GRAVITY
Frito pairing. Frau x Teito
Three-shot. Rated T for Frau's potty mouth.
Summary: When you fall, you fall hard. And fast. College fic.
District 7 University was a school split into three factions: the Church, the Military, and everyone else. Located in Barsburg's District 7 (hence the name, District 7 University), this prestigious school has been known to turn out some of the best and most competent workers in the nation, given its broad curriculum and diverse range of subjects. The only thing about the school is that it also seemed to foster many brotherly bonds often mistaken for the bonds existing in homosexual couples. But whether the 'brothers' were actually gay or not was (usually) difficult to determine.
Now, about the three factions:
The Church was the school faction containing all the people who worshipped and respected God. They were very kind, generous, and forgiving individuals - although certain people in the faction made one question the faction's general depiction.
The Military was the school faction containing all the people who were strict, uptight, and followed the rules to a T. These individuals were great debaters and excelled in politics. They were also very skilled fighters - although some of them were more ruthless than others, hence earning the name The Military.
The Other was the school faction containing everyone else who neither belonged with The Church nor The Military. These people were mostly your typical run-of-the-mill students who didn't have particularly noticeable attributes, save the few who came from wealthy families.
Teito Klein, a short, scrawny freshman entering the District 7 University that year, had been placed in The Military faction at the beginning of the year per his guardian's - Chairman Miroku's - request, but after Fall Quarter passed, Teito submitted a request to be moved to The Church faction due to his waning interest in fighting and politics. Only one person knew the real reason behind Teito's wish to switch factions.
A senior student named Ayanami had taken a heavy interest in Teito after the latter demonstrated spectacular fighting abilities in a friendly spar against his best friend Mikage Celestine in their Self-Defense class. Persistent pursuit of Teito's affections had worn the freshman down. Teito had no interest in Ayanami, but Ayanami's continuous ambushing had driven him to the end of his rope. Mikage helped him confront the senior student, but Ayanami had simply brushed Mikage off. Teito didn't want to stay in the faction anymore, for fear that Ayanami might one night rape him in his sleep. So both he and Mikage moved to The Church in hopes of purifying themselves of Ayanami and his deadly smirk. They were moved into a triple room in the faction.
"Teito!" The brunet turned his head as Mikage and Hakuren Oak, his third roommate, came running down the hallway towards him.
"What's up, guys?" asked Teito as the two blondes came to a stop before him, breathing heavily.
"I just heard the news," said Mikage, excitement gleaming in his eyes. "The university's holding a school-wide dance in June!"
"The students from the three factions usually don't mingle with one another, so this dance is meant to promote bonds with students from a faction other than your own," said Hakuren. "They aren't restricting you from going with someone from your own faction, of course. That would be silly."
"A dance?" muttered Teito. "I'm not interested."
"Aw, don't be like that!" said Mikage, swinging an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Think of all the cute girls waiting out there, waiting to be asked!"
"Mikage…" Teito sighed, giving the grinning blonde a warning glance. "You know I'm-"
"-not interested, yeah, yeah, I know," said Mikage. "But everyone's going to think you're a homo if you keep it up. Not that I care, we're best buds after all!"
Hakuren shifted a little uncomfortably at the idea that Teito could be gay, after all he was raised to believe that homosexuality was wrong. But Teito was his friend (and his roommate), so in the case that actually happened, he, Hakuren, would do his best to learn, accept, and support him.
"Hey, Teito, you know… if you're just shy, we can go girl-hunting together!" said Mikage brightly. "Right, Hakuren?" He nudged his fellow blonde boldly.
Hakuren held both his hands up in a placating manner. "I must decline," he said, the faintest shade of pink dusting his pale cheeks. "I… I do not feel comfortable being around girls for too long."
"Oh really?" One of Mikage's brows arched elegantly at this new tidbit of info. "Why not?"
"I'm just not," growled Hakuren. "Can we please switch to another topic?"
Mikage just laughed heartily and released Teito from his grasp. "It won't be that bad, Hakuren," he said. "I promise!"
Hakuren heaved a sigh and tilted his head towards Teito. "He doesn't give up, does he?" he whispered into the shorter boy's ear.
"Not a chance," sighed Teito, readjusting the shoulder strap of his school bag. "Come on, let's go back to the room. All our classes are over for the day."
"Heads."
A silver coin flipped through the air, spinning up, then arching down, until someone's hand slammed it down on a table.
"God damn it! Tails!"
"Now, now," chided the redhead, sitting at his desk reading a book. "You shouldn't use God's name in vain like that."
"Like I give shit," scoffed the blond man, taking the coin and flipping it into the air again. "Damn it! Tails again!"
"You shouldn't swear so much, Frau," their third roommate laughed softly. "It's bad for you."
"Yeah, yeah," Frau grumbled. "So what's the news?"
"There's a school-wide dance coming up in June," said the redhead, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Think you'll be lucky this time, Frau?"
"Shut up, Castor," said Frau, lobbing his pillow at his smirking roommate. "I can get a girl if I want to."
"Yet I'm always confiscating your porn stash because you don't have a lady companion to spend time with."
"Like you're one to talk, sitting at your desk all day buried in holy literature."
"Well, unlike you I am a Literature major," said Castor. "The Holy Scriptures fascinate me."
"Whatever, you nerd."
"And you, Labrador?" asked Castor, his gaze turning towards the lilac-haired man.
"Mm, it is truly difficult to decide," said Labrador. "I shall probably refrain from attending. The flowers call me."
"You and your floral biology obsession," said Frau. "You'll never get a girl like that."
"I never said I wanted one," replied Labrador simply. "I just want to be with the flowers."
Frau snorted and flipped his coin again. "Heads."
And this time he was right.
The month of January was abuzz with activity as boys rushed to ask the girls to accompany them to the dance. And vice-versa.
Frau inwardly groaned as he turned the corner in one of the hallways and found his path blocked by a small gaggle of girls, who were pushing a shy brunet forward. He might like girls, but getting like fifty confessions a day was tiring even for him. He didn't know these girls, for God's sake! Oops, he wasn't supposed to use God's name like that…
"Um, Frau-sama-w-would you please go to the dance with me?" the shy girl stuttered timidly, her hands clasped demurely in front of her, her head bowed low enough to conceal her face.
He felt bad for her, really. So he put on his best, most dazzling Prince Charming smile, leaned towards the girl, and said, "I would love to go with a cute girl like you, but I'm afraid I don't know you. Sorry." Then he straightened up and strode away, flashing a confident smirk at the girl's friends. They all seemed to melt into incoherent puddles of goo. Good, that means his charm level was still at its peak. And fortunately, the shy girl didn't look like she was about to burst into tears at any moment (if she did, he'd have one hell of a problem on his hands).
He met up with Castor and Labrador near the classroom where the three usually had History together. "Let's grab some lunch before class," he suggested to his roommates. "I don't want to learn History on an empty stomach."
"Good idea," agreed Castor. "Labrador can stock up on his teabags, too."
They headed to the Zaiphon Café, located conveniently near the History classroom. Frau ordered a simple meat dish (Castor gave him the evil eye for that) while the other two dined on salad. While eating, the three began to discuss various topics, including the dance coming up in June. Castor happily mentioned that he would be attending the dance with a girl named Razette, a cute pink-haired girl who loved to sing, but was incredibly shy around people in public.
"What about you, Frau?" the redhead asked, a mischievous glint gleaming in his eyes. "How many times have you been confessed to today?"
Frau swatted at him half-heartedly. "Like twenty times," he grumbled. "I don't really know any of them."
"Are you sure that's the reason why you haven't got a date yet?" said Castor. Frau glared at him.
"I hope you're not insinuating that I'm - that I'm gay," he growled.
"There is nothing wrong with having a different sexual preference," said Labrador softly. "We will always accept you." Castor nodded in agreement, fixing his brown eyes on Frau's frowning face.
"Don't forget that we are members of The Church, Frau," said Castor gently, smiling. "We are always open and willing to accept people of all kinds, as long as they agree to follow the rules of the faction."
"I know," replied Frau, polishing off the last bits of meat from his plate. He picked up the green apple next to his plate, which he had picked up from the fruit basket next to the door, and bit into it with a loud crunch. "I just-"
When he looked up, the first thing his gaze landed upon was neither Castor nor Labrador, but a slender brown-haired boy ordering lunch at the register. There were two taller blond boys standing next to him, chatting amicably. The brunet laughed at something the blonde with shorter hair said, and it was like music to Frau's ears. His apple, with a single bite taken out of it, was completely forgotten in favor of observing the boy.
"Frau…?" He vaguely heard the concern in Castor's voice. Shit, the boy was-
The next second the boy turned, and for a brief moment their gazes locked together. The brunet had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen in his life, and he couldn't help but think of how nice they looked on the scrawny boy. Fuck. Then the brunet and his buddies headed over to a different table and sat down.
"Frau? Hey, are you okay?" Castor waved his hand in front of his friend, who seemed to have gone into a trance. Frau shook his head, the blond strands flying about around his head. And here I was just thinking that I wasn't gay. Damn it.
"What were you looking at just now?" asked Labrador, turning his head to scan the café. "A pretty girl?"
"No, I - it's nothing, Lab," grunted Frau. He'd be damned if he told either of them he'd been ogling a boy (albeit a really pretty boy, but nonetheless…). "Just leave it." He chomped on his apple viciously.
He pretended not to notice the looks that Castor and Labrador exchanged with each other.
End of Part One
First 07-Ghost fic (holy shit, this is an amazing series). I hope I kept everyone (mostly) in-character. Review?