Motion Sickness | Simon Petrikov x Reader

Chapter 13 | The Most Important Thing

"Simon, what's going on?"

You were in your office with Simon, the man's demeanor paranoid and off. He paced back and forth as you sat down in your office chair. He continued to say nothing, just paced the room as if you weren't even there.

"You're scaring me. Tell me what's happening." You said, seeing if it would snap him back to reality in some way.

Simon's eyes flickered toward you, a shaky sigh escaping his lungs. "Remember that one day when we went to that coffee shop for lunch together?"

You nodded. You had no idea what he was getting at. "Yeah?"

He sat across from you, dragging his palms down his face in what seemed like frustration.

"There are a few rumors going around. I just heard my students talking about it. Apparently, someone saw us together and is telling everyone about it."

You sat in silence for a moment, "So?"

Simon stared at you, blinking a couple times before speaking, "So, people think we are..." he cleared his throat.

"What? Seeing each other?" You said bluntly. The thought of it gave you butterflies in your stomach, but you tried not to make it obvious.

"Yes," Simon said, "that."

"So what? All of that crap is immature. Just ignore it." You said, as if it wasn't bothering you just as much this morning.

"Does it not bother you?" He asked.

You sat for a moment, thinking about it. You didn't exactly know the answer to that. You didn't want to care what others thought. They were just a bunch of kids trying to figure their lives out, and you and Simon had been adults for many years with much more experience in life under your belts.

"I'm my true and honest opinion, we are both adults that shouldn't be caring about what a bunch of kids who just got out of high school think about our personal lives and relationship." You finally said.

Simon took in your words for a moment, holding his chin in his hand. "You're right. It's just... quite annoying when people make assumptions just because we are around each other a lot."

"We do work together every day." You added, and Simon nodded in agreement.

The two of you sat in silence for quite some time together.

Simon wanted to say something, he just couldn't come up with anything. You were in the same boat. The sun was blinding as it reflected off of the snow and through the window. Despite that, the office was cold. Too cold for Simon to concentrate.

"I'm sorry." Simon broke the silence.

"About?"

He hid his face in his hands. "About everything."

You looked at him closely. His solemn voice muffled by his hands pulled at your heartstrings every so slightly. "What in the world are you on about?"

Simon rubbed his hands over his nose, his glasses sitting crooked on his nose once he removed his hands from his face.

"It seems like anything inconvenient that happens to you is a result of me." He looked down at his hands as if he was studying them.

You looked at him with a saddened look. Why did he think that? "Simon, that's not true at all."

"Are you sure about that?" He chuckled bitterly, running a hand through the beautiful white streak of hair he had that you loved so much.

You nodded, "I'm positive. If anything, life is so much easier because I have you."