Pairing/Characters: Fran-Mukuro Plot: Having a crush on your teacher is difficult. It's twice as difficult... when you're someone like Fran.
Rating: T Genre: Romance, Humor Style: 10-chapters, AU, Third Person Limited- Fran Title: Want a Pineapple, Sensei?
Word Limit: 10,000
Okay, I honestly didn't want to upload this right after starting 'A Royal Fall', but, being me, I couldn't help it anymore...
"Does ANYONE know the answer to this question?" the teacher asked, adjusting his glasses as he indicated to the chalkboard.
"I do, sensei! Really!" called Fran from the back of the room. Mukuro ignored him.
"Anyone? Come on, this is easy!"
"Senseeeei!" Fran called again. He rolled his eyes when his teacher called on Sawada.
"Uhm... six?" Sawada answered. Mukuro facepalmed.
"This is very simple, everyone, so someone, please answer the question," he begged, an act that would usually make all of the girls shower him with random guesses. Sadly for him, most of the girls had banded together to ditch school in order to go to the grand opening of the cake shop a few blocks away.
"Sensei! I know the answer!" Fran whined. Finally, Mukuro gave in.
"Okay, Fran, I'll give you yet another chance. What do you believe the answer is?" Mukuro asked.
"It's a cow," Fran announced proudly, clasping his hands together.
"Not the picture on my desk, Fran, the equation!" Mukuro stressed, before saying, "That's lunch detention for you."
"You're stupid," Fran deadpanned, looking out the window. The teacher gave a heavy sigh.
"Well then it's rubbing off on you, Fran," he muttered, which caused a few in the class to laugh or nod with agreement. The teal-haired student narrowed his eyes just slightly and rested his head in his hand as he watched birds fly between trees.
'School is dumb,' he thought bitterly, 'I only come here for sensei, after all. Damn him for being so pretty.'
"Psst, Fran," Ken hissed, jabbing the other student in the back. "How stupid are you, bion? You keep giving such random, idiotic answers, bion."
"Senseeei," Fran whined in monotone, "Someone let a dog into the classroom! I'm scared, sensei! I think he has rabies!"
The class roared with laugher while Ken flushed red with embarassment. Mukuro groaned. "Fran, if you have something to say, raise your hand."
"But senseeei," the student complained. He wanted to point out that Mukuro never called on him, but instead, he just blurted out, "What if Ken bit me, bion?"
This earned him another round of laughs, followed by Ken growling about Fran's irritating way of talking. The teacher smacked a ruler against the chalkboard for quiet, and said, "Fran, one more outburst, and you'll have after school detention!"
"Stupid pineapple head," Fran muttered.
"That's after school detention, Fran!"
The boy finally fell quiet, looking out the window once more. 'Well this sucks,' he thought, 'Grandma's gonna be angry. That's the third time this week. ... But I guess it isn't all bad. I get to see sensei more.' Fran glanced at Mukuro longingly. 'I wish I could see what he looks like with his hair down. That pineapple totally messes with his charm.'
Fran decided to request this of his teacher, and he raised his hand. As he'd expect, he was ignored. "Sensei," he called, "I have a very important question." Mukuro just kept talking, which started to get on Fran's nerves; of course, he didn't show it. Five minutes passed with Fran's hand raised as Mukuro continued speaking to the class and scratching notes onto the chalkboard. It didn't take much longer before Fran threw a little fit. "Sensei, your damn pineapple is pissing me off. Why do you even have your hair like that? It's stupid." What he MEANT to say was, 'Sensei, please call on me. I want to ask you to show us what you look like without your hair up. I bet you look better without the ponytail.'
"Fran," Mukuro said, his voice stern. "I'll meet you in ten minutes. For now, you may wait outside."
Fran, upset, stood and walked outside of the classroom. He leaned against the wall as casually as though he'd been told to step outside for ice cream. Maybe even more relaxed. He waited, his eyes half-lidded as he quietly anticipated his scolding. 'I wonder what he's gonna say to me,' the student thought, 'or maybe he'll smack me on the head with that ruler. I know he wants to. It would be nice if I could actually speak my mind.'
The student waited for a while, getting a bit more nervous each minute. 'If he does smack me,' he thought, 'I don't think I'm gonna be nice anymore.'
Ten long minutes passed, and Mukuro stepped into the hallway, his arms crossed. "Okay," he began, "Explain yourself."
"What do I have to explain to a pineapple?" Fran asked, blinking innocently.
"Your rudeness? Boldness? Do you have some disorder I should know about? Like one that makes you compelled to insult everyone?" the teacher asked, sighing.
"Compelled to insult everyone," Fran repeated, "I'm nice to Grandma. Sometimes. I think. I dunno."
"Fran," Mukuro snapped, "Do you have a disorder?"
"No," Fran replied, shaking his head, "I don't think so. Like OCD? Nah. Not me."
"Then what is it," the teacher asked, his question flat like a statement.
"... I want... to see you... without... your pine- uh... ponytail," Fran said carefully, staring hard at the teacher. Mukuro could tell that his student was choosing his words with caution, and smiled, just for a moment.
"Kufufufufu," he chuckled, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"... Is blue your natural hair color?" Fran asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Is teal YOUR natural hair color?" his teacher returned, arching a brow.
"Good question," Fran replied, "but I asked it first."
"Touche," Mukuro snorted, "and it's not. I dye my hair."
Fran mentally snorted, and told his teacher, "Well I'm a hundred percent natural. No hair dye here. Nope."
"No, really?" Mukuro said. Suddenly, the teacher seemed to realize what his purpose was. "Fran, do you have trouble holding back insults?"
"I've been holding them back, now haven't I, pineapple?" Fran pointed out. "Speaking of, would you take it out for me?"
"... No," the teacher replied, "Fran, please. I'm your teacher. Don't you realize that your being a bit... invasive?"
"Invasive?" Fran murmured, thinking hard. He didn't think it was invasive. "Wouldn't invasive be something more like me asking what color of underpants you wore today? If you're wearing any, that is."
"Fran," Mukuro snapped. "... Gah. Get back to class. I'll be calling your parents."
Fran shook his head in disapproval. "Sensei, you know I don't have parents. I have Grandma. Nobody else."
There was a small pause, in which Fran looked back into Mukuro's eyes with his ever-emotionless face, and Mukuro said, "I'll be calling your grandmother."
"Okay, sensei."
After class...
"Dude, Fran, you're so weird," Belphegor laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder.
"I'm not that weird. You call yourself a prince. And your not," Fran pointed out as he glanced at the blonde.
"Well I'm handsome enough to be one," Bel said, "You wanna have lunch together, Froggy?"
"Stop that. I'm not a frog, fake-prince," Fran muttered, "and yes, I do. I brought bacon."
"Ushishi. I almost expected Froggy to bring cheese cubes again."
"I never bring the same food, Bel, remember?" Fran pointed out, before yawning. "Man, I only got two point six hours of sleep last night."
"Two point six?" Bel asked, folding his arms behind his head as he walked.
"It means two hours and thirty-six minutes, stupid prince," Fran said, yawning again.
"Well you weren't tired earlier," the prince commented.
"Of course not. If I yawned in class, sensei would go Hawaii on us all," Fran said.
"Ushishishishi, speaking of sensei," Bel began as the two stepped onto the roof, "You harass him an awful lot. Is it what the prince thinks it is?"
"What does the prince think it is?" Fran asked.
"The prince thinks his Froggy has a crush on sensei," the blonde said in a quiet voice. "What is it? His hair? His eyes? His body?" Bel drew out the word 'body' like he was trying to make a point, so Fran smacked Bel with his pencil, which he always kept in his pocket for emergencies.
"I don't have a crush on sensei. That would be weird," Fran replied, though he was looking away.
"You sure?" Bel asked, "You know, he IS pretty young. You two should be only... like eight years apart."
"Is that what you think?" Fran asked with a smirk. "Bel, I'm fifteen. Sensei is thirty-two. I can do math. He's more than twice my age."
"Wait, he's that old?" the prince questioned, "I thought he was in his twenties..."
"Then you weren't there on his birthday," Fran said, sitting on the ground.
"When's his birthday?"
"June ninth," Fran answered.
"You know his birthday, his age, are you so certain about this, Fran?" Bel asked, "I think you do have a crush on him. Or you at least like him more than normal."
Fran was silent for a while as he took out his lunch bag. "... Bel. You're good with secrets, right?"
Bel grinned like the cheshire cat. "I'm the best. Won't say a word to anyone."
"... Bel, I think sensei is pretty. I do like sensei," Fran admitted, hanging his head, "Sensei is the only reason I come here day after day. Maybe I... love sensei..."
Bel remained quiet after that, not pushing further, and the two ate lunch in silence. "I think you should tell him," Bel said once he was finished. "This is bigger than you think, Fran."
"... Don't tell anyone. I'll think about telling him," Fran sighed, crumpling his paper lunch bag up into a pyramid shape and throwing it in the trash can. "But I just can't find a time. And when there's a good time, I just... can't do it."
"Thanks for being honest for me," Bel whispered, wrapping one arm around his friend and hugging for a moment. "I understand how you feel, Fran. I hate having to express myself, too."
"... Well, you're stupid, so that's a given," Fran sighed. A nerve popped out on Bel's forehead.
"I hate you."
"Way to express yourself."
-End Chapter
