-Hey this is Simon. I'm either killing demons, binge-watching Doctor Who, or sucking face with my hot vampire boyfriend. Leave a message- There was a beep and Raphael clicked his phone off with a frustrated sigh. The whole teen Shadowhunter gang had been out on this mission for days, and he was reaching the end of his wit. Everything was so quiet. No one was around to drive him crazy with bad puns and geeky show references, or sing Disney songs badly, or kiss him whenever he was acting grumpy. He'd been reduced to hanging around Magnus's apartment and making "girl talk", as Magnus insisted on calling it, about their boyfriends. Dios, when did I get so dependent? Raphael wondered. They hadn't been together for all that long, but being apart was already nigh on impossible. "You think I'm annoying now, but you'll miss it when I'm gone," Simon had teased before he left. "Not in the slightest," Raphael had lied through his teeth. Simon had only laughed and kissed him. "Whatever you say, Princess." _______________________________________________________________________ When Raphael first saw Simon, the night they kidnapped him outside the Silent City, he thought the Mundane would just end up a pain in his ass. Sure, he was beyond cute, but he gave off a vibe. Raphael could tell Simon was one of those hyperactive types, probably a babbler (which proved true soon after in the DuMort). His features and clothing spelled 'geek' loud and clear. Not the type of person Raphael expected to feel any attraction to. Then, of course, the Mundie ruined Raphael's jacket. Dios, he was pissed about that. And yet, when Simon became a fledgling, Raphael found himself hoping that Clary would make the call to bury him. He had the curious feeling that the world would be a darker place without Simon Lewis in it. By the time Raphael had to exile Simon from the Hotel and from the New York clan, he knew he had it bad. The loss burned like a red-hot iron stake through his heart. This is completely ridiculous, he had thought. This boy betrayed us, chose the Shadowhunters over us, broke our laws. But it didn't change anything. Raphael had been enchanted by Simon's infectious laugh, his innocent nonviolence, his unique view of the world. He suffered through many a sleepless day after the decision was made. Then, one day, Simon came back. He stood in front of the building and called out for Raphael. "I'm sorry for all this," he said. "It was wrong to break the rules, and to go against your judgement after all you did for me. You took care of me when no one else could. You trained me and trusted me, and I failed you. G-god, Raphael, I am so sorry." It was the way Simon tripped and choked over the word 'God' that made Raphael forgive him. He knew that Simon had said it on purpose, to prove how much he meant his words. Some of the others protested, but Raphael accepted Simon back into the clan that night. After that, it was only a matter of time. _______________________________________________________________________ "Do you wanna build a snowman?" "Shut up." "Come on let's go and plaaaaay." "I said shut up, dork." "Wow, name calling. Real mature, Raph." Simon had been back with the vamps for a while, and the others had all begun to accept him as one of their own. They recently started calling him "our baby" after Raphael compared him to an infant for the hundredth time. At that moment, Simon had be trailing Raphael around the DuMort for the better part of an hour and singing Disney songs loudly and very off-key. Intuition told Raphael that the younger vampire was doing it on purpose. "Look, I'll make you a deal," Simon had said. "A deal where you stop singing so horribly?" "Yeah, one of those." Raphael had raised an eyebrow, a smirk resting on his lips. "Oh, good. What do I have to do?" "Go out on a date with me." Raphael's heart would have stopped if it had been beating at all. "Repeat that?" he'd said incredulously, hardly daring to believe it. "I saaaaaiiiiid, go out on a date with me." It was Simon's turn to smirk while Raphael stood stunned, but there was no sarcasm or joking in the words. His eyes were bright and eager. After a moment, Raphael nodded. That was the start of their relationship. _______________________________________________________________________ It had been several months since then, and while the newness had started to wear off, none of the emotions had. In fact, they'd gotten stronger as Raphael learned more about Simon and his life. That's why it was so hard when he wasn't around. Because there was a word for what Raphael felt about Simon, and it started with an L... Suddenly, the phone in his hand rang. It was against his ear before he'd even seen the screen. "Hey." "Hey, Sunshine," a wonderfully familiar voice said. "What's up?" "Not too much. Just..." he tried not to sound to pathetic. "Just missing you." "Oh?" Simon said, and there was laughter in his voice. "Good timing, then. I'm at the front door." Raphael felt a grin spread across his face. "Ah, gracias a Dios!" He tried not to run for the door. The moment it opened, Simon was in his arms. The Hotel wasn't home to Simon anymore, since he'd been made a Shadowhunter a while back, but that hadn't really changed anything. Simon was Raphael's and Raphael was Simon's, and that was how it should be.
