"-And so the iron oxide becomes balanced," Claude said, setting down the pencil. He looked over at Sebastian who heaved a long sigh, and kept his eyes pasted on the chemistry work Claude had just explained.
"So, we're done now, right?" Sebastian asked after a beat, glancing up at Claude. It was Claude's turn to sigh, and he did so, rolling his eyes as well. He shook his head and nudged Sebastian's chemistry book toward him, setting down the pencil.
"I've just done eight different problems. You need to prove that you've learned something," Claude said, grinning devilishly. Sebastian forcefully brought his forehead to the table with a sigh. "None of that," Claude said, sitting back and crossing his legs. "You're being such a drama queen."
Sebastian sat up and took the pencil in his hand. He scooted his chemistry book closer and began to read the problem. A look of intense concentration overcame his face, and he chewed on the end of his pencil as he read. Claude had never really noticed how damn attractive Sebastian was when he concentrated. That could be because it was a rare occasion indeed when Sebastian had enough of an attention span to concentrate in the first place. Sebastian hunched over his notebook and began to scribble furiously. Claude watched him work in silence for several moments, smiling to himself.
"There," Sebastian said, scooting the notebook over to Claude. He set the pencil down triumphantly on the table as Claude looked over his work.
"So maybe you did retain something," Claude said, setting Sebastian's notebook down. Sebastian let out a sigh of relief and slouched in his chair once more. It had been a peaceful study session. Claude was content re-teaching the entire chapter to Sebastian. Quite frankly, however, Claude was surprised Sebastian had passed Chemistry I without his help. But Sebastian's protests at studying were minimal, and for the most part he was attentive.
"So, we're done now, right?" Sebastian asked, a glimmer of hope shining in his scarlet eyes.
"I suppose we can take a break," Claude relented.
"Sweet," Sebastian exclaimed, his face breaking into a smile. He jumped to his feet heading into the kitchen. "All this chemistry is going to make my head explode." He put his hands on his hips and glanced quickly around. He turned back to Claude. "Are you hungry?"
Both of them knew that was an entirely pointless question. As they were both male, they were always in a constant state of hunger. It seemed like a curse at times; no matter how much or how often they ate, they were never satiated. Claude had merely trained himself to control his hunger; he wasn't rich enough to afford all the food he could eat. As the days passed, Claude found himself to be under the illusion that he was not constantly hungry, though his brain knew this was a lie. Therefore, he took advantage of the opportunity to eat whenever possible.
"Sure," Claude replied. Sebastian ducked into some of the cabinets, pulling out various cooking supplies and ingredients. He set them lazily on the counter and went back for more.
"Come help me," he called from out of Claude's sight. Claude stood and walked to the kitchen. He stared at the ingredients that were out, trying to deduce what type of food Sebastian was aiming to cook.
"Cake," Sebastian said, after glancing at Claude's puzzled expression. "Calm down, it's nothing complicated. You look a little worried," he said laughing. Claude backed out of the kitchen as Sebastian began to mix and pour, stir and beat. His face was calm, and he was making conversation with Claude.
"How was your study group today?" he asked. Claude shrugged and leaned against the counter.
"To be honest, we didn't get much studying done. Well, Will and I tried to, but Grell came in, and you know how that goes."
"Ah, yes, the flamboyant red head," Sebastian said with a smirk. He took a break from stirring the cake batter and got out a smaller bowl. He proceeded to fluidly and quickly pour ingredients into it. Sebastian had had several run ins with Grell, which was to be expected. Grell had never exactly been quiet about his feelings for Sebastian, though Sebastian never really seemed bothered by it. "What was he on about today?"
"Oh, he was mad he wasn't invited to our study group," Claude said sheepishly. He sort of understood why Will didn't like to talk about Sebastian when Grell was around. Claude didn't like to discuss Grell around Sebastian. It was one of the only times he felt jealous, though he had no reason to. It wasn't like Sebastian was about to fall head over heels for Grell. He tried to keep his voice cool and casual, though he wasn't sure he was pulling it off very well.
"You should have invited him," Sebastian said, grinning even wider. He handed the large bowl to Claude. "Will you pour that in the cake pan?" he asked. Claude obeyed, slowly pouring the chocolate batter into the pan. "It certainly would have made things interesting."
"You're such a tease," Claude scoffed, though he laughed a little. "You and I both know Grell wouldn't have got any studying done. You just wanted him to fawn over you."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Sebastian said, his smirk so wide it looked too big for his face. Claude put the cake in the oven and turned back to face Sebastian.
"You're encouraging his bad behavior," Claude said, folding his arms. He couldn't be too stern, he knew that Grell's obsession frequently irritated Sebastian, though he always tried to make light of the situation. He was a pretty good sport about it.
"Maybe you should compliment me more often, then. That way I won't have to hear it from Grell," Sebastian said, winking. Claude rolled his eyes.
"Oh, Sebastian," he said in mock awe. "You're so devilishly handsome! Please, marry me!"
"You're a terrible actor," Sebastian said, stirring rapidly. Ha. If only he knew how much of Claude's life was a front. So far, Claude had been able to successfully mask his feelings for Sebastian, keeping things simple. At the moment, simplicity was best. "Come taste this," Sebastian instructed. Claude walked closer, peering into the bowl childishly.
Sebastian dipped his finger in the thick, chocolate frosting and held it out to Claude. At first, Claude was taken aback. Sebastian was usually one to enjoy his personal space. Maybe he expected Claude to wipe the frosting off his finger with his own. That would make more sense.
Claude hadn't realized how long he had stood there dumbfounded until Sebastian spoke up:
"I asked you to taste it, not stand there and drool like an idiot. Now hurry up," he said, laughing. "I need to know if I can keep this." As if answering Claude's internal question he brought his finger to Claude's lips. Claude allowed the slender, pale finger to slip past his lips and into his mouth.
His taste buds instantly exploded with rich flavor, not only of the chocolate, but the taste of Sebastian. He eagerly sucked all the frosting away, letting his tongue run up and down Sebastian's finger for several moments. Sebastian tasted… dark. It was the only word Claude could think of to describe him. He tasted like dark chocolate; intensely clear and satisfying, yet incredibly mysterious and unsatisfying.
Sebastian brought Claude back to Earth with a solid bump as he slid his finger out of Claude's mouth. He studied Claude's face for a moment. Claude, feeling his cheeks growing incredibly hot, tried to cover his satisfaction.
"Good?" Sebastian asked, with a small smile. Claude nodded, too embarrassed to say anything. Sebastian smiled wider, placing the bowl of frosting by the oven. He pulled the steaming cake out of the oven, setting it aside to cool. "What time is it?" he asked Claude, his mischievous smirk tugging at his lips.
"Close to ten thirty," Claude replied finding his voice. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason," Sebastian said, shrugging. "Should we get back to chemistry?" he asked innocently. Claude was about to ask what sort of disease Sebastian had been diagnosed with, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. He sighed and walked toward the door, praying that Grell hadn't decided to show up anyway. As he pulled the door open, he was greeted by a tall, muscular blonde with a cigarette hanging lazily out of his mouth.
"Hey, Claude," he said. "Is Sebastian here?"
"You're not allowed to smoke in the halls, Bard," Claude pointed out, ignoring the question. Claude didn't hate Bard, really he didn't. Bard just had a habit of showing up at all the wrong times. Now it would be hard to convince Sebastian to stay and study. Claude completely understood; why stay at home studying with your gay friend when you could go out and party with your smoking- no pun intended- hetero friend?
"Sebastian's not here, is he?" Bard said, confirming what he thought he already knew. "Of course he's not. It's Friday," Bard's small smile grew into a large grin. Claude should have figured something was going to happen, but he didn't. Not in time, anyway.
His vision was suddenly blocked. Was there a black bag over his head?
"Bard," he groaned. "What the hell?" He was being prodded forward. Claude began to walk, too shocked to put up much of a resistance.
"Wasn't my idea," Bard responded, the grin still apparent in his voice.
"You're going to hang out with us," Sebastian said in his ear. "It's a Friday night, Claude. Live a little."
A\N: So, I swear I meant to update this story more often... I swear! My house has been... well, a zoo. We have seven extra people staying with us (and I already live in a family of eight!) with ages ranging from 48 to 6, so it's needless to say, the adventures have never stopped. So, yes, I finally got time to post another chapter! By the way, thanks so much to all of you who set the story to your alert. It's good to know that I'm interesting\entertaining some people! Thanks, guys! Hope this chapter was worth the wait!
PS- Reviews are SO totally appreciated... :)
