“What the hell do you think you’re doing Dameron? I don’t want your slobber all over me.”Kylo responded. He had just wanted to sleep not deal with Ben’s touchy-feely boyfriend Poe.
“Good morning Kylo. You know you have a bed of your own if you don’t want me mistaking you for my boyfriend.” Poe answered looking down at Kylo. Until he got up it really would be hard for Poe or anyone else to differentiate him from Ben.
Kylo shifted, curling deeper into the covers. “This bed is warm and you should be heading to class. Leave me be Dameron.” Kylo complained trying to hide from Poe by curling himself farther under the covers.
“Fine, fine, I’m leaving.” He heard Poe grabbing his bag but didn’t dare look out from the warm blankets. “Tell Ben I love him. And you’re not too bad yourself Kylo.” Poe shouted on the way out the room.
“Leave me alone Dameron!” Kylo shouted even though Poe was out the door and nearly out of the apartment. Kylo reached out to the part of their mind where Ben resided. Poe says he loves you. No response. Not surprising, Ben was usually exhausted after a night of… activities with Poe. Have to do it the old way then. Kylo thought to Ben as much as himself. He reached a long arm out from under Poe’s duvet and grasped around until he found the notebook that was left on Dameron’s bedside. He pulled it under the covers and grabbed the pen attached to the spiral binding. He opened to a blank page and wrote ‘Poe said he loves you.’ Before replacing the pen and pushing the notebook away.
He fell back asleep for an hour or so before giving into the high pitched beeping of the alarm that Ben had set on their phone the night before. Ben stirred in the back of their mind but remained mostly unresponsive. Kylo reached out from under the covers to shut off the annoying device before pushing away the covers so he didn’t try to curl up within their embrace once more.
Kylo pulled himself out of the warm bed and padded across the floor leaving the mess Poe and Ben called a room. He padded through the hallway until he stepped into the bathroom. He pulled himself into the old shower in the corner, staring at the pink cracked tiles next to the faucet. The apartment was ancient but it had been clean and rent had been cheap for a two bedroom close to campus. Plus the landlord didn’t recognize him and Ben as the son of Leia Organa which was always a plus. He grabbed his shampoo, apple as opposed to Ben’s strawberry and washed his chin-length curls out. Then he picked up the conditioner he shared with Ben and ran in through his hair before grabbing his bodywash, vanilla as opposed to Ben’s favorite citrus scent. He lathered up, making sure to wash extra hard to get Poe’s scent out. He was glad when it was gone from his body. Kylo liked Poe but Poe was more like his brother than anything else and he didn’t want to smell like he just had sex with Poe. That was Ben’s business.
He turned off the shower and grabbed his towel off the rack. He quickly dried off his body before wrapping it around his hair while he went to grab clothes from his room. As big of a pain as it was to go through the hassle of getting ready for class it meant he could wash and dress to his tastes rather than waking to Ben’s. Today he wore a black t-shirt with a charcoal grey cardigan, black skinny jeans and the worn black converse he and Ben both loved. He would grab a few scarves to complete the outfit after he dried his hair. He headed back into the bathroom to blow dry his hair. It was a task that always took longer than expected and Kylo was fairly certain that was why Ben usually just pulled it up in the mornings. Kylo liked to leave it down though. It was a signal that would warn their little cousin and her boyfriend not to talk to him until after lunch if they happened to see him on campus. Kylo hated mornings in general. It didn’t help that he had to take a course titled ‘Public Speaking and the Art of Debating’ this morning. The course was required for all students and without it they wouldn’t be able to graduate next year. Since they could take it at any time during their undergraduate career there would be students from all levels. It was a sure recipe for disaster.
Kylo headed towards the door, grabbing the scarves that had been discarded along the way the night before. Once he reached the end of the trail he collected his bag. He checked to ensure both his black notebook and Ben’s blue one were in there. They were for class so they knew who had to focus on studying what. He also ensured small purple notebook they used to pass information when the other was too distracted was in there too. Kylo looked at his phone once more. He would have time to grab coffee before class if he hurried.
He headed towards campus at a brisk pace, stopping only to slide in the door of the local coffee shop on the way. There was no line today. It seemed to be a stroke of luck. He headed up to the counter only to brush against a man who sideswiped him in his rush to exit. The man’s green eyes were wide with rage after a few drops of searing hot coffee spilled on his hands as he bumped into Kylo. “Watch where you’re going.” The other male snarled his vibrant red hair glinting in the sunlight as he stormed out.
“You watch where you’re going!” Kylo shouted back; though the man was already halfway out the door. Kylo stomped up to the counter and placed his order with a growl. “Large Coffee. Black.” He grunted placing his money on the counter. His coffee was retrieved quickly the morning attendants used to Kylo’s rapid mood swings. No one was willing to cross him after the recent display with the redhead.
He left the small shop and hurried the rest of the way to class. He didn’t pay any attention to anything around him. Instead he was too busy stewing with rage over the encounter with the redhead. He didn’t know why he let something so stupid make it mad. You know why. It was Ben. Kylo was always more passionate equal in both joy and rage. Ben was withdrawn and shy… he never showed his emotions. That was the way of it. At least the way it was for them.
Kylo had reached the building with only two minutes to spare. He headed into the classroom that he had been assigned on his schedule, a room he hadn’t been in since he was a freshman taking some of his other gen-ed credits. There weren’t many seats left, his coffee run getting him in the door with only a minute left. The only remaining spot was next to… him. The redhead from the coffee shop. He tried to calm himself. He couldn’t be caught shouting in class. Kylo closed his eyes and counted to ten.
Ben opened his eyes. He was used to this by now. He could vaguely recall Kylo was upset about something, ah, the coffee and the redhead who bumped into him. Ben walked over to the man deciding he should ignore the whole incident. “Excuse me?” he asked the redhead. “Is this seat taken?” the redhead waved him off in a manner that Ben could only assume meant that the seat was unoccupied. He could see the redhead finally look up and raise an eyebrow at Ben’s appearance by his side.
“You should be careful to watch where you’re going.” The redhead whispered. Ben could see why this man seemed to grate on Kylo’s nerves. “As should you.” He answered in an even tone.
If the redhead wanted to answer he never got the chance. Instead the professor walked in. He was an older man with greying hair, he had a no-nonsense air about him. Ben pulled the blue notebook out of his bag and opened it to a fresh page. ‘August 29th’ he wrote. ‘Public Speaking and the Art of Debating’ he underlined the course title and prepared to take notes. “I have here copies of the course syllabus. They will be distributed among you. They will describe your weekly readings and what is expected of you in this class. Today however, I would like to get an idea of where you are at. One by one each of you will come up in a pair with the person sitting next to you. You will state your name and major for the class and then I will give you a topic and a view point and you will spend five minutes arguing it. Your classmates will determine the winner of each round and I will use this to better structure this course to what I see as being most beneficial to you. We’ll start with you two.” The old man pointed a gnarled finger to a pair in the front of the room the tone in his voice leaving no room for argument. Ben watched as the pair stood, stunned by the quick turn of events. Ben used the time they spent introducing themselves to do a few mental calculations. It seemed he would be debating with the redhead. Lovely. Based on the sigh to his right the redhead had figured it out as well.
It took almost half the period before it was finally Ben and the redhead’s turn. The other male walked forward, head high, holding himself with a military precision that Ben recalled from the soldiers his mother often met with for her job. When they reached the front the redhead spoke first. His vibrant hair color contrasting with his pale skin. “Breácan Hux. Political Science.”
Ben thought for a moment the name sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite place it. “Ben Solo. BioMed.” It had taken ages for Ben and Kylo to agree on a major even after they had both agreed that it would be best to take the same courses rather than trying to run themselves ragged doing their own thing. Biomedical Engineering was good for a pre-med track, plus it had a technical aspect that both Ben and Kylo had always enjoyed. It would be a good jumping off point. “All right boys, I hope you’re up to date on your current events. Two days ago Senator Leia Organa presented a bill that would require educators to take regular training seminars that would educate them on how to handle a variety of mental health disorders their students might suffer from. Ben you are for, Breácan, against. Breácan you will start.”
Ben eyed the professor. He was almost certain the man knew who he was. How frustrating. Not at much so as hearing the redhead open his mouth however. “The idea that educators should be required to take courses on medical conditions that they will likely never encounter is absolutely ridiculous. If these conditions were so prevalent then they would be taught in university. Since they are not taught by accredited universities, which have far more input on the matter then it is likely that they are unimportant.” Ben knew this proposed law and arguments against it like the back of his hand. He was the reason his mother had written it and he had proofread it alongside her aides more than once during the summer. “The idea of implementing a continuing education program is not new. In fact many states already require educators to attend in-services and outside courses to further their education. The bill Senator Organa proposed merely ensures a focus is placed on dealing with the mental wellbeing of a child. The CDC published a report stating that between 13-20% of children are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. These affect their school life as well as their home life and many teachers are ill-prepared to deal with even common struggles like anxiety or ADHD. Beyond that, research for these disorders is always changing so even universities that include a course on the mental wellbeing of children will be out of date by the time a teacher needs to apply it. This bill clearly protects the welfare of children and is long overdue.”
The redhead, Breácan, hadn’t expected that. Ben saw a bead of sweat fall from his forehead but the other man’s face remained stoic. “While many of these disorders are common, they are also commonly misdiagnosed. In children the most common misdiagnosis are for ADHD and as many as one million have been misdiagnosed according to studies. Allowing teachers to play armchair psychiatrist is not only unhelpful but it could actually harm these children. Not to mention that if this bill is supposed to support children suffering from mental health conditions the money could do more good assisting children and their families with seeking treatment directly.”
Ben zoned out. It seemed Kylo had wanted a piece of the redhead as well. Ben allowed himself to fade so that Kylo could have his turn. “Now who is ridiculous? I don’t doubt the mental healthcare system needs further funding but to merely throw money at an issue will not make it go away.” Kylo explained, his feelings coming through in a way they hadn’t during Ben’s cold explanation. “Education will. If teachers are aware, then parents who might otherwise overlook serious conditions as their child acting out will have a way of seeking treatment. It may be the best opportunity for many of these children as well because of the stigma that remains surrounding mental health. This is a valuable opportunity to help children and it is not your place to squash it simply because you are too dull to understand the importance.”
Breácan was about to speak up once more when the professor called it. “Time. In the future let’s steer clear of personal insults.” The old man chided focusing on Kylo. “Now, class who do you think won the debate.” Unlike previous debates where other students spoke up with a good-natured cheer for one or the other everyone remained silent. It seemed they knew not what to say. The professor took the classes cue and moved on. “We’ll call it a tie. Next.”
Kylo returned to his seat, his heart racing. The look on the other male’s face, the pale skin flushed from exertion, made him feel something strange. He simultaneously wanted to punch the other male and ask him a question just to hear his voice again. Still, if the redhead truly believed what he was saying about their mother’s bill then Kylo would be better off having nothing to do with him.
Re: FILL | Meeting in the Middle [2/?]
“Good morning Kylo. You know you have a bed of your own if you don’t want me mistaking you for my boyfriend.” Poe answered looking down at Kylo. Until he got up it really would be hard for Poe or anyone else to differentiate him from Ben.
Kylo shifted, curling deeper into the covers. “This bed is warm and you should be heading to class. Leave me be Dameron.” Kylo complained trying to hide from Poe by curling himself farther under the covers.
“Fine, fine, I’m leaving.” He heard Poe grabbing his bag but didn’t dare look out from the warm blankets. “Tell Ben I love him. And you’re not too bad yourself Kylo.” Poe shouted on the way out the room.
“Leave me alone Dameron!” Kylo shouted even though Poe was out the door and nearly out of the apartment. Kylo reached out to the part of their mind where Ben resided. Poe says he loves you. No response. Not surprising, Ben was usually exhausted after a night of… activities with Poe. Have to do it the old way then. Kylo thought to Ben as much as himself. He reached a long arm out from under Poe’s duvet and grasped around until he found the notebook that was left on Dameron’s bedside. He pulled it under the covers and grabbed the pen attached to the spiral binding. He opened to a blank page and wrote ‘Poe said he loves you.’ Before replacing the pen and pushing the notebook away.
He fell back asleep for an hour or so before giving into the high pitched beeping of the alarm that Ben had set on their phone the night before. Ben stirred in the back of their mind but remained mostly unresponsive. Kylo reached out from under the covers to shut off the annoying device before pushing away the covers so he didn’t try to curl up within their embrace once more.
Kylo pulled himself out of the warm bed and padded across the floor leaving the mess Poe and Ben called a room. He padded through the hallway until he stepped into the bathroom. He pulled himself into the old shower in the corner, staring at the pink cracked tiles next to the faucet. The apartment was ancient but it had been clean and rent had been cheap for a two bedroom close to campus. Plus the landlord didn’t recognize him and Ben as the son of Leia Organa which was always a plus. He grabbed his shampoo, apple as opposed to Ben’s strawberry and washed his chin-length curls out. Then he picked up the conditioner he shared with Ben and ran in through his hair before grabbing his bodywash, vanilla as opposed to Ben’s favorite citrus scent. He lathered up, making sure to wash extra hard to get Poe’s scent out. He was glad when it was gone from his body. Kylo liked Poe but Poe was more like his brother than anything else and he didn’t want to smell like he just had sex with Poe. That was Ben’s business.
He turned off the shower and grabbed his towel off the rack. He quickly dried off his body before wrapping it around his hair while he went to grab clothes from his room. As big of a pain as it was to go through the hassle of getting ready for class it meant he could wash and dress to his tastes rather than waking to Ben’s. Today he wore a black t-shirt with a charcoal grey cardigan, black skinny jeans and the worn black converse he and Ben both loved. He would grab a few scarves to complete the outfit after he dried his hair. He headed back into the bathroom to blow dry his hair. It was a task that always took longer than expected and Kylo was fairly certain that was why Ben usually just pulled it up in the mornings. Kylo liked to leave it down though. It was a signal that would warn their little cousin and her boyfriend not to talk to him until after lunch if they happened to see him on campus. Kylo hated mornings in general. It didn’t help that he had to take a course titled ‘Public Speaking and the Art of Debating’ this morning. The course was required for all students and without it they wouldn’t be able to graduate next year. Since they could take it at any time during their undergraduate career there would be students from all levels. It was a sure recipe for disaster.
Kylo headed towards the door, grabbing the scarves that had been discarded along the way the night before. Once he reached the end of the trail he collected his bag. He checked to ensure both his black notebook and Ben’s blue one were in there. They were for class so they knew who had to focus on studying what. He also ensured small purple notebook they used to pass information when the other was too distracted was in there too. Kylo looked at his phone once more. He would have time to grab coffee before class if he hurried.
He headed towards campus at a brisk pace, stopping only to slide in the door of the local coffee shop on the way. There was no line today. It seemed to be a stroke of luck. He headed up to the counter only to brush against a man who sideswiped him in his rush to exit. The man’s green eyes were wide with rage after a few drops of searing hot coffee spilled on his hands as he bumped into Kylo. “Watch where you’re going.” The other male snarled his vibrant red hair glinting in the sunlight as he stormed out.
“You watch where you’re going!” Kylo shouted back; though the man was already halfway out the door. Kylo stomped up to the counter and placed his order with a growl. “Large Coffee. Black.” He grunted placing his money on the counter. His coffee was retrieved quickly the morning attendants used to Kylo’s rapid mood swings. No one was willing to cross him after the recent display with the redhead.
He left the small shop and hurried the rest of the way to class. He didn’t pay any attention to anything around him. Instead he was too busy stewing with rage over the encounter with the redhead. He didn’t know why he let something so stupid make it mad. You know why. It was Ben. Kylo was always more passionate equal in both joy and rage. Ben was withdrawn and shy… he never showed his emotions. That was the way of it. At least the way it was for them.
Kylo had reached the building with only two minutes to spare. He headed into the classroom that he had been assigned on his schedule, a room he hadn’t been in since he was a freshman taking some of his other gen-ed credits. There weren’t many seats left, his coffee run getting him in the door with only a minute left. The only remaining spot was next to… him. The redhead from the coffee shop. He tried to calm himself. He couldn’t be caught shouting in class. Kylo closed his eyes and counted to ten.
Ben opened his eyes. He was used to this by now. He could vaguely recall Kylo was upset about something, ah, the coffee and the redhead who bumped into him. Ben walked over to the man deciding he should ignore the whole incident. “Excuse me?” he asked the redhead. “Is this seat taken?” the redhead waved him off in a manner that Ben could only assume meant that the seat was unoccupied. He could see the redhead finally look up and raise an eyebrow at Ben’s appearance by his side.
“You should be careful to watch where you’re going.” The redhead whispered.
Ben could see why this man seemed to grate on Kylo’s nerves. “As should you.” He answered in an even tone.
If the redhead wanted to answer he never got the chance. Instead the professor walked in. He was an older man with greying hair, he had a no-nonsense air about him. Ben pulled the blue notebook out of his bag and opened it to a fresh page. ‘August 29th’ he wrote. ‘Public Speaking and the Art of Debating’ he underlined the course title and prepared to take notes.
“I have here copies of the course syllabus. They will be distributed among you. They will describe your weekly readings and what is expected of you in this class. Today however, I would like to get an idea of where you are at. One by one each of you will come up in a pair with the person sitting next to you. You will state your name and major for the class and then I will give you a topic and a view point and you will spend five minutes arguing it. Your classmates will determine the winner of each round and I will use this to better structure this course to what I see as being most beneficial to you. We’ll start with you two.” The old man pointed a gnarled finger to a pair in the front of the room the tone in his voice leaving no room for argument. Ben watched as the pair stood, stunned by the quick turn of events. Ben used the time they spent introducing themselves to do a few mental calculations. It seemed he would be debating with the redhead. Lovely. Based on the sigh to his right the redhead had figured it out as well.
It took almost half the period before it was finally Ben and the redhead’s turn. The other male walked forward, head high, holding himself with a military precision that Ben recalled from the soldiers his mother often met with for her job. When they reached the front the redhead spoke first. His vibrant hair color contrasting with his pale skin. “Breácan Hux. Political Science.”
Ben thought for a moment the name sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite place it. “Ben Solo. BioMed.” It had taken ages for Ben and Kylo to agree on a major even after they had both agreed that it would be best to take the same courses rather than trying to run themselves ragged doing their own thing. Biomedical Engineering was good for a pre-med track, plus it had a technical aspect that both Ben and Kylo had always enjoyed. It would be a good jumping off point.
“All right boys, I hope you’re up to date on your current events. Two days ago Senator Leia Organa presented a bill that would require educators to take regular training seminars that would educate them on how to handle a variety of mental health disorders their students might suffer from. Ben you are for, Breácan, against. Breácan you will start.”
Ben eyed the professor. He was almost certain the man knew who he was. How frustrating. Not at much so as hearing the redhead open his mouth however. “The idea that educators should be required to take courses on medical conditions that they will likely never encounter is absolutely ridiculous. If these conditions were so prevalent then they would be taught in university. Since they are not taught by accredited universities, which have far more input on the matter then it is likely that they are unimportant.”
Ben knew this proposed law and arguments against it like the back of his hand. He was the reason his mother had written it and he had proofread it alongside her aides more than once during the summer. “The idea of implementing a continuing education program is not new. In fact many states already require educators to attend in-services and outside courses to further their education. The bill Senator Organa proposed merely ensures a focus is placed on dealing with the mental wellbeing of a child. The CDC published a report stating that between 13-20% of children are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. These affect their school life as well as their home life and many teachers are ill-prepared to deal with even common struggles like anxiety or ADHD. Beyond that, research for these disorders is always changing so even universities that include a course on the mental wellbeing of children will be out of date by the time a teacher needs to apply it. This bill clearly protects the welfare of children and is long overdue.”
The redhead, Breácan, hadn’t expected that. Ben saw a bead of sweat fall from his forehead but the other man’s face remained stoic. “While many of these disorders are common, they are also commonly misdiagnosed. In children the most common misdiagnosis are for ADHD and as many as one million have been misdiagnosed according to studies. Allowing teachers to play armchair psychiatrist is not only unhelpful but it could actually harm these children. Not to mention that if this bill is supposed to support children suffering from mental health conditions the money could do more good assisting children and their families with seeking treatment directly.”
Ben zoned out. It seemed Kylo had wanted a piece of the redhead as well. Ben allowed himself to fade so that Kylo could have his turn. “Now who is ridiculous? I don’t doubt the mental healthcare system needs further funding but to merely throw money at an issue will not make it go away.” Kylo explained, his feelings coming through in a way they hadn’t during Ben’s cold explanation. “Education will. If teachers are aware, then parents who might otherwise overlook serious conditions as their child acting out will have a way of seeking treatment. It may be the best opportunity for many of these children as well because of the stigma that remains surrounding mental health. This is a valuable opportunity to help children and it is not your place to squash it simply because you are too dull to understand the importance.”
Breácan was about to speak up once more when the professor called it. “Time. In the future let’s steer clear of personal insults.” The old man chided focusing on Kylo. “Now, class who do you think won the debate.” Unlike previous debates where other students spoke up with a good-natured cheer for one or the other everyone remained silent. It seemed they knew not what to say. The professor took the classes cue and moved on. “We’ll call it a tie. Next.”
Kylo returned to his seat, his heart racing. The look on the other male’s face, the pale skin flushed from exertion, made him feel something strange. He simultaneously wanted to punch the other male and ask him a question just to hear his voice again. Still, if the redhead truly believed what he was saying about their mother’s bill then Kylo would be better off having nothing to do with him.