Work Text
Simon opened up his eyes on Sunday and blinked. It was almost surreal laying alone in his bed like it was any other morning when yesterday his whole life changed. Last night after he and Bram got off the ferris wheel - well, first Simon tried to find a cool, sexy way to admit that he had serious vertigo from hours riding the thing. He definitely failed, but luckily Bram was nice enough to sit with him quietly while his head spun.Once the dizziness past, however, they spent a long time in Simon’s car just talking and kissing. There was a lot of kissing. They didn’t go further than that, because Simon wasn’t ready yet, and while they didn’t discuss it, he bet that Bram felt the same way.But it was Sunday morning, the day after the whole school and half the city cheered as he kissed a guy for the first time. It was Sunday morning, and Simon Spier had a boyfriend.He rolled over and picked up his phone that was charging next to him on his mattress. He scrolled through his group text with Leah, Abby, and Nick. The messages started off as them congratulating him but soon devolved into a series of heart and eggplant emojis. Simon grinned even as he rolled his eyes. It had sucked being without those losers for so long. He sent them a kissing emoji back and then clicked out of it, scanning the rest of his messages.
Martin sent him a text congratulating him and apologizing again, and then somehow taking credit for what had happened last night. Simon deleted it without responding.Finally he opened his conversation with Bram. After talking so long the night before, the only thing they said to each other over text was good night. Now, Simon shifted onto his back to get more comfortable and began to type.
Sorry if this wakes you up. I just can’t believe I spent so long wondering who you were, and your number was in my phone the whole time.
Within seconds, the three dots began moving on the message, letting him know that Bram was responding.
I’ve been awake. You have no idea how many times I almost texted you when I figured it out. I kept freaking out that you’d be disappointed when you found out it was me.
They’d hashed out most of this stuff during their conversation the night before, so Simon didn’t reassure him again. Instead he typed back, That makes sense since normally I’m just not into hot guys. ‘The uglier the better’ is my motto. But I like you for your mind, so I’m willing to put up with the fact that you’re gorgeous.Bram answered back with a crying laughing emoji, and then, Shut up. Anyway, how would you feel if you found out that for months you’d been secretly talking to the guy you’ve had a crush on since middle school, but he didn’t even know it was you?They hadn’t talked about that last night. Simon sent back, Hang on, hang on, you’ve had a crush on me since middle school??Don’t let it go to your head, Bram answered back, making Simon snort.
It’s definitely too late for that, Blue.
Simon clutched his phone and buried his face in his pillow to hide his wide, ecstatic grin. Having a boyfriend was awesome.“Simon, I made breakfast!” Nora called up the stairs.“Coming!” Simon shouted back.He rolled off of his bed and took the time to put on a t-shirt over his boxers before unplugging his phone from the charger and taking it with him to the kitchen.The smell of eggs, cheese and bacon permeated the whole first level of the house.“Smells good, sis. What is it?” he asked, stopping to kiss his mom on the cheek. “Good morning.”“Mini-quiche,” Nora answered as she laid them out on a platter.“You look happy,” his mom commented as he grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee.“It’s a beautiful morning, I’m with my family, and I have a delicious breakfast waiting for me. What’s not to be happy about?” he asked.“I tried one of the quiche, and they’re actually really good,” his dad said, and then off of a look from Nora, added, “Just like everything your sister makes us?”“Thank you,” Nora said.Simon filled a plate and grabbed a fork out of the drawer, balancing it in his hands along with his full coffee mug and phone as he walked to the table. He sat down and tried a bite of the savory quiche, giving his sister a thumbs up as he chewed.On the table, his phone lit up with another message from Bram. He opened it.
Can I see you today?
Simon didn’t hesitate before responding, You can see me everyday.Simon bit his lip to tamp down on his smile. When he looked up from his phone, his mother, father, and sister were all staring at him with identical dopey grins on their faces. He froze, feeling his face start to turn red, and quickly slotted some things together in his mind.“So. You guys know,” he said.“We decided we were going to wait until you told us,” his mom said.“And you’re taking forever,” Nora complained.“But you know? How did you find out?” he asked.The three of them looked at each other, and then Nora answered, “Jenna Talverson livestreamed the whole thing.”“What?”“You have no idea how hard it was to watch you all alone on that ferris wheel,” his mom said. “Your father had to stop me from getting in the car and going down there to help.”Simon took one long, heartstopping moment to wallow in the thought of how unbelievably embarrassing it would have been if his mom had gotten on the ride with him. Then he took another to come to terms with the fact that, in addition to his classmates and half the city, apparently his parents and kid sister had also witnessed his first kiss with Bram last night.“Mom,” he choked out.She put her hands up in the air. “I know, I know. It would have been a terrible idea. But you’re my baby.”“That Bram’s a good egg though,” his dad said. “I’ve always liked him. And when he got on that ferris wheel with you…”“Don’t, dad,” Simon moaned as his dad began to tear up.“I’m sorry,” he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and taking a deep breath. “But I can’t remember the last time I saw you that happy. We just want you to be happy, Si.”“I am happy,” Simon answered as his phone lit up with another message from Bram.“You should invite him over for dinner,” his mom said, nodding her head at his phone. “We want to meet him.”“You’ve known him for years,” Simon pointed out.“As your friend, not as your boyfriend,” his mom said. “He is your boyfriend, right?”Simon couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face, and his fingers instinctively inched towards his phone. “Yeah. Yeah, he’s my boyfriend.”“So it’s settled. He’s coming over tonight,” his mom declared.“I’ll make chicken!” Nora said.“Wait, I haven’t even asked him yet,” Simon argued.“So ask him,” he dad replied. “Your Lover Boy’s waiting for you to respond to him anyway.”Simon slapped a hand over his eyes. “Dad, if you call him that again, you’re never meeting him.”His dad smirked. “What do you like better? Your cuddle muffin? Your gentleman caller?”Simon stuffed a mini-quiche in his mouth and grabbed his phone before pushing away from the table.“Goodbye,” he called as he booked it out of the kitchen to the sound of his family’s laughter.“Dinner tonight!” his mom called after him.He took the stairs to his room two at a time and threw himself onto the bed before opening his phone again.Did you know that Jenna Talverson livestreamed us yesterday? he typed.Bram sent him a shocked emoji followed by, Are you kidding???Remembering how scared Bram had been about coming out, Simon asked, No. Are you freaking out?There was a long pause while Simon stared at their conversation, waiting for his reply. The three dots appeared and disappeared as Bram seemed to formulate what he wanted to say.
Surprisingly, no? It feels like I should, but I guess everyone important knows now anyway. It’s ok.
Simon let out a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding, and then typed, Well, if that didn’t freak you out, this might: my parents saw the whole thing.The response to that was a series of exclamation marks, and then Bram said, Your parents watched us kissing?
Yeah, and they want you to come over for dinner tonight.
He let that sit a second and then second-guessed himself, adding, You can say no if you want. They won’t be mad or anything.There was another long pause and this time, instead of a text coming through, his phone began to ring. Simon fumbled to pick it up and put it to his ear.“Hey,” he answered.“Hey,” Bram said. Even just the sound of his voice over the phone made Simon embarrassingly giddy.He laughed softly at how sappy he was being.“What’s so funny?” Bram asked.“Nothing,” Simon assured him. “How's it going?”“I can’t believe your parents watched us making out,” Bram said.Simon groaned and put the arm not holding the phone over his eyes. “No kidding.”“You asked me if I was ok, but...I mean, is everything ok for you?” Bram asked.“Yeah, we’re good here. My dad cried,” Simon said.“He cried?” Bram repeated.Simon backtracked, realizing too late how that would sound out of context. “In, like, a happy way? He cries kind of a lot. I’m warning you now that he’ll probably cry telling you how awesome you are if you come over tonight too.”“So you want me to come over for dinner?” Bram asked, sounding cautious.Simon paused. “Only if you want to. My parents already like you, so you don’t have anything to worry about. My sister is making dinner, which means there’s an 85% chance that it’ll be good and a 15% chance that it’ll be terrible, but you’ll have to pretend to like it anyway. And. I mean. It’d be cool. To introduce you to them as my boyfriend.”“Yeah?” Bram said. It sounded like he was smiling.“Yeah. They’ll probably embarrass the shit out of me, but I’ll endure it for you.”“Well, I can handle them embarrassing you,” Bram answered.“Hey!” Simon said in mock outrage. “Is that any way to talk to the guy you’ve had a crush on since middle school?”“I knew I never should have told you that,” Bram said.“You shouldn’t have," Simon agreed. Then he paused, trying to find the exact right way to say what he meant. "Bram, I didn’t…I didn’t think about you or any of my other friends that way. I wouldn’t let myself - until we started talking. I suspected everyone after that. Like - everyone.” He shook his head, remembering some of the people he’d projected Blue onto. “But when I did let myself think about it...I wanted it to be you.”“Good,” Bram said. “So what time for dinner tonight?”“Um, six should be good,” Simon said. “You’re coming?”“Yeah, I’m coming. But can I see you befo - ““Definitely, yes,” Simon cut in.Bram laughed. “Starbucks?”“I’ll pick you up,” Simon confirmed.“See you in twenty?” Bram asked.“Make it fifteen.”