#young royals events

[youngroyals-events]

YOUNG ROYALS EVENTS

The show has ended but our love for Young Royals did not. This is why we decided to create this blog, to host events for the Young Royals fandom so that we can continue spreading our love for this show.

Events are for everyone, not only for fanfic writers. We want everyone to feel included in those events. So fanartist, gif makers, edits maker, please feel welcome in the events we will host in the future as we wish to feel all the art forms in our upcoming events.

Also, this account is not to overshadow other events in the fandom, but to create new ones. We hope, with those events, that everyone feels encouraged to continue creating for this show that changed our lives.

Stay tuned for some news that will be coming soon!

YOUNG ROYALS FOREVER

[saynomorefic]

Hey everyone! As of today we are LESS THAN 50 fics away from reaching 5000 fics in the Simon Eriksson/Wilhelm tag on ao3 ❤️💥

I was thinking we could organize a mini-event to celebrate Wilmon hitting 5000 and our awesome fic writers in a couple ways. I've put some ideas together from reblogs and my own head.

- rec'ing your fav underrated fics

- a comment-athon where you go comment on your fav fics

- reblogging fic rec lists our amazing readers have already made

- making more themed fic rec lists 🌟

If anyone has other suggestions feel free to reblog or pm me! I will make a poll with all the ideas. This could also be a writing event, but I don't want to take away from the awesome work of @youngroyals-events and Kinktober, since we may hit 5k during this awesome event! 🖤

If anyone is interested in helping me plan, pls let me know 🌝

The Simon Eriksson/Wilhelm tag is a little over 100 works away from reaching 5000 works on ao3! What could we do to celebrate 5000?

💜

[the-words-we-sung]

Felice Ehrencrona

for @youngroyals-events week 2: Felice 🫂

[caramelpenguin]

Free prompt!

@youngroyals-events

i'm not exactly sure what counts as NSFW, but there's only very very very VERY little in this!!

Ayub thinks it's a bit childish, and Rosh says it's kind of funny but still, 'Simon, you've got to show him who's boss.' Sara rolls her eyes whenever he's complaining, but listens as if she's piecing a puzzle together. Maddison raises her brows, grins and says they should fuck to get it out their systems.

What none of them know is that they have, actually, fucked. Many times. Not once has it 'gone out of their systems.'

The first time was after an all-staff meeting. Wilhelm had been making subtle jabs all morning, his sharp comments always landing with a smirk. Simon’s patience had already been stretched thin by the time the meeting ended. He had stopped Wilhelm before he could leave, closing the door behind them with a snap. He pointed to Wilhelm’s chest, pressing a finger into the pristine, infuriating fabric of his shirt. “What’s your problem?” he demanded, eyes narrowed.

In less than five minutes, Simon’s legs were wrapped around Wilhelm’s waist, fingers knotted in dark brown hair as Wilhelm pinned him to the wall. The kiss was hot and eager and molten, lips clashing like they were trying to outpace the fire in their veins. Simon’s fingers tangled in Wilhelm’s hair, pulling just hard enough to elicit a groan that sent a shiver straight through him. Wilhelm’s hands trailed firmly along his thighs, holding him in place as they ground against each other.

The sound of footsteps shattered the moment. Wilhelm set Simon down with a tenderness that didn´t match any of their actions. Simon straightened his shirt, cleared his throat and left the room without looking back.

The second time was eerily similar: another meeting, another tense exchange that escalated into Wilhelm’s fingers deftly undoing Simon’s buttons as their mouths collided again and again. Simon knew it wasn’t a good idea but his resolve crumbled the second Wilhelm’s lips traced the edge of his jaw. Then his phone suddenly rang and interrupted the two.

Simon’s resolution to stop this stupid behavior and ignore the urge that swelled in him whenever he saw Wilhelm in a shirt that somehow made his biceps look unfairly good was shattered again. But maybe blaming the biceps wasn’t fair. After all, he´d been making eyes at Wilhelm from across the staff room before carefully retreating to his office, pretending it wasn’t deliberate.

When he sits down, his heart is already racing. There is a knock.

He clears his throat. “Come in.”

Wilhem steps inside. He closes the door, the click of the lock loud in the silent room. A small smile rests delicately on him. “Hey.”

Arms. Crooked teeth. Deep eyes. Simon drowns in it. 

The third time, he really has no excuse. Wilhelm is golden syrup and follows as he’s dragged over and pushed into the desk chair, a grin on his face. Simon swings a leg over to straddle him, hands cupping his jaw, thumb brushing lightly over faint stubble as Wilhelm greedily digs into his back.  

“That guy in the meeting today,” Wilhelm murmurs against his lips. “He couldn’t stop looking at you.” His hands roam, warm and steady, anchoring Simon in place.

This was meant to be self-gratifying sex. Quick. Against the wall. Done and over with and then Wilhelm would leave.But brushing his nose against Wille’s and running a hand through the hairs at the back of his neck is strangely soothing too. 

Simon tilts his head, a teasing lilt in his tone. “Did he look irritated?”

Wilhelm smirks, brushing his nose against Simon’s. “He looked like he wanted to be alone in a room with you.”

Simon wonders if he can merge his entire body with Wille’s, removing the space between them. All he can do right now is press closer, “I’d rather have been alone in that room with you.”

Wilhelm laughs softly, his lips grazing Simon’s neck. “He’s your ex, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Simon admits, his breath hitching as Wilhelm’s teeth graze his skin. “He’s a dick.”

Wilhelm hums in response, his hands sliding lower. Simon melts, fingers threading through brown hair. For a moment, everything else fades —the meetings, the tension, the people outside the door who had no idea.

“How long do you have?” Wilhelm murmurs, voice a low rumble.

Simon leans in. “As long as you want.”

[sflow-er]

Henry and Simon’s dynamic over the three seasons

For YR Faves Fest 2024 organised by @youngroyals-events Prompts: 2. Favourite teen side character (+ 7. Favourite not-quite friendship)

In one of my replies to the recent side character ask game, I briefly mentioned being partial to the dynamic between these two. So for this Faves Fest, I decided to elaborate with an analysis post (featuring screenshots of variable quality)!

I want to preface this with a brief acknowledgment of Henry’s privilege and classism. It is not my intention to diminish them. I do, however, feel that it’s a bit apples-to-oranges to compare them to Simon’s views (citrus pun intended). 🍊 is politically active and has put in the effort to form his own beliefs, while 🍏 shows us time and again that he is ignorant of the world outside the elite bubble and not inclined towards deep reflection. He is largely a product of his upbringing and the (liberal conservative) values imparted by his parents.

While Henry doesn’t grow enough to change his core views and values in the canon timeline, he does change his views on Simon. This isn’t enough progress for them to become actual friends before we leave off (I doubt Simon could be friends with someone who only exempts him), but I would still argue that they end the show on amicable terms.

And yes, I mean that in a mutual sense, even if Simon doesn’t soften towards Henry quite as much as Henry softens towards him!

So, let’s dive in!

Dialogue taken from the English CC and [abbreviated or corrected].

1.01: the tax debate

Henry: “Take my dad’s estate, for example. They’re struggling to make ends meet because of the high taxes.” [Simon chuckles and explains his views] Simon: “Like your dad. [Do you know how much he gets in EU subsidies every year]”? Henry: “And what the fuck does your dad do?”

Like most viewers, I find it a lot easier to relate to Simon’s views than Henry’s here – but I do think Henry often gets judged quite harshly for insulting Simon at the end. His comment does not come out of nowhere (cf. Stella’s unprompted dirty look at Simon and Sara when she talks about welfare scamming).

Henry only knows that his father has said their estate is struggling, so of course he won’t take kindly to Simon suggesting that they are actually getting undeserved subsidies instead. It’s also important to note that this estate isn’t just any old farm. It was granted to one of his ancestors as a reward for their services to the Crown, which makes it a core part of his family history. As we learn in 1.04, Henry is a Society boy and very proud of his noble ancestry, and Simon’s comment likely feels like an insult to his entire family. So although his retort is unquestionably rude, it is understandable that he lashes out.

Also, Henry has no way of knowing that Micke is a deadbeat. He is just applying a common stereotype (and potentially making assumptions based on the views Simon just expressed on welfare).

1.02: parallel but separate experiences

Early in this episode, we see Simon side-eye Henry and Walter for the paid tutoring. He decides to follow their example, but as we know he can’t actually afford it, we can already guess it won’t go as well for him as it did for them.

Next, we see Henry in the group as the rowing team ignores Simon at morning training. The camera also pans to him and Walter when August gives that bizarre speech about Simon’s class journey.

These moments highlight how different life at Hillerska (and beyond) looks for Henry and Simon. They are technically coexisting and even doing the same things, but their experiences are nothing alike.

However, there is also some potential for development here. August’s words about rowing bringing people together (and also about the class journey) should absolutely be taken with a heap of salt, but as we no longer see any open animosity between Henry and Simon, we can still wonder if rowing played a part.

Being on the same sports team is an entirely new frame of reference for these guys. They are no longer just the sosse and aristocrat who have been going to school together since pre-canon and clashing over their views; they are crewmates. They may be able to ignore each other for most of the time, but they may also have to do some team activities or even cooperate on occasion. At the very least, they will be around each other several extra times a week from late September/early October to Christmas break. This could definitely help to put them on more neutral ground.

1.05: Henry pays attention to Wilmon

In this episode, Henry learns more about Wilmon than the average Hillerska student knows. He is present when August tells the Society that Wille and Simon “hang out”, and also when Wille changes the plan from Simon to Alexander.

What’s more, he actually looks fairly thoughtful leaving that last meeting. We don’t know if it’s just shock over Wille’s ruthlessness, if he’s thinking about the plan to set up Alexander, or if there’s something else on his mind.

Now, this may veer into overinterpretation, but for the sake of thoroughness, let’s also include the blink and you’ll miss it moment before the Lucia procession where Henry notices Wilmon texting each other. In this cropped screenshot, you can see him looking at Simon, who has just put his phone down and is looking over at Wille.

1.06: Henry shows restraint

As we know, Henry is the only classmate who tries to treat Wille normally after the video, asking if he “saw the match yesterday” (he absolutely knows Wille didn’t). What is perhaps less noticeable is that he also shows more restraint than most of his schoolmates when the rumour mill gets going.

In this scene, Henry is pretty dispassionate reminding Walter that Wilmon sat next to each other at movie night and the two of them talked about it. There is a stark contrast to Walter, who absolutely pounces on that bit of gossip.

This one quick scene could just be a coincidence, but the same thing happens again when Wilmon return to school. Instead of engaging with the others who are all eagerly talking and whispering, Henry is already sitting at his desk minding his own business when Wille arrives. His only reaction to Simon showing up is this quick look, which is immediately followed by his show of kindness to Wille:

So the restraint does look very intentional.

As an aristocrat, monarchist and Society boy, Henry is loyal to Wille, who he now knows has been carrying on with Simon for a while already. He also knows how far Wille went to protect Simon, despite the fact that Simon had actually supplied the drugs, so he is going to side with Wille.

What’s more, Henry’s behaviour in these scenes also confirms that he isn’t hostile to Simon. We can surmise he probably doesn’t think Simon is the most appropriate choice of partner for the crown prince, but he is willing to take his cues from Wille. We never see him sneer, joke, or say anything nasty about Wilmon as a couple (cf. Stella and Fredrika joking about surrogacy).

We are also shown his reaction to Wille hugging Simon before we move on to season two.

2.02: the floorball hug and walk-by

The first interaction between Henry and Simon in S2 is them celebrating a floorball goal with a spontaneous hug, as seen at the top of this post. What a difference a term makes!

Now, I don’t think this moment is meant to signify that they are friends all of a sudden, and I do feel it comes slightly out of the blue. I suspect it was included as a nod to those who already liked Henry after S1, but I for one would’ve preferred to actually see their reconciliation.

But then again, if their initial antagonism was always class conflict rather than personal beef, maybe there was no need for apologies…? Maybe each of them just accepted that the other was going to be around and decided to try and get along (potentially aided by their shared rowing team history)? Henry is following Wille’s lead as we already saw – and as for Simon, I doubt he would be hugging Henry even in the heat of a game if he held a grudge. Whether we saw it or not, they have moved on.

In the same episode, we also have the locker room scene.

Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe Henry actually overhears the entire conversation, but he may have still heard something about them having to wait two years (as Simon did raise his voice for that). It’s also possible he comes out of this scene assuming that Wilmon still “hang out” in secret. In any case, he probably assumes that Wille wants to keep the whole thing quiet, as per the usual “policy” on queer relationships among the upper classes. In addition to his monarchist ways, he also seems to be casually friendly with Wille in S2 (keeps inviting him to do stuff, from coffee to pranking Sprucewood). So it makes a lot of sense for him to keep whatever he overhears or suspects to himself.

2.03, 2.05 and 2.06: book report scenes

While Henry must be a nightmare to have in the group, he and Simon are nice to each other in all the book report scenes. This is further proof that they are in a place where they can talk civilly and even work together.

They start the project before the rowing race and only present it the day before the gun range scene, which means they had these group sessions for at least a few weeks (the timeline is a bit wonky here).

2.04: Henry snitches on Wille and Felice

The lunch scene at the start of the episode starts with this bit of vicarious interaction, as Henry and Simon (and Wille too) are amused by the nonsense Walter is spouting about girls:

Also, Walter's monologue feels more comphet every time rewatch it, but I digress.

As this post is focused on Henry and Simon, I’m not going to dig too deep into Henry’s role in spreading the story about Wille and Felice. Suffice it to say that he did tell his canonically gossipy bestie Walter, and it was recently pointed out to me that he seems to have let something slip to someone else as well. In the common room, Walter goes “det var du som sa till…” [you were the one who said to…] just as the focus shifts to Wille and Nils, which suggests that Henry either purposely told someone or misspoke without realising it. The latter would explain why he seems genuinely appalled when Wille confronts him, but it’s not a hill I’d be willing to die on!

If Henry did spread the story on purpose, I assume it was because getting with Felice was considered a credit to Wille and also “fair game” to tell, unlike the relationship with Simon that Wille wanted to keep hidden.

Still, Henry and Simon are definitely on better terms in S2. Even though Henry inadvertently causes pain to Simon with his part in the Wille and Felice thing, they still keep working together on the book report without any animosity.

Insofar as Henry’s lacklustre effort can be called working. Simon is a bigger person than I am for not blowing up at him when he announces minutes before the presentation that he won’t be taking any questions.

3.01: background Henry

We start S3 off with this one-sided interaction where Henry reacts to Wilmon kissing with a mild smirk. No more waiting or secrets to keep.

3.02: double standards on the camping trip

It’s not entirely clear what Henry is thinking when he says the infamous line about gay couples being allowed to share but not straight ones. I think some people read it as him deliberately putting Wilmon on the spot, but personally, I doubt he even realises it’s going to make them uncomfortable. He’s just noticing the double standard and pointing it out to mess with the teacher.

While Simon is very clearly not pleased with Henry for the comment (glares at him while saying to Wille that people are going to think they plan to have sex), he does not seem to hold that against him. Because what we do see them doing soon?

Sitting next to each other by the fire, even though Henry could’ve easily sat with Walter and Simon with Wille:

Also, it seems Henry isn't new to camping, as he tells Wille that part of the fire is too hot to grill a sausage in.

The part where things get interesting is when Henry acts classist towards the Marieberg students.

Henry seems to be down with meeting Rosh and Ayub, who are there as Wille and Simon’s friends. But after Fredrika brings up New York, he agrees that the situation turned “stiff as fuck.” That stiffness was entirely Fredrika’s fault (I think she is at least semi-consciously trying to mark herself as the most compatible partner for Stella there), but Henry seems to feel it was more about Rosh and Ayub not fitting in.

He also sneers and makes nasty comments when the other Marieberg students get into an altercation with Malin, which elicits a frown from Simon.

And yet, Simon does not condemn Henry as strongly as he might have done in the past.

Importantly, Simon tells Wille “it wasn’t the right time for everyone to meet.” This indicates that he could’ve imagined them all getting along at a better time, and it’s pretty clear that also includes Henry. Furthermore, “you [meaning Wille and the others] don’t realise how privileged you are sometimes” is actually a pretty neutral way of putting it. Simon would have been entirely justified if he had said the others were classist pricks, but he blames their privilege and lack of understanding instead of their character.

All of this forms a backdrop for my interpretation of the scenes in the next episodes.

3.03: First of May

Simon: “You do know that you’re not off so you can party the day before, right?” Henry: “Uhh…what?” Simon: “It’s the First of May.” […] “The day of the labour movement?” Henry: “Okay, so what’s their style? How do they celebrate?” Simon, scoffing: “You don’t celebrate. You demonstrate.” [Henry and Walter share a chuckle]

This may be a controversial take, but I don’t think Henry is being particularly nasty to Simon here.

He actually looks and sounds quite sincere asking how the labour movement celebrates. When he and Walter laugh, it reads more as “there he goes again, our very own sosse, saying wacky things!” than the kind of disdain he expressed towards the Marieberg students in the last episode.

Simon also doesn’t take the laughter as an insult; he’s just stupefied by their ignorance. Also, note that he already scoffed at Henry’s question, marking the question as silly.

This exchange is immediately followed by Vincent attacking Simon for his beliefs, which feels like an intentional trick to create contrast between his and Walty’s treatment of Simon.

3.04: the lollipop

In this scene, Henry starts out asking quite nicely and seriously if Simon has another lollipop, as if they had that kind of rapport. Simon makes a face, but then he just shakes his head and nicely says no. It’s only then that Henry switches to offering money for the already half-eaten lollipop, to which Simon reacts with disbelief.

He does not, however, get snarky with Henry. He settles for exchanging a look with Wille as Walty go on to complain about the hunger strike. Only when Henry isn’t present anymore does he point out to Wille how ridiculous Henry was being.

In a sort of parallel to the lunch scene, Simon and Wille now share a chuckle at the wacky thing Henry said:

Feel free to disagree, but I actually wonder if this could be a common pattern between Simon and Henry. They have accepted that they aren’t going to see eye to eye on many things, but instead of getting into conflict, they just roll their eyes/laugh at how the other can seriously believe/say such things. Then they let the conversation move on to something else.

Which is a perfectly valid dynamic. They can acknowledge that their outlooks on life are wildly different without hating each other for it.

3:06: Henry includes Simon

Look, I dislike the library scene as much as the next person. The talk that Henry interrupts between Wilmon was so much more important than anything he could possibly say. It was just a moment of comic relief that didn’t add anything to the story.

Except… Now that we are tracing Henry and Simon’s “not-quite friendship” arc, this scene does give us a conclusion.

Henry: “Hi! Uh, what are you wearing tonight?” [He rambles on about clothes] Wille: “I don’t know if… If I’m coming.” Henry: “Okay…?” Simon: “I don’t know if I can come either.” Henry: “Oh come on, you two have to come!” [He rambles on about how much fun it will be] Simon: “Yeah, we’ll see. I have to go now.” Henry: “The point is that we have to be together! This is the only night we have together, maybe ever. [I mean, we are brothers!]”

In Swedish, Henry goes “vi är ju bröder” just as the music starts. This has been translated to “we are like brothers” in the English CC, which is already quite something, but the little word ju makes the original even stronger. It means that something is true, so instead of just saying they are like brothers, Henry is saying that is what they are.

(In the dub, there is an audible pause after like, so Henry is actually using it as a filler word. They should have put a comma in the CC to denote that.)

Given that Henry prefaces this ramble with “you two have to come” and barely stops to acknowledge Simon’s exit, there’s every reason to assume he is still talking about all of them. He is saying he considers himself, Wille, and also Simon part of the brotherhood that will be disbanded indefinitely come morning and wants them all to have one last night of fun together.

Simon never hears the brothers part and is of course frustrated with Henry for interrupting, but he still takes his leave on a casually friendly note. He gets that Henry wants him to come and have fun (Henry is unaware that Simon doesn’t drink when he tries to persuade them both by talking about the alcohol). Thus, Simon politely says “we will see” even though he has zero intention of going.

We do not see them interact at the party when Simon goes after all, but we do hear Henry being ushered away when Simon comes to talk to Wille. We don’t see it’s Henry, but someone insists that he wants to stay just as we see Walter and Alexander leave, and all three of them were there moments before:

I’m tempted to end this with a parallel to Wille’s initiation party.

Way back in 1.01, Henry and Simon were explicitly shown discussing the first party with their friends. They never talked about it with each other or interacted there – Henry attended as part of the in-crowd, and Simon only got to go because he supplied the alcohol. But for this last party, Henry was the one to get the alcohol, and he specifically invites Simon to come. They still don’t hang out as they are both there with their respective friends, i.e. in their own bubbles, but those bubbles do bump into/brush past one another without clashing.

Kind of like Henry and Simon’s lives.

Thank you for reading this marathon post! I hope my take on these two brings something to your next rewatch, whether you agree with me or not!

[frogprinsen]

LOOK AT THEM

[kruemel8]

from what i have been seeing from the location: NN really outdid themselves!! It looks so pretty wooow

Amazing.

[justfriendsbestthings]

Happy 6 months babes <3

[saynomorefic]

For Simon's Month 2024 hosted by @youngroyals-events

Day One: Pencil Case

Simon starts finding mysterious objects in his pencil case. He has his suspicions as to who is responsible. Post Season 1. (NR, 1.8k)

Read on ao3 or below the cut :)

“Maddie! Maddie, wait.” Wille panted, running down the hallway. She turned around, even more confused when she saw Wille barreling towards her. 

“I know you’re friends with Simon, and I .. I need some help.” 

She studied him warily. “Isn’t he completely not talking to you?” She asked. 

“No, he’s.. He just told me he needs space. Which I’m fine with, I really am, but I can’t not have him in my life.” 

“Wille, I feel for you, I do. I’m sorry, but it’s so unfair of you to try to get him back when he’s told you he’s not interested. I would have kicked your ass to the Netherlands by now.” 

Wille stared at her. “Look, I just want to be his friend again. And if he doesn’t want to sit with me, or even talk to me, that’s fine. But I just want him to know I’m serious about him, as a friend, and that I’m sorry.” Maddie looked like she was turning the words over in her head. Finally, she looked up at Wille, eyes honest and firm. 

“Fine. What do you need me to do?” 

– 

Simon plopped down in his seat next to a girl whose name he couldn’t remember and pulled his notebook and pencil case out of his backpack. It was an especially cold day, and he must have breathed in a bit too deeply when he was running to catch the bus, because he felt a nasty cough coming on. Before the lesson started, Simon slipped out into the hallway for a drink. Mrs. Ramirez gave him a stern look when he walked back in, and they did their usual standing greeting. Simon plopped down in his seat and reached for his pencil case.

Three honey lozenges stared back at him, right on top of the rest of his No.2 pencils. He swept his head from side to side, but no one was looking his way. The girl next to him looked back at him strangely. Maybe it was Sara’s way of getting back in his favor, but she was sitting all the way across the classroom. He pulled a pencil out, and quickly unwrapped one of the lozenges before anyone could notice. Immediately, his mouth was coated in numbing honey, and he instantly felt his throat cool down in relief. 

– 

The next time it happened, Simon was even more confused. He had left his backpack in his locker during lunch, which was quickly becoming one of his least favorite times of the day. Wille didn’t try to sit with him, perse, but he could still feel his eyes on him the whole time. Simon was proud that he hadn’t all out yelled at him yet. 

He rushed back to his locker, eager to escape the winter cold and make it to history on time. When he got to class, he went through his usual routine of pulling out his notebooks and pencil case. Wille, as usual, was keeping his distance, and sat ahead of Simon a few rows. It looked like he’d gotten another haircut, and it was browner than ever in the depths of Swedish winter. Simon drummed his fingers absently over Garfield’s face, remembering when Micke had thrown the metal case into the cart the single year he took Simon and Sara school supply shopping. 

They stood in their usual greeting, and Simon sat back down, opening his pencil case. 

Inside, there was a set of new and brightly colored gel pens, all of them purple. 

–

It was becoming a thing. He nearly started to look forward to it, although Simon didn’t want to admit it to himself. He’d narrowed it down to three options: one would be some sort of secret admirer. However, Simon didn’t think that said secret admirer would know enough about him for the types of gifts he was getting. The next option would be Sara, although Simon noticed that she had been skipping too many classes lately for her to do be so consistent, and lately he was feeling like the animosity was mutual.

Finally, and perhaps most obviously, was Wille. He still felt Wille’s eyes on him when he’d walk the halls or sit in class, but every time he’d try to catch him in the act Wille would avert his gaze. The problem was, though, that each time it happened Wille seemed to be too far away; when Simon had found the purple pens, he had just been with Wille in class and at lunch. Because Wille was respecting his space, he’d made a habit of sitting across the classroom from Simon whenever possible. So how the hell would he have managed to sneak something in his pencil case every day for the past week?

Throughout the day he found himself running through a mental list. It went like this:

Day one: three honey lozenges

Day two: four purple gel pens

Day three: an eraser shaped like a monkey

Day four: a small sheet of fruit stickers (mostly oranges)

Day five:  a cherry lollipop 

Day six: nothing new, except all of his pencils had been freshly sharpened and their erasers wiped clean

Day seven: a set of mini post-its

Day eight: two chocolate chip cookies 

Day nine: a (fairly bad) drawing of Felle

He looked up from his pencil case suspiciously. By now, some of his classmates noticed it was happening. He turned in his seat to show Maddie the drawing, who was sitting behind him, and she just shrugged her shoulders and frowned. 

Simon had also noticed Wille looking at him. It was nothing new, at all, but he felt his eyes on him every time they were in the same room; at lunch, in class, at workies. Once or twice they’d made eye contact and WIlle smiled at him sheepishly. It just made Simon sad, then angry, that he had the audacity to look at Simon like a kicked puppy dog when he was the one who, as he’d pointed out numerous times, hurt Simon. He tried to avert his eyes when it happened.

Until one day it stopped. Simon tried to hide his disappointment when he opened his pencil case and found - nothing. He’d amassed a mini collection in the front pocket of his backpack, and the candies and snacks had definitely come in handy on his longer days at school. Simon went to gym, and all of a sudden Wille wasn’t looking at him anymore. In fact, he made a conscious effort to avoid Simon, passing the ball to anyone but him, and getting out of the locker rooms as fast as humanly possible. It proved consistent in class and at lunch, where he’d taken to sitting at the very end of the table. It made it so much worse. 

He’d just about gotten used to his pencil case being empty (of course, he still had his pencils, gel pens, and eraser in it) when one day, he opened the case up and there was a small folded note on lined paper. He felt immediately nervous, and must have fidgeted all class because his teacher gave him a funny look when he bounded out the door. He finally made it to his locker, and in the enclosure of the metal door, he unfolded the thin paper.

Dear Simon

I understand now. I will leave you alone. 

- Wille

For a moment, Simon’s heart stopped in his chest. He knew that Wille was responsible, had even had a begrudging hope that it was so, but every part of him wanted to resist. It was, admittedly, one of the highlights of his day, however confusing it was, because all of a sudden his anger took over. Did Wille really think a week of leaving him small gifts, like a child, would fix their rift, would fix his lie? And if so, did it only take a week for him to give up on Simon? 

He slammed his locker door shut and walked out of the hallway, grateful that their school day was over so he wouldn’t do something stupid. 

Rosh, of all people, called him on it. “What the hell is with you today?” She asked, nudging him with her knee as they sat next to each other playing FIFA. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grumbled, fixing his eyes on the screen. 

“Please, cut the shit Simon. I and the whole world knows when you’re pissed. Except for maybe you.” She played along for a moment, scoring with a whoop. 

“It’s nothing.” Simon said, tilting his joycon for a better angle. 

“Fuck you, it’s nothing. You had a sex tape leaked for the world to see, you broke up with the Crown Prince of Sweden, and you’re not talking to your sister. Am I supposed to guess what’s bothering you now?” She asked, finally turning to him and crossing her arms. 

He stilled, and a moment later turned towards Rosh. “Wille’s been… leaving me gifts,” he said. Rosh’s brow knit. 

“What do you mean, leaving you gifts?” She said, her shoulders dropping. 

“Like, cough drops when my throat was sore. Gel pens. Candies.” 

“What, like in your coat pockets?” She asked, looking suddenly amused. 

“No. In my pencil case. You know the one.” 

“That’s an interesting strategy.” She looked deeply at Simon, almost digging for something. “Don’t tell me it’s working,” she glowered. 

Simon shook his head and shrugged. “At first it was nice, I dunno. Annoying, but he did finally listen and stop sitting right next to me or trying to start a conversation.” Rosh rolled her eyes, but let him continue. “I kind of let it happen, I guess. But then it stopped. And today, I found this.” He pulled the now crumpled note out of his pocket. 

She grabbed it from him and her eyes widened. “That motherfucker,” she breathed. 

“Yeah.” 

A few seconds turned into a few minutes. Usually quick to speak, Rosh looked contemplative. 

“What are you going to do?” Simon looked up at her in surprise. 

“I mean, I clearly would’ve kicked him all the way to the fucking Buckingham Palace where he belongs by now, but obviously if you were going to do that, you would have already.” 

“What do you mean? I literally told him not to talk to me!” He fired back. 

“Right, and now you’re all upset because he is doing exactly that,” she pointed out, and fuck if Rosh wasn’t always right. It could be infuriating. 

“So what are you going to do?”

– 

Simon took a breath, looking down at the same crumpled note in his hands. It now had new ink, in purple, on the back. He took a deep breath, made sure the coast was clear, and walked up to Wille’s locker. It slipped easily in the grate. 

[groenendaelfic]

Faroe Gone Final Chapter Sneak Peak

So there's still lots of editing I need to do before I can post the whole thing, but with tomorrow looming I thought I'd share something "happy" and "cheerful" to distract y'all.

Have fun reading the beginning of the final chapter and hope you enjoy! 😇

Simon doesn't know if it's the sudden fog, his tears, or the fact that all he wants to do is be a fool and turn back around again—the first one, definitely the first one—but he drives back to Tórshavn at almost a snail's pace.

It doesn't matter. He has well over a day until the ferry makes its return journey to Denmark and nothing else to do except go over his time with Wilhelm again and again, replaying the good times and the pleasurable times and wondering if he could have said or done anything to change the outcome of his journey—other than realizing that all of his feelings were mere nostalgic illusion and fantasy, which of course turned out to not be the case.

Quite the opposite. Real Wilhelm was so much more than what Simon made him out to be in his head. There's so much he's missed. So much he doesn't know yet and which he desperately wants to find out.

It hurts, and yet there's nothing else Simon can do, no other choice which wouldn't hurt more sooner or later.

No. Simon tried. He did the best he could and that is enough. It has to be enough.

Simon had to leave while he still could.

The road ahead of him is empty, no one else in sight. No people, no cars, no sheep. Nothing except the wet, cold fog swallowing up everything and a rushing noise in his ears which might be the wind or the ocean or Simon himself.

Simon blinks away another tear and keeps driving, turning up the heat and hoping it will help.

It doesn't.

On the next island he passes a camper van. It's parked, and Simon thinks he can make out a brave tourist trying to take a picture, but he isn't sure. It's not as if there's much to see except an endless wall of grayish white.

Maybe that's the fascination.

Wilhelm told him that there are thirty-seven words for fog in the Faroese language, and while Simon laughed and told him to stop kidding, he's sure he's already experienced half of them, and it's only been two days.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but contemplating the uselessness of taking pictures of fog is a lot more bearable than lingering on the fact that he'll never get to be with Wilhelm again, never feel that satisfied ache in his muscles, not like this, and really how long can a grown man cry before he's all out of tears?

Pretty long he guesses.

Simon once stopped Ayub's baby daughter from attempting a daring escape on all fours, and Simon swears she was crying forever. Not that he blames her.

Crying is cathartic if it's anything, but if she could produce that many tears because of nothing more than a foiled plan to explore the stairway, then how many will Simon be able to shed before he's all wrung out? He’s a lot taller than her after all and guaranteed to not forget the reason for his tears even after being presented with some candy.

Simon doesn't want to know.

Simon wants to keep driving through this fog forever, because all that's waiting for him at its end is the mundanity of his never-changing life and a scandal revealing the Crown Prince to have been the victim of underage revenge porn thanks to his second cousin and presumed successor, and that is guaranteed to make it worse, to drag Simon’s name back into public awareness.

He should probably call home and warn his mom, warn Sara, but facing them will be torture of an entirely different kind, and also the investigative journalist they chose is a good one, one bound to build a case and not blindly believe her sources before going public, so there is still time.

Not too much though, as there is an impending deadline if the Royal Court and the Prime Minister are to be believed, or at least Simon would really prefer news of August’s deeds to overshadow him being taken into the line of succession.

Not that he’s so naive as to think a mere article can do more than delay the proceedings at best—although one can always hope—and ideally the journalist and whoever else gets a say in choosing the right time will see it the same way, but all of that is still more than half a week away, so why burden his family before he absolutely has to?

No, he's not going to call home yet, but maybe he should reserve a room before he gets back to the capital.

He decides to do it the old fashioned way and pulls over at the next opportunity. A viewpoint, or so he presumes the sign a few meters away from him would tell him if only it was clear enough to see.

He wipes at his cheeks and opens his phone. There are plenty of options for him to stay at. Small, privately owned places, holiday homes with kitchens and living rooms, quaint little hotels doing their best to sell their Nordic, rustic charm to tourists wealthy enough to make it there, and of course a camping ground, because unlike Sweden, the Faroe Islands don't allow one to set up camp anywhere else.

Simon doesn't choose any of them. He wants a warm but bland room, boring and inoffensive and as likely to be in Tórshavn as on the other side of the world.

Something as far from Wilhelm's colorful and most definitely handmade and expensive wooden furniture as he can get, and so he books himself a room at the first—and only—international hotel chain he can find, something he'd never do otherwise, and pretends that he's looking forward to it. The hotel has a fitness center after all and well over a hundred rooms. Simon is almost going to feel like back home in Uppsala.

Not.

He sighs and makes sure he received a confirmation for his booking, before he throws his phone onto the passenger seat and sighs again.

Somehow, magically, or rather because he's on a windy archipelago in the middle of nowhere, the fog is starting to clear. He can see a few meters of grass now, and then a cliff, and below it the cold, dark ocean pretending at being calm.

Simon wants the fog back, but when has he ever gotten what he wanted, and by the time he's back on the road he swears he can see a tiny patch of blue sky up ahead.

The hotel is on the outskirts of town and exactly as impersonal as Simon hoped it would be. He isn't hungry, and so he goes straight to his room and falls face first into bed.

The sheets are white and the pillows are white and they smell bland and clean and inoffensive, nothing at all like Wilhelm, and why would they?

Simon hates them. Simon also hates the hotel, but it's not as if he's in the mood for sightseeing, and as he isn't willing to take a shower yet—what? He's alone, no one's going to smell him, and isn't that the entire problem?—all that's left to do is turn on the TV, because he's for sure not touching his phone again any time soon.

Not when that would mean having it confirmed with every passing minute that he was a fool to leave Wilhelm his number. Wilhelm isn't going to call, but Simon would rather live in denial for as long as he can.

The TV does not greet him with an info screen as Simon expected, but an English speaking news channel, the volume turned up way too loudly, and Simon turns it off again as fast as he can.

Wallowing in self pity it is then.

Unfortunately Simon's usual answer to bouts of self-pity—angrily jerking off to thoughts of Wilhelm—is not an option right now, because Wilhelm is the entire reason for his misery, and so he grudgingly reaches for his phone after all and starts up a game which would work much better on a computer screen.

He's just about to finish off the newest boss, when a text message pops up.

If I do it, it reads. Then can we

The sentence stops halfway through, and Simon almost has a heart attack.

The delay in his reaction is enough for him to be killed instead, but it's not as if Simon notices.

Wilhelm. It has to be Wilhelm.

He taps the message, and while that makes it larger, it doesn't change the words.

He almost calls Wilhelm back right away, because Wilhelm is swaying, is reconsidering, and Simon wants that, he wants it so bad, to have Wilhelm back in his arms and his life, but also Simon already told Wilhelm that he can't be the only reason Wilhelm returns, that this is a life changing decision if there was ever any, and that Wilhelm needs to make it for himself and not for a hope of them maybe working out, and so he doesn't.

Instead he waits an excruciating minute and then another, just in case Wilhelm wants to add something or pressed send too soon, but no further message follows.

Simon curses and swears and kicks up his feet, because now he has hope again and that is great, but also torture. He doesn't want Wilhelm to get the wrong impression, doesn't want him to think that Simon wouldn't be willing to pick right up where they left off if he could—in the bedroom that is, not when it comes to fighting—and maybe they could also go on a date which has been nineteen years in coming.

Simon wants that. Simon really wants that. How can he not, now that he's had a taste, has spent time with Wilhelm, just Wilhelm, has had breakfast with him and done chores with him and played with his dog. Simon wants Wilhelm back, now more so than ever.

Simon knows he's an idiot, thinking of romance and dating when he just left the love of his life behind, and even if he hadn't, a returning Wilhelm would have much different things on his mind. He'd have to. He'd have no other choice. Things like his dying mother and the throne and the public reacting to his return after ten years in exile.

Wilhelm wouldn't have time for Simon, no matter how much Wilhelm would want him. Not for weeks and not for months. Simon would have to sneak into an assortment of palaces with the eyes of the entire nation on nothing but them if he wanted any time with Wilhelm at all, and Simon wouldn't want that. Simon doesn't want secrecy and sneaking and lies. Not that'd even be an option, what with the press and curious bystanders everywhere.

There is another option of course. The only one Wilhelm would ever consider coming back for. The one which at first glance sounds perfect because it means being with Wilhelm and standing by his side. It would also mean giving up everything else in Simon's life though, but what has he really got to lose? Why stop being foolish now?

Wilhelm told Simon that he's it for him. Wilhelm loves him. Simon's already traveled across an ocean. What's one tiny text message compared to that? Why can't he be selfish just this once and fuck the risk and the idiocy and the fear of what will be in one year? In five? In ten?

It all might end in disaster, but it might also not, and why should he be miserable if there's even the slightest chance at some fleeting happiness. After all it's not as if the email Wilhelm sent isn't bound to upend Simon's life anyway, and it's not as if Wilhelm is actually going to come.

Simon wants to be happy.

Simon wants to be happy and now there's a chance for it and so why not take it? He's done stupider things before, like coming here in the first place, so he might as well go all the way.

He doesn't text Wilhelm a yes, doesn't make any promises. He texts one word and one word alone, followed by a number, the name of the hotel and his room number, and maybe that's the biggest promise of all.

He doesn't regret it. He couldn't stay, not without making his inevitable departure even worse, but now he's done his part and the ball is in Wilhelm's court, all the balls are, and Simon is here and waiting.

For a ferry. For Wilhelm. For the life they could have had.

Fuck.

[itsme-thekeys]

Young Royals Fav Fest 2024

Prompt 36: Favorite Fanwork

Oh my, where do I even start? I'll start at the start: I know, I'm Your Masterpiece (and the whole series) by: pwdd1 this is the fanfic that started it all. The very first fanfiction I read in the Young Royals fandom (even though I hadn't even watched the show yet) I basically owe my life and first child to this fic. Young Royals has gotten me through so many tough times and this fanfiction is basically why I decided to watch the show (and the summary my friend gave me so I'd understand this fic better but that's not the point) This is truly one of my most favorite and meaningful fanfictions to me. So thank you, @pwdd1, for this amazing series.

You've begun to feel like home by Sour_candy. I almost wish I didn't get into this one while it was still a work in progress so then I wouldn't have to wait for the next updates!! I don't remember which chapter I joined in on, probably around 7, if I had to guess, but I have continued to read every chapter when it's updated since then! I love slow burn, and my god is this slow burn. But I love it none the less. I never want this to end. Like, ever. I don't know what I'll do when it inevitably reaches its end. Probably reread it! 😜 @s0urcandy112112321

Okay now my three fav fanfictions I've contributed to this fandom.

Some Dreams Shouldn't Come True by me. It's one of my most popular fanfictions, and by good reason I think. Summary: Wille has a bad dream and Simon comforts him. So yeah, pretty cute.

Keys Are Good, Bugs Are Not by me. This one's just a silly little fanfiction with no real angst (except that Simon's definitely in despair for like half of it). Probably the most light-hearted thing I've written. Also one of my most popular (probably because no one died). Summary: Basically Simon gets locked out of the house by a scary bug and Wille is a little shit (affectionately)

Pretend I'm Something Other Than This Mess That I Am by me. At the time I wrote this, it was one of my longest fanfictions that I had wrote. I worked on it on and off for a month or two until I eventually finished it. This is probably the fanfiction I'm most proud of. It's definitely a very heavy story so if that's not your jam then probably don't read it. Summary: Wille has mental health issues ™️

@youngroyals-events

[youngroyals-events]

Prompt Suggestions for Other Characters' Month 2025

Here's the list of prompt suggestions for the Young Royals Other Characters' Month. You can find the guidelines here.

Animals/pets

Autism/ ADHD / neurodivergence

Bjärstad

Blame/shame/guilt

Body image

Bunkbed

Bus ride

Career

Childhood

Cooking / culinary

Crush

Family

Flowers

Food

Friendship

Future

Growth

Hair

Home

Home Alone

Homework

Identity: ethnicity (bipoc), disabled

Initiation

Justice

Keychain

Kiss it better

Meadow

Memory

Mental health

Menu

Mirror

Old/New school

Nightmare

Outside perspective

Outsider

Palace

Parents day

Party

Physical wound

Piano

Poem

Princess

Puppy eyes

Puzzle

Reunion

Second chance

Shotgun

Sketchbook

Tarot

Treated Right

[young-royals-confessions]

I know it has been almost a month since the finale was released, but can anyone who attended the fan event tell us a little bit about it? I kept thinking that people would say more, but I haven’t seen much. I want to live a little vicariously through the lucky ones! I’m not looking for crazy insider secrets, just a little curious about the set up and the vibe- what was it like being in a room full of other fans? Was it like vibrating in there? Was the whole place in tears? Did you get to interact with the cast at all or only just the Q&A? Did it smell like Intro in there?

💜

[the-words-we-sung]

Felice Ehrencrona

for @youngroyals-events week 2: Felice 🫶

[caramelpenguin]

Book Inspired: Hogwarts

This could've applied to the 'Fantasy AU' prompt, but I've decided to put it under 'book-inspired!' @youngroyals-events

He lifts the lid off the cauldron, stirring the light red liquid with a spoon. Light condensation floats above the surface, curling lazily in the musty air. The potion looks exactly like the illustration in their potions textbook, shimmering faintly under the classroom’s dim lighting. Wilhelm feels an unexpected surge of pride. “Simon, we did it!”

“Did we?” Simon peers over his shoulder, and Wilhelm is suddenly hit with his scent. He clutches the spoon a little tighter, heart giving an inconvenient lurch. “We did! This is great, Wille!” He squeezes his arm, probably as a sort of casual thank you, but Wilhelm is overcome by a shiver that he hopes he’s managed to hide.

He’s luckily saved by Felice, who makes her way over, hair tied in a ponytail. “Yours looks a lot better than whatever Maddison and I have,” she gestures to their table, where a gloopy green mixture is bubbling. She grunts. “Okay, you’ve got to smell your potion now!.”

Simon dips his head down, inhaling. A dreamy smile washes over his face. “Arepas.” 

Wilhelm leans in too, his shoulder brushing Simon’s. The scents hit him all at once—a heady rush of parchment and ink, bittersweet chocolate, the rich, crisp scent of the lake on a breezy day, butterbeer’s warmth, and….and-

Wilhelm shoots up and scrambles over the potions textbook, eyes scanning the pages until he lands on the definition of Amortentia: The most powerful love potion in existence, exuding a different, unique aroma for each individual, reminding each person of what they love, whether they are aware of these feelings or not

Love. 

His feelings for Simon are, at this point, really only a secret to Simon himself. It seems that everyone else has picked up on it, and it’s all Wille can do to turn his head away before a blush erupts on his face whenever someone catches the two sitting closely together or laughing or huddled up. Wille has learnt to embrace these feelings. There’s no point in him being in denial now.

So maybe being in love with Simon shouldn’t be a surprise, but he’d been telling himself that, as long as it’s a crush, it won’t hurt when Simon realises one day.

When Wilhelm turns his head back to his friends, Felice is staring at him with a massive grin and Simon’s cheeks are a delicate pink. 

What?” He asks.

Felice raises her eyebrows, glancing pointedly between the two of them. “Nothing.” Her grin widens, and Wilhelm narrows his eyes, heat rising to his face.

Simon clears his throat, a little awkwardly, and shuffles his feet. “So, uh, we should probably—” He gestures vaguely to their cauldron, but the words falter as he glances at Wilhelm. Their eyes meet for a fraction of a second too long, and there’s a familiar swoop in his chest, like gravity pulling him closer.

Felice groans dramatically, cutting through the tension. “Merlin, you two are impossible.” She tosses her hands in the air and walks back to her table, muttering something like ‘idiots’. 

[sflow-er]

For YR Faves Fest organised by @youngroyals-events Prompts: 2. favourite teen side character (Henry), 7. favourite (not-quite) friendship, 9. favourite season (S1)

To accompany my Henry & Simon analysis post, I thought it could be fun to post a selection of scenes from my S1 longfic Other people's secrets as Sunday snippets!

These three scenes consist of 1) Henry observing Wilmon on the night of the Society party, 2) him trying to small talk with them the next day, and 3) him apologising to Simon after rowing practice some days later. They should be easy to follow and enjoy even if you haven't read the entire fic.

The first scene is under the cut, and I will reblog this twice (later today) to add the others!

1: The night of the Society party

When a cold breeze touched Henry’s ankle, he realised he had failed to close the window after climbing in. As if on cue, there was a noise from outside – it sounded like someone falling down, followed by muffled voices arguing.

“Fuck, not again. Get up, Wille!”

“Sorry, sorry! Just need to catch my breath.”

“On your feet now, come on!”

“It’s nice here, sit with me for a bit.” Sounds of a scuffle again. “I want to sit with you, come on!”

“No, you’re going to get up and point me in the right direction. Unless you want me to just leave you here.”

“No, don’t leave me! Everything’s spinning and I just, uh. I need a minute to – ungh…”

As more struggling followed, Henry gradually unfroze to look over at his roommate, who seemed to be fast asleep still. He wondered if he should wake Walter up for this but decided not to waste time. This sounded like a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it type of situation. He curiously approached the window and peered out through the corner pane, hiding behind the curtain to avoid being seen from the outside.

It was dark, but Henry could make out two figures on the lawn. One was pulling the other to his feet, but the one reluctantly getting up – Wilhelm, obviously it had to be Wilhelm – threw his arms tightly around whoever was helping him and slumped against them.

“Damn it, Wille, get a hold of yourself! We’re almost there.”

“Don’t be mad,” Wilhelm slurred, still hanging on for dear life, even though the object of the hug tried to pry him off. He sounded desolate saying, “Don’t leave me, Simon, please don’t leave me.”

Henry’s eyes widened as he mouthed the name: Simon? His thoughts were a whirlwind in his still slightly inebriated brain. Why was Simon bringing Wilhelm home from a party he had not even attended, and more importantly, were they really this close?

This was best-friend territory. Not something any two classmates would do for each other. Henry for one couldn’t imagine other than Walter dragging him home like that. Simon didn’t even live here, so he was really going out of his way to do this.

Henry squinted his eyes to see better as Simon let out a stifled grunt and heaved his clingy friend off. It was too dark to see their faces, but luckily there was enough moonlight to catch their silhouette.

“Of course not, I just said that to get you moving again.” Simon held Wilhelm by the elbow as the prince almost lost his balance from the push. His other hand was gesturing towards the windows. “Now, focus: which one is your room? How do we get in?”

“That one over there. I left it open. I’m clever like that.”

“Just not clever enough to say no to whatever junk they put in front of you,” Simon muttered, lifting Wilhelm’s arm on his shoulders and starting in the indicated direction.

Wilhelm groaned and signalled his reluctance to move. He grabbed a handful of Simon’s jacket and whatever he was wearing under it, most likely a hoodie knowing how Simon dressed. Then, he actually nuzzled his face into the crook of Simon’s neck.

Simon, who was quite clearly at the end of his wit, tried to push him off again.

“I don’t need this from you, okay? I know you’re hurting, but this is not the way to fix that. I can’t be dragging your ass home high in the middle of the night, it’s not fair. Okay?”

“Please don’t be mad,” Wilhelm whined again. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“We can talk about this when you’ve sobered up,” Simon said, obviously mad.

Henry was holding his breath, transfixed. This was a much more private conversation than he had expected. He tried to get a better look, but all he could see was Wilhelm’s frame slumped against Simon while the shorter boy insistently dragged him along.

“Will you stay until then? Please stay.”

“Well, somebody has to make sure you don’t choke to death in your sleep.”

Henry stifled a giggle at the similarity with the sentiment Walter had expressed earlier about him potentially dying in the woods. Yes, definitely best-friend territory, although he couldn’t really imagine himself being quite that physical, even with Walter. Hugging, sure, but the nuzzling was a bit much. But then, Wilhelm was obviously high out of his mind, so it was no wonder he was acting strangely.

“Thank you, Simon. Thanks for coming. I can’t believe you came.”

“Of course I came.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Wilhelm sounded sincere, his voice small and broken.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Simon replied a bit more bitterly than Henry expected.

“I didn’t really want what I wanted.” It was getting harder to hear Wilhelm’s slurred words now as they were getting further away. Henry silently pushed the window slightly further ajar to catch the rest. He couldn’t risk looking out anymore for fear of being spotted, but at least he could hear better. “I’m sorry.”

“I know. Now, is this your window?” Wilhelm did not say anything in response, but he must have made a gesture to that effect, because the next thing Henry heard was the window creaking open. “Get in, and don’t make any noise unless you want your bodyguards to rush in.”

“Quiet as a mouse,” Wilhelm proclaimed at a volume that was anything but. He proceeded to knock something over on his way in, then cursed as that something clanked against the floor. His bodyguards must have heard, but they probably had enough tact to avoid catching the crown prince in the act.

Simon laughed quietly despite himself, and Henry could imagine him shaking his head in exasperation. Wilhelm muttered an ’oops’ and shushed himself, still extremely loud in the absence of any other noise.

When Simon spoke again, his voice sounded less angry. Instead, it was laced with affection. “Real smooth. Now get out of the way.”

Henry heard Simon climb in and close the window. It was quiet again, and he turned back towards his sleeping roommate in disbelief. He really should have woken Walter up for this, because he had no idea what to make of it on his own.

“Well, I guess that’s what happened to Wille,” he whispered to himself. Rubbing his wrist on his cheek, he realised he had blushed vigorously at the awkward excitement of watching and eavesdropping on something he so clearly wasn’t supposed to witness.

He shook his head to snap out of it, then he shut the window and curtains. He lay down to contemplate the discussion he had just witnessed, hands behind his pillow.

Obviously, Simon and Wilhelm had to be very close friends based on everything they had just said and the touchy-feely nature of it all. But if that was the case, why were they hiding?

[---]

He lay awake for about an hour, listening to Walter’s steady breathing from the other bed and feeling low as conflicting thoughts swirled around his slowly sharpening mind. Witnessing that interaction had made it abundantly clear how different Wilhelm was with a true friend than he was with Henry and the others – and if Simon had been able to get through Wilhelm’s seemingly impenetrable walls, there had to be something special about him.

The more Henry thought about how wrong his approach to them both had been, the larger and heavier the ball of guilt inside him grew, until he had to clear his throat in an effort to move it. Thankfully – or unfortunately, he wasn’t sure which – Walter didn’t seem to stir.

And so, he whispered quietly into the dark, “Maybe we should try to be nicer to Simon.”