It was now two in the morning, and Simon was glad his shift was over, having spent the last two hours screwing up everything he could think of.

He knew what had happened and what had messed up his mind, but he didn't want to admit it out loud. Jess's looks were enough. Whenever he dropped something or the bar was suddenly wet, she'd glance in his direction with a knowing look and Simon would quickly turn away so she wouldn't see his blushing cheeks. 

This was exactly why he didn't want people he knew coming into this bar. 

He folded his uniform, consisting of black jeans and a black t-shirt, into his backpack as he changed into his civilian clothes and looked in the mirror before leaving the changing room. He ran a hand through his hair, then frowned. He never cared what he looked like when he left work in the middle of the night, but he knew exactly why he had just done it. He was an idiot. 

He hadn't seen Chase anywhere before he'd gone into the changing room and he was beginning to think he'd changed his mind. Maybe it was a good twist of fate, but Simon couldn't help feeling disappointed. After all, he'd promised him he wouldn't lie.

When he returned to the bar to say goodbye to Jess, his eyes scanned the crowd, but still nothing. He wasn't going to let that get him down, though. He'd tortured himself for weeks over Max, he wasn't going to do it again. 

"Do you want to grab a coffee when you wake up?" he asked Jess. Usually when they worked together on Friday nights, or rather Saturday mornings, they had a tradition of having their 'morning' coffee together. 

"Sure. Text me." 

With his plans made and his clothes changed, there was no reason to stay at the bar any longer and Simon made his way to the entrance to leave. 

"I hope you're not too tired," a voice suddenly came from behind him and he turned automatically. Chase was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, watching him. 

"You could have come in, you know?" He couldn't help the reproach. After a few hours on the job and at this late hour, Simon was a walking honesty as his mind wasn't working properly. 

"I know." He pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to him. "But I know you don't like your friends visiting you at work. I didn't want to push the boundaries any further." Friends. Simon couldn't help but notice the word he'd used. Although he had no idea what to call this new relationship of theirs, Chase clearly had no problem with it. 

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and pretended it wasn't a big deal, even though the word kept running through his head. Thankfully, Chase didn't say anything else to stun him, instead reaching out to him. Simon automatically took his hand and intertwined their fingers. 

"So, your place?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. 

"Would you rather we go to yours?" Chase asked his own question. 

Simon thought about it, but then shook his head. "No. It's still a mess." Even though it had been almost a week since he'd officially moved in and had all his things there, that didn't mean he'd managed to tidy them all up in their new official location. There were boxes all over the floor, and he'd been eating off two plates for the past few days, not wanting to unpack any more. 

"You found a new place?" Chase sounded surprised. From his perspective, Simon had only become homeless a few days ago and probably thought he was sleeping on a friend's couch. 

"My friends helped me look and then moved in. Asher's place looked like a warehouse for a while," he revealed. Technically it was true, it just didn't fit the timeline. 

Chase chuckled at his words and Simon was glad he hadn't made a big deal out of it. Now was not the time for serious conversations, and fortunately he wasn't the only one who realised that. 

"I'd offer to help with the cleaning, but honestly I can't think of a worse way to spend the time," Chase noted with humour in his voice. 

Simon nudged him with his shoulder and Chase took a step aside before rejoining him and they continued on their way to his apartment. "Thanks for being so helpful." 

"Anytime," Chase assured him with a smile.

Simon debated for a moment whether to reveal that he'd been helpful anyway, but in the end decided against it. 

Together they reached Chase's apartment complex and, as before, took the stairs instead of the lift. 

"You're seriously testing my stamina," Simon declared as Chase unlocked the door.

"Not yet." Chase turned to him with a cheeky grin and then opened the door. He took Simon's hand again before stepping inside and pulling him along with him. 

"You can put your stuff wherever you want," he told him, but he kept pulling him along and Simon let him. Together they made it to his bedroom and Simon almost blushed as his eyes fell on his bed and his mind decided to remind him of what had happened in it. 

Chase let go of his hand and Simon automatically dropped the backpack from his back and leaned it against the wall. 

The brunet walked over to the wardrobe and started pulling out clothes. Simon immediately noticed that he wasn't just picking out one pair of clothes and hoped that didn't mean Chase wanted to take a shower with him. Not that he minded having sex in the shower, but this time he was at work, which meant he smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. Not an attractive combination. 

Luckily, Chase understood that too. "You can shower first." 

Simon didn't need to hear any more and went into the bathroom. He knew what he came here for and the sooner they got to the sex part the better. Less strain on his sanity. 

He quickly stripped and for a moment considered locking the door, but then decided against it and stepped into the shower. At first he just stood under the stream of water before he finally picked up the shower gel and began to wash himself. 

Although the bartender's job might have seemed easy, moving around the same small area all the time, it was actually more exhausting than people thought. Not to mention that it took a toll not only on his body, but also on his mind. 

When he was done, he allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment and leaned his head back, letting the water fall on his face. Standing under the warm water was making him sleepy, but he was sure that Chase would take care of that soon enough. 

Chase.

Simon still wasn't sure how it was possible that he was the only man he could kiss without feeling guilty, which was a huge paradox, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

Speaking of kissing, Simon only now realised that he hadn't done it yet. Not that he'd expected him to greet him with a kiss as if they were a couple, but they'd kissed at the door before and now nothing. 

He didn't want to make a big deal out of it though, so he turned off the water, stepped out of the shower and began to dry himself off. He quickly threw on some borrowed clothes as well and then went to look for the owner of the apartment. 

"Chase?" He spoke his name as he came out of the bathroom, but got no answer, so he moved to the kitchen. He had no luck there either, so he headed for the bedroom. 

"Bathroom's free," he announced and Chase lifted his head. He was sitting on the bed, phone in hand, and it looked like he was texting someone. 

"Great." He recovered quickly, put the phone down on the bed and stood up. A small smile played on his face. "You can wait for me in the living room. I have no idea what's on TV at a time like this, but you can find out," he suggested, and Simon immediately nodded in agreement. The less time to think the better. 

Chase took the clothes and Simon's hand and led him into the living room where he handed him the remote control and then disappeared into the bathroom. Simon waited until he heard the water running before he pressed the button and turned on the TV. 

He flicked through the channels until he came across an action film that looked like it was in the middle of a story, but he couldn't find anything better, so he decided to try and figure out the plot. 

In the end, he got so caught up in the film that he didn't even notice that he couldn't hear the water running. He didn't realise until the door opened and Chase sat down on the couch next to him. 

He smelled of shampoo and shower gel. That was the first thing Simon noticed, and then he realised that they both actually smelled the same now. 

"What are you watching?" Chase asked, snapping him out of his thoughts about his scent. Thankfully. 

"Some action film," he answered vaguely, still not sure what he was watching. 

"Is it any good?" He asked next.

"Sort of," another vague answer. This small talk was definitely not his forte, so he decided to gather his courage and move on to a less embarrassing activity.