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thatrcooperAU where Charlie is an actual prince, and Will is some low level noble he keeps running into the gardens when he is trying to find a moment to himself, and Will doesn’t know who he is, and says all these outrageous things to make him laugh. And then Will gets an invite to something through a friend, and he sees Charlie and he’s heartbroken because Prince Charlie is never going to be interested in him, not seriously. And he knows he should say something, but the next time he meets him in the garden, he can’t because Charlie doesn’t frown around him, he’s happy around Will, and Will can’t deny him that. So he gets contrary and flighty and Charlie gets frustrated, and they argue for the first time, and Will snaps at him to go back to court and find someone royal to marry instead of torturing him like this, and Charlie realizes Will knows. But before he can think of what to say, Will leaves.
And weeks go by, and he’s not there, and the Prince never smiles anymore.Not real ones. Everyone notices and gossips about it. The Queen Regent (Nana, obviously) insists that he continue to do his duty, while she and Charlie’s sisters search the crowds for the source of Charlie’s unhappiness. And it’s Princess Ann, of course it’s Ann, who finds Will in Charlie’s old favorite spot in the garden, being a mopey Will, and Ann who finds out who Will is and basically forces him to attend some function.
But it’s Charlie who sees Will from across the room and walks up to him and kisses him aaaand anyway. I’ve been writing all day and I’m being an idiot.Charlie locks eyes with Will and he’s had all these things to say to Will that he never got to say. He loved Will before he ever thought Will knew who he was. That Will telling him to do his duty and go find some proper and stop torturing him has haunted him for weeks. He’d never hurt Will ever. He thinks Will would be amazing with the people of his kingdom in a way Charlie can’t be. Will’s so open and warm (and pretty) everyone will love him. True, Charlie hadn’t thought anything was possible between them, he hadn’t let himself hope, but once he knew Will’s feelings, he wanted to move heaven and earth to make it happen. And he would have. But Will was gone, and must have lied about his last name, because Charlie couldn’t find him.
And then there he is, in the same room with him, and it’s like no one else is there. They move out of Charlie’s way, they always do, but now it’s with an eye toward the nervous honey-haired figure at the entrance, who starts to speak when Charlie gets closer.
“Charlie, don’t be angry. They made me–Oh God, oh fuck, I mean, Your Highness. Because you’re the prince, of course you are. I knew it and I never meant to be stupid or lie to you, I was just fooling myself. Seeing you everyday was–”
And then Charlie puts hands gently to Will’s jaw and tips his head up and kisses him softly on the mouth. And Will gasps a little and grabs his wrists, but just to hold on, So Charlie slides one hand into Will’s hair and kisses him deeper, and Will has no idea what’s happening, but he’s not about to protest.Will’s eyes slide shut, and his soft little exhale becomes a moan when Charlie pulls him closer. A small moan, but it still makes his eyes fly open, and his cheeks go red as he pulls away. He’s no innocent flower, but he’s never been kissed by the Prince in front of the entire court before either.
Charlie is frowning now. Staring down at him sadly and sternly now that Will is out of his arms, and Will can’t take it, blush or no blush. “Don’t be like that,” he whispers, with a glance around. “If you want me, of course I’ll say yes.”
But Charlie frowns deeper. “Because I’m the prince? I’d never demand that, Will.”
“Of course you wouldn’t!” Will gasps, audience momentarily forgotten. “Not my Charlie–ah. You can forget I said that, if you want. Just. Yes. I’ll be yours, for however long you want me. Please.” His voice gets a little husky just thinking about being with Charlie. His family is nobility, but barely. There’s no shame in being the king’s bedwarmer for him. It might even raise their status. It’s more than he ever hoped for, to be honest.
“For however long?” Charlie has a rough voice Will has never heard before, but it makes him shiver.
“Yes, Charlie,” Will agrees, impatient for more kissing and eventual fucking in the prince’s own bed.
Charlie straightens up, every inch a prince. There’s no sign of his war injury as he takes Will’s hands and leads him across the room, through a parted sea of shocked, startled courtiers, to the dais where the Queen Regent herself sits.
Will hears himself make an embarrassingly squawky sound, before he remembers himself enough to bow, and when he looks up, an old woman is studying him intently.
“This is Will,” Charlie–Prince Charles, first of the House of Howard, introduces him in a voice that nearly gets Will hard, it’s so determined and final. “This is my Will,” he adds a moment later, softer. “If he’ll have me.”
As if a pledge like that in front of the queen isn’t as good as a marriage promise.
Will feel a little faint. But Charlie’s grip is firm and the Queen Regent is amused now, so Will looks up at the fool who has been driving him mad for months, handsome and honorable and worried Will is going to say no.
“You could have had me without all the fuss.”
Charlie doesn’t seem pleased with that, but he does incline his head. “If you truly wanted that, Will, you would have kissed me in the garden.”
He has a point. So Will sucks in a breath and stares at the Regent again. Her eyes are twinkly, just like Charlie’s when he’s about to laugh at something Will’s said. Charlie should laugh more, smile more, and kiss more because fuck, Will was still weak in the knees. But Will had to be sure.
“But you’re the prince. You could–”
“Will,” Charlie cuts him off in that voice, and this time Will flushes all over. He can’t look away.
“You;’re really mad at me for running away, aren’t you?” Will wonders, without really expecting an answer, and then bobs his head once in agreement before he change his mind. “Yes. I’ll marry you, you idiot.”
“Idiot?” One of the Royal Princesses echoes, her tone shocked, as the court gasps, but Will is being drawn forward for another kiss, so he doesn’t much care.
