hendolish helping the other understand an academic concept and being so proud of them when they get it!! and then sitting together in silence working but still touching elbows or knees and feeling the comfort of the others presence since they don’t get to spend a lot of time together at school with different schedules!!
love u sm! <3
also for @lfcgirl23 !! (prompts were so similar i decided to mush them together <3)
jack grealish/jordan henderson | study date ♡
“… you still don’t get it, do you?”
Jordan asks through a long-suffering sigh as Jack stares over at him with wide brown eyes.
“Gimme a sec, I’m thinking.”
The other placates as Jordan shakes his head and picks up his notes, already preparing to explain it to Jack all over again. At least his thinking face is cute.
“Yeah I still don’t get it.”
Jack relents finally after a few seconds more of silence and gormless staring. They’re pretty much the only ones left in the library on campus by now, so they’re not trying too hard to be quiet.
“Okay,” Jordan still finds himself speaking softly all the same, “Let’s try this a different way, yeah? You know what a mnemonic is?”
“…a disease?”
Jack answers so quickly it makes Jordan laugh, although the fact that Jack’s grinning brightly at him as well gives him hope that he’s joking, “Nah, don’t they shorten things to help you remember them and that?”
Jordan nods at him, somehow proud.
“Like, ‘Never Ever Support West Ham.’”
Quirking his eyebrow at him in question, Jack wheels his chair closer towards Jordan’s, smug he knows something he doesn’t.
“North, East, South, West,” He reels off as he points in the correlating direction, sounding proud of himself, “My old man taught me that one.”
“Right,” Jordan laughs, enjoying their knees knocking together where they’re now sitting so close, “Sound advice that.”
Jack grins at him, white teeth a contrast to his dark stubble, and Jordan can’t help squeezing his thigh before making sure they get back on track.
“Okay, so how about we come up with one for the carpal bones? Then it might help with your recall.”
Both their degrees include elements of sports medicine, for which it’s crucial to remember all the bones in the human body and where they are. The only problem is that there’s 206 of them, so Jordan doesn’t really blame Jack for struggling to recall them.
Jack agrees with a nod before they’re consulting the textbook, noting down the letters they need to use, and soon bouncing ideas off of each other to make the mnemonic as memorable as possible.
“I’ve got it!”
The younger declares after about five minutes of deliberation with a proud smile; Jordan is very aware of the fact that what they’re currently engaging in could also be described as procrastination, but he reasons that as it’s in attempt to help Jack, it’s acceptable.
“Hit me.”
Jordan tells him as he sets down his pen. He’d only gotten halfway through his own invention.
“‘Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can’t Handle.’”
Laughter bubbles out of him before he can stop it, half-induced by the knowing grin Jack’s giving him, but when he consults his list of letters, he’s pleasantly surprised to find that the mnemonic actually works.
“Hope you’re not talking about anyone in particular.”
Jordan teases as he eyes Jack and draws the textbook away from him. The younger just shrugs and answers, “Well, we’ll have to see, won’t we?”
Shaking his head, Jordan locates a diagram of the hand and twists it around to show Jack.
“So, we start with the big bone here and then do the same on the row above to name them, yeah?” Jack nods and leans in closer to analyse, “Okay. Can you tell me which carpal bone this is?”
When watching the younger’s brow furrow, Jordan urges him to remember his mnemonic. Jordan certainly hasn’t forgotten it yet so he doubts that Jack will have.
He’s pointing to the third bone in the second row, and can visibly see as Jack counts along the bones in his head and recites his phrase.
“Well… that’s ‘Can’t’, so it has to be the Capitate?”
A rush of excitement bursts through Jordan’s body as Jack gets the answer correct. He implores his expression not to waiver, however, until he checks, “And the one before it?”
“Uh, the Trapezoid?”
Jordan can’t help himself now as he springs out of his chair and points at another, “And this one?”
“Scaphoid?”
Finally emitting a triumphant laugh to himself, Jordan barely holds himself back from doing victory laps of the library’s second floor.
“Why’d you sound so unsure?” He asks a wide-eyed Jack as he grips both of his shoulders and shakes him, “You’re getting them right!”
It takes a moment for it to sink in for the younger.
“I’m— really?”
It should be amusing, how surprised Jack sounds and how little faith he’d apparently had in himself, but for now Jordan is just really, really proud of him.
“Yep,” He tells him as he grins down at him before sneaking a brief kiss to his lips. They doesn’t really show affection in public but Jordan thinks this calls for a special occasion, “Now… d’you want the good news or the bad?”
Jack raises his eyebrows at him then, although his reaction was delayed from where his eyes were still trailing after Jordan’s receding lips.
“The good news is that I can finally sleep soundly tonight knowing you won’t completely fail your exam.”
The younger waits a second before asking hesitantly, “And the bad..?”
