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Simon knows what alternate universes are. He’s read enough Harry Potter fanfiction set in high school and High School Musical fanfiction set at Hogwarts to be considered an alternate universe expert.
But when he learns these things actually exist in real life, he needs a moment to recompose himself.
And, okay, it’s one thing to know they exist. It is, however, a completely other thing to actually be pushed into one.
Magnus does it to save his life. Shit is going down around them – Valentine and his men at one side and a very angry, very murderous clan at the other one, planning on killing Simon right then and there.
So Magnus opens a Portal and pushes Simon inside.
Simon quite literally falls into the other dimension. One second he’s standing in a dark alley and the next he’s tumbling out onto the road, a car barely able to dodge him in time.
“Hey!” Someone calls out, and great, Simon already managed to get in trouble the very first second he entered another dimension. That has to be a new record.
He turns around to the voice to apologize, but the words die on his lips and his breath hitches in his throat.
Because this, what he’s seeing right now, this isn’t possible.
Raphael is walking towards him. There’s no doubt about that. He has the same leather jacket, the same eyes, the same dark hair. But his hair is curly, for one, and his skin more brown than it can possibly be. And lastly, he’s walking in sunlight.
Like, actually bathing in it.
And Simon wants to scream to get out of the fucking sun because he’s gonna turn into dust and then it hits him that hey, his skin feels warm. So he looks down and he sees his own skin being lit up by the sun and Raphael reaches him and kneels and asks if he’s okay and Simon –
Simon faints.
***
When he comes to, his head hurts and he’s faintly aware that he’s being patted on the cheek. There’s someone saying something to him, but they sound far away and unimportant.
When the patting doesn’t stop, Simon grows annoyed. Hello, he’s trying to be unconscious in peace here, do you mind? So he swats the hand away and grunts.
He finally blinks open his eyes and stares into a worried and familiar face.
“What happened?” Simon groans. His head is spinning.
“You fainted… straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted to get my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes,” Raphael says teasingly, and… hold up. Raphael doesn’t tease. Like, ever. What the fuck is happening?
“Oh, God,” Simon whimpers, feeling embarrassed about the fainting and confused about everything else. He doesn’t even realize he managed to say God until after Raphael pulled him to his feet, and then he can’t stop saying it.
“God, Jesus Christ, what in God’s name -”
“Okay, Jesus,” Raphael laughs.
“I think you might’ve hit your head. Do I need to take you to the doctor?”
Simon wants to remind Raphael that any doctor will diagnose Simon as deceased, considering he doesn’t have a pulse anymore and his skin is as cold as a corpse, but then he remembers he managed to be in sunlight without exploding and notices how brown Raphael’s skin is once again. So he tries to subtly press his fingers to his pulse on his wrist and almost screams when he can feel it pulsating.
He’s alive. And Raphael is too, it appears.
And they don’t seem to even know each other.
“Uh, no, thanks,” Simon stutters. Raphael raises an eyebrow – at least that didn’t change.
“Are you sure? It took you quite a long time to reply.”
“I’m just – a bit dazed,” Simon explains.
“Yeah, you just walked straight into traffic, dude. Seemed to come out of nowhere.”
“Sorry,” he mutters. Raphael looks at him weirdly and pats his shoulder one last time.
“Okay then,” he says slowly.
“I’m gonna go now. See you around?”
“Sure.”
“Cool.”
And with a wave, Raphael is off.
Simon stands on the pavement till the sun sets and then finally makes his way home, praying that his alternate universe family still lives in the same house.
They do, and they don’t seem to find it weird that Simon is coming home, which probably means AU!Simon is still living there instead of in a vampire hotel.
***
Nobody ever told him what he’s supposed to do in this alternate universe. Is he supposed to not do anything with the risk of the whole butterfly effect and all, or does that only count with time travel? Is he supposed to find AU!Magnus and tell him everything and hope he’s still a Warlock who can Portal him back to the real Brooklyn (or his real Brooklyn, at least) or does he just wait around until his Magnus beams him up?
Simon decides it’s best to sit this one out and don’t do anything too weird, but he never was the type to sit still for too long. That’s how he finds himself aimlessly roaming the streets of Brooklyn the next day, drinking in the sunlight he missed so greatly. That can’t possibly hurt anyone in any dimension, right?
Somewhere after noon, Simon slips into a record store he’d been planning on going to before he Turned and he realized the shop wasn’t open after sunset. So he takes this opportunity to skim through the records and listen to some tunes, maybe even buy some vinyl he can take home with him.
“Traffic boy!”
Simon startles and turns around to see Raphael smirk at him. He’s wearing a name tag, which can only mean he works here.
“Uh, hi,” Simon says sheepishly.
“See you’re up your feet. No concussion, I assume?”
“Nope, just mild embarrassment and a sore butt.”
“Awesome.” Then he looks at the record in Simon’s hand.
“You gonna buy that?”
“No, I was just. Uh. Looking.”
“Need any help?”
“I think I got it, thanks.”
Raphael nods and offers him a polite smile. Then he turns around on his heels and walks back to the counter, where he plops down on a chair to read through a magazine.
Simon is too flabbergasted about the sight of a very human Raphael in a very mundane (hah) record store to enjoy his music hunt, and he walks out of the shop with a short grunt to Raphael to indicate he’s leaving and a headache settling behind his eyes.
***
Right, so. It’s been a month since Magnus dropped his ass in this universe, and he decided to make the best of it. After all, how many vampires got the chance to be human again and pick up their ordinary life? So he started hanging out with Clary (who, by the way, is dating Izzy in this universe, which is very interesting and definitely something he’ll remember), picked up a job as a barista in his favorite coffee shop (the free coffee is honestly the only reason he does it) and starts performing with Maureen again, just because he missed the normality of it all.
He also starts finding any and all excuses to see Raphael for the most selfish reasons. Since his Raphael, the one in his own universe, still hates his guts, Simon settles with this Raphael instead. He’s fun to hang out with, quick on his feet with a dry humor Simon really appreciates and full of anecdotes he’s never heard before. This Raphael never slicks back his hair and Simon often finds himself mesmerized by his curls. It makes him wonder if he could ever convince his Raphael to wear his hair like that.
They start meeting at his gigs (surprisingly enough, he and Maureen actually took off in this universe and people absolutely love them). Raphael usually buys him a beer after his performance and they talk at the bar. Simon has honestly never heard Raphael talk as much as now. He’s always casually touching him as well, nudging him with his shoulder or brushing something off his sleeve or pressing his leg against his. Simon doesn’t know how to feel about it. There’s not a thing in the world he wants more than for Raphael to touch him, to look at him with such fondness as this Raphael does, to talk about anything and everything to him. Talking to this Raphael, to the Raph Simon could’ve had if he hadn’t screwed up, makes him miss his Raphael. He just wants to go home and fix it.
And then they kiss.
It’s in front of the bar they just came out of, right after Simon said goodbye and is starting towards where the taxis usually stop to pick people up. But then Raphael grabs his wrist and pulls him back and then their lips are touching and Raphael’s fingers slip from his wrist to his hand to hold it and Simon is cupping his neck and there’s tongue and everything is just happening so fast.
Unlike when he was still a vampire, Simon actually does have to breathe now. So they can’t stand there and kiss forever, much to Simon’s annoyance. They eventually part, resting their foreheads against each other and breathing heavily.
Simon doesn’t want to open his eyes. When he does, he’ll see Raphael’s curly hair and brown skin and easy smile and he’ll know this isn’t his Raphael. He may sound like him and look like him and feel like him, but he isn’t. His Raphael has slicked back hair, his skin is paler with just a hint of his former skin color, he scowls instead of smiles. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I should go,” Simon murmurs against his lips. He doesn’t want to be rude and he really doesn’t want to hurt Raphael’s feelings, because it isn’t his fault he is the wrong one. So he pecks him on the lips one last time and asks him to call him tomorrow. He doesn’t know what exactly he’ll tell them then (‘hey so yeah I’m kinda not from this universe and you’re not the Raphael I want’?) but that’s a bridge he’ll cross when he gets there. Raphael nods with a smile and lets go off Simon’s hand, watches as he gets in a cab.
That night, he’s Portaled back to his own universe.
***
“That sure as hell took you long enough!” Simon snaps once he’s fallen face first into Magnus’ soft carpet.
The High Warlock looks sheepish, a pink blush on his cheeks.
“Sorry, Solomon,” he says. Simon figures he can’t be too sorry, since he still doesn’t address him with his own name.
“But we were kinda busy fending off Valentine and his army and we all figured that that dimension would be the safest place for you until things had settled down.”
“We couldn’t really afford having to put effort in protecting you from your clan,” Alec states dryly. Simon glares at him.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Alec nods as if that really was a thank you. Simon scrambles to his feet.
“So, what’s been happening since I was gone?”
“War,” Alec says.
“We’ve been fighting,” Magnus elaborates.
“Battle lines are being drawn, alliances are being formed. The usual war stuff. Which reminds me,” Magnus says, grabbing his phone and dialing a number. He holds up a finger for Simon to shut up as he waits for the other person to pick up, then smiles as he says: “He’s here.” He hangs up after that.
“Who was that?” Simon wants to know.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
And surely, not even five minutes later, there’s an urgent knock on the door. Magnus smiles mischievously, as if he’s planning a great prank, and then pushes himself off the couch to open the door.
Raphael storms in before Magnus can even fully let him in, heading straight for Simon. Simon shrinks, thinking his former clan leader is gonna kill him on the spot, but he just pulls him to his feet by the collar of his shirt, cups his neck and crashes their lips together.
Simon is so surprised he doesn’t even know how to respond. He’s frozen on the spot, his hands stiffly pressed to his side, but then Raphael makes a noise in the back of his throat – something between a grunt and a whimper – and it’s enough to bring Simon back and make him move his lips against Raphael’s.
The kiss is angry. That’s all Simon can really say about it. There’s biting and pulling until Raphael is drawing blood and then he sucks Simon’s lower lip into his mouth to drink the red liquid and Simon’s knees buckle, making him fall limp against Raphael’s form.
Raphael pulls back with a feral growl after tugging at Simon’s lip once more.
“Why the fuck did you kiss the alternate universe me?” He snarls.
“Wh – I – what the hell is happening,” Simon stutters. He’s never been so confused in his entire life.
“Oh,” Magnus grins cheerfully.
“We followed your adventures the entire time you were there. We even called it the Simon Show. Very interesting.”
“Oh, g-” Simon chokes. Ah, yes. How he missed not being able to say God’s name out loud.
Magnus is just plain laughing at him now. Alec nudges him in the shoulder to make him stop and eventually just starts pushing him in the direction of his bedroom.
“We’ll leave you two to it,” he says before rounding the corner to leave the two vampires alone.
“Well?” Raphael asks impatiently.
“Well what?”
“Are you gonna explain yourself, idiota? First you just disappear off my radar and make me think you fucking died and then you enjoy yourself with another me for a month? You got some serious nerves.”
“I – correct me if I’m wrong, Raphael, but last time I checked you banished me from the clan and threatened to kill me if I didn’t leave. So I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this.”
Raphael clenches his jaw. He looks like he’s gonna kill him, but that’s just the way his face is, as Simon has noticed.
“I’m making a big deal out if,” he says slowly, “because you kissed a fake version of me before you kissed me.”
The world must be playing tricks on him. He must still be in some kind of other universe, because this is not happening.
“You want me to kiss you?” Simon asks dumbly.
“Yes! Jesus fucking Christ, you’re so blind! Why do you think I made a promise to look after you, why else did I make you my personal advisor and why else did I let you borrow my clothes? Wasn’t I obvious enough?”
“Again, you ordered to kill me.”
“To keep up appearances! The clan would overthrow me for having feelings for the traitor. But then you just – you disappeared. You didn’t even try to come back, like it didn’t matter to you. Like I didn’t matter to you. And I thought – okay, he doesn’t feel the same way. I can live with that. But then you swagger into another freaking dimension and kiss the other me and it just felt like a slap to the face. I just – god, Simon, you are –”
They’re kissing again. Simon doesn’t know who initiated it, but he sure as hell won’t be the one ending it. And Raphael makes that sound again, the whimper-grunt, and Simon tries to put all his own anger and frustration into the kiss and his touch. If Raphael had just told him this, if they had just communicated… He’s such a fucking idiot, such an asshole. He doesn’t even know why he’s kissing him, why his hands are gripping in his hair like his life depends on it. And did he just – did he just whimper Raphael’s name against his lips?
There’s been so much sitting between them. Distance, politics, magic, broken promises. And though they managed to cross all those things, there’s still a final layer they have to strip away.
So Simon only parts with Raphael’s lips to pull off his shirt and then unbutton Raphael’s, unbuckling belts and sinking teeth into skin on the way.
They claim each other on Magnus’ floor, not caring for who may hear them. And when they’re done, Raphael asks him to come home with him. He promises he’ll take care of the clan, that he will be safe with him.
And Simon believes him.
(Magnus calls both of them in the middle of the day the next day, demanding a new carpet and a couch to match. Raphael curses him and turns around in bed to wrap an arm around Simon’s waist. Simon quietly promises Magnus he’ll get him a new carpet.)