Chapter Text
Three school days before the start of the holiday recess, history teacher Liam Dunbar stood in the science wing. He was peering into a classroom, a specific one, watching the teacher inside. Admittedly, it was total creep move but Liam couldn’t help it. Besides, he had forgotten his coffee mug inside the teacher’s car and really need a cup of joe to get through the rest of the day. It was fifteen minutes into the second period when Liam had found himself in the place he’d been many times this week.
Outside Theo Raeken’s classroom.
Liam observed the way Theo’s biceps pushed against the seams of the light pink dress shirt he was wearing, or how freaking good his legs looked in those khakis. He’d picked up on the way his face broke out into a rare grin when a student got an answer right, or the way Theo’s tongue poked out of his mouth and he bit down on it with his teeth when debating who to call on. Liam’s favorite was when Theo was sitting at his desk, grading while students worked, and how he’d stick the reverse side of the pen in his mouth, swipe it across his bottom lip, then swirling his tongue around it. That one drove twenty-four year old Liam crazy.
It was still creepy no matter how many times Liam tried to tell himself he was just… making observations.
“Gazing longingly like a stalker in a horror movie? It’s the fifth time I’ve caught you this week and frankly, I’m concerned.” Wray Patterson, a fellow history teacher, nudged Liam’s shoulder and asked the question everybody that had passed Liam had wondered. Liam turned his head to the side and up, and rolled his eyes at his roommate and friend. Wray was taller than him, even more so in heels.
“I’m not gazing longingly,” Liam scoffed. “I’m assessing his ability to teach students about… uh…” From Liam’s favorite spot, he could only see straight into the classroom through the class cut out. That allowed him to see Theo 80% of the time, and about half of the first row. Liam tried to readjust his view into the classroom so he could see the dry-erase board. Wray rolled her eyes and went right up to the small glass rectangle cut out in the door to look inside.
“Punnett Squares,” Wray informed him with a chuckle, turning around to face Liam again. He gave her a fake smile and rolled his eyes. Wray heaved a sigh before linking arms with Liam and dragging him out of the biology wing, all while mumbling about unhealthy stalking habits.
Theo shook his head, amused when he noticed Wray’s face in the window of his classroom.When she pulled away, all he saw was Liam but Liam was looking at Wray. She pulled the history teacher from Theo’s point of view, snapping Theo back into reality.
“Right, so, when you have-”
“Mr. Raeken?” A boy from the front row named Richie called out, lazily raising his hand. Richie was a bright kid but he hardly ever tried in class.
“What’s up?” Theo responded, trying to cap the annoyance building in his mind.
“Why does Mr. Dunbar always lurk outside your classroom?” Richie asked, causing the whole class of fifteen-year-old biology students to crack up.
“Mr. Dunbar is… um… he’s special,” Theo said in a bumble, feeling the red-hot blush creep up his neck and onto his cheeks. “We live together… I’m sure he just forgot something and needed my car keys.” Theo coughed loudly and turned back to the dry erase board, drawing a small blue b next to the brown one already in the square.
“So you see, it’s a 1 in four chance that this family will produce a-”
“Is Mr. Dunbar your boyfriend?” Sheila, a boisterous girl in the back row asked.
“No-”
“So then why do you live together?” Another student piped in, encouraging all of the class to chime in with their own questioning sounds. Theo groaned, loud and exaggerated.
“You have an exam on this tomorrow.” Theo reminded them, capping the marker and throwing it toward his desk in defeat. He erased the board quickly then leaned back against it with his arms crossed over his chest. Theo Raeken was one of those teachers. Everyone wanted to have him teach them bio or psychology, every parent loved him, he was famous in the school district. He was also a really good teacher who made the best effort at creating a great relationship between him and his students. Kids would come and talk to him about some of their own personal issues, to ask for help in other classes, and sometimes just to talk. So that’s why right now, Theo had only a small number of qualms about throwing in the towel and caving into a personal discussion.
“You’re a good teacher, we’ll pass,” Richie assured him with a smile.
“Just tell us about the forbidden love affair between you and Dunbar!” Sheila exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement.
“Oh my god, it’s like Romeo and Juliet! The science department versus the history and department!” Sheila’s friend, April, commented. April and Sheila then engaged in a frantic jazz-hands and clapping… a thing that twenty-six-year-old Theo didn’t understand.
“We are not a pair of star-crossed lovers set to die for the purpose of love. Besides, there’s no need to bury a non-existent rivalry between the two departments.” Theo explained, feeling himself get flustered. He may love the close relationship he had with his students but talk about Liam Dunbar with them was risky. He had a class of tenth graders right now and half of them had Liam for Global History 10 next.
“Um, Mr. Raeken? You and Dunbar almost got fired after the science department won staff color wars and he broke your nose,” Richie pointed out, tentatively.
“Richie, can it,” Theo shot back. Now he was done, too much Liam talk made him way too fuzzy. “He didn’t break my nose, and I’ve known him long enough for that to barely even matter. Anyway, we live together because I inherited my parents’ house when they died and I can’t pay for the house so he and four other teachers are my roommates. End of story.” Theo clapped his hands together and walked back over to his computer. He queued up a Christmas rom-com on Netflix, then went to drop the projector screen and turn it on.
“Now, considering you all don’t give a damn about your education and Christmas is in five days, let’s just watch this cheesy movie on Netflix and think about our life choices.”
“Ms. Patterson, why can’t we just watch a fun movie like every other class is doing?” A freshman named Lexie dared to ask. Wray stopped mid-pace and raised her eyebrows in a challenge to the bratty girl.
“Lexie, consider your grades before asking me that. Now, loves, pop quiz on Rome!!” Wray grabbed a stack of papers from her desk and smiled upon hearing the chorus of annoyance from her students.
“Ms. Patterson, we don’t know anything about Rome!” A kid from the middle row of desks protested. Wray’s smile grew even more.
“It’ll be totally ungraded,” She explained, much to the relief for the overachievers. “More for me to assess what some of you know and what you don’t. It’s a fairly simple quiz, ten questions. You’ll all be fine. Lynn, would you be a doll and pass these out.” Wray handed the stack of papers to the small girl before retreating to her desk to work on some grading. She pulled up her cell phone timer once she settled in her spinning desk chair.
“You’ve got the rest of the period which is twenty minutes and your time starts now!” Just five minutes in and almost finished with one essay, the door burst open. Lydia Martin, head of the maths department, frantically rushed into Wray’s classroom, needing the history teacher ASAP. Wray normally noticed her because of her high heels but today it was because of her panting breath.
“They’re fighting again,” Was all she needed to say, or wheeze, before Wray was tearing out of that classroom as fast as her high heels allowed. She was at the end of the history wing and practically sliding into Liam’s classroom when she heard the shouting. Having lived with them for the past year and a half, and having known Theo her whole life, she knew they could both yell. Loudly, she might add. But they were at least somewhat in control when at school. Clearly, today was a day where both of their sexual needs were at their peak. Grossly enough, Wray had noticed that whenever either one of them was sexually frustrated (it was often) they took it out on the other by yelling and getting into brawls in the living room.
“-What the fuck is your problem today, Theo? I told you, I needed your goddamned car keys!” Liam shouted.
“You always need my keys, you’re so forgetful! Why can’t you just drive in with Wray?” Theo yelled back, not noticing how the mentioned teacher was slowly pulling open the classroom door. They were too wrapped up in one another. Anyone looking at the two of them could see it. The way Liam only stood up around Theo, or how Theo tended to stand directly adjacent to Liam in any crowded room. They looked at one another like their opposite was a shake-shack without a line. Liam went out of his way to get Theo to laugh and Theo always let Liam rant about history whenever his class rejected his rants.
“Because Wray is obsessed with Christmas music! It’s driving me crazy,” Liam seethed, taking a step closer to Theo.
“Christmas isn’t year round, Dumbar!” Theo fired back, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. Liam ignored the warmth of his body he felt when he looked at Theo, arms crossed like that. He blamed it on the anger.
“I like your car better, is that such a crime?”
“Yes, it’s a crime! When I have students stopping me in the middle of my crucial lesson to interrogate me about you and our friendship and my living situations all because you needed your fucking coffee mug, it’s a criminal offense!”
“Oh, you’re talking about criminal offenses?” Liam asked rhetorically, glaring at Theo harshly. It was a step over the line and he knew it but he was so… angry.
“Seriously, Dunbar? That’s where you’re going to go at ten in the fucking morning?” Theo spat the question in a mocking tone.
“Why couldn’t you just keep teaching?” Liam asked. “Ignore them, move on. You’re meant to be this fantastic bio teacher and this great psych teacher but what the hell are you doing if you can’t get your own class to shut up?”
“I fucking tried my best an-” Theo was cut off by Liam going off on a tirade that not even the best negotiator could talk him down from.
“Oh, like hell! You hardly try, Theo. Everything just comes easy to you, it’s practically suffocating how fucking perfect you are. You try at, max, five things: the gym, getting laid, having nice hair, making sure Wray cooks Mexican at least once a week and hating me!” Liam counted all five off on his wingers, waving his hands wildly in front of Theo’s face.
“First off, Li,” Theo started, his voice lowering and his feet carrying him closer to Liam. “I’m not perfect, you of all people know that. Second, there are about over a dozen more things I care about that go before all of that bullshit. You’re starting to sound like Stiles! And for fuck’s sake, I don-”
“Stop it!” Wray yelled, stumbling into the room with Lydia hot on her heels.
“Both of you need to stop. Theo, you’re going to come with me and Lydia you’re going to stay here with Li. He has a class next period and make sure he’s calm before that.” Wray dished out instructions before grabbing Theo’s hand and leading him out of the classroom.
It was before the sixth period of the day started and Liam was on his lunch break. Somehow he had found himself back at his favorite spot, right outside Theo’s classroom. This time, though, he dared to enter. Theo’s classroom was terrifyingly organized. Everything was labeled, squared away, and neatly stacked. His desk was clear of any clutter, save for a few stacks of to-be graded tests Theo was working on. Liam leaned back against the wooden classroom door before he cleared his throat and started to speak.
“Why do we do this?” Liam asked, without any indication as to what he was talking about. But he and Theo had the secret language of unspoken connection on their side so sometimes auxiliary words could be left out. Theo lifted his head up, eyes drifting from his grading pile to Liam.
“Do what?” Theo asked, playing dumb. Then he started to do the pen thing again and Liam had to bite down on his lip, drawing minuscule amounts of blood to fight the urge to groan.
“Fight,” Liam said when he had recomposed himself minorly. “We’re like best friends so why are we always fighting?” Theo ignored the sadness that hit him when Liam said best friends. He had gotten used to suppressing his feelings, though, he knew Liam would never like him back.
“Fighting is a natural part of a friendship, Li,” Theo noted, standing up from his desk so he could lean against the shorter edge of it. Liam took that as an invitation to venture farther into the classroom, closer to Theo. That’s what Liam wanted, to just be closer to Theo.
“Dude, you got me sent to the hospital in college,” Liam mentioned with a lighthearted laugh. Theo visibly winced and dropped his head so Liam couldn’t see his blushing embarrassment. The punching bag incident wasn’t Theo’s finest hour.
“I was wasted,” Theo defended, talking to the floor. “I had failed an exam that day, got dumped, rejected for sex, and did I mention I was wasted?” It was no hidden secret that Theo was a lightweight, even with his size, the guy could hardly hold his liquor. It didn’t help that whiskey was his drink of choice.
“Soo wasted that you mistook me for a punching bag?” Liam mocked him, poking Theo’s shoulder teasingly. He left his finger there, slowly adding the rest of them until he was drumming his fingers on Theo’s arm. Theo blushed at the touch and got redder when he said his next words, eyes still looking at the linoleum tile.
“Actually,” Theo started, running a hand through his soft floppy hair before letting his gaze rise and meet Liam’s interested blue eyes. “I thought you were someone else so I tried to kiss you. Then I realized you were you, and then I mistook you for a punching bag. True story.”
“Wait- you tried to ki-” Liam was cut off when the door to the classroom opened and students poured into the room, the two teachers too distracted to even notice the bell had rung. Liam pulled his hand off his older best friend, taking a small step back. It was Theo that caught his wrist and pulled him back. Theo got up in his face, his lips brushing against Liam’s ear but not in the context Liam would have liked.
“I did try to kiss you and I’d be lying if I said you weren’t into it,” he whispered, breath hot. Liam’s heartbeat rose with every word. “We’re not talking about this ever again. Now run along, Dunbar.” Theo pulled back and released Liam’s wrist, expecting the shorter teacher to run screaming. He didn’t. Liam composed himself, then looked at Theo, challenge showing in his eyes. In a voice reserved for teacher-to-teacher conversations in front of students, they continued to speak.
“Try not to get that wasted at the faculty party tonight. No telling who your next kiss victim, I mean, punching bag victim will be.” Liam winked, smirking just like Theo would have.
“Oh goddamnit,” Theo sighed, rolling his eyes at himself. He’d been stupid to tell Liam the other details of the punching bag incident. Liam quickly stepped back toward Theo, noticing the classroom was nearly full now.
“Stiles is bringing whiskey,” Liam singsonged in Theo’s ear before making finger guns and walking backward out of the classroom. Theo let out a sound of colossal frustration, closed his eyes, and let his head drop back.
“Dunbar, you suck!” He yelled out when he knew Liam was about to leave the classroom. Liam laughed, wholeheartedly, before the door closed and the bell rang, starting the period. Theo was ten minutes into his lesson on Punnett squares for the third time today when a student rudely interrupted him. Reluctantly, Theo called on the kid sitting in the front row named Patrick, hoping this question would be quick.
“Mr. Raeken, when are you and Mr. Dunbar going to just like get together?” So much for a quick question, Theo thought before he internally screamed.
“I hardly see the correlation between that and Punnett squares,” The science teacher said, trying to keep his voice even.
“Your kids would have like sick eyes, man.” Jason, every classic high school movie’s stoner added from the back of the class. Theo’s mouth dropped slightly in shock before he literally facepalmed. Today was not the day for Punnett squares, apparently.
“Jason, he’s a dude, he can’t get pregnant,” Theo responded in the calmest way possible. Clearly, he needed to spend extra time on the reproductive unit.
“I’m just sayin’ you guys would have hot kids.” Jason continued, therefore causing the invasive rose colored embarrassment by-product also known as blush to cover every inch of Theo’s skin.
“But seriously, Mr. Raeken, he totally likes you,” Another student chimed in.
“I’ve known him for six years, I think I’d know by now,” Theo told her.
“People do weird stuff when they’re in love,” She countered.
“I punch him when I want to tell him I love-GODDAMNIT!” For the second time today, Theo capped his expo marker and threw it off his desk, watching as it pinged off his desk and toppled onto the floor.
“Okay, class is canceled for today, you’re helping me figure this out. You guys are my brightest class, sans Jason.” Theo rolled his eyes, watching the flurry of his cheering students put away their notebooks and relocate themselves to a more comfortable spot in the classroom. Theo himself sat up on his desk, hooking his ankles together and refraining from crying over how insufferable this day was. He just wanted to talk about Punnett squares.
“Well the faculty Christmas party is tonight, isn’t it?” Patrick mentioned. “Ms. Patterson and Mrs. Yukimura were talking about it. That could be a good time.” Theo chuckled darkly, knowing he would have to disclose sensitive information in order to create a plan with the class of fifteen students.
“Now, kiddos, remember that nothing leaves this classroom. For the next half hour I’m taking off my tie, and I’m no longer your teacher.”