The Professor's First Truth
Part of being a pediatrician did involve knowledge of sexuality; Nowaki could be treating children as old as late teens, after all, and children were sexually active that early. Nowaki knew that firsthand. Hiro-san was twenty-three by then, but he was still eighteen. Besides taking his required classes, therefore, he used one of his health credits to take Human Sexuality. It was full of psychology students, mostly girls, who thought he was adorable.
The professor was a recently graduated woman who thought he was adorable as well. She almost felt guilty informing Nowaki of the intricacies of sexuality and a sexual relationship; she just knew he was a naïve little kid and she suspected he'd never had any experience with any of it. He was always sitting there at the front of the class, taking notes with enthusiastic vigor, though. He was probably the best student in the class.
About halfway through the trimester, she scheduled conferences to discuss class projects with her students. Nowaki was, of course, on track. She found herself asking about him when she glanced at the clock and saw there was still time. He easily told her that he grew up in an orphanage, and that he originally wanted to be a social worker for children.
"What made you change your mind?" she asked him.
Nowaki smiled and looked down at his lap. "I'd like to be able to support my loved ones, and I'd still be able to work with children this way."
"Ah. You want to have children of your own?"
"It would be nice, but it might be complicated," Nowaki said. His eyes drifted to the window, and then they lit up. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now." He bowed to his professor and stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
The professor watched out the window as Nowaki appeared in the courtyard just outside and approached a man sitting on a bench. She opened the window in time to hear him talking.
"Hiro-san!" he said, and the man looked up. "I thought you had class."
"Professor's sick. Thought maybe we could have lunch." Hiro-san averted his eyes to the ground when a huge smile came over Nowaki's face. "Wipe that grin off your face! It's not like it's even been that long since we've seen each other."
"But I'm always happy to spend time with Hiro-san," Nowaki said.
"Psh, you act like you didn't just destroy my ass last night," he muttered, earning another smile from Nowaki before the two went on their way.
The professor sat back in her chair, contemplating what she had just seen. She was by no means a bad judge of character, but Nowaki had seemed so utterly innocent. She wasn't sure she'd be able to look at him without giggling after that.
For the lovely x, who has reviewed all the chapters so far in his/her lovely anonymity. And as a side note, Human Sexuality is the best and most awkward class I've ever taken.