Chapter Text
Ryland loved his kids, every single one of them. He loved their quirks and their questions and their creativity. He even loved the ones that didn’t participate in class as well, because he knew they were trying and he knew it was the best anyone could do.
He’d just taught a full day of lab activities, which the kids always tended to love. They’d been doing a lot of math and tricky stuff lately, so as a treat he had them whip up some elephant’s toothpaste (it went down a treat).
“Thank you, Mr. Grace,” said a few of the kids as they left the classroom. Ryland smiled. The thank you wasn’t necessary, but it did make him feel appreciated.
After work, Ryland went down to Golden Gate Coffee. He’d done that for as long as he could remember, really—pop down to the café and grab a snack or drink before getting some homework of his own done, then when he was finished go home and spend the rest of the day alone there. As of the past couple weeks, though, he’d been staying at the café for much longer.
Today, Ryland was feeling energetic, so instead of sitting at his table like normal he was up and standing by Simon as he worked. Simon was behind the desk, and Ryland stayed to the side so as to not get in the way of any customers.
“How old are you?” Ryland asked Simon as the latter whipped up an incredibly complicated order. “I don’t think I’ve asked.”
“I’m, uh, 30,” Simon said, handing the customer their order like it was nothing.
“Oh, nice,” Ryland hummed. “I’m 31.”
“Cool.” Simon took a moment to take someone else’s order before turning back to face Ryland. “Don’t you have some work to be doing?”
Simon said it in a slightly accusatory way, but Ryland knew he didn’t mean it like that. Simon’s tone of voice often came out a lot harsher than he’d intended, which is something you had to learn early on.
“I mean… technically?” Ryland replied evasively. “But it’s Friday, I can just get it done over the weekend.”
“If you say so,” Simon replied, eyeing Ryland curiously.
“Besides,” Ryland continued, “I’ve been missing you.”
Simon raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t react. Ryland shifted closer, leaning an elbow on the counter and tilting his head to the side.
“You should visit me at my work sometime,” he continued.
“I sincerely doubt that’s allowed,” Simon hummed in reply.
“Do you have any science experience?” Ryland pressed. “I could bring you in under the guise of being a guest speaker.”
“That doesn’t sound very fun,” Simon murmured, his brows drawing together above his eyes.
Ryland sighed. He rolled his eyes, but to make sure Simon knew he meant it lightheartedly, he also shot the other man a smile. “Whatever, old man.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Simon laughed in reply. Ryland beamed. He loved getting Simon to laugh, or even just smile. The man tended to be extremely stoic or even melancholy at most times, so getting him to show a bit of emotion was a fantastic achievement—in Ryland’s opinion, anyway.
“Can I get some coffee?” Ryland asked when there was no longer a line.
“At 6:00 in the afternoon?” Simon questioned.
“Yes.”
“You won’t be able to sleep.”
“Decaf?”
Simon sighed, but Ryland could sense the affection behind it. “Sure. Anything in it?”
“Only everything,” Ryland replied, following Simon as he walked along behind the desk.
Simon shot Ryland a look before turning around and putting all of Ryland’s favorite creamers into it. Ryland watched from afar, a smile on his face as he realized that Simon had his orders memorized.
“You’re in a good mood,” Simon observed as he handed Ryland his coffee.
“It’s Friday!” Ryland exclaimed before taking a sip of the coffee. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
“There have been shit Fridays.”
“That’s the worst argument for anything ever,” Ryland scoffed, “and I should know, I grade essays on the regular.”
Simon huffed, instantly dropping the debate. Ryland handed him his credit card to pay for the coffee and noticed that Simon hesitated slightly before taking it. After lingering by the desk for a bit longer, Ryland headed back to his table after a new group of people walked into the store.
Today, Ryland was working on making a new assignment for his students. Usually after they do a lab, the students do a quick quiz before moving onto the next subject. At this point in the year, Ryland was allowed to start moving onto the subject he wanted to teach the most: astronomy. Ryland loved teaching astronomy, it was really just an excuse for him to yap about everything he knew about space.
The first lesson he set up was just the basics, meant to teach the students about the phases of the moon and the different planets, followed by the speeds of their orbits. After that, he’d talk about the distances of the stars and different constellations.
He typed this all down into a Word document, planning to make it into a slideshow later.
Then, after I talk about stars, I can move on to the theories about life on other planets, Ryland thought as he typed. We can come up with different theories and do a project about making our own planets and trying to prove how there could be forms of life on them.
Ryland got so carried away planning this lesson of his that he didn’t notice Simon approach until he cleared his throat.
“Huh?” Ryland asked, looking up from his laptop and blinking curiously.
“Do you want to order anything else?” Simon asked. “If you do, you’re going to have to order quickly because we’re closing soon.”
Ryland blinked again. He rubbed at his eyes beneath his glasses as he glanced down to check the time on his computer screen. 7:55, it read.
“When did it get so late?” Ryland murmured to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Simon smile fondly. “Sorry, Si. I lost track of time.”
“It’s all good,” Simon hummed. “You were enjoying yourself. Did you just call me Si?”
Ryland shrugged, glancing away. “Yeah, I thought it sounded nice.”
“I like it,” Simon murmured. His voice was soft and somewhat awkward, like he wasn’t sure how he was meant to respond. The flattery was genuine, though, Ryland could tell. After a moment he cleared his throat and asked, “Well, uh, do you want a final order?”
“No, I’m good.” Ryland drank the last of his coffee (it had gone cold, but he didn’t mind) before getting up to put the cup away. Simon was waiting for him by the table when he came back. “We’re leaving then?”
Simon nodded. “We’re heading out!” he called to Jack, who shot them a thumbs up in response.
Ryland packed up his stuff, slipped on his backpack, then stepped forward to hold the door open for Simon. The shorter man gave him an odd look but accepted the gesture anyway, walking through before Ryland.
“You’re weirdly kind to me,” Simon said as they walked to the bus stop together. “I don’t understand it.”
“Why wouldn’t I be kind?” Ryland asked, risking a playful smirk. “We’re friends, Si.”
Simon was silent for a while after that. Ryland watched him patiently, noticing every shift in his expression. They had already stepped onto the bus when he spoke again, his voice low and unsure.
“…Is that all it takes?”
“Is what all what takes?” Ryland asked. They sat down in their usual seats, Ryland by the window since Simon got off first.
“To be friends,” Simon said. “We don’t, like—we don’t hang out or anything, you just come to the café while I’m working and sit there.”
Ryland stayed quiet, simply watching Simon with wide eyes as he spoke.
“Why do you want to be friends, anyway?” Simon asked. “I don’t do anything for you.”
“You’re thoughtful and kind and I enjoy your company,” Ryland stated. “Why would you need to do anything for me? I don’t do anything for you, either.”
“You’re… well, you keep me company while I work,” Simon said.
“The same goes for you,” insisted Ryland. “And we spend plenty of time together, we’re always talking while I’m at the café, and we also always sit together here on the bus. We’ve had plenty of conversations. If you want to hang out at other times too, though, you can just ask. I’d love to spend more time with you.”
Simon opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it again. He shook his head, and his normal arm went over to squeeze his bionic arm, something he did when he was feeling anxious. Ryland waited for him to speak, but it never came.
“What?” he prompted when he couldn’t wait any longer. “I want to hear what you have to say.”
“It’s gonna sound stupid,” Simon protested.
“I don’t care how stupid you sound,” Ryland said. “I’d want to stay your friend no matter what.”
Simon let out a choked little laugh at that, but Ryland couldn’t tell if it was meant in a good or bad way. Again, he waited until Simon was ready to speak, and this time he did.
“I haven’t had a real friend… since the navy,” Simon murmured. “And that one was, well… she was my captain, so there was a clear power imbalance there. I just… don’t feel like I should be allowed to be your friend until I work for it. Until I prove myself to you.”
“Okay,” Ryland huffed. “Fine.”
Simon looked up, gripping his prosthetic harder.
“You don’t have to be my friend,” Ryland said. “Not yet.”
“What? No, I—”
“But,” Ryland interjected, giving Simon a warm smile, “I am going to be yours. Whether you like it or not.”
Simon stared for a moment. The lights from outside the window reflected off his dark eyes, shimmering as the bus continued to move. His hand fell from where it had been grasping the bionic arm, instead landing to rest on the seat beside him. Ryland met his eyes, continuing to smile—not because Simon needed to see one, but just because it was hard to not. Ryland was a very, very anxious person, and yet when it came to Simon, it was always easy to be the cheerful one.
“Why?” Simon asked, looking genuinely confused.
“Um, because I want to,” Ryland replied. “That’s all.”
“Why do you want to?”
“Because you’re fun!” Ryland exclaimed. “I like you a lot, so I’m going to stick around.”
Simon looked away. It seemed like there were other things on his mind, but evidently nothing that he wanted to stay, because he remained silent. The bus bounced a couple of times as it went over bumps in the road, and the two men’s shoulders brushed against each other a couple of times.
At one point—Ryland wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not—Simon leaned in. His shoulder pressed firmly against Ryland’s, accompanied by his head. Ryland tilted his head to the side, blinking over at Simon curiously. He didn’t take the man as a very tactile person, so him not instantly moving away again was a surprise. However, Ryland enjoyed it, so he didn’t move away either.
“Can we share your earbuds again?” Simon asked after a while.
“Did you forget your headphones?” Ryland asked.
“Oh, uh… they’ve died again,” Simon huffed, glancing away. “I need to remember to charge them more.”
Okay. So. That was a lie. Ryland wasn’t sure what Simon could possibly assume to gain from lying about that, but it was obvious that he was from the shift of his shoulder and the drop of his gaze.
“…Sure,” Ryland agreed eventually, giving Simon a small smile. He reached into his back and took out his earbuds, plugging them into his phone before handing one over to Simon. He put the second into his own ear, turned on his music, then leaned back and closed his eyes.
They were both silent, both still, but Ryland could feel that Simon was happy. He could feel from the way he breathed to the twitch of a smile against his skin that Simon was enjoying himself at that moment. Knowing that—and knowing that he could accurately tell when Simon was happy without words or looks—made Ryland feel extremely pleased. He wasn’t entirely sure why it mattered to him so much, but it made him feel warm and fuzzy and content.
When the bus pulled up to Simon’s stop, it took him a moment to pull away from Ryland. He gave him back his earbud, shot him a smile and a wave, and then left. Ryland was quiet as the bus continued along its route. He continued listening to his music, but without Simon being there it lost some of its meaning.
This was normal. It was part of Ryland’s schedule, to be left alone for the second half of the bus ride. He didn’t like it much, but he was used to it—and besides, the whole bus ride had been like this before he met Simon.
I guess I didn’t realize how lonely I was until I had a way to change that, Ryland considered silently.
When Ryland got home, Rocky was already heading to bed. Which was fortunate—like, Ryland loved his roommate, but he could be a bit much sometimes, and Ryland wasn’t really in the mood to get teased about Simon yet again (because yes, for whatever reason, Rocky was convinced that they were in love. They weren’t. It had only been like three weeks, and Ryland wasn’t interested in that sort of thing anyway).
Ryland set down his bag on the coffee table and dropped down onto the couch. He let out a long breath, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. It was strange how tired he was after he’d just had such a normal and good day.
He turned over, reaching for the tv remote to turn something on. He still had a bit of the lessons to work on, but the motivation he’d had earlier was gone, and he no longer felt like doing it. So instead, he decided to distract himself with a bit of television. He stayed there for longer than he thought he would and eventually fell asleep on the couch at around 2:00am, but oh well, it was Friday.
Ryland had a dream that night, but it was already fading when he woke up. He spent the first few minutes of his morning draped over the armrest of the couch, debating whether or not to go visit Simon at the café that day. Simon worked every day, even on weekends, but Ryland didn’t, so he was never sure whether to visit him there at the normal time or not. Ryland occasionally got concerned about whether Simon was overworking himself or not, which was a topic they’d visited a couple of times.
“Do you get days off?” Ryland had asked one night as they walked down the street to the bus stop.
“Nah,” Simon had replied. It was earlier on in their friendship, and Simon had still been quite quiet around Ryland, even when prompted. “Don’t need them.”
“Why not?” Ryland had looked over, startled. “You deserve time off!”
“I get time off every morning until 3:00.” Simon had shrugged, looking uncomfortable from the sudden attention. “I don’t need whole days; it would just throw off the routine anyway.”
Ryland had hummed, taking that into consideration. Even now, he didn’t appreciate how much Simon was convinced that he didn’t matter as much as others. He was getting better at it, which Ryland loved, but it was still often an issue.
Eventually, Ryland yawned and stretched, sore from sleeping on the sofa the whole night. He stood and headed into his bathroom to shower and get dressed, and when he reemerged, Rocky was up and waiting for him in the kitchen.
“Going to visit Simon today, Grace?” Rocky asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.
“Maybe,” Ryland grumbled in response. “I’m not sure yet.”
“Have you gotten his number yet?” Rocky pressed as Ryland walked in to fix himself some breakfast. “Not sure why it’s such a big deal when you’re not interested in romance.”
“It’s still an awkward thing to bring up, Rock!” Ryland exclaimed, glaring at him after pouring some cereal into a bowl. “He’s definitely gonna think I’m flirting with him or something.”
“If he does then just tell him he’s wrong?” Rocky suggested. Ryland shook his head quickly—no, Rocky didn’t understand. “It’s been ages, Grace. Not awkward at all.”
“I’ll ask when I see him next,” Ryland replied, waving away Rocky’s comment.
“Today?”
“Maybe.”
“You should bring me with,” Rocky said, grinning. “Would love to meet this Simon of yours.”
Ryland grumbled. He wanted Rocky to meet Simon too, eventually, but he knew that his roommate would be all weird about it. He shook his head and looked down to pour the milk over his cereal. Rocky fell silent, taking a big bite of his toast.
“Okay,” Ryland sighed after he finished his cereal. “I’ll visit him today.”
“And bring me with?” Rocky exclaimed excitedly.
“If you promise to be good,” Ryland said, using the tone he would on a misbehaving cat, “you can come with to the café.”
“Yesss!” Rocky pumped his fist through the air, grinning. Ryland rolled his eyes fondly. “Don’t worry, Grace, I’ll get his number for you.”
“The hell you will,” Ryland sneered in response. “You’ll probably directly tell him that I want it for romantic and/or sexual purposes.”
“You talk like a book,” Rocky groaned, neither confirming nor denying Ryland’s statement.
Later, Rocky and Ryland got on the bus to head to the café. Rocky was ecstatic, rambling about how excited he was to finally meet “this Simon that Grace has said so much about”. Ryland was excited for Rocky to meet Simon too, despite what he’d said about being scared.
When they entered the bookstore and went into the café area, it wasn’t Simon at the cash register but Jack, who tended to take over when Simon didn’t think Ryland would be coming in (Ryland had gotten this information from Jack himself, on a lazy day when Simon had gone to the back). Saturdays were usually busy, Ryland knew, so it was strange to see it so quiet. There were a lot of people but nobody who had just entered; all of them just sitting calmly at their tables with their food and drinks.
Jack looked up when they entered the establishment, shooting Ryland a smile.
“Top of the morning to ya,” he said, leaning forward in a friendly manner. “Are you here to actually get something or is it just for Simon again? Also, who’s your friend?”
“Hey, come on now, I always get something too!” Ryland protested playfully. “And this is my roommate Rocky.”
“You mean best friend,” Rocky corrected him. Then he leaned forward and rested his elbow on the counter, nodding at Jack. “He means best friend.”
“That too,” Ryland confirmed, rolling his eyes at his friend’s antics. Jack laughed softly.
“Do you want me to go get Simon?” he asked, pointing towards the back where Simon no doubt was.
Rocky opened his mouth—probably to say something like “Yes, right away”—but Ryland quickly butted in to shake his head. “No, that’s okay. We’ll wait for him to come out by himself. In the meantime, can we order two hot chocolates and a strawberry cake pop?”
Jack nodded, instantly taking Ryland’s card and getting it started. They waited by the counter until it was done, then took their food back to a nearby table. Ryland gave Rocky one of the hot chocolates and the cake pop, taking one of the hot chocolates for himself. He drank slowly, his gaze fixed on the doorway that Simon was going to walk through. He could feel Rocky staring at him from across the table, watching him waiting for Simon to enter, and ignored it.
“Rocky…,” Ryland began after a while, “please actually don’t bring up anything to do with romance with him. I don’t have feelings for him like that, and I don’t want him to feel awkward around me. He needs someone who makes him feel comfortable.”
“Wasn’t going to say anything about that,” Rocky insisted around a mouthful of cake pop. “You’re the one who brought it up, Grace. Weird.”
“Shut up,” Ryland hissed. “I was just making sure, okay?”
“’Kay.”
“Ryland?”
Ryland’s head shot up at the sound of Simon’s voice. He took one last sip of his hot chocolate before standing up and leaving the cup on the table, easily able to beam a smile now that Simon was standing in front of him.
“Si!” he exclaimed cheerfully. He wanted to give Simon a hug but wasn’t sure if the other man would be okay with that, so he instead kept his arms at his sides.
“What are you doing here?” Simon asked, sounding perplexed despite it being not that crazy of a situation.
“Oh, um, Rocky wanted to meet you,” Ryland replied, gesturing over to Rocky, who was still sitting at the table. However, once his name was mentioned, Rocky stood, giving Simon a grin.
“Hello!” he greeted. “Great to finally meet you, Grace talks about you often.”
“Oh… does he now?” Simon hummed after a brief handshake from Rocky. His expression was somewhere between amused and confused and would’ve been unreadable if it wasn’t for Ryland’s inexplicable ability to tell what his face said no matter what.
“Yes,” Rocky confirmed bluntly.
“Well, how could I not?” Ryland murmured. “You’re an interesting guy.”
Simon raised an eyebrow at Ryland. “In a good way, I hope?”
“Definitely,” Ryland confirmed, smiling. Simon smiled in response, and Ryland was again filled with a feeling of intense accomplishment and joy like no other.
“I, uh… see Jack already took your order,” Simon observed after a minute, with a hint of… was it disappointment? in his tone. “Are you enjoying everything?”
“Of course,” Ryland replied, giving Simon a somewhat concerned smile. “I always enjoy what I get here.”
Simon nodded, looking awkward. Ryland tilted his head to the side, watching him curiously. Rocky’s gaze went back and forth between the two of them as he grinned.
“I wanted to ask,” Ryland piped up after a moment. Both Simon and Rocky looked over at him curiously. Ryland took a deep breath before finishing, “if I could get your number, Si?”
“Oh!” Simon exclaimed softly as Rocky pogged behind him. “Uh, sure, yeah. Here, just—” He held out his phone for Ryland to take, which was open to an empty contact. “—put yours in and I’ll text you so you get mine.”
Ryland took the phone with slightly wobbly hands. It was sleek with a shiny black case. He typed in the contact name—Ryland :)—before adding his number. Then he handed it back. Simon immediately typed out a text and sent it—a simple hi—which let Ryland save his contact as well. He named it “Si,” naturally.
“Awesome,” Ryland breathed. “Sorry, I just—I’ve been wanting to reach out to you about things like schedules and such, and it’s just a good thing to have I feel, but I’m sorry if—”
“Hey,” Simon interrupted, his voice soft and soothing. He reached out, placing a warm hand on Ryland’s arm. “No need to apologize, I get it.”
Ryland nodded. He still felt quite sheepish, but the reassurance did help greatly, not to mention the skin contact. “O- okay. Thanks.”
Rocky smirked, the smugness in his gaze feeling like a tangible weight on Ryland’s shoulders. He shook it off and got back at his friend with a glare, which caused Rocky to look away quickly.
“Can we stay?” Ryland asked Simon after a minute. “Or would you rather we leave so we don’t distract you.”
“Oh, no, stay for as long as you want, whenever you want!” Simon insisted, the unspoken “please” evident in his voice. “Although it’d probably be boring since you don’t have anything to work on right now. So, you can of course leave if you want to. It’s whatever you want, really.”
“Oh, um—” Ryland glanced over at Rocky. He really did want to stay, to watch Simon work and be there for him if he needed it, but it would be awkward with Rocky there. His roommate would probably tease him for staring or make him hyperaware of everything Simon said or did. Not on purpose, of course, but that was just what was bound to happen. “I’m… not sure.”
“Well I want to leave,” Rocky declared as soon as Ryland made eye contact. “Go somewhere! It’s been ages since I was in this part of town, would be nice to explore.”
Ryland saw Simon’s expression falter slightly. He knew it wasn’t his fault (mainly, at least), but Ryland still felt a heavy amount of guilt grip onto his heart.
“Come on, Grace,” Rocky said, grabbing Ryland’s wrist. “Have some fun.”
“I do have fun when I’m here, Rock,” Ryland said, giving his friend a small smile. Rocky frowned, looking unimpressed.
“You’re boring,” he groaned. “You’re always here, Grace. Have you gone to any other place since you met Simon?”
“That’s not important,” Ryland insisted, shooting Simon an anxious glance. Simon, however, didn’t seem to be paying attention, instead focused on looking down at his phone screen.
“It’s fine, you can go,” Simon said after a moment, which Ryland heard along with a buzz from his own pocket. He reached in and pulled out his phone, seeing a text message that Simon had just sent as well.
I don’t think he likes me very much lol
Ryland frowned. He quickly typed back, Don’t mind him, he’s an idiot. Of course he likes you, before saying aloud, “Okay, but let me get a profile picture for you, just really quick.”
Simon didn’t have time to look surprised before a picture was snapped of him, which Ryland quickly saved as his contact photo. Simon blinked, then laughed softly, grinning at Ryland as he was pulled away.
“See you on Monday!” Ryland called behind him as he left. Simon nodded and waved in response, the smile still visible on his face. Ryland beamed, proud of himself for breaking the tension so effectively.
Rocky dragged him around to a few shops, and Ryland had to admit it: he was having fun. Both of them had been so caught up with their work lately (and in Ryland’s case, Simon) that they hardly got to spend any time together outside of when they saw each other in the house they shared.
“How’s Adrian doing?” Ryland asked as the two of them moved on from the shop they’d been observing.
“Very good,” Rocky replied cheerfully. “Amazing as always.”
“Could we maybe hang out together sometime soon, the three of us?” Ryland asked.
“Or maybe four of us?” Rocky suggested, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Ryland rolled his eyes.
“Maybe,” he muttered, “although I don’t think Simon would do very well with a large group.”
“Small group,” Rocky assured him. “Calm and quiet.”
“If you say so,” Ryland hummed, despite him being doubtful that Rocky could ever remain “calm and quiet” for a large amount of time.
The rest of the day passed by easily, with neither of them doing much more than exploring the downtown area before going home and couch-rotting. Sunday passed by similarly, except this time with Ryland waking up to a friendly Good morning text from Simon. It made him smile, the thought of Simon thinking about him when he wasn’t there staying with him throughout the entire day (he made sure to text back, of course).
Class on Monday was delightfully chill, with the students finishing their quizzes easily before getting to play a quick round of Beanbag is Lava. He practically ran down to the café afterward, finding Simon instantly and apologizing profusely for Rocky’s behavior on Saturday. Simon assured him that it was no issue, and although Ryland was unsatisfied, he let it slide.
The rest of the week passed by easily, both Ryland and Simon drifting comfortably about their routines. They chatted during Simon’s working hours as always, now able to also text before and after. They were almost inseparable, which was a fact Rocky loved to remind Ryland of whenever he could.
It was all going perfectly normal, until Friday night. Ryland had just got home and began to whip himself up some dinner. Rocky slid into the room, the familiar look in his eyes that told Ryland he had a trick up his sleeve.
“I have an idea.”