Robert Callaghan had to admit when he walked in: the restaurant was rather nice. Possibly, it would e something Abigail liked, but he'd have to bring her some other time. With it's mint green walls, the professor felt rather calm and cool as he scanned the crowd, his eyes falling on a group of kids sitting at a table by the window.

They were his own students, he realized, as he made a flash of eye contact with one of them- the burly African American boy and the Korean girl, both with somewhat suspicious looks on their faces as he politely waved to them, grateful when their blond friend distracted them from his presence.

Shoes clicking steadily against the linoleum floor, Robert knew it was probably awkward to have been seen in public by a group of his own students; no doubt they thought all teachers lived in the school's basement like a bunch of trolls or something like that. And, as he sat himself down at a small table not to far from the bar, he realized it was probably a waste of time to be out and about, instead of at home with Abigail.

His daughter had taken on a new job at Krei Tech Industries, helping test out robotics projects and working on top secret government projects.

At least, that's what she said her job involved. He was never too leery of government positions, having been a former military man himself. He pushed the thoughts away, drumming his nails on the tabletop as he tried to focus. He was a schoolteacher now- and a hungry one at that, as his stomach began to grumble.

Looking around, he couldn't help take in what others were eating, He liked it to be a game of sorts; depending on what people ordered, he'd slowly explain said person's life at that current moment just through food and body language alone.

A good start was the table at which his students sat- the primary focus being on the boy with a cheeseburger, ketchup, mustard and bits of meat on his clothes and the table. Judging from the way he held on tight to the buns as he chomped down ravenously on his food, he didn't like being left out of things when it came to his friend group. That, Professor Callaghan thought, and he's an only child, and probably never had this many friends before in his life.

As he moved on to scrutinize the rest of the group (all well to do kids, he was sure of it) he twisted back around in his chair so he was facing the bar and finally noticed him.

Tadashi Hamada was wiping down the counter with a white dishcloth rag, wearing a blue stringed apron around his waist. It felt as though the thermostat had been set higher all of a sudden as the professor found himself breaking into a sweat, tugging at the collar of his white button-down. Swallowing, he felt his chest tighten slightly- what was happening?!

It's probably nothing, Robert thought as he watched Tadashi at work. The young man had finished cleaning the countertop with a grand flours, imitating a flamenco dancer with the cleaning rag. Laughter sounded as a woman emerged from a pair of silver double doors and smacked his arm playfully, pointing to the bar.

The kid missed a spot, the teacher thought amusingly as he ignored the woman's request, reaching under the bar to retrieve a notepad and paper, plucking a pen from his apron pocket. Mustering all his courage, Robert cleared his throat, giving his student a hearty greeting.

"Good afternoon, Mister Hamada!" Robert boomed as Tadashi nodded at him, "I didn't know you worked here!" Robert worked a pained smile on his face as he tried to ignore the sudden feeling, ah, creeping in on him as Tadashi smiled back. It was quite an obvious lie- Robert had overheard the students talking about the cafe in class.

Natural curiosity, he guessed, won him over, thus he found himself there.

"Well, it's a family owned business," Tadashi replied, twirling his pencil effortlessly in his fingers. "What can I get you?"

Robert felt sweat prick his forehead as he glanced down quickly at the menu, finally agreeing on a plate of fatty fried fish. The name of it exactly he didn't see, just pointing to it, "Thi sis fine, with a glass of light beer if you have?" Nodding, Tadashi scribbled it down before grabbing the menu from his teacher, and Robert froze momentarily as their fingers brushed. For some reason, every nerve in his body just seemed to stop working.

It wasn't like it was intentional. Hell, Tadashi was his student. So why was his body doing this? Why was he freaking out? He had only known the kid for a day. Thankfully, Tadashi didn't notice, having begun to walk back to the bar, yelling at the woman his order. Robert watched as he went, how Tadashi's legs elongated with each step, how confident he was in his actions, how his muscles seemed to squeeze and contract underneath his jeans…

A tingle shot through his body and Robert twitched a bit. What was going on?! He looked around sheepishly, hoping no one had seen-

And found the eyes of his student Wasabi glaring at him with a questioning look, eyebrow raised as he sat there with his friends, a plate of who knew what sitting in front of him. Robert felt the heat rise to his face as a few minutes later, Tadashi reemerged with a tall draft of beer in his hand.

"Here you are sir," he said, placing the glass down with a clink on the table. Condensation rolled off the glass and over Tadashi's hand, the student wiping the water on his apron. Robert noticed how his biceps flexed with the motion, muscle pressing against the seams of the shirt he wore-

"Professor Callaghan?" Tadashi's voice broke through his trance, making the older man blink.

"Huh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his student.

"I asked if you were feeling alright?" Tadashi said, concern lilting his voice, "You don't look so good." Robert raised a hand to his cheek, feeling the heat emanate from his skin. Was it a fever? a old? No, Robert shook his head, he knew what it was. He pressed his legs together under the table awkwardly.

This was bad.

This was so very bad.

"Oh, uh…." Robert trailed off, trying to find the words as he watched Tadashi politely approach his friends table and grab their pitcher of water, undoing the string of his apron with is free hand as he walked back to his teacher. Holding out the apron so it was lat on his palm, he splashed the blue fabric with water, squishing it so the water spread around.

Robert nearly jumped out of his skin as Tadashi leered over him, almost casually pressing the makeshift washcloth to his forehead. Glancing up at the student only made things worse; he could see the tendons in Tadashi's neck strain and pull as he swallowed, adam's apple bobbing.

The kid's body, Robert decided, was a temple.

And he needed to get that idea out of his head very quickly.

Flustered, he pushed himself out of his chair, the legs scraping against the floor loudly; the teacher nearly pushed Tadashi to the floor in the process.

"Professor Callaghan!" Tadashi called after him, clutching the apron in his fist, "You haven't even eaten your food!" Robert skidded to a stop at the door, throwing his gaze backwards. He probably looked like a hot mess at this point, but he just had to get out of that damned restaurant.

"I'll call the establishment and have it delivered later!" he said in a rush, "Have a nice weekend, Mr. Hamada." Before he finally made it out he door, he caught the inquiring looks of Tadashi's friends, how they were so confused and curious as to why he was acting in such a manner.

Boy, was he glad to have finally left, the bell ringing loudly as he slammed the door behind him, racing as fast as he could down the street, as far away from his student as possible.