Chapter Text
Wilhelm can feel his mom staring him down from across from where he's standing at the podium after having just come out to his entire country. He can see the cameras still rolling to his left, one or two of them most likely streaming his speech live for all of the Swedish public to see, if they wanted to. That’s ten million people he’s just come out to.
He hadn’t really thought this far if he was honest with himself.
Considering how fast his and Simon’s video had spread on social media last year, it is very likely that his sexuality will be the topic of international conversation within the hour.
Still, Wilhelm cannot bring himself to regret it. Not when Simon had smiled at him just now, before he had had to turn back to face his people once again. Finally, finally, there were no more secrets between him and his boy.
God, he desperately wants to get out of here already.
With a sigh, he turns to address his people again.
“I am proud to be your Crown Prince, and as such, I felt it was disloyal to you and our country to hide this part of me behind closed doors. I believe we as a nation are better than that, I want to believe we are better than that. Honesty,” he says, staring right at his mother as he continues, “is the virtue I aim to live and rule by. From here on out, I want you, Sweden, to be able to count on me and to trust me to be the King you deserve one day. That work starts today.”
He sees Jan-Olof finally manage to get the press to stop filming, but it’s too late now. He’s said what he needed to say, and the proverbial damage is done. Simon is standing behind him, and Wilhelm is finally the person he’s always wanted to be.
Then, before waiting for the headmistress to try and calm down his already whispering classmates, he turns around on the spot and starts walking towards Simon.
He can see the questions flashing behind Simon’s eyes, the hesitation with which he holds his shoulders high, but underneath all that Wilhelm knows him well enough to know that Simon is happy. He can see it in the way he’s forcing himself to not let his smile show.
The entire crowd seems to be holding their breaths as they wait for whatever Wilhelm is going to do next, but when Wilhelm reaches him all he does is hold his hand out, and Simon takes it immediately.
Then, after a second, Wilhelm starts running away from all of them, dragging Simon behind him by their joined hands. Thankfully, Simon catches on quickly, and together they sprint through the main building and out towards the stables before his bodyguards have the chance to react, giving them a head start. When they get there, Wilhelm slows down to not spook the horses and rounds a corner before shoving Simon into a storage closet and locking the door behind them.
Then, he finally allows himself to breathe fully. When he meets Simon’s eyes, it only takes a second before both boys burst out laughing.
“You didn’t-” Simon wheezes out, leaning over to catch his breath. “You didn’t have to do that. I didn’t expect you to do that, fuck, Wilhelm.” Simon continues, looking up at him.
And Wilhelm grins widely, looking down at his boyfriend before reaching down to grasp Simon’s jaw and using his grip to pull Simon back up from where he’s leant over. When Simon’s back upright, Wilhelm focuses his eyes on Simon again.
“You didn’t want to be kept a secret. Despite what you said, being kept a secret was not what you deserve, and I want you to have everything you deserve, baby”, Wilhelm says easily, and there’s not even an ounce of regret in his voice.
And then, giving Wilhelm not a second to prepare, Simon backs him up against the door quickly and takes his head in both of his hands before crashing their lips together.
Wilhelm responds immediately by wrapping his arms around Simon’s neck and giving as good as he’s getting.
It’s not really a good kiss, because they’re both grinning too much for their lips to properly move together, but none of them cares. A few days ago, Wilhelm didn’t think he’d ever get to have this again.
He’s never letting Simon go again.
They gain their footing back soon enough, and their kisses increase in intensity until they’re both flushed and out of breath. When they finally separate, it’s only to leave a few inches of space between them, with Wilhelm’s hands moving to the nape of Simon’s neck to hold him in place.
Then, after taking a few breaths to collect himself, Wilhelm starts to press kisses down Simon’s neck, groaning in satisfaction when Simon’s hips involuntarily grind into his as a response which pushes Wilhelm impossibly closer against the locked door while Simon threw his head back and exposing more of his neck to Wilhelm’s eager mouth.
And boy, does Wilhelm want to take advantage of that.
He doesn’t get to, however, because his phone starts to ring at that very second.
He’s about to ignore it altogether, certain that it’s his mother or one of her people calling to chastise him for what he just did, and he’s not ready to deal with any of that just yet.
But Simon doesn’t let him. When his boyfriend moves one of his hands from Wilhelm’s jaw to grab at Wilhelm’s phone in his blazer pocket, he freezes as he breaks their kiss to read the screen.
“Wilhelm, baby” Simon starts cautiously. “Why is Alexander Claremont-Diaz calling you?”
And well, fuck.
For obvious reasons, he hasn’t told Simon about how he’d spent his New Year in London on a state visit. It’s not something he’s been withholding on purpose, but it’s really been high on the list of things he and Simon had needed to talk about.
He kind of wishes they had now though, because he’s sure it’ll be jarring for Simon to find out Wilhelm’s been hashing out their relationship drama with the First Son of the United States.
Oh well, Wilhelm thinks, no time like the present.
He releases Simon with a disgruntled groan before holding his hand out and motioning for Simon to hand his phone over before his phone will stop ringing. Simon does so wordlessly, and Wilhelm puts the phone on speaker as soon as he accepts the call.
He’s about to tell Alex this, but Alex starts speaking before Wilhelm can get a word in.
“Well I’ll be damned Wilhelm, you worked faster than I expected. That’s a hell of a show you put on!” Alex exclaims, glee evident in his voice.
“Now’s not really the best time Alex,” is what he settles on in reply while he reaches for Simon with his free hand to ease the confusion on his boyfriend’s face.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s not,” Alex laughs. “I’m surprised you even picked up, to be honest. I figured you’d been dragged off to a crisis meeting as soon as the cameras shut off.” He continues, a smile evident in his tone coming over the connection.
“Not exactly. How’d you even hear about that, anyway? It’s only been fifteen minutes and you don’t even speak Swedish?” Wilhelm questions.
“Wilhelm, that speech you just held has been translated and gone viral on Twitter already. Even if it hadn’t been, Henry texted me as soon as it was over. You’ve caused quite a stir within the European royal circle, kid. Henry and I are very proud of both of you.”
Then, because realisation seems to finally have hit Simon, Wilhelm’s boyfriend gasps in shock before cutting in. “Henry, as in Prince Henry?” Then he stares at Wilhelm in horror. “Wille, have you been talking to Prince Henry and Alexander Claremont-Diaz about our relationship?” He continues before lightly slapping Wilhelm on his chest.
Wilhelm’s not too worried about it, but before he’s able to defend himself, Alex decides to admonish him.
“You’re with Simon? Wilhelm why the hell did you pick up the phone?” He exclaims. Then, seeming to catch himself, he rushes to add “Simon! It’s so nice to finally be able to talk to you! It’s great to hear you and the idiot were able to work through everything! Henry and I were sure you would, but it’s always nice to have confirmation.”
Simon laughs then, and Wilhelm can see the shock giving way to amusement. Relief floods him instantly.
“Am I going insane or am I talking with the U.S. President’s son right now? Like, is that a thing that’s happening to me right now?” Simon says in part amusement part nervousness.
“Well, that depends. You’re not a conservative, are you?” Alex responds, but there’s not a trace of an actual question in his tone. Still, Wilhelm guffaws.
“You think I’d ever go out with a conservative?” Wilhelm exclaims at the same time as Simon yelps out a “A conservative? I’m more of a leftist than your so-called liberal country will ever be” in his own defence.
Alex bursts out laughing then, and it takes a few seconds before he’s able to respond.
“Not a conservative, got it. Yeah, my mom’s the president, but I’ve kinda been known as Prince Henry’s boyfriend since last year. I don’t mind, we fought like hell for our relationship. But I guess you two know what that feels like, now.” Alex responds before adding, “Hey, Simon? I guess I should give you a proper ‘welcome to the queer prince consorts' club’ when we finally meet, huh?”
And Wilhelm smiles at his boyfriend then, because yeah .
Simon smiles back.
Suddenly too tired to stand up anymore, he moves to sit down on the wooden floor, dragging Simon down with him. When they’re down on the floor, Simon turns around to lean his back against Wilhelm’s chest before pulling Wilhelm’s arms around his chest to lace their fingers together again. Sitting there at that moment is the closest thing to peace Wilhelm has felt in months.
“Yeah,” Simon says after a second, and Wilhelm’s brought back to the fact that they’re still on the phone. “I think I’d like that. I’d love the opportunity to convince you of the wonders of democratic socialism.” He continues.
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Alex responds with no heat behind it. “Sanders already tried with my mother, but I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. We gotta stick together, you and I.”
Simon looks shocked then, and Wilhelm realises he must’ve been dumbfounded about the fact that Alex Claremont-Diaz is willing to talk politics with him. For his part, Wilhelm’s just glad they’re going to get along, he doesn’t care what they talk about.
Simon recovers quickly enough, and responds with a sly “Maybe dating a prince isn’t all too bad after all.” Warmth blooms at the centre of Wilhelm’s chest, even if Simon’s word is at his own expense.
Still, his words bring Wilhelm back to a question he really should’ve asked way earlier in this phone call.
“Hey,” he inserts himself back into the conversation. “Where’s Henry anyway? I thought you guys couldn’t stay away from each other these days.”
“Oh trust me, this is not by choice. He’s back in London working out some of the finer details for when he wants to open a London-based shelter of his foundation. I would’ve gone with him, but law school has been a pain and I have an exam on Friday. He’ll be back this weekend though, so I’m trying to survive until then.” Alex explains, and even though he’s trying to play it off as a joke, Wilhelm is pretty sure there’s some truth to that last sentence. Those two were inseparable.
“Should we expect a call from him too then?” Wilhelm asks to take Alex’s mind off of his longing, and his words make Simon turn his head to look at Wilhelm’s side profile. He’s momentarily confused until he realises what he’s just said.
We.
He’s not the only one still in disbelief that they’re finally together, it seems.
Alex hums in affirmation over the connection before he responds. “Oh yeah, he probably would’ve called you before I got the chance, but he’s been stuck in meetings all day and only found the time to send me the link to your speech before he was hauled away again. Speaking of, I should probably let you guys go deal with that now, I’ve been hogging your time long enough.”
Both he and Simon groan at the reminder, but Wilhelm knows Alex is right. They’re not done fighting for their relationship yet. On the other side of the door somewhere, his mom is probably working herself toward a panic attack.
“Well, we’ll meet up soon, when the dust has settled, yeah? Maybe Simon and I can finally show you around Stockholm.” Simon squeezes his hand to signal that he’d like that.
“Oh definitely! As soon as this semester finishes Henry and I will be on a plane to Sweden in an instant. That’ll give you some time before being bombarded by the joint force of the American and British press corps as well. Be warned,” Alex jokes, “they can be a lot”.
Wilhelm looks down at Simon, who’s closed his eyes now as he’s resting against Wilhelm still.
I think I can handle anything as long as he’s right next to me, Wilhelm’s mind muses.
“Thanks for the heads up, Alex, I’ll talk to you soon, yeah?” He says over the phone to Alex instead of letting his thoughts spiral down that rabbit hole.
They say goodbye, with Simon chiming in as well, and when Wilhelm finally hangs up, they’re finally alone again.
If only this could last.
He taps their intertwined hands against Simon’s stomach twice as he leans down to whisper “C’mon baby, it’s time. We need to get back out there and deal with this now,” into Simon’s ear.
His boyfriend shivers at the contact before groaning his disapproval of Wilhelm’s proposal. Still, after only a minute, Simon is the first to stand back up between the two of them. He holds his hand out for Wilhelm to take as soon as he’s back on his feet, and Wilhelm takes it without hesitation, letting Simon pull him back up as well. When they’re both standing, Wilhelm doesn’t let go of Simon’s hand.
He’ll never turn down the opportunity to hold Simon’s hand, after all.
“Well then,” Simon starts before leaning in and giving Wilhelm a way too short kiss for Wilhelm’s liking. When he leans back, Wilhelm chases after him for a beat before catching himself. Simon smirks at him before continuing what he was going to say. “Let’s go face the music then shall we, my prince?”
His boyfriend laughs at his own joke when Wilhelm moves to jab him in his sides, and Simon’s laughter quickly turns from happy to force when he starts tickling him in earnest for a few seconds before stopping at his boyfriend’s pleading.
“I’ll get you back for that later.” Simon promises.
And there it is. The promise of after almost brings Wilhelm to his knees.
Instead, he simply responds with a “Yeah yeah, I’ll hold you to that” before turning around to unlock the door.
Before he opens it he reaches blindly behind him for Simon’s hand, and together they walk out of the storage room.
Whatever comes next, he has Simon back.
It can’t get any better than this.