Work Text:
Wille sees the ad while scrolling through social media. At first he doesn’t think it’s real, that the heat has finally melted his brain and he’s starting to imagine things. He wouldn’t put it past himself, not when he hasn’t properly slept in a week.
But the ad – or offer, he guesses – is real. Posted by the grocery store down the street, it reads: “We know it’s hot. We see you come to the store to cool down. We’re offering you a chance to sleep here. Tonight, after the doors have closed at 10 PM the floors are yours. Bring a camping mat, a sleeping bag, a pillow, whatever you need to be comfortable.”
It sounds like a stupid thing to do. To go and sleep on the floor in the same supermarket he buys his bread and milk from. He doesn’t know if anyone would really be that desperate to escape the heat. The heat that has turned his flat into a poorly heated sauna where the old fan just moves the warm air around. The heat that even right now is making sweat trickle down his back and all he’s doing is sitting on his couch.
Fuck it, Wille thinks. After more than a week of unbearably hot temperatures he has become someone who is desperate enough to sleep on the floor of the grocery store.
It takes him some time to rummage through the wardrobe and locate the sleeping bag which he hasn’t used since he was still in high school. He wonders if it might be a little too small for him, but then decides he probably won’t even really need it.
The camping mat is nowhere to be found and after fifteen minutes, one new bruise and his hair sticking to his forehead uncomfortably, he gives up. Surely the yoga mat will be fine, he decides. He’s fallen asleep on it more than once after the restore and relax class.
Half past nine Wille finds the thinnest t-shirt he owns and places it on the table with all the other things he’s packing with him for the night. Then he steps into the shower and lets the blissfully cold water run over his skin. God, he doesn’t want to think about what his water bill is going to look like with all the showers he’s taken in the past few days.
When he steps out of his building fifteen minutes later and the still-hot air wafts over him, he finds out he’s far from the only person desperate enough for an air-conditioned place to sleep in. The queue is at least twenty people and suddenly he worries they won’t all fit in the store, it’s not that big after all.
At exactly 10 PM the owner of the store announces they can come in and pick a place for the night. Some staff have agreed to stay the night with him and keep watch while they sleep, the man explains, then proceeds to tell where the bathroom is. He finishes with a plea of “I’ll ask you not to eat or drink anything from the shelves but if you absolutely must, please pay the items in the morning before you leave”.
Wille is still pondering where would be the best spot to set up camp for the night when several people are already rolling out their mats and sleeping bags. Weaving between the shelves he finds a quiet corner by the frozen pizzas and ice creams and decides it’ll be his for the night.
It doesn’t take him long to lay down his things. The store is cooler than he expected and suddenly he wishes he’d brought socks to keep his feet warm. Too late for that, he mournfully thinks as he shuffles inside the sleeping bag and tries to make himself comfortable. Despite not having slept properly for what feels like an eternity, he isn’t feeling tired yet.
“Is this place taken?”
A soft voice pulls Wille from his thoughts and when he turns to look to his left, he’s faced with a pair of nicely tanned legs. Tilting his head up he finds that he’s looking at the most beautiful man he’s probably ever seen in his life.
The man’s curls are dripping water onto the shoulders of his practically see-through white shirt and his brown eyes are looking right into Wille’s.
It’s taken him too long to respond, Wille realises when the man shifts awkwardly on his feet.
“No!” he exclaims, then remembers there are dozens of people around him trying to sleep. “No, it’s not taken. Go ahead,” he says quieter, gesturing to the still vacant stretch of floor next to him.
“Thank god,” the man says and crouches down to smooth out a flimsy looking camping mat. “I just spent forty five minutes on the bus with no aircon and had to dash home for a quick shower.”
Wille makes me sympathetic noise. The man plops down on his sleeping bag and stretches his arms.
“Sorry, you don’t care, sorry for venting,” he says.
“No, no need to apologise. It does sound like a special kind of hell,” Wille is quick to reassure him.
“It is. And I have to do it all again tomorrow.”
“You don’t live nearby?” Wille asks. He can’t imagine how terrible the living conditions for the man must be if he’s willing to endure a bus ride from the other side of town just for a cool place to stay at.
“I do, two houses down,” comes the answer and Wille wonders how he’s never seen this gorgeous man before if they live practically right next to each other. “I moved here at the beginning of the month, my job’s on the other side of the city. Should’ve found a place with aircon, but at least this is better than commuting for nearly hour and a half.”
Wille nods as he keeps talking, doing his best not to stare – Felice has told him he has a bad habit of doing that when he finds someone interesting. And this man right here sure is interesting, Wille thinks as he takes in the quirk of his lips, the small scar by his mouth, the tiredness on his face. The man runs a hand over his face and sweeps his hair back and it might just be one of the most attractive things Wille has seen in his life. Which is an insane thing to think about when they’re two strangers stretched out on the grocery store floor in search of some cool air.
“Sorry, I should let you get some sleep, not ramble about my sorry life,” the man says then. The look on his face is apologetic.
“It’s alright,” Wille tells him, because it is. He’d like nothing more than to hear more about this man he hopes he’s not seeing for the first and last time in his life.
“Well, I do need to try to get some sleep. Still have to go through that same bus ride tomorrow and I have an morning shift on top of it,” he groans and turns his head to shoot Wille a smile. “Thanks for listening.”
“No problem. I’m Wille, by the way,” Wille says.
“Simon. I hope you sleep well, Wille,” the man says, still smiling, and buries his head in the pillow.
“You too, Simon,” Wille says, feeling how his smile is splitting his face.
Simon nods and closes his eyes. Wille looks at him for a moment, then realises it’s probably very creepy to have a near stranger looking at you while you’re trying to sleep and turns to his side so he’s facing away from Simon. It doesn’t take long for Wille to hear quiet snoring.
Wille’s never been the best at sleeping in new places. Usually there’s some noise or a light source that makes him wake up every couple of hours and as it turns out, sleeping next to a humming freezer with several other people mere meters away from him isn’t any different. He wakes up when someone goes to the bathroom and can’t find a comfortable position no matter how much he tries. The yoga mat definitely isn’t enough of a padding to make the hard floor feel like a bed.
He turns to his side and even with just some dim lights on finds Simon fast asleep on his back with his mouth open in a way that Wille definitely shouldn’t find cute. He screws his eyes shut and miraculously manages to fall asleep again.
The morning turns out to be bit of a chaos. The owner had told them they needed to leave the store early so his staff could prepare for the day, but Wille hadn’t thought it would mean everyone scrambling to gather their things while still half-asleep.
Simon seems to be much more efficient with getting all his belongings packed up than Wille is. “Early shift, need to run,” he says after returning Wille’s muttered ‘morning’. He does flash Wille a smile before disappearing behind the shelves. Wille sighs and makes his way towards the door. Maybe he’ll catch Simon again one day now that he knows they live almost next to each other.
“Welcome back tonight,” the store owner says as Wille nears the exit.
“Thank you,” Wille says with a nod. It might not have been the most comfortable night of his life, but at least he managed to get some sleep. He’d sort of forgotten what it feels like to not be completely exhausted.
He spends the day at the office, his body rested but his mind distracted. He tries to focus on what his manager is speaking about, but finds his thoughts straying to dark curls and sparkling eyes. He gets caught once for not paying attention, but luckily for Wille his manager chalks it up to him being just as sleep-deprived as everyone else in the meeting. He doesn’t correct them.
In the evening he once again makes his way to the grocery store, this time with a proper sleeping mat he acquired during his lunch break. As soon as he’s inside, he makes a beeline for the back corner and rolls out his mat in front of the ice cream freezer.
“Hi,” a familiar voice greets him and he looks up to find Simon placing his bag on the floor next to Wille’s makeshift bed.
“Hi,” Wille returns.
Simon looks less exhausted than the night before. “How was your day?” he asks Wille while setting up his mat and sleeping bag. Wille watches as he fluffs his pillow, his long fingers working to shape the filling. It takes him a few seconds to realise Simon asked a question.
“Uhh, nothing special. Work, trying not to melt while outdoors. The usual, you know,” Wille answers.
Simon hums and sits down cross-legged, facing Wille. He pulls out a water bottle from his tote bag and Wille smiles at the picture on it.
“It was a gift, okay,” Simon says a little defensively when he notices Wille looking at the image on it.
Wille laughs and rummages for his own bottle. “I think mine’s from the same collection,” he says, turning the bottle so Simon can see the fishes on the side, “though I kind of would have preferred yours,” he adds, nodding at the cute little frog adorning Simon’s bottle.
It’s Simon’s turn to laugh now. The sound is bright and melodious and Wille’s not sure he’s ever heard anything more beautiful. Someone down the aisle shushes him.
“Sorry,” Simon says with an apologetic look. The lights get turned out as soon as he’s spoken. “Guess we should try to get some sleep. That’s why we’re here after all.”
Wille nods, though sleep is really the last thing on his mind. Still, he crawl inside his sleeping bag and props his arm under his head as he lays down. Simon does the same, smiling as he faces Wille.
For a while neither of them says anything. Wille closes his eyes, but the harder he tries to will himself to sleep, he more it eludes him. Then the quiet is broken by a barely audible giggle.
Wille opens his eyes to find Simon looking at him, trying to muffle the sound. “Sorry, I didn’t— This is just a bit ridiculous.”
“What is?” Wille whispers.
“This whole thing. Sleeping on the floor of a grocery store, next to a cute guy, trying to keep it co— to stay cool.”
Wille’s heart does a weird somersault inside his chest, because did Simon just call him cute?
“Sorry, I’ll shut up now and let you sleep,” Simon continues before Wille can comment anything. Then he shuffles on his mat and flips to his other side, facing the canned fruit. Wille doesn’t miss the smirk playing on his lips though.
Wille doesn’t know what time it is when he finally falls asleep. The air around him is bordering on cold, but it isn’t what keeps him awake. No, it’s the words from the man sleeping soundly right next to him playing on a loop in his mind.
Simon’s words are also the first thing Wille thinks about when he wakes up in the morning to find the man in question already packing up his things.
“Good morning,” Simon says with a quiet voice.
“Morning.” Wille’s voice is rough from disuse and if his brain had woken up at the same time with his body, he might have noticed the way Simon’s eyes turn just a shade darker.
“Have a great day, Wille,” Simon says as he picks up his bag and stuffs his sleeping bag under his arm. “See you.”
“See you,” he says and doesn’t even try to fight the feeling of disappointment creeping up. If he spends another day at the office mostly thinking of sweet laughter and the words ‘cute guy’, no one has to know.
That night Wille is running late. Very late. A work event had run later than anyone had expected and in the end he’d had to make up an excuse to leave so he’d make it to the store before the doors close.
His chest is still heaving as he weaves past the people already on their sleeping spots and hopes that no one’s taken up the place he’s already started to think of as his at the back of the store.
When he rounds the corner, he finds Simon sitting there on his sleeping back with his legs stretched out.
“Saved you a spot,” Simon says, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards.
“Thank you,” Wille says, feeling grateful.
He sets his bag down and Simon pulls his legs up and wraps his arms around his knees. Wille can feel his eyes on him as he places his mat and sleeping bag on the floor.
“Wasn’t sure if you’d come tonight,” Simon says once Wille is done setting up.
Wille’s head whips up to meet his eyes. “What makes you think that?”
“You’ve been here before me earlier and I figured now that the temperatures seem to be going down a bit…” Simon says and vaguely gestures at the aisle they’re on. Wille looks around and notices there are much less people than the previous night. In fact, they’re the only people by the freezers.
“I didn’t even— I’ve been so busy all day I haven’t even had time to look at the forecast. It did feel a little cooler but I didn’t think much of it,” he says by way of explanation.
“Oh? What’s kept you busy?” Simon asks, sounding like he’s genuinely interested.
“Work.”
“What do you do?”
Wille does his best to explain his job to Simon who keeps nodding and asking more questions. No one’s ever really cared about what Wille does for a living this much. It feels nice, to have someone understand why he’s so passionate about what he does.
In exchange Wille learns that Simon is working in a cafe on the other side of the city for the summer, earning some extra income to keep him afloat while he finishes his Master’s degree. He tries to pretend he understands what Simon’s thesis is about, but by the grin on the other man’s face Wille deduces he’s not succeeding very well.
“It’s okay, no one really gets it before they actually hear the piece I’m working with,” Simon says.
“Well, I’d love to hear it so I could better understand,” Wille says and means it.
“Maybe I’ll play it for you one day.”
After that the conversation veers towards their favourite artists and other things they like. Wille finds out Simon is into video games but doesn’t like books as much as Wille does. What he also finds out is they both dislike horror movies but like spending time by the water.
“Shit,” Simon murmurs at some point when the screen of his phone lights up with a notification and he spots the time. “We should really try to get some sleep, it’s nearly 1 already.”
Wille hadn’t noticed the time flying by, but as soon as he’s made aware of it, the hectic day starts to creep up on him. “Yeah, I guess,” he admits, the words punctuated by a yawn.
Simon laughs, quick and low, and the sound sends something that feels a lot like a butterfly flapping around in Wille’s stomach. “Right, good night Wille. Sleep tight,” Simon says as he lays down and pulls the sleeping bag over himself like a blanket.
“Sleep tight, Simon,” Wille says back as he wraps his own sleeping bag around his shoulders.
The morning goes much like the previous ones, though this time they walk out of the store together.
“Tonight’s going to be the last one I’m keeping the store open guys,” the owner says as he greets them by the door. “It’s getting cooler and there’s only so many modifications I can make to the staff rota.”
Once outside the air doesn’t feel as oppressively hot as it had even a couple of days ago.
“Well, have a nice day Wille,” Simon says as they stands outside the door facing each other.
“You too,” Wille says, shifting his weight between his feet. For a couple of seconds the silence feels awkward.
“I’m headed down this way,” Simon says then and nicks his head back.
“Me too,” Wille replies. Simon laughs.
“Well, now this is awkward. Guess we can walk together, then,” Simon suggests and Wille nods so fast he later thinks he might have seemed a little too eager. Simon doesn’t seem to mind though.
It only takes two minutes to reach Simon’s front door. “This is me,” he says and sticks his hand inside his tote bag to fish for his keys. “See you tonight?”
“See you tonight,” Wille confirms and is rewarded with a smile so bright it rivals the sun.
Simon nods and steps to the door to unlock it. Wille watches him go and as Simon turns to look behind himself, he gives the man a little wave. When Simon returns it, Wille grins.
He practically skips down the street to his own front door.
If you asked Wille what he did that day, he wouldn’t be able to remember. All he can think about is seeing Simon again tonight.
As he walks down the street to the store in the evening, he thinks Simon might have been looking forward to seeing him too. The man is standing by the door, squinting against the sun, clearly waiting for someone. Waiting for Wille, he thinks as he sees a big smile spread on Simon’s face when he comes to a stop.
“Hi,” Wille says, feeling his own smile grow bigger and bigger every passing second.
“Hi. Shall we?” Simon asks, gesturing to the doors sliding open as a customer exits the store.
Wille nods and steps in after Simon. The cool air feels nice on his skin even though the temperature has gone down a few degrees and isn’t as scorching as a few days ago.
Without having to discuss it, they head to the back corner of the store and set their things down. No one else makes it that far in the store, though Wille hears some shuffling on the other side of the shelf.
“How do you feel about having to sleep in your own bed again?” Simon asks when they finish laying out their sleeping bags. “I know I’ll be glad to have a proper mattress again but it’s still so warm inside my flat.”
“Same here. It was 26 degrees there when I left, but I guess it’s better than the 32 it was at the beginning of the week.”
Simon nods. After a moment’s deliberation Wille continues, “And I kind of got used to someone else sharing the space with me, so it might feel too quiet for a while.”
“Yeah, same here. I mean, I was living with my friend in our old flat but now it’s just me and I’m not totally used to the flat anyway so it all feels kind of…” Simon trails off, seemingly not able to find a fitting word.
“Unfamiliar? All those little noises you don’t know yet, the neighbours and their habits and all that,” Wille fills in for him.
Simon nods again. “Exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I like my place and the neighbourhood is great,” his eyes flick up and down Wille’s face, “but it’s all kind of new to me.”
“Well, if you ever need to guide to this part of Stockholm, I’m available.”
Simon’s grin grows wider and there is a delightful sparkle in his eyes. It’s the last thing Wille sees properly as the overhead lights get turned out a second later. Simon sighs.
“Guess that’s out sign to stop talking and start sleeping,” he says, sounding a touch disappointed.
Wille is about to suggest they can just keep talking in the dark like they did the night before, but a quiet yawn from Simon stops him.
“Sorry,” the man whispers, “It has been kind of a long day. A long week, actually.”
“It’s alright, I— ” Wille says but before he can finish his sentence, Simon speaks over him.
“You’re not boring me! Like, I don’t want you to think that. This week has just been a lot.”
A small laugh escapes Wille, full of relief. “Good. The last thing I’d want is to bore you.”
“You could never,” Simon tells him immediately. “Be boring, I mean. I’ve really enjoyed talking with you.”
“Me too.” Wille takes a deep breath in. He thinks that if Simon rejects his next suggestion, it happening while they’re sitting in the dark will hurt less than having to watch him do it in broad daylight. At least Wille can pretend to go to sleep and doesn’t have to face Simon again if the answer is no. “Maybe we could continue in the morning? Talking, I mean.”
“Yes,” comes the answer instantly. “I’d really like that.”
Wille can hear the smile in Simon’s voice, which he thinks should probably be impossible given they haven’t known each other for even a week.
“Okay. Good,” Wille says, “It’s a da— Uhh, I mean…”
“It’s a date,” Simon completes his sentence. Then, sounding a little more unsure, “I mean, it’s one if you’d like it to be.”
“I’d really like that,” Wille says, now grinning so hard he thinks his facial muscles might hurt in the morning. He doesn’t care.
“Good,” Simon says as he lies down on his mat and wraps the sleeping bag over himself. Wille mirrors him.
It doesn’t take Simon long to fall asleep with a smile on his face. Wille keeps looking at him, eyes half-lidded and thanking his past self for deciding to come down here for some air conditioning and sleep.
Next thing he knows, it’s morning again and Simon is softly whispering, “Good morning. We need to be out in five minutes before they start getting ready for the day.”
Wille can’t remember the last time he’s slept this long, or this well. Quickly he starts to pick up his things, Simon helping by rolling up his sleeping bag. When he has everything, Wille tugs his bottom lip between his teeth before releasing it and asking, “So, umm, are we still on? For the date?”
Simon looks right into his eyes with the most stunning smile Wille has seen as he answers, “One hundred per cent. Though I could also do with some breakfast.”
“I know a place,” Wille says. He extends his hand. Without a moment’s hesitation Simon takes it, interlacing their fingers and tugs him towards the exit.
“Lead the way.”