Chapter Text
“Aoba.”
That voice. It was barely audible, the pain from his headache clouding his hearing.
Where was he?
Who is calling his name?
It sounded familiar. Was he still in the classroom? Was that voice his professor? It sure sounded like him.
As his senses slowly returned, he realized that yes, he was still in his biochemistry lecture. The carefree chattering of his classmates that surrounded him must mean that the lecture had ended. He must’ve drifted off, carried by the deep voice of his professor. He blinked a couple of times, head still resting on his crossed arms on his desk.
Mink... He always had a nice voice. Secretly, Aoba had always wanted to say his name out loud, but never had the chance to, it was always just professor or Sir.
"Oi, Aoba."
Aoba snapped out of his daze and lifted his head upon hearing his name being called, quickly glancing around to see his classmates packing up and trickling out of the classroom. When he finally looked forward, he was startled to see his teacher standing right in front of his desk, staring down at him. How long has he been standing there? And so close!
"Are you back with us?" Mink queried, as he slid a few sheets of paper onto his desk. Aoba glanced down at it, taking a moment to readjust. It was his latest exam paper that was just graded, and he evidently had not done well.
"Oh…" He breathed out, not looking up. It was already unforgivable that he had dozed off in class without realizing it himself. Since it was out of the ordinary for that to happen to him, Aoba was unable to explain himself, a muddle of excuses jumbled in his head. He wrung his hands nervously.
The last of his classmates had left by now, leaving Aoba sitting at his desk alone. When Aoba glanced up, Mink was looking back at him but he didn’t look angry. Nonetheless, he felt his face warm up, never having the teacher stand this close to him before. He straightened up and tried to make himself look as adequate as possible.
"Your grades are slipping." He leaned down on his desk, putting his face even closer to Aoba's. Intense golden eyes were staring into his own and he felt his face warm up again. He felt the sudden urge to back away but was trapped, sitting in the type of desk with an attached chair. Mink’s expression was intimidating, but somehow also seemed to convey other emotions.
After a pause, Mink stood up straight again, gaze unwavering. "That is uncommon even for you," He continued. "Also, it is my obligation as a teacher to consider the wellbeing of all my students."
Bracing himself, Aoba looked down and away from him. He screwed his eyes shut as he felt his headache return with increased intensity. He couldn't hide it from Mink. He heard a soft sigh from above and composed himself again, looking up and squinting his eyes as he tried his best to ignore the bothersome fluorescent lights surrounding his teacher.
"Sir, it's just," Aoba paused, unsure of how to begin. He averted his gaze, finding the dark wooden surface in front of him less harsh on his eyes. "Headaches…" He managed to murmur out. He gave in and laid his head onto the cool desk, temporarily relieving the dull throbs pulsing through his skull.
He heard the sound of cloth rustling as Mink straightened up, followed by the click of the door shutting and finally retreating footsteps. He wasn’t surprised at Mink’s reaction, and was just thankful that he had gotten off with just a warning.
Hopefully this was a one-time incident, Aoba thought. Next time he needed to do better. He had to.
Much to his dismay, the headaches continued to worsen over the next two weeks, and it was clear that Aoba was still not pulling himself up in class. Mink continued to quietly take notice of this, until he requested Aoba to stay after the class one evening a week after that. Aoba felt sluggish from the headaches anyway and was resting his head on the desk, arms hanging off by the sides.
"Aoba," He began, the same as the previous time. Aoba opened his eyes and looked up at him and slowly lifted his head as Mink placed a bright pink post-it note on his desk.
"I would like you to visit my house when you have time. I am home most evenings." Aoba stared at him in confusion, not bothering to see what the paper was about. Before he could open his mouth to ask, Mink had returned to his desk and continued to speak with his back turned.
"I have something at home that would help with your headaches.” That caught Aoba’s attention, but faded away as soon as it came. “Please consider."
Aoba allowed those words to process in his head for a moment. Did he say... his house? Since when do teachers casually invite their students to their home?
What a strange request...
Aoba realized he still had another class to get to in less than five minutes, so he reluctantly started packing up, sticking the post-it note in one of his textbooks without looking at it. Without a word, he scurried out of the classroom, urging his headache to please please please just go away.