All’s Fair In Love And Poetry

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

AU where Alex is in London and finds Bea at the club after Arthur’s death and convinces her to go to rehab

[marz-rm]

"I want you" "then fucking have me" In my head it went like this full version only on patreon

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

The day before the lake scene

Do you feel forever about him?

There is something so wonderful about being here, swaying in a hammock with Henry with the afternoon sunlight streaming through the trees. It feels as if he’s in a snow globe, a bubble of warmth and comfort he doesn’t want to leave. Here in this hammock they are just Alex and Henry, and that’s all they have to be.

There’s something wonderful seeing Henry so relaxed even with his shirt and shorts, the shirt open at his throat, so far removed from his starched suits.

Henry’s face is creased with concentration rather then tension, the weight of the crown fallen to the wayside and Alex wants to keep him here.

Alex lets his own book rest on Henry’s knee letting himself drink in Henry in a way he rarely lets himself when they are caught up in their trysts, eager to share their bodies but more and more the sex was less the point of their meetings-it’s always present but Alex is slowly learning that when his body’s needs are met he has as much fun curling around Henry in bed or on a couch and just talking. He’s so enamoured with learning as much as he can about Henry, falling more and more in lo-

He cuts himself off. It’s not something he allows himself to think about consciously, it feels a little too much like putting his hand in a white hot flame but it’s getting harder to ignore. He feels like a moth to a flame, knowing the closer he gets to this vibrant light the more likely he’s going to get singed and yet he is helpless to do anything but circle closer and closer.

Do you feel forever about him?

His mother’s words come to him, in truth they have never left, not for one second since she said them. During the day he’s able to ignore it, to bury it beneath his work in Texas, beneath his law school work, but here and now it’s the only thought in his mind.

Can be ever belong to someone else?

He can hear himself say it in Paris, reaching for Henry and being rebuffed and the hurt that has flared up in him at Henry’s rejection. But here, now, Alex would swear that Henry belongs to him.

The constant buzz of Alex’s mind is quiet now, and he lets himself smile in contentment. As if he can sense Alex’s gaze Henry looks up.

“Everything ok?”

Do you feel forever about him?

His throat feels thick, words cramming behind his molars. He can’t keep it locked away anymore and he opens his mouth to let it out, to give it breath. To make it real……

“Henry I…”

“Lunch is up boys!” Oscar yells and Henry distracted looks away and Alex’s courage fails him as Henry clambers inelegantly out to the hammock. He offers his hand to Alex who takes it.

Tomorrow they’re going swimming, he’ll tell him tomorrow when they are alone on the pier, there will be no distractions or other people. Tomorrow he’ll tell Henry he loves him.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Shaan’s duty is to Henry first and foremost, and so it barely crosses his mind to consider Mr Claremont Diaz’s feelings, they were peripheral, background noise and since he had learned of the arrangement between his charge and the FSOTUS Shaan had been carefully monitoring the situation.

In the privacy of his own thoughts he could worry about Henry-he was young and deeply sensitive and Mr Claremont Diaz was brash and loud and frenetic, hardly Shaan’s first choice for candidate to protect Henry’s already battered heart even if they were as the young people liked to call it “hooking up” Henry could claim nonchalance till he was blue in the face but Shaan knew that Henry’s feelings ran deeper, more romantically then the president’s son and in the end they’d end up hurt. He didn’t think Mr Claremont Diaz was a bad person, nor that he has any ill intent but he had no idea the fragile, precious heart he had been given and once he got bored or this sexual attraction ran its course, Alex could walk away unscathed. Henry would not.

So it’s with a heavy heart that he stands guard at the foot of Henry’s stairs, a silent steady sentinel, keeping the wolves at bay for as long as possible.

So he’s caught completely off guard when Zahra calls and tells him Alex is on his way and even more shocked when Alex starts yelling outside the gates like a man possessed, unwilling to listen to reason even though being caught here would cost him his burgeoning career and possibly his mother’s re election.

“Mr Claremont Diaz.” Shaan tries when Alex takes a deep breath in between yelling, “I have been given strict instructions…”

“I’m not going anywhere until I see Henry,” Alex’s jaw is set and tight and Shaan sees for the first time just how bedraggled Alex is-how red his eyes are-the way Henry’s are.

“Please….Shaan I need….”

“Alex what are you doing!?”

Shaan and Alex both spin to see Henry, clad in his pajamas and looking like the weight of the world has fallen on his shoulders.

“Tell them to let me in,” Alex says and Shaan feels himself feel a little embrassed at witnessing such a moment of vulnerability in the American and for the first time he thinks that maybe Henry’s heart isn’t the only one in danger here.

Henry relents, he has little choice and Shaan takes Alex’s sodden jacket and shoes as the two young men ascend the staircase, Alex yelling and Henry’s back getting ever more ram rod straight.

Alex loves him back.

It shouldn’t surprise Shaan the way it does but it washes over him in waves, never had he imagined Alex would chase Henry down, would force him to listen, who would fight for him. It feels rather unsettling to have seen a peek of Alex’s vulnerability underneath the brash facade.

Shaan suddenly feels very tired. He exchanges looks with Alex’s secret service agent and he realises no words are needed. He takes one last look up the stairs, and he gestures for the agent to proceed him into the small kitchen reserved for the staff and he thinks.

Good luck Mr Claremont Diaz

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Henry is dreading this weekend, it’s one thing, loving Alex from afar when they see each other a couple of times a year a handful at the absolute most and like the masochist he is he finds himself circling Alex’s orbit as helpless to stop it as a moth to a flame. Sometimes he can go a month at a time without even thinking about Alex until he invariably turns up on the internet or glossy magazine, taking the world by storm. The few times he sees him always leaves him bleeding and with slightly less of his heart every time Alex unleashes his vitriol and Henry is desperate to know why Alex hates him so damn much, what about him is so abhorrent, so deficient that he cannot help but make a spectacle out of them both. It’s kept him up more nights than he’s happy to admit to.

He knows it’s his fault, Alex was gracious and gallant when he met Bea at the wedding and quietly respectful when he met Phillip and Martha so that only left Henry as the odd one out-which isn’t really a surprise. He’s been the square peg in a circle hole for most of his life.

So here Alex is, in Henry’s home or at least his grounds looking as dashingly handsome in his street clothes as he does in a suit even after hours on a trans Atlantic flight, vivid and warm and so very very alive in a way Henry can’t fathom and Henry is very, very gay and very very tragic.

He’s come to this meeting in his father’s car-a James Bond special and his favourite suit hoping to make a better impression on Alex this time and feeling it both as an olive branch and as armour. He feels confident in this suit, grounded and he won’t let Alex get under his skin this time.

Henry arranges his face so his expression holds nothing but barely concealed annoyance and when they are told to shake hands he takes Alex’s in his and grips as tight as he can and tries not to think about how long Alex’s fingers are, how supple and long and dexterous and without his permission his other hand falls onto Alex’s wrist which is okay because it looks a little like a tug of war. They grin and bear it as best as possible and then Henry physically pulls himself away his body seemingly reluctant to let Alex go and he misses Alex’s warmth the second their skin stops touching because it feels so good to hold Alex even in this weird, overly manicured and contrived photoshoot. He storms away before he can see Alex’s expression

This was going to be the longest weekend of his life, Henry suspects.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Soulmate au 3

They’ve been sequestered into a side room in Kensington Palace, Alex is fairly sure theres a guard on the opposite side of the door in case one of them decides to bolt. He thinks about texting Nora to see what the odds are because Henry hasn’t looked at him since they’d been shoved in here, he’s looked in Alex’s direction sure but Alex has had media training and he knows all the tricks Henry is employing.

It’s not like he’s not doing it as well.

He glances down at the book on his thighs-the Prince Henry fact sheet, Henry has an identical one in his lap.

“This is bullshit,” Alex says for the tenth time in a row.

“Yes, well if we have to pull off this soulmates thing we have to at least pretend to know each other,” Henry says bitingly.

Alex sets the fact sheet on the couch beside him. “We don’t have to pretend we are soulmates, you could just ask me questions that’s what usually happens in these cases.”

“Most people actually want to be soulmates,” Henry says archly.

The sarcastic lilt of Henry’s voice sets off something hard and unpleasant in Alex’s stomach, a cramp at the verbal acknowledgement of how much Henry doesn’t want him. And it shouldn’t bother him, he doesn’t want Henry right back but the bond between them doesn’t lie. His body doesn’t lie even if his brain does. Henry’s rejection stings.

“Look, man, just ask me questions like a normal person,” Alex says.

For the first time Henry does look at him and the wave of pure emotion that wells in Alex’s throat makes him feel parched. Well, now he knows why Henry wasn’t looking at him.

Fuck the soulmate bond.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

Alex blinks, he’d expected a soft ball question, maybe what’s your favourite colour or something. But as ever Henry cuts down to the very core of him and prods something painful.

“The Olympics,” Alex says, “I came up to you to introduce myself and you took one look at me and told Shaan to “get me out of here”

Henry has the grace to blanch at least. “I didn’t know you heard that.”

The heat in Alex’s belly turns into anger. “Yeah, that’s not really the point is it? The point is you were a dick”

Henry nods solemnly. “Yes, of course. It’s not an excuse but my father died a few months before and to be frank I was a dick to pretty much everyone all of the time back then.”

Oh.

Alex swallows. He should’ve just studied the fact sheet. Now he feels as if he’s peeled back a layer of Henry and glimpsed a person inside. His soulmate, not some rich stuck up cardboard character.

He feels an identical desire to peel back a layer. “I just….this shit is hard and I didn’t get a handbook and I wasn’t born to this like you were and it’s pretty hard when everyone compares me to you, who apparently can do all this in your sleep and it doesn’t matter how hard I work to everyone else I’m just a bad imitation of you.”

Henry’s eyes are wide and very blue and suddenly they are very close. The air feels charged somehow, a faint low hum starts in Alex’s ears and thrums through his blood and he knows on some molecular, cellular level Henry feels it too. The bond between them flaring to life and burning all of their good intentions to ash. Alex wants desperately to kiss Henry and he’s just working though gathering his courage when Henry leans forward and kisses him. Soft, sure and achingly sweet and the sore part of him he just revealed to Henry feels soothed, at least a little.

Henry pulls away and Alex finds himself tilting forward, eager to follow, to keep doing whatever they hell they were doing because suddenly feels as if he’s one half of a puzzle piece slotted into its mate and he wants to keep the feeling.

“I’m sorry,” Henry swallows painfully, cheeks reddening and in a moment the prince is up and out of the room.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Spin the bottle

College au

Henry watches with a sort of detached horror as the bottle slowly swivels until it’s facing him. He feels his heart plummet, suddenly too heavy for its merely human bone rib cage. He’s dreamed of this for so long. For Alex to kiss him but it’s always been because Alex wants to, because they are in love or at least lust, not like this, in the middle of their jeering drunk classmates.

Alex is grinning, he’s a little drunk and high on the feeling of being the centre of attention. His grin is wide and infectious.

“C’mon Fox lay one on me!”

He makes an exaggerated kissing face and Henry feels his skin burn with humiliation. He hates these games, he especially hates playing them with straight people.

“Or do you want me to kiss you” Alex teases.

He can’t do this, he can’t kiss Alex, he can’t because he knows it’ll set him on fire and he’ll be awake days after reliving it.

He gets to his feet, ignoring the jeers and the groans around him. Out of everyone there why did it have to be Alex? He could’ve kissed June or Nora or even Pez and it’d be a laugh. Not Alex. Never Alex, who is seared into his chest like a brand.

He hears Alex call after him and then Pez’s gentle rebuke, stopping Alex from following and he’s never been more grateful for his best friend because he can’t stand there and hear Alex ask him why he couldn’t kiss him and lie.

Once outside in the relative cool air he feels like he can breathe a little easier, knowing he’s dodged a bullet but also like his chest is caving in on itself.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

David saves the day or David stops Alex leaving once he stormed the castle

David doesn’t like raised voices but he finds he doesn’t like the tenor of this conversation either. It’s tense and unpleasant and water is leaking out of Henry’s eyes and Alex’s and everything feels wrong.

“I want you to leave,” Henry says and David knows that tone it’s a tone that brooks no argument, Henry rarely uses it which is why David knows hes serious and Alex’s facial muscles collapse and the water on his face increases. He wipes his face with his sleeve which is objectively disgusting to David but he lets it go.

Unfortunately Alex looks like he’s going to obey and to his dismay the dark haired human turns and walks out the door.

David bolts, he knows if Alex goes he won’t come back and he likes Alex a lot. Not as much as Henry, not even close but Alex makes Henry smile and laugh and gives David extra treats and David isn’t going to let that stop so he rushes forward tangling himself between Alex’s legs trying to trip him up. Anything to make him stop.

It works a little too well because Alex has gotten too far ahead and when David catches up he’s on the landing and when David tangles himself into Alex the human goes tumbling down the stairs. That is very loud and David inwardly cringes. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Alex.

A second later Henry is rushing past, taking the steps two at a time and crying out Alex’s name. When David makes his way down the stairs Alex is in Henry’s lap which is a much better proposition even though he feels awful about the fall. Henry’s touching Alex gently, talking much more softly, lovingly and Alex is swearing but it doesn’t feel as awful any more.

“Are you ok?” Henry asks he rolls up Alex’s jeans and Alex yells something obscene and Henry quickly lets go.

“I think my leg is broken” Alex says when he’s stopped yelling. The tenseness is back in his voice but at least it’s not directed at Henry.

David plods closer, nosing at Alex with concern. Henry has gotten up, probably to alert the other humans.

Alex eyes him and David cringes again but Alex ruffles his ears lovingly. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, buddy” he says “those big eyes work on Henry but they don’t work on me” the pats to his flank tell a different story but David doesn’t argue.

Henry is back with shaan and he reaches down and helps Alex to his feet, or in this case foot and takes his weight. And their eyes catch and David thinks maybe this time Alex won’t leave again

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Soulmate au part 2

It’s ironic, Alex thinks that the first time he and Henry agree on anything it’s that this press tour to tout their new found soulmate status is BS.

No one asks Alex what he wants to do. As soon as the wedding is over, Zahra is on the phone working out a new schedule for Alex with Henry’s equerry and his weekend in the UK turns into a week.

What was once a single hellish royal engagement has mutated into a string of them. Neither the White House or the monarchy can deny they are soulmates and so he and Henry have been forced into a number of interviews where they have to lie about how delighted they are about the fact destiny has decided they are perfect for one another.

Alex smiles through gritted teeth as the eighth person in a row asks him how happy he is to find his soulmate and he’s suddenly grateful for all the media training he’s had because he’s sure if he wasn’t who he was he’d have snapped. Henry looks just as unhappy, he smiles just as broadly as Alex but it’s plastic and doesn’t come close to his eyes. He can’t quite believe that no one has challenged them about their empty smiles and words by now.

The latest interviewer is nice, placid, obviously enamoured with the idea of the Prince of England and the First Son being soulmates. A soft ball interview.

“You can scoot a little closer,” she says to Henry. “I’m sure you’d prefer to be as close to your soulmate as possible,” Henry meets Shaan’s eyes, a silent question asked and when Shaan nods, Henry reluctantly moves closer to Alex until their shoulders brush and a spark of lightning shivers its way down Alex’s spine. He’s forgotten about the physical aspects of soulmates, the bond that sizzles and comes to life when they touch. He’d forgotten because he and Henry do their best never to touch.

The interviewer’s smile widens, “you make such a handsome couple,” she says and Alex actually feels bad he and Henry are lying right to her face. “You must be so delighted to find each other “

“It was certainly a surprise,” Henry says neutrally.

“And it must be a difficult prospect to be heading back to the States tomorrow,” the interviewer says to Alex, her dark eyes kind and sympathetic and Alex grimaces, he can’t tell her he’s counting the seconds down until he can leave.

“I’m sure it’s going to be tough,” Alex says and launches into his prepared words. “But both of our teams are working to make sure we’ll be able to see each other as much as possible.” Alex gently punches Henry in the arm, “He can’t get rid of me that easily, right Henry?”

Henry’s answer is a tight smile.

Somewhere off camera someone yells cut and everyone around them starts bustling around and as soon as the attention is off them, Henry stands and without a backward glance at Alex he leaves.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Soulmate au

Alex is so mad he could spit. He hates this wedding and these upright, rich assholes and most of all he hates his royal fucking highness, Prince Henry and he’s about to say all of that when the beeping starts, a long, low whine that cuts through the elegant classical music playing and Alex reflexively looks at his wrist where his soulmate timer sat and feels all the blood run from his face.

No, this can’t be happening, it just can’t. And certainly not with Prince Henry. His soulmate could be anyone else in this room it doesn’t have to be henry.

But a second later the exact same low hum begins to emit from the identical bracelet on Henry’s wrist. He thinks the shared look of horror on Henry’s face is the closest they’ll ever get to agreeing on anything. He attempts to hide his hand in his pocket but it’s too late….every head in the room turns to them and some of the have iPhones and Alex’s gut clenches. He can’t get out of this.

A moment later Henry is being dragged away by handlers and Alex feels himself being tugged away in the opposite direction but he can’t help but to look back at Henry, at his soulmate. And wonder how they’re going to get out of this.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

HEADCANON: henry is the only person Nora trusts with her plants and their spreadsheets when she is away.

Henry is unbearably smug about it

When Nora goes away she trusts Henry (and only Henry) to take care of her plants when he and Alex house sit for her

“Wait you asked Henry to look after your plants while you’re away but not me? Your literal best friend?” Alex asks petulantly

“Henry respects the system,” Nora said

I respect systems!” Alex protested. Nora arched an eyebrow at him.

“Last time I showed you my plants spreadsheets you called me a nerd,”

“Yeah ‘cause it’s nerdy!”

“And that’s why I trust Henry. He won’t let me down” Nora said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before breezing out of the door.

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Imagine how much trouble the geopolitical power couple could be when they are at official events?

Fanfic prompt: Henry and Alex talking smack about everyone around them

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

[fromthefirstmomentitouchedyou]

Reset

After the lake house instead of storming Kensington, Alex decides to go on a vacation, a real one to reset his broken heart and troubled mind

Edit: free to use fanfic idea. I’d love to see how many different variations of this concept there can be