Young Royals: Part 2

Chapter 7: Simon

As soon as Sara and his mom's doors had closed, Simon and Wilhelm fell onto the couch, holding each other and laughing.

"Did that just happen?!" Simon said, holding Wilhelm close and pulling a blanket over the two of them again.

"Um, I think it did! Can we do this, like, every Saturday?" asked Wilhelm, pulling Simon's legs onto his own.

Simon snorted with laughter, "What? Chill with my mom and my sister? I mean, if you want. I'd like to have more...private...plans, personally..." he replied, kissing Wilhelm's arms, his chest, his forehead.

"What about your family?" whispered Wilhelm, looking over his shoulder.

"Ah, those two sleep like rocks," Simon murmured back.

Simon was already intoxicated by Wilhelm's aura. He grabbed him by the nape of the neck, kissing him slowly, then faster.

A door opened. "Boys. At least try to be discreet. I can hear you from where I was brushing my teeth," called Simon's mother.

"Lo siento, mamá!" Simon called back, his cheeks burning red but laughing to try to cover it.

"Maybe, we should just talk," said Wilhelm.

"Talking's good," replied Simon. "I've got some questions for you saved up."

"I've got a million for you," answered Wilhelm.

"Two each? We need to get to bed sometime before dawn."

"Sounds good."

"Okay," said Simon. "I go first. It is my house after all. Number 1. Did you seriously not know you were gay until we met? Like for real."

Wilhelm sighed, "I mean, I guess I had a clue. One time, my friends were all passing around like a Penthouse magazine and making remarks about the different girls, and I just, like, felt nothing? But, really, I just figured that was who I was. I guess I've just never been super in touch with that part of me."

"What about you, then?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, I've known for a long time. I had, like a crush on this boy at school when I was, maybe, 10 years old? I didn't know anything about being gay or not gay, and I told my mom how he made me feel. She just kind of looked at me and said, 'Mi amor, have you ever felt this way with a girl?' When I said no, she said, 'Mijo, I think you might be gay. That means that you like guys instead of girls.' When she said that, it was super clear to me. And she just never made a big deal out of it. So, I never really came out in, like, the typical sense. I just always was. I think that's why I don't have any, like, shame or weirdness about it? It's just me. Like, it's always just been me. When friends found out, sometimes they were a bit weird for a day or two, but since I haven't really changed, everything went back to normal pretty quickly."

"I guess that's why, I dunno, I've never, labeled myself as gay so much. It's just such a small part of me. I like guys. But, more than that, I'm a singer, I'm a good friend, I do well in school, I'm a brother. I hear people talking about being part of the LGBT community, but I just don't see myself that way. I just don't let being gay define me in any way. I'll define myself as Venezuelan-Swedish any day, but gay? It's just not that big of a deal, and I hate how big of a deal people make it. It's just such a tiny part of what makes me me."

"Damn," said Wilhelm. "I wish that could have been my story. Things are just such a clusterfuck right now. I hate that I'm being identified like this just because of, you know, this" motioning at their interlaced fingers. "All I've ever wanted to be was normal, and it's like people can't just let me be me. They have to add a label to everything I do." 

Simon lay his head on Wilhelm's shoulder. "I know. Hell do I know. And I wish my story could have been your story, too. For all our sakes. But this is going to work, yeah?"

Wilhelm nestled closer. "Yeah, this is gonna work."

Wilhelm paused, "So that's where your family is from, Venezuela?"

"Oh, um, yeah. So, my mom's family moved to Sweden, to Bjarstad actually, when my mom was like 12 because her dad got some job in the oil sector. This was like way before the oil industry crash. Then, when her dad retired, they just sort of stayed. My mom went to university to be a nurse. My dad's Swedish. They met at like a bar or something right after she graduated university. You know what they say about meeting guys at bars. Well, it turned out just like that. He was an alcoholic and a drug addict who couldn't get clean. We don't have any contact with him. I mean, we're not supposed to. I had to ask him a favor recently, so I've talked to him, but I just to keep it really limited. He's just such a fucking mess."

"Shit. I didn't know."

"Ah, it's okay. My mom raised me and Sara basically on her own." Simon laughed, "She actually, like, had this goal to raise us bilingually. She spoke to us, like, only in Spanish until we were maybe 5? Then, the moment school hit, Sara just rejected it. I don't think she's spoken a word of Spanish since Kindergarten. I understand everything, but I don't speak it so much, only with my grandparents. One day maybe I'll put more effort into it, but, you know. Not a priority."

Wilhelm laughed. "I get that. But, man, awesome that she tried." 

Wilhelm yawned and nestled himself into Simon, resting his head on Simon's shoulder.

Before they got to Wilhelm's second question, both of them had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch. Looks like they broke his mom's rule anyways, but he thought she'd be cool with it.