A/N: So I thought after two and a half years of long and arduous school days, meticulously planned to fit as many classes as I could in a day would pay off eventually—and by that I mean make my school days more manageable. Maybe my 22+unit semesters would diminish to about 18 or 16.

I WAS WRONG AHAHAHAH. I'm gonna be doing this until I graduate. That's what I get for being a music major. One who likes to take electives. At least I'm getting out in four years, which is more than I can say for someone... l:D

*cough* Anyway enough of that, here's some more ShaunDes I was able to crap out between practice and study 8l

"And so, you go back to school, and you can live here."

Desmond groaned. "It's gonna suck…"

"Well, if you would just let me pay for it, then—"

"It's like fifteen-thousand dollars a year, Shaun. I'm not gonna let you pay that. I've got my night job, at least."

"Well, how do expect to get a better job if you haven't got a degree?"

Desmond slumped down in the armchair. "I don't know… I've failed so many classes, I'm not sure how I'd graduate on time. I'm not even sure if I like music anymore. Or even if I did in the first place."

"We'll figure out something. Just register for something and get back on track. That's the first step. I won't have an uncultured bum living in my flat."

Desmond groaned.

"If you don't quit moaning around like a lump of useless American, I'll have to put you to work moaning in a more productive way."

"Was that supposed to be some sort of lame sex joke?"

"Possibly. Now go do your paperwork. They have sneaky deadlines for things in the middle of summer."

"Yeah, I think I'm finished with music. This isn't working anymore." He was referring to the Music History class he was trying to retake, and was failing again. He usually liked history, but these concepts just weren't clicking with him.

"Well, are you interested in anything else?"

"… Biology?"

"Oh no, don't tell me you're going to be a scientist."

"Well, there are a lot of things I like. I just can't see myself pursuing a career in them..."

"... So you're not going to be a scientist?"

"Do you want me to or not!?"

"... It would be interesting." Shaun pushed his glasses up onto his nose.

"You mean you'd just like to see me in a lab coat. You've got some weird fetishes, man."

"Where did I ever suggest that it was a fetish!?"

"You looked away all embarrassed! It was sooo cute~"

"Shut up and choose a major already." Shaun went back to his paper-grading. One perk with teaching in a university setting was that it usually filtered out all the slackers who couldn't even get into college. But now he had to deal with the slackers who were intelligent, but thought they could get by without doing the work. Infuriating...

"What about History? I've always liked that."

Shaun frowned. "No. I don't want another historian to argue with every accursed day of the week."

"Come on, you know I'm good at it! And I really like it."

"It would be boring!"

"Not if we specialize in different periods. Your specialty is ancient civilizations, right? I've always enjoyed the Colonial period."

"Of course you would, bloody Yank..."

Desmond had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. "It's what brought us together~"

"Yes, how romantic. Think practically, Desmond! Eventually we would run out of things to argue about and I would probably hate you."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Nope."

Shaun thought he would cry. "Just... pick a class and register for it. Stay Undeclared for now." He gave up.

Demond gave a whoop of victory as he wrote in a biology class, and a World Civilizations class for his next semester.

"I could be a polymath."

Shaun looked up from his laptop. For once he was doing some recreational research for an article he'd been writing, and not grading papers. "Did you have to look that word up before coming to that conclusion?"

"For your information, I learned it in an art class. Da Vinci was one."

"Interesting. You do realize that he was a genius, and you are not?"

"Way to dash my hopes and dreams, man." Though Desmond wasn't actually discouraged, and he kept at it. "It doesn't mean I can't pursue everything though."

"Well, that would take a while. Are you prepared to spend your entire life studying?"

Desmond smirked. "Socrates said the first step in learning everything is realizing that you don't know anything."

"That's not the exact quote, and that doesn't answer my question."

"Then uh... 'There is no top, there are always further heights to reach'? By Jascha Heifitz."

"That's just depressing. Do you have a list of inspiring quotes you read each morning to help you get out of bed?"

"I'm sure you have your methods for facing your students every day."

Shaun sobbed on the inside. He was right.

"Hey, you're on Rate My Professor!"

Shaun frowned. "It hasn't even been a year since I was hired."

"You wanna know what students think of you?" Desmond grinned.

Shaun hesitated. "... Yes." If there was anyone that he couldn't hide his curiosity from, it was Desmond.

Desmond cleared his throat and read aloud. "'I hate this guy. It's impossible to get an A in his class. I worked my ass off and barely got away with a B-minus. I could have taken an easier class and learned just as much, without all the anal-retentive grading. Two stars.' Damn."

Shaun grimaced. "That's just sad. I almost feel sorry for them."

"'It gets better. 'Professor Hastings is the biggest hardass I've ever had as a professor. You take his class, you will fail. But he has the greatest ass you will ever see, so FIVE STARS!'"

Shaun coughed tea into the sleeve of his sweater. "What-!?"

"I'm not the only one who noticed, I guess. 'God, this guy is so hard, but it is so worth it. He gave me a newfound respect for hard work, and he has a great ass.' Gave you five stars."

"Jesus, roughly what percentage of these reviewers are anonymously hitting on me!?"

"Uhh..." Desmond counted them. "It looks like at least forty-three percent."

"This is why nobody pays attention. It has to be."

"They gave you a chili pepper for hotness."

"Okay, I understand!" Shaun put his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. Now he would constantly be reminded that a lot of his students were staring at his ass throughout the whole period.

"Oh god, one more. 'This guy is like twenty-something and has a PhD and is funny and wears glasses I would marry the shit out of this guy.'"

Shaun groaned. "Just like that? Run-on sentence and all?"

Desmond just cackled.

"A student hit on me today."

Desmond raised an eyebrow. "Did you hit back?"

Shaun guffawed. "No! He was obviously desperate. It was off-putting."

"Well, I was desperate..."

"But you were desperate in a cute, blushing bride sort of way. You didn't offer services after class in return for a better grade."

"Holy shit, he actually did that!?"

Shaun coughed into his fist. "It may have been a little more than hitting on me."

"Look at you, you're blushing!"

"Shut up!"

"I bet he was the reviewer who said he would marry you."

"You're grounded. No leaving the bedroom for the rest of the night."

"Wow, is this conversation making you excited?"

He cackled some more as Shaun tried tickling him to death.

This is how Desmond's third year ended. He had tried to finish his music degree, but only passed three more classes. There was no way he would have a degree in the next year. And so this is why Shaun found Desmond lying on the couch in a rather depressed-looking fetal position. He frowned. "What's wrong with you, your favorite television show was canceled or something?"

Desmond's reaction involved him swiveling his eyes toward the man in the doorway, and blinking. Shaun realized that maybe something serious was wrong with the man. He shut the door and set his keys down. "Mate, are you alright?"

Desmond murmured, "I don't know what to do anymore."

Shaun sighed, his eyes downcast. "We've had this conversation before. Just register for classes, and we'll go from there."

"I hate music, I have twelve more classes for a biology degree, and eleven more for a history degree. There's no way I'll finish next year. I'm still Undeclared, and I don't know what I wanna do."

Shaun scoffed lightly as he set his things down on the coffee table. "Bloody hell, you're gonna be in school your whole life if you don't pick it up."

Desmond frowned, and sat up. "I'm serious! Sorry I had a friggen identity crisis in the middle of my degree program, but I seriously have no idea what I want to do. And I'll lose financial aid after my senior year, so I can't pay for another year." He clenched his jaw in frustration. "I'll have to take out more loans, and I'll be forever indebted to society-"

Shaun cut him off. "Wait, more loans? Desmond, when did you take out loans?"

Desmond hesitated. "... My third semester. I couldn't pay for my dorm over the summer."

"Why didn't you tell me you were in debt already!? Jesus, Desmond..." He ran a hand through his hair. "... What the hell am I going to do with you? You infuriate me."

Desmond looked at the carpet. "Sorry." He looked up when Shaun placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Mate, don't worry about it. We'll figure it out. And you don't have to do this alone, how many times have I told you?"

Desmond's conviction faltered. "Lots..."

"And are you going to let me help? Or are you going to be forever indebted to society?"

And that's what broke what was left of Desmond's stubborn pride. "Why do you put up with me?"

Shaun pulled away, and smirked. "Because no one else is good enough for me."

He would have loved for it to be left at that, but he was assaulted with a hug and there was all kinds of awkward fluffiness he would have rather done without. As is usually the case with Desmond Miles.

A/N: Shit, I tried so hard not to make Desmond sound whiny about taking too long in school... But I know some people just have it really rough and they take a long time, so I tried to keep it realistic 8l Poor Desmond wah. Criticism is very much welcomed, I feel like I crapped on this chapter Dx