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Wilhelm shamelessly ogled the cute bartender across the counter. Cute didn’t even begin to cover it. Simon Eriksson was unfairly hot. They watched as the black lace shirt he had on for today rippled around his body, leaving very little to imagination. Simon looked towards him and winked and Wille felt something low, guttural erupt deep inside him. Maybe coming here during Simon’s shift was a mistake, maybe he should get up and leave before he did something cosmically embarrassing. Before they could resolve their internal dilemma, Simon stalked over to them.
“What can I get you, Your Highness?” It was an ongoing thing between them, Wille was the son of the Dean so everyone dubbed him as campus royalty. Simon especially loved to milk the shit out of that.
Simon was right in front of them now, his torso on full display through the lace. Their eyes wandered down to the little trail of hair that disappeared behind-
“Eyes up here,” Simon teased, an ever so slight smirk on his face. The bastard knew that he was hot and Wille was not so subtly checking him out. “Now what can I get you?”
“Something strong.” Wille would definitely need something strong to forget this already disastrous evening.
Simon got to work on his drink. “Tough day?”
Wille nodded. “Yeah, just really frustrated about something.”
“Sexually frustrated?”
Wille choked on air. Simon smirked at him again.
“You can tell me, I’m a bartender so secrets are always safe with me.”
Wille reevaluated every life choice he ever made and then promptly decided to fuck it all. “Well there’s a certain someone on campus I’m interested in and they’re insanely hot but I can’t find the courage to talk to them.”
Simon just looked at them for a bit, his eyes painted with a thin smudge of eyeliner making his gaze intense and Wille’s throat dry. “Well, you should, tell them I mean. I have a feeling they’re interested too.” He handed Wille their drink, his black nail polish adorned fingers brushing slightly against Wille’s hand and Wille felt a shiver run down their spine. Simon then went to tend to other customers.
Wille stared at the drink in his hands. Did Simon just indirectly say he was interested too or did he genuinely think Wille had a crush on someone else? Wille cursed himself in his head. He was a goddamn idiot, he should have just directly confessed to Simon. If Simon rejected them they could have at least moved on (that was a lie, they would still continue to hopelessly pine after him). He glanced towards Simon, who gathered his hair and secured it in a bun on top of his head. Holy geez . That would fuel his fantasies for an entire month. They downed their drink in one go and asked one of the other bartenders for a refill, downing that pretty quickly as well.
Soon enough the alcohol did its job and they felt pleasantly buzzed. He kept his eye on Simon the entire time, Simon would mostly chat with the flurry of customers that would come and go, refilling their drinks or mixing cocktails that would show off his biceps really well. Wille tried not to stare at them but at this point, he was pretty sure Simon knew he was blatantly staring at him so he didn’t bother. Finally, the rational part of their brain decided that they had enough pity drinking for the night and they should call Erik to come pick them up even though they'd never hear the end of it. Erik would most certainly take this opportunity to mercilessly tease him for hopelessly pining after the hot bartender but then also try and convince Wille to just talk to Simon.
That was until Jason walked in. Simon was pretty popular around campus, he was the lead singer in the choir and president of the queer club, and with a face like that, he certainly had admirers. Jason was one of them, and it enraged Wille to no end. His name came up a lot in Wille’s daily rants and Felice and Maddie were pretty exhausted listening to the same shit every day. Right now, Jason was touching Simon’s hand and Simon was laughing at some joke he cracked and Wille almost lost it. Maybe he was going to end up doing something stupid but his intoxicated brain could honestly care less.
He downed the drink in his hand and marched over to them.
****
Through the corner of his eye, Simon could see that Wille was making his way towards them. “Hello Simon, can we talk?” Wille stood right in front of Jason blocking him from Simon.
“Hey, dude! What the fuck, we were having a conversation,” Jason piped up.
Wille pointedly looks back and glares at him. “Well, the conversation is now over,” Jason grumbled, muttered something under his breath but went away without causing much of a scene. He wouldn’t want to piss off the dean’s kid, now would he?
Simon leaned against the counter, a lopsided grin on his face. “So you wanted to talk to me?”
“Huh?” Wille looked dazed. They were so adorably clueless, a little lost lamb.
“Just two seconds ago, you said wanted to talk to me,” Simon emphasized.
“Oh… uhm, about that…”
Simon raised an eyebrow, Wille started to look a little green as Simon looked at them closely.
“I feel sick,” they mumbled.
“What?”
And then without warning, Wille threw up all over the counter and on Simon. Simon flinched. That was his favorite shirt and now it had Wille’s puke all over it. Wille looked pretty horrible and Simon decided he needed to get them somewhere that wasn’t a bar. He waved over to his manager, Alex pointing towards Wille who just shot him a thumbs up.
“Cmon, we’re getting out of here,” Wille looked like he didn’t have the ability to make decisions for himself right now, so he just nodded and let Simon guide him out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.
“Where do you live?” Simon asked.
Wille seemed to contemplate for a moment and then shook their head. “Don’t know.”
Simon sighed, babysitting a grown person was not on his agenda for tonight but the universe had other plans for him.
“Okay, great. I’m taking you to my place so you can sleep it off.”
Lugging six feet of disaster all the way to his apartment wasn’t the easiest task but Simon made it work. He helped Wille change out of their puke-stained clothes, made sure they got some water in their system, and then settled them down on the spare bed.
“I threw up on you,” Wille said looking at Simon’s shirt.
“Yes, you did.”
“I’m sorry,” they said, their bottom lip quivering.
“It’s okay.”
“No, I ruined your shirt and I’m a horrible person and you should hate me,” the dam broke, Wille was crying, a stream of tears rolled down his cheeks.
Simon’s heart constricted in his chest. He leaned down in front of Wille, wiping their tears with the pads of his thumbs. “Hey, hey. You’re not a horrible person and I don’t hate you at all. I promise it’s okay, I’ve got plenty more shirts like this one.”
“You do?”
Simon chuckled. “Yes, I do so don’t feel bad, okay?”
“They look really good on you. I mean everything does and I like how you’re not afraid to express yourself through your clothes in a way I never could. You’re just so perfect and wonderful and I really like you,” Wille paused and then added. “In a romantic, not platonic way.”
Simon stilled for a second, the confession making his heart beat a little faster. He knew Wille was drunk and probably won’t even remember what he was saying but god Simon had wanted to hear those words for the longest time.
“I think you should go to sleep, Wille.”
“Okay, can you stay here till I fall asleep?”
Simon nodded his head and helped Wille onto the bed. He kneeled down at the edge of the bed, slowly brushing his fingers through Wille’s hair, and very soon Wille was out like a light.
They looked so peaceful while they were asleep. Knees tucked in under their arms, curled up into a ball. Simon just stared at the sleeping person in his bed and smiled. He remembered the first time he saw Wille, it was on campus, they were giving a tour to some freshmen, a pronoun pin that displayed han/hen pinned on. Wille looked so happy, an infectious smile on their face and from that day on Simon always noticed him around campus.
He remembered when Wille got his cousin, August expelled from the university because he was a bully and was being transphobic to one of his classmates. They went against their own mother, the dean who didn’t feel the need to do that and bring the reputation of the university down. Wille presented the case to the board and got them to take action and do the right thing.
Simon remembered feeling an overwhelming sense of pride even though he didn’t know Wille too well and he just wished he could be friends with them. It didn’t help that Wille was extremely cute with their dark blonde floppy hair and their sweater vests and plaid trousers. Okay maybe not just friends, Simon definitely wanted more. And he didn’t try to hide it either, he would flirt with Wille occasionally hoping that would make his feelings towards them somewhat clear but Wille had mostly seemed unaware of it. So Simon decided to give it time and wait for Wille to come to that conclusion on their own.
Simon pressed a small kiss to a sleeping Wille’s head, getting up to prepare for bed himself. As he looked at Wille one last time before exiting the room, a swirl of overwhelming emotions surrounded him, and he decided that in the morning, he would finally talk to Wille about how he really felt.
*****
Wille woke up to blinding sun rays hitting his face and a sharp, stinging pain in his head. This was routine now. Drink to forget shit and then wake up and curse themself for even going near alcohol. He sat up, cradling his head in his hands when he had a realization. They weren't in their room nor were they wearing their clothes from last night. They immediately started to panic.
"Don't start panicking. You're fine. I didn't kidnap you." A voice spoke from across the room. Simon stood leaning against the doorway wearing a soft purple hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Wille had seen him around campus with his crop tops and lace shirts and while that evoked a lot of different emotions out of Wille, this was just something else. Wille had never seen him like this, his curls loose and wild sticking out of the messy bun on the top of his head, and his eyes sleepy but still as bright and alive. Wille felt something warm settle in his chest. He didn't think this was a version of Simon, everyone got to see and he thanked every cosmic energy out there that put him here. He also made a mental note to thank Maddie later for all her manifestation rituals.
The sun rays created a backdrop behind Simon and washed him all over in a warm, incandescent glow. He looked straight out of a renaissance painting even in a hoodie and sweatpants. Wille wished he was a painter so he could capture this and immortalize Simon in oils.
Simon walked over to him, his curls glittering like a halo above his head and for a second, Wille swore that he had died and somehow reached heaven.
“Here’s some aspirin, you’re gonna need this.” Wille took the pill and the glass of water from his hands, immediately gulping it down because as lovely as it was staring at Simon’s ethereal face, his head was indeed pounding and threatening to split open.
Too soon he was jerked back into reality, why exactly was he here again?
“Simon, what happened last night?” Wille asked hesitantly not sure if they wanted to really know.
“Well you were drunk,” Simon started.
“Yes, that much is clear. Uhm did I do something embarrassing?” Wille started to recollect some of the hazy memories from last night and they hoped that Simon would clear them out for him.
At this Simon, grinned. “Oh yeah, you stripped in front of everyone at the bar.”
Wille’s eyes widened and their voice rose an octave. “What?” They certainly didn’t remember that.
Simon clutched his stomach and started laughing, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m just kidding, you just puked all over me and then forgot where you live, so I figured you could just sleep it off here.”
Wille breathed a sigh of relief, okay at least he didn’t cataclysmically embarrass himself by stripping in front of an entire bar.
“Sorry for throwing up on you,” Wille apologized sheepishly.
Simon waved them off. “Also you uhm…” Wille raised his eyebrows. “Do you remember what you said to me last night?”
Wille racked his brain trying to figure out what they said and then stilled. Oh shit. He was a complete goddamn idiot. Denying it now would do them no good so they took a deep breath and said yes.
“Did you mean it? Or was it just something you said because you were drunk?” Simon looked apprehensive, his eyes searching Wille’s face for answers.
“Yeah, Simon. I meant it. I like you, I’ve liked you for months now but I couldn’t figure out how to tell you. Every time I’d see you around campus, I’d think to myself that I would just do it, I would just tell you how I feel but I just… I just never found the courage to. And it’s okay if you don’t like me back, I would completely understand-”
Simon cut him off. “Of course, I like you back.”
“You do?”
“Yeah I’ve been flirting with you constantly ever since we met, you dumbass. Did you not notice that?”
“Oh, I mean I did but I didn’t think you were actually serious.”
“You are such an idiot.”
“Hey!” Wille lunged at Simon and tackled him to the bed, causing Simon to burst into a fit of giggles. Their faces were inches apart now, Simon’s lips just right there.
“So what now?” Simon asked, breathing heavily
“Can I kiss you?”
“Yes, please”
Wille grabbed Simon’s face, pressing their lips against his gently, pouring in his months of wanting and yearning, wondering what Simon tasted like. Simon’s breath intertwined with theirs, his taste sending him on a sensory overdrive. They broke apart, eyes meeting. Simon gave them a soft smile before pulling Wille in by the waist. If the first kiss was soft and tender, this one was rough and passionate, hands roaming over each other’s bodies, searching and discovering.
Wille moved their hands under Simon’s hoodie, feeling the hard planes of his abs, heat curling at the base of their spine. Simon hissed and dove in to Wille’s neck, sucking a bruise there and Wille, well Wille couldn’t find a word in any language to describe the way he felt right now. Wille tugged at the hoodie and in one swift motion Simon took it off, pushing Wille back on the bed and climbing on top of him. Wille throat went dry as his eyes wandered down. Simon was ethereal, he was a god and Wille wanted to spend his entire life worshiping his body and him. He flipped them around and started kissing his way down Simon’s chest, inhaling his scent and tasting him. Simon’s back arched off the mattress, his fingers digging into Wille’s hair.
“Wait, Wille,” Simon breathed out.
Wille immediately stopped, sitting up, anxiety taking over him. “What happened? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no nothing wrong. I just… maybe we shouldn’t rush into things. I really like you and I want to do things the right way. How about you take me out to dinner first?”
Wille’s mouth quirked up into a smile reaching their eyes. “Why am I the one taking you out to dinner?”
Simon grinned back at him. “Because you should put your family’s blood money to good use.”
“Yeah, you’re right. How about tonight. Are you free tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, great. Now can I kiss you again?”
Simon’s eyes crinkled, shining with mirth. “You’re such a little shit.”
“Shut up.”
Their lips connected once again, this time warm and soft. Mouths moved together in tandem with a promise of more, causing butterflies to swarm through Wille's body. After they pulled apart Wille leaned their forehead against Simon’s, staring into his sparkling brown eyes, asking a silent ‘ do you want this as much as I do?’ and his eyes shined back with a clear resounding ‘yes’ . After months of silently hoping from a distance, this was like a fever dream, Wille never wanted to wake up from. But it was real, all of it was real, unlike the fake metal people Wille encountered everyday. Simon was real.
They spent the entire day, cuddling on Simon’s bed not wanting to let go of each other. It was the weekend, neither of them had anywhere to be.
Despite their plans for the evening, the both of them didn’t make it to dinner.