Wille's Month - Fashion/Style
wow day 15! @youngroyals-events tack! <3
AU. Crown Prince Wilhelm finally meets his favorite artist, Simon Eriksson, at the Met Gala.
read below or on ao3. (T, 1.4k)
Wille took a moment to steel himself, inhaling one long, deep breath, before he’d have to face the inevitable. He could already hear the shouts, the camera clicks, and none of those were even for him yet. It wasn’t often he found himself surrounded by this many other famous people, especially not of this caliber, so he was a bit nervous.
It was his own fault, really, that he’d found himself sitting in a black town car, in a stuffy suit, waiting to enter the most notorious fashion event of the year. But, with all of his duties as Crown Prince of Sweden, all of the handshakes and baby-kissing and ribbon cutting, he’d needed to carve something out that was his own. While he adored helping people and finding those tiny moments of joy in an otherwise suffocating role, Wille craved something that was just his. Delving into fashion had been his own personal fuck-you to the Royal Court at the beginning. They hadn’t been too keen on a big ‘coming out’ – and honestly, neither had Wille, not wanting to deal with all the drama – but the clothes he had a little more leeway with. Meeting with designers and learning about fashion was one of the few ways he could bring a bit of Wille into his position. If he wore things that were a bit more feminine or not-fitting for a straight crown prince, so what? The headlines would be what they were. It all helped him breathe a little easier, too, knowing that this part of his life was still his to control.
The theme of this year’s Met Gala was ‘Grimm Couture: Origins of Fashion’ and the dress code followed closely as ‘A Fairytale Encounter’. The royal-ness of it all hence why the Crown Prince of Sweden would be in attendance. Wille was honored, he supposed, to have been invited in the first place. It did seem a little bit too much like all the other events he usually attended – a night of rich people flaunting their wealth and pretending there were zero problems in the world – but the Court had insisted. Once he found out that Simon Eriksson would be attending, Wille had stopped putting up any sort of fight.
With a final gulp of air, he nodded to the driver. A moment later, the car door opened, and a million flashes and shouts hit him all at once. Blinking away the initial shock, Wilhelm stood and waved politely, the perfect-prince mask slipping into place. Not wanting to draw too much attention to himself but wanting to fit the dress code, Wilhelm had leaned into the fairy tale aspect. He chuckled slightly at the thought of Erik seeing him now, parading around in a light green and gold suit decorated with lily pads and willow branches. It felt nice to still have an inside joke with him, imagining Erik laughing at his little brother, The Frog Prince, attending such a prestigious event.
Slowly, he was guided, buffeted by multiple security guards, toward the main event and the main red carpet. He tried not to look too obvious as he glanced around, only really looking for one person. The saturation of fame in such a small space was astounding. Wilhelm was a different kind of famous from these people. A few tweets would be sent out by random people questioning his identity or purpose for being there and (hopefully) complimenting his suit. The rest of this crowd, though, were real famous people, renowned around the world. Like, for example, Simon Eriksson. The man was three-quarters of the way to an EGOT, and he was only 24. He also happened to be Wilhelm’s favorite music artist and the main star in his dreams. They followed each other on socials but had never spoken in real life. Tonight, Wille hoped, that would change.
When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Wilhelm spotted him. An absolute vision of sin, Simon Eriksson wore a deep purple affair, dripping in silver jewelry and pants so long and layered they might have been a skirt. His jacket was cropped and open in the front, revealing a bare, toned chest and midriff.
Voices shouting his official title shook Wilhelm out of his trance, and he let his eyes linger a second longer before turning to the photographers in front of him. Wilhelm made his way up the stairs distractedly, posing and half-heartedly answering interviewers questions. He simply could not look away from Simon, who was working his way up the other side of the stairs.
A few times, Simon caught Wilhelm staring and smirked devilishly at him. Wilhelm would whip his head back around and attempt to smooth his features, having to ask the poor journalist to repeat their question. Halfway up the stairs, Wilhelm zeroed into an interview Simon was giving right behind him.
“Simon, Simon! Tonight’s theme is all about fairy tale encounters. What fairy tales inspired your look tonight?”
Wilhelm couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder as Simon let out a warm laugh.
“Well, I’ve never been much of a believer in fairy tales. But looking around tonight,” Simon said thoughtfully, then turned and made direct eye contact with Wilhelm, “it seems I might find a prince of my own.”
Wilhelm, aware of their surroundings, sent a kind smile back, then quickly turned away to hide his blush.
The rest of their travel up the carpet continued as such, sending flirty glances at each other across the distance and adding piles of fuel to the media fire Wilhelm was sure to hear all about tomorrow. He couldn’t find it in himself to care. Still, he did his best to answer the interviewers questions, wanting to be respectful of their time and also to plug some of the charities he was proud to work with.
As soon as he made it to the top of the carpet, Simon disappeared into the crowd. Wilhelm didn’t see him for hours. In fact, he thought he might’ve left. It wasn’t until the evening was beginning to draw to a close, and Wilhelm was beginning to accept the fact he’d never get more than a teasing look from a distance, that he ran into Simon in the men’s restroom.
“Kronprinsen,” Simon said in a mocking tone, dipping into a small curtsy. His pretty voice echoed slightly in the tiled room.
Wilhelm groaned. “Please, no. Just– Just Wilhelm is fine. Wille.”
Simon’s eyes were playful, and, at this closer distance, Wilhelm could see the intricate black and silver eyeliner accentuating them. Thankfully, it seemed the bathroom was empty, so no one would see just how weak in the knees Wille was feeling.
“Okay, Wille,” he nodded, “I’m Simon.”
“I know,” Wille blurted. “I mean, how are you enjoying the evening?
“Ugh,” Simon rolled his eyes, “I hate these things. All the fuss kind of makes me sick, but I’ve got an album coming out soon, so the label insisted. Plus, who am I to turn down Anna Wintour?”
“Well, you look absolutely incredible, regardless. I’m a little worried you’re in the background of all my photos and stealing my shine.”
The immediate light in Simon’s eyes was worth the slight blush on Wille’s cheeks. Unknowingly, they had both stepped forward, bringing them closer in the already small space.
“Oh, dear,” Simon drawled, raising a hand to grasp at Wille’s lapels, “Are you nervous that people are going to notice you’ve been staring at me all night?”
At their sudden close proximity, Wille swallowed dryly. His eyes flickered down when Simon wet his lips, as if in invitation.
“How could I have looked anywhere else?” he whispered into the space between them.
Simon hummed. “Were you planning on staying much longer, Your Highness?”
“Don’t call me that,” Wille groaned again and reached out to wrap an arm around Simon’s waist, then pulled him in. “But, no, In fact, I was just leaving.”
The last bit of space vanished between their bodies and Simon tilted his head up tauntingly, revealing even more of that beautiful neck of his. “I see. Me too.”
“Do you need a ride?” Wille asked, breathing the words into the sliver of air separating his lips from Simon’s.
“I’d love one.”
That was the last Met Gala either of them attended. Three years later, the notorious fashion event had a much smaller audience as the majority of the world turned its attention to the highly anticipated summer wedding of an Ex-Crown Prince Wilhelm and EGOT-winner Simon Eriksson.
39 notes
·
View notes