Kieren did not like Simon's sweater!
In fact, Kieren despaired of Simon's entire wardrobe. He did not understand why a person who looked so sharp and comfortable and good in a suit, would prefer to wear such awful looking jumpers. He had always wanted to ask him about them, about where he got them from, and why did he have a collection of ugliest jumpers that can ever be found, but somehow every time he saw Simon in a new but equally bad sweater, he was overwhelmed by how adorable he looked in them to ask.
Which was just wrong! Kieren did not like Simon's sweaters!
"Simon"
Kieren called out entering Amy's bungalow. They were supposed to go out to... well, nowhere in particular- just out. Jem was in School, his parents on their jobs, and Kieren was getting restless waiting for Simon so he rushed here. Looking at Simon always seemed to soothe his agitated nerves.
"In here", came Simon's slightly muffled voice.
Kieren slowly moved through the house, looking at stuff. It was still hard for him to come here without thinking of Amy, and with her memory came this sense of crushing loneliness that nothing seemed to ease, though Simon's company helped a little. It felt like any second now she will come barging in, pull his cheeks and coo over how pretty he looked while he waited on his handsome bae . Quickly deciding that it wasn't a good idea to mull over sad thoughts - not today- he followed Simon's voice to his room.
He wasn't in his room! But Kieren could hear the sound of water coming from inside the washroom, so he just flopped on the bed and waited. That was when he noticed the white button down shirt and the ugliest- Kieren's least favorite- green turtleneck laid out on the bed.
What did Simon even like in them!
Intrigued, Kieren picked up the sweater. It was soft, not in a way expensive sweaters are, but the way well worn ones are, and it smelled fresh.
Standing up and moving towards the mirror, he took off his own hoodie and pulled on the turtleneck. His reflection made him want to cringe and laugh at the same time.
He looked fucking stupid!
The jumper was ridiculously huge on him : it was so long that it was almost mid thigh length; sleeves totally covered his hands and if he raised his arm, they slid back past his elbow, and the turtleneck wasn't even around his neck, instead it sank almost down to his chest.
He wondered if Simon had bought these from a thrift store after the rising, or if he owned them before he died? He wondered which one was his favorite, not this one hopefully! He wondered if they reminded him of home? Whether he missed it? What was it like, his home? Did he have a family? What happened to them? He had so many questions about Simon but he never could decide if he was allowed to ask them. Simon was as mysterious and difficult to read , as he was an open book. He was riddles, hidden in plain text.
Kieren was shaken out of his reverie by the sound of washroom door opening. Turning around ,the sight made his breath catch ; Simon was shirtless, wearing jeans and a towel around his neck, his hair wet and clinging to his forehead. He was the most gorgeous man he had ever seen.
"Kieren?" Simon whispered, in that breathless voice of his like he could barely believe Kieren was here. Even after all this time, it seemed to take him by surprise that Kieren chooses to be here, chooses him.
Kieren was still absently staring at Simon, while he pulled on the shirt lying on bed and turned fully towards him.
"Kieren" Simon asked again, although now he sounded more amused than awed.
"What?"
Simon glanced towards his sweater and then back at his face. His eyes were twinkling with mirth and something like affection.
"Oh!" Kieren glanced down to see he is still wearing Simon's sweater. He had forgotten all about it , so lost he was in his thoughts. When Simon said nothing and kept looking at him with those eyes, he got fidgety and nervous, and pulled on his sleeves, looking anywhere except at Simon.
"What! It's cold" He said defensively.
Simon's eyes momentarily shifted towards to discarded hoodie on the bed, but he didn't bother mentioning it even as Kieren's face got red with mortification and embarrassment, let alone mention the fact that they don't feel cold. His face split into a smile laced with so much love that Kieren felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Yes... Yes it is" is all he said before he was moving towards the cupboard.
Kieren looked back at the mirror and wondered how he ever got so lucky to find someone who looks at him the way Simon does. His reflection showed a pale and lanky boy, an 18 years old who hadn't really matured, hadn't filled out, and had ridiculous eyelashes that would belong so much better on a girl's face, but when Simon looked at him, he felt like the most beautiful thing on earth.
Simon's arms suddenly encircled him, and he turned his head to see Simon wearing another turtleneck, maroon this time, but very similar to the one Kieren was wearing. On him it didn't look that enormous though, but it still looked ridiculous- not adorable dammit.
"We match" Simon breathed in his ear.
Kieren stared at the mirror. Yeah, they did. As stupid as they looked in the matching ugly jumpers, they matched. That made something warm bubble up inside him. Something that felt suspiciously like happiness, and it made its way up to the surface until he couldn't hold back his grin, and then the feeling grew so much inside him that he could contain it. So he turned around and kissed Simon. Kissed him chaste and light at first , the way which made Simon cling to him, and hold his face lightly, like it's something precious and fragile, and then kissed him hot and hard, making his fingers grasp his hair tightly and cling on, until they were breathless on the air they didn't need.
"Yeah! Yeah we do match" Kieren laughed into the kiss and then broke apart to rest his forehead against Simon's and just breathed.
"We should go" Simon whispered.
"Yeah. Yeah let's go."
Simon presented his arm, like one would to a lady they are taking to the prom. It made Kieren laugh all over again, even as he wrapped his own arm around his, and they both left the bungalow, with their hearts aching with something other than sadness after quite a while.
PS: Kieren still disliked Simon's sweaters! No matter what the evidence said .
A/N
Inspired by this GORGEOUS art by greenteafusion on tumblr
post/92120975449/kieren-wearing-simons-sweater