Tell Me What's Next [Mihai]

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Lukas gritted his teeth as he packed up his history textbooks five minutes before the bell rang, gathering up the willpower to do what he knew was inevitable. Though he pretended to still be listening to the last bits of his lecture, his eyes were more or less nailed to the back of the head of the boy sitting a couple rows from him.

Mihai. His new partner.

The news had come as a total surprise to him; he'd been asked to stay behind after one of his classes to talk about something, and then been informed that he was to be paired with certain Mihai Eliade. Something about them being a good match as well as in the same year. As if that automatically made them good friends or something. Lukas had tried to decline politely, but unable to provide a valid reason his teacher had had none of it and ushered him out with a suggestion he has a good talk with the Romanian as soon as possible. Apparently Mihai had been informed of this new arrangement as well.

Lukas sighed. He supposed he could have had it worse. In a way, he did enjoy Mihai's company. They'd only talked a couple times, but the boy was kind of cute and teasing him was an awful lot of fun. But that was also were he felt he had made a mistake; he had already established a certain kind of relationship with the other boy which would surely make things awkward now that they would actually have to get closer to each other. It would've been easier to start out clean and develop a relationship purely based on partnership, but it was too late for that now.

The moment the bell started ringing Lukas was up and walking against the current of students flowing out towards the exit. He didn't have Mihai's phone number nor did he know which room he was staying in, and he sure as hell didn't plan on approaching in the middle of the crowded cafeteria or someplace similar. He wanted to talk with him alone, and he knew the history classroom would be empty after their afternoon lecture. So he had gone against all his principles as a good student and passed a note through several hands at the beginning of the class with a simple ”Stay behind after class” written on it. He was sure Mihai could guess who it was from even without him signing it.

He had to push past two chatting girls to get to Mihai's row, sensing their mild irritation at being interrupted but not really caring. He had far more important matters to deal with right now, even though he still wasn't quite sure how exactly to deal with them. But as he wordlessly slipped on the seat next to the other blonde boy, he knew for certain that he wanted things to turn out well. Whatever that meant.

”I would have my pen back now, if you don't mind.”

[MIHAI ELIADE]

He'd objected at first. That had probably been an unexpected reaction from him, judging that he had, figuratively, been all over his assigned partner not a few days before, and Lukas was by far one of the better options he could think of himself being paired with under the conditions. At least as of their last meeting, he'd been assured that Lukas didn't genuinely hate him or anything, and in fact, probably returned a degree of his interest, and he was relatively certain that the other wasn't the sort to set up some sort of training regime for them (which would've been a nightmare for Mihai if there ever was one). It would have been a simpler issue if his problem lay in the choice of partner; truthfully, however, it had less to do with it being Lukas than the fact that he was being given a partner at all. So, he'd protested, and quite valiantly at that, stating that he'd fared just as well without a partner for five years as those who'd been a team since their arrival, and so it really just wasn't fair for them to strap him down with a partner now, was it?

Nevertheless, despite his desperate appeals, his teacher had been insistent that he needed to be part of a team, to have "someone you can train with, fight with, and someone" at this point, she'd fixed him with a slightly reproachful stare "who can keep you in line."

Well, Mihai supposed that was sort of true, but he'd never been the worst troublemaker out of them all. He'd put on his best, sixteen-year old scowl, and sulked, "what do you know," and had promptly earned himself a detention.

He'd continued to sulk quite spectacularly for the next few hours, his plight undoubtedly worsened by the fact that he now had detention, until he finally reconciled himself to the fact that there was no way for him to get out of it. Considering that he was going to be given a partner either way, Lukas probably was the preferable choice, possibly someone he would've considered teaming up with himself if he'd been asked about the entire ordeal. By the time he wandered into history class, mere seconds before the bell rang, he was mostly certain that he could make the best out of the situation. When a classmate tapped him on the shoulder and surreptitiously passed him a small piece of folded paper in the middle of lecture, that feeling only increased.

He unfolded the note and read the four simple words slanted across its surface, making no effort to conceal the small grin that flitted over his lips. He could guess from whom the message had come—of course, he had no way to be certain—but judging by the events of the day, he really wouldn't be surprised if Lukas wanted to stop him after class for a discussion. Still smiling, he slipped the paper into his pocket, clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair to wait for class to be over. He was curious what Lukas would have to say to him.

Almost immediately after the bell rang, his assumption was proven correct. Amused, he raised his eyebrows at Lukas as the other slid into the seat next to his. "A rendezvous after class?" he asked in greeting. "How unexpected of you, Luca! Not that I'm not flattered by your attention." He grinned, propping his elbow up on the desk and leaning a cheek against his hand. He knew full well that the other hadn't sought him out for anything remotely similar to their last encounter, but he took some enjoyment in provoking Lukas anyway.

At the other's comment, he cooperatively reached into his pencil case and took out the pen that Lukas had lent him more than a week ago, holding it up and allowing Lukas to make the move to retrieve it. "Here it is—but you didn't ask" though really, even on paper it read more like a demand, "me to stay behind just for your pen, did you?" It was fitting enough, he supposed, to be using the borrowed pen as pretext again, and all the same it wasn't what they were really after. Seeing as Lukas was the one who sent the message though, Mihai decided to allow him to broach the subject about their partnership. Partnership. It wasn't as though the word didn't have a nice ring to it. He really could learn to make the best out of this.

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He couldn't quite explain it, but the moment Mihai opened his mouth and made him roll his eyes at the idiocy spilling from the Romanian's mouth, he felt somehow at ease. This was familiar to him, this kind of interaction between them. They'd already played this game once, and he knew the rules. ”You know perfectly well why we're here.” He said as he took the pencil from Mihai and carelessly let it drop to the bottom of his bag. He really couldn't care less about the pen, he had more than enough of those. Partners, on the other hand...

”I wanted to talk about our new... circumstances,” He said, eyes seeking out the Romanian's as he added in an almost purr, ”Partner.”

Mihai was maybe making it a little too easy for him to fall back into their old pattern. In the empty classroom Lukas could sense the other boy's feelings without distractions, and the strange kind of excitement was oddly contagious. He had planned something completely different in the hours before this, agreed with himself that the best course of action was to pretend as if their previous encounter had never happened and act cool and professional, but it was like he was a moth drawn to the flame, falling prey to the Romanian's provocation the moment he opened his mouth.

That, of course, didn't mean that Lukas had to lose the game.

Lukas finally allowed a small smirk grace his features, leaning closer to the other boy, fingertips brushing against Mihai's elbow as he laid it on the desk. ”It seems we'll be spending a lot of time together from now on.” There was a new wave of excitement at the thought, and Lukas couldn't deny that this time it was completely his own. Maybe he did want this, in some way. Maybe he did think that they could actually be a good match like his teacher had said. Maybe he did find Mihai strangely intriguing, irritating as it was.”We're expected to learn to know each other better, and it'd be a shame to disappoint, don't you agree?”

[MIHAI ELIADE]

He studied Lukas with a certain measure of curiousity as he spoke. True, the partnership had been unexpected, but Mihai wasn't sure what there was to say on the topic, except maybe 'well, I guess I'll be seeing you around in training and stuff.' Did Lukas happen to have a plan he wanted to broach already? Or maybe his concerns lay elsewhere—lay in their recent encounter and the clear interest Mihai had shown and seen reciprocated. Did Lukas want to draw boundaries now that they were partnered in an official sense? Mihai wondered whether he would be that type of person, separating the private from the public. But when he spoke, Mihai found it in himself to doubt that those were Lukas' intentions.

The curl of Lukas' tongue over his new title—'partner'—suddenly made the entire prospect much more appealing. Hell, Mihai could get used to any title if Lukas would just keep saying it like that. But not to be too distracted, he nodded in response. "Well, sure. I have time for whatever you want to talk about," he said, tone incorporating the slightest lilt. He meant it when he'd said 'whatever'; in fact, he'd much rather talk about alternative topics with Lukas, though hopefully this partnership discussion would go over more than just the basics. The way it was going, he thought he could expect more out of it than vagaries and non-promises.

A brief flicker, his eyes darted down to Lukas' fingertips when they brushed against his elbow, then back up to the light eyes that that watched him. Mihai could feel a slow smile raise the corners of his own lips; the new proximity between them was pleasing. Part of him wanted to coax Lukas closer with his free hand, but perhaps that would have been a little rash; after all, they hadn't been familiar with one another for that long. Though he got the impression that that was fast on its way to changing, and it would appear that Lukas agreed. The prospect was a delightful one.

"Oh yes, I'll be looking forward to that," he answered casually. What was it that partners did together again? aside from training. Study? Though he imagined that if they didn't have ideas, the teachers would surely find something for them to do to 'spend more time together.' Not that he would've needed their interference, anyway. And hearing Lukas' last words, his grin widened, a flash of teeth. "That would be my pleasure." Though his tone remained careless, it would have been difficult to miss the insinuation in his eyes, his smile. "And I would hate to disappoint my teachers," though he actually had no problem doing that when convenient, but he felt the certain irony wouldn't be lost. "And how do you think we should live up to their expectations, Luca? You seem like you have a few ideas. In that case, do tell."

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In all honesty, he hadn’t given all that much thought to their actual partnership. Or rather, spending time with his partner that didn’t include teasing or flirting or leading the other one on. That was the kind of relationship the two of them had established, and it was a little difficult to imagine suddenly changing that. It was clear now that they would have to do that now, though, at least to some degree. The way things were between them now was amusing, maybe, but if they wanted to seriously work as partners they would have to create a much tighter bond, one based on trust and honesty.

But that could wait a little longer. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy this little exchange of theirs, the quiet hum of Mihai’s feelings under his skin, the warmth of his arm against his fingertips. He could feel the effects of his words on the other boy, could see behind the casualness of his voice even without the suggestion in his eyes. But what was more surprising that he was starting to want to respond to it, that maybe he did have some genuine interest in the other boy. Not that he would ever actually act on it. That would mean he’d lost. No, if Mihai wanted something from him, he would have to take initiative.

And how do you think we should live up to their expectations, Luca? You seem like you have a few ideas. In that case, do tell."

“Well,” He started after a moment’s consideration. “I was hoping we could start with a little chat.” He fixed Mihai with a gaze, returning some of that interest on the other’s features. “Talk about how we want things to proceed, get to know each other in a way befitting partners…” He was actually a little curious to know more about Mihai. At the first glance he’d thought he was just another complete goof but since then he’d seen glimpses of his more serious side, and taking the nature of his powers into account… He was sure this could turn out pretty interesting.

His fingers brushed against the seam of Mihai’s sleeve idly as he licked his lower lip, thinking of his next suggestion. “You don’t have class after, do you? How about we stop by the cafeteria and then move somewhere more private?” The rooftop, maybe. He wouldn’t oppose taking Mihai up to his room, either. “Unless you plan on spilling coffee all over yourself again?” He couldn't resist teasing. Not that he had particularly minded what had resulted from that little accident of Mihai’s, but he’d rather they bonded in someplace other than the restrooms this time.