Another way (Young Royals)

The crown prince

"Crown prince Erik, 21, was recently in a car accident. He was reportedly headed home after celebrating his little brother Wilhelm's birthday. Wilhelm, 17, gave up his prince title earlier this year and did not attend the traditional celebrations. The crown prince's condition is yet unknown, but a source close to the royal court tells Gossip Magazine he has been cared for in the intensive care unit for extensive damages." I read in a magazine on the table in the waiting room, while I waited for the medical examinations to be over so that I could go back inside to Erik again. I also waited for Simon, who had promised to come. I had shouted at him to leave the last time we had seen each other. I had a bad coincidence about that. I knew how much he cared about me and only wanted my best. He loved me and I wondered if I had taken it for granted. I had not handled Erik's accident in a good way. I could have shown Simon that I was grateful he was there for me. Showed him that I still cared about myself. And him. He had given me so much and I had given back so little. When I saw him appear in the corridor, I swallowed the lump in my throat and ran into his arms. He seemed unprepared for my attack, but hugged me back.

"I am so sorry, Simon," I whispered. I took in his smell in my lungs. He smelled wonderfully. Like safety. I knew that when I was in his arms, I was in the arms of someone who loved me. Someone who probably cared more about what happened to me than I did myself. I felt tears fall down my cheeks. I felt so ashamed about my previous behaviour towards him.

"It is okay, Wille," he replied. I breathed out. I had been afraid that he would still be angry with me. He should. I had acted really badly.

"No it is not," I said. "I could and should have been kinder. I love you so much and I feel horrible for how I treated you." He had tears on his cheeks as well.

"You are just worried for Erik. And you had not eaten or slept well for days. Less could make a person irritable," he said.

"It did not excuse it though. You have not done anything to deserve how I treated you," I replied. Simon held my face lightly with his hands. His pretty eyes looked deeply into mine. It was like he tried to stare into my soul. And he was really good at it.

"But I forgive you, Wille," he said. "Can we please be done fighting now?" I nodded quietly. I did not want to fight with him. I loved him too much. He was the most important person in my life.

"Good," he said. "And you actually listened when I said that you smelled like shit." He had told me that I smelled like the whole rowing team did not shower for a week and if I did not do anything about my hair, it would soon move living creatures into it. He had not been wrong. I had been in a really rough place when we saw each other the last time. I had a shower after that. We both giggled.

"You were right about that too," I said. "I smelled like shit."

"You did. But I still love you when you do," he replied and pulled me closer to him. I felt his soft lips against mine for the first time in what felt like weeks. I kissed him back and deepened it. "Have Erik woken up?" I nodded again. He had. He had at least opened his eyes and responded to stimuli. He had not said a word or anything yet, but he at least was awake.

"Would you want to come with me and see him?" I asked. He nodded. He took my hand in his and let me lead him.

"I came all this way. Of course I want to go with you and see him, darling," he said. We walked inside Erik's room when a nurse said it was okay to go inside. Erik was laying on the bed, still with machines connected to him. His eyes were open. I smiled at him.

"Hi Erik, look who came to visit," I said and pointed at Simon. "It is Simon." I did not know how much he remembered, as he had yet to tell us if he remembered anything at all. He smiled when he saw Simon next to me. So he recognized Simon too. Erik had smiled when he saw me after he woke up. He had not smiled at mom or dad. Only I had made him smile. And now Simon.

"Hi Erik," Simon said and smiled at my brother. We sat down next to him, and Simon touched his hand lightly. "It is so nice to see you awake." When he touched Erik's hand, something that hadn't happened since he woke up happened. His fingers gripped around Simon's hand. Erik had not moved since he woke up. He had only moved his head a little when he looked around in the room. Simon and I looked at each other and smiled. When we turned our attention to something else he became worried. Maybe he thought he had done something wrong by holding Simon's hand. He recognised Simon, meaning he probably knew Simon was my boyfriend too.

"You can hold my hand if you like, it is okay, Erik," Simon said. "Wille won't be jealous, will you?" Simon joked and caressed my cheek with his free hand.

"It is okay," I said. It looked like Erik wanted to say something, but did not know how to. Every sound he had made since he woke up had been incoherent and slurred. "Erik knows that you are my boyfriend, don't you, Erik?" Erik nodded a little. We sat there next to Erik's bed for almost an hour and talked calmly to him, like his doctors had told us we could do. He would need to rest after that, as his brain was still sensitive. But he needed stimuli that made him come back to life. Back to me. Us. When we had to leave, Simon and I both stood up.

"Wille," I could hear Erik say, even if his words were slurred. Simon looked at me.

"He said your name, darling," he said. It somehow felt wrong to talk about Erik as if he was a small child saying his first word, but him saying anything at all was big. Maybe it meant that he could recover. That he would get better. It at least made me hope. Hope that my brother would come back to me, like the brother I knew him as.

"We have to let you rest now, Erik. I promise I will come back home tomorrow. Maybe Simon will come too." I said. Simon promised he would come too. That made Erik smile again.

" I love you. Good bye for now. See you tomorrow, okay?" I continued. I leaned in and gave Erik a light embrace and kissed his cheek.

"I love you too," he said. The words came one by one, all of them took energy to say. We could both tell he struggled to find the words and how to properly say them. They were all slurred and almost incoherent, but he said it. I heard it. He said that he loved me. I had never felt so much happiness as I did when he said those words, right there. I had never thought four words could mean so much, but they did.