one arm slung across Henry’s shoulders and is holding a can of seltzer in his free hand.
A gif of a confetti cannon is placed in the corner of the story and white text across the photo reads: CONGRATS ON THE BRONZE! FIRST MEDAL EVER!!!! @henryfox22 @teamGB
Smaller text, black and hard to see against the photo, reads: save some shots 4 me once we have a medal and i can drink again]
An Instagram story, from user pezlikethesweets
[A selfie of Percy “Pez” Okonjo, a Black man with bright red hair. The selfie is taken at such an angle that only the top half of his face is in the frame, but the party behind him is quite visible. Behind him and to the left, Alex and Henry are leaning close to each other. Henry appears to be saying something to Alex, and Alex’s hand appears to rest on the back of Henry’s neck.
Blue text across the photo reads: BIG BRONZE! So happy to be celebrating with my team and some lovely guests! 😉]
An Instagram story containing a video, from user pezlikethesweets
[The camera approaches Henry, who is looking quite celebratory: hair floppy, face red, shirt unbuttoned more than is strictly decent.
Pez (off-camera): Hazza! Darling! What are you drinking?
Henry (slightly slurred): Vodka, I think!
Pez (off-camera): Oh, dear. I do believe your strumpet is unavailable for any trysts with Vodka Henry this evening.
Henry pouts and looks over his shoulder into the crowd.
Henry: I know. Just one more–
The video cuts off.]
Ash @adastra13
WE HAVE GAY SHIT IN THE MVB FINAL. I REPEAT, GAY SHIT IN THE MEN’S INDOOR VOLLEYBALL FINAL.
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Ash Tall blond GB striker is wearing a USA hat and has 5 painted on his cheek. Per GB roster: Tall blond striker’s name is Henry Fox, and he wears 22. NOT 5.
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Ash Know who’s playing tonight and wears number 5? Alex Claremont-Diaz. Team USA’s libero. Who was in the stands last night rooting for GB.
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Ash For those who missed the semifinals, or need a refresher, Fox and Claremont-Diaz are the guys that were basically groping each other under the net after USA vs GB
“What a game, Tim! Gold for the USA in a nailbiter–their first gold since Beijing in 2008! And a silver for the French here at home in Paris!”
“A bit of a disappointing finish for the home crowd, but it can’t be overstated how close this was. The French men should be incredibly proud of the effort they put up tonight.”
“I’ll be honest, Tim, I’m a little jealous! Never got a gold medal at the Olympics in my day! Think they’ll let us crash the party?”
“We can only hope, Martin! Let’s send it down to Andrea, courtside. Maybe she can snag us an invite.”
Alex’s heart might just pound out of his chest. Gold. A gold fucking medal at the fucking Olympics. It doesn’t feel real. He’s going to wake up in a cold sweat in his cardboard fucking bed, and the whole game will have been an unbelievably realistic dream.
Truly, really, unbelievably realistic because Jesus tits, Liam’s arms are sweaty when he wraps him in a hug.
“Holy shit, man! We did it!” Liam shouts, far too close to Alex’s ear. “We fucking did it!”
Holy shit. They really did. His noticeably vibrating eardrum is proof if nothing else. Alex slaps Liam on the back and makes quick rounds to the rest of the team for bro-hugs and shoulder pats. They do the usual line up and high five and ‘good game’ song and dance along the net, and Alex can’t help but glance up into the stands as he comes to the end of the net, searching.
Look, he hadn’t planned to grab Henry’s waist after the semifinal. And it probably would’ve been like, a half a second if Henry hadn’t leaned down and murmured “Congratulations. Go win gold,” in a voice that absolutely was not allowed on a volleyball court. But he had, so Alex had completely involuntarily tightened his grip on Henry’s waist, just enough for a handful of viewers to notice. And enough for his teammates to give him endless shit about it.
Now, though, they both had medals. The competition was over. And they’d been talking for awhile, about what they might do to celebrate–
“Alex Claremont-Diaz, man of the hour! You made some frankly outrageous plays in that last set–I think it’s fair to say a huge part of this win rests on your shoulders,” a woman holding a microphone asks, pulling his attention back from the crowd.
Right. Press. That’s a thing. He puts on his brightest politician’s-son smile before replying.
“Thank you, but it’s a team effort. I can make all the crazy digs I want but if we’re not working in sync as a team, I’m not going to get the ball anywhere useful, you know? We gotta run like a well-oiled machine, and I’m just one cog.” His eyes flit up to the crowd again–he’s pretty sure he’s got the right section in his sights, he just needs to make a clean exit. “Really, we couldn’t do it without Spencer Chang. If there’s one thing a team can’t mesh without, it’s a good setter!” Alex catches Spencer’s eye and waves him over, then quietly excuses himself.
Before Alex makes it five feet, he spots him. Henry, making his way down the steps to the edge of the court with several of his teammates and Alex’s sister on his heels. This time, he has planned. At least, he put together enough of a skeleton of a plan last night for Henry to have given him the green light for what he’s about to do.
Alex might actually teleport the last couple feet into Henry’s arms. Studies to follow, et cetera, et cetera. Henry catches him easily, scooping him into a hug and spinning him in a circle like Alex is a fucking Disney princess. Which…well, he definitely doesn’t hate the feeling.
Gently, Henry settles him back on his toes, but his grip on Alex’s waist doesn’t waver an inch. Alex raises an eyebrow in question, just one final check-in before all-systems-go and–
Henry kisses him, right there on the edge of the court, as the broadcast streams worldwide.
teamusa Gold for Team USA in Men’s Volleyball!
#USA #goldmedal #USAMVB
[A photo of the US Men’s Volleyball team in uniform, sweaty, each holding up a finger in a ‘number 1’ gesture. Several members of the team from Great Britain are visible to the side of the shot, cheering, including a blond man wearing a USA hat and the number 5 painted on his face.
A second photo, of the podium presentation. Team USA stands at the top, France on the left, and Great Britain on the right. Everyone in the shot holds up their medals, pretending to bite them. At the point where Team USA runs into Team GB, Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry Fox stand close, Henry’s arm around Alex’s waist.]
jenmillsphotographer Apologies for the sheer number of photos tonight, but I think some fans might like these shots of Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry Fox.
#teamUSA #teamGB
[A photo of Alex and Henry looking into the crowd, Henry’s hand on Alex’s elbow. Alex is facing away from the camera, but Henry is turned slightly, clearly gazing at Alex with a big smile on his face.
A second photo, of Alex and Henry in the same spot, embraced in a tight hug. Alex’s face is turned into the side of Henry’s neck, and Henry’s hand is tangled in Alex’s hair as he holds him close.]
Comments ▼
staceyfromwoso What amazing friends they must be! Such great support for each other, win or lose!
nora_hollerin they’re lesbians stacey
nora_hollerin bit aside, it’s very important to me you understand they are DATING. KISSING. DOING TH
nora_hollerin I’M BEING CENSORED
henryfox22 Thank you for sharing these, Jen. I've sent you a DM in regard to printing rights. These would look lovely framed over our fireplace.
ChrissySportsball THEIR FIREPLACE? I thought I was kidding about the Kerr/Mewis thing but queers stay winning.