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“I’m sorry babe, Fel called as I was walking out the door and asked me to check on something for her” Wille said as he climbed into the drivers side, reaching to turn down the heat that Simon had turned up all the way (presumably to make up for the chill outside).
“I hope you weren’t out here too—” there was a brief pause as Wille finally looked over, taking in the sight of his boyfriend. “…long” he finished while trying to bite back a laugh.
Simon didn’t respond right away, giving Wille the opportunity to get a good look at the view in front of him. There curled up in the passenger seat was Simon, looking unreasonably cozy and cuddly. He was dressed simply in his favorite purple hoodie and a pair of matching joggers— Wille’s joggers, which were very clearly too big for him. His shoes laid abandoned on the floor, likely kicked off the second he got in the car, and he sat with his feet tucked under him giggling at cat videos, lost in his own world. Wille just looked for a minute, his presence going unrecognized, allowing him the time to silently admire.
He took note of the way Simon’s curls looked a little fluffier than usual, maybe having air dried without any product in them, but still somehow managing to fall perfectly around his face. His heart grew with affection seeing the way the corners of Simon’s eyes crinkled and his nose scrunched up as he watched a particularly adorable kitten do something destructive on the screen.
Wille could stay in moments like this forever, watching Simon in this natural state of ease— relaxed and comfortable.
The moment breaks when Simon seems to spot Wille in his peripheral vision and removes one of his air pods from his ear. He flashes Wille a questioning look, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips as a blush started to form.
“Comfortable, are we?” Wille said teasingly just to watch the blush spread further causing the tips of Simon’s ears to turn pink.
“Whattt—” he whined, giving Wille his signature pout and crossing his arms. “You were taking forever, I just got comfortable” he finished with a shrug. He pulled the case for his air pods out placing the buds in them before returning the item back to his pocket and sitting up a little straighter in his seat. He shifted his legs into a crisscross position and tucked his phone between his legs. Once comfortable he reached across to the cup holder, grabbing his large purple cup and taking a long sip from the straw.
“Ahhh—” He says dramatically. “Water?” He added, raising an eyebrow and pointing the cup towards Wille.
Wille looked down at the sticker covered cup, shaking his head fondly, “No thank you love” he replied while shifting the car into reverse and pulling out of the driveway.
The goal for today was errands, more particularly Simon errands.
While Wille liked spending their weekends at home lazing around together, preferably unclothed, Simon was the opposite. It wasn’t that Simon didn’t like lazy days— he definitely did, Wille made sure of it— he just felt that he needed to be productive with his time. He felt if he didn’t get out at least once on the weekend he’d get cabin fever and lose his mind, at least this was the explanation that he provided Wille when every Saturday like clock work he had a new errand or adventure for them to go on.
Wille was partially convinced of this explanation as he could understand wanting to get out of the house and into the sun sometimes, the other part of him was convinced that Simon had a shopping addiction and that’s what landed them in a new store with a new purchase every weekend. Either way, he didn’t mind so much, Simon liked being out and Wille liked being with Simon. No matter what they did, as long as they did it together, it was a win in Wille’s book.
So they were off, this weeks adventure taking them to the shopping center near their apartments. The area that they lived in was fairly central, located directly next to a very large shopping district filled with varying markets, clothing, and appliance stores. The plaza that they headed to was one of the smaller strip malls that surrounded the larger outlets that this part of the city was known for.
This particular strip mall they frequented regularly for different things like groceries, the occasional nail appointment, and dry cleaning if it was necessary. It was also home to Simon’s favorite Italian restaurant and the nearest cafe that had what Wille claimed was “the best strawberry matcha in existence”. They had become fairly familiar with they place, but often stuck to their regular spots not usually venturing into the other shops.
“Remind me again what we’re doing today?” Wille asked while turning into the parking lot.
Simon pulled a small list from the pocket of his hoodie, unfolding the crumpled piece of paper and reading off the items, “Well I need to get my eyebrows waxed first at the nail salon, then I need to run into the market and grab some pasta for dinner, and last I have to return that mascara I bought last week at Ulta”. Wille nodded along making a mental note of each item as he searched for a parking spot.
As they got out of the the car Wille walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for Simon. Simon thanked him softly and gave him a bright smile before looking down to check his tote and make sure he had everything he needed. When he was done he nodded and Wille locked the car and slid the keys in his pocket. He walked up to Simon grabbing his hand and spinning him around before smoothly pulling him in. He threw one arm over his shoulder and placed a soft kiss on his forward. Simon hummed leaning into the affection and wrapping his arm around Wille’s waist giving a slight squeeze as they walked.
“So where to first, my love,” Wille asked.
“Well I think I’m going to get my brows done first…” he said, Wille simply nodding and allowing Simon to guide their path to the salon.
“You know there are plenty of other shops in this plaza Wille, if you want you can go shop around for a little, while I get my errands done and then we can meet back here in like forty minutes?” He offered gently. He knows that errands like these can be kind of boring and he knows that Wille loves him too much to ever say no to spending time with him, but Simon wanted Wille to enjoy their time out too.
“Are you sure, love?” Wille questioned, taken slightly back, “You know I love spending time with you, I really don’t mind tagging along”.
“Yes of course Wille, but I think you might enjoy the time out a little more if you go shop around. Maybe go check out some of the shops we haven’t been in yet” Simon says.
Wille nods still looking slightly unconvinced. “Are you sure?” he asks again and Simon’s heart does something complicated at Wille’s continued efforts to stay near him and make sure he’s okay.
“I think I’ll be okay in the salon by myself, although I can’t say the same for Ulta. If left unsupervised I may spend all our savings” He teased, lightening the mood a bit. The pair of them giggle together before Wille responds, “Alright but I’m price capping us, no more than a hundred bucks each, we live comfortably but we still need to be responsible adults”.
“A hundred bucks!” Simon gasps feigning mock bewilderment.
“Wille what’s the point of having a rich boyfriend if I can’t spend all his money like a respectable sugar baby”. At that Wille threw his head back in loud unfiltered laughter, the sound sending giggles through Simon as they stood hand in hand on the sidewalk outside the salon.
“Okay okay, I guess a hundred is fine. But when we get home we’re talking about a raise on my allowance” Simon says, slipping in one last joke and a quick kiss before running off to the shop door leaving Wille to his wandering.
“Love you!” Wille shouts after him and Simon throws a “love you too!” over his shoulder before disappearing inside.
Now left to his own devices, Wille looked around taking in the line of different shops. Where to first? he thought as he pondered his options. Wille pulled out his phone taking a peek at google maps to get an idea of his options. He studied the map briefly taking in the overwhelming amount of options, there had to be at least ten other businesses around to chose from. He huffed out a quick sigh before closing his phone and deciding he’d just pick a direction and wander into random shops along the way.
He walked with his head tilted up to view the signs as he passed them. The first place that caught his attention was a cool looking thrift shop called The Icon. The windows featured mannequins dressed in stylish outfits and various signs with sayings written in neon cursive lettering. As he walked in and took in the decor his first thought was, Simon will love this place. That thought became increasingly louder as he saw more and more things that Simon would enjoy— a glass case filled with different vintage jewelry pieces, a wrack of jackets in all different colored leathers, a line of belts on the wall in all different shapes and materials. This place was a gold mine of fashionable pieces, any of which he was certain his boyfriend could pull off without even trying.
He moved slowly through the store, running his fingers along the tops of the clothing racks, stopping every so often to look at a piece that caught his eye. The store itself didn’t seem to be very busy, only a few other customers coming in as he browsed. He looked for a little while longer, making mental notes of a few items he’d like to come back for deciding that he wasn’t going to buy them now. He was trying to think strategically about how he would spend his money, the best way would be to see all the stores first, and then on his way back to Simon stop again for the things he deemed worth the cost.
Deciding he’d browsed enough and fully intending to bring Simon here after he was done with his errands, he snapped a couple of last minute pictures of the things he wanted to come back for and then made his way out to continue his window shopping.
As he continued to walk he thought briefly about the jokes Simon had made. In theory, he was right— him and Wille were definitely well off enough to afford a few shopping sprees. With the money that Wille brought in from his photography business he’d started with Felice and Simon’s ever growing success in the music industry, they had more than enough to cover their bills and treat themselves to nicer things. But regardless of that they normally tended to lean on the more frugal side, opting to deny themselves little things for the sake of making bigger purchases later on. It was very rarely that Wille spent money on something mundane that interested him, when he did spend money it was usually because he wanted to spoil Simon instead.
The thought stuck with him as he walked into the next shop, not really paying attention to the sign as he entered. Once inside he took in his surroundings, gathering that it was a book store he had stumbled into. He walked up and down the varying aisles, skimming over the titles and authors as he passed. He spotted some books that are on Simons TBR and made a note of them in his head as potential items to come back for.
While browsing, he saw a few titles that interested him and were of pretty reasonable price. He snapped a few pictures again, but just like the last shop, he decided that nothing was worth the immediate expense and decided to keep going.
He kept walking, not really taking much interest in the other shops as he passed them. Just as he was about to reach the end of the plaza and turn back around his eyes landed on the last shop. He looked down at his apple watch to check the time—20 minutes to spare. Fuck it, why not? He thought to himself with a shrug as he walked through the automatic doors.
“Love you too!” Simon shouted back just before disappearing into the salon entrance.
As soon as he made it inside he turned around to peer through the glass door to make sure Wille was okay. He felt slightly bad for sending him off to wander on his own, but realistically he just wanted to complete his errands quickly and he didn’t want Wille to feel bored following him around for the next hour. He watched as Wille slipped his phone into his pocket and then began to walk off towards some of the other shops slowly fading from Simon’s view. Once Wille was out of sight he turned around again, walking up to the receptionist desk.
“Hi! Do you have an appointment or are you walking in?” The girl behind the counter asked sweetly.
“Hey! Just a walk in” he responded.
She nodded politely, typing something into the computer before asking, “And what service were you needing done today?”
“Just an eyebrow wax please”
The girl nodded again before gesturing for Simon to follow her through the salon. They walked to a small room in the back. Inside there was a chair covered in the paper toppers you see in doctors offices, as well as one of those lamps that can be moved around, and a small counter with the wax machine and varying other supplies. The woman instructed Simon to sit in the chair and that someone would be in shortly.
He nodded and thanked her briefly before sitting down in the seat and pulling out his phone. He busied himself while he waited, scrolling through the Ulta app checking for new sales or any coupons in his reward account. While he was only meant to return the mascara he bought last week and had no intention of buying anything new, he still save a few coupons just incase. Once he had gone through all the sales and was satisfied with his finds, he closed his phone and put it back in his bag.
He stared awkwardly at the jade green walls for a moment, swinging his legs a bit out of boredom. A few moments later a woman who he assumed would be doing his wax walked in and smiled at him wordlessly before getting to work. While she prepared the wax beads Simon shifted into the proper position, laying down on the table so that his head was just under the lamp. Simon inhaled sharply at the first pull, no matter how many times he'd gone to get his eyebrows waxed the first pull always shocked him.
The woman worked quickly, spreading the slightly warm wax on his skin and removing it with the little strips of paper. Once that was finished she used a small pair of tweezers to remove any missed strands that the wax couldn't get and trimmed the fronts to make sure everything was even. Simon felt like only a few minutes had passed before the woman was holding the hand mirror up for him to observe her work. He tilted his head side to side observing his reflection, his brows were perfectly shaped again not a stray hair in sight. He thanked her for her work and he was off, leaving a tip and thanking the receptionist before exiting the salon.
He took a moment to breathe, the air outside a contrast to the environment of the salon. He pulled out the little list from his hoodie pocket and the pen from his tote scratching off the “get brow wax”. Then he read over the next items, after a moment he decided he’d go into the market last since he could be quick and he’d rather look around the makeup store first in case he needed to get anything from the stop that may spoil if left out for too long.
Going to the next store front over, he opened the door to the Ulta stepping inside and letting out a genuine sigh. It might sound silly but for Simon the make up store was like going to Disney, he loved exploring, trying new things, and of course buying new products. When he was younger, kids were cruel and makeup always felt like something that wasn’t accessible to him. But as he got older and more confident with himself, he really found it to be a nice outlet for self expression. Whether he was going full glitter and blue eyeshadow for a photoshoot or small enhancements to boost his daily confidence, he felt a comfort in the ritual and the experimentation that came with doing his make up.
He tried his best not to get distracted by all the new displays and sale signs as he walked towards the returns counter. He reached into his tote grabbing the bag with the receipt and the mascara as he reached the desk, an employee waiting there to help.
“Hi! Doing a return today?” The man behind the counter asked flashing Simon a bright smile.
“Yup! just this,” Simon said as he slid the bag with the receipt across the counter. The man took the item out of the bag and inspected it before reading over the receipt. He typed a few things into the register before it made a whirring sound and printed out a second receipt. He handed it to Simon to sign, along with a store-credit card. Simon thanked the man as he was doing his signature, handing the receipt back to him.
“No problem! Let us know if you need help finding anything” the man said politely as Simon nodded and walked off towards the holiday displays. He browsed making note of varying items that he’d really like to buy but should maybe save the money instead. Just as he was about to say screw it and save the store credit for another day a woman came up asking if he needed any help finding anything. To say the least, he was in there for another 20 minutes and he DEFINITELY spent the full hundred dollars him and Wille agreed on. He may have even spent a bit more… but no one needed to know that…
Once he finally checked out, he walked the few shops down to the Sprouts and grabbed a basket next to the automatic doors. As he entered the market he headed straight for the pasta aisle knowing exactly what he was there for and wanting to get in and out not wanting to risk any more potential spending traps. He was almost successful until he had to pass the coffee creamer section to get to the pasta aisle and was immediately drawn in by the amount of new fall flavored creamers. The brand of oat milk that he and Wille use had apparently come out with a line of Fall flavors and each one sounded more interesting than the next.
After a few minutes of deliberating over the options, he decided on a cinnamon brown sugar flavor, finding it to be the most neutral and thinking that it would work well in both his coffee and Wille’s matcha. He grabs a second flavor as well, noticing they are on sale, quickly placing them in the basket and then continuing his path to the pasta aisle. When he got there he grabbed what he needed and then proceeded to walk towards the registers. He almost made it but alas, the overspending gods were not done with him yet, and he found himself stopped again in front of yet another fall display. This one hosted varying fall themed cups, straws, and mugs.
After ten minutes that felt like ten hours, Simon finally made it out of the market and back to the car with multiple bags in tow. Wille was already in the car as he climbed into the passenger seat placing all of his bags on the floor by his feet.
“Omg Wille I have to show you what I got!” He said excitedly as he began pulling items out of the bags.
He shows Wille the new make up that he got, as well as the curl cream he’s been wanting to try for a few weeks. He tells him about the fall flavored oat milk creamers and how he got the brown sugar one so that it would work in his matcha’s too but that he also got the maple pecan because they were two for five dollars and why would he get one if he could get two on sale. Lastly he pulls out four large mugs, all fall themed. One of them sports a picture of a cartoon ghost floating around with a little black cat perched on its head. Another is shaped like a pumpkin with the cutest little smiley face drawn on it. The last two came in a set, both shaped like cats— one was orange with stripes and the other all black. Wille questioned the need for four cups when there was only two of them to which Simon responded that the cats looked like them and it was simply too cute to pass up.
“Well you got a little carried away there huh?” Wille asked, laughing softly and looking at Simon with such a fondness that he felt as if his chest might explode if his boyfriend kept staring at him like that.
“Maybe…” Simon said that same blush from earlier rising quickly in his cheeks. To deflect the situation from himself he looked back at Wille with a pleading look, “Please tell me you got stuff too, I can’t be the only one that broke and spent the money”.
“I did, actually…” Wille says hesitantly and something is off. Simon gives him a questioning look, arching his eyebrow. Wille’s face starts to heat up and Simon instantly notices the pink flush spreading across his features.
“Wille—”
“Don’t be mad okay,” Wille says, cutting him off. “It wasn’t my fault, they were so cute and I just had too. I swear I was going to buy something normal but when I got to the end of the plaza I just had to do it. I swear I didn’t plan this.” He rushes out.
“Oh god what is it?” Simon asks nervously as he waits for Wille to answer him. I mean it couldn’t be that bad right? Like they are in a strip mall, how weird of a thing could someone buy from a store in a strip mall. Wille leans over into the back seat reaching for a box. He brings it up to the front with him and looks down at it before handing it to Simon. Simon reads the label on the box “Petco”, then looks up at Wille.
Wille is looking back at him a mix of nervousness and excitement on his face as he waits for Simon to look inside the box. Simon opens the lid slowly peering inside, and there they are in the corner of the box staring up at him. He closes the box again quickly in shock and his gaze shoots up to Wille who is now smiling ear to ear like a child.
“Wilhelm what is this,” He asks coolly, trying his best not to freak out or burst into laughter.
“They’re frogs!” Wille says excitedly and Simon tries— he really tries— but he can’t help himself and the laughter escapes him. He attempts to control his breathing as his stomach starts to cramp from laughing so hard.
“What possessed you to buy not one, but two frogs? When I said buy something for yourself I did not mean reptiles” Simon says wiping away tears as his laughter starts to subside.
“First they aren’t reptiles, second I don't know it kind of just happened. I mean I was in the store and I was just looking around at first, but then I passed their tanks, and they were so cute, and they were just staring at me with their big eyes and I just knew I had to get one. We connected on a spiritual level Simon they belong with me” Wille says with complete seriousness and Simon is finding that the more Wille talks the funnier this gets.
He keeps laughing as he pulls out his phone and takes a video to send to Felice. “Look at what your best friend has done” he says, biting down his laugh as he records Wille holding the two frogs. He sends the video and then takes a deep breath finally feeling calm again.
“Well how expensive was everything?” Simon asks as he takes the box back from Wille and holds it securely in his lap so that Wille can start the car.
“Everything? they were only a hundred bucks” Wille says, giving Simon an odd look.
“Yeah but like, what about their food and their tank and stuff to take care of them?” Simon asks and Wille looks over at him with a look that Simon could only describe as shocked and mortified.
“Wille you didn’t JUST buy the frogs right?? You got the stuff to take care of them too right??” Simon asks and Wille doesn’t say anything. Instead he pulls back into the parking spot, turns off the car, and gets out walking around to Simon’s door. He opens it letting him out and starts walking towards the pet store Simon following behind with the cardboard box secure in his arms.
About forty minutes and another two hundred dollars later they are walking out of the pet store with all the supplies they’ll need to take care of their new additions to the family. As they load everything into the car and Simon climbs back into the passenger seat, the box still safe in his arms, he looks over at Wille.
“Remind me to never let you wander alone while I’m running errands” He says teasingly with a tenderness laced between the words.
“Uh huh—” Wille replies slight embarrassment still present in his expression, "so... what should we name them?".