the bearded man is woken up to the sound of quiet giggles ascending from outside his room. at first he groans to himself, having being woken up at what he presumed was a very early time. he then rolls over in his bed and sees the time illuminated on the clock beside his bed.
07:32 AM.
he lets out a disgruntled groan before throwing his duvet off his only boxer clad body and jumps out of bed. before leaving his bedroom, he throws on a discarded tshirt and makes his way towards the sound of commotion.
there's soft music playing in the kitchen and the smell of eggs and pancakes is running throughout the whole apartment. it brings water in his mouth, but he supresses the urge and instead turns to enter the kitchen and scold whoever had woken him up this early.
but he doesn't enter the kitchen, instead his feet come to an abrupt halt and he feels his breath hitch at the scene in front of him.
simon is sitting on the countertop with jj standing between his legs, the shorter of the two bobbing his head to the beat of the song playing. jj leans forward to capture the latter's lips in a soft kiss and the bearded man moves to the side so the duo do not catch him staring.
he feels as if he is intruding a private moment, something only meant for jj and simon to see. making out in the morning to artists like ed sheeran while the eggs cook. he had done it too, hell he still did it with his girlfriend.
he knows he should leave, it's not for him to watch but then the duo break apart and simon is looking at the other man with so much adoration that even he feels his lungs contract. the boy's cerulean eyes are shining, full of love and care. his lips are sporting a lazy grin as he runs his fingers over his lover's cheek.
josh swears in all his years of knowing the younger boy, he has never seen him look like that. that being so drunk in love. he seems in a daze, almost as he himself he can't believe that he could feel all the things that jj was making him feel.
speaking of the dark-skinned boy, his back is turned towards the oldest man but he can just imagine the look on his face mirroring that on simon's. so full of love and admiration.
his green eyes drift towards the plate of hot pancakes sitting on the counter nearby. they look so tempting yet josh can't find it in himself to interrupt the moment the lovers are sharing. he just couldn't; not when simon was staring at the dark skinned boy as if he had hung up the moon and the stars in the sky.
even when his concious was scolding him to grab the delicious looking pancakes, he couldn't. the two boys were too peaceful and it made josh's heart warm to see his best friend smiling and looking so in love.
his thoughts drift to the many occasions where simon had come to him in his dorm, hand sporting a bottle of some drink and cheeks stained with tears. he remembered how the younger boy had cried about being rejected by a girl he fancied.
he remembers how he had stated he would never find love and that no one would ever like him. yet here he was, hands resting on jj's shoulders as he laughs at whatever he had whispered in his ear.
josh feels a smile plaster on his face, even he is feeling so out of breath from the look on simon's face, he can only imagine how the dark skinned boy must feel.
so with a grin on his face and an empty stomach, he turns on his feet and makes a beeline back towards his room. he knows he will regret this decision in the nearby future when his stomach will growl and he will be left with nothing to eat, but he shakes his head.
a plate of pancakes was way less important than what simon and jj were sharing.
__________
vik had just returned to his apartment after a long hectic day at university. as soon as he had entered the apartment complex; he had decided on jumping straight on the couch and watching a new episode of game of thrones that had just aired.
and anyone who knew vik, knew how determined he was to do the task at hand if he made up his mind. so nothing could stop him from watching the episode right? he could always shoo off the other boys if he wanted.
instead he doesn't do that, because when he enters the living room, he is met with a sight he wasn't sure he ever needed but got it anyways. jj is laying right on top of simon, his head resting on the taller's chest.
the cerulean eyed boy has his eyes on the tv screen. his hands are emerging from undernearth jj's waist and resting on his lower back, sporting an xbox controller. vik hesitates, not sure what was important; his got episode or the lovers resting on the couch.
from time to time jj raises his head to poke at a dimple in simon's cheek who just giggles in response before slapping his hands away and vik feels his chest flutter at the action.
because this is simon; the simon who would agressively punch you if you even thought of disturbing his fifa gameplay. he remembers the one time he had accidentally walked past the tv and got a kick in his shin, leaving him whining on the floor as he watched it bruised. only because he made the tall brunette miss his goal.
yet here he was, unbothered as jj tried to distract him during his game just laughing and playfully slapping him. his face adorns a fond look, eyes shining not only because of the light from the tv but something else. something similar to care and happiness.
vik swears he has never seen simon look so content ever before, not even when he had gotten the restaurant and sorted his life out or that time he had beat one of the boys in a very competitive game.
it was strange to see the tall boy at peace and calm but vik knew he wouldn't want it any other way. he liked this simon because he was lot nicer and too invested in his lover to notice how vik was going to steal his netflix to watch the new episode.
when the whistle for the match blows, vik hears jj cheer causing simon to laugh at his excitement. "thank fuck, it's over." the dark skinned boy says, his voice muffled due to his face buried in his boyfriend's chest.
"it's not that bad." simon retorts, still not annoyed about someone insulting his favourite game which was strange for the indian boy. "i mean if you-" he doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence as jj crashes their lips together and now vik really feels as if he should leave because this is not for him to see.
and just as the xbox controller slips through simon's slender fingers and instead they wrap around jj's neck, vik turns around and leaves for his room.
his brains screams at him for the episode but he decides on watching it later and avoiding twitter for spoilers till then. his face is sporting a smile at he shakes his head at the thought of the two love-struck boys on the couch outside.
jon snow wasn't as important as their relationship.
________
london is getting colder day by day, tobi thinks as he stuffs his hands in the pocket of his hoodie and enters the warm diner. his eyes glance around before he spots the enthusiastic vik beckoning him over.
once he reaches the booth, he slips in next to josh and vik, smiling as the oldest of them passes him a menu. opposite to him, simon passes him a short smile before his attention goes back to jj who is busy coloring the kids menu.
"we ordered for us before you got here so-" vik starts apologetically but the brown eyed boy just rolls his eyes.
"it's all good g." he reassures before deciding on an order and then telling it to the waiter lingering near their booth. while they wait for the food, josh and vik are discussing what seems to be a new game mode on whatever game and tobi can't help but watch the duo opposite to him.
jj is laughing as he runs the purpled coloured crayon across simon's pale white hands and colors them purple. the taller of the two sits there unbothered, rolling his eyes playfully as a fond look sits on his face.
tobi realises this is the first time he has seen his best friend of many years so calm and collected. just laughing at someone who is purposefully trying to annoy him.
he feels like he should look away, join in the conversation with his other friends yet he feels so drawn in. perhaps its the smile of jj that is drawing him in or the heart eyes of simon. he never thought he'd say this but the pair in front of him was sort of what people would call "goals", making him wish he had someone like that too.
"no, simon-" jj shrieks quietly as the taller boy picks up the red crayon and runs it across jj's dark skin too. they both laugh and now tobi knows that his other friends are watching them too. probably smiling like him, glad that their usually sour and salty beloved simon is finally in love and happy.
simon's food is the first to arrive which is quite alright since he ordered first. but what's not alright is that leans forward to take a bite out of simon's burger and he still doesn't show any sigb of annoyance. he just sits there with his cerulean eyes shining in adoration.
"fam..." tobi whispers in disbelief, turning to look at the other two boys sitting next to him wearing the same expressions. vik picks his glass to take a sip and supress his laughter whils josh just smiles, shaking his head.
this was insane, tobi thought. what had happened to the grumpy simon who would probably hunt your dead nan and kill her again if you even thought of touching his food? what had olajide olatunji done to him?
if anyone knew the tall brunette boy, they knew not to fuck with his food. yet here they were, staring at him in disbelief as he casually shared his burger with his boyfriend. unbothered and calm.
tobi turns to look at his friends again, who are smiling in realisation. realisation that simon felt really strongly about jj and he retaliated the feelings to. realisation that jj and simon were not going away soon, they were something that was going to last long.
when simon casts a look upwards to notice that his friends had stopped talking, his face flushes at all the looks they were giving him. because he knows. he knows what they are thinking, he is probably thinking about it too.
all the boys have this smug look on their faces as they stare at a flustered simon who in turns breaks out into laughter, soon the other boys joining in too.
and when jj looks up in confusion and asks what was so funny, simon passes him the look again. the one which all the boys had grown quite familar too, the one that even took their breaths away. the one full of love and pride.
_________
a different type of chapter but i love it personally. buT CAN U BLAME Me i saw this
and i was like tHATS LOVE BITCH, but nah for real look at the way he looks at him!!
anyways thoughts? also this book has like 3 more chapters yeet :)