Work Text:
Simon wakes up before the sun to an unfamiliar room bundled on a king sized mattress. He slowly peels his eyes open, still groggy due to sleep before staring at the ridiculous mural that paints his ceiling. His eyes widen and he jolts up in the bed, sitting against the padded headboard instead of where his normal wall should be. He looks around, taking into account that he is definitely not in his room in Bjärstad. At the end of the bed lies a small black cat, curled up into a ball and purring in its sleep. Simon coos gently at the sight before becoming even more scared, he definitely didn’t have a cat. He looks around, noticing the empty bed besides him, and notices the room is rather empty considering how big it is. Two dressers sit in the far right corner, with cardboard boxes still atop of them and opposite to it there are even more cardboard boxes. Whoever’s room he’s in hasn’t finished unpacking their belongings. He looks to his left and reads his alarm clock: 5:57am. Did he drink too much last night and just forgot where he passed out? But he doesn’t even drink? And who’s house is this? Simon reaches for the phone on his bedside table and scoffs when he finds it’s dead. Of course. He looks to his right and notices another table, confused as to why one person would need two and ignores the box that sits atop of it. He would feel weird going through another person’s belongings, but he still doesn’t know where he is.
Simon sighs and wills himself out of bed, careful enough to not wake the cat. He shivers as his feet hit the cold floor and he finally takes into account that he’s just wearing his boxers. This is the one thing that even slightly makes sense, Simon sleeping in boxers, though the fact that he’s in boxers in a stranger's house does not inspire him with confidence. Simon tip-toes over to one of the dressers and notices how it’s only half full. He takes out a pair of gray sweatpants, pausing once he sees the bright red “Hillerska Skolan” logo embedded onto the upper thigh. Simon calms down just slightly. Even though he dislikes Hillerska with a passion, seeing something so familiar helps his nerves. He closes the drawer and puts on the pants, not knowing where he can find a shirt anywhere in this odd room.
He settles on grabbing the random white hoodie with a heart sewn into it that was carelessly thrown onto the floor. It smells unfamiliar, but he can’t resist sticking his face into the inside and inhaling deeply. It’s comforting, almost like home and Simon knows he’s going to be okay. Ignoring the cat and an entryway in the back of the room that looks like it could be a walk-in closet, Simon turns the knob on the door and peeks his head out, taking in his surroundings. There’s not much, just a long beige hallway with more closed doors that Simon doesn’t recognize. He steps out, jumping when he hears a loud bang coming from the end of the hallway. Too afraid to snoop around behind closed doors, Simon follows the noise.
He reaches an open floor living room with a flat screen tv mounted on the wall farthest right from the hallway. A long, dark green couch sits in front of it, against the other wall and there’s a fireplace off the right side. He looks in front and sees a dining table with four chairs on either side of it in the middle of the room. There is a shelf near the table with a record player atop of it and records piled underneath it. Three more open cardboard boxes sit atop of the dining table while two closed ones sit on the floor around it. Looking to his left, he finally sees the cause for the noise. There’s a big kitchen with marble countertops along the wall and a gray fridge at the end. In the middle of the kitchen/dining room is a marble island with stools tucked neatly under it. Standing shirtless at the island and washing dishes is Simon’s boarding school enemy: Wilhelm Bernadotte, also known as the Crown Prince of Sweden. Simon gasps, catching the attention of the other man in the house who looks up in shock before his face falls into something so fond that confuses Simon even more.
Wilhelm puts the dishes down and stalks over to Simon, who stays frozen in the doorway. “Hey, baby. I’m sorry if I woke you, I was just making us breakfast.” Wilhelm puts his hands on Simon’s waist and presses a quick kiss into the boy’s cheek, as if he’s done this dozens of times before. Finally catching up to what’s happening, Simon pushes Wilhelm away from him and backs up into the hallway. He watches a look of confusion form onto Wilhelm’s face, “Did something happen? Are you okay?” Simon just shakes his head and rushes back towards the bedroom. At least he’ll be alone there.
Wilhelm doesn’t look… normal? He looks… older? He’s grown into his shoulders, and he’s at least six inches taller than usual. The cut on the right of his cheek has faded into a white scar and his jawline is more pronounced. His hair no longer swoops into his face with a middle part but it’s rather cut and polished and styled to the right. Simon does not know how he could change all that in one night. Simon also doesn’t know why he’s in Wilhelm’s house. Just two days ago they were yelling at each other during workies and both threatened with suspension once Wilhelm grabbed the back of Simon's chair and pulled him to the floor. He remembers falling asleep in his room, so why is he here now with Wilhelm of all people? Was he kidnapped?
Simon opens one of the closed doors, happily sighing when it’s just a normal bathroom. He wills himself inside and slams the door behind him, stopping once he sees himself in the large mirror mounted against the wall. This is not right. He’s… old too… he has a star shaped pimple patch sitting between his furrowed eyebrows and he notices hints of wrinkles forming around his eyes. His curly hair is significantly longer than it was yesterday, almost falling down into his face if it wasn’t for the headband he’s wearing. It just falls above his shoulders, which is strange considering he’d never let it get this long in fear Wilhelm would make fun of him for it. He looks healthy. He’s grown into his gangly limbs and his body is so soft, even a bit darker than he's used to. He looks like a happy man, disregarding the entire situation.
A gentle knock on the door pauses his spiraling train of thoughts as he looks towards the only thing separating him from the bane of his existence who just so happens to be old now. “Love,” A pause. Simon jumps at the name, “Can I come in? I have to leave soon for work and I’d like to say bye.” Simon sighs and walks towards the door, opening it slightly to let Wilhelm push the rest of the way. He backs up against the marble countertop, leaning against it as far as he could. Wilhelm is dressed in a navy blue suit with a baby blue button up hidden neatly under the jacket. He walks forward, obviously realizing something is wrong and stopping before he touches Simon. “I’ve put your breakfast on the table, I’ll see you later for date night?”
Date night? Simon speaks for the first time since he’s awoken, “Date night?”
Wilhelm’s eyes widen and he folds his bottom lip between his teeth. “It’s Friday. Did you forget, baby?”
Friday? “It’s Monday..” Simon watches Wilhelm stare even more confused at the boy standing against his marble countertop. Simon hates the look he’s getting so he tries for a classic, familiar, insult. “And what work are you even talking about? You royals don’t do anything but leech off of us and cut ribbons.” Wilhelm’s eyes widen even more, stepping back and into the hallway slightly. Simon smirks at the familiar reaction, calming down and glad that even in this weird situation, he’s still able to get something out of Wilhelm.
He just doesn’t know why they both look older than they did at school yesterday. Seriously, what is going on?
Wilhelm steps back into the bathroom, unsure what to say. “Simon,” He walks closer, practically standing in between Simon’s legs, “Did you hit your head? Should I take you to the doctor?” He brings his hand up to rest the back of it against Simon’s forehead, attempting to feel his temperature. Simon grimaces at the touch, ignoring the electric jolt he feels between them, and brings his hands up to Wilhelm’s shoulders to push him away again.
“What? The doctor for speaking the truth?” Simon rolls his eyes.
Wilhelm leans his head to the side, staring at Simon with wide eyes and even more confusion on his face. “...No? …The doctor because you have seemingly forgotten about me abdicating?”
Simon’s eyes widen to match Wilhelm’s. “What? Since when?” He barks out, even more confused at the situation.
“Okay..” Wilhelm steps back out of the bathroom and pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps on it three times before bringing it up to his ear. Simon watches as Wilhelm waits for the person he’s dialed to pick up. “Hey, you’re going to need to cancel my clients for today..… It’s Simon…… He’s not feeling well……. I don’t need to explain myself to you, just cancel my clients and give them a free voucher or something……. I understand the professionalism but I’m not leaving my husband alone when he obviously isn’t feeling okay…” Simon’s thoughts stop. He is no longer listening to Wilhelm’s one sided conversation and tries to understand what the other man is saying. What his husband is saying. Since when did this happen? Is he dead? Is this hell? Did he die and now he’s married to Wilhelm? Did they get married yesterday and he simply forgot?
Wilhelm walks back into the room, almost as if he’s approaching a wild deer. He tries to joke, “You’re lucky there’s no class today.” He lets out a forced laugh, watching Simon narrow his eyes.
“Why is there no class today? Hillerska never cancels.” Wilhelm grimaces at the mention of their boarding school, stepping forward towards Simon once again.
“Baby,” Simon blushes at the nickname again but he doesn’t know why, “I’m talking about your classes at Marieberg,” A pause when there’s no response, “That you teach… as a music teacher… Why would I be talking about Hillerska?”
Simon feels like he’s going to pass out, “Because we go to Hillerska?” Wilhelm shakes his head and Simon watches as the gears begin to turn to try and decipher just what is going on.
“What day is it?”
Simon rolls his eyes, “I already told you, it’s Monday of March 3rd, 2022.” Wilhelm’s eyes widen even more and his breath starts to pick up just slightly. Simon notices it as a sign Wilhelm is going to have a panic attack, after accidentally causing many of them.
“Simon-”
“Why are we in your house? Where is my mamma? What happened to the cut on your face I caused? Wh-”
Wilhelm rushes forward and grips Simon’s shoulders, cutting the other boy off. “Simon, it’s March 3rd, 2032. ”
Simon stops. He looks into the boy’s eyes to see if there are any signs of dishonesty but he finds none. There’s just concern and confusion and in a moment of vulnerability, Simon’s eyes begin to gloss over with tears.
He tucks his bottom lip between his teeth, “You’re-you’re not joking?” Wilhelm shakes his head, gripping Simon’s shoulders tighter. “What is going on? Wilhelm…” He brings his right hand up to rest on the man’s arm, desperate to feel some sense of familiarity and Wilhelm is the only thing he knows right now, even if he doesn’t look how he normally does. “...I went to bed last night at home… and I woke up here…” Tears begin to fall as he pulls Wilhelm forward with his grip on his arms and sobs into his chest. “I don’t know what’s going on..” He mutters as he’s definitely soaking the expensive fabric but Wilhelm doesn’t seem to care as he holds Simon tighter, drawing soothing patterns into his back.
Wilhelm lets Simon cry into his chest, only opening his mouth to speak again once the man in his arms has stopped shaking. “What’s your name?” Wilhelm asks, causing a slight laugh out of Simon.
“..Simon.” He mumbles.
“How old are you, Simon?”
Simon pauses and retracts himself from Wilhelm, staring up at big brown eyes that are also slightly wet. Simon feels an uncomfortable ache in his chest at knowing he’s made Wilhelm upset. “..I’m sixteen. We’re sixteen. I’m not lying when I say I went to bed last night and I woke up here. We just had our math exam. You were there. I tripped you on the way to it.” Wilhelm smiles at the memory, almost fondly. Simon doesn’t know why that made him smile today when yesterday he was being cursed out over it. Simon’s breath hitches, “You have to believe me, Wilhelm.”
He’s met with a nod and Wilhelm stepping away from him, but he keeps his hands on Simon’s shoulders. “I believe you. It must be some weird fluke but Simon… you’re twenty six. I’m twenty six. Yesterday we went for a walk along the pier, got our palms read by a psychic, had ice cream and came home. There was no math exam yesterday.”
Simon pauses, “Do you know what the psychic said to me?” Wilhelm shakes his head, staring hopelessly at Simon. “That had to have something to do with it. Do you think we can go back to her and see?”
Wilhelm shrugs, “I think it was just a pop-up shop. They come and go all the time, we do them pretty frequently because you think they’re fun.”
Simon groans, “Well I definitely don't think they’re fun right now..” He watches Wilhelm smile again as he laughs lightly. Simon’s face burns just a little, happy he made Wilhelm emit such a gorgeous sound. “I’m serious, Wilhelm! What are we going to do?”
“Well first, you can stop calling me Wilhelm. It’s weird.” Wilhelm rolls his eyes and turns to walk out of the bathroom, stopping at the doorway once he sees Simon not following him. “Second, come eat your breakfast. I’m sure time traveling can take a lot out of you.”
Simon rolls his eyes but follows.
He gets a better look of the kitchen once he’s sat at the island facing it with Wilhelm standing on the other side, watching him warily. Simon looks down at his plate and sees scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, slices of avocado on the side, and a satsuma already divided into its correct pieces. Wilhelm breaks the silence, “You have this almost every morning but I can make something different for you? Do you want cereal?” Simon shakes his head. “I can make you pancakes?” Simon shakes his head again.
“It’s okay, Wilhelm.” Simon smiles but drops it when Wilhelm rolls his eyes again.
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
Simon takes a bite of his toast, not bothering to finish chewing before opening his mouth again to speak. Just because Wilhelm made him breakfast doesn’t mean he deserves politeness, they do hate each other after all at sixteen. “So what do I call you?”
Wilhelm unbuttons his suit jacket and takes it off, draping it along the island and rolling up his button up sleeves. Simon’s blush returns to his face, wondering when Wilhelm’s arms were so… full. “We don’t really call each other by names anymore,” Wilhelm blushes and looks down at the counter, “But Wille works.”
Simon’s slightly confused, “But only your friends call you Wille?”
Wille laughs, looking up at locking eyes with Simon, “I think it’s safe to say we’re pretty good friends.”
Simon blushes again and hides behind taking a piece of fruit off his plate and dropping it into his mouth. They should really address the elephant in the room. “Yeah… about that…”
Wille cuts Simon off, “You’re allowed to ask as many questions as you want, but I am not answering anything too life altering. We’re going to find a way to get you back to your time and I don’t want to ruin everything.”
Simon looks back up and blurts out before he can stop himself, “When do we get married?”
Wille rolls his eyes again, “I just said nothing life altering.”
“Like.. we’re in love, right?” Wille nods. “And we live together?” Wille nods again. “And we don’t hate each other?”
Wille smiles and walks around the island, over to Simon to sit next to him on the stool. “We never really did.”
Simon turns to look at Wille, all thoughts about breakfast halted once he realizes how close they are. “You literally said you hated me yesterday.” Wille shrugs, not providing Simon with much to go off of. “You pushed me up against my locker and said you hated me because I made you late to class, ruining your stupid perfect attendance.”
Wille nods in remembrance, “I know. Sixteen wasn’t our best year.”
“But I’m in love with you?”
Wille shrugs, “I’d sure hope so considering we’re married.”
“I don’t know, Wille. I can understand my future self being in love with this version of you,” Simon motions at Wilhelm, “ You’re attractive. But you’re also so fucking insufferable, I don’t get how I, at sixteen, fall in love with you?” Simon doesn’t even fully acknowledge what he just says, but he holds his ground.
Wille blushes at Simon calling him attractive, “You’re actually the one to make the first move.” Simon gasps in disbelief. “I’m serious!”
Just before Simon can respond, he feels something soft rub up against his sweatpants and he looks down to see the black cat from earlier nuzzling up against him. Simon coos at the cuteness and bends down to pick it up, petting behind its ears and giggling when it purrs at the gesture. “That’s Pizza,” Simon throws an annoyed look at Wille, “Don’t look at me,” He holds his hands up in surrender, “You picked her name.”
Simon looks back at Pizza and watches as she jumps off his lap and onto the counter. She walks over to the dripping faucet and hovers over as she licks the tap. “Is she allowed to do that?” Simon asks, not taking his eyes off the cat in fear she’ll do something dangerous.
“She’s done that since we brought her home, she likes it better than her normal water dish.” Wille shrugs and stands to take Pizza off the counter. He simply holds her in his arms and she closes her eyes and lets herself be held on her back like a baby. Simon thinks it may be the cutest thing he’s ever witnessed. “Literally the most pampered cat with an automatic feeder and filtered water, yet she still prefers our leaky faucet. That’s pretty much the only reason why we haven’t fixed it yet.” Of course they’d be cat dads, Simon has always wanted a cat but he never thought he’d have one with Wilhelm of all people.
Simon doesn’t respond and simply enjoys his almost cold breakfast. Wille must make it for him every morning if he knows just what Simon likes. But Wille leaves before Simon? So how does he have the time to make breakfast for the both of them? Does he wake up earlier just to do something nice for his husband? Simon blushes as his own thoughts, looking up at Wille and already seeing the other boy staring at him. “It’s so weird, I can tell you’re not you . You look unsure of yourself, and your posture is different. It really is like you’re sixteen again.”
Simon puts his fork down, slightly upset, “That’s because I am!” He argues. Wilhelm flinches at the sudden raise in the other boy’s voice, but Simon is so scared and he just needs Wilhelm to believe him.
“I know love, I know.” Wilhelm closes his eyes tightly and looks at the ceiling. “I just.. I don’t know what to do.” His voice breaks a little, almost like he’s scared of being vulnerable with Simon.
Simon stands up from the table and walks over to Wilhelm. He pets the sleeping cat in the man’s arms and sighs fondly when he sees Wilhelm staring back at him. “I’m scared. I can see we’ve obviously built a life together, and I am slowly warming up to that, but I’m still scared. It’s not every day you wake up and suddenly you’re married to your supposed enemy.”
Wille laughs fondly, “You know.. I always had a crush on you.”
Simon’s eyes widen, “Even at sixteen?”
Wille nods, “I fell in love the moment I saw you singing at the Opening Day Ceremony.”
Simon rolls his eyes, not giving the ridiculous, lying man a response. He shoves past Wille, ignoring the cat in his arms and walks back to their bedroom. The stress of the morning has made him exhausted and Wille being annoying is not helping. He hears water running and dishes clanking from the kitchen. Simon crawls into the side of the bed he woke up on, not bothering to take the nice smelling sweatshirt off. He lays on his side against the pillow over the covers. He resists the urge to move over to Wille’s side even though it smells so much better. It’s comforting and the hold of the hoodie is not enough.
Simon rolls his eyes, frustrated with himself, and turns onto his stomach on Wille’s side of the bed. He lets his face push into the other man’s pillow and inhales deeply, desperately trying to commit this to memory. The door creaks open and Simon pushes off the pillow, turning around on his back but still laying on Wille’s side. Wilhelm simply laughs before walking over to the dresser in the corner and pulling out a black pair of sweatpants and a well-loved, faded orange “Looney Tunes” shirt. Simon sits up in the bed, “Hey! That’s my shirt?” Wilhelm laughs again and goes past Simon, into their walk-in closet.
He calls out, “You’re wearing my clothes so I thought it was only fitting if I wore yours!” There’s no hint of malice in his voice, just a slight bit of teasing. Simon’s face blushes peach, that’s why the sweatshirt smelt so good. It’s Wilhelm’s.
“That’s not fair. How was I supposed to know they’re yours?” Wilhelm walks out, now completely changed and shrugs before walking over to Simon’s side and sitting down against the headboard. He lets his legs fall in front of him and watches as Simon turns onto his side and rests his head in his hand, staring up at Wilhelm. Something has shifted after knowing he’s wearing Wilhelm’s clothes on Wilhelm's side of the bed. “Did you..” He starts to whisper, “Really start liking me at… the Opening Day Ceremony?”
Wilhelm coos, “I said I fell in love with you at the Opening Day Ceremony.”
Simon rolls his eyes, effectively ending the moment of vulnerability, “You’re such a fucking liar.” He laughs awkwardly.
Wille leans over and wraps his arm around Simon’s back, pulling the other boy closer so his head is laying in his lap and his body remains at Wille’s side. Simon’s eyes flutter shut once he feels a gentle hand caressing through his long curls. “You were just so much louder than everyone else, it truly felt like you were singing from your heart. I’ve been obsessed with you since I first saw you.”
Simon sighs and brings his hand up to wrap around Wille’s waist, letting his husband keep playing with his hair. It’s such a comforting feeling and since his hair is longer, there is more to caress. He closes his eyes, feeling truly safe with Wilhelm. “I never understood why I always get so sweaty and anxious when I’m around you. I thought it was just because I hated you but… two weeks ago when you… got on the table because you kissed Felice… I felt like I was going to pass out, my chest felt so heavy.” Wille’s breath hitches, almost as if he’d forgotten about this occurrence. Though, to Simon this was still a recent event and the wound is still fresh. “I had to leave the room because I got so dizzy. I wanted to scream at you, ask you how you could kiss Felice when there was a better option, but I knew I'd have to... admit... my feelings..”
Simon explains as if Wilhelm doesn’t already know all this information. But as far as Simon is aware of, he doesn’t. Because it has only been two weeks and they haven’t talked about it. Wille sighs, “I really shouldn’t tell you this.” A pause, his hand stops moving in Simon’s curls. Simon groans at the lack of movement causing Wille to laugh and continue caressing his hair. “I did that because I wanted to see if it could feel the same way I imagined it would feel with you.” Simon’s breath hitches. “Felice knew about my crush. We’re actually still really close, her and Sara come over for dinner pretty frequently.”
Simon hums as he starts feeling even more tired, “And my mamma?” The comfort from Wille’s hand in his hair and the warmth his body provides is enough to calm him down.
“We visit her every weekend, we moved back to Bjärstad so that we could see her more often.” He pauses, “But.. we’re actually moving out of Sweden for a while… to experience something new.”
Simon’s grip around Wilhelm’s waist tightens, but he keeps his eyes closed and his voice low. He’s still so content and so tired. “Am I not scared?”
Wilhelm laughs gently, “You’re terrified, so am I. But we want to push ourselves out of our comfort zone.”
Simon whispers and slurs slightly as sleep begins to overtake him, “Bjärstad’s all I've ever known.”
Wilhelm continues caressing the other boy’s curls, whispering so gently, “You’ll see the world, love. And I’m right there by your side the entire time, supporting you and caring for you.”
The last thing Simon hears is a gentle “I love you, we’ll figure this out,” before he lets sleep overtake him.
-
He wakes up again with a full-body shiver. It’s too cold for March. His bed feels too empty, his body too small and his skin too light. There’s a sinking feeling in his stomach like he’s done something wrong. As if coming to, Simon jolts up in a panic, calming down once he’s realized where he is. The sun is seeping through the open-window, his three fish are gracefully swimming around in his room and he’s okay. He’s back home. He reaches over onto his nightstand, almost knocking over his lava-lamp to check his phone. It’s 2022. It was just some weird overly-realistic dream.
Simon’s heart aches as he sits on the bus to Hillerska and he desperately tries to remember what it felt like to be held by future-Wilhelm. It seemed so real, like he could still smell Wilhelm’s sweater around his body.
Simon shudders once he walks into fourth class of the day, just before lunch, and sees Wilhelm waiting at their usual desk. For two people who are supposed to hate each other, they still sit together during classes because neither of them have many friends. Simon has been effectively avoiding Wilhelm all day, after the too real dream threw his entire life upside down. He walks over to their desk, desperately hoping that Wilhelm will just ignore him. “Wow, you look like shit,” Wilhelm smirks teasingly, pulling at Simon’s hoodie to sit him down. Wilhelm always seems to try and be touching Simon, something he’s never noticed until now. In a quiet whisper, Wilhelm says, “Did you sleep okay?” Almost as if he’s being sincere.
Simon looks over at the other boy with wide eyes. How did Wilhelm know? Did he have the same dream too? Simon sighs, “No, I didn’t.” He looks back down at the table in front of him, wishing he could just go back to bed and meet future-Wilhelm again.
“If you want..” A pause, “You could just go nap in my dorm? You’re lame when you’re tired.” Wille sounds nervous. This isn’t the first time he’s offered Simon his dorm, but it’s the first time it makes Simon full body blush. Of course Wilhelm notices, “Calm down there, tiger. I didn’t mean to take a nap with me.” He pushes his shoulder against Simon’s, laughing when the other boy blushes more. “You’re weird today.” Wilhelm teases.
Simon rolls his eyes, desperately trying to play off the ache in his chest at the thought of feeling Wilhelm’s body against his after learning what ten years time has for them. “I just said I didn’t sleep well.”
Wilhelm shrugs in response and Simon can’t help but notice the bright eyes on him throughout their entire class.
Simon groans and leans his head against the cold table. He hears Sara laugh beside him, probably at his misery but he’s too tired and too annoyed to be doing any type of studying during workies. They’ve been here for an extra hour already, he just desperately wants to crawl back into bed and fall asleep where he could continue his future life. Though, he doesn’t think he’ll have the dream again. It felt too realistic for it to be a recurring one, he has been trying to remember every detail throughout the day. He just wants to smell Wilhelm again, he misses the comfort the other man provided. Everything was so easy, given the circumstances.
Wilhelm sits at one table over, unaware of the inner dilemma going on inside Simon’s mind. Simon can feel his eyes burning into the back of his scalp. Wilhelm is constantly staring at him. Wilhelm is constantly trying to touch Simon. Wilhelm is supposed to hate Simon. Was his dream somewhat the truth? Was it really a dream?
Simon moves his hands up to his hair, pulling slightly at the curls on the back of his head and groaning out of frustration as he finds them just too short. Sara laughs again and pokes her baby brother with her pen, “What is your problem?”
Simon takes a deep breath and looks up, still leaning over the table. “I’m tired and I hate science and my hair is too short.”
“Your hair has always been that length.”
He groans again, “I know. I want to grow it out.” Simon hears a gasp behind him so he quickly turns to see a bright red Wille staring directly at him. “What?” He asks.
Wilhelm bites his bottom lip and looks down at the table before back up at Simon, “It’d look… dumb.” Simon continues staring at Wilhelm, confused. Wille only blushes more and begins to pick at the skin surrounding his thumb’s nail. “You with long hair.. would look dumb.”
Simon rolls his eyes again, “I wasn’t even talking to you.” Wille nods in agreement. Simon thinks he looks so cute when he’s rendered speechless.
“I was just listening.” It seems like Wille is always listening to Simon.
What the fuck.
Simon’s cheeks begin to heat up slightly as he continues staring at Wilhelm. Was it not a just a dream? He quickly stands, grabbing the chair to keep some balance. “Call me when you’re ready to leave, I can’t focus,” Simon nods at Sara before marching over to Wille, “Get up.” Wille looks up at the boy standing above him and simply stands without further hesitation. “Pack your stuff and lets go to your dorm, I need to talk to you.” Wille nods, following Simon’s instructions.
As they’re walking to Wille’s dorm, Simon can’t help but notice how the other boy is walking just slightly behind him. Wille is letting Simon lead the way, like he always does. Wille is always listening intently to Simon talk during class, and he’s always quietly supportive when there’s a heated debate. Though, that was always overshadowed by Wille’s berating comments or the ridiculous amount of times he’s tripped Simon or thrown him out of his chair.
Simon stops, letting Wille unlock the door and walk in first. Wilhelm slowly walks over to his desk sitting at the far end of the room. There’s two twin sized mattresses on either side of the desk and on the right side, just at the end of one of the beds sits a tall closet probably housing all of Wilhelm’s overpriced designer sweatshirts. Simon itches to grab one and see if it felt the same way future-Wilhelm’s did.
He stands at the entry way for far too long before walking over to the closet. If he’s right, and Wille really does like him, then he shouldn’t mind Simon smelling one of his sweatshirts… right? Simon opens the door and his breathing stops once he sees the familiar white hoodie, though it still looks brand new. Simon pulls it off its hanger and simply holds it in his hands, trying to see if it feels right. “I just bought that one..” Wille mumbles from behind Simon, still standing against his desk awkwardly. Simon rolls his eyes, that means it won’t smell like Wilhelm. He feels slightly annoyed but slightly relieved he won’t completely ruin his reputation by smelling Wille’s hoodie in front of him.
Simon puts it back on its hanger before turning towards the other boy in the room. He’s staring almost hopefully at Simon, but mostly confused as to why Simon pulled him away from workies and into his dorm.
Simon slowly walks over, approaching Wille with such caution. He desperately wants to be right. He wants to stop feeling like he’s drowning whenever Wille is looking at someone who isn’t him.
“Hi.” Simon says once he’s fully approached the boy. Wille only gives Simon a lop-sided smile in return. Simon moves forward more, so he’s standing in between Wille’s legs. He hears Wille’s breath hitch slightly and watches as Wille moves his right hand up, but pushes it back down towards his side. Simon swallows his nerves and takes Wille’s hand in his. He guides it to his own waist, breathing deeply when Wille finally wraps his hand around his side. He squeezes gently and smiles when Simon blushes even more.
Simon brings his left hand up to rest on Wille’s shoulder. He is silently pleading that Wille feels something towards him. Taking one last deep breath, Simon leans forward and places a chaste kiss on Wille’s lips. He leans back quickly, as if it didn’t even happen in the first place. Wille stares back at Simon with a blank expression, Simon is never able to tell what the other boy is thinking but right now he feels even more lost. With another burst of confidence, Simon leans in again to kiss Wille once more. He lets it linger and just as he’s about to pull away, Wille leans forward and kisses back.
He tightens his grip on Wille’s shoulder, pushing against the other boy as if their feud as turnt into a kissing competition. Wille brings his left hand up to grab Simon’s waist, pulling Simon against him. Simon gasps slightly and cradles Wille’s warm cheek as he presses his tongue forward into Wille’s mouth.
Wille pauses all movement and pulls away from Simon. He stares forward at the boy, hands still on his waist and Simon’s hand still on Wille’s face. Wilhelm leans forward and gently pecks Simon’s lip, as if trying to confirm that this is really happening. Simon can’t help but smile into the kiss, content with the knowledge that he was right all along. He doesn’t have to feel miserable knowing Wille is with someone else, because they end up together. They get married and have a cat named Pizza and Wille abdicates and Simon becomes a music teacher and they’re okay. They’re in love.
Simon pulls back this time, just wanting to simply watch Wille in all his glory. His lips are slightly parted and his eyes glossed over as he thinks. Simon brings his free hand up to caress Wille’s hair. He watches as Wille’s eyes close just slightly before he opens them to stare at Simon with an unreadable expression. Simon wonders if future-Simon is able to read future-Wilhelm better. Feeling slightly uncomfortable at the boy’s gaze, Simon laughs, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Wille’s eyes widen as he tucks his bottom lip between his teeth for the millionth time. Simon wonders if future-Wilhelm still has the same anxiety ticks. “I thought you hated me?” Wille all but whispers, so gentle and so vulnerable.
Simon laughs, attempting to bring light back into the dorm. “Would I kiss you if I hated you?”
Wille shrugs, leaning into Simon’s touch on his face. Simon rubs his thumb along Wille’s cheek and Wille’s grip on Simon’s waist tightens just a little. “I don’t know?” Wille opens his eyes with a teasing smirk, “Moment of weakness?” Simon smiles fondly, “Because I’m so sexy and irresistible you couldn’t control yourself?”
Simon laughs once more, knowing this is just the beginning. He leans forward and kisses the pretty boy standing in front of him again.
He could get used to the feeling of Wille’s lips on his for the rest of their lives.