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Ringo walked into the classroom on the first day of their school year, excited to be sharing this class with George. But the minute he stepped inside, he saw George kneeling on the floor and their new professor bent over next to him as they picked up a pile of loose leaf paper scattered across the floor.
He immediately ran over and began to help, but by the time he was over there, the papers were all picked up, and before he knew it, George was standing up, knocking their heads together.
“Oh, shite!” He turned away from Ringo and rubbed at his head. Ringo did, as well, but when he met George’s eyes again a few seconds later, there were tears in them.
“Whoa, George, you alright?” He grabbed onto George’s head to check for any major injuries, but George gently pushed him away.
“I’m fine, Richie. My head’s fine.” With a huff, he hurried over to a seat near the back of the hall, and the professor gave Ringo an odd glance.
“H-hi. I’m Mr. Rogers, it’s so nice to meet you.” When he extended his hand out, Ringo shook it.
“Hey, I’m Richie.” Despite the little meeting they were having, he couldn’t help but trace his eyes back to where George was sitting. “I should probably go find a seat before class starts…” The professor nodded, and Ringo walked back to where his boyfriend was near pouting in the back row.
“Rich, I’m sorry,” he said. “Your head okay?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m okay.” He sat down and intertwined their fingers under the table. George sighed and allowed him to keep them in his grasp for a bit.
-
When he got home that day, George was already home tucked away in their bedroom, and Ringo could hear the sound of the scratchy, untuned radio from the front door.
Dropping his bag on the couch, he made his way back there, peeking in the door before announcing his presence. When he saw George snuggled up under his blankets at four o’clock, he called out for him.
“George?”
George turned around. “Mhm?”
“Love,” he said and crawled into the bed with him. “You okay? Did you have a bad day today? I didn’t see you after that class.”
“I came back here,” George admitted. “I dunno. I just wanted to be alone. Didn’t want to start the year like that.”
Ringo frowned as he rolled over and backed into George so that George could wrap his arms around him. “Alright, then. You gonna be ready tomorrow, then?” No reply came, so Ringo closed his eyes. “Well, you know if you need anything during the day that you can find me.”
Instead of an answer, he heard a sniffle.
“George?” George hummed. “Are you crying? What’s wrong?”
“It’s stupid, Richie. Not even worth asking.”
“I’m gonna ask!” He rubbed George’s hands a bit since he couldn’t see his face. “George, sweet, whatever it is—”
“I wanna be the little spoon.” Ringo didn’t respond for a few moments, and for that time, George felt awful. “Richie, I’m sorry. I know it sounds ridiculous—”
“Shh,” Ringo whispered as he turned himself around to face George and then give him a kiss. “You can be the little spoon, Geo. Of course that’s not stupid.” He began to turn George around. “Why don’t we get you situated, yeah?”
George settled down as Ringo’s arms snaked around him and pulled him close. “You’re amazing. I can’t believe I have you.”
Ringo kissed the back of his head. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”