Simon surfaced from unconsciousness slowly. His head was pounding and it felt like someone had shoved cotton down his throat.

He groaned and pulled the blankets up over his head, blocking out the sunlight that had woken him up. It took him a moment, but he finally remembered why he felt so badly. It had been a long time since he had woken up so hung-over. In fact, if he had to hazard a guess, he would say the last time was when he was a freshman in college…

He groaned again and very slowly began to untangle himself from his sheets, being extraordinarily careful of his head. Any kind of movement seemed to send sharp pains shooting through it.

He rose slowly, keeping a death grip on the dresser and slowly staggered downstairs and the promise of coffee and aspirin.

Damian was already seated at the kitchen table, sipping a juice box and sketching. He turned as Simon stumbled in and quickly snapped his sketch book close.

"What are you drawing?" Simon rumbled, not really caring, just not wanting to seem to hung over. Although, Damian probably already knew he had been drinking.

"You," Damian said softly.

"Huh," Simon muttered. He was getting the distinct vibe that he was forgetting something and was barely paying attention. He stared at the overflowing bag of beer bottles and tried to remember whatever was niggling at the edges of his consciousness.

"Jake and Johnny cleaned up a little," Damian said, discomfort in his voice.

Johnny… right, Jake’s son. Something about the boy… He tried to picture him. An image of a dark head buried between Damian’s legs flashed in his mind and the entire previous night came rushing back. It was fuzzy, everything seeming more like a dream or distant memory than recollections of last night, but he remembered.

"Oh shit."

--

Damian stared at Simon. He had suddenly tensed. That could not be good for the man’s head. He had a fleeting thought of aspirin, but instead he gently grasped his teacher’s arm. "Simon, are you okay? You seem a little-"

Simon spun around, sharply dislodging Damian’s hands. His eyes were wide and panicked. "Oh shit," he repeated. "I gave you head."

Damian’s eyes widened. He had been half hoping the man would forget. He had been plagued the night before with alternative possibilities, things that could happen that would be very, very bad. Many started out this way.

"No you didn’t," he said quickly, trying to sound soothing. "You just-"

"Yes, I did. Oh God. You stopped me. Fuck, fuck, fuck, Fuck, FUCK!" He tangled hands in his hair and shook his head, wincing, but not stopping.

Damian tried to pull his hands away and steady him, worried about what his head must be feeling like. But Simon didn’t let him. He seemed to welcome the pain even as he was wincing and swearing.

"Stop it!" Damian ordered, managing to convey all the authority he had wished he was able to the night before. "You didn’t suck me off, okay? And you were drunk. People do stupid shit when they’re drunk."

"Truth at the bottom of a wine glass," Simon muttered, still shaking his head as if that would erase his actions.

"What are you talking about?" Damian asked, still wresting with Simon.

Simon stopped suddenly and glared. The force of the rage in the blue orbs made Damian take a step back, but it didn’t seem to be directed at him. "I wanted to do that. I have wanted to for ages. Well, not that specifically, but…" He trailed off, catching Damian’s wide eyes. "You’ve gotten to me. You happy?"

Damian slowly grasped the older man’s hands, pulling them down and twining them through his. "I love you, and if I’m understanding right, you like me back. What’s wrong with that?"

"What’s wrong with that?’ Simon laughed, the sound brittle. "I’m your teacher! And your elder by eleven years."

Damian shrugged. "Both will change," he pointed out. "Well, not the eleven years bit, but it won’t seem like such a big deal in a few years.

Simon laughed again, trying to untangle his hands. "Eighteen and twenty-nine? There’s still something wrong with that."

Damian shook his head. "I love you. Love-"

"-Is love, yeah sure. Man, you were seven when I was legal. That’s perverted. I’m old. You need to be with someone your own age." He was still trying to get his hands free of Damian.

The redhead snorted. "Why? Because it’ll look better to other people? I’m gay, most people will look down on it just cuz of that. And what about if I get with someone my own age? I’ve done that. Lots. I have experience, probably more than you-"

"Not with relationships. Not with real relationships."

"Yeah, most have been about sex, but I had them. I am equipped to make a decision about who I like. People my age get with me because of the sex. If I wanted purely physical, I would go with one of them. But I don’t." Damian hesitated but shrugged. He could feel bad about guilt tripping Simon later. "And besides, do you really want me to end up with someone who doesn’t love me? Who doesn’t even like me?" He looked up through his lashes. "I know you’ll take care of me."

Simon looked away. "I should hand you over to Aden. Tell him I’m getting too attached. He’ll take you in. He‘ll understand."

Damian frowned. "He okayed it you know. He said he would have no issues with us having a relationship."

"I’ll pass you off to him, only see you in school," Simon mumbled, not seeming to hear Damian. "Maybe in a couple years- What? He did what?"

It was Damian’s turn to ignore Simon’s words. "Pass me off?" he repeated, voice low. "Pass me off?!" He was shouting. "What the fuck am I, some kind of toy?!"

He yanked his hands away from Simon, anger rising and chasing away all the tender feelings and worry.

"Wha- No!" Simon caught his wrists. "You’re not a toy. That’s why I don’t want to get in a relationship with you. I love-" He froze.

Damian looked down. "You love me. Yeah, right. Which is why you want to dump me off on someone else."

"It’s not like that!" Simon pulled the boy closer. Damian went meekly but made no move to get closer. "It’s just- just you’re so young and bright and beautiful…" He gently tipped Damian’s face up.

Damian resisted a little, but in the end allowed Simon to tilt his face up. When Simon kissed him, it was everything he hoped it would be- gentle, sweet, and knee-jellifying. He sank into it, letting Simon kiss him gently for a moment. Then, he pounced. He deepened the kiss and stood on is tiptoes so Simon wouldn’t have to lean down so far- and so he could get some leverage. He put into use everything he had picked up over the years.

Simon gasped and after a moment, stopped even trying to match Damian, surrendering to the kiss entirely, letting Damian gently push him down on one of the chairs. He was too far gone to object to the redhead straddling his hips.

Damian finally had to pull back, breathless, but leaving Simon panting harshly. He didn’t stay still for long. After barely a breath, Damian dived back in, attacking Simon’s neck this time.

"S-stop," Simon gasped out.

Regretfully, Damian pulled back, wishing he didn’t have to breath so he wouldn’t have given Simon the split second chance to recover. The man was far too fast at regrouping. He looked at the man through wide eyes, knowing him too well to try to look sultry and sexy. That would just make Simon feel even more like he was taking advantage. Although why innocence worked better, he had no idea…

"I need you to go live with Aden."

Damian blinked, confused. "What?"

"I need you to live with Aden, or Jake, or someone who’s not me."

Hurt swelled upwards through Damian. He made no effort to hide it, letting it fill his eyes and when he spoke, his voice. "But-"

"You need a- a friend! Or a parental figure! Not just another lover."

Damian frowned and shoved a finger into Simon’s chest. "We’ve been over this. Or I thought we had." He pouted, knowing how cute and kissable he looked when he did. "You wouldn’t be just another lover. I love you. I need you. I need to be cherished and loved."

"But not in a sexual way," Simon said softly.

Damian pouted. "I’m a very sexual person."

Simon smiled softly. "Yes, but you need someone who will love you-"

"You do. You said you do."

"Well…"

"Unless you were lying." Damian continued to pout, trying desperately to not show how anxious he was. He seriously doubted that Simon was lying intentionally, but a momentary slip-up, where Simon just said whatever he thought he should… Well, that was entirely possible.

"No! I mean, no. I love you. I think."

Damian smiled wryly at his words parroted back at him. Had that only been a few weeks? It seemed like a lot longer.

"I want you healthy and happy, not trapped with an old man."

"Your not old," Damian snapped. He took a deep, steadying breath and plunged forward. "I’ve never been healthier. You realize that I’ve talked more with you about- about everything than I have with anyone else? It’s… helped. I feel better. You realize the last time I had sex was before you took me in, right?"

Simon flushed at the straightforward words, but shook his head slowly. He had laid down ground rules of course, but he had thought, at least at the beginning, that Damian had still been screwing around at times when not with Simon.

"Well I haven’t. And more, I haven’t felt the need to," he said softly. "I’ve been a whore and a slut for almost five years. I’ve slept around because I’ve had to of course, but also sometimes just because- just because it was the only way I could feel important. The only way I could get anyone to look at me at all. You- you showed me different. You’ve been more caring than anyone I’ve ever met and I haven’t done a damn thing for you. Absolutely nothing. Yet you’ve taken care of me."

"If this is about gratitude-"

Damian cut him off with a snort. "If this was about gratitude I would have let you finish yesterday and then flipped you over and returned the favor."

Simon flushed. "But-"

"But what?!"

When Simon didn’t say anything for one long moment, Damian leaned against his chest, and wrapped his arms around him tightly. "You can’t think of a proper argument," he said with a smirk.

"Not with you doing that," Simon grumbled.

Damian smirked but tried to hide it. He had started moving slowly in Simon’s lap at the mention of gratitude. "You couldn’t anyways."

"I’m not doing anything with you until your legal."

Damian brightened. "That means you’ll try-" he waved his arm vaguely, encompassing both of them, "-this?"

Simon sighed and nodded, setting his hands at Damian’s waist. "That means I’ll try this." He kissed Damian on the cheek and lifted him off his lap. "But I’m serious about the doing nothing until your legal thing."

Damian shrugged. "I can live with that." He leaned forward and kissed Simon again deeply.

Simon pulled back. "Nothing. You hear me? Nothing."

Damian kissed him lightly, chastely and looked at him quizzically.

Simon nodded with a long suffering sigh. "That’s okay."

Damian repeated the motion, giggling and sitting back on Simon’s lap, this time, perching like kids did on Santa’s lap. He gave another chaste kiss and then another. Simon returned the soft kisses.

Damian was finally the one who pulled back, eyelids fluttering and feeling more than a little breathless. "I can deal with that."