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There was a boy who lived at the end of their street and his name was Josh. For as long as Simon can remember, Josh had been a part of his life. They even had a secret password for the treehouse in their backyard (it was Jericho). There was Danny, and Danny’s best friend and sometimes Josh’s friend North, and they called themselves the Jericho Four and spent their childhood playing games or eating snacks or exploring or reading books by torchlight under a blanket. Well, the reading books thing was just between him and Josh. The Sawyers’ had an amazing library because Josh’s mom was a professor at Detroit University and always believed knowledge to be the most powerful weapon. She always gave her son new books, and in turn her son would eagerly share them with Simon. They’d lose hours and hours devouring each new book she gifted them, and eventually they’d fall asleep with the torch still in Simon’s hand and the open book still in Josh’s. If Simon could choose to travel back in time to any era, any monumental turning point in human history, he’d still choose his childhood, he’d still choose Joshua Sawyers.
Life has a funny way of moving at breakneck speed and crawling at a snail’s pace too. Simon and Daniel moved away, and the Jericho Four was no more. They went to school, they went to college, they went to university. Somewhere between all that, their parents disowned them when word around town spread that Simon Lambert kissed a boy. It had been a shameful secret but Daniel stood up for his brother, and for himself too because love wasn’t ever shameful and should never be a secret and he’s gay too so fuck you both they’ll make it on their own. So they did and it’s been just Simon and Danny for seven years now. They move back to Detroit and they work themselves to the bone to survive and they do, they manage it somehow because there’s no other option. There’s no time for love, nothing beyond fleeting glances and harmless crushes and if he’s honest with himself, Simon still thinks of Joshua Sawyers and wonders how handsome he must be now.
Danny’s taking night classes for a short course, and when Simon finishes his Wednesday shift at the cafe he brings coffee and leftover pastries. There’s a handy shortcut that cuts through one of the buildings, a beautiful old construction of brick and climbing ivy. Simon ducks inside and finds himself pausing when he glimpses one of the lecturers working diligently on something. He’s tall and handsome, a pair of thick black rimmed glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. His dark skin is washed with a cooler hue from the bright study lamp on his desk, and he absently rubs his shaved head in thought. Smiling to himself, Simon discreetly tucks the little image into his folder of harmless little crushes, and hurries on to find his brother.
He hates the closing shift but that’s just how it is sometimes. At least his bag is full of pastries and muffins they can freeze and divvy up for the next couple of days. Simon cuts through the university grounds just as one song finishes playing on his phone, and right before the next song starts he hears it- yelling. Hitting the pause button, he yanks the earphones out and stands still. There it is again, the sound of laughing and yelling and a bottle breaking. And then a cry for help. Simon breaks into a run, belatedly thinking it’s Danny that’s better in a fight, not him, but a cry for help is a cry for help. He finds himself in a tiny laneway behind one of the lecture halls, and there’s broken glass and a crumpled form on the ground, and five drunk students.
“Hey!” Simon turns the torch on his phone and shines it right at them. “Hey this is campus police!”
“Oh fuck!” There’s a chorus of colourful curses before they disperse in a mad scramble, and then Simon’s rushing to the fallen figure.
“Oh my god, are you ok? Oh shit-” Simon gently eases the person to sit up and he realises it’s the very handsome lecturer he saw the other week. “Come on, I don’t live too far from here. I’ll patch you up. Can you walk?”
They groan but manage to nod their head slightly. Simon gathers up the man’s belongings, wincing when he finds the glasses had been crushed underfoot. He shoulders him and the short journey home feels thrice as long. Guiding him to sit on the edge of the bathtub, Simon rummages through the bathroom cabinet for supplies. Placing two aspirin in his hand, he fetches a glass of water for him before starting to tend to his wounds, luckily finding nothing more than bruising and grazes.
“Thank you.” The man slurs, wincing as he touches his split lip. “If you hadn’t been there, I-”
“It’s ok. I’m just glad you’re alright.” Simon gently wipes the blood from his chin before dabbing at the graze on his brow. “Nothing’s broken and there’s no cuts or anything. You’ll have some nasty bruises though.”
“I have a lecture at ten tomorrow morning, that’ll be interesting.” He mutters, then heaves a tired sigh. “My car’s back at the university.”
“Stay the night.” Simon blurts. “It’s late and it’s dangerous and my brother’s staying at his boyfriend’s place tonight so I can stay in his bed and you can have mine.”
“Uhhh…” The man blinks at him, clearly taken aback. “Thanks? I- yeah, wow, thanks. You’ve already done so much for me, I just- are you sure?”
“I’m so sure. I’d never forgive myself if I just turned you back out into the night in the state you’re in.” Simon reassures him and means every word of it.
“I’d at least like to know the name of my Good Samaritan.” He gives a lopsided grin.
“I’m Simon.” The grin drops immediately, his eyes widening.
“Simon...Lambert?”
“...yes?” He breaks into a beautiful smile, tarnished only by a wince as it tugs on the split wound.
“I’m Josh. Joshua Sawyers.” It feels like the universe grinds to a halt and Simon’s been handed a serendipitous twist of fate.
“Oh my god.” Simon bites back a sob and throws his arms around him, and Josh laughs as he squeezes him close in return. “Oh my god it’s you.”
“It’s me.” He feels his smile against his neck, and Simon’s heart leaps into his throat.
“God it’s been like, twenty years!” He murmurs into his shoulder. “And you’re a professor now? Like your mother?”
“Just like mom, yeah.” Josh chuckles, the sound making butterflies erupt in Simon’s stomach. “And you’re back in Detroit!”
“Yeah, me and Danny moved back about seven years ago.” He pulls away only because the angle is starting to strain his back something awful. “He’s taking night classes for business management, and I work at the cafe close to the uni.”
“We’ve been so close all this time.” Josh smiles and the bathroom light puts a twinkle in those soulful dark eyes of his. “And now you’ve saved my life. My childhood bestie to the rescue.”
His smile is contagious, and Simon feels his cheeks ache from smiling so much. It’s a good kind of ache. He can’t remember the last time he smiled so brightly.
“I’m glad I found you again.” Is what he manages to say at last, and Josh’s beaming smile softens into something tender and fond.
“Yeah, me too.” He reaches out slowly, hesitantly, and grasps Simon’s hand. “I really missed you, Simon. I didn’t have anyone to read with after you left.”
“Can’t imagine North ever sitting still long enough to finish a book.” Simon quips, heart pounding as he tries to casually cope with the fact Joshua Sawyers is holding his hand and very gently rubbing his thumb over his.
“Her girlfriend is the Professor of Robotics at Colbridge University, can you believe it?” Josh tips his head back and laughs. “She’s a published author. I feel like that serves North right. All those times she made fun of us for reading as kids and now her girlfriend writes books.”
“You still see her.” It’s not a question, and Simon feels himself smiling as nostalgia washes over him, warm and soft.
“Yeah, we catch up every now and then. We’re part of an activist group led by Markus Manfred.”
“The artist? As in Carl Manfred’s son? Wow.” Simon blinks in surprise. “Isn’t he an actor too? He’s in that medical drama. Actor, artist, and activist. How annoyingly perfect.” Josh laughs loudly at that and Simon grins stupidly; a part of him knows he’d do anything to make him laugh. When Josh stands at his full height, he’s taller than Simon and a voice inside Simon’s head gleefully notes he’s the perfect size for hugs. He decides to test the theory and wraps his arms around Josh’s waist, turning his head so his ear is pressed to his chest, tucked under his chin.
“I’m really, really glad I found you again, Josh.” He doesn’t dare say it any louder than a whisper, but he feels Josh envelop him in his arms and smudge a kiss in his hair.
“Life led us back together.” It’s tinged with amusement, his tone, and Simon aches for him. It’s as though there’s a thread in his heart tethered to Josh.
“It’s you, Josh, it’s always been you.” He pulls away just enough so he can look into those deep dark eyes. “It’ll always be you.”