Chapter Text
Ryland Grace was itching to get back into his classroom. He already signed the key checkout form and was fidgeting with the pen. Ms. Patty, the admin assistant, rummaged through a box for them.
“Ah ha!” She handed him the familiar set of keys.
“Oh yeah, you have a new neighbor Dr. Grace.”
“Ms. Harris left?!” She hadn’t indicated she was trying to find a different place.
“Yeah, she moved districts over the summer to be closer to her kid’s school,” she replied. That was too bad. She was a nice coworker and let him run experiments on the plants in the greenhouse. Maybe he could convince the new teacher to let him do the same.
“Are they here already?”
“Yes, his name is Mr. Fisher, I think you’ll get along splendidly,” she smiled.
“I look forward to meeting him, thank you,” Grace said with a small nod and hurried to his room. Every year they made everyone take down all decorations, so he had to set everything back up and it took a while, especially the solar system model.
He missed being here. Summer break was nice, but he didn’t really have anyone to do things with. Sometimes if his brother, Colt, had a filming break they’d get together. Occasionally, an old acquaintance would ask to chat or hangout but he usually ended up at one of three places: the library, the bookstore, or relaxing at his apartment. Well, trying to relax. He’d spend hours watching for NASA updates on the Petrova problem. It was fascinating and he knew the kids would have questions, but when it came out the sun was dimming and it could lead to a life ending ice age he stopped watching. It was too much to think about.
He passed the empty bulletin boards and bare classrooms, spotting a few other teachers along the way but seeing them busy setting up their own things he elected not to bother them.
He turned down the 8th grade science hallway and saw who he assumed to be Mr. Fisher struggling with getting a potted tree into his room. He was stuck trying to be to get the door to stay open while also pulling in the tree.
“Hey there, would you like some help with that?” Grace offered.
“Uh, yeah that would be great,” he replied and held open the door. Mr. Fisher was able to drag the plant in.
“Thank you,” he said as he moved the tree next to his desk.
“No problemo, I’m Ryland Grace by the way.”
“Simon Fisher,” he replied. Happy with his tree placement he walked over to Grace.
They each finally got a decent look at each other with the plant no longer in the way.
Grace felt a blush creep up his neck as he saw one of the most striking men he had ever laid eyes upon. He was ruggedly handsome, shoulder length long hair and a prosthetic left arm that piqued his curiosity. Gazing at his face made his heart seize. Simon’s dark eyes were full of intelligence, accompanied by a small smile that made his stomach flip.
Similarly, Simon felt his breath catch as he looked at a man that just had to be an angel. The most honest smile and blue eyes that held the ocean. Grace nervously ran a hand through his unruly hair and Simon wondered what it’d be like to run his own fingers through it.
They stared a bit at each other before Grace broke the silence, his friendly nature taking over.
“Welcome to Grover Cleaveland by the way. Home of the trees,” he made some jazz hands and then mentally kicked himself. That sounded so stupid.
“So our mascot is really a tree?” Simon raised his eyebrow.
“Yeah, apparently they ran with the Grove part of the name.”
“It’s a good thing I happen to like those.” That got a small laugh out of Grace.
“How long have you been teaching?” He asked Simon.
“This is actually my first year, I’ve been getting my bachelor’s in Botany and teaching certification the last four and before that I was working on oil rig maintenance.” It wasn’t a total lie, just not the full truth, but new coworkers didn’t need to know about the rest.
“Whoa, what made you want to change careers?”
“The accident that took my arm,” he held up his left one flexing the hand. His thick shoulder muscles didn’t go unnoticed by Grace. Get it together Ryland, you just met the man, he chided himself.
“That sounds brutal,” the science teacher replied.
“It was,” he didn’t offer up more and Grace didn’t push it.
“So plants?” Grace asked. Simon’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah, I’ve loved gardening and growing things since I was little. The oil rig thing was something I was…pushed into. But I’ve always wanted to learn more about trees and flowers, and I thought it’d be cool to pass that knowledge onto the kids.”
“You’re gonna be a great teacher, the kids are going to love you. They’re also gonna ask tons of questions about your arm though,” he replied.
“I’ve already got plans for that. I’m going to tell them something different every day, none of which will be the truth. I’m starting off with the classic bear attack,” Simon laughed. Grace joined in.
“That’s gonna get them making so many conspiracy theories,” he replied.
“I'm looking forward to them. What about you Mr. Grace?”
“Oh, uh me?” he stammered, “I have a doctorate in molecular biology, but I left the research field and I’ve been teaching for about four years here.”
“Well Doctor Grace, any tips for me?” Simon smiled. His deep voice made Grace want to sink into the ground.
“Hold your boundaries, these guys love to push them just to see what they can get away with. And letting your own excitement show through really helps. It’s clear you’re very passionate about the subject you’ll be teaching,” he replied.
“Thank you, I’ll keep those in mind.”
“If you ever need anything, let me know. I’m here to help. Our team lead is very nice too, you'll meet here tomorrow, which reminds me we have professional development tomorrow,” Grace groaned.
“Not looking forward to that,” Simon agreed.
"It’s so boring. I’d much rather be prepping more in my room,” he complained.
“Me too, I just got here and my room is going to look barren aside from the plants. Also, could you show me where the teacher’s lounge is?”
“Sure, and just a heads up I’ve got a fridge in my room, so if you ever don’t want to make the full trek to the lounge you’re welcome to use it,” Grace told him as they started walking.
Grace wasn’t kidding when he said it was a trek. It was the complete opposite side of the campus. He pointed out the library, gym, and cafeteria as well as some closer printers, so he wouldn’t have to go so far.
The lounge was a bit messier than Simon expected, but at least it was stocked full of supplies. There were cabinets full of disorganized construction paper, printer paper, and even bulletin board boarders. Grace warned him that the paper cutters were terrible, and the printers in this room only worked about half of the time. Boxes of random books and old decor were lying scattered on the work table from teachers cleaning out rooms. He'd have to come pick through it later. He might've been an oil rig worker, but his freedom was the payment he recieved for 10 years of work, and college left him in debt and fairly broke aside from his part time job as a florist, which was only enough to cover food and housing.
“Oh crud! I forgot I had a box to bring in on my bike. Sorry, I’ve gotta get that before it starts raining” Grace remembered as he looked upon the clutter.
“Not a problem, I should grab the rest of the stuff from my car too."
They walked out together and unfortunately for Grace the rain had already started. At least it was only a few plants, and they seemed happy. The box however looked sad and dilapidated.
“Wow, that bonsai looks gorgeous, they’re so hard to keep alive,” Simon commented.
“Thank you, I got it when I started teaching, so it’s been growing well for a few years,” Grace beamed at the praise. The brightness of his smile made Simon want to compliment him more.
“I have an extra crate if you want to transfer them to that,” Simon offered. Grace gladly accepted and the two men walked back to their rooms, arms full of plants.
“So Mr. Fisher, do you have any kids?” Grace just had to know if he was with anyone, the curiousity had been burning in him. He figured it was a normal, harmless question. Teachers ask new hires that all the time.
“No, and no partner either. I’ve been too busy studying and stressing about finding a job for anything of the sort. What about you Dr. Grace?” He gave him a devilish grin. Calm down, you just met the man…and he’s single, Grace thought to himself.
“I’m in the same boat. I’ve been busy with my job and even in the summer I tend to keep to my routine.” He pretended not to notice the small smile on Mr. Fisher’s face.
“Thanks for showing me around by the way.”
“You’re welcome, I’m excited to have a new teacher working with us. I’ll be working in my room but if you think of any questions or need something please stop by,” he told him.
Simon wanted to keep talking with him, something about this man was so friendly and open. It drew him in like he was caught in his orbit.
“Thank you,” he replied. Grace went across the hall to his classroom and Simon kicked himself for not thinking of anything else fast enough.
He kept his door open and so did Grace. He could hear music playing softly and every so often caught him singing along. Simon was smitten. They only just met too, but the light radiating off of this man made him feel a certain way. No I’ve gotta focus. There’s so much to do and to get ready. He did his best to push Dr. Grace from his thoughts and got to work.
