"Dude, the first day of school is tomorrow. You really shouldn't be drinking that much." Ray quirked an eyebrow at his roommate, Michael, who was quickly draining his third shot of hard alcohol.

"Oh shuddup, Ray." Michael's voice already had a bit of a slur to it, Ray noted. "It's gunna be our last year! We're seniors!" He rapped his knuckle on the table and signaled the bartender, an attractive man around their age with dirty blonde hair and a British accent, to bring another shot over. "Besides," Michael lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm gunna try and go home with the bartender." The man in question walked over, flashing Michael a flirty smile and Ray decided to retreat before things got weird.

He didn't drink, the nasty alcohol tasted like AIDS to him honestly, so he was unfortunately sober. Unfortunately, he thought, because he was sound enough to be disgusted by the large amount of strangers attached by the face in every corner of the place.

He groaned, deciding to take a seat back at the bar (though a safe distance away from where the bartender was now heavily engaged in flirting with Michael, much to several customers' annoyance).

"I'll take a jack and a coke, hold the jack." Ray ordered from a woman who had come to take over. Her stern face cracked a smile before she rushed off to handle customers and scold the other employee.

"Funny boy, I see." Ray heard a lazy voice behind him and turned in time to see a man sit beside him. He raked his eyes over the man's features and studied him.

He had dark hair that was impossibly messy and brown eyes with stress rings under them. His face, beautiful as it was, showed age and Ray would approximate he was in his late thirties. Stubble brushed his jaw and his soft lips were smirking at Ray.

Overall: gorgeous as fuck.

"I like to consider myself an amateur comedian." Ray fixed his glasses. Time to put on the suave.

"Well, funny boy, is anyone accompanying you tonight?" The man leaned forward, flashing perfectly white teeth.

Ray glanced back to see Michael and the British bartender sucking face in the corner and rolled his eyes before turning his focus back to the man. "Nope."

"In that case, my name's Joel." His voice was becoming more sultry by the minute, and Ray was sure his face was heating up.

"Hey Joel, I'm Ray." He took a sip of his coke, making sure to flick his tongue out teasingly and feeling satisfied when Joel's eyes darted to the motion.

"Ray." He mulled the word over as if it were a fine wine and Ray couldn't help the shudder that went down his spine.

"If you keep saying my name like that, I might just have to take you home." Ray said without thinking, his face flushing red immediately; something Joel certainly didn't miss.

The older man leaned in closer, his hot breath grazing Ray's ear. "Ray." He growled out. Ray nearly dropped his coke.

Pay the bill.

Rush to the car.

Fumble with the keys.

Drive home.

Thank fucking God that Ray could do that all without much brain power because holy shit he'd be damned if his brain wasn't working correctly.

And thank God he had the common sense to send out a quick text to Michael on the way.

'dont you dare try coming home tonight or i will fuck you up. im callin in my favor from the time i had 2 carry your drunken ass up 3 flights of stairs last month.'

They were at the doorway of his apartment and they were making out like horny teenagers as Ray tried to unlock the door without breaking their lip contact, an effort that proved to be pointless and only led to him banging his elbow. He let out a loud groan as he shoved the key into its hole and twisted it much harder than necessary before flinging the door open.

Joel watched the action with an amused face and kiss-swollen lips that were driving Ray absolutely crazy.

"Get your sweet ass in here." Ray snarled, grabbing Joel by the collar and yanking him forward before kicking the door closed with a heavy foot. Joel chuckled into Ray's mouth, fisting his fingers into the younger man's black hair and yanking on it.

Ray moaned, slowly pushing them towards his bedroom with several stops to battle tongues with one another on the walls leading to their goal.

By the time they finally reached the bed, both men had lost their shirts and Ray had discarded his shorts. Ray fell back onto the soft mattress and Joel followed suit, grinding down on his partner.

"S-second drawer." Ray managed to choke out as Joel nibbled on his exposed neck, blindly reaching over to sift through the dresser and letting out a little yelp of victory when his fingers locked around a tube and a wrapper. He tossed them to the side, not yet done with teasing the younger man.

He ducked his head down and took one of Ray's nipples into his mouth, sucking and nipping at it until Ray was practically writhing beneath him.

Joel unbuttoned his pants and kicked them off quickly, thrusting his barely-clothed hips forward, eliciting a gasp from Ray that was so struggled he was almost embarrassed. That is, he would have been embarrassed if there wasn't an extremely sexy older man removing his boxers to reveal a throbbing hard cock straddling him at the moment. Ray used the last of his self-control to take off his own and thoroughly enjoyed Joel's eyes exploring every part of him.

"You're so sexy it should be illegal." Joel whispered before jumping into action.

He took Ray's bottom lip in his teeth, his hand (the one that wasn't slowly snaking it's way down to tease Ray's cock) reaching out and grabbing the bottle of lube. He unscrewed it with ease, prying his other hand away only for a second to squeeze a generous amount onto his fingers.

He teased Ray's tight hole, circling it and fixing the young man with a wicked grin as the muscles slowly relaxed and he slipped a finger in. Ray hissed but Joel silenced him with a breathtaking kiss, teeth clicking together with the intensity of it all.

And Ray saw it in Joel's eyes. As tired as they looked, Ray saw the fire burning behind them and it was burning for him. The thought made him moan and he sighed happily when Joel added another finger, slowly stroking his inner walls. When he added another, he quickened his pace, hooking around to flick against Ray's prostate.

Ray convulsed under him, rocking his hips forward needily and begging for some sort of friction, anything to relieve some of the tension building up inside of him.

"Eager?" Joel's laugh was breathy and full of life and it broke Ray even further.

"F-fuck me!" He growled, digging his nails into Joel's thigh.

"God damn." Was all the other managed to whisper before quickly removing his fingers and tearing open the foil packaging with his teeth. He slipped it on and bumped Ray's legs open wider before lining himself up, distracting Ray with soft kisses to his jaw as he inched his way in.

"Ready?"

"I swear to God if you don't fuck me now, I'm going to punch you." Ray choked out, making Joel laugh.

"Happy to oblige." He bucked forward and Ray's back arched off of the bed, reaching down to grab his neglected member as Joel pulled almost all the way out before slamming back in with a grunt.

"Shit." He groaned, quickening his pace.

"J-ahn! Joel! Right there! R-right..AH-THERE!" Ray was making no try at keeping quiet as Joel rammed into him, a bead of sweat making its way down his neck.

Ray's hips jerked forward as the familiar feeling of pressure reached a point that he couldn't handle any longer, spurting across his hand and chest. He whimpered out Joel's name as he came down from his orgasm.

"On your knees." Joel demanded and Ray nodded, his legs shaking as he rearranged himself to be on his hands and knees and spread his legs. He wiggled his ass and Joel mumbled out something that Ray didn't quite catch with his heavy breathing.

Joel slid back in with ease and continued a hard pace, making Ray's already-sensitive senses burn with pleasure. He felt a strong hand grip at his hip and the smack of Joel's body against him as he neared climax, thrusts losing their even rhythm.

"I..I-m..!" Was all Joel got out before he was cumming, words dissipating into a long groan of Ray's name.

Ray collapsed, letting exhaustion overcome him as he felt Joel's body hit the bed beside him.

-

Ray woke up to an empty bed and a note with Joel's number scrawled on it in slender writing. He stretched lazily, enjoying the soreness in his muscles and smiling as he recalled the previous night.

After a few moments of indulging himself with memories in his warm bed, he drug himself out to start his morning routine.

Shower.

Dress.

Brush teeth.

Halfheartedly comb fingers through hair (close enough).

Grab new school supplies.

And he was ready to head off to class. He tucked the paper with Joel's number in his pocket before leaving, a pop-tart halfway in his mouth.

First class: Political science.

He honestly didn't care for it at all, but he'd been stalling getting his final science credit and for some reason the dumb class counted. At least the class was small, with only eighteen kids present at the time.

The professor was late so he had time to unpack his things without being rushed. Michael trudged in looking like Hell to sit by Ray a couple minutes later. His shirt was inside out and he had dark circles under his eyes from a night with no sleep.

"Good morning, sunshine." Ray chirped out and Michael scowled at him. "How'd it go with the bartender?"

Michael smiled despite himself, playing with one of his auburn curls. "His name is Gavin. And it was fantastic. We have a date planned for Saturday."

"Ooh." Ray made kissy faces and received a sharp punch on the arm. "Ow! Okay, okay." He held up his hands in a sign of truce.

"Hey can I borrow a pencil?" Ray nodded and tossed him one. "Cool. How was it with your man? I'm assuming you brought one home considering the fucking text I got." Fuck. The tables were turned now and Michael was smirking.

The door opened and Ray let out a sigh of relief. Saved by the arrival of the profess-

"Oh my fucking God." Ray whispered out, his brown eyes widening to a comical size. Michael turned, alarmed and concerned.

"What? Jesus Christ, Ray. You look like you've seen a ghost." Ray didn't respond, his mouth slack.

"Hello students. I'm Professor Heyman, and this is Political Science. If you didn't sign up for this class, you're in the wrong building and should probably leave." A mousy-looking girl hopped out of her chair nervously and jogged towards the door, pulling out her schedule in a mad rush. There was muffled giggles throughout the class as professor Heyman, no, Joel, turned to write his name on the white board in that same, slender writing.

"It.. It's him!" Ray hissed to Michael, still being met with a confused look. "The guy who came home with me from the bar!" He elaborated, annoyed by his roommate's lack of understanding.

"No. Fucking. Way." Michael snickered, ducking his head down to hide his quickly reddening face as his shoulders shook with laughter.

"It's not funny, man!" Ray was panicking and hadn't noticed that Joel was now calling role.

"Michael Jones?" He called out. Receiving no answer, he looked up to scan the room. "Mr. Jones?"

Michael jumped in his seat and raised his hand, wheezing out a weak 'here'. Joel's eyes caught Ray's panicked face and the look of realization was immediate.

There was a moment, a brief moment, where time seemed to stop as the two men just stared at each other, expressions a mirror image of one another's.

"U..um, Miles Luna?" Joel managed to stutter out, returning to the role with some difficulty.

Ray smacked Michael on the back of the head and the boy sobered up, still grinning wildly.

"Ray Narvaez?" Ray's head snapped to the front once more and he raised his hand timidly, the tips of his ears on fire.

"R-right." Joel muttered.

Ray let his head fall into his hands and he squeezed his eyes shut, embarrassment flooding every part of him. "How the fuck. What are the fucking chances?" He sighed.

"Okay, so I'm sure most of the few students that are even in this class don't want to be here." Joel trudged forward, facing the class with a small smile.

"Political science is something that most people don't even think about, let alone want to learn about. But, I promise it's not as shitty as you think."

"Now, every year I get a classroom full of skeptics with maybe one student who truly cares, am I right?" There was muttering through the room and Joel nodded knowingly. "I thought so. But it's so important to know about what's going on nowadays, because a lot of terrible stuff is happening. The more educated you are on it, the less likely you are to repeat the same stupid mistakes our government is making right now. So, I know I can't make you come to class, and I won't be taking roll anymore for the rest of the year, but you should definitely still come."

"Oh my God, what do I do?" Ray was whispering frantically under Joel's lecture. Michael shook his head, straining to keep his laughter silent.

"I have no fucking clue, man. But I bet you can get extra credit with whatever it is." Ray glared at him, restraining himself from hitting him again.

"Not funny. I'm freaking out!" Ray's hand shook around the pencil he had clasped in it and he tried to control it.

Michael rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Just talk to him after class. It's not that hard." But wasn't it? Ray looked back up to where Joel was now faced away, writing notes on the board and outlines for what the class would be like for a semester. He looked up and down at his form, currently wrapped in a well-tailored suit. A few dirty thoughts ran through his mind and he shook them away. Now wasn't the time to fantasize about his professor bending him over and taking him on his desk, rattling it and knocking over papers and... DAMMIT no stop it!

"Talk to him...?" Ray spoke slowly, as if it would help him comprehend the idea more. Simple enough, but did he have the courage?

As Joel dismissed the class and Ray ran out of the door despite Michael's squawk of protest, he realized he didn't.

-

For the rest of the day, Ray could honestly say he didn't pay attention to any of the other classes he attended. It didn't help that Michael wasn't there. Or maybe it did, especially since he was sure Michael would tease him for being such a pussy.

He fumbled with the number in his pocket, bringing it out just to shove it back in over and over, the paper becoming increasingly wrinkled.

What was he supposed to do?

Seriously, what? He had no fucking idea. He could always call it off, but the little twist in his stomach at the very idea of it pretty much eliminated that option. He liked Joel and he would like to get to know him better.

Okay then, option two.

Which was...?

Talk to Joel, he supposed. See if he wanted to maybe go on a date, give it a try. Ray knew that Joel could get in trouble for dating a student, so he didn't want to assume anything.

Oh God, what if Joel said no? What if he thought Ray wasn't worth it and told him to go away? Ray sighed heavily as he entered his apartment, mentally exhausted from a day of worrying and thinking up questions with no answers.

"What the fuck was that?" Michael was waiting for him, as Ray had expected, with a hand on his hip and a scowl on his freckled face.

"I... panicked." Ray mumbled, looking down at the ground. What he did was pretty cowardly, he knew.

"Yeah you fucking did." Michael growled, but his irritation was quick to dissipate into understanding, Ray knew. "Listen, I know you're worried about how he will act. After all, you only had one night together, and you think that maybe he won't see that one night as something special enough to date a student." Michael voiced Ray's insecurities perfectly; he'd always been good at telling what was bothering him. "Well, asshole, you're not as shitty as you think, you know."

He grinned and Ray chuckled despite himself. "You don't have his class tomorrow, so take a day to think about what you're going to do." That was true. Joel's class rotated every other day, thankfully. "You have to do something, you can't just keep being cowardly. He'll get the wrong impression."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Ray grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Of course I am, asshole. Now, my computer is fucking up. Come fix it, I want to Skype with Gav." Ray grinned. That was something he could do. He was studying to be a programmer, and thus had a pretty damn good grasp of computers (not that he was bragging or anything).

After teasing Michael some, a quick fix of the computer, and a couple frozen dinners, Ray decided to head to bed, feeling much more confident.

Now if only the confidence would last for a couple days.

-

The next day flew by, much to Ray's discomfort. It always seemed to go quicker when he didn't want it to.

He spent most of it planning on how he could confront Joel.

Should he do it before class?

After?

He thought about texting him, but when he pulled out the paper he realized his constant manhandling of it the day before had made several of the numbers illegible.

He had no idea why he was so nervous and freaked out.

He'd had one-night-stands before, sure. Not very often, but they had happened, and they usually sucked. They just seemed to be lacking something. But that night with Joel had been fantastic, and he'd really been looking forward to calling the older man and hoping to make a proper date of it. He didn't want to lose that opportunity because that handsome random face happened to be his professor, but did Joel feel the same way?

All he could do was wait and find out.

-

He woke up early and took extra care getting ready (he even properly brushed his hair, which was pretty big for him).

When he walked into Joel's class, several students were already there, and so was Joel. Ray tensed, avoiding eye contact with the professor as he took his seat by Michael.

"You got this." Michael whispered to him, flashing him a reassuring smile. Ray nodded, desperately trying to cling to his resolve.

At the end of the class, he decided, was when he would do it. He could just wait around, maybe pretend he was organizing his shit. His next class didn't start until an hour after Joel's ended anyways. So he decided to pay attention while he waited.

The first thing he noticed about Joel was his passion. The older man talked with his hands and never stood still for more than a few minutes, frequently pacing the room back and forth. His brown eyes sparkled when he talked about a particularly interesting subject and he would smile ever-so-slightly when someone raised their hand to ask a question, clearly happy that someone was interested enough to want to know more. He ran his fingers through his hair quite a lot too, which Ray guessed was why it was so ridiculously crazy.

He also avoided looking at Ray. That was something the younger man noticed, unhappily.

But hadn't Ray done the same thing? Maybe Joel was just as nervous and unsure of what to do.

When the rest of the class finally began to leave, Ray stayed seated. Michael clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly before heading out as well, leaving Joel and Ray alone.

Joel was at his desk, sifting through papers and oblivious that anyone was still in the room. Ray cleared his throat and Joel started, carefully putting his things down and turning to face the source of the noise.

"Hey, Ray." Joel's voice cracked and Ray snickered.

"Hey, Professor Heyman." Ray teased. Sarcasm was his savior in awkward situations.

Joel rolled his eyes, leaning back on his desk. "So..."

"I know what you're thinking!" Ray interrupted, frantic to get his thoughts in before Joel could make a decision. "You're thinking that I'm a student and you're a teacher and it's a terrible idea to date because you could get in trouble and you definitely don't want that."

"The thought had crossed my mind." Joel mused, but Ray pushed forward with his argument.

"But I'm good at keeping secrets, I swear. And I just.. I'd really like to give this a try, y'know? I.." He bit his lip, hesitating. "I like you, and I think we'd do pretty well together, if you want to."

Joel put a finger to his chin as if he was thinking, a smirk tugging at his lips. The tension was absolutely killing Ray.

"Well, funny boy, I was actually planning on asking you if you'd like to come over to my place this Friday. We could play some games, I could make dinner." Joel stepped closer and Ray let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, his shoulders relaxing.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Ray teased, pulling Joel to him.

"Your ass." Joel purred and Ray grinned.

"So does this make you my boyfriend?" Ray asked, nuzzling Joel's neck.

"Well, Mr. Narvaez, what do you think?" Joel's voice was stern, like he was asking a question for a quiz.

"Definitely, Professor." He leaned in and connected their lips gently. "Y'know, I've got an hour until my next class."

Joel quirked an eyebrow, the glint of mischief behind his eyes. "Time for you to earn some extra credit."