fandomhigh | The Science of Sexuality, Monday

"Welcome back to class, everyone."

You didn't really need to be a genius to know that was coming from John. "We thought we'd start these lessons off in chronological order. Last week, we started out with a bit of sexual preferences, now we're moving on to communication. Which is crucial, even-- no, especially with intercourse, much like the rest of the romantic arena. You have to be able to talk freely about what you want, or even if you want it, and how."

Meanwhile Sherlock remained sitting behind the desk, typing away on his phone. This whole communication thing was really more John's area of expertise.

"A skill most people lack judging by the divorce rates," he added dryly. "Any relationship, sexual or otherwise has rules that allow it to work. For example, I am no longer allowed to perform experiments in the bath because someone was squeamish."

"I'm not squeamish," John said, rolling his eyes. He refused to look back at Sherlock. "I just don't think the tub is the right venue to use for toxicological studies of body parts."

No, seriously, Sherlock. Seriously.

"Well, where else was I supposed to put it?" Sherlock asked, still not looking up from his mobile. "The sink was being used."

"Not in the bath!"

Cough.

After that little detour. "Sorry about that," John segued. "Anyway, communication. Make sure that you and your partner are at an even keel no matter what kind of relationship you pursue. If you don't want to engage in intercourse in the forseeable future, let them know as openly as you can. If your partner won't communicate with you, it might be a good moment to reconsider."

... Shut up.

They had a perfectly healthy, codependent relationship! Really!

"Break off into pairs and come up with whatever rules for a relationship your hormone addled brains can manage." Sherlock was such a kind, caring teacher.

"Just based on your personal wants and needs," John added, hastily. "No need to reveal anything intimate you don't want to reveal, or simulate a relationship."

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Ariel considered the rules that Quinn started out with, and she bobbed her head in an agreeing nod.

"Me, too," she said. "Except I want to pay when I can and I want to open the door first, especially if it's a new place..."

...mostly agreeing, anyway.

"Why?" Quinn asked, genuinely curious. "It's sort of the guy's job to hold the door."

Ariel's mind flashed brielfy to the argument she'd had with Elphaba about romance and dependancy, and her lack of an answer to Quinn's question just confirmed that Elphaba was crazyflakes.

"Is it?" she asked. "Why's that? I can open the door myself, and, besides, I kind of like opening doors."

Because they mostly didn't have them in Atlantica.

Quinn chewed on her pen, trying to come up with a good answer.

"It's just tradition?" she said. "Like how they're supposed to walk on the outside when you're on the street. It shows they think you're a lady. Didn't they talk about stuff like this in princess lessons?"

She wasn't being snarky; she was genuinely curious.

Ariel grinned faintly. "I never had very good attendance for princess lessons," she said with a smirk.

"I'm shocked," Quinn teased, but she was smiling too. "Your turn to pick a rule."

"Okay, okay," Ariel laughed a little, bouncing in her seat to shift into a very official Rule Creating posture. "Let's see. My next rule is....that...whoever I'm with has to know how to have fun and be silly on occasion. Or, at the very least, he has to be able to take my silliness and roll with it."

Quinn wrote that down, twirling the pen a bit as she did. The right to be silly wasn't exactly high on the list of Quinn Fabray musts, but she saw where Ariel was going with it. "And he's not allowed to say flat out that whatever I'm doing is stupid," she decided. "Even if it kind of is. He can state his opinion, just not in a mean way."

"We could just say no being mean at all," Ariel offered.

"But sometimes I'm kind of mean when somebody deserves it," Quinn said. "... okay, in a totally ideal relationship? No being mean. Except maybe teasing a little."

"Teasing won't count," Ariel agreed, "because it's not real mean, you know? Teasing is definitely required. And, I think, if we're going for ideal, the person won't be doing anything to make you be mean because they deserve it..."

"True," Quinn agreed, with a heavy sigh that said she doubted that would ever come to pass. Poor, poor girl, to be so burdened by the stupidity of the world...

She eyed Ariel. "He should take care of himself physically," she said. "I do, so he should have to too, right?"

"But not," Ariel said after a moment to think about, "to the point where it's, like, an obsession or anything. When training is more important than almost anything else..."

Not that she was thinking about anyone in particular with that one or anything, no...

Quinn hesitated, because she kind of liked the super-ripped gym rat look. But the way Ariel had worded it made her agree.

"Yeah, he needs to put time with me over another hour on the weight machines," she decided. "The gym will be there in the morning, and I have a life too."

"Exactly!" Ariel smiled. "Priorities. And it's okay if he's into something a lot, but as long as he lets you be into your own things too and doesn't neglect you for them, everything should be a-okay."

"Definitely," Quinn agreed. "And ... I can't think of anything else. I feel like it'll be hard enough to find a relationship with all the stuff we already have."

"I think," Ariel mused a little, "being a little loose on the rules might be a good rule, too. But you probably have a bit more experience with the relationship part of things than I do..."

So far. Ariel bit her lip a little, because who only knew how things might go for her on Friday...

"It might be about equal," Quinn said, half to be nice. "I mean, me and Finn was long-distance after the first two months, and before him I'd just had, you know, little things where you said somebody was your boyfriend but you mostly just passed notes during History and got your moms to drop you at the movies." Ah, eighth grade.

She rested her chin on her arms thoughtfully. "Bruce was your first?"

"And we dated for four whole days," Ariel said with a faint, wry smirk and a glance his way. "So you've got me by a long shot on the two months."

The Science of Sexuality, Monday

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