Warmth flooded Simon’s chest when Billy told him he made him hopeful. Somehow, that was even better than knowing he had made someone happy. He figured he could make someone happy with a well-placed compliment or giving them their coffee on the house, anything to make their day a little better.
But hope was a lot more intentional than happiness. You had to decide to be hopeful. Simon had never once believed that someone like him could instill a feeling like that in anyone, never mind the person he loved the most in the world.
He silently vowed to do whatever he could to keep Billy hopeful. Because he liked to think that hope and happiness somehow went hand in hand, and nobody deserved to feel both of those things as much as Billy had. Especially after everything the other man had been through.
“You can be happy now. I’ll help,” Simon promised, giving Billy a watery smile.
Bolstered by the idea that he actually could be what Billy needed, after months of convincing himself the exact opposite, Simon exhaled shakily, trying to expel all his doubts in the same breath. Here he was, sitting on a bench in the middle of Central Park, birds chirping around him and the sun warming his skin as the man he was head over heels in love with confirmed that he was in love with Simon too. It was like a movie, leaves floating down from the trees around them and a dog barking in the distance like that final, sun-kissed scene in You’ve Got Mail. Simon recalled hiding his dorky smile in a blanket when he watched that the first time, giddiness threatening to overwhelm him when Meg Ryan told Tom Hanks, I wanted it to be you.
He’d always wanted it to be Billy. But more importantly, he’d wanted Billy to want it to be him.
As soon as Billy leaned in for a kiss, Simon met him halfway, his hand sliding into Billy’s hair. He laughed a little wetly at Billy’s words. They inspired a vision of getting to do this all the time with Billy, kissing him wherever and whenever and knowing that there would never be a last kiss, always at least one more to come after. He pictured kissing Billy at home over a morning cup of coffee, in the store as they locked up and said goodbye to the last customer, in the summer when Simon’s team had won another game. Just so many Billy kisses.
Despite what Billy thought though, this one would be hard to beat.
“No, it’s amazing. You’re amazing,” Simon gasped, unable to stop himself from kissing Billy again. “I think you’re the most amazing person in the world.”
Thumb idly swiping back and forth along Billy’s cheekbone, Simon pulled back to kiss the spot right between Billy’s eyes.
“I love you, Billy From A Novel Idea,” he grinned.
theartofmadeline
snowghoul
blakekathryn
prguitarman
pixelskylines
vaporwave
