Chapter Text
Simon had seen the light die from his angel’s eyes and it was heartbreaking.
“Dammit, the thing I gave up my career for, and of course I’m wrong.” Grace plopped down in the tunnel, his hands in his hair.
“It’ll be okay,” Simon said cuddling up to him. “Besides, it’s just one life form. It can’t just be us and those stupid dots right? Maybe there’s something like metal based trees that move on their own.” He got a small smile from Grace, but then it was gone and he went back to wallowing.
Irritatingly, Court had come looking for them.
“May I speak to my brother…alone?” He asked. Simon looked at Grace.
“I’ll be okay, Simon,” he replied. Simon gave Grace a long kiss before leaving.
“Has he told you yet?” Court asked as he watched Simon walk off. He sat down next to Grace.
“Really, that’s what you’re concerned about? Not the fact that my whole academic career is a joke?”
“Your career is not a joke, and so what? You were wrong about one organism. There’s got to be more out there. I’m more worried about the fact that you’re dating a child murderer and he works at your school.”
“He was a child too and raised in a cult.”
“He bombed a whole fucking building,” Court countered.
“He tried to stop it!”
“After he set them all up! Damnit Ryland. You finally get around to dating someone and it has to be this guy?”
“Yes, it has to be him! I care about him. He is sweet and gentle. He’s good with the kids. He goes to therapy and told me about everything he went through only two weeks after knowing me. He treats me as if I hung the stars and I want to make him feel the same way. This is not up for discussion.”
“Fine waste your time with him.”
“He has made me feel happier than I have ever been with anyone. Look Court, I know you’re trying to protect me, but I am a grown ass man. I am not that helpless little kid anymore. You will accept him as my partner or we will no longer be on speaking terms. Do I make myself clear?” Grace had never spoken that way to his older brother before.
Finally, the anger and stubbornness in his brother’s eyes subsided. Something else settled, perhaps guilt mixed with a little bit of pride. His younger brother typically just sat back, not really standing up for himself, aside from the conference when he ended his microbiology career.
“Fine, I’ll back off. This isn’t even what Stratt sent me out here for. Are you going to let this keep you from researching these dots more? You…and Simon, are the first humans to have come into contact with alien life. I know you’re smart, you’ve got a doctorate in this stuff. They need you and that big brain of yours, but Stratt is getting ready to pack up.”
“What? Already?” Grace perked up.
“Yeah, she said if this is all it takes to rattle you, then she’ll start sending the dots elsewhere.”
“No, I know Simon and I can discover more about them. I’ve gotta stop her,” he got up and sprinted out of the tunnel. Court smiled to himself. He couldn’t believe his dorky brother is finally learning to stand up for himself and push for what he wants. He shook his head before getting up and walking after him.
Simon was waiting just outside of the building when Grace zoomed past, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand on the way.
“Grace, what-” Simon started as Grace grabbed his hand pulling him along.
“We’ve gotta tell Stratt we’re going to keep researching,” he replied.
“Wait, Grace, I’m glad you’re out of your funk, but what about our jobs? The kids? I think this is going to take longer than just a couple of days.” Grace stopped a bit out of breath. He looked into his eyes, a conviction that startled Simon.
“You’re right, but I think about our students and the fact that they might not survive the world freezing over. We can help them, you said so yourself. We’ve got 10 days of leave. That’s two weeks to find out all we can.”
“But I’ve only started teaching, would they let me take that much time off?”
“If we tell them why I think they’ll understand. You don’t have to do it with me, it’s your choice, but I want to help, for the kids, for the world…for you.” Simon thought about it, and as much as he hated using all of his time off immediately maybe he could help.
“Okay, let’s do it. Two weeks,” he replied.
“Yes! Let’s go tell Stratt before she takes it all.”
“She’s already dismantling the lab?”
“Yeah, so we better catch her,” Grace grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and they ran back inside.
***
Stratt left them with three dots, deemed “astrophage” by Grace. Technically four including the one he killed. They were both tired and had worked through the night after already having worked a full school day. Before continuing they decided to get some food and much needed sleep, but were expected back the next morning.
“I am exhausted,” Simon said as he rubbed his eyes.
“Me too. Carl, how are you still okay?”
“I’m tired too, but I have to stay alert for security reasons,” he replied as he drove the two men to Simon’s apartment.
“I’ll be here at 7am sharp to pick you up,” Carl told them.
“Ugh, could we do 9?” Grace complained.
“Nope, Stratt’s orders.” He drove off and Simon dragged Grace inside.
“Damn, my car is still at school too,” he groaned.
“Do you want takeout?”
“Do you have any of those frozen meals? I’m too hungry to wait for food.”
“Yeah, for today’s gourmet lunch we have broccoli and beef, or salisbury steak with mac and cheese,” Grace pulled the two out of the fridge.
“Both sound great, I’ll take whatever you don’t want.” They ate in silence, both of them ready to pass out as soon as they finished. They got ready for bed and Grace collapse face down like a starfish.
“Hey, scoot over, I want to sleep too,” Simon tried to move him. Grace grunted in response.
“Fine, you asked for this,” Simon said laying right on top of him.
“No, I’m sorry! Simon,” Grace laughed.
“Please, let me up,” he pleaded as his arms flailed. Simon grinned and obliged as Grace moved over.
“So I guess we’re going to have to put our plans on hold for a bit. I was looking forward to going to the antique store with you. And we were going to get your cat next weekend,” Grace pouted.
“I’m definitely upset about putting the cat on hold, but we’re going to be working a lot. Maybe we should wait until winter break so we have more time to play with them before leaving them home alone for a long time.”
“That’s a good point. You’re going to make the best cat dad,” Grace grinned.
“Oh Grace, do you think you could send Ms. Reynold’s and the principal an email tomorrow about our time off? I put in the request already, but I think it’ll sound better coming from you since you’ve been there longer.”
“I can do that Simon, did you upload your sub plans already?”
“Yep, thank goodness I’m meticulous and planned out the whole semester in advance.”
“Yeah, and I’ve got years of lessons to draw on. The subs should be able to handle it.”
Simon laid his head on Grace’s chest listening to the comforting rhythm of his heartbeat. Grace stroked Simon’s head and the man hummed with content.
“Can you believe we made first contact?” Simon asked.
“Honestly, it hasn’t even hit me, but I’m proud of both of us,” Grace replied, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Me too,” Simon said. They fell asleep holding each other, both of them so tired neither nightmares, nor dreams found their way to them.
***
Carl and Court sat in the observation room. They both seemed bored out of their mind and eventually started making some small talk.
“Nah man, I think you’re wrong about him,” Carl said. Court hadn’t told him the details, but he was complaining about Simon.
“Why is that?”
“I get a good feeling from him, and my entire job is to weedout and look for suspicious people. Besides, we all have a past right? I was a horrible teenager. Ended up in juvie for doing some stupid shit that caused a fire in the school. But look, I cleaned up my act and now I work for the government. We can all change.”
“I guess you’re right. I just worry about Dr. Grace.”
“You’re brothers aren’t you?”
“Yeah, no one’s really supposed to know, but I figure Stratt must’ve needed to inform your at some point.”
“Yes, but you also look quite similar. Both of you have those pretty blue eyes,” he stated. It wasn’t even meant to imply anything, just an observation. Court looked towards his brother, unsure of how to feel about it.
The two were running more tests, looking at the DNA strands from the dead astrophage. They also figured out it was carbon based too.
Grace was currently scanning the world forum for new information from other scientists researching the astrophage. A lovely team in China took one for the world and tested out what would happen to the microorganisms in earth’s atmosphere. The answer was nothing which was a great relief as they no longer needed the suits or an entire room full of deadly argon gas.
“Why are they heading to Venus?”
“Maybe it’s their vacation home?” Simon joked.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Grace rolled his eyes.
“Wait, maybe it is something like that. Maybe it’s a place they like the atmosphere of.”
“Like their version of fresh air,” Carl piped in. He usually wasn’t one for getting into the science of it, but he was bored and his talking partner had to step out and secure the perimeter.
“Yeah, just like that Carl. Maybe we can recreate Venus’s atmosphere and see if they’re attracted to it,” Grace proposed.
It took Simon and Grace a couple of days to make the plans for building the Venus box, or the hot box as Grace was calling it. They went home to eat and sleep during the night, and Simon had a sneaking suspicion that if Grace was on his own he would’ve just moved himself into the lab and done everything there.
Now despite the lab being well stocked with all they science equipment you could ask for, it was sorely lacking in normal materials like foil and duct tape. The box did need a secure way to contain the atmosphere.
“Hey Carl, do we have an expense account?”
“You two don’t…but I do,” he smirked. The three of them left Court and the other armed guards to raid the nearest Lowes department store.
They ended up goofing off most of the time they were there. Bowling with the foil, shooting hoops with the cart, and Simon even made them visit the garden section. It was mainly for plant lights, but he did grab himself an aloe vera plant that caught his eye.
It reminded Grace of his college days when he’d get to do late night Walmart runs. For Simon, he thought of the fleeting good moments from his childhood where the other children in Eden would actually play together.
They ended up with mountains of aluminum foil, duct tape, and other odds and ends they might need.
Simon initially felt guilty about getting an Almond Joy, then Grace raided the sour skittles and dumped all of them into the conveyor belt. Carl noticed Simon only got one bar and put the rest of them on the belt with a grin.
Grace came over, hands behind his back. He got really close to Simon, who was about to lean in for a kiss when Grace stuck a pair of sunglasses on Simon’s face. His boyfriend laughed at Simon’s surprised expression then did the same putting his over his glasses.
Carl just smiled and shook his head. How he was going to explain the random purchases to Stratt? Honestly, she probably wouldn’t care as long as they got results and more research.
When they got back Court was waiting. He rolled his eyes at his brother’s double glasses, but still took the packet of sour skittles from him.
They took their time constructing the Venus box. It was a whole day affair, and Simon’s engineering and welding skills from his oil rig days came in very handy. He was able to get it attached to a section of the wall and got the bigger box surrounding it sealed up. Grace made sure the atmosphere was like that of Venus. They decided they’d test it tomorrow and shut down for the day.
“Hey Carl, want to come to the diner with us? Thursday is my usual night and I think my friend Marisa might be meeting us there.”
“Nah, Court and I are going to get some Chinese takeout once the shift changes here.” That caught Grace off guard.
“Oh that’s nice, it’s good to see you’re getting along,” he replied, surprised. Carl didn’t say anything more on the matter and started driving the two men home.
“Oh yeah, Carl, do you mind if we stop by the school to get my car? I keep getting worried messages from our coworkers.”
“I can do that,” he said, dropping them off at the school right next to Simon’s lonely car.
“Thank you, see you bright and early tomorrow,” Simon replied. Carl drove off and Grace looked at his boyfriend.
“Since when are they friends?” Grace blurted out.
“They have been talking quite a bit. Not much else to do when we’re waiting for test results or reading new findings,” Simon reasoned.
“Ah that’s true. Honestly, my brother needs a friend. I think it’s really just Colt and I that he talks to on any meaningful level, and even then, well you’ve seen how it is.”
“Yeah, maybe it’ll help him remove that stick up his ass,” Simon commented. Grace laughed as he got in Simon’s car.
“He has at least stopped glaring daggers at you,” Grace noted.
“Thank the stars for that. It was already stressful trying to not accidentally kill us by slicing open our suits,” he replied.
“I felt the same way, but it was more like I needed show my big brother that I am smart and can handle things on my own.”
“I used to feel that way with the Father, and then Ava for the longest time, but my therapist and I worked through that feeling a while back, so I’ve been trying to focus on just doing the best I can for myself. Although, I do want to do my best for you. I’ve got to keep you impressed,” he flirted.
“I’m always impressed with you Simon, if anything I get worried that I’m the one constantly making a fool of myself.”
“You’re definitely not a fool, and even if you were, you’d be my fool,” Simon grinned.
“Well that makes you my fool too,” Grace said, kissing his starlight. It was a loving kiss, drawing a sigh from Simon’s lips. They kissed some more only stopping when Grace’s stomach growled.
“As much as I like just sitting here kissing you, I think we should go get some food. What time are we meeting Marisa?”
“At 7, so we should be right on time.” Simon drove them there. He had met Marisa a couple of times before. Working for the department of energy had her wiped out as they were currently trying to workout how they would be able to handle the loss of heat from the sun over the coming years.
“Do you think we can talk with her about the astrophage?”
“If she doesn’t already know that we’re working on it. I think she knows Stratt, since Stratt seems to have connections to all major departments of the world’s government.”
She definitely knew her.
“That woman’s a pain in my ass,” she complained.
“She’s defintiely abrasive,” Simon agreed.
“So what’s next?” Marisa asked.
“We’re trying to see why the astrophage might want to go to Venus,” Simon explained.
“Tomorrow, we’re testing out a mini Venus we made.”
“I hope for all our sakes it’s illuminating,” she commented. They talked about the idea Stratt has to cover the entire Sahara in solar panels.
“Would that not disrupt weather systems and ecosystems on a global scale?” Simon asked.
“It undoubtedly would, but it could also buy us more years of energy we’re desperately going to need,” she explained. They went back and forth talking about their respective fields of research. When they finished eating she let both of them know that it’d probably be a while before she would be able to meet again as she’ll be travelling out of the country to work on energy negotiations.
“Good luck,” Grace said as they left.
“You too, you’re gonna need it working with Stratt” she said before getting in her car and driving off.
Simon drove them to his apartment. To make it easier on Carl, and to spend more time together they’d been switching off whose place they’d stay at. Stratt didnt' want them driving longer than 15 minutes on their own. Somthing about it being too risky, whatever that meant.
“Are you ready to sleep?” Simon asked.
“Honestly, after talking with Marisa, my mind is back to it’s racing thoughts, not that I haven’t been having them every night from our research, but it just grounds me to think of what happens if we get nowhere with this,” Grace replied.
“What if we watch some Doctor Who? I also feel a bit more anxious after dinner,” Simon suggested.
“I’d like that, let’s watch Journey’s End. That’s my favorite when I need a pick me up. Everyone piloting the TARDIS always makes me happy. The end is a bit depressing though,” Grace remembered.
They snuggled on Simon’s couch together under a fluffy blanket. Simon absentmindedly fidgeted with the necklace he made out of the maple seed Grace gave him. When they got to the part where Rose and the 10th Doctor’s duplicate went back to her universe together after he told her he loved her and they kissed, it inspired Simon and he paused the episode.
“Before we end up like that, I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while, Ryland, but I’m so helplessly in love with you. I have never felt this way about anyone. I know I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me in your life,” Simon confessed. Grace melted further into his boyfriend and looked up into those dark eyes of his.
“I love you too Simon. There could never be anyone else for me. When I think of the future I don’t see the lonely one I used to picture, or even the wasteland we’re going to be entering with the astrophage eating the sun. I see us together, in a modest house, with a kid or two, and some cats. I see all the trips we could take and the days spent in each other’s arms. I want you more than anything,” he replied, pulling Simon into a passionate kiss.
This time Simon moved on top of his angel, doing what he could to be closer to him. He took off his shirt and Grace did the same with his.
“Fuck, I love you, Ryland,” he breathed.
“I love you too, Simon, my starlight,” he replied, breathless as Simon left a love mark on his neck. Grace didn’t even care that it’d be visible tomorrow. He’d worry about that later. He wrapped his arms around Simon’s back. They cool metal of his prosthetic brushed his skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
The maple seed hung from his boyfriend’s neck, swinging in front of his bare chest. The sight alone nearly sent Grace over the edge.
“You are mine, angel. And I am completely, and utterly yours,” Simon whispered into his ear before biting it gently.
“Then take me,” Grace countered. He could barely contain himself.
“With pleasure, love,” he replied and did as his boyfriend asked.
