Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Will you stop looking at that?” Alex Clarmont-Diaz told his boyfriend, who would not put down his phone to save his life.

“I just feel so bad. I've been through the same thing and could probably help, but instead, i'm here, attending meetings, going to futile events, and being useless.” Prince Henry of Wales said to his boyfriend. Henry looked back down at his phone, which in bright, bold letters read, “CROWN PRINCE OF SWEDEN, LEAKED WITH A MAN?” 

Alex looked at his upset boyfriend and came up with an idea. “Get up.”

“I'm sorry?”

“You heard me. Get up. Call Shaun, we’re going to Sweden.”

“What! How?” Henry said, caught off guard.

“I know we both hate to use our rank to get what we want buuuuut, but you’re the Prince of England and I’m the First Son of the United States for fucks sake. We could go to the moon if we wanted,” Alex said, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand. “I'll text Zahra to clear my schedule for the next two days, and we can go to Sweden and do whatever we can to help these two boys.” 

It was as if Henry fell in love with Alex all over again. “I love you so much, you don’t even know.”

“I’ll let you show me later,” Alex said with a wink. Henry rolled his eyes, but there was an immense amount of love behind them. They then got to work texting Shaan and Zahra, moving around their endless schedules, and making flight arrangements. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on Alex's bedroom door. “Come in?” he called out.

“Hey, baby,” said Ellen Clarmont, the President of the United States of America. “Oh, Henry, I didn't know you were here. I would've had Oscar make you something.”

“Oh no, that’s quite alright. Thank you, though,” Henry replied.

“Ok, baby, but you let me know if you need anything.”

“I will thank you, Ellen.” 

“Hey, so Mom, did you need anything?” Alex asked, redirecting her attention to him.

“Oh, right, sometimes I wonder how I became president with the attention span of a goldfish. Anyway , I was just informed that you're not coming to the dinner with the governor of Texas?” She said with a confused look on her face. “May I ask why, cause I was kinda tryna go for the close-knit big Texan family thing to try and soften him up before I talk about the polices I would like to implement in Texas.”

“Oh shit, I completely forgot about that, Mom. But is there any chance I can miss it this one time?” He asks his mother. Henry's head keeps going back and forth, trying to keep up with the conversation. 

“You can, if you tell me why you need to miss it,” She said, tapping her foot.

“It's my fault,” Henry interrupts. “We were planning on going to Sweden.”

“Sweden?” she repeats with a puzzled look on her face. “You're asking me to let you skip out on one of the most important dinners so you two can go off galavanting on a spur-of-the-moment vacation?” She says with one eyebrow raised.

“Mom, have you seriously not seen the news?” Alex asked.

“I have been pretty busy today. Why, what happened in Sweden?”

“Just look at this,” Henry says as she shows Ellen the endless articles and news reports about the Crown Prince of Sweden and a mystery man.

“Oh my!” she says in her usual southern drawl. “I had no idea about this. Oh, those poor boys.” She said with a downturned face. “As upsetting as this is, why would this be a reason to go to Sweden?”

“Mom, we were thinking about how last year, when everything came out about us, we would've wished there was somebody to help us and to guide us, and who better to give advice than two very public figures who both got outed only a year ago. And one of them being another LITERAL prince.” Alex said now, a lot more enthusiastic than when he first started talking.

Ellen didn't say anything, just walked over to the boys and wrapped them in her arms. “You both make me so proud," she said with a warm smile. "I love my boys so much,” she said as she let them go. “Of course you can go for that," she said as she stood up from the bed. "And I will just have to show off June twice as much!” she said with a laugh as she walked out of the room.

And so they started packing for Sweden.

Chapter Text

“I've always wanted to go to Sweden, I wanna see if the meatballs really taste like they do in IKEA.” Amy, Alex's bodyguard, said while escorting Alex onto the plane.

Alex laughed. “Amy, I'm kinda nervous, I've never given advice before. What if I say the wrong thing or give him bad advice that ruins his life? I don't wanna be responsible for that,” He said in the same tone Amy always hears before Alex has to do something big and new.

“Just think about all the great advice I've given you over the years, and you'll do great,” she said with a small smirk on her face.

Just as Alex was about to retort, keeping up with their usual banter, Shaan walked in. “Hello,” said Shaan. “His Royal Highness has arrived.”

“Shaan, you really gotta stop doing that. We've been dating for almost 2 years, you don't need to keep saying ‘ his royal highness has arrived’ every time we see each other.” Alex said, mocking Shaan with a horrendous British accent.

“I do if I would like to keep my job,” Shaan said in his usual unreadable monotone voice.

“Hello, love,” Henry says while he walks into the plane as Shaan holds open the door. “Thank you, Shaan,” he says, turning to his personal equerry.

“My pleasure, sir,” he says, shutting the door.

“Baby, finally, you’re here. Come sit, we need to talk about what we’re gonna do when we get there,” Alex says with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

The two sat and talked for a while until, eventually, Henry fell asleep on Alex's shoulder. But Alex was still awake, thinking about all that could go wrong and how if the prince followed his bad advice, he would be the cause of yet another international incident.

He didn't know why he was so worried; that was usually Henry's job, but still, he couldn't shake the feeling.

 I don't even know this kid, he thought . What if I tell him to do something and he gets in major trouble? What if we get there and he doesn't even want our help? What if this was fake and he's not even gay? What if he makes a mistake and it'll be all my fault? What if? What if? His brain starts going a mile a minute, filling with all types of ‘what ifs?’. Suddenly, the First Son felt as if he couldn't get enough air, and his heart was gonna beat out of his chest.

Henry stirred awake to the new rapid motion of his human pillow. “What's going on?” he said in a very sleepy tone, and with a tiny stretch Henry opened his eyes to see his usually very calm and collected boyfriend hyperventilating and rocking back and forth in his chair with his head in his hands. 

Once he realised what was going on, Henry jumped up out of his seat and knelt in front of Alex

“Baby, baby, look at me,” he said, trying to capture the attention of his panicked boyfriend. “Hey, look at me, I'm right here, alright, you're safe, no one's hurting you,” he said, grabbing Alex's face in his hands.

Amy, now awake, jogged over to the two boys. “Is everything alright, Your Royal Highness?” she asked Henry, confused and slightly worried.

“I don't know,” Henry said, still cupping Alex's face, “but get him a glass of water, please,” and Amy hurried out to do so.

“Baby, breathe, ok, you have to breathe with me,” he said, now placing a hand on his boyfriend's racing chest. “In, out, in, and out,” he said, taking deep breaths with Alex trying to slow his rapid and out-of-control breathing. 

Alex and Henry lock eyes, and Alex's breathing starts to return to normal. “I-I'm sorry I- woke- you, baby,” Alex said to Henry in between ragged, shallow breaths.

“Don't you even worry about that,” Henry stated, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “My love, what is wrong?” Henry wrapped Alex's hands in his own.

Alex tried to answer, but he could feel himself getting all worked up again, and so could Henry. So Henry got up off the plane floor and sat on his shaking boyfriend's lap, wrapping his arms around him. “It's ok, you don't have to tell me right now,” Henry said, planting a kiss onto Alex's forehead and nestling into the crook of his neck. They stayed like that for a while, just staring at each other lovingly until, eventually, Alex fell asleep, which, to Henry, meant it was safe to go back to sleep.

Chapter Text

“Your Highness, we have arrived,” Shaan said, startling the two boys awake.

“What, oh, uhh, thanks, Shaan,” said a very groggy Henry.

As Amy opened the door to the plane, the two boys looked at each other as if saying Are you ready to go meet Swedish us .

The two walked off the plane and got into a car, with Shaan in the front seat and two cars following close behind, one with Amy and one with three royal protection officers. As they pulled into Hillerska, immediately, all heads turned to the mini parade of black, tinted, bulletproof cars.

“Sirs, I have just received word that the headmaster would like to speak to you before you speak with any students,” Shaan said through the now rolled down divider.

“Oh, uhh, sure, that's fine,” Henry replied. He looked at Alex with a look of confusion and slight worry. Alex gave him back a look, like everything will be fine, she probably just wants to meet us, but inside, Alex got even more nervous.

The cars pulled around back where there weren't any students, just headmistress Annete. The car parked, and the driver opened the boys' doors, and soon they were face to face with a lady who looked sweet enough to be someone's grandma, but at this moment looked so scary to both Henry and Alex.

“Hello, Your Royal Highness, Hello, Mr. Claremont-Diaz,” she said with a slight bow. “Welcome to Hillerska, I hope your ride here was alright,” said the headmistress in an unsettling tone.

“Hello, headmistress. Our travel was fine, thank you,” said Henry

“Yes, what an honor to meet you,” Alex said.

The three exchanged pleasantries until Alex asked the question they were both thinking. “So, uhh, headmistress-”

“Please call me Annette.”

“Annete, why did you have us come here before any students saw us?” Alex asked.

The silence was short but loud. “Well, you see, it's not every day two of the most influential people, from the most prominent countries in the world, come to my school, and well, with everything going on recently, I thought I'd better see what it is you both came all this way for.”

“Aah, well, that is the reason we are here,” Henry said, rubbing his hands together nervously.

“Oh, ok, may I ask why?”

“Well, I'm sure you have heard our story from last year.”

“I do recall hearing about it, yes,” she said

“Well, if you think about it, what happened to your student, the prince, is almost identical to what happened to us.”

“I see, so you're here to give advice?” she asked.

“Yes, exactly!” Henry said a little too cheerfully for her tone.

“I see well, I hope you succeed in your goals,” she said, smiling a fake smile.

“Thank we will try,” Alex said. Then they all exchanged goodbyes, and the two boys got back in the car.

“That was weird, right?” Alex asks his boyfriend.

“I don't know, maybe she's just busy trying to handle the fact that the biggest scandal in Sweden is happening in her school,” Henry tried to offer.

“Maybe. But I don't know her vibe, just seemed off.” 

As many kinds there were when they first arrived seemed to have doubled in size, with all heads and eyes following every movement of the car. “God, I will never get used to this,” Henry said with a shiver.

The car parked, and the two boys gave each other a look and each took a deep breath before getting out. They are used to going to new places, meeting new people, getting watched, and everything else that comes with being a figurehead for a country, but this time just feels different. As soon as they step out, at least a dozen girls all start screaming together in Swedish. 

Someone from the school leads them inside and to Wilhelm's room. Three knocks on the door and “Excuse me, Your Royal Highness, but the Crown Prince has visitors,” said Wilhelm's security. 

“Send them in,” replies the crown prince.

And so, the First Son of the United States and the Prince of England walked into the Crown Prince of Sweden's bedroom.

Chapter Text

The two walked into the Crown Prince's bedroom to find him sitting at his desk, looking out the window with his head in his hands. “Simon, I already told you I don't want to see you right now,” said Wilhelm, still looking out the window. 

“Well, our names aren't Simon, but we can come back later if you so wish,” said Henry, earning a swift turn from Wilhelm, who was now facing them.

“Ooooh, who's Simon?” Alex, very poorly, whispers to Henry, who in return gives him a quick elbow jab in his side.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were-” Wilhelm said as the realization of who had just stepped foot in his room started to set in. “Oh my god, you're-” he points to Henry, “and you're-” he says, pointing to Alex. 

“Yes, I'm Henry, and this is Alex,” Henry says, introducing the two of them as if they were just ordinary people stopping by and introducing themselves to someone they've never met before.

“Yeah, yeah. But like you're the Prince of England,” Wilhelm said, looking at Henry. “And you're the President of the United States, son,” he said, now standing up, running a hand over his slightly wrinkled uniform, looking absolutely dumbfounded.

“Well, yes, those are our official titles,” Henry starts.

“But you can just call us Alex and Henry,” Alex finishes.

“O-ok,” Wilhelm said, who was still obviously in complete confusion. “ Henry and Alex ,” he said with a slight bow, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your arrival?” Wilhelm said with an obvious switch in tone, now realizing the status of the two men in his room.

“Would you mind if we shut the door, Your Royal Highness?” Henry asked, gesturing towards the door.

“Uhh, yeah, of course, Your Royal Highness,” he replied, still standing at attention.

Alex walked over to the bedroom door to close it, but before he could shut it all the way, Amy, a Swedish royal guard, and a British royal guard all stepped into the room. “Uhh, Amy, what's going on here?” Alex asked Amy, taking a big step back from the three armed bodyguards. 

Wilhelm's bodyguard turned to him and they had a quick talk in Swedish, and just as he was about to tell the others what had been said, Amy spoke, “he said anyone who has not signed an NDA is not permitted to be alone with the prince, direct orders from the Queen.” 

“Since when did you know Swedish?” Alex asked her, confused, while also amazed.

“I know a lot that you don't know,” she said coldly and sarcastically as always.

Alex and Henry turned to the Crown Prince and his security. “Yes, this is true,” Wilhelm said, “after the recent, uhh, situation ,” he told, tilting his head down, “no one without signing an NDA is permitted to be in a room with me alone.” 

“Sheesh, that must be rough,” Alex says, looking at him.

“Yeah, well, it has been decided that that is for the best,” he said, shrugging, but Henry and Alex could tell under the surface he had other feelings.

“Of course, Your Royal Highness. We will just wait outside until they've been signed,” Henry said while gesturing to Shaan, who was standing outside the open door, to go retrieve the NDAs

--------

*knock knock* “Come in,” Wilhelm said, who now had his hair fixed, some cologne, and a freshly ironed uniform on.

“Hello, Your Royal Highness,” Shaan said, walking in before Alex or Henry and bowing slightly to Wilhelm. “His Royal Highness and the First Son have signed your NDA, if you would please sign there and there,” he said, pointing to the two dotted lines and handing him a pen. With no hesitation, Wilhelm signed and gave the paper back to Shaan.

“Ok, I’ll leave your highnesses to discuss,” Shaan said, signaling all three bodyguards to leave the room to wait in the hallway.

“Uhhh, Shaan?” Alex said, gesturing to himself.

“Mmmm,” Shaan said, while shutting the door, barely acknowledging him, as usual.

After putting on his fake offended face, he always gives Shaan, Alex turned back to Henry and Wilhelm. They stood in an awkward silence for what felt like forever.

“Umm, would you like to have a seat?” Wilhelm said, breaking the silence. 

“Oh, yes, thank you,” Henry replied, sitting down on his bed, followed by Alex.

“Sooo….” Whilem said, “You said you came here to talk to me?” 

“Yes, that's correct, Your Highness,” Henry said.

“Wait,” said Alex. The two others turned to look at him. “Now that we have all signed each other's NDAs, can we stop with all this formal shit?”

“ALEX,” Henry yelled, “I'm so sorry for him.” Henry said to Wilhelm, who was actually starting to laugh.

“Oh, thank god,” he said, “Don't be sorry, I hate talking formally with all the correct terms and proper speech,” Wilhelm said now, finally, smiling.

Henry sighed a sigh of relief.

“Ok, so now that we've got that out of the way, we did come here to talk to you,” Alex said. “We tried to contact the palace to notify you we'll be visiting, but we couldn't get through.”

“Yeah, that makes sense, no one has been able to get through to the palace after the… recent events,” Wilhelm said, his tone a bit lower than before at the mention of his recent incident.

“Well, about that…” Henry started. Wilhelm popped his head up right away, curious about the next thing out of his mouth. “Wilhelm, have you ever heard about what happened to us last year?”

“I mean, not really other than your mom winning the election. Congratulations, by the way,” he said, looking at Alex. “I was pretty preoccupied last year…”

“Oh, I heard about you, brother, Prince Erik. I'm sorry for your loss. It must've been hard going to school and also being the new crown prince,” Henry said, putting a hand on Alex's knee.

“Thank you. And yes, it was, but it was easier to deal with than what's happening now. I mean, I can't even go on my phone without seeing something about me.” Wilhelm said.

“Oh, we completely understand, let me show you something,” Alex said, reaching for his phone. “Look at this,” he said, showing the prince seemingly endless screenshots of articles about the news about him and Henry. 

Wilhelm's mouth fell open instinctively, reading all the articles and posts about the prince and the first son's relationship, emails, and everything else that came out about them last year. “Oh my god, I had no idea,” Wilhelm said, still looking at the phone.

“Yeah, well, unfortunately for us, that's not the case with most people,” Alex said, putting his phone down.

“Ok, I don't usually do this, but excuse me while I'm quite forthright,” Henry said. “We heard about the recent ‘incident’ with you. Now we haven't watched the video that was posted for the sake of your privacy, god knows we know how it feels to have your private sex life out on display for everyone to gawk at.” 

Alex grabbed Henry's hand because recalling those memories was always a bit of a sensitive subject for him. “What Henry is trying to say is that we understand exactly how you feel, and we came here to see if there was ANYTHING we could do for you, whether that would be just listen to you talk completely free of judgement or give advice on your next step. Alex said, secretly proud of how much of that he remembered from him and Henry's therapist.

There was a silence. “I-” Wilhelm started, but then stopped. A single tear fell from his eyes before the rest of them came down. “I'm sorry,” he said to Alex and Henry in response to his crying.

“No, absolutely not,” Henry said, getting up from his seat on the bed to place a supportive hand on Wilhelm's back. “Don't you dare apologize.”

“Yeah, and-” Alex gets cut off by the sound of Wilhelm's phone ringing. It's Simon. Wilhelm just stares for a while, but eventually hits ignore. He calls back.

“You should answer it”, Alex said. Wilhelm stares at his phone before picking it up.

He holds the phone in his hand before finally pressing the accept button.

He puts the phone up to his ear, “Willie,” Simon said voice low and weak voice, like he’d been crying.

“Simon,” Wilhelm said in between sniffles. “Where are you?” he asked, only half wanting to know the real truth. *beep beep* The lines disconnected before he got his answer. 

The was a knock at the door, and Alex opened it, and there Simon stood with tears in his eyes.

“Right here,” said Simon.