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Ditching the rowing team was the best decision Simon had ever made. That and dating the new president of Forest Ridge.
Technically, only third-years were eligible for house president, but rules, as Simon came to figure out, were foggy and loose when it came to Crown Princes. Wille was a second-year, but his mass popularity among all-years plus his royal title allowed him to be elected with ease. The third-year who faced him had spent weeks on a smear-campaign, but ultimately shot himself on the foot by using some rather nasty language against Wille. That, coupled with Henry’s amazing job as Wille’s hype-man, made sure he won in a landslide.
Simon, for once, didn’t feel guilty in utilizing his boyfriend’s newfound privilege. Wille was now required to sit at the head of the table, and he had made sure Simon always had a spot on his side. His dorm was also switched out, a double room only occupied by him, all the way down the hall where no one would bother him.
(The first thing the boys did in that room was to build a pillow fort in the middle of the two beds, Wille’s red LEDs illuminating their movie night and cuddle section).
The cold wind made him shiver, tucking his hands into his jacket’s pocket. It wasn’t exactly a cold day, but being so near water and kind of high up made the students huddle together for warmth. Their section of the bleachers was only half used, the teachers being the only ones to actually spread out.
“Finally!” Felice and Maddie made their way through the crowd to him, coffee cups in their hands
“Did you actually sneak past Mr. Englund?”
“As if” Felice handed him one of the cups “We bribed Malin to buy it for us”
“Work smarter, not harder” Maddie hummed, the girls sitting one on each side of him, “How are we doing?”
“Haven’t even started” he looked down at his phone, “Erik’s almost here”
“So that’s why there’s cop cars back there”
“I mean, is not all the time that you have the King coming to a school competition” Felice reached over Simon so she could steal a cookie from Maddie “Your hoodie is really cute, Simme”
“Shush”
“No, really, it’s given I miss cuddling with my boyfriend 24/7 chic ”
“You’re the worst” Simon took a sip, pulling the sleeves of Wille’s hoodie over his hands
“So Wille is not calling you before the race starts?”
“No, that’s a tradition you don’t mess with it” he smiled “Look, there’s Erik”
“Oh, no suit?” Maddie hummed, “That’s interesting”
“It is just the first one” Felice remarked, “Maybe at finals we’ll see some actual suit action”
“Do you think we’ll make it to finals?”
“With Wille as captain? Hell yeah” Simon mumbled, smiling as Erik made his way to the top of their section and smiled at him “Henry said he’s worse than Vincent and August combined”
“Who knew little Wille would be so ruthless”
“Simon did,” Maddie laughed, getting a weak slap in the back for it.
“Why do I hang out with you?”
“Because we keep it real” the girl sighed “and because you love us”
“Unfortunately- Wait, hold on” Simon’s phone started buzzing, and he almost immediately picked it up
“Hi, baby” Wille smiled, clearly having snuck away from the rest of the crew, still in his warm-ups
“Did you sneak out to see me?” Simon teased after connecting his earbuds
“Maybe” the prince shrugged, “The boys get really loud”
“Don’t I know it?” he smiled “Nervous?”
“As shit” the boy sighed, “I’m trying to not look like it, but…”
“You are gonna do great, principito . We all seen how you guys worked hard”
“I hope so”
“I know so” he fought against a grin “And if not, you just gave royal commentators something to talk about”
“Erik is here?”
“At the top of the bleachers” now the grin appeared in full force “You should’ve seen the headmistress face when he arrived”
“I can imagine” Wille turned around “They’re calling me”
“You go then, and Wille?”
“Hm?”
“I love you”
“I love you too, baby” he whispered “See you on the other side”
The energy at the bleachers had shifted as soon as the first announcement came on. Suddenly, all the students' focus turned to the big screen reflecting the starting line, the competing crews walking out to equally loud cheers and boos. It was easy to spot Wille even from far away. He just had this aura, one that served him nicely as he greeted the competitors' captains.
Simon had never sung Hillerska’s song so loudly. From the moment their crew walked out, the student body started with their chants. Even Erik, who was supposed to remain neutral, had been spotted muttering his alma matter ’s hymn along with the students. They were still seated, but barely, as the boats made their way to the starting line. Their competitors tried to drown their singing with their own chants, but weren’t completely successful.
“Is it always like this?” he asked Felice, “I don’t remembered hearing all this commotion last time”
“Probably because you were down in the water that time” she leaned closer, “We won’t be able to hear each other by the end”
People erupted in screams around them, the beginning of the race officialized. The bleachers were positioned around the final 500 meters, so they couldn’t see the starting race properly, but the distance didn’t blur the incredible synchronization of the Hillerska crew. It was one of the things Simon had seen Wille stress over during his first weeks as captain, but it seemed to have paid off, the boys moving as one and slowly creating distance between themselves and their competitors.
“Who is that in the middle?” Maddie asked, gawking.
“I think his name is Daniel” Simon answered
“He’s new, right?”
“A transfer from Italy, I believe” Felice chuckled, “Please tell me you won’t go after him”
“Please” Maddie scoffed, sipping her coffee, “I’ll make him come after me”
“Poor guy won’t know what hit him” Simon bent forward, eyes glued on the boat, “How long has it been?”
“Like, a minute?”
“That’s good” his focus meant he missed the teasing eyes happening behind his back.
“Wille really broadened, didn’t he?” Felice striked first, “Simon?”
“Hm?” the boy, turned to her briefly, “Ah, yeah, he’s been working out a lot”
“How do you feel about that?”
“If it makes him happy” Simon shrugged, “I certainly don’t have any complaints about it”
“Geez, you two” the crowd exploded again, Hillerska holding strong in first by almost two seconds at the halfway mark. As the boats came closer, the bleachers got louder and louder, even the teachers joining in at that point. The school sitting a couple rows down got up, and clearly they took it as a challenge, the student body moving almost as one to stand up and chant once again.
There were screams and flags waving all around them by the time their crew passed in front of their section, but it wasn’t commotion enough to break the team’s concentration. The sprint for the finish line was quick, at least in Simon’s eyes, and the race was practically called by then. It didn’t make it any less exhilarating when their bow crossed the finish line, the audience somehow getting louder. Simon was only able to see Walter crashing into Wille’s chest before people jumping obscured his vision.
Instead, he looked at the VIP boxes, where a very proud Erik was also standing, clapping with the biggest smile on his face. It made him smile too.
It took a while, but the team finally made their way through the crowd of students and teachers, the four-man crew wearing tired smiles and slouched backs while the others bracketed them. It was the end of the afternoon and the hotel lobby was weirdly empty outside of the students (probably because of them, Wille didn’t even want to imagine what the minutes after their arrival were like inside the place), the few stragglers curiously watching the commotion. It wasn’t long before an employee came to break it up, Wille finally finding himself riding the elevator with Lars beside him.
His room was the last one in the corridor, strategically close to many emergency exits. There were two other body guards stationed at the front door already, which made Wille frown.
“Are you taking the night off?” he asked Lars, who couldn’t hide a smile caused by the prince’s sleepy tone
“No, sir” he simply provided, making Wille hum. Both bodyguards bowed their heads, the woman opening the door for him, and then it clicked. Simon was lying stomach down on the double bed, mid-laughter, while Erik was leaning against one of the archways, hands paused mid-gesturing.
Wille’s heart fluttered. No matter how many times he had come to a scene just like this one, it always got to him: his brother and his boyfriend, clearly enjoying each other’s presence. He knew how lucky he was to have it, and maybe that was what always messed with him.
“I see you’re having fun” he smiled, dropping the gym bag by the door
“Just updating Simon in the latest royal gossip” Erik crossed the distance between them in three steps, hugging his brother tight and sighing happily when he felt Wille melt against him “You did so well, Gubben ”
“I missed you” the boy mumbled, opening his heavy eyes to see Simon watching them fondly. He pulled away, “Don’t you have a meeting tomorrow morning?”
“I did, but Marie gave me a pass” the king smiled, “She sent you a hug and congratulations as well”
“Thank you. And thank you for coming”
“Of course, brother” Erik tilted his head “You’re dead on your feet, aren’t you?”
“Hell yeah” Wille groaned, “My thighs are killing me”
“Well, I heard there was a bath waiting for you” the king looked back at Simon, who shrugged when Wille’s eyes landed on him too
“I put some of your fancy salt in it” he stated simply, “Should be warm still”
“You’re the best” the blond smiled tiredly, glancing back at Erik “Are you staying the night?”
“A couple floors up, yes” he nodded, “I should get going actually, we’ll leave early tomorrow”
“Maybe we can have breakfast together” Simon piped up, rolling out of bed and stuffing his hands in the pocket of his (Wille’s) hoodie, “Unless you’re getting up ridiculously early”
“That might be the case” Erik grimaced, “I’ll ask Annette to check with Malin, though”
“Just in case…” Wille hugged his brother again, not as tightly. He felt more than heard the soft chuckle if got out of Erik, a hand coming up to mess with his hair.
“I missed you too, Gubben ” the man whispered, getting only a hum in response. “Even if we can’t eat together, I’ll come down to say goodbye, okay?”
“Promise?” he gazed up, somehow looking exactly like he did at nine years old to Erik.
“Have I ever broken one?” he rolled his eyes, “I promise. Now go enjoy your boyfriend and your hot bath”
“Before it gets cold, please” Simon pointed out, and then laughed as the prince dragged his feet towards the bathroom.
They weren’t supposed to be sharing a room, but it took little to convince Henry to swap places with Simon so they would. Simon himself was the mastermind behind that move, and Wille felt himself fall in love a little more with him for it.
The double bed meant they didn’t have to lay fully on top of each other like they did in Hillerska, but it didn’t matter. In seconds, Wille was almost fully on top of Simon’s, his hair still damp from the bath, limbs feeling like they were made of jelly. A ten-thousand pound lead jelly, but jelly nonetheless.
He wasn’t sleeping just yet, by some miracle, even though the combination of Simon’s fingers running through his hair, the soft movement of his chest under him and the low murmur of the tiktoks his boyfriend was watching usually worked to put him out completely. Maybe it was some leftover adrenaline, or the fact that they were technically breaking the rules, or he was simply too tired to even fall asleep properly, but Wille found himself slowly shifting around, unconsciously grunting every time he did it.
“Are you alright, principito ?” Simon finally asked, ditching his phone to look down at his boyfriend.
“Can’t sleep”
“I can see that” he chuckled fondly. Sometimes Wille acted every bit the spoiled brat he swore he wasn’t, most of those times being when he was sleepy beyond any logic. “Can I help you?”
“Actually” the prince forced his eyes open, glanced up, “Can you… Can you sing?”
It wasn’t a new request, but it startled Simon as if it was. Wille loved Simon’s voice, that was something he was proud to share with the world, but it was different. Singing someone to sleep was intimate. Feeling safe enough to sleep just by the sound of a voice was even more intimate.
“As if I could ever say no to those eyes” the boy said finally, adjusting so he could maintain eye contact with Wille, “Any special requests?”
“You know what I like” the prince moved too, a hand laying under his head and the other intertwining with Simon’s. It was a better answer than he expected, only needing to take a deep breath to collect himself.
Usually, Wille would join him to sing the chorus, ever since they first sang it together back in his initiation party. But this time around, he was out like a light by then, Simon’s voice barely over a whisper in the silent room. He didn’t continue the song after the first chorus, instead twisting to turn off the lights. Then, he cuddled closer to Wille, kissing the prince’s nose before closing his own eyes.
With his boyfriend warm in his arms, it didn’t take long for sleep to take him too.