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It feels like everything is finally falling into place.
And it’s been a bit of a bumpy road for Simon recently. He got kicked out of his rental flat, for no reason actually. The landlord just came in one evening and announced that he has time till the end of the month to get out since a new family is moving in here. A totally random hit that Simon wasn’t ready for. It’s not like he can afford any and every place he’d want in Stockholm with his teaching salary.
So the few last days of the month, Simon spent stressing and looking for a place. He still feels it’s a miracle he actually managed to come across an affordable one, which also turned out not to be too far from the school he works in. It had to be some cosmic luck that sent him here, so Simon instantly set an appointment to see the place. In real life, it didn’t disappoint as well and although he didn’t have much choice anyway, basically being forced to choose something so last minute, he really likes the outcome.
It’s a cosy place. One bedroom, living room with a kitchen, and a bathroom. But it’s more than enough for him, or even if some of his friends want to stay over. Maybe it’s not very modern, it is actually located in an old tenement building, and if he could, he’d exchange some of the furniture but that’ll have to wait now. The rent is a bit more expensive than what he was used to.
Still, Simon has been taught by his mama to always look on the bright side of things. So that’s what he’s doing. He has his own place, a safe and functioning home, a job that’s really fulfilling and fun as he works with the kids. It really is enough, he ponders as he places one last box on the kitchen counter.
Rosh and Ayub helped him move in but since they’re busy people too, the task of unpacking all the boxes they were carrying up the stairs for the past hour, is Simon’s only. He doesn’t mind though, he’s always liked organising stuff. Especially since here, he can do it the way he wants.
He starts with the kitchen, since soon it’ll probably be time to make some food and then decides to move to the bathroom. Setting the box full of toiletries on the small counter, something draws his attention though.
Because on the wall, right below the ceiling and as if flowing down, there are some weird marks that definitely weren’t there when Simon was having the tour of the place. Upon closer assessment, he realises that these are water stains.
He curses under his breath. First day at his new place and it seems that his upstairs neighbour is flooding his bathroom.
Simon takes a deep breath. Looking at the bright side of things is not looking so great anymore.
It’s fine, he tries to calm himself down. Because it’s not like he’ll have to redo the bathroom now, right? Except that it is. The stains look horrible and it seems that there’s still some water dripping from them. He should fix it as soon as possible so it doesn’t get even worse.
Actually, no, his neighbour should do something about this.
With a heavy sigh leaving his lips, Simon grabs his keys and goes out of the apartment, marching up stairs to have a word with his neighbour.
Once he gets there, he knocks firmly on the door, not really having prepared what he’ll say.
But when the door opens, all words kind of leave him anyway. Because no one really prepared him for how gorgeous his neighbour is.
He’s wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up (Simon catches his eyes drifting to his strong arms involuntarily) and well-fitted, navy blue suit pants. He’s making Simon feel a bit underdressed in his checked, plaid shirt and jeans. The guy’s handsome face is framed by delicate bangs falling on his forehead. His beautiful, hazel eyes stare back at Simon as his face twists in confusion.
They both stare at each other for way too long actually.
“Sorry, but I’m currently having a bit of a situation here,” the man begins, eventually shaking off his daze. “So whatever it is that you want, if you could come back later-”
“Is the situation you flooding your downstairs neighbour?” Simon manages to question.
The guy’s face turns even more confused.
“How do you know?” He asks with suspicion clear in his tone.
“Because I’m the downstairs neighbour.”
“Oh,” some understanding dawns on the man’s face. “Are you new?”
“Just moved in today,” Simon replies but damn it, he’s not here for chit-chat. And he totally shouldn’t be getting distracted by the guy’s pretty face. But it’s a really pretty one.
But back to the matter at hand.
“So yeah, you’re flooding my place,” Simon says since the man actually just keeps staring at him as if suddenly forgetting about the urgent situation they have going on here.
“Right,” he shakes his head a little. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m trying to get a hold of some plumber but…” he trails off helplessly and in his defence, Simon can hear that he’s actually sorry so that’s something at least. “I’ve just come back from a business trip and found my place flooded so… Sorry, it’s not that you care about this, what I’m saying is that I’m trying to fix it.”
Simon nods slowly, taking the words in.
“But nobody is answering?” He’s just noticed that the guy is holding a phone so he gestures to it with his head.
“Yeah,” his neighbour scratches the back of his neck nervously.
“Have you tried having a look yourself?”
“Yeah, but I have no idea about this stuff. I just know there’s something wrong with the sink.”
Simon nods again.
He really can’t believe what he’s about to offer, but maybe he’s just stupid, too blinded by his neighbour’s beauty, has too good of a heart or just sees a person in distress and wants to offer his help.
Or maybe a combination of all.
“Can I have a look?”
The neighbour seems just as surprised at the suggestion as Simon feels.
“I-, yeah sure, but…” he starts but doesn’t really finish. Or doesn’t even know what exactly to say. “Yeah, come in,” he decides on that and opens the door wider so Simon can come in.
“I’m Simon, by the way.” Simon offers his hand once he steps through the threshold.
“Wilhelm,” the neighbour takes it with a shadow of a smile passing through his face. “Wille, actually,” he adds after a moment.
Simon nods, offering a courteous smile of his own.
“The bathroom is just right here,” Wille directs him as if Simon didn’t have the exact same layout of the apartment. He decides not to call Wille out on it though.
Simon doesn’t manage to see a lot of Wille’s place during the short walk to the bathroom, but what he does notice is that the place is freaking fancy. Maybe it does have the same layout as Simon’s but it looks totally different. Marble floors and countertops, state-of-the-art appliances and modern, minimalistic furniture. The bathroom itself is kept in warm colours. Some white, beige and light brown. A shower, countertop with a sink and a big mirror above it, plus the marble floors that the currently supporting a big layer of water. There’s a huge puddle on the tiles and it seems to only be growing as there’s still water dripping from under the sink.
“Can you grab a towel or something?” Simon asks because yeah, he decided to offer his help but it’s not that he’s exactly willing to wet his jeans since it’s kind of required for him to drop to the floor and have a look under the sink.
“Right, of course,” Wille disappears from where he’s been hovering in the doorway and Simon lets himself take one more, assessing look at the room. He decides he totally wouldn’t mind his own bathroom looking like that instead of the crappy design in his place. But right now, he’ll settle on getting rid of the water stains. “Here,” Wille soon returns with a bunch of towels in hand and both of them try to wipe the excess water from the floor as much as they can.
It’s not like the water is actually pouring from the sink, which should probably be good news. Simon remembers that Wille mentioned he was away somewhere though, so yeah, if it’s been dripping like that for two days or something, such a mess shouldn’t be a surprise.
“Okay,” Simon sighs as he finally manages to get rid of enough water so it’s mostly safe to sit on the floor. The pipes under the sink are hidden in the cabinet, but he still manages to get enough of a look. Now, he’s not a specialist, but he’s been doing enough things around first his mama’s house and then his own, to learn some basics. Back when he was younger, but after his dad left, Simon was named the man of the house. Nobody actually gave him such a title, but he himself just felt like he had to step up for his mom and sister. There wasn’t always money to spend on those little repair jobs, so Simon learnt how to handle them. That’s why he doesn’t have much trouble spotting that a loose gasket seems to be at fault for this whole flood. “Do you have any tools?” He looks up and asks Wille, who’s been leaning against the doorway with his arms folded upon his chest and watching him. And damn those arms again. Simon almost forgets about his task.
“I should have something,” Wille disappears again to soon reappear with a toolbox. There’s not much inside as Simon has a look, but a wrench that Simon finds there should do its job so he gets to work. “So uh… is this what you do? Like, for a living?” Wille prompts then and Simon can’t help but chuckle.
“No,” he replies but still grapples with the wrench. “Wouldn’t that be funny though? If your new downstairs neighbour was a plumber just when you need one?” He can’t help but entertain this thought.
Wille laughs, the lovely sound echoing through the walls.
“Yeah, especially one that I’ve just flooded,” he reminds with a hint of embarrassment. “What is it that you do then?”
“I’m a teacher at primary school.”
“Oh, so you work with kids?” Wille inquires and Simon hums an affirmative answer. “How come you can handle the… whatever is happening out there?” Wille gestures under the sink.
“It’s just a loose gasket,” Simon explains and then shrugs before getting back to work. “I don’t know. My dad wasn’t around the house so I guess I learnt to do stuff so my mom and sister didn’t have to handle everything.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Wille says tentatively.
“It’s fine,” Simon just waves him off. There’s no point in pondering on his family story now. “What do you do?” He shoots the question back instead.
“I work as a stylist,” Wille replies and his fancy outfit kind of makes more sense now. “I was just in France on a job and came back… well, to that,” he points to the still slightly wet floor with a wince.
“It’s not that bad,” Simon tries to comfort. “Can you hand me another towel though?”
Wille does as he’s told and soon, Simon pats dry the situation under the sink. Maybe it’s not looking brand new but the crisis is definitely under control now.
“I’ve reinforced the seal so it should hold for now, but you may want to have someone take a look at that soon anyway.” Simon retorts as he drags himself up from the floor.
“Thank you so much, really,” Wille says, visibly relieved. “And I am so sorry again. Please let me know about the damage this caused in your place. I’ll pay if anything needs replacing or redoing.”
“Well, maybe you could start by buying me dinner,” Simon decided on a bold move, shooting his shot because maybe, just maybe , Wille would be interested.
“Oh,” the man begins and clears his throat dropping his gaze “I’m sorry, I have a lot going on now and it’s just-”
“It’s fine,” Simon shakes his head. He doesn’t need him to keep going with this kind rejection. Well, seems that his shot has missed. He probably shouldn’t feel as disappointed about it as he does. “I’ll let you know about the damage then,” and oh he will because there’s no way he’s spending a penny on redoing his walls. Especially not after he himself prevented a bigger crisis.
“Yes, please,” Wille quickly jumps in on his answer. “I’ll just… be here or-”
“Mhm, I’m just going to go,” Simon tries to offer a polite smile but he’d actually really like to escape this situation now because damn, what was he thinking flirting with his neighbour like that? It’s not like he’s a random person he’s never going to see again, they literally live in the same building. And now each time he'll pass Wille on the staircase he’ll be reminded of the moment he decided to be brave and it blown up in his face.
“Thank you so much again, you truly are a heaven’s sent,” Wille states as he walks him back to the front door.
“It’s no problem,” Simon says and lets himself have one more look at Wille. At the kind, yet still slightly nervous smile on his lips, the bangs falling onto his face a bit, the shiny, pretty eyes. Maybe it’s the last time he actually looks Wille in the face, next time he’ll probably try to avoid him. “Bye.”
He can hear Wille replying with the same but just quickly skips down the stairs to go back home and probably wallow a little. Really, it shouldn’t affect him that much but there’s just something… different about Wille. Maybe he’s mourning the possibility of never getting to find out what that actually is.
He’ll get over it.
It’s not so easy to get over it. Get over him.
Thankfully, Simon hasn’t bumped into Wille for the last two days. He also hasn’t really assessed the damage in his bathroom and got back to his neighbour on that. Is he avoiding him? Maybe a bit. But is he also busy? Yeah. He’s still finishing up unpacking and making this place his own, plus he has lots of work to dig himself into.
So this evening, he finds himself on his couch with his students’ essays spread on the coffee table in front of him. He loves those kids, he really does, but sometimes, they really write such bullshit even he, who’s all for positive feedback, struggles to find the upsides in their papers.
It’s going to be a long night, he thinks as he sighs heavily.
Before he can really dive into his work, there’s a knock on his door. First, he groans as he has to drag himself up from the couch and stop at his task. But maybe it’s actually better that whoever is bothering him is doing so now before he can start grading for real.
He doesn’t even think much about who he might find at the door. Once he opens it though, it’s definitely a person he wasn’t expecting. Because right there, at his doorstep, there’s Wille.
“Hi,” his neighbour starts and exhales.
“Hey,” Simon replies, still a little startled.
“I, uh,” Wille’s hand goes to the back of his neck in that nervous manner of his. “I decided to take you up on that dinner offer,” he states and lifts his hand, which is busy holding what looks like a take-out bag. “So… I hope you like Thai food and that you’re hungry.”
Simon bites down on his smile. Well, maybe his bold move wasn’t so stupid back then. As Wille looks back at him with hopeful eyes now, it seems to be paying off.
“Thai food is my favourite,” Simon answers and yeah, it’s totally too soon to say that they’ve formed some sort of connection but it really feels like it. Like there’s just something when it comes to them both, something that wants to reach the surface, that is manifesting itself in the gestures that pass between them. Maybe it’s a chance to let whatever that something is break through. “Come in,” Simon invites then and Wille flashes him a smile as he moves past him to enter.
They step into the living room and Simon quickly tries to put his coffee table in order, so Wille can place the bag there.
“Did I catch you in a bad moment?” The neighbour questions worriedly.
“No, I was just about to start grading my students’ essays but I can take a break.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to-”
“I hope you got enough food for us both,” Simon just interrupts. He’s not going to let him go so easily now.
“If you don’t mind me joining you, then yeah, there should be enough,” Wille replies somewhat shyly.
“Take a seat,” Simon gestures to the couch with a smile.
They take a moment to unpack the food and put it on the table. Wille got some of his favourite dishes and he really brought a lot, so they just decide to share everything. Simon grabs the plates and soon, they can relish in the delicious dinner which seems to taste even better in such a company.
“I’m sorry if I came off too strong then,” Simon begins tentatively. Whatever is going on between them now, he still wants to clear the air. Plus, them having dinner now doesn’t have to mean anything. Wille is just being nice and returning the favour. It doesn’t mean he’s into Simon. Hell, he may not even be into men at all for all Simon knows. “You know, with the dinner suggestion.”
Wille shakes his head and swallows his food before answering.
“No, I should be sorry,” his answer makes Simon frown. “I kind of… panicked, when you offered that.”
“Panicked?”
“Yeah,” Wille nods and exhales. “I think I started reading too much into it. Because like, you’re really beautiful and I was kind of… struck by you so… I mean there was just no way someone like you could want to…” he just trails off and takes another bite of his phad tai instead.
“What if I wanted you to read too much into it?” Simon questions then and Wille’s gaze returns to him, although there’s some confusion glimmering in his eyes. “Or what if you actually read everything correctly?”
“You mean…”
“Yes, I wanted to go out with you, Wille,” Simon rolls his eyes fondly as he spells it out for him.
“On like… a date?” The man inquires carefully. Simon chuckles at the disbelief in his tone but nods. He has no idea what Wille meant when he said that someone like him wouldn’t want to go out with Wille. Why not? Who wouldn’t want to hang out with someone so pretty, adorable and thoughtful? Only some idiot.
Wille tries to conceal his smile but he’s failing. Simon himself feels that he’s grinning too so it’s fine.
“Can we count this as a date?” Wille asks then.
“I think we can,” Simon decides and then smirks a little. “But don’t think it can make you get away from paying for redoing my bathroom,” he points his chopstick accusingly at Wille.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Wille raises his palms in a gesture of surrender and they both laugh.
He does pay for redoing Simon’s bathroom. That’s how Simon finds out he’s an honourable man of his word.
But Simon doesn’t actually spend too long in this new place of his, as only after a mere few months, his boyfriend asks him to move in with him. That’s how Simon finds himself living in the apartment upstairs.