#grace x reader

Teaching had never been part of her original plan. Academia was. Research was.

Discovering something new and being surrounded by people who were just as curious about the world as she was. That was where she thought she belonged. At least, that was what she believed.

Now, she was standing in the same hallway, holding a cup of coffee that wasn't hers because someone had forgotten theirs again.

"You know, most people remember where they put their coffee."

Y/N leaned against the doorframe of Grace's classroom, watching as he placed decorations around the room for the end of the school year.

Grace looked back at her, smiling slightly as he recognized the cup in her hand.

"You forgot it in my classroom."

He reached out for the coffee, and Y/N handed it to him. "Again."

"Why, thank you, Dr. y/l/n."

"You're welcome, Dr. Grace."

The familiar exchange made both of them smile. It was strange how something so small had become normal.

Months ago, she barely knew the science teacher across the hallway.

Now, she knew exactly where he kept his spare coffee packets, which students always forgot their homework, and how long he could talk about a single scientific concept before someone had to remind him that his class period ended five minutes ago.

And somehow, he knew just as much about her.

Grace walked back toward his desk, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Don't you think it's weird?"

"Hm?"

"The rumors."

Grace immediately knew what she meant. "Oh boy."

Throughout the semester, students had been "shipping" their math and science teachers whose classrooms faced each other. And honestly? Y/N couldn't blame them. There was evidence.

They had lunch together almost every day.

They left school at the same time.

Mr. Grace started bringing an extra coffee every morning.

They spent afternoons planning lessons together, arguing over whether science or mathematics was more important, and somehow always ending up agreeing that both were.

And neither of them questioned when the other became part of their routine.

Grace chuckled while erasing the board, while Y/N sat comfortably in his teacher's chair. "Honestly, it's amusing."

"You enjoy it?"

"Not necessarily."

"That sounded like a yes."

"It was an observation."

"Of course it was."

A comfortable silence filled the room.

The kind of silence that only existed between people who had spent enough time together that they no longer felt the need to fill every second with conversation.

Then Grace spoke.

"So what are your plans after this school year?"

Y/N looked up. The question was casual. Too casual.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "That's a suspiciously specific question."

Grace paused. "It is June."

"That's not an answer."

He looked back at the board. "I was curious."

Y/N smiled slightly. "Well..."

She looked around the classroom. At the posters on the wall. At the projects displayed on the shelves. At the small reminders of the students who had spent the year learning inside these walls.

"I might start applying to research positions again."

The sound of the eraser stopped.

Completely.

For a moment, Grace didn't move. Y/N noticed immediately. "Ryland?"

"I'm fine."

"You stopped erasing the board."

"I was thinking." Slowly, he continued cleaning the board. But something about him had changed, and Y/N noticed. Of course she noticed.

She had spent months learning how to read Ryland Grace. She knew when he was excited. She knew when he was frustrated. She knew when he was pretending not to be either. And right now, he was pretending.

The following days passed differently. Not dramatically. Not enough for anyone else to notice. But Y/N noticed.

Grace started knocking before entering her classroom.

He stopped assuming they would have lunch together.

He stopped waiting outside her classroom after the final bell.

And instead of his usual: "See you tomorrow, Dr. y/l/n."

He started saying: "Have a good evening."

It was polite. Professional. Normal. And somehow, that made it worse. Because normal was what they were before. Before coffee. Before lunch. Before spending hours together arguing about presentations and experiments. Before she became someone he looked for when something interesting happened.

Y/N told herself it was probably nothing. Maybe he was tired, and the end of the school year was stressful. Maybe grading hundreds of papers had finally caught up to him.

But deep down, she knew. Something had changed.

The last day of the school year arrived faster than either of them expected.

The hallways were quieter. The classrooms were slowly being emptied. Teachers packed their belongings while students celebrated the beginning of summer.

Y/N stood outside Grace's classroom door. Normally, she would have walked in. Normally, she wouldn't have thought twice.

But now she hesitated.

Then she opened the door anyway without knocking.

"Did I do something?"

Grace, who was organizing papers on his desk, immediately looked up. "What?"

Y/N stepped inside. "You've been weird."

"I am always weird."

She sighed. Not the playful, annoyed sigh he was used to—The serious one. The one that meant she already knew something was wrong. And unfortunately for him, Ryland Grace noticed everything.

"Y/N..."

"What's wrong, Ryland?"

The change in nickname made him freeze. She only called him Ryland when she was serious or upset

He looked down, and for once, he didn't have an immediate answer. That alone scared her, because Ryland Grace always had an answer. Finally, after a long silence, he spoke.

"You might leave."

The words were quiet, almost like he was afraid saying them louder would make them real.

Y/N's expression softened. "Ryland..."

"You mentioned returning to academia."

"I said I was considering it."

"I know."

"And?"

He looked away, and that told her everything. Because Ryland Grace was many things. Brilliant. Stubborn. Overly analytical. A person who could explain complicated scientific theories without hesitation.

But feelings?

Feelings were different. Feelings were the one thing he couldn't solve with logic.

"I thought I was being reasonable." Y/N frowned.

"Reasonable?"

He played with his fingers. A nervous habit she had noticed months ago. "I thought if you left, I would adjust."

She stayed silent.

"I have adjusted to many changes before." He looked around the classroom.

The same classroom where he had met her. The same hallway where she had first introduced herself. The same place where she somehow became part of his everyday life.

"But I don't think I want to adjust to this one."

Y/N felt her chest tighten. "Adjust to what?"

The question was quiet. But Grace knew there was no avoiding it anymore.

He took a breath.

"To you not being here."

Silence.

"I know that sounds selfish."

"It doesn't."

"I don't want you to stay because of me."

His eyes finally met hers. "I don't want you to give up something important because of what I want."

A pause.

"But I also don't want to pretend that it wouldn't matter."

His voice became softer. "When you first arrived, you were just the new teacher across the hallway."

Y/N smiled faintly. "Very welcoming."

"I was adjusting."

"You were terrified of talking to me."

"I was not."

"You absolutely were." A small smile appeared on his face, then it faded.

"Then you became someone I discussed lesson plans with."

A pause.

"Then someone I ate lunch with."

Another pause.

"Then someone I looked for whenever something interesting happened."

Y/N's expression softened.

"And somewhere along the way..." He swallowed. "...you became part of my life."

The room went quiet. Not uncomfortable. Just full.

"I don't want you to stay because I asked." He stepped closer. "I want you to stay because you want to."

Y/N looked down. Because that was the thing—She had been so focused on whether she belonged in academia that she forgot to ask herself another question.

Did she still want the same thing?

She thought about research. She loved discovery. She loved learning. She loved finding answers. But she also loved watching students have that same moment of discovery.

The moment when something finally clicked. The same way it had during the SciMath Fair. When a student saw their prediction work. When they realized science wasn't just memorizing facts. When mathematics wasn't just numbers

It was curiosity. It was wonder. It was exactly why she fell in love with academia in the first place.

Except now, she didn't have to be the person discovering everything. She could be the person who helped others discover.

"Ryland..."

He looked at her.

"I think I finally understand something."

"What?"

She smiled softly. "When I wanted to go back to academia, I thought I was chasing the part I loved."

She looked around the classroom. "But I think I was chasing the feeling."

Grace listened quietly.

"And teaching gave me that feeling too." A small smile appeared on his face.

"I don't want to leave because I hate this."

She looked back at him.

"I wanted to leave because I thought this wasn't enough."

A pause.

"But it is."

Grace's expression softened.

"Y/N."

She smiled. "I think I want to stay."

For a moment, Ryland didn't say anything. Then: "That is good."

She laughed.

"That is your response?"

"I have several responses."

"Of course you do."

"But that was the most accurate one."

She shook her head, smiling.

And somehow, after everything, after months of arguments and experiments and coffee and routines... It felt like the simplest answer.

The thing they had both been looking for.

Not an equation.

Not a variable.

A constant.

"Also," Y/N added.

"Hm?"

"You still owe me coffee tomorrow."

Grace blinked.

"Tomorrow?"

She smiled.

"Yes. Tomorrow."

And for the first time in weeks, Grace smiled like he believed it.

"See you tomorrow, Dr. y/l/n."

Y/N smiled back.

"See you tomorrow, Dr. Grace."

~

The principal stood at the front with the head teacher of each department. "Good afternoon, everyone! One of the most important events of the school year is coming up again in a week." She greeted the room.

"Let us hopefully finalize our decisions today, so that we may prepare properly."

The meeting went by slowly and agonizingly for some, but for y/n, it was like she stepped into a new world. The event was about showcasing the students' talents, mainly in the Science and Mathematics areas. Certainly something y/n would love.

It was composed of three main events: science fair, quiz bee, and a seminar. "For the math and science presentation..." The principal tapped on her clipboard.

"We were thinking Ms. y/l/n and Mr. Grace."

Y/n's eyes widened as she heard her name while everyone looked at her and Grace. "S-sorry. Me?" Y/n speaks up, confirming if what she heard was right.

"Yes, Ms. y/l/n. Even though you are a very new teacher at this school, the students seem to have grown a great liking for you since the arrival of Mr Grace at this school." The principal smiled at y/n.

"So it is only fitting for the two teachers that are greatly liked by the student population to be this year's speakers."

Across the room, you could hear teachers whispering at each other something along the lines of "that makes sense".

Y/n was speechless. Yes, she has done presentations to a large crowd back in academia, but now that she has learned that teaching kids is way different from teaching scholars, she was absolutely terrified.

The principal looks through the gap between her glasses, "Would you want to switch partners?" Y/n hasn't realized that she was silent for a few seconds too long.

"Oh! I wouldn't mind pairing up with Dr. Gra— Sorry, Mr. Grace." She looks at Grace, who was equally baffled across the room.

"And you, Mr. Grace?"

Grace blinked, almost as surprised as she was. Not because he thought she was incapable, but because he couldn’t understand why she would think she was. "I think Ms. y/l/n would be a good partner."

The room went silent.

Half of the room stared at Grace while the other stared at y/n.

'Good partner?' y/n thought, about to explode from embarrassment.

Grace realizes how it sounded and immediately speaks up. "For the presentation. I mean. Professionally."

"Professionally," one of the teachers repeats, suspiciously.

The principal silently chuckles, "Alright, let's move on." While Grace thumps his head onto the table, trying to hide from embarrassment at the realization of what he had said.

3 hours later, the meeting finally ended later that evening "Have a great night too, Mrs. Cesar!" Y/n waved to her friend as she went back to her classroom to collect a few more belongings before going home.

She sees a figure standing in the dim hallways and immediately recognizes him. "You know you made that sound worse, right?" Y/n fiddles with her keys as she locks her classroom up for the night.

"I was aware approximately three seconds after saying it." Grace closes his classroom door.

"Only three?

"I was calculating the damage."

"You were calculating?" She faces Grace.

"Yes."

Y/n slips her keys into her pocket and starts to walk down the hallway, Grace following close behind, "Of course you were."

"Have a great night, Dr. Grace," y/n teases Grace as she pushes the door to the exit.

Grace gives her an annoyed look. "Have a great night too, Dr. y/l/n."

"How do you know that...?" Y/n stops mid-step, looking back at him.

Grace shrugs with a smile and walks towards his bike.

"You forgot to lock your classroom door again, by the way," Y/n informs him as she passes his bike.

"And you only told me when we're already in the parking lot?!" Grace rushes back inside the building, y/n chuckling to herself.

After getting home, Y/N found herself staring at the unfinished notes for the SciMath Academic Fair. She had already written down possible topics, schedules, and a rough outline, but there was one problem.

She needed Ryland's input.

Y/n grabs her phone and opens her messages. She taps on Grace's Name. They exchanged numbers after Grace left his lesson plan in y/n's already locked classroom.

Y/N: Are you free tomorrow after classes to start planning the presentation?

She was about to put her phone back down, expecting to wait for a few minutes for Grace's response. But to her surprise, the reply came almost immediately.

Mr. Grace (GCM Science Teacher): Yes.

Y/n stared at the screen. That was suspiciously fast.

Y/N: That was quick🤨

Mr. Grace (GCM Science Teacher): I was already thinking about possible topics.

Y/N: How many ideas do you have?

The typing bubbled appeared and stayed there for a few minutes. That alone was concerning.

Mr. Grace (GCM Science Teacher): Seven.

She thinks about it for a second and actually agrees that maybe a few of his ideas would come in handy. They did have to prepare a 2-hour presentation.

Y/N: Alright. Let's discuss them tomorrow after classes

Mr. Grace (GCM Science Teacher): See you.

Y/N: You using periods in texts makes u more scary than formal, btw

Mr. Grace (GCM Science Teacher): Oh

~

Classes had already ended 30 minutes ago at Grover Cleveland Middle, and y/n was finalizing her ideas to present to Grace when he came over.

She hears her door opening, then footsteps walking towards a desk.

His usual spot.

"You know, most people knock before entering someone's classroom." Y/n didn't even look up.

"You stopped reacting after the third time."

"That doesn't mean it's allowed." She finally looks up to see Grace setting his coffee and laptop down on his usual table.

Grace glanced at the desk in front of her, where multiple papers were neatly arranged into different sections.

"You made an outline already."

"Yes."

"How many pages?"

Y/N hesitated. "Six."

Grace looked impressed. "That is less than mine."

She slowly looked up. "You have more than six pages?"

"I have seven ideas."

"Alright, talk me through them, then." Y/n leans back on her chair, crossing her arms.

"The first section should introduce the relationship between mathematics and science," Grace explains, pointing at his notes.

"Okay."

"Then we can discuss mathematical patterns found in nature, followed by physics applications, then molecular structures—"

"Grace."

"Yes?"

"We have two hours, not two semesters."

An hour passed, and Grace and y/n switched ideas for their presentation. Some were more playful than helpful, but they got through with it—barely.

"Math is the foundation," Y/n pointed at the now messy whiteboard, filled with their ideas. "Science is the reason we know how the universe works," Grace says intently, with his glasses barely hanging from the side of his face.

"And how do you think science describes those things?" She crosses he arms, leaning against the whiteboard.

Grace was silent for a moment. "...With mathematics."

"Exactly."

"That doesn't prove your point." He rolls his eyes.

"Oh, it absolutely does, Dr. Grace." Y/n teases, walking back to her table to grab a few notes.

"Students should understand how math appears in everyday life." She reads from her notes.

"Students should experience science instead of memorizing it, Dr y/l/n." Ryland teases back.

"Mmm," y/n hums in annoyance, looking at her notes, then back at the whiteboard full of ideas.

Silence envelops them as they try to smash ideas that don't sound overcomplicated for students, but still educational and engaging. It was definitely not as simple as six times seven or saying 'mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.'

Then a click.

"What if students predict the outcome before the experiment?" Y/n jumps up, looking at Grace.

"Using mathematical models." Looking back at her, clapping his hands.

They look at the board. The separate ideas now connect. The plan suddenly makes sense.

"Oh my god, finally." They both sigh in relief.

The next few days were a blur for the two teachers. Teaching in the morning and meeting up in the afternoon to prepare for their presentation. It was now Friday, and they were a bit behind schedule, which was putting a lot of stress on both of them.

"We still aren't done with the models and experiments." Y/n thumps her head on her table.

"Technically, we're seventy percent done." Grace attempts to comfort her.

"How will we be able to finish it when it's the weekends tomorrow?" She groans, not wanting to work over the weekend. "We certainly can't bring home those models."

"We can meet up."

Y/n looks up from her table to stare at the science teacher who was testing out the ramp for their experiment. "Where, exactly?"

"I dunno. Maybe the local library downtown?"

She smirks, finding a perfect opportunity to tease Ryland. "Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Grace?"

Grace immediately looks up at her, eyes blown wide and cheeks concerningly red. "I— no. I mean— not that—"

He stops.

"I mean, professionally."

"Calm down, I was kidding." Y/n stands up and stretches. "Let's pack up and continue this tomorrow, yeah?"

He finally relaxes his shoulders, standing up from the floor. "Alright." He stretches too. "Let's leave these models in my room, since the PowerPoint is the only thing we have to finalize."

Y/n nods in agreement and starts to carry the models they have prepared all week to Grace's classroom.

It takes them both a while to clean up as they have been grinding on preparing for the presentation for 5 days straight. Eventually, they did finish and go to their respective homes, teasing each other on their way.

The following day, they meet up at the local library after lunch. Grace arrived first since he lived closer, and definitely teased y/n for being 4 minutes late.

Y/n realizes this was the first time she had seen Grace outside of the campus. He was wearing one of those dumb science pun t-shirts, reading "I wear this shirt periodically," and it made her chuckle to herself.

"What's funny?" Grace raises an eyebrow.

"Nothing."

They choose a quiet corner, sit down across from each other, and turn on both of their laptops.

"Okay." Y/n sighs. "You work on the design, I'll finalize the diagrams."

"Why assign me to the design?" Grace whines.

"You have a better-designed classroom." Y/n taps away at her keyboard.

Ryland cheekily smiles. "Is that a compliment?"

"Don't let it get to your head."

It was quite a productive afternoon. Double-checking the information, practicing their speech, and making sure the presentation was as engaging as possible.

"Hey, can you double-check this? Science stuff." Y/n gets up and walks over to the seat next to Grace, carrying her laptop.

Grace leans closer to her to read the symbols over the numbers in their digital print-outs. "Yep. Ready to print." He gave her a thumbs-up.

Y/n nods and stands up to print the materials, but Grace stops her by holding her wrist. "Uh.."

"I'll pay." He notices the firm grip on her wrist and immediately lets go. "Sorry.. Uh— I'll pay. Since you paid for the materials for the models and all."

"You sure?" Y/n sits back down, "That's a lot of pages, considering we're teaching two whole grades."

Grace smiles, "Don't worry, I'll manage."

He stands up and makes his way to the front desk to print the papers. It takes a few minutes, and he comes back carrying a thick stack of papers. "You know, I expected you to argue with me more."

"About what?" Y/n looks up from her crossed arms on the table.

"About paying."

"I was going to."

Grace places down the thick stack of papers on the table, "But you didn't."

"I was tired."

He sighs, clearly sensing y/n's exhaustion. "I'll organize these, you go take a quick nap or something."

Y/N looked at him for a moment, slightly surprised. She expected another explanation, another argument, another unnecessary amount of information. "Glad to help." She places her head back down onto her arms and immediately dozes off.

Grace stared at her for a few seconds, almost impressed by how quickly she fell asleep. "That was efficient," he muttered.

The next few minutes were filled with Grace silently stapling papers and grouping them across the table. But the silence was then interrupted by a teacher in the same school passing by.

Grace immediately spots him and waves. "Should I ask?" Mr. Roland glances over at y/n, who was taking a nap beside Grace.

"Huh?" He stops organizing the papers and looks up at him.

He raises an eyebrow. "You two are spending a lot of time together."

"We're preparing a presentation."

"Sure."

"It is literally for school."

"I didn't say anything." Mr. Roland shrugs.

Grace furrows his eyebrows, more jokingly than annoyed, "You implied it."

The two teachers wave each other goodbye as Grace tries to finish organizing the papers as fast as he can, so that they can both go home and rest.

Fifteen minutes pass, and a growing hand cramp from stapling the papers. He was finally done, and y/n was still asleep. He hesitated before waking her up, switching between whether he should shake her awake or call her name.

He had considered letting her sleep longer, but the library was closing soon. He sighs and gently shakes her awake, feeling too guilty about it. "Hey."

Y/n's eyes flutter open, and she realizes she was still inside the library. "Oh— hey."

"I finished organizing the papers. We can go home now." Grace places his glasses on his nose properly.

Y/n smiles, relieved that their week of preparation is finally done. "Yayy." She quietly celebrates, stretching from the chair.

Grace watched her for a moment, amused by how genuinely happy she seemed about something as simple as finishing a presentation.

A few weeks ago, he barely knew her beyond the fact that she was the new math teacher across the hall.

Now, somehow, she was the person he spent his afternoons arguing with about mathematics, science, and whether seven ideas were too many ideas.

And strangely enough, he didn't mind.

~

It was the early, cold hours in the morning at Grover Cleveland Middle. The teachers were busy setting up the school for the event, and so were the two teachers in the auditorium.

"There are so many seats." Y/n stands on the stage, staring at the seats prepared for the students. "What'd you expect? It's a school-wide event." Grace's voice echoed throughout the auditorium with a mic.

Y/n walks back and forth on the stage, trying to let herself get used to the spotlight, as she was not the type to perform well in front of many people. "Nervous?" Grace asks, now near the tech-booth.

"Is it obvious?"

"Maybe."

A few hours passed, and it was finally time for their presentation. Students filled the sets, teachers from different departments were watching, and Grace and Y/n's models were displayed on the stage.

"Now let me introduce you to this year's speakers." Mrs. Cesar excitedly speaks into the mic. "Ms. y/l/n and Mr. Grace!"

The students recognized the names of their favorite teachers, and the auditorium was immediately filled with cheers and laughter. Y/n and Grace appeared from the side, mic in their slightly shaking hands.

They both smiled and waved to the audience. The teachers were expecting a normal lecture and the students to slowly doze off, but Grace spoke up, "Before we begin, I have a question."

The students look interested. "How many of you have ever guessed what would happen before something happened?"

Many hands raised, Grace and Y/n were genuinely satisfied with the audience's participation. "Knowing your friend would be late because they always are, guessing it will rain because the sky looks dark, or knowing your sibling took your food because they always do."

Students laugh, then y/n steps forward. "And whether you realize it or not, you just used something mathematicians and scientists use every day."

The students ask around in hushed conversation along the lines of "...math?"

"Exactly!" Y/n smiles.

"And science," Grace adds, making y/n look at him.

"Don't steal my introduction."

"I added one word." The students laugh.

Y/n takes over and explains, "Math isn't just numbers on a page. Math helps us find patterns."

She shows examples of calendar patterns, music patterns, then shapes in nature. A picture of a sunflower flashed on the screen and students see a spiral pattern.

Y/n asks: "Why do you think plants grow this way?"

The students guess, and she adds, "We don't just notice patterns. We can measure them."

Grace speaks up, "And once we measure something, we can test why it happens."

The presentation goes as planned. A ramp, a small cart, a ruler, and an activity sheet were provided for every ten students. Grace and Y/n give a demo on how the experiment will play out and explain as they go.

"There are three variables: the height of the ramp, the distance travelled, and the time," Grace explains. "You will test the height of the ramp and predict how far the cart will travel."

The two walk around the auditorium, watching students play with the cart and ramps they worked all week to make. Answering questions in the process and explaining it to the whole auditorium for the rest of the students to understand further.

Y/n teaches the students to look at the numbers, not complicated formulas students were used to. More like: "If something changes, what pattern do you notice?" She helps students think logically. "Math helps us make an educated guess."

Grace explains why it happens. "The experiment doesn't work because math says it should. The math helps us understand what we observe." He doesn't make science about memorization. He makes it about curiosity.

Thirty minutes pass, and Grace asks if there is a group that can volunteer to show their work. A group of fairly confident students raise their hands and go up to the stage with thier ramp and cart.

"The cart will go twice as far." A student confidently says. "Based on what?" Y/n tries to challenge the student.

"The numbers.

"Very good answer." She smiles, proud that the students are actually learning.

Grace chimes in, "Now we test if your prediction survives reality." The students unexpectedly laugh.

One of the students from the group releases a cart, and everyone watches. The cart goes farther than expected. "WAIT, IT WORKED!" They jump.

Grace and Y/n smile at each other, realizing that this is what Grace actually meant by students don't just memorize...

They get excited.

More experiments were carried out by Ryland and Y/n. With the students very active participation, they were very much motivated to keep on going.

Near the end, they explain: "Without mathematics, science would have difficulty describing what we observe."

"And without science, mathematics would only be patterns without the world to apply them to." Grace adds.

They look at each other because this is literally what they argued about days ago. Their argument became their presentation.

The program has now moved on to the question-and-answer portion. A student raises their hand and asks, "So who is better? Math or science?"

Ryland and Y/n look at each other. The room gets quiet, and they expect a serious answer.

"Math," Y/n speaks. "Science," Grace talks over her.

"They're like an old married couple, arguing." A student whispered over to her homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher laughed, correcting the student. "They're not married." "I know."

More questions were answered, and the end of their presentation finally came. The students clapped and cheered, together with the principal and teachers.

One of the teachers whispers: "They're surprisingly good together."

The auditorium slowly grew quiet as students and teachers left, moving on to their next event. Grace and Y/n were left alone in the auditorium, sitting down on one of the audience's seats.

"That went better than expected." Grace sighs in relief, glasses barely hanging from his face.

Y/n looked back at him. "You expected it to fail?"

"No."

He paused. "I expected at least twelve things to go wrong."

Y/n laughs at the obnoxiously specific number, "Only twelve?"

"Fourteen, actually. Two happened."

"You counted?"

"Of course."

The auditorium was again filled with silence as the two reminisced about their more-than-successful presentation.

"Thanks for being my partner, Grace," Y/n speaks up.

Grace stands up, about to start cleaning up. "You mean professionally?" Y/n catches the joke and laughs, also standing up to help with the clean up.

"Don't start."

~