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Clint knows he should be reading about the Monroe Doctrine, since he has a test tomorrow, but he’s spending his time much more efficiently by staring at Phil, who’s working on his chemistry homework. Phil’s pencil is scratching methodically across the page of his notebook, and his hair’s a little messy where he’s been running his fingers through it, his brow furrowed just a tiny bit as he concentrates.
As Clint watches, Phil’s glasses slip down a little, and the other boy makes a disgusted noise and shoves them back up his nose in frustration. Clint can’t help his fond chuckle, and Phil glances up, scowling when he sees Clint is staring at him.
"You’re supposed to be studying," Phil whispers, and Clint’s smile widens into something flirtatious.
"I am," he whispers back. "I can’t help it if you’re so much more interesting than my history notes."
Phil rolls his eyes, but his cheeks go pink. “Whatever,” he mumbles.
Hey, look, Clint’s huge, heavy history book is good for something after all. He stands it up on end, using it to make a barrier that blocks them from the rest of the library. He leans in, beckoning Phil closer.
The other boy glances around warily and then leans in too. “What, Clint?”
Clint resettles Phil’s glasses on his face where his impatient shove has pushed them a little askew. “You should wear these more often,” he murmurs, stroking his finger down Phil’s cheek and along his jaw.
Phil rolls his eyes again. “Yeah, right. They make me look like a total geek.”
"Well, you are a total geek, so that’s all right," Clint says, laughing when Phil glares at him again. "But seriously, they make you look so hot. Wait, maybe you shouldn’t wear them more, I was wrong. This way only I get to see you looking so hot."
Phil hunches his shoulders, embarrassed, cheeks going even pinker, and Clint can’t help himself. He leans in a little bit more, brushing his lips over Phil’s. The other boy instantly freezes.
"Clint," he hisses. "We’re in the library."
"So?" Clint murmurs, hooking a finger in the collar of Phil’s shirt to keep him there. "You got a thing against kissing in the library?"
"People might see us," Phil says, his voice a little panicked, and now Clint’s the one who freezes. He very carefully lets go of Phil’s shirt.
"You don’t want people to see us kissing," he says flatly.
"No! I mean — wait!" Now Phil really looks panicked, and he grabs Clint’s hand to keep him close when Clint is about to back off completely. Clint doesn’t shake his hand off, but it takes a lot of effort not to, and when he stares at Phil, Phil can’t hold his gaze, shrugging and staring down at the scarred wood of the library table. "I don’t… I want… I just… I didn’t think you wanted anyone to see us," he mumbles.
Clint’s eyes go wide, and he stares at Phil for a minute, speechless. “Why would I not want people to see one of the hottest, smartest guys in school kiss me?” he asks, baffled.
Phil gapes at him, his clear blue eyes huge behind his glasses. “Because you’re… you, and I’m… just me.”
Clint hates the defeated, defensive tone of Phil’s voice. The other boy is definitely hot and definitely smart, but he tends to keep himself apart from all the other students, spending time alone in the library or tucked away somewhere with his comic books. And Clint… well, Clint has — by some miracle he still doesn’t understand — become sort of popular since he transferred in last year. People wave at him and know his name and invite him to parties and shit. He really doesn’t get it, because Phil is so much smarter and nicer and cooler than he is, and Clint’s so mad that he might never have known that if they hadn’t been forced to be lab partners in chemistry because their last names are so close to each other.
They’ve been keeping this new thing between them quiet since it started a few weeks ago. Clint hasn’t really wanted to, but he's been going along with it because he thought that’s what Phil wanted. He never in a million years imagined Phil would think Clint was ashamed of him.
He curls his hand around the back of Phil’s neck to hold him close, using his other hand to push his history book over just as his lips find Phil’s again. The book falls with a crash, and the library goes quiet. Clint can feel all the other kids staring, and Phil gasps against his lips but doesn’t stop kissing him, though Clint can feel him shake with nervousness. He scritches his fingers soothingly against the short hair at the base of Phil’s neck, smiling when he feels Phil relax.
Phil smiles back and Clint can feel it against his lips. There are whispers and murmurs and a few cheers, and Clint knows the librarian is going to come over soon and tell them all to knock it off, but for now, all he can concentrate on is Phil’s lips against his, Phil’s breath warm against his skin, and he thinks his life is pretty perfect, for once.
END