Arson of the Heart

by Sasha L. Miller

  "It's not like I'm using that desk for anything," Lajos pointed out. "And it's a hell of a lot quieter than the library, this close to exams."

  "All right," Toma accepted. He could eat in here, as well; the library was prohibitive of everything, even drinks.

  "Good," Lajos said, looking pleased with himself for whatever reason.

  "Have at it then," Lajos said, returning to his seat and sitting down with a sigh. He pulled his food closer before reaching for the stack of paper he'd been puzzling over when Toma had arrived.

  Smothering a smile, Toma reached for his knapsack and pulled out the books he'd need for his classes, a notebook, and a pen. Settling into his seat, he cracked open the topmost book and began reading.

  *~*~*

  Lajos straightened with a crack of his back, glancing at the spell clock shoved into the book case across the room. Giving a low whistle at how late it had gotten, he glanced over at Toma.

  He was still studying diligently, his hand moving quickly across the notebook in front of him. He hadn't moved from the desk in the three or so hours it had taken Lajos to grade his essays. Honestly, god save him from required courses for entry-level students. They all had awful handwriting, worse grammar, and not a one of them sounded like they even knew what the essay was supposed to be about.

  At least it hadn't taken him until the early hours of the morning to finish grading. Now he could stay up until the early hours of the morning reading the archaic book he'd wrangled out of the royal palace's library.

  Lajos hesitated, wondering if he should distract Toma from his studies and send him off to bed. From what Lajos had learned, Toma had early classes every day of the week, and an early meeting with his advisor on Saturday mornings for some independent study project he'd undertaken.

  He liked having Toma here though. Toma was quiet and only a little distracting because Lajos was still harboring the inappropriate urge to drag him off to the cushy quarters the university had given him when he'd signed on to teach.

  The way Toma's cheeks flushed when he was teased wasn't helping; it just made Lajos want to incite a blush for certain other reasons, reasons that would get him fired if Toma was his student.

  Since Toma wasn't his student, it was only morally grey. Dark grey.

  Setting aside the marked-up pile of papers, Lajos pushed to his feet, crossing the room quietly and setting his hand on Toma's shoulder. Toma jumped, flushing delightfully as he blinked at Lajos.

  "I'm hanging around a bit longer," Lajos said, nodding at the clock with a grin. "You might be wanting to head to bed though."

  "Is that really the time?" Toma wondered, his eyes straying back to his notebook.

  "Yep," Lajos confirmed. "You heading home or sticking around?"

  "I'll stick around a bit longer, if you don't mind," Toma answered absently, his eyes on his book again.

  "All right," Lajos accepted, almost snickering at Toma's obvious distraction. He wondered if he'd have to kick Toma out when he left—certainly it seemed like Toma was lost enough in his work to stay until he was disrupted by more than Lajos pointing out how late it was.

  Turning, Lajos returned to his desk, snagging the last bit of bread from the food tray and eyeing the apple Toma had apparently forgotten he was eating. Little wonder Toma was so slender, if he kept getting distracted from eating by school work.

  Digging out his book, Lajos leaned back in his chair and propped his booted feet up on his desk. Toma looked up at the thump, but didn't say anything, just rolled his eyes before returning to his work.

  Snickering, Lajos cracked open the book, took a sip of his room temperature wine, and started reading.

  It was really early when he finally put the book down. It was interesting, but ultimately it wouldn't be very useful to his research. The man who'd written it had focused too much on the political effects of magic on the separation of the empire and didn't give any specifics on how any of the magic was cast.

  Toma had made himself right at home, Lajos was pleased and amused to observe. He had four books cracked open and spread across the surface of the desk, his notebook settled in the center of them. He was writing something, likely an essay, barely glancing at the books as his pen flew across the page.

  Lajos didn't interrupt him, content to watch Toma's profile as he worked. There were only six weeks until the examinations for the students in their final year to earn their accolades. Little wonder Toma was working so hard, even if Lajos was sure he'd work that hard in any case.

  That made Epsen's behavior a little more baffling though—what did he hope to gain with his games? Surely he'd realized that Toma wasn't about to be distracted by what he was doing.

  Dismissing it, Lajos glanced again at the clock, wondering if Toma ever actually slept. Climbing to his feet, he made a production out of arranging his papers for his first class in the morning. In the late morning, thankfully.

  Toma's pen slowed, and after a moment he set it down, frowning at his notepaper.

  "What are you working on?" Lajos asked curiously, giving the collection of papers and books on his desk a last look before moving to stand by Toma's desk.

  "Essay for Professor Jacia's class," Toma replied absently, stretching his fingers ruefully before slowly beginning to pack up his books.

  "Huh," Lajos said, a little amused because he thought he knew the essay Toma was talking about. "I don't recall any of her essays requiring more than two references."

  "I like to be thorough," Toma said absently. Lajos couldn't help but snicker at that, wondering, despite the immaturity of the thought, what else Toma was thorough about. Toma just blinked at him, uncomprehending.

  "You ready to go?" Lajos asked, changing the subject before Toma could inquire why he thought that was funny.

  "Um, yes," Toma said, standing up and stretching. His back popped twice and Lajos grinned, scooping up a few of Toma's books before he could try and shove them into his still full knapsack.

  "I'll walk you to your room," Lajos announced, not really willing to let a student—especially not a student he had an inappropriate crush on—walk across campus alone at this time of night. Morning. Even if said student could conjure pretty blue flames that could melt any metal in seconds.

  "You don't have to do that," Toma said, frowning a little as he picked up his knapsack and swung it over his shoulders effortlessly. "I know the way perfectly well."

  Lajos laughed, and maybe his eyes strayed a little as Toma led the way out of the room.

  "I'm sure you do," Lajos agreed, pausing to lock the door before gesturing for Toma to precede him down the hallway. Purely because he was gallant and noble and not at all because he appreciated the view.

  Toma sighed, pushing his hair out of his face as he walked down the hallway. He looked exhausted now, away from his books, and Lajos felt a little bad for not kicking him out earlier. Even if Toma probably would have just picked up studying elsewhere.

  "So, why are you bothering?" Toma asked, nearly breaking his jaw on a yawn. Lajos grinned, trying to come up with an answer that wasn't creepy (I want to know where you sleep) or reminded Toma that he was a professor (I can't let students wander around this late alone).

  "Because I want to," Lajos settled on, smirking when Toma rolled his eyes and let it drop.

  "Do you know what you're doing for the practical part of the exam?" Lajos asked curiously as they left the building. No doubt Toma did and had already practiced it half to death already.

  "Mmhmm," Toma said with a smile, but didn't elaborate.

  "So?" Lajos prompted and Toma laughed, the sound carrying across the empty courtyard.

  "I'm not telling," Toma said mischievously, giving him a bright smile that nearly incited Lajos into doing something forward. "You could be on my exam board," Toma continued, seemingly oblivious to the effect his smile was having on Lajos. "No one gets to see it before then."

  "I won't be on your exam board," Lajos said confidently. The five professors on each boa
rd were selected by lottery, but they could be excused for personal connections. Something Lajos fully intended to have with Toma by that point. And he didn't want to have any doubt cast on Toma's exam scores after the fact, so he'd excuse himself either way.

  "You don't know that," Toma said, yawning again. Lajos didn't correct him, feeling it would be presumptuous to let his intentions drop now, when he'd only been speaking with Toma for less than a day.

  "You really don't have to walk with me," Toma said as they meandered between the library and the largest of the lecture halls.

  "Mm, but I want to," Lajos said, wishing it was brighter out so he could see Toma's blush.

  "But you live on the other side of campus," Toma pointed out, his walk slowing a little as they approached the student dormitories. There was a light burning low beside the entrance, but the rest of the building was dark.

  "Yes, I do," Lajos agreed, not offering anything further and getting an annoyed sigh for his trouble. "But how did you know that?" Lajos teased. "I'd have remembered if you walked me home."

  "That's not funny," Toma groused, nearly tripping over something in the dark. Grumbling under his breath, he conjured a small, bright orb of yellow flame, illuminating the ground in front of them—and his face. Lajos smothered a victorious grin, because the dark flush of color in Toma's cheeks was adorable.

  "Everyone knows you live in the faculty dormitory," Toma said, shrugging—an impressive feat with the heavy knapsack slung over his shoulders.

  "Do they?" Lajos asked interestedly. "What else does everyone know about me?"

  "That you're a shadow mage?" Toma offered, pausing as they reached the door to the dormitories. Lajos didn't, opening the door gallantly for Toma. He was so noble.

  Toma slipped past him, the little yellow flame dimming without a word as he entered the hallway. That was pretty impressive—Toma hadn't even seemed to hesitate to focus or anything.

  "What else?" Lajos asked, following Toma down the hallway.

  "Nothing important," Toma muttered, letting himself into the stairway that led to the upper levels. His voice was quiet—he was probably used to sneaking in at this hour. "No one said you were from Kajal."

  "I have no accent," Lajos pointed out, grinning as he followed Toma up the stairs. "So most people assume I'm Marjanian."

  "No one said you like to meddle, either," Toma said wryly, pausing at the third floor. "You could have left me at the door."

  "Nope," Lajos refuted. "And meddling is fun. Distracts me from awful essays from the first years."

  Toma laughed, turning and letting himself into the third floor hallway.

  Toma's room proved to be second from the stairway, on the right, and Lajos committed that to memory as Toma fumbled a small brass key from his pocket, a bright red ribbon tied to the end of it.

  "This is me," Toma said quietly, unnecessarily. "You can go now."

  Lajos raised his eyebrows, snickering.

  Toma ignored him, continuing with, "Thank you for walking me home."

  "Anytime," Lajos said cheerfully. Toma flashed him a smile, opening his door.

  "Oh, hey," Lajos said, abruptly remembering his invitation. "You can come back and use the desk in my office again, if you want to. I enjoyed your company. Made me more studious by example."

  "I might take you up on that," Toma said, dropping his bag on the floor inside his door with a thump. Lajos offered him the books he'd carried, resisting the urge to do some inappropriate touching as well.

  Maybe tomorrow, Lajos decided, bidding Toma good night and letting him disappear into his room. Grinning stupidly, Lajos turned back the way they'd come and headed home.

  *~*~*

  Toma wished in vain that he'd had the time to stop for more than a quick breakfast and a single cup of hastily gulped coffee before he'd had to get to his first class.

  There was no help for it though, and he'd done more on less in the past. He'd gotten further in his studies in Lajos's office than he'd expected to in the library, at least. And Lajos wanted him—well, he'd invited him to return and Toma thought the torture of spending so long in Lajos's presence might be worth the quiet and lack of other distraction.

  Toma glanced around the classroom briefly as the professor finished his lecture and fished out a stack of papers—their latest quiz. The room burst into a buzz of quiet whispers as the professor began to return the quizzes slowly.

  Toma sighed, flipping through his notebook to re-read the notes he'd taken on autopilot. Nothing he hadn't already learned from the book, and Toma really wished he was careless enough to skip classes, because he could certainly use the time more productively elsewhere.

  "Excellent work, Mr. Sloveski," the professor mumbled as he placed Toma's quiz in front of him. Full marks, as usual. Toma nodded in acknowledgement, tucking the returned paper into his notebook.

  The professor returned to the front of the room after distributing the remaining quizzes and dismissed the class with an admonition to do the assigned reading and to not slack just because the end of the year was approaching.

  Toma packed up his things quickly, frowning a little at the worn fabric of his knapsack. Hopefully it would last until the end of the year; he didn't want to deal with finding a new one right now.

  Standing, Toma shouldered his bag and headed out of the classroom, wondering if he had time to run across campus for another hasty cup of coffee. Lost in thought, he didn't notice Epsen had fallen in step with him until a bony finger prodded his shoulder none too gently.

  "What do you want?" Toma asked, not really wanting to deal with Epsen right now. Or ever, really, but the least Epsen could do was lay off until after exams.

  "You could be nicer," Epsen said with disapproval. "Especially since you passed your last test."

  "Does that mean you'll leave me alone now?" Toma asked, frowning. He highly doubted that. Epsen looked a little surprised at Toma's brusqueness.

  "Did you not sleep well or something?" Epsen wondered. "You seem tighter strung today."

  "Really," Toma muttered, wishing they could get to the room his next class was in, now. Screw getting coffee.

  "You know," Epsen began, and Toma stifled a scowl because he knew what was coming next. "If you're this stressed now, just think how the next six weeks are going to go." Epsen paused. "You could come out with us tonight. Unwind a bit. There're no classes tomorrow."

  "I can't," Toma replied automatically, surprised at the offer. But he didn't trust Epsen's motives at all. "I have a tutoring session tomorrow morning."

  "So don't drink," Epsen suggested, giving him a supercilious smile. "You can still relax."

  "So, what," Toma asked, suddenly angry and sick of Epsen, "I pass all your tests and suddenly I'm fit company for you? No, Epsen, I will not go out with you and your friends. I have better things to do with my time."

  Epsen looked completely taken aback at that, and Toma scowled at him once more for good measure, storming into the lecture hall his next class was held in.

  Setting his bag down heavily on a desk, he glanced over his shoulder. Epsen had started into the room, but stopped a few steps in. Toma followed his gaze, frowning, and scowled deeply when he caught Lajos's eyes. What was he doing here?

  Talking to Professor Jacia, obviously. Epsen didn't look too happy, and looked even less so when Professor Jacia spoke up with, "Mister Palincik, I don't think you're where you belong."

  Toma sighed, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands or light something on fire. Or someone. Preferably Epsen, but he'd settle for Epsen's pants. Lajos's amused chuckle broke into his thoughts and he scowled at the man, wondering when he'd gotten so close. He was too damn quiet by far, even if he was a shadow mage.

  "Don't laugh at me," Toma muttered, still annoyed. But Lajos hadn't done anything wrong, besides be where he wasn't supposed to be, and be insufferably handsome about it.

  "I was laughing at Epsen," Lajos said mildly, raising an eyebrow at Toma and leaning familiarly aga
inst the side of Toma's desk.

  Toma flushed, sitting down heavily.

  "Hmm," Lajos hummed, peering at him speculatively. Toma scowled at him, tired and still incredibly annoyed. "When did you last get a proper night's sleep?"

  "That's none of your business," Toma said crossly. He didn't need babying. He knew well enough what he was doing. Besides, he could sleep after exams. He had too much to do beforehand.

  Lajos snickered again, reaching out and casually brushing a lock of hair away from Toma's forehead. That was not a proper student-teacher touch, Toma thought, scowling because Lajos wasn't making this whole inappropriate crush thing any easier.