Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Meet cute
“Goodbye Mr. Grace” said a few kids as they packed up their bags. The low sun shined through the glass warming up the classroom. Ryland looked up from his own bag and gave the kids a soft smile. God did he love being a teacher.
“Bye guys; I’ll see you all on Monday. And make sure you finish that homework before throwing any parties.” said Ryland, glancing over at the more rowdy kids. A few kids chuckled as they approached the exit.
“Mr. Grace, we're not throwing any parties.” said Olivia through a few giggles as she threw her bag on her shoulder. Ryland walks to the front of his desk, leans back on it, folding his arms. He gave his head a little nod and replied
“Covering your tracks i see; smart” he chuckled again with a few of the kids. “ Alright you guys get going, I'll see you in a few days.” he said rounding back behind his desk. The kids rang out with goodbyes as they waved, finally heading out the classroom on their way home.
Ryland spent nearly another hour going through papers and setting up the classroom for Monday’s project. They were learning about water filtration and what to use as a filter. He checked the pantry and cupboards for everything he’d need.
Coffee filters, Check
Sand, Check
Gravel, Check
Charcoal, Check
And a 2-liter soda bottle that he had to carefully cut in half with scissors, Check.
By the time Ryland was ready to leave the sun was hanging above the horizon. He threw his bag over his shoulder and headed out to the parking lot. Only a few cars remained, belonging to the handful of teachers and faculty that had stayed behind. But none of them belonged to Ryland, he was looking for his trusty bike when he saw him.
A kid standing at the edge of the parking lot. The boy was shorter than most of his other classmates. So if he wasn’t one of his students he probably would have thought he was at the wrong school. But Ryland couldn't forget that short black hair, dark brown eyes and the semi-broken glasses with the tape on the side. Something he remembers having to do with his glasses at that age.
But it wasn’t just the glasses that made the kid memorable. He was smart, really smart. The kid would soak up lessons like a dry sponge. He was even in his science club, and would talk to Ryland non stop about all the cool stuff he had learned before the rest of the students filtered in. So it made Ryland wonder, why was he still here?
He knew he wasn’t a bus rider with all the extra time he’d hang back after club occasionally. Ryland also remembered once that he had mentioned that his dad picked him up after work. So his dad must just be running behind at his job. Ryland thought, as he walks over and stands next to his student. The kid was clutching the arms of his backpack as he kicked around a few rocks. It took him a second before noticing Mr. Grace.
“You ok Sol?” Ryland asked, giving the boy a smile to soften the mood. Which seemed to work because the boy beamed at him.
“I'm fine Mr. Grace, my dads just running a little late. He should be here soon though.” said Sol as bounced on his feet, still clutching his backpack.
“Well then I'll wait with you.” Ryland replied. Sol didn't say anything, but he did finally let go of the backpack with a soft smile on his face.
“So what does your dad do for work?” Ryland wasn’t the greatest with small talk, but he was genuinely curious. He had seen glimpses of his dad in passing a few times, but with it being early in the year there hadn't been any parent-teacher conferences to officially meet. Sol looked up at Ryland with a big smile.
“He's a florist, his shops downtown and it's really pretty. He has a ton of flowers all over the place, some are even hanging on the ceiling. Dad lets me come to work with him on the weekends and I get to pick out a bouquet for the table.” he said in nearly a single breath. He was back to bouncing on his feet, but this time out of excitement.
“Wow that must be really cool, I bet your mom loves that. Do you have a lot of fun there?”
“I don't actually have a mom, she died when I was born.”- he said factually. Sol's comment about his mom sounded almost rehearsed, like he’d said it a hundred times and he probably had. - “But yeah, it's really fun. Dad even lets me arrange some of the flowers sometimes.” He usually wasn’t a big talker unless it's about science, or as it seems, his dad.
“Really, alright now I have to check this place out. What's it called?” Sol didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about his mom, so Ryland just let the comment pass.
“Wait seriously, you'll come by?"- Ryland gave him a little nod -”Really, it's called Erid, and I’ll show all the best flowers.” Sol was practically hopping off the ground in excitement. Ryland froze for a second, he had heard that name before. Then it hit him.
“OH NO WAY!” he said, not only did he not mean to say that out loud, but he also said it much louder than he was expecting to. It startled Sol, he’d stopped hopping and looked wide eyed at Ryland.
“Oh sorry, that was loud.”- Ryland chuckled to himself, causing Sol to relax. - “It's just I think that the same place my friends got their wedding flowers from. They talk about that place all the time. What a coincidence.” Sol smiled up at Ryland, back to swaying on his feet. The both of them looked ahead when the sound of a beaten up truck turned into the parking lot. Sol smiled bigger than he had the whole conversation at that truck. That must be dad, Ryland thought.
The truck rolled over and stopped right in front of them. Sol ran to the driver side, hopped on to the running board and grabbed on to the door as he talked to his dad. Ryland considered his job done and began to head off to his bike on the other side of the packing lot.
“Mr Grace.” said a deeper voice. Ryland stopped just off the curb and looked over his shoulder. There he was, Sol’s dad. Ryland knew it; just from the occasional glances, hell just from the first look Ryland knew that he was a very attractive man. He seemed to only be a few inches shorter than Ryland, but with a much more muscular build. His wavy black hair rested softly on his shoulders and it seemed he had a permanent case of puppy dog eyes.
There were three reasons why Ryland never went past occasional glances. One; he was the parent of one of his students, and that may technically be allowed, it's seriously frowned upon. Two; up until a few minutes ago he was 99.9% sure he was married. And lastly; there was a slim to none chance that he was anything but straight, and if Ryland ever dared to ask, that alone could cause problems. But who was he kidding, Ryland couldn’t flirt his way out of a paper bag.
Ryland turned fully and walked back to the father and son. Sol ran to him and hugged him tight. For such a little guy he definitely inherited his dad’s strength. Ryland had to take a step back to balance himself. He rested his hands on the kids upper back, returning the hug the best he could. Ryland looked up at the kids father, he was waiting patiently, arms folded with a gentle smile as he looked down at Sol.
“Thank you for waiting with me Mr. Grace.” the boy said, still holding on tight.
“Oh of course kiddo.”- He said, breaking away from the hug and kneeling down to be at a better eye level -”I wouldn’t just leave you there. And if it ok with your dad you can always come hangout in my classroom if he's running late”
“Really!”- Sol asked, back to bouncing on his feet - “can I dad?” his dad gave a little chuckle before responding. Which made Ryland silently gasp to himself. He loved his voice.
“Of course bud, just make sure to be on for best behavior.” He looked over at Ryland mouthing a ‘thank you’ as he gestured to leave. Ryland gave him a small smile and nodded.
“Alright I’ll see you on Monday kiddo” he said as he raised my hand up for a high five. Sol returned the high five immediately, but stopped before he fully turned around.
“Wait, are you still coming by the shop?” he asked; the kid also seems to have inherited his father’s puppy dog eyes.
“Oh that's right, then I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sol gave his one last smile with what seemed to be a victory dance and turned around to hop in the truck. As soon as he shut the door his dad spoke up.
“Seriously, thank you for staying with him. And letting him stay with you if this happens again. I really appreciate it.”- he said, giving Ryland those soft eyes that just make him melt. - “I have a wedding party coming in an hour before closing, and I wasn't expecting them to take over two hours to decide what they wanted.” he explained, then stretched out a hand towards Ryland.
“I’m Simon by the way, it's nice to finally meet you.” Ryland took his hand for the shack and smiled.
“It's nice to meet you too, Simon.” They let their hands fall. Ryland looked over at the car, and gave Sol a final wave goodbye as he turned to leave. Simon climbed into the driver's seat of the truck and shut his door. As he was putting on his seatbelt a text pinged on his phone.
Sol waited patiently, kidding his legs as he stared out the window. He watched as Mr. Grace crossed the parking lot and arrived at his bike. He watched as he went to unlock his bike but stopped mid-way. Sol unbuckled his seatbelt and scooted closer to the window to see why. Something was wrong, Sol thought. Mr. Grace was looking around confused and let out a sigh as he covered his face with a hand.
“What are you doing bud? Put your seatbelt back on.” Simon said as he put his phone away.
“Something's wrong dad, Mr. Grace looks upset.” Sol stated, pointing at his teacher. Simon looked in the same direction, noticing the same ‘upset’ look as his son did.
“Ok, put your seatbelt back on, we’ll go over and see if he's ok.” said Simon as he took the car out of park. Sol smiled and scooted back over to his spot and buckled himself back in. Simon circled around to the bike rack where Ryland stood looking defeated. He rolled down his window. Sol following suit and resting against the door as he listened to the conversation.
“Everything alright Mr. Grace” Simon asked, his metal arm resting on the door as his other was still holding on the searing wheel. Ryland looked up, he was now the one sporting Simon’s signature puppy dog eyes. His phone resting in his hand ready to call everyone he knows and beg for a ride.
“Oh Simon, everything's fine really. Apparently the chain of my bike fell off sometime during school” - Confusion littered his voice as waved his hands around frantically, his face burning with embarrassment. -” But I'm fine, I'm going to call up a few of my friends and see if they can pick me up.” he finished.
“I can give you a ride, and I might be able to fix your chain back at my garage.” Simon suggested. Ryland just stood there for a second, his face heating up for an entirely new reason.
“Uh, y-yeah um, su-sure i-i’d, really appreciate that.” Ryland stuttered out, clearing his throat mid-way through. Embarrassment engulfed his face. This was not the way he wanted to look in front of this man.
“Go ahead and unlock it and I'll put it in the bed.” Said Simon after he stepped out of the truck, ready to grab the bike. Ryland twisted the numbers pulling it open after he heard the click. Simon picks the bike up with ease and sets it into the bed. He leaned it on its side against the inner side panels, the handle bars resting snug against the bed rails. Ryland rounded the front of the truck and hopped into the passenger seat. At the same time Simon climbed back in the driver’s seat.
“So, we’ll head to our house, I can fix the chain, and then I'll drop you off at your place. How does that sound?” Simon asked, putting his seatbelt back on.
“That sounds perfect, thank you.”
“Wait, are we still going out to eat?” Asked Sol, scooting up as close as the seatbelt would let him.
“Oh that's right bud, I completely forgot. Can we raincheck?” Sol went silent, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with his fingers.
“But you promised if you were ever late we’d go out to eat.” Simon rested full against his seat as he let out a sigh. He hated breaking promises. He glanced over at Ryland letting their eyes meet before speaking.
“You hungry?” Ryland could swear he was using his puppy dog eyes on purpose. Sol beamed, hopping up and down in his seat. His eyes filled with excitement.
“Please Mr. Grace, will you come with us?” Ryland let out a soft smile. Who was he kidding, he couldn't say no to these eyes.
“Sure, I could eat.” Sol’s arm shot into the air with a victorious ‘yes’ under his breath. Both Ryland and Simon let out a soft giggle as Simon set the car into drive, finally leaving the parking lot.