Chapter Text
Simon fussed around the restaurant, sighing. Stella looked like she was having the worst Christmas of all time. Mostly sulking in corners, keeping to herself, practically withdrawn from the group. Something had to be bothering her. They were close, once, and in the last few years they’d put distance between each other.
Tonight, he’d hoped things would change.
Over the last few days, he’d been thinking about how much he missed being so close to her. When he talked about it with his therapist, Sullivan, he’d realized that the feelings he had for her were still there. He now knew how to handle himself and was finally ready to try and be with her. By some cosmic chance, during the preparations for their Friendmas, he’d gotten Stella for their Secret Santa. Shopping for her was a delight, having spent a lot of time in Kinokuniya making sure he grabbed the pens and highlighters he knew that she liked. He’d been able to get a lot and stay right under budget, enough to get one more little detail.
A bag of Dove chocolates.
Innocent to their friends, but hopefully not to her. If she still felt the same way, she’d know what they meant.
He watched as she fussed over her phone, checking it constantly. The only other time he’d ever remembered her being that fussy over her device was when she was waiting for him. Ricardo. The bastard who would constantly lead her on, break her heart, and then do it all over again. She said she was done with him, why was she hanging onto her phone for him again?
Because you told her to wait, the little voice in his head reminded him. Simon sighed as he grabbed a cookie, starting toward her. He wanted to give her the present now, but Emily liked keeping things on schedule, so it was better to play along with things for now. Simon cleared his throat, watching how she turned toward him. He hated the haunted look in her eyes, like she was clinging to the hope of something she knew in her heart wasn’t going to come to pass, but she needed to have hope in something. Even if it was on the wrong person.
“Hey,” Simon said softly, standing close to her.
“Hi,” she said, her tone distant.
“Waiting for somethin’?” he tested.
“N-no.”
Gods, you’re still the worst liar, he thought, swallowing thickly. “How’ve you been with the new job?”
“Busy, dealing with an asshole,” she murmured with a loaded sigh.
“He can’t be that bad,” Simon said, watching how she seemed to glare daggers into Price’s back. He shrugged it off for the time being, his primary focus being on her. How he wanted her to feel better, remind her that she wasn’t alone. She had him.
“Yeah, he is, but I think I can handle him. I’ve dealt with worse.”
“I know that for a fact,” Simon said, standing next to her.
“It’s time to exchange presents!” Emily cried. Simon couldn’t hold back his sigh of relief, glancing over to Stella to see how she was doing.
“I can’t wait to see who you got,” she said, a half-smile fleeting across her lips.
I can’t wait to see the look on your face either, Simon thought, following her to the table. Alejandro had set up a private area for all of them for their lunch, a full spread that had been prepared between him and Emily right at the center of it all. Stella had made dessert again, but it wasn’t her usual fare. She’d made only one cake. Emily had been concerned about her friend all day but with everything going on around them, she couldn’t check in with her like she wanted.
“Okay, so we’re going to start of with, me,” Emily said, picking up her present from the table. “I got Kate,” she said, handing it over.
“Thank you, Emily,” Kate said, smiling as she opened up the gift bag and took a peek inside. She grinned as she pulled out an engraved water bottle, adorned with her initials. “This is wonderful. Olivia was dying to get my last one replaced,” she grinned.
“I’m so glad!” Emily smiled. “Who did you get?”
“Kyle,” she said, grabbing her gift and sliding it over. He quickly opened it and grinned, seeing some new filament for his 3D printer.
“Thank you, Laswell, I’m going to have so much fun with this,” he said with a smile. “Alejandro,” Gaz continued, passing his present over. Their exchanges continued, with Alejandro giving Soap his present, Soap moving onto Price, before he passed a gift over to Rodolfo, and Rudy handed Emily her present.
“Wait, Simon and Stella got each other?” Emily said, as she realized who hadn’t exchanged their presents yet.
“Looks like it,” Soap said, glancing over to the former Lieutenant. He looked nervous, completely out of character for the soldier. Simon carefully passed his present on over to Stella, taking a deep breath and hoping things went well. If she didn’t understand it, he’d have to be completely open about his wants. He was teetering on the edge of his nerves, hoping she still understood him even without him saying it out loud.
“Let’s see,” Stella said, pressing her lips together as she moved the tissues aside. Her eyes caught all of the pens and highlighters in her favorite hues. Simon smiled as he could see the scrunch of her nose, the delighted twinkle in her eyes as she pulled the stationery items out. “My favorites,” she whispered, rolling them over the table. “Thank you.”
“There’s more,” Simon said, his throat bobbing as he swallowed back his nerves. “At the bottom.”
“Oh? Let me,” she said, tilting the bag and moving more of the decorative paper aside. “Chocolates,” Stella said, reading the name on the packaging. “Dove-” her voice stopped, frozen in place as the word sank in. Dove. Her gaze snapped up, meeting Simon’s eyes. Their friends watched, confused but invested as they watched who they considered the most unlikely pair have a silent exchange of words.
“Stella you-”
“Shhh,” Soap said, covering Emily’s mouth. Simon nodded silently in response to her unspoken question, his heart racing as he waited for her response. Stella threw her arms around him, burying her face into his neck as she sobbed. Alejandro moved quickly, darting over.
“The door to the stairs are over there,” he said softly, pointing it out toward Simon.
“Thanks,” he said softly, scooping Stella up into his arms and slowly making his way over.
“What the fuck just happened?” Emily asked as Soap uncovered her mouth once Simon and Stella were out of sight.
“We have to wait for them to tell us,” Soap answered. “But I’m just as invested as you are.”
~~
Simon carefully helped Stella down to her feet, taking deep breaths to steady himself. The reaction wasn’t what he was expecting, but the way she’d held onto him gave him hope that maybe he was misunderstanding her cries. Finally, after a few long and quiet minutes, Stella pulled back, taking one deep breath after another before speaking up at last. There were too many feelings at once. Joy, disbelief, anxiety. She didn't know where to even start with her words. After everything, there was only one sure thing she wanted to say.
“Yes,” she gasped out. “Yes!” Simon’s heart soared at her affirmation, cradling her face in his hands as their eyes met. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me too,” he whispered. “S-Sullivan asked about you last appointment and then somethin’-somethin’ kicked into me, and I started talkin’ about how much I missed being around you, how much I longed to be close to you again and it all fell into place in my head. I-I knew I had to tell you, because I’m ready. I-If you’ll have me.”
“Yes,” Stella nodded, clutching his sweater. “God, Simon. I’ve been waiting for Ricardo to show up all day because I’ve been feeling so lonely and I didn’t want to put that on you,” she whimpered, resting her head against his chest.
“Sweetheart, I thought you were done with him.”
“Simon, I needed hope in something,” she whispered. “And I told you I’d respect your space until you came to me.”
“Thank you, dove,” he whispered, shifting to meet her gaze again. “Want to go out with me for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Why not tonight? Come home with me,” Stella whispered softly. “I’ve waited years for you, Simon, don’t make me wait one more night,” she sniffled. “Not after dropping that on me.” He nodded, kissing her forehead.
“Fair enough, sweetheart,” he murmured, holding her close. Gods, he’d missed the feel of holding her. He held onto her tightly, taking her in for a moment longer before her stomach decided to make her hunger known. “How long has it been since you last ate? Your stomach normally isn’t that vocal unless you’ve been neglecting your needs,” he said, narrowing his eyes.
“I haven’t been eating much today since I’ve been wondering if Ricardo is going to show or not.”
“Did he buy a plane ticket this time?”
“I don’t know and frankly, I don’t care,” Stella answered. “The only reason I was going mental at the idea of him was because it was yet another Christmas where I couldn’t have you. And it’s been hell dealing with Price at work.”
“Wait, you’re workin’ with Laswell?”
“Yeah,” Stella sniffled as Simon helped her dry her eyes with his sweater. It all suddenly clicked in his head, Kate’s new assistant that John didn’t like at all because she was difficult.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I can handle it,” she insisted.
“I know you can, luv, you dealt with worse shite at the law firm. I haven’t forgotten that,” Simon said, brushing his thumbs back and forth over her freckles. “But you know we can help, if not them, then ask me,” he reminded her. “Come on, let’s go back in there so we can feed you and then we can go back to your place.”
“Please,” Stella whispered. Reluctantly, he released her, turning her around so they could step back into the restaurant and spend some more time with their friends. Just before he opened the door, Simon took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together.
“We only tell Em we met before they did?” he asked her.
“Yeah,” Stella nodded. “That works for me. The rest can come when I’m ready.”
“That works for me, too,” Simon agreed as they stepped back into the restaurant. Their friends quickly glanced at the pair, Emily’s gaze narrowing in on their joined hands. “Sorry about that,” he started.
“How long have you two felt like that?” Emily blurted out.
“Years, we’d had a talk about putting feelings on hold just before you met Soap,” Stella answered.
“And today?”
“I told her I was ready to be with her. I’d been goin’ through a lot at the time we had the talk.”
“You’re serious,” Emily said, moving closer to them. “Because –”
“I know about Ricardo and trust me. I would never put her through that,” Simon cut her off. “I already put her through hell once when we fought years ago. When I came back and apologized, I vowed I’d stay. I may have put distance between us because I wanted to focus on myself for a while, but I have never ignored her when she’s needed me. I took care of ‘er when her grandfather died,” he argued. Emily’s eyes widened at the revelation, nodding to herself.
“Fair enough,” she said.
“And you,” he nearly growled, glancing at his former captain. “She just started workin’ with Kate. Don’t make things harder for her than they absolutely need to be.” Price pressed his lips together, avoiding the former lieutenant’s fiery gaze. Everyone else on the table focused on him, Kate grinning smugly from her setting in the corner.
“I’ll be nicer,” Price mumbled begrudgingly.
“Thank you,” Simon said, squeezing her hand. “Now let’s eat. Stella’s hungry.”
“I am, too,” Gaz said, grinning at his friends. “Rosie’s missed another eventful holiday,” he added.
“I really hope we can meet her soon,” Rodolfo said. “The way you all speak about her, she sounds wonderful.”
“She is,” Stella said softly. “You’ll love her.”