Chapter Text
They go hiking along a trail Wille found near the lake at Hillerska before settling down with a picnic and a long discussion about their future, both together and individually. Simon spends the night at Forest Ridge, waking up Wille by kissing every inch of his sleeping face and only stopping once the boy finally connects their lips.
They both fail at horseback riding and need help from Sara to stay upright. Simon falls off the horse during his turn, causing him to shower at Forest Ridge and hide in Wille’s dorm until it’s time to take the bus home. Wille walks him to the bus stop, refusing to stop mentioning how cute Simon looks wearing Wille’s sweater. Simon accidentally nudges him too hard, knocking Wille over and dirtying yet another piece of clothing.
They both get incredibly embarrassed when Wille and Linda meet for the first time and Wille insists on bringing a “homemade” apple pie for dessert.
Everything had been going wonderfully. Linda took Wille in as her own son, skipping past the shovel talk and going straight to welcoming him with a tight hug and a home cooked meal.
Wille’s “homemade” apple pie sits in the refrigerator as they all share easy conversation, even Sara and Malin having an enjoyable time.
“Simon,” Linda stands and carries her plate into the kitchen, looking at the rest of the house through the island window that separates their kitchen and dining room. “You and Wilhelm clear the table while Sara sets it so we can try this wonderful pie.” Wille silently keens at being included in housework and stands to grab everyone’s plates before Linda even finishes her sentence. She opens a cabinet at the end of the kitchen, pulls out two wine glasses and looks at Malin with a questionable look.
Malin shakes her head, silently pointing towards Wille to remind Linda that she still is technically working. Wille notices the interaction from where he stands drying dishes with Simon and scoffs, turning towards Malin to tell her “you can’t get drunk off of one glass of wine.” Malin rolls her eyes before taking half of a glass from Linda who settles back down at the table.
Sara finishes setting the table before Wille and Simon finish the dishes. Though, it’s hard to do chores when more water is getting on each other than the dirty cutlery. The three women sit in casual conversation as they wait for the other two boys. Wille puts the last plate into the strainer when Simon comes up and hugs him from behind. “How are you feeling?” Simon whispers into his ear, holding him tightly.
Wille smiles and leans his head back to rest against Simon’s shoulder, giggling slightly when a soft kiss is pressed to his cheek. He will never get used to this. “I’ve never felt more comfortable meeting someone’s family. I love your mamma, I love doing chores with you, I love how domestic this all feels.”
“You’re so cute.” Simon kisses Wille’s cheek again. “My mamma loves you too, by the way. I can’t say I love doing chores but doing them with you definitely is a lot more enjoyable than doing them alone.” Wille turns to face Simon, leaning against the counter and wrapping his hands around the other boy’s neck.
“Do you really think she likes me?”
Simon scoffs and places a quick peck on Wille’s lips, “I said she
loves
you, Wille. Remember… enamored by your princely charm and forces you to move in.” Wille laughs, moving forward once again to kiss Simon. Things are so natural for them, so comfortable.
Sara calls out from the dining room, “You guys aren’t alone, by the way!” They jump apart to see all three women staring annoyingly at them. Malin and Linda’s eyes hold more fondness than Sara’s though, who has witnessed too many kisses during their horseback riding date, “Can we please have dessert now and you guys can continue sucking each other's faces later?” Linda scoffs and slightly slaps Sara’s arm. “What?” Linda shakes her at her daughter as Wille and Simon make their way back towards the table. Wille rushes in front of Simon, taking his seat instead of settling back into the chair he sat in for dinner. Simon sighs and flicks Wille in the back of the head before taking Wille’s “old” chair. Linda takes the knife and cuts individual pieces for everyone at the table. Sara is the first to bite into her’s, “This is really good, Wille!”
Everyone else joins after. Linda thanks Wilhelm for bringing such a considerate welcoming gift. Simon places his hand on Wille’s thigh, silently approving of the dish. “Where did you even find a kitchen, Crown Prince?” Malin speaks up, having gotten more comfortable as the night went on, “The pie is very delicious, by the way.”
Wille splutters for a second but ignores the question by taking another bite of his dessert. He shrugs and brings the conversation back to Linda’s day at work, hoping his deflection wasn’t noticed. Of course Simon realized something was off, because it was Simon and Simon apparently knows everything. Simon nudges his foot against Wille’s, silently asking him what that was. Wille shrugs in response again which annoys Simon even more as there’s something definitely going on.
As the conversation about Linda dies down, Sara brings it back to Wille’s pie. “Is there any milk in this? I didn’t take my lactate beforehand.”
Wille shrugs once again, taking another bite of his pie. “I’m not sure, I’d take it just to be safe though.”
Linda puts her fork down and rests her elbows on the table to lean onto her hands. “You,” Wille locks up with Linda at the pause, everyone is now staring at him, “Don’t know if you put milk in the pie?” Wille shakes his head as Linda and Malin share a knowing look, smiling teasingly at Wille.
Simon steps in, “But you made it?” Wille looks at Simon as his face starts embarrassingly heating up. He doesn’t know if he can talk his way out of this one.
“Right…” Wille looks back down at his plate when Linda and Malin laugh quietly together.
“Wilhelm,” Linda takes another bite, chewing slowly and putting her fork down completely once again, “What ingredients goes in an apple pie?”
Wille looks up and brings his hand up to his mouth to bite at the skin surrounding his thumb. Simon immediately gets worried, tightening his grip on Wille’s thigh and soothingly rubbing along it. Wille physically calms down a little, “Um… apples?” Everyone laughs, besides Wille and Simon. Wille’s face is on fire at this point, embarrassed he’s been caught meanwhile Simon still doesn’t know why everyone's laughing? Are they making fun of Wille’s cooking? Why are they being mean to his.. something?
Simon interlocks their hands and rests them above the table. “Why are you guys laughing? The pie is really good, he did a good job.” Simon still can’t believe that Wille brought a gift just to meet his mom. It’s the cutest thing he’s ever done, if Simon was being honest. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve someone so perfect. Simon looks at Wille fondly, who’s still sitting there with a red face but now his anxious demeanor is replaced with a comfortable yet still slightly embarrassed one. Simon loves when he smiles, Simon loves when he squeezes his hand, Simon loves how Wille is constantly trying to be touching, as if Simon is the only thing that can calm him down. Simon never thought his love language was physical touch until he met Wille and now gets unreasonably upset when they’re sitting next to each other and they aren’t connected somehow.
Oh god .
His love language. He loves touching Wille. He loves kissing Wille. He loves going on dates with Wille but also loves simply co-existing in the boy’s dorm room. His mamma loves Wille. He loves doing chores with Wille. He loves being something with Wille.
He loves Wille.
Is this too soon? Everything just came so naturally to them once they worked out their communication issues. Everything has been so easy since Simon let Wille in and allowed himself to be cared for. Everything has been perfect since Wille learnt to talk about his thoughts with Simon, instead of simply overthinking.
But is it too soon? Can he fall in love with Wille after only going out for a little over a month and knowing each other for two? Sure they knew of each other last year and Wille revealed that he had always had a crush on Simon, but they weren’t actually friends last year, let alone going out. They only shared awkward smiles in the passing hallway after an intense initiation party that led to them hiding out together in comfortable silence and one “have a nice Christmas” before Winter break last year. Wille has come into Simon’s life so quickly and intensely and Simon might just be in love already.
Wille releases their hands, moving to wrap it around Simon’s chair and lean closer to the boy. Everyone around them stays giggling, but it seems to be dwindling down. Simon leans onto Wille, using his body as support instead of the back of his chair. Wille plants a kiss on Simon’s curls, like he’s done dozens of times before. Linda is the first to speak when Simon looks at her, still slightly annoyed and upset, “We aren’t laughing at Wilhelm, mi amor.” Simon leans into Wille further, almost halfway off his chair and resting his full body weight onto the other boy.
Sara puts her fork down, smiling teasingly at Wille. “He just didn’t bake the pie, and it’s funny because more than just apples go into an apple pie,” Sara shrugs. Wille laughs embarrassingly, caressing Simon’s shoulder as Simon begins laughing too and sits up to look at Wille from his own chair.
“Seriously?” He giggles.
Wille shrugs, “I wanted to come with a gift… but I didn’t know what.. and Walter says baked goods are always a hit so we called Minou and she sent someone over with an apple pie.” Wille finishes off the last of his piece. “It is very good though! I think the apples are locally grown here in Bjärstad but that’s all I know.”
Malin rolls her eyes fondly. Simon looks at Wille like he’s crazy, “You used the royal court just to get a welcoming gift to meet my mamma?” Wille simply nods in response. Simon is so in love. He wants to scream it and cry at how perfect Wille is. Instead, he kisses the boy on the cheek and focuses his attention back on the royal pie, afraid he might tell Wille he loves him in front of his family and Malin.
“It’s a perfect gift, Wilhelm. Please thank Minou for me.” Linda smiles before bringing her finished plate to the sink. Wille nods, knowing he’s not going to because Minou was kind of rude when he called and said “he shouldn’t be using his privilege to find a gift for a friend’s mom he won’t even remember in three years,” but he’ll pretend like he will. Honestly she was completely overstepping considering she works for him but he’s so happy right now he doesn’t even care.
Simon stands and takes everyone else’s plates to the sink, leaving them for Sara to wash. “Mamma, can me and Wille go to my room until he has to leave? I unlocked a new section in my video game I’d like to show him.” Wille moves to the kitchen, leaving Malin and Sara alone at the table and stands behind Simon, wrapping his arm around the boy's waist.
“But Linda hasn’t shown me any old baby pictures yet, we have to embarrass you!” Wille full on pouts.
Linda smiles and shakes her head, “It’s okay, Wilhelm, I’m sure you’ll be back soon enough. I don’t mind, me and Malin have discovered we’ve been reading the same book so I’ve just been itching to talk about it with her.” Linda pours herself another glass of wine, shooing away the boys to walk down the hallway into Simon’s room.
“May I remind the Crown Prince that curfew is in thirty minutes.” Malin calls from the dining room before they are able to fully close the door.
“We’ll leave in fifteen.” Wille throws back before shutting the door entirely, resting his back against the wood separating them from the comfortable chatter outside. Simon stands in the middle of the room, allowing Wille to look at his surroundings. A twin bed sits in the corner with a fish tank at the end of it pushed up against the wall. There’s a messy desk with a huge monitor next to the fish tank, the chair is still pushed out. Simon’s nightstand sits next to his bed, littered with trinkets and a lava lamp. Wille loves how cozy it is. Simon loves how natural it looks for Wille to be standing in his space. “I love your room. It feels so lived in.”
Simon crowds Wille against the door, “It couldn’t compare to a palace bedroom though.” He rests his hands on Wille’s hips, pulling them closer so their chests flush together.
“Try having three bedrooms.” Wille wiggles his eyebrows, wrapping his hands around Simon’s neck.
“That’s actually kind of disgusting,” Simon laughs bitterly, “It’s so impersonal. Do you ever get lost?”
Wille shrugs, “No, I’ve gotten used to navigating my house, but it does get really lonely. There’s only really ever staff to talk to and even then, they’re getting paid to be there. Diplomats and the Prime Minister only come to talk official business with mamma so there’s never really an ability to just be casual, there’s always meetings. Most of the time I even have to wear a suit for dinner, it’s so annoying.” Wille sighs, shaking his head and watching as Simon furrows his eyebrows together and wraps his hands completely around Wille’s waist, interlocking them behind the boy. “Anyways, we only have fifteen minutes, I don’t want to talk about my flawed home life.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Wille pecks Simon’s nose, causing the other boy to smile fondly and return it with a kiss to Wille’s forehead. “I’ve really enjoyed being with you this past month.”
Simon smiles, pulling Wille impossibly closer so their foreheads connect. “Me too. I’ve never met anyone like you, Wille.”
“In a good way or a bad way?” Wille closes his eyes, inhaling deeply in hopes to memorize the moment, including Simon’s slightly stuffy room.
“In the best way.” Simon finally leans up to kiss Wille softly. He feels the slight stickiness from the apple pie and tries his best to not lick it off of Wille’s lips, commiting to keeping the kiss gentle yet so full of emotion.
Wille pulls away, looking at Simon as if he’s lassoed the moon. “What are you doing for New Years?” Their Winter break is only two weeks away, where they’ll be separated until the welcoming energy of the new year engulfs them and they return back to Hillerska in the beginning of January.
Simon tightens his grip on Wille’s waist, “Nothing, I typically just spend it at home with mamma and we watch the fireworks our neighbors set off.”
“Come spend it with me in Stockholm.” Simon backs away from Wille a little, slightly taken aback at the invitation. “My mamma hosts an end of the year party and it’s always so boring but I want you to be there. You can bring Linda and Sara, they’re more than invited. And Henry, Walter, Felice, Stella and Fredrika are going to be there so it won’t be weird for you.” Simon steps back once again, but he’s wearing a fond smile as Wille takes his family into consideration. Wille rushes to explain his crazy plan even more, “You guys can even spend the night in the palace, there’s more than enough room and our friends are spending the night too! It’ll be like our own little movie night except there’ll be a planned sleepover this time.” Wille stares at Simon with large, begging, eyes. “I know we haven’t been going out long…” Wille sighs, looking down at their feet, “... And I promise I’m not clingy for anything…” Simon rolls his eyes, Wille is definitely clingy and it’s the cutest thing in the world, “But the thought of not seeing you, and touching you for two entire weeks genuinely makes me feel a little crazy.”
Simon laughs before leaning in and kissing Wille once more. His something is so clingy that he invited Simon to the royal palace for a sleepover. Simon might just faint, he never thought things could be this perfect. Spending New Years with Wille while also being surrounded by his new friends and his mamma and sister? Nothing could possibly be better than that. Simon grabs Wille’s chin with his thumb and index finger, lifting the boy’s face up so they’re making eye contact. “Do I really have to sleep in the guest room?” Wille’s eyes light up at Simon’s agreement, laughing slightly in disbelief and shaking his head so fast he might get a headache.
Wille speaks out so incredibly fast, “No! I mean you could go back home after but I just thought it’d be too late to make a two hour drive? I was assuming that you would stay past midnight but you could obviously leave beforehand? I just-” Simon cuts the rambling boy off with a rough kiss, crowding him against the door and tightening his grip on Wille’s waist. Wille brings his hands up to grip Simon’s curls, pulling slightly and groaning at the sudden movement.
Simon disconnects them, “I meant I spend the night in your room, dork.” Simon pecks Wille once again, “Or at least one of them,” And another kiss, “Whichever one you’ll have me in.” Wille’s face goes even redder, smiling and nodding once more. “You’re going to give yourself a headache if you keep moving your head so fast,” Simon giggles, moving away from Wille to sit at the end of his bed. He takes the fish food from a drawer in his desk and holds it up for Wille to see, silently inviting the boy to feed his pets with him.
Wille smoothes out his shirt and rushes over to Simon’s side, taking the fish food out from the boy’s hand and gripping it tightly. “Um.. what do I do now?” Simon rolls his eyes at Wille’s cluelessness and takes the bottle back. He unscrews the lid before standing to open the top of the fish tank.
He hands the fish food back to Wille, grabbing the boy’s arm to pull him up as well. “You take some in your hand, and sprinkle it in. Not too much because there’s only three of them, but enough that they'll be satisfied.” Wille smiles back, following Simon’s instructions and Simon almost physically swoons at how gentle Wille is being with fish food . He’s so careful when breaking it up just enough and he giggles quietly when one of the goldfish comes up to the surface to swallow one of the flakes.
Simon is so in love with the boy sitting in his room, feeding his fish.
-
They spend New Years together after much arguing from Wille’s side with his mother. She insists that he’s already having friends join their party, so three more guests will just tip the scales and be too chaotic. Wille argues back that the Crown Prince should have people there to support him in his time of need, he’s not above playing the anxiety card and making his mom feel bad for him. It works and when Simon walks in wearing velvet burgundy pants and a black, slightly lace, button up shirt, Wille knows the arguing was all worth it.
Wille power walks his way to the door, trying his best to remain his composure in front of so many important political figures but failing slightly when he sees Simon wearing rings. Wille pulls Linda and Sara into a group hug before moving to Simon and enveloping him entirely. He whispers into Simon’s ear, “You look so beautiful,” and is met with the other boy gently pushing him away, but the smile and bright blush on his face ruins his fake composure.
Wille looks good too. An oversized mint green suit and an even lighter shade of green undershirt. His black boots are slightly elevated with a raised heel, making him tower over Simon even more. Simon doesn’t think he can survive tonight. Wille holds his arm out for Sara and Linda to wrap onto and begins to lead them to the table, where all their friends are already sitting socializing. Simon silently swoons at Wille’s unexpected suaveness, but he decides to save the compliments for later and follows behind.
Sara immediately pulls away from Wille and takes the empty seat next to Felice, immediately fitting into the conversation she was having with Stella and Fredrika. Felice leans over slightly, putting her arm around Sara’s chair and whispering something that Simon can’t quite make out, but it makes Sara smile fondly nonetheless.
Linda lets go of Wille as well once they reach their table, politely excusing herself to grab a drink and go find Malin to chat. They’ve become close friends since Wille has been spending so much time at the Eriksson’s after their initial meeting. Wille is so glad his bodyguard isn’t bored when he forces her to go to drive him to the small home for the fourth time in a week.
Simon stands besides Wille, watching his mom mingle off on her own and Sara already forgetting his existence in the first place. Wille’s hands drop to his side, slowly moving to tap and Simon’s finger. He’s itching to interlock their hands, but he knows they shouldn’t. Simon moves his finger back against Wille’s, settling for interlocking their index fingers and sharing a knowing smile. “I’m gonna need a proper drink if they’re gonna be like this the entire night,” Henry mumbles, sipping on his water where he and Walter watch the scene in front of them from the end of the table. Simon rolls his eyes before sitting down opposite to them, looking up at Wille and back down at the empty chair next to him.
Wille hesitates, “I’ll be back soon, I just have to tell mamma you’ve arrived and stand with her during her welcome speech. It won’t be long, fifteen minutes maximum.” Wille awkwardly bro-taps Simon’s shoulder before ushering away behind a curtain, no doubt where the Queen of Sweden and her Prince Consort are waiting.
Simon sighs, fiddling with his thumbs on the table. He knew this would happen, he didn’t expect to be by Wille’s side the entire night. He just also didn’t expect that he’d miss Wille this much. His entire body lit up when Wille finally hugged him for the first time in a week and a half. He felt like he could stop moping, and everything was back in place. He loves Wille, and this time away from him has really proved it, even if they are a bit unhealthily attached at the hip. Walter jolts Simon out of his pessimistic thoughts, “Can you stop looking like someone kicked your puppy, please?”
That gets the attention of the girls on the other end of the table, stopping their conversation and turning their gaze towards Simon. “What’s wrong?” Felice asks, leaning onto the table as best as she could with her arm still around Sara.
They haven’t technically come out to their friends. Of course Sara knows, and Henry and Walter can obviously take a hint, but Simon doesn’t know what the deal is with Felice, Stella, and Fredika. He knows Wille is really close with them, but he doesn’t know how close.
“You do know he’s coming back, right?” Stella laughs teasingly.
Fredrika follows, “He’s not going to invite you to the palace just to dump you with us, that boy is whipped.” Simon’s mood begins to lighten at the mention of his boy, and how they all seem to already know about their sort-of-official-but-unofficial relationship.
“Please, he’s been in a mood all week,” Sara rolls her eyes, “It’s always “Wille this,” or “Wille that,” it’s so annoying!”
Felice turns towards Stella and Fredrika, but makes sure to include the rest of the table in the conversation anyways, “Sara was telling me that even on Christmas Simon was upset because he “wanted to experience Winter’s first snowfall with Wille.” Honestly, kind of cute but so dramatic.” Everyone laughs, besides Simon who sighs and cowers in on himself a little. He’s not upset, it’s actually quite funny and so relieving that everyone is so casual about him and Wille, but he said that to Sara in confidence!
“I think your love for Wille is actually really heartwarming, Simon.” Stella smiles, leaning back in her chair so casually like she hasn’t just exposed Simon’s deepest secret without him even telling her.
He splutters for a moment, looking up at the rest of the table to find them smiling genuinely at him, waiting for a response. Simon feels his ears begin to heat up, “Um..” He cracks his knuckles with one hand, an anxiety coping mechanism he picked up from Wille. “How did you… know… I was… you know?”
“It’s obvious you guys are in love..” Felice shrugs.
Fredrika gasps, “Did you not know?” Simon laughs a little, shaking his head no.
“I know I’m in love with Wille. I just didn’t think it was that obvious.”
Henry speaks up for the first time in a while, “I mean you guys are dating, it makes sense.”
“We haven’t put a label on it yet,” Simon shrugs, everyone else looks down at him like he’s an idiot.
Sara cocks her head to the side, confused, “But you’re in love…”
“We haven’t said it yet,” Simon shrugs again, desperately craving for this conversation to be over. “Guys, I don’t know. Can we drop it, please? I just miss Wille and this is not helping.”
Everyone nods and Simon feels a pair of familiar hands on his shoulders, massaging lightly. He turns his head to look up towards a smiling Wille, his hair slightly disheveled and a bright blush on his face. “What are we dropping?” Wille lets go of Simon’s shoulders, pulling out the chair next to the boy and sitting way too close for the platonic best bro’s they should be portraying in front of these politicians.
“Dropping it on the dance floor!” Felice exclaims, standing up from her chair and pulling Sara, Stella, Fredrika and Walter onto the dance floor with her. Henry stays behind on his phone, muttering something about his gems respawning in his video game, so he’ll join them soon. Wille and Simon pass up on the offer so quickly, finally relishing in the fact that they’re physically together again.
Wille leans in to whisper into Simon’s ear, “I miss you too, Simon.” He watches as peach paints Simon’s cheeks and he opens his mouth slightly, kind of like a goldfish.
Simon pauses, “..How much.. did you hear?”
“Just the part of you dropping it and missing me. Why? Was there something important?” Simon shakes his head, slightly relieved that Wille doesn’t know he loves him before he even has a chance to properly say it.
Simon swiftly decides to change the subject, wanting Wille’s intense gaze off of him. “Your mom didn’t give her speech.”
Wille laughs, leaning in closer to Simon without causing a scene, “She wanted me to do it and I refused so we scrapped it completely this year. Think there’s going to be a mid-party speech but I’m not a part of that.”
Simon nods, proud at Wille for sticking his ground and setting boundaries. “So you’re mine for the night?”
Wille smiles, “I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.”
They sneak out close to midnight to share a private kiss, whispering Happy New Year against each other's lips.
In the comfort of Wille’s king size bed, they lay silently, both enjoying the end of the night quietness. Wille’s on his back with Simon laying half on top of him and half on the mattress, his arm lazily thrown around Wille’s shirtless chest and drawing unidentifiable patterns into it. Wille has his arm wrapped around Simon’s shoulder, his free hand wrapped around the other side of the boy and caressing Simon’s waist under his ridden up shirt. Simon has his legs wrapped around Wille, his legs ablaze at the skin on skin contact of their legs, given that they’re only wearing boxers. Simon wants to wrap this moment up and be this close to Wille forever. Wille is so warm and Simon is always impossibly too cold, so they create the perfect temperature when they’re together.
Simon looks up at Wille, taking in his closed eyes and slightly parted lips, as if he’s trying to remember this moment as well. Simon reaches his hand up to gently caress Wille’s cheek, watching the other boy’s eyes flutter open and stare fondly at the other boy. “I know this is going to sound really clingy…” Wille sarcastically rolls his eyes, taking his hand off Simon’s waist to motion up and down at their current position as if to say “it can’t get any more clingy than this,” Simon shushes him. “I missed being with you. It was so nice seeing your room before actually being in it from our video calls, but I craved moments like this where I could simply feel your heartbeat against mine.”
Wille blushes if it’s even more possible, “When you said you wish I was there to feed your fish on Boxing Day… I considered forcing Malin to drive me down just so I could be there.” Simon scoffs and slaps Wille’s chest slightly. “I’m serious! I was so close to canceling our post-Christmas video recording event just so I could feed your stupid fish again with you!” He pauses, “And of course see Linda again.”
Simon pushes himself off of Wille, hovering over the other boy and smiling exasperatedly at him, “I knew you were only with me to get to my mom!” Wille covers his face with his hands and Simon watches his chest rise and fall with laughter. “You can’t have her! She’s happily single!” Simon grabs Wille’s wrists and pulls them away from the boy’s face, holding them on either side of Wille’s head. He laughs more. Simon pushes himself up and sits back down on top of Wille, his thighs on either side of Wille’s waist and the other boy’s wrists still pinned above his head.
Wille stops laughing.
He stops and looks at the gorgeous boy sitting on top of him in his bed. His mind races with previous nights they’ve spent together and the countless breaths they’ve shared. Wille wants to breathe Simon in, keep him forever and engulf his entire being. Simon smirks and leans down to connect their lips, tightening his grip on Wille’s wrists. Wille reciprocates, humming when he feels Simon’s tongue enter his mouth and pulling away before he could even reply.
Slightly out of breath, Wille mutters into the darkness of their room, “I love you.” So quiet, one could even argue he didn’t intend to say it at that moment. He stares up at Simon with big brown eyes, silently pleading for a response but Simon just groans on top of him and releases his wrists. He drags his hands down along Wille’s bare chest, resting them just below Wille’s collarbones.
Wille’s breathing picks up, bringing his hands to grab at Simon’s waist, pushing his shirt up slightly to feel his skin. Simon rolls his eyes, taking his shirt off completely before bringing his hands back to Wille’s chest. “You’re so annoying, you know that?” He teases.
Wille’s eyes widen even more, “You don’t have to say it back, and I know it might be too early but I just-”
Simon cuts him off with another heated kiss, grabbing Wille’s face and pulling him impossibly upwards. He leans back and whispers against the other boy’s lips, “I wanted to be the one to say it first.” Wille bursts out laughing, leaning back against the pillows while Simon slaps his chest again. “I’m serious! I had a whole plan and everything! That’s the second time you’ve ruined a plan but this time it was mine! You’re annoying!” Wille looks up at Simon as the boy pauses and takes Wille’s face into his hands. “...You complete me.” Wille pecks Simon. “I’m serious, I love you so much. I love the way you make me feel, even when you are not around. Sometimes I think about you and I am genuinely baffled at how I got so lucky…. You’re my person.”
Wille’s eyes gloss over slightly and his bottom lip begins to tremble. Simon coos, wiping Wille’s cheeks with his thumbs to catch any stray tears that might start to fall. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone, Wille.” Wille nods in agreement, muttering “me too” but biting his lip to stop himself from crying. Simon’s eyes begin to well up as well, so enamored in the boy laying under him and so happy with this display of vulnerability. With a shaking voice he says, “I’m kind of glad my plan was ruined, this is perfect, you’re perfect.” He leans down to connect his lips with the now crying boy beneath him, pulling back and watching as one of his tears falls down onto Wille’s cheek.
“And you’re not just saying it because I said it?” Wille bites his lips again since his hands stay stuck on Simon’s waist.
Simon rolls his eyes, squishing Wille’s cheeks, “I wanted to say it first. I’ve loved you since you visited my house the first time with the fake apple pie.”
Wille scoffs at the mention of his embarrassing time meeting Simon’s mamma but moves past it to say, “I think I loved you since I first saw you,” Simon’s breath hitches, his heart beating incredibly faster, “I just don’t think I knew it yet, but I knew you’d be important to me. You always felt right.” He leans down into another kiss, never bored of the feeling of Wille’s lips against his. Wille drags his right hand up Simon’s waist, along the other boys back and grabs a handful of curls. He pushes up to deepen the kiss and brings Simon closer with the grip he has in the boy’s hair. Simon moves his right hand from Wille’s face and behind him, gently caressing up Wille’s bare thigh before he’s pulled off. Wille looks so beautiful underneath him, huffing with slightly swollen lips just from one heated kiss.
“I love you,” Simon whispers.
Wille pulls him down into another heated kiss.
-
On their second night back at Hillerska, Wille is awoken with an upset Simon climbing through his window and huffing at the state of disarray the dorm room is in. “We’ve been back for two days Wille, how do you already have clothes on the floor?” Simon bends down to pick up Wille’s various clothing items that were obviously thrown off carelessly. Wille hums in response, only half awake and barely registering Simon in his room. He lays on his side with his blanket pulled all the way up to his chin. Peeling his eyes open slowly, Wille watches as Simon neatly folds the other boy’s clothes and puts them into his closet.
“You don’t have to do that,” He groans, sitting up and letting the blanket fall to his lap to reveal his bare chest. He moves over so that he’s against the wall in the corner. Simon rolls his eyes but keeps his back against Wille. “What time is it anyways?”
Without looking away from the closet Simon mutters, “It’s a little half past three.” Wille’s eyes widen, feeling slightly more awake at his Simon being here so late at night and not cozily sleeping at home.
“Did you take the bus here?”
Simon looks up towards the ceiling, shutting his eyes tightly and breathing out heavily. Wille now knows something is definitely wrong. “Yes.”
“Can you come over here? I can clean up my clothes tomorrow. In case you forgot, someone was also here yesterday to distract me.” Simon nods before moping over to Wille and dropping down next to the boy, letting his head rest on Wille’s shoulder. Wille wraps his arm around Simon, pulling the boy closer and into his lap. Simon moves so his legs are across Wille’s and his right cheek is nuzzled into Wille’s chest. “Do you want to talk about it?” Simon shakes his head. “Do you want to go to sleep?” Simon shakes his head again.
He sighs, “Marcus woke me up.” Wille’s blood runs cold. Simon doesn’t move from being nuzzled up against Wille’s chest. “He was knocking on my bedroom window and demanding to know why we haven’t seen each other since apparently he’s going back to school tomorrow,” Simon sighs again. “It was so fucking annoying, he kept insisting that we’d “have fun” and I just got so annoyed I slammed the window in his face,” A pause. “He said if I kept this up he’d bring my dad back into town so he could “set me right.” I guess they still keep in contact or whatever, which is so insane to me,” He shrugs but the hitch in his voice and the shaking of his shoulders give away the fake nonchalance about the entire situation. Wille tightens his grip around Simon, like the boy would disappear if he didn’t. Simon bites his lip, “...He broke my fucking window, Wille.. I thought about threatening him with my boyfriend but I didn’t want to burden you or have you come to my rescue like a damsel in distress or something.” Simon finally leans up to lock eyes with Wille. There are no tears, just disbelief and incredible amounts of anger. “He left after he broke it and I know I should have told mamma but I just… I needed you.”
Wille leans forward to press a kiss on Simon’s forehead, not really knowing how to provide the other boy support at this moment. “Okay.” Wille lifts Simon up and moves out from under him, picking up one of the now few sweaters along his floor and putting it on before grabbing a random pair of pants from his closet. Simon eyes Wille, confused, as he watches the other boy put on his shoes. Wille walks back over to Simon, lifting the boy up by his waist onto shaky legs and bringing him to the window.
Simon turns back towards Wille, “What are you doing? Are you kicking me out?” Simon’s eyes begin to gloss over slightly.
Wille pauses and coos, “Baby..” Simon’s breath hitches at the name, “I would never. We are just going back to your house. Linda and Sara can’t be alone with a broken window.” He brings his hand up to caress Simon’s face, still blushing in his sleepy mood when the other boy leans into it.
“Are we not going to talk about what else I said?” Wille pauses, backing them both away from the window slightly.
“What are we going to talk about?” Simon shrugs. “Marcus is fucking insane, we can go to the police if you’d like and get a restraining order? After we’ve talked about everything with Linda of course.” Simon’s eyes go wide as he stares at Wille, but he nods nonetheless. “We can get one against your dad as well?”
Simon shrugs, “That’d be a lot harder I think.”
“We could still do it.” He’s met with a confirming nod. “I’m sure we can find someone to fix your window tomorrow, we can cut class and I’ll be there with you.” Simon shakes his head, wrapping his arms around Wille’s neck.
“I can cut tomorrow, you should go though.” Wille shakes his head, pressing a kiss onto Simon’s nose. “I’m serious, it’s only the first week back from break and you shouldn’t be cutting.”
Wille rolls his eyes, “I’d rather be there for you.” Simon blushes, giving Wille a quick peck on the lips.
“Thank you.”
“I love you. I’m going to support you through it all.” Wille smiles, taking Simon’s face in both of his hands. He smirks teasingly, “Also, who is this boyfriend you were mentioning?”
Simon’s eyes widen and he starts to back away before he’s pulled forward by his face again. He gets out so fast, “I know we didn’t talk about it, I don’t even know where that came from when we haven’t put a label on us, I’m sorry if you feel pressured or something.”
Wille lets Simon finish before rolling his eyes, causing Simon to feel so much lighter than he just did as he lets out a small bit of laughter. “Baby… we’re in love.” He kisses the other’s nose, “I think it’s okay if we call ourselves boyfriends.”
Simon groans, pushing his face into Wille’s shoulder, “I love when you call me that..” He mutters against the other boy’s fabric. “Since when did you become so smooth? What happened to my anxiety riddled loser?” Wille laughs in response.
“Also, you can call me whenever, you know that right?” Simon nods against his shoulder, pulling away and disconnecting them completely and heading towards the window. They both hop out safely and begin walking over to Malin’s nighttime building, hand in hand. Wille speaks against the darkness of the night, “I am always here for you, even though you’re not a damsel in distress.”
Simon smiles, “Even though I’m not a damsel in distress.”
-
Still tired from the lack of sleep two nights ago, Wille and Simon walk hand and hand into Mr. Englund’s morning class. After explaining the situation to Linda, she agreed that it was best if Simon spent the night with Wille for emotional support, even if it was a school night. She hadn’t been completely on board with the idea at first but with reassurance that Malin would be stationed right outside the door for now and a heavy confession of love from Wille, she allowed it.
They hadn’t planned on being early and walking into an empty room, though as Simon was changing into one of his boyfriend’s sweaters, Wille was afraid he might pull Simon in and they’d never leave the dorm. Simon opens the door for Wille, allowing the other boy to walk in and pull him in after. They share a look before Wille leads Simon over to their desk and pushes him up against it. He grabs a handful of curls, pulling his boyfriend in for a heated kiss. Simon hums happily and lifts himself up to sit fully on the desk, wrapping his legs around Wille’s waist and pulling him impossibly closer. Wille shoves a warm hand under his sweater, pulling Simon closer with the grip on his bare waist. Simon pulls away, breathing heavily. Wille trembles slightly at Simon’s messed up curls and dives back in for another kiss, moving his hand from Simon’s waist to his upper thigh and squeezing. Simon pulls back again, “We’re gonna get caught.” Wille rolls his eyes, his boyfriend is so lame for not making out with him at all times of the day! Simon pushes a strand of Wille’s hair behind his ear, “It’s okay, baby , we’ll have time later.” Wille trembles again, leaning down and roughly kissing Simon’s throat. His boyfriend tightens his grip in Wille’s hair, pulling him closer into Simon’s neck and jumping when Wille gently nibbles on the exposed skin.
Wille pulls back, knowing he’s done his damage and smiling innocently before pulling away from Simon completely. Henry and Walter use this moment to walk hand in hand, watching as Simon is still sitting atop the desk and Wille is slowly backing away from him. Walter rolls his eyes as he passes the two, “Can you guys not be any more obvious?” Simon gets down from the desk and they both turn to face the two boys completely.
Wille shrugs, “It’s not like we’re trying to hide it.” He turns and pulls out
Simon’s
chair for him, kissing his boyfriend on the top of the head once he sits with a gentle smile. They both sit but look back towards Henry and Walter, still wanting to engage in conversation.
“What about you being the Crown Prince?” Henry asks. Simon flinches slightly. He loves Wille but they haven’t really discussed what that means within the royal court, it hasn’t been an issue yet.
Wille rolls his eyes in response, “What about it? I literally don’t care, I love Simon.”
Walter leans forward onto his desk with wide eyes and a huge smirk on his face. He faces Simon directly, “You told him?”
Simon scoffs and blushes. Wille with wide eyes and slightly parted lips, curious as to what Walter was talking about. Told him what? Simon covers his face with his hands, muttering into them, “He actually beat me to it…” Henry and Walter bark out laughing, but Wille stays confused.
Wille turns towards Simon and whispers at him, “Baby, what are they talking about?” Simon turns and blushes at the close proximity but is cut off with a loud gasp from the middle of the room. He jolts his head towards the noise to find Henry and Walter snickering again .
“Simon…” Henry covers his mouth with his hands to contain his laughter, “..You might.. want to invest in a turtleneck..” Simon pauses, reaching his hand up to the side of his neck and pressing into it only to feel a slight soreness on one part.
Simon turns towards his boyfriend in disbelief, “No fucking way you gave me a hickey just now.” He shakes his head in mock shame, trying to ignore the clowns laughing at him. Wille shrugs in response, turning his attention back towards Henry and Walter with a big smile on his face.
“You guys know what this means right?” They both shake their heads and Wille interlocks his leg with Simon’s, deciding they haven’t been touching for far too long. “We can go on double dates now, like officially!” Simon giggles silently at his boyfriend’s cheesiness, but is kind of into the idea as well.
Henry and Walter look at eachother, confusion on their faces before looking back at Simon and Wille. “We aren’t dating…” Henry says with Walter nodding along in agreement.
“But… You two are holding hands right now?” Wille looks at where they’re conjoined and Walter tracing hearts onto the back of Henry’s hand.
“Okay?” Walter asks back, confused why that means they’re dating.
Simon says, “I’ve literally caught you guys making out before.” He’s just as confused as Wille is.
Henry shrugs, “Just because you and Wille made things difficult with your singular shared brain cell, doesn’t mean we have to.”
Simon and Wille look at eachother once again. Simon opens his mouth to point out another reason why the two boys are dating before Walter cuts him off, “If anything, you guys should be taking relationship advice from us.” He shrugs, leaning closer to Henry. Henry wraps his arm around Walter, pulling the boy almost entirely off his chair and onto him.
Wille sighs, defeated and a little upset, “So no double dates?” Simon silently coos at his boyfriend’s cuteness, kind of like a lost puppy. How dare Henry and Walter make his boyfriend sad.
Simon stares at the two of them, wishing that looks could kill. Walter immediately picks up on this and laughs, “Holy shit Simon, we’ll go on a double date.” Simon smiles sarcastically at the two of them before pulling Wille so they can both turn back towards the front as people will start coming in soon.
Wille throws a quick smile back before turning all his attention towards Simon once again. Simon still can’t believe this beautiful person is his boyfriend. Not just Crown-Prince -who-steals-his-chair or his something , but his boyfriend ! Wille pokes Simon in the cheek, knocking the boy out of his thoughts. He tucks his bottom lip between his teeth, “Do you think Linda could make the dish she made when I first visited for dinner?”
Simon smiles fondly, “You’re coming over for dinner tonight?” Wille hums in response. “I can ask her for you, baby.” Wille smiles in response. Simon kisses Wille once more, sighing contently at the gentle but affirming gesture. “I’m so glad you’re my future.” He leans back from the kiss, staring at Wille for another moment before leaning down to pull his supplies for class out of his bookbag.
Wille takes one of Simon’s pencils, laughing when Simon yells at him to get his own. “I love you, you know that?” He says when Simon begins writing the date on the top of his notebook.
Simon doesn’t look up from the paper to meet Wille’s gaze, but he knows it’s pouring as much love and affection it can into it. “I know.” He whispers, mostly towards himself but still loud enough that Wille can hear it.
And he does know. He knows Wille feels the same ache in his chest that Simon does when they’re apart. He knows Wille would lasso the moon if Simon asks. He knows Wille changed his lockscreen to a photo they took on their hiking date. Though, Simon chose a photo from a quiet moment in Wille’s bed, in love with the way the golden light illuminated onto his boyfriend. He knows he no longer has to worry about Wille stealing his chair in class anymore, rather him pulling it out for Simon and placing a gentle kiss on the boy’s curls once he’s properly seated.
Simon knows Wille loves him, and he feels the same way.