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Chapter Text

Shit, Henry thought to himself as he emerged from the park restroom, hoping he’d spent enough time in there to lose the women who have been lowkey trailing him for the last 20 minutes. 

He had been nice and friendly at first, speaking with his fans, taking pictures and signing things, and then politely excused himself to go on his way, Bea giving him her usual smirk as they walked away. 

However, 5-10 minutes later, Pez looked back and saw the same group of women following behind them at what they probably assumed was a respectable distance away.

“Bloody Hell,” Henry muttered, sighing. 

“You are just too nice, Hen,” Bea commented. 

“Right. I’ll go this way, you guys go the other, hopefully if we split up we can lose them and then I’ll text and we can meet up and get out of here before the parade starts.”

“Sounds good, Hen. Be safe!”

“You’ve got this Babes,” Pez commented, grabbing and squeezing his shoulder. “If we find a tall blonde bloke, we’ll latch on to him so they think they are still following you.”

Henry smiled tightly and ducked into the crowd. 

After weaving through different groups of people and into various pop up shops, Henry still hadn’t lost the women. That’s when he had the bright idea to go to the restroom. 

🥸

Which lead him to now, coming out of the loo hesitantly, and immediately catching the eye of one of the women, who casually nudged the friend closest to her.

Bollocks! Henry screamed in his mind. He quickly turned left, and saw that the street through the park was completely blocked off and the parade was about to begin. He was trapped on this side of the road for the foreseeable future. 

Henry thought for a moment of just resigning himself to being close to the women, but something about their insistence on trailing them rubbed him the wrong way. He instead moved toward the crowd and made a split second decision to see if he could blend in as part of someone else’s group.

He saw a woman who was holding on to the shoulders of two children who looked to be around his nieces ages, who didn’t appear to be with anyone else, and thought why the hell not? 

Henry took a deep breath, and summoned all his confidence.”Erm, excuse me?” Henry started, tapping the woman on her shoulder.

The woman turned around and looked straight into his eyes, pupils widening as she recognized who he was. “Uh….yes?”

“I really hate to be a bother or a burden to you, but I’m trying to distance myself from some people who have been following me for quite some time. Could I maybe tag along with you and your family for the duration of the parade?”

The woman stared at him for a second and then sprung into action. She unclipped a hat from her backpack, and handed it to Henry to put on, and pulled a sweatshirt off from around her waist, and told him to put it on. “It should fit- it’s my brother’s. He’s about your size, give or take a few inches.” 

Henry pulled the sweatshirt- Georgetown Law over his head, and caught a whiff of both lavender and Santal 33. He didn’t hate it. He then adjusted the cap and put it on his head backwards. 

The woman looked him over and nodded her head in approval. She was just about to open her mouth, when a boy came over.

“Mom, why is that guy wearing Tio’s sweatshirt?” The woman smiled at her son.

“This is my new friend Henry,” the woman started. “He needs our help for a bit, so we’re going to pretend he’s with us. Is that ok?”

As the boy looked him over, Henry noticed they both had the same dark curly hair, wide chocolatey brown eyes and long eyelashes. Whatever the boy was looking for he seemed to have found and smiled at Henry.

“Yeah, that’s ok. Hey, can I sit on your shoulders for the parade? Tio lets me ride on his all the time.”

“Gabriel- I don’t think-” the woman started, but Henry cut her off.

“Gabriel, is it?” The boy nodded. “It’s lovely to meet you. You look about the same age as my niece. Let me guess, you are 8?”

“7!” Gabriel answered, his chest puffed up, visibly pleased to be perceived as older. 

“Ah, yes, perfect! My shoulders are well accustomed to 7-8 year olds.” Henry turned the hat around so it faced forward, and Gabriel turned around. He and his Tio clearly have the same routine as Henry and Victoria do. Henry counted to three and lifted Gabriel up and onto his shoulders with no issues. Gabriel’s mom looked on, visibly impressed, and rather amused. 

“Mom,” came another voice. 

“Yes Charley?” 

“Why is Gabe sitting on a stranger’s shoulders, and why is he wearing your hat and Tio’s sweatshirt?”

The woman sighed, and Henry could almost see the wheels turning in her head, deciding how much to share with her daughter.

“This is Henry. He’s actually rather famous, and some people are struggling with some boundaries that he’s set. So he’s hiding out with us for a while, so he can maintain his boundaries. We’re just helping him out for a bit.”

“That’s weird.” 

“It kind of is, you are right. But sometimes people forget that famous people are people too, and deserve to have a day in the park as a normal person, just like everyone else.”

Charley looked up at Henry then, who gave her what he hoped was a kind smile back.

“Ok,” Charley acquiesced, and then went back to her spot on the fence. 

Henry heard the woman sigh, and he looked over to see her shake her head with a smile. “Oh, Charley?”

“Yeah Mom?” 

“Come back over here for a second. I want to get a picture of the 4 of us to show Mama, Nana, and Tio.”

Charley rolled her eyes, but came back over. The woman unlocked her phone and handed it to Henry sheepishly. “Your arms are longer. It would look ridiculous if I took it… Oh! If it’s ok to take a picture with you. Ohmigod, I didn’t even ask.” Henry watched as her face started to flush.

“Of course it’s ok. I’m happy to take a picture with you all.”

Henry angled the camera and all four of them made cheesy faces. Henry snapped several. “There’s bound to be at least one good one in there,” Henry said, smiling as he handed the phone back.

“Hey Henry?”

“Yes Gabriel?”

“Can I get down? I think I want to go stand with my sister.”

“Sure thing.” Henry bent over and fumbled a little bit getting Gabriel off his shoulders, but managed to do so without anyone falling. Once both the kids were at the fence, he turned and looked at the woman.

“I’m not going to post it,” the woman started.

“Pardon?”

“The picture. I’m not going to put it anywhere online.”

“Oh, you are more than welcome to. I’ve made my peace long ago that I don’t have control over my likeness for personal pictures.”

The woman sighed. “I figured, but I’m still not going to post it, mostly because I don’t put pictures of the kids online, but secondly, I think it’s gross that any picture that surfaces of celebrities on the internet end up all over the place, on all the celebrity and fan sites. It’s absurd.” 

Henry chuckled, and started to open his mouth to comment, but the woman continued her rant.

“I mean, I’m just as guilty looking at those social media fan sites, and even sometimes figuring out who family members of famous people are to see if their pages are public so I could catch a glimpse of an uncurated moment, but I absolutely do not want to contribute to it, or have mine or my kids faces splashed all over the world for people to see.” The woman visibly shuttered at that last comment. “I may be a hypocrite, protecting my family while searching through other people’s, but what can you do?” 

Henry was at a loss for words. It had been a very long time since someone who knew who he was had that outlook on things. Certainly not since he became famous. 

“I don’t think anyone can blame you for being curious. And people can choose their own privacy settings. It’s quite resourceful, actually.” Henry smiled at the woman, hopefully showing her that he doesn’t think she was contrary in the slightest. He sensed she was feeling uncomfortable though and tried to change the subject. 

“Also, thank you for doing this for me. If I wasn’t as gay as a maypole, I’d kiss you.”

The woman giggled and smiled as she looked up at Henry. “If I wasn’t 100% happily married to a woman, I’d totally let you.” They smiled at each other for a moment, and then decided on a platonic hug.

“Although, I don’t think my wife would necessarily see it as cheating, more like she would then be kissing you by proxy. But I’m not going to chance it.”

Henry let out one of his unrestricted gummy belly laughs at that, which alerted Pez and Bea to where they were, as they’d been searching for him nearby.

“Henry! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where’d you get the disguise?” Bea shrieked, running over to her brother. 

“I was absorbed into this lovely family and they helped me hide in plain sight. I haven’t been looking, are they gone?”

“Yep,” Pez answered. “We saw them heading towards the main entrance shortly after the road closed. You are in the clear, mate.”

Henry sighed with relief. “I don’t know why those women bothered me so much,” he commented, shaking his head. 

“They were absolutely ridiculous!” Bea answered. She then turned her attention to the woman. “Hi! I’m Bea Fox. Thank you so much for helping my absurd little brother.”

The woman smiled and shook Bea’s hand. “I’m June, and it was a pleasure. It’s not every day we run into a full-fledged celebrity!” 

Henry blushed. He was also relieved that he finally knew the woman’s name. June. 

“I’m Pez, like the sweets. Henry’s oldest and most loyal friend.” He took June’s hand as if to shake it and kissed it instead. June giggled and blushed, while Bea rolled her eyes. 

“We’d love to stay and chat, but this little detour has made us late for hair and makeup. June, thank you again so much for helping out Henry! I do hope our paths cross again!” Bea announced. Henry had quickly taken the borrowed hat and sweatshirt off and handed it back to June. 

“I’m glad I could help. It was great meeting y’all!”

“Bye Henry!” The kids chorused, waving from the fence. 

“Bye!” Henry waved, looking back at the kids while Pez and Bea pulled him in the opposite direction.

🥸

A few hours later, Henry was scrolling through his instagram, when a new notification popped up.

Bluebonnet94 has sent you a picture.

Henry had hoped that June would reach out in some way- he had been too distracted to ask for contact information when they were all standing there. He clicked on the notification, and sure enough, there was the picture of him, June and the kids from earlier that day.

Bluebonnet94 I have no idea if you will even see this, or if this account is even managed by you, but here’s my favorite of the pictures we took. It was great meeting you again today Henry! I hope this somehow gets to you. 

Henry giggled to himself as he saved the picture. He thought for a second and then wrote back.

HenryFox🔹 Thank you for sending the picture! I’ve saved it immediately. And thank you for reaching out. I’m happy you did. 

Henry then switched over to her profile and decided to follow her. He was amused that her profile was private and had to request to follow her, but it made sense from their conversation earlier. 

Just as he was about to put his phone down, he got another instagram notification. 

You are now following Bluebonnet94. 

Henry immediately started looking at June’s posts. Her profile picture was of a young child, who Henry assumed was June as a child. There were pictures of her and another beautiful woman in wedding dresses, which he assumed was her wife, and more little kid pictures which Henry assumed were of June and her brother as kids. There were pictures of food, pictures of her standing next to older people with similar features she assumed were grandparents, and then Henry saw a picture that stopped him in his tracks.

There was June and her wife, whom Henry gathered was named Nora, on either side of the most gorgeous human Henry had ever seen in his life. He shared several of the same features as June, same dark curly hair, and large brown eyes with criminally long eyelashes, but in male form, and basically an Adonis of a human. He was shirtless in the picture, and the girls were both in swimsuits. They were standing on what looked like a dock next to a body of water. 

Henry could not stop staring at this man’s image. He had high cheekbones, and a strong jaw, with sunkissed caramel skin. His curls were wet and in disarray, and his strong arms were draped over the girls’ shoulders, muscles rippling over his shoulders, and his biceps slightly bulging. Henry’s eyes raked down his torso, defined pecs covered with a dusting of dark body hair, and… 8 sculpted abs?!? His eyes then grazed the V of his hips peaking out over the waist band of his swim trunks. 

I wore this man’s sweatshirt?!?! Henry was delirious. He moved down to the caption.

Bluebonnet94 Summer time vibes at Dad’s with the wife and little bro. @therealagcd @irlchaosdemon #lakelbj

Henry quickly clicked on the mentions, the chaos demon first. This was clearly June’s wife’s page, which he was interested in, but not as much as the little brother’s. He backed out and clicked on the other linked profile, praying that it was a public view profile.

It was. 

Henry immediately popped a semi. There were sweaty thirst trap gym mirror selfies of this gorgeous man all over the place, sprinkled in with pictures of cups of black coffee and legal briefs. There was a whole highlight reel called “dogs i met while running” and lots of beautiful nature scenes. More pictures of where that first picture was, and a video of him doing a complete front flip in the air into the water. 

His profile picture was taken from behind, with what looked to be Gabriel on his shoulders. Next to the profile picture- finally a name: Alex Claremont-Diaz.

Alex. Alex. He had to know more. 

He navigated back to his messages and opened up the one with June.

HenryFox🔹As a thank you for what you did for me today, I’d love to have you over for dinner- you, your children, your wife, and any other family who may be in the area. The kindness you showed me today is more than I could have hoped for. 

Henry sighed, and locked his phone. He hoped he came off as genuine, and not as creepy as he was feeling. 

Henry had just cracked open a book when a notification dinged.

Bluebonnet94 OMG- that would be amazing. We are only in town for a few more days- but we’d love to get together. We’re staying with my brother. Would he be able to come too? 

Henry almost squealed. He certainly did not kick his feet like a teenage girl. 

HenryFox🔹Absolutely! He is most welcome. How about the day after tomorrow for dinner- around 5:30 for drinks and appetizers? I’ll send a map pin with my address after I clear some things with the powers that be. 

Bluebonnet94 We’ll be there! Can’t wait!

Henry hearted June’s last response and then got to work clearing things with his security team.

Chapter Text

June smiled as she closed her phone, both at the prospect of going to Henry fucking Fox’s house for dinner, but also because she could hear Nora and Alex bickering as they walked down the hall coming closer to the apartment. 

She was so glad to be able to spend this time with her two favorite adults.

It occurred to her that she should be weirded out that her current wife is the ex of her brother, and her brother is the biological father of her son, but, as Nora and Alex both assured her, aside from the sex, they were basically platonic best friends already throughout their whirlwind 90 day relationship. Plus, they had already broken up when Nora found out she was pregnant, and it was Alex who introduced her to Nora, since June was parenting her one year old, Charley, on her own at the time and could be helpful. 

June was snapped out of her thoughts by the door slamming open, and Nora and Alex’s continued bickering as they walked in the doorway.

“Hello, love of my life,” Nora announced dramatically, sweeping over to give June a kiss on the lips. “How was the park festival and parade today?”

“Surprising,” June answered slyly, still unsure how she was going to approach this story. 

“How so?” Alex asked, cracking open a La Croix and taking a huge swig.

“Well,” June started, “The kids and I ran into someone, and helped him out a bit.”

“Who? Someone famous?” Nora asked.

“You could say that,” June replied, and then retold how she was approached and asked to hide a person to try to avoid the women following him, how the kids were skeptical about said person but warmed to him rather quickly and Gabe even demanded to ride on his shoulders, all while carefully avoiding the identity of this alleged celebrity. 

“Nuh uh, Bug,” Alex countered. “Who is this guy? You sure he wasn’t hitting on you? Do you have a picture?” 

“As a matter of fact, I have several,” June replied smugly, opening her phone and navigating to her camera roll. It was still open to the picture she had sent Henry on instagram. 

“No fucking way!?!?” Nora screeched, at the same time Alex yelled “You met Henry fucking Fox?!? Baby Bond himself?”

“We did.”

“And he’s wearing my favorite sweatshirt?!? I’m not even mad you stole it this time!” 

Alex immediately started searching his kitchen for his sweatshirt and located it draped over one of the kitchen chairs. He grabbed it and inhaled, looking slightly disappointed. “Damn, it just smells like me still.” 

June giggled at her brother’s antics. “Sorry Lil Bit. He only wore it for like 10 minutes.” 

“What was he like?” Nora asked, ignoring Alex entirely.

“Incredibly sweet and charming, and absolutely wonderful with the kids. He won them both over fairly quickly. I also met his sister and best friend before they whisked him away.”

“Wow. Once in a lifetime meet cute.”

“Kinda,” June smirked, navigating to her instagram messenger. “I sent him my favorite picture in a DM on instagram figuring he’d never see it, and this is what happened.”

Alex and Nora gathered around June’s phone and read the message exchange. 

It was silent for a few beats, and then mass pandemonium erupted.

June expected this.

Nora had been very clear that if I was into rich white boys, that is the rich white boy I’d go for. But Alex’s reaction was a little more surprising.

Alex had recently come to terms with his bisexuality, and was trying to figure out how to exist in the world with this newfound awareness. He had always had a thing for Henry’s father- Arthur Fox, who played James Bond in the late 80’s early 90’s. She remembered Alex watching Bond movies with their Dad and Abuelo as a kid and being completely transfixed; the same with Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars. She knew he found Henry attractive, but she didn’t think it occurred to him that he could cross paths with him, despite living in LA now. 

“Alex, you ok?” June asked, as Alex hadn’t really moved and his mouth was still hanging open a bit.

“Uh, yeah. I uh. Henry Fox.” He was still clutching his sweatshirt. 

Nora walked over and patted him on his cheek. “Alejandro- your baby bi is showing. We’ll get you all hot for our group dinner date with Henry. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.” 

This seemed to snap Alex out of it. “Shut up Nora!” Then he stormed off to his room. 

Nora and June looked at each other and smirked.

This was going to be fun. 

🥸

Pez was the first to catch on to Henry’s ulterior motives.

Henry moved too quickly off his phone when Pez walked in the next morning and immediately clocked the faint blush on Henry’s cheeks.

“Out with it Haz.”

“It’s nothing Percy.”

“Using my full name is not nothing, Babes.” Pez made a grab for his phone and unfortunately for Henry, it was still on Alex’s instagram page. 

“Who do we have here?” Pez asked. “Oh, my! What a snack. And what’s this? Our lovely new friend June is in these pictures!” Pez locked the phone and threw it back to Henry, who caught it with a scowl. “Could this be the brother that you found it necessary to invite along with this family to your house tomorrow?” 

“June asked if her brother could come. I’ve shown you the messages.”

“But tell me something, dear poppet. Did you extend the dinner invitation before or after your descent down this thirst trap worm hole?”

Henry’s glare was enough to give Pez his answer.

“I won’t tell Bea until after they’ve hopefully won her over. I’m anxious to see June again and meet the lovely Nora. I’m curious to see if they would enjoy a third from time to time.” Pez wiggled his eyebrows.

“Christ, Pez.”

“So your secret about your strumpet is safe with me… for now.”

Henry sighed.

“She just doesn’t want you hurt, Hazza. None of us do.”

“I know Pez.” They shared a meaningful glance but after a moment or two, Pez’s smile turned devious.

“Now!” Pez said, clapping his hands. “Let me actually see what kind of man compelled you to invite veritable strangers to your house!”

Henry smiled, and they took a deep dive back into the social media world of Alex Claremont-Diaz.

🥸

“The ribbed gray V-neck,” Nora stated authoritatively as she waltzed into Alex’s bedroom the morning of the dinner. She clocked the pile of shirts and pants on his bed, and deduced he’d been up for hours already. 

“Huh?” Alex asked, coming out of the ensuite bathroom rubbing his head with a towel. 

“Your ribbed gray V-neck shirt with dark wash jeans, and Air Force Ones. For tonight.” 

Alex looked at her for a bit, clearly building the outfit in his mind. He nodded once.

“Curls artfully tousled,” Nora was flipping through her camera roll. “Here, this is what you need to go for.” Nora handed the phone to Alex, and saw a picture of him wearing that exact outfit at Leo, his step father’s retirement party. 

He did look good.

“Thanks Nora,” Alex replied, heading back into the bathroom. 

Nora shook her head and went to check on Charley and Gabriel. 

🥸

“Why are you freaking out so much about what to wear this evening, Hen?” Bea asked from the chaise lounge in the corner of Henry’s bedroom.

“I just want to make a good impression,” Henry answered distractedly, holding up two different shirts to himself in his full length mirror. 

Bea could tell something was up. She waited until Henry was distracted in his closet again and grabbed his phone. 

She went to texts first, but there was nothing, so she went to instagram and looked at his recent search history. She found June’s page as a recent search, and then saw someone named Alex Claremont-Diaz as well. She clicked on that, and then asked “So what is June’s brother’s name again? I know we gave security their information, but I’m blanking.”

“Oh- uh, Alex?” Henry yelled from the closet.

Bingo, Bea thought, and went to his page. 

He was obscenely attractive. Suddenly the pieces were falling into place. Bea went back to the home screen on Henry’s phone and set it back down. 

“I think you should wear your light grey trousers, they make your ass look fantastic.”

Henry stuck his head out of the closet and shot Bea a look. “Since when are you an authority on my ass?” 

“I’m not, but I know clothes and fashion, and I read comments.”

Henry raised his eyebrow at her and disappeared. He came out with his grey trousers and a white t-shirt. “What do you suggest I pair with these then?”

Bea thought for a moment, making a big show out of it, even tapping her chin with her finger. “Your light pink button down, but unbuttoned 2 or 3 at the top, with the sleeves rolled to your elbows. And your hair in that messy but put-together way.”

“And shoes?”

“Anything but those dumb white velcro things.”

“What’s wrong with my velcro shoes?”

“Where do I start?”

Henry scoffed at his sister and went back into his closet to find his pink button down. 

“So this Alex fellow,” Bea started, smirking. “Do you know anything about him?” Bea heard Henry’s breath hitch. Got him. 

“Um, he’s June’s brother? He’s Charley and Gabriel’s uncle?”

“He appears to be incredibly attractive.”

Henry shot out of his closet. “How do you know this?”

“I may have done some sleuthing. Is this why we’re hosting this family? On the off chance that the man with obscene abs is, one- into men, and two- single?”

Henry rolled his eyes. “It’s the nice thing to do, Bea. June saved me.”

“And her having a hot brother is just a bonus.” 

“Enough you!” Henry shrieked, and went to tackle his sister. 

“Stop it, you brute!” Bea cried, smacking Henry on the back. He rolled next to her and laughed. 

“I don’t know Bea,” Henry started. “Even before I saw Alex’s picture, I felt safe with June and her kids. Like they were trustworthy, and we could be friends. I was genuinely thrilled when she reached out to me and sent me that picture, and I was leaning towards inviting them over anyway. But then I saw the ‘obscene abs’ as you said, and that sealed the deal for me.”

“Oh Hen,” Bea said, stroking the hair out of his eyes. “I know you are a sucker for a pretty face, but please be careful.”

“I will be Bea. And you and Pez will be there too. I’ll do my best not to do anything stupid.”

“And if you do, you know we’ll be here to pick up the pieces. Now, finish getting ready and then I want to know what you know about this Alex character.”

Henry smiled at his sister and went back into his closet to finish getting dressed. 

🥸

Chapter Text

“Whoa. Look at this gate!” Nora exclaimed as Alex pulled up to the gate where the GPS led him based on the pin Henry dropped for June. 

“How do we get in?” Charley asked from the back of the car. 

“There’s a buzzer. Let me get closer,” Alex suggested, maneuvering his car closer to the buzzer/speaker box. 

Alex rolled down his window and pressed the buzzer, gazing into the camera lens. There was a click, a gasp, and then a faint male voice exclaimed what sounded like “bollocks!” and then the gate dinged and it opened. 

June and Alex looked at each other bewildered, and then Alex drove the car through the gate. 

Everyone’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets as they pulled up the driveway. 

The house looked like a castle. 

The adults expected it with the Beverly Hills address, but seeing it in person was something else entirely. 

The house had a brick facade with an honest to god turret surrounding the front door. The gate closed behind them as they got out of the car in shock.

“Am I dressed up enough for a castle party?” Gabriel asked, looking down at his jeans and polo shirt his mom made him put on instead of his standard hoodie.

“You’re fine mijo,” Alex said, roughing up his hair. 

“Well don’t just stand there, do come in!” Bea shouted at the group from the doorway. This shook the guests out of their apparent shock.

“I know it is a bit much. My father bought the house in 2008 on a whim, hoping to move the whole family here from London. He left it to my brother and I when he passed.” Bea explained as everyone made it to the front door.

“June! Gabriel! Charley! Wonderful to see you again!” Bea exclaimed, hugging June and giving the kids high fives as they entered the foyer. “And you must be Nora and Alex!” Bea exclaimed, turning to them. “I’m Bea Fox- Henry’s sister. He is around here somewhere. HENRY! YOUR GUESTS ARE HERE!” 

A thump could be heard a couple rooms away, and then clacking of nails coming closer to the hardwood. Just then a little beagle rounded the corner, tail wagging, coming right up to the kids, who squealed with delight.

“This is David!” Bea introduced. “He’s technically Henry’s emotional support dog, but we tend to have to support his anxiety just as much as he supports us.”

After appropriate scratches and greetings for David, Alex heard a throat clear somewhere above him and looked up and directly into the eyes of Henry fucking Fox. 

“Erm- welcome to my home everyone,” Henry started. “I’m Henry, and I see you’ve already met the most beloved member of our household, David. And Bea’s there too.”

Bea scoffed as she directed the group to take off their shoes and put them in a shoe rack by the door. “We have slippers should you wish to use them. We’ve always been a shoes off in the house family, since before my eldest brother was born at least. Mum read something about how dirt from people’s shoes could poison small children when she was pregnant, and there was no turning back.”

Nora, who had been quiet until then, finally perked up and snapped her fingers. “I got it! Was this house in the movie Clueless?” 

Bea and Henry chuckled. “Wow! You have a good eye. Yes, this house was depicted as Dionne’s house in the movie,” Henry answered. “Once my father realized the history of this house after he bought it, he made the entire family watch the movie, several times.”

“And it’s since become one of the most quoted movies in the family,” Bea volunteered, watching Henry roll his eyes at her affectionately. 

“I was annoyed that he didn’t buy Cher’s house until I found out it’s actually located in Encino,” Bea replied, wrinkling her nose. “Not that there’s anything wrong with Encino. But I feel like I would have to constantly be on the lookout for Pauly Shore.”

Alex cracked up at that. “Oh my God. I haven’t thought about Encino Man in years. Clearly one of Brenden Fraser’s best works.” 

Henry cracked a smile at that. “Would you like a tour of the rest of the house? There are several rooms, one that we turned into an arcade/playroom for when our niblings from across the pond come to visit.” He turned and gave his complete attention to Charley and Gabriel. “Would you both like to see that space first or last?” 

The kids looked at each other and both nodded their heads. “FIRST!” They shouted in unison. 

“As I suspected. Right this way.” Henry led the pack to the game room, as Bea referred to it.

Once the kids were settled in, with David at their heels, the tour continued with Bea, Henry, Alex, Nora, and June. At one point Pez appeared, having let himself in, and immediately set to work sweeping Nora and June off their feet. Once the tour was over, Pez managed to whisk them away to the covered back patio. 

“Are they gonna be ok back there unsupervised?” Alex asked Henry jokingly. Henry smirked.

“Pez is my oldest friend; we met in Eton. I trust him with my life. However, if they don’t resurface in the next 30 minutes, we may want to check on them.”

Alex smiled crookedly at Henry. “Gotcha.”

They were silent for a beat. Bea entered the room then and looked between the two of them, and decided to be a bit devious. “Well, shall I get you boys some drinks? Hen, the usual?” Henry nodded. “Alex, what would you like to drink? We have pretty much everything.”

Alex looked nervous for a second. He looked at Henry. “What’s your usual? I don’t want to request something ridiculous and have it way off base.”

“Gin and tonic.”

Alex visibly relaxed. “Could I have a whiskey on the rocks then?”

Bea smiled. “Coming right up!” 

As Bea left, the tension Bea started to sense resumed. Both Alex and Henry didn’t quite know what to say to each other.

Alex cracked first. “So, of all the people at the park the other day, how did you decide to approach my sister?” Alex saw Henry’s cheeks tinge pink.

“I can’t really explain my thought process other than, ‘she looks nice,’ and it didn’t appear to look like she was with anyone else, so I could possibly blend in as her partner to passerbys.”

Alex nodded. “She gives off that mama bear/big sister energy at all times. Like you know she’s gonna take care of you.”

“That’s definitely part of it. I’m eternally grateful. Though, I feel like I’m making a big deal out of being followed, it was disconcerting.”

“I get it man,” Alex started. “Well, not totally, but it’s not fun feeling like your privacy and autonomy is being violated.” 

“I appreciate your understanding.” 

Bea came back in with the drinks, and they sat down. “Where did Pez run off to with June and Nora?”

“The patio,” Henry replied, indicating the way with his drink.

Bea sighed. “I knew he was going to monopolize their time. You heard him talk about June the goddess the entire way back the other day.” Bea got up. “I’m going to interrupt his soiree’.” 

Alex and Henry were left alone again. And once again, Alex had to fill the space.

“So your Dad was like one of my favorite actors growing up,” Alex blurted, and then cringed. 

Henry’s smile was tight.

Alex continued. “Him and Harrison Ford. How can you go wrong with James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Han Solo?”

Henry relaxed a bit. “He would be flattered to hear he was in the same category as Harrison. They were mates, actually.”

Alex’s eyes widened at that. “Gosh, was that surreal? Growing up with such a famous Dad? My mom was the Governor of Texas for a while, and it was cool meeting all these politicians and some lowkey celebrities, but I can’t imagine how that was for you.”

“Mum sheltered us from most of it when we were young. He was done being Bond by the time I was born, and mainly transitioned to a producer role for my childhood. He had dreams of moving us all here from London, and bought this house right after I turned 10. If it wasn’t for my evil grandmother, he would have made it happen too. But she somehow weaseled her way into Mum’s psyche that she couldn’t leave London. Then my dad got sick, and took a hiatus from Hollywood to get treatment in Cardiff, and then never made it back here.” 

Without thinking, Alex reached out and touched Henry’s hand. Henry smiled at that and left it where it was.

“He left Bea and I this house. He knew Phillip was planning to stay in London even before he got sick. Gran got her claws into him early, and he couldn’t be bothered to come to California. I think some of his last words to Dad were ‘I’m going to stay here and work like a real adult.’ That hurt Dad, but he’s always been the most serious out of the lot of us. However, they made up before Dad passed, and he, Martha and the kids come to visit regularly. Mum too occasionally, though since Dad died she hasn’t been the same. Once Gran finally kicks it, I’m going to attempt to get her set up in the cottage out back here so she’ll be close.”

“Your grandmother is still around?”

“Unfortunately. Full of piss and vinegar, that one. Super smug she outlived Dad too. I haven’t been back since the funeral.” 

“I’m so sorry about all that. It must be hard.”

Henry chuckled. “Please don’t feel sorry for us. I know I’ve lived a charmed life, and my sob story pales in comparison to what other people have to deal with. But enough about me. You said your mother was once Governor of Texas?”

“Hey, it’s not a competition.” Alex smiled at Henry, and Alex swore he could see Henry melt a bit. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on Alex’s part. Who’s to say? “But yeah. She worked her way through the Texas government while June and I were growing up, and became Governor when I was in high school. She and Dad got divorced when I was in 6th grade, and Dad was living in an apartment nearby, but moved back into our house when Mom moved to the Governor’s mansion. June was already in college, and I had a year and a half left until graduation, and didn’t want to move, just to move again when I went away to school.” 

“You went to Georgetown? In DC?” 

“For law school yeah. I went to UT-Austin for undergrad. Mom had her sights set on a US House seat, so I figured I could study law there, and crash with my mom at her place to save money. However, she lost the seat to that asshole Jeffrey Richards.” Alex shook his head. “So I had to get my own place in DC. Which was fine…better actually.” Alex smirked.

Henry read into the smirk. “Hard to have guests with your mother as a roommate?”

Alex cackled. “Something like that. That’s actually when I met Nora.”

“You knew Nora before June?”

“Yeah. We dated for about 3 months. If you call it dating. We decided we were better off as friends. I mean, the sex was good, but there was no spark or fire there. We’d just bicker. Then shut each other up. So we broke it off, but stayed friends.  June and Charley were visiting when Nora showed up at my apartment in tears, holding a pregnancy test.” Alex stopped suddenly, his face reddening. “Oh God, I’m rambling. You don’t want to hear the sordid details of this.”

“I’m happy to listen, Alex.” Henry turned his hand so that their palms were touching. Henry squeezed a bit. Alex squeezed back.

“It’s kind of both my and Nora’s story to tell. But I can share my part of it, I guess? If you don’t mind. I don’t know why, but I find you remarkably easy to talk to. Despite you being Hollywood royalty and all.”

Henry smiled. “I’m just a person, Alex. And I’d love to hear more of your story.”

Alex took a deep breath and continued. “So Nora showed up at my apartment late one night when June and I were talking after getting Charley down. She was like 1, 1 and a half maybe? Nora was in tears, and asked if she could come in, and shoved the positive pregnancy test into my chest. We had always used protection, and she was on birth control, so this was completely unexpected. June guided Nora to the couch while I had a… a moment outside.”

”June was already in protective mode when I got back inside, talking with her about being a single mom herself, since Charley’s father decided instead of being in his daughter’s life to move to a different country. At this point, I interrupted and said I would do everything in my power to provide for this child, and Nora and I had already decided to stay friends anyway, so we should clearly be able to parent a child together.”

Alex wiped a tear from his eye, then continued. “June and Charley had planned on staying for a couple weeks, and Nora and June got increasingly close in that time, and decided to try a relationship. It worked, obviously. They got engaged and married, and Nora ended up adopting Charley, and I signed over my parental rights for Gabriel to June, happy to just be Tio Alex. The last thing that kid needed would be confusion regarding who his parents were. So we basically treat it as a sperm donation done the old fashioned way.” Alex shrugged.

“I love both those kids with every fiber of my being, and I’m happy that June and Nora found each other. Even though Nora refers to June as the ‘prettier Claremont-Diaz sibling’.”

“I beg to differ,” Henry commented, almost to himself. He immediately realized he said it outloud, and hoped that Alex didn’t catch it. He looked up at Alex to see that same crooked smile from the picture that started this whole thing.

“You think I’m the prettier Claremont-Diaz sibling?” Alex asked, raising his eyebrows.

Henry hummed and hawed for a moment, and then smiled as he said, “You must know you are gorgeous.” 

A blinding smile spread over Alex’s face. “I’m fairly sure that’s a paraphrased line from Clueless.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “It is, but also, it’s the truth.” He struggled to contain his smile.

“I haven’t washed that sweatshirt since you wore it. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve had a crush on you for years.” 

“I’ve had a crush on you for a couple days, but had I known you existed prior to that, I’m sure my crush would have been just as long.”

Henry and Alex stared at each other for a moment, the awkward tension gone, but replaced by a sexual tension that could be cut with a knife. 

“Dinner is ready!” Bea announced coming into the room with a smirk. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything?”

“Nope!” the boys said at the same time, standing up and letting go of each other’s hands. “We’ll be right there, Bea. Do you need us to grab the kids?”

“June’s going to get them.” Bea looked at her brother with raised eyebrows. Henry mouthed I know what I’m doing to her as Alex turned around and headed toward Bea.

Before entering into the dining room, Alex grabbed Henry’s wrist. “Just to put it out there, I’m bisexual.”

“Noted,” Henry replied. “I’m very, very gay, as you probably already know.”

“I do. I was worried that you’d be a disappointment when I found out I was actually going to meet you. I built you up so much in my head.”

“And now that you have met me?” Henry asked, holding his breath.

“I like you even more.” Alex smiled, let go of Henry’s wrist, and went into the dining room. 

Henry had to reach out to the wall to steady himself. How was this man real? He took some deep breaths to steady himself before walking into the dining room. He caught Alex’s eye, and could tell by his face that he knew exactly what that comment did to Henry. 

Dinner was fresh torture for Henry, watching Alex interact with his niece and nephew, as well as how well he appeared to get along with Bea and Pez. June and Nora were absolutely delightful as well, and the kids were as much a pleasure during dinner as they were at the parade. He wanted nothing more than to cart Alex upstairs to his room and have his way with him. But he was trying to be good, take things slow, and protect his heart.

The last relationship Henry was in started like a wildfire, and burnt him to an absolute crisp. Several years of reclusiveness followed by intensive therapy got him to where he was today. It also helped that they renovated the house so that it looked completely different on the inside from when his Dad was alive, and when Henry used it as his hook up cave in the “slut phase” years before meeting Carlile. 

Henry shook his head, needing to clear his head of the past. He spent too much time and money healing from that period of his life, and there was this beautiful human sitting at his table with his family who he’d like to get to know more, in every way possible.

“So what kind of law do you practice, Alex?” Pez asked.

“Before moving here it was mostly immigration and family law. But my dad recently retired, and had me take over for his firm. After I went to law school, he moved to California to be closer to his sister, and started a contract law firm with his friend Raf. We represent historical sites and review MOU’s and other contracts between the big production studios and historical sites and other on scene locations where filming takes place. We generally try to preserve and protect history from big Hollywood. I have no idea how Dad and Raf got into that line of work when he moved here, but I’m liking it so far.”

“It didn’t even occur to me that there are contracts and protections in play with on scene locations. That’s fascinating!” Bea exclaimed. Then turning to June, “How much longer are you staying here? And I don’t think I’ve asked where home is for you?”

“San Diego,” June answered after swallowing her food. “Nora’s family lives there, and since it was in the same state as Dad and now Alex, we decided to make the move from Boston after Nora was done with her PhD at MIT.”

Pez’s eyes lit up. “Dr. Holleran?” He asked Nora, kissing her hand. 

“Dr. Holleran-Diaz actually,” Nora answered, winking at Pez. Then, sensing everyone wanted to know what she was a doctor of, she continued. “That’s actually part of the reason why we’re here. My PhD is in Urban Studies and Planning, and Alex asked me to come speak to his firm on the topic. It just so happened to be scheduled the day June took the kids to the park for the parade, which is why Alex and I weren’t there with them.” 

“At first, we were sad to miss it, but I think it worked out pretty well,” Alex commented, side-eying Henry. Henry couldn’t help the blush. 

Bea saw the entire exchange, and ever the big sister, extended a bit of protection to her little brother. “To new friends!” she said as she held up her glass to cheers. 

“To new friends!” everyone echoed. Henry shot a grateful glance towards Bea. 

As dinner wrapped up, Pez and Alex volunteered to take care of clean up. Henry and Bea started to protest, but Alex’s arguing skills were promptly put on display, and convinced everyone that June and Nora needed to spend time with Henry and Bea, since Alex appeared to have monopolized Henry’s time, and Pez had monopolized June and Nora’s. The kids quickly escaped back to the play room after bringing their items to the sink.

“So, Alexander,” Pez started. “I saw you getting rather cozy with Henry before dinner.”

“I could say the same about you with my sister and sister-in-law, Pez. What are your intentions?”

Pez was taken aback at first, but then looked a bit sheepish.

“Touche, my liege. Touche.” Pez shook his head, not used to being bested. “I’m intrigued by them, honestly. They are both gorgeous, and have such interesting lives. I didn’t realize that June has been a guest writer for the likes of the Washington Post, the New York Times, in addition to writing some of your mother’s speeches when she was governor. And then Nora, she’s mesmerizing. I never want to come between them and their relationship, but if I could float close or adjacent to them, I’d be a happy person.”

Alex examined Pez, looking for any tells, but all he could read on his face was genuine sincerity. “Just be careful with them Pez. They, along with those kids, are my absolute favorite people in the world. If you do anything to upset any one of them, I promise they will never find your body.”

Pez saluted Alex, and solemnly nodded his head. “Spoken like a true brother.” Pez paused to load the stack of plates he had rinsed into the dishwasher, then continued. “Now, about you and Henry…” Pez wiggled his eyebrows a bit.

Alex couldn’t hide his smile. “I’ve had a crush on him for years, but he was always this enigma. Baby Bond, famous for being famous, that sort of thing. I was worried he was going to suck. But…” Alex paused, struggling to put his feelings into words.

“He’s more than just the absurdly beautiful son of a James Bond. I feel this sense of peace and comfort talking to him. He’s a real person, with real feelings, who has been through some real shit, just like the rest of us. But he’s kind, and warm, and treats my family with a kindness and respect we don’t often get from people who look like him. I guess all that to say, I like him a lot, and I want to see what, if anything, happens.” 

“I think the feeling is mutual mate, between you two. He’s been a right wreck since he came across one of your pictures on June’s instagram page. I’ve only seen him look at one other person the way he’s looked at you tonight though, and that person caused irrevocable damage to that man’s poor heart. As Henry’s brother in everything but genetics, the same warning goes for you if you hurt him.”

“Duly noted,” Alex saluted Pez, mimicking his gesture from earlier, and they went on cleaning up the kitchen, Pez loading the dishwasher, and Alex washing the pots and pans by hand. 

Alex and Pez emerged from the kitchen to where the rest of them were sitting, giggling with each other over something ridiculous Alex happened to see on TikTok. Henry look at them alarmed.

“You two may be getting along too well for my mental health,” Henry commented, shaking his head fondly.

“You are still my number one, Hazza. Never forget that.” Pez exclaimed with a flourish. 

Nora sighed. “As much as it pains me, we should probably get going. We have a long drive back home tomorrow.”

“Thank you all so much for your hospitality. It’s been amazing, and a little surreal meeting you all.” June added, standing up. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Henry added. “I hope we will be seeing much more of each other.” 

Henry snuck a glance at Alex, who had a faint pink tint to his cheeks.

“I’ll round up the nuggets,” Alex annnounced, “And then be back to say my goodbyes.”

Pez and Henry made eye contact as Alex left the room. To anyone else, it appeared a casual glance, but Pez effectively gave his blessing to go for it with Alex. 

“Mooooommmmmsssssssss! Why do we have to go?!?!” Charley whined as Alex returned pushing Gabriel into the room and pulling Charley behind him.

“We’re going home tomorrow. If we stay any later tonight, you both will be absolutely horrible to get up and into the car in the morning!” June explained.

“And you still have to pack,” Nora added. 

“Harrumpfh,” was all Gabriel could muster. With one look from both their moms the kids begrudgingly went to put their shoes on. 

Alex made his way over to Bea, making her promise to get together for a proper lunch, since they spent the least amount of time together.

Alex went to Pez next and after a couple more laughs and a brohug later, were satisfied with each other’s farewells.

Then Alex approached Henry once everyone else made their way outside. 

“This may be forward of me,” Henry started, “But I very much would like to take you out on an actual date.” He handed his phone to Alex with an open new contact page up.

Alex was all smiles as he put his information in, and texted himself for good measure. 

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Alex asked, returning the phone to Henry.

“I’ll text you the details.” 

Alex’s entire being lit up. “I’ll be waiting, sweetheart.” At that, Alex leaned in and kissed Henry softly on the cheek and then all but skipped out of the house, leaving an extremely flustered Henry in his wake. 

Once the Claremont-Diaz-Holleran crew were on the other side of the gate, Bea turned and looked at her boys.

“They have you completely under their spell don’t they?” She asked.

“Undoubtedly,” Pez answered. Henry just sighed wistfully. 

Bea shook her head and pulled them both inside. “Such suckers for pretty faces. Both of you.”