A/N

Hikaru here! So, after thorough fangirling ahem...RESEARCH of various fanfiction (all in the name of literary progress, I tell you) I have concluded that my chapters are, unfortunately, VERY SHORT. I feel bad, because I want to share more of Rei and Nagisa to people, but there's this one little voice in my head telling me, "Don't give away everything, ya piece of shit." So I listen to that. I stop my chapters when I feel that they should be stopped, which is the reason why I draft and redraft my chapters before submitting them...

If you see a spelling or grammatical error, please let me know via PM or review :)

Now for the whole backstory of this chapter: I'm reading The Scarlet Letter and, contrary to what many people think of classics, it's actually quite good. I wish Hester maintained her badassery throughout the book though...I hope I didn't just insult a book. Nathaniel Hawthorne, wherever you are, please do not haunt me for the rest of my life. I mean this in all good nature, I promise. So...(went off on a total tangent) one of the really cool add-ons to the actual story are references to the 19th century philosophy of anti-transcendentalism and (my favorite) the use of pathetic fallacy (love those words). I want to use techniques like that, maybe improve my style a bit, huh? I promise, no forests lighting up :3

Song for this chapter: Funny Group from Free! OST (yes, I know, no creativity whatsoever)

Enjoy! ~Hikaru

Rei's mind wandered while he was in class, the teacher's lecture on Renaissance linear perspective a dull, muffled sounds compared to the frenzy of ideas flooding his brain.

Who was he? Rei KNEW that he had seen those fiery magenta eyes before. He didn't even register the glare the boy gave him as he awkwardly adjusted his glasses. Only one thought ran through his mind as he fought to keep his face expressionless. Beautiful.

"- Rei Ryugazaki, if you'd care to elaborate." The professor's voice jolted him out of his thoughts of blond curls and magenta eyes. He pushed up his glasses, looking around, utterly confused.

"Me?" He pointed to himself with a flustered expression on his face.

"Yes, you." The professor's lips tilted up as he flicked his head to push his bleached bangs out of his eyes. With the bleached hair and the designed undercut, Goro Sasabe looked more like a thug than an esteemed instructor of art history. There was no backing out now. He was caught.

"Um," he swallowed. "what was the question again?" The last part came out as a low whine as Rei's face burned and his gaze dropped to the floor. First impression ruined. Damn that blond cherub. He looked up from a bright red spiral on the carpeting to his classmates' laughter. Professor Sasabe smile warmly.

"No need to be shy. We all have our bad days." He pointed to a red book on Rei's desk, still unopened." If you go to page 394, you will see a picture. Rei quickly flipped to the page and instantly blushed. "Can you explain the artist's motives behind this picture and how it shows a reflection of the society of Pompeii?"

"Uh." A crimson flush had painted itself across the bluenette's face as he stared at the picture. It was one of the ancient Roman frescoes from a brothel in Pompeii, as stated in the caption below it. It wasn't the fact that it came from such a place, it was what the picture was depicting. Looking carefully at the picture, it was obvious to see that it showed two men in the throes of passion. The blush remained as his eyes caught an obvious phallic symbol at the corner of the page. "I...uh...think that the artist...was adding to the...open idea of brothels as...fertility...and that sex between guys was...uh...more accepted than today's society." His face had taken on the shade of his red glasses as he tried to anywhere except where his teacher was standing with a smirk on his face. He eventually resorted to hiding his face in his hands, giving up on hiding his expression.

The rest of the class went by in a blur as he tried to not make eye contact with the rest of his classmates, not after his fuck up answering the question. Mr. Sasabe gave him an encouraging smile as he walked out the door. "Remember, students, that art is not just the author's idea, it is an experience of self reflection for the viewer. This classroom is open for discussions and is a place of tolerance to any preferences a student may have." Mr. Sasabe called out after them. What a weird teacher. He swung his bag over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. A hand clapped him on the shoulder as he reached the door to the Hazuki Hall. Flinching violently, he turned to see who had interrupted his flow. A tall brunette grinned sheepishly at him.

"Sorry for scaring you." His voice was gentle, like waves lapping at the shore. His genuine smile put Rei at ease. "That was some explanation you gave in class, heh." he chuckled as Rei stiffened, eyes darkening.

"If you don't mind, I have another class to go to." He tried to push through the crowd to the door as the boy's hand caught him again on his shoulder. "What?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It was cool how you tried to explain a topic that you weren't familiar with." He stuck out his hand. "Makoto Tachibana."

"Rei Ryugazaki." The handshake was surprisingly firm, for such a gentle person.. Rei figured that there was more to this kid than he let on.

"Rei? Isn't that a girl's name?" Makoto cocked his head to the side. Rei frowned.

"Isn't Makoto a girl's name?" he growled out. Sensing the tension, Makoto laughed.

"No, no, I didn't mean it that way!" He gesticulated as emphasis. "I'm happy that there's more people who have girly names like me. You wouldn't believe the amount of teasing I had to go through in high school for that." Rolling his eyes, Makoto placed his hands on his hips and pouted like a drag queen. Even Rei couldn't stop himself. The corners of his mouth twitched up, betraying his stoic mask.

"Ah!" Makoto gasped.

"What?!" Rei jumped at the sudden sound.

"You smiled!" Makoto poked his new friend?'s cheek. "You should do that more often."

Rei would deny it till the day he died, but he was thankful for Makoto being there.

They were quick to realize that they shared all their classes, and Makoto's insistence that Rei sit next to him made the bluenette feel wanted. After so long. He relaxed in his seat, sighing contentedly, listening to Makoto's expressive voice weave elaborate stories of his past.

Their classes for the day ended at 12:45, with Rei stretching like a cat as he got up from his seat. His notebook was full of intricately solved equations, his handwriting as neat as ever. Makoto pulled him out of his chair. "Rei!"

"Hm?"
"Who's that?" Makoto's eyes were locked onto a tall boy in the front of the class. Rei recognized him instantly as the cockblock whose only purpose was to make sure Rin and Haruka were split up. Many a night were wasted to try to distract him while Rin and Haru snuck out on a date. Rei held no kindness for him whatsoever.

"Sousuke Yamazaki." Rei spat out venomously. He remembered those nights when he had to be on guard duty for Rin and Haruka. He remembered the humiliation and the fear he felt when he was caught. He hid all that behind a mask of indifference which was quickly lost when he caught sight of Makoto's expression. The teen's eyes were wide open and sparkling, and a blush started forming across his face. Who knew that Makoto swung that way? He cleared his throat awkwardly. Makoto finally realized that Rei was still there and flushed bright red.

"U-Uh i-it's not like I was staring at him or anything." Makoto shook his head in denial and sputtered out.

"Enjoying the view?" Makoto jumped in surprise as he came face to face with the very teen that had caught his attention. Teal eyes glistened in mirth as his lips turned into a smirk.

"Yamazaki-senpai!" Makoto stammered and promptly turned crimson. He turned to the side with a look of Save me! in his eyes. Rei fought hard to keep his face impassive. One more expression like that and he would bust out in unmanly giggles.

Sousuke turned to Rei, eyes hardening.

"Ryugazaki." He nodded

"Yamazaki." Rei curtly nodded back.

"I'll be borrowing your friend here, if you don't mind." Sousuke then pulled Makoto out of his cowering position, dragging him by the arm to the exit. Makoto flashed one look of helplessness at Rei before he was out of sight. Rei chuckled. As much of a dick that Yamazaki Sousuke was, he was a good person to be around, smart and reliable. It would do Makoto good to have him around. He stretched and picked up his bag, flipping open his phone to call Rin.

and there we have it, yet another (somewhat) pairing going :)

I sincerely apologize for being so late with updating, I feel awful... just school problems and family problems and other problems *bangs head on computer*

because of this, I have set up a calendar on my phone to remind myself to haul ass and start updating. It's written, just grossly written...

Thank you for reading and happy holidays!

~Hikaru~