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Simon Snow was all soft pastel colors and oversized sweaters. He was light jeans and converse that matched his nail polish in color. He was occasional flower crowns and the bright tones he sometimes dyed his hair in. He was sunshine laughter and freckles and moles all over his body.
He was the boy Tyrannus Basiliton Grimm Pitch had fallen in love with.
Baz on the other hand was basically his polar opposite. Where Simon would wear bright happy colors Baz would wear dark tones. Baz was combat boots and worn looking leather jackets that probably had cost more then your soul. He was bruised knuckles and the smoke of cigarettes. He was sneers and scowls and snide remarks.
He was the boy Simon Snow used to call his worst enemy.
These two on first glance entirely different people had managed to be paired up as roommates since their first year at Watford private school. Simon was the headmasters adopted son and Baz was the son of one of the families that constantly complained about the school and on top of it he himself was what people would call a troublemaker. Shortly they weren't meant to be friends, probably not even meant to get along even the tiniest bit.
Baz was Simon's worst enemy and Simon was Baz's. That was how it had always been, that was how it was supposed to stay.
But still over the time they had reached some kind of peace between them. They weren't quite friends, but they where on some kind of truce and you could say they where even on the way to friendship. That didn't mean they had completely stopped insulting each other or anything, but they had some kind of unspoken agreement that they at least weren't at each others throats all the time anymore.
If that made Baz feel better or even more miserable, he wasn't sure.
Right now he felt himself unable to tear his eyes away from Snow, who sat on the other side of the classroom and was from what it looked like just staring into space instead of paying attention to the teachers words. The light that filtered through the window behind him made his curls glow almost golden and his sweater matched the color of his eyes so that the way they shown stood out even more then usual. Would he have been more of an creative person, he would have written entire books full of poems alone about the beauty of Simon Snow, would have drawn entire maps just of the moles and freckles adorning his body and would have composed music based on the sound of his voice.
Baz cringed at himself and tore his gaze away. He hated how cheesy he got whenever he thought about the golden boy but he really couldn't help himself.
When class was over and Simon was walking to his locker some boy shoved him into the lockers next to him with his shoulder and said something Baz couldn't hear just to walk of laughing with his friends. Simon didn't say anything and just picked up the book he had let fall to the floor and continued to walk as if nothing had happened. Baz clenched his fists.
Simon had been bullied ever since even before he had started wearing the style he wore now. He got called multiple things Baz didn't even want to remember and occasionally returned to their room bruised and beaten up. These where the times when Baz desperately wanted to step in, to protect Simon from everyone that could ever hurt him, or to at least comfort him when he couldn't be there. But he couldn't, if he would betray his role as Snow's enemy it would give away his feelings.
The worst of it all was that Snow wasn't always the one the attacks where aimed at. Baz had witnessed multiple times how Snow had stepped in when other kids where being bullied and had taken the hit for it. Simon had a heart of gold but sometimes Baz wanted to yell at him for it.
Right now he had enough of it. Enough of people shoving Snow into lockers and walls and calling him names. With the knowledge that he would probably regret this later he made the decision that he would later take care of the boy that had just shoved Snow into the locker and his friends.
When he returned to their shared room afterwards it was already night and Snow was luckily enough already asleep.
The next day on his way to the school building Simon was suddenly stopped by the guy that had shoved him into the locker yesterday and his two friends. They looked as if someone had beaten them up. Simon just hoped they weren't here to take their anger about that out on him.
To his surprise though they looked at him with pleading eyes and apologized for making fun of him. Simon blinked at them.
“What?”
“We said we're sorry, we're not gonna get on your nerves anymore, just tell your boyfriend that-” suddenly their eyes widened and they started backing of.
“Bye Simon!” was all they called before they simply run of.
To say Simon was confused was an understatement. A presence next to him drew his attention away from the boys though.
Baz.
“What was that about?” he asked, bringing a cigarette to his mouth and lightening it. His knuckles looked bruised.
“I have no idea to be honest.” he said looking back to the boys that just reached the entrance doors of the school building.
Simon shrugged. “Whatever, they apologized for yesterday so that's good. Even though I have no idea which boyfriend they where talking about?”
At that Baz almost choked on the smoke of his cigarette but managed not to. “Probably a misunderstanding. Come, get a move on Snow or we're gonna be late for class.”
Simon just made an agreeing noise and followed Baz to the big school doors.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Baz cursed under his breath, holding his bruised ribs.
The guys he had beaten up a few days prior, the ones that had bullied Simon, had ganged up on him when he was outside to smoke and they had brought friends. Needless to say they had gotten to Baz quite badly.
Wiping away the blood from his nose and pulling out his keys he prayed to every god he knew that Snow would already be asleep.
Apparently he was out of luck.
When he entered the room Snow sat on his bed, book in hand and his eyes widened in horror when he laid them on Baz. He was next to him in a second.
“Baz! Holy shit what happened?! Who did this?!”
Baz rolled his eyes despite the situation. He had to try to stay cool, he could badly tell Simon something like 'Oh yeah the guys that always bully you beat me up 'cause I had beaten them up because they-well-bully you'.
“God Snow, it was just some guys trying to pick a fight. I'm fine.”
He tried to shove his way past the worried looking boy into the bathroom but how it seemed like Snow was having none of that.
“You're not fine!” Snow exclaimed and carefully yet somewhat forcefully led Baz into the bath by his elbow and made him sit down on the closed toilet.
“Come on Snow, I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself.”
All Snow did in response to that statement was glare at him for a second and leave the room. Baz almost sighed in relief but then Snow returned with the first aid kit he kept around and used for his own injuries usually.
“You may not be a baby, but still, let me take care of you.” Simon said angrily.
Baz was so taken aback by that statement that he didn't complain when Snow kneeled on the floor in front of him, opened up the first aid kit and began to clean his wounds.
Baz tried very hard not to blush because Simon was touching him so carefully as if he thought he might break otherwise and not to wince when Simon disinfected the gash on his cheek.
They stayed silent, apart from Baz occasional hiss and Simons sounds of disapproval when he cleaned a particularly bad wound but suddenly Snow spoke up.
“I don't want to be fighting anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don't want us to be fighting anymore.”
“Oh. Where is that coming from?”
Baz was confused, but then again Simon had always been jumpy.
Simon shrugged. “I'm not so sure either-”
“What a surprise-”
“-hey! But I-I just dislike seeing you like this. I dunno, I just realized that I don't hate you as much as I used to, so uh, wanna be friends?”
Simon stopped in his cleaning and finally looked Baz in the eyes. He couldn't quite read the others expression, but eventually Baz just sighed and stuck out his hand.
“Fine, then it's settled, we're friends now.”
Simon's face lit up like a Christmas tree and Baz was sure that that was bad for his heart.
“Yep we are!” Simon eagerly grabbed Baz hand and shook it almost violently.
“Okay, but now that that's settled get your shirt of, I need to check your bruises.”
“What?!”Baz was positive he was blushing and that didn't happen often.
“Geez Baz it's not that big of a deal, I just really need to check that your ribs are okay.”Despite saying that Simon was also starting to blush.
“Okay.” Baz managed not to stutter, even though his voice came out a bit breathy. He wasn't sure how much more of Snow's gentle touches he could handle before he would simply combust.
After tugging his shirt of, Baz mostly concentrated on not letting his breath hitch when Simon touched him, which proved to be difficult. He was so fucking gentle and careful, Baz could barely handle it. He had to rip his mind out of different scenarios in that Simons hands traveled his body with a very different intend.
“Gosh Baz your heart is beating very fast.”
Shit.
“I don't have a heart, I'm a vampire Snow, remember?.”
“Will you ever let me life down that weird two week obsession in fifth year when I actually thought you where a vampire?”
“Nope, never.” Baz smirked.
“Didn't expect you to.” Simon smirked as well and just continued with his check-up, seemingly having forgotten about Baz speed-up heartbeat much to Baz relief.
The rest of the entire Simon-touching-him-thing Baz managed to stay calm, apart from when Simons finger accidentally brushed his nipple and he almost choked on air.
It had been around two months since the whole becoming-friends-with-Snow-thing and Baz honestly couldn't complain.
He even started to actually hang out with Snow and his best friend Penelope Bunce. That girl was his biggest threat when it came to being on top of the class, because even though he had a troublemaker status he was still aiming to get the best grades in the whole year. He was a Pitch, he didn't aim for anything less then the best.
They either hung out in Snow's and Baz's room (how Bunce managed to sneak into the boys rooms was still a misery to him), or they went to the mall, or the cinema, stuff like that.
Being this close to Snow still proved to be difficult though.
Before Baz had perfectly managed to hide his affection for the boy behind a mask of hatred, but now that was hard, they weren't enemies anymore and it was easy to have slip-ups here and there.
Like right now for example.
They where in the cinema watching some horror-movie and Snow was a shivering mess.
Bunce had originally wanted to tag along but shortly before the agreed meeting time she had texted Snow that she forgot to do some homework and couldn't make it to the cinema (this all had sounded pretty planned beforehand on Bunce's side. She was clever, Baz had to be careful, maybe she already had a clue on his feelings for Snow)
So only the two of them had gone into the cinema. The movie they where watching was some horror-thriller about some serial killer that was onto some teenagers that had broken into his house.
Snow seemed terrified, which Baz honestly hadn't expected, but how it seemed he just really couldn't handle jumpscares and the movie was full of them.
After another scene where the killer appeared behind some door the protagonist just had closed Snow practically jumped in his seat and suddenly grabbed Baz hand, strongly.
“Sorry.” he muttered but he didn't loosen his iron grip on Baz hand one bit, eyes still glued to the movie on the screen.
Baz thanked every god in existence that cinemas where dark, since he was positive he was blushing (that boy was making him blush too often and a blush was horribly out of character for him at least in his opinion).
An especially brutal murder was shown on the screen and Snow gripped his hand even harder. Baz couldn't help himself and started rubbing his thump over the back of Snow's hand in an attempt to calm him down.
Snow relaxed a bit, but when the next murder was shown on screen he grabbed Baz hand harder again.
“Snow you're gonna break my fingers like this. Everything's okay, it's just a movie.”
Baz voice that was suddenly right next to his ear and it jerked Simon out of his fear-induced trance.
He stared at Baz hand, which he was apparently gripping tightly (he hadn't really noticed grabbing it).
“Ah-uh-s-sorry I'm just gonnna-uhm”Simon began to withdraw his hand but suddenly Baz grabbed his fingers.
“It's alright Snow, I just wanted to ask you to not grip as tightly.”
“Oh okay, alright, sorry and uhm thank you I suppose.”
“Don't mention it.”
Baz tried to concentrate on the rest of the movie, he really did, but it was hard with Snow's warm fingers gripping his and with Snow leaning so close to him he could smell him and his fucking apple shampoo.
When the movie was over and they walked out of the cinema Snow smiled at him and said “Thank you for the whole holding-my-hand-through-a-horror-movie-thing, not even Penny holds my hand to calm me down during these, she says it's to distracting when I crush her fingers.”
“Don't mention it Snow.” Baz said again and thanked that the wind blew his hair into his face in that moment and thus successfully covered his blush.
Baz wore lipstick today and that made Simon stare even more at his lips then usual (he didn't know why he liked staring at his lips so much, they where usually twisted into a sneer (he wanted to see them differently, smiling or open and panting) but he didn't gave it to much thought, maybe he would talk to Penny about this)
It was a dark lowly-saturated red and drew the attention right to the lower half of his face.
Simon thought the color was beautiful and so he told Baz exactly that once classes where over and they where back in their shared room.
Baz stared at him for a second before he grabbed his back that was lying onto the ground next to his bed, rummaged through it for a second and pulled out the lipstick, pointing it into Simon's direction.
“Want to try it on?”
“Yep. Uhm-c-can you put it on me? I always mess up lipstick and you seem like you would know what you're doing.”
Baz expression was unreadable and Simon almost feared he had overstepped some sort of boundary before Baz huffed out a breath and made his way over to Simon's bed.
He sat down on it next to Snow , uncapped the lipstick and gently put his hand under Simon's chin to hold him in place.
“Okay, part your lips a little.”
Simon obliged and Baz applied the color carefully, filling Simon's lips out with it. He hoped Simon didn't notice that his hands got sweaty and that they shook ever so slightly. Baz thought to himself how badly he wanted to trace Simon's lips with his own instead of with his lipstick.
He finished up and leaned back a little to get a better look at Snow's face.
“Mh, actually suits you, even though it looks a bit unnatural with your entire pastel thing you have going on.”
“I'm gonna go and take a look at it in the mirror.” Simon said and got up from the bed.
“It really looks good, even though it really looks a little odd together with my style!”Baz heard Snow shout from the bath, followed by an “Oh, I have an idea!”
Snow returned grinning and with his pastel pink nail polish in one hand.
Baz eyes widened slightly.
“You don't wanna put that on me Snow, do you? It would ruin my entire aesthetic.”
“Oh come on, your lipstick also doesn't fit my aesthetic so quit whining!”
Simon sat down next to Baz on the bed and gently took his hand in his. Baz couldn't help the way his breath hitched. It was way to easy to pretend this was some kind of romantic scenario even though he knew Snow had no big problems with touching his friends and this wasn't special to him in any way.
Carefully Snow started to apply the nail polish on Baz nails, while balancing the open nail polish bottle on his thighs.
Baz couldn't stop staring from Snow's hand holding his to Snow's concentrated face and back to his hand all over again. Snow's touch felt so nice, even if his hands where really, really warm.
He wanted to lean in. He wanted to lean in and kiss Simon on the lips that where wearing his lipstick. He really wanted to. He might.
Baz leaned forward slightly and-
In that exact moment Simon jerked his head up with a “Tadaa! Finished~” and almost hit Baz in the face with his head in the process.
Baz jerked back a bit, pulled out of his trance. He just had been about to kiss Snow, shit, he needed to get a grip on himself.
He raised his hand that Snow had let go of and examined his nails. Baz had to admit that the other boy actually seemed to be really good at this.
“Looks pretty good, even though it's really not my color.”he said.
Simon beamed at him. “Well I can also do your other hand, but like- with your black nail polish.”
“I would like that.” Baz said silently as he continued to stare at his hand while trying to shake his feelings of so he wouldn't make any more stupid mistakes.
Simon was so cold he was shaking like a leaf. Baz on the other hand seemed unfazed by the weather, the bastard.
Why did Simon have to forget to bring his jacket today! They had visited the city and now they where standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus and it was fucking cold.
Baz turned his head towards him and arched up an eyebrow. “You okay Snow?”
“N-no, I'm f-fucking freezing.” He said through his gritted teeth, attempting to somehow sling his arms even tighter around his body.
A few moments passed but suddenly Simon heard something rustle before he was engulfed in warmth.
He looked to the side and Baz was standing there, staring away from him still looking unfazed, just that he wasn't wearing his big leather jacket anymore.
In that moment Simon realized that that was the chase because he had it laying around his shoulders. Baz had just giving him his jacket.
Simon felt warmth rise to his cheeks that had nothing to do with the fact that he was slowly starting to warm up a little.
“Thank you.”he mumbled and Baz just hummed in response, acting like it wasn't a big deal.
It was a big deal though, for both of them, they just didn't know that the other felt the same.
Baz was staring ahead with all his willpower because he was pretty certain he would just kiss Snow if he got another look at him in his jacket. It was slightly too big for him since it was already big on Baz and Baz was taller and Snow looked way to adorable in it for his own good.
Simon slowly slipped the jacket on so it wasn't just hanging around his shoulders anymore and hid his hands deep in his pockets. He was pretty positive what he felt in the right pocket was a mint aero chocolate bar. The jacket smelled like Baz, like cedar and bergamot and he tried to subtly breath in deeper to really catch the smell.
It had token him now about four months of friendship with him and several talks with Penny to figure something out that he had if he was honest with himself already known a long time ago.
He was in love with Baz.
The realization had shocked him at first, he had thought he was straight and all that, but still once he had figured out a lot of things made sense to him.
Why he was so nervous around the other boy, but also really enjoyed his company. Why he always wanted to know where he was and what he was doing and feared if he had gotten into trouble again. Why he loved his freaking smell so much and why he somehow found himself constantly staring at Baz lips.
He was more then sure that Baz didn't feel the same way about him though. Sure, Baz had begun to actually be nice around him and all that but Simon was sure that was just because they where friends now and for no other reason. Thinking about that made his heart sink a little and he buried his nose even more into the collar of the jacket. At least he could have this, at least he could have some of Baz kindness, at least he could be close to him by being his friend.
Little did he know that Baz felt the same way about him.
He just wanted to be close to Simon. Simon, the golden boy he had loved pretty much since he had meet him back in first year. Simon, the boy whose smile could light up the entire room and warm even his heart. Simon the boy that was so fucking brave and stood up for everyone that needed help. Simon, the boy that always thought about everyone else, before he thought about himself.
Just Simon Snow, the boy he was hopelessly in love with.
Baz wasn't sure he could hold himself back any longer.
Any touch from Snow, every smile directed towards him, any friendly word made him feel like he was on fire. Like everything Snow did took the things he didn't want to tell him and ignited them piece by piece, making them burn their way up Baz's throat and almost spill over his lips like the smoke of his cigarettes usually did.
It was even more horrible then when he had been Snow's enemy. Then it had been easier to stay his distance away. Easier to pretend he hated him. Easier to not let Snow get even closer to his heart then he already was. Easier not to show him that he loved him.
But now Snow was everywhere, he couldn't avoid him any longer. They weren't just roommates anymore, or just classmates, they where friends, pretty close friends even. They where practically always together and it tore Baz apart.
He came back from his cigarette break into their shared room and Snow looked as beautiful as ever.
He was sitting on his bed, scrolling through his phone. The lamp on his bedside table was the only thing lightning the room and it's light made Snow's curls look almost golden and light up his eyes.
Baz sat down on his own bed and pulled out his own phone, mindlessly scrolling through instagram. A snort from the other side of the room made him look up.
Snow was giggling at something on his phone screen and suddenly he got up, made his way over to Baz bed with an “Omg Baz, look at this!” and plopped down right next to him, holding his phone in front of his face.
Baz could hardly pay attention to the vine compilation that Snow apparently found hilarious because he was he was a little busy with internally freaking out. Simon Snow sat on his bed and he sat really fucking close to him, close enough that he was basically leaning into Baz side. That coupled with Baz's already overwhelming desire to kiss Snow made it a little bit hard for Baz to get his heartbeat under control.
Snow didn't seem to notice any of his discomfort, continuing to giggle at the dog currently chasing it's own tail to some funny music on the screen.
Baz thought Snow would go back to his own bed after the vine compilation that he had somehow managed to at least chuckle at was over, but how it seemed he was wrong.
Snow just stayed in his spot right next to Baz, their sides pressing together and distractedly kept scrolling through what seemed to be tumblr. Baz attempted to also draw his own attention back to his phone screen and not let it rest on the boy next to him.
They sat like that, in frankly comfortable silence (even though Baz heart was still beating like cray) until Snow spoke up.
“I like this.”
“What Snow?”
“I like this.” he answered, gesturing to them both. “I like this, how we are now. I like this a lot better then our constant fighting from a few months ago. We wasted a lot of time by not getting along.”
Baz hummed in agreement. “It's indeed better. Even though I sometimes miss playing pranks on you. Remember that time I drew a mustache on you while you where asleep during school break back in second year?”
Snow hit him into the side with his elbow but he laughed anyways.
“Or that time you tripped me while I was carrying my food in the cafeteria and it spilled all over Agatha who was walking with me? She was so mad. I still feel bad for laughing about how she looked with the spaghetti stuck in her hair.”
Now Baz had to laugh as well. Wellbelove had indeed been furious, at both of them, but he had walked away really quickly so Snow had had to face all of her wrath.
“Or that time you weren't paying attention in class and when the teacher called on you I whispered the wrong answer to you and you blurted it out and the whole class started laughing.”
“That was really mean.”
“Yeah, but I found it very funny back then.”
“Not anymore?”Snow asked.
“No, not really. I now dislike this whole being your nemesis thing greatly.”
'I would much rather be your boyfriend.' Of course Baz didn't add that, he didn't want to destroy what he had with Snow now.
Snow laughed lightly. “That's nice.”
Just now Baz realized that they had started to lean even closer together. Snow was basically cuddling up to his side. Was he this touchy with all of his friends?
Before he could progress the thought even further Snow suddenly turned his face towards him, which made Baz do the same. His breath caught in his throat. They where so close, their noses where only inches apart.
Snow stared him into the eyes, pure blue meeting shimmering grey. Baz could feel his heart stutter.
“Hey Baz c-can I say something that could r-ruin this?” Snow suddenly sounded very unsure of himself and a blush started to paint itself across his cheeks, making his moles and freckles stand out even more then usual. Baz wanted to kiss each of them.
“Go ahead, Snow.” he whispered.
Snow took a deep breath. “I-I-ugh-actually I-You-uhm”
“Use your words Snow.”
“I actually like you and not just as a friend, but more like a crush and I know this ruins everything and that you're not even into boys and I'm so sorry really, I just really can't keep pretending that I want to be just your friend anymore and I think you're really attractive and really cool and all that and I will shut up now because I'm blabbering and oh my god I'm so sorry Baz, ugh-”
Baz stared at him, mouth agape and his eyebrows up so high Simon thought not much was missing until the would simply merge together with his hairline.
“You like me?”
Snow didn't look Baz in the eyes but he still nodded.
“And you like me in a romantic way, as in you would like to be my boyfriend?”
Snow nodded again and turned even more red if that was even possible.
“And you think I don't like you? Fuck, Simon, I've been in love with you since first year!”
At that Simon's head snapped up and he stared at Baz. Now it was his turn to stare at him with his mouth hanging open.
“You-you what?”
At that Baz had to laugh a little.
“Don't look so unbelieving, it's true! And I'm really really gay, just for your information.”
Baz couldn't hold back the smile that was etching itself onto his face. Simon Snow liked him! Simon Snow wanted to go out with him!
Simon smiled back at him and leaned so close again that their noses where bumping into each other and Baz could feel Simon's breath ghost over his lips.
“Can I say another thing, or rather ask?”Simon said.
“Go ahead.”
“Can I kiss you?”
Baz felt his breath catch in his throat.
“Yes.”
And with that Simon leaned forward and kissed Baz, careful at first and then with more and more force until Baz fell back on his bed with Simon mostly atop of him.
Simon giggled and pressed kisses from his collarbone, over his neck, to his jaw and back to his lips. Baz could swear he saw stars.
Slowly he reached a hand up and tangled it into Simon's bronze curls. They where even softer then he had expected. The sense of accomplishment he felt at finally touching his hair was embarrassing.
Simon also wove the fingers of one hand through Baz hair and marveled at how silky it was. No wonder with all the ridiculous hair products he was using.
They kept kissing for a bit and Baz decided that Simon smiling into a kiss was a feeling he wanted imprinted onto his own lips forever.
When they stopped Simon just laid his head on Baz chest, listening to his crazy quick heartbeat, while Baz played with his curls.
“So, we're boyfriends now?”he asked.
“Yes, we're boyfriends now.” Baz answered. Simon could practically hear his smile in his voice.
“That's nice.” Simon hummed.
Later that night they both fell asleep in Baz bed, cuddled together, limbs intertwined and with happy smiles playing along their lips.