The duo walked up to the school. Aiden was standing by the doorway, with a nametag and keys hanging from his neck on a lanyard. Lin ran over, wrapping their arms around his neck. Aiden laughed and held them by the waist as Lin kissed his cheek.

"Oh, I've missed seeing you in your school clothes."

"They're not very different from my regular clothes," Aiden pointed out, letting go of Lin. They didn't let go of him as he continued talking, "Good afternoon, Lance."

"Hello."

Lance had third-wheeled for Lin a million times before. Something about this interaction didn't sit right with him. Maybe it was the way Lin was hanging off Aiden, or how they kept shooting glances at Lance.

"Jaylin, I have to let him in." Aiden peeled Lin off himself, pulling his lanyard over his neck and unlocking the door, "Wait here. I'll be right back."

"Good luck! You can do this!"

"Thanks." Lin gave Lance a quick hug before letting him follow Aiden inside.

His school clothes were a little different than his regular clothes. From what Lance had seen. His sweater seemed cleaner, and his pants were fastened with a belt and cuffed at the ankles. His hands were covered in rings, and earrings dangled from his ears.

"Principal Kay is excited to meet you."

"The feeling's mutual." Aiden hummed a response as he opened a classroom door.

The room was empty. The desks were aligned against the wall, the bookshelves had textbooks stacked in them, and the big desk at the front of the room didn't have anything on it but was occupied by who Lance assumed was the principal.

"Principal Kay, this is Lance Escalade."

"A pleasure to meet you." Principal Kay stood up, reaching her hand out for a handshake. "Please, just call me Kay. Aiden here is an overachiever."

"It's lovely to meet you." Lance shook her hand and smiled. "Thank you for taking the time to interview me."

"Of course!" Kay sat back down and opened up her laptop, "Please, pull up a chair."

Aiden said his goodbyes and Lance grabbed one of the student chairs. Kay didn't say anything as she read over something on her computer.

"We'll have to conduct a background check before we can hire you," Kay explained, "And I'd like for you to have applied to a school by then."

"I've already signed up for teaching classes."

"Never mind, then." Kay smiled warmly. "As for your resume, I trust you know what you're talking about. Eighteen years in the field is impressive."

"Seven of those were college," Lance reminded Kay. "Four more were spent doing personal research, rather than anything work-related."

"Do you mind sharing what your research was?"

"I spent a lot of my time writing. Nothing is worth publishing, but I wrote about theories and hypotheses from older scientists who never got to act on their ideas."

"That's very interesting." Kay folded her hands on the table and leaned forward, "You spent four years - out of your own free will - researching genetic mutation?"

"Yes."

"I have few doubts you wouldn't thrive in a teaching position." Kay looked back at her laptop, "You wrote here that you used to do lab tours for Wendell. How does that benefit the school?"

"The tours were kind of like walking classrooms," Lance explained. "I answered questions and explained everything that was happening."

"I see."

The rest of the interview felt like a blur. A passing moment Lance couldn't comprehend. Kay asked questions, Lance answered as truthfully as possible, and then he left.

Aiden and Lin were sitting on a bench outside, speaking in hushed tones. When Lance came out of the building Lin shot up and pulled their boyfriend over.

"Well?"

"She has to do a background check."

Lin went quiet as they sunk into deep thought. Aiden offered a meek thumbs-up as encouragement.

"You haven't done anything illegal, right?"

"I've gotten a couple of tickets."

"Really?" Aiden looked surprised at that.

"I get nervous when I have to drive," Lance explained, "Most of them were speeding tickets. One of them was because I was driving without insurance."

"Lance prefers to stay on the outside of cars." Lin gestured a box shape with their hands. "You have no idea how many times he's saved me from going to the mechanic."

"That's really cool."

"Thank you." Lance smiled at Aiden before turning back to Lin. "Can you take me home? I want to stop somewhere and get a treat. I think I deserve it."

"You do!" Lin agreed, clapping their hands together. "Come on, let's get you a dessert." Lin practically skipped to the car.

"I don't want a dessert," Lance said, following Lin. "Bye Aiden!"

"Goodbye."