Chapter Text
Daine slogged down the corridor in the biology department, towing her suitcase and cursing her ex-landlady, the student loan office, the university, life, the universe and everything. She just needed to find an unattended couch. If she could just crash somewhere for a few hours, she could work it out in the morning. She’d always managed before.
She finally found an unlocked office, with a couch even, and collapsed face down. Her phone said it was 2:03 AM. She had just managed to drop off when the office’s rightful resident came bursting in.
She jerked upright and looked sleepily at him. Of all the professors to find her crashing in their office, Professor Tasikhe would have been near the bottom of her list. She didn’t even know his first name, he had just listed his initials on his class syllabuses. They looked at each other. She was sprawled on his couch with all her worldly possessions and her hair was probably standing straight up.
He was in his usual expensive looking suit jacket, shiny jewelry and about three people worth of eye makeup. She didn’t know why anyone would go to that trouble to teach introductory biology courses. But she also didn’t know why her less engaged classmates had sometimes show up to class just to see what he was wearing like it was more interesting than introductory biology. Either way it didn’t make her feel better about the state she was in.
“Veralidaine?” He asked, “Introductory Animal Behaviour, and Introductory Ecology?”
She nodded. How did he remember that, it was uncanny, “and Introductory Biology last year. But its just Daine.”
“I never remember the introductory biology students. They are a formless mass. I need an extra pair of hands with my new friend here,” he announced, brandishing an owl. Happy, healthy owls did not let themselves be brandished by biology professors so Daine got over herself and got up to help.
Professor Tasikhe hadn’t struck Daine as someone who knew his way around an injured owl, but he clearly knew how to splint the wing of a very large bird without getting savaged. Although, while they were doing it, she was close enough to see the marks on his hands from before he figured that out.
“Oh you’ve done this before,” he said pleasantly as they finished with the owl. He handed her the owl and started walking so she was forced to follow him, “preparing for vet school?”
Like I can afford vet school, she thought to herself but that would have been rude to say so she mumbled, “Mom used to do it,” and hoped he wouldn’t inquire.
They tucked the owl into a cage in what must have been Professor Tasikhe’s lab. They put the owl across the room from two sparrows, a chickadee and a piebald crow. It was so nice to be around animals again, even if it was only for a few minutes. Maybe if she got lucky she could come back in here to sleep near the owl.
Professor Tasikhe ushered her out and locked the door, which was disappointing.
“Come along,” he said shortly.
“Oh, no sir, I’m alright, I can walk home from here,” said Daine, fully intending to follow him out then circle around and go right back into the building once he’d left.
“Right,” he drawled snappishly, “of course, you were heading straight home, but tripped and fell into my office carrying all your worldly possessions. Its too late for this, come along.”
She trailed after him. How had he known this was all her things. That was just invasive coming from a man who still hadn’t bothered to tell her his first name.
Daine reluctantly got into the car, and immediately regretted it. “I can get out here,” she mumbled, “it’s fine.”
“Which house,” he said, “its four AM and negative four degrees farenheit, I am not leaving you standing outside.”
Her bluff called, they kept driving. It was not a restful trip. Professor Tasikhe drove like he thought using the brake was an admission of personal failure and Daine was wide awake from the adrenaline but the time they came to a screeching halt in front of, what was, presumably, his house.
She trailed after him, because she had no idea where she was and it was that or spend the night sitting on his front lawn.
“There was an owl,” Professor Tasikhe announced as he walked in.
Daine peered around him to see who he was talking to.
“That isn’t an owl,” said — was that Professor Draper? — who was sitting a table, looking confused about a cup of coffee and failing to get his hair out of his eyes, “did she crash into your window? Are you planning to band and release her when the weather improves?”
Professor Tasikhe threw back his head and laughed like a hyena about that and went and yanked Professor Draper’s hair back into its usual ponytail for him before he kissed him hello.
“This is Veralidaine,” said Professor Tasikhe, “the owl situation was unrelated.”
“Oh good,” said Professor Draper, who had started collecting, “I was dealing with a call until about two hours ago, and I need to leave for the hospital —“ he blinked at his phone like he had never seen it before, “about five minutes ago. So you can sort that out between you.”
He wandered out the door, and then, came back thirty seconds later to retrieve his car keys and say “nice to meet you Veralidaine,” before he left again.
“Just Daine is fine,” she said to his front door.
She turned around and realized that Professor Tasikhe had disappeared while her back was turned. She peered around, trying to figure out what was happening. “Guest room is this way,” said Professor Tasikhe, who had somehow contrived to be directly behind her.
“Waaah,” she yelped. It had been a very long week, and she was not remotely up for this.
He handed her a pile of towels and marched her to the tidy guest room. He seemed to be very accustomed to guests, which did not go along with her general impression of him at all.
“Whichever toiletries you’ve lost are here,” he said and tossed open a drawer, “I’m going to bed. If I haven’t woken up by the time you need to get back to campus, just, make a lot of noise.”
“Oh, no,” she said, “that’s okay, I’m sure I can get back to campus myself.”
“I reiterate,” he said slowly, “negative four degrees farenheit. Are you from Manitoba, or just insane?”
“I’m from California,” said Daine.
“Dear God,” said Professor Tasikhe, and walked away before she could answer.
Daine laid down and stared at the ceiling and didn’t sleep. She knew she should be grateful. Professor Tasikhe had very kindly offered her a place to sleep when he had every right to just call campus security on her. She just, had an aversion to guest rooms, they felt like being back in foster care.
She distracted herself with the thought that Professor Tasikhe and Professor Draper were apparently married — to each other! Was she the only student who knew? Was she the only student who didn’t know? She had only been to two lectures with Professor Draper, and had only understood one of them, but he had gotten side tracked telling stories about about his husband both times. Did Professor Tasikhe know what a blabbermouth his husband was? He still hadn’t even told her his first name, and she was sleeping, or trying to sleep, in his guest room. This was so embarrassing.
She had just about managed to drift off when she was shaken awake. It took her a second to recognize Professor Tasikhe as the person waking her up. In practical clothing without his jewelry and makeup he looked less like a bird of paradise and more like a hawk.
“Sorry about this,” he said shortly, “I need to go.”
How long had she been asleep?
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“Six thirty,” he said, already heading downstairs.
She trailed after him, wondering if she should get her things.
“My graduate students are both out of the country,” he said, “so I need you to feed the quails, and the other birds, and explain to IACUC about the birds in my lab. They usually don’t mind.”
What quail?
While he was giving her this totally incomprehensible set of instructions he was in the process of putting folders of papers and a laptop into a black shoulder bag. Then he pulled a suitcase out of the hall cupboard and opened it up to examine its contents. Why did he have a pre-packed suitcase in his cupboard? Why did it have a first aid kit in it? What was going on?
“You can call them from here,” he continued, “Or just call Arram or Varice.”
Who was Varice? What was going on?
He satisfied himself with his packing, grabbed something out of a drawer and pressed it into Daine’s hand. “Keys. Quails. Bird feeders. IACUC,” he repeated shortly.
He spun around at the door and said, “and remind Arram you don’t have anywhere to sleep, he will have forgotten.”
Though the living room window, Daine saw a taxi pull up.
“Where are you going?” she asked, because everyone was definitely going to ask her.
“Medan,” he said, and walked out the door.
Daine, standing alone in a virtual stranger’s house, holding his house keys said quietly, “I don’t know where that is.”