All The Ways We Touch [BxB]

forty-three - daddy issues pt. one

"I still can't believe they called me goth," Jamison grumbled, holding up a flashcard in front of Elliot. "I wear all black, but that doesn't make me goth."

"You're still on about that?" Laughing lightly, Elliot shifted in his spot across from Jamison as he stared at the question, his sweatshirt tossed carelessly on the floor behind him. "What's it matter?"

Pursing his lips together, Jamison shrugged, though he didn't feel as casual about it as his body language would imply. "I mean, it's just misrepresentative."

"Sorry, Jam, but the media doesn't really care about facts, just about breaking a story first," Elliot said, struggling to concentrate on studying for their upcoming Natural Disasters test. "Uh, I need to focus..."

Staring at the back of the card, Jamison read the maximum wind speed of a tropical storm before it became a hurricane, not that he hadn't already committed it to memory. "Come on, you've been staring at the card for like two minutes. If you don't know it, you just don't know it."

Sighing, Elliot frowned and pulled his shirt up over his head, tossing it off the side of the bed. "I never should've agreed to this..." he mumbled as Jamison handed him the card. "This test is supposed to be easy, Jam. I really don't think we're going to be tested on our knowledge of wind speeds."

"What? You don't like strip flashcards?" Jamison teased, grinning at the sight of Elliot's bare chest, his eyes lingering on the spot where his neck and collarbone met. Even grumpiness couldn't make him any less enticing. "Well, I think it was a great idea."

"Of course you do, you're winning." Picking up a card from the deck, Elliot looked at the back of it, trying to memorize the wind speeds of an F5 tornado. This was a harder question than he'd yet seen, and while he doubted the "basic, easy, seriously-don't-stress-about-it" test would have such a specific question, he couldn't help but smirk at Jamison's lack of immediate response. "Wow, are you finally stumped?"

Rolling his eyes, Jamison thought for a moment and then sighed, lacking confidence in his answer. "Uh, 260-318mph?"

"Nope! 261-318mph," Elliot grinned, handing him the card. "Now, what're you gonna start with? Your hoodie or your pants?"

Pulling his hoodie off, Jamison dropped it beside him. "Why would I start with my pants when you didn't?" Picking up the next card, Jamison smiled and held it out in front of him.

That was a good point. Grumbling, Elliot focused on the card. "The Richter scale has no limit."

Nodding, Jamison set the card in the discard pile and watched as Elliot held one up for him. Another one he wasn't as sure about. "The most dangerous natural disaster is..." he trailed off, frowning at the glee on Elliot's face. "You're being ridiculous..."

"Is that your answer?"

"Ugh, a tsunami?"

Elliot shook his head, enjoying watching as Jamison took off his shirt. Now they were even, which he found rather surprising for how intensely Jamison normally studied at work. "It's a trick question. The most dangerous natural disaster is the one you're not prepared for." That one was likely to be on the test.

"God, that's so cheesy," he frowned. "I can't believe I wrote that." Sighing, Jamison picked up another card and held it up as he glanced down at Elliot's phone, which was lit up and vibrating, the caller ID displaying Dad above the options to either accept or decline. "How many times has he called now?"

"Too many," he said, shrugging as he declined the call yet again. "Uh, no...? How can an earthquake be considered overdue?"

"Take them off," Jamison beamed, handing him the card. "California is overdue for a major earthquake based on, uh, projections."