[ COLLEGE AU PT. 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO ]

[rettangolo]

[ gyro is 100% convinced that that faux-date with kakyoin went swimmingly. sure, it ended up with them hastily removing themselves from the premises, and sure, he has a huge bruise on his side from where he kind-of-sort-of-failed to benchpress kakyoin (he holds to his explanation that he would've done better if kakyoin didn't eat so much fucking bread), but they had a good talk. at least, he thinks they had a good talk. stuffy do-gooder kakyoin isn't nearly as stuffy or do-goody as gyro thought, at the very least.

these are things that he finds prudent to reveal to a choice few classmates the next day, incidentally. he's early to class for once, mostly to get himself a good seat in the corner of the room, where he swings himself up on the desk and motions for a few of the more upbeat guys to huddle around so he can totally tell them how noriaki drank almost a whole bottle of wine on his own after he totally sweettalked a 60 year old italian woman. scandalous, right? noriaki's a good guy, gyro says, and everyone should be chill to him.

it's during the middle of a particularly rousing story about how kakyoin suavely shoved gyro aside and insisted to pay for their dinner that gyro catches a glimpse of the hero of the story out of the corner of his eye— a nyoho later, he raises a hand and waves to his project partner, clearly not awkward at all about the fiasco of the previous night.

the rest of the class turns to look at kakyoin

and a few girls giggle... what has gyro done. ]

Comments

[splashdamage]

[ he definitely shouldn't have had that much wine. also, his shoulder hurts from getting dropped on the floor. also, he has homework to catch up on today because he got nothing done last night, his wallet's a little lighter than he'd like, and he woke up just late enough that he couldn't grab coffee on his way to class. kakyoin's definitely feeling a little ornery as he heads to class, but so long as he keeps to himself, like always, then there shouldn't be a problem.

in theory.

his expression is its usual, stern neutral as he pushes open the door, but that lasts for about all of five seconds. the stares, the giggles, the soft muttering from someone in the front row are enough to make him tense up, shoulders drawn in tight, and the moment gyro waves at him, everything clicks into place.

kakyoin gives gyro a withering stare that could curdle paint; it's only their classmates' curious stares that cuts it short. ]

... good morning, Gyro. You look like you're having fun.

[ it's a carefully constructed greeting that's both an accusation ('what did you do') and a complaint ('i'm not enjoying this!'), said coolly as he drops his gaze to the floor. and though he lingers unsubtly near a desk at the very back of the classroom, he ultimately goes to his usual place nearer the front, unfortunately close to where gyro's seated. he's too proud to admit gyro's beat him just yet. ]

[rettangolo]

[ a few of the girls in the class giggle again, as kakyoin moves seats and gyro opens up his laptop; one classmate even steers himself closer to kakyoin as if he wants to ask him if it's true, if gyro really did benchpress him in public, but the withering stare gyro receives in lieu of a smile tells him that it's probably. not very smart to ask. yeah.

once everyone settles and the lecture begins, once their professor turns his back to them to start writing an outline on the whiteboard next to the powerpoint, gyro tosses a wadded-up note at kakyoin's head.

if opened (he'll keep throwing until kakyoin opens one), the note reads: ]

get online

add me: 'gogozeppeli'

[ is he inviting kakyoin to IM him during class, the answer is yes, absolutely. ]

[splashdamage]

[ he can already feel his ears burning just a little bit, his cheeks the slightest bit hot, and kakyoin opens his laptop with just a little too much force when he hears someone to his right giggle. all that time spent cultivating an inconspicuous, inoffensive image, and gyro's managed to demolish it within minutes. how.

and of course, he doesn't even get the dignity of pretending nothing's going on. the first note that bounces off his hair, he responds to with a a brief glare and a barely-audible huff. the second, he flat-out ignores. but the third one makes him realize gyro isn't a man so easily dissuaded from being an utter nuisance.

it only takes him a minute or two to read the note, crumple it up, then fiddle with his laptop. and as soon as gyro accepts the friend request from 'ktenmei', he immediately gets a message: ]

I need to talk with you after class

[ followed by: ]

If you're going to slack on the project at least pay attention during lectures

[rettangolo]

[ gyro will systematically make sure that kakyoin doesn't ignore him, mark his words. the cheeky grin on his face gets wider as he sees the new contact on his list, even wider still when the chat client alerts him to the prim message. ]

you know you can talk to me now, right

'talk'

[ the professor glances towards gyro, who seems to be diligently taking notes, for once. unsurprisingly, gyro is good at utilizing his pokerface when necessary, at the drop of a hat— his expression falls into something contemplative, fingers moving in rhythm with the lecture.

let it never be said that zeppelis don't know how to keep up with appearances. gregorio zeppeli's taught gyro well. ]

besides i already started

want to see the awesome cover slide and the transition animation

[splashdamage]

[ not only has gyro ruined kakyoin's track record as 'nondescript, elusive, not-that-interesting loner,' but he also comes dangerously close to ruining the diligent, squeaky-clean image that kakyoin's cultivated around the professors. because that claim of 'talking' right then and there is enough to make kakyoin's expression crinkle into one of very strong and obvious ugh.

a stern glance from the professor has him coughing to cover up that slip-up, and kakyoin's poker face doesn't budge this time when he answers gyro. ]

Pay attention during class

Don't even think about running away when we're dismissed

[ and then a brief pause. kakyoin switches windows to actually takes notes for a few lines before returning to the chat. ]

You can show me after class

[ that's good incentive for gyro to stick around, right? ]

[rettangolo]

[ it's a little amusing, watching kakyoin fumble like this. gyro isn't sadistic enough or malicious enough to continue sabotaging kakyoin in a classroom environment, but he does continue conversing for the sake of conversation, because he's actually read the material that this class is on, for once, and the lecture is largely just a recap of what he already knows. score. ]

i'm not gonna run away, relax

i'm damn sure you're not going to try kicking my ass in front of the whole class, anyway

[ or would he...? gyro's been surprised, before. he's compelled to grin, but the professor still seems somewhat suspicious that zeppeli's awake and taking notes today; gyro's expression remains steeled and steady. ]

[splashdamage]

[ that message pops up on his screen, and kakyoin sits back a little in his seat, frowning. hand cupping his chin, one finger tapping thoughtfully at his lips, he frankly looks more like someone trying to outmanuever a chess opponent than someone reading an IM message.

which might be appropriate, since he kind of considers gyro a weird sort of opponent. someone whose motives he still can't quite pinpoint. ]

I won't

So long as you don't give me a reason to

So we can talk after class.

ktenmei has signed off.

[ he gets the sense that gyro is juuuuuust childlike and petty enough that he'll hang around after class just to make sure he gets in the last word. so kakyoin shoots him a smug sideways glance, then pointedly returns to his note. ]

[rettangolo]

[ childish? petty? surely not, gyro zeppeli is the posterboy of being above it all and mature.

which is totally why he interprets kakyoin's messages as a challenge instead of a very sensible 'we-need-to-talk' statement, and responds in kind by very purposefully taking his sweet-ass time packing up after the lecture, until all the other (still curious) students have left to shuffle off to their next one.

once the coast is clear, he speaks up. ]

So? What did you want to talk about. If you're going to ask me if I told anyone anything incriminating about you—

[ and he stops midsentence, considering all his options regarding where he can take this sentence. ]

—I'd have to ask you what your definition of 'incriminating' is.

[ nailed it. ]

[splashdamage]

[ of course, kakyoin's the type to be neatly packed up within moments, ready to leave the classroom and discuss these matters outside -- but gyro takes his sweet time lingering. standing awkwardly next to his desk, waiting for gyro to be done, kakyoin's stuck silently glowering across the room until it's just the two of them left in the classroom. ]

I'll have you know -- [ edging his way between the rows of desk, kakyoin crosses his arms over his chest when he stops before gyro. ] -- I've actively tried to avoid drawing any attention to myself, so I don't have any reputation whatsoever. So the moment you start saying anything strange, there's nothing to balance it out, and -- ... ... ugh.

[ he could easily keep doing, but something about standing in this classroom, actually saying it out loud, while looking gyro in the face makes it hard to sustain any level of real anger. something about the insufferable, smug, but really-not-actually-malicious look on gyro's face makes his irritation fizzle out anticlimactically, and kakyoin sighs as he brushes a hand through his hair. ]

... you know what, never mind. Just don't say anything else about me.