Freedom 26

Henry looked on awkwardly for a moment, before apologising and excusing himself too. He knew that if Alex wasn't in his bedroom, he'd be in the solarium on the third floor. But he'd place all of his bets on Alex being in his room. Not that Alex was predictable like that. But he hoped that by now Alex knew that he would follow him anywhere. After everything they had been through together, Henry would follow him. He loved him.

Henry was right. "Darling, are you ok?" Henry asked, as he let himself into Alex's room. Alex was laying on the bed, curled up in a ball shape, in an effort to make himself look small. Henry had seen his red eyes and his watery eyes but chose not to mention them just yet.

"Can you lay with me?" Alex asked, his voice sounded so small and upset. It made Henry worry about him more. He knew that Alex was still not one hundred percent right just yet. He and Carmen would need to both put in a lot more work. But in comparison to where he was when they arrived at the Lake House, yeah Alex was doing better.

"Your family; they're loving and supportive." Henry told him, and he hoped his words would stay true. "I am sure once they wrap their heads around it, they're going to be so proud of you."

Alex laid there and Henry slipped on to his king size bed and nestled his body against Alex's, curving into his shape. He pulled Alex's back flush against his chest in an attempt to get his body closer to Alex's and comfort him through touch. "They didn't even ask what school? I got accepted to one of the best law schools in the country and they didn't even ask me what school I got accepted to. It's just like college all over again."

"They will. They're all going to be so happy for you, Alex. So proud of you." Henry reassured him. "I am proud of you, and I love you. Alex, I love you so much. You have me in your corner, always."

"I love you too, Baby." Alex replied and Henry held him close.

A knock at the door startled them less than ten minutes later, expecting June and possibly Nora, told the door knocker to come in. It was not June and Nora as expected, but his mom and dad. "Sugar?" Ellen said softly, sitting by Alex's legs on the bed. His eyes were closed, he was resting them. However, he was not sleeping. Just letting himself revel in the feeling of Henry's arms before he has to go back to the UK. His departure date is looming over them, they were both acutely aware of its impending arrival, but neither one had the heart to mention it, for fear of bursting the bubble they had been blissfully living in.

"Ale?" Oscar added softly, touching his son on the calf to make him open his eyes. Oscar was like Alex; he communicated his feelings through touch. It was something that he and Alex had in common. Something Henry loved about both of them. Alex opened his eyes and looked at them expectantly. He had never seen them be this calm together, this cohesive, since well before the divorce. They actually looked like they didn't want to kill each other, for a change. If only it could last.

"I'm sorry, darlin' " Ellen apologised, the lilt in her voice taking on a more Texan twang than her Presidential voice. "I should have let you finish your announcement instead of jumpin' down ya throat."

"I'm sorry too, Ale." Oscar added, looking over at Alex before noticing Henry hadn't bothered to move since they came into the room. "Ya Ma and me, we should have reacted better. So, law school, huh?"

"NYU to be precise." Alex whispered in reply, not addressing their apologies. He felt Henry tighten his grip on him. reminding him that Henry was there for him, comforting him, loving him and supporting him. "Cash and Amy knew because they went with me. I asked them not to tell anyone. I got really fed up one day, after a bad day on the campaign trail and just went in. I thought the worst thing that could happen was that I bomb it, and no one would ever know. I told Henry about the LSATs just before we went to Brooklyn for the DNC. The admission letter for NYU came in on Tuesday afternoon."

"NYU is a very good school." Ellen said, sounding more optimistic than she was before Alex stormed out. She almost sounded impressed. Proud. "Congratulations Sugar."

"That's great, Ale." Oscar looked as proud as he was the day that Alex told him he was bi. "So, you'll be moving to Brooklyn?"

"Well, I sure as shit ain't going to commute there every day from DC." Alex laughed. The laughter was dry, but it broke the tense stalemate between the three of them.

The day that Bea, Henry and Pez were due to depart DC, it was a grey and miserable day. Alex knew the moment that he opened his eyes he would struggle to hold it together enough to say goodbye. Especially since Shaan was no longer in the position of Henry's equerry and Henry didn't have a copy of his new schedule on him. Leaving things upended and with no way of knowing when they would see one another, face to face, made Alex's heart hurt. Henry was still asleep in his embrace. Their alarm was due to go off in ten minutes and all Alex wanted to do was keep Henry in his arms and not let him leave. Alex just hoped when Henry returned to the UK, history wouldn't repeat itself and his heart wouldn't shatter.

"Darling, are you ok?" Henry's soft voice asked, when he rolled over and saw Alex's glassy eyes. They were almost full of tears and that was all Henry needed. He had expected that he would be the one who was a blubbery mess, not Alex.

"Fine." Alex lied. Henry knew it was a lie but didn't call him on it. What was the point? Alex would tell him the truth. Cry, then Henry would cry too. Henry just snuggled his body closer to Alex's and peppered his face with kisses, before capturing Alex's lips between his own.

"Come on my love, shower time." Henry instructed him, encouraging Alex to join him in the shower. In the shower, Henry had painstakingly made sure, with absolute certainty that Alex could feel his love for him through his touch. Through every kiss, every caress and every shared movement as they made love against the tiled wall of Alex's shower stall.

Reluctantly, Alex pulled back first, despite feeling like he couldn't get enough of Henry. He could feel his heart breaking, knowing that Henry was leaving, and they didn't know when they were going to see each other again. He was trying to be brave for Henry. Henry was trying to be brave for Alex, but in the shower, they'd been vulnerable with each other, and it had been perfect.

Saying goodbye to Bea and Pez was hard. But saying goodbye to Henry felt like someone had reached down throat, into his chest. Plucked his heart clean out from beneath his ribs. Squeezed out every last drop of blood, tied a lasso around it and tossed it in Henry's luggage for him to take back to London with him. It was clear to everyone around him that as soon as Henry was gone, Alex was just going through the motions until they could be together again. He needed time to process his feelings. They left him alone to do so.

Henry was missing Alex, like you missed a limb once it was removed. There was that phantom feeling of the limb still being there, but it wasn't. Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, was when Henry realised how much leaving Alex had hurt him just as much as Alex. Pez and Bea had tried to cheer him up, to no avail. "It feels too much like when I was under Gran's thumb, Bea." henry told her, bluntly. "Alex and I have never done well when we don't know when we're going to see each other next."

"Mum's in charge now." Bea reminded him. "She's not going to be like Gran. She has already promised you that you have her full support. That you will be able to see Alex."

"That does not make things any easier." Henry huffed as Pez's mind began to race. An idea fastly forming.

Disembarking at their private airstrip, the weather matched Henry's mood. Dark, dreary and miserable. They said goodbye to Pez, who had his own security and car waiting for him, exchanging hugs with the royal siblings before departing.

They were quickly ushered straight into the waiting royal car, and taken straight to Buckingham Palace, not Kensington Palace where they and their mother usually resided. Being led by a footman into one of the many sitting rooms, was not as foreboding as they expected, seeing it was their mother's favourite sitting room. "My babies!" She greeted them, enthusiastically. Henry and Bea automatically greeted the new queen according to protocol before she tutted them. "My babies, I am your mother first and your queen second. There will be none of that royal protocol bullshit when we're in private. Save that shit for the formal occasions."

She held them tight while she hugged them. Bea held on tight, seemingly melting into her mother's arms, whilst Henry remained stiff. Before the new Queen could ask Henry, what was wrong, Bea chimed in. "Don't mind Mr. Grouchy-pants over there. He is missing his man." She teased him, just as a big sister would tease her little brother.

Henry gave her a dirty look. "It's not that I am missing Alex, because I do. However, I ..." Henry hesitated. He wasn't sure how he could articulate it. Bea had shut him down on the plane earlier when he had tried to explain it her and Percy. Bea was usually quite understanding, but she couldn't seem to grasp this concept very well. Bea was straight, but she had zero experience being in a relationship with anyone. it wasn't that she was asexual or aro, just that she hadn't found herself 'the one' yet.

"It's ok to miss Alex, my love." Catherine told her son gently, releasing Bea to focus on Henry. "You can miss the man you love the most, when you're in the same room. It's normal to miss them."

"It's not just missing him." Henry argued softly. "It's the not knowing when we will be together again that's killing me. Alex and I have always strived to know when we will be seeing one another. To have a date to look forward to. It makes the distance easier to bear."

"That is more than a sensible plan for a long-distance relationship, Henry." His mother told him. "I suppose it would help with your anxiety as well. Your father and I would do that, while we were apart. Count down the days until we were back together."

"And Alex's anxiety." Henry confirmed. "Mum, I'm worried about Alex. Leaving Alex, after everything he has been through. His mental health is not where it needs to be and I feel I need to be there with him, helping him. Not here, playing happy families with Gran for the media."

"I know you are missing him, my darling." Catherine consoled him. "But I need you here. I'm going to get you set up with a new Equerry and once you're back doing royal events you won't miss him so much."

"You know that's not true." Henry argued, but Catherine held up her hand, signaling the ending of their argument.

They'd been back in the UK for three weeks when Pez came by and insisted that henry join him for a drive. That was an odd request to Henry's ears because Pez never drove anywhere. He was always chauffeur driven or escorted by one of his security officers, who drove. On the very rare occasion, Henry would drive and Pez would be the passenger. Despite owning a car, Henry could not recall a time his friend had driven anywhere.

As soon as they were free from the palace, with Henry's PPOs in tow in a separate vehicle, Pez turned to Henry "Have you managed to come up with some time to see your strumpet yet? I know the two of you are in a fight, but you're going to lose him if you keep shutting him out."

"I am not deliberately shutting him out, I just cannot understand why Alex cannot make the flight to see me." Henry huffed. "Why am I the one to be expected to always make the transatlantic flight?"

"Henry, my wonderful Hazza. You need to open your eyes wider and think." Percy advised him softly. "Do you really think Alex would refuse to visit you, if he had any choice in the matter. That beautiful man loves you. He has the gall to love you. You are his all-consuming great love. Do you not see that?"

"No, I don't. I guess I am still smarting from this fight." Henry sighed sadly. "Not to mention my exhaustion. I am very tired. My new Equerry Conan has me booked solid. I requested some time off for the end of May for Alex's graduation and sadly, he all but told me no. I, of course have asked mum. But right now, for some inexplicable reason, all requests are being filtered through Pip's office and his equerry, Martin is blocking me. I haven't told Alex I can't make it to his graduation yet. I don't know how to without breaking his heart." Henry was no longer caring if Pez saw him crying. He was just as hurt as Alex would be, when Alex learnt what Henry had been keeping from him.

"I was there, H." Pez told him in earnest. "When Queen Catherine promised Bea, it would be different under her reign. What's going on?"

"Yeah, well so far it's as if nothing has changed." Henry let out a strangled sob. "I should have just abdicated when I had the chance. Alex hates me or is going to hate me, and I can't say I don't blame him, given what's going on. I don't even have Shaan on my side now to back me up or speak to the White House on my behalf."

Percy hadn't gotten by as Henry's best friend on mere proximity alone. It had taken many a nights at Oxford, and afterwards of getting to know one another, drinking and confidentiality sessions before Henry had dropped his public personal and let Pez see the real him. Now, when they were truly alone, on occasion, Henry would let Pez see Henry Fox again. Percy was good at reading Henry, especially his moods. He already knew all about the fight from June. He also knew that June would be making her own move, in time.

"Darling, I have a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea, your Auntie Pezza is going to save you and your strumpet." Pez grinned at him, manically. "Here's what we're going to do..."