#cmul irl
Note
i NEED u to write the first wilmon meet up and their first kiss PLEASE. also merry christmas <333
today is the one year anniversary of me posting cmul. thank you thank you thank you. here is a little treat, so long overdue.
we all will be together (call me up late irl #13)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
“It’s a beautiful day for a sleigh ride. Actually, we’ve just stopped down in Bjärstad. Right now, I’m outside this charming little-”
“No, you’re not. Oh my - no. No no no no.”
“Ha! Simme-”
“There’s no way you’re really - fuck.”
“Are you okay?”
“Tripped over - just putting on my… Ayub, stop laughing, I just… Oh, I see, they’re in on this, too. Fuck.”
“Ha. Get your damn coat on, Simon. I’m getting chilly out here.”
“Wille, what-”
“I’m serious. Hurry it up. I want to kiss you.”
“I’m almost… - oh, I thought you were kidding. You really brought a horse.”
“Not just any horse! Don’t you recognize him?”
“Huh?”
“It’s your long-lost lover! Rousseau! Reunited at last!”
“No…”
“Figured I’d ask Felice for one more favor since I already owe her my entire life.”
“Wille…”
“He’s actually a really nice guy, this Rousseau. I don’t think he’ll kick you again. But this time, I’m here. I’ll protect you.”
“I…”
“So, are you just going to stand there in your doorway, or are you going to - oh, okay.”
───※ ·❆· ※───
Simon ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, nearly tripping on the small patch of grass that was slick from recently fallen snow.
Pausing in front of Wilhelm, finally, Simon felt like he couldn’t breathe. Partially because of the physical feat he had just accomplished – getting dressed and scrambling out the door in record time. Partially because Wille was just about the most beautiful human being he had ever seen, and he was real. So real. He was standing on the street outside Simon's house, wearing a long dark peacoat with a checkered scarf. Clearly, Wille hadn’t been lying about getting cold, as his cheeks were flushed, the tip of his nose a bright pink color. It was adorable. He was perfect. He was Wille.
Simon opened his mouth to greet him, maybe offer a quip or two about the horse, just some sort of verbal icebreaker, but really, there was no ice to be broken. It was Wille, just Wille.
The boy on his phone. Except, he was real, living and breathing, inches away instead of miles. Here.
Disbelief overpowered his senses. All he could do was stare, mouth hanging open, words lost as his mind rapidly clouded.
Simon didn’t really need to think about what to say. In actuality, he really wasn’t even given a chance.
Before he could even get his bearings, two large, cold hands covered his cheeks. Wille’s hands. Touching him.
And then Wille’s lips were on his.
The first kiss was forceful – a fierce press of lips that smushed Simon’s nose and honestly kind of hurt. Simon’s mind and body were still jarringly disconnected, physically trying to react to being kissed, like, really actually kissed, while emotionally processing the fact that the boy he loved through the phone was finally here, at his house. Simon found his hands lifting to touch, needing the tangible confirmation that this was real, while simultaneously trying to counter the force against his lips with his own.
The kiss wasn’t great. It was uncomfortable, the angle was awkward, and Simon’s nose would probably ache for a while. Still, Simon’s first coherent thought was that he wouldn’t have wanted this any other way. He couldn’t help but smile – one that grew into a Cheshire grin as he felt Wille’s mouth mirror his, smiling against his lips. They separated a little, for the briefest of moments, before Simon leaned into Wille’s lips again, making the kiss softer, sweeter. The exact type of kiss Simon had been imagining in his mind repeatedly since that fateful day when he misread Henry’s handwriting and entered a number or two incorrectly.
Wille’s lips were cold, but each press of his lips warmed them, and even though the winter weather was harsh today, Simon’s body felt red hot. With love on his lips, Simon felt so close to Wille. His heart had been feeling this way for months, but it was such a new feeling for his body. One that he didn’t think he could ever get enough of.
Simon kissed and kissed and kissed him. Wille’s hands migrated from Simon’s cheeks to his neck to his waist, holding him steady. Simon was grateful for that because otherwise, he might have just floated away altogether. Meanwhile, Simon’s hands worked their way up Wille’s chest before clinging to his shoulders, pulling him closer. Simon needed him closer. After so long of distance being one of their numerous obstacles, he wanted to tear it down completely, leaving nothing. Not even an inch.
The problem with eliminating the space between them was that it made breathing somewhat tricky. Reluctantly, Simon collapsed on the heels of his feet, letting out a warm huff of air when he couldn't fight his lungs any longer. Still holding Wille close by the shoulders, Simon let his head fall on his chest, before moving his arms to grip Wille in a hug. Closer closer closer.
“Hi,” Wille laughed, and it sounded so sweet in Simon’s ears, no longer muffled by grainy cell phone audio. Wille shifted slightly to return the embrace, and Simon felt so surrounded by him. By his body, his warmth, his love. Simon felt a light pressure at the crown of his head where Wille had pressed his lips, kissing Simon’s hair with the sweetest tenderness.
And that was just about the loveliest thing Simon had ever experienced. So, Simon just had to kiss him again in return.
“Hi,” Simon finally replied when they parted a good while later.
Wille smiled. And then Wille kissed him again.
It felt… familiar. Simon didn’t fully comprehend why, as everything about this was so new. He had never been kissed by someone like this – by someone that loved him. Someone he loved in return. He had felt like this before, though. With Wille. He felt like this when he would FaceTime with Wille for hours and hours and hours. He felt this feeling whenever Wille would suddenly get quiet and look at Simon, really look at him. Simon thought that kissing Wille felt like being in love, and he knew that emotion very well.
Still, there were little surprises – things that his imagination never quite reached. The unfamiliar smell of Wille’s cologne. The way he found himself balancing on the tips of his toes to reach Wille’s lips fully.
“You’re taller than I thought you’d be,” Simon observed. He had to tilt his head up just a little to meet Wille’s eyes. At this exact moment, they were looking down at Simon with so much warmth, that Simon thought he might melt into the snow below his feet.
“Am I?” Wille asked, amusement beginning to spark in his smile.
“I think so,” Simon nodded.
Looking down just a bit to see Simon, Wille’s bangs had fallen, now brushing softly against Simon’s cheek. So many moments before, separated by distance and screens while on video calls, Simon had seen Wille’s hair fall in front of his eyes. Simon had ached to be able to traverse through the phone and fix it, to be able to feel it soft beneath his fingertips. Now, with Wille actually within his reach, he was able follow through on his urge to reach up and brush Wille’s hair out of his face, tucking the loose strands carefully back in place.
Being able to actually act on this impulse was something Simon could hardly comprehend.
“I can’t believe you’re real,” Simon breathed, bewildered.
Wille raised an eyebrow at him with a teasing sort of skepticism. “Did you think I was catfishing you? After all this time?”
“No,” Simon said, letting his fingers drop from Wille’s hair to play with the scarf around his neck as he spoke. “But I was almost convinced I had dreamed you up. These past few months were just my imagination playing tricks on me.”
“It feels like that for me, too,” Wille whispered in response. As cliché as it sounded, Simon swore his heart skipped a beat or two.
“Kiss me again,” Simon stated, looking Wille deep in his eyes. “Kiss me so I know this is real.”
Wille nodded, reaching a hand up to hold Simon’s chin gently as he covered Simon’s upper lip with his own. Each touch feather light and gentle, Simon still felt like he could be jostled awake at any moment, and this precious little dream would leave him. Just like it had before.
Simon frowned when Wille pulled away. “Hey. I’m not convinced yet.”
“Something tells me you’re not going to be convinced any time soon,” Wille laughed. Simon loved the sound of Wille’s laugh. It was bright, warm, and contagious.
“Probably not,” Simon confirmed, licking his lips and biting down yet another smile. “Will that be a problem?”
“Not in the slightest,” Wille answered, before leaning in again to attempt to convince Simon further that this was all actually happening.
This time, they let the heat behind their kisses begin to spark into a flame. The movement of their lips grew curious and hungry, finally letting their tongues enter the equation with a tentative air of exploration.
Just as Simon wrapped his arms up around Wille’s neck to tug him closer, the horse looming large behind Wille let out a sudden whinny. The noise startled Simon, and without thinking, he jumped and let out an involuntary frightened shudder.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Simon hissed, glaring at the horse as he stumbled backward. Rousseau, much to Simon’s dismay, was glaring right back. It had all started as a joke, of course, but it did feel like the damn creature did have some sort of vendetta against Simon. Exhibit A was the nasty kick to the rear back in September, and Exhibit B was interrupting his reunion with his boyfriend just as things were getting good.
“You really are scared, aren’t you?” Wille grinned, stepping forward to where Simon had retreated. He immediately reached to rest his hands on Simon’s arms, a comforting gesture that made the spike of anxiety from the horse melt away like it was never there in the first place.
The way Wille followed him, making sure they were touching again just as soon as they had separated, made something twist in Simon’s chest. Simon realized then that Wille felt it too – the gravitational pull between them that had spent the last four months tugging at their heartstrings, bringing them closer and closer together. Now that they shared the same physical space, Simon felt the constant urge to tumble into that gravity.
Leaning into Wille’s touch, reveling in how whole it made him feel, Simon was able to still his mind enough to attempt to maintain the conversation. “Where did you think all this disdain for your ridiculous horse agenda came from?”
“Do you…” Wille’s teasing smile dissipated in an instant. Simon felt Wille’s gaze on every inch of his face, clearly trying to discern what it was that Simon was feeling. Simon didn’t think he’d ever had someone care so much about his emotions, and he felt his blush deepen on his face the more Wille looked. “Sorry, do you want me to stop? With the horses? Like, all the jokes, and–”
“No, I… No. I mean, if you…” Simon stammered, tripping over every sylable. Of course, Wille had to go and be all earnest about it. It was just as endearing as it was frustrating.
Simon hated how the cool and aloof personality he maintained dissolved into a blubbery mess in person. He had been practicing his poker face via FaceTime, but face to face, it was even more challenging. He loved the horse jokes. Obviously, he loved the horse jokes. But the whole key to it was making sure Wille didn’t know that. If this boy weren’t so damn charming and funny and irresistible, then maybe Simon would be able to fight his smile better, but he just couldn’t help himself.
With Wille, he was annoyingly transparent.
“I knew it! That beautiful face of yours!” Wille beamed, thoroughly delighted by Simon’s wordless admission. “You can’t hide behind texts now, love. Admit it, Simon, you love my horse jokes.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. The jokes can stay, but I want to be clear when I say I am not getting anywhere near that particular horse ever again,” Simon said, pointing at where Rousseau stood, still staring Simon down with his evil, ancient eyes.
“Not even for a little sleigh ride?” Wille asked, his smile melting into something more complex, maybe a little disappointed. Oh no. This wasn’t what Simon had intended. “I thought we could… Well, we don’t have to, but–”
“Wille,” Simon interrupted quickly. He smiled warmly and reached to fix Wille’s hair again. He loved how he could almost feel Wille’s anxiety calm under his fingertips. “I was just teasing. I would love to go on a sleigh ride with you.”
“Okay,” Wille breathed. Simon leaned in to leave one short, sure kiss on Wille’s lips, and when they parted, Wille was smiling again. “Okay, cool.”
Wille turned around to face the sleigh with an excited twinkle in his eye. Simon wanted to bottle that twinkle, thinking it was probably bright enough to power a small city.
Wille reached out a hand to Simon, and Simon eagerly took it, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tight. Simon took a deliberate moment to look down at their hands. He noticed how their fingers laced through one another so beautifully, and marveled at how well they fit together. Hand in hand, the two of them were one. A team. They had faced so much hardship together already, yet Simon felt like he’d be able to take on all that and more as long as he had Wille’s hand in his, exactly like this.
They would start with conquering a one horse open sleigh, apparently.
“Do you know how to… drive this thing?” Simon asked, eyeing the contraption with obvious hesitation.
“Uh…” Wille trailed, mischief clear in his tone.
“Wille. No, Wille, I am absolutely not getting on that thing if–”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Wille exclaimed, holding up his free hand. “Yes, some very nice people from the stables showed me the ropes.”
“Don’t you need to… have a license or be like… board certified in order to operate a sleigh?”
“What, don’t you trust me?” Wille asked, indignant.
“It’s not you that I don’t trust,” Simon stressed, motioning to the creature in question.
Wille rolled his eyes. “He kicks you one time…”
“It hurt!” Simon exclaimed. “Very badly!”
“I won’t let anything happen to you, love, I promise,” Wille assured, which did put Simon’s genuine nerves at ease a bit. “And there are some members of the staff who will be following close behind. Just in case.”
“Oh.” Simon followed the trail of Wille’s gaze until he saw a large car (with the trailer behind it that must have carried the horse to Simon’s house). Three people dressed up in uniform stood there, watching Wille and Simon from a distance.
Simon’s skin crawled a bit as he realized he was being watched, and even more when he thought about how this would probably be his life now, as long as he stayed with Wille.
There was something about it that felt scary to Simon. The need for security, and what that meant in the grand scheme of things. There was some sense of discomfort bubbling underneath the surface that would definitely need to be discussed with Wille in greater detail, sooner rather than later.
Still, in this exact moment, it was all overwhelmed by the romance. The sleigh itself was simpl and smal with just enough space for the two of them to sit side by side. It was lined with jingle bells that had been ringing along with the wind. The dusting of snow covering the earth looked perfectly in place, joyful and festive.
The gesture of a romantic Christmas sleigh ride was grand, like something out of a story book. Try as he might to be cynical, there was always going to be a part of Simon that still could be swept up in this kind of fairy tale romance. Even though the horse was making him genuinely nervous, his heart was pounding in his chest with love outweighing the anxiety tenfold.
“Ready?” Wille asked, already starting to walk to the sleigh with a spring in his step.
“Mmm,” Simon hummed in response, but didn’t follow Wille.
“Are you coming?” Wille questioned, one foot already on the sleigh.
“Yes,” Simon said, but he still didn’t budge.
“Are you sure?” Wille raised an eyebrow.
Simon exhaled. “No.”
Wille turned around and made his way back to where Simon stood frozen, returning to hold Simon’s arms, calming his nerves once again. The mischievous twinkle in Wille’s eye returned.
“Do you want me to carry you?”
Simon laughed. It was silly, but the mental image of Wille scooping him up and carrying him was too tempting to pass up. “Maybe.”
That was more than enough for Wille, who wasted no time in scooping Simon up in his arms. Simon barely had time to react, clambering onto Wille, wrapping his arms around his neck, and holding on for dear life.
Simon could definitely hear Rosh and Ayub’s deranged laughter coming from the direction of his house. He was never going to hear the end of this.
“If you drop me, I swear, I’ll go back inside and let you freeze out here.”
“I won’t drop you,” Wille assured. Simon trusted him.
Wille then carried Simon the few paces it took until they were standing right next to the small sleigh. Gently, Wille lifted Simon’s body up and onto the seat. He then climbed up and over Simon so they sat side by side. To Simon’s disappointment, Wille needed to use both of his hands to control Rousseau, so Simon made do by linking his arm through Wille’s and curling up into his side, leaning his head on his shoulder.
Simon closed his eyes as they rode, partially because he definitely didn’t really want to be looking at the horse. Partially because this already felt so much like a dream.
They talked a little, but mostly Simon was content just sharing the physical space with Wille. Curled up into Wille’s side, it felt so much like he fit there. Belonged there.
That feeling filled Simon’s heart, expanding in his chest until he just had to say it.
“I love you.”
He said it softly, barely audible. Before, when their communication was purely digital, Wille never would have been able to hear it. Now, however, Wille would be able to feel the movement of Simon’s mouth as he spoke. He could feel each word radiate through his body as Simon uttered them, lips pressed close against Wille’s bicep.
Wille heard him. Loud and clear.
“I love you, too.”
It felt a lot like riding off into the sunset.
It wasn’t that simple, of course. As much as they had gone through to get where they were now, Simon knew there were going to be countless obstacles yet to come. It was never going to be easy, but now, Simon had Wille to hold his hand.
And really, that was the best Christmas miracle Simon could imagine.
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I’m interested in your writing process for mi confituta. Do you watch porn and come up with a chapter or come up with the chapter and try to find porn that fits?
a;lsdkfj a;sldkfj the asks for mi cotufita really kicking me today ((affectionate)) ((please never stop sending me asks about this fic))
this question to me reminds me of when someone asked the Glee producers “do you find the songs & then create a story around that, or lead with the story and find songs to fit the scenes?” which is hilarious and i needed to share sdfijfsdkls
anyway,,, look. i guess the answer is both?
for example, like chapter six (the cmul irl chapter) i had a very good idea of where i wanted that to go, elements of their seggs lyfe i wanted to explore in simon’s mind, etc. and then i spent a very long time searching for a video that fit my criteria.
but for the next few chapters i’m not gonna lie sometimes i’d, ahem, stumble across a video and it would spark an idea for a moment of connection between w & s and i’d write from there.
going to go walk into the ocean now, thank you
#kl;sdjf;laksdj ally i'm doing it i'm putting this in your tag#call me up late#cmul#mi cotufita#this blog is 100% seggs video positive ok#ask#anon
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it’s been one year since i published cmul and i’m feeling all sorts of things about that.
how would we feel about a cmul irl tonight?
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call me up late masterpost
call me up late
call me up late - full fic on ao3
say its okay - tumblr irl series on ao3 (now in chronological order!)
i am going to hell in a surrey (with the fringe on top) - spicy cmul cowboy wille oneshot
stardust in the eyes - wille and simon's daughter says her first word
i think i loved you in a thousand ways - cmul-simon begins to explore his future
call me up late irl series:
screamin’ for my lifeline - wille’s perspective of receiving the first wrong number text message
maybe i’ll be brave enough by then - simon’s perspective of wille not wanting to share personal information
maybe in another lifetime - simon’s perspective of wille’s phyllis & aristotle gag
there’s method in my madness - wille’s perspective of when simon first mentions august
i catch my breath with just one beating heart - wille’s perspective of the bound to you phone call
they could make a change - wille and erik’s conversation after simon says he picked bound to you specifically for wille
i’m your one call away - wille tells erik about simon for the first time
i’ll give you something so real - rosh’s perspective helping simon pick which song to sing for karaoke
now do you see me for the first time? - wille’s perspective of seeing simon at his concert in stockholm
an angel ain’t what i need - simon’s perspective of beginning to suspect wille is the prince and his first conversation with rosh and ayub about it
the thought of you stays bright - simon’s perspective of his first facetime with wille
boy, i belive in us - wille's conversation with erik post-"bound to you"
we all will be together - simon and wille meeting in person for the first time on christmas eve
misc. cmul bonus content
Wille's love letter from chapter 15
cmul "sexting"
"wilhelm is a horse boy" tag
"cmul.txt" tag
cmul playlists
unofficial inspiration playlist
official cmul playlist
cmul is a communal playground, pls join the fun
i want to drive away with you by @angelbabysimon (ao3) - Wille and Simon take a road trip through canada and make a very important stop
[“mi cotufita” started sharing their screen] by @omar-rudeberg (ao3) - 5 times Wille and Simon fail spectacularly trying to virtually get it on and then how 1 night changes everything
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Hiii, cmul makes me so happy, it's literally my light at the end of the tunnel every week during exam season rn lmao. Anyways, I am in desperate need for the irl version of Simon and Wille facetiming after Ch12 and seeing each other "live" for the first time 🙏🏻
i had so many requests for this scene! i had never intended for it to be a big deal for simon and wille, but you know? writing it changed my mind. you guys know better than me, honest.
the thought of you stays bright (call me up late irl #11)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Simon’s stomach was doing somersaults. He was pacing nervously back and forth in his room, hands clutching his phone to his chest. Any moment now, it would ring. Simon would answer, and then he would be face to face with Crown Prince Wilhelm of Sweden.
But it would also be Wille. His Wille.
Simon would be lying if he said he didn’t spend the past month or so consistently googling the prince, looking through pictures, and watching YouTube videos. In public, Wilhelm appeared polished, reserved, maybe a little bit shy. It didn’t line up with the Wille that Simon knew so well. Wille was silly, stubborn, and remarkably human. The royal family had never seemed human to Simon before Wille.
Simon looked blankly at his phone, and as he watched the clock turn from 8:59 to 9:00, Wille’s contact picture (his stick figure self-portrait) appeared on his phone. So punctual.
Simon took a slow and steady breath and accepted the call.
Wille was definitely Prince Wilhelm, there was no doubt about that. The face that greeted him was the same face he had been imagining all month. For a moment, Simon saw the Wilhelm the media saw. His expression was neutral and his eyes (his beautiful, beautiful eyes) appeared to be lost. But then he saw Simon. He saw Simon, and Wille melted into himself.
Wille grinned from ear to ear. Simon couldn’t help but do the same. Wille’s smile was contagious. Simon wanted to see that smile forever.
They stayed like that for a moment. Eyes locked and smiles wide.
It was amazing how well he knew this face already.
Simon was the first to break the silence.
“Hey you.”
“Hey.” Wille’s smile was softer now, and he looked at Simon through the screen with a kind of fondness that made Simon feel seen.
Simon and Wille spoke simultaneously. “How are you?” “How are you?”
They laughed. Wille tucked his hair behind his ear. It might have been the most adorable thing Simon had ever seen.
“I’m good,” Wille offered first. “How are you?”
“Good,” Simon nodded. His joyous grin shifted into more of a look of awe as he continued to mentally process that Wille was looking at him. They were looking at each other. “It’s you.”
Wille nodded slightly. “And it’s you.”
They found themselves in another moment of silence, the pair just staring at each other in disbelief. After two months of texting, three phone calls, and a botched meetup, they were finally face to face. Or at least as close to face to face as they could be in this moment.
Simon didn’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, this was what he wanted: to see and get to know Wille as much as he possibly can. On the other hand, though, Simon felt a twinge of sadness as he looked at the screen of his phone. It was just an image on a screen. It wasn’t the real thing, not entirely.
The small crack in the bottom left corner of his screen that has been there for months started to reach part of Wille’s collarbone. The glare from Simon’s light reflected ever so slightly by Wille’s hair. As incredible as this was, the pane of glass that stood between Simon and Wille felt more immovable than ever.
“I didn’t expect it to be this weird. Hearing you talk and seeing you at the same time.”
“Weird…” Wille trailed, beginning to look nervous. Oh, no. Simon didn’t want Wille to be nervous.
“Not in a bad way! More like…” Simon paused, searching for a better word to somehow sum up all of the thousands of emotions and thoughts that flooded his head. “Surreal.”
“Yeah,” Wille breathed, a smile returning to his face. “Yeah, and it’s nice to see you up close. Instead of from a balcony far away.”
“I still can’t believe you were really there,” Simon laughed. He didn’t actually want to think about that night. It hurt him more than he’d ever admit, especially to Wille. The idea that they were together, however, in the same shared space even if just for a little while, was enough of a positive takeaway for Simon to be able to bear it.
“I will never stop feeling guilty about leaving you there,” Wille said. His face shifted back to something like how he looked in many of the press photos Simon had seen before. Lost. Sad. “But I am glad I went. I’m glad I got to see you and hear you. And now look at us? I can see you and I can hear you.”
“The miracle of modern technology.”
At this point, Simon moved from where he had been standing dumbfounded in the middle of his room to sit down on his bed.
“So I believe this exchange involved you telling me your last name.”
Wille had a playful smile tugging at his lips that Simon had been waiting for. The physical manifestation of the silly side of Wille that Simon loved to pretend annoyed him. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.
Simon tried to keep it cool, but he couldn’t seem to wipe the ear-to-ear grin off his face.
“You have to promise to only use it for good.”
“What mischief could I possibly get up to knowing your full name?”
“I’m certain you can think of something.”
“You’re probably right.” Wille laughed, shrugging his shoulders. “Always a trick or two up my sleeves.”
Simon was still smiling, despite his best efforts. He was taking it all in, trying to memorize the tone of Wille’s voice when he was teasing, so he would be able to match it to the words on his phone.
“Although, I’m sure you have plenty of resources at your disposal that could track down everything there is to know about me just based on a few minor details. They don’t need to know my last name for that.”
“Very true. Just give me the green light and I can have your whole life story by the end of the hour.”
“No need,” Simon smiled. “Nice to meet you. My name is Simon Eriksson.”
Simon watched as Wille’s easy smile faltered a bit as he registered ‘Eriksson’. It was dangerously close to Erik. The wound was still fresh. But Wille recovered quickly.
“Hello, Simon Eriksson. I’m Wilhelm. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“I believe your side of the deal was for you to yell about how much you like me.”
Wille smiled and looked down, and Simon swore he caught a blush reaching Wille’s cheeks.
“Well, I can’t exactly yell. I would hate to disturb anyone. But I can say it with conviction.”
“That’ll do.”
The Cheshire grin from the beginning of the call returned to Wille’s face. The joy radiating off of him was undeniable. Simon felt it in the depths of his heart.
“Simon Eriksson, I like you.”
“That the best you’ve got?” Simon raised an eyebrow to attempt to issue a challenge, but his face betrayed him. It was too happy.
“I like you, Simon Eriksson.” A little louder, smile somehow a little wider.
“One more time with feeling.”
“I like you, Simon,” Wille said, his voice soft, this time not much louder than a whisper. He said it with so much sincerity in his voice and expression that Simon’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat or two.
“I like you, too, Wille.”
Once more, Simon and Wille found themselves in comfortable silence, eyes fixated on the little screens in their hands. They were still taking it all in.
Simon shifted on his bed so that his feet were up and he was leaning against the headboard. He got himself comfortable. He had a feeling he’d be here awhile.
“So. Tell me. Is your palace haunted?”
“Ah, so you did like Casper.”
Simon was struck with two strong feelings. One that wanted to roll his eyes to the back of his head and tease back, and one that just made his heart glow in admiration and fondness.
The combination of those two feelings summed up precisely the way in which he liked Wille.
He could get used to it. He really could.
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hello!! I absolutely love call me up late, and I'm so excited to see where it goes <3 <3
for the IRL/behind the scenes series, I'd love to see something around this span from chapter 7:
(8:06)
I’m glad you liked it
(8:08)
Maybe it goes without saying, but I picked the song because of you
~~~
(8:09)
ERIK
(8:11)
Wilhelm.
(8:11)
I need to eat my feelings again.
I was absolutely floored by how romantic of a sentiment that was from Simon, and I'm so curious to know what Wille and Erik's conversation after that was like hehe
god i love writing these erik/wilhelm conversations
they could make a change (call me up late #6)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
By the time Wilhelm had brushed his teeth, gotten dressed, and made his way over to the kitchens, Erik already had pancake ingredients all laid out on the counters. The sun shone orange through the windows, illuminating the kitchens with a warm glow. A speaker in the corner of the room quietly hummed some light jazz.
Wilhelm was suddenly struck with how much the pleasant scene reminded him of early mornings as a young child when he and Erik would tumble down the stairs together hand in hand to meet their father in these kitchens. It was there that their father would teach his sons how to make breakfast. Erik, being older and more responsible, would be in charge of the pancakes, becoming a master at the spatula by age seven. Wilhelm would usually be in charge of washing the fruit, making coffee, and setting the table.
Nowadays, their father didn’t need to be there with his watchful eye on the stovetop and guiding hands over Wilhelm’s as he fumbled with the coffee grounds. Still, Erik and Wilhelm fell into their old duties: Erik at the stove, and Wilhelm taking care of the rest. It was nice to see that some things never change.
“Good morning, starshine,” Erik sang as he noticed Wilhelm shuffle in. Wilhelm made a beeline to the refrigerator.
“Do we have blueberries?”
Erik let out a bright laugh.
“Wilhelm, I said good morning.”
“Good morning, Erik,” Wilhelm turned his head to beam at his older brother, teasing but with genuine admiration in his eyes. Wilhelm turned back to inspect the contents of the fridge, before repeating, “Do we have blueberries?”
“I’m sure we do, Wille. I can look for you in a minute.” Erik motioned to the griddle, now hot and ready for pancakes. Wilhelm’s stomach started to rumble at the thought. “Why don’t you get a pot of coffee started while I work on this, alright?”
Wilhelm hummed in agreement and busied himself with the coffee maker.
“So, why are we eating our feelings this time?” Erik began, pouring out several small rounds of batter onto the griddle.
Wilhelm immediately felt heat return to his cheeks as he struggled with the coffee filter. His voice was soft when he answered, the tiniest bit shy.
“Simon told me that he picked “Bound to You” to sing because of me.”
“Hm,” was Erik’s response, after a pause.
Wilhelm nodded. “Yeah.”
“Was that all?”
Wilhelm nodded. “Yeah.”
Erik let out a sigh. He took a long moment, flipped over the pancakes on the griddle perfectly, and then turned to look at his brother. “Wilhelm.”
Wilhelm nodded. “I know.”
Erik turned around to face Wilhelm fully, resting his hands on the edge of the countertop and leaning back. He looked at Wilhelm with careful eyes. “Which do you want first? Crown prince or big brother?”
Wilhelm winced. He had a good idea as to what was coming.
“Crown prince,” Wilhelm decided, pressing the buttons to allow the coffee to start to brew, and then stepping across the room to stand closer to his brother.
Erik nodded, frowned, and then spoke.
“You need to be really clear with both Simon and yourself about what it is you are doing here. You have to decide what it is you want from this relationship and you need to do it quickly. I know you don’t want to hear this, but if this is headed the direction I think it is, you need to tell mamma sooner rather than later.”
“No,” Wilhelm whined, not pleased with this answer. Erik expected this and his gaze softened.
“I know you don’t want to, Wilhelm. However, you have to remember that you are fresh off a scandal. We don’t want another one right now. We need to be prepared if things start to go south. And we need to do that as a united front. As a family.”
Erik grabbed two plates from the cupboard and plated the perfectly cooked pancakes with a satisfied smile tugging at his lips. Wilhelm looked at him with admiration in his eyes.
“Can I get big brother Erik, now?”
Erik let out a laugh and reached over to ruffle Wille’s hair.
“He really likes you, Wille.”
Wilhelm’s cheeks turned several shades pinker as he pushed Erik away.
“Stop.”
“He’s singing you love songs and everything. He’s got it bad.”
Wilhelm laughed despite his embarrassment, his heart glowing with fondness. He turned to grab two coffee mugs and poured them each a cup. Black coffee for Erik, a tiny bit of cream for Wille.
“Blueberries, please, Erik.”
Erik rolled his eyes.
“As you wish, brother.”
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I'm back & if u want I'd also love to see Erik's reaction when Wille tells him everything that's going on with his horse boy over whiskey and ice cream after 'bound to you' please and tack x
i think this was for @omar-rudeberg if i remember correctly. sorry, it's been a hot sec since i've hopped on the saddle x
boy, i believe in us (call me up late irl #12)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Wilhelm’s heart felt about ten times too big for his chest. It was such a new feeling. He had no idea how to process it.
Simon had previously existed in a section of his brain previously reserved for daydreams and wishes and impossible things. Now, Wilhelm had heard his voice. Simon was a real person–living, breathing, and alive–on the other side of his screen. The boy Wilhelm had dedicated an entire month to trying to get to smile was really real.
Not only was he real, but he also had the voice of an angel. It was cliche, sure, but Wilhelm couldn’t think of another way to describe it. Not that Wilhelm had ever been much for religion, but he had to imagine that if there were an everlasting paradise, it would feel a lot like how it felt to have Simon singing in his ear, melodies of love songs circling him and filling his heart until it was set to burst.
Melodies of love songs. A love song. Love.
It was too soon for that word. Wilhelm knew that, at least to some degree. But also, Wilhelm had never been in love before. The concept was foreign to him. He just had a vague idea as to what it should feel like based on movies and books he had seen and read over the years.
The pang in his chest when he remembered the way Simon’s voice swelled and washed over him when he sang “Do I risk it all? Come this far just to fall?”.
Was that love?
“I may be in a little over my head,” Wilhelm admitted, expression blank as he noticed Erik hovering in his doorway. True to his word, in one hand, Erik held a bowl of ice cream, and in the other, a glass of whiskey.
Erik just stood there for a moment, eyes focused on Wilhelm. Wilhelm knew the look Erik was giving him. Erik was sizing him up, studying his posture and expression, looking for the telltale signs of his anxiety. Wilhelm was surprisingly at ease, though, his usual nervousness replaced with a more internal excitement and warmth. When Erik had looked at Wilhelm long enough to know that he was alright, he let out a huff of breath through his nose and walked over to sit next to Wilhelm on his bed, making sure to shut the door behind him.
Wilhelm reached for the whiskey, and Erik made a show of holding it out of his reach, handing him the ice cream instead. This wasn’t the first time Erik and Wilhelm had commiserated together over ice cream and whiskey, and each time they played out the same little routine. While Wilhelm was still underage, he was stuck with the ice cream. Which he was honestly fine with—he just liked goofing around with Erik.
“One of these days…” Wilhelm muttered with a smirk, taking the spoon from Erik and wasting no time before diving in. Coffee ice cream. Wilhelm’s favorite.
“So,” Erik said, getting down to business. “The L word. That’s a pretty big deal, Wille.”
Wilhelm took a slow breath, his gaze lost somewhere in the ice cream in his lap–anywhere but up at Erik. Warmth flooded his cheeks as he tried to verbalize the tangled mess of thoughts and emotions in his head.
“I… it’s just hypothetical right now. He keeps taking me by surprise, though. Every time I learn something new he becomes more and more… perfect.”
At this, Wilhelm looked back up to Erik. Erik was focused, nodding his head as he tried to work through his own thoughts about the matter. Wilhelm didn’t know what to expect.
“Can you explain to me what brought this on?” Erik asked after a moment.
“I heard his voice,” Wilhelm said, his face breaking out into a smile as he said it, as if speaking the words out loud made them more true. He heard Simon’s voice.
“Did he call you?”
“His best friend called from his phone when he was singing karaoke. He sang that love song from Burlesque that Ali sings near the end.”
Erik’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “He sang a Christina Aguilera song? At karaoke? And you still think he’s perfect?”
“He has the best voice I’ve ever heard. I’m not just saying that. He’s incredible.”
“I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it,” Erik said, before taking a slow sip out of his glass. “So, hearing him sing was enough to make you want to fall in love with him?”
“It’s not just the voice. It’s just…” Wilhelm paused and tried to recollect his thoughts. “I’ve spent the past month texting Simon nonstop. I know him. Silly little things about him. Like… He doesn’t know how to tie a tie without googling it. When he was a kid, before he got into music, he wanted to be the person who decorated the cakes at supermarkets when he grew up. His favorite book is The Little Prince—it has been since childhood and will be forever. And he cares. So much. About everything. About me, I think. I don’t know in what way, or how much, but I can feel that he does. And for so long, as I was getting to know Simon, it felt almost like I was getting engrossed in a book. Diving into another world and getting to know a character inside and out. But then I heard his voice and it wasn’t fiction anymore. Simon is real. He’s out there right now, somewhere. Knowing he’s real makes it all just feel… I don’t know. Possible. More than anything, I just want to get to know him more.”
Wilhelm was breathing heavily by the time he stopped speaking. His heart pounded in his chest as all the feelings that had been culminating there began to spill over.
Is this love?
Erik looked at Wilhelm carefully, noticing the way he was trembling slightly with all the excitement. Wilhelm looked right on back, eying his brother expectantly. Wilhelm noticed the way his eyes then darted to Wilhelm’s phone, which was plugged in and resting on his bedside table. The only time that phone got any chance to recharge was at night. Wilhelm has been living with a perpetually low battery for the entire month.
Erik then took a moment to look around the room. His eyes darted around the palace walls, looking corner to corner to take in the space they were in. A building centuries old that has housed many a monarch in its time.
Erik sighed. He reached out to take the bowl of ice cream from Wilhelm, which was starting to melt as Wilhelm had been ignoring it. Erik handed the glass of whiskey to Wilhelm.
“You need it more than me.”
#call me up late#cmul irl#ally writes#i wasnt sure if i was gonna post this to tumblr or wait until i caught up on ao3#clearly i chose tumblr#you are Welcome#<3
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screamin' for my lifeline (call me up late #1)
the first of what i hope to be a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Fri 10 Sep (9:32 pm)
Hey! Sorry to bail on you again. Believe it or not, I got kicked in the ass by a horse.
Wilhelm knew he shouldn’t have looked. But his curiosity always did have a tendency to be self-destructive.
>> my cousin had math with him and told me that the fight was about drugs. i mean it definitely doesn’t shock me that wilhelm is a junkie
>> somehow the zero respect i had for the crown has dropped into the negatives
>> i bet the party prince gets into fights like this ALL the time. it’s only now that he’s been caught on film that the crown feels the need to speak up. disgusting honestly
He had already given his statement with his family, so there was little to be done about the lies being spread about him at this point. In actuality, it wasn’t really the lies themselves that were bothering Wilhelm right now. It was knowing what the lies were doing to his image, and knowing how much his mother cared for it to remain pristine. Wilhelm couldn’t even begin to quantify the amount of times it had been drilled into his head that reputation and legacy were of the utmost importance to the royal family. He wasn’t supposed to do anything to tarnish them.
The comments he was reading swirled in his brain with the voice of his mother, and Wilhelm began to feel faint. He always did this to himself. He always let the negativity overwhelm his mind until his body had no choice but to react. He hated it.
As his breathing quickened and Wilhelm felt the telltale signs of a panic attack worsening, he reached for his phone to call for Erik, the only person who he trusted enough to talk him down.
Picking up his phone, though, he noticed a new text message from an unfamiliar number. He squinted at his phone to clear his fogged vision to read.
(9:32 PM)
Hey! Sorry to bail on you again. Believe it or not, I got kicked in the ass by a horse.
... what the fuck?
Wilhelm read the text message several times over, trying to make sense of it. He had no clue who it could be from and what it could be referring to. Wilhelm realized it could be one of two things. Either it was not meant for him and someone had mistyped, or someone from the school had leaked his number, and now people were prank texting him as some sort of joke. But… Why a horse?
(9:35)
How did you get this number?
Wilhelm began to feel the anxiety creeping back as his mind jumped to all sorts of conclusions about who this text might be coming from. He pictures the people outside of the club with him just a week ago, pushing and shouting and making Wilhelm feel trapped. Are they doing it again? Are they making him feel trapped?
Wilhelm opened up his text thread with Erik, and sent him a quick message asking him if he is busy.
His phone buzzed immediately, but it wasn’t from Erik. It was the number again.
(9:35)
Sorry, is this not Henry?
Oh. So the text wasn’t meant for him. A wave of relief rushed over Wilhelm as he tapped his response into his phone.
(9:37)
Nope, sorry. You must have the wrong number.
Wilhelm paged back to his text messages to flip over to Erik’s, who had not responded yet. He began to chew on his thumbnail nervously as he waited for Erik to see his message.
After a moment, he realized that Erik was probably busy, so he flipped back to the previous text thread and reread it again. It was… a weird message. He wondered what kind of person someone would message saying they have to cancel plans because of an injury obtained by… a horse? Of all things? The thought made Wilhelm smile.
Before he could think better of it, Wilhelm found himself typing out a second message.
(9:40)
Now you got me curious, though. What happened with the horse?
Wilhelm’s curiosity always did have a tendency to be self-destructive.
(9:41)
That is between me and Rousseau.
Rousseau? Wilhelm knew that that would have to be the name of the horse. An interesting name for a horse, and an even more interesting name for an ass-kicking horse. Wilhelm wanted to ask more questions. He wanted to know more about this stranger on his phone.
Wilhelm’s brain was shouting at him to block the number. He didn’t know who this person was, and he was in far too delicate of a position to be chatting with strangers who could easily take advantage of him. Say one wrong thing, and his public image could take another hit, and then what would happen? He was already pulled out of school. Wilhelm didn’t want to imagine what the next reprimand might look like. Block the number. Block the number.
That is what his mind was telling him. His fingers had other plans.
(9:43)
The 18th-century philosopher? Or is that the name of the horse?
(9:44)
Turns out Jean Jaques Rousseau is a time traveler I’ve slighted who was pissed off enough to sic his horse on me
(9:45)
Either that or I’m actually terrified of horses, and Rousseau, the horse my sister rides, can sense it from a mile away
Wilhelm felt laughter bubble up in his chest. It was a feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He couldn’t put a finger on it, but something about this mysterious, horse-marred stranger was endearing to him. Something in his gut told him this was safe, that this person didn’t know Wille. Didn’t know the lies and assumptions being tossed around by people who just saw him as a headline. To this phone number, Wille was a blank slate. He was just a boy.
Wille could trust them.
He smiled softly to himself as he texted this stranger back.
#call me up late#ally writes#idk this should be fun???#i would love love love if people gave me ideas as to what to write next#cmul irl
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PLS WRITE THE SCENE OF WILLE AT THE CONCERT SEEING SIMON LIVE I AM BEGGING
Okay this was kind of a lot. A couple things. There are two choral pieces linked here. If you can, please listen to them! The first one is a piece that means a LOT to me. The second one sets the tone for Wilhelm's actions and would be good to have playing in the background as you read.
I did a lot of research for this scene, for some reason. I wrote a little post going into some of it, and chatted a bit about why I included some of the things I learned about. You can take a look at that post here (after you read)!
now do you see me for the first time? (call me up late #9)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Simon. Wilhelm was going to go see Simon.
He was going to a place where Simon was going to be. He would be in the same room, breathing the same air, existing at the same time as Simon. Whatever this thing was that they had going on would transition from something that existed only on a little screen in his pocket to a real life human being in front of him.
Wilhelm was going to be totally normal about this.
He and Erik had spent a period of time prior to the concert perfecting the game plan for how to get Wille to Storkyrkan without having to explain things to their parents. This involved telling some white lies to their mother and a number of various favors being cashed in. Wilhelm had expressed early on that he did not want to draw any attention to himself at the concert. He didn’t want to hear the whispers or feel the eyes on him when he watched Simon sing. He didn’t want that to be Simon’s first impression of him.
Besides, Prince Wilhelm didn’t have much of a reason to show up at a random school concert in Gamla stan. It wouldn’t have been as strange if Erik had accompanied him, because Erik himself had gone to Hillerska, so it would have made sense for him to have gone to support some of his former classmates, but two princes at a concert? Wilhelm absolutely did not want that type of attention. Besides, this was about Simon.
So, Wilhelm needed a place where he could remain largely out of sight during the concert, which is where some of those favors came in. As it so happened, Erik was good friends with Storkyrkan’s organist. He and Erik arranged for Wilhelm to be able to enter the cathedral early and make his way up to the balcony where the (remarkable) organ was kept. There was plenty of room up there for Wilhelm to comfortably watch the performance from up above.
Wilhelm sat on a wooden folding chair positioned between balusters to give him a decent view of the choir. He was on the other end of the cathedral, so he wasn’t very close distance-wise, but the bird’s eye view was nice, and Wilhelm didn’t think anyone would be craning their head up to peek at him through the cracks during the performance. He felt comfortably hidden here.
The cathedral from this angle really was breathtaking. In actuality, there wasn’t an angle in the building that wasn’t stunning. It was the oldest church in Stockholm and contained some of the most beautiful artwork Wilhelm had ever seen. Being a member of the royal family, Wilhelm had seen his fair share of old churches and significant architecture. Still, Storkyrkan had always been one of his favorites.
Wilhelm remembered what it was like to visit as a child. He had always been mesmerized by the sculpture Saint George and the Dragon that was housed in Storkyrkan. He would stare in awe for as long as he was able, admiring the magnificent, larger-than-life Saint George on his horse, sword drawn to bravely fight the dragon beneath him. Wilhelm wanted to be that brave.
The pews of the cathedral were slowly filling up as the time approached eight. Wilhelm felt increasingly grateful that he was secluded in his elevated hideaway as he started to recognize more and more of the audience members, many of whom were parents of Hillerska students that Wilhelm had known all his life. The last place Wilhelm wanted to be right now would be down there being forced to socialize with this crowd in particular.
As the gathering crowd settled in, the Hillerska choir, all distinguished in their maroon uniforms, walked out and began to situate themselves in front of the altar. Wilhelm felt his heart settle somewhere in the depths of his stomach as he leaned forward to get a better view.
Before, he had wondered if it would be hard to tell which one was Simon. He thought maybe he would spend the concert analyzing each of the faces, wondering which one of them would be the boy that would be waiting for him at Skeppsbrokajen later that night.
Wilhelm needn’t have wondered, however, because he noticed Simon the very moment he stepped out into the apse.
At first, it was the curls and the bronze skin that matched the description Simon had given him in the form of a self-portrait that had given it away. But then, more than anything, it was the eyes. Warm and bright and real, Wilhelm instantly knew them as well as his own. They belonged to Simon.
Wilhelm watched intently as Simon walked right up to the center of the performance space, ever so briefly scanning his audience with nervous eyes before settling into a smile. (And what a smile it was.) With the signal from the conductor, Simon began to sing.
[CLICK FOR FIRST CHORAL PIECE]
[yes this is my own college choir, no i’m not singing here, but some of my very best friends are, please don’t stalk and kill them and/or me, thanks]
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear
Suddenly, a future flashed through Wilhelm’s mind. A future where this concert was just one of hundreds in which Wille would be sitting in the audience with stars in his eyes.
A seat in the front row reserved just for him. A wink and a smile to greet him when those warm brown eyes spotted him in the crowd. A song that sounded like a dream, and a voice to sing that dream into reality.
After the choir had sung through the short verse twice, the piano that accompanied the choir stopped playing and Simon began to sing the song on his own.
Wilhelm had been overwhelmed when he had listened to Simon sing “Bound to You” over a karaoke track through a grainy cell phone. He was in no way prepared to hear Simon’s voice echo through the vaulted ceilings of a 13th-century cathedral.
By the time the rest of the choir joined back in to sing the verse once more without accompaniment, Wilhelm had tears streaming down his cheeks that he wasn’t going to bother pushing away.
When the first song ended and sheet music shuffled, Wilhelm couldn’t take his eyes off Simon. While Simon had seemed confident and comfortable when he was singing on his own, he was now clearly nervous, eyes darting around the space as his hands fumbled with the paper in front of him. He was looking for Wilhelm.
The second song sounded like it might have been in Latin. It was stunning. The sound of the entire choir seemed to fill up every inch of the space in a burst of sound.
Even though at this point the whole choir was singing together, Wilhelm was still able to pick out Simon’s tenor easily. Simon’s voice was just as rich and enchanting and impressive as it had sounded the last time Wilhelm had heard it. Simon was leading his choir in a choral piece fitting for such a grandiose venue. Wilhelm let every note wash over him like a waterfall.
As the concert progressed and Wilhelm became more and more entranced, Wilhelm was overcome with the desire to get closer. He wanted to see Simon’s face up close and marvel at every detail.
He supposed the audience would be too enraptured by the performance to pay too much attention if someone were to creep downstairs and sit among them. And even if someone did recognize him, he couldn’t imagine anyone making a huge fuss about the prince showing up while all eyes were surely on Simon. Or. The choir.
Acting on impulse, Wilhelm stood up from his chair and made his way to the staircase. As quiet as he could manage, Wilhelm tiptoed down to the narthex.
Now situated at the western end of the central nave, Wilhelm found himself surrounded by art. Wilhelm wanted to turn around and follow the siren song calling him from the altar, but he very suddenly felt weighed down by the significance of the space he now occupied.
[CLICK FOR SECOND CHORAL PIECE]
Saint George and the Dragon, which Wilhelm had been remembering fondly not too long before, stood before him now, looking different than he had remembered. Before, Wilhelm had been so mesmerized by Saint George’s chivalric and heroic stance. Now, Wilhelm had a perfect view of the beautiful dragon being crushed underneath Saint George’s horse. Wilhelm felt something tighten in his chest as he forced himself to look away from the dying beast.
Wilhelm turned and found himself settled beneath Vädersolstavlan, a painting Wilhelm knew from his studies to contain the earliest depiction of Stockholm. Very little remained from the city below the sun dog depicted in front of him. One thing that was the same, though? The very building where Wilhelm stood.
Every shift of his body brought Wilhelm face to face with another symbol of the history of this country that his family has held a claim over for so many years. Millions of feet had stood where he was standing. Millions of eyes had looked where he was looking.
Now, Wilhelm felt all of those eyes on him.
What would meeting Simon mean?
Wilhelm’s pulse was quickening as he walked slowly backward, eyes trained on the silver altar in front of him. He felt the air leave his lungs, and he helplessly brought his hand to his chest, grasping at where the air had left him.
He hesitated in the back of the cathedral, too far away to see Simon’s face, but still able to hear him fully. His voice filled his heart but not his lungs.
Wilhelm needed some air.
The concert wasn’t quite over, but Wilhelm found himself slipping outside the western doors anyway. At this hour, the streets usually scattered with tourists were largely deserted. Wilhelm turned the corner and walked briskly to the waterfront, keeping his head down, eyes trained on the stones beneath his feet.
He passed by Kungliga slottet, the only building that stood between Storkyrkan and Skeppsbrokajen. Wilhelm had spent so much of his life in Kungliga slottet. Everything official was done in that palace, and Wilhelm had spent much of his childhood there with his mother as she performed her duties as Crown Princess, and later Queen.
It was there that not two months ago, his family gathered to sit stoically as Wilhelm apologized to the nation for the incident outside of that club and announced that he would no longer be attending public school in Stockholm.
In the distance, towering over him, was the statue of King Gustav III that Simon had suggested they meet by. As Wilhelm approached it, he noticed a group of college-aged kids by the fountain on the walls of Kungliga slottet, and an older couple seated on the steps of the statue, but otherwise, it was a serene and quiet night on Skeppsbrokajen.
Wilhelm had a pretty good education when it came to the history of Swedish monarchs. The man depicted before him was remembered today for ending the Age of Liberty with the Swedish Revolution. As far as monarchs go, he was able to enact great change during his reign. For better or for worse, making a difference for his country.
The other thing Wilhelm remembered about him were the rumors that he was a homosexual, fueled by his documented difficulty when it came to producing an heir, as well as his close personal relationships with two of his courtiers. That particular fact had always stood out to him in his studies. Looking back at it now, it seemed obvious why.
Gustav was later assassinated, and the dynasty died off with his childless son, beckoning in a new era of monarchs that would eventually lead to Wilhelm.
Such a vast and complex history with a direct line to himself. To his mother, the Queen. To his brother, who would someday be King.
Looking at his role in the grand scheme of history made it all seem so unshakably important.
What would this king towering before him think of Wilhelm now? The anxious little prince, the coward, running away from the things that scared him?
Wilhelm had spent the past week thinking about what it would be like to meet Simon. What he had not been thinking about, likely because he subconsciously knew where that line of thought would lead him, was what it would be like for Simon to meet him.
The thing that kept nagging at Wilhelm was all Simon had said to him about his peers at Hillerska, and how he viewed the monarchy. Simon openly despised people like him. Wilhelm had this scene that kept playing out in his head, of Simon taking one look at him, anger flashing across his face, and then storming off and never speaking to him again.
Simon was going to hate Wilhelm. Simon hated Wilhelm already.
All of this and more swirled in his head as he stood underneath King Gustav III’s shadow. Wilhelm felt dizzy and so, so small.
He checked his phone and saw several messages from Simon appear.
(9:55)
What did you think??
(9:55)
Actually don’t answer that!! I’ll ask you when I see you!!
Panic began to set in. Suddenly the few faces around him that just minutes ago seemed non-threatening felt like they had eyes burning holes into his skin.
He was in a large, open, public square. There was nowhere here to hide.
The October night air had a bite to it, and Wilhelm tried to breathe it in but his lungs couldn’t keep the pace. He felt dizzy. He needed to go somewhere before he collapsed and made a bigger mess out of this whole thing.
His mind wasn’t keeping up, but his legs were carrying him back up the hill to Kungliga slottet. Its visiting hours were over and the main entrance would be closed to the public, but one look at the distressed prince had the two security guards stepping aside. Concern riddled their faces as they reached for their walkie-talkies. Wilhelm managed to speak.
“Don’t bother telling the Queen. Erik knows I’m here and will be around to fetch me shortly.” Wilhelm let out a long breath as the guards each nodded. “When Erik arrives, tell him I’ll be waiting in his office.”
These days, Kungliga slottet felt mainly touristy and thus was not necessarily the safe haven Wilhelm needed. However, here he was safe from scrutiny. He was safe from disappointment. He was safe from hatred.
Simon hated him.
Wilhelm called Erik.
Simon would have hated him.
After he hung up with Erik he saw another text message from Simon that sent an overwhelming wave of guilt washing over his body.
(10:50)
Just making sure you haven’t died. Do you have an ETA?
(11:12)
Wille?
Simon wouldn’t have hated him.
But he will now.
[my post with my notes can be found here!]
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Behind the scenes of Rosh, Ayub, and Simon suspecting the Wille Simon is texting is Prince Wilhelm?? Those conversations in ch10 got me wondering about how their first convo about it went down.
- Kai💜 purplehoodiesimon
idk why this was impossible to write but several days later, here it is, lmao. simon really came to believe wille=wilhelm veryyy gradually, so this is just the initial "lol what if" to rosh&ayub
an angel ain't what i need (call me up late irl #10)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
(8:23)
I really wish it were that simple
(8:24)
Why isn’t it??
(8:26)
Let’s drop this, Simon
All day long, Simon thought about the conversation he had with Wille during his morning bus ride. Wille was so private and clearly had some secrets about his personal life that he was trying to keep under wraps. Of course Simon wanted to respect his privacy, but he was only human. His curiosity was bound to get the better of him sooner or later.
Simon spent the middle portion of his day training with the rowing team in the gym. Every now and then he’d catch a glance of August. Ever since August had approached Sara about her medication, his presence has put Simon on edge. Now that things were complicated further by August owing Simon a sizable amount of money, he was even more uncomfortable during their interactions at school.
Simon still felt guilty about letting the stress he felt with the whole August situation bleed into his interactions with Wille. He had no good reason to take it out on him, especially when Wille had been so patient and understanding with his sudden distance and change of mood. Simon was grateful for the way Wille had allowed for him to be able to rant a little bit about his situation. Wille had been right - bottling it up wasn’t doing him any good.
Still, Simon wondered about Wille’s reaction when Simon had started to air his grievances about the way Hillerska’s upper crust treated him. Wille was vague and quiet in a way that at this point felt uncharacteristic of him. What little he did say could possibly be interpreted as defensive, which might have had something to do with the fact that Wille himself seemed to belong to a similar social class as those Simon was complaining about. At this point, though, this was all assumptions and guesswork on Simon’s part.
As he caught a glimpse of August through the mirror, focused intently on keeping pace on the rowing machine, Simon remembered how he had brought up August’s connections to Crown Prince Erik to Wille yesterday. And then, something in the back of his mind caused Simon to remember about Erik’s younger brother.
In truth, Simon didn’t know very much about Prince Wilhelm. He had a potentially outdated mental picture of what he looked like: straight brown hair parted down the middle and a facial expression that always looked a bit lost. Simon knew he was a couple years younger than Erik, and he also vaguely recalled him being in the tabloids a month or so ago, but at the time, he hadn’t cared enough to figure out what for.
Wille could be short for Wilhelm, Simon thought slowly, and the rest of the puzzle pieces continued to fall into place in his head.
Simon let the thought simmer in the back of his mind for the rest of the day, until Ayub and Rosh joined him on the bus ride back home after school. The two of them were very aware of Simon’s new mysterious texting friend, and had spent the past few weeks offering their own thoughts and theories. After greeting his friends, Simon resolved to get right down to business.
“I’m going to say something and you guys are going to think I’m crazy.”
Rosh and Ayub exchanged a look that Simon understood immediately to mean that they already thought Simon was crazy. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to go over very well.
“That’s a given,” Rosh said with a nod. Simon rolled his eyes.
“Remember the guy I’ve been texting? Wille?”
“Simme, you talk about him every day,” Ayub laughed. “What do you mean ‘remember’?”
Simon swallowed and closed his eyes, not wanting to see his friends’ reactions to what he was about to say.
“I’m wondering if maybe he might be Prince Wilhelm.”
Rosh let out a bark of laughter. “You’re not texting the prince, Simon. Come on.”
“Is the prince even allowed to have a phone?” Ayub asked. Rosh rolled her eyes.
“Of course, dumbass. It’s not the middle ages.”
Ayub shrugged. “I didn’t know if it was a security thing.”
“What makes you think you’re texting Prince Wilhelm?”
Simon shifted in his seat, glancing down at his phone, which he currently had opened to his text conversation with Wille.
“I mean, Wille could easily be short for Wilhelm. And he comes from money and has a brother that went to Hillerska.”
“A lot of rich people have brothers that went to Hillerska,” Rosh replied, unconvinced.
“Right, but a lot of sixteen-year-olds with names that start with W?”
“Probably, yes.”
“Also, you have no way to know the guy you’re texting is telling the truth,” Ayub supplied. “He could be dropping hints to make you think that he’s rich and royal just to fuck with you.”
“I guess,” Simon replied with a shrug.
“There is absolutely no way you’re texting Prince Wilhelm.” Rosh was firm with this statement, almost making Simon feel embarrassed for even having considered the possibility.
“I mean, it’d be fucking huge if you were. I mean, can you imagine?” Ayub’s voice was softer, calming Simon’s nerves. “Plus, like, Sweden having a gay prince?”
Rosh laughed loudly. “I’m sure the stuffy old traditionalist royals would have a fucking field day with that one.”
Ayub shrugged. Simon’s head continued spinning.
“Nah, I’m shutting this one down quick,” Rosh said. “I was more inclined to believe your mafia theory.”
“See, I told you you guys would think I’m crazy,” Simon admitted, giving up. “It’s probably just some guy. My imagination is just getting the better of me.”
Ayub gave Simon a friendly slap on the back before changing the subject and launching into conversation with Rosh about the game the three of them were currently playing together. Simon tried to listen, but his mind was still lingering on the previous topic.
Simon knew that the odds of him actually texting the prince were less than slim. Still, he couldn’t shake the memory of the prince with his soft hair and sad eyes. Simon felt something swell in his chest as he worked to push the idea from his mind.
He couldn’t forget the eyes.
He continued to picture them every time his phone buzzed with a new message from Wille. Even when his friends would continue to try to convince him Wille was anyone else, it was always Wilhelm’s eyes.
#call me up late#cmul irl#ally writes#oof#yes im posting this at 5am dont ask me why#i'll reread this when my brain is more awake incase this is just nonsense idk
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I would LOVE to see an irl reaction to the audios in ch6 from either of them. Simon reacting to Wilhelm's piano playing or Wilhelm reacting to Simon's singing. Whichever you want to do 💜
- Kai (purplehoodiesimon)
for the most part wille was just brain empty "what is going on simon simon simon simon", but here is some more ;) @purplehoodiesimon
i catch my breath with just one beating heart (call me up late #5)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Wille’s phone was ringing.
Wilhelm was in the middle of brushing his teeth before bed when he heard his ringtone sounding from the other room. Toothbrush dangling out of his mouth, he waddled out of the bathroom into his room to retrieve his phone from where he had abandoned it on his pillow. A glance down at the screen caused his heart to sputter as he recognized Simon’s contact picture staring back at him (the contact picture of course being Simon’s self-portrait, which Wille had reluctantly updated to replace the picture of the Phyllis and Aristotle statue).
Simon was calling him. Simon.
Panic quickly set in as Wille realized he had to decide if he should pick up the phone or not. There were so many things to consider, but Wille absolutely did not have the time to overthink things. Acting on impulse, he clicked accept and held the phone to his ear with a trembling hand.
“… hello?”
Wille’s voice came out muffled, partly because of the nerves, and partly because he still had his toothbrush in his mouth. Wille turned around and started speedwalking back to the bathroom sink.
“Wille? Hi, this is Rosh.”
Rosh? Why was Rosh calling on Simon’s phone? What was going on?
“Rosh. Hi, what are -”
“Do you have a few minutes?”
Oh, god. Was Rosh calling because Simon was in some kind of trouble? Was he hurt?
Wilhelm quickly spat his toothpaste out into the sink before clearing his throat and answering Rosh.
“Sure, is Simon oka-”
“Yeah,” Rosh answered quickly, immediately sending a rush of relief through Wilhelm’s body. “He’s up next. I need you to listen, yeah?”
Listen? To what?
“What?”
“Just listen.”
Wilhelm barely had time to react before he could hear the audio switch over as he assumed Rosh put him on speaker. Immediately there was noise. Chatter, laughter, movement, and the unmistakable sound of a piano plucking out the opening notes to a song.
“Sweet love, sweet love
Trapped in your love
I've opened up, unsure I can trust
My heart and I were buried in dust
Sweet love, sweet love…”
Wilhelm’s thought process was connecting several dots very, very slowly.
He recognized first that there was now music playing through his phone. Grainy and distant, he could tell it was being performed live.
The melody was familiar. He had heard this song before.
“You're all I need when I'm holding you tight
If you walk away I will suffer tonight…”
Slowly, very slowly, Wilhelm remembered that Simon was at karaoke for Rosh’s birthday tonight. Rosh, who was holding the phone on the other line, and told Wilhelm to listen.
Simon. Simon was singing. Simon Simon Simon Simon Simon.
“I found a man I can trust
And boy, I believe in us
I am terrified to love for the first time…”
Suddenly Wilhelm remembered where he had heard this song. It was from Burlesque. A movie that was on the forefront of his mind lately because it had managed to come up in conversation with Simon several times in recent days.
Cause I looked around and realized there wasn't one person whose life I wanted...
“Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?
I've finally found my way
I am bound to you
I am bound to you…”
A woman’s voice let out a loud “wooo!”, and Wilhelm recognized that it was Rosh. Wille would have smiled at that if his body wasn’t still completely paralyzed at all that was happening so suddenly.
“So much, so young, I've faced on my own
Walls I built up became my home
I'm strong and I'm sure there's a fire in us
Sweet love, so pure
I catch my breath with just one beating heart
And I embrace myself, please don't tear this apart…”
Simon’s voice was rich and complicated and smooth and full of emotion. What emotion that was, Wille was still trying to put his finger on.
He could tell that Simon was crazy talented. No wonder he was the lead soloist at Hillerska. This was a voice that could change the world, Wille thought.
“I found a man I can trust
And boy, I believe in us
I am terrified to love for the first time
Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?
I've finally found my way
I am bound to you
I am bound to you…”
The lyrics were hitting Wille like a train. Simon was using this song to verbalize a lot of the feelings that were bubbling under the surface of Wille’s subconscious these past few weeks.
Things were moving fast. They were fun, but they were scary as well. Simon and Wilhelm were ultimately strangers, but two strangers that found each other, found a rhythm and a dynamic that made Wilhelm feel happy in ways he had never known before.
He could talk to Simon. He could trust Simon.
“Suddenly the moment's here
I embrace my fears
All that I have been carrying all these years
Do I risk it all? Come this far just to fall?
Fall…”
God, Simon was talented. He was hitting notes and runs so effortlessly, it was just like breathing. Still, the emotion was thick and undeniable. Wilhelm could feel Simon’s heart in his voice.
Was Simon singing this now because he felt the same way Wilhelm did? Or was this just another joke? A nod to a film that had come up in conversation and nothing more?
Wilhelm’s mind was simultaneously racing with a million thoughts all at once while also being totally still. Shockingly, his breathing was slow and steady as he listened to the song reach its emotional climax.
“I can trust and boy, I believe in us
I am terrified to love for the first time
Can't you see that I'm bound in chains?
And finally found my way
I am bound to you
I am, ooh I am
I'm bound to you…”
The song ended. Simon stopped singing. Wilhelm didn’t want Simon to stop singing. Wilhelm wanted to listen to Simon sing forever.
“Still there?”
Rosh’s voice in his ear surprised him, breaking him from whatever trance he was in. He was starting to be pulled back into the real world, but his mind was resisting as it began to play Simon’s song again in his memory.
Was he still there? Physically, sure. But all the breath felt like it had been knocked out of Wilhelm’s chest and he couldn’t quite muster an answer.
“Wille?” Rosh tried again.
A moment of silence followed as Wille still struggled to speak.
“Um. I, uh-” Wilhelm managed, before Rosh let out a loud sigh, definitely picking up on the fact that he would have a hard time getting a coherent answer from Wilhelm. Still, Wilhelm could hear a smile in her voice when she spoke.
“Alright then, good talk. Nice to meet you. I mean, sorta.”
The line was dead before Wille could make a further fool of himself.
In a stupor, Wilhelm wandered back to his bedroom, where he plopped down on his bed, eyes still wide, brain still several minutes behind.
This would take some time to process.
#call me up late#cmul irl#ally writes#this is number one of FOUR bound to you requests I will be writing#im pleased to see this cover broke y'all as much as it broke me
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hi friend best, if you're not against writing from something other than wilhelm/simon perspective, I'd love to know how rosh feels about wilhelm when she makes the decision to subject him to "falling in love with simon because he's singing better than christina aguilera" feels - please and tack x
even though this is about bound to you in ch6, this convo takes place during ch5 so the title is from sanctuary and not bound to you!!! this takes place the thursday night before karaoke (oct 7). rosh is hanging out at simon's after school!
i'll give you something so real (call me up late #8)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
“What are you going to sing for me on my birthday?” Rosh teased, pelting a piece of popcorn in Simon’s general direction. Simon caught this one midair and popped it into his mouth. His neutral smile turned into a smirk.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“It’s gonna have to be good if you want to one-up last year.”
“I don’t think I have it in me,” Simon replied with a loud, overdramatic sigh. “Sometimes if I step on it the wrong way, my ankle still hurts from when I fucked it up with that choreo.”
Rosh remembered this well. Simon used his “injury” as an excuse to get out of everything for practically the entire year. Not again. Not if Rosh had anything to do with it.
“For your own safety, and the safety of your adoring public in close proximity, I’m specifically requesting a park and bark this year.”
“Thank god.”
Rosh plucked another piece of popcorn from the bowl on her lap and hurdled it at Simon, this time missing him completely. Simon glared at Rosh in response as he began to search around his bed to figure out where it had landed.
“Gimme your phone. Gonna snoop through your Spotify.”
Simon’s Spotify account was filled with countless playlists that he was constantly updating and editing, all of which contained songs he loved and felt comfortable singing. Rosh was confident she could pick one out that both her and Simon would love that would a) keep everybody physically safe, b) show off Simon’s crazy gorgeous angel voice, and c) make Rosh cry on her birthday, which was admittedly always the goal.
Simon tossed his phone to Rosh before resuming is search for the missing piece of popcorn. Pulling up Simon’s Spotify app, Rosh raised an eyebrow at the most recently played album, looking back up to Simon to comment on it.
“Ha, why were you listening to Burlesque last?”
“What? I wasn’t-”
Simon stopped his denial mid-thought, partially because he likely realized who he was talking to, and partially because he had found the piece of popcorn that had fallen behind a pillow and became distracted popping it in his mouth.
“I will pay you all the money I don’t have if you sing ‘Welcome to Burlesque’.”
“Thought you said I was gonna park and bark. If I’m going to be Cher, I’m going to have to be all of Cher.”
“Okay, well, let’s put it on the shortlist for next year.”
“Noted.”
Rosh opened one of Simon’s latest playlists and was starting to thumb through when the phone vibrated with an incoming text message. She saw Wille’s name in the notification and a knowing grin spread across her face. Simon’s mysterious text-crush strikes again.
“You got a text from horse boy.”
Rosh watched as Simon’s whole demeanor changed, eyes brightened and alert as he spoke without a moment's hesitation. God, so whipped already.
“What’d he say?”
She clicked on the notification from Wille to read the message, which as it turned out, had no message at all, but instead a link to a TikTok. She relayed as much to Simon, who reacted by reaching out his hands and grabbing for his phone.
“Gimme.”
Rosh instead stood up from her chair, setting the bowl of popcorn down where she had been sitting. She made eye contact with Simon in a way that wordlessly cued Simon to shuffle over from where he was sprawled on his bed to make room for Rosh to crawl on next to him. She then clicked on the link and held the phone in between to two of them so they could both watch.
[link to tiktok]
Just a handful of seconds long, the video was of two horses in opposite stalls who inched their noses closer and closer until they were just touching. The horses each let out an amusing neigh before the video cut off and restarted.
Rosh almost laughed.
“This whole flirting through horses thing is kind of fucked up.”
“He’s so persistent with it,” Simon said, amusement and fondness in his voice. “It’s kind of endearing.”
Rosh shook her head in disbelief. “Simon, you are the only person I know that would actually fall for this.”
“So you also think he’s flirting? I’m not going crazy reading into this?”
It was cute how Simon had doubts about what was going on here. To Rosh, Wille seemed to be entirely transparent. She gave Simon a look that she hoped clearly conveyed that she thought Simon was being an idiot.
“Simme, these horses are kissing.”
Simon let out a loud, frustrated groan and flung himself forward into the pillows on his bed.
“It is just so hard to pick up on social cues via text message. I hate not knowing.”
“Maybe you just have to take the guesswork out of it by being more upfront yourself. You be less subtle, so he knows where you stand.”
Simon squirmed further into his pillows, at this point a lost cause.
“No. No, Wille seems to have a lot more reservations when it comes to personal stuff, so I was kind of banking on him setting the pace for now.”
Rosh frowned. Knowing Simon as well as she did, she didn’t like this approach for him. Simon had a big heart that cared so deeply for the people he loved. However, because his love was so unconditional, it was easy for him to be taken advantage of. Rosh had seen it happen before, and was quick to catch the telltale signs of it happening again.
“That’s not fair to you.”
Simon was quiet for a moment before he responded softly. “I don’t want to scare him off.”
“I thought we just established that he is clearly flirting with you.”
“I just don’t want to push it. Not quite yet.”
Okay, well. If Simon wasn’t going to take the next step with Wille, Rosh decide she wasn’t above doing some old-fashioned meddling. The gears turned in her head quickly as she began formulating a plan on the fly.
Simon’s phone still in hand, she switched back over to the Spotify app and paged back to see Simon’s most recent plays, clicking on the Burlesque soundtrack. She handed Simon’s phone back to him, with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes.
“Sing the song X-tina sings near the end of the movie. The one when she’s dressed like Kermit the Frog.”
“‘Bound to You’?” Simon asks, an eyebrow raised in question. Rosh nodded.
“You’re clearly only listening to the soundtrack of this trash garbage movie because of that shit you pulled when you were trying to figure out if Wille was queer or not. And that song is romantic as fuck. If nothing else, use it as an emotional outlet for all of your pining.”
“I’m not pining.”
“Uh-huh,” Rosh replied, unconvinced.
Rosh watched in amusement as Simon tapped on the Spotify track to listen to “Bound To You”, chewing on his bottom lip as he considered the option.
“I mean… I would sound incredible singing this.”
“Obviously.”
Simon smiled, the hint of a blush appearing on his cheeks as Christina sang about being terrified to love for the first time.
The rest of Rosh’s plan would be easy. All she really needed to do was make sure Simon’s outfit for karaoke had no pockets so he would have to leave his phone with her. Then she just needed to be able to give Wille a ring so he could be able to see exactly what page Simon was on when it came to whatever the hell they were doing.
Rosh couldn’t imagine hearing Simon sing and not falling a little bit in love.
Her plan was foolproof.
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You should definitely write Wilhelm’s pov whe August came up in conversation
wille has a really hard time figuring out how to navigate this conversation. he was walking on eggshells and his short replies definitely reflect that!
there's method in my madness (call me up late #4)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Wilhelm pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe it’s not him. Maybe there are a lot of shitty people at Hillerska. Maybe there is another third-year rowing captain. Please, please don’t be him.
(4:25)
This guy seems like a dick.
(4:28)
Oh he is. Apparently he’s related to the royal family. He’s their second cousin or something. Which just makes total sense.
Oh. Oh no.
If the “prefect and captain of the rowing team” bit wasn’t confirmation enough, this was certainly the nail in the coffin. The guy who is manipulating Simon to get drugs was August. Fucking August.
Wilhelm had felt anger before, but not like this.
Wilhelm had been angry when he got into that fight. But then, his anger was directed at the concept of people taking advantage of him.
Wilhelm had been angry when his parents had made the decision to pull him from public school and have him be homeschooled. But then, he was angry at his lack of control over his own life.
This was the first time where his anger was in defense of someone he… well, someone he liked. A lot.
Simon didn’t deserve any of this. He was just trying to look out for his family, and look where that got him. Wilhelm was seeing red.
He had to bite his tongue not to say something about August specifically. Wilhelm has had nothing but unpleasant interactions with August over the years, and throwing him under the bus would be an honor, quite frankly. Still, Wilhelm recognized why he had to keep quiet.
Rereading Simon’s message before attempting to compose a reply that wasn’t just angry keysmashing, Wilhelm focused in on the last sentence Simon had sent. “Which just makes total sense”.
Wilhelm wondered why August would remind him of his own family, despite the obvious. Wille wanted more than anything for them to be viewed as separate entities. He decided to question this.
(4:33)
Why does that make sense?
(4:35)
He’s just so elitist and stuffy. He fits right in.
(4:38)
He talks about the crown prince a lot. They overlapped a year at Hillerska I guess. Any opportunity he can he brings him up, too. “Erik did this, Erik did that…”
(4:40)
They all just sound so insufferable. I get so much shit from these pretentious assholes for being a “socialist boy”... and it’s just such bullshit, the way they talk about daddy’s money and their extravagant lives with no regard for people who have less who might be struggling. They’re just so oblivious
Wilhelm had to smile. Simon was right. Wilhelm knew he was. He’d spent enough time with the upper crust to know how insufferable they could be, and August was amongst the worst of the worst.
Still, something tugged at him when he read Simon type out Erik’s name. There are people like August and then there are people like Erik. They are not the same. People like August are the ones Simon talks about, who are apathetic if not actively harmful to the people they feel that they are better than. Erik wasn’t like that. Erik was kindhearted and gentle and empathetic.
While many of the people in Wilhelm’s social circles were as bad if not worse than what Simon was describing, they weren’t all like that.
Erik wasn’t like that.
(4:42)
I’m not sure that’s entirely true
(4:43)
You should hear some of the shit they say to me
Oh.
Wilhelm paused, closing his eyes for a moment. He remembered just minutes ago Simon telling him that he couldn’t afford extra lessons at his school. The students at Hillerska could never understand something like that. Wilhelm could never understand that.
Wilhelm had been called all sorts of nasty things his entire life. He was no stranger to being mocked and ridiculed. Wilhelm, however, was in a privileged position in which nothing anyone said would affect his station in life. Wilhelm would always have his title, his wealth, and his status as a public figure to fall back on. No matter what people would say to him, Wilhelm would never know hunger, and he would never need to lift a finger to maintain that.
Simon on the other hand… Simon and his family had to fight tooth and nail to get where they are today. Simon and Sara are the only ones at that school that deserve to be there. And it killed Wilhelm to think it, but he knew that all the students were telling Simon that it was the other way around.
It wasn’t true.
(4:45)
I’m sorry, Simon
(4:48)
God, I almost forgot you’re technically one of them, right? Your family is loaded and your brother went here?
Wilhelm wanted to say so much at that moment. He wanted to say that they were nothing like August. He wanted to tell Simon that he and Erik were different. Better. Kinder. Fairer. He wanted to tell Simon that they were the same as him.
But Wilhelm knew it wasn’t the truth. At the end of the day, he and Erik were still royalty. They could never be the same.
He wanted them to be, though.
(4:50)
I mean, technically. But I get what you’re saying. I agree with you.
(4:51)
Hm.
There was a pause where Wilhelm expected that Simon expected more of a response from him, but Wilhelm had nothing to offer. After a moment, Simon began typing again.
(4:54)
Well, that’s why I’ve been snippy. I’m on edge because I guess I’m a drug dealer now. And my dad continues to make my life miserable. And now the worst guy I know owes me money.
Wilhelm’s heart ached for Simon. He wanted to make it better. He wanted to march right up to August, confront him about buying drugs from unsuspecting students who are only saying yes out of desperation, and demand he pays back Simon every penny that was owed.
Wilhelm knew why he couldn’t. He knew that approaching August meant not only that Wilhelm would be forced to come clean to Simon, but it would also give August the upper hand once he connected the dots. It was too risky.
So all that Wille could do in this moment is listen and try to broaden his perspective and learn from Simon.
That’s what a good prince would do, right?
#call me up late#cmul irl#ally writes#fuck august#this was tricky to write because it's tricky for wille#also i want to mention that im titling these using other lyrics from their respective chapter titles#but they dont always fit super well so. idk
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Oooh these cmul drabbles are so good! I'd love to see how Wille tells Erik about Simon for the first time or what Simon says to Rosh every time he talks to her about Wille :)
going with another erik one next. we have a good rosh moment coming up in a few ;)
i'm your one call away (call me up late #7)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Wilhelm was sitting on his bed, a well-intentioned textbook opened in his lap that was largely being ignored, when Erik returned home from London. Erik knocked softly on Wilhelm’s door before opening it just wide enough to stick his head in.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey, Erik,” Wilhelm smiled.
“I had Joakim stop by a gas station.” Erik walked into Wilhelm’s room and held up a bag, making eye contact with Wilhelm so that Wilhelm would understand he was meant to catch it. Erik tossed, and Wilhelm caught the bag midair. Looking down at it, Wilhelm saw that it was a bag of M&Ms, which he wasted no time at all breaking into.
“Best brother ever.”
“I know,” Erik laughed, kicking off his shoes beside Wilhelm’s bed before crawling on to sit next to him.
Growing up, Wilhelm and Erik would spend lots of nights like this, sitting side by side on one of their beds (usually Erik’s, because it was almost always neater), doing homework, playing games, or more often than not just talking. Wilhelm was grateful to have such a good relationship with his brother. They just enjoyed each other’s company. They were also often each other’s voice of reason or shoulder to cry on, which Wilhelm was hopeful would come in handy tonight.
“So, you’ve been texting someone,” Erik began, a grin spread wide his face. Wilhelm let out a single breathy laugh.
“Yes.”
“And you like them,” Erik continued, his voice gaining a bit of playfulness that Wilhelm was very familiar with. He shook his head quickly, eager to shut this down before the teasing got to be too much.
“No. I mean, we haven’t been texting long. Just a few weeks.”
“Okay,” Erik nodded, a smile still plastered on his face. “What’s their name?”
“Uh.” Wilhelm paused, realizing they had reached the part of the conversation he had been dreading a lot sooner than he had been prepared for. His face instantly expressed distress, which Erik caught hold of immediately. Erik softened and looked to meet Wilhem’s eyes.
“Wille, look at me. It’s okay. You can tell me.”
A breath.
“Simon. His name is Simon.”
Wilhelm averted his eyes once again but was immediately startled by a hand placed on his knee. He looked up to see Erik with a gentle smile, as if completely unaffected. This puzzled Wilhelm.
“This is exciting stuff, Wille.”
“What’s exciting?”
“Meeting someone because they texted the wrong number? I mean, it’s so you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You just… You always stray toward the unconventional. Like how you insisted on going to a public school? And then swore up and down that you’d rather be homeschooled than go to Hillerska. And now look at you. You’re turning scarlet over someone who you connected with by accident and haven't even met yet. Any chance you have to go against the grain, you take.”
“And, uh. I guess Simon being a guy is part of that?”
Wilhelm’s expression was visibly nervous as he verbalized what he felt Erik was trying to get at. Erik clearly sensed this and sighed, shaking his head very slightly.
“Not necessarily.”
“So, you think…?” Wille prompted.
“I do think it complicates things, Wilhelm. I can see why you were hesitant to tell mamma. But I want to be very clear that all of us love you and accept you no matter what.”
“But we have an image to uphold,” Wilhelm supplied, bitterness seeping through his voice.
“Don’t say it like that, Wille. You know the amount of responsibility we have as a family to lead by example.” Wilhelm began to roll his eyes and turn away, but Erik’s grip on Wilhelm’s knee tightened. “Hey, hey, look at me. Ultimately you are the one who decides what that example will look like for you. You just need to be sure of it. And you need your family behind you, which is why you need to be as transparent as you can with both me and mamma.”
Wilhelm’s expression cracked, as his emotions went from guarded and jaded to something a bit sadder and more reluctant.
“I don’t have to tell her, now, though. Only if things get…” he trailed off, not really knowing how to continue.
“I’m not going to rush you, Wille. I’m just here to give you my love, support, and wisdom as your elder.”
“Elder,” Wilhelm scoffed, the corner of his mouth twisting up into a smile. It was clear Erik was searching for that smile, and his eyes softened.
“Tell me about Simon.”
“Well, he… actually-” Wilhelm paused mid-thought, and pulled his phone out from where it got lost in his sheets while he was studying. He unlocked his phone and opened his text thread with Simon, taking a minute to scroll up all the way to the top. He held his phone out for Erik to take. “Here, you can read from where we met.”
A short while later, after Erik had skimmed through most of Wilhelm and Simon’s text history, thoroughly teasing Wilhelm all the while, Erik started to stand up.
“Well, I got to get going. You have yourself a movie date to get ready for.”
“Not a date,” Wilhelm grumbled, pushing Erik all the way off his bed. Erik laughed and shook his head in disbelief.
“God, Wille, I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“Stop, Erik.” Wilhelm somehow managed to blush even deeper.
“Listen. I know this month hasn’t been easy for you. You just went through that whole ordeal with the fight. I know mamma went heavy on the “all eyes are on you” bit. So I know that must be a lot of what is on your mind right now, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Right now you are having fun. Let yourself have fun. If it becomes more serious, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. Don’t worry about what mamma would think quite yet, alright?”
“Alright.”
“Enjoy your movie.”
“Have a good night, Erik.”
“You too, Wille. Goodnight.”
“Erik?” Wilhelm said quietly when Erik was almost out of sight. Erik turned around and poked his head back into Wilhelm’s room, humming a question in response. Wilhelm smiled. “Thank you.”
“Any time, brother.”
#call me up late#cmul irl#straight up didnt proof read this and I am currently Not SOber so#if there are mistakes i shall likely edit them out in the morn#hope you enjoy!!#ally writes
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I would love to know more about Simon's POV from the first chapter when Wille says he saved his contact as Phyllis (Wed 15 Sep (10:02 PM)). I'm just curious if he's as immediately taken by this whole thing as Wille is.
Also, I seriously love this fic. It always makes me giggle so much. Especially your damned drawings. 💜
oh you picked a really good one
maybe in another lifetime (call me up late #3)
this is part of a series of drabbles that give a closer look at what is going on behind the screens of call me up late. i want to do a bunch of these over time so please let me know which parts of cmul you want to see more from!!
Simon was moments away from crumpling up his writing homework and setting it on fire when his phone buzzed from where it sat abandoned on his desk. Desperate for a bit of mental relief, Simon grabbed it and was genuinely shocked to see that it was the wrong number from the other day again. Wow, this guy must be bored.
(10:02 PM)
I saved you in my phone as Phyllis
Okay, well there was a lot to unpack here. First of all, Wille had saved Simon in his phone.
Simon had Wille in his phone, too, but that was mostly because he had initially saved it as Henry, and then edited it to say “Wille (Not Henry)” so he wouldn’t get confused when he asked around and got Henry’s actual number.
So, Wille had now initiated multiple conversations out of the blue with Simon, and now had his number saved. This was a big step. It meant that whatever they were doing was something resembling friendship. Simon wasn’t necessarily opposed to the idea. In fact, now that he was a couple weeks into his studies at Hillerska, he was finding himself lonelier than ever. Having someone to talk to and joke around with would be nice. Still, this was weird.
Because who the hell is Phyllis?
(10:05)
…why?
Wilhelm’s answer came almost immediately, as if he had the answer ready to go as soon as Simon questioned it.
(10:05)
Phyllis and Aristotle
The clarification did nothing for Simon. He knew who Aristotle was, of course, but had no clue who Phyllis was supposed to be and what on earth they had to do with him.
(10:05)
???
(10:06)
Google it
(10:06)
Better yet, google image search it
Simon rolled his eyes at his phone. Not that Wille could see, but he had a feeling he could sense that that would be his reaction. Simon opened up Google on his phone and tapped in “phyllis and aristotle’, clicking on the Wikipedia link that came up first.
“The tale of Phyllis and Aristotle is a medieval cautionary tale about the triumph of a seductive woman, Phyllis, over the greatest male intellect, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.”
Oh. Okay. Seductive woman. Huh.
Simon kept reading.
“The tale varies in the telling, but the core of it is as follows: Aristotle advises his pupil Alexander to avoid Phyllis, the seductive mistress of his father, the king, but is himself captivated by her. She agrees to ride him, on condition that she play the role of dominatrix. Phyllis has secretly told Alexander what to expect, and he witnesses Phyllis proving that a woman's charms can overcome even the greatest philosopher's male intellect.”
Simon’s eyes couldn’t help but zero in on the words “ride him” and “dominatrix”. What had Wille just sent him?
No. Nope. Focus. Simon reread the paragraph again, this time paying more attention so he could understand the story.
Okay. So, was Wille supposed to be Aristotle? Did Wille really compare himself to the “greatest male intellect”? Was two days worth of texting enough for him to seduce this stranger on his phone? And most importantly, why did this thought make Simon feel so damn good?
No, no, no. Simon shook his head, resetting his thoughts. No, Aristotle was Rousseau. Wille was making a joke about him loving philosophers. And also horses, because it looked like Phyllis was known for riding Aristotle like a horse. Simon understood now. Simon took a moment to recollect his thoughts that had nearly led him astray before texting Wille what seemed to be the most appropriate response.
(10:17)
what the fuck is wrong with you
(10:18)
So much, Phyllis, so much.
(10:20)
Are you saying that I’m so charming that I make intelligent men fall to their knees and let me ride them? Should I be flattered?
(10:21)
You tell me.
Okay, so this at least clarified Wille’s intentions in Simon’s mind. Yikes. It was definitely a horse joke and not some sort of insinuation that Simon was a seductive dominatrix.
Of course it wasn’t. He’s only known Wille for a few days and they’ve barely talked. Why couldn’t Simon’s brain let this go?
Wille didn’t even know Simon’s name, after all.
Well, actually, maybe introducing himself would be one way to get his mind to quit it with the somersaults. Back on track, Simon.
(10:22)
Simon
(10:22)
I’m sorry?
(10:23)
My name. I’m Simon
(10:23)
Nice to meet you, Simon!
Simon realized that Wille was echoing the same words Simon had said when Wille introduced himself. Simon is definitely not letting that get him flustered. No, sir, not today.
(10:23)
Now change it
(10:24)
Pardon?
(10:24)
Change my contact name
(10:24)
You know what? I don’t think I will. Not with that attitude.
Was Simon going crazy? Was this not super flirty?
It occurred to Simon at this moment that he had no idea how old Wille was, and Wille would have no indication as to how old Simon was, so maybe this was dangerous territory. Actually, it definitely was. Simon decided to step on the breaks a little harder.
(10:26)
Actually, why don’t you delete my number altogether. I literally don’t know you, I shouldn’t have to put up with all this sass
The reply came almost immediately. Simon shook his head in disbelief.
(10:26)
Hey! You know me! You ditched poor Henry just to talk to me.
(10:27)
I mean, you’re not wrong.
Simon sighed, scrolling back up to reread all of his texts with Wille from the beginning. He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. If nothing else, he and Wille were having fun. Maybe if he stuck around, he could learn a bit more about him, and maybe he could come out of it with a friend. He could really use one, after all.
Simon swallowed, and sent a second text.
(10:30)
so we’re really doing this huh
#call me up late#ally writes#cmul irl#sdghoiiofhioshd simon was Taken but perhaps in a different way than wille was
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remember how in cmul, simon sang a song and wille played piano for their one month textiversary
wouldnt it be fun if we were to..... do that again......
#cmul#points at calendar and winks#also im trying to write the irls but writers block is kicking my ass i Cant Focus
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