Another way (Young Royals)

Rome

Italy in spring was something I could experience a thousand times again. It was warm out. The food tasted better than it had done for months. The buildings were something out of a fairy tale. Everywhere around us people spoke one of the most beautiful languages in existence. I could understand a little bit, as it resembled Spanish. I walked hand in hand with Simon, who was dressed like it was summer out. He had shorts, a nice button up shirt and sunglasses. We had a day off before he was supposed to prepare to compete for Sweden in the Eurovision song contest. I had so much I wanted to show him, as I had been in Rome before. He had not. And there was so much to see. More than we would be able to explore in a few hours.

"It is so warm. I want to have ice cream," Simon said.

"Well, in Italy they have gelato," I replied, with a little bit of a teasing tone.

"Gelato then," he replied and looked into my eyes. His eyes were hidden behind the dark sunglasses he was wearing. His lips formed a little smile. We found a little place selling gelato. Simon took an eternity to decide on what he was getting. When we had paid we left the small shop to let the next customer inside.

"Hey, you got strawberry and not chocolate if I recall right," I said as Simon dipped his spoon into my gelato to taste some. That made him giggle.

"Well my very sweet boyfriend got chocolate and that's almost the same thing," Simon flirted. "And you can have some of mine as well." At least he was a generous food thief. I got some of his gelato on my spoon and tasted it. It was good, but my choice was definitely better. We ate before the gelato had melted and kept on going. I had plans on bringing him to one of the prettiest sights of Rome. Fontana Di Trevi. It was an old fountain.

"So what are we even going to see?" Simon asked, when were almost there. "A fountain?" I nodded.

"Yeah. It is one of the things you have to see when you are in Rome baby," I replied. "And since you are feeling so warm you might want to do like Anita Ekberg." I was obviously joking. She bathed in Fontana di Trevi in an old movie called La Dolce Vita. If someone was to do that now you would probably be seen as a bit peculiar.

"Who is Anita Ekberg?" Simon asked. "And what does she have to do with an old fountain in Rome?"

"She was an actress in Hollywood. Basically one of the biggest Swedish actresses of her time," I explained. Simon told me I only knew such weird things because I was a former prince. I laughed at him. I was sure other people who did not happen to be a former prince knew who she was. You just needed to have some interest in movie history.

"You have weird hobbies darling," Simon replied. When he removed his sunglasses his eyes were glistening at me. Like little stars lived in his brown eyes. I could look into them forever, I thought to myself. "But you are cute so that's always something." That made us both laugh.

"Well you need to know some of your culture, don't you?" I replied. He stood closer to me. Held my hands. Our faces were just centimetres apart.

"Well I am in a relationship with a former prince of Sweden. And that is probably one of the strongest parts of our culture. So you can't blame me for being out of touch with our culture," Simon said with a grin. That made me laugh.

"So I am a culture project to you, huh?" I teased. He put his arms around my neck and pulled me even closer than he was before.

"Never. I am more like the one who destroyed that part of our culture, remember?" he said laughing. I felt his chest vibrate against mine when he laughed. I laughed too.

"And I am forever thankful, darling," I replied. He kissed my cheek.

"Well you are welcome," he said. I pulled him up on his tippy toes and kissed him. His lips were steady against mine, like they always were. They still tasted a little bit of the gelato we had eaten before. But mostly his lips tasted like him. Like he always had tasted. His skin smelled like he always had, well maybe a little sweatier than usual. I loved it. All of him.

"Look. Isn't he competing in the Eurovision song contest in a few days?" I heard someone whisper around us. "Well with a voice like his he can probably afford kissing his boy by the fountain instead of rehearsing." So I was his boy now? I could live with that, I supposed. It was better than if they called me Prince Wilhelm at least. When we separated from our kisses we realised people were looking at us. Or more like staring. Nothing I was not used to from my time as a prince. But it still felt weird. I had a feeling that I was not the one that was that interesting this time, but Simon who was still in my arms.

"Sing!" someone in the crowd that was originally looking at Fontana di Trevi shouted. Simon and I looked at each other.

"Here?" Simon asked. They nodded.

"Show us that the voice on TV is real," someone said. It was. The voice on TV could not even compare with how it was to hear him sing live. I let go of Simon. He sang and people went quiet to hear him. His voice was crisp and beautiful as ever. I could listen to that voice for the rest of my life.

"He is a siren. No wonder how he got that boy to fall in love with him," a girl said when Simon had gone quiet. She was not wrong. He had been singing the first time I saw him and I think it was love at first sight. At least from my side.