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“Did you – did you get in a fight?” Simon asks incredulously.
“You lose one hundred percent of the fights you don’t pick.” Raphael replies loftily.
“Okay one, that’s not the quote; two, by that logic you also win one hundred percent of the fights you don’t pick.” Simon says, hurrying forward to catch Raphael as he stumbles across Simon’s apartment. “But let’s not argue that while you’re bleeding out all over my floor.”
“Warm water and soap washes out most blood stains.” Raphael mumbles helpfully as Simon half-drags him to his restroom.
“Shut up, you idiot, oh God, there’s so much blood – what were you thinking?” he hisses, propping Raphael up on the sink counter and rummaging through the cabinet.
“I won.” Raphael says, instead of answering. “But my jacket is ruined. And I just got this two months ago, too.”
“I remember, you spent a ridiculous amount for it at Burberry.” Simon says, before he snaps out of it. “Jesus, it doesn’t matter! Why did you get in a fight? You’re twenty-three, not thirteen!”
“He was using slurs against a boy on the subway.” Raphael says coldly, and oh, Simon gets it.
“Alright.” Simon says, waving a hand dismissively as he pours rubbing alcohol over a cotton pad. “You don’t have to talk about it. This is gonna sting, by the way. Look at me go, a home nurse.” He mutters as he starts dabbing at the cuts on Raphael’s face.
Raphael hisses and brings his hands up to grip Simon’s bicep, his fingers clenching every time Simon runs the pad across an open wound. Simon mutters the whole time about responsibility and safety, mostly so he can ignore the way his hands are shaking against Raphael’s skin.
“All done.” Simon finally says, a bit hysterically. “And let this be a lesson to you for future fights – don’t.” He pushes everything to the side of the counter – he can clean it up later – and buries his face in Raphael’s shoulder. Raphael lets him, tracing patterns along Simon’s back.
“You know, we’re always at my apartment, so I forget how shitty yours is.” Raphael says conversationally after a while.
“Shut up.” Simon says, laughing. “Not all of us make enough to feed a small country.” He pauses for a second, and then –
“I love you.” He says, looking steadily at Raphael, bruised and battered and here, in Simon’s tiny bathroom. “I really do.” Raphael makes an incredulous noise and drags him in for a kiss.
.
Simon’s at the monthly Lewis-Morgenstern-plus-Luke-and-Alaric-for-whatever-reason dinner when the topic turns to Clary and him. So far, he’s been avoiding talking about his life by stuffing his face with potatoes and Clary’s just pretended to have a coughing fit every time the conversation comes near her.
“So, Simon, what’s this I hear about a boy?” Val asks, waggling his eyebrows and looking like a cartoonish villain. Simon desperately searches the table for more potatoes.
“Er – I don’t know, what have you heard?” he asks. Across from him, Clary makes a face and nods towards the empty potato bowl.
“That he’s a good Catholic boy with abs of steel.” Val says gleefully, and Simon startles so badly he sends a dinner roll flying. Luke doesn’t even look at it as he reaches out and plucks it out of the air.
“What?” Simon shrieks in the ensuing laughter.
“Honey, stop torturing the poor boy.” Jocelyn scolds him, even as she covers her mouth and laughs.
“Sorry, I told them that.” Rebecca says gaily, not sounding sorry at all.
“Rebecca!” Mom says, and then adds. “Oh, Simon, not that it’s not true. Your boyfriend’s very handsome.”
“That’s just – oh my God Mom.” Simon bemoans, covering his face. “His name’s Raphael. He’s Catholic. I’m not talking about his abs.” Alaric is still guffawing and Simon shoots him a glare.
“And what does this Raphael do for a living?” Val presses, his eyes keen. Simon sighs heavily.
“He’s head of the DuMort Corporation.” He says, and then jumps when Val bangs his hand on the table.
“Honey.” Jocelyn says, managing to sound like she’s just given Val a paragraph-long scolding from one word.
“The DuMort? They’re helping us with our 4-d tech’s legal side.” Val says, excited. “You’re dating Raphael Santiago?”
“Er…yeah.” Simon says. Clary raises an eyebrow at him, and he shakes his head slightly, no, he did not know this either.
“Well, you better invite that boy over for our next dinner. I like him!” Val says, as if that settles everything.
“If Raphael has to come, what about Jace?” Simon blurts out, and Clary glares at him. It’s too late, though.
“So, Clary, what’s this I hear about a boy?” Val grins.
.
“I’m amazing.” Simon announces as he drops a thick file folder on Lydia’s desk.
“Unless that’s a coffee for me, no you’re not.” Lydia says, not even looking away from his computer.
“This is a job for us.” Simon says. “Alec, get in here!” Alec appears, his mouth already in a frown.
“What is this?” he asks, wandering over to flip through the file. “The Institute? Morgenstern wants us?” Lydia perks up at this.
“Wait.” She says. “Are you serious? Simon, what happened?” Simon shrugs.
“I dropped by Clary’s mom’s place to see if she wanted me to get her anything from the farmer’s market, and then Val came storming out saying he was going crazy trying to get the event release of 4-d big enough, and then Jocelyn said hey Simon don’t you work for people who can do that, and here we are!” Simon says in one go, taking a deep breath at the end.
“Wow.” Lydia says idly, reading through the documentation of what Valentine wants. “I don’t think there was a single pause in what you just said.”
“This is good.” Alec says, sounding surprised. “If we pull this off, we could finally have an in to charity event planning.”
“If?” Lydia asks, already turning back to her computer and pulling up spreadsheets. “Of course we’re going to pull it off. Simon, I’m going to need more than your accounting for this.”
“Yes, boss.” Simon says, saluting her. “Does this mean I get a raise?” he asks, excited.
“It means I get to fire Raj, so yes, you’ll get a raise.” Lydia says under her breath.
.
“Does it bother you?” Raphael asks when he gets home. Simon frowns over a cookbook.
“Does what bother me?” he asks as he carefully layers cheese over his lasagna. “Your kitchen that you never use?”
“That I haven’t said it back to you.” Simon looks up to see Raphael meticulously folding his suit jacket.
“Uh.” Simon says. “Raphael, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m in your apartment, cooking you dinner, even though I probably shouldn’t be trusted anywhere near a fire. If it bothered me that you didn’t say those specific words, I wouldn’t be here.” He looks back down to his lasagna, which he’s been trying to get to taste like the one his mom makes.
“I see your point.” Raphael says in a voice that indicates he really doesn’t. Simon sighs.
“What brands of cologne do you have on your dressing table?” Simon asks, not even bothering to turn around as he folds spinach over the cheese.
“Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein.” Raphael says in a tone of voice that indicates that he think’s Simon’s gone crazy.
“Right.” Simon replies. “You don’t wear Calvin Klein, but you keep buying it for me. I know you went out yesterday to buy the new Captain America, and you’re hiding it in your bag until the weekend so it doesn’t distract me from work.”
“How did you know that?” Raphael asks, and Simon finally turns around from his fucking amazing lasagna.
“Because I know you, and you know me.” Simon says, catching Raphael’s wrist and pulling him into a half embrace. “That’s more than enough, even if I’ve been sorely tempted to just steal that comic out of your bag.”
“I – don’t take the comic.” Raphael says, alarmed. “You’ve got to figure out the sound system and lighting tomorrow, and you and Lydia are supposed to talk to some important people about attending – how will you focus on charming rich old ladies when you’re mentally composing a list of ways to compare Jace to Captain America?”
“I’m very skilled at multitasking.” Simon says, smiling so widely his cheeks hurt. “I love you.”
“I know.” Raphael says, ducking his head. “Even if you do compare Jace to Captain America more than a normal person would.”
.
With two weeks to go before the release of Val’s new tech, Clary and Jace decide that it’s the perfect time for them to break up. Neither of them seem particularly torn up over it, but Alec takes it as a personal affront.
“Three weeks!” he yells. “I have spent long and torturous hours on this seating chart! And what do you ungrateful children do? Mess it up! I swear – “ Simon hastily makes his escape from Alec’s office, where Clary and Jace are sitting on their hands and quietly giggling like toddlers put in time-out as they try to convince Alec that they can still sit together.
“Is it just me, or has dating Magnus made him extra dramatic?” Simon mutters to John, Lydia’s fiancé. “I can’t tell if I liked him better when he was just grumpy, instead of grumpy and acting like an extra from the Phantom of the Opera.”
“It’s all that passive aggression that he hides from his parents.” John says back quietly to him. They’re sorting through business cards for all the important guests.
“Don’t you have anything better to do then hang around here all the time?” Lydia asks, giving them a strange look as she passes by with the catering binder.
“No, my sweet, staring at your face is all I want to do.” John sings out, and Simon snickers. It’s a school holiday, and John, who’s a high school principal, is helping them in the chaos leading up to the biggest event they’ve booked.
Alec storms past Simon’s office, trailed by a sheepish looking Clary and Jace.
“And behold, the star-crossed lovers– no?” John says as they both violently shake their heads. “Too soon?”
Alec gets a gleam in his eyes and launches into another tirade while Simon discretely types out an SOS text to Magnus.
.
Occasionally – not that he’ll ever admit it – Simon likes to go shopping with Raphael. It sets off something in his chest to see the way Raphael handles clothes, how in his element he looks bossing shopkeepers around and terrifying the poor assistants, who are probably only two or three years younger than him.
“You’re a menace.” Simon says fondly as one of the girls scurries away, suitably chastised for bringing Raphael something in navy blue instead of midnight blue. Raphael gives him a look.
“It says a lot about you that you think this is cute.” He says, and Simon shrugs, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“I need something to wear for Val’s launch party.” Simon says, changing the topic. “Help me find a suit?” Raphael brightens up at that, and beckons imperiously at Simon.
It turns into an hour’s worth of Raphael putting Simon in an endless succession of suits. Simon has no idea what the difference between each is, but Raphael seems to find each one less satisfactory than the one before, and the whole ordeal ends with Raphael storming out of the store and Simon meekly following in his wake, throwing apologies behind him.
“You can wear something of mine.” Raphael decides as they head for a tiny café.
“Will your things fit me?” Simon asks dubiously. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, but, um, you’re kind of – vertically challenged?” Raphael glares at him, but at this point Simon just thinks Raphael’s glares just make him look like a particularly disgruntled kitten, so. “A medium dirty chai and a maple latte.” Simon orders as they get to the front of the line.
“Do you remember when you were a barista?” Raphael asks, seemingly out of nowhere, as they grab their drinks and head to a table.
“Hm. Yeah, I remember when I had a customer who wouldn’t quit giving me work to do during the early morning shift.” Simon teases. Raphael makes an offended noise from the back of his throat.
“The first day I met you,” Raphael says, instead of rising to the bait, “I thought that no one in their right mind would leave you in charge of a coffee shop. I nearly cried when I saw how you fumbled with the buttons to froth milk.”
“Oh, good times.” Simon says, laughing. “I knew you noticed I was shit at making coffee! Alec liked me because I was punctual. I don’t suppose you’ll ever let me operate that gorgeous coffee machine you’re thinking of buying?”
“Not on your life.” Raphael says, clearly horrified. “I love you, but not that much.” Simon hides his smile behind his coffee cup.
“I’m going to ignore the second part of that sentence.” He decides. Raphael looks at him askance.
“That was the intention, I suppose.” He finally says, like it pains him to admit it. Simon can’t keep a straight face and he doubles over laughing.
“I – God, I love you.” Simon says, and Raphael’s smiling now, a real, sweet curve of his lips, and Simon can’t resist grabbing him by his collar and kissing him with way too much tongue for a public coffee shop.
.
“I’m doing my duty as a best friend,” Simon says as he enters Clary’s tiny student apartment with ice cream cartons and Star Wars, “but I have to warn you that Izzy and I are on a rotating schedule so I’ll be leaving you in approximately three hours.”
“To go comfort Jace and his broken heart?” Clary asks cheerfully. “Wait, let me grab a blanket and pretend to be despondent.”
“Sounds good.” Simon says approvingly as Clary disappears into her bedroom. “If you could pretend to be so unhappy you leave everything around you to fall apart, that would be nice.”
“I just did laundry, and I already curled my hair.” Clary complains, coming back into the room with her duvet clutched around her like a ludicrous cape. “I can’t look like my life is falling apart even if I tried. And you’re not even pretending hard enough; are we watching Star Wars for you or for me?”
“I saw an opportunity, and I took it.” Simon replies loftily. “Anyway, I brought butter pecan and double chocolate, so don’t I get points for that?”
“I guess you do.” Clary says, sighing. She breaks out giggling as Simon tugs her into a hug and ruffles her hair.
“You’re okay though?” he asks into her hair. She buries her face in his chest.
“I am.” She confirms. “It was like going from lovers to friends. Besides, Izzy’s helping me out.” She says, pulling back with a fierce blush. Simon raises an eyebrow.
“Oh.” He says, revelation striking him. “Izzy?”
“Yeah.” Clary says. “Er – that’s okay with you, right?”
“I have Raphael.” Simon reminds her, his voice going embarrassingly dreamy. “Everyone I’ve ever met could be involved in a huge polyamorous orgy and I wouldn’t care.”
“That…sweet?” Clary says, looking nauseous.
“Clary. If you’re happy, I’m happy. And if that makes Izzy happy, I’m even happier.” Simon says gently, and Clary smiles.
“She’s really hot.” Clary says.
“Oh, I know.” Simon says, winking.
Three and a half hours later, Izzy shows up at the door and Simon takes his leave. He looks at the smile lighting up Izzy’s face when she catches sight of Clary, and it reassures him.
“Treat each other right.” He tells the two girls, who pretend like they have no idea what he’s talking about. What rude people.
.
“Here I am; you can cry about Clary on my shoulder now!” Simon announces as he waltzes into Jace’s apartment. Jace grins at him from where’s he’s demolishing a small heap of egg rolls.
“I’m so devastated.” He says. “Can you order from the Jade Wolf? You have an in with the owners, right?”
“Are you using me for my connections?” Simon demands, tossing his coat to the side and scrolling through his contacts for Luke.
“Definitely. But I’m allowed to. I’m heartbroken.” Jace declares.
“Yeah, you both seem real torn up about it.” Simon rolls his eyes as he calls.
“What’s the deal with Luke and everyone else anyway?” Jace asks when Simon ends his order.
“What do you mean?” Simon asks, stealing an egg roll from Jace’s plate. “You’ve had like ten. Let me have one.” He says threateningly when Jace pouts.
“Like, is he with that other cop dude – Aladdin? But they have some weird dynamic going on with Clary’s mom and dad too.” Jace says. Simon chokes on his egg roll.
“Alaric.” He says, wheezing. “And yeah, I dunno, there’s something going on there, but I’m kind of scared to ask. Luke and Alaric live together, and I think they go on dates, but Luke is also best friends with Val, and Luke and Jocelyn have some super close bond that’s never really been defined – plus, they’re always there for family dinners!”
“I know, I went to one.” Jace shudders. “Clary blurted out that we broke up during dessert. I think Val would have killed me, except Clary kicked my shin under the table and my eyes started watering, so I think he thought I was really sad about the whole thing. He felt bad for me.” Simon winces in sympathy.
“Well, here’s to you and Clary.” Simon says, and he and Jace clink egg rolls together solemnly. “You went out with a bang.”
.
“And is he feeding you enough?” Guadalupe asks Simon. He laughs over the phone.
“Raphael keeps a ten foot space between him and the stove at all times.” Simon says. He’s curled into a corner of Raphael’s sofa; it’s nearly midnight and Simon’s waiting for him to get home. “I’m lucky if he comes and sees what I’m cooking.”
“Make him wash the dishes, eh?” she says, her voice sly. “That boy of mine has strong arms.” Simon coughs.
“Uh. Yeah. I know. Thanks?” he says, his voice high. “By the way, Raphael got in a fight a few weeks ago.” He hears a string of rapid Spanish on the other end, and he’s pretty sure there were a few curse words in there.
“He is too idiotic!” Guadalupe hisses. “It is nice to care about protecting others, but at what cost?”
“I know.” Simon commiserates. “He’s okay now, but what if one day he’s not?”
“I worry about the same thing.” She says.
He hears the door open and looks up to see Raphael walk through the door, his shoulders slumped and his face tired. “Your son’s here. I’ll give the phone to him now.” Simon adds, and Raphael looks up in surprise.
“Take care of him, Simon.” Guadalupe says, her voice soft. “You’re the best thing he has.”
“Thank you.” Simon says sincerely, his heart in his throat. He unfolds himself from the couch and hands the phone to Raphael, who curls an arm around Simon’s waist and doesn’t let him go as he takes the phone in his hand and starts speaking in rapid Spanish.
Simon stares down bemusedly at Raphael, who doesn’t seem to be moving from his spot by the front door, and then shrugs, making himself useful as he unbuttons Raphael’s suit jacket. Raphael gives him a piercing look, but doesn’t stop Simon when he begins to herd Raphael to his bedroom.
Simon hums as he moves, and pretty soon Raphael’s been stripped of his work clothes and bundled into bed with little fuss and no sexual tension – which, considering Simon always thought he’d be one of those horny boyfriends, speaks volumes to the kind of person Raphael’s made him want to be. He stands there and just looks at Raphael for a while, cataloguing the way Raphael burrows into the pillows and is absently running his hand through his hair, freeing it of its product.
Simon’s heart aches. He’s so in love with this man; it’s kind of ridiculous.
“Stop staring at me like a creep and come to bed.” Raphael orders, tossing the phone aside and cutting through Simon’s haze of romantic thoughts. Simon rolls his eyes.
“I was thinking nice things about you and feeling sappy, but you’re so good at being mean enough to dispel any of that.” Simon tells him as he pushes the covers aside and gets in, wrapping an arm around Raphael as the smaller man pillows his head on Simon’s chest. “You had dinner at work, right?”
“Lily ordered Chinese.” Raphael says, yawning. “Why was my mother calling you anyway?”
“None of your business.” Simon replies.
“She’s my mother, it’s totally my business.” Raphael argues, apparently not tired enough to stop being contrary.
“Your mother was just trying to remind me of your sexy arms. And don’t act like Rebecca and Mom don’t call you to gossip about me.” Simon says, shifting slightly so he can bring a hand up to comb gently through Raphael’s hair. Raphael arches into the touch and makes a low mewl of delight. “And I’m pretty sure you and Lily only order Chinese so you can talk to Luke about me.”
“Sometimes we talk about me.” Raphael mutters.
.
“I.” Simon begins. “I don’t even know where to begin with this.” He kicks warily at the run down van and Jace glares at him. Simon hastily retracts his foot and steps away. “Have you told Alec and Izzy?”
“Alec will kill me if I distract him from Val’s launch tomorrow, and Izzy will also kill me if I distract her from Val’s launch tomorrow.” Jace says. “So, you guys were my only options.”
“It’s not bad.” Clary says thoughtfully. “I can paint over most of it to make it look vintage instead of – well – “
“Like it’s scrap metal?” Simon suggest.
“Lose the attitude, Lewis.” Jace grits out. Simon offers a sheepish smile.
“It’s not a bad idea.” He says, moving around to examine the other side of the truck. “A coffee truck. If you park in front of the campus, or maybe the office cluster where Raphael works, you can generate a lot of revenue. What are you going to do about your parents though?”
“What about my parents?” Jace asks. Simon circles back around and exchanges a look with Clary.
“Well, they already have a coffee empire set up with Java Jace?” Clary hazards. “Do they know what you’re doing?”
“They do.” Jace confirms, crossing his arms and staring at his truck dreamily. “They’re okay with it. They’re thinking about shutting down the Java Jace on campus anyway since they don’t have Alec anymore. They don’t admit it, but they miss him. I think Mom is going to break soon and try to accept him.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see what she thinks when she figures out two of her three kids are dating people of the same gender.” Simon says gleefully, and Clary glares at him.
“And the third is seriously considering doing the same.” Jace says distractedly. “But I think for the most part, they’re happy with my decision. Especially because I want to name the truck Mocha Max.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Simon chokes out.
“If you have a problem with me naming the truck after my little brother – “ Jace begins, bearing down on Simon furiously.
“No, no, not that – before that! What you said before that!” Simon yelps. Jace steps back and considers Simon, his eyes narrowed.
“Hm. Right.” Jace says. “Well, it’s just rude to deny half the world of all this.” He says, gesturing at himself. Simon fake gags.
“So you’re…” Clary trails off, eyeing him speculatively.
“Bisexual? Pansexual? I haven’t figured it out yet.” Jace shrugs, about to say something else when Simon’s phone starts ringing, an ominous death march beginning to play.
“Who the fuck is that?” Jace asks incredulously.
“Alec and or Lydia.” Simon says apologetically. “I probably have to go, duty calls! And by duty, I mean my beautiful bosses, who are probably the spawn of some organizational demon.”
.
Val’s launch party is a success. Simon’s pretty sure they’re going to make a movie someday about the importance of this monumental event.
“What a wonderful raise.” Simon says to Raphael, sighing dreamily as he gazes around. “I’m going to buy myself a bigger apartment.” Raphael glances at him but doesn’t say anything, instead tugging him in the direction of some old men.
“Don’t say anything stupid.” Raphael says under his breath.
“Shouldn’t have brought me if you didn’t want stupid.” Simon says cheerfully, and Raphael mutters a curse word in Spanish under his breath. Simon gasps.
“I know that one! And your mother would be ashamed of you.” Simon reprimands, and Raphael only has time to spare him a glare before they reach the group Raphael wants to network with. Simon’s been pleasantly surprised that Raphael’s introduced him all evening as his boyfriend, though he suspects it’s just because Raphael likes to annoy a lot of these old stuffy assholes. Still. It’s the thought that counts.
They end the night tired but happy. Lydia lets Simon go and doesn’t make him stay for clean-up, and he takes off gratefully because he’s gotten approximately six hours of sleep in the last two days and he just wants to get into bed with Raphael and never leave.
“Ridiculous.” Raphael says when Simon voices this thought to him on the cab ride home, but he’s smiling fondly at Simon, who’s wearing Raphael’s blue suit, so Simon just leans in and presses a clumsy kiss to Raphael’s cheek.
“I’m so glad I’m an adult.” Simon mumbles as they get back to Raphael’s apartment.
“Why?” Raphael asks.
“I’ve got a job, and a boyfriend, and friends, and, you know. I’m not dead or anything. I eat vegetables! I pay taxes.” Simon shakes his head thoughtfully. “It’s a lot better than I thought I’d do when I was in high school. I was convinced I’d die alone in a ditch somewhere.”
“I thought I’d find some girl and force myself into a marriage and kids.” Raphael says softly, and Simon turns to look at him as they both unbutton their shirts.
“You never have to force anything.” Simon reminds him. “You deserve a happy ending.”
“I’m beginning to get that.” Raphael says, smiling, as he tugs Simon closer and slides his hand up Simon’s back. “I’m beginning to believe it.”
.
“Move in with me.” Raphael says over coffee the next morning. (Coffee that Raphael made.)
“Are you asking, or are you commanding?” Simon asks.
“Commanding, mostly.” Raphael says with a hint of a smile.
“Then who am I to refuse? Oh! I can finally take full control of your kitchen!” Simon says, excited now. “You love me.” Raphael shrugs, but his eyes are dancing.
“It’s only because rent is expensive now that Magnus has moved out.” He insists. “And with that raise, you can afford this place. I need a roommate.”
“Sure.” Simon says, rolling his eyes, but he’s grateful that Raphael waited until he had enough of a paycheck to afford Raphael’s nicer apartment before he asked. It makes for a more equal partnership, and Raphael gets that without Simon having to spell it out for him. “Say you love me, asshole, and that you want me to move in.” He prods.
“Every time you stay the night, I don’t want you to leave in the morning.” Raphael says quickly, hearing the tremor of vulnerability in Simon’s voice. He’s working on dealing with the list of insecurities Simon brings with him, and Simon can’t breathe for a second because this is his life now.
“Yeah. I don’t want to either.” Simon breathes out. They meet each other halfway for a familiar kiss, Simon curling his fingers in Raphael’s shirt.
“Simon.” Raphael says when they break apart.
“Mm?” Simon asks, setting his mug aside and curling into Raphael’s side.
“You can – “ Raphael begins, and then pauses. He lets out an annoyed sigh. “You can use the coffee machine, if you really want. Since you’re going to live here, and all that.” Raphael sounds like he just signed a deal to give away his first-born.
“Oh my God.” Simon exclaims, sitting up so fast his glasses fly off. Raphael rescues them and hands them back to Simon. “Oh my God? You love me so much!”
“My poor coffee machine.” Raphael bemoans quietly. Simon laughs giddily. It’s a big deal that he gets to move in with Raphael, even if Simon practically lives here anyway. But for an absurd reason, the fact that Raphael is willing to let Simon mangle the coffee-maker – well, that’s a bigger deal, and it makes something warm curl in his chest. And the something feels a lot like coming home.