#ty hayden I haven't written them since apsides which is honestly terrible of me bc I love them

[polkadotpatterson]

OH lachlan and simon + 30?

takes place at the end of S21, right before Lachlan's trade to the Tigers

30: laying their head on the other’s shoulder

There aren't any stars to be seen tonight even from the roof, the clouds persistent in covering them up. Lachlan might consider this a bad omen if he hadn't spent plenty of beautiful starry nights up here with Simon only for new and exciting terrible things to happen in the game the next day anyway. Once you've witnessed firsthand what blaseball weather can do, you never really feel like complaining about the regular weather anymore.

“Hey!” Simon pokes him, jolting him out of his thoughts. “You're not paying attention to me! I didn't come all the way from Charleston on the eve of an election just to be ignored, you know.”

“Right, because Charleston’s so far away from everywhere else.” Lachlan declines to poke aer in return and kisses the top of aer head instead.

Ae grins. “I mean, that's kind of the point, right? It's not far from anywhere. No matter where you go, I can be right there when you need me.”

“They want to send me to literal hell, Comet.”

“And I can easily visit you there! C’mon, you know there are worse places to be than literal hell.”

He does know that, yes. It's not so much about the place itself as it is the sentiment. Being taken away from the team by feedback was one thing; fans may have celebrated it, but it was out of their control. With the wills, though, the fans don't have to wait for the feedback to take him again. They can finally get rid of him themselves.

“The Tigers will love you,” Simon continues. “Because the Beams love you. And you're just lovable, of course.”

Lachlan snorts. “Tell that to the fans.”

“I have been! For years! They never listen to me.”

“Not to mention that the Beams only love me because I just won them the underchampionship.”

“And do you regret that?” Ae already knows the answer.

“No.”

Regardless of what it meant, hitting that grand slam had felt good. It wasn't for the Talkers, or the Beams, or the fans, or the leaderboards. It was for himself.

“I know it's only a possibility,” Lachlan continues. “But it feels so… real now. It's not their main plan, but it's a plan. It could really happen if enough people want it to. Or even just if one person wants it to and I get really unlucky.”

Simon tilts aer head to the side. “How unlucky would it be, really? I mean, yeah, it's hard to adjust to changing teams, we know that, I'm not downplaying it, but… if you had to go somewhere, well, I think a lot of people would pick the Tigers, if only for safety. They're sending you somewhere you won't die. Not a lot of people get that opportunity.”

No, they don't. But Tony had taken Lachlan's place in Halifax and burned, and Simon had taken Lachlan's place in Charleston and been cursed by a god. Would Lachlan be dooming someone else by going to Hades?

“I wouldn't have to worry about you so much,” Simon says softly. “I wouldn't have to check the weather every morning to see if you're playing in an eclipse, or panic every time I get a notification during a game because it might be telling me you're dead. And… and I know you would still have to do that for me. But I want you to be safe. Being in Hades might not be the most fun thing in the world, but… I want you to be safe.”

“Yeah,” Lachlan manages. “God. I hate that this is what safety means. Leaving home. Feeling guilty that so many others are still vulnerable. I know it might not even happen, but I already hate it.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better,” Simon’s grinning again. “You also might get to kill some umps. I think that would be pretty fun. And sexy.”

Lachlan sighs. “I'm not you. You'd kill umps and look damn good while doing it. I'm the kind of person who hides if they look at me funny.”

“Hey, I'm not going to be killing umps anytime soon, can't I live vicariously through you?” Simon nudges him. “C’mon, give yourself some credit. If you can hit a grand slam in the underchampionship and stare down the fans, you can stare down an ump when you're fireproof.”

“Well, I need to be fireproof first. Might not even happen.”

“Might not,” Simon agrees. “But no matter what happens tomorrow, I'm gonna run right over from Charleston and find you wherever you are, okay, Human?” Ae shifts even closer to him.

Lachlan rests his head on aer shoulder and closes his eyes, too tired to talk about it anymore. “Okay. Yeah. Thanks, Comet.”

Neither of them look up after that, but if they did, they'd see a few stars start to twinkle above.