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Logically, Caleb knows his students must know things about him. They can draw their own conclusions from the ring on his finger, the cat fur on his coat, the way he lovingly refers to 'his partner' in class, but he's never liked bringing up his personal life to his students. He figures he's just their eccentric literature professor, they'll take his course, pass if they understand the content, and move on.
Online learning has changed this for him. Fjord and him had taken an hour to set up a spot for him to work from in Caleb's study, with a nice ring light and a decent quality camera, as well as a pretty neutral background, with just a book shelf and a table with a lamp behind him. Fjord promises to try and stay out of the video calls, and keep Frumpkin under control as well, but with the DHL being postponed during the pandemic, Fjord is also stuck in the house.
-
Caleb is notoriously bad at using any modern technology. He still uses a projector in his classroom rather than a smart board, and usually prefers to instruct his lectures on his chalkboard anyway, so figuring out how to use Zoom has been a massive challenge for him. Fjord's had to use it a lot more often, with press or team managers and trainers, so he shows Caleb the chat log and how to mute and unmute, and a few other little tricks with it. Caleb wrings his hands nervously, mouse already over the button that should start the class.
"I don't like this." He says, looking at Fjord with concern. His husband chuckles lightly, and pats his cheek.
"I know, but you're so good in regular classes, I know you'll do just fine." Fjord stands up from the spare chair, then leans over to kiss Caleb's forehead. "I'll just be in the living room. Call me if you need anything, okay?" He asks, and Caleb nods, catching Fjord's wrist as he turns to go.
"I love you."
"I love you, too." Fjord leaves the room, smiling at him before shutting the door so Frumpkin can't get in. They've decided to try and put Frumpkin away when Caleb is on calls, but Frumpkin hates being too far from his master, and Fjord tries not to manhandle the cat too much. Caleb wipes his hands on his pants a few times before remembering that his students aren't going to be able to see how sweaty his palms are, then starts the lesson.
It goes much smoother than Caleb could have expected, with most of his students having their cameras already muted, many of them having them off, and his chat log is filled with good, relevant questions that show that his students are still interested in the content he's teaching. The biggest issue is the end, when he's done answering all the questions, and he realizes he has no idea how to close the program down. He glances around the screen, watching as names start disappearing.
"Ah, I cannot find how to..." He mutters, then remembers that Fjord is only a room away, so he mutes his microphone and calls out for him. In the camera, he can see the door open behind him and just Fjord's lower half enter the screen.
"What's up?"
"How do I leave the call?" Caleb asks, feeling a little pathetic. Fjord chuckles and walks him through it, careful to not show too much of himself to the camera. Fjord has been rather private online, being an openly queer professional athlete has a spotlight on him already, and Caleb would rather not have the entire world know that one of the DHL top scorers is married to a geeky little professor.
Caleb checks his email after class and ignores all of the questions about who was in his room.
-
"...so when we talk about hubris, we have to think past just characters like Jay Gatsby. Does anyone have examples?" Caleb asks, leaning back in his chair as he waits for answers. They start rolling in, his students answering with Greek mythology, classic literature, one student calling out "Sharpay from High School Musical" and then having to defend that answer to his classmates. Caleb feels something brush his foot and he looks down to see Frumpkin's big yellow eyes blinking back up at him.
"Oh, hallo." He leans down to pick the cat up, appearing back in view of the camera with the cat settled in his arms. Immediately, the chat is filled with his students asking him about the cat, and two students turn their cameras on so he can see their own cats. He chuckles, squinting at the questions.
"Ah, his name is Frumpkin, he is a fey cat so we don't know how old he is, I've had him for very many years. My husband does not like him very much, so he has mostly been in the basement while I'm in class." He says, and waits for more questions. Most of them are just people surprised he has a husband, a few people are concerned as to why his husband doesn't like the cat, "My husband is allergic to cats, and is very bad at taking his allergy medication. He is on the road for most of the year so he forgets when he is home." He lets Frumpkin settle into his lap, his head just barely in view of the camera, and Caleb continues on with his lesson.
A few times Frumpkin shifts or makes a sound, making Caleb stop and the class explode with comments in the little chat log.
-
"i didn't know you liked hockey, Professor." Toya says, and Caleb freezes, looking at her box on the screen intently. He's been getting better at talking to his students instead of just having them type questions in the chat, especially with this class, where he only has 30 students.
"Was?"
"Your mug! Isn't that the Port Damali Dodgers logo?" She asks, and he looks down at the coffee he's been drinking. He didn't realize he had grabbed one of Fjord's mugs in his rush to start class on time.
"Oh, ah, I don't watch much hockey. My husband is very into it, though." That's a partial lie. Caleb watches pretty much every Dodgers game he can, and records all the ones that are on at times he can't stay up to watch. Any other team he doesn't care for, he just loves to see how fast Fjord can move on the ice, like it's an extension of his body, how quick his stick moves as he takes a shot. He is truly a terror on skates.
"Your husband has good taste, then! They're a really good team!" She says, clearly stalling having to do her King Lear presentation, but he indulges her in the hockey talk anyway.
"I think so, too. I know very little about the sport, but I find all the players very impressive." He hears the door open, and takes a quick peek to see Fjord sneaking into the room, a fresh mug of coffee in hand. This mug is clearly Caleb's, as it's covered in Shakespearean insults, and Fjord is careful not to let coffee spill down the sides of the mug as he steps closer. They changed the camera angle a few days ago to make sure Fjord could come in without being seen, just in case Caleb has another issue with Zoom. Fjord smiles at him as he switches the empty mug for the steaming new one. Caleb mouths 'thank you' at him, and Fjord nods, a sappy-sweet smile on his face. Caleb reaches over and tries to mute his microphone.
"Schatz, I thought I used the last Kurig cup this morning." Caleb says, looking down at the mug on the desk.
"You did, I made a pot with that weird stove thing that Caduceus gave us. It's bitter as all hell, I gotta tell you." Fjord warns, his nose scrunching up slightly. Caleb smiles at him.
"We can go grocery shopping after this lesson is done, ja, or are you busy?"
"I have nothing I'd rather be doing, darlin'." Fjord says, then nods back at the screen. "You're not muted. Hello, Mister Widogast's students. Don't be fooled by him, he is a big softie at heart and loves everything you guys write. Bye." Fjord turns on his heel and leaves the room quickly. Caleb looks back at the screen, and finds Toya with a strange look on her face.
"That voice is really familiar..." She trails off, and Caleb claps his hands.
"So! King Lear!"
-
The next entrance made is far less subtle. Caleb is halfway through a lecture about how Achilles's story being told has changed over generations when the door is flung open and Frumpkin comes scrambling into the room, meowing at the top of his lungs, soaking wet. A second later, Fjord hits the door frame, his shirtless chest soaked in water, a scratch mark on his collarbone.
"I- I am sorry, class." Caleb says as Frumpkin jumps into his lap, hissing back at Fjord.
"Oh you little bastard." Fjord snarles, glaring at the cat.
"What have you two started?" Caleb asks Frumpkin, deadpan. The cat blinks back at him.
"He got into my fern by the front door and I was trying to get the potting soil off of him." Fjord says, rubbing the back of his neck. Caleb sighs heavily, his lap and chest soaked as Frumpkin cuddles in, like getting closer to Caleb will get him further away from Fjord. Caleb lifts Frumpkin's little chin, looking at him in the eyes.
"Now I know you do not always like him, but Fjord is trying to help you right now, ja? So please go be a good kitty and let him clean you up." Frumpkin seems to understand the sentiment, but doesn't move from his spot. Fjord walks over until he's just outside of range of the camera, and Caleb lifts the cat off of him, into Fjord's outstretched arms. Distantly, Caleb is aware of the green forearms on the screen for his whole class to see.
He puts his head in his hand as Fjord walks off, swearing at the cat who begins his yowling once again the second Caleb stops touching him.
"I... I am going to end class early today. Please finish your reading, or do not, I don't care right now." Caleb says, and hits the button before he runs off to end the bloodshed between the two of them.
-
"So, with class coming back into session in person next week, I am asking that you all write a one or two page essay on your favourite piece of media you have consumed since this quarantine began, and I ask that you will submit a printed copy to me on Tuesday. Caleb blinks as a raise hand notification pops up, and he allows Toya to speak.
"I was wondering what counts as our media?"
"Ah, yes, like a show or book, or maybe YouTube videos or short stories? Whatever you would like." He says with a smile, and she taps her chin as if in thought, but it's definitely played up in a cartoonish way.
"So, what if I said that your class is my favourite piece of media?"
"You enjoy my classes that much?" Caleb asks, his heart genuinely warmed.
"I do enjoy your classes, but I'm a sports broadcasting major, so I only took this because I needed a humanities credit this semester. I meant that you have a weird ass home life, sir. Ninety percent of the time, you don't seem to notice that your cat is fucking around in the back of your room, or just randomly poofs in like magic. Your husband is also super funny, and it's really cool to finally know who Fjord Stone is married to." She says with a smirk, and his body goes numb.
"Ha ha... was?"
"It's okay, we won't tell anyone!" She promises, and Caleb sees a wave of comments coming with the same sentiment. Caleb scrubs at his face with his hand, and turns around to see Frumpkin is, in fact, sitting on one of the bookshelves, batting a neon pink sock around.
"Fjord!" Caleb calls, and he can hear loud thumping as Fjord runs over to the study.
"Cay?" He asks, looking tentatively at the screen Caleb is on.
"Would you like to meet my horrible, horrible students? They will keep their mouths shut." Fjord smiles, and walks into the room. He pulls a chair up beside Caleb's, who moves over to let Fjord on camera.
"Hi guys!"
-
In the end, it doesn't matter that the students do all keep their promise to keep quiet about their relationship, because the next day, Fjord tweets a picture of Caleb and Frumpkin both asleep on Caleb's desk with the hashtags " #teacherboss #myhusbandisadorable #thecatiscuteiguess".