Simon was sitting cross legged in his bed, my face buried in his lap. I ran my thumb up and down his bare leg.

"Stop doing that, baby," Simon said, his fingers rapidly clicking the controller of his game, "you are distracting me, I am going to lose."

"You are not," I said, nuzzling his skin.

"Well, I have," he huffed, annoyed, and placed the controller beside him.

"Sorry, my fault," I said, making a puppy face as Simon cupped his hands around my jaw.

"No, silly," he laughed, "I was just kidding."

I smiled, "I know." He bend over and kissed my lips; my mind was surreally calm.

"I love this," I said, "I love this peace and quiet. I love being with you in this peace and quiet."

"Stay here tonight," he whispered, "You can go back tomorrow," he paused, "or never if you wish."

I scoffed, getting up, "I wish never was a option."

"It is," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and nuzzling my neck. A ping went of on my phone: our picture from earlier that night flashed on the screen.

"It's done," I said. Simon looked at me, gauging my expression.

"I'm sorry," he said, intertwining his fingers in mine.

"You don't have to be," I said, placing my hand on top of his. I went silent. "You are the prince's boyfriend now," I smiled, my heart jolted at the thought of it.

"Boyfriend, huh," Simon drawled.

"Yup, boyfriend," I said, "Get up now. Give me a goodbye hug."

I put on my clothes and pulled him out of bed. Simon pressed his forehead on mine, playing with my hair. I rubbed my nose against his.

"You amazing boy," I said, more to myself than him actually, "What have I ever done to deserve you?"

"Stop saying things like this," Simon said, his voice thick with emotion.

I kissed his forehead, "Don't be upset."

"Stay here," he said, "stay here till the whole thing cools down."

I sighed, pulling him in a hug, "I'll be fine, Simme."

Simon sniffed, "I love you. Take care of yourself okay.”

"I love you too, beautiful," I whispered in his ear, "if anyone bullies you, just give me a call and I'll be there in no time."

And with one final kiss, we walked out. I said goodbye to Sara and Linda(who was terribly upset that I wasn't staying for dinner) and walked into the cold night, Malin behind me.

"Make friends with Linda," I joked to her, "we will be coming here a lot more now."

As I walked into the palace, I found it deserted. Mother was not kidding when she told me I would be handling this on my own. Strangely, instead of stressing me out, it relieved me.

...

"Sir, you have to address the country."

"I know," I said, rubbing my temples.

"I will make the preperations for the statement. We can record it today evening, before the situation goes out of hands."

I nodded, "Thank you."

I had to say the right things this time. Publicly announcing Simon as my boyfriend was not a good idea. I sighed, and typed a message to Simon.

Wilhelm

I will need to make a statement

I don't know what to say

Simon

You are going to do great don't worry❤️

Wilhelm

I'm afraid of saying the wrong things

Simon

Just say what is true

I swallowed.

Wish it was that easy, Simon.

...

It was time to record the statement. I fixed my coat nervously and took a seat; all alone this time.

I peeked around the room and saw a Erik's silhouette in the corner.

Well, not that alone maybe.

I took a deep breath and words I had rehearsed non-stop since the past two hours hurled out of my mouth. The recording clicked shut and I buried my face in my hands, almost trembling.

I looked at the corner of the room and saw Erik smiling and nodding at me. A subtle smile crept on my lips as well. Everything was going to be alright.

When I looked back at the corner, he had disappeared into thin air. I had a feeling I was not going to see him for a long time now.

I got on my feet and took a deep breath. I felt like I had not breathed this freely in a long time.