Archive of Our Own

Taking two morning classes for his first college semester wasn’t Wille’s best choice. While registering back in the Spring, he’d gotten into a heated argument with his childhood best friend and future college roommate, Simon, about whether or not he’d be truly able to wake up for them. Wille, being ever so stubborn, registered for the two earliest morning classes he could find just to prove Simon wrong and wipe that smug smirk off his face. They’d register together, even though they were in different majors, but still managed to create completely opposite schedules. Now being just one month into the semester and still so long to go, Wille wishes his past self took Simon’s advice. Going to class at seven after a long night out, and having a third class at four on the same day was brutal. Wille adores the fact that he only has to go to classes three days a week due to his rigorous schedule, giving him more time to spend with Simon, but those three days take a lot out of him so they mostly resort to staying in their dorm or going out to their local night club to unwind.

Now after Wille’s two morning classes, he walks back towards his shared dorm with Simon and silently prays that the boy hasn’t woken up yet so he could watch as he sleeps. Wille also hopes  that Simon is in his bed, as he typically is whenever he wakes up before Wille arrives. Simon gets lonely as he has mostly evening classes and Wille mornings, so their time together is scarce but so cherished. They’ve resorted to sleeping in the same bed some nights when the distance from the day was too much, but sometimes after Wille leaves for classes and returns back to their dorm, he finds Simon sleeping peacefully in his bed and he melts. This meant that Simon had woken up, seen that Wille wasn’t there and was desperately craving comfort that he moved to Wille’s bed just to fall back asleep and wait. Wille thinks that moment alone is what makes the morning classes worth it. He loves falling asleep and still smelling Simon around him and it only gets better when they cuddle.

He’d always been aware about his feelings towards Simon, even back when they were in elementary school he’d be obsessed. He’s also aware of Simon’s feelings towards him. It’s hard to miss his refusal to go on dates, even after getting asked out so frequently, or his slight jealousy when Wille would say he’s hanging out with an unknown friend. Simon always tries to be touching Wille, who doesn’t complain in the slightest because he’s the same way. They’re equally clingy and moody, that’s what makes them work so well. Though, neither of them have done anything about it and Wille is genuinely okay with that. He’s come to terms with the fact that he’s going to be in love with Simon for the rest of his life, and he’s in no rush when he knows they’re practically committed to each other already.

His hands shake in anticipation as he turns the doorknob to enter his dorm. Even after being with Simon for so long, he still misses the man after such little time apart. As soon as he enters, he pauses. On Simon’s bed, atop of his dark blue comforters, sits a small black cat. It watches the door open and stares at Wille with wide, dark brown eyes. Wille looks around the room, taking note at how Simon’s side is getting messy again even though he’ll insist it’s organized. Simon is nowhere to be seen. Strange.

Wille quirks his head to the side, approaching the black cat cautiously. “You’re not Simon.” The cat hisses back at him, almost offended but remains sitting. Wille jumps back slightly but laughs at the audacity of the unknown yet familiar feline. “Calm down, will you?” Wille sits next to the cat on Simon’s bed and just stares at it. “Well, who’s cat are you? I know you’re not Simon’s, there’s no way he’d be able to hide you for this long.” 

The cat, of course, doesn’t respond back and just stares blankly at Wille. Wille stays for a moment before sighing and standing up off the bed to go over to his side. He ignores the faint meows behind him and sits at his desk next to his bed. Wille watches as the cat hops off the bed and stands at his right foot, simply staring up at Wille. “You’re weird, you know that?” The cat hisses back at him before following Wille up to his desk, almost as if he was offended that Wille didn’t want to give him attention anymore. 

The cat hops up onto the top of Wille’s desk and sits in front of him, right on Wille’s assortment of notes he’d had neatly laid out. “Dude!” Wille sighs, “You’re messing up my papers!” The cat meows, offended that Wille would yell at him before walking across the desk more, almost making an effort to annoy Wille. Wille picks the cat up by his stomach and turns it around so it’s staring at him with its big brown eyes. Why are they so familiar? Wille’s annoyance is immediately turned soft when he feels the cat’s fur in his hands. He smiles and sets the cat back down on the desk, moving his hands to pet its back. The cat leans up into the touch and purrs when Wille pets behind his ears. 

“I guess you aren’t so bad, just don’t do that again you dork.” Wille coos and picks the cat up by its stomach again and walks over to his bed. He sets the cat down before stepping over it and laying down with his back against the wall. The cat stares looking at the either side of the room for a moment before turning around to face Wille. “I typically cuddle with Simon after class, but he’s not here and you’re really soft. Don’t tell him I took a nap without him though.” Wille smiles. The cat purrs once again but doesn't move closer, still standing and staring at Wille. “Quick cat nap, if you will, before we go look for Simon together? Hopefully he’s off just getting us breakfast or something, I could definitely eat.” The cat meows in response and walks closer. Wille stays laying on his side and lifts his head to rest it in his hand as he watches the cat slowly approach him. “Did you like my joke? Cat nap? Because you’re a cat?” 

The cat pauses his approach to simply stare into the boy’s eyes. Wille can practically feel the judgment radiating off him and he giggles softly. “Simon would’ve liked it…” The cat meows back in response, disagreeing with him. It ends the conversation by turning its attention towards Wille’s, supposedly really interesting, comforter. He purrs as he kneads his tiny paws into the bedding. Wille simply watches with a fond look on his face. He reaches out to pet the cat once again and it purrs even louder at the touch as it keeps its attention on Wille’s bedspread. 

Wille takes his phone out of his pocket and opens his messages with Simon. He shoots his roommate a quick, “Where are you?” and pauses when he hears the familiar ding of Simon’s phone on the other boy’s nightstand. The cat stops its purring and jolts to look at the phone. Wille sits up in his bed, also starring. His chest tightens slightly and he feels warm when he realizes Simon left the dorm without his phone. The other man is literally addicted to it, Wille is constantly telling him to put it down and pay attention to him yet he just left without it this morning. Wille looks back at the cat, only to find it staring up at him. He bites his lip and attempts to pause any anxiety riddled thoughts that would no doubt send him into a spiral. Simon was okay just last night as they did their school work in each other's beds, basking in the comfort that was simply being in the other person’s space. He thinks back to how Simon laid entirely on Wille to fall asleep with their legs tangled, whispering soft a soft “I love you” every few minutes until sleep overtook them.

Wille swiftly jumps out of his bed and rushes towards Simon’s night stand, almost slipping on the wooden floor. He opens Simon’s phone and looks at all the unread notifications that have no doubt piled up throughout the night. He’s not worried about what he might find, they have each other's birthdays as their passcodes and neither boy cares about the other going on his phone. Wille tenses when he feels something soft pressing up against his shin. He looks down to see the cat rubbing itself against him, not wanting to be separated. 

He picks up the cat once again and holds it in his arms so it’s laying on its back. Wille coos at the cuteness of the feline and puts Simon’s phone back down. He doesn’t feel comfortable taking a nap without Simon now, and while that’s definitely his anxiety and clinginess talking, he just still wants to nap with Simon, not the cat even though it is really soft and comforting. Wille looks down and nuzzles his nose against the cat’s, “What are we going to do? I'm.. like sad.” The cat meows in response and licks Wille’s nose. Wille laughs softly, “Okay we are definitely keeping you once I talk it over with Simon, dorm rules be damned.” The cat meows again and wriggles in Wille’s arms before he jumps off onto Simon’s bed. Wille watches as it meows impatiently at him until he crawls into Simon’s bed. 

“I don’t want to sleep, though.” Wille mumbles once he’s lying comfortably on his stomach with his head turned towards the side so he can watch the cat. It meows in response before laying down right in front of Wille’s face. Wille sighs and throws his arm over it to rest his hands on its ears and pet it gently. The cat closes his eyes and Wille coos at the extreme cuteness. He’s worried and anxious about Simon, but he knows his boy will be back soon. This cat is just too cute to leave. Simon would understand. He can’t wait to show it to his roommate when he returns. 

Wille leans forward and gives the cat a quick kiss on its forehead. What he doesn’t expect is a very pink, very flustered Simon to appear right next to him. Wille watches him open his eyes and stare wide eyed at the other man in his bed. Wille retracts his hand from Simon’s curls, shocked at how much the cat's fur and his hair felt the same, and rolls off the bed onto the floor. He stands up quickly to see Simon now sitting against the wall with his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. There’s a slight smile on his flushed face. Wille simply stands in the middle of their room, waiting for Simon to say something. “I didn’t get breakfast, are you still hungry?” Simon mumbles, staring up at Wille through his lashes. 

Wille looks at Simon, confused and slightly freaked out. He shakes his head in response. Simon moves his arms from his legs to reach out towards Wille, silently begging the other to come to him. Wille, the weak man that he is, walks cautiously over to Simon and sits at the edge of the bed. Simon sighs and leans forward to grab him and pull him closer. Wille’s back rests against the wall next to Simon and the curly haired man crawls into his lap with his legs thrown over one side of Wille’s body. He rests his head against Wille’s chest, just on his collarbone and wraps his arms around Wille’s waist. Simon shakily whispers, “Why haven’t you kissed me yet?” 

Wille’s mind blanks. So many thoughts running through his head that he can’t just pick out one. He’s shocked at how Simon can just blatantly ignore the elephant in the room. Wille moves his hands to rest one in Simon’s curls and the other around the man’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer. “Are you kidding? I’m not answering that until we talk about why you were a cat.” Wille can feel Simon roll his eyes as he lets out a little laugh. 

Simon turns and presses his face against Wille, “I did something stupid,” 

“You’re always stupid.” Wille feels Simon gently hit his back. 

“Maddie was being annoying yesterday when we were out shopping and she was telling me about this new spell she was learning that turns people into their spirit animal or whatever,” Wille hums in response urging Simon to continue, “..I told her she could try it on me because I didn’t believe her. She did and nothing happened so I assumed it didn’t work but I woke up this morning..” Simon laughs, “..and I was a cat!” Wille smiles at the absurdity of the situation, a bit impressed at Maddie’s abilities but also a little scared. Simon looks up to meet Wille’s eyes. “It was so weird, Wille. I was so angry at everything and I had the urge to knock all the pencils off your desk,” He smiles, “When you came back it felt like I could finally relax and just cuddle up against you… You’re really good at pets, by the way.” Wille blushes slightly and rolls his eyes at the man sitting in his lap.

“But why are you back now? Was there.. like a time limit or something?” Simon blushes even more. Wille sighs, “Also.. that was a really dangerous thing for you to do, Simme. What if it worked while you guys were out and you couldn’t turn back and you were stuck as a cat? Or what if you didn’t turn back just now? I know you like helping Maddie with her spells because half of the time it’s wishful thinking, but you guys were really reckless. It physically affected you and the idea that you would be stuck as a cat is really scary.” Wille scolds Simon. What if he never got his boy back? The cat was nice but it wasn’t Simon. Wille sighs loudly.

Simon bites his lip and brings one arm up from Wille’s waist to cup his cheek in his palm and connect their gaze. He smiles teasingly, “But it was pretty cool. I was a cat, Wille.” 

Wille smiles back and rolls his eyes fondly, “Your spirit animal is a cat, congrats.” He says sarcastically causing Simon to laugh at his false annoyance. 

“It was stupid, you’re right.” Simon caresses Wille’s cheekbone with his thumb and tightens his grip around the other man’s waist. “I wasn’t worried about changing back though.” 

Wille cocks his head to the side, confused as to what Simon could mean. He turned human when Wille gently pecked his forehead but that didn’t seem like it had anything to do with it. “So Maddie did place a time limit on her spell?”

Simon shakes his head, biting his lip and staring up at Wille. Wille can’t help but melt at the fond expression on the other man’s face. “True love’s kiss,” He smiles fondly. “The spell could be reversed with true love’s kiss. I had no doubts I’d be okay.”

Wille feels himself stop breathing for a moment, happy that Simon wasn’t worried but in shock that he’s Simon’s true love. It’s real. They’re soulmates. Wille knew they would be together for the rest of their lives, but for the universe to confirm that yeah… they’re meant for eachother, might drive him crazy. Simon is it for him. He doesn’t have to suffer through any awkward first dates or excruciating break ups because he’d found his person when he could barely even make out full sentences. 

Simon’s face falls slightly as he tucks his bottom lip between his teeth. His grip on Wille’s cheek loosens and he brings his hand down to rest against the man’s chest. “Did you…not know we’re in love?” Wille raises his eyebrows at Simon before laughing loudly and throwing his head back against the wall. He tightens his grip around Simon’s waist and uses his other hand to grab a handful of Simon’s curls. 

“Are you kidding me?” He looks back at the man in his lap, “Oh my god Simme..” Simon stares back at Wille with big, pleading, brown eyes and unbelievably pink cheeks. Wille smiles and moves his hand from Simon’s hair to rest against the nape of his neck. “Of course I know we’re in love, idiot. I just didn’t think the universe knew.” Simon, full on, giggles and brings his hand back up to Wille’s cheek. He moves his other hand under Wille’s shirt along his back and smiles wider as he feels Wille tremble against him. 

“I think the universe knew before we did.” 

Wille shakes his head, “No. I knew you were the love of my life since elementary school.” Simon shudders and his eyes glass over slightly, like he’s been almost brought to tears by one simple sentence. 

“You’re kidding..” Wille shakes his head again, letting Simon run his hand further up his bare back under the shirt. “You’re not kidding..” 

“I’m in no rush to love you when we have the rest of our lives together.” He shrugs. 

Simon feels Wille pull him a little closer by the grip on his neck. “Wille, we could’ve been dating this entire time..” He groans, a little disappointed that they haven’t even kissed in their almost two decade long friendship. 

Wille smiles, “Haven’t we been doing that already?” 

Simon rolls his eyes, attempting a different approach, “We could have been kissing this entire time.” 

“Guess we have to make up for lost time.” Wille pulls Simon in and closes the gap between them. 

Kissing Wille feels like a flood. It feels like jumping off a cliff on a windy day into a beautiful ocean. A flood to Simon’s heart, a flood of emotions, a flood of passion. Kissing Wille is overwhelming and dizzying yet so familiar and comfortable. It’s deep and Simon wants to press all their years of friendship into this one kiss. 

Simon leans forward against Wille, using his grip on the man’s cheek to pull him impossibly closer. Wille laughs slightly against Simon’s lips, letting him press his tongue into Wille’s mouth and explore one of the only areas he hasn’t touched. Eager to be closer, Simon disconnects them and takes off Wille’s shirt with his hands before kissing him against the wall once again. Simon’s seen Wille shirtless more times than he can count, but that doesn’t stop him from rediscovering his lover’s body. Simon moves down from Wille’s lips to press open mouth kisses into his neck and down onto his collarbone. His hand finds the back of Wille’s hair and he pulls to elicit a hushed noise out of the man under him.

Wille pulls Simon away by the grip in his hair and simply stares. “Do you know we’re in love?” 

Simon rolls his eyes and takes off his shirt before attacking Wille’s lips once again. 

-

Somehow Maddie convinced them to leave their “love den,” as she called it, and go shopping at their local mall. Wille needs new pants as his old ones have ripped at the seams, and he misses spending time with Maddie due to their clashing schedules. 

Simon and Wille walk, hand and hand, into the mall and up the escalator where Maddie is waiting for them by their favorite department store. Simon hasn’t seen her in almost a month, since she performed the spell, and since midterms are starting soon they know they won’t be together for at least another month unless one makes an impromptu visit. Maddie living off campus is always a bit of a struggle when it comes to her socializing, so Simon is thrilled whenever she shows up at their dorm unannounced because he can show her what she’s missing. 

“Took you guys long enough.” Maddie rolls her eyes once the couple gets into hearing range. 

“Sorry, Simon made us late.” Wille laughs and kisses Simon’s curls. He’s done that before they started officially dating, but it always makes him swoon at how easily his (now!!) boyfriend blushes. 

“Are you joking?” Simon cocks his head up to stare at Wille. He shakes his head before turning back towards Maddie, “I can’t even take my shirt off to change around this idiot before he attacks me.” 

Wille laughs but Maddie scowls, “I don’t care, you are both disgusting.” 

Simon listens to his boyfriend laugh even harder causing him to smile fondly at the noise. He doesn’t think they’ll ever get out of their honeymoon phase, they’ve been in it for almost their entire friendship so their relationship should be no different. Simon is so incredibly in love, he feels like nothing can compare to the sound of Wille’s laughter. “Maddie, mind you..” Wille gets out between fits of laughter, “He took his shirt off to “change” when he already “changed” three times that day, all in front of me.” Wille uses his free hand to make air quotes and Simon uses his free hand to slap Wille’s chest. “I’m simply a weak man,” Wille turns towards Simon and kisses his forehead, “It’s not my fault my boyfriend is hot.”

Maddie fake gags at their public display of affection and wraps her arm around Simon's side, sandwiching him between his two favorite people. Without saying anything else, she guides them into the clothing store and straight to the men’s department where they can all shop. 

Wille peaks his head around a clothing rack to see Maddie and Simon whispering not too far from him. He smiles at their friendship and how close they’ve grown since Hillerska before approaching them with two new pairs of pants he wants to try on. Simon immediately lights up once he catches a glimpse of his boyfriend and he looks down at his arms. “Do you need help trying those on?” Wille rolls his eyes and pushes Simon’s shoulder slightly before they all make their way towards the fitting room. 

“I was just telling Simon how funny it is that his spirit animal is a cat.” Maddie laughs. 

Wille looks at her, kind of offended on Simon’s behalf. There’s no way he wouldn’t be a cat. Nothing else would make sense. He had almost completely forgotten about the spell, so caught up with learning Simon’s body. He sighs, “That was still so stupid of you guys.” 

Simon smiles but doesn’t say anything as he wraps his arm around Wille’s waist and pulls him closer. “So you’re saying you don’t want to be a cat?” Maddie asks.

“We don’t even know if my spirit animal is a cat.” He shrugs.

“Well there’s only one way to test it.” 

Wille shakes his head and stops walking, “Have you done the spell on yourself?”

Maddie shakes her head, standing in front of Wille and Simon. “I don’t know who my true love is so I’m not risking it.” 

Wille rolls his eyes as Simon’s grip on him tightens, like they’ll be separated anytime soon. Wille never knew how clingy Simon could be but he enjoys second of it, like Simon can’t get enough. “Well you didn’t know if I was Simon’s true love, so it was still risky.” 

Simon jerks his head up towards Wille, slightly offended with his eyebrows raised. “But you knew I was the love of your life?” 

“I knew. I didn’t know if Maddie knew.” 

Maddie rolls her eyes, “It’s been obvious since Hillerska, it’s not my fault you guys took so long to figure it out.” 

Simon shakes his head, “Wille knew we were soulmates since elementary school, apparently.” Wille nods in agreement, putting his pants down on a random clothing rack and beginning to lead them out the store. Shopping can wait but his hunger cannot and he’s craving to buy Simon food. Simon looks up at him, confused, but follows his lead nonetheless to take them to the food court. 

“What about your pants?” Maddie asks when they read the exit of the store. 

Wille shrugs and takes them up the escalator towards the food court, “Simon hasn’t eaten since breakfast, we should get food first. The pants will still be there when we go back and I was feeling lazy.” Simon rolls his eyes at his boyfriend's antics, knowing they both haven’t eaten since breakfast but he’ll always enjoy being spoiled. 

“You know, I actually started practicing another spell that makes you taller.” Maddie nudges Simon’s shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m banned since I became an adorable, super soft cat.” Simon sarcastically rolls his eyes, talking about Wille like he’s not even there. In reality, he doesn’t think he can give up their height difference. Simon loves having to crane his neck up to kiss his boyfriend, or stand on his toe’s to reach Wille’s forehead. He loves when Maddie practices spells on him, he finds the uncertainty exciting and he’s glad he can temporarily help his friend, but he loves being able to perfectly rest his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder even more. 

“I say you do it, Simme. You could use the extra height.” Wille teases and leads them over to Simon’s favorite restaurant. 

“Oh shut up, we both know you’d miss making fun of me.” 

Wille presses his lips into Simon’s hair, inhaling the coconut shampoo softly. While he misses the softness of the cat, Simon’s curls are even better so he can’t complain. He mumbles against Simon, “I love you.” 

Simon looks up at Wille, squeezing his waist and smiling fondly. He raises his heels slightly to make himself taller and perks his lips to silently ask Wille for a kiss. Wille rolls his eyes but spoils him nonetheless, leaving a chaste kiss on Simon’s lips before moving towards the man’s heated cheeks and pressing his lips against them as well. 

“You guys are disgusting, did I mention that?” Simon hears Maddie from behind them. 

“I think you’ve mentioned it before.” He smiles up at Wille, ultimately turning Maddie into the third wheel but not caring because he’s had to endure it whenever Rosh comes into town. 

“I think we should get a cat,” Wille whispers. 

Simon laughs, “Okay but we aren’t naming it after me.” 

Wille sticks out his tongue to signify his annoyance. 

Simon can already imagine them with a soft, black cat running around their dorm room to signify how it all began.