“You don’t have to thank me for that,” Simon mumbled. He pressed his lips to the skin above Asher’s heart.
“It’s just….” Asher took a deep breath before continuing, “you’re amazing, Simon. You’re beautiful, and you could have anyone in McMurdo you wanted. And you came here tonight, and that’s—yeah. Thank you.”
Simon’s body was exhausted, but Asher’s words made him sit up, muscles protesting, so he could catch Asher’s eyes directly and stare down at him.
“You have no idea how incredible you are,” Simon said carefully. “I’ve wanted you literally since the first moment I saw you, back in April.” It wasn’t a lie, but a thread of guilt wormed its way through Simon’s stomach nonetheless. He’d wanted a quick, hard fuck; he hadn’t wanted Asher, the person, and everything that came with that. But he pushed on. “I wanted to come here tonight. To you, not to anyone else on the station.”
Asher watched him for a moment before a smile slowly appeared. It was like watching the sun slip above the horizon, and it lit up his entire face.
“Okay,” Asher said.
Simon bent down to kiss him. “Now come snuggle with me. These beds aren’t big enough, and I don’t want to fall off the edge.”
JULY FLEW by in a haze of excitement, as the entire station began to glance toward the horizon and the pale hints of sunlight that hovered there. Sunrise was still almost a month away, but everyone at McMurdo could sense it coming.
But while the countdown to mail, freshies, and an influx of new people had begun, life went on otherwise the same for Simon. He ate dinner with Miranda most days, sometimes with Oli and Tyler joining them. Saturday nights were still sacred—at the coffee hut or the bar, it didn’t matter as long as everyone got a chance to hang out and unwind.
But the days flew by even quicker than usual, because every other free second Simon had was spent with Asher.
“Why don’t you invite Asher to come out with us?” Miranda asked.
Simon shrugged halfheartedly. “He’s not really a people person.”
That part wasn’t a lie, at least. Simon invited Asher to join them anytime something interesting came up, like movie nights or trivia at the bar. And Asher had joined them a couple of times, but he never seemed comfortable with Miranda, Oli, and the rest of Simon’s loud friends.
The other part of it, though, was that Simon was enjoying the chance to get to know Asher… and he couldn’t do that with Oli looking over his shoulder, or Miranda shooting them amused looks every few seconds.
And he definitely didn’t want Oli, well-meaning but utterly oblivious, to make some kind of mention about the bet.
Simon rarely found himself thinking about it these days, but he hadn’t missed Miranda’s increasingly probing questions, or Oli’s eyebrow waggle every time he spotted Asher and Simon out together.
“Maybe they’ve been fucking like bunnies since Midwinter and Simon’s just refusing to tell us because he doesn’t want to lose any money,” Miranda proposed one evening while they were at Gallagher’s.
Simon glared at her and took a sip of his beer, restraining himself from looking around—as though Asher might be standing behind him right now. But Asher rarely came to the bar, and even his fellow beakers weren’t around tonight.
Oli’d had a few too many, by the looks of it, and he laughed as he shook his head. “Trust me, after last winter I know exactly what Si looks like when he’s getting some on the regular. This? Isn’t it.”
The glare was having no effect. “Just leave it,” Simon pleaded. “Come on, we have way more interesting things to talk about than my sex life—or lack thereof. Like the fact that Miranda and her friend apparently broke it off the other day.”
That was enough to divert the conversation… for now, Simon added. He knew neither of them would drop it that easily.
So the days kept passing, August looming ever closer, and Simon spent his time working, hanging out with Miranda and Oli, and escaping to Asher every chance he could.
August
“IF YOU’RE bored we can leave,” Asher said for the tenth time. He kept looking up from his screen to stare at Simon in concern.
Simon smiled at him. He’d stolen a chair from the office next door and was currently leaning back, feet propped up on the edge of the desk, attention divided between watching Asher work and flipping through one of his books that had several full-color illustrations about the aurora.
“I told you, babe, I’m fine. Finish your work.”
Asher went bright red at the nickname but ducked his head back to his work instead of responding.
Simon’s shift had ended midafternoon, and when he hadn’t seen Asher come through the dining hall for lunch, he’d wrapped up a couple of sandwiches and headed over to Crary. There was nothing else to do, since he worked a different shift from most on station, and he was more than content to relax in Asher’s office for a couple of hours.
Plus, it meant he got to look at Asher all afternoon, and that was a definite perk.
Another ten minutes passed, Asher typing sometime on his computer while Simon idly flipped pages and watched Asher’s biceps flex every time he paused to think.
“This cannot be that interesting,” Asher said suddenly.
“Well, it is. It’s quiet here, and I have a book to read—” Simon hefted the book in question off his lap. “—and you’re very nice to stare at. Did you know you lick your lips a lot more when you’re focused on inputting equations? So then I daydream about your mouth and what you’d look like wearing lip gloss, because, like, on the one hand, I really like watching you lick them all the time, but on the other hand, they’d be all glossy like Miranda’s are when we go out to the bar.”
Asher groaned and sat back, abandoning his work for the time being. “You can’t just say things like that.”
Simon blinked innocently. “Like what? About how I like watching you?”
Asher gave him a look.
“Well, you asked,” Simon said. “I was perfectly happy to just sit here silently and keep my thoughts to myself.”
“I could feel your eyes on me. It’s distracting.”
Simon sat up straight, kicking his feet back onto the floor and closing the book with a loud thump. “Asher, babe”—that delicious blush appeared again—“in all seriousness. If I’m bothering you, I can leave.”
Instead of responding, Asher reached forward and saved his work. Then he flipped his computer monitor off, got to his feet, and crossed the office—away from Simon, heading toward the door.
Simon frowned… then laughed in delight as Asher closed the door firmly and flipped the lock.
“Asher Delaney,” he said, faux scandal dripping from his words, “I don’t know what you’re hoping for here, but it’s a workday and I would never condone you playing hooky like this! What would your boss say?”
Asher stalked across the room, eyes going dark. “My boss is back in the States, so I doubt he’s going to care. And I’m a scientist, so they know I have to investigate when a scientific puzzle comes up in front of me.” He loomed over Simon, his large frame blocking out the fluorescent light on the ceiling.
Simon’s eyebrows went up. “Am I your science experiment for the day, then?”
“Yeah.” Asher reached down and tugged Simon out of his chair, effortlessly hauling him to his feet. One hand rested on Simon’s hip, fingers dipping beneath the edge of Simon’s thermal shirt to tease the skin beneath. The other cupped Simon’s cheek, tilting his head up. “I’ll formulate a hypothesis, gather data, and come to some very interesting conclusions, I expect.”
God, Asher was hot—not just aesthetically but also literally. Simon could feel the warmth radiating from him, and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to close the remaining distance between them and bury himself in Asher’s hold.
“But what’s the question you’re evaluating?” Simon asked.
Asher pressed a fleeting kiss to Simon’s hair, then slid his hand
up under Simon’s shirt, fingers caressing the bare skin he found there. “Which you prefer, of course.” He licked his lips, very pointedly. “It might take a few days to experiment, since I’ll need to find some lip gloss, but I have some ChapStick here we can start with.”
Simon grinned. “I think you’re missing an obvious third possibility.”
“You have a hypothesis?”
Simon leaned up until their lips were only inches apart. “Yeah, I do.”
Asher exhaled. “Which is?”
“I think they’d look best after I kiss them until they’re red and shiny.” Simon brushed his lips over Asher’s, a hint of what was to come. “So that’s the hypothesis I’m going with.”
A groan escaped Asher, rumbling through him, and Simon could feel it where their chests touched. “Yeah, that definitely sounds like a good place to start experimenting.”
Simon couldn’t resist anymore. He pressed their lips together, tangling his fingers in Asher’s shirt so he could tug the other man down the remaining distance and kiss him hard. Even though Asher was the one standing over him, he gave in easily, letting Simon control the kiss and parting his lips with a pleased moan when Simon nipped at the bottom one.
But the height difference meant Simon had to stand on his toes to get any leverage. Asher must have noticed, because a minute later he was settling his large hands on Simon’s narrow hips and guiding him over to the desk. He lifted Simon easily, resting Simon’s ass along the edge of the table and stepping into the vee of his parted legs.
“Better,” he growled, and tilted his head down to kiss Simon again.
Like this they were almost the same height, and kissing Asher was a whole new experience. Simon hooked his arms over Asher’s shoulders, running his tongue over Asher’s lips.
Simon hadn’t made out with someone like this—slow and lazy, trading deep kisses until they were out of breath—since high school. His previous hookups had been all about the sex, getting together just to get each other off. But this… was nice. Better than nice, actually.
Intimate. Sensual. Words that Simon would have shied away from not too long ago, but now felt perfect.
He kissed until his lips were tender and throbbing, and even then he didn’t want to move away. Asher kissed the same way he studied the aurora—intently, passionately, and with the full force of his attention.
A knock at the door finally separated them. Asher leaned his forehead against Simon’s, both of them breathing hard.
“Delaney, you there?”
Asher looked debauched, lips swollen and red, so dark they were almost bruised. His hair was messy from where Simon’s fingers had gotten tangled in it, and his eyes were dark, pupils blown. And, Simon realized, he was hard in his jeans, cock visibly straining.
He’s this turned on just from kissing.
There was no way Asher could answer the door like that, though. And he seemed to know it, if the wink he gave Simon was any indication. He made a low shh sound, lips hovering an inch away from Simon’s.
The person knocked again. Then, a moment later, footsteps sounded, growing more distant as whoever it was moved away.
“Naughty,” Simon smirked.
Asher laughed quietly. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this in my office after all. Want to take this somewhere more appropriate?”
Simon tilted his head to the side. “I guess we could. I mean, I did prove my hypothesis correct, after all.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” Simon said. He ran one thumb over Asher’s lower lip. “Your mouth definitely looks best just like this.”
“Jesus,” Asher said, and leaned forward to kiss him again.
It was a while longer before they managed to separate again long enough to leave Asher’s office.
“GOT PLANS for the sunrise?” Asher asked, sticking his head into the dish pit after breakfast.
Simon shrugged. The sunrise was scheduled for lunchtime, but his supervisor had given him permission to go watch—along with, he assumed, the majority of the station. The sun hadn’t risen above the horizon since April, and today the station would be graced with just over an hour of direct sunlight. Already the sky was a hazy orange and pink, and Simon smiled every time he passed by a window.
“No plans,” he said.
Asher grinned. “Excellent. I’ll pick you up at about 11:30, okay?”
He left before Simon could reply, green eyes flashing with excitement. Simon passed the rest of the morning in a state of anticipation, watching through the dining hall windows as the sky outside grew lighter and lighter. It was as though a strange fever had taken over the entire station—even the chefs and bakers were more energetic, almost manic, as though the sunrise pulled on them with the same magnetism of the full moon.
By the time Asher reappeared just before lunch service began, Simon was about to bounce off the walls.
“Let’s go.”
Asher helped Simon into his jacket, then took his hand and led Simon outside to where a van was waiting, already turned on and heater blasting full-force. Simon climbed in, buckled his seat belt, and hummed happily when Asher leaned over to give him a quick kiss before doing the same.
Then Asher was driving through town, toward the road that led out of town. He assumed they’d head out to Pegasus or maybe up Ob Hill, which was one of the highest points around. Instead, Asher turned left.
“Wait, where are we going?”
Simon glanced over his shoulder, where another truck had just pulled away, heading in the opposite direction.
“The runway is going to be crowded with flight ops crews working, and Ob Hill will have too many people hanging around to watch. I thought we could go somewhere quieter.”
The van was warm at least, so Simon just shrugged, grinned, and settled back in his seat, content to let Asher have his little mystery for now.
It was only when the road started to tilt upward that Simon realized where they were going. “Oh, did they clear the roads already?”
Asher smiled. “Two days ago. I don’t think anyone else knows, but one of the heavy equipment guys stopped by Crary to let me know that I could access the observatory and radar now if I wanted to.”
The truck bumped along the dirt road, climbing up and up. As they drove, the sky around them grew brighter, dawn colors of orange and pink spreading in all directions across the sky. Finally, a geodesic dome and bright-green building came into view.
“I’ve never been up here,” Simon said. He glanced as they passed a sign proclaiming them to be at Arrival Heights. “It’s restricted.”
Asher winked. “Then I guess it’s good you’re dating someone with permission to be here.”
He turned back to the road, navigating the last few feet toward the Arrival Hill labs, so he missed the look that flashed across Simon’s face.
Dating? Simon felt himself go white, a hint of panic clawing up his spine. Who said we were dating? We’ve been hanging out together, but that’s—we’re not—
“We’re here.” Asher turned the truck off. “And just in time, I think we have about ten minutes to go.”
Simon bundled himself up with fingers numb from something other than the cold, and for once was grateful for the thick layers separating himself from Asher. He pulled his heavy mittens on, then wrapped a scarf around his neck and tucked the ends into his jacket, covering his mouth and nose. When he pulled a hat down low, it shaded his eyes as well… which meant there was no way to see the shock and confusion that Simon knew were currently all over his face.
Just the thought of dating someone—anyone—was scary. Simon had been with partners long-term before, but it had only ever been about the sex, the physical connection. Some of them he got along just fine with, others were good friends, like Oli. But dating meant it was serious, meant there were feelings involved.
I like Asher a lot. He’s funny and smart and kind, and just having him smile at me is enough to make my day better. He’s fantastic and caring and ge
eky and a little awkward. But that’s all it is. Just… sex, with someone I really like.
“C’mon.” Asher was definitely oblivious to Simon’s freak-out, as he opened the truck door, sending a blast of icy air into the cab. Simon followed him, clumsy in his layers and thick boots. The ground was icy, and there were scattered rocks everywhere to be navigated, unless he wanted a sprained ankle.
Asher was practically bouncing as they walked. He looked excited, and his face was exposed to the cold, letting tiny ice crystals form in his beard and mustache every time he exhaled.
“Simon, hurry, we don’t want to miss it.”
Asher slipped one gloved hand into Simon’s own, tugging him forward to nudge the scarf down so he could press a quick, heated kiss to Simon’s lips before covering him back up with a grin.
Feelings. Simon eyed the hand in his own, closed his eyes for a brief moment to absorb the heat from where their mouths had pressed together. When he opened them, Asher had stopped a few feet away from the edge of the cliff, and the vast, pristine Antarctic landscape stretched out before them.
“Oh.” Simon’s breath escaped him all at once. “Asher, it’s beautiful.”
From where they stood, they could see the mountain range in the distance, and the flat sheet of frozen sea between them. And the sky was lit up in a million different colors, pale-white clouds drifting over the watercolor painting of pink, orange, yellow, and a hint of blue.
Asher didn’t let go of Simon’s hand, but he did lean over to rest his head on Simon’s, blocking him from the wind.
And then a sliver of gold appeared on the horizon.
It was blinding, but Simon couldn’t look away. He hadn’t seen the sun in four months, and now it was creeping up above the horizon, flooding the scenery with rich orange light.
“It’s gorgeous,” he whispered.
When Asher didn’t respond, Simon pulled his gaze away from the sight to glance over at him. He expected Asher to be just as enraptured by the sunrise as he was… but instead Asher was looking at him.
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