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It was another warm summer evening in the apartment, and Simon was itching under his fluffy jumper. He had long jeans on too, with stuffy trainers and - possibly worst of all - a pair of silky gloves which made his hands sweat. Still, if it meant that Simon could hold hands with his boyfriend then he wasn't complaining.
Much.
Simon kept scratching at his arms and sighing until Raphael finally asked what was wrong.
“It's nothing, I just – I wish I could touch you more,” Simon blushed, the heavy lump in his throat holding back what he really meant. I want to touch you, properly, Simon wanted to say. I want to take off these blasted gloves and cup your face and kiss you until your lips are numb. I want to cuddle you at night without layers of pyjamas and socks and those stupid gloves between us. I want to show you how much I love you.
Raphael, being almost-fluent in the language of Simon, pulled his werewolf boyfriend into a rare hug. Simon sniffed and buried his face into the corner of Raphael’s probably-expensive jacket – Raphael would probably scold him for that later – to inhale the scent of his boyfriend as close to the source as he could get.
“Shhh, it's okay,” Raphael promised. “We’ll figure it out – we always do, don't we?”
The pair of them had been dancing around the skin contact issue since Simon was bitten by a werewolf six months ago, although they had been dating for about a year prior to that. They both loved each other too much to see the other in pain when they held hands, or kissed, or even just cuddled.
So Raphael had come up with the layers – a way that they could touch one another, to an extent, without either of them being hurt. Sometimes Simon hated that it forced them into abstinence, that he couldn't even hold hands with Raphael without those goddamn gloves. But it was better than nothing.
“I love you,” Simon murmured into Raphael’s shoulder, sleepily. Raphael smiled, looking down at his puppyish boyfriend with an expression that had become increasingly frequent since he left the Hotel DuMort.
“I know,” Raphael replied, touching just the tips of Simon’s hair lest he burn his boyfriend’s scalp. “I love you too, mi amor.”
***
On a similar evening, perhaps two or three weeks later, Raphael’s phone rang in the middle of a Star Wars marathon. Simon made a big show of sighing and pretending to be upset, but the smile on his face implied otherwise. Raphael picked up the phone, his gloved fingers interlinked with Simon’s.
“Hello?” Raphael frowned for a moment at whoever was on the phone. “Magnus? What could be important enough to call me this late on a Tuesday night?”
Simon squeezed Raphael’s hand as his boyfriend talked to the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Suddenly, Raphael sat up and his eyes widened.
“Really? You found it?” Raphael was nearly beaming, and Simon watched on with a small smile. “What do you mean, sort of? But you know where it is? That's marvellous!”
Raphael ended the call, and wrapped Simon in an excited hug. Avoiding skin contact had become sort of second nature, but a small part of Simon wished that these hugs could become a part of their everyday lives. Minus the layers.
“Well, what is it?” Simon asked impatiently. Raphael laughed into Simon’s hoodie. When he calmed down about twenty minutes later, Raphael started to explain.
“With some help from Magnus, I've been looking for something – something that can take away this curse between us. And Magnus found it,” Raphael said, and his grin was contagious. Simon was ecstatic.
“Seriously? But what is it? Where is it?” Simon bombarded his boyfriend with question after question. Raphael just laughed.
“The good news is that the artefact was created to end the werewolf/vampire curse between the two intended wearers, Romeo and Juliet –“
“Wait, seriously? The Capulets and Montagues were vampires and werewolves? Why have I never heard about this?” Simon interrupted. Raphael uncharacteristically rolled his eyes, but the smirk on his face told Simon that he wasn't really annoyed.
“It's common knowledge! Dios, what are they teaching young werewolves these days? Yes, the Capulets were a vampire clan, and the Montagues were a werewolf pack. Now can I finish my story?” Raphael half-sighed, but his mouth quirked up at the corner. Dios, he loved Simon.
Simon nodded sheepishly.
“So these matching rings were created for Romeo and Juliet, but a Shadowhunter stole the rings after the two were married and they committed double suicide in despair. That identity of that Shadowhunter remains unknown to this day, but Magnus found the rings. In the Institute.“ Raphael finished. He glanced up at Simon to see him smiling, those cute dimples making themselves known.
“But that's great! I’ll just ask Izzy to give them to us, and I –“ Simon babbled until he saw the hollow look in his boyfriend’s eyes.
“That's the bad news. I can't enter, and taking them is going to be illegal. If Izzy tries to help us, she could be stripped of her runes and exiled. Magnus can't steal them either – he would lose his title of High Warlock, and be forced to break off his relationship with Alec Lightwood. The only person with a chance of taking them, Simon, is you,” Raphael admitted, his fingers playing with his jacket in a nervous tic. In all of his seventy years he still hadn't managed to abolish that bad habit, although the fashions of clothes had changed immensely.
Simon looked torn, clearly struggling to make a decision. He loved Raphael, of course he did, but he didn't want to endanger his friends. Finally, he nodded.
“Okay. I'll do it,” Simon promised. Raphael could have kissed him (and of course he wanted to, but the skin contact issue still wasn't quite resolved) – instead, he squeezed his boyfriend’s hand through the layers of gloves.
*
Simon was on edge from the minute he walked into the Institute. Even Izzy noticed it as she greeted him at the door. He was on edge, he looked – and felt – tense. But it was for Raphael, he reminded himself.
No more layers, Simon thought to himself. Finally, I can kiss him again. No more abstinence.
It was about five minutes later that Izzy left him alone, her eyes looking concerned as she fetched Clary.
Simon looked around as casually as he could, trying to find the rings that matched Raphael’s description. Matching silver rings, with a ruby set into the frame. Suddenly, he spotted them, sitting in a glass cabinet to his left. Simon hurried over and slid the glass away, pocketing the smooth rings and trying to act like he was supposed to be there. He closed the cabinet and straightened up.
“Simon?” Clary’s voice startled Simon. He relaxed once he realised who was talking to him, though his pulse was still elevated.
“Oh, hey Clary,” Simon answered, trying to act normal and hoping she wouldn't pick up on his nervousness. Clary frowned at him worriedly.
“Are you okay? You're acting sort of… jittery,” Clary said. Simon laughed it off, his heart racing.
“Me? No, I'm fine. What about you? How's everything going in the search for Jace?” Simon asked, and Clary launched into her favoured topic without looking back. After twenty minutes of conversation, however, Simon's phone notified him with a text from Raphael.
All okay? Did you get the rings? – Raph
Simon smiled at his phone, and made an excuse to Clary.
“Sorry, I have to meet Raphael – we've got a date,” Simon lied, and thankfully Clary didn't ask any questions.
As he was leaving, Clary shouted from behind him, “Don't be a stranger!”
*
Raphael insisted on testing the rings immediately, and Simon immediately complied. His ring felt cool against his hot skin, and as soon as the gloves were off he was reaching for Raphael’s hand.
Simon gasped slightly at how cold Raphael’s hand was against his, but it didn't burn – rather, it tingled pleasantly. For a moment they both simply stared at where their hands were intertwined, before their lips came crashing together and they were kissing, kissing, kissing with a hunger not unlike Raphael’s hunger for blood.
(Simon had seen Raphael drinking blood many times over the span of their relationship. It wasn't pretty but he was curious, and Raph was always especially cuddly afterwards.)
Simon moaned against Raphael’s lips because this was so good, too good, and it had been so long since they had been able to be this close that Simon felt dizzy and intoxicated from the kiss alone. Raphael broke the kiss for a moment, resting his forehead against Simon’s.
“Bedroom,” Raphael breathed, and the two stumbled onto the bed with their lips firmly locked. That night, through everything, almost every part of their bodies touched – almost as if making up for the last six months.
After sex, Simon just cuddled into Raphael’s side with a content sigh. In that moment, everything was perfect – and he would have given anything for it to last forever.