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"But I am boo~oored", Ayan whines. Not for the first time. Or the second.
Akk stands to the side, patient and perfect and in watch dog mode because he has been put in charge of overseeing Ayan's punishment and he intends to do a good job of it. Ayan is definitely the kind of person that needs overseeing, so this was a good call from teacher Chadok.
Secretly, in the very furthest corner of his mind, Akk thinks that him being here isn't doing all that much, but he'd never say that out loud. He's been ordered to make sure Ayan "does something productive with his time, since he seems to have so much of it". Which he then uses to sneak around school.
Akk agrees with teacher Chadok, of course. Students should not be wandering around school at night and when he does it, it's for good reasons. It's sneaking in the name of honour. Akk doesn't think Ayan had very honourable intentions when he broke into their teacher's office.
Now, here they are. Ayan with a bucket full of soapy water and a sponge, Akk with his blue band around his arm and the weight of being a responsible prefect on his shoulders.
It's been twenty minutes. So far, not a single desk has been cleaned. Ayan wiped at one half-heartedly for a bit before flopping down in the corresponding chair.
"You know, if you'd just get to it, you'd be done a lot quicker", Akk points out.
"But it's boring." He looks up at Akk like he thinks his stupidly big eyes will sway him. Which, for the record, they do not. And even if they did, Akk is in no position to undo this punishment. He's just here as a guard. Or rather, really, a baby-sitter.
"If you can't bear the consequences, you shouldn't break so many rules", Akk says wisely.
The other boy huffs and then lets his head fall against the desk with a bump that is a little too loud to not have hurt. Akk has the insane urge to hurry over there and put his hand against the spot, see if it's warm, soothe it. He diligently stays put.
"Maybe you should punish me", Ayan says. It's a little muffled because his face is squished against the desk, but the words still worm their way into Akk's stomach with deadly precision. He feels hot and then cold and very off-kilter. "I bet I would not be so bored then."
And then, because Ayan is the worst person Akk has ever met, he lifts his head and looks straight at Akk. Akk feels trapped and like his head is made of glass, all his very inappropriate thoughts on display. The smallest little grin makes Ayan's lips curl up and Akk wants to run. But he can't because he's been put in charge of making sure this classroom gets cleaned today.
By Ayan.
As punishment.
He tries to swallow but his throat is made of sandpaper.
"You're talking nonsense", he manages, somehow. If his voice is a little less steady than he'd like for it to be, Ayan is merciful enough to not call him out on it.
He is, however, cruel enough to get up and come closer. Akk has the urge to take a step back, but this is a challenge and he cannot lose (even if his chances of winning are doubtful at best, he never does again Ayan).
"I think I am talking the most sense." Even though he's still an arm's length away, this feels way too close. Akk could reach out and touch him and that's dangerous because Ayan is dangerous. Not in general. But very much so to Akk and everything Akk believes in. "I think you'd dole out much, much better punishments, hm? Hm?"
Akk feels caught, unable to move under the weight of Ayan's gaze. His mind is fuzzy in a way not even alcohol makes him feel. And all he can think about is punishing Ayan, which feels forbidden and dirty. The concepts of Ayan and punishment are twisting around each other in his head and it's all wrong because the only punishments Akk knows are either painful or humiliating and he wants neither for Ayan (even though he probably deserves it, on some level, breaking all those rules). Ayan should never be made to feel small or hurt because... because... he's Ayan and Akk's broken in a fundamental way when it comes to him.
He finally manages to take a step back, out of the other boy's immediate space and it feels like some control is coming back to him. It's scary how untethered he becomes in Ayan's presence. Akk usually has such a tight grip on, well, everything. His studies. His responsibilities both to his school and his family. His life.
And then Ayan looks at him like that and it's... it's all falling apart.
To stop his hands from reaching out and touching something, or someone, they should not, Akk grabs the sponge and aggressively starts clearing the closest desk. It takes him no time at all.
"See, if you'd just get to it, we could both get out of here."
Ayan is watching him in that amused way of his, head tilted to the side.
"I'm sorry, I did not quite catch me. You should show me again."
Akk is halfway through the second desk before he's catching on. He throws the sponge down with a wet thud and glares at his classmate. "This is your punishment. You're supposed to do it."
"But you're so good at it", Ayan needles, "P'Akk, hm, show me again?"
"Don't call me that", Akk immediately shuts that down because this, this is not conducive to his mental stability nor health and he is too young to have a heart attack. Also, his parents count on him.
"Nong then", Ayan smiles easily. "I am not quite sure who's older."
Akk is not going to tell him, because Akk definitely did not peak at Ayan's record when he was... investigating – that's it! Akk is just trying to do his job and keep the peace. Staying informed on the newest intruder is necessary for that.
"It doesn't matter", he says quickly. "Just, get over here."
"Sure, Nong." Ayan obliges and then sidles right up to him. His shoulder presses into Akk's. There is absolutely not a single reason for him to be this close. Akk could step aside. He should. Instead, he pushes the sponge into Ayan's hand.
"Please. Get on with it."
Ayan looks at him with those impossible eyes and once again, Akk feels well and truly fucked. "Show me again", he demands.
"Show you...?"
"Do I brush clock-wise or counter-clock-wise, Mr. Prefect? What's best for cleaning this holy room."
Akk cannot believe his own behaviour, but he places his hand on top of Ayan's and then starts moving the sponge in slow, wide strokes.
Next to him, Ayan laughs. It's a small, delighted thing, Akk can only hear it because he's so close in the first place. It, too, worms its way into Akk's heart.
"Ahhhh", Ayan says as if he's just understood the concept. Then he leans his weight into Akk's side in a way that is completely unnecessary and shamelessly lets him do all the work. "I think I am starting to get it."
Akk knows he is being played with. He doesn't care. Akk's hand is warm and wet and slippery from the soap underneath his and Akk had no idea that touching hands could feel so... so... dirty.
"Then you should be good doing the rest on your own", Akk says. He feels breathless. He's pretty sure he sounds breathless too. For his own sanity, he draws his hand back. “I’ll check in on you later.”
Ayan immediately starts pouting again, which is not good for Akk's blood pressure. "You can't leave me", he complaints. "What if I don't do it right? What if I pee on the tables instead?"
Akk makes an outraged little noise. "You wouldn't!"
"I might if you leave me alone!"
That is... that is blackmail. Akk is being blackmailed by the new kid and he is helpless.
"Ayan", he says and aims for strict, but it comes out like a plea.
The other boy wrinkles his nose. "It's Aye. I feel like I've told you that before."
"We are not close enough for nicknames."
That was a dumb thing to say. Akk realises his mistake when the pout vanishes from Ayan's face to be replaced with glee.
"But we could be."
Akk closes his eyes. He walked into that one. It still makes him feel all sorts of ways to hear these things come out of Ayan's mouth, even if he does not mean it. Akk is pretty sure he does not mean it. And if he does, it does not mean the same to him as it does to Akk.
"Stay", Ayan says and for the first time, he sounds genuinely upset at the prospect of being left alone. "Please. Please, Akk? Please, please, please?"
And who is Akk to say no to that? It'd take a man far stronger than him to walk away from Aye when he's asking like that, all sweet and sad and even if it might be just another ploy, Akk cannot stomach to be responsible even for his pretend sadness.
"I'll stay." As if there was ever any doubt about that.
Aye smiles that pleased little smile he smiles when he gets his way. Akk cannot believe that he's familiar enough with it already to recognise it. It probably says terrible things about him. Things that should not be said about a model student, someone who is supposed to show his peers the way to a better, more honourable tomorrow. He doesn't feel very good or honourable when Aye's around. Even less so when he's getting soap water all over himself and then leans unnecessarily low over the table in a way that gives Akk a way too deep view of his shirt collar. Undone, of course, because Aye just cannot respect school rules.
That disrespect is terrible for Akk's composure.
He looks away but Aye won't let him for longer than a moment.
"Akk", he calls his attention and will not stop until Akk is looking at him again. "Am I doing this right?"
"What on earth are you doing?"
Aye has managed to pretzel most of his upper body across the desk. His shirt is so wet he might as well not be wearing it. Actually, Akk thinks he'd be less affected if he was just half naked. He's seen Aye half naked before, in the showers, and he has managed to be chill about that.
So chill.
Akk is pretty sure he's going to faint. It should be illegal for someone to be this... alluring. And if it's not an outright crime, surely it is against school regulation.
"Cleaning", Aye answers with a smile that is too wide and too mischievous. Someone should... punish him for making such a spectacle out of a very simple task. Someone who is definitely not Akk because Akk feels barely strong enough to remain standing.
"Come over here", the other boy says. Akk, like the fool he is, obeys.