Chapter Text
Simon is dreading his first day back. Having a chemistry class at nine in the morning was the worst scheduling decision ever, but there wasn’t much of an option. He’s just glad it’s a small class. Maybe he can get more one-on-one with the professor. Chemistry has never been his strong suit, and he doesn’t entirely get what it has to do with his desire to be an entomologist, but here he is. A cup of coffee in his right hand, bag slung over his shoulder, and eyes scoping the lab for the ideal spot. The only other person he sees currently in the lab is a stocky man with a mohawk, wearing a skin tight blue shirt and… “Are you wearing a skirt?” Simon asks before he can stop himself.
The man looks up at him, giving Simon an eyeful of ocean blues and a stubble. “It’s a kilt,” the man corrects, voice thick with a Scottish brogue. He gives Simon a once over and a smile. “Difference is, I dinnae wear anything under a kilt.” Simon rolls his eyes and sits down across from him. “I’m Johnny. What’s yer name?”
“Simon.” He really hopes Johnny’s joking about having nothing on under his kilt. If he sat wrong, he’d flash the entire class. At least it’d make an impression.
“Why’re you taking chemistry? Personally, I love chemistry. It’s my major for a reason. Though, I’m minoring in art. Art’s a lotta fun, but disnae make enough money.”
God, this guy talks a lot. “Required for my major, even though I’m a biology major. Specifically entomology.”
Johnny beams. “Oh! Like bugs, right? I love bugs. Fascinatin’ little buggers.” Simon can’t help the small smile he returns. Usually when he tells others about his major, they find it odd or creepy. It’s nice to know the feeling isn’t as widespread as he originally thought.
The professor suddenly walks in, pausing by the door. “You boys’re here early.”
“Aye, far commute. Better to be early than late.” Johnny flashes a smile, and Simon really can’t fathom how he has so much energy this early in the morning. Or how he can be this cheerful in general. It’s a rainy day as per usual, and Simon nearly got drenched waiting for the bus.
“And here I was hoping it was out of enthusiasm.” Their professor chuckles and heads over to the front of the room, setting his hat down on the table. “I’ll introduce myself again later, but my name is John Price. You can call me John, Price, Professor, or Captain.” With that, Price sits down and picks up a book, not bothering to explain why the hell Simon and Johnny—or anyone else for that matter—can call him Captain, but Johnny just rolls with it.
“Aye, Captain. Can I call you Cap?”
Price chuckles, not looking up from his reading. “No.”
Class wraps up rather fast, considering it’s the first day and all they go over is the syllabus. Johnny keeps chatting up a storm next to Simon, and he’s finding it bothers him less than he expected. Despite being chatty, he’s still very attentive and takes notes even though Price handed out a copy of the syllabus to everyone. Simon mentions how chemistry isn’t his strong suit, and Johnny enthusiastically offers to do the homework with him.
“I’d love to help you if ye dinnae mind!” He beams a wide grin, and Simon can’t find it in himself to say no. Besides, the extra help would be nice.
Simon shrugs, playing it cool. “Yeah, sounds great. ‘Sides, I don’t have a ton of friends,” he admits.
Johnny pats him on the shoulder. “Well, my friends’ll love you, guarantee it! We all get together for a study group Tuesdays and Thursdays. Time is flexible.”
“Alright, thanks.” Simon starts gathering his things, his next class starting in about half an hour.
“Before you go, could I get yer number?” Johnny asks sheepishly. “Y’know, makes it easier to keep in touch.”
Simon smiles. “Sure.” They exchange numbers and go their separate ways.
Johnny is positively buzzing with excitement. Not only is his favorite subject the first thing he gets to do in the morning, but there’s a cute guy in his class, too. I need to tell Kyle and Ale about this! He doesn’t care if they’ll roll their eyes or point out that he hardly even knows the guy. He’s excited. Even if this little crush doesn’t go anywhere, Simon seems like a very kind and interesting person despite the rough exterior he tries to put up. He wonders about Simon's opinions on drag shows as he makes his way across campus to the canteen. He and Kyle agreed for the semester to always grab lunch together before they head over to Calculus since they‘re in the same class. Johnny could take or leave the dining hall food, but he always loves the environment.
Kyle is already sitting down at a table when he gets there and scans in, Kyle waving him down with a wide smile. “‘Ey! Soap! What’s up!”
“Gaz!” Johnny sets his bag down and gives his friend a quick hug. “Man, have I got something to tell you, once I get back with my food.” He heads over to get food, and comes back with orange juice, a plate full of bacon, some eggs, and a waffle. He gives half of it to Kyle, who proceeds to drown it in syrup. “I dinnae get why ye don’t dip the waffle in syrup like a normal person.”
Kyle raises his eyebrow. “Normal person? Johnny, you’re the weird one here. Waffles have ridges in them, holes that are intended to be filled with delicious syrup.”
“Holes that are what now?” Johnny smiles mischievously at his stupid joke.
Kyle laughs, rolling his eyes. “Meant to be filled. That’s why they’re there!”
“Well there are other holes that are—”
“Nope, we are not talking about holes. Not at the breakfast table,” Kyle interjects, taking a huge bite out of his waffle.
Johnny and Kyle have been friends since the start of their first year, having originally met in an art class and later meeting again at drag club. Kyle had more experience than Johnny did, and had suggested (threatened) during art class that he attend at least one meeting or even just a show and see if he likes it. Well, at his first ever show, he fell in love with it and had to deal with the occasional boast from Kyle that he told him so. The benefits far outweighed it, though.
“Well, in other news…” Johnny drums his fingers against the table. “There’s a bonnie lad in my chemistry class. And I ken what yer gonna say, but hear me out!”
Kyle rolls his eyes as expected. “Soap, you’ve fawned over almost everyone in drag club except for me. You’re too easily impressed.”
“That’s admiration and you know it! God forbid a man thinks that his idols are attractive. This is different! He’s funny, charming, and he’s a biology major. Entomology!”
“Of course you’d find a guy who wants to study bugs for a living attractive.”
“Says the maths major,” Johnny shoots back, taking a pointed bite of his bacon.
“Touché… Alright fine. So this guy is different you say? You only met him today. He could be a serial killer for all you know.”
“Well, you can meet him tomorrow at study group. I invited ‘im. He told me chemistry isn’t his strong suit and I told him I’d be delighted to help.”
Kyle groans. “Of course you did. Does Ale know?”
“Do I know what?” Alejandro pulls up a chair, dropping his plate down on the table.
“Johnny met a ‘bonnie lad’ in his chemistry class today and invited him to join our study group tomorrow,” Kyle says.
Alejandro laughs. “Of course you did, hermano. I wouldn’t expect anything different from you.”
“Away and bile yer heid!” Johnny retorts. “Ale, you can’t hardly even judge me! You were the same way with Rudy when you first met.”
“No, no he has a point here,” Kyle says, backing him up.
Alejandro rolls his eyes. “Well I actually knew more about him than just his name when I invited him along to study group. You’ve known this guy less than a day!”
“What is this guy’s name, anyway?” Kyle asks, downing the last bite of his waffle.
“His name’s Simon.”
Kyle pauses. “Does he happen to have blonde hair, a tattoo sleeve, and wears a black medical mask?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I had a class with this guy last semester! Some random film class. He’s a year above us. Never really talked to him much, he was pretty reserved.”
“Well he talked to me,” Johnny boasts.
“Are you sure you didn’t talk at him?” Ale interjects.
Johnny rolls his eyes. “Whatever. He’ll show up to study group tomorrow, and it’ll be great. You’ll see.”
Simon has been staring at Johnny’s contact for the past ten minutes, wondering what to say to him. So far all Johnny’s said is “Hey! It’s Johnny from chemistry” which is a pretty solid opener. Simon’s just not sure how to respond properly. Maybe he ought to ask about the study group tomorrow, but he doesn’t want to intrude. Before he can even make up his mind, three little dots appear in the corner shortly becoming the message “Friends and I are thinking 14:30 for study group tomorrow, that work for you?”
“Works great,” Simon shoots back, a smile spreading across his face. Someone nudges his shoulder. It’s Gary.
“What you smiling for?” he asks, signing, a cheeky grin on his face.
Simon rolls his eyes. “I’m just squinting.”
“No, you squint different than your smile. I’ve known you for how long? C’mon, tell me!”
“For someone who hardly talks, you sure say a lot,” Simon deflects.
Gary frowns, unimpressed.
Simon sighs. “Okay, fine. I made a… friend? in my chemistry class today, and he invited me to his friends’ study group.”
“Ok lover boy,” Gary signs, smug. “Do you think I could come along? You know I work better around others.”
“I can ask.” Ignoring Gary’s lover boy remark, Simon texts Johnny asking if Gary can come along to which he responds with “Uh, let me ask my friends real quick” which is immediately followed by a thumbs up and a “Yessss!” Simon can’t help but find the weird way he texts endearing. It’s like he shares every tidbit he would’ve included were he speaking aloud next to him. “He said you can come. Just don’t be any weirder than normal, I want to actually make a good impression. Also, I don’t know if any of them know ASL or BSL.”
Gary moved here from America a few years ago, meeting Simon in year 10 and they’ve been friends ever since. Simon didn’t know much ASL, knowing more BSL, but with Gary around he started to pick up on things and Gary in turn picked up on BSL. He can speak, but his vocal chords were badly damaged during his childhood, so he prefers to speak ASL, BSL, or sometimes a mix of the two.
He shrugs. “You can translate for me.”
“I’ll make up everything that you say, are you sure you want that?” Simon teases.
“Yeah right. Empty threat.”
“Try me, Sanderson.”
When he shows up at the library at 14:30 like Johnny said, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. It definitely wasn’t a beaming grin and a wave enticing him and Gary over, but it’s what greets them all the same. There’s a seat available next to Johnny and one at the head of the table. Before Simon can even try to get to the head of the table, Gary nudges past him and stakes his claim, grinning mischievously at him. “Sit next to your new ‘friend’ Simon,” he signs.
“Shut up, dickhead,” he signs back, sitting down next to Johnny who looks as happy as a kid on Christmas.
“What did you two say to each other?” one of Johnny’s friends asks. He wears a trucker hat of sorts with the UK flag on the front. Simon recognizes him from a film class last semester, but can’t remember his name. He feels a tad guilty about that.
“Kyle…” Johnny warns. “It’s not yer business.”
“We had film last semester, right?” Simon asks.
Kyle looks at him with his mouth agape. “You mean you actually remember me? Here I thought I couldn’t make lasting impressions.”
“Gaz, you’re annoying, is what you are,” Johnny’s other friend chimes in. Simon feels horribly out of place, but he looks at Johnny and feels more at ease.
“Alejandro, Kyle, what did I say?” Johnny chides. “Sorry, we tease a lot. It’s our love language.”
“I don’t mind, it’s fine, really,” Simon assures. If anything, it reminds him of his friendship with Gary. Speaking of, Gary is deep in the thralls of his own homework already, too busy to put in his two cents.
“You do know how to pick ‘em, Soap,” Kyle comments, pulling his laptop out of his bag.
“Soap?” Simon asks, looking between Johnny and Kyle.
“Ah, nickname. Kyle and I are drag artists, he’s a drag king and I’m a drag thing. Soap is just a nickname for my stage name,” he explains, a little sheepish. Simon doesn’t know much about drag, only bits and pieces from overhearing conversations about some reality show about drag queens. He didn’t know there were drag kings and definitely didn’t know about drag things. “Oh, cool,” Simon replies lamely. He feels way out of his depth.
“You should come to a show if you’re interested,” Alejandro suggests, to which Johnny shoots him a look. “The club is putting one on the first Saturday of next month. Johnny’s gonna be—”
“Okay, so you said ye wanted help with chemistry?” Johnny cuts in. “Was there anything today you needed help with, or just figure it out as we work?”
“While we work is fine.” Simon makes a mental note about the show. He’s always wanted to go to one, just never had the time. Gary shoots him a smug look from over his laptop, then goes back to working.
Johnny proceeds to do an overview of what Price taught them in class today, with the help of his notes. Simon notices that his handwriting is very tense, and a near unrecognizable scrawl, but he seems to be reading it just fine. He then asks Simon if he has any questions. It continues like this as they do the homework in tandem, Johnny waiting for Simon to finish the question before they move on to the next one together. It feels nice, having someone to work with like this. Like they have the other’s back, despite it just being chemistry homework.
Before he even realizes it, the clock has struck 1600. They’ve managed to get over half way done. “Hey, thanks for your help. I gotta get going.” Simon starts to pack his stuff away, a quick head nod to Gary that he’s heading out. Gary responds with a thumbs up.
Johnny smiles. “It was no trouble. I’ll keep ye posted on Thursday, if ye’d like. Yer friend is free to join, too.” His joy is infectious, and Simon finds himself smiling, too. “And, hey! We got the rest of the week to finish the homework too. Feel free to call if you have questions.”
Simon nods. “I’ll be sure to.” He nods to Kyle and Alejandro who both say their goodbyes, and he’s off.
Every day, Simon likes to take an hour to himself to just walk around the wooded area behind the university and look around for any bugs he can document. He’s found quite a few interesting bugs, as well as pretty standard ones, but he’s always keeping his eyes peeled for ones he’s never encountered. Besides, the peace and quiet is a great comfort to him.
As he’s making his way to the woods, he pulls out his phone to shoot Johnny a quick text. "Ale mentioned your drag show. What time, and where? I’d like to go"
Three dots appear at the bottom of the screen, lingering for a while before disappearing. They come back, and finally they spew out their message. "Oh! Right, yes. It’s the first Saturday of October, at 18:30. Doors are at 1800, so ye might want to get there early if ye want a good spot. October tends ta be our busiest show. We’ll be at the Velvet Vault."
Simon smiles. "I’ll be there, then."
Johnny is a nervous wreck. Don’t get him wrong, he’s always nervous before a drag show, but this time he is exceptionally nervous. As he looks over his scruff for the fifth time this afternoon, Kyle groans at him in frustration. “Dude, what is with you? You have more nerves than usual.”
“Simon’s gonna be there. I dinnae want to look like a bloody numpty in front of him.” He starts packing on setting powder, finally satisfied with the base of his mug.
“Your drag name is Scottish Spring and you have a soap gimmick. You’re gonna look like a numpty. But it’s drag, if you don’t look campy and stupid, you’re doing it wrong.”
Johnny sighs. “You’re right. You’re still gonna help me get into that stupid corset, right?”
“What are older brothers for?”
The green room is a bustle of nerves, but the air is lighter than it had been in Johnny and Kyle’s flat. Everyone is chatting, helping each other out, and raving about how excited they are for the first show of the semester. Johnny is currently sitting in his chair, taking in as deep of breaths as he can with his corset on, being careful not to displace the bubble accouterments. Kyle is seated next to him, doing the finishing touches of his look. He has tufts of white feathers flowing from his outfit, reminiscent of clouds and fog. His drag name is Cumulus Haze, after all.
“Soap, Gaz, you both signed in?” Alejandro asks. Ale works tech with the club, mostly manning the green room, but sometimes he helps with the spotlight. He makes sure everyone is where they need to be as well as offering emotional support as performances are always very high intensity.
Johnny nods, not trusting himself to speak. Kyle affirms that he also signed in, and signed the show poster they give away during intermission. Ale kneels down in front of Johnny’s chair and rests his hand on top of his. “You okay, hermano? You haven’t been this tense since your first performance.”
“That noticeable, huh?” he asks, his voice a strained laugh.
“Simon’s coming, and he's nervous.” Kyle shrugs. “He’s been like this all afternoon.”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, Johnny. You’re a strong performer, you’ve come a long way since you first started out. If he finds you weird for doing this, then he isn’t worth it anyway.”
Johnny nods, swallowing the lump in his throat. “You’re right.” He takes in a deep breath. “You’re right. I can do this.” Whatever Simon thinks of him after this doesn’t matter. Clearly, he’s not opposed to drag, as he actively asked him when and where the show was. Surely seeing Johnny flaunt around to a random mix he had put together won’t completely ruin any chances he had at being friends, right?
“Ten minutes til the show!” Alejandro shouts.
A chorus of “Thank you ten” rings throughout the room. Johnny takes in another deep breath, applies a little extra setting spray, and laces up his heels. He’s got this.
The Velvet Vault is full of noise, the chattering nearly overstimulating. The smell of alcohol is strong, cigarette smoke wafting in from outside. Simon checks around, scanning for exits in case of emergency. A sudden loud and reverberating voice rings out, breaking through the crowd. “Good evening, everyone! Welcome to the first drag show of the year! I am Ectoplascum and I am joined by my lovely co-host…”
“Amber Haze! We have a lovely set of performers for you tonight!” The pub erupts into wild cheers, Gary joining in with aggressively loud clapping. Simon is highly grateful for the provided earplugs. The hosts proceed to go over the drag rules, and introduce the first performer.
Simon watches the show entranced, cheering extra loud for Johnny’s friend Kyle, Cumulus Haze, when he’s announced. A lot of the performers strut around and do a few dancey moves here and there, and it’s quite fun, and then Johnny is announced.
Or should he say, Scottish Spring is announced. Scottish Spring walks up onto the stage and strikes a pose as bagpipes begin to play, a hand over their heart, plaid corset on—the colors the same as the kilt Johnny had on the first day of class—black fishnets that sparkle under the spot light, a two inch long strip of black fabric that someone might claim to be a skirt, knee high black heels, and shiny plastic orbs that remind Simon of soap bubbles. Their makeup is colorful, the red of their contour matching the red on their corset, and Simon can see a powder blue thong peaking out from under Scottish Spring’s “skirt.” Their mohawk is done up in spikes, their scruff has silver glitter in it, and they glisten under the lights. The bagpipes gently transition into a pop song, where a woman’s voice asks if you can see her ass when she bends over. The bagpipes completely cut out at the beat drop, and Scottish Spring begins dancing around the pub like they own the place.
If Simon was entranced before, he is now utterly enamored, unable to take his eyes off the performer before him. Scottish Spring makes eye contact with him, winking and blowing a kiss before they begin to unfasten their corset. Revealed underneath is a plaid tube top of the same pattern on the corset that has a sprinkle of rhinestones stuck on the center of each square and glimmers under the stage lights. Scottish Spring is muscular, which Simon already knew, just not to the full extent.
Eventually, Scottish Spring comes up to Simon, their faces inches apart as the woman in the song sings about falling for someone new, a mischievous smile peeled across their face. Simon is frozen in place, and he feels his mouth go dry. Simon knows Gary is positively losing his mind next to him, but all he can focus on is Scottish Spring and the fingers lingering on his chin before they draw away and continue dancing around. Simon swallows the lump in his throat, feeling dazed and a little lost. Scottish Spring ends the number in a middle split, their back arched, head titled back to the crowd, and the whole pub is drowned in thunderous applause. Simon joins in, completely on autopilot. Gary is grabbing his shoulder and shaking him, an excited “Did you see that shit?!” cracking from his throat. Simon can only nod.
During intermission, Johnny looks around the pub until his eyes land upon Simon. He smiles and walks over as he’s talking animatedly with his friend. “Hey, Si! Glad you could make it! How ye likin’ the show so far?”
Gary beams at him, signing something seemingly vulgar that Johnny doesn’t understand. Simon slaps at his hands, glaring at him. “I am not translating that, you cunt!”
“Fine, I’ll say it myself. Simon got a to–” Simon covers Gary’s mouth with his hand, who proceeds to lick his palm. Simon grimaces and wipes the spit off on Gary’s shoulder.
“You hardly talk, and you use it for nefarious purposes,” Simon grumbles. Despite seeming annoyed, he has a fond tone behind his words. He turns from Gary to Johnny. “Your performance was fucking mint. I really like your whole… outfit.”
Johnny beams. “Thank you! I had ta make the tube top myself. Even without being taped, tube tops never fit me.”
“Well, it looks really well made. And, what kinda tape d’you use?” Simon asks. “I just used KT-tape, generally, before I got surgery. It’s cheaper.”
Johnny cocks an eyebrow at him. “You mean for binding? I just use transtape.”
Simon’s eyes lift up into half moons, a motion Johnny has learned means that he’s smiling. “Yeah, for binding. I know, it’s not the best idea, but it worked.” He shrugs.
Johnny nearly can’t believe it. The cute guy he’s been pining over for the past couple weeks and has recently befriended is also transmasc. He wouldn’t have to worry about it being off-putting, if Simon even is interested in guys. Hope catches in his throat and all he can do is smile.
“Five minutes until intermission ends!” Keegan booms from over the mic, already in his costume change.
“I should get going! Catch up after the show?” Johnny asks, hopeful.
Simon nods. “See you after the show.”
Johnny rushes off, his heart hammering in his chest. He hopes Simon meant it, when he said he liked his performance. He tucks himself in the green room for a beat to recuperate before heading back out to the venue. The hard part is over, now he’s just got to wait in anticipation for after the show.