Work Text:
Shanks is stupidly early to his Calculus 1 class, and cursing Rayleigh’s name. He’d taken pre-calc in his last year of high school and gotten pretty good grades in it. Not only does math come naturally to him, but also Rayleigh, one of his adopted fathers, happens to be a calculus professor at New World.
In the end, Shanks chose to major in Marine Biology—which meant he could leave calc in high school—but then he found himself in his last year of university with an extra elective, and he’d always wanted to take one of Rayleigh’s classes. Why not?, he’d thought.
Sitting here in this empty classroom before eight in the morning, he reflects that perhaps he should have double-checked with his father before signing up for the class, if only because sometimes professors apparently switch out classes with each other at the last minute.
Or they gift the first year courses to their TAs, like Rayleigh’s apparently done with Calc 1.
So there Shanks sits, having shown up early to hug his dad and surprise him, only to find a random leather bag on the podium, and Calculus 1 written on the whiteboard at the front with the name Dracule Mihawk below it. Shanks knows this Mihawk guy is a TA because there’s a short stack of syllabi on the podium by the bag, and the listed contact email is a student one, not a professor one.
Ugh, Shanks is definitely gonna transfer after this first lecture is over. Why bother with calc for an elective if it’s not his dad teaching it? Lame.
Having decided to drop the class, Shanks is just about to get up and leave when the hottest man he’s ever seen in his life walks into the classroom. The man has a disgruntled look on his face, highlighted by his golden eyes and well-trimmed beard. His facial hair is shaved to look sharp—somehow he makes it work instead of looking ridiculous. It helps immensely that the man has also walked in wearing a dress shirt that’s black on the chest with red paisley sleeves, but most importantly, it’s a dress shirt that’s completely undone and revealing the most delicious abs Shanks has ever had the pleasure to look upon. There’s also a hefty-looking cross necklace hanging from the man’s neck, but Shanks is so distracted by the abs that he doesn’t really note it other than to be briefly disappointed that the man’s pecs are that much more obscured.
Suddenly, Shanks is praising Rayleigh’s name. Thank Nika one of his dads teaches calc. If it wasn’t for Rayleigh, he wouldn’t be here right now in the same room as this—this stunning marble statue of a man.
Surreptitiously, Shanks checks if he’s drooling, but he’s good.
The movement causes the beautiful man to stop short, apparently noticing he isn’t alone in the room.
“Oh,” the man says, and regrettably, deplorably, his hands move to button up his dress shirt, covering up that gorgeous, gorgeous skin. Shanks forces his eyes up, looking respectfully, damn it. “Hello,” the man greets, somewhat stiltedly.
Shanks clears his throat. “Hi,” he replies, and mentally fist pumps when his voice doesn’t crack. “Are you in Calculus 1 too?”
The man’s face goes through a short series of aggravated expressions that ends with disgruntlement. “In a manner of speaking,” is his clipped reply. He finishes buttoning up his shirt and then pulls it down to straighten out wrinkles. “I will be back shortly,” he says, and promptly turns to walk back out the door.
Shanks settles in his seat, thinking about ways to get to know the man, ask him out for coffee, maybe angle for study sessions that hopefully turn more intimate. Get to see those abs again. Pull on the cross necklace to get that mouth within kissing distance and then making out with those plush lips.
He becomes aware he’s biting his own lip when other students file in loudly, and Shanks has to loosen up his muscles and shake what he’s sure is a lustful expression off his face.
Where is the gorgeous man? Why hasn’t he come back? Would it be awkward for Shanks to change seats so he can sit next to him, or would it be perceived as charmingly forward? No, no, that’s probably weird and creepy; Shanks should play it cooler than that anyways.
The class has filled up as much as it’s probably going to—which is pretty full, since first years don’t know how useless syllabus days tend to be and they’re all just so keen—when the man finally walks back in. Shanks straightens up, paying attention to where the man will sit, and watches as the man walks directly to the podium.
And stands behind it. And drops a stack of papers Shanks hadn’t processed the man was holding on top of the stack of syllabi Shanks peered through earlier. And takes out a slim laptop out of that leather bag Shanks initially spied up at the front.
Oh.
Oh no.
The man takes a deep breath, clearing the mildly annoyed expression from his face as he opens his laptop and clicks around. Then he sweeps his gaze over the assembled class of students, darts his eyes to the wall clock—class time has officially started—and then settles his gaze briefly over Shanks to give him a dry smile.
“Welcome to Calculus 1. My name is Dracule Mihawk, I’m doing my PhD here at New World, and I will be your professor this semester,” the beautiful man announces, and Shanks is right back to cursing Rayleigh’s name.
Surely it isn’t ethical to date your students, so Shanks doesn't have a chance, but to get the assured opportunity to look at him twice a week… And there’s always after the semester. Shanks can do the class and then shoot his shot later on. The con to that is that the guy’s going to have to grade Shanks’s work and might never shake off the image of Shanks as his student. Hmm. He shouldn’t risk that, so he’ll drop the class… but how will he be able to manufacture opportunities to see the man if it’s not surrounding the class he teaches?
Wait! Mihawk teaching Rayleigh’s class totally means Rayleigh’s his supervisor! And as Ray’s son, Shanks has every right to just hang around the prof’s office whenever he damn well pleases.
Hell yeah! Shanks is once again back to praising Rayleigh’s name.
He grins wide, already planning what kind of innocent expression he’ll be wearing when Mihawk stumbles into Shanks when he goes to visit his supervisor’s office.
This is going to be a good semester.