Chapter Text
“You keep doing that and you’re going to break them” Simon mumbles, barely looking up from the page he was reading. Grace had his glasses in his hand, one of the handles in his mouth, tugging at it in stress. His test wasn’t working, again. It hadn’t worked for the past hour, and Simon took note of every exasperated noise to keep track of just how many went wrong. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for there to be failed tests, that was part of testing of course, but this amount seemed to drive Grace insane.
“I’m not going to break them” The older snaps, his head whipping to eye the younger in the corner, who kept his eyes on the books pages.
“If you keep manhandling them like that, yes you will” Simon’s words lay flat, a matter of fact statement that taunted the teacher in front of him. Grace grips his hair, tugging at it slightly.
“You are not helping” He hisses back at the man, who hums in response.
“Wasn’t really trying to”
Grace groaned at the man reading in the chair, not caring about how stressed the other was. He was more amused than anything. Grace wasn’t one to get so heated in front of him, and Simon was content that the other felt comfortable enough to show that side of him.
The buzz of another failure of a test echoes through the room, pulling another frustrated groan from the biologist. The snap that was heard after caught Simon’s attention from his book, even more so the words that followed.
“Shit! Are you kidding me!?” Grace yells to himself, one hand in his hair and the other on his hip. Simon follows the others gaze to the floor, seeing the snapped glasses scattered in front of the man's shoes. The book falls into Simon’s lap, mouth slightly parted.
“You just-” The younger stands from the chair, studying the older. Grace sucks in a breath, slightly red with frustration.
“Don’t. Say it.”
“About time. I’ve been waiting for that teacher to leave you one day” Simon chuckles, making his way over to the other. The hand in Grace’s hair calms, running through it instead.
“That’s not what happened, I was just… upset”
“If you say so” Simon reaches the other, arms wrapping around his waist, “lets go get you some new ones” Grace sighs, leaning into the touch of the other.
“Don’t tell Rocky, please” He gives a slight peck on the younger's cheek, moving down to pick up the glasses on the floor. Simon noted that he was missing terribly, being blinder than he acts like he is.
“I’m gonna have to. That- That’s not even where they are Grace”
“Didn’t know Rocky changed the color of these ones, do they look okay?” Grace fiddles with the glasses before putting them onto his face. The plastic around them was clear, letting you see more of his face even with them on. Simon looks over the other, studying how the frames compliment his face. A faint blush covers his face as he speaks.
“Yeah. Yeah, they look nice” Grace laughs at the stumbling words, watching the other with his own amusement.
“You’re staring” The smirk was clear on his face, leaning closer to the other. Simon blinks, looking down at the other sitting smugly in the chair.
“You’re getting onto me for staring, really? You stare all the time” The younger huffs, crossing his arms. It was all talk, of course, nothing behind the action. Grace waves the other off, standing from the chair.
“That’s different”
“Sure it is,” Simon smiles, rolling his eyes at the older, which results in a playful shove. He watches the other start walking back to his work, having been at it for hours already. “Are you really going back to those tests? You can give it a rest for a while”
“I’m so close, I can feel it. Just a little more time” Grace was cut short in his walk by the younger grabbing his hand, gentle but still firm. A subtle act of Simon wanting the other to stay with him. Grace halts, his mind torn with his test and spending time with the other. He wanted both, but can only do one at a time. Why was the decision so hard?
“One hour, then I’m dragging you away, deal?” Simon speaks up, looking the other over. The older pauses, it was a compromise. He could do that. A few more tries and then he can focus all on the man he adored. Grace pulls the younger into his chest, giving him a soft squeeze.
“Hmmm I suppose you persuaded me”
The groan-like scream that escapes Grace only pointed to another failure. It was close to 45 minutes into the hour Simon provided, but he was close to cutting it short at the rate Grace was going crazy. He wasn’t entirely sure why the test was so important, but he wasn’t one to dismiss something because he didn't understand. And it was Grace, he wanted to make sure that the older knew he cared.
“Grace, maybe it's time to call it a day-” He pushed himself from the chair, reaching out a hand to the other's shoulder. The other whips around sharply, halting Simon in his tracks. He knew that look, that face, those eyes.
That wasn’t Grace.
“God, can you leave me alone for a damn second!?” The venom drips from his voice, eyes sharp as daggers that hit his skin. He only saw this in his nightmares, the version of Grace that hated him, that wanted him to die, that would hurt him in every way. And there he was right in front of him. Screaming at him, yelling at him. He hated being yelled at. It made his emotions act beyond his control, making him panic and cry, falling apart in front of this nightmare.
His hand pulls back to his chest, feeling the tightening in it. The tears burn as he tries to push them back, watching the person in front of him look at him with pure disgust. None of it made sense, this version of Grace shouldn’t be here, it was impossible. Simon wanted the real Grace, he needed to know it was fake. He craved the other's touch, the warmth and safety that it provided him. This wasn’t him, wasn’t Grace. It wasn’t real, it can’t hurt him, not like this, right?
“Simon? Starlight? You with me?” A hand touches his face, the same warmth he remembered.
Grace, real Grace.
Simon blinks, shaking his head slightly as his vision focuses back to the man in front of him. He takes note of the new glasses, the one’s the real Grace has. Good, this was real. He leans into the other's touch, savoring the warmth against his skin.
“Sorry, I must’ve dozed off for a second or something”
“Are you sure? Promise me you're okay?” Grace tilts the others head, looking him over quickly. Nothing seems out of the usual, no physical mutations or hints to anything new.
“I… I don’t know” Simon’s voice trails off, looking away from the older’s gaze. Grace sighs, taking in the sight in front of him. Maybe he was focusing on the wrong things.
“Okay, that’s fine. Maybe I should take a break for a while, spend time with you instead” He hums, giving the other a warm smile as he tilts the others head to look back at him. Something seemed at the tip of the younger's tongue, an uneasy shift in his posture.
“Grace?”
“Yes starlight?”
“Maybe… maybe you shouldn’t start swearing”