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After Tesla and Welt had kept bugging her to get more rest, Einstein finally promised to get some more sleep. But, since she felt more productive at night, she decided to take afternoon naps so she could work late while still getting ample amount of sleep. A well-rested mind, a nice cup of tea, and some quiet time worked wonders for productivity, she soon found out. Maybe Tesla and Welt were right. For once.
As she finished the last of her paperwork allotted for that night, she took a look at the clock. Already past midnight, she thought to herself. Tesla is likely still awake too. She slept in quite late this morning, so she’d probably be as well-rested as I am. Tsk, I hope she doesn’t sleep too late tomorrow.
She stretched her arms out, yawning, before standing up from her chair. Her legs ached from sitting for so long. She didn’t feel too tired yet, so she decided to go get a snack from the kitchen. Maybe she’ll run into Tesla. Hopefully she won’t be in too much of a bad mood.
“Ah, Mophead,” Tesla said, sitting on the counter in her pajamas and eating some crackers.
“Good evening, Dr. Tesla,” greeted Ein, taking some chips from the pantry. “Can’t go to bed?”
“I woke up at 1 PM, gimme a break,” grumbled the redhead. Still, Ein could tell that Tesla was in a good mood. Or at least in a much better mood than she had expected. “God, I finally finished my report. I swear, if they make me rewrite it again…”
Einstein chuckled. “You’re quite energetic tonight.” Tesla reached for a chip, and Ein held the bag out to her. In return, Tesla tossed her a cracker. A silent trade between comrades.
“Yeah, yeah.” She looked out the hallway. “Hey, are the lights in the study still open?”
Ein’s gaze followed hers. “Ah. Hm.”
She had definitely turned off the lights earlier. And, if Tesla didn’t turn them on, then there were two possible explanations. One - an intruder had snuck inside and was now helping themselves to Lab 42’s rich collection of literature, both fiction and nonfiction alike. Or, more likely, 2 - a certain lab assistant was awake for some reason at this ungodly hour, reading like he usually does whenever he isn’t working on recreation plans or arguing with Tesla.
“...It’s Welt, isn’t it?” Tesla muttered.
“Most likely. An intruder would be less obvious.”
Tesla groaned. “God, and to think he was the guy who lectured us on our sleep schedules in the first place! He said he was almost done like, 2 hours ago!”
The ticking clock was the only sound which reached Welt’s ears as he read in the library. The rhythmic clicks were quite soothing, getting Welt fully invested in his book. Caught up in the adventures which took place on the pages of the novel, he did not hear the conversation going on in the kitchen. In fact, for the past few hours, it was as if he was in his own little bubble, his own personal world, shut off from the outside world. What time was it anyways? Honestly, he had lost track of time at this point.
“WELT, IT’S PAST MIDNIGHT!” yelled a certain twintailed redheaded tyrant. Ah, so that’s the time.
“O-one more chapter…” muttered Welt. Now that his little bubble was broken, he began to feel the fatigue of staying up way too late.
“You woke up early this morning to help me make breakfast,” noted Einstein. “About 6 AM. IThis would mean you’ve been up for around 18 hours.”
“In other words, go the hell to sleep!” Tesla said. “And don’t give us that ‘one more chapter’ bullshit! You said that 2 hours ago!”
“But… it’s just getting interesting…” In his sleep deprived state, Tesla’s yelling akin to a mother scolding a child was strangely… humorous. He let out a tired laugh.
“God, he’s going insane,” Ein noted. How weak. I’ve pulled 3 all-nighters in a row once while still maintaining basic reasoning and speech patterns.
With a grunt, Tesla tried to shove the bean sprout off of the couch. “I said, GO THE HELL TO SLEEP!”
To both doctors’ surprise, the lab assistant resisted, pushing Tesla away. “Not yet,” he muttered. Ein seriously began to wonder if someone had kidnapped Welt and planted some angsty teenager lookalike in his place.
Her train of thought was quickly interrupted by Tesla violently pulling her into the hallway.
“What’s wrong with him?!” Tesla said. “How is he even still awake and functioning?! Is something wrong with him?!”
Ein shrugged. “He’s certainly acting quite unusually tonight.”
“That’s it. Mophead, give me your dictionary.”
Ein suddenly remembered the notorious “dictionary incident” which had taken place a few weeks ago. She quickly came to the conclusion that Tesla wished to recreate that disaster. “Tesla, please don’t give our lab assistant head trauma. He already has enough emotional trauma.”
“I just need that bean sprout asleep,” Tesla sighed. “If he doesn’t start worrying a little more about his wellbeing, I might as well just kill him myself.”
“Now, Tesla, are you really the right person to be talking about healthy sleeping habits right now?”
“Mophead, whose damn side are you on?!”
It was around 1 AM by now. Welt had tried his best to ignore the doctors’ complaints. It felt somewhat childish, but he really didn’t want to go to bed. With his eyes wide open, those terrible images wouldn’t come back. He’d rather escape to the world of fantasies and wonders, even if it did mean he would be forcing himself awake until he passes out from exhaustion.
“One more chapter, huh?” muttered Tesla, watching Welt turn the page to the next chapter. “Interesting part not done yet?”
“I wouldn’t want to leave it on a cliffhanger…” Welt replied drowsily.
“... Welt, are you lying to us?” Ein asked. She didn’t really know why, to be honest. It came out of nowhere, as uncharacteristic of her it may sound. Welt tensed up.
Now, Tesla was beginning to catch on. “Hm… Welt, why aren’t you going to bed, really?” She looked at the book in his hand. “Isn’t that one of your favorite books, anyways? So why would you be so concerned by a cliffhanger in a book you’ve read multiple times before?”
Welt stayed silent. Tesla… can be really observant when she wants to. He still felt reluctant to admit to his woes, even with his friends pressing him on like this. Maybe he was embarrassed, or maybe he didn’t want to burden them with anything. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation, but he wasn’t quite sure why he was so resistant to the idea of telling Ein and Tesla why he really was still awake at this hour.
Ein sat down on the couch. “Perhaps you don’t trust us fully yet. If that’s the case, I understand.”
“T-that’s not the case! At all!” Welt sputtered out, dropping his book. Tesla leaned on the backrest of the couch.
“So why are you so afraid to tell us what’s wrong?” Tesla asked. There was not a hint of malice in her voice. “Because something’s definitely wrong.”
Another silence followed.
“...Nightmares,” Welt admitted. He felt like a child, hanging his head in shame. He felt someone pat his back.
“I figured as much,” Ein noted. Tesla wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
“You could have said that earlier,” she grumbled. “No need to be embarrassed, or anything like that.”
“I… sorry.” Welt didn’t have much else to say for himself.
“If you don’t mind me asking, then…” Ein started. “What have you been having nightmares of?”
Welt swallowed. It was a horrible thing to think about. But… he did owe them an explanation, instead of just making them worry again.
“W-well… I had a dream that… this wasn’t real. That I didn’t really meet you guys… that I was back in that place again…” He sighed. “I dreamed that I was all alone again. That’s… that’s what I’m scared of.”
The two doctors were taken by surprise by his words. Seeing as they remained silent, Welt continued.
“You know… when I was staying in… those places, I read books in my free time a lot. When I was younger and wasn’t used to it all… I would use novels as a way to escape from reality. That… that was how I saw the world. That was… how I used to live.”
“Welt…” breathed Ein. She held his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Welt, we’re here. We’re real. You’re not alone.”
Tesla got up, and walked to her room. She came back with a stuffed cat in her arms, which she handed to Welt.
“It gets lonely in your room, doesn’t it? Maybe this will help,” she said. Tesla had swallowed her pride by now, concerned for her best friend. “You didn’t… you shouldn’t have to feel alone anymore.” She muttered a few choice words directed at some certain other Schicksal scientists.
“We’re here for you, okay?” Einstein never was one to express her feelings for others. Now, she regretted this, seeing someone so dear to her feel so lonely. “Welt, we care about you. I care about you.” She turned her gaze to Tesla. “And… I suppose I should say it to you too, before I regret it. Tesla, you mean so much to me. I’m grateful… so grateful to have spent all this time with you.”
Ah… she had let her tongue run wild again. It’s alright, though… because she wanted to tell them how she really felt, before she could lose the chance to forever.
“Lieserl, I-” Tesla shut her eyes tightly. “I-I’m grateful too! As… as insufferable as you are sometimes, you mean everything to me! S-so don’t think otherwise!” She then turned to Welt. “And you… bean sprout! I really do care for you, don’t forget that! Don’t think, for even a second, that I’d ever abandon you. That we would ever abandon you! Got it?” The redhead fought back tears, wiping them away quickly.
Now it was Welt’s turn to be taken by surprise by his friends’ sudden outbursts of emotion. “Me… me too. Ein, Tesla… I trust you with my life. Because you’re the reason why I can live like this in the first place. I can’t… I could never begin to describe just how much you mean to me. I guess I could say… you mean the world to me.” He mustered a faint smile. “Thank you… thank you…”
The world was blanketed in a warm embrace by the two he called his friends. He finally let himself believe that yes, he was no longer alone. That they were walking on this path with him, and that they would stand by him, for the rest of their lives. This is life, this is the world, this is home, he thought to himself. This was where I was meant to be. This is where I belong.
It was 2 AM by now. The halls of Lab 42 were dim, the residents of the place finally in bed, asleep. Welt was granted a peaceful rest, after he had finally made his way back to his room, immediately blacking out as soon as he got into bed. Tonight… he would dream of friends.