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The mall was bustling and crowded, people more akin to savages clawing at each other for exclusive games and toys that hadn't been snagged yet. The enlarged 'XMAS SALE!!!' signs littering the building blared equally irritating shades of yellow, green and red about, all adorned with numbers that surely had to be majorly affecting profit margins.
Gaudy decorations obscured passageways, and cutouts of deranged Santas urged those desperate enough to enter whatever gimmick shop they were running — many of whom would migrate to TikTok immediately if they saw just how similar their product lines were in comparison.
Mariah Carey's voice wandered the mall like a lost soldier, leading a chorus of out-of-tune hopefuls who would 'hit the high note this time'! Simon for once wished they did, as he similarly wished to keep his hearing for the foreseeable future.
Even with all the miserable surroundings though, Simon couldn't linger on the overhanging gloom for too long — not with hundreds of smiling faces greeting him over the past week from children all looking to get Christmas photos with the Santa they'd hired for the duration of their event.
Hosting a Christmas Pop-up stall for M7 Education had been a to-do list item for years and, having finally made that happen, he couldn't let anything ruin it nor his mood or pride surrounding it. He'd secured his presence on the floor himself for the entire week it was going on to help generate hype if nothing else, making sure to schedule it early to ensure Sidemen shoots would work around it when the time came. He'd even had a uniform made for the volunteers and himself, a fun elf uniform in bright festive greens and reds.
They'd been steadily climbing up to their monetary goal for the event from photo tickets and donations, and it didn't seem to be showing signs of stopping. With a deep breath in, Simon put on his biggest smile. "Okay, who's the next lucky one to get a picture with Santa?" He called out, the bell on the end of his hat chiming when he whipped around to greet the next grinning family in line.
—
"Hey, Simon!" A voice called out from behind him, deep and full of mirth regardless of topic. The blond moved his attention from his clipboard to see the familiar faces of Ethan, Faith and Olive all lined up, tickets in hand, to see the big fat man himself.
"Oh, hey!" Simon greeted both of them with a side hug and leaned down to give Olive a high five instead. His attempt to resist the coo breaching his throat was futile when his palm was met with a hand that barely was half of his own. "What're you guys doing 'round here?" Simon queried, it was pretty far out from their home after all.
"We gotta get some last-minute gifts for Oli' - she managed to find some of her presents we hid in the closet. All I'll say is that if they were in this Sunday's vid, it would've been a howler." The belly laugh Ethan summoned was contagious, enough to make Simon chuckle in response, the man radiant in his cheer despite the circumstance. A flickering thought that Simon should've hired Ethan instead for Santa tickled dangerously close to the forefront of his mind. "We had to come by here for some specific toy of whatever, so Faith thought we should stop by for a photo while we're in town. She's gone all out as you can see."
"Ethan, shush." Faith tutted, lightheartedly tapping him on the back with her hand that wasn't holding Olive's. They were wearing matching sweaters, gaudy and charming equally, with some cartoon character's face plastered all over Olive's. Ethan, rather, had worn his Tuesday best, further confusing Simon when he wasn't walking over to join his wife and daughter on the throne Santa sat on.
He turned to watch them settle themselves, distantly waiting for a third to join them that never seemed to come.
Simon hummed after a few second, "You not getting in the pic, Behz?" as he looked over his shoulder and pointed with his thumb, his eyebrow twitching in an attempt to raise itself.
"Nah, wanna let the ladies have their fun this year - daddy'll get in the next one, y'know? Maybe, next year, I'll convince them all to wear Sidemen Clothing sweaters so I can make a few pounds off it myself." Ethan chuckled lightly, his eyes twinkling as he watched his family; proud and truly in love.
Simon had the witty comeback stolen from his mouth as he looked upon Ethan. A look of pure adoration from a man whom his relationship with had been skewed and jostled so suddenly that he still felt on edge and off-kilter speaking to. 2 months of puzzle pieces from two separate houses clicking together in the space of his kitchen and with the aid of too much and too little alcohol in their stomachs.
—
"Sorry — could you repeat that?" Talia asked as the hand bringing her champagne up to meet her lips paused in action.
"We want to open up our marriage - to you guys." Faith confidently repeated, her gaze piercing but not unkind nor forceful. It was so secure that it even eased Simon in his chair, having unknowingly tensed up everywhere in the split seconds that the topic had come up.
He'd expected it almost, he'd seen the way Faith and Talia had begun to look at each other and she seemed to be coming up more in dinnertime conversation between him and his wife as days and weeks went on. But it had never clicked for him that it was to be acted upon or explored.
Talia glanced his way, open and waiting for any kind of reaction from him to gauge her own. Faith's gaze followed hers to him and settled and Ethan...
Ethan's had never left his face since the start of dinner. Two ocean eyes attempting to rock him to peace with what felt like a tsunami-sized proposition. One that could knock the hull of his ship clean off if it went wrong, or could forever improve his world if he let it be successful.
It wasn't as though he didn't want to agree anyways. Faith and Ethan were stunning and dynamic. Faith was incredibly confident in herself and an excellent mother - which transferred into her being an excellent partner, if Ethan's frequent praise-filled babbling during Side+ shoots was anything to go by. And Ethan wasn't lacking either.
If Simon had anything to go off of in the last 10 years together - it'd be that he was handsome in a way that confused him maybe 2-or-so years ago. It'd taken a while for him, with the help of Talia, to come to his own conclusions with himself over his conclusions of Ethan - the conclusion that yes, he was fit, and yes, Simon was into him.
The attraction was deeper than skin, with a heart of gold that rivalled Midas' own touch and loyalty, he was hooked.
He bit his own lip as the 6 eyes all locked on to him, then he let his head fall and rise once more. A nod that changed their innerworkings for the future to come.
—
Snapping back to reality, he felt blown away and simultaneously gasping for air despite nothing having happened since his last breath.
"I'll also appreciate that - me and my wallet." A breezy chuckle left Simon, a polite chime following as his head jostled. It seemed to take his remaining air with it.
A scoff left Ethan similarly, his mouth forming into a grin, before transferring to his tip-toes to peer over the back of Simon's clipboard. "Wha'ya even writing on that thing," squinting as though it would help him in any way, "surely you're not doodling away at your charity event."
"I'm writing down Kids wishlists - they talk to Santa, Santa talks to me. We've got an efficient operation, if you need to know." Simon responded, his tone sharp and poignant but his smirk ever playful.
"My bad, head Elf. I'll keep that all confidential from here on out." Ethan mimicked zipping his own mouth and throwing the key away, a childish action but still sweet nonetheless.
"Good, wouldn't want you not to get anything due to being naughty-listed for life!"
"Pfft - speaking of which actually, what do you want for Christmas?"
"Hadn't really thought about it - what about you?"
Ethan shifted his weight to his other foot, his fingers fidgeting between each other behind his back as though shielding it from view would convince Simon that it wasn't happening. He met Simon's eyes with his own as he composed himself, features settling into determination.
"I'd like a proper date with you, one-on-one."
Simon was speechless, the costume he was wearing must of gotten thicker as his neck began to flush, carrying on to his cheeks.
At Simons lack of reaction, he quickly begun to backtrack over himself. "-If you want one, I mean! I know we went out on a double with the girls early doors into this arrangement but—" Ethan paused, pressing his lips together as he thought of the words to say, not wanting to convey anything less than what he meant.
"-I want to explore what could be there, between us. I fancy ya' Simon - it's why I agreed to this whole 'open marriage' thing that Faith suggested with you and Talia. I want to chat to you like a boyfriend, rather than a mate whose wife your wife is dating, if you'll let me." He looked up from where his eyes had slowly drifted to the floor, any words unsaid being shown in the look of complete vulnerability written over strong features and sharp eyes.
Heat continued to rise from Simon's neck, leaving behind a rosy red blush that sang jolly up to his hairline. A bashful grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and twisted his expressed look of surprise into one of complete merriment.
He would have grabbed Ethan by the face and kissed him in front of the world at that moment - but he couldn't risk anything. He didn't want to take away from his charity, or the Sidemen, nor Talia or Faith who were figuring themselves out together too. He instead linked their pinkies underneath the overhanging sleeve of his uniform and gave out his warmest smile.
"You know what? I would like that, Ethan. When're you free?"
Ethan was silent for a moment, shock written everywhere on him before he cleared his throat, "I'm free tonight, if you're not, eh, working too late with this. If you are we can go maybe Thursday instead?"
"Tonight sounds great, we wrap this up at 5 - does 7:30 at the Italian place 'round the corner work?"
"Perfect!" Ethan exclaimed, slightly too loud as families in the line turned their heads to look at the two. Assuming Ethan was just a father a bit TOO into Christmas photos, they all looked away - it made Simon's heart skip. Like this conversation was truly a secret to the rest of the human population, something precious.
Although it pained him to turn away from Ethan, Simon shifted his view towards the Santa throne, watching as Faith and Olive got off in tandem to review all the excessive photos they took.
He grunted, mildly bummed out that their conversation was due to end, a "Seems like you're wrapping up here..." mumbled out the side of his mouth.
Ethan gave him a nudge with his elbow to bring Simon's eyes back to him, successful as they linked.
Ethan smiled up at him, squeezing his pinkie one last time before he let go of their connected fingers. "Hey - I'll see you at 7:30 sharp. I'll even pick you up a nice bouquet while I'm out here, yeah?"
Simon perked up, bashful and suddenly very aware of the next people in line waiting for their turn with the newly vacated Santa.
"Sounds perfect, now get out of here so I can do my job."
"Aye, aye! Make sure you say hi to Talia for us!" Ethan chirped, saluting, before ducking under the red-roped banister that blocked off the queue to reach his family. He watched distantly as he said something to Faith, chuckling to himself as Ethan jumped up-and-down in cartoon-like elation.
Turning back to the line before him, he let the next child in after collecting their ticket. The smile Ethan left him with almost tattooed to his face, as it hadn't let up all day - especially not when he was greeted at 7:30 by the sweetest bundle of red roses he'd ever seen held by none other than his new boyfriend.