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Wille watched Simon uncap the ketchup bottle and squeeze a generous amount all over his pasta. “Does that work?” He nodded to Simon’s plate.
“It’s so good,” Simon answered, mouth full, “here,” he nudged the bottle over to Wille with the handle of his fork.
“It’s really not,” Sara grimaced, “Simon is an actual monster.”
Simon made a face at her across the table.
Wille laughed at them. He squeezed a small blob of ketchup onto the side of his plate, twirled some noodles around his fork and gently dipped them in. He brought his fork to his face, sniffed it, then swallowed the whole lot, chewing thoughtfully. “Not bad.”
“He’s just being polite!” Sara laughed, “See, Simon? This is what manners look like.”
“It’s actually OK,” Wille nodded, decisive, “I like it.”
Simon shot her his smug, ‘I win’ smile and devoured another huge mouthful.
“Disgusting,” Sara shook her head.
They did the dishes as usual, bickering the whole time and flicking bubbles at each other. Wille offered to help, but Simon shooed him out of the kitchen with threateningly soapy hands. Nobody could pick a film to watch, so they spent the evening playing Monopoly (Sara won twice, Simon declared she must have cheated) and making fun of the contestants on a TV talent show.
“You should go on this,” Wille said, arranging the chips in his hand in size order and then selecting one, “you can sing better than all of these people.”
Simon felt his face getting hot. He mumbled something dismissive and reached for more chips.
He wanted to hold Wille’s hand, or lean into him or hug him or something , but his mom and sister were right there. He bit his lip, fidgeted with the hem of his sweatshirt. When Wille had invited him to spend the weekend at school, he was almost certain he didn’t have board games and daft TV on his agenda. If he was honest with himself, he was a bit embarrassed by how quickly he had agreed to it. There were condoms in his overnight bag, hastily shoved under his bed when their plans had changed.
Fuck, was he being presumptuous? Wille had said ‘hang out,’ but what did that mean? Why was it so weighted ? Was he only imagining that it was weighted? He stared at the TV without watching it, his thoughts the internal equivalent of a keyboard smash.
Wille didn’t help by being absolutely adorable, pushing his hair out of his eyes with that twirly tuck thing and chatting easily with Sara and Linda like they’d all been friends for years. By the time they went to bed, Simon had decided he was just going to ask him outright. Wille seemed to change his mind more often than his socks, and Simon had never been a fan of ambiguity.
“Maybe I should’ve stayed with you,” he said, once they were in the privacy of his bedroom.
“Why?” Wille looked confused, “I had a great time tonight.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“Oh,” Simon felt some of the tension unfurl from his stomach, “so it wasn’t boring for you?”
“No,” Wille smiled at him.
“Here we go,” Linda staggered into the room with an air mattress, a pump and an armful of bedding. “You two will have to inflate it, OK?” She turned to Wille, “I can’t get that little hose thing to go in properly. It always pops out.”
“We’ll be fine, Mom. Thank you.”
“You should let Wilhelm have your bed, Simon. He’s the guest.”
“I’m fine with the air bed,” Wille said quickly.
Simon and Linda shared a look. Simon shrugged.
“Well, OK then. See you both in the morning.”
“Night.”
“Night, Mom.”
They got the air bed set up with only minimal swearing, and Simon went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas. When he got back, Wille was wearing his as well. He looked up from his phone and smiled, squishing the air bed with his free hand.
“I think it’s already deflating. It feels softer than before.”
“Yeah,” Simon sighed, “it’s a bit shit, sorry.”
“It’s OK. I can think about life and stuff while I slowly sink into the floor.”
“I said you could have my bed!”
Wille laughed, “I’m messing with you. It’s fine.”
Simon turned off the light and got into bed, using his phone as a torch to pick his way across the floor. They lay quietly for a while.
“Wille?”
“Yeah?”
“Every time you move it makes weird squeaky noises. It’s aggravating.”
“Sorry.”
Simon rolled onto his side and looked down at him, “You can come up here, if you want to.”
Wille glanced towards the doorway, “Your mom…”
“Is asleep,” Simon smiled, “no one’s gonna come in.”
Wille looked around the room again, clearly nervous.
“If you want, we can wake up early and you can go back to the air bed. Nobody has to know.” Simon pulled his phone out from under his pillow, tapped a few times and turned the screen so Wille could see. “I’ve set an alarm for six thirty.”
“OK.”
Wille’s eager smile made his heart swell. He moved back so that he could climb under the covers. They lay on their sides, facing each other. Simon kissed him softly on the mouth.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
They kissed again, snuggled closer to each other.
“So, um,” Simon licked his lips, “when you asked me to stay with you, what were you thinking we’d...I mean, what did you want to do?”
Wille tucked a curl behind his ear, his thumb gently stroking Simon’s face, “Anything. Everything.”
“Everything?”
Wille looked away. Simon could tell he was blushing even in the dark.
“Shit. That was really forward, wasn’t it?”
“Well...Yeah.”
Wille let out an embarrassed groan and buried his face in Simon’s shoulder. Simon couldn’t help giggling.
“It’s OK,” he petted Wille’s hair, “I like you, too.”
Wille nuzzled him.
“And I asked you to get in bed with me, so I think we’re even.”
Wille looked up, then. Simon took the opportunity to kiss him some more.
Wille’s hand found its way under his t-shirt and up, splaying out across his stomach. Simon kissed him harder, the little bit of contact already getting him worked up.
A door banged somewhere in the house. Wille pulled his hand away like Simon’s skin had burned him. They stared at each other, hearts pounding.
“OK, so maybe we won't do that tonight.”
“Yeah,” Wille cleared his throat, ran a hand through his hair.
“Hey,” Simon rubbed his arm, “it’s fine.”
Wille nodded, his breath leaving him in a long woosh.
They settled down again, Wille’s chest to Simon’s back.
“I like this,” Wille kissed his neck. He slid a protective arm around Simon’s waist.
Simon smiled. He liked it, too.
***
Linda always got up early on Sundays. Weekends went by far too quickly, and she wanted to make the most of them. She had already cleaned the kitchen and emptied the bins, and now she was walking towards Simon’s room with a pile of freshly folded laundry. She knew she could leave it on his desk chair without waking him. It was a routine she’d perfected over the years.
She also liked to watch him sleep, just for a moment. He looked absolutely angelic while he slept. It reminded her of all those nights she’d stayed awake by his crib, gripped by the anxious excitement of new parenthood, watching his tiny chest rise and fall, his little nose scrunch up when he dreamed.
She balanced the pile of clothes on her hip and gently pulled back the curtain, slipping silently into the room.
She wasn’t surprised to find the air bed empty. Simon didn’t talk about his other friends the way he talked about Wilhelm. She’d been annoyed at first, when he’d brought Wilhelm over unannounced. They weren’t exactly used to receiving royalty, but Simon had been so earnest and excited that she couldn’t say no to him. He’d bounced around like a giddy ball of energy, tidying his room while Wilhelm stood awkwardly in the hallway, going to the store to buy ‘the good chips.’ He’d even dusted , which was unheard of. She’d seen the shy smiles they shared with each other, the way Simon practically glowed when Wilhelm agreed with him about something.
She took the laundry with her, and let them sleep.