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Makeshift starlight danced on the waves of the biodome’s water while a dark-haired man with mismatched eyes sat on the sand. Simon had been woken up by a blood-filled nightmare, so he'd come to soak up the peace and quiet of the sleepy hour.
The biodome was kept at a strictly comfortable temperature, never too hot nor too cold, and he thought he'd be alone at such a late hour. So, he hadn't bothered to throw on a shirt for his adventure down the beach. But, a friendly voice proved his assumption wrong.
“You okay?” Ryland Grace, a tall, blonde angel of a man abruptly asked. Seemingly manifested out of the shadows to sit beside the ravenette.
If he'd noticed the way Simon jumped, the teacher didn't point it out. He similarly didn't call out the way that Simon's eyes got stuck on him. The sudden sight of him in his simple grey pajama set and cardigan had monopolized the mutated man's attention in that instant, yet Grace watched the light dance on the waves, completely oblivious to that fact.
He was just close enough so that the soft sleeve of his tan cardigan barely brushed against the ravenette’s arm as he got situated. His messy, sand-colored hair paled in the faux moonlight, and the convict couldn’t help but think it made him look extra angelic. Though, he kept that opinion to himself. He didn't want to ruin the mood with a poorly worded compliment, or too-blunt attempt at a conversation starter.
Don't make things weird. You've barely known the man properly for a month, don't come off like a sleaze so soon. He told himself as he forced his eyes back to the water in front of him. Grace was the one to break the silence instead,
“Hey Si, were you ever taught to swim on Eden?” Simon cleared his throat.
“Not really. Water was too precious for stuff like that. We barely had enough to water the tree and keep everyone alive.”
“Would you like to learn, then?”
Grace had to have been blind to the intimacy of his own offer. Unaware of the weight such an act had. Because when Simon looked back at the blonde his expression was simple and friendly. He had the smile of a practiced heart-throb, yet, his years as a teacher had dulled his charisma with a layer of approachable warmth. So, Grace could’ve been honestly platonic in his offer. Simon tried not to read too much into it and cover the way his stomach flipped with a nonchalant shrug
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to learn.” watching as Grace got to his feet and offered his hand to help him up next.
Now, Eden had been full of plenty of beautiful people, and The Butcher had been allowed his pick of them almost as soon as he’d hit eighteen. He’d brought the tree pounds upon pounds of fertilizer, after all, and he’d earned plenty of varied rewards. Yet, Simon couldn’t help but get hung up on the way Grace’s smooth hand felt against his in that moment while he was tugged to the water.
Admittedly, he was also somewhat thankful that the blonde had decided to maintain some modesty and keep his pajamas on, because the mutated man might’ve snapped a fang if he had stripped to his boxers in that moment.
Pull yourself together, man. You’ve seen prettier people! Don’t let a siren drown you! A voice in the back of Simon’s mind scolded, a few seconds too late.
The water splashed over Simon’s feet and knocked the breath out of him.
The water of the biodome was far colder and thinner than the ocean of AT-5, yet it still brought the memories of that horrid moon back in a flood. The stickiness of the water, the heat inside of the iron lung, Simon could almost feel it on his skin until Grace spoke,
"Woah, you're okay." The feeling of his hand on Simon's shoulder able to bring the ravenette back to the beach. "You don't have to get in the water if you don't want to." He assured, but Simon shook his head.
"I'm fine. I need to at least get used to the water." he said. He could feel how the teacher eyed him, but he forced himself to shuffle forward slightly to prove it. There’s nothing in the water, I’ll be fine. Simon tried to remind himself, but the voice returned to argue, This is stupid, what if Grace leaves you to drown?!
Simon knew it was right that time. It was stupid to ignore the panic that threatened to suffocate him just to follow Grace deeper into the water, but Simon did it anyway.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” Grace assured again when they were deep enough for the water to splash against Simon's knees. Through his pajama pants, the water almost felt like the blood on AT-5, almost smelled like it. So, Simon pressed himself into Grace's chest. Grounding himself against the solid proof of the angel's presence to counter the memories.
By the time that they were chest-deep, Simon was fully clinging to the teacher. His arm was wrapped around his neck, and his face was buried in his shoulder to huff the mix of ink and eraser shavings that lingered after his classes. Thankfully, the blonde didn’t seem to mind, he simply shifted his hold so that his arms were wrapped around the mutated man without his secondary mouth being close enough to anxiously chew on him.
“Do you just want to stay like this? You don’t have to actually swim tonight.” He offered gently, and Simon quickly nodded.
With the original plan ditched, Simon tried to enjoy the moment to some extent. He focused on Grace’s strong arms around him, or tried to block out the soft crash of the waves with the sound of the blonde’s steady heartbeat. Until, finally, he could manage to mutter,
“Why did you suggest this.” without lifting his head from his shoulder. "Neither of us are dressed to swim." He felt when Grace shrugged at the question.
“I thought it was a good thing for you to know. What if I go for a swim and end up cramping or throwing my back out? Rocky can’t save me on his own.” He pointed out, but Simon shook his head.
“You’d have an easier time floating here, wouldn't you? so you could probably just paddle back to shore, or a shallow area Rocky could save you from.” And, the teacher sighed dramatically.
“Okay, you’ve got me, I just wanted an excuse to be hugged.”
Simon lifted his head to look at Grace, but he didn’t know what expression to give him. Confusion? Offense? Anger? He was too distracted by his nerves and the way the faux moonlight sparkled in Grace’s eyes to settle on one.
“Why didn’t you just ask? You’ve already slept in my bed once, you didn’t need to...do all of this if you’re just touch starved.” He finally stated after what felt like minutes of the two silently staring. It came out more confused than Simon had expected, and Grace looked away from him with another shrug.
“Yeah, but...this was less awkward, in the moment.” So, Simon rolled his eyes and, slowly, began to back them out of the water.
“Let’s just go lay down, you weirdo.” he grumbled. Grace gave a flustered giggle at the idea, but he easily followed Simon back to the beach. The issue of their soaked clothes could be dealt with once they were back in the mutated man's room. For the walk back, though, Simon chose to walk beside Grace in silence. Too drained to tease him or probe any further, but...sort of relieved to have the company after his 'swimming lesson'.