the nervous system, will/skandar, r
Title: the nervous system
Author: likecharity
Pairing: Will/Skandar
Rating: R
Warnings: Real person slash
Summary: Will helps Skandar study for his GCSEs, in a slightly unconventional manner.
A/N: For micolerose, who requested it. :)
Skandar puts on his very best Serious Face. "You," he says sternly, "are not conducive to revision."
Will adopts his favourite expression of innocence. "I'm not?"
"You're not," Skandar confirms. "I have a Biology exam at nine 'o clock tomorrow morning, and about two hundred pages of notes to get through, so I'm going to need you to take your hand off my thigh."
Will does not. He does, however, pout, because when it comes to Skandar, pouting always works. He even throws in the puppydog eyes, for good measure. But to no avail.
"I'm serious, Will," Skandar says. "You know what I'd rather be doing, but -- this is a Biology exam, and it's important."
"Biology, you say?" says Will, raising his eyebrows and moving his hand a little further up Skandar's thigh. "I'm sure I could help you with that."
Skandar gives him a Look, which Will happily ignores.
"You see," he continues, racking his brains for what little of his GCSE Biology he remembers, "when I do this--" he gives Skandar's thigh a squeeze, "--it's a stimuli."
Skandar blinks. "Stimulus," he corrects. "Stimuli is the plural."
"Smart-arse," says Will affectionately. He squeezes Skandar's thigh again. "Anyway, that's a stimulus. And so is this--" he leans in and presses his lips softly to Skandar's cheek. He moves his hand up to Skandar's chest, feeling his quickening heartbeat. "And this is a reaction."
"I know, Will," says Skandar tiredly, "I really have to--"
"Here's a good example of a stimulus," Will interrupts, leaning in closer. "This."
At this, he bites Skandar gently on the earlobe. Skandar will never admit it, but he has a bit of an Ear Thing and it's pretty much a surefire way to get him in the mood. Will grins triumphantly as he brushes his hand over the crotch of Skandar's jeans and feels a pressing hardness against his palm.
"You know what this is?" Will murmurs.
"It's an erection, Will," says Skandar flatly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Will chuckles, "the answer we were looking for was a reaction. You can't go round writing 'erection' on your exam papers, you know, they're bound to fail you if you do."
Skandar glowers, but Will doesn't care. He's having fun, and he knows he's wearing Skandar down.
"Come on, okay," says Will, "so I do this--" he bites Skandar's ear again, "and that's the stimulus. What's the receptor?"
"My ear. The skin."
"And then what happens?"
"I get hard," Skandar grumbles, shifting in his seat.
"Scientifically, Skandar," Will grins.
Skandar heaves a sigh. "The receptor is stimulated, and it sends a signal along the nerve cells, to the motor neurone, which sends a signal back to the receptor and produces a response."
"I don't actually know if that's right," says Will, "but it sounded impressive."
"It was a reflex reaction, though," Skandar carries on, "which is different. It doesn't really involve the brain. Because if it did, this wouldn't have happened, because I have to study, Will."
"I'm helping!" says Will indignantly.
"You so aren't," Skandar retorts, gesturing to the now rather large bulge in his jeans. "Now I can't concentrate at all. And there's this practise test to do, and--"
"Calm down," Will says in what he hopes is a soothing voice. "You know this stuff so well. I bet you'll get every answer right."
Skandar glances at the practise test doubtfully. "Will you test me? That would be helpful."
"Sure," says Will, taking the book from Skandar's desk. "And I'll tell you what -- for every answer you get right, I'll take off an item of clothing."
Skandar's eyes widen. "Really? Okay, now that's really helpful."
Will laughs. He settles back in his chair. "Question one," he reads. "Which type of neurone transmits a signal from a sense organ to the central nervous system?"
"A sensory neurone," Skandar fires back immediately.
Will takes off a sock, and Skandar rolls his eyes. "Question two. Which type of neurone transmits a signal from the central nervous system to an effector, such as a muscle?"
"A motor neurone," Skandar says proudly. "Do you really have to do the socks one at a time?"
"Yes," says Will, and takes off the other one. "Question three. What is a synapse?"
"These are easy," Skandar says cockily. "It's the thing, the space between two neurones. Signals have to get across it using chemicals. And that's extra information, so I should get a bonus."
"Fine," says Will, putting the book down. "Your bonus is my scarf."
"Which you shouldn't be wearing inside in the first place."
"Shut up," Will says fondly, pulling off the scarf and folding it neatly to place on Skandar's desk. His cardigan follows. "Question four. What two parts is the nervous system divided into?"
"The central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system."
"You're too good at this," says Will, pulling his t-shirt over his head. Skandar grins. "This whole exam panic thing was just an elaborate plan to get me to take off my clothes, wasn't it?"
Skandar shrugs. "Next question, please."
Will laughs, shaking his head. "How about if you get a question wrong, I put an item of clothing back on?" Skandar opens his mouth to protest but Will doesn't let him continue. "That's the new rule. Question five. What are the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system comprised of?" he reads.
"Well, the central nervous system is just the brain and the spinal cord," says Skandar thoughtfully, "and the peripheral one is just everything else, other nerves and stuff."
"Half a point," says Will, "not enough detail."
Skandar wrinkles his nose, but doesn't argue, mainly because Will is currently taking off that god-awful belt with the ram's head buckle.
"Question six. Neurones have extensions from their cell membrane. What are these extensions called?" Will reads.
Skandar frowns. He always struggles with this stuff about the structure of the cell. It's kind of hard to try and remember it, as well, when Will's sitting there in front of him with his shirt off. His mind wanders, and he wonders whether Will will give him a "reward" if he does well.
"Skan?"
Skandar shakes himself. "It begins with D," he says tentatively, and Will nods, so that's a good start. Skandar's eyes drift down to Will's chest. It's a bit hot in Skandar's bedroom and there's a slight sheen of sweat across Will's smooth, tanned skin, and Skandar forgets altogether what he's doing.
"D..." Will prompts. "Den..."
Skandar sits up straight. "Oh! Dendrites!"
Will shakes his head. "Sorry, incorrect." Skandar throws himself back in his seat with a sigh as he watches Will pulling his t-shirt back on. "Question seven," Will goes on. "These extensions have even finer branches attached to them. What are these called?"
"Ohh," Skandar sighs. "Those are dendrites. The other things are dendrons."
"Mmhm. Getting a little distracted, are we? This is good, it's giving you a chance to work while under pressure," says Will conversationally as he takes his t-shirt right back off again. "Question eight. Many neurones have one dendrite that is longer than the others. What is this dendrite called?"
By some miracle, Skandar remembers this one. "The axon!" he says triumphantly.
Will just smiles at him as he unbuttons his trousers. Skandar watches him slide out of them, and dendrons and dendrites leave his mind entirely, which is unfortunate, because they crop up yet again in the next question.
"Question nine. What is the job of the dendrites?" Will asks, settling back down in his chair, now clad only in his boxers.
Skandar looks longingly at the thin white fabric, and feels his own boxers beginning to tighten a little. "I don't know," he sighs.
"Come on," says Will encouragingly. "Get this right and I'll be naked."
"Postmen," says Skandar defeatedly. "Porn stars. Bakers, bankers, footballers, I don't know."
Will laughs, but tries to hide it. "Come on, Skan, be serious. If you get this right, I'll take my boxers off, but if you get it wrong, I'll put all of my clothes back on and we have to start from the beginning for question ten."
Skandar's face falls. "I don't know," he groans. "Is it something to do with the synapses?"
"Yes! Yeah, it is!"
"They do something...with the synapses," Skandar mumbles. "Are they the things that make the message travel across the synapses? Oh, they are! They overlap, or something, and then the chemical can be transferred across! That's right, isn't it?"
Will's response is to stand up and hook his thumbs into the waistband of his boxers. When he pulls them down, Skandar first mentally praises his Biology teacher for managing to drill this stuff into his brain, then stands up, grabs Will by the hips, and kisses him hard.
"I think," Skandar says, fumbling to get out of his own clothes, "that you should just be naked all the time. I'd never learn anything, but I wouldn't care."
Will laughs, low and soft in Skandar's ear, and Skandar squirms. "There are eleven more questions," he says, "and that's only for this topic. I believe you have somewhere in the region of two hundred pages of notes to get through."
"Yes," Skandar agrees. "But," he adds, tackling Will onto the bed, "you're naked."
"Correct," Will confirms, settling back against a pillow and smiling to himself. Apparently, exam panic is surprisingly easy to calm.
End.
Author: likecharity
Pairing: Will/Skandar
Rating: R
Warnings: Real person slash
Summary: Will helps Skandar study for his GCSEs, in a slightly unconventional manner.
A/N: For micolerose, who requested it. :)
Skandar puts on his very best Serious Face. "You," he says sternly, "are not conducive to revision."
Will adopts his favourite expression of innocence. "I'm not?"
"You're not," Skandar confirms. "I have a Biology exam at nine 'o clock tomorrow morning, and about two hundred pages of notes to get through, so I'm going to need you to take your hand off my thigh."
Will does not. He does, however, pout, because when it comes to Skandar, pouting always works. He even throws in the puppydog eyes, for good measure. But to no avail.
"I'm serious, Will," Skandar says. "You know what I'd rather be doing, but -- this is a Biology exam, and it's important."
"Biology, you say?" says Will, raising his eyebrows and moving his hand a little further up Skandar's thigh. "I'm sure I could help you with that."
Skandar gives him a Look, which Will happily ignores.
"You see," he continues, racking his brains for what little of his GCSE Biology he remembers, "when I do this--" he gives Skandar's thigh a squeeze, "--it's a stimuli."
Skandar blinks. "Stimulus," he corrects. "Stimuli is the plural."
"Smart-arse," says Will affectionately. He squeezes Skandar's thigh again. "Anyway, that's a stimulus. And so is this--" he leans in and presses his lips softly to Skandar's cheek. He moves his hand up to Skandar's chest, feeling his quickening heartbeat. "And this is a reaction."
"I know, Will," says Skandar tiredly, "I really have to--"
"Here's a good example of a stimulus," Will interrupts, leaning in closer. "This."
At this, he bites Skandar gently on the earlobe. Skandar will never admit it, but he has a bit of an Ear Thing and it's pretty much a surefire way to get him in the mood. Will grins triumphantly as he brushes his hand over the crotch of Skandar's jeans and feels a pressing hardness against his palm.
"You know what this is?" Will murmurs.
"It's an erection, Will," says Skandar flatly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Will chuckles, "the answer we were looking for was a reaction. You can't go round writing 'erection' on your exam papers, you know, they're bound to fail you if you do."
Skandar glowers, but Will doesn't care. He's having fun, and he knows he's wearing Skandar down.
"Come on, okay," says Will, "so I do this--" he bites Skandar's ear again, "and that's the stimulus. What's the receptor?"
"My ear. The skin."
"And then what happens?"
"I get hard," Skandar grumbles, shifting in his seat.
"Scientifically, Skandar," Will grins.
Skandar heaves a sigh. "The receptor is stimulated, and it sends a signal along the nerve cells, to the motor neurone, which sends a signal back to the receptor and produces a response."
"I don't actually know if that's right," says Will, "but it sounded impressive."
"It was a reflex reaction, though," Skandar carries on, "which is different. It doesn't really involve the brain. Because if it did, this wouldn't have happened, because I have to study, Will."
"I'm helping!" says Will indignantly.
"You so aren't," Skandar retorts, gesturing to the now rather large bulge in his jeans. "Now I can't concentrate at all. And there's this practise test to do, and--"
"Calm down," Will says in what he hopes is a soothing voice. "You know this stuff so well. I bet you'll get every answer right."
Skandar glances at the practise test doubtfully. "Will you test me? That would be helpful."
"Sure," says Will, taking the book from Skandar's desk. "And I'll tell you what -- for every answer you get right, I'll take off an item of clothing."
Skandar's eyes widen. "Really? Okay, now that's really helpful."
Will laughs. He settles back in his chair. "Question one," he reads. "Which type of neurone transmits a signal from a sense organ to the central nervous system?"
"A sensory neurone," Skandar fires back immediately.
Will takes off a sock, and Skandar rolls his eyes. "Question two. Which type of neurone transmits a signal from the central nervous system to an effector, such as a muscle?"
"A motor neurone," Skandar says proudly. "Do you really have to do the socks one at a time?"
"Yes," says Will, and takes off the other one. "Question three. What is a synapse?"
"These are easy," Skandar says cockily. "It's the thing, the space between two neurones. Signals have to get across it using chemicals. And that's extra information, so I should get a bonus."
"Fine," says Will, putting the book down. "Your bonus is my scarf."
"Which you shouldn't be wearing inside in the first place."
"Shut up," Will says fondly, pulling off the scarf and folding it neatly to place on Skandar's desk. His cardigan follows. "Question four. What two parts is the nervous system divided into?"
"The central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system."
"You're too good at this," says Will, pulling his t-shirt over his head. Skandar grins. "This whole exam panic thing was just an elaborate plan to get me to take off my clothes, wasn't it?"
Skandar shrugs. "Next question, please."
Will laughs, shaking his head. "How about if you get a question wrong, I put an item of clothing back on?" Skandar opens his mouth to protest but Will doesn't let him continue. "That's the new rule. Question five. What are the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system comprised of?" he reads.
"Well, the central nervous system is just the brain and the spinal cord," says Skandar thoughtfully, "and the peripheral one is just everything else, other nerves and stuff."
"Half a point," says Will, "not enough detail."
Skandar wrinkles his nose, but doesn't argue, mainly because Will is currently taking off that god-awful belt with the ram's head buckle.
"Question six. Neurones have extensions from their cell membrane. What are these extensions called?" Will reads.
Skandar frowns. He always struggles with this stuff about the structure of the cell. It's kind of hard to try and remember it, as well, when Will's sitting there in front of him with his shirt off. His mind wanders, and he wonders whether Will will give him a "reward" if he does well.
"Skan?"
Skandar shakes himself. "It begins with D," he says tentatively, and Will nods, so that's a good start. Skandar's eyes drift down to Will's chest. It's a bit hot in Skandar's bedroom and there's a slight sheen of sweat across Will's smooth, tanned skin, and Skandar forgets altogether what he's doing.
"D..." Will prompts. "Den..."
Skandar sits up straight. "Oh! Dendrites!"
Will shakes his head. "Sorry, incorrect." Skandar throws himself back in his seat with a sigh as he watches Will pulling his t-shirt back on. "Question seven," Will goes on. "These extensions have even finer branches attached to them. What are these called?"
"Ohh," Skandar sighs. "Those are dendrites. The other things are dendrons."
"Mmhm. Getting a little distracted, are we? This is good, it's giving you a chance to work while under pressure," says Will conversationally as he takes his t-shirt right back off again. "Question eight. Many neurones have one dendrite that is longer than the others. What is this dendrite called?"
By some miracle, Skandar remembers this one. "The axon!" he says triumphantly.
Will just smiles at him as he unbuttons his trousers. Skandar watches him slide out of them, and dendrons and dendrites leave his mind entirely, which is unfortunate, because they crop up yet again in the next question.
"Question nine. What is the job of the dendrites?" Will asks, settling back down in his chair, now clad only in his boxers.
Skandar looks longingly at the thin white fabric, and feels his own boxers beginning to tighten a little. "I don't know," he sighs.
"Come on," says Will encouragingly. "Get this right and I'll be naked."
"Postmen," says Skandar defeatedly. "Porn stars. Bakers, bankers, footballers, I don't know."
Will laughs, but tries to hide it. "Come on, Skan, be serious. If you get this right, I'll take my boxers off, but if you get it wrong, I'll put all of my clothes back on and we have to start from the beginning for question ten."
Skandar's face falls. "I don't know," he groans. "Is it something to do with the synapses?"
"Yes! Yeah, it is!"
"They do something...with the synapses," Skandar mumbles. "Are they the things that make the message travel across the synapses? Oh, they are! They overlap, or something, and then the chemical can be transferred across! That's right, isn't it?"
Will's response is to stand up and hook his thumbs into the waistband of his boxers. When he pulls them down, Skandar first mentally praises his Biology teacher for managing to drill this stuff into his brain, then stands up, grabs Will by the hips, and kisses him hard.
"I think," Skandar says, fumbling to get out of his own clothes, "that you should just be naked all the time. I'd never learn anything, but I wouldn't care."
Will laughs, low and soft in Skandar's ear, and Skandar squirms. "There are eleven more questions," he says, "and that's only for this topic. I believe you have somewhere in the region of two hundred pages of notes to get through."
"Yes," Skandar agrees. "But," he adds, tackling Will onto the bed, "you're naked."
"Correct," Will confirms, settling back against a pillow and smiling to himself. Apparently, exam panic is surprisingly easy to calm.
End.