He chuckled slightly at her reaction, knowing fine well that he would be receiving a very important looking letter on his desk tomorrow - or maybe today, depending on how fast S.H.I.E.L.D worked. Though, he assumed, one of those letters may be from some other source. Jonathan liked to think he was doing a good job in their eyes by ruining the minds of the young students. He gathered his clothes, quickly putting them on while he approached her, a light smirk on his lips.
“It seems as though you didn’t expect me to go through with it. I am disappointed in your lack of faith in me Skye.”
“How could I ever have doubted you, really? It’s not like you agreed to strip in front of the whole campus for someone you’ve known for twenty minutes,” she retorted, still catching shocked looks from those who’d witnessed it. If this didn’t bring points to communications, Skye didn’t know what would. “You’ll probably go viral. Are you ready for that kind of fame? Will ice have to be applied to your head so that it wouldn’t swell?”
Never one to back down from a challenge, Jonathan stepped forward, scanning the crowd. Sure enough, there was a few of his students mingled in there but it was nothing that would bother him - his students, on the other hand, were another story. Moving his hips slowly, he got a feel for the music and, reminiscent of his youth, began to take his clothes off. It was all slow movements, so that Skye and anyone else watching, could savour this moment and remember it for the next few weeks. As soon as his last piece of clothing hit the ground, he turned back to the other professor, hands on his hips. “So, was that good enough or do you need a private show?”
It certainly was happening and though she didn’t look around much, Skye could tell people were filming it, eyes wide and mouth agape, distinctive whispers rippling through the crowd that had gathered. She didn’t know if she was laughing at the performance itself or the backlash he’d receive for it, but one thing was for certain - she was entertained. And he wore Calvin Kleins. Of course he did.
“It was fine. Now put your clothes back on, Magic Mike.”
“Wrong. I appreciate a good compliment, especially if someone like you is the one giving them out.”
He smirks, nodding. “Very well. I trust your choice in song will be something appropriate, don’t want to let anyone down now, do we?”
“I don’t just give compliments out, you have to earn them.”
Oh. If that’s how he wanted to play it, sure. “Stop questioning my choice in music and start counting how many of your students are in the crowd right now. You’re welcome,” Skye raised her voice on the last bit, turning quite a few curious heads, who then stopped altogether in order to observe. Much to her delight, her phone came equipped with the perfect song. Few taps on the screen and she was ready, mouth transforming into the most delighted smirk anyone’s ever had the privilege of witnessing. “Go.”
“Because you’re a nice girl - I mean, woman. You should appreciate that.”
“I can strip here if you want me to. Just give me a song and I’ll put on a show for you. Well, now that’s a secret. You’ll just have to wait to find out.”
“And men are all tough and manly and don’t have feelings, so compliments don’t work on you?”
“Not here,” she quirked a brow, motioning to the most crowded place on the campus with a slight nod. “There. Better light and all. Think you can do it?”
“Or am I complimenting you and you’re just too stubborn to accept it?”
“I only strip to indie pop artists but I’ll keep that in mind in case anyone ever has a bad day. So, let me get this straight, you want me to go to your office and strip so you can see my tattoo? Interesting.”
“Now, why would I do that?”
“Wrong. I want you to strip right here, but you’re afraid of a lawsuit, so an office will do. Tell me, is it an infinity symbol?”
“Oh, they’d have a hard time trying to find someone who compared to you. Everyone else would be a pale imitation.”
“I would but it’s in a place where people would file a sexual harassment complaint for if I flashed it to you. A morbid but true subject. Are you asking me to take you out on a date?”
“I’m gonna accept that, even though you’re trying too hard.”
“Actually, people would probably cheer you on, play some groovy sax music while you strip, throw some confetti, film it. But if you’re not up to the challenge, I have an office. So do you.”
“Well, they didn’t ask me to be a professor just because of my good looks.”
“I can read between the lines. I don’t know, I like the sky, it’s very pretty, no matter what kind of weather it’s dealing with. It’s very misunderstood as well.”
“Oh, yeah. They promised not to do it twice after they’d hired me.”
“Didn’t know you had this in you. Are you gonna show me your white ink tattoo next? Talk about the inevitability of death? Take me out for a soy latte?”
“No, I - do you just hear what you want to hear? I was just saying you should use your face as a profile picture instead of a sky over some rocks. It’s deeply misleading.”
“Isn’t that that little hacking group? Rising Tide. They could have come up with a better name, a more intimidating name. Facebook, huh? Well, I’d like to see you try that. Maybe you can give me pointers on what landscape I should have next. Or if I should change it to something more… interesting.”
“You’re already making me regret it.”
“Intimidating? ‘Taxes’ or ‘Failed Gun Laws’ or ‘Institutionalised Racism and Misogyny’ aren’t that catchy. I don’t know about interesting, but your face could work.”
“Of course I am. Everyone would be. Ah, a typical attack. My vanity isn’t as bad as you thing it is.”
“I asked if you wanted this to be a relationship, I never asked if you wanted to be in a relationship. There’s a difference.” He raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. “You’re a fellow professor here Skye, if we’re going to have to work in the same place, I would hate to be at odds with you.”
“For some reason, you just keep proving my point without even acknowledging it. I might keep you around.”
“Smart move. I wouldn’t be at odds with myself, either. Rising Tide taught me scary, compromising things, such as how to hack into your Facebook account and send game requests to everyone. Do you even have one? You strike me as a person who’d have a landscape as profile picture.”
