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If there is one thing in this world Atsushi can say he positively hates, it’s AP chemistry. Truthfully he isn’t quite sure why he even took the class in the first place. He didn’t like honors chemistry, so why last year during scheduling his younger self decided it would be a good idea to take it was beyond him. It wasn’t just a one and done check mark either, he had to get Mr. Mori to sign off on the class and Mr. Mori was terrifying! It’s not like Atsushi was good at it either. Science was his boyfriend’s thing! The junior preferred art class, he’d even take gym if it meant he didn’t have to take a science class and he’s ten times more likely to be bullied in gym class. Even the bullies were scared of Mr. Mori for god's sake!
The fact that he just simply doesn’t understand chemistry mixed with his near crippling fear of his teacher is what lead him to his current predicament. Atsushi’s unit four chemistry test is coming up and he hasn’t retained an ounce of information for it. If it was any other class he would have simply asked the teacher when he got confused and might have even stayed after class. However, that was definitely not happening! Just because Dazai doesn’t get intimidated by the science teacher doesn’t mean the man doesn’t scare the shit out of Atsushi. Normally Atsushi would just ask Dazai to help him, but like himself, Dazai hates chemistry. Unlike himself the senior was smart enough to not take it and instead take AP physics his junior year. So now Atsushi is left with two options. He either fails or asks his boyfriend, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, to help him study.
Akutagawa was also taking AP chemistry and he was scarily good at it. So good in fact, that Atsushi was terrified to ask him for help. Okay, maybe that really had nothing to do with how good the other boy was at it, but it definitely didn’t help! He was scared Akutagawa would think less of him because he’s not good at it. Yes, he’s aware that it’s a stupid thought and he’s tried to get rid of it, but he can’t help it. Call it a byproduct of the environment he was raised in if you want to. It doesn’t matter what the root of it is because it doesn’t change the fact that Atsushi has horrible self esteem. Unfortunately that transferred over into his and Akutagawa’s relationship.
Atsushi isn’t the jealous type, no that's Akutagawa's role. He’s more insecure over what his partner thinks of him than what other people are interested in his boyfriend. Honestly most people are scared of Akutagawa, so even if Atsushi did get jealous it wouldn’t be very often. The fact that their relationship was pretty new also didn’t help the juniors' insecurities. Sure they’ve been together for four months now, but compared to all the couples around them that's nothing. Chuuya and Dazai have known each other since they were in fourth grade and have been going out for almost a year and a half. Kouyou and Yosano will have been together for a year in February. Ranpo and Poe got together before their freshman year and will have been together four years after graduation! Add the… rocky start Atsushi and Akutagawa had and you get a sulking silver haired seventeen year old who’s pretending to read a book before history class starts. Dazai’s not even sitting in his chair by the time he picks up that somethings wrong.
“What’s up, Atsushi?” The senior questions after throwing a wink at his redheaded counterpart across the classroom (he gets a middle finger in return).
“Oh it’s nothing, Dazai.” Atsushi doesn’t look up from his book as he answers, hoping the pages will be enough to shield him from the evaluating eyes of his friend.
“Is it about the chemistry test?” Dazai asks and his look grows incredulous when Atsushi doesn’t answer. “Atsushi you still haven’t asked him to help you?” Dazai exclaims, throwing his hands in the air for dramatic effect.
“Quiet down! The whole school doesn’t need to know!” Atsushi shrieks, closing his book in favor of clasping his hands over the seniors mouth.
“Mphhghp.” Dazai tries to speak around Atsushi's hands before giving up.
“Did you just lick me?!” The junior yelps, ripping his hands away like he’d been burned.
Dazai didn’t have a chance to respond before he was being cuffed upside the head by a familiar blue eyed senior. The brunette sank in his chair with a pout that had Chuuya rolling his eyes before carding his fingers through dark hair, a silent way to appease the childish man before he decided to be dramatic.
“What are you both yelling about? I can hear you from across the classroom.” Chuuya asked, reprimanding tone more focused on his boyfriend than Atsushi.
“Atsushi won't just ask Akutagawa to help him study. He’s a big fraidy cat.” Dazai provoked, earning himself a sharp tug that he looked a little too pleased about… oh.
“I’m sure he’ll say yes, so what's the big deal?” Chuuya asked, settling into his seat before throwing his legs over Dazai’s lap.
“It’s just, what if he thinks I’m an idiot for not getting it.” Atsushi relented, eyes cast down towards the table.
“Atsushi, the guy he looks up to most didn't even bother taking the class, and you think he’s going to look at you differently because you’re struggling?” Well, when Chuuya put it like that it sounded kind of stupid.
“I guess you have a point.” Atsushi mumbled while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
“Who has a point?” A comforting low voice asked that made Atsushi jump.
“Ah Akutagawa, just the man we were talking about! Atsushi wanted to ask you about something.” Dazai proclaimed, effectively throwing Atsushi under the bus.
“Oh? Well, what is it, Jinko?” Akutagawa asked as he took his seat next to his boyfriend.
“Well, um, I was wondering if you could help me study for the chemistry test!” Atsushi all but word vomited, squeezing his eyes shut so tight colors exploded behind his eyelids.
“Yes, I can help you. What time?” Akutagawa questioned, completely unfazed by the request or the way Atsushi asked.
And that’s how Atsushi ended up toeing off his shoes in his boyfriend's mudroom after school. It wasn’t the first time he’d been to Akutagawa’s house, that was when they had just met in sophomore year and had been paired together for a history presentation. He actually spends a large majority of his time outside of school and work here. With his homophobic adoptive parents and Akutagawa’s parent’s always away on business trips, it was the best place to hang out with just each other. After the talk he had with Chuuya he wasn’t bouncing off the walls with anxiety. Now that he realized how ridiculous he was being, Atsushi was actually a little bit excited to study with Akutagawa, minus the study part of course. That part was just going to suck, but the teen was hoping to convince Akutagawa to let him sketch the raven haired boy after.
Atsushi trailed behind Akutagawa who was making his way towards the kitchen. He didn’t have to ask why, they’d studied together before so Atsushi knew the routine. This time he was aware it was going to be more like a tutoring session than their normal studying, but Akutagawa treated it the same. The older junior started brewing tea while Atsushi took his normal perch on top of the island, gently swinging his feet so they stayed out of his boyfriend's way. The first time Atsushi had sat on the counter he’d immediately jumped off and started apologizing after he realized what he’d done. It was a habit he picked up when he was younger that he never bothered to break. Akutagawa really didn’t mind, not then and certainly not now. Now when they wait for the tea kettle to whistle Akutagawa finds himself standing between his boyfriends legs with Atsuhsi’s arms wrapped around him.
“How was your day, jinko?” Akutagawa asked, jinko being an ode to Atsushi's obsession with drawing tigers.
Atsushi hummed in thought. “Better now. What about yours, Ryuu?” The artist questioned right back.
They both made small talk about their day until the tea was finished and then made their way upstairs to Akutagawa’s room. It was a spacious area and they had a number of places they could have studied, from the large desk in the corner of the room to the carpeted floor that Atsushi had spent hours on end sprawling out on and taking in the sun that filtered through the window. None of those options interested Atsushi. Today he flopped down on Akutagawa’s bed and patted the spot beside him when his boyfriend looked at him with a confused face. The other boy set down their tea on his bedside table before gracefully sitting down next to his counterpart's starfished form. When Atsushi saw Akuatagawa still giving him a strange look he flashed him a bright smile that had the other going pink before grabbing both their bags.
“Atsushi, are we seriously studying on my bed?” Akutagawa got his answer as Atsushi started pulling out his chemistry binder.
“Yep! That way when I cry from frustration your pillows are there to comfort me.” Atsushi only half joked because he had done that before.
Akutagawa only sighed in response as he pulled out his own binder. Originally he wasn’t even going to study for this test, but if Atsushi needed help he would gladly do so anyway. He already knew his boyfriend was struggling with the class, courtesy of Dazai’s inability to keep secrets, and he had simply been waiting for the jinko to ask for his help.
“So where do you want to start?” Akutagawa questioned while flipping through his notes to find section four.
“Uhm… the beginning.” Atsushi said even though his tone of voice sounded more like a question.
From there they got to work. Akutagawa was patient with him and would sometimes have to go over the same thing two or three times until Atsushi got it, but he never got annoyed with him. The older junior was a surprisingly good teacher and Atsushi picked up more in the time they were studying than in the last two weeks in class. After about an hour they were half way through the unit, though there was one teeny tiny little problem. Atsushi was now fully engulfed in something that was definitely not balancing redox equations. He had been paying attention really well and he had tried to stay attentive but it was hard. How was he supposed to keep paying attention when his boyfriend was so devastatingly good looking?
From the way the sun caught his eyes at just the right angle to make charcoal grey glitter steel down to the old band t-shirt Akutagawa had thrown on when they got here, the one that's neck line was just loose enough to show his defined collar bones. The sunlight accentuated his already pale skin and made it look positively heavenly. The way the black to white strands of hair, that were just long enough for him to occasionally push behind his ear, framed his face accentuated how handsome the other teen was.
As if that all wasn’t distracting enough, the way Akutagawa would absentmindedly use his tongue to play with his snake bite piercings was making it difficult for Atsushi to breathe. Long, lithe fingers with painted black nails were making it hard to focus on anything they were pointing at, so instead Atsushi let his sight follow them. They lead up to one of Akutagawa's many ear piercings where they started spinning it in a habitual movement Atsushi recognized, he did it all the time in history class. Atsushi's eyes trailed down to the singular silver chain his boyfriend wore all the time, a gift from Akutagawa's sister, Gin, that had a black and red charm on it that Atsushi played with whenever they cuddled and he needed something to do with his hands. The long column of Akutagawa's neck was exposed when he threw his head back with an exasperated sigh and he had to be doing this on purpose because there’s no way someone can effortlessly look this good.
“Are you even listening, Jinko?” The sound of Akutagawa's voice broke Atsushi out of his fixation and good lord even his voice was ridiculously attractive.
“Huh? Oh, yeah I totally was.” Atsushi attempted to play it off even as his face burned scarlet.
“Atsushi, if I’m not doing good at this you can tell me. We can always ask Chuuya for help. He did take the class last year.” Akutagawa suggested, which immediately had his boyfriend shooting up from his spot laying stomach down on the bed.
“No, Ryuu you just taught me more than Mr. Mori has this entire year. I just got distracted.” Atsushi reassured, grabbing one of the hands he had been fixated on earlier and squeezing gently.
“What made you so distracted?” Akutagawa asked, and innocent question from his point of view.
“... Would you believe me if I said the logistics behind weretigers?” Atsushi tried, hoping his boyfriend would drop the subject and go back to explaining specific heat.
“Not a chance. Now you have to tell me, jinko.” Akutagawa smiled in a way that promised results and Atsushi buried his head in his hands.
“No, it's embarrassing!” The silver haired teen groaned, rolling away from his boyfriend and straight off the bed as Akutagawa tried to pull his hands away.
“More embarrassing than that?” Akutagawa laughed as he helped pull Atsushi back up.
“Yes.” Atsushi’s voice was muffled as he let his red face fall into his partner's stomach, landing on top of him after being hoisted back onto the bed.
Reluctantly Akutagawa let the subject drop as Atsushi made himself comfortable in their new position. It was obvious he had no intentions of moving soon. Despite this fact Akutagawa still tried.
“We still have to finish studying, you know.” Akutagawa reminded, even as he started drawing patterns on Atsushi’s back; he had already resigned to his fate, but at least he could say he tried.
“Later.” Atsushi mumbled “Right now I have something more important I need to do.”
Akutagawa raised a thin eyebrow.” And what would that be, jinko?” He asked, even though he was starting to put the pieces together.
When Atsushi hoisted himself up so he could rest his forehead on Akutagawa’s, his boyfriend wasn’t surprised. The older teen just flashed him a soft smile as Akutagawa grabbed his waist and gently bumped their noses. Atsushi bit back a grin, this was much better than looking at the papers they were surly wrinkling at the end of the bed.
It was Akutagawa who made the first move, placing a chaste kiss to his boyfriend's lips that had Atsushi giggling. Akutagawa held back a groan because that was adorable. When Akutagawa kissed him for real, Atsushi melted. It was soft and languid. There was no rush behind it and Atsushi could feel the affection that was poured into it. He shivered lightly as he kissed back, hands finding purchase in the loose fabric of Akutagawa's t-shirt. It wasn’t long before lazy kisses turned into something more, they were teenage boys after all.
Atsushi wasn’t exactly sure how or when he ended up under Akutagawa, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. The feeling of his boyfriends hand up his shirt was enough of a distraction that even if he wanted to complain, he couldn’t. The skilled tongue he had watched toy with two metal rings earlier was being put to much better use by coaxing low moans from Atsushi, who was eager to accept the tongue in his mouth as soon as Akutagawa had pulled at his bottom lip with his teeth. Atsushi had buried his hands in his boyfriend's hair and was lightly tugging at the strands between his fingers. It was messy and hot and exactly what Atsushi had tried not to think about doing the entire study session. The younger teen made a sound of pretest when Akutagawa stopped kissing him and tried to tug him back down. It only earned Atsushi a chuckle before Akutagawa's mouth was back on him. Not exactly where Atsushi had tried to pull him to, but this might just be better. Akutagawa had taken to kissing down Atsushi's neck, stopping to suck and bite lightly at his pulse point right under his jaw in a way that had Atsushi arching against him and whimpering. He continued his path down until he got to the curve between Atsushi's neck and shoulders. There he started leaving large, very noticeable hickeys before making his way back up to mark the rest of Atsushi's neck. The silver haired male would probably freak out later about trying to cover them up, but he really couldn’t find it in himself to care as his eyes rolled back at how good it felt and his head swam in a sea of euphoria.
It’s safe to say that neither of them noticed when Gin opened the door, a question on the tip of her tongue about whether or not they wanted to come downstairs and hang out with Higuchi, Tachihara, and herself. Her eyes went wide and she quickly shut the door, trying to be as quiet as possible so things weren’t awkward later. When she walked back downstairs her face was still light pink because that was embarrassing. Tachihara didn’t seem to notice.
“Well? Are they still studying for their chemistry exam?” Tachihara asked, looking at Gin expectantly.
“There’s definitely chemistry.” Was Gins answer, which only served to confuse Tachihara and make Higuchi give her a light pat on the back.
Over dinner Gin made sure to tell her brother to lock the door next time he was going to make out with his boyfriend instead of studying. Akutagawa choked on the water he was sipping while Gin gathered the dishes like she hadn’t said anything. When Atsushi came over the next day to finish studying, Akutagawa made sure to lock the door. Dazai didn’t stop making fun of him for a month after he found out and Atsushi was mortified. However, that didn’t stop him from making out with his boyfriend again when they were supposed to be working on an English project, or when they were doing textbook work for history, or when they were doing their math homework.