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“I’m actually so fucking lost,” Charles groaned, burying his face in a pile of endless biology notes.
For the third time that week since starting his sophomore year of high school, Charles had ended up moping in Shidou and Sae’s apartment.
They welcomed him, of course, but now stared at the notes—some of them resembling angry scribbles and scrawls more than legible notes— then back again at each other.
Being in their first year of college, both were swamped with assignments and projects, in addition to part-time jobs to cover the apartment’s rent.
Still, Charles’ wide eyes and pleading look, aimed mainly at the less-sympathetic Sae, had convinced them pull up a chair at their tiny dining table.
“I really wanna be with Niko in advanced classes…” Charles sulked, aimlessly spinning a pencil on the tabletop.
Shidou and Sae exchanged a knowing look at the mention of Niko—Charles’ boyfriend and the whole entire reason why he was here in the first place.
They’d started dating a few weeks ago, something Charles would not stop talking about whenever Shidou asked him how school was going.
Niko this, Niko that…Charles was obsessed with the boy and would mention him in every conversation.
To spend more time with Niko, Charles had set a goal: he would get excellent grades and win a spot in advanced classes next year to be with his ''beloved’’ (as Charles put it).
Which was how the task of getting Charles through Biology, his hardest class, now fell upon Sae and Shidou.
“Okay….” Sae sighed, taking the pencil from Charles and tapping the notes sharply.
“No more sulking. If you actually want that, you’ll study and stop whining. We’ll help, but your methods right now are not getting you into advanced classes.”
Sae’s rebuke was harsh, but Charles knew he was right. He sat up a little straighter and made a very un-Charles-like serious expression.
“Okay, don’t make that face ever again,” Sae muttered, cringing. Shidou burst out laughing.
“Fine. Uh…I guess we can start with this lesson. It’s on cell division—there’s genetic stuff coming up too.” Charles grumbled.
“That’s fun!” Shidou perked up, immediately interested. Sae rolled his eyes; Charles looked mortified.
“Uh…no. It’s so boring. I fall asleep in every biology class,” he said, shaking his head at Shidou. The concept that anyone could like biology was completely alien to him
“I have to agree with him,” Sae commented, causing Shidou to gasp. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Saeee.”
“I thought you’d be the smart one, Sae,” Charles smirked. Shidou gasped again and dramatically pressed a hand on his wounded heart.
“Ryusei is the reason I managed to graduate, especially in science.” Sae shrugged. Charles' wide eyes flicked to Shidou.
“So you’ll help me do the same, riiiiiight?” Charles batted his eyelashes.
“Yeah, yeah, fine. Only 'cuz I don’t want to see you cry if you don’t get to hang out with Niko.” Shidou sighed, leaning forward to skim through Charles’ notes.
“Okay…so cell division, right? What do you know about it?”
Charles blinked at the pages, then at Shidou, a sheepish grin forming.
“Nothing? Shit, dude—what do you even do in class?’’ Shidou gawked.
“Um…well, sometimes I take notes! Though...most of these I borrowed from Niko.” Charles pulled the papers closer defensively.
It was easy to distinguish which were his and which were Niko’s: Charles’ handwriting was barely legible and loopy; Niko’s was clean, precise, and doodle-free.
Shidou sighed. “Okay. Let’s start with cell division, then!”
Sae leaned back, not inclined at all to contribute but willing to listen in on the long rambling that Shidou was about to go on. Charles placed a fresh sheet in front of him, ready to take notes.
“So, there are two ways cells divide: mitosis and meiosis. Non-reproductive cells, also called somatic cells, use mitosis. Reproductive cells, or gametes, use meiosis.” Shidou explained, adding to his explanation by sketching a simple diagram of both processes.
“Oh, meiosis makes four daughter cells?” Charles peered down at the drawing.
“Yeah, because meiosis has two rounds of cell division and mitosis only has one. But if you get mitosis, you’ll get meiosis later on, so don’t stress.” Shidou flashed him a grin.
“Damn, you explain this way better than my teacher. I didn’t know you were such a nerd.” Charles grinned back.
Shidou chuckled, ruffling Charles’ hair. “Did ya think I was dumb or something?”
“Maybe a little…” Charles admitted, earning a tackle from Shidou.
Sae watched the interaction with amusement, laughing internally as Shidou continued to drone on about mitosis and whatnot. Charles nodded along, asking questions in between explanations.
Since he couldn’t provide any proper explanations like Shidou, Sae padded into their tiny kitchen and brought back water and sandwiches—he had a feeling this would take a while.
“Thank you, babe, angel, love of my life.” Shidou beamed up at his boyfriend as Sae set down a glass of water in the middle of his mitosis explanation. He leaned up to press a kiss to Sae’s cheek, who muttered, “You’re welcome.”
Charles, already used to their constant flirting, said nothing but rolled his eyes.
“Hey, don’t act like you’re not the same with Niko, dude.” Shidou teased, turning back to Charles.
“No, they’re actually way worse,” Sae added.
Charles stuck his tongue out at both of them, insisting they got back to studying before they could tease him even further.
''Okay...where was I? Well, mitosis has a lot of steps, called the cell cycle. Lemme explain, starting with interphase. Well, it technically isn't one of the steps, because it's before mitosis, but you'll need to know it anyway....''
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3 hours later, 5 pm.
“And…well, that’s everything! Now you’re a cell division and genetics pro!” Shidou exclaimed, throwing his hands up and leaning back on his chair with a huge grin.
“Ughhh, gross…. never gonna call myself that, like…ever.” Charles groaned, slumped over his notes; his head felt full to the point of ache, and his hand twitched from writing so much.
“Have a sandwich.” Sae supplied, shoving one towards him, noticing his zombie-like state.
Charles inhaled it in seconds, then sat up and gathered his papers. He hesitated.
“Do you think…I can really make it to advanced classes and be with Niko now?” His voice was quiet, a rare display of vulnerability.
“Hell yeah. You’ll ace it. And when you do, you’ll be able to give him all the heart-eyes you want.” Shidou assured him, elbowing him playfully. Charles laughed and nodded.
“Yeah!” He agreed confidently, shoving everything in his backpack and taking an extra sandwich.
“Thanks, you guys.” He beamed, giving both of them a quick hug, sandwich in mouth, before leaving the apartment.
Now that it was just the two of them, Sae took Charles’ spot, lacing his fingers with Shidou’s.
“Did you find my elaborate and engaging explanations on genetics super attractive, Sae-chan?” Shidou asked, grinning at his boyfriend.
“Reminded me of high school,” Sae replied, wrinkling his nose; the deadpan only making Shidou laugh more.
Sae looked a lot more serious than Shidou, but he was a slacker at heart—completely uninterested in anything besides soccer and Shidou. So Shidou’s notes and long explanations had been the only way Sae had survived their high school days.
“Well, you’re lucky you had me, huh?” Shidou said, leaning into Sae.
“Still am. The luckiest guy in the world.’’