Work Text:
Can you come home this weekend?
Wille had been staring at the message for nearly five minutes now. That's all it said.
Can you come home this weekend?
Erik was never the clearest when it came to texting, he never had been. But he usually did far better than something this vague, slightly ominous, and incredibly anxiety-inducing. No elaboration, no clarification- just a timestamp from five minutes ago and an extremely discomforting question.
Eventually, Wille snapped out of his potential spiral, pushing the call button and bringing the phone to his ear. As he waited, he chewed on the skin of his thumb, his leg bouncing up and down as he sat in his desk chair. After about three rings, his older brother's voice came filtering through.
"Hey, what's up?"
Wille took a sharp breath in, not sure if he should be relieved by the calm tone of Erik's voice or pissed as hell that he sounded just fucking fine .
"What's- That's all you're gonna- You, are you- Erik- Are you okay?"
Erik was quiet for a moment. "Um. . . yes?"
Wille pulled his thumb from his mouth to run his hand through his hair. "And mamma? Dad? They're okay as well?'
Erik gave a hesitant laugh, "Yes? Wilhelm- are you okay?"
"Am I- Erik! You just sent me a text asking if I can come home. No explanation."
He could hear Erik take a breath in. "Ah. Right. Sorry about that, I didn't think about how it sounded. Sorry, Wille."
Wille took a deep breath in, running his hand down his face before letting it fall in his lap.
"It's fine. I'm- It's fine. As long as you're okay."
"I am, I promise. I'm really well, actually."
"Yeah?"
Erik hummed, "That's why I texted you actually. Would you be alright with coming back to Stockholm Friday night? Spending the weekend here?"
Wille frowned, his teeth finding the skin of his thumb once more.
"Why?" he mumbled out around his anxious habit.
Erik laughed, "I just have something to tell you, that's all."
"Tell me now, then."
Wille could practically hear a smile in Erik's voice as his brother responded, "It's good news, I promise you. I'd just prefer to tell you in person."
"Erik. . ."
"Please, brorsan. Just this weekend. You can even bring Simon if you'd like."
Wille shook his head despite the fact that Erik couldn't see him, "No, Rosh has a game Saturday night- Simon and Ayub always go."
After a moment more, "It's really good news?"
Hearing that Erik was inviting Simon was calming; if something was the matter, he couldn't imagine that Erik would want Simon there for a front seat look at their familial problems.
Erik laughed again, "Yes, Wille. It's good news. I'm. . . I'm really happy."
Wille took a deep breath. He had, frankly, no fucking clue what his brother could possibly be wanting to tell him. Of all the scenarios running through his head, all of them had some sort of negativity. Nothing that would make Erik happy.
Maybe their mother had finally given in to letting Erik get the tattoo he'd always wanted?
But that wouldn't really constitute an in-person visit.
Erik's favorite horse was getting back to health?
He'd finally figured out a way to get around their mother's wishes and burn August to the ground publicly?
"Okay," Wille sighed. "I'll leave after my classes are done on Friday."
"Thank you," Erik sounded as happy as he claimed to be. Wille really had no clue what was going on. "I'll see you then. Love you, Wille."
Wille frowned; they weren't really the "I love you" type of siblings.
"Love you, too," Wille mumbled hesitantly before he heard the click signalling that Erik had hung up.
He pulled the phone away from his ear, a confused frown on his face as he stared at the device in his hands. After a few minutes of his mind basically blank and confused, he switched over to his chat with Simon.
I think Erik might've gone around the bend
The reply was almost instantaneous.
Honestly, are we even surprised by that?
----------
“You. . . what?” Wille said, awe filling every part of him.
Erik smiled, “You heard me.”
Wilhelm had never seen his brother look so happy; he was practically glowing with the way joy glinted in his eyes.
“Yeah, I just. . . Holy shit, Erik.”
“Is that all you have to say?” Erik laughed.
Wille took a deep breath in, “No, no, of course not. I’m. . . Fuck, I’m happy for you, Erik. That’s amazing.”
He pulled himself out of the chair he was sitting in, crossing as quickly as he could to where Erik was sitting on a couch. Erik stood up to meet him, letting Wille wrap him in a hug with a laugh. Wilhelm had his arms as tight around his brother as he could, joining in on his brother’s laughter.
Holy fuck.
He couldn’t have possibly imagined that this is what Erik’s important news was going to be.
“Congratulations, Erik,” Wille mumbled into his brother’s shoulder.
Erik gave him a squeeze in return, “Thank you, Wille. I could barely wait to tell you.”
Wille pulled away, swatting at his brother’s arm.
“You could barely wait? You flat out told me it was good news and I was still sitting on anxiety for two days!”
“Well, so was I! It’s not every day you tell your little brother that you got engaged!”
Wille watched as a smile spread over his brother’s lips at his own words. Erik looked in shock at himself, a dreamy look in his eyes like he couldn’t quite believe it himself, despite having been the one to, you know, propose. Wille had to smile in return at seeing that look on his brother’s face. The happiness in his brother right now was everything that Erik could deserve.
“I can’t believe you proposed to her. You and Nathalie weren’t even dating,” Wille teased, sitting down on the couch, Erik falling down next to him.
Erik shrugged, “We’ve both always known how we felt about each other. She was sick of wasting time pretending like we didn’t, and so was I. I love her, and it was. . . the right time.”
Wilhelm’s cheeks were going to start hurting from how wide he was smiling, “Please tell me you at least made it romantic.”
Erik rolled his eyes, “Of course I did.”
Wille held his hands up in mock surrender, “I’m just saying! Between the two of us, I’m the only one who’s ever been in an actually defined relationship.”
“Oh, whatever, Wille.”
“So what did you do then? To ask her?”
“If he told you he was romantic, he’s lying. We were in the stables after a ride, both covered in dirt and horse muck.”
Wille hadn’t even heard the door open, but when he turned, Nathalie was leaning against a bookshelf, eyes trained on Erik like nothing else in the world existed and a shining ruby dazzling her left ring finger.
“Hey, I gave you a speech! Got down on one knee and everything.”
Nathalie giggled, pushing off the bookshelf to make her way over to them. She stopped in front of Erik, running a hand down the side of his face and looking absolutely besotted.
“Yes, you did,” she replied softly, ducking down to give him a kiss. They kept it short and sweet, probably for Wille’s sake, before Nathalie was straightening herself back up and turning to Wille.
Wille stood up, accepting the hug his future sister-in-law was offering him.
“Hey, Nathalie.”
“It’s really good to see you, Wilhelm. Been quite a while.”
Wille laughed as they pulled apart, catching her hand to gesture to her ring. “Yeah, well, now that Erik’s finally come to his senses, hopefully we’ll see each other a lot more.”
Nathalie laughed, both of them ignoring the protest Erik let out from where he was still seated on the couch. They took seats on either side of Erik, Nathalie’s hand immediately finding her fiancé’s and the two of them sharing a happy look as they sat as pressed together as possible. Nathalie was of Indian descent, though both herself and her parents had been born here in Sweden. Her hair was longer than almost anyone Wille knew, and it was nearly always down, the long chocolate brown strands flowing softly over her shoulders. She’d always been on the side of what society would view as overweight according to beauty standards, but she was one of the most self-confident people Wilhelm had ever met. Nathalie’s family was rich enough- and her mother was a well known advisor to the Prime Minister- that she ended up in the tabloids or news every once in a while herself, but she’d never paid heed to the comments of her weight, her heritage, or her complete and utter ability to be herself despite what anyone else thought.
Wilhelm thought it was one of the reasons she and Erik worked so well together. Erik was far more reserved, always aware of what his presence in the media was, making sure his image of the Crown Prince stayed intact. He was their mother’s perfect press release, while Wille usually made her want to tug her hair out. Nathalie’s couldn’t-care-less attitude mellowed Erik out quite a bit, and he was always more relaxed when she was around.
And it wasn’t that Nathalie was out getting put in the tabloids for partying or whatever thing the public viewed as less than socially acceptable. She was terribly kind and far more intelligent than most people in her social circle. Nathalie did incredible work for charities across the nation, using her family’s wealth and social pull to raise awareness and even sponsor a few new hospitals and social outreach centers.
Wille had said it before, and he’ll say it again: Nathalie was way out of his brother’s league, Crown Prince or not.
Even still, Nathalie wasn’t exactly the press’ perfect image of the wife of their future king.
“What did mamma and dad have to say?” Wille asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
Nathalie and Erik traded a look, laughing a bit as they looked back to Wille.
“We haven’t told them yet.”
Wille frowned at Erik’s words. “What? Why not?”
Erik gave him a soft smile, “Wille. They know that Nathalie is staying here for a little while, but we- I wanted you to be the first person that knew.”
Wille felt his mouth drop open, staring at the couple who both looked fond and amused back at him.
“You. . . Really?”
Erik reached out, gripping Wille’s shoulder. “The best news of my life and you thought I wouldn’t have told my best friend before anyone else?”
Wille looked down at his lap, smiling.
“We’re telling your parents tonight at dinner,” Nathalie tacked on.
Wille gave his brother a blank look, “And let me guess- there’s no way for me to get out of also being in attendance for dinner, is there?”
Erik just shrugged with a smirk. “You’re home for the first time since the interview, we have a guest- Mamma would never let you skip it.”
Wille sighed, “Sounds about right.”
“I told you you could bring Simon this weekend,” Erik shrugged.
“As if I would subject him to that again.”
“Do you guys. . .” Nathalie asked, “Do you think it’ll go poorly? Telling them?”
Erik and Wilhelm both cringed, looking at Nathalie apologetically. They forgot that not everyone was used to their levels of banter.
“No, no,” Erik reassured. “It’ll go fine.”
Wille nodded his agreement, “Yeah, we’re joking more than anything. Our parents have always liked you, they’ll be happy for you. Family dinner is just. . . always something else.”
“To put it lightly. But Wille is right, and they like you. We’ll be just fine,” Erik pressed a kiss to the back of her left hand, “Promise.”
If Wilhelm wasn’t so insanely happy for him, he’d jump on the opportunity to make fun of the completely lovestruck look on Erik’s face. For now, he’d simply have to text Simon about it.
----------
As suspected, Kristina and Ludvig had been thrilled for Erik and Nathalie, welcoming their son’s bride-to-be with open arms. Wille almost pitied her; being part of the Royal Family was never easy. Simon, simply for being Wille’s boyfriend, had already been subjected to the weight of it all. Yet what Simon was facing- the tabloid rumors, the insulting headlines, and a finally beginning to fade-out spotlight- would be nothing like the press, inquiries, and mountain of rules that would come along with being the Crown Prince’s wife. Wilhelm was glad she was already known among Sweden’s population and had standing among the upper class families of their country. It would make her transition easier, though still filled with difficulties. In the past two weeks since they’d gotten engaged, however, Nathalie seemed to be taking it like she took everything else: in stride with a pair of stiletto heels and a shining smile.
Kristina and Ludvig- well, mostly Kristina- had wanted a public announcement of the engagement as soon as humanly possible. The official statement- it was already being rumored all over the internet- as well as the first public outing of the engaged couple, were to be this upcoming weekend, and the following Friday would be, quite literally, a royal engagement party for the two. The negotiations over the terms of the party were frankly getting a bit ridiculous, honestly. Nathalie and Erik versus Kristina.
Yes, they were willing to invite the entirety of parliament, the prime minister, and whoever the Queen had viewed in “proper standing” for an event such as this.
They would, however, be inviting guests of their own, such as their closest friends as well as some they’d gone to school with.
Yes, they would allow palace chefs to dictate the menu; they didn’t care all that much.
But, by all means, absolutely no press would be allowed in the palace during the party.
Nathalie’s parents should get to be part of the planning process as well.
Maybe they should push the party back a week.
So on and so forth. So, so on.
The list of what Erik and Nathalie and the Queen could all agree to or refused to back down from was so long Wille felt like he could climb down a tower with it. He was stressed, and he wasn’t even in Stockholm. He was just getting obnoxiously frequent updates about it from Erik, as well as periodic messages from his mother asking if he would help her “talk some sense” into his brother. Wilhelm was about ready to block both their contacts. And it had only been two and a half weeks.
Good lord, he couldn’t imagine what it will be like when the actual wedding comes around.
Still it seemed that through all the chaos thus far, Erik and Nathalie’s joy wouldn’t be deterred for even a second. Even through his complaints, Erik looked as happy as he’d ever been, and Nathalie seemed the same when Wille had the chance to talk to her every once in a while. And Wilhelm truly was happy for them. They were a perfect match, and he knew the two of them could and would live out their days happily at each other’s side.
His phone buzzed in his hand as Wille was walking across campus, heading back to Forest Ridge for the evening. As he suspected, it was a text from Erik. And unsurprisingly, it was about the party.
Just. . . not quite in the way Wille had expected.
Don’t forget you have a plus one for the engagement ball. If I recall, you talk an awful lot about this boy who is very much in love with you.
Stop avoiding it and just ask him to go with you. Mamma wants a completed guest list.
He wasn't avoiding it . He was just. . . Well. . .
Completely avoiding it.
It wasn't that he didn't want Simon to go with him. He definitely wanted to take Simon to a fancy party with music and dressy outfits and all the obnoxious fanfare.
He just wasn't sure Simon would want it.
It was far from his boyfriend's usual scene.
What if Simon grew anxious in the large public setting? Though their relationship was public, they'd never been out around people who weren't from Hillerska or Bjärstad.
Simon would probably hate the fanfare; too much money spent, too elaborate.
And yeah, Simon loved Erik, and he'd surely love Nathalie, but would that be enough?
What if Simon didn't want to be seen with him at an event?
They'd just barely gotten the press to back off of them. Erik had negotiated no press, yes, but word would surely get around about the youngest prince and his male consort/pauper/gold-digging attention seeker.
Apparently the press was allergic to the word "boyfriend".
So yeah, he was kind of, sorta, 100% avoiding asking Simon if he'd go to the engagement ball with him.
But now Erik was calling him out.
As he was walking to his dorm, where his boyfriend would be waiting for him, Wille took a deep breath, then tucked his phone in his pocket without replying to his brother. He kept walking, keeping his head down as he made his way into his room.
As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with a quiet, "Hey, hon."
Wille looked up with a smile despite his nerves, met with the sight of Simon sprawled out on his bed, the red glow of his string LED lights the only light in the room. Since the video, they next to never ever left the curtains open if the two of them were in the room together. Simon was resting in a t-shirt and a pair of Wille's joggers, looking rumpled and tired and unbearably attractive. Wille dropped his bag by his door, shoving off his jacket before moving to the bed, crawling up. Simon frowned, but didn't stop him as Wilhelm moved his way in between Simon's legs, plopping down on top of his chest. Simon set his phone down next to him, placing one hand against Wille's back and the other running through his hair. Wille tucked his head against Simon, his forehead against Simon's cheek and the bridge of his nose in contact with the underside of his jaw. He took a deep breath, and he knew it came out a little shaky. It had been a long day, he was exhausted, and Erik's text had hit his anxiety in just the wrong way. Simon raised one of his legs, foot planted on the bed so he boxed Wille in a little more. His fingers twined through the strands of Wille's hair, twirling them around his fingers before soothing them back down.
"Wille? Baby, what's the matter?"
One of these days Simon would kill him with all the different pet names he threw around. He'd yet to use one that didn't make Wille blush like crazy.
He didn't say anything, not sure what he could.
"Wille."
Simon wasn't pushing the matter, it was more of a reminder that he was there, that Wille could take his time. He played with the hem of Simon's shirt, running his fingers under it and along the impressive muscle definition that were always hidden by his boyfriend's shirts. Eventually, he worked his way up to the question he'd so long been avoiding.
"Mamma is pushing for a finalized guest count for Erik's engagement party."
Erik's rants over the past two weeks had gone to Wille, who had then transitioned to ranting to Simon in turn.
"Yeah?"
Wilhelm hummed, "Yeah. And I. . . Would you, um. Do you want to go with me?"
Simon's hand stilled in Wille's hair. Wille tensed, but Simon's hand resumed its motions almost as quickly as they'd stopped.
"Mi cielo. . . Is that what you were worried about? Asking me to go?"
Wille's silence was answer enough. Simon let out a huffing sound that was somewhere between amused and exasperated.
"Wille. Wille, look at me."
Wilhelm hesitated, but he lifted his head. Simon was watching him with a small smile and a raised eyebrow. He brushed his knuckles across Wille's cheekbones, then cupped his jaw.
"Wille, in what reality would I say no to you? Hm?"
Wille sucked in a breath, "I'm sorry. I just- You hate royals and all the elitist stuff. I didn't know if. . . I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
Simon's gaze grew soft. "Just because I'm not a fan of all the pomp and circumstance doesn't mean I'm not still a fan of you . You're my boyfriend and I love you, and Erik is honestly one of my best friends. I'm gonna be there for both of you."
“Yeah?”
Simon rolled his eyes, though there was no real annoyance in it. “Wille, if our positions were reversed, would you say yes to me?”
“Of course,” he answered immediately.
Simon looked at him expectantly.
“Oh.”
Simon laughed, brushing his thumb along Wille’s cheekbones.
“Yeah. Oh. Dumbass.”
Wille scoffed, but smiled as he whacked Simon’s chest with the back of his hand. Simon grinned in return, nudging Wille with his knee to get the prince to lay back down. Wille went back down without hesitation, settling on Simon’s chest once again. Simon’s hands reclaimed their spots on Wille’s back and in his hair, tracing mindless patterns.
“Don’t know what the hell I’m gonna wear, though,” Simon whispered out with a sigh. “The closest I have to a suit is my uniform.”
Wille smiled at the thought of Simon showing up in that stupid red blazer.
“You can borrow one of mine. I’m sure I have one somewhere that’ll fit you.”
“Are you going to make me wear a tie?”
Wille laughed, “No.”
Simon hummed.
“So what’s Nathalie like? I know you like her, and obviously Erik does, too. But neither of you talk about her much.”
Wille turned his face more into Simon’s chest, the movements of Simon’s hands lulling him into relaxation. “You can pull up her Instagram on my phone if you want. She keeps it private.”
Wille didn’t even have a reaction to the feel of Simon’s arm stretching downward, pulling the phone from his back pocket. Simon didn’t have to ask for the password; even if Wille hadn’t told him what it was when he first changed it ages ago, he doubts it would have taken long for his boyfriend to guess it. Simon had the exact same one.
The date of their first kiss.
Simon hummed to himself as he used Wille’s phone. From his position, Wille couldn’t see what his boyfriend was doing, so he was surprised when he heard- and felt- Simon let out a laugh.
Wille gave a hum in question.
“Nothing, it’s just. . . An Indian and a Latino. I’m sure your mother is thrilled in her sons’ choice of partners.”
Wille couldn’t help the laugh that escaped from him. “I’m not sure my mother cares so much- it’s the PR department you’ve gotta look out for. One of these days they’ll have my and Erik’s heads.”
Simon snorted, “Wouldn’t that be a news story. Royal Family’s Press Secretary seen carrying around princes’ heads on sticks for pissing her off.”
“The last one really did quit after my interview, you know.”
He could practically feel Simon rolling his eyes, “Well, she sucked anyway.”
“Simon!”
“What? It’s not like you ever watch the news from the palace. How would you even know?”
Wille didn’t bother to respond, letting the two of them lapse into silence.
After a few minutes of the quiet, “Reminder me later to let Erik know you’ll be coming.”
He could feel how Simon was holding in a laugh, “Love, I let him know that I’d be there a week ago. He gave me my own invitation. He just really wanted the satisfaction of making you ask me to go.”
As had become a common occurrence over the past few weeks, Wille felt a deep urge to smack his brother into the next century.
“Of fucking course he did.”
----------
The palace had been insanely active all day. People were running around, someone was trying to find the misplaced guest list, Nathalie was being dragged around the ballroom by both Kristina and her own mother supposedly to make sure everything was being set up properly but more likely being pestered about the wedding for which there hadn't even been discussion of a date. Wille had been pulled from Hillerska for the day to "help" and "keep an eye on his brother".
Considering that Erik was older than him and engaged to be married , Wille didn't pay any heed to that second request, and he'd lost Erik somewhere in the palace hours ago now. He'd also been denied any help he offered by the staff, who assured him that they were on schedule and were doing "just fine, your highness."
So, in short, Wille had been absent from school in order to do. . . absolutely nothing.
He'd spent most of his time in his room, which was far away from all the action and one of the actually quiet places in the palace. Frankly, the most exciting thing he'd done all day was go searching through his large wardrobe for a suit for himself as well as one for Simon. For himself, he'd pulled a dark gray jacket and slacks, with a traditional white button up shirt. It would appease his mother's taste- honestly, it was rare that Wilhelm even picked his formal clothing himself- but it was also his most comfortable and his favorite. He'd fit the princely look he was expected to have while also not wanting to crawl out of his own skin. For Simon, Wilhelm had found a suit he'd nearly forgotten about. It had been tucked in the back of his wardrobe, only having been worn a few times. Wille had gotten the suit a couple of years ago, right when he would have been Simon's current height. When he'd pulled it from the protective bag it hung in, Wilhelm already felt his breath being taken away at the thought of Simon in the suit.
When Simon arrived later that day, an hour or so before they were expected to be at the ballroom, Wille was glad to see Simon had about the same reaction.
"Holy. . . Wille, this is amazing. You're really letting me borrow this?"
Wille came up behind his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around him and putting his chin over Simon's shoulder.
"It doesn't fit me anymore," he responded. "I'd begged my parents for a new suit for my birthday a couple years ago- something that was fun and didn't look like everything else I owned. Mamma gave in, but she only let me wear it to about two formal events. Eventually I gave up trying and just. . . put it away. Which is a waste of money, I know. But now it'll get some good use out of it."
Simon covered Wille's hands with one of his own, squeezing. The other reached out in front of him, smoothing down the forest green fabric of the jacket. The fabric was soft, almost silky to the touch.
"You can keep it if you want," Wille whispered into his boyfriend's neck.
"Wille-"
"You don't have to. I don't want you to think- It's just- like I said, this one doesn't fit me anymore. And we might, you know, get to go to more events like this together sometime. It's not charity or anything because I know you don't have one. It's more that. . . you're not even wearing it yet and I know you're gonna look really fucking hot in this suit. It's completely self-indulgence, honestly."
Simon giggled, tilting his head to rest against Wille's.
"I'll think about it," was all Simon whispered.
The two of them stayed in their position for a few minutes, Simon's hands coming up to grab Wille's wrists, pulling his arms tighter around Simon's waist. They would stand like this, nothing but quiet surrounding them, quite frequently. Having Simon in his arms was pretty much Wille's favorite state of being. Simon swayed the two of them back and forth as they stood. After a short while, Wille gave a sigh.
"We need to be getting dressed."
It took them a while to actually do so. Simon was struggling with how to put on a suit that was so pristine, the most expensive thing he'd ever had on his body, even though Wille told him to just put it on . It took Wille about four tries to get his tie on properly, mostly because every time he got close, Simon would get a troublesome smirk on his face, grabbing the fabric in his hand and hauling Wille in by his tie to kiss him senseless. Eventually, though, they both managed to get their suits on, pressed and clean and neat.
Wille had been right.
Simon looked exceedingly, distractingly hot.
The suit wasn't perfect; it had been tailor made for Wilhelm's measurements, after all. But it hugged him in the right ways, pulled across the shoulders snuggly, and the lengths were, as Wille suspected, just about perfect. The forest green was standing out against Simon's tanned skin, the color better on him than it had ever been on Wille. The white button up Simon was wearing underneath also stood out, pristine and bright against the green and Simon's skin. He had the top two buttons undone, and Wille knew that if he pushed it just off to the side, a bruise he'd left on Simon's collarbone the other night would be in clear view. Then there were the earrings. The earrings.
Fuck, Simon knew how to drive a guy crazy. Wille knew his boyfriend had his ears pierced, of course he did, but Simon rarely drew attention to the fact. He usually left his piercings empty, or would wear these small, barely visible silver studs. Tonight, however, Simon had gone for a pair of diamond studs that were easily spotted as his black hair curled around his ears, and they paired with the suit beautifully.
When Simon had finished dressing and turned around to face him, Wille had felt his mouth go dry; he felt frozen to the spot. His mouth had dropped open like one of Simon's gaping goldfish. Simon looked shy as Wille stared.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding nervous.
Wille just shook his head, trying to get his brain to come back online.
"You look. . . Um. You. . . Fucking hell , Simon, it's gonna be really fucking hard to keep my hands off of you tonight."
A blush took over Simon's face, a pleased smile on his lips.
"You're not so bad yourself, Prince Wilhelm," Simon responded, looking him up and down appreciatively.
"God, Simon. . ." Wille's heart rate had picked up and it took everything in him to not move to the other side of his bedroom and immediately take off the suit Simon had just finished getting into place. " Please tell me you're spending the night."
They'd talked about it, briefly, since the party was bound to go late into the night, but they hadn't reached an actual answer yet.
Simon took slow steps to cross the room, stopping in front of Wille and sliding his hands up Wille's chest, over his shoulders, and around his neck, lips ghosting over Wille's jaw. Wille had no idea when Simon had gone from the shy boy who had looked so nervous to kiss him the first time to a level of confidence that made Wille's head spin. He brought his hands up, letting them rest on Simon's hips. Wille let his eyes flutter shut, swallowing hard as Simon began pressing the lightest of kisses along his jaw and down his neck.
"If my prince commands it," Simon responded jokingly, the puffs of his laugh hitting Wille's skin.
"Fuck, you're not going to make this night easy on me, are you?"
Simon pulled back, looking at Wille with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me? Go look in a damn mirror, babe, and then try telling me you're not the most attractive man I've ever seen. If I didn't know how much we both care about your brother, I'd convince you to lock the door and stay in here, just the two of us."
At the mention of his brother, Wille groaned. "Shit. We really need to go. Erik will kill me if we're late."
"What, and he won't kill me?" Simon teased as the two detangled themselves from each other.
Wille laughed, "Nope. You get a free pass because one, you're a guest, and two, he likes you more than me."
Simon rolled his eyes as Wille opened the bedroom door and began leading them in the direction of the ballroom.
"That's not true, Wille. Your father told me I was welcome anytime, so I'm not really a guest, am I?"
Wille stared at his boyfriend incredulously, but Simon just smirked in response. Wille shook his head, shoving Simon away, making the boy laugh as he stumbled. When he stumbled his way back to Wille's side, he caught the prince's hand in his own.
"I'm just teasing you, love. You and I both know how much Erik adores you. You're his favorite person in the world."
As they approached the entrance to the ball room, a few guests already trickling in, Wille shrugged. "Think you might be wrong about that."
He nodded his head toward the room in front of him, and Simon followed his gaze to where Erik stood with Nathalie holding his hand, greeting who looked to be a member of parliament. Erik was wearing a sharp, black tux, and next to him Nathalie was looking positively elegant in a beautiful red gown that matched the shining ring on her finger. Even as they spoke with their guest, it seemed Erik could barely take his eyes off his fiancée. Nathalie would turn to look at him just as much, the smile on her face seeming to glow brighter each time she did. They looked completely and utterly enraptured with each other.
The last events Wille could remember going to had all been some sort of State Dinner. Those always felt so stuffy and stiff, so formal. Tonight, however, Erik and Nathalie were letting their joy completely sink into the atmosphere, wrapping each person who entered the room with it. There were some people in the ballroom Wille was sure he'd never seen smile before, and yet here they all looked happy.
"Well," Simon shrugged, "I'm pretty sure it's a cardinal rule that the spouse gets to beat out everyone else for favorite person. But you're directly after her, no doubt about that."
Wille just hummed, then began guiding Simon further into the room towards the couple. He could feel Simon's hand tense in his a bit, and he knew his boyfriend was nervous to have entered an official Royal Family event for the first time. Wille gave his hand a squeeze before picking it up to his lips and kissing the back of it. Wille knew his message had been conveyed that he was here for Simon, that they'd be okay, when Simon relaxed ever so slightly and bumped their shoulders together. When they reached Erik and Nathalie, the Crown Prince completely bypassed Wilhelm in favor of bringing Simon into a hug.
"Told you he likes you better," Wille mouthed over his brother's shoulder, to which Simon rolled his eyes.
Wille traded a kiss on the cheek with Nathalie in greeting, then offered his arm for her to slip hers through as they turned to their significant others.
"Simon! It's fantastic to see you. You clean up very well. Is this Wille's?" Erik asked, straightening out the suit where it had gotten messed up in the hug.
Simon nodded, "Yeah. Wille has a thing about seeing me in his clothes and insisted I wear it."
"Hey!" Wille protested, even though the teasing smirk was clear on Simon's face a mile away. "That is not true."
Simon raised an eyebrow at him, "Oh, so you don ' t like seeing me in your clothes, then?"
Wille blushed, ignoring the way Erik was laughing at him. "That's. . . Look, the point is you needed a suit, I let you borrow a suit."
Erik nodded seriously, "Oh, yes, I'm sure, Wilhelm. That's definitely how it went down."
Simon and Erik just laughed together, and even Nathalie betrayed him by giggling under her breath. Wille pursed his lips at his brother and boyfriend.
"I hate you both."
"Well, I'm definitely glad to meet you. Simon," Nathalie redirected the conversation, pulling off of Wille's arm to hold her hand out to Simon. As they shook, she said, "I've heard absolutely nothing but raving reviews from both of these two. It seems Wilhelm barely knows how to shut up about you."
Wille blushed once again, throwing his hands up in the air, "I thought we were celebrating your engagement- when did this become the Torture Wilhelm party?"
"It's good to meet you, too," Simon responded, all three of the others ignoring Wille's comment. "I'd love to say congratulations, but honestly I'm not sure if agreeing to spend the rest of your life with Erik was the smartest move."
It was a testament that Nathalie had grown used to the type of jokes and banter Wille and Erik threw around that she laughed good naturedly at Simon's joke, which had been delivered with quite the level of bluntness.
"Yeah, well, you've got a troublesome prince of your own. We'll have to exchange notes some time."
Simon's laughter rang out like music to Wille's ears. He smiled as he watched his boyfriend, glad to see that the easy conversation between the four of them were lessening Simon's nerves by the second. Unfortunately, before any of them could continue the conversation, Erik noticed the Prime Minister entering the ballroom.
"Ah," Erik let out, looking apologetic. "We'll have to talk to the two of you later. Things to do, people to see."
Wille and Simon both smiled at the couple, nodding in acknowledgement. Erik gave a pat to both their shoulders, and Nathalie pressed a kiss to both their cheeks before linking her arm through her fiancé's and walking across the ballroom to meet the Prime Minister.
Shortly after, the party made its way into full swing. A dinner, toasts, a speech or two, and plenty of milling around, everyone mingling and catching up on whatever. For the most part, Wille and Simon were able to stay in the background of it all. Kristina had dragged Wille away a few times to greet various people, or some of the guests were all too eager to come up to them and meet the boy the prince had declared love for on live television. But the pair were getting through it with minimal discomfort, sticking to each other's sides as much as possible. Eventually, the party transitioned into song after song being played by the small orchestra in the corner of the grand room, and guests were filling out the center of the room to dance with each other. Wille and Simon had wandered back to a table along the edge of the room, Simon taking a seat while Wille stood next to him. Simon looked tired, and Wille felt the same, but both of them watched as the room around them continued to be filled with life and dancing. Wille wasn't sure how long they'd been there before he turned to Simon, holding out his hand to the seated boy.
"Dance with me?"
Simon stared up at him from his seat, eyes suddenly going wide.
"What?"
Wille smiled softly, "Dance with me."
Simon looked frantic, glancing around the room before shaking his head. "Wille, no. You don't- I can't."
Wille laughed under his breath, giving his boyfriend an amused look, "Sweetheart, I see you dance all the time."
Simon shook his head again, "No, that's not- That's me messing around. There's no real steps or anything. This is- Wille, this is dancing dancing. I can't do that."
"So I'll teach you," Wilhelm shrugged.
Simon gave him an entirely unimpressed look. "With every single member of parliament, the prime minister and the whole royal family, and every other stuck-up rich person around, you're going to teach me how to dance?"
Wille looked around the room. Twirling their way around the center of the ballroom were Erik and Nathalie, looking so joyously wrapped up in each other that he was pretty sure an earthquake wouldn't tear their gaze away. They were laughing at whatever words were passing between them, leaning as close to each other as was respectable in a room full of people. The guests around them were dancing as well, but it seemed the gazes of everyone in the room- whether dancing or simply spectating- were focused on the nation's sweethearts. Erik and Nathalie were the apple of Sweden's eye since the announcement of their engagement had been made.
"Everyone is focused on Erik and Nathalie," Wilhelm said as he looked back to his boyfriend. "No one gives a shit what the spare prince is doing."
Simon glared up at him, "First of all, stop fucking calling yourself that."
A disagreement they'd had since they'd begun dating.
"And second, may I remind you, my love, that you are the least coordinated person I know and I don't think you can teach me how to dance?"
Wille scoffed, but his smile didn't fade.
"May I remind you that dance lessons were a requirement for me as a kid? The tutor would carry around a cane that she quite frankly adored using to correct our posture. After years of that, I could do this blindfolded and not miss a step."
Simon's glare faded and he gained an appalled look on his face, "She hit you with a cane? Every time I think I can't get more pissed off at the way you were raised. . ."
Wille sighed, realizing that yeah, he probably should've just left it at having taken dance lessons. It had never been hitting , per say. Just. . . a slightly aggressive correction. It's not like he'd ever actually been hurt by it.
"Simon. . . Just dance with me."
Simon gave him a sharp look that Wille knew meant that they'd be coming back to that topic later.
"Wille, seriously, no. I'll make a complete fool of myself and suddenly the tabloids' stories tomorrow won't be about the Crown Prince's engagement but about Prince Wilhelm's commoner boyfriend falling flat on his face."
Wille laughed, "Sunflower, there isn't even any press here. Erik made sure of it, remember?"
Simon once again looked unimpressed, "Yes, because the upper class families of Sweden could never possibly find a way to get it reported anyway."
Wille rolled his eyes at the dripping sarcasm, holding his hand out to his boyfriend once again. Simon took it easily this time, though Wille was sure it was more out of instinct than anything.
"Fine, you win. Just come here, would you?"
Simon allowed himself to be pulled out of his seat, watching Wilhelm with careful eyes.
"What are we doing?"
Wille didn't answer him, just snuck them through the groups of people around the ballroom, glad that another song had started and that everyone was too wrapped up in watching Erik and Nathalie to even notice Wille slipping through. Simon followed along silently, though Wille could feel the twitches of Simon's hand in his giving signals that his boyfriend was trusting him but still wary. Eventually, they made their way out of the large ballroom, into the service hallway that staff had been wandering through all night from the kitchen to the ballroom and back. It was relatively empty right now, just a few staff members wandering through, either paying the two of them no mind or simply giving a polite tilt of their head before moving on. Though they'd never act like it if his mother or father were around, Wilhelm had done a lot of work to get the staff to simply treat him like a person rather than the prince. He was pretty sure that out of his whole family, he was the only one who could name almost every single maid, cook, server, groundskeeper, and so on and so forth. He liked talking to them, he liked hearing about their lives. Wilhelm knew it got around to new hires that Erik was exceedingly kind to all the staff, and he never made them feel less than, but that Wille would be the one to greet them like a friend.
When Simon had heard that, from Malin, of course, he'd practically jumped Wille, kissing him until it had become impossible to get a breath in.
"What are we doing?" Simon repeated as Wille turned to face him, keeping their hands clasped together.
He gave a tug, and Simon stumbled forward into Wille, catching himself by placing a hand on Wille's chest. Wilhelm brought his free hand up to hold Simon's waist, pressing the two of them together.
"You didn't want to dance where anyone could see you. Now no one can."
He leaned forward for just a moment, brushing their noses together. When he pulled back, he could see the lovestruck smile playing on Simon's lips, and he loved the way his eyes grew soft, pupils widening in the much dimmer hallway.
"You're a sap, you know that?"
Wille hummed, "And you're not pulling away."
Simon let out a soft scoff, rolling his eyes. Sliding the hand still resting on Wille's chest up so it now rested on his shoulders, Simon whispered, "As if I ever could."
Wille smiled, ducking in for a chaste kiss to Simon's lips. He lifted their joint hands up so they now rested tucked between their shoulders. A new song, conveniently one of the slowest that had played all evening, began filtering out into the hallway, and Wille started swaying the two of them back and forth, shuffling his feet ever so slightly. Simon's smile was blinding as he moved the hand on Wille's shoulder so his arm was more wrapped around Wille's neck, head ducking forward so their foreheads rested together.
"So this is you teaching me how to dance, huh?" Simon joked softly, following the subtle movements of Wille's feet.
Wille huffed out a semblance of a laugh, shaking his head, "No. This is me wanting to be close to you."
Wilhelm relished in the way he could still, after all these months, reduce Simon into a blushing mess.
"Fucking sap," Simon said teasingly, earning a laugh out of Wille. "I love you."
Wille tilted his chin up, separating their foreheads but connecting their lips. The kiss was soft, languid and gentle.
"I love you, too," Wille whispered as they pulled apart.
They lost themselves in the music for a while, simply swaying with each other. As the song was winding down, they didn't bother moving away from each other. Still being pressed together, Wille felt Simon tense just a little, watching as he bit his lip, looking shy. Wille just continued to hold him, letting his boyfriend take his time with whatever was on his mind.
"Do you think-" Simon began after a few minutes. "Do you think that. . . that could be us someday?"
"That what could be us?"
Simon looked incredibly nervous in a way Wilhelm hadn't seen from him since their first kiss. "That someday. . . it'll be us having an over elaborate party to- to celebrate. An engagement."
Realization filled Wille as to why Simon was so nervous now. He took a deep breath in, thinking. He knew the answer that first came to his head was fueled by desire, by the love he felt flowing between them right in this moment. But Simon deserved more than that in an answer.
"I. . . I don't know."
Simon gave a nod, looking down to the ground. Wille sighed sadly, removing his hand from Simon's waist to place it under his boyfriend's chin, tilting it back up so Simon was looking at him.
"I want it to be," Wille whispered, almost unbearably soft. He heard Simon's breath hitch at the words, his eyes scanning over Wille's face like he was searching if Wille was lying to him.
"We're 16, Simon. I've got no fucking clue what the future's gonna look like for either of us, and neither do you. The world could go to shit, we could accidentally end up in another sex scandal-"
Simon let out a startled laugh, and Wille smiled over the fact that they were at a point when maybe they could start joking about it.
"I don't have a clue what tomorrow is gonna be like. But . . . I really want you to be a part of it, Simon. I love you. So, so, so fucking much. More than I can tell you. So. . . Someday. . . Someday I hope it'll be us."
Simon sniffled, his eyes wet and a small tear trailing its way down his cheek. He was smiling, though, gentle and soft.
"Fuck, Wille. . ." Simon mumbled out, leaning into the touch as Wille wiped his boyfriend's tear away. "I hope so, too. I fucking hope so. I love you. I love you."
Wille let both his hands drop from their current positions, immediately wrapping his arms around Simon's waist to hug him tightly against his chest. He could feel Simon gripping at the back of his suit jacket, the two of them holding onto the other like a lifeline. Songs continued playing on in the ballroom, staff flitted by them in the hall, and Wille knew they'd have to go back in soon, lest his mother notice them missing. But as he hugged Simon to him, tears welling in his own eyes as he could feel Simon's hitting his shoulder, none of that mattered.
The only thing that could possibly matter right now was the boy in his arms and thoughts of a future they both so desperately wanted.