Raz snapped his head up "wait now? What about Noah?"
Noah waved a hand in dismissal "I'll be fine. Just drop me off and you two can go enjoy your night." He reassured, nudging Raz out of his chair and towards the door. "You're sure you won't need us or something?" Raz asked worriedly as he grabbed his keys and jacket. Noah shook his head. "Nope! Plus I have your number in case I do. But I promise nothing's going to happen."
"What's he gonna do? Eat the leftover pancakes?" Simon smiled slightly. "He's taking care of my children. What more could I ask for?"
"exactly! Though I might eat the pancakes if Raz made them." Raz glanced between the two of them, narrowing his eyes suspiciously "you're both awfully pushy about this." He muttered, shaking his head in defeat. "Alright, we'll drop Noah off and go to the book store."
"Raz did make the pancakes," Simon pointed out. "Well, in that case, onward and upward." He opened the door for the others.
"then don't expect to find any pancakes in the fridge tomorrow morning." Noah said, going through the door. Raz followed him out with a small smile pausing at the door until Simon went through to lock his office.
Simon led the way down the street, then at the door, he unlocked it and gave Noah the keys. Spooks immediately clung to his leg and Simon pulled her off and deposited her in Noah's arms. "There you go," Simon said and retrieved his wallet from the counter.
Noah immediately brightened as the car was given to him. "Oh you are so cute!" He cooed, adjusting his hold on Spooks so that she was more comfortable in his arms. "Yeah I'm good now, you two have fun!" He called, waving as he nudged the door closed. Raz shook his head with a sigh and glanced up at Simon. "You two are definitely planning something. Mind filling me in?" He asked, starting to walk down the hall
"Aw. I was hoping you wouldn't notice," Simon said embarrassedly. "He. . .Uh, Noah, is-well. He knows how I feel. . . about you." He paused, looking away, picking at his palm. "He said I should ask you on a date," Simon said. "So I did."
Raz paused momemtarily, "wait so this a date?" He looked back at the door then back at Simon. He breathed a laugh. "I should have known something like this was up when he was suddenly smiling and laughing." He gently took Simon's hand, both to stop him from picking at it and to pull him into a walk again. "I honestly thought you just really wanted to go to the library." He laughed, blush rising to his cheeks at his own embarrassment
Simon blinked in surprise when Raz took his hand. “It’s- I mean, is that okay. . . with you?”
Raz nodded "I'm not really good at dating or relationships but I don't mind this. It's actually really cute, and I don't think you could have thought if a better place." He lightened in hold on Simon's hand in case he wanted to pull away but kept a relatively close distance between the them as they walked
"Okay," Simon said, letting out a breath. "Good. That makes me feel better." He intertwined their fingers hesitantly.
Raz glanced over and gently squeezed their interlaced hands. "I didn't take you as a romantic, date kinda person. Not that it's a bad thing but it's nice seeing you all flustered and nervous for once."
“I do not know how to feel about that statement,” Simon said, relaxing slightly. “No, I’m not romantic, I’m just following advice.”
"it seems we owe Noah then." Raz chuckled lightly, peeking over at Simon. "Still, this is really nice, it's been ages since I've been on a date, even longer with someone that I actually like."
“Um- You’ve been on dates when you didn’t like someone?” Simon said, a flush rising to his cheeks. He chose not to comment on the last part of what Razielle said.
He shrugged sheepishly "it's not that I didn't like them, I just wasn't interested in them that way but I felt bad so I agreed to go out on a date. It never really went anywhere afterwards." He replied, arching an eyebrow as he watched Simon flush. "Oh I could definitely get used to this." He muttered, glad cing up as they approached the bookstore.
"Hey," Simon said, elbowing him with a slight grin. "Don't make fun of me. I'm buying you books."
Raz laughed softly "hey, that's a good thing that you can actually show emotions. Gives me a break from blushing and not knowing how to act around d you all the time." He pulled open the doors and stepped inside, eyes widening as he took in the shelves of books. No where near the archives of hevean but it was still amazing to Raz that so many stories could fit all in one place
"Where do you want to start, dear? Pick wherever you'd like," Simon said, amused at Razielle's evident excitement.
"oh, you shouldn't have said that, we might be here all night." Raz replied with a grin, taking a few more steps in as he looked around, running a light hand along the spines of the books. The place was lit by amber fixtures onthe walls and ceiling, giving it a warm, cozy feeling that Raz immediately felt comfortable in. As he read the titles, he noticed there was a good mixture of all genras, old and new
“I don’t mind,” Simon said softly, watching Razielle fondly. He carefully tugged a book off a shelf and flipped through it.
Raz smiled and he found a book that caught his interest, leafing through the pages and skimming through the pages, softly reading to himself the forst few paragraphs of text. He glanced up, his smile only growing as he saw that Simon had found a book as well. "Thinking of adding more to the collection?"
"Maybe. Can't have too many books," he said, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "We'll see. I want more classics, but those can be hard to find in good condition."
Raz shook his head "nope, never." He agreed, tucking the book he had grabbed under his arm. "Hm, that is true. I'd almost argue the used classics are better, they have more character to them, but I do get wanting to have new copies that look a little nicer." He strolled around the store a bit more, going deeper and deeper into the shelves, a bright smile lighting up his features Everytime he found a book that intrigued him