A/N: This is entirely self-indulgent, but I thought I would post it anyway.

Part 1

Riku didn't see the young man approach him, his attention focused instead on his lecture notes and coffee, nor did he hear the low "excuse me" past the music in his ears, so it wasn't until there was a small tap at his shoulder that he looked up, starting. He pulled at his earbuds as his vision was assaulted with brilliant blue eyes, a sprinkle of freckles, and unruly brown hair. He realized that the plump lips had formed a question.

"I'm sorry, say again?" Riku adjusted his glasses to hide his sudden embarrassment, the flutter of shyness that had climbed into his throat. He tamped down on it as quickly as he could.

"I asked if you work here, too?" Blue eyes flicked down at the formulas scrawled over the pages Riku was holding—trying not to clench them in his nervousness.

"Ah, yeah. Maths."

Blue Eyes brightened. "Awesome! Me, too. Though, I'm not so good at math." He offered a sunny smile. "I'm Sora. Mr. Niwa to the students."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "The new PE teacher?" He glanced up and down Sora's compact form, the basketball shorts and the Adidas t-shirt. Tried to pretend that he was ensuring the other was athletic, and not checking him out.

"Yep, that's me! Hey, so, uh—" Sora bit his lip, and Riku found his eyes drawn to it, his heart racing. "I didn't catch your name," he prompted.

"O-oh. Right. Riku. Riku Archer."

"Nice to meet you, Riku." Sora held out a hand, and Riku fumbled to accept it, spilling his coffee in the process. He let out a noise of dismay at the same time that Sora exclaimed "Oh no! I'm sorry!"

"It got on your shoes," Riku muttered, biting back a curse. "I'm so sorry."

Sora stepped back, looking down at his feet and the puddle of coffee that stood between them. "It's okay, it's just coffee—oh man, I didn't mean to make you—look, I can buy you another one!"

Riku glanced at Sora over the rims of his glasses, and hoped he hadn't turned red with embarrassment. "It's fine, it's not your fault." He bent and picked up the empty paper cup, and then gathered his lecture notes. Another glance at Sora, who wore a sheepish expression. "I guess I'll just…" he gestured at a nearby trash can with the cup and turned to throw it away.

Sora trailed behind him hesitantly. "You sure I can't get you another coffee? I've heard the machine in the faculty lounge is awful…"

"It is," Riku agreed, his voice curt, even though he hadn't meant it to be. He tipped the cup into the trash, thinking. "Well." He turned back to Sora, schooling his voice. "Maybe I can take a rain-check on the coffee?" He was just being friendly, he told himself. Nothing selfish to it. He fiddled with the corner of his notes.

Sora grinned, and Riku found that had a strange effect over him, like being punched in the gut, and liking it. "Sure thing!"
Riku smiled tentatively. "Okay." He glanced at his watch, more for an excuse to escape than to actually check the time. "I better head to class."

"Hey, wait!" Riku paused, to see Sora still with that sheepish expression. "I mean, I wanted to ask and then your coffee spilled and then—well anyway, I forgot where the faculty room is, so I was hoping you could point me in the right direction." He ran a hand through his hair, perhaps a nervous gesture. Riku tried not to read into it as anything more than embarrassment for poor memory.

"Uh. Yeah. It's—I mean, I can take you there, it's on my way."

"Great!" The bright look on Sora's face made Riku's stomach flip again.

"Yeah. Sure." It came a little choked out, and Riku forced himself to take a breath before adding, "Follow me."

"So, how long have you been teaching here?" Of course Sora would be talkative. It was charming, and yet…

Intimidating. "This is my third year."

"Did you teach anywhere else before?"

"No."

"Me neither. This is my first gig, I'm kind of nervous. But excited! Hey, where did you go to school?"

"RGU. Here." Riku let out a low sigh of relief as they came to the faculty lounge. If he wasn't with Sora, he wouldn't be embarrass himself any further. Sora wouldn't be able to tell that Riku was interested in him after only a handful of minutes in his presence, and Riku could retreat into the sanctuary of predictable, ordered numbers.

"Thanks, Riku. You know, I went to RGU, too!"

Riku's eyes dropped to his lecture notes; he creased a corner of the top page. It was a clear invitation for conversation, and yet he found himself at a loss for words. "I…"

"Oh, right! You were headed to your class already, weren't you? I'm holding you up, aren't I. I'm sorry, I'll let you go, but we should talk more later!"

"…Right. Yeah. Later." Riku wondered if he'd be able to manage more than single-syllable words later.

Probably not.