Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wilhelm is the young Prince of Sweden, aged 23. His title comes with added pressure that he knows more than most because ever since he was in his late teens, the press has long since dubbed him ‘the wild child of Sweden’. Sometimes, he lives up to that title, it’s just another title added onto the ones he already lives with; but most of the time he is just Wille - anxious, angry at the world, and the greatest friend and sibling in the world. 

Simon, also aged 23, on the other hand, hasn’t grown up in the media spotlight - but now he’s at the front of it. He’s a singer, one of the most famous singers in Sweden. He’s loved by many, especially the queer community. From the start of his career, he has always been open and honest with his fans and that, alongside winning him brownie points, means that he is the unofficial spokesperson for a large community, which in turn means that he is somehow always in the press. 

Wilhelm just so happens to be a big fan of Simon, secretly of course. He’s also had the biggest crush on Simon ever since he first saw him, but that’s even more of a secret. Being the Prince also means having to hide that part of Wilhelm, for now at least. He’s only out as queer to one person - his best friend Felice. However, his brother Erik has always had his suspicions. Wilhelm knows that his brother will love him regardless of his sexuality, but right now he can’t bring himself to think about beginning that conversation. 

That is because, right now, Wilhelm is currently dangling from his bedroom window, ready to make the jump out into the gardens of the palace. He will forever be grateful that his bedroom is towards the back of the palace, and underneath his window sits grass, rather than concrete. He’s done this far too much, to the point that it’s an easy journey now. All he has to do is jump, and run to Felice’s car. So he does, and he lands perfectly. He knows that one day when he’s older, he’ll start to regret all the times he’s done this when his knees start to ache - but right now he’s 23 and he’s got a concert to get to. So he runs, and suddenly he’s transported back to all the times he’s run across these very blades of grass before, and then he’s quickly opening the car door, jumping in and Felice is driving off before he’s even got his seatbelt on. 

“You know you could just leave out the door.” Felice says as she drives, the palace in the distance getting smaller and smaller until it is no longer visible. 

Wilhelm stares at her. “And have to explain to everyone that I’m going to a concert? A Simon Eriksson concert no less? No thanks, Fe, I’ll pass on that.” 

Felice rolls her eyes and turns the music on, blasting out their favourite songs to prepare for the short drive to the concert venue.

“How’s everything been at home?” Felice asks.

Wilhelm shrugs “Mamma and pappa want to give me more official roles. I’ve met far too many people in the last week and I’ve still got three more dinners and one more charity event to attend. People are telling me their names and I’m forgetting them straight away so I spend the rest of the time either avoiding them or avoiding saying their names.”

Felice chuckles softly. “You will get used to it eventually, Wille, I promise. The more you meet people, the easier it’ll be for you to remember them…or at least pretend you remember them.” 

“It’s just not as fun as it used to be, you know? When I was younger, I loved being the Prince. It was fun meeting new people all the time, and going to all of these new places. I miss when it was easy and fun. Now it’s just boring and repetitive. I mean, really, who suggested six dinners in two weeks?” He shuts his eyes and lets the music take him away. “I really need this, Fe. Thank you for getting the tickets, and for picking me up.”

“Anything for you Wille, I mean that.” She says earnestly. She pulls into the parking spot. “Ready to run?”

Wille looks out of the window and notices that nobody else is around. He’s grateful for that at least, this way he knows that he won’t get caught before they get into the venue. He looks to his best friend. “Always.” he says, and grins as he opens the car door and runs to the other side of the building, to the large, yet surprisingly hidden, door they both know so well. 

Felice trails behind him, but not too far behind and within a few seconds she is also at the door as Wille is tapping against it four times, to indicate to the bodyguard on the other side that they should open it. 

“Thank you.” Wille says, holding his hand out for the bodyguard to shake it as he allows both Wilhelm and Felice to walk inside.

“Pleasure as always Prince Wilhelm.” The bodyguard says and lets them walk further into the venue to get to their seats. 

They do this far too often, but it’s always fun. Wille secretly hopes that he gets to do this forever. The lights are already off when they walk into the arena, the crowd abuzz with the anticipation of Simon coming on out on stage. Wille and Felice walk to their seats, which are up on a balcony. They usually sit in these seats, because it means that people can’t really see them unless they really focus, especially with the lights down low as they are already. The backing track to the opening song begins to play loudly and Simon Eriksson walks out onto the stage to blood-curdling screams and flashing lights.  

It’s so loud. Everyone is screaming along to the lyrics, dancing with their friends and having fun. During a slower song, Simon asks for the lights of the arena to be turned on so he can see the crowd better. Everyone screams even louder and the lighting crew listen to the performer and his crowd, and suddenly the lights are brighter and everyone has to shut their eyes for a second. It’s a beautiful sight to see everyone living in the moment, singing along perfectly, with the odd whooping from someone somewhere. Wille is caught up in the moment, forgetting for the length of the song that not only is he the Prince, but that he’s not even supposed to be here. He wraps his arm around Felice’s shoulder, holding his best friend close to him as tears start to form in the inner corners of his eyes. Felice wraps her arm around his waist and looks up at him, both of them singing along to the meaningful song. They are both entirely caught up in the moment, that neither of them think to hide from the thousands of people in the venue, because it’s unexpectedly lighter and that means there’s a possibility of people seeing them - and someone did.

After the song ends and everyone is cheering, Maja looks around and sees someone vaguely familiar and she abruptly swats her friends arm. “Hej, is that the Prince?” she asks, pointing him out in the crowd. 

“Oh my God.” Her friend squeals, “I think it is!” 

Maja quickly takes a photo. It’s blurry because of her shaking hands but you can definitely see that it’s the Prince and his friend Felice. Without a second thought, she uses the costume change to open up her Twitter account and make a post. 

The show is definitely impressive, one of the best that Wille and Felice have ever been to. They dance and they sing and it’s so fun and Wille is truly happy that he gets to experience this night. It’s already one of his favourite moments that he’s had, and he’ll remember this night for a long time to come.

But what Wille is unaware of is that his name is already the most trending topic on Twitter, with people wondering if he and Simon know each other, and if Simon invited him to the show. But the main thing that Wille is blissfully unaware of, is that people all over social media are questioning and assuming his sexuality. 

And it all started with a simple ‘Is this Prince Wilhelm at Simon’s concert? Simon will freak out!!’ alongside the photograph. 

Later that night, Wilhelm manages to sneak back into the palace with ease, this time walking straight in through a barely used door towards the back of the building, hidden in the darkness of the night. The halls are unlit and silent and he thinks he can make it into his bedroom without being caught.

That is, until he turns a corner to the hall that leads to his bedroom and he finds his mamma standing there, in wait of him.

“Where have you been?” She calls out, breaking the peaceful serenity of the late night.

“With Felice. Is that a crime?” Wille sarcastically replies. He’s honest, at least to a degree. 

Queen Kristina holds her phone out, showing her son one of the many articles already available to the public. Wille looks closely at it. He disregards the headline and focuses on the image in the centre of the phone - it’s a photo of him and Felice tonight, he’s got his arm around her shoulder and her arm is resting on his waist. They’re clearly both singing along to a song and are happy. 

“You should see these articles, Wilhelm.” She says, and Wille winces. He’s only called his full name in official settings and when he’s in trouble. “They’re suggesting all sorts of things! People are saying that you must be gay because this concert was Simon Eriksson’s.” 

Wille laughs. “I’m gay, but I have my arm around a woman in the photo? That doesn’t even make sense mamma, and you know it.” 

He knows immediately that his argument falls on deaf ears considering that Felice is one of his oldest friends and well, she’s a lesbian . The press knows that. Everyone knows that. 

Kristina looks at him incredulously. “We will talk more in the morning. Do not do this again.” She says as she walks off. 

Wille sighs as he walks into his bedroom, his shoulders slumping as he shuts the door behind him and she rests against it. 

What a night.

Wilhelm isn’t seen for the rest of the week. He barely leaves his bedroom. All of his events carry on without him and he’s completely fine with that. He needs a rest before he’s emotionally and physically burnt out.

He stares at his phone every day, scrolling aimlessly through news articles and social media posts, all about him. He sees the same photo of him and Felice numerous times, but also reads far too many articles suggesting his sexuality all because he saw Simon in concert. It’s exhausting. Social media is the same. He scrolls through the tweets without a second thought, pages upon pages of people talking about his own sexuality as if they know him better than he knows himself. He sees people, mainly Simon’s fans, telling others that they shouldn’t just be assuming things, especially not just because of a concert. He also sees Simon’s fans talking about how they might know each other, and that they wonder if Wilhelm knows that he is Simon’s celebrity crush. 

I wish we knew each other. Wille thinks. Of course, I know that, Felice always reminds me of it. 

His phone buzzes in his hands and he assumes that it’s another text from Felice because she is the only person that Wille has sent any messages back to all week. His eyes flicker to the top of his phone as he reads the notification. All week he has been ignoring most of his texts. But this one intrigues him…because it’s from an unknown number. 

He taps on the notification and a new text thread appears. He reads the message.  

‘hey i’ve managed to write another two songs that we can add to the album. i’ll be back in the studio tomorrow to record but i’ve sent you the rough demo :)’

With it, comes an audio file.

Chapter Text

Wilhelm looks at the text message with confusion set in place across his face. He furrows his eyebrows as he skims over the digits of the phone number to see if it looks at all familiar to him. It doesn’t. He’s not even sure why he thought of that idea, because he can’t even remember the last time he had to memorise a phone number. His brain is working in overdrive, trying to work out who could be behind this text, and eventually, he gives up - coming to the conclusion that he doesn’t actually know anybody who could send this to him. So he does the next logical thing. 

And he clicks on the audio file. 

The sound takes over him, breaking the deafening silence in his large and yet surprisingly sparsely decorated bedroom. A piano is playing, loud and beautiful and Wilhelm wishes that he was able to keep on track with his childhood piano lessons so that he could play this well as an adult. He closes his eyes and lets the music take him away. It’s slow and melodic, and there’s a certain irony that the only time that Wille is able to truly relax in the last few days is when he’s listening to music. That peace is broken, however, when an angelic voice surrounds Wille, almost harmonising with the instrument itself. Wille’s eyes shoot open and he finds himself staring at his ceiling, listening to the voice and catching himself breathing in time to the melody. A smile forms on his face, spreading brightly across his cheeks, and then he’s scrambling in his bed as his brain works to connect the dots - because he knows that voice. He knows it very well.

Because it’s his favourite singer.

The man behind the angelic voice recording is the man who Wilhelm broke out of the palace to see in concert with his best friend. 

The man who has just sent him a text message with a voice recording of a new song…is Simon Eriksson.

It’s at this point that Wille realises that the music is still playing out of his phone, quite loudly at this point, and he’s once again entirely grateful that his bedroom is far away from anything else in the palace, so he knows that nobody but himself can hear it. He rushes to find his phone, following the piano notes and he eventually finds it, picking it up and almost dropping it in the process as he pauses the audio file. His heart is racing. 

His breath is shaky as he does the only logical thing he can think of - he calls Felice. 

She picks up almost immediately, after only two dial tones. “What is your mother making you do now?”

Wille almost laughs. Almost . She knows him and his family far too well. He squeezes his eyes shut so tightly that he sees fuzziness. “Nothing.” He lets out. “It’s just that I’ve had a text from an unknown number.” 

“Oh, just block it!” Felice says helpfully. “It’s probably just a scam, I get them all the time.”

There’s a scream that gets caught in Wille’s throat, unable to come out. “No.” He states, and then realises that he should probably explain. “You don’t understand, Felice. It has a voice recording and I think the person who texted is Simon.”

There’s a pause for a beat or two and Wille swears that he can still hear the piano playing in his mind. It’s all encompassing. 

Felice speaks again, breaking Wille’s train of thought. “Simon who?”

“Eriksson, Felice.” Wille finally lets out, and all the tension suddenly dissipates. “It’s his voice, and it’s a new song. I’ve never heard it before.” The ‘and I’ve heard everything he’s done’ goes unsaid.

There’s silence once again, and Wille can almost hear the cogs turning in his best friend's brain. Then, the silence is broken with a shrill scream. Wille pulls his phone away from his ear whilst she finishes screaming. A soft smile forms on his face, and once he hears the end of the scream he puts his phone back to his ear once more.

“What have you said to him? Are you sure? Does he know that you’re you?” She speeds through questions as though there’s no tomorrow.

Wille lets out a gentle laugh. “I haven’t said anything!” He exclaims. “It’s definitely him though, I’d know that voice anywhere.”

A short, slightly quieter scream bursts out through the phone. “Oh my God Wille, you need to shoot your shot! It’s fate! This is actually fate! This is amazing, it’s the best day of my life, let alone yours!” 

Wille rolls his eyes teasingly as his best friend continues to freak out. “Yeah, sure.” He mutters dryly. As if he would ever be brave enough to do that? “Seriously though, Fe, what do I say to him?”

“Just say you must have the wrong number.” She says helpfully and sensibly. “And then maybe say I’m in love with you and have been for years. ” She teases.

Wille rolls his eyes once more, harder this time. “Ha ha.” He sarcastically laughs. “I’ve got to go.”

“Keep me updated!” Felice shouts at him, just before the call is ended. 

He looks down at his phone, his thumb floating above the screen, nervousness coursing through his body. He breathes and notices that it’s shaky. The text is still there, staring back at him as he reads it over and over again. Before he really has any time to think, he’s typing out a response. 

‘hey, I think you might have the wrong number but if it’s any consolation I think the song sounds amazing’

With another shaky breath, he sends it. 

Simon is sitting at his computer. He’s tired, his eyelids starting to fall heavy and he’s struggling to keep them open. He presses his keyboard, playing a game in a vain attempt to combat his tiredness. He really should be working on his album, or at least trying to write another song to add to the list of music he needs to record but he has been doing that all week and his brain is beginning to hurt. 

His phone flashes up a text from where it’s laying on the desk. He quickly pauses his game, presuming that it’s from his manager and he really should respond to him. He picks his phone up and skims over the text. Fuck . His eyes go wide as he finishes reading it and suddenly all of the exhaustion leaves his body in lieu of panic invading it. 

“Oh my God.” He mutters to himself over and over. This can’t be happening. This can not be happening. 

His breath is shaky and all that is running through his mind is how he’s accidentally just gone and leaked his newly penned song to a complete stranger and now it could get out and his album could be ruined before it’s even got a name.

He quickly texts the number back, trying to resolve the problem he finds himself in. 

‘omg i’m so sorry, my manager has a new phone and he must have given me the wrong number’

He lets his thumbs rest for a moment before he decides to fire another text to the unknown person.

‘please don’t post that song anywhere’

Wille laughs softly at his phone as he texts back.

‘don’t worry, your music is safe with me’

Because it is. He doesn’t have the ability to leak anything. He has access to social media, sure. But only his official accounts, and he definitely can’t leak anything through those accounts. Not that he ever would anyone. Wille keeps to his promises, and this music being safe with him is another one of those promises that he will fulfil. 

He’s stupidly giddy, a rouge blush spreading wildly across his face. He internally freaks out even more though, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

He tries to calm himself down, but he can’t because realistically, what are the chances that he not only gets a text from a random number, but that text just so happens to be one from his favourite musician and number one celebrity crush?

He decides to save the contact as ‘ Simon?’, secretly hoping that he’ll see that name in his notifications again soon. 

Chapter Text

“My sister is obsessed with you.” The makeup artist states as she applies foundation to Simon’s face. “She went to five dates of your last tour and wanted to go to more but she couldn’t take time off.” 

Simon is sitting in the makeup chair, staring back at his reflection in the mirror. The lights around the mirror illuminate him perfectly, even if they leave bright white spots in his sight. “Oh really?” He asks, and he has a genuine interest in the conversation. “Was she one of the girls I saw at the barrier pretty much every night?”

The artist nods, “Yeah.” She laughs. “Sounds about right for her.” 

“I remember looking at them at one point and they were doing my dance choreography at the same time as me and then suddenly everyone was doing it at the next concert.” He laughs at the memory. 

The makeup artist looks as though she is about to speak once more, but someone interrupts, giving them a call time of two minutes and soon enough, Simon is walking on set toward the interviewer. He holds his hand out and shakes the interviewer's hand. “Nice to see you again.” He says, remembering how he’s done an interview here before, not long after his debut album hit the coveted number one spot.  

“You too.” She says. “It’s been far too long!” 

Simon smiles warmly, “It’s been a busy time.” He admits. “I’m sure we’ll get into that though.”

The interviewer laughs. “Oh, of course, we must!” 

They both sit down in front of the cameras. The interviewer flicks through some prompt cards, sorting them into a specific order. “Some of these are fan questions.” She states. 

Simon laughs. “I dread to think what they could be about.” He knows. Of course he knows, his entire Twitter feed has been nothing but questions about the same thing for nearly two weeks now. 

The interviewer laughs gently. “Ready?” She asks. 

Simon nods and he notices that a camera is already recording and facing in his direction. The interviewer, Ebba, gives her opening monologue facing the camera, going through a short rundown of Simon’s career thus far. He knows about all these achievements but hearing them in a huge list, one after the other is completely different altogether. He blushes and the interviewer turns to him. 

“So, Simon. It’s nice to have you back here with us today. As I’ve just said, a lot has changed since you were last here.” She states. 

Simon nods. “It has. I’ve had three number one singles since I was last here - and a sold out arena tour!” 

“The question on everybody’s lips is, have you started your eagerly anticipated second album yet?” Ebba asks. 

There’s a soft smile on Simon’s face as he speaks. “Yes.” He gladly admits. “I’m about halfway through the writing process, but in the past couple of weeks, I’ve started to actually record some songs. I’ve still got a lot of songs that didn’t make the cut into the first album which I’m looking to revisit and maybe change them up to fit the vibe of this next album.” 

He pauses, and for some reason, all that he can think about is those texts. They’ve been on his mind for days now, his anxiety building with each day that passes even though there’s been no sign of any leak happening. He speaks again and is grateful that he clearly hasn’t left a large gap of awkward silence. “I’ve actually recently had feedback from one song that I wrote. Apparently, it sounds amazing, so there’s a huge possibility of that song featuring on the album.”

The interview is nice. It’s easy. There’s a genuine interest from Ebba, and it puts Simon at ease that he can answer the questions honestly, whilst also being able to have a little bit of fun. 

“Now for the fan questions.” Ebba says, flicking through her prompt cards. “These come from Twitter. Are you ready?” 

“Will I ever be?” Simon laughs. He knows his fans too well. 

Ebba chuckles softly. “I think this is the most asked question. One of them, anyway. Prior to your concert in Stockholm, were you aware of Prince Wilhelm being a fan?”

“I knew this would be the top question!” He guffaws. “No, I had no idea! I didn’t even know he was there until after the concert ended but I hope he had fun. Stockholm was a crazy crowd, I loved it!” 

“So you didn’t know he would be there?” Ebba asks “We had so many people asking if you had invited him!” 

Simon shakes his head. “I’ve never met him, never spoken to him. As I said, I didn’t know he was there until after.” 

Ebba speaks again. “Is he still your celebrity crush?” 

Simon’s jaw drops slightly and a blush forms across his face rapidly. “You’ve done your research.” He teases. “I would say so. But everyone my age says the same, we’ve all grown up with him being on television and in magazines, it just makes sense that he’s the celebrity crush of a lot of people.” 

“Maybe he knows that, given that he’s clearly a fan of yours.” Ebba says.

Oh. Simon hasn’t thought about that before. 

There’s a soft brushing noise coming out from the speakers, alongside a gentle and tuneful hum. “Which colour?” 

Wilhelm is staring into space, finding it particularly interesting to suddenly count how many floorboards are in his room. 

“Earth to Wille…” A voice trails out, breaking his train of thought.

“Hmm?” He questioningly mumbles out, looking at his laptop. “Sorry I was miles away.”

Felice tilts her head to the side. “I was asking, what colour should I paint my nails?” She holds up three bottles of nail varnish to the camera.

Wille squints his eyes. “Red.” 

Felice smiles and begins painting her nails. “So…does Simon know that it’s you he texted yet?”

Wille rolls his eyes. “Ten minutes.” He looks at his watch, implying that he has been timing how long it would take for Felice to mention the S word.  

‘Can you blame me?” Felice laughs. “That interview is all I’ve been thinking about all day! I can’t believe he spoke about your message.”

Wille chuckles softly to himself because Felice isn’t alone in thinking about the interview. It’s been on his mind ever since his best friend sent him the link. All he’s been able to think about are Simon’s words, mentioning their conversation - something that nobody else is aware of apart from the two of them, and Felice of course. 

“So?” Felice inquires, nodding her head as if to tell Wille, carry on.         

“No.” Wille states. There’s disbelief across his face. “He doesn’t know that it’s me because I’m not exactly going to drop the fact that I’m the Prince of Sweden into a conversation with a complete stranger. What if it isn’t Simon? My number could be leaked.”

It’s Felice’s turn to look at her best friend in disbelief. “Wille, come on! You and I both know that voice is Simon.” 

Wille may or may not have shared a few seconds of the audio with Felice, and he’s been full of anxiety ever since because he told the stranger - ok, Simon - that the music was safe with him. 

There’s a gasp from Felice which pulls Wille from the anxiety that is building its way through his body. He looks at her as she speaks. “Ok, here’s what you can do.” She builds this up. “You can accidentally text Simon, just like he did with you, but you can hint that you’re the Prince.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He laughs it off. 

“It would be fun!” Felice says. “You don’t have to outright say it, because if it’s not him and it gets leaked, you can always deny it. But it would be fun.” 

Wille sighs. “I’ll think about it.” He says, but he already has. He’s going to do it.  

He waits until Felice is talking about her day at work, discussing just how annoying her boss is. He takes out his phone and quickly types out the message, so he doesn’t have time to overly think it through. 

‘can i go to a concert again yet, or is it still against royal protocol?’

He sends it without reading it through properly, and locks his phone as anxiety overwhelms his body. 

Simon is midway through recording the backing vocals to a song when his phone buzzes in his pocket. His eyes are shut and it’s far too hot in the studio, there’s sweat forming on his brow. He sighs, the lyrics leaving his brain the second he realises that he has a text and the music is still playing quietly in his headphones. He leaves the audio recording, too lazy to walk to the other side of the glass wall to press a button. Instead, he pulls out his phone and notices that the text is from the same unknown number that he accidentally sent his music to. He finds himself smiling fondly - until he reads the text properly.

His eyebrows furrow as his eyes narrow and then widen as he reads the words over and over again, allowing them to fully sink in. 

No. He thinks. It’s not…no way…NO WAY.

His mind is in overdrive and as he lets out a scream, he accidentally throws his phone halfway across the room because what the actual fuck has just happened?

Shaky breaths are the only thing that fills the room as his mind races. He tries to walk a few steps to where his phone is now laying on the floor, screen down, but he’s still got his headphones dangling around his neck and their wires stop him from going any further. Without thinking, he just drops them on the floor, wincing slightly as he hears the crash, but all he really cares about is reading that text again. His hands tremble as he picks his phone up and starts trying to send a message back. 

He doesn’t know exactly what he wants to say and his thumbs float over the letters, hoping that his digits will somehow create the words for him. He bites at his bottom lip as a typing bubble pops up, indicating that the unknown man, potentially Prince Wilhelm, is texting him. 

Simon is just about back to breathing normally when the next text comes through. He reads it immediately. 

‘needless to say I didn’t mean to send you that’

Simon lets out a soft laugh and his nervous energy dissipates. He texts back. 

‘that’s fine, i guess now i know who you are (i think). you have my music, i have your number, nothing can be leaked now’

Simon walks out of the studio, into the gallery, and sits down at the desk, watching as Wilhelm texts back. It’s addicting, all consuming. The very idea of recording any music today is gone in the blink of an eye because all he can think about now is this conversation. Another text comes through and he finds himself grinning uncontrollably. 

‘blame my friend for these texts, she hasn’t shut up since she found out you texted me’

Simon nearly screams again. His cheeks are burning red. He types out a response, and finds the conversation easy. It’s natural to him. 

‘when did you work it out?’ 

He has to ask that.

Two texts come at once. 

‘when i heard your voice’

And then, following the first text. 

‘I didn’t sneak out to go to your concert to not know your voice’

A loud laugh tumbles out of Simon’s mouth and he finds himself eternally grateful that he’s the only one in the studio today. He can imagine what people would be saying if they could see him like this. He sends a message back.

‘hahaha well i hope you at least enjoyed the concert prince wilhelm’

He knows that he needs to go back to recording, but he’s well and truly distracted now, so he decides to make it even worse. 

Simon opens up his Twitter app and posts. 

‘i may or may not have just accidentally recorded my scream at an unexpected text whilst in the studio. it’s not making the cut to my new album’

Within seconds his notifications are flooded with questions and people freaking out. He decides to stay online to speak to a few fans.

Chapter Text

Comfortable silence fills the room and Wille has a bright smile widening across his face and he’s visibly giddy, his entire body loose and he’s confident that his heart is about to beat out of his chest with how loud it seems to be. He’s got his phone in his hands and he’s reading the last text over and over again, and then, after what seems like an age of him reading the words, he finally types out his own response. 

‘i enjoyed it very much but please just call me wille’

He quickly locks his phone and drops it on the mattress below him just as fast. Wille kicks out his legs and his head sinks further into the pillow his head is resting on and a tiny, barely noticeable squeal breaks out from his throat. It’s ok though, because nobody is there to witness it. 

Except Felice, who, Wille realises, is still on the video call with him - and has just seen all of that take place. 

Wille turns his head to the side and sees his best friend sitting there in silence, her mouth slightly ajar in shock but there’s a smirk that is beginning to grow and she’s staring at him with wide eyes. 

“You’ve just texted him, haven’t you?” She asks, breaking the silence that has fallen upon them.

Wilhelm raises an eyebrow, visibly questioning her. “How do you know?”

Felice laughs uncontrollably and shifts her body as she raises a hand to the camera. She lifts her index finger first. “One, you’re smiling more now than I’ve ever seen you smile - and I’ve known you since we were kids.” She raises a second finger. “Two, you just squealed like a teenage girl who just saw her crush and three, ” she says, adding her thumb to the collection, “Simon’s just tweeted about someone texting him and you were on your phone. Need I remind you for the millionth time that you are his celebrity crush!” 

A groan leaves Wille’s throat and he sinks further into his mattress. He reaches his arm up to behind his head and pulls the pillow out from underneath him, resting it on his face and muffling his scream with it. When he’s done, he puts it back in its original position and looks at Felice again. “Shut up.” He deadpans. He knows that he’s Simon’s celebrity crush. He’s known for years, but thanks to the new interview and his ever lovely best friend, it’s all he’s heard all day. 

“I’m just saying.” Felice starts. “You like him, he likes you. You have each other's number. Go for it!” 

“I can’t.” Wille states, and he feels his heart actually start to ache at his words. 

Felice rolls her eyes. “Why not?” 

Wilhelm raises his hand, using Felice’s own actions against her. His index finger is pointing upwards first. “One, I am the Prince of Sweden.” Another finger joins. “Two, you’re the only person who knows about me not being straight.” He puts his thumb up. “And three, how am I going to be able to see him when I have to sneak out of the palace just to see you!”

“Rude.” Felice jokes. “In all seriousness though Wille, you could always tell people that you’re with me but go and see him. At least try. I’ve never seen you this happy, and if Simon makes you this happy - then it’s all worth it.” 

Maybe she has a point. 

Two days pass by in what seems like the blink of an eye. During that time, both Simon and Wilhelm spend most of their time texting each other. Wille likes to send Simon little moments from his day.

Wilhelm yawns as he looks out of his bedroom window, the early evening catching up with him, making him lethargic. He decides, in that moment, to take himself on a stroll of the palace gardens. He does this occasionally, when he has a lot on his mind. There’s a gentle breeze in the air and his long hair floats in the wind. He brushes it behind his ears and inevitably gives up when he begins to walk the very same path he has taken so many times in his life and the wind picks up, blowing his hair in all different directions. He’s slow, taking each step as it comes, his mind in overdrive. All he has been able to think about for days now, is Simon. It’s strange, because they haven’t even met, but he knows he wants to. He’s nearing the bottom of the garden now, watching as the flowers sway from side to side, the occasional petal falling off and floating softly down into the grass. As he finally looks up, he notices how the sky shows how the night is falling. In the distance, at the bottom of the skyline, is a fluorescent orange colour, brightening up the otherwise dark sky. The sun is setting, and it’s beautiful. Wille quickly takes a photo on his phone, but it doesn’t do it justice. He pauses for a moment, taking the sight in. He watches as the darkness continues to cascade down, completely taking over the bright orange until it eventually vanishes for the night. Wille continues walking then, with only the garden lights illuminating his path now. He notices how the grass shines in the lights, water droplets sticking to the blades from the sudden downpour earlier in the day. He hears a rustling sound and he looks in the direction it came from, walking closer to it as he hears it once more. 

“What on earth?” He breathes out into the night as he crouches down slightly, and hidden in the grass, is a family of hedgehogs. 

He watches as they all huddle together, all four of them eating an earthworm that is full of soil. He doesn’t want to disturb them, so he slowly walks away after watching them for a while. 

When he gets back into the palace, his hair is still all over the place. He rakes his fingers through it and takes his phone out of his pocket, opening up the text conversation with Simon that is seemingly ever growing. 

He sends the photo of the sun setting alongside a text, reading ‘saw this on my walk tonight, thought you would enjoy it. the photo doesn’t do it justice. also saw a family of hedgehogs’.

The reply is almost immediate, and Wille’s heart sores at this. 

‘it’s beautiful! very jealous you saw hedgehogs, you should leave a dish of water out for them’ 

Simon likes to send Wille updates on his music. 

‘do you prefer piano or guitar on slow songs?’

Simon is sitting in the studio, his brain full of song ideas and his notebook is fit to burst. He’s been writing nonstop, but also learning to produce the music himself. He knows the basics, he has done for years, but for this album he’s already made a concerted effort in learning to produce the songs as well as writing and performing them. 

He taps his fingers against the keys of the piano he’s sitting at, waiting for Wille to respond. His phone is against the lid of the piano, and it vibrates seconds later. He picks it up immediately, his heart racing. 

‘piano…i still can’t believe i get to find things out about your music before you release it’

Simon laughs softly. He’s glad Wille chose piano, it’s the instrument that the song was written on originally. 

‘good choice. if you’re lucky i might send you a sneak peak later’

He knows he will, there’s no might about it. Simon sets up the recording materials and begins by playing the piano. The notes are on pages in front of him, but he knows them by heart. This is the song he’s already the most proud of. It came off the back of a long period of writer's block, and once he started writing it, he seemingly couldn’t stop. The notes continue flowing, surrounding Simon entirely. It takes him away, invading his thoughts.

The song ends and silence once again fills the room. Simon stops the recording and checks that it’s in the computer system. His phone buzzes in his pocket now. He takes it out and laughs as he reads the message. 

‘please actually send it to me, not to a random number’

There’s a bright, beaming smile on Simon’s face as he texts Wille back, his heart racing as he types it out. 

‘can i video call you?”

He’s nervous as he waits for a response, his heart beating out of control and it’s all consuming. 

‘of course’ he receives back.

  Simon’s breath is shaky and his fingers fumble over one another as he presses the video call option and a ringing tone fills the room as he rests his phone on the piano, pointing right at himself. 

He’s smiling softly, not making eye contact with his face staring back at him. He runs his fingers over the familiar keys, playing four notes before Wille picks up the call.

“Hi.” Wille breathes out gently. “Sorry I was just trying to get into this room.”

Simon laughs gingerly. “Where are you?”

Wille spins on his chair, too fast for Simon to see anything in the background properly. “Erik’s office. He’s actually supposed to be working in here today, I have no idea where he actually is?

“Do you not have your own office?” Simon asks inquisitively. 

Wille nods. “I do. It’s just small and on the other side of the palace and I’d rather not be out of breath talking to you. Anyway, I thought you were working on your album? I don’t want to be distracting you.”

“I am. I just wanted to speak to you.” Simon says, and the ‘I wanted to see you’ goes unsaid. 

“I can’t wait to hear it.” Wille admits, and it’s true. He loves every song that Simon has released, this album isn’t going to be any different. 

“You’ll have to come to the release party, if you can.” Simon bites the inside of his lip, trying to swallow the smile that feels like it’s growing on his face with every millisecond that passes. “What’s your favourite song?”

A grin spreads across Wille’s face. He looks Simon dead in the eyes as he speaks. “In love with the thought of you.”

Simon’s jaw drops slightly, just obvious enough that he knows Wille can see it. “You’re just saying that because I haven’t performed it.” 

“I cannot count the amount of times I’ve watched people live stream your performances, waiting for that song and it never comes. It is my favourite song, though.” Wille admits. 

Simon laughs softly and looks at the piano keys in front of him. It takes him a moment, but he remembers the beginning notes and he plays the opening chord, before stopping. He plays discordant notes as he speaks. “Can you hear me over the piano?” He asks. 

Wille giggles uncontrollably and nods as he breathes out a “Yes. you idiot.”

Simon tilts his head from one side to the other as he starts to play the song again. He sings loudly, letting the music take him away. His cheeks are burning red and he knows it. Towards the end of the song, he finds himself looking away from the piano keys more and more, getting comfortable with the notes he’s playing. He also finds himself watching Wilhelm, who is staring back at him with a rouge flush across his cheeks, his hair falling in front of his eyes and he just lets it sit there, obscuring his face, but Simon can see the bright, beaming smile that is completely taking over his beautiful face. 

As Simon finishes the song, he looks through his eyelashes at Wille, who puts his phone down on his - Erik’s - desk, freeing his hands so that he can clap and cheer. “I feel honoured.” He beams. 

“Maybe I should sing that live for the next tour.” Simon thinks aloud. “We’ll see.”

“You should! Although I’m glad I get to be the first person to experience that, I feel like everyone should have the ability to, because that was amazing.” Wille grins. 

Simon’s heart nearly beats out of his chest. “Thank you.” He says softly, and he can see his face is physically burning. 

Wilhelm is still hiding away from the public, and he’s grateful for that because he blushes every single time he gets a notification from Simon, and nobody, apart from Felice, sees how he acts when he sees Simon’s name pop up on his phone.

Nobody, that is, until right now. 

He’s sitting in Erik’s office, his feet up on the edge of the desk as his brother sits in his other chair, flicking through page after page of an itinerary. A yawn escapes his mouth. “Do we have to go through this again?” He asks, tilting his head backwards so he’s staring at the ceiling. 

Erik pauses. “Considering you got a foreign dignitaries name wrong the last time we hosted one of these meals? Yes, Wille, we’re going through this again.” 

Wille is about to retort back, and as he opens his mouth, his phone vibrates against Erik’s desk. Without missing a beat, he throws his feet to the floor and swings his arm to reach the phone, which is on the wood desk with the screen facing up, before his brother can attempt to read the message. He looks at the phone in his hand and reads through the text quickly. 

“Woah!” Erik exasperates. “Paranoid much? Who is it?”

Wilhelm looks up at his brother through his eyelashes, his head very much still facing his phone, reading the message over and over. He knows he’s blushing, he can feel it. He’s just praying that Erik can’t see it. “Just a friend.” Wille says, hoping the conversation stops now. 

It doesn’t. 

“Oh yeah?” Erik asks, teasingly. “Blush like that for all your friends do you?”

Wille rolls his eyes, and suddenly gains confidence and in a split second, he’s telling Erik. “It’s Simon Eriksson.”

“Oh, the singer?” Erik questions. “Hey, well if he makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.” There’s a pause, and his eyes flicker down to the paper on his lap as he turns the page once more. “I mean it Wille, friend or not.”

Wille’s heart soars. He knows what his brother is suggesting, and he’s grateful that he’s not pushing for answers that Wille doesn’t even know himself. “Shut up.” He counteracts. “He’s a friend.”

Chapter Text

Wilhelm’s heart races as he reads the text over and over again until the words start to sink in. He knows he’s blushing. His cheeks feel as though they are on fire and he knows his own body by now, he knows that his face is probably bright red and that Erik can definitely see that. 

“Woah!” his brother lets out loudly. “Paranoid much? Who is it?”

The younger brother looks up at Erik through his eyelashes, not able to tear himself away from the text on his phone. “Just a friend.” 

“Oh yeah?” Erik asks, sitting back in his seat and there’s a grin rapidly spreading across his face. “Blush like that for all your friends do you?”

Wille rolls his eyes, and the next words out of his mouth are a shock to even himself. But he’s looking at his brother, his protector, and he knows he’s safe with him. He knows he can tell Erik, and that Erik would never be mad or angry with him. It gives him confidence, knowing that. “It’s Simon Eriksson.”

Erik’s face is a picture. The grin is long gone, and not because he’s upset, nor that he’s disappointed. It’s gone because he knows this is now a serious conversation, and that Wille trusts him enough to speak honestly and openly about something like this for the first time. Instead of a grin, there’s a warm, inviting smile spreading across his face. “Oh, the singer?” He asks, but he knows exactly who Simon is. “Hey, well if he makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.” His eyes flicker down to the paper that is in his lap but he can’t read the text. He knows he needs to say more, he can’t just leave it as that. So he speaks again, in his best protective big brother voice. “I mean it Wille, friend or not.”

Wille is sure that his brother - hell, the whole of Sweden - can feel his heart beating out of his chest, it’s that loud. He knows exactly what Erik is suggesting and Wille is eternally grateful that he doesn’t seem to be pushing for answers, answers that even Wille doesn’t have yet. “Shut up.” He sarcastically says. “He’s just a friend.”

But Wille wants him to be more. 

Wille looks down at his phone again, realising that the text is still there. He reads it once more, a beaming smile on his face. 

‘would you like to come to the studio sometime, or does that go against royal protocol?’ 

He locks his phone without responding, and looks back up at his brother as he puts his phone away in his back pocket. “Right, who am I meeting tomorrow?”

Wille is giddy for the rest of the day. He walks around the palace as though he’s on cloud nine. Everyone can see it, and he doesn’t care if they see it or not. He’s genuinely happy, for the first time in a long time. It’s not until later that night does he get the chance to text Simon back. It’s been a busy day, full of meetings and learning names and facts and trying to actually remember them. He doesn’t want to make a fool of himself at the meal tomorrow, not this time anyway. He takes his phone out of his pocket as he shuts himself in his bedroom for the evening. His body aches as he rests on his bed. 

‘sorry i was with my brother talking about a dinner we have to attend. it’s been a busy day. i’d love to come, just tell me when and where and i’ll be there.’

He changes into his pyjamas, and sits back into his bed, letting the warmth of his bedsheets take over him. He’s certain that if he shuts his eyes for anything longer than a blink, he’ll fall asleep immediately, so he fights against the lethargy he’s currently feeling. His phone buzzes in his hand. 

‘tomorrow?’ 

The text reads.

Subconsciously, Wille realises that Simon’s response was quick. He wonders if he’s been waiting all day for Wille to text him, and there’s a pit in his stomach as he worries about that. He probably should’ve texted before now. Most importantly, Wille wishes more than anything that he could just cancel his appearance at the dinner and go to Simon. He’s been itching to meet him for weeks now, ever since that first message. But he can’t. He has to go to the dinner. 

‘i’m at the dinner tomorrow :( how about the day after?’

And if Wille screams when Simon texts him back with a nonchalant ‘ it’s a date’, then nobody has to know. The palace is big enough that he gets away with being unheard.

Wille sits at the desk in his bedroom, flicking aimlessly through a wad of paper, one page at a time. A yawn escapes his mouth and he knows he’s got just under thirty minutes to wake himself up, before people start to arrive. 

It’s the evening of the dinner, and all throughout the day, Wille has been rushing around, hoping that somehow his quick movements and lack of rest will help to pass the day by quickly. It’s worked, until now. Now, he is resting, although his mind is still running at a hundred miles an hour. All he can think about is tomorrow, and how he is simultaneously excited and nervous about it.

He flicks through the last of the pages, skimming over the details of who would be at the meal, who their plus one is, and what Wilhelm is required to converse with them about. He hopes that he somehow retains the knowledge when he actually meets these people, because right now his mind is overtaken with thoughts of Simon. 

He raises his left arm, pulling the cuff of his white buttoned shirt back so he can read his watch clearly. He sighs when he notices the time. Still another fifteen minutes to go. He stands, and soothes out the crinkles in his trousers. 

It’s strange, because dinners like these are normally the main cause of Wille’s anxiety. He’s always nervous about them, which is why he typically likes to avoid anything like it. But today, he’s still nervous, but mainly about meeting Simon. He wants to make a good first impression to Simon, not to the dignitaries he’s meeting tonight. 

Wilhelm’s phone buzzes in his trouser pocket, and at first he thinks that it’s his brother texting him, telling him that he should be downstairs in the hall to meet and greet people. But it’s not. 

It’s Simon. 

A soft smile grows on Wille’s face instinctively as he reads the message. 

‘hope you enjoy the dinner :)’ 

Wille stands in front of the mirror and takes a quick photo of himself. He’s partially wearing his suit. It’s plain black, nothing fancy. He hasn’t even got his jacket on yet, and his bow tie is lazily undone, resting around his neck and dangling down. He’s smiling, genuinely smiling and Wille immediately sends the photo to Simon, trying to not overthink it. 

It’s sent alongside a text, reading: ‘i don’t think it’s possible to enjoy anything like this’

He puts his phone back in his pocket and starts to fix his bowtie, even though he knows that he’s not even remotely good at tying it himself, and that one of his mothers workers will have to redo it for him the second that he walks downstairs and into the hall. His phone buzzes and the bowtie is immediately dropped from his touch without a care in the world. 

His smile falters for just a moment as he opens the message, and then his mouth is hanging open in shock. Because Simon has sent him a photo back. 

In the photo, he’s sitting at the piano in the studio, Wille realises. His curls are all over the place, like he’s been running his fingers through them. There’s a beaming grin on his face, his eyes tightly shut and he’s shirtless. Very, very shirtless. 

Wille can’t even formulate a proper, dignified response. He’ll be thinking about that photo for a very long time - possibly the rest of his life. 

He decides to fight fire with fire, a little bit of flirting has never hurt anyone and he responds. 

‘well if you look like that at the studios i’ll definitely have to come tomorrow

He locks his phone and picks up his blazer, throwing it on haphazardly. He ignores the phone buzzing away in his pocket as he walks downstairs and into the hall, beginning to greet guests with a genuine smile on his face and no anxiety coursing through his veins.

It’s much later in the night when the last few guests decide to take their leave, filled to the brim with traditional Swedish cuisine and the finest of champagne. 

Wille shakes their hand before they leave through the large doors of the palace, and he quickly makes his own exit to his bedroom. 

He’s tired. Spending the evening talking to people about their careers, families and upcoming events has really taken it out of him. He knows now why he’s never been one to do this before. His bones ache as he moves quickly to his bedroom, ripping his bowtie off from around his neck and undoing the top two buttons of his shirt, finally able to breathe properly again. He takes his phone out of his pocket for the first time in hours and there’s a grin spreading across his face as he reads the texts that Simon has been sending all evening. 

' no other reason?’

‘i’ll be wearing a shirt tomorrow’

‘what even happens at these dinners?’

‘i bet the foods good’

‘you’re trending on twitter’

‘you look amazing’

Wille knows that some photos of him have been taken tonight, he remembers posing for a few photos and seeing the photographer walk around as all the guests were mingling before the dinner. 

He pushes his bedroom door open as he puts his phone to his ear, the ringing tone buzzing next to him. He’s not even sure why he’s ringing Simon, but he’s got enough champagne in his system to give him the courage to do so. He’s no longer nervous about tomorrow, there’s just excitement spreading through him. The ringing stops and Wille can just about hear soft breathing on the other side of the phone. 

“I look amazing , do I?” Wille flirts, using Simon’s words against him.

A gentle laugh comes through the phone. “Well you do!” Simon admits. “So what happens at these events?”

Wille drops down onto his bed with a huff, kicking his shoes off and not caring where they land. That’s a problem for future Wilhelm. Right now, all he cares about is Simon. “Ahh, the usual you know? Talk to people about their countries, their careers, pretend I know and care about their family when all I know is condensed into a few bullet points in a file I was given the other day. Eat, drink, and then drink more.”

“So you’re drunk calling me right now?” Simon asks teasingly. 

Wille shakes his head, but then realises that Simon can’t see him. “Nope.” He says. “Just tipsy. I think the anxiety sobered me up. Last time I went to one of these, I got the name of someone's wife wrong. Which wouldn’t be a big deal usually, except I called her by the name of the woman her husband was having an affair with.”

“Oh my God!” Simon hysterically laughs. “Did she know he was having an affair?” 

“Yeah…apparently she’d been compiling evidence and she assumed that because I said the name, that I knew about this whole affair somehow. They got divorced a few months later.” Wille giggles. “I shouldn’t laugh, that’s awful of me.” 

“I presume nothing like that happened tonight?” Simon asks, and Wille can hear it in his voice that he’s genuinely interested in hearing how his night has been.

“Surprisingly not!” Wille says. “I remembered everything I needed to, I didn’t have a panic attack before speaking to people and I didn’t spill any of my food or drink.”

“Something tells me all of those things have happened before.” Simon lets out. 

Wille hums. “Why do you think I try to avoid these events?” 

Simon laughs softly. “I’m glad it went well. I’m proud of you.” 

They talk aimlessly about anything and everything. Time doesn’t seem to exist, because all they can focus on right now is each other. They giggle softly at anecdotes, yawns escaping their lips and eyelids falling heavy.

A bright grin grows on Wille’s face as a warm fuzzy feeling spreads across his whole body. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.” He admits, his voice low, like he’s only reserving his comment for Simon, even though he knows that nobody else is able to hear his words. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been this happy, everyone noticed it tonight.” 

Simon chuckles softly. “We’ll see each other today, Wille.” 

Wille pauses and pulls his phone away from his face as he looks at the time as his phone illuminates. They’ve been talking for nearly an hour and it’s now past one in the morning.

Neither of them are tired.

“Oh.” Wille says, putting his phone back to his ear. “I suppose we will. I still can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.” Simon admits. “You’re the only person outside of my family that I’ve taken to the studios.”

The gravity of the implication hits Wille like a tonne of bricks. He’s that important to Simon, and they haven’t even met yet. “Do I get to listen to your album?” He asks cheekily. 

“You can hear one song, if you’d like.” There’s a grin in his voice that Wille can hear clearly. 

“Deal.” Wille says, and there’s a giddiness within him as he rests his head on his pillow and falls asleep almost immediately after, still on the call to Simon.

Chapter Text

Wille paces back and forth on the pavement. He’s standing outside the back of the studio, thankfully out of sight of the passing public. His skin is burning, just aching to build up the courage to open the door and just walk on in, exactly like Simon told him to do. 

But he can’t. 

Anxiety flows through his veins and he doesn’t even need to pull his hands out of the pockets of his jeans to know that they’re trembling. He hears a car door slam and then speed off, witnessing it out of the corner of his eyes for a millisecond as it passes across the gap in the buildings. A sigh falls from his lips and he finds himself letting his eyes fall shut, breathing in slowly, and then out. With his eyes still shut, he takes a step forward, reaching his arm out towards the handle, when the door opens by itself. 

Well, not exactly by itself, as Wille realises when his eyesight finally goes back to normal after the shock of the door opening before he touched it, and the subsequent abrupt light his eyes took in as he opened them in shock. Because standing there, right on the other side of the door, one hand against the door and the other against the doorframe, with a beaming grin on his face - is Simon.

“You know you could’ve just walked in?” Simon teases. “You didn’t have to pace around.”

Wille opens his mouth ever so slightly. He can’t believe it. How embarrassing. “You saw that?” He asks, but he really doesn’t want to know the answer. 

“I’ve spent most of the morning looking out of the window waiting for you.” Simon laughs to himself softly. “Of course I saw you.”

Wille groans, rubbing at his eyes, wishing to be anywhere but here , right now. A hand wraps around his wrist, tugging him closer to the door. 

“None of that!” Simon says, stepping aside to allow Wille to step into the building, at long last. “It was cute.”

Wille is anxious, he knows that. This is just all so new to him and suddenly they’re standing face to face, their breath hitting each other because they’re that close and strangely enough, Wille physically feels the anxiety and shyness fading away because wow, Simon is even more beautiful in person.

“Hi.” Wille smiles, finding himself growing in confidence. 

“Hi.” Simon responds, his hand on Wille’s wrist falling.

It’s strange, because they’ve only just met, but Wille craves the touch of Simon now that he’s finally experienced it. He finds himself pushing forward on the balls of his feet and resting his hands on the small of Simon’s back, his head falling against Simon’s shoulder, holding them in place until Simon curls himself into the hug, wrapping his arms entirely around Wilhelm’s body. Neither of them want to let go. It’s as though there’s a magnetic force that is pulling them together and they just work. They find themselves fitting together perfectly.

“Now we could stay like this.” Simon says, running his warm hand up and down Wille’s back. “Or I could take you upstairs and show you around?” 

Wille laughs softly as he painstakingly pulls away from the embrace. He puts his hand out in front of him. “After you.” 

Simon does indeed lead the way, running up the stairs two at a time. Wilhelm follows him closely. Simon opens the door, holding it open against his back so it doesn’t swing and accidentally hit Wille. 

“This is where I spend most of my time right now.” Simon admits, letting Wille walk into the room first. 

“Woah.” Wille exhales, looking at the walls. Guitars are hung up as decoration alongside one wall, right in front of him. To the left, there’s posters of performers past and present, and to the right there’s a collection of vinyl sleeves and awards framed to the wall. 

“Do you recognise one of them?” Simon asks, nodding his head to the wall on the left side of the room, the one with posters. 

Wille narrows his eyes as he looks, trying to find something that is familiar to him. When he does, his face burns in recognition. “Oh.” he exhales. “Is that from the concert I went to?”

Simon hums. “I came here the other day and saw it, I don’t think they realise the significance that concert has for me.”

Comfortable silence falls over them, pink flush spreading across both faces. Neither of them can really believe that this is happening, that they’re here, together. It’s surreal. All because of a silly little text. 

“Is that the piano from yesterday?” Wille inquires, walking over to the instrument which is sitting in the centre of the room, pride of place. He trails his fingers over the keys, not pressing hard enough to make a sound. 

Simon lets out a breathless laugh. “It is.” He admits. “The entire album has been written on this piano.” 

“Is it finished?” Wille asks. 

Simon shakes his head. “All the writing is done, I just need to record and produce.” He gently places his hands on Wilhelm’s shoulders, softly pushing him over to the audio desk. “I can’t do everything myself, we have in-house producers to help me, but I’m learning. The aim is to eventually be able to do an entire album by myself.”

“How do you use it?” Wille asks, sitting down at one of the two chairs near the desk. Simon sits in the other one.

“Do you really want to know?” Simon asks, and there’s shock in his voice because nobody has even shown him this much interest before. Not without an ulterior motive. 

Wille nods. “Yeah, of course I do. You light up when you talk about music. I like seeing that.”

So Simon explains it all. He talks about how he records all the music first, which is just his preference. He explains how the audio mixer puts all of the instruments together, and then how he records his vocals to the backing track. Simon talks about what each part of the audio desk means and how it’s used, although he only really knows how to do all of the basic things so far. Wille sits there and listens to every last word, taking it all in. 

Wille sits back in the chair, feeling the wheels off it moving from underneath him. “So your album is technically on that computer, right now?” 

Simon hums. “It is.”

“What’s stopping me from hearing it?” Wille jokingly asks. 

“Oh, you mean apart from the fact it isn’t done yet?” Simon says. “My password. Anyway, you’ve already heard one song and that’s definitely on the album. I could only show you a couple of tracks without spoiling the whole thing.”

Simon sits forward and types his password into the computer, opening up one of the songs he’s been working on over the past couple of days. He hovers over the play button when Wille speaks again.

“There’s got to be some perks to dating you.” He teases without thinking. 

Silence falls over them. Simon opens his mouth to speak, but no words manage to come out. He looks at Wille, who is now bright red in the face and he’s trying desperately to look anywhere other than in Simon’s general vicinity, which proves to be impossible given how physically close the two of them are. Simon’s praying for him to look up, because then he would see the warm smile that makes its way across his lips, with a pink flush across hsi cheeks. 

“Oh.” Simon says, leaning back in the chair, still staring at Wille. “Is that what we’re doing?” He’s genuinely asking. He raises an eyebrow, questionly. He pushes his chair closer to Wille now, their legs faintly touching one another under the table. 

Wille shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know.” He says, and he truly means that. He’s never been in this position before. He has no idea what constitutes as a date or not, his knowledge of those has come from the films he watches and what people around him talk about. He doesn’t know if this is a date. All he knows is that he’s been enjoying getting to know Simon and he finds himself wanting to know more - wanting more.

Simon knocks his knee against Wille’s. “Do you want to be dating me?” He asks.

Wille looks up then, knocking his own knee into Simon’s. He shrugs his shoulders once again, and he can practically hear his mother wincing at the impolite movement. “Maybe.” He finally lets out, a warm smile now spreading, matching Simon’s infectious grin.

“Well I’m offended.” Simon exclaims, and he watches as the blood drains from Wille’s face as his smile drops. Simon speaks once more, trying to rectify the situation. “I think I can take you on a better date than just showing you around my work place. That is, if you’d let me?”

“Really?” Wille asks, and the blush on his cheeks is surely out of control now, spreading to his neck and the tips of his ears. He’s never been asked out on a date before. He finds himself pushing his hair back out of his face, tucking it behind his ears. It’s an anxious coping mechanism he has, and he’s well aware of it.

Simon beams, and he notices how a small portion of Wille’s hair has fallen in front of his face again. He closes the - albeit small - gap between them as he reaches up to tuck the hair behind Wille’s ear. “Really.” He says, resting his hand gently on Wille’s jaw now, his thumb running over his burning cheek. “I know we can’t exactly go out in public, but how would you feel about me cooking a meal for us? We can watch a film at my apartment…” He trails off. 

Wille nods, finding himself sinking into Simon’s touch. “It’s a date.” He says shyly. “Officially, this time.”

Shy smiles overtake them, all butterflies for stomachs. The room is suddenly burning hot and the connection between Simon’s hand and Wille’s face, as well as their knees, is searing. 

“Don’t think you’re getting out of showing me this song.” Wille teases. “As excited as I am for our date, you’ve got me all excited to hear your song now!”

Simon rolls his eyes, but there’s no heat behind it whatsoever. He takes his hand away from Wille’s face, and he swears blind that he can hear a meek whine tumble from Wille’s throat. He hovers over the play button, his hands shaky. He knows the importance of this song, but Wille doesn’t. “Before I play it.” He says, moving his hand away from the computer mouse. “It’s nowhere near complete, because I actually wrote this a couple of days ago and recorded it yesterday. It’s going on the album though, I’ll make sure of it. I need to tweak it a little, but it’s basically a sequel to an old song of mine. You’ll understand.”

So, he plays it. 

Simon sits back in his chair, staring at the boy next to him, watching intensely as Wille takes in the melody and the lyrics and he knows that any second now, Wille will realise what this song is. 

Simon watches as Wille furrows his eyebrows, spinning the chair around so quickly that it crashes into the wood of the desk and lets out a rumble. Neither of them care though. “In love with the thought of you?” Wille gasps out. “Have you really written a part two?”

“Yeah.” Simon grins, nodding. “You told me that it’s your favourite song, and I was inspired. I realised recently that I wasn’t in love with the person I wrote that for. I guess, now that I’m older, I know more about love and this song is about how I can fall in love for real now because I know how I’m supposed to feel, and how he’s supposed to feel.” 

The music still plays, with Simon’s voice singing from the speakers. “I’ve never felt like this before, one text and now I’m yours.”

“He’s amazing.” 

Wille is laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His phone is on his chest, with Felice waiting impatiently on the other side of it. The moonlight shines into the room, the only other light source is a lamp on his bedside table, a warm glow from it illuminating his face. He’s tired. It’s been a long day, from sneaking out of the palace once again, to having anxiety before meeting Simon, to hearing that song.

“Tell me everything!” Felice practically squeals out. She’s been waiting all day for this. 

  “Felice.” Wille exhales, letting his eyelids flutter shut for a moment, just for a second as he takes it all in. “He’s amazing.”

An excited squeal bursts out through the phone. “Wille, give me more than that, please! I’ve been waiting all day, I haven’t been able to get anything done because all I’ve done today is think about you and Simon.”

Wille sighs. “Ok, so I had a little bit of a panic when I got to the studio. I was outside for ages just trying to work up the courage to go in, like Simon told me to do. Anyway, he saw me. He saw me literally pacing outside, so he opened the door and oh my God, Felice, he is beautiful.”

Felice interrupts. “Even up close?”

“Yes!” Wille explodes, and his cheeks are burning red just thinking about Simon. “He’s even better up close. We hugged. It was the best hug I’ve ever had. He showed me the studio, how he makes his albums. I think…I think he’s written a song for me.”

There’s a dull thump on the other end of the line, and then silence. Wille waits for a beat, or two, or three and then Felice finally speaks. “Sorry, I dropped my phone. Did you just say what I think you said?”

Wille nods at first, but then realises that Felice can’t actually see him. “I did.” He admits. “He played me a song, and said that he wrote it after I told him what my favourite song is. It’s going to be on the album. See what I mean about him being amazing?” 

“He sounds it.” Felice dreamily exhales. “Soooo…” She trails, clearly waiting for more gossip.

Butterflies erupt in Wille’s stomach, a giddy grin taking over his face. “I may or may not be going on a date with him next week.”

Felice, of course, screams in reaction to this. “Shut up!” She practically shouts. “That is the cutest thing ever. You really like him, don’t you?” 

Wille rolls over so he is now on his front, his face to his pillow. He wants to scream, because yes, yes he does really like Simon. 

Chapter Text

They’ve been in contact all week leading up to this, their first official date. All week, Wille has been begging Simon to cook them some food from Venezuela and all week Simon has been begging his mama for more recipes than he already has from her, because he really wants to impress. 

Wille finds himself sitting on an armchair in Simon’s apartment, taking everything in. It’s an open plan home, so Wille can see just about everything. He notices how comfortable the chair he’s sitting in is, and how inviting the blanket which drapes over the back of it is, and how soft it feels as it brushes against the back of his neck. He spots the bookcase against the wall, large and imposing, with what seems like hundreds of books on it. He wonders if Simon has read all of them as he finds himself mentally noting down the titles, or if he simply just has a long ‘to be read’ list. Wille also finds himself smiling at the awards that sit on the bookcase alongside the books, noticing some duplicate awards from back at the studio. There’s a photo frame on the bookcase too, a photo with Simon’s family. Wille recognises it as a photo Simon had sent to him not so long ago, as he was looking through his family photo albums. The smell from the kitchen brings him back down to earth and he watches patiently as Simon finishes cooking. There’s music softly crackling from the radio and Simon sways his hips from side to side in time with the beat. 

The song ends just as Wille starts to softly hum to its tune, and an even more familiar song filters into the room. Simon’s hips still as he realises the radio is playing his own song. “Absolutely not.” He lets out, turning the channel over to a different radio station where they’re talking about the latest news headlines. 

Wille lets out a laugh, his head falling back against the armchair. “Does that happen often?” He asks. 

Simon nods and hums, with his back to his date, finishing up with their food. “It’s worse when I’m in public. I can feel everyones eyes on me the second they play a song.” He admits, and presses his hip bone to the kitchen counter, turning his body to face Wille, watching closely as he sits comfortably, fitting perfectly in the apartment as though he’s meant to have been there all along. “I guess you know what that feels like.”

Wille nods. “I think I’ve just got used to it over the years. There’s been cameras in my life ever since I was born, and they’ll be there for the rest of my life. Erik gets the worst of it though, so I guess he’s always tried to protect me from it in a way.”

Simon turns around with two plates in his hands, walking towards the table which already has a wine bottle to share, two glasses and a single tall candlestick in the centre. He places the plates down, one in front of his seat and the other on the opposite side. Wille takes a few steps and joins Simon at the table. 

“You’re close to him, aren’t you?” Simon asks, pointing his arm to the second chair at the table, the one that usually remains empty. 

Wille nods and sits down as Simon instructs. “He’s the best brother.” He admits. “He keeps teasing me about you.” 

A laugh tumbles from Simon's lips. “Why?” He asks, filling both of their glasses with wine - Wille’s first, then his own. 

“Thank you.” Wille lets out. “I think he knows that something is going on between us, so he’s teasing me a lot. It’s all in good fun, I know he wouldn’t do it to hurt me. He sees my reaction when we’re texting, so he always jokes about that. I haven’t told him anything yet, apart from the fact that it’s you. I guess he’s just filled in the blanks.”

“You know you can tell him?” Simon asks sweetly. He eats his food and notices that Wille follows his movements, doing the same himself.

Wille raises his eyebrows, looking at Simon with bright, thoughtful eyes. “Yeah?” He exhales. 

Simon nods. “Of course.” He says, as though it’s obvious. “I wouldn’t want you to hide anything if you don’t want to. I’m not exactly shy about how I feel about you. I know this is only our first date, officially, but I guess I hope that this is leading somewhere and one day your brother might know about that. About us. You can always tell whoever you want to, I’m not going to stop you.”

“I’ll tell him.” Wille confirms. It’s a terrifying thought, but it’s one he’s been having for weeks now. He’s so sure about Simon. He wants this. He wants people to know about this. “This is really good.” He says, directing his hands to the food in front of him. 

Simon beams. “It’s my mama’s recipe, I’ll have to let her know you like it.”

“You’ll have to teach me how to make it.” Wille absentmindedly says. 

“Would you like that?” He asks. 

Wille grins and nods. “I never really get to cook much at home. When I was younger, I used to sneak down to the kitchens and watch all the cooks making food, so that’s how I learned to make the things I know, but I don’t get the opportunity to cook as much as I would like to.”

“Then I would love to teach you how to make them.” Simon admits. “Then you can always come here and cook for me.” He teases, and watches how a wide grin appears on his date's face as he rolls his eyes jokingly.

They find themselves laughing softly at each other, a comforting sight. The laughs finally subside and soon enough they are both staring at each other across the table, sharing shy smiles and a flush of their cheeks. Wille outstretches his legs underneath the table, quickly finding Simon’s and tangling them together, just resting there perfectly entwined. 

“I’d offer to drive you home but..” Simon trails out. It’s the end of their evening together, their first date. The sun is beginning to set in the sky, the orange glow filtering through the windows and into the apartment, just about reaching them where they’re standing together next to the door. Simon doesn’t want Wille to leave, but he knows that he has to. 

Wille’s phone buzzes in his pocket, the sound somehow filling the room. He texted Felice not long ago, and now she’s probably outside of the apartment ready to take him back home. “It’s complicated.” Wille breathes out, finishing Simon’s sentence. He wants nothing more than for Simon to drive him home and give him a kiss goodbye with a promise for more, but he can’t. “One day.” He smiles, and he really does mean that.

“So we’ll be doing this again?” Simon asks teasingly. There’s a beaming smile on his face and he’s almost leaning into Wille, invading his personal space and neither of them seem to mind it at all. 

Wille bites at his bottom lip in a vain attempt to hide just how bright and wide his smile is at the thought of another date with Simon. “I would like that, if you would too?” He responds.

Simon nods. “Of course I would like that.” He admits, and he watches as Wille faces the floor, trying to hide his face again. “I really like you Wille, you know that?”

Well. 

Wille wasn’t expecting that. He looks up then, hopeful and full of something bubbling away inside his body. “Yeah?” He breathes out, finding Simon’s eyes and being almost blown away at how he can see kindness and optimism flowing between the specks of gold mixing with the deep brown. “I really like you too.” It comes out as a sound barely above that of a whisper.

“Good.” Simon whispers back, matching the tone of Wille’s voice subconsciously. 

He reaches up and brushes Wille’s hair out of his face, tucking the few strands that have fallen in front of his eyes now behind his ear. He doesn’t pull away. Instead, he lets his hand follow the pattern of Wille’s hair, around his ear and finally rests his hand on his jaw. He feels Wille’s jaw clench and unclench, the sensation unusual in his hand. He lets his thumb run softly over Wille’s cheek, leaving a burning blush in its wake. Simon pushes on the balls of his feet and suddenly their lips meet. Finally. It’s gentle at first, a promise of something more twisting away between the two of them. Wille’s hands rest on Simon;s waist, tugging onto his clothes as he holds them both in place, their bodies flush against one another as he smiles into the embrace, allowing himself to both kiss and be kissed. It’s ethereal. Magical. 

Wille’s phone buzzes once again, this time invading the soft moans. Simon huffs out a soft laugh, pulling away from the kiss and standing back firmly on the ground again. His legs are like jelly. He watches as Wille’s eyes flutter open, his eyes scanning over Simon’s face quickly. Simon softly runs his thumb across Wille’s cheek. “Go before she sends a search party.” Simon laughs out. “We can continue this next time.”

Wille grins at the thought of that, his eyes flickering down to Simon’s lips, wanting - needing - more. “Next time.” He whispers out, both confirming Simon’s words and daydreaming about spending hopefully forever feeling this way. Instead, he settles for just now, and leans in for one final searing kiss. Simon moans softly at the pressure and Wille is certain that his knees are seconds away from buckling underneath him. 

When they eventually pull away, Wille detangles himself from the embrace and immediately regrets it because he’s cold now without Simon to leave fiery touches against his skin. 

“Let me know when you get home.” Simon says, watching closely as Wille begrudgingly leaves his apartment.

Simon shuts the door behind him when Wille is no longer in sight and leans against it, the cold of the door cooling his body down. His fingers trail lightly against his lips and he remembers the intoxication that is Wilhelm and he finds himself wishing the hours away until he can kiss him again.

Simon has categorically not been anxiously pacing around his apartment all morning, not knowing what to do with himself. Absolutely not. 

Except, maybe he has been doing exactly that. 

It can be forgiven though, because he woke up far too early in the morning, the sunlight streaming over his eyes as they flutter awake in expectation of today. It’s a day that Simon has off, away from the studio, for the first time in a while. But more importantly, today is the day of his and Wille’s second date.

So for the past few hours, Simon has been relentlessly cleaning his apartment, even though he knows that Wille won’t care, or probably even notice. It’s just going to be a calm, casual date. The sofa is cosy and inviting, Simon runs his hands haphazardly over the thick knitted throw which now fills the piece of furniture as he makes himself busy, knowing that his date will be here any moment now. He stands upright and looks around the room, running his fingers through his curls as he tries to find something out of place that he needs to fix. Surely there’s something.

Suddenly, a three tap knock rings out into the apartment and Simon immediately runs his hands over clothes, smoothing them down. He opens the door with a bright grin, excitement bubbling away inside of him, threatening to come out, at the thought of seeing Wille face to face for the first time in over a week.

Wille steps inside Simon’s apartment, holding onto a tote bag. He matches Simon’s beaming smile and leans in, kissing Simon ever so gently. The touch barely begins before it’s over, and there’s a silent promise for more as he pulls away, finding himself staring at Simon. “Hi.” He whispers out, his smile evident in his voice. 

“Hi.” Simon beams back and he finds himself biting at his bottom lip in a vain attempt to disguise how happy he really is. He’s so gone for Wille, already. 

Simon shuts the door and watches as Wille places his bag on the table, letting it fall open. “You told me to get food, so I went a bit crazy in the shop down the road.” Wille admits, taking the snacks and drinks out of the bag. 

A laugh falls from Simon’s mouth. “You went to the shop on the corner of my street?” He asks, resting his hand on the small of Wille’s back. “You?”

Wille nods. “I didn’t know what to get, so I got a lot. You can just keep everything here that we don’t eat.” He pulls out his cap and it’s only now that Simon realises that his hair isn’t in front of his face for once, because he’s got his sunglasses resting on the top of head, holding it back. Wille pushes his glasses down onto his eyes and puts the cap on top of his head, looking back at Simon. “The woman in the shop definitely recognised me.”

“It’s not a very good disguise.” Simon laughs. “You need to go all out next time, I’m sure we can find you a wig! No, a fake beard!”

Wille laughs as he takes off his cap, placing it back in the bag. He puts his sunglasses back on the top of his head for now. He sits down on the sofa, holding onto Simon’s arm as he pulls him down too. “What are we watching then?” He asks, wrapping his arms around Simon, his fingers lightly trailing up and down his skin, fascinated by how that one touch can make all the hairs on Simon’s arm stand up.

“You get the first pick.” Simon says, sinking into Wille’s embrace. He watches as Wille trawls through Netflix, clicking through movie after movie before coming to his choice. 

Wille puts the remote down on the coffee table next to him, alongside the sunglasses that he has now taken off, and Simon is grateful, because that means he’s free to play with Wille’s hair as much as he likes now. 

They soon settle into each other, the first and second movies mainly just playing in the background as they become preoccupied in each other's company. Wille kisses at Simon’s neck and Simon absentmindedly plays with Wille’s hair, twirling it around his fingers as soft moans tumble from his mouth. He feels Wille grin against his skin, and as he nips at Simon’s neck, Simon finds himself tugging at Wille’s hair. It’s all consuming. Neither of them thought that this would be how their day would go, but at the same time, neither of them were exactly complaining about it. All Simon could think about is Wille, and all that Wille could think about is Simon. 

Wille pulls away and watches Simon intensely, a sense of pride exuding from him as he notices Simon’s eyes are still shut, a flush spread across his face and his mouth hanging open. He runs his thumb over Simon’s neck, careful to not press hard against the tender glistening skin that he has just been nipping and kissing. He has no idea where that has just come from, he’s never done that before. He doesn’t even know if it was any good, but judging from the sounds that have just been filling his ears and just how full of bliss Simon looks right now, he deduces that it must have been good. 

“Was that okay?” He innocently whispers out.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” Simon asks, opening his eyes now and looking right at Wille, noticing that he’s genuinely worrying. “I’ve never felt like that before. It was more than okay.”

Simon reaches behind Wille and finds his sunglasses sitting on the coffee table. He grabs them and puts them on, smiling wildly at Wille. 

Wille practically giggles and takes his phone from his pocket, quickly taking a picture of Simon. He’s got a wild smile on his face, his curls are all out of place and sticking up everywhere and you can clearly see the purple tinge to a patch of his neck, pride of place in the photo. 

“That’s forever going to be the first photo I’ve taken of you.” Wille realises.

“I want one now.” Simon whines, taking the sunglasses off so that he can see Wille in perfect lighting. He takes out his own phone and they both wrap around each other, their faces pressing together as Simon takes a photo of them both, the first photograph of them together. Hopefully the first one many. They both have bright smiles to match each other, and Wille notices now that his own hair is just as wild as Simon’s is. 

Simon sends the photo to Wille and only then does he notice the purple marking on his neck. He zooms in on his  neck and laughs. “Well those photos definitely aren’t being shared anywhere, ever.” 

“I think you look hot.” Wille admits. 

Simon hums, letting his fingers lightly trail over the expanse of Wille’s neck. “I guess it's only right that you get one too, if I have to walk around with this on my neck for a week.” He presses his lips to Wille’s neck, kissing softly before Wille pulls away. 

“I can’t have one there.” Wille lets out, and he’s mentally cursing himself for pulling away from how good that touch was. “If they last a week, people will see.” 

Simon nods. He’s fine with that, of course he is. He knows that Felice is still the only person that knows about them. Even Simon’s family doesn’t know about Wilhelm yet, they only know that Simon is dating someone.

Without thinking, Wille lifts up the hem of his shirt, exposing part of his stomach. He pauses before he finds himself going further. “Is this okay?” He asks.

“More than okay.” Simon grins, pushing Wille down onto the sofa so that he’s laying down against it.

His shirt is now off and thrown over the back of the furniture as Simon practically lays down on top of him, straddling one of Wille’s legs as Wille’s fingers thread through the curls at the back of Simon’s head whilst Simon leaves open mouth kisses against Wille’s chest, listening to him carefully as he finds the perfect place to leave his mark. He kisses and he nips and he finds his tongue circling the tender skin and when he pulls back and finally gets a look at his masterpiece, he’s convinced it’s the best piece of work he’s ever produced. He wants to look at it forever. So he quickly takes a photo, leaving the bottom half of Wille’s face in it, because he’s all flushed and looks beautiful. It’s only for Simon’s eyes anyway, nobody will ever see that photo. He lays back down, leaving a gentle kiss to Wille’s jawline, and Wille wraps his arms around Simon. They stay like that for the rest of the day, cuddling up to one another as they watch some more movies, actually taking notice of the screen now. More than they did earlier, anyway. 

At some point they end up watching Wille’s favourite movie, eating takeaway pizza with their feet up on the matching chaise, their legs entwined. Simon finds himself taking another photograph of that moment, his pizza box on his lap, Wille’s pizza box on his, and the movie playing on the television in the background. 

It’s a day later and Simon is still waiting to hear back from his management regarding the tracklist of his album. He knows exactly what songs he wants on his album now, and they’re all complete, but he still has to double check, and sometimes even check again, that he’s got it all as perfect as it can be. 

He’s bored of waiting though. He has nothing to do, and Wille is in unofficial meetings with his brother all day, so he can’t even share his boredom with the person he’s dating. He is seconds away from either banging his head against his desk, or starting to write more songs that he really doesn’t need right now. Instead, he sighs, and takes out his phone. He smiles softly at the lockscreen, the photo he took himself of Wille from yesterday staring back at him. He finds himself looking at it for far too long, and then goes to Instagram and creates a story with a pop up saying “Ask me anything!!”

Yes, he really is that bored.

Soon enough, the questions come flooding in and he’s grateful for the temporary distraction. 

‘What song are you most excited for us to hear?’

Starting off strong. Simon places his phone on the table, balancing it against his bottle of water as he presses record. “The song I’m most excited for you to hear is what I think will be track three. It’s called ‘Full of Mistakes’ and I actually sent it to someone close to me a while back and he loves it, he keeps bugging me about hearing it properly because he’s only heard the demo.”

He’s probably said too much about his music, but he doesn’t care. It’s his music, and he knows his management wants that song to be a single. He posts the story and will deal with any fall out from it later. 

‘What’s the vibe of this album?’

“Good question.” Simon says, recording the answer to the second question. “It’s a bit of everything. There’s songs you can dance to, there’s songs you can cry to. It shows a journey over my life for the last couple of years.”

It’s true. He’s been writing for this album ever since he released his last one and because of that, it truly is a journey. Most of the tracklist is in chronological order of his writing process, which he thinks is quite obvious, but he surmises that he’s the only person on the planet that is aware of that, so it would be obvious to him. This album is important to him, everything he releases is important. It’s like a little time capsule of his life at that moment, except it’s there for the world to see. 

‘When are you seeing your mama again?’

He scrolls through his camera roll and finds a photo of him and his mama in his childhood and decides to post that photo alongside the answer. ‘Hopefully in the next couple of weeks! I miss her so much.’ He writes. He really does miss her. They speak everyday, but talking over the phone isn’t the same. He thinks about taking Wille with him, so that he can meet his family. It sounds perfect. He wants that to happen so badly. 

‘What’s the last photo you took?’

Simon lets out a soft laugh, going back into his camera roll to see it. He’s grateful that the last photo isn’t the one of the hickey on Wille’s chest, although he supposes that he could lie regardless and post whatever photo he wants, nobody will know the truth. In the end, he does post the last photo he had taken, which thankfully was the one with the pizzas. Nothing in the photo identifies Wille, so he knows that he’ll be safe posting it. All you can really see is the food, their legs and the film on the screen. 

‘EXCUSE ME WHO IS IN THAT PHOTO?’ 

There’s multiple variations of the same question flooding his notifications now and he laughs as he presses record. “Top secret information I’m afraid. That is for me to know and you to maybe find out in the future. It’s early days.” He posts it knowing that everyone will be freaking out about it, but he doesn’t mind. Whilst he’s certain about Wille, he knows that Wille isn’t ready to come out to the world yet, and he respects that. There’s nothing in these answers that identifies Wille. 

‘What film is that?’

It’s innocent enough, so he responds truthfully. ‘Ghostbusters’, he types out. ‘I actually hadn’t seen it before yesterday and he kept saying “I can’t believe you haven’t seen this!” all the way through the film’

He scrolls through some more questions, but then a notification pops up at the top of the screen. A text from Wille. He grins and clicks onto it. A series of three texts appear now. 

‘nice photo of us’

‘i’m actually more excited for people to hear the song you played in the studio’

And finally. 

‘ghostbusters is a classic, you’re so strange for not seeing it before yesterday’

Simon beams as he responds.

‘you would be excited for that song…someone you know might’ve inspired it.’

The true meaning behind his words go unsaid. He can’t say it yet. It’s far too early. Yet, he knows that he’s never felt like this before, even when he thought that he had. He shakes his head and pushes the thought to the back of mind, under padlock and key for now. Instead, he goes onto Twitter now and smiles to himself as he watches his fans post about his stories, talking about his album and that stupid film. It doesn’t escape his notice that people have already put two and two together, because apparently it’s common knowledge that Ghostbusters is Wille’s favourite film.

He texts WIlle again. 

‘how many people know about your favourite film? people are talking about it’

He panics, even though he knows that it’s stupid. He knows that people are just trying to guess, and even though they’re right, they don’t know that with any certainty. His phone buzzes in his hand which shakes him out of his thoughts. 

‘everyone knows. don’t worry, i don’t care if people are working it out’

‘i mean it Si, it’s fine, you can’t even see me in that picture’

Part of Simon still feels guilty. 

Days pass by and the madness surrounding Simon and Wille dies down. They’re both grateful for that because although they are both sure about this, about each other, it’s still early days. 

Today, Simon is back in the studio for what he thinks will be the last time for this album. It’s so near completion, all he needs to do is finalise any last details in regards to the songs and the track list. He’s standing next to the computer, too anxious to sit down. He clicks through the songs one by one, letting them play out through the speakers. He’s got his trusty notebook on the table in front of him with the tracklist already written down on the page that is staring back at him. The edges of the paper are curling up towards him ever so slightly and there’s a dried coffee stain seeping through the pages. He has a notebook for each of his albums - or at least, he will. This is his second notebook, the one which has all of his songs for his second album. His first notebook for his first album is in his apartment, hidden in plainsight on his bookshelf. He loves the idea that once he turns old and grey, he’ll be able to look back at each of these notebooks - and hopefully many more - and remember exactly how he felt when writing each song. 

“Is that the one you sent to me?” Wille’s voice rings out as the third song ends. 

Simon absentmindedly smiles as he ticks the song off in his book, noting that he doesn’t have to do any extra work to it.  

“It is.” He says, finally looking up and seeing Wille sitting only a few metres away - and yet somehow too far. 

He’s sitting at a desk in the corner of the room, with his laptop in front of him, illuminating his face with artificial light. 

“You’re not supposed to be listening to these.” Simon laughs. “I thought you had emails to be reading through.”

Wille rolls his eyes. “You’re very distracting.” He teases, leaning back in the chair and completely forgetting about the emails now. It’s not as though they’re important, he has the rest of the week to respond. It’s only Monday morning. 

Simon laughs. “Oh am I? I did say you didn’t have to come, but no…the Prince gets what the Prince wants.” He jokes. 

Wille sarcastically lets his mouth fall open. “I think you’ll find that you invited me to stay over last night, and when we woke up this morning you told me you had to go to work and you were going to leave me at your place by myself. That’s not a very nice thing to do to your-” Wille cuts himself off as he stumbles over his words. Shit . They haven’t put a label on anything yet. 

Simon raises an eyebrow. “To my what exactly?” He teasingly asks. 

“Shut up.” Wille says, ripping out a piece of paper from his own notebook, scrunching it up and throwing it in Simon’s direction.

A cackling laugh falls from Simon’s mouth as he watches Wille turn back to his laptop, frantically typing away and ignoring him. 

Two can play at that game. 

Simon turns back to the computer and clicks onto the fourth song, letting the backing track filter through the speakers. It’s one of his most upbeat songs on the album and he finds himself swaying his hips along to the tune. He hears Wille move ever so slightly, and he knows that he’s watching him dancing now, but he doesn’t care. In fact, he even likes it. If he’s going to be called distracting, he might as well mean it. He lets his eyes flicker over to the corner of the room that Wille is sitting in, and notices that Wille is pointing his phone in Simon’s direction, really not at all subtle in the fact that he’s recording him. He softly laughs and turns his whole body towards Wille now, dancing his way over to him. He reaches his hand out silently, and Wille understands perfectly. He leaves his phone recording Simon, now balancing up against his laptop so it stays upright and he takes Simon’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled towards the centre of the room.

Wille wraps his arms around Simon’s waist as Simon reaches up and lets his arms rest delicately around Wille’s shoulders. “You’re definitely distracting me now.” 

Simon hums, still swaying along to the beat and finding that Wille is doing the same now, both of them moving in tandem. “Do you really mind that though?”

Wille shakes his head as he scrunches his nose slightly. “I could never mind it.” He admits, and he truly does mean that. Simon is intoxicating in the best way. He wants to spend every waking minute with him, and more. He looks at the man he’s holding, and who is holding him, and his eyes trace over his face, noticing how his brown eyes have flecks of gold if you look closely enough, and how there’s a tiny trace of facial hair near his jawline, and how his hair is getting even longer and curlier now, the curls twisting and turning into his face. “You look so beautiful.” He exhales. 

A flush arises on Simon’s cheeks and the music in the background changes once again, but neither of them really care that much, or even notice. They’re still moving together, their bodies pressing against one another and this time their movements are even slower, savouring the moment. Simon finds himself staring up at Wille, his eyes scanning his face as he connects each freckle to the next, drawing up imaginary constellations upon his face. He could do this for hours and not once get bored. One day he’ll count every freckle on Wille’s body, and pray that he gains more in the sunshine so he always has an excuse to study him. “You’re gorgeous.” Simon breathes out, threading his fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. “And also very sweet.”

Simon shifts ever so slightly, allowing Wille to consume all of him. He presses a gentle kiss to Wille’s lips and then he falls into his body, placing his face in the crook of Wille’s neck, inhaling his aftershave. He feels safe there. He feels safe around Wille. “I want you to meet my family.” He says, his lips gently brushing against the skin of Wille’s neck as he speaks. He can practically feel his pulse point.

“Yeah?” Wille whispers, one hand on Simon’s waist and the other against his head, his fingers threading through the curls as he gently twists a few strands around his index finger. “I’d love to.”

Chapter Text

Erik is sitting at the desk in his office, tapping his pen rhythmically along the wooden table absentmindedly. He’s got multiple folders open across the desk, with pages upon pages all strewn across the wood top, staring back at him, expecting him to do something. Instead, he simply just stares at them, praying for a burst of inspiration to come his way soon. His laptop is on his lap, simply because he has nowhere to put it right now, and there’s a tension headache making its way into his body. He’s been in this room for too long now without accomplishing anything.

“Come in.” He calls out after there’s a repetitive tapping on the door. 

He spins around in his chair, wincing slightly as he hears his laptop scraping against the wood. The last thing he needs right now is for laptop to break, he has too much to do without having to get it fixed as well.

Wille walks into the office and Erik, who has seen Wille in all life stages and who knows him more than Wille probably knows himself, immediately recognises the stress on his face and in his body language. Wille looks at the desk, and knows immediately that his brother is busy. “I’ll go, you’re too busy.” He says, his finger against his mouth as he anxiously bites at the skin around his nail. “I can tell you later.”

“You’ll tell me now.” Erik firmly says, carefully stretching out his right leg and using it to pull the spare chair out from underneath the desk. “Sit.”

Wille does as he’s told, and sits down on the chair, immediately looking out of the window to try and find some comfort in the outside world. “I’m spending the weekend with Felice.” He lets out. It’s easier than telling the truth, for now, at least. He’s not entirely convinced that he would be able to easily go to Bjarstad if Erik knew the whole truth. Not that his brother would stop him, just that there would be precautions put into place and he doesn’t really want to have to go through that, nor does he want to put Simon and his family through that.

Erik raises an eyebrow questioningly. “And you’re worried about telling me that because…” He trails off. “Wille, she’s your best friend. I would worry if you weren’t spending time with her.”

Wille nods, cracking the knuckles of his hands as he stands up. “That’s all. I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning and be back on Monday at some point, I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

“You’ve been happier lately.” Erik notes, and it’s true. It’s probably the happiest he’s ever seen Wille be, and that means the absolute world to Erik. All he’s ever wanted is to see his little brother happy. 

“I am.” Wille admits, a small smile growing on his face at the thought of why he’s so happy. Of who made him this way. He begins to walk to the office door. “I’ll leave you to do your Crown Prince duties.”

Wille’s hand just reaches the door handle when his brother speaks again. “Tell Simon I said hello.” He teases, and Wille can practically hear the grin on his face. “You know, when you’re with Felice this weekend.”

Wille lets out a sarcastic laugh, rolling his eyes. “You know, if being Crown Prince doesn’t work out, you can always try and be a comedian.” 

As Wille shuts the door behind him and begins to walk down the corridor back to his room to pack his overnight bag, he hears a loud laugh coming from Erik. He smiles to himself and continues walking.

“Does your mum still live in your childhood home?” Wille asks, sitting in the passenger seat of the car, watching as Simon drives through the streets, knowing them like the back of his hand. 

Simon nods. “She never owned it when me and Sara were growing up, we could never afford it. But when I started getting money from music I asked her about me buying a place for her, and she said I didn’t have to spend my money on that but I wanted to. In the end, she didn’t want to move out, too many good memories for the three of us there, so I bought it for her.” 

Wille beams. “That’s so kind.” He admits. “I bet you’re a great son.”

A small laugh falls from Simon’s mouth. “Course I am.” He points towards something in the distance and waits for Wille to follow his directions. “I had my first kiss over there.”

“How was it?” Wille asks. 

Simon lets his eyes flicker over to Wille and finds himself grinning. “I’ve had better.” He teases. “There was this one guy a few years ago, the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

The blood in Wille’s face immediately drops, as does his jaw. “Oh.” He exhales.

“I’m kidding!” Simon grins, reaching his hand out to rest on Wille’s thigh, his thumb rubbing around and around in comforting circle motions. “You know you’re the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

“I am?” Wille asks, and it’s not because he needs reassurance, nor because he doesn’t feel like what they’ve been doing isn’t good enough. He’s more shocked than anything, because he knows that Simon is more experienced in these matters than he is.

Simon nods. “Yeah.” He smiles. “You make me feel things that I’ve never experienced before. You know how everyone always talks of butterflies and sparks? Well, I always thought that was a lie, because I’d never felt that. Until you. You make me so nervous, you know that?” 

“Why?” Wille asks, his hand finding Simon’s now, lacing their fingers together loosely. 

“Because I know how I feel about you.” Simon says honestly. “Because I want this - us - to work out. You mean a lot to me and that makes me nervous because I’ve never felt this way before.” 

A shy grin makes its way onto Wille’s lips and he finds himself rising in the passenger seat, stretching over to Simon now. He leaves a soft kiss on Simon’s cheek, feeling the burn of his flush underneath his touch before he has to pull aware, entirely aware that Simon is still very much driving. “I feel the same way.”

“Yeah?” Simon asks, and he watches as Wille nods. “Good, because you’re two minutes away from meeting my mama and sister and I’d like it if I could introduce you to them as the person I’m dating, and not just as my friend. Imagine if I told them how much I like you and we were only friends.”

Simon drives down a gravel road, the floor crunching under the weight of the car as they drive across it, the sound filling their ears. They find themselves bouncing around inside the car and the floor is so uneven, but eventually, they reach their destination. Simon parks the car in front of the house and immediately gets out of the car, running over to his mama who is now standing at the front door. Wille beams as he steps out of the car, watching as they both embrace each other, swaying happily from side to side with their arms wrapping around one another, holding on tightly. Wille walks to the back of the car and gets their bags out and when he shuts the door, he notices Simon is waving his hand, trying to get him to come over.

Wille walks over to them both, and suddenly he feels nervousness swirling through his body. He knows his hands are probably shaking, and his heart is definitely racing. He places the bags on the step into the house, feeling comforted when he feels Simon’s hand resting peacefully on the small of his back, sinking circular motions into his skin to let him know that he’s there.

“Mama.” He says, and his voice is full of giddy happiness. “This is Wille. Wille, this is Linda.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Linda.” Wille says as he smiles brightly and he suddenly finds himself being pulled into a hug and as he wraps his arms around her, he realises that it’s definitely a family trait to not only give hugs when it’s least expected, but to give amazing hugs. 

Sara is waiting in the house when all three of them walk in, Simon now carrying one of the bags whilst Wille carries the other.

“Wille, this is my big sister.” Simon introduces once more, and he’s suddenly very grateful that he only has a small close family, because he can’t imagine doing this constantly. “Sara, this is my - erm, this is Wille.” 

“Smooth.” Sara teases, as she raises a hand and waves to Wille, who waves back instantly, a shy smile on his face and a definite blush searing across his cheeks.

“Nice to meet you.” He beams. 

Simon presses himself to Wille’s side, noticing that he’s fast becoming anxious and probably needs some comfort. “You okay?” Simon whispers, only loud enough for Wille to hear. 

Wille wraps an arm around Simon, both of them cradling each other now. He nods. “Never better.” He admits, pressing a gentle kiss to Simon’s forehead.

“I honestly never thought I would see the day.” Sara comments. 

Simon raises an eyebrow, questioningly. “You’ll have to elaborate.” He trails off.

Sara smiles, a devilish look in her eyes. “I never thought I would see the day that anyone liked you enough for you to bring them home.” She teases.

Wille finds himself laughing as Simon unravels himself from Wille’s body, holding his hand to his chest, wincing and jokingly stumbling backwards. “Ouch.” He hisses. “Thanks for that sis, I love you too.”

The prince continues watching the scene unfold, grinning as he watches the siblings bicker, a warmth in his heart because he knows that deep down, he and Erik are like this too. He starts to think that maybe he would be safe telling Erik the truth - or at least, confirming his suspicions - and then also the rest of his family.

Considering how nervous Wille was to do this, to meet Simon’s family, it goes amazingly well. There was no need for him to be nervous or anxious about it at all. Simon knows his family, and he knows that they have this perfect ability of making everyone feel at home with them. Wille is no exception to that rule. From the moment he came into the house, he was made to feel as though it’s his home too. Simon shows him around, Sara embarrasses Simon like every other older sibling, and takes pride in doing so, and Linda asks them both questions lovingly. It’s been too long since she’s Simon, and now she has another person to ask about and get to know - she’s completely in her element.

They’re all sitting at the dining table now, Simon and Wille next to each other, with Sara and Linda sitting opposite them. There’s an array of food on display on the table between them. It looks like a lot, and it probably is, but Simon knows that by the end of the day, every inch of it will be gone. He’s been craving his mama’s food for so long, cooking her recipes simply just not sufficient enough.

They each fill their plates with food, and Wille knocks his knee against Simon’s underneath the table, silently telling him to look at Wille. “Is this what you made for me?” Wille asks, pointing to his plate. 

Simon softly chuckles, and finds himself gently tucking a piece of Wille’s hair behind his ear. “It is.” He confirms. 

“Thought so.” Wille smiles, and begins eating it just as he did with Simon during their first official date. He hums after his first bite. “You need to up your game Si, this is so much better than yours.”

Simon’s jaw drops as he stares at Wille, narrowing his eyes jokingly. “Rude! I spent so long making them for our first date.” 

At that, Sara laughs, watching everything unfold before her eyes. She’s never seen Simon like this, he’s just so happy. She knows her brother, she knows exactly what that look on his face means. “You’re just not as good as Mama.” She comments.

“Nobody ever could be!” Simon beams, ever the golden child - though Linda would be telling the truth when she tells everyone that she could never choose between her children, loving them both equally. “That doesn’t stop Wille from wanting to teach him how to make them.”

“You want to learn to make arepas?” Linda asks. 

Wille nods. “Simon made them for our first date and he told me that he would teach me how to make them, but he hasn’t yet.” He confirms. “He wants me to cook for him, but I told him that he needs to teach me first, I’m no good at following recipes at the first time of asking.”

“I’ll teach you.” Linda confirms, smiling brightly. Everyone at the table can tell that she’s been waiting for this day for a long time. She’s passed on her recipes to her children, and now she can do so to her youngest childs partner. “I know the way to Simon’s heart is through food.” 

Wille beams. “I would be honoured if you would teach me.”

Simon presses his hand to Wille’s thigh under the table, squeezing once and then just letting his hand rest there, smiling softly to himself when he feels Wille’s fingers twist around his own, engulfing his hand.

The second the Monopoly board made its way to the table, everyone knew it would be a mistake. That didn’t stop them from playing it though. 

Linda sighs as he sinks into her seat, watching the arguments unfold. The game is close to being abandoned, each of them with money and properties and the dice is somehow missing - though everyone knows that Simon is holding it in his pocket for safekeeping, for some reason. 

“Sara, just go when it’s your turn.” Simon says, retrieving the dice and flicking it across the table, very nearly knocking people’s positions on the board over. 

“No, because you’re cheating.” Sara says with a huff, folding her arms angrily. 

Whoever invented Monopoly must have loved watching families argue. 

“I’m not cheating!” Simon says, but there’s a sly grin that is very, very close to crawling onto his face and Wille knows by now, that is a complete tell that Simon is, in fact, cheating at the game. 

Sara doesn’t miss the look of recognition on Wille’s face. “See!” Sara shouts, pointing her finger in Wille’s direction. “Even Wille knows you’re cheating. I knew you shouldn’t have been the banker, you keep stealing the money!”

Wille’s eyes widen, raising his hands up. “I’m not getting involved.” He says defensively, happy to just sit back and watch this. He knows that he and Erik are exactly like this as well, even though the age difference is larger than that of Simon and Sara’s. “Is it always like this?” He asks Linda, who is also just watching this argument play out in front of her.

She nods. “Always.” Linda confirms. “They’ve always been competitive with each other, even more so when they were kids. They had to be separated in school clubs because they would compete against each other too much. Were you and your brother the same?”

Wille finds himself smiling at the thought of his childhood. He nods. “Definitely.” He admits. “I think it was more on behalf of me, given that I’m a few years younger than him, so I always looked up to him - I still do. It just meant that I always wanted to do whatever he was doing, even if I was probably too young or little to do so. Which usually meant that Erik won, which I wasn’t always happy about.”

“I will cut your hair off in your sleep.” Sara threatens as she reaches over the table and pulls extra Monopoly money out of Simon’s pocket, tearing it slightly in the process. “Don’t think I won’t.”

“Ok, game over.” Linda deadpans, flicking everyones properties and money off the board. “This game is never seeing the light of day again. You’re both as bad as each other.”

Simon finds himself laughing as he takes more and more money out of his pockets, placing them in the box alongside the rest of the objects. 

The Monopoly arguments are forgotten as soon as the board game is put away, hopefully not to be opened again for a very long time.

Now Simon, Wille and Sara are all sitting together and watching television, a repeat of an old game show playing. They find themselves working out the answers and bickering amongst themselves as they debate the correct answers, by which time the contestant has found out if it’s correct or not. It’s nice. It’s easy. In all honesty, it’s very much like a normal family, like Wille has been there all along, and it’s not the first time that he’s meeting Simon’s family.

“Look what I’ve just found.” Linda states, walking back into the room with a large book in her hand. She sits down between Wille and Sara, with Simon sitting on the other side of Wille, their legs somehow entwined together. 

“Oh no.” Simon exhales. He knows exactly what lies in between the pages of that book. “Not our baby photos.”

Wille grins cheekily and nudges Simon. “No, I need to see these photos.” He beams. “I bet you were such a cute baby.”

“Excuse me!” Simon nudges Wille back, wrapping his arm around Wille’s body and allowing them to be touching, always craving their touches. “I am still cute.”

Linda takes pride in showing Wille all of their family photos, pointing out places that they were taken and when, even showing him their distant relatives who are in the background of some photos, people who they unfortunately haven’t seen in a while. Wille sits and listens to it all, all of the stories about the people, and the stories behind the photographs. He loves hearing it all. 

Linda flicks the page over and Sara immediately laughs. “Oh Simme, it’s my favourite picture of you ever.”

Simon finds himself groaning, sinking into Wille’s touch as he rests his forehead against Wille’s shoulder, shutting his eyes tightly and wishing that he was anywhere but here right now, looking at the family photo albums. He’s seen this photo so many times. Sara posts it on Instagram every year for his birthday. Thankfully, she has a private account so nobody other than friends and family have been able to see it. 

It’s a photo from when he was five or six. He’s grinning into the camera, his hand morphed into a peace sign and there’s chocolate all over his face. He’s always loved chocolate, but thankfully now he can eat it without it seemingly going all over. That’s not the embarrassing part though - oh no. The embarrassing part is what he’s wearing. He’s in one of Sara’s dresses, pink and frilly and with a garish hot pink glitter belt. He’s got a red bead necklace around his neck, dangling halfway down his body. On his feet, he’s wearing Linda’s high heels - and yes, he can remember how difficult it was to walk in them, resorting to just dragging his feet across the floor, considering they were multiple sizes too big for his feet. His curls are hidden by his cap, placed backwards on his head, and again, many sizes too big for him. 

“I think that might be my favourite photo also.” Wille chuckles, wrapping his arms entirely around Simon, splaying his fingers across Simon’s ribcage. 

A soft smile grows on Simon’s face, his fingers now running through Wille’s hair. He’s obsessed with doing so. He leans in, pressing his lips to Wille’s ear, and whispers. “Don’t forget I’ve seen plenty of embarrassing moments of you growing up. Does screaming during a royal wedding ring any bells?” 

A flush appears on Wille’s face because yes, yes it does ring a bell. He was only a toddler, and yet the country will never let him live it down. It’s the thing he’s most known for. Prince Wilhelm, the one who screamed in a church during the royal wedding. Wille rolls his eyes teasingly, and grins. “I guess we’re even now then.” He says.

Simon hums, looking at Wille with a lazy smile on his face, and he leans forward to press one gentle kiss to his lips, intoxicated by the man.

Later that night, when they’re finally in Simon’s childhood bed together, they talk. It’s a tight squeeze, given that it’s a single bed, but neither of them seem to mind. Simon is laying practically on top of Wille, their chests pressing together. Their legs are still entwined together, and Wille has one hand on the small of Simon’s back, craving that touch as he runs his fingers over his smooth skin, back and forth. Simon grins into the kiss, and finds himself pulling away just to look at Wille, grinning even wilder when he sees just how full of bliss he is, his lips all bruised with kissing, a pink flush to his skin, and his eyes dark with lust. 

“You’re so hot.” Simon says, brushing his fingers across Wille’s face, tracing his freckles. “Do you know that?”

Wille hums, holding tighter onto Simon, trying to push their bodies together further, as if that is even possible. “You’ve told me once or twice.” He turns his head slightly, Simon’s wrist now ever close to Wille’s lips and he leaves a gentle peck there, certain that he could feel Simon’s pulse for just a moment or two. “You’re obsessed with me.”

Simon’s jaw slackens. “As if you’re not obsessed with me too.” He comments. “You can’t keep your hands off me.”

Wille raises his eyebrows and as if to make a point, he detaches his hands from Simon’s body, for just a split second before he puts them back down, this time with the hand that was on the small of his back, now further down, teasingly on Simon’s backside, tapping it lightly before squeezing it over the fabric of his boxer shorts. “Can you blame me? I got so lucky with you.”

A flush makes its way onto Simon’s face, his entire body now an array of butterflies under Wille’s touch, his skin melting like burning wax. He finds himself falling into Wille’s embrace, his face now against Wille’s neck and he leaves a teasing kiss there, a promise for more later. “We need to go on holiday or something. I need to be able to kiss you and leave marks here.” He whispers, leaving an open mouthed kiss to the left side of Wille’s neck, right at his pulse point. “And here.” He moves his body so he’s to the right of Wille’s now, leaving another kiss to the opposite side of his first kiss. “And here.” He pushes up slightly, his nose knocking against Wille’s ear as he leaves yet another kiss to Wille’s jaw, grinning as he extends his neck, begging, pleading for more. “And here.” He says for the last time, scratching his teeth against the Adam's apple of Wille’s neck. “Wouldn’t that be fun?” He teases.

“I think I’ve just forgotten how to speak.” Wille exhales. 

“Mission complete.” Simon chuckles. 

Wille laughs. “Shut up.” He says, but there’s a huge grin on his face, with no heat behind his words at all. He threads fingers through Simon’s hair, brushing the curls out of the way of his eyes. “You know when you introduced me to Sara, what were you going to say?”

Suddenly, Simon is shy and groans, resting his head against Wille’s chest momentarily, as Wille finds himself laughing at the reaction. “I was going to call you my boyfriend.” Simon admits, hiding his face from Wille.

“Would that have been a bad thing?” Wille asks, carding his fingers through Simon’s hair, separating the curls with the touch. 

Simon looks up. “No.” He shakes his head. “That could never be a bad thing. It’s just not the truth yet.”

The ‘yet’ hangs in the air between them.

A smirk spreads across Wille’s mouth. “Well, if you want to be my boyfriend, and I want to be your boyfriend, I suppose I’ll have to ask you.” He admits, butterflies already erupting inside of his body, a chill falling down his spinal cord. “So, Simon. Would you do me the honour of becoming my boyfriend?”

“Are you sure?” Simon asks, his - now watery - eyes looking back at Wille. 

Wille, with every part of his body, mind and soul, looks right at Simon, gazing into his eyes. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

Simon is giddy and nods relentlessly, a beaming grin spreading right the way across his face. “Then yes, of course I’ll be your boyfriend.” 

Simon leans down and Wille leans up, both of them meeting in the middle as they kiss as though their lives are dependent on it, full of grins and butterflies and this day is possibly their favourite day they’ve ever had together. Both of them reach the realisation that they’re going to have more days exactly like this, now they’re boyfriends. Clothes are lost betwixt the kisses and it’s in the moonlight that streams in through the gaps in the curtains in which they have their next conversation, through hushed whispers and gentle touches.

“I want you to meet my family.” Wille exhales, his index finger running invisible patterns across Simon’s chest. “I understand if you don’t want to.” It’s a huge ask, given who Wille’s family is. 

“I would love to meet them.” Simon says softly, his hand now reaching Wille’s, understanding that he’s nervous about asking this and trying silently to calm him down. He threads his fingers in the gaps between Wille’s, leaving it to rest there against his chest. “But would it be as your friend, or as your boyfriend? I’m not forcing you to come out, I never would. But I can wait for you to do that, if you want to introduce me as your boyfriend.”

Wille smiles and he leans in to kiss Simon softly. “As my boyfriend. Of course, as my boyfriend.” He says earnestly. “Erik knows already. I haven’t told him, but he’s not stupid. My parents might not be happy at first, I honestly don’t know how they’ll react. But you make me happy. I want to be able to show you off. It’s not as though I’m the crown prince, so they can’t exactly complain too much.” He shrugs. 

“If you’re sure.” Simon says, lifting Wille’s hand to his mouth to press a gentle kiss to his knuckles. “Then I would love to meet them.”

Wille grins. “Like I said before.” He begins. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

Chapter Text

Today is the day. Today is the day that Wille is going to come out to his family, and later, introduce them to his boyfriend. It’s a petrifying thought, but he knows that Simon is right by his side - metaphorically, for right now, because he’s filming the first music video for his new album today.

It’s been a week since they last saw each other face to face, with Wille having to go back to the palace for some last minute meetings with his brother, and Simon staying behind in Bjarstad to spend some time alone with his family and friends. Now, Simon is back in Stockholm and is waiting for Wille to announce that he’s done it, that he’s come out.

All week, Wille has been running through all of the different scenarios in his head, hoping and praying that his family will react well to the news, because he doesn’t really think he has it in him to fight if they don’t. It’s exhausting. He hasn’t been able to sleep well for days, because every single time he shuts his eyes for longer than just a blink, he’s picturing himself standing in front of his family and his words aren’t leaving his mouth. It’s his anxiety, he knows it is. But he’s also aware that the longer he goes about worrying about this, the worse his anxiety about the moment gets. He just needs to rip off the bandage, metaphorically speaking.

It’s the morning, and the sun seeping its way in through the rain soaked windows, patterns of rain droplets projecting onto the walls in the families personal dining room. Wille looks around the table at his family, Erik scrolling through his phone, his father reading the morning newspaper whilst drinking his first coffee of the day, and his mother is reading her book, flicking slowly through the pages. Anxiety courses through his veins but he realises that in this moment, it’s now or never. He taps his fingers methodically against the wood of the table, as though he is trying to play out a tune. He’s got no idea where that type of anxiety relief has come from, but right now he doesn’t have time to think about it. His legs begin to tremble underneath the table, and he’s grateful that he isn’t standing right now, otherwise he’s sure that they would give way from underneath his body. 

Wille clears his throat, breaking up the silence in the room. He notices now how he has three sets of eyes on him. “I,” He begins to speak but his voice is barely above a whisper, so he clears his throat and starts to speak again. “I have met someone. Someone who makes me very happy and I would love it if you could all meet them tonight, maybe at dinner.”

His eyes flicker over to Erik, knowing already that his reaction would be a good one. Wille was correct. Erik is now looking at him, a proud grin spreading across his face, and Wille knows that he’s already reading and raring to ask him a multitude of questions. 

Except, it’s not Erik that talks first. It’s his mother.

“Is this the person you have been seeing recently?” She asks inquisitively. “We know that you have been sneaking out again.”

Wille nods, a small smile finding its way onto his lips. He knew he was being obvious, sneaking out this often, but he’s surprised that he got away with it for this long without being reprimanded. “It is.” He confirms. “His name is Simon.”

There’s no going back now, it’s out there. He’s out now.

“Oh.” His parents exhale simultaneously, sharing a look between them, a look that Wille can’t seem to be able to decipher. 

His father continues. “Does that mean you’re gay?” He asks, folding up his newspaper and resting it on the table.

Wille shakes his head. “I would say that I’m queer.” He admits, his heart pounding in his chest. “All I know is that I’m the happiest I’ve been for a long time, and that is all because of Simon.”

Then, he waits. The silence is unbearable and he finds himself looking down at his hands, twirling his thumbs around each other as his eyes begin to burn, tears starting to build up in his eyes, threatening to fall out if nobody speaks soon. It’s like an eternity passes by before he hears Erik beginning to talk, stumbling over his own words and not making much sense at all, but it somehow comforts Wille to know that his brother is there for him, that his brother can read his body language like a book, and can tell that he’s uncomfortable. He doesn’t understand what Erik says, because his mother overtakes his speech with her own. 

“Then we would love to meet Simon.” She confirms. 

Wille moves his head so fast he thinks he’s probably given himself whiplash. He stares at his parents through watery eyes, his mind racing as he tries to understand what has just been said to him.

The Queen continues. “Tonight, did you say? Would Simon be fine with that?”

Wille finds himself just nodding, his throat suddenly dry and sticking together, no words able to come out. He clears his throat once more. “Yeah, he would love that.” He admits, unashamed of the beaming smile that is ever growing on his face. “We both would.”

“Then it’s settled.” Kristina smiles. “He must come to our dinner tonight.”

With that, it’s confirmed. Simon will meet Wille’s family in just a few short hours. His parents quickly go about their day, making plans for later that night. As they leave the dining room, Erik stays behind. 

“I knew it!” He grins, hugging Wille. “I’m so proud of you, little brother! I can’t believe you have a boyfriend now, you’re all grown up!”

“Who says he’s my boyfriend?” Wille teases, though the blush on his cheeks and his outright giddiness clearly gives the game away.

Erik rolls his eyes, shaking Wille’s hair into a tangle. “Oh shut up, as if you’d make Simon come here without making him your boyfriend first.”

“I hate how well you know me.” Wille deadpans, jumping out of Erik’s embrace. “Now if you’ll let me go, I need to go and tell Simon that he’s got plans for tonight.”

“Oh I bet he does!” Erik laughs. 

“Shut up!” Wille calls back, his phone in his hand now. “I meant meeting all of you, although I might live to regret that.”

“Of course that’s what you meant” Erik teases. “I’ll leave you to tell your boyfriend all of your plans. Tell him I said hey, and that I can’t wait to meet him.”

Erik walks out of the dining hall and down the corridor back to his own quarters, leaving Wille behind. 

With a shaky breath, Wille unlocks his phone, smiling as he sees the first photo he ever took of Simon staring back at him. It distracts him for a moment or two, until he remembers what he needs to do. He finds Simon’s contact - which is easy, considering he always seems to be the last person that Wille talks to at any given point these days - and rings him. There’s a ringing tone for a beat or two or three and then a clicking, signifying that Simon is now on the other end of the phone.

“Hey.” Simon exhales down the phone, and Wille can hear the smile in his voice. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah.” Wille grins, his anxiety easing just at hearing his boyfriend's voice. “Sorry for ringing you whilst you’re working.”

A small laugh falls from Simon’s mouth. “It’s fine, I love hearing from you.”

Wille can tell that Simon really, truly, means those words. 

“I just wanted to tell you that I’ve told my family. I’ve come out to them.” Wille breathes out, and it’s silly, but he genuinely thinks that the gravity of what he’s just done hasn’t hit him until right now, at this very moment. 

“Wait, really?” Simon asks. “As in, this morning? Babe, I’m so proud of you, you know that right? You’re amazing.” 

A chill runs all the way through Wille’s body and he finds himself uncontrollably grinning. He hums in response, trying to find the right words to say. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was doing it, I just thought that if nobody knew, I could just back out, but I told them everything. I told them about you, and they want to meet you.” He admits. “Tonight.”

“Then I will be there.” Simon confirms, warmth in his voice seeping into Wille’s ears. “I would love to meet them.” There’s another voice that Wille can hear over the phone, a muffled speaking, and then Simon speaks again. “I’m sorry, I need to go and film but if you just text me the details I will be there. I promise.”

“Go and be a superstar.” Wille grins. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay, I lo-I mean, I’ll see you later.” Simon fumbles over his words and then there’s another click of the phone signifying that the call is over.

Wille stands at the personal family door leading to the rest of the palace. He folds his arms across his body and leans against the doorframe, watching as the world passes him by. The sun is beginning to fall in the sky and he watches as the skyline slowly fades into dusk. A recognisable car pauses at the closed gates and Wille chuckles softly to himself, because he knows Simon so well, and he knows that right now, Simon is freaking out. This is the closest he’s got to the palace, and this time, he’ll actually be coming inside. He watches as the gates open and the car drives up towards Wille. Inside the car, Simon waves to his boyfriend and Wille waves back, a smile ever growing on his face. Wille points Simon in the direction of where he should park the car and Simon follows his direction, parking up and getting out of his car holding a suit bag in his hands. 

“Hey.” Simon grins wildly, standing on his tiptoes and kissing Wille’s cheek, not wanting to take it too far, too quickly. He doesn’t know if he can even kiss Wille here.

“Hey.” Wille responds, his smile matching that of Simon’s. He reaches out and takes the bag from Simon’s hand. “I’ll take that.”

They step inside the palace and within seconds, Wille passes the suit bag to someone standing there in all black. “Can you drop this off to my room please?” He asks politely. “I want to show Simon around first.”

The person in all black nods. “Very well, Sir.” They say, and they take the suit bag with them as they walk away. 

“You know I could’ve carried that myself?” Simon asks, a gentle laugh following the question. 

Wille hums. “I know.” He admits, his voice low and teasing. “But I wouldn’t be able to hold your hand then.”

They walk together for three more paces before Wille’s hand brushes against the back of Simon’s and their fingers catch on to one another, linking together perfectly. 

“Are we allowed to do this?” Simon asks, raising both their hands up slightly. 

“Of course.” Wille chuckles softly. “I’m out now, I can do what I want. Plus, there’s no members of the public allowed in this part of the palace, so we don’t have to worry about that.”

Simon smiles and runs his thumb over Wille’s skin. “I’m so proud of you.” It’s all he’s thought about all day, ever since that phone call. He really wasn’t expecting it to happen. He knows that Wille has been thinking about coming out, that he really wanted to come out - but he at least thought that he would know before it happened. “So how did you do it?”

Wille finds himself smiling fondly as he remembers the morning. “I told them all together, over breakfast.” He begins. “I know you would have liked to have known before I did it, but I genuinely had no idea that I was going to do it right then and there until the words came out. I told them that I’m queer and that I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time, all because of you.”

“I make you happy?” Simon beams from ear to ear.

Wille looks around them, knowing that staff walk this hallway regularly. Someone walks past them quickly, and Wille tugs on Simon’s hand, pulling them both into a different hallway, this one much smaller but out of the way of any prying eyes that the members of staff may have. He pushes Simon against the wall and crowds him, stepping between Simon’s legs. “The happiest.” He grins, one hand on Simon’s jaw as they kiss. Finally . It’s been too long.

Simon’s hands find their way onto Wille’s skin, tugging at the shirt as he loosens it from his jeans, his hands against Wille’s back, cradling him. Wille grins more and more into the kiss and then painstakingly pulls away, though he never takes that moment for granted - because for a second or two after every kiss, Simon has this blissed out look on his face and he looks so perfect that it takes everything in Wille’s entire being to not get on both knees right then and there. He leans in for a second kiss, this one now just soft and light and it’s a promise, a promise for more later - a promise that he intends on making every day for as long as he’s able to do so. 

“Later.” Wille whispers out. “I actually do want to show you around.”

Simon nods and follows Wille as he walks back into the main hallway. Simon surmises that he would probably follow Wille to the ends of the Earth, if he asked him to. 

Wille shows Simon around the palace, walking down corridors, telling him stories of his childhood, and how he and Erik once watched the Princess Diaries and subsequently spent an entire year begging to be allowed to mattress surf down the stairs - and how they did it one night when their parents were in another country and therefore couldn’t tell them no. They walk into multiple rooms, and Simon points out all of the paintings of all of the monarchs in the past, and Wille takes his time to explain who certain monarchs are. He tells Simon that there’s a painting of his immediate family, done only a few years back when he became an adult. Simon laughs at how official that seems to be, because “Why not just use a photo?” Wille just shrugs and explains that, whilst they do have official family photographs, it makes more sense to have a portrait painted, because that’s what everyone has done in the past. 

Simon watches intensely as Wille shows him around, soaking in every last moment he has with his boyfriend. He can’t stop looking at him. “You’re beautiful.” Simon exhales, simplicity in his words. It stops Wille from talking, his cheeks blushing at Simon’s statement. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“You.” Wille laughs, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. “All the time.”

Simon rolls his eyes. “Can you blame me?” He teases and leans in to kiss Wille softly, not caring if anyone sees them.

Wille hums into the kiss. “One more room.” He says, pecking Simon’s lips. “Come with me.” 

They walk only a few more metres and Wille stands behind Simon, delicately placing one hand over his eyes, before using the other hand to open the door, leading Simon blindly inside. He shuts the door behind him and then releases his hand from Simon’s face. “My bedroom.” He grins, resting his arms on Simon’s shoulders. 

“Woah.” Simon exhales. “I know I’ve seen it in video calls, but it’s a lot bigger than I expected. I mean, even the bed is huge!” His eyes scan the rest of the room and notices a rather expansive collection of vinyl next to his wardrobe. “Why didn’t I know you collected vinyl?”

Wille chuckles softly, walking over to his collection. “I’ve only had it for a couple of years. I found some of my mama’s old records and basically stole them to start my own collection, and it’s been growing ever since.”

Simon finds himself looking at all the different records, albums he recognises and some he doesn’t and then - “You’ve got my album.” 

A laugh falls from Wille’s mouth. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this babe, but I do happen to be quite a big fan.”

“Oh.” Simon exhales, wrapping his arms around Wille, who matches his touch and embraces Simon too. “Well that explains it.” 

Wille chuckles softly, his eyes flickering down to Simon’s tempting lips. “Shut up.” He says, with zero fire to his words. 

Simon narrows his eyes, staring right at his boyfriend. “Make me.” He grins. 

“Challenge accepted.” Wille grins, walking them both over to his bed, his hands making quick work of the zip on Simon’s jeans, their lips pressing together as if they’re in a rush - they suppose they are in a rush, really, but neither of them care right now.

All that matters, in the here and now, is each other. 

Simon lays on the bed alone for a second, lifting his shirt above his head before Wille crawls between his legs, kissing down his chest, lower and lower still. Simon’s fingers thread through Wille’s hair, and he closes his eyes as Wille tugs down his jeans and boxers in one swift motion, taking Simon in his mouth.

Huffs and moans fill the room, Simon now with his eyes firmly fixed on his boyfriend, watching his every move. He really does look beautiful all the time, but even more so like this, with Simon in his mouth and his cheeks mottled with rouge, his hair with Simon’s fingers tangled in with it. 

“You’re so good.” Simon exhales as Wille pulls away, needing to catch his breath. “So fucking good.”

A chuckle falls from Wille’s mouth as he uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth clear of himself and Simon. He tugs off his own jeans and boxers, touching himself for a second before Simon sits up, swatting his hand away and using his own, before he takes Wille in his own mouth, moving expertly, buoyed on by the sounds coming from Wille above him. 

It’s perfect, everything is just perfect. It always is.

It’s later when they eventually find themselves getting dressed - much later than originally planned, but neither Wille nor Simon care much at all. They’ll still make dinner in plenty of time.

Simon stands in front of the mirror, his hands around his tie which is sitting loosely across his neck. He’s just in his trousers and shirt, his suit blazer still hanging up. A sigh falls from his mouth as he gives up in his attempts to do his tie up, and he looks in the mirror to witness Wille sitting on the edge of his bed, staring up at him, with a glint of want in his eyes. 

“Stop looking at me like that.” Simon chuckles softly. 

Wille flushes and finds himself laughing too. “Like what?” He asks, tying his shoelace. 

Simon turns around to look at him properly now, rather than looking through the mirror. “Like you want to devour me.” He says through a laugh. 

“In my defence,” Wille begins, standing up now as he walks over to Simon, running his hands down Simon’s sides, resting them on his waist. “I haven’t seen you in a suit yet.” 

“Neither have I!” Simon retorts. “Why do we have to wear them anyway?” He asks, his hands pressing against Wille’s chest and running down his abs. He pulls backwards so he can look at Wille properly, his eyes darkening as he takes it all in. “Not that I’m complaining.” 

Wille hooks a finger underneath Simon’s chin, pushing slightly to lift his head up, their eyes meeting now. “Stop looking at me like you’re going to devour me.” He teases, a bright smile filling his face. 

Two can play at that game , Simon thinks. “I just have.” He laughs. “I can’t have been that good if you’ve forgotten already.”

“Shut up!” Wille practically screeches. “What if someone heard you?” 

Simon laughs at Wille’s embarrassment. He leans up and presses a soft kiss to Wille’s lips. “I can’t believe you’re worried about someone hearing me talking, but you were moaning without a care in the world ten minutes ago.” 

Wille shakes his head at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, but he can’t stop himself from smiling from ear to ear. Simon faces the mirror again now, and tries to do up his tie for a fourth time. It’s been a while since he’s worn one, and for some reason, he can’t seem to remember how to do it. “To answer your question.” Wille begins, standing behind Simon and wrapping his arms around him, swatting Simon’s hands away from his tie in order to do it himself. “We have to wear the suits because it’s your first time meeting my mother. Everyone will be dressed in formal wear - me, you, Erik and my parents. After today, you can wear whatever you want, unless we have to go to any events, in which case you might have to wear a suit.” 

Simon nods, looking in the mirror as he watches Wille do his tie up for him. His hair is falling in front of his eyes and there’s a blush on his cheeks. Simon reaches behind him, his hand on Wille’s thigh. “I can tell you want to hug me.” He whispers out.

Without missing a single beat, Wille rests his head on Simon’s shoulder, his face turned inwards so his mouth is brushing against Simon’s neck. He hums in delight as his arms squeeze around Simon, the embrace warm. Simon’s hands reach Wille’s, holding them both in place for seconds, maybe even minutes. Wille presses a gentle kiss to Simon’s neck, just below his ear and then he pulls away regretfully, finally finishing the tie.

“How are you feeling? Wille whispers into Simon’s ears. 

They’re standing outside of the dining hall, the one which is only used during state dinners and other official events. It’s imposing. 

“Were you nervous meeting my family?” Simon asks, running the palms of his hands over his suit trousers in an attempt to rid them of the sweat. 

Wille huffs out a little laugh because yes, he was . “Of course.” He admits. “It’s normal. I wanted to show them that I’m good enough to be with you.”

“Now amplify that feeling by a thousand.” Simon jokes. At least, they both think that it’s a joke. 

Wille places his hands on either side of Simon’s face, turning both of their bodies so that they’re now facing each other. He gently runs his thumbs over Simon’s cheeks, feeling the warmth growing underneath his hands. “I promise you, it will be fine. I’ll be sitting right next to you, so if you need any extra reassurance, just hold my hand.” 

“My hands are sweaty.” Simon comments, and a smile grows on his face.

“You’re ridiculous.” Wille says, pressing a gentle kiss to Simon’s lips before he releases him from his hold. “Ready?”

Simon nods, standing close to his boyfriend's side, their fingers gently locking together, grounding each other in their anxiety of the moment.

Wille opens the door, pushing it forward as he walks in first, and then Simon shortly behind. The large table is perfectly set with plates and cutlery in place of their seating positions. There’s plates at either end of the long table, one for his mother and one for his father, sitting opposite each other. Along the length of the table, there’s two plates on one side, for him and Simon, and one on the other side, for Erik. His family are standing, glasses of wine in their hands already as their conversation subsides when they notice both Wille and Simon are now in the room. 

“Mama, Pappa, Erik..this is my boyfriend, Simon.” Wille introduces, unhooking his fingers from Simon’s momentarily as he rests his hand against Simon’s back instead, trying to comfort Simon as he rubs it in gentle circular motions. “Simme, this is my family.” 

Simon leans forward, the rush of anxiety in his body causing himself to become a more confident version of himself, greeting Wille’s family as he had taught him - the Queen first, then Ludvig and finally Erik. 

Wille watches on, pride coursing through his veins. He narrows his eyes towards his brother though, knowing exactly what he’s like. “Behave.” He mouths, behind Simon’s back. 

Erik - annoyingly - raises his right hand to his temple, mock saluting his little brother. This motion causes Simon to look back at his boyfriend, raising one eyebrow as he silently questions him. 

“Shall we sit?” Wille asks, taking the lead. Everyone moves to their seating positions, the Queen sitting down firstly. Wille holds the back of Simon’s chair, guiding him to sit down. He quickly presses a gentle kiss to his temple and whispers “I’ll tell you later. You’re doing amazing.” before he sits down next to Simon.

Ludvig remains standing, reaching over to a bottle of wine which is open on the table. He tips it towards Simon’s empty glass, silently asking if Simon would like a drink. 

Simon smiles, but raises his hand to stop the motion. “Thank you, but I have to drive home later. I’ve got an early start at work tomorrow.” He confesses. “I’ll just stick to soft drinks, if that’s fine?”

“Oh, of course.” Ludvig smiles, filling Simon’s glass with orange juice instead. 

Simon politely thanks Wille’s father once more, and feels immediate comfort when Wille reaches out and rests his hand on Simon’s thigh, 

It’s such a gentle touch, one that other people probably understate the gravity of - but both of them know. They know what it means, helping each other without ever saying so much. Simon rests his hand on top of Wille’s, his fingers curling around Wille’s. They both smile softly at each other, shy, encouraging smiles. 

“So, Simon.” Kristina speaks up, as workers fill the table with plates and dishes, identical food in front of each person. “What do you do for work?”

Simon’s eyes flutter towards his boyfriends first, surprise evident on his face as he raises an eyebrow, silently questioning as to why - or rather how - Wille hasn’t already briefed the Queen on his job. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Erik, who is now bright red in his face, the top half of his body jerking as he laughs uncontrollably, trying - and failing - to hide his silent laughter behind a napkin. 

“I’m a singer.” Simon confesses, a smile building on his face. “I write music and I perform regularly.”

Queen Kristina nods silently, listening intensely to Simon’s words. 

Everyone at the table can visibly see the moment that Ludvig understands Simon’s words, mentally connecting the dots in his head, his brain working overtime. “Ah.” He exhales, wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin, cleaning his face of any food. “So you’re the Simon that Wilhelm saw perform without telling anyone?” He asks.

Simon laughs awkwardly, and Wille senses his discomfort, squeezing his hand tightly to let Simon know that he’s there. “I am.” Simon admits. “Although, I didn’t actually know that he was there until afterwards, when I saw the photo of him and Felice online.” 

“That was all down to me.” Wille says, interrupting any follow up questions from coming Simon’s way. “Me and Felice wanted to see him, we already had the tickets. We didn’t know that people would be able to see us when the lights came up, we’re usually hidden in the darkness up in those seats.”

Silence quickly falls upon the table, everyone content with just eating, until Erik speaks up. He can never resist a moment in which he is able to embarrass his younger brother - that’s the whole point of being an annoying older brother. If he can’t embarrass Wille, who can?

“So Simon.” He begins, a cheeky grin unfolding on his face. “Tell me, how did the two of you meet?” 

Wille rolls his eyes. “Shut up!” He hisses, throwing his now scrunched up napkin in his brother's direction, though it fails to reach him properly, merely just floating down to the table once more. “You’re so not funny.”

Erik raises his hands up to either side of his head, mocking Wille. “It’s not my fault that you refuse to tell me.” He laughs.

“It’s nothing bad.” Simon chuckles to himself, his thumb rubbing circular motions into Wille’s hand, silently calming him down. “It’s more embarrassing on my behalf actually. My manager had gotten a new number, and I must have written it down wrong, so when I tried to send him a text with a demo of my new song, I actually sent it to Wille.” 

“I listened to it, and recognised his voice straight away.” Wille admits, a shy smile on his lips, his cheeks blooming pink. 

A laugh bubbles from Erik. “Now that’s the embarrassing part.”

Simon softly smiles towards Wille. “I think it’s sweet.” 

“Ha.” Wille wryly lets out, directing it towards his brother. It’s all in good jest, and everyone knows it. Their parents are used to it by now, it’s been like this since Wille could walk and talk. Simon understands it because of his equally competitive relationship with Sara.

“So long as you don’t make a habit of texting people that you don’t know.” Kristina laments. “It may have worked out this time, but it might not in the future.”

Wille smiles warmly to his mother, though his words mean more to Simon. “Don’t worry.” He exhales. “I don’t plan on ever doing it again.”

The rest of the evening goes according to plan, with everyone getting along perfectly well. Erik does his protective big brother act, though he knows that Wille is more than capable of looking after himself - and that he’s safe with Simon. He can tell how Simon feels about Wille just from seeing how he is with him. Both Kristina and Ludvig tell Wille how much they like Simon, who has completely charmed them both in a matter of hours to the point they both ask when they’ll be able to see him next. Simon tells them both that he’s certain that it won’t be long before he’s seeing them again, given that he can’t seem to stay away from their youngest son. 

It truly is the perfect evening. 

“So...” Simon drawls on, his fingers entwined with Wille’s as they both walk the halls leading to the door Simon came in through. “Did I pass the test?”

Wille’s chuckles softly. “Oh, I think you passed it with flying colours.” 

“Good.” Simon grins. “I guess that means I’ll be sticking around then.”

A chill runs down Wille’s spine at the very thought. “I guess it does. I’ll be sticking around for as long as you’ll let me.”

Simon presses a kiss to Wille’s cheek, feeling it burn under the soft pressure. “How about forever?” He whispers into Wille’s cheek.

“I like the sound of that.” Wille beams, wrapping his arms around Simon. They’re next to the door now, and he really doesn’t want to let go. He could easily stay like this forever, should the circumstances allow it. 

“So do I.” Simon admits, running his fingers through Wille’s hair. “So do I.”

“Do you really have to leave?” Wille whines, holding onto Simon that little bit harder. 

Simon hums. “Afraid so.” He says. “I’m up early to film the rest of the video. It’s the last day of filming and then all that’s left is the album photoshoot and release date and then I’m all yours.” 

“You’re mine anyway.” Wille grins. “But fine. I want photos tomorrow though, I know you’ll look hot in the video. You always do.”

“I promise you.” Simon draws an invisible cross over his heart, and then rests his hands on either side of Wille’s face. “Actually, just come and see me tomorrow.”

“Yeah?” Wille asks, resting his hands on Simon’s waist. 

Simon nods. “Always.” 

Wille beams, leaning in to press a soft kiss to Simon’s lips, followed by another not so soft kiss, and then another. It’s five minutes more before Wille eventually pulls away, regretfully so, but he really does need to leave. 

“Text me when you get home.” Wille says. 

“I will.” Simon confirms, stepping forward and kissing Wille one more time. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The door closes behind him, and Wille leans against it, trying to regain the energy to walk back to his bedroom. He realises then and there, with his head against the large door, that he’s falling for Simon and hard. He might even already be there.

Chapter Text

It’s early morning, the sun beginning to rise just above the skyline, a soft orange glow filtering in through the thin curtains. Simon squints his eyes, hoping that the few seconds of extra darkness it brings will allow him to fall back to sleep with ease. It doesn’t. With a meek yawn, he flutters open his eyelids, using the back of his hand to then block the streams of bright sunlight that infiltrates his eyes, burning his retinas.

“Fuck.” He whispers out, shuffling in his bed as he turns his back to the window now, his bones and muscles aching. There’s a crick in his neck from the position he’s been sleeping in, a burn down his spine, but when he opens his eyes once more and sees his boyfriend laying there, he can’t bring himself to care about much else other than Wille. 

It’s in that moment, with Simon gently pulling the bed covers over his shoulder to protect him from the cold of the early morning hours, that he realises he could do this forever. He could happily wake up next to Wille forever and never get bored. A soft smile forms on his lips as he realises this, as he imagines the future and how it could look for the two of them. It’s early days and he knows it, but there’s something in the back of his mind that’s telling him to not care about that fact, because how he feels about Wille is far more important than any length of time.

The world passes by, people waking up for their nine to five jobs, front doors opening and cars spluttering into life and yet Simon is just here, breathing in the familiar scent of Wille, fully immersing himself in his boyfriend. They’re closer now, with Simon having subconsciously moved more towards the centre of the bed than his half - and how bizarre is it that he now only owns half of his own bed, with Wille having claimed the rest of it. His breath is probably hitting Wille’s bare arm, but beyond his torso moving up and down as he breathes slowly, he’s not moving. Simon sinks further into his pillow, smiling softly to himself as his eyes leisurely scan over Wille’s face, starting from his hairline all the way down to his neck. One by one, he painstakingly counts each freckle he sees scattering over his boyfriend's face and it’s funny - he can only see half of his face, the rest of it annoyingly obscured by the pillow Wille has claimed as his own. It should be boring, tedious even, and yet Simon loves this. He convinces himself that one day he’ll count every freckle that litters Wille’s body, and then he’ll start the count once more, because he’s bound to miss several. He could do this forever. He could look at Wille forever. Once he reaches the seventy-eighth freckle, he chuckles softly as he imagines giving Wille a kiss for each one he has. 

Simon reaches out as he gently brushes Wille’s hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear. It’s getting so long now, and Simon knows that it tickles Wille from time to time. The soft smile grows as Simon gets to see more of Wille’s face now, noting that there’s more freckles to count, right above his eyebrows and to his temple. He’s convinced that Wille is the most beautiful person he’s ever seen. In fact, he knows that to be the case.

The smile falls for just a moment as his heart sinks at the thought of disturbing Wille’s peace, suddenly hearing the hitch in Wille’s breath. It’s ridiculous really, that Simon knows him so well that he knows any change in his breath means that he’s conscious now. 

Wille blinks awake for a second or two, a gentle grumble in his throat. He struggles to keep his eyes open, but begins to twist his body.

“Sorry baby, go back to sleep.” Simon whispers out, his voice full of something indistinguishable - though Simon is becoming more aware of what it is, of what he feels. He pushes his body softly, his bones and muscles still aching, though it’s barely a dull ache at this point, and presses a featherlight kiss to Wille’s forehead.

Wille silently shuffles closer to Simon’s warmth, lifting an arm as he wraps it around Simon’s body, and then heavily lifting his own head, resting it against Simon’s chest, until they are entirely tangled up together in the centre of the bed, warmth against warmth as they bask in each others presence. 

Simon threads his fingers softly through Wille’s hair and as he feels his weight getting heavier on top of him, he knows that Wille has fallen back to sleep already. Surprisingly enough though, Simon manages to fall back to sleep soon after, his nose nuzzling into Wille’s hair, hand on his waist, breathing in the all consuming scent. 

When they both eventually wake up - properly this time - most of the morning is gone. Still, neither of them seem to complain about it all too much, both of them fully rested for the first time in what feels like forever.

The sun is now warm, hanging up high in the sky as it filters in through the windows, the glow of it completely brightening up the apartment. There’s a familiar scent of coffee wafting throughout the building, music tinkling softly as it plays on the radio station. Simon leans against the kitchen countertop, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. He scrolls through his phone, his curls falling over his forehead and into his eyes.

“Yes!” He exhales softly, to nobody in particular considering he’s the only one in the room just now. He taps away, responding to the text immediately, a beaming grin on his face as he celebrates the final confirmation of something that has been in the works for a number of weeks now, secretly. 

There’s a gentle padding of feet walking as Simon looks up from his phone to see his boyfriend walking over to him, a tired smile on his face as he wipes the sleep out of his eyes. He yawns softly as he runs his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth it down from his messy bedhead.

“Is that mine?” Simon asks, chuckling softly as he notices the hoodie that Wille has thrown on, wearing nothing other than that and his boxers. He outstretches his hand, hooking his fingers into the pocket of the item of clothing, tugging it - and the sleepy Wille attached to it - towards him.

“It might be.” Wille teases, now standing between Simon’s legs, his body pressing Simon further into the kitchen counter. He wraps his arms around Simon’s shoulders loosely, hooking his fingers together behind his head.

Simon beams, craning his neck slightly as he leans up and presses a gentle kiss to Wille’s lips. He pulls back, his eyes scanning Wille’s face again, just as he did earlier in the morning through tired eyes. “I made coffee for you.” He whispers, and he twists ever so slightly, reaching his hand out as it circles the mug which is already on the counter, the first cup of coffee he made, the second finally done, and passes it to Wille as he grabs his own mug now. 

“You’re the best.” Wille grins, lifting the mug to his mouth, taking his first sip of the coffee and loving how the smell infiltrates his nostrils first, waking him up properly almost instantaneously, and then feeling the burn as it passes down his throat. It’s comforting. “What did I do to deserve you, hey?”

Simon absentmindedly runs his fingers through Wille’s hair, brushing it behind his ears. He smiles to himself at his boyfriend's words. “How long have you got?” He jokes. “Actually babe, I’ve got some news.” Simon takes a sip of his own coffee now, before placing the mug back on the kitchen counter.

“Good or bad?” Wille asks, trying to brace himself. He raises an eyebrow as he questions Simon through his mannerisms as well as verbally. He can sense that Simon is nervous, which, in turn, makes him nervous.

“Good.” Simon confirms, a small smile growing on his face. “You know that there’s going to be a charity benefit concert in Stockholm next month?” 

Wille nods in response, his eyes scanning over Simon’s face. Everyone knows about the concert, it’s all that people have been talking about. People are expecting the Royals to make an appearance at it, given that the chosen charity is one that they have been linked to in the past - an LGBTQ+ youth project. 

“I’ve been asked to be part of it.” Simon confirms. “It’s been in the works for a few weeks now, but I’ve just got the official confirmation this morning. They’ll be announcing it later today.”

A grin breaks out on Wille’s face, the nervousness washing away from his body immediately, pride taking its place. “Can I come? Wille asks, beaming from ear to ear. He’s so proud, and he doesn’t even have to vocalise it for Simon to know, he just does.

A laugh tumbles from Simon’s lips. “I was kind of hoping that you would, as my boyfriend.” He grins. “But I understand if you can’t, given what the charity is.”

Wille shakes his head. “I’m going.” He’s adamant about that. “I want to support you. You mean the world to me, so I will be there. Plus, you know my family has supported that charity before?”

“Have they?” Simon asks, surprise evident in his voice. “Why were you so nervous about coming out then?”

Wille shrugs his shoulders. “It’s different, I suppose. I thought, yeah they might support gay rights when it comes to other people, but their son? I didn’t think they would accept that.”

Simon nods, pressing a gentle kiss to Wille’s lips. “I’m proud of you.” He admits.

“Me?” Wille incredulously asks. “I’m proud of you.”

“Shut up.” Simon snorts out a laugh. “Anyway, I’ll be sorting out the set list for it today.”

Wille leans down and meets Simon in the middle, their noses brushing against each other, teeth clashing together as they grin, trying to kiss the smiles off of each other's faces. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Nope.” Simon chuckles, shaking his head softly, his forehead resting against Wille’s. His hand slowly snakes up Wille’s back, underneath the stolen hoodie. “No new songs.”

A moan falls from Wille’s lips, rolling his eyes jokingly, until the words fully sink in. “Wait.” He exhales, pulling his face away from Simon’s, looking right into his eyes. “Does that mean I can pick an old song?”

“Shut up.” Simon groans, standing on his tiptoes now, trying to reduce the height difference. “You’re not picking the set list. It’s going to be a surprise for everyone, and that means it’s a surprise for you, too.”

A gentle sigh fills the room, Wille placidly falling against Simon’s body, every muscle in his body relaxing under Simon’s touch as he presses warm kisses to Wille’s neck. “Mean.” Wille sighs, with zero fire to his words, entirely too distracted by the embrace. “I’m your boyfriend.”

“That you are.” Simon confirms, chuckling against Wille’s neck. “Which means being able to come backstage with me and maybe, just maybe, being surprised every once in a while.”

Wille concedes that the idea seems fair, but he’s still going to spend the next month trying to persuade Simon to put certain songs on the setlist, for his own selfish reasons.

The month passes by in a blur of hidden meetings, secret dates, late night phone calls, Wille having public appearances and Simon running through his set list and all the choreography that comes with it. 

It’s all been leading up to this moment, written in both of their phone calendars, metaphorically underlined and circled in red. Today is the day that all the hidden meetings and secret dates could potentially unravel, and the thought of it is scary for sure - but they both know that regardless of what happens, they have each other. On the surface, this is just another performance for Simon, a performance in aid of a charity dear to his heart. On the surface, Wille is just a friend supporting his friend, attending the charity event as a member of the public, rather than as a royal, but he still has a role to play, understanding that his title means that he will probably end the day in the news for supporting this charity, which is exactly what happened when the rest of his family voiced their support for this charity in the past. Under the surface though, this is their first event together as boyfriends, and it’s the first time that Wille will be seeing Simon perform as his boyfriend, and it’s the first time that Simon will be able to look at the side of the stage and see his boyfriend standing there, watching him.

Because of that, this past month has somehow been both the longest and shortest month of both of their lives concurrently.

They made it here though. 

Backstage is loud, very loud. There’s been soundchecks running throughout the entire day, which means that the sound system has been working in overdrive, and as much as Simon loves hearing everyone practice, he’s starting to get a headache. He knows it’s not just the sound, it’s the stress and anxiousness as well, swirling into one big, miserable cocktail to create the worst headache known to mankind. His temples are pulsating, he’s convinced he can see the movement of them as he looks in the mirror. To escape the madness of the outside world, in which soundchecks are finally subsiding somewhat, and people are instead doing vocal warm ups and rehearsing their choreography, workers running around everyone in attempt to make sure that everything goes to plan, Simon is sitting in front of a mirror, hidden away in a small room at the back of the venue, his makeup artist putting their final touches to his look for the evening.

“Have you ever known it to be this chaotic?” The artist asks Simon, following a loud crash from outside the door, and at least two people running past at speed.

“Nope.” Simon laughs. “It’s been like this all day though, I think even before I got here people were running around. I get it, they want to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

Somehow, in amongst all of the noise, there’s a distinctive knock on the door, Simon’s heart racing in his chest at the familiarity of it. “Come in!” He calls out, warmth instantly flooding over his entire body.

The door opens, the noise from outside the room growing louder for just a moment or two, before the door is shut again. There’s a shy smile on Simon’s face as he continues to look in the mirror, now focusing entirely on the reflection of what’s happening behind him.

“I’ll leave you two to it.” The makeup artist states, giddiness exuding from her voice as she quickly packs up her bag. “Enjoy.” She teases, firing a wink towards Simon before she walks away, off to work on the next person.

Simon’s heart races even more when he watches the reflection of Wille stepping closer to him. He stays still in his seat as Wille finally reaches him, standing directly behind him. He leans down and presses a soft kiss to the crown of Simon’s head, before pulling away and resting his chin on top of Simon’s head, looking at him in the mirror.

“Wow.” Wille exhales. “You look amazing.” 

“Shut up.” Simon rolls his eyes, but there’s a beaming grin that’s ever growing when it comes to Wille, his headache now long forgotten. He turns around in his chair, craning his neck as Wille leans down to kiss him properly now, through slight giggles and widening grins. When they part, Simon scans Wille’s body. He’s wearing a dark blue suit, the shirt underneath his suit jacket open nearly entirely, apart from the few buttons at the bottom, the shirt hanging loose. Simon’s mouth dries up just from looking at him. “Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?”

“You could always tell me again.” Wille whispers, leaning down to kiss Simon once more, completely intoxicated by his boyfriend, his tongue fluttering against Simon’s, fingers threading through his hair.

Simon hums into Wille’s touch, his own hands now exploring Wille’s body, one hand on his chest, fingers hooking under his open shirt, searching for warmth whilst the other hand rests on Wille’s bicep, fingers circling his arm. It’s then that Simon realises that Wille has his arm firmly behind his back in an unnatural position. His eyebrows furrow as he pulls away from the kiss, his eyes flickering to Wille’s arm, confirming his beliefs.

“What are you hiding?” Simon laughs, rising in his chair as he tries to look over Wille’s shoulder, causing Wille to step backwards, a laugh bubbling out of him, carefree and full of happiness.

“Nothing!” Wille grins, his laughs finally subsiding. “I just wanted to surprise you, you know? Be a bit romantic.” He takes his hand out from behind his back, showing Simon exactly what he’s been hiding - a big bouquet of flowers, full of roses and tulips and lavender sprigs, all of Simon’s favourites. “For you, my love, because I know you’ll be amazing out there.”

Simon practically melts at the sight of Wille standing there, flowers in hand as he blushes ferociously. “Thank you.” Simon exhales, his eyes watery - and God, if he starts actually crying his eyeliner will be all over his cheeks. He jumps out of his chair, wrapping his arms around Wille, resting his head against his neck for a moment before he rests his hands on either side of Wille’s face, kissing his lips over and over again, not wanting to ever let this moment - this feeling - fade away. “You’re so perfect.” 

“I can’t wait to see you out there.” Wille beams, wrapping his arms around Simon’s torso as Simon places the bouquet of flowers into a drinking glass, filled halfway with water. “All I’ve been thinking about lately is how excited I am to see you perform.”

Simon smiles softly, leaning backwards into Wille’s embrace, his hands snaking across Wille’s arms which are already around Simon’s body, holding them both into place. “You’ve already seen me perform.” Simon laughs, turning his head to the side, looking up at Wille. 

Wille shakes his head. “I’ve not seen you perform when I’m your boyfriend.” He states. “I’m the proudest boyfriend in the world, so I need to see you perform.”

“You’re ridiculous and also you’re wrong.” He laughs. “Because I’m the proudest boyfriend in the world.”

“Shut up.” Wille hums, kissing against Simon’s neck.

“I’m serious.” Simon spins around under Wille’s hold, holding onto Wille’s waist with one hand, brushing through his hair with the other. “You know exactly what you being here today means, and you’ve not once worried about if people see you or said you don’t want to come because of that.”

Wille smiles softly. “Because I don’t care if people see me. For all they know, I’m supporting my friend. I don’t care if people see me, or talk about me being here. As long as I’m here, with you, supporting you - I don’t care about anything else.”

The concert runs smoothly, with all of the acts getting through their performances perfectly, without a single fault and sticking to the running schedule even with interactions with the crowd. It’s clear that everyone has been putting in so much effort to make sure the event is successful, from the workers behind the scenes all the way through to the performers on the stage. 

By the time Simon takes to the stage, the crowd has been singing and dancing along for a couple of hours now, but they’re still going strong, thoroughly enjoying their day. It’s no surprise to anyone - least of all Wille - that the screams of the crowd seem to be louder for Simon than they are for anyone else. Simon works the crowd like he’s made for it, and really, everyone supposes that he is. He basks in the glow created by the crowd, performing for them like it’s the last time he’ll get the chance to perform, giving them everything that he has. He sings flawlessly, and dances along to his songs, the hard work of perfecting the choreography over the last month finally coming to fruition. Every so often, he turns his body towards the left of the stage, his eyes quickly scanning over the bodies there until he finally focuses on Wille, and he finds himself beaming even more, still managing to continue singing and dancing, his eyes boring into Wille’s, occasionally waving to him mid-song.

Wille, thankfully, is so far back and obscured by stage workers that nobody from the crowd will be able to see him, unless they’re specifically looking for him - which, given that the entire crowd seems transfixed by Simon, they won’t be. He can’t stop looking at Simon, he is so enamoured by him. He realises in that moment, as Simon finishes up a song, that he could easily do this for the rest of his life, watching Simon perform. 

“So...” Simon talks into the microphone, and there’s a beaming grin on his face as he pants, trying desperately to catch his breath as the crowd screams. “It’s been a while since I released some new music, hasn’t it?” He laughs softly as the crowd somehow screams louder. “I’ve spent a long time writing and creating my new album, and I can officially announce that in two months from today, my album will be yours.” He watches as the crowd goes wild, screams turning into gasps and then back to screams once more. He takes a moment to absorb it all, thoroughly enjoying the moment. “Now, that means that I unfortunately can’t perform any unreleased songs - however, there’s nothing stopping me from performing a song I’ve never performed live before, though.”

Simon turns his body with the aim of walking to the back of the stage, but he takes the moment to look at the side of the stage to see Wille staring back at him, his mouth open in shock, though Simon can easily see the corners of his lips turned up into a grin.

“Let me tell you all a story.” Simon begins, walking up to the piano on the stage. “I wrote this song a number of years ago now, about a relationship that I was in at the time. Funnily enough, the relationship ended before I even released my album, but I still loved this song, so I put it onto the album. Now, years pass by and I meet someone new. Someone who I like very much, and who likes me, and this someone tells me that his favourite song is the song that I wrote for my ex. He tells me this, on the day that I first met him, by the way.” Simon pauses for a moment, attaching his microphone to the stand on the piano, quickly testing out a few notes. “By that night, I had started to write a part two of this song, because I realised that this man is going to be in my life forever, and he deserves to have a happy love song written about him.” Simon looks to the side of the stage. “You know who you are, so please stick around forever, because I want all of my songs to be yours too. This is ‘in love with the thought of you’.”

Simon doesn’t even give himself the chance to see Wille’s reaction to his words, instead choosing to close his eyes and immerse himself fully in the performance, trying to forget the thought of those three little words with huge implications which are swirling around in his head. Instead, he continues his performance, sweat beading down his forehead as he takes his ear insert out, listening back to the crowd singing every word. 

Wille watches on with tears welling in his eyes. He knows that Simon is nervous, not about singing this song, but showing his vulnerabilities, talking about their relationship - albeit managing to do it without any hints as to Wille’s identity. Wille knows then, he knows that he’s sticking around forever, just as Simon has asked him to. He wants this, he wants Simon, he wants to be able to go through life with him publicly, he doesn’t care what people say. Simon makes him happy. He makes Simon happy. At the end of the day, their happiness is all that matters to them. That thought is all that occupies his mind when he takes his phone out of his pocket, takes a quick video of the crowd singing the chorus back to Simon, and posts it to his Instagram story, typing ‘the happiest when i’m listening to your music’, and tags Simon’s account.

He knows the implication of the post, but he doesn’t bring himself to care much. Right now, all he can think about is Simon, and how amazing he looks up on that stage, and how much Wille can’t wait to kiss him the second that he’s off the stage in just a few moments time. There’s a gentle smile on his face as he takes it all in, his heart fluttering away in his chest and he knows then. He knows he can’t hold those words in any longer.

Within moments of the post going live, rumours of their relationship explode once again.

It’s just past one in the morning when they finally stumble through Simon’s bedroom door. Simon flickers a lamp on, not willing to make his room any brighter than that by turning his main light on - he managed to rid himself of his awful headache before going on stage, he’s not about to tempt fate and bring it back at this time. He’s restless enough as it is. They’ve both been out at an after party for the charity event, and at some point in the evening it dawned on Simon that this is what his life with Wille will look like - official events, schmoozing with important people, showing each other off. It’s exactly what he wants.

“Today was amazing.” Wille exhales, undressing himself in the faint light of the lamp. He turns his body towards Simon, walking towards him with just his boxers and his shirt on, his chest still mostly exposed. “You are amazing.”

“And you are drunk.” Simon laughs, letting Wille’s fingers thread through his hair and touch his face as he makes light work of unbuttoning the rest of the shirt now, pushing it over his arms.

Wille shakes his head, a bright grin on his face. “I’m not.” He’s adamant. “How many drinks did I have?”

Simon chuckles softly, reaching up on his tiptoes as he presses a gentle kiss to Wille’s lips, pulling back to see Wille smiling wildly in response. That look will never get old. 

“Two?” Simon questions, and he knows the answer. He knows that Wille isn’t drunk. He’s barely even tipsy, having only had two small glasses of mimosa earlier in the evening, and soft drinks for the rest of the time.

“Exactly.” Wille whispers, wrapping his arms around Simon. “Not drunk.”

“Thought you were going to undress me?” Simon asks. “That’s what you’ve been promising all day.”

Wille beams. He has been saying that all day, Simon’s right about that. “Maybe, just maybe, I’m letting myself take it all in.” He grins, resting his hands on Simon’s chest as his eyes scan Simon’s entire body, spinning him around teasingly. When Simon is standing with his back to him, a chuckle vibrates in Wille’s throat as he steps forward, pressing his body to Simon’s, his hand squeezing Simon’s behind teasingly, fingers dipping into his back pocket quickly. “Okay, I’m done looking.” He laughs, spinning Simon around again as he begins to unbutton his shirt.

“You’re ridiculous.” Simon laughs. 

Wille finds himself humming, finally getting Simon out of his shirt, dropping it to the floor as he hooks his hand around the small of his back, pulling Simon in towards him, dipping him slightly as though on a dancefloor as he kisses him softly, warm lips craving warmth. “Maybe.” He says, fingers tugging the zip of Simon’s trousers down. “But you like it, so who’s the ridiculous one really?”

“Still you.” Simon chuckles, his mouth against Wille’s collarbone, teeth nipping at his skin, causing Wille to hiss. Simon steps out of his trousers, watching as Wille tumbles towards the bed, sitting on the edge of it, looking up at Simon expectantly. “You know, I can’t quite believe you introduced yourself to people as my boyfriend tonight.”

Wille leans back on his hands as Simon crawls over his lap, hooking his arms around Wille’s neck.

“Well I am, aren’t I?” Wille grins. “Plus, I told people within the charity. They won’t say anything. You, on the other hand, told everyone on stage that you practically have a boyfriend.”

Simon rolls his eyes. “I didn’t say who though.”

“Just as well!” Wille laughs. “I can imagine the articles if you did that. I mean, we are trending worldwide right now as it is.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Simon asks, leaning forward and leaving wet kisses down Wille’s neck. “I’m not the one who posted something for the whole world to see.”

Wille can’t concentrate on the conversation whilst Simon is kissing his neck. It’s his weakness - one of them at least, when it comes to his boyfriend - and Simon knows it. With the pressure of his mouth against Wille, his body heavy on top of Wille too, it’s all consuming. Wille’s hands slide out from underneath him, and soon enough his back is against the bed, Simon’s body crowding over his, hands chasing hands, touches and kisses everywhere. “Shut up.” Wille hisses out, his voice heavy in his throat, eyes glazed over into darkness. “And kiss me properly.”

“With pleasure.” Simon laughs, his lips capturing Wille’s. 

It’s even later still when they’re laying in bed together, covers pooling around their hips. There’s silence everywhere, no cars on the streets, no music playing. Just the two of them, breathing in tandem. Simon rests his head against Wille’s chest, taking in each thump of his heart beat. A thought swirls in his head about creating a song to this tune, but he’s too tired right now to even comprehend a single thought beyond that. He uses his index finger to create invisible patterns over Wille’s skin, only partially aware that the patterns have somehow graduated from stars to hearts, repeatedly tattooing his thoughts into Wille’s skin, even if only subconsciously. 

Wille has his arms around Simon, holding their bodies in place together, never wanting to let go. He’s got on hand on his boyfriend, the warm palm running up and then back down his side, and he finds himself smiling as he feels Simon somehow nudge closer to him, though Simon is practically entirely on top of Wille right now so it shouldn’t be possible to get closer to him. With his other hand, he scrolls aimlessly through Twitter, reading post after post, and it isn’t missed by him that most of them are outrageously positive. News articles are growing by the minute, journalists probably working through the night to get their articles out first, trying to find any and all information and Wille knows that the missed calls the royal press office must have right now will be ever growing. A chill runs down his spine at the thought of being faced with that in the morning. 

With a sigh, he drops his phone onto the bed. “I’m sorry.” He admits softly, pressing a kiss to Simon’s head through his curls. “I knew this would happen the second I posted it, but in that moment I couldn’t bring myself to care.”

Simon splays his hand on Wille’s chest, fingers brushing against a darkening patch of skin where Simon’s entire attention was focused earlier. “Do you think I care?” He asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks at his boyfriend now, his chin digging into Wille’s chest.

Wille just shrugs in response, his body suddenly cold to the touch. He doesn’t know. “Don’t you?” He asks.

A small laugh falls from Simon’s mouth. “Babe, I couldn’t care less what people say.” He admits. “Yes, Twitter might be full of people trying to analyse everything about our relationship. Yes, there’s maybe a hundred articles about us right now, and there’s probably going to be a hundred more when we wake up tomorrow. If people know about us, that’s fine. You can introduce yourself as my boyfriend to anyone and everyone, I don’t care. It’s the truth. All I care about is you, and us and our relationship. I’m following your lead here.”

Wille brushes a curl away from Simon’s face carefully. “How would you feel about us telling everyone?” His voice is low, barely above a whisper as though he can’t believe he’s even found enough courage to ask that. It’s all he’s been thinking about for a long time, what it would be like, and now the thought is out there. Finally. 

Simon looks at him, furrowing his eyebrows. “And by everyone you mean…” He trails off, not wanting to say the wrong thing or make the wrong move. 

Wille smiles softly, finishing Simon’s sentence for him. “The public.” He confirms. “Everyone. The world.”

“Would you want to do that?” Simon asks gently, threading his fingers through Wille’s hair, brushing it behind his ears.

Wille turns his head ever so slightly, following Simon’s movements, letting his head fall into Simon’s hand, cupping his face, Simon’s thumb running gently over his cheek. “Of course I would.” He admits. “I’m so sure about you. You know you make me so happy, don’t you Simme? I’d have to speak to my parents, they’ll probably want us to make an official statement or something, but I’m pretty certain they love you too.” He exhales. “So, what do you say? Are we telling the world?”

A blush bursts its way onto Simon’s face as Wille’s words swirl around in his mind. His eyes fill with tears, threatening to leak onto his cheeks. “They love me too?” He asks with a shaky breath, absentmindedly twirling Wille’s hair around his finger.

“What?” Wille asks, his brain too tired to follow the conversation now, wondering how they’ve gone from Wille talking about coming out to whatever this is. 

Simon laughs softly. “That’s what you just said.” He states. “Your parents love me too.

Wille’s face contorts from furrowed eyebrows to shock as his words sink in. A flushes almost instantaneously, his heart sinking in his chest as he stumbles over his words. “Oh, I didn- I didn’t mean to tell you like this. I had it all planned out, how I was going to tell you and it definitely wasn’t like this. But yeah.” He exhales, holding onto Simon for dear life, trying desperately to not let him go. “I love you, Si.”

There’s a deafening silence and Wille is seconds away from closing his eyes and pretending that he’s fallen asleep, but he can’t stop staring at Simon. 

Simon, who is silent.

Simon, who is just staring back at him.

Simon, who has a stupid grin on his face, staring back at Wille and is the most fucking quiet Wille has ever seen him. It’s quite literally the worst timing in the world for Simon to decide he doesn’t want to talk right at this moment. But then he’s hooking his leg further over Wille’s body, now rising above him as he pushes his hands into the mattress, either side of Wille’s face and then he’s leaning down, capturing Wille in a kiss, pressing his lips to Wille’s with heat and giddy happiness and love. 

He pulls back for just a second, their faces still so close together that all he can find himself concentrating on is Wille’s breathing. “I love you too.” He admits, finally. “I love you so much.”

The confession is made at 02:37. They fall asleep, wrapped around each other, whispering sweet nothings and more love confessions, at 03:48. 

By the morning - which actually isn’t the morning, by the time they make their way to the shower - Wille tells his parents that he and Simon want to officially come out. By the early afternoon, it’s decided that they will come out to the world via an official statement, followed by interviews.

Neither of them care much about the details of it all, entirely too distracted by saying those three little words over and over again.

Chapter Text

A month or so lapses by since Wille first walked back into the palace, high from love confessions and a night with Simon, and told his parents that they want to make it official, that they want to tell the world how they feel about each other. It’s been over a month, and they still haven’t done it - not that they are in any sort of rush. To them, it’s just another stepping stone in their relationship that they simply haven’t explored just yet, but they both know that it will happen sooner, rather than later. There’s a silent understanding between the two of them that they’ll be waiting until after Simon’s album is released, because at least then Simon will be doing interviews, which will make the whole process easier. They don’t want it to be a big deal - even though it definitely is - but they just want to do it their way, which is a lot less stressful to think about than official statements and royal meetings.

In the month or so that has passed, they’ve been sneaky, hinting at their relationship.

The sunset filters into the room, the fluorescent glow of the sun illuminating Simon’s bedroom. Over the past month it has slowly started to become Wille’s bedroom too, given that there is a drawer full of his clothes and the pillow he sleeps on has his scent perpetually on it now. Simon has no idea how he went through life without Wille by his side, because he’s always there now and it’s like he belongs there. He really does belong there, in all honesty. 

“That’s so bright.” Wille winces, shutting his eyes for a second as he nudges his face into Simon’s chest, wrapping himself in the warmth of his boyfriend. 

Simon finds himself laughing softly, fingers immediately threading through Wille’s hair. “It’s the sun babe, it usually is.” He teases. “And here I was, thinking that the prince’s would get the finest education of us all.”

Wille rolls his eyes, detaching himself from Simon for just long enough to shuffle around in the bed - their bed, now. The laptop is a mere metre away, sitting on the bed below their feet as they watch a movie, or rather, the movie is on the background as the soundtrack to them spending time together. Realistically, they could walk only a few metres into the main room and watch the rest of the film on a television, but they’re comfortable lazing in the late evening in bed together. 

“Stop moving.” Simon lets out, hooking his hand around Wille’s thighs, holding him in place. “If my laptop falls onto the floor, I’ll cry.”

“I’d buy you a new one.” Wille comments, a cheeky grin on his face as his fingers snake their way to Simon’s hands which are warm against his legs. 

Simon narrows his eyes towards his boyfriend. “Not the point.” He deadpans. “It’s got everything on there. New songs, all of my important documents. It can’t break.”

Wille’s fingers wrap around Simon’s, staying in place against his legs. “Do you ever rest?” He jokes. “Why have you got new songs?”

“What can I say?” Simon shrugs his shoulders, lifting their hands out from underneath the covers, exposing their skin to the cool air of the room. “I’ve got a very annoying boyfriend who just so happens to be the source of all my inspiration right now.” 

Wille sighs, falling back into the - his - pillow, a bright, blissful, smile on his face. “I’ll never get over that.” He exhales, a pink tinge flushing across his cheeks as he cranes his neck to the side, looking at Simon. 

“What, being annoying?” Simon laughs, leaning down and leaving a soft kiss to Wille’s cheek, noticing how it flushes even brighter at the featherlight touch. 

A groan leaves Wille’s mouth as he rolls away, his legs tangling up in the sheets and an involuntary yelp falls from his mouth as he realises that he’s rolled just a bit too far and dangles over the edge of the bed, his embarrassment only saved by the sheets around his legs. 

Simon, hysterically laughing now, reaches over and pulls Wille back up by his flailing hands. 

“We need a bigger bed.” Wille comments when he’s back upright, now sitting right next to Simon, in the middle of the bed. “And I actually meant, I’ll never get over being your muse.”

“Oh we do, do we?” Simon asks. “You’ve never complained before.”

“I’ve never fallen out of it before.” Wille sighs, resting his head against Simon’s shoulder, both of them trying to catch their breath - Wille from nearly falling, Simon from laughing. “Anyway, about these songs.”

Simon shakes his head, a small laugh falling from his lips. He finds himself looking down at Wille’s left hand. “Not going to happen.” He says, looking up and pressing a gentle kiss to Wille’s lips. “So don’t even try.”

Simon lets his fingers curl around Wille’s, absentmindedly allowing his fingertips to create swirling patterns against skin. He doesn’t even need to look down to know that he’s firstly connecting each of his freckles one by one. It’s strange, how he’s able to pinpoint exactly where Wille’s freckles lay. He knows his body better than Wille does, at this point.

“Not even one?” Wille asks, fluttering his eyelashes, as though that is going to help him accomplish hearing one of Simon’s songs. It’s as good a try as any. 

“Not even one.” Simon confirms.

He continues his patterns, now drawing swirls and hearts and then his thumb brushes over the knuckle of Wille’s ring finger. A soft smile grows on his face as he hears Wille’s breath hitch ever so slightly. Simon lifts their connected hands and looks right at his boyfriend as he leaves a soft kiss to his ring finger and they both know what it means, they both know what the future hopefully holds for them.

“You’re obsessed with my hands.” Wille comments, but his heart is racing and a smile grows on his face. 

“Can you blame me?” Simon finds himself laughing softly, entwining his fingers with Wille’s, resting their hands on the bed between them. “I know what they can do.”

A soft gasp fills the room. “Shut up.” Wille says, but there’s no heat to his words. There never could be, when it comes to Simon. He flushes nonetheless. 

“Make me.” Simon pointedly says, scrunching his face up.

Wille chuckles softly and twists his body slightly, unravelling his hand from Simon’s for a moment as he reaches up to his face, pressing his hand to Simon’s cheeks, his thumb on one and his fingers on the other, Simon’s face still contorting in the middle, his eyes firmly on Wille now. Wille presses a fiery kiss to Simon’s lips, regretfully pulling away before Simon even has a chance for his body to catch up with his mind and fall into the kiss himself. 

“I love you, you know that, don’t you?” Wille asks. He should know that. Wille tells him every day now, trying to make up for lost time when he was thinking it but it was going unsaid.

Simon hums. “I know.” He smiles. “I love you too.” He really does, and saying it and hearing it never gets old.

“I’ll show you how much I love you later.” Wille says, turning his body again and opening up his hand, his palm facing upwards as he wiggles his fingertips, enticing Simon to put his fingers between Wille’s - which he does. “For now, I’m trying to watch this movie.” 

“What’s happening in it?” Simon asks, knowing full well that Wille hasn’t watched a single second of the movie.

Wille narrows his eyes. “Remind me again, why I’m here?”

“Beats me.” Simon shrugs his shoulders, trying to hide the smirk that is growing on his face. “You just turned up on my doorstep.”

“I’ll leave then, shall I?” Wille asks, whipping the covers off of his legs and trying to get out of the bed. 

“Nope.” Simon grins, his hold on Wille’s hand tightening, pulling him back into the bed. “You’re staying forever.”

Wille chuckles softly as falls back down, wrapping his body around Simon’s, kissing softly at his bare skin. “That sounds perfect.”

The movie, it turns out, is now over, and a new one begins to play, one that they’ve already seen before. Neither of them seem to mind much at all though, and their hands stay connected as they share kisses and soft words. 

Simon takes a photo of their hands together, Wille’s thumb blurry from where it’s moving in circles against Simon’s skin. He posts it to his Instagram story, not caring that people know he’s in a relationship now, knowing that nobody will be able to say that it’s definitely Wille in the photo. Not that it’ll matter soon, because when his album comes out, everyone will know the truth. He posts ‘he’s staying forever’ with the photo, alongside a heart emoticon.

One evening, after a date night, comes another moment in which they don’t exactly hide their relationship from the outside world. This time, the moment comes from Wille.

“So if they get married, would I have to go?” Simon asks, drying his hands on a towel. “I’ve never been to a royal wedding before.”

They are in Simon’s kitchen, both of them moving fluidly around each other as they cook for their date night. It came from nothing, really, but Wille once sent Simon a recipe that he had seen online, and ever since then, they’ve been cooking together. It’s easy, a time that they can share together, and enjoy the fruits of their labour and call it a date night all in one. Today, they’re making pizza from scratch, which means flour is on every surface - including themselves. Music plays faintly on the radio as they continue their conversation.

Today’s conversation topic: Erik.

More importantly, Erik going on a third date with a woman.

Wille moves past Simon, his front nudging against his boyfriend's back, and he presses a gentle kiss to the back of his neck, where the curls meet the skin. “It’s a date.” He says, wiping Simon’s face clear of any flour now that they’re ready to take their food out of the oven. “Not a proposal. Of course you haven’t been to a royal wedding, because my parents got married long before any of us were born.”

“You’ve been to some, though.” Simon shrugs, his thumb brushing through Wille’s brow as he wipes away the flour that he deliberately put there not long ago. He smiles softly and leans up to leave a gentle kiss to the corner of Wille’s mouth.

A small laugh exhales from Wille. “This may have escaped your notice, but I am in fact, a prince. Going to royal weddings is usually what occurs. Anyway, we don’t have to worry about that for a while. Like I said, it’s only his third date. I haven’t even met her yet.”

“I’m just saying,” Simon laughs. “I heard that prince’s get engaged after like three dates.” He wraps his arms around Wille’s waist, their bodies completely against one another, both of them sinking into the touch of the other. “How many have we had now?”

Wille rolls his eyes playfully. “Well, I guess it’s time then.” He says, detangling himself from Simon’s hold. He takes half a step back, holding onto his trousers as he pulls at the material slightly, tugging it up so that he has the ability to bend as he smiles softly, falling down onto one knee. He looks back up to see Simon standing there, a flush over his face as he doesn’t know what to do. “Simon, my love, will you do me the honour,” He pauses. “Of taking the pizza out of the oven whilst I tie my shoelace.”

“You’re such a dick!” Simon laughs, nudging his boyfriend out of the way as he opens the oven. “I hope yours tastes awful now, and before you ask - no, I won’t be giving you any of mine if it does.”

“Oh come on babe, I couldn’t resist.” Wille chuckles, wrapping his arms loosely around Simon’s body, resting his head in the crook of his neck. “You know I’d love to marry you, but Erik’s the Crown Prince, so he has to get married first.”

Simon turns his head, puckering his lips and smiles softly when Wille kisses him. It’s just so easy, the way they know exactly what to do without either of them having to speak. “Is that an actual rule?”

Wille shakes his head. “No.” He says. “We always talked about it like that though. That Erik would get married first, and I would be his best man, and then vice versa.”

“Well then.” Simon exhales, holding onto the plate before turning under Wille’s hold, handing the plate to him. “Let’s hope that the date goes to plan. Now sit, and eat your pizza.” 

Wille sits at the table, watching as Simon finishes up in the kitchen, taking his own pizza out of the oven. He could easily live like this, in domestic bliss with Simon. He practically does it already, he can’t remember the last night that they spent apart. He’s always here. He’s even got some of his own books in the bookcase now, and his own mug in the kitchen. It’s becoming his place as well, a home away from home - though he supposes that home is more of a person now than it was before. Ultimately, he belongs with Simon. Wherever Simon goes, Wille isn’t far behind.

“I love you.” Wille states, dragging himself out from his daydream. 

Simon warmly smiles, walking over to the table and placing his own food down, before he reaches over and leaves a kiss against Wille’s forehead. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over you saying that. I love you too.”

“You better.” Wille chuckles. “I’ve just told you that I want to marry you one day.”

“Good.” Simon grins. He’s still standing, and he has a box of matches in his hands. “Because I’ve maybe had the wedding planned in my head since the first time that I saw you.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Wille finds himself laughing, but if he’s being truthful to himself, he’s the same. He knows that it is still only early days, and that anything could happen. But he loves Simon, and Simon loves him equally. He wants this with him, he wants everything with Simon. If thinking about what their life could be like in the future is wrong, he doesn’t want to be right. 

Simon lights a match, a flicker of a flame on the end of the small stick causing Wille to move backwards. “Do not set this place on fire.” He says.

“I have done this before.” Simon confirms, transferring the flame over to the candlestick in the centre of the table and blowing out the match.

“How many candlelit dinners have you had, exactly?” Wille asks teasingly, taking a sip of his wine.

Simon rolls his eyes, sitting down now. “I have them all the time with my other boyfriends.” He jokes. “You’re not special, sorry to inform you.”

“Oh, I see how it is.” Wille laughs, reaching across the table and holding onto Simon’s hand. “Can I take a photo?”

“You don’t have to ask.” Simon says, and it’s true. Both of them love taking photos, it’s what they do. There’s no need to ask permission. Simon is following Wille’s lead here, always.

Wille smiles, lifting Simon’s hand from the table and kissing his knuckles softly. “I’ll rephrase.” He says. “Can I take a photo of you, and post it?”

“If that’s what you want to do, I’m not stopping you.” Simon says, his thumb comfortingly running over Wille’s knuckles. “Equally, I’m not forcing you to do anything. I know I posted our hands, and I know that you were worried when those articles happened afterwards. I’m following your lead, you’re the one coming out, so it’s up to you.”

The articles Simon is referring to are the ones that flooded the internet weeks back, when Simon posted the photo of their hands. Immediately, people were trying to work out who his mystery man could be, just as they did after Simon spoke about their relationship at the charity concert he was part of. On the surface, Wille was laughing at all the suggestions people were putting forward, but Simon knows him well enough to know that underneath the laughter, he was worried. For days after, Wille would find himself reading the articles, and everytime his name would appear in them, he could clam up. He wants to come out, he really does. He can’t wait for the day that he’s free and can show the world how much Simon means to him - but the longer he waits, the more he worries about people’s reactions. 

“I want to.” Wille smiles. “Not your full face, I’d like to keep that to myself for now, but I’m ready.”

“Then I’m ready too.” Simon beams.

So Wille takes a photo. Actually, he takes many photos. He takes one of the candle, flickering away. Simon is in the background of that photo, his head half on the screen, half off, but it’s ultimately a blurry background and you can’t really make out any defining features of his face unless you really know him. The second photo he takes is significantly less blurry, where you can see the pizza in front of Simon, and his smiling mouth in the background. Off camera, Simon is looking at Wille with so much love in his eyes that it causes a shiver to tingle all the way down his spine and spread across his body. Simon then moves, his head closer to the table now, contorting his face as he sticks his tongue out next to his pizza. Wille giggles loudly and snaps a picture, laughing at how ridiculous he looks. He shows it to Simon. “I might post that one instead.”

“Take a nice one.” Simon whines. 

Wille rolls his eyes, but does it regardless, taking a photo of Simon who is now resting his head on the back of his hands, smiling nicely at Wille, a flush spread across his cheeks and his eyes focused solely on Wille.

“You’re so beautiful.” Wille whispers and it doesn’t go unnoticed that the flush on Simon’s cheeks deepen at his words. “You can put that one on your dating app. You know, to get more boyfriends to share candlelit dinners with.”

Simon laughs softly, finally eating his first slice of pizza. “I’m all yours and you know it.” He says, tangling his legs with Wille’s underneath the table. 

“Yeah, you better be all mine.” Wille says, biting into his pizza. “I’m coming out to the world so I can be with you.”

In the end, Wille posts the first picture with a promise of posting the last picture soon. He wants to show Simon off, and he will. 

There’s only seventeen days until the album is released, and the world subsequently finds out about their relationship.

One day. One more day. Less than twenty-four hours to go - considering it’s barely past six in the morning now - until Simon’s second album is no longer simply just his, but the whole worlds. In less than twenty-four hours, the world will know the truth. Everyone will know who his boyfriend is - who he loves, and who loves him. It’s a scary thought, terrifying even, but they’ve spoken at length about this, and it’s what they want. They are ready for this, even if they’re nervous about it.

He creeps out of their bed slowly, turning around to look at Wille, who is still sleeping soundly there, his hair all over his face as the white covers surround him. Simon finds himself smiling at the very sight, incredibly jealous of Wille’s ability to sleep, without a care in the world. Simon pads into the main room, rolling his shoulders back and wincing abruptly as the movement catches on a nerve, causing warmth to spread immediately across his neck. That’s the last thing he needs right now. He forgoes the coffee, not because he doesn’t need it - he does - but because it’ll make noise, and most importantly, Simon categorically doesn’t want to wake Wille up from what seems like a peaceful sleep. Instead, he just takes orange juice out of the refrigerator and gulps it down, sighing at the refreshment of the ice cold drink.

His body aches as he sits down on the sofa, swinging his legs around so he’s laying on top of it entirely. He feels a bone crack - he’s not sure what one, but judging by the relief he feels on his knee suddenly, it’s probably that. He rests his head against the pillow, closing his eyes for just a moment or two, basking in the fact that his eyes being shut helps turn his brain off from thinking, before he has to open them again. Realistically, he could close his eyes and fall asleep right here, the sofa is certainly comfortable enough, but he can’t shut his brain off for that long, he already knows that. That’s why he’s in here now, and not with his boyfriend in their bed. He’s spent the past hour and a half tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling and then staring at Wille. It was relentless. All he could think about - can think about - is what tomorrow will bring for them. 

The thing is, he isn’t even remotely stressed about the album itself. He’s not. He knows that it will be well received, he’s spent the past week attending pre-release parties with some fans of his, playing his album to them and they have all really enjoyed it. What he is stressed about, however, is Wille coming out. It’s a big deal. A huge deal, even. He knows that Wille coming out means that he is the first royal to do so, and that alone brings media attention. He just wants it to go well. He wants the world to be kind to Wille, and he’s terrified that the world won’t be. 

His brain continues whirling around and he knows that he’s going to get an awful headache if it continues like this. He rubs his eyes and tilts his head back against the arm of the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Hey.” A voice quietly calls out into the silence of the room.

Simon turns his head towards the voice, watching as Wille leans his head against the doorframe, his arms folded in front of his chest, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. “Hey.” Simon whispers out, reaching out his arm towards his boyfriend. 

Wille walks over to him, tangling his fingers with Simon’s. “What are you doing up?” He asks, walking over to the front of the sofa, nudging Simon’s body with his leg, somehow managing to squeeze onto the furniture with him. 

They rearrange themselves silently, Wille now having his body against the sofa, whilst Simon lays on him, their legs tangling together. Simon rests his head against Wille’s chest, listening to the thump of his heart. “I could ask you the same question.” Simon states, a yawn falling out of mouth as though it’s punctuation. 

Wille chuckles softly, his fingers threading through Simon’s curls. “I can’t sleep without you now. It’s like my body knows when you’re not next to me.” He’s not sure when this reliance began, but all he knows is that he can feel Simon’s presence like a comforting blanket covering his body, mind and soul. “So why are you awake?”

Simon sighs, sinking further and further into Wille’s embrace. “Thinking.” He says, as though that explains everything. He’s too tired to be able to articulate his thoughts, annoyingly enough.

“Thought I could see the smoke coming from your ears.” Wille teases, before leaning down to press a gentle kiss to the crown of Simon’s head. “Thinking about what, specifically? Your album?” 

Simon hums. “Not really.” He sighs, wrapping his arms tighter around Wille, his hands going between his back and the cushions of the sofa.

“About me coming out?” Wille asks, breathing the words into the air, somehow making it all the more real. This is actually happening. 

There’s a nod against Wille’s body, Simon finding it impossible to talk now, for fear of his eyes welling up with tears and his voice shaking.

Wille absentmindedly plays with Simon’s hair, twisting a prominent curl around his index finger. “Baby, why are you worrying about that?” He asks softly. “If I’m not worrying about it, you shouldn’t be.”

Simon shrugs. “I’m just scared.” He says, looking up at Wille now, resting his chin against his boyfriend's chest. “I’m scared of it going badly. Of you being hurt. Of you regretting it, regretting me. I just don’t want people to hurt you. You’ll be the first royal to come out and that’s terrifying, it’s unprecedented. I just want to protect you.”

Hands tighten further around Simon as Wille holds onto him, breathing in his scent. “Simme, I love you.” He says, as though those words heal every part of Simon, washing the anxiety away. In a way, it does help. Simon will never get tired or bored of hearing those words. “I love you more than anything, but you’re an idiot sometimes. I’m ready for this. In all honesty, I’ve been ready to come out for a long time. Yes, I’m nervous about it, but you were too when you came out, you told me that. It’s normal to feel like that. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m ready. Listen, even if it does go badly, even if people say things to me, call me names, hurt me - I’ll still love you. I’ll always love you. I’d never regret you, or regret coming out. You know why? Because after tomorrow, I can kiss you in public, we can hold hands in public, I can take you on all the dates in the world and I can stand at the side of the stage at all of your concerts and say to everyone around me ‘you know that man up there? He’s mine’, and I can’t wait for that.”

“You mean that?” Simon asks, somehow managing to push up so they’re face to face now, Simon hovering over Wille.

Wille nods, a smile growing in the corner of his mouth. “I’ll love you forever and nothing, especially not people we don’t even know, will change that.”

Simon smiles softly, tears welling up in his eyes and he latches his lips onto Wille’s, sinking further and further into his touch. “I promise that I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” He murmurs against Wille’s lips.

After that, they somehow manage to fall asleep for an hour or two, Simon wrapped up in Wille’s arms, and when they eventually wake up - properly now - they spend the day, their last day without the world knowing, together. They read articles as they come out, Wille cheering when the ratings of the album come out one by one, never reaching less than four out of five stars. They laugh at his fans' reactions, each of them freaking out as more articles talking about the album comes out. 

The stress and worry leaves Simon’s body, and it’s replaced immediately with excitement. 

Simon stands in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich. “Do you want one?” Simon calls out, his mouth full of cheese. 

Wille doesn’t respond.

“Babe?” Simon calls out again, turning his head as he watches Wille, who’s sitting on the sofa, staring at his phone, clearly watching something. Simon waves his hand in front of him. “Earth to Wilhelm. Do you want a sandwich?”

Wille looks up at Simon. “Why haven’t I read the album dedications?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. 

Simon scans Wille’s face, trying to understand where this has come from and then - it hits him. “That interview isn’t supposed to be out yet.” He says. 

“It’s not.” Wille says, placing his phone into Simon’s hand and pressing play on a short video. “She just posted a preview.”

Simon watches the video, though he knows exactly what is coming - he was there when it was recorded, after all. 

“So,” Ebba begins. “I think it’s safe to assume that you’re now in a relationship. You’ve recently been posting some loved up photos with a mystery man to your socials, and at the charity benefit concert just a couple of months ago you dedicated a song to him as well. Do we get to find out who he is?”

Simon laughs, a flush across his cheeks. “I do have a boyfriend.” He admits. “He’s amazing. Very annoying, but amazing nonetheless. I love him a lot, and for some reason he loves me too. I’m not going to say who he is just yet, but there is a dedication to him in the album, so everyone will know who he is on release day.” 

The video cuts away and Simon hands the phone back to Wille, who’s looking up at him expectantly. 

“So why haven’t I read it?” Wille inquires, a bright grin on his face. He’s on his knees on the sofa, his hands against the armrest of it, staring at Simon. 

Simon laughs softly, stepping closer to Wille, reaching his arm out and threading his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, tucking it behind his ears. “It might have escaped your notice darling, but the album isn’t out yet. You can read it alongside everyone else.” 

“But-” Wille starts, his hands resting on Simon’s waist now.

“I swear, if you say ‘ but I’m your boyfriend’ , I will scream.” Simon laughs.

There’s a pause.

Wille smirks. “But I’m your boyfriend.” He states.

Simon raises an eyebrow, daringly. Then he opens his mouth and an almighty scream erupts from him. Wille winces but then rises from his position, his hands flying to Simon’s face and stopping him in his screaming tracks by kissing him. “Shut up, you idiot.” He says, lips against Simon’s, who’s laughing and grinning uncontrollably not. “If the neighbours call the police, how are you going to explain having a prince here?”

Simon wraps his arms around Wille’s waist. “Oh, I don’t know.” He exhales. “I’ll just say he’s my annoying boyfriend but I love him with every little bit of my heart and he’s here to stay.” 

Wille practically melts under Simon’s words, a warm tingle spreading over his body. 

“I promise.” Simon begins, though he has to stop his words because Wille kisses him. “I promise that you can read the dedication the second that the clock strikes midnight, and not a second before. I saved a copy for you.”

“You’re the best.” Wille grins, kissing Simon again. “And I will have a sandwich, if the offer still stands.”

Wille stands behind Simon, his hands snaking around his body. He rests his head against the crook of Simon’s neck, and kisses behind his ear softly. “Happy album release day, my love.” He whispers. “Can I read it now?”

Simon rolls his eyes. “You’re insufferable.” He teases. “Can I at least get a celebratory kiss first?”

Wille nods, turning Simon around under his hold, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips, fingers threading through his hair as he tugs at the curls ever so slightly, causing a barely audible moan to fall from Simon’s mouth. “You’ll be getting a lot more than a celebratory kiss in a minute sweetheart.” He whispers. “Now can I read it?”

Simon grumbles, but it’s not from annoyance - or it is, but not from Wille’s words, but more from the fact he wants Wille so badly right now and this insistence is stopping him from getting what he wants. Simon walks out of the bedroom for a moment, walking into his office and taking the vinyl out of his desk, bringing it back in with him. “Before you read this, just know that you’re the first person apart from my team that is reading this. Nobody else has copies, they’re all being delivered today.”

He hands it to Wille, who’s thumb traces the words on the front of the cover, ones that Simon has written to him today in sharpie. 

My Wille, I love you more than words can even begin to describe. I love you with every piece of me. You are the best part of me, my darling, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.

“I love you.” Wille looks up at Simon, tears already filling his eyes. 

Simon laughs softly. “I love you too. You haven’t even read the rest of it yet.”

Wille opens up the vinyl, reading the words on the inside of the gatefold. 

For the last year or so I have been writing this album. The lyrics really do hold a journey, a journey of many emotions, from sadness all the way to love. It’s been the most insane year, from my first sold out tour, to meeting all of you along the way, losing people and finding people. This album holds all of the secrets of my heart, and finally, it is yours. 

To my family, my Mama and Sara. Thank you for always being there for me, for loving me and teaching me to love. I am forever indebted to the both of you for all that you have done. Mama, thank you for giving me your strength, and thank you for always being there for me to fall back on. Thank you for giving me everything, for believing in me from day one. Sara, thank you for being the best big sister I could ever wish to have. Thank you for letting me annoy you always, and loving me regardless of that. You two are truly the only family that I will ever need. I love you both.

To my fans, thank you for being here. Thank you for coming to see me on tour, thank you for listening to my music, and thank you for giving me everything. I really would not be able to do this job without you, and I hope that you will all stick around for the journey, because this is just the beginning. This album is now yours, as much as it is mine. I love you all.

To mi Príncipe, thank you. There are no words to describe what you’ve done for me. Thank you for being my shoulder to cry on, my person to laugh with (and sometimes at), thank you for teaching me the reason of love but most importantly, thank you for being you. Wille, my forever love, you mean the world to me. You are my everything, my entire meaning in life. I want to write you songs, and dance with you, and dedicate all of my worlds to you forever. I am so proud of you, today, now and forever. Mi corazón te pertenece.

Wille places the vinyl down on the bed with shaky hands. “I love you.” He whispers out, not able to speak properly. “You’re my everything.”

Simon grins, letting his boyfriend hold him. He reaches up and wipes Wille’s tears away. “Why are you crying?” He asks softly. “They better be happy tears.”

“They are, you idiot.” Wille laughs incredulously now. “Just kiss me.” 

“Happily.” Simon whispers, holding onto Wille’s face, leaning up on his tiptoes, clasping his lips around Wille’s bottom lip, kissing him properly, like his life depends on it.

Wille falls into the embrace, holding onto Simon, both of them swaying together. “What does that last sentence mean?” He asks, lips against Simon’s.

“Mi corazón te pertenece . ” Simon whispers out, pulling away from the kiss just slightly, his lips just skimming Wille’s as he talks. “My heart belongs to you.” 

Wille’s heart skips a beat as his breath hitches. “Oh.” He breathes out. “Mitt hjärta tillhör dig.”

“Exactly.” Simon laughs softly, hooking his lips to Wille’s once again. “Now you promised me a celebration?”

Wille laughs. “And you say I’m insufferable.”

Simon doesn’t care for all of that, he just presses his lips to Wille’s and pushes him onto the bed, immediately straddling him. 

A statement from your Royal Family

We can today confirm that our son, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, is in a relationship with Simon Eriksson. 

Since he was young, Prince Wilhelm has been very aware that he is in the public eye, and he is extremely grateful that, despite this, he has been allowed the chance to grow and flourish without constant media attention. He hopes that this courtesy will be extended to his relationship now, and also in the future. 

As a family, we love and support Prince Wilhelm, and will continue to do so. Both he and Mr Eriksson are very happy together, and that is something that every parent should hope for their children. 

Going forward, Prince Wilhelm will be closely working with various LGBTQ+ charities to show his support for the community. We will also be working alongside such charities with a focus on LGBTQ+ youth, with the aim of creating a safe space for all. 

Prince Wilhelm and Mr Eriksson share their gratitude to all who are extending their well wishes to them.

HRH Queen Kristina & Duke Ludvig.

Wille drops his phone in his lap after he finishes reading the words of the statement. He’s already read it over and over again multiple times, but now it’s finally out there. He’s finally out. 

“You did it.” Simon beams, wrapping his arms around Wille from behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder, his face close to Wille’s, breath hitting his cheek. “I’m so proud of you.”

Instinctively, Wille finds himself falling back into Simon’s embrace, pressing against his body. It’s an immediate relief, a comfort blanket for him.

“How do you feel?” Simon asks, threading his fingers through Wille’s hair. 

Wille hums softly, fingers finding Simon’s skin, resting his hand on Simon’s which is against his chest. “All of the emotions?” He says, though it comes out as more of a question than anything else. “No, I mean, I’m happy - of course I am. So far, everyone has been so positive and amazing and I guess I’m still just waiting for something to go wrong.”

“But what if nothing goes wrong?” Simon whispers out. “What if, that’s it now. You’re out, everyone’s positive and that is simply all that happens?”

Wille smiles, his thumb running over Simon’s skin. He wraps his fingers around Simon’s hand, lifting it up from the warmth of his chest and pressing a gentle kiss to it. “That’s all I want.” He says. “It shouldn’t be a big deal anyway. I know it is, but it shouldn’t be.” 

“I know.” Simon exhales. “I love you.”

Wille turns around, still being held by Simon - and he could easily stay like this for the rest of his life, if he wants. He leaves a soft, almost shy, kiss to Simon’s cheek. “I love you too. I’m proud of you too. This is as much your day as it is mine. Actually, no - this is your day. You’re breaking all kinds of records.”

“Shut up.” Simon flushes embarrassingly quickly. 

“I’m serious!” Wille exasperates. “We should celebrate!” And then it hits him - they can celebrate. They can leave the confines of Simon’s house and not have to worry about people catching them and creating rumours before Wille’s ready to come out. He’s out now, everyone knows. They can go on dates, and hold hands and kiss. They can do everything they’ve been wanting to do. “I can post photos of you now.”

Simon laughs, the corners of his eyes creasing. “Yeah, you can.” He says when his laughs subside. “Is that really all you want to do?”

Wille shakes his head. “Well I want to do a lot more, but we can start with that.” He says, grabbing hold of his phone, noting that his notifications are full of texts from friends and acquaintances, congratulating him on his coming out. 

“Like what?” Simon asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, watching as Wille taps away on his phone. “If you’re posting photos, I want to do that too.”

“You can, that’s the whole point.” Wille grins, handing Simon’s phone to him. “We can go on holiday now. That’s what I want to do. And dates, we should go on dates in public.”

Simon scrolls through his phone, immediately being able to find his favourite photo of the two of them. It was taken only weeks ago, by Felice, when they all met up and had brunch together in her garden. “We could go on holidays together before.” Simon states. “We just never did.”

“No, but like, we can go on romantic holidays now.” Wille states, locking his phone and throwing it down onto his lap again, completely forgetting of its existence as he practically crawls over Simon now, pinning him to the sofa. 

Simon grins wildly when a notification pops up on the top of his phone, indicating that Wille has tagged him in a photo. He sighs softly as Wille kisses and nips at his skin, right at his collarbone, nose against his pulsepoint. “I get it, you want to romance me. That better be a nice photo, by the way.”

Wille hums against Simon’s skin. “What photo are you posting?” He asks. 

“You’ll see.” Simon smiles, finally posting it and locking his phone, fingers threading through Wille’s hair, legs hooking around his body. 

“Let me see then.” Wille says, detaching himself from Simon, who practically whines at the sudden loss of lips against his skin. 

Wille finds his phone - somehow, considering he just threw it between the two of them - and unlocks it, immediately clicking on the notification of Simon tagging him in it. It’s already gaining thousands of likes, even within just a few seconds. “You’re obsessed with that photo.” He says, but there’s a smile on his face that gives him away, showing that he’s as happy as can be. 

“Can you blame me?” Simon asks. “That’s the first photo of both of us that someone else took.”

It’s in Felice’s garden, both of them sitting on warm grass, the sun beaming down on them. Wille has his arms wrapped around Simon, their legs interlocked in front of them. Wille has his sunglasses on, and there’s a wild grin on his face as well as a pink blush. Simon’s got one hand on the back of his head, fingers through his hair, and the other on the side of his face as he kisses Wille’s cheek. The caption reads ‘ my forever love ’.

Wille’s eyes flicker down to Simon’s lips and it’s intoxicating - he can’t help himself. He presses his lips to Simon’s, grinning when he realises how pliant his boyfriend is underneath him. 

“What did you post?” Simon asks, grabbing his phone and unlocking it. He smiles immediately, seeing Wille’s post. 

It’s the photo of Simon, taken at their candlelit dinner only a couple of weeks ago. Simon is resting his head on the back of his hands, a bright smile on his face. There’s a deep flush on his cheeks that now seem to be perpetually there, given how much he finds himself blushing at everything Wille does or says. It’s his eyes that give him away though, more than anything else. It’s how he always looks at Wille - which means he never gets to see it himself - but here it is, immortalised. He’s all bright eyed and full of love and now he understands how Wille always blushes whenever Simon looks at him like this. The caption reads ‘look at me like that forever please ’.

Simon looks up at Wille, running his thumb against his cheek. “Public date number one.” He says. “Where do you want to go?’

Wille beams. “Anywhere. Everywhere. Can we go now?” 

Chapter Text

Five years later

Five years is a long time. It’s one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-seven days, give or take a few days depending on leap years. Both Wille and Simon have grown up a lot in those five years, and now they are living together - officially - and they have been for a while. They’ve been living together officially for three and a half years now, but both of them know that they have been unofficially living together for a lot longer than that. In the first year or so of their relationship, Wille practically lived between Simon’s apartment and the palace. One day, he realised that most of his belongings were at Simon’s place, alongside Simon’s belongings and it looked as though that was where they belonged. By the end of that day, they were looking at houses to buy, rather than to just keep renting the apartment. It was a big decision to make, and an even bigger stepping stone in their relationship, but they knew that they were ready to take it. They fell in love with one of the first houses that they looked at, and ever since that day, they knew that it was theirs. They quickly made it their home, and they’ve been living there for nearly four years now.

Simon is still making and releasing music. It’s his passion, and Wille would never ask him to give it up - he knows what it means to Simon. He still tours as well, though these days he tours with heightened security, especially because Wille is always with him when he does tour.

Wille walks silently into Simon’s office, leaning against the door frame as he watches his boyfriend sitting at his desk which overlooks their front garden. He could stand here forever, watching as Simon works. There is a repetitive tapping of a pen against wood and then a dejected sigh from Simon’s mouth before he rips the paper he once was writing on out of the book, scrunching it into a ball and throwing it behind his head, not caring where it ends up. He leans back in his chair, sighing once more. 

“Remind me again why we moved in together?” Wille asks, pushing himself off of the door frame and into Simon’s office now, bending down to pick up the scrunched up piece of paper from the floor, where it landed. “Would it kill you to actually make sure it ends up with the rest of the rubbish?” He’s teasing, and they both know it. Simon isn’t even remotely messy.

“Don’t look at it!” Simon practically shouts, spinning around in his chair, his eyes wide when he sees Wille holding the ball of crumpled up paper, trying to open it up. He jumps out from his seat and takes the paper from his partner and rips it up immediately, putting the shreds of paper in the bin now, rather than just blindly throwing it and hoping for the best - which is, admittedly, what he did at first. He loosens his own body, noticing that he’s highly strung and his heart is racing with worry, and he knows it won’t be long before Wille recognises that, because he knows Simon far too well. “Anyway, this is my office.” Simon lets out. “What’s wrong with yours?”

Wille smiles softly, wrapping his arms around Simon, both of them swaying in time together, as though there’s music playing in the background of their conversation. “It doesn’t have you in it.” He flirts, swooping down and leaving a gentle kiss to Simon’s lips. “I actually wanted to ask you how you would feel about a picnic for date night? I want you all to myself tonight, so I think it’s best if we don’t go out in public for our anniversary, if you get what I’m implying.” He wiggles his eyebrows for good measure.

“You’re insatiable.” Simon laughs.

“Of course.” Wille grins lazily, raising one hand as he threads his fingers through Simon’s hair. “Can you blame me?”

Simon grins, leaning up on his tiptoes and he presses a soft kiss to Wille’s lips, leaving behind a silent promise of more later. It is their anniversary after all, it only comes around once a year. “Deal. We’ll have a picnic.” He says, kissing Wille once more. “Now leave, I’m busy.”

It’s late by the time they escape to the garden with their picnic. Wille has been setting it up for the past half hour, making sure everything is perfect. He smooths down his clothes, dipping his fingers into his trousers pocket and smiling inadvertently as he feels the velvet object brush against his fingers.

“Are we ready?” Simon asks, smiling softly at Wille. 

Wille nods. “We are.” He says, his body just slightly behind Simon’s. “Wait. Close your eyes.”

“What?” Simon laughs out, confusion spreading over his face. 

Wille wraps his hands around Simon’s face, covering his eyes completely. He presses his body closer to him, so his breath hits the back of Simon’s neck. He’s sure he can see goosebumps appearing there already. “Just, entertain my thoughts for a second.” Wille exhales. “I want to surprise you.” 

Simon relaxes immediately. “Okay.” He hums out, sinking back into Wille’s embrace. “You’ll have to guide me. If I fall, it’s your fault.”

“I won’t let you.” Wille breathes out, guiding Simon out into the garden, walking slowly.

He would protect Simon with his life, a fact that both of them are more than aware of by now. It works the other way around, also. They both come to a standstill, Wille first - given that he was the one to set up the picnic and also is the only one who can currently see where it is that he’s walking - followed by Simon. He leaves a soft kiss to the nape of Simon’s neck, and then releases the hold he has on him. “You can open your eyes.” He says, his voice full of nerves and love.

Simon blinks his eyes open and his breath hitches at the sight before him. 

Laid out on the grass is a plaid blanket, a wicker basket on top of it. There’s a bottle of wine propped up against the basket, with glasses laying down next to the wine bottle. But that’s not the important detail. On the pavement walkway which is next to the grass, hundreds of tealight candles light up the darkening night, leading right up to the picnic itself. 

“Woah.” Simon exhales, full of wonder. He’s got goosebumps invading his skin, a chill running all the way down his spine and back up again. “This is beautiful. No wonder you’ve been out here for ages.” 

“You’re worth it.” Wille beams, fingers interlocking with Simon’s as they sit atop the blanket, their legs outstretched in front of them. Wille undoes the cork from the wine bottle, filling up both of their glasses as he speaks. “They took forever to light. I swear the wind hates me! They kept blowing out.”

Simon chuckles softly. “Well, you will decide on a midnight picnic.” He teasingly jokes.

Wille rolls his eyes. “It’s not midnight.” He says. “I just had it in my head that we would celebrate our anniversary at the same time of day that I asked you to be my boyfriend.” In truth, it’s a stupidly romantic idea that he had years before, back when he first thought of the idea of spending the rest of his life with Simon. He thought of the idea of asking Simon to marry him at the same time as he asked Simon to be his boyfriend - it was a passing thought, but one that he was never able to get out of his mind.

“We’ve never done that before.” Simon comments absentmindedly, pulling Wille out of his thoughts. “Celebrate just at night, I mean.”

Wille smiles softly, reaching out and threading his fingers through Simon’s curls, brushing strands of his hair behind his ears. “It’s our five year anniversary.” Wille states, a blush spreading ferociously across his cheeks. “It’s a big one. Forgive me if I want to be a little romantic on a day like today.”

“I’m just teasing you.” Simon says, hooking his fingers around Wille’s, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of Wille’s hand. “I love it, I really do. I love you .”

“Good.” Wille comments, leaning over Simon and grabbing a small sandwich from the basket. “I love you too.”

It’s easy. A comfortable conversation falls over them, talking about their past, present and future. They laugh hysterically as they reminisce, and sigh cosily as they talk of their plans for the future. 

Simon leans back on his hands, facing the sky as Wille giggles uncontrollably as he feeds a chocolate covered strawberry to Simon. It’s silly, but so are they. “You’re moving it!” Simon exclaims, holding tightly onto Wille’s arm to stop him from moving as he bites into the strawberry. 

“I can’t help it!” Wille laughs louder now, his arm shaking with his laughter. He leans over when Simon is finished chewing and stops him in his tracks, kissing him wildly. There’s a faint taste of strawberries and chocolate and wine and it’s intoxicating, really.

“We should build a greenhouse.” Simon comments when Wille manages to tear his lips away from Simon’s.

Wille furrows his eyebrows, confusion spreading over his face. “Just what everyone wants to hear after they’ve just finished kissing their partner.”

Simon rolls his eyes. “Well, we should.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Then we can grow our own fruit.” There’s a pause, and then - “God, when did we become so domesticated?” A laugh fumbles out of his mouth. 

Suddenly, Wille is laughing too, at the ridiculousness of the situation. He’s having a candlelit picnic with his boyfriend in their garden of the home they own together, he’s about to ask Simon to marry him, and Simon is talking about potential gardening ventures. It is, by any stretch of the imagination, utterly ridiculous. He doesn’t complain about it though. How can he, when he’s here, with the man of his dreams?

Nerves swirl through his body, knowing now that it’s getting closer and closer to the big question. He can’t bring himself to think about it properly, and instead, he chooses to attach his lips to Simon’s neck, leaving warm, open mouthed kisses to his skin. 

Simon practically sinks into the embrace, pulling his neck away from Wille so that it exposes more skin for him to kiss. It’s all encompassing. Simon can feel the nerves radiating off of Wille. “Why are you so nervous?” He breathes out, threading his fingers through the hair at the back of his head. He regrets speaking when Wille detaches his mouth from Simon’s neck.

“I’m not.” Wille states, though his jittery movements tell a different story. “I’m just trying to get comfortable on the grass again.” He moves once more, as though to prove his point. 

Eventually, they both lay down, looking up at the night sky above them. It’s a clear night, mostly. The moon is bright, and the stars are too, a scattering of them littering the otherwise navy blue sky which is twisting into blackness. Simon rests his head against Wille’s chest, Wille’s hand in Simon’s hair, finger absentmindedly twisting lightly at the curls. 

“Are you going to be all romantic and pretend to know constellations so you can point them out to me?” Wille teases. 

Simon turns his face to look at Wille, a flush on his cheeks. “Excuse me, I know about constellations, thank you very much.”

“Go on then.” Wille counteracts, wiggling his eyebrows. He knows he’s right, Simon knows nothing of constellations - but he also knows that Simon doesn’t back down.

So there lays Simon, fingers pointing up into the sky, as though he’s tracking the celestial objects. “There’s Ursa Major.” He says, eyes still scanning the night sky. “Somewhere.”

Wille snorts, and tilts his head back as he laughs into the abyss until Simon hits his chest with the back of his hand lightly. 

“Look.” Simon exhales, using his index finger to point out some stars above them, zigzagging across the way. “You have freckles that line up like that.”

Wille laughs softly and tightens his hold on Simon like Simon tightens his hold on Wille’s heart. “Of course you know that.” He states, rolling his eyes sarcastically but there’s nothing apart from love in his words. 

Simon grins wildly, as though his mouth is going to split into two. He pushes up from his position on Wille’s chest and kisses Wille’s jaw softly. “I know every inch of your body now. It’s been five years - give me some credit.” He twists his body so that he’s straddling Wille. 

“It has been five years, hasn’t it?” Wille grins, hands resting on Simon’s waist. “Happy anniversary baby.” 

Simon leans down to capture Wille’s bottom lip betwixt his own. He speaks into the kiss, his entire body warm and fuzzy and the aura of love floating around them. “Happy anniversary baby.” He says, pressing another kiss to Wille’s lips. “I love you with my whole heart.”

With that, Simon makes to stand up, soothing down his clothes.

Wille reaches out his hand, fingers hooking around Simon’s loosely. “What are you doing?” He furrows his eyebrows, sitting upright now.

“I just need to get something from inside.” Simon says. “I’ll be two minutes. Less than, even.”

“Wait.” Wille exhales, standing up. He shakes his head, trying to rid himself of his nerves. He doesn’t even know why he’s so full of anxiety for this moment. He’s built it up and up in his head and logistically the only thing that can go wrong is, well, if Simon says no. Which, admittedly, is a big thing. A huge thing, even. But something in the back of Wille’s mind is telling him that this is it, this is the first step for the rest of his - their - life, and Simon won’t say no to that. He exhales, wrapping his arms around Simon’s body and letting them away together for a moment. His breath is shaky as he tries to speak again, pressing a kiss to Simon’s forehead before he pulls away, dipping his fingers into his pocket, taking the ring box out, turning it in his hands as he falls to one knee in one swift motion.

A gasp falls from Simon’s mouth as he watches Wille in front of him.

A chill falls down Wille’s spine, igniting him in a fire. “Five years ago today, I asked you if you would be my boyfriend. I don’t know if you remember, but at the time I said I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life than wanting you to be my boyfriend?” It comes out as more of a question and Simon finds himself nodding. Wille hopes he’ll be nodding again in just a few moments. The very thought spurs him on further. “I know now that was a lie. I love you so much Simme. You changed my world, and made it better. Everyday I’m by your side, is the best day of my life. These past five years have meant the world and more to me. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life than wanting you by my side forever, as my husband.” He snicks open the box, showing the ring he had designed months ago cushioned in the bottom of it. “So what do you say? Will you marry me?”

There’s a flush spreading rapidly over Simon’s cheeks as a shy smile covers his face. “Of course I will.” He exhales, letting his body be wrapped up in Wille’s arms as he spins them both around. When Wille eventually places him down, sliding the gold band onto his ring finger, a perfect fit - like most things in their relationship, as though it’s meant to be, Simon places his hands to either side of Wille’s face, both of them meeting in the middle as they kiss ferociously. “I love you.” He says. “I love you so much.”

Wille repeats it back and yes, it’s been five years and they tell each other every day - having subconsciously made it a thing to never go to bed without saying it - but that doesn’t mean that the feeling they get when they hear those words go away or the words mean any less - in fact, it grows.

Simon manages to somehow wait for four days. Four entire days after Wille proposed to him. By the end of the second day, he’s restless. The third day was the tipping point, when he decided that he had to stick to his plan. The last three days have been amazing. They’ve been living in this giddy, happy bliss, where they steal kisses from each other constantly, and make outrageous plans for their wedding - just because they can. They probably won’t stick to the plans, and some of them truly are outrageous - but they keep trying to one up the other with a thought of an idea and as time progresses, they get more and more bizarre and crazy. 

Simon is sitting in his office, his legs resting on top of the desk as he reclines in his chair, looking out at the front garden. It’s a beautiful day, with not a cloud hung up in the sky. The sun shines brightly, glistening in through the window, illuminating the room. It causes Simon to blink every so often, the sun getting in his eyesight. He taps his fingers against the arm of his chair, a repetitive tune that he recognises immediately as a song he’s been writing for the last couple of weeks. He smiles absentmindedly and finds himself looking down towards his left hand, the one which has been doing the tapping. The ring really is perfect, Wille did an amazing job. A sigh falls from his lip as he rotates the ring around his finger. It’s only been three days, and yet he knows that if he takes it off, his hand will already look bare. He wants it to stay on his left hand forever, and it will. There’s just something niggling in the back of his mind, telling him that he should do it, that he should stick to his original plan and propose to Wille, even though it’s days on from when he wanted to do it, and they’re already engaged.

He surmises that he has the ring already, and he doesn’t want that to go to waste. He’s going to do it. He’s going to propose to his fiancé, as ridiculous as that sounds.

He moves in one swift motion, swinging his feet off of the table, pushing forward in his seat and pulling the desk drawer out. He looks inside it, noticing how the ring box is still there, tucked up right in the top corner of the drawer, hidden under a folder, right where he left it. A laugh falls from his mouth, because nothing in this home is a secret, especially where Wille is concerned. He has this weird ability to know where everything is, so when Simon loses something, Wille always finds it within ten minutes. He’s shocked that it’s somehow still where he left it, because he’s convinced that Wille would have found it - it’s been months now, and it’s managed to stay well hidden. He takes out the box, hiding it in his pocket and also takes out some pieces of paper, his plan coming to fruition, even if it is too late to be the first one to propose. 

His final thought is about how ridiculous all of this is, but then he stands up on shaky legs - entirely nervous for zero reason - and walks out of his own office to find his fiancé.

“Wille?” He calls out, his grip on the pieces of paper tight, needing to hold onto something in an attempt to somehow calm his nerves.

“I’m in my office.” Wille responds, and Simon can hear the smile in his voice without even being able to see him. 

Simon stays silent, walking over to Wille’s office. When he reaches the room, a burning blush appears on his cheeks as he watches Wille sitting there, already looking at the door, waiting for Simon to appear.

“What’s up?” Wille asks, out stretching his hand for Simon to take. Which he does. 

Simon stands in the gap between Wille’s legs, left hand in Wille’s right. A perfect fit. “You know how I said that I’ve been asked to do a photoshoot and an interview for a magazine?” Simon asks and thus the plan begins. 

Wille nods, looking up at Simon and still smiling. He’s been smiling nonstop for four days now, showing no signs of stopping or the happiness that they find themselves in fading away anytime soon. 

“They sent over the questions earlier today so I thought you could just quickly go through them.” Simon states, handing the paper over to Wille. “They want a response by the end of the day today.”

These days, when Simon has an interview, all of the questions have to be pre-approved - a notion brought on by the royal family, and Simon has never had any complaints about that. It actually helped him out a lot, because it meant that his interviews continued to be about his music and career, rather than about his and Wille’s relationship. It meant that they could share their relationship on their own terms, which in turn, has made life so much easier. Wille is often the person who looks through the questions, putting a tick next to the ones that can be asked without ever second guessing. Not only is he aware of what questions could be asked from a royal perspective, he also knows Simon inside and out, so he knows what questions Simon will be comfortable with answering. Which is exactly why Simon hatched this proposal plan. The questions aren’t real, he wrote them himself. It’s what he was doing the morning of their anniversary and Wille’s subsequent proposal Ever since he realised that he wanted to ask Wille to marry him, he’s had the idea of writing the proposal under a fake guise of asking Wille to read through potential interview questions.

Wille swings around in his chair, reading slowly through the questions with a pen in his hand. Simon stands behind Wille, bending over ever so slightly as he wraps his arms around Wille’s shoulders, resting his chin on the top of Wille’s head, causing him to chuckle softly. 

It starts off well, with normal questions about music and tours. It’s exactly what happens with every set of questions, a fact they both know well enough by now which makes it more realistic - as though Simon hasn’t written these questions himself. Wille ticks through them easily, and Simon tracks every pen stroke, somehow managing to read the words at the same time as Wille. 

Before long, Wille has ticked off most of the questions on the page, and he’s on the last couple of questions now. Simon starts to get more nervous and his heart is racing. Wille can probably feel it, it’s beating that violently. It’s ridiculous, it really is. Simon has no reason to be this nervous. As if Wille would ever say no. He literally proposed himself only a few days ago. 

Wille taps his pen next to a question, the paper making a weird noise which breaks Simon out of his irrational daydream. “You can answer that, if you want.” Wille says, laughing. Simon knows exactly what questions he’s referring to without even looking. It’s the last one on the page. 

It reads: You and Prince Wilhelm have been dating for five years now, are there wedding bells on the horizon?

Simon hums, nerves bubbling away inside of him now, threatening to burst out into the ether at any given point. Is this how Wille was feeling, four days ago? Simon can only imagine how much more nervous he would have been if he knew that there was a chance that Wille would say no - because now that Wille has already proposed, it would be ludicrous for him to turn Simon down. It’s now or never. 

“Turn over the page.” Simon says, though really it comes out as nothing more than just a whisper.

So Wille does, without a second thought. He turns the page, and furrows his eyebrows when the page is empty, apart from three sentences printed on the bottom of the paper, making up one singular line across the paper.

It reads: My love, you make my world complete. I love you. Will you marry me?

Simon can hear as Wille’s breath hitches. 

Wille tilts his head almost instantly, looking up at Simon. “What?” He breathes out. 

A little laugh exhales from Simon’s mouth, and he’s suddenly no longer nervous. He leans down and kisses Wille softly, though the position is strange, with Wille sitting in his chair, his head leaning back and Simon leaning over the top of him. He uses this moment to take the ring box out of his pocket and snakes his arms over Wille’s body one more. He taps against Wille’s chest twice with the box, causing Wille to look down at it. Simon places his head next to Wille’s, resting his chin against Wille’s shoulder as he speaks. “You beat me in asking me to be your boyfriend first, then you beat me in asking me to be your husband first.” Simon laughs softly. “I’ve been planning it for months, you idiot. I even had the ring engraved with our anniversary date on, the day you asked me to marry you, because I was planning on proposing then too.”

Wille grins wildly, a ferocious blush deepening across his skin, his eyes watery now, with tears threatening to burst out. “Well you haven’t actually asked me yet.” He teases.

Simon rolls his eyes, but decides to play along regardless. He falls delicately to the ground, balancing on one knee. He opens the ring box with a snick. “Wille, my love, you’re an idiot, but you’re my idiot. I love you more than words can say, which is ridiculous because words are kind of my thing. I promise that I will spend the rest of my life writing songs about you, and making you happy, because that is what you deserve. Please, will you marry me?”

The grin on Wille’s face somehow grows exponentially at Simon’s words. “Of course I will.” He beams. “I love you so much.”

Simon stands up from his position, placing the ring on Wille’s finger and it looks as though it should have been there all along. It’s strange how something so new looks so right. The next time he gets to put a ring on Wille’s finger will be their wedding day, and that’s a thought that causes a chill to fall down Simon’s spine. “I love you too.” Simon whispers, kissing Wille once, twice, and forever more. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

Their love really is forever.

THE END.