Series of Unfortunate Events belongs to Lemony Snicket
(1) This is a fictional work, elements of the original work can be altered for better compatibility with this story.
(2) This story contains yaoi / shounen-ai, if you don't like it, press (x) at the top of the page to exit.
(3) English is not my first language.
(4) A gift for Matt the Robot
I hope you enjoy!
...
"Gymnastic."
"Cakesniffer?" Klaus said, knowing it was an invalid, but they both laughed, the kind of laugh that was not common to either of them.
Klaus Baudelaire and Duncan Quagmire had been in the library at the Prufrock Preparatory School for hours. One of the rare nights when Vice Principal Nero had not performed his violin recitals; the perfect opportunity to investigate more about VFD.
They had searched for hours, read several books and catalogs, even a collection of old magazines and newspapers and found nothing about the acronym or its meaning.
When Klaus started to yawn and scratch his eyes, Duncan suggested a pause, but young Baudelaire couldn't leave without discovering anything. Then Duncan suggested a pause, a game he played with the brothers.
Word Chain was a simple game in which each one should say a word beginning with the last letter of the previous word, within a pre-established theme.
"It's harder than it sounds," Klaus admitted.
"You're lucky you're not playing Isadora, she always wins," Duncan smiled. "But your repertoire of words is very good."
Klaus felt his face flush and thanked the light in the library for being so weak, that even at this short distance, Duncan would not see his cheeks flushed.
It wasn't as if Klaus wasn't used to being praised for his intelligence, but it was different when Duncan did. Maybe because Duncan was as smart as he was, or maybe it was the way the boy always smiled that made Klaus's legs go numb. He didn't know when he started: when the boy defended them from Carmelita or maybe later, when Duncan said that's what friends are for, but Klaus always felt happy when he was with Duncan.
"How about a new round?" Quagmire suggested.
"I think we better go back to research…"
"Just one more round" the boy asked "you can choose the theme you want."
Klaus thought, any word was enough to start: shack, dog, count, love. And his lips parted just when that word crossed his thoughts.
"Dopamine."
"Chemistry is not my area."
"The meaning of words is really insignificant, you know."
"I know, but the game is also for learning new words," Duncan answered.
"Okay, dopamine is one of the most famous neurotransmitters in the nervous system. It is known, along with other neurotransmitters, as the chemistry of love."
Duncan took on a curious expression as the brain processed the learned information.
"You must have a lot of that dopamine," Duncan concluded and Klaus blushed.
"Why do you say that?"
"Your love for Violet and Sunny is visible."
"Well, it's not exactly that kind of love," Klaus corrected. "It would be a more romantic love," he added at Quagmire's confused look.
"Like a girlfriend?"
"Something like that."
"Have you ever experienced this type of dopamine?"
"Of course not! I mean… after everything that happened to me, romance is the last thing I should care about."
"Do you think that love is something you shouldn't feel?"
"Well, with Count Olaf chasing us and all these secrets around my parents death... it seems wrong."
"Wrong time or just wrong?"
"Both. Moment for sure, but I don't know if I would really know how to like someone right now."
"I understand what you mean."
"Really?"
"We are in the same situation, aren't we? Both of us have a very hard life, so anyone who offers a friendly smile is like the heart is beating wildly. But you know that you are in a fragile period of life, so you are not sure if you really like this person or are just putting your expectations on them." Duncan described exactly how Klaus felt. Life had been horrible since his parents died and he felt very hopeless until he met Quagmire. Isadora was smart and adorable, and Klaus was sure he wanted to help and protect her, like she was one of his sisters, but Duncan was different. He always had a kind smile, a warm look, sweet words that seemed to calm Klaus' heart. When Duncan praised him, it made him feel special and when they talked, it was as if all the problems in the world ceased. And even if he had never been in love before or knew something about it, he suspected that around the boy, his dopamine was activated, making him feel euphoric.
"Did you fall in love before?" Klaus asked.
"Not before." Did it mean that Duncan was now? But by whom? It certainly wasn't for any of the teachers. Violet? It was a huge chance. Any other girl from Prep? But Klaus didn't see him interacting with anyone else. Carmelita? No way.
"But I feel that currently my dopamine is working," Duncan smiled innocently. "But like I said, maybe it's just the illusion of being in love because the person is always good to me."
"Don't you know if the person likes you?"
"Well, I'm trying to use my future investigative journalism skills to find that out." Klaus held his breath. "When I talk to this person, their eyes shine as if I were the most valuable thing in the universe and they pay attention to everything I say, as if I were the source of universal knowledge, on the other hand, there are hours that they completely ignore me and even though I call by name, they don't even realize that I'm next to. I like this oscillation of reactions, it's cute, but it makes me confused if the feeling is reciprocal or I'm just seeing what I want to see."
"Maybe you should ask."
"Hm?"
"You know, statistically the biggest cause of divorce and separation is lack of communication between the parties and…" Klaus commented remembering what he had read in an article once.
"Well, we aren't a couple, so divorce sounds…"
"You're right." Klaus agreed, but he felt the words tremble. For sure it's about Violet.
"It's getting late, we better go before anyone finds us here," Duncan said, changing the subject and getting up.
"But we still haven't found anything."
"Tomorrow we will have another chance and you are almost asleep" Klaus did not want to admit, but he was very tired and his focus had completely shifted to the romance conversation.
Reluctantly, he agreed and started to return the books back to the shelves. They finished quickly and left the library.
They walked down the dark corridor in complete silence until they reached the fork that led Duncan to his room and Klaus back to the Orphans' Shack.
"Duncan, good night and thanks for your help-"
"You're right, about communication issues. What would you say if the person I was in love with was you?" Duncan interrupted, saying it all in one breath.
The corridor was so dark that the boys couldn't see each other clearly. Duncan did not see how Klaus flushed furiously at the same time that his eyes sparkled like a starry sky on a cloudless night. On the other hand, Klaus couldn't see how Duncan was sweating and his hands were writhing nervously.
"I would say this is confusingly reciprocal." The voice came out so low and the boy with the glasses stammered so much, he wasn't sure if Duncan had heard.
Klaus could hear his own blood running through his veins and his heart was beating like a fanfare. There was an absurd urge to laugh and run, it was the damn dopamine, along with other things, working on his brain.
"I'm such a coward to do it that way," the Quagmire boy laughed sheepishly.
"So we are both…"
Silence grew around them, that had been a strange and lopsided way of declaring themselves, and an even more awkward way of accepting feelings, but what was normal in Duncan and Klaus's life?
"Do you mind if I do it again, in the right way, tomorrow? Looking in your eyes?" Duncan asked, unsure.
"I don't know if I'll be able to look into your eyes." Klaus admitted.
"Wait for me on the east side of the theater before Vice Principal Nero's concert."
"Ok."
But none of them moved, they stared at each other in the dark, without really seeing each other. Was that being in love? Did that explain his euphoric heart and numb legs or why every time Duncan smiled, Klaus felt like he was going to melt? Was that dopamine acting and preventing him from being rational? But what would happen now? Would they go hand in hand through the school? Would they hug or kiss-
Klaus felt a hand on each side of his face, his glasses were crooked on his face when he felt something hot and wet against his lips. Apparently, he was not the only one totally dominated by the dopamine torpor in the body.
It was awkward, clumsy and totally inexperienced. Something they both knew was not enough to read in the books to understand how it really worked.
"'That' I really don't have the courage to do, looking into your eyes." Klaus laughed when they moved away.
"Good night, Klaus."
"Good night, Duncan."
As Klaus returned to the Orphans' Shack, his logical side tried to put his head in place. Duncan liked him, and Klaus probably felt the same way. They had kissed and the next day, Duncan would officially declare himself, which would make them boyfriends or something similar. He still didn't know how he was going to tell Violet, but he was sure that she (and Isadora and Sunny) would understand and give all the support they needed.
That night, Klaus had good and happy dreams, full of dopamine running through his veins.
He could hardly imagine that the confession would never happen and that he and Duncan would never have time to worry about things like love. The next morning, the Vice Principal introduced the new gym teacher, Coach Genghis.
Thank you for reading.
If you like, please comment!