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Chapter Text

Simon’s heart raced as his plane touched down in New York City. The city’s sprawling lights were a far cry from the gentle glow of Caracas, Venezuela, his childhood home. He’d earned a scholarship to study music at Columbia University, a dream that seemed out of reach only a year ago.

The first weeks were a whirlwind. Simon grappled with music fundamentals, navigated unfamiliar subway lines, and missed his family deeply. But each day brought new friends and experiences, slowly painting his loneliness with colors of hope. To help with his loneliness in the first few weeks he slotted his family into his busy school schedule by making sure to call his mother every night before he fell asleep. The time was the same, which was so convenient for him so he would call her every night by 9 pm. His sister was not so clingy, so he slotted her in on Sundays after he finished half his assignments.

She was one year older than him, yet he assumed a protective role towards her for as long as he could remember. Leaving her behind was a significant challenge; however, she expressed the importance of his leaving to allow her greater independence. Since she is living with autism and Asperger Syndrome, he had always felt a sense of concern for her wellbeing. Although over a year ago separating from her was among the most difficult decisions he has faced, she has demonstrated resilience and adaptability.

Looking at the time, Simon realized it was time to call his mother. Opening his call app he dialed her number, and she responded immediately.

“Hey cariño.”

“Hey mama.” Simon spoke to his mother in English as she was trying to learn the language. Simon self-taught himself the language when he was ten and was fascinated by his cousins who came to visit from Miami during the summer holidays. He and his mother would talk to each other and watch movies in English. Simon had a goal then, his goal was to go to the US, become a singer but not just any singer. He wanted to be one who studied the art. He knew he already had the talent, but he needed the theory to assist him with the practical aspect. Then he wished to have his mother and sister migrate to the US to take them away from the unrest that his country was facing. The crisis there kept getting worse, especially in the couple of years. How he would bring his mother and sister out was another challenge he was yet to figure out. However, he knew he would figure it out. One year ago he would never have dreamed that he would have made it out, but here he was, in the great NYC.

Focusing on his mother’s conversation on the video call she was holding up a tiny kitten into the frame of the screen.

“I got him today. Isn’t he cute?”

“Mama. A cat? Why?”

“I needed the company. I’m an empty nester now.”

Simon rolled his eyes but smiled lovingly. “Is he my replacement?”

“Don’t say that cariño, you know I would never replace you or Sara.” Linda smiled lovingly. “But you know ever since Sara moved to Chacao last year and with you moving out now I needed to get a new friend.”

“You could have tried a human form.”

“Mijo, you know I would never!”

“Mama. You need to live a little. I have never known you to have a companion. Sara and I are no longer there for you to use as an excuse, so now is the time to go out and have some fun! You are not that old and you’re still the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Look at my nice niño giving me such a good compliment.”

“I’m not wrong though.” Simon smiled then got serious. “But it’s true mama, you raised us, we are now grown so you should go meet someone nice.”

“Oh please, look who is talking, you are young and extremely handsome, and I don’t see you having any fun.” His mother countered.

“That’s because I am committed to my goals mama. I don’t need any distractions now.”

His mother got somber, and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. “My only wish for my kids is that they both find the love that I found with your dad in the early stages. It was so mystical, and I hope both of you can have that one day.”

“Not if it’s going to die before I reach twenty-two.”

“Simon Jose Eriksson! That’s an awful thing to say”

“It’s the truth mama. Why find a love so awesome if I won’t be able to have it until I am old and grey?”

“I know my son, but that’s just life. I hope it will be different for my children.”

“I hope so too mama. But I’m still young, just eighteen and I am not looking for anything that is going to ruin my scholarship and my time here in the US. I am here to get my music degree, become a producer if I don’t make it as a singer, and find some way to get you and Sara to move. Half of the family has moved away since abuela died. There is no glue holding the family anymore and things are getting worse.”

“I know cariño but don’t worry about me and Sara. The media coverage makes it seem worse than it really is. I am safe here so don’t worry.”

They spoke some more and then ended the call. Simon was left with his own musing about the country he left behind.

Venezuela was a nice country, but the opportunities for him making it to the big stage was limited. He will always love his home country, but he never fitted in at all.

He first knew something was different when he started attending preschool, but it was not until he was in primary school, or what the Americans refer to as middle school did he realize that something was wrong. First it was his sister Sara. The kids would tease her about her pale complexion and would ask her why she is so ‘white.’ Simon knew his sister was lighter in complexion than him and their mother, but he thought nothing of it.

The teasing then led him to realize at the time that Sara was indeed lighter than all their family members, which had led him at the tender age of seven to question this with his mother.

“Mama, why is Sara not like us?”

“What do you mean Simonito?” His mother always liked to add that form of endearment to his name.” He was not sure what it meant but he loved it.

“You know, she’s a güera.”

“Simon Jose Eriksson!” His mother had reprimanded him by using his full name. “Don’t you ever call your sister that ever again. She is different yes, but she took her color from her dad just as how you took your color mostly from me.”

There were some things Simon could not understand. His dad was one of them but then after the revelation about his sister’s complexion he also came to realize something else as well. His name was wrong.

Everyone of his classmates had names like González, Rojas, Alverez and Moreno but never Eriksson. It was like he and his immediate family were the only ones in Venezuela with that ill begotten surname. He came home from school a few days after his sister complexion debacle very upset about this and once again accosted his mother about it.

“Mama, why are we the only ones here with this stupid surname!”

“Simonito our surname is not stupid, it’s unique so it makes us special.” Linda cooed as she came to rest her damp hands on his cheeks as she was washing some potatoes when he had entered and had dried her hands to comfort him.

“Well I hate it!” He had shouted. “It sucks!”

“Cariño, you are different because of your dad.”

“Everything bad always seem to lead back to him!” Simon had sneered before grabbing his school bag from off the floor where he had left it when he came inside the kitchen and marched angrily to his room.

That was the night he learned about his father. He had often wondered why his father was never around like his other school friends but then he realized that none of his other female family members had husbands; boyfriends yes, but the men never stayed. The head of his family was his great-grandmother. The only males in his family were his uncles or cousins. He lived up to that point of his life thinking that it was the norm, until primary school opened his eyes to other types of families, ones that included a father.

His mother told him that night that she was married once to a man named Micke Eriksson from a country in Europe that he never heard of before but he had died when both Simon and Sara was very young. She had told him that if he had not died they would have moved and lived in that new country with his dad as he was looking about their papers to have it done. Unfortunately, he died in an accident before any of that could be done.

Simon was not sure at that time whether to be upset due to the fate that was meted out to his family or to be relieved that he did not have to move to a new country away from his cousins and other family.

That was then. Now Simon was in a whole new continent trying to navigate his new beginnings.

Chapter Text

Wilhelm needed to get away from it all. He was struggling with the noose that was around his neck in the form of a crown that was not even supposed to be on his head in the first place.

He grew up being second in line to the Swedish throne, a fete meted out to him by a mere disproportion of birth. Up to his sixteenth birthday he was counting down the days that his twenty-one year old, newly minted Colonel-in-Chief brother and Crown Prince would get married and have a bunch of kids; hopefully ten, to push him further away in the line of succession. He hated this life and his dream was becoming a reality when his brother finally met the girl of his dreams, Anja.

Anja was the love of Erik’s life and Wilhelm knew this from the moment his brother shyly introduced him to her in the summer before he started gymnasium. His brother often told him about his sexual exploits, but this one was different. It felt different and he was correct. Erik was quick to inform him that as soon as he returned home from travelling overseas, he would propose to Anja. The entire country was anticipating the proposal for quite some time as she was a staple in Erik’s life from his brother was eighteen. Now at twenty-one and completed his required military training the country was waiting with baited breaths as to when he would be popping the question.

Wilhelm knew when the question would be asked. It would have been the beginning of fall as it was both of them favorite time of the year and also the time when they had met. However, thanks to Wilhelm everything went rogue. First of all, he created a scandal by opting to go to public school instead of the traditional one that his mother, brother and all his royal descendants attended. The country was in an uproar because of this. He could not understand why there was a big debate about his choice of school, but that was his life. Everyone had an opinion about it.

The next big blow came a few weeks into the school year when he got into a physical altercation with some guy at a club. The first thing that was bad about the entire incident was that he should not have been at a bar in the first place because he was underage. Secondly, even though he was provoked, he should not have retaliated at all. This was another big scandal which led to his first and hopefully last public speech.

However, his life had a way of messing things up. He got pulled out of his public school to attend his mother’s alma mater, a job that was handed to Erik to take care of. Wilhelm hated the school and all that it represented. Worse, he hated his cousin August who also attended. Still, he tried to make friends for the sake of Erik so that he would not be a disappointment. He caused two scandals in less than a month and he did not want to cause anymore that would overshadow his brother’s big announcement in a few weeks.

Three weeks later Erik called him with some sad news.

“Hey lillebror. I know I was coming to represent mom and dad on parents day but something came up with Anja. She’s not well so I have to go take care of her.”

“That’s ok Erik.”

“Hey, cheer up. You can still come hang out with us over the weekend when you come home.”

“No, it would not make any sense for me to come home now, only to come back Sunday evening.”

“But I thought you hated it there and you would jump at the chance to get out for even a day.”

“I hate it but I will stay and just do some homework that I have outstanding, seeing that I just started.”

“Wait, my lillebror wants to stay at school to do homework.” His brother chuckled at the idea. “Wait, you met someone.”

“What? No!”

“Come on lillebror, you can tell me. Who is making my little brother stay for an entire weekend at school when he’s getting the chance to leave.”

“Erik, stop. I never met anyone. You know I’m-” Wilhelm did not get a chance to finish as he heard someone in the background informing his brother that he had another engagement to attend.

“Hey Lillebro, hold that thought. I have to go now, but we will catch up over the weekend if you change your mind and still wish to leave.”

He never got a chance to answer because his brother was in a rush so he quickly hung up. His brother was always in a rush. He had to rush to go to one meeting after the other, he had to be in a rush to talk to his brother and he was always in a rush because he had to navigate the intricacies that came along with the crown.

This rush caused him to drive his car into a tree which caused it to flip multiple times before it came to a stop. In an instant his brother was gone and Wilhelm took his place in a role that he was hoping would have been out of his grips with the birth of his tenth imaginary niece, who he had named Sonja.

Wilhelm plunge into the spotlight that was never his caused him to fumble along the way. He never thought he was good enough for the role. Even though Felice, his best friend kept telling him that it’s not that he’s not good enough but it’s because he did not get any practice or training for the role. She was indeed correct. He knew his role perfectly as the spare. He knew how many steps he needed to be behind Erik. Wilhelm never had to memorize how many steps he needed to be behind mama because he never had to walk directly behind her, always behind Erik. How was he to know when he was suddenly thrusted behind her how far or near he needed to be.

Wilhelm thought that he would be accustomed to the role by now having spent the better of nearly two years in it. Yet he felt stifled and out of place. Plus he was angry. He was angry at Erik for leaving him in this predicament. He was angry at his mother for birthing him and he was angry with the entire country for penetrating every aspect of his life.

He fought with his mother constantly about the minute of stuff and even once when he was sixteen, he threatened to give up the crown if she did not take him seriously. It was the week when he returned to school after the Christmas break. He was again embroiled in another scandal, this time involving Felice. Just a few weeks after his brother had died Felice was comforting him in his room and one thing led to another and he found himself kissing her. He never meant for it to happen, but two things caused it. First, he was sad because of Erik’s untimely death and secondly because he wanted to know if the feelings he had been having since he was fifteen if they were real or just a fluke.

The kiss turned out to be nothing, but someone had captured it on video and placed it on the internet. That someone turned out to be his cousin August. It took him all of the Christmas break to try to appease the public’s perception of him. His face was not visible in the video but because he was always seen with Felice, they all assumed that it was him. He had to publicly give another speech to say that he was not the one in the video just to get the press to leave Felice alone. She faced the brunt of the backlash at the time with people calling her racist slurs and making comments about her body.

On top of all that his mother was upset but secretly pleased that her son was getting some action. However, when he burst her bubble and told her what he was about to confess to Erik during their phone call she had told him that he was going through a phase and that he would grow out of it. He had threatened to go public and to denounce his title if she did not take him seriously. They again fought when she told him that she was rewarding August for posting the video by being his backup. Not that she told him that but if felt that way because August did not suffer any consequences for betraying him.

He again fought his mother when he left gymnasium, and she told him about his ten year plan.

“Ten year plan!” He had shouted after reading the list of things that were highlighted in a portfolio that was currently slammed down on her desk. “The fuck!”

“Wilhelm, language.”

“Mom, I am not going to be in the military for one year. You know all along I have plans to go to Columbia University. I got through on my own merit. Not as the Crown Prince, but by my own doing. Now you want me to what, not go?”

“Wilhelm, you know we cannot just send you away to a country to live on your own, unprotected for you to do a course in what? Fine Arts? What will you even need that for. The military is more important and a necessary aspect for your role.” She scoffed.

“Mother! I am not going to military school!” He had stormed out of her office.

Two weeks later he was on his way to military training. A compromise that Felice had told him to take if he started acting more calmly and not going through a tantrum like a six-year-old. He had tried it by going to his mother’s office two days after the argument to apologize. He then told his mother calmly just as Felice had suggested. “Mama, you know this was never my role to begin with. I had my plans, and I will be so miserable if I went through life not doing what I wanted to do. It’s as if since Erik died I have been taking over his life from where it ended. What about me, mama? What of my life? Will it be all for nothing.”

“Wilhelm-” His mother had sighed but he did not allow her to continue.

“I feel like an imposter most of the times. I know I have a role to fulfil but this was never my role. I want to do the things on my bucket list but more and more I feel like I’m doing things from Erik’s list instead of my own.”

“Son, this role is a privilege not a punishment, so you have to learn to embrace it.”

“I know mama, but can you see me?” His mother looked at him as if he was going crazy.

“Of course I see you Wilhelm, I’m not blind.”

He took a long breath trying to reign in his temper. “But can you see me? Me Wilhelm without the crown, not Crown Prince Wilhelm.”

“I do see you.”

“Then let me go do my thing and I promise you I will come back to live the life Erik would have lived.”

Kristina pursed her lips as she always does in private when she is considering something of utmost importance before she responded. “I will allow you to, but I can’t let you skip out of military training.” Wilhelm growled and she held up her hands to stop his rebuttal. “But I will talk to the general to see if you can do a comprehensive training over the summer break so that it will get done by the time you are needed to be in New York.”

Wilhelm smiled broadly at his mother for the first time in years.

“Don’t get too excited.” His mother admonished. “You are still the crown prince, even though you registered under a different surname I am still not going to send you off to a foreign country without adequate protection so Malin will be accompanying you along with Jakob.”

“But mama, the idea is to act and live a normal life.” He argued.

“Well despite what you might want it does not negate from the reality that you are what you are. And what you are is the sole heir to the Swedish monarchy.”

“Oh please, August is itching to have is claws into the crown from even before Erik died.”

“Which he will never get, but just to appease parliament I had to name him in the line of succession until you marry and have charges of your own.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Wilhelm, are you still harboring those feelings?”

“Those feelings are real mama.” He said defeatedly. “I promise that after I finish my degree I will come back here and live my life according to how the crown dictates. But I won’t get married to a girl who I will put in misery just for her to bear my off-springs.”

“I don’t wish for you to be unhappy son, but if that’s what you wish to take up the crown I will let you. But I am not letting up on the security detail.”

“Mom. Everyone will figure out who I am if you do this.”

“Well, not if they enroll in your course.”

“Mama, do you really see Malin or Jakob studying Art History?” He deadpans.

“They will be enrolled. I got in contact with the high commissioner, and he got in contact with the dean of the school.” He opened his mouth to object, but she held up her hands, and he allowed her to continue. “I know you want your anonymity, but I had to inform him that the crown jewel was about to embark on a solo mission. He got them to enroll, and they will have someone doing their assignments to hand it in. I could do that for you as well.”

“Mama, I will be there to actually learn and do my own assignments.”

“Well, your choice. But as I was saying, they will attend classes with you. You will live in one of the East Campus Townhouse-”

“Wait,” He interrupted. “Aren’t those for seniors?”

“I wanted a secure enough location where all your security members could be housed in one place, each having your own rooms of course. Plus there will be an additional room for an international student like yourself. He’s a scholarship student, and don’t worry, where he’s from I doubt he’s ever heard of the monarchy or even have time to follow any monarch let alone the Swedish one because his country has way bigger problems.”

“Well thank God for that.”

He had ended the conversation and embarked on keeping his end of the bargain. Now he was setting out on a new adventure. New hope, void not of the crown but in a space where the crown did not shine so openly.

Chapter Text

Simon hated lying to his mother, but he realized that he was not truthful. He had told her that he was focused on his goals and did not need to be distracted with any form of relationship. However, since his arrival he has been distracted, and the bane of his distraction was less than three feet away.

He came to the USA three weeks prior to his class's start date, spending two weeks with his aunt Angelina and cousins Elena and Manuel. He had fun with them as he tried to navigate the city, albeit in Brooklyn, and tried to acclimatize to his new country.  A week prior to his start date he went to his dorm room to move in. He was told that he would be staying in the East Campus Housing Dorm, one that was usually for seniors, but due to a special request by one of the students, they were given permission to live there. Simon happened to win some form of lottery to be included in this special arrangement as they needed to fill an extra room in the four-person apartment.

Simon wondered who this student was and why was he or she given such a privilege. More so, why did he, Simon get to be a part of this feat as well.

“He must be some rich bastard’s child.” Simon had mused when he heard. The housing fees were not cheap for this type of dorm facilities and while his scholarship covered housing he was not looking to be paired in one of the high-end dorms. He was thinking more like one of the dormitory style housings that he saw on tv. Nevertheless, he was grateful for the upgrade and thanked the guy who made it possible.

When he had walked into the space, he was shocked to see that there were two guys and a female. He was not expecting a co-ed living arrangement although he knew that some parts of the housing arrangement did include co-ed living arrangements. He figured that since the rooms had their own bathroom, having a female living in the townhouse was not an issue. Placing his bags and a few suitcases in the corner he greeted the others by saying. “Hey, I’m Simon. Simon Eriksson.” He saw their surprise as they exchanged glances. He continued nervously. “I’m in one of the rooms here?” Why did it come out like a question as if he was not sure.

The female hurriedly waved at him and immediately went into her room, slamming the door, but not before taking out her phone to place a call…or to answer a call? Simon was not sure. The younger man who appeared to be around his age stepped up to shake his hand. Simon took his hand and shook it flimsily as he wondered how old this guy was. No one in his age group shook hands with anyone unless it was for some job interview. Simon’s eyes flicked over him quickly as he tried to assess what his deal was. The other guy who was sitting on the couch in the common area just waved and said, “Jakob.” What sort of name was that? And even though he spoke English he could detect an accent of sort. Simon noticed that the younger guy did not say what his name was. He looked back at him and said. “I’m pretty sure when you extend your hand for a handshake you’re suppose to say your name.” Simon did not know why he felt the urge to tease him.

He looked at Simon intensely, something Simon noticed during the short time he had been there about the guy, who still did not say his name, did  a lot. He just stares as if he is piercing into your soul.

He cleared his throat and said softly. “Wilhe- Wille. You can call me Wille.”  He did not have an accent as the other guy had.

“Maybe they all know each other.” Simon thought. Realizing that he was just standing there and being stared at by both men he scratched the back of his neck, a habit that he does when he’s nervous and said. “I um-I’m just going to-” He pointed in the direction of hopefully what he assumed to be his room, as it was open and he could see that it was bare. He quickly turned and grabbed the nearest suitcase and wheeled it into the room. He closed his door and sat on his small bed, ignoring the fact that he left his other stuff out in the open shared space. Breathing to calm his nerves he placed his hands on the mattress and rubbed his open palms on it in an effort to ground himself.

“How am I going to live with him?” Simon’s mind pondered. He felt something when the guy looked at him, but he could not quite understand what it was. He knew by the quick look he gave him-Wille, that he was handsome. He was tall, but not too much that he was towering over Simon and he had honey blonde hair that complimented his pale complexion. And his eyes were the most beautiful pair of brown eyes that Simon had ever seen. It was almost as if you could see the sun or maybe the stars in it. More the sun, Simon concluded seeing that the guy’s glaze was so piercing Simon could not look in them for long, just as how he could not look at the sun for long. However, Wille’s gaze sent a shiver down Simon’s spine and caused his little gay heart to be doing cartwheels in his chest.

At least he will have a nice eye candy to look at whenever he comes out of his room. A quest that Simon does not see himself doing. Simon was an observer, and he noticed in the five minutes that each of his three dorm mates were sporting wealth, in the least flashy form but it still showed non-the-less. Simon grew up poor, but he still knew brands and fashion, and they all had on something that screamed rich. He knew then that he would never fit into their world.

Wilhelm arrived in New York three weeks before his class started, He was grateful for Malin and Jakob because this was the first time he ever flew to a country on a commercial flight, so he was lost when it came to going through immigration, waiting at baggage claim, or even waiting on the arrival of his flight. He was so accustomed to his family’s private jet that flew him anywhere he needed to be and with his diplomatic status he was able to enter a country through the ‘back door’ so to speak. However, he wanted the full normal experience, even going as far as opting for a regular passport, ditching his diplomatic one in the process. Another thing that helped his anonymity was the fact that he could use any surname he preferred. He never used a surname before, and while his family name was Bernadotte, he never had to use it. Now for the first time in his life he was using a surname, one of his own choosing. The name he went with was Andersson. While it was a common Swedish surname, it was popular in America, only with a slight spelling difference. He picked that name so that his Swedish lineages would not poke out just like that for someone to zoom in on his face and realize who he really was.

It was when Wilhelm was picking up the last of his luggage to put in the rental car that he saw him. His laughter was what he heard first. A beautiful symphony of orchestrated sounds that was like music to his ears. When he looked up he saw him. Dark curls bouncing on his bronze head as he picked up a little girl and spun her around making her squeal in pleasure.  Wilhelm did not know how long he stood there staring but it was only when he heard Malin clearing her throat and whispering, “Sir, we have to leave,” did he come out of his majestical haze.

Who was he? He was the most beautiful guy he had ever seen, and Wilhelm could not believe that he would never see him again. His heart fell at the very thought. Why did fate have to be so cruel. He had heard fantasies about people meeting the love of their life in an airport or during a trip overseas, but Wilhelm always placed those wishful thinking to the back of his brain, beside the compartment where Erik was. He only took out those memories when necessary.

He spends two weeks living in a hotel in NYC because his dorm was not yet ready to host them. At the beginning of the third week in America he moved into his townhouse dwelling with Jakob and Malin occupying two of the four rooms available. His intended roommate had not arrived as yet and all he knew was that it was a scholarship student from Venezuela, but no other detail was given. On Monday evening, everything changed. The trio was in the common area setting up the tv when the door beeped to signal that someone was entering after swiping an access keycard. They all stopped with bated breath as they looked towards the door to see who the lucky or unlucky person would be who would have to put up with him and his sabbatical royal ass for the entire school year.

Wilhelm was still when he noticed that it was him hauling his luggage into the room. Wilhelm stood motionless as he stared at the guy unable to believe his eyes or his luck. “You get to see that every day.” It was the first coherent thing that came to his mind. He barely registered when the newcomer said his name at first but when he said the entire name Wilhelm immediately looked at Malin and Jakob in confusion and panic. They seemed to be just as confused but they all quickly schooled their emotions and turned back to look at Simon. Simon Eriksson. All greeted him except Malin who rushed to make a call. Wilhelm knew where that call would be placed, and he knew that within minutes Malin would be able to confirm their worst fears.

After an awkward introduction Simon eventually left with one suitcase and locked himself in his room. Both he and Jakob looked at each other wondering if he had forgotten about the rest of his luggage lingering in the common space. Jakob shrugged and went back to setting up the tv. Wilhelm went and tapped lightly at Malin’s door. She answered immediately by opening it. He closed the door and went to sit at her small study desk that came with the room. She was still on the phone and Wilhelm could hear the conversation from her end.

“Yes sir, I will let them know the situation.” There was a pause, and she continued. “No, I doubt that will happen. Yes, I understand. I will let you know if anything changes.” When she hung up, she went to her door, opened it and called for Jakob to come. When he arrived, Malin started to whisper. “Ok, so from what I found out so far is that he is indeed from Venezuela, born and bred. This is the first time he is travelling outside of the country. He has family in America, England, Spain and Sweden.”

Wilhelm held his breath waiting for the bad news.  Malin continued speaking. “However, the good news is that he is not in contact with his Swedish father and perhaps has not been for some time. Farima is currently trying to see if she can locate the dad to see if he has spoken to his son recently just to be sure. But we have confirmed that his dad is Micke Eriksson, a Swedish citizen who is married to a Linda González-Eriksson from Venezuela but apparently as I said they have not been in contact, well with her from the boy was three months old.”

“Why are we whispering?” Wilhelm asked. “We are speaking in Swedish.”

“We can’t take any chances that he might know it.”

Wilhelm looked at her with a piercingly hard stare. “Really Malin? Swedish is the world’s best kept language, who learns it unless they plan to live there.”

“Better to be safe.” She countered.

“But I don’t wish for someone to pick up that I am Swedish. It’s bad that the both of you still have Swedish accents when you are speaking English, but at least we can pass it off as Danish or Norwegian.”

“I’m sure both of them will be appalled sir.”

“Stop calling me sir!” He shushed. “Here I am Wille Andersson, and nothing more.”

“Not a problem si-Wille.” Malin quickly corrected as Jakob nodded his agreement.

When Simon eventually came out of his room to collect his other stuff he was greeted by the lone female.

“Hey Simon, sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to be rude I just remembered that I had an important phone call to make.” She stuck her hand towards him and continued. “Hi, I’m Malin.”

As he took her hand Simon again wondered who where these people and what was with them wanting to shake hands. He looked at her observing her face and tried to figure out where she stood within the weird relationship with his other two roommates. She too had an accent like Jakob, and she called his name weird ‘Sea-mon.’

“Im just gonna-uhm-” He pointed towards his luggage.

“Oh, let me help you take them into your room.” She offered.

“No, that’s ok, you don’t have to.” He stammered at her. He doesn’t know but there was something intimidating about her presence.

“No, I insist. Just to prove no hard feelings for earlier?” She was already taking up the biggest of his suitcases and moving it towards his room. He just shrugged and followed her. In silence they both finished reproportioning his luggage. Then he had looked at her wondering what was next. It felt as if she expected him to be doing something else, but he did not know what it was.

“What is it with these people with their intense look.” He argued mentally. He was just about to tell her thanks and retreat back into his room when she said.

“Come join me for coffee. You like coffee?”

“Not really.” Simon replied but he still took the cup that she offered because he had a feeling telling her no was not an option. Taking the cup, he joined her at the four-person table that was placed in the room closer to the tiny kitchen area. The coffee was black, strong and had a pungent taste.

“Where are you from Simon? You from here? You have an accent, Latino?” She asked after she took her first sip.

“You have an accent too. Are you Russian?” He countered.

“No, but close enough. About fourteen countries share a border with them because they are so big, you know.” The question remained unanswered, making Simon smile.  She was good at deflecting; better than him.

So, he decided to stop playing whatever game they were playing and just answer her earlier questions. “I’m Latino. I grew up in Venezuela.”

“Your English is good, better than mines.”

“Yeah, been teaching myself and my mom since I was ten. I sound American but sometimes my accent slips in there occasionally.”

“Yeah, you are good.” She took another sip then continued. “So, your dad is American? Eriksson? Is it spelled like E-r-i-c-s-o-n?”

“No, it’s spelled with a K and not a C.”

“Oh.” She then added. “You don’t have a Latino name.”

“No, my dad was from somewhere in Europe. My mom told me when I was younger, but I don’t remember where.”

“You said was.” She looked at him intensely and somehow Simon felt as if he was in an interrogation of some sort. What was it with these people that had him feeling off. “Did he move to another country?”

“What?” He was so lost in his thoughts that he forgot what they were talking about.

“Your dad. You said was…he was from somewhere in Europe.”

“Yeah, he died before I was born.”

“Oh wow.” She looked at him at first with something that looked like disbelief, but it was quickly shadowed by pity. An emotion that Simon hated coming from anyone.

“It’s not like I knew the guy so it’s all good.” Simon smiled in an attempt at humor. Sometimes it was difficult recalling a man he wished he knew, but life had a way of dictating its own path.

“What’s your major?”

“Music. Yours?”

“Art History.”

“Oh wow, never pegged you as an Art historian.”

“Never pegged you as someone interested in music.” She countered.

“Fair point.” Simon was enjoying this little banter.

“To be honest you do look like you would be in a pop group, enjoying the fame of it all. I’m sure you would have been famous with your looks and all. So why study the intricacies of the genre.”

“Because I want to learn all aspects of the craft. It’s not just about a good singing voice, it’s about using that voice correctly, knowing how music is composed, hearing all the rhythms and how they come together to form beautiful melodies.”

“Like poetry.” A new voice said. Simon turned around to see that Wille had joined them. He did not know how long the guy had been standing there listening to the conversation.

“Yeah, like poetry.” Simon replied, smiling at him. Then he asked. “What’s your major?”

“Art History.”

“Wait, both of you are doing art history?”

“The three of us actually.” Wille commented.

“Wow, what are the odds.” What were the odds indeed Simon surmised. The odds of having three people rooming together doing the same major. He was pretty sure that was unheard of.

Back in his room he lay down on the bed and thought about it some more. They had talked for another twenty minutes and at some point, was joined by Jakob so Simon got a chance to properly observe all of them. Both Jakob and Malin were way older than both him and Wille. Plus, even though they claimed to be friends the older pair had a weird way of acting around Wille. It was almost as if he was leading the pair. Or maybe it was sort of an alpha energy that Simon was detecting because he too seemed to be somehow under Wille’s spell.

Chapter Text

Wille could not believe how lucky he got. The person he saw at the airport was literally standing in his dorm room apartment and will be a part of his household for at least the next six to eight months. The thought alone had him shivering and as he sat in his room after speaking with Malin he was confused as to how and why he was drawn to Simon. He knew why he was drawn to him. It was not lust, he was sure of it, even though from the moment he saw him he kept thinking how he would have loved to make him laugh again so that he could hear that beautiful melodious sound that he kept replaying in his head. Then he wondered how it would sound if he used his tongue to trace those same lips that made the sound. Would it be the same musical pitch or a deep tuneful acoustic melody.

Needless to say, those thoughts had driven him from the night he arrived at the hotel to the day he moved into the dorm causing him to ride out his fantasies in ways that he could never have imagined. Thinking about it now made him hard once again, but he put the thought out of his head. Now, with Simon being his dorm mate the very idea was creepy.

Sighing he was about to call Felice when he heard voices coming from the common space. Listening closely, he recognized the distinct voice of Malin and Simon. Simon? This got him moving towards his door and he slowly opened it. Eventually he was drawn forward by no force of his own and he found himself leaning on the wall behind Simon listening to what he was saying. He has to say that Malin was very good. He knew she was but seeing her in action trying to learn more about Simon without making it seem too obvious that she was digging for information was incredible. What was even more incredible was that she did not even flinch at his sudden appearance to give anything away to Simon that he was in the room listening to them. He mostly kept quiet but when Simon started talking about music, he could not help himself and added. “Like poetry.” Making Simon jump slightly at the sudden intrusion.

Before he did speak though he had a full view of observing Simon’s physical appearance, even though it was just a back view. His full head of curly hair made Wille want to run his hand through it to feel the texture. He imagined that it would be soft and silky but suddenly he wanted to smell it. He began wondering what it would smell like, and his mind took him to citrus and coconuts for no apparent reason. He even wondered if citrus and coconuts would make a nice blend.

But what kept Wilhelm on his toes was Simon’s voice. It was the sweetest thing he ever heard, and he wanted to hear all of what it would do. He wanted to know how it would sound if Simon got angry, how it would sound if Simon was riding him. The last thought had him shift slightly on his feet willing his dick not to get hard as he tried to focus more on the conversation and not the sounds being made by that beautiful man.

Wille never had sex before. His one sexual encounter was with Felice and that was a disaster from the beginning. They had first head butted each other as they brought their lips together making them cry out in pain at first before bursting out in laughter. On the second attempt he had angled his head in a different direction from her and had to quickly correct himself to meet her lips. The kiss started out weak and sloppy at first but then he tried to amp up his game by pressing his tongue against her unopened mouth to which she responded by not only opening them but also tried to replicate what he was attempting to do so their tongues was in a brief battle with each other trying to win the ‘battle of the mouths.’ Eventually he sighed, not in pleasure but he had given up and just let hers slide into his. Then he moved his hands to focus on her breast. He had never wanted to or even imagined how they would feel in his hands before. His cousin August would always taunt him by asking if he ever felt Felice’s breast before. When he had sharply told him no, he jokingly said. “Oh, come now Wille, you can’t tell me that you are so close to her, and you have never felt them.”

“It’s Crown Prince.”

“What?”

“Crown Prince. That’s what you need to call me.”

August had turned and squeezed the part of his shoulder that his arm was rested on. “Come on Crown Prince. We both know you hate it when people call you that. And besides, if our dear friend Erik hadn’t died you would still be plain old Prince Wilhelm.”

“Erik is not a dear friend he’s my brother. And even so I would still be Prince Wilhelm, and you would be what? Just plain old August.” He had shrugged his cousin’s hands off him and then said before walking off. “Even if I felt Felice’s breast you would have been the last person I would report to about it.”

Now, he can say that he did feel Felice’s breast and at the time they felt strange. Breast had always felt strange to him. It was not the first time he was feeling one, but this was the first time he was voluntarily doing it. Prior to that he would be at parties and girls would just take his hands and place them there for him to feel. And feel he did but he could never understand what the big deal was about these soft pliable things that protruded at the front of a girl’s body. Feeling Felice’s breast was different. For one it was the first one that was so huge that it could not fit in his hands. They also felt natural too for their size as he had felt ones before that you could feel the cosmetic nature of it, especially if they got the cheaper saline version and not the more natural silicone ones which he heard cost a fortune.

Felice’s breast felt like it would be too much for him to handle but he still tried and just as he was about to go down on her by bringing his face to her chest area to see if he could tease a nipple through her shirt the door suddenly was opened and his friend Henry came barging in and the moment itself was thankfully ruined. Wille had thought that the embarrassment from that was over but a few days later a grainy picture of Felice’s face was making the rounds on the internet and the tabloid with an image of the back of his head showing him nestled into the curve of her breast. Her face was in full ecstasy from what I did not even know. Perhaps she was enjoying the entire thing more than I did. A face that would be plastered for all the world to see and to mock. There was even a couple of memes that said Felice’s face when...and people would add their own take to it. The most popular one was ‘Felice’s face when she sees food.’ As if she was not already conscious of her own weight and was starving herself most days.

The entire thing had tested their friendship, and she was upset with him for about two days until he took the initiative to talk to her and apologize even though the posting of the video was not even his fault. She was even the one to solve the mystery of who posted the video, a quest at the time I did not know was already solved by my mother and her team of sleuths. He was angry when his mother told him that she knew, not because of the fact that she kept it from him but because he was stupid enough to think that they really did not know. His mother’s team of minions knew how to find anything. They were quick to find out about Simon a few hours ago. This brought him back to the conversation again, remembering something that Simon kept saying that puzzled him. However, since that part of the conversation already had passed and he had inserted himself into the part where they talked about majors and other things he decided to wait again at another appropriate time to ask.

On the first day of classes Simon walked into the classroom. It was was nearly empty except for a young man seated by the window, sunlight streaming over his blond hair. For a moment he did a double take and thought it was Wille but then remembered that he would be across campus at a whole other faculty studying Art History. He wondered why Wille chose that major. It’s not as if he could make a living off something like that unless he planned to work in a museum. It was not like his major. He had several options to earn if one of them failed. Why waste money on a field that was limited. Although from his observation Wille did not seem to lack money. Even the food in the refrigerator screamed wealth whereas Simon’s measly items were the cheapest brand milk, the cheapest case of water and what he brought to eat mainly stayed in the cupboard as they were non-perishable cheap items. He did not have eggs as the price was too ridiculous to buy. He was shocked when he had gone to the nearby supermarket and when he did the conversion for six eggs in his currency, he realized that it could have gotten him an entire case with twenty-four eggs. So, he skipped those and decided to buy non-perishable stuff that he could quickly heat up in the microwave.

In the first couple days of his arrival, he had noticed that Malin was the one who did most of the cooking and she had a habit of asking Wille what he wanted to eat. If the relationship was not strange enough that alone caused him to raise his eyebrows when he had walked into the kitchen and heard her asking. Stranger yet, she did not object and went ahead to prepare what Wille had requested. They had offered him meals a couple of times, but he had politely refused. He did not want to start up something that he knew he could never keep up with. If they offered him food and he ate it, he supposed that they would want something else in return one day. No one did anything for free and Simon did not see the trio enjoying a meal of Ramen noodles for dinner.

He walked over to the guy that was sitting in the classroom and introduced himself. He had to stop himself when he realized that he was about to extend his hand for a handshake. What had gotten into him and why did his dorm mates had such a weird influence on him in just a short time. The guy introduced himself as Liam, his accent light and difficult to place and it reminded him of Wille’s. His entire being from his height to his hair reminded him of Wille but Wille’s hair was more silky, healthier and shinier as if he only used the best hair products. Simon figured he did and the most expensive ones at that. Why was he even thinking about Wille when he had a clone-like version of him sitting in front of him and was giving him all the attention he never knew he craved.

Simon really did not come here to start anything, but he had to do something to get his thoughts that he has been having lately for a certain flat mate whose thin walls bordered his. Thinking about it during the lecture he argued that it was not wise to start something with a classmate and because Simon was not stupid, he decided it would be best if he and the guy just remained as friends. This was how he and Liam became inseparable. They started hanging out and even hung out most of the time in Liam’s dorm room. Liam lived at Wallach Hall, which was close to Simon’s hall of residency so he was always there either studying or playing video games.

Simon even introduced Liam to his mother and Sara. Liam in turn introduced him to his two friends Rosh and Ayub who he had met when he first came to the USA when he was ten years old. They had all moved from Iran and had come together because they happened to live in the same district. This was when Simon found out that Liam’s hair was not actually a real blonde but dyed and that his hair was actually dark like his two friends.

Rosh was twenty-eight and she had a girlfriend and two kids. She was two years older than both Ayub and Liam, but the bond was strong between them. Simon became the baby of the group, being just eighteen.  Ayub too was studying Music, but Rosh claimed that she is the most practical of the two and is studying law. “These two is going to need me to defend them when their asses get in trouble.” She had argued. They were fun and great to hang out with.

Another reason why he hung out with them too was because he did not want to spend so much time around Wille. Wille was witty, charming, and seemed to know a lot about international politics, even though it was not his major. He listened closely to Simon's stories about Venezuela, asked questions, and even shared his experiences from growing up in Switzerland.  Still, Wille kept much of his life cloaked in mystery, deflecting questions about his family or background with gentle humor.

Simon felt drawn to Wille, and he tried his best to stay far out of his radar as much as possible.

Chapter Text

By the end of the first month of the semester Wilhelm called his mother sobbing; a rarity that he had never once had. However, he was a mess and even though he had confided in Felice about his problem he knew that she could not do anything to help him. He needed tough love, and his mother was the only person he knew that would not shy away from such.

“Älskling what is wrong?” Kristina asked as soon as she heard his distressed voice.

“Mama, I can’t do this anymore. I tried but it’s not working, and I am aching inside as if I am about to die!” He wailed.

“Come now Wilhelm. You know you can come home if college life there is not what you expected it to be. You know your dad and I won’t think less of you.”

Wille was confused for a moment but then he remembered that he had never spoken to his mom before about this so how would she have known. “No mama, it’s not that. I really tried to see if it would work mama.”

“Really tried at what älskling?”

“I tried not to have the thoughts; I tried to not be gay. I even said to you that I would try to just live out my days by myself without exploring these feelings, but I can’t mama.”

“Wilhelm, I know what you are feeling is hard. But if you think you won’t be able to suppress them-”

He cut her off, his tears coming in full streams off his face. “It’s not that I couldn’t control them, it’s just because I never had a reason to explore them, now I do and I want to explore them mama I really do.”

“Then what is keeping you from getting it out of your system to see if it’s real or not?” The question shocked him more than it angered him. He had always told his mother that his feelings were real and not an experiment.

“Because I never met anyone before who I would explore it with and now that I have I can’t even stand to be in the same room with him because all I can think about is how his lips would feel, or his hands and I’m not coping well mama.”

“Wilhelm, calm down.” His mother tried to reason with him. “I’m sure whoever it is he might feel the same way about you too.”

“No mama. He has a boyfriend now because I was too afraid to tell him that I liked him. A boyfriend who he spends all his time with and comes home late at night and who-”

His mother cut him off abruptly. “Wilhelm? Who are you referring to and are you stalking the boy? How do you know he’s coming in late?”

“Because it’s Simon mom! Simon is the guy I like!” He had shrieked.

If his mother was shocked, she kept it to herself and continued to talk to him reassuringly before she had to go. Even though it was very late in New York it was still early in Sweden and Wilhelm knew that his mother was often up early because her day started at 5 am. Wiping his eyes he went into the bathroom and washed his face. Then he opened his door and waddled into the kitchen to get something to drink. Just then the door beeped, and Simon entered looking startled.

“Hey, I didn’t expect anyone to be still up.”

Wille knew it was almost 1:30 in the morning, Simon’s usual time for arriving home especially on the weekends. “Up partying with Liam I suppose.” Wille said by way of responding to Simon’s statement. He tried to keep the anger and anguish out of his voice but the look on Simon’s face told him that he was not successful in doing so.

“I was at work you asshole!” Simon responded angrily.

“Wo-work?” Wille was shocked.

“Yes, a word perhaps you are not familiar with.” Simon said in an upset manner until he paused and looked at Wille. “Where you crying?”

“What? No!” His denial was quick and unconvincing.

“Wille…” Simon sighed through calling his name making it sound so meaningful and with so much care.

Wille closed his eyes and shook his head trying to deny not what he said but the thought that Simon sounded as if he cared. When he opened his eyes Simon was standing directly in front of him searching for his eyes to confirm what he had predicted. “You were crying!” He blurted out the same time his hands came to rest on his shoulders. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing Simon I’m fine.”

“I like it when you call my name.” Simon suddenly blurts out again. “Malin calls me that too and Jakob but how you say ‘Sea-mon’ sounds so I don’t know. It’s different…nice.” Before he could respond Simon was already walking him towards the couch and they sat with Simon sitting across from him in the smaller chair. After a few minutes of silence Simon finally spoke. “You don’t have to tell me shit but right now I am super tired and if you don’t feel like talking let me know so I can get some zees.”

“I never knew you had a job.” This was the first thing Wille needed to clarify.

“Been going at it for almost three weeks now.”

“Oh.” He responded then when something hit him he said more perkily, “Oh!”

“Oh?” Simon asked, raising his perfectly groomed eyebrows. Everything about him was perfect.

“Oh.” Wille repeated.

“Oh my fucking god. Are you on something?”

“No!”

“Then why are you repeating the same thing using different sounds. Fuck I’m going to bed, I’m too tired for this shit!” Simon got up to leave.

Before Simon could walk off Wille stood up abruptly and asked something that he had been meaning to ask for some time. He needed to know to put his mind at ease.  “Are you and uhm- Liam like, you know?” He stumbled out his words but took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. “I know you did mention that you’re gay, so I wanted to know if you and Liam were, you know?”

“Are you gay Wille?” Simon asked.

“That’s not what I was-” Wille stopped himself when he noticed that Simon had a gleam in his eyes as if he was mocking him. “Ok just forget it.” He was about to step past Simon when the other placed his hand on his arm to stop him. Wille felt an electric shock running through his limb and his stomach did a flip. This was the first time Simon has ever touched him. He first looked at his arms where the contact was made then looked back up to look in Simon’s eyes. His gaze flickered back to the boy’s lips and for a moment Wille wanted to feel what it would be like if he just used his tongue to lick it or to bring his teeth to nibble along the outlines. Simon must have been reading his mind because he stuck his tongue out and wet his lips. The motion caused Wille’s breath to hitch and he gasped. Looking back at Simon’s eyes he noticed that they were closer to him as the boy’s neck was so extended to meet his gaze. He wanted to shower Simon’s neck with kisses. Simon stood waiting, his gaze fixed on Wille. Just as Wille realized that Simon was giving him permission to act, a sudden ringing sound startled them both apart. Wille snapped out of his trance and saw it was his cellphone that was the cock blocking culprit. Simon muttered something and quickly retreated to his room, slamming the door in the process.

Wille looked at his phone and cursed when he saw who it was. “Fucking Henry!” He uttered angrily before he calmly accepted the call.

Simon shut himself in his room and waited until he heard the trio leaving for classes. Last night when he had rushed into his room he stood immobile with his back against the door as he shut his eyes and mentally blasted himself for being caught up so much in Wille’s web that he was almost trapped in it. He taps the side of his head with his palm a few times and muttered, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”  How could he have almost allowed himself to be literally begging to be kissed. He hardly knew the guy and had no clue if he was even into guys. However, one thing for certain was that Simon knew when someone wanted to kiss him and Wille did wanted it as much as he did.

But since his last boyfriend Simon was determined not to get involved with anyone who was not out. He would not let his heart fall for Wille if he was closeted as he knows for a fact it would not end well. When he was sixteen he fell for a boy at his school named Marcus. Marcus was two years older than him and Simon at first had felt secure around him. He even loved the fact that Marcus would offer to take him anywhere he needed to go because he had a driver’s license, and his parents had brought him a third hand Toyota. Marcus was a charmer and even Linda loved him. The only problem he had was that Marcus was not out and he even had to lie to his family about their relationship. Linda thought Marcus was just a good friend even though she would tease Simon about him.

Eventually Simon could not take lying especially to his mother anymore yet he did not want to out Marcus so he decided to end it after six months.

“Simon, baby please. You can’t leave me, you know I am the only man in your life that is willing to stick by you. Every man in your family has left, your dad, your paternal grandfather. But I am still here so it must count for something.”

“My father died you asshole!”

“Look I know. Bad example but it doesn’t matter. I am here for you.”

“How are you here for me Marcus? You schedule me into your daily life as if I am a burden and you won’t even hold my hand at school-”

“Not because I don’t want to. Look I’m holding your hands now.” He had made an attempt to grab Simon’s hand but he quickly pulled it out of his grip.

“You only do so when no one is around Marcus. I just can’t do this anymore. I don’t even love you so I don’t see why I should go through all this drama for someone I was just having fun with. We never even had sex so this will be an easy break.”

Eventually Marcus outed himself claiming that he slept with Simon, a rumor that no one really believed because he had kept them so well hidden that people scoffed at the idea of that even happening. Since then, Simon stayed away from any relationship, opting to focus on his ultimate plans.

Grabbing his schoolbag, he got his swipe card and hurried out of the building. He was already late to get to his classes, and he missed the shuttle. Simon arrived ten minutes late. His friend group, who always saved seats for latecomers, had reserved one for him this time. When he walked in, the others gave him curious looks as this was the first time he was ever late. Simon simply shrugged and turned his attention to the lecturer.

Later the entire group met up at their usual tree that was near to the actuarial science lab. It was usually quiet and less crowded so it worked out for them as they would eat whatever lunch they could afford without openly being judged by a crowd. Since Simon forgot to make a sandwich, another first, Ayub offered to share his as he always packed extra as he was ‘always hungry.’

“Hey man, what’s up with you today?” Liam asked after a minute of openly observing Simon. “You were late today, you didn’t pack your lunch and you are extremely quiet.”

Simon sighed heavily before responding. “It’s just that.” He stopped and started fiddling with his shirt sleeve, another nervous habit. He looks at each of his friends as if deciding how much he should tell them but decided he had already told them a part of it before, as he had told them about his little crush on Wille. He decided that he might as well tell them the latest. “Wille and I almost kissed on Saturday.” He said it so fast it was almost incoherent but still there was a happy squeal from his friends until Rosh said.

“What do you mean by almost?”

“I came home after work, and he was in the kitchen getting a drink. Before I knew it he was accusing me of hooking up with Liam. Rude! As if it was any of his business and when I told him I was coming from work he was shocked but when I looked at him, like really looked at him I could tell he was crying. One thing led to another and before I knew what was happening, we were poised and all lined up to kiss. But then his stupid phone started ringing. Like who the fuck calls at almost two in the morning unless it’s a booty call. So the moment was lost, and I ran to my room and have been hiding from him ever since.”

“Yo man, breathe.” Ayub chuckled. “That was a whole lot of info you just spewed in less than a minute.”

“Wait, so all day Sunday you were stuck in your room?” Liam asked.

“Yes, I only came out when I heard them leaving. The three of them are like joined at the hips because whenever they leave the house, they all leave together. When they did I got some food and shut myself away. Today I was late because I had to wait for them to leave again.”

“Fuck man, that’s so juvenile.” Liam said while laughing.

“Well, sue me for being the youngest of the group.” Simon retorted.

“Listen, I am going to give you some advice.” Rosh pointed at him in a serious manner. “Life is too short and fucked up to be holding out on something that makes you happy. If you see something you want Simon, go for it! How do you think I got with Yasmin? I’m not the prettiest female in the world, but my girl is pretty as fuck. I never got her by limiting myself from what I wanted.” Simon smiled as he held down his head shyly.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and Simon spent it at Liam’s place until it was time for Simon’s shift at the coffee shop on campus. During the first week of college, he signed up at the student’s financial aid for part-time work. He needed the extra money as the funds he had saved would not take him to the end of the second semester. His student visa was limited to on campus work so he took as many as he could without violating the required working hours. Mondays and Wednesdays he worked at the cafeteria. Tuesdays and Thursdays he worked in the library and on Fridays and Saturdays he worked at the student union where every Friday and Saturday they hosted a party. It was the only place that offered authorized drinking on campus to those over twenty-one and Simon’s job was to check IDs and give armbands to those who checked out. He figured that half of the IDs were fake as he saw freshmen drinking but who was Simon to gatekeep their pleasure.

It was almost 11 pm when he reached his apartment. He stood outside the door and listened for any movements or sound and when he did not hear anything he swiped his card to gain entry. He was slowly closing the door when he heard a soft, ‘Sea-mon?’

He sighed and closed the door. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” Simon responded by way of a reply.

“I was waiting for you. I wanted to apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”

“You did not make me uncomfortable.” Why were they even talking in the dark? Simon made the decision to turn the lights on and walked over to where Wille was sitting. Tossing his bag in the nearest seat Simon walked over to Wille and straddled him.

“Wha-why? What are you doing?” Wille had stammered and he was suddenly sporting a new shade of red that Simon had never seen before.

What was Simon doing? All he knew that somehow Rosh got into his head. “I’m just showing you that you did not make me uncomfortable.” He paused and looked Wille in his eyes. Simon’s voice suddenly became husky as he asked. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Wille licked his lips before whispering. “No.” Simon touched where Wille’s tongue had just caressed, tracing it with the tip of his index finger. It felt just as how he thought it would be, soft. Simon removed his finger from Wille’s lips and touched his own lips, slightly parting his mouth before bringing his tongue to wrap around it. Wille’s breath hitched, and his pupil was huge with his growing desire. Simon wondered why he even bothered to play the game he knew he was winning at when he was too tired to think straight.

With a smirk Simon finally responded to Wille. “Good.” Then Simon suddenly got up off Wille and said. “Long day, you should get some rest Wille.” He took up his bag and walked into his room leaving a bewildered Wille behind.

Chapter Text

Wille spent the rest of the week wondering why his life was suddenly at a standstill. There was no doubt in his mind since Monday that Simon wanted him and the feeling was mutual. However, what he did not understand was why they failed to take it any further. That night Wille had to relieve himself, quietly, as he shared a wall with his torturer. The little show that Simon put down had made him so hard and when he finally came it was the first time, he ever saw so much juice spewing out of him.

When he woke up the following morning, he made his way to the kitchen where Malin was busy preparing their breakfast. He made his coffee and stood beside Malin watching her prepare the scrambled eggs. A few minutes later Simon walked out of his room, greeted the trio, then he turned to Wille and asked. “Did you come…” Simon paused and Wille eyes popped out of his head as he stood there looking at Simon in shock. With the tiniest hint of a smile Simon continued. “…across my notebook. I seem to have misplaced it last night.”

Malin turned off the stove and looked between the two of them, deciding to save Wille from his tied tongue she told Simon, “It’s on the study table in the corner.”

“Thanks Malin.” He flashed her a dazzling smile before making his way over to the desk to retrieve his book.

Wille could not even meet Simon’s gaze when he returned to bid them goodbye before leaving the apartment.

“Crown Prince!” Malin scolded as soon as Simon left.

“What Malin.”  She gave him a look and he responded by saying. “It’s not what you think.”

“He was flirting with you!”

“I know, I have it under control.”

“Do you now?” She scoffed. “Is it just a little fun thing or do you plan to be serious because either way I don’t see this ending well.”

“It’s nothing Malin. Trust me.”

Malin turned to Jakob who was sitting at the table, quietly keeping out of the conversation. “Jakob a little help please.” The man just shrugged and continued scrolling on his phone. Malin rolled her eyes and turned to Wille. “Look, if this goes south remember that we all live in this tiny space and we don’t want to make it uncomfortable. It was bad enough you made him lock himself in his room for an entire day.”

“I did not make him lock himself in his room.”

“Something happened between my going to bed and him coming home and the only thing I can think of is it being you.”

“Fuck Malin, stop acting like my mama and do the job that you are paid to do.”

“Which is exactly what I am doing sir. Protecting you.”

“Well I don’t need you to guard my heart.”

“And I am not. All I am saying is to tread cautiously and whatever you are doing think if you wish to bring that boy into the very thing you are trying to run away from.”

Wille spends the rest of the day brooding over what Malin told him. She had been with him for many years, making sure that he was safe. Before that she was Erik’s security detail, and he knew that she felt bad that she could not keep his brother safe. Perhaps that was why she hovered over him so much and made it her duty to keep him out of harm’s way as best as possible.

Knowing her for years he afforded her certain privileges, one of which was for her to speak freely. A privilege she rarely utilizes so he was not too upset with her verbal rant this morning because he knew it was from a good place. He knew he needed to play it safe, but Simon seemed as if he only wanted to play and have a bit of fun. They were both young and was not that a part of the entire college experience, to have hook ups, get fake IDs and get drunk. Wille concluded that if Simon wanted to play, he was game. Slowly Wille believed he would do anything that Simon wanted.

It was this newfound knowledge that he decided to play along with whatever game Simon was playing. A task that took him less than a few hours to fulfill. He came home to find Simon there, an uncommon occurrence at this time in the afternoon.

“Don’t you have work?” Wille asked by way of a greeting.

“Shift don’t start until seven, so I have about three hours.” Simon was at the sink washing up his mess.

The space between the kitchen sink and the wall was narrow, and Wille decided to use this to his advantage. He walked over and placed one hand beside Simon, bracing it against the counter. With his other hand, Wille reached across Simon to pick up a glass from the dish drainer. The maneuver left Simon momentarily pinned between Wille and the sink, the small space making it impossible for Simon to move away. Wille lingered there, in no hurry to retrieve the glass, drawing out the closeness between them for a brief charged moment. Wille also took the opportunity to take a whiff of Simon’s hair and just as he had suspected it smelled tropical.

“Want some?” Wille whispered in Simon’s ear before moving away and when he saw the confused look on Simon’s face he added. “A drink? Do you want a drink, Simon?”

Simon’s brows creased in confusion as he asked. “Where are your friends?”

The question momentarily threw Wille off but then again Simon was used to seeing Jakob or Malin in tow. “They are at the library.” Technically they were not at the library, but Wille had told them that trailing him all the time might be a bit suspicious so it’s best they do other things. They had ensured that he had made it to the apartment, and he had promised them that they did not need to babysit him if he promised to stay and not go somewhere else. A promise he was going to keep because he did not want to mess up this arrangement and cause them to lose their jobs if he got into a situation and they were not there to keep him safe.

He knew Malin went shopping to get some supplies and Jakob went to the café on campus to hang out with some ‘friends’ that he met in class. Wille had told them that it would be more natural and not blow his cover if they acted like normal college kids and did not be around each other 24/7.

“Will they be coming back soon?”

“I doubt it. Why?”

“No reason.” Simon said as he dried his hands and walked into his room and closed the door.

Wille shook his head, savoring the sense of victory from their latest playful encounter. Feeling triumphant, he opened the fridge and retrieved a beer—the reward for winning this round. One of the good things about having Malin and Jakob was their ability to purchase alcohol. In Europe Wilhelm was of the legal age to drink but not here. Luckily for him his security details could get away with it.

Sipping his beer as a victory token for winning this round in the sexual game he and Simon was involved in he was just about to head to his room when he heard it. “Is he?” Wille whispered as he stood in the hallway bewildered. “No he can’t be.” Despite his skepticism, Wille knew exactly what was happening, and the realization made his cheeks flush. A slow smile spread across his face as excitement coursed through him, even as the blood rushed to his dick. “Damn he is good.” Wille muttered, acknowledging Simon’s boldness.

Wille went inside his room, deliberately slamming the door behind him. The gesture was intentional, a signal to Simon that he was now in his room, and a pointed reminder of just how thin the walls were between them. Wille wanted to make it clear that he did not need to hear whatever Simon was doing on the other side of the wall.

“Fuck!” Wille’s anguish was intense as he paced the floor in his room. The sound of Simon’s deliberate moan echoing through the thin walls caused him to clench his fist, unable to ignore the triumphant message embedded in the sounds Simon was making. A few minutes later he heard the unmistakable moan. Simon wanted him to know he had gotten his release. The realization hit Wille hard: he had been outplayed once again. With another muttered, “Fuck!” he acknowledged his defeat, understanding that Simon had skillfully turned the tables and had again won this round in their ongoing game.

Simon did not intend to masturbate when he entered his room. He had entered his room to hide the bulge from Wille that he was sporting after the latter had pinned him against the kitchen sink and had whispered in his ears if he ‘wanted some.’  Even when he had asked if Wille’s other friends would be back soon it was more so to calculate if he gave in and ‘jumped’ Wille right there in the kitchen if they would be caught. However, the thought alone caused him to become so hard and to hide his embarrassing situation he had retreated to his room.

Simon was at a loss as to why this was happening now. He was past the stage in his life where he should be able to control his bulge. He was not twelve and new to these hormones and had no idea how to control it. Yet here he was, unable to will his body into calmness despite his best efforts.

Simon was about to admit defeat when he realized that Wille had out mastered him at his own game. But then he remembered that his mama did not raise a quitter. He went into his desk drawer and removed the bottle of lube that he had hidden there. Going to sit on his bed that was conveniently placed at the wall they shared he opened the front of his jeans and pulled it down along with his boxer. Bringing his bent knees to rest on the edge of the bed Simon flipped the cover of the bottle and poured a liberal amount of lube in his right hand and started to stroke himself. Usually, Simon would try his best to be quiet but not this time. With a cheeky smile on his face, he let out a moan that any porn star would be proud of. He knew the walls were thin so Wille would be bound to hear even if he was still in the common room.

He heard when Wille’s door was slammed shut and the noise had momentarily caused Simon to flinch, but that fright gave way to excitement knowing that Wille would be able to hear him clearly. Putting more work into the moans that he made, Simon continued to stroke himself until he could feel his release was near. When his release came Simon had made sure that Wille heard that he had finished.

Throughout the rest of the week, Simon and Wille continued their provocative game. Each encounter became a test of willpower with both determined to outdo the other. Their interactions were charged with tension as every glance and words were laced with the anticipation of who would break first. None was willing to yield, and their stubbornness only fueled the competitive energy between them.

The pressure was mounting, and the game would only end when one of them finally erupted and admitted defeat. Yet, for now, they remained locked in their contest.

Chapter Text

Simon was getting frustrated at the game he and Wille had embarked on since the second week in September. Now it was the middle of October and Simon guesses that Wille was over their games as well because for the past few days he had become withdrawn, staying mostly in his room and avoiding Simon as best as he could.

“I don’t know, we were making headway but now it seems as if he can’t even stand to be in the same room with me.” Simon was on the floor of Ayub’s room. He and Rosh were gaming but now the game was over because Simon’s head was not in this game but was focusing on another game that he was playing with his dorm mate.

“Maybe he is realizing that he’s out of his league.” Ayub commented.

“Or maybe he’s just a wimp!” Rosh said harshly. “It’s either he’s with it or not, but don’t just bow out when it was just getting excited and leave our boy hanging.”

Sighing loudly Simon concluded. “I just don’t know. I think something is up and what’s worse, his two friends act as if it’s nothing. Like they were expecting it or something. I just don’t know…something is off.”

“Well fuck him if he thinks he’s better than you.”

“I don’t think he thinks that he’s better than me. I mean he’s rich obviously but he don’t treat me like a snob would…so his behavior now is just strange.”

“Give it some time bro and give him the space he requires. When he’s ready he’ll come to you.” Ayub, always the voice of reason, added.

That came to pass on Friday morning when Wille knocked on his door. “Can I come in?” Wille asked when Simon had opened the door.

Without responding Simon stepped aside to let him in. Wille stood in the middle of the room with his arms wrapped around himself. The gesture caught Simon off guard as it made Wille appear broken and as if he was trying to give himself a hug because no one else would. Simon desperately wanted to hug him but decided not to because of Wille’s strange behavior during the week.

“You want to sit? I won’t charge you.” Simon attempted to joke but it fell short when Wille barely smiled at him.

“No, I just-” Wille paused as if he was trying to gather his thoughts. “I wanted to let you know that we’re leaving for the weekend. It’s the weekend of the anniversary of my brother’s death so every year we go to his grave as a family and you know…” Wille trailed off and stopped talking.

Simon lets out a sigh of relief. He was not glad that the guy lost his brother but at least Simon could rest assured that Wille’s withdrawal had nothing to do with him personally but because the guy was grieving. “Oh Wille, I’m so sorry.” Simon got up from off his bed where he had sat after letting Wille into the room and opened his arms but then paused to ask, “Can I give you a hug?”

Wille nodded his head, then said. “Yes, I would like that.” Simon wrapped his arms around Wille’s waist and squeezed tightly while resting his chin on Wille’s shoulder. Wille, being taller, had placed his arms around Simon’s shoulder. Simon moved one of his arms upward to gently rob Wille’s back in a smoothing gesture. He was not sure how long they remained like this but eventually Wille cleared his throat and pulled away.

“We won’t be here when you return from work later, but we should be back on Sunday.” Wille added to inform Simon.

“Why are Malin and Jakob going with you?” Simon just realized what was happening. If it’s Wille’s brother and it’s a family thing, why did his two friends have to attend as well.

“They uhm.” Will started to stutter then he continued more confidently. “They were my brother’s best friend and then after he died, they sort of took me under their wings. I mean we knew each other before but after we got closer. Now every year we go, along with my family to visit his grave.”

“Ah, got you.” This made more sense to Simon now. Malin and Jakob were older than Wille and Simon had often wondered how the friendship had come about but now it made sense that they knew each other because of an older brother. Well Simon assumed it was his older brother. It also explained too why Malin always seemed to hover over Wille so much and made it a habit of even cooking his meals. Strange, yet still doable.

Guys!!!!

 his fucking brother died.

Well, not recently but that explains why

he’s so moody.

Simon texted the information in the group chat that he was in with Liam, Ayub and Rosh. They all reacted with crying emojis.

For the first time in weeks Simon was left alone and as he opened the door Friday night after his shift ended, he could feel the emptiness of the apartment. He missed Wille and was alarmed to the extent to which he did, especially for someone who he had just met about six to seven weeks ago. Coming home to an empty house was like coming home to hell. He tossed and turned the entire night and was barely able to sleep a wink especially when he started to worry if Wille had made it home safely and then realized that he had no way of knowing because he was too dumb to remember to ask Wille for his phone number.

Taking up his phone, he went on Instagram and searched for Wille’s name. Maybe he could send him a DM or something. Nothing came up. He then checked for Jakob and Malin but that too was a dead end. He tossed his phone out of frustration and got out of bed to make himself a sandwich. The big clock in the common room was showing 2:21 am as he sat down to eat, taking the liberty of using one of Wille’s eggs to make his sandwich.

“That’s the least you can do for making me worry and staying up all night," Simon justified as he was cracking the egg. “If not for you I would have been sleeping.” He spent the rest of his time scrolling through the tv until around 4 am he gave up and went back to his room.

The next day he slept on Ayub’s floor.

Wille knew the exact moment he started pulling away from Simon. It was the first day of October, a month that had shaped his current existence. He did feel bad about ignoring Simon, but it was something that he emotionally could not avoid. He wanted to talk to Simon, but he was too much in his feelings.

Having to tell Simon he was leaving and why had awoken thoughts of Erik that he had pushed away. Thoughts like Erik never being able to meet Simon or to know that Wille was queer. He also learned that Simon was very perceptive, he knew that he needed a hug, but worse he questioned Malin and Jakob’s return as well. Something that he did not factor into his discussions.

“How did it go?” That was the first thing Malin asked when they were on their way to class and out of Simon’s earshot.

“Not bad, but he was curious to know why you two were coming with me as well.”

Malin rest her hand on his arm to stop him, “What did you tell him?”

“That you were my brother’s closest friends and it’s something we do every year.”

“Seems convincible. Did he buy it?”

“He did actually.” He responded to which Malin hummed, and they proceeded to class.

He had fought with his mother when she told him that she was sending the jet to pick him up when he lay-overed in France, but he conceded because her reasoning was solid. They would waste too much time waiting on a commercial flight when they could have reached quicker. While he compromised, he was adamant that he would not be taking the plane from NYC, just in case the flight information got leaked. Therefore, it was agreed that the jet would pick him up, take him to Sweden, and they would do the same thing on his return.

The plan turned out to be a great elusive tactic because by the time he arrived in Sweden the press had the information that he was coming from France. Since the press was not privy to which university he was attending, they were only informed in a statement that he would be studying overseas, they assumed he was studying in France. Which was a question thrown to him by a paparazzi when he was making his way into his awaiting vehicle.

“Crown Prince Wilhelm, how is your French?”

He had skillfully responded, “C'est bien, merci beaucoup,” before quickly heading inside the car. He had wished to avoid the obvious questions that he knew they wanted to ask, questions regarding his feelings about Erik’s death.

He had greeted his mother and father at the palace and had a meal with them before they got ready to go to the graveside. The press would be there at the church that was onsite where they conducted the memorial service, but they would respectfully leave, giving them privacy as they visited the graveside. This was something Wilhelm was appreciative of. He would hate to see his crying face plastered for all to see.

Felice was present at the church. She was expected to seeing that she was his best and closest friend. As usual the press took pictures of them hugging, they always did, contributing to the rumors of a secret romance or Felice’s attempt to be a part of the royal family. Either one sold headlines.

They stood as a family by the graveside for about fifteen minutes before his mother excused herself, leaving him alone with his father. They remained silent for a while until his father, a man of a few words, said. “Sometimes life is too short son, so it’s best you live it, in reason of course, in a way that will make you happy because sometimes you never know…” He squeezed Wilhelm’s shoulder before walking off leaving Wille alone with his thoughts.

After two minutes of silence Wille eventually spoke. “I met someone…maybe not someone you would have expected me to be with, but I think I am falling in love with him. Yes, you heard that correctly, I did say him.” Wille paused as he tried to temper his emotions. “I don’t know how that’s going to even fucking work and you’re not here to tell me how to make it work. Yet, if you were here I wouldn’t even be in this shit because you were supposed to be here already on your fifth or sixth child and not me. I wasn’t supposed to be here wondering how to make the monarch succeed without a seed of my own, because being with Simon is going to mean that your legacy will die. I feel like such a fucking failure.”

Wille let the tears flow and tried to control his breathing. When he was calmer, he said. “Papa told me that life is short and it’s true. You had your entire life in front of you, yet here you are two years later. But I’m going to talk with mama and see if I can still have my ‘cake and eat it too.’ If not, I’m going to walk away because in the end I need to be happy, and Simon makes me happy.” Wille laughs hysterically for a moment. “Well, he doesn’t know that yet but when I return to the US I’m going to stop playing games…win his heart, and then after I hook him I can tell him who I really am. Yeah, I know you would tell me that I shouldn’t lie to him but I want him to know me first, Wille and not Crown Prince Wilhelm. Maybe if he knows me first he’ll like me enough to stick around when this all goes to shit.”

Wille bends down and touches the flower that he had laid at his brother’s graveside. “I promise to take him with me next year. A promise I intend to keep, so I am going to be good for him.” He gets up and touches his brother’s headstone. “Until next year brother.” He smiles weakly before walking away.

Simon was excited and he spent the entire day tidying up the apartment in anticipation of Wille’s return. Yes, his other flat mates will be returning as well but all Simon could focus on was Wille. The apartment was not dirty, but he still wiped down the counters, the table, mopped the floor and fluffed the two cushions in the long couch. He then plugged in an air freshener that he had splurged on when he got his paycheck on Saturday. He figured if they, and by they he meant Wille, did not like it he would just place it in his room.

Simon’s excitement not only stemmed from missing Wille, even though it was the premise of it. He was excited because having missed Wille he realized that it was time for him to stop playing games and tell Wille exactly how he felt about him. Life was too short to be playing games and right now all Simon could think about, and have been thinking about, is Wille’s mouth all over his body.

As the hours ticked away, Simon caught himself glancing at the clock more often, with his anticipation soaring with every passing second. He was not sure of Wille’s time of arrival so to pass the time he decided to rehearse what he might say. Pacing the freshly mopped floor, due to his nervous energy, the thought of finally confessing his feelings seized him. But Simon decided not to hold back or to start second-guessing himself.

 When the unmistakable sound of the swipe key signaled the return of his flat mates, his heart leaped, knowing that Wille would step through the door any moment. Simon took one last look around the spotless apartment, brushed his palms against his jeans, took a deep breath and steadied himself, ready to embrace whatever came next. He was determined to make this night matter.

It was late when Malin opened the door for them to enter and the first thing that hit him was Simon’s scent, or what appeared to be. The entire apartment smelled like Simon which was strange because this scent he only associated with Simon’s hair, a fact that he came to know and appreciated from the one time a few weeks ago when he had the pleasure of smelling Simon’s hair. It was subtle and only available to smell once you get close to Simon and not when he was standing so far away at the middle of the common room as he was doing right now.

“Hey, you guys are back.” Simon said happily by way of a greeting. “I wanted to text you guys on Friday to see if you all had landed safely, but silly me I don’t have any of your numbers…so yeah!”

Simon was babbling. Simon never babbles so Wille figured something was off. He looks at the guy questioningly leaving both Jakob and Malin to greet Simon. As if Malin and Jakob could also tell that something was off with Simon they quickly said their goodnights and retired to their rooms leaving Wille and Simon alone in the hallway. Neither of them had moved from their spot and they just stood staring at each other until Simon finally broke the silence which then caused Wille to move to take a seat in the couch, “So how are you?”

“I’m good, could be better.” Wille said as he sat with his legs pulled towards his chest.

Wille wanted Simon to hug him. From the first and only time Simon had hugged him he realized that Simon gave the best hugs. He have been longing for it ever since.

“Do you-”

“Can you-”

They both uttered at the same time. Simon nervously giggled and said. “You go first.”

“Can you hold me?” Wille decided to follow his father’s advice and just ask for what he wants. He was rewarded when Simon shifted closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. Wille rested his head on Simon’s shoulder and breathed a contented sigh. He was home. Simon made him feel at home.

 The quiet hum of the apartment faded into the background with their breathing syncing as one. For a long moment, neither spoke, content in the closeness, until Simon softly murmured, “I missed you.”

Wille smiled, finally daring to let the vulnerability seep through the cracks he had built around his heart. “I missed you too.”

Eventually they pulled apart.  With the weight of everything unsaid still floating in the air Simon reached out his hand so that Wille could connect and join their hands together. When that was done Simon gently squeezed Wille hand and they exchanged a soft smile. It was as if they felt that something was changing between them. Both knowing that tonight marked the beginning of something more

Yet Wille wanted to be sure, so he gazed intensely into Simon’s eyes then his eyes flickered down to Simon’s lips before meeting his eyes again. He heard the subtle hitch in Simon’s breath. Wille slowly leaned in, pausing, giving Simon the chance to close the distance between them and make their connection complete. It was a soft dance between them, escalated by the pounding of Wille’s heart. He was finally doing this, he was kissing Simon and it felt so good.

He used his tongue to caress Simon’s lips before he slipped it inside to lick inside Simon’s mouth and teased a moan out of him. The angle was becoming uncomfortable so as they pulled apart, a shy laughter escaped both of them.

Simon grabbed his hand and whispered, “Come,” and Wille squeezed Simon's hand, the warmth between them now unmistakably changed. Hitting the light switch to turn off the light, Wille made his way for the second time inside Simon’s room.

Chapter Text

As soon as the door was shut Simon pulled Wille towards him. Wille pressed his body flush against Simon’s, feeling the firm lines beneath their clothes and the underlying hint of their arousal that was awakened by the nearness. Simon’s fingers tangled in Wille’s hair, tugging him closer, and their mouths met in a fervent kiss. The kiss was hungry, desperate, and full of longing.

Wille’s hands roamed Simon’s back, memorizing the curves and warmth, while Simon deepened the kiss, tasting Wille with a slow, deliberate slide of his tongue. Their lips parted and found each other again and again with each kiss growing hotter and more demanding. Simon gasped as Wille nipped at his bottom lip, responding with a low moan that vibrated between them. Simon tugged at Wille’s clothes, and it was only then that Wille’s brain came back online.

“Shit! I have airport clothes.” He was referring to the fact that his clothes had encountered the nuances of public transportation.

“More so the reason for you to take them off.” Simon responded and again started attacking Wille’s lip and still continuing to tug on Wille’s shirt. “Off!” Simon commanded as they momentarily parted and that did something to Wille. He was out of his clothes and only left in his boxers. Simon was already out of his and was beginning the quest to push Wille against the wall with his lips trailing down Wille’s neck and shoulders, savoring each shiver and gasp that Wille made.

Simon got on his knees and looked up at Wille, asking permission to get rid of the final piece of hinderance that was blocking Simon from his ultimate goal. Wille nodded slightly and Simon pulled down the treacherous garment freeing Wille’s dick in the process. Simon looked at it with awe before he brought his hand to touch it, causing Wille to suck in his breath. “You’re so hard and big.” Simon commented as he moved his hand from the tip down to the base.

“Didn’t think you’d mind,” Wille replied, his smile small and nervous.

Simon giggled and the tension broke like a wave. “I don’t think I do but let me see how well it can fit me.” Simon said as he extends his tongue and licked along the shaft as he watched Wille’s face. He finally took him into his mouth when he saw Wille’s eyes almost rolling over in ecstasy. Using the slick from his mouth Simon pumped at the base, while taking him up and down the full length. Then he rested his arms at the sides of Wille’s thighs to keep him in place as he took his full length all the way down his throat.

“Fuucck—Simon!” Wille shrieked.

Simon stopped and Wille’s dick popped out of his mouth. “Shush!” Simon whispered, even as he continued to stroke Wille. “Do you want Malin and Jakob to hear us?”

“I can’t help it Simon, you’re so good.”

“I know.” Simon smiled, then slowly wrapped his mouth around Wille once again, causing Wille to moan in pleasure.

“Fuck Simon, you’re so good to me.” Wille then made another high-pitched sound as Simon twirled his tongue around the tip of Wille’s cock and he immediately brings his hands to his mouth so that Simon did not have to stop again to complain about the noise level.

Simon could feel Wille’s length getting harder and bigger in his mouth, so he knew the boy was near, a fact that Wille confirmed when he squealed. “Sea-mon…I’m-oh my…damn Si-I’m close.” Simon doubled down his efforts by hollowing his cheeks and bobbing his head up and down. He could feel Wille tapping his shoulder, to warn him that he was about to explode. But Simon wanted to taste him and when he felt the warm liquid filling up his mouth, he swallowed every drop. He continued to lick Wille until every last cum was wiped clean.

Wille was breathing so hard that Simon wondered if he was okay. Eventually Wille pulled Simon up off his feet and kissed him deeply. When they finally broke apart, they pressed their foreheads together, both of them breathless and grinning. Simon knew he never wanted to let go.

“Let me.” Wille saw that Simon was still hard, and he wanted to return the favor. Taking his hand, he led him to Simon’s tiny single bed and placed him to lay on his back. Wille began to kiss Simon, tasting himself on the boy’s tongue, a reminder of the pleasure that just took place a few minutes before. Nibbling on Simon’s lip he basked in the sounds that Simon was making.

Wille traced gentle kisses down Simon’s jaw and neck, savoring the quiet sounds between them. His hands roamed with careful intent, mapping Simon’s chest and stomach as if memorizing every contour. Simon arched into Wille’s touch, soft moans escaping as Wille’s lips found his nipples and lingered there, building a rhythm of anticipation.

“Now, this I can work with” Wille thought as he recalls his prior displeasure of the female anatomy. This felt right. He flicked his tongue over Simon’s nipples causing Simon to moan deeply and a bit loudly. Wille stops, looks up at Simon and teasingly said. “Look who’s loud now.”

“Fuck off.”

“I already did, thanks to you and it was amazing.” Wille countered before bringing his tongue back to its previous task. He continued until Simon was writhing beneath him.

“Please Wille…I need…oh fuck!”

“What do you need Simon?” Wille said each word between kisses from his nipples to where Simon’s boxer sat hiding the part that he knew Simon was aching for him to capture.

“Please?”

“Use your words properly Simon. Do you need me to be here?” He placed a kiss on Simon’s navel then used his tongue to lick the area. “Or do you need me here?” Wille was back up to his nipples, using his lips to squeeze them causing Simon to buck under him.

“You teas—fuck!”

“Here it is then.” Wille smiled and continued to bring pleasure to Simon’s nipples.

“Fuck Wil-le…I need you.”

“Hmmm…”

“I need to feel…fuck, oh my god.”

 Simon was breathing so hard and so Wille decided to take him out of his misery. The next time Simon arched his body Wille slide off his boxer. Licking his lips seductively Wille said, “Beautiful.” Then he brought his head down taking Simon’s full length into his mouth.

Because of the buildup it did not take long for Wille to feel the warm liquid that Simon expelled rushing into his mouth and just as Simon did for him, he devoured it all. Simon pulled him up and kissed him even though they were fighting to breathe. After they pulled apart their heavy breathing mingled in the hush of the room. Simon turned on his side, bringing Wille’s arm to wrap around him. An unspoken request to stay. Wille peppered the back of Simon’s neck with light kisses until they both drifted off to sleep.

Simon was startled out of his sleep by a banging on his door causing his heart to pound. He fumbled for his phone even as the heavy thud continued with an urgency vibrating through his quiet room. His foggy brain registered the time just as he heard Wille’s distinct voice growling beside him at the disturbance and that was when Simon remembered the circumstances that led to a still sleeping Wille grabbing at Simon in an effort to bring him back to bed.

The knocking intensified and his mind raced—had something happened? Reluctantly, pushing himself up, he moved toward the door, still feeling the ghost of Wille’s arm around him, unwilling to let go of the comfort Simon emitted. Opening the door he was greeted by Malin who had a strange look on her face. Her eyes quickly scanned his room as if she was searching for something in a way that he had only seen on tv when he used to watch military movies. Or the movie where the secret service had lost the child of the president and they had to search everywhere to locate the missing charge.

Simon noticed the moment her mannerism changed when she spotted a now fully awake Wille in Simon’s bed.

“Classes starts in forty-five minutes.” That was all she said before walking away. It was only then that Simon realized that he had answered the door completely naked.

“Fuck!” He lamented, shutting the door and bringing his hand to pull at his curls. He heard Wille snickering. “What’s so fucking funny?”

“Well, I mean, I could think of one in particular.”

“Don’t!” Simon said as he grabbed his boxers, albeit too late, and went into his en-suite bathroom to take a shower.

“You did what!” His friends were rolling around on the floor and laughing boisterously as he recounted his embarrassing moment of answering his door to Malin ‘au naturel.’

“Let me get this straight-” Rosh began but then she burst out laughing. “That’s so the wrong use of the word because nothing about you is straight!” The group started laughing again. Then she continued. “You were so blissed out from sex with Wille that you forgot that you didn’t have clothes on?”

“No, I fell asleep, and the noise woke me up, so I was not thinking straight.”

“So, you decided to leave it all hanging?” Liam offered his piece to the ‘Roasting of Simon.’

“Clearly you were not thinking straight, because you were thinking gay!” Rosh screamed in laughter.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Glad I could make you all laugh at my expense.”

“Bro, I have never laughed so hard in all my life.” Ayub added even as he continued to chuckle.

“Can we play?” Simon whined, picking up his control which he had abandoned earlier. They continued playing until Simon was too tired and decided it was time for him to leave. When he entered the apartment Wille was sitting on the couch. “Hey.” Simon said and walked over to sit beside him.

“Are you mad at me?” Wille asked as soon as he sat down.

“No?” Simon gave him a puzzled look. “Why would you think that?”

“Because this morning you seemed upset because I had laughed at you, and you had stormed off into the bathroom.”

“I rushed into the bathroom because like you, I was late.”

“Oh…” Wille’s voice trailed off as he considered Simon’s words.

“Come here.” Simon gestured for Wille to come closer so that Simon could snuggle into his arms. He liked this but he needed to know where they stood. He was already catching feelings, and he wanted to make sure he was not wasting his time. “Was it just a one-time thing or are we…” Simon did not finish because he wanted Wille to fill in the blanks.

“Do you want it to be?”

“I liked it.”

“Me too.” Wille responded, causing Simon to get up and straddled Wille, pressing their foreheads together, as they both breathed each other’s breath. “I’m just going to say it as it is. I want you so bad it aches. I have wanted you since the moment I stepped foot into this house and saw you. I’m willing to try if you want to.”

“I want to try…I mean I have never done this before and might be out of my league, but I want to try too Simon.”

Simon moves away from Wille’s forehead to look him in the eyes. “What do you mean you have never done this before?"

“This…” Wille stressed as if that cleared up any assumptions.

“Wille, is this your first time being with a boy?”

“Yes.”

“So, you are not like out?”

“No…well-”

Simon did not allow him to finish. He just pushed himself off Wille and said, “Fuck!” as he walked into his room and slammed his door.

The echo of the slammed door lingered in the apartment, leaving Wille stunned and alone in the living room. He sat frozen, regret tightening his chest as he tried to process what had just happened. They were just there, having a wonderful moment which he was certain would have ended up with a repeat of last night. However, something happened and Wille was not sure what it was.

He was startled when he heard another expletive coming from Simon’s room. It was so filled with venom that Wille flinched at the sound. Yet Wille desperately wanted to follow Simon, to explain himself, to say that all of this; the feelings, the uncertainty, were new and terrifying but also exhilarating. Instead, he stayed put, staring at the closed door, silently hoping Simon would come back out and give him a chance to bridge the gap that had sprung up between them. When he realized that Simon was never going to return, he retreated to his room, wrapping himself like a cocoon in his blanket as he cried himself to sleep.