Did I ever explain that Brad's a student at JHU, and Nate's taking a summer class there? Just, you know, for context.
During office hours at the help desk, Brad mostly wears jeans and ratty t-shirts advertising everything from cheap beer and 90s hair-bands to the Komen Breast Cancer 5K run, although on one memorable occasion he appeared wearing a pale blue button-down with narrow navy stripes and a pair of Dockers.
(That ensemble, paired with a set of horn-rimmed glasses, made Nate re-evaluate his bi-curious status to most definitely. He'd had more than one teacher/school boy fantasy relating to Brad in his "grown-up" clothes. It might be a cliche, but it's a cliche for a *reason*.)
Still. When he brings his second exam to the help desk to go over the mistakes that'd earned him an 84 instead of 100, he's not expecting to find Brad in a black v-neck t-shirt, with glittering letters announcing PFLAG: like the PTA, but sparklier.
"Um... really?"
"It was a gift from my roommate. And I didn't have time to do laundry last night, so."
"So. Your roommate's gay?"
Brad watches Nate steadily for a moment, then, "No, he's not. He's being supportive."
"--oh."
There's an awkward moment where Nate doesn't know what to say. He'd *like* to celebrate with a fist-pump, because this means he can stop feeling guilty about perving on the supposedly-straight dude who's helping him with Organic, but that's really not appropriate. He's still trying to figure out how to work asking Brad to meet him for pizza and beer later when he realizes his silence has gone on too long.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Brad looks impassive, but Nate can practically feel chill building.
"What? No! I just..." Okay, honesty's the best policy, right? "It doesn't matter when it comes to tutoring. But it makes it way easier if you want to go out tonight after you get done here."
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timeasmymeasure
college AU snippet from my WIP files, Brad/Nate
Date: 2011-05-19 02:34 am (UTC)During office hours at the help desk, Brad mostly wears jeans and ratty t-shirts advertising everything from cheap beer and 90s hair-bands to the Komen Breast Cancer 5K run, although on one memorable occasion he appeared wearing a pale blue button-down with narrow navy stripes and a pair of Dockers.
(That ensemble, paired with a set of horn-rimmed glasses, made Nate re-evaluate his bi-curious status to most definitely. He'd had more than one teacher/school boy fantasy relating to Brad in his "grown-up" clothes. It might be a cliche, but it's a cliche for a *reason*.)
Still. When he brings his second exam to the help desk to go over the mistakes that'd earned him an 84 instead of 100, he's not expecting to find Brad in a black v-neck t-shirt, with glittering letters announcing PFLAG: like the PTA, but sparklier.
"Um... really?"
"It was a gift from my roommate. And I didn't have time to do laundry last night, so."
"So. Your roommate's gay?"
Brad watches Nate steadily for a moment, then, "No, he's not. He's being supportive."
"--oh."
There's an awkward moment where Nate doesn't know what to say. He'd *like* to celebrate with a fist-pump, because this means he can stop feeling guilty about perving on the supposedly-straight dude who's helping him with Organic, but that's really not appropriate. He's still trying to figure out how to work asking Brad to meet him for pizza and beer later when he realizes his silence has gone on too long.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Brad looks impassive, but Nate can practically feel chill building.
"What? No! I just..." Okay, honesty's the best policy, right? "It doesn't matter when it comes to tutoring. But it makes it way easier if you want to go out tonight after you get done here."