Chapter Text
Markus was screwed. Like, really screwed. He knew he shouldn’t have procrastinated so long on his research paper, but it was the least of his worries a few days ago when he had three other assignments due. And now, he was paying the price. He took the stairs two at a time, deciding the elevator was the slower choice as he made his way to the third floor of the library.
He rarely went to the third floor, normally opting for the quiet study on the second floor, but he saw what was hopefully his destination as soon as he left the stairwell: a wooden table with a white pop-up. Even better, someone was sitting at the table. Markus quickly made his way over.
“Hi, are you one of the writing assistant people? I have an eight-page paper due tomorrow morning and I really need your help. I also, maybe, haven’t started yet.” Saying everything out loud, along with the fact that he hadn’t slept more than a few hours in total over the last three days, did not help his building panic.
The guy at the table had looked up from the book he was reading when Markus started talking, but his neutral expression hadn’t changed throughout Markus’s explanation.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Uh, no? I’m sorry, I didn’t know I needed an appointment.” The panic continued to rise. The assistant raised an eyebrow and Markus shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“You don’t need an appointment, but it is highly recommended to schedule ahead to make sure someone is available.” The raised eyebrow went down, “Luckily, I do not have any appointments currently scheduled.”
Markus felt all the tension leave his body as he sighed in relief.
“So you can help me?” When the other nodded, Markus smiled and sat down across from him.
“Thank you so much. This paper is a big deal and I really don’t want to mess it up.”
“Is this the Politics of the EU paper on populism for Dr. Schmidt?”
Markus blinked.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“I am in the class as well.”
“Oh.” Markus felt a little bad about not knowing that. The class wasn’t that big to begin with, only about 30 students, and then half of them dropped after the first exam and a few more after midterm grades were released. Now, their numbers dwindled to about ten.
“Your name is Markus, correct?”
“Yes, and I feel bad for not knowing your name.”
“My name is Connor. Now, you have about 17 hours until class starts at ten, so we should get started. What country did you choose and how much research have you done?”
“Oh, right.” Markus quickly got out his laptop and unlocked it before taking out his notebook.
“I’m doing Hungary, and I think I have all the research stuff done, it’s just actually writing it that I still need to do. Of course, I’m also getting hit with a bad case of writer’s block which is…. fun. I have a title typed up though!”
The side of Connor’s mouth quirked for a brief moment as he nodded. “A good first step. And since you have your research done, the rest should be simple, even with writers block. What I want you to do is create your headings now. They don’t have to be headings you use in the final draft, but simply sections that will help you divide what you know into smaller pieces.”
Markus must have looked as confused as he felt because Connor gently waved a hand and continued.
“Some examples would be an intro heading, then a history one, and then modern day, etc.”
That made a lot more sense. Markus nodded and began creating headings. He came up with five, including the introduction and conclusion paragraphs, and turned back to Connor, who had pulled out his own laptop. Connor didn’t look up from the screen as he continued his instructions.
“Now, divide your collected research and whatever else needs to be said into those sections. It is normally easiest to simply use bullet points to get the broad ideas down. Refining them will come later.”
That sounded simple enough. However, it took Markus over an hour to sort through all his notes, collect sources, and type up all of his bullet points. By the time it was over, he already had nearly five pages and was starting to feel confident that he could finish a decent paper in time.
“Okay, what’s next?” Connor glanced up from his laptop, but didn’t pause his typing.
“Now, you can go through each section, and turn those bullet points into detailed sentences. In other words, you will start actually writing your first draft.”
“Got it.” As Markus started to begin the actual writing process however, he fumbled. He would write a few sentences, delete most, try to rewrite others. The writer’s block was still kicking his ass. He sighed heavily.
“I’m still having trouble writing.” Connor stopped typing and made eye contact with Markus.
“What is the issue?”
Markus groaned and gestured toward his screen.
“Nothing is flowing well. I know what I’m saying, the bullet points are helping, but the actual structure of the paragraph makes it seem like a third grader is writing this essay.” Connor raised an eyebrow at Markus.
“It does not have to flow well; you just have to get the thoughts out. We will go over it and smooth out any issues once you actually have something down.”
That…. made sense. Markus nodded and began retyping up his sentences, doing his best to ignore how awful it actually sounded when he read more than one sentence at a time.
Markus began to hyper focus on the paper, not noticing the hours go by. He barely registered it when Connor got up and briefly stood behind him, watching the screen as he typed. He wanted this paper to be done and turned in, and he’d never have to think about the populism within Hungary ever again. At least, not until the presentation that he’d have to give on his paper to the class.
Finally, he got to the end of the conclusion paragraph. The paper as a whole was still a little over a page short, but he hoped Connor had a trick or two for that. Or, hopefully, the editing would take care of it so Markus wouldn’t have to stress too much about it.
Cracking his knuckles, Markus glanced at the time to see he’d been writing for hours and it was nearly midnight. Shit. Connor still sat across from him at the table, most likely taking notes considering how he’d stare at his laptop and occasionally pause to write something down in the notebook beside him. It wasn’t until Connor glanced up and met Markus’s eyes that he realized he was staring.
“I’m done.” God, his brain wasn’t working properly.
“Alright, I can take a look at it and make suggestions for editing if you want to take a break.” Markus felt his shoulders sag in relief at the thought of being able to stretch before his brain finally started working again.
“Wait, why are you here?” Both of Connor’s eyebrows went up.
“I am helping you write your paper.”
“No, I know that, I meant,” Markus’s brain was still lagging and he had to pause to think of the way he wanted to word his next thought, “Why are you still here. It’s almost midnight.” Connor’s eyebrows didn’t fall.
“I am still helping you write your paper.” Markus didn’t know how to respond. He almost asked again in a different tone the same question, but realized he’d probably just get the same response. He really didn’t want to just circle the same sentences at each other.
“Hasn’t your shift ended?”
“I was done working at five.” Markus had made it to the library a little before five. Meaning, Connor’s shift probably ended right as Markus was asking for his help on the paper. His eyebrows drew together as he connected his thoughts.
“Wait, so you’re just helping me write my paper out of the goodness of your heart?” Connor’s face finally went back to a neutral expression.
“You seemed on the verge of a panic attack. I would rather help you write a paper, which I know is challenging despite your topic being easy, than risk you having a nervous breakdown.” Markus knew he was making a stupid, scrunched up face, but he was too sleep-deprived to care. He never felt so grateful towards someone – though that was probably also the sleep-deprivation.
“Well, can I repay you? I can go grab us some coffee and food from the café if you want.” Connor tilted his head before nodding.
“I will accept that. I have no preferences or allergies in terms of food, so I will leave the choice up to you. In the meantime, I will review your paper.” Markus nodded and grabbed his ID before heading towards the elevator. The café was just across the Quad from the library and would take less than five minutes to walk to. He didn’t even notice the lights of the café were off until he tried to pull the door and found it locked. He pulled again, just in case, and when the door still didn’t budge he pressed his face against the glass to see if anyone still remained inside. No one appeared to be there.
Groaning, Markus stepped away from the door and checked his phone to see the time was five after twelve. The café closed at midnight, meaning he wasn’t getting coffee. Not wanting to go back to the library and knowing he needed caffeine to make it through the night, Markus tried to think of anywhere else he could get coffee; food was considered a bonus.
Feeling despair after realizing that most places that served coffee would be closed, Markus took a few steps back towards the library before remembering he was an adult, with his own apartment (technically it was the school’s but he was paying for it), with his own coffee and food, on campus.
Starting at a brisk walk, Markus made it halfway to his apartment before speeding up his pace to a light jog. He didn’t know how long it would take Connor to look over his rough draft, and Markus didn’t want to keep to keep him waiting any longer then he had to. Especially since Connor was actually doing him a huge favor.
Markus opened the apartment door to find Josh sitting at the small dining table across from the doorway, reading a book with a highlighter in hand. If Josh was reading in the common area that meant Simon had to be in bed already as the two shared a room. Markus didn’t say anything as he immediately went into the small kitchen and grabbed two mugs, their container of instant coffee, and a box of energy bars. Shoving the energy bar box into the front pocket of his sweatshirt, Markus put the coffee in the larger mug and grabbed two spoons before speed walking out of the kitchen.
Josh called out after he walked past him, “Hey, Markus, you okay?” He didn’t stop as he opened the front door to leave.
“Yup, just going to have to pull another all-nighter. Don’t wait up for me.”
It was hard to move at a pace faster than a walk with his load, but Markus attempted it as he made his way back to the library. It was nearly 12:30 by the time he was riding the elevator up to the third floor, and the library seemed to be mainly deserted. Despite this, Connor was still at the table where Markus left him, looking intensely at the screen of Markus’s laptop. He didn’t look up as Markus put the spoils of his journey on the table.
“Café was closed so I had to improvise. I hope you like energy bars.”
Connor didn’t pause in his reading as he replied, “I told you I had no preference for the food.” The words weren’t spoken harshly, so Markus didn’t dwell on them as he scooped instant coffee into the mugs. Grabbing the mugs again, he made his way over to a water dispenser and pushed the ‘Hot’ button, making sure to hold the mug close enough to the nozzle that the water didn’t splash. After both mugs were filled, he went back to the table and stirred both to make sure the coffee dissolved properly before placing one next to Connor.
Sitting back down, Markus blew on his coffee before taking a sip. The little amount he drunk did nothing to ease his exhaustion, but it was still too hot to drink more than a little at a time. However, the energy bars didn’t require temperature control and Markus could feel his stomach ache at the thought of food. He scarfed down two bars before Connor spoke up.
“I believe I am done, if you would like to take a look. If you are confused by any of my notes, do not hesitate to ask for clarification.”
Mouth full of energy bar, Markus simply nodded before pulling his laptop around to face him. Connor had made a lot of notes in the relatively small amount of time he had to look over the entire paper. All of them were simple, yet Markus wasn’t confused by what was being expressed.
Coffee now cool enough, Markus chugged it before getting to work. He barely noticed the hours drifting by as he made his way through the editing. There wouldn’t really be time for another draft or more editing, so he took his time and did his best to make sure everything was as decent as he could make it. Connor made him a fresh cup of coffee while he was busy and Markus nearly cried. Luckily, he managed to keep the tears in as he thanked him.
By the time Markus was halfway done with editing, it was a little after three. Connor appeared to have fallen asleep sitting up, but opened his eyes when Markus didn’t resume his typing.
“Is there a problem?”
“You know you can go home if you want, right? I think I have something good enough to finish and submit.” Connor tilted his head slightly.
“I was planning on reviewing it one more time to make sure there are no big errors before you submitted and printed it.”
“Oh. Well, thanks.” Markus didn’t understand why Connor had such an investment in his paper. It would at least get him a ‘C’ at the state it was now, possibly a ‘B’ when he finished editing. Considering the difficulty of the class and the fact Markus had just started the paper, that was a decent grade in his mind. Too tired to think about it too much, or to argue that Connor should just let him finish and submit the paper after this, he got back to work.
It was nearing six o’clock when Markus finally finished the edits. Connor had pulled his laptop and a notebook out and was doing homework for… math? Markus didn’t have enough brain energy to try to figure out what Connor was doing, especially if it involved numbers.
“I’m done with fixing things.” Connor looked up and moved his stuff aside and Markus turned his laptop around. He felt himself dozing off as Connor scrolled through what was written, occasionally clicking and typing something.
“I simply made a few edits myself, as we are running out of time. I believe it is good enough to be considered finish, if you are happy with the end product.” Markus jolted up as Connor began to speak.
“Yes, I am so ready to be done with this paper.” He didn’t bother to check the edits Connor made, instead opting to save the file and upload it to the online plagiarism checker. Now, he just needed a paper copy and everything would be wonderful.
He packed up everything, leaving his laptop and the dirty mugs out so he could carry them in his hands. Connor quickly put his belongings away and waited as Markus cleaned up.
“I will walk down with you. I heard the printers were not cooperating today and want to make sure you are able to print the paper.”
“Wait, what?” The printers couldn’t be broken. They were crucial to the university, people needed them.
“Printers at schools aren’t allowed to take days off.” Connor gave him an indecipherable look at that remark.
“If there are any issues, I have my own printer. You can send me the file and I will print it out for you.” Sleep deprivation was killing him and his emotions, Markus decided as he blinked back more tears.
“Connor, you are the nicest person I know. And I know a lot of nice people, so consider yourself the new top nice person at this school.” Connor looked taken aback by such a response, quickly turning to lead the way to the computer lab on the ground floor.
“I am… simply helping out a classmate not fail an assignment. I also highly doubt Dr. Schmidt would fail you if you were unable to turn in a paper copy of the assignment as he is not as harsh as some may believe. You managed to turn in the electronic copy, and that would suffice for the time being for him.” Connor held the door to the lab open for him and Markus made his way to the corner with the printers.
“Still, I know if I was on my own right now and the printers didn’t work, I’d cry. Right here in the computer lab. The librarians would come back and just find me curled up on the floor, crying and/or sleeping. Probably both.” Markus set his laptop on the table next to the printer and pulled the file back up.
“I cannot tell if you are serious or being dramatic.”
“Both.” Markus successfully connected to the printer and hit the ‘Print’ command button before waiting. Nothing happened. He attempted it again, waiting a few seconds in case the machine merely needed some time to wake up. No response. He tried connecting to the other printer to see if it worked. It also remained silent.
“It seems there are still issues with them.”
Markus sighed and turned to look at Connor.
“Are you sure you don’t mind printing this out for me?”
“Yes.”
“Connor, you are a life-saver and now, I am forever in your debt. I would give my life for you.”
“Now you are being dramatic. Pull up your email so the file can be sent to me.”
“I’m only being a little dramatic.” Markus logged into his school email, created a new email, and typed ‘Connor’ into the recipient’s bar. A list of names popped up and Connor gestured slightly with his head as he clarified, “Stern.” Selecting his email address, Markus quickly uploaded the file and sent it to him.
“I’ll arrive to class fifteen minutes early; I can give it to you then.”
Shoving his laptop into his backpack and picking up his mugs, Markus turned back to thank Connor again to find him already out of the computer lab and heading for the main entrance of the library. Running to catch up to him, Markus flinched as the mugs in his hand clinked together dangerously. Simon would kill him if he broke one.
It was still dark outside, and the lights illuminating the campus were barely efficient enough to light up the walkways, let alone any other areas. Glancing around, Markus barely caught the sight of who he guessed was Connor turning around the corner of a building. Knowing the only path that way led off campus, Markus sighed and realized he’d just have to thank Connor again when he saw him before class.
The exhaustion faded away as Markus walked to his apartment, the cold November air waking him up along with a small adrenaline burst from realizing his paper was done and he had an assignment free weekend ahead of him after classes were done.
Once Markus unlocked the apartment door, he immediately entered and collapsed onto the couch just to the right; dirty mugs were placed on the coffee table and backpack next to the couch. His first class was Politics of the EU, so that gave him about an hour or two to nap. Setting an alarm, he barely registered putting his phone down before falling asleep.
When he woke up, he had a blanket over him and he could hear someone in the kitchen. Most likely Simon as he had the best sleep schedule of the three. Groaning, Markus rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands before getting up. His back ached, but aside from that and the exhaustion, he had little repercussions for falling asleep on the school-provided couch.
Simon poked his head out of the kitchen. “Do you know where the coffee is?”
Markus groaned again as he cracked his back.
“Yeah, it’s in my backpack.” He reached over and got out the container, handing it to his roommate.
“Do I want to know why you commandeered our entire supply of coffee?”
“Let’s just say it has something to do with me falling asleep on the couch.”
“Ah.” Simon went back into the kitchen, and Markus finally stood up to make his way to the bathroom after grabbing his towel from his bedroom. He desperately needed a shower, even just to help him prepare for the day ahead.
Feeling better, and a little more awake, after washing off the dirt from yesterday, Markus made his way to the kitchen. Simon had likely left already for his morning classes and Josh normally didn’t get up until after ten on Fridays. He still had over an hour before he had to leave and he was hungry after barely eating yesterday. Deciding to go for something easy to make, he started the kettle and picked out two packets of instant oatmeal.
With his breakfast done in under five minutes, Markus was feeling pretty good, and his mood only got better as he finally got some decent food into his stomach. He spent the remaining hour catching up on news updates his phone received. The UN reports were particularly troubling and he only skimmed them and noted a few to read later. He hated starting his day on a sour note and reading about the support system in Yemen failing was definitely going to dampen his mood.
With the time nearing 9:45, he put on his shoes, made sure he had everything he needed, and made his way to class. Luckily, the campus itself was small so it only took him about five minutes to get to Boel Hall where most of the social science, and thus his, classes were held. With it still being early and in-between class times he only passed by a few people during the trek.
Entering the classroom, he spotted Connor on the opposite side towards the windows. That explained why Markus never really noticed him; they sat on opposite sides of the room and Connor sat a row behind Markus, outside of his peripheral vision. Connor was gazing out the window and didn’t seem to notice him enter, even as Markus began to make his way over.
Looking at him, if Markus hadn’t known that Connor spent all night in the library with him, he never would have guessed that the other got less than a full eight hours of sleep. Compared to his own attire which consisted of one of Josh’s old sweatshirts and worn-down jeans, Connor looked more like a professor than a student with a crisp button-down, pressed slacks, and slicked back hair.
“Good morning!” Markus winced slightly as he realized he had nearly shouted the greeting, but Connor didn’t seem perturbed as he turned away from the window to face him.
“Hello. I have your paper with me,” with this he pulled a stapled pack of paper out from under his laptop and handed it to Markus, who happily grabbed it.
“Thank you so much again for all your help with this. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to write a paper this good on my own.”
Connor’s expression didn’t change as he replied, “I don’t know about that. I simply offered a few pointers, you did all of the writing yourself.”
“Still, I really appreciate you staying up all night to give me those pointers.” Markus smiled, hoping Connor would see just how grateful he was. However, based on the neutral expression he was receiving in return, it wasn’t working.
“You’re welcome.”
“So… what country did you do your paper on?” Markus didn’t want to just go to his seat and sit in silence while waiting for others to arrive.
“Sweden. I am presenting today, so I would prefer if you reserved your questions about it until then.”
Markus had almost forgotten they also had to present their papers. He would have to double-check when he signed up, but he knew it wasn’t that day so he pushed the thought of it out of his head.
“Right. I suppose you already know all about my presentation.”
“Yes. I was aware of Orban and his relation to populism through my own research, but I was surprised at the level of nationalism within Hungary. However, considering it is an ex-Soviet state who used to be an empire, I suppose I shouldn’t have been so surprised. It also seemed a great example of Pirro’s and Taggart’s theory on the rise of populism, which I found fascinating.”
“Same, I didn’t realize until I was organizing some of my research how well Hungary supported their theory. I mean, the economic instability, nationalism, and influx of refugees hit all of their points and were the main reasons I found for Orban and his party rising to power. Well, that and the whole ‘we lied’ scandal with the socialist party.”
“Excuse me.” Markus stepped closer to Connor’s desk to allow someone to pass behind him. He hadn’t noticed others had started to arrive and realized there were only a few minutes until class started.
“Anyways, good luck on your presentation.”
“Thank you.” Markus smiled again at Connor before turning away to head to his seat, stopping to put his paper in the steadily growing stack of papers on the front table. Dr. Schmidt entered as Markus was beginning to sit down.
“So, I received lots of panicked emails this morning….” As class began, Markus felt himself start to doze off, but did his best to stay awake as presentations started. The girl next to him went first, presenting on Portugal. He was a little confused as she spent most of the time talking about the interworking’s of the Communist party as opposed to the rise of populism within the country, but other than that he focused mainly on making sure he had good notes. It was just like Dr. Schmidt to add in information from the presentations to the final.
Connor went next. Unlike the girl before him, he didn’t use a PowerPoint, instead opting to stand in front of the class with a note card and simply lecture. It was a little harder to take notes without a visual, but Markus liked listening to him speak. Connor’s voice was pretty soothing, despite being incredibly monotone, and he spoke slowly as if he was thinking carefully about the words he was choosing. After Connor was someone from the back of the classroom presenting on Luxembourg, which unsurprisingly had little populism, thus the presentation was mainly about why there was a lack of such. Markus definitely fell asleep for a few minutes during Luxembourg, but he didn’t worry too much about it.
The last few minutes of class was Dr. Schmidt listing those who were to go the next time they had class, Monday, and asking them to make sure they had their papers turned it. Markus went up to him after class and confirmed he was presenting Wednesday should everything go according to plan.
“And Markus,” he paused on the way out, “make sure you get some rest. You’re looking pretty haggard.” He must look like death if Dr. Schmidt was telling him to take it easy. But, taking it easy was what he planned to do that weekend so there were no worries there.