After that day, they decided having sexual relations in the classroom was probably not a good idea, and therefore they never had any time to have such things. It was incredibly frustrating, but that's why guys have hands. Ohhh yes. It was nowhere near as great as Shaun could do, but Desmond didn't have many options. He couldn't stay out too late since his dad was paranoid, and he'd probably call the math teacher to see if he was going to tutoring after school, and not making out with his history teacher in his car.

Yeeeah. They did that. But only sometimes, since Desmond had tutoring. It sounded so incredibly wrong, but once you thought about it, there really wasn't anything wrong with it. The major problem was that it was inappropriate for a teacher to have any sort of relation with a student. Shaun was incredibly paranoid about this (he had been ready and willing to give it all away before, but now that he didn't have to he was determined to keep his shitty job at all costs), and this was the reason they could never meet. Desmond had to think of something to get around this, before he died from neglect.

He waited for all other students to leave the room before approaching the desk. Shaun kept up with his paperwork, not even looking up. "Is there something you need?"

Desmond shifted anxiously. "… Not that I need, per se…"

Shaun rubbed his temples. "I know what you want. I thought we had an agreement."

"Please?" Desmond pleaded.

"I really can't risk it." Shaun still didn't look up.

"But I'm dying." Desmond frowned pathetically.

Believe me, I am, too."

Desmond pouted. " You can go out and grab someone any time you want. I'm not old enough."

"And why would I risk getting some kind of terrible disease?"

"I thought it was because you loved me."

Shaun blushed. "… That too."

Desmond placed his hands on the desk and leaned towards the man. "No one will see us in your car."

Shaun stopped writing, and clenched his jaw. "Stop it."

"No one will see! Come on, we both haven't had it in forever. And I've only had it once. It's not fair." He pouted some more.

Shaun looked up in disbelief. "It's bloody cold out there!"

"We could warm it up."

"… Come here."

And so Shaun's car was used for desperate affairs on the side of the road. Luckily the windows were frozen so no one could see how much fun they had.

Unfortunately, as much as they'd love it, they didn't have the time to indulge in their illicit affair every single day. But it was comfortable, for once. Desmond's grades continued to impress, and so Bill rarely bothered him about school. Most of the bothering was about helping around the farm, and playing with the kids (he liked to call it training… yeah). It was comfortable.

It wasn't until Desmond showed up at his front doorstep that Shaun began to think anything was particularly wrong with this situation.

He stared at the young man, shivering on his doormat. It was snowing, bloody snowing outside, and Desmond was standing on his doorstep, looking rather distraught. Shaun's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Desmond? Bloody hell, did you ride here?"

Desmond nodded stiffly. Shaun grabbed the teen by the arm and pulled him inside. "Are you crazy? Get over here." He pulled him over to the sofa and grabbed a throw, pulling it around him and setting him down.

"Sit there and I'll make some tea." He walked out, leaving Desmond to shiver on the sofa. Obviously there was something wrong, else Desmond wouldn't have ridden his bicycle through the bloody snow, at eight at night. He looked troubled, and Shaun was terrible at consoling people. As the water boiled, he looked back into the living room, where Desmond was hunched over, pulling the throw tight around him. He'd need more than that. The kettle whistled, and he prepared a mug of chamomile for his student. He figured the poor American had no taste for tea, so he used something more mild than his usual. He went back to Desmond and handed over the steaming mug.

"Here, it'll warm you up."

Desmond looked up, then poked one of his hands out of the throw enough to hold the mug. Shaun turned and went to the linen closet, grabbed another blanket, and put it around the teen. Then he sat down next to him, his fingers intertwined in front of him. "Alright. What happened?"

Desmond clenched his jaw visibly, trying to find words. "I… had an argument. With my dad. I just wanted to get out. I-I didn't know where else to go." He lowered his head in shame.

Shaun frowned. "Hey, It's all right. I didn't have anything planned… Just tell me what happened."

Desmond let out a shaky breath. "Dad's been cool, lately. We've been getting along really well, since he can't really complain about my grades. I came home with my progress report today. Straight A's. First time ever. I was really proud, so I showed him. And… he said good job. And that I'd better keep it up." His gaze burrowed into the wall ahead of him. "And I just… snapped. He doesn't have a fucking clue how hard I worked to get that. Every time I finally make it up to his standards, he sets new ones. I can never please him, ever!" He held onto the mug for dear life, so that he wouldn't forget he was holding it and drop it onto Shaun's immaculately clean carpet.

Shaun frowned, and let Desmond calm himself. When he no longer looked livid, Desmond breathed in a shaky breath. "So I told him off. And we argued. He said I should always be looking to better myself, and I said I couldn't fucking do it. Then I left. I didn't wanna deal with him anymore." He paused, then looked up at Shaun with reluctant tears in his eyes. "It's my fault, I'm sorry. I could have stayed, but I didn't, and—"

Shaun pulled him into an embrace, and Desmond sobbed into his chest. "No, it's not your fault. Your dad's a prick, and no one should have to deal with that." He paused as Desmond cried, not knowing what to say. But there must have been some innate reflex inside him that knew what to do, because he started to stroke Desmond's hair as he spoke in a reassuring tone, "It's alright now."

That innate consolatory instinct must have been correct, because after a few minutes, Desmond started to quiet down. He sniffed quietly, face burrowed in Shaun's chest, then he pulled away. He looked up, timidly. "Can I please stay? I don't… want to go back…"

Shaun smiled. "I was just about to start dinner, if you'd like. And I've got a spare room, so that's fine."

Desmond hesitated. "I… was hoping I could stay with you."

Shaun frowned. "… In my room?"

Desmond blushed. "Yes… I don't want to be alone."

Shaun stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "You're tempting me, Desmond."

"Is that bad?"

"Not in the slightest."

Desmond smiled again through his tears.