Chapter Text
Simon had been raised as a skeptic. Being the child of an addict had made him a natural lie detector, whether he wanted to be or not. He knew damn well that he was getting much more out of Wilhelm from his stutters and blushes than from the words leaving his mouth.
Wilhelm had been raised to be seen but not heard. He was used to putting things together without being told. It was lucky that he was smart, because he was so often left to his own devices to make sense of things based on context clues and fragments of overheard conversations.
When they were picking the three things they had in common, a few better answers might’ve been:
1. I’m deeply private because…
2. I don’t trust others because…
3. I have a secretive history of family drama and, for extra credit…
4. All of this has made me a person for which 36 easy questions should never work since I’ve been lied to so much that my most honest communication has become largely nonverbal.
It took time for Wilhelm’s lies and Simon’s omissions to unfold.
The first was obvious. Simon quickly gleaned that Wilhelm did not appreciate being a prince. His confirmation was not, in fact, the greatest accomplishment of his life. When Simon went home that very day, he rewatched the video of Wilhelm announcing that he’d be going to Hillerska and picked up on the opposite; He’d said that the last year had been tough, that the added pressure led him to act irresponsibly. That didn’t sound like a joyous occasion; it sounded like a stressor.
The next lies Simon started to untangle were Wilhelm’s responses about friendship. He was genuinely shocked by the difference between Wilhelm with his school friends and the rowing team, and Wille that came to Rosh’s football game. He was so much freer.
Still, it wasn’t until Wille asked him to delete his Instagram story that Simon fully understood. At first it stung, but then he remembered his hunch about that stupid lying voice and it clicked. Wilhelm had only ever valued fun, fair weather friends because he hadn’t experienced better ones. He valued trust, and no amount of partying or motorcycle rides compared with Wille’s need for privacy.
A few weeks later, Wilhelm learned what Simon meant when he said his father wasn’t well. Who he meant when he said there were addicts in his life. Why he was sober. Wille chose not to ask.
Some reveals weren’t lies. Wilhelm told nothing but the truth about Erik. Simon found himself confirming things Wille had said over and over again. Erik was his best friend; they texted and video chatted all the time. He would choose Erik over anyone else in the world to eat dinner with. The familial death he’d find most disturbing was Erik’s. Simon really wished he didn’t have to confirm that one.
Some things just stuck in their heads.
Like how after their first kiss, Simon fell asleep thinking about the way Wilhelm had blushed when he said “I like love and affection.” He liked love and affection indeed.
Or the words “I don’t get embarrassed very easily,” popping into Wille’s head when he saw just how nervous and jittery Simon was to introduce Wilhelm to his mom. To Linda. Who Simon thought was the strongest person in the world. Who made him tres leches cake.
Or how when Simon first spent the night in Wille’s room, he could hear Wille smell his hair, and it took him back to being complimented on smelling good. Like a shower.
Some of the questions left a bitter taste over time.
The video was painful for so many reasons, but Simon kept thinking about how Wille had said the embarrassing thing about the fight wasn’t being hurt, but having everyone he knew see it and feel ashamed of him. He hated that there was a new “video” for Wilhelm.
He hated meeting Queen Kristina and having to bear witness to the coldest mother-son relationship he’d ever seen, only to think back on how Wilhelm had stiffened at every mention of her during the questions. “I love my mother,” he’d said.
After the royal statement, Simon really hated the memory of Wilhelm saying, “My friendships tend to be more casual.” The words echoed in his head miserably, all too close to the sentence, “I have chosen not to get involved in any emotional relationships.” He had been warned.
That Christmas break though, all Simon could think about was Wilhelm, and how often he’d mentioned Erik, his best friend. Again, he hated how much he still cared. He wanted to be mad at Wille so badly, to take space from him, but the first day back from break, he saw wary eyes staring into his own, and couldn’t take it.
He yielded, opening his arms and asked, “Would you like some love and affection?”
Wille clung to him in a hug that genuinely shocked Simon. “Yes, I would like some love and affection.”
Simon resolved to help Wille through his grief. That’s all.
The questions continued to pop up every now and then.
Like when Simon found out about the video, and finally punched August.
“See? You’re brave.” Wilhelm kissed him on the nose.
Or when Wille eventually opened up about his questions around his sexuality, and Simon finally found the person he could talk to about being gay.
“Seriously? Did the last hour not clear anything up for you?” Simon gestured between their bodies in bed.
And when Simon first spent the night with Wilhelm at Drottningholm.
“My family is not close or warm and I feel that my childhood was happier than most people’s.” Wille’s words from so many months ago lingered in Simon’s head as he looked through Wilhelm’s (fucking adorable) childhood photos.
***
Three years later, Wilhelm was fussing with his tie. “Which one do you like better?”
Simon rolled over and said in a sleepy morning voice, “Does it matter? Aren’t they doing a separate photo shoot for the spread?”
“Yes, but they always write down what my tie looks like for some reason. Besides, it’s giving me something else to focus on before I have to deal with whatever their 36 questions will be.”
“36 questions?” Simon raised an eyebrow.
“What?” Wilhelm didn’t get it.
“Did you mean to use the number 36?” Simon grinned.
“What? Isn’t that an expression?” Wilhelm’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Nej.” Simon smiled. “It’s from those New York Times questions! The ones we had to do when we first met in detention?”
“Oh!” Recognition dawned on Wilhelm’s face. He moved to join Simon on the bed, tossing the ties aside. “Those were fun.”
“They were…” Simon mused, his thumb finding its way to Wilhelm’s collarbone. “How many do you think you lied on?”
Wilhelm laughed, running a hand through Simon’s hair. “I don’t know. Me? At 16? Looking at you? Probably a lot.”
“Wow. A truce founded on lies! How dare you?” Simon laughed.
“Simon, you told me your dad was sick when you were a child! I thought your dad died of cancer for two months!” Wilhelm feigned indignation.
“It’s called tact!”
“It’s called a euphemism and I think you know what you did.”
“We had only known each other for a day!”
“You could’ve told me before I met him.”
“Oh, because you prepared me for meeting your mom?”
Wilhelm rolled his eyes, knowing he’d lost.
“Exactly.” Simon fell back into bed, victorious.
Wilhelm flopped down next to him, opening his phone to look up the questions online. “Wow. These are so personal. I can’t believe she gave these to us.”
“Let me see.” Simon grabbed at the phone, and Wilhelm tilted it his way, faces only inches apart sharing the screen. “Oh my God, I forgot how intense these are.”
“I don’t actually think I lied on that many of these. I wanted to know you.”
“Aw.” Simon turned his head, nose nearly swiping Wilhelm’s face. As he tucked Wille’s hair behind his ear, he grinned. “Liar.”
“What difference does it make if you know everything now?” Wille smirked.
Simon couldn’t help but smile — a smile of familiarity, of surety — because it was true. At this point, he could guess the way Wilhelm would answer almost anything thrown his way. He could reread these questions now and probably rewrite the correct answers from both 16-year-old Wilhelm and 19-year-old Wilhelm’s perspectives. He could probably even do the interview Wille had scheduled for an hour from now.
The thought made him feel smug. He was the one that Wilhelm trusted most in the world, the person privy to all of his secrets.
Plus, he had compliments on demand now. He didn’t need to rely on formulated questions to bait Wille into saying nice things to him anymore.
“Hey Wille. Share a positive characteristic of your partner.” Simon winked, and Wille rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile.
“My partner… My partner. I like everything about my partner.” Wilhelm leaned forward. “My partner is so cute. And such a good kisser.” With that, he put his hands around Simon’s back and pulled him forward against his lips.
“So funny.” A kiss. “So sweet.” A kiss. “Such a dumbass.” A kiss. “So bad at video games.”
“Hey! That’s not a compliment!”
“Yes!”
“No!”
“Yes it is! If it’s something I like about you!”
Simon glared.
“My partner never lets me get away with anything.” A kiss.
“Positive characteristics, Wille!”
Wilhelm leaned back and took in Simon’s face, a sweet smile crossing his own. “My partner is my favorite person to talk to. My favorite person.”
Simon beamed, crossing the space between them and circling his arms around Wilhelm’s neck. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
A few kisses later, Wilhelm was off to answer more questions. Questions about graduating from Hillerska, his choice in university, his growing involvement in foreign diplomacy, and always, always Simon. They had done their best to maintain some privacy in their relationship, but they couldn’t help that the world cared. They were young, hot, and in love. At this point, Wilhelm mostly just had to verify that they were still doing well.
He was happy to report that they were doing really, really, really well.