WHEN THE SUN BURNS DOWN [thomas]

Thomas picked up his phone when it rang, thankfully after a class. Most people knew not to call him when he was working, but not George. The man had no concept of time, really, probably because he spent most it spent cooped up inside masturbating in front of his fifty-two inch screen. He led a very prosperous and impressive life. "What did I tell you about calling me?" he asked as he picked up his briefcase. He could hear the munching of cheese puffs on the other end of the line. "Not to do it," came the reply and Thomas rolled his eyes. He wanted to get out of the classroom and head down to the lounge for a break, but clearly George wasn't having it. "Did you know pig orgasms can last for hours?" Thomas adjusted his tie, before waving off a student who knocked on the door, mouthing 'wait.' Unfortunately, the student had to wait by the door. "Did you call me to talk about pig orgasms?" Thomas questioned, and he watched as the kid tried his best not to laugh.

More munching of the cheese puffs. And now he was imagined the wife-beater covered in orange dust, and he was scrunching his face up and trying to think of a nice beach by the Caribbean. He needed a vacation. "Yeah,"

Avery, in Thomas's best description, was a cartoon character. Overly-animated and colorful and fun to watch, but kind of nauseating at times. He loved the guy in a professional, bromantic way, but anyone who knew the nurse understood that he was wacked out his mind. Maybe that was why they got along. Albeit, Avery was not as closet-weird as Thomas was, because he'd be damned should anyone find out about his rubber ducks. He merely blinked when Avery grabbed hold of his ankle, and for a moment he wondered if he was about to be serenaded with a song. With the next words from the nurse, Tom asked, "Are you drunk?" His tone flat, it would be left up to speculation whether or not he seriously wanted to know if he'd come to work drunk. Would he be at all surprised? He tried not to be surprised by Avery anymore, but the man made it difficult. At least he could not be bored.

In his head, Thomas calculated the man's age, because he was not behaving like a man. And that, at times, could be an admirable trait. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and he didn't care about what others thought. There had to be a refreshing freedom accompanying that sort of feeling. He couldn't have been that much younger than the Calculus professor, but he was Asian--it was hard to tell with them. "What makes you think I feel like getting you coffee?" He was not a very generous man, he could not say, it was not a word used to describe him often. His foot felt like it was about to fall asleep, Avery holding on and quite possibly cutting off circulation. Even so, Thomas kept a straight face, wondering if he should just shake him off or what. He had no problem with being so unkind.

Thomas tilted his head, looking down at him blankly. He was a thick shell, though Avery did have ways of getting past that and perturbing him. A talent, really, something like that. "It's come up a few times. Usually it's women holding onto my legs, I have to say." Though most woman did not actually hold onto his leg like that, Avery with his flirtatious ways would easily pick up what he meant. He shook his leg a little bit, not being able to help it with how awkwardly he was standing. "I doubt that. You're a compliment whore." And Thomas had to wonder how much of a whore he was in actuality with how much he flirted. The professor simply assumed that it was a lot, but he did not know if he could comfortably broach the subject with a co-worker. Any of his other friends, easy.

He sighed, his hands in his pockets. At least he had a nice reprieve from any lethargy or apathy his day here could provide. Avery could spice the day up just by being the weirdo he was. "If you want me to get you coffee, you'll have to let go." Thomas arched an eyebrow at him, a quizzical expression on his scruffy face. He was not habitual with his shaking, so sometimes he grew a light beard, not too much, though. Only specific kind of men could rock that full-on beard, and he did not believe he was one of them.

Somehow, Thomas doubted the man. Completely. And another part of him could fully accept the man's denial of any intoxication. He was responsible enough with his job, he knew that. Maybe not responsible enough to take it easy on the flirting with students, but enough that he wasn't too sure if he would find the nurse stumbling in with a forty ounce in hand. That did not seem like much of an Avery thing to do. ”And today is when I learned that it is in fact, possible to offend the shameless. Go figure.” What did it take to offend him? Dead baby jokes, is that what Thomas would end up doing? And what could make Avery blush? If only he was a chick, the professor might have liked to try. But it was not only Avery's gender that prevented him from doing such a thing, but a lot of limitations that he was mindful of. He did not want to hear it from any superiors that he was hitting on one of the faculty.

Thomas leaned back a bit, still with his hands in his pockets. He clicking sound with his tongue and then shook his head. ”So close, but you lose this round. Try again.” Now he was just being mean, but for the guy on the floor it seemed like the right reaction. He couldn't just give him everything he wanted for lying around on the job. So literally, as a matter of fact, he had to wonder if it was intentional. Avery had yet to make any sort of pun, so he came to doubt it. The nurse tried for another route, scowling as he did so. He grimaced and shook his foot. ”Avery, I understand now what this is all about.” The chilling on the floor, biting of his ankles. It was all so very clear. ”You've been doing bath salts. You knew what they could do, and now I'm going to have to shoot you in the face.” It was still a question whether or not bath salts had that kind of effect on people, but Thomas could be convinced. Drugs fucked people up. He stuck to ganja, he knew what happened when he smoked weed.

Avery's comment made him smile and shake his head. He should have known the answer before Tom even replied. ”Actually, no.” He was a talker, after all, part of his charm, the man supposed. And it was all for jest, because he was not about to undersell his prowess when it came to women. He could wine and dine, date and mate, but he could not hold down a relationship. He knew why, he did not think about it, and that was that. Thomas kept quiet about that part, but like any man he was not particularly quiet around his bros when it came to his love life. Damn, the guy had the grip of a koala bear. ”Have you been working out? And before you say it yourself, I'm going to make the joke so you won't—why, have you noticed?” Avery's flirting sometimes did disturb him. And he could only imagine if he was high. He would be disturbed. Thomas nodded his agreement. ”Yes, too well. I think we need to spend time apart, as a matter of fact.”

He would miss Avery, though, as the man cried out in triumph. It did not surprise him too much as he flopped back down on the floor, and all the while Thomas imagined the feet that had walked their, the dog shit and gum stuck to the soles, and whatever else could have been slid across the room. For a nurse, Avery seemed unconcerned with the possibility of germs. ”This is why you need a girlfriend,” he said as he got the coffee and Avery made his request. ”Or a boyfriend. Not even for a the sex, you can have a doll for that, but you are so damn needy.” He said it flatly, pouring in the sugar and going to find the creamer. Then he requested stirring, and he looked over his shoulder at the man who was currently speaking into th efloor. ”Pushing it,” he told Avery, even though he obeyed and used a stirrer before walking back over to the nurse and looking down at him. ”You'll have to get up now.” Just a little tip, Thomas realizeed, and he could pour the entire cup on the man. Hmm. Something to consider for the future.

Thomas looked at the man incredulously. "There is so much I could hold against you, Avery, it's a surprise that there isn't a law suit involved right now." It wasn't that bad, otherwise Tom would have made it known. He didn't suffer fools, wouldn't be around Avery if he was uptight. Because even though he hid it well, he was a dork on the inside. He just couldn't let anyone learn about his action figures, or his ducks, or his strange love for his couch.

Avery sniffled, oh dear god he sniffled. Some things, Thomas just couldn't take, and it was an amazing effort not to double over in laughter. "When did I ever admit my love to you. Was it when we were cuddling on the polar bear rug when we vacationed in the mountains, because I'll admit, I was drunk." Now Thomas did have his limits with Avery, and he wouldn't hesitate to pinch the man if he came to those limits. It was like a cattle prod, pinching. It worked with surprising effectiveness. Thomas shook his leg a little again, but it was clearly not effective. This was most likely the longest anyone has spent attached to his leg. "So that explains the smell." Thomas was one of those people who thought it literally was bath salts when he first heard of it. Luckily he had friends to explain it to him.

Thomas narrowed his eyes. And he was letting his leg be used as a freaking tree! Ungrateful. "Right in the ego, Avery, right in the ego." At least he meant well. Maybe not well, but all in good fun. It was a good thing Thomas wasn't at all sensitive. Passionate, maybe, but not sensitive. It seemed even when he tried, he couldn't deter Avery's flirting. He had to give the man props for that, major props. He flicked at the nurse's hand when it touched his stomach. "You're gonna lose it, buddy," he warned, and whether or not he was serious would be up for Avery to decide. Nothing could stop him, anyway, so Thomas gave up a long time ago. Avery said that he wasn't the first one to say it, and the professor nodded. "Clearly, there is a problem." His eyebrow lifted with the next statement, however, and he nudged the man's face with his shoe. "I'll show you just how irresistible you are when I don't come to see you for three months." Thomas would be like his missed periods, so then Avery could freak out about being pregnant. Because obviously Thomas' absence was a sign of impending pregnancy.

Smirking at Avery's words, he shook his head. "And whiny, don't forget whiny." He did believe it, but he wasn't being mean about it. Those were Avery's endearing traits. He was just a kid, after all, underneath all that nursing. Thomas scrunched up his face at the other. "Ew, gross, you are so not my type." He really wasn't, being as he had a penis and all. Thomas wasn't fond of any penis except his own. Well, maybe fond was too creepy a word. He appreciated it, and that some ex-girlfriend never came around and tried to take it away like a crazed Lorraine Bobbit. At least he was in a sitting position now, and as Thomas handed off the coffee, he sat on the couch next to the man. "So uh...what were you doing on the floor?" he asked conversationally as if it were completely normal. He had forgotten to ask, just instantly threatened the man when he'd walked in.