TPASD 14

No one was any the wiser of what had unfolded between Henry and Alex behind the closed study door, only moments beforehand. When Alex returned and immediately retrieved his crying daughter from Catherine's arms, he nodded politely at her. "Thank you, Catherine." He had murmured, not meeting Henry's mother's gaze. Mostly for fear that she would be able to read his face and she would know what he had just done.

He and Henry had kissed. It had been good. It had been hot. It had been steamy, and he was sure wanted to do it again. Henry had definitely not wanted it to end, if Alex could judge by the hardness in the prince's trousers.

Taking a seat in the armchair, he was in earlier, Alex sighed as he began playing with her. Her crying had subsided as soon as Alex had her in his arms. Beatrice went over and sat beside him, pulling a sitting chair over so she could speak with Alex. "I am really glad you decided to take my brother, Henry up on his offer." Princess Bea told him, in earnest. "Wild horses could not drag him from a dinner with our Gran, for fear of retribution, punishment or retaliation. Yet for you and little Gabriella, Henry willingly fled like a thief into the night."

For once, Alex was glad that Bea did not bring up his dead fiancée because Alex didn't think he would be able to handle that right now. Not when his mind was still literally spiraling over that kiss that Henry had given Alex. What a kiss it had been! "I am blessed to have a friend such as Henry." Alex told Henry's sister, truthfully.

"I think Henry is blessed to have met you both." Bea told him, in her reassuring gentle way. "You've given Henry someone who accepts him for who he is. Someone he can discuss his grief with, in a way that doesn't drag his depression into play. You widen and expand his friendship circle from myself and Percy to three. Not that I really count, I am his sister."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Alex defended Henry and defended himself in one fell swoop. "I meant he's not only one having two friends and one of them is your sister. My best friends are my sister Catalina June, and her wife, Nora."

"Oh," Bea mused out loud. Alex and Henry had more in common than she thought. The stark contrast between the men was something she had not expected. Bea knew you shouldn't ask one's sexuality, or speculate, but she did worry that her brother's crush was one sided. She worried that Alex Claremont-Diaz was as straight as they came. Henry's radar for homosexual men was sketchy at best, at least according to Pez. She had thought by striking up a conversation with Alex, she would be able to tell too. But she couldn't. He flirted with her, just as much as he flirted with her brother. "Sit by me at dinner, I wish to simply know everything there is to know about you both you and Gabriella."

Dinner in the palace was far from what Alex expected. He expected fancy suits and long tables adorned with dainty linen. He expected a full-service dinner. What he did not expect was Percy accompanying a footman into the kitchen of Henry's quarters and piling four extra-large pizzas on the table. Naturally, there was an all-cheese pizza, as well as a vegetable pizza that Bea was partial to. There was the usual all meats pizza for Pez and there was a pizza Alex didn't recognise. It smelt spicy and that impressed him with sauce and cheese, andouille sausage, bell peppers, chili and topped with more cheese. An andouille sausage wasn't a spicy Mexican chorizo, it would definitely suffice.

Catherine was getting plates out and Pez was opening the pizza boxes, before shoveling three slices of the meats pizza on his plate. Henry nudged Alex towards the spicy Italian sausage pizza and let out a low quip. "Put your money where your mouth is Claremont-Diaz."

Alex bit back a retort that Henry's mouth had indeed been on his. But he didn't. He just picked up a piece of Italian sausage pizza for himself and watched both Henry and Catherine do the same. "Thank goodness, I am not kissing you tonight." Bea quipped. "Italian sausage and chili."

"You wouldn't know spice if it bit you on the ass." Alex retorted, feeling comfortable with Henry's sister. Once he was situated at the table, he held his arms out to take his daughter. He was more than apt at eating dinner one handed these days, but Catherine shooed him away and told him to continue chatting with Bea.

"I think you mean arse, Alex." Henry interjected, making his posh, aristocratic, upper-class accent sound stronger than usual.

"I think you should learn to handle your spices there, white boy. You look like your about to explode." Alex jested and Catherine rolled her eyes at the younger children. "If you keep eating that spice, your pasty English delicacies might just die. We can't have that. Have some milk."

"Not all of us have had our taste buds burnt off by the over-consumption of caffeine." Henry fired back. He always loved bantering with Alex. He wasn't afraid to give as good as he got, and he wasn't afraid to throw the first one out there. "Whilst some of us enjoy the occasional cup, we do not have an unhealthy obsession with it. Unlike a certain foreigner we know."

"Oh, banana you!" Alex retorted, enjoying the familiarity of banter between the two of them. It was like falling back into their old pattern after that kiss. Comfort. Familiarity.

"Banana me?" Henry parroted, amused. "The Alex Claremont-Diaz I know isn't afraid of swearing in front of royalty. Since when are you afraid of the word fuck? It's not that hard to say, Alex. Just two words. Fuck you."

"Henry George Edward James Fox Mountchristen-Windsor, watch your mouth. We have a baby present." His mother chastised him, covering Gabriella's ears.

Alex's snickering from beside Bea at the dinner table, had Henry throwing a balled-up napkin at Alex. "See what I have to put up with in the office?" Pez asked Catherine and Beatrice, in a mock-low whisper. "It's utter madness. They really ought to just smooch and get it out of their systems already."

Both Henry and Alex found the ground fascinating and looked there, while they tried to calm their flush and school their faces. Alex had more luck because of the tanned skin, whereas Henry was pasty white, and every small strip of flesh showed the room, how flushed he was. Not willing to risk catching Henry's eye yet, Alex kept his head focused on his food. The fact he was sitting beside Henry's sister, escaping his attention.

"Oh." A small noise of realisation escaping from the person beside him, had Alex scrambling to remember Bea was beside him. Now he wanted nothing more than to take Gabriella and put her into bed and hide away from the world. Alex's ADHD never sat well with him at the best of times. When he was embarrassed and quite often, he would get in his head a spiral about it. "Oh," Bea repeated. No one else seemed to notice Alex's retreat in on himself, as Percy and Henry began discussing the elephant conservation in Botswana with Catherine.

Alex suddenly lost his appetite and pushed his plate slightly away from him at the table, before taking his daughter back from the arms of the future Queen of England and excusing himself from the table. Not really knowing where to go, Alex and Gabriella stood there in the desolate hallway. Resisting the urge to sink to the floor with Gabriella in his arms, being smothered by his over-emotional feelings, Alex is relieved when he is found by Shaan.

"Mr. Claremont-Diaz, I am terribly sorry for my delay." Shaan told him, ushering him lightly by the elbow. They took the rabbit warren of hallways and a single staircase before Shaan opened the door to the guest apartment. "I apologise for not being able to make it to your place. Rising floodwaters had already closed Whitehorse Road before I arrived."

Alex knows there is no other way around to his house than to cross Whitehorse Road, and if that's under water, well; his house was inaccessible. "I understand." Alex told the equerry. He wasn't going to demand the man put himself in further harm's way, just for him. Alex knew Shaan's wife was expecting their first child in February.

"I managed to get you some of the essentials you will need for Miss Gabriella and Catherine has loaned you a couple of sets of Henry's joggers to see you through." Shaan explained, as he showed Alex around the small apartment; especially the kitchen which Shaan had made sure was stocked with his preferred blend of coffee. "There is some guest toiletries in the bathroom and If you need anything, please just send me a message. I am off the clock now, but I live two floors below and I would be happy to come up and help you."

"You've done far more for me than I expected, Shaan. Thank you." Alex said genuinely. He meant it too. Shaan had gone out in the beginnings of that terrible storm, risking life and limb to get what they needed to stay. "Please go and relax. Spend some time with your wife."

"You are welcome, Alex." Shaan smiled, tickling Gabriella in the stomach, making the bub laugh at him.

Looking around the small apartment, Alex saw that Shaan had moved the sit n play and the pack and play from Henry's apartment to the guest quarters. Feeling a shiver course through his body, he found the thermostat and adjusted it accordingly.

His first priority was Gabriella. Finding her medication already in the fridge, he prepared her bottle and administered the medication while he waited for the bottle to be ready. They weren't her usual bottles. These were new and had been washed. They were in a baby bottle sterilizer that was already on the bench top. Alex suspected that it had once been used by for Henry's nephews.

Checking her diaper, he changes it and settles in to feed his sleepy baby. With the sleepy and grizzly baby fed and in bed, Alex locates some shorts. At least Shaan had purchased some new shorts for him. Alex would feel worse if he didn't have any clean pairs to slip in to. Prior to being a father, Alex went commando a lot of the time. But since he became a father, he rarely enjoyed that luxury. He couldn't even say he missed the feeling of going commando when the feeling of being a father outweighed it, one million to one.

Laying his sleepy daughter down in the pack and play, Alex set the video monitor up and took the receiver with him into the bathroom for a shower. Turning the taps on and stripping off, Alex let out a sigh he didn't realise he had been holding onto, as he stepped under the steamy spray. Facing the tile wall, he leaned forward and rested his forehead on the cold white subway tiles, as he attempted to let the hot water work into his muscles and loosen the tension sitting there.

While he let the hot water work on loosening the tension in his back, Alex's hand travelled down his abs and found his manhood, as his mind replayed the kiss that he and Henry had shared. His mind reeled, as he recalled what it felt like being hip to hip, chest to chest, with the Greek god masquerading at a British Prince. He remembered the feel of Henry hardening against his hipbone and the battle of wills his mind engaged in with his hand in restraining himself from reaching out and feeling Henry up.

"Fuck!" Alex hissed to himself, feeling himself get hard as his mind spiraled further into his memories. When he had stepped under the water, he hadn't planned on pleasuring himself. But his hand had found its way to his cock of its own accord.

Pulling back, he got a move on with his shower. Mentally promising himself that if, and only once his shower was complete would he let himself cum. He had always been reward oriented, even as a child and as an adult, it was no different. Henry had managed to rile him up with that one kiss.

Finally having a chance to get his hands on Henry had felt incredible, unlike anything he had ever felt before. The moment their lips touched; he had felt a spark. It had been easy for Alex to see himself going further with Henry, if Gabriella had not have let out a cry at that very moment.

Crying and whimpering sounds from the monitor alerted Alex to Gabriella's needs. Quickly rinsing off and climbing out of the shower, he roughly dried himself off, before cursing himself. He had forgotten to grab the sweats that Catherine had organised for him.

Cursing himself, Alex wrapped the towel around his body and headed back into the main room. Checking on Gabriella, her whimpering now turned to tears, Alex scooped his daughter up in his arms and held her close. "It's OK, Mija." Alex cooed softly, humming Brahm's lullaby to her. Something that Alex discovered early on always soothed her.

Alex making a mental note to find out if Henry or Catherine had administered any Tylenol to her, and if so, what time was it given. He mused to himself as he hummed his daughter her favourite lullaby.

"Is Alex ok, Henry?" Bea asked, as they settled back into the sitting room after dinner.

Honestly, Henry had expected Alex to return to the table. Coming back into the sitting room of his apartment, something was off. It took Henry a moment to realise all of Gabriella's things his mother had organised they were now gone.

Shaan poked his head back into the apartment, much like he did most nights before he signs off for the evening. "Your Royal Highness, we have set Mr Claremont-Diaz up in the deluxe guest suite apartment within the main building, in lieu of one of the outer buildings. I did not see the need to run the risk of being isolated from him within the palace grounds in the peak of the storm."

"Very well." Henry replied. To Shaan, Henry seemed pensive. Almost too pensive. "That is for the best. Was there anything else, Shaan?"

"Whitehorse road was underwater by the time I arrived." Shaan announced, letting the sigh he had been holding in. "I arranged for the bulk of his list to be purchased new, but there was little amount in the name of personal belongings that I could not purchase. Clothing was one of them."

Thanking Shaan, Henry sighed, noticing Shaan was lingering by the door. "Was there anything else, Shaan?"

Shaan hesitated, he had never crossed a personal boundary quite this severely before, always choosing to remain staunch and professional. "If I may Sir, Mr Claremont-Diaz seemed rather upset when I came upon him in the hallway. He had managed to calm down slightly but was definitely still upset when I left him. Perhaps a friend should check on him. His friend."

"Noted." Henry nodded. "Thank you, Shaan. Have a pleasant evening, give your wife my warmest regards."

Shaan gave Henry a final bow and left the trio alone again. Pez all but crowed at his friend. "You heard your equerry; the man is upset. Go comfort your friend."

"Percy, leave me be." Henry said formally, jutting out his chin. A maneuver both Pez and Bea had seen one hundred times before, at least.

"Hazza, you know I am only jesting with you." Percy said in earnest. "I jest because I care."

"Meanwhile, your sly comment had Alex leaving the table, uncomfortably." Henry argued.

He knew he was lashing out. He knew it wasn't all Pez's fault. He knew the bulk of the blame was on him. He should have talked to Alex. He should have made sure they were on the same page. Henry is aware that Alex has ADHD, and Henry regretted not following him from the table. Maybe all this could have been avoided if he had followed Alex. Alex was probably spiraling. He had only ever seen the man spiral a couple of times. But that night at the pub, the night he met Alex's sister June for the first time. The stories she had told them about Alex when Alex went to the bathroom. About Alex's issues.

"Pez, I ..." Henry trailed off.

"I know, we're all good." Pez grinned at Henry and hugged his best friend. "All joke aside, I should ease up on the two of you. Alex has had an awful day, and he definitely wasn't in the mindset to have the piss taken out of him."

"Pez?" Henry prompted.

"I'll apologise to Alex when I see him next, too." Percy promised his best friend. "I best be off. Bea asked me to stay, but I have a conference call with the 'rents in Nigeria at 0600 in the morn, to discuss some family business. Toodaloo."

"Percy, the storm?" Bea asked, chiding him. Henry had managed to talk Alex into staying here. Percy should be staying too.

"My dear beautiful Beatrice," Percy cooed. "You care too much my dear girl. I will be ok; I live two kilometres from Kensington Palace. The storm shan't get me."

"You should stay." Henry added, crossing his arms and glaring at his stubborn friend.

"Yeah, take Henry's bed. Henry can bunk with Alex." Bea smirked at her brother. When Percy had been teasing Henry and Alex, she had been the only one who had noticed that Henry and Alex were avoiding eye contact and had stopped eating. She would have bet her last pound that the two men have kissed at one point or another.

"Stay, we can have a guest suite made up." Henry counter-offered, glaring at Bea with disdain.

"I'll be fine, Hazza." Percy was stubborn and dug his heels in firmly, insisting to return to his apartment. "My beautiful, darling Beatrice. Until we meet again." Percy kissed Bea's hand and headed off.

That just left Bea, and Henry had wanted her to leave as soon as possible so he could sneak down to Alex. If only his sister would get a bloody clue.

A knock at the door startled Alex. Gabriella was asleep in the pack and play, that he had dragged over to the sofa, where he sat, laptop open. Somehow his leather satchel, laptop and the files that Percy had collected from the table at court today had found their way into the suite he was staying in.

Dressed in Henry's sweatpants, that were too long for him in the leg length Alex had rolled them up, both at the waist and ankles. Sneaking a glance at his sleeping baby to ensure the knock hadn't woken her, Alex made his way to the door. He was certainly surprised to see that it was Catherine at his door. "Ah, hi." Alex stammered, feeling really underdressed in just Henry's sweats and nothing else. "Come in, just let me find a shirt."

"Take your time, I apologise for showing up here, unexpected." Giving Alex a warm smile, Catherine entered and took her time to close the door, allowing Alex the privacy of finding a shirt. Slipping into a cream coloured, long sleeved Henley, Alex apologised once more.

"I do apologise, " Alex started again, but Catherine wasn't having any of it. Shaking her head no at him. "What can I do you for you, Your Royal Highness? Can I get you some tea, or coffee?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me, Catherine?" She chastised him lightly. "I am fine, thank you Alex. How's Gabriella doing?"

"Finally settled." Alex murmured looking over at her. The storm was whirling outside. The rain was hitting the window fiercely and the wind was howling. Sure, Alex had the heating on, so the apartment was cozy and warm. No overhead lights on, just a couple of table lamps. "The question is for how long?"

"You'll be ok here, Alex." Catherine told him in earnest, looking around the room. Walking over to one of the largest windows in the room, she drew the drape back from the wall slightly, as she spoke. "You know, behind the drapes, is a window winder which will lower the shutter and lock out some of the noise of the storm."

"Oh." Alex said softly in surprise. He was wondering why Catherine was here. Especially this late at night, dressed in her own sweats and house slippers.

"Can I ask you something, Alex?" Catherine's asked, moving some of his papers and taking a seat beside Alex on the two and a half seater sofa. She folded one leg under the other as she sat and waited for Alex to make eye contact with her. "Something serious Alex?"

"Of course," Alex answered, looking over at the woman beside him. In that moment, he didn't see the future Queen of England, or Henry and Bea's mother, he saw a woman who knows exactly how he feels right now.

"How did you know?" She asked him, scrutinising him carefully. "How did you know that it would be ok if or when you moved on from Erica?"

"I...um..." Alex stammered, looking his hands. "I don't know that I have moved on from her."

"I know what you mean." She smiled reassuringly. "When you meet the love of your life, and you think you're going to spend your whole life with them."

"I don't know if Erica was the love of my life or not." Alex admitted softly. He had never told anyone that before, not even June. "We ... we were having ... difficulties."

"All couples have ups and downs, Alex." She reminded him, gently.

"She was unfaithful, Catherine." Alex whispered to her, feeling the hurt bubbling back up inside himself. "Not just one time, but for a long time."

Catherine knew about Erica's infidelity already. She had pieced that much together when the wife of the man Erica had been seeing issued a demand for a DNA test. "I know, Darling." Catherine broke first, holding her arms out for Alex. Offering the man a hug, she felt maternal once more. Here Alex was, looking like he needed nothing more than the love of his mother. Someone to comfort him and tell him it was ok, even if his head and his heart was a mess.

She knew she wasn't his mother, but she knew she could offer him some comfort. It was hard not to notice, but she thought that she was doing a great job of pretending not to notice the sheen in his eyes. The watery smile he gave her.

Alex tentatively moved into Catherine's arms. "You're probably still feeling vulnerable and that's OK. It's been years since I lost Arthur and I still feel vulnerable."

"Have you ever felt?" Alex didn't finish his question, he felt too raw. When Bea had said Oh, that second time, his guilt had immediately hit him.

"Yes," Catherine didn't hesitate to pull her punches. She was speaking to him, plainfully and truthfully. She was speaking to him, as a kindred spirit. "A couple of months after Arthur passed, I met a man. He was a widower. He asked me to meet him for a drink one night. Henry was back at school, Bea was… busy. Philip was back with the military. No one knew. I gave Rose, my equerry the slip. I went to the hotel bar."

"What happened?" Alex asked, in a small voice. Catherine had broken their hug and ushered Alex's head to her shoulder. She was gently toying with those curls atop his head tousling them, much like his mother used to when he was a small boy. It was relaxing, comforting. Familiar.

"He kissed me, slipped me the card to a hotel room." Catherine whispered, as if the words were just meant for the two of them. "I couldn't do it, I was still deeply in love with Arthur. But when he kissed me Alex, I felt alive. I felt alive for the first time since Arthur took his last breath."

"I don't know how not to feel like this." Alex confessed in a small voice.

"Henry, he kissed you." It wasn't a question or sentence. Just a factual statement. "I'm not going to insult either of our intelligence's and tell you what you should do. I'm simply sharing my own experience of what it was like. Kissing someone who was not my deceased partner. I felt alive."

Alex snuggled closer to Catherine and sighed. He was missing his mom more than usual. His mom was good at advice. But like Catherine, she left it very open ended. He wondered briefly if it was a mom thing. "What happened with the other guy?" Alex asked.

"The timing wasn't right." Catherine confessed, pulling back to look Alex in the eye. "My grief was still fresh. It still completely consumed me in a way I thought I couldn't recover from. I was lost in and I wasn't ready to move forward through the stages I needed to. Shock. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Testing. Acceptance. It's not a race and it's not linear. You can teeter back and forth between stages, skip stages and go backwards."

"I don't even think denial was a thing I experienced." Alex said softly.

"Shockingly, me either." Catherine confessed too. It had been a long time since she'd been able to help someone with their feelings. These days her family seemed to tiptoe around her when she was having a tough time, or any time that grief was mentioned. "I guess in Arthur's case, we had time to prepare. I got stuck in depression. Right now, I think you're stuck in testing. You know you need to move on and you're trying. Then something happens. Someone kisses you and you're suddenly back at shock. That's OK too. It's a different kind of shock.

Like when that guy I met kissed me at that hotel bar, and I told you I felt alive. You probably felt alive when he kissed you. You're probably confused by that. Confused by your feelings. Confused by-"

"Catherine, I am bisexual." Alex said to her factually. "I'm not exactly confused about my feelings about kissing men anymore. Haven't been since, I figured out my sexuality in high school."

"Oh, so you …" Catherine started, before suddenly stopping again. She wasn't sure of Alex's sexuality and had been worried Henry was falling in love with a man who was straight.

"Henry and I have been flirting for months. A kiss was bound to happen at some point." Alex confessed with a small blush on his face. Against his tanned skin, the pink dusting coloured Alex's cheeks nicely.

"Ignore everything about Erica. All those unresolved feelings. How did the kiss make you feel?" She asked, a small smile on her face.

Horny. That was Alex's first thought. He would not be telling Henry's mother that. Alive was his second thought. But that had been her word. "Like it set my soul on fire." He conceded.

"Maybe you should talk to Henry." Catherine smiled, reassuringly. She knew her son, if Alex felt like that then in all likelihood, Henry would have felt like that too. Her son felt everything acutely.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Alex sighed, in defeat. "Maybe everything is just too hard for him. It's not just me, its Gabriella too."

"I have it on good authority Henry loves Gabriella and would do anything for her." Alex told her. "I don't just let anyone babysit her."

"I can see that," She smirked at him. "I hope one day you would allow me the honour. She is simply amazing. She inspires me to be better. To do better."

"She is the best part of me." Alex admitted with a wry smile. "However, every decision I make now, will affect her later on."

"All the more reason to talk to Henry." Alex sighed; he had even seen Catherine's words coming. "Let him in, Alex. Let him love you both in the way that you both deserve. Let him be there for you because you are the best thing that has ever happened to him. Both of you."