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There's an app on his phone.
It makes him want to throw his phone across the room. Or maybe set it on fire. He's not sure which route he should go.
Of course, he could delete the app easily but before that, he had to address the elephant in the room. Quite literally.
"Pez, there's an elephant in the room," Henry addressed, looking up at the giant grey monster. He had to admit, he'd never seen an elephant this closely before. It was a beautiful animal, but he could've gone without the experience.
"Good eye Henry, there is indeed an elephant in the room," Pez cheerfully answered, as he wrote off on a clipboard. A young volunteer gazed fearfully up at the elephant as if they were expecting it to step on them at any moment. Which probably wouldn't happen with the mahout around. Probably. Henry couldn't fault the volunteer for being scared though. Henry was a bit wary as well.
"Yes, but why is there an elephant in the room? I thought this was a fundraiser?" Pez grinned wickedly before handing the clipboard back to the volunteer who quickly scurried away a safe distance from the large animal. His arm slung itself around Henry's shoulders, Henry leaning down a bit for Pez to comfortably do so, his other arm gesturing at the elephant in front of them.
"Why Henry, many people would pay a lot of money for a chance to see an elephant up close. This is a fundraiser after all!"
"So you mean you wanted to see an elephant," Henry pointed out, ducking under Pez's arm and straightening his back.
"Yes, well, it's all for a good cause anyhow, isn't it?" Pez shrugged, his smile never fading.
Henry's best friend was the kind of person who would use fundraisers as an excuse for experiences, not only for himself but for others as well. He was right, many people would pay a lot of money for a chance to see an elephant, and even more, to touch one. It didn't really answer why the elephant was inside the large tent instead of outside it but Henry doubted he was ever going to get a straight answer from the man who could dance circles around the House Master with excuses whenever Henry was off with a boy during Quiet Hour. It was a positive trait back then, but now Henry just understood not to ask too many questions if only to save himself from a headache.
"Pez, there's an app on my phone that wasn't there previously. Would you happen to know anything about it?" Henry's right eyebrow raised, unimpressed at the answer he already knew was coming. Nobody else in this room would have the nerve to go through the Prince of England's phone. Even if they got that far, nobody else in this room knew Henry's passcode (David's birthday, of course).
Henry didn't know it was possible, but Pez's smile got even more wicked. It was unnerving. "Could you possibly mean Grindr? Why, Hen, I would think even you would know what Grindr is! It's where you go—"
"Okay, that's enough from you," Henry interrupted, "I know what Grindr is, but I'm most definitely not looking for my virtue to be sullied through it."
"I can assure you, it is way too late for your virtue to be intact, my dear," Pez teased, pulling out his own phone.
The very same app was downloaded on Pez's phone, a haunting icon of yellow against black. He didn't even have the decency to hide it in a folder or something. It was just right there, sitting in the middle of his screen. Pez clicked on it, and Henry's eyes immediately darted around the room in case someone was near them and would see Pez's screen. It would probably not be a good look if it got out that the Prince and his best friend were scrolling through a hookup app for LGBTQ men. No, not probably, it wasn't and if it got out, Henry was sure his grandmother would skin him alive.
Honestly, she wouldn't even need the excuse of Grindr to skin him alive if she wanted to.
Immediately, Henry was greeted with a grid of many men—some with faces and some with just pictures of their bodies. He averted his eyes but couldn't help but sneak a glance as Pez scrolled through the app, talking about how he had already started talking to some guys during their stay in Thailand. Henry was only human after all, a very, very gay human at that.
Just before Pez started to open a chat he had with someone, Henry quickly shut him down. "Okay, I don't need to see all that. I'm just not really interested, Pez. But I really do appreciate the support." His hand clapped down on Pez's shoulder comfortingly in thanks, while Pez frowned at his friend but did not push.
Lately, Henry had been incredibly busy, burying himself in his academics, helping Pez's fundraisers, and barely taking any time for himself, especially when it concerned the bedroom department. And it's not like Pez didn't understand; Henry only started doing such when his father died, but he couldn't help but feel like Henry's dry spell especially started right after the Rio Olympics and Pez couldn't fathom what had happened then that made Henry so averse to meeting up with guys. He certainly wasn't before, just wanting his partners to sign NDAs and know his boundaries. And Pez supported him through that as he supported him now. Didn't mean he wasn't worried, though.
He must be going insane. He must be if he was seriously considering going along with Pez's meddling (he'd never tell him if only to keep his already-immense ego in check). Henry had never gone around to deleting the hookup app from his phone and now he was regretting that oversight because he was actually considering opening the app and making an account. Which was insane. Wasn't it?
Henry had to admit, some part of him was curious. It had been so long since the last time after all. There just was never time to meet with people and start a physical relationship, much less a romantic one. It all just took so much energy and Henry wasn't sure if he wanted to put any towards that right now. It probably didn't help that every time Henry closed his eyes, he remembered a curly-haired half-Mexican boy and a sweltering summer in Rio.
But then again... what could he lose from trying? (A lot, he could lose a lot, but he was feeling a bit lightheaded from the complimentary bottle of wine he found in his hotel room, and it was seriously affecting his judgment right now.) So, in a severe lack of reason on his part, Henry drained what was left of the wine in his glass, stuck out his chin, and opened the app. A more sensible person would have backed out when faced with the task of creating an account. Henry was not a sensible person. Well, not right now at least.
He was feeling decidedly unsensible right now as he signed up with his burner email account, the one he used when signing up for stupid websites such as that daily horoscope site that Pez made him register for. Henry had to admit, they did strangely get some things right sometimes and if it weren't on his burner he'd be worried they knew him personally.
He was feeling extra unsensible as he chose to crop a picture from a recent beach trip with Pez that those who actually managed his own Instagram vetoed from posting. Which was a shame really because he wasn't that against the photo for once. It was quite a nice one, with the waves behind him as he sat on a rock. The sunset behind his blond hair gave him a halo, a wide gummy grin encompassing his face as his blue eyes looked at Pez who was behind the camera. Henry looked... happy. Not that he could share the expression on his face, of course. He'd have to crop that out.
And in less than 2 minutes, George (20) was ready to be accosted by the men of Grindr.
And accosted he was, though it was less by words (a 25-year-old man by the name of Mint said "Hi" and nothing else) and more by unsolicited pictures of people's genitals. Which Henry was expecting to some degree, yes, but also it was a sight he did not prepare himself for and when he saw the first dick pic he dropped his phone on his face and promptly sent a key smash to the man. This apparently sent him the message that Henry was into him and he sent more pictures of his penis.
Henry blocked him.
It seemed that there was a section full of exclusively new people which was probably how the people who messaged him before found him. As he scrolled through he didn't necessarily find it... unpleasant. Henry was just a man after all, and it was not a sin to appreciate the men on the app. As he scrolled, his eyes caught on the torso of Gabriel (19). He paused, looking at the man's body. He would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to this man physically. And he was less than a mile away. In fact, he was not even 500 feet away, which meant that Gabriel was at the hotel Henry was. And wasn't that a thought?
In a very unsensible lapse of judgment, Henry sent Gabriel a message that admittedly was not the kind one would send on a hookup app.
George: Have you read Persuasion before?
Immediately, Henry regretted sending the message. Maybe he should've gone with something more seducting or forward but when he blanked and saw his own tattered copy of the Austen classic, his fingers moved before his brain did. Henry's message just made it seem like he was on any other dating app out there.
He barely had time to process his message or perhaps to block Gabriel before a new message appeared on the screen.
Gabriel: nope
Henry frowned at the lackluster response from the man, wondering if he was all thighs, tan skin, and hard muscle and nothing else. Well, he supposed he didn't expect much of an answer on Grindr.
Gabriel: just so you know, i'm not like gay or anything
i'm just looking sorry
Henry blinked incredulously at his phone, thinking if perhaps he found himself the unlucky victim of some elaborate joke at the hands of a straight man. He was going to need more wine for this.
After refilling his glass, Henry unlocked his phone once more and was greeted by another message from the not-gay Gabriel.
Gabriel: sorry if that's weird but like there's nothing wrong with getting fitspo right
Which there wasn't, really but it was curious that Gabriel chose to get his fitness inspiration from a queer hook-up app than perhaps Instagram or something.
George: It's not weird, just unexpected.
Not many people would really go on Grindr for that purpose.
Why prepare a profile if you were only looking?
Henry watched as Gabriel typed and then stopped only to start typing again. Another sip of wine seemed to be in order if only to continue this conversation. Henry wasn't even sure if he wanted to continue to find someone to sleep with at the moment. His mind was already considering the NDA that would have to be written up quickly and well, he was not quite into any more questions inquiring about his preferences in bed and if he minded that the other guy was uncut.
Gabriel: idk the guys have good bodies on here
i'm only here for a short time anyway
There were many interesting things in what Gabriel said. First, there was something incredibly not straight about saying how the queer men on Grindr have nice bodies. Although, Henry wasn't sure if he wanted to burst Gabriel's bubble. Second, he was also in Thailand for a short time. Was he there for the fundraiser too? Henry helped out Pez at times but the guest list for the fundraisers was something that Pez guarded with his whole being. ("Henry, my dear, this is confidential information! If we knew who was going to be there every time, how could we be surprised?" Henry didn't mention that Pez wouldn't be surprised and Henry wasn't quite fond of surprises. Especially when they concerned the very possible appearance of one First Son.)
George: Without seeming too forward on a not-gay person, I think that you're quite fine in that department.
You hardly need any inspiration.
Henry flushed at his own message, which he himself didn't quite understand. Gabriel was the one on Grindr. Compared to the messages Henry had received so far, saying that Gabriel had a nice body was far from being the most explicit thing on the app.
Gabriel: thanks man
you have a nice body too, i was looking at your profile before you messaged me
like objectively
you chose a good photoGeorge: Thank you.
Henry's hand rose to his face, covering his mouth. He would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to Gabriel. Having that attraction reciprocated (objectively?) was rather flattering. And he didn't hate how it made him feel to be complemented by another man on Grindr, even if that man was definitely not-gay-and-just-looking. It still felt good.
Henry wasn't quite sure what else to say to Gabriel, who kept typing, stopping, typing. Did he want the conversation to continue? It was extremely far from what he intended to do with the app after all. Now that time had passed, Henry didn't even want to continue down the Grindr rabbit hole anymore. He had enough hi's, pictures of genitalia, and straight boys for a lifetime if he was being honest with himself.
Gabriel: uh i gtg
i'm going sightseeing with my sister
it was nice meeting you georgeGeorge: It was nice meeting you too. I hope you get all the inspiration you need.
A thumbs-up emoji appears on the top left of his message and Henry takes that to be the end of his not-tryst with not-gay Gabriel.
He finishes his phone as he scrolls through the app one last time and deletes Grindr as he looks out the window of his hotel room, looking down at the entrance of the hotel. A curly-haired boy walks out of the building flanked by a girl on each side as his arms rest on their shoulders.
Straight people, Henry thinks morosely as he steps away from the window and onto the cool sheets of the bed.
Today is the day that Henry loses who is probably his only friend. The loss can be attributed to Pez himself as he insisted on being a possessive hoarder of the guest list but the police would blame it all on Henry because Pez's blood would be on his hands. Henry would insist he's not guilty.
Because it really was all Pez's fault that he didn't tell Henry that he invited Nora Holleran's parents to the fundraiser. And when neither of them could make it, they sent their daughter. And Nora Holleran is never seen without either June Claremont-Díaz or worse, Alex Claremont-Díaz, by her side. Today, Henry has the privilege of having all members of the White House Trio present today. Nora and June are perfectly nice from previous, if unmemorable, interactions. Alex, on the other hand, could never be unmemorable. Every meeting with Alex is etched deep into Henry's bones, from the first time he saw him in Rio to every time after. Every time Henry comes into contact with Alex, he always shuts himself away after because every time he sees Alex he's reminded of everything he wants but could never have. It doesn't help that Alex looks at him like he has head lice.
There was a simple solution really. Avoid Alex for the remainder of the fundraiser and focus on mingling with the other possible donors instead. And mingle he would. All the money was going towards Percy's foundation and Henry was always willing to talk with others to convince them to donate to the queer teenagers that the foundation funded and took care of. What was nice about Percy's foundation was that it didn't only focus on queer youth, so his Gran couldn't say he couldn't help. For all she knew, he was passionate about climate change (he was, but he had a soft spot for the kids he saw himself in).
Of all his planning, Henry overlooked one thing: Alexander Claremont-Díaz was far from simple.
"Fancy seeing you here, Your Royal Highness," Alex greets, sliding next to Henry who had just broken off from a sweet old man who was just as delighted to see an elephant up close as Pez predicted. His tone hinted that Alex was saying his official title in jest as if he didn’t fully take it to seriously mean anything. Henry supposed to Alex, his status didn’t mean anything and Henry liked that. Though, he wished he would just call him by his name.
"Alex." Henry yearns to walk away but every part of his body betrays him and turns him to face Alex who is... breathtaking. He's always breathtaking. He was when they first met at Rio, with his hair that Henry wanted to bury his fingers into and the yellow ipê-amarelo in his pocket that he wanted to press between the pages of his favorite book. He was again when they met at a climate conference in Melbourne when Henry couldn't tear his eyes from his eyelashes, so feathery and long that he wondered if they were real. He was again now, as Henry looked at Alex whose lips were as pink and alluring as ever. There was a drop of his drink still on his bottom lip. Henry wanted to kiss it off, to bruise the other man's lips with the force of his own.
Everything he wants but could never have.
"Won't the Queen mind if the perfect prince was at a fundraiser for queer kids? Goes against the whole sexist, racist, homophobic empire ya'll got going, don't you think?" Another thing: Alex had an interesting accent. It was a mixture of the Texan accent his mother had and also a flatter American accent, like he was told not to lean too heavily into the southern drawl. Henry wanted to swallow it... and shove his tongue into Alex's mouth. He’s not even into American accents. He’s into Alex's American accent.
Henry had to admit; it hurt to hear the insinuation that Alex saw him as sexist, racist, and homophobic. But he himself didn't deny it and that made him feel worse. "Perhaps." he answered vaguely, "Percy's a friend. I'll support all his endeavors." Alex sniffed at his response, glaring at Henry as he avoided Alex's gaze. If he met those bottomless brown eyes, he was sure he would be drowned in them immediately.
"You should be fucking ashamed of yourself," Alex spat before he turned at his heel and walked away, away, away from Henry. He wanted to grab him, call him back, explain everything.
Everything he wants but could never have.
Pez approached Henry tentatively, whispering into his ear before placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Pez knew it wouldn't be smart to just grab Henry without announcing it was him. Judging by what he had heard at the end there, Henry would only go down from here.
"Let's step out for a sec, yeah?" Pez suggested.
"Your elephants—" Henry protested before Pez interrupted him.
"Will still be as big and monstrous when I come back. Let's just step out and have a drink, just the two of us."
And didn't that sound wonderful? After that disastrous interaction with Alex, all Henry wanted to do was leave and curl under his weighted blanket with a book. He had duties though, and they were here. However, if Pez was offering a break to him, who was Henry to deny it?
The two men stepped outside of the tent, the humid air making Henry grateful that he ditched his usual blue pinstripe suit for something more casual and fitting of Thailand's temperature during summer nights. The collar of his shirt was already quite tight around his throat and Henry wanted it all off of him. His hand pulled at his collar as he tried to fix it from being so constricting. The words he wanted to say to brush whatever Pez probably heard caught in his throat, like a lump he couldn't get rid of. He swallowed, the mass of sounds and inflections stuck inside him, leaving him to think them instead but not able to say them. He'd been silenced by the Crown his whole life but even he had to admit, his own body silenced himself equally as much.
Pez's hand rested on top of his own. "Hen, you have to breathe. In and out, Henry, in and out."
Henry didn't even notice he was on the verge of a panic attack but trust Pez to have noticed. Pez was attuned to all of Henry's little idiosyncrasies by this point. He knew when all the attention got too much for Henry and when to take the spotlight from him. He knew what Henry was feeling before Henry even knew. For all his moments, Pez was Henry's best friend, and for good reason. Henry doubted he would still be sane without Pez.
As Henry calmed down, Pez rubbed his back comfortingly. "Okay?" Pez questioned, eyebrows furrowed in worry and confusion. Henry nodded, drinking some of the water Pez seemed to have brought out with him. Thank God for Percy Okonjo.
"Henry, I have to ask. What was all that? Why didn't you tell Alex to bugger off?"
Henry chuckled darkly. As if he could. "Alex wouldn't bugger off even if you told him to. He's stubborn to a fault and would only come on stronger if you told him to leave. He'd just keep coming back over and over again and you'd just have to keep taking it no matter how much it hurts." Henry paused, throwing his head back as he looked up at the inky black sky scattered with stars. He found Orion.
"God, but he's lethal."