Chapter Text
"Alright, that about wraps it up for this week," the room full of students began collecting their things, filling the room with the sounds of shuffling paper. "Reminder that your papers are due in next week. If you have any questions you can shoot me an email. Otherwise, see you all next week."
A half asleep Weisz polished off the coffee he had brought in, though it was cold by now. He winced.
" Paper, huh? Guess I should start that," he thought, though he knew it realistically wouldn't be started until the day before given his track record.
He looked down at his open notebook, full of blueprints for possible inventions and gadgets rather than actual notes. Wasn't his fault lectures were boring to all hell. Closing the book and gathering the loose handouts and stationary sitting on the table in front of him, he yawned.
"So did you two hear about yesterday's volleyball game?" A group of girls behind him began to gossip amongst themselves. Weisz couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"Hasn't everyone by now? The new recruit is really making a splash, huh?"
"I saw for myself, it's scary how fast his reflexes are. He's like a demon."
"Ooo that sounds exciting, I wanna see him play next time!"
"Same, I think they have an open practice today. We should go watch!"
Weisz rolled his eyes. Just like a bunch of girls to fawn over a jock like that. Without fail, every jock he had ever encountered was an arrogant asshole through and through, only looking for attention to nourish their ego and girls like this were putty in their hands.
He grabbed his bag and books and left the room, refocusing on the things he had planned for the afternoon. The blueprints he had drawn were only the beginning. Before that though, he had to crunch the numbers, which required his full attention.
Sluggishly making his way down the hallway, which was all but empty at the moment, he allowed his mind to wander. Calculations were not his favourite, but having his ideas come to life was well worth it all. Just imagining his blueprints as a fully functioning tool got him excited to get to work.
Picking up his pace, he hastily turned the corner and ran headfirst into someone else turning out of the same hallway.
Before he had a chance to catch himself, he had already landed flat on his ass, everything he was carrying strewn about on the floor around him.
"Ah, shit-"
"Are you okay? I'm so so sorry!"
The voice was masculine but spoke softly, the sound coming from above him. So he was the only one to take a tumble, how embarrassing. Weisz's cheeks burned as he quickly started gathering his things.
"H-hey, let me help you!"
"It's fine, I can do it myself-" Weisz started, but as he looked up his eyes met with the other man's, who was now crouched down in front of him, and words evaded him.
His eyes were sharp and uniquely violet, catching Weisz's attention. His messy black hair fell every which way, and there was a scar across his cheek, but it was the way in which he smiled at Weisz that made him freeze in place.
"Of course you can, but I want to help," he said, handing what he had picked up over to Weisz and returning to his feet.
Clearing his throat, Weisz followed suit, "Sure. Thanks, I appreciate it."
As the other man took a moment to stretch, Weisz noticed he was quite muscular, though it would've been hard not to in the sleeveless sweatshirt he was wearing. Weisz quickly looked away before he was caught gawking.
"So you're part of the robotics club?"
"How did you know?"
"Your notebook opened up when it fell, and I couldn't help but peek," he confessed, looking at Weisz like a puppy being scolded. "Sorry."
Weisz sighed, "It's fine. Besides, it's my fault for getting lost in thought and not paying attention to my surroundings."
"I tend to space out all the time too so I get it," the black haired man chuckled awkwardly. "But wow, building your own gadgets from scratch…that's so cool. You must be a genius!"
"Far from it."
"No way, those designs looked pretty intricate. Not that I know much, though."
Weisz turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow, "Cool, huh? Most people tend to think its a weird or dorky interest."
"If you ask me, I think people who say that are just jealous of your abilities," he grinned from ear to ear.
Weisz felt a patter in his heart. A complete stranger saying such uplifting things was unheard of. He averted his eyes once again.
"Anyways, I better get going."
"Ah! Yeah, sorry for keeping you! It was nice to meet you, er-" he trailed off, realizing he didn't know the blonde's name.
"Weisz."
"Weisz," he repeated enthusiastically. "It was nice to meet you, Weisz. My name's Shiki by the way. I hope the rest of your day goes smoothly. Good luck on your robotics stuff!"
Weisz nodded and waved in acknowledgment as he walked away.
—
Fiddling with the machinery in his hands, Weisz clicked his tongue. Things weren't going quite the way he wanted and it was beginning to frustrate him.
"God damn it…" he placed the contraption on the table in front of him. Perhaps it was his focus. For some reason, his mind was drifting elsewhere this afternoon. He sat back in his chair, arms crossed.
"Who even was that guy?"
With muscles like that, it was easy for Weisz to deduce that he was probably one of those sports meatheads, but for some reason he acted and spoke with kindness. If anything, he felt more like a puppy than anything. It was a little cute.
"Shiki, huh?"
He shook his head. It's not as if he would ever see him again, it was just a one-off interaction that happened on accident, and more than that he was probably happily surrounded by girls all the time. Weisz sighed. It's a good thing he was nice, at least.
Suddenly there was a knock at the room's door, and when Weisz turned around he was met with a slender, blue haired man leaning against the frame, hands tucked into his pockets.
"So focused on your work you lost track of the time again?"
Weisz's eyes darted down to the watch on his wrist. 7pm. Had he really been in here for that long already?
"Shit, sorry Laguna," he ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Our plans totally slipped my mind. I'll pack everything up real quick."
"Just like a nerd," Laguna teased. He walked around to the other side of the table and sat down, unpacking a small pouch from his bag. "Take your time, it will give me a chance to touch up my makeup before we go."
Weisz started gathering up all his tools and sorting them neatly into his toolbox. "Yeah about that. Where are you dragging me this time?"
"New gay bar just opened up on the other side of town, wanna check it out."
"Really?" the blonde whined, "you know places like that aren't really up my alley."
"You're gay Weisz, they are nothing if up your alley."
He scoffed, "you know what I meant. The loud music, the socializing. Not really my forte."
"Just knock back a few drinks, you'll be fine," Laguna smirked, clasping his hand mirror shut. "Isn't it worth it to check out all the hot babes?"
"Touché."
"Right! And if you're lucky, you might end up in someone else's bed tonight."
"Yeah, I highly doubt that."
"Maybe not with that attitude," Laguna leaned forward, resting his face on his hand. "Give yourself some more credit though, Steiner. You aren't half bad looking."
Though he would never in a million years admit it out loud, Laguna was probably right. He ought to make the best of tonight and keep an open mind.
"Besides, there are lots of men that love the nerdy twink look."
Weisz groaned and rolled his eyes, trying to hide his embarrassment at Laguna's lack of a filter. He grabbed his bag and pulled it over his shoulder, "Shut up, let's just go already."