Simon watched as Grace worked on the blood samples he had taken from him and walked him through the process.
“I wanted to see if we could, uh...” Grace fiddled with the newly filled vials before loading them into a centrifuge. “Basically, find a way to reverse the mutations on your body. I found some really interesting anomalies in the blood from your submarine that might be linked to your mutations and, uh, who knows? Maybe we can reverse engineer it into a cure?”
When Simon pointed out how his mutations hadn’t really gotten worse or had any sort of development in the past months, Grace quickly insisted that they can’t rule out the possibility of the mutations being dormant and potentially flaring up at some point in the future and at a rate they could no longer control. Grace would always apologize for “rambling” and “probably not making much sense”, but Simon had gotten used to the scientist’s rapid-fire commentary over the months since waking up in the Hail Mary’s med-bay.
“...just, uh, want you to live, Simon,” Grace was saying. “Y’know, live better and not have to worry about—I don’t know, turning into... eh, anyway—”
Simon hummed and nodded along, occasionally throwing in a question or two to keep Grace talking, but he wasn’t really listening anymore. Those last few things Grace said lodged themselves into Simon’s brain and he could only do so much to not short-circuit on the spot.
Well, maybe he already has.
I love you, said a little voice in his head. It startled him a little, and he hoped that the other man didn’t notice him flinch from it.
Months ago, he would have thought it was the Eel whispering poison into his mind again and he’d have smothered such thoughts with a mental pillow so they would never see the light of day, but not anymore. The whispers had gotten quiet lately, and these three words—equal parts realization and unspoken confession—felt his. Felt real.
I... think I love you? The little voice continued in his head. It sounded doubtful, but made Simon sure that it was his own thoughts. The Eel never sounded uncertain.
Can I love you? The little voice asked and this time, he had to make an effort to keep the words from going any further than the back of his throat for fear of the countless possibilities where making his feelings known would destroy their friendship.
A weight settling on Simon’s shoulder jolted him out of his thoughts, then he froze completely upon realizing what it was. Grace leaned onto Simon with his head on the latter’s shoulder, eye’s still on the centrifuge. The contact alone sent his heart-rate through the roof and flooded his mind with other thoughts. A mixture of panic, excitement, and him mentally yelling at himself to stay calm.
“You okay, Si?” Grace gave him a gentle nudge of his elbow. The scientist was tapping his fingers along to the centrifuge’s quiet whirring, his glasses hanging precariously off one ear.
“Huh? Uh... y-yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Never better,” he stammered. “You were saying?”
“Okay, sorry, got a little worried ‘cause you looked like you were spacing out,” Grace answered, leaning further into Simon. “Um, hope you don’t mind this, but, uh, it’s okay if you’re not comfortable or—”
“No, no, no, it’s good. It’s all good.” Simon put a hand over Grace’s shoulder to keep him from pulling away. “This is... nice. It’s really nice.”
That seemed to be enough for Grace, who put his head back on Simon’s shoulder. Simon hesitated for a second or three before he laid his head on Grace’s and... wow. A satisfied sigh left him before he even wondered when the last time he got to lean on someone was.
They stayed that way for a little while, and if Simon spent a good four minutes fighting the urge to plant a tiny kiss on Grace’s forehead, nobody will ever know.
areudirty
prguitarman
discoholicmusic
stormborns
ellievsbear
gamechangershow
2087
