Archive of Our Own

Being a student, especially in middle school, came with a lot, and they really meant a lot of rules you simply had to get used to. They weren't written down anywhere, but instead passed down by word of mouth. They were also supposed to make life a little easier for the newcomers. One of those rules at Grover Cleveland Middle School was that Professor Grace, the Science teacher, and Professor Simon, the PE teacher, were married. So what if they had different last names? Maybe that's just how they liked it, considering they already worked at the same school.

It was an everyday occurrence that the two teachers always knew where the other one was. They spent every break together. Hell, even during field trips and other school events, they were always by each other's side, talking to one another while somehow still managing to spare at least a fraction of their attention for everyone around them. Whenever one of them was absent because of illness, the other looked like he was about to get sick from loneliness himself.

So yes, the sky was blue, the grass was green, and Mr. Grace and Mr. Simon were a happily married middle school teachers  couple. At least, that's what everyone thought.

Until one random Monday, when they passed each other in the hallway without saying a single word. Mr. Grace didn't even raise his hand to wave. And just like that, the first rumors started spreading. Of course, they were immediately shut down because married couples were allowed to argue, right? However, things didn't get any better, not during the following breaks, nor over the next few days. If anything, they only got worse.

They kept avoiding each other in the hallways as if the other didn't exist, and whenever they were "forced" to be in the same room at the same time, the atmosphere around them became so thick and uncomfortable that anyone could feel it. Mr. Grace, who always left his classroom right away to head to the gym, suddenly started staying in his classroom instead. As the students with older siblings put it, "That's how it used to be before he and Mr. Simon even became friends!" Mr. Simon smiled less and became much more withdrawn. Sure, he still comforted and praised his students, but it all seemed to be missing the spark he usually had.

The conclusion the students came to was simple.

They were getting divorced.

And, as curious teenagers tend to do, they tried reaching for a deeper source of information—the other teachers. However, every question they asked was brushed aside, or they were told that, as far as anyone knew, the "married teachers" were just friends.

Sure. Friends.

The last time they checked, the dictionary definition of friendship didn't include looking at another person as though they were the brightest star in the universe.

Some of the students who lived for gossip started looking into whether Professor Grace or Professor Simon had gotten a little too close to one of the single parents, or, even worse, another teacher around their age.

Other students gave themselves time to mourn the fact that their favorite teacher ship had entered its divorce arc and started making sad edits using different photos. And, well, in a few years they'll probably look back and think it was more funny and cringe than actually sad, but it was still part of grieving the breakup of their favorite teachers.

If only they knew.

If only they knew that, in reality, the two of them had never been anything more than friends.

Their very, very close friendship had started a few years earlier, during the second half of Simon's first year at the school.

_______

When Simon first joined the staff, he hadn't had any grand plan of winning over his coworkers. He just wanted to focus on doing his job. He spent the first half of the school year simply coexisting with the other teachers, and if it weren't for his students, he probably wouldn't have even known who Grace was or what subject he taught.

Their first interaction only happened because two middle schoolers decided to get into a fight over a girl right as both of them happened to be walking by. As teachers, they had to step in, of course, explain that fighting wasn't allowed, that violence wasn't the answer, and ask why they had thought brawling in the middle of the hallway was a good way to impress a girl.

Well, Grace was the one explaining that they should take a pacifist approach and that violence was wrong, while Simon suggested that if they had that much energy to burn, they should either use it outside of school, where it wasn't the teachers' responsibility, or maybe actually participate in PE instead of trying to get out of every exercise possible.

The fact that Grace then pulled him aside to explain that they were supposed to teach the students non-violence, not encourage violence outside of school, was a completely different story.

And although he felt a little stupid admitting it, his coworker who taught Science was genuinely handsome.

He was even starting to understand why the students liked him so much. Setting his looks aside, he seemed to be a genuinely pleasant person and the kind of teacher who didn't act as though his students were a pain in the ass.

Which, to be completely honest, was rather rare. Maybe that was what made him want to talk to him later.

___________________________

Of course, Grace knew the new PE teacher existed. How could he not?

He'd heard his students talking about how the new teacher actually had a heart and didn't fall apart after doing a single squat, which was admittedly a little cruel, considering the previous teacher had been a frail old man who probably should've retired by then. Still, Grace had dealt with the guy himself, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring himself to tell the students to "be nicer" when the old grump had probably only heard about kindness once in his life, and that was at birth.

That alone was enough to pique Grace's interest, because, unlike with his predecessor, "having a heart" didn't necessarily mean the guy was actually nice. Grace had to admit that.

Still, he honestly didn't think it was possible for anyone to be a worse person than the previous PE teacher.

However, an opportunity to actually talk to him never came during the first half of the school year. The new teacher, Simon Fisher, seemed to exist more in body than in spirit, although his presence was ghost-like enough that it almost felt like he was actively trying to be one. Trying to find an excuse to talk to him, Grace even started leaving his classroom during breaks and heading to the teachers' lounge, hoping an opportunity would eventually present itself. But, as they say, hope only sets you up for disappointment, because no matter how many times the new teacher showed up in the lounge, it was always just to drop something off or pick something up, never to actually talk to anyone. Not that he could really complain about it, considering that he himself tried to avoid that room like the plague. He wasn't interested in what the other teachers had to say, and he also knew that some of them were aware of certain things he had said in the past and liked to throw little jabs at him about them during conversations.

The last thing he wanted was to ruin his own nerves over situations like that.

Ryland didn't want to come across as desperate, but the moment those students got into a fight while both he and the new PE teacher happened to be nearby, he honestly felt like smiling. And, well, that interaction didn't really tell him much about Simon. Maybe that he should work a little on how he handled students and focus more on discouraging violence, but that still didn't say much about the kind of person he was, did it?

Much to the science teacher’s delight, that first interaction led to a few more, and then a few more after that.

It all started when Simon, completely of his own free will, walked up to him and commented that the two boys they’d broken up had apparently come to their senses and started chasing different girls instead. Grace couldn’t help but smile, completely missing the faint blush spreading across Simon’s face.

________

After that, there always seemed to be something to talk about. Sometimes it was raining and Simon offered him a ride home. Sometimes one of the teachers called in sick and they ended up talking about the substitute. And then, eventually, it was just… anything. What they’d had for breakfast, whether they had any plans for the weekend, how their classes had gone. Time always seemed to slow down whenever they talked, and once the bell rang, it was surprisingly hard to pull themselves away from each other.

And just like that, the first semester passed. Then the first year. Then another. And their feelings kept growing. At first, they were nothing more than a tiny seed, but without much care, they simply kept growing, filling every empty space around them, no longer afraid to bring into the light what had once been hidden in the dark.

Grace told Simon what had happened and why he’d left the scientific community, while Simon shared his past in a cult, because they trusted each other enough to know the other wouldn’t judge them.

Neither of them did.

But sometimes feelings grow beyond the place they’re meant to stay and reveal themselves to a world that isn’t always kind to them.

Neither of them would’ve guessed that one random movie night, spent lying on Simon’s couch curled up against each other about as much as two platonic adult friends probably should, would end with hurt looks and silence.

Everything started like it always did. Ryland found a movie he was sure Simon would love and decided they absolutely had to watch it together. Simon, being nothing more than a pathetic man hopelessly in love, couldn’t bring himself to say no.

The only thing he suggested was adding some alcohol to the evening. Neither of them really drank, and when they did, it was only occasionally and in small amounts. Maybe that was what doomed them. Or maybe it was mixing stronger and weaker alcohol in the wrong order and drinking far too much of both.

As they lay curled up together on the couch, Grace kept mumbling something about the symbolism in the movie while Simon, trying to understand as much of his rambling as possible, found himself staring at the other man’s lips instead.

Neither of them knew who leaned in first.

Maybe they both did.

It didn’t really matter when you were kissing the person you’d been in love with for so long.

The longer they kissed, the farther their hands wandered. The fewer clothes remained between them, until there were none left at all. Coming to the same unspoken conclusion, they moved to the bedroom.

After that, nothing else mattered. There were only the two of them, tangled in the sheets, happy and drunk, with tempting words resting on their lips.

____

The last thing Simon had expected when he woke up that morning was silence. And loneliness. The other side of the bed was empty and cold, just as it always was, even though he'd expected someone else to be lying there. 

For a brief moment, he let himself believe that it had all been a dream, just one of many he'd had before. He probably would've kept believing it if not for all the signs that someone else had been there. The empty glasses, the bottles of alcohol, and the empty snack wrappers from their movie night were still scattered across the coffee table beside the couch, abandoned the night before in favor of more important things.

He knew it shouldn't hurt as much as it did.

After all, he'd known from the very beginning that the chances of his feelings being returned were slim. He'd never expected them to be. He only wanted to take from Grace whatever the other man was willing to give him.

But last night, he'd been given so much.

And now that he knew what it felt like, he didn't have the strength to go back to what he'd had before. Because no matter how hard he tried, he'd never be able to quiet that hunger, that need for something more.

The next several dozen minutes passed in a blur. He knew he'd taken a shower, changed the sheets, and cleaned up. Somewhere in between, he'd probably taken his medication and thrown up, though he'd rather not think about that.

Maybe even more time passed before he finally let himself look at his phone. To his surprise, there was a single unread message waiting for him. A message from Grace. It wasn't anything like Sorry, I had to leave because I had plans, or It didn't mean anything. That didn't change the fact that Simon had no idea how to reply.

“How are you feeling?”

The message remained unread, even several minutes later.

If Simon opened it, that meant he was supposed to reply. Grace was probably expecting something short and simple, something like I'm fine or I've got a terrible hangover, but neither of those felt right. What were you even supposed to say after spending such a passionate night with someone? Something inside him was terrified that no matter what he wrote, he'd end up revealing too much of what he felt. He didn't want Grace to see him as some lovesick puppy.

He didn't need pity.

The only thing he needed was a little peace from the rest of the goddamn world.

After thinking about it for a long while, he dismissed the notification without reading or replying to the message. He knew it was childish, but he didn't have the strength to face the conversation the way he probably should have. He let himself spend the rest of the day doing anything and everything, as long as it kept his mind off a certain adorable man with glasses who had broken his heart.

The next day, everything looked normal. He got up, got ready, and drove to work. He parked in his usual spot and headed toward his little corner of the school, far away from the teachers' lounge. The entire walk from the school entrance to his destination, he tried to have as little contact with reality as possible. He felt like that ghost again from the beginning of his first year, simply trying to exist. When he spotted a familiar figure, he picked up his pace slightly and walked right past him without saying a word.

Work wasn't the best place to deal with personal matters.

Especially not the kind they had to deal with.

__________

Grace rarely woke up with a headache, especially one caused by drinking too much the night before. At his age, he probably should've known better. After all, he wasn't a college student anymore, but a teacher who was getting dangerously close to middle age.

He woke up late even less often. Over the years, he'd developed a routine and could wake up without an alarm most mornings. Sure, it was annoying whenever he was sick or had a day off,  but his body insisted on waking him up early anyway. So waking up over an hour later than he should have on the day he was supposed to meet Rocky caught him off guard. At least until he looked to the side and saw who was lying next to him. The events from his dream hadn't been a dream at all.

Oh.

OH.

He had just slept with the coworker he got along with better than anyone else. Maybe he was even in love with him, but that wasn't the important part.

The important part was that they were friends.

Nothing more.

And Grace liked keeping it that way.

He knew that avoiding any kind of romantic relationship out of fear of getting his heart broken made him a coward. He'd gotten used to it, though. He wasn't about to pretend he liked living that way, because he didn't. By nature, he was a very friendly person. He loved being around people, especially people who liked him for who he was. At the same time, though, he preferred not to let anyone get too close. He didn't want to go through the process of putting a broken heart back together.

And now everything had fallen apart, because something, most likely all the alcohol he'd had the night before, had decided it was time to cut the brakes and let him do what he'd wanted to do all along. A text from Rocky pulled him out of his thoughts, asking if he wanted a ride to their usual meeting place. Grace quickly replied that he was fine and warned him that he might be a little late. Then, as quietly as he could, he got himself somewhat presentable and hurried out of the apartment. By the time he reached their usual meeting place, the café, Rocky was already sitting at their table. The moment he saw the state Grace was in, he just smiled like an idiot and offered him a headache pill, which definitely saved the day.

Talking to Rocky was always Grace's favorite part of the week. They'd known each other ever since the whole UNESCO incident, and somewhere along the way, their friendship had grown into something that felt more like siblinghood. Adrian always invited Grace over for the holidays, calling him an honorary member of the family.

But their weekly meetups were always just the two of them. It was their chance to talk through everything that had happened during the week face-to-face, even if they'd already texted about most of it.

This time wasn't any different.

At least, not until Rocky asked how things were going with Simon.

Grace had no idea how to answer.

Did what they'd done while drunk count as the beginning of a romantic relationship? Or would their relationship only take a new direction after they talked about what had happened? Would Simon even want them to become something more? Or would he rather stay friends... or end up breaking Grace's heart, because why would he want anything more?

Grace could tell Rocky wanted to keep asking after seeing his reaction, and he was grateful that his friend chose to change the subject instead of pushing him.

After that, Simon didn't come up even once.

That didn't change the fact that he was still in the back of Grace's mind the entire time. 

As they were saying goodbye, Rocky only told him, "You deserve to be happy. Remember that." It didn't make Grace feel any better. He pulled out his phone and let himself send Simon a short text before heading back to his apartment, hoping that somehow everything would work itself out. 

He tried to stay as optimistic as he could, but every hour that passed without a reply from Simon only made it harder. Maybe he should just assume Simon was busy and didn't have time to talk about a one-night stand with his coworker. If Grace ended up eating an entire tub of ice cream while watching movies that evening, it was because he felt like it, not because he was preparing himself for heartbreak.

At least, that was what he kept telling himself. 

The next day was even worse. Where he'd hoped he'd get a chance to talk to Simon first thing in the morning, all he got was Simon coldly walking right past him without so much as a greeting.

Somewhere behind him, he could hear his students whispering, but he decided not to pay any attention to it. After years of teaching, he'd gotten used to the fact that students loved to whisper and gossip about every little thing. And no amount of shushing them or trying to make them stop ever worked.

It was easier to just let them do it and not care about what they were saying about you.

Especially middle schoolers. 

The hope that things would get better the next day, or at least the following week, died faster than a fruit fly. For the next several days, Grace kept going to the teachers' lounge, hoping Simon would show up so they could talk like two adults.

Simon never showed up.

Going to Simon's little room would only corner him and probably make things even worse, if that was even possible. The first week passed. Then another, during which Grace once again started staying in his own classroom during every break he could. It made him feel like he'd gone back several years, before Simon had started working at the school.

The longer they went without speaking to each other, the more whispers he heard from his students. 

One day, purely out of curiosity, Grace decided to listen in on what his students were saying, especially after hearing his own name spoken with so much concern. His students rarely used that tone when talking to him. He always did his best to make sure none of them had to worry about how they were doing in his class, so he just had to find out what they were saying about him.

"Mr. Grace has seemed so sad lately... I kind of feel bad for him," one of his students said.

Another girl from a different class replied, and for a moment, Grace thought he'd misheard her.

"Can you blame him? Divorce can really wear a person down."

Divorce?

He wasn't even married.

Which, admittedly, didn't sound great when he realized he was probably around the same age as some of his students' parents.

Ouch.

"It's even worse when your future ex-spouse works at the same school as you."

So... his spouse worked at the school?

Who could they possibly be talking abou—

Simon.

The only coworker he was close enough to for his students to apparently decide he was his husband. His students thought he and Simon were married. And, to make the whole situation even worse, they'd decided that whatever had been going on between them lately was a divorce.

Part of him was dying of curiosity over whether Simon knew their students were going around saying they were married.

Probably not.

Judging by Simon's personality, he couldn't care less about the students' made-up stories. And if he ever did find out about that particular rumor, he probably wouldn't be able to stop himself from telling Grace about it so they could laugh over how the kids even came up with something like that.

Grace liked telling Simon about whatever was currently popular among the students, and every single time, Simon seemed genuinely shocked that kids kept finding dumber and dumber things to laugh at and turn into trends.

The two of them loved calling themselves old men, even though they were among the younger teachers at the school. Once, one of the oldest teachers gave them both a particularly stern look after hearing them say it. They had only laughed. That was just how they were. Everything was better when they were together. 

Grace quickly retreated back into his classroom and let his head fall onto his desk with all the force he could manage, immediately remembering that he was still wearing his glasses. He quickly checked that they were still in one piece before taking them off and setting them on the desk. The worst part was that he still had most of the school day ahead of him. So no matter how badly he wanted to lock himself away and fall apart, he couldn't.

At least not for another few hours.

_________

Simon couldn't imagine how, all those years ago, he'd managed to spend entire days keeping to himself. Now, he couldn't even make it through a single break without stepping outside for some fresh air and a walk, or he felt like he'd lose his mind.

Maybe it was Grace's fault. Maybe Grace's presence had changed something in him, made him open up and actually look forward to talking to someone.

And now they weren't talking.

Grace hadn't come to apologize or even try to talk things through. He'd stopped greeting him in that damn hallway, too. And that hurt, because apparently Simon hadn't been as important to Grace as he'd thought he was. While Simon felt Grace's absence every day, Grace didn't seem to notice it at all. He wasn't looking for any contact.

Sure, Simon wasn't trying all that hard to reach out either, but he wasn't the one who'd run away the morning after they spent the night together without a single explanation.

The only thing that had changed, besides no longer interacting with the only other person around his age at work unless he absolutely had to, was that the students seemed to be whispering a lot more. Especially whenever he walked by. He'd never really cared about things like that before. Kids were always going to talk. They'd complain about strict teachers. That was just how things were.

He hadn't meant to overhear the conversation. He'd simply been walking by, and the students had forgotten that it was probably better to whisper when they were talking about one of their teachers. What he definitely hadn't expected was for the biggest rumor in the entire school to be that someone was getting divorced.

"Apparently Mr. Grace looks like the sun died inside him during every class because of the divorce. Maybe he should take some time off and go to a beach or something. I don't know, whatever old people his age like to do."

Despite the words coming out of her mouth, the girl looked thoroughly amused by what she was saying.At least until she spotted Simon. Then she and her friends quickly hurried off, eager to disappear from his sight. She had no idea what kind of seed she'd just planted in the poor teacher's mind.

The word divorce kept echoing in his head, refusing to fit together with the image of Grace.

Because if it did...

Then it meant Simon had fallen in love with, and slept with, a married man.

He kept telling himself that it didn't make any sense. He would've known if Grace had a wife or a husband. People mentioned things like that, even to their coworkers, and Grace had never once said anything about having a spouse.

Then it hit him.

Marissa.

Grace loved talking about his friends, like Rocky and his husband Adrian. But whenever he talked about Marissa, it always felt like she had her own special place in his life.

Now Simon understood what that place had been.

She was Grace's wife.

Grace had been married this whole time, and he'd talked about her openly. Simon had just been too stupid to put the pieces together.

And now he was getting divorced because he had cheated on his wife with him. For fuck's sake, Simon had somehow helped destroy a marriage. Of course, most of the blame was Grace's. He never should've let anything happen between them in the first place.

That didn't change the fact that Simon felt guilty for probably helping break the heart of some poor woman who had most likely spent her weekend finding out that her husband had drunkenly slept with his coworker. He hoped he'd never meet her. Because he couldn't even imagine how many times he'd have to apologize for spending the night with her husband.

Although, in a situation like this, no amount of apologies could ever undo the damage that had already been done.

Part of Simon wanted to walk up to Grace and scream every insult he could think of right in his face. Another part wanted to hand in his resignation and never have to see him again.

The rational part of him knew neither option was a good idea.

Making a scene at work was probably the worst thing he could do. He didn’t need his students seeing him as a homewrecker because one of them happened to overhear him in the middle of a meltdown. Besides, finding a new job would be harder than it sounded, and he had no desire to move all over again.

At the end of the day, though, he was still a teacher. He should’ve been mature enough to walk up to the other person and have a calm conversation about something this important. If he wanted to set any kind of good example for the kids he taught, it was about time he started acting like an adult himself.

Which, thankfully, wasn’t all that difficult.

Grace had this strange habit of staying in his classroom after classes to change something in it. Every week, he’d add or rearrange some small detail just to see if his students would notice. Sometimes, whenever the season changed, the classroom changed with it to reflect the time of year.

One year—Simon thought it might’ve even been his first winter at the school—Grace decided that bringing a fake snowman into the classroom would be a wonderful idea.

It wasn’t.

To this day, Simon could swear that the snowman’s coal-black, lifeless eyes and terrifying smile still haunted his nightmares.

Grace never admitted it, but it was painfully obvious that the snowman creeped him out too. Then again, maybe the better question was who wasn’t terrified of that snowman.

Thinking about Grace hurt, and the thought of their conversation only made him more anxious. But he knew he couldn’t put it off forever.

Waiting for the last class to end felt like its own special kind of torture. The clock seemed louder than usual, yet somehow slower too, as if it were doing everything it could to wear down Simon’s already frayed nerves.

Then, at last, the final bell rang, announcing that the students could head home. It was time for him to get up and walk to the classroom he’d been trying so hard to avoid.

As he made his way down the hallway, he felt like he was walking toward his own sentencing rather than a conversation about feelings… and about being a terrible husband to his wife.

The moment he spotted the familiar open classroom door, he instinctively slowed his pace, trying to prepare himself for what was about to happen. If it was even possible to prepare for something like this. Simon didn’t know. He’d never had to face anything like it before.

Grace was sitting at his desk, shoulders slumped. Ever since that night, he’d clearly lost a few kilograms and looked as though he’d only slept a handful of hours. Simon was finally starting to understand where his students’ concern for their teacher had come from. If he hadn’t spent the past few weeks ignoring him, he would’ve been worried too.

Grace looked like a wreck.

And, really, wasn’t that only natural? People rarely looked happy while going through a divorce.

“Grace… Can we talk?”

The look of disbelief Grace gave him immediately made Simon feel guilty for not acting like an adult sooner.

“Sure… Yeah, of course. What do you need?”

The nervous way Grace adjusted his glasses was another one of his little quirks. He had a habit of wearing them at the strangest angles while insisting he could see perfectly fine and that it was actually comfortable.

Simon took a deep breath before finally forcing the words out.

“So… Do you want to explain what’s going on with this divorce of yours that apparently the entire student body has been talking about?”

If he’d been holding onto even the slightest hope that it was all just a rumor, it shattered into a million pieces the moment Grace went even paler.

Simon hadn’t even known that was possible.

“Well… you know how students are. They love talking about things. They make assumptions because they think they know everything, and once enough people believe the same thing, it somehow becomes the truth. Which… isn’t actually true, right…?”

Before Grace could continue rambling without getting to the point, Simon cut him off.

“So you don’t have a wife you’re getting divorced from?”

Simon folded his arms across his chest and looked him straight in the eyes.

___

“A WIFE?!” Grace had expected a lot of things when Simon brought up the divorce. Maybe that Simon would ask if Grace had told the students they were more than friends. Maybe he’d ask him to use his good relationship with the students to put an end to the rumors.

But a wife? What wife? Who was supposed to be his wife? Simon?

“I’m afraid that’s usually how marriages work, Grace.”

Simon was still looking at him like he was about to launch into some kind of moral lecture.

But about what? About letting the students spread rumors? Simon did the exact same thing, so it couldn’t be that.

Unless…

Unless Simon thought the wife was real. Unless he thought Grace had cheated on his wife with him… and that the divorce rumors were true… OH.

“Well, judging by what our students have been saying, you’re the wife. So if anything, I’d call you my husband. Unless you’d rather be called my wife.”

“What?”

“From what I’ve managed to overhear, or at least what I’ve heard about us, our students think we’re husbands.” Grace paused to take a breath and watch Simon’s reaction. Apparently, this was the first time he’d heard about it. The shock was so great that he actually had to sit down. That probably wasn’t the worst sign. “And when we… well, you know. They assumed we were getting divorced.”

“If you don’t have a wife, then why did you quietly sneak out of my apartment?” Simon asked. “And then there was that text that explained absolutely nothing and just awkwardly asked how I was feeling. What was that about, Grace?”

With every sentence Simon spoke, he seemed to be falling apart more and more. He had clearly built walls around himself before this conversation, determined to hold onto them, but they were starting to crumble.

Right now.

Watching him like that, Grace wanted nothing more than to hug him…And, well, maybe kiss him too. But that was probably something to deal with later. At least, he hoped so.

“I had plans with Rocky, and I didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer than I already had. And, well… if I’d woken you up, I probably would’ve been even later, so I just got myself ready as quickly as I could and left. As for the text… all I can say in my defense is that I’m really not good at this kind of thing, okay? My previous relationships weren’t exactly the best example of what a healthy relationship looks like, so I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. And… part of me was hoping that once you replied, we’d talk about it. But we didn’t…”

He let out a quiet sigh.

“…Until now.”

Simon seemed to be retreating into himself, so Grace kept talking.

“And that’s on both of us. We should’ve talked and acted like adults a long time ago. I didn’t want to keep bothering you because I was afraid you’d feel overwhelmed or pressured by me, completely forgetting that you might end up feeling forgotten instead.”

“I think teaching middle schoolers for so long has made us start acting like them.” Simon joked, though he turned serious again a moment later. "I... should've texted you. Or come talk to you. But I kept expecting you to figure out why I was upset and come explain everything. And I think it wasn't until I heard those rumors that you were getting divorced that I finally felt like I had to clear this whole thing up. Along the way, I also managed to convince myself that you might actually be the kind of person who'd cheat on his wife." He let out a quiet breath. "I'm sorry for that. I know you're not."

"Well... I guess we've more or less cleared up everything we needed to. And it's already well past the end of the school day, so we're both off the clock..." Grace adjusted his glasses nervously. "Would you maybe like to go on a spontaneous date with me? Of course, I'll understand if you don't want to anymore, or if you already have plans... or if you don't want anything more between us and would rather stay friends. Or even just coworkers. That's okay. I'm not asking you for—"

"Grace."

"What?"

"Shut up."

The words had barely left Simon's mouth before he pulled Grace into a kiss, not giving him a chance to respond. And, well, if kissing while drunk had been incredible, then kissing sober somehow felt even better. It would've been even better if their kissing session hadn't been interrupted by the janitor, who informed them that he wanted to lock up the school and they should probably leave. But, well... they could always finish later.

After their date.