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Simon was late.
He didn't spare a glance at his watch as he got onto his motorcycle and tore off down the street. He knew he was late; this job had taken too long. Stupid C.O.I. and their last-minute crises they couldn't solve themselves. Didn't they realize he had a life outside of work?
Probably not. He'd like to keep it that way, too.
He cursed — at the C.O.I. for needing him to go to that warehouse, at the stupid targets for drawing everything out, at himself for not wrapping it up quicker — and tried to wrack his brain for a decent excuse. He couldn't come up with anything good enough to justify this. He didn't want to lie more than he had to, anyway.
He screeched to a stop outside the restaurant, years of practice just barely keeping him from coming head-first off the bike, and jumped off, running inside and hoping he didn't look too frazzled. Or bloody.
(He really hoped he hadn't missed any blood.)
Grace was sitting at a table near the window, eyes locked on Simon. The setting sun cast a golden halo around his head, reflecting off his hair in a way that reminded Simon of why he called him Angel. He was wearing his fox cardigan, and his glasses were askew as usual, even though he was holding a menu. He didn't look like he was reading it, just running his fingers over the corner of it, and something in Simon's chest twisted. Grace had been waiting for him a long time. Too long.
"Hey." Simon chewed his cheek as he slid into the seat across from Grace, running his hand through his hair in hopes that it would help smooth it down at least a little. "I'm sorry I'm late. I, uh..." No excuse came to his mind, even now. He couldn't bring up work. He didn't want to lie when Grace asked questions he couldn't answer. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Grace said, and he looked like he meant it. He was too forgiving. "You're here, and that's what matters."
Simon sighed. "Okay." He didn't know what else he could say to that. "What… looks good?" He needed to steer the conversation away from his tardiness. Grace wouldn't push for answers, he never did, but Simon wanted to get the date started so maybe Grace would forget to be curious about why he was so late.
Grace started listing off and describing food that did admittedly sound really good. Of course he knew what was good here — he'd picked out the restaurant this time, and he'd had a lot of time to look at the menu. Simon already liked this one; it had a quiet and comfortable atmosphere, cozy and honestly a restaurant he could see Grace frequenting. It was exactly the kind of place he seemed to enjoy visiting.
Grace only stopped talking when a waitress came over, and he gave Simon a sheepish smile. Simon, who was more than used to Grace's rambles by now, just gave him a slight smile in return that he hoped was reassuring.
They both gave their orders, and when the waitress left, silence fell over them. Now, Simon was far from the talkative type — he preferred to listen rather than speak. But this silence was uncomfortable and heavy in a way that he rarely experienced, especially not with Grace. Grace always filled silence with chatter and it was disconcerting when he didn't.
Simon didn't like it when Grace was quiet, because when Grace was quiet, something was wrong.
"You know this place pretty well," Simon said, hoping his voice didn't betray how tentative he was to speak. "Do you come here often?"
"Oh—" Grace shrugged and pulled on the sleeves of his cardigan, rubbing the fabric between his fingers and tugging. A nervous habit. Simon didn't tense, but barely. Was he upset about something? "No, not really. I've always wanted to, because their stuff does look really good, but I've never gotten the opportunity. So I've just stared at pictures and drooled over their meals and desserts and stuff, y'know?"
Simon nodded slowly. "Well, you're right that it sounds good. I'm sure it'll taste good, too."
Grace smiled, and his fidgeting eased a bit. "I'm glad you think so."
Was he really nervous about what Simon thought about the restaurant? But it was just a restaurant. Most were good, especially in this area. The few that Simon had tried, anyway. He didn't see what the big deal was.
He wouldn't say that, though. Not if it was important to Grace for some reason.
He didn't understand a lot of things about Grace. That wasn't new.
To Simon's relief, Grace started talking after that. About his students, about the most recent stupid stunt his brother had done, about anything and everything Simon had missed since the last time they'd met up. Even after they got their food, Grace still talked, and Simon simply listened and ate.
Grace was mid-ramble about the current project he was doing with his class when Simon's phone rang. His mouth snapped shut.
Simon quickly declined the call, not even bothering to check who it was from. "Sorry. Ignore that. What were you saying?"
"Oh, uh—" Grace didn't get the chance to continue before the phone rang again. He fidgeted. "You should take that. It might be important."
Simon was going to kill whoever was interrupting his date. Couldn't they leave him alone for a few hours?
"I'll be right back. This won't take long." Simon stood and went outside, only then checking the caller ID.
It was Ava. Of course.
"What?" he snapped as he answered the call. "This better be important." He rarely used this tone, but it always worked to terrify people.
"We need you in," Ava said in her usual calm, almost bored voice. Unaffected as always. "We've got a problem and you need to solve it."
Simon gritted his teeth. "Send someone else to deal with it. I'm busy."
"If I could send someone else, I wouldn't have called you." Which meant it was a problem that would take a while to solve. "Help us fix this and you can get back to whatever is so important that you're trying to get out of doing your job." No-nonsense as always, even though she was talking to her boss.
That was why he'd kept her around, though.
Simon glanced back at Grace, who was fidgeting with his sleeves again and staring down at it his plate. Waiting.
He was going to be so disappointed.
"Fine. I'll be there." Simon hung up without waiting for a response and let out a long string of curses. He felt like he deserved that much, at this point.
He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to disappoint Grace because someone decided to cause a severe issue during his date that he had to solve.
But he had responsibilities.
Yeah, he was going to kill whoever caused the issue. He'd make a good example out of them that would hopefully deter further problems.
Simon sighed and pocketed his phone before going back inside. Something must have shown on his face because before he even got a chance to open his mouth to speak, Grace seemed to deflate. His eyes, which had been tracking Simon's path back into the restaurant, slid back down to his plate, and he tugged on his sleeves harder.
Simon should just say forget it and sit back down. He should go deal with the problem after he took Grace home. He should say that everything's fine and they could spend more time together because it was too rare for them to have a date like this and he wanted to spend more time together— "Something came up," he said instead. "I have to go."
"That's okay." Grace still didn't meet his eyes. "I'll see you later."
Simon set down enough money to cover the bill and tip and turned to leave. He stopped and bit down on the inside of his cheek hard. "I'm really sorry." His voice came out quieter than he intended, but he knew Grace heard him. He walked out before he could think too hard on what he was doing.
He'd make it up to Grace later.
~*~
Grace sighed as he watched Simon leave. Disappointment welled up inside him, but he shoved it down quickly. Simon hadn't said what was happening, but Grace was sure it was important. More important than him, anyway, but he shouldn't be surprised. It's not like they'd been dating long enough for him to be that important.
He bit back another sigh as he stared down at the dessert menu the waitress had brought over just a few minutes before the phone call. He'd picked out what he wanted long before he'd come here tonight; he'd looked into a few things he'd thought Simon would like, too. Guess that was pointless now.
He pushed away the menu and stood. His stomach was in knots. He couldn't eat anything even if he wanted to. And he didn't, not now that Simon was gone.
He'd hoped they could share dessert. It was so cheesy, but he'd really hoped for it.
He hadn't even gotten to pay for their meal like he'd planned to. Simon clearly made more money than he did, so he could afford it easier, but Grace had invited him. He shouldn't have to pay for it.
Grace left the restaurant and walked down the street, sticking his hands in his pockets and only looking up from the ground enough to make sure he wasn't going to run into anyone. He was being ridiculous. It was just one date, and it's not like Simon was obligated to spend a bunch of time with him when there was something more important going on. Simon wasn't one to drop everything without good reason, so it had to be something big that pulled him away like that.
…Unless Grace had messed up somehow? Oh no, had he talked too much? He'd just gotten so excited because he really hadn't been able to talk to anyone in a while, much less Simon, and maybe he hadn't been paying enough attention. He did that — get lost in his ramblings and completely miss cues that the other person wasn't enjoying it like he was. Not that Simon ever really showed his emotions on his face, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking sometimes, but he hadn't stopped Grace. He'd thought that meant Simon was interested but maybe he was bored? Or annoyed?
Grace swallowed. No, he was probably overthinking it. Simon was very direct — if he didn't like something, he'd say so. Probably. No, definitely. Grace needed to give him some credit. Simon didn't usually stop him during his rambles; he always just listened. As far as Grace could tell, he did enjoy it. Maybe because he didn't really have to talk. Regardless, he wouldn't put up with it if he didn't want to.
Somewhat assured that it was at least a little less likely to be his fault, Grace made a left turn. Just a few more blocks and another left turn, and he'd be at his apartment. Then he could at least stew in his anxieties in the comfort of his own home.
He pulled out his keys as he headed inside the building. Looked like the elevator was still broken, so stairs it was. Great.
He trudged up the stairs, the day's — week's, really — events finally starting to catch up to him and drag him down. No amount of coffee could chase away this bone-deep exhaustion, despite his previous efforts. Too many things had been happening at once, and the still-broken elevator and Simon leaving their date early were just two more things to throw onto the steaming pile labeled "crap to give Grace a bad time."
As he stepped up onto his floor, he noticed a guy standing near the end of the hall. Was he a new neighbor, or visiting someone on this floor? Grace didn't recognize him at all. But then again, the only neighbor he sort of knew was the old lady that lived directly underneath him, because she sometimes brought him cookies for being the quietest upstairs neighbor she'd ever had. So, instead of staring at the mysterious maybe-neighbor, he just turned to his door and unlocked it, shuffling inside.
He needed a nap.
~*~
Down the hall, the man watched Ryland Grace go into his apartment and smiled.