Friday came sooner than Raphael was strictly speaking ready for. For near on three weeks he'd gotten to have Simon to himself. They'd spent the time wisely, getting to know how to function in their new couple. Raphael wasn't ready for someone else to be invited into that. But the string of texts he had received throughout the day spoke of Simon's excitement. So Raphael put on one of his more casual suits, picked up the bouquet he had gotten for his soulmate's roommate and long-time best friend, and made his way across town to the cheap apartment blocks close to NYU.
"Oh," a petit redhead swung the door open with some element of force seconds after Raphael had knocked. She hummed to herself as her eyes travel up and down his body, clearly evaluating him. "Well aren't you a sight," she concluded, leaning against the door rather than invite him in. "So you're Simon's mysterious soulmate."
"I am. Raphael," he held his hand out, and Clary shook it cordially, then accepted the bouquet of dusty-blue Hortensia.
"Clary," Raphael looked over the head of the girl in front of him to spot his soulmate leaning casually against the frame of a doorway, a raised eyebrow and a smirk aimed at his roommate. "Let my soulmate in the door, please." Clary rolled her eyes in response, but stepped aside to allow Raphael entrance.
"Hey, you," Simon grabbed the lapels of Raphael's jacket when he got within reach, pulling him in for a kiss just the wrong side of acceptable for company. Clary cleared her throat, shaking her head at them, arms folded over her chest.
"Can we move this into the actual flat, please?" she said. Simon narrowed his eyes at her, but moved to pull Raphael with him by the hand.
"I'll show you around." He told Raphael as they entered a small-ish living room. Large windows faced into a red brick wall, and in front of them a large, brownish couch faced a flat screen mounted to the dusted pink wall. The hardwood floor peaked out between a multitude of small multi-coloured rugs dividing up the already small space. A little table fit for two was pushed against the wall between two doors, and was already set up for three, mismatched chairs gathered around it. The walls were covered in large paintings, abstract patterns getting tangled up in each other, making the space somewhat suffocating to Raphael. "Not that there's that much to show." Simon waved around the cluttered space, a dopey grin on his face. "That's the kitchen." He pointed to a door pushed ajar next to where they stood by the entrance. A heady smell sent the promise of dinner into the living room. "Bathroom" he pointed to the door to the other side of where they stood. "Clary's room." He dragged Raphael across the room, waving vaguely at the door to the right of the little table. "And my room," he threw open the door left of the table and pulled Raphael with him through it.
Simon's room was much calmer than the living room had been. It was small, and most of it was taken up by the large bed, neatly made with dark-blue covers and pillows to match the heavy curtains framing the small window above the desk next to the bed. The desk was covered in papers and books. On top of the chest-of-drawers pushed into the little space between the door and the wall, a pin-board balanced against the wall. It was covered in postcards and pictures. Little memorabilia figurines were neatly displayed all over the room. The walls were painted a much calmer light blue-grey, and framed posters were hung in a neat line all the way around. Compared to Raphael's minimalist three-colour home, it was cluttered and claustrophobic. But it fit to Simon, and Raphael had a feeling he could get used to it, given time.
Simon had made his way over to sit on the bed while Raphael took in the pin-board, which had caught his curiosity.
"My old high school friend. Max. He ran away from home a few years ago, but he still keeps in touch. Just to let med now he's okay." Simon said from the bed, a hint of suppressed sadness in his voice. When Raphael turned to face him, the wide smile that lit up his eyes slid into place as he stretched his arms out for Raphael. Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Raphael stepped over to the edge of the bed, letting his hands land on Simon's shoulders as he looked down into his eyes. "I'm sorry about your friend," Raphael whispered, squeezing Simon's shoulders. Simon shrugged and shook his head slightly.
"It's okay, i've gotten used to it. At least he's happy, now. Anyway, what do you think?" Simon wrapped his arms around Raphael's midsection, holding onto him securely.
"I like your room," Raphael shrugged playing with the curls at the nape of Simon's neck.
"Yeah?" Simon's eyes were positively shining up at him, and Raphael found himself nodding seriously. "I missed you yesterday." Simon leaned forward to rest his chin against Raphael's abdomen. "Is that silly?" Raphael smiled, letting his fingers tangle in Simon's soft hair. Raphael had had a late meeting the day before, and since Simon had early morning classes on Fridays, they hadn't seen each other since Wednesday night.
"Nah, I missed you, too, Bebé." Raphael hummed softly.
"Dinner's ready, guys," Clary's voice cut into their moment. Simon sighed, pressing his forehead into Raphael's abdomen briefly before getting to his feet.
"Clary made Paella," Simon wriggled his eyebrows, grabbing Raphael's hand again, moving around him to drag him out to the small table.
The rice was slightly overcooked, mushing together in a sticky mesh. The dish itself was a little too heavy on the paprika overpowering the fresh taste of underrepresented shellfish and chicken with its earthy smoky taste. The bottle of wine Simon opened with a somewhat guilty smile, was a touch too sharp, stinging the tongue. Raphael felt like a grumpy grandpa, sipping the wine consciously avoiding making a face at the tartness of it, and smiling through a forced out compliment of the food. The warm smile on Simon's face was worth it though.
Clary's conversation skill consisted mainly of her taking the word for herself. Simon, clearly used to it, unashamedly cut over her, offering his own opinion to her political rants and adding to her stories of their teenage days. Raphael found himself quietly observing their ping ponging across the tiny table. He already knew what he would say when Simon asked his opinion at the end of the evening, all excitement and eagerness. He would be all polite, pointing out Clary's talent (she was in art school) and political engagement as good qualities. However, he knew, in some dark part of his brain, that he and Clary would never really become friends. The eyes narrowed in his direction told him Clary and he were on the same page in that regard.
"So, Raphael." Clary plunked into the orange lounge chair next to the sofa Raphael had been pushed into. Simon had disappeared into the kitchen to unearth another bottle of cheap wine and the store-bought dessert tucked into the freezer. The remainder of dinner had been left on the table despite Raphael's offer to help with tidying up. "Simon tells me you're an expert on Soulmates. Is it usual for people to not know the gender of their mates before bonding with them?" a hint of a challenge was hidden in her voice as her green eyes rested on his face.
"It's not unheard of." He narrowed his eyes at her, twirling his wineglass between his fingers.
"But it's not common?" she tossed her long hair over her shoulder. Raphael raised an eyebrow, his shoulder rising as he tried to convey his acceptance of the statement. "So you and Simon are kind of an anomaly, then?"
"Most bonded pairs are, if you want to be pedantic about it," Raphael raised both eyebrows now.
"Hey, Clary, I thought I told you to get the ones with chocolate? Rapha can't have this," Simon appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, bottle in one hand and box of frozen strawberry mousse in the other.
"Oh, sorry," Clary smiled sweetly at her roommate. "Must have slipped my mind."
"We have some chocolate crackers, if you want," Simon shrugged of Clary's apology to smile at Raphael instead.
"That's fine," Raphael smiled back. Clary chose not to pick their conversation back up, instead spending the time staring at Raphael calculatingly. A moment later, Simon came bounding back into the room. He dumped his haul onto the table before dropping down onto the couch next to Raphael, leaning in to press a kiss against his cheek and letting his hand casually rest on Raphael's knee.
"So what are we talking about?" he asked, all excited puppy. Raphael turned to send clary a challenging raised eyebrow while leaning back and sneaking an arm around Simon's shoulder.
"Soulmates," Clary responded with a wide smile, leaning over to grab a small cup of strawberry mousse. Simon's hand tightened around Raphael's knee. If it hadn't been for that added pressure, Raphael would never have guessed that it took effort for Simon to elegantly side-track the conversation towards some TV-show he and Clary were excited about. The conversation went back to the familiar pattern of Clary talking and Simon interrupting. After some time, Clary got up to do the dishes with a wink at Simon. As soon as she had left the room, making sure the door to the kitchen closed heavily after her, Simon twisted in his seat, one arm sneaking over Raphael's abdomen to fold securely around him. His chin came to a rest on the edge of Raphael's shoulder, making eye contact difficult despite their best efforts.
"Stay the night?" Simon asked in a somewhat smaller voice than usual, a hint of uncertainty hidden in it. Rather than answer, Raphael continued to watch him for a moment. "Not to, you know, do anything, just to, well, be here. In the morning. When we wake up."
Moments later Raphael found himself laying on his back in Simon's bed, clad in borrowed sleep wear, covers securely tugged around himself. He was staring hard at the ceiling above him, decorated with glow-in-the-dark-stars, trying not to think too much about what all of this meant. Since their talk at the pond a couple of weeks ago, Raphael had waited for Simon's doubts and insecurities over their bond to pop up again. It seemed, however, as if Simon had simply decided not to listen to any of that anymore, devoting all his time to their relationship instead. Something Raphael was not about to complain over. And if he still feared the drop of the other shoe over his sexuality, well then he didn't let that fear paralyse him.
Simon sort of slinked back into the room a few minutes after he'd left to get changed and ready for bed. He smiled, shy, nervous and happy, as he climbed into the bed next to Raphael, bending down to peck Raphael's lips with his own before twisting to turn of the bed side lamp. He lay down on his back, carefully not crowding Raphael's space. With a soft good night, Raphael let his eyes slide shut, only to blink them open a few minutes later. Simon was fidgeting, clearly trying to get comfortable in an unusual position. Raphael watched as he turned halfway towards him, one arm flailing up in to the air before he tried fitting it under his head. A sheepish smile slid over his face when he saw Raphael watching him. Raphael raised an eyebrow at him. With a smooth move, Raphael grabbed the arm Simon had been flailing about, using it to tuck the other man fully onto his side, halfway collapsed against Raphael, and draping the arm over his midsection. Simon's eyes were intent on his face through the whole thing.
"I didn't want to be presumptuous." He whispered carefully into the dark. Raphael rolled his eyes, smiled, and lent in to press a kiss against Simon's forehead.
"Go to sleep, Bebé," he said, simply, closing his own eyes. He vaguely caught Simon's sighed out 'okay', feeling him fully relax against him. With a sigh of his own, Raphael forced his mind to go blank, searching for that place of calm called sleep.
(**)
"It's half passed six. Why aren't you in bed?" Raphael rubbed at his eyes to combat the blurry edges of the world as he made his way towards the coffee machine sending a beacon call in the form of a red blinking light across the open plan Livingroom/kitchen. Simon grimaced at him from his seat at the large glass table.
"I was rudely pulled from sleep by an onslaught of inspiration for one of my papers, so. – And then I saw my Corporate Finance book, and remembered I had some reading to do." He leafed through a few papers of a book Raphael knew to be for his Marketing Course, before slamming it shut. He made his way over to Raphael, who'd filled his red mug. Simon practically melted against his side, making himself smaller to fit his head on his shoulder. "Kind of regretting it now, though," he mumbled, letting one arm slide around Raphael's midsection.
"Hmm, go back to sleep, then." Raphael hummed, twisting his neck to press a kiss into his soulmate's curls. "just use the spare key to lock up when you leave for class." Since the night he met clary a week ago, Raphael and Simon hadn't spent a night apart. Raphael was starting to get used to sharing his bed with what could best be termed a cuddly koala bear.
"Maybe later," a yawn cut Simon's sentence in half, "right now I just want to stay here for a little while."
"You have five minutes before I have to get ready for work." Raphael sipped his coffee calmly, pulling Simon tighter against himself.
"Are we staying here tonight? Only, I have that early tutorial tomorrow morning. But on the other hand I have a paper to finish and all my stuffs here. I can't be bothered lugging it across town." They still stayed at Raphael's most of the time despite the long travel time to NYU and the little coffee shop Simon worked at part time.
"I have a meeting that might run long, but you can just use the spare key to let yourself in and study from here if you want." Simon hummed his agreement, and the kitchen fell into an uncomplicated sort of silence.
By the time Raphael was ready to leave half an hour later, Simon had hidden himself underneath both their duvets. Raphael found himself smiling at the lump on the bed as he made sure the alarm was set on loud. With a kiss to curls carefully unearthed, Raphael left for a day of long meetings.