Just as he did on every other day, Alexianos Kirzigian unlocked his classroom door and walked inside, turning on the lights. Their fluorescence woke him up somewhat, and he took another sip of tea from his thermos for good measure. He surveyed the lab area for a moment, making sure that no chemical spills had been left untended, and walked to his desk as soon as he was satisfied. He scanned a few worksheets, quickly grading them with a green, felt-tip pen (he felt that the color green encouraged success), and checked the clock. It was 7:45- there were still fifteen minutes until his first class began.

Tino Väinämöinen entered his own classroom, dropping his brief-case and lunch sack (khorovods for lunch!) by his desk. He checked his computer, making sure that the power-point on Babylonian civilization he'd prepared the night before was up and running. It was. Realizing that he still had time before his first-period class joined him, he sent a quick text to his husband.

"Happy Anniversary, Aleksi! :D"

Alexianos was surprised by the fact that he had an incoming text- usually his friends and family texted him during his lunch or after school hours. He silenced his iPhone before checking it.

"Happy Anniversary, Aleksi! :D"

He smiled, his dark eyes squinting, and sent one back.

"Who are you?"

Knowing that Tino would enjoy the joke, he waited another moment before replying, "Happy anniversary to you, too, Tino. :) I love you!"

The Finnish man laughed as he received the two texts from his husband. "Hardy-har-har. You should be a comedian. ;) I love you, too. And I used your cologne this morning!"

"Really? Haha, why? You don't usually wear cologne."

"It reminds me of you. The five-minute bell just rang; G-rated thoughts until tonight, jan!"

Alexianos shook his head and smiled. As if that's possible…

…

"Good morning, class!" Alex greeted from the front of the room, scanning the sea of 10th grade heads and mentally checking attendance. "How was the homework last night?"

The students varied in their responses. About half of the honors chemistry class found their assignment to be easy, while the other half found it difficult.

"Well, VESPR theory is tough, so I won't check homework today." A collective sigh of relief sounded, and Alexianos smiled. "However, if you have questions, I'd like for you to ask me to clarify what you don't understand. And, I suppose that if you understand VESPR theory, you can relax. I was going to make an extra worksheet, but it's a Friday, and you guys gotten through your lessons quickly this week."

Alexianos helped the confused students with their questions, relieved when it seemed that all of them understood the theory after his extra instruction. While his students spent the last ten minutes of class chatting, Alex quickly replied to his lover's text.

"G will be impossible, love. ;) Thank God we have Monday off next week. I want you all to myself for the next three days. :)"

After concluding his Power-Point presentation, Tino divided the AP World History class into groups to work on mini-scripts. Checking his phone, he covered his face and blushed when he read the response.

"PG, then? xD Oh, jan, don't woo me until we get to the beach house. Once we're there, you can do whatever you want with me… ;)"

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. :D"

"Well, within reasonable constraints. ;)"

"Damn. No Finnish barbecue."

"xD You have a dark sense of humor."

"More like a 'dork' sense of humor. xD"

"That, too. :D Your cologne smells really good. I can't wait to smell it on you. ;)"

"Haha, jan, are we even allowed to text during class time? xD"

"We are if we don't get caught!"

"That's not very Finnish of you. ;D"

"When do I ever act as a Finnish male is 'supposed' to? ;) Oh, shoot! The bell is about to ring. See you at lunch."

Alexianos looked forward to that. "Sounds good. :)"

…

The rest of the day proved uneventful for both men, though neither had any time to text one-another after the initial conversation. Tino hurried across the campus to join Alex for lunch in his own classroom. He entered the room, blushing when he realized that a student was still getting help from his husband.

"Thanks, Mr. Kirzigian," Elizaveta smiled at her teacher as she rose to stand. "I get it now."

"Glad to hear that." Alexianos smiled, as well. "Have a nice weekend!"

She glanced at Tino, grinning knowingly. "Oh, you too!" She left the room, waving at Tino on the way out.

"She's a nice girl," Tino commented, walking to his husband for a quick hug. Surprisingly, Alexianos kissed him on the cheek.

"She is. So, how has your day been?"

The blond smirked. "It's good, though someone is making it difficult for me." He winked.

Alex laughed. "That's because you're young. When you're an old man like me, you can control your urges better…most of the time." He squeezed Tino's side playfully, and the other laughed, as well.

"Old man, my ass. You're forty, Alex."

"Hm, which is still ten years older than you, jan."

"But you're very energetic." The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment, dimples raised in satisfied smiles.

"It's been a good three years. Two years, as your husband." Alexianos reached for Tino's hand, and the blond surrendered it without hesitation.

"It has been good. I'm very lucky to be with you, Alex." Tino leaned forward, kissing his partner slowly. After a moment, Alexianos broke away.

"Jan-" His voice was breathy, nearly a whisper, "Let's wait."

Tino winked. "So I have cracked your resolve! I just wanted to get you back for those sexy texts."

"You're too cruel."

"I'll be kind tonight." The Finn grinned at the other. "It's just two more hours, thank God."

…

Alexianos vowed not to glance at the clock for the rest of the day. For one thing, he felt it was rude not to devote his attention to his students, and for another, he wouldn't be satisfied until the last bell had rung. He normally didn't text Tino during work, unless it was an emergency, and after their previous conversation before lunch he feared getting caught with some rather compromising messages.

Once the pair reached their villa, they were itching to get their hands on one-another. The sun had already begun its descent, and the cool air of Carpintaria rapped against the window panes. The two had already eaten on the road, and since their bones were chilled beyond belief, a bath sounded perfect.

As the two settled into the steaming water, Tino turned to face Alexianos.

"Remember when we took our first bath together?" Tino cupped some water in his hand and poured it on Alex's head, wetting his husband's hair.

"That was the morning after our wedding, wasn't it?" Alexianos looked back on the moment fondly. "And I was so cold- I'd never been so cold in my life." The two chuckled.

"Well, Finnish Lapland is something else. I did my best to keep you warm, though."

"Will you keep me warm tonight?"

Tino kissed the shell of Alexianos' ear. "I'll burn you up. Just let me wash up a bit more once you're done in here."

"Oh, so you're…? You can be on top, if you'd like."

The Finn shook his head. "I want it to be like it was on our wedding night. Except less painful and inexperienced." He smiled, taking Alex's hand in his.

"You know," Tino continued, smirking, "You took someone else's virginity before mine. Don't you think I'm a little jealous?"

Alexianos smiled. Tino wasn't the type to compare himself to others. "Not at all."

Tino laughed. "You're right. But I was trying to be seductive. And, admittedly, I may have been fishing for a compliment."

"Well, you hardly need my reassurance to know how much I love you. Especially when compared to that…unsavory woman that I once was married to. However, I'm much better for it in the long run, now that I'm with you."

Tino's features expressed his sympathy, and he patted Alex's shoulder. Alexianos' ex-wife left him for a man with a six-figure salary.

"To be honest, I was surprised that you like men."

"I'm quite a multi-faceted character," Alex teased, "Though really? I drive a Prius, Tino. I mean, not just a Prius, but a purple one. I'm not exactly the epitome of masculinity."

Tino shrugged. "Purple can be a manly color. Come to think of it, I've never asked you what you prefer, have I?"

"What do you mean?"

"When looking for a partner."

Alexianos mused on this for a moment, tapping his chin in concentration. "Generally, women," he admitted, "Preferably with a bit of meat on their bones, though I'm not picky. But, despite that, I find you so incredible and handsome that not a single woman could compare to you." He kissed the top of Tino's head.

"Aw," Tino grinned, "And the same for you. You know, with guys, for me."

"What's your type, with men?"

"You know, I used to have the biggest thing for black guys," Tino smiled again, "and Asian guys, to some extent, too. I think I just like darker hair, eyes, and skin. I mean, when I first saw you, I thought you were really handsome. And then, when I got to know you better, it was really difficult for me to stop myself from loving you."

"If only I'd been with you, instead."

Tino blushed. "You've made these last three years very happy."

"Well, happiness begets happiness." Alex rose to stand, extending his hand to Tino. The blond accepted it and stood, as well.

"You know what I've been waiting all day for, jan." Alexianos asked, a slight tease in his voice. Tino smirked.

"I do."

Alex grinned. "Great, because I've always wanted to try skinny dipping!"

…

A/N: Muahaha, I surprised you, yes? :D I hope you enjoyed this! Please leave a review if you did- your reviews always encourage me and make my day. :)